2019 PHOTO JOURNAL

Here is a link to photographs of the 2019 Homeport Regatta After Race Gala:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Vg8CzB9nqupo0u0h2U7iAgoSU1pKX6s9


Here is a link to photographs of the 2019 Homeport Regatta Skippers Meeting:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13wSMBcCZaa8KJoCj7eOxYriRTYj8Q8qv?usp=sharing


Here is a link to photographs of the 2019 Homeport Regatta parade of boats to the start:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OO_rCuGXVGbYuOUM-k4MSWjyg-yhQDCA


Here is a link to Areal Photography of the Regatta by Jim Englund.

https://www.regatta-2018.jenglundphotographer.com/

We would like to thank Lynn Pomerantz and her husband, as well as Jim Englund and his wife Susan for all their hard work making these photographs of the event possible.

THE RESULTS OF THE 2019 HOMEPORT REGATTA ARE IN!

We at Homeport Regatta Sailing, our partners at Vintage Marina Partners, and our sponsors and hosts wish to thank all of you that sailed in the 2019 Homeport Regatta.  29 boats started and 29 boats finished.   It was a fun and challenging race.  The after-race party was truly over the top.  Stay tuned as lots of photos will follow as well as more discussion of the race and the support we will have for the beneficiary of all of your generosity, CIMWI.

Here are the results of the race:

FINISH ORDER	VESSEL
1	Wavelength
2	Mer Sea
3	Valhowell
4	Tivoli
5	Spit Dog
6	Shades of Grey
7	Wyld Hayr
8	NAOMOG
9	Boomerang Love
10	Main Squeeze
11	Avocet
12	R Escape
13	Kahn's Tiki
14	Invincible Summer
15	Quicksilver
16	Rambler II
17	Cobra
18	Tazzy
19	Princess Buttercup
20	Abide
21	Cheryl Lee
22	Sea Dancer
23	Juliet
24	GrandBerry
25	Miracle
26	Moomba
27	Free Spirit
28	Sloe Motion II
29	Isla
DNS	Shearwater

A big congratulations to Mike Hopper and his crew aboard Wavelength.  Mike and his crew made all the right decisions at all the right times to pull off a great victory over 28 other boats.  Well Done!

Thanks again and we'll be in touch soon.

JUST A COUPLE OF LAST MINUTE REMINDERS.....

Good Morning, Sailors!

The event is just around the corner so it is appropriate for me to communicate a couple of reminders in brief.  But first, let me tell you that you are going to want to detail your boats and get them all shiny because, for the second year in a row, we are going to have a professional photographer flying around the start area in an ultralight airplane taking areal photographs of you as you start charging from the line. These photos will be available for purchase after the race directly from the photographer (Jim Englund Photography Ventura CA).  Jim also takes the photos and turns them into acrylics on canvas.  These beautiful pieces look great over the mantle.  So, get those boats cleaned up!

Jim Englund Photography Ventura CA The official website for photographer Jim Englund

Don't forget that we are having a Mandatory Skipper's Meeting on race day (May 4) at 8:30 a.m. on the party docks at Channel Islands Marina.  To get there, come into Channel Islands Harbor on Harbor Blvd and then turn left onto Barracuda Way.  Park on either side of the round about and then come down through Gate 7.  We'll have coffee and morning snacks.

The Skipper's Meeting is where you will 

1.  check in; 

2. receive your Skippers Bag with the game program, sailing instructions, and lots of cool "swag";   

3.   receive your event tickets; 

4. pay for tickets for crew (remember that only two are included with your entry fee and each additional ticket is $10.00;  

5. Meet the Race Committee and the Principal Race Officer who will offer you an orientation per the Sailing Instructions so you will know what to do on the race course; 

6. learn what the race course will be; and 

7. get the latest information regarding the after race party at the Waterside.

So, it is required that you attend.

Also, please, if you haven't done so already, get me your headcounts.  I will have the required number of tickets for you at the skippers meeting if you give me your head count in advance. As you know, two (2) tickets are included in your entry fee.  If you need more let me know.  They are $10 each.

More and more boats are starting to join the fleet.  We are all very excited about this event as it is going to be the biggest and most elegant racing event in the County.  We are so glad to have you!

Please don't forget to check the blog https://homeportregatta.blogspot.com/ for answers to your questions.

Nevertheless, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me here or call my cell at 805-403-9900.

Best,

Larry Golkin,

Homeport Regatta Sailing.

WE ARE JUST 11 DAYS AWAY......

We are just 11 days away from Ventura County's biggest sailing event of the year!  

Just a couple of things:

1.    The Skipper's Meeting

The Skipper's Meeting  is on May 4 at 8:30 on the "party docks" at Channel Islands Marina.  All participating skippers must attend.  You do not need to bring your whole crew unless you want to, but you must be there.  From wherever you are coming from, come into the Channel Islands Harbor, then travel south on Harbor Blvd and hang a left on Barracuda Way.  It terminates at a roundabout.  Park on either side and then come down to and go through gate 7.  Angle to your left down the ramp and then go straight down the first dock (J) and the party docks are on your right.  The Skipper's meeting is where you will check in, pick up your Skipper Bags and Sailing Instructions, get your wrist bands and pay any amounts owing for meal tickets, etc.  You can get some raffle tickets there as well.  This is also the time when the PRO will give us the course and offer his insight on the sailing instructions and answer any questions you may have.  We will have coffee and some light "eats" as well.  Finally, we will have a "Blue Ribbon" Panel comprised of some of the most experienced racing sailors around who will be available for a few minutes after the Skipper's Meeting if you wish to ask them for advice.

2.    Headcounts.  

I still need a headcount from several of you.  Please email me as soon as possible.  As I have said before, if you need to add someone later, that is no problem.  We can add at the Skipper's Meeting.  Just give me your best estimate now.  Obviously, if you have already provided your headcount, please disregard this part.

3. There is still time to enter.

We are cutting off entries on April 30.  We have room for several more vessels.  If you haven't signed up yet, or if you know someone who is thinking about it, please do so do now.  As you know, we opened up the race to Ventura Harbor based vessels as well as vessels from the other marinas in Channel Islands Harbor.  Unfortunately, the response has been poor.  Again, if you know folks who want to participate in this event, please give 'em a push.

4.    After Race Party    

This year, the after race party will be at the Waterside Restaurant and Wine Bar located in Channel Islands Harbor at 3500 Harbor Blvd., Oxnard, CA 93035.  Waterside  

Waterside We invite you to experience our relaxed- casually elegant atmosphere, with sweeping views of the Channel Islands...

Please remember that our theme this year is "Ohana" with a Polynesian over tone.  So, wear your finest Hawaiian shirts and come ready for some great food, great drinks, great music and great camaraderie.    There will be live music, prizes, raffle, and silent auction.  CIMWI will be there.  Rock N Roll Tequila will be there.  And much, much more.  It's going to be the perfect way to wrap up a perfect day.

See you at the Skipper's Meeting. 

INTRODUCING THE HOMEPORT REGATTA TEAM........

Back row - Rikki, Gareth, Garrett, Larry, Kurt, and Dan.   

Front row - Amelie, Akyra, Christine, Brenda, Michelle, Shelly and Karen.

Not pictured - Bill and Cindy, and Mike.

As you may know, the Homeport Regatta is the brainchild of organizers Larry Golkin and Gareth Jones. Larry and Gareth are dock neighbors. Both have cruising boats. Gareth and his family live aboard theirs. One afternoon in February, Gareth asked Larry, "When is Anacapa to Port?" (a race hosted by a local yacht club). Larry responded, "Are you going to enter Jedi?" (Gareth is also a part owner of a J/24). He said,"No, I'm going to enter Moomba." Larry said, "Sounds like a throw-down to me."

Larry and Gareth got to discussing the possibilities: What if the two of them raced each other around Anacapa Island? Then, they thought, what if they asked a couple other friends to race, too? Then, they pondered what if they approached the marina management and asked if they might be interested in hosting an event — a race around Anacapa Island for tenants of Vintage and Channel Islands Marinas who have cruising boats or who live aboard?

Vintage Marina Partners not only liked the idea, it agreed to partner with Homeport Regatta Sailing to produce the event. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Last year witnessed 33 vessels enter the race and nearly 200 sailors, their crew and family members enjoy the after race party with awesome food donated by Ay Pappi and interesting Cuban style music.  Some amazing sponsors contributed excellent prizes for the raffle and silent auction.  And some donated money to help make it all happen.  When it was all said and done, Homeport Regatta Sailing donated a little more than $2000.00 to the Channel Islands Marine Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) which funds were used to acquire their Fast Response Whale Disentanglement Vessel.

This year, we have big things planned.  First, the Sailing Instructions have been reworked with a new course chart designed with the possibility of less than perfect sailing conditions in mind.  Second, we have moved the after-race party to a place where we can all be warm and out of the wind as we celebrate the  the race and enjoy great food and music.  Speaking of great food, The Waterside Restaurant and Wine Bar is catering and has agreed to close the restaurant just for us.  The Coco Knots will be playing their special brand of fun music for your listening or dancing pleasure.  We again have a huge array of extraordinary raffle prizes and some fabulous items for silent auction.

I would like to say that none of this would be possible without our sponsors.  But, that would not be true.  It is the team of people dedicated to putting this event on that are truly indispensable; for without their effort and commitment, there would be no sponsors.  Moreover, without all of YOU who sign up to sail in the event and to celebrate at the after race party, there would be no Homeport Regatta.  And it is for this reason that our theme for this year's event is "ohana."  Ohana is an idea in Hawaiian culture. The word ohana means family in the Hawaiian language, but in a much wider sense, it includes not only one's closer relatives, but also one's cousins, in-laws, friends, and other neighbors. The idea is also that family and friends are bound together and everyone must work together and not forget each other.

That being said, the team gets together weekly to plan the event.  Folks have commented on what a great job we do and wonder how it all comes together so seemingly flawlessly.  I can honestly say that the key is our mutual respect for one another and the recognition that we are all well organized and committed volunteers doing our very best.  And I'm pretty sure we all like each other, too.  So, we all look forward to our weekly get-togethers at which time we think out loud and share ideas, accept responsibility for necessary tasks, and report our overall progress.  It's actually a lot of fun. This group has worked tirelessly since January to bring you the 2019 edition of Homeport Regatta.  It's almost here and we are very excited about it.

If you haven't signed up yet, please do so as time is running out.  

WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET THE WEATHER BREAK US OR OUR BOATS.

I am going to ponder a notion here and wonder if many folks who want to sail in the Homeport Regatta have not signed up yet because they are concerned about what the weather might be on May 4, 2019.  I was there last year, too, and I remember the jarring I and my crew took as the bow punched into sizable waves driven by unseasonably high winds that never made it into the forecast during the 10 nm uphill and upwind battle to Platform Gilda.  Not to mention that it was downright cold and that the forecast 10-15 knot winds were dancing at 30 gusting to 35 at the weather-mark.  What was so frustrating was that the historical weather data for May 5 said it should have been a sunny day with westerly winds from 10 to 15 knots.  What better sailing conditions could one possibly hope for?  Well, there's the forecast and then there's what actually happens out there.

The Homeport Regatta was styled for cruising boats and boats on which folks live full time and don't sail very often.  The Homeport Regatta Team learned from the experience last year and has devised a course list that will accommodate any possible weather conditions.  We have near shore courses and we have not so near shore courses.  You can check them out in the Sailing Instructions page linked on the right side of this blog.  The point is that, we will not send our participants on a course that is not conducive to allowing the most boats possible to achieve completion of the race.

Rest assured that only under the most unlikely circumstance (actually, such a circumstance would only include the most favorable weather conditions) will any course chosen by the Race Committee take any boat anywhere near Platform Gilda.  We want to make it fun - challenging, yes, boat-parade no - but  certainly not brutalizing.  IT HAS TO BE FUN.  So, please.  If you find yourself hesitating to sign up and enter the race, because you are concerned that you may take another beating like you may have taken last year, don't.  Just sign up and trust that we will select a course that takes the most recent and immediate forecast as well as the actual conditions on the race course into consideration.

The weather, even local conditions, has become exceedingly hard to predict with any degree of accuracy.  Several years ago, while cruising the Great Loop, I started referring to the National Weather Service as the National "Whatever" Service, insofar as it seemed like nobody ever bothered to look out the window.  As a consequence, our Homeport Regatta Race Committee cannot even contemplate a course plan until the skippers meeting at 8:30 on the morning of the race, at which time the Race Committee will "pow-wow" and come up with what we think best suits the conditions we can reasonably expect at the time of the first start.  Moreover, the Race Committee will reserve the right to change the course and announce said course change at the start line over the vhf radio if necessary.  Furthermore, we can even decide to change the course in the middle of the race if necessary to ensure that we offer our sailors the best possible course for the prevailing conditions at the time thereby ensuring the greatest likelihood that all of the participating boats will complete the course.  No matter what, your safety and the safety of your boat are our primary concerns; and that you have fun and enjoy yourselves on the water is our goal.

We will do our best with what we have.  You, however, must be prepared to make the final "go-no-go" decision.  And always remember the age old adage:  If you are thinking about putting in a reef, then do it.  Don't wait.  It's always easier to shake it out than to put it in.  Reef early and often.  We are cruising boats, not cut down racers.  So, it's better to go stiff, slow and steady and to get there than it is to risk breaking body or boat.  We do have great prizes, but not so great that they're worth risking life, property or good times over.

Per usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write to me at Homeportregatta@yahoo.com.

Best,

Larry Golkin
Homeport Regatta Sailing

HOW DO I GET INTO THE AFTER RACE PARTY AND HOW DO I GET TO EAT?

Good Morning, Sailors!

It is unusual that I get to write to you twice in one week, but one of our participants raised the question regarding the After Race Party most of you want to know – How is it going to work?  So, please indulge me as I explain the program and policy.

1.           HOW DO I GET INTO THE AFTER RACE PARTY?

As you know, our After Race Party is a gala event.  We will have sponsor programs, a raffle, a silent auction, live music, and unbelievable food.  This year, the Waterside Restaurant and Wine Bar will host the party.  Waterside will be closing to the public on May 4 from 5:00 p.m. through the remainder of the evening and will be accessible only to participants in Homeport Regatta, their crew, and their special guests.  The after race party is not open to the public, and is not open to non-regatta participants, so please do not expect to invite all your friends who did not sail with you.  Again, this is an exclusive event.  We want it to be special, and we intend to make it so.

Each paid entrant will receive an event wristband for every person aboard, and for every support person who is not aboard, but who will be attending the after race event with the person or persons who were aboard for the race.  For instance, my wife will not be sailing with me, but I will include her in my headcount so she will get an event wristband and be able to join me at the after race party.  If I had two children and my mother who were not sailing with me, but who wanted to join me at the after race party, I could get wristbands for them as well.  However, I would not be able to get a wrist band for my neighbor who wants to come to the party because he thinks it’s a cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon.  To do so would demonstrate a lack of respect for the intended exclusivity of this special event.

At a point in time approximately 2 weeks from the event, I will be asking you to tell me how many people you need event wrist bands for, a head count.  You may communicate this to me via our event email site, Homeportregatta@yahoo.com.  Just give me the name of your vessel and the headcount and I will make sure the appropriate number of event wristbands makes it into your Skipper’s Bag.

All of the event wristbands will be in your Skipper Bag which you will receive at the Skipper’s Meeting at 8:30 a.m. on May 4 on the Channel Islands Marina J Dock Party Platforms.  Attendance at the Skippers Meeting is mandatory for participants.  You don’t have to have your whole crew there (unless you want to, of course), but the owner of the boat or his/her representative must be present.

2.           HOW DO I GET TO EAT AT THE AFTER RACE PARTY?

In addition to the event wrist band, IF YOU WANT TO EAT, you will also have to have a meal wrist band.  This is a separate wrist band; yes, each participant and attendee at the after race party who wants to eat will have two wrist bands of different colors.  Each paid entrant will receive two (2) wrist bands in their Skipper Bag as part of the paid entry fee.  FOR EACH PARTICIPANT OTHER THAN THESE FIRST TWO, THE MEAL WRIST BANDS WILL COST $10.00 EACH.  The meal wrist bands may be purchased in advance by sending or hand delivering a check or money order to the same place you delivered you entry package (The Vintage Marina Partners Office located at 3150 Harbor Blvd, Oxnard, CA 93035) made payable to “Homeport Regatta Sailing, Attn: meal tickets.”  Alternatively, you will be able to purchase your meal wrist bands at the Skippers Meeting at 8:30 a.m. on May 4 on the Channel Islands Marina J Dock Party Platforms.  You may bring a check or cash.  If you wish to pay by check, please make your check payable to Homeport Regatta Sailing.  Again, meal tickets for participants will be free for the first two, and then $10.00 each after that.

By way of example, if I intend to have a crew of 7, and then have my wife and my mom join me at the after race party, I will need to report a headcount of 9 so that I get 9 event wrist bands.  As I will always cover the meal cost for my crew, I will need a total of 9 meal wrist bands (7 crew and 1 for my wife and 1 for my mom).  Of the 9 meal wrist bands I require, the first two are included in my entry fee.  So, I will pay for 7, which will cost me $70.  I will pay this at the Skipper’s Meeting and receive my meal wrist bands at that time.

Participants will be able to get into the after race party without a meal wrist band, and will have access to the bar at Waterside, but without the meal wrist band, they will not be able to attend the buffet spectacular being presented by the Executive Chef of the Waterside.  We expect that our entrants will respect this policy and not engage in sharing with those who did not purchase a meal wrist band.

It goes without saying that, you should plan to come to the Skipper’s Meeting on time so we can take care of all of this and get you to your boats efficiently.  We will have a table for additional event wrist bands and the purchase of meal wrist bands at the Skippers Meeting.  And please note that, if, for some reason, you forget a crew member or family member, you will also be able to get an event wrist band and purchase last minute meal wrist bands at the door at Waterside.  As this is a special event, we will have hired security protecting all of us, and nobody without an event wrist band will be allowed in.  Please plan accordingly.

I hope this program and policy doesn’t sound overly harsh or regimented, but with as many people as we anticipate, it is necessary to have a plan and policy and to stick to them so that things go smoothly for all.  We want you to have fun and for at least a few hours after the race, to forget about it all and simply enjoy the great food, the fun music, and the camaraderie that is unique to sailing events.

As always, should you have any questions or desire any additional information, please do not hesitate to call or email me at Homeportregatta@yahoo.com.

Regards,

Larry Golkin,

Homeport Regatta Principal Organizer

https://watersidechannelislands.com/

Where are all the Ventura Harbor boats?

You may recall the story of how Homeport Regatta came to be, as told by Homeport Regatta Co-Founder, Gareth Jones:  "The Homeport Regatta was an idea born on the docks between friends Larry Golkin and Gareth Jones. To cut a long yarn short, one day whilst working away on their adjacent cruising boats, one man said to another “hey, fancy a friendly race around Anacapa?” The gauntlet was thrown, and after a bit of excited chatter the other man said “heck, why don’t we invite a couple of other friends’ boats to the party?”  Then, they decided to approach Vintage Marina Partners for sponsorship.  Vintage jumped on board with both feet and the event took shape from there."

You may also recall that the event in 2018 was very successful.  We hosted over 30 entrants and their families and friends for a challenging race and an over the top after-race party.  Thanks to our many wonderful sponsors, there was a raffle, live music, and excellent food. Hundreds of people enjoyed the event and, when it was all said and done, the proceeds of the event were donated to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI);  Homeport Regatta Sailing donated $2000 to CIMWI which it used to acquire their new whale disentanglement and rapid assist boat. 

As a result of the great success of the event in 2018, Homeport Regatta Sailing decided to invite cruising and live aboard boats from all of Ventura County.  Well, here we are, just a few short weeks from the event, and we have only two boats from Ventura Harbor coming to join us, those being our returning champion, Valhowell, and Boomerang Love.

There is still time to sign up for the 2019 Homeport Regatta.  Keep in mind, however, that we are closing the entries on April 30, 2019.  This is required due to our host, the Waterside Bar and Grill, needing to order the food for the expected crowd, not to mention, to plan seating and other amenities. THIS AFTER-RACE PARTY IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.  It is for you, the paid entrants. 

As much as we love our friends to the north, we have a significant number of boats from Vintage and Channel Islands Marina who have already grabbed their entry packets and entered:  Tazzy, Moomba,  Rambler II and Shades of Grey are in.  So are Miracle, Blue Moon and Princess Buttercup.  We have two new boats joining the fleet:  Welcome, Grandberry and Carolina Blew!  And to round it out, also returning are R Escape, Tivoli, Quicksilver, and Wyld Hayr.

Tell your friends!  If you haven't signed up, please do so.  After all, you don't want this to be you, having missed the opportunity to come out and sail with your friends:

And now, thank you to the following sponsors:

Homeport Regatta Welcome

Welcome Aboard!

Greetings Sailors! Thank you for your interest in the 2019 Homeport Regatta.  

We at Homeport Regatta Sailing are very pleased to announce that the 2018 Homeport Regatta hosted over 30 entrants and their families and friends for a challenging race and an over the top after-race party.  Thanks to our many wonderful sponsors, there was a raffle, live music, and excellent food. Hundreds of people enjoyed the event and, when it was all said and done, the proceeds of the event were donated to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI). As a result of the outstanding success of the event, last year Homeport Regatta Sailing donated $2000 to CIMWI which it used to acquire their new whale disentanglement and rapid assist boat, which will be on display this year at the after-race party and awards ceremony.  The 2019 Homeport Regatta will be bigger and better. Our theme this year is, “It’s Ohana”; meaning, “It’s all about family”.  So, break out your Polynesian gear, and plan to hula with us on May 4, 2019.

This year, the event shall be open to cruising boats and live-aboards, not only from Vintage and Channel Islands Marinas, but from all of Ventura County.  We anticipate that we will have many more participants which means more opportunities for great prizes, great food, great music, camaraderie, and community benefit. The Homeport Regatta is a rare, one of a kind opportunity for cruising sailors and live-aboard sailors to go out, with little or no racing experience, and to compete in a fun race.  And, no yacht club affiliation is required for entry.

The Homeport Regatta was an idea born on the docks between friends Larry Golkin and Gareth Jones. To cut a long yarn short, one day whilst working away on their adjacent cruising boats, one man said to another “hey, fancy a friendly race around Anacapa?” The gauntlet was thrown, and after a bit of excited chatter the other man said “heck, why don’t we invite a couple of other friends’ boats to the party?”  Then, they decided to approach Vintage Marina Partners for sponsorship.  Vintage jumped on board with both feet and the event took shape from there.

How do we get a bunch of cruising boats and live-aboard boats to go out and race competitively against one another?  Easy. The Homeport Regatta is a pursuit race.  This means that the slowest boat in the fleet starts first followed by successively faster boats.  You are probably wondering how this works.  Simple.   Upon entering the race, your boat will receive a Homeport Regatta Handicap based on the characteristics of your boat.  Your handicap will determine your start time vis a vis that of the slowest boat in the fleet.  Ideally, if done correctly, all boats should finish at or near the same time to make for a fabulous spectacle at the finish line.  You will receive more details of how the start times are calculated at a later date.

Following the race, all competitors, their family and friends are invited to the huge awards ceremony and after-race party where all may enjoy great food, music, raffle prizes, and camaraderie.

To enter, fill out the entry form, and deliver it to the Vintage Marina Partners office located upstairs at 3150 Harbor Blvd, Oxnard, along with your $30 entry fee. You can either print out the attached entry form, or go to the Vintage office and fill one out there.  Along with your application and entry form, all entrants must produce and attach proof of current insurance coverage for their vessels. The Vintage office is open 7 days a week, 8am - 5pm. It is strongly recommended to do so as early as possible. No application for entry will be accepted after April 30, 2019.  Moreover, if you are coming from Ventura Harbor, please take notice that Vintage Marina partners will be offering a limited number of free slips for the duration of the race weekend (Friday and Saturday night). However the word here is limited, and they will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis to paid entrants only.

For any questions you may have please send a message to Homeport Regatta Sailing at HomeportRegatta@yahoo.com.  Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

And a huge thanks to our partners at Vintage Marina Partners without whom Homeport Regatta would not be a reality.

March 29 - Homeport Regatta News

Good Morning, Sailors:

Now that we are approaching the end of March, it seems appropriate to point out that, though many of us may not realize it, March in America is recognized as Woman's History Month.  It grew out of a  small-town school event in Northern California, a week-long celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by the Sonoma County School District in 1978. A few years later, the idea garnered nationwide attention, and in 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week.  Congress followed suit the next year, passing a resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March.  

It is in this historical vein that I segue into the story of why boats are referred to as "she".  History has all but completely blurred the exact reason why boats are called she, although explanations abound of a mostly folk variety, assumed or invented after the fact as a way of making sense of the phenomenon. Boats are a truly interesting case in English, as they are among the only inanimate objects that take a gendered pronoun, whereas most others are called it.  

Notwithstanding the folksy cloud under which the historical derivation of the practice resides, there exist at least two plausible theories as to why we refer to our boats as she.  First, boats  traditionally received female names and were often christened with  the name of an important woman in the life of the owner, such as his mother or daughter, or sometimes a hyphenated version including both, i.e., S/V Betty-Sue. 

Many naval historians surmise that all ships were once dedicated to goddesses, and later to important mortal women when belief in goddesses waned.  Ironically, although male captains and sailors historically attributed the spirit of a benevolent female figure to their ships, actual women were once considered very bad luck at sea.

A second plausible theory, though not nearly as romantic as the first, points to the existence of grammatical gender in  Indo-European languages, including English. Modern English has hardly any grammatical gender, but, in the annals of linguistic history, it appears that  English once had a more extensive system of grammatical gender, similar to that in languages such as German and French. It turns out that. in most Indo-European languages with grammatical gender, the word for "ship" is feminine.

I expect that you are all completely confused and wondering what I put in my coffee this morning.  Well, here's the final segue:  March is not only Women's History Month, it is also, for many of us, the beginning of our boating season here in the Santa Barbara Channel.  As we manly men believe we must care for our women, and March is Women's History Month, and March is the beginning of our boating season...….here it comes...….the segue of the week, it is also a great time to start giving our boats the TLC they deserve so that our vessels may grant us a full spring and summer of carefree and safe boating.  Wow! There it is! 

For many us, annual preparation and cleaning projects are necessary rites of spring that help prevent problems that could keep us off the water once the season is underway.  Here's a checklist of a variety of items to pay attention to (your own check list may be longer or shorter.  Just make sure you have one and go for it):  

1.    Inspect the fuel system for leaks or damage and be sure to pay special attention to fuel hoses, connections and tank surfaces.

2.    Check belts, cables and hoses because they can become brittle and may crack during winter storage.

3.    Ensure the engine, exhaust and ventilation systems are all functioning properly.

4.    Inspect all electrical connections for clean, tight, corrosion free connections.

5.    Charge your battery and have it tested to ensure it can hold a charge.

6.    Check your safety gear, especially life jackets to ensure they are in good condition and that there are enough on board for all potential passengers.

7.    Make sure your bilge pumps work.

8.    Check sea strainers.

9.    Inspect your standing and running rigging.

10.    Make sure the vessel is good and clean inside and out.

Most important of all, however, is to make sure you sign up for Homeport Regatta.  We will not take any entries after April 30.  If you have friends in Ventura Harbor who will be joining us, we can have a slip for them for the weekend available, but these slips are limited so it is important to act now.

Have a great weekend!  As always, if you have any questions or need any information about Homeport Regatta, or if you need an entry packet, please do not hesitate to contact me here at Homeportregatta@yahoo.com.

Best,

Larry Golkin, Homeport Regatta Sailing

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