4th of July fireworks over Swimmer’s Cove in San Francisco

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Will
Night turned to day

Sara and I watched the fireworks over Swimmer’s Cove in San Francisco. It was very foggy and totally surreal to have the night sky glowing different colours.

Zowie! Boats anchored in a warzone Sara and her yak-herding sweater

 

Posted in Parks Picnics | Comments Off on 4th of July fireworks over Swimmer’s Cove in San Francisco

SF YRA’s Half-Moon Bay ocean race on John’s FT10 “Savage Beauty”

Posted on June 29, 2008 by Will

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

John, Dan, Josh and I sailed John’s FT10 “Savage Beauty” from San Francisco Bay to Half-Moon Bay in the YRA’s annual race. This is typically a wild downwind ride in the 15-25+knots of wind that blows from the north down the coast. Of course, this year we had shifty 5-10knot winds from the south. HMB is south of SF. Go figure.

Continue reading →

Posted in Racing, Sailing | Comments Off on SF YRA’s Half-Moon Bay ocean race on John’s FT10 “Savage Beauty”

Friday evening beer-can racing on a Flying Tiger 10m

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Will
Cityscape at sundown

Captain John invited Sara and I to join him and the rest of his crew for a friday-night beer can race aboard his Flying Tiger 10m, sailed from South Beach Marina just south of the Bay Bridge in SF. The FT10 is a fairly new ultralight sailing boat with extendable sprit, giant asymmetric spinnaker, pre-bent mast with swept spreaders, and all kinds of other go-fast technology.

Continue reading →

Posted in Racing, Sailing | Comments Off on Friday evening beer-can racing on a Flying Tiger 10m

Racing a Farrier F-27 on SF Bay

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Will
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Chris and Scott invited me to join them onboard Chris’ Farrier F-27 for race 3 of the interclub inside-the-bay race sponsored by Oakland Yacht Club. Six different fleets raced, each with an average of six or seven boats, on a course that was 13.7nm for the slower boats and 18.1nm for the faster boats. We were one of the faster boats.

Continue reading →

Posted in Racing, Sailing | Comments Off on Racing a Farrier F-27 on SF Bay

24-Hour Mountain Bike Relay Race in Spokane, WA

Posted on May 26, 2008 by Will

IMG_7841

My friend Monilee is a world-class mountain biker. I’m not. Her husband Fraser has done epic races like Trans-Rockies and Trans-Alps. I haven’t been to the gym in more than three months. The two of them own six bikes, have their garage fully setup for long training rides, and are totally committed to bike racing. My bike has been in storage the last 18 months.

Continue reading →

Posted in Racing | Comments Off on 24-Hour Mountain Bike Relay Race in Spokane, WA

Vallejo Season Opener

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Will
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Dylan and Roshie invited Sara and me to join them for the historic Vallejo Season Opener race on their ultralight custom Dogpatch 26, “Moonshine”. We love the Vallejo race – it was the first race we sailed on Velella, our much-beloved Ericson 27.

Continue reading →

Posted in Racing, Sailing | Comments Off on Vallejo Season Opener

St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museum

Posted on April 12, 2008 by Will
IMG_7789

During the first two weeks in Italy I slowly devoured a great book called “Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s”. It’s really well written; it explores not only the construction of the Basilica but also the many varied personalities involved. Interesting to note that back in the day the popes and cardinals often kept their mistresses and illegitimate kids in their Vatican apartments!

IMG_7803 IMG_7802 IMG_7811 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA IMG_7821

Posted in Vacation | Comments Off on St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museum

Exploring Naples and Pompei, Italy

Posted on April 11, 2008 by Will
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ben and Allison, Joe and Sarah, Amy, and Sara and I took off for a day trip to Naples. We spent the morning exploring the ancient city of Pompei, covered in hot volcanic ash thousands of years ago and perfectly preserved until just recently.

IMG_7550 IMG_7557 IMG_7580

I’d love to go on and on about how cool Pompei is, but the coolest part of our trip was dinner. We ate at Pizzeria de Michele, the oldest pizzeria in Naples. They opened their doors in 1870 and still have the original marble tables. They have two different types of pizzas in two sizes and three drinks on the menu. The pizza was beyond description.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Sure, there were some caves and stuff too, but the pizza was amazing.

IMG_7605 IMG_7627 IMG_7643

Posted in Vacation | Comments Off on Exploring Naples and Pompei, Italy

John’s 60th birthday celebration in Fondi, Italy

Posted on April 10, 2008 by Will
IMG_7433

Our first week in Italy was quiet and relaxing. Thirty other people joined us for the second week; we rented four different houses in Fondi, halfway between Rome and Naples. It wasn’t quiet!

Continue reading →

Posted in Vacation | Comments Off on John’s 60th birthday celebration in Fondi, Italy

Summitting dangerous Mt. Fondi (496m) in Fondi, Italy

Posted on April 8, 2008 by Will
IMG_7267

My brother Ben and cousin Bryan are a little too large to go mountain climbing. So we went mountain climbing. There was a lot of complaining. Much whimpering. Some swearing.

IMG_7225

It started out easy enough.

IMG_7242

But got steeper.

IMG_7272

But we made it in the end!

IMG_7287

Posted in Mountaineering, Vacation | Comments Off on Summitting dangerous Mt. Fondi (496m) in Fondi, Italy