Sailors Beat the Traffic to Ensenada
For the second year in a row the first finishers in the 70th Newport to Ensenada Race, which started on Friday, completed the race before the race committee and media could drive from Newport Beach across the border to Ensenada. "Who would have thought a sailboat could make it to Ensenada faster than a car?" questioned NOSA’s Dave Shockley.
Though no records were broken, Lloyd Thornburg’s, MOD70 Phaedo3 and Howard Enloe’s ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe crossed the finish line with times of 5:45:52 and 5:49:28 respectively.
What was a swift race for the fleetest boats in the fleet turned into a slowpoke bob-fest for the rest just south of San Diego. Though high winds had dissipated even before the start, a big sea swell remained, and Saturday morning finishers reported a slow, bumpy night.
Click here to view more of Tom Walker’s photos from the race, and see www.newporttoensenada.com for results and much more.
What Went Wrong (or Right) Here?
We are at a loss for what might have gone wrong (or right) here. Is this the rough beginning of an impromptu raft-up? Did the motor boat believe that they had starboard tack? Is there a transfer of beer or other essential provisions going on?
Why don’t you take a crack at it. That’s right: It’s a caption contest. Please send your submissions here.
Message in a Bottle
Sailors have long followed the tradition of putting a message in a bottle and hurling it into the sea, sometimes as a call for help after being stranded on a deserted island, sometimes just to see where it goes. With the latter in mind, Latitude 38 decided to drop a message in a bottle (MIB) in a random copy of the April issue to see where it might show up.
John Schroeder went down to his local West Marine in Anacortes, WA and was lucky enough to get the next-to-last copy of Latitude 38. After finding our "message in a bottle," John — the owner of the 42-ft center cockpit Fraser 42 Hoku Iki — sent in a photo of himself holding the April issue and the lucky message, which offered the recipient some Latitude swag in the form of a hat or t-shirt.
"I’d really like one of your hats," John responded. So today we’re sending Mr. Schroeder a cap along with our May issue, which hits the stands today up and down the West Coast. Oh yeah, keep a weather eye out for the next MIB, contact us, and we’ll send the appropriate apparel your way.
Over the years, we’ve heard quite a few message in a bottle stories. One of the most amazing was the German beer bottle that was found 101 years after it had been tossed into the ocean. According to our investigative Wikipedia reporting, MIBs were first used around 310 B.C., when the Greek philosopher Theophrastus chucked bottles into the sea to conduct a study of ocean currents.
Happy hunting, everyone.
May Day Issue of Latitude Is Out
The May Day issue of Latitude 38 has hit the streets — er, docks — to demonstrate our resistance to… staying ashore.
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC
The May issue is replete with stories from near and far, both geographically and temporally speaking. Features include 40 Years of Latitude Pt. II, Salute to Master Mariners, A San Francisco Sailor in the Solitaire du Figaro, Delta Cruising — the Great Escape and Pacific Puddle Jump Profiles, and Max Ebb visits the Old Salts’ Club. Plus Calendar, Letters, Loose Lips, Sightings, Racing Sheet, World of Chartering, Changes in Latitudes, Classy Classifieds, and, listed here last but certainly not last in our esteem, display advertising.
Look for our Reader Survey on page 11. Tell us what you really think.
Sure, you’ll be able to read the magazine online for free later this afternoon, but why not pick up an actual printed magazine? Go ahead, get some ink on your hands. We dare ya!