August 29, 2000

Photo of the Day Be Careful What You Joke About August 29 – Caribbean Randy West mugged for this shot, but the very next day the joke went bad when his docked sailboat ‘Shadowfax’ was plowed into by a big motor yacht. Photo Latitude/Richard

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Weather Updates

August 29 – Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Tropical Weather

Tropical Storm John is cooking up 55-knot winds in the Eastern
Pacific, moving to the WNW from 16N 139W. You can keep track of
John at http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/2000/index.html.
All continues quiet in the Atlantic-Caribbean.

San Francisco Bay Weather

To see what the winds are like on the Bay right now, check
out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.
Wind patterns are typical of this time of year, and it’s a great
time to be sailing the Bay.

California Coast Weather

Looking for current as well as recent wind and sea readings
from 17 buoys and stations between Pt. Arena and the Mexican border?
Here’s the place – which has further links to weather buoys and
stations all over the U.S.
www.ndbc.noaa.gov/stuff/southwest/swstmap.shtml

Pacific Ocean Weather

Click here to see today’s weather
map from the University of Hawaii Meteorology Department.

Pacific Sea State

Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you might check at:
http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.

For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.

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Cruising

The Crabs Were Going That Way August 29 – Agua Verde, Mexico On June 26, the Puerto de Agua Verde Yacht Club granted an instant ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ authorization for crab races. Joe Parks of ‘Maverick’ tells it like this: “The crabs actually stopped by the crowd on the beach after dinner and inquired if we’d watch them race toward the brush to declare the winner. The crabs were clearly going that way in any event, so we acquiesced to their wishes. Of course, what would a crab race be without sponsors? There was wild, frivolous betting on the side and the winners are displayed in the photo. That would be them in the hands of their sponsors.” After the shot was taken, “the crabs were gently replaced on the sand and offered dessert. No complaints were heard.”

Photo Courtesy Joe Parks

YOTREPS

August 29 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace

Who is out making passages in the Pacific and what kind of
weather are they having? Check out YOTREPS – ‘yacht reports’ –
at http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/

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Racing

‘PlayStation’ Record a Longshot

August 29 – North Atlantic

As of 1605 GMT today, ‘PlayStation’ had 281 miles to go to
break the Transatlantic record set ten years ago by ‘Jet Services
V’. Wind conditions have improved slightly since skipper Steve
Fossett checked in at 1400 and reported that “the strategy
devised by navigator Stan Honey and meteorologist Bob Rice seems
to be working. We are following the decaying Low and this evening
we should cross the shear line, where we hope for slightly better
winds from a much better angle for boat speed.

“It’s a longshot whether we make it to Lizard Point [the
finish line] in time, but we’re still in racing mode. We only
need to average 14.5 knots to finish. That is still a tall order
in the seven knots of wind we have now.”

The cutoff time is 0752 GMT tomorrow morning.

Graphic Courtesy Steve Fossett Ocean Challenge

See www.fossettchallenge.com
for the latest updates.