Catamaran

As with many adventure stories, this one started in a bar. Sipping a post-work CoCoNut Porter at the Yard House in Waikiki with Jim — a family friend who's well connected in the sailing world — I imposed the request that led to the story. "You've got to get me on a sail to Maui," I said to Jim. "You want to go to Kauai this weekend?" he replied. Lucky for me, Capt. Jon Jepson was sailing Makani, a 65-foot catamaran, to Port Allen, Kauai, for a private charter bound for the Na Pali Coast.

A British Olympic gold medalist in sailing was killed Thursday when a catamaran training for the upcoming America's Cup capsized in San Francisco Bay. Andrew "Bart" Simpson was part of an 11-man crew aboard Artemis Racing's AC72 vessel when the boat flipped northwest of Treasure Island about 1 p.m., officials said. Simpson, 36, served as the Swedish team's strategist. An America's Cup chase boat pulled the sailors from the water, but Simpson was trapped under the 72-foot catamaran for up to 15 minutes before he was reached, San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

Cruise on a Catamaran Makani , Kewalo Basin, Honolulu; (808) 591-9000, sailmakani.com. Morning, afternoon and evening sails, from $35. Private charters also available. Holo Holo Charters , Port Allen Marina Center, Eleele, Kauai; (808) 335-0815, holoholokauaiboattours.com. Operates a sailing catamaran and power catamaran for excursions to the Na Pali Coast and Niihau. Trips from $99.

In the spring of 2004 Raphael Domjan, a Swiss electrical engineer, conceived of a borderline insane idea -- to travel around the world aboard a ship powered entirely by solar energy. It would be an adventure and a statement. If he could do it, he would prove to the world that there are other alternatives to powering sea travel besides fossil fuels and wind. It would also demonstrate just what solar power is capable of. In 2008 he formed a partnership with German entrepreneur Immo Stroeher, who helped provide the funds to make this idea possible.

Hobie P. Alter said the plug on his computer had been accidentally pulled by the guy who elivered bottled water, so he didn't mind teaching some sailing. In any event, he figured it would be a nice, if brief, vacation from worrying whether the records from his sunglasses business had disappeared along with the electricity. "Even after all the time I've been sailing, it's still nice to get out," Alter said. "Even when there's hardly any wind." Hobie P. Alter, 30--the son of Hobie L.

French yachtsman Bruno Peyron and a four-man crew crossed the finish line after sailing the world in a record-smashing 79-day voyage aboard the 86-foot catamaran, Commodore Explorer. The previous record was 109 days.

Rudy Choy of Waikiki, Hawaii, took a trip down memory lane in the 40th Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race when he sailed his 65-foot catamaran Aikane X-5 across the finish line at 2:15 a.m. Saturday to become the first-to-finish in the 125-mile race. His elapsed time was 12 hours 15 minutes.

Alex Kozloff of Irvine sailed his 35-foot catamaran, Invictus, to a 1-minute 58-second victory in the Professional Open class of the Speedsailing Grand Prix off Long Beach Saturday. In the Pro 21 class for boats up to 21 feet long, Randy Hatfield of Dana Point, sailing a Prindle 20, finished a whopping 6:04 ahead of a small fleet. The wind peaked at about 15 knots. Kozloff earned $1,750, Hatfield $900. There were only nine starters in three classes, none of them monohulls.

In the ongoing battle between jet skiers and windsurfers, the city may reconsider whether it will allow a jet-ski concessionaire at the beach. The issue will resurface Tuesday at the request of City Councilwoman Jan Hall, who asked the council last week to rescind its approval authorizing the city's Tidelands Agency to solicit proposals for a jet-ski rental concession at a proposed beach ramp at Granada Avenue.

Ella Ruth Piggee is convinced that yuppies are today's all-time viewers of life through rose-colored glasses. They turned the ugly Volvo into a status symbol. They made cramped condo living an integral part of the American Dream. And in just the last year, she says with a satisfied grin, they made her one of the local music scene's brightest stars, even though she admits her singing is at best mediocre.

The Catalina Flyer, a 500-passenger catamaran that makes daily trips to Santa Catalina Island from the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach, may halt operations for a few months so its owner can buy and install engines that comply with a state environmental law. Bob Black, general manager for the tour boat company, said that unless he's able to find a catamaran to lease, he may suspend service to Avalon as early as Sept. 12. "I'm not thrilled about having to do this, but it's something we've got to do," said Black, referring to the purchase of two engines that will cost him nearly $1 million.

Cruise on a Catamaran Makani , Kewalo Basin, Honolulu; (808) 591-9000, sailmakani.com. Morning, afternoon and evening sails, from $35. Private charters also available. Holo Holo Charters , Port Allen Marina Center, Eleele, Kauai; (808) 335-0815, holoholokauaiboattours.com. Operates a sailing catamaran and power catamaran for excursions to the Na Pali Coast and Niihau. Trips from $99.

As with many adventure stories, this one started in a bar. Sipping a post-work CoCoNut Porter at the Yard House in Waikiki with Jim — a family friend who's well connected in the sailing world — I imposed the request that led to the story. "You've got to get me on a sail to Maui," I said to Jim. "You want to go to Kauai this weekend?" he replied. Lucky for me, Capt. Jon Jepson was sailing Makani, a 65-foot catamaran, to Port Allen, Kauai, for a private charter bound for the Na Pali Coast.

David de Rothschild is talking trash, lots and lots of trash. "There were 25 billion Styrofoam cups used last year. How do you even get your head around what 25 billion Styrofoam cups looks like?" he said. "Eighty-odd percent of what's purchased by Americans is thrown out within six months." On this day, though, the British banking heir is focused on some very particular refuse as he skims along the San Francisco Bay in a catamaran called Plastiki: The 12,000 or so recycled soda bottles lashed together to build his clunky vessel, and the growing heap of plastic fragments called the Eastern Garbage Patch floating in the Pacific.

Budget travelers, if you avoid looking for hotels on the beach because you think you can't afford them, think again. Hotwire Travel-Ticker has the skinny on a San Diego beachfront deal that's hard to pass up -- especially if you have kids. The deal: The Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa, right on Mission Bay and only 3 1/2 miles from Sea World, has rooms starting at $129 a night. This special is good every day of the week for the rest of the year. A spa and water sports rental facility are on site.

Forensic police today began examining a catamaran found drifting off Australia's Great Barrier Reef with its sails up, engine running and food on the table -- but with no one aboard. Its three crewmen were last seen Sunday leaving the northeastern town of Airlie Beach. A patrol plane spotted the 40-foot catamaran drifting Wednesday, its headsail battered and torn, about 90 miles offshore. When rescue crews boarded the vessel, the Kaz II, early Friday, they found it deserted.

The Coast Guard searched Monday for a sunken whale-watching catamaran whose mast broke off near Maui, killing one man and requiring the rescue of at least 50 tourists. The crew from the 55-foot tour boat reported on the vessel's radio Sunday evening that the mast had snapped about two miles off Kahana Beach near Kaanapali. Witnesses said the boat was sinking and many passengers were already in the water when more boats arrived.

MADGE Schaefer, a Maui resident, can't wait for the Hawaii Superferry to sail into her future. "No one from Maui wants to live in Honolulu because it's so crowded. But we want to be able to go there to shop or see a show," said Schaefer, a former Ventura County supervisor. "I can't think of a better way to do it than by ferry -- and get a relaxing mini-cruise out of the trip."