America’s Schooner Cup to Grace the Waters of San Diego
Our March 7 ‘Lectronic Latitude on the schooner Mayan inspired Jerry Newton to write in about the America’s Schooner Cup:
On April 5, 2025, 12 schooners are expected to start the 37th running of the America’s Schooner Cup Charity Regatta on San Diego Bay. They will represent some of yachting’s most famous designers and the determination of dedicated owners who have kept them afloat as a living snapshot of the West Coast’s sailing heritage. Witchcraft, a 36-ft staysail schooner built and sailed by Brian Eichenlaub, will be defending her 2024 Schooner Cup win.
A rarity today, the schooner rig has its roots in early American cargo hauling and fishing. The graceful vessels, designed with an emphasis on speed under sail, are treasured as examples of our maritime history. They’re widely regarded as the most beautiful of all sailing ships.
The Return of Scrimshaw
This year the fleet will see the return of Scrimshaw, a 40-ft Block Island boat formerly owned by Dennis Daoust of Silver Gate Yacht Club. Despite being a working boat, Scrimshaw is not slow. She won the 2010 America’s Schooner Cup. Dennis had owned Scrimshaw for 45 years and made several trips to Mexico carrying used appliances as freight. Scrimshaw has made a six-day passage from San Diego to Yelapa, Mexico, averaging 7.2 knots while hauling freight! In 2024, the Maritime Museum of San Diego acquired Scrimshaw as a fine example of this early type of American working vessel. She will race with the schooners for the first time since 2019. Block Island boats were used for fishing and to carry freight into small harbors in New England in the days before roads connecting ports were established (see D. Daoust, WoodenBoat 221.)
The race starts and ends in the bay off the public beach near Silver Gate YC on Shelter Island. Three handicap classes will start between 11:30 a.m. and noon. The 13-mile course takes the boats out past Point Loma to sea buoy SD1 and back into San Diego Bay.
The Smallest (and Biggest) Competitors
Simultaneously held in the Shelter Island Basin behind SGYC will be match races between the local 10-ft Intergalactic Schooners. In the second race, a SGYC Junior sailor will replace one of the adult crew to ensure a well-trained supply of future schooner crew.
Spectators can race the America’s Schooner Cup aboard the 136-ft coastal schooner Bill of Rights. For information on booking passage aboard Bill of Rights, visit https://wesailthedream.org/schooner-cup.
Silver Gate YC hosts the America’s Schooner Cup Charity Regatta. It benefits the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. This organization provides financial, educational and post-combat support to members of our Naval Service, its eligible family members, and survivors.
For more information on this April event, visit www.americasschoonercup.org.
Good Jibes #182: Lauren Bell on Teaching Lifetime Sailors
In this episode of Good Jibes, we chat with Lauren Bell about teaching kids to sail and in the process, creating sailing connections to last a lifetime. Lauren is the president of the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation (SBYSF) and recently received the Garrett Horder Award for supporting youth sailing education.
Tune in as Lauren shares with host John Arndt how she became hooked on 5O5s, how the SBYSF works, the magic of multigenerational sailing, the wonderful places sailing will take you, and how to overcome your biggest fears on the water.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- How interested are the youth in sailing these days?
- How is the Santa Barbara Youth Program structured?
- What does Lauren fear about sailing?
- Who are the Tachy Moms?
- What’s the common thread between the children and adults who get into sailing?
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!
Connect with Lauren at SBYSF.org and SBYC.org.
Watch the story of their new clubhouse at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbeHg3aLBbo
Grab Your Tickets for SailGP in LA and San Francisco
SailGP, the world’s most exciting racing on water, returns to California this spring with back-to-back events:
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Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix –– March 15-16
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Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix –– March 22-23
Experience two action-packed weekends as 12 national teams battle it out in high-speed, 50-foot foiling catamarans flying at over 60 mph.
With national pride, personal glory, and $12.8 million in prize money on the line, the stakes have never been higher for sailing’s top athletes. Don’t miss your chance to witness this epic, close-to-shore racing set against the iconic backdrops of the Port of LA in SoCal and the Golden Gate Bridge on the Bay.
Enjoy the ultimate day out by the water and get your tickets now!
Some Salty Things for You To Do This Month
Despite today’s Bay Area weather — overcast, raining, cold, a precursor to several wet days ahead — we’ve been enjoying a taste of spring and summer weather, and dreaming of all the salty entertainments that come with this time of year. From high-speed racing action to circumnavigations to delicious herring, our calendar is looking busy for activities on the water and on the shore.
First up, we’re looking forward to two back-to-back SailGP events. This coming weekend, March 14–16, the fleet of F50s will race their way across the Port of Los Angeles on one of the tightest racecourses on the 13-stop calendar. L.A. is the fourth event of the 2025 season, which concludes with the Grand Final in the United Arab Emirates on November 23–24. But long before that happens, the SailGP fleet will race event five on San Francisco Bay.
On March 22–23, 12 nations will go head to head across the Bay. These 50-ft foiling catamarans are fast. And exciting to watch! (Yes, we’d rather be watching than hanging on for dear life as they go through their turns, lifts, and sometimes crashes at high speed.) Racing at over 60 mph, these crews are competing for a share of $12.8 million in prize money.
Get your tickets here:
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Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix –– March 15–16
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Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix –– March 22–23
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Dropping things down several notches, and cruising farther up the Bay, the Petaluma Yacht Club invites fellow Bay Area yacht club members to an evening with PYC member and circumnavigator Warren Holybee on March 22 at 5:30 p.m. Warren will be sharing his second in a five-part speaker series: “Hawaii to New Zealand.” (Pretty sure the F50s couldn’t do that under their own steam.) His presentation will recap the first of the series, “Preparation and the Pacific Cup,” before launching into the evening with vivid big-screen photos and tales of the sea. It’s sure to have you grabbing the lifelines as he regales listeners with stories and reflections, and some lessons, from his adventures at sea.
Petaluma Yacht Club is located at 10 C St., Petaluma, CA. Visiting members must show proof of current membership. The bar will be open, and light snacks will be available.
Please RSVP to [email protected], as space is limited.
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Of course, all this action and saltiness will require sustenance, and we have just the thing — herring!
The Sausalito Community Boating Center (SCBC) has announced the return of SCBC Herring Festival on March 22, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Sausalito Center for the Arts, 750 Bridgeway, Sausalito.
This year’s festival marks a significant milestone for SCBC as they proudly announce the opening of their docks. “This achievement underscores our commitment to fostering a vibrant community space dedicated to boating, education, and dock access.”
“Join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating fish, friends, fun, fundraising, and fellowship! Attendees will enjoy herring- (and friends) inspired cuisine crafted by renowned local chefs, live music performances, a silent auction, interactive art stations, an exciting raffle, and a selection of creative cocktails and mocktails.”
Highlights of the 2025 SCBC Herring Festival:
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Exquisite dishes prepared by local culinary talents
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Live music to set the festive mood
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A silent auction and raffle that feature unique items and experiences
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Fishy stories and art making
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Networking with community members and supporters
All proceeds from ticket sales and donations will support SCBC’s mission to provide invaluable resources for community boating, education, and access to the newly opened docks. Your participation helps secure the future of SCBC’s community programs and initiatives.
Tickets and Auction Items:
Visit the ticket and auction item site to purchase tickets and explore auction items.
For more information about the SCBC Herring Festival or to get involved, please visit the SCBC website or contact [email protected]. “See you on March 22!”
About Sausalito Community Boating Center (SCBC):
SCBC is dedicated to promoting community access to the water through educational programs, events, and access to boating facilities. Our mission is to foster a love for the water while encouraging sustainable practices and conservation efforts.
You can’t complain about having nothing to do! The challenge now is to fit all three events into your schedule. We believe in you; you can do it!
Just in case you need a little more salty adventure this month, check out the full schedule of events in our online calendar.
Max Ebb — Seeing Red
College students — especially “starving” college students — make the best crew. They are smart, agile, enthusiastic, and best of all, hungry. The problem is, they graduate and move on. Or worse, once they become valuable as crew, they can find a berth on a more competitive boat than my old racer-cruiser. It’s critical to earn their loyalty to the program, and one of my strategies involves their stomachs: We sail across the Bay to an upscale restaurant, my treat. They can bring guests, and that usually brings in more recruits. In terms of speed around the course per dollar spent, it’s a better return than almost any new sail. This year’s preseason crew dinner was particularly promising, with some eager novices and even a couple of talented dinghy sailors at the table.
It was well after sunset when we cast off to sail home. I made sure there was a flashlight attached to each PFD, and put on my favorite headlamp.
“Careful where you aim that thing!” Lee Helm admonished me. She’s only an occasional crew these days, but would never miss a free meal.
“OK, I’ll switch to red,” I said as I changed the color of my headlamp.
“You could use the pirate method!” suggested one of the friends of one of my crew prospects, along for the ride and the dinner.
“Pirate method?” asked another crew prospect.
“AARRH! ‘Tis the real reason pirates wear the eyepatch!” he proclaimed. “Me left eye could be adapted to daylight. Me right eye is in the dark, so it’s dark-adapted. When we storm our prize with cutlasses drawn and chase the crew below, we take off the eyepatch and can see in the dark lower decks.”
“That won’t answer,” replied another crew prospect, who just happened to be a student of ophthalmology. “The range of light intensity in human vision, from lowest perceivable to highest tolerable light level, is about 10 to the 14th, in terms of candela per square meter. And that’s many orders of magnitude beyond what the pupil size can adjust to.
The primary factor for night vision is the buildup of rhodopsin in the retina, increasing light sensitivity in the rods by many orders of magnitude. Pupil dilation is only about a hundredth of a percent of the low light adaptation.”
“But rhodopsin is not circulating in the blood,” said the guest that the ophthalmology student had brought. “It’s local to the retina, so the adaptation could, at least in theory, be eye-specific.”
“But no eyepatch will be that effective,” argued the first scientist. “And do you really want to board a strange ship, ready for a sword fight, with depth perception impaired?”
“AAARRH, me likes the concept anyway,” said the would-be pirate.
Join Us March 14-16 for a Spring Boat Show at Club Nautique
Join us March 14 – 16 for a Spring Boat Show at Club Nautique. Check out the latest sailboat models from Jeanneau.