Latitude 38’s December Issue Out Today
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” — the December issue of Latitude 38 is out today! Volume #558. We may be coming into winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, but this month’s cover photo reminds us that it’s always warm and sunny somewhere.
In this issue, Richard Spindler, aka the Grand Poobah, shares a roundup of this year’s Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers’ Rally to Mexico.
Thanks to considerable motoring, the first quarter of the fleet arrived at the Turtle Bay first stop late in the afternoon of the third day, with about half the fleet arriving by the next morning. Everybody received the usual warm Turtle Bay welcome, where makeshift bars and restaurants had been set up for the celebratory beach party.
Around the World at Latitude 38
The crew of Cetacea, a 30-ft electric Baba 30 cutter, made an amazing (although obvious, in hindsight) discovery between Bermuda and the Azores: The 38th parallel is totally awesome for sailing all over the world!
My partner Dena and I — I’m James — started living aboard Cetacea in her home port in Orcas Island, Washington, in 1999. We wasted no time heading south, and spent five years happily sailing the San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento River Delta, and the coast as far south as Monterey in the early 2000s. When we left for Hawaii in October/November 2006, we didn’t spend a whole lot of time at 38° N. We went out to the Farallones and took a left-ish turn until we hit the trades. All the weather pushes you to Hawaii, and that’s where we ended up 20 days later, at latitude 18° N. It was hot, the sun was intense, and we ultimately discovered we were about 20 degrees of latitude out of our comfort zone.
We kick off our annual Season Champions features by highlighting the new (old) kids on the block. This year, organizers at the Master Mariners Benevolent Association, San Francisco Yacht Club and St. Francis YC banded together to create a San Francisco Bay Classics Championship Series. Three regattas counted in the series: MMBA’s Master Mariners Regatta in May, SFYC’s Great SF Schooner Cup and Belvedere Classic in July, and StFYC’s Jessica Cup in October. Each regatta has a different class structure; the boat totals in the results below are our own unofficial guesstimate.
But there’s more … much, much more. We also have all your favorite columns:
- Letters: As Heard on the Webb; Absent Owners?; My Boat Is Safe; Bon Voyage to the 29th Baja Ha-Ha; There Is No “Right” Answer; and many more.
- Sightings: Daniela Moroz’s Road to the Olympics; The Sea Calls for a Young Sailor; A Speed of Light Renovation; and other stories.
- Max Ebb: Roll Your Own Water Trail.
- Racing Sheet: This issue highlights the change of seasons. We intersperse fall regattas (RYC Great Pumpkin, International Masters, SDYC Lipton Cup, DRYC Halloween Regatta) with national championships (ILCA Masters, Islander 36, Mercury) and winter races (RegattaPRO Winter One Design, GGYC Seaweed Soup, BYC Midwinters).
- World of Charter: This month we hear from Elisa Williams of Alameda on chartering in the Ionian Isles in the company of nine others on two Bavaria 44s.
- Changes in Latitudes: With reports this month on Ellie’s trip to Alaska; Sail a Vie’s brush with a hurricane; Geja’s summer cruising the Med; and some notable, quotable Cruise Notes.
- Loose Lips: Catch up on November’s Caption Contest(!) winners.
- The sailboat owners and buyers’ bible, Classy Classifieds.
If you’re a subscriber, your magazine is on its way. Or you can go to your own favorite or nearest outlet. Here’s a map of where to find Latitude 38 magazine.