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Cruiser Bob Smith, of the home-built 44-ft catamaran Pantera, hasn't been heard from in three months. His daughter has become concerned.
An educational nonprofit in Redwood City is the latest organization to be locked in an inexplicable struggle with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s permitting process.
Long before Merlin and Imp, Blondie and Condor — and Charley, The Wizard, Morning Cloud, Santa Cruz 27s/50s/70s, Regardless, Fast Is Fun, Mirabella V, the Chicken Coop, half the Swan lineup in the ’80s and ’90s and, well, everything else — Ron Holland and Bill Lee were just two young guys having fun and hoping to make a career in the marine industry.
around the world race
The old Volvo has been tossed out and is on its way to the wreckers. That is, the old format for the Volvo Ocean Race is history, along with its title sponsor and the Volvo Ocean boats.
"S/V Golden Rule, a project of Veterans For Peace, needs a captain/skipper who can prepare the boat and crew, then skipper the gaffe-rigged ketch to and around Hawaii in spring 2019," read a press release from Jan Passion, who's been involved with the storied Golden Rule for a number of years.
America's Cup News
They're in! On Wednesday, we floated the well-founded rumor that Taylor Canfield would head up a Long Beach Yacht Club-flagged America's Cup team. Now it's official.
Citizen Science
Sailors and the general public can participate in the California King Tides Project. The project asks Californians to observe the ultra-high tides and share their photographs.
Do You Like to DIY?
Latitude Nation — It’s been a while since we’ve asked any DIY questions, and with the weather going all gray and wintry, we’re wondering if anyone out there is working on a rainy-day project or projects.
Rumor has it that a new proposed America's Cup team hails from Long Beach Yacht Club. The New Zealand Herald speculates that Taylor Canfield's USA 21 challenge has been accepted.
Bay Area Sailing
The weekend of December 8-9 was a chilly one on San Francisco Bay, but a northeasterly provided some fine sailing in the East Bay for racers, daysailors and junior students alike.
Here’s your December Caption Contest(!). This is another image that has floated around the Internet, making it difficult to credit.
If you're looking to challenge yourself in the Etchells class there's no better place to be this winter than the four-race Biscayne Bay Series in Florida. Jim Cunningham traveled east for the first regatta and took second place behind 2017 world champion Steve Benjamin.
A while back, the KQED podcast Bay Curious did a fun investigation of the Bay Area’s foghorns.
Holiday Events
Many festive boats are lighting up the night this month, some in their slips and others in parades. The Lighted Yacht Parade on the Oakland-Alameda Estuary was held on December 1.
Solo Sailor
British solo sailor Susie Goodall has been rescued from her boat, dismasted in a Southern Ocean storm.
The professional racing on these classic — and formerly Olympic-class — boats in Nassau has been exciting to watch, and the coverage, including the graphics and play-by-play announcing is of a caliber equivalent to the sailing itself.
Tomorrow, the BCDC commissioners will vote on a settlement with Westpoint Harbor, marking the possible conclusion of a years-long conflict between one of the Bay Area’s newest marinas and a government agency that many people feel has gone astray of its founding mission.
After the first full-on winter storm blew through town last week, there seems to be a bit of carnage in its wake — though not necessarily related to the tempest itself.
Midwinter Sailing
On Saturday morning, some last rain squalls blew through, leaving rainbows behind. The northwesterly on the Cityfront had already cranked up well before the start time.
Following 10 months of touring around the planet, Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi team closed the grand finale in first place on the double-points Act leaderboard.
West Coast Circumnavigators
After just over 50 days at sea following his late-September departure from San Francisco, Randall Reeves finally reached Cape Horn sometime yesterday after a few days of gale-force conditions.
"When I was young, I dreamed of taking off on a sailboat, exploring the oceans, and claiming deserted islands for myself." Those are the words of Martin Machado. Learn where his dreams led him in December's Latitude 38.
Cruising Rally
What can I say?The Baja Ha-Ha is one of the great adventures of a lifetime, and you have to do it to get it.
Bay Area Development
As the San Francisco Bay shoreline continues to be developed with high-rent waterfront properties, access to sailing is feeling the pressure.
If you’re from the East Coast, you might find that for a state with so much sunshine, Californians sure do complain about the weather a lot.
Longtime readers of Latitude 38 are probably familiar with the adventures of Bruce Balan and Alene Rice of the California-based Cross 46 trimaran Migration.
golden globe race
Suddenly, the boat was as picked up by a huge wave and surfed down the forward face. The bows dug in and the boat went end-for-end before rolling out on her side.
On Friday, a ferry crashed into the dock at the San Francisco Ferry Building. There were 53 passengers onboard at the time, but no injuries were reported.
Latitude Nation:
A former CNN producer and self described cruising novice recently asked an interesting question in an online article: “We are two years and 4,000 nautical miles into our dream of sailing around the world. 
Solo Transatlantic Race
Route du Rhum Happy The Route du Rhum — now more than three weeks old — is entering its closing stages, though many boats remain on the more than 3,500-mile course.
Sailing