Addem

Great interview too. Can't find a link to a recording which is a pity.

When is the media going to pick up on this story. The guy is superhuman.

And now I have a reason for such gloom - I just discovered my car was broken into last night and the prezzie for the wife is a gonna. Son of a ....

Mind you, I need to give myself an upper cut for such Melancholy thinking about on Christmas morning while listening the kids Christmas music in the background.

Someone drowned in a river yesterday but this was quoted from a councilor living nearby: 'He said it was a "tragic" and unusual situation to hear of someone drowning in the river.' http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/87933171/reports-of-a-person-in-trouble-in-the-wainui-river-bay-of-plenty Also on TVOne news yesterday a body was found washed up at Muirwai beach - 'it was wearing a life jacket'. Both items don't add much to the debate other than prove problems exist with water everywhere, as has been said, and people do drown in lifejackets, also said. There is still no drownings of boati

????

While I agree that there is too much bureaucracy, and the 400mm thing is probably ridiculous for paddling pools and the like, pools and ponds are incredibly dangerous. I know of one responsible family who were visiting a farm and let their kids run off and play, as you do, and when a little chap didn't come back with the others they eventually found him in a pond, where he was stuck in the mud trying to get out. Story ended well, but could have been different. So I immediately went an filled in the duck pond on our property to a level of 200mm, and put a solid base in. Scary thing water.

Reminds me of the boats we tried to build as kids. We never thought of polystyrene and could never understand why the 4x2 we used would't float. We weren't sophisticated enough to understand displacement I suppose. funnily enough, we did know to wear life jackets tho.

Deafening applause being given in this house.

Instead of the nice calm marina 500m away, which comes with a nice man in a tin to assist with the docking?

Considering the number of time boats that ground there very few can't get off straight away. It's a very forgiving bottom.

few weeks ago I was in southern ocean getting some stuff and while Greg was out back I wandered into the tent and saw it. He said "you can't see that". All I said was;"wow".

You dropped your dente perniculus?

Of stereo typical thinking. Same example applies in lots of fields not just sexism.

I think the gender test should not be a question of actual anatomy but one of whether the person has the balls to sail those boats in all conditions. In which case I'd be disallowed even though I pee standing up.

Thanks Josh. We have some tylaska on board and the ones that failed seem to be no name junk. My fault. But when you see the price of the real thing.... gulp

Right, weak spring might have been the issue. Lesson learned.

I'd appreciate some feedback as to the reliability of snap shackles for spinnaker sheets. On our previous boat (Challenge 29) our practice for dropping the kite when reaching was to ping the guy at the pole. We know have Pork Chop, an Elliott 10.5, and with the greater loads we find the Ronstan type clip (right hand pic) won't release easily. We've had the ring strip out twice. I like the spike type clip (left hand) but we had two of them spontaneously release while the Genniker was flapping away, which is not desirable. So, question is: What is the recommendation for use on larger boa

Oops - Correction - Participating prize is courtesy of all our sponsors, especially Hempel and Linkup Paints.

The annual Legends Regatta is on again this labour weekend at Great Mercury Island, organised by Mt Maunganui Yacht Club. Entry Details are at http://www.mmyc.org.nz/legends/. This is a great weekend event with start lines available from Auckland, Whangamata, Whitianga and, of course, Tauranga. The Whitianga start line is especially suitable for the trailer sailor who is looking for something different. It's a social occasion as much as a regatta weekend with two semi serious short races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and much socialising or fishing/diving time in the beautiful M

Last OB I bought was yam 15 and I stuck with the manual start and went to Aust on the difference in time and money. Lot simpler all round.

Case in point: two guys were rescued after capsizing a 5m tinnie at the maketu bar in the weekend heading out in "harsh conditions" to set a net.

In a "gusty northeasterly" what is more. Not the conditions i'd choose to enter whakatane.

Great vid and great course for an inshore 100 miler.

That's why we used a plastic tube. One person can slide it in while the topper is taking the weight. No clips required until the end of the day or someone in the cockpit can secure it while the foredeck get on with tidying up. We've got a 4m pole.