Rick and Karen chat about a variety of boating interests. Rick wondering when he crosses the Bay Bridge and spots a pack of boats – are they all racing together? And yes – that particular viewpoint covers a lot of racing ground off of Emery Cove and the Berkeley Yacht Club – plus those coming up the waterfront from Oakland and across from Treasure Island – where the sailing center is very active.

Think of the SF Bay as several arenas all neatly defined and yet totally invisible. Certain teams race in certain arenas. Take South Beach Yacht Club for example. All 18 race courses are confined to south of the Bay Bridge – with container ships to contend with. But the width and length are enormous.

If you watched SAIL GP and or Americas’ Cup in 2013 – that arena was well defined on television with overlay graphics. The spectators were on boats with their nose on the line of the field of play.

Karen moved on to the stories of sailors stuck out at sea when the pandemic hit. Unable to return to their harbors as the world scrambled to understand the threats and threw up barriers to all.

America’s Cup – typically a two year event many countries was reduce to the main competition in New Zealand where COVID containment was marveled at. Karen was scheduled to cover the event but the risks were too high. Good news is the future holds another Cup Challenge in New Zealand.

Then the topic turned to the reed boats in Zanzibar and how they stay afloat. Bail bucket anyone?

Shown above is one of their favorite interviews of all time – Walt Raineri. Walt is a winning blind racer. Catch that interview from August 2019 here.

Listen to the livey segment – its a return to the studio and a celebration of two years on the show!