Latitude 38 Magazine

01/28/2025

US Sailing has announced the 2025 REACH Initiative Youth Engagement Grant. Applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, hold a current US Sailing Organizational Membership, and utilize US Sailing Small Boat Level 1 or Basic Keelboat certified instructors for all on-water activities. The Bay Area’s Treasure Island Sailing Centerwas among the 10 2024 grant recipients, which included sailing organizations in Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, Florida, Virginia, Washington, and Ohio. TISC hosts a field trip for San Francisco Unified School District, bringing over 1200 public school students to the water each school year.

US Sailing has announce the 2025 REACH Initiative Youth Engagement Grant. for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

01/28/2025

Next month, February, which is less than a week away, there are a couple of speaking events on the calendar that we want you to know about. First up is our favorite sailing MacGyver, The Resourceful Sailor, who will share stories of his voyage across the Pacific aboard his Pacific Seacraft. Then later in the month, Petaluma Yacht Club is hosting the first of a five-part Speaker Series with circumnavigator Warren Holybee, who will talk about his world voyage. Details as follows.

Here are a couple of sailors' speaking events coming up in February that we think you'd like to know about.

01/27/2025

Today on 'Lectronic Latitude: "They Came, They Hoisted, They Drifted — The Three Bridge Fiasco"

“Plans are useless, but planning is essential.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower.

We always show up at the already busy docks early on the morning of the Three Bridge Fiasco with a working theory on how we might actually win the race. The plans are usually tossed overboard as we approach the starting line to see the actual conditions and observe the boats starting ahead of us.

This year was no different. It would be ebbing solidly all day. Wind predictions were anywhere from 2 knots to 22 knots, though we never saw that latter figure in our brief pre-race planning searches. Regardless, as we joined hundreds of boats approaching the starting area, there was some breeze from the north and some of the early starters were actually heeling. A *little* bit.

Read the recap of this year's Three Bridge Fiasco in 'Lectronic Latitude by clicking here: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/drifted-three-bridge-fiasco/

📸 John Arndt
SF Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society

01/26/2025

The fleets celebrated in this second 2024 Season Champs feature range from tiny El Toros to substantial Express 37s to a 44-ft trimaran, with all sorts in between. We’ll start somewhere in the middle.

The fleets celebrated in this second 2024 Season Champs feature range from tiny El Toros to substantial Express 37s to a 44-ft trimaran, with all sorts in between.

01/24/2025

Many Bay Area sailors know John Sweeney from his youth sailing championships, his development of the sponsored 11-Meter racing off Pier 39, America’s Cup racing, the America’s Cup IACC boats that raced the Bay, and cruising south in the Baja Ha-Ha. It’s been an inspiring sailing life.

On Wednesday, he was arrested outside the Solano County courthouse on a bench warrant (for failing to appear in court on related Buckler Island business) following the auction of his former property, Point Buckler Island. Sweeney purchased the 50-acre former duck-hunting island in 2011 and, over time, turned it into a private kiteboarding resort for wealthy members. The changes on the island became a flash point for the BCDC, the California Water Board, the EPA and more. The arrest follows a 10-year lawsuit in which Sweeney won and lost court cases, with the land finally being auctioned by the county.

Sailor John Sweeney has been arrested over the Point Buckler Island controversy — a winding path of a lawsuit in the winding Delta.

01/24/2025

The annual Three Bridge Fiasco race is set for this weekend. Jim Quanci, commodore of the SF Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society which hosts the race, sent us the following update and reminders of what sailors can expect this weekend.

"The Singlehanded Sailing Society had the first in-person competitors’ meeting for the Three Bridge Fiasco since the pandemic at Oakland Yacht Club on Wednesday evening. Over 100 people attended. The first half-hour was dedicated to free swag awards from the race committee to random skippers drawn from various categories, from “doublehanded skipper with the oldest Fiasco shirt” to “all registered doublehanded skippers” to “singlehanded highest-handicap 2024 Fiasco finisher.” Winners took home insulated stainless steel water bottles showing the predicted currents for the race."

Along with a reminder of the Three Bridge Fiasco's rules, Jim Quanci tells us "there might be wind" for this year's race.

01/24/2025

That’s a well made rudder !!

01/24/2025

St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the annual Cal Berkeley vs. Stanford University rivalry regatta — the Big Sail — on Wednesday, November 20. The hot and heavy racing took place literally within a stone’s throw of StFYC’s decks and picture windows.

The racers were cheered on by the universities’ alumni, students and actual cheerleading squads. Master Alumni, Young Alumni, Grand Master Alumni, Women and Varsity sailed in the club’s matched fleet of one-design J/22s.

The annual Cal Berkeley vs. Stanford University rivalry regatta took place on November 20, within a stone's throw of StFYC.

01/23/2025

It’s hard to know how and why a kid’s dreams take hold, but we do know one of the great pleasures of being a parent is reading to your kids. We were reminded of this as we caught this photo of a mother and child looking over a LATITUDE 38 at a local coffee shop.

It's fun to catch people reading stories that you love. It's even more fun when you catch them reading the magazine you produce.

01/23/2025

VENUE CHANGE: The Ron Holland: The Voyage of Discovery premiere on Saturday, January 25, is now being held at Sequoia Cinema, 25 Throckmorton Ave., in Mill Valley. The film was originally scheduled to screen in San Rafael, but it appears bats have taken over that theater, resulting in the venue change for this Saturday.

Ron Holland’s story is an adventure, driven by a relentless pursuit of dreams, armed with an original set of rules and life hacks — an inspiration for people in all walks of life. Details and tickets here.

Ron Holland: The Voyage of Discovery premier on Saturday, January 25, is now being held at Sequoia Cinema, 25 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley.

01/22/2025

In this week's episode of LATITUDE 38's Good Jibes podcast, we chat with Josh Kali about boatbuilding and race prep ahead of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025. Josh is a mountain climber, sailor and professional marine technician who built his 19-ft one-design 'Skookum' over the past two-and-a-half years. Join host John Arndt for as Josh talks about the parallels between mountain climbing and sailing, the pros and cons of building your own boat, Josh’s race strategy for the McIntyre 2025, and the most fascinating rules, rest stops and restarts for the race.

Click here: https://www.latitude38.com/good-jibes-latitude-38s-podcast/ to hear the episode, or listen where ever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a review or comment!

01/22/2025

It seemed like such a beautiful January day on San Francisco Bay. Sunny and crisp with a light breeze and lots of exciting moments in store for the racers competing in Corinthian Yacht Club's annual midwinter races. But for our crew on 'Liquid Asset', things started going south almost immediately. Before leaving the dock, our skipper (who also doubled as bowman to manage our end-for-end pole on our old Ranger 33) was called away to rescue his 100-year-old mom from an apparent medical emergency. We collectively sighed. We were registered in the PHRF 4 Spinnaker Class. With no bow/skipper, we knew that our already less-than-full crew of five, given experience levels, could not possibly run a spinnaker. This is, of course, one of the best ways to down-position yourself for a race — before even starting.

Amidst the almost windless racing during C*C's midwinters this crew's fortunes turned from last place to a win.

01/21/2025

As SailGP races into its fifth season, we’re wondering how fast is fast enough for these boats that on the surface appear to be sailboats, but are nothing like those frequented by the majority of sailors around the globe. A recent newsletter announced SailGP’s move to new high-speed titanium “T-fFoils,” which have undergone almost two years of “rigorous testing.”

SailGP is racing into its fifth season with new high-speed T-foils taking to the track across the entire fleet.

01/21/2025

We’re looking forward to attending two evening events this week. The first we won’t miss because we’re the speaker. LATITUDE 38 publisher John Arndt will be speaking at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon. He’ll be speaking on getting started in sailing, the story of LATITUDE 38, and some of the challenges and opportunities for Bay Area sailing. John started at LATITUDE in 1987 when it was already a well-established and revered publication. He’s been there as both the sailing and publishing world have seen incredible change and innovation. The stories of sailing and LATITUDE 38 continue to evolve while the joy and allure of sailing remain as powerful as ever.

Two Sailing Events: A Ron Holland film premier in San Rafael, and 'Latitude 38's John Arndt speaking at Corinthian Yacht Club.

01/20/2025

Saturday’s Corinthian Yacht Club Midwinters race felt backward, because the finish line was more congested than the usual start line.

It all started with beautiful Bay Area winter weather, though while it was nice to be on the water, it’s nicer with wind. Fortunately, as the Saturday fog cleared and the sun shone through, the wind edged up just enough to end the postponement. All classes got off the line near the Knox buoy on an ambitious 11-mile course to Blackaller, Phil Perkins buoy and a Harding/Knox zigzag before the intended finish. Mother Nature had other plans. Wind holes, current lines and the ongoing fickle breezes kept the fleet struggling to get to Blackaller, with the Phil Perkins buoy still far away against a building ebb.

It's rare when the finish line is more congested than a starting line, but that's what happened in the C*C Midwinters on Saturday.

01/20/2025

Recently, the weather has been sunny and warm, plus, spring is not far away. If you’re thinking about sailing a new boat this summer, it’s a good time to browse the Classy Classifieds. Or perhaps you need to list your boat for sale so you can move up? One of our readers will certainly be interested in the boat you have for sale. Below are a few of the recent additions to our Classy Classifieds.

Latitude 38 has dozens of great boats for sale in the Classy Classifieds. Have a look.

01/19/2025

LATITUDE 38 — Aiding in sailor's digestion since 1977. We go where the wind, ahem, blows.

01/17/2025

Out now in the January issue of LATITUDE 38: Max Ebb — Marks and Obstructions

“Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die….” And everybody wants to talk about what happened out on the race course, but nobody wants to file a protest. It’s understandable. Why give up an evening with your friends at the dinner table, or your place at the club bar, for interminable rehashing in the protest room? They usually get it wrong anyway, and this is just a beer can race.

“That’s exactly why we should file!” insisted one of my crew. “This is bottom-tier, low-stakes who-cares racing, so let’s work the system, just for practice. It’s an opportunity to learn.”

I looked at my watch. We still had five minutes before time ran out for filing a protest.

“We can file online,” suggested the crew. “I’ll bring the protest form up on my phone.” That stopped me from complaining that I barely had enough time to find a protest form, look up the numbers of the rules infringed, and get it all to the race desk.

It went fast. All the online form asked for was the identity of the boats involved, and the approximate time and location of the incident. A minute later, it was filed.

“OK,” I sighed. “What time is the hearing?”

“Any minute,” the crew answered.

This was not good, I had just started in on my grilled salmon fillet. I was about to bring up the Sailing Instructions on my own phone, to see where the protest hearing would be held, but was interrupted by a strangely familiar female voice overtaking from astern.

It was Lee Helm, naval architecture grad student and occasional crew on my boat, although she usually opts for a newer and faster ride. I didn’t think she was racing that night; I would have asked her to call tactics for me if she’d been available …

READ THE FULL STORY in this month's issue of LATITUDE 38, or click here: https://www.latitude38.com/issues/january-2025/ #60