September 28, 2000

Photo of the Day

Injured Poobah Vows to Carry on September 28 – Baja Ha-Ha World Headquarters The ugly thing in the photograph is a fluorescent camouflage cast on the ankle of the Wanderer, who prior to the injury was slated to once again be the Grand Poobah for the Baja Ha-Ha. The Ha-Ha is the 750-mile cruiser rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. The 138 paid up entries will depart San Diego on October 31. The Wanderer injured his ankle two weeks ago while descending some steep stairs at the Latitude 38 office at 6 a.m. “It’s was God’s way of saying that people shouldn’t be at work that early in the morning.” After keeping an appointment in LA, he visited the Emergency Room at Marin General the following day and was misdiagnosed as having just a sprained ankle. After two weeks of swelling and pain, a specialist used the original x-rays to spot an obvious break. “Now I understand the deal about second opinions,” says the Wanderer.

Photo Latitude/Chris Despite the broken ankle and the ugly cast he is supposed to wear until the middle of November, the Wanderer vows that he will still be able to carry out his duties as the Grand Poobah. “It may be a little harder than normal to dinghy through the surf, and surfing with a cast is out of the question, but I’d have to break a couple of more ankles to miss the Ha-Ha.”

September 28 – Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

Tropical Weather

Hurricane Isaac in the Atlantic is consistently blowing at
over 100 knots, but as it’s following the northeasterly curve
of the East Coast of the United States some 600 miles offshore,
nobody is too worried. And the surfers are jacked.

It’s the next hurricane, Joyce, that has the Eastern Caribbean
worried. Although still 1,000 miles out in the Atlantic and with
only 75 knot winds, she’s taken a slight jog to the south, and
is now headed in the general direction of the Windward Islands,
such as Grenada, St. Lucia and Martinique. As such, it’s possible
she could take the classic northwest turn of Caribbean hurricanes
and sweep right up the Windwards and Leewards. It’s far too early
to tell, but everyone is hoping Joyce will take an Isaac-like
sharp turn to the north. For more on the Atlantic hurricane season,
go to http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2000/index.html.

Hurricane Joyce Unisys Weather Graphic

San Francisco Bay Weather

To see what the winds are like on the Bay right now, check
out http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/.

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.
Right now, it’s quite calm all along the coast.

Pacific Ocean Weather

You can view the new University of Hawaii Department of Meteorology
satellite picture by clicking
here.

Pacific Sea State

Check out today’s sea state at: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html.

For another view, see http://www.oceanweather.com/data/global.html.

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Cruising

Location, Location, Location

September 28 – New Yawk, New Yawk

When it comes to transient dockage, you can’t beat North Cove Marina – for high prices! They charge $4.50/foot – per day. So if you pull in with your 50-footer, that’s $225. If you’re just picking up or dropping off friends or guests, it’s $7.50 a foot. Yikes. Berth fees are, like real estate, all about location, location, location. And North Cove Marina is located near the World Trade Center and World Financial Center in lower Manhattan. So if you made a little money in the market and want to show off your 100-footer, you bring it to North Cove to show her off. The berthing may cost you $10,000/month, but you can afford it. The harbor was founded by Sr. Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, the late Mexican media mogul, who opened it for business in June of ’89. In something of a local angle, it was Azcárraga who had the 234-foot megayacht ‘Eco’ built. Upon Emilio’s passing, it was purchased by Larry Ellison, who renamed her ‘Katana’ and who keeps her in the Med. The harbor is currently owned by Watermark Associates.

Photo Courtesy North Cove Marina For further details, visit www.northcovemarina.com.

YOTREPS

September 28 – 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/

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Racing

Olympic Update

September 28 – Sydney, Australia

J.J. Isler of La Jolla and Pease Glaser of Long Beach won the
silver medal in the women’s 470 racing at Sydney in stunning fashion.
Out of position to win a medal until the seventh and final leg
of the 11th and final race, the two Southern California women
managed to overtake three other boats to grab the silver. For
those not familiar with small boat one-design racing, overtaking
three other boats on a downwind leg when everything is on the
line is . . . well, brilliant! Nicely done, ladies.

Isler had won the bronze in 470s at the Olympics in Barcelona
and is a three-time winner of the Rolex Yachtswoman of the year,
the highest honor for competitive sailing in the U.S. Isler and
Glaser started their 470 campaign late in the game, and had previously
finished no better than 7th in international campaigns. The gold
was taken by the Aussies, the bronze by Ukraine.

In the men’s 470s, Paul Foerster of Garland, Texas, and crew Bob
Merrick of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, appeared to have a good shot
at the gold when the series leading Aussies dropped to 9th after
rounding the first mark. But making the best of the windy conditions,
the Aussies charged back to second and gold.

This was Foerster’s third Olympics, and he previously took a silver
in Barcelona in the Flying Dutchman class. Merrick had originally
dreamed of Olympic medals in hockey and running before settling
on sailing. Going into the Olympics, Foerster and Merrick were
rated #1 in the world in the 470s.