On Our Way

We departed Singapore on our cruise and are now heading to Thailand. At sea today we booked my biggest bucketlist item! I have been dreaming of a trip to New Zealand forever. We will depart December of 2026 for Sydney with a circumnavigation of NZ. Silver Sea again. I can't wait. Only 696 days until departure! Below is a pic of the incredible Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore.

Bon Voyage!

My wife Bridget and I are off for a cruise in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. We have been on Silver Seas a few times and they always do a great job. On another note, there will be another Baja Haha in 2025. I hope to get on a boat but there is always a chance i won't find one. But not for a lack of trying. I usually fly into San Diego on the Friday before and start knocking on Haha hulls to introduce myself. It has always worked in the past. Last Haha I was on a great boat with a fantastic crew. I hope to repeat in 2025.

Music Map

I went to see one of my favorite artists this week. David Gray was in town and he put on an inspired show. His album, White Ladder is still one of my all time favs. I put his name into musicmap.com and it came up with some very interesting artists. Here is the result of interrelated artists. Give it a try with your favorite artists.

An Artistic Look at Nazare (gigantic waves)

A week on the water!

My wife is out of town and my friend Barry drove up from LA and we took off for a sailing adventure. We found some wind on the days we sailed and one day of rain. Saw some great music too. Dead tribute bands including DSO and a Tom Petty tribute band. Coming in on the last day we got stuck at low tide near the channel entrance. Sat there for 2 hours and then we were able to motor off. I took a nap. Had some great food too. Painkiller at Trader Vics to end the trip. Not related but here is a tip for an idle big screen TV. You can search for different countries to fly over. This one is Italy.

Somewhere in New Hampshire

My Friend Barry

My friend Barry and I swam on the same team back in Delaware. We lost touch after high school both going off to swimming scholarships on different sides of the country. We hooked up again 40 years later and he joined me for a boat charter out of La Paz, Mexico. He has joined me a few times on the bay and last summer we took a week long trip to the delta. He has fallen in love with sailing. He is currently taking classes to get up to speed as well as looking for a boat. He is heading up next week for more sailing on my boat and some great music at local venues. In April, we head to Tahiti for a 7 day charter. Barry's only wish was that he started 20 years ago as he has about 15 more sailing years to go (80?). The lesson here is don't let the years slip by. Buy a boat and live life to the fullest! Cool song and musicians!!

MLK on 10@10

Sailed the last 6 days as Bridget is on the road. Mostly solo but with several Meetup groups on the weekend. No wind on the weekend but we still had some fun taking Hana to the beach. Below is one of my favorite SF radio shows called 10@10. Ten great songs from one great year. This show features Martin Luther King Jr speaches and songs. Check it out!

Sydney Hobart Race Film

The 60th running of the race proved to be a challenging one with 50 knot winds and 15 foot waves hitting the fleet in Bass Strait. Watch the highlights (and lowlights) below.

Tahiti Charter Booked

I visited Tahiti way back in 1992 with the Too Much Fun Club. Had some great scuba with my then fiance Bridget (married 31 years now). I am heading back in April with my friend Barry. We are joining a small flotilla for a cruise around the islands. We each have a private berth on a 45' cat. You will be hearing more about the trip as we draw closer. Check out this beautiful vid below about the beauty and tranquility of this very special place.

World's largest sailing yacht gets ready to celebrate 100 years!

Allegra Gucci’s first palpable memory was aboard her family’s sailboat, the 214-foot Creole. As she recalls growing up, the world’s largest wooden sailing yacht formed a playful cocoon for water fights, running along hundreds of feet of teak decks, swallow dives into the ocean, and, at peak performance, adrenaline rushes as the boat thundered at full sail in the Mediterranean. Fun and games belie this superyacht’s stature. Creole is a head-turning behemoth with a crown of sails and an ink-black hull. Born in 1927, the boat is a work of genius from Charles E. Nicholson, the era’s greatest naval architect. “Creole is Nicholson’s masterpiece,” Gucci tells Robb Report in a rare interview, noting the boat has been in her family since her father purchased the then-dilapidated three-masted schooner in 1983, two years after she was born. Read the rest here: https://robbreport.com/motors/marine/gucci-creole-sailboat-1236133133/

Largest Wave Ever Surfed Hits Mavs

Alo Slebir, a 23-year-old Santa Cruz local, caught a towering wave at the Mavericks surf spot near Half Moon Bay that was recently estimated by Mavericks Rescue Team to be 108 feet tall, which would make it easily the world’s largest wave ever surfed. The current world record is 86 feet.

Mother Nature is Going Nuts!

Happy New Year to all!!

Direct Hit - Santa Cruz Habor with $20m in Damage

Mav's Explodes!

Jaw's was off the hook with the same storm swell from the northern Pacific.

Top Vids of the Year!

I got very misty during the Google video. Put these up on the big screen with some screen mirroring if you can. Enjoy and happy holidays.

The Apple Electric Car

I was really excited when Apple decided to get into the car biz (project name: Titan). They recruited some of the finest engineers in the industry. Spent billions to bring the car to market. Found the right batteries to make it 500 miles on a charge. But it was not to be. They abandoned the project a few years ago. How cool does this rendering look? Would you buy a $100k Apple Car?

Pipeline Goes Nuclear

SF to LA on a $2 Catamaran (amazing wildlife)

Heading towards the holidays and lots of rain ahead. It has been another incredible year of sailing and adventure. My main focus over the years has been day sailing on the SF Bay. My boat is in a slip near Berkeley and in the central bay. It is so easy to slip the lines and head out to the islands. I have been sailing to Clipper Cove alot for an anchor and Hana heads to the beach. I come in alone or with a bunch of friends and we hang out on the beach for 30 minutes or more. My anchor windlass went out in April and I was pulling up the very heavy anchor and chain rode by hand for many months. In October the windlass I ordered from Latvia finally arrived. The supplier jerked me around for over 6 weeks when I finally told him I was canceling the order. Sure enough, 5 days later it arrived. I attempted to remove the old one but it was not moving. I hired some pros who used a hydraulic jack to push it out. They did an efficient job of installing the new one and it works great with my Bluetooth remote. I must of sailed a good 125 days this year (last year was 200!). Lots of friends and family and really fun sails. With the tunes pumping, the wind blowing, the auto pilot engaged and a bunch of friends in the cockpit, I feel incredibly fortunate. One of the great reasons to own a boat is to share it with others. I especially enjoy taking the newbies out and all their interesting questions. I was lucky enough to get invited to sail the Greek Isles for a week. I had been dreaming of this for decades and it finally happened. We had 20-30 knot winds during my birthday week. A meltemi like this happens a few times each summer and we had the only one in September. Also did a 5 day trip to the Delta with Hana, Tex and Barry. Good times and even tho we got stuck for a few hours, it was an epic voyage. My last adventure was the Baja Haha. My 8th trip from San Diego to Cabo. 120 boats and 400 sailors with beach parties along the 750 mile course. If you click back to November you can read about the 30th annual rally. 2025 will mark my 42nd year of sailing the bay! It never gets old as each day is a little different. I have a week long sail charther to Croatia planned with my wife in June. She requires a large cat with a captain and gourmet chef. We are heading out with 3 other couples we have known for 40 years. The only orders I will be barking on this sojourn will be - one more margarita please! I also have Tahiti on my radar for May. We shall see. Lastly, there is a water festival up near Stockton in the Delta at the end of July. It's a bit of Burning Man on the water. It is called Ephemerisle. I will have more info on that as we draw closer. Have a great holiday and look for my end of the year vids from Google, GoPro and Youtube.

Get ready to buy a boat in 2025! (cost breakdown)