May 13, 2002

Photos of the Day

May 13 – Santa Catalina Island

‘Summer’ arrived at Catalina this weekend.
Fortunately, we were there with Profligate to capture
some Photos of the Day. Friday night, the stars were bright and
there was no marine layer. There wasn’t a cloud all day Saturday
for the Blues Festival at Descanso Bay or on Saturday night.
Sunday was even warmer – and there was 15 to 20 knots of wind
for the great reach back to Newport. Despite the lovely conditions,
there were plenty of moorings open, and it wasn’t particularly
crowded.

One of the cool things this year is that
you can pick up Latitude
38 at several locations in Avalon. Our friends Andy and
Odie are passing them out at Casino Way Showers across from the
Tuna Club. In fact, when we were there the other day, there were
four guys sitting in chairs waiting for friends to finish up
showers, and all four of them were reading Latitude instead
of any of the other many publications there. And as you can see
from the photo at right, Pedro, at the Casino Cafe / Fuel Dock,
has Latitudes too. Both locations are likely to run out
quickly, but we’ll send more.

We’ll be back to Catalina for the last
time this coming weekend until we return again for the entire
month of August – and hope to see you out there.

The Blues Festival at Descanso Bay wasn’t as big this year because
Fender pulled out, but the conditions couldn’t have been more
ideal. The event is supposed to get back up to snuff next year.

You see all kinds of interesting stuff in Avalon, not the least
of which is pets on boats – no matter what the size.

Bryan overlooks the semi-crowded harbor.

KFOG KaBoom

May 13 – San Francisco

If you like fireworks, rock ‘n’ roll, and
boats – and who under the age of 60 doesn’t? – you would have
loved KFOG’s annual KaBoom on Saturday night. The show was preceded
by a free concert on Pier 30/32, featuring local axeman Boz Scaggs
and opening acts Zero 7 and Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise.
The fireworks, which commenced at 9 p.m., were synchronized to
music broadcast over the host radio station.

The night was a little cold and windy,
but the excellent pyrotechnics made it all worthwhile. The best
way to view the show was from a boat, with KFOG blaring and a
coolerful of adult beverages. We’d guess as many as 250 boats
– including just about every charter boat on the Bay – attended,
and the Coast Guard was kept busy policing the perimeter around
the barge that launched the fireworks. It was chaotic – like
the Blue Angels Show, except at night – but as far as we know,
there were no collisions.

It was the closest we’ve ever been to a
fireworks show, and probably the best one we’ve ever seen. We
give it a five-star rating, and encourage everyone to check it
out next year. Thanks, KFOG!

Long Lost TransPac Entry Washes Up on
Kiribati

May 13 – Nonouti, Kiribati

“John Francis – my son who is in the
Peace Corps at Nonouti, Kiribati – tells me that Bonaire,
the Orange Coast College Moody 66 that was abandoned on the way
back from last summer’s TransPac, recently washed up on the reef
on Nonouti,” reports Jim Francis of Jacksonville, Florida.
“He tells me that Bonaire was in good shape prior
to hitting the reef, and that the Kiribati people salvaged the
equipment and electronics from the boat, little of which was
of much use to them. John has sent film of the wreck to me, which
I will forward to you. Unfortunately, the mail takes about 10
weeks. There are no phones or electricity on Nonouti.”

Latitude
readers will remember that the metal box structure supporting
Bonaire’s mast buckled or broke, causing all the rigging
to go loose and the mast to wallow around the deck opening. Some
of the Orange Coast College Sailing program crewmembers were
taken off, while a couple of the staff remained on board trying
to save her. Ultimately, in the interests of safety, they decided
they had to get off. The Coast Guard prohibited them from leaving
an EPIRB onboard, and the boat quickly disappeared. It was widely
believed that the mast would smash a hole in the hull and that
she would quickly sink. We, we’ll smugly say, are on record as
not buying into that theory. Anyway, she’s been found and lost
again, all in one day. It’s a shame, as she was a lovely boat
of the early fiberglass persuasion.

Banque Populair
Breaks Up During Delivery

May 13 – Boulogne-sur-Mer, France

Ever wonder how those spidery 60-ft racing
trimarans hold together under such stress? Well, they often don’t.
Lalou Roucayrol’s 60-ft trimaran Banque Populair broke
up last weekend during a delivery. He told his shore team they
were sailing in 26 knots of wind with two reefs in the main and
a staysail when the forward crossbeam broke at the joint with
the port hull, which caused the second crossbeam to break. The
crew got the boat head to wind, saving the mast, secured the
float the best they could, they headed for shore under power.
Oddly enough, the joint of the crossbeam and the ama should be
one of the strongest places on the boat. The tri is a year old
and should be ready for more action by the end of the summer.

Eastern Med Rally Still Alive

May 13 – Kemer, Turkey

“Greetings from Kemer, Turkey, where
the Grand Start of the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally is less
than a week away,” report Hall and Wendy Palmer of the Palo
Alto-based Beneteau First 53f5 Relativity. “The recent
unpleasantness in the Middle East plus a slower economy has reduced
the fleet to 37 as of this writing, with several possible additions
or dropouts possible over the next few days. Hasan Kacmaz, Kemer
Marina Manager and sparkplug of the event, is characteristically
upbeat about the Rally and going ahead with all arrangements
at full speed. We are still on board despite some insurance issues
which we are trying to finesse with a second policy through a
British agent, and will consider each leg one at a time as news
and experience indicate.
Park Kemer Marina has been fantastic. In our absence they obtained
all new leather upholstery for our main cabin at 1/3 the cost
of cloth quoted us in France, and installed a new dodger, Bimini,
anchor windlass, fixed our engine-driven watermaker and SSB all
at minimal cost. It is amazing things have worked out so well
given our total inability to communicate in Turkish. We are so
pleased we have already signed up and paid to winter over again
this year in Kemer. We will be returning to the States in July
to look for a winter home in Florida and then return to Turkey
for August to October before putting the boat up on the hard
again for the winter.”

Requests for Ha-Ha Entry Packs Coming
In

May 13 – Tiburon

Lauren Spindler of Baja Ha-Ha, Inc., reports
that requests for Ha-Ha entry packs are coming in at a good pace.
“We received 14 of them this last weekend, which is a good
sign. Nonetheless, given the uncertain economy and the number
of folks who have already done Ha-Has, we wouldn’t be surprised
if the numbers aren’t off a little this year.”

Photo Latitude/Richard

To get an entry packet for the Ha-Ha, send
a check for $15 made out to Baja Ha-Ha, Inc., plus a self-addressed
9×12 envelope to Baja Ha-Ha, Inc., 21 Apollo Road, Tiburon, CA,
94920. The packets will be sent out in early June. See www.baja-haha.com
for details.

Some In, Some Still Getting Baja Bashed

May 13 – San Diego

Adam Sadeg of the Morgan 38 Blarney3
as well as Rob and Kristen of the Pearson 36 Sol Mates
pulled into San Diego this weekend, after more than a month of
bashing up the Baja coast. The former had prop shaft problems,
the latter had steering problems – but it seems like everyone
is having weather problems. Renne Waxlax’s Swan 65 Cassiopeia
is in Turtle Bay, her crewing having taken a thrashing, while
Blair Grinols is dealing with 25 knots on the nose trying to
do the clipper route offshore. We’ll have further reports in
the next few days.

Private Racing

May 13 – Newport, RI

There’s a great two-boat private Transatlantic
schooner race about to start in Newport, Rhode Island, between
the 152-ft Windrose and the 212-ft Adix. We’re
talking big boats; 150 tons and 26 crew for the former, and 380
tons and only 13 crew for the latter. Despite being a much smaller
crew, on race eve the Adix folks were at rest, their preparations
complete, while the mostly Dutch crew of Windrose were
rushing about littered decks trying to get ready to go to sea.
That Adix would be ready is no surprise to us, as she
is skippered by Paul Goss, a consummate skipper. It was one of
the treats of our lives to be able to sail with him aboard Adix
in the Caribbean a few years ago. He sailed the huge schooner
off the hook and out of the crowded St. Barts, and then sailed
back onto the hook in that same harbor. Spectacular!

This is old school racing, the likes of
which hasn’t been seen in decades. A nice change from the America’s
Cup.

YOTREPS

May 13 – 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

May 13 – 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 another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.