March 19, 2001

March 19 – Alameda “Hope you’re having a better day than this 1998 Honda Civic,” writes Hollis March of the Jack London Square-based Triumph. “It was pulled out of the water at the Grand Marina launching ramp at 11:00 am on Sunday. It seems that persons unknown stole the Honda and eventually ditched it in the Estuary. When it was discovered, it was about 10 feet under almost at the end of the pier. Every once and a while the poor car would let out forlorn burst of bubbles to mark its location. Finally, a diver was recruited to hook up a tow cable, and out she came – with a log floating out of the open window. As the car had explored the depths for several hours, it’s unlikely she’ll run again.”

Photo Hollis March

Doublehanded Farallones March 19 – Gulf of the Farallones A fleet of 121 entries enjoyed mellow sailing conditions for Saturday’s 22nd BAMA Doublehanded Farallones Race. Enjoying the luck of the Irish, Jim Antrim finished first in his Antrim 30+ trimaran Erin. Carl Nelson was first back with his Sydney 38 Fair Dinkum. For details, check out the April edition of Latitude 38.

Photos Latitude/JR

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The
Race

March 19 – Atlantic Ocean

After a week of slow program, Cam Lewis and Team Adventure
are back up to speed again. Currently 1,800 miles out, they should
finish in Marseille on March 23. Warta Polpharma is 3,000
miles from the finish. Team Legato has 4,950 miles to the
finish, and it’s nip and tuck whether she’ll make it before the
deadline.

NEW’S FLASH! The Polish entry Warta Polpharma, the old
Explorer, has had to drop out because of boat damage. According
to crewman Dariusz Drapella, the catamaran suffered damage to
her port bow on Sunday, and inspection showed that a large crack
had developed around the port bow some two meters forward of the
main beam. The crew were not sure if they hit something in the
water or the damage had culminated from the fierce head seas that
they had encountered. The good news is that the Poles are safe,
and have managed a make-shift repair using carbon and epoxy resin
carried by all these boats for just such an emergency. They are
now heading for Fort Alexa, Brazil, some 700 miles to the southwest.

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PlayStation to Return to Action

March 19 – Atlantic Ocean

Having undergone several months of repairs and minor modifications
since dropping out of The Race, Steve Fossett’s 125-foot maxi
catamaran PlayStation is about to return to action. Shortly
after May 1, the big cat will go after Explorer’s 2-day,
22-hour, record from Miami to New York. This will be a warm-up
for an assault on the west to east transatlantic record of 6 days
and 13 hours set 11 years ago by Serge Madec in Jet Services,
the former Explorer before she was lengthened. Given good
winds, PlayStation should crush both these records. It’s
going to be a busy time in the Atlantic this summer, as there
are going to be a number of mono and multihull attempts on the
records.

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Earthquake Aid

March 19 – El Salvador

This is what it looked like in El Salvador recently after several strong earthquakes rocked that country, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes. Cruisers at Marina Barillas, El Salvador, have been helping as best they can in the Barillas Relief Project. Read the April Latitude to find out what they are doing and how you might be able to help.

Photo Doug Decker

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YOTREPS

March 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/

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Weather Updates

March 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/.

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

Seas are normal in the Pacific. But you
might 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.