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Primo Conditions for Puddle Jump Migration March 13, 2009 – Pacific Ocean (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) The Puerto Vallarta contingent of '09 Puddle Jumpers says adios during Latitude's recent kickoff party at Paradise Village Resort's Vallarta YC. Photo Latitude / Andy © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc. During the past week, at least 10 boats have set sail from a variety of ports in Mexico, Central America and Ecuador bound for French Polynesian landfalls — and according to initial reports, conditions could hardly be more ideal. According to three-time Puddle Jumper Bob Bechler of the Seattle-based Gulfstar 44 Sisiutl, "Boats out there on the passage are finding trade winds in the teens off the aft quarter and seas under a meter high — great conditions!" It's no surprise that Rebecca and Patrick Childress of Brick House are ahead of the pack, as they've both been doing offshore deliveries for years. © 2009 Herb McCormick As far as we can tell, the Rhode Island-based Valiant 40 Brick House is currently the farthest out, roughly 1,200 miles from the Marquesas, having left from Panama in mid-February, with a pit stop in the Galapagos Islands. As in years past, the bulk of the fleet is leaving from Mexican ports. Within that group, the Mapleleaf 50 Love Song, with the Simis family aboard, was the first away and is currently leading the fleet by roughly 200 miles. Look for a complete report on this year's fleet in the April edition of Latitude 38. - latitude / at

KKMI to Take Over Anderson's Location

March 13, 2009 – Sausalito

The rumors have been floating around for a while. Now it’s official: the lease for Anderson’s Boatyard in Sausalito was not renewed, and this fall, Keefe-Kaplan Maritime, Inc. (KKMI) will take over the facilities there. This will be an additional ‘branch’ for KKMI, whose main yard in Richmond was founded by Paul Kaplan and Ken Keefe in the mid-’90s.

While the exchange has been portrayed in some local media as a rivalry, Kaplan says that’s far from the case. “In the past I’ve had many boats serviced by Anderson’s and they’ve always done a wonderful job. We hope to continue to serve the maritime community in the same friendly and efficient manner after the move.”

Obviously, there are a lot of ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross before fall. Look for the most up-to-date details in the April issue of Latitude 38.

- latitude / jr

Crew List Party Packs 'Em In

March 13, 2009 – The Bay

Have you ever actually been in an inflated liferaft? If you'd come by Wednesday night's Spring Crew List Party, you'd have had the chance, thanks to Sal's Inflatables. Photo Latitude / LaDonna © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

If you were one of the over 200 people who spent Wednesday evening with us over at the Golden Gate YC, then you know there was something for everyone at the Latitude 38 Spring Crew List Party. Everywhere you looked, people wearing one or both name tags that said "looking to crew," or "looking for crew," were making connections, exchanging information and finding complementary interests.

Ingrid (left) is an experienced racer and Ha-Ha veteran who came to the party to network for rides and also recruit for a Transpac effort. Kendra is new to sailing. She came to the party because she's given up on airplanes and committed to traveling alternatively. She needs to get to Hawaii next year and figured it was time to learn how to sail. Photo Latitude / Rob © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

Although we didn't take an exact count, there was a good balance between guys and gals that had to have beeen pretty close to half-and-half. Ditto for the age distribution — there were probably at least 50 people there that were under the age of 30.

Aislinn (left) is a new member of San Francisco YC's New Wave Program and already jumping into the Bay's sailing scene. She brought along friend Renna to get her into it too. Photo Latitude / LaDonna © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

It also seemed that the attendees' objectives were as diverse as their ages. There were people looking to race, daysail, cruise, do deliveries, and all of the above. Their experience levels ranged from "enthusiastic novice" to everything from committed daysailors, seasoned Baja Ha-Ha veterans, cruisers, and hardcore racers.

Emma and Matt sail in the City's only high school sailing program, hosted and supported the Golden Gate YC. With summer coming up, they're looking to expand their sailing to bigger boats. Photo Latitude / Rob © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

We noticed proactive prospective skippers and crew using a variety of different tools to "market" themselves. There were skippers that brought flyers with info like a boat photo, skipper's bio and schedule for the year. There were more than few 'boat cards' and sailing résumés traded.

Rick came to the party knowing exactly what kind of sailing he wanted to do. He made sure everyone else did too and it worked! He shows off a boat flyer, just one of the many tools proactive skippers brought to the table at the Crew List Party. Photo Latitude / Rob © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

If you missed the party, you really missed a great chance to network with committed prospective crew and skippers. But all is not lost! Take advantage of our online crew list, where you'll find a lot of the folks who didn't make the party either!

- latitude / rg

Doo Dah Hooplah

March 13, 2009 – The Bay to the Delta

Photo Latitude / LaDonna © 2009 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.

Within 48 hours of announcing the Delta Doo Dah in March 4's 'Lectronic, all 30 available spots in this first annual fun rally to the Delta were spoken for. Though we knew some folks would be disappointed, we intentionally limited the number of entries so we could work out the bugs this year with the hope of expanding next year.

But if you didn't make it as an official Doo Dah entry, don't let that stop you from enjoying all the Delta has to offer. You can even use the Doo Dah website as a reference for planning your own trip to the Delta. Over the next few months, we'll be adding some of our more useful Delta articles for download, plus links to companies and services, and much more. We're even dipping our toe into the social networking scene by joining Twitter — follow our 'tweets' on announcements, news and even what's happening during the Doo Dah in real time!

- latitude / ld

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