January 16, 2002

Photo of the Day

January 16 – Florida

Today’s Photo of the Day is for everyone who is freezing their
buns off here in the ‘temperate climes’. The shot is of one of
Devon Mullin’s crew sailing aboard his Shannon 38 Points Beyond
from Florida to Cuba. Devon and his wife and new baby live in
Southern California; their boat is in Florida.

Photo Devon Mullin

Unfortunate Name for a Nautical Author

January 16 – New York, NY

Yesterday we received a review copy of a book called The Great
Ships from Walker & Company in New York. As you can see
from the photo of the cover, the author is clearly identified
as Patrick O’Brien. What an unfortunate name, because it’s practically
the same as that of the late Patrick O’Brian, who wrote the wildly
successful Aubrey/Maturin historical novels. Although The
Great Ships book is for children, you can’t help but suspect
the author or the publishing company might be trading on the
name of the more popular author.

Update on Zihua Sail Fest

January 16 – Zihuatanejo

Jimmie Zinn aboard Dry Martini in Z-town has the latest
on the first Z-Fest to take place in less than two weeks:

Thursday, January 31 – The charity sail/race
with Profligate and Capricorn Cat. Room for 20
people on each boat who are willing to donate $20 each to benefit
the local Indian school, a very worthwhile cause. We might get
other boats to handle the overflow. The alternative activity
on Thursday will be a beach volleyball tournament.

Friday, Feb. 1 – Afternoon dinghy raft-up
and general water party surrounding Profligate. This will
include blindfolded dinghy rowing races, other water sports,
and a potluck dinner. Profligate will be anchored near
Playa Las Gatas, where the water is clear and clean.

Saturday, Feb. 2 – Sail parade and daysail
on a loose course through Zihua Bay, up past Ixtapa to Isla Grande,
and back in time to anchor before sundown. This will be followed
by a wrap up party with 10 peso beer, burgers and dogs
included in the sign up fee.

El Capitan de Puerto has been included
in the planning, so we have no problem there. He has even agreed
to lead the parade on Saturday. Elsa at Marina Ixtapa is going
to participate on her boat, and there will be some other local
boats, too.

What’s This Funny Stuff?

January 16 –
St. Barts

When we finally awoke in St. Barts on January 1, we strolled
over to a bar to order a hair of the dog. We can’t remember if
we paid in French francs or U.S. dollars, but this was the change
they gave us. We thought we were being stiffed – but then we
remembered that most of the countries in the European Union were
switching to the Euro. While the Euro will bring simplicity and
save money for travelers, it’s certainly not as good looking
as the franc.

YOTREPS

January 16 – 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

January 16 – 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 www.nws.mbay.net/home.html.

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.