January 23, 2004

Photos of the Day:
Key West Race Week

January 23 – Key West, FL

Today’s Photo of the Day is of 14-year-old
Shark Kahn of Santa Cruz at Terra Nova Trading Key West Race
in Florida, who is in the process of proving once again that
his winning the Melges 24 Worlds last year on the Bay was no
fluke. After three days of racing, finding himself down a little
in the standings, Shark fired two bullets yesterday in this very
strong class, to pull within just points of Sebastian Col of
France, current leader in the class. Today the two will have
a virtual match race for honors. It’s going to be tough for Shark,
for match racing is what America’s Cup vet Sebastian Col does
for a living.

Shark Kahn and crew ride Pegasus 492 to
two bullets.

What’s the big deal? “The TNT is the
biggest and best regatta in the United States – and perhaps the
world,” advises Latitude 38 Racing Editor Rob Moore.
“It attracts sailors from both coasts of the U.S., as well
as Europe. Three hundred and one boats are racing in 21 classes,
and it’s got a great vibe, as it attracts both the highest level
pros and enthusiastic amateurs.

What’s neat this year is that West Coast
boats are kicking ass. So far the ‘Boats of the Day’ have been
Philippe Kahn (Shark’s dad) with his Melges 24 from Santa Cruz;
70-year-old John MacLaurin of Los Angeles, doing his first series
with his brand new Farr 40 Pendragon V; Roger Sturgeon
of San Francisco, with his R/P TransPac 52 Rosebud; and
Tom Coates’s J/105 Masquerade from San Francisco. So today’s
big drama could be whether any of the 275 or so other boats can
beat a Californian for Boat of the Day honors.

Short Sleeves Around the Horn?

January 23 – Antarctica and Cape Horn

Dennis and Susanne Robbins of Santa Rosa
sent us the accompanying photo of them rounding Cape Horn in
a good blow. Say, you don’t think they were on a cruise ship
instead of a sailboat, do you?

Photos Courtesy the Robbins

The other photo of them was taken at Paradise
Harbor in Antarctica. Locals told them it was the warmest day
in eight years – all the way up to 36º.

History on the Verge of Being Made

January 23 – Atlantic Ocean

Frances Joyon has crossed the equator,
and now has just 3,200 miles to go to complete his solo circumnavigation
aboard the massive 90-ft trimaran IDEC. After 62 days,
he’s covered an astonishing 23,622 miles. It’s likely he’ll finish
in about 74 days, smashing the old solo circumnavigation record.
If he does, we’d rank his achievement not far behind Steve Fossett
and crew averaging more than 25 knots all the way across the
Atlantic with PlayStation. We are living in amazing times
when it comes to sailing achievements.

Getting Ready for the Jules Verne

January 23 – Plymouth, UK

Speaking of the maxi-cat PlayStation,
now named Cheyenne, she, Fossett and crew
were about to start on their Jules Verne Around the World attempt,
when the weather went just a hair sour. So navigator Stan Honey
(pictured at left), who did so well with his Cal 40 in the TransPac
last year, said their start will be delayed.

Also waiting for the right weather is Olivier
de Kersauson with his maxi trimaran Geronimo. (What’s
this connection between American Indians and maxi multihulls?)
This will be his seventh attempt at the record, which he’s had
and lost several times.

Meanwhile, Bruno Peyron, currently holder
of the Jules Verne, is sea trialing his new maxi-cat Orange,
and says he’ll be going for a record attempt starting in the
middle of February. It’s therefore possible that all three maxi
multihulls, almost certainly the three fastest boats in the world,
will take off at almost the same time.

YOTREPS

January 23 – 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

January 23 – 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.