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Still Smoky in the Bay

Late tomorrow, there may be some relief from the deadly Camp Fire, and the hundreds-of-miles-long blanket of dense, smoky smog that’s been choking the Bay Area for well over a week. With rain forecast for Wednesday — which may help extinguish the last of the fire up north — winds are expected to shift to the south late on Tuesday. Current air quality in the Bay Area is said to be among the worst in the world, edging out cities in China and India.

This photo was taken on Sunday, November 11. You can just barely see the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge in the background.
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Tim

On November 8, strong, dry winds raged through the Sierra Foothills, about three hours northeast of the Bay Area. Without warning, an inferno swept through the town of Paradise (where Latitude used to be printed) at a rate of 1000 yards a minute. As of today, 77 people have perished in the fire, Paradise is said to be completely leveled, and the smoke has stretched from Mt. Shasta to San Jose. Meanwhile, in Southern California, over 700 buildings have been destroyed.

Here in the Bay, a few minutes outside cause the throat to burn a little and the eyes to water. Most people have taken to wearing the now-coveted N95 masks, which stores are struggling to keep in stock.

A sailboat motors through the smoky smog in San Pablo Bay — just off China Camp — on November 11.
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC /

California sailors: How have you been faring through the fires and smoke? Has there been any refuge for you on the water or in your boats? We’d like to hear from you; you can either email us here, or comment on this story below.

Sunday, November 11 started out still and smoky on San Pablo Bay, but the wind came up around 2 p.m. The sunset behind Mt. Tamalpais was eerie and a little sinister . . .
. . . But it was nice to get out on the water and into the breeze for a few hours.
© 2018 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Tim

We’re sending our best to all those affected by these terrible fires.

3 Comments

  1. Ros de Vries 5 years ago

    It’s been our second weekend of “dust mask sailing” on the Alameda estuary and around Treasure Island. While the selfies may look a little odd, wearing protective gear hasn’t dampened our enjoyment of the Bay.

    If anything, the greater curse has been the lack of wind; it’s not only meant no relief from the smoke, but a disproportionate amount of motoring vs actually sailing.

    My heart goes out to those in, and around the fire zones.

  2. Jeff Cook 5 years ago

    Wash your sails, mast, and standing rigging before going out unless you want dirty sails for next season.

  3. Milly Biller 5 years ago

    I have stayed mostly indoors in my sail repair shop and used the opportunity to repair the sails for the Inverness Yacht Club Youth Sailing program. Its awful out here.

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women's sailing
The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay held their annual awards party at Berkeley Yacht Club yesterday afternoon.