Photos of the Day

November 1 - San Diego

With a 8-10 knots blowing out of the norhwest, 106 boats crossed the starting line of the eighth annual Baja Ha-Ha Rally off Coronado Roads, many flying colorful asymmetrical chutes - or trying to. For once, many of the competitors in the fleet actually arrived at the starting line at the same time - we saw the tightest clustering of boats ever - with the Deerfoot 62 Raven leading the pack, followed closely by the custom three-masted schooner Millennium Falcon (top photo).

As in years past, photographer Tom Lyon arrived in a helicopter to take aerial portraits of each entry. The photos will be for sale in Cabo, with all profits going to the La Paz orphanage.

The fleet spread out as it approached the Coronado Islands, but all were experiencing the same ideal conditions: flat seas, gentle breezes and sunny skies. The wind built during the afternoon with the arrival of moderate cloud cover, reaching a peak during the night of about 18 knots. The fleet was blessed that first evening by the setting of the sun in the west, while an almost-full moon rose in the east. Many were said to be lathering up with 'moon lotion' to avoid a moon burn - at times, it was literally light enough to read by.

Day Two began with light winds and sloppy seas, with increased winds predicted by the official Ha-Ha weather routers, Commander's Weather, for later in the day. At this writing, it is a gloriously sunny day with 360 degree clarity.

The Rally Committee boat, Latitude 38's Profligate, reports having experienced two 'full-immersion baptisms' of its brand new spinnaker, a one-hour wrap of an old chute and one broken halyard - par for the course based on past experience.

Great Pumpkin Day 1 Photos

November 1 - Pt. Richmond

As promised, here are some scenes from Saturday's heavily overcast (but thankfully not rainy) one design Great Pumpkin Regatta. Tomorrow, we'll have photos from Sunday's pursuit race. For top finishers, see yesterday's report.

NYYC Postpones Transatlantic Challenge

November 1 - New York

Charles A Dana III, commodore of the New York Yacht Club, has announced the postponement of the Transatlantic Challenge, presented by Rolex. The transatlantic race, from New York to England, will be sailed in May 2005.

The recessionary economy and the tragic events of September 11 and their
aftermath have raised concerns about security and have led to the possibility of some competitors being reluctant to compete in May 2002.

World Disabled Sailing Championships

November 1 - St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg Yacht Club hosted the IFDS World Championships October 24-31. Here are the top finishers.

Sonar (15 boats): 1) Brian Mackie, CAN, 24 points; 2) Andy Cassell, GBR, 31; 3) Jens Kroker, 33; 4) Ken Kelly, CAN, 39.

2.4m Class (14 boats): 1) Heiko Kroeger, GER, 8; 2) Thomas Brown, USA, 28;
3) Bjornar Erikstad, NOR, 36; 4) Jostein Stordahl, NOR, 38.

For full results see www.spyc.org/World/Results/results.htm.

Volvo's Only Couple?

November 1 - Cape Town, South Africa

Photographer Carlo Borlenghi sent us this photo of Assa Abloy crewmember Neal McDonald welcoming wife Lisa McDonald, skipper of Amer Sports Too, to Cape Town. Could it be that they are the only husband/wife combo to ever race against each other in the Whitbread/Volvo?

Photo
Carlo Borlenghi/SEA&SEE

YOTREPS

November 1 - 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

November 1 - Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea

Tropical Depression 15, which we told you about on Tuesday, has become Tropical Storm Michelle and is currently headed for the western tip of Cuba. Storm watches and/or warnings may be required for portions of the northwestern Caribbean later today. South Florida and the Keys should closely monitor Michelle. At 1500 GMT, she was located near 17.2N 83.9W and moving north-northwest at 6 knots. Winds are at 60 kts with gusts to 75. Seas are up to 12 feet.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lorenzo continues into the middle of nowhere in the North Atlantic. To track both these storms, see http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2001/index.html.

Graphic Courtesy Unisys Weather

November 1 - 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/. (Note: This page seems to be working correctly again.)

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.