Dark Water

Dear Fungod, When I am out sailing, I will see a gust ahead of me and the water turns a darker shade. Why is that? Chaz Hi Chaz, Alot of folks donot uderstand what is happening here. Because the wind is at a higher speed in that area, the waves are steeper and they reflect less light from the sun and this makes the water darker. You see this phenomenon everytime you go sailing as long as there is wind. Now you know. Sail on, Chaz.

Strange and Wonderful

Finally getting our first winter storm here in the SF area. Winds are at 50 and we are expecting 3-4 inches of rain and 10 feet of snow in the Sierra's. We need everything we can get as it has been dry a long time. Did you recognize the song?

Flyin' Hawaiian

Head to the 2min mark for the action.

One of the photographers severed his spine on the landing. He is going to make it. "That set came and really caught everyone off guard. I hurried to put my camera away in my dry bag and then I told Cam to just ‘go.’ “I just remember feeling weightless and it taking a really long time to come down. I didn’t realize how fast Cam sent us over the lip of that thing. There was no handle on the ski, so I couldn’t stand up and hold on and hope my legs would have absorbed some of the impact. So, I was just sitting on the back with a death grip on the leather seat. Next thing I know I hear a loud thud. It felt like the ski buckled in half. Along with that, my back sent a shooting pain and tingling feeling from my waist down to my feet. I remember saying, ‘[expletive, expletive, expletive] I’m paralyzed.’ I legitimately thought I was.” On another note: we have had our share of big surf this winter in Northern California. So much so that almost every weekend folks are being careless and losing their lives around the surf. Please look out and never turn your back to the ocean!

Having a great summer!

It almost feels like it. Our drought continues with temps in the 70's this week. It should be cold and raining but our usual weather has moved north to the Seattle area where they are getting pounded with atmospheric rives from Hawaii and Japan. Went out with my first mate Hana (she will turn 1 in Feb). Thursday was 15-17 and beautiful. We sailed smartly to Angel Island and a private beach for two. The weather was so nice and warm as we frolicked in the sand. Returning to the boat, the line sliped and off went the kayak in the wind. I stripped down quickly and jumped into the 53 degree water. Refreshing to say the least. I got the line in my hand and attempted to swim the 30 yards back. With the tide and wind against me there was a question weather I would make it before hypothermia set in. Hana watching me from the deck and even she is gettting worried. I finally make it and tie off the line securely. Back home for a nice curry chicken dinner and then I passout for 3 hours. Next morning I did some work on the boat and we are off by 10am into 14 knots of breeze. I just have the genoa up and we are moving nicely when the Coast Guard pulls up for an inspection. I had been stopped but not boarded just 3 weeks ago. They went thru the safety items and there were no issues. Within about 10 minutes, they were gone and I continued my sail. We made it to another private beach on Angel and went in for some fun. When I say private I mean the only way to get to the beach is by a kayak as the cliffs prevent access. Another warm day and I am naked on the beach with Hana. Some kayakers approach and I take off for a nice sunny hour in the cockpit with the tunes going. What a nice way to spend an afternoon. Back to the marina for a short nap and then home.

Wave of the Decade at Mav's!

Getting tubed at Mav's is very rare. This is a special wave for a tested veteran of Mavericks.

Greeting from the Horn!

Charlie Dalin / Apivia Here is a discription of the emotions he felt sailing an endless ocean on the round the planet race, non stop, singlehanded called the Vendee Globe. "The big South is a special place. It's hostile, there is always sea, wind, more wind than you think. The wind is heavy, powerful because it is cold. It was a great experience: the permanent change of time and the tiredness, the depressions which follow one another, it is a jumble of feelings to be in the middle of nowhere, far from any civilization. I spoke to a fishing boat at the beginning of the Indian ocean, it was the only one that I met in the whole South. For 30 days, I saw no sign of human life. We forget our life before the south, just as we forget the life before the pandemic. I forgot about life before the Southern Ocean. The other boats no longer existed, the land no longer existed. You are in an endless world of water. It is unique in the world to be in a place where the closest people are the astronauts. Right now the contrast is stark like when I spoke with the lighthouse keeper a the Horn, I saw a British RAF plane that flew over me, and now the maritime traffic reappears. It is reminiscent of the movie Waterworld. I feel like I'm coming back from a water world where the land was a fantasy. I come back from another planet. I've been through things that I wouldn't have experienced anywhere else, obviously that will have an influence on me." He had just rounded the Horn and a slog thru the Indian Ocrean. He is currently in 2nd place with 6,400 nautical miles to go. About 18 days to go if they averaage 350 miles a day. Currently they are over 400 miles in a day!

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