Photo of the Day

October 4 - San Diego

Richard Bolton of the San Diego-based Island Packet 44 Motivation isn't about to let terrorist attacks or hurricanes stop him. He just sent in his Ha-Ha entry form, making him the 132nd paid Ha-Ha entry. And yes, the Ha-Ha is full steam ahead! (See www.baja-haha.com for more information.)

Photo Courtesy
Richard Bolton

Cabo Report

October 4 - Cabo San Lucas, BCS

There are lots of rumors coming out of Cabo San Lucas in the aftermath of Hurricane Juliette. Here's the latest from Enrique Fernandez of Cabo Isle Marina: "All and all, we feel very lucky to have weathered this storm as well as we did. We've had several direct hits by hurricanes before, but this is the worst in many years. It basically just sat near us for two days. However, we will be able to provide normal services to mariners this season. Unfortunately, the other marina in the harbor has been nearly wiped out."

Other comments: Cabo Isle Marina - the big one in Cabo - suffered some damage to the docks, but it is operational again. All boats in their marina are fine except for one small fishing boat. They have water and electricity, but phones are intermittent. The fuel dock will be operational by the end of the week.

Folks need to remember that hurricanes and storms are nothing new to southern Baja; it's one of the things that comes with living there. As such, damage to roads, hotels, stores and such is not unexpected. The hard-working folks of Mexico pick up the pieces and resume their lives. We sailed to Cabo in '93, arriving only days after they'd been hit by a devastating storm that killed several thousand in nearby San Jose del Cabo, knocked out bridges, had golf course holes sliding into the ocean, and such. There were signs of damage when we arrived, but life went on pretty much as normal.

Good News on Lorena

October 4 -
Pacific Coast of Mexico

The good weather news from Mexico is that Tropical Storm Lorena, which looked to be threatening the coast from Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlan, turned inland south of Banderas Bay. As we look at the weather charts, it appears to be fizzling in the tall mountains south of P.V.

Tropical Storm Lorena
Graphic Courtesy
Unisys Weather

Good News and Help in San Diego

October 4 - San Diego

"Greetings from Downwind Marine in San Diego. To update the San Diego slip situation, we just got word from the Port District that the plans to tear out/replace the transient slips at the Harbor Police dock have been postponed until December - and possibly later still. As such, the 22 transient slips should remain available on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, the capacity of the A-9 anchorage adjacent to the Coast Guard station has been increased from 40 to 80 boats. I sailed through it last Thursday, and there were only about two dozen boats at anchor - one sitting on the bottom showing about 30 feet of mast. That one is right in the middle of the anchorage so anyone entering in anything less that ideal visibility should be aware. The Harbor Police are allowing the anchorage at Glorietta Bay to be used as overflow with stays of up to 30 days permitted instead of the usual 72 hours.

"Anyone coming in from out of town should, of course, check in with the Harbor Police at the south end of Shelter Island as the rules can change without much warning. Here at Downwind we are having some success finding temporary slips for cruisers. I will be calling every marina in town on a weekly (daily, as needed) basis to track down temporary vacancies and posting them here at the store. Most of the local yacht clubs are geared up for the incoming cruising fleet and are making every effort to accommodate as many guests as possible. Once the Ha-Ha fleet departs, there should be quite a few slips coming open as a fair number of the fleet are already in town. We will continue to assist the cruising fleet in any way we can and will keep you posted as to any changes."

PlayStation Set to Go

October 4 - New York

Steve Fossett and his maxi cat PlayStation are on Code Green to leave New York on a Transatlantic record attempt. It will likely be the last hurrah for Fossett on the boat, as she's up for sale.

Meanwhile, Cam Lewis' Team Adventure maxi cat sits in the northeast, awaiting repairs after being damaged during her attempt on the Transatlantic record.

Photo Courtesy Team Adventure

To wrap up the maxi multihull news, Olivier de Kersauson's giant new 120-ft Van Peteghem/Prévost-designed trimaran had finally been named: Geronimo - after the famous Apache Indian chief . The name was chosen because Geronimo "never gave in to anything." Ironically, the French have a fascination with American Indians and the Germans have a fascination with American cowboys. In any event, de Kersauson, who for a time held the Jules Verne record, believes he can sail around the world in just 55 days.

YOTREPS

October 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/

Weather Updates

October 4 - 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 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.