Special Notice: Big Boat Series Canceled

September 13 - San Francisco

The St. Francis Yacht Club has just announced this afternoon that the Big Boat Series will not be held at all this weekend. Previously, we had reported that racing would take place on Saturday and Sunday. Please see the StFYC site at www.stfyc.com for details.

Photo of the Day

September 13 - San Rafael

Our Photo of the Day is of Tom Ivicevich's Polynesian Outrigger trimaran, with the most unusual sail we've ever seen. In fact, until we see it in person, we can't help but wonder if it's not something cranked out by Photoshop. But, we're assured that it's not. Tom is from Redding, and trucked the tri down to San Rafael on Wednesday. He was/is hoping to sail it in McCovey Cove this weekend for the Giants game (if there is one).

Photo Courtesy Tom Ivicevich

An Update for Racers, Boaters and Travelers

September 13 - San Francisco Bay Area and Beyond

US Sailing has notified us that, "Due to our recent national tragedies, US Sailing has postponed indefinitely the U.S. Women's Championship for the Adams Trophy and the U.S. Men's Championship for the Mallory Trophy, scheduled to be held September 11-15 at the Rush Creek Yacht Club in Heath Texas." We will let you know when and if these events are rescheduled.

We did a quick survey this morning of local clubs and organizations and found that most events will continue as scheduled this weekend. For a complete schedule, see our monthly Calendar page and our YRA Calendar page.

In addition, the California Coastal Commission has decided to proceed with Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday the 15th, from 9 AM to noon, as an opportunity for community members to come together and do something positive. For locations, call 1-800-COAST 4U or see www.coastal.ca.gov.

We spoke to Lt. Commander Jeff Carter of the U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Office in Alameda this morning, and he told us that there are no restrictions locally on small craft. However, yachts entering U.S. waters from Mexico or Canada have a higher than normal likelihood of being boarded and inspected. The Coast Guard office in San Diego warns that boaters should expect significant delays when entering port. The restrictions there do not apply to Mission Bay or Oceanside harbor. The state of Hawaii has some restrictions on yachts. The Port of Valdez, Alaska, was closed on Tuesday, but has been reopened. The Coast Guard will stop and board all deep-draft (large commercial) vessels entering the ports of San Francisco, Los Angeles/Long Beach and San Diego before entry is permitted.

The Golden Gate Transit District is subjecting the Sausalito ferry to an extensive inspection this morning, expected to last a couple of hours, due to some strange behavior aboard that vessel. The Larkspur ferries are unaffected.

Some airports are reopening, including SFO, SJO, LAX, Denver and New York City airports. However, some airlines will not resume flights today, and travelers should expect severe restrictions and long delays. I would tell you to call your airline to check the status of your flight, but even there you will find long delays! Oakland is not open yet, and Boston's Logan airport is closed indefinitely. Foreign flag carrier flights originating in foreign countries are not being allowed to land in the U.S. at all as we write this, at noon PDT.

Freshwater Cruising Photos

September 13 - Duluth, Minnesota

If you don't like saltwater, you may be interested in Bob and Jane Van Blaricom's three-month, 1,500-mile freshwater cruise from New York City to Duluth, Minnesota. The route took them, "down Long Island Sound to New York City, up the Hudson River and into the Erie Canal. About halfway along the Erie, we would turn right into the Oswego Canal, then go across Lake Ontario and into the Canadian Trent-Severn Waterway to Lake Huron. Finally, we traversed Lake Superior and wound up at its western tip in Duluth." The couple had a great time. You can read more about it in the October edition of Latitude 38.

Hudson River

Lake Huron

Prada Classic Regatta Postpones Racing

September 13 - Sardinia, Italy

The Prada Classic Regatta in Sardinia - a fantastic showcase of some of the greatest classic sailing yachts in the world - was postponed for one day yesterday out of respect for the tragedy in New York City and Washington DC. Many of the boats flew American flags. For some fantastic shots of the action, such as this one, visit www.madforsailing.com.

Photo Carlo Borlenghi/Sea & See

Farr 40 Worlds Halted - Because of Strong Winds

September 13 - Cowes, UK

With the wind blowing a steady 27 knots and even more expected, the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes called off yesterday's second race of the Farr 40 Worlds. The morning race, held in 23 knots of wind, was won by Ernesto Bertarelli, who heads the well-financed Alinghi (Swiss) Challenge for the next America's Cup. With his America's Cup helmsman Russell Coutts at his side, Bertarelli bested 22 other highly competitive boats. With the win, he moves into the overall lead.

Photo Stephen Hird/Courtesy www.madforsailing.com

He May not Be the Fittest Sailor, but He's in First

September 13 - Lake Michigan

Dennis Conner may not be the most athletic sailor in the world, but he's still good. He currently leads the Etchells North American Championship at the Macatawa Bay Yacht Club on Lake Michigan. So far he has two firsts and one second in the fleet of 43.

YOTREPS

September 13 - 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

September 13 - Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Atlantic Hurricanes

After an extremely slow start of the hurricane season in the Atlantic, things have started to heat up. Erin, the first hurricane of the year, is now blowing at 105 knots, but is far out into the Atlantic and almost as far north as New York City. Felix, with 90 knots of wind is also active. Initially it was headed directly toward the Eastern Caribbean, but has curved nearly 180 degrees and is currently moving in the direction of Europe. Currently neither present a danger to anyone but vessels at sea, which in any event should be expecting that kind of stuff at this time of year. For more on Atlantic/Caribbean tropical storm activity, see http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2001/index.html

There's also a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico heading northwest. So far this year there have been four hurricanes and seven tropical storms off Mexico. All have behaved well by going well offshore. See http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/2001/index.html

September 13 - 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.