From the Archives: What is a Sailor?

By Paul Watson

A delightful young lady once asked me a very simple question while I was being interviewed by her as a prospective date. "So, what is it that makes you claim that you are a sailor?" she asked.

It seemed the easiest definition at the time was to tell her simply that I liked sailing and anyone who enjoyed just "being there" was, at the very least, a sailor.

On the drive home that evening I began to probe the answer I had given her and began a tally of the reasons that could be applied to completely define 'a sailor'. In the more than a year since the probe began I find myself still unable to totally make a clear definition. In some ways it left almost as many questions as it did, answers.

I would be hard pressed to deny that anyone who gazes across a body of water and feels a drawn fascination to the graceful, silent movement of a sailboat beneath its towering pyramid of sail certainly fits that first, offhand description that I had offered that young lady.

Any absolute neophyte who steps aboard a sailboat at the invitation of the owner and comes away with a sense of fulfillment is also a sailor.

The choice to 'book' one's first sailing vacation aboard a charter yacht or a tall-ship adventure must be driven by some thirsty fantasy. The romance of the sea may have danced vicariously for some time. This person is a sailor.

Is the professional sailor one who performs the more mundane duties and chores aboard a ship any less a sailor?

Just how much experience within the limitless horizons of simply enjoying sailing is required to define someone as a sailor?

Sailing, in my observation, is likely the most archaic mode of transportation left in the world today.

No one will ever know the exact moment that the first human found that they could be propelled across a body of water solely by the force of wind. Perhaps it was an early man who clung to a log with a leafy bough protruding into a gentle breeze and was carried across a small body of water. We may never know but we all know that they did it again.

The sailor of today still finds the challenge of moving the boat through the water by using the timeless energy of the wind equally fascinating.

Throughout centuries of history the exploration of the world could not have been accomplished without those iron men who led the way for all of us. They have left us all a legacy that we continue to slowly refine. As sophisticated as we are today, we sailors enjoy the same narcotic response enjoyed by that first intrepid sailor.

Even the tools of modern sailing technology have done little to change the basic implements of the sailor. His boat is still equipped with a hull, some sails and sheets, if even today the additions of more modern trappings accompany them, life rings, jack lines, jibe preventers, lifelines and Man Overboard markers. Today's sailor uses the same basic items that would be so easily identified by sailors of centuries ago. Even though today most modern and technologically amazing equipment enhances many of the once mysterious rituals of the great navigators but yet we still cannot apply friction to the water with the application of a lever or brake pedal.

Cruising sailors travel countless miles in every weather condition known, most often at a placid average of merely five or six knots. The dedicated club racer urges the optimum performance from his yacht most often at not nearly double that average. Recent global yacht races find sailors marveling at circling the earth in sixty days in light weight, spindly and dangerous sailing craft, while a commercial jetliner is capable of the same feat in less than sixty hours. The more recent technology finds some sailors eager to break speed records for short, measured courses that may soon exceed a mere 40 knots while the automotive buff has recently seen the sound barrier broken in a wheeled vehicle.

The sailor needs no degree in Physical Engineering to glance at the shape of their sails to innately understand the lesson of their efficiency and inherently knows the basics of not only the endless beauty of the shape but the power they can extract from the swelling, snowy fabric above.

Regardless of the type of endeavor, the racer, the cruiser, the professional delivery crew, weekender and day-sailor have all chosen, to learn the skills of seamanship and continually add to them. They navigate, hand sails, row, cook, anchor and make repairs without seeing any of these things as more than what it takes to be a sailor.

It's not unusual to find their land-based homes decorated with nautical art, souvenirs and endless publications to remind them just how close to the art of sailing they truly are.

Not one sailor of any level has not, at some time, envisioned himself or herself voyaging afar and vicariously visiting far-flung anchorages in exotic places. Those who sail the simplest routes and achieve but the nearest destinations each anxiously await the experience of the voyage as much as they do the relaxation and solace of the cockpit while swinging gently at the anchor just as fervently as the cruiser who crosses an ocean for the same pleasure.

Even within organized or simply casual competition no sailor is ever without the appreciation of calculated tactics and the almost perfect trim of their competitor's sails.

Sailors just seem to bring out the best in each other. A casual cruise is often turned into a friendly competition when another yacht of similar size or design draws near. The casual glance at one's own trim and the always-subtle re-adjustment often brings the crews to a more alert status. A close aboard hailing might determine the destinations of each, and if similar, becomes a competitive and joint effort to sail in company while extolling the best performance from their yacht as well as her crew.

There seems no apparent or serious division of sailors either. In any port they gather, almost magnetically, and in any language they communicate with fluid perception. A glance through any anchorage frequently includes a varied blend of sailing yachts from the classic mono-hulled designs comfortably mixed into the more modern offerings.

Wood, fiberglass, cement and metal construction are only the choices of the owners and often based on a particular or combinations of reasons for their structural choice but rather than divide them, the differences provides them the endless and intense conversations of the experiences with each of their unique as well as similar selections.

Accepting the rare occasion, the sailor is more often a teacher who is inexplicably compelled to pass along their experience to another with hands-on and patient training. These teachers cross no age or gender barriers with complete acceptance. During this hands-on education they pass along the secret language and the ancient words that only sailors know.

The sailors are bonded so universally with traits of artistry, honesty, creativity and almost all are blessed with a common language that so eloquently seasons their narratives that the sailor is uniquely set apart. They so easily disclose their methods and share their resources to unanimously improve sailing and their fellow sailors.

More than any other word that carries the weight of my responsibility for description is "passion". In my observation, the sailor, even the appreciative one who simply gazes in wonder from afar or the world girdling single-handed competitor, the common appreciation of the elements has drawn out cleaner and deeper thirst to apply a universally robust zeal to everything in their lives.

Reflecting upon my own fifty years of sailing and the people who've sailed with me, I'm so aware that each touch of the experience enriches me, challenges me and rewards me. I am never left to feel that there is nothing left to learn or accomplish. The three sailors that comprise my perfect crew have all become friends with life-long bonds to literally everything else in our individual environments.

Sailors should be credited with so many virtues beyond my borderless perception that to simply be one of them is to be honored in a very special way by a community of possibly the most incredible humans on Earth.

The young lady was not short-changed at all. It perfectly describes a sailor to say that they all 'like sailing'.

But her proactive response to my question might take the rest of our lives to complete our voyage while adding more answers to the original question.

Old Man and the Inland Sea

He is an amazing story from Lake Superior where the rescuer needs to be rescued. I have never read a story as cold and miserable as this one. It just won the Boating Writers award for 2008! Here it is:

Lake Superior’s chill waters were an ominous slate gray and the lake was steaming with fog banks 40-feet high as Carl Hammer slipped into his 17-foot wooden fishing skiff and started his outboard engine. It was 7 a.m., November 26, 1958 -- the day before Thanksgiving.

The 26-year old North Shore fisherman figured he’d get to his offshore fishing nets before a storm came up, pick his catch, and get back quickly – just as he’d done hundreds of times before. He’d have to hurry.

At 8:30 a.m., his fishing partner, Helmer Aakvik – also known as the “Old Man”-- peered out the window of his cabin on the bluffs overlooking Superior and made his decision: he would not go out to the nets this morning. The 62-year-old Aakvik settled down to enjoy a second cup of coffee when his cabin door opened with a blast of wind and his neighbor, Elmer Jackson, charged in. “The young fellow is still out on his boat,” Jackson said, worried.

Aakvik looked up, troubled. A storm was coming on – one of the worst kinds – an offshore wind from the north-northwest. His fishing partner, Carl Hammer, was still out on treacherous Superior. He abruptly put down his coffee cup. “Call the Coast Guard,” he said.
As he turned to leave, Jackson looked at him carefully. “Just don’t you go out,” he warned.

* * *

Grabbing a jacket and pulling his cap down tightly, the Old Man walked down the winding path to the bluff’s edge. There was a steady wind out of the northwest, and, even in the protection of the rocky ridge behind him, the temperature was dropping. This was late November in the North Country and soon there’d be ice and snow.

On a near-vertical rock ledge jutting above the lake, he came to the ramshackle wooden fish house that he and Hammer shared. In the open end of the shed, he could see that Hammer’s boat was gone. Spruce trees swayed ominously below in the onshore breeze.

He ducked back inside the wood shack and checked around. Sure enough, the young fisherman had helped himself to Aakvik’s gas supply. The borrowing was OK – they shared supplies all the time in this close-knit Norwegian community. The problem was that Hammer had a new outboard engine that used a different ratio of oil to gas in the fuel than Aakvik’s. The Old Man had an old Lockport and an elderly Johnson, but Hammer used a newer Johnson, which needed about a half a quart of oil mixed in five gallons of gas. Aakvik’s old two-cycles required twice that amount of oil, and a too heavy oil-gas ratio would gum up his friend’s carburetor and foul his spark plugs – stalling his engine.

He peered into the can, then swirled it around. He could see the drops of water on the surface. His gas was old and had accumulated water condensation. The old man’s normal routine was to filter the water out of the gas so that it didn’t freeze in the lines and kill the engine. Hammer hadn’t filtered his gas.

Read the full story here.

iTunes 8

Here is a sample list. Click the pic for a better view.

If you are a music fan like me, you have downloaded iTunes 8. It has a neat new feature called Genius. You play a song and hit the Genius button and it creates a playlist based on your selection. You can create small playlists of 25 songs or big ones of 100. I have a huge library of music and Genius pulls out music that I haven't heard or have forgotten about. If you wish, it will also suggest music from the store. It's a great new feature and one you should have in you bag of tricks. Go to apple.com for the free download.

Nor Cal Winter Weather Prediction

Sunday, November 2, 2008 (SF Chronicle) Lore says it'll pour - early, that is Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Outdoors Writer (11-01) 18:46 PDT -- There's a saying in nature, "Birds never lie." There's another that goes: Onion skins very thin, mild winter coming in; Onion skins thick and tough, coming winter cold and rough." And those fuzzy caterpillars: I've seen a half dozen with thick, full coats in the past two weeks on mountain trails in Northern California. There's more: A phenomenon in the ocean has formed called the Madden-Julian Oscillation. There's also a linked interface between ocean temperatures and coastal land temperatures in Humboldt County that can predict weather. And to time the arrival of storms, pay close attention to moon cycles. I've received a lot of requests for my annual long-range weather forecast/guess for winter, and this is it: Nature's signs mean a wet late fall and early winter, with significant storms arriving around the new moon of late November (Thanksgiving Day), and just prior to the full moon in early December (Dec. 8-10 looks promising). After a dry period in the early New Year, January and February will bring about average precipitation. I don't expect a terribly wet spring in March and April. The final result for winter will be about average rainfall, wetter in the beginning, a bit drier at the end, This is why: -- Birds never lie: The annual migration of sandhill cranes to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve near Lodi and snow geese to Sacramento Wildlife Refuge near Willows is right on schedule. The timing of these migrations is often a reliable weather predictor. -- Onion skins: The thickness of skins from onions grown in the San Joaquin Valley looks pretty average. -- Caterpillars: Those furry coats indicate early, heavy precipitation is on the way. -- Ocean/land temperatures: A reliable theory I've developed is that when ocean temps and coast land temps are the same, the storms wheel right in. That's the case right now in Humboldt County, so look for wet weather. When the ocean is colder and the land is warmer, it often acts like a blockade and pushes the storms into Oregon, which creates periods of drought, like this past spring. In the mountains, the effect of global climate change probably will have snow lines higher than normal for many storms - about 4,000 feet elevation in the north state and about 4,500 feet in the Sierra Nevada. There is one piece of real science that supports this forecast: Weather experts have identified the formation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation offshore in the Pacific, which typically lasts about 50 days. This forms very wet storms propelled to the Pacific Coast. So wherever the jet stream delivers the storm highway this late fall and early winter, those storms could be very wet. Last year's forecast, published on Oct. 28, hit the bulls-eye: "The Bay Area and Northern California will get a lot of rain through December and early January, then lighten considerably, with an early, warm spring, especially in the San Joaquin Valley. Southern California will face continuing drought."

From a Sailor Named Cameron

"You get a lot of time to think when you are alone at sea on a small boat, with few distractions but the water rushing by, and the stars at night, standing on deck alone and insignificant on the wide ocean, naked, peeing into the full moon... The downhill run to Papeete is a classic one, sailing right into the southern cross, It took 8 days to sail from the Marquesas to Tahiti, and in that time I experienced every emotion in the rainbow, from sheer terror, to sadness, to un-controllable mirth. I purged every dark corner of my mind, with nowhere to run from the truth, and came away cleansed, lighter, and much much stronger.

I realise now that I have shed almost all my fears. I am not afraid of dying, and I am not afraid of being alone. Actually, my life is wonderfully streamlined when I am left to my own devises. I am not afraid of being judged. I am not afraid of what I do or don't have. My idea of success is not based on money, but rather on the ability to wake up and say "yes, let's go to the waterfall today". The idea that freedom IS the end goal, and that money is just a means to that end, and that if you are not careful to make the distinction, the chasing of money can actually take away from that freedom--the means becomes the end. By that measure, my life so far has been a smashing success, and the only thing that scares me anymore is letting this crazy, beautiful life pass me by. No matter how hard I try, I will only have a fraction of the adventures I would like to. I will only see so many sunsets, I will only hold so many beautiful women in my arms.

Saying yes becomes more urgent as we get older, yet harder and harder to say. Life thunders by, and dreams are crushed beneath the wheels of time. I find that not being afraid is a tremendous freedom in itself. I will remember to say yes, more than just 'whenever possible', for it is at these times when I am most alive.

Who said, 'our greatest fear is not that we are weak, but that we are powerful beyond measure?' That hits the nail on the head. I don't know where this crazy, stormy, leaky boat of a life is headed, but I sure know that its beautiful out here under these stars..."

Motion Gallery

Check this cool video from the BBC based on Flash technology.

60 Mins. Interview with Tom Perkins on the Maltese Falcon

Pic of the Week

Be sure to click on the pic.

Free Movies on Netflix

If you have a Netflix account, you can watch free movies instantly online (PC's have been able to for a while and now Macs are in public beta). Last night I watched "Billabong Odyssey". What a great surf film! They start a year long trip hitting the biggest waves on the planet. Todos Santos, Cortes Bank, Mavericks, Jaws and then around the world to places that blow the mind. The climax is the first ever tow in world cup at Jaws on Maui. The waves are in the 40-60 foot range and on several of the biggest ones there are some bad wipeouts. The last wave you may have already seen the footage. It's been on the internet for some time and on the small screen almost looks like a computer generated wave. The wave Mike Parsons is riding is almost too big and too perfect. See below. Hope you will check it out if you are a Netflix subscriber. There are also some sailing videos available. Cowabunga!

San Diego Sailor Rescued After Rudder Shaft Fails

Ronnie Simpson has been to hell and back. Blown up in the Iraq war, he recovered and decided to sail the world. He ran into some very bad weather on the way to the islands and after the loss of his rudder, he activated his EPRIB and was rescued by a passing ship, which on the first attempt, ran down his boat. He rode the ship to China and is now hoping to continue his voyage around the world on a bike. Two things strike me as out of wack on this story. First, he was a very novice sailor to attempt such a crossing and secondly the weather window to Hawaii is in the summer, not the fall during cyclone season as well as early storms marching down from Alaska. As a matter of fact, I was at the beach the weekend before his rescue and a storm came thru and the waves were huge due to a cyclone passing off the coast. Maybe the same storm that hit him! Here is an excerpt from his log:

"As I write this, the ocean is slamming me with huge waves, and winds are at 25-30, even gusting to 35. Nothing I ever read about sailing to Hawaii mentioned winds gusting to 35. This can't be normal. I have put both reefs in the main, furled the jib way in, strapped everything down, etc, and am down below, attempting to ride this out. If it gets any worse, I will probably heave to, and ride it out. I absolutely can not believe the power that the ocean possesses. This is insane. It's not a storm, though. Just really strong wind.

The sun has mostly come out and it's not raining. It's even fairly warm out. Just windy! The longer it continues to blow, the bigger the seas continue to get. I am doing my best to maintain a positive attitude, as I realize I must, or else i'll go crazy. Luckily, this is a big, heavy boat with a big, heavy keel, and it appears to be handling everything pretty well. I am still in shock at how powerful the sea can become. For the first time of this trip, I am genuinely becoming very afraid, though. I am not letting this fear over ride me, but it is definitely keeping me on my toes. I just want a break though! I just want the wind to die down a bit! I am regretting my decision to go solo right now".

Read about his decision to pull the plug and more on his life on his blog.

Baja Haha

I didn't get to go this year due to another commitment (my 15th wedding aniv.) but have my sights set on next year! Here is an onboard update from one of the boats. Winds have been light as in 8-10 knots but sounds like they are having fun!

This is our second night passage on the way to Turtle Bay. John is at the helm; I'm about to start a shift at 2 a.m. If we maintain our present speed we will arrive at 9 a.m.

The total length of this leg is 390 nautical miles. Winds are light, 8 knots coming from behind gives us a very low apparent wind speed so we are motorsailing.

We had a very nice afternoon under sail yesterday. The air and sea temperatures are noticeably getting warmer.

We fixed the radar mount yesterday. John held the assembly at the right angle with Vise Grips and Francois adjusted the height of the assembly using the topping lift, while I extracted the broken bolt and replaced it with a new one.

We had a problem with the furling line yesterday. The interior core of the line inexplicably bulged out of the line like a big hernia. This made it impossible to pass the line through a fairlead and impossible to furl the sail. Thank goodness this didn't happen to us in a blow! I removed the furling line and replaced it with a thinner line. Ironically this thinner line is the original line that Harken supplied with the new roller furler.

I also discovered an imminent problem at the furler. The tack of the jib is fastened to the furler with a short pennant made of something like Vectran. This pennant is suffering from chafe and won't last much longer. While we're in Turtle Bay I'll have to improvise something better. A steel cable pennant would be the way to go here. Maybe someone in the Haha fleet has steel cable and crimps that I can use.

I need to add steel cable and crimps to my list of required spares to carry.
Read their blog here.

Diver Swims 12 Hours in Strong Currents

FIJI - A tourist battled an all-night ordeal swimming 10 kilometres in shark-infested waters near Vanua Levu for about 12 hours before reaching land in Taveuni.

Thomas Holz, 40, of Berlin in Germany, said he was a lucky man to have survived the strong currents of Somosomo Strait between Taveuni and Vanua Levu.

"I felt alone and couldn't stop thinking of my family back in Germany, my wife and children and how they would be devastated if I didn't make it. That gave me the strength to keep on swimming," Mr Holz said.

Mr Holz and three other tourists holidaying on Taveuni were part of a diving outing organised by Bubble Divers at the Rainbow Reef near Viani Bay in Vanua Levu at 5pm.

Twenty-five minutes into the dive, he surfaced for air after exhausting his oxygen supply.

"The dive master told me to hold on where I was while he dived for the remaining three who had also run out of oxygen," Mr Holz said.

"The boat was about 100 feet away and I could see it on the horizon but couldn't swim for it because the currents were too strong."

Police spokesman Atunaisa Sokomuri said when the dive master resurfaced a few minutes later with the other tourists, Mr Holz was nowhere to be found.

"They searched until 9pm and called it off and started again at 5am yesterday," Mr Sokomuri said.

Mr Holz said he could hear the sound of the boat engine but it was far away and he could hardly see through the dark.

"I could see lights at a place in Vanua Levu but was worried if I swam for it I would wash up in an isolated place with no one around to help so I swam for Taveuni which, although further off, was more populated," he said.

"I felt alone so I decided to swim slowly to balance my energy so that I could last.

"The currents were strong and my main fear was for my family in Germany. Even though I was tired, I hung on to the oxygen cylinder and kept swimming. Then early this morning (yesterday), I felt the seabed and just screamed out for help before I collapsed on the shore."

A woman from a nearby settlement at Wairiki heard Mr Holz's shout for help and rushed to the shore.

She helped him to the safety of a home where he recounted his ordeal.

When The Fiji Times called Mr Holz at about midday, he was revived and on an eco tour.

"I am feeling tired and although the experience was scary, it is something I won't forget," he said.

iPod Jacket for Sailors

Sailing is Better Than Sex

THOSE WHO participate in it regularly know that sailing is wonderful, even better than sex. If you’re not a sailor, you might find that hard to believe, but it’s true. Here’s the proof:
• You never have to hide your Sailing magazines.
• It’s perfectly acceptable to Sail with a professional.
• There’s nothing in the Ten Commandments that discourages Sailing.
• When your partner videotapes you Sailing, you don’t have to worry that it will show up on the Internet.
• Your Sailing partner won’t quiz you about people you Sailed with before you were married. Or after.
• It’s quite OK to Sail with a perfect stranger.
• When you meet a really good Sailor in a bar, you needn’t feel guilty about imagining the two of you Sailing together.
• There’s no danger whatsoever that if you Sail by yourself you’ll grow hair on your palms or go blind.
• You can have a Sailing calendar at work without precipitating a sexual harassment suit.
• There are no known Sailing-transmitted diseases.
• When your Sailing partner insists you bring protection, any old anorak will do.
• Nobody expects you to Sail with one partner for the rest of your life.
• You never have to wonder next morning if your Sailing partner still loves you after a one-night Sail.
• Nobody slaps your face if you ask: “Do you Sail?”
• Your Sailing partner will never say, “Not again! We just Sailed last week, for goodness’ sake! Is that all you ever think about?”
POSTED BY JOHN VIGOR

Winter is Upon Us

Tennis Anyone?

Somewhere in Dubai.

If it Swells, Ride it!

Sail Power

In recent months we had Erden Eurc and Roz Savage row across the Pacific. The next person has a bit different take on the jump across the pond. Anne Quemere will attempt to use a sail to power her small craft across. She has been attempting to depart from SF but the winds have been light due to summer like weather that has dominated the area for the last two weeks. Today we have some fog so this may be her chance. It seems kind of late in the year from my perspective as storms will start marching down from the north shortly. We here at H2uh0 wish her a safe and speedy crossing!. Visit her website for more info.

Kona

My new pup Kona was out on the boat a few days ago and I think he liked it. He is about 16 weeks old and a handful. He is a golden retriever from a famous line up north. Both mom and dad are champions so he is a smart one. We have many adventures in the future but this was a nice start for him. Welcome aboard, Kona!

Branson Bails

Virgin Money put on the brakes on their attempt to cross the Atlantic after a 40 foot wave slammed the boat and tore things up, including the mainsail. No one was hurt as everyone was harnessed in. Can you imagine how fast this 100' rocket must have been going with winds in the 50's and waves 40' and higher? Here is what the skipper had to say. "We’ve just experienced a night from hell when Virgin Money was struck by a massive wave from behind – washing one of our life rafts over board, damaging the spinnaker and devastatingly tearing a massive hole in our mainsail. Luckily all of the crew were harnessed in and no one was swept overboard, which is all that matters at the end of the day." They were really pushing the upper limits with this attempt as they waited three months for the right weather window. The low pressure systems they were trying to skirt were massive and too much for the boat. Plus he did this with his two 20 something kids aboard. The whole thing was a very large crap shoot and mother nature wins again!

The Evoluton of the Wipeout

Take some of the best surf movies of the last 40 years and put their best wipeouts on one video. From Pipeline to Teahupoo, these are some classic wipeouts. Notice the waves get bigger as the film moves towards the later flicks. Enjoy.



One More:

Do Dream in B&W or Color?

Seems those of us who grew up with B&W TV's dream in monochrome and those that grew up with color TV's dream in color. How about you? Read the article here.

Screaming

Sir Richard Branson is attempting to break the trans Atlantic record of 6 days and change on the mighty Virginmoney (ex Speedboat) 100 foot monohull. This isn't a boat, it's a rocketship! Capable of over 45 knots in a breeze, she is trying to skirt major low pressure systems and with some luck they may just do it. Check the vid if you have a need for speed!

Pure

Paddleboard Championships

Kite Foil

Got Luck?

I can see my house from here!

Amazing Shot

Click the pic for a much larger view of this unbelievable shot of the Maltese Falcon near the southern tip of Angel Island - pic taken by George Dapsevicius via Sailing Anarchy!

Last week we had a major fire on Angel Island that burned a good portion of the most beautiful island on the bay. The worlds largest sailboat was near by and this spectacular shot was taken. We sailed around the island yesterday and from our view point most of the island was spared and the portions that were burned should come back quickly. The island opened today with limited access. Judging by my wind speed gauge on the right of the page, they are still having power issues. Sailing to the island for an afternoon bocce game is a favorite event of some of our crews on the Addiction.

Very Wonderful

Looks like Live, Sail, Die has their own billboard?

New Lifesaving Gizmo

World Wide Telescope

The final frontier got a bit closer today as Microsoft Corp. officially launched the public beta of its WorldWide Telescope, which is now available at http://www.worldwidetelescope.org. WorldWide Telescope is a rich Web application that brings together imagery from the best ground- and space-based observatories across the world to allow people to easily explore the night sky through their computers. WorldWide Telescope has been eagerly anticipated by the astronomical and educational communities as a compelling astronomical resource for students and lifelong learners, and as a way to make science fun for children.

“The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe,” said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. “By combining terabytes of incredible imagery and data with easy-to-use software for viewing and moving through all that information, the WorldWide Telescope opens the door to new ways to see and experience the wonders of space. Our hope is that it will inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help researchers in their quest to better understand the universe.”

The Southern Ocean

Christmas Day in the raging waters of the Southern Ocean, and Raphael Dinelli is hunkered alone in his cabin, hanging on against what will be either baptism or last rites in these cold, violent seas. It's not up to him anymore. He is somewhere near the midpoint of a single-handed around-the-world yacht race called the Vendïe Globe: a 26,000-mile run from Les Sables d'Olonne, France, and back, no stops allowed, you and your boat for more than three months against the worst the open ocean can roil up. And this is the worst. Out of 15 boats in this unlucky race, four will sink in these empty latitudes. Dinelli's will be the first. He is 1,200 miles southwest of Australia, barely a thousand miles north of Antarctica, in the midst of a trashing that his 60-foot sloop, Algimouss, will not survive.

Fifty-knot winds (about 58 miles per hour) have rolled him twice, laid his sails in the water for minutes at a time while 50-foot breakers collapse, burying him again and again in an avalanche of ice water. In a last telex to race headquarters in France he says that the seas are "smoking" as the wind tears the breaking wave tops into driving clouds of mist, that he has all sails down and two sea anchors astern in a vain attempt to slow the terrifying speeds at which he is hurtling down the sheer wave faces. Finally, in the cold, early dark of Christmas night, 1996, a huge breaker sends the 28-year-old Frenchman surfing for the last time. He watches helplessly as his speed reaches 26 knots, braces himself, and then crashes to the ceiling of his cabin as Algimouss slams into the wave trough, somersaults, and settles upside down in the torrent.

Frigid water rushes into the turtled boat through a hole torn in the deck by the shattered mast, which is levering around in the wash. Trapped, with water up to his waist, Dinelli pulls on his immersion suit, gathers survival supplies, and waits as waves roar and crash overhead and fuel from a ruptured tank fills the cabin with a stink that gets him puking. Three hours later, the mast breaks away, the boat comes right, and he scrambles onto the swamped deck. Under pitch-black skies, he sets off his distress beacons, inflates his life raft, and loads it with food and water, only to see the surge tear it loose of its tether and dance it away on the waves. Then, as Algimouss sinks slowly out from under him, he lashes himself to the stub of the mast, faces into the bitter wind to keep himself awake, and thinks about dying, as so many others have died, in the lonely furies of the most treacherous ocean on earth.

Continue reading here.

Dolphin Comes Aboard

Norman Howard came out of the hospital cut up, bandaged and bruised, but otherwise in remarkably good shape considering that his morning outing on a small 17-foot boat ended with a 9-foot, 400-pound dolphin in his lap.

"It was slapping me pretty, hard. It was throwing some good punches," Howard said.

The group of four had just picked up bait for fishing and was cruising in the Intracoastal Waterway when the dolphin jumped, with no warning, and there was nothing they could do to avoid it. The mammal landed across the bow, right on top of the couple sitting in the front of the boat.

"I was just trying to get it off my wife. I knew she was underneath all of it," Howard said.

Montie Henderson saw the dolphin jump, tried to stop the boat, but then had to run to get the 400-pound animal off his girlfriend's parents.

"Adrenaline was going pretty good. Just got to it and rolled it out," Henderson said.

"I turned immediately to my wife, took my shirt off, tucked it under her head, and there was blood everywhere. I didn't even notice that I was bleeding," Howard said.

The group tried to continue their cruise down the Intracoastal Waterway, but when Howard's wife Barbara started having blurred vision, they cut the trip short and met up with the Coast Guard.

"We go out on the boat all the time and I love to watch the dolphins, but to have one jump on the boat, we've just never seen it," said boater Laura Hall.

Eyewitness News asked all the agencies that work on the water, Fish and Wildlife, Beach Patrol and Coast Guard, and no one can ever remember a report of a dolphin doing this.

Sailing News Reader - Tip of the Month

I have been using Google Reader for some time now. I subscribed to a few boat blogs and it is handy to read a bunch of sailing info and blogs without having to go to multiple sites. Last night I subscribed to a bunch more and had everything at my fingertips under one heading: sailing. In other words all the latest entries from the most popular blogs and resources come up on the same "blog" if you will. To give it a try, go to google.com and on the top you will see "Reader". Sign in or up and search sailing. You should see the most popular blogs. Subscribe to the ones you want. Click on one and on the bottom right you will see "see more from sailing", click and everything you subscribed to will open up. It's a great way to get all the news and updates in one spot! Give it a try, it's free and there is much to explore!

Wally 118 - Oh My!

What Happened to Zac?

Zac Sunderland is the brave 16 year old Californian who is currently on a solo world circumnavigation, with the aim of becoming the youngest circumnavigator. Last week he left Darwin, and all was well as he made his slow way across the Indian Ocean - until 'something' happened.

The wind stayed steady all through the night and I was making good progress. The swell picked up to about 8 feet and I was back to the climbing up and surfing down motion. Around 11:30am I was sitting in the cockpit when I saw a boat about 4 miles away.

I took a look at my radar screen and didn't see anything. I took another look at the boat. We were heading parallel to each other and would pass well clear of each other. I went down below and switched on the VHF radio and tried to hail them on Channel 16 with no luck.

I went below and got my camera and got some footage of them but it was still hard to make out who or what they were because they were still about 3 miles off. I was sitting in the cockpit watching them and suddenly they changed course. At this new angle we would hit.

I moved the autopilot over a few degrees to get out of their path. As I did they changed course dead for me again. So I'm thinking, 'I've got a ship that doesn't show up on radar with no flags and no radio response, deliberately heading straight for me 150 miles off the coast of Indonesia, a place notorious for piracy.'

I went down below and called them on the radio again and again, finally hailing them using the words 'Securite' which is the word used to alert another boat that there is possible danger. Maritime law says boats are required to respond to this call. Still no answer.

I went up to the cockpit and saw the boat was closing in fast. I turned on the engine and slammed it into gear and altered course again so as to avoid a collision and get on a faster tack. I watched the boat which I could now see was a 60-70' long wooden fishing boat that looked about ready to break up it was so old. They altered course straight for me. Read on.

T-Bonehead Move

As most of you know the Maltse Falcon is here on the SF Bay for a few weeks. Over the weekend a Nordic 40 t-boned the largest sailing vessel in the world. No this shot has not been altered. How do you miss a boat that big?? The was a maritime photographer near by and he caught the whole sequence. Amazing photos, incredible boat! Click here for the pics.

Speed Barrier of 50 Finally Broken!

Unverified reports coming from Namibia suggest that professional kite surfer Sebastien Cattelan (FRA) has finally broken the magical 50 knots barrier, the holy grail of speed sailing.

Coming into today’s event, he was struggling with an unrelated small injury, requiring him to reduce his activity. “I’ve been in bed the last three days, concentrating on what I would do today. Then I just did it,” he says. According to Cattelan, his record breaking run of today saw a maximum speed of 58 knots – 107kph – on the GPS, with an average of 54.5 knots over 200m.

The Lüderitz Speed Challenge 2008 is being held in Lüderitz, Namibia, from 15 September 2008 to 13 October 2008. This is the second edition of the event, which is running on the wind blasted coast just a few hours from Capetown.

Accompanied by several high 49 knots runs from himself, Alexandre Caizergues and Jerome Bila (all France), Cattelan was the only sailor finally getting to 50.26 knots.

Special attendance was paid to the required water depth, and the organizer in co-operation with the WSSRC commissioner present, clearly ensured that the rule was strictly applied.

Fossett's Secret Project

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) -- Millionaire Steve Fossett left behind a secret vessel that was being built right here in the Bay Area. He funded a deep sea submersible -- which, its builders say, was capable of "flying" to the bottom of the ocean.

"We were his big secret project this was to make a record dive to bottom of the planet," says Graham Hawkes, from Hawkes Ocean Technologies.

The Deep Space Challenger looks like a plane, but is actually a winged submersible - capable of diving to the lowest spot on Earth, The Mariana Trench. It is 37,000 feet below the surface and until now, the ship has been kept under wraps in a Richmond warehouse.

"It would have dramatically, dramatically opened the oceans for exploration. It would have been a game changer," said Hawkes.

Hawkes says the craft would have "flown" to the bottom of the ocean in an hour and 40 minutes and then rocketed back up. He wouldn't say what it cost to build, but it was almost ready to launch when Fossett disappeared.

"We finished testing all of the systems have been tested under pressure at the Department of Defense facilities. We were four weeks away from splashing it in," said Hawkes.

But now that Fossett has died, the project is on hold.

"Deep Flight Challenger is, I think, in my eyes, an extraordinary beautiful machine in my eyes, not like any else seen on this planet before," said Hawkes.

Hawkes owns the design, but the craft itself is owned by the Fossett estate, which has not yet decided what to do with it.

Pic of the Day

Julia Pfiefer-Burns State Park, Big Sur California
Click the pic to see the waterfall into the ocean.

I used to live in Carmel and when I found Big Sur, I found the California I had been dreaming about. Rugged mountains surround by dramatic coastline. Towering redwoods with mossy streams flowing by. Waterfalls and hot springs side by side. Amazing beaches that stretch for miles with no one in sight. Friendly people that care about nature. I was there in January and visited Esalon for a soak in their tubs overlooking the coast. Since then there have been some major fires that have burned many 1000's of acres. There is still much beauty to be seen and the forest will return as it has done hundreds of times before. If you get a chance, go see this amazing place.

Travel Photographer

Here is a great site for water photos from an accomplished, self taught photographer. Be sure to look around. The song playing on the site is one of my fav's. "Angels Flight" from Chuck Greenberg and Shadowfax. Click here to get to the site.

Man Rides Out Ike on a Sailboat

I was talking to a fellow sailor yesterday and he recommends I make a post to share my experience riding out Ike on anchor in Galveston (Offets Bayou) so here it goes:

I decided to leave my floating dock marina in Kemah and sail south, yes, south to Galveston. Many reasons for my decision but the main one was that we were supposed to get 20+ feet of storm surge and my marina can only handle 12'. I picked Offets because the max fetch was half a mile.

I decided to try the anchoring from the stern which the designer of the Jordan Series Drogue website claims is the way to ride out a hurricane as the boat will not swing so chafe is not an issue. A friend told me it wasn't a good idea as he saw a Benny sink in doing so because the stern was pulled down and the open transom sunk the boat. I though he was just talking trash but just in case he was right, I rigged a safety release so it would swing around to the bow if needed.

Mr Jordan was right, the boat doesn't swing when anchored from the stern when using a bridal. My friend was right in that when at anchor like that, the stern is pulled down a little. In my case (Hunter 376 in 110 knots) it wasn't enough to pull it down that much, BUT it was not a good idea. The boat took way too much pounding from the waves which were a lot bigger then I thought they would be with just a third of a mile fetch (8'). Water came in through the lazarette and the companionway doors. Everything got wet down below.

I had pump problems but was very very glad I had that rule 3700 in the bildge....yes I took on a lot of water when stern to the wind but only a little as the drain of the anchor locker started to leak when bow to the wind.
I tried to turn the boat around but the lines jammed because I didn't release the bridal right. Once the eye came over, the wind dropped to 10 knots and no waves, so I turned the boat around and ran two bridals off the bow. This is the important part: half of the bridal chafe through so I was on only half of the first bridal. I didn't think shaft was going to be a problem but I forgot about the swing and the bridal rubbing on the hull (at the edge of the bow on the hull) as it swung. They say that's the reason boats don't make it on anchor or mooring because people forget about the chafe from the bow, they normally put the shaft on the toerail.

The boat did ride much more wildly when anchored from the bow but it was a much smoother ride...no pounding. HOWEVER, I now know why those people who use sea anchors loose their rudder sometimes. As you swing, it puts a ton of pressure on the rudder and keel. You can feel the pressure and maybe a little vibration. I guess with that additional backwards drift while on the sea anchor, it's just too much pressure but most comes from the swing.

I do believe I know exactly the prefect way to deal with the chafe problem as another boat near me had this setup. He had about 3' of dock lines spliced with a proper anchor splice and sleeve inside it....one for each cleat. He cleated off the loose end and then shackled the other end to about 10' of aircraft cable which went over the anchor rollers. The other end of the cables was shackled to the rode which of course had proper spliced anchor eyes and metal sleeves. I didn't see what anchors he used but he ran them straight out like I did. He didn't budge. I did a little.

I used a Bullwagga with 200' of 5/8th rode and 50' feet of chain as the primary. The secondary anchor was 300' of 3/4 rode and 20' of chain on a fortress. Both anchors were for a 50' boat so you could say I was under two storm anchors. I think it was a good combination as the bullwagga always resets with wind direction changes. The Fortress wouldn't reset but just twist in it's spot but only because the bullwagga took a lot of strain off it so it was jerked out. The bullwagga, as always, digs in deeper as the pull on it, but for it to dig in, it "drags" so I made sure to leave lots of room. I think I dragged the first half of the storm when I was stern to the wind, about 25-50 yards. Didn't drag at all the second half with it bow to the wind.

Now the addition to his setup I would make is a very big snubber connected to the cable on the rode end and the other end connected to the hook on the bow midway up the hull from the waterline. That should take a lot of pressure off the anchor rollers and hopefully take all the load. If not, you are still protected from the shafe.

One thing I learned in this storm is that the more back systems you have, the better. Take my bridal off the bow. If I rode out the whole storm with my two bridals off the bow, I bet I would have chafed both and endded up on the rocks. The fact that I did half the storm stern to, it compensated for my lack of chafe protection in an odd place. The heavy storm winds last about 6-8 hours so anything you can do to buy time, the better.
A few more advice...clean the inside of your boat, especially the bildge. Do let dirt and other little junk get washed down into the bildge where it clogs the pumps. Also, nothing is better then a full shield motorcycle helmet in a storm. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to do anything outside. With it on, it wasn't a big deal being on deck. It muffles the sound. It keeps the saltwater out of your eyes as it's blowing sideways off the top of the waves. It blocks the wind so breathing is normal. It also protects the head just in case you get thrown. As for wet weather gear, all it does is protect the skin from the pelts. You will get soaked so have a swimsuit on under it because it dries better and you can get dry quicker when you go down below. Last advice, have lots of seasickness medicine. Sturdegen worked for me. Got that when I did the race to Mexico earlier this year. These suggestions aren't just for anchoring out during a hurricane, but for anytime you are on a boat in very rough weather.

Sorry so long but I didn't want to leave any details out so you all don't make the same mistakes I did.

BTW: Yes, I know I'm nuts to ride out a hurricane on my boat so no need to say that.

The Physics of Sailing - A Must See!

Please click here to see a larger version of this great video

This is What Racing is About!

Falcon Arrives in SF

The Maltese Falcon, believed to be one of the world’s largest yachts, arrived in San Francisco Bay this weekend. The giant 289 foot yacht, owned by entrepreneur Tom Perkins, is arguably one of the most talked about boats in recent history. The main controversy stems over whether or not it is the largest yacht, but it certainly is one of the world’s largest symbols of wealth.

Perkins has been vague on the actual cost of building the ship, stating that it was somewhere between $150 and $300 million. He found the hull for the ship, which is steel, in Turkey, and the behemoth took several years to construct. A crew of twenty is needed to operate the ship, but Perkins has stated that one person could operate it. Despite it’s huge size, there are only accommodations for twelve guests. The rest of the space is taken up by a model Maserati, a media room that would defy even the best on land and many other luxurious features.

The public had a rare chance to get inside the Maltese Falcon earlier this year, when it was listed for sale for $169 million, but it was quickly taken off the market. The ship also briefly did a stint as a charter yacht, where you could rent it for the cool sum of $550k a week.

The Maltese Falcon will easily be visible in the Bay when it arrives, and is in the area to take part in a few events hosted by the San Francisco Yacht Club. Perkins planned to sail out to meet the ship in his other yacht, which is 122 feet long. He will board there and then sail around the Bay a few times.

Perkins is the author of Sex and the Single Zillionaire: A Novel, as well as his memoir, Valley Boy: The Education of Tom Perkins. He rose to prominence in the 1980’s, after having been mentored by two of the greatest names in Valley history, David Packard and William Hewett mentored him. He was once married to the novelist Danielle Steele, but as the title of his latest book suggests, he is now single.

The ship’s main competition, in terms of overall size is the Athena, owned by Barry Diller and James Walker. While the Athena is larger in dock, experts claim that the Maltese Falcon is longer in the water. There are few ships that can claim to come close to Falcon, and the ones that do reportedly take into account their bowsprits when calculating length, but this practice is frowned upon in yachting.

The Maltese Falcon will remain in the San Francisco Bay briefly before resuming its trek around the world. Captained by Chris Gartner, the ship has sailed from Turkey, where it was recently completed two years ago. Numerous celebrities and people of note have stayed on board, and many are looking forward to greeting the ship as it arrives in the Bay this weekend. It is not often that residents are greeted with such a historic site.

For pics of the arrival, click here.

Tanker Surfing

Winged Man Does the Channel

DOVER, England - A Swiss daredevil crossed the English Channel strapped to a homemade jet-propelled wing Friday, parachuting into a field near the white cliffs of Dover after a 10-minute solo flight.

Yves Rossy leapt from a plane at more than 8,800 feet, fired up his jets and made the 22-mile trip from Calais in France. Rossy passed over a thin strip of land in front of South Foreland lighthouse, looped over onlookers and opened his parachute, his wings still strapped to his back.

"It was perfect. Blue sky, sunny, no clouds, perfect conditions," he said. "We prepared everything and it was great."

The trip across the Channel is meant to trace the route of French aviator Louis Bleriot, the first person to cross in an airplane 99 years ago.

The lighthouse was the site of Guglielmo Marconi's experiments with radio telegraphy in 1898. Bleriot used the white building as a target during his pioneering flight, the building's manager, Simon Ovenden, said.

Several hundred spectators rushed to greet the pilot, trying to take photographs with cameras and cell phones.

"It's a remarkable achievement, we saw the climax of his attempt as he came down to earth with his parachute. It's been an exciting afternoon," said Geoff Clark, a 54-year-old onlooker from Chatham, in Kent.

The carbon composite-wing weighs about 121 pounds when loaded with fuel, and carried four kerosene-burning jet turbines that kept him aloft. The wing had no steering devices — Rossy moved his body to control its movements.

He wore a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevented him from getting too hot.

Mark Dale, the senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, described Rossy's flight as a "fabulous stunt."

Riding Giants - The Movie

From the Archives

Pic of the Week

A temple in Bali. Click the pic for a larger view.

50th Birthday!

Today I am turning 50! This is a milestone in a man's life. A turning point where we reflect on the past and look forward to the future. The great news is, my health is awesome as I started a dedicated workout ritual about 6 years ago. I run every morning in the hills for about an hour. It's actually called wogging (walking and jogging). I run up some very steep, tuff hills and then I walk down the hill to the next hill and repeat 8 or so times. I am 6'6" so it's important not to pound the knees and in running up hill, I am stepping up into the hill. Plus the park offers an overview of our beautiful bay and all the major peaks in the area. In the afternoon or evening, I head to the pool for a mile swim with interval training that I did throughout my swimming career all they way through college on the swim team. Then some days I will finish with a bike ride. If you are approaching 50 or past it, I recommend a book called "Younger Next Year" by Chris Crowley. It's a fascinating look at how our bodies age and how you can turn back the clock with exercising 6 days a week with a combination of cardio, weight training and anaerobic exercise. Well written and very interesting.

As far as sailing, I have a ton of great adventures ahead of me. After my son heads off to college, I hope to take a two year voyage to New Zealand and Australia on a well founded sailboat. Prior to that, I will be doing the Baja Haha, coastal passages and trips to the BVI's as well as other cruising destinations. I leave on Sunday to head up towards the delta to bring our boat back from a month stay up in the Isleton area. It will be a two day trip with an overnight in Vallejo. I have two friends joining me so it should be a fun trip.

I have lots to look forward to in my next 50 years and tons to be thankful for in my first 50 years!

Prepare to be Boarded!

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Started about 8 years ago it has caught on in a big way! To help you celebrate, here are the top 10 pirate pick up lines:

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …

1. Prepare to be boarded.

Arrrrrgh!

Coast Guard Crew Receives Award for Rescue

WASHINGTON — A Coast Guard Air Station Humbolt Bay, Calif. helicopter crew were presented with the Rotor & Wing “Above and Beyond the Call” award yesterday in Reston, Va. for their December 2007 rescue of an Oregon man.

Helicopter CG-6570 crew members, Lt. Lauren Cox, Lt.j.g. Alex Barker, Petty Officer 3rd Class Celso Jaquez and Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Lesko received the award at the Search and Rescue Summit 2008.

“The efforts of this crew were truly remarkable, and they overcame terrible conditions to save a life,” said Capt. Christopher Martino, commanding officer, Group Humbolt Bay.

The Coast Guard was notified on December 2, 2007 by the 25-foot Catalina sailing vessel Jack that the rudder had broken and was taking water over the sides. The owner did not have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to broadcast his position or a survival suit to protect him from the 50-degree water.

Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay launched an HH-65C to respond 50 miles offshore. Enroute, the aircraft and crew were buffeted by gale force winds and rain under overcast skies. On-scene in complete darkness, the crew found that the conditions had deteriorated. Winds blew at a sustained 45 knots gusting to 60 knots and the sea swell had grown to 30-feet with an occasional towering 50-foot wave.

Arriving on-scene in complete darkness, the aircrew found that conditions had deteriorated. The rudderless sailboat was swinging erratically through 60 degrees of heading changes while simultaneously heaving uncontrollably in the swells and rolling violently 40 to 50 degrees to both port and starboard. At one time the 6570 crew members witnessed the 25′ sailboat roll approximately 80 degrees to port and the mast strike an incoming swell.

Lesko, a rescue swimmer, was lowered to the water via the rescue hoist. As he approached the water, Lesko was struck by a large swell and dragged approximately 15 feet through the wave, injuring his back. Unaware of rescue swimmer’s injuries, the flight mechanic continued lowering him. Despite pain and injury, Lesko rescued the victim and hoisted him into the basket. The flight mechanic then hoisted the survivor to the aircraft, assisted the exhausted victim out of the basket, and quickly returned the basket to the injured swimmer in the heavy seas. Lesko was hoisted aboard as the aircraft reached its critical fuel state. The crew quickly prepared the helicopter for forward flight and departed the scene to return to Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay.

The storm tossed victim was transferred to waiting emergency medical services and transported to a local hospital where he was evaluated, treated for exposure and released to his family. The vessel was destroyed as it washed ashore several days later.

Update

Been very busy raising our new Golden pup, Kona. He is almost 11 weeks and is as cute as he is sweet. Very smart to and will sit stay and down on command. Here is confined to the house and backyard as he won't get his last parvo shots until late October. I would love to take him to the beach but you can't be too careful with a dog like this. So my posts have been sporadic at best. We plan to bring the boat back from the delta next week and get her closer to home. It will take two days and some back and forth in the car to do it but it should be fun. More posts as soon as I can get Kona to stop chewing the computer cords!

Extreme Racing and Chinese Gybes

Water Bed?

Racing Jesus on Speedboat

Don't bother, this guy will just get out and run!

Pic of the Day

I thought you said these boats are self righting?

Roz Completes Her First Leg to Hawaii!

Roz Savage completed her row from San Francisco to Honolulu on September 1, 2008, completing the first of three legs of her journey! On May 25, 2008, Roz Savage rowed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, which she is attempting to cross — rowing solo and eventually ending up in Australia. She has already completed such a journey across the Atlantic, and is using her adventures to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire others to rise to their own challenges. She is an amazing lady who grew tired of her boring office job in the UK and decided to challenge herself with a row across the Atlantic. And she did it! This was her second attempt to get to the old Sandwich Islands. On her first try, she was rolled twice about 400 miles from SF. A coast guard chopper told her she had to make a decision as they were at their cut off point from land. She reluctantly abandoned ship and set her sights on another attempt. Congrats to you Roz and keep on keeping on!

Origins of Sailing Terminology

As you know, sailors have been doing their thing for thousands of years. From the primitive animal skin that may have been used to propel a man on a log to modern day yachts that can approach 40 knots on the open sea, we have some very archaic sailing terms that have been with us for a long time. How did they originate? Simple terms like cockpit, shroud and cunningham. Let's take a look at a term we all use when we go sailing. "How fast is the boat moving thru the water?" "7 knots", comes the reply. Knots refers to nautical miles. It corresponds approximately to one minute of latitude along any meridian. For our discussion today, we are looking for the origin of the word "knots". The term knot and log originally are derived from the practice of using a "log" tied to a knotted rope as a method of gauging speed of a ship. The log would be thrown into the water and the rope trailed behind the ship. The number of knots that passed off the ship and into the water in a given time would determine the speed in "knots". Is that cool or what? It's fun to tell your sailing friends this story when out sailing. They will be amazed at your in depth knowledge of the sailing world!

Embrace the Extreme!

20 knots on a J80. Not sure if these guys are having fun or are the scared out of their minds?? Rock on!

Learning the Ropes of Long Distance Cruising

Mahina Expeditions has been helping folks get the experience and confidence to voyage with their own boat. You sign up and join the boat for a leg of cruising in places like Scotland, the Azores, the South Pacific and New Zealand to name a few. You are expected to be involved in every aspect of the cruise and play a key role in moving the boat. Classroom time onboard is 3-5 hours per day. The boat is well founded HR 46 and is set up for 4 students and two crew. The cruise is not cheap but it will give a real feel of what shipboard life is all about. Take a look at their itineraries for the next several years and come on aboard! For more info, click here.

Pic of the Day

I told you barnacles to stay away!

Delta Bound

We are off to the central delta and headed for White Slough for some sun, wind, swimming, floating and good times. There will be four of us including Tex, Dennis, and Bill. The weather should be in the 90's and winds are looking like the 20's. The boat is patiently waiting for us at Bruno's Island on Seven Mile slough. We are in for some fine meals and nice wine. Should be a blast and a half! Bon voyage!

100 Foot Wednesday - Maverick's

In all my surfing life, I have been treated to many experiences that have collectively created a sense of enlightenment and insight. Travelling the world to surf in exotic locations and experience diverse cultures has given me a great deal of respect for nature and its humble beauty. My respect for mother ocean was elevated exponentially last Wednesday when I had a rare opportunity to join a group of my close friends from Half Moon Bay on a boat trip out to view the infamous Mavericks lineup on an even Bigger Wednesday (Nov. 21). I grew up on the beach and have surfed for all of my life and still it is difficult for me to recount events from a surfer's perspective. Such was the intensity of the whole experience that I was left feeling like I had witnessed a truly rare phenomenon by the time we made it home.....Maybe I did.

We left the dock at around 7 a.m. with a blanket of fog still enveloping the coastline. It was a slow, cautious approach to the reef as the persistent fog hindered our ability to navigate through the channel. We eventually noted the rising peaks through the now diminishing haze. At first sight it was, to some extent, an anticlimax as the waves were nowhere close to the size we all expected from reports of the previous day. This initial feeling of disappointment, though, didn't last much longer.

With a combination of a changing tide and steadily rising swell, I watched in sometimes silent, and other times more vocal appreciation of the show being put on by mother nature. I witnessed hair-raising airdrops, not all of them successful, and several ballsy fades into one heaving barrel after another. At times I sat back with the contemplation of how my abilities would fare against this behemoth wave. Watching seasoned veterans like Flea Virostko, Matt Ambrose, Ken Collins and Shawn "Barney" Barron (to name but a few) paddle downhill into each peak to turn and stand, nonchalantly, in the jaws of the beast made it all seem achievable to me, albeit with the need for a little extra motivation. And I stayed with that thought for some time, silently content with my new found enigmatic confidence.


Suddenly I found my daydream shattered and replaced by the reality of where I was. It was the sight of an anonymous surfer struggling to make his way back to the lineup, faced with a monstrous set impatiently marching in from the horizon. He seemed to have gotten way out of position and closer to the north side of the peak. His frantic paddling was not enough and he was dragged over with the immense lip and thrust into the boiling cauldron of foam below. Needless to say, there were no envious faces in the crowd, but plenty of concern as the next bigger set doubled up and dumped a hefty load of the Pacific Ocean onto the poor soul's head. Two more waves crashed through the impact zone before anyone sighted him on the surface, all the while the tombstoning board suggesting a likely metaphor for his fate. The sets were consistent and making it difficult for the rescue skis to find an opportunity to power into the pit to drag him out. Eventually he was swept into and onto the rocks inside, boardless and no doubt with a newfound lust for life. I was forced to reassess my earlier ideas about my abilities. Sure, there are plenty of surfers out there who could easily make the drop with one fin and half a rail guiding them down a near vertical face to the bottom of the wave and to the safety of the shoulder, but could they survive the alternative to not making that drop? Not me.

With my ego now firmly under control and forming an ever-present lump in my throat, I continued to be awe-inspired by the waves now too big to paddle into. As the swell peaked with buoy reports of 30 feet at 20 seconds, it was becoming quite evident that it was not going to be just another day at Mavericks. There was a common feeling in the air that suggested that we were all in for a show today, and nobody was disappointed. Claims were ranging from 60 to 80 foot faces, and I don't think those claims were too far from the truth at all. Mavericks, it seems, was waking up a little angry this morning, and it seemed out to prove a point.

It was a while before anyone made the decision to change tactics and start the real show of the day. Flea and Barney were the first to don the footstraps and tow out to the outside peak to wait for the next set. They did not wait long. As the next mountain of water reared up on the horizon and feathered against the strengthening southerly wind, Barney let go of the rope and made his way down a conservative 60 foot face which gradually became vertical and beyond as it ledged on the shelf where, not long ago, the wave was just starting to peak. A casual fade back into the bowl put him into a cavern as big as a house; it drew hoots and screams from the gallery of onlookers on boards, skis and boats located on the shoulder. This was followed by a succession of tow-ins onto more unbelievably huge waves, and the show went on and on.

Many times the waves did not peak, but stayed full until they hit the inside ledge where it would double up unridden and unload with a deafening roar. As the barreling lip engulfed the foam ball, an explosion of spray exited the hole like a cannon shot, often with enough momentum to send a shower of water vapor over the boat. I think I can confidently say that it is the only way I would be getting wet at Mavericks.

Even after six hours of bobbing around dodging the wide sets on the edge of the channel, never did I feel like I took the view for granted. Each wave held its own attraction, displayed its own fury, and made its own rules. Every wave, without exception, demanded an equal quantity of respect. The minute you become complacent in nature's playground, the moment mother nature will slap you down. Mavericks, it seems, is no place for complacency. It is a rare and humbling sight to see a display of nature's powerful beauty and unbridled fury in the same frame. I sat exhausted in the boat as we motored away from the break on our return. The adrenaline from just witnessing the power from a safe distance was enough to drain me, and I cannot even begin to contemplate the euphoria of participating first-hand and looking the beast in the eyes. It was an experience beyond my imagination, and yet another insight into the untethered forces of our planet, which we insist on claiming to control. How wrong we are.

As I sat on the boat motoring away watching the barrels get smaller in the distance, we were confronted with a sight none of us were quite prepared for. Our stoke turned into anxiety as we searched for the green buoy marking the entrance to the channel. As we scanned toward the shore all that we could see was whitewater. Suddenly, the buoy appeared from under the water amid a washing machine of froth as a wave passed over it. The entrance channel to the harbor was consistently being shut down by 30-foot closeouts and we were on the wrong side. I was reminded of a story I read in a past issue of Surfers' Journal about a fleet of fishing boats that were once stranded outside the harbor by this exact scenario. I always wondered how they must have felt, and now I know. We edged our way closer to the buoy, eyes on the horizon behind us in search of approaching sets. Several times we started our run for the safety of the inside channel only to be turned around by the approach of yet another massive set. The lulls were so short it was ridiculous, and our confidence was teetering as we considered the equation. We had about half a mile of distance to cover in a boat carrying six passengers with a 40 horsepower engine. There was no chance in hell we would outrun a wave if we miss-timed our dash. So we waited for what seemed like an eternity for a clean shot. When we saw a clear horizon, we made a run for the shore. The nose of the boat grabbed and rebounded off every bit of chop, threatening to pearl and pitch us all into the soup. As we neared our goal, I turned to the north to see Blackhand Reef on the inside section of Mavericks throwing out like Kirra on steroids. It was a solid 20-foot barrel as round as you could ever wish for, churning along the reef like a freight train. For a second I forgot about our predicament until the engine started to labor under the weight of a bed of kelp freshly dislodged from the reef by the swell. It must have been only seconds, but the weed came free from the prop in enough time for us to power away from the wave that was approaching behind us, which, only moments earlier, we had seen funneling along Blackhand. We arrived back at the harbor to safety soon after, all feeling a little humble, although stoked on the day. We saw arguably one of the biggest Mavericks days of all time and almost paid the ultimate price. Many rated the day as the biggest to date and I could not argue by any means. I saw bigger and deeper barrels that day than I think I ever will in my existence, but to imagine how it looks from the inside...

Shane Wilkie

Situation Critical

This is part two. If you search Youtube for "sitcrit" you will find the other parts.

H2uh0