February 6, 2001

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Photo of the Day

February 6 – SoCal

Fastest boat in California? Bill Gibbs of Southern California was a beach cat sailor in the mid-’80s, but then needed to devote all his time to his family and business. In early ’98, he says he woke up and realized that his kids were grown and his business could carry him, so he went and bought a 40-ft Crowther cat for day sailing and ocean races in Southern California – and maybe cruising. After owning the boat a while, he remembered that his wife doesn’t like to sail, so he mostly raced the boat. “My ‘Sonrisa’ was as slow as a mono under 10 knots, slower than a mono under six knots, and has never beat an F-31,” says Gibbs. “So I started looking for a used racing cat with credentials – and ORCA compatibility, which requires accommodations. I found ‘Afterburner’, a 52-foot long and 30-foot wide cat described as “the fastest boat in New Zealand,” and after seeing the boat in New Zealand with my wife, bought her. It sounds easy, but shipping the boat back home and reassembling her raised the price by 50%. Simply put, the boat gets scary really quick. But it’s a fun scary, if you know what I mean. She’ll sail much faster than we will at the moment. We had winds up to maybe 12 knots last Saturday off Ventura and we were spinnaker reaching at 20 knots. There’s not a lot of room for mistakes, so we’re taking it slow.” ‘Latitude 38’ readers know that we’re routinely skeptical of a lot of speed claims. But when Gibbs says that ‘Afterburner’ was doing 20 knots in 12 knots of wind, we don’t doubt him for a second. So if you’re doing the Ensenada Race, you may want to keep an eye out for the new hot rod on the California coast.

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Pineapple Cup

February 6 – Lauderdale to Jamaica

After leading most of the ‘Mobay Race’, Roy Disney and his
Los Angeles-based R/P 75 ‘Pyewacket’ have had to drop out. With
the wind having gone dead, Roy apparently had an obligation to
be at a theme park opening. Our Racing Editor Rob Moore reports
from Spliffsville:

“Pfffffffff (sound of no wind). Zzzzzzzz (excitement factor).
This is really getting ugly. No finishers in sight (9:45 local
time). ‘Pyewacket’ has dropped out and is limping into Ochos Rios
60 miles or so away from here. Roy has to be at some kind of Disney
theme park opening tomorrow. Big letdown, as they were leading
from the get-go. Jim Dolan’s ‘Sagamore’ should finish first now,
but when?”

So ‘Windward Passage’s record from 1971 still stands, perhaps
the longest standing record of any relatively important race.
For the gory details, as they become available, visit www.montegobayrace.com.

Midwinters at Richmond Yacht Club February 6 – Richmond Andy Turpin was over at the Richmond Yacht Club Midwinters on Sunday, and this is some of what he captured with his camera:

Mystery Cruising Spot February 6 – ??? If you don’t know where this is, tune in tomorrow.

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The Race Update

February 6 – Southern Ocean

Not much happened in the last 24 hours other than that ‘Innovation
Explorer’ pulled a little closer to ‘Club Med’. The first two
boats only have about four more days in the Southern Ocean if
all goes well.

1. Club Med / dtf 9,581.6 miles to finish.
2. Innovation Explorer / dtl 595.6 miles
3. Team Adventure / dtl 4,660.5 miles
4. Warta Polpharma / dtl 5,346.3 miles
5. Team Legato / dtl 6,383.3 miles

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Vendée Globe
Update

February 6 – Atlantic Ocean

No race is over until the boats have crossed the finish line, but it’s beginning to look as if young Ellen MacArthur’s brilliant run on the Vendée Globe is about to fall short. With leader Michel Desjoyeaux having less than 1,500 miles to go, he’s pulled into a 122 mile lead and is sailing two knots faster. Anything can happen, but time is running out. No need to cry for Ellen, however, as she’ll return home to England where she’ll be coronated as their latest hero. For many years the French have known that women can be brilliant offshore racers, and now MacArthur is proving it to the English-speaking world. Good on her! Amidst all the acclaim for MacArthur, people shouldn’t overlook the – so far – brilliant sailing of leader Michel Desjoyeaux. See www.vendeeglobe.com.

Ellen MacArthur on ‘Kingfisher’ Photo Courtesy www.ellenmacarthur.com

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Yesterday’s ‘Lectronic

February 6 – Mill Valley

Due to an in-house mistake, only half the ‘Lectronic Latitude
was posted yesterday when everyone was notified. You may want
to check it again, particularly
the business about the St. Francis YC and Oracle Racing. Sorry
for the error.

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YOTREPS

February 6 – 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 www.bitwrangler.com/yotreps/

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Weather Updates

February 6 – 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/.

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/stuff/southwest/swstmap.shtml.

Pacific Ocean Weather

Today’s University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology satellite
was not available again this morning. You can try it yourself
at http://lumahai.soest.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/satview.cgi?sat=g10&region=hus&channel=uI4&anim=no&size=large.

Pacific Sea State

Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you might check out the
Pacific Ocean sea states at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.

For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.