Photos of the Day: Island Weekend

April 14 - Catalina

Today's Photos of the Day are from yesterday at Catalina, which was our first visit of the year after coming north from Mexico. In the first shot you can see that the air was rather clear, as the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the mainland was distinctly visible from Avalon.

The second shot shows that the harbor was relatively crowded for an early April weekend with variable weather and sometimes overcast skies.

By the way, mooring fees have gone up. We used to pay $36 a night for the 63-ft Profligate, but now it's up to $42. And we're told it will likely be raised again in July. The shoreboat fees took an even bigger jump, a whopping 33% increase from $3 to $4 per person each way. So either take your dinghy or lots of cash to the Island.

The boat moored directly behind us was the Hughes 39 catamaran Free Wind that Jason of El Segundo brought out from Florida for day charters off the island. She's Coast Guard certified for 40 passengers, which seems a bit high - even to Jason, who doesn't plan to ever carry that many folks.

The only bad thing about our weekend at Catalina was having to say adios to Avalon and head to Alamitos Bay. The last two shots are of Profligate's wake a few miles into her channel crossing, and of her GPS at the time. It was only blowing about 13 knots, but when the apparent wind is on the beam, it's easy for a big cat to maintain a smooth and swift pace. It was one of the nicest sails Doña de Mallorca and the Wanderer have enjoyed in a long time.

Ken Read Wins the Congressional Cup

April 14 - Long Beach

With Gavin Brady having won 18 of his first 20 match races in the Swedish Match Tour's Congressional Cup sailed out of the Long Beach YC, he looked like a sure thing to win his third 'crimson jacket'. Alas, Kenny Read and some of his America's Cup crew from Team Dennis Conner shocked the Kiwi and his mates by taking the final by a score of 2-1. To illustrate what a dogfight the final was, in the second race Read fouled Brady three times in one leeward mark rounding.

Nonetheless, it was an amazing comeback for Read and crew - tactician Terry Hutchinson, bowman Jerry Kirby, mainsail trimmer Moose McClintock, trimmer Morgan Trubovich, and pitman Andrew Scott - who had dropped four of their first five races in the event.

Photo Courtesy Long Beach Yacht Club

For complete coverage of the event, visit www.lbyc.org.

Hawaii Bound

April 14 - The Pacific Ocean

"I'm planning on doublehanding to Hawaii in late July or early August on my Columbia 26 Mk I Zingara," writes Jim Carvalho. "For those not familiar with the 26 Mk I, she's similar to the Bristol 27. She's got a full keel, is fairly heavy at 6,000 pounds, and is strongly built. In any event, I've been sailing for over 25 years and have several hundred miles of offshore experience on larger boats. I am confident in my abilities and have used the Pacific Cup Handbook as a guide in preparing the boat for the trip. This will be my first long offshore passage, and I would like to hear any thoughts that you may have that would add to the safety and comfort on such a relatively long trip on a relatively small boat. I would also like to thank Latitude for the inspiration that has kept my sailing dream alive."

When it comes to safety, the big things are not falling overboard, reefing early, and keeping hydrated. As for comfort, become one with the ocean. Don't forget to send us a postcard when you get there.

They're Back, In Glorious Color

April 14 - Profligate

In the March 21 'Lectronic, the Latitude staff ran some black and white photos of four Dartmouth coeds on Spring Break in Puerto Vallarta who had joined Profligate for the Punta de Mita Spinnaker Cup for Charity. This was a mistake. The black and white shots were for Latitude only, the later-arriving color versions were to be for 'Lectronic. Since the color versions look so much better, we're reprinting them all these weeks later. The first shot is of the four gals - who were all both sweet and sharp - while the second is of Alexis Sheehan.

YOTREPS

April 14 - 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

April 14 - 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.