H2uh0

We are off this weekend for a fifty mile sail up to the mighty San Jouquin River from SF. My two best friends and I will get into the sloughs for some swimming, water skiing, chilling and just hanging out on the river. It's very quiet up there this time of year and the weather is awesome. The first time we headed this way we got stuck in the soft mud a few times. We always got out, but did manage to lose an anchor in our kedging efforts. We will be more careful this time with the markers. Our friend Ray has a ski boat and he will be meeting up with us. Should be a blast! I leave you some serious windsurf wipeouts that will blow you away! Catch the vid here.

Check out some surf footage off the South African coast. These boys are stoked. To view the vid click here.

Here is a great cruising website about a couple who buys a very rough project boat for a future cruise around the world. They thought it would take a year to fix it up but instead it took 10,000 man hours and three years to get it going. They had a wonderful trip and made it around the globe in another three years. See some of their slide shows of their various adventures as they sail the world! Click here.

Check the video here.

12000 nm into the circumnavigation, four years on the journey, 36 hours in Colombia, and the bubble burst.

It was dark moon, just before midnight, March 27. The sound of a boat's wake hitting our steel hull stirred me. "They're here!" I woke Chris.

"Who's here?" he asked.

"The freaking welcoming party!" I shouted. He jumped up to close the hatch, and saw the first of six armed men board MALAIKA.

Earlier that night I had insisted that we lock the companion way, which can only be done from outside, and so Chris climbed into the cabin through the hatch, which was left ajar, but secured.

Both hatches have bulletproof glass portholes, and so we could see them trying to smash the glass with their guns. They had not brought tools with them, as they expected the companion way to be open, like the other 3 boats pirated earlier this year.

"Chris," they shouted, "Open the door, it's the police!"

We looked at each other. "They know us." We can count the people we know here on one hand.

With only a little flash light, they stumbled around and yelled at us to put the lights on. Chris quickly disconnected the batteries. They tried unsuccessfully to break the lock.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" I wasted precious minutes in vain. They heard my call and cut the SSB aerial.

The lock would not budge and so they chopped around it. The hatch is hard teak and it took them over an hour to gain entry.

The entire duration I was calling for help on the radios. I was answered on the VHF ch 16 by the Colombian Coast Guard, who asked me to confirm our position as Pt. Hermosa, Puerto Velero.

Never to be heard from again, or ever seen.

The guys outside were getting frustrated, and so with two of them on each side of the hatch, they tried to lift it open. After enough prying they managed to lift it slightly, but Chris was able to deploy a can of pepper spray into three of their faces. He also continued to hang on the inside of the hatch, holding it down. The pirates never worked out that the hatch slides back and doesn't lift up to open. That is what saved us.

Once the lock was chopped free, they pulled out the first and second wash boards--the third always sticks. With the hatch closed overhead, the entry was too small to walk through and would have required them to crawl. It was safer for them to call us out one at a time, rather than them come inside, as they did not know what else we had to arm ourselves with.

When it became evident that they were going to gain entry, the panic that had seized us earlier evaporated. A calm overcame us and everything slowed down. It felt like my ears were blocked and my thoughts echoed in my head. We could die tonight, but that's O.K. I have had a few good innings and this is as good a time as any. With that Chris took my hand and said, "When the door opens we get out!!! And you get into the water, ASAP. Don't stop to chat, straight in the water, and I will follow."

Continue reading by clicking here.

About 100 miles off the San Diego coast lies a huge mountain that rises almost out of the sea. Surfers have recently discovered this tow in surf spot. When the swells are up, it can produce some of the largest waves on the planet. Check out this vid by clicking here.

BM has come to a close and they say it was one of the best in a long time. Art cars, theme camps, incredible desert artwork and about 40,000 burners. I did not make it but hope to attend the week long festival in Nevada in the next year or so. Check out some great pics here.

Found this video over at Wetass. These ski foilers know their stuff but what you see here is all the mistakes they make in their bid for the perfect aerial. Check it here.