November 4, 2002

Photos of the Day

November 4 – Turtle Bay, Baja California

Greetings from Mexico! The Baja Ha-Ha Rally
Committee sent us a passel of photos from Turtle Bay.

Banjo Andy sends the following report on
the layover con Las Tortugas: “Hi there. Up most
of the night, so no whole sentences. Fleet is now at sea, nearing
the end of leg two between Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria.
Fine time in T Bay, excellent sunny weather. As always enjoyed
the warm hospitality of townspeople. Big party at the Vera Cruz
restaurant, dancing in the disco and music jam. The Ha-Ha band
this year includes bagpiper, sax [sic?] guitars and banjo.
Ideal downwind sailing yesterday 11/03 with moderate winds and
seas.”

The Grand Poobah checked in by sat phone
this morning to report that they are now about 70 miles away
from Bahia Santa Maria. Although it’s not cold, they could wish
for more sun.

Store’s open

Leg 2

Round Robin Two Complete

November 4 – Auckland, NZ

The Oracle BMW Racing crew gave skipper
Chris Dickson a fantastic birthday present on Sunday, winning
both races, and leapfrogging up the leaderboard to finish Round
Robin Two in second place.

The Louis Vuitton Cup now moves to the
Quarter-Final stage of the regatta. Alinghi, the leader of the
four boat ‘double-chance’ group had the honor of choosing its
opponent from the other three. They’ve decided to race the defending
champions, Prada Challenge, in the Quarter-Finals, which means
Oracle BMW Racing will line up against OneWorld Challenge when
racing resumes on Tuesday, November 12.

In the lower tier of competitors, the ‘single-chance’
group, the fifth placed Swedish Victory Challenge decided to
take on the French Le Défi team. That leaves GBR Challenge
to race Team Dennis Conner, Mascalzone Latino having been eliminated
in Round Robin Two. The losing teams from this pair of matches
will be eliminated from further competition, while the winners
face the losers from the top group. There is a wide point spread
between the top group and the bottom group, with the top group
very close to each other in overall points.

For more, see www.louisvuittoncup.yahoo.com.

Alinghi, leader of the pack

Mid-pack Wight Lightning racing Aréva,
which
just squeaked through to the next round.
Photos Bob Grieser/Louis Vuitton Cup

Current rankings are:

1. Alinghi Swiss Challenge, with 13 points
2. Oracle BMW Racing, 12 points
3. OneWorld Challenge, 12 points
4. Prada Challenge, 11 points
5. Victory Challenge, 7 points
6. GBR Challenge, 7 points
7. Team Dennis Conner, 6 points
8. Le Défi Aréva, 2 points
9. Mascalzone Latino Challenge, 1 point

Midwinter Season Off to a Bright Beginning

November 4 – San Francisco Bay

A weekend of warm, sunny weather, light
winds and strong current marked the beginning of the midwinter
season in the Bay Area.

Christina Joyce had the following report
from Golden Gate Yacht Club: “72 boats waited somewhat patiently
for the first gun during a 70 minute delay of GGYC’s
32nd Annual Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta. The wind filled
in nicely around 12:30 (at least for a while) from NNW at 11
knots. With some welcome volunteer input from SFYC’s Matt Jones,
the race committee sent the first two starts (under 64 PHRF and
the J/105s) on a 9.4 hike to Blackaller, Harding and back again
then to Ft. Mason and finish. The remaining six starts were on
a shorter 5.5 mile course to Blackaller to Harding to Ft. Mason
to finish. The last two divisions were slow to start due to the
strong ebb and less wind. Steve Wonner’s Wyliecat 30 Uno,
last year’s overall winner, started the season out with another
bullet.

“Club manager, Bill Chow, laid out
a great spread!” We agree: Free continental breakfast at
the clubhouse before the racing and free ‘Seaweed Soup’ after
the race. Indeed, Saturday’s ‘Seaweed Soup’ consisted of two
soups, paella, various salads, breads, cheeses, crackers, chips
and guac – and Halloween candy.

J/105s, Catalina 34s, Knarrs and Folkboats
fielded one design classes this year, and PHRF boats had five
divisions. Last year’s J/120 and Farr 40 fleets have not returned.
For complete race results, see www.ggyc.org/race_deck/racedeck.html.

YOTREPS

November 4 – 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

November 4 – 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/.