Solo Race Around the Planet on Foiled Tri's (may break the 42 day mark!)

Sailing: A Year in Review - 2023

Pro Crew Hits the Rocks

Some of the biggest waves ever recorded at Mavericks

A huge swell hit the west coast on 12-28-23 and a very highly regarded surf videographer was there to capture all the action. Go to the 20:25 mark for some remarkable footage. Famous watermen from all over the planet flew in for the festivities.

Made Me Smile

Gone But Not Forgotten

I was looking over a list of musicians we lost last year and three names really stood out: David Crosby, Tina Turner and Jimmy Buffett. Those are really big names and they are gone forever. A few more notable ones: David Lindly, Burt Bacharach, George Winston and Jeff Beck. To view a list of musicians who passed, copy this link. https://www.billboard.com/photos/musicians-who-died-2023-1235193415/115-02-alan-rankine-1980-billboard-1548/

200 Plus

I got a little write up in our local sailing magazine, Latitude 38, the other day. I was asking fellow readers how many days they sail in a year? Here is the article: Emeryville sailor Craig Russell wrote us last week to ask about other people’s sailing habits. “How many days a year do you sail the Bay?” he asked of our readership. Craig is a longtime Latitude reader and has sailed in seven Baja Ha-Ha’s, often on other people’s boats, as he commented on our June story, “Could This Be the Last Year for the Ha-Ha?” “I have had some very unique experiences on the Ha-Ha over my seven voyages to Cabo,” Craig wrote. “I arrive in San Diego (boatless) on Friday before the start. I knock on hulls and network until I find a boat that needs help. Last year there were few slips available so they created an anchorage just for Ha-Ha boats. I rented a jet ski and knocked on hulls. By Sunday night, I always found a boat. Some with families, some couples, and Go For Broke in 2011. I always look forward to the great people I have met on the Ha-Ha and several are still friends 13 years later. Thank you to all the great folks and friends I have met on the water!” In 2017 Craig bought the Jeanneau 40 Aquarius for a voyage to Z-town [Zihuantanejo, Mexico, aka Zihua] and back, adding that he’s been sailing on the Bay for the last 40 years. “Needless to say, I am addicted to sailing and it is my passion,” Craig wrote. And here’s where his question comes in: “Currently, I am sailing about 200 days a year in day sails and trips to the Delta and Monterey. A lot of days it seems I am the only boat out there.” And so, with thanks to Craig for raising the question, we ask you, dear readers, “How many days a year do you sail the Bay?”

Baja Haha - The Movie

A few years back, a fellow Haha'er put together a nice little movie about the rally from San Diego to Cabo. Enjoy and happy new year!

2023 Sydney/Hobart Race Start

Boxing Day Tradition! And the winner is...

Historic Surf Hits New Jersey (they are calling it the best waves in 100 years)

I grew up on the east coast in Delaware and surfed up and down the coast as a teen. If we had 3 foot waves were were happy. If you showed this footage to any surfer and asked him to name the location, he would not pick NJ in a million years!

Red Sea Trouble for Cruisers

By now you have most likely heard about the aggressions in the Red Sea against our Navy forces. Round the world cruisers use the Red Sea to get into the Mediterrainean when coming from the west. The other option is go around South Africa which is a much more difficult and longer route. I have been reading about the conflict and it is not pretty. Fortunatly, we have much more sophisticated arms and can usually avoid the carnage. I did not realize how many attacks there have been. Here is a graphic that shows the extent of the conflict. I don't think many cruisers are currently choosing this route.

My Favoriye Pics Featured on H2UH0

Been blogging almost 20 years and although I have slowed down on the pics, I hang on to many that I have featured and here are a few of my favs. Click the pic to make it bigger.

Delivery Skipper Tells His Side of the Story - The Sinking of Boatbumgal

This is an explanation from Ray McCormack, a USCG-certified 200-ton captain from Vancouver, Washington, on the sinking of Boatbumgal during this years Baja Haha. A cruisers rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The boat sank at the entrance to Turtle Bay, the first ancorage of the rally, about 350 miles south of San Diego. "On October 29 2023 I was contacted by the owner of BoatBumGal to help sail her boat from San Diego to La Paz while joining the Baja ha ha fleet. We mutually agreed that I would not be paid, but that she would pay for my expenses. We also discussed about the condition of the boat, and my position on the boat as being the most experienced individual on board out of the three of us." "Flew down to the boat on Monday morning October 30, after arriving to the boat I could see that this late 1970’s boat had marginal maintenance. Just as an example the tricolor light was wired into the running lights, the led deck lights where wired into the steaming light, and the AC charger on board had a 110 male plug that was plugged into a 110 plug box and was not on any breaker." "I figured that with traveling the Baja Ha Ha fleet there is safety in numbers. So we departed later that day around dusk, about 9 pm we saw the house bank run down to 10.5 volts, so turned the boat around and we went back into port. Next morning, we investigated batteries, regulator, and alternator. Found the charging post on the alternator was severely corroded and the main feed line terminal had basically fallen apart. After re-crimping the cable, cleaning all terminals and post on the alternator, we reassembled and finally got over 14 volt charging at the batteries while engine was running. We tried departing again around 5 pm on October 31." "As we headed down the coast we saw that the auto pilot would make 30 degree turns with out notification, this was a sign that the battery voltage was compromised. We proceeded to get out the portable generator and hook it up to shore power for charging batteries. Also, we found that when putting the auto pilot in standby mode the hydraulic pump would not release the helm for 20 seconds." "Around 10 pm on November 2nd I awoke to the boat healing over from wind. Got up and found that we had an offshore breeze blowing about 22 knots. Eased the sails and made the decision to turn inland a bit to mitigate the wind conditions the boat was seeing. The sails and rigging on this boat were quite aged. The boom vang had already broke off the mast. Our route had us going into the center of the entrance of turtle bay as noted by cruising guides, and this is what I have done over my last 4 times into turtle bay. The new plan was to run the 10 meter depth or 30 feet to get close to land allowing us to take the sails down. Usually when I deviate from my planned route I will drag my weigh points over to the new intended route, I did not do this which means I had no reference to the boat changing direction. Also, my coastal explorer stopped showing tracks for reference of the direction of the boat. I had a ticket out with rose point to try and address this, but this laptop is now in 40 feet of salt water." "At around 1 am we noted the battery voltage was dropping off again, so we started the generator but then the 110 breakers at the panel were tripping. We dragged out the extension cords to make it so the generator would be directly connected to the AC charger via that 110 male plug mentioned earlier. There was quite a bit of activity in the cockpit while this was going on and I suspect this is when the auto pilot made a turn, and I did not know about it." "Suddenly the crew up on the rail says he sees rocks, and just then I sea the breaking water on rocks. Immediately I tried putting auto pilot in standby, but it would not disengage. So I reached for the gear shifter to slam it in reverse, but just as I touched it we slammed into a rock. She popped over the rock and laid over on her port side. Each swell that came by flipped her over to the other side as she moved farther up onto the rocks." "Eventually we ended up on the port side again, and that is when I saw cabinetry moving down below and large amounts of water coming in. Bryan got on the radio and started making may day calls. It was high tide and the water was just starting to ebb, which dragged us off the rocks. We all put on our life jackets, Bryan went for the dinghy motor and gas, while I went to set the anchor. Eventually we all met at the back of the boat, the rail was just a few inches from the water. Got my Leatherman and cut all the lines holding the dinghy and we worked our way forward to the bow." "She slipped under and we fired up the dinghy motor and started heading toward the turtle bay pier. A fishing panga found us and gave us a ride to the pier, where were able to get a hotel for the night. Next few days the turtle bay folks, and in particular Maria’s helped us out so that we can make our way home. This was a terrible tragedy, with the owner losing everything she has. I am thankful that we are all safe." "Many questions can be asked: Should this boat have even made the trip? Should we not have been close to that shore? Should I have dragged my route over so that I had reference of direction? I hope others will learn from this mishap; I know that I learn something every time I go on the water."

Jeanneau's New 55: A Catamaran on a Monohull

The boat just won Boat of the Year! Some of the features are very inspired. This is hull #1 and a Austrailian couple has plans to sail 1300 miles in the western Med for a shake down cruise. Go to the 10:45 mark for the start of the tour of this fabulous new cruiser. If I could find that $1.5m I had sitting around here I would buy one!

Thanksgiving Swell Hits Jaws with Jaw Dropping Results

Be sure to go fullscreen!

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.