Kiwis Drop Their Skirts for the Hula

January 7 - Auckland, NZ

The three remaining America's Cup teams showed the result of three years of design work and effort in the public unveiling ceremony on Tuesday.

Team New Zealand went last and stole the show when both of its declared boats, NZL-81 and NZL-82, were slowly raised out of the water to a cheering crowd, revealing the 'hula' (an abbreviation of 'hull appendage').

On both New Zealand boats the 'hula' is an appendage that is separated from the rest of the hull by just a few millimeters. It begins about a yard back of the keel and runs back behind the rudder, effectively adding length and volume to the aft section of the boat. Designer Clay Oliver said the 'hula' was an integral part of the boat's design.

"The idea starts with the concept that you want to draw a boat that is long, elegant and fast," Oliver explained. "It's not a matter of adding something to a boat that you already envisioned. It's actually imagining a boat that you want to have and saying how can we get that shape? This is a solution to that. It's not a clip-on. It's a hull that's been drawn the way we want it and that's the solution."

Team New Zealand says the 'hula' has been approved by the America's Cup Class measurers and says it doesn't expect to have any problems with protests over the design.

On Monday evening the International Jury received questions regarding the legality of the use of an appendage similar to the 'hula' and requested input by Wednesday evening from the three teams remaining in competition.

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

California Kids Score in Orange Bowl

January 7 - Miami, FL

More than 450 young sailors were in Miami between Christmas and New Year's, December 27-30, to compete in the 2002 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta in Biscayne Bay. The competition was fierce in all seven classes with a record number of young sailors from around the nation and eight foreign countries participating.

After four days of sailing under warm and sunny skies, the new champions received their medals at the Coral Reef Yacht Club from Magnus Liljedahl, the 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist. The Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Trophy, which recognizes a personal and unselfish commitment to the principles of fair play and competition, was awarded to Opti Blue Fleet sailor Bernie Rosler of Franklin Heights, NJ. At the end of a race, Rosler was incorrectly scored in first place and, although the error was in his favor, Rosler approached the chairman of the race committee and requested that the score be adjusted. He subsequently finished the regatta in fifth place.

Top finishers (Californians in bold):

Laser: 22 boats; 11 races completed
1. Greg Helias (Los Angeles)
2. Bobby Noonan (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
3. Adrian Affoo (Trinidad)

Radial: 77 boats: 11 races
1. Chris Alexander (Coral Gables, FL)
2. Parker Shinn (San Diego)
3. Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, VI)

Club 420: 75 boats; 11 races
1. Erik Storck/John Kempton (Huntington, NY)
2. Adam and Melanie Roberts (San Diego)
3. Justin Law/Silja Lentnin (Newport Beach)

29er: 10 boats; 15 races
1. Marcus and Alex Bernal (Santa Barbara)
2. Cameron and Graham Biehl (San Diego)
3. Myles Gutenkunst and John Goldsberry (Mill Valley)
(Myles's brother Morgan came in fifth, crewing for Cameron McCloskey)

Optimist Green Fleet (novice, age 15 and under):
52 boats; 15 races
1. Mayumi Roller (St. John, VI)
2. Brandon Long (Miami, FL)
3. Alex Sachs (Coral Gables, FL)

Optimist White Fleet (age 10 and under): 28 boats; 11 races
1. Ivan Aponte-Taboas (Yumacao, PR)
2. Blake Cabassa (Miami, FL)
3. Gregory Dair (San Pedro)

Optimist Blue Fleet (age 11-12): 56 boats; 11 races
1. Emily Dellenbaugh (Easton, CT)
2. Tommy Fink (Miami, FL)
3. Nick Voss (Miami, FL)

Optimist Red Fleet (ages 13-15): 48 boats; 11 races
1. Jesse Kirkland (Warwick, Bermuda)
2. Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, PA)
3. Carlos Teixidor (San Juan, PR)

We'll have a report from SoCal's Rose Bowl tomorrow.

Velella in Vanuatu

January 7 - Vanuatu

Yesterday we ran some photos taken by Wendy Hinman and Garth Wilcox, sailing the Wylie 31 Velella, in Fiji. Today's photos are from Vanuatu. To see their whole photo album, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/atomicsalsa.

Garth at Hog's Beach, next bay to Champagne Beach on the island of Espritu Santo

Houses and cooking area in Uruparapara in the northern Banks island group. The villages are very remote.

A quick walk to the waterfall

YOTREPS

January 7 - The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace

Who is out making passages in the Pacific and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.

Weather Updates

January 7 - 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.