Profligate, floating in the mystic about half an hour before sunrise at Punta Mita, Banderas Bay. Sunrises and sunsets have been fantastic, and the days have featured cloudless blue skies and warm — but not hot — temperatures. More »

Laura Dekker really seems to feel at home on the sea, but a challenging Atlantic crossing is still in front of her. Guppy
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC Dutch teen Laura Dekker, 14, finally left the Canary Islands last Wednesday aboard her 37-ft Jeanneau Gin Fizz Guppy on the next leg of her attempt to become the world’s youngest solo circumnavigator. More »

With the Ha-Ha having ended a couple of weeks ago and everyone having had a chance to recuperate, more events for cruisers are coming up in Mexico. For those in La Paz , the beach party at Papas & Beer Beach Club happened yesterday afternoon, featuring Mexican folk dancing, live rock music, food and drink, door prizes and more. More »

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’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 »

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 »

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 »