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Keeping Up with the Cup – San Francisco

After winning his fifth Olympic gold medal and just a short month of preparation under his belt, Ben Ainslie and the J.P. Morgan BAR crew, have taken to the race course. An early lead in the first race led to a 17 second victory, with a third place finish in the second race, making them the series’ overall…

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Views From Aloft

Here we had to go aloft to conduct a rigging inspection after a lightning strike. We installed a new 15″ Windex and tang. Spec’d some new Lazy Jack blocks and a new anchor light bulb. ……….. ……nice n’ easy. Okay, can anyone guess where we are? Other than aloft on a sailboat mast of course;-0) It was…

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A 1903 Lawley Built Yacht

When I started in the marine industry, I was fortunate enough to work aboard a truly unique yacht. The name of this yacht was Witchcraft.  The yacht was built in 1903 by the Lawley Ship Yard in Boston, MA and designed by B.B. Crowninshield.  Originally, the boat had a very tall gaff rigged mast which…

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Emirates Team New Zealand ‘s AC72

Check out the new AC72 in action and hear some of sailings best commentators describe the awesome yacht from both on-board and off. Peter Lester , who was apparently one of the first non-crew guests on the fixed winged, hydro foiling, super catamarans. Discusses the experience in disbelief, being no slouch himself and having won the New Zealand Yachtsman of…

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Wally Yachts!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ghMamUfL4&w=560&h=315] You just can’t find a more modern and sleek yacht today. Wally Yachts never cease to impress me. Although far beyond any reaches I can imagine, it is still fun to stare. Have you ever seen one of those 3d sketches of a really cool, modern looking car or boat that might be…

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MOD 70 European Tour

Now this is exciting stuff! There is only one thing more exciting than flying a hull on a catamaran and that is flying two hulls on a tri-maran. The same boats from the Krys Ocean Race that broke all of the Trans-At records, now tour Europe. The MOD 70 European Tour is played just like a mini version of…

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Check Out The New Hydroptère…….

……. doing some practice in the San Francisco Bay to prepare for the crossing of the Pacific. The freshly painted, newly sponsored DCNS Hydroptère, the boat that flies, has recently been delivered from France to the west coast of America to attempt to beat the Trans-Pacific World Record. This record should get smashed considering the boat’s speed. I am…

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Views From Aloft….

Here we had to go aloft to replace an external boom topping lift as the rope had slipped the sheave and jammed. This caused the cover of the rope to become separated. What creek is this? I can tell you that it is in Annapolis, Maryland. What kind of boat is this? Click on the pictures for…

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Surfs Up!

The Clipper Around the World Race is my latest discovery (although I am sure most of you already know of this). This is essentially a Volvo Ocean Race for amateurs of all shapes and sizes. It seems the boats are all one design and fully rigged and equipped to handle the challenges of the open…