I used a Helley Hansen vest (buoyancy aid) sailing a couple of weeks ago and it worked on a couple of levels. For one, it was cold and the vest was more helpful in keeping me from freezing than an auto-inflate style that drapes around your neck. And second it looked better.

There is an aspect of sailing that has a certain style to it. Some (many) sailors have refined a look that within the small circle who might appreciate it, seems cool. Honestly, I never really paid attention until the Russian Boat Leasing guy last year (who looked cool) mentioned, casually, that not only do you want to exit the marina without hitting anyone or anything, but you want to look good doing it. Hmmm.

And now that he mentioned it, I see that some serious thought goes into ones’ “look” so to speak. And there is a wide range and certainly a country-by-country variation of what that aesthetic is, but it’s definitely there. Sure some guys toss on shorts and sandals, but I’m not talking about them. No, I’m talking about the guys who are dropping $400 bucks for Dubarry boots. Boat boots.

In any case, the Helley Hansen worked for me. It’s not an off-shore vest, and I’m sure one could easily regret purchasing a black vest if one were say over-board…at night…without a light. But during the day, while on the boat, the vest looks sharp. Problem is they don’t sell it in the USA. Not even on the eagerly anticipated Helley Hansen sale on Gilt Groupe that went off back in March. I mean that was a long shot anyway, Gilt is more of a cuff links and Euro shirt kind of proposition for the most part.

But I found something similar at Rob Perry Marine in the UK and with a few Skype calls (thanks to Andy at Rob Perry) we managed to find/deliver what a simple trip to West Marine here in the States should have in stock, but don’t.

Wouldn’t recommend form over function in most critical gear, but I trust the Brits, so even if the US Coast Guard have not (yet) approved the vest (buoyancy aid) I’m confident that it floats both on its own and with me in it. Just look forward to not ever testing the latter. And chalk up another successful search in the name of the great outdoors, you can never have too much gear…

Been trying to get out on the water for weeks and finally made it. The Ker IRC 11.5 is fast and light. And the experienced crew was amazing to practice with. Will try and get a better picture now that I see how few are on the Net — had hands more than full trying to accomplish whatever I was supposed to do on the bow so my picture-taking was a little challenged.

Mostly just good to be on the water. Compared to all else wind and water seem a whole lot more permanent and for me, a connection to the planet. While work is always both a challenge and reward, but the water is a giant reset — not that one think is more rewarding than the other, kinda ying/yang, both are necessary in their own way and take diligence, require skill with no shortage of lessons to be learned. Just that I can really feel the wind and the water…

I’ve had some pretty not so great bags over the course of a variety of years. And some good ones. Lately I’ve been looking to find a one that could do double duty; work + outdoor would be ideal but is a long shot.

For work, generally, I use a Filson, which is canvas and leather, doesn’t look like a backpack (a plus) and works fine. One of my best purchases was made a decade ago; a Mandarina Duck bag I scored while in Italy. From what I could tell they don’t make it anymore — it’s a black duffel that has hidden shoulder straps if you want to carry it on your back. I think I used those once in ten years (shoulder strap is fine).  I have this thing about luggage-on-wheels. I understand that it’s practical, but I can’t pull the string. I dunno, if it’s too heavy to carry then unload it and try again. Seems a little geriatric.

It’s about time to retire the Duck, but not critical. Sailing is. So I’ve tried a couple bags sailing. And by sailing lets say day-sails, racing, or even long weekends — nothing major. Ideally, this new bag would work as a day-pack as well. For overnight outdoors I have an old (decade) Marmot Shooting Star (3500 Cubic inches), another bag no longer in production.

I’ve looked at the usual bag suspects and have included a bunch of links. But I saw only few good choices for sailing. Most “sailing” bags are 100% waterproof which is kinda important, but most of the time your bag won’t get wet. I think waterproof bags/sacks inside a water resistant bag is fine, so I went with it. For interior waterproof bags I use Pacific Outdoor drybags with an airvent (pneumo) that allows you to compress the air out of the bag easier than a regular roll-top. They’re great.

So after looking at:

Motorcycle pack: Ergon

Sailing Packs/Bags: Harken

Kayak/Messenger: Sealline (which I like)

Patagonia Duffle (too expensive)

Trendy Master Piece Fade Black (ehh…too expensive a little too big)

Another Motorcycle Pack: Kriega

and even classic Fjallraven – not practical for sailing

and even more not worth mentioning, I went with Ortovox, (pictured above) why?

Made for skiing, its pretty water resistant (has not arrived yet so this is a guess). So will work for skiing, fine for outdoors, should be fine for boating, and maybe even for trips (like vacation if I can squeeze one in). In any case will update as I get insight and am, you know, looking…

Squeezed in an all-day Match Racing clinic out at Oak Cliff Sailing Center on Saturday (in a driving rain storm). Great info. The clinic was led by legendary sailor Dave Perry (Dave is actually seated in front of the computer in this picture and in videos below, NOT standing with red jacket).

There are so many references to him and his accomplishments on the Web, I didn’t know where to link to. It’s humbling to sit in the audience, and later this year looking forward to getting some of his insight when we’re out on the water. Oak Cliff’s Exec Director, the super accomplished Dawn Riley , took over after to talk about the upcoming season and sounds pretty exciting. Dawn Riley on Twitter here.

If you’re curious what one might learn in a Match Racing clinic here is a small clip — Dave turned to the presentation over to a couple of the umpires in the audience. During the race two boats follow the race looking for penalty’s and the call the race out loud on the boat to keep track of what’s going on in front of them:

Oak Cliff – One from John Pasmore on Vimeo.

Oak Cliff – Two from John Pasmore on Vimeo.

The clips just give a sense of the day and apologize for their lack of substance, but you know, you gotta sign-up for the clinic! Takeaways were read the rules and know the rules because your tactics are dictated by the rules as much as the wind.

I had passed TAD Gear several times on the Internet. Its dense pages, black background and camo-inspired introduction kinda leaned a little too heavy towards the military for me. But I had the chance to stop by the store while in San Francisco and I’ve got a whole new perspective.

But backing up a bit, even military-like gear is cause for pause. In Panama, I got dropped off in the San Blas Islands, on Por Venir which about the size of three square city blocks. But since it had an airstrip it also had 6 heavily armed and extremely bored/surly/dangerous looking Panamanian soldiers. And while Panama is “friendly” they didn’t exude much sense of welcome.

I needed to spend the night on Por Venir as I had missed the days flight and I needed to get my passport stamped.  I began to understood why sailors tend to not recommend wearing camouflage anything.  If I was mistaken for military I think my already tense/suspicious interaction would likely have ramped up one very uncomfortable notch. Miles from a paved road and sharing a strip of land with a few of the native Kuna I think my side of any story would have sorely lacked corroboration. Long story less so,  “military” gear is not always the best international travel apparel.

That said, TAD is much, much interesting in person than on the Internet. The staff was great and seeing the gear in person made me understand just how well made it really is. It’s top notch. Some of the best I’ve seen. Much of unique, most designed right there and manufactured in the USA. The apparel and the packs would rate as some of the best you could buy.

I paid for some pants (without the cargo pockets) and I will def keep an eye on the site. It’s worth stopping through if you’re in San Francisco. It’s on the industrial side of the Mission District, and parking was/is challenging (understatement).

T.A.D Gear

660 22nd Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

(415)318-8252

A North U (university) sailing seminar looks something like this picture. Less than riveting. Looks aside the time spent was solid. It’s hard to learn sailing in a classroom or by reading a book.

But it’s is part of what you need if you want to push sailing skills forward. There are some basic parts of sailing that are best introduced in a class and then repeated again (and again) on the water. Instructor, Bill Gladstone was great and while sharing theory preached to simply “sail fast.” Sounds obvious, but that simple statement is what racing trim is all about.

Why do you want a “twist” in the mainsail? Because you go faster. And we could spend hours discussing the aerodynamics involved, but we stopped with fast. The best resources I found getting me started in sailing was taking an ASA course, “Introduction to Keelboat Sailing” while on vacation in Miami. If I were to do it over again I would opt for the same course given by US Sailing, but the learnings are the same.

And there are no shortage of boat owners (Captains) who need crew. It’s a challenge to round up three or four people every time you want to take your boat out, so it’s an opportunity to learn. There is a unique zen-like connection to the elements when sailing that I haven’t felt in any other sport (err…maybe kayaking, maybe even scuba diving, and xc skiing but different zen). Zen or adrenaline, looking forward to warm weather…being back on water if/when schedule works with the wind…humbling being around these coaches and teachers though, so much to learn, so much to know…

Escaped to Hunter Mountain in upstate New York for a quick ski lesson. I need all the help I can get so a quick day trip to follow-up on whatever was learned the last time I skied. The drive from New York City was a solid two hours and more with traffic (got Zip Car back late thx to traffic).

Am always trying to find some time to get outside and this week managed to pull this off. I had a great instructor who I would recommend, George Schneider, who didn’t waste any time taking me to the top of the hill (though a short one).

It would be great to have two weeks of skiing, but I’m not really seeing a ski vacation on the horizon — am much more beach/sail focused. I will work on practicing though and looking to try Mountain Creek in New Jersey. It’s closer and the hill (mountain) doesn’t make that much of a difference — at my skill level snow is snow.

The trip to Hunter Mountain (800-486-8376) was mostly via I-87 and there were no shortage of State Troopers writing tickets. I think my GPS (iPhone running CoPilot – poorly) clocked in around 120 miles door-to-door. Did the whole thing as a day trip but the town looks like a good option for a mini-vacation with antique stores, small B&B’s, bars and restaurants. Maybe not now, or for me, but for anyone who wants to get out of the City and explore upstate, Hunter is a good option and is past New Paltz (someone should build them a website) in the Catskills and not far from Woodstock. And you can learn to ski.

(Taking Pictures from Ski Lift: advice caution when trying to take pictures from Ski Lift — as above — number one you’re holding ski poles (2), and you’re fairly high off the ground, and then you’re moving. So in addition to maintaining control of the ski poles you need to remove and hopefully not drop gloves, and then don’t drop iPhone or camera while taking picture pretty much one-handed (if attempting solo) — and with iPhone you’re only guessing as to what you’re taking a picture of as in the extreme bright light is difficult, at best, to see the screen – same issue in sailing, but without the risk of dropping gear or yourself from height. Obviously, you need to do all the above and then be prepared to ski off the lift when it arrives at top of hill/mountain. But skiing is all about risk taking anyway…or managing risk. Stay safe…)

Gear: Have all I need and rented ski’s, boots, poles AND helmet. Patagonia gloves were not up to keeping fingers from freezing after a couple of hours, but other than that all good.

I’m a bit of a gear junkie so finding a new outdoor store in NYC was a Sunday highlight. The Fjällräven store was a little tricky to find. It’s downstairs and doesn’t yet have a sign. This Swedish classic is located 262 Mott Street between Prince and Houston, but again the important part is that it’s downstairs.

The brand isn’t big on modern fabrics like Gore-tex, though they have a breathable textile they use. Most of their garments can be waxed to get a waterproof or water-resistant finish and they’ve been rocking some of the designs for decades. Hipster outlets like Steven Alan (which I like) have pieces from the collection, in the same way you’d find pieces of throwback brands like Filson at hipster shops across the City.

I’m always looking for gear that can achieve some sort of multi-sport utility. I really don’t understand why the waterproof “foul weather” gear for sailing doesn’t really work for hiking or cross-country skiing. Or boots for boats can’t be boots for fly-fishing. They can actually. I use Chota boots for both sailing (knee high) and for scuba (ankle-high), though they’re built for fly-fishing. In any case, Fjällräven has some great stuff (though not inexpensive). Love the pants that are trail ready but won’t get you tossed from some bar on the LES. Much of the line can be used cross-sport as it was created at a time when a coat was a coat. That’s good enough for me and they’re built to last a lifetime.

Another weekend and another warrior get-away: Lake Minnewaska (again). Didn’t have to go too far — Minnewaska is about two hours north of NYC, and at least there was snow.  Rock and Snow on Main Street in New Paltz provided the skis, boots and poles for I think $17, and you can pick up virtually anything you need there for this trip or any trip really.

The 17 degree weather added a little wrinkle, but as expected it was warm as long as we were moving. Or warm-like. But this was the first time this year we’d got out cross-country skiing so we really weren’t moving very fast.

And if we weren’t moving slow enough, I broke my pole sitting down for lunch — or slipping down for lunch. Wow, we were just maybe mile and 1/2 from trail head and was a little tricky getting back (for me) but manageable. Really we were headed from Minnewaska over to Lake Awosting via a loop (about 8 miles) — took Castle Point Carriageway there with the idea of coming back via the Upper Awosting Carriageway.

But one of the three of us bailed and headed back for the less steep trail off the parking area (without the cliffs). And there was a brief time while all three of us were separated, which is not a big issue on a sunny day on groomed trails, but generally want to avoid that. And the one of us ended up at the car without the key. Given the temperature in the teens, it basically meant that we would push forward just a bit and the bail ourselves sooner or later.

Well the broken pole nixed the later option and sometimes you gotta take what mother nature gives you; in this case a gentle push backwards. Which is what we did. This means another trip to the Lake to finish the started mini-trek.

On the gear front (other than the pole) all worked out pretty well. I went with Marmot insulated pants and shell/jacket. As a side note, I don’t think most Gore-Tex should be considered water “proof” maybe water “resistant” up to some point.

A little insulation here and there — polypro base later, wool undershirt from Patagonia, wool sweater from Woolrich, and the Marmot shell. Was fine. Hat + balaclava and couple pairs of gloves and was within the realm of warm-ish.

Looking forward to getting back.

Got out for a post-Christmas excursion with brother-in-law. And, of course, testing some gear for some eventual bigger trip (Greenland). All good. Great gear store there in New Paltz, Rock and Snow, def worth stopping through. Did the short loop around the lake — a little snow — was hoping for some x-cross country skiing but rain wiped that option off the map. For now. Rock and Snow rents ski’s — so just waiting for the snow.

iTopoMaps was ready if needed (wasn’t needed) downloaded Quad night before. Otter Defender Case also seemed fine in 30 degree weather, though having to take gloves off to motivate the iPhone will become a pain point in anything much colder.