January 24, 2003

Photos of the Day

January 24 – Monterey Bay

On Saturday, January 18, while many of
concerned citizens were marching for peace, one of our staff
decided to see how the whales were doing.

Just as we were packing our duffel to head
for the dock, a friend with a Cessna offered a completely different
vantage. Within a half an hour of taking off from San Rafael
we were over Monterey Bay spotting large puffs of sea spray from
southbound Greys. We are happy to report that the whale population
is doing well as we sighted over sixty whales (all Greys) within
a two-hour flight from San Francisco.

Photos Latitude/Mitch

Thanks to Captain Jim and Shaggy for an
excellent adventure. Peace to everyone, and keep saving those
whales.

Kingfisher2
Goes to Amber

January 24 – Lorient, France

Ellen MacArthur has signaled the 13 men
who will crew for her on the maxi-cat Kingfisher2 in a
Jules Verne around the world attempt to get to Lorient, France,
as weather models are showing that Sunday or Monday may be good
times to take off.

Meanwhile, Olivier de Kersauson, who took
off earlier with the maxi-trimaran Geronimo has been doing
very well, thank you. His tri became not only the fastest vessel
to ever make it from France to the equator, but seems to be making
fast work of the St. Helena high pressure zone. This is going
to be an interesting battle between a maxi-tri and a maxi-cat.

Winter Boat Work

January 24 – Miami Beach, FL

“A couple of weeks ago, we three San
Francisco-based sailors decided to do a little weekend work on
the boat . . . with a difference,” reports Matt Dusanic.
“I had some major repairs/upgrades to work on – new Bimini,
alternators, and solar panels – and needed some help that I could
count on. When I had a boat in San Francisco, that was pretty
easy to find, but now that my boat is: 1) A lot bigger, in this
case the Venezia 42 cat Some Day Too, and 2) Located in
Miami Beach, it’s a little more challenging to rustle up help.

“Of course, those same issues can
also be a benefit. In one of the accompanying pictures, Den Dollitle,
on the left, and Matt Dusanic (me) on the right (Rob Pulkownik
is taking our picture) are posing with our favorite recreational
reading material. Not surprisingly, we both brought copies with
us to read. Rob didn’t, but he’s more of a Crissy Field boardsailor,
although I used to drag him out as crew. The shots were taken
while on an overnight shakedown run down from Miami Beach to
Biscayne Bay (anchored off of Elliot Key).

Photos Rob Pulkownik

“The second shot shows us again hard
at work, while Rob shoots more pictures (and fixes the problem
aloft with the furler). At the time, we were in about 6 feet
of water, and the swimming, margaritas and barbecued steaks were
a great alternative to a rainy day in San Francisco.”

Everybody Wants Peace; Nobody Knows How
to Achieve It

January 24 – San Francisco

John Callahan and friends took his J/120
Django to the Peace Rally in San Francisco last weekend.
“We were a big hit,” he reports. “Lots of waves,
cheers, horn honks, and photographs. But why were we the only
‘peace boat’ out there?”

Simpatica
Wins Twice

January 24 – Tortola, BVI

Congratulations are due the Cunard family
– Bruce and Alison, and children Sam, 10, Kari, 9, and Holly
4, of the Seattle-based Catana 47 Simpatica for winning
the multihull division in last year’s West Marine Caribbean 1500
from Hampton, Virginia, to Tortola in the British Virgins.

They finished the approximately 1,500-mile
course in 187 hours, 50 of which were spent motoring. The Cunards
– and their crew Eric Newburger and Megan Alt – also won the
event’s most prestigious award, the Tempest Trophy, which is
“emblematic of the spirit of the event.” According
to director Steve Black, “They were sufficiently well prepared
that they were able to spend time helping others both before
and during the passage, including a mid-ocean fuel drop to another
boat.” The Cunards reportedly took delivery of the boat
in Europe about 18 months ago.

Photos Steve Black

By the way, if anybody is in contact with
the Cunards, could you please ask them to contact Richard.

YOTREPS

January 24 – 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 24 – 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.