October 22, 2002

Photo of the Day

October 22 – Auckland, NZ

Today’s Photo of the Day is of a billboard
near the America’s Cup Village in Auckland, New Zealand.

OneWorld, of course, is the Seattle-based
syndicate that went undefeated in the first challenger round
robin. OneWorld will have at least one point against them in
the second round, as that’s the penalty they received for supposedly
having received classified information from the previous New
Zealand boat. Lots of folks think they got away with a light
slap on the wrist.

In any event, Round Robin II starts today,
with OneWorld and the Swiss Alinghi clearly the top two boats.
Larry Ellison’s Golden Gate YC-based Oracle BMW started strong
but was exposed to be off the top pace downwind, as designer
Bruce Farr had opted to give up sail area in return for a lighter
and hopefully faster boat. What, if anything, can be done about
it as this stage is hard to say. They are, however, expected
to sail the same boat US 76 in the second round. It’s also quite
likely they will join OneWorld, Alinghi, and one other syndicate
in the double-elimination group. Boats not in the top four at
the end of Round Robin II will end up in the single elimination
group, and will face an extremely difficult battle in making
it to the finals.

Latitude
Is Far More Than One Person

October 22 – Mill Valley

For a moment I’d like to speak as Richard
Spindler, founder and publisher of Latitude 38, rather
than in the editorial ‘we’ commonly used in ‘Lectronic and Latitude
38. I was the subject of a very flattering article by Dan
Fost on the front page of the Business Section of the Sunday
Chronicle, and was genuinely touched by the nice things
everyone – including competitors – had to say.

The only thing I wished could have made
it into the story were my comments about the terrific people
here that make Latitude a reality. Lest anyone get the
wrong impression, the magazine is the furthest thing in the world
from a one person show. I’ve always thought of Latitude
as an ‘art project’, so I’ve never had an employer/employee perspective.
As such, I take considerable pride in the fact that Latitude
has never had a time clock and I have no idea what hours – or
even days – people work here. Because everyone is so responsible
and does their job so professionally, it only makes sense they
should enjoy such freedom. In any event, this is the perfect
time to introduce the folks who make this ‘art project’ a reality:

Andy Turpin, Senior Editor, 8 years Christine Weaver, Graphic Artist/Webmistress, 12.5 years Helen Nichols, Bookkeeper, 5 years John ‘JR’ Riise, Managing Editor, 18 years. “Yes, we did receive your press release.” Mitch Perkins, Advertising Representative, 15 years Rob Moore, Senior Editor, 15 years, modeling the ‘Editing Crash Helmet’

Annie Bates-Winship, Darkroom Specialist – uh, make that Digital Imaging Specialist – holding the cameras that have made the binders of negatives obsolete. 7 years. Colleen Levine, General Manager/Graphic Artist, 14 years John Arndt, Advertising Representative, 15 years. Note the phone set permanently attached to his left ear. Linda Wood, part-time Graphic Artist, 10 months Mary Briggs, Classified Manager, 3 years Richard Spindler, Publisher/Executive Editor, 25.5 years Photos Latitude/Annie & Richard

In closing, I hope the accompanying photographs
will once and for all dispel the myth that Latitude might
be some high falutin’ publishing powerhouse. For more than 15
years, a large piece of wood resting on two file cabinets facing
a storage room wall – in a basement hallway, no less – was my
office. And it was just fine, for when you’re putting out a magazine,
what counts is the results, not what your office looks like.
When we added a third editor, I got kicked up front. My current
office isn’t luxurious – desk is a $22 Formica countertop from
Home Depot – or neat (see photo above right), but it’s all I
need to do what I like doing best – which is putting Latitude
together with the rest of the team.

When in Rome . . .

October 22 – Ostia, Italy

One of the more popular places to leave
a boat for the winter in the Med this year is Il Porto Di Roma,
which is located on the west coast of Italy at Ostia, about 15
miles from Rome. The attraction is a half full marina where a
bunch of gregarious Aussies were able to negotiate a great group
rate. Whether it will be in effect next winter, however, remains
to be seen. The only problem with the place is that it’s sort
of out in the middle of nowhere, with few restaurants, and lots
of high rise low-income housing. According to Dave and Bonnie
Carleton of the Santa Fe-based F/P 39 cat Icarus, they
much prefer wintering over in Gaeta, a wonderful little medieval
town with a great marina about an hour south of Rome. Read all
about it in the November issue of Latitude
38.

Southern California Dreaming

October 22 – Newport Beach and Catalina
Island

If you think Southern California has all
the sunshine, it’s not true – at least along the coast.

While there was lots of sunshine and blue skies in the Bay Area
on Sunday, it was a dismal gray at both the front side of Catalina
. . .

. . . and in Newport Beach, where the schooner Curlew
slipped into the harbor.
Photos Latitude/Richard

Fossett and PlayStation on Pace
to Reclaim Record

October 22 – British Isles

Steve Fossett and crew aboard the 120-ft
maxi cat PlayStation are currently about three hours ahead
of the record pace in their attempt to reclaim the Around Britain
and Ireland Record. Fossett owned the course record with his
55-ft tri Lakota until four months ago when Tracy Edwards’
crew claimed it with the Ollier-designed maxi cat Maiden 2.
With gales from aft forecast for the next two days, Fossett
and crew will surely build on their record pace for the near
future.

PlayStation
at the start of The Race
Photo Guillaume Plisson, Corbis Sygma

Visit www.fossettchallenge.com
for the latest as well as good maps of their progress.

YOTREPS

October 22 – 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 22 – 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/.