Posts by Richard
The $25,000 Cruising Solution
How much/little do you need to spend to get a good 38-ft cruising boat?
In the case of Ben and Molly Doolittle of Sacramento, seen here with their sons Mickey and JP at the Red Chair street taco stand in La Cruz, it was just $25,000. More »
We Can See Both Sides
On November 5, four days after leaving San Diego on what was to be a two-year circumnavigation, singlehander Dennis Howard was taken off his San Diego-based Flicka 20 Avalo by the crew of the 378-ft Coast Guard vessel Mellon, and his boat was left to drift. More »
Getting Crabby in the Cooks
Among the most interesting animals that cruisers encounter for the first time in the South Pacific is the coconut crab. Check out the one — they are typically blue — being held up by Randy Ramirez of the Stockton-based Mariah 31 Mystic at Suwarrov Atoll in the Cook Islands a few months ago. More »
Hot Spot for Dictator’s Kids?
On Monday we reported that Harper’s Bazaar magazine identified cruiser favorite Punta Mita as the hottest destination in the world for celebrities. Maybe there is something to it, as this morning Bloomberg News reported that Mexican authorities claim they broke up an attempt in November by al-Saadi Qaddafi, one of the sons of deposed and dead Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, to use fake documents to enter Mexico, open bank accounts and buy land at Punta Mita. More »
Blast Wrap-Up
Roger and Diana Frizzelle’s Catalina 470 Di’s Dream and John and Gilly Foy’s Catalina 42 Destiny, both from Alameda, battled it out in the last race of the Blast. The greenery behind them was slated to be a Ritz-Carleton hotel, but the plans are on hold. More »
Banderas Bay Blast
Yesterday’s second race of the Banderas Bay Blast was from La Cruz to Punta Mita. Although the wind briefly got into teens, it was mostly in the single digits. There were whales, dolphins and flat water. More »
Mexican Navy Aids Beached Singlehander
The 34-ft sloop Waltzing Matilda was lost on the rocks at Punta Camarones, Mantanchen Bay, San Blas, yesterday morning in relatively calm conditions, report several cruisers on the scene.
Waltzing Matilda on the beach at Punta Camarones. More »
Latitude Drops Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the first day of December, and that means that the December issue of Latitude 38 will be making its way around the Bay Area and beyond. In it you’ll find a recap on the ‘Barely Legal’ edition of the Baja Ha-Ha, an interview with Rich and Sheri Crowe, the second installment on the Season Champs, the low-down on Kame Richards’ land sailer, Max Ebb’s gift-giving guide and more than Santa could carry in his sack. More »
Bits and Pieces from Mexico
14 to 1!
The peso dropped to 14.2 to against the dollar last Friday. Cruisers were even getting a whopping 14 to 1 at ATM machines. In July, the peso was 11.5 to the dollar. More »
Ha-Ha Folks in Caribbean 1500
As we’ve often written, we West Coast sailors generally have a much easier time getting to the tropics than do our sailing friends on the East Coast. Lynn Potter and Larry Klein of the Carmichael-based Catalina 470 Beaudacious, vets of the ’06 Ha-Ha who have just finished the Caribbean 1500, will vouch for that. More »
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