Photos of the Night

August 10 - San Francisco Bay

We suppose it could have been called Jeffrey Gaines, Live at Alcatraz! Earlier this year, Latitude offered radio station KFOG to auction a night on Profligate to support their fund raising efforts for Earth Day. They would provide recording artist Jeffrey Gaines. KFOG raised $23,000 in all for the Greenback Alliance, and $5,000 of that came from Jeff Cracolice, who paid for the evening and music aboard Profligate.


Jeffrey Gaines with a couple of fans.


Jeffrey Gaines gives a concert at 12 knots.

It wasn't the warmest night on the Bay, but that didn't bother the crowd of 25. After sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge and down the City Front, the guests called for a sail by Alcatraz. With darkness falling after a jibe behind the island, Gaines and the guests settled inside Profligate's spacious saloon, to listen to the Philadelphia artist perform his hit single 'In Your Eyes' as well as cuts from his 'Always Be' CD just released by Artemis Records.


High bidder Jeff Cracolice is in the red jacket in front.


Some of the guests.
Photos Latitude/Richard

Meanwhile, Profligate was cruising up the leeward side of Tiburon at eight to twelve knots. It was a good time, and it was for a good cause. What more could you ask for? It was only the second concert aboard Profligate, the first having been Foxy Callwood of Foxy's in Jost van Dyke, who played to celebrate his 60th birthday a couple of years ago.

Team Adventure's Record Attempt Breaks Off

August 10 - The North Atlantic

Cam Lewis' and Team Adventure's attempt at the transatlantic record ended at 5:30 a.m. today, 110 miles south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, when the port bow broke. The crew is still assessing the damage. The cause is not clear but one possibility is that the boat struck something floating just below the water's surface. No one was hurt. The boat was 45 miles ahead of Jet Services record and sailing at 30 knots in perfect conditions, with a quartering southwesterly breeze and flat seas. It was foggy and still dark in the pre-dawn. Visibility was barely one boat length in the dense fog, and the crew was maintaining a non-stop radar vigil as they sped through the night. There was a loud bang. The port bow broke just aft of the forward crossbeam. The crew scrambled immediately to get sails down and stabilize the mast which relies on the foreward crossbeam for its headstay tension. The bow broke away from the remainder of the 110-foot hull about two feet behind the forward crossbeam.

 


Photo Courtesy www.teamadventure.org

Team Adventure, of course, is one of three Gilles Ollier 110-foot catamarans that participated in The Race, this year's around-the-world event. All three of the cats suffered significant damage during that race.





West Marine Pacific Cup

August 10 - Entries Off To A Fast Start.

Although it's almost a year until the start of the West Marine Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, the entries are already pouring in. As of August 7, they included, Giant Slayer, SC 27; Alakazam, JDF 30; Victoria, Bavaria 35; Allessandra, Jeanneau 36; Mintake 4, Farr 38; Argonaut, J/40; Alcyone, Hinckley 40; Bravado, Elliott 46; Hooligan, SC 50; Emily Carr, SC 50; Octavia, SC 50; Ariel, SC 52; and Winnetou, SC 52. Boats that have signed up for the Doublehanded Division include Moonshine, DP 26; Mirage, Express 27; Shenanigans, C&C 36; El Tiburon, Passport 42.

That's 17 entries, and it's expected the list will go over 30 by the end of the month. Jim Quanci reports that he knows of at least two more SC 50s and two more SC 52s that are planning to enter. The Pacific Cup always runs out of slots, so if you don't want to be stuck on the waiting list, visit the Pacific Cup web site: www.pacificcup.org.

 
From Last Year's Pacific Cup
Photo Latitude/Richard



Praise for the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol

August 10 - Newport Beach

"Just read the "'Lectronic Latitude" article on the Dana Point and Newport Harbor Patrols, and just wanted to echo some of the positive things you said about them. We recently sailed our boat back home to Newport Beach from Canada, and were very pleasantly surprised by the reception we got here from the Newport Harbor Patrol. It seems like the further south you go, the more crowded it gets, and the hassle and expense for temporary mooring increases. Knowing how crowded Newport Harbor is, we were expecting an experience somewhere between performing a circus act (jumping through hoops) and being mugged when we needed to look for a temporary spot to put our boat. What we got was a total 'can do' attitude from an incredibly friendly and professional staff. Need a mooring at 11pm? No problem! They cost $5 a night, and you can stay for 20 days. Place to put the dinghy? Sure, use the dinghy dock! How about a place to fill the water tanks? Easy! Use the guest dock! How refreshing it is to find a government agency staffed with REAL PEOPLE that provide solutions for your problems, not just more bureaucracy! Thanks Captain Kasules, and congratulations on your great team! Your attitude obviously permeates all the way through your organization."

Paul Prioleau,
Islander 40 Tikehau, Newport Beach.

 
Photo Latitude/Richard


Rolex Fastnet Race Starts On Sunday

August 10 - Cowes, Isle of Wight

Late Sunday afternoon, one of the top racing fleets in the world will depart Cowes, Isle of Wight, on the 608-mile Fastnet Race, which takes the fleet across the Irish Sea and back. In addition to being the single most famous ocean race in the world, the 1979 Fastnet will live in infamy as a number of boats and 15 lives were lost. This is the one in which Dave Allen and his Northern California crew aboard Imp were reported dead by the New York Times. As we recall, they actually corrected out third, the best finish ever by a 'dead' crew.

This year's event will be headlined by maxis such as Morning Glory, Stealth, Leopard of London and others, many of which will be sailed by America's Cup crews. The fleet will also include four brand new Volvo 60s which are gearing up for the start of the Volvo Around The World Race on September 23rd. The boats are Assa Abloy Racing Team of Sweden, which is co-skippered and navigated by Mark Rudiger of Corte Madera; Team SEB of Sweden; Team News Corp of Australia; and illbruck Challenge of Germany, driven by John Kostecki, who lives just up the Marin County road from Rudiger in Fairfax.

Corrected time honors, however, will probably go to one of the 60-foot trimarans, despite the fact that they'll be sailing a longer course. One of the favorites is Scotswoman Emma Richards' Pindar - yes, it's still got the Sony paint job - which was formely Steve Fossett's record-smashing Lokata. Fossett is still in a balloon attempting to be the first to balloon around the world singlehanded.

 
Photo Courtesy Thierry Martinez


Photo Courtesy www.madforsailing.com

YOTREPS

August 10 - 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/

Weather Updates

August 10 - Pacific Ocean

San Francisco Bay Weather

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/.

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/stuff/southwest/swstmap.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

Check out the Pacific Ocean sea states 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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