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February 3, 2023

West Coast Sailor Captures Container Ship Fire Drama

West Coast sailor and renowned photographer Louis Kruk awoke from an overnight stay in Panama last Monday when he happened to witness the drama of a container ship fire. The Maritime Executive reported the 11,000 TEU* Cape Kortia reported a fire in its engine room while maneuvering toward the PSA Puerto Panama International Terminal, at Balboa.

Cape-Kortia fire
Commuters crossing the Puente de las Americas (Bridge of the Americas, seen above) reported thick smoke blowing across the bridge.
© 2023 Louis Kruk

“It is generally very peaceful, quiet, packed full of views, with ships ghosting to and from the Canal, just a lovely place to stay,” Louis wrote of his accommodations at the Radisson Panama Canal. “This morning, while getting ready for breakfast, which preceded my 1100 Air Panama flight to my boat in Bocas, I stepped out onto my deck, and, WOW, I thought, this is not the typical scene.”

fire on ship
Smoke billows from Cape Kortia’s funnel.
© 2023 Louis Kruk

“The ship did have at least two tugs in attendance,” Louis continued. “Trust me, none of the other ships passing to or from look like they are on fire. None of the other ships are frantically, repeatedly sounding their horn with FIVE blasts.”

Cape Kortia w/sailboats in foreground
The boats in the foreground are on moorings at the Balboa Yacht Club. “Many yachts stage there prior to transiting the Canal,” Louis wrote.
© 2023 Louis Kruk

According to Newsroom Panama, firefighters from the Clayton, Balboa, and Plaza Amador stations assisted in extinguishing the fire, which they say occurred in the ship’s engine room. Also in attendance were Panama Canal Authority tugboats.

The Cape Kortia, which hails from Malta, was arriving in Panama after a trip from ports in South America including its last call in Callao, Peru. No injuries were recorded, though there are unconfirmed reports of the container ship’s having a minor collision with a bulk carrier during the incident.

Louis spent the night in Panama to await a connecting flight and captured the images with “…a relatively primitive, ancient DSLR Nikon D90 with an 18-200 DX lens.” Though he no doubt used an upgraded model for his entry in the 2022 Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image contest and exhibition.

Louis rejoined his own boat, s/y Cirque, on Tuesday afternoon. You can see more of his photography work here.

*TEU — 20-ft equivalent unit — is a measure of volume in units of 20-ft-long containers.

Daniela Moroz Wins Fourth Yachtswoman of the Year Award

US Sailing presented their annual awards at their Sailing Leadership Forum yesterday in St. Pete Beach, in Florida’s Tampa Bay area. Ravi Parent and Daniela Moroz received the 2022 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards. 

Daniela Moroz and Ravi Parent
Daniela Moroz won her fourth Rolex watch, and Ravi Parent his first.
© 2023 Lexi Pline / US Sailing

Bay Area Kiteboarder Daniela Moroz Celebrates ’22 and Turning 22 

In 2022, Daniela Moroz won gold at the Princesa Sofia Olympic Regatta and captured her sixth Kite Foil World Championship title. Moroz also placed first at the French Olympic Week Regatta, held at the 2024 Olympic venue in Marseille. 

“I turn 22 today, and I keep thinking how unreal my day has been,” said Moroz after winning her award. “I went out on the water, got to race, spend the evening with my parents, and now this. It couldn’t have gone any better.” 

Raised in Lafayette in the East Bay, Moroz competed in her first international event at age 14, winning her first World Championship at 15. Since then, she has won six world championships and four European championships. Moroz is currently campaigning for the 2024 Olympic Games, where the Formula Kite will make its Olympic debut. She’s a member of St. Francis Yacht Club.

This is the fourth time Moroz has won this award. Her first win, as a 16-year-old in 2016, made her the youngest athlete ever to claim the prize. She was also the first kiteboarder to receive this award. The current award makes two in a row, as Daniela was also the 2021 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

As near as we can tell from scanning the list of past winners, Daniela ties with Anna Tunnicliffe for the most awards. Tunnicliffe won four consecutive times, in 2008-2011. (See the full list, going back to 1961, here.)

Listen to our Good Jibes podcast with Daniela here

Multihull Sailor Ravi Parent 2022 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year

In 2022, Ravi Parent became the first sailor to win the A Class Worlds, F18 European Championships, and F18 World Championship in the same year. He also won the A Cat Midwinters Championship and the A Class division at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Series. 

Parent first sailed multihulls at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. At age 14 he joined the Sarasota Youth Multihull Team. From that first introduction to the F18, Parent went on to compete in two Youth World Championships, complete a degree in mechanical engineering at Boston University, and campaign for the Olympics in the Nacra 17.

Ravi is a design engineer at Morrelli & Melvin in Newport Beach, and he races under the burgee of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach) as well as the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.

Mark Ivey of Sausalito Wins Kevin Burnham Memorial Award

The Kevin Burnham Memorial Award is presented to a sailor who embodies the spirit of the late Olympic silver and gold medalist Kevin Burnham: passion, persistence, perseverance, sportsmanship on and off the water, and love of the sport and love of his or her competitors. This year’s winner is Mark Ivey.

Mark Ivey with award
Sailing coach Mark Ivey of Sausalito.
© 2023 Lexi Pline / US Sailing

His nomination read: “Mark is both an outstanding sailor and a fantastic person. Just like Kevin. He’s applied his skill and enthusiasm into coaching as well as sailing in a super impressive way. I know Kevin was a mentor to Mark, and I certainly have witnessed Mark accomplishing the highest heights (including both his own awards and coaching sailors to Olympic gold) while, like Kevin, bringing enthusiasm and sportsmanship to the table. Mark’s list of regatta wins as a competitor, and as a coach, is too long to mention.”  Mark has been a multi-time all-American college champ, a keelboat champ and a world- and Olympic-champ coach. “The fact that he’s everyone’s favorite person to lose to says a lot about his approach to the sport, to say nothing of his sailing skills. Just like Kevin.”

Larry Ledgerwood of Walnut Creek Receives Timothea Larr Trophy

In 2015, Larry Ledgerwood stepped into the role of Training Committee Chair, replacing current US Sailing Board President Rich Jepsen. As chair, Ledgerwood brought continuity, the ability to create consensus, objectivity with the benefit of history, and a fresh perspective. His ascension to chair coincided with a structural and philosophical shift in US Sailing’s education department.

Larry Ledgerwood with Rich Jepsen and Marie Rogers
Left to right: US Sailing President Rich Jepsen of Alameda, Larry Ledgerwood of Walnut Creek, and US Sailing Board Vice President Marie Rogers of Los Angeles.
© 2023 Lexi Pline / US Sailing

With Ledgerwood’s help, the structure of the Training Committee was adjusted, ensuring representation from each discipline. This included bringing in representatives from Safety at Sea and Race Administration.  

He also worked together with the education department staff to push the organization into the digital age by taking a lead role in the creation of Teaching and Coaching Fundamentals Online. This was key when the pandemic hit — it allowed US Sailing to meet the demand for online learning.

For more award winners, see www.ussailing.org/news/winners-announced-for-the-2022-us-sailing-association-awards.

Join the Naos Yachts Grand Opening In Point Richmond

Naos Yachts is expanding — We have a new office in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Join us on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for our Grand Opening in San Francisco Bay at the Maritime Centre, 530 West Cutting Blvd., Point Richmond.

Flares, Paint and Oil — Which One Does Not Belong?

A couple of weekends ago we changed the oil in our boat, and in a time-honored tradition, we poured the old oil into the local storm drain. Not! We actually dropped it off at an auto parts store that takes waste oil for recycling. Easy.

We also have a bunch of leftover paint from recent work on our house. Luckily we received a notice in the mail about recycling surplus paint. No problem.

So now you know the one that doesn’t belong. Disposing of flares is your almost impossible-to-solve problem. A hurdle so high it surely tempts many to dispose of them in ways they shouldn’t.

Paint Recycling
You can drop waste paint off at designated paint stores because PaintCare has the problem solved for you.
© 2023 Latitude 38 Media LLC / John

In our current February issue, writer Tim Henry sheds a little more light on the vexing problem of disposing of your required yet expired marine flares. Why flare manufacturers are allowed to keep dumping this responsibility on the end user remains a mystery. It’s a story we’ve written about for decades with little sign of progress. There are some dedicated people who have made some progress on flare disposal, but so far, disposing of waste paint and oil is light years ahead.

Does it have to be this hard?

Movie Nights Return to Spaulding Marine Center

Hallelujah! Movie nights are back on in Sausalito at the Spaulding Marine Center! How long has it been? Too long! But the wait is over, and next week, on Friday, February 10, the popcorn machine fires up, the doors open, and everyone (up to 100 of us) is welcomed to the theater of the ages — the iconic “middle of the house” theater at the wooden boat den on Gate 5 Road.

The first movie for the year is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Yes, we imagine you’ve all seen it, but have you seen it in such style? And as Tim Henry wrote after a show in 2018, “…movies are best seen with an audience and as part of a collective.” The collective is, of course, sailors, most of whom are, at heart, pirates.

Spaulding Movie Night - Feb 2023 - ad

The Curse of the Black Pearl is the first in the Pirates of the Caribbean series and, we hope, only the first of the series that will be screened at Spaulding in the near future. The film stands alongside other great sailing films such as Master and Commander, Captain Blood, and Captains Courageous, each of which has had the honor of being screened among the frames and segments of wooden boats, old and new.

And, the best part… it’s free!

So put it on your calendar now, because there will be only 100 seats on a first come first seated basis.

Where: Spaulding Marine Center — 600 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito, CA 94965
When: Friday, February 10, 2023
Time: Doors open at 6:30 screening at 7:00 p.m.

Parking: No parking in Clipper lot — please see link to permitted parking areas.

If you’re wondering what it’s like to watch a move at Spaulding, check out our review of the screening of Captains Courageous.

Sailors' Stories
Hans is a world champion sailor who has raced 29ers, 49ers, the International Moth, and hydrofoiling F50s. He competes for the US Sailing Team, is the starting flight controller for the US SailGP Team, and is literally a rocket scientist.
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From life-changing moments to love affairs to racing, and everything in between, we bring you the February issue, packed full of salty goodness.