May 11, 2001

Photos of the Day

May 11 – Catalina Harbor

The gentleman in the photo is Dave Coiner,
who is the Assistant Harbormaster at Two Harbors on Catalina.
For about six months, Dave has owned the blue Cross 26 trimaran
you see in the other photograph. When Dave bought the little
tri, she was right side up, and he preferred that she still was.
Unfortunately, on February 12 of this year, Two Harbors was hit
by very strong winds at a time when the tri was anchored in Cat
Harbor and Dave was aboard. He explains what happened.

“It was in the middle of the night,
and despite steady winds of 60 knots with gusts to 80, my tri
and I were holding fine using a #25 Bruce and a Danforth. Although
we were holding fine, the boat was sailing from one side to the
other, and at 0130 it made such a violent change in direction
that I was thrown out of my bunk. Still, everything seemed to
be under control. But a short time later, the boat started sailing
to starboard and started to lift. The next thing I knew, I was
standing on the overhead, which meant the boat had flipped and
surely been dismasted in the process.”

According to an eyewitness, the bow of
Coiner’s tri apparently lifted 20 feet into the air, with the
transom about eight feet in the air, before it flipped.

“All I know is that it was violent
and that it happened in a heartbeat,” Coiner told us. “Nonetheless,
I didn’t panic. It was pitch black inside the boat as I tried
to work my way aft to the companionway hatch, but it was waist
deep in water back there. So I went forward, and thanks to a
little bit of light in the water, I was able to see the anchor
hatch flopping open and shut. Before I made an attempt to escape,
I went aft again to retrieve my backpack and important stuff.
Then I sat on the edge of the hatch with my feet dangling in
the water – which, at 59° was very cold. I calmly thought
about what I had to do, which was swim out beneath the boat,
staying clear of all the anchor lines and rigging from the dismasting.
I knew my best chance to was to swim forward and to the side,
and that I’d only get one chance. After carefully thinking things
over, I slipped into the water and swam in the direction I planned.
I was under for about 30 seconds, but didn’t have any problem
getting caught in the rigging. I then swam over to a patrol boat.
It was really, really cold.”

Coiner, who had previously owned a Piver
31 for seven years – “a great boat” – thinks the small
Cross tri would not have flipped if it had been on the ocean
and free to move as opposed to being secured to two anchors.
The future of the upturned tri is uncertain, as replacing the
rigging would almost equal the value of the boat. So for the
time being, she remains upside down. To demonstrate how strong
the wind was that night, here’s what happened to a couple of
mature trees just a short distance away.

Photo Caption Contest

May 11 – Mill Valley

A few days ago we ran the accompanying photograph and asked for
captions. We were stunned to get about 35 responses. Here are
a few of them:

“Is that enough ballast, captain?”
Pat Moriarty.

“Capt’n, the transporter appears to
be malfunctioning.” Mark.

“The BCDC was right after all, powerboats
are ‘Bay fill’.” Peter Detwiler, but not the guy on the
East Coast with the same name.

“The ship saw ground on a shore of
this uncharted desert isle, with Gilligan, the skipper, too .
. . ” Paul Dunn.

“We’re here!” Unsigned.

“So that’s what happened to .38
Special (Latitude’s photoboat).” Pete Caras.

“Free sandbox for the kids, you pick
up.” Stirling.

“Honey, I told you that we should
have used the inflatable for the beach landing.” Royse Ader.

“Beachfront condo for sale. Secluded
and pristine location protected from further development. Fully
air conditioned and running water to all rooms. Buy now . . .
this one won’t last.” Ray Catlette.

“Dang! Didn’t I tell you kids to wash
your feet before you climb aboard.” Jim Marsters.

“A three hour tour, a three hour tour
. . . ” Ryan Lodes.

“Repeat after me: I will not use the
lunch hook while I go lobster diving.” John Barreiro.

Photo Latitude/Richard

“What do you mean you want to inspect
my boat for stolen rocks?” Garry Willis.

“Rockfishing charters.” Nick
Bruce.

“The only good powerboat . . .”
Unsigned.

“Can you throw us a tow line?”
Unsigned.

Never being one to shirk the duty of delegating
work, the Wanderer assigned the Webmistress to pick the winner
and send him or her a Latitude hat. Never one to exclude
her co-workers from the decision-making process, the Webmistress
took a quick poll. We enjoyed all your submissions, but liked
the real estate ad from Ray Catlette the best.

The Flying French

May 11 – Cherbourg, France

In France, the public and therefore corporate supporters are
crazy over the high speed racing as seen among the 60-foot trimarans
in the Offshore Multihull Racing Association events. The first
race of their season, the Challenge Mondial Assistance, starts
tomorrow with nine tris racing from Cherbourg to the Azores to
Gibraltar to Tarragona, Spain. It’s expected that the fleet will
finish the 2,700-mile race in just seven days or less. Unlike
most OMRA events, this one is crewed as opposed to singlehanded.

With France’s biggest race, the Route de
Rhum from St. Malo to Guadeloupe slated for next year, all the
biggest names in French sailing are moving to the 60-foot multihull
circuit. Interestingly enough, England’s biggest sailing star,
Ellen MacArthur, will also be participating. By the end of the
OMRA season, some 12 full-on campaigns are expected to be active,
with a total of 15 by the start of the Route de Rhum in ’02.