September 4, 2002

Photos of the Day

September 4 – San Francisco

Ralph Deeds sent us these colorful photos
of last weekend’s NOOD regatta; we ran a report on the event
in yesterday’s ‘Lectronic,
and will have more in the October issue of Latitude
38. Final results have been posted at www.stfyc.com.

Tight racing in the Express 27 fleet

Some J/35s cross paths with the Melges 24 fleet.

J/35s on the run

J/35s dodging the ebb. The red and white
spinnaker belongs to regatta winner Fast Lane.

Groovy Gag Gift

September 4 – San Francisco

Deneen Demourakas, owner/driver of the
Farr 40 Groovederci, presented tactician Dee Smith with
a 50th birthday present at the NOOD. Well, they say a quiet boat
is a fast boat. He should have had it for Saturday’s racing,
when he got hit in the head during a jibe and banged up enough
that Groovederci dropped out of the race so that he could
seek medical attention. The birthday boy recovered sufficiently
to fly off to Sardinia with Hasso Plattner for the Maxi Yacht
Rolex Cup, which began Monday.

Photo Courtesy Groovederci

Swan Cup on the Horizon

September 4 – Porto Cervo, Sardinia

After the aforementioned Maxi Yacht Rolex
Cup departs host Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, more than one hundred
Swans move in for the Swan Cup, to be held September 8-15. Every
second year Nautor’s Swan stage their flagship event on the Costa
Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.

Twenty-one nations will be represented
with the largest number coming from Italy (22), UK (18), Germany
(16), USA (11) and France (10) and the remaining from the rest
of the world. An international mix of owners and crew will come
to Sardinia for an exciting week of top class competition, complemented
by a world class social calendar.

In 2000, the title of Swan Cup overall
champion was awarded to Theo Kinsbergen’s Swan 68 Defiance,
but he won’t be attending this year to defend his title, leaving
the contest wide open. However the competition remains hot, with
likely contenders including award-winning boats such as Aldo
Fozzati’s brand new Swan 45 La Forza del Destino, current
holders of the Giraglia Cup, and 2001 Swan American winner Swan
56 Lolita, owned by U.S. business tycoon Frank Savage.

Paul Cayard expects to return this year,
sailing on Enrico Scerni’s brand new Swan 80, Kora. Previous
World Match Racing Champion Ed Baird will be spending the week
on Tom Stark’s Swan 45, Rush.

Baird will also have another challenge
waiting for him in Sardinia, as
Nautor’s Swan team up with long term partner, Bvlgari, for the
inaugural
Bvlgari Swan 45 Match Racing event on Monday the 9th, which will
see two of the world’s greatest skippers fighting it out on Swan
45s. Olympic Gold Medalist and current Finn European and World
Champion, Ben Ainslie will be taking the helm of the British
boat, McFly, owned by Tony Mack, while Baird will be flying
the Stars and Stripes on Stark’s Rush. See www.swancup.com
for more.

Our own Racing Editor is jetting off to
Italy today to cover the event, so expect full coverage and lots
of photos in the October issue of Latitude
38.

YOTREPS

September 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

September 4

Atlantic Ocean

Tropical Storm Edouard

A tropical storm watch remains in effect
from Titusville to Fernandina Beach in Florida for Tropical Storm
Edouard. Edouard has sketched a neat little circle off the coast,
and winds are expected to diminish. He is currently blowing at
35-45 knots, stationary at 29.7N 79.1W at 1500Z today. See http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2002/index.html.

Pacific Ocean

Hurricane Hernan

Hurricane Hernan has calmed down some,
with winds at 55 knots gusting to 65. He has turned to the northwest,
running parallel to the coast of Mexico. Traveling at 10 knots,
he was at 21.0N 122.5W at 1500Z today. To keep track of Hernan,
see http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/2002/index.html.

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/.