Photo of the Day

July 26 - Kaneohe Bay, Oahu

Today's Photo of the Day is of the jury rig that Robert Ward and Mike Robinson put together on the Dog Patch 26 Moonshine, which was dismasted halfway to Hawaii in the recent Pacific Cup. They set up the jury rig in five hours. The hardest past was dealing with the jagged bottom of the carbon fiber mast, as they didn't have a saw. So they used the saw feature on a Leatherman and after an hour, they got the job done.

Photo Mike Robinson

French Twist

July 26 - Mediterranean Sea

As far as the French are concerned, there is no small vessel sailing stunt that isn't worth trying to pull off. Stuff like taking a Hobie Cat across the Atlantic is run of the mill to them, and you have to cross in a mooring buoy to get much attention. The latest plan is that of a female windsurfer, Raphaela Le Gouvello, to sail 7,600 miles across the Pacific in 2003 and 2004 aboard a special windsurfer. She's just taken off across the Med in preparation.

Same Name, Different Guy

July 26 - Kaneohe Bay, Oahu

Madforsailing.com does a great job of covering sailing, but they do make their own blunders. In today's report on Zephyrus V in the Pacific Cup, they report that John Bertrand was one of the crew. That's true, but where they screw up is identifying him as John Bertrand, the guy who won the America's Cup for Australia. They've got the wrong guy. The John Bertrand who is the project manager was originally from Marin County and made a name for himself while becoming an Olympic medalist. He went on to many other great sailing endeavors, including running the I-48 one designs. Right now, he's running what's probably the fastest monohull in the world. Aussie John Bertrand, on the other hand, came to the States and started Quokka, the Internet sports magazine, which blazed bright, then crashed after going through $500,000,000.

Usage Fees in Puerto Escondido

July 26 - Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Some San Francisco cruisers, whose names are withheld by request, are currently in the Sea of Cortez and write in with this report: "Just a heads up with the latest on the new proposed 'usage fees' (formerly proposed 'anchorage fees') for Puerto Escondido that are in the works. FONATUR approached the local cruisers there and had scheduled a meeting for July 24 to discuss their proposed fees. It's all tentative but FONATUR has commented that they are thinking $1 a day or $25 a month would be appropriate for all boats anchored in the bay, including the Waiting Room anchorage.

"The 'usage fee' would entitle boaters to use the dinghy dock (built and currently maintained by the local cruisers), the garbage shed (currently maintained by the local cruisers), and water dock. In the meantime they have put a new lock on the water cage and increased the water fees, with a minimum charge of 20 pesos/$2US. Monthly parking has been increased from 150 pesos to 200 pesos. The launching ramp prices have been doubled.

"Due to a scheduling conflict, FONATUR postponed the July 24 meeting and as of July 25, have yet to schedule when the meeting will take place. Obviously there are many questions that will be brought forth by boaters at this meeting. Most of us cruising in the sea this summer are wondering if we would be subject to these 'usage fees' if we pull into Puerto Escondido (best hurricane hole around) for a couple days and do not leave our boat. There has been a dramatic decrease in the number of boats basing out of Puerto Escondido this summer. I'm sure the U.S. economy has something to do with it, but more likely it's a combination of the port captain fees, Loreto National Park fees, and the ongoing rumors of proposed FONATUR fees."

From Aboard Mari-Cha III

July 26 - Pacific Ocean

Charlie Wroe, a Brit aboard the Briand 147 Mari-Cha III in the Pacific Cup, was nice enough to share these photos with us.

From the masthead at KKMI just before the start.
The boat next to Mari-Cha is the Mumm 30 Rainbow.

The reaching conditions in the early part of the race. It was here that the big ketch had a slight advantage over Zephyrus V, but the wind never blew hard enough to fully exploit that potential advantage.

The mizzen cockpit area. Those things that look
like 55-gallon drums are actually winches.

The tropical running conditions, with about half the crew spread around the deck. It took 27 to jibe the boat when in racing configuration. When cruising, the hydraulics can be used, and the boat can be singlehanded.
Photos Charlie Wroe

For what it's worth, the crew of Mari-Cha briefly interrupted their race on the second morning to help look for the person who went overboard from Zephyrus V. The Mari-Cha crew told us that it was indeed owner Bob NcNeil who had gone overboard. For whatever reason, the Zephyrus crew had been trying to hide his identity. After spending 20 minutes in the water, McNeil, we're glad to report, was in good condition. Let all the recent overboards be a lesson to everyone - one hand for you, and one for the boat. And for God's sake, wear a PFD, at least at night.

YOTREPS

July 26 - 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 26 - 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/.