RYC Welcomes Doo Dah Sailors

We met Dean Hupp at Richmond Yacht Club on Saturday. We were there for the Delta Doo Dah Kickoff Party & Cruising Seminar. Dean owns the Islander 28 Jackie Oh. He entered both the Delta Doo Dah and June 1’s Delta Ditch Run. Dean started sailing in high school. He got to do three trips sailing from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Baja California aboard a Farallon Clipper — the start of a lifelong pursuit of sailing. Or so he thought. Somehow time in college, then career, turned into a multi-decade break. For adventure, he took to riding Harleys. Then, a couple of years ago, he did the Trans-America Trail on a dirt bike — 5,600 miles of almost all off-road riding from North Carolina to Oregon.

After all that, Dean decided to get back into sailing. He jumped in with both feet when he bought his first boat ever, Jackie Oh, berthed at Owl Harbor Marina in Isleton. He brushed up with a few ASA courses and has been refining his skills with all the sailing time he can find. Now it’s Ditch Run and Doo Dah time.

Many Delta Doo Dah sailors also plan to sail in the Delta Ditch Run, June 1, from RYC to Stockton Sailing Club. The 67-mile adventure offers a cruising division as well as the usual racing divisions. We’ll have a Summer Sailstice swag bag to give away to an official Doo Dah entry following the awards ceremony the morning of Sunday, June 2, at SSC. We’ll preview the Ditch Run in a ‘Lectronic Latitude post next week, but here’s a tip: Sign up by this Sunday, May 26, to save $30 on the entry fee. Registration in the Ditch Run will close on May 29. Registration in the Delta Doo Dah will continue through August, and it’s free.