New Back Cove 37 Video Shot On Biscayne Bay in Miami

Back Cove did an amazing job putting this video together with gyroscopically stabilized shots taken from the open door of a helicopter moving at 30 knots just feet above the water. The team really did a great job catching the head turning beauty and grace of these exceptionally built down east designs. Leave a comment and tell us what you think of the video.



Take a look at the rest of the Back Cove Yachts fleet here:

• Back Cove 26
• Back Cove 29
• Back Cove 33
• Back Cove 37
  

Massive solar powered circumnavigating yacht christened

The world's largest solar boat has been christened Planet Solar. Planet Solar is a 102-foot yacht which has a 50-foot beam and weighs around 60 tons. The topside of the ship is covered with 5,300 square feet of solar panels and it can hit a top speed of around 15 knots. Two men Raphaël Domjan and Gerard d'Aboville will take the vessel around the world starting in April 2011.

The voyage is designed to raise awareness of the carbon footprint created by boats used to ship goods. Around 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide (in 2008) were expelled shipping goods. That is 6% of the total carbon dioxide emissions and twice as much as air transport.

Necker Island BVI's private submarine owned by Richard Branson

Virgin mogul Richard Branson recently unveiled a new ocean plaything for the intrepid super rich: A deep-sea submarine.

"Necker Nymph," an "underwater plane" that can dive up to 40 meters below the surface, is the latest addition to to Branson's luxury collection which includes a private island, a superyacht and a spaceship.

For those wealthy enough to indulge, the experience aboard the submarine, which is nimble enough to perform "dolphin-like flips," will be like "flying underwater," said Branson's Virgin Limited Edition division.

But even for those with deep enough pockets, it doesn't come cheap: $25,000 for a week's charter and another $88,000 for the sub's superyacht launch vessel, "Necker Belle."

The $631,000 flying sub, the first of its kind, uses fighter jet technology and was designed by Hawkes Ocean Technologies. It is transparent enough to allow divers a 360-degree view of marine life and Virgin is marketing it as a way to view dolphins and whales close up.

The new sub also appears to be environmentally friendly. It is buoyant, which stops it from mistakenly landing on reefs, and it is relatively quiet -- allowing it to pass through fragile ecosystems without causing too much upheaval, Virgin says.

Potential deep-sea divers must take half-day safety courses beforehand and can then dive for up to two hours at a time.

The submarine will be delivered to Necker Island, Branson's private Caribbean hideaway, later this month.

"Necker Nymph" is not Branson's first foray onto the frontlines of adventure technology.

Last December, he unveiled "SpaceShipTwo," a spacecraft that promises to take civilians into orbit for a cool $200,000 by 2011.

Talk about a well balanced Catalina sailboat!

Boats wash up on the shore in Southold, New York all the time, but never quite like this.

A 25-foot Catalina sailboat that apparently broke free of its moorings came to rest on sand at the north end of Cutchogue Harbor nearly three weeks ago. But baffled town officials were left shaking their heads at how a combination of strong winds and battering seas righted the mast-less vessel, which had been on its side, and left it completely upright, balanced on the beach on its keel.

Massive Boating Accident!

You know, looking back over the five years WindPath has been operating a fractional sailing and power boat business we have been very fortunate to have only a few minor accidents with our fleet. Most of the time the damage occurs around the dock, when members are departing or returning, and can usually be repaired with a little touch up work on the gel coat. Man do I feel for the guy driving this boat!

Hurricane Season Predictions Call for Heavy Weather in 2010

Even though it's the middle of winter, some private forecasters have already turned their meteorological brains toward the warm season, with forecasts for the 2010 Atlantic Basin hurricane season. WSI, a private forecasting company, and the Tropical Meteorology Project of Colorado State University (CSU) have both issued early season projections of more storms than last year -- and more storms than an average tropical season.

WSI is forecasting 13 named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes), including seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. A major hurricane is considered one of category 3 or higher, which is a storm with a sustained wind of at least 131 mph. CSU is forecasting 11 to 16 named storms, including six to eight hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes. The 50-year average is 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes, and 2.3 major hurricanes per year.

Whenever a long-range or seasonal weather forecast is issued, it's immediately followed by cries such as "They can't get the forecast right for tomorrow, but they think they get the forecast right for six months from now -- please!" While I understand the sentiment behind the statement, short- and long-range forecasts are done so differently that the statement has no relevance.

Hurricane Bill, here in a satellite image, churns in the Atlantic in August 2009.

An accurate short-range forecast is dependent on details -- what is happening now, and how it will change during the next hour, day, or week. A slight change in the wind flow, upper-level temperatures, or track of a specific storm can be the difference between a partly sunny day and non-stop rain or the difference between a chilly rain and heavy snow.

Long-range forecasts are not influenced by these small-scale factors. They're based on general, long-term weather factors, such as temperatures of the Pacific Ocean, temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean, and general position of large upper-level high- and low-pressure systems. The details, which can cause an embarrassing short-range forecast, don't influence the overall accuracy of a seasonal forecast.

There's no comparison between the two types of forecasts, and the ability -- or inability -- to make a quality short-range forecast has no bearing on the ability to make a quality seasonal forecast, such as a hurricane forecast.

The early season hurricane forecasts are based, in no small part, on El Nino, or more accurately, the anticipated lack of an El Nino during the upcoming summer. The presence, or development, of an El Nino during the hurricane season typically results in fewer storms in the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean), which was the case in 2009, a particularly quiet season. The season following an El Nino, however, typically has an average or above-average number of storms.

While the El Nino is forecast to last at least into spring by the Climate Prediction Center, it is expected by these private weather forecasters to dissipate by summer, possibly setting the stage for a more active hurricane season. Other factors will influence the details of the season and the specifics of any seasonal forecasts issued later by these forecasters, other private forecasters, and the Climate Prediction Center.

At this point, though, the forecast of a more active hurricane season is reasonable.

Mother and daughter share: 16 year old Abby Sunderland - around alone.

Allowing their teenager to sail solo round-the-world would be unthinkable for many parents.

Not for Californian Marianne Sunderland whose son, Zac, circumnavigated the globe single-handedly earlier this year, aged 17, and was, for a short time, the youngest person ever to sail solo round-the-world.

Now, Sunderland is about to do it for a second time as she prepares to wave 16-year-old daughter, Abby, off on a non-stop, unassisted voyage around the world. If Abby makes it, she will become the youngest person ever to solo circumnavigate the globe non-stop.

Abby's five-month trip involves traveling through some of the world's most challenging sailing routes, battling huge waves and howling winds in the frigid Southern Ocean off Cape Horn.

Abby and Zac are among a crop of teenagers to have attempted to break the record in recent years, not without controversy.

Questions have been raised about whether sailors so young should be allowed to undertake potentially life-threatening voyages single-handedly.

Here, Abby and Marianne give us a mother and daughter's perspective on her upcoming voyage.

A daughter's perspective: Abby

It's definitely going to be hard, probably even harder than I expect it to be. People say there are going to be times when I'll wish I'd never decided to sail in the first place.

I know there is a possibility I could die, that's a risk any solo sailor has to take. People die at sea all the time and it's kind of terrifying to think about. But it is those thoughts that will keep me safe as they'll make me very careful.

Now I'm really excited, but also kind of nervous as things are moving really fast in these last few weeks.

I spoke to a lot of people who have done it before, to understand how they handled sleep and kept rested, because if you're exhausted you can't sail.

Sometimes I'll only be able to sleep 20 minutes at a time, other times hopefully a full night. But my boat is a very high-performance boat, which means it requires constant maintenance.

My first big challenge will be to sail around Cape Horn. I've always wanted to sail there but the route is dangerous because it's through the Southern Ocean where it's very cold and there are regular storms. But, that's the route you do when you do a non-stop sail. It'll be six weeks and 6,000 miles before I get there.

People have legitimate concerns, but I would tell critics to do a bit more research. They don't know me; don't know my family and they don't know how I sail.

We were home schooled and my parents raised us to think outside the box. Many people think they have to do all the normal things like go to college, get a mortgage and have a family. But it would be fantastic if more people went out and lived their dreams.

I would get bored out of my mind if I had to go the normal route. I believe that anything that is worth doing has risk involved.

If I go out there and realize I bit more off than I can chew, then I would stop the trip and my parents would be supportive. But I will persevere and be strong.

A mother's perspective: Marianne

Zac and Abby are my oldest of seven children and they grew up on boats. When they were young, we spent three years on a boat. They would row to the shore and cut open coconuts.

As he got older, Zac spent a lot of time helping his father repairing boats. So when he told us, at the age of 16, that he wanted to sail around the world on his own, we knew it was the thing for him to do and were united behind him.

There were critics but we said, "You don't know Zac." He a tough kid and with his father being a ship wright, his boat had all the modern conveniences. Zac was away 13 months, as he stopped along the way, but we spoke twice a day.

With Abby, it's different. She's doing a non-stop voyage and Abby also has a softer side than Zac.I don't know how Abby is going to deal with sleep deprivation and the loneliness.

I have also just finished with Zac and I'm not really looking forward to sending another kid sailing across the world. It's difficult, you go to bed every night thinking of your child sailing through the night.

But, Abby has wanted to do this since she was 13, even before Zac. And in order to do this, you need a sponsor and sponsors come along if there is an exciting factor, such as young age.

The critics don't know Abby and what a good sailor she is. We know it's a risk, but also that with the right equipment and preparation, it's a very calculated risk.