October 13, 2003

Pepina,
71-ft Ketch from Alameda Is Found!

October 13 – Berkeley

“We got a call from Alameda Police
late yesterday saying that our beloved ketch Pepina had
been found in the Berkeley Marina,” reports Ted and Jeanie
Conway of Alameda. “There seems to have been minimal damage
– possibly some to the engine – but nothing like we’d feared.
We would like to thank everyone for the incredible support we
have received from the boating community.”

We emailed Ted and Jeanie to tell them
how happy we were their boat had been recovered, as we suspected
she was stolen for a joyride and was to be scuttled.
“We had convinced ourselves that she had been stolen for
a drug-run and would later be scuttled,” Ted confirms. “As
it stands, we may be out $20,000 fixing the engine and plumbing
– but that’s a hell of a lot less than losing the boat and so
many of our personal items that no amount of money could replace.
We’ll be providing Latitude 38 with a complete story before
too long.”

McKee Dismasted 700 Miles from the Mini-Transat
Finish?

October 13 – Atlantic Ocean

Having led most of the second leg of the
Mini-Transat – France to the Canaries, the Canaries to Brazil
– Seattle’s Jonathan McKee has been dismasted, or has had rudder
or other equipment failure effectively putting him out of the
race. It’s a tough blow so close to the finish of the 4,200-mile
event in a 21-footer.

Photo Courtesy Seattle Yacht
Club

How Come IV Was so Much Faster
than III?

October 13 – Plymouth, UK

How come Bob Miller’s 140-ft schooner Mari-Cha
IV was able to smash the transatlantic record last week,
beating the previous record held by Bernard Stamm, and the record
before that held by the 144-ft Mari-Cha III? The new boat
did the crossing in just 6 days and 17 hours, while the longer
old boat took 8 days and 23 hours.

Mari-Cha IV
Photo Thierry Martinez

Weight was a major difference. MC III
displaced a whopping 109 tons, while the new boat, built of carbon
and with all weight carefully controlled, displaced less than
half that at 50 tons. Imagine, for example, how much faster your
boat – be it a Cal 29, Islander 36, or whatever – would be off
the wind is she weighed less than half as much.

By the way, there was just one American
among the 24-person crew: Mike Howard of Southern California.
Miller himself was born in Boston and talks like an American,
but considers himself a resident of Hong Kong. There have been
rumors that Miller would be interested in trying to sail his
new boat around the world in less than 80 days. But he’s squashed
those rumors, saying that seven or eight days on a boat is enough
for him. He’s looking toward Antigua Sailing Week and – won’t
this be great? – next July’s West Marine Pacific Cup.

Bush Administration to Crack Down on Visitors
to Cuba

October 13 – Washington, DC

With even many of the left-leaning political
figures in the world having given up hope on tyrant Fidel Castro
– six-year prison sentences for citizens owning a typewriter
were, in many cases, the last straw – the Bush Administration
announced last week they would tighten the economic noose on
Cuba. One of the ways they plan to do it is by fining Americans
who dare to sail to Cuba and spend money there. “Americans
are not allowed to go to Cuba for pleasure,” said President
Bush in a speech.

Having visited Cuba and seen the incredible
repression firsthand, we’re arch-enemies of despicable tyrants
like Castro. Nonetheless, we think the Bush Administration is
making a strategic mistake by forbidding Americans to go there.
The way we see it, the more Americans who visit Cuba, the better
the chances that one of the world’s biggest violators of civil
rights will be subverted. Spring break in Cuba!

YOTREPS

October 13 – 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

October 13 – Pacific
Ocean

San Francisco Bay Weather

Check out this guide to San Francisco Bay
Navigational Aids: http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/sfports.html.

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

The site for the Pacific Ocean sea states
has moved to http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/PacRegSSA.shtml.

For views of sea states anywhere in the world,
see http://www.oceanweather.com/data.