May 7, 2003

Photo of the Day

May 7 – Ensenada, Baja California

Today’s Photo of the Day was sent to us
by Walter Johnson of Chayah, who says that it’s of his
mainsail trimmer Chuck ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Ray, after the recent
Ensenada Race.

Photo Courtesy Chayah

Johnson sent the following to his crew:
“We may not have gotten the press we deserved, but we are
now part of Ensenada History. We will forever be part of the
Secretary of Foreign Relations Trophy, the one given to the boat
with the third best corrected time of the first place finishers
in the ULDB class. This trophy was originally given to the winner
of Class B, and in the past has gone to such notable boats as
Cotton Tail, Dog Patch, Bingo, Christine, Brisa, the late
Pandemonium, Allegiance, Elusive, Medicine Man, Alchemy, Out
of Bounds, Pyewacket and J-Bird. We are in terrific
company, something that no one can take from us. It’s quite an
accomplishment to go out and win one of the 17 or so perpetual
trophies that are handed out among the 461 competitors. No one
will remember that we raced against only five boats.”

Five boats or 50, it’s still a trophy.

Latitude 38
Is Not Associated with Latitude 38 Productions

May 7 – San Francisco

This Saturday night is KFOG radio’s big KaBoom! fireworks show at
Piers 30 and 32 on the San Francisco waterfront, which naturally
will attract a lot of folks on their boats. It has come to our
attention that a new event and party planning outfit unfortunately
named ‘Latitude 38 Productions’ has chartered a Blue & Gold
ferry boat for a party during the festivities. As you might imagine,
we’re not thrilled at the new outfit’s choice of names, as it
quite clearly seems to trade on a brand name and reputation we’ve
spent more than 25 years developing. We’ve spoken with owner
Peter Scully, and it’s seems likely we’ll be able to work out
a satisfactory solution without have to resort to lawyers. Meanwhile,
please be advised that the real Latitude 38 has nothing
to do with any ‘Latitude 38 Productions’ party during the KFOG
KaBoom!

Speaking of the KaBoom!, be aware that
the Coast Guard and police agencies will be out in force, and
in years past have stopped and cited a number of skippers for
operating under the influence. This is not a good thing, as it
goes on your driving record as a DUI, and the last thing you
need is the loss of driving privileges for six months or more.
So have fun, be careful and be sober.

Dinner or Fish Bait?

May 7 – Long Beach

“Regarding Monday’s
comment about the Asian couple getting mussels – perhaps to serve
at a restaurant – from the docks at Alamitos Bay, I think they
were probably going to use them for fish bait,” writes David
Lewis of Sweet Lorraine in Ventura. “Mussels are
hard to keep on the hook, but they are good bait.”

You could be right, David, but if so, they
planned on catching an awful lot of fish.

And You Thought Medical Care Was Expensive
in the States

May 7 – British Virgin Islands

After cleaning the bird’s nest off and
while in the process of delivering the Nautitech 435 Kabunza
from Grenada in the lower Caribbean to Florida, Wayne Meretsky
stopped in the British Virgins to await the arrival of his ladyfriend
Wendy to join the crew.

“I got here last night after spending
the previous 24 hours anchored at Prickly Pear Cay just north
of Anguilla. I spent last night anchored at the The Baths at
Virgin Gorda, but couldn’t snorkel due to a nasty ear infection.
I saw a doctor this morning and got ear drops. The 5-minute office
visit cost $65 US, and the drugs were $10.

“I’ve had two problems with the boat:
the glow plugs are dead, making it hard to start the diesel,
and the mast track has a problem that causes the recirculating
balls to drop out of the cars, which causes the cars to break.
I’ve been through 100 balls so far.

Photos Wayne Meretsky

“After Wendy arrives this evening,
we’re heading to Foxy’s where Burning Spear, the famous reggae
band, will be playing. Then it’s on to Miami via random islands.”

More on Ships Passing the Brothers

May 7 – Richmond

“We don’t know if it is legal,”
write Rick and Claire of Tiburon, “but about seven years
ago we also saw a ship travel between the Brothers and the Richmond
shore [see Monday’s ‘Lectronic].
We were actually on the Brothers touring the lighthouse at the
time when we saw an outbound ship pass between Point San Pablo
and the lighthouse. We, too, could not believe it, but we were
up close and personal, so it no doubt happened.

“But have you ever seen two outbound
ships pass on either side of Blossom Rock? We were near Blossom
when a ship passed us on the Berkeley side of Blossom Rock and
at the same time a ship passed on the Alcatraz side of Blossom
Rock. The ship on the inside passed the other ship, and both
steamed out the Gate.”

The Finger-Pointing Continues in New Zealand

May 7 – Auckland, NZ

Having lost the America’s Cup to the Swiss,
the normally implacable Kiwis have turned to finger-pointing
and blame. The latest is Team New Zealand boatbuilder Mick Cookson,
one of the most respected in the world, who says he warned the
syndicate of flaws in the structures of their America’s Cup boats
months before the match against Alinghi, but was ignored. Cookson
further claimed that NZL81 and NZL82 are the best America’s Cup
boats he has built, and that “average sailors can make a
good boat look bad.” Ouch!

YOTREPS

May 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

May 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.