The weather for the past month or so has been decidedly less-than-conducive to sailing, so Bay Area sailors should celebrate this weekend’s weather forecast: 65 and sunny. A ridge of high pressure off the beach should keep the mild weather around for at least the next 10 days or so, giving everyone ample opportunity to shake the mildew out of their sails. More »

Back in the December 10 ‘Lectronic, we ran a little quiz asking what fun-loving woman owned the colorful toes in the photo accompanying that ‘Lectronic item. We gave some hints: 1) She’s a West Coast woman who had considerable success racing a cutting-edge sailboat; 2) More importantly, she’s completed the magnificent restoration of a 55-year-old, 90-ft yacht, one of the most beautiful classics in the United States — if not the world; 3) Having cruised the yacht 10,000 miles on the East Coast, Caribbean and Mexico last year, she intends to sail her big ketch in the Los Angeles to Honolulu TransPac in July, and then continue on to New Zealand and, if the continent is not still underwater, Australia. More »

The sunrise was beautiful. But then it rained, as it often has in Southern California this winter. © 2011 Devan Mullins The above photo of Newport Harbor, taken by Devan Mullins on January 2, is his response to our recent ‘Lectronic photo of a sunrise at Barra Navidad, Mexico. More »

There are all sorts of reasons why summer is the prime time for kids to take sailing lessons, but as staffers at several San Francisco Bay sailing institutions will tell you, there are also some strong arguments for learning the ropes during the winter months. More »

Jeanne Socrates was uninjured in the knockdown that broke her boom and ripped her dodger enclosure from Nereida’s deck. latitude/LaDonna
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Jeanne Socrates, the 68-year-old grandma who was attempting a nonstop solo circumnavigation aboard her UK-based Najad 380 Nereida, reports that a knockdown near Cape Horn resulted in serious damage to Nereida and has effectively ended her record bid. More »

"At 1030 hours on January 7, my Deerfoot 2-62 Moonshadow passed under the 17th St. Bridge in Ft. Lauderdale, closing the loop on the circumnavigation I started here in November of ’94," writes George Backhus. More »

Pamela Bendall of the Port Hardy, B.C.-based Kristen 46 Precious Metal had a fabulous cruise to Peru, followed by lots of wonderful inland travel and the making of many great friends. More »

In Friday’s special edition of ‘Lectronic, we wrote about the plight of Paul Smulders and Julie Newton, whose 43-ft Laurent Giles-designed woody, Mia II, went ashore about 100 miles north of Turtle Bay on December 29. More »