July 19, 2002

Zephyrus Gets Barn Door, but not Record

July 19 –
Kaneohe Bay, HI

At 8:27 am HST, Zephyrus V crossed
the finish line of the Pacific Cup race from San Francisco to
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, less than one week after starting. The wind
was blowing about 15 knots under partially overcast skies, and
Zephyrus was sailing about 15 knots. Mari-Cha III
is expected to finish around one, and the doublehanded Sonoma
30, Two Guys on the Edge, which led the fleet for a big
chunk of the race, should come in about six this evening. Zephyrus’s
finish was about four hours off the race record.

In other PacCup news, Race Director Brian
Boschma reports that “Alakazam has apparently lost
all steering and is requesting a tow from Hawaii. We sure are
having rudder problems this year in spite of extra inspection
steps and required sea trials of emergency rudders.”

The Scourge of the Mahi

July 19 – Pacific Ocean

Michael Moradzadeh, skipper of Cayenne,
a Passport 40 and the Pacific Cup comm boat, filed the following
report, which captures the flavor of the event:

“We caught the Mahi. An absolutely
fabulous dinner. Michael C. is now known as the ‘Scourge of the
Fishy and Finned Things’.

“AND we have renewed the spinnaker
jury rig. We fly wung out (take that, spellcheckers) at night
and we fly the chute during the day. Today, we ran 160 nm directly
toward an imaginary spot near Hawaii.

“Given that Hawaii is pretty much
an imaginary spot, creating another imaginary spot seems pretty
much redundant. My navigator, however, assures me that this is
a good idea.

“The ETA-meter says we will arrive
at 6 am on Sunday. This is pretty good. Last time, the ETA readout
on the GPS mostly read ‘- – – – ‘ which means ‘you never gonna
get there’ so this is much cheerier.

“So, we are back in the hunt. Beware
Bequia! Look out Total Eclipse! Stay back Alcyone!
Cayenne is coming to town!

“We are pretty sure we are on the
right track, too, because we keep seeing other boats. Mari-Cha
III, the 147-ft giant whose crew graciously showed us through
her at KKMI, sailed by at a distance of 2 miles yesterday. Dang
does she look good with her spinnaker up.

Cayenne, off to do battle
with fish and sloops

“Well, time to go and take roll call.
We have not had more fleet damage, and you could not ask for
a cheerier fleet. Last night, there was a guest appearance from
Martha Stewart (“place a lilac-scented towel over your pillow
so the next off-watch will not notice the drool”) as well
as perennial pest Pacific Rose. Much of the fleet participated
in a limerick festival, and virtually all who fish are catching
mahi mahi.

“Life is goood.”

Weekend Racing Preview

July 19 – San Francisco Bay

Life is all about choices, and Bay Area
racers are faced with all kinds of options this weekend. Some
of the bigger events are the West Marine Fun Regatta at Encinal
YC for kids; the second weekend of Fresno YC’s High Sierra Regatta
(at Huntington Lake) for lake circuit folks; the Plastic Classic
Regatta at Bay View Boat Club for the vintage fiberglass crowd;
Knarr match racing on the Cityfront; and Island YC’s Silver Eagle
Race for those who enjoy a 67-mile tour of the Bay. So far, 42
boats (including 22 J/105s) are signed up for Eagle, while 10
more are signed up for the new, shorter (41 miles) Eaglet.

A couple things on the calendar aren’t
happening: The Mallory and Adams Area G Eliminations were canceled
as only one skipper entered each competition. By default, Brian
Mullen (StFYC) will be going to the Mallory, while Vicki Sodaro
of Tiburon (SFYC) will go to the Adams. . . . The Santana 22
Nationals were moved up a week, and occurred last weekend in
conjunction with an Express 27 regatta. “Nine or ten”
Tuna 22 sailed, but we still don’t know who won.

Have a great weekend, everybody – and be
sure to wave if you see our photoboat!

Could be you these photographers capture next time.
Photo Latitude/Chris

Construction of World’s Largest Sailing
Yacht Picks Up the Pace

July 19 – Southampton, UK

Construction of the Ron Holland designed
245-ft composite sloop Mirabella V for Joseph V. Vittoria,
the former head of Avis, has reached an exciting stage at Vosper
Thornycroft in Southampton, England. After months of painstakingly
building the hull mold and then constructing twelve layers of
Kevlar and E-Glass with a PVC foam core, the fitting of hull
stringers, bulkheads, ring
frames, and equipment is now happening at a comparatively breathtaking
speed.

Yes, that is a picture of a boat hull under construction. There
are
actually people in the photo, but they may too small for you
to make out.

Just as visually impressive is the 295-ft
mast mold. The mast is being manufactured in halves, with one
comprising a complete length and the other
divided into three sections. An estimated five tons of cabling
will be fitted within the hollow center of the mast, including
a mass of sensors to monitor the rig loads.

Just the real estate required to house construction is mind-boggling.
Photos Courtesy Ron Holland Design

Mirabella V
will join the Vittorias’ other superyachts, Mirabella
and Mirabella III, in providing luxury corporate and private
charters during the winter of 2003/4 in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Twelve guests, pampered by 14 crew, can be accommodated aboard
Mirabella V. Equally, with a very spacious saloon and
a high tech entertainment system that includes an open air cinema
on the sky deck, Mirabella V can serve as a corporate
conference venue. Other features include a Jacuzzi, pool, gym,
sauna, motor launch, 2 high performance tenders, diving gear,
4 sailing dinghies, 2 remote control model yachts and 2 jet skis.

Graphic Courtesy Mirabella Yachts

A week on board Mirabella V for
12 guests will cost US$250,000. The first charter has already
been confirmed for the Caribbean in 2003.

Construction diary available on www.mirabellayachts.com.
Also see www.ronhollanddesign.com.

A-Cup Funding Kiwi-Style

July 19 – Auckland, New Zealand

The America’s Cup effort in defending New
Zealand seems to remain more of a nationalist effort and less
of a corporate one, and enjoys the support of the country’s populace.
Team New Zealand has launched a nation-wide Support Crew program
in response to widespread offers of financial assistance from
citizens. The public will have the opportunity to contribute
to the campaign at the 78 stores operated by The Warehouse. Ross
Blackman, Chief Executive of Team New Zealand, said, “We
have been flooded with offers so I am delighted to respond with
this announcement.”

David Wilson, general manager of The Warehouse,
said the Support Crew
program is intended to be affordable, with contributions starting
at just one dollar and the most expensive Membership level costing
only $20. The initial opportunity, just launched within all stores,
is for customers to purchase $1, $2 and $5 donation cards. They
will be displayed near the checkouts and the full amount paid
will go to Team New Zealand.

In mid-September, just prior to the Louis
Vuitton Challenger Series, a Support Crew Membership card carrying
a magnetic strip will be offered in three categories – Bronze
($9.99), Silver ($14.99) and Gold ($19.99). Benefits will vary
between the three categories and will include exclusive visits
to the Team New Zealand base and chances for a Support Crew member
to win a 17th Man ride on a Team New Zealand yacht.

Within The Warehouse, the Support Crew
memberships cards will entitle members to a discount on their
next purchase. As well as invitations to special shopping nights
at The Warehouse, there will be chances for Support Crew members
presenting their card to get all their purchases free of charge.

Women Key in Demi-Clé

July 19 – Lorient, France

Much to the surprise and consternation
of some observers, a female duo rocked in the tough Mini Open
6.50 offshore skiff class’s fourth Demi-Clé (Half-Key)
Race. Swede Pia L’Obry and Australian Liz Wardley, who did bow
on Amer Sports Too in the Volvo Ocean Race, took
first place in the 350-mile offshore leg down from Baltimore
in southern Ireland to Lorient, on the south coast of Brittany.
The pair finished second overall in the three-legged race.

An doublehanded Mini Open 6.50 broaches.
Photo Courtesy open650.demi-cle.com

The women’s boat, Morph’eau, arrived
Wednesday night at 10.30 pm. All Mer, the leading boat
overall, sailed by Frédéric Duthil and Cédric
Gourmelen, arrived one and a half hours later.

Liz Wardley, as quoted in madforsailing.com,
commented, “When it went dark last night we lost sight of
them and we jibed off and then jibed back. We went into a fog
bank. It turned out the rest of the fleet was in the fog bank
for a day and a half and we only had it for a few hours.”

Thirty-six boats sailed and four retired
in the doublehanded/singlehanded regatta, which originated in
Locmiquelic, France, and went through Cork in southern Ireland.

See http://open650.demi-cle.com
for complete results and more.

YOTREPS

July 19 – 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 19 – 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/.