Ahoy

Bellingham, Washington. Steve Szirom has been sailing since 1978 and holds an active U.S. Coast Guard Masters License. Oyster Yachting is a sailing community dedicated to blue-water cruising vessels, far-off voyaging destinations and safe passages. My status
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Thursday, September 29, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Mexico Crime Data For Cruisers

The Mexican government has recently released crime data from their drug wars database. It presumably covers all murders to have link to the drug cartels which total at least seven in number.

The number of deaths rose sharply since 2006 until the end of 2010, by far the most violent year with 15,273 persons killed.

The chart shown by clicking on the link below
shows the distribution of where the killings took place down to the city level. While no region has escaped, violent crime is particularly intense in northern and Pacific coastal states. The large red markers show places with over 70 deaths.   The figures show how many of those killed are presumed to be related to the cartels, how many belonged to the security forces, or how many were innocent civilian bystanders.

Except for the border towns, the entire Baja Peninsula has fairly low incidence of violent crime. On the Pacific Coast, Puerto Vallarta area is safe but Mazatlan, Z-town and Acapulco has seen its share of problems recently. If possible stay within known resort areas or yachting centers, avoid traveling to Mexico by road and steer clear of U.S. border areas.

Click here for interactive chart

Click on each dot to get the details.

Monday, September 12, 2011

PostHeaderIcon The Whateverly Brothers Live at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2011


The Whateverly Brothers performed live at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2011 on Sept. 1, 211.


Friday, May 13, 2011

PostHeaderIcon America's Cup Presentation at Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show 2011

Genre: News
Format: HD Video
Length: 50:52 minutes
Rating: G
 
During an exclusive event at the Strictly Sail Pacific (April 14-17, 2011) boat show in Oakland, California, Kyri McClellan, America’s Cup Organizing Committee; Mike Martin, Director of Rules Administration and Umpiring; Ian “Fresh” Burns, Team Coordinator with Oracle Racing; and Stephanie Martin, Chief Communications Officer of the America’s Cup Event Authority, talked about how the America’s Cup will be rejuvenated by a host of innovative changes intended to re-energize the competition for 2013 in the 34th America’s Cup. The event will showcase the San Francisco waterfront as millions of sailing racing fans will tune in to this high-stakes event.

Friday, March 18, 2011

PostHeaderIcon How Life Changes and a Code to Live By for Cruisers

 
Cruisers go through a life-bending transformation as they move from land-based living to full-time cruising.   The metamorphosis begins with real and imagined anxieties, fears, dangers and unknowns.  The physical part of adjusting to cruising soon wanes, and cultural and lifestyle issues become front-and-center…sometimes to the point of questioning the reason(s) for being out there.  Slowly and gradually, the sunsets take center stage, stress melts, and the winds of the oceans mold the cruiser into a human more connected with nature, more self-confident, and more self sufficient.

For those doing it for the first time, here are some tips and thoughts on what to expect.

My Name is Sue from Moonbeam, How Do You Do

Eventually, you get to the point where you forget your last name and it does not matter because all cruisers want to know is your first name and the name of your vessel.   Last names become a blur in the sunset.  If available, your ham or SSB call sign will be also be useful.    Write your last name down somewhere on a piece of paper and put in a safe place, since you will need it eventually when returning to land-based life.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Somali Pirates Capture Sailing Couple on World Cruise to Distribute Bibles

An American couple, who have been cruising and doing an around the world voyage since 2002, have been attacked and captured by Somali pirates.  The 58-foot Laurie Davidson-designed racer/cruiser, s/v Quest was making its way to Oman under radio silence when the pirate attack occurred in the Arabian Sea.  The last reported location by their SPOT satellite signal is shown below.