Photos of the Day

May 11 - Catalina Harbor

The gentleman in the photo is Dave Coiner, who is the Assistant Harbormaster at Two Harbors on Catalina. For about six months, Dave has owned the blue Cross 26 trimaran you see in the other photograph. When Dave bought the little tri, she was right side up, and he preferred that she still was. Unfortunately, on February 12 of this year, Two Harbors was hit by very strong winds at a time when the tri was anchored in Cat Harbor and Dave was aboard. He explains what happened.

"It was in the middle of the night, and despite steady winds of 60 knots with gusts to 80, my tri and I were holding fine using a #25 Bruce and a Danforth. Although we were holding fine, the boat was sailing from one side to the other, and at 0130 it made such a violent change in direction that I was thrown out of my bunk. Still, everything seemed to be under control. But a short time later, the boat started sailing to starboard and started to lift. The next thing I knew, I was standing on the overhead, which meant the boat had flipped and surely been dismasted in the process."

According to an eyewitness, the bow of Coiner's tri apparently lifted 20 feet into the air, with the transom about eight feet in the air, before it flipped.

"All I know is that it was violent and that it happened in a heartbeat," Coiner told us. "Nonetheless, I didn't panic. It was pitch black inside the boat as I tried to work my way aft to the companionway hatch, but it was waist deep in water back there. So I went forward, and thanks to a little bit of light in the water, I was able to see the anchor hatch flopping open and shut. Before I made an attempt to escape, I went aft again to retrieve my backpack and important stuff. Then I sat on the edge of the hatch with my feet dangling in the water - which, at 59° was very cold. I calmly thought about what I had to do, which was swim out beneath the boat, staying clear of all the anchor lines and rigging from the dismasting. I knew my best chance to was to swim forward and to the side, and that I'd only get one chance. After carefully thinking things over, I slipped into the water and swam in the direction I planned. I was under for about 30 seconds, but didn't have any problem getting caught in the rigging. I then swam over to a patrol boat. It was really, really cold."

Coiner, who had previously owned a Piver 31 for seven years - "a great boat" - thinks the small Cross tri would not have flipped if it had been on the ocean and free to move as opposed to being secured to two anchors. The future of the upturned tri is uncertain, as replacing the rigging would almost equal the value of the boat. So for the time being, she remains upside down. To demonstrate how strong the wind was that night, here's what happened to a couple of mature trees just a short distance away.


Dave Coiner


Dave's trimaran


Another casualty of the high winds

Photos Latitude/Richard



Crew Wanted Immediately

May 11 - California Coast

Thanks to a couple of last minute cancellations, there are a couple of spots open to help deliver Latitude 38's 63-foot catamaran Profligate from Oxnard to Monterey and/or San Francisco this weekend. If you're interested, call Bruce immediately at (650) 814-7486. And yes, we know it's Mothers' Day on Sunday.



Photo Caption Contest

May 11 - Mill Valley

A few days ago we ran the accompanying photograph and asked for captions. We were stunned to get about 35 responses. Here are a few of them:

"Is that enough ballast, captain?" Pat Moriarty.

"Capt'n, the transporter appears to be malfunctioning." Mark.

"The BCDC was right after all, powerboats are 'Bay fill'." Peter Detwiler, but not the guy on the East Coast with the same name.

"The ship saw ground on a shore of this uncharted desert isle, with Gilligan, the skipper, too . . . " Paul Dunn.

"We're here!" Unsigned.

"So that's what happened to .38 Special (Latitude's photoboat)." Pete Caras.

"Free sandbox for the kids, you pick up." Stirling.

"Honey, I told you that we should have used the inflatable for the beach landing." Royse Ader.

"Beachfront condo for sale. Secluded and pristine location protected from further development. Fully air conditioned and running water to all rooms. Buy now . . . this one won't last." Ray Catlette.

"Dang! Didn't I tell you kids to wash your feet before you climb aboard." Jim Marsters.

"A three hour tour, a three hour tour . . . " Ryan Lodes.

"Repeat after me: I will not use the lunch hook while I go lobster diving." John Barreiro.


Photo Latitude/Richard

 

"What do you mean you want to inspect my boat for stolen rocks?" Garry Willis.

"Rockfishing charters." Nick Bruce.

"The only good powerboat . . ." Unsigned.

"Can you throw us a tow line?" Unsigned.

Never being one to shirk the duty of delegating work, the Wanderer assigned the Webmistress to pick the winner and send him or her a Latitude hat. Never one to exclude her co-workers from the decision-making process, the Webmistress took a quick poll. We enjoyed all your submissions, but liked the real estate ad from Ray Catlette the best.



The Flying French

May 11 - Cherbourg, France

In France, the public and therefore corporate supporters are crazy over the high speed racing as seen among the 60-foot trimarans in the Offshore Multihull Racing Association events. The first race of their season, the Challenge Mondial Assistance, starts tomorrow with nine tris racing from Cherbourg to the Azores to Gibraltar to Tarragona, Spain. It's expected that the fleet will finish the 2,700-mile race in just seven days or less. Unlike most OMRA events, this one is crewed as opposed to singlehanded.

With France's biggest race, the Route de Rhum from St. Malo to Guadeloupe slated for next year, all the biggest names in French sailing are moving to the 60-foot multihull circuit. Interestingly enough, England's biggest sailing star, Ellen MacArthur, will also be participating. By the end of the OMRA season, some 12 full-on campaigns are expected to be active, with a total of 15 by the start of the Route de Rhum in '02.


Photo Thierry Martinez
Courtesy
www.madforsailing.com


YOTREPS

May 11 - 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

May 11 - 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.


Top / Index of Stories / Subscriptions / Classifieds / Home

©2001 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.