A small boat regatta beginning at Rio Vista, follows the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel, and finishes at Lake Washington,West Sacramento, California. This is the only long distance, downwind small boat and dinghy race in the whole USA! lwsailing.org
The Lake Washington Sailing Club welcomes you to the 15th annual Dinghy Delta Ditch Race and Cruisers’ Rally from Rio Vista to Sacramento down the deep water shipping channel. This downwind drag race on a flood current pushes boats up-river to the LWSC clubhouse.
The course is approximately thirty miles long and will take an average dinghy about six hours to complete in light to normal conditions. After-race dinner, music, and awards will follow at the clubhouse.
The race is open to any centerboard sailboat or pre-approved keelboat. A limited number of large cruising boats are invited to anchor in the lake and a water taxi to shore is provided.
Our facilities include a clubhouse with large deck, restrooms, a launch ramp for up to 21-ft / 3500-lb boats, a two-acre boat storage yard, and a 2000-lb capacity hoist.
John Martin III had originally been planning to sail to China aboard his 8′ Walker Bay dinghy, but he ended up in Russia two weeks after his departure. He’s now been deported about six months after his arrival, and has written blog entries about his time there.
Many people sharing this story or reading the background have found that Martin’s past is both complicated and dramatic. From a small-boat standpoint, he’s very lucky to have had a safe arrival and a safe deportation from Russia, but it also demonstrates how boats are taking care of us probably just as much as we’re taking care of them.
John Martin
The 8′ Walker Bay dinghy and gear John Martin had with him.
Check your local newsstand, because the printed 2018 “Best of” Small Boats Monthly, which the home office calls Small Boats Annual, is ready. From 2017’s articles here on the site, we’ve got the Coot dinghy on the cover, a nice selection of sail, motor, paddle, and oar articles, a guide to kits and boatbuilders, and an inspiring collection of Reader-Built Boats and their stories. Can’t make it out to your local newsstand? The WoodenBoat Store has you covered.
Small Boats Annual is on the newsstands.
Pro Tip for a Gift Idea: Small Boats Monthly subscription for your loved one, and the physical copy of the 2018 Issue as the wrapped surprise for the holiday.
Bonus Pro Tip: With your subscription to Small Boats Monthly, you’re able to look up anything in the archives, 2018 and further back. That means if you’re reading the Annual and wonder what the discussion in the comments section was like, or if you have more questions, you can search it up because it’s all yours when you’re logged in. ENJOY!
After a full, nutty day at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, I headed over to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s, Maryland, for the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival. I pulled into the entrance, lined with a tent city full of small boat enthusiasts; I felt right away that compared with the bustle of Annapolis, the change of energy suited my needs.
Here are some photos from my visit there. It was Sunday, the day after the big race and regatta, and so things were packing up, slowing down, and moving on due to a lightly threatening forecast.
Our Fearless Editor, Chris Cunningham, has traveled to this gathering in the past, and we plan to re-establish our connection with this fantastic gathering in 2018. A workshop? A beer social? We’re not sure yet, but get excited.
The campsites at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
A relative of the Pumpkinseed design, packed to go home.
A fine pile of boats ready to go home.
A very lovely Delaware Ducker built by the Lewes Historical Society.
A very lovely Delaware Ducker built by the Lewes Historical Society.
A very lovely Delaware Ducker built by the Lewes Historical Society.
SHADY SIDE almost ready to go home.
SHADY SIDE almost ready to go home.
MARGALO
MARGALO
MARGALO
WoodenBoat Forum enthusiast Steven Bauer rigs his family’s nutshell pram for a friend to use one last time before cartopping. His daughter Holly built it.
A thick rope gunwale guard looks good and protects both tender and mothership.
A thick rope gunwale guard looks good and protects both tender and mothership.
Wonderful handmade detail: a smart-looking disc fender.
This is an Oru Kayak, which folds down to suitcase-size. It’s made of rigid, strong corrugated plastic and is easier to assemble than other folding kayaks we’ve seen.
WoodenBoat Forum enthusiast Steven Bauer rigs his family’s nutshell pram for a friend to use one last time before cartopping. His daughter Holly built it.
Carol Knickman’s FISH, a lovely standup paddle board.
Carol Knickman’s FISH, a lovely standup paddle board.
Carol Knickman’s FISH, a lovely standup paddle board.
Carol Knickman’s FISH, a lovely standup paddle board.
This is an Oru Kayak, which folds down to suitcase-size. It’s made of rigid, strong corrugated plastic and is easier to assemble than other folding kayaks we’ve seen.
The boxy nesting tender to CARLITA, B&B Yacht Design’s Core Sound 17.
This Herreshoff Coquina just needs her mizzen and she’s ready to sail. The rudder is controlled by a long line that loops around the inside perimeter of the boat.
Graham of B&B Yacht Designs gets CARLITA, his Core Sound 17, ready for the road. He’s been everywhere with her this summer, and figures he’s done about 17,000 miles zigzagging across the country.
I also happened by the relaunching and re-christening of BELLE, a Herreshoff 12 1/2-inspired small sailing boat designed and built by Daniel Gonneau. With her more open layout inboard and with no internal ballast, she’s quite different from the design of her keelboat cousin, but no less gorgeous. Her new owner first saw her in the Calendar of Wooden Boats and thought she’d be just the boat for him. When she came up for sale, it was a dream come true for him.
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