Free Republic

Last week saw the launching of this Weekly FR Boating Thread. 15 posts with 6 boating links – nice start! Launching ~ Weekly FR Boating Thread ~ Vol. 1 ~ Jan. 27, 2012 Everyone is welcome to come aboard – come on it, the water is fine!This time of year almost all boaters are mired in the midst of ‘off-season’. What do you do to survive your ‘off season’? Listen to boating music, watch boating movies, surf boating YouTube and blogs, busy yourself with Winter boat upgrade and maintenance projects, catch up on non-boating stuff? Where you do your boating...

Dutch teen Laura Dekker on Saturday became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world, a year after going to court for the right to make the attempt. The 16-year-old completed her solo round-the-world journey when she sailed into harbour on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT). Dekker, who left the island nearly a year ago to the day -- January 20, 2011 -- beat the previous record by some eight months. As she turns 17 on September 20, she had to complete her journey before September 16 to beat the record...

You can probably imagine the kinds of nightmares a teenager on a solo voyage round the world might suffer from: pirate kidnappings, treacherous coral reefs or perhaps scary encounters with mysterious sea creatures. But not Laura Dekker. The 16-year-old schoolgirl's sleep is haunted by memories of the traumatic experiences she suffered at the hands of the Dutch authorities. And ever since she set her sights on sailing round the world she says Dutch social services have done their best to stop her from pursuing her dream. ~~~~ Earlier this month truancy officers issued her father with a summons claiming that...

Reaching the end of my circumnavigation, I look back with joy at the adventures of the past year. I am also thinking hard, and trying to come to terms with the year prior to my voyage. The Dutch government was not kind to me. As a 13 year old girl, it was never my intention to be the center of world news. From the moment my plans became public, Youth Care and other government organizations tried to stop me. During the first court case, in August 2009, (even before Youth Care had ever seen me, or had spoken to me…),...

[Identical story inWAshingto ExaminerWashington PostGrenwich TimeDaily JournalFOX11AZ.Greenfield Daily Reporter Stamford AdvocateThe Republic] The 18-year-old Watson....finished 37th on Friday of 88 starting yachts.....- nearly two days behind winning supermaxi Investec Loyal in the 628-nautical-mile race... (Summary: Blonde teenage girl and group of kids enter boat race, finish 37th. - This is a news worthy story? Real story below)

Dutch sailor Laura Dekker, 16, has successfully crossed the Indian Ocean and has made port in Durban, South Africa, her agent announced Monday. Dekker, whose is on a controversial quest to become the youngest person to sail around the world, had kept her Indian Ocean route a secret because of concerns about piracy. She has been sailing aboard a 38-foot sailboat named Guppy. ~~~~~~

Hi FReepers, I'm posting in order to locate FReepers who are living on board a sailboat in or around Florida. We are thinking about a retirement sailing around the Carribean on what's know as the 'Grand Tour' which would take us in a big loop down to Columbia and back. Should this part of the trip go by uneventably boring, we could transit the Panama Canal and run down the Pacific coast of S. America.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam reported that she had suffered a broken mast and had suspended racing on the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, which began today in Alicante.Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, skippered by Ian Walker from the UK at the start of leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean race 2011-12 from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race Navigator Jules Salter told Volvo Ocean Race control that all the crew were unhurt and were attempting to recover what they could.“There is no panic on board and we’re planning to motor back...

Fifteen-year-old Laura Dekker aims to become the youngest woman to sail around the world. Despite efforts by Dutch youth welfare officials to prevent the teen from making her record-breaking solo voyage, she is now underway on her yacht, the Guppy. Now her parents are plagued by remorse. The small dinghy hisses past the wooden pylons and out into the open sea. It's shortly after midnight. The girl at the helm is wearing flip-flops and denim shorts. The lights in the harbor of Kralendijk on the Caribbean island of Bonaire have already faded into the distance when there is a loud...

Queensland teenage sailor Jessica Watson has been named Young Australian of the Year for the bravery and tenacity she showed during her solo round-the-world trip. The then 16-year-old battled fierce storms and loneliness at sea to become the youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world in 210 days. She used her acceptance speech to urge her fellow young Australians to dream big. "You don't have to be anyone or anything to achieve something. You've just got to believe in it and work hard," she said. ~~~~ Watson's controversial journey at first attracted criticism and she faced calls...

Pooch in boat washes ashore in Pompano after owner swims to beach You've heard of dogs playing poker for fun, but what about boating? A pooch that became stranded at sea on a boat after his owner fell off the side made it safely to shore in Pompano Beach Tuesday. The dog's wild ride happened about a mile off shore, when owner James Land was thrown overboard. "The wave hit me and flipped me off the side of the boat," Land said. "I was just hoping the dog was still on the boat." The dog, Lucy, was left alone on...

A 14-year-old Dutch sailor departed in secrecy from Portugal Saturday on her quest to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, avoiding the media because her manager said she didn't want the attention. Laura Dekker said goodbye to her father and friends at an undisclosed Portuguese port enroute to Spain's Canary Islands or Portugal's Madeira Island despite almost windless conditions in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, according to manager Peter Klarenbeek. (...) The attempt has been criticized by Dutch child protection authorities who questioned the wisdom of a child risking the world's oceans alone....

When engineer Carl Wiley brought solar sails to a wide audience in 1951, he envisioned a particular kind of sail. Wiley, who wrote under the byline Russell Saunders, published “Clipper Ships of Space” in the May issue of Astounding Science Fiction that year, seven years before the first technical paper on sails, Richard Garwin’s “Solar Sailing: A Practical Method of Propulsion within the Solar System,” appeared in the journal Jet Propulsion. As you can see in the illustration, which ran with the original essay in Astounding, Wiley envisioned the sail as taking a parachute shape, with the payload attached to...

This is rich… Rambo Deadfish mocks Tony Hayward’s tone deafness — at the same time the White House is announcing that Obama is hitting the links (for the 9th time during this crisis) at Andrews Air Force Base. Will Sen. Shelby feign outrage?

ADELAIDE, Australia – Countries involved in the rescue of an American teenager adrift in the southern Indian Ocean have brushed off questions about the rescue's cost and have no plans to seek compensation. They explain that rescues at sea are a no-cost agreement under global conventions regarding maritime search and rescue operations. "The Australian taxpayer at the end of the day makes a contribution," Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said. "But we have to put this in context. If there was an Australian lost at sea, we would want ... every effort to be made to save that person." On the...

THE United States' peak sailing body was so concerned about Abby Sunderland's solo record bid that it refused to sponsor her. As the young sailor blasted her critics, the American Sailing Association confirmed it had knocked back the teenager's appeal for help, fearing commercial endorsement might encourage her to take too many risks. "We chose not to be sponsors of Abigail because we did have concerns about the timing of her departure," said executive director Charlie Nobles. Abby's route placed her in the treacherous Indian Ocean during the notoriously tough winter months. "She had a lot of sponsors that were...

(Info derived from linked article) Sunderland "reality" show was preplanned before Abby's misadventure: Adventures in Sunderland (Reality TV Show) Distribution Rights: Magnetic Entertainment Exec Producer: Magnetic Entertainment "A family oriented Adventure show, based on the Sunderland Family of Thousand Oaks, CA. We follow the family in their day-to-day lives as shipbuilder Laurence Sunderland and mother/teacher Marianne try to balance work and family." http://www.magneticent.com/html/projects.htm "Magnetic Entertainment" is the sponsor of the ill-fated voyage. (pdf list of sponsors) http://abbysunderland.com/images/sponsors/abby_sponsorship.pdf

A French fishing vessel rescued a California teenager Saturday from her crippled sailboat in the turbulent southern Indian Ocean, bringing relief to her family but ending her around-the-world sailing effort.

Californian teen sailor Abby Sunderland was rescued by French fishermen today after two days of battle with gale force winds and freezing temperatures while stranded on her stricken boat in the Indian Ocean. The 16-year-old was said to be in good health when the Ile de la Reunion, a French fishing vessel, reached her battered yacht Wild Eyes in heavy seas earlier today. Speaking outside the family home in Thousand Oaks, southern California, her father Laurence Sunderland said maritime authorities had contacted him to confirm the successful rescue operation, which took place at 7.45pm eastern Australian time (10.45 BST). An...

What were her parents thinking? Many people were asking that question as a 16-year-old girl sat adrift and alone in the frigid southern Indian Ocean, her ship's mast dashed along with her around-the-world sailing effort. Abby Sunderland's ship was rolling in 20- to 30-foot waves as she waited to be rescued by a boat that was expected to arrive early Saturday morning Pacific time. She set off a distress signal Thursday after rough seas disabled her ship and her satellite phone reception. There were 20 hours of tense silence before a search plane launched from Australia's west coast made brief...

CANBERRA, Australia -- A 16-year-old California girl who was feared lost at sea while sailing solo around the world has been found alive and well, adrift in the southern Indian Ocean with rescue boats headed toward her damaged yacht, officials said. After a tense 20 hours of silence, a Qantas Airbus A330 search plane launched from Australia's west coast made radio contact with Abby Sunderland on Friday in the frigid southern seas where her boat was repeatedly knocked down by huge waves and she lost satellite phone contact.

AUSTRALIA will to pay for its part in the search and rescue of teenage solo sailor Abby Sunderland who encountered extremely rough weather in the Indian Ocean. Australian Maritime Safety Authority chief executive Mick Kinley said searchers saw and made radio contact with Abby just after 4pm (AEST) on Friday. "She sounds like she's in good health, as far as we can tell, and she's going to hang in there,'' Mr Kinley told said in Canberra. Australian authorities commissioned a Qantas plane to search for Abby, who is about 3700km off the coast of Western Australia. Mr Kinley did not...

BREAKING NEWS: Abbey Sunderland has been found alive on her boat in the Indian Ocean. The signal from her boat was spotted by a chartered Airbus A330 aircraft. She was able to communicate with the aircraft via VHF radio. The boat is de-masted and unmaneuverable, but she has at least 30 days of food on board. A fishing ship is approximately 27-hrs, away from her and is currently en route to her location. This info was from a live news conference that was just broadcast on FOXX-11 News in LA.

Abby Sunderland, one of two 16-year-old girls on different quests to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted, has announced she will head to Cape Town, South Africa, to repair a faulty autopilot system. The high-school junior from Thousand Oaks, Calif., stressed on her blog that she will continue her journey after making repairs and seek to become simply the youngest person to solo-circumnavigate the planet in a sailboat. [...] Autopilots are supposed to hold a sailor's course but Sunderland's primary and backup units have been faulty. At one point recently, in rough seas and freezing temperatures, the...

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning. Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds Thursday before conditions briefly abated. However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Australian Coast Guard that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated. One is apparently is attached to a survival suit or a life raft and meant to be...

Rescuers searched Thursday for a 16-year-old Southern California girl feared missing while attempting a solo sail around the world. Family spokesman Christian Pinkston said the search began for Abby Sunderland somewhere between Africa and Australia after emergency beacons were activated overnight and there was a loss of communication.

BREAKING NEWS - ABBY SUNDERLAND NOW MISSING AT SEA! Grind TV reports that 16 year old Abby Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone is now missing at sea. “Sunderland,” says Grind TV, “endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds Thursday before conditions briefly abated. “However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Australian Coast Guard that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated. “One is apparently is attached to a survival suit or a life raft and meant to be used when a person...

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning. Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds yesterday (Thursday local time) before conditions briefly abated. However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Coast Guard at French-controlled Reunion Islands that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated. One apparently is attached to a survival suit and meant to be...

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.—A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone has rounded Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America. Abby Sunderland is believed to be the youngest person to sail alone around Cape Horn, known for treacherous winds and waves. Sunderland says on her blog that she didn't get to see the cape because she was some 50 to 60 miles offshore as she crossed from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic. Sunderland embarked five months after older brother Zac completed a westerly solo circumnavigation at the age...

British triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie and his Team Origin crew continued to dominate the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta today and by the end of racing were the only team to have secured a semi-final berth.

On rounding Cape Horn at 1830 UTC this Thursday 4th March, Franck Cammas and his men have retained a lead of 175 miles over the reference time, which equates to 8 hours 55 minutes. However, the beginning of this final stage of the round the world will be complicated for the giant trimaran to negotiate, at least for the first few hours of this Atlantic ascent.

A compilation of a creative sailor that used his kitecam to shoot some amazing "helicopter view" shots.

Early on Sunday morning (28/02), Willy Bissainte and Benoit Reefe sailed Pogo Class40, Tradition Guadeloupe, across the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 after almost a week at sea in an event that saw 64 percent of the 22-boat fleet retire due to lack of breeze. Bissainte and Reefe’s perseverance and determination nets the sailors from Guadeloupe two prizes: the Concise Trophy for Class40s and overall winner of IRC Zero.

It’s been a tough start for Raimondo Tonelli on the helm on Sea Dubai. At the RC 44 season opener the crew experienced strong winds. He’s had no time to be eased in to his new role of helming the boat in the fleet races.

The maxi trimaran has snatched its first record during the Jules Verne Trophy. Taking just 8 days 17 hours and 39 minutes to traverse the Indian Ocean, the maxi trimaran Groupama 3, skippered by Franck Cammas, has taken the record held by Orange 2 since 2005.

Beautiful surroundings, clear skies and crystal blue waters, the competitors in the RORC Caribbean 600 were treated to some superb champagne sailing conditions, as they started the only offshore race in these waters. There wasn’t a weather jacket in sight as the fleet sailed upwind into a warm easterly breeze of 12-15 knots at the start.

Sailing a perfect five match races Sea Dubai took all the honours on day one of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy at Dubai International Marine Club.

Groupama 3 continues its race in the middle of Indian Ocean. The trimaran is no more than 200 miles behind the reference time of the Jules Verne Trophy.

The oldest trophy in sports is coming to San Francisco. After fighting in the courts for years, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars, billionaire Larry Ellison won the America's Cup on Sunday with a technological marvel of a sailing yacht. Ellison's syndicate, BMW Oracle Racing, won the second race in the best-of-three series by five minutes, 26 seconds over cup defender Alinghi, which is owned by Ellison's archrival, Swiss biotech magnate Ernesto Bertarelli. Two days earlier, Ellison's trimaran, USA-17, won the first race by 15 1/2 minutes. "It feels spectacular," said a jubilant Ellison, holding the tall, silver ewer...

Larry Ellison's space-age trimaran BMW Oracle won back the America's Cup for the United States by speeding across the Mediterranean to rout two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland for a two-race sweep...

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) - Challengers BMW Oracle, within one victory of landing the 33rd America's Cup, and Swiss holders Alinghi fine-tuned their giant, hi-tech boats on Saturday. The Americans hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series going into Sunday's second race, which will begin two hours later than scheduled at around noon local time (6 a.m. EST).

Final preparations began on Monday for the America’s Cup, sailing’s oldest and most prestigious trophy, as the Swiss team defending the title arrived in Valencia. The event was to have been raced in Ras-al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates until an American Supreme Court judge’s ruling last month forced a switch of venue following two years of legal wrangling. Titleholders Alinghi will face off against San Diego-based BMW-Oracle Racing in the 33rd edition of the event, which begins on February 8 with the first race in the best-of-three match. At its first attempt, Alinghi won the 31st America’s Cup...

Space scientists in the US and UK are planning an incredible mission to go sailing on an alien lake on the far side of the solar system. They are proposing a mission in NASA's low-cost Discovery series to launch an unmanned, nuclear-powered "boat" to Saturn's biggest moon Titan in 2015. It would bob about on a vast sea of liquid methane called Ligeia Mare, radioing home photos and other data for six months.

UTRECHT, Netherlands – A Dutch court ordered authorities to take temporary guardianship of a 13-year-old girl on Friday, delaying her plan to sail solo around the world until psychologists can assess her capacity to undertake such a risky voyage.

Here is video of an interview with 17 year-old Zac Sunderland who has become the youngest known person to sail solo around the world. He is interviewed here with his parents, and talks about his close encounter with pirates when he was in the area of Indonesia. The video shows a map of his journey. Sunderland lost 15-20 pounds during the year it took him to complete his trip. . . . . (Watch Video)

As the morning fog lifted this morning off Harbor Mouth at Marina del Rey, it revealed a sailboat piloted by a 17-year-old boy from Thousand Oaks who had just become the youngest to sail around the world alone.

MARINA DEL REY -- A teenager from Thousand Oaks is expected to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe alone when he arrives in Los Angeles Thursday morning. Zac Sunderland, who left Marina del Rey June 14, 2008 at age 16 and has been headed west ever since, is expected to arrive in his homeport at 10 a.m. Thursday to a hero's reception at Fisherman's Village. Zac turned 17 off Africa's Cape of Good Hope and is expected to be certified upon his arrival as the youngest person to circumnavigate the Earth alone by sailboat and the first person...

Like a lot of 17-year -olds, Zac Sunderland can get a bit tongue-tied at times. Only for Sunderland, it's not on account of hormones or nerves. "I've been out at sea for a long time," says Sunderland, who has nearly reached his goal of becoming the youngest sailor to single-handedly circumnavigate the earth in a sailboat. "You kinda forget how to talk. Sometimes I'll get into a port and it'll take a week before the words I'm wanting to say can come out of my mouth the right way. It's annoying." Sunderland, who has yet to get his driver's license,...

A veteran British yachtsman has been left embarrassed after attempting a daring overtaking manoeuvre that literally left him high and dry. Arthur Manning's 36ft yacht Knight Star struck rocks near Saint-Quay-Portrieux in northern France, forcing the skipper to watch as the receding tide left his boat sticking up by its keel.

American Teen Zac Sunderland is almost home, having been at sea for the past 13 months, circling the globe, alone in his 36 foot sailboat. He will become the youngest to have ever done a circumnavigation alone, leaving as a 16 year old, and now only 17. His story is amazing, look for his website at wwww.zacsunderland.com and find time to go back through his blog. Great testament to what America's youth are still capable of. We need more like him!