Today’s Photos of the Day are of some nasty
business. What’s the last thing you’d expect during the last
few hours of a 21-day, 2,940-mile Atlantic crossing, particularly
when sailing downwind in light air? How about the boat sinking
from under you? Well, that’s just about what happened to Tony
Johnson and Terry Shrode aboard the former’s Richmond-based Ericson
39 Maverick. With water almost coming over the floorboards
in the middle of the night, the duo dug around and discovered
10 mysterious “fountains” of water pouring into the
boat. Despite efforts to stem the tide, the water kept coming
in at an ever faster pace. The duo were lucky enough to make
it to a boatyard in Carriacou. When the boat was hauled, this
large crack on both sides of the hull was discovered, accounting
for the curious ingress of water. How the crack got there remains
a mystery. Fortunately, the boat is insured. For full details,
see the January issue of Latitude
38, which will be distributed beginning December 30.
Photos Courtesy Maverick
Oracle BMW Whomps OneWorld to Gain Vuitton
Finals
December 23 – Auckland, NZ
A come-from-behind victory yesterday gave
Larry Ellison’s Oracle BMW Racing team a 4-0 victory over Seattle’s
OneWorld, launching the Golden Gate YC-based team into the Louis
Vuitton Finals.
One last look at OneWorld Photo Franck Socha/Louis Vuitton Cup
Eleven teams started the Louis Vuitton
Challenge, and now only the top-rated Swiss team Alinghi and
Oracle BMW are left. The first race of the Finals, to see who
will face off against Team New Zealand, will be on January 11.
Alinghi has had a decided edge over Oracle BMW so far, winning
the most recent match-up 4-0, so they will be favored. If Oracle
BMW loses, it certainly won’t be because of Ellison being unwilling
to cough up the money for the latest in tech equipment. OneWorld
and some other syndicates are saying that Oracle BMW has been
using military radar that is so effective it can read information
– perhaps the opposing tactician’s mind – on opposing boats.
The Oracle BMW afterguard is also equipped with sunglasses that
have ‘heads-up’ display units similar to those used on the helmets
of fighter pilots. For more, check out the January issue of Latitude 38.
This is the second America’s Cup in a row
that a Northern California team has made it into the Louis Vuitton
Finals. Last time it was Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne for the St.
Francis, which lost by one race to Prada. Let’s hope this time
homies have better luck against the Swiss.
Ellison to Sell One of His Motoryachts
December 23 – Auckland, NZ and Northern
California
Katana,
Larry Ellison’s 235-ft motoryacht with 22 crew that is his home
in Auckland, is for sale for a reported $65 million. Could it
be true, as some suggested a few months ago, that Ellison, like
a lot of other tech people – specifically OneWorld’s Craig McCaw
– is feeling the financial pinch? No, it can’t be true. Ellison
is selling Katana because he’s already got the 192-ft Ronin, which he often keeps in Sausalito, and because
he’s taking delivery of a new motoryacht. The talk in the industry
is that his new one, which will be his first new, will be 400
feet long.
Ellison is not
the only Northern California tech guy who is soon to take delivery
of a huge new yacht. According to reports, Tom Perkins of Belvedere
will be the owner of Maltese Falcon, the 286-footer that
Perini Navi is finishing. When done, she’ll be the largest private
sailing yacht in the world. At least until Jim Clark, formerly
of Netscape and the Peninsula, takes delivery of Athena,
his 292-ft clipper ship – which will be the largest clipper ship
in history. It’s good to know that some people came out of the
tech downturn with more than a whopping tax obligation.
Maltese Falcon
Graphic Courtesy Ken Freivokh Design
It’s the Jules Verne Season
December 23 – France
Olivier de Kersauson has his maxi 120-ft
trimaran Geronimo poised to take off around the world
in hopes he can recapture the Jules Verne record he set with
a smaller tri. Sometime this winter, Ellen MacArthur, Queen of
the Oceans, will be setting off after the sail record in Kingfisher
II, her maxi-catamaran. We wish them both swift and safe
passages.
YOTREPS
December 23 – 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.
