Joyon Takes Off to Set New Round the World Record

This Friday morning November 23, 2007, Francis Joyon set out, once again, to break the solo round the world sailing record. A record he took four years ago that Ellen MacArthur improved on in the following year.

The red stem of maxi-trimaran IDEC crossed the starting line at 11h05' 52 this morning in a north easterly wind of 15 knots, which is expected to increase to 25 knots off Brittany, on calm sea and under a mixed sky of large black clouds and lighter patches. Francis Joyon, a 51 year old from La Trinité-sur-Mer, set out under full main and gennaker, to the din of helicopters and accompanying high speed motorboats.

The World Sailing Speed Records Council (WSSRC) validated the departure and calculated that to beat the record, IDEC must finish before Sunday February 3, 2008 at 1h23' 25 '' French time. A few moments before leaving the pontoon of Brest, Francis Joyon confirmed what he had said yesterday: “The weather conditions are favourable enough to not lose too much time compared Castorama on the first part of the course. We should have sufficiently constant and regular carrying winds to remain in a blow for this first week of race. One hopes to make a good time, because it is important not to be too much behind Ellen MacArthur’s time at the equator, since she profited from very favorable conditions in this segment.”

Jean-Yves Bernot, IDEC enlarged: "With winter winds getting established in Western Europe, one must not mess about, one must leave. Passing the Brittany point, the wind will settle to 25 knots of North-East and should make it possible for IDEC to reach speeds of about 23 to 24 knots. Around Finisterre, the wind will go up to 28 to 30 knots. There will undoubtedly be the need for tacking in the Bay of Biscay to follow wind oscillations of about ten degrees. The important thing is that, as for as we can see, there will be no break on the route to get into the trade winds, as there was for competitors in the Transatlantic Jacques Vabre. I’m hoping it won’t take Francis much more than a week, perhaps eight days, to reach the equator. That would be perfect."

4 Year Old is One with the Whales

Got Zorbing?

Top Ten Sailing Videos

According to Marine Blast.

Barcelona World Race

Two crew, 25k miles, nonstop, insane speeds, no sleep, records broken, lives threatened, and exciting racing around the world. The video is in french but this is the basic translation. Hold onto something when you watch the vid!

Have a Great T-Day!

Pic of the Day - Pigeon Point, CA

Click the pic for a larger view.

Awesome Wingsuit

Ship of Dreams

On April 14th 1912 the most luxurious passenger liner on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York hit icebergs and sank in less than 3 hours later. 1,500 people lost their lives. The Titanic sank in Canadian waters, about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

Had the icebergs warnings that had been radioed to the ship been forwarded to the Captain, the catastrophe may never have occurred. If just 2 messages that came into the radio room had been transmitted to the Bridge, Captain Smith would have most certainly stopped the ship.

Instead the Titanic hit an underwater Iceberg spur that caused a 300 ft gash along the Starboard side. 2 Hours and 40 minutes later it had completely sunk. 1500 people died in the freezing icy North Atlantic waters. There were not enough lifeboats on board.
Continue reading here.

Cool Pool

Need a new thrill? Dive into one of the planet’s most unusual swimming holes. Tucked away in the sleepy town of Midway, Utah, Homestead Crater is a 55-foot-high dome filled halfway with 96-degree spring waters rich in minerals. It’s the perfect retreat after a chilly day of schussing at one of the four ski areas in nearby Park City.

The crater rises on the grounds of the Homestead Resort near Wasatch Mountain State Park, site of biathlon and cross-country skiing meets during the 2002 Winter Olympics. It won its earliest fans in 1886, when tired silver miners were lowered by rope from a hole at the dome’s top to soothe their sore muscles in the water.

Today, visitors enter through a 110-foot tunnel bored into the dome’s porous rock wall above the water line. You can take a dip in the crystal-clear pool—lighted at night—or grab a snorkel, mask, and fins and gaze down 65 feet at mineral deposits that grace the chamber’s sides. Homestead is the only warm-water scuba diving site in the continental United States.

Amazing Skateboard Tricks

History of Snowboarding in 2 mins.

Don't Let the Shark or the Dragon Get You this Weekend!

Click for a larger view!

Sailboat Ownership on the Cheap

For those of you considering buying a boat in the near future, there is the big question of: cost of ownership. What will it cost on a monthly basis to own a sailboat? From my experience over the last seven years, it can be a very expensive experience or it can be inexpensive (how does $3 a day for a 30 foot sailboat sound to you?). Let's take for example, our 25 year old sailboat on the San Francisco Bay. Our boat happens to be a 30' Newport designed by Gary Mull for Capital Yachts. We purchased her for $16k about 7 years ago. At the time, we had three partners so a little over $5k each. Not bad. She was in great shape and sail ready. Fast forward to today and we have 5 partners and we each pay $100 per month. Our slip fees are about $280 per month so that leaves us plenty of money that can go towards insurance, bottom cleaning, haulouts, repairs, etc. If you are interested in reading further and learning how to set up a partnership, please see this article I wrote for Latitude 38. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to see our partnership agreement. If you have ever wanted to own a boat, now is the time to move forward!!

How The Moon Was Formed

One of the more popular theories on the formation of moon goes something like this: During the formation of earth, a huge object (a comet or another planet?) hit earth with a giant impact. This caused a huge amount of debris to scatter into the atmosphere. With gravity and other elements at work, it formed somewhat of a ring of debris around earth. After billions of years, this debris coalesced into the moon. This theory is called the Giant Impact Hypothesis. It works on several levels as much of the composition of the moon, is the same as earth. Does this type of impact and creation of satellites happen often? Less than 20% of the time according to studies of other planets moons in our solar system. This a great story to tell your friends when you gaze up at the sky!

Traffic Will Be Slow Today

Click the pic to read the sign.

Fatima's Hand

Karina Hollekim is a rare bird, indeed. This 30 year old Norwegian beauty is one of the top BASE jumpers in the world. Fearless, crazy, and she loves to fly. About a year ago she traveled to a remote section of West Africa with a film crew. They planned to film her as she climbed her way to the top of Fatima's Hand, a rock outcropping in the middle of the desert. They had no idea what they were getting into. Sand storms, equipment problems, not enough food and more. At one point she had climbed to the top and then a sand storm came in and they had to go down, only to climb back up the next day. Grueling and painful. View the trailer of the movie that has won several awards.

Hella Good!

Video Found: Teahupoo 11-1-07

I featured some pics last week. Now here is the vid. Let her rip!

The Kite Cam

This is way cool. An SF sailor rigs a kite cam so he can film himself singlehanding the Pacific on his Dana 24. I would not have thought this could have been done but here is proof!

Crazy, Lucky, or Just Plain Skilled?

Bonehead Move of the Weekend

Watch out for that prop!

Borialis

About a month ago, I did a feature on the aurora borialis. As I mentioned, in the northern hemisphere, we have aurora borialis. The question was, what do they call the phenomenon in the southern hemisphere? The answer is aurora australis (australis is the latin word for "of the south"). Don't forget to look up at night!

Classic!

Silly Boat Names

We've all seen them. Names that don't make sense or puns that just don't work. Here is a nice long list of boat names we hope we never see. Here are a couple to warm you up:

Irritable Bow Movement
Vitamin Sea
Cunning Stunts
A Crewed Interest
Norwegian Woody

To see the complete list, click here.

Waterfall of the Day

Pics of the Day!

Click the pic to enlarge.

Worst Wipeouts of 2007

On a surfing jag today. Here is some excellent video of some of this years worst wipeouts. Check it while it lasts here.

Treats from Teahupoo

Click me!

Teahupoo exploded with some monster lefts about 10 days ago. All the big guns were there along with one of the top surf photo guys, Tim McKenna to put the whole thing on record. Check out all the great shots here.

Bonehead Moves - Flying

The Absolute Adventure

Francis Joyon is in the wait mode as he attempts to singlehand the globe on his brand new water rocket. His goal is break Ellen MacArthur's record of 71 days. Ironically, she broke his record of 72 days that he set in 2004. You may remember that after his finish in 2004, he declined spending the night at the local marina and continued on to his home port. He was so exhausted, that he fell asleep and destroyed his boat on some rocks. What a heart breaker! This time he has a bigger, lighter, faster tri that should break the 70 day barrier. A unique part of the journey is that he will have no engine on board. He respects the environment too much to harm it. It's going to be fun to watch his progress. Check out the boat and the video section of his website (all in french) and hold onto your hat!

H2uh0 Radio

Check out my playlistnear the top of the page on the right. All the songs are are from a cool service called Finetune. These are many of my favorites from periods throughout my life. Be sure to go to Finetune and start your own playlist (and embed into your own blog)! Keep this window open and you can continue listening to H2uh0 Radio for up to 3 hours at a time. Enjoy!

Heavy

So people ask what sailing is all about

Slick Tricks from X-Games

2001 Flashback- iPod Intro by Steve Jobs

Nobody new what a sensation the iPod would be when it was introed. How many do you have in 2007?

Baja Ha Ha

The cruiser rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas is in full swing as I type. The rally started with about 160 boats and 600 folks a week ago. They do three legs down the coast of Mexico with stops at Turtle Bay (330 miles), Bahia Santa Maria (250 miles) and then on to Cabo (120 mies). At the first two stops, the little fishing villages throw a big fiesta for the cruisers. For many, this is the beginning of their cruising dreams and a great way to meet like minded folks on their way south. Many will continue on to far flung destinations and many will return home after the rally. The rally is in it's 14th year and is presided over by the Latitude 38 head honcho Richard Spindler (his daughter organizes the event). So now maybe you wanna try this fun, life altering bonanza but you don't own a boat....well you can join in next year. Go to Lat38's Mexico crew list and start dreaming. Sell yourself and jump on a boat for warm tropical breezes and cold Coronas.

View from the hills of Turtle Bay from this year's Baja Ha Ha. Click to see all the boats!

Pics of the Day

I've got an itch up there, could you get it for me?

Pic of the Day

Click to enlarge. All Post It notes.

Night Dive

How many of you have ever done a night dive? The ocean comes alive at night and many of the cool creatures come out at this time. Here is an excellent series of photos from a dive several years ago at Jim's Crack. Check it out.

Freeboard

One of the amazing things about snowboarding is the ability to move sideways over the mountain as well as change the position of your feet very quickly. Now if we could only translate that to a skateboard and create a snowboard feel on asphalt. Well now someone has! It's called Freeboard and it is about to turn the skateboard/snowboard community upside down. Checkout the vids here.

Happy Halloween!

Walk on Water with Corn Starch

Carina Nebula

(A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma. It is the first stage of a star's cycle). A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, aka NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions. Like the smaller, more northerly Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is easily visible to the naked eye, though at a distance of 7,500 light-years it is some 5 times farther away. This stunning telescopic view reveals remarkable details of the region's glowing filaments of interstellar gas and dark cosmic dust clouds. The Carina Nebula is home to young, extremely massive stars, including the still enigmatic variable Eta Carinae, a star with well over 100 times the mass of the Sun. Eta Carinae is the bright star left of the central dark notch in this field.

Would You Like Fries With That?

Ping Pong All-Stars

Boat For Sale

Check out the pics on this Vagabond 47'. I am drooling! Buy me!

Amazing

Liz Clark - Sailing Surfer Girl

An atoll is the remains of an ancient volcanic island that has sunk back in to the sea over millions of years, leaving only a rim of the crater and/or part of the coral reef exposed above the ocean's surface. The shocking beauty found 'above the waterline' in the Marquesas had not disappeared in this next island chain--it had only been transformed into the glorious biodiversity and color of coral forests 'below' the sea. I chose to visit the less popular atolls. I dissolved into their remoteness and delighted in realizing how much I can live without as my supplies dwindled to all-time lows. The generosity and warmth from the locals were shocking. They were eager share their culture and to show me how they live. I dove in their fish pens and they taught me to husk coconuts. The kids played marbles in the dusty dirt roads and wove palm fronds instead of playing video games. I wandered along palm-lined beaches and waded into the turquoise lagoons of my dreams. Hermit crabs shuffled by while I studied the amazingly adapted atoll flora.

Continue reading.

Pic of the Day

Check the rainbow on the right.

Space Jumping

Forget about bungee jumping and hang gliding. The next adrenaline pumping daredevil stunt will be hurtling back to Earth by "space diving," if entrepreneurs and extreme sports enthusiasts have their way.

They are preparing skydives from the edge of space to beat a record set by Captain Joe Kittinger of the US Air Force in 1960, who jumped from an altitude of 20 miles, reaching a speed of around 700 miles per hour in his 13 minute descent to the ground.

They aim to start with a jump from 22 miles to break Kittinger's record, then build up to 57 miles, which would be the first true space jump. If everything works as planned, paying customers might be able to start their fiery descent from space as early as 2009.

Instead of jumping from the gondola of a helium balloon, as Kittinger did, New Scientist reports today that they will be bailing out from the nose-cone of a rocket ship, one of half dozen or so being developed to loft paying passengers into the heavens for a few minutes of weightlessness and a spectacular view of the Earth.

Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, has been developing a computer controlled vertical take-off, vertical-landing spacecraft for the tourist trade, and the Space Diver team thinks the craft could offer the perfect jumping-off point.

The diver would trigger an airbag, springloaded seat, or a small parachute to move away from the spacecraft as fast as possible, so as to avoid a collision as he tumbled into the abyss. Then it would be up to the spacesuit to make sure the he copes with frigid temperatures and near vacuum to return safely.

At an altitude of 20 miles, the air is so thin that there will be no rushing of air and little impression of falling. Gradually, as the air becomes denser, pressure against the diver's body will increase and air friction will heat the suit, which will contain a circulating liquid cooling system.

One problem under study is how to prevent divers from going into a spin, which could leave them unconscious. The team is still debating whether a head-first posture or the traditional spreadeagled horizontal position is likely to work best. Once within a mile or so of the ground, the main parachute will deploy automatically.

The craft will be commanded from the ground, so after the diver has ejected it will return to Earth automatically. By early next year, Space Diver aims to begin low-altitude tests with dummies, then people, starting at a modest altitude of about two miles. "We need to show that we can leave the vehicle safely," Tumlinson tells New Scientist.

Ultimately, Tumlinson aims to develop technology to allow astronauts to bail out of orbiting craft and return safely to Earth, for instance in small inflatable "lifeboats".

Sunday Sail

Have you ever had one of those perfect days on the boat? It was an amazing day to be on the SF Bay on Sunday. We had a very nice 75 degrees (very unusual), delightful 12- 15 knot winds from the north and deep blue skies all around. I was out with my two best friends and we were drinking it all in. The Addiction (our 30' Newport) was basking in the glow of a special day as well. 6-7 knots on the speedo with one hour tacks between SF and Richmond. I don't think it gets any better than this!

This is Gonna Hurt!

Deer Found Swimming 1.5 Miles Offshore

The catching was slow and they looked back to check their lines. They saw what appeared to be a seal with its snout out of the water, but they didn't think any seals were around their fishing grounds and they kept watching.

Soon they realized it was a deer trying desperately to keep afloat — and obviously losing the battle. Fearing the whitetail would get snagged in their lines they cranked in their rigs. Then the deer headed straight for the boat possibly thinking it was a spit of land.

But as it got closer and saw the two fishermen aboard, it had second thoughts. With its nose barely out of the water, it appeared to have been swimming all night, said Campbell. "Since the fish weren't biting, we thought we'd give it a hand. Bo grew up around cows, was really handy with a bow line and lasooed the deer on the first attempt."

They got it close, Bo grabbed the neck, Chad got a good hold on a flank and "we barreled over backwards to the deck -- and before we knew it, Bo was on top of the buck in velvet and had him hog tied like a calf."

Chad, said they feared the deer was going to "kick the hell out of us in a 22-foot center console boat," but they were lucky, it was too exhausted to resist, "We hit the gas and ran him to the closest beach, Kent Point, where I beached the boat and we carefully unloaded our catch on the sand. We untied him and jumped back.

"Too weak to stand, he just sat there quivering. We picked him up again and put his feet underneath him, but he still couldn't walk or stand. We left him sitting there looking at us. Before we left, I looked him in the eye and said 'See you on opening day; payback time.'

Winged Base Jump

Here is a very neat clip from a recent Warren Miller ski flick. Jumping out of a chopper and hurtling 100 miles an hour just off the surface of the snow and rock is not my idea of fun. But it sure makes for some compelling footage. Check it here.

Typhoon Surfing in Japan

Cruise Ship Goes Under

Pic of the Day

Amazing Compilation of Some Wild Skills

Tania Aebi Sets Sail Once Again

If you have never heard of her, you should read her best selling book "Maiden Voyage." Tania Aebi was an eighteen-year-old dropout, a bicycle messenger in New York City by day, a Lower East Side barfly at night. In short, she was going nowhere - until her father offered her a challenge: Tania could choose either a college education or a twenty-six-foot sloop. The only catch was that if she chose the sailboat, she'd have to sail around the world - alone. She chose the boat, and for the next two and a half years and 27,000 miles, it was her home. With only her cat as companion, she discovered the wondrous beauties of the Great Barrier Reef and the death-dealing horrors of the Red Sea. She suffered through a terrifying collision with a tanker in the Mediterranean and a lightning storm off the coast of Gibraltar. And, ultimately, what began with the sheer desire for adventure turned into a spiritual quest as Tania came to terms with her troubled family life, fell in love for the first time, and - most of all - confronted her own needs, desires, dreams, and goals. She ended up a hero to many and her book is a must read.

Now after many years of raising a family, she is out on the water again with her kids aboard Shangri La, a Devilliers 36 steel cutter. Read about her ongoing adventures as she gets ready to embark on her next
adventure.

Top 10 Coast Guard Rescues

Simply Sailing

I was first introduced into the sailing world on Lake Mead near Las Vegas during college. My French friend Phillippe had rented a windsurfer and was teaching us how to sail it. Fun! I moved to Palo Alto in 81' and then got my first board in 84'. Sailed like crazy on the SF bay and delta for the next 16 years and loved it. We purchased our 30' Newport in 2000 and man am I hooked! Now I am dreaming of sailing to New Zealand in the future after my son heads of to college and I retire. Here is my favorite sailing quote and it really sums up the way I feel about sailing, "Something about sailing a boat brings so many senses and sensations into play that it's very difficult to pinpoint what it is specifically that makes me like it so much: the sight of sails and sheets overhanging the water; the foam and spray flying as the bow cuts the water; the motion of the boat; the physical and mental ballet necessary to handle the boat correctly. A sailboat might just be the most beautiful, sensuous and intelligent blend of man/machine/and elements that exists in the world today. The relationship between the three is the most harmonious I have experienced so far. Besides, you can have a beer while you do it". --anonymous

Here's a video compilation that will help get you thru your day. Let's go sailing!!

Pic of the Day!

A doggone great pic. Click to see a larger view.

Worrell 1000

This amazing Catamaran race is no more, but when it did take place a few years back, it was a grueling marathon up the east coast. From Miami to Virginia Beach, the cats raced up the coast running 60-90 miles a day. Charging thru the surf sometimes caused great harm to the competitors as well as the boats on this 12 day journey. Follow one team's trials and tribulations as they slam their way up the coast. Read their account here.

Very Cool Free Music Streaming Site

I discovered this neat site that all you music lovers will really enjoy! You know who you are. I am currently listening to the full album by Phil Collin's from 1981 called "Face Value". The site is called Soundpedia. Type in you favorite artist and for example, there are 20 Phil Collins albums available for your listening pleasure. Go ahead, indulge! My trick is to use an Airport from Apple and then I use a little app called Airfoil to send it to the Airport which is connected to the home stereo. Lovin' it!

Pics of the Day!

Click the pic!

Not Good!

Flashback - 1984

The most talked about, successful, cool commercial ever seen. And it was shown only once on the 1984 Super Bowl broadcast.


"Big Brother" (IBM?): "Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology, where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory thoughts. Our Unification of Thought is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"

Big Seas for an Ocean Going Tug

Marejada Ocean Tug

Boat Crashes, Mishaps and Blunders

Pic of the Day

Bonehead Move

Click the pic for larger view.

Great Trip to the Bahamas

We just spent a week in Abaco near Marsh Harbor. We had a beautiful beach all to ourselves. It is the end of hurricane season and so we enjoyed the solitude. We stayed in a lovely home between the beach and a golf course. I sailed on a Hobie three times and the last day it was howling. Flying the hull in the turquoise waters where the air temp and the sea temp are 84, was a dream. The day we went diving the seas were up and the good places were to dangerous. We ended up doing a nice dive in about 25' of water with lots of fish. There were 16 of us in two houses so everynight was a great feast and party. Very relaxing and very fun.

Off to Abaco!

We are off to Abaco in the Bahamas for a week with our best friends Frank and Leslie. They have rented a beautiful home on the water and now it is time for a little vacation! We plan to do some scuba, sail, golf, tennis and relax in the sand. I have never been to the Bahamas so I am really looking forward to it. I will have a full report upon my return. Wish us a bon voyage!

Classic Plastic - The Boat That Changed Everything!

When the selection committee of the American Sailboat Hall of Fame considered boats for induction this year, one boat was an instant consensus pick. No question, no argument, no doubt. No wonder--it was the Cal 40, the boat that changed everything.

When I assigned a young staff member to write a profile of the Cal 40 and told him that when it was introduced in 1963 it was considered a radical and possibly dangerous racing design, he gave me one of those "jeez, he's lost it" looks. I couldn't blame him. The Cal 40 doesn't have the predatory look of today's ocean racers, no angles, sharp edges or towering fractional rig. But, make no mistake, it was a pred tor, one that preyed on conventional thinking.

The Cal 40's gently dipping sheerline, curve spoon-bow, counter stem and squatty sailplan gave it a deceivingly soft appearance. But there was nothing soft below the waterline. In an era of wineglass-shaped hulls with deep, stack bilges, the Cal 40 had a shallow dinghy-like hull with firm cheeks. The keel was a fin. The rudder-gasp!-was not attached to the keel, and this was heresy.

Conventional wisdom made the rudder a hinged extension of the keel. On the Cal 40 it was a freestanding spade at the end of the water line. What it did back there was to give the helmsman exquisite control of the boat, particularly in fast off-wind sailing. Perhaps the reason it had not appeared earlier on big boats was that offshore boats of the time were rarely in danger of going fast enough to need a spade rudder.

The Cal 40 needed it. While other displacement boats were at the mercy of the law of hull speed, the Cal 40 thumbed its nose at it. The shape of the hull and its appendages combined with relatively light weight gave the boat the ability to get up on the waves and surf. Sailing 40-foot boat had never been so thrilling. Read more...

Blown Forecast

I was all set to go for a solo sail yesterday. I checked the NOAA forecast on windandtides.com (great one stop resource for bay area sailors) and the forecast had gone from 10-20 to 5-10 kts for the day. Bummer. Maybe I won't go. Went for my daily run in the hills by the bay and there was some pressure coming from the NW. It felt like your normal morning build to a 15-25 kt day. Got home and there was an email from the local TV station saying the fog was back and to expect a cool down. Now how could it be foggy at the coast and only 5-10?? Did some work and kept looking at the real time updates and by 11am it was up to 17 kts. I look again at the NOAA forecast and now it too has been updated saying 15-25. I am going sailing! I get up to Emeryville at 1:30 and it is howling with whitecaps all over. I double reef the new mainsail and head out. Once out of the channel, I set the sails and I am off in winds of 25-30. 5-10 my arse! The fog is flooding the bay and the waves are big. I have just a sliver of the jib unfurled and I am doing 6-7 on a reach. It's almost too much wind! I head for the Bay Bridge to get a little bit of a break using the wind shadow off of TI. It mellows out a little but as soon as I peek out the other side it's blasting again. I tack and get sucked under the bridge with a nice ebb tide flowing. I take a nice reach up the side of TI and it is really strong with winds over 35 and very large waves. The Addiction is loving it and so am I. The city is shrouded in fog and the BofA building is mostly covered. I am out on one of the windiest days of the summer! I have been out for about 3.5 hours and decide I have had plenty and head in. As I am surfing in, the speedo hits 8.5. Not too shabby! For a day when I was not going to go out, this was an amazing afternoon! Check out the windspeed chart from windandtides below and you will see the gusts were approaching 40!!!