Skip to content
Current News

Hurricane Seasons Rev Up on Both Coasts

September 3, 2008
Intense storms are lined up in the Atlantic. Precisely where they’ll make landfall is anybody’s guess. © NOAA graphic Luckily for Gulf Coast residents, the damage inflicted by Hurricane Gustav wasn’t nearly as bad as some experts had predicted. More »
Default Thumbnail

No Fuel for Foreign Boats

"The Government of Trinidad has once again proven that they just don’t have a clue," says John Anderton of the Alameda-based Cabo Rico 37 Sanderling. "I have been a supporter of Trinidad for several years, resisting the opportunity to find fault with the many strange and counter-productive issues that this country seems to delight in having. More »

Special Edition: Skip Allan Scuttles Wildflower

September 2, 2008
Skip Allan, one of the most accomplished sailors on the West Coast, had sailed Wildflower the equivalent of two-plus circumnavigations before scuttling her 250 miles offshore. latitude/LaDonna
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Skip Allan, who was on his way home after handily winning the Singlehanded TransPac aboard his custom Wylie 27 Wildflower, was picked up by a freighter yesterday afternoon after scuttling his boat 250 miles west of San Francisco. More »

Terry Bingham Succumbs to Pancreatitis

August 29, 2008
We received the tragic news that Terry Bingham of the Seattle-based Union 36 Secret O’ Life passed away yesterday in a Bolivian hospital due to acute pancreatitis. Terry and his partner of 13 years, Tammy Woodmansee, have been cruising the West Coast of Central and South America for the past few years and had made it as far as Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. More »

Workin’ Overtime to Bring You the News

Recipe for weekend relaxation: Set up hammock; pour tall, cool drink; open new Latitude and escape. latitude/Annie
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC With the long Labor Day weekend upon us, you should have plenty of time to enjoy your two favorite pastimes: sailing and (we hope) reading Latitude 38. More »

BMW Oracle’s Tri Launched

Former Bay Area sailors Andy and Jill Rothman snapped this shot of BMW Oracle’s new boat from their home in Puget Sound’s San Juan Islands. © Andy & Jill Rothman Jill and Andy Rothman, formerly of the Bay Area and now of the San Juan Islands, sent us this exclusive picture of BMW Oracle Racing’s monsterous new 90-ft trimaran as it was towed around the waters of Puget Sound. More »

Are Time-Saving Devices Slowing You Down?

August 27, 2008
Were these sailors just feeling a bit ‘loose’ last weekend, or did their main get away from them? latitude/Andy
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC We’ve heard of running a mainsail loose-footed, but until the other day we’d never seen anyone running one ‘loose-luffed’. More »

Junk Rigged Boats

August 25, 2008
This funky catamaran was spotted at South Beach Harbor on Saturday. © Timo Bruck "We saw this catamaran — made from 1-liter pop bottles, PVC tubing and a Hobie Cat trampoline with an oar as a rudder — at South Beach Harbor on Saturday morning," wrote Timo Bruck in an email. More »
Default Thumbnail

CG Officer Busted for Coke

August 22, 2008
Normally when we get notices from the Coast Guard about drug busts, it’s because they’ve intercepted another shipment bound for the U.S. This time, the admission had to hurt a bit: A senior officer on the Pacific Area staff has been accused of cocaine abuse, and has been temporarily reassigned to a non-supervisory position. More »

A “Cleansing” in the Rio Dulce

August 20, 2008
Roy McNett, editor of the Rio Dulce Chisme-Vindicator, reports the latest on the events following the murder of Anchorage-based cruiser Daniel Dryden: "Local justice — it’s not a pretty word — may have been served on the night of August 14, when two men were killed in a shooting in the small town of Seja, about five miles from Fronteras and the Rio Dulce. More »