July 1, 2002

Photos of the Day

July 1 – San Francisco Bay

If this is global warming, bring it on!
We can’t remember a summer when sailing on San Francisco Bay
has been so fabulous. We were out Friday night, and it was warm
and windy – sometimes at the same time in the same place. We
did the San Francisco YC’s Midnight Moonlight Marathon, which
was also incredibly warm – even wearing shorts until after midnight.
And yesterday, it was so hot that when we sailed through Clipper
Cove, there were folks swimming off the back of their boat. “This
was the first day in years when we’ve been on the hook in the
Cove when it’s been nice enough to even think about taking the
plunge,” said Greg Sherwood ‘the big guy’. Others jumping
in where Nicole Marinkovich, ‘the bikini clad young thing’, and
Jeff Smith, the ‘not so big guy’. Others in the other photos
include Cathy Sherwood, with the Latitude 38 tank top,
and Erin Sherwood, the young lady looking embarrassed at the
stupid antics of the ‘adults’. What great folks – particularly
Greg and Jeff, who actually jumped in twice so we could get a
retake.

Singlehanded TransPac Finishers Continue
to Arrive

July 1 – Hanalei Bay, Kauai

As reported in Friday’s
‘Lectronic, Mark Deppe of the San Francisco-based J/120 Alchera
was first to finish this year’s particularly tranquil Singlehanded
TransPac. Arriving on Saturday were Jim Tallet in the Seattle-based
J/33 Zapped and Alameda’s Tony Carr with the Hobie 33
Tease. Sunday’s finishers included Erik Schwartz in the
San Francisco-based Santa Cruz 40 Rusalka, who finished
at 00:00:00. He was followed by Lou Freeman in the San Diego-based
Swan 51 Seabird and Steve Wilson in the Alameda-based
Westsail 39 Westerly. John Guzzwell, 72, crossed the finish
line with his Seattle-based Endangered Species this morning.
We’ll have more on this event in the next few days.

Photos Latitude/Andy

Slow Sail Across the Pacific

July 1 – Pacific Ocean

We’re told that Peter and Susan Wolcott
of the Santa Cruz 52 Kiapa, who did the Ha-Ha last year,
took 21 days to complete an extremely light air crossing from
Mexico to Hawaii. Since they have an SC 52, some boats with them
were taking even longer. The Wolcotts are now on their way to
Polynesia.

A Slow Vic-Maui

July 1 – Pacific Ocean

Four of the 19 starters have already dropped
out of the Vic-Maui Race because of very light wind. One of them,
The Rusty Bucket, covered only 32 miles in four hours.
Others who did better, such as Warren Hale’s C&C 44 Turicum
from the Vancouver Rowing Club, have also bailed, saying they
could not reasonably expect to finish within the time limit.
Hale is a veteran of two previous Vic-Maui races. At least some
of the lead boats have gotten into 20-knot winds.

North Sails Race Week

July 1 – Long Beach

A record 171 boats – plus the likes of
Paul Cayard, Dennis Conner, and Dave Ullman – showed up in Long
Beach for last weekend’s 18th Annual North Sails Long Beach.
A large contingent was from Northern California. What was lacking
in wind – 8 to 15 the first day, 6 to 12 the second, and just
6 to 9 on Sunday – was made up for in tight competition. On the
first day, for example, Conner, driving Dale Williams’ San Francisco-based
ILC 46 Wasabi finished 8th in a 9 boat fleet – although
they did blow out a headsail. Cayard, calling tactics on John
Kilroy’s Farr 40 Samba Pa Ti, didn’t do much better, as
the frequent winner slipped to 7th. And the sailing remained
tight for the last two days. Check out the action in photos taken
by Rich Roberts. For the complete story, visit www.Premiere-Racing.com.

From Day 2:

John Cummings’ Kanzeon and Howard Lewis’
Pendragon lead the J/105s to the windward mark.

Dennis Conner drives Dale Williams’ ILC 46 Wasabi
through a pin-end start in one of Saturday’s two wins.

Photo Funnies

July 1 – Ontario

“I am the Traffic Detective for the
City of Ontario, California,” writes Mike Kelley of the
Rafiki 37 Goodfellows. “A few days ago, a building
near my station was demolished, exposing an old ad for Catalina
Island on an adjacent wall. The ad appears to have been ‘sandwiched’
between the two walls for decades, covered by a common roof.
The colors are still quite vibrant.”

Photo Mike Kelley

Look Ma, No Fog!

July 1 – San Francisco Bay

YOTREPS

July 1 – 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

July 1 – 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/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 views of sea states anywhere in the world,
see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.