Photos of the Day

January 21 - Thailand

Today's Photos of the Day are from Tony Johnson and Terry Shrode of the Richmond-based Ericson 32 Maverick. The duo are in the middle of a circumnavigation, and have just posted these photos of themselves and their current stomping grounds, Thailand. Actually, the one photo of them and their boat - the one with the 'Marina del Rey racing stripes' - was taken here in the Bay Area. We included it to demonstrate that people who sometimes look silly on the water can still make it around the world.

For more info and photos, visit www.ussmaverick.net.

Photos Courtesy Maverick

Key West Race Week - Almost Off to Great Start

January 21 - Key West, FL

After Osama Yo Mama and 9/11, entries for the Terra Nova Trading/Yachting Key West Race Week dropped to zero. This was a big deal, as the previous year this biggest international racing event of the winter had attracted a record 326 entries. To demonstrate how far things have been 'normalized' in the world, 324 entries - just one short of the record - in 18 classes today answered the gun to start the regatta. Well, almost. As Latitude Racing Editor Rob Moore just reported from on the water, fleets on three of the four courses are four hours into a postponement because of light winds. Better winds are expected for later in the week. Key West is not San Francisco Bay, for you can never tell if there will be wind, and if there is wind, there's no telling in which direction it will blow. Of the 18 one design fleets racing, the biggest is the Melges with an astounding 78 entries. It's also their Worlds. Other one design classes are Farr 40, with 25 boats; J/105, 28; J/80, 22; Mumm 30, 20; J/29, 17; 1D35, 15; and, making their Key West debut, 13 F-28R trimarans.

YOTREPS

January 21 - 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 21 - 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.