Tres Palapas Race

February 20 - Tenacatita Bay, Mexico

If you were looking for lighthearted sailing fun in the tropics, Tenacatita Bay wouldn't have been a bad place to be on January 4, as it was the site of the first annual (hopefully) Tres Palapas Race. The concept, developed by Alan Wulzen of the Marin-based Cabo Rico 38 Sihouette, and Peter Wolcott of the Kappa, Kauai-based Santa Cruz 52 Kiapa, was for the fleet to sail a 10.5 mile course in the bay - which is 125 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. To make it interesting, all the boats would have to anchor twice - once at Revelcito and once at Manzanilla - so the crews could go ashore for drinks and beers. The winner in the rabbit start event would be the first boat whose crew was seated at the Casa de Pirates establishment. In addition to getting bragging rights, the winner would get the privilege of having to buy drinks for everyone in the fleet. Much to Wulzen and Wolcott's surprise, nine boats and 47 sailors from 29 boats showed up to participate. The boats were Sea Turn, Cape Dory 36, Herman & Nancy Ford, Portland; Rapture, Endeavour 35, Howard & Kellie Stephenson, Vancouver; Wilhelm, 40-ft custom steel, Rob & Natalie Sellin, York, Maine; Viajera, Peterson 44, Wayne Bingham & Helene Mower, Edmonton; Mystic, Islander 44, Gene & Louise Brown, Long Branch, WA; Breila, Contessa 38, Michael & Catharine Whitby, Vancouver; Mithrandir, Alden 54, Rick & Elkie Cunningham, BVIs; Sabrosa, J/44, Greg King and Wayne Noecker, Long Beach; and Kiapa, Santa Cruz 52, Peter & Susan Wolcott, Kilauea, HI.

At Casa de Pirates

Above Photos Jan Loomis

Geronimo Off and Running Fast

February 20 - Atlantic Ocean

Blessed by ideal conditions of strong northerly winds and flat seas, Oliver de Kersauson's 110-ft trimaran Geronimo is off to a fast start in her pursuit of the Jules Verne Around The world record. The one time watch captain for French sailing legend Eric Taberly has covered 511 miles in the first 24 hours, an average speed of 21.29 knots. This is four knots slower than PlayStation's average for her record transatlantic crossing, but de Kersauson says he and the crew are taking it easy for the first few days, as a broken mast meant the crew hasn't done much sailing in the last several months.

'Commando' Mast Repairing at Multiplast

February 20 - Vannes, France

While Geronimo is charging off toward the equator, fellow Frenchman Bruno Peyron's maxi-cat Orange, which made a Jules Verne attempt for 30 minutes before breaking the top of her mast, is back at Multiplast seeking to have her stick repaired. As you can tell from this photo, the halyards ripped right down the sides of the carbon stick. Bruno, who organized The Race, is a great guy, and we hope he's soon off in pursuit of de Kersauson.

Photo Courtesy Multiplast

That's Ocean Racing

February 20 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

You have to feel a little empathy for Grant Dalton of Amer Sports One after the fourth leg of the Volvo Around the World Race. After relentlessly battling for three weeks to hold on to second place in some of the world's worst sailing conditions, he got passed by three boats in the last six hours during the very light conditions off Rio. "Shit happens," admitted Dalton. Had they held onto second, Amer Sports One and John Kostecki's illbruck would have really broken away from the pack. But thanks to those last six hours, now only illbruck has broken away. If the very worst were to happen in the next leg, an illbruck breakdown and a first for Amer Sports One, the two boats would still be tied for first.

The current standings are: 1. illbruck, 29; 2. Amer Sports One, 22; 3. Assa Abloy, 20; 4. News Corp, 19; 5. Tyco, 18; 6. djuice, 17; 7. SEB, 12; Amer Sports Too, 7. For more, see www.volvooceanrace.com.

It's Been a Long and Gray Winter

February 20 - St. Barts

But not for everyone. If you were down in the Caribbean for the last three months - like the folks on this Amel Maramu sailing near Toiny - you'd be brown as a nut. And possibly happy as a lark. Just remember, it's always summer someplace in the world - even during the winter in the tropics.

Photo Latitude/Richard

YOTREPS

February 20 - 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

February 20 - 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 has moved to 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.