Position: 32,34.83S , 47,11.37W Speed: 11 knots, Course: 26 deg. The fleet has had very light wind for the past 48 hours. We have gone through two transitions; one around a disintegrating low pressure cell and last night traversing a high pressure cell that moved across the course from west to east. The team onboard […]

Position: 38,41.73S , 47,12.70W Speed: 11 knots, Course: 27 deg It has been a back and forth battle with all the boats during the past 24 hours. Each has his moment depending on where he is positioned and the shift of the moment. We have improved out position a bit passing ABN2 and moving into […]

Today has been an interesting as well as frustrating day on the Black Pearl. We are sailing parallel to the Argentinean coast in a drag race with our competitors who are all within 50 miles of us. We are reaching with the wind from the north west all heading the same course as we speed […]

Teen Happy Pirates heading north but parked. We round Cape Horn in 33 knots of wind and now just 47 miles east we have 5 knots of wind and a huge sea . Very strange turn of events but I remember parking here 4 years ago with Dalton on AMER Sports. Eventually the wind fills […]

Position: 57,18.43S , 74,29.29W Speed: 25 knots, Course: 83 deg. 247 miles out west of Cape Horn. 9:40 to go at present speed and a bit more wind ahead. We are reaching in with the blast reacher, genoa staysail and one reef in the main. It is dark, no moon, but it will only be […]

Position: 55,51.18S , 112,21.65W Speed: 20 knots, Course: 94 deg. Got past 122W trying not to think about all the good things I miss from my home town area in Marin County, CA. The list of most missed things other than family would be; DeAngelo’s, Woodlands Market, and Kentfield Fitness. I miss my runs with […]

Position: 48,14.86S , 135,49.96W Speed: 20 knots, Course: 88 deg. This one is going to be hard to write. We are slamming pretty violently on a 100 true wind angle reach, even though we are only going about 20 knots. I was pleased with the way we sailed the past 48 hours, our positioning mainly, […]

Position: 52,18.46S , 148,17.81W Speed: 13 knots, Course: 71 deg. Another easy and uneventful day on the Black Pearl. The wind lightened up quite a bit as we have come north to cross the high pressure ridge and deal with what is left of a tropical depression. It is just a big mess up here, […]

We are at one of those rare moments in life where you completely relive the same day. As we crossed the international dateline yesterday near the end of the day, it immediately became the night before…”last night”..if you know what I mean. So today, we are having another crack at February 21 and it has […]

Crossed the International Dateline today. That is a big one. Along with the Equator, it is the most significant line on the Map. It means that we are about half way round the planet and 180 more degrees to go to get back the Greenwich or 0 Degrees of Longitude. It also means that we […]

The Australian arm of Buena Vista International organized a spectacular barbeque for the Pirates and the local team, with a guest appearances from Mark Zoradi, Jeff Foremann, Robert Crockett and Donald Evans.  Peta Ascham, National Marketing Director of BVI, presented Paul with this heartfelt ‘Ode to the Pirates’. Download the Poem Here (Adobe Acrobat required)

With less than three hours until the start of Leg 4, the Pirates are busy with final preparations. Martin is filling in paperwork and taking newest crew member Jeremy (DB) to the dentist, Rikard is on his way to the only pharmacy in town open on a Sunday and Mark is in search of the […]

We had a good run yesterday afternoon. 25-30 knots of wind and hit 34 knots as our top speed. Plenty of fun for the drivers as we surfed big waves off the west coast of the South Island. The Kiwi’s chirping got a little louder at first sight of the big mountains of the South […]

Finally found a bit of a grove here. We seem to have the correct sail up and our speed is good against Ericsson and ABN AMRO TWO, both of whom we can see. It is only blowing 14 knots from 205 and we are all reaching on our big masthead reachers. The other bit of […]

Many of you who receive these updates are sailing enthusiasts who know the structure of this sport well. Since we formed the Pirates of the Caribbean team, we’ve reached out to a new audience who is not quite as familiar with sailing. For their benefit, I’d like to use this update to describe the function […]

Yesterday was the day that showed what it is like to have big, fast, boats racing together on a short course. What an exciting day for spectators and sailors alike. The conditions were excellent; clear skies, 15 knots at the start that built to 20 knots by the finish. There were at least four lead […]

Today, by video conference form Melbourne, I participated in a Press Conference held at The Press Club in Washington DC with an audience of about 200 people, 100 of which were journalists. It was moderated by Gary Jobson who has done all the sailing coverage over the years for ESPN. On the panel here in […]

Position: 39,22.95S , 140,45.40E Speed: 9 knots, Course: 24 deg. 230 miles to go…seems like this leg has taken forever. We have nice sailing tonight, 12 knots of wind from the southwest so we are running toward Melbourne. The seas are smooth and fully in line with the wind so these are good conditions for […]

It has been a tough night out here on the Great Australian Bight. Thunder, lightening and constant rain have been on the menu. Complete volatility of the wind has made planning a route difficult at best. The big issue is that our keel is getting worse. The keel is wobbling in its bearings and more […]