August 5, 2002

By Grzegorz | August 5, 2002

Photo of the Day

August 5 – Pacific Ocean

Today’s Photo of the Day is of Jonathan
Livingston as seen on the way to winning 3rd overall with the
Wylie 38 Naughty Hotty in the recently completed West
Marine Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii. Given his outfit,
some might think ‘Bird’ – as he is known – is an Imperial Wizard
of the Ku Klux Klan. There is a more satisfactory explanation.
He’s actually wearing a salon hatch wind scoop that was given
to him and his bride-to-be, Suzie Grubler, by Warwick ‘Commodore’
Tompkins. Crossing the Pacific, Bird realized that he needed
sun protection more than he did breeze in the main cabin, thus
the KKK look.

Photo Brian Larky

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

August 5 – Honolulu

The Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in Honolulu could
and should be the greatest marina in the Pacific. But it’s one
of the worst. It has not only been falling apart for 20 years,
it’s stone cold ugly, thanks in a large part to the lack of vegetation.
Over the years, some berth holders have tried to improve on the
marina look by surrounding their berth with plants, such as those
seen in these photos, taken two years ago. When we returned this
year, however, all the plants were gone, leaving the Ala Wai
looking more than ever like a parking lot in Cleveland. Where,
we wondered, have all the flowers gone?

Photos Latitude 38/Richard

Aldo Alessio Regatta

August 2-4 – San Francisco Bay

St. Francis Yacht Club’s inaugural Aldo
Alessio Perpetual Trophy Regatta this past weekend was, by all
accounts, a smash hit. Fifty-six of the best boats on the Bay
sailed in the sunny and moderately windy (15-20 knots) four-race
smorgasbord, which consisted of two buoy races on Friday, a splendid
race to the Lightship on Saturday, and a Bay Tour on Sunday.

The ‘Aldo’ also kicked off the all-new San Francisco Bay Series,
a five-regatta circuit which also includes the upcoming Summer
Keelboat Regatta (Aug. 17-18), the Quickboat Series (Aug. 25-26),
the NOOD (Aug.31-Sept. 1), and the Big Boat Series (Sept. 12-15).

Top finishers follow. Check www.stfyc.com
for photos and full results.

FARR 40 – 1) Crocodile Rock, Alex
Geremia/Scott Harris/Robbie Haines, 9 points; 2) Samba Pa
Ti, John Kilroy/John Kostecki, 16; 3) Shadow, Peter
Stoneberg/Mark Reynolds, 19; 4) Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas/Ross
MacDonald, 19; 5) Non Sequitor, Dick Watts/Tom Thayer/Steve
Benjamin, 22; 6) Peregrine, David Thomson/Brian Camet,
24; 7) Endurance, Mike Condon/Seadon Wijsen, 30. (14 boats)

J/120 – 1) Mr. Magoo, Steve Madeira, 5 points; 2) Chance,
Barry Lewis, 8; 3) Twist, Timo Bruck, 18. (7 boats)

EXPRESS 37 – 1) Eclipse, Mark Dowdy, 5 points; 2) Golden
Moon, Kame Richards, 9; 3) Expeditious, Bartz Schneider,
11. (6 boats)

J/105 – 1) Blackhawk, Dean Dietrich, 14 points; 2) Good
Timin’, Wilson/Perkins, 14; 3) Nantucket Sleighride,
Peter Wagner, 14; 4) Tiburon, Steve Stroub, 16; 5) Wind
Dance, Steve Pugh, 17; 6) Bella Rosa, Dave Tambellini,
30; 7) Orion, Gary Kneeland, 32; 8) Zuni Bear, Bergmann/Bennett,
36; 9) Jose Cuervo, Sam Hock, 36; 10) Advantage 3,
Pat Benedict, 42. (22 boats)

AMERICAP – 1) Zsa Zsa, 1D-35, Bill Wright, 8 points; 2)
Kaizen, 1D-35, Steve Howe, 11; 3) Wasabi, Farr
ILC-46, Dale Williams, 12. (7 boats)

Svendsen’s Summer Splash

August 3 – Encinal Yacht Club, Alameda

Here’s a report from Troy Keipper, Director of Youth Sailing
at Encinal Yacht Club:

“Saturday saw very pleasant conditions with temperatures
in the low 70s and a great 8 knot westerly building to about
15 for the final race. A total of nine races were completed with
one throw out. All sailors enjoyed some great chili afterwards
by the pool. Thanks to the Millers and Gascons for acting as
cooks for the day!

“Our CFJ Fleet displayed some very
talented match racing for our viewingpleasure, but the family
battle for first place in the Opti Fleet was even more enjoyable
to watch. Michael Grove (about 60 lbs!) toughed out the last
race in 15+ knots to edge his older sister Lindsay by one point!

“A very special thanks goes out to
our sponsor, Svendsen’s Boat Works, for providing terrific prizes
for all the junior sailors.”

Results:
Optimist Class: Michael Grove, Lindsay Grove, Jesse Hogin, Hanna
Miller, Kyle Salo, Stephanie Gascon, Joe Ross.

Splash/Byte Class: Max Paulus, Aaron Dornbrand-Lo,
Clair Blakey, Colin Brochard, Dan Roberts, Nathan Monroe-Yavnely,
AlexanderGuidici.

CFJ Class: Megan Grove/Mary Glaser,
Will Kendrick/Thomas Brook.

Photos Courtesy EYC Youth

Baja Ha-Ha VIII Revisited

August 5 – Cruising World, August
2002

Check out the current issue of Cruising
World for “Passage Notes: The Race That Launched A Thousand
Trips”, pg. 21. It’s a nice little article by Mark Joiner
of Ku’uipo about his and his wife, Sandi’s, experience
of last year’s Baja Ha-Ha Rally.

Profligate
on Voyage of Discovery

August 5 – Two Harbors, Catalina Island

The Wanderer, the normal editor of ‘Lectronic Latitude,
is on a Voyage of Discovery in Southern California with Profligate.
He had hoped to be in constant contact via a cell phone-based
Internet connection. Alas, the phone carrier decided it was not
quite ready for prime time yet. Perhaps next week.

So far, the Wanderer has lost a two-week-old folding prop – the
third in the last year(!!!); been visited by world famous, if
you’re old enough to remember, Aynsley Dunbar, who is now selling
yachts in Santa Barbara; competed in the Santa Barbara to King
Harbor (Redondo Beach) Race; and cruised from Redondo to Two
Harbors, Catalina. Other than having lost the prop, the Wanderer
reports that he’s been having a blast, particularly during the
King Harbor Race and the sweet reach from Redondo Beach to Catalina
in 18 knots of wind.

It’s now Monday morning; the sun is out in Two Harbors and the
Wanderer is off on more discoveries.

YOTREPS

August 5 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace

Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? Check out YOTREPS –
‘yacht reports’ – at http://www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/

Weather Updates

August 5 – Pacific Ocean

San Francisco Bay Weather

To see what the winds are like on the Bay
and just outside the Gate right now, check out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.
The National Weather Service site for San Francisco Bay is at
www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/.

California Coast Weather

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.

Pacific Sea State

Check out the Pacific Ocean sea states
at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.

For views of sea states anywhere in the world,
see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.

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