Photos of the Day

October 18 - San Francisco Bay

Last week's Adams Cup competition for the US Sailing Women's Keelboat Championship featured some exciting racing in J/24s, and Bob Law caught the action. When it was over, our local Area G emerged victorious, represented by Tiburon's Vicki Sodaro and crew. See Monday's 'Lectronic.

Around Alone Sailors Seek Shelter from the Storm

October 18 - Bayona, Spain

All of the Class II skippers in Leg 2 (which began Monday) of the Around Alone race are seeking shelter from the storm that is brewing in the western Atlantic. Spirit of Yukoh has followed Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America into Bayona in the Ria de Vigo Bay of Spain. Brad Van Liew on Tommy documented his approach and sent it to the other Class II boats for advice on navigating into the area. He has offered himself as a point of contact for the other skippers.

Race chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston checks
on the weather using Raytech software.
Courtesy www.aroundalone.com/www.raymarine.com

Most of the Class I boats are far enough along that they plan to continue on. They are starting to feel the first fringes of the storm and are preparing for the worst. The storm is almost upon them, and it's time to batten down the hatches and hold on tight. The forecast is for a rough 24 hours.

Leading the fleet is Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group/Armor Lux. This morning Stamm reported that he was north of the Azores experiencing 50 knots of wind and was expecting up to 70 before day's end. He is confident of his position to the west of the fleet: "I am waiting for this front to pass through, as behind lies a northwesterly wind to propel me eastwards at full speed downwind!"

To the east of Stamm, Thierry Dubois on Solidaires, Emma Richards on Pindar and Graham Dalton on Hexagon are preparing themselves for the onslaught. Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali stopped in France to work on his autopilots, all three of which failed. Bruce Schwab on Ocean Planet left Torbay behind the others due to his boom repairs, and is headed for Bayona. The competitors who seek outside assistance will be penalized 48 hours, on top of the time they are losing by stopping.

For Brian Hancock's complete report and ongoing updates see www.aroundalone.com.

Star of India Lookin' Good

October 17 - San Diego

Mark Albertazzi, crew aboard the schooner Dauntless, sent us these lovely photos of San Diego's official tall ship Star of India, under full sail, as she went out to greet the tall ships visiting for the Festival of Sail last month.

YOTREPS

October 18 - 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

October 18 - 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/.