Just 39 days to the start, and you’ve probably never even seen a Volvo Open 70 blasting along. Well, here’s your chance, courtesy of TWC and Annabel Merrison of the Ericsson Racing Team. Team Ericsson was recently training off Finisterre in moderate breeze, and they were filmed cruising along at, umm, 25 knots. Click here to check it out. Very, very nice…
“Hey, Neal. We’re definitely going to have to sail this thing a little flatter…”
“Ahhhh! That’s better…”
(Photo: Rick Tomlinson)
When something interesting, tragic, funny or in any way meaningful happens in the sailing world, the SA forums are there fast, with good commentary and, more often than not, pictures. Example: last Friday, the Swedish Victory Challenge America’s Cup team made an unbelievable mistake. It’s standard practice among AC teams to stabilize their boats and masts–when the boats are ashore in cradles–by tying off a spinnaker halyard to a container. It’s a good idea, except it is very, VERY, VERY important to unclip the halyards before moving the boat. Someone at Victory Challenge–the boats are now in Trappani, Sicily– failed to get this done before the Travelift started moving (and there was too much noise in the compound for the Travelift operators to hear their desperate shouts). The result was a $400,000 carbon fiber mast that was magically reshaped into splintered, carbon fiber junk. Very big Ooops. Almost within minutes, this “Gravity Storm, Sicily” discussion thread was started by someone who was right there (here’s his report: “A few minutes ago, I heard some yelling and swearing in the neighbouring compound and all of a sudden a crashing sound of carbonfibre on top of my container. It seems the ever keen Swedes forgot to untie a spinnaker halyard from the top of their container while pulling out with the travellift. Forgot to untie the springline equals a bad start to the day.Looks like she’s broken in three places. Gotta go check my container roof. Will try and send pictures.”). And not long after the pictures started to post. They are both tragic and, when run by an Anarchist through Photoshop, fu*cking funny. Check the sequence out (think the blonde guy in the third pic is the culprit?)…
And the inevitable SA spin:
Nearly forty years after Francis Chichester launched the modern era of global racing with a one-stop circumnavigation, Gypsy Moth is on her way again. Read all about her history, and restoration, here. It’s great to see an icon sailing, instead of rotting away in drydock…
“At this rate it will only take us three years. Good thing we provisioned with the same amount of gin ‘ol Francis had onboard…”
Is this video meant to encourage people to sign up? Yes, it is, and it will definitely weed out the wimps. The Global Challenge is one of the legacies of Chichester’s epic circumnavigation. And the clip (which arrives thanks to TWC reader Matt Steel-Jessop) will tell you all you need to know about how rough, relentless, and just plain WET the world’s oceans can be. Had enough? No? Okay, watch this one too. Good stuff…
“I just knew there was no such thing as waterproof foulies…”
(Skip Brown–see earlier post–again…)
Who needs snow or water to ski? Not these fools. Watch here…
“What…?”
Hmmm. Katrina was devastating. Rita is on the way. Maybe it’s time to pay a little attention. So here are some handy-dandy hurricane links. First up, a very informative BBC animation (found on The Daily Sail), which actually explains how a hurricane is formed. Check it out (make sure you get to the last page, where you can use your mouse to obliterate some houses and flood the coast) and next time you try to impress your friends with your hurricane IQ, you’ll actually know what you are talking about. Next up, a very concise video, courtesy of National Geographic, which details the genesis and impact of ‘ol Katie. Lots of good, windy shots, plus a reiteration of hurricane genesis for those who were too dim to fully absorb the BBC explanation. And, finally, your very own link which will take you directly to the National Hurricane Center, where you can follow all the hurricane action out there, check out the latest advisories, and keep yourself updated on the predicted track. That should do it. If you crave seeing Anderson Cooper being blown away by 100-plus mph winds, you’ll just have to watch CNN…
Ragin’ Rita: “When I’m done, you’ll be asking ‘Katrina who?’…”
Hey, a record is a record, and this guy deserves his due. Because, if you check out this clip, you’ll see that his record toss (supposedly 50-plus skips), as irrelevant and silly as it might seem, is really pretty impressive. Ready to challenge? Here are some tips…
Okay, here’s a great job title: “Freefall Cinematographer.” What the hell does that involve, you might ask. Well, according to Joe Jennings “I jump from airplanes, helicopters and tall cliffs with helmet-mounted motion picture cameras for feature films, television, and commercials.” That he does, and the results are mesmerizing. Check out Jennings’ website here, and then find the time to check out some of his great demo reels. Such as his “intro reel,” which has got tons of shots from his commercial and movie work (“Helllooo, Drew Barrymore…”), or his “skysurf” reel. Hell, they’re all good. And if you are a true glutton for this sort of stuff, Jennings has a page of 100, yes 100!, clips. Jennings is also kind enough to include a beautiful slide show. You’ll recognize some of this stuff from previous TWC postings. And now we know where they all came from. This is simply one of the best wetass sites I have ever come across…
“I’m delivering pizza at 10,000 feet. What have you done today, loser…?”
You slobbered over Surfer magazine’s killer pics of a big swell at Teahupoo (see post here). Now watch the video. Note to self: learn to surf, dammit…
The Earthist Chronicles 