Current News
Shipwrecked on Vancouver Island
The Vancouver Sun reported yesterday that Tucson’s Keith Carver, 56, had wrecked his 40-ft ferrocement sailboat on Vancouver Island, and survived for five days by eating lichen before being rescued by a passing helicopter. More »
Entire Pacific Rim Braced for Tsunami
In the aftermath of Chile’s devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake Saturday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning to 53 nations and territories, prompting residents of waterside communities all along the Pacific Rim to made preparations and/or seek higher ground. More »
Winging It on a Wind Powered Ferry
For millennia, the wind has moved people from Point A to Point B, and on San Francisco Bay, we have an abundance of it for much of the year. So it seems odd that, in an area so forward-thinking and eco-friendly, we don’t have any wind-powered public transportation. More »
Judge an Island by Its Magazines?
Based on our opinion, you can tell a lot about an island by the magazines that get distributed to the visitors. Some are all about rental cars outlets and bars, others are about cheap hotels and jungle trips, while others feature overpriced watches, expensive jewelry and jets for rent. More »
Abby Crosses Equator
As Aussie Jessica Watson, 16, nears South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and settles into the second — and arguably more difficult — half of her nonstop solo circumnavigation, Southern California’s Abby Sunderland, also 16, has crossed the equator. More »
School Ship Concordia Sinks Off Brazil
For nearly 20 years, Concordia has sailed the world, educating young trainees along the way.
© 2010 Class Afloat
As the 188-ft barquentine Concordia sailed down the South Atlantic last week, Captain Bill Curry warned his crew, and the 44 high school and college-age student sailors aboard, to prepare for unsettled weather. More »
Why Wait Until 16 To Circumnavigate?
One of the reasons Kiwis are such good sailors is that they start young in life. Take these little guys, who are the grandchildren of New Zealander Ken Beashel. The oldest is 18-months-old. More »
New Storm Threatens in Wake of Rene
"We took a direct hit," reports Joel Stern, who rode out category 2 Cyclone Rene in Tonga earlier this week aboard his San Diego-based Vagabond 47 Paradise Bound. "Rumor has it we had 90 knots steady with gusts to 143 knots. More »
Surfin’ Bonita Channel
Half Moon Bay wasn’t the only spot to watch monster breaking waves last weekend. Rob Macfarlane watched from the safety of the main shipping channel as huge rollers broke across the entire width of Bonita Channel. More »
Tonga Battered by Cyclone Rene
Having punished Tonga, Rene is expected to pass south of Fiji today. (Note: Lying beyond the International Dateline, it is currently February 16 in Tonga.)
© 2010 US Navy / NLR
The "friendly kingdom" of Tonga was walloped yesterday by Cyclone Rene, the most powerful storm to strike this South Pacific cluster of 179 islands in the past 50 years. More »
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