Two years ago Pam wrote, "Even though Eric and I were in our late 60s before doing our first Ha-Ha in 2012, and I had never been offshore, we have been having an absolutely fabulous time cruising. We did a second Ha-Ha in 2014, did the Puddle Jump in 2015, and are now cruising the east coast of Australia." The couple are currently in Samoa, working their way back to Oregon, California and Mexico. The Wanderer sends out his love and respect to Eric and Pam — and all the other seniors out there quietly cruising all over the globe. What you have accomplished — and are continuing to accomplish — is an inspiration. You can be excused if you think the accompanying photo on the right is of somewhere in the Sea of Cortez. It's actually of Little Harbor on the backside of Catalina. It's uncrowded because the photo was taken in late September when most boats were in their berths because the kids were back in school. If it looks warm, it's because it was. And water temps were in the low 70s at that time around most of Catalina. Fall is the best time for cruising in Southern California.

The photo was taken by Beverly van de Velde of Rochambeau, the Marina del Rey-based Lagoon 40. The Wanderer and Doña de Mallorca had met Beverly and her husband Rolf van de Velde while sharing the Paradise Cove anchorage in September. Great folks. Rob Spatkowski of the sailing vessel Reka forwarded secondhand reports that the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica were both hit by tropical storm and then Hurricane Nate, even though the

ROCHAMBEAU

IN LATITUDES

Beverly van de Velde's photo of Catalina's Little Harbor has it looking like some remote bay in the Sea of Cortez.

eye of that storm was in the Caribbean and went up into the Gulf Coast of the United States. Some claim it was the worst storm to hit Nicaragua in 30 years. Even though the Nicaraguan port of San Juan del Sur

To find the best watermaker for you, call us at 415-526-2780 or to explore our energy-efficient and quiet watermakers visit www.spectrawatermakers.com

“Spectra’s most energy-conserving watermaker— the PowerSurvivor40E, drawing only 4 amps—will allow us to be completely self-sufficient aboard Celeste. We’ll no longer have to depend solely on water from shore or on rain catchment, and we’ll still be able to generate the electricity we need with our solar panels.” -Ellen Massey Leonard, Circumnavigator, Blogger at GoneFloatAbout.com Shop for your Spectra Watermaker at:

www.emeraldharbormarine.com 206-285-3632 Seattle, WA

www.svendsens.com 510-522-2886 Alameda, CA

www.swedishmarine.com 510-234-9566 Richmond, CA

www.outboundyachtservices.com www.seatechmarineproducts.com 949-488-0652 619-222-9613 Dana Point, CA San Diego, CA November, 2017 •

Latitude 38

• Page 117