Photos of the Day

May 19 - Pacific Ocean

Newspapers have recently been carrying stories that there are very few big fish left in the sea. Today's Photo of the Day proves there is one less. It's of Graham Farrar of the Santa Barbara-based Moody 46 Pau Hana, his crew, and the 150-lb yellow tail tuna they caught recently while doing the Puddle Jump from Mexico to the Marquesas. By the way, he sent the photo from the middle of the Pacific via Winlink.

Photo Courtesy Hana Pau

Most boats have completed their Puddle Jumps. One of the smallest and slowest was Garry and Lisa Blackwood's Westsail 32 Scot Free from Vancouver. Friends of the newlyweds became concerned when they stopped getting daily position reports via Sat phone. There was no need to worry, as the couple were fine. It did, however, take them 40 days to reach Nuku Hiva. Last year's fastest Puddle Jump boat was the Petty family's Wylie 60 Roxanne, which did it in 13 days. Most boats take about three weeks.

Challenge Mondial Assistance Racing Gets More Exciting

May 19 - Mediterranean Sea

Géant, at the start
Photo Courtesy Challenge Mondial Assistance

The Mondial, a 2,800-mile race for crewed 60-ft trimarans from Cherbourg, France, to Rimini, Italy, remains exciting, as with two days to go, eight of the 12 starters were within 100 miles of the lead and four were within 50 miles. In the 60-ft trimarans, it's possible for a boat to gain 30 miles in two hours - few leads are safe. So far two boats have dismasted, one flipped, and another dropped out because of centerboard problems.

Simple Menu on a Small Boat across the Atlantic

May 19 - Atlantic Ocean

You'd be hard pressed to find two more remarkable twins than Emmanuel and Maximillien Berque, unusual sailors from the Atlantic coast of France. Longtime surfers who grew tired of waiting for waves, they were inspired by Laurent Bourgnon's crossing of the Atlantic on a Hobie 16. So they designed a 15-ft Lugger with a centerboard, and immediately set sail from France to Florida - and made it. Did we mention they are minimalists? As such, they carried no raft, no distress signals, and no instruments other than a Davis 3 sextant. Upon arrival in Florida, they simply walked away from their little boat to find jobs.

If you suspect it was a once-in-a-lifetime stunt, you'd be wrong. For the two then built a 21-ft Lugger with a centerboard and outrigger, and again sailed her across the Atlantic, arriving in Guadeloupe in late April after 27 days - meaning they averaged better than 100 miles a day. So tuned in to the stars, wind, clouds, currents, and a feeling for their surroundings, they decided they didn't even need a sextant - let alone a radio, watch, books, or any of that stuff. It goes without saying they didn't have an engine. Taking the minimalist thing to an extreme - particularly for Frenchmen - they ate only one thing - gofio, a pre-cooked flour favored by fishermen in the Canary Islands - many of whose boats don't have engines either. Apparently the stuff has everything they need - well, except for the Tabasco sauce they brought along. To prove how minimalist the two are, in 27 days the two of them drank a total of 16 gallons of water, their total liquid intake.

Catnip Cup on June 14

May 19 - San Francisco Bay

The third annual Catnip Cup - a no-host rally for mostly cruising cats but also other multihulls - from San Francisco to Vallejo, and back the next day, will be held on June 14 & 15. Yes, the 'no hosts' know it's Father's Day Weekend. It's a fun and relaxed event, with almost zero competitive pressure, and provides a great opportunity to get a tour of a variety of cruising cats. Profligate will be there, Glenn Fagerlin's Kronos 45 Perception will be there, and probably about a dozen or so other cats. For full info, email Glenn.

YOTREPS

May 19 - 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

May 19 - 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.