Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Onda grande! Wow. Big wave! Surf photo.

Holy shit! Big wave riding at the secret spot.

Todos Santos

Monday, September 20, 2004

Oz sailors after a day on their skiff.

Not only do the Aussies have great boats, they have gorgeous mermaids.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Dreya takes off. Kite Surfing photo.

Friday, September 17, 2004

Let's go fly a kite. Up in the atmosphere. Kite surfing photo.

Kite surfing the radical convergence of windsurfing, wakeboarding, surfing, paragliding and power kiting. Invented by the French (Gee, the French can't all be bad), popularised by Robbi Naish in Hawaii, Kite surfing is now ripping up the Bay.

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite
Let's go fly a kite!

Written by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Big Boat Series

From Suttlebutteurope.com



San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A.: Anticipation is growing in San Francisco for the upcoming Big Boat Series Presented by Rolex, set to take place at the St. Francis Yacht Club on September 16-19. The 40th annual regatta has the added distinction of introducing IRC racing in the United States
this year. To date, there are 24 entries in the IRC fleet and a diverse fleet of one-designs that make up the 100-plus boat roster competing for six historic Perpetual Trophies.

Karl Kwok of Hong Kong, China returns to the Big Boat Series after a six-year hiatus and will compete in the nine-boat TP52 class with his one-year-old Beau Geste, which bears the same Chinese red dragon symbol of his previous campaigns. BMW Oracle Racing helmsman Gavin Brady joins the roster.

The defending TP52 class champion is Rosebud, owned by Roger Sturgeon(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and it will be back to defend its title. According to the class organizer, Tom Pollack, this year’s fleet – the largest to date – is particularly notable due to the change in class rules
to accommodate an asymmetrical spinnaker for inshore racing.

In the IRC class, one of the standout entries belongs to Nicholas Lykiardopulo (Athens, Greece). His Kerr 55 AERA is racing its first major regatta in the U.S. with this event and will have in its crew Jez Fanstone, skipper of News Corp in the previous Volvo Ocean Race. Although the IRC fleet will be divided into divisions based on each boat’s individual rating, the group includes such standout entries as the Schumacher 53 Swiftsure II, owned by six-time champion Sy Kleinman(Saratoga, Calif.) who has raced in the event 24 times. Robert Youngjohns(Woodside, Calif.) will debut his new DK 46 yacht Zephyra. -- Dana Paxton

Sponsored by St. Francis Yacht Club.

Saturday, September 04, 2004

Another 18 Foot Skiff photo. Too much wind in yer sails me matey!

Friday, September 03, 2004

OZ comes to the Bay. 18 Footers spoted zipping along the water.


Australia made an appearance on the bay this week in the form of the International Eighteen Foot Skiff. The Saint Francis Yacht Club put on a shindig featuring the skiffs sailing from the Golden Gate to Bay Bridge.

Why do the Aussies have all the cool boats?


Don't fall!

Photo from 18Footers

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Yikes!


Not a good way to start your day. The Gitana X capsizes during this years ORMA 18.28 trimaran championship.

Photo from G. Martin-Raget.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Monster Wave.

Hey Brah, you wanna try da kine wave?

Monday, August 23, 2004

And the winner for the Finn is.....Ben Ainslie


Ben showing the colors.

Ben Ainslie of Great Britain took the Gold in the Finn class.
Olympic Sailing Results

470 Men

A jubilant Kevin Burnham somersaults in to the water as USA win the Gold.

Paul Foerster and John Burnham, USA, Gold

Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield, GBR, Silver
Kazuto Seki and Kenjiro Todoroki, JPN, Bronze

Laser

Robert gets a lift.

Robert Scheidt, BRA, Gold <--Again! This guy never looses.

Andreas Geritzer, AUT, Silver
Vasilij Zbogar, SLO, Bronze

Europe Dinghy

A happy Siren crosses the finish line to take the Gold.

Siren Sundby, NOR, Gold

Lenka Smidova, CZE, Silver
Sarah Blanck, AUS, Bronze
Rowing News - US - Men's 8 wins Gold - Women's 8 wins Silver - Rowing Pau Hana



SCHINIAS, Greece – The men’s eight won the gold medal, ending a 40-year Olympic gold-medal drought, while the women’s eight brought home the silver medal on Sunday at the Olympic rowing competition at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center.

The men’s eight of Pete Cipollone (Ardmore, Pa.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.), Joey Hansen (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chris Ahrens (Milwaukee, Wis.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), and Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.) took the lead off the start and never permitted a serious challenge as it went wire-to-wire in winning the gold medal. The crew took a slight lead at the 500-meter mark before extending its advantage to more than three seconds at the midway point of the race. The U.S. kept the rest of the field at bay for the remainder of the row, finishing 1.27 seconds ahead of the Netherlands. Australia won the bronze in a 5:45.38. For the U.S., it was the first Olympic medal in the men’s eight since winning a bronze in 1988 and the first gold medal since 1964.


Crazy Eights: U.S. crews get gold, silver

The women’s eight of Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Lianne Nelson (Seattle, Wash.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Laurel Korholz (La Jolla, Calif.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Alison Cox (Turlock, Calif.), Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.), Sam Magee (Simsbury, Conn.), and Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore.) came away with the silver medal after finishing 1.86 seconds behind Romania. The U.S. boat held a narrow 0.26-second lead on the Romanians for the first half of the race, but the defending Olympic champions had a little more speed over the final 1,000 meters as they inched ahead of the U.S. boat. The Americans clocked a 6:19.56 to Romania’s 6:17.70. The Netherlands won the bronze medal in a 6:18.85. For the U.S., the medal was the first in the women’s eight since winning gold in 1984 in Los Angeles.

For the final Olympic Rowing standings the link is here.
The WWE meets swimming. Hall wins Gold in the 50m.



Gary Hall, looking like Jesse The Body Ventura, greets his fans.



Bow to me slaves! I am the King of the 50m. Leave me off the relay team...take that coach!

Friday, August 20, 2004

Look at that spinnaker! Sailing Pic.



49er - USA

Tim WADLOW and Pete SPAULDING (USA) competing in race 8 of the Double-handed Dinghy Open - 49er event, 20 August, 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition, Athens, Greece.

Photo from ISAF
Laser showdown: Going for the Gold on Sunday



Will Brazilian Robert Scheidt, reclaim the Gold medal which he lost to Ben Ainslie in 2000? The 7 time world champ looks like he should do it but it will be a good hard fight.



French sailor Felix Pruvot in the Olympic Laser event.

Photographer: ISAF
Nuzum and Abdullah to Race for Medals in Saturday’s Finals at Olympic Regatta



SCHINIAS, Greece – The men’s double sculls tandem of
Henry Nuzum (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Aquil Abdullah
(Washington, D.C.) will race for a medal on Saturday,
the first day of finals of the Olympic rowing competition
at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center.

Photos by Ed Hewitt.
Yngling Olympic Gold goes to Great Britain



British team Shirley Robertson, Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton sailed for Gold and victory. Kudos!

Thursday, August 19, 2004

470 Sailing. Olympic Gold for Sofia and Emilia.



Greek sailors Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoufla made their country proud today by winning the Gold medal in the Women's 470. They made history and claimed the Gold by crossing the finish line at 16:20 in race 10.



Photos from Sofia and Emilia's site.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Meet the Boats. The International 470.



Specifications
Length Overall
15' 5"(4.7 m)
Length Waterline
14' 7"(4.4 m)
Beam
5' 6"(1.68 m)
Draft
6"(.5 m)
Weight
264 lbs(120 kb)
Total Sail Area
137 sq. ft.(12.7 sq. m)



Dessiné en 1963 par André CORNU, le 470 est né en France, à Quiberon. Son succès fut si populaire à travers le monde qu’il devint série olympique en 1976 pour les hommes, en 1988 pour les femmes.Aujourd’hui 35 000 "quat'sept"470 naviguent dans 50 pays.

Les français les plus prestigieux se sont succédés sur ce bateau et ont remporté de nombreuses victoires internationales. Que faut il de plus à un bateau? Le 470 est l'essence même du dériveur.



The 470 was designed in 1963 by the André Cornu, as a modern fiberglass planing dinghy.  The boat should appeal to sailors of different size and age.  This formula was right, and the boat spread around the world.  In 1969 the class was given international status and it has been an Olympic class since 1976.  In 1988 the first Olylmpic Womens event was sailed, naturally in the 470.

The 470 is equipped with spinnaker and trapeze, which makes sailing a real teamwork.  The 470 is not difficult, but to be competitive, everything should be mastered to perfection.  Tactically the boat is demanding as speed differences are small and fleets are usually big.

To sail the 470 a good physical health is enough, strength is not crucial.  The competitive crew weight is 110 - 145 kg.  This makes it ideal for both women and men.  On the national level there are a log of sailors outside this weight range who enjoy racing the 470.

Photos from 470 Asitalia.

International 470 Home.
Meet the Finn. Not a guy from Finland but the boat.


Finn in action downunder.


More Oz action.


The Call of Hawaii.


Look at her plane!


Surf action.

Il Finn è stato progettato nel 1949 dal Finlandese Rickard Sarby ed è classe Olimpica ininterrottamente dal 1952.

The Finn dinghy first competed in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki as the men's single-handed discipline. The boat was deigned by Rickard Sarby.

Specifications
Length
14' 9"(4.54m)
Beam
4' 11"(1.25m)
Weight
319lbs(144.7kgs)
Sail area
110 ft2(10m2)

Photos from International Finn Association