Musings on the 2007 America's Cup

I know it’s far too early to be daydreaming of the 2007 America’s Cup but that didn’t stop me from spending an hour or so online last night plugging away at Google to try and find out more about the venue, Valencia, Spain – and how I might go about finding suitable accommodations, invites to all the key parties, a ride of a sightseeing charter boat to watch the big dogs run the line, etc. Alas there is precious little detail on these topics. No problem finding info on Valencia though I was not pleased to learn that Palma de Majorca had been one of the finalists for the event and the committee went with, what is from all reports, a rather industrialist hodgepodge of a coastal city known for inventing Paella. I’ve been to the island of Majorca and consider it - particularly the rugged coastal mountain region and towns like Deia and Valldemossa - akin to heaven on earth. I did turn up an amusing email chain posted on Sailing Anarchy concerning a run in with fecal sludge in the Valencia Harbor – not a good sign. I downloaded the official 2007 AC screensaver and read about the parties at the last Cup in New Zealand...but overall it looks like I should check back in a year or so. Don't ask me how, but I will find a way to be there.

Twenty Years Later Simon Sails Drum

Somehow I forgot to mention that the biennial Rolex Fastnet kicked off this past Sunday from Cowes on the Isle of Wight – one of the all time classic ocean races, the Fastnet’s 609-mile course has been a proving ground for the worlds most competitive and hardcore offshore sailors. Famously Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon nearly died in the 1985 while racing the Fastnet aboard the sailing yacht Drum. I wrote on this back when it was announced that Simon would, 20 years later, get back on the Fastnet horse…love or hate his band you have to give the guy some credit for giving it another go. If you don’t remember, Drum capsized off the coast of Falmouth (Great Britain) when its keel let go. Simon and his crew where trapped inside the hull for 40 minutes before being rescued. 20 members of his original crew are joining him for the 2005 edition aboard, believe it or not, the original yacht Drum. The BBC has a wrap-up of the Simon story. Here's a report from the Independent on the light air conditions at the start.

S/Y Braveheart at Block Island Race week '05
(Photo Credit: Onne Van Der Wal)

Lightning Strikes Twice on Gov Cup Race

From reports it sounds as if the annual Chesapeake Bay Governors Cup race from Annapolis to St. Mary’s College began in light to non-existent breeze soon replaced by gut-wrenching thunderstorms – giving truth to the old adage that an hour of sailing is comprised of 50 minutes of boredom…followed by 10 minutes of sheer terror. This story from the Baltimore Sun recounts the experience from the deck of the sailing yacht SchockaRoo, a truly unfortunate name for a boat with a 63 foot mast braving a summer thunderstorm. The fun apparently began about two hours in…the captain was reported to have advised the crew not to “…touch anything metal.” Despite its name “SchockaRoo” did not get hit…though according to the Sun story that Nightingale, a boat from Annapolis, and Alert, from the Patuxent River, both dropped out of the race after strikes. I’ve never been aboard a boat that’s sustained a direct lightning strike, but I have been caught in a Chesapeake Bay summer squall, notably on the 2001 Annapolis to Newport race where we were slapped by 35 plus out of nowhere about halfway down the Bay. Many times offshore I’ve sailed through lightning and, of course, the notorious St. Elmo’s Fire witnessed by sailors through the ages has been attributed to thunderstorms and their associated electrical energy.

The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco (S/V Mr. Magoo off Tiburon, CA - August 2004)

Where We Go One, We Go All

As a few readers accurately guessed, yesterday’s quote was from the movie White Squall – a Dead Poet’s Society meets Master & Commander – type flick that is, despite it’s obvious flaws, one of my all time favorite movies. Captain Christopher 'Skipper' Sheldon, played brilliantly by Jeff Bridges, is addressing his new complement of students before setting off for a sail halfway around the world aboard the brigantine ship Albatross. I’m sure many of you have seen this film and not everyone will be as enamored as I…as mentioned there are some flaws, notably the protracted and painful ending…but I think it stands as one of the best in its genre. In other news the Rockville Regatta – famously described as NASCAR meets Wimbledon - is happening in South Carolina on Bohicket Creek this weekend – I wrote about it a while back when I was down in Kiawah Island for a wedding. For fans of tall ships, etc check out news of the annual SAIL Amsterdam festival. From August 17 to the 22nd, the Dutch capital city hosts one of the biggest maritime events in the world…over 500 “heritage” vessels will join. It’s safe to say that Dutch sailors know how to party – Amsterdam makes the San Francisco waterfront at its most Barbary Coast decadent look like a ladies tea party. It even smacks modern-day New Orleans down like Mike Tyson (before he became a washed up, ear chewing freak). Happy weekend! Hope you go sailing.

Ahhh the old days when our leaders were sailors...

TIME OUT: Sailing Movie Quote Quiz

For all of you sailing movie buffs - I was watching one of my favorite films last night and thought I'd throw a little quiz your way. There are times a movie character thrills the viewer with his or her authenticity - the things they say and do, and the way they do them and say them seem to ring true. This takes good acting, good casting and most of all, really good writing. So who said the following, what movie was it and who was he addressing?

"You know what's out there? Wind and wave and rain. Endless glassy pools that'll hold a sailing ship for weeks and then spit her out into the eye of a hurricane. A blow that could knock the bridge off a battleship. Reefs and rocks and sandbars that'll tear the belly from her and enough fog and night to hide it all. "

Unrelated - check out this terrific story in Cruising World about Humphrey Bogart's old yacht, now restored to her glory, the schooner Santana.

Arts Alliance 2005 poster design by Patrick O'Brien '86

St. Mary's Overnight Race (& Party)

The annual Governors Cup – a classic overnight Chesapeake Bay race from Annapolis to St. Mary’s College – is set to begin on Friday, August 5. As this article in the Baltimore Sun reports, roughly 160 boats will compete on a 73 mile course that heads down the Bay and then bangs a right up St. Mary’s River. The “sportsman” interviewed in the Sun article explains, “It is a combination of moments of dreamlike pleasure, communing with nature, seeing shooting stars juxtaposed with the sheer terror of racing in a thunderstorm with a spinnaker up in the middle of the night.” Having done the race back in the late 1990’s I can vouch for all of that PLUS the whizbanger of a party they throw on the St. Mary’s College campus. I crewed on one of the local Annapolis yachts and we arrived in the morning...crossing the finish line under spinnaker chute, doused and docked and began drinking immediately - drank through the day, stumbled to the dinner under the big top tent and left the dock that evening for home port Annapolis. I can’t claim to recall this part of the journey as I was unconscious on the deck – waking up only briefly when we grounded in the Chesapeake mud at 1:00 AM. Eleven different classes are expected to compete in the race, including Multihull, PHRF and the St. Mary's Alumni class.

Catbird Cayard Commissioned

I first wrote about the Black Pearl many moons ago – the boat is being built by a Walt Disney Co.-backed syndicate to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race, set to begin this coming November. According to news reports, celebrities will join on various legs - Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are among the names that have been passed about. And now we have news of another celebrity of sorts, at least in our world…Paul Cayard has apparently agreed to skipper the Black Pearl. This announcement lends a semblance of credibility to what was arguably a glorified (and expensive at $17 million) marketing stunt to promote Disney and it’s sequel to the movie Pirates of the Carribean. But at what expense to the reputation to this sailing icon? As this article details, Cayard, a 46-year-old San Francisco native, has sailed in five America's Cup campaigns and is a seven-time sailing world champion. He was selected Rolex Yachtsmen of the Year in 1998 and was elected to the Sailing World Hall of Fame in 2002. This is a serious sailor, now revealed as a shill for a profit-hungry, marketing mad corporation. Aren’t we all, you might ask? Good point. But we aren’t all Paul Cayard. Shouldn’t the guy be a little more discerning? Corporate sponsorship is nothing new but, in the context of a race that features the most competitive and skilled offshore racers in the world, it is a challenge to take the Disney effort very seriously…that is, of course, until Cayard came along…

S/Y Misconduct in light air off Newport, RI

Sailing Hero Hilary Lister

I try to not take my generally robust good health for granted...but when you’re blessed enough to be healthy, it is easy to do. Just like childless people trying to envision having children, it’s tough to know how one might handle a serious disability or health crisis until actually faced with it. So it is that stories about people like quadriplegic Hilary Lister appeal to me. Hilary, 33, is in constant pain and has spent half her life helplessly monitoring the gradual loss of sensation in her limbs. Before discovering sailing she was contemplating suicide - now she’s preparing to single hand across the English Channel at the end of August. You can read about her Channel Challenge here…according to this news report she will be strapped into a cushioned racing driver’s seat, piloting her boat by sucking and blowing gently on two plastic straws linked to a control unit that operates the tiller and the two sails. Breathing in on one straw will steer the boat to starboard; breathing out will guide it to port. The other straw controls winches that adjust the sails. The courage of this woman is an inspiration to not only disabled sailors worldwide, but to we “enabled” sailors who handle the many tasks aboard a sailboat without a second thought of our extreme good fortune.

We Love a Parade (of sail)

An event called Sail San Francisco, sponsored by the Pacific Rim Foundation, began yesterday with a “Parade of Sail” from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge – the event runs through the weekend, ending Monday. For anyone who lives in the Bay area this is a unique opportunity to see these beautiful, historical ships under sail…as well as to tour aboard them dockside, join as crew on a day sail, witness the booming battle reenactments, enjoy the history of the San Francisco waterfront, etc. As this article in the SF Chronicle details, ships in the fleet include the 270-foot Mexican barque Cuauhtemoc and the fully rigged, 2,284-ton Russian training ship Pallada. Thirty-two ships and smaller vessels, including diesel-powered-vessels, are to participate in the parade. Vessels range in size from the 30-foot sloop OlÈ to the 442-foot Jeremiah O'Brien, a World War II Liberty ship. The 88-foot scow schooner Alma hailing from the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park will be the senior ship – 114 years old. I’ve posted on tall ships before and for those who have not seen this sort of thing you will be impressed not only by the beauty of the ships, but also by the thought that our seafaring ancestors actually ventured to new worlds, plied trading routes and made their lives aboard these vessels – as pretty as they are they offer one tenth the comfort of your average modern production cruising sloop.

S/Y Avalon downwind at the Newport Bucket Race,
July 16, 2005 (Photo Credit: Billy Black)

At the Altar of Endeavor

Back to the Newport Bucket for a moment – I failed to mention a key opportunity I had when we were back at dock. The charter chef for the classic J-class yacht Endeavor was part of our crew on Avalon and post race he invited me to tour her at dock three slips down from us at the Newport Shipyard. I’ve posted on Elizabeth Meyer and the work she has done in yacht restoration through the IYRS– being aboard a craft like the Endeavor, even at dock, is a religious experience. The care and workmanship that has restored her glory is astounding but beyond this, the sense of history that permeates every corner of the boat, both above and below deck, is truly exceptional. For someone who loves classic yachts, not only for their form but as a living link to a bygone era, this was a highlight. She charters for 65K a week plus expenses…nine professional crew aboard to serve eight charter guests...looks as if I’ll have to be content with a dockside visit ;-)

Not for Wussies

I posted on Great Lake sailing a some weeks back and received very positive feedback from Great Lakes sailors agreeing that inland sailing grounds make for excellent cruising and racing. It’s a good follow-up to point you toward a wrap-up of the annual Bay View Yacht Club-sponsored Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race - the self proclaimed largest fresh-water sporting event in the world. According to the article the 266 boats competed on two separate courses (depending on what class they were racing) and both routes had heavy winds that made this race one of the fastest (read most nerve racking) in history. The 253-nautical-mile Southampton Course featured a steady blow throughout the race, while the 204-nautical-mile Shore Course challenged sailors with heavy thunderstorms that caused carnage across the fleet. A point I made during my last post on lake sailing is well proven by this experience – yes these lakes are relative ponds compared to the ocean and yes, we all know that many dangers lurk on oceans that aren’t part of lake environments...but don’t think for a second that lake sailing is for wussies. It can blow like holy hell and the waves build quickly and steeply. Another point being that they apparently have good wind in the summer - not a factor on Long Island Sound at the moment.

Swan Song

Busy day so back in force tommorow. In the meanwhile check out updates from the Rolex Swan Regatta in Newport - including an announcement of a new racing class sloop, the result of a collaboration between Nautor Swan and the New York Yacht Club.

Mari-Cha (Photo Credit: Thierry)

NEWS: Morning Glory Takes the Transpac

To kick off our week we have news that the 80-foot maxi sloop Morning Glory has shattered the elapsed-time record for the 43rd biennial, 2,225-mile Transpacific yacht race from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Morning Glory, co-skippered by German owner Hasso Plattner and three-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts, reached the finish early yesterday morning to complete the race in six days, 16 hours, four minutes and 11 seconds – beating the record of 7:11:04:11 set by Roy Disney's Pyewacket in 1999. According to reports her average speed was nearly 14 knots. Wind was light at the start of the race and for most competitors consistently below the normal 20 knot trade winds that define the sleigh ride to paradise. Morning Glory didn’t see winds above 20 knots true until they had nearly finished the race, but the boat, built by yacht designer Reichel/Pugh, claims a "go fast" pedigree that few other offshore grand prix sailboats can match: it was designed, get this, using "...state-of-the-art America's Cup calibre design tools, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), velocity prediction programs (VPP), tank testing and ultra-advanced construction methods and materials. " All of this boils down to making Morning Glory one of the fastest high tech rocket ship maxi yachts that money can buy. How very German industrialist...