Quickmarch

Thanks Alan, Fortunately, we're not here with the boat. We used a 767 owned by Maple Flot to get here and we'll be at Gatwick on Wednesday morning for a short stay (weather permitting). Cheers, March

I recall rounding the point at Concepcion in late 2007. As the sun came up it was blood red and huge. The water looked like it was covered in oil. This turned out to be ash. We spent two weeks in Santa Barbara at the marina and it was horrible to see the damage done to the boats by the ash. As I recall, the Santa Anna Winds (correct me if I've got the local name wrong - it's been a while) are onshore during the daytime, generated by the warm desert areas inland sucking the cold(er) air from the ocean. This was feeding the fires. At night, the wind direction reverses as the desert cools, this p

Probably won't hold a candle to a big Florida blow, but we're bracing for Ophelia to hit these shores Monday afternoon. Wouldn't you know it! Predicted to be the worst ever in Ireland and the first since 1961 (or thereabouts). Taking JA's advice and hunkering down in a concrete hotel out by EIDW (DUB). Cheers, March

I'll likely (hopefully) miss them. I'm off to Kinsale via Dublin tomorrow afternoon (here). Arriving Wednesday

My wife's parents had a condo on Marco island, right down on the point beside the old Tracking Station. Wilma gave the area. a severe thrashing and I got tasked with the job of going down there to supervise the cleanup. It was really interesting to see the ground damage, trees, etc, as the hurricane did a direct hit on Marco with the eye passing right over the island. There were trees down with their tops facing North and then another lot down with their tops facing South. The counterclockwise winds in the leading edge blew down a bunch, then the clockwise winds in the trailing quadrant knocke

That's good news, John. Significant reduction in wind strength.

Sorry to hear that, John, that puts you smack in the path of what sailors call "the most dangerous quadrant". The North East corner of a Northern Hemisphere hurricane. Keep your powder dry

Our thoughts with you, JA.

A note to "Idiot Media": (don't remember where I saw this, but it stayed with me, slightly altered to suit this subject) The difference between pounds and kilograms is the difference between me having a sip of wine and and 30 seconds with your daughter and me having a bottle of scotch and an evening with her

Now, that's a bomb. Hey Coff, looks like they had taggers back then, too.

There's probably a Youtube video

Looks like they may have got it adjusted, weight-wise. Local newscast reported 1400 lb bomb. Might be a bit of a sphincter-tightening process to dig that baby up with a backhoe.

Tried to upload a pic, but as usual, I'm unmanned by the plethora of choices. Give it another go- If you're seriously into wrenching, this is a good route to go. I've been advised to stay away from the newer BMW's. If not, try the Yamaha Super Tenere. Good old Japanese motorcycle reliability

Nice looking ride, Coff Interesting that my ride on this side of the pond is also a 1990 machine. It's an R100GS. I get some spare time tomorrow morning, I'll edit this with a pic. Here's the pic: (well, that didn't work) BTW those 747's on the roof. They're a kiddie theme park. One of them has water slides coming out all the exit doors. No, I didn't get invited to try.

Great trip, Coff, Some eclipse content: Watched the eclipse, sitting on a fold-up camp chair on the sidewalk in front of my condo (Victoria, BC). We got approx. 90% here, so was well worth it, but not as good as the 100% you experienced. Some sailing content: watched the last one (was it 2009 or '10) from the deck of my boat in Morea, French Polynesia. Some motorcycle content: heading over to Europe, Ireland, France, Spain in a bit. I have a Super Tenere stored in Ireland. Hoping to visit with BritFrog in Perpignon, France. Finally, some aviation content: McMinnville is jus

The Kiwis re-built that one. I was at a party South of Auckland, 2011 or 2012, where the process was being talked about and I met the guy who was the wood importer. Pretty fascinating story. The group made many references to having a set of plans to work from. That newspaper article is referencing a new find. By no means the only drawings in existence. Also, see: http://www.vicair.net/mosquito.html. One that was rebuilt at CYYJ just up the street from my condo. New Zealand is a fabulous place to be if you're interested in warbirds. There's Mastereton, see this site for

Reprinted from a post sent to me by a sailing friend: "Sailors Beware" (@Loic - that's you, me and Capt'n Coffee) Sometimes things don’t go according to plan – and then you have a choice. Either you mope around and feel sorry for yourself, or you laugh about the situation and keep looking forward. When Norwegian CJ had an embarrassing incident in the shower with his newly bought IKEA stool, he decided to do the latter – and shared his experience in a humorous Facebook post. What he didn’t know was that the story would become an internet sensation. What happened was t

May the Force be with you

Nah! That's the Don Valley Parkway - Toronto Canada - popularly referred to as the Don Valley Parking Lot. Cheers, March

Yikes! Most decent-sized commercial jets' tails reach up into the fifties and sixties. The 747 is over 65' from the ground to the top of the tail. 20' of clearance is unbelievable. Somebody in that cockpit needs to make a career change.

When I turned 21 there was no change in my eyesight... I am still waiting and wondering; when do I get my adult supervision?

Newport, during the skinny-boat era, was Utopia for sailors. Wonderful town!

Thanks JA. However, I cannot be credited with that wisdom. It was taught to me by a WWII navigator from the RAAF on a trip (by sea) from St.John (lovely name, don't you think?) in the Virgin Islands to Newport R.I., via Bermuda. This was way before the days of public access GPS. It was Bermuda we were aiming for. That's a much bigger island than Amelia was looking for. In any case, we (rather, "he") found it.

WE ALL DO GET OLD IN THE END.... I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now. Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers. You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone? That's common sense leaving your body. I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row. I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning. Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a chil