Every day, hundreds of thousands of people look out at the sailboats, tall ships, windsurfers and kiteboarders on the Bay. Many wonder how they can join in with the elegant sails cutting the water.
Photo courtesy of Latitude 38
By Paul V. Oliva
Published: June, 2008
Soon, they’ll have their chance. Planned for June 21 is the Bay’s grandest celebration of sailing yet: the eighth annual Summer Sailstice. Think of the fun when the Bay’s 25,000-plus sailors assemble to celebrate the joy and exhilaration of eco-friendly, wind-powered watersports.
Sailstice is the brainchild of John Arndt, who works at the region’s sailing magazine Latitude 38. Sailing communities elsewhere mass their waterfronts with sailing festivals. England has Cowes Week, Ireland has Cork Week, even little Grenada has a festival. Arndt looked out at the Bay—one of the world’s greatest sailing venues—and wondered, Where are all the boats? Where is our celebration for fun, sun and music that brings together cruisers and racers and anyone else who is curious about sailing? That’s Summer Sailstice, named for the longest day of the year.
Summer Sailstice: Fun, Sun, Music and Sailing for All
Summer Sailstice was founded by Arndt as a global sailing holiday that could be celebrated spontaneously anywhere, not unlike New Year’s Eve or Mardi Gras, and people from 49 U.S. states and 20 countries have logged their own festivities. Sailstice also has an environmental mission, drawing attention to recreational wind power and raising funds for the Ocean Conservancy.
Here at Sailstice headquarters on San Francisco Bay, everyone is invited to Treasure Island for the Summer Sailstice SF Festival and a weekend of fun, sun, music and sailing. Running from the evening of June 20 to the morning of June 22, the festival is now in its eighth year and growing. People with boats can sail in and overnight at anchor in the island’s Clipper Cove or docked at Treasure Isle Marina. Those in cars can find ample parking. No matter how you get there, Sailstice is a dream for anyone who loves what happens when you add a dose of fabric to a mix of wind and water.
No Boat Needed
Saturday—the day of the solstice—offers loads of great fun without a boat. The curious can get free sailboat rides and tour a range of beautiful new boats. A kid’s regatta is a blast to watch. Treasure Island affords a panorama of the big boats racing in the central bay, with racers jockeying for position at a turn just off the island. Anyone adventurous enough can try to get a crew spot. There’s word that windsurfers and kiteboarders might do some hot-dogging in view of the crowd. There will even be a contest for some crazy folks to build and launch boats (without sinking or dumping their crew) within six hours.
Water Fun for Families
The event is low-cost and family-friendly. In addition to the youth regatta and/or getting a free sailboat ride, kids can join a true dig-in-the-sand treasure hunt. (For the truly motivated, four prize boxes are still buried from 2006.) Families enjoy spreading out on the warm and sheltered sand beach, and those with inflatable boats or other water toys can be seen splashing throughout the day.
Wind Power WinsAll boaters are invited to cruise in, with water taxi service provided, for a special dinner on Friday and brunch on Sunday. The big boat regatta is on Saturday with an awards ceremony at the festival village. A Photo Scavenger Hunt sends people to collect digital photos around the Bay. Windsurfers and kiteboarders are welcome to demonstrate their skills off the island. Smaller boats and beginning windsurfers can launch in the cove. And of course, all should enjoy a sail!
A Musical World Tour
There will be food and drink for purchase, and live music at the festival village. Throughout Saturday and into the evening, five bands will take a veritable tour of waterfront rhythms, from the early American sounds of bluegrass (the Blind Willies), sing-a-long sea chanteys (Skip Henderson and The Starboard Watch), and a guitar-banjo-mandolin trio (Pixie Kitchen) to Latin-flavored jazz and salsa (Carne Cruda and Alexa Weber Morales) and Caribbean (Kalbass).
Capping the fun are awards and prizes. Anyone signing up at the Sailstice website is eligible for a drawing of 200 prizes including apparel, boat gear, lessons, and more. There are also prizes for the Photo Scavenger Hunt, the big boat and youth racing, and of course the treasure hunt.
To get more details, go to www.summersailstice.com/sf.
Summer Sailstice Festival
When: June 20 - 22
Where: Treasure Isle Marina and Treasure Island Yacht Club, Treasure Island, San Francisco
