Thanksgiving Swell Hits Jaws with Jaw Dropping Results

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Global Solo Challenge - Ronnie Simpson Update

Thursday November 24 – 2023 As the clock has just rolled over to midnight and signaled the beginning of a new day, it is now Thanksgiving Day; a day to contemplate all that i’m grateful for. And today, most of all, i’m just eternally grateful for my friends and loved ones who have supported me in chasing this long-held dream of mine in racing solo and around the world on a sailboat. Beginning with Whitall Stokes, who initially offered me the boat, and extending to each and every one of my amazing friends, supporters and sponsors who have made it possible for me to be in this position, I am grateful for you. In summer of 2022, this race wasn’t even on the cards, and yet by Thanksgiving of 2023, i’m in the Southern Atlantic Ocean and racing fast towards my first depressions which will carry me towards South Africa. Mind-bogglingly cool. Since crossing the equator, we have again had almost entirely very nice sailing conditions. Dare I say it, but this trip down the Atlantic has been rather dreamy, and easy, if we’re being honest. As the breeze went more and more aft, it was both Code Zeros and then into both running spinnakers as Shipyard Brewing and I rode tail winds down the coast of Brazil, headed southwards. With brilliant rays of sunlight, my recently installed Solbian solar panel set-up completely took care of my power needs for the past week. When sailing downwind in moderate winds, the wind generator doesn’t do much, and is just in the way, so I tie it off. And as for my hydrogenerator, well, it’s just a backup on this boat; I still have yet to use it since starting the race. I’m sure i’ll use it more as the skies get grey down south. The past few days have been very challenging, yet also very fun when you get down to it. When reaching across southeast trades, the strategy was simple; go south. With consistent winds that were forward of the beam, there was no dealing with flying sails (spinnakers and Code Zeros), and there was little in the way of trimming or squalls and wind shifts. Set it and forget it, let the boat do it’s thing until the wind changes. Now however, the sailing has been a lot more hands on. In the past three days i’ve used every sail in the inventory. Working with my friend and supporter Jason Christensen back in Seattle, I am mostly happy with how we’ve sailed the race so far from a navigational standpoint. We haven’t always had the quickest boat in the race and there have been times when I had challenges onboard and couldn’t sail the boat as well as I would have hoped, but for the most part, we’ve gone the right way and it wasn’t by accident. A whole lot of planning and constant dialogue went into getting me through the last weather system and front, and then into this current weather system around the Saint Helena high. As i’m currently making good progress on a good heading with a full main and fractional Code Zero up, i’m feeling confident that we made it through the hardest part of the Saint Helena high without parking up as bad as most of the competition, so i’ll take that as a small and well deserved victory. The weather has begun to change dramatically, and get much cooler. Right now at 27 South it’s downright comfortable. After a couple of weeks without a shirt on in the tropics, I found myself donning a shirt yesterday and then a fleece last night and for some of today. Things are cooling down to where soon I can feel i’ll be in socks, boots and long underwear, and soon after that i’ll be wearing under layers. As soon as I get into windy and bumpy conditions where water is splashing around again, i’ll be donning foul weather gear from here on out, whereas up until yesterday i’d just run outside in shorts and a life jacket with no shirt and handle my business, and be good. But no longer. Tropical Ronnie is now having to turn into Southern Ocean Ronnie in a matter of days. You can feel the change coming. On the plus side, the days are beginning to get notably longer. I have kept my ship’s time on UTC for the race, so sunset and sunrise are still relatively normal, but soon the times will get all out of whack as i’ll be running due east with the sun rising and setting earlier and earlier each day. Another thing that has changed greatly is that we are now entering some of the most remote waters i’ve ever sailed in before, as I get closer and closer to the South. Right now we’re crossing a shipping lane between Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope, so there’s a bit of a ship traffic. But for the most part, ship sightings are becoming rare. And in a rather new experience, i’m being hailed on the radio by Ship’s Captains that are wondering just what the hell a sailboat is doing down here. Until now, I’ve yet to sail to a place yet where passing ships will hail on the radio and ask what i’m doing and where i’m going. A quick glance at Marine Traffic or an AIS tracking application or website shows that there aren’t many private yachts sailing down here at all, save for some singlehanded weirdos in the Global Solo Challenge. Life onboard is still mostly quite comfortable as it’s been mostly downwind in moderate conditions for the majority of our descent of the Atlantic. My completely un-tested food has been mostly good. In America, I had some go-to freeze dried food brands, but in Spain I ordered a bunch of food from France, and thus far i’ve been pretty pleased. I do wish I had brought slightly more food however. For now i’m okay, but when I get to the South and burn more calories due to being colder, I may end up starving a bit. We’ll see. As of yet, I have been un-successful in catching any fish. I had big hopes for today – going perfect mahi mahi speeds in warm waters – but alas I did not find any friends to hop on for a Thanksgiving feast. Speaking of Thanksgiving feast, I do have something special planned. Anyone who hung out with me in A Coruña knows that my favorite restaurant was the ham bar Jamoneria Leonesa. On my second to final night there I purchased five vacuum sealed bags of ham and cheese to eat on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Cape Horn and my birthday. Well, today is Thanksgiving and so I will get to eat ham for the first time since leaving Spain! My friends Genevieve and Grace got me a bottle of port before I left, and I think i’ll bust that out to emulate some vino tinto, or red wine. ‘Jamon y queso y vino tinto!’ at Jamoneria Leonesa became a bit of a theme while in Spain, and I really can’t wait to go back in there and go huge at the ham bar with my favorite folks once this whole race is over. I will also be rinsing my ham and cheese down with a Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale or American Pale Ale. I only brought about a dozen of each, and I am saving them for special occasions. I think Thanksgiving entering the South is warranted to drink a Shipyard. Thanks again to everyone, all of my sponsors, (especially Shipyard Brewing), all of my friends and supporters, my amazing partner Marisa, and everyone who has followed or sent messages of support. Sailing Shipyard Brewing in the Global Solo Challenge is fun, it’s an adventure, but it ain’t easy. So to everyone who has helped me in any way over the past 15 months, thank you. I appreciate you today and every day. Happy Thanksgiving from Shipyard Brewing.

A Look Back at the 77-78 Ocean Globe Race

The second edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race cemented the race's place as a fixture and pillar event in the sport of sailing. Dutchman Conny van Rietschoten would claim the race on corrected time in Flyer, a Sparksman and Stephens design that can still be seen sailing today. Clare Francis became the first woman to skipper a boat in the race and Sir Peter Blake, making his second Whitbread appearance as one of the crew on board Heath's Condor, was forced to make a spectacular man overboard rescue in the Southern Ocean. 15 boats would start the race in Portsmouth and all 15 completed the four-leg, 27,000 nautical mile course. The 50th anniversary edition is taking place now. https://oceangloberace.com/

Thankful Indeed

It's been another amazing year of sailing and fun! And more to come. I am very thankful that I have a beautiful bay to share with friends and family. Our 22 year old 40' sailboat continues to impress and keep us safe. She is not getting older...she is getting better. I continue to fix things big and small. My boat partner John has stepped in when I get stumped and has been a big help. My sailing days per year continue to increase. I don't have an actual figure but it's around 200 sailing days per year. That's 4 sails a week!! I love it. So does my dog Hana. Her favorite part is swimming to and romping on the beach. Took a bunch of friends and strangers sailing this year. Close to 80 folks or so. The highlight so far was the Dead and Co. weekend at Oracle Park. We had a slip there and friends came for a sail during the day, tailgate parties and then 3 shows with this being their last tour after 58 years. What fun!! My wife and I are loving retirement and celebrated 30 years of marriage recently. We spent 4 days in San Jose del Cabo at a luxery hotel on the beach. Great times with Bridget. My childhood best friend heads down from Reno today for more sails and Thanksgiving. It just keeps getting better!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Boat Sinks on Baja Haha

A boat entering Turtle Bay hugged the coast a bit too much and hit the rocks at the entrance. All crew are safe after jumping in their dingy and motoring in. Granted it was night time, however, 3000 Haha boats have entered this bay without issues. My last time in, we entered at night and you do have to be carefull entering the bay. This is the third boat to sink during the Haha. One was taken out by a whale and another sank about a mile from the entrance to Turtle due to inattention and rocks. The fleet is on their way to Cabo this morning and will arive at the finish line on Thursday afternoon. I just got back from Cabo and a luxurious stay at a grand resort celebrating my 30th wedding aniversary with Bridget. Hence, my reason for not being with the fleet on my midnight watch. This would have been my 8th Haha. Maybe next year?

duPont sets biggest wave record!

The record was set in Cortes Bank. A mysto seamount 100's of miles off the California coast. Takes 24 hours to get there by motor boat, Justine duPont struck gold on this amazing wave. She just won Female Surfer of the Year plus several other prestigse awards. And yes, she has huge balls! This wave was voted Wave of the Year and just about 75 feet. This wave is off the charts.

The Last Haha?

This weekend may mark the start of the very last Baja Haha. After 29 rallies, the Grand Pooba may be retiring. The Mexican government wants changes that will not allow the race to continue. I participated in 7 of these rallies and loved it. I would head down to San Diego on Friday and start knocking on hulls trying to find a ride to Cabo San Lucas. It always worked! I met some very cool folks and had great times cruising the 750 mile run. The fleet departs on Monday for the 10 day cruise and I wish I was there. I will be in Cabo celebrating my 30th wedding aniversary. Bon voyage to the Haha fleet!

Devistation in Acapulco

A Cat 5 huricane named Otis has devestated this resort town in southern Mexico. It went from a tropical depression to 165 m/h winds in less than 24 hours. It caught the town unprepaired in the middle of the night. Looting has created a dangerous situation as there is no food, water or fuel available. These folks will be suffering for a long time. So sad and unfortunatly, this will be happening more and more as the ocean warms. Our best wishes to those who survived.

A Beautiful week on the Water

The week began Monday with a sail with the dogs. Hana's brother and a cousin Seqouia along with the their owners. We sailed to Clipper Cove for lunch and a visit to the beach with the dogs. This is where the platform shines. We all jumped onto the raft along with lunch, as the dogs all swam to the beach. The dogs loved the water and sand and we had a bit of sand at the bottom of the wine glass. We took off for a 5 mile sail to Angel Island. Near the point, we tacked and headed out on a reach to the city. With folks at midship and hanging on the platform with outragous views of the city. It was magical. This is the time of year the winds mellows out a bit and is more like 12-15 instead of 20-25. We finished in fine style and everyone went home with a smile. I spent a quiet night aboard and headed home in the morning. Back on Wednesday for a peaceful solo sail. Hana loved the beach and we had good winds after. Yhursdsay we had Marc, Claire, Ted and me on board. We had anoother beautiful sail in 15 knot winds and took them all the way to Quarry beach at Angel. The day was warm as was the wind. We felt like we were in the Caribbean. A nice ride home and then I rushed home to meet Dave and Lucinda. To bed early and then back at it at 11am with them. We hit the beach at Clipper for a romp in the sand with Hana. Then a nice mellow afternoon sail. More magic. We had dinner and some music at Rudy's. At 9pm, I headed up to Berekely to see a Tom Petty band. It was Tom's 73 birthday and he would have been proud. Saturday I did a long run up to Red Rock and then beach and dinner at Quarry Beach on Angel. It was a great week on the water!

Hurricane Norma Bashes La Paz

Back in June we moved a friends boat out of La Paz and up north for this very reason. Many boats have been lost as the owners got lazy and did not move their boats out of harms way. So sad.

My Hero - Webb Chiles

"Almost dying is a hard way to make a living". Dive in with world record holder, Webb Chiles, as he expounds on extraordinary memories and what it means to push the limits of human experience on a 24 foot sailboat.

Dancing with Monsters in Nazare

Celebrating 65 with a bunch of fun travel!

Today is my birthday and we are off to a very full Lake Shasta for a house boat trip with friends of 40 years. Hana will be joing along with her sister and brother (dogs). Should be great weather and not too busy. Next week, it's Eastern Europe with stops in Budapest, Vienna and Prague with my wife. We will be back in mid October. Bon voyage to us!

I will never be a charter captain!

I took my friends out for a 4 day sojourn around the bay. We hit all the top spots. Angel Island, Sausalito, out the Gate, McCovey Cove, etc. Preparing the meals, cleaning up, sailing, and having a great time. On the last night, they were staying in a hotel and I was on boat clean up. 3 hours of non stop tidying up the boat. I returned home about 4pm, had dinner and promply passed out for 4 hours. Exhausted but happy. My dreams of being a charter captain in the Caribbean have been discontinued. This is very hard work! We had a lot of laughs and good times but chartering is too much work!

Hana paddles us to the beach!!

I mentioned my new toy for the boat earlier this summer, a 7'x7' platform that fits nicely on the foredeck. We hit a fabulous cove at my friends Scott's house and Hana took us to the beach with some doggie paddle. Check this really cute vid.

Pipeline of Mexico

If you are not in the surfing world, you have most likely never heard of Puerto Escondido in southern Mexico. The wave at Zicatela Beach is one of the heaviest and hollowest waves on the planet. Reknowned for it's consistent size and power, this wave breaks boards and backs frequently. The location of this town is about 150 miles south of Acapulco and getting close to the boarder of Guatemala. The break is not very famous unless you are a surfer. However, those in the know compare it to Hawaii's famous Pipeline wave. Cowabunga indeed!

Fun Week with Friends on the SF Bay!

My college roommate and his wife are headed out for a 4 day sail on the bay aboard Aquarius. Bob was musically influental in my life and turned me on to progessive rock at it's height in the late 70's. Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Genesis, ELP, and Yes to name but a few. He lives in Montana now and we see each other rarely. We take off Thursday for a sail to Angel Island and a bike ride around the 6 mile perimeter. Some of the most beautiful vistas anywhere. In the evening, we head to see a Dave Matthews cover band. Friday we sail to Sam's for lunch and then on to Sausalito for music at the Cruising Club and dinner at Le Garage. The tides look good for a sail out the Gate on Saturday and a slip at South Beach in SF. In the evening we are headed to see a tribute band play music of the Bee Gees at Bimbo's. That should be a gas! Sunday we will relax on the beach at Clipper and a sail in the afternoon. Monday they head back and I get to clean up the boat! Gonna be too much fun!!

Son of a son of a sailor!

All sailors love the themes and songs from Mr. Jimmy. I have really enjoyed his music and books. My favorite was A Pirate Looks at 50. He flies around the world on his amphibious plane with wife and friends talking about his adventures. He sure lived a full, fun life and ended becoming a billionaire with all his holdings. RIP and I hope you find that lost salt shaker of salt!

It's Always Windy in SF!

I have been sailing a bunch this summer averaging about 3.5 sails a week. The bay waters have been a bit cooler than usual due to upwelling on the ocean outside the bay. The winds in the bay blow from March to October in the 25 knot range. We do see some 30's but not often. We have a geological element that doubles our wind speed every day. We have a very hot valley east of San Francisco that is usually in the 90's to 100 degrees or more all summer (Sacramento). The air rises with the heat and sucks the cold air (50's) off the ocean to the east. As it comes thru the valley of the Golden Gate Strait, it compresses the wind and the speed increases by double. The area east of the Golden Gate Bridge is called the Slot and it is the windiest part of the bay. However, if you get behind Angel Island it is sunny and warm. Swimming weather if you will. I do feel like the bay is a sailors paradise. It kind of a blessing that in the winter we get 10 knots of wind most days. It's nice to relax and enjoy the slower pace.

Wipeout of the Weekend