Wing Foiler Action at the Golden Gate

I have had a teriffic summer of sailing this year! Lots to be thankful for and sharing this amazing sport with friends and dogs. I also do alot of solo sails with my golden Hana during the week. A few weeks ago I took a group from Got Wind and Water (meetup) for a nice summer sail to Tiburon. Dropped them at 4 back at the docks of Emeryville. Then took off for an 8 mile sail to Sausalito. I needed to get there before 6:30 to meet my sister (visiting from New Hampshire) for dinner. I made it and paddled over to dinner in the kayak. We had a lovely time. Stayed the night and then a quick sail home in the morning. It keeps getting better! I depart on Friday for a flight to Amsterdam and eventullay Africa for a safari or two. My other sis is joining along with some old friends. Great way to wrap up the summer. In September, Tex will join me for a trip down the coast to Monterey and back to SF. We will habor hop to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and then Monterey both up and down the coast. Nice 4-6 hour sails in daylight. You may remeber that Tex was my first mate on our 7 month voyage to Mexico and back in 2018/19. He moved a year ago out of state and I have not seen him since. It will be great to sail with him again. The distance to Monterey is about 90 nautical miles. Looking forward!

Amazing Rescue at Sea

(August 8, 2022) - USCG-licensed captain, instructor and rigging specialist Andy Schwenk (57, Point Richmond, CA) has been brought safely to land by a combination of Coast Guard, Air Force, commercial shipping, and assistance from a fellow yacht. A rapidly-spreading infection required the action. Schwenk's Express 37 Spindrift V had completed the 2022 Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii, finishing first in her class on July 18. Returning to California, the boat faced heavy weather, damaging their mainsail and leading to an injury to Andy’s ankle, which subsequently became infected. Various elements of Spindrift’s communications tools were also damaged, leading to challenges in getting assistance. A relayed call to Pac Cup race organizers led to the diversion of fellow racer (and division winner) Surprise, a Schumacher 46 owned by Bob and Maryann Hinden and skippered for the return by Robin Jeffers, diverting to transfer antibiotics to Spindrift V. The August 4 transfer at 1:00 am was a “real pro job,” as Andy later texted. Because of Spindrift’s communications problems, many of the communications in this incident were routed through systems that had been established to manage the race itself. “When the boats couldn’t make direct contact, a lot of coordination took place on my iPhone,” commented Principal Race Officer Michael Moradzadeh. The infection progressed, and after a number of consultations with medical advisors at George Washington University (who had been retained to provide medical support) they, and ultimately US Coast Guard, recommend a medical evacuation. Taiwanese oil and chemical tanker FPMC35 diverted from its course to Panama to collect Schwenk (another midnight transfer) on August 5. Two medics parachuted to the FPMC35 from a C130 aircraft and stabilized his condition as the tanker steamed at 12 knots toward San Francisco. On August 7, an airborne flotilla comprising two Blackhawk helicopters, two refuelers, and two C130s combined to collect Schwenk and the medics and deposit them at Moffet Field, who then was transferred to Stanford Hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition. “We’re incredibly grateful for the actions of Surprise, the FPMC35, the Coast Guard and the Air Force, and our consultants at George Washington University’s Maritime Medical Access team,” said Pacific Cup Commodore Jim Quanci. “Without the concerted action of all these responders, Andy’s situation could have been much worse.” A veteran of dozens of crossings and over 300,000 ocean miles, this is the first time Schwenk has had to call for help, and he has expressed his thanks for the support. Spindrift V is proceeding toward the Golden Gate under the command of the remaining crew, including the very experienced Peter English. Travelling at 6.25 knots, Spindrift should arrive in about five days. (via Scuttlebutt)

Foggy and Cold In SF

Adrift from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Barley hitting the mid 60's in SF. How is your weather today?

The weather is here, wish you were beautiful!

Time to start thinking about a charter or two. I did two this year: La Paz, Mexico and the BVI in the Caribbean. Both were superb and fun! The next two on my wish list are the Whitsundays and Croatia. Bon Voyage! Here is a glimpse of Croatia.

The Big Boys in St. Barts (2015)

Get Tubed with Kai Lenny!

Best waves of the last 15 years hits Maui after a tropical storm passes by. Biggest Teahupoo in 12 years!!

More R2AK

I sure enjoy the reading and videos of this amazing race. The inovations that are used to move the boat when there is no wind never cease to amaze. Plus the amount of heart and courage it takes to finish this 700 mile race. Lots of boats this year hit logs in the middle of the night and had to retire due to the damage from the impact. One team mentioned that when they hit the log, the bioluminesence created was impressive. One guy hit 5 logs in one night! I also love the beauty and solitude this race provides. I just watched a dozen videos of the race from the last few years and here a couple that really stood out. r2ak.com for more or browse youtube.

My Top 10 Favorite Movies

I have watched alot of movies in my almost 64 years. I don't watch many TV shows so instead I watch movies. There was a 25+ year period where my wife and I would go to a movie a week. I guess you would call me a movie buff! I started a list of movies that I love and realized quickly that there were alot more than 10. Here they are in no particular order. Oh Brother Where Art Thou, 5th Element, A Fish Called Wanda, Limitless, Wild Things, Intolerable Cruelty, V for Vendetta, Sideways, High Fidelity, North by North West, Some Like it Hot, ET, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Romancing the Stone, Something About Mary, Heartbreak Kid, Basic Instinct, Big Labowski, Matrix, Dark Knight, Get Out, Back to the Future, Yesterday, Edge of Tomorrow, Terminator 2, Body Double, Talented Mr. Ripley, Flirting with Disaster, American Beauty, Inception, Dead Poets Society, Born Yesterday, Midnight in Paris, I Care A lot

R2AK is Back!

The race to Alaska started a few weeks ago and is still going! The race begins in Port Townsend, WA with a check out leg to Victoria, BC. From there it continues up the inside passage to Ketchican, AK (700 miles). The catch is that no motors are allowed and the currents can be 14 knots against you! First prize is $10k, second is a set of steak knives (remember the famous speech in Glengery Glen Ross, Alec Balwin?). The crazy part about the race is that it can include rowers, paddle boards, and such. The cool part is the inovation on the boats use to create propulsion with oars, bike paddlewheels and so much more. This was the first year that teams could go west around Vancouver Island out into the Pacific. That is exactly what the winners did. Check the site for updates and great reads. https://r2ak.com/

Champs Again! GS Warriors

I started watching the Warriors back in the 2000's when they could barely win 30 games a season. The coaching position was a revolving door and they had Baron Davis hitting 3's left and right. Fast forward to the Curry Era and we are winning championships! I really enjoy watching these guys and the joy they bring to the floor. Now the question is, how long can we sustain this level of play and win another one? Time will tell.

Confirmed! Largest wave ever surfed! 86 feet (video)

Full Screen only! It has now been officially confirmed that Sebastian Steudtner (Germany) broke the world record for biggest wave ever surfed, when he tore across the face of an 86 f00t wave at Nazaré on October 29, 2020. This new record tops Brazilian big-wave froth lord, Rodrigo Koxa’s previous effort of 80 foot, set on November 9, 2017. Cowabunga, indeed!

Top Gun Goes Sailing on SF Bay

This is typical windy day in the summer on SF Bay. From April to early September we can expect these conditions most days. It is nice to get behind Angel Island for a break from the 25-30 knot winds. This is when we anchor and swim to the beach!

Back to Maui for some Sailing!

We have a nice time share over on the westside of Maui. We were there in September for my birthday. We are heading back this weekend for another adventure with a couple of friends. It should be an active week with sailing, SCUBA, snorkeling and some hammock time. I have been sailing a bunch this spring on the bay and it has been heavenly. On Monday, winds were in the low 30's for most of the afternoon. When it blows this hard, I usually head under the bay bridge for a mellower ride. Not this time as the wind was just as strong but the waves were a little smaller. Had a run up the city front and over to Angel Island for a trip to the beach with Hana. We spent the night in Kona Cove and I put out 100' of chain to make sure the tide did not affect us too much. Back to the beach in the morning and Hana scared up a coyote on the beach. She ran around the corner chasing it and thankfully came back in about 30 seconds as she hit the rocky side beach. Glad she decide not to join the pack! Couple more sails this week and then off to the isalnds!

Mavericks Big Wave Contest Moves to Video

The contest that started in 1999, has not been run in years due to many factors. However, Jeff Clark (origial Mav rider from the beginning) has moved this years contest to vid only. It gives a much broader view of the waves and the athelets. Instead of a one day contest on a mercurial wave, the contest runs from November to April. Winners recieve $5000, some of which goes to the photo person. Check the vid and get stoked! Move to 11:30 for the awards.

A Voyage to Savor!

We have just returned from 10 days in the Virgin Islands. We spent a few days on St. Thomas (USVI) at a house with a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea. Then is was off to Tortola (BVI) for our 7 day charter aboard Promiscuis, a 58 foot Leopard catamaran. The captain and chef did a fantastic job of keeping us happy and saitiated. We visited all the major hot spots with the highlights being the Soggy Dollar, the Baths, sailing to and from Anegada and snorkeling. The weather was fantastic as we had 20+ on the knot meter when we sailed. 12 years ago we had 12-15 during the same time period so this was a nice surprise. We were joined by 3 other couples that we have known since the 80's. We had a long day of travel coming home but it was all worth it. Good to be back. Our boat is getting some bottom paint this week and the adventure continues this weekend with more excursions on the bay! Here is a video that depics the adventures we had to the old world.

Sailing to 80 knots!

We are celebrating 17 years of bonehead moves on the water! That's pretty amazing. In that span of time, I have enjoyed some of the sweetest times of my life thru sailing. Here are some highlights: a 7 month voyage to Mexico and back to SF. Six Baja Haha's. Chartering in BVI's, Belize, La Paz (2), Grenedines, and on Monday we head back to the BVI's on a 58' cat with a captain and chef abaord. Thousands of sails on our Newport 30 (17 years) and our latest, a Jeanneau 40 (5 years). I could not not be much happier with our current boat. We installed a bluetooth anchor system recently for stress free anchoring from the cockpit. It doesn't get much better than this! Heading out today for one last sail before a sailing vacation. Bon voyage to us and 8 friends!

Capsize on the Bay

Sail GP is on the bay this weekend. During a test sail on Monday, the American boat had some issuses with the wing and it went turtle. Kai Lenny was a guest on the boat. The winner this weekend will receive $1m! Here is a previous race from Burmuda. I love the format of racing all together. Big collision at 30 knots. Go to 18:15 for the rumble. "Have a look at that shroud, Feddy!"

Racing in the Caribbean - LES VOILES DE ST BARTH RICHARD MILLE

The speed of these boat is amazing! We head to the BVI's for a charter in less than a month! Our first trip there was 2008. We have a captain and a chef aboard so Bridget will be joining us along with a bunch of old friends. Can't wait!

A little wave action in SF

Winds gusting 30-40 today...going sailing! I will be careful, promise.

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