Laura Zekoll was an avid sailor and adventurer, even after losing the use of her right arm from a motorcycle accident at 16. Toni Ralston
©2010 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Laura Zekoll, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, who had been a member of the Caribbean 1500 fleet aboard Rule 62, a Jeanneau 46DS, is presumed to have been lost at sea on November 13 or 14 after the liferaft she and the rest of the crew were in flipped, dumping them all into the water near Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas. More »

Sailors took advantage of this weekend’s sublime weather to shake out the sails and dry out the boat. latitude/LaDonna
©2010 Latitude 38 Media, LLC While sailors in many parts of the country spent this weekend winterizing their boats, Bay Area sailors were treated to temps in the high 70s. More »

We normally don’t follow election results in ‘Lectronic Latitude, but we felt our readers would be interested to learn that Lake County’s Sheriff Rod Mitchell was ousted last Wednesday by a reasonably close margin. More »

We’ve received more than a few responses to our item in October 22’s ‘Lectronic Latitude where we highlighted the fact that a couple Northern California YCs were waiving, or significantly reducing, initiation fees for new members in an effort to bring more sailors into the fold. More »

If it wasn’t so darn funny, we might feel sorry for the 4,466 people stranded aboard the engineless 952-ft cruise ship Carnival Splendor. The two-year-old ship left Long Beach Sunday on a seven-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, but an engine room fire on Monday set the behemoth adrift with no electricty. More »

Baja’s soft morning light was punctuated by a devastating fire aboard the Privilege cat Ker-Tidou. © 2010 Craig Powell After the 155-boat Baja Ha-Ha fleet’s recent visit to the tiny Baja fishing village called Bahia de Tortugas, the vast anchorage there returned to its normally sleepy state. More »

While this may not end up being the main staging area, the prospects of the Cup coming to San Francisco have never looked better. © Skidmore Owings Merill LLP Yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom introduced legislation supported by a majority of the Board of Supervisors to bring the 34th America’s Cup to San Francisco Bay. More »

A shot from aboard Robert C. Seamans shows three crewmembers going to the aid of Kehaulani mid-ocean. Robert C. Seamans
©2010 Latitude 38 Media, LLC The Honolulu Coast Guard reports that the crew of the sailboat Kehaulani were given 40 gallons of diesel and assistance in repairing damaged sails by the crew of the 134-ft steel, brigantine-rigged research and sail training vessel Robert C. More »

Jeanne enjoys tea at anchor in Hanalei Bay this summer. No doubt she’s been consuming mass quantities of the stuff on the trip down the coast just to stay warm. latitude/LaDonna
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC Eleven agonizing days after leaving Victoria, B.C. More »