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Photos of the Day

July 11 - San Francisco & San Pablo Bays


Bob Musor's J/130 Sceptre backlit in the setting sun while nearing the Carquinez Bridge

Today's Photos of the Day describe the variety of conditions that were found in Saturday night's Midnight Moonlight Marathon put on by the San Francisco YC. The race took the fleet from Raccoon Strait to and around the Carquinez Bridge, and back to the San Francisco YC. Since it was a pursuit race, the first boat back won. The results haven't been posted, so we don't know who won yet, but we know it wasn't Profligate. As expected from a cat, we did just fine in the reaching and running up to Vallejo. But also as expected, we got our ass kicked trying to point in light air. According to one crewmember's count, at least 18 of the 30 or so entries passed us in the last couple of miles. That's the good and the bad of cruising cats.

As much as we love the Midnight Moonlight, we have one humble suggestion - maybe it should start a couple of hours earlier.


Max leads Bob George's J/35 Kiri shortly after the Raccoon Strait start.


David Rasmussen's Synergy 1000 Sapphire leads John Kerslake's Mumm 36 Little Wing on the reach between The Brothers and Pt. Pinole.


Joe Boone's Ranger 23 Blitz battles to weather in the windiest part of the race, shortly after rounding the Carquinez Bridge.


The turning mark
Photos Latitude/Richard


No, that's not South Lake Tahoe

July 11 - Auke Bay, AK


Photo Dorothy Darden

It's Auke Bay Marina, Alaska, with the Mendenhall Glacier in the background. It was taken by Dorothy Darden, who recently travelled there from the San Juan Islands with her husband Steve aboard their M&M 52 Adagio. We'll have more photos in upcoming 'Lectronics on their trip, plus an article in the August 1 issue of Latitude 38.


Aussie Woman Skipper Wins 29er Worlds on San Francisco Bay

July 11 - San Francisco Bay

Jacqui Bonnitcha bested 75 other skippers from around the globe to claim the world championship in the 29er class, one of the most physically-demanding racing boats. Aussie Euan McNicol was Jacqui's crew. The victory was no fluke, as there were 40 races held in a variety of wind and current conditions, and shows once again that there is no limit to what women can accomplish in sailing. The top American finishers were Johnny Heineken and Matt Noble who took third. More in the August Latitude 38.


Top local sailors, Johnny Heineken and Matt Noble
Photo Jan Pehrson


Extra Photo of the Day

July 11 - Los Angeles

Today's Extra Photo of the Day is of a couple of hula girls shaking their booties, presumably to encourage participants in the 100th Anniversary TransPac - which starts today for the slower boats - to get from Los Angeles to Honolulu as quickly as possible. This is a great era for the TransPac, as this year's event has attracted 75 entries, a tremendous fleet that's not far from a record number of entries.

In the second photo, Pyewacket navigator Stan Honey is seen giving a navigation seminar prior to the start of the race. He seems to be recommending that everyone sail directly into the middle of the Pacific High, where, of course, there is no wind at all. What a sneaky guy!


Photos Under the Sun Photos

Good luck to all TransPac entries.


More than Just Equipment Failure

July 11 - San Francisco

Last Friday's Photo of the Day was of the Maxum 42 About Time, her bow destroyed, at Nelson's Boatyard in Alameda. Thanks to Parker Diving Service, here are a couple of photos showing how the bow was damaged. According to Salvage Coordinator Diane Shipway, the accident happened at 10 p.m. on June 29, "due to a navigation equipment failure." Three people were seriously injured by the high-speed collision with the Hunter's Point Pier. A water borne crane had to be used to transport the remains of the boat to Nelson's Yard.


Photos Courtesy Parker Diving Service

As most of us know, electronic navigation is a wonderful thing. But we also know that it's not infallible. As such, mariners should always cross check their navigation - especially at night - using as many of the following as possible: eyes, GPS, a second GPS, depthsounder, radar. As such, it wouldn't surprise us if it was ultimately concluded that 'operator inattention' was as much responsible for the accident as 'navigation equipment failure'.

Speed really does kill, so please be careful out there.


Hot Friday Nights at the Corinthian YC

July 11 - Tiburon

The various beer can race series seem to cycle in and out of popularity, but right now, the Corinthian YC's Friday Night races out of Tiburon seem to be on a roll. Participation is up, and among those out last Friday night were Paul Cayard and Dee Smith, easily two of the world's top international sailors. And they weren't hurting for wind, as we're told it was gusting to over 35 knots. That was probably a contributing factor to Ron Young's IC Youngster dropping her rig.


Photo Courtesy Cassaundra (CJ) James-Patterson

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