September 19, 2003

Photo of the Day

September 19 – San Francisco Bay

Photo Latitude/JR 

Today’s Photo of the Day is from last night’s
long and dazzling Moët Cup fireworks show – courtesy of
Larry Ellison of Oracle BMW Racing – on the San Francisco waterfront.
For those up close and personal at the St. Francis and Golden
Gate YCs, it was spectacular. Even an observer from the Sausalito
Headlands spoke in superlatives: “It’s was the best fireworks
I’ve ever seen, looking like New Year’s, the Fourth of July,
and the KFOG Kaboom all rolled into one. And even from the Headlands,
it sounded like the battle of Midway.” We caught the show
from the deck of the Corinthian YC immediately following Mark
Rudiger’s presentation there, and even from that distance it
looked pretty impressive.

It wouldn’t be San Francisco, of course,
if some of the citizens didn’t have a fit about the fireworks.
Some have gotten on Craig’s List to ask everyone to email complaints
to all the officers of the Golden Gate YC. Their complaints are
they didn’t know about the fireworks, and that they shot off
on a non-holiday Thursday evening. We think the local media are
to blame for word of the fireworks not getting out, as God knows
people love fireworks, and this was a great show of which public
should have been better informed. As for the fireworks being
on a non-holiday Thursday night, leave it to some San Franciscans
to drag up any excuse to object to people having a little innocent
fun.

Suicide in the Mid-Pacific

September 19 – Pacific Ocean

Delivery skipper Don George of the San
Francisco YC-based Swan 61 Hasty Heart came across an
unusual sight halfway from Hawaii to San Francisco yesterday
– a sailboat drifting around with tattered sails and a drooping
radar. As George and the rest of the crew approached, they could
see the name Southbound II with a hailing port of Santa
Cruz. The boat was floating fine, but there was nobody aboard.
Getting no response to their hails, some of the Hasty Heart
crew went aboard. Although all the boat’s gear seemed to still
be there, as well as personal effects such as the owner’s wallet,
there was no sign of him or any possible crew.

The Hasty Heart crew called the
Coast Guard, which told them they’d been on the boat in July,
and had found a suicide note left by owner Stephen James Brown.
It seems odd to us, but the Coast Guard apparently decided to
let the boat, which seems like a hazard to navigation, just drift.
They also left everything onboard except for the ship’s log.

The name Stephen Brown sounded familiar
to us, so we looked through our records. Sure enough, he’d made
several contributions to Changes in Latitudes, mostly while doing
a singlehanded circumnavigation from ’85 to ’89 aboard Southbound,
a Bingham 32. We heard from him again several years ago when
we were compiling our list
of West Coast circumnavigators. At the time, he gave a Scott’s
Valley address and phone number. The phone is disconnected. There
are indications that he was most recently sailing out of either
Honolulu or Lihue, Kauai.

The Hasty Heart crew said Southbound
II had the insignia ‘NW 38’ on the house. We’re wondering
if they misread it, and she’s really a Nor’West 33. In any event,
Stephen Brown, bless his soul, apparently committed suicide at
sea at age 54.

McKee Pipped in First Leg of Mini-Transat

September 19 – Lanzarote, Canary Islands

After just over nine days, Seattle’s Jonathan
McKee was nipped at the Lanzarote, Canary Islands, finish line
of the 1,350-mile first leg of the Mini-Transat by Sam Manuard.
Almost equally impressive was the sixth place finish – in the
70-boat fleet – by woman sailor Pia L’Obry. The Mini-Transat,
sailed solo in extreme 21-footers, has been the breeding ground
for some of the world’s best offshore sailors. The second and
final leg takes the fleet across to Brazil.

Moët Action Continues in Perfect
Weather Conditions

September 19 –
San Francisco Bay

Oracle BMW Racing and Alinghi went at it
again yesterday in idyllic conditions on San Francisco Bay. For
a change, Alinghi claimed both the Pro-Driver and Owner-Driver
races, tightening up the series. The Pro-Driver race in particular
was a thriller, with two lead changes and a penalty. The competition
continues today and tomorrow, with two races each day. The weather
should continue to be spectacular, and you don’t want to miss
it. The action usually starts between 1 and 2 p.m., with a course
between Treasure Island and just west of the St. Francis YC.

Having watched a number of these races
so far, it’s clear to us that if yacht racing is to attract the
general public, the boats need to get close – real close – to
the crowds. For when the two boats scraped the end of the spit
in a couple of races, it made the action immediate and real to
those on shore, and was very exciting. But when tide conditions
meant the boats never came closer than several hundred yards
to shore, the crowds were noticeably let down. We’re not sure
how you can have great match sailing with crowds right there,
but that’s what would be perfect.

Looking for Adventure?

September 19 – San Francisco

One of our big goals this winter is to
try to get Latitude’s 63-ft catamaran Profligate
to the Eastern Caribbean before Christmas. To that end, there
may be a couple of non-paying crew positions available to folks
looking for adventure, wanting to get to the Caribbean for the
season, and/or needing sea time for Coast Guard licenses.

To make things perfectly clear, this will
be a pedal-to-the-metal delivery trip under power rather than
a pleasure cruise under sail. We repeat, this will definitely
not be a pleasure cruise. There will be no leisurely stops along
the way, just a few quick-as-possible fuel stops, the slowdown
for getting through the Canal, and weather-imposed stops on the
north coast of South America and/or the south coasts of Jamaica,
Hispañola and Puerto Rico. There will almost certainly
be some very rough weather – particularly on the Caribbean side
of the Canal – as well some terrific lightning storms. Given
the distance involved – it could easily end up being 4,000 miles
– you would need to be able to commit to seven weeks.

If the sound of this kind of open-ended grueling adventure really
gets you excited, you’d need to be able to get yourself and your
current passport to Cabo San Lucas no later than November 5,
and be happy and willing to be adventuring until just before
Christmas. There is a slight possibility – no guarantees – of
being able to stay on the boat for part or all of the winter
fun and games in the Caribbean or hang on the boat long enough
until you can get a job on another boat.

No matter if you are male or female, this
is a younger person’s gig. You must be in top physical condition
and not have any alcohol, drug, or medical issues. Offshore experience
would be nice, but we’ll consider people who have otherwise proven
their grit and perseverance by having done things such as climbed
Mt. Everest, swam the English Channel, or walked across the Mojave
Desert.

To apply, write a short letter with all
the pertinent information, a couple of sentences about why you’d
want to do such a miserable trip, and take a recent photo, then
click here to email it
all to Richard under the Subject heading of ‘Caribbean or Bust’.
But please, don’t do this unless you’re absolutely serious.

For more information – some of it outdated
– on Profligate, visit www.profligate.com.

YOTREPS

September 19 – 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

September 19 – Pacific
Ocean

San Francisco Bay Weather

Check out this guide to San Francisco Bay
Navigational Aids: http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/sfports.html.

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

The site for the Pacific Ocean sea states
has moved to http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/PacRegSSA.shtml.

For views of sea states anywhere in the world,
see http://www.oceanweather.com/data.