Photo of the Day

June 6 - California Coast
"Rome wasn't built in a day," say the punsters in Santa Cruz, "but Roam - Malcom Brown's Young 10 meter - was lost in a night. It happened in the Monterey Spinnaker Cup, which started off Angel Island late Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. At 0100, while abeam of Davenport in 18 knots of wind, the driver rounded up, then over-corrected and planted the spinnaker pole in the sea. The mast snapped at the pole track. Several hours after clearing the wreckage, things went from bad to worse. At 0400, the boat and crew, apparently both on autopilot, drove onto the rocks about three miles northwest of Santa Cruz. Nobody was hurt, although they did have to be rescued by California Department of Forestry workers who rappelled down the steep cliff. Roam, her keel bent at a 60-degree angle, was towed to Santa Cruz where she briefly served as the unofficial rounding mark for the Wet Wednesday race. The hull was later hauled out at Harbor Marine, where it awaits word of its fate.


Accidents happen. It's why we buy insurance.

Photo Mike Evans


The Hazards of Cruising Alaska

June 6 - Petersburg, Alaska

"I hate sailing in Alaska!" claims Rick Fleischman of the Alaska-based Catalina 50 Bob. "In addition to having to eat all those crabs, salmon, halibut, and shrimp, we constantly have to be on the lookout to guard our boats against natural hazards. I was in Petersburg for the Little Norway Festival, when I noticed that there was a bald eagle using my mast as an observation platform!  Since I've had problems in the past with 'eagle strikes', I returned to the boat to try to encourage him to move on. I tried waving my arms and yelling. These tactics proved to be unproductive, so I whacked one of the shrouds with a winch handle. That got results fast. The eagle jumped into the air, bounced off my wind speed wand, breaking off one of the cups. He also ran over the VHF antenna, giving it a rakish 90 degree twist, then gave the Windex a knock. Before he left the scene, he let loose with a spray of 'processed fish' that covered my Catalina 50 from cockpit to bow pulpit. Next time I'm going to find out if it's really true that eagles taste just like chicken."

Rick wouldn't really eat an eagle, but he loves fish such as the king salmon that he's holding.

Photos Courtesy Rick Fleischman

Magnificent Night on the Bay

June 6 - San Francisco Bay

If you didn't go sailing on San Francisco Bay last night, you missed one of the finest nights ever. It was warm, there was a nice breeze, the air was incredibly clear - and about 2100, a monster moon rose over the East Bay hills. When we got back to the dock in Sausalito, it was T-shirt weather, and still. It looks as though it will be almost as good tonight - although the moon will rise an hour later.


TransPac Update

June 6 - Pacific Ocean

It's only a couple of weeks to the start of the L.A. to Honolulu TransPac. There are currently 35 boats signed up, including Dave Janes's new TransPac 52 designed by Alan Andrews, which is seen in the accompanying photo. For more details, visit www.transpacificyc.org, and see the July Latitude 38 TransPac Preview. We'll also have daily coverage in 'Lectronic Latitude.


Photo Courtesy Alan Andrews


Catnip Cup Update

June 6 - San Francisco Bay

"Just wanted to let you know we will be attending the Cup this year on our Lagoon 410, Bebe L'amour," reports Jeff Eastman. "I called the Vallejo harbormaster and he warned of a very shallow harbor entrance and a minus low tide at 11:17 am on Sunday. We only draw four feet, but he suggested an early departure if we want to catch the 3 knot ebb at 9:44 that morning. Otherwise we could be in the harbor for most of the day. We're looking forward to the party and flying our new chute to get us there expeditiously."

Given the tide - and the fact that the BCDC and/or Army Corps still won't let the harbor entrance be dredged - we suspect all Catnip Cup folks will get an early departure.


YOTREPS

June 6 - 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

June 6 - 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 Sea State

Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you might 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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