November 10, 2003

Photos of the Day: Baja Ha-Ha

November 10 – Cabo San Lucas, BCS

This final report on Baja Ha-Ha 10 was
sent from aboard the committee boat using via the Globalstar
satellite telephone
system:

As you read this, Baja Ha-Ha 2003 – the
tenth annual cruisers’ rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas
– has drawn to a close. These images give us a sampling of the
event’s final days.

Winds were light but steady for the 6 a.m.
start of Leg Three, which began at Bahia Santa Maria, and the
breeze built during the day. The final night at sea was a glorious
one, with a nearly full moon above and balmy temperatures that
required only T-shirts and shorts for night watches.

Once at Cabo San Lucas, hundreds of Ha-Ha’ers
descended on Squid Roe for the traditional ‘we cheated death
again’ dance marathon. The following day, Friday, crews chilled
out at the Ha-Ha beach party, held at Mango Deck this year. And
the event closed Saturday night with a lighthearted awards ceremony,
hosted by Marina Cabo San Lucas and Tecate beer.

Check the Baja Ha-Ha Web site, www.baja-haha.com,
in the coming months for details on next year’s event (usually
put together sometime in May).

Groupama and
Virbac Take over Lead in Transat Jacques Vabre

November 10 – Atlantic Ocean

As Virbac streaks ahead in the Open
60 monohull division of the doublehanded transatlantic race,
Sill and Team Cowes try to take advantage of more
their westerly position to sail at a hotter angle in the trades.
The early leader, Ecover, is back on form and closing
the gap.

Groupama, leader of the multihulls

In the Open 60 multihull fleet, Groupama
leads the top four boats into the trades. Sergio Tacchini
spears south, while backmarkers, including Foncia
and Bonduelle, are becalmed.

Hellomoto
is maintaining her lead over Storagetek in the Open 50
monohulls. The only Open 50 multihull still racing, Mollymawk,
is still at the tail end of the whole fleet at 36º North,
but their goal is to catch up to the Open 50 monohulls before
too long! See www.jacques-vabre.com.

YOTREPS

November 9 – 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 Links

November 9 – 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.