Awesome Pics

The computer tip works great if you are in the sun.  Click any and all to enlarge.

For Sale: A look inside MJ's House

John Lennon Sails to Bermuda 1980

Sailboats have a protective covering called a dodger to shield the helmsman from the elements when at sea. Typically, a dodger has stainless steel support arms and zip out windows. “During the storm the stainless steel dodger surrounding the hatch was flattened by a wave,” he says. “It was the only time I had ever seen it happen.”

Exhaustion finally got the better of him. With no one left to pilot the sailboat, Halsted was forced to recruit the inexperienced Lennon. Why, in so severe a storm, would he put the lives of everyone at risk by leaving the responsibility to such a novice sailor?

“I never intended for John to sail the boat alone,” Halsted says. “He would only sail with one of the experienced crew beside him, never alone. His duties were in the galley, where he was responsible for preparing all of the food. He came aboard knowing he would only be learning, an observer. He never wrote anything down, just saying that he would remember the experience.”

“But I had been up for nearly three days. I had a situation where I felt it was necessary that someone else take the helm. The others couldn’t do it; they were too ill. The Megan Jaye didn’t have an autopilot on board at that time. The captain’s station and bunk below are only a few feet away. I could have been at his side in seconds had anything gone wrong. Being on the boat, you sleep lightly.”

Halsted spent an hour keeping a watchful eye over his frightened protege, then went below to sleep, leaving Lennon alone at the helm. 

As Lennon told Playboy a few months later: “So, I was there driving the boat for six hours, keeping it on course. I was buried under water. I was smashed in the face by waves for six solid hours. It won’t go away. You can’t change your mind. It’s like being on stage; once you’re on there’s no gettin’ off. A couple of the waves had me on my knees. I was just hanging on with my hands on the wheel — it’s very powerful weather — and I was having the time of my life. I was screaming sea chanteys and shoutin’ at the gods! I felt like the Viking, you know, Jason and the Golden Fleece. I arrived in Bermuda. Once I got there, I was so centered after the experience at sea that I was tuned in, or whatever, to the cosmos. And all these songs came! The time there was amazing. Fred [Seaman] and Sean and I were there on the beach taping songs with this big machine and 
me just playing guitar and singing. We were just in the sun and these songs were coming out.”

Read the article here.

Great Sailing Book: The Billionaire and the Mechanic

I am reading a great book about the last 15 years of Larry Ellison's campaign towards winning the Americas Cup in SF.  It a fascinating look at how the marriage of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and Team Oracle came to be.  One of the things that strikes me about sail racing is the amount of jerks that are top dogs in the racing circuit.  Over inflated egos, a-holes and dicks abound.  It makes for a very good read, however.  This is an awesome book and one that any sailor interested in the A-Cup should read.  Download it to your  phone, tablet or Kindle and enjoy!

JP Aloha Classic from Maui (vid)

The final was run as a four-man battle over the duration of 22 minutes to give Kauli Seadi, Morgan Noireaux, Bernd Roediger and Levi Siver the maximum chance to really exercise their prowess.
The American delivered one of his stunning trademark aerials and a couple of turns, which sent the spray flying by the bucket load.
Roediger and Noireaux were also going for broke, as they attempted air takas and frontside wave 360s respectively, but ultimately it was Siver who stepped up to the plate.
On his final wave of the heat, Siver lined up the critical section to launch into a frontside 360, which he claimed, before delivering another gouging turn.
With no time remaining Seadi tacked onto the final wave of the heat and rotated through a perfectly executed goiter, but it wasn't a counting wave for him, which left for a nail biting finale.
The result proved to be almost inseparable with just 0.02 of a point in it, much to the delight of Siver it was soon revealed that he had clinched the single elimination victory.
"I just told myself that I want to enjoy it. At the end of the day we’re all friends who love this sport and I think we should keep that spirit of Aloha, and just keep encouraging each other", said Siver.

Baja Ha Ha Fleet in Trouble as Depression Approaches

I attended the last 3 Haha's and we could not have had nicer weather for the 750 mile rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  Today the fleet (130 boats and 500 friendly folks) has it's beach party in Turtle Bay and on Saturday they would normally be departing for their next destination, Santa Maria, about 150 miles north of Cabo.  However, there is a storm brewing south of Cabo that will hit the southern tip of Baja on Monday or Tuesday.  The fleet arrives in Santa Maria on those same days.

As you can see below, winds are currently at 30 and gusting to 40 knots.  Sounds like a typical summer day on the SF Bay!  However, the ocean will develop much larger waves and lousy conditions.  In addition, there could be a headwind which will make for slow going.  Latitude 38 will be releasing a statement later today on their plans and I will update this post.  If memory serves, this is the first depression to hit the fleet in it's entire 20 year history.  And hurricane season officially ends today in this region of the planet.  Best of luck to the fleet and Cabo.

Update: the weather gurus say the storm will Peter out so the fleet will depart as usual on Saturday for Santa Maria. Bon voyage!

World Record 100 Foot Wave

Nazaré Blow Up from SURFPortugal Mag on Vimeo.

Definitely a full screen vid.

Less than a year after Hawaii native Garrett McNamara set what many believed to be an impossibly high bar in big wave surfing, Brazilian surfer Carlos Burle may have topped it.

On Monday, Burle took off on a mountain of a wave off the now-famous big wave spot of Nazare on Portugal's central coast. Initial estimates of the wave's height put it taller than the record set by McNamara in January, which was estimated to be around 100 feet tall.

McNamara holds the certified record for tow-in surfing a wave, also set at Nazare, for riding a 78-foot behemoth in 2011.

Whatever the final, official height of Burle's wave, it was a monster. Burle's ride also happened shortly after he rescued his friend and fellow big wave surfer Maya Gabriel, who nearly drowned trying to catch a wave.

Burle told Surfer Today: "It was luck. We never know when we will be catching the wave. I still hadn't surfed any wave and everyone had already had their rides. Maya almost died. For me, it was a big adrenaline moment to get back there after what happened."

Cowabunga, Dude!

Loving Life in Another Country

Have you ever dreamed of moving to a remote place and taking up residence in another country?  I found a You Tube channel where dozens of folks have done it and it has transformed their lives.  Here is a unique story of man and his family who built a cat and sailed off the the US Virgin Islands.  He charters his yacht on a daily basis, has an all female crew and even though he works very hard, his life is deeply satisfying.   Check it out!

Cool Vids

Found some cool stuff on YouTube.  Enjoy!

Kona is 5 years young!

If ever a sailor was to own a dog to go sailing with, it would be Kona.  He had his first adventure on the boat at 12 weeks.  From there he has gone on countless day sails, many 5 day trips all over the bay, and is the coolest dog I have ever had the privilege of owning.   Sierra was amazing and I loved him with all my heart.  Along comes Kona from a top breeder up north and I am blown away.  He has been out sailing 50 times already this year and loves it.   Here is a pic from a recent voyage on the bay.  He usually picks one crewman each trip and follows and lounges all over that crewman.  I could not have asked for a better First Mate than Kona!  And did I mention he is an amazing swimmer?  Some of our best times have been swimming over to the beaches on the bay.  Love you Boy!

Click the pic to make it bigger.

Nice Surf Film

This film created quite a stir and won some awards when it was released a few years ago.  Beautiful photography and timeless images will have you longing for the perfect tube.  Enjoy!

Awesome Telekinetic Prank (must see)

Foiling Fanatics

I was out at Crissy Field yesterday and saw some light wind kite foiling.  A few weeks ago they had the Foilboard Championships here and here is some footage from it.  Now that foiling is all the rage with boats, surfboards and now kites, what could possibly be next??

Love Trouble in Paradise

Twentysomething Liz Clark has been cruising the South Pacific for the last 5 or so years and she has seen her share of trouble.  A broken neck, boat problems, T-Boned by a cat while she was anchored and now love trouble.  So much so that she was fearing for her life.  Her Tahitian boyfriend treated her very badly and she was no longer enjoying her relationship when she had to slip the lines and escape from his jealous rage. 
Read her story of terror and abuse here.

Jamming on the SF Bay

Headed up to the boat on a beautiful fall day on the bay.  Wind was light and out of the north when I hit the end of the channel in Emeryville.  All the sails went up and with the wind direction, heading north and towards Berkeley.  Made it to Richmond with the wind at 8kts.  Tack and the wind changes direction and now a bit westerly so I am heading towards Angel.  The conditions are perfect, its warm and the sailing is sublime.  Looked like a chance for a green flash so I kept sailing till sunset.  No flash but a very memorable single hand, barefoot cruise.  Thanks boat!

Where to Sail in NZ

With nearly 10,000 miles of coastline to explore, it's almost impossible not to experience a day at sea while you're New Zealand. So, where is the best place to sail when you're in New Zealand? Who better to ask than the members of this award-winning sailing team.
Here's what crew members of Emirates Team NZ had to say when asked, What's your favorite place to go sailing in New Zealand?
Adam Beashel, Strategist: "My favorite place is the Whangaruru Harbour, on Northland's east coast. I love the isolation of it, the greenery and the white sand beaches. It's a great place to go kite surfing, starting off the back of a boat. It's hard to believe that you can anchor there and be all on your own.
Ray Davies, Tactician: "It has to be the Hauraki Gulf - including Kawau Island, Great Barrier Island and even around Waiheke Island. It's so accessible to Auckland city, that you can really make the most of a weekend break. We've got a launch and we get out a couple of times a month in summer.
Dean Barker, Skipper/helm: "It would have to be the Bay of Islands; it's just stunning. I've sailed in a couple of Bay of Islands Regattas, where you race through all of the islands, and it is amazing - beautiful water, nice breezes, gorgeous white sand beaches. I've tried fishing there, but without much success. I'd like to blame the equipment, but it's more about the fisherman I think... It's definitely a place I would love to spend more time with my family. "
Richard Meacham, Utility: "There are two places in New Zealand that are on a par for me. The first is the Akaroa Harbour, on the coast out of Christchurch. It's a stunning place; when you drive there by land and drop down into the harbour, its beauty is so unexpected, it takes your breath away. My other favourite is the Karikari Peninsula in the Far North, especially Matai Bay. You can just slip into the water and pick out a crayfish, or pull paua from the rocks. It's magical."

Let's go to all these spots on our 2018 expedition to NZ!  Our plan is to buy a 42' yacht and sail her to Sydney via NZ.  1.5 years and way too much fun!!

Bonehead Move of the Week

It Does Not Get Any Better Than This

We have had some wonderful sails aboard our boat "Addiction" over the last 13 years on the San Francisco Bay.  At the end of these awesome sails, we usually exclaim, "It does not get any better than this".  Yesterdays sail was one of those days.  John, Marc, Larry, Mike and Kona joined me at 11 for what was forecasted as a 5 knot breeze.  We hit the end of the channel and we had a good 10 knots from the north.  This allowed us to make one tack and then hit the central bay.  The temps were reasonable and we were loving the scenery and fresh air.  A couple tacks later, we grabbed a mooring

ball at Ayala Cove at Angel Island.  A nice lunch followed along with some Sonoma Champagne.  Kona and I went for a quick swim but it was a bit too cold to enjoy.  Back towards the barn, we decide to hoist the spinnaker.  The wind is 10-12 and building a little.  We have an extraordinary run down the bay.  We approach the bay bridge and drop the spin with our very nice sock and what a perfect run.  Back at the dock we have lots of empty bottles of this and that for the recycle.  What a day on our fab bay!  Will post a spin vid a little later today.

Dock Talk - A Cup

The word from the docks of SF is that the Oracle Team used an automatic stabilizer on their foil that pushed the limits of the rules.  This may have proved to be the difference in the outcome.  NZ knew that if the wind was up on the last day, they had no chance of taking the race without Oracle making a huge mistake.  NZ did not have the technology to stabilize in auto and had to do it manually which led to their tearful post sail back to the base.  That was a very sad moment for some awesome Kiwi sailors.  For a nation that lives and breaths sailing, (at 6 years of age, most children in NZ get a boat instead of a bike) this was a heart breaking moment.  I sure did enjoy the race for the Cup.  I was lucky enough to head out for 6 of the races with friends and family.  There is already talk of the next Cup and SF has 30 days to throw their hat in the ring (they surely will!).  I am not sure we will ever see a finals like we saw for the 34th Cup, but I have high hopes for the 35th!

Something Beautiful

Remember that amazing meteor that cruised thru Russia back in Feb?  Here is an amazing vid of this once in a lifetime sight.  Watch it here.