Category Archives: Sailing

Sailing, Security

Im Memoriam: Peter Wenner

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A University of Hawaii sailing team member was involved in an 18 foot skiff accident this past weekend in Honolulu and has just passed away. Facebook has a Friends of Peter Wenner page with details:

His trapeze harness became tangled in the netting of the wing when the boat capsized. Peter was underwater on and off for a few minutes while they were trying to get him free. The safety boat acted immediately to call 911 and as soon as they were able to get him out of his harness they rushed him to Honolulu harbor in the support boat were an ambulance was waiting.

[…]

PJ died doing what he truly loved. Blasting downwind on the 18′ skiff at very high speeds with good friends. PJ said with a big smile to Willy that day now that he’s been skydiving and sailing on the 18′ skiff his life was complete. PJ was a real inspiration to us all. I know we will all remember him for the rest of our lives, smiling, laughing and cracking jokes. The sailing team are all going out on the big boat Tiare on Friday at 3pm to spread flowers and celebrate PJ’s life.

The picture below shows the Pegasus 18′ skiff in action, and the crew standing on one of the big wings with netting:

Tragic, even though they say the best way to go is doing what you love.

I will take a minute to think of PJ and his family, and also double and triple check my safety gear when I next go sailing. The harness is perhaps the most terrifying piece of gear to wear on a dinghy, as the hook easily can become tangled and pin a sailor.

Energy, Sailing, Security

Cadillac CTS Diesel SuperWagon

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Oooooh, be still my beating heart. I’ve never been a Cadillac fan, since they seem to prefer excess and flash to function and efficiency, but I have to give them props for trying to step up and follow the European lead in diesel performance vehicles. Have a look at the Cadillac CTS Wagon:

GM says the 4.5L Duramax, which features aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding and a variable-vane turbocharger mounted in the vee, is capable of delivering more than 310 hp and in excess of 520 lb-ft of torque. It also claims the engine meets the tough 2010 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states.

This diesel engine is said to get 20-25% better mileage than the Ultra V-8 engine and you know it will totally kill the numbers on the absurd supercharged V-8 CTS-v. In fact, I think they should just deploy the V-6 diesel in both America and Europe.

Why do it? While the CTS is due to get a 2.9L V-6 diesel in Europe, the 4.5L diesel V-8 would most likely be seen as a way of filling the obvious gap between the 304-hp direct-injection V-6 of the regular CTS and the 556-hp supercharged V-8 of the CTS-v here in the U.S.

What they should really do is can the gasoline V-6 version and offer the same diesel option as in Europe. It will have more power and better mileage. I would be more than happy with a 2.9L V-6 diesel. Who needs anything bigger? Oh, right, it’s Cadillac. Well, I guess better to have a massive V-8 diesel option than none at all. Either way, this would be a fantastic regatta/tow vehicle.

Disclaimer: I already own a VW version of this car, manufactured four years ago

2004 VW Passat TDI

…but I am sure I could be talked into updating to an American made V-6 diesel Cadillac SuperWagon.

History, Sailing, Security

How to Spot a Pirate

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Chief Nato spokesman James Appathurai is quoted in the BBC, saying it is hard to spot Somali pirates:

“There are a host of pirates, but they don’t identify themselves with eye-patches and hook hands so it isn’t immediately obvious that they are pirates.”

I think this has always been true. Pirates have never wanted to be identified early, since it makes their chase harder, but I have to think that the direction of their boat, along with machine guns, RPGs and masks, all make for a good giveaway.

Friend or foe? Black Beard never wore a patch or a hook.

Sailing, Security

The Tragedy of the Well-Deserved

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This is the tragic story of Thomas and Jackie Hawks:

Fresh from two years of plying the waters of the Sea of Cortez, the Hawkses were believed to have been killed Nov. 15, 2004, after being tricked into a test sail of their 55-foot yacht, the Well-Deserved. They had put the boat up for sale because they wanted to move back to Arizona to be closer to their newborn grandchild.

[…]

Machain testified that he helped Deleon cover the couple’s eyes and mouths with duct tape as Jackie Hawks cried. The Hawkses were taken up to the main cabin one at a time to sign and fingerprint title transfer documents for the boat, he testified.

Jackie Hawks was told that if she cooperated she would be released, Machain recalled.

[…]

Deleon lifted the anchor and threw it overboard as Kennedy pushed the couple into the water, Machain said.

Deleon then turned the yacht around and the men collected cash, jewelry and other valuables, Machain said. Kennedy cracked open a beer, grabbed a fishing rod and fished all the way back to Newport Harbor, he said.

So cruel, so sad. Pirates in America.