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Photos of the Day

June 20 - Papeete, French Polynesia


Moana,
dwarfed by the sheer cliffs of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas

Today's Photos of the Day come from Sam and Sally Peterson of the Hemet-based DownEast 32 Moana, who were the youngest skipper and first mate - 30 and 32 respectively - in last year's 145-boat Ha-Ha. They were thrilled to learn that of all the boatowners in that event, they had paid the least for their boat - just $15,000. They did, however, put about $15,000 more into her, and did a lot of work themselves.


The adventure starts: Moana sailing past the Coronado Islands at the start of last year's Ha-Ha.

"It's amazing to us how little money - compared to others out here - that we had to spend. And having been on many other boats, we can honestly say that ours is one of the most comfortable and warm boats we've seen. Our point to other younger and less affluent folks is that you don't have to buy a new boat or be rich to be able to cruise."


Sam and Sally during the Zihua SailFest pursuit race last February


Sally on the bow approaching what looks like Papeete. The couple are currently Med-tied to the quay.
Photos Courtesy Moana


Santa Barbara or Bust

June 20 - Pacific Ocean


The 1D-35 Sensation (far left) won the first start; unfortunately it wasn't their start and they had to start again 10 minutes later. White Fang (far right) is circling the pin to have another go after getting barged out.


Restarting in their proper Sportboat division, Sensation dwarfs the rest of the class.

Encinal YC's 13th annual Coastal Cup was unfortunately a bit of a bust this year. A small fleet - about 30 boats - departed from StFYC at noon on Saturday, headed 277 miles south to Santa Barbara. The forecast called for pain - the light air kind, not the 30-40 knot survival conditions of the last few years.


Three Cal 40s were using the Coastal Cup as a tune-up for the TransPac. Sally Honey's Illusion sailed with all women.
Starting Photos Latitude/Rob

Phone calls to EYC and SBYC this morning yielded only answering machines, and there isn't even an entry list at www.encinal.org, let alone position reports or results. Apparently everyone either dropped out or is still sailing, though Beecom, the big Japanese R/P 72, must have finished by now.

We did talk with one skipper in the race - Bill Riess of the Express 37 Elan - who dropped out Sunday morning after logging just 45 miles. Riess thought at least 10 boats dropped out yesterday, all stuck in a vast parking lot somewhere off Santa Cruz. We'll have more about the Coastal Cup on Wednesday, maybe.


Bill Riess, at sunrise on Sunday, manages a smile despite being becalmed.


Also aboard Elan, John Kernot appears to be searching for a ripple on the flat water.
Photos Courtesy Elan


Just Another Shitty Day in Summer Sailing Paradise

June 20 - San Francisco Bay

If we get many more fog-free summer sailing days like yesterday, we don't know how any Northern Californian can be against global warming. Here's some of the neat things we saw:


One of the new Lagoon 44 catamarans reaching back and forth at the base of Hurricane Gulch in Sausalito. What's interesting about this boat is that it's got three decks, the top one being a bench-like upper helm station. We expect these things are going to sell like hotcakes, particularly in the Caribbean. Alas, we were never close enough to get the cat's name or hailing port.


Philippe Kahn's spanking new TransPac 52 Pegasus - just rushed to completion on the East Coast - slipped into the San Francisco Marina. She should be one of the top boats in next month's TransPac.


An F-24 - we think - on a quick reach off Yellow Bluff.



Ted Reed, who has always wanted to get into 'Lectronic, waving from his Sausalito-based Irwin 52. Reed loves going out in his boat.
Photos Latitude/Richard


Baja Ha-Ha Preview at Two Harbors, Catalina, August 13

June 20 - Two Harbors

Ha-Ha Honcho Lauren Spindler reports that the Ha-Ha has rented the Bandstand Area of Two Harbors on Catalina on the afternoon and evening of Saturday, August 13, for a Baja Ha-Ha Preview.


The Bandstand Area is just in from the pier.

The Grand Poobah - who will be there with Doña de Mallorca and Profligate - are kicking around what the event should be like. First of all, it should be free. If you want a mooring, of course, that's on your nickel. While it's primarily for folks doing the Ha-Ha this year, nobody has to be signed up or anything. That said, we figure everyone can start mingling from about noon on. At about 2 p.m. we'll have a presentation on the Ha-Ha itself - how the roll call works, what the two stops are like - as well as a talk about cruising Mexico in general - what's the deal with the new cruising regulations, where are the best places to cruise, etc. About 6 p.m. we'll start a big pot-luck. There is a huge grill and lots of picnic tables. When it's dark enough, we'll have a slide presentation with some great shots from previous Ha-Has. Once that's all over, everyone can migrate over to the live music and dancing.


Heck yes, we can have a big bonfire.
Photos Latitude/Richard

It sounds like great fun to us, as we love Two Harbors and we love meeting new Ha-Ha folks. And yes, we know a lot of you Ha-Ha folks will still be in Northern California and won't be able to attend. Maybe we'll have a Northern California preview next summer.


The Evolution of the New Domestic Clearing Regulations in Mexico

June 20 - Mexico City, Mexico

As most people know, the bad old domestic clearing regulations for Mexico - which required a trip to port captain, immigration, bank, and port captain - are out. Now you only have to 'inform' the port captain or his honorary delegate at a marina. Typically, the Mexican government hasn't been clear about what's required to clear. Here's the range of what we've found.

Nuevo Vallarta - The port captain is requiring that arriving or departing mariners fill out the same old clearing form. But there is no charge and no ship's agent is required. We're told it takes about five minutes. However, it means you are restricted to the port captain's office hours. The port captain has not allowed any honorary delegates.

Mazatlan - Antonio Cevallas at Marina Mazatlan has been appointed an honorary delegate for the port captain. Everyone is required to fill out a very small form. There is no fee and no ship's agent required.

San Carlos - Marina San Carlos is an honorary delegate, and you can check out three ways: 1. By filling out a small form in the office; 2. If after office hours, by filling out one of the forms they've put outside the office; and 3. By calling the office over VHF and giving basic information about boat and crew.
Obviously the third is the one we like the best.

Tere Grossman will be going to Mexico City early next month to try to get the requirements consistent from port to port. Since she'll be speaking with the major players on this matter, please let us know if you've had any problems with port captains, and if so, the nature of those problems.


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