Coolest Sail Photo of the Last 20 Years

In the summer of 2008, the Maltese Falcon visited the Bay Area for the first and only time.  The 289 foot super yacht was here to support the Leukemia Cup in September.  During her infamous stay in the bay, she was hit and run by another boat and in the shot above, was witness to a terrible fire on Angel Island.  This shot was taken from the Golden Gate Bridge on a HD camera.  The owner of this amazing vessel, billionaire Tom Perkins, was paying homage to the Clipper Ships of yore when he built his dreamboat.  In this instance, the sails drop down from each yardarm and all three masts rotate to tack or gybe.  All at the click of a button.  Pretty cool indeed.  And all from a small control panel in the cockpit.

What i love about this photo is juxtaposition of this conspicuously consumed yacht and this wild fire in the hills that burned 3/4 of the island.  It brings goose bumps to my skin.

I will expound further on the boat that hit the Falcon in a later post.  The skipper ended up getting the Bonehead Move of the Decade!

Ready to Vendee?

Had a nice sail to Craig's Cove on Sunday with Julie and Mike.  No wind at first and then it turned into a normal 20 knot day on the bay towards the afternoon.  Great sailing and good clean fun!

Pics of the Week

Enjoy your weekend.  I plan to sail Saturday and Sunday!

To Travel - Get Out There and Make It Your Own

These next two vids are perfect examples of why traveling is so awesome.  If these vids don't make you want to go outside and enjoy this amazing place we call home, nothing will.  So dream big and get out there and have some fun!  Full screen is best.  I have been lucky enough to have visited both these destinations.  Bali in 1992 and St. Lucia in 2016.




Alexander Tikhomirov in Indonesia. Bali from Alexander Tikhomirov on Vimeo.

The Wedge in SoCal

Full screen only!

Only Sailboats

Couple Lands $1m Yacht thru their Youtube Adventure!

I have been watching this couple closely as they left the Caribbean and headed for the South Pacific.  They have been documenting their adventure on youtube with great results.  They have been contacted by a French catamaran company who is giving them a brand new yacht to continue their sail around the planet.  Check out the boat below!

Pics from Cali

Back in Delaware with my fam and very happy!

Foiling Fanatics

Off to the east coast for my 40th high school reunion.  One of our classmates is hosting the event at his large home and barn.  I will be DJing the event with a bucket full of tunes from our high school days.  We graduated in 1976 and songs like Play That Funky Music White Boy and Brick House will get everyone on the dance floor.  I am also hosting a Frisbee golf tournament for one of our fallen friends.  I have been playing a long time so I hope to have fun as well as honor David.  Should be a blast to see old friends and my high school sweetheart who I have not seen for 39 years.  Wow.  It's also my birthday week so it should be way too much fun!

24 Months and Counting

We depart for Australia in 24 months!  It will be a one year journey across the Pacific Ocean.  I have 2 friends joining me for the adventure.  I can't wait.  I still need to purchase the boat.  I hope to buy a 90's model of the 3 cabin 42' Beneteau.  One of the places we will be visiting is Tonga.  Maybe we will see and experience these amazing creatures.

How was Burning Man??

I love that vid!  I have been very fortunate to find a group of like minded folks at the Burn.  Our camp consisted of 49 friendly folks in a great setting.  Our RV's circled the camp which housed our awesome art car the Bioluminesent Slug, a fire pit and canopies with netting to keep the dust out.  We spent our days touring the playa, heading to parties, dancing to the hottest DJ's on the planet and dodging dust storms.  Each night we had a group dinner that was filled with great food and conversation.  The weather was one of the best in recent years.  The morning were usually cloud covered, falling to blue skies and then a bit of wind and dust in the afternoon.  The evening were spectacular with mild temps and no wind.  When you enter the playa at night you are blown away by all the LED lights on the people, the art cars and the bikes.  Like Vegas on steroids.  On the night of the burn, we headed to the playa.  Everything was perfect.  As soon as the sunset, the wind gods came alive with an amazing dust storm and violent winds.  After 30 minutes, it began to mellow and the burn was on.  Pretty amazing indeed.  On our way out, we got caught in a 8+ hour delay at the gate.  Someone was lost so they closed the gate.  Took about 15 hours to get home.  If you are thinking about joining the tribes next year, I would say go and have the metamorphosis of your life!

Pics for your Holiday

Back from Burning Man.  We had a great camp, wonderful art car, awesome weather and the burn was so cool.  Full report later this week!

Drag Race

Every summer the fastest boats and boards get together for a race from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge.  The distance is about 4.5 miles.  Last few years the foiling kites have taken it.  Have not been able to find this years race on video yet.  Take a look at 2015.

Departure: Burning Man Turns 30 (86' - 16')

My friend Chris and I depart in a few days for the Playa in Black Rock Desert.  We are joining our camp of about 40 folks for a fun filled week with 80K other burners.  The pic above is a view of the campground.  It is set up on a grid so that finding places is pretty easy.  The area of Burning Man is about 7 square miles.  Filled with music, dancing, art, giant sculptures and outrageous art cars.  We are lucky enough to have the Bioluminesent Slug in our camp.  It's a flat bed truck that has been converted into a 2 story disco that holds 40 folks.  It's awesome to jump on and meet all different types of folks who jump on as well as she gets us to all the best parties and events.

I will have  a full report upon my return on Labor Day.  Also looking forward to the Baja Haha in October!  Think Burning Man on the water.

Here is a link to a great highlight slide show of the past 10 years at
Burning Man.

Here are 2 more art cars that are pretty cool.

Nice Pics

Red Dot on the Ocean

I had a chance to watch this film on Amazon a few days ago.  It tells the story of Matt Rutherford as he circumnavigates the Americas without stopping.  27,000 miles in just under a year.  It's an amazing story of a troubled youth who falls in love with sailing.  He gets some ocean miles and then buys a 27 foot Albin Vega.  Not a great boat for voyaging but all he can afford.  I won't tell you anymore other than you should watch this movie.  It's free if you are a Prime member.

Grey with a Chance of Fog

I live below the fog line so our days may start with fog but sunny by 10 or 11.  I lived in Carmel in 81 and we had 30 days of fog with no sun!

My Pics

Down in Santa Barbara doing a little wine tasting and enjoying some fine foods.  Lots of events over the next few weeks and that is good news.

Running for my life!

In 2002, my son Connor was 6.  With the time that it takes to raise a son, I had put on an extra 20 pounds.  I decided it was time to lose the extra pounds by running, swimming and biking.  I ran the hills by my house for 13 years.  Five to seven runs a week, 30-45 minute runs did the trick.  I would only run uphill and recover on the down.  I had a beautiful perch above the bay as I ran with my first golden Sierra and for 7.5 years with Kona.  We were in great shape!  The pounds came off and I felt fantastic.

Last December I noticed a pain in my left knee.  I stopped running and kept swimming and biking.  The pain has persisted on and off since then and there has been no running.  Bummer.  It can get pretty bad at night but goes away as soon as I stretch my legs straight.  I believe I have a bit of arthritis in both knees now.  It sucks getting old.  My goal is to continue working out everyday and to start doing longer rides.  My normal ride is 8-10 miles through those same running hills at Coyote Hills.  As I approach departure for my big sail to Australia in 2018, I want to be in great shape.

 I really enjoyed those runs.  They were never very fast...but I was lapping everybody on the couch!

Great Dream

We sailed to the Giants game the other day and had a great time.  I just woke up from a great dream.  We were at the game and towards the end of the game they let some of the fans on the field.  Since my sail boat was there, I sailed it onto the field.  Eventually, I anchored and watched the game...on the field.  Not sure how the players did it in 6 feet of water but they were out there.  That's just how dreams work.  I was pretty sure I had the only boat every to motor out onto the field.