Pacific Cup Sailors Greeted by Leis and Trays Committee
On Friday we reported on the first Pac Cup boats reaching Hawaii. Boats continued to arrive across the weekend, their crews welcomed by the Leis and Trays Committee.
Full race results can be seen on the Pacific Cup website: https://admin.pacificcup.org/standings
How To Watch Olympic Sailing and West Coast Locals
It was rain-soaked pomp and circumstance, sporting celebrities, pyrotechnics and haute couture on the River Seine on Friday as the Paris Olympic Games kicked off in dramatic, completely over-the-top fashion. Our social media feeds blew up with the colliding of sporting worlds, as the United States’ 13 Olympic sailors — including a few West Coasters and Richmond Yacht Club members — rubbed elbows with an abundance of athletes and megastars.
Thirteen US Olympic sailors will be competing in Marseille, France, over the next week and a half, including three Bay Area locals: kiter Daniela Moroz, 49er crew Hans Henken and Nacra 17 crew David Liebenberg.
With the West Coast/European time differential, it’s going to be some very early (or very late) viewing. NBC’s streaming service Peacock has an excellent sailing selection on tap for the next week-plus.
Here’s the official schedule from US Sailing:
We here at Latitude 38 are incredibly proud of the US Sailing Team and the local sailors competing at the games. We wish them luck in the quests for medals!
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Join the Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew List Party and Mexico Cruising Seminar
It’s coming to “that time” of year again — the annual Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew List Party is on Wednesday, September 4, at Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito. And, as usual, the party will be preceded by the annual cruising seminar for Baja Ha-Ha sailors and other cruisers preparing to head south.
Ha-Ha “Assistant Poobah” Patsy Verhoeven will share information and knowledge gained though her experiences gained from numerous decades of sailing her Gulfstar 50 Talion, including cruising south with the last 15 Baja Ha-Ha’s.
This year, we’re excited to also present our first-ever Mexico cruising seminar featuring Brady and Blue from the sailing school and film company Cruisers Academy Tahoe and Mexico, and SV Delos. This sailing duo, otherwise known as Brady Trautman and Alex Blue, will share knowledge from their many thousands of miles of offshore cruising, and years they’ve spent teaching bluewater passagemaking and cruising in the Sea of Cortez.
Brady and Blue have over 100,000 miles of combined sailing experience and 14 years sailing around the world, and empower others to start their sailing journey through Cruisers Academy.
The seminar will run from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. with half an hour of Q&A from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Doors for the cruising seminar will open at 3:45 p.m.
The crew party itself will start at 6:00 p.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m.
Admission includes a FREE copy of the First Timer’s Guide to Mexico ($15 value), munchies, a door-prize drawing, a sailing slideshow, and connecting to the most vibrant sailing community in the Bay Area.
Admission to the Fall Crew List Party* is $10
Admission to the Mexico Cruising Seminar* is $10
Admission to the Party + Seminar is $20
*Each skipper and first mate registered for the 2024 Baja Ha-Ha gets free entry to the Fall Crew List Party and Mexico Cruising Seminar.
If you are considering joining the 2024 Baja Ha-Ha fleet, sign up before September 1 and get two free tickets to the Fall Crew List Party and Mexico Cruising Seminar.
Our crew parties are geared toward helping people find sailing opportunities for cruising, racing or daysailing. The Fall Crew List party is ideal for boat owners seeking crew who want to head south to Mexico and for crew who want to do the same. It’s also well-suited for folks looking for midwinter racing crew or anyone who just wants to sail the Bay.
Everyone is welcome, no reservations required, come as you are.
Runaway Sailboat Gets Tow from Paddleboarding Rescue Swimmers
We’ve heard of boats towing paddleboards and other floating toys, but paddleboards towing a boat? That’s a new, but true, story. When Latitude 38 reader John Canfield heard “a BIG chopper” fly over his house a little after 8 a.m. last Thursday, he saw it was the Coast Guard heading toward the township of Mendocino. “[I]t circled Mendocino Bay numerous times before heading home passing over our house,” John recounts. But the most interesting part of the story occurred in the afternoon …
Later that day, as he was heading to town, John spotted a mast out in the bay and several State Park vehicles at the waterfront end of Main Street. “So I did a bit of inquiring and got the scoop,” he continues. “One aboard and OK, but ended up on the beach overnight (one of the very few soft landing spots in the area) and floated off with the afternoon tide.”
The most unusual part of John’s day came next, when he observed four State Park rescue swimmers, on boards, “all in a line,” towing the sailboat toward Portuguese Beach “so it wouldn’t run up onto Big River beach beyond.”
John adds, “A different State Park fellow told me that the Coasties at Noyo Harbor were going to come tow him to safety out of the kindness in their hearts. But many questions remain — sailing the North Coast without a backup anchor; or a running engine; or an outboard to go with the upside-down dinghy on the bow? Inquiring minds want to know …”
John also attached a link to a story about the boat in the local online publication Redheaded Blackbelt. “Locals and tourists alike were surprised to find a sailboat named the ‘Not Sure’ washed ashore on one of the Mendocino Coast’s most iconic beaches this morning,” the article began. “The vessel was discovered on the sands of Portuguese Beach, part of Mendocino Headlands State Park.”
According to Redheaded Blackbelt, park rangers believe the boat “washed ashore after it slipped off its anchor and drifted onto the sands of southern Portuguese Beach.”
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