- General Sailing
- Racing
- Events
- Environmental News
- West Coast Sailing
- Commentary
- Northern California Racing
Why You Might Need a Fishing Net
Bay Area sailor Jeff Berman, a regular reader and occasional contributor to Latitude 38, sent us this photo showing the contents of his fishing net. “My daily trash pickup from water at slips,” he explains. “Masks, bottle caps, chip bags, bottles, plastic bags, condoms — you can imagine the rest.”
One day when we were sailing into Richmond Harbor, we spotted a Mylar balloon in the water (curse you, Mylar balloons!) and tried to pick it up with our boat hook. We couldn’t snag it, and the balloon drifted off into water too shallow for our keelboat to continue hunting it. If only we’d had a fishing net!
Are there other uses for fishing nets on a sailboat? And what are some of your most interesting or prolific trash hauls? Feel free to comment below.
We once spotted a burning flare in the water off of Baker Beach, we approached it and called it in to the Coast Guard who said they are used to track where bridge jumpers drift in the current. We were glad that’s all we spotted.
We kept a salmon-size fish net on the stern in case our small furry four-legged friend ever went overboard.