World Wide Sailing

Italy: Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Calabria, Rome, Tuscany,

Italy is one of the most popular vacation countries in Europe. Italy is an international playground, with visitors from all continents mingling with vacationing Italians at the famous resorts. Five different sailing areas : Sardinia, Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Sicily.

Croatia: Split, Dubrovnik, Biograd, Pula, Zadar,

The coastline of Croatia is perfect for sailing holidays. With so many islands and small ports, you can stop as many times as you like or sail for as long as you wish. Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve always wanted to learn to sail. You are almost ready to sign up for that sailing school but your fears keep holding you back. Well, no more excuses.

Maybe you don’t know how to swim. Lots of sailors can’t swim. The chances of you going in the water are small because only the small dinghies have much risk of tipping over. As long as you are not sailing alone and the boat is decent size, there is little chance of going overboard. Plus you will have a life jacket and the you will make sure your crew is practiced in crew-recovery procedures. Not knowing how to swim is no excuse!

What about seasickness? This is real but it is not a valid excuse. Lots of sailors have it and deal with it. There is medication available to ease it but another way to deal with it is activity. Busy yourself with sailing the boat. If you are not sailing at the moment, find some other activity. The key is to keep your mind occupied and the seasickness will not have a chance to take hold.

Think sailing> is only for the young and strong? Think again. Whether you are 75 years old, 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, blind or in a wheelchair – you can learn to sail. Modern sailing vessels and equipment are available that enable just about anyone to sail with ease and excel at it too. Read the rest of this entry »

While state budget dilemmas are daunting, area legislators are optimistic that upcoming budget talks will be more inclusive than the notorious stalemate negotiations for which former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was known.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn already showed signs of reaching out Wednesday when he hosted a discussion with Senate Republicans, including Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry.

She said topics ranged from Quinn’s skepticism of the use of a gas tax to balance the predicted $9 billion budget hole to re-opening state parks.

“I’m not expecting stalemates [this year],” Althoff said. “What I’m expecting is a bunch of people sitting around a table and really making hard decisions.”

“Are we going to agree on everything? No. … but we’ll be part of the process where we weren’t before,” Althoff said.

The talks are a lead up to the Quinn’s budget address March 18.

Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, said he was optimistic that Quinn would be easier to work with than Blagojevich, but wouldn’t know where he stood on the budget until after the address.

“If it’s riddled with tax increases, it’s not going to get much support from suburban legislators like myself,” Tryon said. “I will tell you [Quinn’s] a breath of fresh air.” Read the rest of this entry »

A Caribbean travel vacation cruise has much to offer to sophisticated travelers who recognize the great value in traveling to the islands. If you want a vacation that is rich with culture galore, quaint architecture, seas to explore, fantastic swimming and snorkeling, then the Caribbean has it and more.

Here, you will find some great Caribbean vacation travel cruise offers that are guaranteed to give you the best value in cruise traveling.

A Seven-Night Dream

Dreams become reality when you find yourself floating through warm, welcoming waters of the Caribbean on one of several Caribbean vacation travel cruise ships. Enjoy the sun, sand, and surf of a picture-perfect island during brief land excursions in any one of your ports of call and spend the day indulging in duty-free shopping, diving in clear blue waters, or exploring Mayan ruins.

With the coming of the cold months, the Royal Caribbean, one of the leading cruise lines on the islands, is offering many fantastic Caribbean vacation travel cruise offers to its visitors who opt to book early. One of these is the seven-night dream Caribbean vacation travel beginning at $478 per person, the cruise and featuring fabulous inside cabins where you can get excellent views of the dazzling ocean. Read the rest of this entry »

Langebaan is situated 120 km north of Cape Town, just off the R27. It was founded in 1922 and used as a whaling station until the 1960′s. The white Caribbean like beaches surrounding the crystal clear waters of the Langebaan Lagoon are one of the main attractions of Langebaan. The town has turned into a mecca for water sports enthusiasts. Langebaan offers numerous excellent holiday facilities for the water sport enthusiasts who favour a weekend visit or holiday in Langebaan to enjoy the host of water sport and fishing opportunities this vibrant holiday resort town offers. With it’s protected lagoon it’s the perfect place for sailing, kayaking and kitesurfing.

Flora and Fauna

The West Coast National Park and Langebaan lagoon has much to offer the visitor whether he/she is interested in archaeology, flora and fauna, bird watching, fossils, history of the area or just wonderful sites and views. Many visitors describe the display of wild flowers in the Park as breathtaking. Areas of the Park are blanketed with flowers of many different shades and hues. The wild flower display can be seen anytime between July and October and the best time is very much dependent upon the weather. The time of year when the flowers are usually at their best is during the months of August and September. It is interesting to note that the colour patterns change from week to week as flowers fade and other varieties come into bloom. Read the rest of this entry »

Cracks or chips in a fiberglass boat hull can be very expensive to have professionally repaired. Depending on the damage to the boat, and the owner’s personal fortitude, a do-it-yourselfer can produce professional results without the professional price.

The filler product being used is key to a successful repair. It is important to select a filler that is extremely strong and fast-working. The filler must be flexible. It must not absorb moisture, and it must not shrink. For the do-it-yourselfer, it is best to also choose a filler that does not clog the sandpaper and one that does not require additional polyester coatings.

Once the proper filler has been selected, the next steps are proper preparation and application. Although each filler brand will have specific preparation/application procedures, this article covers the general aspects thereof. Read the rest of this entry »

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, sailing is a great sport and past time. All you need is some water and you are set to enjoy a part of maritime history. Sailboats come in all shapes and sizes to appeal to almost anyone nowadays. Recreational sailboats vary the most in size and shape. There is everything from a 5 foot wooden Pram to huge yachts that span over 100 feet in length. Smaller boats are designed for more economical reasons. The small price tag and the agile steering make them great for learning on. Bumping and obstacle will do minimal damage to small boats because the are so light. They are also more appropriate for small lakes and rivers.

When boats exceed about 20 feet, they begin to take the shape of the typical single hull sailboat. There is the rudder wheel located near the stern and a cabin that starts halfway and up towards the bow. The deck is where you access all the ropes and winches to control the sails. Most every boat has an alternate form of power in the form of an engine with a propeller. Wind power is not good for every situation and it is not always plentiful. Racing sailboats also vary in size and shape, but the biggest sailboat race in the world sets the standard for the type of boat. Read the rest of this entry »

There is plenty of advice available on how to buy a sailboat. Unfortunately, much of it is written by those in the sailboat building or sailboat selling business – in other words, someone with a vested interest in steering you one way or another. If you have read those
articles, you will quickly realize that this article is different. The suggestions contained in this article (and subsequent ones) are written from the perspective of a sailboat buyer and are the collective wisdom of someone who has purchased 8-10 sailboats and discussed sailboat purchases with dozens of other sailboat owners. The lessons learned apply to both new and used sailboat purchases. I hope you will learn from all our mistakes!!

There is a multi-step process that involves answering a series of questions. Successfully answering those questions will lead you to choose exactly the best boat for you. In the course of this series, I will discuss all those questions and cover the whole process. This
article covers only the first step in the process because in my view, the first step is by far the most important.

The first – and again, most important step – is to answer the question “How will I use this sailboat?” When I say this, I don’t mean a general answer like “to race” or “daysail” or “to cruise.” If you can only answer the question to this level of detail, you have a very high
probability of making a very large (and probably very expensive) mistake – buying the wrong boat. When I say “How will I use this sailboat?,” I mean in extensive detail. Here are some examples of questions you should be able to answer immediately and without any thought BEFORE you consider buying a sailboat:

* If you intend to cruise, how long will your cruises be? Weekend? Week long? Month long? Extended?
* What waters will you sail? Lake? River? Bay? Ocean? Salt? Fresh?
* How many people will be with you and how often will you be aboard?
* How far away will help be?
* How many spare parts and tools will you need to carry? Read the rest of this entry »

QINGDAO, Shandong : China will be hosting its first ever Olympics in Beijing and six other cities in August.

SEATTLE — Turns out the best race was the one to the starting line.