Last May, I wrote about the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s plan to sail around the world on the storied Hawaiian voyaging canoe, Hokule‘a. What’s even more incredible than the sail plan is that this voyage – which spans 5 years – will be done almost entirely using traditional Polynesian navigation methods.
This knowledge, otherwise known as ‘wayfinding’, involves the use of only one’s natural surroundings (stars, clouds waves, wind, etc) to guide them. Needless to say, a voyage like this has … More
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Insight from an America’s Cup winning tactician to a winning skipper. ISAF Vice-President Gary Jobson caught up with Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill at the end of 2013. Offering a fascinating look into the 2013 America’s Cup, Jobson and Spithill analyse what went down in San Francisco, USA.
Miss Part 1? click here to check it out. Miss Part 2? click here.
Jobson
‘So I understand that you took some flying lessons. Did that help you understand wings, foils, aerodynamics?’
Spithill
‘Definitely. I actually took the flying lessons … More
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Kayak at the Bottom of the World
The first two days on the ship I think I went to at least 5 kayak meetings; safety briefings, mud room loading and unloading, gear fittings, and a ‘weeding out’ meeting. I didn’t have the experience required and I was ready to back out. The last time I had done real sea kayaking was about 8 years ago, I had no real training or experience and had never done a wet exit. But Ian, the boat’s kayak master, took pity on me and … More
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If you missed Part 1 then it is available here.
Part 3 of 5 will be available soon
Gary Jobson
“There were a few theories in the New Zealand press going on. We’ll cast that aside for the moment. One of the other changes you made was to bring Ben Ainslie on the boat. In the long history of the America’s Cup it is very rare in the actual Cup to change one of the crew, whether you’re winning or losing. So what was behind bringing Ben Ainslie in and what difference did that make?”
Jimmy Spithill
“We had amazing depth in our sailing team. We actually had it set up this way on purpose because our campaign was based around trying to sail two AC72s. We don’t get to race in the challenger series. Big advantage to the challenger. Always has been. To take on two 72s, we honestly didn’t know how often we’d be able to sail one let alone two which is … More
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