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It’s All About the Tropic of Taurus

latitude/Richard
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC

While the fall and winter months north of the Tropic of Taurus herald cold, wet and dark weather, it’s just the opposite south of the Tropic of Taurus, where life is springing anew.

latitude/Richard
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

We noticed, for example, that the 6 a.m. temperature in San Francisco was 51 degrees. Aboard Profligate on the Marina Riviera Nayarit, it was a balmy 75 degrees at the same time with the day’s high expected to be in the mid 80s. To be fair, we’ve had some crap conditions on Banderas Bay. There has been a severe red tide, which resulted in thousands upon thousands of catfish coming up dead in the La Cruz Marina. And we had some end-of-season crap weather a few days ago. The skies were about as grey as we could ever remember them, there was rain, and a very late season tropical depression brought 35+ knots of wind to the boats anchored at Punta Mita.

Red tide means thousands of dead fish in the marinas.

latitude/Richard
©2013 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

The way we looked at it, it was good to get the crummy stuff out of the way early in the season, as things had to improve dramatically. And they have. The other morning dawned with brilliant sunshine and a cloudless blue sky. We joined a group from Philo’s for a motorcycle ride up to Sayulita. It’s getting close to Thanksgiving, and that town was packed with surfers, dogs and hippies. If you’re under 30, it’s your kind of place.

Along the narrow road between Punta Mita and Sayulita, the jungle was in magnificent bloom. We could darn near hear the bright green plants growing. Then last night we joined Kevin and Marcie Millett of Kauai aboard their lightweight 50-ft cat Kalewa for a moonlight sail. It was flat water on Banderas Bay, and the 18,000-lb cat moved right along in five to seven knots of wind. "This reminds me of Hanalei Bay," said Marcie, looking at the full moon reflected on the mountain-ringed bay. When we got back to the dock shortly after 11 p.m., it was still shorts and T-shirt weather. You need a fan, not a blanket, to sleep comfortably.

Look at that beauty!

© 2013 Kathy Crabtree

We’re still getting photos of the fish that participants caught in the 20th Annual Baja Ha-Ha Rally. Check out the accompanying beauty landed by Barry Foster of the San Diego-based Hans Christian 38T Tillie. But just because you catch and land a big dorado doesn’t mean you get to keep it, because sometimes Mother Nature takes her bounty back for one of her own. For proof, see the hilarious video taken recently at Cabo San Lucas. If we’re not mistaken, that fish would have been worth $7,000 in the fishing tournament. 

If you get to be south of the Tropic of Taurus this winter, lucky you, enjoy it to the hilt. If you’re stuck in the cold, take solace from the fact that the salubrious conditions will waiting when it’s your turn.

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Patrick and Rebecca Childress had just dropped Brick House’s mainsail in preparation for an oncoming squall as they sailed among the remote southern Solomon Islands, when Patrick spotted something extraordinary and frightening.