Category: Uncategorized

Okay, enough goofing off. There’s too much crazy sh*t going on out there. And first up in the Wetass fall lineup are two Italians–Stefano Barbaresi, 37, and Stefania Mensa, 29–who last Thursday moved in together near Ponza. What’s the big deal about that, you might ask? Well, they didn’t just move into an efficiency flat and hit IKEA. They moved into a very unique abode that is, you guessed it, underwater. Twenty six feet underwater. Barbaresi and Mensa aim to break the Gunniness record for living underwater, and their plan is to stay at their watery address for 10 days. But being Italian they are not just hanging around underwater doing nothing and eating power bars while their brains rot. They are doing it with style. They have proper beds (with nets over them to keep them from floating away), exercise bicycles (anchored in the sand), and plastic furniture in a roofless living room (with an excellent view of a sunken rowboat). They are obviously not masochists. And so they have also arranged for an underwater dry chamber, which they will repair to every five hours or so to eat, change their breathing sets, and drink Chianti…

Ponza Patio: “Dammit, Stefano, why won’t this BBQ get hot…?”

Okay, okay. I’m a slacker and a bum. Yes, I thought I’d get back into the swing of things this week, Labor Day being over and all. But it’s just that the weather is nice, the J22 East Coast Championships start tomorrow, and it still feels like summer out here on the Rhode River. So I goofed off. I played hookey. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Err, sorry?

Anyhow, I’ll be back online Monday with reports, videos and the usual general mayhem…

“Umm, mark’s abeam…”
(Photo: Alden Bugly)

Here’s where I’ll be. Glandore Harbour (and I might just step into the pub on occasion). That’s Adam on the left, and Eve on the right. The pilot instructions for entering the harbor are typically poetic (it’s Ireland after all): “Avoid Adam, hug Eve.” Back September 6, when the Guinness hangover wears off…

Another great action shot–of Philippe Kahn’s new Transpac 52–from Sharon Green…

This isn’t really Wetass material, but if you think you are having a bad day just check out this video (they found the perfect soundtrack, though if you are averse to foul language mute your speaker). Make sure you stick around at least until the bear…

“Hey, we might as well do an oil change…”

Wanna get an idea of how slow the Fastnet Race is this year? Just check out these pictures of ICAP/Maximus and Skandia Wild Thing rounding the famed light…


(Photos: Daniel Forster/Rolex (top); Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex (bottom))

Putting speed together with comfort is the Holy Grail of cruising cat design, and it ain’t easy to do because weight and performance on a cat are in direct conflict. But light, modern materials are allowing designers to get ever-closer to making us all grin like idiots, and the folks at Reynolds Sailing are doing their best to make it happen. They’ve got an R33 in production and are getting ready to debut an R44. They are throwing around numbers like “18 knots in only 10 knots of wind” which sounds a bit exaggerated. But I’d be happy with 14 knots in 10 knots of wind. Interested? Check out this very nice video (there are more short clips here) of an R33 racing off Newport, California. Not a lot of wind, but you get a pretty good sense of what the thing will do. Plus, a nice Enya soundtrack to lull you into catamaran catatonia…

“Hah. Hah. Look at those mono mopes. They motor. We fly a hull. Losers…”

The beach cat crowd is full of techno-geeks. And thank god for that, since they have wired up the ongoing F18 North Americans, and are posting some cool race videos on this website (watch the Race 2 video to see what happens when a squall smacks a beach cat racing fleet; righting those suckers in a breeze can be pretty comical). You can also follow the rounding-by-rounding action on the regatta blog (plus, check out this Flash gallery). Note to regatta organizers: this is the way to get it done…

F18 Flameout: “The good news is that by being down here we have reduced windage up top. The bad news is I can’t steer…”

Seems like giant surboards are all the rage. Last April we took a look at a 40-footer that carried 47 “surfers: for a ride. Today, thanks to Surfer magazine, you get to see what happens when 60-plus surfers ride a small wave. Click here for the video (bonus: great music…plus good surf competition footage following the monster board section). We had the quest for the 100-foot wave. Now we are obviously in a race for the 100-man surfboard. Crazy stuff…

Surfboard Silliness: “Dude, how about 100 surfers on a hundred-foot wave? Wait, I think I’m drunk…”
(Video by Mark Williams)

The world’s biggest, fastest racing yachts may be on their way to the famed Fastnet Rock right now (see below). But the last fleet to head for Fastnet was at the opposite end of the scale: a fleet of 21-foot Minis. One of them was a Slovenian boat called “Adria” (site is in Slovenian, but some reports are in English). And in addition to sailing along at some pretty scorching speeds her two skippers took the time to make the best film on Mini sailing I have seen yet (decent music, too). Click here to watch it, and feel the Mini-addiction begin…