No matter what business you’re in, thinking creatively often helps you become successful. Perhaps that’s why a would-be thief in Cartagena, Colombia, went to the trouble to paint himself from head to toe with black paint before attempting a nighttime caper in the cruiser anchorage. More »

There’s been a lot of buzz in recent years about young solo circumnavigators. In fact, the latest would-be record breaker, Dutch 15-year-old Laura Dekker, set sail a few months ago aboard her Jeanneau 38 Guppy. More »

There’s a new "largest privately-owned yacht in the world." She’s the 533-ft motoryacht Eclipse, which is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The title was formerly held by a boat owned by a fellow from Dubai, whose boat is now about two feet too short. More »

Rosie (right) and crew attempt to hike out while sailing past Pt. Loma. © 2011 David Eberhard On Friday we challenged our readers to take advantage of the forecasted good weather and get out on the water — and to send us photographic evidence. More »

Nature has blessed Cuba with some of the most beautiful ocean waters of the world. TerraNova
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC "We cruised the Caribbean last winter, during which time we spent two months in Cuba," write an American cruising couple, the male of which started cruising from Northern California. More »

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 »