The Sailing Life is for Me!

Took out some old and new friends on Sunday for a very special day on the SF bay.  We departed about 10:30 and from a distance we could see the Berkeley Kite Festival in the fog.  Tacked out towards the City and the Louis Vuittan Cup Races.  New Zealand was dominating Italy once more.  Winds were in the 20's so we had a bit of jib out for a nice easy sail.  As we reached the finish line, NZ comes roaring through.  Nice view of these spectacular vessels.  Then we head to McCovey Cove for lunch.  We anchor and are eating lunch when one of the large brunch cruisers comes through the anchorage.  He turns and promptly hits our bow and bends up our bow roller very nicely.  I am a bit stunned and contact him on the VHF.  The captain says to call him on Monday and he will take care of it.  This will be a big hassle I am sure.  We did not let this ruin our day and it could have been much worse.  Had a great sail home in high winds and I look forward to the next adventure.

Bonehead move of the weekend goes to the brunch cruise captain!

Dolphinlove

Consider This...

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost a son while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot behind the head.
Here is an interesting one...
Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Both successors were named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are made of fifteen letters.
Mr. Booth shot Lincoln in a Theatre called "Ford".
Lee Harvey Oswald, shot Kennedy in a car called "Ford" Lincoln.
Booth ran from a theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
And last but not least,
A month before Lincoln was shot he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A month before Kennedy was shot he was in Marilyn Monroe.

Sex, Drugs and a little Roll!

What an amazing highlight of the summer!  My son and I got an invite to a private concert on Alcatraz!  We partied with the band and had an awesome evening on The Rock!  We left our slip in the late afternoon for a 2 hour sail to the city.  We arrived at our guest berth and departed for the ferry to the island.  The band was on board and we were greeted in style.  The wind was in the mid 20's as we approached the island.  A national company was treating their top sales folks to a grand event on the island.  We were shuttled to the prison commissary for the show.  The first act was a rapper with some great tunes.  Then came the headliner, Neon Trees.  They put on a great show with lots of energy and fun.  The crowd was going nuts.  We enjoyed the show and then just like that, we were on our way back to the city on the ferry.  My son and I felt like rockstars as there was a group of folks waiting for the band to return to shore.  We slept soundly in the guest berth and then sailed home in a nice breeze in the morning.  What a party!!

Bonehead Move of the Week

Dorade Wins Transpac

Dorade was a yacht designed in 1929 by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens and built 1929–1930 by the Minneford Yacht Yard in City Island, New York.

Dorade 1931.

Dorade went on to place 2nd in the Bermuda Race later that year. The crew for its first race received the All-Amateur Crew Prize. However, it would be the Transatlantic Race that would bring the boat its name. Placing first, she completed the race in 17 days – a race that takes an estimated 3–4 weeks to complete. A parade was held in celebration of the crew and ship's return with the mayor holding a reception in honor of Olin Stephens' victory.
Olin Stephens, the designer, was skipper through 1932 when he handed the boat to his brother, Rod Stephens.^[1] Led by Rod, Dorade sailed to victory in the 1932 Bermuda Race.^[2] From Bermuda, Dorade sailed back to Norway, down to Cowes, England, and finally back to America after winning the Fastnet Race. The victory of the 1932 Fastnet Race was of substantial significance given the unusually severe weather, several ships feared missing as well as one recorded drowning among the events that unfolded.

She is now on a quest to race in all the races she did in the 30's and 40's.  How cool is that?

cool pics

click any pic to make it bigger.

Greatest 1st Pitch Ever

Superyachts

Phaedo Drops Mast

Phaedo dismasting from Richard Langdon on Vimeo.

Heading to Hawaii on the Transpac, one of the coolest boats in the fleet (they have a pizza oven aboard), has lost her mast and is heading back to LA for repairs.  Bummer!  They had just set the distance record for a 24 hour period of over 400 miles.  It's going to be a long motor back to port.

Yacht Sinks after hitting Whale

Srecko and Olga Pust were taking part in the rally and sailing their Sweden Yachts 45 Ciao two-handed and were nearing the end of a long passage from Indonesia to the remote Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The were only 40 miles from landfall. The rudder was all but knocked off in an impact with the submerged object (possibly a whale). The first sign of the problem was that the boat was difficult to steer. When Srecko Pust investigated below he saw that the boat had been holed at the rudder stock. He put out a Mayday on the boat's long range SSB radio and then the two did everything they could to save their yacht, leaving only as the boat sank beneath them. They broadcast a Mayday. The only crew to hear this immediately was another a World ARC yacht nearby, J'Sea, a Jeanneau 52.2 owned by a highly experienced Canadian cruiser, John Cuzner. He alerted others. J'Sea and two other rally yachts, Royal Leopard and Spirit of Alcides, diverted and reached Ciao's position within hours. The video was taken from on board Spirit of Alcides, a Challenger 39 owned by Australians Gus and Linda Pallot. The whale was given some Tylenol and seems fine.

too much fun!

Weekend Raft Up

Just returned from a great sailing adventure on the SF Bay.  We started on Saturday with a sail with some (6 crew + the skipper) volleyball friends from Palo Alto.  It was blowing in the high teens so we went with the jib only.  We headed towards Angel Island and had a great sail across the bay.  For lunch we anchored in Paradise Cove.  Sunny and warm, I took Kona over for a swim to the beach and a romp in the sand.  There is a beautiful home here and the owner Scott said hello to me and welcomed me back to his beach (it had been about 2 years).  I asked him if anyone else swam up to his beach from a boat.  No he said, you are the only one!  We headed back toward home with Maureen driving and she was having a blast!  We made it back around 5pm and took a nap on the boat.  Tex and I then departed for Clipper Cove at Treasure Island.  We were to raft up at with My Girl, another Newport 30 from San Diego.  They had sailed up the coast over 10 days or so.  We had a nice dinner and and conversation on Rich's well out fitted 1986 Newport.  Back for some time on Addiction and then a nice sleep.  In the morning, we had coffee and breakfast of my fav, blueberry pancakes.  My Girl took off and we were out shortly after 10:30.  Had a great sail up to Tiburon with the sun popping thru.  Headed back to the barn about 1pm and cleaned up the boat.  So nice to have fixed our fuel delivery issues and now we can concentrate on having too much fun!  Here is to a great summer on the bay!!!!!!!

Zen crew abandons ship enroute to Hawaii

Zen and his wife were heading to retirement in Japan when their 30 foot cat started running into to bad conditions.  Stormy seas, rudder failure and a sick crew caused the crew to abandon ship and jump on a passing freighter.   They are safe in LA but heartbroken and homeless.  You can read about the misadventure here.

"I am not a sailor, l guess that is one lesson from this. I can sail, I can handle the boat well and blend with the element, however the moments of pleasure have been slight. There was a few moments when the flow was there, the sequencing , the harmony of movement, with water, wind and self was balanced, beauty. However a real sailor would live for this adventure. I have been measurable since we left. I guess I am just a weekend sailor. I do not want to do this passage stuff again. I would love to fly someplace, rent a boat and explore, then fly home. That would be excellent. Sail around the inland sea, exploring, yup I want that. Weeks at sea, wet, drifting, sleepless, tired, with a broken boat sucks."

zensailing

Foggy in SF

Adrift from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Very Cool Surf Vid

Had a great sunset sail on Thursday.  Got up there about 4pm and headed for the cut in the pier.  On a port tack to Angel in perfect winds with just the jib pushing us along at 5 knots.  Head up on the deck with Kona for a bit as it was warm and sunny.  Tacked towards the city for a perfect run.  Couple of ships in the distance but no worries.  Nice sunset and then back in about 10.  Still having some fuel issues so had to sail into the slip.  Good times indeed!

Both AC Oracle Boats Racing in the Fog

Joke of the Day

An elderly man in Louisiana had owned
a large farm for several years.

He had a large pond in the back. It was
properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed
it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe
courts, and some apple and peach trees.

One evening the old farmer decided to
go down to the pond, as he hadn’t been
there for a while, and look it over.

He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to
bring back some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices
shouting and laughing with glee.

As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of
young women skinny-dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence
and they all went to the deep end.

One of the women shouted to him,
“We’re not coming out until you leave!’

The old man frowned, “I didn’t come down here
to watch you ladies swim naked or make you
get out of the pond naked.”

Holding the bucket up he said,
“I’m here to feed the alligator…”

What Sailing is All About

Please go full screen.

Tri Again!

Fuel Problem Fixed

We have been dealing with an ongoing fuel problem and finally got a fix over the weekend.  There were several times where we thought we had it but again the problem came up and the engine would not start without a bleed.  In the end, it turned out to be a clog in the pick up line inside the tank.  I cut the fuel line (no fuel in the line) and blew back into the tank and viola, she is purring like a kitten.  Spliced the line back with a coupler and we are off to the races.  Great news as I hope I will not have to use my bleeding skills for a long time.

Pics of the Day

Great White in the House

Heading to the Boat!

AC Racing

Fast Sailing on SF Bay

This boat should win the race to Hawaii in July.

Sailing to the Giants Game

Went out on Tueday with my best friend from my childhood, Andy and his daughter Lexie.  We hit the water about 4pm with a long port tack to Angel Island.  Telling stories about our days at UNLV and growing up to Lexie.  She is going to be a junior at UNR this year.  Tacked in 20 knots with the jib only.  Nobody out so we let the boat do the steering.  Made it past Treasure and towards the city front.  Under the bay bridge and the winds came up a bit.  Really great sailing.  We have a slip reserved and head in.  Some tailgating and then we were off to see the Giants play the Blue Jays.  Giants won 2-1 and now we are headed back.  The winds are in the high teens and we went with just the jib again.  Close to Treasure, we raised the main and headed home.  I had not done a night game in several years as we get home sooo late.  Over the last few years, it has been day games with awesome sunset sails.  However, I really enjoyed our safe transit and it was great to be on the bay at night again.  No traffic and we can park closer than any cars. Go Giants!

And a little Green Flash to boot!

Kiteboard Champions Racing in SF this week

Here is a video taken by John Navas of the North American Kite Board Championship being held this week off the tricky waters of the St. Francis Yacht Club and Crissy Field.  Johnny Heineken will be defending his title and his Yachtsman of the Year award from 2012.  Don't even get me started on the fact that a kite boarder won the sailor of the year.  Really? 



Here is a quick interview with Johnny.

Ever see one of these?

3. Southern Right Whale Dolphin

Southern right whale dolphins are small species found in cool waters far south. They have no visible teeth or dorsal fin but they still leap out of the water gorgeously.

My Favorite Radio Program - 10@10 on KFOG

I hope to start posting the most popular show of the week so you guys can get a feel of this 31 year old radio program from KFOG 104.5 San Francisco.  The following is a quote from Wikipedia and sums the show up pretty well: 
10@10 is a daily program the begins at 10 a.m. and also rebroadcast at 10 p.m. On Saturday morning at 7 a.m. the entire weeks show are rebroadcast back to back. Each weekday a random year is selected followed by “ten great songs from one great year” in addition to classic commercials, news broadcasts and clips from popular TV programs. Listeners would call in with their favorite songs with the winner being named “Best Of Set”, (B.O.S.). In later years the “Best Of Set” votes would also be tabulated from the KFOG Facebook fan site.
The show was hosted by Dave Morey with Don Pardo serving as announcer beginning on September 1982. Don Pardo would “spin the big wheel” which would land on the year of the day. Dave Morey retired from KFOG on Friday, December 19, 2008 [4] to his home on Lake Huron.
In addition to the regular programs, there are occasional special shows, such as “Ten Turkeys” on Thanksgiving, “Hits From Hell” on any Friday the Thirteenth. During Dave Morey's tenure, he was fond of occasional all Beatles playlists.
Following Dave Morey's retirement, on air personality AnnaLisa took over the program until 2012 when Annalisa moved to KFOX radio and Renee Richardson took over Ten At 10. [5]

Renee is the current host and is doing well in her role as musical travel guide for the show.  The show below was broadcast on Memorial Day of this year and was a set for those great rock stars that are no longer with us and went very young as well.  Three of the the artists died within 9 months of each other: Jim, Janis and Jimi.

Here is the playlist:
Ten Most Untimely deaths: a tremendous amount of great music was lost by their untimely passing.
10           Janis Joplin – Piece of My Heart (Big Brother)
9              Bob Marley - Jamming
8              Buddy Holly – Rave On
7              Stevie Ray Vaughan - Lenny
6              Kurt Cobain – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
5              John Bonham – D’yer Maker (Zep)
4              Jim Morrison – Break On Through (Doors)
3              Freddie Mercury – Killer Queen
2              Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
1              John Lennon – (Just Like) Starting Over

Enjoy the show:

Pic of the Day

Heavy Tripping

The trip begins at the 2 minute mark.  Enjoy!

Awesomeness for you!

Coast Guard Boardings

Have you ever been boarded by the Coasties?  The one time they boarded my boat, I was single handing on the bay.  They did a safety inspection and noticed I did not have a safety throw cushion on board.  Who is going to throw it to me, I asked?  Point taken.  I got a throw cushion.  Here is a great two part article about your rights as a boater when the arrive along side you boat.  Basically, you have no rights.  They can look and do anything they want.  Read it here.
http://www.sailfeed.com/2012/10/coast-guard-boardings-and-your-fourth-amendment-rights-part-1/

Gate Jumper Rescued by Sailors

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Santa Cruz sailing crew rescued a man who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday, delivering him safely to Coast Guard officials. Scott Walecka, 56, of Santa Cruz, was taking his 38-foot vessel Animal to San Francisco to prepare for Friday's Spinnaker Cup race from the city to Monterey when his daughter, 23-year-old Hilary, said she saw a person jump from the fabled bridge shortly before 2 p.m. Moments later, the pair and sailing friend John Mizell heard a Coast Guard radio call for a jumper in the water near the San Francisco end of the span. Walecka saw the man bobbing underneath a California Highway Patrol helicopter and sailed toward him. "He was alive and wanted to be rescued," Walecka said after returning home late Monday. "We threw a life sling out to it. He grabbed on to it, and he was hand-over-hand on the rope to get to the back of the boat." That's when Walecka realized the man's legs appeared to be broken. The man, who authorities say is 31 and identified as homeless, told the sailors he was from Alabama. The tattooed man was wearing a shirt, shorts and appeared to be in strong physical condition. "He was really fit, really buff," Walecka said. Walecka said Mizzel, who is 30 and trained is mountain rescue, talked to the jumper to keep him from going into shock. Walecka said the man didn't seem capable of saying much, including thank you. "He was just in pure survival mode at that point in time," Walecka said.California Highway Patrol officer Peter Van Eckhardt said the first call of a person over the bridge's railing came at 1:45 p.m. and four minutes later he was seen in the water. The Santa Cruz sailboat picked up the man at 1:54 p.m. Escorted by a 47-foot Coast Guard vessel, the Santa Cruz sailboat delivered the injured man to a Coast Guard station in Sausalito, where he was treated and then transferred to Marin General Hospital, authorities said. The full extent of his injuries was not immediately known. It's rare for jumpers to survive the 220-foot plunge off the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge's governing body hopes to complete a design for a suicide barrier. Walecka is glad he was in the right place at the right time Monday. "It's good for him," he said. "Things just work out that way." Walecka owns Animal with Santa Cruz area residents Matt Lezin, Craig French and Tom Akrop. Walecka, who rented a car to get back home Monday, said he and Lezin still plan to participate in Friday's race from San Francisco to Monterey.

Awesome Bucket Racing (or the best sailing video of the day)

The Ship That Sailed into the Huricane: HMS Bounty

Why would an experienced captain of the HMS Bounty sail into the worst storm of the century?  Were there structural problems aboard the 50 year old ship?  Why put the ship and it's crew to sea when ports were available to weather out the storm?  Here is an excerpt from an article that delves into these questions and more:
The AIS records of the Atlantic during those hours are chilling: a sparsely dotted screen of vessels all making their way to port. Simonin attempted to counter growing vitriol online by reminding mariners of the adage that a ship is safer at sea than at port, but that idea was quickly denounced by other captains. Navy vessels and tankers may go to sea, they responded, but only in the interest of national security or averting major environmental disasters. Did Simonin think either applied to the Bounty? She didn’t reply.
At 7:30 p.m. on the 27th, Simonin received Walbridge’s scheduled email update. He told her that his new plan was to “keep trying to go fast and squeeze by the storm and land as fast as we can.” All else, he wrote, “is well.”
On board the Bounty, the ship’s cook, Jessica Black, was no longer able to prepare meals. She and Christian handed out sandwiches and cold hot dogs.
Barksdale was the first to sustain a significant injury, careening into the side of the vessel, jamming his right hand and rendering it all but unusable. Hours later he was thrown against a metal worktable in the engine room. He sustained a severe gash on his arm and was certain that he’d broken his leg.
Sometime on Sunday the 28th, Prokosh, a bearded, tattooed 27-year-old, was thrown across the tween decks, dislocating his shoulder and breaking several ribs. Christian found a mattress, tacoed Prokosh inside it, and wedged him against the vessel’s starboard side. “Claudene was mothering him,” says Barksdale, “stopping by while she was running around doing her duties to make sure he was comfortable.”
Later that day, Barksdale and Walbridge were in the great cabin in the vessel’s stern when the Bounty hit a large wave. The captain’s lower back struck a bolted-down table, and he crumpled to the floor in pain. With Barksdale’s assistance, Walbridge was able to stand, but for the rest of the voyage he was nearly incapacitated, unable to get around without help.

Read the whole article and the comments here.

It's turning into a banana!

Terra d'Agua

Here is a blog with some interesting characters that are sailing the world to get to know it better.  Here is their story:

You can read more here.

Nautical Terms Used in Every Day Speech

Some of these you might not know but others stand out as you may use them yourself.  Take a look.

A shot across the bows

All at sea

Anchors aweigh

Batten down the hatches

Between the Devil and the deep blue sea

Broad in the beam

By and large

Chock-a-block

Close quarters

Copper-bottomed

Cut and run

Cut of your jib

Edging forward

Fathom out

Full to the gunwales

Get underway

Give a wide berth

Go by the board

Hand over fist

Hard and fast

High and dry

In the offing

Know the ropes

Loose cannon

Mal de mer

On your beam ends

Panic stations

Plain sailing

Push the boat out

Shipshape and Bristol fashion

Shake a leg

Shiver my timbers

Slush fund

Taken aback

Tell it to the marines

The bitter end

The cut of your jib

Three sheets to the wind

Tide over

Walk the plank

Sad Day

Our hearts go out to the Simpson family and friends.  Here is a pic Andrew might have enjoyed.

Pics of the Week

Click the pic to make it bigger.

Sunday Sail to Angel Island

Weather was not looking good as I headed to the boat in Emeryville.  On the way, I had to turn on the windshield wipers.  The crew of Travis, Courtney, Mirra and Peter were waiting for Kona and I to arrive.  As we walked the dock, a huge round of thunder rolled thru the marina.  Very unusual for May.  We boarded the boat, went over some safety procedures and hit the water.  The wind was from the south and very light.  We drifted for a while and then she picked up.  We were off towards Angel Island.  Nice winds even in the lee as we made our way to Raccoon Strait.  The strait is named after the HMS Raccoon which scuttled their Navy boat here in the early 1800's.  We decided on a Bocce game over in Ayala Cove at the island.  We headed over to the lawn and I refreshed everyone on the nuances of this great game.  We had some laughs and fun as we mastered the art form of Jungle Bocce.  Back to the boat for some light wind sailing back to the marina.  We were back at the dock about 6 for cleanup and pulling the boat back in order.  Kona fell for Courtney and followed her all around the boat.  At the end he was asleep in her lap and happy as a clam in mud.  Great sail with Travis from the first Haha in 2010!

Bonehead Move of the Week

Bareboat Charter - 7 days in Belize!

Greeting from beautiful Belize!  We are on a 7 day bare boat charter with 6 crew from the Bay Area.  We arrived at the Sunsail Base in Placencia on Sunday afternoon.  After a 3 hour shuttle ride and provisioning in Placencia, we were ready to board the boat.  She is a 38 foot cat with all the amenities.  After loading the boat and getting settled were were all very tired after a long red eye flight from California.  Sleep came quickly and we all rested comfortably.

Monday morning we had a few boat issues to sort out with the biggest being the oven/stove.  A very nice gentleman came out and replaced the solenoid which had failed.  Next we were off to the chart briefing.  The pictures of the cays we would be visiting got us excited and ready to hit the water.  At 11:30 we shoved off for our first stop at Wippari Cay.  It was a 3 hour motor and we were feeling groovy.  We snagged the mooring ball and everyone jump into the Belizian water for the first time.  Temp was about 85 and perfect.  I went for a long swim towards the island and loved it.  Back to the boat for some hammock time in the bow and then I prepared dinner for the crew with prep help from Ali.  The pasta primavera was great as was the red wine.  We finished the night on the trampoline talking and listening to some great tunes.  A dip before revealed phosphorescence in the water, which I love as it looks like fireflies in the water, same color too.

Ed. note:  the pronunciation of cay is key.

After some coffee and more swimming, we are now headed to South Water Cay on a broad reach at about 5 knots in some mellow winds!  We continued our beautiful sail thru lunch.  We had a great auto pilot and once we set our course in the 15-18 knot winds, it was a dream.  The boat held the course and off we went at 5-6 knots.  I turned the helm over to Wayne and went below for a glorious 1 hour nap.  Our destination is South Water Cay (pronounced key).  A question came up what is the difference between a cay and an island.  Our skipper answered that a cay is built up from the reefs and is mostly coral.  We anchored about 3 and put out two anchors just in case.  Soon we were on our way to the island and looking for ice and cold beer.  We found the beer but they were out of ice.  Had a nice conversation with the bartender and I felt the warmth of the Belizean people.    After a few, we headed back for dinner. A refuge official came by to collect fees for anchoring.  He asked if we needed anything and we told him ice.  He took off to find some for us and in a short time he was back with a bucket full.   He said he would give us more but he needed the ice to preserve evidence for a trial against poachers.  They illegally obtained a large amount of conch and were going to be fined a hefty amount.  We said goodbye and proceeded with a grilled chicken dinner and great conversation.  Later I hooked in my iPad to the sound system and we watched the delightful Life of Pi.  I was definitely moved.

After a great nights sleep and some weird dreams, we prepared for our first of two dives.  Our first dive will be with Avadon Divers.  They are rendezvousing with us at our boat. At a bit after 0930 they arrived.  We jumped on board for our 3 tank dive.  They were about 15 folks already on board and anxious to dive.  My first dive was a check out dive as I had not been diving since 2008 in the BVI's.  There were 5 of us assigned with dive master Arthur.  We went over the basics and then set off for a 15 foot dive thru the reef.  Lobster, octopus, tarpon and lots of reef fish.  Along the way a spotted eagle ray came into view.  Beautiful, easy dive and then we waited for the boat to pick us up.  On our second dive, I was assigned to Moses.  We were headed down on the second largest reef in the world, the Meso American Reef.  We descended to 60' feet and glided slowly above the shoulder of the reef.  The nice thing about our dive master was how slow he went.  Many of the dives I have been on have felt rushed and too fast.  Mo was sloow.  I loved it. Half way thru, I noticed that when I took a breath, the flow of air would cut off towards the end of my breath.  That's frightening.  I got Mo's attention and we buddy breathed for about 15 mins.  He motioned for me to go back to my reg and I shook my head no and handed him my reg.  He then noticed that my tank was only half open.  He adjusted the valve and I was good to go.  We finished the dive with a 3 minute safety stop which is SOP.  After lunch we headed out once more. I added some more weight and the last dive was the most comfortable and relaxed of the three.  We had an excellent dive and we saw tons of reef fish and several lobster.  Great dives and we will see the same group on a different part of the ref on Saturday.  Back on the boat for some napping, swimming and cold beer.  At 1830, we departed for dinner ashore.  The Blue Marlin lodge has some friendly staff and a nice dock to hang out on.  After a shrimp dinner and some red wine, John and I played a game of the pool.  It was one of my poorest showing ever but we had some laughs.  Back at the boat, the conversation continued about favorite bands, concerts and songs.  We ended with a long talk about the Beatles.  I was asked my favorite 2 songs by them, that's easy: Mother Natures Son and Blackbird.  Ali mentioned Dear Prudence.  I mentioned that I knew who they were singing about.  They were going thru there Ravi phase and visiting the Maharajah in India and they ran into Mia Farrow and her sister.  Prudence was cute but shy and the song was about her not joining in on the fun.  You just never know where this blog is going to take you!

Didn't sleep so well and in the middle of the night a box fell that woke everyone up.  No big deal and I dropped into a dream sleep of wars, delivering furniture and more. Gorgeous morning of coffee and my specialty of blueberry pancakes.  We take off in a couple mins for Pelican Cay.  Had a great sail out of the cay and to the south heading at 5-6 knots down the channel with the wind hovering at 15-18 knots.  A beautiful sail indeed! When I first considered cruising Belize, i heard about the skinny water and that cats were recommended. Now that I have sailed here, I realize that there are also some major portions with plenty of depth. There are some very shallow areas but they are not as prevalent as I was lead to believe.  We had to access the anchorage from the south and then head north.  We wound thru the cays and then found the Hide Away anchorage.  We swam over to nearby reef that was no too exciting but ok.  Then we headed out on the dink for a look around the anchorage.  We saw a dock with a sign on it and headed a short ways.  We were greeted by the owner Dustin.  He welcomed us to his island in paradise.  We headed upstairs thru the swamp that makes up most of the low lying cays in the area.  He had built board walks all through the cay to get to the bar/restaurant, home, guest house and dock.  We ordered a round of margaritas and shortly were toasting to our new found friends, Dustin and Kim and their 6 mos. baby girl, Ama.

Dustin our host.

He and his wife had bought the island 5 years hence.  They toiled and brought every piece of lumber and nails from the mainland an hour away.  They had built it using local woods and help from the Mennonites.  Two years later they had their first customers just as they ran out of money. Beers were served to some young Belgian women and set them on a course of opening a restaurant and a guest cottage.  They get a steady stream of customers during the 6 month cruising season from Nov.-May.  We made a reservation for 7 and noticed the boat had dragged a bit.  We repositioned closer to the mangroves as another Moorings boat settled in next to us.  We also dropped the secondary anchor just to be safe.  I settled into the hammock for a nap and a beer.

We arrived promptly at 7 and our host was waiting to tie up our line.  Dinner was waiting and served shortly after opening the wine.  The dinner was fresh conk, snapper, rice and a squash mix.  Our desert was made by our crewmember/chef de cuisine, Ali.  She did a wonderful job of prepping, cooking, helping in the galley.  She served a banana, chocolate chip bread pudding.  Delicious!  Dustin and Kim sat near us and continued their amazing life story.  During hurricane season, they head to FLA and work in the fishing/hospitality industry.  They also have a nice sail boat called Naked Tyme.  Dustin was familiar with our boat named Liberty Dream 2 out of Nice, France.  The meal was amazing and we had a great playlist (thanks Ali) on the Bose speaker that I had brought along.  What a great evening and we all enjoyed bringing another fun couple into the mix.  One of their big concerns of the recent arrival of cruise ships in the area.   Belize is just starting to hit it's tourist stride and tourism is it's largest industry.  We finished the night and headed back to the yacht.  After a nightcap in the bow, we headed for our bunks.

In the morning, we headed out for a short snorkel and then pulled up anchor.  I was also able to find a shackle for our main halyard from the Moorings boat next door.  I accidentally dropped the previous shackle in the drink.  We took off for a wonderful sail on a broad reach on our way to Hatchet Cay.  The winds blow 15-18 every day and the sailing is easy and fun.

What a great sail!  We arrived at the lovely resort island about 1500.  We jumped in the dink and headed over.  We met some folks getting off a boat that had just returned from a whale shark dive.  Apparently, they feed during the full moon.  How many did they see?  None.  Bummer.  We had tried to sign up for the whale dive but they were all full.  We hit the bar for a cold one and some WIFI.  I asked several folks where  they were from and everyone said Calgary.  We headed back to the boat and took off for a short snorkel into a beautiful coral garden.  Some nice fish in places.  For dinner we had a nice dish that Ali and Shelly prepared.  The Thai Curry was amazing.  The moon rise was great and we enjoyed the hammock in the foredeck with some great tunes and talked about the formation of the moon.  The popular theory is that a huge asteroid hit the earth as it was forming and the debris eventually coalesced into the moon over ions of time.  It was a windy, gorgeous night and it was difficult to leave the deck for bed.

 Ali and Shelly

On our last day, Saturday, we are heading out to the reef for a two tank dive.  The dive boat arrived and we took off for the first dive.  We jumped in and went down to 60 feet.  The dive was ok but the highlight came when we surfaced.  A pod of dolphins was right below the boat and close.  There were 20 or more hanging out for 5-8 minutes.  Wow.  During our stop, a very large turtle came by.  I was hoping to see one.  The second dive started with my reg going nuts on the surface.  Air was flowing freely and I lost 1000 lbs.  Because of this my dive was very short.  As I waited for the rest of my crewmates, a downpour of rain hit us.  We headed back to our boat for a 2 hour motor back to Whiperay Cay.  Dinner is coming up in our last anchorage.

Shelly and Ali did another boat cooking masterpiece:  Crab enchiladas!  We had a great evening of conversation and where the next charter would be?  We discussed a future trip to the Grenadines.  I have had several friends cruise there and they had nothing but great reviews.  Wayne gave it a hearty endorsement as well.  It rained overnight with several showers.

I went for my morning swim and a Remora fish was trying to parasite on me.  I had to keep brushing him off me.  We headed to the Sunsail base and soon were on our way to the airport.

We had a devil of a time with the fridge and it would not keep our food cold.  The gals did a lot of unneeded work and were none too happy.  On the plus side, Belize is a beautiful cruising ground.  There were only a few other boats and tons of fish and wildlife.  Navigating the waters takes great care as there are dangers in the reefs.  We were very fortunate to have Wayne as our Skipper as he has tons of experience and is a sailing instructor as well.  Thank-you Wayne for being a great skipper and friend! A very memorable trip and I hope to return and hit the north side of the reef.  Our adventure was unbelizable!

Water in Zero Gravity

Departing for our bareboat charter - Belize!

On Saturday we will take off for a 7 day trip in Belize.  Our crew of 6 will sail on a 38 ft cat out of Placencia.  5 of the 6 are looking forward to some great scuba.  My friend Wayne will be the skipper as he is a skilled instructor and has chartered around the world.  It's great as it will give me time to relax and enjoy.  I will be keeping a log and will post it to this blog upon our return to California on the 29th of April.  I have been trying to get to this reef system for a couple years and now the wait is over.  In case you don't know this, the reef we will be diving on is the second largest barrier reef in the world.  Can you name the first?

California's Most Beautiful Lake

Over the last 33 years of living in California, I have been to Lake Tahoe over 60 times for skiing, boating, family fun, visiting my best friend from childhood, and I have biked around the 72 mile circumference.  It does not get much more beautiful than this.  It is at an elevation of 6200 feet and is over 1500 feet deep.  I can tell you from experience that it is very cold for swimming, even in summer.  The Flume Trail on the east side is mountain bike nirvana and I have biked the trail a half a dozen times.  It is considered the most beautiful mountain bike trail in the west. (although it can be dangerous in spots as 1000' cliffs abound).  The skiing in the area resorts is amazing and I have had the best skiing days of my life here.  If you have never been, please add a trip to the lake to your bucket list. Behold the majesty of the heavenly body of water!

Tahoe Blue from Josh Michaels on Vimeo.
Full screen me please!

The Best Speech You've Never Heard

In this 70 year old comedy, Charlie Chaplin plays the role of a poor Jewish barber mistaken for Adolph Hitler. This is a speech Charlie gives at the end of the movie that seems like it fits pretty well with the events of the world today.  The movie is called The Great Dictator.


One Of The Greatest Speeches Ever Made - Watch More Funny Videos

Bonehead Move of the Week

We depart in about a week for our sail charter/SCUBA adventure in Belize.  Really looking forward to warm water and cold beverages.

Cool View from the Space Station

Pic of the Day

Simple Trick for Tethering Phone to Computer

Wifi is everywhere these days...except on the boat.  Our marina offers wifi but it is too weak and spotty to rely on.  The phone signal on the boat is strong but who wants to surf the web on a phone?  You could pay one of the major carriers a boat load for the privilege of tethering your phone but you already give them a good portion of your paycheck.  I found a nice little way to make it happen for a fraction of the cost and you don't have to jailbreak your phone.  By using http://tether.com/ you can have blazing speeds (LTE makes a huge difference) on your computer, watch movies and more.  The cost is $30 and now you can surf anywhere.  Be sure to follow the directions closely and you finally have access when and where you want it.  Works with iPhone, Blackberry and Android.

Pics of the Week

You can see all 100 pics here.

Foiling Fools - Oracle 17 @ twice the speed of the wind

Test Drive Prank w/ Jeff Gordon

 
This one made me laugh out loud.

Double Code Red

I don't think I have to tell you to go full screen.

Shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean

Here is a sad story of running into two hurricanes out at sea and the importance of keeping an eye on the weather after you have left port.  Click here.

Big Fun H2O Style

Too much FUN!

Just Picked Up My Google Glass

Watch to the end!