Category: Uncategorized

Golfing at the Big Sky Club in Yellowstone, Montana can get exciting…

“And you thought that putt was a gimmee…”

The Rolex Fastnet is a classic, and this year with the supermaxis Maximus and Skandia lining up against one another for line honors (not to mention the Volvo Open 70 Movistar lurking in their wakes), there was a lot of chatter about records falling. Not to be, though. Light air has prevailed (at least for most of the time since the start yesterday). But you know what? It doesn’t matter. The racing is close, the pictures are great, and the e-mails are flying off the boats. You can follow all the action via the Rolex website (which has lots of pics) and the Royal Ocean Racing Club site (which is way off the pace; typical). Here’s the latest update from Rolex central. The summary:

Pleasant north-easterly winds have launched the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet down the south-west coast of England this morning. Progress has been faster than expected after the wind rotated gradually round to the north and then to the east. ICAP Maximus holds a good lead over her Maxi rival Skandia Wild Thing, with the Volvo Open 70 Movistar not far behind. ICAP Maximus passed Lands End at 0615 hours, just as the sun was coming up for what looks set to be another glorious day on the water. Skandia Wild Thing passed Lands End at 0630 hours, reporting a boat speed of 14 knots in 11 knots’ wind.

14 knots of speed in 11 knots of breeze. Modern yacht design blows me away…

Fast And Faster: “Heh-heh. Skandia is directly in our wake. Whaddaya say we pump out our holding tank about now…?”

I’ve always thought that Carlo Borlenghi is one of the best sailing shooters out there. But, shooting in black and white, he outdid himself at the recent Opti Worlds. You can see the full stunning set here, thanks to Scuttlebutt…

Some days it just doesn’t go as well as other days. Whether you are sailing (click here for a little slide show, courtesy of Sailing Anarchy), or just trying to climb a rock wall (click here, and prepare to cringe). Glub. Glub. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch…

“Hey, at least the water makes for a soft landing…”
(Photo via Sailing Anarchy)

…and sometimes you are the hunted. The LA Times has a chilling story about an Alaskan grizzly bear that stalks a couple on a rafting expedition, and their guide, Robert. The chase starts at a destroyed camp where it seems that bear has already been doing a little eating. And then the bear gets interested in them:

Jennifer walked the raft into the river and held it there just in case. The bear crested a small dune 40 yards away and started to charge toward them.

For a moment, Robert paused. Alone, he would have dealt with the bear then and there, but Jennifer and Kalin clearly wanted to avoid a confrontation.

Let’s get the hell out of here! he yelled.

They jumped into the raft, and their momentum helped launch the cumbersome inflatable into the balky current. They pulled hard at the water. The river was 40 yards across and braided with bars of sand and gravel. At one point the raft started to scrape bottom, forcing them to jump out, calf-deep, and push, paddles in hand, bear spray in mouth, push and push, until they were floating free again. Back aboard, Jennifer glanced over her shoulder.

The grizzly was running along the riverbank, closing fast. Then he was running beside them.

The bear’s coming down the bank, Robert yelled.

Let Kalin and me take care of the boat, Jennifer said, and you get ready to shoot.

OK. Just don’t get between me and the bear. They knew they first had the revolver, then the bear spray. That was their defense, the game plan. But beyond that, nothing.

What happens? Do you think I would tell you that here? Read the story. It’s a good one…

“Hmm. I wonder how many people I can eat in one day…”
(Photo: Joel Sartore / National Geographic / Getty Images)

I guess I’m on a media roll today (see below). Anyhow, the Chi-Mac is a great race, and thanks to Chicago’s CBS TV, and the wizardry of the internet, you can watch a series of cool reports (and sailors are always bitching that sailing gets no coverage…):

So, without further ado, click here to watch Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

Well, you can’t do any better than that? Oh, wait, yes you can. Here’s a video report from CBS’s on-the-water team, as they rescue some sailors in a turtled tri (classic media question: “Were you scared?” Classic Wetass answer: “Sh*t, yes!”).

Had enough? No (man, you need to get a life)? Well go here for a race preview, and here for yet another! Phew, I’m all Chi-Mac’d out. I almost feel like sitting back and smoking a cigarette…

Mac Attack: “That’s it. Keep the bow down, Larry, and you’ll be first to hit the big shift off the Sears Tower…”

Okay, okay. By now you have probably overdosed on Dave Shaw posts (the Outside article is here). So this will be the last one, providing handy-dandy links to various media.

Okay, here we go:

Want to see a good chunk of Shaw’s head-cam video, and hear Shaw’s diving buddy, Don Shirley, talk you through it? Click here to watch South Africa’s ETV segment…

Want to see a South Africa TV report setting up the recovery dive and describing Bushman’s Hole? Click here…

Want to listen to me ramble away on NPR’s “Talk Of The Nation”? Go here (side note: we did in fact have a great pre-interview discussion about whether I could say “Wetass” on the radio. To NPR’s credit, the answer was “yes, once” and to make sure I said “Wetass Chronicles,” because one of the producers had gone to wetass.com and had her computer assaulted by pornographic popups. In the end, the name of this blog never came up, saving NPR yet another assault from the right-leaning suits that are keeping a close eye on their programming)…

Want to see more of what Shaw’s family had to say? Go here to read the transcript of a program that aired in Australia. I hadn’t seen this before and it really has some good insight into the story…

Want to peruse Dave Shaw’s website, which has lots of pictures and dive reports? Go here…

Can’t find a way to watch the July 15 Nightline program online, so that’s it. We will no longer be all-Dave Shaw-all-the-time. R.I.P. Dave…

The water’s a little chillier, but you can’t deny the added suspense. Watch here. So, so close…

“Heh-heh. Once again snowboards are the way to go…”

For kayaker Rush Sturges, simply running his kayak over a waterfall just isn’t enough. No, no, no. Sturges decided to throw in a little front flip on the way down, and stuck it, becoming the first kayaker ever to land this stunt. And you can watch the whole thing over on Men’s Journal. Sturges’s next move is obvious. A backflip…

“C’mon guys. If Rush can do it, we can too…Can’t we?”

Barring any breaking news, I will be speaking about Dave Shaw on NPR’s “Talk Of The Nation” today. You can listen live here. My bit will be in the second half of the show, between 2:30 and 3:00 pm EST. Do you think I can say “Wetass” on the radio?

“Of course you can say “wetass,” you wimp…”