Today’s Photos of the Day is from Sail
Expo at Jack London Square in Oakland. Despite a relatively beat-up
economy – particularly in Northern California – exhibitors are
pretty upbeat about attendance and boat sales after the first
two days. What kind of people are buying boats these days? Aging
baby boomers, among others, who are saying, “If I don’t
get started cruising to Mexico or the South Pacific pretty soon,
I never will.” The show continues through Sunday at 5 p.m.
For more info, see the April issue of Latitude
38 or go to www.sailamerica.com.
Folks interested in doing the Baja Ha-Ha
are invited to stop by Area B at 4:30 this afternoon, as the
Grand Poobah will give a slide show and talk about the past and
upcoming Ha-Has. Done a Ha-Ha before, stop by and pick up a ‘Ha-Ha
vet’ button, free to the first 1,000. After the seminar, there
will be a gathering at Latitude’s booth, #319 in Tent
A. We hope to see you there.
Photos Latitude/Rob
Sad and Ironic News on Gary Jobson
April 25 – Annapolis, MD
In a terrible,
ironic twist, Gary Jobson, who has been Chairman of the Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society’s Regatta Series for the past 11 years,
has just been diagnosed with lymphoma and will be receiving chemotherapy
for the next six to eight months. Jobson has been the familiar
face and voice of sailing in North America for all his television
work on the America’s Cup, Whitbread, and other sailing events.
He was also Ted Turner’s navigator during their victorious America’s
Cup campaign. Jobson is a good guy – he recently spoke at the
Tiburon YC – and we wish him a swift and full recovery.
Fun Photo
April 25 – Mallorca, Spain
While thumbing through a massive stack
of unfiled photos last night, we came across this dramatic shot
taken from Latitude’s old boat, Big O, during a
trip to the Med in the mid-’90s. The shot is of a couple of the
gal crewmembers – if you look really close you can see they are
topless – exploring caves on the north side of Mallorca in Spain’s
Balearic Islands. The Med may not have the greatest sailing conditions
in the world, but it’s got great culture, tremendous natural
scenery, and stunning variety. Every sailor ought to try to spend
at least one full summer there.
Photo Latitude/Richard
It Would Have to Happen Just a Few Miles
from Home
April 25 – Atlantic Ocean
Just days from finishing the Around Alone
singlehanded race, Italian skipper Simone Bianchetti of Tiscali has had to go to the top of his 80-ft mast no less than 11
times in 48 hours to repair a sail track coming off above the
third spreader. “My body is shattered – I spent over four
hours up the mast at one time. But I haven’t slept for 24 hours
as I need to push the boat even harder.”
Simone Bianchetti aboard Tiscali
Photo James Robinson Taylor Courtesy Around Alone
Keeping the Whales Away
April 25 – Trinity Bay, Canada
In recent issues of Scuttlebutt, Cam Lewis – best known for his
adventures with the maxi-cat Team Adventure – has been
talking about the worries they had about colliding with whales
while sailing in excess of 30 knots. In today’s ‘butt, John Diggins
reports that Dr. Peter Beamish of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland,
developed a whale warning acoustical system some years ago. “The
Canadian Fisheries Department commissioned sonar buoys to attach
to nets to protect the whales from becoming entangled in the
fishing nets. Dr. Beamish also developed an album of whale calls,
which he has used to call whales to his boat or to chase them
away.” If this sounds interesting to you, visit Ceta Research
at www3.nf.sympatico.ca/beamish.
Three small whales thinking about
ramming a Ha-Ha boat last year Photo John Pettitt
Eye Candy from the Caribbean
April 25 – Antigua
Victoria of Strathern plows through the seas off
Antigua during the Antigua Classic Regatta. Photo Tim Wright
YOTREPS
April 25 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace
Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht
tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.
Looking for current as well as recent wind
and sea readings from 17 buoys and stations between Pt. Arena
and the Mexican border? Here’s the place – which has further
links to weather buoys and stations all over the U.S.: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.shtml.
Pacific Winds and Pressure
The University of Hawaii Dept. of Meteorology
page posts a daily map of the NE Pacific Ocean barometric
pressure and winds.
