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After our massive disappointment in the Robert Redford stupid-fest 'All Is Lost', our ears pricked up when the New York Times Sunday Mag printed a long and brilliantly written piece on a NY fisherman's near-death experience last Sunday.  Like Redford, the NYTMAG has millions of fans, and the story has been the most clicked-on thing over at NYT.com for 8 days now.  So what's the problem? Author Paul Tough, recent author of a book touting how 'Grit' helps children succeed, romanticized moron fisherman John Aldridge so heavily in an effort to make a good story that he gave millions of fisherman - most of whom still haven't heard of personal EPIRBs or sleep deprivation - hope that somehow, their 'grit' and a good pair of sea boots are enough to get them past working practices that make their job one of the most dangerous in the entire world of employment.  We understand how an author might want to leave this out of his story; just like in the Redford moronopic (or any one of ten thousand hack-n-slash movies), if a tragedy is easily avoided but for ignorance or hubris, it's hard to cheer for the protagonist. The Anarchists are already on it, but so was outspoken safety consultant (and ex USCG SAR-dude) Mario Vittone, who published a snarky response to the piece on Thursday called 'Trying Very Hard To Die".  It ain't the first time Mario and SA have agreed on something, and we consider his piece on kids and drowning from 2010 to be required reading for every parent on the planet.  Here are his 'five responses' to the 'inescapable danger' that, according to the Times, today's commercial fishermen face.  Hit GCaptain for the full article. 1. Never work alone on the deck of an open boat while 40 miles offshore when the...

Please keep your eyes open for Charleston's Ed Brennan, who was last seen at City Marina on New Year's Eve. This is not the kind of guy to disappear; if you know anything, get in touch with CPD right away at (843)743-7200. Like any of us who spend our time around boats and the water, we're all just one slip away from disappearing forever; we hope that's not what happened to Ed, but if you can help, please do!  ...

While organizers struggle with pollution issues for Key West Race Week, 100 miles to the North, entry fees for the first event of the 11th Hour Racing Moth Winter Series were ZERO thanks to the event sponsor, an environmental organization.  That's not the only innovation from a strong US Moth Class that now features crossovers from not just skiffs and sportboat superstars, but A-Cats and even Sunfish - Matt Knowles checks in with the report from day one in Key Largo, with photos from Marco Oquendo and a full gallery here. 17 International Moths descended on the Upper Keys Sailing Club in Key Largo Florida for the first stop in the 2014 winter series. In connection with its partner 11th Hour Racing, the US Moth Class is hosting a three stop winter tour dedicated to great racing and spreading the message of environmental sustainability. Day 1 was slalom racing in a fresh breeze that was forecast to build to frightening. A few sailors permitted discretion to thwart valor and stayed on the beach. After a 6-race qualification series plus a repechage, 8 sailors advanced to the grand final. Just as the boats started, a 30 knot gust rolled across the course. In the end, only two boats managed to flimp back upwind to finish: Antony Kotoun (ISV) took the win over new class member Patrick Wilson (USA) who showed impressive boat handling in the big air. Tomorrow the class turns to fleet racing using an America's Cup reaching start. Full gold fleet results: 1st Anthony Kotoun (Newport, RI); 2nd Patrick Wilson (Charleston, SC); 3rd Johnny Goldsberry (San Fran, CA); 4th Matt Knowles (Newport, RI); 5th Tommy Loughborough (Barrington, RI); 6th Bora Gulari (Detroit, MI); 7th David Loring (Charleston, SC); 8th Ben Moon (St. Pete, FL)....

Young Sam Gilmour continues his glamour run up the ISAF world match racing tour ladder, and the Western Australian, an Anarchist since he learnt to read, sent in this exclusive report from another new Arabian venue that may be following in Dubai and Oman's footsteps as an up-and-comer for the next generation of sailors.  Check it, and think back to your youth (did you know it was back?) and the pioneering Marlin Perkins for the title reference. The 2013 Kingdom Match Cup held out of the Bahrain Maritime Sports Centre was held over the week 15-21 December, beginning with a qualifying event, followed then by the open regatta. Competitors flew in from all over the world to compete for the title, and with serious prize money up for grabs as well as an Omega sponsorship, the competition was fierce. Neptune Racing, consisting of skipper Sam Gilmour, trimmer Adam Negri, tactician Chris Smith and bowman Justin Wong travelled to Bahrain hoping to contest for the title. We as a team knew we had to bring our A-game with some others with impressive résumés racing. We hadn’t heard much about Bahrain previously, so we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived by the modern layout of the capital city Manama, and the difference in culture was a real eye opener to us. Having qualified for the open event already, we sailed the qualifying regatta as a warm up event. This gave us a chance to identify ourselves with the boats, conditions and some of our opponents. We were racing J24’s- a very common class, and whilst not ideal for match racing, the team adapted to the boats quickly- finishing the qualifier just ahead of Sergey Musikhin from Russia, Seviero Ramirez from Italy and Mati Sepp from Estonia. These guys had some high ISAF rankings,...

All the interviews, stories, and pictures in the world can't replace a few seconds of 100' yacht getting smacked around by a 30 foot wave, so here's all that and more from what may be the best event video we've seen from Rolex since they entered the world of yacht racing. Don't forget we've got dozens of interviews, hundreds of photos, and quite a bit more up on the Macca's Facebook Page, and keep an eye on this front page for Part 2 of Ronnie's race report as well as Mr. Clean's overall 'report card' from the 2013 Sydney Hobart Race. You'll need to be deep into your '80s trivia to get the title reference....

Here's one of the first - and surely hard to top -  Anarchist photos of their new SA stickers strategically placed.... Photographed on one of the support legs of the Ft. Detrick MD " One-Million-Liter Test Sphere", a biological warfare test chamber facility; Currently not in service, but known locally as the "Eight Ball"... And where the hell is yours??? Send it in!  ...

Did you say doing the Sydney to Hobart Race is on your "bucket list"? Be careful what you ask for. It’s the morning after my first Sydney- Hobart race. I’m sore, tired, humbled, grateful and slightly hung-over all at the same time. It’s the raw mix of emotion and sense of purpose that only adventure can provide. With several costly mistakes and boat breakages, my crew and I got thoroughly schooled by the fleet and while the competitor in me is upset with our result, the sailor in me feels a deep sense of fulfillment and accomplishment just in finishing the race in racing spirit. In a race where we saw close to 40 knots downwind and 50 knots upwind within a period of 8 hours in the Bass Strait, simply finishing has become a personal triumph and experience that I will cherish forever. Overcoming adversity, this crew of 10 has stepped off the boat as better friends than when we started; no small feat considering the conditions and problems onboard. Here’s how Sydney- Hobart 2013 went down on the Archambault 40 One for the Road. Beginning in Sydney on Boxing Day, December 26, the start of the race was unlike anything that I have ever experienced in a yacht race. Supermaxi’s like Loyal and Wild Oats sailed around in the pre-start alongside us, helicopters hovered over head, hundreds of spectator boats lined the course and an estimated 300,000+ sailing fans filled the shoreline, trying to catch a glimpse of the annual bluewater classic from any vantage point possible. At one o’clock, the starting gun went bang and nearly a hundred racing yachts each began their own 628 nautical mile passage to Hobart. Reaching out of the harbor on starboard tack with full main and #3 jib, we had our...

From beautiful Tasmania, we wish every Anarchist everywhere around the world a wonderful new year, and a huge thanks to all of our Aussie Anarchists (including the Perpetual LOYAL boys who made this Meredith Block shot possible) for such an incredibly warm welcome for our first-ever coverage of the world's toughest (mostly) amateur yacht race.   May 2014 bring fun, breeze, and plenty of sailing your way....