Banderas Bay Regatta, 2003

April 19 - Banderas Bay, Mexico

Terrance O'Rourke has announced that the dates of next year's Banderas Bay - near P.V. - Regatta will be March 20-23. You'll want to mark your calendars. The May issue of Latitude 38 will have photo coverage of this year's event.

 

Photos Latitude/Richard


The Glamor of the America's Cup

April 19 - Long Beach

Think life couldn't be much cooler than as a professional sailor going for the America's Cup? You might have second thoughts if you realized that it may require up to five hours a day, six days a week, on Southern California freeways. Huh?

Dennis Conner is sailing for the New York YC. He and most of his team live in San Diego. But the nearest consistent wind is in Long Beach. So how to shuttle the team back and forth twice a day, six times a week, and not have them go crazy? Conner settled on a luxurious rock star type bus, complete with all kinds of video and Internet connections. Nonetheless, up to five hours every day on the L.A. freeway system is enough to drive anyone crazy.


Sail Expo Is Terrific

April 19 - Oakland

According to our staff members who've been there, this year's Pacific Sail Expo - running through Sunday at Jack London Square in Oakland - is outstanding, with big huge tents and lots of boats in the water. At 6 p.m. tonight, Latitude 38 will be hosting the 'Circumnavigators Ball' for everyone who has completed a circumnavigation. All those who qualify will be presented with an semi-official looking certificate such as this one.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Wanderer/Grand Poobah will be giving two seminars. One on cruising catamarans - such as the ones in the first photograph below; and the second on the Baja Ha-Ha - part of which looks like the second photo.


Photos Latitude/Richard


Maverick in Egypt, All Is Well

April 19 - Egypt

According to owner Tony Johnson of the Richmond-based Ericson 39 Maverick, he and crewmember Terry Shrode have made it up the Red Sea to Egypt. They had no trouble with political problems or pirates, nor, apparently, have any of the rest of this year's cruising fleet. Two boats were lost, however, and another hit by lightning.


Veritas Lost in the Marquesas

April 19 - Hiva Oa

An Australian family with 10 and 12-year old daughters recently left La Paz for the Marquesas aboard their vessel Veritas. Unfortunately, we don't know the family's name or the boat type. In any event, they and their radar were blinded by a thick squall as they arrived at Hiva Oa, they got disoriented, and they went on the rocks. Their boat suffered a four foot by six foot hole, and had to be abandoned. The family made it to a ledge, where they were discovered six hours later. The cruising community has been coming to their relief, but it's a terrible loss, as they were just completing their circumnavigation of the Pacific.

Does anybody in La Paz know the name of this family?


Big Cats Racing North and West in the Atlantic

April 19 - Atlantic Ocean

Bruno Peyron and Orange are about to have to negotiate a big high in the South Atlantic, after which they'll have great winds to continue their dash up the Atlantic - and to a victory in the Jules Verne. Meanwhile, Tracy Edwards and her coed crew aboard the near sistership Maiden are just six hours off the pace of the Spain to the Bahamas record that Club Med - Maiden's previous name - set two years ago. Some of the crew are describing it as the "greatest sail of their lives." What do you expect when you can be sailing at 15 knots in just eight knots of wind. Brian Thompson, known to many Northern Californians when he was the co-pro aboard Steve Fossett's Lakota, is the top driver on Maiden. Edwards thinks that any wind shift - currently it's coming from dead aft - will have them back on record pace.


YOTREPS

April 19 - 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

April 19 - 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/. The National Weather Service site for San Francisco Bay is at www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/.

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.


Top / Index of Stories / Subscriptions / Classifieds / Home

©2002 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.