Messing About In Sailboats

Matt Rutherford Being Interviewed On His Return to Annapolis

Video of Matt Rutherford's interview by Gary Jobson taken by Peter Black on Matt's circumnavigation of the Americas. Matt's an entertaining guy and what a great sailor.

 

How to sail a Volvo 70 in the Southern Ocean

Liveline Explained - Making Sailing Compelling For the TV Masses

Last week, I blogged my interview with Gary Jobson where he spoke about the new graphics technology - Liveline-  that will be used during the AC coverage on NBC. These videos shows Liveline in action and explain how it works.

The guy behind, Liveline, Stan Honey is a God. Among a long list of achievements, he created the yellow line in football and was ISAF Rolex Yachtsman of the Year for his navigation accomplishments.

It's worth watching all three of these. It's going to be cool to see in action.

 

An Interview With Gary Jobson – Characters Welcome

 

Thanks to the nice people at Sailing Spoken Here, I had the privilege of interviewing the great Gary Jobson. Gary is reporting for Sailing Spoken Here, covering regattas, sailing issues and everything in between over the next two months.

There were a million things I could have asked Gary but what interested me most was his perspective on the state of sailing media, in particular TV. Coincidentally, this was also the week that NBC announced that it would be covering the America's Cup. 

Gary has covered sailing on TV since the 1983 America's Cup, There is no one better qualified to talk on the subject and he doesn’t mince his words. In his view, sailing on TV attracts an audience when three things happen:

1. Close racing with lots of lead changes
2. There is a great story behind the racing
3. Compelling characters are involved

Close racing is a tough one. Match racing can be incredibly exciting (Remember the last race of AC32 in Valencia) but it can also be like watching paint dry to anyone but real fans of the sport.

We talked about the way the AC will be covered. A few months ago I saw an impressive demonstration by Stan Honey on the new techniques being used for the AC. This will overlay a wide array of race-related information over the sailing images to explain what’s going on. (Think what the yellow line has done for watching football and multiply that by 10 and you’ll get a sense of what’s in store). It will make the AC match races much easier to understand and much more engaging for novice and veteran watchers of the sport.

Around The World in 3 Minutes (Well 45 days really)

The Jules Verne Trophy in 3 minutes from Brian Thompson on Vimeo.

RORC Caribbean 600 Start Video - Breathtaking!

Stunning video of the RORC Caribbean 600 with a nice little tune to accompany courtesy of my friend Louay Habib, RORC's race reporter. Some buggers have all the luck.

 

Great to see Rambler out in front after the nightmare of the Fastnet. Go Rambler!

Alex Thomson Does His Amazing Keel Walk Again : Challenge and Adventure.com

via www.challengeandadventure.com

This was re-blogged from George Bekris's blog. You can read the full post through the wee link above. Here's a video of how he did this which is actually even more awesome.

 

Cape Horn On A Cat

These two intrepid guys sailed around the islands at the bottom of the world on a 6metre catamaran. They spent 60 hours in ...well, the type of conditions you get around Cape Horn. Chapeaux as they say in France!

 

On Board Bella Luna During the NARC 2011

They had some very fresh conditions. Looks like the headsail blew out and they are flying a trysail. You can read more about the rally here. It shows the weather charts for the early part of November. I am guessing they got the tail end of Snowpocalypse.

Below is an account from one of the boats.

 

A personal account from Andy Lippman on Catch 22, a Swan 48.

“Sailing the North Atlantic is always a trial but never as much as in November when the weather is brutally fast and unforgiving.  Unlike a pure race, where you head south when the race committee so dictates, a rally such as the NARC waits for the best weather window possible.  THe goal is a safe and instructive passage for both the experienced and the novice learners.  But the weather doesn't necessarily cooperate.  This time it was a learning experience for all.

We started in fine weather out of Newport, planned the passage across the Gulf Stream, and then headed into expected southerlies from 38 north into Bermuda.  BUt it was not to be.  A surprise low spawned from South Carolina headed straight south of Bermuda and carried a front that gave a gale-force Nor-easter more reminiscent of New England than mid-ocean.  Worse yet, it stalled just south of the island and presented three days of 20 foot seas and 40kt winds.  Even the harbor was no respite.

Five boats made it in ahead of the storm, including Catch 22, Calla, Apsara, Avocation and Namaste.  More slogged in through the tough stuff over the weekend, but as of sunday night, seven boats are still out at sea heaving to, by passing Bermuda, or pressing on.

There is no better medicine for a hard time at sea than a link with friends, nearby boats, and shore support.  That's where there is real safety in numbers.  A weather routers is great, but friends on scene and in the same situation is a different matter entirely.  On the Narc, we checked in twice a day and left plenty of time for boat-to-boat contacts.   The simple knowledge that one of the group is always standing by and ready to help with words and deeds can make the difference between despair and perseverance.  And it doesn't end when boats reach shore.."

 

Villanova University Wins First-Ever Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta Video Contest

 

LARCHMONT, N.Y. (January 13, 2012) – Sailors captured the breeze from a creative angle during a video challenge at the Larchmont Yacht Club and Storm Trysail Foundation 2011 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR), which took place over Columbus Day Weekend. During the two-day event, 30 HD Flip video cameras, donated to the Foundation by Storm Trysail Club members Rick Lyall and Barry Gold, were made available so that each sailing team had the opportunity to document as much action as possible onboard their boats and dockside before and after racing as well as during social events. This week, Villanova University, with sophomore Scott Barnhill (Baltimore, Md.) serving as video editor, was declared the winner of the video challenge (click to view video) and will receive a $1,500 donation made out to its sailing team.

“We’re in a big fundraising stage for our team, so this a fantastic boost for us,” said Barnhill, adding that it was Villanova’s first time attending the event and that it certainly lived up to its reputation as the world’s largest, if not most exciting, college regatta. Over 400 collegiate sailors from across the country raced on the placid waters of Long Island Sound off Larchmont, N.Y. They sailed on 47 offshore boats, which were lent for the weekend by private owners. The boats ranged in size from 35 to 44 feet.

“The cameras really brought everyone together; you saw a lot of people come forward to share their creative ideas with each other,” said Barnhill. “Looking back, the level of footage that we got to work with was fantastic because we had cameras in so many different places. It is impossible to be at every spot and to capture all the shots, but because we had all those cameras we were able to document the whole event.”

Once the regatta had concluded, the footage, which totaled over 50 hours, was uploaded to a server, and each team was challenged to turn the collective work into a short video that would best capture the atmosphere of the event. “The video that Villanova submitted not only met the criteria of the contest, but it was a superior effort that will serve to show what this regatta is all about and help the Storm Trysail Foundation and Larchmont Yacht Club build interest in the event,” said IOR Regatta Chairman Adam Loory.

“We will definitely run the contest again in the future,” Loory added. “Having cameras on all the boats and in the hands of so many different shooters let us cover the regatta so much better than just one or two professional photographers, and we have a lot of good footage that was left on the cutting room floor, so to speak, that we will be able to use in other projects.”