"One of the reasons Mexico remains a Third World country is because it continues to appoint people to positions of power who don’t have any idea what they are doing." This is the opinion of one of the most mild-mannered and respected marina owner/managers in Mexico, one who is also one of the most knowledgeable on Mexican maritime law. More »

The holidays are almost in full swing, and since our January issue is off to the presses, it’s time for us to take a well-deserved break and enjoy some time with our families and friends. More »

"I think a young Coastie can be forgiven for not knowing where Hospital Cove is because s/he may never have heard the name before," writes Tony Johnson, who sails his Catalina 22 Whisper out of San Francisco. More »

One of Artemis Racing’s AC72 capsized near Alcatraz. © 2013 ABC 7 News An Artemis Racing AC72 cat flipped in the Central Bay this afternoon at approximately 1:10 this afternoon. From aerial photos it appears that the Swedish team’s boat suffered major damage; the forward crossbeam appears to have parted from one of the amas or broken. More »

Every May, when online registration for the Baja Ha-Ha cruisers’ rally opens, the rush to sign up is so intense it reminds us of the famous Oklahoma Land Rush. We can picture sailors all along the West Coast hunched over their computers with their fingers poised to pounce on the keyboard as soon as the registration site goes live at noon on May 1.  More »

All sorts of boats, run by sailors from all walks of life, have entered the Baja Ha-Ha during the past 19 years. latitude/Andy
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC If you’ve been itching to pull the trigger on your Mexico cruising dreams, today is the day to commit. More »

Christmas at sea onboard Mhadei. © 2013 Abhilash Tomy Even as we were writing about one benchmark Asian circumnavigation, another one was not even on our radar. On Saturday, Abhilash Tomy, a Lieutenant Commander in the Indian Navy, became the first Indian to circumnavigate – solo, nonstop and unassisted – just two days after the first solo Chinese circumnavigator, Guo Chuan, completed a similar voyage (see last Friday’s ‘Lectronic for that story). More »

If you were lucky enough to be out sailing on the Bay last week you may have heard a sécurité message issued by the local Coast Guard advising boaters that a humpback whale had been sighted in the Central Bay. More »

No rest for the weary. Here, Chuan battles rough weather in the Taiwan Strait during his sprint to the finish line. © 2013 Guo Chuan Chinese singlehander Guo Chuan, 48, completed a nonstop lap around the planet yesterday morning, thus becoming the first of his countrymen to do so. More »