IN LATITUDES

SPREAD, FABRIZIO ROBBA; ALL OTHERS FINALMENTE

Family affair (left to right): Allessia, Rosaria, Krissy, Nicole, Ni, Cristina and Nicola.

were married in Morris Chapel in Stockton, while bets were being placed that our marriage would not last a year. I should have been the bookie. After 50 years together we are still in love and best friends. Our celebration in Italy, also on August 17, was very special because we were enjoying it with old friends Mike and Janie and some new Italian friends, as well as family — my cousin Kerry, our

'Talion' smokin' south during the windy first leg of the '07 Baja Ha-Ha.

daughter and our four grandchildren. The only one sadly missed was our son, Ni III, who could not take the time off work. As it was, we all lost track of time and the party ended in the wee hours of the next day. — Ni 9/25/18 Cruise Notes • After spending a couple months cruising the Pacific Northwest, Patsy Verhoeven (aka La Reina del Mar, aka Assistant Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha) and her

TALION

Above, Santa Margherita Ligure by night. Top left, 'Finalmente' ghosts along. Center photos, cutting the cake, then and now.

Gulfstar 50 Talion made a quick and (mostly) easy trip from Port Townsend to San Diego — with a couple of exceptions. Off San Luis Obispo in the dark, in 20knot winds and 8-foot seas, the autopilot lost control and the helmsperson couldn't catch it in time. The rudder slammed hard over and the chain attaching the steering cable broke. Luckily, the autopilot steers the boat without it so they were okay. The next day there was a thud like they'd hit something. Then the engine started losing power. After shutting it down, they duct taped the GoPro to the boat hook, stuck it over the side, and saw a big wad of kelp on the prop. "With a crew of four young Canadians more accustomed to snow than to palm trees, it was easy to get one into the 55-degree water," says Patsy. The kelp came off easily. The steering repair was a bit harder as links