# Ronnie Simpson Giving It Another Go



## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Well, he's been crewing, racing, practicing and preparing. And he's 3 days from starting the Singlehanded TransPac on a Jutson 30.









(PO at the helm)

Good luck Ronnie. It's great you're getting another shot.

Home | Open Blue Horizon

Bring it home brother. And stay safe. We'll be watching.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Well, at least this boat has been inspected recently and is probably better maintained than his first one.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

In his video he is more worried about camera angles than his life. He's running up the deck to check the camera with no harness while the boat is scooting along. The water is in the low 50's, and he's taking chances.

He thinks 35 knots of wind is howling, and felt pushed when the owner had him put the chute up in 25 knots, and then do it again after he suggested calling it a day. I posted at stuffers that sometimes ignorance is bliss, and I believe he;s still got his head in the sand. I wish him the best, but I woinder if he's really prepared for this?......*i2f*


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Man I hope so. I'd sure like to see him make it this time. But who knows?

It will be interesting to watch.

PS = Ronnie, dude, make the footage secondary to getting there...will ya?


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Is this the same guy who bought the old Rhodes a few years ago and took off transoceanic without a survey only sink and be rescued a few days out? 

Jeff


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

He'd have a better chance if he wasn't hauling that buoy around in the back of his boat.

j/k

Good luck Ronnie!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Didn't sink IIRC. Lost his steering since the rudder quadrant sheered the key or something like that... the rudder stock and rudder were intact and he didn't have an emergency rudder.



Jeff_H said:


> Is this the same guy who bought the old Rhodes a few years ago and took off transoceanic without a survey only sink and be rescued a few days out?
> 
> Jeff


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

wind_magic said:


> He'd have a better chance if he wasn't hauling that buoy around in the back of his boat.
> 
> j/k
> 
> Good luck Ronnie!


I thought that was a JSD.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

Smack,

Who is this Ronnie guy and why should I care? (Other than he is currently berthed in my marina). 

The boat to watch is "Por Favour", racing in this year's Pac Cup. It is crewed by four Canadians from Vancouver Island</ST1 and will be quite competitive in a really tough division. They made it across during this spring's Southern Straits race without any battle damage (ultimately diverting to Nanaimo)</ST1. Imagine 2,200 NM in a boat weighing under 5,000 pounds. And no flush plumbing!


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Holy crap...ping over the side! If they were able to survive the SS race without busting something, they've got skillz.

Back in the day Cam started a thread about Ronnie when he was EPRIBed out of his first try to make it to Hawaii (didn't have much knowledge, had an old, beat up boat, lost a rudder post, etc.). He faced the heat from that pretty well, and vowed to learn and try again.

That latter part is why I wish the guy well. He was pretty honest about his screw-ups and seems to really be trying to do right this time. I can respect that.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

Smack,

Oh, it's THAT Ronnie. I seem to recall that he was the guy who had more video cameras than emergency tillers or rudders. I also recall some tyro trying to equate this guy to Skip Allen&#8230; Hmmm&#8230; I wonder what that tyro is thinking about that subject today?  I went over to the SSS website and pulled Ronnie's Bio. Apparently, his brush with a little weather has turned into a full blown hurricane! Too bad that the SHTP doesn't have the same tracking devices and communications protocol to track this guy to Hawaii. Pac Cup on the other hand updates positions constantly and you can track the boats on the website and many of them post blog entries through their modems. 

Here is his Bio:

<O"A bit more than two years ago, I was lost in life and pretty much traded my old life for one on and around sailboats. I purchased a cruising boat and took off for Hawaii, only to sustain damage in a hurricane and require assistance. Ending up in San Diego, California. My old boat may be gone, but my dream of single handing across the Pacific is stronger than it has ever been. Upon returning to the States last year, I bought a Cal 25 and began preparing it for the SHTP, only to be offered a friend's boat to race, to benefit combat-wounded Veterans of the US Armed Forces. As a combat-wounded Iraq veteran, this is a cause I truly believe in. After spending two months in North Carolina preparing the boat, we trailered it out to Alameda so that I could spend four months preparing to race to Hawaii, while doing work for the wounded veteran non-profit "Hope for the Warriors". "


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## poopdeckpappy (Jul 25, 2006)

wind_magic said:


> He'd have a better chance if he wasn't hauling that buoy around in the back of his boat.


That's the new full tracking sat TV & internet dome, they also come in green


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

Hurrican my arse, the guy was in 30 knot winds, and dirtied his shorts. No proof of what went wrong except his nerves. If he's going to sugar coat what happened I will bust his nuts. He claims there were rudder problems, but I spent 2 days, and nights trying to give advice to a third party. He just wanted off the boat, and no proof of rudder problems. He was a wreck when he got off the boat, and on to a freighter. Now he's going to talk trash he survived a hurricane ? Let him pull up his location, and date for proof.:laugher ........*i2f*


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

GeorgeB said:


> Smack,
> 
> Oh, it's THAT Ronnie. I seem to recall that he was the guy who had more video cameras than emergency tillers or rudders. I also recall some tyro trying to equate this guy to Skip Allen&#8230; Hmmm&#8230; I wonder what that tyro is thinking about that subject today?  I went over to the SSS website and pulled Ronnie's Bio. Apparently, his brush with a little weather has turned into a full blown hurricane! Too bad that the SHTP doesn't have the same tracking devices and communications protocol to track this guy to Hawaii. Pac Cup on the other hand updates positions constantly and you can track the boats on the website and many of them post blog entries through their modems.
> 
> ...


That's him. And yeah, I was the tyro that compared him to Skip Allan - only from the standpoint of them having the same end result. Different argument at that point. And I was right...what can I say? Heh-heh.

Hurricane? Nice flourish of storytelling! When JerryL sailed with me last weekend he reminded me of the difference between sailing stories and fairy tales...

Anyway, I'd like to see him make it. Otherwise I2F is gonna bust his nuts.

PS - remember, Skip's nightmare happened on the way BACK. Winning's only half the battle.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

Ronnie certainly can spin a sea story in his Bio. The local news had a segment on the SHTP with Ronnie and his (borrowed) sled figured pretty prominently. From the it's a small world department: Skip has been pretty active on the SSS bulletin board and has been providing some weather routing. It seems that we are caught between an el Nino and la Ninia event so the preferred course is predicted to be a Rhumb Line one, but with moderate winds (trades to be no more than in the mid teens). That means Ronnie shouldn't see anything more than the mid twenties when he is in the squalls (I'm half expecting him to spin these winds too). But, to give the fellow credit, he did have to do a 400NM qualifying race and his boat has to pass a pre-race inspection today. There is a 79 year old retired army general doing this race too and he and Ronnie (marine) have a little side wager going on for who will be first to finish on corrected. The old guy's secret weapon is the fact that he has made 18 single handed crossings to Hawaii, 10 of them in this race! Seems that he likes to take his boat over to <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:STATE w:st="[/IMG]Hawaii</st1:State">each summer and bring her back to Cali each fall.
</ST1:STATE>


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

GeorgeB said:


> The old guy's secret weapon is the fact that he has made 18 single handed crossings to Hawaii, 10 of them in this race! Seems that he likes to take his boat over to Hawaii each summer and bring her back to Cali each fall.


What a life.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Is that Roper you're talking about GB? This will be fun to watch!


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

*And They're Off!*

Position reports for all the guys can be seen here. 2010 SHTP - Position Reports


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Hey cool! Thanks dude!


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Hey! He's actually running with the pack! Hang tough Ronnie!


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Yep. Hoping for position updates in the next hour. It looks like the first 24 hours were tough. This from the fastest guy out there...

From the 2010 SHTP site-Log Reports-

_HECLA
2010.06.20
"0930 Well the first night is always the worst! In the take-one-for-the-team department, just after roll call with all the head down computer work I was forced to revisit my lunch and dinner with little warning. It was otherwise a dark and slightly scary night, deeply reefed main and tiny headsail in 30 knots the boat still trucks right along. The wind out here is much more than forecast, but as I head SW it is moderating as expected. This morning I am sailing as deep as possible already in large surfing seas, unexpected before the first full day of this race is completed. Still a white headsail though, too much wind for a spinnaker. A few other sick tummies in the fleet, but we remind ourselves that the last half of the race is why we do this event! The weather forecast of the EPAC high is strange, I have chosen a classic route instead of the novel route suggested by routing software. The classic route is recommended by past winners, and when they speak, it is wise to listen."
_


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Do you know what the seas were running?


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

About 4 meters at his last position, but he may be clear of that by now. Hopefully he has turned south overnight, or he's gonna be slowing down soon because of the high. Hey, he's out there getting some experience in offshore racing anyway. Go the Ronnie!


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Sounds like it was seriously nasty out there at the start...waves to the second spreader? Yowza.

2010 SHTP - Log Reports



> RACE COMMITTEE
> 2010.06.21
> 1000
> I'm still waiting for a complete comm boat report. They are transitioning as HECLA gets out of range. I have positions for Hecla, Second Verse and Southernaire. Bandicoot is back at the Richmond YC and has retired. Mirage is coming back in again due to insufficient electrons. Will post as soon as received.
> ...


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

He's hangin tough! Ronnie's first blog from sea...June 21, 2010 | Open Blue Horizon

I think he's lost track of time as he mentions the "first few days". Not keeping food down will do that to you though! uke He doesn't talk about sleep but figure he (and everyone else) hasn't had much of that. Hang in there Dude!


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Another few hundred miles closer. Sounds like that high really sucked the air out of everything...

June 22, 2010 | Open Blue Horizon


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Wow - he's actually fighting for the lead of this thing in the mono class.

2010 SHTP - Position Reports

Wouldn't it be really cool if he wins it?


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Another check-in. He seems to be doing really well.

The only thing that spooks me a bit is his diving on the boat - out in the middle of BFE. He's dropping sail - but it still freaks me out. How do you do that? Is he tethered to the boat somehow? I'd be really scared that I'd lose the boat and be screwed.

2010 SHTP - Log Reports


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Hey Smack! I got you an answer from the boat owner (2008 SHTP skipper).

this from Ronnie's site.

I just throw a long line behind the boat with a boat cushion tied to it and jump in. Not the smartest move but I guess I am more concerned about something coming up from the deep than being seperated from the boat (cue the shark music). 
There is a nylon strap ladder that can be reached from the water that is alway tied to the transom.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Sounds sketchy.

Looks like he's making slow but steady progress. This year seems like a real drifter.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

He made it. Congrats Ronnie.

One more long leg to go.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

*Ronnie Simpson Completes the SHTP*

The dude has a serious set of stones.

Congrats Ronnie. Be safe on the return.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Holy crap! Ronnie lost the keel on _Warrior's Wish_!

Home | Open Blue Horizon

He and his buddy are motor sailing her right now - able to keep her upright for the time being. Still several hundred miles to go. Sounds pretty hairy.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Sounds like Ronnie is a Jonah...


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## bobmcgov (Jul 19, 2007)

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Then he has to hand it back to its owner. "That's for letting me borrow your boat. Um. Just, ya know, curious ... has anyone looked at the keel bolts lately?"


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

Owner is with him and it sounds like they lost the bulb not the whole keel as it is still moving


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Actually, it was the entire keel - not just the bulb. More info is on the SA front page. Sounds like a serious balancing act.

And Ed isn't the owner from what I understand - just a delivery skipper.


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## bobmcgov (Jul 19, 2007)

Ed McCoy is with him -- his friend and teacher, but NOT the owner of the boat. The Justson 30 (aka Mount Gay 30) is owned by Don Gray, a man in NC who donated use of _Warriors Wish_ for Ronnie to attempt the Transpac.

And the *entire keel fell off*, not just the bulb. Ronnie dove on it and saw the damage with his own eyes. From SA:



> What goes thump thump in the middle of the night when you're 800 miles from land? If you happened to be on Warrior's Wish last night, it would be the sound of the keel, in its entirety, falling off of the boat.


They are motoring with a little jib and just accepted a fuel drop from a commercial boat.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Best of luck Ronnie!


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

i am bit supprised it can stay up right with the whole thing gone ?


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

No kidding Tom. How are they doing it?

Jeez don't you know that's freakin' stressful. Balancing on a knife edge trying to get the boat back.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Actually, Warrior's Wish is fairly beamy, so has some form stability. Obviously, not enough to sail with, but enough to keep the boat upright.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Actually, they're motor-sailing (or at least were). Form stability aside, that's pretty hairy if you ask me.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

Its also refered to as a Mount Gay 30 with water ballast tanks ?


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

tommays said:


> i am bit supprised it can stay up right with the whole thing gone ?


Something seems off about that picture tommays...looks like its half gone already..


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

He dare not push the easy button this time might be what he is thinking. This is going to be very interesting. He came into to stuffers like a conquering hero after finishing in Hawaii. Still claiming a huirricane took out his boat. Sully got a wee bit miffed at me for bringing up the location of Ronnie & the hurricane 800 miles apart.. ......*i2f*


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

I think it might be because it's clear you have a bit of a dislike for the dude. No biggie. 

I'd say they're doing okay thus far dealing with a lost keel and staying right side up. I hope they can get her back in. It's going to be a hellish few days.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

I don't dislike Ronnie. I have actually complimented him on nearly everything he has done. I give him great credit for getting back on the horse, for facing his critics, and continuing on. When he lost his rudder it was me in the background that for 2 days try to give him advice to save his boat.

I also encouraged him to continue on anyway he could after he hit Asia. What I dislike is the claim a hurricane took out his boat. Not getting it surveyed took out his boat in a gale, and not a hurricane. He is asking for money from people, and this lie helps make the story bigger. If he is going to tell blatant lies like that. That just leaves me to suspect his character, and motives.

He's sticking with the boat & nursing it home. That's balls to type the least. He's not alone this time, and that makes a huge difference. Maybe he would stick with the boat if he was alone? We won't know just like we won't know about his rudder fail, or not. Dislike, no.....distrust, yes.........*i2f*


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## dhays (Jul 9, 2010)

All things aside, I'm glad I'm not on that boat. Doesn't sound fun at all.

Dave


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

UPDATE FROM RONNIE'S BLOG August 13, 2010 | Open Blue Horizon

August 13, 2010- Friday the 13th with no keel 599 miles from land

I just realized in typing the date that today was Friday the 13th. And we have no keel. 599 miles from land. Wow. I originally just sat down to type that we crossed another milestone; less than 600 from land. We are having little parties in the cockpit at every milestone that makes us happy. A shot of Jameson whiskey and some pop-tarts will round out the festivities for "599 party". Anything to ease the tension out here. Sleeping in your foulies and PFD with one hand on the ditch bag, and a pocket knife in my pocket to cut the life raft away that is stowed in the cockpit is a rather lame way to sleep. Every time the boat rolls excessively in the night is a bit freaky. I never realized how awesome a keel was until it left me. What a glorious 2,500 pound lead fin that thing was. RIP keel.

Other than that, it's fairly uneventful out here. Breeze and conditions are really helping us out right now, for which i'm extremely grateful. Very light breeze of about 10 knots out of NNW, and a calm sea state. With a #4 jib up and the motor cruising along, we are making about 5 knots. Without the jib, we struggle to average 4.

In any case, considering that we are far offshore with no keel, I think things are going really really well. Fingers crossed that they stay this way.

34 21 N

134 05 W

Ronnie

A question for i2f and others familiar with the San Francisco area - would you try for SF, or some place further south? Considering weather, how long would you wait to change course as a better option?


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## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

Great stuff Ronnie. Get yourselves home in one piece. We can all sail around in great, calm weather but its when something serious goes wrong and no-one else around to help- well thats where seamanship and a bit of luck and a lot of courage is called for. 

We'll follow your progress into port.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

Stillraining said:


> Something seems off about that picture tommays...looks like its half gone already..


The keel is the light grey area in front of the darker half moon shaped hull support


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

imagine2frolic said:


> I don't dislike Ronnie. I have actually complimented him on nearly everything he has done. I give him great credit for getting back on the horse, for facing his critics, and continuing on. When he lost his rudder it was me in the background that for 2 days try to give him advice to save his boat.
> 
> I also encouraged him to continue on anyway he could after he hit Asia. What I dislike is the claim a hurricane took out his boat. Not getting it surveyed took out his boat in a gale, and not a hurricane. He is asking for money from people, and this lie helps make the story bigger. If he is going to tell blatant lies like that. That just leaves me to suspect his character, and motives.
> 
> He's sticking with the boat & nursing it home. That's balls to type the least. He's not alone this time, and that makes a huge difference. Maybe he would stick with the boat if he was alone? We won't know just like we won't know about his rudder fail, or not. Dislike, no.....distrust, yes.........*i2f*


Way to slightly backpeddle dude. Really, the guy is out there and you're sitting behind your keyboard. Poor form.


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

GBurton said:


> Way to slightly backpeddle dude. Really, the guy is out there and you're sitting behind your keyboard. Poor form.


Just so you know, I2f has just sailed from Florida through the Panama canal on his way to Hawaii. He's "out there" doing it.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

bubb2 said:


> Just so you know, I2f has just sailed from Florida through the Panama canal on his way to Hawaii. He's "out there" doing it.


Didn't know that. Still think its poor form.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

G - I'm still jealous as hell about that cool red square you've got. And a rep power of 0. That's cred.

Lucky bastard.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Stillraining said:


> Something seems off about that picture tommays...looks like its half gone already..


There is a perfect view of the keel here. Go down the page a ways.

January 31, 2010- Richmond, California | Open Blue Horizon


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Posted by Danny in comments on OBH.

Email from Warrior's Wish:

fyi, our likely bailouts are santa cruz, monterey or san luis obispo. we are not planning on going south of point conception. still going for San Fran and conditions are actually perfect for us right now. fingers crossed it holds.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks for the updates RTB. It's actually very cool to see people over at SA talking about how good of a sailor he's turned into (guys that have actually sailed with him). He's definitely getting some "learning opportunities" thrown his way.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

I just read this post from the owner of Warrior's Wish:

They appear to have a decent weather window until around the 17th. I have a boat for charter standing by if I think that is going to change. Ronnie feels they are okay for now. Initially I was concerned that keel bolts failed and that the hull might have some issues. In talking with a designer of these type boats I now think that the top part of the keel where it attaches to the hull is still there ( a flange about 12" x 36")but that the weld attaching the fin to that flange has failed. 

Ralph


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Hang in there dude...



> August 14, 2010- 478 miles from land PDF Print E-mail
> Well we made it through another night. Ed and I rotated two hour watches, making the best boat speeds we've seen in days. The swell was lined up right and the breeze was 8-15 out of the northwest, allowing us to make 5.5- 6.2 knots for most of the night. Right now we're making about 5 knots, and as we begin to enter the California current are beginning to see a swell right on our beam. It is extremely disconcerting to have the boat rolling side to side like this with no keel, but for now we're okay. For all friends and loved ones out there, rest assured that Ed and I are doing fine and are in good spirits. We both feel relatively safe and have control of the situation, so please don't worry. I know there's some worried people out there.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

Thanks bubb,
Yep & been doing it for quite awhile..& once again good on Ronnie for sticking it through.....*i2f*


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

I2f, I can't wait for the movie. I am sure in the movie, he will be battling a hurricane without that keel.:laugher :laugher


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

As far as the position he has, and according to the Pilot Chart. I think he's still too low. I have not looked at the current weather, so I could be wrong. This time of the year he has 40% of the time 20 knots on the nose, but I will look at a grib.

Just looked at the grib, and it looks like by the time he gets close to S.F. he will be pounding into some weather wrong for him. If it was me I would get as close to S.F. as I could, and then turn south when needed & wouldn't care if it meant going to Mexico. For now he has the wind favorable. Maybe he's carrying a rabbit's foot?

bubb,

*You're just to damned funny*.. .....*i2f*


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

Yeah; I would say whatever gets you to shore the fastest in that situation. I don't understand why they would want to try and go upwind to SF or north of Pt Conception when it would be safer, faster, and easier to go west or slightly southwest and get well below Pt. C (while far offshore) and go into protected waters before entering a port (such as Long Beach).

This is assuming that they are sailing upwind; but weather conditions have been non-typical this year and their windpoint might be 90 deg or more from the normal summer wind pattern. I just would not want to get into the coastal compression zone and/or clear air gales that pop up north of Pt C given their situation. I also would not want to try and cross SF Bar (with unknown conditions) without a keel. JMHO, and hope they make it in safely regardless of where they make landfall...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Just curious, considering the decision to try and make San Francisco, who is the acting captain aboard Warrior’s Wish right now? And does he have his head up his ass??? He doesn't have a keel and he wants to go upwind??? Going downwind would make far more sense and be far safer to do. Also, entering the harbors south of Point Conception is generally easier due to their topography than entering the ones North of it. 

Being a captain means making decisions. A bad captain will make bad decisions. A good captain will make good ones. IMHO, this is one example of where Ronnie's lack of real experience shows. I'm rather impressed that he didn't abandon the boat, but believe, given his past track record, that had he been alone he probably would have.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

And a little more. Dude can funny...



> People have been asking about fuel. As of right now, we feel we have plenty. Unless there is a mechanical issue with the motor, (knock on wood/ fiberglass, etc. please dont jinx us.) we should be fine. Checking oil and motor frequently.
> 
> We have begun checking in with the Pac Cup roll call on 8A at 1100 and 2000 PDT. Spoke with Jon from Horizon this morning, "Valis" and a Cal 40. Will continue to check in with those guys. Kinda fun having radio roll call again. Reminds me of the Singlehanded Transpac.
> 
> ...


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

For the whole post, go to Ronnie's blog August 15, 2010- 341 miles to San Fran | Open Blue Horizon, the latest from Warrior's Wish.

Another day down. Breeze went lighter last night, which was really starting to slow us down. It appears that we have more than enough fuel, and a very good weather window to get home safely, so we are making the most of it and have throttled up a bit. It allows us to run about 5 knots, even with no breeze. We still have the #4 jib up.

35 55 n

129 13 w

5.5 knots

055 true

wind 8 knots @ 300


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Cool. Thanks for the update Ralph. Here's hoping the weather window holds.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Yeah Smack.... it would suck to crash at the finish line! In this case, getting this close, I hope they get a bit of luck.


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## dhays (Jul 9, 2010)

sailingdog said:


> I'm rather impressed that he didn't abandon the boat, but believe, given his past track record, that had he been alone he probably would have.


I don't know all the details of his first disaster. However, don't you think that just because he isn't alone that the decisions made would be different anyway? Being on a crippled boat, far from port, and solo is a different situation it seems to me, than being on a crippled boat far from port with another crew member. If someone was solo, on a sailboat with no keel, it would be pretty tough to get any kind of sleep. With two, you can share watches.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if someone solo would make different choices than someone who wasn't alone.

Of course, I have to blue water experience. I'm just making guesses.

Dave


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Here is the latest from Warrior's Wish. TNT - We Know Drama!

1 more night down, and *hopefully* only two more nights to go. As you can tell, the nights freak me out a bit more than the days. Things are still more or less going okay aboard Warrior's Wish. We've had to bleed the motor several times. We checked all of our work regarding fuel filter swap, previous bleeding, etc. Everything seems tight, but due to constant vibration, (or something), it seems there is a very small air leak. Motor sounds very starved and loses power for several minutes. Definitely seems like a fuel issue. Motor itself is fine. The starvation/ power loss either works itself out naturally in 5 minutes, as it did once yesterday, or requires bleeding, as we've done 3 times in the past 2 days. The motor generally stays running throughout the entire ordeal. Either way, she's purring right along right now and we're making a steady 5.5 knots with the jib up. Definitely looking forward to getting back to San Francisco. I think we both want showers, thai curry chicken, and beer. Everything after that is just in tne details. 
Our ETA is beginning to become more defined. Looking at Wednesday morning's flood tide. Slack is at 0349, max flood is 0706 and slack is 1011. Fortunately, the ebb tide after that is a mild one, so we have some leeway (no pun intended, hahaha). We would like to have a boat on the scene to meet us outside the gate and escort us in if that is possible. With the gnarly currents at the Golden Gate, if the motor craps out, we're done. Either into the South Tower or the lee shore. Too much leeward drift with no keel. I think we can do it ourselves, I just want a power boat as back up in case we need a tow. Please contact RJ if you know of someone who can help with this. I would prefer to not have Coast Guard on scene as I don't feel it's an emergency.

Thanks

ronnie out


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

C'mon guys...bring it home. This is like "Apollo 13".


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> Just curious, considering the decision to try and make San Francisco, who is the acting captain aboard Warrior's Wish right now? And does he have his head up his ass??? He doesn't have a keel and he wants to go upwind??? Going downwind would make far more sense and be far safer to do. Also, entering the harbors south of Point Conception is generally easier due to their topography than entering the ones North of it.
> 
> Being a captain means making decisions. A bad captain will make bad decisions. A good captain will make good ones. IMHO, this is one example of where Ronnie's lack of real experience shows. I'm rather impressed that he didn't abandon the boat, but believe, given his past track record, that had he been alone he probably would have.


According to Dale Carnegie: "Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do."


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

Just read Ronnie's blog and got across all of this......

The poor bugger.

Best of luck Ronnie. Take care....

SD, I respect your opinions more than most on here, you are probably very right, but it sits very uncomfortably with me to comment or criticize here, while someone still in harms way........ 

I tell you what, the biggest criticism that has been levelled at Ronnie has been lack of experience, and he does appear to be getting bucket loads of that right now.


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

sailingdog said:


> Just curious, considering the decision to try and make San Francisco, who is the acting captain aboard Warrior's Wish right now? And does he have his head up his ass??? He doesn't have a keel and he wants to go upwind??? Going downwind would make far more sense and be far safer to do.


Actually, if you look at the NOAA surface winds analysis, there isn't a whole lot of wind, period. This pretty much jives with the blog entries from the boat. Also, they're probably more on a broad reach to a run most of the time. That will probably change as they get closer to shore and the winds start to increase and come more from the north as they get deflected down the coast. But, for the moment, they're probably fine. They can always bail on SF and head to Santa Cruz, Monterey, or further south if they have to. If they make the decision early enough they can stay pretty far off of Conception/Arguello; if not, they can head for Monterey Bay. However, rounding Conception and Arguello is often no picnic, even quite a way off-shore, and the winds will often howl across the outer Channel Islands (the winds right now are running about 20kts all along the coast, and slightly higher at the western end of the Santa Barbara Channel).



sailingdog said:


> Also, entering the harbors south of Point Conception is generally easier due to their topography than entering the ones North of it.


Not necessarily, but one does have more choices. Once one is to the east of the islands things generally calm down considerably. The trick often is getting past the band of N or NW wind that often extends more or less south from Conception. I'm sure once they get close they can get a tow into whatever harbor they wind up choosing. In any case, the CG will probably escort them in.

Besides, if they stick with SF, it's usually a run or broad from the SF buoy (if not from the Farallones) to the bay anyway.

In any case, I wouldn't be so hard on them. Limping hundreds of miles across the Pacific in a keelless sailboat is no mean feat.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

GBurton said:


> Way to slightly backpeddle dude. Really, the guy is out there and you're sitting behind your keyboard. Poor form.


You mean criticism like this? In your own words this makes you a fool. At least I know what I am typing about when it comes to Ronnie. I only threw my 2cents in about the weather, because it is about lives. If the weather changes, which is highly unlikely. It will be highly unlikely he makes S.F. He may end up where he started, San Diego, OR LOWER.

As far about me being behind a keyboard, and he's doing it. Ronnie can do 10 Transpacs, and then he *might* catch up with me, but I doubt it, because I am still sailing oceans. Oh yes on my own boat, and not loaners. This doesn't take into account 3 decades of day sails. This includes ocean milage, and single-handing.

As far as backpeddling. I can give Ronnie compliments just as well tell the dirty truth about him. After all everything I have typed is the truth. Much more than can be said about what Ronnie puts in print.

The cheer leaders of Ronnie are mostly inexperienced day sailors. Living vicariously through his misadventures. The Transpac he finished? Well he finished behind an 80 yr old man that was sailing a slow boat. Ronnie himself sailing a hot rod. Not to mention the Transpac was gifted to him!

So go on, and call the kettle black:laugher ........*i2f*


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Frolic - they sailed that keel-less boat under the GGB this morning. Seriously good seamanship and seriously big stones.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

I see smack just posted Ronnie made his destination. He got what we all hope for in a tight spot. Something favorable, and his was he did not have to face the normal weather pattern off the coast. Congradulations on making your destination & sticking with the boat. I think now you know what you did not know before. It can be accomplished most times with some tenacity......i2f


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

imagine2frolic said:


> You mean criticism like this? In your own words this makes you a fool. At least I know what I am typing about when it comes to Ronnie. I only threw my 2cents in about the weather, because it is about lives. If the weather changes, which is highly unlikely. It will be highly unlikely he makes S.F. He may end up where he started, San Diego, OR LOWER.
> 
> As far about me being behind a keyboard, and he's doing it. Ronnie can do 10 Transpacs, and then he *might* catch up with me, but I doubt it, because I am still sailing oceans. Oh yes on my own boat, and not loaners. This doesn't take into account 3 decades of day sails. This includes ocean milage, and single-handing.
> 
> ...


Just FYI the single handed transpac starts from San Francisco not San Diego.

And he finished behind Ken Roper on corrected time but not on elapsed time....

As far as the "gifting" thing, he was going to race anyway but was offered the mt gay 30. What would you do?


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

FYI,

I am from the the Bay Area, born. Lived & owned a business there for 15 years in S.F., so I know where the Transpac starts. That's not where Ronnie started from. It was a joke he would eventually end up back in San Dieago where he departed from when he abandoned his boat in a gale.

That's why they have ratings, so Ronnie still lost to an 80 yr. old man.

I didn't know he had a different boat, but obviously it wasn't as competitive! So I standby my statement he was gifted. Not to mention mentored, and forced to sail the boat, practice, when he wanted to go in for the day...his own words.

Yes smack, we were posting at the same time. As I posted I can compliment Ronnie any time I please, and 99% of everything I typed has been complimentry. When he insisted he lost his boat to the cane, and I showed him his position, and cane 's position. Although 800 miles apart he claims it was a cane that took him out. He wanted a pissing match, so he has gotten one.

If you are going to ask people for money. There should be some accountability. If not then you're nothing less than a TV PREACHER driving big cars, wearing big jewelry, living in big houses. Kind of like Elmer Gantry.

In his blog when he first started riding the bike. He wrote it was raining, and making no progress, so he threw the bike in the back of a truck. After he returned to the U.S. I asked how many miles were in the back of a truck? He then claimed he rode ever inch of the way. There's no shame in taking that ride, but maybe you can see where the distrust comes in? There's more too, but I will most likely choose to keep that private. Usually where there's smoke there's fire.

smack, 

You got a huge compliment here on you & your kids. That they were a pleasure to sail with, and you too. Tell me, would you encourage, or discourage your children to gain in life with honesty, or dishonesty?.....i2f


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

I'm raising them to be honest. No doubt. As you can see by my posts, I like honesty. It's really cool.

So, I understand your beef with the details. I guess in the context of storytelling, the things you listed above don't bother me as much as they do you. Hopefully he'll get those details straightened out though, with your encouragement.

My beef is with chuckleheads that can't acknowledge Ronnie's accomplishments - which at this point are FAR, FAR beyond anything any of them have done. It's utterly ridiculous. It's like a pack of 13 year old girls in a lunchroom.

The dude can sail. He can sail big. And he just pulled off an Apollo 13 of sailing. That's Wheaties box sailing.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

imagine2frolic said:


> FYI,
> 
> I am from the the Bay Area, born. Lived & owned a business there for 15 years in S.F., so I know where the Transpac starts. That's not where Ronnie started from. It was a joke he would eventually end up back in San Dieago where he departed from when he abandoned his boat in a gale.
> 
> ...


Did you know that he is a Iraq vet and was wounded - thus qualifying for the boat through the "hope for the warriors" program? That seems like a heavy price to pay for being "gifted" a boat.

Good luck to you as you frolick about, I hope you never have to be rescued


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Some good pics and discussion about the keel failure at SA...

Go Ronnie, Go! - Sailing Anarchy Forums - Page 10

Looks like a crack at the leading edge of the foil? Also look at the cracks in the hull around the keel. Some serious stresses...


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Snack..Just post the picks here eh?


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

I'll try to link to them...THEY ARE GINORMOUS...so no whinging!





































(four and five looked identical to me so I ignored five..td)

Original Images came from Index of /images
Files numbered ww1.jpg through ww6.jpg and ww.jpg


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Hey mods can you resize those?...Thanks

Holy Cow!....Im even more impressed they kept her upright now...not even a hint of a stub left.

That boat must have some serious hull form stability to boot!....amazing she didn't just turn turtle.....

They are very lucky there was that extra bilge liner...no way to plug that hole fast enough.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Pretty impressive for sure. I'm kind of surprised at the cracks surround the keel. Was that due to the additional movement that would have been happening with the keel? Or is that just weak layup? They are definitely lucky that it didn't take out the whole structure.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

Come on now Apollo 13? That's just not right. 800 miles from shore with all kinds of freighters floating around, helicopters available, and other sources cannot compare to Apollo 13.

I think this is the kind of bragging crap that gets this thread, and other Ronnie threads rolling. He didn't get the predictable, and predicted 15 -20 knots from the N.W. This is how he made it he got a favorable turn in the weather, and as I typed. We all hope for something to go in our favor in a tight spot. You can give credit for what he had accomplished, but you can't blow it out of poportion.

Yes I did know about Ronnie's service to our country. I was exchanging e-mail with Ronnie before he left San Diego, so I was here from the beginning. As far as being rescued. I had that chance, and turned it down to stay with my boat after being disabled in Mexico between Magdellena, and Cabo single-handing.

3 weeks ago my little 4ft 9in wife handled the boat for 24 hours while I was recovering from the pain in my head. Caused by what is now the size of half a tennis ball behind my ear. We were in the ITCZ where it gets a wee bit ugly, and turned back after we passed Isla Malpelo. This ain't hero stuff this is sailing. SAILING IS NOT ALWAYS A SLICK MAGAZINE COVER, it's a full contact sport. Sailing rivers, lakes, and bays are one thing. Sailing Mother Nature is quite another, been there, and done that! Would you like to try again GBURTON?........*i2f*


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

frolic, bring home a keel-less boat (mono not multi) and then have your people call my people.

Man you guys make my head spin. I think it was Dog who said that Ronnie was "not worthy" because he was given a boat that had been surveyed and was in great condition - then the keel falls off and he's to blame because he didn't detect the cracks in the weld...which were at the flange....under the bottom paint....blah, blah. Now it's ONLY because of the weather?

Dude, he (and Ed) stayed with a boat, for SEVERAL DAYS, that most would have abandoned. He didn't do anything stupid. He jury rigged and played it conservative to keep the thing upright. He didn't step down into a LR. He didn't punch out with an EPIRB. He didn't "put any SAR lives at risk". He put his own life on the line to bring a borrowed, broken boat back to its owner.

I'm sorry - but you guys are wrong here. The dude kind of rocks. Whether you like it or not...he's going to be a bit of a legend. Funny how that works out.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

Don't twist my words smack. I complimented Ronnie on hanging with the boat this time. If you don't think there is a difference in 5 knots & 15 while going up the Ca. coast. Then you just don't know, and won't for a long time. I don't think he would have made S.F if there was the normal 15-20 knots. He may have made it back to San Diego by going with it, the weather.

No one can blame Ronnie for the loss of the keel, that's sailing, and it was someone else's work. When you eventually get off the lake, and put down some 20k miles in the ocean. Possibly then you will understand Ronnie hasn't done a thing to become a legend. He has done good, but nothing more than what many have done before him, and will after. It's obvious your standards, and mine are completely different. BEST WISHES in the future, and figuring out where to draw the line of honesty, and dishonesty. You seem to be a wee bit blurred......*i2f*


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## bobmcgov (Jul 19, 2007)

You're wasting your time, Smack. It's 1960 in Yosemite ... right? On this side, Harding, Robbins, Chouinard, Herbert. On that side, pipe-smoking Sierra Clubbers pontificating about "unjustifiable risks". Throw down your ropes from Heart Ledge: The way down is over the summit. I'll meet you there.

Ever hear of the Crab Bucket? Crabs are good climbers. But you needn't put a lid on a crab bucket, because if one crab tries to climb out, the others will grab its legs and pull it back into the bucket. That is what is going on in this thread. Also known in EnZed as Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Ronnie's given to hyperbole and self-promotion. But he did what he said he would, raced solo to Hawaii (taking second in class) and _then_ brought a keelless boat 800 miles into SF Bay under its own power. Different risk calculus -- all of this was cake compared to Dawn Patrol, Fallujah. Certain crabs whose notion of adventure is motoring up and down the ICW, then _maybe_ a quick dash (motoring) to the Bahamas, want to pull him back in. Though I haven't yet done diddly on the ocean, I'd rather push the bold crab over the edge and shout, "Alright Ronnie! Now give us a claw, dude. I'm coming with you."

I got lots of time for people who do what they say they are going to, and who stake their ass as ante. I got no time for people who seek to minimize others' achievements to mask their own lack of same, or who hide their own risk aversion beneath a pallid face of wisdom.










We remember Harding, Robbins, Chouinard, and Herbert. Who were those Sierra Club guys again?:laugher


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

I bet the owner of the boat is very relieved, and must have been enduring a lot of anxiety over this...Mainly for the safety and welfare of the two sailors aboard....but I bet its nice to get his boat back as well...

What is that 1" thick looking material in the photos?...It almost looks like steel or lead...could be foam I guess...doesn't look like Glass or wood...to cleanly sheared for that


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

bobmcgov said:


> You're wasting your time, Smack. It's 1960 in Yosemite ... right? On this side, Harding, Robbins, Chouinard, Herbert. On that side, pipe-smoking Sierra Clubbers pontificating about "unjustifiable risks". Throw down your ropes from Heart Ledge: The way down is over the summit. I'll meet you there.
> 
> Ever hear of the Crab Bucket? Crabs are good climbers. But you needn't put a lid on a crab bucket, because if one crab tries to climb out, the others will grab its legs and pull it back into the bucket. That is what is going on in this thread. Also known in EnZed as Tall Poppy Syndrome.
> 
> ...


+100000000000000


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## sailjunkie (Nov 4, 2009)

Regardless of experience, I tip my hat to the guy for making it home and saving the boat. That is how one acquires experience, I guess.

Meanwhile, this thread seems to be repeating itself. Is there really anything that hasn't been said? Just wondering....


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

I don't think anyone said "pickles".


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

imagine2frolic said:


> Come on now Apollo 13? That's just not right. 800 miles from shore with all kinds of freighters floating around, helicopters available, and other sources cannot compare to Apollo 13.
> 
> I think this is the kind of bragging crap that gets this thread, and other Ronnie threads rolling. He didn't get the predictable, and predicted 15 -20 knots from the N.W. This is how he made it he got a favorable turn in the weather, and as I typed. We all hope for something to go in our favor in a tight spot. You can give credit for what he had accomplished, but you can't blow it out of poportion.
> 
> ...


Try what? Reason with you? No thanks. You obviously have some sort of vendetta/agenda against someone who made a mistake a few years ago and who is now trying to become a good sailor. Give it a rest.

Oh - and see a doctor about the half tennis ball sized lump behind your ear, that cant be good.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

Got any pictures of the lump? Sounds like an exaggeration 
geddit?


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I'll say at least the guy made it back, no matter how!

As far as resizing the pics. Fuzzy helped me a few weeks back with a pic that was too wide, by saving the pics on a web hosting site, then in the process, scaling the pics down on that service provider. You might try that smack.

Marty


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

No can do bro. They are not my pics - but are linked from a dude's site who put them up on SA.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

OK ......now about the keel 

any thoughts on my last post?


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

I'm with you still - I'd love to hear from Jeff or some other architect/engineer types on what the hell happened here.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

smackdaddy said:


> I'm with you still - I'd love to hear from Jeff or some other architect/engineer types on what the hell happened here.


I think it's safe to say the keel fell off.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Heh-heh. Very funny JRP.

At least it wasn't the front.


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## lydanynom (May 26, 2010)

Pickles.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Crap. 

The investigation/discussion is now officially closed. 

Thanks a lot lydan.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Well it looks like lead or foam to me but what do i know...it could be pickles...dill I recon....sweets go limp in salt water to quickly.... so no one builds with thoes anymore.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Now THAT'S funny.

BTW - nice avvy still.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

smackdaddy said:


> Now THAT'S funny.
> 
> BTW - nice avvy still.


And my wife said she looks fat....A little hottie I tell ya!.....dont tell her I posted it though...


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

GBurton said:


> Try what? Reason with you? No thanks. You obviously have some sort of vendetta/agenda against someone who made a mistake a few years ago and who is now trying to become a good sailor. Give it a rest.
> 
> Oh - and see a doctor about the half tennis ball sized lump behind your ear, that cant be good.


I've been seeing a doctor, and a second for the past several weeks. Had scopes shoved down my throat until it was bloody raw. Had one shoved in my nostril until I thought it was touching my brain. Had a CT scan, and the fluids inserterd into my system made me feel warm all over.

Now I have never measured a tennis ball , but the doctor measured me. He told me 6 centimeters. For the life of me I had no idea what that converted to. I went to a conversion site, and that equals 2.4 inches. Now take the circumference, and slice it in half. My questimation is about half a tennis ball. You're absolutely right.....THAT CAN'T BE GOOD .

I'll be flying into S.F. CA., St. Louis, and most likely Jax Florida all for various reasons from Panama. Want to meet me at the airport, and give me a ride to the next doctor?

Nothing personal against Ronnie. He didn't like being called out on the truth, and asked for a pissing match, so he's got one. You want to take sides. I have no problem with that. You & smack make good cheerleaders. Although smack has gone a wee bit far in his compliments. Apollo 13?

Ronnie said he couldn't have done it without his boatmate. The boatmate probably with his experience was the real captain. I had no idea what abilities he had until Ronnie described them. This most likely added to his success making his planned destination. Alone may have been another situation, but we will never know, so congradulations once again to Ronnie making S.F.

Next time you want to criticize someone's form. You might want to look at your uke own:laugher .......*i2f*

Oh yeah, to those who PMed me. Thanks for your support


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Hang in there i2. Any word on what that beastie is? Jeez I just hope it's some weird infection.

As for Ronnie, okay the Apollo 13 thing MIGHT have been a little over the top. But, in his defense, he did give the credit to Ed for getting that thing home. He said he probably would have ditched if he'd been on his own.

But who cares about that at this point? Just focus on getting well dude.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

Yup - just get well i2f! I f I was down in that area I would give you a ride.

Take care


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

I'll take the well wishes to be meant in good faith...thanks.

I am from the ghetto, E.St.Louis. E.Oakland, and a couple of others. Life has thrown me a load of crap for 59 yrs, but nothing has beat me yet. I'll be back this coming Dec. to prep Imagine to finish my sail to Hawaii, and home to the S.F. Bay area. She will be refurbished, and sail for the Philippines the following season where I will enjoy retirement for the 4th time. ..*i2f*


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

It is meant in good faith. I hope to do the single handed transpac in 2012 and if you're willing I will buy you a beer if you are still in the bay area or Hawaii around that time.





imagine2frolic said:


> I'll take the well wishes to be meant in good faith...thanks.
> 
> I am from the ghetto, E.St.Louis. E.Oakland, and a couple of others. Life has thrown me a load of crap for 59 yrs, but nothing has beat me yet. I'll be back this coming Dec. to prep Imagine to finish my sail to Hawaii, and home to the S.F. Bay area. She will be refurbished, and sail for the Philippines the following season where I will enjoy retirement for the 4th time. ..*i2f*


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

GBurton, are you currently a member of SSS? I’ve been thinking of doing the LongPac myself next year (if I don’t do the Translant instead). Mrs. B isn’t too wild about me doing the SHTP however. She wants us to keep the boat in shape for Mexico in a couple of years. If you are local to the Bay area, I’d like to trade notes with you on boat prep etc.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

Hi George -

No, I'm not currently a member. I'm up the coast a ways in Oregon. The way I'm selling it to my family is once I'm there they get to fly over to Hawaii for a vacation! Its working well


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## chrisncate (Jan 29, 2010)

wind_magic said:


> He'd have a better chance if he wasn't hauling that buoy around in the back of his boat.
> 
> j/k
> 
> Good luck Ronnie!


That's a number 2 windvane..


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Ronnie has a good write up on the keel failure over at SA:

Sailing Anarchy Home Page

That explains all the cracks we were seeing in the pics. Why the cracks though? Would the extra movement from a failing weld cause more stress on the hull/stringers? it seems like it should be the opposite.

Those dudes were lucky that the hull stayed tight.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

It does appear that Ed had much to do with the successful return. I doubt Ronnie would dispute this. But *whoever* was in command of the boat, Ronnie still gained some BIG experience that could help him in his future. Now, any bets if Ronnie will eventually get dismasted? He has lost just about everything below the waterline already. What's next???  Sorry Ronnie.  

Ralph


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

smackdaddy said:


> Those dudes were lucky that the hull stayed tight.


And lucky that the winds were light, the seas remained calm, the wind directions remained favorable, and getting a huge fuel drop (for their motor-sail and to help ballast the hull). There was a huge amount of luck here; that nobody seems to mention or pay respect to. This year was an oddball for wind and weather offshore; the Pacific High was replaced by a weak low all summer and the winds were not the strong NNW that would normally make the return trip an upwind slog back to SF or LA.

I'm glad they made it back in without need for rescue; and that luck was on their side. Without the favorable conditions the outcome could have been a tragedy (regardless of Ronnie's experience level).


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

KeelHaulin said:


> And lucky that the winds were light, the seas remained calm, the wind directions remained favorable, and getting a huge fuel drop (for their motor-sail and to help ballast the hull). There was a huge amount of luck here; that nobody seems to mention or pay respect to. This year was an oddball for wind and weather offshore; the Pacific High was replaced by a weak low all summer and the winds were not the strong NNW that would normally make the return trip an upwind slog back to SF or LA.
> 
> I'm glad they made it back in without need for rescue; and that luck was on their side. Without the favorable conditions the outcome could have been a tragedy (regardless of Ronnie's experience level).


Actually, I've always mentioned luck as the primary factor in the majority of survived passages-gone-bad. So as long as one is attributing that luck factor equally between the "skilled" and "less skilled" - it's all good.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

smackdaddy said:


> So as long as one is attributing that luck factor equally between the "skilled" and "less skilled" - it's all good.


+1 There ya go making sense, fair is fair.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

Smack, setting all that Ronnie hyperbole aside for a moment, can we talk about Warrior’s Wish? Unfortunately, they moved her out Richmond before I had a chance to look at her and I couldn’t find any “real” discussion about the damage and it’s causes over on SA. Have you heard of Warrior’s Wish’s fate? The cracks in the hull where the stringers are not too promising. It looks like pretty major structural damage to the stringers and I’m guessing pretty impossible to fix (links to interior photos please?). Ronnie didn’t mention any leaking, but water must have gotten around the cracks and I’m assuming that the keel bolts were bedded with 5200 or the broken off heads would have fallen off and leaked. Has any of the SA’ers weighed in on the cause? I can only surmize that it was a combination crevis corrosion and improperly torqued bolts. Too bad they didn’t catch that during thier race prep. One more thing that has me curious is them leaving Hawaii with so little fuel (and some of that was allocated to charging batteries). Their plan of sailing 90% of the way would force them to stay on the southern edge of the high. Either giving them a course to San Diego/Cabo or doubling their transit time by “short” tacking their way to S.F. The people I've known who done it put between five and ten days of fuel on board so they can exit the high off of Oregon and beam reach home.


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

smackdaddy said:


> Actually, I've always mentioned luck as the primary factor in the majority of survived passages-gone-bad. So as long as one is attributing that luck factor equally between the "skilled" and "less skilled" - it's all good.


Except that if you are not skilled; luck won't matter much. If you don't know how to stem a leak you won't need the luck of good weather - get it?

In Ronnie's first offshore venture he did not fail because his luck was bad. He failed because he was inexperienced and therefore not prepared. As he said himself; if his friend the delivery captain were not aboard coming back from HI, the situation would have been much different (he likely would have went aboard the ship that dropped them fuel). I don't think anyone would have called fault to him for doing that if he was out there alone.

But please; don't equate all successful crossings-gone-bad with the need for a knowledgeable sailor to have luck. There are LOTS of things that could be done to save yourself (sans luck) if you know what to do and are properly prepared and equipped to do them. And in many cases that is the difference between surviving a storm at sea and becoming another statistic or an EPIRB/raft deployment.

I mentioned the luck to remind everyone that this self-rescue was not without lots of it; not to have that statement twisted into the outright "need" for it by everyone who gets in trouble.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

KeelHaulin said:


> Except that if you are not skilled; luck won't matter much. If you don't know how to stem a leak you won't need the luck of good weather - get it?
> 
> In Ronnie's first offshore venture he did not fail because his luck was bad. He failed because he was inexperienced and therefore not prepared. As he said himself; if his friend the delivery captain were not aboard coming back from HI, the situation would have been much different (he likely would have went aboard the ship that dropped them fuel). I don't think anyone would have called fault to him for doing that if he was out there alone.
> 
> ...


Okay Keel. If you want to keep chasing your tail, that's cool. Here's where your circle started by the way (you chimed in a page or so after my post)...

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gener...2-bfs-proponent-rescued-sea-2.html#post382540


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

GeorgeB said:


> Smack, setting all that Ronnie hyperbole aside for a moment, can we talk about Warrior's Wish? Unfortunately, they moved her out Richmond before I had a chance to look at her and I couldn't find any "real" discussion about the damage and it's causes over on SA. Have you heard of Warrior's Wish's fate? The cracks in the hull where the stringers are not too promising. It looks like pretty major structural damage to the stringers and I'm guessing pretty impossible to fix (links to interior photos please?). Ronnie didn't mention any leaking, but water must have gotten around the cracks and I'm assuming that the keel bolts were bedded with 5200 or the broken off heads would have fallen off and leaked. Has any of the SA'ers weighed in on the cause? I can only surmize that it was a combination crevis corrosion and improperly torqued bolts. Too bad they didn't catch that during thier race prep. One more thing that has me curious is them leaving Hawaii with so little fuel (and some of that was allocated to charging batteries). Their plan of sailing 90% of the way would force them to stay on the southern edge of the high. Either giving them a course to San Diego/Cabo or doubling their transit time by "short" tacking their way to S.F. The people I've known who done it put between five and ten days of fuel on board so they can exit the high off of Oregon and beam reach home.


George - the only good photos I've seen of this are from here:

Go Ronnie, Go! - Sailing Anarchy Forums - Page 10

I think I linked to them on page 9 in this thread too. There really hasn't been a good analysis of the failure from what I've seen. So it is a pretty critical question in my book.

As for the fuel issue, good question.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

From Ronnie's blog *I will update the blog soon with a more detailed account of the whole keel thing*

Home | Open Blue Horizon


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Ralph - did you see Ronnie's write up of that on the SA front page? He put part one up a few days ago. Freaky stuff.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Yep....waiting for part II. :laugher Sounds like it was a very long ride home. Ronnie made it pretty clear he would have bailed. So, Ed's experience made the difference in this case, along with some luck thrown in. On the plus side, Ronnie has some miles under his keel, and has gained more experience. As a friend, I wish he would give up the solo sailing for awhile, but probably ain't happnin. 

Ralph


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Wow...speaking of full circle...I'm a bit gobsmacked. Skip Allan just posted over at SA giving huge kudos to Ronnie and Ed for getting the boat home.

Now that, my good fellows, is SERIOUS class.

What say you LFSers now?


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

I don't think anyone here is not glad/happy or has given respect to the fact that they were in a tough situation, stabilized the boat, and made it back safely. Why do you keep up with your bi-polar view of what the different perspectives are here? Are you yourself BI-POLAR smack? (if you have not checked into it maybe you should)

Please, let me remind you that Skip ditched in conditions that were far, far worse (clear air gale; 40+ kt wind, 30+ ft seas) after battling it single-handed for several days. Yet you would not give him the respect of his experience and for having the brains to say "f**k the boat; I'd rather be certain I live another 30 years"; and save himself.

I don't think the problem so much is Ronnie's attitude and/or flawed decision processes; it's the constant fluffing of the truth and poster-boying of him that you are doing Smack. I mean c'mon; comparison to Apollo 13??!! Getting the boat home was not rocket science. Their position was well known and they were on PLANET EARTH...


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

KeelHaulin said:


> I don't think anyone here is not glad/happy or has given respect to the fact that they were in a tough situation, stabilized the boat, and made it back safely. Why do you keep up with your bi-polar view of what the different perspectives are here? Are you yourself BI-POLAR smack? (if you have not checked into it maybe you should)
> 
> Please, let me remind you that Skip ditched in conditions that were far, far worse (clear air gale; 40+ kt wind, 30+ ft seas) after battling it single-handed for several days. Yet you would not give him the respect of his experience and for having the brains to say "f**k the boat; I'd rather be certain I live another 30 years"; and save himself.
> 
> I don't think the problem so much is Ronnie's attitude and/or flawed decision processes; it's the constant fluffing of the truth and poster-boying of him that you are doing Smack. I mean c'mon; comparison to Apollo 13??!! Getting the boat home was not rocket science. Their position was well known and they were on PLANET EARTH...


"Far, far worse"? Dude, dude, dude...check the actual conditions for both and get back to me on that. I can't keep doing your homework.

Regardless you keep missing the point...very consistently I might add.

I have never, ever disrespected Skip A. I have, from the beginning, simply compared his _outcome_ with Ronnie's. Those outcomes were virtually identical - down to the conditions.

You see, you take even the mere comparison as disrespect for Skip. It's not - it just provides a more objective view of what happened to Ronnie on the first try. Luck, skill, seamanship, idiocy, commitment, ingenuity, preparedness, knowledge, "mental toughness", refusal to "endanger" SAR, EPIRBs, etc, etc, etc...it all gets really murky when you line these _outcomes_ up side-by-side doesn't it?

And now that Ronnie and Ed have pulled off an amazing sailing feat that I'm willing to bet you (or virtually anyone else around here) have never remotely achieved yourself...Skip, yes Skip Allan, _CONGRATULATES_ them. See, Keel, Skip doesn't even agree with your thesis. You might want to rethink things a bit. Because at this point it's all sounding really, really hollow.

Hey look...there's your tail!


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

So you are telling me that Ronnie and the Delivery Captain endured weather conditions AS SEVERE as Skip did when he stepped off of Wildflower? Dude... I don't think the conditions offshore have been that bad once during the entire summer; maybe early in the season when the storm window just would not shut down here; and that near-shore gale that Baracole got caught up in. Last time I checked; they were beam reach to downwind in 10-15 during their 800 mile RUN to SF. I don't see how or where 30' seas and 40kt winds could be coming from; would you care to elaborate?



> You see, you take even the mere comparison as disrespect for Skip. It's not - it just provides a more objective view of what happened to Ronnie on the first try. Luck, skill, seamanship, idiocy, commitment, ingenuity, preparedness, knowledge, "mental toughness", refusal to "endanger" SAR, EPIRBs, etc, etc, etc...it all gets really murky when you line these _outcomes_ up side-by-side doesn't it?


(My prior post was NOT about comparing Skip to Ronnie when he abandoned the Rhodes Bounty; but here is my response to your post on it)

No; it does not. One guy took his time (several days weighing his options while hoping the weather would ease); and managed to keep a much smaller/lighter boat upright in the storm. Only when his rescue ship would be passing him and leaving him with no further chance for rescue did he decide to abandon. Ronnie on the other hand panicked; declared "game over man" and screamed for mommy come get him. THERE IS NO COMPARISON HERE. One made a rational decision based on his experience, situation and the prevailing conditions; while the other made a decision based on the fact that he did not know what to do or how he would possibly survive without a rescue. You know even when systems fail; you still need to be sure you can survive the situation; if not find a way to continue on if your craft is disabled in some way. It really reeks of stupidity that you would put them on equal ground and make the blanket statement that the only reason both were forced to ditch was "bad luck" and an unfortunate situation where knowledge and skill should not be taken into consideration. That's why I called your prior comments disrespectful to Skip; BECAUSE THEY ARE. To compare outcomes and say "same-same" is just flat out wrong. You should know that by now; but maybe you have not had any "fear factor" moments where you realize that you really should have reefed, or done more homework before setting out for that sail into wind and seas that were above your level of experience.

So now you are putting Skip's thoughts on me into words? That's a laugh. I don't think he even knows or would care to wade into this BS thread you created; or the other two threads you have pooped all over. I like how you call my arguments "hollow"; it really make you sound SOO much smarter and more experienced around here. To me, the only thing sounding really, really hollow around here is your head.

Again; all I was saying is that calm seas and mild conditions played a big factor in getting WW home. But it was not rocket science. The fact that the keel fell off while the sails were eased probably was the most important factor in keeping them out of a liferaft. Had they been close hauled and had the rail in the water; there may have been a boat full of water before they could get the sheets eased and the mast upright.

Anyone. ANYONE can sail a deep reach or downwind in mild conditions. It does not matter if you are near the shore or far out at sea. And actually; near-shore conditions and coastal swell up here can be more challenging than moderate to heavy offshore conditions. But I guess you also might not know that either; you BFS poser. Keep living vicariously through Ronnie, Smack; someday you might be able to afford to abandon a Bounty of your own.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Keel - here's what I said. Sound out the bold part.

Sigh.



smackdaddy said:


> "Far, far worse"? Dude, dude, dude...check the actual conditions for both and get back to me on that. I can't keep doing your homework.
> 
> You see, you take even the mere comparison as disrespect for Skip. It's not - it just provides *a more objective view of what happened to Ronnie on the first try*. Luck, skill, seamanship, idiocy, commitment, ingenuity, preparedness, knowledge, "mental toughness", refusal to "endanger" SAR, EPIRBs, etc, etc, etc...it all gets really murky when you line these _outcomes_ up side-by-side doesn't it?


You're proving to be very high maintenance here. The comparison was made on Skip's and Ronnie's rescues...remember? Ronnie and Ed weren't rescued on the SHTP return...remember? Keep up man!



KeelHaulin said:


> So now you are putting Skip's thoughts on me into words? That's a laugh.


Dude, he _heartily_ congratulated Ronnie and Ed on their accomplishment. You're still hammering Ronnie. I don't need to put any words anywhere. You're doing that on your own...and then going a few steps further with this...



KeelHaulin said:


> No; it does not. One guy took his time (several days weighing his options while hoping the weather would ease); and managed to keep a much smaller/lighter boat upright in the storm. Only when his rescue ship would be passing him and leaving him with no further chance for rescue did he decide to abandon. Ronnie on the other hand panicked; declared "game over man" and screamed for mommy come get him. THERE IS NO COMPARISON HERE. One made a rational decision based on his experience, situation and the prevailing conditions; while the other made a decision based on the fact that he did not know what to do or how he would possibly survive without a rescue. You know even when systems fail; you still need to be sure you can survive the situation; if not find a way to continue on if your craft is disabled in some way. It really reeks of stupidity that you would put them on equal ground and make the blanket statement that the only reason both were forced to ditch was "bad luck" and an unfortunate situation where knowledge and skill should not be taken into consideration. That's why I called your prior comments disrespectful to Skip; BECAUSE THEY ARE. To compare outcomes and say "same-same" is just flat out wrong. You should know that by now; but maybe you have not had any "fear factor" moments where you realize that you really should have reefed, or done more homework before setting out for that sail into wind and seas that were above your level of experience.


I've read Skip's account of the rescue and scuttling - and I believe you're putting a lot of words in his mouth above.



KeelHaulin said:


> Anyone. ANYONE can sail a deep reach or downwind in mild conditions. It does not matter if you are near the shore or far out at sea. And actually; near-shore conditions and coastal swell up here can be more challenging than moderate to heavy offshore conditions.


Newbs take note. No experience required. Of course, all of that gets a little harder when the boat has no keel.



KeelHaulin said:


> But I guess you also might not know that either; you BFS poser. Keep living vicariously through Ronnie, Smack; someday you might be able to afford to abandon a Bounty of your own.


Yeah, yeah. Keel, look, I can't help it that you're wrong. That's just the way it is. No reason to take it out on me.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Part Deux of the story just went up on the SAFP:

Sailing Anarchy Home Page


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## bb74 (Feb 11, 2009)

An endearing (for some, not me), jackass.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

bb74 said:


> An endearing (for some, not me), jackass.


Actually I can see your point on that, bb. But I'm a jackass too - so it's all relative.

Wait...do you mean Keel or Ronnie? Heh-heh.


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

smackdaddy said:


> Wow...speaking of full circle...I'm a bit gobsmacked. Skip Allan just posted over at SA giving huge kudos to Ronnie and Ed for getting the boat home.


Can we keep this forum "Rated PG", please?

Why shouldn't Skip give congratulations to Ronnie/Ed for making it home and overcoming their keel failure? THEY are not adversaries. The only adversarial situation that exists is the one that you (Smack) have created here (and in your mind) by putting Ronnie and Skip's abandons in direct comparison and proclaiming that they were not much different. I have no ill will toward Ronnie or his future as a sailor, nor yours Smack. I was only pointing out that if you don't gain experience in a responsible way you can (and usually will) get in trouble.



> You're proving to be very high maintenance here. The comparison was made on Skip's and Ronnie's rescues...remember? Ronnie and Ed weren't rescued on the SHTP return...remember? Keep up man!


You were the one who dredged up the comparison between Ronnie and Skip's abandons (old news dude). Now you you are indirectly using Skips situation while returning in the '08 SHTP to prop Ronnie and Ed's return sans keel as 'besting' him in some way. That's BS because the WX conditions were totally different; and that was the point I was making. Am I moving slowly enough for you Smack or do I need to spoon feed my point to you some more?



> I've read Skip's account of the rescue and scuttling - and I believe you're putting a lot of words in his mouth above.


Dude... He was in 40kts with building seas for 4 days. The container ship that rescued him was getting spray over the bow and rocking/rolling on their DOWNWIND trip to Long Beach. You can't blame the guy for deciding he should get off of a light displacement 30' race boat in those conditions; nor can you compare him to someone with no experience (yet) and say that experience is irrelevant.



> Newbs take note. No experience required. Of course, all of that gets a little harder when the boat has no keel.


I said mild conditions. A boat with no keel making little leeway and with light pressure on the rig will not roll. The feat in their ability to get home was the favorable conditions and the hull not taking on water through the stub (which is freakin amazing in itself). As Ronnie said himself; he lost 10 lbs (because he was ****ting his pants so much). Somehow I don't think he was "in command" of the situation. I think he assisted in their rescue and he learned a lot; but I don't think it was Ronnie's wits that saved them. I applaud them for making it home as a team who worked to save themselves and the boat; but I also think it was a bit foolish to stay onboard such a severely damaged hull solely for the bragging rights. I guess you have a greater sense of concern for getting the boat returned when it's a rental


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

KH-

*The problem is that Smacky needs to live vicariously through people like Ronnie, since they're very reminiscent of himself to him. * His sailing the Smacktanic on a lake in only benign conditions leads him to push for BFS... when in fact, he doesn't have the experience or the ability to sail in those conditions himself.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

sailingdog said:


> KH-
> 
> *The problem is that Smacky needs to live vicariously through people like Ronnie, since they're very reminiscent of himself to him. * His sailing the Smacktanic on a lake in only benign conditions leads him to push for BFS... when in fact, he doesn't have the experience or the ability to sail in those conditions himself.


Dog - look, you can't continually complain to the mods via pm about every joke I make in response to you (even though they are all extremely mild) - to the point that I'm told to avoid "joking with you" and on the edge of being given a vacation...then fire off a zinger like this.

It's got to be one or the other bro. Either you can take what you dish - or you need to not dish and live by the "rules" you keep telling the mods they should enforce.

Which is it?


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

LOL, heres the current winds on travis. I think my farts blow harder.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

The Kindergarten level behavior from so many different people is just sad


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

sailingdog said:


> KH-
> 
> *The problem is that Smacky needs to live vicariously through people like Ronnie, since they're very reminiscent of himself to him. * His sailing the Smacktanic on a lake in only benign conditions leads him to push for BFS... when in fact, he doesn't have the experience or the ability to sail in those conditions himself.


Lakes only have benign conditions? Wow, who knew?

How is Smack supposed to win _that_ arguement? If he goes out in bad weather, you'll criticize him for poor risk analysis. If he goes out in mild conditions and then gets caught in a blow, you'll criticize him for failure to anticipate and prepare. If he only sails in "benign" conditions, you criticize him for not gaining the experience of sailing in heavy weather.

Sounds like a no-win situation to me.

Could you please describe exactly what the "approved" conditions are, for gaining heavy weather sailing experience? Is it a 10-year apprenticeship under a bluewater skipper from your approved list of rockstars?

You make it sound like Smack actively encourages people to take stupid risks for his own personal gratification, while sitting safely behind a keyboard. 
All he's doing is archiving stories in a single thread while expressing excitement or admiration.

SD, you start off almost every response with that condescending "I'd point out that..." preface. When you're offering a wealth of experience and knowledge couched in a condescending sneer, people will not be inclined to implement your advice, no matter how sound it is.

Maybe it's not your intent to "sound" that way. Maybe you're just a crusty, sailing New Englander and brusqueness is just a part of your personality. Maybe you know you're rude and just don't care, I'm not really sure which one it is.

*I appreciate and respect your depth of knowledge and experience.* I respectfully submit to you that if you were to offer your knowledge in a more _neutral tone_ based on logic, it would be received by a much wider audience. I'm not at all saying that you should tip-toe around people's sensitive feelings. IMO, you are often extremely negative, and achieving merely a neutral demeanor would be a vast improvement. Your prolific post count and immediate responses to most questions asked around here implies that sharing your knowledge is important to you, so you might at least consider it.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Keel, CP, Dog - dudes, look it's really very simple. I've now been around sailing forums enough to know one thing - there are guys that talk and there are guys that do.

Keel, you mentioned in the BFS Proponent thread that your experience was limited. CP, I understand you were a fine surveyor, but I've never been clear on how much ocean sailing you've actually done. And Dog, you sail a multi with a delivery here and there.

Now, there's nothing wrong with any of that.

But, you see, I weigh the condescension and ridicule you guys can't help but heap on a guy like Ronnie against the support and kudos he receives from _actual sailors_ - guys that are doing Transpacs, Transats, circs, you name it...and your critique just doesn't hold much water. That's my point in all this.

You guys love to put people down - but at some point, it becomes a bit of a joke unless you've got a belt buckle or two yourselves (and maybe you do, who knows?). I'd just much rather live vicariously through guys like Skip Allan and Ronnie - than through guys like you.

Just sayin'.


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

captained 6 - 33 ft thru 45 ft sailing vessels from New Brunswick, PEI and Labrador to the Bahamas & Puerto Rico. 
No, haven't done any "to hawaii" races, or been tossed around in any transpacs, not my bailiwick. never cared to either.

spent 3 years doing the squirrely ****e off Vancouver with a 35ft columbia,then an old gumman/pearson 36.

I've left proving things to people, to the the people that need to prove something to people.

Wind, I dun need no frickin' wind anymore. 








455 olds, about 400 hp, around 65mph.

and i ain't buyin' no frickin coffee cup either.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

cardiacpaul said:


> captained 6 - 33 ft thru 45 ft sailing vessels from New Brunswick, PEI and Labrador to the Bahamas & Puerto Rico.
> No, haven't done any "to hawaii" races, or been tossed around in any transpacs, not my bailiwick. never cared to either.
> 
> spent 3 years doing the squirrely ****e off Vancouver with a 35ft columbia,then an old gumman/pearson 36.
> ...


Hey - nothin' wrong with coastal cruising.

But, jeez that's an ugly stinkpot. Oh, and nice job on the docklines cap'n. Heh-heh.


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

sailingdog said:


> His sailing the Smacktanic on a lake in only benign conditions leads him to push for BFS... when in fact, he doesn't have the experience or the ability to sail in those conditions himself.


Well that figures... I guess I was right when I called him a BFS-poser. Always nice to send others out to get into trouble (by pushing BFS threads, clothing, etc) and then post-game analyze the carnage from the comfort of your lake-front home.



cardiacpaul said:


> LOL, heres the current winds on travis. I think my farts blow harder.


LOL paul! When the wind is that light here we don't bother going out. We would use too much diesel fighting the tides to get back in! (done that enough times)

But I will say that learning how to sail in light air can make you more adept at basic sail trim. It helps you learn what it takes to trim the sail to make the boat actually move forward.



smackdaddy said:


> I've now been around sailing forums enough to know one thing - there are guys that talk and there are guys that do.
> 
> Keel, you mentioned in the BFS Proponent thread that your experience was limited. CP, I understand you were a fine surveyor, but I've never been clear on how much ocean sailing you've actually done. And Dog, you sail a multi with a delivery here and there.


So who here does not "DO" (aside from maybe YOU Smack). Paul has cruised the Caribbean and New England; Dog has cruised down and up the east coast and I'm sure has been sailing quite a long time and had other trips. I2F has been all over the Pacific Caribe Atlantic. I do lots of sailing on SF Bay where the winds routinely hit 30+ kts; and some offshore sailing out of SF. No; I have not crossed any ponds. I am not a racing or blue-water cruising sailor at this point in my life. But that does not mean that I am inexperienced or don't know when there is something wrong with what you profess as the truth.

So it's not OK for guys like Dog, Paul, I2F, Me to call you, the guy with the least background of all (yet with over 3k posts/year on this forum alone), wrong? Who has fluffed their knowledge and experience more here? Oh yeah, I forgot you are the guy who is constantly encouraging those with little to no experience (like you are/were) to go out there and be a BFS'er and risk the lives of their families and other crew.


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

those that can, do...
those that don't, sell coozies and stickers. 


must be you're new to texas too, don't recognize a Glastron. You know, in Austin...This one is a Glastron Carlson, from New Braunfels. 

Sorry 'bout the dockline, a chick did it. LOL. No offense.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

cardiacpaul said:


> those that can, do...
> those that don't, sell coozies and stickers.
> 
> 
> ...


What - like the name "Glastron" suddenly makes it a good looking ride? An Edsel is an Edsel...and it's still butt ugly. I need some eye bleach.

Now on the "those that do" front - sorry, but in the context of this thread...you guys didn't. That's my point. It's not about me. It's about you guys...and how you stack up against sailors that have actually completed Transpacs and the like.

The bottom line is that however you guys want to try to spin it...you are all seriously outvoted on this issue by the guys that actually can...and do. And that just might mean...for you all...fail.

Heh-heh.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

KH-

I'd point out that a vast majority of Mr. Smacky's posts this year are in his Old Salt's Thread...where he cuts and pastes posts written by others and puts them in that thread. Very few of Smacky's posts are original content, other than in this thread, where he is posting about his man crush, Ronnie. 



KeelHaulin said:


> So it's not OK for guys like Dog, Paul, I2F, Me to call you, the guy with the least background of all (yet with over 3k posts/year on this forum alone), wrong? Who has fluffed their knowledge and experience more here? Oh yeah, I forgot you are the guy who is constantly encouraging those with little to no experience (like you are/were) to go out there and be a BFS'er and risk the lives of their families and other crew.


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

Smack; you really need to stop drinking so much BFS kool-aid. Do you think that -maybe- there was a reason Ronnie chose to enter the SHTP following his last attempt to make the sail to HI without experience? Could it be because he was so torqued off at the world for seeing through his for-profit venture; as a cooky guy who was just trying to become a reality star on his own? I don't see any changes to that; except that now he has made it to HI and back with a keel failure (more newsworthy for the book deals and endorsements).

So we are all supposed to drink kool-aid because you do? We are not supposed to be offended by your comments that we here are not "real sailors" because we have not done a SHTP while you sit behind a keyboard on some windless lake? I stand by my comment earlier that you should STFU.

WE have not been applying spin to these stories. You on the other hand are making it sound like Ronnie is some sort of sailing god. He's just a guy who learned from a first (nearly tragic) event enough to find a better boat and get some minimal experience so he could try again. And on the second try he made it. That's all. End of story. He's no better than anyone; he's just a young man with too much testosterone to realize the risks he is taking.

There are lots of singlehanded sailors out there. I'm not one; but rest assured I have WAY more respect for Skip Allan; and others I know. One guy was a 70 year old man that was working on his boat (complete restoration) next to me in dry dock. His goal was to finish completely refitting his 30' boat and possibly sail it around the world. He had already sailed singlehanded to HI on more than one trip; and had spent a lifetime sailing out of Southern California and San Francisco. I have respect for other sailors; but I choose the people that deserve my respect. I don't let them ram it down my throat (like you are trying to do on Ronnie's behalf).

You want someone who has BFS'd it over half way around the world to look up to? Try Liz Clark of the Cal 40 "Swell". Do a search. Or even our local guy here SimonV who single-handed from SF to AUSTRALIA (now that's a real SHTP). I'm proud to have known Simon for the short time he was here; and had some nice daysails with him on both his and my boat before he went walkabout. HE NEVER EVEN BLOGGED ABOUT HIS TRIP. We got updates of his position and his adventures here and there; but he was almost too humble about his accomplishment. He truly is a person to be looked up to; but to each their own.


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Ronnie is to much Barman & Bailey and not enough SimonV for my taste!!!!


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

sailingdog said:


> KH-
> 
> I'd point out that a vast majority of Mr. Smacky's posts this year are in his Old Salt's Thread...where he cuts and pastes posts written by others and puts them in that thread. Very few of Smacky's posts are original content, other than in this thread, where he is posting about his man crush, Ronnie.


So Dog, you haven't answered me on the private complaints to the mods when I take the slightest crack at you. Are we past that now? I'm assuming so since you're still at it.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

bubb2 said:


> Ronnie is to miuch Barman & Bailey and not enough SimonV for my taste!!!!


+1, bubb. You do have to admire Simon V. That was a big sail for sure.


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

Hey, where's my +1 for bringing Simon into this??!!?? (er, sorry Simon) C'mon Smack gimme some love!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Smacky—

I'm not taking potshots at you...merely stating the facts, which is something you can't seem to do. You make snide and obnoxious comments... rather than stating facts. 

FACT: most of your posts are either in this thread or your own Old Salts thread. 

FACT: most of your posts in the Old Salts Thread are copy and pasted from other posters, often without their permission. 

FACT: You seem to have a serious man crush on Ronnie, since he can do no wrong in your book, and ranks up there with sailors, like Skip Allan, even though, he's clearly shown that he lacks the good judgement, common sense and skills required for good seamanship. Someday, he may gain those things, but currently, he seems to be driven by ego and vanity.

FACT: You sail the Smacktanic on a lake

FACT: You live vicariously through people like Ronnie

FACT: You don't have the experience, skills or knowledge of many of your critics. 

FACT: You have been pushing BFS without any real clue of what sailing in BFS conditions might lead to and how dangerous advocating such actions for novice sailors can become.


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## trisstan87 (Aug 15, 2010)

Sort of a painful thread to read through.. I think the Ronnie guy is a wiener because of how he went about what he did, not what he did. I mean you can't respect a man for brass alone (See excerpts for General Custer). I do respect the spirit behind the attempts. Perseverance and stubbornness are usually only separated by success or failure. The loud-mouthing the guy does is contemptuous, I would give him more respect if he did all these things without making a stink about it all along the way. Had the story happened upon him by way of accident or swapped stories I would feel different, though not about taking the expeditions with that level of experience. He obviously wants attention for his "accomplishments" which is where my main fault lies. While some accomplishment should be rewarded, other accomplishments would be better having never exist to seek reward.


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## micksbuddy (Aug 11, 2006)

The amusing thing about this seemingly endless back and forth is that KH, CP et al have as virulent a negative bias towards Ronnie(and apparently, by association Smacky) as the pro-Ronnie bias they accuse Smacky of having. None of the main protagonists in this thread are remotely unbiased.


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## trisstan87 (Aug 15, 2010)

I can't believe I put General Custer.. Colonel is obviously what I meant. I would consider myself to be unbiased as of late. I haven't been here long enough to join teams so I'm still playing Switzerland


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

It's been a while since I've had a good "War and Peace" post. And it's a holiday so what the hell...



sailingdog said:


> Smacky-
> 
> I'm not taking potshots at you...merely stating the facts, which is something you can't seem to do. You make snide and obnoxious comments... rather than stating facts.


Not taking potshots? Facts?

Dog, you send me expletive-filled private messages when I disagree with you. Then you repeatedly hit the mod EPIRB on any of my posts that even remotely joke with you, such as this outrage: "Dog's on the rail drinking prune juice", and complain that it's a personal attack. Prune juice? Dude.

You've done this to the point that I've been warned to not "poke at" you at all. And I'd say I've done a pretty good job of it to this point.

So this is how you've been working behind the scenes. This is fact.

And now you start in on me with the above and more? Are you kidding me? Sorry dude, no go.

Yes, one of us is acting seriously "snide and obnoxious" (not to mention tender) - and it ain't me. Behind-the-scenes crap has never been my thing.

So, either a) you need to chill out on the PMs and mod EPIRBS when the rhetorical wind comes up a bit, or b) you need to abide by the rules you're trying to force me to abide by through the mods, or c) we can get this out in the open where it belongs and go through these PMs of yours and "personal attacks" of mine line by line and get this all straightened out in the light of day. I'm cool with any of the above.

Now, back to the actual subject at hand - let's check these facts...



sailingdog said:


> FACT: most of your posts are either in this thread or your own Old Salts thread.


1. I've got a little over 6,430 brilliant posts on SN. 
2. There are a total of 159 posts in this thread.
3. There are a total of 91 posts in The Salt's Corner Table thread.
4. That means that there is a grand total of 250 posts in the two threads you mention.
5. Assuming ALL those 250 posts are mine (which they obviously are not) 3% is WAAAAYYYYY short of "most". You may be fun at parties but you suck at math.

RESULT: Myth. And busted.



sailingdog said:


> FACT: most of your posts in the Old Salts Thread are copy and pasted from other posters, often without their permission.


This is absolutely true. The Salt's Corner Table thread has over 10,000 views since it was started a year ago. Lots of newbs have said they appreciate not having to dig to hell and back for good answers, and they can jump into the various threads related to their topic of interest from that one single thread making it extremely convenient for them. AND, to top it all off, the salts don't have to answer the same questions over and over. Furthermore, not one of those salts has complained about having his post(s) included. You complained about one of yours in there a while back (which was immediately removed)...but like I said...not one salt. Heh-heh.

RESULT: Absolutely true...and loved by thousands the world over. So what's your point dude?



sailingdog said:


> FACT: You seem to have a serious man crush on Ronnie, since he can do no wrong in your book, and ranks up there with sailors, like Skip Allan, even though, he's clearly shown that he lacks the good judgement, common sense and skills required for good seamanship. Someday, he may gain those things, but currently, he seems to be driven by ego and vanity.


Ego and vanity? So what exactly drives you?

Look, I'll use really simple, non-scarcastic language here to explain the difference between you guys and me (and the accomplished sailors out there that respect what Ronnie has done). Hopefully you guys will finally get it.

It boils down to *technique* versus *accomplishment*.

You guys are obsessed with *technique*. There is one "right way" to do things in your books. That way is "your way". Your way includes absolutely everything from training, equipage, philosophy of seamanship, maintenance, preparedness, to tactics, qualifications, judgment, and even the sailor's personality, etc. If a sailor does everything your way, you respect him. You acknowledge his accomplishments. If not, you don't. You say his accomplishment was luck or was nothing special.

On the other hand, I appreciate, respect, celebrate, and have admiration for *accomplishment*. When a couple of guys sail a boat 800 miles with no keel - I'm amazed. Period. I know that feat required something more than luck - that it had a lot to do with good technique, stones, and seamanship. But I also know luck had a lot to do with it. Either way, I see it as a huge accomplishment. I don't need to like the guy, I don't need to approve of every move he made, his qualifications, or how he prepped, to appreciate that accomplishment. I do, however, want to learn more about his technique (all those things above - right or wrong) so that I can improve as a sailor.

Obsessing about technique allows you guys to be "experts" when _talking_ about sailing. And it may make you look really good out on your boats. But guys like Ronnie and Ed, whether you like them or not, have accomplished something far beyond anything you "experts" have ever pulled off yourselves. You can talk all day long about the technique - but you don't have the accomplishment like he and Ed do to back it up. That's really the bottom line here.

So, no, I don't have a "man crush" on Ronnie. And I've never even said he ranks up there with Skip Allan. Furthermore, I personally don't agree with a lot of what he says, certain things he did while underway (judgment issues), etc. He's got his faults and foibles just like you do. But none of that really matters.

I have merely touted his accomplishment with as much vigor as you guys touted his initial failure. Sure, I've been a little over the top - intentionally. But that's because you guys' disdain for him is equally over the top. My hyperbole comes across as a "man crush" to you because you don't know how else to deal with someone like Ronnie who has demonstrably out-sailed and out-seamshipped you - WITHOUT the "correct technique"! He hasn't followed your procedures, therefore, he doesn't deserve your praise. So, you're kind of lost. And I get that.

Now, this would all be fine and good except for one important fact that we'll look at next...you guys' opinions in this case, by your own reasoning, are of equal value to mine. They don't really matter. You're not the "real sailors".

RESULT: Myth. And busted.

Let's look at these two facts together because this is where you, CP and Keel really fall off the edge...



sailingdog said:


> FACT: You sail the Smacktanic on a lake
> 
> FACT: You don't have the experience, skills or knowledge of many of your critics.


Okay - so this is a common refrain from you guys. You go out of your way to belittle my experience, skills and knowledge - and really harp on the fact that I sail in a lake. And your point is that because of all the above - I obviously have no clue what I'm talking about - and have no business evaluating Ronnie's (or anyone else's) accomplishment one way or another.

Your point is that "my critics" are the "experts" who have the requisite experience, skills and knowledge to make those calls. You try to turn this all on its head and make it about me.

Okay, I'll play. I am indeed a newb at sailing - with only 2 years under my belt, sailing in a fresh water lake, with maybe 500 miles (the same miles) under my keel thus far. Relative to that, you guys are probably "experts", and I should probably listen to you and follow your lead. You with me so far?

There's only one problem. And it's a problem set up by your own reasoning. None of you, to my knowledge, have completed a Transpac, Transat, pulled off a circ, or pulled off an equivalent ocean passage. A couple of you guys have apparently done some relatively conservative coastal and island passages (which I do honestly think is pretty awesome myself) - but that definitely doesn't give you guys the experience, skills or knowledge of many of the sailors _celebrating_ Ronnie. Have any of you sailed a mono that lost its keel 5 miles - much less 800?

You see how that works? If you want to use that reasoning, you guys don't stack up. Your opinions don't matter. You are to the "real sailors" what I am to you....insignificant. But don't worry, I'll still be your friend.

Seriously, you guys bring a lot to the table with your commitment to technique. It's undeniably valuable stuff. You offer a lot to newbs and seasoned sailors alike. It's really great for a forum. I know that. But, your naysaying on this issue has been drown out by sailors that, by your own reasoning, sail circles around you and are the real experts. And, unfortunately for you, Ronnie has just become one of those.

So, if you're going to set up that hierarchy...just be ready when you get stepped on by people you don't like...or respect. Because we should always listen to the experts - not the wannabes.

RESULT: True. But not exactly what you guys had hoped for.



sailingdog said:


> FACT: You live vicariously through people like Ronnie


Let's take Ronnie out of the equation here. I live vicariously through ANY and EVERY sailor that accomplishes something big. I don't know if you've noticed, but the Big Freakin' Sails thread has over 106,000 views. You guys' cautionary BFS Proponent thread has only 23,000 (many of which I produced myself by whirling it around a bit). So see? People love accomplishment - not doom and gloom. And that's what BFS is all about. The numbers don't lie.

RESULT: Absolutely true - for me and tens of thousands of others across the globe.



sailingdog said:


> FACT: You have been pushing BFS without any real clue of what sailing in BFS conditions might lead to and how dangerous advocating such actions for novice sailors can become.


Dog, et. al., I have never advocated that "novice sailors" go out in "dangerous conditions". Also, I have repeatedly said that BFS is about successfully pushing whatever your own limits are as a sailor. For novices, that might be having both sails up for the first time in 5 knots. This is a BFS-worthy accomplishment. For more advanced sailors, that might be sailing a multi-hull in the Chessie, a mono in SF bay, the Smacktanic in Lake Travis, or driving an ugly stinkpot really fast. These are BFS-worthy accomplishments too. And for big-time sailors, this might mean nursing a race boat with no keel 800 miles to SF.

I don't advocate getting into tough spots. I celebrate successfully getting out of them. That's BFS.

RESULT: Myth. And busted.

So, in all, you guys have laid down more myth (and/or spin) than fact. But I'm getting used to that.

Honestly, I'm happy to let this thread and the BFS Proponent thread sink beneath the SN waves. Ronnie is going to be who he's going to be. He doesn't need me to defend him. He's got real sailors that are doing that all over the place. And that's really cool.

Me? I'm going to go find the next BFS Proponent. The last one worked out really well, don't you think?

Hey Kool-Aid!!!!


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## KeelHaulin (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm on my boat tonight relaxing... That is until I read that piece of tripe... So in a couple days I'll get back to you Smack. I almost feel sorry for you at this point; like a dog that keeps needing to be given the stick.

Keep drinkin the kool-aid. Noticed lots over on good ol SA drinkin it too when I cruised through a few days back.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Well I have to give ol Smaky a +1 for this one guys ..how bout we Give it a rest from both dugouts.

Great post Smak-a-doodal..


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

I only have one issue.

the person "doesn't know what he doesn't know" and armchair cheerleading is... it is what it is.
Example.

_There's only one problem. And it's a problem set up by your own reasoning. None of you, to my knowledge, have completed a Transpac, Transat, pulled off a circ, or pulled off an equivalent ocean passage. A couple of you guys have apparently done some relatively conservative coastal and island passages (which I do honestly think is pretty awesome myself) - 

_Oh, how right you are. 
Do you own a map? quick, oh armchair rugpeddler, tell me how far it is from Labrador, PEI and New Brunswick to Puerto Rico & the Bahamas. 
Yea, conservative coastal cruising. did it 6 times, on 6 different boats. 2 single handed, 2 with a wife and a 12 year old kid. (2, with full crew)A little over 1400nm, each time. Now, please sit down and stfu. I am so sick of your "look at me, I'm a walmart greeter here to up my post count cuz my business is selling coozies and bumper stickers " persona. The self promotion of the both of you...leaves me wanting to take a shower, are you guys related?

_but that definitely doesn't give you guys the experience, skills or knowledge of many of the sailors celebrating Ronnie. Have any of you sailed a mono that lost its keel 5 miles - much less 800?_

Nope, haven't, and it wasn't his skill or experience that got him home, and you're making a prime fool of yourself for even trying to bring that up. It was dumb ass luck and the lack of anything weather/seas related but sunshine and rainbows that got them home. Cripe on a stick, I give Reid Stowe and his been sprouts more credit.

Today, I'm getting an all you can eat buffet and dropping my ugly ass boat in the LAKE. I've wasted too much time on this already.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

Great post smack! haha


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Kind of reminds me of the bumfuzzles. People love to bash them to this day, even after a successful RTW. This was about Ronnie giving it another go. Mission accomplished, but still gets a bashing! WTF? 

Nice post Smacky, hang in there man! 

Ralph


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## trisstan87 (Aug 15, 2010)

I would vote to let this just die out. It really doesn't seem to be so much about the ronnie guy anymore as it is about the politics between two differing groups of sailors.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Here ya go Tristan. October 1, 2008 | Open Blue Horizon

Just in case you care to know who you are posting about. Besides, it is an interesting read, plus a few lessons thrown in. All free, thanks to RS. 

Who would blame him if he had decided to never sail the Pacific again, or even give up sailing entirely? And certainly not the SHTP less than 2 years later. I think this is where Smack has some respect for Ronnie. To get back out there and try again, this time succeeding and earning his buckle!

Stay tuned, he is just getting started.


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

yea, just in case you want to know who your reading about....the Sail article states...

THE BEST LAID PLANS

In California, in San Diego, Simpson bought an ocean-equipped 1961 Bounty II-the grandaddy of fiberglass cruisers-learned something of sailing and seamanship, and set out,* only to run into a Tropical Depression that upgraded to a Category 4 Hurricane. *The Bounty's rudder snapped, the rudder dropped off, and this becomes a story in itself, trying to jury rig a rudder, dealing with successive failures, being offered a lift onto a freighter and then being torn because the boat and what was on the boat was everything Ronnie Simpson had in this life. Except his life.

Of course, the official report said....

The official wind report was *35 to 40 knots with gusts higher*.

uhhh, a cat 4 hurricane is... Category Four Hurricane *(Sustained winds 131-155 mph, 114-135 kt, or 210-249 km/hr).*

those gusts must been sumpin...
MAYBE had he checked his rudder on the 1961 boat he had just bought...
MAYBE he shoulda checked his rudder INSTEAD of purchasing high end video equipment. ( I know how tight cash is, eh?)
Of course he mashed his epirb after the rudder fell off. 
just so ya know who the guy is.

I respect his service to our country.


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Guess you don't get it CP? So now, the same guy was third across the line in Hawaii less than 2 years later. That's a pretty steep improvement, doncha think? Pass the Kool Aid... 

Ralph


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Peoples, peoples, peoples,

Lets get this straight eh ? Personal attacks, abuse and the like are simply not on. Geddit ? Remember that this thread is not in OffTopic where , yes, a little more lenience is shown. 

Quite frankly I am fed up to the back teeth with some of the comments being made here. If those comments were being directed at anyone other than Smack we'd be inundated with complaints. 

While Smack has been warned to play it cool the rest of you seem to think he is fair game because he doesn't come crying to the Mod Squad over every small slight. 

Enough OK ? (Hey..sod the OK....simply Enough !)


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

A pretty cool article about RS in _Outside_ mag.

Ronnie Simpson Sails Around the World | OutsideOnline.com

BFS Proponent takin' it to the masses! Go the Ronnie.


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

Oh Great. Here we go again......

I just dunno Smack,

Most of the article focused on his time in Iraq and subsequent injuries and really just sensationalized the whole affair.

Now obviously Ronnie is someone who has been through more crap than your average 25 year old should have had to endure in this life........

But.....

_"Ronnie Simpson sails around the world" _

Ummm well no actually he didn't.....

He tried to sail to Hawaii......and botched it fairly badly.

He then basically backpacked around the world. There is nothing wrong with that, it probably helped him a great deal to grow up and sort himself out. But really is no different to what I did in my early 20's or thousands of others who are part of the 'lonely planet' generation.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Heh-heh. Yeah, it's a tad over the top. And you guys say _I'm_ prone to hyperbole!

Hey, if the article helps to bring more people into sailing....cool.


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

Smack and hyperbole???

     

Never........ Surely not!

Hey my honest take on Ronnie is that he really is somewhat of an Enigma.....you just don't know what to make of the guy......

I don't think you can just dismiss him as a fool.....If you start with his 'life journey' and war service and think about what he went through as a young man and then consider the balls required to pick yourself up after that and to _try_ to sail around the world.......then the additional balls required to keep going on a bike for the hell of it......and the balls to get back to the US and to consider hoping on a boat again.....well I think you gotta stop and give the guy _some _credit.

At the same time the 'hero' tag just doesn't fit this kid........to try and hang it around his neck does him a disservice. He clearly is not someone we should all be learning from.......he is an idiot.

There is my dilemma......

Maybe he is someone just out there living his life spectacularly??
Trying to figure it out as he does that and piece it all together. I would love to meet him, to have a beer and a bit of a chat. I reckon I would probably like him but also wish very much to slap him


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Ronnie is into self promotion much like P. T. Barmum. Much like P. T. Barnum, Ronnie puts on a hell of a show.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I notice how the article glossed over the fact that Ronnie chose to buy HD Video equipment and timed his departure to make the evening news, rather than get a very old boat properly surveyed. It also fails to mention that he set out into what was pretty much a well forecasted storm that eventually developed into a hurricane, and all but ignores the fact that the forces that he encountered were barely gale strength...nowhere near hurricane strength at all, as CP pointed out.

Both of these points would qualify as BFS—Being F****** Stupid...


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

Come on guys. Give the kid a break. He did make some mistakes in his first big sailing misadventure. But, he seems to have learned from those mistakes. He completed a SHTP, and nursed a very badly damaged boat (as in, "WTF happened to the keel!!!") across a whole lot of open ocean on the return trip. Why don't you just let the guy be, and stop sounding like whining armchair wannabes. Unless any of you have managed to pull off what he did last summer, without having made some seriously embarrassing mistakes along the way.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

chall03 said:


> Smack and hyperbole???
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think the reason some of us go a little bit further to "defend" Ronnie is because of posts like the one above. Ronnie never set out to be a "hero" and I don't think he regards himself as such. Hes just a kid who decided to get out there and live his life to the max. You call him an idiot then say you would like to have a beer with him? And slap him? 
Give yourself an uppercut


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

SlowButSteady said:


> Come on guys. Give the kid a break. He did make some mistakes in his first big sailing misadventure. But, he seems to have learned from those mistakes. He completed a SHTP, and nursed a very badly damaged boat (as in, "WTF happened to the keel!!!") across a whole lot of open ocean on the return trip. Why don't you just let the guy be, and stop sounding like whining armchair wannabes. Unless any of you have managed to pull off what he did last summer, without having made some seriously embarrassing mistakes along the way.


yep +1


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## RTB (Mar 5, 2009)

Man, I try to stay out of "Ronnie" threads these days...but I'm a sucker like many others.

I can tell you that he was a maniac on 2 wheels when he came to work at the motorcycle shop in San Antonio, where I was working at the time. I recall one meeting morning - he comes rolling in at the last minute, still in his leather jacket and helmet on. I can hear the girl at the switchboard paging the sales manager. Turns out, a really pissed off guy followed Ronnie to the dealership, and was looking for trouble.

Another time, on one of the rides sponsored by our store, Ronnie is on his DRZ 400SM, passing the rest of us on the shoulder of Hwy 16, riding a wheelie for miles.

Well, there are many more stories - many involve Ronnie all trashed or in a cast from his latest motorcycle "accident"...

The cool thing is that he found sailing. It was such an odd desire (to *sail* around the world) coming from him, I thought. Also cool, is that he has stuck with it, even after his first sailboat crash, which cost him his boat on the Pacific, and pretty much everything he owned at the time. Then to complete the SHTP within 2 years....I just have to give him some credit. It took balls to head out the Gate, and he NEVER gave up sailing to Hawaii.

Now he wants to sail the Vendee Globe in 2020. That is setting the bar up a notch. Will he do it, if given the chance? You bet! How many here, if given the boat and expenses paid, would have the balls to do the Vendee Globe?

BTW, if you notice, Ronnie doesn't start the threads about him here or anywhere else. He may show up occasionally to defend himself, but that's about it.

Ralph


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

GBurton said:


> I think the reason some of us go a little bit further to "defend" Ronnie is because of posts like the one above. Ronnie never set out to be a "hero" and I don't think he regards himself as such. Hes just a kid who decided to get out there and live his life to the max. You call him an idiot then say you would like to have a beer with him? And slap him?
> Give yourself an uppercut


Bullshite.

If he didn't set out to be a 'hero' then why the website, the publicity push, the planned Documentrary....and as SD said timing his departure with the evening news??

That he DID set out to be a hero is the ONLY reason or basis that I feel we do have the right to criticize.......he wasn't a kid who quietly decided to sail off.......HE put himself in the public light.....he asked for and chased the publicity and well he got it.

Would you consider his attempted circumnavigation and level of preparation to not be idiotic???

Greg.... maybe you should look up the definition of enigma. 
That I would like to have a beer with him and consider him both determined, interesting and also idiotic is what makes him enigmatic.


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## GBurton (Jun 26, 2007)

chall03 said:


> Bullshite.
> 
> If he didn't set out to be a 'hero' then why the website, the publicity push, the planned Documentrary....and as SD said timing his departure with the evening news??
> 
> ...


If the crime is having a website then you are going to have to reevaluate what you judge people on....there are literally thousands of travel blogs and websites out there. As for timing his departure to coincide with the evening news, could you post proof of this please? 
Leaving with a level of preparation that is "idiotic"? That really is a good one. 
You are going to have to call the Bumfuzzles idiots as well then. And anyone who goes for a sail without classes, all safety gear possible and 10 years of learning under a master mariner. Perhaps this could be you too? 

edit: and irony of ironies, look at your signature ROTFLMAO


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## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

Wow. So yeah you do seriously consider that he was adequately prepared and experienced for the voyage.

The ocean appeared to disagree with you and him and the ocean is really the only opinion that does matter. 

The reasons why he was 'idiotic' have been thrashed out a thousand times in this thread and I won't attempt to go into the differences here between his approach and the bumfuzzles.

I coincidentally haven't spend 10 years under a master mariner and have a modest boat limited experience and fairly large ambitions, however no one has had to risk their life in the middle of the ocean yet to rescue my sorry ass.

I believe in and live my signature every day I feel no need to prove it to you however.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Check out who Ronnie is sailing with these days...

Open Blue Horizon - September 22, 2012- Newport, RI

I'd say Conner, Jobson, and Turner are pretty good mentors. Wow.


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