Latitude 38 November Issue Is Out Today

We hope you’ve been keeping up with your reading this year, as we now present 2023’s 11th issue of Latitude 38 — there’s only one more coming up before we launch into 2024! Whew! If you’ve missed any of the previous issues you can find them here. But moving on, we’ve compiled a great variety of stories about sailors and sailing from all perspectives for the November issue. Check it out:

Surviving the Lahaina Fire — A First-Hand Account

I was at Lahaina Harbor aboard my boat Stella Orion when I first saw the smoke. I tried to drive the one mile back down Front Street to my house, but traffic was at a standstill. At the last corner — where turning around was still possible — I turned the wheel and went the wrong way down a one-way street to get back to the harbor. If I hadn’t, I may have been stuck on Front Street in my vehicle like so many others.

Some made it. Some didn’t.

California Tops 5O5 World Championships

Before we give kudos to the winners of the 2023 5O5 Worlds, we have to salute the other 59 teams who dared to show up on San Francisco Bay to take them on. Many traveling 5O5 sailors have vivid memories of the last bruising 5O5 Worlds in San Francisco in 2009. That year on the Bay was just like almost every other year on the Bay — windy, with lots of current and overall challenging conditions for handling a refined, fast, high-performance two-person dinghy. Carnage was common. And just as in 2009, local 5O5 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Mike Martin won in 2023 with his “new” and co-Rolex- winning crew Adam Lowry. They’ve won three times together.

The Resourceful Sailor’s Whale Tales

Whales are incredible animals, but the caveat is they can be a bit big. I measure humpback whales by comparing them to Sampaguita‘s size: one-Sampaguita, one-and-a-half Sampaguita, and two-Sampaguita-and-up-sized whales. The bigger, the more worry. In addition to being big, they do what and go where they want, regardless of any wishes I have for them to stay far away. It’s not that I think they will attack my boat, but any random breach or tail flop coinciding with Sampaguita’s position will end poorly.

Plus, we bring you all your favorite columns:

• Letters: Don Lang Returns After Nearly a Year at Sea; Flare-Collecton Event a Whopping Success; The Capacity and Range of Electric Motors; Hokule’a in the Bay; What Would You Do With $8.6 million Available for Boating Access?; and many more.
• Sightings: The Radical Uniqueness of Rosie G; Ronnie Simpson’s Global Solo Challenge; Sailing Therapy on Matthew Turner; and other stories.
• Max Ebb: It’s all about the bugs this month.
• Racing Sheet: South Beach YC’s Red Bra Regatta upsizes, the SSS Vallejo 1-2 sails uphill both ways, CYC hosts the Folkboat International Regatta, the Jessica Cup sails on a busy Bay, Jack and Jill sail in Santa Cruz, Vanguard 15 sailors win on two coasts, Wylie Wabbits, Express 27s and Express 37s compete for their Nationals and Mercurys for their PCCs, Cal Maritime Academy captures the Shields Trophy, and SoCal sailors race from Channel Islands Harbor to Marina del Rey. Box Scores and Race Notes plump up this action-packed issue.
• World of Chartering: Recent Good Jibes guest Jan Pehrson of the Richmond Yacht Club shares the story of a sailing charter with three other accomplished sailing women, each of whom has an impressive sailing résumé. Anyone would sail anywhere with these women.
• Changes in Latitudes: Magnum‘s return to the South Pacific; Zeppelin‘s PPJ with two new-to-sailing owners; Shindig‘s exploration of the little-visited Southern Lau group in Fiji; and some newsy Cruise Notes.
• Loose Lips: Check October’s Caption Contest(!) winners.
• The sailboat owners and buyers’ bible, Classy Classifieds.

If you’re a subscriber, your magazine is on its way. If not, and you’re heading out, be like Eddie, who grabbed a copy fresh off the stack when they landed at Nob Hill Foods in Alameda. Or you can go to your own favorite or nearest outlet. Here’s a map of where to find Latitude 38 magazine.