Photos of the Day

November 4 - Turtle Bay, Baja California

Greetings from Mexico! The Baja Ha-Ha Rally Committee sent us a passel of photos from Turtle Bay.

Banjo Andy sends the following report on the layover con Las Tortugas: "Hi there. Up most of the night, so no whole sentences. Fleet is now at sea, nearing the end of leg two between Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. Fine time in T Bay, excellent sunny weather. As always enjoyed the warm hospitality of townspeople. Big party at the Vera Cruz restaurant, dancing in the disco and music jam. The Ha-Ha band this year includes bagpiper, sax [sic?] guitars and banjo. Ideal downwind sailing yesterday 11/03 with moderate winds and seas."

The Grand Poobah checked in by sat phone this morning to report that they are now about 70 miles away from Bahia Santa Maria. Although it's not cold, they could wish for more sun.

Store's open

Leg 2

Round Robin Two Complete

November 4 - Auckland, NZ

The Oracle BMW Racing crew gave skipper Chris Dickson a fantastic birthday present on Sunday, winning both races, and leapfrogging up the leaderboard to finish Round Robin Two in second place.

The Louis Vuitton Cup now moves to the Quarter-Final stage of the regatta. Alinghi, the leader of the four boat 'double-chance' group had the honor of choosing its opponent from the other three. They've decided to race the defending champions, Prada Challenge, in the Quarter-Finals, which means Oracle BMW Racing will line up against OneWorld Challenge when racing resumes on Tuesday, November 12.

In the lower tier of competitors, the 'single-chance' group, the fifth placed Swedish Victory Challenge decided to take on the French Le Défi team. That leaves GBR Challenge to race Team Dennis Conner, Mascalzone Latino having been eliminated in Round Robin Two. The losing teams from this pair of matches will be eliminated from further competition, while the winners face the losers from the top group. There is a wide point spread between the top group and the bottom group, with the top group very close to each other in overall points.

For more, see www.louisvuittoncup.yahoo.com.

Alinghi, leader of the pack

Mid-pack Wight Lightning racing Aréva, which
just squeaked through to the next round.
Photos Bob Grieser/Louis Vuitton Cup

Current rankings are:

1. Alinghi Swiss Challenge, with 13 points
2. Oracle BMW Racing, 12 points
3. OneWorld Challenge, 12 points
4. Prada Challenge, 11 points
5. Victory Challenge, 7 points
6. GBR Challenge, 7 points
7. Team Dennis Conner, 6 points
8. Le Défi Aréva, 2 points
9. Mascalzone Latino Challenge, 1 point

Midwinter Season Off to a Bright Beginning

November 4 - San Francisco Bay

A weekend of warm, sunny weather, light winds and strong current marked the beginning of the midwinter season in the Bay Area.

Christina Joyce had the following report from Golden Gate Yacht Club: "72 boats waited somewhat patiently for the first gun during a 70 minute delay of GGYC's 32nd Annual Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta. The wind filled in nicely around 12:30 (at least for a while) from NNW at 11 knots. With some welcome volunteer input from SFYC's Matt Jones, the race committee sent the first two starts (under 64 PHRF and the J/105s) on a 9.4 hike to Blackaller, Harding and back again then to Ft. Mason and finish. The remaining six starts were on a shorter 5.5 mile course to Blackaller to Harding to Ft. Mason to finish. The last two divisions were slow to start due to the strong ebb and less wind. Steve Wonner's Wyliecat 30 Uno, last year's overall winner, started the season out with another bullet.

"Club manager, Bill Chow, laid out a great spread!" We agree: Free continental breakfast at the clubhouse before the racing and free 'Seaweed Soup' after the race. Indeed, Saturday's 'Seaweed Soup' consisted of two soups, paella, various salads, breads, cheeses, crackers, chips and guac - and Halloween candy.

J/105s, Catalina 34s, Knarrs and Folkboats fielded one design classes this year, and PHRF boats had five divisions. Last year's J/120 and Farr 40 fleets have not returned. For complete race results, see www.ggyc.org/race_deck/racedeck.html.

YOTREPS

November 4 - 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

November 4 - 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/.