'Lectronic Index

Previous 'Lectronic Edition

An Unusually Warm Master Mariners on Saturday

May 31 - San Francisco Bay

The schooners Teré, Volunteer, and the San Diego-based Dauntless engage in a great battle to windward on the way from Little Harding to Blackaller.

It was rather unusual Master Mariners weather last Saturday, as the fleet of 65 classic boats experienced mostly inconsistent winds that were often light, even in the Central Bay. At the Southampton leeward mark to the east of Angel Island, the wind temporarily died completely for much of the fleet. While no elapsed time records were set, it was unusually warm and sunny, and a great time was had by all. Started way back in 1867, and revived in 1965, the Master Mariners Regatta is the oldest on the Bay - and probably the West Coast.

Dee Dee Lozier's Stroma of Mey ploughs through a tug wake on her way back to weather behind Angel Island.

Results - 65 boats started (16 were DNF) in 10 divisions.
Birds - 1) Robin, Pat and Cissy Kirane; 2) Curlew, Jim Josephs (4 boats)
Big Schooners - 1) Seaward, Alan Olson; 2) Gas Light, Billy Martinelli (3 boats)
Gaff 1 - 1) Brigadoon, Terry Klaus; 2) Yankee, John McNeil (5 boats)
Gaff 2 - 1) Dutch, Dick and Frances Dugdale; 2) Pearl, Nick Haynes (9 boats)
Marconi 1 - 1) Santana, Paul Kaplan; 2) Bolero, Tim Murison (11 boats)
Marconi 2 - 1) Sunda, Ian Rogers; 2) Nautigal, Jeff Stokes (14 boats)
L-36 - 1) Leda II, David James; 2) Papoose, Allan Edwards (4 boats)
Marconi 3 - 1) Flotsam, Brad Clerk; 2) Vixen, Steve Kibler (5 boats)
Bears - 1) Trigger, Alice Merrill; 2) Bongo, Jill Lutz (5 boats)
Ocean - 1) Odyssey, Audrey Steele Burnand; 2) Ouessant, Gene Buck (5 boats)

Audrey Steele Burnand's lovely yawl Odyssey, flying a rarely seen mizzen spinnaker, turned in one of the best performances of the day to win the Baruna Trophy and the Ocean Racing Class.

This human barber-hauler on Steve Kibler's Vixen helped her to a second place finish in class.

Terry Klaus sailed his schooner on the course less traveled to claim first in the Gaff 1 division.

Curlew, Bird Boat #2, finished second in class by about 90 seconds.

Santana, Paul and Chris Kaplan's famous schooner, reaches for more power after rounding Southampton. Humphrey Bogart's old boat won her class and turned in one of the best performances of the day.
Photos Latitude/JR

Lots of cameras were busy clicking away over the weekend, and we haven't finished organizing the hundreds of resulting images, but we plan to have more shots from Master Mariners and some from the Spinnaker Cup on Friday. Also see the July issue of Latitude 38 for more!

And You Thought the Volvo 70s Were Wild Boats

May 31 - Portsmouth, UK

Check out these photos of the Volvo 40 catamarans, which were raced last weekend off Portsmouth, England, during the lay days before the start of the next leg of the Volvo. The extreme cats were designed to entertain, and that's just what they did in the 15-25 knots of wind.

In photo #1, everything looks hunky-dory, with the extreme cats rocketing along under control.

In photo #2, Tommy Hilfiger, the cat in front, seems to be having just a wee bit of a stability problem, with Olympian Randy Smyth at the helm.

Photo #3 shows what happens when an extreme cat like Tommy, which had been leading the race at the time, digs a bow - she cartwheels and starts 'raining' crewmembers. The crowd on hand loved that kind of action.

And at the Other End of the Sailing Spectrum . . .

May 31 - Istanbul, Turkey

. . . Belvedere's Tom Perkins reports that his soon-to-be-christened 287-ft yacht Maltese Falcon left the dock in Istanbul under her own power for the first time. "After some minor fuel filter problems, we did our speed runs. The specification was 18 knots, and we were delighted to achieve nearly 20 (19.6) knots. The wave-making was minimal, no vibration of any kind, and the wake smooth and non-turbulent. At full power, the noise from the air-conditioning in the aft cabins was louder than the sound from the two 1,800hp Deutz engines. At full power, they turn at only 1,800 rpm. The yard and the naval architects are more than pleased, as am I."

Photo Courtesy Tom Perkins

Perkins reports they'll be conducting the first sailing trials with the unique rig as soon as there is some decent wind around Istanbul. He adds that the two Porta-Potties, visible on the aft deck, are not a permanent feature of the boat.

Mexican Hurricane Season Starts with Aleta

May 31 - Eastern Pacific Ocean

Tropical Storm Aleta formed a little to the west of the border of Guatemala and Mexico - where so many Eastern Pacific hurricanes form - and blew up to 40 knots, but is now dissipating as she moves west toward the open ocean. The Mexican hurricane season, which doesn't officially start until tomorrow, is expected to be less active than normal.

The Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which doesn't start until July, is supposed to be more active than normal. We don't know about the rest of you, but we put no credence whatsoever in the hurricane season predictions for two reasons: 1) It only takes one hurricane to make a mess of your boat and life, and 2) Hurricane forecasting has been notoriously unreliable.