Rob Fenner Picking Up the New Latitude 38

We stopped by West Marine in Sausalito, needing some parts for boat projects, and bumped into Rob Fenner of the Bird Boat Kittiwake way in the back, where they hide the free magazines — such as Latitude 38. (You can also find a few in the sailing hardware section.) Rob’s a dedicated Bird Boat caretaker and fan of this locally designed and built class.

We included Rob in a story in our spring 2013 boatyard tour, at which time he said he’d owned Kittiwake for 23 years, so he now has been her caretaker for another decade. He mentioned Pippin Brehler’s September story “I’m Not Bob” about the Port Huron to Mackinac Race, since he grew up there before moving west. He clearly remembered Ted Turner’s comeuppance when he was dismasted in the race in the ’70s. Ted had a little more respect for the lakes afterward.

We delivered the October issue on Friday, including our reader survey (it would be a huge help to us if you could take 10 minutes to fill it out — thanks!) plus lots of new stories. You can find a copy near you on our map here.