Archive for April 2008
Were Those Masked Men Actually Mexican Navy?
"We read the April 9 ‘Lectronic item about Besame, the Southern California-based mini-megayacht that was approached by a panga full of armed and masked men off the coast of mainland Mexico recently," write Guy and Deborah Bunting, former residents of Vista who have been cruising their M&M 46 catamaran Elan in Mexico and Central America for years now. More »
Happy Birthday, Olin
Birthday boy – Olin Stephens turned 100 this past weekend.
© 2008 Webb Logg
We would like to join the rest of the sailing world in wishing happy birthday to Olin Stephens, who turned 100 yesterday (April 13). More »
Le Ponant Hostages Released
The 30 crewmembers of Le Ponant were released Friday, after seven days in captivity.
© French Ministry of Defense
The 30 crewmembers of the 288-ft French luxury yacht Le Ponant, taken hostage on April 4 by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, were released Friday after the yacht’s owners paid a $2 million ransom. More »
The Pardeys to Speak in Sausalito
If you miss Lin and Larry Pardey’s talks at Strictly Sail next weekend (click here for details), you’ll have a chance to catch their "Sixteen Ways to Keep Your Lover" seminar at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito on April 24 at 7 p.m. More »
“Angels Don’t Always Travel by Air”
Before Snickers could board Pride of Aloha, he had to have a flea bath and haircut.
© 2008 Robby Coleman
Robby Coleman forwarded us the following update from Mark Bult, the crewmember from NCL’s Pride of Aloha cruise ship that offered to give Snickers, the little cocker spaniel abandoned by his owners on Fanning Island when their boat wrecked on a reef in December, a lift to Hawaii. More »
2,965 Solo Miles in 20 Days for Moonduster
The six boats in the anchorage at Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas are dwarfed by the tall peaks. (Note to Jim Corenman of SailMail: we know that photos aren’t supposed to be sent on SailMail, so sorry about the 20 minutes even the reduced resolution version took on the system.) More »
Marina del Rey 16-Year-Old to Circumnavigate
At 16, Zac Sunderland hopes to become the youngest solo circumnavigator.
© Marianne Sunderland
Laurence and Marianne Sunderland of Marina del Rey report that their 16-year-old son Zac, who has 15,000 ocean miles to his credit, will set off next month from Southern California in an attempt to become the youngest person to circumnavigate singlehanded. More »
Will It Turn into a Race?
Further to the above report, annoucing that Zac Sunderland, 16, hopes to set a record as the youngest solo circumnavigator, we should point out that another 16-year-old, Josh Clark of Panama City, Panama, may attempt the same feat. More »
Besame’s Close Call
A marine insurance industry professional in Southern California sent us an incident report from the 100-ft Northstar motoryacht Besame. The report, filed on March 5, details an attempted boarding by suspected pirates in international waters off Mexico. More »
Snickers Rescue is Imminent
After our March 24 ‘Lectronic Latitude story about the grim future for two pets abandoned by their American owners on Fanning Island after their boat wrecked on the atoll, we received a hopeful email from a dog and parrot lover in Nevada who wanted to save both animals. More »
Receive emails when 'Lectronic Latitude is updated. SUBSCRIBE