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November 12, 2007

Good Timin’ Stolen

Well-known J/105 Good Timin’ was stolen this weekend.

latitude/JR
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

We’ve heard many stories of boats being stolen, but to take one of the top racing boats of the Bay creates some seriously bad karma for the thief. The J/105 Good Timin’, owned by Chris Perkins, was stolen this weekend from its slip in the San Francisco Marina between the St. Francis YC and Golden Gate YC.

Perkins’ Good Timin’ team is well-known in the racing world for having recently won this year’s Big Boat Series as well as three other BBS wins since 2002. Chris is also a champion Knarr sailor also winning this year’s International Knarr Championship.

"Whoever took the boat spent the time to untie all the dock lines and take the shore power cord," said Perkins. He guesses that they motored somewhere Saturday night and are hiding out. If anyone spots the boat please call the SF Police at (415) 553-0123.

NEWSFLASH! Just as we were uploading this edition of ‘Lectronic Latitude, we got a call from Chris Perkins reporting that the Coast Guard received a Mayday from "Dan" on Good Timin’ requesting assistance as the boat was disabled off Pigeon Point, about 50 miles south of the Bay. The Coasties quickly called Perkins to make sure he didn’t loan the boat to a friend because this guy "seemed legit." Perkins said in no uncertain terms that he wants this "Dan" character arrested as soon as they land. We’ll have a full report in the December issue of Latitude.

Thieves made off with TYC’s 4,000-lb prop and 250-lb bell.

Tiburon YC
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Perkins wasn’t the only victim of theft this weekend. Tiburon YC reports that a 10-ft bronze propeller, weighing almost 4,000 lbs, and a large bronze bell engraved with "USCG 1912" were stolen Friday morning, along with a large amount of wiring and metal from the renovation site of Paradise Cay Yacht Harbor. Both items have probably been melted down by now but TYC is offering a reward for information leading to the recovery of the items or the arrest of the thieves. Contact Matthew at (415) 883-6339 or the local police with any info.

Baja Ha-Ha 14 Wraps Up

Thanks for the memories – the Ha-Ha fleet group hug in Cabo.

latitude/JR
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

The 14th annual Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas officially ended Sunday evening with the big awards party. In addition to the top placers in each of 14 divisions, those recognized included the Best Boat Bite (injuries), Top Woman Skipper, Master Baiter (biggest/most fish), and the only ‘serious’ award of the event, the Steven Swenson Spirit of the Ha-Ha award. Lyman and Terry Potts of the Oregon-based Royal Passport 43 San Clés won the latter. Not only did they sail the entire 750 miles, but after finishing, they turned around and went back out — far out — to tow in a competitor whose engine had been disabled. The Spirit of the Ha-Ha award honors the participant who goes above and beyond the call to help others. It was renamed for Steven Swenson, who won it in the 2004 Ha-Ha and perished in a tragic diving accident the following year.

San Clés Lyman and Terri Potts (left), with crew Mary and Joel Thornton, hold the Spirit of the Ha-Ha Award.

latitude/JR
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

After the final tallies, 154 boats and 601 people participated in the 14th edition of the Ha-Ha, which features stops in Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria on the way. There were of course many similarities to past events — potluck parties ashore, the Pussers Rum tasting, and a night of celebration at Cabo’s infamous Squid Roe — but many notable differences made this one unique. For example, Ha-Ha XIV was one of the top three in terms of great sailing breeze, and many boats completed one, two, or all three legs under sail, earning ‘soul sailor’ green T-shirts for their efforts. (Generous motoring allowances have always been allowed.) Also, as mentioned in a previous ‘Lectronic Latitude, 72 Ha-Ha’ers were marooned ashore after the party in Bahia Santa Maria when a big southerly swell ‘closed out’ the beach. Among the best quotes of the event was one from Mark Acosta of Wahoo, who observed, “I never thought there was any danger until I saw the panga guys wearing lifejackets.”

Pre-teen kids from a dozen different boats had the time of their lives during the Ha-Ha.

latitude/Richard
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

In addition, there was a runaway dinghy which ejected its two occupants and frolicked at near full throttle through the surf by itself before being corralled by other dinghies; another dinghy lost, found and recovered miles offshore; one person overboard — and quickly recovered; numerous acts of kindness and chivalry; expertise and volunteers to fix everything from alternators to watermakers; lots of new friendships forged between cruisers; and — we hope — good memories to last a lifetime.

Boat bites – If you’ve got the bruise anyway, why not decorate it with a Ha-Ha (temporary) tattoo?

latitude/JR
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Look for coverage of the hilarious “From Here to Eternity” competition in Wednesday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude, and the complete story of Baja Ha-Ha 14 in the December issue of Latitude 38.

More on the Spill

Someone braved the oil yesterday: Del Olsen took his new International Canoe on her maiden voyage near the Richmond YC yesterday.

Richmond YC
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

It seems most boaters stayed off the water this weekend — some by choice, some because their marinas were boomed off — which undoubtedly helped oil recovery efforts. When boats pass through patches of coagulated bunker oil, they break up the more easily recovered big tarballs into millions of tiny tarballs, making full recovery nearly impossible. The Coast Guard’s latest report claims 12,271 of the 58,000 gallons of spilled gunk have been collected and more than 4,000 gallons have evaporated.

A quick swipe in our boomed-off slip with an Oilsorb rag collected a gooey film and a big tarball.

latitude/LaDonna
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Meanwhile, the feds have stepped in. This weekend, the National Transportation Safety Board took over the investigation of the Cosco Busan‘s impact with the Bay Bridge and resulting oil spill, and are considering criminal charges. Very little information has been made public but click this link to watch the AIS track of the ship when it hit the bridge.

Though nearly 200 birds have been found dead – and more are expected – hundreds were seen feeding in Schoomaker Point Marina’s lagoon this morning.

latitude/LaDonna
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Though we still can’t recommend taking your boat out, park officials have reopened Angel Island to the public, including the docks and mooring buoys (the beaches are still closed). For a full list of beach closures, go to http://www.uscgsanfrancisco.com/go/doc/823/182034/.

Channel Check for Mexico Cruisers

As the enormous Baja Ha-Ha disperses for points north, east and south, the primary means of keeping in touch with newly made friends is via cruiser nets. Unfortunately, the frequencies and net times of some of the most poplulat nets have changed lately. So make note of the following, which is the latest info to cross our desks here at Latitude 38.

Marine SSB Nets:

  • Southbound Net 0030 UTC; 6224 USB (ICOM chl 92)
  • Amigo Net 1400 UTC; 8122 / 8116 USB (ICOM chl 105)

Ham Nets:

  • Sonrisa Net 1500 UTC; 3968 LSB
  • Chubasco Net 1500 UTC; 7294 LSB (ICOM chl 149)
  • Baja Net 1600 UTC; 7238 LSB (ICOM chl 141)
  • Manana Net 1900 UTC; 14340 USB; (ICOM chl 156)
  • Pacific Seafarers Net 1900 UTC; 14300 USB; ICOM chl 151)

(Ham Hounds – please shoot us an email if any of this info is incorrect!)

Bertarelli – He’s Everywhere!

Among the many huge yachts taking up dockspace in Cabo San Lucas was Ernesto Bertarelli’s 155-ft Feadship motoryacht Vava. For those of you who don’t know, Bertarelli is the Swiss billionaire whose Alinghi syndicate won its second America’s Cup in a row last summer. Closer to home, he is also a renowned multihull sailor on Lake Geneva. And he visited San Francisco just a month ago to talk about plans for the next America’s Cup. It just seems like the guy is everywhere.

Yachtspotters – Ernesto Bertarelli’s Vava was docked in Cabo when the Ha-Ha fleet arrived.

Vava
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Vava was his ‘mothership’ for both the Valencia and New Zealand Cup wars, and the Challenger of Record deals for both America’s Cup 2007 (Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle, based out of the Golden Gate YC) and 2009 (Spain’s controversial ‘paper’ yacht club) were signed aboard.

Bertarelli was reportedly in Baja to participate in one of the larger billfish tournaments held annually out of Cabo.

Monohulls, multihulls, fishing, making money . . . all in all, Bertarelli is a man of many talents.

When the supercargo is away, the crew will play. We can’t be sure, but it’s believed that Dave Cort, (third from left), Commodore of the Los Angeles YC, was behind the dance party that broke out on Profligate the afternoon spent in Bahia Santa Maria.
Moving forward as if there was no lawsuit pending, America’s Cup Management announced yesterday that the 33rd America’s Cup will start July 18, 2009 in Valencia, Spain.
Glenn Tieman on his bitching 38-ft cat Manu Rere. latitude/Richard
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC It was our pleasure to cross paths with Glenn Tieman of the homebuilt 38-ft cat Manu Rere while in Turtle Bay.