July 16, 2001

July 16 – Puerto Escondido, BCS

We often write about Puerto Escondido, Baja, and thanks to Backstreets, get to share one of the better photos of this great natural harbor. The shot was taken during Loreto Fest in May. Normally there aren’t so many boats there, particularly in the heat of summer. Puerto Escondido was supposed to be the site of the first major development, including a marina, in the Sea of Cortez. This was about 20 years ago. Millions of dollars disappeared, but not much work was done. The pathetic little marina was a disaster, and disintegrated almost immediately. There’s often been talk about finishing the project, but little comes of it. All things considered, most cruisers prefer it just the way it is.

Photo Courtesy Backstreets

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Park
Fees in the Sea of Cortez

July 16 – Sea of Cortez, Mexico “We were at anchor on the north side of Isla Coronados in the Sea of Cortez,” report Les and Diane of the San Francisco-based Gemini, an Albin 42, “when we were approached by a panga with ‘Parque Nacional/Bahia de Loreto’ painted on the sides. Aboard were four very polite people, one of whom was Benito Bermudez Almada, director of the park. He asked us to pay 53 pesos for five days in the park. We told him that we were on our way north and would be leaving, but we did have a nice conversation with him. We finally paid 53 pesos for the boat for five days. Another boat in the anchorage paid 53 pesos per person for one day. Another paid 53 pesos per person for an undetermined time. “We brought the issue of fees up on the net, and somebody said that the fees are on hold, and no one needs to pay them as the law is under review by the legislature in Mexico City. Benito as much as said this was the case, but still, in a low-key way, wanted some money. He writes your boat name down on a sheet of paper and give you a receipt with the date written on it. We think he may be jumping the gun, but the fees are in the works. “On the very positive side, we and the crews of Dreamweaver and Reason swam with whalesharks longer than our boat. We also worked at a Turtle farm in Bahia de Los Angeles to help different studies. The seafood – turtles excluded – have been excellent.” For more on the couple’s adventures, see the August issue of Latitude 38.

Gemini Photo Courtesy Backstreets

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Beauty
of the Bay

July 16 – San Francisco Bay

“I thought you might enjoy the accompanying photograph of my Kronos 45 cat Perception at anchor during a recent Sunday afternoon,” writes Glenn Fagerlin, who just bought the now Richmond-based boat. “It was all T-shirts, swimming suits, great scenery – and without any bugs or wind. From just the photograph, it could be a isolated cove in the Med or some other remote destination. But the more alert readers will realize we were just anchored at Angel Island. Where else can you spend a half hour sailing from your berth to enjoy such great scenery and weather for a laid back afternoon? And if we wanted action, it was blowing 20 knots in the slot less than two miles away. The Bay is a unique place!”

Photo Courtesy Perception

Just for comparison, we thought we’d toss in this photo of a cove in the Med – specifically Portofino, Italy. The food and facilities are much better – and a million times more expensive. It’s also warmer, but the wind is extremely inconsistent.

Photo Latitude/Richard

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Ships
Chasing Yachts

July 16 – San Francisco Bay

Friday’s Scuttlebutt featured the
bizarre story of a 600-ft ship making a 180 degree turn to smash
into and badly damage Rob Massuco’s 65-ft ketch Foxglove III
as she was on her way north from Cabo. The yacht’s crew claim
it was an intentional ramming, as the ship had already gone past
them and over the horizon. The Creation ship captain reportedly
said he thought they’d issued an SOS. If you haven’t yet read
the story, you should – see http://sailingsource.com/scuttlebutt/

(By the way, we had an item in ‘Lectronic
Latitude in which we reported that Robert Sutherland was originally
going to be a crew on the boat for a trip to the South Pacific.
It was a mistake, as that boat was Foxtrot. We apologize
for the mistake.)

In today’s Scuttlebutt, Robert Musor
of the 43′ sloop Sceptre reports that he and his crew had
a similar experience north of Pt. Arguello during this year’s
very rough Coastal Cup. According to Musor’s story, a 300 to 400-ft
ship made a number of 90º turns at about 0200 that resulted
in his boat coming close to getting hit.

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Another
Horizon Home

July 16 – El Sobrante

Steve Salmon and Tina Olton, formerly of Berkeley and now of El
Sobrante, have returned home after a 7 year, 9 month circumnavigation
aboard their second Valiant 40, Another Horizon. The couple,
who had done a warm-up cruise to the South Pacific in 1990, covered
45,000 miles, visited 61 countries, and called on 480 ports. They
enjoyed getting off the beaten track, going up the Black Sea to
Odessa, for example, and going up the Adriatic to Slovenia. In
all this time, the worst weather they had at sea was 40 to 45
knots, although with Steve working as the weather forecaster almost
everywhere they went, they were in port during many instances
of worse weather. Tina says it was all great. Steve thought the
best was the South Pacific, such as Tonga, Moorea and Palmyra.
The best pure sailing was the normal 30 knots of wind from aft
while sailing inside the flat waters of Australia’s Great Barrier
Reef.

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YOTREPS

July 16 – 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/

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Weather
Updates

July 16 – Atlantic Ocean

Tropical Storm Cosme

Tropical Storm Cosme is blowing well off
the coast of Mexico with 50 knots and headed west.

July 16 – 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 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.