Are the organizers of the America’s Cup hoping that there might be some of these moments in the America’s Cup; Ala NASCAR? This collision took place during the Extreme 40 circuit in Istanbul, Turkey.
I am just back from the Block Island Race on “Snow Lion”. (arrived home at 4 am) I will report further once I have edited some video I hope I captured.
Meanwhile, since before leaving for the race I have been excitedly thinking about the video of an interview with Leonora Carrington,(Britain’s lost surrealist) shown to me by my wife. I find it captivating. It touches some many aspects of how we live. Everything we absorb is a perception based on who we are. I am sorry I could not find the video to embed it.
I am about to leave to sail the Block Island Race aboard “Snow Lion”. This will be our only “tune up” for the upcoming transatlantic race starting in june.
The University of Rhode Island women won the national championship on the final day of sailing. This is the first time the women have participated. Congratulations. I hope the rest of the team does not feel the pressure.
I do not see this happening in the United States with the same charm. Reaching further I would say that the America’s Cup from an audience viewpoint should have chosen to take place in Europe. I do not say this watching this video alone, it is an accumulation of events.
Skip is an old friend. I would not dare to compare myself to Skip and his accomplishments. We are however part of a sailing generation that, as you will read, remember the sport in a different light. There was still humor and diversity.
23 May 2011Share |
Novak latest Legends Ambassador
Skip Novak, skipper of Whitbread 1985-86 entry, Drum (famously owned by British rock star Simon Le Bon), is now an Ambassador to the Volvo Ocean Race Legends.
“My genre of deep water sailor men, and I do mean ‘men’ as this was before women joined in earnest with Maiden in 1989, were generally characters of the first degree. Vagabonds, misfits, rebels without cause and pub test-pilots manned the sheets.”
The American has completed four races, his first time finishing second as navigator with King’s Legend at the age of 25 in 1977-78. Novak is the fourth Ambassador to the event, joining Lady Pippa Blake, Magnus Olsson and Sir Chay Blyth CBE, BEM.
“I admit to becoming an ‘addict’ back in the early Whitbread era when, for the best part of 15 years, my life by-and-large revolved around four circumnavigations between the second instalment of the Whitbread until after the 1989-90 race,” says Novak.
“Very few people back then made a living out of the Whitbread race; rather a living was made in between the races with a view to be in a position to do the next one. This meant full time employment with commitment was an anathema, and the possibility of not getting a berth was an emotional crisis.
“My genre of deep water sailor men, and I do mean ‘men’ as this was before women joined in earnest with Maiden in 1989, were generally characters of the first degree. Vagabonds, misfits, rebels without cause and pub test-pilots manned the sheets. They were not the top racing technicians of the day (who looked upon the likes of us as having a screw loose), but instead were generally good seamen offshore, looking for an adventure and a bit of fun onshore and the Whitbread race provided all of that and more.
“Alas, there is no room in today’s fleet for the likes of that lot and certainly not their hi-jinks, some of which still cannot be printed nor repeated in mixed company!
“For a variety of reasons I have never enjoyed a fully-funded completely professional campaign. Instead, my Whitbread history has revolved around eleventh-hour, marginal entries that were less about making a boat go fast and more about crisis management. Because they were newsworthy in themselves they have, however, helped to shape the Volvo Ocean Race we see today.
“Although there were no victories on my score sheets, I have a collection of memories that would be hard to beat. It is true that nostalgia has no place in today’s Volvo Ocean Race, but those of us who were there can still enjoy turning the clocks back, and that is what the Legends Regatta and Reunion is all about. I am proud to be a part of it.”
In 2001 he co-skippered the 33-metre French catamaran Innovation Explorer with Loïck Peyron to second place in the millennium non-stop, no limits circumnavigation
Novak is the author of One Watch at a Time (account of Drum’s race around the world in 1985-86) and Fazisi – The Joint Venture(1989-90)
Novak is a mountaineer and expedition leader, spending most of his time in the Antarctic waters onboard his two expedition yachts, Pelagic and Pelagic Australis, leading climbing and filming projects
Novak’s home is now South Africa
This article first appeared in issue 37 of Life at the Extreme Magazine.
Skip is interviewed in this week’s Volvo Sailing Podcast. Listen to it here.
It might be a patent infringement using these words in the heading without permission. And this coincided with the “rapture weekend”.
Who owns ‘SEAL Team 6?’
POLITICS ELECTION WASHINGTON SENATE CONGRESS MONEY TAXES ECONOMY CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR SEAL TEAM 6 NAVY DISNEY
Christian Science Monitor
| 20 May 2011 | 12:47 PM ET
The military may have spent 10 years tracking down and finally killing Osama bin Laden, but a company that fights its battles with magical spells and dragons may be the one that ultimately cashes in on the military operation.
Just two days after President Obama announced that the Navy group “SEAL Team 6″ had killed Mr. bin Laden, Disney filed applications with the US Patent Office for the trademark of the group’s name. Ten days after that, the Navy put in a trademark application for “SEAL Team.” The Navy’s application, along with the rights that it already has to the trademark “Navy SEALs,” could help block approval for Disney’s request.
If the Patent Office approves, Disney would have exclusive rights to capitalize on “SEAL Team 6” in the ways the company specified on its applications. The company filed three separate requests that cover different areas of how it might use the name, such as for entertainment and education, as well as for Christmas stockings, hand-held video games, footwear, and snow globes.
Disney may get approval, but what’s more likely to happen, says University of Minnesota Law professor William McGeveran, is that Disney and the Navy will reach some kind of mutually beneficial agreement. Law enforcement agencies, such as the New York City Police Department, make such arrangements, lending out their trademark or cars, in exchange for compensation or script approval, Mr. McGeveran says. He could imagine that Disney might want to make a movie or TV show based on SEAL Team 6 and would strike some kind of deal with the Navy.
It could also be problematic for Disney that so many other people have been using the term “SEAL Team 6” commercially since bin Laden’s death, by selling T-shirts or other merchandise with the name. Disney has not used the group’s name commercially yet, which is why it filed an application for its intent to use it.
“Disney might not be the first to commercially exploit this,” McGeveran says.
If they do get the rights, the Navy can’t expand its commercial use of the name SEAL Team 6.
I guess it is a good thing that after reading and hearing about the impending end of the world yesterday I forgot to prepare for my end. Why do we choose to give a man like Harold camping so much attention? Here is a link to a well written article if you are still interested. At least we have time to prepare for 2012.
The devastation in the south and mid-west this spring from rain and tornadoes was unprecedented. It makes me wonder what might be in store for us in the northeast with hurricane season about to start. The La Nina effect is diminishing. It might seem that is good news; but I am not so sure that is true.
2011 Hurricane Season Will Be Above Average, Top Meteorologists Say
Published May 19, 2011 | FoxNews.com
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The nation’s top meteorologists issued their 2011 hurricane-season forecast Thursday, predicting a serious and above-average season — though not one as tumultuous as the violent 2010 season.
Hurricane season for the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico begins June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30. That’s when about 90 percent of the storms make themselves present. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that this year’s season will be above average, with as many as 10 hurricanes blasting their 110 mile per hour winds across the area.
“We could see activity comparable to some of the active seasons since 1995,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
2011 will be above average — even severe, the agency said — but probably not as dramatic as last year.
“This year, we are unlikely to see a repeat of last year,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans & atmosphere and NOAA administrator. The 2010 hurricane season was predicted to be devastating, with as many as 14 hurricanes; it ended up as the third most active on record.
Despite the above average 2010 hurricane season, the country did not have significant damage last year, Lubchenko said. But she urged caution nonetheless. “We cannot count on having the same luck this year,” she said.
NOAA’s forecast for 2011 predicts 12 to 18 named storms with winds 39 mph or greater. Of those, NOAA expects 6 to 10 hurricanes with winds of at least 75 miles per hour. And of those, the meteorologists expect 3 to 6 could be major storms, with winds of 110 mph or greater.
The outlook does not forecast when or where these storms will hit, Lubchenco cautioned.
The waters in the Atlantic ocean are not as warm as they were last year, NOAA said, though they are still warm enough to support an above average season. La Nina, which continues to weaken in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is expected to dissipate later this month or in June. But its impacts — such as reduced wind shear — are expected to continue into the hurricane season and will help boost hurricane formatoin.
This prediction aligns with the forecast issued in early April by Colorado State University meteorologists Philip Klotzbach and William Gray, who predicted a strong forecast for 2011 as well.
“Overall, conditions remain conducive for a very active hurricane season,” their forecast reads.
The national weather agency urged caution and preparedness for anyone who lives within the hurricane evacuation zone.
“The tornadoes that devastated the South and the large amount of flooding we’ve seen this spring should serve as a reminder that disasters can happen anytime and anywhere,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.
“As we move into this hurricane season it’s important to remember that FEMA is just part of an emergency management team that includes the entire federal family, state, local and tribal governments, the private sector and most importantly the public,” he said.
NOAA had predicted the 2010 season would be one of the strongest seasons on record — a forecast that stirred fears that the Gulf oil spill would be impacted by the severe weather.
This post was triggered by a post on my wife’s facebook. One of her friends referenced the poem/film “this is the night mail” A captivating clip. Truly remarkable.
In college I spent the better part of three days with W.H. Auden. Listening to him recite his poems; drinking tea. talking quietly. I haven’t thought about this event in quite some time. Daily life has a way of interfering with things. It is a piece of my life. I could not say that it had a big impact; I did not become a poet or a writer. Yet I would not be who I am, had I not lived this moment; a piece of the puzzle.
Snow Lion has been in the water for two weekends now. We have looked at several new asymmetrical spinnakers and adjusted the instruments. On Saturday we had 13 knots from the south and flat water.
Not terribly interesting or exciting footage but a very pleasant outing for those on board. (the video was filmed with a gopro hero)
