Blog

Another amazing day at the 34th America’s cup today! That was day 14, races number 17 and 18 if you were counting. The improbable comeback of Oracle Team USA from a 7 point deficit to tie Team New Zealand 8 all, happened today. The kiwis have been on match point since last Wednesday, Sept 18 but are now risking of losing the cup. Only twice before in the history of the cup that they had a winner take-all final. Race 17 was won by Jimmy Spithill at the start by getting under Team New Zealand boat and forcing a bear away. Dean Barker did...

Still alive! The improbable comeback is strong and well here in San Francisco. Today Oracle won Race 16 by 33 seconds in very light wind condition. That’s the 5th straight win for Jimmy Spithill and his crew. Oracle’s boat is now faster in all wind conditions than the kiwis’ boat. The momentum has completely shifted away and Oracle can defend the cup. Further more if Oracle wins tomorrow (in stronger wind conditions), it will have won more races than the Kiwis and won nine races, opening the door for litigation about the 2...

The 34th America’s cup is now the longest America’s cup ever! And we may witnessing the biggest comeback in the sport of sailing. Day 12 was a big day for Oracle Team USA with two wins in the same day and now 4 wins in a row. The first race was held in light wind where team New Zealand’s boat excels .Jimmy Spithill and its crew did a great start and were able to contain the kiwis. The second race had more wind and another great start by team USA (almost pushing the other boat out-of-bounds). This race was easier for Oracle...

Today every reporter and photographer I talked to, had the obituary of Team USA written and ready to be submitted by the end of Race 12. Guess what, Jimmy Spithill and its crew are not going to let the Kiwis get the cup so easily. In the 9th day of the America’s cup, they show great strength both at the start and on the racetrack by foiling upwind at 30-32 knots and posting an average speed for the race just under 30 knots. Race 13 were again postponed due to high winds. Oracle has offered to raise the high wind limit, but it’s...

Yesterday we had the excitement of a near capsize (FYI it was a 44.8 degree pitch). My guess is anything above 45 and they would have lost the boat. Today was two really close races. In the first race team USA did a great job blocking team New Zealand and did a perfect race increasing their lead on each leg, crossing the finish line with a 46 second lead. Some spectator don’t understand that those boats are really fast and don’t turn on a dime… Guess who had a discussion with the Coast Guard. On the second race of the day, it was...

What a race !! The score was 6 points for Team New Zealand and -1 for Team USA. Team New Zealand was expected to win the two races. Team USA was fast but significantly slower on the up wing leg. Each time Team New Zealand was able to close the gap, pass and then increase its lead on the up wind leg against Team USA. Today was different in many aspects. First the wind was at the upper limit (more on that later) which seems to favor Team USA. Second Team USA said they made modifications to their boat to make it more competitive in the up wind...

Today was the first day of the America’s cup between Team USA and Team New Zealand. Everyone was anxious to see how fast against Team New Zealand’s boat Oracle’s boat would be. We guessed that the boats were close in speed and close they are… The first race was close and saw a change of leader happen twice (unseen until today in any previous races with the AC72s). The kiwis made no mistakes, sailing a very good race. The second race was also close but not as close as the first one. That’s two wins for the kiwis....

“So we’re going to burning man?” was my wife question when I bought two tickets in May. I was sure I wanted to go, why is not to like at Burning Man? Great art display, cool vehicles, half-naked people and of course a gigantic bonfire at the end! It’s in a middle of the Nevada desert at the end of August. There is no hotel, facilities, cell phone coverage and not even water, how hard can it be? First, Burning Man is expensive! Tickets are $380 and give you the entrance right and access to  portable toilets. Now...

Today, Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton cup 7 win to 1 against Luna Rossa challenge. For the very beginning Team New Zealand was the favorite but today they have proven, they are the team to beat and Oracle Team USA (the defender) should be worried. Those kiwis are fast, really...

We spent a very short weekend in Portland last month (already, time flies). It was supposed to be a break from this crazy year of photography. I took and kept more images in the first 6 months of 2013 than I did in all 2012 (my highest photo count on record). So the trip to Portland was just to enjoy the city. The short answer is I fell in love with Portland! It’s a city where you don’t need a car (amazing in the US), public transportation is top notch, bike paths and bikes are everywhere. Did you know that 8% of portlanders...