boat plug
If you’re in NorCal, it might be worth checking out Strictly Sail Pacific, traditionally one of the very few decent boat shows in North America, though they seem to go to great lengths this year to emphasize their ‘sail only’ nature despite being run in conjunction with a powerboat how next door – as if no one would notice.
We’re sending our newly crowned West Coast Editor ‘Dixie’ up to the show to meet a few of y’all while she checks out the latest and greatest sailboat technology, and to see what’s been trickling down from the AC pipe to the world of more down-to-earth racing and cruising tech. Here’s a quick SA-friendly preview:
Thursday is America’s Cup Day, and the most pickled of all pickle dishes will be on display from 12-7, with free entry starting at 6 pm. That’s also when a Tom Ehman-emcee’d presentation begins, and it includes a meet & greet with BMW Oracle team members as well as a Q & A session that will allow you to pretend you’re a member of the conventional sailing media by asking stupid questions while wearing a Musto jacket and nodding your head knowledgably.
West Coast Viper dealer ‘Schoonerman’ will have a Viper booth set up that will surely take up some of Dixie’s time – especially if Schoon can get his brand new boat out of sail jail (a/k/a US Customs). Another Viperer, Rockhead, is exhibiting for Flexofold folding props, and Dixie will get an update from him on the world of brass bits and how bummed he was to miss Charleston (you can see the last time we spoke to Rock here).
Harken is also showing off the new Radial winches that recently became available, and it’s always good to check in with them to see what their R&D folks are working on, while SA will check in with our friends at Quantum, Euromarine, Lewmar, Weta, Open Sailing, West, and so on – and if you want to meet the newest member of the SA staff, send her a PM or shoot her an email to set it up. Of course she’ll stop schmoozing long enough to look for clever new bits, idiotic inventions, and the other inane things that make boat shows so fun – at least after a few drinks.
Most importantly, Dixie’s got a box full of SA swag and a few bottles of rum with her, and she’ll be giving both out to the folks that say hello and share a happy hour drink. The kind folks at Harken have allowed us to hijack their booth for an SA happy hour starting Friday at 6 PM, so stop by and share a drink and a story or two, and you might win something cool. Shirts, hats, belts, and one SA fleece top are up for grabs, but only folks who drop their name in our electronic hat by 4 PM on Friday are eligible to win, and you have to be present to win.
Finally, Dixie is going to take a good, hard look at the Forespar TruPlug while she’s over at Jack London – for what, we can only imagine, though we’re guessing it’ll be a hit in San Francisco…
