May 9, 2003

Photos of the Day

May 9 – Mt. Everest, Nepal

As Latitude 38 readers know, there
has been quite a debate in the Letters
section recently about the suitability of Porta-Botes as yacht
tenders. Some letters have been pro, some have been con. Anyway,
the other day we received a call from Sandy Kay, founder and
president of the company that has made 50,000 of them in, of
all places, Morgan Hill. Kay wanted to touch base and let us
know that there have been substantial improvements in the Porta-Botes
over the years. He also mentioned that a Porta-Bote was the first
boat to ever be taken up Mt. Everest. Huh?

Today’s Photos of the Day offer proof of
that claim. Why would anyone want to take a boat up Everest?
It seems there is a lake part of the way up, and by taking a
boat across the lake it’s possible to climb the mountain a new
way or to reach some virgin sub-peak or something. For details,
visit www.porta-bote.com.

Can You Believe It? Boat Reservations
to Be Needed for the Med!

May 9 – Mediterranean Sea

Check out the following report that appeared
in the April edition of England’s prestigious Yachting Monthly
magazine:

“‘Book early!’ is the message from
the recently formed Société de Contrôle d’Accés
à la Mediterranée, consisting of countries whose
borders lie on the Med coast. The society plans to limit the
number of pleasure vessels visiting the Med in an attempt to
curb worrying levels of pollution and reduce levels of damage
caused to the seabed by anchoring craft.

“The initiative was led by the Spanish
and French governments, which have been concerned with overdevelopment
of their coastal regions. Despite attempts to provide an environmentally
sensible balance between available berthing and the requirements
of visiting craft, demand continues to outstrip supply as more
and more privately owned boats pour into the Med each year.

Photos Latitude/Richard

“Having raised the matter with their
EU partners and found an almost-unanimous accord, representatives
from Spain, France and Italy approached Turkey, Egypt and the
North African countries to agree on maritime legislation. With
an almost unprecedented lack of discord between the various states,
it was swiftly established that such a move would be in the best
interests of all parties.

“One of the great attractions of the
project is the simplicity of monitoring access to the region.
There are only a few routes into the Mediterranean. The two traditional
gateways, the Straits of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, are easy
to police, and the countries bordering these gateways are fully
supportive of the proposal.

“Charter companies will not be restricted
by a quota in boat numbers, and may see an increase in business
coupled with a decrease in competition for berth space.

“People planning to cruise the area
after 2004 will need to apply to the bureau, providing boat details,
proposed date of entry and outlined itinerary. For EU-registered
craft, only those conforming to RCD requirements will be accepted.
The licence fee, to be decided, will be based on boat size.

“Avril Tromper, secretary to the bureau,
suggested in an interview with our Med correspondent that the
minimum fee would be around 1,000 Euros for two years.

“‘This is the absolute minimum if
we are to conserve our most beautiful coastal regions for the
enjoyment of future generations,’ she said.”

Soho in Vallejo!

May 9 – Vallejo

There was more to last weekend’s Vallejo
Race than just sailing. You can tell by the lascivious glint
in the eye of Michelle and the ‘I’m so lucky’ smile on the face
of her partner and skipper Rich Mullinax of Still Searching
while still on the dance floor at the Vallejo YC after the first
race. There must be something about dancing and alcohol that
gets people’s mojos working. Between sets, the couple, joined
by another couple, put the ‘four’ back into the ‘forepeak’ of
Still Searching. The photo below shows that it was a full
house in the yacht club’s harbor.

Photos by Larry Weinhoff of Synergizer or Greg
Retkowski of Scirocco, we don’t know which.

Spanish Sailing Eyes Are Smiling

May 9 – Calpe, Spain

You don’t read much about sailing in Spain,
but it’s a big, big, big deal, thanks in part to the King being
such a sailing buff. In fact, local sailors get paid so much
money to race locally on boats sponsored by Spanish banks and
other big companies, it’s usually not worth their while to go
international.

To give you an idea of the lovely sailing
environment, here’s a couple of shots from the Women’s Match
Race Criterium recently held in J/22s at Calpe. Malin Millbourn
took honors for Sweden. Next year the event hopes to attract
12 teams from around the world. We think a Northern California
team lead by Liz Baylis, Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year would
make a wonderful addition.

Say, Isn’t That Liz There?

May 9 – Moss Landing

It sure is. The occasion was the recent
christening and launch in Moss Landing of the Wylie & Wahle
65-ft cat ketch rigged research vessel Derek M Baylis. The
boat was named after Liz’s father, who has been the engineering
mentor for designer Tom Wylie and builder Dave Wahle. For more
details, see Sightings in the May issue of Latitude
38.

Shipping Boats from P.V. to Ensenada and
Vancouver

May 9 – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

In the May issue Cruise Notes, we wondered
why no shipping company has initiated boat delivery service between
Mexico and California. It turns out one shipping company – Yacht
Path International – is about to start. Roger Rue reports:

“I’m going to have my Hylas 44 Penn
Station deck loaded at Puerto Vallarta in early June for
shipment to Vancouver. The company does not make a stop in California,
but it does stop in Ensenada. It will cost $12,000 to ship my
25,000 pound boat aboard the BBC Ecuador. That’s less
than a new suit of sails, less than a new or rebuilt engine,
and about the same price as a delivery skipper.
I sailed Penn Station down from Puget sound in Aug-Nov
of 2001, then left her at Discovery Bay and Coronado Cays while
waiting for the insurance window to open up for Mexico. It was
a great trip down, but being a gentleman, I don’t DO bashes to
weather! Hence, the arrangement with Yacht Path International.”

America’s Cup Class Yachting Center Opens
at Treasure Island

May 9 – Treasure Island

The International America’s Cup Class of
San Francisco (IACCSF) began operations at the new America’s
Cup Class Yachting Center on Pier One at Treasure Island yesterday.

IACCSF honchos bracket City of San Francisco honcho Willie Brown
Photo Courtesy IACCSF

As part of their deal with the Treasure
Island Development Authority, IACCSF has offered to provide talks
and tours of the compound to disadvantaged youth throughout the
year. And a very lucky select group of kids will be invited on
board the yachts for a sail around the Bay.

With up to ten teams participating in the
season, including America’s Cup victors Alinghi and Larry
Ellison’s Oracle BMW Racing, the stage is set for impressive
sailing competition. Yachts being stored at the new compound
include Stars & Stripes, New Zealand Challenge, Il Moro
di Venezia, NZL-20, Le Defi Areva and K-Yachting
Challenge. Protector boats, which are used as support vessels
for the IACC yachts, will also be stored at the center. The complete
2003 IACCSF racing schedule is as follows: the Sausalito Cup,
June 20-22; the Il Moro Trophy, July 25-27; the Golden
Gate Series, Sept. 6-14; and the 2003 IACC Worlds on Oct. 11-19.

“I can’t wait!” commented San
Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Racers Mark Your Calendars for Next Wednesday

May 9 – Belvedere

Dick Rose, chairman of the US Sailing Rules
Committee, will present a seminar next Wednesday evening, May
14, at San Francisco YC, on the Racing Rules of Sailing. All
racing sailors are encouraged to attend and bring situations
and questions for discussion.

The event begins at 6:30pm. SFYC is located
at 98 Beach Road in Belvedere. See www.sfyc.org/contact.htm for maps and directions.
A $15 donation to the Belvedere Cove Foundation is requested
to cover costs.

We Repeat, Latitude 38 Is Not Associated
with Latitude 38 Productions

May 9 – San Francisco

This Saturday night is KFOG radio’s big KaBoom! fireworks show at
Piers 30 and 32 on the San Francisco waterfront, which naturally
will attract a lot of folks on their boats. It has come to our
attention that a new event and party planning outfit unfortunately
named ‘Latitude 38 Productions’ has chartered a Blue & Gold
ferry boat for a party during the festivities. As you might imagine,
we’re not thrilled at the new outfit’s choice of names, as it
quite clearly seems to trade on a brand name and reputation we’ve
spent more than 25 years developing. We’ve spoken with owner
Peter Scully, and it’s seems likely we’ll be able to work out
a satisfactory solution without having to resort to lawyers.
Meanwhile, please be advised that we are the real Latitude
38 has nothing to do with any ‘Latitude 38 Productions’ party
during the KFOG KaBoom!

Speaking of the KaBoom!, be aware that
the Coast Guard and police agencies will be out in force, and
in years past have stopped and cited a number of skippers for
operating under the influence. This is not a good thing, as it
goes on your driving record as a DUI, and the last thing you
need is the loss of driving privileges for six months or more.
So have fun, be careful, and be sober.

About That Boat Reservations for the Med
Story

May 9 – Mediterranean Sea

Knowing that various countries around the
world can’t even agree enough to keep Cuba off the United Nations
Human Rights Commission, we smelled a rat with the Yachting
Monthly article reprinted above.
So we emailed them to ask if it wasn’t some kind of April Fool’s
Joke. They admitted it was. Those tricky Brits have been pulling
April Fool’s jokes since the 18th century, almost as long as
the French.

YOTREPS

May 9 – 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 9 – 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.