Latitude 38 Magazine

12/22/2024

Yesterday marked the shortest daylight hours of the year as the sun touched the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere and began its march north to the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. It also means there are just six months until the 25th annual Summer Sailstice global celebration of sailing. Though you may not yet have any sailing plans for the weekend of June 21, 2025, we’re highlighting the events that local clubs and the YRA already have in the 2025 YRA Sailing Calendar, which we just sent to press.

12/22/2024

Woo Hoo !!!!

12/21/2024

West Coast sailor and circumnavigator John Guzzwell passed away in August at his home in Seattle. He was 94. At the age of 29, Guzzwell completed a four-year circumnavigation aboard the 21-ft yawl 'Trekka'. At the time, 'Trekka' was the smallest boat to have sailed around the world. His story is immortalized in his book 'Trekka Round the World', which became a cult classic among would-be voyagers, and is credited for sparking the dreams of many who have circumnavigated since.

West Coast sailor and circumnavigator John Guzzwell passed away in August at his home in Seattle. He was 94.

12/21/2024

It’s just a pier, right? Though to sailors and members of a yacht club, a simple pier is so much more. The pier has launched a thousand dreams in kids who’ve learned to sail, hosted endless racers, and 20 years ago set this month’s Good Jibes podcast guest on a course toward buying a catamaran for $2. The Saturday storm, combined with the king tide, did damage to coastal facilities all over Northern California. The Inverness Yacht Club, on the shores of Tomales Bay, is one of those that suffered damage.

Saturday's storm combined with the King Tide damaged coastal facilities all over Northern California, including the Inverness Yacht Club.

12/20/2024

Sometimes the right Christmas present arrives serendipitously when you sit down to relax with a copy of Latitude 38. You’ll find all kinds of things in the Classy Classifieds in the back of the magazine, and more online, where items under $1,000 are posted for free. There are even a few boats under that price.

How do you solve the annual shopping challenge without going to the mall? Buy a sailboat or sailing gear through the Classy Classifieds.

12/19/2024

Ahoy, fellow mariner! Imagine a time when there were no traffic jams on the bridges that surround the Bay. In fact there were no bridges at all. Folks drove around or took yachts to islands such as Alameda and Belvedere, train cars were loaded onto ferries for transport across the Bay, and that is where our story begins.

Local sailor Andy Schwenk ruminates on a few submerged sailing hazards, their origin, and recent removal efforts.

12/19/2024

In this episode of Good Jibes, we chat with L.A. Times reporter Terry Castleman about the ongoing adventure of his two-dollar catamaran. Terry and friends purchased the 1986 Frank Pelin Snowbird 32 'Lickety Split' for $1.99 on eBay and sailed it from Stockton to L.A.

In this episode of Good Jibes we chat with Terry Castleman about the two-dollar catamaran he purchased with friends.

12/18/2024

The finish of the Baja Ha-Ha means the fun in Mexico is just beginning. December in Banderas Bay is when the tropical summer heat cools down to idyllic, comfortable winter temperatures and the sailing season heats up! One of the first events on the calendar is the Banderas Bay Blast Pirates for Pupils Charity Regatta put on by the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club and the Vallarta Yacht Club. This year’s event was a whale of a time.

The winter Banderas Bay sailing season got underway with the Banderas Bay Blast Pirates for Pupils Charity Regatta.

12/18/2024

In the December issue's Sightings from captain Kira Maixner (aka Kira Britt): "Sailing on a Dream — the Big Kahuna"

Spring 2024 marked the official 10-year anniversary of my passion for sailing. I moved to San Francisco when my best friend found me a job at a startup in the marine industry. I’d also wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a surfer girl in California. But after learning how cold and challenging the waters are in Northern California, I decided I’d rather be on the water than in it. I attended the 2014 LATITUDE 38 Spring Crew List Party for work, but left with a spot on a J/88 racing team and a determination to learn to sail. By May, I was taking sailing lessons, racing three times a week, and treating (or torturing, depending on whom you ask) all my friends with weekend trips around the Bay aboard the beginner boats at the local sailing club.

Read the full story in this month's issue of LATITUDE 38, or click here: https://www.latitude38.com/issues/december-2024/ #38

Captain Kira Maixner celebrates her 10-year sailing anniversary with her ultimate sail — the Pacific Cup race, the Big Kahuna.

12/17/2024

Good news has reemerged on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary. After several successful steps cleaning up ADVs (Abandoned and Derelict Vessels) in late 2023 and early 2024, the enforcement lapsed and conditions relapsed. The good news is in an email Brock de Lappe received from USCG Commander Dave Herndon, Chief of Response Operations at UCSG San Francisco. The email outlines an updated plan for Estuary cleanup to occur over the next couple of months.

The Coast Guard and Oakland Police Department are getting back on the job to keep the estuary safe and clean.

12/17/2024

Welcome back to Sailagram. We hope you enjoy these photos from November’s sailing adventures. This month is turning out to be a mix of sunshine, rain, and stormy interludes. Throughout it all, sailors are still getting out there. Have fun! Be safe! And take photos! Drop them into the folder for next month’s gallery at Sailagram. Or, send them to us at [email protected].

Welcome back to Sailagram. We hope you enjoy these photos from November's sailing adventures.

12/16/2024

Pip Hare, skipper of the IMOCA 60 'Medallia', was in 16th place in the Vendée Globe when she was dismasted in the southern Indian Ocean last night at around 2145 UTC. She was about 800 miles south of Australia when the dismasting occurred. While the cause has not been determined, she has secured the rig, has already set a jury rig, and is sadly now heading toward Australia at about 4 knots.

Pip Hare, skipper of the IMOCA 60 'Medallia,' has been dismasted in the southern Indian Ocean during the current Vendée Globe race.

12/16/2024

There’s no doubt that Saturday was wet, but in this instance it was not just the rain that caused mayhem, it was the addition of the king tide. The image below shows a marine warning that was issued by National Weather Service.

Here's a gallery of flooding around the Bay Area this wet weekend.

There's no doubt that Saturday was wet, but the addition of the King Tide caused more than the usual flooding in the north end of the Bay.

12/15/2024

It was quite a storm front that passed through! Jeff Berman of the Tartan 4000 'Maverick' sent in this video of a barge that was blown up on the frontage road by University Avenue in Berkeley. This, combined with the Saturday AM king tides, produced some serious flooding. How did you fare?

12/14/2024

Yes, this is another shameless plug for our print magazine. We love seeing the paper and ink come together to create an expression of sailing — here, there, and wherever the wind blows. As the year makes its way to a close, 2025 is around the corner, and we plan the next 12 months of LATITUDE 38, we want to take this opportunity to share a discount on subscriptions to the print magazine.

As we plan the next 12 months of Latitude 38, we want to take this opportunity to share a discount on subscriptions to the print magazine.

12/13/2024

Bob Betancourt was out on the water again last weekend, this time photographing the third and last race in San Diego Yacht Club's Hot Rum Series. As Bob said, there wasn’t much wind, but he still took some beautiful photos, which we share in the gallery here.

SDYC's third Hot Rum race was held under beautiful sunny skies, and, as per the "old wives' tale," little to no wind.

12/13/2024

The festive season is well underway, and for the Bay Area, nothing says it better than lighted boats parading up and down the foreshores. Last Saturday, December 7, around 35 boats lined up to parade past the judges in the Oakland/Alameda Estuary between Wind River and the Fortman Marina’s public pier. Entries included sailboats, powerboats, dragon boats, and the local Fire and Rescue and fire boats. Boats and crews went all out for this year’s event to the theme “Merry Estuary.”

This was the 48th Oakland/Alameda Estuary Lighted Yacht Parade. And the photos we received suggest it was a very merry evening indeed!

Around 35 boats lined up to parade past the judges last Saturday in the 48th Oakland Alameda Estuary Lighted Yacht Parade.

12/12/2024

This month in Changes in Latitude: Robert and Virginia Gleser Reflect on 25 Years of Cruising

In the late 1990s, even though we still had kids in college and six viable businesses all clicking along nicely, I decided that going cruising was what I wanted to do. My wonderful wife Virginia, whom I have now been happily married to for 53 years, thought I was out of my mind, but I was determined, and by juggling the financial numbers and imposing several measures of austerity, in fall 2000 we sailed out the Golden Gate and turned left for Mexico. This is now our silver jubilee, our 25th season of cruising as far south as Central America and Ecuador.

Once grandkids started arriving on the scene and the new moms were needing Grandma to help out, we returned to Mexico and the easily accessible cruising grounds of Baja and the Gold Coast south of Puerto Vallarta. Settling into our about 1,700-mile annual journey during the Mexican fall and winter, we continue to have new experiences, and meet wonderful old and new friends. After leaving San Carlos, Sonora, where the boat has been in storage, and heading across to Baja, we spend a month or so going to the many lovely anchorages with clear blue water and great snorkeling. We then park Harmony for a couple of weeks each year to return to the US to have Thanksgiving with our family.

You can read all about the Glesers int he Decmber issue of LATITUDE 38.

Robert and Virginia Gleser from Alameda are still cruising after 25 years, aboard their Islander Freeport 40, Harmony.