Eli Boat

Frosty action so far 2009

Administrator — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:55:29 +0000

Well the long Frosty season has begun with several weeks of racing already behind us. During that time we have managed to get no less than 15 boats on the starting line, and last week we got 23 sailors out on the race course. I expect that number to grow as new boats being built are added to the fleet. As it currently stands, Tim, Bill, Hans, Dan, Geoff and one or two other boats that I am forgetting the specifics on are being built. All of this is very exciting, and the racing has become even better as a result. At the upper end of the fleet, Bill S. has been showing up, adding some more depth to the mix, as has Larry and Greg through February. Jim has been consistently fast in his new boat that he cranked out over the summer, and Cameron has been showing some moments of insane speed, even winning a Sunday a couple of weeks back. Last weekend, resident youngster and rising hotshot, CJ, showed the fleet his transom in a few races, getting a 3 on the day. He did this by sailing well, getting good starts and showing some really nice boat handling i.e. adjusting to the conditions as they lightened. Where am I in all of this? Well, if you even have to ask, I am again leading the overall standings. I have done this quietly, choosing to stay out of the loud and whiney fracas that is occurring around me. Stalwarts like Bruno and Kevin have been squawking their way around the course, and this has only served to diminish their performance. My prediction is that at the end of the first half of the season, I will be leading, Larry will have solidified a hold on second and then it will be a tossup for third place between Bruno and Jim or CJ. Maybe we should start some kind of fantasy Frosty league online…. I leave you with a wonderful image taken by the great Frosty photographer Polarlys. In it we see last week’s winner, Bill S. contemplating a picnic on the windward mark. Having talked to the other two sailors in that picture, Bruno and Greg, I know that no penalty turns were completed after that transgression, so who knows what else went unnoticed?

Awesome

Administrator — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:28:43 +0000

Breaking news over the weekend that BMW Oracle had unveiled a giant wing mast to replace the stick they had broken last week has had the sailing community (myself definitely included) staring at their computers to see just how insane this thing will look once rigged. Yesterday they were able to get the wing out of the building shed, and starting early this morning they began the business of mounting this incredible piece of engineering and composite construction onto that other carbon marvel, Dogzilla. On my lunch break I logged on to Sailing Anarchy right at the moment (as it turned out) that things started to happen, and pictures started coming in every minute of the progress. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the local Fox affiliate had a life feed coming from a camera mounted atop a hotel next door to the BMW Oracle facility. At this point my day became very unproductive, along with many others around the world as we all watched in awe. The mast was hoisted up, and after what seemed like an eternity of messing around on the mooring, the boat was off and sailing. With only ten knots of breeze, the boat was clocked at 32 mph. That my friends is some serious speed. From the live feed it was possible to see the boat screaming across San Diego bay, easily tacking and gybing. Here is a video released from BMW Oracle that shows the wing sail being mounted and eventually sailed. Pretty amazing stuff. I for one can not wait for the big February match in Valencia.

Back in the land of the living

Administrator — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:48:16 +0000

As you can see, Eliboat is no longer considered an “attack site” by Google and other internet powers that be out there. My extended period of absence allowed for a large collection of smut peddlers, scammers and generally annoying characters to use Eliboat as a host for their links that I really doubt any of my readers would have clicked on anyways. So it seems that I have been allowed back onto the internets, and with Frosty season just underway, as of last Sunday, I will be on top of things. A lot has happened boat wise since last spring. I built a new Frosty from a CNC kit that I developed. I did the Marblehead to Halifax race again on a classic yacht, this time on Thora. Ross and I modified the 110 and competed in the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. I got into racing Windmills with fellow Frosty sailor Larry. I finally got out on an International Canoe after dying to do so for over two decades. Last but not least, my beloved Cold Swear suffered the indignity of having her mast ripped out of the deck last Sunday during a rescue attempt (I was sailing my other boat). As upsetting as this was, it will give me a chance to really make Cold Sweat nice and shiny again, and also to replace the mast step which has been fixed in position for a couple of seasons now.

Coxswain…head to Port!

Administrator — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:12:31 +0000

This little clip of a coxswain not paying attention to either the course ahead of him, or to the man just behind him screaming about the dangers that so obviously lay ahead, gave me a little chuckle. It could have been far worse had the boat hit the pillar, but the crunch of carbon sounded from the oars impacting metal sounds expensive all the same…

Wuppah! Wupahahhhhhh catch the lip ahhhhhhh!

Administrator — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:26:06 +0000

This clip of an Huntington Beach surfer dude has been making me laugh for quite a while now, and I thought I would share it with the Eliboat audience. Classic stuff.

Sad News

Administrator — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:06:57 +0000

It was with great sadness this morning that I learned of Phil Bolger’s passing from an apparent suicide. Bolger, for those of you who are unaware, was a prolific and eccentric yacht designer who resided close to where I grew up in Gloucester, MA. As a kid, I would see all kinds of Bolger boats around the docks and on the local moorings, though I had no idea who had designed all of these strange looking craft. At some point before I was a teenager, the name Phil Bolger became known to me because my piano teacher, Mr. Loring, built himself a Bolger designed skiff. At dinner, after my Tuesday night lessons, Mr. Loring would talk about how great his Bolger boat was, and my dad would tease him that he had one of the ugliest boats ever. There is no doubt that Bolger’s boats were not for everyone, but given the vast expanse of his oeuvre surely he had a design to suit just about anyone. Perhaps the best way to get acquainted with Bolger is to find a copy of Boats With an Open Mind. I came across this sad news while reading the front page of Sailing Anarchy, and there they included a brief description and a link from Bob Perry who had posted a trailerSailor forum posting from one of Bolger’s friends eulogizing him. I will include that link here. When you see a Gloucester gull dory being rowed around or a funny looking boxy sailboat being happily sailed around this summer, think of the man who designed it. There will never be another Phil Bolger.

Even Dad has some good ideas from time to time!

Administrator — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:23:40 +0000

There has been an unusually pointed focus on maritime issues recently with the pirate situation in the Gulf of Aden. It is always a little bit frustrating to hear the rubes on CNN and the like mangle nautical terms and concepts, but also nice to see boats on the tube, albeit boats in a tough situation. Piracy in this area and others has been a big problem for years that was ignored by the media. The business model is pretty simple really, and is roughly analogous to gaining construction or refuse contracts in areas of this country where the mob exerts its influence. The pirates know that the shipping companies will pay up, and until just recently, the shipping companies know that everything will be fine so long as they cough up the money. It is a price of doing business sadly. Ever since a Ukrainian freighter, loaded with tanks and other weapons, was hijacked, the concept of piracy was thought to only exist in Johnny Depp movies, but it is now a bona fide sensation. Hillary Clinton announced last week that the US will not negotiate with pirates, not that they were ever looking to negotiate with the US, but so long as it is a story that people are eating up, why not get in on the action? So, what to do? Well the standoff with the Maersk Alabama was concluded in a way that was quite satisfying to Americans. The question that arises after the military takes care of a situation like that is, why can’t they deal with the whole situation? I don’t know if any of you have taken a look at the US budget pie chart, but half of it is devoted to the military. The many thousands of other programs that comprise our infrastructure are tiny little slivers on the pie. I have heard more than a few people express confusion as to why our navy can not just blow up all the pirates in the area. The seas is too big and there are too many pirates they say. This is where my dad comes in. Now my natural inclination is to dismiss my dad’s ideas, particularly as we both gets older and our interactions seem to become more and more like situations from Seinfeld episodes. With this situation, I think he has a great idea. First of all, all of the ship that are being hijacked by Somali pirates are trying to enter the Suez Canal so that they can gain access to the Mediterranean without having to schlep all the way around the Cape of Good Hope. The entrance to the Suez is like a funnel, and it necessarily concentrates hundreds of ships into the area. This of course makes it easy for the pirates to pick their targets and make some money. With so many ships and so many pirates in small boats, it is nearly impossible for a few warships to effectively deal with the situation. My dad’s idea is to create a narrow shipping lane through the entire gulf that is patrolled by predator drones. If there are enough drones up there to canvas the whole shipping lane, then they stand a much better chance at taking out pirates. Either the drone sees a suspicious boat and takes it out as a preventative measure, or a freighter reports a pirate boat approaching and the closest drone can respond quickly. I am not a military guru by any means, but this seems to be a good use of resources no?

Windpower

Administrator — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:31:24 +0000

My friend Dan swung by my place yesterday afternoon saying that I needed to see this video of Dutch artist, Theo Jansen, describe and demonstrate his truly incredible wind powered creatures. The basic idea is that these mechanical organisms, once unleashed upon a beach, can live and move around by themselves dealing with the elements as they come. They have evolved from purely mechanical organisms that simply move, to ones that have analog brains of sorts that tell the organism where it is along the beach, ie in the water or further away from it. I think you will appreciate the beauty of movement that Jansen has created; this is a brilliant guy. Ultimately, Dan put it best as the video was winding down on my computer yesterday: “I feel like an idiot after watching this.”

Matthew Cohen Photography gets his new site shiny on the interweb.

Administrator — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:20:39 +0000

Matt Cohen, the talented maritime photographer who has been featured here on quite a few occasions, has just released his sleek new website. Through some hard work, and an envious amount of gallivanting around the world on yachts, Matt has built up an impressive resume of images. On top of all this, Matt Cohen is one of the nicest guys around. Here is his own press release. Please go check out his site for yourself.

Monday 16 March 2009, Matthew Cohen, an award winning and renowned Nautical & Adventure Photographer releases new website!!!

Matthew Cohen, resides in Newport, RI, but his Nautical Art Work comes to you from all over the world. He is proud to announce the launch of his new website as it is a compilation of over 4 years of competitive racing, more than 10,000 nautical miles of deliveries and cruising, a dozens of countries & US locations, and over 4 months of website work. There are hundreds of prints, attractive and appropriate note cards, as well as soon to arrive calendars for the next 2010 year for sale. Matthew is hired for assignments by many corporate companies, a handful of editorials, as well as private clients. You will find that the images appeal to sailors, boaters, beach patrons, travelers, outdoor activists, wildlife admirers, and those who have a keen eye for art and creativity from a lens and digital camera. Feel free to send him Feedback or any questions you might have regarding; ordering, assignments, image search, terms, or his style. Enjoy! Matthew Cohen Photography www.cohenphotography.com matthew@cohenphotography.com 401 662 6541 P.O. Box 718 Newport, RI 02840
Best, Matthew
NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE! WWW.COHENPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Below is a favorite picture of mine that Matt snapped of Ross and I during the 2006 110 national championships in Newport.

STUMP!

Administrator — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:30:01 +0000

After a wild and wet Sunday of Frosty action last week, where I actually managed to break my mast, I drove down to the big apple to catch the Westminster Kennel club dog show. I have always wanted to check out the show, being a dog lover with an interest in a bunch of different breeds. During the day you can go to the staging area where all of the dogs hang out before being judged, and, amazingly, you can actually pet them if the owners/handlers are mellow enough to let you do so. Well, I was particularly excited to see the Sussex Spaniels as a group. My parents have had a Sussex, the amazing Truffinator, for the past eleven years. Aside from two others that I’ve seen over that time, I had never seen more than one Sussex in one place at one time before, so it was particularly exciting to see eleven of them all being goofy together yesterday. At the breed judging, it was a surprise to see Stump win despite being ten years old and having just come out of “retirement.” If you haven’t seen video of this dog walking around, and you are a lover of dogs or cute things in general….I suggest that you do; watching this dog amble about is perhaps the very definition of cuteness. Back in 2004 Stump won the sporting group and was a favorite to win best in show, but it was not meant to be. Last night though was Stump’s night. The crowd was going nuts every time it was his turn to walk the floor, and when the final judging came along, it was pretty obvious that the judge had gone for Stump even before she headed back to the judging table to record her decision. What a thrill to see the old man win. One thing is for certain now; it will be even harder to find a Sussex Spaniel puppy should you want one. The breed is the scarcest of any breed, which is odd given how adorable they are. Below are some pictures of the Truffinator around the water and a great picture of the victorious Stump after his victory.