Conch Republic Cup 2017, A Cultural Exchange via Sailing (video)

Conch Republic Cup 2017 - A Cultural Exchange through Sport

Video above published Apr 6, 2017: An annual triangle, offshore sailing regatta helps bridge the gap between American and Cuban people. The ocean is the greatest road there is and this year's fleet used it to experience Cuba, which is trapped in time, but on the verge of great change.

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Sailing to Cuba, Touring Havana,Varadero (videos)

Cuba: The Past is Living Now:

Published on Feb 27, 2017: "Two old salts and me sail to Cuba with several cameras to document her as she breathes now before diplomatic relations inevitably alter this time-capsuled country forever. The reasons we fell in love with Cuba are the exact reasons why it will have to change since the influx of Yankees won’t want to drive a rented rusty sedan, stay in someone’s house or eat in someone’s living room like we did."

Cuba 4k | Havana,Varadero (Ultra HD):

Published on Feb 5, 2017 - Trip to Cuba in 2017 - Recorded with Gopro Hero5
Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro CC
Music: Tobu - Hope [NCS Release]
This video is a travel summary of a trip to Cuba in January 2017

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Sailing Cuba, Sailing into Cuban History, Best of BVI Spring Regatta

Sailing into Cuban History:

The Conch Republic Cup was a regatta adventure from Key West, Florida to Veradero to Havana and back to Key West. It was truly a cultural exchange through sport that shows that sailing can help bind these two countries back together. Published Mar 3, 2016

BVI Spring Regatta 2016: The best shots, the winning boats, the sweeping drone shots, the parties, the memories. It's all at the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival at Nanny Cay, Tortola. Published Apr 5, 2016

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BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and BACARDI CUP 2016 Videos

UPDATES: BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and Bacardi Cup 2016:

Bacardi Miami Sailing Week 2016 Day 6


Above: BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and BACARDI CUP 2016 Day 5 Highlights


BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and BACARDI CUP 2016 Day 4 Highlights - On the 4th Day heavy wind cancelled races except the J/70 Class

BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and BACARDI CUP 2016 - Day 3 - Video Highlights - More info:

• Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, Bacardi Cup 2016, Sailing Videos and
• miamisailingweek.com

Vicious Storm Hits Clipper Race Fleet Off China's Coast: The Clipper Race fleet has survived a vicious storm as it closes in on its next destination in China. The Sailing City Qingdao Cup is a 1700 nautical mile race from Da Nang in Vietnam which has served up some of the most challenging weather in the global series to date. Published on Mar 9, 2016 - More info: https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/



Conch Republic Cup - Racing to Cuba on Bobsled - The race to Cuba onboard Bobsled, a new C&C 30, was truly a cultural exchange through sport. History is being made everyday with relations normalizing between the two countries and sailing is the perfect way to reconnect these two lands (published Feb 17, 2016).

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Rolex Big Boat Series 2015, Sailing Video Highlights, Mini Transat

Rolex Big Boat Series 2015, Sailing Video Highlights above  - Hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) and sailed on San Francisco Bay, the 51st edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series drew top sailors and yachts from across the United States and abroad for four days of spectacular racing. Since its inauguration in 1964, the Rolex Big Boat Series has been at the pinnacle of regattas, hosting a world-class range of one-design and handicap races. From 17 to 20 September 2015, some 90 boats competed for victory in 11 classes, six of which earn the winners a coveted St. Francis Yacht Club Perpetual Trophy and the most prestigious of awards: specially engraved Rolex timepieces. Published on Nov 16, 2015. For more info: Rolex Big Boat Series

Sailing NEWS:

Clément Bouyssou (802, Le Bon Agent), Axel Trehin (716, Aleph Racing), Jean-Baptiste Daramy (814 Chocolaterie Pariès) and Simon Koster (888 Eight Cube) arrived Saturday, November 14 in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th positions of the ranking of Bioactive Ocean series boats to Pointe-à-Pitre, after the second leg of the Mini Transat Guadeloupe islands. The Guadeloupe Islands Mini Transat solo transatlantic is without means of communication aboard a Mini 6.50. Starting September 19 Douarnenez with a stopover in the Canary Islands and arrived in the Islands of Guadeloupe. Published on November 16, 2015 

Sailboat diplomacy: New Orleans sailors blow into Havana with historic race | NOLA.com: "... After days at sea, the fleet made it to Hemingway International Marina, about eight miles west of Havana, where the mojitos and congratulations waited. War stories of ripped sails and malfunctioning electronics filled the marina's bar and poolside patio. A race around the harbor: The race was billed as a goodwill gesture to reestablish links between boating communities long separated by the Gulf of Mexico and international politics. In the early 20th century, regular races were held between St. Petersburg, Fla., and Havana drawing elite boats and glitzy crowds. Those days ended when Fidel Castro came to power, though some American yacht clubs and organizations still pined for Cuban shores — and continued to hold races to the island without full U.S. government approval. When President Obama began opening relations this year, Pensacola Yacht Club didn't hesitate putting plans in place, reaching out to Hemingway marina's Commodore José Miguel Díaz Escrich. He, in turn, organized an additional race in Havana harbor for the arriving boats ..." (read more at link above)

The last voyage of El Faro | Miami Herald: "... Several long-time ship captains, though they all stressed that it’s impossible to know exactly what the conditions aboard the El Faro were or what Davidson was thinking, believe he made a serious error on the second day of his voyage, when he learned the storm had reached hurricane levels. “Once you've gone through one of those, you don't ever want to go through them again,” said Bernie Marciniak, 67, a retired captain. “They needed to turn away. You take what's known as the ‘Hole in the Wall’ between the Florida coast and the open sea.” The Hole in the Wall is the name of a lighthouse built by the British in 1836 at the southern tip of Great Abaco. It marks the entrance to the Northeast Providence Channel, a safe deep water passage through the islands that could have taken the El Faro toward more protected waters or along the Florida coast. When the El Faro steamed past the Hole in the Wall on Sept. 30, it found itself between the shallow bank of the Bahamas and a hurricane, with little room to maneuver. “They didn't assess the risk correctly — obviously they didn't because they are not here today,” Marciniak said. “The storm was more than they expected.”..." (read more at link above)

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Rolex Fastnet Race 2015, Approaching Fastnet Rock, Sailing Videos

Rolex Fastnet Race 2015, Approaching Fastnet Rock – 17 August - published on Aug 17, 2015: Day 2 of the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race. The leading yachts have passed the halfway point of the 603-nm offshore race with the front-running multihulls rounding the race’s emblematic turning point – the Fastnet rock. The fastest monohulls are in close pursuit, while the majority of the fleet is engaged in a real tactical contest as it grinds its way slowly past the headlands of southern England. The 46th edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race is well underway and living up to its reputation as a true test of sailing prowess.

Rolex Fastnet Race 2015 start video above - The Start - The 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race is underway. After negotiating seven separate start sequences called from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, the largest fleet in the race’s proud 90-year history have commenced the famous 603-nautical mile offshore race to Plymouth via Ireland’s Fastnet rock. Progress at the start was slow, the 356 race starters forced to find the merest zephyr of breeze during one of the lightest starts in the race’s history. Fortunately a building breeze has seen the fleet make good progress on exiting the Solent. Published on Aug 17, 2015

Tracking Rolex Fastnet Race 2015 - rolexfastnetrace.com

Mastering the Light: "...“Everybody can sail in a good wind but you have to strive very hard to make sure you perform well in the light. If the boat is going just a fraction of a knot more than a competitor you get ahead and when the breeze does kick in, that lead multiplies. In the light we can sail 5 or 10% better than the opposition and that is difficult to achieve in a true wind..."

Languishing off the Lizard: "Progress overnight in the Rolex Fastnet Race has been better than expected with the majority of the fleet having been lured out into the middle of the Channel following the temptation of stronger winds. At 0800 this morning the leading multihulls had passed Land’s End and were tackling the south side of the Traffic Separation Scheme east of the Scillies. Inevitably the larger 40m Spindrift 2 had edged into the lead overnight, but was only seven miles ahead of American Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD70 Phaedo³, tightly bunched in with Musandam-Oman Sail and the Multi 80, Prince de Bretagne. At the time Spindrift 2 was sailing into pressure, making 14 knots while the boats behind were managing only 8-10. At the time Seven Stones light vessel off Land’s End was recording 8-9 knots of wind from the ESE..."
See also:

• JohnTheCrowd | Sailing News: Rolex Fastnet Race LIVE Coverage
• Fleet Tracking: http://www.rolexfastnetrace.com/Tracking-Full-Page-Hidden/2015-fleet-tracking-race-player.html
• Race Website: rolexfastnetrace.com

Other Sailing NEWS:
Amid Thaw, First Authorized U.S. Yacht Sails to Cuba on Hopes of Travel Surge - WSJ: "... Tourists from other countries, including those arriving by boat, have always been free to visit Cuba. But any commercial vessel visiting the island without a U.S. permit is barred from entering an American port for six months afterward. Some U.S. boaters have long popped into Cuba, either under permit by bringing humanitarian supplies or by covering their tracks by visiting other countries on the way home. Those without U.S.-issued permits risk fines, confiscation of a boat, even jail time. Still, several boats docked near the Still Water at the Marina Hemingway were flying the Stars and Stripes..."


US SAILING (press release)
Olympic Test Event 2015 (Sailing): USA 2nd Overall In Three Classes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The second day of competition at the Aquece Rio InternationalSailing Regatta 2015 (Olympic Test Event) saw the debut races ...
Light Winds Continue at Olympic Test Event - Scuttlebutt Sailing News
Aquece Rio Int'l Sailing Regatta – Six classes debut on Day 2 + Videos - Sail World (press release)

New York Yacht Club reclaims the Morgan Cup
Scuttlebutt Sailing News
Newport, RI (August 16, 2015) – Cinderella's second trip to the ball didn't have a fairy tale ending. Last year, Newport Harbor Yacht Club took a ...

Buffalo attorney leads crew to J/22 World Championship
Buffalo Business First (blog)
Chris Doyle was in an unfamiliar country when he took part in an international sailing competition last month. On top of that, he was without his boat ...

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The Havana Sailing Challenge, May 15-21, 90 Miles to Victory

"Flag of Key West, Florida" by Jmckean - Own work. 

Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Havana Challenge is scheduled to begin May 16 and will involve five to seven 16-foot Hobie Cat catamarans that will travel the 90 miles across the Florida Straits.

Havana Challenge -- The event is the brainchild of Key West-based Capt. George Bellenger and is 
organized by him, his wife Capt. Carla Bellenger and Capt. Joe Weatherby. The three captains started making the trek via Hobie catamarans in the late 1990s as part of their personal adventure sailing trips. The last trip made by any of the crew was in 2001, after which the annual event was put on hold. The event is being sponsored by the nonprofit Key West Community Sailing Center. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to youth sailing scholarships at the sailing center, organizers said. The Bellengers, who run kayak, sail and ecotours in Key West, decided to resurrect the trip last year, and along with Weatherby, have been working with the U.S. State Department, Coast Guard, Department of Commerce and other federal agencies to obtain the proper licenses and permits.  The commerce permit was the last major hurdle they had to clear.

Marina Hemingway Cuba: "Marina Hemingway, run by the governmental Cubanacán, is Cuba's largest marina with an official capacity of up to 400 vessels..."

The Havana Challenge | 90 Miles to Victory: ... Imagine a dozen, 2-man, 16-foot Hobie catamarans sailing across 90 miles of treacherous seas to the land of the forbidden, Cuba. There the adventurous but experienced sailors from the eclectic island of Key West challenge the Cuban Olympic Sailing team, explore the Caribbean island from a local’s perspective, exchange cultural peculiarities, and return home on the final leg of the Havana Challenge...

Pre-Castro yacht race put St. Pete in yachtsmen’s sights | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune: "... Gerald Hamill was 14 years old when he first made the 284-mile trip from his home in St. Petersburg to Havana, Cuba. If his high school – or parents – had any real notion of what the teen would find in the Cuban capital with a crew of adult sailors, there’s not much chance Hamill would have gotten permission to join one of the most famous yacht races in Florida’s history. “They had a party for the fleet at the Bacardi rum factory. If you want to see a bunch of hungry dogs in a meat market, think of a bunch of sailors in a rum factory. They had every kind of cocktail you could drink, all these hors d’oeuvres,” said Hamill, now 77, “I’ll never forget it. It was totally surreal.” That’s one of Hamill’s tamer recollections from the 1953 St. Petersburg-Havana Yacht Race. The race that ran from 1930 to 1959 recalls a lost era in the Cuban capital, a time when Ernest Hemingway could be found arm wrestling men twice his size in a waterfront bar and dictators would show off new resorts to groups of American yachtsmen. “I saw Hemingway a number of times sitting at the bar, normally half-smashed with an entourage of people. He was friendly guy,” Hamill said. St. Petersburg yacht designer Charley Morgan also encountered the great expatriate writer, whose name still graces Havana’s marina...."

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