For months owners of West Coast racing boats having been anxiously
awaiting the start of today’s St. Francis YC Big Boat Series.
So what happens yesterday? After days of record hot weather,
the fog and the wind poured through the Gate with a will, blowing
an honest 30 knots and perhaps gusting higher. Many of the boats
that went out for their last tune-up were hammered, and returned
to the dock with a variety of moderate to serious damages. Hurt
worst of all was Dale Williams’ Farr designed ILC 46 ‘Wasabi’,
seen in the accompanying photo, which lost her rig. While the
winds probably won’t be as strong for the series as they were
yesterday, it’s an ebb tide event and should be great for spectating.
It’s the biggest Big Boat Series ever – and could be one of the
best.
Photo Latitude/John Arndt
Watch Out Sea of Cortez!
September 21 – Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
Tropical Weather
Yesterday it looked like Tropical Storm Norman was going to
hit mainland Mexico south of Manzanillo. But it went a little
ways offshore, skirted Puerto Vallarta, and now appears to be
headed up the eastern side of the Sea of Cortez in the general
direction of Mazatlan and Guaymas. Fortunately, the maximum gusts
are only 35 knots and it should tend to fizzle, but we take nothing
for granted. Norman is the 10th tropical storm of the season,
and there have already been six hurricanes. Fortunately, there
has been no damage to speak of.
Down in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Helen is headed toward
Texas and Louisiana with up to 45 knots of wind. Unless it suddenly
builds dramatically, it shouldn’t cause too much damage. Tropical
Depression #13 has just formed near the Canary Islands off the
coast of Africa and is starting a long journey to perhaps the
Caribbean. Nothing to worry about, but nothing to ignore either.
The Atlantic and Caribbean have had four Tropical Storms and
four Hurricanes in this season.
Tropical Storm Norman
Unisys Weather Graphics
Tropical Storm Helene
San Francisco Bay Weather
To see what the winds are like on the Bay right now, check
out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.
But we can tell you it’s going to be another perfect day for racing
on 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.
Right now, it’s quite calm all along the coast.
“Who wants to crew down the Red Sea to Sri Lanka? asks
Steve Faustina of the Oakland-based Barnett 42 ‘Solitaire’. I’m
currently in Fethiye, Turkey, having spent the summer cruising
the Med. I had crossed the Atlantic singlehanded in the summer
of ’99, departing Ft. Lauderdale and making stops at Bermuda
and the Azores. It was a very pleasant and uneventful crossing
all the way to Gibraltar. I wintered in Barcelona, Spain, until
April 2000, and have been cruising the Med since. I’ve stopped
at Mallorca, Sardinia, Tunis, Malta, Crete, numerous Greek islands
in the Aegean, and now the Turkish coast – which has been my
favorite. I will be stopping in Cyprus and Israel before heading
onto the Suez canal and the Red Sea.
A Postcard from Marmaris, Turkey
“Everyone says that I’m going the wrong way around, but
I haven’t found that to be the case – especially now that I get
to go ‘down’ the Red Sea. Even though I have been singlehanding
most of this trip, I have had crew for certain stretches and
friends and family visit at times. I am open to accepting crew,
especially for the trip down the Red Sea to Sri Lanka. So if
anyone is interested, contact me by email at: [email protected].”
YOTREPS
September 21 – 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
1D35 Nationals
September 21 – San Francisco
Dan Cheresh wrapped up an impressive One-Design 35 Nationals
title yesterday during heavy air conditions on San Francisco
Bay with his aptly named boat ‘Extreme’. At one point, only one
of 18 boats was carrying a chute on a downwind leg that featured
a solid 30 knots. “It looked like a yard sale,” said
one of the crew. Robert Hughes finished nine points back at 28
points with ‘Heartbreaker’, while Kara Zylstra took third at
50 points with ‘Wild Thing’. Eighteen boats competed. For a feature
story on this great event, see the October edition of Latitude
38.
Photo: ‘Windquest’
www.waltercooperphoto.com
Almost Down for the Count
Dan Payan of Hillsborough started the last two races of the
One-Design 35 Nationals tied for third with his boat ‘Rigel’.
But during a jibe in 20+ knots of wind near the starting line,
the mainsheet whipsawed him on the neck with great force, throwing
him face down on the cockpit sole. “It almost knocked his
head off,” said one of the crew. Realizing their owner/driver
was completely out and perhaps seriously injured, the crew dropped
the jibe, fired up the engine and alerted the San Francisco YC
race committee boat that they needed medical help. To their credit,
the race committee boat had an EMT onboard.
But approximately 45 seconds after he was knocked out, and before
help could arrive, Payan regained consciousness – and charge of
his boat. “What are we doing?” he said. “Let’s
get going!” The rest of the fleet had charged off in the
distance, so Payan and crew gave chase. They didn’t have their
best day of racing, but they hung in for the last two races. Who
says guys from Hillsborough aren’t tough?
