May 15, 2001

By Grzegorz | May 15, 2001

Photos of the Day

May 15 – Tiburon

Last Friday night, Managing Editor John
Riise went out and covered the Corinthian Friday Night Series.
This is some of what he saw.

Photos Latitude/JR

Biggest Maritime Coke Bust Ever

May 15 – Pacific Ocean

The Coast Guard announced that on May 3, they busted the 152-ft
Belize-flagged, Russian-crewed ‘fishing vessel’ Svesda Maru
1,500 miles south of San Diego. The vessel had drawn suspicion
because it didn’t have much fishing equipment or fish. What it
did have was 13 tons of coke – about $500 million worth – making
it the biggest maritime bust ever.

It’s common knowledge that drug interdiction
efforts in the Caribbean have encouraged smugglers to head to
the Eastern Pacific. Since October 1, the Coasties have seized
110,000 pounds of coke at sea, 80% of it in the Eastern Pacific.
This is 30% more than they seized in the 12 months before. It’s
also why the Coast Guard is boarding more cruising boats in the
Eastern Pacific, and why you want to keep your nose clean.

A haul of cocaine
Photo PA3 Selvia Olvera

A USCG Cutter and Boarding Party
Photo PA2 Shelly Freier

These photos were provided to ‘Lectronic
Latitude by the USCG and are used to illustrate the story, but
are not necessarily from the specific bust described above.

Niue in the News

May 15 – Niue Island

Niue is a small but rocky island in the South Pacific on the
way between French Polynesia and Tonga, and has a population
of less than 2,000. Unlike most islands in the South Pacific,
Niue doesn’t have a good place to anchor. That’s why they used
to have a dog swim out to ships to pick up the mail. Unfortunately,
one afternoon a shark had the ‘mail dog’ for lunch, so now they
use a dinghy.

Not wanting to miss out on yachtie traffic
through the South Pacific, Niue and the Niue YC have installed
14 moorings, which they rent out for about $2.50 U.S. a day.
Commodore Wally Saunders said a record 158 yachts called on Niue
last year, and they’re expecting even more this year. In fact,
they’re adding six more moorings. The moorings are pulled up
each December, checked out carefully, and reinstalled in April.
They’re set up to hold yachts to 100 feet.

Niue has an excellent Web site that gives
you a great idea of all the things you can do there. But the
opening photo (see below), with the babe looking out to sea,
gives it an entirely inaccurate sense of glamour. Nonetheless,
check it out at www.niueisland.com.

Photo Courtesy www.niueisland.com

Dennis Rodman Turns 40 at the Old Josh Slocum’s

May 15 – Newport Beach

Even if you’re a recluse such as former basketball player Dennis
Rodman, you have to celebrate your 40th with a bang. So he had
two rock bands and 300 guests show up at his home in Newport Beach.
After 50 complaints from neighbors – police have visited Rodman’s
home more than 70 times already – Dennis moved the party to his
new nightclub – the old Josh Slocum’s Restaurant.

‘Lectronic Notes

May 15 – Mill Valley

We’ve been getting a lot of interest in
the second Catnip Cup, an informal rally for cruising multihulls
to Vallejo and back. The dates are June 9-10; stay tuned to ‘Lectronic
Latitude for more details; as soon as we figure them out we’ll
let you know.

Speaking of ‘Lectronic Latitude, we’re going
to take a hiatus for a few days while we finish up the June issue
of Latitude 38. We have an early deadline this month, so
that the magazine can hit the streets in time for Memorial Day
Weekend. If you’re an advertiser and you don’t have your ad in
for the June issue yet, the time is now!

YOTREPS

May 15 – 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/

Weather Updates

May 15 – 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 Sea State

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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