Skip to content
Archive for November 2015

El Yo-Yo Is Complete

November 11, 2015
Profligate, fleeing the temperate zone for the tropics, despite the danger of sailing off the curve of the earth.  latitude/Richard
©2015Latitude 38 Media, LLC It was only in August that we brought the 63-ft catamaran Profligate 1,000 miles north from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego, with a six-day weather layover in Cabo and Gomorrah. More »

Days of Future Passed

November 9, 2015
These days, historical milestones seem to pop up every few weeks on the evening news. Recent ones include the 77th anniversary of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast and the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future II, in which media pundits pondered how accurate — or mostly inaccurate — its predictions were. More »

Memories of Merlin

We were on the Baja Ha-Ha when we read in ‘Lectronic that Bill Lee had bought Merlin, the ultralight sled that he’d designed and built in 1977, and that he had trucked back to Santa Cruz with an eye to doing the 2017 Transpac. More »

22nd Annual Ha-Ha is in the Books

Doing their best impression of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the 1953 classic From Here to Eternity, this unidentified couple gets an A for effort.  latitude/Andy
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC All that’s left of the 22nd annual Baja Ha-Ha cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria, are the memories. More »

Let the Good Times Roll… and Roll

November 6, 2015
Flop-stoppers, roll stabilizers, anti-roll devices — whatever you call them, they’re required equipment if you want a good night’s sleep in a rolly anchorage. latitude/LaDonna
©2015Latitude 38 Media, LLC Southbound cruisers from Puget Sound or San Francisco Bay are spoiled by placid, lake-like anchorages. More »

Baja Ha-Ha Invades Cabo

Bathed in early morning light and driven by a light breeze from the northeast, the Ventura-based Beneteau 40 Vanishing Girl — a former Sunsail charter yacht — and the Ensenada-based Catalina 445 Tranquillo slipped out of the Bahia Santa Maria anchorage Thursday morning, destination: Cabo San Lucas. More »

Maritime Heroes Among Us

November 4, 2015
Old Pulteney and US Sailing have teamed up to honor men and women in sailing communities around the country for their outstanding humanitarian achievements. The Maritime Heroes Award recognizes those who are making significant contributions to volunteer, educate, advocate or simply encourage others to explore the sport. More »

Breeze On in Mini Transat

Davy Beaudart’s Flexirub leads a group of Minis departing Lanzarote on October 31. © 2015 Jacques Vapillon / Mini Transat Îles de Guadeloupe After one of the longer scheduled stopovers in recent memory, the 20th edition of the Mini Transat — one of the most extreme ocean races on the planet — is back under way, having started on Saturday. More »

Ha-Ha Leg 3 Underway

The scene yesterday on Profligate, Baja Ha-Ha’s mothership, anchored in Bahia Santa Maria. latitude/Richard
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC At 7 a.m. today the Baja Ha-Ha rally’s starting horn rang out via VHF across the Bahia Santa Maria anchorage, announcing the start of Leg 3, a 180-miler to Cabo San Lucas. The More »

Donna Lange Out of Africa

November 2, 2015
"One more milestone!" wrote Donna Lange in her sailing blog last week. "I am now past the Cape (of Good Hope) and Agulhas Point, the southernmost tip of Africa." This is the first of the five great capes the 53-year-old grandmother, former RN, and Rhode Island-based singer-songwriter must leave to port on her quest to become the first American woman to sail singlehanded around the world via the traditional ‘clipper route.’ More »