Photos of the Day

The Maxi Yacht with the Cartoon Name

September 27 - San Francisco

The St. Francis YC's Big Boat Series ended on Sunday, but that doesn't mean there aren't any big boats left on the Bay. The yacht in the two accompanying photos is 'Slingshot', a Wally 67 that is based at San Francisco's South Beach Marina. We're sure the owner didn't realize it, but whoever cleaned the bottom of his boat didn't finish the job. When you're sailing around on a super elegant yacht like 'Slingshot' - particularly when she has a white bottom - you don't want a bunch of slime down there. It's kind of like wearing a white suit with a red wine stain to a fancy garden party.

For those who don't follow the world of maxi performance cruising yachts, Wally Yachts has taken that world by storm since 1983. What has set them apart from other sailing yachts of their size is their elegance, innovation and simplicity. Their influence on the recent offerings by the likes of Swan and Baltic is obvious. What's really unique about Wallys is that they are the design and technical brainstorms of 47-year old Luca Bassani, who doesn't have a yard, but rather farms them out and supervises construction at the best yards in Italy, England and the United States. That they've been a success story is evidenced by the fact that Bassani is having a new 160-footer called 'Wallygator' being built for himself. Incidentally, the funny name for the boat and company evolved from his young son's love for a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character of the same name.

For more details on the Wally story, visit www.wallyyachts.com.


Photos Latitude/Richard

Look Out Caribbean

September 27 - Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Tropical Weather

Don't worry about Isaac, even though he has 80-knot winds, as he's turned to the northeast and looks like he'll avoid land. The problem is Joyce, a new hurricane that's currently about 1,000 miles away from St. Martin and the Virgin Islands, but headed directly their way. Joyce could still turn north, but if she doesn't . . . For more on the Atlantic hurricane season, go to http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2000/index.html.


Hurricane Joyce (left) and
Hurricane Isaac (right)

Unisys Weather Graphics

San Francisco Bay Weather

To see what the winds are like on the Bay 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. Right now, it's quite calm all along the coast.

Pacific Ocean Weather

You can view the new University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology satellite picture by clicking here. It's not as nice as the old one, but still useful.

Pacific Sea State

Check out today's sea state at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.
For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.


Cruising

The Riviera Is Full of Possibilities

September 27 - Somewhere in the South of France

When you cruise the South of France, there are great islands - some with forts and/or monasteries - just a few miles offshore. Who can name this one? And when on the mainland, the selection of fruits and vegetables is mouth-watering. If you're ever looking to charter, the 80 miles between St. Tropez and Monte Carlo is full of possibilities, both for totally getting away and for totally getting into the bustle of vacationing humanity.

YOTREPS

September 27 - 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/


Photos Latitude/Richard

Racing

'Team Phillips' to Restep Mast

September 27 - England

Pete Goss and his maxi catamaran 'Team Phillips' are waiting for calm winds in England to restep the massive sailboard type mast/sails. Once they're able to do that, they will resume sea trials. Readers will remember that this much heralded The Race contestant lost both her bows in 15 knots of wind and flat seas during her original sea trials. Whether the design was fatally flawed from the outset or whether the problems stemmed from construction problems will soon be known.

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