Happy New Year...

...from Valencia. 1955 photo by David Douglas Duncan.

Dogs Named Liberty

President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office stroking
Liberty, 1974. Famous photo from the Ford Presidental
Library & Museum.



Skipper Dennis Conner on Rhode Island Sound steering Liberty, 1983.
Famous photo by Daniel Forster.

PC Sign?

Wish I could say the same
about my croc-ked Spanish.

YP

Peter Huston (pronounced liked the Americans say "Houston", as in the city) is often referenced here on the EFB, and is a frequent contributor to the widely-read Scuttlebutt (North America) sailing newsletter.

A bit of a gadfly, but one of the keenest observers of the passing sailing scene, Peter has been a good friend since our USYRU days in the 80s. He is a native of cold, snowy Buffalo where he once again resides, though when we met years ago he was running the sailing program at Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, CA. Thanks to Peter, we once raced together from Newport to Ensenada with America's Most Trusted Man.

When I gave a talk at Portage YC a few weeks back on the America's Cup, "YP" (as in "Young Peter," since he was among the youngest, to say nothing of one of the most outspoken, delegates to USYRU in those days) drove over to Ann Arbor for the night, getting the long distance award. He wrote this nice piece on the talk for a Great Lakes sailing newsletter....


America's Cup News, by Peter Huston: "Don, Thought you might like this report for the newsletter on the BMW Oracle Racing presentation I attended this weekend. Peter

BMW Oracle Racing Yacht Club presentation: This past weekend, I was the guest of Tom Ehman, who is the Chairman of the Executive Committee for the BMW Oracle Racing Team, the Golden Gate YC's entry into the coming America's Cup, at special presentation of the plans for the Cup next spring in Valencia, Spain. Tom spoke at the Portage Yacht Club, located on Portage Lake which is just west of Ann Arbor, MI.

The presentation centered around "What's New for 32" - meaning the improvements in the structure of the event so that is more understandable and interesting for the audience. Most of these changes have been well reported by the general sailing press over the past few years, and particular on the BMW Oracle blog. Simply put, the earlier regattas, called "ACTS", were vastly more accessible to the general public as they traveled throughout Europe. The ACC rule has been tightened up so that the boats are going to be more even in speed, hence the racing will be closer than ever. It is likely that one of the "Big Three" - Emirates Team New Zealand, BMW Oracle, or Luna Rosa will win the Louis Vuitton Cup and hence the right to sail in the America's Cup against the defender Alinghi, but it is also likely that these teams will lose occassional races to the up and coming teams. In any event, the racing will be more interesting than ever.

While some lament the good old days of a simpler time in the Cup, the fact is that the changes in the event, which are model after Formula One auto racing, are just another example of a natural progression and growth in the sport. The America's Cup gives the sport a great deal - a large percentage of technical advancements in the sport start in the America's Cup because this is where the R&D money is available to test new technology. I remember seeing the first 3DL sails in the '92 Cup.

But more than the technology development is the global media attention the Cup gives to the sport. Many people wonder how to "grow the sport" - we need to look no further than the America's Cup, and related events. Tom spoke of his trip last weekend to Malaysia for the Monsoon Cup, which by his estimate (and he's been involved in 8 prior Cups and countless other major championships, including the Olympics) had the largest TV audience ever, with a global TV footprint of 1.6 Billion (yes, Billion) homes, which was accomplished through Sail.tv. Not all homes of course tuned in, but no sailing event has ever had that sort of reach.

The America's Cup validates the sport of sailing as a desirable sponsor opportunity. While I have no real specific information, I think it is safe to assume that BMW is not partnering with Oracle Racing because they hope to eventually sell Larry Ellison an M6. BMW and Allianz know that their significant investments in Oracle Racing pay meaningful global marketing dividends. And one must consider that it is not just the money that is at stake for these companies - their very brand reputation is at stake. They have analyzed every sport, and picked sailing for a primary association.

Now a word about Portage YC in terms similar to our geography. This lake is no bigger than Abino Bay if it were to become a closed circle around its current radius. It is located in farm country much like Silver Lake. It is full of families that have had multiple associations with locally indigenous classes like the Interlake and Flying Scot, with the occasional Sunfish and Laser thrown in for good measure, just as we have Lighting's and now J-22's. Some of the people we race against in Lighting's, like George Fisher, race at Portage YC in Interlakes. The quality and depth of competition is similar. Indeed, Tom Ehman has won the US Sailing Championships of Champions twice.

The level of commitment to bettering the sport is evident when you look around the room during Tom's presentation and see the likes of US Sailing stalwarts Clark Chapin and Past President Bill Martin. Little Portage YC, located on a lake that is probably more a wide spot in the creek than anything else, is the type of place that makes our sport what it is. The sense of family support, long and deep roots, a casual and comfortable graciousness, a common sense approach to major accomplishments - these are the values that the likes of BMW and Allianz have elected to support when they partnered with Oracle Racing. These are the same things that all clubs have to offer to their sailing communities.

There are several excellent websites that report on the America's Cup, but for my five minutes in the morning while drinking my wakeup coffee, the one that I have come to count on for interesting information - and because it is the site of the only US based team is the BMW Oracle blog, which you can access here http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/

One team will claim the Cup around July 1 next summer. But the whole sport is going to be the big winner because of what is 'new for 32'."



650-acre (2.6 sq km) Portage Lake, between Dexter and Pinckney, Michigan, 14 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, home of the Portage Yacht Club.



TFE and YP at Portage YC after my AC talk there Saturday evening 9 December. Self-portrait on the ubiqitous Palm Treo 680. Not a great phone cam, but passable -- even in poor lighting at night.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Quote - Unquote

Courtesy of Peter Huston, who says he's been called worse things:

Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd. -- Edith Sitwell



Speaking of which, how's the ice fishing in Michigan?

More Site Gags

They named it what?
















Actually a store in Kiel, Germany we saw this summer. Photo: Meg.


Signing off....

Reflections

Grandpa Tom sent this nice bit to the EFB as his holiday contribution...

If we could reduce the world's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

60 Asians
12 Europeans
5 US Americans and Canadians
8 Latin Americans
14 Africans

49 would be female
51 would be male

82 would be non-white
18 white

89 heterosexual
11 homosexual

33 would be Christian
67 would be non-Christian

5 would control 32% of the entire world 's wealth and all of them would be U.S. citizens

80 would live in substandard housing

24 would not have any electricity (and of the 76 who do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night)

67 would be unable to read

1 (only one) would have a college education.

50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation

33 would be without access to a safe water supply

1 would have HIV

1 near death
2 would be near birth

7 people would have access to the Internet

If you take a look at the world from this condensed perspective,
the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes evident.

Think of it!

If you woke up this morning with more health than sickness,
you are luckier than the million that will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced a war, a loneliness of an imprisonment, an agony of tortures or a famine, you are happier than 500 million persons in this world.

If you are able to go to church, mosque or synagogue without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are happier than 3 billion persons in this world.

If there is a meal in your refrigerator, if you are dressed and have shoes, if you have a bed and a roof above your head, you are better off than 75% of people in this world.

If your parents are still alive and still married, then you are a rarity.

If you have a bank account, money in your purse, and there is some savings in the bank, you belong to 8% of well-provided people in this world.

If you read this text, you are blessed three times as much because someone has thought of you.

You do not belong to those 2 billion people who cannot read and... you have your computer!

So be grateful and:

+ Work like you don't need money,

+ Love like you've never been hurt,

+ Dance like nobody's watching,

+ Sing like nobody's listening,

+ Be surprised like you were born yesterday,

+ Tell the truth and you don't have to remember anything, and

+ Live like it's Heaven (whatever that is or supposed to be) on Earth.




Generational reflections: Grandpa Tom and Meg on the tractor at Portage Yacht Club a few years back.

Site Gag

Christmas Posse

Last week after the final soccer session of the year, Hayley Braun had her teammates over to bake Christmas cookies -- as if you couldn't tell given the somewhat messy appearances (of this normally pristine group) due to a "flour fight."


From left: Alisee (FRA), Hayley (USA), Anna (ESP), Alex (NZL), Meg (USA), Olivia (NZL), Rosa (FIN) and Emily (AUS) -- an international bake-off if ever there was one.

Happy Boxing Day

For those of you wondering about the origin of today's "Boxing Day" holiday celebrated in the British Commonwealth, check this post on the Challenger Commission site.

Happy Holidays

VLC, 0100 Mon 25 Dec

As expected, and as usual with any holiday here in Spain, the neighborhood fireworks started a few minutes before midnight and are still going off an hour later, albeit now at least only sporadically. Regardless, there is no point yet in trying to sleep. So same as we did this time last year, we'll post a few pics. Can you tell which were taken with the 8 megapixel Canon digital-SLR, and with the VGA (.3 megapixel) Palm Treo 680 phone cam?

This from last night when some of Meg's friends ended up here at the house when the teen nightclub "Guru" was not able to open due to a power outage. That's our BMW ORACLE Racing teammate Grant Davidson (NZL) in back, he having provided the taxi service. Second from the right is, of course, Leslie. That's Grant's daughter, Olivia, on the right who, like Meg, also attends Caxton College.

Obviously, flaired pants (yes, what we all used to call bell-bottoms) are no longer in vogue -- to which we can only say "good riddance" for at least, one hopes, another 30 years.



Yesterday we found a decent live, short-needle pine tree in the local nursery and managed to jam it in the back of the BMW 1-series to get it home. Notice the rather simple means the gentleman is employing to bind the tree for hatch-back transport.



Today the markets were actually open for a few hours, which is most unusual in Spain on a Sunday. Meg and I went to pick up a few things for Leslie and for the stockings (to be later "hung by the chimney with care"). Along with half of Puzol, we ran into our good friends and neighbors Lars Boecking (GER, left), marketing director for the South African team, Shosholoza, and Meg's close friend Hayley Braun (USA) with her mother Kelley. JB Braun (not pictured) is a BMW ORACLE Racing colleague. He is our "aerodynamics coordinator," which means he is in charge of anything above that water (mast and sails, etc.) that could make the boat go fast -- or slow.



Tonight, after a spectacularly good turkey dinner that Leslie had spent much of the weekend preparing, we decorated the tree. It will go in the ground when the holidays are over. The homemade star has been at the top of our trees for more than, yikes, 30 years. And is that what you call a bad hair day or what? Photo by Meg.



The tree tonight in all its modest glory.

Amber couldn't care less about all the fuss with the tree, happy to settle down for a long winter's cat nap complete with a companion added by Meg, who took this photo as well.

Helber Clan

The Ehmans and Helbers go way back. Tom Sr and Paul (patriarch of the clan, front and center in the photo below) played hockey in Ypsilanti back in, what, the early 60s? In the 70s, Paul ran the adult hockey program in Ann Arbor while I was running the youth program, so we worked closely together coordinating ice time, officials, etc. And Paul and I played together on a number of teams in the same period, including the renowned Guenther Builders. All of Paul's and Diane's kids are sportif and most if not all played hockey, and some of their kids were teammates of brothers Paul and Martin. I also coached Paul's oldest son, Eric, on a team or two along the way.

There is a sailing connection as well. Paul and our mutual late friend and fellow hockey player, David Carstens, bought Grandpa Paul Ehman's sailboat back in the early 60s. They first sailed it on Portage Lake one windy, cold early Spring day, capsized, and as I recall thereafter Paul didn't spend a lot more time with that boat or sailing for that matter. David, however, with wife Heidi cruised a fair bit and had an Interlake for a time at PYC, and attended every America's Cup right up to David's passing, including the last one in NZL. Matt Helber and his wife Daisy also passed through NZL during the last Cup and we spent some most enjoyable time together.

We don't often see each other, but manage to keep in touch via email and the odd get together when in Ann Arbor -- and it always brings back fond memories.



Over the years the Helber clan has, well, grown like topsy. And they aren't even Catholic! This nice photo came via email from Paul, courtesy of his son Matt. Our very best wishes to the entire Helber family for the Holidays.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

This we first saw this clip courtesy of our old sailing friend Bob "Buddha" Billingham. As Buddha said, "No way!" See for yourself....


Now that's a proper juggling act if ever there was one.

She Shoots, She Scores!

Well, sometimes. Meg is a striker on her local club football team, and they play twice a week -- often with a boys team of the same age.

A number of her AC and school friends play on the same team, so soccer nights are also a bit of a gathering for the parents as well. The kids are well coached (in Spanish), and have a lot fun.

They go on break now for a couple weeks over the holidays, and then are back at it when school resumes the second week of January.



Meg, middle row, second from the right, between Olivia Davidson (left) and Hayley Braun (right), daughters of BMW ORACLE Racing teammates Grant Davidson and Brenda Opperman (NZL), and JB and Kelley Braun (USA).

Scuttlebutt World HQ

First picture with the new 3 megapixel phone cam (Nokia N80, bought yesterday in Taipei as it is not available yet in the USA and hard to find in Europe), of Tom "The Curmudgeon" Leweck checking his email bright and early at his home in Marina del Rey, California.

To Hell and Back

Those of you in Michigan will especially appreciate this piece by Bill Chapin, whose parents and grandparents are long-time members of Portage Yacht Club where we all grew up. Bill graduated with, I believe, a journalism degree from Northwestern and now writes for the Port Huron (Michigan) Times Herald. This column appeared in September after the PYC Hot-to-Trot Regatta. A tip of the sombrero to Bill's dad, Clark Chapin, for sending us this....


The Name Says it All -- Visiting Port Huron Not Like Going to Hell

Originally published Friday, September 22, 2006

Last weekend, for the first time, I went to Hell.

The small lake where my father has raced sailboats since the 1960s is just five minutes up the road from Hell in Livingston County's Putnam Township. I've been going to the lake my entire life, but I'd never made the trip down -- appropriately enough -- Darwin Road to Hell.

On Saturday, some fellow sailors decided we needed to take the out-of-state visitors to the Dam Site Inn, one of three buildings in Hell. The unincorporated community of about 250 people doesn't have much to offer other than the biker bar, a general store, an ice cream parlor and a canoe livery.

For being in the middle of nowhere, the Dam Site Inn was damn crowded. The pizza was damn spicy and the band played some damn good John Mellencamp tunes.

Hell started out as swampy stop along the trail between Lansing and Dexter. In the 1830s, a New York farmer named George Reeves established a mill and general store along the creek.

According to the community's not-quite-official Web site, www.hell2u.com, the name became official on Oct. 13, 1841. Legend has it a representative from the state asked Reeves the name of his little town, and he replied, "Call it Hell for all I care!"

On my way to the bar, I called my girlfriend in Port Huron to tell her my plans for the evening.

"You have fun doing whatever you're doing tonight," I said.

"And you go to Hell," she said.

See? That gag never gets old -- which is the point. The town has made an industry out of Hell-themed kitsch. People go out of their way to get their taxes postmarked at the general store.

Perhaps this is what Port Huron is lacking. Thousands of people pass our city every day to cross the Blue Water Bridge, but most of them never exit the freeway to buy a T-shirt. "I've been to Port Huron and back" just doesn't have the same zing as Hell's version.

Other towns have changed their names to scare up some tourism. Residents of Hot Springs, N.M., in 1950 voted to change the town's name to Truth or Consequences after the NBC game show. Halfway, Ore., is now Half.com, Ore., having sold its name to an Internet company. There's Monkey's Eyebrow, Ariz.; Spuds, Fla.; Krypton, Ky.; Novelty, Mo.; Happyland, Okla.; and Oatmeal, Texas.

Surely Port Huron can come up with something equally oddball. We can't go halfway (or half.com, for that matter) on this. It's got to be something so bizarre no one could possibly pass by without getting out of the car to get a picture taken next to the "welcome" sign.

Is Bad Axe already taken? It is?

Hmmmm. Well, send me your ideas.

What I'm digging: I'm going to pull a Mitch Albom and write about something that happened after my deadline as if I had actually been there. Heirs' final show on Thursday at Military Street Music Café was amazing. Tears were shed as the band members gave a big thank you to all their fans. Great show, guys.

Contact Bill Chapin at (810) 989-0741 or bchapin@gannett.com.

UM-OSU Live -- at Home in Spain

Indeed, What Hath God Wrought? Tonight am sitting at home in Spain and found that, for a small fee, it is possible to watch the Michigan - Ohio State football game on ABC/ESPN -- live on the internet. Unfortunately, OSU has just gone up 21-7. But now Michigan has come back 21-14. Enough -- no more live blogging.

Shoe Queens

Warm, sunny weather has returned to VLC this weekend with temps in the mid-20s (75F) and hardly a cloud in the sky. The ladies (from left: Hayley, Meg, Meggie and Rebecca) shoot some hoops -- all in Converse sneakers, albeit different colours -- before heading to Bonaire shopping mall, "prolly to buy more shoes, Dad."



Converse Queens: clockwise from lower left, Meggie, Meg, Rebecca and Hayley.

Maui Musings

UPDATE, 2000 Sat 18 Nov -- This email from Yenna just received: "Very nice...thank you for linking to my blog from yours. Yes, Nalu looks like a mini Paul but Roxane has more of the gregarious nature typical of the Ehman family. The "Kaisermantel" is a butterfly. We were hiking in the Black Forest, as we do every year. The kids are very good hikers and with small bribes of Gummi Bären will do amazing distances." And Yenna sent this photo of the twins together....



Adorable twinners: Roxane Gaedeke and Nalu Ehman.


Delighted to hear from Adrienne "Yenna" Gaedeke about the new family blog she is maintaining for herself and the twins Roxane and Nalu (Yenna's and brother Paul's kids) called Haiku Breeze. Here are two photos of the kids (Meg's cousins) lifted from Yenna's nice blog....



Photo entitled, "Nalu mit Kaisermantel." Yenna is German, and a literal translation of "Kaisermantel" is "Emporer's Robe." Not sure if that is some sort of small fish or bug? Mein Got, does he look like Paul or what?



Roxane, who is having quite some success as a cross-country
runner, is also a cover girl.

Bo Schembechler, Football Great of Michigan

We were sorry tonight to hear the news, but somehow it seems appropriate that it happened on the eve of yet another pivotal UM-OSU football game. I barely knew Mr Schembechler, though I did coach his son on a hockey team or two while running the Ann Arbor youth hockey program in the '70's. If memory serves, Mrs. Schembechler has long since passed away. Condolences to the family, and everyone in Ann Arbor -- and Michigan, if not Ohio -- this evening who are saddened by his passing.

Nice obit in the New York Times (with thanks to YP)

Closer to home piece in the Saturday Detroit News

Funnier than Hell

You may recall our post earlier this year about the town of Hell, Michigan (no joke). Well, it appears Austria has a leg up on Michigan when it comes to town names.

Even the headline of the following article is funny -- it should have read Austrians Not Amused. But then, LOL, it was a French story (from the AFP -- French Press Agency) that appeared in a British newspaper about a town in Austria. As usual you can click on the images to enlarge, including the newspaper article.

Musical Skills

Here's a test that for sure Grandma Jan, Lynn Hill (Grandpa Tom's partner), sister Ruth and Meg will enjoy, and others of you who are musically inclined -- or think that you might be:

http://jakemandell.com/2006/test-your-musical-skills-in-6-minutes/



Grandma Jan grooving to Diana Krall on my Palm, in a January '05 photo. She plays the guitar, too, and wrote lots of skits and songs for yacht club and school functions when we were growing up. A good influence on the rest of -- a musical diamond in the rough.



Lynn Hill is a superb piano player who, when not lawyering. plays professionally. Last we knew she was the choirmaster at the Webster United Church of Christ. Tom Sr. reminds us that Lynn is a good organ player as well. Summer 2004 photo from an apres-race jam session at Portage YC.



Speaking of roses on a piano, Meg is an accomplished if sometimes unwilling piano player, shown here at a party at our home in Valencia last Thanksgiving in a duet. These days she would rather play the guitar, and does so skillfully.



Sister Ruth, when not playing with her snakes or keeping things on track in the office at Portage YC, sings in the choir at Webster Church -- and just about any other time someone picks up a guitar. This is a summer 2004 photo at Ruth's farm in Michigan.



They keep a guitar for us at the Lambrusceria Ristorante (a.k.a. "The Docks") here in Valencia for the occasional after-dinner jam session. This phone-cam photo is from a dinner there last week in which our new friend "Tony" -- a very talented street musician from Bulgaria -- joined in on his sax.