Greetings all:

As a wise old sailor once said: “The pessimist curses the wind, the optimist wants to change the wind, the realist adjusts the sails and moves on”.  Pam and I are here in Hawaii being realists.  Perhaps a better explanation is needed …

The start of the Pac Cup for Bequia, our ride back, was filled with a bit of frustration, followed by exhilaration, followed by frustration.  The Pac Cup fleet was greeted by mostly zero wind right outside the Gate.  One of the crew, in exasperation, coined the saying “The fun race to the Farralons” which are about 15 miles out.  Finally, after two-and-a-half long days, the wind filled in and it was Game On for the crew of Bequia.  Reports were coming back about glorious sailing with high boat speeds and a shot at third place overall.  When sailing, problems sometimes aren’t recognized as such right off.  Apparently, the lack of steering ability on Bequia during this time was one such instance.  Innocently enough, I’m told the boat was quite balanced under the current sail plan and moving along nicely until it came time to gybe.  Let me set the scene:  The Gybe is the act of turning the boat with the stern coming through the wind.  A consequence of this is the sails have to be adjusted, in particular the Spinnaker can be a handful when its really blowing, which it was.  The timing between the driver, the foredeck person and the spinnaker trimmer is critical to pulling it off without breaking something or hurting anybody.  Unknown by anyone on the crew was the lack of steering due to a sheared bolt holding a steering cable pulley.  When it came time to gybe, the story goes the spinnaker overpowered the uncontrolled boat and ended up ripping itself to pieces.  I’m sure the deck of Bequia at that moment was definitely not G-rated.  Fortunately, nobody was hurt during all of this and things were cleaned-up and stowed away in time.  The sheared bolt however, was a tougher issue to tackle.  Ultimately, the choice to return was made and Bequia limped home under jury-rigged steering.

For us, we chose to fly out to Hawaii as planned.  Our dear friend Paul has allowed us to enjoy our time on the islands as a vacation rather than just a stop on our journey.

Fair Winds,

Pam & Roger

Hi

I know it’s been awhile, but we have been doing much research and updating of all of our resource pages.

Newest link just in…Water Filters, check it out!

http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/waterfilter.htm

Hello again!

Do you remember reading about the adventures of Pam and Roger and their first Pacific Cup sailing adventure? Well, July 25Th they have the privilege of joining the crew of the Bequia again …here’s what they posted today;

Greetings all:

As many of you know, Pam and I are going to be crew delivering the racing yacht Bequia back from Hawaii after the 2010 Pacific Cup Yacht race.  The race itself has a staggered start beginning July 5.  We should be on the water for the return sometime around July 25.  Since this will be our second time making the return trip, I guess we we can’t use the excuse that we’re newbies when something goes wrong on the boat…  For those unfamiliar with the race, its run every even-numbered year from San Francisco to the island of Oahu.  Thats about 2300 miles straight line.  Anywhere from 50 to 70 boats compete in the race.  The boats range from 24 to over 70 feet in length and are “handicapped” using a complicated formula to theoretically even-out the field.  The event is billed as the “fun race to Hawaii” but don’t think for a minute that the skippers and crews are going to be lax on the sailing.  Its not uncommon for each fleet of 5 to 8 boats to battle each other at the start as if the race is just a short distance around the bouys.

The race organization has a terrific website www.pacificcup.org that you can track each of the boats individually or by fleet with background stories, pics and links to many of the participants’ websites.  The great thing is that a lot of the boats have the ability to send e-mail during the race that can be accessed on the website.  Fortunately, Bequia has e-mail and the race crew will be sending back regular updates (blogs) as the race progresses.  Of course, Pam and I will be keeping a regular blog on the return trip also.

Check the Pacific Cup website for the race crew blog.

Roger & Pam

Hey,

All you cycling fans…next week is the big ride….. The Tour of California comes to town! I will be following (and blogging) about the Tour on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week so stay tuned!

That’s right folks! Spring is here, the water is flowing and many of the rafting outfitters have put out the OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign! My inbox has been filled with many newsletters this week from Rafting Outfitters with this announcement…don’t delay in booking that perfect trip.

We hope you will take advantage of our Adventure Sports Directory to find the perfect Whitewater Rafting trip for you and your family. You can search by State, Trip Length and even by River. Start your adventure today!

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Did you miss it?

We had a BIG Announcement last week at the America Outdoors Association Confluence in Reno. If you missed the show or haven’t heard the buzz here is the skinny:

Marketing Medley and OutdoorMind have formed a strategic partnership making OutdoorMind the biggest and most comprehensive marketing company for the outdoor industry. This partnership will allow OutdoorMind access to all the resources of Marketing Medley to extend services to their large client base. Terri Berbena-U’Ren, co-owner and face of OutdoorMind, is excited at the prospect of teaming up with a large scale marketing firm to strengthen their dominance in the outdoor industry.

Though Marketing Medley continues to provide marketing services to all businesses current and future, they will be creating opportunities through OutdoorMind to help outfitters grow their business. OutdoorMind will focus solely on outdoor industry driven businesses as targeted marketing for the outdoor industry.

We have many exciting announcements coming as the end of the year approaches. The excitement and growth that has been experienced by Marketing Medley is a direct result of their ongoing philosophy that “great businesses aren’t created by themselves, they are made with the collaboration of great minds”.

Maverick Business Adventures Offers Entrepreneurs and CEOs  The Chance to Play Hard, Network Together and Pay It Forward

Celebrity Business Icon Joe Sugarman – Direct Marketing Legend to JoinMaverick Business Adventures Ultimate Baja Experience This January 

POTOMAC, MD, November 19, 2009 – How to steer a steady course over a bumpy road takes on double meaning during a Jan. 26-31, 2010 Maverick Business Adventures® outing where participants will climb into custom-built Baja Challenge race cars for three terrain-chasing days over parts of the famous “Baja 1000” course interspersed with group sessions focused on navigating current business challenges. 

Insights from direct marketing guru Joe Sugarman will augment business building and networking meetings directed to the unique times and opportunities for entrepreneurs during a troubled world economy. 

Maverick’s “Ultimate Baja Experience” includes three days of wild off-road adventure driving starting outside of Loreto, Mexico and ending in Cabo San Lucas with highly seasoned Baja 1000 off-road driving champions. Participants will follow part of the famous Baja 1000 course along mountain roads, ocean-view vistas and untamed trails not accessible to most others. Along the way, time is spent sharing business ideas and case studies bringing personal breakthroughs and new opportunities. 

The trip fee of $12,995 per person includes all accommodations (single occupancy), meals, off-road race vehicle, professional guide, chase support crew, fuel, safety equipment, driver’s orientation and spare parts. 

Celebrity guest and business icon Joe Sugarman has been described as one of the greatest direct marketing legends alive. “He’s a true innovator having been the first to use toll-free numbers to sell electronics and the one credited for introducing the U.S. to cordless phones and calculators,” explains Maverick Business Adventures (MBA) founder Yanik Silver. “He then moved on to sell 20,000,000+ pairs of BluBlocker sunglasses and he’s still going strong.” Sugarman will be with the group for the entire Baja adventure offering one- on-one time and private access to a true marketing pioneer and giant. 

In Cabo the group will close out the adventure with a business session and an optional program for local young entrepreneurs. Members refer to the Young Entrepreneurs session as one of the highlights of their Maverick Business Adventures experience. 

Yanik Silver believes in “paying it forward” to inspire and financially support young entrepreneurs. “It is the creative thinker, the risk taker, the out-of-the-box dreamer, the young entrepreneur who will lead this world into the new economy and renewed age of prosperity,” says Silver. “One of my real passions is helping young people and turning on the lights for them to see a different direction in their life.” 

MBA is the first and thus far the only membership to gather successful, like-minded entrepreneurs and top achievers for adrenalin highs and case study networking. Part of the MBA mission is to also give back and help empower future entrepreneurs. MBA gives money and provides live and virtual educational products and programs for aspiring entrepreneurs sourced in communities where adventure trips are held. Five percent of gross revenues go to self-sustaining charities selected by the members. 

MBA founder Yanik Silver believes that getting outside the office and tackling new challenges provides the right fuel for innovative, breakthrough thinking. A self-described “adventure junkie,” maverick internet entrepreneur and self-made millionaire, Silver has found that his own life-changing experiences such as running with the bulls, bungee jumping and high altitude sky diving have brought a profound sense of accomplishment and led to clarity in ideas and focus. This inspired him to create Maverick Business Adventures® for like-minded entrepreneurs, CEOs and business owners.  

MBA member and manufacturer Mike Lally of PCB Group says that these trips take “work hard / play hard” to a whole new level.   

“What we found here is a group of like-minded individuals. We’re not all in the same business; we’re not doing the same things and that’s part of the beauty of it. But everybody is here to work hard and play hard, so you get a very intense group of men and women. You don’t get to meet someone like that in an evening or over a round of golf,” he says. 

Maverick Business Adventures® is structured to be an exclusive group and membership is by-application-only, limited to forward thinking business men and women with proven abilities and success. Silver stresses that the focus is not on corporate team building or motivational development. Instead, members will be invited to join all-inclusive adventure outings that encourage the type of high-level networking and powerful connections that can only occur outside of normal business settings. For details on the group and how to apply for membership you can go online to www.MaverickBusinessAdventures.com or call 240.744.0165.

Since July is Tour de France month, I thought I’d spotlight a bicycling jersey company. I met the owner Jen Benepe of Hotvelociti Cycling Apparel last year. I loved the fun and colorful designs of her women’s jerseys and was happily given a women’s jersey to try out and review! It was awesome and is now one of my favorite pieces! The fit was great, material soft and comfy and I think I actually rode faster……
Learn More……

Hello to all from cold and cloudy Sacramento!

The weather did not keep the crowds, estimated at 70,000 – 75,000, away for Day 1 of the Tour of California and we were right there along with them. Of course the big news is the return of Lance Armstrong, but there are many others to watch.

We decided to play it safe and arrive several hours ahead of time and were surprised to find parking, a bonus. After a nice warm breakfast, it was back to our ‘secret’ parking space. Since the wind was blowing and the temperature a bit nippy, we read the newspaper from the cab of our S10 pickup!

The course in Sacramento was a 2.4-mile loop around the State Capitol. Many of the riders did some of their warm up practicing the course and we watched Lance and his Astana Team do a few laps.

After scouting the course we found the perfect spot to watch the riders coming off a nice turn and stood there for the duration of the race…about 3 ½ hours…man, you really have to be a fan of this sport!

Today’s stage winner was Fabian Cancellar with a time of 4:32, amazing…

Tomorrow we will be off early to catch a spot on the climb of Pope Valley. Weather calls for a new storm…lots more wind and rain showers. So much for riding in sunny California!

I’ll include a bunch of photos of the ride below J

Signing off for today…will add images as I get an Internet connection along the way!

When the going gets tough, the tough get going—outdoors

Make outdoor adventures work when big-budget vacations won’t  

Champaign, IL—Hard economic times have forced many families to forgo annual vacations. But outdoor enthusiasts Courtenay and Doug Schurman, authors of The Outdoor Athlete (Human Kinetics, 2009), suggest saving a few dollars by staying close to home and taking a family vacation in the great outdoors. They offer six tips for hiking as a family and enjoying nature together:

1.        Set realistic expectations. Consider the age of the child and toss out any expectations that hiking is the same as it was before you had children. The younger the child, the slower the pace will be whenever the child is on foot. Younger children may be more willing to be carried, which could enable your family to cover more distance, Schurman notes.

2.        Choose interesting venues. Select hikes near scenic waterways, along interesting beaches, or in fields of flowers. Children will be more apt to enjoy themselves because of the interesting things to look at. Choose outings where the trail is the enjoyable part, since views or vistas don’t offer as much of a reward to children. Schurman advises including nurse logs, interesting caves, or other natural spectacles because these can be a fun way to introduce nature to children. 

3.        Bring tasty snacks. Kids always look forward to unusual snacks and frequent juice breaks, so be sure to bring lots of treats on the hike. Involve children before the hike by letting them help prepare homemade trail mix or pick healthy treats like teddy bear graham crackers, yogurt pretzels, or cranberry raisins. “Establishing a tradition of a picnic at the end of the destination or a special snack after the hike can make the trip memorable and help kids look forward to the next adventure,” Schurman says.

4.        Be flexible. Be willing to change objectives at any time. If it starts to rain, and rain gear is accessible, turn the trip into a puddle-jumping trip or a worm-hunting trip. If children are more fascinated by flowers or snails, slow down and don’t worry about reaching a final destination. When children get cranky or tired, be willing to take an easier route or go somewhere that was successful in the past. Schurman advises enjoying the event rather than the result. “If you teach your children at a young age that being outside is fun, rewarding, exciting, and desirable, as they get older, if they already have an appreciation for all nature has to offer, they will want to continue to explore.”

5.        Bring a friend. Kids often have more fun with a friend than they would with just parents. Schurman suggests bringing along a playmate for your child. 

6.        Entertain the child. For adults, the hike is the entertainment, but that isn’t always the case for kids. During harder parts of the hike, children may start to lag from fatigue, but having some games to distract them can help turn an otherwise difficult hike into an enjoyable outing. “Try playing I Spy, and have them find the object by name, or play a rhyming game and ask your child to make a rhyme with interesting things you see while walking,” Schurman suggests.   “Hiking is a great way to get some exercise, explore your surroundings, and turn your kids on to the joys of the mountains,  forests, trails, and local waterfalls,” Schurman says.

The Outdoor Athlete offers workouts and programs for 17 activities, including alpine mountaineering, trekking, rock climbing, trail running, snowshoeing, and skiing. The book also includes nutritional considerations for each activity and information on environmental factors affecting participation and training.