Around the World of Sailing

26 September 2001

Event News: Around Alone and Everest Horizontal

Three years ago to the day the last sailing of Around Alone
started from Charleston South Carolina. A year from now the
next Around Alone will start, likely from Newport RI.
Milwaukee sailor Tim Ken will be on the starting line in
Everest Horizontal. This is the first Great Lakes based
campaign since Paul Thackaberry's.

Currently Everest is underway heading to the Atlantic Coast.
In January/ February Tim will tackle his 2,000 mile qualifying
sail.

Tim's top priority is fundraising, especially to pay for a new
sail wardrobe. The sails that came with Everest are not top
quality with a too full jib and no gennakers.

To be competitive Tim will need a new main which he hopes to
replace at least once during the race. He'll also need
several genoas for his furler, and a staysail and a solent for
his inner furler. He will need asymmetrical and symmetrical
spinnakers, fractional and mast head 3/4 and 1.5 ounce plus
storm sails.

New sails will cost approximately $ 100,000 in US Dollars. If
he can raise this money he will buy American. If not buying
from an overseas lost and nearly halving the cost of sails is
an option.

Sailors or corporations interested in partnering with Everest
Horizontal should use the link below.

Other sailors entered include: Brad Van Liew, Graham Dalton
and Bernard Stamm.

Links:
Everest Horizontal
http://www.everesthorizontal.com/about.html
Around Alone
http://www.aroundalone.com/home/index.htm

Event News: Volvo Ocean thru Day 4

Sunday was the start for the 8 boats. An offwind start with
notable news for both Amer Sports-Nautor boats. Amer Sports
Too skippered by Lisa Mcdonald blew out a spinnaker as it set,
setting them back. Amer Sports One proved fast in the
reaching conditions and was the earl leader.

Dee Smith Drives Amer Sports One
Credit: Amer Sports One

The next day the wind had lightened. Ilbruck and SEB took a
Southern slant, while the rest of the fleet held west.

Juan Vila on illbruck
Credit: Ray Davies

Gura
Krantz of SEB reported, "Just now we get some week wind coming
back from approx. 190 degrees and 3 knots."

SEB led for awhile and then was overtaken by Tyco. After the
light stuff, the wind came from the south and was soon on the
nose and heavy. The southerly gambit had paid. Breakage for
Amer One a halyard lock and Djuice a main headboard car. Knut
Frostad Djuice skipper, "we had to lower the mainsail for
quite a few hours and sail without the mainsail." They are
now last.

Kevin Shoebridge Tyco skipper describes the situation, "It has
been an uncomfortable night of banging and crashing as we beat
across the Bay of Biscay." Currently Ilbruck holds the lead
with Tyco 2 miles back and Amer One 7 miles away. They are
drag racing with only a 4-degree variance in course and .1
knot difference in VMG. Winds are 12 to 16 knots with
temperatures in the 60's. The fleet should stay on the wind
for several days. The next weather system may favor boats to
the West such as 5th place News Corp, so things are far from
settled.

Meal Time for News Corp
Credit: JON GUNDERSEN/Team News Corp

Links:
Position Report
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/result/position/leg_1/
Tyco
http://www.teamtyco.com/teamtyco/FullStory.jsp?story=142
News Corp Report
http://www.teamnewscorp.com/news/latest/tnc_Latest_News_Leg1/0,1529,576,00.html
SEB Report
http://www.teamseb.com/teamseb/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=136&a=657

News:Boat Smart
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/se/0926/ms.htm

Kayaks not for the untrained

By Senior Chief Tom Rau, Coast Guard Group Grand Haven

It seemed like a grand idea for Shannon Shull to celebrate her
friend's fortieth birthday with a kayak trip on Lake Michigan.
The ill-planned Lake Michigan adventure nearly turned fatal.
Ironically, the women launched their Kayaks from Johnson's
Funeral home located along the Manistee River Channel. Both
may have returned to Johnson's in a hearse. What a way to
celebrate a birthday.

The mild September afternoon found the air temperature in the
70's, with the water temperature around 60 degrees. Warm
southerly winds contributed to Lake Michigan's beguiling lure.
The half-mile paddle out to Lake Michigan went without concern
for the novice kayakers even though small craft advisories
were in effect. Shannon had recently purchased the kayaks and
frequently used them, but she had no formal training. Her
friend had no experience at all.

As they neared the Manistee River mouth all hell broke loose.
The south breakwater that extends 1900-feet out into Lake
Michigan offered a lee for the paddling duo, but as they
neared the North Pierhead, a stiff southwesterly wind and huge
swells greeted them. As they plunged into the trough,
towering waves blocked their view of the 55-foot high North
Pierhead light. Wind and waves swept them north.

When they tried to turn back to the harbor her friend
capsized. Fortunately she wore a life jacket . Her friend
struggled to re-enter the kayak, which she did only to capsize
again. It took 40 minutes for her to re-enter the boat after
exhausting much energy. All the while, the wind drove them
north further away from the harbor. On shore, people appeared
as tiny figurines moving along the water line. They carried no
flares or other means of attracting attention. They wore only
bathing suits and life jackets.

Shannon, a former lifeguard, paddled towards shore and prayed
they didn't capsize. Two hours after breaking the harbor
mouth the lake dumped them on the beach. Lucky. You bet. Had
the wind shifted, had night fallen, had it turned cold as it
often does in mid September, they might have returned to
Johnson's, in boxes. One thing is certain, with their limited
kayak experience they did not belong on the lake. l would
like to quote my friend, Vicky, an experienced scuba diver-
"arrogance and ignorance kill". Shannon agrees.

Would Shannon do it again? You bet. Since that experience
Shannon has spent hundreds of hours kayaking, attended kayak
training camps, and refined her skills with her husband, Jay,
also an experienced kayaker. Jay experienced a similar kayak
mishap that inspired him to pursue training. During a
training camp he met Shannon. Today, both feel confident that
they can handle most situations, and they know which ones to
avoid.

Safe boating simply boils down to training and awareness. By
the way, because you're well trained and experienced on one
watercraft, that doesn't qualify you on others. Shannon and
Jay provided me a lesson in basic kayak 101. I approached the
lesson as if I had never been on a boat, which soon became
apparent. With Shannon and Jay nearby providing instructions,
I grew comfortable dealing with the kayak's handling features.
Should I pursue the sport, I definitely would seek additional
training, especially with experienced folks like Shannon and
Jay.

Don't let anyone tell you such training is not necessary. Boat
fatalities tell another story. Canoes and kayaks have nearly
double the fatality rate of other watercraft compared to time
spent on the water. In New England states, half of all
fatalities involve paddle sports. As of 20 August 2001 more
than eight deaths are linked to canoeing and kayaking on the
Great Lakes and its tributaries. Coast Guard Boating
statistics for year 2000 show 104 canoe and kayak related
deaths- representing nearly 15-percent of all recreational
boating fatalities.

That's the bad news. The good news is basic training and
proper equipment promises to enhance the bountiful enjoyments
of canoeing and kayaking. Here are some tips to help you
paddle smarter: ¨ Seek formal training ¨Water under 70 degrees
should be considered cold. ¨Avoid cottons and other fabrics
that absorb and hold water¨Vertigo is caused when one eardrum
is colder than the other. This effects balances and can lead
to a roll over. Wear headgear that covers the ears.¨In moving
water, float with feet downstream and up in the air, and float
behind the boat. ¨ Wear the proper clothing- wetsuit, or
drysuit. Carry distress signals and a whistle ¨ Learn self
rescue including deep-water re-entry ¨Practice group rescue
¨Leave a float plan ¨Know your route¨BE VISIBLE! ¨WEAR A
LIFEJACKET.

Bill Keith, President of West Michigan Coastal Kayakers
reports on a number of occasions he and his wife have observed
paddlers heading out onto Lake Michigan not wearing life
jackets.

If these tips come as a surprise, it's a good sign you need
training.
Boat Smart- seek it.

Theme: Electronics
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/se/0926/ms.htm

This year the 8 boats sailing the Volvo Ocean Race are allowed
to access the Internet while sailing. Each boat can chose 10
sites. Access is then monitored by the Race Office. If
you've ever wondered what sites professional sailors and
navigators use for weather we now have the chance to know.
Here is the complete list of chosen sites. Some were chosen
by more than 1 boat.

http://www.noaa.gov
http://www.ecmwf.int
http://www.meto.gov.uk
http://www.marineweather.com
http://www.cimss.ssec.wisc.edu
http://www.uni-koeln.de/math-nat-fak/geomet/meteo
http://www.infomet.fcr.es
http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk
http://52.80.49.204/
http://www.weathersa.co.za
http://www-ccar.colorado.edu
https://www.nlmoc.navy.mil
http://www.inm.es
http://www.met.fsu.edu
http://www.knmi.nl
http://weather.ec.gc.ca
http://www.raytechonline.com
ftp://polar.wwb.noaa.gov
http://www.mercator.com.fr
http://www.met.fu-berlin.de
http://manati.wwb.noaa.gov
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk
http://www.ems.psu.edu
http://www.volvooceanrace.org
http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov
http://www.met.igp.gob.pe
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu
http://www.oceanweather.com
http://www.wetterzentrale.de
http://www.meteo.fr
http://rain.mmm.ucar.edu
http://www.fnmoc.navy.mil
http://www.navcenter.com
http://www.arl.noaa.gov
ftp://40.90.6.03
ftp://ftp.ncep.noaa.gov
http://www.weather.noaa.gov
http://www.egs.uct.ac.za/csag
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html
http://www.atmos.albany.edu
http://meteosat.e-technik.uni-ulm.de
http://imkpc3.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de
http://atmosfera.lma.fi.upm.es
http://www.wisc.edu
http://www.uct.ac.za
http://www.ecmwf.int
http://www.oceanweather.com