[FR]

May not seem like a lot, but these guys can rip;

http://www.volvooceanrace.org/index.aspx

You wouldn't catch me out there for weeks on end, maybe a day sail though...

FR

 

[Geeto67]

not a big boat fan but sailing is kinda cool.


speaking of hundred of miles in 24 hours, anybody here an iron butt member? Friend of mine just got his patch for 1000+ miles in 24 hours on a suzuki GT550 two stroke.

 

[joe c]

we usually head down to check out the boats when they come in. i like the around alone better. those guys (girl) got balls. 40mph down a wave face in the 20s. now thats crazy. and alone to boot! last year one of the stragglers came in with no sponcer on the boat. you can see through the hulls. light comes through from the inside to the out thats how thin they are. pretty cool.

jc

 

[monkey]

i have worked on raceboats like this. 2 years ago i repaired on of the massive catamarans in boston harbor. had to vaccumm bag a carbon/honeyconb core patch on one of its hulls. they told me they hit a whale. oops.... cool shit though



matt

 

[joe c]

matt, this thing was so thin. you could see the crews silouhettes walking around inside of it from the dock. no paint or anything on it. really fucking cool i dont know how you build shit like that. i wish i had digital pics of the volvo cup when they left annapolis a few years ago. we shot pics from the race committee boat. a coast guard cutter! pretty cool shit. i watched a navy blackhawk chase a speedboat out of the chanel durring the start. it came down to about 5' off the water crossed the bay and just hoovered in front of this guys boat. he didnt go back into the chanel after that. i saw the trimaran that beatup on the americas cup boats (?) a few years ago in boston harbor. the one painted like a giant eagle. the one that set the transat record i think. i think conner was captaining it. blah blah.

jc

 

[joe c]

matt, have you ever read the bok adrift? by stephen callahan??? if not you should. its fantastic. or one of the solo around the world race books. ive read a couple of them and its awesome. these people make motorcycle racers look normal. going up the mast in 40' swells with rain and sleet around the passage. the people are nuts.

jc

 

[FR]

Right, all that stuff, and the fact that under the right conditions, which aren't neccesarily "human friendly" they can put some serious miles under them. Think about it, over 500 miles in 24 hours from a sailboat. That was unheard of 20 years ago, nevermind 100s of years ago in the "age of sail". Ooh that sounded gay, but you get my point. Like I said, these things rip.

FR