San Francisco Pier 39 sea lions disappear

I think they all came up to Washington!  I've got more than usual out front here: "For two decades, hundreds of sea lions have made their home at San Francisco’s Pier 39. They have provided hours of entertainment to onlookers from all over the world. Recently, however, these entertaining sea mammals have disappeared and no one knows why.

The Marine Mammal Center counted more than 1700 sea lions on October 23rd. On December 29th, only about a dozen were found and these were attempting to climb on docks other than the ones reserved for them."

14-year-old Dutch sailor given the green light to sail

This is great news!: "In an amazing reversal, a Dutch court has ignored child welfare workers' plea that would-be circumnavigating teen sailor Laura Dekker be put in the care of a foster family.

Further, they have assured her that, pending certain conditions being met, she will definitely be allowed to go sailing next summer.

This means that the young sailor, who was born on a sailing boat in New Zealand, will be allowed to go sailing solo before her 15th birthday in September next year."

Christmas Boats

Christmas Boats: "Tis the season when boaters take to the water to display their holiday spirit. Whatever your religious beliefs, there is no denying that decking your boat out in lights and parading along in front of cheering crowds is a fun time. All around the world, holiday boat parades have been taking place over the last few weeks, delighting spectators with floating cheer. In case you didn't have a chance to get out and enjoy one of these parades first hand, we thought we would share the fun with you. So, here are some of our favorite lighted boat parade photos, along with the YachtPals Christmas poem, a little fun to brighten up your holidays:"

Harbor WildWatch Publishes New Book

Good for the Puget Sound and a great model for every Harbor Community: "The newly revised edition of “Puget Sound’s Wildside — A Natural History of Puget Sound’s Marine Environment” is available for purchase at Mostly Books on Harborview Drive and at the Gig Harbor Visitors Center on Judson Street. It also can be purchased from the Harbor WildWatch Web site at harborwildwatch.org."

World’s most expensive motorcyle – but it comes with a free yacht.

I usually have a bicycle on board for use in port.  I like to ride around and get excercise, pick up supplies across town,  You know...the usual.
"Lubek, Germany custom bike builders House of Thunder have taken the term ‘boys toys’ to a new level.

They claim to have built the world’s most expensive chopper - at a whopping £14.2 million!

The catch is that it comes with its own (mobile) garage, a 45metre transoceanic yacht!"

12 concept yachts to sail you through environmental constraints « Science News

I always dial in these types of articles, they inspire my imagination.:
"The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy, especially in the context of sailing, since most yachts spend most of their sailing hours in balmy weather. Arcadia has latched on to this fact and has thus started building super luxury yachts with hybrid means of propulsion. The ultra luxurious yachts that come in 75′ and 175′ variants use a mix of solar panels and diesel engines for propulsion. Thus, Arcadia is making sure that the swish set doesn’t get embarrassed by all that bespoke luxury by adding a good dose of the extremely essential green quotient."

Personal Sailing Moments of 2009

Personal Sailing Moments of 2009 - Messing About In Sailboats: "Over the weekend, I had time for a bit of self-indulgent looking-back at my personal sailing year. As I looked back on my most memorable sails, I realized that everyone of them was a 'learning moment'. Few of the sails were spectacular but each one made me a better sailor or at least a less dumb one."

The great Belizian Blue Hole.

Bizarre and unusual destinations around the world: "There are many blue holes off the coast of Belize, but the 'great' Blue Hole on Lighthouse Reef Atoll is the one most visible in a flyover--and the most famous one for diving. The hole is about 1,000 feet in diameter and 412 feet deep. The Blue Hole sits on the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, about 50 miles east of Belize City.

The late Jacques Cousteau and a filming crew explored the underwater cave whose roof collapsed about 10,000 years ago."

Absconded solo sailing girl to be repatriated

Good article including audio form Radio Netherlands. Isn't it great that an international alert can turn up a missing girl so quickly? However, doesn't it stand to reason that if the girl has a mind to sail around the globe by herself, that she's plenty capable of "running away"? And what's safer? To be sailing or flying to the Carribean. I like her style. Don't tell me she needs to be caged. I like what Jessica Watson's mother said..that Jessica is probably the most watched kid in the world. And her parents know exactly where she is at any given moment. My parents didn't.

Absconded solo sailing girl to be repatriated: "Laura Dekker, the 14-year-old Dutch girl who caught the world's attention with her plans to sail solo around the world at the end of last summer, has been found in Sint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. She went missing on Friday.

According to press reports it was not her father that reported her missing, but other members of her family, who first got in touch with the child protection agency and the police. This led to speculation that her father, who is also a keen yachtsman, may have been involved in Laura's trip to the Dutch island in the Caribbean."

Free and Cheap Boating Gifts

Free and Cheap Boating Gifts: "Even though many people are on a tight budget this holiday season, it is still feasible to give a great gift with plenty of meaning that costs little or even nothing but means more to the avid boater in your life that you can imagine. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Volunteer your time on a boat maintenance project over the winter, or even for the spring launch event.
2. Purchase an inexpensive photo frame and add a favorite picture of their boat or of them boating.
3. Give a 'save the date' and offer to go to a boat show with them during the boat show season.
4. Sign them up for a free boating class with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and offer to attend it with them.
5. Wash and wax their boat for free - and even more than once.

Hey last minute shopper!

Having trouble finding something unique for the boater in your life?

Purchase a gift certificate at any amount here and we'll email you a cool little coupon like the one you see above.  They can use it for design, production, custom gear like hats, shirts mugs and a hundred other things!

Boat could explore Saturn Moon?

I already have plans. I'm sorry I wont be able to make this trip!:

"A daring proposal to try to put a 'boat' down on a sea of Saturn's moon Titan is about to be submitted to Nasa.

The scientific team behind the idea is targeting Ligeia Mare, a vast body of liquid methane sited in the high north of Saturn's largest moon.

The concept will be suggested to the US space agency for one of its future mission opportunities that will test a novel power system.

It would be the first exploration of a planetary sea beyond Earth."

What’s in a Boat Name?

A great post by Grammar Tales.

What’s in a Boat Name? « Grammar Tales: "Sailing has been described as “the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense.” There are lots of names that reference the cost involved in keeping a boat: Soggy Dollars, Cash Flow, Time and Money, Colin’s Tuition, Moby Debt, and Last Nickel."

Remembering Roy

I never sailed with him, but I worked with him.  My first job out of college in corporate relations at the studio in Burbank.  What a ride!  Many great memories at "The Mouse" as a fly on the wall whilst some of my heroes changed Hollywood and film business.   Roy had the coolest office...down the hall from from Eisner and Katzenberg, and he inspired me to make my office more like a home away from home.

Remembering Roy: "I think Roy Disney liked sailing in part because, on a boat, he was just one of the boys, not the gazillionaire who ousted Michael Eisner and revived animation at the Disney studios. Those who have heard only of his high-profile racing yachts would not know that he started with modest cruising boats, got hooked, and just got steadily deeper into the game. I first sailed with him in the 1980s when he brought his shiny new Shamrock to a Big Boat Series and discovered that she was not at all right for the job. Shamrock was a lovely boat, as green as Ireland, but an S&S centerboard yawl best put to uses other than broaching around the buoys on San Francisco Bay. He loved that boat and never sold it."

Picasso of the Sea

1000days.net: "Picasso needs no introduction, he was the greatest painter of the 20th century. They say he was a truthful man who didn't hide his inspirations or the techniques he used to realize them. I also try to be creative, caring, spontaneous and sincere and share my life journey openly.

In the meantime, I still work every day doing my chores and some special project like cleaning the deepest most difficult to get to bilges. Everyday I do some boat work, then I eagerly get to work creating art! I love it. It is a great time now."

A New York Harbor Sketchbook

A New York Harbor Sketchbook: "So, don’t request a tug to blow their horn as they go by: there is always someone trying to sleep. They fight constant noise, vibration, light, motion, odors; are interrupted by drills — I just cannot imagine it. As one chief mate puts it: “…bear in mind that we work aboard vessels that are essentially designed to collide with things…”"

Jack Goes Boating

Sundance 2010: Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Directorial Debut:  "In the dead of winter, we meet Jack (Hoffman), a limo driver who has vague dreams of landing a job with the MTA, a mild obsessionwith a reggae song, and has begun a half-hearted attempt at growing dreadlocks. He spends most of his time hanging out with his best friend and fellow driver, Clyde and Clyde’s wife Lucy.

The couple set Jack up with Connie, a co-worker of Lucy’s at Dr. Bob’s Funeral Home in Brooklyn. Being with Connie inspires Jack to learn to cook, pursue a new career, and take swimming lessons from Clyde so he can give Connie the romantic boat ride she wants. But as Jack and Connie cautiously circle commitment, Clyde and Lucy’s marriage begins to disintegrate. From there, we watch as each couple must come face to face with the inevitable path of their relationship."

Quadriplegic Yachtsman aboard Impossible Dream

I love these kinds of stories!: "Canary Islands - Many Yacht Pals cross the pond each year, but this transat is quite special. Our friend Geoff Holt, known both for his historic sail around Britain and his work in creating the model for modern disabled sailing programs around the globe, has cast off from the Canaries, and is currently bound for the Spanish Main. When he makes it, he will be the first quadriplegic to solo the Atlantic Ocean. His aptly named 60 foot catamaran Impossible Dream is now making way on the 2700 mile journey, and a certain Caribbean beach is in for a rude Christmas present."

Kon-Tiki

Kon-Tiki: "The balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki was launched in 1947 and was named after the Inca sun god Viracocha, for whom 'Kon-Tiki' was said to be an old name. The raft hoisted sail outside the port of Callào in Peru with 6 men onboard. Norwegians Thor Heyerdahl, Herman Watzinger, Knut Haugland, Torstein Raaby and Erik Hesselberg, and a Swede, Bengt Danielsson. Heyerdahl was out to prove that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times. His aim in mounting the Kon-Tiki expedition was to show, by using only the materials available to those people at the time, that there was no technical reasons to prevent them from sailing from South America to the South Pacific."

Phuket,Thailand,sailing,regatta

Phuket,Thailand,sailing,regatta: "Phuket - Thailand was voted the favourite sailing venue in Asia and the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta best regatta in Asia, according to a recent survey. The survey found also that the Regatta generated approximately 40 million baht for the Island economy during the 2009 event.

The Sailing survey was conducted by the Top of The Gulf Regatta in co-operation with the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, with the aim to find out sailing trends and provide useful information in helping to attract more sailors to Thailand.

Phuket King’s Cup this year attracted 111 boats, approximately 1,000 registered sailors of 33 different nationalities from all corners of the globe. The survey found that over 30% of the sailors who participated in the 23rd Phuket King’s Cup Regatta have been sailing in Thailand for more than 10 years, while 20% are new – sailing in Thailand for 1-3 years.

The survey found that Thailand is a popular sailing destination with international sailors, with many returning numerous times to enjoy the cruising grounds and sailing events Thailand has to offer. 56% said that the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is their favourite regatta in Asia while 71% said that Thailand, with the main sailing areas being Phuket, Pattaya and Samui, is the best sailing venue in Asia due to an ideal geography, good weather conditions and beautiful scenery."

Sailing to the ski slopes in Iceland

This sounds so crazy...I think I'll have to put it on my todo list. Two things I like, skiing and sailing: "Ahead of me lay a journey into uninhabited wilderness just 24km shy of the Arctic Circle where, travelling and sleeping on the 18m yacht with eight others, I'd spend four days hiking up snowbound peaks and then snowboarding down to the sea's edge."

Carpe Ventum...Seize the wind.

Seize the wind.
Marine Graphics, Inc.

When designing custom boat lettering, up with I look at every boat as if it were my own. So it stands to reason that as I've been thinking about names for my own sailboat, I have a lot to choose from - over 10,000 last I checked!. This doesn't make it any easier.

My kids have their own ideas, but I still keep coming back to this "Carpe Ventum" because of what it means to me. I took latin in highschool, but I only first learned the translation of the popular Carpe dium while working on the film Dead Poets Society during my Disney Studio days. I took the advice in the film and left Disney for a walk-about in Alaska where I fell in love with the sea (again) and I haven't been far from my boats ever since.

In this name there's a mixed sense of "going with the flow" and "living life to its fullest." I also like it because I can use this really cool photo I snapped of a Heron...a bird with sails for wings AND a beak long enough to finish the middle of the E in Ventum. Yup. I like it.

Sailing Etiquette | DoItYourself.com

I've notice a few recent sailing entries at this DoItYourself.com site which is kind of funny with all the solo sailing stuff in the news these days.

"Sailing enthusiasts know that there is a code of conduct that all sailors must abide by to maintain order between sailboats and to exhibit stewardship of the world’s waterways. This is known as sailing etiquette. Just like on a golf course where participants modify their attitude and behavior to a standard, while sailing, skippers and crewmembers have an obligation to fulfill certain tasks and follow both written and unwritten rules. Etiquette while sailing includes the laws of the sea, but it is not limited to that. Proper etiquette equally involves courteousness and goodwill to fellow sailors and other boaters as well as a general standard of stewardship."

Yesterday I found an article come across the wire about "How to Heave To" Hopefully people are not reading this while sailing near Chinese freighters.

Best Boats 2010

Sounds like the Annapolis and Newport boat shows were busy and that's a good thing! From entry-level dinghies to fully kitted-out global cruisers...Here are SAIL's choices for Best Boats Awards with additional links that I've added for quick looks.



Cruising Monohull Under 50ft - Catalina 445
Performance Boat - J/95
Cruising Multihull - Leopard 38/Sunsail 384
Small Boat (under 25 feet) - K650
Dinghy - Topaz
Systems - Passport 615
Green Award - Eko 6.5
Deck and Cockpit Plan - Morris M52
Accommodations - Island Packet Estero

The J Sailing 2010 Calendar

The New Calendars Here! The New Calendars Here!
I like em all but as a photo editor and graphics guy I'll vote for November. First for composition...I'm going to use this for my next water color painting. Second because November is my month, my birthday month, and it was a good one this year, although I didn't take my own advice and sail. It wasn't the weather that held me back...I'm no fair weather sailor. It was that unmentionable four letter word that starts with "W."