October 22, 2001

Paige/Logan Regatta

October 22 – San Francisco Bay

The Cityfront was absolutely clogged last
weekend with the Paige/Logan Regatta for Stars and Mercuries,
the Jessica Cup (big custom woodies), a WBRA race, and the Yankee
Cup (HDA championship). We have pictures and results from all
the above, and will post them throughout the week.

We’ll start off with the Calvin Paige and
Joe Logan Regattas, run concurrently by St. Francis YC. Eric
Doyle, mainsheet trimmer for Oracle Racing, teamed up with Rodgo
Meireles to win the Star competition over an all-star fleet.
Bill Buchan, who finished eighth, was awarded the Masters trophy.

Mercury ace Doug Baird, who has been winning
in this class for over 40 years, raced a borrowed boat with a
pick-up crew – and came out on top again. See www.stfyc.com
for full results.

CALVIN PAIGE (Stars) – 1) Eric Doyle/Rodgo
Meireles, 18 points; 2) Austin Sperry/Andrew Higgs, 27; 3) Ben
Mitchell/Rick Peters, 29; 4) George Szabo/Andy Vare, 30; 5) Howie
Schiebler/Darryl Hyatt, 32; 6) Iain Murray/Andrew Palfrey, 35;
7) Peter Vessella/Ken Kazeski, 38; 8) Bill Buchan/Mark Brink,
38. (20 boats; 6 races w/0 throwouts)

JOE LOGAN (Mercuries) – 1) Doug Baird/Steve
Marsh & Rob Moore, 10 points; 2) Brendan & Pat Bradley,
14; 3) Dave West/Chris Irrenger, 15. (12 boats; 6 races w/1 throwout)

The beauty of Stars

Marina Mazatlan Semi Shut and Up for Auction

October 22 – Mazatlan, Mexico

“We just returned from the 4 pm Cruiser Cocktail gathering
at Marina Mazatlan, where the Port Captain made a shocking announcement,”
report Dale Finely and Paula Peters of the Sonoma-based Sunrise.
“Situr – which owns the Mazatlan Marina as well as ones
in Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa – has major financial problems.
Actually, this isn’t news, as it’s been well known for a long
time. The news is that they’ve decided to sell off Marina Mazatlan,
which is apparently their least expensive property and not that
profitable. But when they listed it for sale, a group of Situr’s
minority shareholders filed suit to stop them from selling it.
Until the lawsuit is resolved, the marina cannot legally enter
into any new slip tenant agreements. This means if your boat
isn’t already in the marina, you can’t come in – even if you
pre-paid for a slip. If anyone has already paid for a reservation,
they can either request a refund from the marina office – which
will mail a money order to wherever you are – or request that
the funds be credited toward the other Situr marinas. They are
in the process of roping off the slips, and they’ve hired guards.
Boats already in the marina can stay, but if they leave, they
can’t get back in. Apparently there is an auction scheduled for
November 9 to sell the marina. Once a buyer is secured, the seller
and buyer have to go to Mexico City to deal with the lawsuit.
This is Mexico, so there is no telling how long this process
will take.

“A couple of things that we forgot
to mention. Boaters who bought slips at Mazatlan Marina still
own them, no change. The marina staff hasn’t changed either.
As for the boats left at the ‘no power/no water’ docks for the
summer that had reservations to move to docks with power and
water on November 1, they’ve already been moved into those slips.
The greater slip fees won’t start until the 1st.”

Mazatlan
Photo Courtesy Neil and Debra McQueen of Tranquilo

The same information was reported by Anne
Kelty of the Alameda-based Whitby 42 Michaelanne. She
also reported that Harbormaster Capt. Gerardo Sanchez Lias said
that the popular Cruisers’ Thanksgiving that was always held
at Marina Mazatlan will now be moved to Marina Vallarta, and
there won’t be anything at Mazatlan. All cruisers will be welcome
to the party in Puerto Vallarta. In addition, Marina El Cid,
next door to Marina Mazatlan, is not taking berth reservations
for after November 7, as they have a billfishing tournament from
the 7th until the 20th. Plus they already have a nine boat waiting
list for after the 20th.

The above isn’t great news, but it’s not
end of the world news either. Instead of going to Mazatlan, cruisers
can either stay longer in the Sea of Cortez or make the 300-mile
jump from Cabo to Banderas Bay. Those who really want to visit
Mazatlan can also avail themselves of the old anchorage in the
main harbor. It’s a little funky and the holding ground isn’t
the best, but some folks really like it – and it’s free. We’ll
have a current report on this anchorage in a ‘Lectronic Latitude
before the week is out.

Oracle Skipper Wins Colorcraft Gold Cup

October 22 – Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda

Peter Holmberg, who is from the Virgin Islands but is one of
Oracle Racing’s group of skippers, demolished Kiwi skipper Gavin
Brady from Italy’s Prada Challenge in three straight races today
to win the Colorcraft Gold Cup on Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda. Paul
Cayard, another of Oracle’s skippers, served as bowman and tactician
for Holmberg. In the three races, opponent Brady was flagged
four times for penalties.

Thompson Still on Top

October 22 – Atlantic Ocean

Sometime Northern California Brian Thompson continues to lead
the Mini Transat by about six miles.

Dalton Still in Front

October 22 – Atlantic Ocean

Grant Dalton and Amer Sports One have a 32-mile lead over
John Kostecki and illbruck in the first leg of the Volvo
Race. Everyone else is at least several hundred miles back.

YOTREPS

October 22 – 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 22 – 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: This page seems to be working correctly again.)

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.

Pacific Sea State

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.