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August 14 - Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
| The political stink has resumed now that the U.S. Navy has restarted bombing - albeit with dummy bombs - Vieques Island, one of the 'Spanish Virgins' off Puerto Rico. The Navy says it's the only place their troops can become combat ready in the Atlantic. Puerto Ricans say they are the victims of hypocrites, for the U.S. government could use uninhabited parts of other islands - for example, Martha's Vineyard, which is both President Clinton's favorite playground and shown in the accompanying photograph - for live bombing practice. To a certain extent, we think they have a point - as do those who complain against car drivers who don't want oil drilling in their backyards and politicians who rail against charter schools but send their own kids to private schools. Our solution? Navy bombing practice on Vieques on even-numbered years and on Martha's Vineyard on odd-numbered years. The variety will be good for the troops. |
 One of the Inhabited Parts of Martha's Vineyard Photo Latitude/Richard |
Weather UpdatesAugust 14 - Pacific Ocean San Francisco Bay WeatherTo see what the winds are like on the Bay right now, check out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/. Looks like it's going to be a great sailing weekend. California Coast WeatherLooking 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. Pacific Ocean WeatherCheck out the weather map at right. |
 University of Hawaii Meteorology Graphic |
Seas are relatively normal in the North Pacific.
Have a look at http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.
For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.
It's the middle of hurricane season off Mexico, with plenty
of activity. Hurricane Hector is heading offshore with 65 knots,
Tropical Storm Ileana is doing the same with 45 knots, and Depression
No Name is also headed to the northwest and more open waters.
In the Atlantic, what's left of Alberto is closing in on the Azores,
having made a 180-degree turn from her start near the Cape Verdes
off Africa. Tropical Storm Beryl formed in the Gulf of Mexico
but should be dissipating ashore on Mexico today.
See http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2000/index.html
and http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/2000/index.html
for more.
August 14 - San Blas Islands
There's something eerie about the loss of a sistership. John Neal and Amanda Swan-Neal came across 'Lady Allicat', a Hallberg-Rassy 42 from Goteborg, Sweden, when they stopped in the San Blas Islands of Panama. The San Blas Islands are spectacularly beautiful and the water is clear as gin - but when heavy squalls come through, the reefs that protect the islands from the open Caribbean can be obscured and become very dangerous.
 Photos Courtesy 'Mahina Tiare' |
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August 14 - The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace
Who is out making passages in the Pacific and what kind of weather are they having? Check out YOTREPS - 'yacht reports' - at http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/
August 14 - Hawaii
Though the Kenwood Cup isn't as big as it used to be, it's still our favorite regatta. It's also probably the most photogenic regatta in the world - good wind, good swells, lots of sunshine, and Diamond Head looming in the background. We've got tons more pictures of this year's 12th biennial K-Cup - tune in later in the week for more!
 The Aerodyne 38 'Matador' |
 'Charade', 'Jose Cuervo' and 'Juxtapose' lead the gaggle of J/105s. |
 The Farr 40s 'Samba Pa Ti' and 'Zamboni' |
 The Farr 45 'Big Apple', part of the winning New Zealand team |
Look for feature coverage in our September issue and see www.kenwoodcup.com for full results, photos and much more.
August 14 - San Francisco Bay
San Francisco YC's excellent four-race Summer Keelboat Regatta
attracted 68 boats in eight classes this past weekend. Stealing
the show were the eight Farr 40s, sparring against each other
in a preview of even better things to come in September (NOOD,
Quick Boat, BBS). All the Farrs were seriously staffed up, most
with the full complement of four paid pros (usually tactician,
main trimmer, headsail trimmer, and bowman) and five of the "best
amateurs money can buy."
When the smoke cleared, Zarko Draganic and Hank Lammens' straight
out-of-the-box 'Cavallino' was on top of the heap. Ironically,
their tactician - the versatile and talented Chris Perkins - was
the only amateur tactician in the star-studded fleet. The rest
of the winning 'Cavallino' squad consisted of Scott Easom, Dennis
George, Steve Marsh, Kristen Sawchuk and Peter Scott, with Nick
Gibbens and Wayne Zittel each doing one day. Nice debut!
The results: 1) 'Cavallino', 9 points; 2) 'Peregrine', David Thomson/John
Cutler, 13; 3) 'Revolution', Brack Duker/Terry Hutchinson, 15;
4) 'Endurance', Mike Condon/John Kolius, 16; 5) 'Shadow', Peter
Stoneberg/Kimo Worthington, 21; 6) 'Blue Chip', Walt Logan/Dee
Smith, 23; 7) 'Wahoo', Robert Shaw/Jeff Madrigali, 23; 8) 'Gone
Too Farr', David Carrel/Jeff Thorpe, 24.
August 14 - Southern California
The uproar continues over the fact that the ULDB 70 'Vicki' was not given redress for temporarily dropping out to rescue three catamaran sailors. The facts are these: 'Vicki' and at least one other boat legitimately filed for redress and notified the race committee, yet were denied it because they didn't show up at the protest meeting the next morning. The race committee could have given redress without representatives of either crew in attendance. Had 'Vicki' been given the redress she applied for, she would have won her class. Currently, sentiment seems to be overwhelmingly in favor of 'Vicki' and against the race committee.
August 14 - St. Malo, France
A few days ago we reported that Yvan Bourgnon and crew sailed
his 60-ft tri 'Bayer en France' almost 625 miles in 24 hours.
The rest of the story is how well the other 60-foot tris did.
'Groupama', which actually won the Quebec to St. Malo Race, did
615, 'Fonica' did 601, and 'Belgacom' did a pedestrian 573 miles.
625 miles, by the way, is an average of 26 knots.
Marc Van Peteghem, the co-designer of 'Bayer', commented on the
fact that the comparatively small 'Bayer' could come with a half
mile of 110-foot Club Med's all-time 24 hour sailing record. He
said that the records were really very different, because Bayer's
was done in ideal conditions while 'Club Med' did it in heavy
weather. Van Peteghem said that the 60-ft tris have a much greater
sail area to displacement ratio - see accompanying graphic - which
would allow them to beat maxi cats in some conditions, but not
for long. Nonetheless, he feels that a 60-ft tri has a better
chance of beating Serge Medec's transatlantic record than does
one of the current maxi cats built for The Race. For all the interesting
details, visit http://www.therace.org/asp/une1.asp?NewsId=771&LangId=.
There's a great graphic of the two boats compared.
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