LETTERS
LET’S TALK SAIL INVENTORY!
LATITUDE / LADONNA
See us at Booth 51 April 12-15 at Strictly Sail Pacific, Jack London Square.
cute or not. The Boat of the Month features from the early days of Latitude were four pages long, and about half the space was taken up by photos. We're not sure we had all the detail that you remember in each one, but we're glad you remember them fondly. We noticed that you used the word 'gale'. Because people frequently misuse it and associated terms, we thought we'd go over the proper definitions. A 'near gale' is 31 to 38 knots. A 'full gale' is 39 to 46 knots. A 'strong gale' is 47 to 54 knots. It frequently blows 'near gales' on the Bay but sum- A 'whole gale' is mer winds rarely go beyond that. 56 to 63 knots. Any kind of gale is a whole lot of wind. Anything over a 'near gale' is pretty rare on the Bay. ⇑⇓"POT AIN'T JUST FOR KIDS NOWADAYS" If I'd been one the sailors who found the bale of pot floating off the coast of Del Mar, such as the ones you mentioned in March 2's 'Lectronic, I would have left it and hoped nobody killed me for being near it. I started with pot at age 11 and finished at 28. I'm now 53 and have access to an unlimited supply of killer weed from a friend up north. But I'm looking for a job, so I wouldn't touch any of it even if I wanted to. Fortunately, most kids these days are so smart that they know better than to smoke pot. Pot is for older folks with failing health. Brad Smith Hobie 18 Santa Cruz
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Latitude 38
• April, 2012
⇑⇓A BALE FOR A BOAT I did a little research and found out that dispensaries in L.A. pay $4,500/lb for high-grade pot, while dispensaries in San Francisco will pay $3,500/lb. So in L.A., a 25-lb bale would have been worth about $112,500. I guess somebody with a medical marijuana card could have sold the bale to a dispensary. For $112,500, it might be worth the time to get a card or find somebody with one to help with the sale. That amount would buy a nice boat, but I'm not sure it would be worth the risk. Grant D. Emeryville Grant — We're troubled by the disparity in prices for pot in California. If what you say is true, why wouldn't someone buy pot low from dispensaries in San Francisco and sell high — sorry about the pun — to dispensaries in L.A.? He/she could make big profits without having to go to the bother and risk of smuggling. Also, you'd need more than just a medical marijuana card to sell pot to a dispensary. The cards — easily obtained by anyone over 18 — allow the patient to carry no more than 8 oz of Maui Wowie. But an Orange County Court of Appeal just made buying the sticky stuff even more difficult. Early last month, the court said that Lake Forest's attempt to ban dispensaries was illegal but ruled that such clinics must grow the pot themselves, effectively putting the entire industry out of business. The issue