Photos of the Day

January 22 - St. Barts

Is this the prettiest little anchorage in the world? St. Jean, St. Barts, F.W.I. would certainly have to be a candidate for the title. As you can see, the 82º water is incredibly blue. In addition, it's just a short swim to a couple of the finest restaurants in the Caribbean - not the least of which is the lovely Eden Rock, from which this photo was taken. And there's something about the warm water, good food, and powder white beaches that are irresistible to lovely ladies - such as American femmes Tori, Susan and Suzie. Susan was in charge of the runners aboard 'Zingaro', the new 112-ft S&S for the New Year's Eve Race.


Photos Latitude/Richard



The Race Update

January 22 - Southern and Indian Oceans

If you don't have cojones the size of mooring balls, you don't belong on The Race. 'Innovation Explorer' was rocketing down a wave at a peak of 40.5 knots (!!!!!) when crewmember Roger Nilson raised a hatch to alert helmsman Jean-Baptise Saliou that they were headed for an enormous block of ice. Jean-Baptise couldn't see it with his eyes because visibility was down to 250 meters. The crew managed to sheet the sails in flat so the helmsman could turn the wheel to port, resulting in the iceberg "scraping past the bows."

In other news, 'Team Adventure' is in Cape Town, South Africa, where repairs are underway at two boatyards and are expected to be completed in two days. The two injured crewmen are being examined, but it looks as if they won't be able to continue. Crew replacements are not permitted. In a best case scenario, 'Team Adventure' will restart about 2,000 miles behind leader Grant Dalton on 'Club Med', which, along with 'Innovation Explorer', has been ripping along at an average of over 500 miles per day!

'Club Med', well along in the Indian Ocean already, holds a 687 mile lead over 'Innovation Explorer' and is sailing a fine line between the icebergs and cold to the south, and the longer distance and the lighter air to the north. Dalton also explained that while 'Innovation Explorer' is theoretically only 687 miles behind, in reality they are 900 miles behind because they can't sail that far south due to the terrible weather and icebergs. Indeed, the 'Innovation Explorer' crew apparently took a "dim view" of almost hitting an iceberg at 40.5 knots.


Innovation Explorer
Photo Gilles Martin-Raget


Is Grant Dalton a vegetarian or what? It's unclear, but he seems to have banned meat from the boat, 'not wanting the inside of one of the hulls to look like a butcher shop'. This didn't sit well with many of the French crew, who two days ago pulled out a Catalonian ham they'd hidden inside the giant wing mast! Dalton was reportedly not happy at all.

Rankings of 22 Jan 2001 15:00:00 GMT

1. Club Med / dtf 16,564.7 miles
2. Innovation Explorer / dtl 706.0 miles
3. Team Adventure / dtl 13,76.3 miles
4. Warta Polpharma / dtl 2,576.1 miles
5. Team Legato / dtl 3,443.7 miles

For more, see www.therace.org.


Extreme Feats Failure

January 22 - Around the World

Do you think circumnavigating the world in a small outboard-powered boat would drive you crazy? Here's some supporting evidence:

"It's with grief and affliction when I today - January 14, 2001 - tell you that I, Ove Herlogson, jump off the Adventure Around the World project. I have staked everything in this. I gave three years of my life, all my money, all my time, and lost my girlfriend because I really wanted to be part of this project. But I nearly lost those nearest to me and some close friends because my partner Roy Karlsen showed his real face during the project. There are limits in how much you can take from someone that manipulates his whole surroundings and controls everything with threats and violence. I'm on safe ground now, and I will not challenge his threats. If I had known what I know today about this man, I would have never started this project. We had overcome the Atlantic in storm, we have experienced hurricanes on the east coast of America, coldness and icebergs in the darkness, fog, reefs and sandbars, overcome the malaria in Honduras, threats in Nicaragua, bureaucracy in Mexico and Panama, threatened with machine guns in Cuba, the tides and dangerous inlets on the west coast of America, thefts and so forth. But it hasn't scared me because I've been on the project. But what has scared me is what a human can do. I have been subject to mental and bodily threats, such as, 'I will give you a bloody beating so you can't walk after it.' I have been kicked in the face. Worst of all, he said, 'It's only you and me that knows what happens out here in this boat.'"

Obviously there's another side to this story, but the moral is choose your shipmates - and your adventures - with care. But what's this business about "the tides and dangerous inlets of the west coast of America"?



The Brits Are Coming! The Brits Are Coming!

January 22 - UK

For the first time since 1987, the Brits, who once ruled the waves, will be competing in the America's Cup. The money is coming from Peter Harrison, who sold his Chernikeeff Internet systems for more than $300 million U.S. Ian Walker, who has won two silvers in the Olympics, will lead the sailing team, while Kiwi David Barnes will be running the operations side. For starters, the team has purchased the two Nippon Challenge boats. To his credit, Harrison has already ponied up $45 million for a foundation supporting sailing for the disabled and disadvantaged.


YOTREPS

January 22 - 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 www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/


Key West Race Week

January 22 - Key West, Florida

Key West Race Week - you had to be there! And seemingly half the Bay Area racing community was in Key West, Florida, for the 14th annual 'Yachting' Key West Race Week, the biggest and possibly best one ever.

The five-day, eight-race series attracted a record 326 boats, representing 20 countries and 33 states. Fourteen of the entries were from the Bay Area, including Philippe Kahn's Farr 40 'Pegasus', which ended up second in the brutally-competitive 37-boat Farr 40 class. The winner of the class, George Andreadis's 'Atalanti XI', was named Boat of the Week. "It was the toughest regatta I've ever sailed," said 'Atalanti' tactician Robbie Haines. . .

Look for a full report in our February print issue or, if you can't wait that long, check out the full results, daily reports and picture gallery at www.Premiere-Racing.com.

Day 5 Action at Key West
Pax runs the line in the pre-start action
on Division 1 racecourse.


James Sinclair's Tripp 41 Cwene II moves
down the track with the Schock 40 Cita in hot pursuit.


All Photos Walter Cooper


Impetuous, the Mumm 36 heads for
the upwind mark in the final race.



Weather Updates

January 22 - Pacific Ocean

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

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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