Preparing to Depart for Baja

Pics from the Kick Off Party!

The Baja Haha begins with a bang in a few hours. All the boats have loaded the additional fuel, emptied the holding tanks, stocked their boat with an array of food and beverage, and topped off their water tanks. The Rally begins at 11am today! Our cat is located at the police dock on Shelter Island. There must be 40 Haha boats here. The 30' cat behind has been in work mode since we arrived. The skipper seems tireless as he prepares his vessel for the voyage. Up the mast, installing solar panels, cleaning and scrubbing. He is behind the 8 ball but says he will cast off no matter what. In the meantime, our boat is ready to go. We have a meticulous skipper who has prepared his vessel well. We had a few chores and then my nephew came down from LA to meet up with us. We have been checking out the best in San Diego. The Mission, La Jolla, Mission Bay and finally Balboa Park. What an amazing park! Lots going on with museums, fairs and festivals. Plus the amazing historical buildings and the trees! After lunch, we headed over to the Kick Off Party for the Haha at West Marine. Lots of happy folks eating and drinking and looking forward to the trip. Several costume contests and lots of prizes to the winners. After, we made our last trip to the store to pick up the fruit and veggies for the trip. We are stocked and ready for the 750 mile journey down the Baja coast. The forecast is for morning showers and 15-20 knot winds. Perfect for a run down the coast! The crew is looking forward to a great trip and so am I!!

Bon Voyage! My First Ocean Passage

As I put the final touches on the departure for my trip to San Diego and on to meeting the boat that will take me down the coast of Mexico, I think about all the water adventures I have had that have lead me to this point. My love for the water started when I learned to swim at 3, joined the swim team at 4, water skiing and boating on the Chesapeake as a boy, learning to surf at 10, swimming on scholarship at UNLV, moving to Carmel, CA at 21, surfing the Pacific coast, moving to the bay area and sailing with friends on a rented sailboat, learning to windsurf in Foster City and then the bay and delta, houseboat trips to Shasta, Don Pedro and Oroville, receiving a Sunfish from my future wife for my birthday, moving up to a wooden dory in 1999, and finally buying a 30' sailboat for bay adventures ten years ago this month, and sailing that boat once a week or more for the last ten years! It has been an amazing adventure indeed. The Baja Ha Ha sailing rally starts in 5 days and I will be on a 36' cat with a crew of four. 200 boats and 600 sunshine seeking sailors will set sail for Cabo San Lucas on Monday, October 25 at 11am. The journey will take us 750 miles down the Baja coast. The first 330 mile leg will take us to Turtle Bay for a two day stopover to rest, relax, fix broken parts and have a beach party. Then it's off for a 220 mile leg to Bahia Santa Maria for another beach potluck and fun. I am bringing the volleyball net and bocce. Our last leg will be 180 miles to Cabo for another round of beach events. We will have a car there and will spend a day at Palmia and San Jose del Cabo. I return on the 6th of November to celebrate my 17th wedding anniversary. I will be blogging down the coast but will not be able to upload our adventures until we get to Cabo due to the remoteness of our route. I am looking forward to seeing the stars and planets in a very dark setting, watching dolphins dance in our bow wave, drinking that first beer in Turtle Bay, meeting 600 friendly folks, and seeing the arch at the end of the Cape as we round the corner into Cabo. Please check back and take a look at the fun and the laughs we plan to share on this beautiful sail down the coast of Baja Sur!

Believe In Yourself And You Will Do Great Things!

iPhone Band

Atomic Tom on a NY subway rocks out on their phones after their instruments were stolen. Pretty amazing! Like the song too.

Pics of the Day

Toad Rock, Java. The only two guys in the water all day.

The jump at Steamer's Lane, Santa Cruz, CA
Click the pic for a larger view.

New Porsche Ad Campaign

Click the pic!

Picture Show: Northern Lights

I have seen the northern lights once in British Columbia. It was an awe inspiring moment in my life. This solar energy occurrence is one of the most amazing phenomena I have ever seen. Here is what causes the spectacular light shows: The Sun's magnetic field throws charged particles from its atmosphere out into space. As these particles near the Earth they are pulled in by its magnetic field, which pulls them down to the magnetic poles. Before they can reach the Earth, the charged particles hit the Earth's atmosphere and collide with the gases found there. The reaction between those particles and the gases creates energy, and the energy is given off as light - the Northern Lights. Here is a link to a site with some breath taking
photos.

New Sailing Speed Record 54.10k

Speed sail records falls like domino brick in the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010. Alex Caizergues has set a new World Speed Sailing Record at 54.10 knots on a 500 meter run. That’s over 100 km/h an a board with a kite.

Most of the speed junkies in the sailing world are gathered in Namibia for the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010. This is the place where records have fallen before, and this week amazing things have happened again.

Last year French Alexandre Caizergues became the fastest kiteboarder in the planet with an average speed of 50.98 knots in 501 meters. The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) ratified the new World Record.

Tuesday October 12th he did it again with his kite. He averaged 54.10 knot over a 500 meter course. The record has to be ratified by the WSSRC before it’s final.

Hot to Trot

Something Wild

We headed out to see the Blue Angels yesterday and it was fab! Seven intrepid souls on a vast bay with these precision flyers. We had an nice sail out towards Angel and then tacked toward the city at the start of the show. The tack lasted the entire show and it was breath taking. We headed back and it was time to spread my father in laws ashes. Dick had passed in a freak fall earlier this year. We had some nice words about him and some tears. He loved sailing the bay aboard the Addiction. So long my friend. It was a great day to be on the water with my friends.

Bone Move of the Week

Tri

They don't make these anymore but boy it looks like fun!

You and Your Johnson

Boat Name FAIL - watch more funny videos

Cool Promo

Fast is Fun!

After the boat was lost during a record attempt in 2008, they rebuilt it an came back to claim the world speed record for a vessel under sail in 2009. Wonder what they are up to this year?

Two Weeks and Counting

We depart for the Baja Haha in less than two weeks! Boat Count: 190 People Count: 600
Fun Meter: Off the charts! The trip will take 11 days as we have several stops on the way down the coast. The distance from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas is about 750 miles. Here is a breakdown of what our trip looks like if we have some decent winds for our 36' cat:

San Diego to Turtle Bay
382mi @ 8kts = 48 hrs
We will most likely make a noon approach.
We will swing on the hook Wed & Thur night

Turtle Bay to Santa Maria
224mi @ 8kts = 28 hrs
We will again make a noon approach
We will swing on the hook Sun/Mon/Tue night

Santa Maria to Cabo
194mi @ 8 kts = 24 hrs
This will be a mid-morning approach

8 knots is optimistic but we have a fast boat. Once we get to Cabo, the party continues at Squid Row and a bunch of beach parties. Getting excited for our two week journey down the coast!!

Weekend Pics

Let's Go Boating!

Have a Better Weekend Than These Guys!