Light the Candles = Six Years For H2uh0

And what a ride it's been. 2005 was the year and there were only a few sailing voices in the the blogosphere. Tillerman, Horse's Mouth and Tim Zimmerman were my hero's and inspired me to start this blog. Now there are so many voices it's hard to hear anymore! At this point I am transitioning to another point in my life. I am sailing like a crazy person on the bay and in Mexico (I depart this weekend to hang with my buds in Puerto Vallarta and sail Banderas Bay) as well as working towards my goal of sailing to New Zealand in 7 years. In pursuit of that goal I will sail in the Baja Haha several more times. This summer, I plan to sail up to Tomales Bay for a week. And there will be a lot more chartering in Mexico and the BVI's. The next big jump will be finding the boat to get me across the Pacific. That will be an adventure! But not for several more years. In the meantime, I will keep sailing our Newport 30 on the bay and beyond. I will continue to post on this blog as well as start a new blog that will be a resource for the trip across the pond. Thanks everyone for visiting over the years and for your comments. Sailing is the celebration of life!

Stream From the Cloud for free

Ever since Google purchased and shut down Simplify, I have been looking for a way to stream music from my home computer to my phone when away from the house. Amazon has a new service that does not work with iPhones and Apple is prepping their cloud service, but in the meatime, I need a solution. I found a great one in Audo Galaxy. Download the app to your computer and phone. Sync up your iTunes lib to the cloud and you are good to go. It's easy and you'll being able to get to all that music thru your iPhone or Android phone. There is something cool about streaming music to where ever you are and I think it is a very neat evolution in technology.

Sponge!

Not So Fun

Went out for a solo sunset sail the other day and man was it cold and miserable. The wind was up and a cold fog was rolling in from the Pacific. I tacked towards the Berkeley Pier and got behind the dodger after letting out just a little bit of jib. The wind was in the high 20's and biting at every piece of exposed skin. I tack and look back at the channel makers and I have not gained much headway. The wind won't let me move forward. Most of the boats are already in for the day and I am the only boat I can see at the moment. Who else would be crazy enough to be out in this? I hit the next tack and head back towards the pier. I have a pretty high tolerence for cold winds on the bay but this is bad. I am not having much fun. I could put on the warm gloves and hat I carry on board. I could huddle under the dodger to attempt to hold off the cold. I have been out about an hour and start thinking about heading in. This is the first time I have ever thought about coming home early as I am a diehard sailor. I still had another hour to sail but the cold has changed my mind and I head for the warmth of the harbor. Once back at the dock, I pour myself a large draw of Don Julio in our grande snifter and sit back in the saloon and enjoy our new interior speakers and a little Jack Johnson. It's days like this that make you appreciate being tied to the dock...and safe and warm.

DAY 3: EXTREME! A major collision, 4 capsizes, 1 broken mast.

The Trials of a Solo Sailor

Lee Winters has been solo sailing out of Texas for the last two years on a voyage to help the children of the world. He did not have very much background in the ways of the sea but found a great boat, worked hard on her to get her ready and then set off. Here is a great video of his first leg thru the Gulf of Mexico to Isla Mujeres, MX. You get a good feel of the terror, frustration and lack of sleep that you encounter on a solo voyage. He has made it all the way to NZ! For more, go to his website.

Sailing Solo Across the Gulf of Mexico from Lee Winters on Vimeo.

Ouch!

Bonehead Move of the Week

Boat Show at Jack London this Weekend

Don't miss the the biggest sail boat show on the west coast this weekend at Jack London Square in Oakland. First there is a Baja Haha Reunion on Friday at 6pm. Free beer and munchies. There will also be lots of free seminars going on each day. And don't forget to kick some tires of the new sailboats and multi hulls. I am meeting a friend on Sunday to look at the new catamarans. He hopes to buy soon and put it in the charter trade in the BVI's. Looking forward to more time down their on his new boat! Read all the details at the source.

Fixated on Fifty

Here is a look back at some heroic attempts at reaching the mythic 50 knot barrier on water. The current record of 55 knots is held by a windsurfer, Robert Douglas. For a wiki look at the history of speed, go here.

Outdoor Film Fest

The weather in Norcal is turning balmy with 80's the norm. It's time to get outside and do the voodoo that you do! I found a site that features a bunch of inspiring outdoor films. Here is an example:



To view the rest of these films, go here.

Spring break is next week and that means some skiing is in order. We are heading to Mammoth!