Visit Latitude 38’s Independent Online Bookstore
We are pleased to announce the launch of Latitude 38‘s new bookstore for all of your sailing literature needs.
We have partnered with bookshop.org and our friends at Sausalito Books by the Bay to offer you an independent, online bookstore with over 100 of the most popular sailing-and-maritime-themed titles.
You can find the bookstore here, www.bookshop.org/shop/latitude38.
Not only will you be supporting independent bookstores with your online purchase of hard copies, paperbacks, audiobooks and DVDs featured on our list, you’ll also be supporting Latitude 38 directly via the small commission that we make on each sale.
From fiction to nonfiction, classics to underground favorites, history and how-to’s, navigating and maintenance, racing and cruising, triumph, tragedy and the joys of cruising, there is something for every sailor and every season.
We’re calling this our “Books Recommended by Our Favorite Sailors” list, which was inspired by our Good Jibes podcast. Every time we have someone on the “pod,” we ask them about their favorite books. We’ve heard lots of titles that you’d expect, like Two Years Before the Mast, Maiden Voyage, Sailing Alone Around the World, The Long Way, Swell, etc.
But there may also be many never-before-heard titles to tickle your fancy, such as The Lion’s Paw, recommended by Dawn Riley, The Riddle of the Sands, recommended by Peter Isler, or John G. Alden and His Yacht Designs, recommended by our staff. Don’t forget the graphic stories Set to Sea and Cursed Pirate Girl, which are also recommended by our staff.
There are even books whose prose is completely off the sailing spectrum. There’s Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas, recommended by Helena Scutt, the Malcolm Gladwell best seller David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, recommended by Walt Raineri, and America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization, recommended by Mike Parlacoski.
We’ve all listened to podcasts where we’ve “vibed” with the guest, and become interested in the things that interest them. Our Recommended Book List gives you a chance to go down the rabbit hole of many a sailor’s psyche.
Despite our best efforts, we’re quite sure that there are many books that we’ve forgotten or overlooked, or that we just don’t know about. Please feel free to offer any recommendations below. We could probably use more how-to and technical titles, and we’re always curious about sailing art, poetry and culture.
Please feel free to share any feedback you have about using the book list. Unfortunately, not all titles are available, nor are all titles available on an audiobook. (For example, Flying Colours, the eighth book in the Hornblower series, won’t upload to our bookstore.)
And please feel free to share your favorite quotes, memories and moments with your favorite sailing books. We’ll go first:
“So quiet, too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if these sails had been sculptured marble they could not have been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of the canvas; not even a quivering of the extreme edges of the sail, so perfectly were they distended by the breeze. I was so lost in the sight that I forgot the presence of the man who came out with me, until he said (for he, too, rough old man-of-war’s-man as he was, had been gazing at the show), half to himself, still looking at the marble sails, ‘How quietly they do their work!'”
― Richard Henry Dana Jr., Two Years Before the Mast
Twenty-Eighth Baja Ha-Ha Fleet Arrives in Cabo San Lucas
It feels as if they all just left, but after almost two weeks of fabulous sailing and fun in the sun, the 28th Baja Ha-Ha fleet has now finished a light-air final leg to Cabo San Lucas.
But actually, it ain’t over till it’s over. First, there is still the awards ceremony (tomorrow night), which is hosted by Marina Cabo San Lucas. Every boat gets an award. Each division has a first and second place, then everyone else ties for third place. Then there are other special awards and, of course, stories to be told long into the night.
Yes, the 28th Baja Ha-Ha has concluded another successful passage. Some see it as the end of the show, but others see it as just the beginning of their adventure. A few sailors may be heading home, but the vast majority are just beginning a year of cruising Mexico, or are on the first step of a multi-year cruise. The Swan 46 Black Swan of Mission Viejo, with skipper Nadav Rozenberg, has already slipped around the corner to La Paz.
We’ll have more on the 28th Baja Ha-Ha in the December issue. If you’re reading this in Cabo, enjoy your season! Now, will you sail north to the Sea of Cortez for the Baja Beach Party in La Paz, or wherever will the wind take you? If you’re dreaming of next year it’s never too early to start planning.
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Caption Contest(!)
Ouch! Here’s this month’s Caption Contest(!). No need for us to say anything; the comments will say it all.
Check out October’s Caption Contest results in November’s Loose Lips.
Route du Rhum Sets Sail From Brittany to Guadeloupe
As this edition of ‘Lectronic Latitude posts, the record-breaking fleet of 138 solo sailors have now been at sea for about 48 hours in the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum. After a three-day delay — to allow a powerful storm front with supersized waves to pass — the race got underway in champagne conditions. Two days into the race, there has been no shortage of action and drama among the fleet. Meanwhile, the racing at the front remains red-hot in almost every division. While the delayed start allowed for the worst of the conditions to pass, some competitors have still had to contend with up to 45 knots of breeze as they sail through a cold front.
Maxi Trimarans
The most highly anticipated battle in this Route du Rhum is undoubtedly that of the Ultim 32/23 class trimarans. Charles Caudrelier and his trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (aka Gitana 17) has proven to be the class benchmark for years, and he has led this edition of the Route du Rhum since the start. Originally penalized four hours for crossing the starting line early, his team successfully challenged the race committee, leaving Caudrelier well and truly in the lead. Hot on his heels, however, is François Gabart on his new trimaran SVR Lazartigue, which has now pulled alongside Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3 is not far behind in third place.
IMOCA 60 Fleet
The second-most high-profile battle in the fleet is that of the massive 37-boat IMOCA 60 fleet. Charlie Dalin and Apivia have unsurprisingly shown a definite boat-speed advantage over the rest of the fleet. Dalin has led since the start, though the tracker has at times shown other boats in first due to their being more northerly in their position and on a shorter theoretical route. Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut has consistently been the second-quickest boat in the fleet. Kevin Escoffier’s newly launched Holcim PRB has proven to be the quickest of the new builds and has generally been in third place. English sailor Pip Hare, sponsored by the San Francisco-based company Medallia, has been hovering around 30th place.
Class 40 Fleet
The largest fleet in the race is that of the Class 40s, with an incredible 55 starters. Bay Area native Alex Mehran, one of two Americans in the fleet, is sailing the race of his life right now and is currently in fifth place. Ahead of Mehran is a trio of Figaro hotshots and Ian Lipinski on Credit Mutuel, which has more or less been the benchmark for the Class 40 fleet for the past three years. Former Mini Transat winner Coretin Douguet is currently leading on Queguiner-Innoveo, though the fleet is extremely close. Likewise, the Ocean Fifty trimaran fleet is also extremely close and competitive, with Quentin Vlamynck on Arkema currently in the lead.
This race is still in its infancy, with a ton of racing left to go! The weather synopsis again looks complicated, with the passage of a front and multiple routing options to get to the trade winds. Stay tuned for more updates.
Sailing Legends Brad Butterworth and Josh Belsky Visit Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club
A couple of weeks ago Jeff Canepa of the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club let us know of a visit by sailing legends New Zealand AC sailor Brad Butterworth and American AC sailor Josh Belsky. While golf brought them to Monterey, sailors brought them to MPYC.
As many will remember, Brad played a critical role as tactician and skipper in the America’s Cup for Team New Zealand and Team Alinghi for Switzerland. He was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2004. Butterworth became skipper himself and went on to win the 2007 America’s Cup in Valencia, again beating Team New Zealand, this time 5–2. Brad has sailed and been successful in numerous international sailing competitions, including the Admiral’s Cup, the Kenwood Cup, the Sydney to Hobart Race, the Fastnet Race, the Whitbread Round the World Race and the America’s Cup. In 1987, Brad skippered the top-ranked Admiral’s Cup boat Propaganda as New Zealand won that year’s Cup. In 1995, Brad was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services in yachting.
American Josh Belsky has also raced in numerous America’s Cups, including aboard America3 when they won the Cup in San Diego. He raced with Dennis Connor in a losing effort in ’95, went on to win the 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race with Paul Cayard aboard EF Language, and joined the AmericaOne Challenge in 2000. Belsky joined Alinghi as they won the Cup in 2003, and for a successful defense in 2007.
The very active Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club hosts its own world-class regattas on Monterey Bay, and welcomes sailors visiting however and from wherever they sail. It’s well known that sharing a glass of wine with successful sailors always raises your ambition and improves your results in future local regattas.
San Francisco on the Bay: “The List”
Dine, Drink, Smoke, Stay, Play and Shop. Discover San Francisco Bay and all that inspires those of us who live or visit here.