US Sailing Announces Inaugural US Wingfoil Championship
US Sailing and St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) have joined together to announce the first-ever US Wingfoil Championship, to be held August 9–11 in San Francisco. The event will consist of 13 races over three days, with one distance race included in the schedule. Course racing will be conducted on the San Francisco Bay Cityfront, while the distance race will be from the Cityfront to the Berkeley Pier and back.
“StFYC has been at the forefront of the sport’s development, with dozens of members and staff participating in weekly wingfoiling series held throughout the summer,” said StFYC’s race director, Felix Weidling. “StFYC offers courses for junior sailors, and hosted the first Wingfoiling Pacific Coast Championship in 2023.”
This inaugural championship will give the best wingfoil athletes a national platform to showcase their skills before an American audience.
“As a fast-growing, exciting part of our sport, US Sailing is thrilled to establish a national event for wingfoil sailors,” said US Sailing’s senior vice president of programs and services, Andrew Clouston. “St. Francis Yacht Club and San Francisco Bay are exceptional venues that will no doubt offer great racing for the sailors. This event has the potential to be one of the biggest US Sailing Championships yet!”
The event format allows competitors to bring their own equipment, welcoming all boards, foils, and wings that conform to the WingFoil Open Class rules. The championship is open to anyone — there is no selection process.
Geoff Headington, regatta chair at StFYC, said, “Crissy Field, with its legendary winds, wild currents and waves, is the perfect competition venue to challenge these athletes, and to put on a show for spectators. Get ready for an awesome experience if you’re competing, and a real spectacle if you’re watching from the beach or St. Francis Yacht Club!”
In a previous “first,” St. Francis Yacht Club’s Spring Wingding & Pacific Coast Wingfoil Championships, held in April 2023, was the first-ever wingfoil regatta of its kind on San Francisco Bay.
Registration is open now, with late fees beginning after July 16.
Shoreline Lake Sails for Sailstice and the Solstice
Will sailing get a boost this summer? The Paris Olympics are set to begin next month, with sailing events starting on July 28. This month, Summer Sailstice takes off on the weekend of June 22. Here in our home waters, sailors, sailing clubs and organizations are getting ready to join the Sailstice celebrations and bring more people into the world of wind-powered joy, tranquility and exhilaration. Whatever the feeling is, it’s something for everyone, and Shoreline Lake is making sure everyone has the opportunity to find their “something” on the water.
On Saturday, June 22, Shoreline Lake in Mountain View will offer free skippered sailboat rides, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while taking part in Summer Sailstice — the annual family-friendly global celebration of summer and sailing.
This is a public event hosted by the Boathouse. The sailboat rides are an opportunity for “newbies” to take part in the fun of getting out on the water and discover just how accessible sailing is for both adults and kids. Skippered by the Boathouse’s experienced sailing staff, rides will be 20 minutes each. Space is limited, on a first-come, first-served basis, and the minimum age to participate is 2 years old. Besides this taste of lake sailing, Shoreline Lake will also have its usual active sailing scene (classes, and more) going on at full blast, as well as other family-friendly activities taking place.
The only South Bay location taking part in Summer Sailstice, Shoreline Lake has been a strong supporter of the Sailstice goals of introducing newcomers to, and dispelling common myths about, this fun and exciting Olympic sport. This protected saltwater environment is nestled within the tranquil confines of a beautiful nature preserve, providing a space where families and individuals can make the most of the lake and its facilities.
Summer Sailstice was founded in February 2001 as the global, annual celebration of sailing held on the weekend nearest the summer solstice.
The annual Summer Sailstice sailing event is free to all participants, and has grown from 200 boats to almost 5,000 boats today. Since many sailors join in the fun on many different boats, the actual number of Summer Sailstice sailors participating is estimated at almost 19,000 annually.
You can sign up your own boat or event for the 24th annual global celebration of sailing. Or, join an event that’s taking place near you. More info here: https://summersailstice.com/events-map
Get to Know Jeanneau at the San Diego International Boat Show
Visit Marine Servicenter San Diego for their Get to Know Jeanneau Summer Event June 20-23.
Petaluma Hosts Hollywood Weekend for Memorial Day
Better late than never? Petaluma Yacht Club turned on the charm and the fun for last month’s Memorial Day weekend. Rich Brazil was among the weekend revelers and sent us the following account.
The cat may already be out of the bag regarding the Memorial Weekend festivities held each year at the Petaluma Yacht Club (PYC) on the shore of the Turning Basin in beautiful downtown Petaluma. Thirty-five boats from over 10 visiting yacht clubs made the pilgrimage across San Pablo Bay and up the now-dredged Petaluma River for this year’s themed “Hooray for Hollywood” festivities. Some arrived as early as Thursday. Yachts were welcomed on the docks by helpful PYC volunteers who assisted with stern-tie duties. Guests received welcome packets outlining the upcoming events and highlighting Petaluma’s restaurants and attractions.
Friday night’s festivities kicked off with the ever-popular Classic Cocktail Contest, judged by several brave and hollow-legged PYC volunteers who stumbled from boat to boat. The judging criteria included presentation, taste, beauty, ease of recipe, special effects, and hosting yacht’s decoration. Appetizers, fun-filled laughter, and lively conversation spilled from the dock into the quaint yacht club for the remainder of the evening.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s welcomed the Saturday morning group, hosted by PYC Chef Reny Madrid and his fantastic team. Guests then descended into the heart of Petaluma for a Charlie Chaplin poker walk. Sponsoring retailers assisted with the fun as visiting sailors enjoyed the ambience of our wonderful city. PYC then rolled out the red carpet for Saturday evening’s Stars of Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Arriving celebrities were greeted by the PYC emcee for introductions and Hollywood gossip questions. PYC judges lurked in the background, tallying their votes for Best Leading Lady, Best Leading Man, Best Ensemble, and Best Couple as the stars sauntered down the 50-foot-long red carpet. After serious deliberation, the PYC judges presented the winners with an Oscar and a bottle of wine. A fabulous sit-down dinner followed, with laughter spilling from the yacht club’s seams. The laughter rolled into the night with a local comedian who then hosted karaoke. The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s jump-started the day’s events for the groggy Sunday morning group as they tumbled from their yachts and trudged up the gangway, following the scent of morning coffee, a Bloody Mary bar, and breakfast. Noon cast a somber moment of reflection over Petaluma’s Turning Basin and yacht club. On the yacht club’s deck, a flag-raising and cannon-firing ceremony honoring our nation’s fallen soldiers unfolded. A silent tribute followed.
Sunday afternoon’s Hunger Games lightened the mood as visiting yachtsperson teams competed in myriad parking lot games: bean bag toss, ping-pong bouncing, and designing a handmade floating paper boat made to outlast your opponent’s. The winning team received one member’s weight in beer!
Marilyn (Monroe) and Bruce (Springsteen) Stender, the Petaluma Yacht Club Memorial Weekend Committee chairs, deserve an exceptional thank you. All 143 of us give you a standing ovation and the Oscar for Best Production!
Participating yacht clubs included Alameda, Berkeley, Coyote Point, Elkhorn, Loch Lomond, Metropolitan, Oakland, Oyster Point, PYC, Islander 26 Club, San Rafael, Sausalito Cruising Club, Sierra Point, and Vallejo.
Have You Picked Up the Vibes on ‘Good Jibes?’
Michael Berndt and Apryl Hunt sail their Hunter 42 Marilyn out of the Oakland Yacht Club all the time, as well as racing their Olson 30 Flying Fish. They’re also frequent contributors to Sailagram. In the recent issue of Latitude 38, Apryl recounted her story of a scary moment when she fell off the Hunter alone at the dock. We decided to read her story in our recent Good Jibes “Verbatim” episode. Our “Verbatim” episodes are stories from the magazine read by our podcast provocateur, Ryan Foland. We sent the episode to Michael and Apryl so they could listen, to which Apryl replied, “We love Good Jibes! Thank you!” and Michael replied, “I listen to all of the podcasts.”
Latitude 38 magazine and our Good Jibes podcast bring you the fun our readers (and listeners) have at sea, for those times you are stuck ashore.
We now have 146 episodes of Good Jibes available from your favorite channels, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. These eposodes include Moe Roddy talking with Paul Cayard, Nicki Bennett speaking with Liz Clark, and many, many more. If you haven’t tried our Good Jibes podcasts, you can check them all out here.
We also want to give our appreciation to Michael and Apryl for being frequent sailors, frequent readers and listeners, and frequent contributors to Latitude 38.
If you want to share your sailing story, email us at [email protected].
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