September 5, 2003

Photos of the Day

September 5 – Monterey

Today’s Photos of the Day come to us from
Ron Sherwin of Carmel. What, you’ll probably ask yourself, caused
the owners of these boats in Monterey to put barriers around
the decks of their boats? The answer – and explanatory photos
– appear near the end of this ‘Lectronic.

Mini Moët Holders

September 5 – San Francisco Bay

As most of you probably know, one of the
major events on San Francisco Bay later this month will be the
Moët (rhymes with ‘no way’) Cup, featuring America’s Cup
winner Alinghi from Switzerland, and Oracle BMW,
runner-up in the Louis Vuitton Finals in New Zealand. We’re happy
to report that the folks from Moët et Chandon – they make
champagne – have, in just the nick of time, come up with the
essential Moët Cup spectator accessory – the Mini Moët
Belt. As you can see from the belt modeled in the accompanying
photo, the belt holds four mini Moëts in four insulated
bags, keeping them at ideal drinking temperature. If you follow
America’s Cup racing, you’re going to have to have a Mini Moët
Belt, as those stupid hats that hold two beer cans with nozzles
to your mouth that are so popular at football games just aren’t
going to cut it. There’s been no announcement of a Magnum Moët
Belt for owners of maxi yachts, but surely it’s just a matter
of time.

So Long, Freedom!

September 5 – Zihuatanejo, Mexico

Photo Latitude/Richard

Great News from Rarotonga

September 5 – Rarotonga, Cook Islands

“We have just left Rarotonga and are
on a six day passage to Niue,” writes Michele Scott of Gitana.
“We’re happy to announce that the tiny and only harbor in
Rarotonga – one reason why so many boats pass it by – will be
expanding to double its size next week, as the original harbor
has been greatly expanded. It seems that in the last six months
the fishing industry here has started to boom, so it was decided
to spend money on the expansion. During our two weeks here, we
awoke almost every morning to dynamiting – which kah-boomed and
shook our boat as if a boat had run into us – as they were digging
the new area out. It looks as if the boats that arrive now will
have a nice area away from the commercial fishing boats, huge
freighters, and container ships we had to share space with. The
new area has 20 feet of water, and is much more protected from
the swell and north winds.”

About Today’s Photos of the Day

September 5 – Monterey

“Here is the ‘poop’ from from Monterey,”
writes Ron Sherwin. “And poop is the correct word, for Monterey
Harbor has been invaded by a herd of seals who are really fouling
the place. In fact, the harbormaster has posted warnings about
washing hands after handling anything, such as docklines, that
have been in the water. And it’s not a good time to be a scuba
diver in the harbor.

“Numbering in the high hundreds –
if not low thousands – the seals first established a colony in
the inner harbor near Wharf #1 – the one on which the tourist
attractions are located. After the seals had invaded the sidewalk
around the wharf, the city had its hands full trying to keep
tourists and seals separated. The city finally erected a chain
link fence to stem the invasion. Unable to establish a suitable
beachhead in the inner harbor, the seals retreated to the outer
harbor, where they invaded the beach below the bayside pathway
– as well as the pathway itself. Surrounded by a second chain
link fence, the seals have forced the city into a stalemate.

“Meanwhile, the seals have enriched
the notion of ‘partying and boating with friends,’ as the accompanying
photos illustrate. The earlier photos illustrate what measures
some boat owners have taken to prevent the seals from boarding
their moored boats. The seals have ‘hijacked’ several moored
boats, and have discouraged all attempts to dislodge them. The
seals nearly sunk the hijacked boats after thoroughly trashing
them, leaving broken lifelines and other deck hardware, and filling
cockpits with droppings. Using power washers, the poor boat owners
have the unpleasant job of cleaning up the mess. Cleaning up
seems only partial, since fiberglass decks appear destined to
retain stains and odors indefinitely.”

YOTREPS

September 5 – 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

September 5 – 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.