Photo of the Day: SSS In-the-Bay Race

June 11 - San Francisco Bay

Photo Latitude/Nick

In Monday's 'Lectronic, we had a short report on last weekend's Singlehanded Sailing Society's In-the-Bay Race. Thanks to an oversight, we left out the accompanying Photo of the Day, which is of top singlehander Steve Wonner nearing the finish line aboard his Wyliecat 30 Uno. Wonner not only beat the next best singlehander - Paul Martson on the Antrim 27 Nemesis - by 10 minutes, he corrected out ahead of all 34 doublehanded entries too.

AB694 No Longer a Threat to 'Offshore Deliveries'

June 11 - Sacramento

Thomas Alston of the Sacramento-based Legally Avoid Sales Tax reports that California Assembly Bill 694 is no longer a threat to boat buyers who want to legally avoid paying California sales tax on boats by taking offshore delivery and actively using the boats out of the state for the first 91 days or 51% of the first six months. Furthermore, the concept that a California resident who bought a boat was presumed to have purchased it for use in the state is also dead. In other words, nothing is changed from the current situation.

What makes things a little confusing is that AB694 is still alive, but now it only pertains to aircraft. The idea of the bill is that it would prevent aircraft buyers, boat buyers, and motorhome buyers from legally avoiding $50 million in state sales tax a year. But it was pointed out that if the bill passed, it wouldn't mean that the state would actually collect the $50 million, as buyers would figure out other ways of avoiding the tax or simply wouldn't buy the products. The bottom line is that legislators determined that passing the original version would actually cost the state of California money.

Kiwis Coming to Northern California for Help in Winning Back the America's Cup

June 11 - Auckland, NZ

The reports out of New Zealand are that Grant Dalton, now head of Team New Zealand, has been in talks with Marin's John Kostecki - recent winner of the Volvo Around the World Race, veteran of several America's Cup campaigns, and current Rolex Yachtsman of the Year - about joining Team New Zealand.

Want to Put a Smile on Dad's Face this Father's Day?

June 11 - Pt. Richmond

Jim DeWitt, who in his heyday was one of Northern California's top sailors, and who continues to be the finest marine artist in the country, has the solution.

Who Knows about Anchoring at Stillwater Cove?

June 11 - Carmel

"One of the most scenic places I've ever anchored is Stillwater Cove off Pebble Beach," writes Paul Moench of the Berkeley-based Samoa. "There is a public launch located at the head of the cove, and as I recall, it was well maintained. We used the floating portion as a dinghy dock and it worked out fine for trips into town. We simply walked part of the back nine at the famous Pebble Beach course and voilà, we were in downtown Carmel. As part of a 10-day trip to Monterey Bay - one of my favorite things to do - I'll be headed back to Stillwater Cove, and wonder if anybody has been there recently to give me a current report. Is the public launch still there? Is the cove still chocked with kelp? Is the holding as tenuous as ever?" Email Richard.

It Was Calm when We Rounded - Despite the Forecast

June 11 - Point Conception

"When we rounded Point Conception on our Celestial 48 Tamara Lee Ann at noon on May 28, it was nearly calm despite a forecast of 20-25 knot winds and six to nine foot seas," report Doug and Tamara Thorne of San Francisco. "We didn't see any of that until much later the next day. After struggling back up from Mexico - the Baja leg between Bahia Santa Maria and Turtle Bay was the worst - it was such a relief to be back in the United States, where harbors are plentiful and credit cards are accepted."

That's the thing about weather forecasts, they're nothing more than forecasts. If you always wait in port until you get an 'all clear', it would take you forever to get anywhere. For example, earlier this year we were in Long Beach when a number of boats headed to Catalina turned back because of small craft warnings. We went ahead and made the crossing, and the conditions were mild. Forecasts aren't to be ignored, but it's good to remember they are just forecasts.

Raccoon Is Righteous!

June 11 - Tiburon

Do you have a favorite place to sail in San Francisco Bay? Ours is Raccoon Strait, between Angel Island and 'old town' Tiburon. The scenery is great, and you get to 'bounce' off the shores as you tack up toward Sausalito. In the accompanying photo, the small crowd on the small blue hulled boat enjoys typical Raccoon Strait conditions.

Photo Latitude/Richard

Since we like sailing in Raccoon Strait, we weren't that surprised when John Sweeney and Tina Kleinjan of the San Francisco Cup Class of retired America's Cup boats tell us that the Sausalito Cup for these boats on June 20-22 will take these boats into Raccoon Strait and around Elephant Rock. Five America's Cup boats carrying chutes into Raccoon Strait - there's a sight you won't want to miss. It might even pull a few folks away from the back porch of Sam's for 10 minutes.

Maverick Is Back

June 11 - Richmond

Tony Johnson and Terry Shrode sailed Johnson's Ericson 39 Maverick back under the Gate last Saturday, completing the Richmond duo's circumnavigation. You may remember that Maverick came close to sinking at the very end of their transatlantic crossing, but the subsequent repairs were battled tested on the way to the Canal and on the trip up from Mexico.

A Sight to See this Saturday

June 11 - San Francisco

The Encinal YC's Coastal Cup from San Francisco to Catalina will start this Saturday at 10 a.m. just off Baker Beach - which is just outside the Golden Gate. Many boats - such as Roy Disney's Pyewacket - will be using it as their tune-up for the TransPac, so it should be an interesting sight, no matter if you're on the water, ashore at Baker Beach, or on your bike on the west side of the bridge.

YOTREPS

June 11 - 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

June 11 - 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.