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<DIV><SPAN class=840064300-16012008>Hey Tuna people,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840064300-16012008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840064300-16012008>My little Tuna (Sweet Reward) is the
second 'black' mast from the right taking a hit OVER the CYC
breakwater!</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840064300-16012008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=840064300-16012008>Craig</SPAN></DIV>
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<H6>Mighty Storms Ravage Bay Area</H6>
<P>January 7, 2008 – San Francisco Bay</P>
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<DIV align=center><A
href="img_lectronic_799orless/2008-01-07_6644_corinthian-2.jpg"
target=_blank><SPAN class=caption><IMG height=282
alt=corinthian-2
src="img_lectronic_432/2008-01-07_6644_corinthian-2.jpg"
width=432 border=0><BR>(Click on the photo to enlarge
it.)</SPAN></A> <BR><SPAN class=caption>Looking south towards
Angel Island from the Corinthian YC race deck: At high tide
the storm surge could barely be contained. </SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=thephotocredit><EM>Photo Latitude / John A.</EM><BR>©
2007 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
</SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER><BR>
<P>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.</P>
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<DIV align=center><IMG height=324 alt=corinthian-1
src="img_lectronic_432/2008-01-07_3001_corith-1.jpg" width=432
border=0> <BR><SPAN class=caption>Lightweight daysailers were
easily toppled all over the region.</SPAN> <BR><SPAN
class=thephotocredit><EM>Photo Latitude / John A.</EM><BR>©
2007 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
</SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER><BR>
<P>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.</P>
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<DIV align=center><IMG height=311 alt="loch lomond"
src="img_lectronic_432/2008-01-07_5168_loch lom.jpg" width=432
border=0> <BR><SPAN class=caption>Loch Lomond Harbormaster Pat
Lopez (yellow vest) directs the evacuation of damaged docks in
the storm's aftermath.</SPAN> <BR><SPAN
class=thephotocredit><EM>Photo Latitude / Andy</EM><BR>© 2007
Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc.
</SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER><BR>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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 <A
href="mailto:editorial@latitude38.com?subject=STORM%20STORIES-LEC%20LAT">contact
us</A>. Look for further coverage here, and in the February edition
of <EM>Latitude 38</EM>.</P>
<P align=right><EM>- latitude / at</EM></P></TD>
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<P align=left><A id=Story2 name=Story2></A></P>
<HR>
<H6>Coville Out, Joyon Gaining Pace</H6>
<P>January 7, 2008 – South Atlantic Ocean</P>
<P>Just minutes after setting a new 24-hour solo record, an encounter with
an unidentified floating object forced Thomas Coville's 105-ft trimaran
<EM>Sodeb'O</EM> 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'.</P>
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<DIV align=center><IMG height=450 alt="Crash box"
src="img_lectronic_custom/2008-01-07_6911_sodebo.jpg" width=304
border=0> <BR><SPAN class=caption>The ragged stump of
<I>Sodeb'O</I>'s starboard ama.</SPAN> <BR><SPAN
class=thephotocredit>© 2007 Thomas Coville
</SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER><BR>
<P>"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."</P>
<P>Coville expressed doubt that the damage was a result of a collision
with a growler, as has been widely reported.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>Meanwhile, Francis Joyon and <EM>IDEC</EM> 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.</P>
<P>"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."</P>
<P align=right><EM>- latitude / rg</EM></P>
<P align=left><A id=Story3 name=Story3></A></P>
<HR>
<H6>More on Darla Jean</H6>
<P>January 7, 2008 – San Jose, California</P>
<P>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 <EM>Darla
Jean</EM>.</P>
<P>In the January issue of <EM>Latitude 38</EM>, 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
<EM>Darla Jean</EM> 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 <EM>Darla
Jean</EM>, Merrow reports having owned at least 15 other sailboats at one
time or another.</P>
<P>So how did they end up on Fanning Island? Merrow explained that he
spent two years and nearly $200,000 outfitting the first <EM>Darla
Jean</EM>, 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 <EM>Darla Jean</EM>, a 48-ft custom
motorsailer, and took off in late September.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>"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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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 <EM>Latitude</EM>.</P>
<P align=right><EM>- latitude / ld</EM></P>
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