www.Sail-Search.com: It is very seldom that I come across photographs that jump out of the screen and touch me with movement, clarity and the pure JOY of sailing, until NOW.

Recent addition to the Sail Search Directory, Matías Capizzano published a series of stunning photographs of Optimists doing some incredible sailing on the Mar del Plata, Argentina. An example of which is below:

Crazy Optimist Sailing - words fail me as my grin widens.....

Matías Capizzano contact details
Matías Capizzano web site

www.Sail-Search.com: Being on the internet is not only about what happens between your keyboard, monitor and that thin piece of copper that connects you to everyone else, but also about relationships and the good old fashioned handshake.

I met Simon Lovesey a while ago at the Mirror World Championships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and see that he recently added his SailRacer.co.uk web site to the Sail Search Directory. SailRacer allows racing results from all sailing classes to be collated in one place.

Forgive me, Simon, but I have always wanted to say the following: Simon says; "My strategy has been to launch a unique service available to sailors across the racing spectrum - including the enthusiast out in a dinghy every week,"

I gave the Head2Head feature a go but came up empty handed - maybe in my old age I am pushing the wrong buttons.....
Update: "Simon explains the Head2Head feature as follows: "Head2Head needs two sailors who have competed against each other and we have results for, try: nick thompson vs paul goodison" Well, I tried it and it is quite a nifty feature, giving you info on the regattas sailed, dates, class, position, number of wins over the other sailor and even fleet size. Click Here to try yourself.

Easy enough to upload your results and there is a forum allowing you to natter away to your hearts content. I particularly liked the way that the Sailing Clubs are presented via Microsoft Virtual Earth. Quick Question; "Which is the Northernmost UK Sailing Club?" (* Answer Below)

At the time that I popped in for a visit Simon had 1240 regatta event results listed. Quite an impressive number for the dead of winter and with lots more to come this summer I am sure.

* Click Here to visit the Northernmost Sailing Club and drop a comment.

Yachtdogs.org could be a domain name that you could misinterpret in so many ways ...........

This YachtDogs domain, though, is dedicated to Yacht Dogs and is so exclusive that it does not accept even such luminaries as Ellen Macarthur or even such heavyweights as Larry Elison or Donald Trump.

Of course it will accept Ellen, Larry or Donald if they walked on four legs, wagged their tails and barked occasionally.

Entree to this exclusive club grants it's canine members their own pages, a members only burgee, a members only bandana, access to the forums where you can bark and piddle and pass s****y comments to your hearts content, exclusive apparel, automatic entry into an exclusive photo contest showcasing the most virile hairy chests and bitches to die for, your very own YDYC calendar and newsletter as well as discounts on exclusive clothing with a portion of profits going to selected animal charities.

Now if only you could work out how to access your owner's credit card you could turn up the social agenda a notch and boast to your mates down at the local fire hydrant about belonging to one of the most exclusive yacht clubs in the world.

Contact Info for Yacht Dogs Yacht Club

Following on from our recent showcasing of the Parasailor (Story HERE), Sail Search thought that you may be interested in seeing the parasailor spinnaker in action at the start of the recent ARC 2006 rally.

Related Links:
Contact Info for Parasailor Spinnakers
ARC 2006

A spinnaker with a hole in it!

Well, not quite a hole, more like an aperture with a paragliding wing.

According to the Parasailor inventor, Hartmut Schädlich, the paragliding wing has two distinct advantages:

• It acts to create lift to keep the spinnaker up, especially in light airs and
• It acts as a pressure release for those unexpected gusts.

The main feature of the Parasailor, which has a cut similar to a tri-radial spinnaker, is a wide slot that runs across its entire width roughly one third from the top. The slot is held open by a number of shock cords so enabling the opening and closing of the slot according to wind strength. The top of the slot is permanently open, while the bottom half can be closed by a ruffed flap that runs across the centre from side to side and controls the amount of wind that is allowed to flow through. The Parasailor Spinnaker is hoisted the normal way and its geometry allows it to be set either on a pole, or directly fixed to the bow when sailing close to the wind. A well-designed douser with a wide-mouthed fibreglass collar makes handling extremely easy. Even the sailbag is of an ingenious design allowing the Parasailor Spinnaker to be dropped or raised straight from it.

I can see the benefits of the Parasailor on a long run cruise or cruising race and would love to know what round the cans die hards would have to say.

Contact info: Parasailor Spinnakers

I noticed in my refferer logs that Sail Search has been getting quite a few visits from the Donna Lange web site.

Upon visiting there I was pleasantly surprised to see the Sail Search Search Box on her index page.

Now, I have visited Donna's site before and this time spent quite a bit of time there reading her remarkable story and just trying to get into her head.

Donna is a remarkable woman on a remarkable journey and I can only say; "Good Luck, you have someone protecting and looking over your shoulder, preparing you for greatness."

Her mission is encapsulated in the following words off of her site:

MY PURPOSE AND INSPIRATION

I seek your help in support of women and children's rights to pursue happiness. We must work together in finding ways to join forces, to live in a peaceful world, allow every talent to be realized and every hand developed with the tools they posess to help themselves and others. Help me with support and ideas to promote knowledge of organizations supporting these goals.

As a gesture of support and thank you for carrying the Sail Search Search Box Donna's site is now a premium site in the Woman Sailing Category on the Sail Search Directory.

Related Links:
Donna Lange's web site
Get the Sail Search search box code
Women Sailing Category on Sail Search

It helps to check your referrer logs for your web site; today I came across some visits from a site Destination One Design. Always a thrill to see what other guys are doing to promote sailing.

On very FIRST impression it appears that the web site is either a collaboration between the editor and Quantum Sails or an initiative by Quantum Sails to provide more information and advice for one design sailors who, obviously, are their target market. Now I am saying appears as a good thing.

Looking a little further this is the official Destination One Design What is It:

Destination One Design™ (D1D) is an innovative new service for competitive sailors. This web-based service, sponsored by Quantum Sail Design Group of Annapolis, MD, will focus on providing essential information, education, service, and support for racing sailors.

D1D is committed to enriching the global community of competitive sailors by bringing together and promoting essential information, services, and support.

It is our mission to offer a continuously improving package of innovative technologies that will enable sailors to compete with greater confidence and achieve higher levels of success. In doing so, we expect to improve the individual sailor’s overall enjoyment of the sport of sailing and thereby bring the sport expanding and enduring popularity.

One Design Classes

Part of the goal of D1D is to furnish sailors with the most up-to-date tuning guides and class-specific information. Originally founded supporting 4 classes, D1D is adding new classes and supported information every week!

What if I don't see my favorite class on D1D?

Keep checking back with D1D. We are adding more and more classes every week. If you would like to suggest a class for sooner publication, please don't hesitate to send us an email. Your interest is greatly appreciated!

Podcasts

One of the clear favorite features on D1D is our podcasts from the field. From the docks of the latest D1D-supported one design event to personal interviews with sailing experts and celebrities, you can listen at your computer or take the show on the road with your portable digital audio player!

News & E-Newsletters

D1D is peppered with news and information from throughout the one design community. Our events section features news from specific race events and the community section offers a vast array of news, tips and commentary to help you get the most out of your sailing experience.

More Info on Destination One Design

Want to read a Sailing Magazine?

Want to read it Online?

Want it in Full Colour?

Want it in PDF format so that you can use the bosses colour printer?

Want it Now?

Check out Windchecklis.

Why am I writing about the Astus 20.1?

A number of reasons:
1. It was the first site submitted to the Sail Search Directory directly after my recent mailing and
2. Multihulls are not boats that one sees very often.

From the Site:

"The Ultimate Family Boat

Fast, fun and safe, the Astus 20.1 is a friendly trimaran that was designed to offer you, your family and friends endless exhilarating sailing.

With its inherent stability, shallow draught, vast cabin and ample storage capacity, the Astus 20.1 is the ideal partner for sail-camping trips.

And if you wish to take you children or friends with you, no worries: the vast cockpit and comfy trampolines offer plenty of extra sleeping space with ad-hoc tents.

High Performance

The trimaran design offers multiple benefits: the floats bring reassuring stability, and as ballast is not needed the boat is very light for its size.

Its inherent stability allows the boat to carry more sail area, and this higher sail area combined with lower weight means much more power (23m² of sails for 375kg). This power enables the Astus 20.1 to reach high speeds effortlessly. (record to date: 18 knots!) Performance can be further increased with the Pentex sails option and a choice of asymmetric spinnaker or furling gennaker.

The trimaran design enables the Astus 20.1 to achieve much greater speeds than a monohull, increasing the range of places you can reach within a day."

Torbay Sea School is a recent addition to the Sail Search Directory - they submitted their site using this page: Add Your URL.

Coming from a smallish, friendly town I was pleased to see that Torbay Sea School highlight their Unique Selling Point as follows:

Torbay Sea School is an RYA recognised sailing school, courses are undertaken on a variety of modern sailing yachts. All are fitted with a furling Genoa and traditional slab reefing to ensure the best training opportunity.

Sailing with us is very different from the large commercially driven schools in the Solent. We care about YOU and what your requirements entail. In our sailing area, we don't have to race to our destination by 2 p.m. to guarantee a berth and the sailing instruction is given at a manageable, understandable pace. We tailor each course to the requirements of the candidates on board at the time and we don't overcrowd our yachts.

Good sound principle to follow that - one of the first lessons I learnt was at the end of a long night watch, with the wind pushing us towards a lee shore, the sails flapping, sea rising, bow crashing through the waves and I woke the instructor up wondering what we would do to get out of this mess. What did he do? Coming up through the hatch the looked around, rubbed his eyes and said; "Drop the sails, it looks like such a pretty place to have breakfast."

That is what sailing is like to most people - a journey to be cherished and enjoyed.

Let me know if I was right about Torbay Sea School's philosophy and approach to sailing by placing your comments or by rating their school HERE.