Posts

Showing posts from July, 2015

2015 Holland America Grand Voyage

Image
The first Grand Voyage Segment was  a 28 days Iberian Celtic Nordic Baltic Explorer. Then on to the British Isles , Scandinavia and The Arctic Circle , North Pole,The Polar Bears and The Northern Lights...and a big layover in The United Kingdom to watch Stadium Sailing in Portsmouth for The America's Cup. ▼    July 2015  (9) Portsmouth-America's Cup World Series Race Portsmouth, ACWS The U.K.-Mind, Body and Sea Portsmouth-America's Cup with Oracle Team USA Trai... Portsmouth, UK-Chasing The Fastest Sailors InThe W... Portsmouth, UK-America's Cup World Series Bon Voyage AmeriCAN Dreamers Being There-With Holland America Edam, Netherlands- Dutch Cheese Market ▼    June 2015  (37) Western Norway-Hardangerfjord Vøringsfossen and Sysen Dam-Team Ionic Eidfjord Passage, Norway's Ecstasy Flåm Mountains-Primary Colors Flåm, Norway-Free For All-H2O Ålesund, Norway-Everyday Epiphanies Norway-Red, White and Yellow Houses Trondheim-I Love...

Portsmouth-America's Cup World Series Race

Image
It is the most famous sailing event in the world and the oldest competition in international sport. The best sailors race in the fastest boats. These AC45 catamarans are different. They are faster, lighter and they fly on the sea---the boat's foils are out of the water, so things get very fast very quickly. There's very little of the CAT in the water. It's about aerodynamics.It's about control systems. It's about hydraulic systems. It's not Brain Surgery, it's Rocket Science---reminds me of Formula 1. In fact, Red Bull had one of their open-wheel cars next to their bar concession on full display-Zoom. I broadcasted a few live video feeds using Twitter's new app Periscope. It was cool to get all the views and have people from Europe and in fact all over the planet see my world through my lens (Samsung S5).

Portsmouth, ACWS

Image
It was like Formula 1 on water The America's Cup World Series is in The UK this week-and what do you call 2 days of rain in England---a Weekend!  Conditions were shifty, gusty and all-round demanding ,but that helped the teams  get the pressure they needed as those AC45 sails turned into engines and got speed. BAR and Oracle USA  were neck and neck competitively and it just proved how close the races will be tomorrow and Sunday. Avec Philippe Presti, the French Olympian and coach of the America's Cup champions ORACLE TEAM USA If Britain can rule the waves then I can wave the rules and get closer to the boat's before the crowds show up for today's practice runs.  See Video Below: Race Official Martin Stephens

The U.K.-Mind, Body and Sea

Image
When I landed in Rome, things started to take off. I was on a different plane. Avi-Navi-gation seems as natural to me as sending an e mail or going to Starbucks.I fold up my self and carry "me"around as if I were a gym bag. FCO Airport is is no exception. Travelling well is an important part of living well. If you travel well, your trip becomes more memorable and more rewarding. I haven't been everywhere -but it is on my  list--and so is being a multinational soul, an AmeriCAN, not an AmeriCANT. I couldn't do it on land alone. NYC or L.A., London and Tokyo were what I call "making the right mistakes" These adventures were nothing more than bad planning but useful nonetheless.   I needed to get consecrated @sea and that is what I have been doing for the last 7 years---Turning the slogan "Just Do it, to JUST DONE-ONCE AROUND WITHOUT LEAVING THE GROUND.  I Myth You- Joseph Campbell The AWE in Awesome was put back into May and June, an...

Portsmouth-America's Cup with Oracle Team USA Training Day

Image
Took a bit of video and some great photos of not only Oracle's Rig, but also Emirates Team NZ, Softbank Team Japan and The Swedish Team Artemis out in The windy Solent. Out at historic Portsmouth Naval Dockyard and met up with 2x America's Cup Champion, Skipper Jim Spithill, from Oracle Team USA, going for #3 next Sunday Capturing a bit of The SPIRIT of Racing-With Land Rover BAR I managed to hitch a ride on Charles and Annie's Ballistic Inflatable (Zodiac) and the 500HP  was no match for Mothers Nature and The Land Rover BAR crew. Last July, while we were on The QM2, an Oceanliner, we reached 22 nautical mph, nearly getting blown off the deck, and these guys can throttle it to 50, in the tiny  spaces of a 20 meter trampoline.  Even though it was a sea trial,t he boat's foils are out of the water and things get very fast very quickly.  There's very little of the boat in the water. It's about aerodynamics, it's about control systems, hydr...