Latitude 38 June 2010

from Latitude 38 June 2010

CHANGES IN LATITUDES

hemisphere. We hope that you paid close attention because there will be a test on all this material at the end of Cruise Notes.

You can't keep a good young sailor down! Stefan Ries, a young German, lived aboard his Coronado 25 Ky-Mani at various locations between Cabo and P.V. since '06. For the last couple of years, he's worked at the Palladium Resort, which is right at the famous Burro's surf spot on the north shore of Banderas Bay. He kept his small liveaboard boat anchored just outside the break. Alas, last year there was a pretty good blow from the south, putting Ky-Mani on a lee shore. Her rode broke, and Ries only got there in time to ride his boat to the rocks onshore. There's a pretty good YouTube video of it.

Undeterred, Ries announced that he had a budget of $5,000 for a replacement boat. We're not sure what he paid, but he managed to buy a classic Triton 28

Stefan Ries during sailing trials aboard his newto-him Triton 28 'Mintaka'.

that he christened Mintaka. As of late April, Ries got a seven-month sabbatical from the Palladium, and headed south in search of great surf in Central America. Ries is happy with his new, larger boat. "Mintaka a has a much better motion than Ky-Mani, and she feels more seaworthy and strong. And even after I added a lot of weight, she's still floating on her lines."

Typical of most budget cruisers,

SOUTHERN CROSS

Ries has more time than money. As such, he's had to be patient with 24-hour runs of just 35 miles. But other runs have been much better. And then there has been the surf. "I made it on the hook at Punta Galera/Bahia Chacahua before dark, and went surfing the next morning. The break was a long right, with waves three to five feet. I also had sessions in the afternoon and at sunset. And the swell is supposed to get much bigger in a few days."

Ries plans to make it as far south as Costa Rica and Nicaragua — watch out for that summer rain and lightning — before returning to the Palladium on November 1 for the start of a new season.

Out cruising? We at Latitude and our readers would love to hear from you. Short and sweet reports with a couple of high res photos are best. Send them to richard@latitude38.com. Merci!

Featuring

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