The Importance of Having a Dream

A while back I was telling a friend about my dream to one day sail to New Zealand.  I am very passionate about my dream and how I am going to go about it.  I then asked my friend if he had any dreams?  He said he had never thought about it.  I was a little taken aback at his response.  I mentioned that dreams and goals are very important and that he should take some time to think about what is important to him and think about what he wants to accomplish in the future.  My sailing dream is so important to me.  It inspires me to learn everything I can about the proper care and feeding of a boat.  It gives me a reason to seek new knowledge about the sailing world which encompasses such a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience.  Have you thought about your dreams lately?  Get crazy and think about the one or two things that will make your life complete.  I have been dreaming about this for about 10 or more years.  It will take another 6 to complete the as I am not departing until 2018.  In the meantime, I am taking baby steps by sailing the Baja Haha, chartering in different locations, reading and planning and lastly, getting out on the Addiction for all sorts of adventures.  I hope I can inspire you to start making a plan to make your dreams come true.  Cowabunga!

Sailing is Awesome!

What a great vid.  Now get out there and do some sailing.  We are heading out on Thursday to celebrate a birthday or two.

Two Sails are better than One

Headed up to the boat Thursday night with hope that our fuel delivery issues were over.  She started but died so I tried to bleed the engine and she started right up.  Still having issues I guess.  The previous week I had taken a part the fuel system to figure out the problem.  Thought I had cleared things up but maybe not.  The engine struggled to get me out the channel for a night sail but we made it.  As I headed out the 2 miles to the end of the Berkeley Pier,  the wind continued to build to 25 knots at 10pm.  Got about halfway to Angel and decided not to push my luck as the waves were pretty big.  Got back towards the channel and the wind was dying.  Tried the engine but no go.  Another sail her into the slip.  Hope I can make it.  As I rounded the corner and into the harbor, I had both sails up to give me the horsepower to get back to the slip.  Getting closer I dropped the main so now I can furl the jib from the cockpit.  There is but a whisper of wind pushing me down the fairway to my slip.  I furl the jib at just the right moment and drop into the slip no problem.  That's the second time in a month I have had to sail her in w/o the engine.  Glad I made it and I will attack the problem in the morning.

After a walk with Kona and some breakfast, I decide I need to replace the fuel filter/water separator.  I pull it and head to Sven's for the replacement.  Not an easy job but I get her in there, prime the lines and she starts right up.  Let's go sailing.  We need to test the new system.  We head to Angel again and as I round the corner to head over to Treasure, I see L'Hydroptere mid bay ripping by at 35 knots.  Amazing boat!  Over to Clipper Cove in about 20 knots of wind and a beautiful sail.  Kona and I go for a nice end of the summer swim and he is loving it.  We make it back around 7pm and I drift off into a 3 hour nap in the v-berth.  What a great couple of sails and I think we are good to go with the new filter.

Barely Legal

Cool Vids

The first one is about a seal who falls in love with a lady on the beach.  The second is talking about the universe and how were are all made of stars.  Both are worth a look.

Birthday week next week and I am planning a sail with friends to celebrate.  54 and there is SO much more!

Hunky Dory to a New Home

I purchased this 16 foot dory in January of 1999.  She was my first real sailboat and man could she sail.  Perfect for the lakes and sloughs in the area.  Once I got comfortable, I started taking her on the bay many times.  I would drop her in at San Leandro and had some amazing runs.  My first golden retriever Sierra and I would head out for some great times and fun sailing on this classic dory with a 505 sloop rig.  I had not sailed her in a year as I have been focusing on our 30' Newport and having a ball sailing her.  So I figured, if I did not sail her this past summer I would pass her on to someone else.  I put an ad in the local CL boat section and within an hour had 3-4 bites.  Nick contacted me and said his daughter was really getting into sailing and he wanted to see the boat.  He showed up at my door and I instantly recognized him.  We had met on the 2010 Baja Haha.  He had his family on a small cat and we were in the same division of the rally to Cabo.  What a small world.  We prepared the boat for travel and off he went.  It was sad as Kona and I watched her drive away.  Some of the adventures I had with her include Lake Del Valle (my fav!), Newark sloughs, Quarry Lakes, Tahoe, Shoreline, Redwood Shores, Redwood City sloughs, San Leandro, Lake Elizabeth, Oakland Estuary, and several others.  The last time I took her out, I almost got arrested for naked sailing.  A fisherman called the cops as I was au natural and the cops showed up.  I think they laughed at the guy for calling them out for my major crimes against humanity, cause they drove away as quick as they got there.  I will miss the Hunky and cherish the time that Sierra and I were sailing in the sloughs and a local newspaper took two pics of us that ended up on the cover.  So cool that I had it framed.  Loved that Hunky Dory.  Good news is she is just 20 minutes away and at a friends house!

Baja Haha 19 Here I Come!!!

I attended the crew list party for the Haha on Wednesday.  I spoke to a few skippers and gave out my resume.  I received a call this morning from Ken on Odyssey this morning that I had been selected as crew.  Their boat is a Islander 41 ketch that will take them around the planet over the next 5 years.  I will join them in San Diego for the 750 mile run down the coast to Cabo with 500 like minded individuals on 180 other boats, at the end of October.  My friend John from the 2010 Haha will round out the crew of 4.  This will be my third Haha in a row.  I am looking forward to another exciting adventure down the Baja coast!

San Francisco: Center of the Sailing Universe

Lately all the cool sailing happenings have been taking place in SF.  Between the America's Cup, L'Hydroptere, the skiff racing and my own amazing sail on Sunday, SF seems to be the center of the sailing universe.  On Friday the St Francis YC hosted the 14th annual Bridge to Bridge run.  All the fastest boats, skiffs,  cats, kites and boarders get together for a 4 mile race from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge.  An all out downwind sprint.  L'Hydroptere did the course before everyone else and the crew was disappointed they only hit 37 in 20 knots of wind.  The kiters won the actual race and good on them.  See the race in the vid below.

On Sunday we were hitting 7 knots on our speedo and humming along thru the fog and it was amazing.  We had a nice run up to Tiburon and lunch there.  After, we tore up Raccoon and then headed home.  Another beautiful day on our wonderful bay!