'Lectronic Index

Previous 'Lectronic Edition

movistar Wins Volvo In Port Race

May 1 - Baltimore, MD

ABN Amro One leads Brunel around the top mark of the Volvo In Port Race
Photo David Branigan

Light airs dominated Sunday's Volvo In Port Race, giving the four Bruce Farr-designed entries an advantage. Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean were first off the line, followed closely by Ericsson, who took the lead by the first mark. movistar then stepped up to scoot past both boats, gaining a huge lead which allowed them to take line honors and much-needed points. ABN Amro One, the overall leader by nearly 20 points, generally performs better in heavier winds and scraped by with second to last. Recent re-entry Brunel had hoped to make a big splash with their extensive refit but ended up trailing the entire race.

Newly crowned Miss USA Tara Connor sailed on Pirates with bowman Justin Clougher.
Photo Oskar Kihlborg

Scenes from a Swap Meet

May 1 - San Francisco Bay Area

Everyone wins at a swap meet.

Tis the season for swap meets, and, while you may have missed recent ones, there are more to come. Here's a list of a few to add to your calendar:

May 6 - Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond - www.marinabayyachtharbor.com
May 7 - Elkhorn Yacht Club, Moss Landing - www.elkhornyc.com
May 13 - UCSC Boatyard Sale - (831) 425-1164
May 20-21 - Vintage Wood Boat Swap, Sebastopol - (707) 321-6758
May 28 - Brisbane Marina - (650) 583-6975
June 3 - Pacific Mariners Yacht Club, Marina del Rey
June 4 - Minney's Swap Meet, Newport Beach

How much is that puppy dog?
Photos Latitude/LaDonna

May Latitude 38 Out Today

May 1 - San Francisco Bay Area

April showers bring May flowers. And May Latitudes.
Photo Latitude/Annie

It's May Day, so celebrate by picking up the new issue of Latitude 38 around the Bay Area. You can get yours where you always do!

Opening Day on the Bay

May 1 - Tiburon

Esther Lerner leads the assembled Corinthian YC members in the Star Spangled Banner as everyone greeted magnificent weather for Opening Day on the Bay yesterday.

Corinthian Yacht Club in downtown Tiburon serves as the traditional host for Opening Day's Blessing of the Fleet. The ceremonials are followed by a party for members and their guests.

These yachts are all dressed up and ready for the day.

Ed and Diana Fischer took advantage of the Opening Day festivities at CYC to host a christening party for their new Catalina 34 Sirius, which replaces their old Catalina 27 of the same name.
Photos Latitude/John Arndt

Pyewacket Takes Line Honors at Ensenada with Amateur Crew

May 1 - Ensenada, Baja California

While most entries in the 59th Lexus Newport to Ensenada Race were struggling in light air, the R/P maxZ86 Pyewacket seemed to be making her own breeze, as she slid down the coast to take line honors.

Beyond the initial glory, the win will undoubtedly have invaluable PR value for its owner, the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship, as most of the 26-person crew were amateur sailors from the school's student roster or from the neighboring community. Longtime school director Brad Avery and boat manager Keith Kilpatrick, co-captained during the race.

Co-skipper Keith Kilpatrick receives Pyewacket's first-to-finish trophy. 

The event's overall winner was Max Rosenberg's Hobie 33 Mad Max, with a corrected time of 22 hours, 26 minutes, 41 seconds. For complete results see www.nosa.org.

With 7 to 8 knots at the start and never more than 11 throughout the course, it was a slow crawl to Ensenada, causing roughly a quarter of the 461-boat fleet to drop out. As you might imagine, however, most racers still found themselves in a celebratory mood once they finally stepped onto Mexican soil.

Loe Real dwarfs the multihull fleet.

A bow lady on an Ancient Mariner
Photos Rich Roberts