February’s Latitude 38 Is Out Today!

February’s Latitude 38 is out today; copies are making their way around the Bay and up and down the coast to your favorite and nearby distributors. Or, if you happen to be a subscriber, “It’s in the mail!” Here’s a peek at what you will find inside.

Revival of Open 5.70 “Soggy Bottom Club”

On a Monday night, I started emailing yacht clubs and sailing schools all around San Francisco Bay. I had just moved here, and I could not go another weekend without sailing. Sequoia Yacht Club members replied back in less than 10 minutes. When the commodore asked what I preferred, I simply replied, “Speed and dinghies.” He said to try the Open 5.70s. Just two days later, I got to race on Hummingbird (Open 5.70, sail #296). Grinning ear to ear, I exclaimed, “That was awesome,” and from that moment, I was hooked. I crewed for Andrew Lesslie on Hummingbird for the rest of the summer. Before the sailing season was over, I was fixing up my own Open 5.70, Altair (#306).

Atlantic Rally for Cruisers — Rescue at Sea

It was 3:17 a.m. when urgent pounding on my cabin door awoke me. “Mayday! Mayday! We have two. A man overboard and a boat’s taking on water!” My bucket-list adventure of sailing across the Atlantic had started eight days earlier, on November 24, 2024. I and the ill-fated were among the hundreds of enthusiasts on the 140 boats that started the 38th running of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), which is organized by the U.K.-based World Cruising Club. It starts from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, which is about 120 miles off the coast of Africa, and ends some 2,700 miles later in St. Lucia in the Caribbean.

Novice Dreamer to Resilient Sailor

As dawn broke over San Diego Bay in shades of gold and silver, it became a dazzling backdrop for the chaotic symphony of preparations among the Baja Ha-Ha fleet. Our crew stirred sluggishly from their bunks, the air electric with anticipation despite groggy eyes and slow movements. The energy was contagious, yet I took the morning at a deliberate, measured pace — adjusting lines, stowing loose gear, and double-checking systems — much to the visible impatience of nearby crews casting off with practiced precision. By the time we finally shoved off from the police dock, we were the last vessel to join the procession. But fate had other plans.

Here’s a peek at this month’s regular columns:

Letters: The surge in Santa Cruz Harbor last month had readers fired up — “Fine People, Rough Conditions;” “Pros and Cons; A Fix Unlikely” … and then, “Meanwhile, in the East Bay;” ” West Coast Sailors and Boats Who Have Done the Sydney Hobart” … and “Solid Catamaran Becomes Famous for Hole;” plus many more readers’ letters and comments.
Sightings: Ragtime — Looking Back to the Future; Vendée Globe; New Maritime Trade School on Mare Island; Dispatches from Sailing to Japan; and other stories.
Max Ebb: “The Value of Fun”
Racing Sheet: It’s molto Midwinters month, with reports and/or images from Corinthian YC and Berkeley YC, Oakland YC’s Sunday Brunch Series, Encinal YC’s Jack Frost, Golden Gate YC’s Seaweed Soup Series, RegattaPRO’s Winter One Design and Del Rey YC’s Berger-Stein Series. Plus we share news from Vanguard 15 Fleet 53, UC Sailing Teams, the 5O5 Worlds, US Sailing, and the Yacht Racing Association.
Changes in Latitudes: With reports this month on Tahu Le’a’s cruising memories; Outrun’s solar power upgrade; Emerald Sea’s post-Ha-Ha adventures; and a tasty assortment of Cruise Notes.

All the latest in sailboats and sailboat gear for sale, Classy Classifieds.

We appreciate all readers and all our supporters — you keep Latitude 38 in print! Please show your appreciation by supporting the advertisers, who have made this issue possible.