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Steampunk Sail
A steampunk sailing adventure to celebrate the last weekend of winter, and the first really nice weekend for months.
A case of the mondays
On Monday’s we like to surf the www-dots to see what kind of sailing news percolated over the weekend.
Round the World Race
Since it began last July, we’ve been calling the 50th anniversary of the Golden Globe Race the most grueling ocean racing event in recent memory.
Offshore Yacht Racing
Of the 31 boats entered, 24 completed the 800-mile race. The Swan 60 Good Call! made a good call to hunt for some breeze offshore. The move paid off.
Circumnavigators
We got the following email from Randall Reeves not long after we posted ‘Lectronic on Wednesday:  Well, Mo is around and has passed for the second time this passage under Cape Horn, thus completing her circuit of the Southern Ocean via the Capes, non-stop and solo.
Boat Show Raffle
You saw it here first. Jim DeWitt painted this original watercolor, titled Kids at Play, specifically for the cover of our April issue. You could take home the framed painting. We'll conduct a raffle, with the proceeds benefitting Bay Area youth sailing programs.
Aussie 18 Racing
California sailor Katie Love is a woman on a mission. “I want to prove that women can sail 18-ft skiffs just as good as men.” To that end, the 30-year-old skipper left her job running tugs on the West Coast and went to Sydney, Australia, to compete in this year’s 18-footer racing season and JJ Giltinan Championships.
Calls for help answered
A few months ago, a Latitude reader asked what they should do with their used flares.
First Day of Spring
Today is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, and, for most, the start of the peak sailing season. It's the day the sun crosses the equator from the Southern Hemisphere to the North just as members of the Pacific Puddle Jump fleet are doing the opposite — they are heading north to south.
Sailor Soccer
"The season began with a postponement, a game of Sailor Soccer, and a longer postponement back at the docks. 0.5 knots of wind with 4.5 knots of ebb made it hard to get a race off."
Nautical Trivia
Like most sailors, our maritime interests extend beyond sailing. And that news cycle has been eclectic lately. Here are just a few of the odd things that we’ve read about in the last few weeks…
National Offshore One Design
Checking in with San Diego Yacht Club from the past three days of racing in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta shows three days of tight racing in 12 one-design fleets.
Matthew Turner
With a little luck, the Matthew Turner has been coming along just fine. Thanks to Latitude guru John Skoriak for this epic shot.
Man Overboard
"During the Wednesday evening race, on his Moore 24, Morpheus, Rick Srigley and crew encountered heavy weather. Rick was washed overboard off the transom. His crew attempted to recover him while calling the Coast Guard."
Solo Circumnavigators
Jeanne Socrates is 160 days into her attempt to become the oldest person to sail nonstop and alone around the world. As it turns out, 160 days is the halfway point.
SoCal Racing
Starts in Newport Harbor Yacht Club's Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race began yesterday and conclude (with the two-boat Multihull Division) on Sunday.
The World Famous L38
Aaaaaannnnnnnnnd here’s your March Caption Contest(!). Good luck! You can send your entries here, or comment below.
YRA Seminar
Have you been daysailing on the Bay or cruising around the coast but thinking of starting a racing program? "We've got a seminar for you," says the Yacht Racing Association.
Marine Regulation
Do you know boatyard discharge has to be cleaner than drinking water? The water coming out of the hose going into the Bay is illegal. The same water from the same tap going into our water bottle is deemed safe for human consumption.
Nonstop Solo Circumnavigation
Uku Randmaa crossed the finish line at 9 a.m. UTC yesterday in the Golden Globe Race. Thousands of spectators lined the river entrance to welcome the 56-year-old Estonian solo circumnavigator.
The Boat Show
The upcoming Pacific Sail & Powerboat Show has more to offer than looking and shopping.
Resourceful Sailor
Resourceful sailor Joshua Wheeler was looking for an easier way to handle his gennaker while sailing shorthanded.
Polynesian Voyaging
In this month’s Latitude, author Michael Kew brings us a dispatch from the South Pacific island of Yap, which could be considered the heart of the modest Polynesian Voyaging renaissance that’s taken place over the last four decades.
Solo Circumnavigators
Nation — Another solo circumnavigator sent us an update. We were delighted to hear from the legendary Webb Chiles, who, after a unique transit of the Panama Canal, is about to embark on the last leg of his sixth circumnavigation.
To Catch a Thief
"A painting was stolen from the hallway at 125 Park Place in Point Richmond where I have my frame shop," says Pam Delaney, the daughter of artist Jim DeWitt.
Resourceful Sailor
I had been sailing Sampaguita, my 1985 Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20, for five years with a tedious setup for the gennaker, which meant I would rarely use it.
Old Latitudes
When you leaf through old issues of Latitude, a few things might .
Come Party with Us
Make plans to attend Latitude 38's Crew Party, Thursday, March 7, 6-9 p.m. at Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco
Pacific Puddle Jump
“Fantastic first day,” reported Charles Wilding this morning from the UK-based Nautitech 40 Wilderness. “Spinnaker up all day; put in second reef at sunset. Winds picked up as predicted… gusting 25.”
Shorthanded Sailing
The Round New Zealand is a coastal anticlockwise circumnavigation in four legs with multiple stopovers. And what a beautiful, challenging coast it is, with lee shores and a dip down to 46º south.
Better than a dating app
There have been too many people met, relationships forged and sailing bonds made at the Latitude 38 Crew List parties over the years to mention.
Shootin' the Breeze
“Changing Conditions” in Humboldt Bay If you’re planning on sailing into Humboldt Bay in the next few days or weeks, the Coast Guard is urging extreme caution.
Sailing Movies
One of the books that inspired us as kids was the story of Tinkerbelle, which chronicles the voyage of Robert Manry who sailed his 13.5-ft sloop from Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth, England, in 1965.