Heading South: Latitude 38's Guide to Sailing and Cruising the Coast of Mexico and Central America
Cruising News for Mexico and Beyond
The 30th Annual Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Was One of the Best Ever!
Stay Tuned for Information on Baja Ha-Ha 2026.
The Latest Cruising News
Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Frys Harbor.© 2009 Mark Reed "We’ve been buddyboating down the coast with one of the 191 registered Ha-Ha boats," report Mark and Vicki Reed of the Portland-based Ericson 38 Southern Cross. "While in Monterey, we met the Foley family — Kevin and Lisa, and their sons Mick and Teagan — aboard the Island Packet…
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As of today, the Baja Ha-Ha has received 186 paid entries, and several more are expected. This means the old entry record of 183 has been eclipsed. This comes as a pleasant surprise to the Grand ‘worst case scenario’ Poobah who, back in May, feared the entry list might be as low as 100 boats…
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Tom, Nicole and the kids at Catalina yesterday, during a shakedown for late October’s Ha-Ha. It will be at least the fourth Ha-Ha for Tom. latitude/Nick©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC The last time Tom and Nicole Lyon of San Diego did the Baja Ha-Ha, she was four months pregnant. A lot has happened since. Most…
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Four-time circumnavigator Scott Piper will join the Ha-Ha fleet while en route to Panama and Scotland. Pipe Dream IX© Latitude 38 Media, LLC While reviewing background info on this year’s Baja Ha-Ha entrants, William (Scott) Piper III’s stats jumped off the page at us. In fact, when we read that he’d logged more than 180,000…
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Although details have yet to be finalized, festivities in San Diego surrounding the annual Baja Ha-Ha cruisers’ rally are expected to reach a new level. Tenants of the Port of San Diego, in conjunction with several government agencies, are working with the Rally Committee and Latitude 38, to give the Ha-Ha — which is the…
Read MoreCruising Resources - Articles From the Latitude 38 Archives
Read the 2023 First Timer’s Guide to Mexico
Latitude 38's First Timer's Guide to Mexico Update for 2023.
Why Cruise Mexico?
Walk the docks of any marina from Vancouver to San Diego this summer and you're likely to find dozens of sailors fitting out their boats for extended cruising. Where are they headed? While some undoubtedly have lofty dreams of eventually cruising the South Pacific, the Caribbean or the Med, destination numero uno for almost all of them is Mexico.
Fitting Out: The Cruisers Back Porch
A centuries-old adage claims, "You can tell a lot about a sailor by the cut of his jib." But when it comes to modern cruisers, nothing reveals more about their sailing style than the 'back porch' of their boat. That is, the stern section, which may house everything from solar panels to surfboards, and barbecues to radar domes.
Favorite Sailing Apps
One of the frustrating aspects of living in this 'app-happy' era of endless innovation is that is it seems almost impossible to keep up with the latest, greatest developments in technology — including smartphone, tablet and computer software related to boating.
The Info on AIS
Now more than ever, the modern sailor has lots to choose from when it comes to navigation and safety instruments. Communication devices such as the Iridium GO! and Garmin inReach (which also has GPS capabilities) have complemented the single-sideband radio and VHF. Chartplotters have digitized and dramatically simplified navigation, and radar has long been an important tool for identifying marine traffic, obstacles and weather.
Offshore Communication
With the ever-expanding assortment of communications devices designed for offshore sailing, comes the dilemma of deciding which ones belong on your 'must-have' list, and which ones you can live without — especially if you're on a limited budget. With that in mind, we'll share some tips and insights here that we hope will reduce your befuddlement.
Communications: Idiots Guide to SSB
Despite several advances in offshore voice communications such as satphones, marine single sideband (SSB) isn't going away anytime soon. That's because SSB, unlike satphones, allows an unlimited number of people to listen to a transmission at the same time.
Small Boat Adventuring in the Sea of Cortez
You don't have to own a fully equipped 50-ft cruising boat to enjoy the spectacular Sea of Cortez, a vast, sparsely developed wonderland for sailors and adventurers.
Latitude reader Derek Rice and a buddy recently had big fun tapping into the region's magic aboard a 44-year-old Catalina 22 daysailer.
Cruising Notes—Things to Know Before You Go
