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December 1 - Golden Gate It's not official yet, but it appears that the South Bar -
west of the entrance to the Golden Gate - has claimed the life
of yet another sailor. A sailor who, if the truth be told, probably
had no business being out there. |
![]() At the Coast Guard dock today: The green-hulled sailboat on the left is 'Sea Major'; the white boat on the right is one of the 47-ft Coast Guard rescue boats. By this time, the terrible conditions at the South Bar were becoming too much for the crew of the SFPD boat. The SFPD do a lot of rescue work on the Bay, but don't train in the treacherous surf of the Potato Patch and South Bar - something the Coast Guard does on a regular basis. As it turned out, the two police weren't able to command the vessel. The one Coastie aboard could, but he began suffering from hypothermia and severe dehydration. Coast Guard Golden Gate had to send out their second and last 47-footer to rescue the police rescue boat. About the same time, Golden Gate dispatched their 21-ft RIB to rendezvous with 'Sea Major' near Mile Rock in order to escort them in. At this point, Station Golden Gate was out of boats. As the one 47-footer continued to search for the lost skipper
in near impossible conditions, the other 47-footer rendezvoused
with the SFPD inside the South Bar. The condition of the crew
on the SFPD boat was so bad that the rescuers of the rescuers
decided to risk transferring an EMT Coastie to the police boat
- despite the rough conditions, the darkness and the fog. Somehow
they managed to pull it off. The EMT treated the Coastie on the
police boat as best he could, then took the helm to rush the
boat back in. When they arrived at Station Golden Gate, an ambulance
was waiting to take the Coastie to Marin General Hospital where
he is now recovering. About that time, Station Golden Gate noticed
a flare over Richardson Bay. They rushed in response, but found
nothing. |
December 1 - Richardson Bay
The Friday edition of the Marin section of the
San Francisco Chronicle had an interesting and somewhat lyrical
article by Alex Horvath about living aboard on the hook in Richardson
Bay. Two of those interviewed were Jim Allison and Corie Cotton of the 29-foot Pearson 'Montana'. Allison used to pay $400 a month to keep the boat in a marina - presumably Pelican - until they started to rebuild the harbor. Allison and Cotton noted some pros and cons of living on the hook. On the positive side, it's cheap. On the negative side, they say it's 10 degrees colder than ashore, on stormy nights you don't get any sleep, and sometimes your boat isn't where you left it. "This is not a viable alternative for someone who is simply looking for cheap housing," warned Allison. They say the tough living conditions did result in a strong sense of community. Another featured anchor-out was Robert Legere of the well-equipped 75-foot schooner 'Chantal'. Legere claims to have cruised much of the world, but says he likes to come back to Sausalito "because it's one of the greatest places in the world to meet women who just want to go cruising." Legere admitted he was looking for a "long-haired heater" - his term for a new girlfriend. Preferably a blonde. It seems to us that Sausalito used to be one of the greatest places to meet women who wanted to go cruising, but that was in the '60s and '70s. Of course, maybe Legere knows something we don't. |
![]() Anyway, we thought it was an fairly accurate and balanced article - with the exception of the fact that Horvath neglected to mention that it's illegal to keep a boat on the hook or a mooring in Richardson Bay without a permit. And no permits have been issued. Not that this seems to have stopped anyone. |
December 1 - La Paz, BCS
"Hi, my name is Brigitte Packer and I live in La Paz part time where I help at the women's center/clinic. Planned Parenthood in Santa Rosa here in California donated a big pelvic exam chair to the center. However, it's too big for a car. Does anyone know of a big boat that might be willing to take something like this to La Paz? We could get it to the boat up here, and from the boat in La Paz to the center. My phone is (415) 332-8025. Thanks for any help."
December 1 - 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/
December 1 - Auckland, New Zealand
We've visited New Zealand several times, and sailed with a
number of Kiwis. We've always thought they were the most sporting
and fair-minded a group of people as we've ever met. However,
their current handling of a Swiss America's Cup application makes
them - as least some of them - appear to be vengeful wussies content
to hide behind lawyers and minor quirks in the law.
The deal is this: Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli bought
off Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth, and three other top Kiwis
from the victorious Kiwi America's Cup team. But so far, the Royal
New Zealand Yacht Squadron has as yet refused to accept Bertarelli's
Swiss challenge, saying it may not comply with the rules. What
rule? That the challenging yacht club hold an annual race on the
ocean. Switzerland, some clever Kiwi lawyer no doubt discovered,
is landlocked.
It takes forever to develop a great reputation, and just a short
time to ruin it. So let's hope the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
decides to contest the cup on the water instead of the courtroom
before it's too late. You guys are becoming an embarrassment to
your country!
December 1 - Pacific Oceans
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/.
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/stuff/southwest/swstmap.shtml.
You can view the University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology satellite picture by clicking here.
Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you might check at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.
For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.
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