Our friends from Hamachi got some drone footage from their SF-Los Angeles delivery. Looks like great practice for the upcoming Transpac. We’ll be running their videos as we get them so that those of us in the PNW can at least fantasize we’re doing double digits en route to Hawaii!
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
It’s been a long time since our last Wet Wednesday video – I’m always looking for DIY ones from our region.
While this video has nothing to do with the PNW, it’s well worth the 12 minutes! It’s as much about why we sail as about the Great Dane Paul Elvstrøm.
Narrator Richard Creagh-Osborne tries to explain the draw of sailing – I assume in Elvstrøm’s words but clearly speaking for us all: “There’s something in the true sailor that drives him to the water. You can’t really define it. It’s like loving a person. When you really feel at one with someone, absolutely everything else goes by the boards. And that’s how it is with sailing.” That pretty much sums it up for a lot of us. We can no more stay away from the water than turn our back on a loved one.
Check out the high tech gear: wool sweaters, sneakers and rope hiking straps. Click the image to go to the Danish film site.
Credit where credit is due – I found this video while perusing the Sailing Anarchy forums.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
Is there anything better than weeknight racing in summer? We’ve shown those great drone videos of Tacoma weeknight racing already. Here’s another look, this time at the Annapolis Yacht Club scene. It’s impressive. Four PHRF divisions plus Alberg 30s, Farr 30s, Herreshoff 12.5s, Etchells, Harbor 20s (21 boats!) plus a whole host of J-classes, J/80, J/30, J/105 and J/35. Check out this video from AYC, fun to watch even if it is out there on the other coast. Then make sure you get out there this summer in one of our own great weeknight series!
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
A number of people have decried the Leg 8 finish of the Volvo Ocean Race in Newport, Rhode Island as somewhat of a travesty. After all, Mapfre ghosted back from 5th (in a 7 boat fleet!) 24 hours before to win the leg by a few seconds. One look at the fleets’ plotter courses tells the story. It’s agonizing just looking at it. That said, I’ll submit that’s one of the things that makes this sport special. Yeah, the “better” sailors, or better sailed boats or better prepared boats usually win, but not always. No, it’s not fair. And sometimes it’s painful. But that possibility gives everybody a reason to stay out there, even when it seems hopeless. Who among us hasn’t clutched defeat from the hands of victory? Clutched victory from the hands of defeat? Anyway, here’s the video of the Mapfre and Brunel finishing, with the video starting a couple minutes before the finish.
And then there’s the Race to the Straits. Now, most of the crews were too busy to spend their time videotaping, but the Sloop Tavern crowd managed to get some footage of the finishes. Here’s some of Saturday’s finish in a nice breeze and sunshine:
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
It’s Wet Wednesday and we have some great regional videos to see. I’m very excited about the first one from Jeremy Bush. He worked on the Over Tacoma video from last week, and then did another combining onboard footage with drone shots. I think it conveys a lot about what evening racing in the PNW is all about.
Then from our northern friends we have a slick sponsored Blackline Marine THRASH regatta video from the Victoria, BC regatta April 21-22. We don’t have a report from the regatta, but the results are here.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
For this week’s Wet Wednesday we have an eclectic collection. First up nothing gets wet, at least until the end, and then not very much. It’s the new Fast 40 Ran in a slick presentation by the Carkeek design offices. This hull shape isn’t quite new, but it’s rare and dramatic. It’s fun to see designers trying to hit a sweet spot of a measurement rule – there’s innovation to be had. Following that we’re replaying a video from the windiest day at RS Feva Worlds. The PNW’s Dieter Creitz and Conrad Miller finished third for the series – here’s the report. Finally, a couple of training videos from the folks up in Vancouver. Looking good in those skiffs! I’d love to present some videos from PSSC if anyone gets some this weekend.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
Here we are with some really wet Wet Wednesday videos. First off we have the Vestas crew prepping for getting up on deck. Looks cold. Vestas led the fleet from Auckland into the Southern Ocean. She relinquished the lead today, but is now the furthermost south in the fleet.
Here’s a little video from the Finn Europeans in Cadiz. Singlehanded dinghy sailors may feel their abs and quads tightening just a bit watching this. For the rest of you watching the beast known as the Finn – be in awe.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
This week we have a little Bacardi Cup wrapup. Florida’s Bacardi Cup is one of the gathering places of the sport’s elite, in particular Star boat sailors and J/70 sailors. There were some notable performances by PNW. In the Stars Derek DeCouteau and Jamie Stewart were 43rd and in the J/70s, Andrew and Mallory Lowe plus Ben and Jen Glass were 12th overall and second among Corinthians (non-pro). Results. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of sailing action in this video, but there’s enough to make most of us wish we were there. I’m really hoping to have some video bubble up from local races in the coming weeks.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
We don’t have any PNW videos to share this week, apparently everyone’s shutter fingers were frozen. Mine certainly were. But there was lots of sailing elsewhere to shoot. I’m hoping that as spring and summer racing pick up we get some great local footage. Let me know if you get some!
Volvo Ocean Race
There is, of course, a never-ending supply of video from the Volvo Race. And in case you hadn’t heard, the first five boats into the recently concluded leg finished within 30 minutes of each other in Auckland, New Zealand. First and second only a couple of minutes apart. In a 20+ day race! The fact that it was the dead of night didn’t bother the Kiwi fans, they were on hand for the big hello. Here’s the Volvo Ocean Race show on the finish, in its entirety.
World Sailing
And then there’s the World Sailing Show. It’s glossy, it’s a fast-paced 20-some minutes, it covers a broad range of sailing. It may even be your cup of tea. The most interesting parts to me were the inflatable sail on a telescoping rig and watching one of those blunt-nosed mini transat racers move through the water and over the waves.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
