Santa Cruz Sea Lion Joins Race Crew

It appears just about anyone, or any being, can get a spot on a race boat in Santa Cruz. Joe Altmann and his crew were at the start line when a sea lion jumped onto the stern platform and stayed there for the whole race, “much to the amusement of everyone.”

Susan Altmann sent us the photo below.

Joe fills in the details. “Just before the start of the recent Tuesday night race in Santa Cruz, we had an extra passenger hop aboard our Catalina 320, Simpatico. Once the race started, we had to finish with the same crew as we started, so he sailed the whole race with us.”

The informal Tuesday night racing has been taking place in Santa Cruz for a few years, Joe tells us. It is not sponsored by the yacht club, but the fleet is usually more than 20 boats across three divisions. “Spinnaker, A fleet (usually the bigger boats),” Joe continues, “and B fleet, each with their own start time. It’s great fun sailing Monterey Bay.”