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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 Departs November 4th! 

The Latest Cruising News

Mexico Warms Winter With Banderas Bay Regatta and Other Race Events

While we’ve been watching the rain fall, Mexico has turned on the heat with their annual winter racing regattas.

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Ken Keefe Sends a Winter Window on Nautor Swan in Finland

Ken Keefe Nautor Swan

Nautor Swan builds sailboats at 64 degrees north in Jakobstad, Finland.

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BOLO — Coast Guard Searching for SV ‘Malulani,’ LA to Hawaii

The USCG has issued a missing person/BOLO report for the Westsail 32 ‘Malulani’ which is overdue on a passage from Long Beach, CA to Hawaii.

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Why Stand in Line When You Can Float to the Immigration Office?

floating line

When I reflect back on my life, one of the “coolest things ever” happened just 78 days ago.

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Nancy Ibison Sails South After Successful Fall Crew List Party

The view from the stateroom in Bahia Santa Maria.

Local sailor Nancy Ibison describes how she managed to finally hitch a ride on a boat for the Baja Ha-Ha with the ‘Latitude 38’ Crew List.

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Cruising Resources - Articles From the Latitude 38 Archives

Read the 2023 First Timer’s Guide to Mexico

First Timer's Guide to Mexico
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

Thanks to the Sponsors the Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha!

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