Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

I was sailing on the San Francisco Bay few weeks ago and I got these pictures from the water. I thought you might appreciate them.

Nice

Might be going back there next year (after nearly 20 years) ....

Way too long of an absence from San Francisco.!

If you are there in May-June or October-November 2010, you can come sailing with me on the Bay.!

If you need any information for the whole Bay Area, California, or the South-western states, I'm your man.!

[Oracle]

I was sailing on the San Francisco Bay few weeks ago and I got these pictures from the water. I thought you might appreciate them.

Nice

Might be going back there next year (after nearly 20 years) ....

Way too long of an absence from San Francisco.!

If you are there in May-June or October-November 2010, you can come sailing with me on the Bay.!

If you need any information for the whole Bay Area, California, or the South-western states, I'm your man.!

Thanks ... But, that's a shame because it will be during school Hols ... April or July-August. I'm qualified to Skipper ... so I'll seek you out some time ... and tidy up your ropes.

I love the coastline from San Francisco to Monterrey as well as all the Yosemite area; so it's time to initiate the next generation .... Last time we were there, the sea was bubbling with bobbing heads from hundreds of seals.

[Kikapu]

I was sailing on the San Francisco Bay few weeks ago and I got these pictures from the water. I thought you might appreciate them.

Nice

Might be going back there next year (after nearly 20 years) ....

Way too long of an absence from San Francisco.!

If you are there in May-June or October-November 2010, you can come sailing with me on the Bay.!

If you need any information for the whole Bay Area, California, or the South-western states, I'm your man.!

Thanks ... But, that's a shame because it will be during school Hols ... April or July-August.

Too bad.!

I'm qualified to Skipper ... so I'll seek you out some time ... and tidy up your ropes.

I like a sailor who can handle ropes well.!

I'll show you my knots if you show me yours.!

You can be very useful in helping me to "come about", you being a talented sailor and all.!!!

OK, enough of this sailors talk.!

I love the coastline from San Francisco to Monterrey as well as all the Yosemite area; so it's time to initiate the next generation .... Last time we were there, the sea was bubbling with bobbing heads from hundreds of seals.

Actually, the whole coast is fantastic from San Francisco to Los Angeles. You will need 2 days to make that trip however.

Did you see the sea lions at the Seal Rock on the 17 Mile Drive in Carmel by any chance.? You know, since the 1989 earthquake in the Bay Area, hundreds of sea lions have taken over part of the marina at Pier 39 in San Francisco and they are there all the time now. They have become a major tourist attraction, despite foul smell coming from them at times, depending if you are downwind from them. There are elephant seals on the beach much further down the coast near Hearst Castle by a small place called San Simeon. You don’t want to mess with these big guys. In April, you might see some whales, a mile or two off the coast making their way back to Alaska from their winter in Baja, Mexico giving birth to their young.

Yosemite is best in April if you want to see waterfalls at their fullest as the snow starts to melt. By summer, most of the waterfalls lose most of their flows. Also there are less tourist around, which is a plus. On the other hand, some of the roads are still closed for the winter snow in April. In the summer there's less water from the falls, but the whole park is accessible to see the GIANT trees at Mariposa Grove on the south entrance to the park as well as a 12 hours round trip hike to the top of Half Dome, going past 2 waterfalls that cannot be seen from the valley floor. They are the Vernal and Nevada Falls. The view of the Yosemite Valley from top of Half Dome is breath taking and worth the hike. Be prepared to pull yourself to the top of the Half Dome on wire cables for the last 100-150 feet or so. Bring food and water for the whole trip.

If you don't get to see the GIANT trees in Mariposa Grove, you can see the GIANT trees in Muir Woods just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. Well worth the drive, since you will want to have lunch in Sausalito anyways to get a great view of San Francisco from there. Also drive to Marin Headlands to get a great view of the GG Bridge and the city in the background..!

Weather wise, it can get very foggy and very cool in San Francisco during the summer months that you may not even see the GG Bridge for few days. April should have nice weather after the rainy season has come to an end, hopefully by March. The wine country in Napa and Sonoma is great in the summer with many wineries offering tours and wine tasting. Some may charge $5-$10 dollars for the whole experience. If you need some recommendations on which wineries to visit, let me know.

Just that you know, it is only San Francisco that gets very cool in the summer along with most of the Californian coastline but the rest of the state will be sizzling, the further inland you travel to.

I have some favourite places to eat also, from nice places with great food to simple places with also great food that are landmarks in San Francisco. Let me know if you need some recommendations.

More information available on what to do and see if you want to send me your itinerary by a PM. I'll be glad to give them to you.

K.


Golden Gate Bridge


Bay Bridge


Fisherman's Wharf

[Kikapu]

Officer drowns in yacht rescue



A MARINE POLICE officer died yesterday during an operation to rescue a Russian couple with two children, whose sailboat had capsized in rough seas off the Paphos coast.
The 30-year-old woman was still missing last night as police called off a search and rescue that was set to resume at dawn today.
Officer Andreas Georgiou, 29, died during a 3.30am rescue effort when the inflatable boat he was in with a colleague was hit by high waves and overturned as they tried to approach the stricken yacht near the entrance of the Paphos harbour.
“It is a very bad day for the police force,” spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said. “We are mourning the loss of an exceptional colleague who showed altruism and self-sacrifice.”
The second officer survived by holding on to the inflatable’s engine until he was rescued by a helicopter.
The Russians’ yacht, which sailed from Finike on Turkey’s southern coast three days ago, was trying to navigate its way into the harbour in rough seas and strong winds when it was hit by a huge wave and capsized, hurling Jaroslav Zavarzin, 31, and his wife Ludmilla into the sea.
Their two children, 10-month-old Sofia and three-year-old Alexei, were in the boat’s cabin at the time and were rescued later when the boat washed ashore.
Speaking to reporters from his hospital bed, Zavarzin said: “I found myself in the water, and immediately started to swim towards the shore so that I could call for help. As I understand it, my wife, who was asleep on board with our two children, also fell in the water.”
Zavarzin said his wife could not swim well due to a recent shoulder injury, so could have drowned soon afterwards.
He swam to the shore and alerted the authorities, who scrambled the inflatable boat to rescue them.
One of the officers was found just before 6.00am and was airlifted to the Paphos hospital.
The helicopter returned soon afterwards and found Georgiou floating unconscious. He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Deputy Director of Paphos Hospital Lenia Anastasi said that the Russian father, his two children and the second officer were in shock and suffering from mild hypothermia but were otherwise unhurt.
Police launched a sea, air and land search and rescue operation to locate the missing mother but to no avail.
Reports said - but police would not immediately confirm – that the wife’s shoes and jacket had been washed ashore around four kilometres west of the wreckage, near Paphos airport.
Search and rescue efforts, which have so far included the efforts of 20 members of the Civil Defence, will resume today at first light.
Georgiou who was married, was described by Katsounotos as an “exceptional member of the force who distinguished himself in the field of search and rescue.”
The police spokesman denied charges that the two officers were ill-equipped heading into their mission. 
Both officers “had the necessary lifejackets and the boat was fully equipped,” Katsounotos said.
He also said that in the course of investigating the incident, police will also look into claims from Georgiou’s family that the two men came back after being unable to approach the stricken vessel due to rough seas, but were ordered back out to try again “without putting their lives in danger”.
Katsounotos said bigger boats are available but as the yacht was close to the wave breakers only an inflatable could approach for search and rescue.
Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas said there are problems at the harbour’s entrance and when there are big waves there are big dangers. 
Georgiou’s funeral will take place at 2.00pm today at Ayios Nicolaos church in Kato Polemidia.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/offic ... e/20100317

After reading the above, I swear, that Idiot "sailors" should take the fucking ferry and leave sailing to those who have some common sense. What moron would attempt to come into a harbour in a storm at night with him being the only person on deck while his family were sleeping down below who were not prepared for the worse. Didn't this idiot of a "sailor" know that in a storm it is far safer to be at sea than come close to land at night in areas he more than likely had no idea where he was and what to expect. He was more than likely dependent on his GPS to get him into the harbour trouble free. This idiot of a "sailor" should be brought up on charges for manslaughter for endangering life for his stupidity and for actually for the loss of two lives.!

[Get Real!]

After reading the above, I swear, that Idiot "sailors" should take the fucking ferry and leave sailing to those who have some common sense. What moron would attempt to come into a harbour in a storm at night with him being the only person on deck while his family were sleeping down below who were not prepared for the worse. Didn't this idiot of a "sailor" know that in a storm it is far safer to be at sea than come close to land at night in areas he more than likely had no idea where he was and what to expect. He was more than likely dependent on his GPS to get him into the harbour trouble free. This idiot of a "sailor" should be brought up on charges for manslaughter for endangering life for his stupidity and for actually for the loss of two lives.!

That idiot also had two young kids with him one being less than a year old and this is the worst season to be in a boat in the Med!

[DT.]

The idiot got his propeller jammed with his own rope

What gets me is that his wife fell in the same time he did, but he swam for the shore knowing his wife can't swim...not to metion leaving a 10 month old and a 3yr old alone on the yacht while it was capsizing for all he knew....

[CBBB]

Did he have his wife insured?

[Get Real!]

Did he have his wife insured?

It could be a homicide because he was very relaxed about telling reporters that his wife was swept off and couldn’t swim…

[Kikapu]

I'm almost certain that the boat did not capsize as the result of the waves, but rather he more than likely grounded the boat on a rock of the coast and the waves just rolled him over against the rocks. Most of the time when a mono-hull capsizes in the ocean, due to it's heavy keel, the boat would right itself again without losing his mast, specially if the sails were not up. As you can see from the picture, the rigging is torn apart, which is why I say, that the idiot run aground and then got rolled over by the waves. Man I'm so pissed for his stupidity.!

GR, I've seen a lot of young kids on boats sailed by competent sailors (parents). I bet you anything, this wasn't even his boat and knew very little about this boat or about sailing in general. I bet this was a rental, perhaps from Turkey. I don't think this family was on a "cruising sail", but rather a short vacation on a rental bare-boat!

[Raymanoff]

Kikapu, Get Real!, DT. - get your facts together you fucking morons... U have no idea who this guy is and what exactly happened. I've red his blog and the forum and all the comments from his friends who already met with him at the hospital. It was a side wave which literally washed him and his wife offboard. His wife could swim but her arm was injured but it doesnt help with such a strong wipeout. The cabin was sealed and the kids were safe...

u fucking discuss me... morons