Photo of the Day January 24 - Richmond Is this a case of bilge ventilation being taken too far? That's the question posed by Jim Gill of the ketch 'Mary January' down in Chula Vista. The photo was taken at the then Sanford-Wood boatyard in Richmond in 1991. We're near the end of deadline for the February issue of Latitude 38, so today's 'Lectronic will be short.

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The Race Update

January 24 - Southern Ocean

The rich are getting richer. Grant Dalton and the crew of 'Club Med' are currently golden, far in the lead and sailing under ideal conditions: reaching in 25 to 30 knots. All the other boats are stuck in light winds - or in the case of Cam Lewis' repaired 'Team Adventure', waiting for nasty weather to pass so they can restart. 'Club Med's job is now simple: sail fast but conservatively. For more, see www.therace.org. Ranking of 24 Jan 2001 19:00:00 GMT 1. Club Med dtf 15,596.9 miles 2. Innovation Explorer dtl 772.7 miles 3. Team Adventure dtl 2,344.2 miles 4. Warta Polpharma dtl 3,070.7 miles 5. Team Legato dtl 3,970.3 miles - ABD PlayStation on January 14, 2001

Key: Blue Club Med Green Innovation Explorer Orange Team Adventure Yellow Warta Polpharma Magenta Team Legato Graphic Courtesy 'Club Med' www.catamaran.clubmed.fr/

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Vendée Globe Update

January 24 - Atlantic Ocean

Michel Desjoyeaux of 'PRB' was leading Ellen MacArthur and 'Kingfisher' by 650 miles at Cape Horn, but she's now only 72 miles behind as they are both finally escaping the St. Helena high in the South Atlantic. It's shaping up to be an exciting 5,000 miles to the finish, with crossing the doldrums going to be critical.

STANDINGS: 1. 'PRB', Michel Desjoyeaux, 4,488 miles to finish; 2. 'Kingfisher', Ellen MacArthur, 72 miles behind leader; 3. 'Active Wear', Marc Thiercelin, 261 miles behind leader; 4. 'Sill Matines La Potagère', Roland Jourdain, 290 mbl; 5. 'Sodebo Savourons la Vie', Thomas Coville, 561 mbl. See www.vendeeglobe.com for more.

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Cruising Circumnavigation Complete January 24 - Walnut Creek After 5.5 years of sailing aboard their Norseman 445, Ken and Gina Coleman made it from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Having decided they'd spent enough time away from family and friends, they completed their circumnavigation by motorhome, and are now back home in Walnut Creek. They still sail and travel, but take shorter trips.

Photo Courtesy the Colemans

Hanging Out in the Mid-Atlantic January 24 - Azores Most folks who sail across the Atlantic stop at the Azores. And most sailors who stop in the Azores pay a call to Cafe Sport, the sailors' hangout in the middle of the Atlantic.

YOTREPS

January 24 - 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/

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Weather Updates

January 24 - 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

Today's University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology satellite was not available again this morning. You can try it yourself at http://lumahai.soest.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/satview.cgi?sat=g10&region=hus&channel=uI4&anim=no&size=large.

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.