Navy sink drug boat after largest ever cocaine haul

Good target practice for the British navy!

Navy sink drug boat after largest ever cocaine haul "A ROYAL Navy warship blew a cocaine-runners' boat to smithereens after making the largest drugs haul in UK naval history.

Sailors on HMS Iron Duke captured 5 tonnes of Europe-bound drugs worth 240million from hidden tanks on board."

Tips For Safe Boating With Pets

Tips For Safe Boating With Pets: "Before hitting the high seas with your pet, be sure to take necessary provisions to ensure that your pet's trip is a happy and safe one."

Russian billionaire installs anti-paparazzi lasers on super-yacht

Russian billionaire installs anti-paparazzi lasers on super-yacht: "Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has upgraded his new $US1.2 billion luxury yacht with an anti-paparazzi laser shield to protect his privacy while he's cruising the high seas.

The move has caused consternation among photographers, who claim they may have grounds for legal action.

Abramovich, 42, installed the high-tech system on his Eclipse mega-yacht, which, measuring 170 metres, is the biggest and most expensive private yacht in the world.

It has two swimming pools, two helipads, a miniature submarine and massive home cinema systems in each of the 24 guest rooms"

Channeling her energy: Woman swims from England to France

Only about 1 out 10 who attempt this ever complete it: "It was the waves that threatened Simon's journey. About four hours into the swim, the waves began to swell up to 20 feet.

"We had a particularly rough ride," her mother Kelly said, adding even the captains were seasick.

The waves nearly tipped the boat on top of Simon several times. At other times those on the boat nearly lost sight of her. Simon, herself, could not touch the boat, but she was able to be fed from the boat.

"It is recommended you gain 40 to 60 pounds just to stay warm," said Simon, who didn't put on extra weight before the swim. "I lost 7 pounds by the time I was done."

Get your boating card -- or else

Canadians: Get your boating card -- or else: "Don't leave home without it! Not if you plan to take your boat out.

If you're one of the eight million Canadians who haven't acquired a Pleasure Craft Operator card, and you are caught on the water, there's now a fine of $250.

The operating card, which is commonly referred to as a 'boating licence' is not hard to obtain."

Name that boat!

Name that boat!: "OK, they don't necessarily want to change the names of the boats — most of them are derived from tribal names. They're merely looking for corporate sponsors, which means defacing the pristine green and white exteriors of the nation's largest ferry fleet.

Here are the vessels currently in service, along with my picks for new names and sponsors."

Manatee in Cape Cod?

Sailing for Speed Freaks!

The World's Fastest Sailboats - Sailing for Speed Freaks!: "But wait a minute. While the 276 knot top speed of a powerboat is still a long way off, racing sailboats are no longer the pokey, 'it's the journey, not the destination' craft they once were. With advances in technology, sailboats are going fast - really fast! 50 knots on the water is within reach, by the power of the wind alone. So, gather your coworkers, your brothers-in-law, your unthrillable teenagers, and let them behold: 'Sailing fast' is no longer a relative term, and here are 10 of the top boats in the world to prove it."

Flying Boats - Dinghies with Wingies

Flying Boats - Dinghies with Wingies: "Yachts nearly always carry an additional boat aboard, which is generally either towed, hoisted on deck, or held in davits at the stern. These little boats we call 'tenders' or 'dinghies,' and they are used to get the crew and provisions to and from shore, as well as to explore coves and spots that the bigger boats can't get into. There are hard tenders (often equipped for sailing) and there are inflatable tenders. There are tenders that row, that sail, and there are even some powerful enough to pull someone up on water skis. There are also tender designs, amazingly enough, which can 'slip the surly bonds of Earth.' They can fly!"

The Ultimate Yacht Accessory

Super-light sub has capability greater than U.S. Navy: "The 'Deep Flight' winged submersibles are experimental prototypes designed to dive to depths of up to 37,000 ft -- almost four times as deep as a giant squid dives -- descending at 400 ft/minute.

They are the brainchild of submarine designer Graham Hawkes who is in the process of building commercial models that can reach those depths.

Hawkes has been designing submarines since the 1960s, working initially with the British Special Forces and then for the oil industry.

He now sells his designs to wealthy sailboat owners as the ultimate yacht accessory."

Boat explodes at Roche Harbor

Boat explodes at Roche Harbor marina, skipper suffers minor injuries: "o hear local authorities tell it, John Weida is lucky to be alive.

The 64-year-old Marysville man escaped with minor injuries when an explosion blew out the cabin windows and cracked the hull of his 25-foot Bayliner during an apparent fueling mishap early Wednesday at the Roche Harbor Marina."

Swimming in Chatham Harbor now banned due to more shark sightings

Swimming in Chatham Harbor now banned due to more shark sightings: "Public officials in Chatham, MA, on Cape Cod, have now extended beach closures to include Chatham Harbor. The Chatham area beaches will be closed through the coming weekend and could be shut down until the end of September.

Sharks seen inside Chatham Harbor

New sightings of sharks off Andrew Harding's Lane, inside Chatham Harbor, led public officials to close the harbor to swimmers, according to an article in the Cape Cod Times online, written by staff writer Susan Milton."

AFP: Australian round-the-world sailing teen crashes

AFP: Australian round-the-world sailing teen crashes: "SYDNEY — An Australian teenager's bid to become the youngest solo round-the-world sailor suffered a setback when she crashed just hours into a preliminary voyage on Wednesday.

Jessica Watson, 16, was on a 10-day test journey when she hit a 63,000-tonne freighter in a busy shipping lane off the coast of Queensland state, snapping her pink yacht's mast and damaging its rigging and hull."

Jessica Watson sets sail on solo record attempt

Jessica Watson sets sail on solo record attempt: "Schoolgirl Jessica Watson pushed off from Mooloolaba Wharf in her 10-metre sloop Ella's Pink Lady today on a week-long test run to Sydney ahead of her attempt to circumnavigate the globe alone."

Live Aboard

Newport Living: "NEWPORT BEACH - The panoramic views of the harbor from homes on the bayfront are enough to convince scores of visitors to the Newport Beach area to pack up and move to the city each year. But while potential bayfront homebuyers may be dissuaded from fulfilling their dream by high real estate prices, boaters who opt to live aboard their vessels have found a way to live affordably on the water in this affluent community"

Auckland to Russell – New Zealand's Coastal Classic

Auckland to Russell – Coastal Classic: "Welcome to New Zealand’s most popular coastal yacht race, 125miles ( in a strait line, 160 if it’s on the wind) from Auckland’s Devonport Wharf to Russell Wharf. The record of just over 7 hours 20minutes is held by Split Enz."

Clipper - Round the world race

Clipper yacht fleet dock in Hull: "Ten 68ft (20m) yachts with teams from Finland, Jamaica, Australia, Scotland and Singapore, docked on Sunday.

Crews spent two days in Grimsby Marina after being hit by gale-force winds whilst sailing from Dover."

6 metre regatta in Newport, RI

Classic yachts: "The designation Six Metres refers not to the length of the boat, but to a class of boats that meet a complex formula first ratified in 1907 and since modified. Simply put, a Six Metre (6mR) is about 36 feet long, about 6 feet wide and weighs about 10,000 pounds. Most of that weight, perhaps 8,000 pounds, is lead in the keel, which prevents the boat from capsizing when heeling, or pushed hard on its side by the wind"

Scientists tag great whites off coast of Chatham

Scientists tag great whites off coast of Chatham: "The fisherman had just one shot to mark the great white.

Captain Bill Chaprales walked to the front of his 22-foot harpoon vessel, raised the 12-foot-long tagging pole, and threw it purposefully onto the back side of the enormous shark, which was 4 to 5 feet below the surface.

Tagged."

Awesomely Bad Lyrics: Styx -- "Come Sail Away"

Awesomely Bad Lyrics: Styx -- "Come Sail Away": "Not much to say here, except that this song was quite obviously ghostwritten by a leprechaun who yearns to be a pirate."

Sailing in Marin: Small but competitive fleet ready for Melges event - Marin Independent Journal

Sailing in Marin: Small but competitive fleet ready for Melges event - Marin Independent Journal: "DON'T EXPECT to see the usual 20-plus boats meting it out on the start line Sunday for the first race of the Melges 32 North American Championship sailing race. In fact, the line will seem almost empty with just seven boats lining up for this national regatta. But, light on numbers or not, the small fleet is head-high in talent and therein lies the challenge for those who have stepped up for this year's championship regatta."

The Associated Press: Professor may face jail if LA weatherman harassed

The Associated Press: Professor may face jail if LA weatherman harassed: "BURBANK, Calif. — Authorities say a college professor on a crusade to change the way a Los Angeles weatherman uses terminology has to leave him alone or face six months in jail.

Melanie Patton Renfrew, a Harbor College teacher, wants KNBC-TV's Fritz Coleman to change references to onshore and offshore winds.

She says the terms are confusing because people don't know which are coming and which are going.

Burbank-based KNBC obtained a restraining order in March 2008 after calling her behavior bizarre and saying Coleman feared for his safety.

Prosecutors say she continued sending letters and e-mails. Last month, she pleaded no contest to violating the order.

Burbank Assistant City Attorney Denny Wei says the case will be dismissed if she leaves Coleman alone through next August."

Historic yachting races to set sail this weekend

Historic yachting races to set sail this weekend: "Two of the most revered and historical inland lake yachting races in the country are ready to set sail at the Oshkosh Yacht Club once again.
Advertisement

Racing for the Felker and Sawyer Cups starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, and with both races dating back more than 100 years, not only will two beautiful trophies be on the line, but becoming a part of history as well.

The Felker Cup, named after Charles Felker, began in 1885 while the Sawyer Cup, named after Edgar Sawyer, started in 1906."

French science yacht to map climate change

AFP: French science yacht to map climate change: "The schooner Tara is to set sail on a three-year scientific voyage on the trail of naturalist Charles Darwin to map the effects of climate change on the marine organisms from which all life evolved.

The 150,000 kilometre (81,000 nautical mile) journey will take the French boat into all of the the world's oceans and from the ice caps to the tropics, following and also expanding on Darwin's 1831-1836 trip on board the Beagle."

Seal pulls five-year-old girl into waters off West Vancouver

Seal pulls five-year-old girl into waters off West Vancouver: "Minutes after she escaped from a harbour seal that had pulled her into the water off West Vancouver’s Thunderbird Marina, Caleigh Cunning had a few questions for her father."

Trying again to sail round world

Trying again to sail round world: "A 67-year-old London woman is gearing up for her second solo attempt to sail around the world after the first ended in a shipwreck just 60 miles from the finish line.

Jeanne Socrates, from Ealing, is sailing from St Peter Port in the Channel Islands. She is travelling the globe to promote a charity sailing initiative by RE:generate to help young people at risk of going to prison, and raise funds for Marie Curie cancer care."

Harrison Ford Sailing America's Cup Boat

Harrison Ford Sailing America's Cup Boat | YachtPals.com: "San Diego, USA - Not a very long long time ago, Alinghi brought Loick Peyron (the Jedi Master) on the team, and now BMW Oracle has had their own show of 'Force' by bringing aboard Han Solo. Larry Ellison and crew got a visit from Harrison Ford last week, and the Hollywood superstar got the opportunity to sail the new BMW Oracle America's Cup boat. Rumors that DoGzilla will be renamed Millennium Falcon are inaccurate - as Blade Runner is a much better name."

Learning to Sail

What to Know Before You Leave the Dock: "It is important to have a plan for two important reasons: so you can bring the appropriate supplies for the length of your sail, and so that if you don’t come back on time someone know where you are. If you are planning on being out on the water for the 1st time or the 301st time, it is important that someone know your plan. These are some of the important things that should be communicated to someone on land:"

Sailing Moms

You've heard of "Soccer Moms," what about Sailing Moms?: "Sitting on the sidelines can get intense for sailing moms. Besides the obvious thrill of competition, there’s the danger of unpredictable coastal weather. Instructors in motorboats race side-by-side with their students for safety, but when thunderstorms roll in — winds picking up, lightning striking the horizon — sailors head back to the beach. 'When a race gets cancelled for weather, you’ll find yourself pulling 100 kids out of the water at the same time,' says McLean. 'You don’t worry about whose dolly is whose. You’re just trying to get the kids out of the water as fast as possible.'"

Royal British Virgin Islands Yacht Club | Coldwell Banker Islands Blog

Royal British Virgin Islands Yacht Club: "The first International Yacht Club Challenge (IYCC) will be part of the 2010 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, from 29 March to 4 April, pitting competitors from yacht clubs throughout the world against each other in Sunsail Beneteau 39s. Sunsail Yacht Charters is providing up to a 10% discount for all those booking for the IYCC, a free charter to the winning team, and a perpetual trophy. Although this is the inaugural year for the IYCC, it will be the 39th for the BVI Spring Regatta. Nannyt Cay Marina and Resort will be the host."

The Mental Aspect of Sailing

The Mental Aspect of Sailing: "Sailing and golf work in similar ways. You can master all the technical aspects, but it seems the best way to succeed is by staying focused and letting the people in front of you make the mistakes. Sailing is a very challenging sport because one mistake, as simple as one bad tack, whether it is at the wrong time, out of phase, or into a hole, can drop you from the top of the pack to mid-fleet, in a competitive group."