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Old 10-09-2007, 01:27 PM   #21
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This would be a good time for you to post some pictures from your trips--like giant waves or something with a fruity cocktail in it!
No giant wave pictures, too busy trying to stay on the boat. And my cocktail pictures are all fuzzy. I hate showing photos of myself on the public internet, but here are some that are a bit boring because there's no recognizable faces.

This was offshore around the Delmarva on the Island Packet, taken from another boat close to us.


Sailing off the east coast of Puerto Rico with 3800 foot mountain in background.


Around St Martin on a Benneteau 52 with friends (French boat)


Crystal waters around Spanish Virgins ... islands, that is.


Sunset over St Barts


View from our condo... gee, it's about time to go back there


Sloooow racing day on the Potomac (my boat)



Here's that gorgeous Morgan I used to race on:
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Old 10-09-2007, 01:52 PM   #22
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Mmmmm mmmmmm...Beautiful! That clear Caribbean water...everytime I look at my pics from our cruise, I find that all of them are of water or sky. That is the real difference between life aboard & life ashore--the constant vista! And the racing--awesome! I love the spinnaker! When I worked at the chandlery I was always amazed by the fragility and power of those huge sails!

Just what I needed to see during a slow day at the office! Thanks for the sailing eye candy! Thanks!
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:10 PM   #23
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Izzat Vieques or Culebra?
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:16 PM   #24
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Izzat Vieques or Culebra?
Ah, someone who's been there. That's rounding Cabeza de Perro (also known as Medio Mundo) with Vieques in the background.
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:23 PM   #25
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Ah, someone who's been there. That's rounding Cabeza de Perro (also known as Medio Mundo) with Vieques in the background.
Never been to Culebra, unfortunately. But a repeat/serial visitor to Vieques. Boy do I wish I had had the money and brains to grab some land there in 2001...
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Old 10-09-2007, 06:52 PM   #26
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Every once in a while (through rose-colored glasses) I'll get nostalgic about all the Naval Academy's sailboats and wish that I'd spent more time on them.

But that final picture of the Morgan, the weather it's in, and the crew's attire all remind me why somehow I was always finding something else to do at the time...
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Old 10-10-2007, 02:22 AM   #27
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Had a Catalina 22' for a few years. Kept it in a slip. Enjoyed it. Began using a little less and eventually decided I should shed the slip fees and expenses.

Much Fun!
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Old 10-10-2007, 06:49 AM   #28
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Every once in a while (through rose-colored glasses) I'll get nostalgic about all the Naval Academy's sailboats and wish that I'd spent more time on them.

But that final picture of the Morgan, the weather it's in, and the crew's attire all remind me why somehow I was always finding something else to do at the time...
Well, that was me in that attire, and it was shot on the Bay just a few miles off USNA. Windy, cold, and the photo was shot just before we gift wrapped another boat with our spinnaker. Boy was that fun Guess that's why I no longer do those races, I'm now a fair weather racer. But good days make all the bad memories go away.

Hey, those Navy 44's sure are beautiful, used to race against them. Don't know if they were there during your time.
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Old 10-10-2007, 06:58 PM   #29
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But that final picture of the Morgan, the weather it's in, and the crew's attire all remind me why somehow I was always finding something else to do at the time...
here ya go nords (just in case you get second thoughts)

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Old 10-10-2007, 08:47 PM   #30
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Hey, those Navy 44's sure are beautiful, used to race against them. Don't know if they were there during your time.
I don't know if we had as many of them, but the sailing center was always full of the good yawls. USNA "inherited" a lot of that stuff from confiscated drug runners grateful alumni. Today I think it's mostly fundraising & sponsorships, but it could be Homeland Security drug busts.

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here ya go nords (just in case you get second thoughts)
Bleagh. For every frosty beverage nostalgic memory of the sailboat piers I have that recurring nightmare of my first submarine taking a 47-degree roll during a helicopter transfer, losing a guy overboard, and almost being flushed down the bridge hatch.

We got the guy back, the saltwater deluge put out the electrical fires, and we got on with life. And five years into ER the nightmares have stopped...
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Old 10-11-2007, 07:50 AM   #31
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That's probably the most extreme yacht race in the world.

One true, though sad, story. Every four years the Volvo Ocean Race takes place in 70 foot racing monohulls (used to be the Whitbread). Leaves Spain, goes round the horn of Africa and rounds the world to the east, ending in England. They have several ports, and the last couple of races made Annapolis one of their ports.

Anyway, DW and I went to Annapolis for the restart party, and were socializing with some friends when we got to meet the family of one of the Dutch racers, 32 yo Hans Horrevoets, who was onboard one of the two Dutch entries. He was also one of the two Dutch sailors on that boat, since most of the crew is international. We'd lived in Holland, so were exchanging stories with his mother and wife, who was wheeling their infant daughter in a baby carriage. Hans was a young athletic sailor who looked like he came right from central casting. His whole life had been dedicated to sailing, and he was one of the most experienced on the boat.

A couple of days later the race started, and we were sailing on the Bay as the boats passed us, not 10 yards away, quite a sight. We waved at Hans, though I doubt if he had time or interest to look at anything other than his sail trim. The rest of the story I gathered from news clippings:

A few days later the fleet had left New York and were heading for England when they got caught in a terrible North Atlantic storm in the middle of the night 1300 miles from England. Wind was not super high, just 35 knots, but the waves were 16 footers and it was the middle of the night. The waves began washing over the boat, and the skipper told them all to clip on. They couldn't all clip on at once, so they went below one by one to put on their harness. Hans was the sail trimmer and the last one to go below. Just as he was getting ready to go, a wave washed over the boat and there was no Hans. The boat expertly turned about (not easy in such seas at night) and began search and rescue, not expecting to find him in such conditions. They did locate him after an hour or so of retracing their path, pulled him onboard, but it was too late.

The crew eventually kept sailing the boat to England, and when they were close enough for helicopter support, Hans' body was taken off. Incredibly, after that tragic event, the US boat basically broke apart in high seas, and the Dutch boat went to give assistance, even after having dealt with the tragedy of losing one of their own. The US crew had to abandon their boat, and transferred to the Dutch boat. In honor of Hans, the crew consulted with themselves and Hans' family, and made the decision to continue the race. It was quite an emotional scene when they arrived in England.

This wasn't the first death on that circuit, but it was the first since 1989 and the fifth overall. It's a very challenging and dangerous race. My heart goes out to Hans' family, but at least he died not only doing what he loved, but at the pinnacle of the sport of yacht racing.

So, in memoriam, Hans, fair winds and following seas wherever you may be. It was an honor to meet you and your beautiful family.

http://www.volvooceanrace.org/index.aspx
http://www.henkdoevendans.nl/berichten2006/archief2006/ber_mei/fotomei/horrevoets.jpg
http://volvooceanrace.com/images/ass...55_600x400.jpg

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Old 10-11-2007, 09:14 AM   #32
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here ya go nords (just in case you get second thoughts)
And some people actually call that fun!!??

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I have that recurring nightmare of my first submarine taking a 47-degree roll during a helicopter transfer, losing a guy overboard, and almost being flushed down the bridge hatch. We got the guy back, the saltwater deluge put out the electrical fires, and we got on with life. And five years into ER the nightmares have stopped...
Nords I actually thought you were a pretty bright guy. But how smart can anyone be who goes to sea in a boat that is designed to sink!!??
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Old 10-11-2007, 10:33 AM   #33
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Soon, that is a truly remarkable story. I didn't know about it, and I'm sure that like other sailors lost at sea, he was truly dying doing what he loved.
I feel that way about the loss of sailing's great Sir Peter Blake. I got a friend in NZ to send me the book published there a few years ago about his life (the very controversial one) and I was just amazed at what he did for racing and Team New Zealand.

All inspiring stuff, but thanks for the story on Hans. My brush with sailing fame:
I enjoyed getting to know Neal Peterson, one of the early Around Alone racers, who lives here in Charleston. He is now a motivational speaker of note, and a really nice guy. His entry in Around Alone was a home-built 40 footer that made it through all 27,000 ocean miles.
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Old 10-11-2007, 12:56 PM   #34
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I enjoyed getting to know Neal Peterson, one of the early Around Alone racers, who lives here in Charleston. He is now a motivational speaker of note, and a really nice guy. His entry in Around Alone was a home-built 40 footer that made it through all 27,000 ocean miles.
I'm impressed, Sarah, I would love to meet Neal Petersen. I just ordered his book, "Journey Of A Hope Merchant: From Apartheid To The Elite World Of Solo Yacht Racing." There are so many inspiring stories out there from world class sailors, more than offset the few jerks we hear about.

Another inspirational story is about Gary Jobson. Gary started as sailing coach at the Naval Academy, then became Ted Turner's tactician when Ted won the America's Cup in 1977. He stayed in the sailing business and became the commentator for ESPN for America Cup broadcasts and other sailing events. Besides that, Gary got involved raising money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society by sponsoring sailing regattas that began small and eventually became a nationwide event, with yacht clubs all over the country having their own Leukemia Cup.

When I was still racing a lot we did the annual Leukemia Cups in Annapolis and Washington, which is where they started and are still one the largest for fund raising. Anyway, since Gary is a local, he would always come and speak to our sailing club before the races. He's quite a dynamic speaker, and you can tell he's still quite the coach. He not only inspires you, but he stays afterwards and just likes people and helping them to reach their best.

Anyway, a few years ago, before the Leukemia Cup, we received the shocking news that Gary would not be able to make it because he had been diagnosed with ... Leukemia! My jaws dropped with the irony of it all. He had to call off all of his speaking engagements, but the next year we heard that he had succeeded in stabilizing his condition and would be back. He indeed came back and spoke as usual before our regatta. Even though you could tell he had been through hell and back with his condition, he was still as inspiring -- even more so, with his example of fighting what could be a death sentence. He's still going strong, and if you ever get a chance to hear him speak, by all means go. Here is his web site and a link to the leukemia cup regattas:

Jobson Sailing :: Gary Jobson - Promoting the Sport of Sailing
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society : Regatta


Edit: I found the following fuzzy photo I took of Hans' boat flying past us about 10 miles after the start of the Volvo race. This was just a few days before he was washed overboard and died.

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Old 10-11-2007, 02:35 PM   #35
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very nicely told story soontoretire. i didn't remember hans but i think you might have shaken a brain cell lose when you said his team turned to rescue and finish together with a competing crew. i don't know why i remember that but not the other, though i tend to focus more on humanity than on individuals.

i might not be so brave to put myself in 16-foot waves when i can avoid it but at least i'm dumb enough to live life with some risk. a number of friends have expressed concern for just going overseas, never mind living in a third world country. i don't ever want to become afraid to cross the street, even though mom taught me not to play in traffic.
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Old 10-11-2007, 02:51 PM   #36
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Soon, thanks for the news of Neal's book---I had no idea he'd published--I put it on the Amazon Christmas list! How wonderful!

My old boss from the sailing job races in the Charleston Leukemia Cup every year. What a great fundraiser! I think he's told me stories about meeting Jobson in Chicago years ago. Old boss still goes up every year for the Mac Race.

Thanks for the awesome stories and the Neal Peterson book tip!
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"Adventures at sea": How not to do a helo transfer.
Old 10-11-2007, 04:09 PM   #37
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"Adventures at sea": How not to do a helo transfer.

Eh, I'll start a new thread.
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Old 11-05-2007, 07:05 PM   #38
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All inspiring stuff, but thanks for the story on Hans. My brush with sailing fame:
I enjoyed getting to know Neal Peterson, one of the early Around Alone racers, who lives here in Charleston. He is now a motivational speaker of note, and a really nice guy. His entry in Around Alone was a home-built 40 footer that made it through all 27,000 ocean miles.
Sarah, I just finished Neil's book, "Merchant of Hope." Wow, what a book! It's got a bit of everything in it: someone rising from Apartheid to the very top; how perseverance can make dreams come true; a bittersweet love story; a survival story (many of them) and, oh yes, some great sailing as well. I've read lots of sailing stories, I would rank Neil's at the very top of either sailing skill or recklessness, not sure which, probably a combination of both. He has no right to be alive, but I would love to meet him someday and shake his hand. He's the type of person that keeps this world going round.

I won't say much more in case you haven't read it.
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Old 11-06-2007, 08:54 AM   #39
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I can't wait--I've heard he is a very compelling speaker, so I'm not surprised that the book is great! To talk to, he's very self-effacing and shy. Thanks so much for the cool review.
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