Monday, December 23, 2024

Top Vids of the Year!

I got very misty during the Google video. Put these up on the big screen with some screen mirroring if you can. Enjoy and happy holidays.

Sunday, December 22, 2024

The Apple Electric Car

I was really excited when Apple decided to get into the car biz. They recruited some of the finest engineers in the industry. Spent billions to bring the car to market. Found the right batteries to make it 500 miles on a charge. But it was not to be. They abandoned the project a few years ago. How cool does this rendering look? Would you buy a $150k Apple Car?

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

SF to LA on a $2 Catamaran (amazing wildlife)

Heading towards the holidays and lots of rain ahead. It has been another incredible year of sailing and adventure. My main focus over the years has been day sailing on the SF Bay. My boat is in a slip near Berkeley and in the central bay. It is so easy to slip the lines and head out to the islands. I have been sailing to Clipper Cove alot for an anchor and Hana heads to the beach. I come in alone or with a bunch of friends and we hang out on the beach for 30 minutes or more. My anchor windlass went out in April and I was pulling up the very heavy anchor and chain rode by hand for many months. In October the windlass I ordered from Latvia finally arrived. The supplier jerked me around for over 6 weeks when I finally told him I was canceling the order. Sure enough, 5 days later it arrived. I attempted to remove the old one but it was not moving. I hired some pros who used a hydraulic jack to push it out. They did an efficient job of installing the new one and it works great with my Bluetooth remote. I must of sailed a good 125 days this year (last year was 200!). Lots of friends and family and really fun sails. With the tunes pumping, the wind blowing, the auto pilot engaged and a bunch of friends in the cockpit, I feel incredibly fortunate. One of the great reasons to own a boat is to share it with others. I especially enjoy taking the newbies out and all their interesting questions. I was lucky enough to get invited to sail the Greek Isles for a week. I had been dreaming of this for decades and it finally happened. We had 20-30 knot winds during my birthday week. A meltemi like this happens a few times each summer and we had the only one in September. Also did a 5 day trip to the Delta with Hana, Tex and Barry. Good times and even tho we got stuck for a few hours, it was an epic voyage. My last adventure was the Baja Haha. My 8th trip from San Diego to Cabo. 120 boats and 400 sailors with beach parties along the 750 mile course. If you click back to November you can read about the 30th annual rally. 2025 will mark my 42nd year of sailing the bay! It never gets old as each day is a little different. I have a week long sail charther to Croatia planned with my wife in June. She requires a large cat with a captain and gourmet chef. We are heading out with 3 other couples we have known for 40 years. The only orders I will be barking on this sojourn will be - one more margarita please! I also have Tahiti on my radar for May. We shall see. Lastly, there is a water festival up near Stockton in the Delta at the end of July. It's a bit of Burning Man on the water. It is called Ephemerisle. I will have more info on that as we draw closer. Have a great holiday and look for my end of the year vids from Google, GoPro and Youtube.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Tubed in SF!

On the west side of SF is Ocean Beach. Some call it a nasty place to surf. I surfed there a bunch in my younger days and the currents will drag you far from your start point. About a dozen folks die here each year as they underestimate the tides, current and swell. However, on December 1 we had an amazing swell and the show is below.

Sunday, December 01, 2024