Grey Poupon "The Lost Footage"

One of my favorite jokes is to sail by another boat and say, "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"  Found this on Youtube, enjoy!

Two Sails are better than none!

Wanted to put these in writing as both were very special.  On Friday, Dave and I headed out for what turned out to be a very nice sail to the City.  We met around 11am and we out there by 11:30.  The winds were light but freshened up within the hour.  We were in 15 knots in no time and headed for Sausalito.  Once over there, we hove to for lunch.  The wind was closer to 20 and we are heading back.  Great wind got us back to the barn quickly. 

On Sunday I arrived up at the boat at 1:30 and took off with Kona aboard.  The wind piped up to 18 pretty quickly and we were off.  Got out past the pier and the boat was doing a masterful job of sailing herself on jib alone.  Plenty of wind to keep us at 5 to 6 knots.  I continued on to the lee of Angel but tacked before we got out of the wind.  Out towards Angel for sunset and then a very nice dark return to the docks about 8pm.  The vid below is from Sunday and no I did not lose the hat!  Thank-you Addiction for a safe and memorable weekend!

Carib 600 and some Awesome Boats

From a little race down near Antigua.  Some classic boats in the 100' range head to this race year after year.  Be sure to go full screen and if you have an Apple TV, push it to the really big screen!

Off to sail today and should see some America's Cup boats screaming by.  Will try to get some vid to post here over the weekend.

Epic Session at Jaws

Bonehead Move # 324

This boat did not realize the tug was pulling the barge and next thing you know the Coast Guard is pulling the crew from the water.  This happens more than you might think.  Be careful out there!

Newport Raft Up - Saturday, March 2

I am organizing a raft up of Newport Sailboats on Saturday, March 2 at Clipper Cove.  Our last get together was almost 4 years ago.  It's time for another round.  This is a great opportunity to meet the other skippers and see how they have set up their boats.  Sail to the cove around 4pm and get set up for a wonderful night on the bay.   Bring your own food and drink and let's raft up!

So Amazing!

Took out some friends (Andy and Nicko) on Wednesday for the first foggy sail of the year.  Fog when we got to the boat, however by 1pm it had cleared and the fog had lined up at the Gate.  The winds shot up to 18 knots and we were flying...until Oracle 17 (72') flew by us going twice the speed of the wind.  There were also half a dozen of the 45' cats playing out there getting ready for the Red Bull Challenge.  It was a fantastic day to be out and way cool to see the America's Cup boat.

Go full screen on this amazing video from Team Oracle.

New Dodger for our Boat!

We have had an old dodger that was slowly disintegrating over the last few years.  We had Pacific Crest Canvas of Alameda replace the canvas portion and add several stabilizing struts.  The results are amazing.  Being able to see thru the windows is something we could not do on the old dodger.  They did a terrific job and we highly recommend them if you need to replace or add a new dodger.  Here are some pics taken today after Kona and I picked up the boat.

Click the pic for a bigger view.

Pics of the Week

Click the pic for a bigger view.

Sailing in 70 Knots - Vid

I have sailed in 50 knots (on my boat on the bay) but would not dream of trying this.  Then again, I am not one of the top ten windsurfers in the world.  Check it out full screen.

Make Sure the Crew Knows What To Do!

Some years ago a sailor took his non-sailing girlfriend cruising out into the Pacific Ocean from San Diego for the day. After a pleasant few hours they turned for home. Unexpectedly, in mild weather, he fell overboard. The girlfriend knew so little about the boat that she froze and didn't call for help until the boat washed up on a beach. The sailor was never seen again.

You may be overboard, but also you may be incapacitated. What is the minimum that your sailing partner should know when they go sailing with you? Obviously, as the true story above (which sends prickles up my spine every time I hear or tell it) demonstrates, they should know enough to operate the boat and some of its simple functions, alone.

Here is a check-list of skills that your sailing partner needs to know as a minimum to go sailing together:

General boat handling, in case you are incapacitated. They should know:

1. How to get the sails down, how to sail simply and conservatively.

2. How to lower and raise an anchor.

3. How to steer a simple compass course

4. How to set the autopilot or windvane if you have one.

5. How to start and stop the engine safely.

6. How to heave-to.

7. Where the flares and life jackets are located for emergencies

8. How to boil water on the stove safely.

9. Where the bilge pumps are located and what they do.

10. How to operate the SSB or VHF radio, dependant on where you are sailing.

Then, for the all important MOB situation:
(yes, I know, it's NOT going to happen to you - but that's why, on my count watching the statistics mount, more than 10 people a year are lost in MOB situations in relatively calm water):

1. As specified above, they should know how to use the radio, specially on emergency frequencies, and where the MOB button is located. They should know how to set off the boat's EPIRB.

2. They should know how to disconnect and throw over your danbuoy or life ring

3. They must know how to start the engine, and douse the sails. Even if they know how to steer the boat, unless they are a seasoned helmsman they will probably not be able to return the boat to you, so the previous two points become vital.

How well prepared are YOU for the possibility that you will, at some time in the future, be incapacitated or missing and need your partner to maximise your chances of a happy outcome?

by Des Ryan via Sail World