Pics of the Year

Here's to a great, happy and healthy New Year!

Here is a look back at the sailing highlights of the year from Pressure Drop.

Start Planning Your Adventures for Next Year

We are pulling together a week long charter out of La Paz, Mexico with some friends for next March. Should be a ton of fun in the sun. Start dreaming and get your 2011 adventures on the cal. This vid will get you excited about your next tropical vacation!

Bonehead Move of the Year! The Whale Wins

The only reason the boat survives...she has a steel hull. Looking forward to more bonehead moves in 2011. Happy New Year to all!

New Cruising Boat with a "twist"

This boat has a very cool feature. The wole galley can be shifted to the high side when more ballast is required. Check the vid!

How cool is that?

Look Up - Lunar Eclipse Tonight

A rare event not seen in 372 years will occur early Tuesday morning, when a total lunar eclipse coincides with the winter solstice. While you can't see the solstice, the eclipse promises to be an amazing spectacle.

And if that's not enough, a minor meteor shower is expected to send a few shooting stars through the darkened sky during the height of the eclipse.

Weather permitting, viewers in North and South America, as well as the northern and western parts of Europe, and a small area of northeast Asia should get a great view of the total eclipse of the moon.

On the East Coast of North America, the lunar eclipse begins half an hour after midnight on Tuesday; on the West Coast, it begins around 9:30 p.m. PST Monday. In all cases, the lunar eclipse will be observable before the moon sets in the west just as the sun is rising in the east. Maximum eclipse – the really cool part when the moon is totally in shadow – is at 3:17 a.m. EST/12:17 a.m. PST. [Complete Lunar Eclipse Guide]

How it works

During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth gets between the full moon and the sun, blocking the sun's light from bouncing off the lunar surface. A lunar eclipse can only occur at full moon, but since the three objects are not all exactly in the same plane in space, not every full moon produces an eclipse.

Monday's eclipse is particularly special because it also aligns with solstice – the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. Winter solstice marks the official beginning of winter. The sun is at its lowest in our sky because the North Pole of our tilted planet is pointing away from it.

Winter solstice is also the shortest day of the year, with the longest night. That means that it should be darker Monday night than any other night this year in the Northern Hemisphere. And because of the lunar eclipse, the moon's light will be dimmed as well, meaning this night will be even darker.

Winter solstice has not coincided with a total lunar eclipse since 1638, according to NASA.

2010 - A Look Back at my Sailing Highlights

Another amazing year of sailing the SF bay and beyond! Here are some of the highlights:

Sailing down the coast of Baja Sur on the 36' cat Rainbow and having the time of my life. If you are thinking about joining the Ha Ha next year, I highly recommend it

Sailing to the Farallon Islands for the first time

A three day sail up the Petaluma River with my best bud Tex and Kona

Full moon night sails

Kaboom with a great crew and the night sail home

Boat Improvements: A spinnaker sock!

A sail in the rain to the Giants game and then over to Angel for dinner and an overnight with Andy

Sailing out the Gate

Michael Franti with Dave and then a sail to SF to pick up my sis and her fam for a day sail to Angel

Sailing to Jack London for the boat show and the Baja Haha reunion. The night sail home was memorable as well

A warm wind sail with some of the Baja crew and then dinner at the SF yacht club coupled with a great night sail home

Blue Angel sail with some great friends

Sailing to the Giants games and a World Series Crown

Sailing with my Dad on Lake Sunapee, NH

Over night sail on Rainbow outside the gate and feeding the fish for the very first time

My friend Ryan and his home brew kegs for some great sailing off Tiburon

Swimming with Kona

Sailing with Kendell up to Paradise Cove and a beach picnic with his girls

Our boat performed flawlessly this year. We are heading into the next decade of ownership of our Newport 30 and look forward to another great year in 2011. Some of the thoughts for next year are: La Paz Cruise on a 41' Morgan with friends, Baja Haha II, a saill adventure to Tomales Bay, Cruising with Olivier on his brand new Hunter 41 and many day sails with friends. Should be another spectacular year!

Sailing with the Sock

Took some friends out for a mid December sail on the bay yesterday. I have been aching for a spinnaker sock for many months and we finally found a used one for $200. I was excited to try it out so we set sail for Tiburon with our 5 person crew and Kona. The wind was light to begin with but quickly built to 12 knots as we reached past Angel and towards Sausalito. It was an overcast day with the sun breaking thru only momentarily here and there. We stopped at Sam's for a stroll and a shot of Don Julio. Soon we were heading home and the sock was raised. Raisa was on the sock halyard and I was in the cockpit on the sheets. The sock was raised and the chute was a little twisted but she went up perfectly and what a lovely sight. My friend Dave raised his eye brow a bit when I mentioned putting the chute up. We have had more than a few misadventures on previous sails. As we headed towards Berkeley she was pulling us along at 5+ knots in about 10 knots of wind. I was loving it! We went thru the cut of the pier and the sock dropped perfectly again over the chute and it was time for a sunset drift. It was glorious. I am sooo happy with our new sock!!! An important tool for any cruising boat.

Origins of Pirate Words and Expressions

[Source: Today I Found Out]

Giants Chapionship Run Back on the Airwaves

I missed the World Series due to my Haha trip in Mexico. CSNBA will be replaying some of the best games on cable TV. If you missed any, here is the schedule:

Schedule of Giants Playoff Games Re-Aired on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area with KNBR Audio

REPLAY DATE -- GAME

Dec. 9 at 8 PM -- NLDS Game 1
*Tim Lincecum strikes out 14 Braves

Dec. 11 at 7 PM -- NLCS Game 4
*Juan Uribe hits walk-off sac fly

Dec. 15 at 7 PM -- NLCS Game 6
*Juan Uribe hits go ahead HR in 8th, Giants win NL pennant

Dec. 17 at 7 PM -- World Series Game 1
*Freddy Sanchez, Giants rip Cliff Lee

Dec. 23 at 7:30 PM -- World Series Game 4
*Madison Bumgarner eight shutout innings

Dec. 24 at 8 PM -- World Series Game 5
*Giants win first World Series since 1954


Read more: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Presents “Giants Orange October: The Authentic Edition” Chronicling the Team's World Championship Run with Audio from the KNBR Broadcasts
Tune to SportsNet Central at 6, 10:30 and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area for more on this story

Pic of the Day

Windsurf Trailer

The Windsurfing Movie II Official Trailer from Poor Boyz Productions on Vimeo.

Extreme

The Lights

Boneheads of the Month

What were they thinking and who is that crazy hanging on the boom. Glad they made it..barely!

Crash Test Dummies

Pics of the Week

Be sure to click on the pic for a dramatic view of this epic picture.