January 17, 2003

Photos of the Day

January 17 – Punta de Mita, Mexico

Guess which one of these folks is Chris
van Dyke, the lawyer who used to work for Nike but who is now
cruising in Mexico aboard the Valiant 40 Spirit Wind?

The correct answer is that they both are.
The photo was taken at Punta de Mita, Mexico, in early December
as the Wanderer and Doña de Mallorca were about to have
dinner with the couple. During dinner, we learned that Chris,
the guy, had gone from a relatively radical political activist
in Los Angeles to, at age 29, the District Attorney of Salem,
Oregon, a job that entailed getting woken up several nights each
week to deal with grisly police matters, often senseless murders.
Talk about moving from the theory to reality. He later took a
job with Nike where he invented Aqua Socks.

Chris and the Wanderer enjoyed a couple
of great days surfing together, including one memorable morning
at La Launcha. Not only were the waves overhead with good shape,
but the only others out were women decked out in wonderfully
minimalist suits. Maybe it’s just us, but we don’t seem to get
as tired paddling back out when we’re right behind a gal wearing
a thong.

Doña de Mallorca holding up a sample of what we had for
dinner at Punta de Mita. Mmmmm, good!
Photos Latitude/Richard

While surfing alone later in the month,
Chris was hit in the eye by his board when it was pulled back
toward him by the leash. He sought medical attention in Mexico
and the United States. Here’s the verdict:

“My eye is much better, but getting
a second opinion in the States was the right thing to do. The
U.S. doctor told me that the Mexican treatment is what saved
the eye. I have nothing but positive things to say about how
I was treated in Mexico. It’s good to know that we cruisers are
in good hands down here should further treatment be needed. Sad
how stereotypes of Mexico are slow to die.”

Oracle Nipped, Down to Do or Die

January 17 – Auckland, NZ

Yesterday’s fifth race of the Louis Vuitton
Finals was a strange one, as Oracle BMW, thought to be slower
upwind, overcame a large deficit on the first weather leg to
take a nearly 40 second lead. But on the second downwind leg,
Alinghi, believed to be slower downwind, rolled the Golden Gate
YC boat and hung on to win by 13 seconds. It’s a day off today,
but Oracle BMW will have to win the next four races or be eliminated.

Photo Bob Grieser/Louis Vuitton Cup

Yes, It’s Foxy

January 17 – Jost Van Dyke

With regard to yesterday’s
photo quiz, many readers correctly identified the mask as
having been taken from the notoriously fun Foxy of Jost van Dyke.
But nobody has correctly identified the white guy with the shaved
head and white beard. Steve Rienhart guessed Donald Street, but
that’s not correct. Hint: If anyone sees Lowell and Bea North,
they’ll know right away. (Email Richard.)

Photo Latitude/Richard

Who Wants to Be a Sailing Movie Star?

January 17 – St. Vincent

If you do, St. Vincent in the Eastern Caribbean
is the place to be, as Jerry Bruckheimer – producer of Pearl
Harbor – is teaming with Johnny Depp, former boyfriend of
Winona ‘Sticky Fingers’ Ryder, to create Pirates of the Caribbean.
Yes, they’re making a movie based on a ride in a theme park.

The Caribbean Compass explains what
the movie is all about: “Wallilabou Bay is gradually being
transformed to Port Royal, Jamaica, of the 17th century. After
the British Admiral Penn and General Venables captured Port Royal
from the Spanish in 1654, the town became the epicenter of the
legendary activities of Caribbean pirates and privateers. After
Sir Henry Morgan plundered Portobello, Panama, in 1668, he returned
to Port Royal, where, according to David Cordingly’s Under
the Black Flag, “The town was the scene of spectacular
orgies of drinking, gambling, and womanizing as the buccaneers
blew their money in the taverns and whorehouses.” The latter
line just goes to prove that nothing has changed in the Caribbean.
Port Royal was destroyed in a disastrous earthquake in 1692.

Poster Courtesy Walt
Disney Pictures

Bruckheimer put out a call for nautical-looking
extras, and you can only imagine the response. Them’s that die
will be the lucky ones.

‘Nautical Stairway’ Missing a Few Steps

January 17 – Baja California

Thanks to concerns of environmentalists
and others, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation commissioned
EDAW, Inc., to conduct a study of how many gringo mariners
would use the marinas planned for Baja’s proposed Nautical Stairway.
EDAW concluded that Mexico has overestimated the demand by as
much as 600%. We don’t want to say ‘we told you so’, but we’ve
been saying the same thing since the misguided project was first
announced. If the marinas were needed and could be intelligently
built, we’d support the project, but the marinas just aren’t
needed. If they build them, mariners still won’t come – at least
not in numbers needed to pay for them.

Bahia Santa Maria – Does it look like they need a marina here?
Photo Latitude/Richard

Annapurna
Leaves Thailand

January 17 – Phuket, Thailand

Buddy and Ruth Ellison of the San Francisco-based
Hans Christian 48 Annapurna report they’ve left Phuket,
Thailand, for Galle, Sri Lanka, 1,200 miles away. After that,
they’ll be sailing to the Maldives and up the Red Sea to the
Med. Friends can track their position by going to www.winlink.org
and clicking the “Station locator” button. Find KQ6IZ.”

Closing the Week with a Sunset

January 17 – Gustavia, St. Barts

Photo Latitude/Richard

This is the view of the Gustavia, St. Barts,
anchorage at sunset. Notice the last little sliver of sun in
the upper right, and the volcanic island of Saba in the upper
left. If the darkish shades make it appear as though it might
be a little cool, it wasn’t. It’s wonderfully warm all the time.

YOTREPS

January 17 – 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.

Weather Updates

January 17 – 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.