It’s a Full Gale at Our Desk, But We’re Reefed Down and Carrying On
The news crossing our desk always seems to be a full gale. We thought we’d break it down to a few light zephyrs to keep it closer to a pleasant Sunday sail.
We hope you didn’t miss this news! Cole Brauer has become the first US woman to sail solo, nonstop, around the world.
From the Global Solo Challenge:
“Today [Thursday 3/7] at 07:23 UTC, 8:23 a.m. local time [00:23 PST], Cole Brauer took second place in the Global Solo Challenge after Philippe Delamare and became the first US female to sail solo, nonstop, around the world, by the three great capes. Less than 200 people achieved this feat since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first man to do so in 1969. Kay Cottee was the first female to complete a solo circumnavigation in 1988. Cole Brauer is the 18th female and first US female to enter the history books for one of the toughest sporting endeavours there are. She took 130 days 2 hours 45 minutes and 38 seconds, setting a new reference time for a solo circumnavigation on a 40ft boat improving by around 7 days the previous record set by the late Guo Chuan in 2016. It was a long and emotional day which started well before sunrise after a sleepless night monitoring Cole’s progress, meeting her at sea, watching her sail at First Light into A Coruña and celebrating her outstanding achievement. Well done Cole!”
A truly spectacular performance and very appropriate to celebrate on today’s International Women’s Day.
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Worth noting again — The 250-ft three-masted Stad Amsterdam, which arrived under the Golden Gate on Wednesday, is now located at piers 30/32, San Francisco, and will be open for free public tours on Tuesday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo ID required.
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The 750-mile R2AK (Race to Alaska) starts Sunday, June 9.
For some reason, people are inspired to sign up after reading this invitation: “This isn’t for everyone. It’s like the Iditarod, on a boat, with a chance of drowning, being run down by a freighter, or eaten by a grizzly bear. There are squalls, killer whales, tidal currents that run upwards of 20 miles an hour, and some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.”
You can sign up here. There’s $10,000 involved and some “side bets” they explained in their recent newsletter. One “side bet” you can win, which they think will attract sailors, is described below. You can hear a podcast with R2AK Race Boss Jesse Wiegel on The Boat Geeks here.
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2024 is the 70th Anniversary of the Bullship Regatta — Happening April 6.
John Dukat put together this year’s poster and sent in the photo below of Jim DeWitt, adding, “I can’t do a topless photo of the Honorary Bullship PRO back in 1954. But I can do a Jimmy DeWitt topless photo.” We miss Jim.
If you’re looking to get sunburned, soaking wet, make new friends and sail/race more this summer you could attend the Berkeley Yacht Club Crew Party this evening and put your name on our Latitude 38 Crew List here. More sailing is a good thing.
The West Coast sailing news comes through our office like the wind through the Golden Gate on a July day: usually brisk and often gusty. This reefed-down version of a few of the stories should help keep it all comfortable.
Keep up with the weekly sailing news and stories by subscribing to the three-time-weekly ‘Lectronic Latitude here.
It is about the Race.
At some point when in the middle of the Big Bay and looking up at the Bridge racing a 7′ 11′ bathtub, you might think of the impermanence of existence OR more hopefully realize, “It’s kind of nice out here.” The El Toro fleet would love to share that experience with other sailors.