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Hey Tuna people,
My little Tuna (Sweet Reward) is the second 'black' mast from the right
taking a hit OVER the CYC breakwater!
Craig
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Mighty Storms Ravage Bay Area
January 7, 2008 - San Francisco Bay
<http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/img_lectronic_799orless/2008-01-07_6644
_corinthian-2.jpg> corinthian-2
(Click on the photo to enlarge it.)
Looking south towards Angel Island from the Corinthian YC race deck: At high
tide the storm surge could barely be contained.
Photo Latitude / John A.
C 2007 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
The full force of Mother Nature's fury was felt throughout the San Francisco
Bay Area last Friday and Saturday as torrential rains and hurricane-force
winds lashed the region.
corinthian-1
<http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/img_lectronic_432/2008-01-07_3001_corit
h-1.jpg>
Lightweight daysailers were easily toppled all over the region.
Photo Latitude / John A.
C 2007 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
Ashore, as roadways flooded, trees toppled into powerlines and semi
tractor-trailers were tossed onto their sides atop Bay Area bridges, boaters
throughout the region scrambled to save boats from storm-inflicted damage.
At the height of Friday's storm, the Richardson Bay anchorage, which lies
between Sausalito and Belvedere, was a teaming cauldron of chaos, with
sustained SW winds over 60 knots and gusts into the 70s. Local diver Todd
Estrella was one of several local mariners who were attempting to keep
moored boats from washing ashore. At some point, while working another
rescuer, their rescue boat became unattached from a tug they were aboard
while trying to save it. According to Todd's brother, the dinghy Todd jumped
into to go after the rescue boat capsized. He held onto the side for 45
minutes before being pulled from the water. Tragically, he later died in a
Marin hospital.
loch lomond
<http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/img_lectronic_432/2008-01-07_5168_loch
lom.jpg>
Loch Lomond Harbormaster Pat Lopez (yellow vest) directs the evacuation of
damaged docks in the storm's aftermath.
Photo Latitude / Andy
C 2007 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
Elsewhere, marina staffs, liveaboards and other slipholders worked furiously
to secure boats and gear throughout the Friday storm and during a smaller
storm which followed on Saturday. Predictably, poorly secured roller-furling
jibs led to dozens of boats lashing about wildly in their slips. At San
Rafael's Loch Lomond Marina wind-driven storm surge overran the outer
breakwater and caused an entire row of docks to shift 30 feet. Amazingly,
there was little or no boat damage. Loose gear in dry storage yards around
the Bay Area became projectiles, as dozens of boats were toppled -
especially lightweight daysailers.
Now that the electricity is back on at our Mill Valley offices, we're
beginning to receive photos and 'war stories' from all over the Bay Area. If
you have storm-related photos or a pertinent report to share, please contact
<mailto:editorial at latitude38.com?subject=STORM%20STORIES-LEC%20LAT> us. Look
for further coverage here, and in the February edition of Latitude 38.
- latitude / at
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Coville Out, Joyon Gaining Pace
January 7, 2008 - South Atlantic Ocean
Just minutes after setting a new 24-hour solo record, an encounter with an
unidentified floating object forced Thomas Coville's 105-ft trimaran Sodeb'O
to retire from its singlehanded round-the-world attempt. After covering 619
miles at an average speed of 25.8 knots, Coville reports he was down below
when he felt the boat slow dramatically - no doubt from the drag resulting
from the absence of the starboard ama's sacrificial 'crash box'.
Crash box
<http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/img_lectronic_custom/2008-01-07_6911_so
debo.jpg>
The ragged stump of Sodeb'O's starboard ama.
C 2007 Thomas Coville
"I immediately went on deck and a saw a plume of water, which was nearly 10
feet above the starboard float, " Coville told his shore team. "In a matter
of seconds, you understand what's happening without knowing how."
Coville expressed doubt that the damage was a result of a collision with a
growler, as has been widely reported.
"A few moments later, I saw a piece of ice, but I think the impact would
have been more severe, more violent if I'd hit ice," he said.
Coville is now halfway between the Kerguelen Islands and Cape Town in South
Africa. His intent is to sail the 1,300 miles back uphill to Cape Town, and
subsequently back to France, where his sponsor Sodeb'O, a French food
company, has expressed support for another go around-the-world.
Meanwhile, Francis Joyon and IDEC anticipate getting into the South Atlantic
trades soon, after fighting through a debilitating St. Helena High that's
slowed his progress for the last few days. Despite being hampered by the
weather, Joyon is still well ahead of the current record pace and expressed
dismay at Coville's retirement.
"I'd like to congragulate Thomas on having taken the 24 hour record from
me," Joyon said. "I imagine that Thomas must feel frustrated, and personally
I am disappointed to have lost a competitor and the sporting motivation that
this represents."
- latitude / rg
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More on Darla Jean
January 7, 2008 - San Jose, California
When we receive reports of boats washing up on distant shores, we do our
best to verify as many facts as possible but often must rely on eyewitness
reports. Unfortunately, we are sometimes given inaccurate or incomplete
information, as was apparently the case with Darla Jean.
In the January issue of Latitude 38, we reported that Jerry and Darla Merrow
drifted across the Pacific and ran their boat onto a reef off Fanning
Island. There were a few minor discrepancies in the story - they ran aground
on December 4, not December 2, as reported; the first Darla Jean was a
catamaran, not a trimaran; she was 48 feet, instead of 47; and nothing
happened to their first boat's keel, it was the mast step that had a problem
- but, according to Jerry Merrow himself, the biggest discrepancy, and the
one that hurt the most, was the portrayal of his sailing experience. "I've
been sailing since 1978," the 54-year-old Merrow told us this morning by
phone. "I've sailed a 26-ft Piver from San Francisco to Honolulu,
circumnavigated twice and have been to Mexico more times than I can count."
In addition to the most recent Darla Jean, Merrow reports having owned at
least 15 other sailboats at one time or another.
So how did they end up on Fanning Island? Merrow explained that he spent two
years and nearly $200,000 outfitting the first Darla Jean, a Rudy Cheoy
catamaran, for their cruise. "I totally upgraded the boat," Merrow told us.
"New mast, new rigging, the whole lot. We weren't far from the Bay when the
deck around the mast step tore off. It was the only thing on the boat that I
took for granted." Instead of spending time repairing the deck - "We were
ready to go," Merrow said - the couple bought the next Darla Jean, a 48-ft
custom motorsailer, and took off in late September.
"About 1,200 miles out of Moss Landing, we went through a four day storm -
40 knot winds and probably 20-ft seas," Merrow recounted. "We were going
downwind so we didn't notice any problems - other than we lost our
autopilot, tore the mainsail and the engine wouldn't start because it was
swamped in water." But when the couple changed course for Hawaii, they
noticed that while the boat turned, they were still moving in the same
direction as before. At first Merrow thought they were stuck in a current
but then a quick dive confirmed that most of the boat's keel was missing.
"We had a wind generator, solor panels, watermaker and lots of provisions,
and we weren't in any hurry, so it was no big deal," he told us.
On day 94 of their voyage, 110 miles from Christmas Island, they did find a
nasty current that cut their speed so dramatically that they were only
making about 50 miles per day. The current and wind forced them to alter
course toward Fanning Island. Not expecting to visit Fanning, the couple
didn't have a chart but hoped that a lat and long that was handwritten in a
book about the island was accurate. They plugged it into the GPS and hoped
for the best.
"We saw three cargo ships and a Coast Guard boat a few days before hitting
Fanning," Merrow reported. "We know our radio was working because we talked
to one of the cargo ships, but the Coast Guard wouldn't respond to our
calls. We tried all day." As they closed in on Fanning, they tried calling
island officials but had no luck there either. "Later we found out that the
police have a VHF radio but no antenna so we gave them ours," Merrow said.
After spotting the island, the couple knew they were close - probably 14
miles or so. Merrow reported waking at 5 a.m., taking a futile look outside
in the dark, and checking the radar which showed nothing at all. "I went to
make some coffee and mess with the radar," he said, "then we hit the reef.
We hit sideways, then the bow spun around into the coral." The couple had to
jump into the 12-ft breaking swells to make it ashore, a 200 yard swim in
black and unknown waters. Merrow reports that while swimming through the
swells - Gulliver the parrot firmly planted on his shoulder - his passport
fell out of his shirt pocket, which caused him no end of trouble with the
local authorities.
There's much more to the story, including the generous Mormon missionaries
who hosted Jerry and Darla on Christmas Island, the Air Pacific pilot who
passed the hat for the couple on the flight to Honolulu, the hotel that gave
them a room at a ridiculously low rate, and the friends and family here in
the Bay Area helping them out. We hope to share more in the next issue of
Latitude.
- latitude / ld
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