Armcahir sailing

I have been vicariously following the adventures of various navigators. The internet is now ubiquitous and immediate. Anyone can have a virtual experience of a sailing adventure.

Zac Sunderland's blog: Zac is a 17 year old from California. (He just celebrated his birthday and hasn't updated the banner!) His goal is to be the youngest person to do a solo circumnavigation. I started reading the blog when he was in Mauritius. His forestay had broken and he had to limp into port to do repairs. The boat, Intrepid, is a 40 foot sloop. It was basically rebuilt as a family project.

A competitor for the title "youngest circumnaviagator" is 16 year old Mike Perham from the U.K.. Mike has experienced lots of problems with his autopilot. He has had to make several stops: Cacais, Gran Canaria I and Gran Canaria II, in order to deal with the gremlins. The boat, totalmoney.com, is a complete contrast to Zac's; a 50 ft. 'Open', designed for single handed circumnavigation. (Zac's mom refers to it as "the Million dollar yacht"!)

And now for something completely different: Darborn, a 'travel blog' from a Beneteau 373 cruising couple. This is of course very interesting to me. I certainly won't be competinting for title of the youngest solo circumnavigator, but I may be a snowbird commuting through the ICW. The blog gives you a real sense of the vie quotitien of a cruising couple. Ordinary events; real life. If you are thinking about doing a live aboard trip south in the winter then this blog will give you a good sense of what is involved and what your life will be like.

There are two great races going on as well. The Volvo Ocean Race has now completed two legs. Great coverage on the internet with a dedicated reporter on each boat. The videos are fantastic. I watched the start of the second leg from Cape Town live. My favourite video is the Chinese gybe by Team Russia.

The other marquee event is the Vendee Globe. The start from France was a bit rough and at least five boats had to return to port for repairs. Only two were able to restart. One of these was Derek Hatfield, the Canadian entry. I think most sailors in the Toronto area have made some contribution (however small!) to his effort. The fleet is now in the southern ocean. One of the leaders has just reported a demasting. This is a solo non stop race so video updates are not as great. Still great coverage with photos and podcasts.