A German family of three and their French skipper were sailing a small yacht across the Gulf of Aden on Monday when Somali pirates forced them off their boat, taking them into the hills behind the fishing village of Las Qoray in the Puntland region. More »

Switlik Parachute Company, makers of Switlik life rafts, has issued a safety alert and recall on all of their liferafts. It seems that inflation valves on the rafts might fail to "operate properly and discharge the gas from the CO2 cylinder into the life raft." More »

The Vallejo Race has long been touted as the largest race on the Bay, and one of the largest inland races in the nation. But in terms of number of participants, it’s no longer the biggest boating event. More »

Snickers hardly resembles the scroungy emaciated puppy he was just a couple months ago. © 2008 Marlene Karas & Jack Joslin We received the following update on Snickers the pup yesterday from Jack Joslin, who spent countless hours working to rescue Snickers and his crewmate Gulliver the parrot after they were shipwrecked and abandoned on Fanning Island last December: "The Wild Beast of Fanning that arrived at my home in April has gone dormant! More »

A shot from the intrepid couple’s cruising scrapbook – striking a pose at New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island. © 2008 Scott Duncan & Pam Habek Recovering from the chaos wrought by a mid-ocean knockdown is a challenge for any sailor, but imagine trying to sort things out if you were nearly blind. More »

Sailing on the Bay? No worries, just wear a sundress and bring lots of sunblock. latitude/Andy
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC "Dress like you’re going skiing," has long been our standard advice to sailing guests unfamiliar with San Francisco Bay. More »

Dinghy racing in Clipper Cove is one of many festivities planned for Treasure Island’s Summer Sailstice celebration this weekend. Summer Sailstice
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC Where will you be hoisting your sails this weekend? More »

Close encounter – Pterodactyl gets checked out by a boarding party from the MV Namrun in mid-May. © Melih Akgul Earlier this month, we reported in ‘Lectronic Latitude that a Navy ship had come across the Olson 40 Pterodactyl, which you may remember had to be abandoned during the March 29 Doublehanded Farallones Race. More »

Striking a pose at the dock for cameramen, Zac has now left the media circus behind to face many months of solitude on the open ocean. © Nicolas Vanhove As promised, 16-year-old Zac Sunderland set sail from Marina del Rey at 1 p.m. More »