Today’s beautiful Photo of the Day comes
from Stanton Morris, the skipper of Flying Scot, #3640
in Tomales Bay, who writes:
“I don’t know what you consider ‘active
racing’ to be, but the four International 110s in this photo
seem active to me. The photo was taken on Tomales Bay last summer
where 110s have been actively racing for at least the last nine
summers that I have been sailing there. I anticipate they will
be actively racing on Tomales Bay again this summer.”
Photo Stanton Morris
Light Weight or Waterline in Pacific Cup?
June 3 – Pt. Richmond
It’s time to get your bets in for who will be first-to-finish
in next month’s West Marine Pacific Cup from San Francisco to
Hawaii. We’ve been operating on the assumption that it will be
Bob Miller’s Hong Kong-based Briand 146 ketch Mari-Cha III,
which until last year held the TransAtlantic record. Here’s a
couple of shots of the lovely beast. Notice the size of the rod
rigging and the tack for the jib. One of the interesting things
is that 15 tons of gorgeous English ‘men’s club’ interior were
removed to get the boat ready for racing – which is why you see
one of the crewmembers standing in what looks like an empty salon.
Since we didn’t have an adequate wide angle lens, you don’t get
a true idea of how wide the salon is – nearly 30 feet. During
the race, 14 of the 25 crew will be bunked here. Despite being
so huge, Mari-Cha is surprisingly light on her feet. She
was built by Sensation Yachts of New Zealand – after the first
hull had to be disposed of because of lamination problems.
Anyway, while we were at KKMI Boat Yard, honchos Paul Kaplan
and Ken Keefe both bet us a quarter that Bob McNeil’s brand new
R/P 86 Zephyrus will be first to Hawaii. Zephyrus
is the dark hulled boat that is heeled over at the dock – thanks
to the water ballast tanks being full on her starboard side.
Those who favor Zephyrus figure that Mari-Cha III
will use her long waterline to sprint to an early lead in the
normal heavy-air reaching, but when it gets to the running, particularly
if in light air near the end, Zephyrus will use her incredible
power-to-weight ratio to overtake the bigger boat. We favor Mari-Cha,
because we think most people don’t appreciate how fast she is
in even light to moderate winds. In any event, it’s going to
be fun to follow the daily position reports.
Zephyrus
Photos/Latitude Richard
Mari Cha III
Bahia Del Sol
June 3 – El Salvador
Cruisers who got fed up with bureaucratic hassles in Mexico can’t
believe the hospitality they’re getting at Bahia Del Sol in El
Salvador. The only thing nicer than the government officials
are the resort’s staff. You can read about it in this month’s
– and next month’s – Latitude
38.
Photo Doug and Lisa of Mamouna
Ellen MacArthur to Get Maxi Cat Kingfisher in October
June 3 – England
Young Brit heroine Ellen MacArthur will set off this winter aboard
110-ft maxi cat Kingfisher 2 in pursuit of the Jules Verne
Around the World record of 64 days recently set by Bruno Peyron
with Orange (ex-Innovations Explorer). MacArthur
and 10 crew will be sailing the renamed Orange, but won’t
take possession of her until October. The maxi cat is featured
on the cover of the June Latitude 38. It’s going to be an exciting winter, as Tracy
Edwards will have a women’s team doing the Jules Verne with Maiden
(ex-Club Med), a virtual sistership.
Photo/Gilles Martin-Raget
YOTREPS
June 3 – 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/
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.
