Mini bigger.
Archive for the 'Boats' Category Page 2 of 18
For Hilary Lister, the woman at the helm of the 20ft keel boat making the most of the afternoon’s sea breeze, days are typically spent immobile, staring out of the window of her bungalow in Kent. Unable to dress or feed herself – she cannot change the channels on the television set without assistance – Ms Lister, 36, is completely reliant on carers to cater for almost every need.
Since the age of 11 the fiercely independent former scientist has suffered from a rare degenerative disease called reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Over the years it has steadily robbed her of her physical powers so that today she is quadriplegic – paralysed in all four limbs. The only movements she can make are with her head, eyes and mouth.
To make matters worse, Ms Lister who, before the illness took hold was a talented sportswoman, musician and studied biochemistry at Oxford University, is in a state of near-constant agony, alleviated only by powerful drugs. At its best, she says, the pain is like sandpaper between the joints. At its worst, it feels like a “knife being plunged in”.
And yet, despite the apparently overwhelming odds stacked against her, and the certainty that her illness will continue to ravage her body, increasingly affecting her ability to breathe and possibly destroying brain function, she remains determined not only to overcome the odds herself but inspire others to emulate her through her charity,Hilary’s Dream Trust.
Yesterday, following a frustrating week-long delay for bad weather, Ms Lister embarked on what many are describing as the most incredible voyage ever undertaken by a disabled sailor.
Using specially developed “sip and puff” technology which allows her to control the sails and the helm of her boat, she will sail for three months around the British coast. The journey will take her westwards along the Channel, round the treacherous waters of Land’s End, before turning to the north and following the coast of eastern Ireland. A testing slog across the Irish Sea will bring her to Scotland’s scenic but unpredictable west coast from where she will sail through the Caledonian Canal and back down the North Sea to Dover.
- Full Story at The Independent
- http://www.hilarylister.com/
- story and interview at NPR
I heard Ms. Lister interviewed last night on NPR of all places. I was a ‘driveway moment’ as they say. She has had such challenges, and such a beautiful dream that she is now realizing, yet she also sounded emenently practical and level headed. Her boat, a modified Artemis 20, strangely seems to have no name.
More info here.
Kind of old news, but whatever. Mr. CLEAN interviews Ryan Finn, Jesse Rowse, and Bry LaRue on Classe Minis in the US.
Did I say I love Minis?
Yves Parlier’s kite-cat. How is it these Frenchies get so much of the fun?
More carnage at the iShares Cup. Via SA.
In May 2008 French NorseBoat agent Nicolas Galais and his wife took part in the Vogalonga rowing event in Venice, Italy. This event has been described as “a protest, a get-together and non-competitive race rolled into one.” They also had some time to sail while they were there. This photo shows Nicolas setting a course for the famous Plaza San Marcos.
norseboat.fr, Norseboat newsletter
Finn Masters line up for start at the recent Netherland-based Worlds.
As a big guy, this class has a lot of interest for me. I’d probably sink a Laser! Pro: Olympic class, non-board-boat feel, high level of competition. Con: Expensive, single-purpose boat, steep learning curve, high level of competition.
Mixing it up at the TP52 Med Cup.
Чем же был обусловлен выбор лодки именно класса Мини?
Все просто — лодки этого класса способны пересекать океаны, имеют цену доступную многим и являются максимально безопасными и быстрыми! Если Ваша мечта, посмотреть мир с борта собственной яхты, то вы зашли по правильному адресу.
В 2006 году начался проект Эльф-650. Были намечены следующие планы:
- Постройка помещения для реализации задуманного
- Разработка проекта лодки отвечающей всем требования международного класса Мини
- Постройка комплекта матриц для серийного производства лодок
- Изготовление лодки отвечающей всем требования международного класса Мини
- Сертификация проекта классом Мини
Translated page of Russion Mini Series builder, Elf 650
A raft made of 15,000 plastic bottles and a Cessna 310, to raise awareness about plastic debris fouling our oceans.
For over 10 years, the Algalita Marine Research Foundation has studied plastic marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. What we have found – exponential increases in the quantity of plastic debris – may have far reaching effects we are only beginning to understand.
To put a cap on it, we’re sounding the alarm, by sailing across the Pacific on 15,000 plastic bottles. Along the way, we’ll report our findings, collect ocean surface samples, and answer your questions through our blog.
Out of sight, out of mind no longer, We need for people to begin paying attention, before our oceans turn to plastic soup.
JUNK website. For further background see Plastic in the Ocean at NSL
Team Alinghi bites teh Big One, practicing for the DoG fight. Via S/A.
Mini-Transat 6.50 Daisy Cutter looking good in the Spinnaker Cup, before the wind died and it all went sour.
Deep down, I really really want a Mini.
Ted Kennedy’s 50-ft Concordia schooner Mya. Not my favorite politician, but great taste in boats!
UNLIKE the teammates who power a quad or an eight-boat and rely on one another for rhythm and timing, a single sculler has no other rower to look to. He or she is a solitary person in a narrow shell of a boat no more than 12 inches across at its widest point.
Michelle Guerette, a two-time World Championships bronze medalist in the single, often feels alone in another way: she has no one to follow in her quest for an Olympic gold medal. No American woman has ever won a gold medal in the single scull event at the World Championships or the Olympics, and no American single sculler, male or female, has won an Olympic medal of any kind since 1988.
Despite the lack of medals at the elite level, on the recreational and collegiate level the sport is growing at a rate of about 10 percent a year, said Karen Solem Derringer, the publisher of The Rowers’ Almanac. Ms. Derringer estimated that there are 250,000 master, collegiate, junior and recreational rowers in the United States, up from 177,500 in 2004, when the publication completed its first survey. About 60 percent of rowers are scullers, she said.
Ms. Guerette, 27, joined the varsity women’s rowing team at Harvard as a freshman after impressing Liz O’Leary, the head coach of women’s heavyweight crew, with her strength on a rowing machine. She had never rowed before, but she was well suited for the sport, being tall (5-foot-11) with exceptionally long limbs.
“She looks like a bird with very long wings when she’s holding the oars,” said her coach, Charley Butt, who also coaches the men’s varsity lightweight rowing squad at Harvard. Come August, she hopes to represent the United States in the 2,000-meter single women’s scull at the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.
During Ms. Guerette’s ascent in the ranks of elite rowing, she has learned a few lessons that could also benefit recreational and collegiate rowers. One is that you should never stop working on technique. “There are principles in rowing that are universally correct,” Ms. Guerette said.
Continue reading ‘From a World-Class Rower, Tips to Sharpen Technique’
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