September 2003
MORC Still Alive
There was some rumor that MORC was going to shut down, so we contacted Matt Dubois, the MORC International Commodore and here is what he said:
As of now, MORC is still a viable active organization (although we have had a limited number of regattas and participation this year) We are going to discuss these issues at our winter Board of Governors meeting in January 2004 - we will know more about the future of MORC at that time. There are currently no plans to do anything other that to keep MORC going.
09/30/2003
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Speaking of Art...
Last week we put up a piece on an old PJ hull being used as art (See "It's Not IOR, It's Art" below). Looks like the precedent has already been set: This is USA 36, The Mermaid now firmly planted in the ground at an outdoor art/sculpture museum in NY. Perhaps it finally found a place where it can't be beat like a drum?
09/22/2003
It's Not IOR, it's Art!
This from the Trade Only Daily publication: Palmer Johnson Inc., the Sturgeon Bay, Wis., yacht builder trying to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has donated an unfinished, 1980s-era hull to the Door County Maritime Museum for a waterfront display. The aluminum hull will be placed near the museum on a grassy area next to the Michigan Street Bridge, according to a report in today’s Green Bay Press-Gazette. “We have a nice collection of artifacts revolving around the heritage of Sturgeon Bay shipbuilding,” museum spokesperson Anni Lampert told the newspaper. “This would be a nice piece to round out the more recent activity in the industry.” The smooth lines and burnished appearance of the unfinished hull resemble abstract modern sculpture, the newspaper says.
So what do you think this is, some old IOR pig that an owner bailed out on and left PJ holding the bag? Props to the genius who thought to tell the museum that it's art, donate it and write off a $200,000 custom race boat hull! Good times.
09/18/2003
Californicated
This
may not mean much to any of you outside of Cali, but the genius government
here has passed legislation that entitles illegal aliens the right
to get a California driver's license. Not legal aliens, illegal
aliens. We're not racist, and we're not xenophobic, but god damn it,
where does this nonsense stop? If you want a CDL, you should at least
be legal, and anybody with half a brain thinks so too. Except of course
idiots like Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante. It is insanity like this
that reaffirms that we are doomed as a society. Jesus, Schwarzenegger
can't get here too soon. And of course that in itself is a ridiculous
notion, but that's how completely fucked things have gotten here in
The Golden State, thanks to the current administration.
09/15/2003
No BS BBS
Long
considered the premier event on the West Coast, this year's offering
of the Big Boat Series in Frisco was considered a success by most
(unless of course you got your ass kicked, then you probably didn't
think it was all that great). A bunch of boats in a bunch of classes
sailed a bunch of races for some pickle dishes. Check out www.stfyc.com.
for all the dope.
09/15/03
Dirt
Besides being one of the best "grunge" albums of all time, Dirt (by Alice In Chains) for me also means mountain biking, and as I always do at this time of year, your Faithful Ed is heading off for a few days of downhilling at Mammoth Mountain here in Cali.
A sure sign that you and everybody you hang with is getting old, both my brother and friend who were going with me dropped out with bad backs. I reckon I'll wait to hurt mine on the trail. Dawg is holding down the fort while I'm gone, and we've got some great stuff scheduled for this week.
Since
I am a bit of a pussy, I'll be staying at a nice condo (real men
camp, so I'm told), I'll have my lap top, and can get email if you
must reach me. Highly unlikely.
Good times. - Ed.
09/09/03
Five-Oh N.A.'s
 The winners, Tyler Moore and Peter Alarie |
505's are very cool. Amazingly, they were created way back in 1954 and to this day remain a good boat and a solid class. They just had their North Americans in Massachusetts, and Thomas Hurwitch of WitchCraft Boats was kind enough to send us the following report. Congrats to winners Tyler Moore (skipper) and Peter Alarie (crew). Here are some more photos. Enjoy.
As promised, West Marine, Harken, WitchCraft Boats and Falmouth, MA delivered the kinds of conditions International 505 sailors (and most other sailors) dream of. Winds were consistently firm in the 10-20 knot range all week-making for an exciting event. Thirty three teams from Canda, California, the Midwest, Southeast, Midatlantic and Northeast descended upon a new venue, Falmouth Yacht Club, for the August 26-30 event. Ultimately, Hampton, VA sailor (and once local) Tyler Moore and crew Peter Alarie (Bristol, RI) won the event with an impressive 1,2,1,2,1,1,1,DNS-avoiding the only light air race of the week-on Saturday, thanks to their impressive record. In second was another local boat, Tim Collins & Bill Smith, with 14 pts. followed by Californians Doug Hagan & Rob Woefle. In fourth were Ethan Bixby and Erik Booth of St. Petersburg Florida followed by Jeff Boyd & Martin TenHove of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Next year’s North Americans will be sailed off the coast of Santa Cruz and will be preparation for the worlds, to be held the following week, at the same venue.
Event
Site: http://www.ne505.org/2003NAhome.htm
09/04/03
$$$$
Nice Problem to Have
This comes by way of one of our pilot friends, and a wealthy boat owner. Can you imagine having this discussion? Lucky sperm indeed.
I
hate to throw a new variable in the mix at this point, but we
should ask about the Citation III and why we wouldn't want to own
that instead of the Citation V Excel. It has 5.9 ft cabin height,
5.8 ft cabin width, and 18 ft cabin length (from cockpit divider)
-- the same as the Excel. It does Mach .85 instead of .75, and hits
51,000 feet instead of 45,000 (although you probably don't want
to go there a lot due to gamma radiation). The biggest thing is
that it has 2,641 nautical mile range with 6 passengers and IFR
reserves (i.e., 45 minutes). You give up a tiny bit of takeoff performance
(its 4350 feet at full weight of 20,000 lbs vs. 3590 at the same
weight in the Excel), but you get coast-to-coast sometimes and Hawaii,
maybe (although I doubt it). They haven't made them since 1991 (and
I don't know if there was a follow-on besides the Citation 10 with
the same cabin and long range), but a '91 runs $6.2m. We probably
want the newer Excel for maintenance, safety, and other reasons.
Oh,
we couldn't agree more. Why not get two, ya prick?
09/03/03
Winners
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As always these are fun, and thanks to all of you who played along. The Sailing Pro Shop has once again generously donated some great prizes to the Big Weinners. First place gets the choice of one of the cool new DryShirts or a Sailing Pro Shop duffle bag, second place gets whichever the winner doesn't want(!), and third gets a Sailing Pro Shop long sleeved shirt. You Big Weinners be sure to send The Ed an email to confirm. Good times!
3rd Place - "It's okay, I've got a spare from TNZ." - Al.
2nd Place - "You sure this thing is not a Tom 28?" - Caption Contest.
1st Place - "Staunch and True - Fuck you!" - Lars P.
09/04/03
The Numbers
Hit It
You know that I don't profess to be the most computer literate guy, but I've come a ways (thanks to Dawg's many hours teaching me the same thing over and over and over....).
So I'll be the first to tell you that I do understand that hits to the site are not the most meaningful traffic statistic, but August saw a record number that just has to be seen to be believed:
9,276,478.
That is over 3 million more than the previous month high, and page views, which are the real indicator of activity, were a record number as well at 2 million plus. Great traffic and a big Thank You to all of you that are tuning in.
-The Ed.
09/02/03