Dick Markie, Harbormaster at Marina Paradise just north of Puerto
Vallarta, holds up $420 U.S. dollars that had just been given
to him by the Grand Poobah of the Baja Ha-Ha. The money was contributed
by members of the ’00 Ha-Ha fleet for a 90-minute sail aboard
the catamaran ‘Profligate’ during a layday at Bahia Santa Maria.
Markie will be taking the money to Norm Goldie, long time friend
of cruisers in San Blas, Mexico. Goldie will use the money to
buy life-support supplies – such as food and blankets – for the
very poor children who live in the mountains behind San Blas.
Just three days before, Marina Paradise had played host to a
chili cook-off to support the Kids in the Dump – kids who actually
struggle to stay alive by living in the Puerto Vallarta dump.
We’ll have more details later, but over $2,000 was raised in
one day. We’re proud to announce that 60 copies of the December
edition of Latitude went like hotcakes at $2 each, adding to
the total.
In other Baja Ha-Ha charitable news, the Ha-Ha just sent a $500
U.S. check to the Club Cruceros de La Paz’s Subasta program.
Each year the program raises about $10,000 to support a breakfast
program for poor kids in La Paz, as well as to purchase school
supplies, uniforms and medical items for children, and to buy
Christmas gifts for the orphans. The Ha-Ha donation represents
the proceeds of selling aerial photographs of the boats at the
start of the Ha-Ha. The photographs have been taken for the last
several years by Tom Lyons, a vet of several Ha-Ha’s. Because
of the considerable expenses involved in taking and processing
the photographs, it’s not the most efficient method of fund-raising,
but every little bit helps. We’re also told that Mary Shroyer
of Marina de La Paz has established four scholarships for poor
children with high academic averages. The Club Cruceros has also
contributed to the program.
Photo by Richard
Cruising
New Elapsed Time Record
December 6 – Atlantic
A new elapsed time record in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers!
After a closely fought contest across the Atlantic from Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria to St Lucia, a new course record of 12 days and
18 hours was set by Luc Coquelin of France with the Open 50 ‘Multicap
Caraibes’. Keesjan Baartmans’ Swan 68 ‘Splendid’, on her fifth
ARC, finished just one hour later. The new record knocks eight
hours off the previous mark, which had been set in the ’98 ARC
by Adam Gosling with ‘Yes!’, a Sydney 60.
Luc Coquelin of ‘Multicap Caraibes’ said, “We had an excellent
crossing, with only two days of light airs – but an Open 50 still
sails well in light airs! There were no problems on the boat,
my tactic being to push steadily all the time. Our maximum speed
was in the region of 15 knots, our best 24-hour run was 275 nautical
miles. We thoroughly enjoyed the race and are delighted to have
won.”
For ‘Splendid’, Keesjan Baartmans said, “We were ahead of
you (‘Multicap Caraibes’) for a while, but when we saw your 275-mile
day, we just knew you were going to beat us to the line. Congratulations!.”
‘Splendid’ had an incident-free crossing, apart from blowing
one new spinnaker within three days of the start. ‘Splendid’
takes Line Honours in the Cruising Division of ARC2000.
Dona de Mallorca – who claims to have been part of a Swan 65
crew that averaged 10 knots on a delivery from Las Palmas the
the Caribbean – will note that ‘Multicap Caraibes’ only averaged
8.8 knots during her record crossing.
Photos courtesy ARC Rally
YOTREPS
December 6 – 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/
Racing
America’s Cup
December 6 – Auckland, New Zealand
A five-man international panel validated the Swiss Challenge for
the 2003 America’s Cup. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron said
it had sought an interpretation of the Deed of Gift, which suggests
that no yacht club could enter unless it held an annual race on
an arm of the sea. The Societe Nautique de Geneve, for which the
Swiss entry would sail, is based on Lake Geneva, a long way from
the sea.
While the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron claims they wanted
to make sure they could accept the Swiss entry, a lot of observers
– ‘Lectronic included – thought their months of delay was a wussy,
vengeful and completely un-Kiwi like way of getting back at Russell
Coutts and Brad Butterworth. Coutts and Butterworth were mainstays
of the victorious Kiwi America’s Cup team in 2000, but have jumped
ship to more lucrative offers from the Swiss Team. When all is
said and done, the Royal New Zealand’s Yacht Squardron’s delaying
tactics have won them nothing – but a diminished reputation whom
so many had worked so hard to achieve.
The Northern California locals are
all right on the ocean!
December 6 – Auckland, New Zealand
Northern Californian John Kostecki and the illbruck Challenge
Volvo Ocean Race team from Germany arrived in Auckland, New Zealand,
after an exhilarating 3,270-mile training run from Fremantle,
Australia. “Sailing 12 days in 30 knots, that’s when you
get a really good test,” said Kostecki. They had a top speed
of 30.6 knots and a peak 24-hour run of 414 miles. Kostecki knows
Auckland, of course, having been Paul Cayard’s right hand man
during the last America’s Cup. Kostecki will return with the German
America’s Cup effort in 2002.
Another top Northern California ocean racer who arrived in the
antipodespther on a Volvo 60 was Mark Rudiger, skipper of ‘Assa
Abloy’. Thanks to light headwinds, Rudiger and crew had a relatively
slow sail from Hong Kong to Sydney. “This has been a very
successful sail as we have learned a lot about the boat, the sails,
systems, watches, nutrition and steering,” said Rudiger.
He knows the Volvo 60s, having been the navigator for Paul Cayard’s
victorious effort in the last one.
Kostecki, Rudiger and their 60s will be lining up with three more
top Volvo 60s in the Telstra Sydney to Hobart Race that starts
on December 26.
The Race
December 6 – Paris Boat Show
Meanwhile, almost all the way around the world at the Paris Boat
Show, Cam Lewis was announcing that his Team Adventure maxi catamaran
entry in The Race, which seems to have been hanging on by a mere
thread, has gotten much stronger. The difference? Major sponsorship
from monster.com. Good timing, too, as what may be the greatest
around the world ocean race ever starts from Barcelona on December
31.
Bruno Peyron, organizer of The Race, has dispatched a maxi monohull,
ex-‘Merit’, to the Southern Ocean to be a potential rescue boat
for participants in The Race, which starts December 31 from Marseilles.
Skippered by Alain Gabbay with a crew of six, including an emergency
doctor from the Marseilles battalion of navy firefighters, the
monohull will take up a station between the Kerguelen Islands
and Cape Town on the route to be taken by the competitors of
The Race. They will then follow the fleet as far as Cape Horn,
ready to provide assistance if necessary.
Photos courtesy Team Adventure
Vendée Globe
December 6 – Atlantic Ocean
Yves Parlier has become the first of 20 singlehanded skippers
to reach the Roaring Forties in the Vendée Globe singlehanded
around the world race. The Frenchman wasted no time taking advantage
of reaching the strong winds first, sailing 419 miles in 24 hours,
an average of 17.4 knots. This is a new race record, besting
the 374 miles Christophe Auguin sailed in the ’96-’97 Vendée
Globe winner. Officials aren’t sure, but Parlier’s 419 miles
might be the most ever sailed by a singlehander on a monohull.
With the burst of speed, Parlier, who badly injured both legs
in a paragliding accident last year, increased his lead to 100
miles over Michel Desjoyeaux in PB.
Standings: 1) Aquitaine Innovations, Yves Parlier; 2) PRB, Michel
Desjoyeaux (+95 miles); 3) Sill Matines & La Potagère,
Roland Jourdain (+161m); 4) Active Wear, Marc Thiercelin (+317m);
5) Kingfisher, Ellen MacArthur (+324M); 6) Sodebo Savourons la
Vie, Thomas Coville (+326M).
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
You can view the University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology
satellite picture by clicking
here.
