I Like To Watch…

Most of us talk a lot about sailing, think a lot about sailing, and even occasionally go out sailing. But it’s a cruel, demanding world and the truth is we have to spend a lot of time indoors, behind desks, umm, working (at least when you are not here wasting your company’s time on Sailing Anarchy). So to my way of thinking, one of the greatest revolutions in the sport of sailing in recent years is a little thing called YouTube. Sailors can bitch and moan all they like about Nascar getting more TV time. But it’s not like there isn’t plenty to watch. So f*ck the networks. They just dumb it all down anyhow. And instead revel in the fact that you can, with the click of a mouse, watch just about anything. So here’s a little tour of random cool sh*t.

Let’s start with Old Media, and by that I mean the first man to really put sailing on TV with any regularity, Gary Jobson. If you click on over to Jobson Sailing, where you can watch vid of the Miami OCR, and, coming shortly, daily summaries from Miami Acura.

Then we have Jobson’s putative successor, Tucker Thompson, over at t2p.tv. Unfortunately for Tucker, it’s probably hard to rake it in with subscription TV when YouTube is free. But he does manage to put up some good stuff (and you can watch everything for free in low res), including this excellent crash and burn series called “Upside Down Is Slow”. Yes, you have to log in. Just do it and stop whining...

Okay. Thanks, Gary and Tucker. It’s all nice, but a little bland. So let’s get some YouTube-type sizzle going.

How about getting onboard a Hobie ripping downwind. Nice ending. Textbook stuff...

If you think that was rough, check out this Hobie pitchpoling on the French Trench. Hope they were wearing crash helmets. Merde...

Not climactic enough? How about Maximus losing her rig? Checkbook, please...

Hmm. How about some speed? Like big tri Geant blasting across flat seas to opera, and getting pasted by rough seas...

Hell, let’s add some wakeboarders to that scene. Nice...

nd best of all, sometimes you just stumble across wild stuff, like this windsurfer dodging icebergs in Antarctica. We are not worthy. Dude, wait, don’t go too close to that big ice wall! Don’t you know there is this thing called global warming? Arrgggghhh...

The only thing better is to BE sailing.


“Dammit, I just know this is going to be all over YouTube…”

Have A Wetass Weekend (and make sure you film it),

Tim Zimmermann