We received the following note from Dobie Dolphin about beleagured Tenacatita Bay, the four-mile by four-mile bay on mainland Mexico’s Gold Coast between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, and just north of Barra Navidad: "As many of you know, on August 4, villagers, land owners, and tourists were forcibly evicted from their restaurants, homes, and palapas on Tenacatita Beach by a wealthy land developer, with the help of the governor of the state of Jalisco. More »

Dutch 15-year-old Laura Dekker arrived at Simpson Bay Lagoon on St. Martin on Monday, 18 days after leaving the 2,200-mile distant Cape Verde Islands aboard her 37-ft Jeanneau Gin Fizz Guppy. More »

In Monday’s posting we published the remarkable photo (below) of former San Diego sailor Brenda Manceau standing proudly next to a massive yellowfin tuna that’s she’d supposedly caught in a recent tournament in Tonga. More »

No matter how you slice it, that’s a lotta sashimi! But is the photo real? © Endangered Encounters As you might imagine, here at Latitude 38 World Headquarters we receive all sorts of crazy stuff by email — and we’re not just talking about Nigerian inheritance scams, artificial hip recalls, and web specials on oxycodone. More »

Turtles on the move to lay their eggs and return to the ocean. © Ocean Actions The following photographs of turtle eggs being taken, probably to be sold as aphrodisiacs, will no doubt make any conservation-minded person sick. More »

After many hours of dedicated work, three of the little skiff’s builders take her for a victory lap around Aquatic Park. © Seth Muir In an era when many California schools have eliminated practical, hands-on ‘shop’ courses, the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association has been quietly offering boatbuilding courses to disadvantaged youth for the past five years, that teach marketable skills, build self-esteem, and sometimes give participants a whole new direction in life.  More »

Jud Baker, left, and John Davidson, right, survived in a dinghy without food or water for three days before their rescue last Saturday. Inset, Trinity in happier days. © Sunbelt Spirit Last Saturday, Canadians John Davidson, 65, and Jud Baker, 47, were rescued from their inflatable dinghy after Davidson’s 42-ft trimaran Trinity sank in rough weather about five miles off Costa Rica three days earlier. More »

Despite an extensive search that lasted nearly eight hours, Bay Area sailor Casey Speed, 28, could not be found after he fell off his Sausalito-based Island Packet Kachina near Tiburon shortly before 8:30 p.m. More »

"We have to agree that a shower of any kind is a special event while cruising," writes Emmy Newbould, who has been cruising with hubby Eric Willbur aboard their Brickyard Cove-based Dutchman 37 Nataraja since April ’09 and are currenty in New Zealand. More »

As we’ve been reporting for several months now, Aussies have been coming to California to buy expensive sailboats. There is no mystery as to the reason why. Thanks to the weaker American dollar and the stronger Aussie dollar, sailors from the Land Down Under believe they can buy a boat in the States, take a couple of years to cruise her home, and, upon selling the boat, recoup all their money. More »