Sausalito’s Inaugural Crab Festival — A Crowd Pleaser!
In the San Francisco Bay Area, especially the waterfront, winter usually means cold, rain, fog, and often windy conditions. Not much to look forward to. But for crab aficionados, it’s the best time of year — Dungeness crab season. That’s the time when they can feast on their favorite seafood. And feast is exactly what they did at Sausalito’s inaugural Crab Festival, hosted at Clipper Yacht Harbor, Sausalito, last Saturday.
The original date, Feb. 1, was rained out, but last Saturday, Feb 22, the conditions were made to order — sunny skies, clear weather, warm temps, and just a hint of breeze. Definitely worth the wait!
Hundreds of hungry crab fans strolled through the event grounds and enjoyed the delicious, fresh crab, which was prepared in tacos, gumbo, crab cakes and more. And for those who prefer the unadorned experience, there were plenty of fresh-caught cooked crabs available. Scoma’s of Sausalito and Hog Island Oyster Co. were kept busy serving crab cakes and fresh oysters, while two lively bands kept everyone entertained between feeds.
In true mariner and waterfront style, countless businesses and individuals came together to create the Sausalito Crab Festival. The Crab Fest was hosted by Clipper Yacht Harbor, the Sausalito Sustainable Waterfront Association, Sausalito Boat Show, and Fish Restaurant, with integral support from H & M Marine. More supporters included KKMI, Helmut’s Marine Service, Silver Seas Yachts, Jeff Brown Yachts, Williams Group, and Rifkin Yachts, local artisan LOVEMARIN, Oceanic Yachts, Vita Power, and Bay Area Refuse. The sponsors’ aim was to highlight their dedication to Sausalito’s fishing culture and maritime heritage. Yacht brokers showcased their boats for sale, and local marine services highlighted their specific trades.
Sausalito Crab Festival event manager Mitch Perkins says, “Everyone worked really hard on the event, but everyone had a lot of fun, and we all look forward to hosting another festival next year.”
Through events like the Sausalito Crab Festival, SSWA promotes sustainable fishing practices while celebrating the unique culture and history of Sausalito’s fishing industry.
On a sunny, midwinter Saturday in Sausalito, it doesn’t get much better than that …
Proceeds from the event went directly to the fishermen, who had both a booth and a boat on the dock so people could learn more about crabbing and commercial fishing. SSWA also shared a petition for crab fishermen to be able to sell directly to the public from the docks, which was received with overwhelming support.
We’ll have the same again next year, please!
San Diego Yacht Club Wins Women’s Winter Invitational Regatta
San Diego Yacht Club has clinched the 2025 crown for the Women’s Winter Invitational Regatta, hosted by San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) on Feb 14–16. The weekend festivities kicked off on the Friday with a lovely welcome reception, which gave competitors the opportunity to meet.
Saturday’s breeze kicked in after a short postponement, and the short racecourse was quickly established alongside the docks, with large inflatable windward and leeward pink flamingos for the 24 teams to sail around. Teams raced in fleets of four per race start; after each race, the teams rotated J/22s to keep the playing field fair.
Support crew helped with the quick turnaround on the dock, meaning that the race committee, led by PRO Becky Ashburn, was able to crank out 45 races with little delay on the first day of racing. The protest committee was kept busy with eight hearings, all administered by Kim Kymlicka with three-minute justice, so the sailors could make it back out onto the water for their next race. At the end of the first day, the flamingos had gained hats and leis, the mimosa bar had run dry, and the San Diego, Bristol, and New York teams led the fleet with the lowest average points. Saturday night’s competitors’ dinner gave teams a chance to unwind together with karaoke and dancing.
A longer shoreside postponement on the second race day meant that teams could continue to show off their karaoke skills and groan at commentator Craig Leweck’s knock-knock jokes. Luckily the wind turned on before he could dig too deeply into the dad-joke reserve. Despite a lighter forecast, Sunday brought shifty winds of 15–17 kts. 20 more races were completed in the opening series, and then the top 12 competitors were split into gold/silver fleets for a three-race Finals.
The spectator section grew, with the bottom 12 teams remaining on the docks with a perfect view of the racecourse. They cheered as Santa Barbara Yacht Club, which entered the Petite Finals in last position, won the first two races. Undeterred by their trimmer’s accidental dip in the bay the previous day, or by their carryover points from the opening series, they came out on top in the Silver Fleet.
SDYC led the Gold fleet with only 0.5 carryover points, but California and New York Yacht Clubs, both previous winners of this event, were right on their heels. Each race in the gold round was won by a different team. SDYC was over early in race 2 but finished the race in fifth, and fought their way to a second place in the other two races.
The final race began with just 1 point separating the top three teams. After battling the wind shifts across the course, Cal crossed the line in first, but SDYC was still half a point ahead and claimed the overall win. This is the first time the home team has won the regatta, and the girls celebrated by jumping into the water just off the race docks.
SDYC’s skipper, Rebecca McElvain, was excited to be back in La Playa Basin, sailing around her old stomping grounds. Rebecca, Julie Mitchell and Erika Barth are no strangers to this course and were the champions of the Women’s Winter Preview in January, winning them the opportunity to represent SDYC in this weekend’s Invitational. Rebecca grew up on these waters and always appreciates the sunny winter sailing — something the East Coast teams definitely don’t get this time of year. Competitors from Annapolis Yacht Club shared stories of sailing in the snow, breaking icicles from the boom, and trying to defrost the sheets before tacking.
See the regatta results here.
The Hylas H57 Now Available in San Diego
We are delighted to introduce our newest blue-water sailing vessel. From world class designer Bill Dixon the Hylas H57 is a perfect blend of classic Hylas, contemporary good looks and an embracing of the latest technology in construction and design.
Short Sightings: Wooden Wonders of the West and Blue Tech Talks
Today we bring you four West Coast updates from the world of wooden ships, including a Northern California fundraiser, a new CEO for the San Diego Maritime Museum, a Pacific Northwest sailor racing around the world in a 19-ft plywood sailboat, and another wooden wonder, Odyssey, that has left the West Coast bound for a restoration in France. Plus, we share the details of the S.F. Blue Tech get-together next week.
Wooden Boats For Veterans Gala
Wooden Boats for Veterans is hosting a fundraising gala at the Sausalito Yacht Club on Saturday, March 15. The event will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the restoration of the Bay Area’s 1938 topsail schooner Clover, while supporting a meaningful cause! Wooden Boats for Veterans is inviting you to join them for Clover’s Pot o’ Gold Party, with a lively evening of fun, music, and fundraising. The collected funds will be used to restore Clover for veterans with VetsBoats. This is a chance to wear your favorite green attire and embrace St. Paddy’s Day Irish spirit, while contributing toward a program that creates positive changes for veterans.
The evening includes music from the Sixpenny Irish Band and a silent auction of items and experiences. All proceeds will support Wooden Boats for Veterans’ restoration efforts. March 15 is coming soon! Buy tickets here.
McIntyre Mini Globe Challenge
Fifteen solo sailors set off on Sunday in the approximately 400-day solo race around the world on 19-ft plywood kit-built boats. The lone American is West Coast sailor Josh Kali aboard his boat, Skookum. We spoke with Josh ahead of the race in an episode of Good Jibes.
Josh completed his qualifying sail from North Carolina to the starting line in Antigua, arriving just over a week before the start of the around-the-world race. The first leg takes the fleet from Antigua to the Panama Canal, where the boats will skip the canal and transit the country via truck.
The rest of the fleet qualified by sailing over from Europe to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, in early February. The race is inspired by Pacific Northwest circumnavigator John Guzzwell, who circled the world solo from 1955 to 1959 on his 20-ft homebuilt sloop Trekka. 
Joshua before he drove from Seattle to North Carolina to launch Skookum for the sail to Antigua. Watch the video of the Sunday start from Falmouth Harbour in Antigua below:
You can follow the adventures ahead here: McIntyre Mini Globe Race.
San Diego Maritime Museum
Dr. Christina Brophy has been appointed president and CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The nonprofit museum dedicated to collecting, preserving, and presenting rich maritime heritage recently announced the appointment. Dr. Brophy’s previous leadership roles include serving as senior vice president of the Mystic Seaport Museum and the Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Chair for the Chief Curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. She is a champion for a sustainable ocean and the preservation of our global maritime heritage.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is located right on the downtown San Diego waterfront and features a world-class collection of National Historic Landmark vessels, including sailing ships, steam-powered vessels, and a submarine.
Saying So Long to The Odyssey
Author Emily Molina wrote in to tell us she’s just published a book, Tacoma’s Tall Ship: The Extraordinary Journey of the Odyssey. Odyssey is another West Coast wooden vessel, recently purchased by a new French owner and shipped to France. She was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built in 1938 at the Henry B. Nevins Shipyard on City Island, New York. After her life as a private yacht she served in World War II and has been Tacoma’s Sea Scout ship 190 since 1978.
The new owner, M. Denis Charvoz of Cannes, France, said, “”Each boat has a heart.” He went on to explain his intention to restore the ship to her original form — a challenging endeavor, yet, in his own words, “much more satisfying.”
You can find Emily Molina’s book here.
S.F. Blue Tech Happy Hour Mixer
S.F. Blue Tech hosts gatherings for sailors, ocean and coastal stewards, blue tech professionals, educators, students and more. Next week, join the Happy Hour Mixer for industry networking and speakers from marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), seaweed farming, and underwater robotics industries
When: Thursday, March 6, 5:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Where: South Beach Café 800 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Entry: $7 until EOD Feb 26; $15 thereafter
Learn more about the Happy Hour Mixer and S.F. Blue Tech here.
‘Ragtime’ — Looking Back to the Future
One of sailing’s most iconic yachts, Ragtime, the 1965 Spencer-designed 62-ft sloop first made famous for winning her first two Transpacs in 1973 and 1975, has a storied history like few others. It began in New Zealand and continues remarkably to this day in Southern California despite significant highs and lows. The passion infused among many owners and crew alike has kept Ragtime alive as she prepares for a new chapter, painstakingly restored under current ownership, smartly updated, and ready to take on the Pacific Ocean once again.
Ragtime‘s DNA was forged before she was even christened Infidel in1965. Sir Tom Clark, a prominent New Zealand industrialist, commissioned yacht designer John Spencer to construct Infidel after having raced the Spencer-designed Saracen, a 36-ft C-Class yacht that became a test bed for the larger and faster Infidel. Although she was initially intended for comfortable inshore and coastal racing, Clark’s perspective shifted after witnessing her remarkable speed — she was considered a scratch boat in the local A-Class Series the day she was launched and went on to beat the iconic Ranger. Spencer’s revolutionary lightweight design — she weighed only 26,000 pounds, half that of typical 60-footers — stunned the racing community.
Built unconventionally, Spencer’s design specified that two layers of 3/8-inch plywood be glued together and fitted to her wood frames; she was nicknamed “Fletcher’s Tram” after New Zealand’s leading plywood manufacturer.
Clark contemplated sailing in the 1967 Sydney Hobart Race. However, as Tom’s son Geoffrey relates, “While the idea of entering Infidel into the Sydney Hobart Race was discussed, it was never seriously considered, never entered, and (she was) never banned. However, there was a lot of comment at the time that she would be banned — active threats to keep her in Auckland.” Clark sold Infidel in 1970 to the Long Beach Consortium, who shipped her far north to California and renamed her Ragtime.
During Ragtime‘s inaugural 1973 Transpac, she faced off against Ken DeMeuse’s 75-ft Blackfin (1969 Transpac winner) and Robert Johnson’s 73-ft Windward Passage (which set a Transpac record in 1971). She trailed Windward Passage for almost the entire race, but only days away from Diamond Head, Ragtime managed to overtake her competition and win the Barn Door Trophy. Her lightweight, long, narrow, hard-chined hull was precedent-setting and ideal for extended downwind surfing opportunities — a precursor to the ULDB designs that followed.
By 2003, after a handful of different owners, Ragtime floated listlessly, languishing unmaintained in Long Beach Harbor with a lien on her title and an auctioneer’s gavel waiting to determine her fate. Fortunately, Chris Welsh and a group of friends raised their paddle and put down $135,000, purchasing the boat in time to campaign her in her 13th Transpac in 2005. This would mark the beginning of an 18-year love affair between Welsh and Ragtime.
Latitude 38’s Spring Crew List Party Is Back!
Join us for our first spring crew list party in 5 years!
Bay View Boat Club, Thursday April 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets and info can be found here.