Lookin’ Good, Latitude Nation

Not too long ago, we successfully completed one of the first-ever Bay Area circumnavigations of the mythical island of Red Rock. Well, on Saturday — and with no small amount of inspiration from local legend Randall Reeves — we completed the first-ever figure 8 in the Bay Area, sailing around Angel Island and leaving it to starboard, then sailing around Red Rock, and leaving the poison oak-infested, Bond villain-player-looking lump to port.

Granted, we’re a little loose with the term “first-ever.” It is our own sailing, however, that still makes us feel like pioneers, and makes us feel that we’re lookin’ good and strutting our stuff with confidence.  Forgive us, please, for this recurring self-indulgence, but surely there are moments when we all feel this way, when a simple sail on the Bay makes us feel like heroes. Surely, that is one of the many reasons why we do what we do.

Well, fear not, Nation. This isn’t another story about us, this is a story about you. Sure, we had a magnificent sail on Saturday — and felt we were lookin’ good. But you were lookin’ just fine, too.

It was a gorgeous day with an unexpectedly pleasant and highly sailable breeze. It’s not that we’re bragging, or trying to make our Pac Northwest, East Coast or Northern European friends feel bad.

Or, sorry . . . maybe we are rubbing it in a little. Hey, it’s expensive to live in the Bay Area, so we’re not afraid to boast about our mild winters.

As much as the boats were the stars of Saturday’s show, so too were the landscapes.

We are delighted that the days are already getting longer and warmer — there are even flowers blooming in the winter sun. Rest easy, Nation: The sailing will only get better and better.

Lookin’ good is not just a photogenic moment, it’s a state of mind. It’s when you’re feeling yourself and your surroundings; it’s when all the pieces fall into place and you can only feel content with the day, with yourself, and with your boat. We’d like to think that we achieved this ever-fleeting, ever-satisfying state of nirvana.

We hope you did, too.

Got a weekend story to tell? Please comment below, or email us here.