Category: Uncategorized

If you think your boat is safe from sea lions (see post below) just because it has high topsides, then you should consider this picture:

I found this on a Sailing Anarchy discussion thread, which is full of wild and crazy sea lion stories…

…surf machine. And speaking of Surfer Magazine (see below), check out this video they have of all the Florida Gulf Coasters living it up on the big swell Katrina pushed up as she passed by on the way to New Orleans…

Killer Katrina: “I’m the bitch from hell, but not everyone hates me…”

It’s one of the primo big wave locales on the planet. And Surfer Magazine has got an incredible gallery from photographer Tim McKenna. Their felicitous name for the spread: “Crap Your Pants”…

Maintaining a boat is hard enough, but if you happen to homeport in Newport Harbor, or elsewhere on the Cali coast, you also have to deal with large, grumpy blobs of blubber, otherwise known as sea lions. The LA Times, which has a nice offbeat take here, calls them “rowdy,” and “amphibious sumo wrestlers.” (You can also watch this TV news report which manages to find an actual sea lion on a boat, before it moves on to a discussion of concussion grenades and explaining the difference between a sea lion and a seal). Harbormasters and locals are up in arms because the sea lions are noisy, intrusive and even managed to sink a 37-foot boat (18 of them piled into it; talk about weight on the rail). The usual roster of wacky attempts to scare them off–a fake Orca, rubber bullets, firecrackers–has been tried to no avail. And now the usual human response to animals that annoy is being trundled into play. First, scare the hell out of everyone with warnings about people being killed. Next, abuse and evict the animals (God forbid they scratch the gelcoat…). Being California, it probably won’t work. Get over it, folks. You like the waterfront. They like the waterfront. It’s called “sharing”…

“This idiot has so many lines out to keep us off, it would take him three hours to leave the dock. Loser…”

“If we bark loudly to the tune of Barney these annoying humans are sure to move away and leave us alone…”

“Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated…”
(Photos: Marc Martin/LAT; Don Kelsen/LAT; Don Kelsen/LAT)

It seems to be skydiving week here at TWC. And whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, get into an airplane with these crazies. Why? Watch here, and you’ll see what I mean. They have made an interesting choice in music, though…

“Man, I’m dizzy. But at least I’m not freefalling in that stupid car…”

A couple of kids, a couple of mountain bikes, the most elaborate bike trail I’ve ever seen, and some hypnotic background music. What do you have? A pretty cool video. Watch here…

“This is so much easier without trees…”

It’s out there somewhere…

It’s hard to believe this isn’t a con, a case for Snopes.Com, because this guy is simply unbelievable. His name is Brad Zdanivsky and in his late teens he suffered a car accident that paralyzed him. Not just a limb or two, but most of him. Zdanivsky is a quadraplegic. But apparently he’s not the kind of guy who will let a little paralysis slow him down. Zdanivsky was a rock climber before his accident, and he became a quadraplegic rock climber (a seeming contradiction if there ever was one) after his accident. With the help of a close group of friends he designed a wheeled climbing contraption and started to inch himself up faces. And this summer he knocked off the Stawamus Chief in Squamish, British Columbia. That’s, umm, almost 2000 feet of unforgiving, unrelenting rock. You can read all about Brad and his adventures here. And check out his photo gallery here. Even better, watch a cool Quicktime slideshow (with decent background music) here. This guy is a lock for the Wetass Hall Of Fame. Pretty incredible…

“Heh-heh. Sure it loooks crazy. But it’s not like I’m risking paralysis…”

Every try to squeeze across a starboard tacker in a rising wind, only to bail and attempt the massive duck? Well, next time go for the crash tack instead. Because here’s what can happen when the duck, err, doesn’t quite come off. These pictures were taken by Steve Arkley at the 1720 European Championships on Lake Garda last week (and were given full treatment on the well-worth-the-subscription Daily Sail). Here’s the story:

The crash occurred on second race on Thursday as the predicted southerly Ora wind came in and took the wind speed up to the 20 knot range from more benign conditions at the start of racing.

Go Ferret was on starboard tack on the second upwind leg when she was hit just forward of the chainplates by Incognito. The two boats were locked together for some time and remained afloat while the sails on both were taken down, the relatively smooth water saving the masts from hitting.

Ribs from the host club, Fraglia Della Vela Riva were on the scene quickly and Go Ferret and Incognito were pulled apart with a line to one of the Ribs. Go Ferret, holed on the starboard side was able to reach shore without too much difficulty, but things turned much worse for Incognito, with damage to both sides of the bow, she quickly started taking on water.

Despite all appearances (see below) both boats were salvaged…

“Sorry, Dude…”

“I told you not to pull the boats apart…”

“Glub. glub, glub…”

“Hey Skip, it’s getting really hard to see the weather mark from our rail…”

“You should see the other guy…”

This guy is either a complete idiot, or the coolest cat ever to jump out of a plane (though he does have some competition with the guy who shot a flare through his chute canopy). Barefoot. in jeans. And without actually WEARING HIS PARACHUTE. Anyhow, click here to watch a man with a preposterous plan…

“I don’t care how many sirloins Jeff promised me. This is the last time he uses me as a guinea pig, I mean dog, for one of his stupid stunts…”