M Squared

Found this video on sailkarma.com . The Volvo Ocean Race teams have been at sea for 16 days. That's the same amount of time for many of the virtual racers (not everyone started leg 1 at the official start). EVK4 pointed out several similarities and differences between the real sailors and the 42,810 (and counting) registered virtual ones... This video points out another significant comparison. Over the course of a race like this where leg 1 will take nearly a month, health care needs are bound to come up that must be addressed while at sea (at least temporarily). I'm just glad that if I find myself in a similar situation, I can schedule a visit to my local, landlubbing dentist rather than have the watch captain jam a bunch of 3M Cavit in my mouth... Hey, I am the watch captain on my (virtual) boat...

Have you ever attempted to race in two regattas at once? That was the case with me over the Columbus Day weekend (Oct. 11-12). First, that's the same weekend that Yaquina Bay Yacht Club hosts their annual Columbus Day Regatta . Quite a coincidence, eh! Relative to last year , the weather was beautiful and the wind was rather mild but never shut off... There were a few strange (but not necessarily bad) things about this years event. We never went "up river" around 14, we went "out" to 7 five times, we never touched bottom once (no "touch and tack" this year), there were only 4 Santana 20s (in fact the overall fleet was down a bit compared to years past) and finally we had a total of 9 races over two days. Going around 7 (while not quite as big a deal as going around #1 aka the "Whistler") involves leaving the protection of the bay and dealing with the fluky wind and current under the bay bridge. At any rate, the Columbus Day Regatta is alw...