September 10, 2002

Photo of the Day

September 10 – Mexico

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from space,
and is a shot of the interesting cloud cover at an island off
the coast of Mexico. Name the island. (Send to Richard.)

Photo Courtesy
Dave Wallace

St. Francis YC Big Boat Series

September 10 – San Francisco

Just a reminder that the St. Francis YC
will be holding their Big Boat Series – which was called off
last year because of 9/11 – Thursday through Sunday. It’s expected
that there will be more than 100 entries, so once again it will
be a really big show. The best places to watch are from your
boat – but please stay the heck out of the way – or from the
area around the St. Francis YC. Don’t miss it!

For the most current entry list, visit
www.stfyc.com.

Cruising Queensland

September 10 – Canary Islands

“We are back aboard our Marquesas
56 Rhapsodie,” report Sam, Caren, Rachael, and Dana
Edwards of Portola Valley. “We have cruised up the Queensland
coast these past two months from the Gold Coast area just south
of Brisbane, where Rhapsodie underwent extensive repairs
to damage caused during a rough passage from New Zealand to Fiji
last year. Right now we are anchored off Lizard Island, just
a few miles from the outer barrier reef. We will probably linger
here another week or so before sailing on to the Louisiade Archipelago
off the eastern tip of New Guinea.”

If you’re out cruising, why not let us
know where you are and what you’re up to. Email Richard
or use our Log-In Web
page.

Maxi-Cat Beats Maxi-Tri

September 10 – Isle of Wight, UK

Brian Thompson and a mixed crew of 14 aboard
Tracy Edwards’ maxi-cat Maiden 2 have smashed the around
Ireland and Britain record that Steve Fossett had set with Lakota
in 1994. Thompson was crew for Fossett. The new record is 4 days,
17 hours, some 28 hours better than Fossett’s time.

Making it all the more interesting, Maiden
covered the course five hours faster than Olivier de Kersauson
and his new maxi-tri Geronimo. Although they both sailed
around Ireland and Britain, they didn’t start from the same place,
so they didn’t always have the same conditions. Nonetheless,
it was a bit of a surprise as the cat is widely considered to
be vulnerable in light conditions.

It’s been a great summer for Thompson,
who is basically running the big cat for Edwards, who stays ashore
and tries to raise money for an assault on the Jules Verne Record.
In addition to breaking the Around Ireland and Britain record,
Thompson drove the boat to a 694-mile 24-hour run. Unlike most
performance boat skippers, he’s the opposite of intense.

Orange
Dismasted; Big Trouble for MacArthur

September 10 – La Ciotat, France

Bruno Peyron’s maxi-cat Orange,
recent winner of the Jules Verne Trophy, was dismasted during
a hailstorm yesterday afternoon after the lower port shroud apparently
failed. Nobody was hurt, and Peyron was not aboard. It was an
unfortunate time for the dismasting, as ownership of the boat
is to soon pass to Ellen MacArthur, who, after November’s Route
du Rhum, will sail Orange in an assault on the Jules Verne.

Three America’s Cup Boats to Go Bottomless

September 10 – Auckland, NZ

For many years now, America’s Cup syndicates
have ‘skirted’ their boats when pulling them out of the water,
presumably to keep rivals from stealing design secrets. At long
last, three syndicates – Team Dennis Conner, Le Defi Areva, and
Mascalzone Latino – are dispensing with the skirts. Their logic
is having spent countless millions on the design of their boats,
there is little to be learned from peeking at others. Team New
Zealand, on the other hand, is taking skirting to a new level.
They will be leaving the skirts on all the way to the sailing
area in the Hauraki Gulf.

NZL81 wore skirts to her christening.
Photo Courtesy www.americascup.com

Gee Whiz, Should Surfers Be Made to Wear
Diapers?

September 10 – Newport Beach

While in Newport Beach, we read a column
by a waterfront writer who wondered if surfers, bodysurfers,
and others who play around the ocean should be required to wear
diapers. The author’s thinking was that if mariners are prohibited
from peeing within three miles of the coast, why shouldn’t that
also apply to surfers, bodysurfers, and swimmers. What do you
think?

A boogieboarder catches a big one off Newport Beach
Photo Latitude/Richard

Old Man Wins Etchells North Americans

September 10 – Long Beach

Dennis Conner, who just turned 60, proved
he’s still got it by winning the Etchells North Americans at
Alamitos Bay.

YOTREPS

September 10 – 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

September 10 – 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/.