Red Bull Youth Regatta

During the SF Americas Cup, they staged a weekend regatta with some of the top young sailors from around the planet.  They used the 45' cats that had been part of the World Cup races.  If you remember, the Oracle boats were being inspected for these races and they found some illegal weights in the bows that gave Oracle an edge in the light winds.   This resulted in a 2 race penalty for Oracle during the finals.  Even though they had won 3 races. Oracle was down 8-1 when they made some adjustments to the boat and crew and came back to win it all.  I digress, check out the vid and enjoy these great sailing moments.

Bonehead Moves Of the Month

Storms and much needed rain on the way to Cali.  Not much sailing at this time.  Hoping for a great couple of sails in December.

New Device WIll Alter SCUBA Diving Waterscape

A new invention looks set to change Scuba and diving in general. It’s shocking task lies in the idea of microscopic, nano scale ‘artificial Gills’, can effectively separate the oxygen from the water while diving, on demand. A series of tiny threads or strands have microscopic holes along their width, which are smaller than water molecules.

It’s called the ‘Triton Oxygen Respirator‘ (Image Below), a miniature but incredible device that will do away for the need to move bulky tanks on dives, and allow the dives to last much, much longer than can be had with current equipment.

Electric Motor Review - 3 Months in and Going Strong

Our diesel died in May after 33 years of faithful service.  We purchased the boat 14 years ago with any where from 3-6 partners on board and the boat out of the slip 6-8 times per month, so heavy usage over that time period.  She served us well.  We installed the electric motor in July and by mid August we were sailing again.  A few weeks after install, we had a small glitch when we exceeded 2000 rpms.  She stalled out.  We sent a note to our supplier and they sent us a new engine controller and we have been issue free since.  The motor has proved to be powerful enough to get us out of the harbor when the wind is blowing over 25 kts.  We mostly use the engine to get in and out of the harbor and to a lunch spot.  Plenty of juice to do that.  I have had her down past 50% only once and she has done fine.  We are very pleased with the new power plant and would recommend it highly as long as your range was under 15 miles or so.  There alot of boats that will need repower in the next few years and we highly recommend electric.  Our supplier was Electric Yachts of Southern California.

Here were the other power options we considered for our Newport 30.
Options:
Outboard old $1500
Outboard new $3000
Electric new $8000 (including batteries)
Diesel rebuild $8-10000
Diesel new $12 -14000

Submitted For Your Approval

Great to be back from the Haha but I am still thinking about all the fun we had as well as the sunsets and sunrises (and the full moon rise on the 6th just as the sun set).  If you ever get a choice in watch schedules, take the 4-8 time slot and you will see both each day (depending on time of year and latitude). 

A Day in the Life - Volvo Race Around the Planet

On The Cusp of a Hurricane - Baja Haha 21 Recap

 That's me enjoying the game and hammock.

 Turtle Bay

Hurricane Vance

Our adventure in to the 21st annual Baja Haha begins with a recent trip to San Diego.  I was visiting my son in San Diego two weeks before the 750 mile rally from San Diego to Cabo.  I had a few hours in the morning and thought I would head to the docks and see if I could snag a ride on this years voyage.  Sure enough, after knocking on a few hulls I met a gentleman who was heading down with his young family and he needed some help.  The boat is a 42' Waiquez ketch.  I told him I would return the following weekend and prepare to shove off for Mexico. 
This is my fourth Haha. In 2010, I joined Rainbow, a 36' cat with a crack crew.  In 2011, the boat I was on failed to make it SD and I joined Go For Broke, a 52' steel cutter that was overbuilt for MX cruising and we motored the whole way.  In 2012, another boat failed to make it to Cabo and I joined a young family with an 18 mo. old boy.  The boat was a 41' cutter.  All the trips were great and I learned much as I am preparing for my own cruise in 2018/19 to Australia and New Zealand. 
I joined this years boat on Sunday evening, the day before the start.  The crew is a family of four from BC.  The skipper is a pro mariner who owns a barge and a tug operation near Victoria.  His wife Tina and two kids of 5 and 7 years.  The boat is well prepared and I hope to learn a bunch from the seasoned captain.  In the morning, we head out to the parade and start.  There is little wind so we begin 3 days of motor sailing and very little sailing to our first stop at Turtle Bay.  We arrive and drop anchor at 1am and head to bed.
The highlight of the stay is the beach party.  I am in charge of setting up the volleyball net and bocce.  We are ready to go and I grab some lunch with my friends.  The games begin and the ball is very wet and difficult to hit.  We have a blast anyway and lose every single game.  Oh well, it was fun anyway.  My old sailing instructor is on the trip this year and it is great to hang with him.  We meet many others and the weather is perfect.  Head back to the boat and I am beat and go straight to bed.
The next morning, the Fleet Captain announces we will not be departing due to the hurricane the is churning near PV.  Hurricane Vance is still 700 miles away but we need to be cautious and see what develops.  We decide to go for a sail and the conditions are spectacular.  15-18 kts and sunny.  We catch a few fish along the way and head home.  Steve and I talk in the cockpit after dinner and have a great time.  Soon it is time to hit the hay but I linger on deck and enjoy the moon and stars. 
Sunday morning we are hoping to depart but there is alot of uncertainty with the weather.  We are getting conflicting reports about the depression and there is a chance we may stay another day.  The Poobah does a roll call of the 150 boats to determine if they want to go our stay.  The majority want to go but there is a large contingent that wants to stay and be cautious.  About 30 boats decide to depart and head in to the fray.  My skipper is gung ho and we hit the highway.  Officially, we have dropped out of the Haha.  We hit the outside of the bay and it is 15 knots and climbing.  All the sails go up and we are flying.  During the afternoon, we see gusts above 30 and the boat hits a high of over 10 kts,the waves are substantial as well.  We have some fresh fish for dinner and I retire for the evening.  Of all the Haha's I have participated in, this is the most wind I have encountered.  And one of the best sailing days as well.
During my 4am to 8am watch, I head out on deck to watch the stars and listen to some BS&T.  The seas are a bit lumpy as we head towards Santa Maria and the wind is in the 15kt range.  As we finish this leg, the winds come back up in to the low 20's.  We enter the bay near midnight with lots of shrimp boats near our path.  Steve has a great set up at the helm with a chartplotter and radar combo.  We enter the bay with about 20 boats already at anchor.  With the anchor down, we hit the hay.
Tuesday is spent on the boat, resting, swimming and listening to some of my favorite tunes over the newly installed speakers in the cockpit.  Its blowing 22 by 11am and we are having a great time aboard.  The rest of the fleet is beginning to arrive as they started a day later.  The whole hurricane issue was a nonfactor and all of us understand that the fleet captain needed to be cautious as he cannot put the fleet in harms way.  Thursday is the beach bash with a band, food and more vball.  More soon.


Looking back on our sail and day in Santa Maria:
Our sail into SM was sublime.  I joined the skipper on deck about 2 hours out.  Winds had picked up into the low 20's and we were cooking.  Lots of large shrimp boats were in the area and we stayed well clear.  The entrance to the bay is five miles wide so we do not expect any issues. We enter the bay towards the south side and head in.  A perfect landing and the anchor is down.  

Tuesday we spend the day on board and the wind is in the 20's most of the day.  I have a two hour nap in the afternoon and it is glorious.  Dinner is nice with some peppercorn steak.  Everyone heads to bed at nine and I stay up and enjoy the fine evening and some tunes in the cockpit. The bay is littered with over 100anchor lights which looks very cool.  I think about life and how wonderful it all is and how fortunate I am to be here.

Beach party today and I head in early.  By 11:30, the net is up and the breeze is there again. Up on the bluff is where the food and band are set up.  Lunch is served and I am the first in line.  During lunch I meet some fellow haha'ers and we have a nice time.  One of the gals is not getting along with her crew and she talks of jumping ship.   About 3pm, the wind has calmed down and I announce the volleyball game.  We head to the beach and the games begin.  Lots of laughter and good times ensue. My friend Steve and Sonny are there and we have some big fun. Head back to the boat for a quick meal and bed.   We depart at 5am and and the winds are 10-12". We put up all 3 sails and motor sail toward Cabo.  Have some fun with the kids and we have a green flash sunset and a full moon rise.  It's my 21st wedding anniversary and I shoot off a quick email to my wife thru sail mail.  

It now 530am and I am standing my last watch. Jupiter has been looming large the entire trip.   We should arrive in about 6 hours. It's been one of the best haha's ever and I hope to have many more.
One of the more amusing things that happened was my skipper Steve from the 2011 haha.  He did not join this year but was shading the group.  Just as we depart Turtle Bay, he arrives in the bay looking forward to the beach party.  His favorite part.  He breaks into the morning net asking about the party, sorry you missed it by a day.  Happened again in Santa Maria as we had to push the party up a day due to the extra day we spent in Turtle.  He again breaks into the morning net as we are all departing and asks about the beach party.  Sorry again Steve, you missed it!  I am sure his crew was even more bummed! 
We sure had some great weather along the way and we met some great folks as well.  Here's to another successful Haha and many more. Adios amigos!

-- Craig Russell s/v Addiction Newport 30 1981 Emeryville, CA

Haha Pics (from years past)

Departing: Baja Haha

Ahoy,

I depart shortly for the 21st Annual Baja Haha.  I will be joining a boat for the voyage from San Diego to Cabo.  We start on Monday and arrive in Cabo 10 days later.  There are 170 boats and 600 folks which is a very large group.  Our first leg is 325 miles to Turtle Bay.  A small fishing village in the middle of no where.  We will have baseball game with the locals on the first afternoon and a beach party on the second day.  Then a 250 mile run to Santa Maria Bay for another beach party with a band.  Another 24 hours and we will be in Cabo San Lucas, MX.  I will be seeing some old friends and meeting many new ones.  Wish me a bon voyage!


Start at the 5 min. mark for a look at the Hahahahahahahahah.  This is from last year and the only year I have missed out of the last 5.

Sailing Tip: Fairlead Positions

It took me a while to understand the positioning of the fairleads that control the shape of the jib.  Here is a great explanation.

Sunday Pics

We are on Mission Bay in San  Diego for the weekend.  There are several boat rental spots nearby.  One boat had no clue how to sail the boat.  They would tack and did not know you need to get the jib to leeward and they kept crashing into the rocky shore.  I ran out to advise them to release the jib sheet when you tack and secure on leeward.  They finally got it.  Also, we visited the wild animal park and went on safari and hand fed a white rhino.  Amazing.

Ha Ha Bound

Just got back from knocking on hulls for the 21st annual Baja Haha.  I found a boat with a small family heading down and will join them next week.  She is a French boat about 45' and well equiped for the trip.  I am feeling very lucky as this is my 4th Haha.  The event is a 750 mile rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  We have two stop overs in small bays along the way with the highlight being the beach parties which are always epic.  More beach parties when we arrive in Cabo.  This year we have a big fleet with over 170 boats and 600 friendly folks.  It's going to be an awesome trip and I will be sharing my log on this blog once the Haha is completed.  Can't wait to get out on the Pacific once more!

Financial Happiness

One thing about this blog is I know where some of my readers are from, but nothing else about the demographics of my readers.  If I have any younger readers (18-30), here is a great website that may help you find your way in our $$$ based world.  It's called Wall Street Playboys.  Its from several folks on Wall Street that give free advice to the younger set.  Their advice is spot on and it may give you some insight on how to shape your financial future (so you can buy that really nice Pacific Seacraft down the line).

In one of the posts, they were talking about starting your own company.  I decided to chime in in hopes of giving the younger readers some inspiration in starting their own business.  Here is my comment:

Hello All,
I came upon your blog and am very impressed.  I am in my mid 50's and have a son who just started college.  I plan to pass the website to him as the advice is spot on .  To echo some of these insights (and to help the younger readers), I started in the hotel biz out of college (my degree was in Hotel Mgt from UNLV).  I was in sales and working for Hyatt (grinding as they say on this site).  The money sucked and the hours were long.  I was going nowhere, but was always having a great time in life (lived in Palo Alto many years and life was outstanding)  It seamed I could never have more than $3k in my savings account.  Then I met some folks who were event planners at a convention booked at the hotel.  It was a female crew and they were having a blast as they worked the daily events.  I quit the Hyatt the next week and joined them.  I had a few year run with them in the Silicon Valley in the late 80's.  After learning the biz, I asked myself, why am I working so hard, making under $30k and they reap all the rewards?   I quit at the end of the year and started my own event planning company in the valley.  Here we are 22 years later and my wife and I run the biz out of our home and we have an excellent life and a very comfortable lifestyle.  If you can start a successful home biz, you will cut down on much of the stress in life  (being at work 7am (drag), commuting (drag), meetings, meetings, meetings (drag)). My happiness comes from making other people happy and that is what my company brings to me.  I just watched a vid that said why waste your time doing something you hate and getting fired when you can take a chance on something you love and be successful. Granted, alot of small businesses fail, but you never know unless you try.   I started with nothing so I had nothing to lose!

The bottom line: Find something you love and makes lots of money doing it.  Best of luck!

Houston, We Have Lift Off

One more from the Volvo Ocean Race.




Getting ready to crash the Baja Haha Rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  170 boats and 600 like minded folks for a 10 day, 750 mile sail down the Baja peninsula.  I don't have a boat yet but then again, that has been my story for the last two times I did this fun event.  Confidence is high and good times are on there way.  The adventure begins on October 27!

Thursday Pics

Famous Ship Restored

Back in the days when MTV just showed videos, one of my favorite's was Duran Duran's "Rio".  A sailing video that got the heart pumping.  Well the boat had some damage due to a collision and sank shortly after the vid was shot.  Many years later (40), her original owners found her and restored her to her former glory.  She was first launched in 1937!  You can read the full story of the good ship "Eilean" here.


Go full screen!

Turns out the lead singer, Simon Le Bon, was a serious racer and did the Fastnet twice and the Whitbread Round the World race:
While Duran Duran was on hiatus in 1985, Le Bon drew media attention when his maxi yacht, Drum, lost its keel and capsized during the Fastnet race, just off Falmouth, along the southern coast of Cornwall. Before being rescued, Le Bon and other crew members were trapped underwater, inside the hull, for forty minutes. They were all rescued by the Royal Navy, using a Search and Rescue helicopter from 771 Naval Air Squadron based near Helston. The rescue earned the Rescue Diver, POACMN L Slater, a George Medal.^[4] Despite the accident, Le Bon and Drum went on to participate in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, coming in third overall in elapsed time. Le Bon and his partners eventually sold Drum; the events surrounding Drum and the races were chronicled in a 1989 movie entitled Drum – The Journey Of A Lifetime and the book One Watch at a Time^[5] written by Drum's skipper, Skip Novak.
Twenty years after his accident, in 2005, Le Bon made public his desire to race again. During a touring hiatus in August 2005, Le Bon again raced Drum in the Fastnet race, borrowing the vessel from her current owner (the Scottish multi car garage owner Sir Arnold Clark) to participate, and raising funds for the RNLI charity. Le Bon had to leave the race unfinished, as light winds were slowing Drum (and the other competitors), and would have delayed the boat's arrival at Plymouth, interfering with Le Bon's obligation to perform in Japan.^[6]

It's Electric!

Capsize

Weekend Pics

 Don't forget to close the screen door.

Enjoy your weekend and get on the water if possible.

My First Mate

My boy Kona has over 450 sails over the last 6 years.   He has been an awesome companion and sailing buddy.  His favorite part: the swim to the beach.   We do alot of that.  He loves having crew so he can snuggle, mostly the females.  Who knew?  Here is to many more sails together!