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Crew Party Exceeds Expectations

The latest buzzword (buzzphrase, actually) popularized in the daily news cycle is “social distancing.” Given the fears of a CoViD-19 pandemic, we at Latitude 38 feared for a smaller-than-usual turnout at last night’s Spring Crew List Party. For those who did venture out to this gathering of sailors, we were prepared with lots of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and frequent hand-washing by your faithful crew of staff and volunteers.

Amber with hand sanitizer
Banners, check. Name tags, check. Bar, check. Hand sanitizer? Check!
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Mitch

What we didn’t expect was a line out the door at the 6 p.m. start time and a packed house at host Golden Gate Yacht Club. Was the Bay Area going stir-crazy? Or are the locals just crazy about sailing? We’re not sure, but we’re glad for the swarm of sailors young and old, new and experienced, and well balanced between male and female.

Bar
A healthy crowd packed the bar at GGYC. We perceived a shift in the number of women boat owners/skippers looking for crew. It was a busy, vibrant crowd with many sailors commenting, “I made some great connections. Thanks for hosting the party.”
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Highlights of the evening included demonstrations by the San Francisco Sailing Science Center. They don’t have a home facility yet, but they brought several exhibits to share with partygoers.

Blowup of Farallones chart
How close can you safely sail around Southeast Farallon Island?
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris
girl, dog, sextant and Paul
Paul explains the sextant to Monique and Berty.
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Mitch
people with wooden table exhibit
San Francisco Sailing Science Center volunteers and party guests with the Land Yacht Experiment Table.
© 2020 San Francisco Sailing Science Center
Another Crew Party highlight: the door prize drawing.
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Ron Young attended the party to introduce the new Wosser trophies. They’re a joint project with Latitude 38. The three trophies are offered for “the purpose of honoring Jake, Ruth and Susie Wosser and encouraging friendly contests of yacht racing and seamanship on San Francisco Bay.”

trophies
Ruth Wosser donated the three trophies from Jake’s collection. Ron Young had them polished up and mounted on new wooden bases.
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

The Jake Wosser Trophy will reward the winner of the largest one-design regatta on the Bay in any given year. The Ruth Wosser Trophy, in honor of Jake’s widow, will reward the boat owner who has competed in the most race days in any one year. The Susie Wosser Trophy will honor Jake and Ruth’s daughter, who crewed with Jake and became a great skipper in her own right. This trophy will be awarded to the boatowner who takes the most people racing in any given year. Also attending were members of the Wosser Trophy Advisory council, including from South Beach, Sausalito, Encinal, Richmond and St. Francis Yacht Clubs. You can read more about the Wosser Trophies in Sightings in the March issue at https://www.latitude38.com/issues/march-2020/#58.

Trophies, man, woman
Making connections at the Crew Party.
© 2020 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

The next Latitude 38 Crew List Party will be held on Thursday, September 3, at the Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito. We hope to see you there!

1 Comment

  1. Tom Carr 4 years ago

    Last picture of Endora Guild my crew for a December cruise from Sa Diego to San Jose del Cabo on my little ‘Bluebird’. Best crew ever. Met her at the September crew party

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