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Fun with the Fleet

November 5 - Bahia Santa Maria, BCS

A couple more photos from the Baja Ha-Ha fleet's sojourn in Bahia Santa Maria:


American Boogie Boards and a Mexican panga


The lobster feast was divine.
Photos Latitude/Richard & Andy


Morocco and the Canary Islands

November 5 - Tenerife, Canary Islands

Ken and Nancy Burnap of Santa Cruz are cruising Europe aboard their Amel Super Maramu 53 Notre Vie. Nancy checks in with this report:

"Morocco was very interesting. We visited Morocco by bus and taxi. It was a little overwhelming in the markets, but we enjoyed the culture shock. Had a great time in the small town of Ashila on the Atlantic coast, a smaller town with an artist community. The people in the market weren't so aggressive - in fact it is the only place I bought anything!

"Now we are on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Scott Pine (who used to race with Ken) and his wife Lolita are coming on the 5th, and we will go down to the Cape Verde Islands and then on to the Caribbean. The first three islands that we visited here, Graciosa, Lanzarote - where our rental car was robbed - and Grand Canary, were just okay. The volcanoes are interesting but there are rocks, rocks and more rocks, with modular houses and building with no style. It is surprisingly cool. But Santa Cruz on Tenerife is a beautiful European city with great architecture, parks, and large beautiful trees. I had to hug one, it is just so great to see green."


Petrified lava on Lanzarote
Photo Courtesy www.red2000.com/spain/canarias


Affluent Americans Afloat

November 5 - Cleveland, OH

KeyBank released the results of a national boating survey a few days ago that found affluent Americans - whom they defined as those with a salary over $150,000 or a net worth of $500,000 - are three times more likely to own a boat than the national average. The survey also revealed that 14% of those rich guys already own a boat, and that 37% are interested in owning a boat in the near future.

A bit more about the demographic was revealed under the question, "If money were no object, what type of boat would you purchase? Not surprisingly, most (55%) opted for a big motorboat. Only 20% named a sailboat and 14% chose a fishing boat. "We were a bit surprised about the popularity of the sailboats," said Scott Ward, a KeyBank VP.

Perhaps the most telling question on the survey - most of whose results seem pretty obvious to us but are apparently useful to bankers - was "Who would you most like to have as captain of your ship? Keeping in mind that the survey results were released before Tuesday's election, 48% of the affluent Americans surveyed chose George W. Bush as their skipper, 33% picked Captain John Kerry, and the remaining 19% were undecided.


Most Requested Reprint

November 5 - Mill Valley

What's the most requested reprint of anything that's appeared in Latitude 38 over the past 27 years? Believe it or not, it was a short Sightings article by John Vigor that appeared in the magazine almost 10 years ago called The Denaming Ceremony. Vigor ran into the probably common problem of buying a boat whose name he didn't like - but he couldn't find any proper way to change the name without possibly invoking the wrath of the sea gods. So, using many of the same traditions used when christening a new boat, he concocted the denaming ceremony. It worked for him, it's worked for us, and it apparently works for the scores of others who keep requesting it. It's posted on the Web site in the Features section.

Vigor says this short article remains among the most popular things he's put together in a writing career that spans 30 years, 10 books and hundreds of articles. It helped inspire his 11th book, How to Rename Your Boat (And 19 Other Useful Ceremonies, Superstitions, Prayers, Rituals and Curses), which was published by Paradise Press this year and will be featured in our annual new book review in the December print issue of Latitude 38.


Santa Cruz Harbor to Replace Launch Ramp

November 5 - Santa Cruz

The folks at Santa Cruz Harbor wanted us to let you know that the launch ramp there will be closed for the winter season, starting Monday, November 8. The existing launch ramp will be demolished and a new ramp using a deep 'V' groove system will be installed, along with new floats and new concrete at the top of the ramp. Construction is expected to take about 3-4 months.



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