Night Time Approach of Bahia Santa Maria

Surfing on our cat at almost 18 knots! 10-31-10

Had a nice nap during my off watch and upon stepping on deck for my 1500 watch, the crew informs me we had caught a large yellow tail tuna. The filet's were in the cooler and waiting to be marinated. Fresh fish is always a treat. Winds were in the mid teens and we are cruising right along. I took the helm for a good long while as we neared the finish line of leg 2. I calculated our 24 hour run and it was just shy of 200 miles! Our second one of the trip. We had an awesome dinner at sunset and I mentioned to the crew that the conditions were perfect for a green flash. Five minutes later were had a brief green flash over the wave tops. Our VHF is on 24/7 and many of the other boats in the fleet chimed in that they had seen it as well. It can happen at sunset and sunrise and is caused by the refraction of the light over the horizon. I estimate that I see it about once every 100 sunsets that I watch, so it does not happen very often and is very cool so keep an eye out if you are looking at a sunset over the ocean. Dinner was rice pilaf, broccoli and fresh tuna. The skippers wife had put together goodie bags for the crew for Halloween and we got our chocolate fix. Nice. As I type we are sailing into the anchorage and getting ready for three nights on the hook at Santa Maria. There is nothing here but a beautiful bay, a small fishing camp and 600 Haha'ers and their boats. Let's have some fun!

Our first morning in Santa Maria was filled with shock and disbelief. A solo cruiser from San Francisco had run his boat up on the beach on the other side of the point. We heard he had fallen asleep at the helm and his auto pilot steered him into the surf. How very sad. Word went out that we needed to help him and volunteers were needed. The crew on Rainbow was up for the adventure and in short order were on our way to the rescue. We jumped into the dingy and headed up the Santa Maria River about a mile or so. From there it was over land and a 5-6 mile hike to the beach. We arrived at the stricken vessel named Tachyon and 30 or so Hahaers were stripping the boat of all the supplies, hardware and equipment. It was a sad sight indeed. The owner was there and had given the word to salvage as much as possible. With so many folks already on the scene, there was not much we could do. We stayed for about an hour and then headed back. There is a small chance that the boat could be pulled out on an extreme high tide on Thursday. We got back to the boat and Sea Chaser was headed in to the bay after the crossing from Turtle Bay. The father/daughter crew had been beat up pretty bad in the tiny Cal 2-27. Even though is was a difficult sail for them, they still had a smile and made us laugh with their stories and insights. We invited them to stay for dinner and we talked about their adventure all the down the the coast from Coos Bay, Oregon. We gave them a special treat of ice cream and carrot cake for dessert and we all enjoyed that a bunch. After dinner, three of the larger boats hosted a party. A great time was had by all and I got to met some more of the fleet. The main boat was 47 foot cat that was sailed by a crew of five. The skipper, Bill, had it down. He had 4 ladies as crew. They sailed the boat and he worked the radio and relaxed while his crew sail the boat. He did not stand one watch during the trip. How cool is that? Will get some rest for the beach party tomorrow.

The Cup Will Come To SF

The SF Board of Supervisors has made a bold move to host the cup on the Bay! Read about the latest developments here..

Extreme is my Middle Name

Down the Line to Bahia Santa Maria

Day 6 - The Rainbow crew was up early for the 8am departure for Santa Maria. There was a bit of wind as we weighed anchor at 0730. The fleet is heading for a rolling start as the wind is light. We are allowed to motor until the predicted 10-15 knot winds fill in. The sky is overcast but the sun is out to the north. We bid a fond ado to Turtle Bay as we head to the mouth of the bay. Lots of spinnakers are already up but there is little wind. The decision is made that the fleet can motor without penalty. The winds donot fill in until about 1545 and at that time it's blowing about 10-12 knots (we have been motoring for 8 hours). The rolling start ends at 1600 and the chute goes up. The wind slowly increases to 15 knots and starts touching 20 before sunset at 1800. Now we are cooking. Lots of boats are catching fish but we only catch some kelp on our line. It was a pretty big piece of kelp, however. Lots of whale sightings too. We have a nice sunset during the end of my watch and it looks to be a very nice night for star gazing as the moon won't be up till after midnight. We are hoping for some good winds to move us down the course towards our next stop.

I have had two amazing watches over the last 12 hours. My night watch starts at 2300 each day. I come on deck and the stars are brilliant . The moon will come up later and in the meantime, the Milky Way is above us. The wind is in the high teens and we are moving along at 7 knots. The seas are pretty flat and the spinnaker is driving us down the course towards Santa Maria Bay. Having a nice chat with Dave and talking about his previous two Haha's. He is a seasoned sailor and this is his first voyage on a cat. He is loving the speed and the down wind capabilities of the boat. And did I mention the speed? He goes off watch and and the skipper comes on deck. He makes a few adjustments and the wheel becomes lite as a feather. We are having a beautiful ride as the red half moon rises slowly in the east. With the moon light shining on the water we are having one of the smoothest runs yet. A dream sail for sure. Off the port stern, I hear the sound of dolphins breathing. Soon they are jumping around the boat and splashing in the moon light. This is the moment I was hoping for. This is magic! Soon I see three shooting stars across the sky. The boat is moving like we are on rails. The skipper agrees that this is a peak moment on the trip. I savor my time on watch and finally at 0300 my watch ends and I go below for a sound sleep. There is a big difference on the sleep side of things on a cat, compared to a mono hull. The cat is flat and you can really get some great sleep. Even at 10-11 knots. On a mono hull you are constantly being pushed from side to side in these conditions. It's easy to become sleep deprived on a mono. I am back on deck at 0700 and the wind is in the low 20's and the seas are lumpy. The sky is clear and it's going to be an awesome watch. The boat is averaging 8 knots with the speedo hitting 10 and 11 on some of the surfs. We are passing mono hulls left and right and the spinnaker has been up for 15 hours. We are flying! I take the helm and it is really getting comfortable for me, even at these speeds. Dave is talking about his perfect boat that he hopes to take around some day. I soak it in as he is the voice of experience. Morning roll call for the fleet is at 0800 and one of the boats has had a wrapped spinnaker for the last 10 hours. Ouch! The skipper mentions that one way to solve the issue is to take a flare and burn the sucker. That will clear up the problem quick! Another boat hit something and is having trouble with vibrations from the prop shaft. All others are fine. We continue on thru a gybe of the chute and the average speed jumps up to 10 knots. What a run. We are about 60 miles from our finish line and on to the next round of beach events!! Need I say we are having a blast as we rumble down the coast of Baja Sur!!

Turtle Bay - First Stop on Baja Haha 17

Sleeping great on our cat as I have my own stateroom. My berth is 6'5' in length which is perfect for me as that is also my height. After we finish straightening up the boat, we head off for shore. We jump onto the pier and waiting just off the beach is an ambulance. One of our fleet members has dislocated his hip and is being ferried into the beach for transport to the hospital. We head up to the beach side bar overlooking the harbor and order Pacificos all around. We are joined by two other cruisers and we introduce ourselves. These guys are not having fun. They joined a boat in Santa Cruz, CA and the skipper has not been the peach they were hoping for. He has a C & C 34 and they have had to trouble shoot the boat all they way down the coast. The owner/skipper thinks he has a grasp on how to sail his boat but according to them, he would not have made it much past Monterey if not for them. They are about to jump ship. They vented and told many stories about his incompetence. Many were very funny. We thanked our lucky stars we have a great skipper and a rock solid boat. Let's hope it continues. After a few cold cervezes, we headed into town for a shower. Then over to the baseball game that Latitude 38 had put together. The teens from Turtle Bay played an inning and then the Cabo Pee Wee team and then all the cruisers. It was a great turn out and every one had a blast. Then it was off to the real deal and the World Series in a local bar. We met up with a father/ daughter crew on a Cal 29 and they barley made it down the coast. Big winds and big seas had unnerved them and they were not in very good spirits. We bought them a beer and tried to give them some moral support. Then it was onto the game and a 7 run 8th inning by the Giants finished of the Rangers and the Giants are up 2-0 as the series moves on to Texas. Finished up the night talking with a new friend from Vancouver, Doug and then headed back to the boat. Really looking forward to the beach party on Friday.

The sun comes up bright in Mexico. The day looks perfect and the 12noon start for the beach party is looking good. I cook up some eggs and toast for the crew and we are off to the the beach. It is about a 10 minute ride by panga and it's way down past the anchorage. We arrive an hour early to set up the volleyball and clean the beach. There is lots of plastic and garbage so we take our time and do the right thing. The net goes up, the beers are chilled and the reggae music is playing by the 12 noon start. Some of the locals are supplying the musica and the cervezas. The cruisers are supplying the potluck. It is a blue sky, bright sun day and the temps are in the mid seventies. Soon, lots of folks have arrived and the party is in full swing. We figure a good 300 folks showed up for a grand old time. The food was amazing and I was lucky enough to try some yellow tail that was caught the day before. Along with samples of many more yummy foods. The volleyball game was hot and there was some real talent on the court. We played about 8 games and had some great times. I was the last to leave and what a great day at the beach it was. Back to the boat for some rest and an 0600 wake up for a 0800 departure to Bahia Santa Maria. Can't wait!!

Blue Angels Sail

Just received a vid of a sail we did a month ago with some great friends to see the Blue Angels fly the bay. We did it all that day and had way too much fun!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Leg 1 of the Baja Haha - We Anchor in Turtle Bay

Here is a little compilation vid of the dolphins.


Day 3, Midnight watch was uneventful except for a broken boat. A Corsair 31 tri had lost their bowsprit, their headsail was in the water and they needed tools. One of the bigger cats, Moon Tide went out 40 or so miles to get them the tools they needed. It would be 20 hour diversion for Moon Tide. But that's what we do as mariners. The winds had built to the low twenties and the seas were huge when I went out on deck. We were loving it! We hit a bunch of 12's and a few 13's on the knot meter. The wind was 12-15 most of the night. On the 0700-1100 watch we had 500-600 hundred dolphins feeding all around us. We did a sail change and you could see a dozen under the boat. This was one of the highlights I was looking forward to. I fetched my video cam and went to the bow. What an amazing treat as this was my first time seeing them on a bow wave. That was so cool. Tex, you would have loved it!! I hope to post the vid on h2uh0. We should reach Turtle bay late this evening. That first beer is going to taste great.


The day continues to get nicer and nice. We throw up the chute and we can see Cedros Island in the distance. We are getting close to the finish line of leg 1 and our destination of Turtle bay. After my watch, I head to the trampoline and read and nap in the warm sun. It's starting to feel like Mexico! We are staring to see lots of boats in the area as we head to the finish line. At about 1300 we cross it and celebrate with some Juice Squeeze. I come back on for my last watch at 3 and we are in 10 knots of wind and 3-4 knots of boat speed. It's still 20 miles to the anchorage and we are determined to get there by sail. During the watch I cook up some Thai Chicken, veggie salad and cous cous. I finish my watch at 1900 and head down for a nap. The motor wakes me as we head in to Bahia de Tourtugas! We anchor about 2230 and head for bed. We will have some boat chores in the morning and then a day to explore. But first I will prepare some blueberry/banana pancakes for the crew!

We Have Arrived At The Cape

We have just sailed in from an extraordinary trip! I kept a daily log on board and it will blow you out of the water!! I am in the process of some wrap up events in Cabo (huge parties). I will be posting the logs a day at a time and let the story unfold. Our boat, crew and fleet were all amazing. There was also a bit of bad news as a boat ran up on the beach. Owner is OK. All in all the trip exceeded all my expectations and they were huge. I can't wait to share this amazing journey down the Baja coast with you all.

Here is the log from Day One:

Rally Start -The day started out dreary and wet. There was was lots of activity around the dock as boats were preparing for a parade and a 1100 rally start. We got off the dock 0945. The parade was just off our bow and the wind was in the low teens with partly cloudy skies. We joined the 170-180 or so boats and headed towards the sea and the starting line. The line is between Pt. Loma Lighthouse and the good ship Profligate. We are just about over the line and we tack with 2 minutes to go before the start. We don't make the tack and have to reset and get some speed. The gun sounds and we are headed north instead of with the fleet heading south. Once we have boat speed again, we tack and are off with the fleet. It's amazing to see this many boats going south. The sun is out and we are making 7 knots over the ground and the wind is holding steady at 14. We head offshore about 5 miles and the wind slowly goes down to about 10 later in the day. We decide to throw on the chute around 4pm and try to increase our speed. Once set, we are doing fine when a herd of dolphins surfaces around the boat. In 5 minutes, I see 150 dolphins. What a thrill! As the sun sets, we hear a report of whales ahead. It's dark now, so we just have to hope we don't encounter any. Just in case we do hit a whale, we sleep feet forward. I am now getting ready to get some rest before my next watch at 2300. More soon....

I was on the midnight watch on my first night time ocean passage. What a thrill it was to come out to the cockpit and have the moon and Jupiter shinning bright in the clear sky. The wind was 15 - 20 on a perfect run down the coast. We have the chute up all night and we were on auto pilot. There are always two of us on deck and my watch mate was Dave on this fine evening. We talked a bit and I spent time starring at Jupiter and thinking about the 63 moons that surround this huge planet. I went off watch at 0300 and went right to sleep for 4 hours. Up at 0700 and the wind is up to 20-22 and we are surfing to almost 13 knots. We are about 15 miles off the coast and not many other boats. After some oatmeal and coffee, we get a huge wrap with the chute on the forestay. We finally sort it out and 45 minutes later we throw her up again. I look behind the boat and a tuna is on the fishing line. We are in the middle of sorting some things out and buy the time I get to the line, he is off the hook. I head down below for some reading and relaxing on day 2!

Preparing to Depart for Baja

Pics from the Kick Off Party!

The Baja Haha begins with a bang in a few hours. All the boats have loaded the additional fuel, emptied the holding tanks, stocked their boat with an array of food and beverage, and topped off their water tanks. The Rally begins at 11am today! Our cat is located at the police dock on Shelter Island. There must be 40 Haha boats here. The 30' cat behind has been in work mode since we arrived. The skipper seems tireless as he prepares his vessel for the voyage. Up the mast, installing solar panels, cleaning and scrubbing. He is behind the 8 ball but says he will cast off no matter what. In the meantime, our boat is ready to go. We have a meticulous skipper who has prepared his vessel well. We had a few chores and then my nephew came down from LA to meet up with us. We have been checking out the best in San Diego. The Mission, La Jolla, Mission Bay and finally Balboa Park. What an amazing park! Lots going on with museums, fairs and festivals. Plus the amazing historical buildings and the trees! After lunch, we headed over to the Kick Off Party for the Haha at West Marine. Lots of happy folks eating and drinking and looking forward to the trip. Several costume contests and lots of prizes to the winners. After, we made our last trip to the store to pick up the fruit and veggies for the trip. We are stocked and ready for the 750 mile journey down the Baja coast. The forecast is for morning showers and 15-20 knot winds. Perfect for a run down the coast! The crew is looking forward to a great trip and so am I!!

Bon Voyage! My First Ocean Passage

As I put the final touches on the departure for my trip to San Diego and on to meeting the boat that will take me down the coast of Mexico, I think about all the water adventures I have had that have lead me to this point. My love for the water started when I learned to swim at 3, joined the swim team at 4, water skiing and boating on the Chesapeake as a boy, learning to surf at 10, swimming on scholarship at UNLV, moving to Carmel, CA at 21, surfing the Pacific coast, moving to the bay area and sailing with friends on a rented sailboat, learning to windsurf in Foster City and then the bay and delta, houseboat trips to Shasta, Don Pedro and Oroville, receiving a Sunfish from my future wife for my birthday, moving up to a wooden dory in 1999, and finally buying a 30' sailboat for bay adventures ten years ago this month, and sailing that boat once a week or more for the last ten years! It has been an amazing adventure indeed. The Baja Ha Ha sailing rally starts in 5 days and I will be on a 36' cat with a crew of four. 200 boats and 600 sunshine seeking sailors will set sail for Cabo San Lucas on Monday, October 25 at 11am. The journey will take us 750 miles down the Baja coast. The first 330 mile leg will take us to Turtle Bay for a two day stopover to rest, relax, fix broken parts and have a beach party. Then it's off for a 220 mile leg to Bahia Santa Maria for another beach potluck and fun. I am bringing the volleyball net and bocce. Our last leg will be 180 miles to Cabo for another round of beach events. We will have a car there and will spend a day at Palmia and San Jose del Cabo. I return on the 6th of November to celebrate my 17th wedding anniversary. I will be blogging down the coast but will not be able to upload our adventures until we get to Cabo due to the remoteness of our route. I am looking forward to seeing the stars and planets in a very dark setting, watching dolphins dance in our bow wave, drinking that first beer in Turtle Bay, meeting 600 friendly folks, and seeing the arch at the end of the Cape as we round the corner into Cabo. Please check back and take a look at the fun and the laughs we plan to share on this beautiful sail down the coast of Baja Sur!

Believe In Yourself And You Will Do Great Things!

iPhone Band

Atomic Tom on a NY subway rocks out on their phones after their instruments were stolen. Pretty amazing! Like the song too.

Pics of the Day

Toad Rock, Java. The only two guys in the water all day.

The jump at Steamer's Lane, Santa Cruz, CA
Click the pic for a larger view.

New Porsche Ad Campaign

Click the pic!

Picture Show: Northern Lights

I have seen the northern lights once in British Columbia. It was an awe inspiring moment in my life. This solar energy occurrence is one of the most amazing phenomena I have ever seen. Here is what causes the spectacular light shows: The Sun's magnetic field throws charged particles from its atmosphere out into space. As these particles near the Earth they are pulled in by its magnetic field, which pulls them down to the magnetic poles. Before they can reach the Earth, the charged particles hit the Earth's atmosphere and collide with the gases found there. The reaction between those particles and the gases creates energy, and the energy is given off as light - the Northern Lights. Here is a link to a site with some breath taking
photos.

New Sailing Speed Record 54.10k

Speed sail records falls like domino brick in the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010. Alex Caizergues has set a new World Speed Sailing Record at 54.10 knots on a 500 meter run. That’s over 100 km/h an a board with a kite.

Most of the speed junkies in the sailing world are gathered in Namibia for the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010. This is the place where records have fallen before, and this week amazing things have happened again.

Last year French Alexandre Caizergues became the fastest kiteboarder in the planet with an average speed of 50.98 knots in 501 meters. The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) ratified the new World Record.

Tuesday October 12th he did it again with his kite. He averaged 54.10 knot over a 500 meter course. The record has to be ratified by the WSSRC before it’s final.

Hot to Trot

Something Wild

We headed out to see the Blue Angels yesterday and it was fab! Seven intrepid souls on a vast bay with these precision flyers. We had an nice sail out towards Angel and then tacked toward the city at the start of the show. The tack lasted the entire show and it was breath taking. We headed back and it was time to spread my father in laws ashes. Dick had passed in a freak fall earlier this year. We had some nice words about him and some tears. He loved sailing the bay aboard the Addiction. So long my friend. It was a great day to be on the water with my friends.

Bone Move of the Week

Tri

They don't make these anymore but boy it looks like fun!

You and Your Johnson

Boat Name FAIL - watch more funny videos

Cool Promo

Fast is Fun!

After the boat was lost during a record attempt in 2008, they rebuilt it an came back to claim the world speed record for a vessel under sail in 2009. Wonder what they are up to this year?

Two Weeks and Counting

We depart for the Baja Haha in less than two weeks! Boat Count: 190 People Count: 600
Fun Meter: Off the charts! The trip will take 11 days as we have several stops on the way down the coast. The distance from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas is about 750 miles. Here is a breakdown of what our trip looks like if we have some decent winds for our 36' cat:

San Diego to Turtle Bay
382mi @ 8kts = 48 hrs
We will most likely make a noon approach.
We will swing on the hook Wed & Thur night

Turtle Bay to Santa Maria
224mi @ 8kts = 28 hrs
We will again make a noon approach
We will swing on the hook Sun/Mon/Tue night

Santa Maria to Cabo
194mi @ 8 kts = 24 hrs
This will be a mid-morning approach

8 knots is optimistic but we have a fast boat. Once we get to Cabo, the party continues at Squid Row and a bunch of beach parties. Getting excited for our two week journey down the coast!!

Weekend Pics

Let's Go Boating!

Have a Better Weekend Than These Guys!

Pic of the Week

Sailing Maniacs!

Hold Fast from Moxie Marlinspike on Vimeo.

The story of a man with a dream. Long but well done! He buys a piece of rotting fiberglass, fixes it up and sails it to the Caribbean. Enjoy!

Dolphin Bubble Rings

Cool Time Lapse

Full Moon Sails

Had a couple great late afternoon sails over the weekend that segwayed into moon rise sails as I was coming in. Nice sunsets too. The bay area has been hit by a heat wave that has taken temps into triple digits. The good news is that the wind is still blowing on the bay and I was out there to enjoy it. My golden Kona came with and we had some great times. The heat will last one more day and then the fog makes it's way back into the bay and that means even more wind!

Here's a clip from last weekends race on the bay.

Vendee Globe Race

The next race is still 2 years away. This vid shows how extreme it is and the stress the sailors have to deal with. Check it out.

Never Fart in a Dry Suit

Pics of the Week

Jaws Chaos

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Join the fun!

On The Beach

Lucky!

Sex with a Whale

Received this note from a fellow Haha'er on his way to San Diego via San Francisco.

"Well after thirty years of sailing I had my first close encounter with a whale and lived to tell the story. We were sailing across Monterey Bay about 30 NM west of Moss Landing.

We started seeing Blue Whales, Ocras and dolphins. The Orcas apparently hunt the Blue Whale Calfs in this areas and there was a lot of activity and we steered to avoid the whales.

I was sitting in the cockpit daydreaming when I saw something on the port side of the boat. It took a second and then I realised that it was a whale. The creature had rolled on its back and I swear was humping my boat.

I yelled to my crewman to turn right and the whale touched or kinda slapped the port quarter. Then whale drifted by the boat and just off the transom lifted it's tail in the air and disappeared. The tail was as wide as my dinghy is long (10.5').

No damage or injuries, but I am wondering if my boat lost her virginity to a whale."

Tom Jeremiason
S/V Camelot
C470-145
Home Port: San Francisco, CA
Curretly located: Santa Barbara, CA
www.sailingcamelot.us

Aquarium Perfection

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Go full screen!

Pic of the Day

Have a great weekend and go sailing!

AIS App for the iPhone

Sailors are rejoicing at the number of apps available for mariners. From charts to currents and tides, GPS and now AIS. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System. All large ship are required to have a transponder and broadcast important info about their origin, destination, speed, etc. With Ship Finder, you can have all the vital info about a passing ship at your fingertips. When on the bay during the day, I can use it to determine which course the ship will head when coming thru the Gate. At night, it can keep me informed of ships headed my direction. A detailed map appears on screen with all the ships in the local area. When I touch the ship I want info on, a detailed report comes up instantly. It won't help you with small boats on the bay as most donot yet have this device or if they do, they are only receiving info and not transmitting. There is a free version available as well as a $5 version which I recommend if you plan to use it on the water. It is worth it and can be an amazing tool for the serious mariner.

Pics of the Day

Hotel room in the Maldives.

Way Cool = 20 Knots on a Wally

Overnight Sail

The Baja Ha Ha cruiser rally fleet is headed out of San Diego on October 25th. We are expecting 200 sailboats and 600 sailors for the 17th annual cruise down the 750 mile coast of Baja California. I will be heading to Mexico with the fleet on a boat named Rainbow, a 36' cat. We had a training sail this past weekend that took us 40 miles out onto the ocean for an overnight sail. It was wild and windy as we exited the bay with the wind in the low twenties for the majority of the trip. Four of us are onboard on 4 hour shifts, with two on watch at all times. The waves were 4-8 feet but not breaking. The day was gray and it was doubtful we would see the sun. We held a southwest course out the Gate that did not allow us to spot the Farallones. As the afternoon came to an end, the skies cleared and the sun and blue sky shone our way. I mentioned that I have seen three green flashes in my life (a huge shaft of green light shoots from the sunset, only visible over the ocean) and that we should begin a quest to catch one on the trip. We were having a wild ride with boat speed around 9 knots in large waves but the boat was handling it well with the course we were on. Only 2000 miles to Hawaii if we held course! No, no, let's stay focused. I went below to prepare some Pumpkin Bisque for the crew. All is fine until I start on the main course of Mango Salmon. We had heaved to, slowing the boat down, but not really changing the motion. I ran up on deck to feed the fish for the first time in my boating life. I headed back to the galley not feeling 100%. I was able to complete the meal and then went to the bunk for some rest. My next watch was from 2300-0300. The midnight watch. The boat had remained heaved to and we were in fine shape. Watch out for boats and slowly head towards San Francisco at 2-3 knots. At 30 miles off the coast, we could see a multitude of stars and the Milky Way streamed across the sky. Very impressive. The Skipper Cliff, came on deck at 2pm and we decided to douse the main as the wind was hitting 27 at times. We went down to jib alone and started our journey back to the city. As I went off watch, I could see lots of bioluminesence behind the boat. Almost looking like fireflies on the stern. I went off into a deep sleep as the boat headed west. Morning comes early and I am back on deck at 0700. The Gate is ahead and we head in on a nice flood. Breakfast prep is not a problem as the seas are calm. We finish up with a nice sail on the bay. Cliff has done a masterful job at setting up a strong and capable boat. It going to be a sweet sail to the Cape!

When in Drought

Before this weeks huricane, the north east had almost 30 days of light winds. The windsurfers were jones'in! If you love windsurfing, check out the Puffman.

Flat water is fast water.

Crazy Boat Crashes

Here is a link to a site that has put some of the top boat crashes all in one place. Over the years I have featured many of these but there are some that I have never seen. Check it out here.

Going on a Baja Ha Ha training sail this weekend. It an overnight sail on the ocean. Should be a blast and a half. Full report on Monday. Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Here is a kite crash, one of my favs!

You Want Sex?!

On July 20, 1969, commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, "That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind", were televised to Earth and heard by millions. But just before he re-entered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark:

"Good luck, Mr. Gorsky." Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs. Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck Mr. Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled. On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

In 1938 when he was a kid in a small Midwest town, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in his neighbor’s yard by the bedroom windows. His neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky.

As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky. "Sex! You want sex?! You’ll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"

We Loved Petaluma!

My best bud Tex and I headed up the Petaluma River on Sunday for a three day sojourn. We had an very nice early morning sail up the central bay in about 12 knots of wind. I prepared some coffee and scrambled eggs as we went under the Richmond Bridge and Tex took the helm. We pass the two small islands called The Sisters and decided to stop for a swim at McNears Beach. Found a rocky beach and took Kona in for a rest stop. Back onboard we headed for the river entrance. There is a long string of nav markers that guide you into the river mouth. At this point we are motor sailing with just the main up. We enter the river and have a nice cruise with the wind mostly on our nose. Once on the river, its a 10 mile ride through vineyards and farms. There is plenty of depth all the way up and we had no problems. We arrived at the draw bridge at the appointed time of 4:30. You must call Public Works 4 days in advance to have the draw bridge raised on a weekend. It leads right into the turning basin in the heart of downtown. We tied up and almost had the dock to ourselves. We had a fun dinner with a friends sister and her family at Dempsey's which is right on the basin. 6 year old Emma loved the boat. The next morning we took a walking tour of the town. We found a nice book store and the market to restock our ice supply. After lunch, we headed off on our bikes to Lagunitas Brewery for a tour and tasting. About a 3 mile ride, the day was perfect. We arrived and were told the next tour was in an hour. Contemplating our next move, I noticed something on my tires. 30-40 white thorns were in my front tire and it was flat. Same with my back tire. I look at the other bike and the same thing! 4 flat tires. We tried to get somebody to take us back to the basin but no luck. Finally we decided on a cab. Back at the boat, we get the tube repair kit out and start fixing the tubes. We soon run out of patches and decide to buy 4 new tubes. Bummer. Once we are cleaned up and the bikes are back in order, we prepare the boat and food for the arrival of our old friend Denise. She brings another friend and we sit down for stories and a Chinese chicken salad. I had put on a red check table cloth and candles and the boat had a nice glow to it. Some folks from another boat came over and we had some more stories below. Fun night! We are up early the next morning to meet the bridge tender at 8am. Without a hitch, the bridge goes up and we head back down river to the bay. We realize quickly that our water tank is empty. There are a bunch of dishes from last nights party that need to be cleaned. I get creative and rig up the sun shower above the sink. Works like a charm. More eggs and coffee and it's another beautiful day with temps in the low 70's. The river is empty as we make our way down. Back on the bay, we head over to the sandy side of McNear's. Kona and I swim in for a romp in the sand. Warm and lovely! Back at the boat, I dive down to see how close the keel is to the bay bottom. The depth gauge says 6'6". I dive down and its more like 6' or less. Time to recalibrate the depth meter. We have a most excellent sail in the San Pablo Bay with winds in the 12 knot range. Finally make it under the Richmond and soon we are flying in 25 knot winds across the slot. Small jib and main up we are doing 8 knots to finish the trip to Emeryville. What a nice welcome home. We clean up the boat and by 8:30pm we are headed home. It was another outstanding adventure up another storied waterway on the bay!!

Heading up The Petaluma River

My good buddy Tex and I have had many sailing adventures on the bay and delta over the last 10 years. This weekend we will be heading up river on the Petaluma for the first time. It about a 30 mile sail to get there. We end up in downtown Petaluma which has turned into a bustling theater, dinning and watering hole district. We will be on the water for three days. Be on the lookout for updates from the boat. Should be an awesome trip!

Flynnstone Flip

Flynn Novak - Flynnstone Flip from Matuse Inc. on Vimeo.

45 Moments in NASA History

Here is a great multimedia presentation of some of great and not so great moments in NASA's history. From the first moon landing to the first monkey in space, it's all here. Click this link to see the site.

Ronnie Makes it Back

(See the post below for the back info on Ronnie)

Here is the latest:
This thread is entertaining.

First off, i've got to make it very much publicly known that I probably could not (and would not) have done this without Ed McCoy. There is not a better bperson that I could have been on the boat with in such a shitty situation. He is one of my best friends, and we got along better during and now after the ordeal than even before. He is a delivery skipper/ skilled racer/ general sailboat bad ass. I've been sailing for 2.5 years. That's it. Whenever you're new to a sport, you have to have a mentor and a role model and for me, it's Ed. He was the first and only person I ever approached about doing this delivery with. If not him, I probably would have returned solo as well. So thanks dude.

Having said that, there were a few things in this thread I would address:

Water ballast was disabled for race, and was not able to be used.

Boat is stable like a motherfucker. Scot Jutson designed a good boat in my opinion. Something on the boat failed. Was it corroded keel bolts? Shitty welds? Bad construction? Previous groundings? Hell if I know. It broke, but the boat itself is in my opinion a good boat and a well built one at that. I put 5,000 ocean miles on that boat this summer, mostly solo, and I usually pounded the shit out of it. Never felt anything less than rock solid until last Wednesday night. We will haul out tomorrow and maybe learn something from it. Boat is getting a new keel, designed by another respected Mount Gay 30 designer and *should* be back in action for next year's Bermuda 1-2. If not, SHTP 2012.

Major, major props and gratitude to everyone who showed up to greet us at the gate. Garrett Greenhalgh and Drew Harper (my employers at Spinnaker Sailing) greeted us in the SC 50 with thai food and booze. Ladonna and Rob fro Latitude are great friends, and Adam, Ben, Lucy, Gary and all the SHTP community was just awesome in coming to greet us. That really meant a lot to me. And like someone else said about Don, the boat's owner. Yeah, he's one of the good guys. I was pissed off for some reason about the keel falling off, but we sat down and talked in private today and I feel a lot better about things. The guy is a great guy and afforded me a great life experience this summer. So thanks to everyone.

As you can see, on this day i'm happy to be alive and I just love everything and everyone. That shit was traumatic (in my mind), but we pulled through. The stress alone made me drop 10 pounds in the last week.

Moths are Cool!

Full screen!

A Brief History of the Internet

It all stated in 62'! Click here for the infograph.

This Just In...

More Bad Luck For Ronnie

Poor Ronnie. Here's a guy who gets seriously injured in the Iraq War. Because of his injuries he is sent home. He gets a job and tries to find his way. But something is missing and he needs to find it. He decides to buy a boat and sail to Hawaii. He does the minimum to get the boat ready. He has some crew but decides he has to go and leaves for his first ocean passage alone on an untested boat. He also departs at the tail end of hurricane season here on the west coast. A few days after his departure from San Diego, he gets hit with the remnants of a Cat 4 hurricane and loses his rudder in terrible conditions. Rescued by a freighter heading for China, he ends up there with nothing and no way to get back home. But Ronnie never gives up! He sails and races in China and makes the most of it. He finally makes a plan to bike across the continent to the UK. Not just any continent, but the biggest continent of all...8,700 miles later he pedals to a pub to make another plan. He wants to sail in the Single Handed Transpac. He gets some sponsors, finds a boat that is lent to him for the race. Prepares the boat hopefully with more diligence than the one he lost off San Diego and sails out the Gate. Waves are steep and the wind is in the 30's as he reaches the Farallones. He does well in the race and ends up 2nd in his division and 6th overall. He celebrates and makes some amazing friends as he finally reaches his goal of sailing to Hawaii. Now he is headed back to SF and guess what?? No, not the rudder this time. He loses his friggin KEEL! Some how, some way, Ronnie is prevailing and headed our way. They lost the keel 800 miles out, a freighter dropped some fuel for them and they have a little bit of jib out as they cruise at 5.5 knots. Here is the latest report from Ronnie that I received this morning:
August 16, 2010- 228 miles to San Fran
1 more night down, and *hopefully* only two more nights to go. As you can tell, the nights freak me out a bit more than the days. Things are still more or less going okay aboard Warrior's Wish. We've had to bleed the motor several times. We checked all of our work regarding fuel filter swap, previous bleeding, etc. Everything seems tight, but due to constant vibration, (or something), it seems there is a very small air leak. Motor sounds very starved and loses power for several minutes. Definitely seems like a fuel issue. Motor itself is fine. The starvation/ power loss either works itself out naturally in 5 minutes, as it did once yesterday, or requires bleeding, as we've done 3 times in the past 2 days. The motor generally stays running throughout the entire ordeal. Either way, she's purring right along right now and we're making a steady 5.5 knots with the jib up. Definitely looking forward to getting back to San Francisco. I think we both want showers, thai curry chicken, and beer. Everything after that is just in the details.
Our ETA is beginning to become more defined. Looking at Wednesday morning's flood tide. Slack is at 0349, max flood is 0706 and slack is 1011. Fortunately, the ebb tide after that is a mild one, so we have some leeway (no pun intended, hahaha). We would like to have a boat on the scene to meet us outside the gate and escort us in if that is possible. With the gnarly currents at the Golden Gate, if the motor craps out, we're done. Either into the South Tower or the lee shore. Too much leeward drift with no keel. I think we can do it ourselves, I just want a power boat as back up in case we need a tow. Please contact RJ if you know of someone who can help with this. I would prefer to not have Coast Guard on scene as I don't feel it's an emergency. Good luck Ronnie! We will keep a light on for you! Here's a link to his website.

Pics From the Archives

Sail to the Farallones

On Sunday our Baja Haha crew boarded Rainbow for my first ever trip to the Gulf of the Farallones. The islands sit over 20 miles outside the Gate. One of our crew stated that the islands sits on a plate that over the last billion or so years, has crept all the way from Baja. That is amazing! We practiced our man overboard drills along the way. The skipper Cliff, told us about a rescue he made during a race. A freak wave threw two sailors into the water as they headed back from the the islands. Cliff saw what happened and was able to rescue them without mishap. The boat kept sailing and was lost. Cliff received a medal of honor and lots of recognition. Anyway, we made to the islands and it was very cool to be out there. Not much to see but lo an behold, as we tacked to head back, a huge gray whale surfaced just in front of the boat. What a sight! He surfaced a few more time before disappearing behind us. We put up the spinnaker for the ride home and as we approached the Gate, the winds peaked at 23 knots and we were flying aboard our 36 Crowther cat. Speeds in the double digits were the norm for a good part of the ride home. The sun came out and it was beautiful inside the bay. It was a 12 hour sail and a great one at that. Our next adventure on Rainbow is a overnight training sail outside the Gate again over Labor Day weekend. More fun on the high seas!!

Buying My Ticket to the HaHa!!

Looks like I will be going on the Baja HaHa! We are making plans for provisioning the boat and the schedule down the coast. I am super excited as this will be my first ocean passage. It will take about 12 days to get down the coast from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. We have several stops to rest, relax and have a beach party if the waves cooperate. We head out the Gate this weekend for a training sail. I will be updating this blog as we go. Read all about the HaHa here.

Gales, Whales and the Baja Ha-Ha (Movie Trailer) from Sailing Guy on Vimeo.

Why is it called a Head?

Marine toilets are known as the head, this being the name given to them on the old wooden sailing ships, as they were located in the ships head right at the bow. They were placed each side of the bowsprit and used by the officers and crew, with only the captain having his own toilet.

I first heard this term used whilst serving my time as a marine fitter in Harland and Wolff Belfast. Since then I have been to sea as a Ships Engineer and we all called the marine toilet the head or heads, the name deriving from the days of the wooden sailing ships, when the heads were placed up for’d.

This is a marine article regarding the origin of the marine toilet being known as the head; here we will have a light-hearted look at its history. However, in the middle of a dark night, on a rough sea I am sure going to the loo, and having your nether regions splashed by cold seawater was anything but lighthearted.

We begin then with a brief look at the history of the ship's head.

In the days of sailing ships, the forerunner of today’s marine toilet was known as the head or heads as there were normally two of them, some of them being enclosed in a shelter like our old outhouse toilets.

They were located on each side of the bowsprit, which was an integral part of the ship’s bow, overlooked only by the figurehead at the head of the ship, and this is how the marine toilets become known as the head. Incidentally, the word head came from a Roman galley, where the prow with the armor and battering ram was sometimes referred to as the beak’s head.

The heads on the sailing ships were used only by the crew and officers, with the Captain having his own private head below the "poop deck" (no pun intended) near his stern cabin.

Reasons for the Location of the Head

The reasons for locating the heads so far for’d are listed below:

* Smells

Smells emanating from the heads would be blown away from the deck of the ship by the following winds; that were normally from aft, as the ship sailed before the wind.

* Keeping the Heads' Outflows Clean

Because the heads were right at the bow slanting inwards, the waves constantly splashing seawater upwards would wash any accumulation of waste from the port and starboard planking, whilst also keeping the gratings used as a toilet seat and the surrounding deck area well washed.

* Using the Lee or Windward Head

The sailors were encouraged to use the lee side head in rough seas or windy conditions as this also stopped the accumulation of waste sticking to the sides of the bow.

* Fo’c’sle Head

Later on as the ships were developed, a fo'c' sle head was built under the fo'c' sle deck. It was originally a sail and rope store, but some of the sailors preferred to sleep and mess here rather than down below. So the heads were kept in their location being handy for them to use.

Now you know!

.Source

Cat Crash

Full screen looks good.

I could do this all day!

Great Article: Plastiki

The world needs men and women who do great things: lead nations, invent new devices, discover miracle cures - all those things that make our lives better. But we also need adventurers, people who do things for the hell of it, who sail off beyond the far horizon to prove some point or other.

David de Rothschild, a tall, rangy man with a plummy English accent, scion of the famous British banking family, is one of those people. He and a crew of five others have just completed an amazing voyage, sailing a strange-looking craft made of 12,500 plastic bottles from the Golden Gate to Sydney. The 8,000-mile trip took four months.

The point, he said, was to show the world that the "shocking and unnecessary use" of disposable plastic harms the oceans' health.

De Rothschild believed that by building a boat of tough plastic, with floatation supplied by liter-size bottles filled with carbon dioxide, he could call attention to plastic waste in the ocean. He called it "a message in a bottle".

Continue reading here.

August Sailing

We had a busy week last week with sailing and many events with the Too Much Fun Club. Wine tasting in Napa and lots of groovy folks! Had some maintenance on the boat too. I changed the impeller and had some issues getting the pump to prime. Saturday morning it was still not priming and for the first time in 10 years, I had to cancel a day trip with friends. I did some research on the web and found an interesting solution that may help others. The impeller moves water from the bay into the engine to keep it cool. It spins and spins and it had made some indentations on the cover. In my research, a few of the suggestions were to turn the cover over so it can use the smooth surface to create a seal and start moving the water. I did that and it worked like a charm. Sometimes it as simple as that.

The weather in Northern California has been nothing short of spectacular. Fog in the morn, Sunny by 11am and then 70's every day. They say this has been the mildest summer in 40 years! Perfect temps at night. My theory is that as the valley heats up, it is bringing in more cool air and keeping it mild near the bay. Great for sailing too!

My August looks great for more sailing adventures and working towards the Baja Ha Ha. On the 14th, I will be sailing out the Gate on Rainbow (36' cat) and hopefully the boat I will join for the rally. On Labor Day weekend we will do an overnight on the ocean and go way out past the Farallones. I also hope to head up the Petaluma River for a couple day trip with my friend Tex. Lots of day sails and a trip to the ballgame. Should be a great month of sails on both the Addiction and Rainbow!