are 'must-have' items." Glenn and Debbie, Beach Access, Lagoon 380. "When we did the Ha-Ha in 2012, I had early-2000s vintage C-Map charts. I cannot recommend them at all, as I have several funny screenshots of Shindig anchored on land and sailing tracks across Isla Isabel. Quarter- to half-mile errors were common. In 2014 I bought Navionics for a Raymarine plotter, and it seems they put the land in the right places. There were some depth contours that I found to be out of whack in the Santa Rosalia area, but in general I was happy with Navionics." Rob, aka Capt. Coconut, Shindig, Oyster 485. Rob reports that Shindig is currently on the hard in Raiatea following a Puddle Jump this year, waiting out cyclone season. He reports that the Navionics charts for the South Pacific "have also been very good." Curt Hamann has very good news for Sea of Cortez cruisers. "Our team at Marina Puerto Escondido has just completed a rebranding of the marina, and better still can report that a new breakwater and slips are arriving this

week from France, Ireland and Canada. The breakwater will provide marina protection against Northers that didn't exist before, and the new berths will expand the marina's capacity by 70+ slips." We have no idea why the marina needed to get slips from three countries, but we do know that cruisers will like this introductory offer: "For the first 30 boats, we will offer one month of free berthing between January and May as an incentive to come up to see and experience this magic place in the Sea of Cortez." Write Hamann at hamann@marinapuertoescondido.com for details. And tell him that Latitude sent you. These folks have some new video on the Marina Puerto Escondido website, and the place has never looked better. It's always had spectacular natural beauty, and finally — after 40 years of failed de-

CURT HAMANN

IN LATITUDES

Marina Puerto Escondido (the one in the Sea of Cortez) plans to expand, and is offering a free month of berthing.

velopment attempts — it looks as though it's starting to get the infrastructure to match. We wish them luck. David and Merry Wallace of the Redwood City-based Amel Maramu Air Ops have kept their boat in the Puerto Escondido area for years, and are optimistic. "We'll let Latitude know how things go, but so far the new marina owners have been very customer-oriented, and have made significant progress on turning the

SPAULDING BOATWORKS Quality Workmanship for Over 60 Years

Spaulding is open to the public five to six days per week. Come poke around • Meet the team • Discuss your needs in person ~ JOIN US FOR OUR MONTHLY WORKSHOPS ~

NOV. 15

DEC. 2

ONGOING FOR FALL

BEHIND THE BARK: SAVING SEALS AND SEA LIONS IN CALIFORNIA

MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP: KNOTS AND SPLICES

FALL AFTER SCHOOL TOOL SKILLS PROGRAM

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Mondays and Wednesdays 4 to 6 p.m.

“…this old school boatyard reminded me that even work in a boatyard can be an enjoyable part of the boat-owning experience.” – Tom Giammona

600GATE Gate55ROAD, Road,SAUSALITO Sausalito 1-415-332-3721 CA 415-332-3721 November, 2017 •

Latitude 38