September 7, 2001

Photos of the Day

September 7 – Punta Ala, Italy

Today’s Photos of the Day are from the interior of the 32-meter
sloop Ulisse – which you’ll read about more below.

Mexico Photo Special

September 7 – Mexico

Sailing to Mexico this winter, this is the kind of stuff you’re
likely to see:

500 year old cactus

Marina at Melaque

Fireworks at Puerto Vallarta – long before Burning Man

Anchorage Quiz

September 7 – Mystery Location

Our anchorage quiz was a little
too difficult for anyone who hadn’t been there. Nick Salvador
guessed Kingston, Jamaica, while another reader picked Rideway
Reservoir in Colorado. Mark Covec of the Bristol 27 Magstar
was much closer: “I thought it might be one of the coves
around the town of Ramatuelle just south of St. Tropez, but there
aren’t enough large power boats. I am sure it must be somewhere
in the Med. The wind is too light to be somewhere in the trades.
I would guess France because of those beautiful red roofs. I
sure wish I was there.”

Actually, the correct answer is Punta Ala,
Italy. The marina is just around the corner from the anchorage
that is the home of the Prada America’s Cup challenge. In fact,
here’s a photo of Patrizio Bertelli’s new 32-meter sloop Ulisse.

Photo Latitude/Richard

Volvo Ocean Race on TV

September 7 – The Airwaves

ESPN2 will present a 30-minute preview of the Volvo Ocean Race
on Sunday afternoon, September 9, at 1:30 PM PDT. This program
will feature the Sydney Hobart Race, the Fastnet Race, and a
history of round the world racing, the technology behind the
Volvo Ocean 60 and a look at the training by illbruck.
On deck: The Transpac Race ­ Sunday, September 16, at 1:00
PM PDT on ESPN.

How about a big raise for the program director
who decided to air these programs when the audience should all
be out sailing on their own boats?

Beneteau First 40.7 One Design

September 7 – San Francisco Bay

“Just want to let you know there will be another Beneteau
First 40.7 on the Bay very soon,” writes Mike Garl of San
Carlos. “Friday I’ll be taking delivery of White Dove,
which will be commissioned at KKMI. Scott Easom is the project
and racing manager for this new program. We will be an active
addition to the one design fleet, which should number 10 plus
boats by 2002. We hope to join the racing scene in late September.”

Thanks for the report. If anybody is launching
a new boat, racing or cruising, let us know about it.

YOTREPS

September 7 – 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

Hurricane Prediction

September 7 – Atlantic Ocean

For the last bunch of years, William Gray
of Colorado State University has been making hurricane predictions
based on what seems to us to be an incredibly complicated formula
laced with monumental variables. So it comes as no surprise to
us that his hurricane prediction for the 2001 Atlantic-Caribbean
season has been more than a little off. Earlier this year, Gray
predicted normal or slightly greater than normal hurricane activity.
Alas, this is the first year since the mid-’80s that there hasn’t
been a single Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane by so late in the
season. We think a Ouija board would work better. Currently Tropical
Storm Erin is rumbling up the Atlantic, and for Gray’s sake,
we hope it turns into a hurricane.

Tropical storm activity this season to date
Unisys
Weather Graphic

September 7 – 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/.

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.

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