June 6, 2003

Photos of the Day: The Med on Their Minds

June 6 – Alicante, Spain

The Mark and David Bernard families of
Northern California report they are back in the Med aboard their
Catana 58 cat Aurora – where they started from about a
year ago. In fact, they sent us an email from Alicante, Spain,
just as they were to leave for Barcelona. Today’s Photos of the
Day are of their adventures.

Two of the daughters – sorry we don’t know their names – as they
pulled into beautiful Horta in the Azores.

In Cascais, Portugal, near Lisbon

Get Up Close and Personal with IACC Boats
this Weekend at Treasure Island

June 6 – Treasure Island

“If you’re not sailing both days this
weekend, be sure to visit the Open House at the Sailing Center
at Treasure Island this weekend,” reports Jan Pehrson. “You’ll
be able to get up close and personal with beautiful modern era
America’s Cup yachts that were built for the oldest and most
prestigious sports trophy in the world.

“These yachts will compete in four
regattas this summer, promising fabulous spectator viewing from
many points on San Francisco Bay. The regatta dates will be:
June 20-22, July 25-27, Sept. 6-13 and Oct. 11-18.

“Open House hours are from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. both days. Getting there is easy, just get on the Bay
Bridge going in either direction, take the Treasure Island turnoff,
and follow the signs. For more info, check out www.iaccsf.com.”

Delta Dawdling

June 6 – Sacramento Delta

As evidenced by this vintage 1932 photo,
folks have been enjoying ‘Delta dawdling’ for generations. And
if you’ve been among them, we’d very much appreciate your editorial
input. As we mentioned in ‘Lectronic Latitude last week, we are
not Delta experts, despite the fact that we’ve been writing about
it for years. So, for our
July issue, we’d like to invite Delta aficionados to share their
expertise by sending in photos and short write-ups (300 words
max) on their favorite Delta attractions, be they anchorages,
marinas, restaurants, watering holes
or secluded waterways.

We’d also love to hear your favorite Delta
anecdotes (500 words max), especially the humorous ones, i.e.:
the time Grandma went water-skiing, your most embarrassing grounding,
skinny-dipping by moonlight, the big fish that got away, whatever.
. . Send submissions by email to Andy
or by snail mail ASAP to: Andy Turpin, Latitude 38, 15 Locust
Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941

Correction, No Anchoring Allowed in Clipper
Cove

June 6 – Treasure Island

There’s been a lot of confusion – including
on our part – whether it’s legal to anchor a boat at Treasure
Island’s Clipper Cove, and for how long. We just got the official
word from Amy Jo Wileman of BRAC, who wants to set the record
straight. In friendly but no uncertain terms, she informed us
that Clipper Cove is, under the Code of Federal Regulations,
restricted waters. As such, under CFR 334.1070, “No person
and no vessel or other craft, except vessels owned and operated
by the U.S. Government, or vessels duly authorized by the Commanding
Officer, Naval Station, Treasure Island, shall enter the restricted
area.”

That means you can’t legally anchor your
boat there for a month, a week, a day, or even a few hours. At
least until the property is conveyed to the City of San Francisco,
which won’t happen until January at the earliest.

While the CFR may prohibit anchoring in
Clipper Cove, the reality is that mariners have been doing it
for years, and nobody seems to have been kicking them out, so
we’ll let you take it from there. Beware, however, that the water
has gotten quite shallow on the bridge side of the cove.

All the anchored boats in this photo are in restricted waters.
The law that prevents them from being there has been enforced
about as often as the speed limit on highways.
Photo Latitude/Richard

Now We Get the Picture

June 6 – Los Coronados Islands, Baja California

Remember our
report of the ‘intruder’ who boarded Dwain and Nancy Lentz’s
Tempe-based Hunter 340 Dancy last weekend at South Coronado
Island in Mexico, and had to be lured away with a steak? Here’s
what he looked like.

Photo Courtesy Dancy

Need Fine Accommodations for Your Crew
in San Francisco for Less than $100?

June 6 – San Francisco

The Grand Poobah recommends the historic
San Remo Hotel, just a couple of quiet blocks from Fisherman’s
Wharf, Pier 39, and the cable cars.

This fine old hotel was built just after
the ’06 earthquake, and features a bar that came around the Horn
and a ’47 woodie out front.

A pension-style hotel, it’s long been a
favorite with European visitors, and would be perfect crew accommodations
during the Big Boat Series or other events.

See www.sanremohotel.com for details, and tell
them the Poobah sent you!

YOTREPS

June 6 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace

Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht
tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.

Weather Updates

June 6 – 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.