Photos of the Day

July 12 - San Francisco

Once again the Photos of the Day are from a start of the West Marine Pacific Cup, with the Santa Cruz 50s and Division F boats heading out under a foggy Golden Gate on Thursday afternoon. There was confusion at the start, as nobody seemed quite sure if they were supposed to use an inside or outside line at the St. Francis. At least one boat, Bruce Anderson's SC 50 Chicken Little from Long Beach, returned to start through the other line just to have all the bases covered. Before getting out of cell phone distance, they were reported sailing upwind! Ugh!

We're no weather experts, but taking a look at the surface winds for the Eastern Pacific, things don't look very promising for a record run. The high is far to the east and not well developed, and other than a band of 20 knot winds about 200 miles out, it appears light on the coast and light further out. Hopefully things will change, as today is the start for the Division G boats, which have the ability to smash the current record. Both Mari-Cha and Zephyrus start this afternoon at 4:40 p.m., as do the R/P 77 Pegasus, the Wylie 70 Rage, and some TransPac 52s.

As of yesterday's report, Skip Allan and Tad Palmer were leading the doublehanded class and the entire fleet with Allan's much-traveled Wylie 27 Wildflower. They covered 168 miles in 24 hours. The best 24-hour run, 192 miles, was turned in by Don Stoneburner's Olson 911 Halcyon. The big boats, of course, hadn't run for 24 hours yet, and the biggest hadn't even started.

The most recent boats to drop out were the Olson 30 Little O, with equipment problems, and Mimos, an Ericson 41, with rudder problems. Check the Pacific Cup Web site, www.pacificcup.org, to get an idea of who is moving and who is stopped out there.

Not Boring in Bora Bora

July 12 - Bora Bora

"Thanks to Biagio Maddaloni on the Victoria-based Hans Christian 43 Lil' Gem, there will be yet another Puddle Jump get-together - this time at the Bora Bora YC," reports Clark Straw of the San Diego based Mason 54 Final Straw. "What a venue! This has got to be one of the most partying groups ever to make the Coconut Milk Run! As was the case at Cook's Bay, Moorea, we'll have some fantastic musical entertainment from the likes of Louise from Lil' Gem, Greg Morehead from the Ventura-based Cheoy Lee 38 Gitana, Lesley Hazeldine from the Gabriola, B.C.-based Beneteau First 37 North Road, and Phil Hayward from the Compteche-based Cal 36 Cherokee Spirit. In addition, direct from last year's Puddle Jump, we'll be joined by the fiddling expertise of the folks from Irish Melody, who just happen to be in the neighborhood.

"The event will be held at the Bora Bora YC, which has a limit of 40 places available for dinner. After dinner, all will be welcome for the jam session and dancing to be held on the large deck of the Bora Bora YC. We hope everyone else is having a lot of fun in the South Pacific."

The last time the Wanderer was at the Bora Bora YC, nobody was allowed in until they kissed the tip of the . . . well, erection that comes out of the beam supporting the roof. Is that tradition still alive or did it go by the wayside when the club was, excuse the pun, blown away by a tropical cyclone a few years ago? Some guys outright refused to follow the tradition and weren't allowed in the club. Some readers might recognize the woman in the photo as the Wanderette, aka Kerry Spindler, formerly married to the Wanderer. She's a very successful cosmetologist in Mill Valley, despite having suffered a severe heart attack almost a year ago. Stay healthy everyone!

Too Sick to Continue on Cat

July 12 - Berkeley

"In yesterday's 'Lectronic Latitude, you mentioned a sailor who may have left Berkeley for Hawaii aboard his homebuilt 22-ft catamaran," writes Matt Peterson. "He's Louis Stamos of Pleasant Hill, a part-time diver and rather unusual guy. This marked his second attempt to sail his 22-foot cat across the Pacific. The first time, he actually made it about 300 miles before breaking a rudder and limping back home. This time around he got 30 or 40 miles out before becoming too sick to continue. He turned back and made it home safely."

Coho Came Through Cabo

July 12 - Cabo San Lucas, BCS

"I just read your 'Lectronic Latitude piece about the Triton named Coho that may have gotten into trouble between the Marquesas and Tuamotus," reports Tim Schaaf of the Baja-based Hunter 33 Casual Water. "I distinctly remember the boat when it came through Cabo some months ago, as I spent an hour or so with the crew. The owner was only about 19 and his two crew weren't much older. One of them was originally going to do a motorcycle trip to Patagonia, but decided to join the boat. The Triton seemed to be in pretty good shape and had a near new Yanmar diesel. The boat didn't have a SSB radio, and their watermaker was manual! The owner only seemed to have had some sailing experience while the other two were reading books to learn all they could. But they were young guys in good shape who looked like they could handle most situations."

Does anybody in the South Pacific have any updates on what happened to Coho and her crew? (Email Richard.)

Doing the Delta

July 12 - Little Potato Slough

Over the Fourth, Latitude 38's John Arndt and family took their Ranger 33 up the Delta to Little Potato Slough for some fun with friends. Here are some of the shots they took. By the way, we don't endorse flying your children from bosun's chairs while underway. Life can be dangerous enough as it is. Yesterday, a 70-year old man dove off a houseboat at Little Potato Slough to retrieve a soda can. Somehow it killed him. Have fun out there, but do be careful.

Ha-Ha, Ho-Ho

July 12 - Baja Ha-Ha World Headquarters

To date about 130 folks have requested entry packs for this fall's Baja Ha-Ha from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. The following boats have paid up and gotten their forms in:

1) Glory / Catalina 42 MKII / Rob Cline / Benicia
2) Mudshark / Express 37 / David Fullerton / San Francisco
3) Interlude / Deerfoot 74 / The Braun Trust / Alameda
4) Bravado / Elliot 46 / Charles Breed / Dublin
5) Dunamis / Challenger 40 / Dick & Dotti Olsen / Tuscon, AZ
6) Wings / Capricorn 48 / Davenport Browne III / Jupiter, FL
7) Sara Anne II / Litton Trawler 41 / Don Mitchell / Sunnyvale
8) Unknown Soldier / Cal 39 / Doug & Josette Schmer / El Dorado Hills
9) Tout Suite / Beneteau First 40.7 / Tim & Laurie Merrill / Vallejo
10) Pacific Jade / Hardin 40 / Michael Clark / Ventura
11) Tamara Lee Ann / Celestial 48 / Doug & Tamara Thorne / San Francisco
12) Gato Loco / Seawind 1000 cat / Lowell McCulley / Phoenix, AZ
13) Pure Chance / Brewer 37 Cutter / Scot T. Hufford / Rancho Cucamonga
14) Mykonos / Swan 44 MKII / Myron & Marina Eisenzimmer / San Francisco
15) Sonsie / Southern Cross 39 / Douglas W. Sterrett / Eugene, OR
16) Antipodes / Wauquiez Centurion 47 / Mick & Chris Brown / Reno, NV
17) Sumatra / Trintella 53 / Jerry Morgan / San Francisco
18) Ti Amo / Oyster 485 / Carl Mischka / Newport Beach
19) Tavana / Lapworth 53 / Greg Reaume / Long Beach
20) Apsara / Tartan 3700 / Rae Lyn Burke / Sausalito
21) Katie Rose / Cape Dory 330 / Robert & Judith Zemore / Bellingham, WA
22) Tomboy / Swan 44 MKII / Thomas J. Friel, Jr. / San Francisco
23) Evolution / Paine 20 meter / Alan Gross / Elfin Cove, AK
24) Geronimo / Lancer 30 / Michael Campbell / Sausalito
25) Carpe Diem / Davis Trawler / Johnson & McMillin / Ventura

YOTREPS

July 12 - 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 12 - 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/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/.