Current News
Nepotism in Lake County?
Well, this should help Lake County residents sleep well at night. Former deputy sheriff Russell Perdock was appointed to the Lake County Fire Protection District board of directors last week. Readers may recall that Perdock was racing his 385-hp Baja Outlaw powerboat at 50 mph across Clear Lake on the pitch black night of April 26, 2006, when he ran up and over the O’Day 28 Beats Workin’ II, mortally wounding Willows resident Lynn Thornton and injuring most of the crew aboard. More »
Olympic Sailing Events Underway
Competition began yesterday (Sunday, July 29) in three of the 10 Olympic sailing classes, with finals in all classes scheduled for the week of August 5-11.
“Who’s the big guy?” As if competing in the Olympics weren’t a big enough thrill, Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi got some face time with basketball superstar LeBron James at the Opening Ceremonies. More »
School Buses off the Coast
School buses? That’s right. While waiting for a friend pick us up some shaft bearings at an industrial supply house in San Diego last week, we struck up a conversation with a guy who was getting parts to try to get his refrigeration system going again on his 70-ft commercial fishing boat so he could head up to Oregon and Washington. More »
Publisher to Speak at Cal YC
Having published Latitude 38 for 35 years, having been the Grand Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha for 18 years, and having sailed our personal boats everywhere from San Francisco to Turkey, the good folks at the Cal YC thought we might have a few interesting stories to tell. More »
A Little Fact Checking Seems in Order
We rarely stray beyond sailing at Latitude, but today we lost our path thanks to a sometimes unintentionally funny and sometimes factually inaccurate story in the New York Times. The story is about 48-year-old Wave Vidmar, who apparently is soon to depart Horseshoe Cove in Sausalito for 2,200-mile distant Hawaii aboard a double-ended kayak. More »
l’Hydroptere Day Sail – Fast, Wet & Wild
“So, how’s my driving?” During a test sail over the weekend with Jacques Vincent at the helm, the edgy ‘flying fish’ hydroplanes off Long Beach Harbor.
© 2012 Dave Cort
Here in the Bay Area daysailors have been dazzled lately by the sight of AC 45 cats blasting past them at speeds normally achieved by cigarette boats. More »
State Parks Debacle
Late last week, the Sacramento Bee broke the news that the Department of Parks and Recreation — the same department that state legislators want to absorb the highly efficient and boater-funded Department of Boating and Waterways — has been sitting on a $54 million surplus that dates back as far as 12 years. More »
$2k+Used Engine=Cruising Boat
“I’m almost free,” exults Justin Jenkins on the bow of Ichiban. It may be incongruous to have a boat with a Japanese name and Jamaican colors for trim, but why not be different? More »
L’Hydroptere Poised to Pounce
Sailing and flying are normally considered to be two totally different modes of travel, but not in the case of the revolutionary l’Hydroptere DCNS, which is currently poised to challenge the L.A. More »
SPECIAL REPORT: Bela Bartok Abandoned
Early this morning, Derk Wolmuth on the 31-ft Vindo 40 Bela Bartok, an entry in the Singlehanded TransPac, activated his EPIRB about 450 miles off the finish line at Hanalei Bay on Kauai, and broadcast on the SSB that he was requesting a medical evacuation. More »
Receive emails when 'Lectronic Latitude is updated. SUBSCRIBE