CHANGES 3) On several occasions we used the Uli SUP as a two-person inflatable for going between the boat and shore. It wasn't bad — at least in the tropics. 4) If you bang your head with an inflatable board while surfing, you're not going to be hurt or bleed. When it comes to surfing, it was super easy to catch waves because the 15-footer paddled like a rocketship. On the other hand, it was way too long and thick to be very maneuverable. But surfing legend Gerry Lopez liked the Uli concept so much, he's 'shaped' some much shorter ones for the company to add to their line. Uli boards are more expensive than those made by Sevylor. One of the reasons is that Uli uses better pumps and valves, so you can get up to nearly 20 psi — which makes the board pretty stiff. Inflatables may not be the ultimate in surfboard and SUP performance, but they do have some advantages. We hope to have the Latitude Uli on hand for trial at the Delta Doo-Dah later this summer and during the Ha-Ha this fall. We hope you'll check it out. Congratulations are due the World Cruising Club of England for filling all
While George Backhus, seen with his sweetheart Merima, didn't do the first ARC 25 years ago, his Deerfoot 62 'Moonshadow' did.
225 positions in the 25th annual Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) three months earlier than in any previous year. The ARC, of course, is the grandaddy of all cruising rallies, and the fleet will de-
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• July, 2010
part the Canary Islands on November 21 for the 2,700-mile passage to St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean. Having done the 10th edition of the ARC on our Ocean 71 Big O, we can tell you that thanks to the typically warm weather and following tradewinds, it’s normally one of the most pleasant passages in the world of sailing. Thanks to the double whammy of a weak global economy and what had been a poor dollar-to-euro exchange rate, the number of American entries is just 10. Nonetheless, the American contingent will be headed by George Backhus and Merima Dzaferi on the Sausalito-based Deerfoot 62 Moonshadow, because Moonshadow is one of two entries that also did the original rally 25 years ago — although not under Backhus' ownership. The other American entries are: Bambochip, Pierre Bausset’s Shipman Seaway 80; Glass Slipper, John Martin’s Moody 46; another Glass Slipper, Thomas Carbaugh’s Oyster 53; Herceg-Novi, Nikola Kovilic’s Roberts 58; Noble, John Noble’s Oyster 655; Oceanica Oceanica,, George Champion’s Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 52.2;