Foiling Week Winter Break Happening in Pensacola, Florida
Are there any Bay Area foilers heading to Foiling Week in Pensacola? The foiling phenomenon started soaring on its current trajectory with the 2013 America’s Cup on the Bay, though it was California sailing pioneers Greg Ketterman, Russell Long and Hobie Alter who were breaking speed records with the Hobie Trifoiler in the early ’90s (Read our March ’91 interview with Russell Long here). The foiling world has since expanded dramatically, with the next big US gathering of foilers taking place at Foiling Week in Pensacola, Florida, from February 24 to March 2, 2025.
Foiling has become another slice of the growing number of slices in the sailing pie. There are so many new disciplines that it feels as if the number of “boat” classes is growing faster than the number of sailors. Regardless, the number of foilers on the Bay and everywhere is growing quickly because, as one wing foiler said to us, “It’s so addictive it’s like crack.”
For those trying to keep up, we’re listing what we understand are all the classes hoping to hit critical mass at Foiling Week in Pensacola (the base for the New York Yacht Club’s America’s Cup team). The list of classes includes Kite Foil (which made its Olympic debut in Paris this past summer), Open Wing Foil, SUP Foil, Surf (prone) Foil, Pump Foil, Wake Board Foil, Moth, WASZP, Birdyfish, A-Class Catamaran, Nacra 15 FCS, X-15, iQ Foil and an “Open Class” division with the Skeeta, F101, Flying Phantom, iFLY, Whisper and UFOs. Phew! We’re not sure how all these boats work, but they’ll be gathering in Pensacola this winter.
The number of different classes is baffling, and it’s hard to contemplate picking one over the other as the technology of each class continues to rapidly evolve. Wing foiling is ascendant while kite foiling declines. Foiling windsurfers such as the Olympic iQ Foil are still popular, though new platforms seem to enter the fray daily.
We’d be interested in hearing if any West Coast sailors are heading to Foiling Week, and if so, what device they’re using to lift them above the water.
The Bay Area is an awesome place to foil, and some of the world’s best carbon foil builders are based here. However, it’s usually good from about April through September, and most foiling returns to sea level during the light winter breezes. Midwinter racers might find summer foilers could be good crew for light-air midwinter racing. People have to slow down once in a while.
To learn more about Foiling Week check it out here.
The US WingFoil Championship will be held at the St. Francis Yacht Club on the June 21/22 Summer Sailstice weekend.
Good Jibes #169: Sue Thotz and Cindy Schmitz on Women on Water
In this episode of Good Jibes we chat with Sue Thotz and returning guest Cindy Schmitz about the magic behind Women on Water (WOW). Women on Water takes place every third Saturday of the month at Los Angeles Yacht Club (LAYC). The program stands as a beacon of empowerment and skill-building for women in the world of sailing.
Tune in as host Ryan Foland chats with Sue and Cindy about how to have Plan B and Plan W ready to go when sailing, why the Women on Water program is the best way to learn sailing, the importance of community sailing programs, how we can make sailing more welcoming, and Sue’s most memorable whale encounter.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- What to do when things keep going wrong
- What is Women on Water?
- How to have great days most of the time
- Where to find community sailing programs
- How to make people feel comfortable in the sailing space so that they know that they belong here
- A sailing story where Sue had to go to Plan W
Learn more about Women on Water at LAYC.org, Sue on LinkedIn, and Ryan at Ryan.Online.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!
Haven Boatworks: Full Service Boatyard in Port Townsend
- Northern California Racing
- Racing
- International Racing
- Current News
- Olympics
- Events
- West Coast Sailing
The Latest Updates from the YRA, US Sailing, NSHoF and SailGP
Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay
YRA Trophy Party Notes
At the YRA Trophy Pickup Party at St. Francis Yacht Club on November 16, YRA Chair Joe Rockmore told us that the organization ran four race series plus four weekend regattas for a total of 27 race days in 2024. Out of the 351 that entered YRA races, 114 of them won a total of 296 prizes. Prizes included flags and etched glasses, and the champions won sturdy canvas toolbags. We’ll have more on the YRA champions in the February issue of Latitude 38.
Women’s Championship Series
New for 2025, the YRA is organizing a Women’s Championship Series. The plan is for the helmsperson, tactician and 50% of the crew to be female. Scheduled so far are:
- Rock the Boat Regatta, Sequoia YC, May 17.
- Shirley Temming Regatta, Encinal YC, June 28.
- Bonita Regatta, YRA, October 4.
The YRA intends to add to this list. Check back later at www.yra.org.
PHRF Certificates
2025 PHRF Certificates are now available by renewing through Jibeset.net or filling out a new application here. Skippers who register on Jibeset.net by Friday, January 3, are guaranteed to have their 2025 certificate returned to them by Friday, January 17. Registrations received after January 3, but before Thursday, January 23, may have their certificate by Friday, January 24, but the YRA cannot guarantee your certificate will be returned in time for the Three Bridge Fiasco on January 25.
If you have changes or a new boat that needs to go to the PHRF committee for review, please note that their January meeting will be on Monday, January 20. The YRA needs to receive boat information no later than Wednesday, January 15, to be reviewed at this meeting.
The YRA office will close for winter break from Tuesday, December 24, till Thursday, January 2, so it’s best if you can get your PHRF renewal request in before the holiday break.
US Sailing News
New Racing Rules of Sailing
Topping the headlines in US Sailing news right now is the new rulebook for 2025-2028. World Sailing revises the racing rules every four years in a cycle that corresponds to the Olympic quad.
Max Ebb points out that, “The most substantive change is that a ‘continuing obstruction’ is now a defined term. And there’s a length requirement. You have to pass alongside the obstruction for three boatlengths for the obstruction to count as continuing. But see the definition for exact wording: ‘Continuing Obstruction An obstruction is a continuing obstruction when the boat with the shortest hull referred to in the rule using the term will pass alongside it for at least three of her hull lengths. However, the following are not a continuing obstruction: a vessel under way, a boat racing, or a race committee vessel that is also a mark.'”
Max’s monthly column will deal with some of this in the January issue of Latitude 38. Also see www.sailing.org/racingrules.
Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Awards
Here’s a reminder that nominations are still open for US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. But, better hurry — nominations will close on December 18. After that, the nominating committee will select three finalists for each award based on the merits of the nominees. Click here to learn more and make your nominations.
Past award winners and sailing media journalists will vote for the winners. US Sailing will announce the winners during a ceremony in February at their Sailing Leadership Forum in Coronado, California. Speaking of which…
Stan Honey to Speak at 2025 Sailing Leadership Forum
Navigator and inventor extraordinaire Stan Honey will serve as a speaker at the 2025 Sailing Leadership Forum. The Bay Area resident will speak in multiple breakout sessions in the event’s new offshore-focused track. (Stan, by the way, was US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in 2010.) His topics will include:
- Impact of Technology on Offshore Racing
- Electronic Navigation: What’s on the Horizon for Boaters
- Scoring 101: Scoring Methods for Offshore Racing and How to Implement Them
- Technology and Race Management: Five Lessons Learned About GPS-enabled RC Tools Through Two Years of Premier Events at NYYC
US Sailing will hold the forum on Coronado Island (in San Diego) on February 6-8. Check out the schedule at https://sailingleadership.org/forum-schedule and register via Eventbrite.
Olympic Sailing
The US Olympic team HQ has moved from France to Long Beach, with Alamitos Bay YC hosting, in preparation for the L.A. Games in summer 2028. Luke Muller of Fort Pierce, Florida, will be the next Team USA Athletes’ Commission Representative for US Sailing. Chris Barnard of Newport Beach will serve as the Alternate Representative and will work alongside Luke to support American sailors. Their term will start on January 1.
Muller represented Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Finn (men’s one-person heavyweight dinghy) and now competes professionally in keelboat classes. Barnard competed for the US Sailing Team in the Men’s Laser for seven years during the Rio and Tokyo quads. After retiring from competition, he coached the ILCA 7 sailors training for Paris 2024. Learn more here.
National Sailing Hall of Fame
Honor your Sailing Idol
Is there a sailing mentor who has inspired you and made a lasting impact on the world of sailing? Now is the time to honor those who have shaped your passion for the sport, whether through guidance on the water or dedication to the sailing community. Nominate your mentor for consideration into the National Sailing Hall of Fame by December 31 and help celebrate their legacy for future generations of sailors. Among the criteria:
- The nominee is either at least 55 years old, deceased and passed five or more years ago, or is a historic candidate born at least 100 years ago.
- The nominee is a US citizen, or a non-citizen that has had a significant impact on US sailing at a national or international level.
For more criteria and other details and to make a nomination, go to https://thesailingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame-nominations. (Stan Honey, by the way, is an inductee in the Class of 2012.)
SailGP
Tickets go on sale today for some of the 2025 “Rolex SailGP Championship” (yes, Rolex now has a “Title Partnership”). Events now available to take your money include all three US stops. (BYOB stands for Bring Your Own Boat, not Bottle.)
- March 15-16: Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix: Waterfront Grandstands ($80), Waterfront Premium ($200), BYOB (prices from $500)
- March 22-23: Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix: Waterfront Grandstands ($80), Waterfront Premium ($200), BYOB (prices from $500)
- June 7-8: Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix: Waterfront Grandstands ($85), Waterfront Premium ($250), BYOB (prices from $500)
Taylor Canfield is the current driver for the US team. See https://sailgp.com.
Robert and Virginia Gleser Reflect on 25 Years of Cruising
In the late 1990s, even though we still had kids in college and six viable businesses all clicking along nicely, I decided that going cruising was what I wanted to do. My wonderful wife Virginia, whom I have now been happily married to for 53 years, thought I was out of my mind, but I was determined, and by juggling the financial numbers and imposing several measures of austerity, in fall 2000 we sailed out the Golden Gate and turned left for Mexico. This is now our silver jubilee, our 25th season of cruising as far south as Central America and Ecuador.
Once grandkids started arriving on the scene and the new moms were needing Grandma to help out, we returned to Mexico and the easily accessible cruising grounds of Baja and the Gold Coast south of Puerto Vallarta. Settling into our about 1,700-mile annual journey during the Mexican fall and winter, we continue to have new experiences, and meet wonderful old and new friends. After leaving San Carlos, Sonora, where the boat has been in storage, and heading across to Baja, we spend a month or so going to the many lovely anchorages with clear blue water and great snorkeling. We then park Harmony for a couple of weeks each year to return to the US to have Thanksgiving with our family.
When we return, we make our way south past Puerto Vallarta and Cabo Corrientes to lovely anchorages where we have the kids and grandkids down for the winter holidays. The kids always came down to wherever we were, and now the grandkids have been doing it for 14 years. They love being in nature with other cruiser kids and learning all the water sports.
We’ve found the Manzanillo area a convenient place to have visitors, and for two more months we keep busy living the cruising life. We start heading north near the end of February to put the boat away, and arrive back in the US sometime near the end of March. One of the biggest lessons we have learned is not to have a tight schedule, so although we do need to be somewhere to meet friends or family, we leave plenty of time to get there.
There have been amazing changes between 2000, when we were the young kids on the block, and now, when, well, at 77 and 74, there are not too many old timers still pursuing the dream. But one thing remaining constant is that everyone out here still makes up an incredible community of happy, hardworking, hard-playing idealists who are actively doing what they love, which is somewhat rare these days.
Robert and Virginia Gleser from Alameda are still cruising after 25 years aboard their Islander Freeport 40, Harmony. Continue reading their story in December’s Changes in Latitudes.
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