Most folks only cruise Mexico in the winter,
but some stay on for the hot summer in the Sea of Cortez. Mike
Miller of the Vanguard 32 Uhuru is one of the latter.
He climbed one of the peaks of Isla San Francisco – about 50
miles north of La Paz – to take this photo. If you’re looking
for quiet and serenity, this is the place. It’s out in the middle
of nowhere – which, of course, is the point.
Photo Mike Miller
Rich Roberts’
TransPac Report
July 11 – Honolulu
Bull,
a new Australian-built Sydney 40 owned and skippered by Seth
Radow of Marina del Rey, crossed the Diamond Head finish line
in the pre-dawn darkness of 3:49 a.m. Hawaiian Time today (Wednesday)
to claim overall corrected time honors for the 41st TransPacific
Yacht Race. Illuminated only by a searchlight from the Coast
Guard-operated Diamond Head lighthouse, Bull was an hour
and a half ahead of the deadline for saving its handicap time
against Philippe Kahn’s 75-foot Pegasus, nearly twice
its size.
Pegasus
finished two days earlier to collect the Barn Door trophy for
the race’s fastest elapsed time of 8 days 2 hours 34 minutes
3 seconds. Bull, with a one-day head start in Division
IV, had an elapsed time of 10 days 17 hours 49 minutes 19 seconds.
Bull shows
its horns at the start of the race.
Barn door winner, the new Pegasus.
Photos Rich Roberts
David Janes’ new Transpac 52 J-Bird
III from Newport Beach was the first finisher in Division
II ahead of all the 70-rater sleds. But J-Bird III, designed
by Alan Andrews, owed the sleds about seven seconds per mile
and just missed correcting out on James McDowell’s Santa Cruz
70 Grand Illusion for overall in class. G.I. was
the race’s overall handicap winner in ’99. Janes said, “I
understood we were expected to sail fast, but to beat [the sleds]
boat for boat is special. We saw G.I. about three-quarters
of a mile to leeward when we passed them a couple of days ago.
The boat is very stable, fast, well-balanced and takes off like
a jackrabbit in a spurt.” Jim Demetriades’ sky blue Yassou,
the other new 52, was fourth overall in Division II. Janes highly
recommends the new class to others. “They can sail up there
with the big guys and they don’t need five million bucks.”
Bob Lane’s Andrews 61 Medicine Man from
Long Beach – five feet longer than it was in previous TransPacs
– climbed from next-to-last to fourth among the eight boats in
Division II by the end. Navigator John Jourdane said, “That
boat is really fast. Our problem was we got stuck for 12 hours
behind San Nicolas Island [70 miles offshore] the first night
with no wind, but once we got in a breeze the boat just took
off.”
A common theme of this TransPac has been
the wonderful cruising conditions – full moon, clear skies, whale
sightings, steady but manageable winds. “It was, astonishingly,
one of the most pleasant races I’ve ever done,” said Stan
Honey, Pyewacket’s navigator. “The only time we had
water on deck was when we put our bow into a wave [while] running
[downwind]. If every race was this way we’d have 200 boats. We
should tell everybody it’s always like this.”
Wendy Siegal of Sunset Beach, with her
apparent overall victory in Aloha-A Division, is one of the rare
women to win class in TransPac – maybe the first since Sally
Blair Ames won Class A with Constellation in 1959. Siegal
sailed the 36-year-old Cal 40 Willow Wind, the oldest
boat in the race. The six-person crew included navigator Duncan
Harrison, who two years ago rebuilt their broken boom in mid-ocean
just to finish the race. This win was built on a bold dive south
the first day, then a 13-day spinnaker run from last place, picking
off the other five boats, one by one. Siegal, 49, said, “I’m
not a rich sailor. I sell clothes at Nordstrom’s. I quit my job
to do this race. I don’t know if I’ll get it back. But this is
the ultimate.”
If you’re looking for très chic clothes in Europe,
St. Tropez has about as long a list of top line boutiques as
you’ll find anywhere. As we strolled one of the back streets,
we passed designer shop after designer shop, all of them identified
by one name – Valentino, Gucci, Monolo, Freado, Yves . . . whatever.
Imagine our surprise when we came across the North Sails boutique,
as seen in the accompanying photograph. It pains us to say this,
but we think North does a better job designing sails then they
do clothes.
St. Tropez is still a very lovely little
town, although it’s overrun with the famously ostentatious owners
of powerboats and hordes of tourists. For sailors, the best time
to visit is in early October when they have the Voile de St.
Tropez, featuring all the great classic yachts.
Photos Latitude/Richard
Right up there with Yves and Gucci, it’s the
North Sails boutique
Docks at St. Tropez
Baja Ha-Ha
July 11 – Baja Ha-Ha World Headquarters
As of today, the folks at the Baja Ha-Ha report that 28 boats
have signed up for late October’s 750-mile cruisers’ rally from
San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia
Santa Maria. We hope to have a list of them in tomorrow’s ‘Lectronic
Latitude. Another 115 people have sent in for entry packs. If
you’re interested in doing the Ha-Ha, send a check for $15 and
a self-addressed 9×12 envelope to Baja Ha-Ha, 21 Apollo Road,
Tiburon, CA 94920. For more information, see www.baja-haha.com.
One of last year’s Ha-Ha’ers hangs out behind
his
boat about 25 miles offshore on the last leg.
You don’t want to do this while singlehanding.
Photo Latitude Archives
YOTREPS
July 11 – 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/
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.
