Sailing a Hobie 16 on Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho USA

Sailing with my beautiful wife on Lake Pend Oreille Idaho, USA. Sorry for not posting much for the last month due to our busy season and teaching a lot of sailing classes. Please send us your sailing stories and videos so we can post them here, particularly if you are doing any sailing within the Inland NW.

4th of July!

Have an amazing 4th of July! Hope you enjoy these two song as they should reminds us all why this nation is so great (scroll down)!

For you Rockers! Here is an amazing song!

Local Memorial Day Events

Hello everyone! I hope you all will find a Memorial Day ceremony in your area and go to it to honor our fallen Heroes. I know I will as I have family that have served and one son who is serving now in the Navy. We need to make this day more than a day to buy things and barbecue, etc. It should be a day of reverence.

Here below are two events in my area that honor our fallen Heroes.

Plus after noted events is an amazing article by the Navy Seal who killed Usama bin Laden. A very inspiring article by an American hero who teaches how to truly observe Memorial Day.

MONDAY/MEMORIAL DAY

Hayden...

9:30 a.m. Laying of a memorial wreath and “Tolling of the Boats” honoring service men and women lost at sea will take place at Honeysuckle Beach, 2369 E. Honeysuckle Ave. Ceremony will include a prayer, rifle salute and taps.

11 a.m. Main ceremony at the McIntire Family Park stage at Hayden City Hall, 8930 N. Government Way. Includes presentation of colors, placement of wreath, welcome by Mayor Steve Griffitts, reading of new pavers, Memorial Day address by Sgt. Danial Marshall, bagpipes and a rifle salute.

Coeur d’Alene...

9 a.m. The Missing Man Ceremony will be performed at McEuen Park — Veterans Memorial, 420 E. Front Ave., by members of VFW Post 889. Lt. Col. Carl Gidlund, USAF Ret. will speak, followed by ceremonies for those missing at sea.

11 a.m. Fallen Veteran Ceremony presented by VFW Post 889, at Forest Cemetery, 1011 N. Government Way, to honor fallen veterans from all wars.

2 p.m. The Pappy Boyington Detachment 966 of the Marine Corps League will host a ceremony honoring veterans at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens, 7315 N. Government Way with food and drink served to all attending.

MEMORIAL ARTICLE by the Navy SEAL who shot bin Laden

Don't wish me a happy Memorial Day

Don’t wish me a happy Memorial Day. There is nothing happy about the loss of the brave men and women of our armed forces who died in combat defending America. Memorial Day is not a celebration.

Memorial Day is a time for reflection, pause, remembrance and thanksgiving for patriots who gave up their own lives to protect the lives and freedom of us all – including the freedom of generations long gone and generations yet unborn. We owe the fallen a debt so enormous that it can never be repaid.

Memorial Day is a time to honor the lives of those who would rather die than take a knee when our national anthem is played. But they will fight and die for the rights of those who kneel.

This holiday is a time to think of young lives cut short, of wives and husbands turned into widows and widowers, of children growing up without a father or mother, of parents burying their children.

Memorial Day is a time to think of might have beens that never were. Of brave Americans who put their country before themselves. Without these heroes, America would not be America.

Unfortunately, for many Americans this solemn holiday might as well be called Summer Day – marking the unofficial start of the season of barbecues, days at the beach, time spent on baseball fields and golf courses, hiking and enjoying the great the outdoors. All those things are great – we all appreciate them and they are some of the best things in life.

But Memorial Day is not Summer Day. Nor was the holiday created as a way to promote sales of cars, furniture or clothes.

Another Memorial Day brings with it a whole lot more than the start of summer. Since last Memorial Day, grass is now growing above the final resting places of many young men and women whose lives were taken too soon while defending our country in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other far-off places many Americans have rarely heard of.

When Army Sgt. La David Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright were killed last October in an ISIS ambush in Niger, many Americans asked: We have troops in Niger? These unknown soldiers lost their lives protecting you – every one of you reading these words.   

Think about this: Millions of high-school seniors are walking across auditorium stages this season, receiving their diplomas. Most will go on to college or jobs, but some will choose a career of military service, joining the second generation of American warriors fighting in the Global War on Terror – a war that began with the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that took the lives of almost 3,000 people in our homeland.

Most of these new recruits – who were not even born or who were just infants when the 9/11 attacks took place – will make it home just fine. But some will not. I pray that I am wrong, but the sad truth is that the number of American war dead on Memorial Day in 2019 will be higher than it is on this Memorial Day.  

On Memorial Day, I salute my brothers and sisters-in-arms who have served beside me in War on Terror. My heart especially goes out to the families of those who did not return home. In fact, I think about all those who served and those who have given their lives fighting for America from our county’s earliest days in the Revolutionary War. They all have my gratitude.

We think we are strong, but in war any of us can be turned into just a memory in an instant. And war seems to have been the universal experience of just about every society on the planet at one time or another, for as long as there have been human societies.

How do we stop the wars resulting in such tragic waste of lives? How do we stop the number of American war dead and war dead in other nations from growing? I wish I knew the answer. But battle lines are being drawn and redrawn, and wars and terrorist attacks just keep going on and on. Weapons are getting bigger. Bombs are becoming smarter and more lives are being lost every day all over the world, leading to more death, more anger and more war.

Some are so loyal to their cause that they strap bombs on their bodies or fly passenger jets into buildings. They conduct beheadings. They set prisoners on fire. How do we find common ground with them? Do we even try to find common ground, or do we finally take the gloves off and start landing punches intended to take our enemy out for good?

I’ve been on over 400 Army combat missions and have seen more war than most Americans. More than I care to remember, but cannot forget. There is never a shortage of war. War spreads faster than fire and like fire it leaves destruction in its wake.

It hurts my heart as an American every time I see another service member’s body being brought home draped in an American flag. But it hurts my heart as a human being with every act of war we are all unleashing against each other around the world.

This Memorial Day, I urge all Americans to remember all the fallen sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard members who have so bravely served our country, as well as their families.

And I urge all Americans to join me in the hope and prayer that somehow, someday people around the world will focus more on our similarities than our differences and that we will move closer to a time when war is just a memory – part of our past but not our future.

Robert O'Neill is a Fox News contributor and ex-Navy SEAL best known as “the man who killed Usama bin Laden.” O'Neill joined the Navy in 1996 and deployed as a SEAL more than a dozen times, participating in more than 400 combat missions across four different theaters of war.

GC 32 Worlds

More racing today at the GC32 World Championships (May 23-27). For those of you who do not know what a GC32 is, it's a 33 foot long foiling catamaran raced by a team of 5 sailors. This is the second year the GC32 World Championships has happened, and is also part of the Extreme Racing Series. Next racing takes place in Barcelona, Spain on June 14 - 17. Watch more GC Worlds action at https://bit.ly/2J4xz2D or results and info at https://www.gc32worlds.com/

UFO Review

On May 4th, I took a plane to Rhode Island to visit with the Fulcrum Speedworks team and check out their manufacturing facility, and the innovative UFO foiling catamaran. I also had the pleasure of sailing a UFO in Bristol Bay, Rhode Island! 

At the manufacture facility the boats go through a series of exact steps to reach end production... an absolutely beautiful, high tech, and unique foiling catamaran sailboat. Each boat is the same weight, which is important to racers. Dave Clark and his father Steve are the designers and builders of this amazing boat, with plenty of previous experience in boat construction. At one time, Steve was president of Vanguard Sailboats (1987-2004), which built Lasers and other sailboats at the time. With their knowledge the UFO is built to high standards, resulting in a rigid and durable boat that will supply years of enjoyable sailing.

Dave and crew offered to let me sail a UFO and I jumped at the opportunity. The days sail included 17 knots of wind with 3 to 4 foot erratic choppy seas, making it bit of an wild ride. I spent some time trying to sail her level and in the water, which they call the displacement mode. It's fairly easy to sail her flat in the strong winds even though the chop made it a wet ride, like sailing a Laser. Then the boat went into launch mode, working to find the balance of getting her to fly. During this mode she would rise up on one hull just like one would experiences on any small cat. Reminded me of sailing a Hobie 14. After that flight mode (foiling) was achieved, which is an experience unlike any boat I have sailed. Once on the foils, the ride was amazingly quiet and smooth, while being incredibly fast. Through all the modes the UFO was a freaking joy to sail! :)

Dave sailed her before and after my sail, masterfully flying with ease. With the boat foiling above the waves he did not have to deal with the rough conditions. I was aboard the support boat while he was flying, amazed at this boat's speed while foiling. The support boat had a difficult time keeping up in the rough seas. 

So, you might ask who this boat is suited for, and the answer is for anyone, age 9 to 78, in fairly good shape physically, with good stomach muscles needed for hiking out, and being limber enough to pass under the sail. The boom does sit high above the deck so when you are crossing the boat the sail that lies below the boom is soft to pass by.

Rigging and de-rigging the boat is easy with only a few steps for set up and take down. The sail is just 25.6 square feet, making raising and lowering a breeze. The boat is 10 ft long and 5.5 feet wide with solid deck (no trampoline) at only 110 lbs fully rigged weight. One could easily car top it, put it in back of a pick up (tipped on its side), or on a light weight trailer. So one could get on and off the water very quickly, launching from a beach with the dolly that comes with the boat or taking off from a dock.

Lowering and raising the lightweight foil rudder and forward foil is a simple up and down motion. Sail adjustments are easy to reach. With only a mainsail there is only the mainsheet line to deal with, primarily. When sailing I found no weather helm. To be honest I really found no issues to note. The construction is sound, parts are durable, and she is seaworthy with the wet ride of a typical lightweight sailing dinghy. If you have to ask if you will get wet when sailing her then this boat might be for you. It is a sailing dinghy with the wet factor in line with a Laser or Hobie 14. Matter of fact the UFO reminds me of these two boats but with the ability of course to fly above the waves, thus, at much greater speeds.

If you have any question email me (Miles Moore) at funtosail@gmail.com . We will have a UFO coming to our sailboat business in a month or so, and will be doing demos. Date of demos to be noted on our calendar and in an announcement here on this website.

Boat Details

The UFO is a modern design hydrofoiler, based on recent technological advances in sailing hydrofoils, that allows anyone to fly above the water. More stable than the International Moth, with a simple rig, and a set of fully retractable foils, all for under $8000 USD. The UFO provides the easiest and most affordable foiling experience, while maintaining a one-design philosophy creating close and exciting racing on foils!

- Unique hull and rig designs
- Stable on and above the water
- Small footprint for easy boatyard storage
- Takeoff from about 8 knots of wind
- Fast, fun, easy to control foiling
- Designed and built in the USA
- Under $8000 USD
- Compact for storage and mass transport
- Lightweight for easy maneuverability
- Solid, nearly dent-proof, hull

Boat Specifications

- 105 inch waterline length + 15 inch rudder gantry (10 feet overall)
- 67 inch beam
- 50 kg all-up ready to sail weight
- 7.8 sq. meter sail
- Steve Clark design

USS Constitution

On a May 2018 business trip it was my pleasure to visit the sailing frigate USS Constitution (USSC). I have dreamed of seeing her since I was a little boy, ...sparked by my very patriotic father reading to me about the USSC via his various books and magazines he acquired over the years. I certainly carried on his enthusiasm! He never got to walk her decks, so it seemed I was doing it with him.

I have to admit I got a little emotional when I first stepped on board. It was like stepping back in time when sailing was the only mode of propulsion, when ships had to solely rely on the wind. One can not help but feel patriotic as well that this national treasure is still afloat. After her almost being scraped twice and the many battles she was involved in (she is undefeated), its amazing she survived.

The USSC was named by George Washington himself and was part of a 6 ship order via the Naval Act of 1794. She was built in Boston Massachusetts and launched April 18 1897. She is considered a heavy frigate, much stronger than ships of her kind during that era. She was designed to be faster than the larger British war ships, yet big enough to carry enough canons (44 to 50) to do some major damage. She had about 33 battles from small scale to major cannon blazing battles. Three of her most notorious battles were against British war ships during the War of 1812. One battle was against the 38 gun frigate Guerriere, next against the 38 gun frigate Java (both similar in size); and after that against two smaller 20 gun war ships at the same time (HMS Cyane and HMS Levant). She also had the opportunity to use her speed to get away from a fleet of 5 British ships, one of which was a large 104 cannon ship. This escape came to be known as "The Great Escape."

During her battle with Guerriere she received the nickname Ironside, when cannon balls were seen bouncing off her sides. An American sailor exclaimed “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!” Later her nickname was change to Old Ironside when ships started to be built with actual iron. There was also a time when her name, USSC, was going to be used on another ship; but as it turns out the other ship was not completed and the name was returned to her.

It is noted that about 10-15% of the original wood is still in her. One might say that is not much, but think of this... “THE ORIGINAL WOOD!” That wood is 220 years old. Also realize that this ship fought in many battles so the damages from these battles needed to be fixed. ...broken masts, bowsprit that got tangled twice with ships it was fighting, and so on. She also went through various changes... from war ship, to diplomatic vessel, to training, and having housing built on her deck to accommodate cadets living aboard, etc. Later she was restored to her 1797 configuration, and thus she is today.

When I stepped aboard I could not help but get a bit emotional. It was at that point my childhood dream came true, the realization that I was on board a national treasure, aboard a ship that had been involved in keeping this nation safe, and a ship that men had fought and died on. It was an amazing realization. I could not help but take my time and take it all in, touching her and taking in the sights and smells. We arrived at noon and did not get off the ship until closing at 6:pm, we were the last people to exit the ship. They kind of had to prompt us to leave with happy enthusiasm. It was hard for me to leave, very hard. Thus we lingered on shore looking at her for some time until it was dark, finally left to have dinner.

There is a visitor center and museum next to the ship, which we spent little time in, but on my next trip I would like to go through it slowly and read all of the information. We did watch a historical video about the USSC in the museum that highlighted all its history, etc.

On board I found that they were selling American flags. The note by the flags indicated they had been flown on the ship, and so I thought wow that would be great to have one. However I did not realize that, in fact, I would be raising and lowering the flag. It was the best $25 I have ever spent! Not only did I get the flag after lowering it and folding it properly with the naval officer on board (all on board are active duty naval officers), but all the money goes toward caring for this wonderful ship.

Another wonderful part of this visit was sharing this experience with my daughter who is an avid sailor and is currently taking a college course on American history. She said to me that coming aboard made what she was studying more real.

I hope to visit her again but if I do not I do have this one amazing visit to always remember.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures and video. If you have any questions feel free to email me at funtosail@gmail.com

Learn more about this amazing ship at these links 
http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/constitution/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution

SEE VIDEOS BELOW AND CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE

Officers Galley

Tiller Room with Naval Officer

Helm

Starboard side of ship

Cannons 2nd level

Anchor winch

Bow forestays block and tackle

Mid ship deck

Aft Mizzen Mast

Bow... note lion carving on end of beam

VIDEOS

GC32 World Championships

Next Extreme Racing Series Regatta is this May 24-27. Officially this event will also be the first inaugural GC32 foiling catamaran World Championships. It all takes place at Riva del Garda, Italy.
Watch live on Youtube and Facebook... Extreme Racing Series... https://www.youtube.com/user/ExtremeSailingSeries
https://www.facebook.com/extremesailingseries/