Where Are They Now? Cruise Notes from ‘Changes in Latitudes’

After a long year, more and more cruisers are finally starting to up-anchor again to go cruising. Not that our Changes in Latitudes section had to go dormant; many cruisers found interesting new angles on sailing during the pandemic. And it’s not over yet! Roving reporter Andy Turpin notes that in Tahiti, the anchorages of the French Polynesian islands remain full of cruisers waiting for the islands to the west to open up and allow them to start moving again.

In the July issue of Latitude 38, we have updates from those who are reuniting with their boats both in our Sightings section, and in Cruise Notes within the Changes section.

As we approach the fall cruising season, Sally-Christine Rodgers and Randy Repass let readers of Changes know that their Wylie 65 Convergence is ready and waiting to cruise this year. She’s back on the West Coast after starting her 17-year circumnavigation last fall.

Stan Honey and Sally Lindsay were all set to do the 2020 Bermuda Race when the global pandemic intervened. They’re shifting back to cruising mode for this summer and will be taking their Cal 40 Illusion back to the coast of Maine.

Other cruisers returning after a long absence from their boat are Kim MacLean and Tom Christensen, rejoining their Wauquiez PS40 Exit Strategy. The couple left the boat in Grenada last year when they flew home to Victoria, BC, to ride out the pandemic. They’re planning to return in the fall and continue on toward Panama.

Though it feels as if we’re still a ways off from whatever the ‘new normal’ is going to look like, many cruisers are planning to cautiously set a course toward the old normal and start cruising again. The 140+ boats signed up for the 2021 Baja Ha-Ha are a testament to that. Check out Cruise Notes in our July Changes to see who’s planning to set sail. Or email us with your updated and adjusted cruising plans for 2021/22 here: [email protected].