Short Sightings: Newsbites and Current Events From the West Coast
Today we take some short tacks up the Cityfront with newsbites and upcoming events washing across the tidelands of our desktop.
Whatever happened to Sy Kleinman’s Classic Frers 58 Swiftsure?
John Taussig of Marine Medical Guides recently bought Sy Kleinman’s former aluminum Frers 58 Swiftsure and sailed her north from Long Beach to Seattle, where he’ll be restoring her to use as a teaching platform for his medical training at sea. When complete, the boat will be spending summers in the PNW, spring and fall in the Bay Area, and winter in SoCal. We learned about John in our Good Jibes podcast, where he told us about his life as a paramedic when he used to commute to work across Monterey Bay by sailboat. John’s program means hundreds more will join Walter Cronkite as sailors with stories to tell from a memorable sail on “Big Blue.”
It’s a Great Weekend To Go Sailing and …
Saturday, April 20, is Opening Day at Treasure Island Sailing Center. Everyone who knows you’re a sailor probably says, “Sailing is so cool. How do I get my kid into sailing so he can be one of the cool kids?” Treasure Island Sailing Center is one great way. There’s a long list of other great programs around the Bay here if you’re looking to give your kid a lifetime of sailing and life skills.
Also on Saturday the 20th is the Sausalito Tall Ship Festival with the Matthew Turner at the Army Corps of Engineers docks. It runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live music, exhibits and sailing ships. Free. Info, www.callofthesea.org
Plus there’s a Berkeley Yacht Club swap meet … and an Open House at Naos Yachts on Friday and Saturday, with boats from Beneteau, Antares and Wellcraft on display at their offices in Richmond.
There are more events and races for the sunny sailing weekend ahead on our calendar here. What are your sailing plans?
Are Kelp Cutters a Thing of the Past?
We’ve heard the news about kelp disappearing at the hands of sea urchins for years (do sea urchins have hands?). But it wasn’t until the recent International Ocean Film Festival that we were able to really understand the scale of the problem. In a quantity that’s almost impossible to believe, scientists report that 96% of the kelp forests in Northern California have disappeared in the last decade. That’s a staggering amount. The long, complex relationship among kelp, climate change, purple urchins, and sunflower sea stars (and a mysterious disease that has wiped them out) is highlighted in one of the films available from Nature Magazine. However, if you missed the film festival this past weekend, you can see the whole program online with a $140 ticket available here. There were many great films, including a surfing set with a profiled young surfer named Zoe whose surfing life started in Santa Cruz and Mavericks. Hurry; the online show ends April 22.
The World Match Racing Circuit Kicks Off at Long Beach Yacht Club This Weekend
The World Match Racing Tour kicks off this week in Long Beach, California, with 17 teams and over 100 of the world’s top match-racing sailors competing across back-to-back events: the Ficker Cup Regatta (18-21 April) followed by the 59th edition of the Congressional Cup. Both events are hosted by the prestigious Long Beach Yacht Club, this year celebrating its 95th Anniversary.
Starting Friday, April 19, eight teams from five countries will compete at the three-day Ficker Cup Regatta, finishing Sunday, April 21. The Ficker Cup lineup includes three female skippers, Nicole Breault (USA, Vela Racing), Megan Thomson (NZL, 2.0 Racing) and Celia Willison (NZL, Edge Women’s Match). The top three teams from the Ficker Cup will move up to compete in the oldest continuously held sailing match-race regatta in the world, the prestigious LBYC Congressional Cup, starting the following week on April 24.
Only a Few Days Left to BOGO
If you haven’t yet done so, it’s time to get your BOGO on. Back in February we announced the “Latitude 38 BOGO Special” — our “buy one get (gift) one” offer for new Latitude 38 print magazine subscribers. We’ve had boatloads of sailors jump onboard with this special deal, but time is almost up. The promotion ends this week, on Saturday, April 20.
The “Latitude 38 BOGO Special” is our gift to you — well, to your friend, actually. When you sign up for a six-month subscription to Latitude 38 magazine, we will give one of your friends a free six-month subscription. By the way, this is a perfect pickup line: “Hey, do you wanna BOGO with me?”
The offer is available to new or returning subscribers only. This means if it is your first time subscribing to Latitude 38 magazine, or you are a previous subscriber whose subscription lapsed one or more years ago. The same applies to your friend.
Get the full details here.
Last Reminder for Earth Day Events
Last week we talked about the I Heart Oakland-Alameda Estuary group’s Earth Day cleanup event that takes place this coming weekend on Saturday, April 20. But in case you can’t make it on Saturday, remember that you can be Earth Day-aware every day! California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways has a webpage dedicated to “Boating Clean and Green,” with tips on things we can all do, wherever and whenever we go out on the water (which hopefully is all the time).
Earth Day is on April 22, but there are events happening on many other days too. Check out this map to find one near you.
