Today’s Photos of the Day are to remind
everyone that the Master Mariner’s Regatta will be held tomorrow
on the Central Bay. It’s a sight to behold, and it’s expected
to be windy – so check it out!
Dauntless, the San Diego schooner Latitude had
planned to sponsor, wasn’t able to make it around Point Conception.
Crewmember Mark Albertazzi writes that Dauntless “made
it home safe and sound. They ran into some engine problems two
days from home. Fortunately there was a pretty steady breeze
that carried them home. Tom (skipper Paul Plotts’s son) and I
met them as they sailed into San Diego Bay and helped tow them
to the slip. Here’s a shot of them running down the channel headed
for the barn. Sure going to miss the race.” Photo Mark Albertazzi
Photos from the 2003 Master Mariners
Regatta:
Photos Latitude/JR
Farallones Kite Sailors
May 28 – San Francisco
On Wednesday
we told you of Chip Wasson, Steve Gibson and Jeff Kafka who kite-sailed
28 miles from the Farallones to Crissy Field in about two hours.
Today we have the photos to prove it.
Thinking that many of you might like to
have the June issue of Latitude
38 for your reading pleasure over the Memorial Day Weekend,
the Latitude staff worked their fingers to the bone and
went without sleep for weeks to get the issue out four days earlier
than normal. We hope you enjoy it!
Photo Latitude/Richard
What boat is that on the cover? Only the
largest and fastest racing yacht in the world – and she’s on
her way to San Francisco. Details – plus a photo spread – inside
the June issue.
The Sailing Solution for a Northern European
Winter
May 28 – Northern Europe
When you live in Northern Europe, the sailing
season is extremely short, so you have to get your sailing in
while you can. Right now they are about to start the Nokia Oops
Cup – the name for which may have come from the 60-ft tri HiQ,
seen poking her bows in the water. The Oops Cup takes place all
around the Baltic in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Poland.
The first race in the Nokia Oops Cup will be held in Helsinki
on May 30; the last in Gdansk, Poland, on July 11. In between,
‘city’ events will be held in Stockholm (June 5), Oslo (June
10-11), Gothenburg (June 16), Helsingoer (June 18-19), Copenhagen
(June 21) and Sandhamn (July 3-4).
Photos Courtesy Nokia Oops Cup
Several types of races are included in
the Nokia Oops Cup. ‘City’ races are short course races, held
close to the shore, as well as the Speed Races, which are to
see who can hit the fastest speed. The remainder of the races
are the leading Nordic ocean races, such as the Faerder Race
in Norway, the Sjaelland Rundt in Denmark and the Round Gotland
Race in Sweden. The ocean race from Sandhamn, Sweden, to Gdansk,
Poland, will be a doublehanded race, a novelty for the Nokia
Oops Cup.
Oracle BMW Racing Is History
May 28 – Valencia, Spain
That’s right, there will be no Oracle BMW
Racing partaking in the UBS Trophy against America’s Cup winner
Alinghi in Newport, RI, on June 19-26, nor will there be an Oracle
BMW Racing competing in the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2007.
That’s because they’ve changed the name to BMW Oracle Racing
to better reflect the automaker’s more significant role in the
partnership.
Speaking of names for the America’s Cup,
you may remember that on March 25, a group called Clan Des Team
from Italy became the first official Challenger in the 32nd America’s
Cup after the Challenger of Record, Oracle BMW Racing, now BMW
Oracle Racing. More recently they have changed their name, reports Daily Sail, to +39. What’s that? It’s the area code for
Italy. We like it!
Profligate
Racing to Beat Gale Force Gusts
May 28 – California Coast
As we write this at 10 a.m. on Friday,
Doña de Mallorca has just called in to report that Profligate
is, according to the Nobeltec navigation software, 63 miles from
the Golden Gate Bridge on her return from Panama. Winds are calm
and she’s making 10 knots. There’s just one problem – this afternoon’s
forecast is for 25 knot winds with “gale force gusts.”
So it’s a race against the arrival of a weather system. Will
they be able to make it all the way to the Bay? Will they have
to pull in at Half Moon Bay? Will they have to turn back and
go to Santa Cruz? Only time will tell.
The original plan was to have Profligate
in Southern California for a short time, but when Commander’s
Weather reported a great window for going north – just 5 knots
and flat seas at Conception – who could resist? So we’ll either
be seeing everyone on the Bay this weekend, or next weekend for
sure. It will be great to be sailing on the most scenic Bay in
the world once again.
Photos Latitude/JR
