Pilothouse. Sailboats.

                                      Trend TYD # 325

Illustration of Comanche

- 40 Meter Trend. TYD#325

R.O.R.C Caribbean 600.

Peanut Butter.

The starting point for racing, lots of it. We are far from, when Edmond de Rothschild on Gitana during the 1971 Fastnet race insisted on formal dinner down below, with wine of course. Dick Carter was not pleased about it. The boat did fine, I think the fastest elapsed time from the Fastnet to the finish.

Ragtime Hull Design with Blender.

I am not familiar with the Blender program but I found it by chance on You Tube. I am not ready to learn about another way to design a boat via another electronic pencil; at least not yet. My interest lays in the subject chosen; a couple of my drawings that Paolo Furani is using with Blender. I do not know Paolo Furani from Italy, but I appreciate the fact that he took upon himself to develop my projects with Blender. Thank you.

Il n'y a qu'un pas, and foiling is here!

Christmas, New Year et tutti quanti.

Do you remember  when after the Summer Vacation, the first task back at school is to describe what you have been doing during the summer  season. Well, the practice stops early on since nobody would volunteer past a certain age to ask what you had actually been doing.
For Christmas, New year not much time to get into trouble, but here it is. Just enough.
My son Chauncey, has a house in Charleston in South Carolina. He actually lives in New-York City, but after a long detour for extended family future I hope, he picked me up in Newport R.I. and we drove of. We had done the trip before, but on the day before Christmas it not the easiest way to get on the road. Riding South, having to go around N-Y, Washington D.C and with everything in between, eventually we had to stop in a real flee back Motel by 3 in the morning. Five hours later, back on the road again.
I like Charleston. Usually, for me a stop over on boat deliveries when the season turns to go South again for the large migrant fleet from the North and from Newport in particular.
Christmas came. Received presents, but did not gave any. My contribution: to feed; cook and liquor the whole lot for a week and half. I thought a fair deal for five people.
My daughter Dominique  escaped the Holidays by being Chef on Topaz, the majestic J Class boat in St. Marteen and the B.V.I. Altogether the best.

Well, Chauncey worked on the house. Sefton, his half brother and I cleaned the yard, cleared all debris; a good thing. But the highlight was about the boat. The delivery from Harbor Spring Michigan of the Lone Star 14', an aluminum launch. Built in 1955, with an 18 H-P Johnson outboard of the same age. We managed to spend on safety gear just to be legal 1/4 of the boat value. Including miscellaneous equipment, fenders, dock lines etc. West Marine here we go again. That figures. Anyhow, launching came. The boat is riveted  and it was a relieve to see no leaks. We had a beer baptism and Ammy broke the aluminum can on the aluminum boat.

Vendee Globe Race 2012 starting today and for the next 3 months.

- My favorite race in the whole wide world. The most challenging event for a solo person to accomplish in a lifetime; the Vendee Globe Ocean Race.

- Macif, the last Vendee Globe winner. I reconstituted the lines to offer views of what the 2012 winner looks like. You can follow her track under her new name SMA

Time of the year.

Exodus will start soon. The first of November is the date when the yacht migration to the South is beginning. The date is the cut off when the Hurricane season is officially over and when expensive insurance will actually insure you.
The video of Adix leaving Newport in advance, has a stop over in Charleston, South Carolina. This is considered coastal navigation and not offshore when the B.V.I, Antigua, St. Marteen are the destination for many of the yachts via or not Bermuda.

The second video is about the J8 Topaz, leaving Newport for Antigua. The day before her departure, I had the pleasure to be aboard for a sea trial. First time on a J since Shamrock 5 so many years ago.