Photos of the Day

July 11 - San Francisco

Once again, the Photos of the Day are from yesterday's start of the Pacific Cup. Today's starts - just before and after 4:00 p.m. - feature nine SC 50s and seven others. Tomorrow's 4:40 start off the St. Francis will have only seven boats, but they'll include the two that are likely to be first to finish - the 86-ft Zephyrus and the 147-ft Mari-Cha III. Don't miss it. There will be great viewing from the St. Francis YC parking lot and from the Golden Gate Bridge.

From what we understand, it's been weird out there for the early starters: ideal sailing conditions and starry nights. What happened to the rough stuff and the overcast? Yesterday's fleet might not have been so lucky, as after 9 p.m., the wind, at the Lightbucket at least, turned off. Check out the noon www.pacificcup.org report to see what happened.

Wiring for the Pacific Cup at 55 MPH

July 11 - Sausalito

As Latitude 38 and 'Lectronic Latitude readers know, the SC 27 Giant Slayer almost didn't make the start of the Pacific Cup - because she had been stolen and sailed to Alaska. Even though she was recovered, it was still nip and tuck making it to the start.

Giant Slayer in Monday's start
Photo Latitude/Rob

"I just returned from San Francisco helping Dave and his brother Dan get the boat
ready for the Pacific Cup," writes their friend Mark Wiltz. "What a job. First Dave rode in the boat from Portland to San Francisco working on the wiring! We left on the 4th. We arrived the morning of the 5th at 10:00, and worked every night until 11:00 p.m. It was a mad rush, but they are going to have a great time."

Burnap and Gaffney - And an Amel Maramu 53

July 11 - Santa Cruz

"My best friend Nancy Gaffney and Ken Burnap - they met when he owned the SC 50 Roller Coaster - recently got married in Santa Cruz," reports Marlaina Pipal. "They then went to Paris, and will make a side trip to La Rochelle to inspect the progress on their new Amel Super Maramu 53. Come January, they'll start a new phase of their honeymoon on that boat. 'I used to have to throw stuff off Roller Coaster to keep her light,' said Burnap."

Crazy with a Small Cat?

July 11 - Berkeley

"I met a guy in the Berkeley Marina self-storage yard who has a 22-ft homebuilt catamaran, who told me that he was going to leave for Hawaii last Saturday," reports Steve Cooper. "The 26-year-old guy thinks he can make it more than 2,000 miles to Hawaii on a small cat that does have hiking racks and doesn't have a cabin. The guy told me he was going to pitch a tent on his boat and cook inside. He says he's going to be wearing a dry suit with specially designed openings so he can piss and shit. I keep thinking that I have seen most everything, but I keep getting surprised."

Does anybody know who this guy is, and whether or not he left? While it seems as though just about every hot French sailor has gone across the Atlantic on a sailboard or Hobie Cat, ocean crossings on such small cats are very risky propositions. We remember a guy who left Monterey for Hawaii many years ago on a Hobie 16. They found one of the hulls a couple hundred miles north of a Hawaii a few months later. Mother Nature is not to be underestimated.

Marina Village, not the Encinal

July 11 - Alameda

A few days ago we reported that Encinal YC hosted a Pre-Kickoff Party for the West Marina Pacific Cup. We goofed. While the event was held at the Encinal YC, it was the idea of Alan Weaver, and paid for by Marina Village, where Weaver is the harbormaster.

The Triton Coho in Trouble in the South Pacific?

July 11 - French Polynesia

Ross Fleming of the Gulfstar 39 Renoun in Seattle reports that Mimi Allin, a crewmember aboard the San Diego-based Saga 43 Windshear, says there seems to have been trouble with the Triton 29 Coho on the way from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus:

"The late breaking news from the net is that an EPIRB was set off last night between the Marquesas and the Tuamotus. We noticed a helicopter departing Rangiroa this morning asked Poonooah what he knew. He said two Americans were taken from a small vessel last night, although he didn't know their condition or that of their boat. Jennifer had heard on the Coconut Breakfast Net that the boat name was Coho, which leads me to believe it was Marco and Patrick, the owners." Anybody have any other details?

Allin also reported that officials in French Polynesia are not only not giving American yachts visa extensions, but are now giving some boats just 30 days rather than the normal 90 days at the outset. Most cruisers will comply, of course, but not the hard cases. "Bullshit!" was reportedly the reaction of Leo, a Swiss guy who sailed around the Horn in the middle of winter. "I'm going to do whatever I want." And Leo is probably going to get away with it.

Honey . . . I'm Home!

July 11 - San Diego

"When Steve Weigelt returned home late the other night," reports Joseph Ditler, "he had quite a surprise in store for his wife. On his upper right arm he had permanently tattooed a likeness of the 'other' lady in his life - the San Diego-based tall ship Star of India. The colorful tattoo measures 7 x 4 inches, and is inscribed, 'Euterpe 1863', for Star of India's maiden name and launching date. Weigelt is an active member of the volunteer sailing crew aboard Star of India. In his real life he is a logistics management specialist at the North Island Naval Air Depot in Coronado. 'I felt the tattoo was the ultimate tribute for a ship that has given me so much pleasure,' said Weigelt. His wife was unavailable for comment."

Crazy in Cabo, Too

July 11 - Cabo San Lucas, BCS

We've received confirmation that the Port Captain in Cabo has brushed off an ancient law, and has been saying any boats that check out of Cabo for San Diego have to - get this - have the whole crew go to San Jose del Cabo to get health certificates. The solution to this is to simply clear Cabo for Ensenada - if you're traveling in country, you don't need health certificates - and then not stop at Ensenada.

Want to Be the 17th Man in a Race on an America's Cup Boat?

July 11 - Sausalito

San Francisco magazine's Best of the Bay Area Party is going to auction off the 17th man position on an America's Cup yacht in the July 27th Il Moro Trophy Race on San Francisco Bay. All proceeds will go to Glide Memorial Church. It's a full day starting with breakfast at the Sausalito YC and ending up with a night at the lovely Casa Madrona Hotel - which, by the way, is really looking sharp. For details, visit www.sanfran.com.

YOTREPS

July 11 - 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

July 11 - 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. (please note, this URL has been updated): www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.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 views of sea states anywhere in the world, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.