SIGHTINGS riding the wave When the Publisher of Latitude 38 was “caught” by a news crew early last month leaving a “closed port” through dangerously heavy surf, some questioned his decision — and sanity. After all, Oceanside had rarely seen such raucous conditions. But the truth is that, while officials suggested boaters not leave port, the port was not closed. “We’re old-time surfers, so we took our sweet-ass time evaluating the situation,” he wrote in a September 2 ‘Lectronic Latitude story detailing the adventure. After more than 30 minutes of waiting at the staging area, he saw a lull in the waves and gunned it. Profligate really earned her title of ‘The Surfing 63 Catamaran’ that day. While the story of Profligate’s surfing expedition was thrilling, the accompanying news report — which referred to the catamaran as a trimaran, among other things — offers spectacular video footage of the boat powering out of Oceanside. The fantastic images here, shot by Harbor Patrolman Jonathan Hoover, really are worth a thousand words (which coincidentally is about how long the Wanderer’s epistle is), but in case you’d like to read the full story and watch the news segment, you have two options. The old-school method is to go to www.latitude38.com, click on ‘Lectronic Latitude, scroll down to the September 2 and click on ‘Did Profligate Leave a “Closed Port?”’ Alternately, you can grab your Download a QR reader smartphone and just scan the QR code to the left. from your app store, You’ve probably noticed these weird, squiggly boxes then scan this with scattered in ads throughout the magazine for the last your smartphone to several months. They’re called QR codes — short for watch the video of Quick Response code — and, though they were created ‘Profligate’ leaving by Toyota in ‘94 to track vehicles during the manufacOceanside Harbor. turing process, they store just about any information you can imagine. Advertisers in the U.S. have recently picked up on the trend and now feature QR codes that will quickly take customers to their website and video ads, or even dial the phone for them. To scan QR codes, your smartphone needs a camera and a reader app. If your phone didn’t come with a reader pre-installed, it’s easy to download a free one, such as Google Goggles, Barcode Reader or Kawya Reader for Android, or QR Reader, QR Scanner or TapReader for iPhone. From there, just follow the instructions. It’s easy and kinda fun, sort of like a opening a grab bag — you never know what you’re going to find. (Just be careful to scan only codes from trusted sources for that very reason.) In the months to come, you’ll likely see the occasional Latitude story enhanced by QR codes that will take you to ‘Lectronic postings, more detailed information or even videos on Latitude 38’s YouTube page. Who knows where all this technology will take us, but we’ll do our best to ride the wave. — ladonna
a gentlemen’s Last month, when we reported on the museum-quality rebuild of Bob Cadranell’s 84-year-old R Class sloop Ace, we got the basic facts right, but unintentionally neglected to tell the whole story. Most importantly, we hadn’t realized how hands-on Cadranell himself had been during the project. While master boatbuilder John Guzzwell took the lead during the 14-month effort, Cadranell credits John Guzzwell Jr. and Rick Lotz with doing most of the actual work, with
transatlantic trio Three Bay Area sailors got the opportunity of a lifetime this summer when they were tapped to join 13 other sailors between the ages of 19 and 27 to sail the US Merchant Marine Academy’s STP 65 Vanquish for a full schedule that included the Transatlantic Race, and one of the world’s most storied of all races, the Rolex Fastnet Race. Pt. Richmond’s Matt Noble and David Rasmussen, and Marin’s Molly Robinson, represented the West Coast on the Oakcliff All-American Offshore Team, sailing and maintaining their steed all up and down the Eastern Seaboard Originally the brainchild of US Merchant Marine Academy Waterfront Director Ralf Steitz, the All-American Offshore Team was founded with the idea of giving a group of younger sailors the opportunity to sail offshore on a fast, contemporary boat. The Academy’s foundation received continued on outside column of next sightings page Page 72 •
Latitude 38
• October, 2011
‘Profligate’ caused a stir when she left Oceanside in heavy surf last month.
