2013 Party of Three in SF Bay

[fototaker]

yup. at noon watched a mess of little wooden boats depart the marina for a race. and the clouds were gorgeous too!!

[familysailor]

There are other boats to take photos of on the bay. Not moving as fast, so potentially easier to catch....

[fototaker]

i guess it's safe to assume nobody's set to sail today nor over the weekend - boring! hahaha will finish up with all my test shots over the past week since i returned. have a great weekend everyone!!

[bowline]

I wouldn't lend too much credence to stuff written by blogs 1/2 a world away.

Which automatically makes it suspect given the misinformation that's come from overseas, no agenda though

[fototaker]

thanks. i discovered that if i stand on my scooter on tippy-toes i can get slightly sharper pixs! still NOT as sharp as PB's imagery but i like the unfocused world sometimes!!! hahahaa supposed to be WARM again today. will be heading out to the spit again soon! hmmm how did i get that repeat pix displayed here?

[Tom Mc]

Nice photos foto.

[fototaker]

this time LR stayed home while Emirates showed up first followed by Oracle.

[fototaker]

hold it... the only setup i saw with that was the chaseboats!!! etnz or oracle? lucky dawg!!!

[everydaysailor]

Powerboat with twin outboards

[fototaker]

white sailboat with blue canopy behind the red & white tour boat?

[fototaker]

very nice video. you were on a sailboat or working on the dredger?

[familysailor]

Nice video!
Totally unscientific observation:
Luna Rossa looked considerably slower than NZ...

[everydaysailor]

http://player.vimeo.com/video/67238611
1130-1200 today

[fototaker]

went out after visually confirming the boats were out. i saw first LR passing fisherman's wharf and by time i got to the marina, both LR and ETNZ were in the water. it wasnt as gusty then about 10:30am but by noon-ish it was gusty as always. right at noon LR foiled downwind all the way past alcatraz and to the bay bridge, disappearing quickly. ETNZ stayed around a bit longer till almost 1 when she disappeared. there was an oracle boat out with video and a 600mm canon watching but being sure to stay away when ETNZ approached. a photog showed up at the spit where i was showed up to ask if they had disappeared. found out he was shooting the practices for a soon-to-be-published article in the NY Times, possibly on friday. on twitter Artemis released a pix showing Brookie smiling widely and in front of a blue hull!! BLUE!!!

this is what ETNZ posted on FB along with a few pixs snapped today: "Emirates Team New Zealand completed its fourth day sailing the AC72 on San Francisco Bay today in a wide range of breeze and conditions. The team ran through some training exercises and a couple laps of the America’s Cup race course in what tactician Ray Davies described as “near perfect conditions”. “We had a really nice 22 knots of breeze blowing on the course area and it all just felt like perfect conditions to be racing the AC72s. The boat felt really good.” With the practice racing completed, the AC72 and following chase boats relocated down to the South Bay to continue with the testing program where the breeze offered a brief example of the volatility of the wind in San Francisco. “While we were a long way down in the South Bay, one minute it was 14 knots the next it was 30 knots, so it got a little hairy,” said skipper Dean Barker, “But we kept things under control and got the boat back to the dock with no issues at all, so we are happy.” As with each day sailing before, the team continues to learn more about the boat and the venue with each hour on the water."

[fototaker]

a few pixs from today's sailings. i had to depart to lunch with a friend and when i returned, LR was already gone. ETNZ was next to depart then lastly oracle