The frostbite sailors have been out each Sunday for the past three weeks. The first two Sundays were warm and sunny, but last Sunday, March 30 was cold, raw, and rainy. After being spoiled for a few weeks, the wind gods decided it was time to make these sailors prove their mettle. Only five teams raced last Sunday, when the temperature was hovering around 40 degrees, and the wind ranged from 7-14 knots, with higher gusts. Six races were completed, but there was no crew race this week. Top skippers and crew: 1. #514, Ted Toombs/Matt Cornachio, 2. 661, Jonathan Siener/Sarah Lopez, and 3. 531, John Browning/Louise Browning. Results have become available from frostbiting on Sunday, March 23rd. Eight races were completed, plus a crew race. The results: 1. #661, Jonathan Siener/Sarah Lopez, 2. #514, Ted Toombs/Matt Cornachio, and 3. #707, Bob Kirtland/Mark Cornachio. Mark Cornachio won the crew race.

News from The Great American II: (Readers may recall that Rich du Moulin and Rich Wilson, sailing on the 53-foot trimaran, Great American II, are sailing from Hong Kong to New York to try to beat the record time set by the clipper ship Sea Witch in 1849). As of March 31st, GAII is at 14° 04' S latitude / 097° 42' E longitude. Total distance traveled is more than 2,750 nautical miles. The intrepid sailors have finally made it through the Sunda Straight (at sunrise on March 29th) and are sailing in the open waters of the Indian Ocean. Upon reaching this milestone, the two sailors can say good-bye to the South China Sea - a frustrating and slow "float" through the straight, with little to no wind, and seas as flat as glass. The passage through the straight was so slow that Rich Wilson commented, "that in all his years of sailing he has never been becalmed for so long a period of time". One can only imagine how frustrated he and Rich must have been. Now that they are in open waters, the duo hope for some good trade winds to help them close the gap between the Sea Witch and them. "We first spent four hours tacking among giant oil platforms that congest the area," wrote du Moulin of their passage through the Strait. "Then we had to short tack through the narrow channels of the Sea Conservation Area with its reefs and small islands. This was a shortcut that allowed us to avoid the busy main shipping channel. Then for 40 miles we continued to beat into the ever-narrowing Strait until at sundown we sailed through the narrowest portion. We had a beautiful sunset view of an old volcano on Sumatra and an industrial view of a giant coal burning power plant on the Java side, with smokestacks that must have been 300 feet tall. "We spent most of the night tacking around islands on the Indian Ocean side of the Strait. Rich Wilson and I pretty much had abandoned our watch system 24 hours earlier. We were tired but our work was not quite over. The wind was increasing so we had to put in more reefs to reduce sail area. Strong currents kicked up some unpleasant bumpy waves that had the entire boat jumping and shaking like a dog with fleas. By dawn we were very tired, but the sight of Sunda Strait behind us made it all worthwhile." http://www.sitesalive.com

Two rather interesting events have taken place on Great American II. Rich Wilson was in the water scrubbing the bow of the starboard pontoon with the "other" Rich standing above holding his safety tether, when du Moulin saw a three foot long golden brown colored sea snake swimming rapidly out from under the main hull to see what's happening. According to du Moulin, "Rich swam like Tarzan dragging me along until he reached the stern where he quickly boarded. The sea snake wandered off, probably for fatter prey. In some regions these animals are poisonous; we are not sure about this one, but didn't want to experiment". Good to hear that Rich is safe - but too bad this adventure wasn't captured on tape! And this from Neal Skorka, sitesALIVE: Fish Tales: Rich du Moulin crossed over the equator into the Southern Hemisphere in a boat for the first time ever. As a result, he had to go through the mariner's ritual of the equator-crossing ceremony with Skipper Wilson acting as King Neptune. Usually this ceremony requires the uninitiated to eat, drink, and wear a series of foul-tasting and foul-smelling substances found around the boat as King Neptune lords over them. If King Neptune approves, he lets you pass on into the next hemisphere. Since GAII is now well underway south of the equator, King Neptune must have approved!

More than 60 sites from around the world have expressed interest in hosting the next America's Cup regatta. Michel Bonnefous, from the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), is the person in charge of the selection process, with assistance from AC MANAGEMENT LTD, who has brought in experts specialized in the organization of sporting events on an international scale. Bonnefous explains, "We have identified eight sites and sent them a request for additional technical information concerning meteorology, facilities and infrastructure. Those sites are Barcelona, Lisbon, Marseilles, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Sardinia - Porto Cervo, Tuscany - Elba, and Valencia. The selection committee will use the data provided by those eight sites to help them select the four finalists for hosting the 32nd America's Cup. The announcement of those four candidate sites will be made in the month of May. Those four sites will then have to provide a complete application dossier. The choice of the site for the next America's Cup regatta will be communicated before 15 December 2003".

A company called We Love Country has designed a lovely coverlet with scenes of our beautiful waterfront. Commissioned by the Lions Club of Port Washington, the coverlet is 100 percent cotton, jacquard woven in the U.S.A., is colorfast and machine washable. It measures 46" by 68", is a Williamsburg blue color and has fringe on all four sides. The design captures the history and spirit of early Port Washington with the depiction of historical buildings and scenic views (Main Street School, railroad station, old town dock, mining sand, the Mill Pond, Sands Point Light, and the Yankee Clipper in 1937). Its would be a great addition to any boat as it is just the right size to wrap up in while reading a book on a chilly summer evening. All proceeds benefit the Lions Club of Port Washington. For more information, call the Lions Club, or send a check ($49.95 plus tax and shipping if applicable) to John Walters, 27 Neulist Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050.