Stokey Woodall’s Atlantic Circuit

Monte Cara in Cabo Verde

Captain Stokey Woodall, from SWAC, added me to a newsletter I don't remember to have signed for. Anyway, I am sure I have his permission to make public some of it, as he has mine, to send me more of his stuff. It is called Why SWAC ? The organizers of SWAC are very much aware that there are other sailing rallies available to sailors, which at first glance might appear to be very similar. To help answer this question it is important to understand that the company slogan's is "We Know You Have a Choice" and it was not decided upon by chance. It actually represents what they feel and what they believe about SWAC's elevated position in the market place and why they strive to stay there.. SWAC was designed, created and put together by two very experienced long distance offshore sailors, who have been there, done it and now own several 'T' shirts [that was funny]. [source - from the newsletter, the pic is magnificent, I wish I had more details on it] SWAC entrants benefit from this combined knowledge bank of experience, by reaping the rewards of all this intelligence in the form of the professional organization of the rally. With the aid of the expert weather routing skills of Stokey Woodall, who has a lifetime's understanding of weather patterns, SWAC … [Read more...]

SailingNetworks.com Is Careless

Great Escape - Sun Odissey 52

What a pity! Experience Antigua Sailing Week aboard this highly competitive Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 52. We have crew spaces for this great regatta which is one of the biggest in the Caribbean series. Warm water sailing at its best. Antigua Sailing Week has become one of the biggest events in the international sailing calendar. It is also one of the most fantastic times to visit Antigua and take advantage of the island-wide party scene throughout the event. Most of the racing is off the south coast of Antigua with some of the fleet going up the west coast to Jolly Harbour. The Event Village is located in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour and is the central point at which all the crews gather after the day’s racing is finished to exchange stories and enjoy happy hour. [source] There is a combination of background and live music every day and evening in the Event Village and some nights there are parties in various other locations. Great Escape offers the opportunity to be aboard a highly competitive race boat and share in the excitement and glamour of one of the finest sailing events in the world. There are crew places available, click on the photograph for further information. If you click not on the pic, but on the source (I try to always taking care … [Read more...]

The Boat – Nautical Terminology

nautical terms

I have to say that I never thought of this blog as a general one. It is not. It is a blog dedicated to yachtsmen all over the world, even if they own or not their boat, but it can be visited and enjoyed by any other person. For them this time, there is the need for a series of posts explaining some nautical terminology. When sailing, it is essential to know the terminology used to describe the boat fittings as well as the precise terms used to define the various manoeuvrings. This is available for writers, for curious people and for smart people as well. The terminology has been used for a long time in sailing and its advantage is that it permits orders given to be clearly understood and executed precisely. Let's start with the boat itself. I remember explaining nautical terms in a previous post, but never thought to write about the simple ones, the defining terms. [source] The hull allows the boat to float. Because of its long, narrow and symmetrical shape, it moves most easily in a forward direction. The center board is a sort of vertical wing in the middle of the hull which improves this tendency towards forward motion and reduces sideways movement to a minimum. The rigging comprises the support and control cables, wires and ropes, meaning all the cordage … [Read more...]

Publishing Tips

Racing Swans

If you are a broker and you want to enlarge your portfolio, and you don't have enough pictures to show on your site, you may appeal to the original site of the brand you're selling. But there might be a problem with that. The great majority of brand yacht name manufacturers has the samples uploaded in Flash, which is making things difficult for you. I know from experience that the petty brokers have minimum experience with site design, and with stealing pictures as well. In certain countries, they steal from each other, more than from the original sites. Not once I met selling customers who doesn't have their boat pictures taken, I mean professionally taken, showing everything interesting for a potential client. You hook your client with the pics. They may even be modified, I've already talked about this in a previous post. But let's come back to the brokers. [source] If they have difficulties using Photoshop either (oh, I've seen color blind guys who can't even erase a name on a digital photo, they didn't "blend" colors to smooth the difference, they just used a "pen" with the default color in whatever program they have to upload the photos from camera, and that was it), it is better to run a search on the engine they use, specially for that brand. It's impossible to not … [Read more...]