January 21, 2002

Photos of the Day

January 21 – Thailand

Today’s Photos of the Day are from Tony Johnson and Terry Shrode
of the Richmond-based Ericson 32 Maverick. The duo are
in the middle of a circumnavigation, and have just posted these
photos of themselves and their current stomping grounds, Thailand.
Actually, the one photo of them and their boat – the one with
the ‘Marina del Rey racing stripes’ – was taken here in the Bay
Area. We included it to demonstrate that people who sometimes
look silly on the water can still make it around the world.

For more info and photos, visit www.ussmaverick.net.

Photos Courtesy Maverick

Key West Race Week – Almost Off to Great
Start

January 21 – Key West, FL

After Osama Yo Mama and 9/11, entries for the Terra Nova Trading/Yachting
Key West Race Week dropped to zero. This was a big deal, as the
previous year this biggest international racing event of the
winter had attracted a record 326 entries. To demonstrate how
far things have been ‘normalized’ in the world, 324 entries –
just one short of the record – in 18 classes today answered the
gun to start the regatta. Well, almost. As Latitude Racing
Editor Rob Moore just reported from on the water, fleets on three
of the four courses are four hours into a postponement because
of light winds. Better winds are expected for later in the week.
Key West is not San Francisco Bay, for you can never tell if
there will be wind, and if there is wind, there’s no telling
in which direction it will blow. Of the 18 one design fleets
racing, the biggest is the Melges with an astounding 78 entries.
It’s also their Worlds. Other one design classes are Farr 40,
with 25 boats; J/105, 28; J/80, 22; Mumm 30, 20; J/29, 17; 1D35,
15; and, making their Key West debut, 13 F-28R trimarans.

YOTREPS

January 21 – 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

January 21 – 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 www.nws.mbay.net/home.html.

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