the horse's mouth

RS Neo. Could This Be The New Boat For Us?

Wylie Wabbit Wednesday.

Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits!

Throwback Thursday.

Sailing From The Shetland To Faroe Islands.

The Horse Latitudes, The Continuing Journey Of Randall Reeves Figure Eight.

If you haven't heard of Randall he's my fellow Californian who is sailing around the world via a Figure 8. What like a knot or some other obscure thing, Joe?

Nope, see the pic above.

Randall is a badass. While we are hiding in our secure world of apps and Instacart (they are not a sponsor) Randall is sailing around the world looping the Americas and Antartica. He's the first guy to undertake this momentous task.

Why the hell would anyone do this? He must be crazy or a badass. I'll go with badass since the crazies are roaming the streets of San Francisco and don't resemble Randall in the least.

Ah, maybe crazy?

I love the Horse Latitudes (gotta love that name), it's the perfect place to kayak or row. Sailing there, more like floating, is an entirely different experience. Hint, you better have a good engine and plenty of fuel.

Mind you, you can always throw your tender in the water and row pulling your boat along. Think Charleston Heston in Ben-Hur.

Sorry Randall, as a rower also I went off in a tangent. Back to the story.

The horse latitudes are located at about 30 degrees north and south of the equator. It is common in this region of the subtropics for winds to diverge and either flow toward the poles (known as the prevailing westerlies) or toward the equator (known as the trade winds). These diverging winds are the result of an area of high pressure, which is characterized by calm winds, sunny skies, and little or no precipitation.

According to legend, the term comes from ships sailing to the New World that would often become stalled for days or even weeks when they encountered areas of high pressure and calm winds. Many of these ships carried horses to the Americas as part of their cargo. Unable to sail and resupply due to lack of wind, crews often ran out of drinking water. To conserve scarce water, sailors on these ships would sometimes throw the horses they were transporting overboard. Thus, the phrase 'horse latitudes' was born.

Follow Randall here.

Sad Sailboat Saturday.

Words fail.

C'est fini! Sorry Sir Robin, There's A New Sheriff In Town.

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede and his trusty steed were first to cross the finish line, winning the 2018 Golden Globe solo non-stop round the world race. He bumped Sir Robin Knox-Johnston out of the record books by becoming the oldest solo circumnavigator in a race. 

On the ranch, we say that's très bien!

Read all about at Sailing World.

I Like Sailing With My Ice.

Ice Baby, Ice.

Meanwhile, in Europe, they had a clambake or maybe a Baked Alaska fest. See the show over at Scuttlebutt.

Photo: Gwidon Libera

Time Tunnel Tuesday. A Seagull's View.

Silly rabbit, they've been kicking it before you were a glimmer in the old man's eye.

Merry Christmas!

Throwback Thursday.

The tale of the sail must be told.

Washing Machine Wednesday. Sailing In High Seas.

Mommy!

Source: Sabon

Wayback Wednesday.

Finn, then.

Finn, now.

Time Tunnel Tuesday. "A Proper Sailing School."

I think my sailing school could learn a thing or two from this video.
I love the dry land trainer!

Wayback Wednesday.

When wood was good and men drank whiskey from the bottle.
505s boys, 505s!

Time Tunnel Tuesday.

Frail?

Hat tip: The sailor who apparently is still known as the Tillerman.

Foiling Friday.

Do you think the sailor formerly known as the Tillerman would like to take a swing?

Throwback Thursday.

International 12s racing in the Netherlands before I was a twinkle in my Dad's eye.

You know what, I'm not a fan of this whole throwback thing. I more of a Time Tunnel Tuesday kind of guy, stay tuned for that.  I wonder how I can incorporate the Land of the Giants into a weekly theme?

Wrecks On Wednesday.

Not your Dad's beachcat!

Super Saturday.

It's not just Super Saturday, it's Supernova Saturday!

Foiling Friday.

The Foiling Optimist from Chalmers Univ. of Technology on Vimeo.

I always get a kick when I see this video from last year. Optis can fly!