November 29, 2000

By Grzegorz | November 29, 2000

Photos of the Day

Maxi Cat Flies

November 29 – Cherbourg, France

A lot of sailors were skeptical that Cam Lewis’ ‘Team Adventure’
maxi catamaran for December 31’s The Race would ever be built,
let alone sail. But as the photos here show, the events of recent
days have proved them wrong. Despite the fact that the big cat
has been on ‘builder’s trials’, Lewis and crew have routinely
been flying the weather hull, and even hit 39.9 knots – which
to our knowledge is the fastest speed any of The Race challengers
have claimed in public.

Team Adventure is also experimenting with a couple of possible
uses for water ballast. The first is to put water in the weather
hull to give the cat greater stability in certain situations.
Another is to put weight aft to keep the bows from diving in
fast conditions and steep seas. These ideas have been tried in
several other cats with limited success. Maybe Lewis and his
group will have better luck.

A week or so ago Lewis said he still needed $2 million to hit
the starting line with ‘Team Adventure’. No mention was made
of it today, but we’re sure he could still use financial assistance.

Check out their Web site at www.teamadventure.org.

Photos Team Adventure/Henri
Thibault

Cruising

ARC Update

November 29 – Atlantic Ocean

Here’s the latest report on the 2,700-mile rally
from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to St. Lucia in the Eastern
Caribbean:

“The fleet is very happy as the wind has picked up and all
yachts are making good progress. The smaller yachts are catching
up on the rest of the fleet after being caught with periods of
no wind. Talk on the net today was of an unnamed yacht catching
a massive marlin. We all look forward to seeing the tail and
hearing the tale in St. Lucia. The stronger winds have caused
an increase in breakages, with reports of blown sails, and the
Finnish yacht ‘Venla’ has reported a broken shroud. Other ARC
yachts are in their vicinity and will be checking with them as
they continue to St. Lucia.

“John Burfitt, skipper of Challenge Business yacht ‘Compaq’,
describes how they blew one of their sails, ‘Winds were NE15
gusting to 30 under menacing black clouds, a big swell, and at
times a confused sea added a challenge to helming. During Saturday
a deep and developed squall approached; as the crew assembled
to dowse the flanker, it blew in only 15 knots apparent. The
crew began an immediate assessment of damage and since then all
hands have been involved in a sewing extravaganza.’ John continues,
‘There have been complaints of sore fingers, but motivation to
continue is provided by the thought of rivals “Logica”
taking the lead.’

“In trade wind conditions, line squalls are frequently encountered.
John gives us a vivid account of a tropical line squall as it
passes over the boat, ‘Sunday morning, early hours as dawn was
ghosting a gloomy glow over the gray sky, yet another squall
approached. In the quiet moments before it hit an eerie howling
of wind in the distance could be heard. Hatches were secured
and the on-watch stood by in the cockpit. Despite its menacing
look, the squall reached only 25 knots, however it released a
deluge of rain upon us, rinsing decks and crew clean. By Sunday
afternoon the skies had cleared, as we put our oillies and clothing
on the rail to dry. The light winds were now reducing our speed,
but guiltily enjoyed by us all as we fell behind our rivals but
got some rest.’

“Amongst the fleet leaders, ‘Logica’ reached the half-way
point and second mate Ian decided to prepare a party dinner in
the galley with temperatures soaring in the strong sunshine.
Four hours later the feast was served. Strict dress code was
in order, tie for the gentlemen and skirts for the ladies. Ian
describes the scene at dinner, ‘Jan took the floor with a bow-tie
made out of a digestive box. Vanessa made a banner for the boom,
which survived the evening squalls just! Who would’ve thought
during our celebrations we were surfing down waves at 10 knots!'”

Enrique Boisser’s Beneteau First 42 Canarias
at the start

Before the squalls hit, the happy crew of
the German Bavaria 50 Sonja captured this dorado.

Photos Courtesy World Cruising
Club

For position reports, visit www.worldcruising.com/arc/entries.html.

Winds of Change Across Oahu

November 28 – Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, Honolulu

As we’ve mentioned in the past, the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor should
be one of the great yacht harbors of the world, something it
certainly isn’t today. In addition to the harbor being poorly
laid out and some slips being in extremely poor condition, it’s
as bleak and paved over a waterfront as anyone could imagine.
Just check out the first photo. After years of exasperation,
some berth holders decided to take matters into their own hands
by bringing in some vegetation. This is probably illegal, but
. . .

The winds of change are blowing across Oahu, however, as the
ridiculously cheap berthing rates may soon go up dramatically
to pay for the much needed improvements. For details, see the
January Latitude 38.

Photo Latitude/Richard

YOTREPS

November 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/

Racing

Raja Muda Regatta

November 29, Malaysia

Suppose you’ve done the West Marine Pacific Cup, Antigua Sailing
Week, the ARC, and are looking for something new and exotic. In
that case, you should have been at Port Klang, Malaysia, on November
17 for the start of the seven race Raja Muda Regatta 2000. Here’s
the story:

“The Raja Muda International Regatta evolved from the Malaysian
Offshore Series which was established primarily to encourage local
yachting, particularly racing, in the region. The MOS, which began
in 1985, combined a harbor triangle with a 120 nm overnight race
to White Rock and back around the One Fathom Bank lighthouse in
the Straits of Malacca. The MOS ran for five years and laid the
early foundations on which the Raja Muda Regatta was founded.
The first Raja Muda Regatta was successfully run in 1990 and has
since taken place annually with increasing popularity.

“The success of the regatta is also attributed to the continued
support of our patron, HH Prince Idris Shah, the Raja Muda of
Selangor, who graciously takes the time and opportunity from his
busy schedule to participate in the regatta himself. An avid sailor
with an active interest in regional sailing development, His Highness
commissioned Garrard of London to hand craft the stunningly beautiful
Raja Muda Challenge Trophy of silver and gilt together with smaller
exact replicas for winners to keep as a testimony to yachting
excellence.

“The Raja Muda International Regatta today is a world-renowned
sailing event, attracting participants from the world over. Its
distinctive feature is the remarkable night island-hopping passages
coupled with competitive round-the-cans racing during the day.
At offer is seven days of active racing, cruising, great parties
onshore with ample breaks to enable participants to indulge in
some sightseeing and to savor some of the charms, sights and sounds
of Malaysia. It is also an established component in the region’s
racing calendar with the regatta organizers in close contact with
the region’s other major yachting events, namely Thailand’s King’s
Cup, Singapore’s Straits Regatta and the Philippines’ President’s
Cup.

“The regatta – which is open to racing, cruising, classic
and multihull boats – kicks off from the Royal Selangor Yacht
Club’s splendid premises at Port Klang with a testing overnight
passage of 72 nm finishing off the Sembilan Islands and then proceeding
to the Lumut International Yacht Club. The second overnight passage
of 70 nm involving some very tactical racing ends in Penang.The
last 71 nm passage to Langkawi is often the most dramatic with
strong northeast monsoon winds providing excellent sailing conditions.
Each overnight passage is a convenient distance to enable yachts
to arrive at the finish line in the early hours of the morning.
The greater part of the sailing is done at night to take advantage
of the cooler air and strong land breeze and is especially challenging
and tactical, demanding the best from both men and equipment.

“These coastal waters are among the region’s safest with
additional peace of mind provided by the Royal Malaysian Navy
escort vessels. A total of four testing windward-leeward races
for racing and cruising classes with two day passages for classic
and multihull classes the following two days completes the regatta.
The final awards ceremony is at the attractive Royal Langkawi
Yacht Club.”

We’ll have a report and photos on this year’s Raja Muda within
the next couple of days.

Vendée Globe Update

November 29 – Atlantic Ocean

It continues to be a great year for women in the top offshore
singlehanded events, as Frenchwoman Catherine Chabaud of ‘Whirlpool’
and Brit Ellen MacArthur with ‘Kingfisher’ hold the second and
fifth spots in the Vendée Globe Singlehanded Around the
World race. Chabaud is 164 miles behind the leader and last year’s
winner, Yves Parlier on ‘Aquitaine Innovations’, while MacArthur
is 254 miles back. The Vendée Globe currently has 20 competitors.
See www.vendeeglobe.com.

Whirlpool,
the second place boat

Photo Gilles Martin-Raget

Weather Updates

November 29 – Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Tropical Weather

The Atlantic/Caribbean region hurricane season is almost over,
and it looks as though there will not be any more tropical storms
or hurricanes.

San Francisco Bay Weather

To see what the winds are like on the Bay and just outside
the Gate right now, check out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.

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

You can view the University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology
satellite picture by clicking
here.

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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