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Photo of the DayMay 4 - California Coast Our Photo of the Day is of making landfall just as both night and the fog are descending. We've made ports before it got dark and after it got dark. The former is much better. Photo Latitude/Richard |
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May 4 - San Francisco
Good luck to everyone. May you sail deep and fast, and may your jibes be smooth as silk.
May 4 - Atlantic Ocean
One of the most challenging of all ocean races is the Mini-Transat,
a 4,500-mile enduro from Brittany, France, to the Canary Islands,
then on to Brazil. It wouldn't be so difficult if skippers didn't
have to do it singlehanded in wildly overcanvassed 21 footers.
The event has been held 12 times in 24 years, and has been the
proving ground for many great sailors, including the likes of
Yves Parlier and Isabelle Autissier. Next fall, American Gail
Browning will try to make a name for herself in the Mini-Transat.
Most women who sail offshore start when they are young and before
they have children. Not Gail. She's 43 and is the mother of three.
If Gail does make the start and finish, she will be only the third
American to have done so. Can you name the other two? We can.
Norton Smith of Mill Valley won the inaugural event in 1978 with
the Wylie 20 American Express. Finishing not far behind
was 20-year-old Amy Boyer, also of the Bay Area. As difficult
as the racing itself was - and it was hard - the mental stress
was even greater. Both Norton and Amy told us they broke down
and cried several times during the event, wondering what they
were doing out there. Back then, of course, long distance singlehanded
races were still very rare.
Caption ContestMay 4 - Catalina Island |
Photo Latitude/Richard |
May 4 - 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/
May 4 - Pacific Ocean
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/.
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.
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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