Photos of the Day

August 29 - San Francisco

Winds of 30-40 knots, gusting to 50+, were not enough to stay yesterday's parade of tall ships which opened the Sail San Francisco! 2002 visit of historic sailing vessels to the City waterfront, however the gale kept some of the potential spectator boats in their berths. Local and visiting tall ships gathered in the swell and fog outside the Gate, led in by Hawaiian Chieftain, and sailed or motored down the Cityfront to the sunshine down by the Bay Bridge. For more on the event, see www.sailsanfrancisco.org. This is just a small sampling of the volumes of photography we produced yesterday; see tomorrow's 'Lectronic Latitude and the October issue of Latitude 38 for more.

A spectator boat motoring out of Sausalito heels in the wind as though she is sailing to weather.

Another view of Lynx's bow.

The Ukrainian schooner, Bat'kivshchyna (which means Fatherland), sails under the Gate.

Local charter scow schooner Gas Light appears to be leading New Zealand adventure charter schooner R. Tucker Thompson out of the fog.

Newport Gearing Up for Around Alone Start

August 29 - Newport, RI

Activities are getting under way for next week at the Newport Shipyard as the Around Alone 2002-03 event officially opens on Sunday, September 1. About half of the fleet are in port, including veteran American entrant Brad van Liew with the Open 50 Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America, Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi with Open 40 Spirit of Yukoh, Canadian Derek Hatfield and rival Open 40 Spirit of Canada, and French skipper Thierry Dubois, with Open 60 Solidaires.

American Tim Kent and crew on Open 50 Everest Horizontal arrived in Newport Tuesday night. Said Kent, "I left Charleston, SC, on my solo qualifying trip a month ago. Some truly frightening moments, many hours of light-air frustration, my 50th birthday, 20 knots of boat speed surfing down waves, and the accomplishment of a 2,450 mile solo voyage across the Atlantic have taken place between then and now. The magic wand has still not waved, so we still need your support of our program; please contact Cheri Kent."

Next to arrive was Belgian skipper, Patrick de Radiguès, who has sailed singlehanded to Newport from his home base of Arcachon, France, onboard the Open 60 Garnier. This solo trip was not only a voyage of discovery and intense training for him and his boat, but also one of qualification for the race itself. He tackled the final miles in light airs after 20 days at sea. In true European style, he said upon arrival: "I've arrived in time for lunch! "

At age 27, sole British, female skipper Emma Richards is the youngest competitor in Around Alone 2002-03. After setting off on August 2 from Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, on her qualifying passage and delivery trip across the Atlantic on board Open 60 Pindar, British skipper Richards finally pulled into Bermuda early this morning. Suffering from very light airs during the last week, Emma's progress to Newport was slowing drastically, despite clocking up 28 knots in the first week. After checking in with the harbormaster, picking up one of her shore team plus 300 liters of diesel and some groceries, she is setting off again today for Newport. "I was getting tired, and just found it hard to sleep in this weather, so the last couple of days were frustrating, but it's been a great trip. I know I said I would resist the temptation to stop in Bermuda, but it seemed the best thing to do in order to complete my qualification. I'm just going to have a slap up lunch and then set off. There's a great 15-knot wind out there, it's gorgeous weather for sailing now!"

Pindar had a taste of champagne as Emma Richards prepared to depart Cowes.
Photo John Pearson, Courtesy www.aroundalone.com

We'll have more on the Around Alone tomorrow. And see the September issue of Latitude 38, which will hit maritime newsstands starting tomorrow, for our preview of the event.

Halfway 'Round Ireland

August 29 - Galway, Ireland

The two Brits sailing around Ireland on beach cats (Shadows, designed by Yves Loday and built by Reg White) are the first to make it halfway on these type of craft - but the whimsical Irish weather has made sure that's as far as they're going this August.

Digby Fox and Tim Swinburn have sailed from Dublin, on the eastern Irish seaboard, to Galway, on the opposite Atlantic side, heading south and
clockwise, completing 530 nautical miles.

Digby trapezing in Cork Harbor. "He's too far back," says Tim.
Photo Courtesy www.harrys-hydro.org

"We're happy to get this far," says Fox, "in one piece and in good spirits. The physical and navigation challenges have been hard, but the Irish weather this August has humbled our record setting dream."

The sailors lost six days sitting out two gales and zero visibility, which,
compounded with light winds in the Irish Sea, has forced them to pull out at
Galway Bay Sailing Club.

"The 21 days available to us was always tight and relied on favorable winds, says Swinburn. "But I'm delighted to make it unscathed to Galway. It was amazing to meet so many wonderful people and to sail past such spectacular scenery."

The aim of the challenge was to make the first complete rounding in beach cats, and to raise cash to build a hydrotherapy pool in memory of Fox's son, Harry. "Sailingwise," says Fox, "we've achieved half our dream. In terms of fund-raising though, we've had a great success with the online charitable donation scheme on our Web site www.harrys-hydro.org. Thank you to the many who've chipped in, and, ahem, there's plenty of time to whip out your credit card if you haven't!" Hydrotherapy is physical therapy in a heated pool, and the pool, which will help disabled kids in the UK, is a brilliant way of passing on the joy of water
to others.

Concludes Fox, "It does kind of feel like unfinished business. I've got a horrible feeling that we'll down a couple of pints of that black Irish elixir, and decide that Galway to Dublin would be just grand."

This story comes to us by way of Scuttlebutt's European edition. Check it out at www.scuttlebutteurope.com if you're interested in the sailing scene on the other side of the Atlantic.

Ruling in Murder of Petaluma Harbormaster

August 29 - Santa Rosa

Boater James Humphrey Webb could spend the rest of his life in a state mental hospital, after being found insane but guilty when he shot and killed Petaluma harbormaster Wayne Kipp almost two years ago. The Press Democrat, Sonoma County's daily newspaper, reported today that Webb withdrew an earlier plea of innocent after being of accused of first-degree murder in the shooting at Petaluma Marina on December 22, 2000. Kipp's family agreed to the settlement negotiated by attorneys and ruled on by Judge Elliott Lee Daum. Apparently, Webb, 62, has suffered brain damage as a result of a series of strokes. Petaluma police say Webb was angry with Kipp because Webb was being evicted from the marina.

Latitude 38 Issues Ironman (or Woman) Challenge

August 29 - Mill Valley

Labor Day weekend's triumvirate of regattas has for years prompted the editors at Latitude 38 to offer the prize of fame and fortune (actually a picture in the magazine and a T-shirt) to any sailor hardy (and clever) enough to hit all three. If you sail in Friday's Windjammers Race to Santa Cruz, Saturday's Jazz Cup to Benicia and the NOOD Regatta around the buoys, drop a note to Rob. Our Racing Editor says the logistics this year may make this feat impossible - sounds like a challenge!

YOTREPS

August 29 - 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 29 - 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 is at 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/Maps/Southwest.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 views of sea states anywhere in the world, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.