The Photo of the Day actually comes from
Wednesday night’s Mexico Crew List and Ha-Ha Kick-Off Party at
the Encinal YC in Alameda, when a couple of the gals who showed
up looking to crew inflated a six-man Switlik liferaft. The fact
that 350 people showed up for the event – despite many boats
having already gone south – bodes well for participation in October
30’s Ha-Ha. It was also obvious that these people came not just
for a party, but because they were very seriously looking for
crew, or to crew, to Mexico.
What are they hoping to enjoy? Feast your eyes on some shots
from last year’s Baja Ha-Ha,
in which 126 boats participated.
All Photos Latitude Archives
Need a Lift?
October 12 – San Francisco Bay
Weather conditions for Saturday and Sunday are expected to be
outstanding for sailing, with unusually warm weather to the 80s
and 90s. Grab the last of Indian Summer on your boat.
Hurricane Damage in Belize
October 12 – Belize
As many as 20 Americans were killed earlier this week when Hurricane
Iris – which had up to 150 knot winds – flipped a liveaboard
scuba boat on her side in Belize. Although currently not a major
bareboat base, both TMM and The Moorings operate catamaran fleets
in Belize. Barney Crook, owner of TMM, reports that despite the
intensity of Hurricane Iris, his all-catamaran bareboat fleet
suffered minimal damage – other than one boat being dismasted.
We’ll be getting a report from The Moorings next week.
Kostecki and illbruck Remain in
Volvo Lead
October 12 – Atlantic Ocean
Northern Californian John Kostecki and illbruck passed
the equator and halfway marks in the first leg – England to South
Africa – of the Volvo Around the World Race. The good news is
that they are slowly extending their lead . . . and it appears
they won’t run out of food.
West Marine Pacific Cup Filling Up
October 12 – San Francisco
Next July’s West Marine Pacific Cup Race from San Francisco to
Hawaii is once again attracting lots of entries early. In fact,
they are up to 73, which means they’ll only take 14 more entries
before starting the waiting list. Heading the list are nine Santa
Cruz 50s and seven Santa Cruz 52s.
Mini Transat Second Start
October 12 – Atlantic Ocean
Fifty skippers have departed
Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for El Salvador de Bahia in Brazil
on the second leg of the Mini Transat, which is for singlehanders
in unlimited 20 footers. One skipper was already lost in the
first leg from England. Brian Thompson, a long time professional
crew for Steve Fossett’s various multihulls, is currently in
third place. How the 6’5″ Thompson can squeeze into a 20-footer
for nearly a month is hard to fathom.
Having sailed around the world four times singlehanded, and tried
a couple of other times, Frenchman Jean-Luc Van den Heede is
going to do it again. This time he’ll be taking the ‘man’s route’,
meaning westabout and into the wind and seas as opposed to with
them. During his last failed attempt, his Open 60 Algimouss
started to come apart halfway between New Zealand and Cape Horn,
so this time he’s going with an aluminum boat designed by Gilles
Vaton.
YOTREPS
October 12 – 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
October 12 – 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/.
(Note: Service on this site has been interrupted, and they hope
to have it repaired soon. We’ll keep an eye on it and let you
know.)
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 Winds and Pressure
The University of Hawaii Dept. of Meteorology
page posts a daily
map of the NE Pacific Ocean barometric pressure and winds.
