September 30, 2002

Photo of the Day

September 30 – San Francisco

Pete Belghaus of San Francisco writes,
“It’s only been three weeks and I miss Friday night sailing
already!” Pete was part of the J/35 Jarlen’s Corinthian
YC beer can crew. He continues, “I’m sending you a picture
that Barbara Hatch took on my boat Sea Major just out
the Gate looking west. See, Fiji isn’t the only place with beautiful
sunsets!” (See last Wednesday’s
‘Lectronic.)

Photo Barbara Hatch

The Tayana 37 Sea Major, you may
recall, was previously owned by bass player Scott Smith of the
Canadian rock group Loverboy. Smith was swept from the boat and
lost on the South Bar in heavy seas on December 1, 2000. Sea
Major has recovered from the tragedy and is enjoying her
new life with Pete and his pals.

Ignoring Customs in the South Pacific

September 30 – South Pacific

“As we have been longtime cruisers
throughout the South Pacific, we have had the opportunity to
see many changes take place here,” writes Sean Cody of Oblio
from Fiji.

Marquesas
Photo Sheri Seybold

“Over the last seven years we have
noticed a persistent increase in the number of restrictive laws
governing travel by yachts to some of the lovely islands down
here. Initially, we felt that land-based travelers have been
breaking laws concerning overstaying visas and illegal entry.
We are now convinced it’s we cruisers who really are to blame.
Two clear instances indicate this. While in Neiafu, Tonga, we
had the chance to chat with a Dutch couple on a new Grand Soleil
yacht that had arrived four days previously from Samoa. As we
were sitting in the Mermaid Bar, they gleefully explained how
they had not checked into Samoa. Further, they had not checked
into Tonga – and had no intention of doing so! October is the
time many yachts head from Suva, Fiji, to New Zealand for the
tropical cyclone season. We have been sitting here for the past
two weeks preparing to leave ourselves, and in that time we have
seen three separate yachts break quarantine by going ashore prior
to clearing. The cruisers were from Australia, the United States,
and Germany. What is going on? Would these people support someone
else going into their country and flaunting their immigration
laws? This must stop – or all cruisers will pay the price. Obey
the law.”

We know that an increasing number of cruisers
are ignoring clearing procedures, and we can think of two reasons
why. First, in many cases the clearing processes come across
like a form of hazing, where officials delight in taking money
and time from cruisers – simply because they can. Secondly, in
the cases of cruisers from the United States, Australia, and
Germany, the immigration laws of their countries are routinely
violated by the tens of thousands, so they no doubt rationalize
their behavior by thinking ‘what’s good for one is good for another’.

In our opinion, it’s important for cruisers
to obey the laws in each country they visit. On the other hand,
in many cases, we think the countries themselves are largely
to blame.

Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger
Series Starts Today

September 30 – Auckland, NZ

Although it’s only September 30 in the
U.S., it’s already October 1 in Auckland – which means the Louis
Vuitton Challenger Series starts today. Here are the pairings
for the next two days:

October 1:
Match 1 – Alinghi (SUI 64) – Le Defi (FRA 69)
Match 2 – Wight Lightning (GBR 70) – Stars & Stripes
(USA 66)
Match 3 – Luna Rossa (ITA 74) – Oracle BMW Racing
(USA 76)
Match 4 – Mascalzone Latino (ITA 72) – OneWorld
(USA 67)
Off – Orn (SWE 63)

October 2:
Match 1 – Stars & Stripes (USA 66) – Luna Rossa
(ITA 74)
Match 2 – OneWorld (USA 67) – Alinghi (SUI 64)
Match 3 – Oracle BMW Racing (USA 76) – Mascalzone Latino
(ITA 72)
Match 4 – Orn (SWE 63) – Le Defi (FRA 69)
Off – Wight Lightning (GBR 70)

Louis Vuitton Series on U.S. TV:
Monday, September 30: 9:00PM – 11:00PM EDT – OLN
Tuesday, October 1: 9:00PM – 11:00PM EDT – OLN
Wednesday, October 2: 9:00PM – 11:00PM EDT – OLN

If you’re planning on going down to New
Zealand to watch all the teams from the various countries, we
have to caution you that there’s not a lot of time. Unlike the
last go around, when there were six challengers battling it out
in the semi-finals through the start of the new year, this year’s
semi-finals will only have four boats, and all their racing will
be over by the time the champagne corks are popped. Indeed, the
only racing between New Year’s and the Cup itself will be January
11-21, when the two best challengers go at it to find out who
will take on the Kiwis. In other words, come New Year’s, most
of the compounds will have shut down and much of the international
flavor will have faded. This change was brought on by the more
powerful challengers, who felt that excessive racing against
second-tier challengers was an impediment to their wresting control
of the Cup from the Kiwis.

According to our crystal ball, it will
be Alinghi and Oracle BMW Racing in the Challenger
Finals, and whoever wins will beat the Kiwis to take the Cup.
But don’t bet the ranch on it. Incidentally, Mathew Sheahan of
Yachting World quotes Peter Holmberg of Oracle BMW
Racing as saying that Larry Ellison will be on the boat today
as a member of the afterguard and will be “the skipper.”
We’re not sure if that means he’ll do any driving, but we hope
it does, because we think the A-Cup could benefit from what almost
certainly would be the resulting tempest in a teapot.

More on Van Pham, Who Survived 3.5 Months
on His Dismasted Boat

September 30 – Long Beach

“I’ve been in and out of Shoreline
Marina quite a bit since last November when I brought my trimaran
Migration back from Mexico,” reports Bruce Balan.
“I met Van Pham at Shoreline Marina sometime around May
or June, when we talked for about 30 minutes. He’s a was a very
interesting guy, and he told me how he had sailed to Central
and South America. I couldn’t always understand him because of
his accent, and I wasn’t always sure I knew exactly what he was
talking about. But he was clearly someone who was comfortable
on his little boat, and who needed few amenities. He said that
on his trip north, he had sailed all the way from the south of
Mexico to California with only one or two stops. At the time,
I have to admit, I wasn’t totally convinced – especially given
the condition of his boat. I figured he was another of those
interesting characters you meet on the docks. I can say that
I wasn’t surprised – both that his mast broke and that he survived
– when I read about it in the papers.”

Funny Boat in Fiji

September 30 – Fiji

When George Backhus of the Sausalito-based
Deerfoot 62 Moonshadow was in Fiji recently, he snapped
a photo of this very unusual looking motorsailer. He was interested
in what kind of smart ass comments readers might have on the
design (email Richard).

Photo George Backhus

YOTREPS

September 30 – 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

September 30 – 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/.