These days, everything seems to be droning on. What with your self-driving cars, boats, and not far on the horizon . . . ships. That’s right, giant, automated ships. "Spurred in part by the auto industry’s race to build driverless vehicles, marine innovators are building automated ferry boats for Amsterdam canals, cargo ships that can steer themselves through Norwegian fjords and remote-controlled ships to carry containers across the Atlantic and Pacific. More »

Hurricane Michael has gradually ramped up in strength to a Category 4 storm over the last few days, as it ascended the Gulf of Mexico and veered toward Florida’s Panhandle. With winds up to 150 miles an hour, Michael is making landfall this very moment "with astonishing power," according to the New York Times. More »

The Golden Rule, a storied sailboat with a long history of antiwar protesting, is preparing for an epic and historic voyage around the Pacific. Late this month, the Golden Rule — which is currently on her way to San Diego — is planning to make the same voyage that the original Quaker crew took in 1958 from California to Hawaii. More »

A perfectly symmetrical, swooping trail of smoke hung over Angel Island and Tiburon on Sunday, and, driving across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, it took us a moment to figure out what was going on. More »

Many RVers proudly adorn their rigs with stickers from all the states they’ve visited. And we’ve all heard about that diehard baseball or football fanatic who has made it a mission to attend games at all the famous stadiums across the country. More »

We got the following message from National Park officials at Aquatic Park: Aquatic Park Cove anchor permits for Fleet Week are sold out. Day use however, is still authorized. Also, recreation.gov, the site we use for selling anchor permits, will be down today during a transition to a new system. More »

The leaves in New England were just starting to change as of about two weeks ago. Reds, yellows and oranges tinged the tips of Maine’s abundant trees, suggesting the profoundly beautiful, fleeting change that was to come, but that had yet to fully take its grip.  More »

Another West Coast circumnavigating attempt is about to leave the dock. Just a few minutes ago, long-time Latitude favorite Jeanne Socrates wrote: "Off and away now; no more FB until next May! Bye!" More »

And he’s off . . . again. Yesterday, Randall Reeves set sail (or motor) on his 41-ft aluminum sloop Moli for his second attempt at the Figure 8 Voyage.  Randall Reeves bade adieu to the Bay Area yesterday. More »

As was noted in Friday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude, the Grand Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha strongly urged people not to buy boats that have current Temporary Import Permits (TIPs) for Mexico, and/or didn’t properly clear out of Mexico. More »