MAS Yachting Blog

Soloing The Americas

2011-08-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Navigating the Northwest Passage is a task not many sailors would attempt, even in the best conditions. Not even in a large over-powered well equipped vessel with a full crew. Matt Rutherford, who is a seasoned sailor, is completing the task by single handedly sailing it in a 27 foot boat while also attempting to circumnavigate the Americas. Matt started and will end his mission in Annapolis, MD but his actual circumnavigation officially started when he crossed the tunnel of the Chesapeake Bay bridge, which he did so on the 13th of June. This is where his paths will cross. Matt is not attempting this undertaking for the mere challenge, but more-so for to raise money for 'C.R.A.B' (Chesapeake Regional Assessable Boating). C.R.A.B is an Annapolis based non-profit group that provides people with mental and physical disabilities sailing opportunities. Visit Matt's website where you can keep up with his daily updates and his current speed, which is updated by the second.

Docking by Joystick

2010-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's been around for years in large motor yachts, but Beneteau's new Dock & Go System will soon be available on all of it's new spring 2011 sailboats powered by Yanmar's 75HP SD engines. The new docking system will be unveiled at the Annapolis Boat Show, October 7-11.

The Dock & Go will make docking in tight spaces relatively effortless and they claim that it is so simple even a child could steer a boat into port.

For more information visit the Beneteau website.

Novice Navigator

2010-05-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

I love this story!!!

You have to admire this man's sense of adventure, but he might should limit his adventures to land, as I should limit myself to reading and not writing.

To sum up this story. An un-named novice boatsman set off to circumnavigate Great Britain, which is roughly 5,000 miles around. Thinking he was about to accomplish this feat, he finds instead, that he has only circumnavigated the Isle of Sheppy which is approximately 30 miles in circumference.

Visit Sail World for the complete story.

Jordan Highway Lift Bridge in Norfolk Area Closed

2009-03-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

If you are a frequent traveler on the ICW, north or south, and you plan to be passing through the Norfolk area this year. Good news! You will have one less bridge to contend with. The Jordan Highway Lift Bridge, located at mile marker 2.8 of the waterway, was open permanently to vessel traffic as of 11/08/08. The bridge was deemed condemned for vehicle traffic and will be left in the up position for boaters.

Volvo Ocean Racers... Take notice!!!

2009-02-28T07:07:00.000-08:00

Participants of the annual Volvo Ocean Race should take notice of the online game version of the race. With more than 150,000 participants in the online race, there are thousands of different tracks to the finish line. All kinds of scenario's, using actual wind conditions are being played out right before their eyes. Although the participants of the real race are highly experienced experts in navigation, which of course is needed to enter a race like the VOR. It is possible that they may be able to learn from the successes of some of the top and less experienced gamers, and maybe even learn from the failures of the rest of the field.

In recent years, participants of the VOR may have been curious, but fearful, of taking certain routes. Maybe the thought of failure kept them from plotting a heading, hundreds, if not thousands of miles out of their way. In many cases there's a good chance that someone participating in the game has traveled that route. Sure, the sailboats in the game are only controlled by wind directions and they don't take into account the wave conditions and ocean currents, but maybe it will at least give them a hint to possible routes to consider.

For All You Virtual Sailors!

2009-02-19T06:19:00.000-08:00

You may have... or maybe you haven't noticed, but I haven't written in my blog these past few days. The reason for it? I found an online game that has consumed all of my extra online time. If you're like me, and are unable to participate in the real Volvo Ocean Race, or if you just don't have the time or a boat to go out sailing on your own. Then this might be the next best thing. OK... maybe not... but you'll find it addicting anyway. It's called the Volvo Ocean Race game. The game is a virtual race played out in 'real time', and the participants are in a sailboat race around the world. Currently, there are over 150,000 contestants, so you can imagine the competitiveness of the game. If the thrill of competition is not enough for you... they add the enticement of giving the winner a new Volvo, along with some other great prizes. Don't worry if you are a late entry, I was... you should enter anyway... the game will automatically inject you into the back of the pack, so you can get a feel of the game. The good thing is, you will be able to start anew in the next leg of the race.

I would tell you the name of my boat, but I won't, in fear of revealing how poor of even a virtual sailor I am. Check it out!!!

Scuba Olympics???

2009-02-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

Scuba Olympics? Whoda thunk it. The events, which were held in Laro Florida, included a parade, the 100 meter dive buddy tow, balloon lift, three-legged buddy race, bicycle event, obstacle course for professionals, awards presentation and prize ceremony. Mayor Pat Gerard of Largo gave the opening remarks.

The event was held to raise money for their local Special Olympic Swim Team program.

Both Largo Aquatics Manager Mark N. Abdo and Bill Hardman, vice president of the Professional Association of Dive Operators, have high hopes that the event will be held annually.

I wish them many games to come. The money is going to a great cause.

Follow the link for the full story.

First Florida Scuba Olympics a breathtaking event for divers

Working on a Classic

2009-02-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work on a classic sailing ship? The Balclutha, which was built in Scotland in 1886, has graced the San Francisco waterfront for more than 50 years. Here's a nice article I saw in the San Francisco Chronicle about this ship, and what it is like to work on it.

Working on a classic - sailing ship Balclutha

Car For The Single Sailor - The Peel P50 MicroCar

2009-02-10T06:43:00.000-08:00

Are you a single sailing vagabond? Do you find that generally you have trouble locating transportation for getting supplies while in port? Well, this could be the answer to your transportation needs. Just untie and unload this little baby from off the deck of your 25 footer, then drive it to where you need to go. Oh... you may experience one little problem tho... once you do find a store, you will soon realize there's no room for supplies.

When you see this video you will understand why they named it the Peel.

Christensen Shipyard Sued By Tiger Wood

2009-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods is suing Christian Yachts for breach of contract. The 28 year old golfer contends that the Vancouver-based shipyard broke their privacy agreement by disclosing his identity as the owner of one of their yachts. Woods is seeking compensation for an amount he would have received as a product endorser.

Woods claims he was intending for the yacht to be used as an escape from the public eye for his family and himself, but now, because of the breech, he would no longer be afforded this privacy.

Woods states that not only has Christiansen Yachts named him as the owner of the yacht, but have also distributed photos of the vessel to magazines and displayed these photos during the latest Miami Boat Show.

A complete story can be found at Yacht Charter Community Blog.

Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Race

2009-02-09T05:11:00.000-08:00

Mark down on your schedule the date April 8, 2009. This is the planned start of the new Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Race. The original race, which was last run roughly 30 years ago, is a 30+ hour sprint that tracks in the current of the Gulf Stream and should be an exciting race to participate in or just to follow. It covers a distance of 408 miles and begins outside of Port Everglades and finishes just outside of Charleston Harbor. For information pertaining to this race, go to the official race website www.fortlauderdalecharlestonrace.org.

Furl all Scupperlips and Haul up the Anchor

2009-02-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

This is a very humorous story written by an acquaintance about her life on her live aboard she named the Ms. Bligh.

Furl all Scupperlips and Haul up the Anchor
By Carole A. Borges

I guess you could say I bought the Ms. Bligh as a kind of revenge. After spending my whole life living aboard an old Alden schooner my father was eternally restoring, and then helping my first husband Joe spend a decade building a fleet of ferro-cement boats in Boston, I wanted to know what it felt like to be a captain.

With her clipper bow, raised taff-rail, and black hull, my 27 foot Kenner ketch looked like a small pirate ship.

Because I’d been dry-docked for so long, I thought it wise to get a second opinion, so I called my brother, Capt. Fatty Goodlander, a world famous sailor who writes for Cruising World magazine.

“I think I got a real bargain,” I boasted.

When he first saw the Ms. Bligh, Fatty gave an appreciative smile. ”It is kind of odd though,” he giggled, “how much she resembles you. She’s sagging a bit in the transom, a little too wide amidships, and she probably has a leaky bottom.”

See what I mean? I was a woman desperate for empowerment.
* * *
“Well, she’s built strong,” Fatty said after the survey. “However the previous owner, obviously a landlubber, filled the whole transom with blown-in foam. It’s saturated with water. You’ll have to dig it all out and rebuild the box.”

Disappointed to hear labor was involved, I watched my brother draw up a schematic showing me exactly what I’d have to do.

The next morning when I saw Fatty off at the airport, waves of insecurity washed over me. I couldn’t remember half the terms he’d used, and his drawing, which had looked so simple the night before, suddenly seemed as complicated as a manual on spaceship construction.
* * *
When I saw Greg and this other guy coming down the dock, my heart sank. What had I expected? Robert Redford? Rubbing his gnarled fingers against a scratchy grey beard, the old man rolled a fish-like eye along the length of Ms. Bligh. “Well, I’ve gone farther with less,” he croaked.

The day we left, Capt. Andy showed up with a huge fishing chair on a high pedestal. As he began wrestling it into the cockpit, lashing it down with bungee cords and duct tape, I protested.

“You can’t bring that,” I told him. “It’s way too big. It looks ridiculous.”

“Well, I ain’t going without it,” Andy growled. “My back’s bad. I can’t do this without a good chair.”
* * *

The Ms. Bligh heeled over as the sea darkened and the wind picked up. Water shot up through the half-dismantled motor well, and the sea swirled around my ankles. I’d yelled for Andy to take the sail down, so he was crabbing his way back along the deck when the big wave hit, and it knocked him right into his fishing chair. Wobbling from the impact, it swiveled first right then left. Then the bungee cords snapped, and the flat steel base came buzz-sawing across the cockpit.

“I told you that thing was a menace,” I snarled.

Andy tossed me a dark look, mumbling something about women only being allowed in galleys.
* * *
On the morning of the last day of our cruise, I sat sipping my second cup of coffee when Andy finally poked his head out of the hatch. A bit wall-eyed and smelling suspiciously of rum, he clambered into the cockpit beside me.

I pointed to a line of buoys on the chart. “Here’s the channel under the bridge,” I said. “We ought to be in Key West by dark.”

As he hobbled to the bow to raise the anchor, I yanked the cord on the outboard and started the boat moving slowly forward. “A little more. A little more,” he was saying. Then, I heard a big PLOP.

It took me awhile to register the fact that he had gone overboard. Racing up to the bow, I could feel my heart rocking like a bell buoy in bad weather.

“Get a rope. Get a rope.” Andy groaned. His flabby arms shook from the strain of having to hold onto the chain beneath the bowsprit. His skinny legs wrapped around the bob-stay looked like a pair of octopus tentacles.

I still have no idea how I managed to get him back on board.

“I’m going to go below for a few minutes,” he said.

It took me a long time to feel brave enough to peek into the foc’sle hatch to see how Andy was doing. Already, I could imagine myself calling the Coast Guard on the radio I didn’t have. “Ahoy there, this is the captain of the Ms. Bligh. I have a dead man aboard my boat. Can you come right over?”

Welcome to the new MAS Yachting Blog

2009-01-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Mid Atlantic Sail's new Blog.