Vertical Sailing Part 2

The second of five installments of Vertical Sailing is very musical.  I am more than impressed that these men carried their instruments up a big wall and had the temerity to play them will sitting on a port-a-shelf.  So watch and enjoy I certainly did.

Vertical Sailing

Here is a video I found off the Alpinist Magazine website. This is a five part series which today I am only going to show the first video. These men have decided to go on an expedition to Greenland to climb some of the unclimbed sea walls along the coast only reachable by boat. So here is the first episode.

Along the Appalachian Trail

It is time to check in with Gabe, the MIT student hiking the Appalachian Trial.  For those who do not know Gabe took some time off  from school to raise money for his favorite charity and that of the most generous donor.  He has hiked for 51 days and is the tenth person hiking the trail to reach the half way point so far this year.  Unfortunately he got delayed along the way due to a case of Giardia, a very nasty infection you get from drinking tainted water.  

His father picked him up for a much needed rest and a trip to grandma's house for the Easter weekend.  It is nice to see a young man honoring Easter instead of Earth Day, the creator instead of the created.  He is setting to attempt the most epic section of the trail the WhiteFang.  I will leave it to Gabe to explain that in his blog.

The Greatest Adventure

It is good Friday and I wanted to talk about the greatest adventure of all.  We all understand that life is an adventure from the beginning.  The real adventure of life is to walk in the foot steps of Jesus the Christ.  Walking in the foot steps of Jesus is much more involved then believing that he lived and died or even rose from the grave.  Walking in his foot steps is to work to become like the person of Jesus but does not require us to become like the personality of Jesus.  

Becoming like Jesus requires us to get to know him.  Getting to know Jesus requires us to be around people who already know him and reading about him.  The only book that records the words of Jesus is the Bible.

The Bible speaks about the greatest adventures in history.  Abraham leaving his familiar home to move to a land unknown to him.  Paul moving from city to city from Israel to Spain.  The slaves of Egypt leaving their homes to walk to Mt Sinai and then to Israel.  And the greatest adventure of all, the journey we will all make when this life is over and the next one begins.  

If you want to have the adventure of a lifetime you must decide to follow Jesus to eat the dust that he kicks up when he walks in front of us, to get to know him and desire to be with him.  This is the condition of entrance into heaven. 

Circumnavigating Ireland

Jeff Allen and Harry Whelen are planning to make an attempt at a speed record set back in 1990.  The fastest time around the nation of Ireland.  Many have tried to make the trip but most apparently end up riding the top of a Pub stool instead of a wave.  Jeff and Harry are set to leave on the 23rd of April as long as the seas are calm.

The record set in 1990 was 33-days by Mick O’Meara, Dermot Blount, Brian Fanning and Karl Heery.  The record has stood for 21 years lets see if it will fall this year.  You can follow along on their blog: Team blog for Ireland circumnavigation 2011

Woman Rows the Oceans Solo

Roz Savage is a 40 something woman who has made it her life's pursuit to row the various oceans of the world.  She has already rowed the 3000 miles across the Atlantic and is currently rowing across the Indian Ocean from Fremantle, Australia to Mumbai (Bombay), India.  On day's when she takes breaks from row due to weather and/or ocean currents she likes to read books, like "The Wave", about monster waves, and "The Devil's Teeth" about the Farallon Islands and great white sharks.  Definitely not subjects I would want to read about while in the middle of the ocean.  You can keep up with Roz on her blog rozsavage.com.  Just a note here Roz is out to make an environmental statement about the worlds oceans and that is part of her adventure.

Speed is Everything

Here is another video clip of a young man who has set his sights on being the fastest mountaineer in the world.  It is very exciting to see a man who has set himself goals and is working to accomplish them in a timely manner.



Ueli Steck - The Swiss Machine from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

Sea Kayaking - A Still Presentation

Found a nice slow and mellow slide show of dawn, dusk, and night photo's taken around the coast.  The video has a nice selection of photos and calm music.  I really enjoyed this.

Solent Sea Kayaking Winter 2010-2011 from Solent Sea Kayaking on Vimeo.

The Big Bike Build Continued

It has been a while since I talked about the road bike build.  The project is mostly finished.  When I say finished I mean everything is bought and on the bike.  A couple of mistakes were made in the purchasing of parts the first was a wrong crank and bottom bracket.  I had fully intended on making the bike a ten speed, ten chain rings on the rear sprocket, but for some reason I failed to look at the number of speeds the crank was rated for, in this case 6,7,8 speed.  The second wrong purchase was the rear derailleur I bought a SRAM instead of a Shimano, the rest of my drive train is Shimano.  The SRAM did not work correctly with the Shimano system and I had to buy a new derailleur. 

Once I got  everything on the bike I thought I would take it out for a test run, just up and down the street in front of my apartment.  Well, I did not quite get the rear derailleur adjusted correctly and the first time the shifter was moved the chain jumped the chain ring and got twisted up between the spokes and the top gear.  Guess what, two of the spokes broke, ouch.  So a 20ft ride was all I got out of the bike.  

Such is the way of things, nothing stays in perfect condition.  That is one of the laws of physics, entropy which says the instant something is put together is begins to degrade.  I should call the first law of David, once it comes to my possession it will be damaged.

Sobed Crosses Finish Line

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Thomas Coville's attempt to make the fastest sail around the world in "Around the world in less than 80 day?"  Well he finished on Thursday March 31, 2001.  Sadly he did not set a new record because of weather and the damage to his bow, caused by a collision with a Pilot Whale.  

Coville took 3 days, 10 hours, 43 minutes and 26 seconds longer than Francis Joyon, the current record holder.  He actual sailed faster the Joyon but because of the previous mentioned problems the average speed was not enough.  

Hopefully Coville will make another attempt at the sailing speed record sometime in the near future, it is fun to follow.

My baby's gone fishin'

Here is an interesting clip I found of a man out enjoying an afternoon kayak along a pier in Panama City, when a very large shark decides to swim by.  Makes the afternoon adventure a little more exciting and adds a little adrenaline and heart pounding action.    I found this on the Canoe and Kayak Magazine website.

The Indiana Jones Adventure

This Saturday the history channel ran a show about the Indiana Jones movies and the pursuit of knowledge called, "Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest."  Really it got me thinking about at least one of the reasons I like to get out and seek adventure.  In this case the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.  

This is not the only reason I like getting outdoors but it is certainly something I look forward to, going to new places to see things that I have never seen before.  Going out on the road does not only include a mountain to climb but a museum to visit.  Like last summer the return trip from Mt Adams included a stop at the Mary Hill Museum in Goldendale, Washington.  The museum has five different displays: Some of the material possession of Queen Mary of Rumania, a History of Sam Hill, an art museum including Rodin, a chess collection, and a Native American display.  Really more stuff than a one day expedition can cover.  

Sometimes getting outdoors can include seeking treasures.  Two examples I can think of are searching for fossils and gemstones.  A great place to look for treasure is in Saint Mary's, Idaho.  The Forest Service runs a site where the public can dig for India Star Garnets, there is only two places in the world these can be found, India and Idaho. 

The point here is that adventure does not always involve climbing a mountain or exploring the wilds of the Amazon it is getting out to find new places or learn new things to see what you have never seen before.  Part of adventure is to enrich your life with new knowledge because new knowledge can also bring about greater understanding. 

Prince joins Trek to North Pole

The second son to the British throne Prince Harry has joined wounded members of the military on a trek to the North Pole.  Their launching point is northern Norway.  The team is from the Walking with the Wounded charity and their purpose is the raise support for injured soldiers.

Prince Harry will train with the team for three days and then walk with them for two after which he will return to England to be the best man in his brothers wedding.  All you royal watchers out there will certainly be keeping an eye on that date.  

As many know he honorably served a stint in Afghanistan before the media found out and placed his life in danger by revealing the fact.  Now he is doing his part by supporting the wounded.