October 20, 2003

San Diego Cruising Cat Robbed in Cartagena,
Colombia

October 20 – Cartagena, Colombia

Photo Latitude/Richard

Today’s Photo of the Day is of John Haste’s
Perry 52 Catamaran Little Wing, which we regret to report
has been robbed at gunpoint in Cartagena, Colombia, after coming
out of the Fero Chem Boatyard. Apparently there was only one
person on Little Wing – it may not have been Haste, who
may be back in the States getting ready to do the Ha-Ha aboard
Bob Smith’s 40-ft cat Pantera. In any event, Little
Wing slowed down because a cayuco with three men blocked
her path. Showing a shotgun, the men came aboard, bound whoever
was on the boat, and proceeded to steal all the electronics,
lots of valuables, and $400 in cash. Although bruised, whoever
was on Little Wing at the time wasn’t seriously hurt.

What makes this report a little unusual
is that Cartagena has generally been considered the one and only
safe place in Colombia. In fact, not long ago Haste emailed us
to report that he was having a fabulous time there.

Jessica Cup

October 20 – San Francisco

Twenty-three classic yachts turned out
for the Jessica Cup on Saturday. This event is the ‘other’ regatta
on the Master Mariners yearly calendar. Though attracting only
about a third of the usual number of boats as the big Memorial
Day regatta, the Jessica Cup has enjoyed slow but steady growth
since it began in the late ’80s. It’s also enjoyed mostly lovely
weather and this weekend was no exception.

For results, see the November issue of
Latitude 38.

Flirt (left)
and Simpatico head for a fog-shrouded Bridge.

The lovely Aida.

He Did It!

October 20 – San Francisco

Fourteen-year-old Shark Kahn, pictured
below, won the Melges 24 Worlds last Friday, beating runner-up
Harry Melges by nine points after a nail-biting final race.

Shark, who is home-tutored and splits his
time between Santa Cruz and Honolulu, and crew Mark ‘Crusty’
Christensen (main), Richard Clarke (tactics), Brian Hutchinson
(trimmer), and Brian Lee (bow) put together a dominant 5,3,1,2,3,2,1,(16),3
record against a tough, international 68-boat fleet. Among the
victims of the Amazing Shark Attack was Kahn’s father Philippe,
who finished 19th. The victory bowled over just about everybody
except Shark, a nice kid who seemed unaffected by the big win.
. .

The Star NAs kicked off the day after the
Melges regatta ended, with 40 boats competing on the Circle Saturday
and the Cityfront Sunday. Howie Shiebler, who owns the local
Protector franchise, and crew Will Stout are leading after two
races. However, familiar names – Cayard, Reynolds, Hutchinson,
Loof, Doyle – are nipping at Shiebler’s heels and with two days
of racing left, the title is still very much up for grabs.

Paul Cayard and crew Phil Trinter (8159) lead the charge around
the weather mark. World Champions and multiple Olympic medalists
Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl (8129) aren’t far behind.

Audi Melges 24 Worlds (final) – 1) Pegasus
24-1, Shark Kahn, 20 points; 2) Star, Harry Melges,
29; 3) Full Throttle, Brian Porter, 44; 4) Joe Fly,
Luca Santella, ITA, 61; 5) P&P Sailing Team, Phillipe
Ligot, FRA, 66; 6) Ebrex Logistic, Babbi Egidio, ITA,
78; 7) USA 39, Dave Ullman, 80; 8) Black Seal, Jamie Lea,
95; 9) Unprotected, Robert Greenhalgh, 100; 10) UK 444,
Ian Cleaver, Scotland, 109. (68 boats; 9 races; 1 throwout)

Keane Star NAs (after 2 races) – 1) Howie
Shiebler/Will Stout, 3 points; 2) Paul Cayard/Phil Trinter, 7;
3) Mark Reynolds/Magnus Liljedahl, 7; 4) Terry Hutchinson/Andrew
Scott, 8; 5) Frederik Loof/Anders Ekstrom, 11; 6) Eric Doyle/Rodrigo
Meireles, 12; 7) Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria, 15; 8) George
Szabo/Mark Strube, 18; 9) John MacCausland/Bard Nichol, 23; 10)
Bill Allen/Brad Lichter, 23. (40 boats)

All Melges Photos Latitude/Rob

Action in the Star North Americans:

Around the first weather mark. Bow #19 is three-time Star World
Champion and ’84 Olympic Gold Medalist Bill Buchan.

The Berkeley Circle was wet and wild. The Pegasus Racing Team-logo’d
#02 is sailed here by Sweden’s Frederick Loof (skipper) and Anders
Ekstrom.

Some Star sailors had a better first day than others. Dale Hoffman
and Robert Ferro DNF’d both races after this unfortunate dismasting.
All Star Photos Latitude/JR

See www.stfyc.com
for more on both regattas. We’ll also have more in the November
issue of Latitude
38.

Could It Be Valencia, Spain?

October 20 – Valencia, Spain

There hasn’t been any official announcement,
but rumors are going around hot and heavy that Valencia, Spain,
will be the site of the next America’s Cup. Two other leading
contenders, Marseilles and Naples, have both let it be known
they won’t be the one.

Valencia is on the Mediterranean coast
of Spain, due west of the Baleric Islands. It has about the same
population as San Francisco, is home to many sporting activities,
and is said to have a ‘boiling nightlife’. The time from Friday
evening to Sunday morning is called La Movida or ‘the movement’
in Valencia, when nobody takes any time for sleep or even rest
. . . they just party.

Peyron Versus Edwards

October 20 – France

If you think there was already bad blood
between France and England, it just got much worse. It was only
a few weeks ago that Frenchman Bruno Peyron – who has been the
major figure in maxi-multihull around the world racing – announced
that plans for a second The Race and The Race Tour for maxi-multihulls
have been postponed because teams haven’t been able to raise
sponsorship money. But just last week, Brit Tracy Edwards, who
owns the maxi-cat Maiden, announced that she’s scored
over $50 million in sponsorship money from the Gulf State of
Qatar to create two new Peyron-like around the world events for
maxi-multihulls. To say that Peyron is steamed would be an understatement.

YOTREPS

October 20 – 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 20 – 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.