May 16, 2003

Photos of the Day

May 16 – Europe

Today’s Photos of the Day are from the
ongoing Challenge Mondial Assistance race from Cherbourg, France,
to Rimini on the Adriatic Coast of Italy. This means, of course,
that the boats started in northwest France, sailed down to and
through the Strait of Gibraltar, and then around the ‘boot’ of
Italy and up to Rimini. The event is for crewed 60-ft trimarans.
After last year’s Route du Rhum, in which 15 of the 18 tris were
knocked out or destroyed by severe weather, it’s a little surprising
that 12 boats showed up for the start of the Mondial. As is always
the case with the 60-footers, it’s wild racing and boats get
knocked out. For example, Foncia, with Ellen MacArthur
as part of the crew, flipped; Belgacom was dismasted;
and Gitana has had to drop out permanently due to centerboard
problems.

In our opinion, the racing of 60-ft trimarans
rates about a 9.9. on the excitement scale. Except for a few
odd moments, America’s Cup racing usually rates about 1.9. How
do you see it?

Freaked Out About Catalina 42s? Don’t
Be.

May 16 – Caribbean Sea

We recently ran an item in ‘Lectronic about
a Catalina 42 that suddenly and inexplicably sunk off Kick ’em
Jenny in the Caribbean. It was a summary of a piece that had
appeared in Yachting World.

Photo Courtesy Garry Willis

Garry Willis, owner of the Marina del Rey
based Catalina 42 Breezn, was naturally curious about
the details of the incident. What the Yachting World story
didn’t say was that the boat had suffered a catastrophic fire
in Mississippi in 1993, was declared a total loss by Boat/U.S.,
the insurance company. Judging from the accompanying photo, that
was a smart decision. In any event, the boat was bought for salvage
for the value of the lead in the keel and then rebuilt by amateurs.
So she was clearly damaged goods and was unlike any other Catalina
42 out there. More in the June issue of Latitude
38.

Where Do I Find Crew Like Carla?

May 16 – Aruba

Tim Simmons of Santa Cruz was so taken
with Wednesday’s photos of
Carla, Mike Harker’s newly found crew on his Hunter 466 Wanderlust,
that he’s asked, “Where can I find female crew like her?”

He might start in Namibia, where the 25-year-old
chef in training was born. Or South Africa, where she joined
an Italian for an Atlantic crossing on a 32-ft cat. Or Brazil,
where she hooked up with Fabio, because she refused to doublehand
with the Italian anymore. Or Antigua, where Fabio responded to
Harker’s request for crew, then bailed at the last minute to
take a paid crew position on a boat to the Med, leaving Carla
to sail with Mike. More in the June issue of Latitude
38, but the bottom line is that unless you’re willing
take risks to get out there and have adventures, you’re not going
to have a lot of adventure.

Oh Mother!

May 16 – Belvedere

Photo Julie

“After three good Sundays of Optimist
sailing at Encinal YC the spring session was then moved to San
Francisco YC for three Sundays,” writes Bob Nagy. “On
the Mother’s Day session, 21 sailors participated in a variety
of conditions. The accompanying photo is of Tanner Nagy, 9, attacking
a rogue wave. The wave won. For more photos, visit www.sfbayopti.org.”

Team France

May 16 – France and San Francisco

Loïck Peyron and Bertrand Pace – the
former primarily a multihull sailor, the latter with much America’s
Cup experience – have announced the formation of a Team France
syndicate to compete for the next America’s Cup, probably in
2007. However, they also announced they intend to participate
in the America’s Cup class racing on San Francisco Bay later
this year.

IACCSF Open House Coming Up

May 16 – Treasure Island

Wells Fargo has announced it will sponsor
the International America’s Cup Class San Francisco (IACCSF),
a four-regatta yacht racing series this summer. The Wells Fargo
team will compete in USA-11 (formerly Stars & Stripes),
a 75-foot yacht that sailed Team Dennis Conner to the 1992 America’s
Cup finals. The bank will also host the IACCSF Season Launch
Party during the season’s first event, The Sausalito Cup.

An Open House is scheduled for June 7-8
at the America’s Cup Class Yachting Center at Treasure Island,
where the yachts are displayed and maintained. The public is
invited to tour the center and learn more about the boats and
upcoming competition. See also www.iaccsf.com.

Two Yachting Center employees (Will Benedict outside and Rodney
Hagebols inside) playing with the hoist.

We’ll have more on the IACCSF and the new
Yachting Center in the June issue of Latitude
38.

YOTREPS

May 16 – The Pacific Ocean and Cyberspace

Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht
tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.

Weather Updates

May 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.

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.