'Lectronic Index

Previous 'Lectronic Edition

Photo of the Day

July 21 - Duxbury Reef

Young Charlie Perkins took a day off from racing Knarrs to go fishing out at Duxbury Reef last weekend. Having had to deal with his first bout of seasickness and then reel in the catch of the day, young Charlie was tuckered out by the time they got back to the dock. Nonetheless, he's the star of our Photo of the Day.

Photo Chris Perkins

Silver Eagle Race

July 21 - San Francisco Bay

Last weekend was Island YC's Silver Eagle Long Distance in the Bay race, which took the fleet from the Cityfront, to the San Francisco Airport, almost to Vallejo, and back. The weather was great, with terrific wind to start, and the usual holes under the Bay Bridge and down by Candlestick. First to finish the 67-mile course was Brendan Busch with the Inter 20 Catamaran Team Lexis Nexis, who crossed the finish line at 6:21 p.m. Busch is a vet of the Worrell 1000, and says that, "This race was as tough as the 1000."

Corrected time honors went to Pat Benedict's J/105 Advantage 3.

A disappointing four boats sailed in the 41-mile Eaglet, for slower boats. It was won by the J/24 Phantom. More boats should put this race on their schedule for next year.

Jitterbug leads another J/105 up the San Francisco shore.

Finally escaping the wind hole near Candlestick.
Photos Latitude/Richard

Yacht Club Abuse?

July 21 - Half Moon Bay

The following was posted on www.craigslist.org and one can only wonder what it's about:

"To any and all ex and current members of the Half Moon Bay YC, who have left due to mistreatment, or are contemplating leaving due to mistreatment, please respond with the intent of providing details to this spokesman in the interest of a class action lawsuit which is being prepared by several ex-members for the purpose of rectifying and vindicating unfair and improper behavior at the HMBYC. Punitive damages are being sought in the cause of fraud, misrepresentation, loss of consortium, and breach of agreement by the HMBYC towards members who have joined under the outlined tenets and bylaws of the club as described on their Web site."

Big Cat Coming Along in New Zealand

July 21 - New Zealand

"I'm just back from New Zealand," reports Don Engel of the East Bay, who along with his business partner is having a Derek Kelsall 70-ft catamaran built. "It's a tough trip to New Zealand, as there's so much flying and too little time there. But the boat is coming along very well."

Photo Don Engel

It's interesting to see how they are building this cat, doing the interior of the hulls before putting on the outside of the hull. We've never seen anything like it before.

Dr. Laura Goes High Tech

July 21 - Los Angeles

Thanks to reading Forespar's newsletter, we've learned that 'Dr. Laura' Schlessinger, famous advice giver on radio, has ordered a carbon fiber mast for her J/105.

Some people might not think of Dr. Laura as the sailing type, but she's one tough cookie. We were surfing the radio one day and heard a young woman say, "Dr. Laura, my husband's sort of a slob and I'm just not interested in having sex with him anymore. What should I do?"

What she shouldn't have done was call Dr. Laura, who unloaded with both barrels: "Look honey, you agreed to marry him, and with that comes responsibilities. One of them is sex. You may not want to do the dishes all the time, but it's just something you've got to do. It's the same with sex. You may not want to have sex with your husband, but you married him, so you have to service him." Ouch!

Aussies Win the Admiral's Cup

July 21 - Cowes, UK

The Australian team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney have been declared winners of the 2003 Admiral's Cup in Cowes, England. They barely nipped the Spanish team from Real Club Nautico de Sangenjo, which had led going into the final race.

Once the greatest international offshore event in the world, the Admiral's Cup fell on such hard times that the last one was canceled. Only time will tell if it's on its way back. No American team competed this time. For details, visit www.rorc.org.

Kids on the Ha-Ha

July 21 - Tiburon

"We've entered this fall's Baja Ha-Ha and will be taking our 10-year-old daughter with us," write Rick Huls and Marsha McCarthy of Magic Places. "We were wondering if there are any other children in the fleet, and if the boats with kids want to contact each other. We're so looking forward to our first Ha-Ha, as it will be a great educational experience for us and our daughter. We can be contacted via email or sailmail.

By the way, Ha-Ha Honcho Lauren Spindler reports they have sent out 150 entry packs and already received 49 paid entries. It appears to be shaping up to be a good Ha-Ha year - and the additional dock space in Cabo, as reported on in Friday's 'Lectronic - won't hurt at all.

YOTREPS

July 21 - 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

July 21 - 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.