I will be heading to the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in Oakland, California (April 15-18). Will be screening the final cut of my first sailing documentary project, "Gales, Whales and the Baja Ha-Ha" (Waterfront Hotel, Portside auditorium, April 15 2:00PM, April 18 10:30AM).

The show shifts to an improved four-day format and the majority of the booth exhibitors will be housed in a 30,000 square foot ‘Exhibit Hall’ – site of the former Barnes & Noble bookstore.  lso new for 2010 is the addition of premium pre-owned boats in the in-water section of the show which is designed to enhance the show by providing attendees with a wider selection of boats to view.

The show's venue, Jack London Square, has undergone massive re-development since 1980s but the original "First and Last Chance" saloon, where authtor Jack London hung out while writing his books, still stands . The saloon is quite funky, more like a big tool shed, and the floor is so slanted that it is not recommended for persons with vertigo.

Both of these videos put a smile on my face.

In the first video, a vessel in distress is calling the German Coast Guard. The rookie the in training does not quite understand the skipper's pronouciation of "sinking."

In the second, the captain of the navy ship ends up with egg on his face afer demanding that the "Lighthouse" change course.

 
The unexpected happens sometimes during a cruise. The sailor is far from shore and his sailboat begins to take on water. In most cases, it is not because of a catastrophic incident, such as, collision with a hard object. The odds are that the water ingress is due to a split hose, a broken thru-hull fitting, or a leaking shaft log. Immediate action is necessary to locate the source of water and to stop the ingress.

Any water coming into the vessel needs immediate attention. Just a 2-inch hole below the water line allows 79 gallons of water inflow per minute. In a typical 30-foot sailboat, the hull fill up with 2,000 gallons of water in about 30 minutes.

  
This pictorial shows how the components of the rescue system interact with each other.

COSPAS: Cosmicheskaya Systyema Polska Aariynyich Sudov (Russian)
SARSAT: Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking

Founded in 1982 by USA, Canada, Russia, and France.  Currently 38 nations are participating. The system only receives 406 MHz signals.

Due to lack of space, bring items on board with forethought. If the item you bring on board has at least two uses, it is even better. For example, this rubber strap wrench has multiple uses:

1. opening jar lids
2. remove oil/fuel filters
3. open raw water filters, lids
4. drinking water filter removal
5. twist pipes, other

  
The official Baja Ha-Ha sailing regatta website is here. You can find everything at the link to get prepared, find crew, register and to know the milestone dates. A few of the key links are below.

• Mexican Marinas
• First Timer's Guide to Mexico
• Everything You Wanted to Know About the Baja Ha-Ha But Were Afraid to Ask

A somewhat dated article scanned from Latitude 38 called "Mexico Debriefing" gives some good tips on what cruisers have learned from the Baja Ha-Ha trip...old but still valid and good insights for newbies. Also, if you are coming down from San Francisco in September for the Baja Ha-Ha, the "San Francisco to San Diego" article from Yachtsman magazine depicts what might be experienced.

• Mexico Debriefing
• San Francisco to San Diego

 
Sailing publications in print and with an online presence.

•  48th North
•  All at Sea
•  Blue Water Sailing
•  Boating Life
•  Boating Magazine
•  Catamaran Sailor
•  Cruising World
•  DIY Boat Owner
•  Good Old Boat

George Krakie of Marina El Cid (Mazatlan, Mexico) put together a very handy 2009 Mazatlan Cruiser’s Guide for the cruising community visiting the region. It covers everything from places to visit, to services provided in the city, a complete city bus guide, local knowledge, and several pages of an English-to-Spanish translation guidance. A donation of 30 pesos (plus mailing cost) is requested to get a copy of this fact-filled publication. The monies collected for the guide are donated to the two orphanages in Mazatlan. Krakie, who has been living at the marina for three years, is enjoying the amenities of the El Cid Resort living on his s/v Aimee Sean, a Tayana 37 sailboat. He is a delivery captain specializing in sail and power yachts.

  
I have a strong preference for conventional rigs (slap-reefing) with a good slide system, triple reefing setup, and lazy jacks or the Dutchman system for ease of dropping sails. This is a relatively simple, time-tested system that requires a bit more work for the crew but it has its advantages: better sail shape (performance), full-batten capability, less weight aloft, and ultimately, better reliability. If in-mast furlers (IMFs) jam, it is likely to happen at an inopportune time. I am not a fan of IMFs for this reason. Nevertheless, the conventional versus the IMF rig debate rages on.

Now to IMFs… many (say over 50%) of new monohull cruising boats over 40 feet now are built with IMF systems and this includes premium "blue water" boats - Oyster, Halberg-Rassey, Hylas, and Amel to name just a few. Production boats such as Hunter, Beneteau, and Catalina use them. Charter fleets which use many of these production vessels in their fleets use them extensively.  Most of the charter boats in the East Med use them.

  
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea ... cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

  
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

  
There were two twin brothers named Joe and John. Joe was an old salt and was the owner of a dilapidated old boat. It came to pass that John's lovely wife died the same day that Joe's boat sank in San Francisco Bay.

  
My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Poet
  

  
You can find the best Internet trop rock and island radio music at the following links.

• Aloha Joe Radio
• BeachFront Radio 
• Conch Republic Radio 
• Permanant Vacation Radio 
• Radio JimmyDreamz 
• Radio Margaritaville 
• Ron's Trop Rock Radio 
• Seafaring Radio

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

  
Genre: Sailing documentary
Format: HD Video
Length: 56 minutes
Rating: G

"Gales, Whales and the Baja Ha-Ha" is a sailing documentary video depicting the events surrounding the Baja Ha-Ha XVI (Oct. 25-Nov. 7, 2009).

The film follows the 750-mile course of Baja Ha-Ha race to the cape, which begins in San Diego, California and ends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. With normal scheduled stops in Bahia Tortugas (Turtle Bay) and Bahia Santa Maria, the fleet gets in some rest and partying at the layovers. The class of 2009, which was the setting of the documentary, experienced unusual circumstances. Leg one of the race got underway in mild conditions but forecasted bad weather hit the sailors on the second and third day as winds of 25+ knots and waves topping 25 feet hit the fleet. In addition to the gale conditions, a rare close encounter with whales caused the sinking of one of the vessels, a J/120 sailboat. The video includes a segment of the actual Coast Guard footage from the helicopter showing the rescue of the five-person crew who drifted at sea for four hours in their life raft.

  
Genre: Sailing documentary
Format: HD Video
Length: 56:29 minutes (Part 1+ Part 2)
Rating: G

The Pacific Puddle Jump sail rally is an annual migration of private sailing yachts leaving various ports on the West coast of the Americas. The uniting mission of the rally is that all vessels are bound for French Polynesia to arrive in April, May or June.

 
Genre: Sailing Hobby
Format: HD Video
Length: 3:37 minutes
Rating: G

Remote Control (RC) sailboat racing at the Ala Moana Park lagoon across from the Waikiki Yacht Club at the Ala Wai Harbor.