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Singlehander Dealing with Bad Weather

February 1, 2008
Kiwi Robert Botha left the Bay aboard Flyer on January 9 bound for his homeland. © 2008 Mike Robinson Mike Robinson of Orangevale reported this morning that Robert Botha, who left San Francisco solo on January 9 aboard his Alberg 30 Flyer en route to his native New Zealand, has been pounded by storm after storm since leaving the Bay. More »

Auberge du Soleil . . . of St. Kitts?

January 30, 2008
The beaches on the windward side of the Christophe Harbour development site on St. Kitts aren’t anywhere as crowded as California beaches during the summer, and the water is 30 degrees warmer. More »

Glad to Help, Glad to Receive

Russ Clark, Holly Scott, and the donated North Sail. Now, to get the sail to Liz on her boat on Christmas Island. Holly & Russ
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Not 12 hours after we published a notice in ‘Lectronic saying that Liz Clark of the Santa Barbara-based Cal 40 Swell, who is on a sailing/surfing safari in the Pacific, was in dire need of a low cost or no cost headsail, did Holly Scott of Seal Beach respond. More »

Tar Balls Wash Up on Bay Area Beaches

A park ranger first spotted tar balls washed up on Pacifica State Beach Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, contracted clean-up crew had collected several gallon bags of dollar-sized tar balls but reports of more tarballs were coming in from several other Bay Area beaches. More »

Gitana 13 – Southern Cross to Port

January 28, 2008
Sailor’s delight – It’s not all work aboard Gitana 13 as she heads for San Francisco. Gitana 13
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Not quite two weeks out of New York, the 110-ft maxi-cat Gitana 13 is humming along under a waning moon and what can only be described as a ‘mixed bag’ of weather off Brazil. More »

Falcon’s Bay Visit Depends on Her Sub

For those who heard Belvedere’s Tom Perkins say on KQED’s Forum that he might bring his 289-ft Dyna-Rig Maltese Falcon to the Bay in May, we’ve got a clarification. "I don’t know yet whether Falcon will make the trip to the Bay," Perkins wrote Latitude, "as it all depends on the completion date for the submarine that Hawkes Ocean Technology of Richmond is building for us. More »

New Cruising Restrictions in Tonga and Fiji

"All is not well in the tropical paradises of Fiji and Tonga," report John Kelly and Linda Keigher and of San Francisco-based Sirena 38 Hawkeye. "Both countries have now instituted severe restrictions on the time that a foreign vessel can remain in the country. More »

Lower Fees for Fishing in Mexico

January 25, 2008
Tammy, a Morro Bay-based crewmember of Profligate in the Ha-Ha, holds up one of her catch for the camera. There is no limit on ‘catch and release’ fishing. latitude/Richard
©2008 Latitude 38 Media, LLC Conapesca, the Mexican sportfishing agency, has announced new licensing policies for ’08 that will be welcomed by cruisers. More »

Great News for Cruisers in Ecuador

Tripp Martin, harbormaster at Ecuador’s Puerto Amistad YC, reports some welcome news from that part of the world. "For the past four months, Puerto Amistad, Puerto Lucia, Salinas YC, Guayaquil YC, the Ecuadorian Yachting Association, Ministry of Tourism, and the Navy have all been working together to reform the rules changes in order to make them less onerous," Tripp told Latitude. More »

Gitana 13 Crosses Equator

January 23, 2008
This morning, at 7:24 GMT — less than a week after leaving New York —  the 110-ft catamaran Gitana 13 crossed the Equator. That’s about 3,200 miles in 6.5 days, an average of just under 500 miles a day. More »