Sailing

Disney Cruise Line will leave Los Angeles at the end of 2012 and reposition the Disney Wonder to Miami , marking the first time the company will sail from that Florida port. Disney rolled out its cruise itineraries for next year on Tuesday -- and L.A. trips weren't on the list. The Port of L.A. issued a short statement that reads in part: "They're a valued customer, this is a solid market for them, and we hope to continue working with them any way we can in the coming years.

A month after Zac Sunderland, at 17, became the youngest person to sail around the world by himself, his younger sister has announced plans to try to break that record. Abby Sunderland, who will turn 16 in October, is hoping to embark on a nonstop, unassisted voyage in November aboard a 40-foot cruising vessel, and complete the trip in about six months. First, however, she will have to land a sponsor to help cover the $350,000 cost of the odyssey. "I've been wanting to do this since I was 13, and when I was 13 there was nobody doing this," she told the Associated Press.

Take to the seas for Valentine’s Day during a special sailing on a special ship. The Californian, the state 's official tall ship, will dock at the Maritime Museum of San Diego and offer a three-hour " Sweetheart Sail " on Feb. 13. Passengers aboard the Californian will have an opportunity to haul a line or staff the helm during the sailing, which will end with a cannon salute. The schooner, a replica of a Gold Rush-era vessel, was built in 1984. The Sweetheart Sail will start at 12:30 p.m. It includes a keepsake picture (taken between 10:30 a.m. and noon before the sailing)

Reading about the new Queen Elizabeth ocean liner ["Where Comfort Reigns," by Beverly Beyette, Jan. 23] brought back memories of the time during World War II when American troops sailed across the Atlantic on the first Queen Elizabeth. There were 15,000 troops on board, and we ate twice a day. My favorite spot was high atop the ship looking out over the ocean and the blue skies. We landed in Scotland, moved by train to England, and then headed across the English Channel to France.

The new 140-foot super-maxi Mari Cha IV shattered the speed record for crossing the Atlantic west to east -- and became the first monohull sailboat to travel more than 500 miles in a day. "Incredible," said owner Robert Miller, the Hong Kong billionaire who has sights on "attempting every record in the book." Previously, the fastest monohull crossing from Ambrose Lighthouse off New York to England's Lizard Point was eight days, 20 hours and 55 minutes, sailed in 2001.

Sailing aboard the Californian is a throwback to the era of tall ships and re-creates what 19th-century travel by sea was like. The Martitime Museum of San Diego offers three sailings to Catalina Island aboard the topsail schooner where participants take turns standing watch, setting sail and learning other on-board skills. (Yes, there's a motor so you won't be stuck in the doldrums.) But it's not all work. There'll be time to relax on board and to go kayaking in the waters off Catalina with guides and gear provided.

Abby Sunderland is bundled in foul-weather gear at the tiller of the 40-foot racing yacht Wild Eyes as it grudgingly navigates chaotic swells on a northward trudge against a bone-chilling head wind along the Baja California coast. But as long hours pass into even worse conditions, there are no complaints from the 16-year-old from Thousand Oaks, who knows this is paradise compared with what she'll soon face much farther from home and in far more turbulent seas. If this has a familiar tone, it's understandable.

* Liz Baylis Baylis, 32, of San Francisco is a veteran sailor, added to the crew at the last minute when skipper Linda Elias fell ill. * Cheryl Coulter Coulter, 39, of San Pedro is a sailor and flight attendant who has earned her U.S. Coast Guard captain's license. * Betsy Crowfoot Crowfoot, 38, of Tustin is a writer for a biweekly sailing newspaper and has sailed in two Transpacs. * Camille Daniels Daniels, 47, of Long Beach is a Transpac veteran and an emergency room nurse currently on hiatus.

We had to keep reminding ourselves during a recent cruise to Mexico aboard Sundance Cruises' Stardancer that the Queen Elizabeth 2 carries cars too, but nobody thinks of her as a ferry. When Stan McDonald, who created Princess Cruises way back in 1965, teamed with his daughter, Laurie, to produce the Sundance concept, with car- and RV-carrying capabilities plus low prices to encourage first-time cruisers, it was easy to shrug it off as a good idea somewhere outside the mainstream.

Orange Coast College's Sailing Center has received a $14,000 grant from the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles to teach sailing to underprivileged and "at-risk" youngsters. Sixty underprivileged youngsters will be involved in the sailing program this summer, and 40 will participate next fall and spring. "The program will emphasize confidence-building and sailing skills," said Karen Prioleau, program director. "Students will also experience good old-fashioned, on-the-water fun."