February 11, 2004

Photos of the Day: Orange II

February 11 – Trinité sur Mer, France

The new maxi-catamaran Orange II,
skippered by Frenchman Bruno Peyron, was christened today by
fencing champion Laura Fessel, who won the bronze medal at the
2000 Olympics in Sydney. With Orange II Peyron hopes to
reclaim the Jules Verne Trophy, should Cheyenne or Geronimo
prove successful in their current Jules Verne around-the-world
record attempts, or if not to improve his own record, set in
2002 aboard Orange.

The 121-ft Orange II was designed
by the Gilles Ollier design team and built by Multiplast in Vannes,
Brittany. For more on Peyron and Orange, see www.catamaran-orange.com.

Collegiate Regatta at Treasure Island

February 11 – San Francisco Bay

Cal Berkeley hosted ‘North 1 & 2’,
part of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate FJ racing schedule,
this weekend out of Treasure Island Sailing Center. These photos
were captured on Saturday, when seven races each for divisions
A and B were sailed under sunny skies. The day began with a light
northerly that eventually clocked to a steady 5-9 knot westerly.
The breeze died midway through the afternoon, and racing was
called off early due to lack of wind after the seventh B race
barely finished. All races were windward/leeward once around.
The host Golden Bears topped the fleet on Saturday, but Stanford
beat them out for first place on Sunday. For complete results
on these and other PCIYRA races, see www.collegesailing.org/pciyra/2004_Pages/2004RegattaInfo.htm.

Photos Latitude/JR

How Do You Rate Tail Fins?

February 11 – Tiburon

Michael Moradzadeh, who’s been running
the races at the Corinthian Yacht Club this past year, reminds
us that they are still accepting entries for this weekend’s second
and last installment of this year’s Corinthian Midwinters. See
www.cyc.org/race/2004/midwinters.html
for info and to sign up (now with PayPal capability). All sailors
are also welcome to attend the buffet dinner ($15/person) and
dance Saturday night (Valentine’s Day).

Attempting to accommodate all interested
participants, Moradzadeh sent this email to the PHRF committee,
“Gentlemen: Anticipating an entry from the vessel described
in the referenced article, I respectfully request a PHRF rating,
with particular regard to the sail-like structures at the rear
of the vessel.” www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/02/04/cuba.car.ap/index.html

An Engineering Marvel

February 11 – Norfolk, VA

This item comes from Pat Benedict, of the
J/105 Advantage 3. Time-lapse photos show how the USS
Cole was loaded on to a Norwegian freighter in order to bring
it home for repairs. A real engineering marvel. www.pianoladynancy.com/recovery_usscole.htm

After being successfully repaired in Pascagoula,
MS, the Navy ship, attacked in Yemen in October, 2000, returned
to its homeport of Norfolk, VA. See www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/cole.html.
For the Cole’s home page, see www.cole.navy.mil/

Eight Bells: Ward Cleaveland

February 11 – San Francisco Bay

This past Saturday, February 7, Ward Cleaveland,
born in 1908 in Montclair, NJ, passed away peacefully in his
sleep. Many sailors came to know Ward over the years, through
his involvement with the RBOC (Recreational Boaters of California;
Ward was its first President in 1968), the PICYA (Commodore 1968;
delegate for various Bay Area yacht clubs), the Californian
and the Nautical Heritage Society, and his support for local
programs such as Sail San Francisco and the Tall Ship Semester
for Girls. Ariane Paul of the Master Mariners Benevolent Society
writes, “He was both a charming character and an energetic
speaker, and was going strong right up through last year. I attended
both Ward’s 90th and 94th birthday parties. At his 90th I was
knocked over by what a great bunch of people had gathered to
celebrate with him. We are in touch with Ward’s son Peter who
says a memorial is being planned and may be held on March 20.”

Cleaveland worked on ships on the Great
Lakes when he was young, but also worked as an actor, and as
sales manager for Time, Inc. magazines, which led to his becoming
a sales manager for SEA magazine on the West Coast in
1957.

He became a charter member of the Loch Lomond Yacht Club when
it was founded. Some of other awards and recognition he has received
over the years include:
San Francisco Navy League Annual Award, 1970
The Douglas Boswell ‘Man of the Year’ Award, 1978
The Charles A. Langlais Trophy, 1981
The Grand Marshall for the Opening Day on the Bay Parade, three
times
ASTA Award for Service to Sailing Education, 1999

In December 2003, the International Order
of the Blue Gavel awarded Cleaveland with a plaque that read:
“In appreciation for his lifetime dedication in advancing
the participation in, and enhancing the popularity of Recreational
Boating activities In the San Francisco Bay Area, Tall Ships,
PICYA, et al, and establishing and serving as the first Director
of the International Order of the Blue Gavel, District 14 1984-1986.”

YOTREPS

February 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 Links

February 11 – 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.