Cat Confusion?

April 5 - Tenacatita Bay

"It looks as though you may have mixed up Elan and Bright Wing in Mike Miller's photos of catamarans" (April 3 'Lectronic Latitude), writes Arjan Bok of Tiger Beetle. "Looking at the bows, the third boat from the left is Bright Wing, and the boat all the way on the right is definitely Crazy Kid. I should know, as I have been admiring Bright Wing in La Paz for a couple of years. She was one slip over from Tiger Beetle until about four weeks ago."

Right you are, Arjan. Want to see catamaran development? The boat on the far left is an older Catana 42, while the third boat from the left is the more modern Catana 43. Notice the dramatic increase in freeboard and bridgedeck clearance?

The Young and the Restless

April 5 - En route to the Marquesas

"Hello from Ali," emails our friend who was formerly aboard the 26-ft Blue Dragon in Mexico. "I'm now aboard Surfer Girl, a Peterson 34, with friend Rob Jones. We're headed to the Marquesas and I thought I'd give a thumbs up for the little GSC 100 pocket satellite emailer. It works like a champ. We're seeking the trades, twin headsails set, waltzing downwind. It's 0400."

How quickly things change for the young. When last we crossed paths, Ali was the girlfriend of Christian, who carried six surfboards aboard his 26-footer in Mexico when he wasn't teaching kayaking in Sausalito. The couple split up last summer. Instead of continuing on to the Marquesas, Christian bought a Peterson quarter-tonner in Sausalito and took a winter job at Northstar. While on the mountain, he met a young woman from Europe who is a model, ski champ, and coach of the ski team - something like that. It was love at first sight, and they were married three days later! So while Christian got diverted from his journey to the Marquesas, his former girlfriend, Ali, is actually sailing to the Marquesas. We love you all!

Orange Halfway Around the Globe

April 5 - The Sailing World

Bruno Peyron and the maxi cat Orange are halfway around the world, having covered the distance in 38 days at an average of over 18 knots. Peyron and crew, despite a brutal beating in the Southern Ocean, are easily ahead of the pace to set a new Jules Verne record.

Email

To: webmaster
Subject: A real hoot
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 18:58:41 -0800

To whoever puts up the 'Lectronic every day, I couldn't resist telling you
that I got a real laugh out of a phrase used by a reader in a posting
entitled "Yelapa and Fat Thighs" on April 2.

In regard to surviving hypothermia, they said that through regular exposure to cold "... one gradually builds up permanent extracutaneous fat...." That would be fat outside the skin... yikes! I think they meant "subcutaneous". For what it's worth, but I'm still trying to get the image out of my head. Rich

SFYC Best in the U.S. - Almost!

April 5 - Southern California

San Francisco YC finished second against a tough fleet in the just-concluded 2002 United States Yacht Club Challenge, held April 2-4 at the Newport YC. Balboa YC - NHYC's longtime crosstown rival - took the three-discipline event (Catalina 37s, CFJs, and Lasers) with room to spare, winning the triple-weighted Catalina 37 racing and the CFJs, as well as fourth in Lasers. Our local heroes rallied on the last day to edge past Cal YC for a highly-respectable second place.

The SFYC squad consisted of Bill Melbostad, who skippered the Catalina 37 to fourth, and his crew Carlos Badell, Mark Dowdy, Steve Fentress, Bryan Moore, Tim Russell and Vann Wilson. The CFJ team, which came in second, was Mill Valley brothers Morgan (skipper) and Myles Gutenkunst, while the Laser rep was Jon Goldsberry, who took fifth. Congratulations and high fives all around!

The final results and team captains: 1) Balboa YC (Jack Franco), 8 points; 2) San Francisco YC (Bill Melbostad), 19; 3) California YC (Bill Petersen), 20; 4) Annapolis YC (John Torgerson), 24; 5) Bayview YC (Mike Uznis), 25; 6) Newport Harbor YC (John Drayton), 28; 7) Rochester YC (Eric Voss), 30; 8) San Diego YC (Betty Sherman), 34; 9) Houston YC (Alex Ascencios), 37.

See www.nhyc.org for full results.

Big Weekend on Tap

April 5 - Around the Bay

The weekend actually begins at 1 p.m. Friday, as the streaking Giants (3-0) take on the Padres at Pac Bell Park in their home opener. Barry Bonds, who has hit four . . . . Wait, wait - sorry, this is a sailing website.

Well, the sailing season really gets underway this weekend, too - starting with the first big beer can race tonight. The always-fun Corinthian YC Friday Night Series begins at 6:30 p.m., with the usual revelry afterwards.

On Saturday, there's something for everyone - the 49th Bullship Race for El Toros (8 a.m. off the Sausalito waterfront), BAMA's Doublehanded Farallones (8 a.m.), the J/105 Lightship Race (11 a.m., about 25 boats), the South Beach YC's Spring Forward Regatta (two races).

Events that will occur on both Saturday and Sunday are Richmond YC's Big Dinghy Regatta, a Collegiate Regatta in CFJs on the Cityfront, and SFYC's Resin Regatta, which will see 9 or 10 classes duke it out on two different race courses near the Berkeley Circle.

Check back next week for pictures, results and maybe even some good war stories. Have a great weekend!

YOTREPS

April 5 - 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

April 5 - 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/. The National Weather Service site for San Francisco Bay has moved to www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/.

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.