A Glorious Welcome to Polynesia
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC
By all accounts, the fourth annual Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous, which concluded yesterday, was a huge success. In fact, the 60-boat fleet of international cruisers comprised the largest yachting event in the history of French Polynesia.
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Organized by Tahiti Tourisme and several partners — including Latitude 38 — the three-day event drew a wide variety of boats which had set sail for the islands from California, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Chile and Australia. By the time the event was over, many new friendships had been forged through a half-dozen shoreside and on-the-water activities, including a yacht rally from Papeete to Moorea’s spectacular Opunohu Bay and a series of outrigger canoe races.
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC
The Tahitian government’s goal in hosting the annual migration of cruisers in such an elaborate fashion is to instill in them an appreciation of traditional Polynesian sports, cuisine, music and dance — all of which were readily enjoyed by this year’s fleet. One of Latitude 38‘s primary goals in actively promoting the Rendezvous each year is to reinforce the notion that visiting cruisers are an important niche within the overall tourism market of Tahiti and other South Pacific nations. Look for our complete report on the Rendezvous next week in the July edition of Latitude 38 magazine (available also online as a free PDF download).
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Support Dinius Through Paypal
On Wednesday we reported that posts on State Attorney General Jerry Brown’s Facebook page regarding the prosecution of Bismarck Dinius caught the eye of the AG, prompting him to comment that he was looking into the case. Bismarck was overwhelmed by the response. "I was away for the weekend and had no idea any of this was going on," he told us Wednesday. "I’m so grateful for everyone’s amazing support."
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
If you feel that justice is being mocked in Lake County, there are other ways to support Bismarck. Supporters will hold another protest at the courthouse in Lakeport on June 30 at 9 a.m. The protest organizer told us that more than 25 people marched at the last court hearing and she hopes to get many more – so break out the posterboard and Sharpies, gas up the car and make a roadtrip out of it. Email for details or directions.
For months we’ve been encouraging readers to donate to Bismarck’s legal defense fund. He’s been fighting this battle for more than two years and has racked up a substantial legal bill. Since he lost his job a month or so ago, he’s now struggling to find a way to pay for it all. Of course you can still donate via a check made out to Bismarck Dinius (writing "Bismarck Dinius Defense Fund" in the memo section) to Sierra Central Credit Union, Attn: Brian Foxworthy, Branch Manager, 306 N. Sunrise Ave., Roseville, CA 95661. But, after a little prodding, Bismarck has finally set up a Paypal account to accept your donations (his ID is [email protected]). "I guess I’m just old school," he joked.
Tawodi Returns
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
The first time we wrote about Kathleen Torres and Captain Stephen Mann of the custom 39-ft Tawodi was last fall, when we noted that the young couple had departed San Diego on a planned ‘race pace circumnavigation.’ The idea was to go around the world in eight months, with just five or six stops. Although the trip didn’t go exactly as planned (there were seemingly endless stops), they managed to stick pretty closely to their timeframe: Tawodi arrived back in San Diego Harbor this very morning, eight months and just a few days since their October 20 departure.
©2009 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Of course, depending on whether there’s anyone available from Customs, it may be well into tomorrow before they’re back among the many friends, family — and complete strangers — who have followed their adventure through Kathleen’s lovely and lyrical writing style at www.svtawodi.com.
We’ll have more on Kathleen and Captain Stephen in an upcoming issue. For now, why not log onto their site and join us in wishing them "Well done!” and a big “Welcome back!”
Delta Doo Dah Departing
The inaugural Delta Doo Dah kicks off tonight at Richmond YC, where Doo Dah’ers will mix and mingle, and compare notes on the weather forecast. Hopefully everyone has packed plenty of sunscreen, shade, fans and ice, because the forecast is hot, hot, hot! Mid-90s are predicted for Antioch Marina on Sunday, the day of the ‘Welcome to the Delta’ Party. Temps will hover in the high-80s to mid-90s — depending on where you are — throughout the week, ‘cooling off’ to the low-90s in Stockton by July 3, the night of the Doo Dah Hoopla Party at the Stockton Sailing Club.
Follow all the goings-on during the event on our Twitter and Facebook pages. We’ll be ‘tweeting’ throughout each day and hopefully posting once every day or two to Facebook — providing we have internet access and can manage to keep the sweat out of our eyes. Of course, we’ll have a synopsis for ‘Lectronic when we get back and a full report in the August issue of Latitude 38.