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
Entries for the ‘Fabulous Fifteen’ Baja Ha-Ha have been pouring in since we decided to ‘tip-toe’ into the 21st century by offering online sign-ups at www.baja-haha.com. If you’re still happily working your way through the last century, you can also sign up the old-fashioned way — see the website or the June Latitude 38 for…
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Four months from now, hundreds of cruisers will be making final preparations for the 15th annual San Diego to Cabo rally. latitude/Andy© Latitude 38 Media, LLC It’s live! As we write this, the Baja Ha-Ha cruising rally’s brand new online sign-up procedure has just been finalized and is now ‘live’ — meaning that potential entrants…
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"Who was that guy?" That’s the question Baja Ha-Ha Rally Committee members were asking themselves shortly after the awards ceremony. During the festivities, a nice young man had volunteered to set up a photo-sharing website specifically for this year’s Ha-Ha’ers. But afterwards, it became quickly apparent that no Committee members had caught his name, or…
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In order to teach the onlooking Ha-Ha kids that love is preferable to violence, one of the Here To Eternity couples enters the contest arena. latitude/Richard© Latitude 38 Media, LLC We never would have suspected, but the most hard fought competition in the Baja Ha-Ha has become the Here To Eternity Kiss contest, which celebrates…
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When the supercargo is away, the crew will play. We can’t be sure, but it’s believed that Dave Cort, (third from left), Commodore of the Los Angeles YC, was behind the dance party that broke out on Profligate the afternoon spent in Bahia Santa Maria. The other conspirators included, from left, Carol, his wife, Gail…
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
