August 2013 Archives

Lately, I feel like I've been a part of a Christopher Cross music video.  You know the song - "Sailing, takes me away to a place....."  I Beach Party - click photo to enlarge!suppose that's not such a bad thing!  With the America's Cup on the San Francisco Bay, we've been doing a lot of entertaining.

This past week, we kicked off the first of a series of sailing adventures aboard the 70 foot scow schooner, the Gaslight. Based out of Sausalito, CA, this incredible boat was lovingly built by hand by Captain Billy Martinelli.  Our event began with a beach party right on the water near the dock.  Guests arrived and were outfitted with Wine for Sailors wind shirts and a souvenir wine glass.  Wine and appetizers were served and the Steel Jam band provided the tunes as we all warmed up for our big day on the Bay.

After shoving off, Artemis Racing AC72 - click photo to enlarge!we motored out of the harbor and then hoisted sails and made our way to the starting line for the Louis Vuitton semi-final match between Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa Prada.  Let me tell you, it was an adrenaline pumping experience to see these boats in action!  They are truly technological marvels.  The Artemis Racing AC72 measures 72 feet and has a fixed wing sail that stands 134 feet tall.  The sail itself is a work of art - it is longer than the wing of a Boeing 747 and employs similar airplane wing technology in its design.  The sailors themselves are outfitted with 40 pounds of gear wearing Kevlar jackets, breathing apparatuses, GPS locators and carrying 50 feet of climbing rope.  During racing action, these The Race - click photo to enlarge!guys are in a virtual sprint, operating at their max heart rate of 190 beats per minute.  The sailing world has never seen anything like this.

At the starting line, each of the boats jockeyed for position trying to beat the other to the gun and be in a good position for the first mark.  That's when it really got exciting.  As the boats headed down wind, they picked up speed like high performance sports cars.  Each of them went up on their foil which essentially causes the entire catamaran to come out of the water and "fly" across the top of the Bay.  Within seconds, they were traveling at speeds Relaxing aboard the Gaslight - click photo to enlarge!topping 45 mph!  For the next 50 minutes, we worked to position ourselves so we could see the live racing action.  It was quite thrilling for all of us on board to see these high performance boats being sailed by world class, Olympic caliber sailors.

As our day wound down, we all relaxed aboard the Gaslight swapping stories and sipping delicious Dry Creek Vineyard wines.  Everyone left having a new appreciation for the sport of sailing and with memories to last a lifetime.  Personally, I can hardly wait for our next sail!

| | Comments (0)

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from August 2013 listed from newest to oldest.

July 2013 is the previous archive.

September 2013 is the next archive.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

welcome!

This is a blog about what it's really like to be in the wine industry...so sit back, take a sip and enjoy!

about me

our wines

our winery

our events

contact me

privacy statement



favorite posts

A Lifetime in Wine

Top 10 Traits of the Successful Family Winery

The Dreaded Family Meeting

Board Meeting Jitters

Is the Future of the Winery in Danger?

The Case of the Overweight Bottle

Wine and Dementia

Wanted: Talented (Normal) Individual for Family Owned Winery

A Sea of Wine

The Heroes of Our Industry


monthly archives


subscribe


Hopes & Dreams

Owning a Coastal Cottage

Sailing for 6 Months

Getting a 100 Point Score

Favorite Haunts

Coast of Maine

Dry Creek General Store

Dry Creek Kitchen

Healdsburg Bar & Grill

Spoonbar

Sonoma Country Antiques

Baci Cafe & Wine Bar

The Farmhouse

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar

Bad Ass Coffee

Bistro Ralph

Bits of Press

Food & Wine Magazine

The Wine News

Wine Enthusiast

Wine Spectator

Press Democrat

Sunset Magazine

Connoisseurs' Guide

Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences

Cruising World Magazine

Oprah Magazine

The Washington Post

Coastal Living Magazine

Wine & Spirits Magazine

People Magazine

SAG Awards Magazine

Forbes Magazine

Favorite Magazines

Coastal Living

Down East

Sunset

Country Living

Quarterly Review of Wines

Wines & Vines

Wine Spectator

Wine Enthusiast

California Grapevine

Connoisseurs' Guide

Practical Winery & Vineyard

WineReviewOnline

Vineyard & Winery Mgmt

Blog Buddy List

Fermentation

Hip Tastes

Pinot Blogger

All The Best

Julia Flynn Siler

Vinography

Winery Web Site Report

The Pour - Eric Asimov

Dr Vino

Steve Heimoff

Start Up Ladies

Good Wine Under $20

Blind Muscat

The Wineroad Blog

Gabe's View

Wine Peeps

Vici Vino

Cellarmistress' Cellar Talk

Uncork Life

WineVine-Imports Blog

The Wine Witch

SOURMASHED


Honorable Mentions

Fermentation
Wilma Hits The World of Blogs
Most Intriguing New Wine Blogs of 2008
Midwest Wine Guy
Winery of the Month
Julia Flynn Siler
Meritage wines - and a fascinating glimpse into family business
Winery Web Site Report
New Winery Blog: Wilma's Wine World
Start Up Ladies
Insider's View of Family Owned Dry Creek Vineyard
The Glue that Keeps the Whole Thing Going
Atlanta Dish
Blog of the Week
Blind Muscat
The Merits of Meritage
Wineries.net
Boston Wine Expo exhibitors, and the reason why winemakers are so darn happy