Kristen Berry's blog

The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially came to a close on Sunday, marking the end of a season that produced a record number of consecutive storms to strike the United States and ranks as one of the more active seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive records began.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

What a disturbing headline:  "In turbulent economy, boat owners abandoning thousands of crafts."  The shrinking economy cannot be an excuse for poor decision-making.  COME ON!  At the very least donate the good boats to conservation non-profits who can sell them in the future.

Anyway, here is what the AP has to say about a very disturbing trend.

Vessels long a barometer of consumer calm

By Malia Wollan, Associated Press  |  November 23, 2008

Virgin Money recently used sailing as their platform for raising awareness about their new financial tools.  While their efforts to set a new transatlantic record, The Challenge , failed you can be sure this isn't the last time you'll see them sailing for a cause. 

And now check this out!  They are using their position to do something great for the environment! 

Along with a growing list of other pressing concerns, President-elect Obama faces oceans in crisis from overfishing, climate change, mercury contamination, and more.

As an Illinois Senator, he was the sponsor of a bill that would have required chlorine factories to switch to mercury-free technology, which was designed to reduce harmful mercury contamination of our waterways and seafood. Join us in asking him to continue his commitment to conservation as he enters office.

Tell Obama to Remember the Oceans

Juliet Eilperin , one of my favorite environmental writers, wrote in today's Washington Post about the USDA's most recent rulemaking in the organic world.  Sidebar - if you haven't read Pollan's "In Defense Of Food " I highly recommend it.

The Orlando Sentinel - which has a dedicated "Florida Sailing" page is reporting that Right Whales are migrating along the coast of Florida and Georgia.  Having just sailed this section I am sorry I didn't see any.

But here is what they are reporting:

Georgia State officials are warning boaters to steer clear of right whales as their calving season begins off the Georgia coast.  The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says calving season for the massive, endangered species begins in mid-November and runs through mid-April.

Marina space is a neccesary evil for boaters.  In recent years, due to state and federal regulatory changes, marinas have gotten better at being "green" - but there is still a long way to go.  

Unfortunately the age old battle between developers and conservationists is playing out in Georgia - and whales, coastal wetlands and the good will that should exist between boaters and conservationists are at risk

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press Writer

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that a state law protecting coastal marshes doesn’t extend to residential developments on dry land, handing a setback to environmentalists hoping for tougher construction standards along the state’s 100-mile coast.

I just returned from a trip from Beaufort, North Carolina to Fort Lauderdale, Florida aboard a 40-foot sailboat.  It was an exciting trip with big waves and big seas - albeit nothing like the conditions the Volvo Ocean Race and Vendee Globe sailors are sailing in.

It was a great, mind-clearing trip.  Standing watch alone with a huge full moon, Gulf Stream waves, and flying fish to keep me company allowed me lots of time to think about the importance of connecting my sailing with conservation.

I am happy to report that I saw no trash in the water the whole trip (and contributed none either). I didn't see much in the way of sea life either - a single porpoise near the start and the ubiquitous flying fish.  I hope the dearth of sea life is a product of timing and not indicative of something more terrible.

Owner of the J35 Dakota Girl, Stephanie Reuer, is one of my favorite people to coach and sail with.  She is talented with the right attitude about winning and improving.  She attracts great people to her crew with an effervescent positive attitude and a commitment to becoming better.  What more could you ask for?

She is also a great example of what it means to be a member of the OCYC.  This spring Oceana and the OCYC were part of the Sailing World/Sperry-Topsider NOOD Regatta's. 

The editors at Scuttlebutt do such a great job of pulling together reports from racing events - such as the Volvo Ocean Race - that it is hard not to just cut and paste from them.  And today, as your editor/commodore recovers from post election frivolity that's exactly what I am going to do.

From the great writers at Scuttlebutt:

DOCKSIDE ASSESSMENTS
With all eight boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race now in Cape Town following the finish of the 6500nm first leg from Spain to South Africa, teams will be focusing on three areas: repairing the boats, assessing performance, and making adjustments. During the leg, most of the information that is available on the race website is not made available to the teams. While the positions for each boat are available, the performance and weather data are not, nor are the emails or videos that are being sent from each boat. However, the onshore teams have collected all the data, and now is the time it is used to raise the level of each team before the start of the 4,450nm second leg from Cape Town to
Cochin, India begins November 15th. Here are some of the early dockside reports:

* Johnny Smullen, Green Dragon Shore Manager, regarding the collision that took the boat speed from 25 knots to a virtual standstill: “We immediately asked ourselves, what did they hit, was it a container on the surface? Perhaps a log or the whole tree! As we stood on the dock in anticipation this morning, we were somewhat relieved to see that structurally we survived. The steel keel and bearings were intact without any crazing and/or cracks; what didn’t survive was the carbon fibre fairing which fairs the leading edge of the keel. In short, the keel is milled out of a single billet of heat treated steel, and the forward and trailing edges are added later as these shapes would almost be impossible to machine. We added pre-shaped fairings to these areas and fortunately the forward one also doubles up as a sacrificial leading edge or simply put a bumper.

"Unfortunately once you lose this you have a flat section across the front of your keel which really impacts your speed! We also lost the keel pin fairing; this is a conical fairing, which does exactly that, it fairs the 150mm keel pin, and without these we have a very unfair underwater profile. It would have the same effect, if a Formula 1 car lost all its wings and the nose!” -- Photos: http://www.greendragonracing.com/en/image_gallery/category/C19