Photo of the Day

June 20 - Mexico

Today's Photo of the Day is of Singlehanded TransPac vet Stephan Mann having a little - too much? - fun aboard his Wylie 39 Tawodi. Having just upgraded to a 500-Ton Open Ocean Coast Guard License and completed his annual cruise - 3,000 miles - to Mexico, Mann has compiled some advice on the best way to sail back from Mexico. It will be published in the August - not July - Latitude 38. In the accompanying photo he appears to be demonstrating the famous 'one hand for yourself and one for the boat' safety dictum. This is for licensed professionals only.

The Bird Has Taken Flight

June 18 - Mid-Pacific

Speaking of Wylie 39s, Jonathan 'Dirty Bird' Livingston of Richmond and his bride Susie Grubler of Lahaina have finally taken off on their trip to the South Pacific aboard Punk Dolphin. Having left Maui a few days ago on their way to French Polynesia, here's their report: "It took a while, but we're finally at sea! We are at 152 W and about 10 N after getting the shit beat out of us getting here. We found the Doldrums, and know that this is where the Squall Lord lives for sure. The Doldrums appear to be quite large this year - according to our friends at the weather service they are 700 miles long, or 'The Mother of all Doldrums'. I hope my engine keeps on chugging, because we all would need numerous shock therapy sessions to break us all out of Doldrum depression. Here's what it takes to sail in the Doldrums: 1) A Diesel. 2) A very low I.Q. 3) A sailboat. 4) A radar - so you can sit on your lazy ass and pretend you are on watch in the rain. 5) At least 10 books."

The Early Ha-Ha Entries Get the Berths in Cabo

June 20 - Tiburon

Ha-Ha Honchette Lauren Spindler reports that the first seven paid-up entries have been received for this fall's Ha-Ha X. The order the entries are received is important, because that's the order boats are assigned slips at the Cabo Isle Marina. On the last Ha-Ha leg to Cabo, it seems as though half the fleet begs the Poobah to skate them to the front of the line so they can get a berth. The Poobah doesn't do it because everybody is equal and everybody had an equal chance to sign up first. Besides, most times being anchored out is better than being in the noisy and smelly marina. In any event, here are the first five entries in the 10th Annual Baja Ha-Ha:

1) Scarlett O'Hara / Serendipity 43 /
John & Renee Prentice / San Diego
2) Tête de Cuvée / Island Packet 35 /
Bruce Emmons / Santa Rosa
3) Beach Music / Tayana 52 /
Kirby & Pam Coryell / Lafayette
4) Tumbleweed / Passport 40 /
David & Mollie Spaulding / Sausalito
5) Maverick / Valiant 47 /
Donald Naples & Janet Thorp / Healdsburg
6) Dream Seeker / Beneteau Oceanis 41 /
Tom Lilienthal / El Cerrito
7) Concerto / Valiant 40 /
Eric & Rhonda Ingleman / Manhattan Beach

#1 on the list: John and Renee Prentice at Santa Rosalia
Photo Courtesy Scarlett O'Hara

Sausalito Cup Starts Today

June 20 - San Francisco Bay

A last reminder, the America's Cup fleet will be racing on the Bay this afternoon as well as twice on Saturday and Sunday. It's going to be interesting on Saturday, because both they and the ODCA boats plan on using Yellow Bluff as a weather mark. Check it out. The boats will be anchored off the Sausalito YC.

YOTREPS

June 20 - 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 20 - Pacific Ocean

San Francisco Bay Weather

Check out this guide to San Francisco Bay Navigational Aids: http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/sfports.html.

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.