July eBook pages 1-91 (16.1 MB) - Latitude 38

— cont’d
the ants several minutes to mobilize. If
you could get in to and out of the tree
in under fi ve minutes, you could avoid
an attack. The couple honed their skills,
eventually turning into a lean, mean trimming
machine, and were able to trim up
to 10 trees a day — bite-free. They were
able to cruise for months on the money
they earned from that one job.
Do you have an unusual way to make
money while cruising — either one you’ve
done or plan to do? Let us know about it
at editorial@latitude38.com.
— jr
‘Ocean Watch’ was greeted by the San Francisco
fi reboat when she sailed under the Gate
on May 26. She stayed on the Bay for a week,
giving tours and talks to packed houses, before
sailing north to fi nish what she’d started.
ocean watch — cont’d
continued on outside column of next sightings page
SIGHTINGS
raise public awareness about the sorry state of our oceans’ health,
and inspire public action to make positive changes.
By all accounts those goals were met through countless tours and
presentations at 46 port calls along the way in 13 countries, and via
the extensive international press that the project attracted. We’re happy
to report that in the aftermath
of the cruise, Around the Americas’
legacy will continue through its
ongoing educational components,
which include classroom lessons
and activities focused on the vulnerability
and interconnected nature
of our “global oceans.” Use of
that term emphasizes the fact that
despite the various names given to
earth’s oceans, they all comprise
one massive body of water that is
‘Ocean Watch’ completed her circumnavigation
of the Americas on June 17.
affected by infl uences all over the
globe. (See www.aroundtheamericas.org for educational resources,
including free downloadable classroom materials.)
During Ocean Watch’s Watch Bay Area visit, we learned details about the
project during an impressive presentation at Tiburon’s Corinthian
YC. But as thrilling as it was to relive the crew’s sailing adventures
through Captain Mark Schrader’s narrative and expedition photographer
David Thoreson’s stunning images, it was also chilling to
confront the negative realities of our oceans and fi sheries. From top
to bottom there’s bad news: In the Arctic, the melting of pack ice is
threatening the extinction of polar bears and other species, while off
Southern Patagonia, the devastation of fi sheries is threatening the
traditional livelihoods of entire communities.
Still, scientists such as Dr. Michael Reynolds — who sailed with the
crew during parts of the voyage — insist it’s not too late to reverse current
trends. What can we laymen do to help? According to Reynolds,
many people making small changes in lifestyle and consumption of
fossil fuels can make a tremendous difference. Check out the website
for more on the project and its ongoing legacy through affi liated
organizations, and be on the lookout for an upcoming book on the
trip by the expedition’s scribe, Herb McCormick.
— andy
freda gets her whiskey plank
One hundred and twenty-fi ve years after she was fi rst launched
on the shores of Belvedere Cove, the 32-ft gaff sloop Freda marked a
momentous occasion on June 5 when she received her shutter plank.
The roughly eight-ft plank fi nished off the hull-planking phase of the
decade-long restoration of the West Coast’s oldest sailing yacht by
the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding, the Spaulding Wooden
Boat Center, the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, and local
preservationists and donors.
About 100 people showed up to watch what’s also known as the
“whiskey plank” get a splash of deep-gold fi rewater before being fastened
in place by graduates and students of the Arques School, which
shares the Spaulding Center space. A short presentation started things
off with a history of the yacht and a talk by Arques School Director
Bob Darr, who commented that, “Freda Freda not only has a soul, but a
soul with good karma.”
When she arrived at Spaulding’s in ‘04, Freda’s Freda sheer had fl attened
out and the hull was heavily distorted. Her long and storied history
on the Bay almost saw its fi nal chapter written in May of that year,
when she sank at her slip in the Lowrie Yacht Harbor in San Rafael.
Serendiptitously, a few months later the Spaulding Center was estab-
July, 2010 • Latitude 38 • Page 79
DAVID THORESON