October 18, 2001

Photo of the Day

October 18 – Mystery Location

We got 12 answers to yesterday’s
‘mystery anchorage’ quiz, nine of them within five hours of it
being posted. That’s pretty good response. The most interesting
was from Tom Stekett of New Hampshire – the only one who got
it wrong. “Is that Bodega Bay?” he wrote. “It
could be that everything looks like Bodega Bay when you’re in
the middle of New Hampshire.” Take a look at this photo,
Tom, and guess again. The name of this replica is the Mayflower.
. . which should suggest that the mystery anchorage was actually
Plymouth, Mass.

Photos Latitude/Rob

Sailing in Southeast Asia

October 17 – Phuket, Thailand

Organizers of the 2001 Phuket King’s Cup regatta said despite
the tragic events in the United States on September 11, this
year’s King’s Cup Regatta based out of Phuket, Thailand, will
“go ahead in style.” Last year the King’s Cup saw a
record number of boats – almost 100 – taking part in the week’s
racing in the waters around Phuket. Halfway through October,
the entries for December’s event were keeping pace with this
time last year, and organizers said they are confident of an
excellent turn-out again. Sponsors – such as BMW Thailand – are
holding strong.

Richard Steinke of the Sausalito-based
Isobar is expected to participate for the third year in
a row.

More Woe for OneWorld

October 18 – Auckland, New Zealand

To date, the Craig MacCaw-backed OneWorld America’s Cup Challenge
from Seattle seems to have been star-crossed. First, MacCaw’s
tech fortune – like a lot of others – took a nasty turn for the
worse, and he decided that he could no longer underwrite the
entire campaign. Fortunately, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
stepped in with an infusion of $10 million. According to the
New York Times, Allen also bought an almost new monster
megayacht from one of the MacCaw brothers, although we’re not
sure if it was the 350-ft Le Grand Bleu or the 300-ft
Tatoosh.

In any event, OneWorld picked up the pieces
and finally got both their training boats – the old America
True and the old Stars n Stripes – on the water for
training in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf the other day. But not
for one. Shortly after they started, the rig on Dawn Riley’s
former America True came tumbling down, throwing some
of the crew overboard. Nobody was hurt. Peter Gilmour said it
was breezy on the course, but nothing unusual. The crew was fine
tuning the mast when it came down.

Failures on America’s Cup boats are not
that rare. After Oracle Racing bought the AmericaOne boats from
Paul Cayard’s syndicate, the keel fell off as they were training
in New Zealand. The boat and keel were remated, and we even went
sailing on her in Ventura.

Missing the Metzler

October 18 – San Francisco Bay

About 20 years ago, we bought a German-made
Metzler inflatable dinghy. It was distinctive because it was
bright orange and had forward and aft air tubes to create the
sole. It was a good dinghy. In fact, when we saw a guy putt by
our boat in one the other day, it reminded us that we wouldn’t
mind having one for a ‘second car’ on Profligate when
we sail to Mexico this year. Anybody have a used one for sale,
preferably one of the smaller models? If so, email Richard.

More Shots from Last Weekend

October 18 – San Francisco Bay

YOTREPS

October 18 – 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

October 18 – 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/.
(Note: This page seems to be running correctly again.)

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.