I Paid How Much per Hour for This Work?
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Former Northern Californian Dick Drechsler took his Catalina 470 Last Resort to a Southern California boatyard to have a bunch of work done. When the yard was done, Dick took this photo. It’s evidence, he says, that you should never let a boatyard work on your boat when you’re not around.
Coasties Rescue Two from Passing Wind II
The two crew aboard the 38-ft sailboat Passing Wind II were rescued by the Coast Guard yesterday after they were dismasted about 40 miles off Pt. San Pedro. The Coasties received an EPIRB alert around 10:15 a.m. and immediately dispatched a helo and plane. They spotted the disabled boat being tossed around in 10-12-ft seas around 1:20 p.m. The two crewmembers then jumped into the water and were hoisted to the helo with the aid of a rescue swimmer. They were treated at an area hospital for mild hypothermia. No word on the fate of Passing Wind II.
While we’re thrilled the crew were rescued safely, we’re frankly a little stumped as to why they went out yesterday at all. For days NOAA forecasts had warned of a gale that would pass through the area on Thursday — with predicted 40-knot winds. We’re not sure what the winds were doing where they were, but the small craft advisory that is still in effect suggests it wasn’t pretty. We can’t stress enough the importance of listening carefully to weather forecasts and planning your voyages accordingly.
Ha-Ha Update
From the Grand Poobah himself, here is some important info relating to the Ha-Ha:
1) Offshore flow is returning to SoCal and the air quality is much better. In any event, the conditions on the waterfront are nowhere nearly as bad as they were in 2003. "You can even see the stars at night," announced Mr. Poobah.
2) Take note of the massive amounts of kelp off Pt. Loma. The Poobah, sailing down from Newport, got caught in the kelp and both of Profligate‘s engines overheated and shut down. It’s recommended to keep some distance between your boat and Pt. Loma to avoid getting kelpified.
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC
3) The weather forecast for this weekend keeps getting better and better. For Sunday’s Kick-Off Party, it’s expected to be mostly sunny, maybe some fog in the morning with highs in the 70s to 80s. For the start of the Ha-Ha on Monday, it’s also expected to be sunny and possibly even a bit warmer.
Pindar Open 60 Dismasted
Brian Thompson’s Pindar 60 was dismasted in mild conditions last night on its way to La Havre, France, for the start of the doublehanded Transat Jacques Vabré. The race, which starts in just eight days, runs non-stop from France to Brazil. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident but, with so little time to make repairs, Thompson was forced to withdraw.
Sponsor Pindar will still have some representation in the Vabré with their Pindar 40 boasting an all-female crew. Keep tabs on the race at http://www.jacques-vabre.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php.
Net Times to Note
If you’re heading south to the sunny latitudes of Mexico and are new to the cruising life you may not be aware of the cruiser nets that keep sailors updated on weather, local events and other topical news.
In San Diego, the local cruisers’ net is run by Downwind Marine on VHF Channel 68, daily 8:30-8:45 a.m.
The popular Sonrisa Net is found on SSB 3968 LSB at 7:00 a.m. daily.
The Chubasco Net has recently changed to SSB frequency 7288 LSB. The warm-up is at 7:45 a.m. daily, and at 8:10 a.m. you’ll hear a weather report for all of Western Mexico.