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Photos of the DayApril 6 - Miami While the future of the event is unclear, it's not necessarily bleak. The SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Conference) used to be the biggest thing in U.S. offshore racing, but after about 50 years, it temporarily folded from a lack of interest and a faltering economy. It was revived in a much more compact format, and now, known as the Acura SORC, is doing just fine, thank you. They had over 135 entries in last month's edition, including quite a few from the West Coast. For a report on the event and results, see the April issue of Latitude 38. For the visual action, check out these fine shots by Cheryll Kerr of www.regattaphotos.com. |
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April 6 - Hawaii
If this year's Admiral's Cup went by the board, you can't help but wonder how solid the future of the Kenwood Cup in Hawaii - a very similar event - can be. To lose that would be a shame, because it offers some of the finest ocean racing in the world. In fact, we can't remember an ocean racing vision as spectacular as the Pan American Clipper Cup - the predecessor of the Kenwood Cup - during the early and mid '80s.
You Really Missed ItApril 6 - Tiburon |
Networking at the Crew List Party Photo Latitude/Chris |
April 6 - West Palm Beach, FL
"While in Palm Beach last weekend shopping for a boat,"
writes Jay Kimmal of San Francisco, "we ran into adventurer
and PlayStation owner Steve Fossett while lunching on the
now trendy Clematis Avenue in West Palm. When I asked him where
his 125-ft mega-cat was, he said "at Spencer's." I told
him that I'd just been to the Rybovich-Spencer boatyard and must
have missed it, and the only big mast I saw was from the 155-ft
maxi-mega-monohull motorsailer Georgia. Steve kinda looked
down at the ground and then said, "Yeah, I was kinda bummed
to come into the yard and see we didn't have the tallest mast
around." I guess he's not used to being second, even when
he's not trying to set a new record or win a race. Speaking of
which, he also mentioned that as soon as PlayStation got
some work completed, she'd be going after the Miami to New York
record prior to record attempts across the Atlantic. By the way,
Fossett was a down-to-earth, super friendly guy."
For what it's worth, Georgia's mast - something like 191 feet - is the tallest in the world. But not for long. As for PlayStation's attempt on the Miami to New York record, it was called off at the very last moment when cracks were discovered in the rigging.
Speaking of comparisons between big and really big boats, check out the accompanying photo of Steve Dashew's 79-ft Beowulf and Robert Miller's 154-ft Mari-Cha III, which up to recently owned the TransAtlantic Record. The two boats will apparently be competing in this month's Guadaloupe to Redonda to Antigua Race.
Bash Is OverApril 6 - San Diego If your boat is headed north - or south - to San Diego and will be in need of transient berthing, visit www.sdhp.com for complete information. They list four possibilities: La Playa Cove between the San Diego and Southwestern Yacht Clubs; Glorietta Bay off Coronado; the South Bay Anchorage off National City; and the Cruiser Anchorage off the Coast Guard station at Harbor Island. The first two have time limits and National City is out in the boonies, but the Cruiser Anchorage is relatively convenient and you can drop the hook there for a month at a time up to three months. You do need to pick up a permit from the Harbor Police. Our compliments to them on a nice Web site. |
Harbor Police patrol boat, with the lovely San Diego skyline in the background Photo Courtesy San Diego Harbor Police |
Pacific Puddle JumpApril 6 - Nuevo Vallarta The most popular way for North American cruisers to get to the South Pacific is to leave from Mexico and sail to the Marquesas. That's what the Pacific Puddle Jump Class of 2001 are doing. We've been introducing them to you in a continuing series of profiles, which we wrap today. You'll find the complete feature in the April issue of Latitude 38. Part II will run in the May issue. Laughter
- Freya 39 From 1985 to 1990 Patrick and Lindi cruised south through Mexico and Central America, transited the Canal, then explored the Caribbean and the East Coast. That was back in the good old days, when it seemed perfectly natural to make such a trip on a sweet wooden 30-footer - a Frers sloop named Coral. They upgraded substantially to a Freya 39. They broke their bonds with the working world a year ago and now, as they head west, are "excited about stops unknown and unplanned adventures." Well versed in the highs and lows of traveling under sail, they add: "Cruising's not always an easy life, but someone's got to do it." Photo Latitude/Andy |
April 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/
April 6 - Pacific Ocean
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/.
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.
Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you
might check out the Pacific Ocean sea states 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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Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.