Find It All at Strictly Sail Pacific

Bay Area sailors should consider themselves lucky for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is because every April our Bay hosts the biggest sail-only boat show in the West: Strictly Sail Pacific, slated for April 14-17 this year.

Our rebounding economy and the America’s Cup’s arrival seem to have pumped up the enthusiasm for this year’s event, as the roster of vendors and special activities has expanded substantially.

As you’ll learn when you peruse the Show Planner that’s bound into the April edition of Latitude 38 magazine, the wealth of products you can expect to find at the show ranges from blocks and shackles to brand new cruising yachts, and just about everything in between. And, as always, you can be sure that the staff working the booths really know their stuff. In fact, in many cases a given product’s inventor will be on site and accessible to share tips and advice. And most sellers offer special boat show prices as incentives to buy on the spot.

Another strong argument for attending at least one day is to access the wit and wisdom of dozens of experts who will be giving free hourly seminars throughout the show on a broad range of topics — everything from galley tips to racing tactics. Speaking of which, we’ll be offering a little wit and wisdom ourselves at our Baja Ha-Ha seminars (Friday and Saturday at 2:15 ), and our Pacific Puddle Jump seminar (Saturday at 3:30).

If you’re a veteran of either of those rallies, or the Delta Doo Dah — or hope to be someday — you’ll want to show up at the Latitude booth at 6 p.m. on Friday for free beer and wine, snacks and spirited story-swapping.The boat show offers free kids’ sailing classes, free match racing lessons and, of course, free boat tours of a wide selection of brand new sailboats, some of which may make you salivate. And there’s one attraction that’s completely unique to the 2011 show: the actual America’s Cup trophy. So don’t miss the fun. We’ll see you there!