March Madness

Hold onto your hats everyone as fast sailing is coming your way in March via the SuperFoiler Grand Prix this March 2-4 (superfoiler.com) and the Extreme Sailing Series this March 14-17 (extremesailingseries.com). The SuperFoiler series end in March (23-25) but the Extreme Sailing Series starts in March. Also for summer 2018 in the US we hope to have the UFO series going, along with a class website. More info coming related to that (http://funtosail.blogspot.com/p/ufo.html). For now check out this raw video of GC32 racing/sailing to get a sense of the beauty of foil sailing...

Foiling around the world

It had to happen at some point a sailing vessel would be built to foil sail around the world. The sailing record around the globe is at 40 days. Some said in the past it would be impossible break 50 days and then it fell to 40 days, now its possible to break that and go around the world in under 40 days aboard the new Gitana 17. Mark my words this boat will not only break the around the world record but also the 24 hour record. I will keep you all posted. Check out the boat in this video... very impressive!

Running Lights and Right Away

This pic shows what boats should have as their running lights? I will add to this post my comments related to this topic shortly, however in the meantime another topic we can discuss is which boats have the right away over others. So by looking at this pic comment below what you feel is the #1 boat to have right away over all others, that is all other boats must keep clear of this boat's ability to navigate freely.

SuperFoiler Grand Prix, Gold Coast HighLights

SuperFoiler Grand Prix

Here is another Foiling sailboat (trimaran) that sails with a team of three aboard. Designed by the team of Morrelli (USA) and Melvin (UK), and built in Australia. This class of sailing foiler will be the next big thing in Grand Prix style circuit racing. A summer circuit just started in Australia and is currently in progress as its summer down under. We hope soon that international racing will start soon and bring this racing to the US.

The first video supplied here is about the boat and its development as a class. The second video is the first day of the racing down under. They are using top notch technology to insure the video production creates a fun way to watch the racing. We will continue to post videos here. We recommend you visit their youtube channel for live and past racing videos... http://bit.ly/2ofNgr0

2018 Season Series Announced

Today the new Extreme Sailing Series was announced. Here are the venues and dates.

14 - 17 March - Act 1, Muscat, Oman

24 – 27 May - GC32 World Championship, Lake Garda, Italy

14 - 17 June - Act 2, Barcelona, Spain

5 - 8 July - Act 3, Portugal

9 - 12 August - Act 4, St Petersburg, Russia

24 – 27 August - Act 5, Cardiff, UK

18 - 21 October - Act 6, San Diego, USA

9 November - 2 December Act 7, Los Cabos, Mexico

They have not announced yet what teams will be racing. It appears all who raced last year will return but will likely see some new team entries. As soon as we receive this news we will post it.

We are planning on attending the San Diego event to report, do interviews, and video.

So if you need your high speed/foiling fix this series is for you. As noted on the calendar racing starts in March, so we do not have to wait long.

For more information about the extreme sailing series CLICK HERE and/or visit this link http://bit.ly/2BUlidH

THE UFO HAS LANDED!

My fellow sailors it's finally here, a foiling sailboat that does not cost a million dollars! The UFO Hydrofoiler has landed! Its built in the USA!

I have been waiting for such a boat for a long time, as I know some of you have! Check it out at this link on this site... Click Here or click on the UFO tab above. I am taking down payments for this boat now. Due to demand if you want one you need to put your money down now.

I will give updates on the 2018 deliver dates, etc.

Plan for a better life has been sunk

A couple’s plan for a better life has been sunk.

Nikki Walsh, 24, and boyfriend Tanner Broadwell, 26, decided nearly a year ago that they were tired of working.

“How can we live our lives when we’re working most of the day and you have to pay so much just to live?” Walsh, who booked timeshare tours for a living, said to the New York Post.

“Most of the work you do goes to your home. There has to be another option,” she added.

So, the Colorado couple sold all their furniture and their SUV and purchased a 49-year-old boat in Alabama to live on and eventually sail the world in.

The couple moved onto the 28-foot boat, which was in the marina of Tarpon Springs, a town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and lived there for months with their two-year-old pug, Remy, while they stocked up on food and supplies.

Tanner Broadwell, 26, and Nikki Walsh, 24, sold everything they had in Colorado, bought an old sailboat and set out to sail around the Caribbean with their 2-year-old Pug, Remy. But their trip was cut short on Wednesday night when motoring their boat named Lagniappe into John's Pass (background), they struck something underwater that tore their boat's keel off and caused it to sink about 20 minutes later. They and their dog were rescued, but are now stranded in Madeira Beach with one cell phone some of her clothes and some dog food. 

The couple had planned their trip for a year -- both quitting their jobs and selling all their worldly possessions in Colorado before moving out to Florida to live on their 28-foot boat.

“We were pretty prepared,” Walsh said, of gathering items to last them for their planned trip to the Caribbean.

However, the two were not prepared for what happened next.

Nearly two days into their venture, the couple’s boat capsized in a channel called by locals as John’s Pass.

“We thought the channel was where we were going, but it wasn’t,” Walsh told the New York Post, telling the publication they were armed with GPS and paper navigation charts.

Local boat captains say the sandbars often shift in John’s Pass, the Post reported.

“We started freaking out because waves were coming, and it was tossing our boat back and forth,” Walsh recalled.

Broadwell was at the rear of the boat, holding onto Remy when the trouble hit.

“My hands were shaking. We were terrified,” she said.

Before abandoning ship, Walsh said they grabbed some clothes and important documents, as well as things for their dog.

“I also grabbed Remy’s food and just about everything he needed,” said Walsh. “He doesn’t deserve to go without his favorite toys.”

Walsh admitted she and her boyfriend, who used to drive for Uber, were “new to sailing.”

However, the couple, who has been left with just $90 in cash, no jobs and no boat insurance, say they are still hopeful for their world-sailing plans and have started a GoFundMe begging people to help them “not give up on their dreams.”

The pair are seeking $10,000 to rescue the ship, which sank off the coast of Madeira Beach, FL. Walsh said raising the boat alone will cost at least $6,700. Donate at this GoFundMe link help them... http://bit.ly/2Bo19M4

“We have a lot of family helping us, but it’s hard when you’ve lost everything,” Walsh told The Post from Jacksonville, where the couple is staying with loved ones.

Though the pair seem down and out, they still plan to “buy or salvage another boat” at some point and “try try try again,” Walsh writes on the GoFundMe.

“You only have one life. Why spend it doing what you don’t love. Money isn’t everything!” Walsh told the Post.

COMMENTS by Miles Moore of FunToSAIL

Just some quick notes on this disaster. First based on other reports it appears this couple took no sailing lessons, had very limited experience, etc. Note to the wise... it's easy to take a sailing class for only a couple hundred dollars, once you have done this get a small sailboat to practice with, then do a lot of research on how to buy a solid sailboat that works for what you have plans for. 

In addition the couple said they had a GPS and paper charts. This is all great, but as they learned channels and sandbars shift and these changes do not showing up on GPS/charts. Plus even channel markers can move. To adjust to changes in underwater topography and other changes talk to locals about the conditions, etc. They can also tell you the best times to go through the channel, typically at high tide.

Original article by Alexandra Deabler of Fox News, added comments by Miles Moore of FunToSAIL. Click and Donate Here!

How to not use a quick pin

Since its a new sailing year/season I want to inform everyone about a safety issues that seems to pop every spring because people are rigging their boats and getting ready for the sailing season.

It is common for me to see people using quick pins on their standing rigging (rigging that holds up your mast). This is a really bad idea as these quick pins have a mechanical mechanism inside that can fail. Basically the pin typically has a ball-bearing type end that pushes out, which keeps the pin from sliding out of the hole it was inserted into (pic #1). If one pushes the button on one end of the pin it release the mechanism so one can remove the pin from whatever its inserted into. Other pins sometimes have a T-shaped mechanism on the end of the pin (called a drop cam and external spring... see pic # 2), but most use a ball-bearing type design as display in pic # 1).

So on many occasions I have seen this mechanism fail, resulting in the guts/pieces on the inside of the pin falling out, leaving a pin with no prevention from it pulling or wiggle out. And what is the result? Typically the mast comes falling down, particularly on sailboats with only a few wires holding up the mast.

Each year I warn people about this and most remove these pins and replace them with pins that have no such mechanism, just a pin with a wire ring on the end, or cotter pin (called a clevis pin, #3). Others do not and come back to me not only to get a new pin but many times a new mast, etc. which of course is a lot more costly than a simple pin replacement.

I might add not heeding this warning can also result in people getting hurt. Luckily in my 30 plus years in giving this warning no one has been hurt badly, just a few scraps and bruises, mainly because most take the advise and do the change.

Now quick pins can be used to attach running rigging, such as blocks, etc. to the deck, cabin top that run the sails. However using a quick pin on anything that functions with the boom, can be an issue, because if the block or some mechanism comes loose from the boom as a result of the quick pin failure there is some potential for damage and physical harm, particularly when one is in the act of jibing and the boom comes flying around.

So here are 2 pics showing how one should and should not attach a furling drum to the bow fitting with a quick pin. This lesson can apply when attaching any wire to a deck fitting. I am not showing in this pics attaching it to the deck fitting.

In the first pic shows a shackle (see pic #4 for an example of a shackle) with quick pin and lanyard, with the pin going through the furling drums permanently attached shackle (A). In the second picture I have edited out the shackle/quick pin combo to show how this system should be set up with a simple pin with wire ring or one can use a cotter pin if one is leaving the mast up (not trailering the boat). So the non-quick pin just goes through the furling drums permanently attached shackle (B).

Many sailors use quick pins for easy of set up and take down. It can potentially make such work easier, but also can potentially harm you and the boat when such pin fails.

I hope this article was helpful. If you have any questions or experiences about this please leave a comment. 

Fast Hobie 16 Sailing

Here is some high speed sailing for your adrenaline junkies... First video is of a Hobie 16 doing 23.83 knots, and then the second is of a Hobie 16 doing 25.83 knots. Both videos are from my friend Joseph Bennet's channel. Check out these and his other videos at 

Also he has a great T-Shirt and clothing with some nice sailing designs at https://totaljoyrider.com/ . On this same note FunToSAIL will also be coming out with some sailing T-Shirts of our own soon.

23.83 KNOTS

25.64 KNOTS

Is the Hobie 16 for you?

I have said it over and over that the Hobie 16 (H16) is the best beach cat on the market, and has been for almost 50 years. I currently have a book full of beach cats built from 1950's to today (will be putting this info online). Each time a new cat comes out someone will tell me that this cat or that cat will push the H16 off its pedestal, as the best selling and most sailed cat in the world. Well guess what they keep coming and going, and the H16 is still on its pedestal.

I have no doubt and predict that 100 years from now the H16 will still be the most sail cat ever. As foiling takes over the sailing world it will mean all cats/tris not foiling will go to the way side, except one, the H16, and there may be other exceptions such as the Hobie Wave due to being a great rental boat. 100 years from now you will see a Hobie 16 classic event where people will live the old sailing days on this boat, and it will continue to be the king of the surf, as foiling does not work well in breaking surf. No cat on the planet sails as well as the H16 in the surf.

So I was going to create a video to help you deterimine if the H16 is for you, but someone else beat me to it, and did such a good job with it that there is no need for me to create such a video.

If you are looking to purchase a new H16 please contact us and we will help you with that. However if you want to buy a used one check out our H16 Blue Book, it will give you everything you need to know to make a wise purchase... CLICK HERE

I hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions leave a comment below on this page or email me/us at funtosail@gmail.com

Nacra 17 World Cup Series Racing!

Here is the 2018 World Cup Series racing for Nacra 17 catamaran in Miami Florida, a Olympic qualifier event. Watch the full racing on this video...

Hobie 16 Racing

Love the Hobie 16? The tried and test cat with 9 lives. This classic one design class is here to stay and will keep us connect to the waves and cat surfing for years to come! I never posted the 2013 US Sailing Hobie 16 Nationals, which took place during the America's Cup racing in San Francisco bay, so here it is. This video series is really enjoyable to watch. Hope you enjoy the video...

Soft Wing Sails

In my previous post on this site you see that foiling is coming to the masses, but what about wing sails? As we saw in the America's Cup (AC) 34 and 35 catamarans their rigid wing sails works extremely well, more efficient than soft sails, but are costly and hard to maintain as a big one piece rigid sail. Now we are seeing the introduction of soft wing sails, that have the performances advantages of rigid wing sails but without the storage issues of a one piece sail and maintenance issues to go with it. The following are two such designs. Such soft wing sails have yet to be put into mass production, but its coming.

1. This Soft Wings sail pulls up a mast like a traditional sail but has the shape, rigidity, and performance benefits of a wing sail. I believe it is reefable. I do not see a lot of disadvantages to this design.

2. This is the inflatable Wing Sail. It inflates via an air pump and as it rises not only does the sail rise up but the multi piece mast does the same. However I think the disadvantages are first you need a power source on your boat to inflate it, and it has the potential of losing air via a leak. The sail is divided into sections so if a leak happens it's only in one of the long vertical tubular sections. The leaking issue could indicate more maintenance needs than the Soft Wing (#1). I also noticed the mast seems to be flexing a lot in not so strong winds, which I assume is caused by the multi piece mast. Flexing is not that big of an issue and in some cases can work to one's advantage, but the fact it's flexing in fairly light winds might be a concern.

I will have more info and purchasing details as I receive them on this and other designs that are in the works. So stay tuned to this site for more details.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Sailing World Update!

Change from website to Facebook

The Lewis-Clark Sailing Association no longer has a website but now uses Facebook only as their site and for calendar of events. This sailing club has been dedicated for many years in keeping sailing alive in the Lewiston, Idaho, Clarkston, WA. banana belt area. Sailors from the University of Idaho and Washington State University have been a part of this club over the years. I know when I attended the UoI I was a part of this club. Great bunch of sailors and if you live anywhere near this area, are a sailor or aspiring sailor this is the group to join. Check their Facebook page out at this link... https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lewis.Clark.Sailing.Association/events/