ANASAZI STRIP is Here!

 

Anasazi Strip is set in the isolated area north of the Grand Canyon known as the Arizona Strip, a spectacular land of redrock and forgotten civilizations.

This is the first book in the Jenny Hatch mystery series, featuring Forest Service archaeologist Jenny Hatch, a tough red-haired investigator who has dedicated her life to unraveling the mysteries of the ancient Anasazi.

Anasazi Strip takes us through strange lands rarely seen – Western Grand Canyon, the Kaibab National Forest, the Paiute Indian Reservation, uranium mines, small Mormon towns, Lake Powell, the underground art world where Indian artifacts fetch big money from anonymous buyers from around the globe, and the forbidding Paria Plateau where all hell breaks loose at the Burial of the Magician.

Along the way we meet many colorful characters that seem to leap off the page - brave cowboys, dying Indians, the unluckiest birdwatcher on earth, drug-crazed bikers, Jack Mormons, eco-terrorists, a soul-catching Killer who knows the Ritual of the Feather and Fur, and the unstoppable Jenny Hatch who enters the spirit world and comes out on the other side.

You can purchase “Anasazi Strip” @ Amazon Books:    http://www.amazon.com/Anasazi-Strip-Steve-Carr/dp/1477671102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355264101&sr=8-1&keywords=anasazi+strip       

 

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While working as a surveyor for the U.S. Forest Service on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon during the rape and pillage years of President Ronald Reagan, Steve Carr, a young man from back east learns surreal survival lessons as he journeys into some of America's most phantasmagorical lands and national parks where he encounters greedy loggers, federal land barons drunk on power, brain-dead cowboys, clueless tourists, strange Mormon polygamists, crazed firefighters, amazing Anasazi ruins, mysterious Indians, canyon loonies, lady travelers looking for fun and excitement, environmental terrorists, menacing wild animals, and the outlandish characters who live at the bottom of the earth. Each stand alone story is laced with lurid flashes of forgotten Southwest history and sprinkled with a heavy dose of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll as the reader is transported into a magical world where flash floods, broiling canyons, freak snow storms, hallucinogenic visions, and bone-crushing rapids come alive with all the power and the glory. Each struggle leads Steve closer to a final confrontation with the Forest Service over the future the Kaibab Forest and the essence of the Kachina Way.

 

You can purchase “The Canyon Chronicles” @ Amazon Books:
 http://www.amazon.com/The-Canyon-Chronicles-Steve-Carr/dp/0615369995

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Water Views brings together three of Annapolis' most famous chroniclers and represents three unique ways of looking at the water and the Chesapeake Bay way of life. This very unique book provides three lenses from which to view our beautiful and often troubled world: the written word, the black & white photo image, and the satirical political cartoon.
 

Collected here, Stephen Carr's informative and humorous stories testify to his intimate knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay region and his intense concern for its well-being. Gained through his personal experience in the great outdoors, Steve's essays represent urgent advocacy for environmental resources that continue to be at risk and his deep appreciation for all the Bay has to offer.
 

Water Views is beautifully enriched by compelling images from the collection of nationally esteemed photographer, Marion E. Warren, who seeks out and portrays his concern for the fragile and precarious harmony of the Chesapeake Bay country. Marion's meritorious stream of published photographic essays have educated and delighted us with the earliest visual images of daily life in Maryland, and of its present condition, as portrayed in his Maryland Time Exposure, and Bringing Back the Bay. Marion's participation in this book underscores his enduring celebration of, and support for, the Bay country and the way of life dependent upon its preservation.
 

To round out the Bayview picture, the absurdly apt cartoons of Eric Smith furnish caustic editorial comment aimed cynically at the complacency that is our sin. For 35 years, Eric's award-winning caricatures have amused and outraged readers of The Capital, Annapolis' daily newspaper.
 

Water Views was published by The Annapolis Publishing Company. The coffee table, soft-backed edition sells for $20.00 (includes postage).
 

To purchase Water Views, contact Steve Carr at: steve.carr567@gmail.com
 

 

 

When Marvels Appear

On a cold winter day, with a stiff northwest wind blowing the Chesapeake Bay south toward the Atlantic, 11-year-old twins Cole and Wyatt Greene stumbled on a strange sight as they explored the exposed mudflats of Herring Bay. Buried in the mud appeared to be the remains of an old ship. A really big ship.

The two boys announced their find to their mother. Back they ran with an iPhone and tape measure to record the shipwreck. It measured a whopping 129 feet by 25 feet. Nearby, another wreck 20 feet long lay broken in the mud.

Diane Greene was impressed with her sons’ discovery and phoned the news into the Maryland Historical Trust.

Intrigued, the home-schooling Greenes embarked on their own voyage to uncover the mystery of Herring Bay’s phantom ship.

The Sinking of the Levin J. Marvel
On August 8, 1955, the Levin J. Marvel, a ship whose seaworthiness had been questioned by the Coast Guard, left Annapolis on a six-day pleasure cruise with 23 passengers and four crew.

Meanwhile, 500 miles east of Palm Beach, Hurricane Connie was barreling up the East Coast.

By the time the Marvel reached Cambridge two days later, storm warnings were up with winds gusting to 73 miles per hour.

But the next day the hurricane warning was lifted. With the wind blowing about 35, Captain John H. Meckling decided to make a break for Annapolis. Twelve hours later, near the Bloody Point Light, gale force winds forced the ram-schooner to sail southwest.

With the hurricane bearing down, the Marvel anchored near Fairhaven in Herring Bay. There the storm overwhelmed the ship’s bilge pumps and it rolled. Passengers and crew abandoned ship. Fourteen of the passengers, including a 13-year-old boy, drowned.

Soon after the Marvel’s sinking, the Coast Guard plotted the ship’s location on nautical charts and marked it with a lighted buoy.

In 1956, the Army Corps of Engineers determined that the ship was lying in 16 feet of water and had broken into several pieces. As it was not considered an “unreasonable menace,” the buoy light was removed and the Levin J. Marvel slowly drifted into oblivion.

However, its sinking helped pass the Federal Boating Act of 1958.

Ghost of the Marvel?
The Greenes’ research led them to the doorstep of John Ward of the Deale Area Historical Society. Ward has devoted decades to researching the Marvel. The boys’ video looked like a shipwreck, he agreed. But not the Marvel, he thought, because its location at Rose Haven was too far away from the last reported location of the wreck.

So what did Wyatt and Cole Greene find that frozen February day?
That’s still a mystery.

Come spring, Maryland’s Maritime Archaeology Program plans a dive to determine definitively whether the boys’ find could be part of the Marvel’s remains. In addition, the recon will support the site’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

Marvel or not, the Greenes’ “prompt and appropriate action” has earned them the Maryland Maritime Archaeology Program’s Volunteers of the Year Award for 2012.

“I am just so impressed by the boys,” says Maryland State Underwater Archaeologist Susan Langley, who is project leader for the Marvel investigation.

“They seized the moment and had the initiative to determine what would be needed and took measurements, photographs and video, then undertook research online to see if they could determine what they had found and made the effort to ensure it was reported to the correct authorities.”

The twins also have an invitation to join the dive — if they get diving certification — or monitor the action from above as snorkelers.

The only other National Register submerged site in Maryland is U-1105, a World War II experimental German submarine captured and eventually scuttled by the Navy off Piney Point in the Potomac River.

       © COPYRIGHT 2010 by New Bay Enterprises, Inc.
                           All rights reserved.

Steve Carr's Interview w/the President of Farr Yacht Design

Sailing legend Bruce Farr’s career began long ago and far away in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. By the 1970s, Farr — then in his 20s — had established a reputation for designing fast, cheap boats that were easier to build and sail than most of the competition. His designs won one-quarter, one-half, three-quarter and one-ton world championships.
Seeking a presence in the northern hemisphere more accessible to the market, Farr opened an office in Annapolis in 1981. Today, Annapolis is Farr Yacht Design’s home base.
In this Bay Weekly conversation, Patrick Shaughnessy, president of Farr Yacht Design, talks about the company’s worldwide reach.
Farr Yacht Design’s involvement in the Volvo Ocean Race goes way back.
For the 1981-’82 Whitbread Round the World Race, Bruce Farr was commissioned to design No. 81 Disque D’Or 3 for Pierre Fehlmann and design No. 90 Ceramco New Zealand for Peter Blake.

You’ve got depth as well as longevity.
Farr Yacht Design has designed 40 boats across nine races of the Whitbread Round the World Race, now the Volvo Ocean Race, including 19 podium finishers and six overall race winners.

What was your role in Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012?
Farr Yacht Design provided research, design and support services to Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and support services to Team Sanya.

For the next race everything is changing, with one design for all teams. Why?

     Volvo Ocean Race is pursuing a one-design path to reduce the technical cost associated with designing, building and campaigning a competitive boat. The racing hardware only represents about a third of the total technical race budget. But significant gains can be made in shared spares and support services under the one-design umbrella. Ultimately, the goal is to field more teams for the race because the cost of competing is lower and the disadvantages associated with starting later are reduced.

Farr has already created a prototype one-design. What are its key elements?
Conceptually, the boat is very similar to the VO70. The size has been reduced to 64 feet LOA along with other size-related parameters to reduce cost. In many detailed areas, the boat is conceptually driven to improve safety and reliability and to reduce the competitive disadvantages of less experienced teams.

                             Rick Deppe-Volvo Ocean Race

How did this plum come to you?
Farr Yacht Design is uniquely positioned in the industry as a research, design and support group with Volvo Ocean Race experience as well as successful one-design creation, class management and support.
We have always endeavored to be a supportive and cooperative partner of the race. Over our last two Volvo campaigns, we have had personnel fully integrated into our teams on the ground full-time at every stopover. That integration has given us an in-depth view of the race, its history and its future needs.
To meet the determined goals, we needed to draw on all our experience in the Volvo Ocean Race and in International Monohull Open Class Competition IMOCA Open 60s, integrating this knowledge with lessons from our various one-design development experiences and extensive experience with production building techniques.

What does it take to mount such a groundbreaking design effort?
Our full research, design and support staff in Annapolis is involved in the New Volvo Class project, along with several consultants to handle the peak loading associated with the project.
Computational Fluid Dynamics work is carried out on our in-house super computer cluster, while some of the other research components, such as Finite Element Analysis, happen externally.
Separately, the design work is subject to several layers of third-party review, making this one of the more scrutinized design projects in the
history of yacht racing.

                             Rick Deppe-Volvo Ocean Race

How does sail design fit in?
Sail design is an important part of the boat’s conceptual development as we determine its inventory and performance criteria alongside important balance determinations for each of the sail combinations. Other important inputs from the sail designers include weight calculation and loading input for the deck and rig of the boat.

Do the racing syndicates have a role in the design-and-build work?
During the 2011-2012 race cycle, several team-based groups were formed: a speed group, a build group and a logistics group. In that way, input from the experienced team members was collected and input into the design process and also the future of the race.

                            Rick Deppe-Volvo Ocean Race

What is the time frame for launching the new boat?
Boat 1 will launch in the summer of 2013.

What’s Farr’s role building the boats?
We’ll play a key role in establishing the one-design controls for the class. The class will be a builder-certified one-design, meaning that all of the controls will be present during the build-and-assembly process. After the boats are launched, no modifications are permitted.

Who is building the boats and where?
The hull and several of the early internal structure components will be built at Persico S.p.A. in Italy. The decks will be built at Multiplast in France. The internal structure will be built at Decision S.A. in Switzerland. Green Marine Ltd., based in the U.K., will complete the assembly of the boats and act as the point of sale.

                             Rick Deppe-Volvo Ocean Race

What’s next for Farr Yacht Design?
Next, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that the remaining part of the design is completed according to schedule and the class achieves its goal of becoming the world’s best one-design class.

See Farr Yacht Design — though not the VO64 — at the U.S. Sailboat Show this weekend in Annapolis. Find the Farr 400 on D dock, opposite the Spa Creek Bridge.

The Greatest Race in the World

After almost a year at sea and nearly 40,000 miles, the Volvo Race is a true endurance test

The 39,270-mile Volvo Ocean Race is the greatest test of human endurance in the guise of sport on the planet earth. It’s life at the extreme with its own curiosities.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

     Starting the nine-month race in Spain is always fun. The Spanish know how to throw a good party, and the royalty-crowned pomp and circumstance befits such an epic voyage. But starting from Alicante, Spain, means sailing across the Mediterranean Sea to Gibraltar, a boat-busting, upwind slog. The untested crews are just beginning a 5,000-mile marathon to South Africa, and by the end of the first day at least one boat invariably has been knocked out of the race — before getting started.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

     The Capetown stop is carved in stone. After three weeks of tactical grinding, the boats have to stop because they are out of food. The crews are literally wasting away. The boats have to get around Africa and into the Southern Ocean, and Capetown guards the ocean gate.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

     After Capetown, the race used to sail southeast to Australia or New Zealand. This last race established new game rules. Build a boat and put together a $75 million syndicate with crews. Then find yourself a city willing to fork over $25 million for the stopover infrastructure. That’s what it takes to bring the race to your country.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Ian Roman-Volvo Ocean Race

     Following the money, the racers sailed north from Capetown to Abu Dhabi for Leg 2. There is nothing inherently wrong with this global marketing strategy, other than the fact that the Indian Ocean is crawling with pirates.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 -Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

     Leg 2 featured an unmarked freighter strung with barbed wire rendezvousing with the fleet at a secret island near Mali, where the boats and crews were transported a thousand miles north to a spot off the Sharajah coast. There the multi-million-dollar boats were off-loaded for the second part of the leg, a 200-mile run to Abu Dhabi. No one there knows jack about sailing, but Arab money put on a grand spectacle with Cold Play performing for sailors in shorts surrounded by Bedouin millionaires in flowing robes.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 -Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

     The finish for Leg 7 to Lisbon found the fleet sailing miles and miles up the Tagus River in the dark against an out-going current in squirrelly winds. At times, the boats were sailing backwards. It would have been comical if not for the fact that it allowed Telefónica to catch up to Camper after the Australians had sailed 3,400 miles across the Atlantic ahead of their Spanish rival. The river drift-a-thon negated 11 days of tactically difficult and death-defying racing.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

Finally, the last two legs, from Lisbon to Lorient and Lorient to Galway, were essentially long, offshore, in-port races. But they were scored the same as any other leg. The winner of the 500-mile leg from France to Ireland received the same points as the winner of the 5,000-mile leg from China to Australia. That’s crazy. The points system should reflect the difference in each leg, awarding fewer points for the shorter legs at the end.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

Looking Ahead
The next Volvo Ocean Race will feature 65-foot one-designs. The goal is to level the playing field and make it cheaper for teams to field an entry. Race organizers would love to see a lot more than six boats competing. The more the merrier.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

For the same reason, organizers are trying to forge financial partnerships with tennis, golf and Formula One racing. The goal is to make the race the most popular sporting event in the world. With nine months to sell many products at exotic stops around the globe, there’s gobs of money to be made by everyone under the race’s financial umbrella.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

People ask me why the race ­doesn’t stop in Annapolis any more. I tell them that if we ever hope to see the Volvos in the Chesapeake again, we need to put together a team.

               Volvo - Leg 8 - Yann Riou - Groupama Sailing Team

So here’s an idea. The Volvo Ocean Race should team up with the NFL. Football fans like thrilling, action-packed extreme sport, and sailing is all about balls-to-the wall excitement and ruggedly handsome men in colorful sexy outfits.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

If the Baltimore Ravens were to team up with Under Armour to outfit a crew of professional sailors, it would be a match made in heaven.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

Can you imagine a sleek purple Volvo boat with a giant raven on the sail, cruising around the world promoting American football?

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

The stopover in Baltimore and Annapolis would draw a million spectators, all buying paraphernalia and filling hotels and restaurants for two weeks. Once the NFL tested the waters, the next race would have a team from Miami or New York.

                    Volvo - Leg 8 - Paul Todd-Volvo Ocean Race

The Giants may have won the Super Bowl, but can they beat a Ravens team in a sailboat race around the world?

                   Volvo - Leg 8 - Ian Roman -Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 9 - Galway of Bust

                            Yann Rious-Groupama Team Sailing-Volvo Ocean Race

               When you're riding high, everything seems to go your way, and that's how the Bretagne In-Port Race played out. Large crowds cheered on local hero Franck Cammas and Groupama as they mastered the upwind/downwind course off of Lorient. CAMPER banged the start and led all the way to the last downwind mark when they got caught in light air trap, allowing Groupama to steal the race in the last few meters.

                            Yann Riou-Groupama Team Sailing-Volvo Ocean Race

                "We snatched defeat from victory," grumbled CAMPER Skipper Chris Nicholson.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                CAMPER barely hung on to beat PUMA but closed the overall VOR gap between second and third to four points heading into Leg 9, a 550-mile sprint to Galway, Ireland. Leading by 25 points over PUMA, Groupama needed only to finish fourth to claim overall victory.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Ideal sailing conditions were the order of the day for the Leg 9 start. Blasting along at over 20 knots, the fleet quickly covered the 6.5-mile in-shore course and then headed into the treacherous Bay of Biscay.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                This might have been the shortest leg of the race but there many surprises ahead as the fleet sailed south into a stiff westerly breeze, leaving the small islands of Ile de Groix and Belle Ile to starboard. Telefónica led the charge with CAMPER and Groupama close behind.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                The final leg was all about picking the right sails for the wildy-fluctuating conditions and not making any mistakes; with the boats sailing within sight of one another for the entire race, an extra knot of boat speed, a poor sail change, or an untimely tack would determine the winner.

                A few hours into the leg, rain squalls descended and main sails were quickly reefed as fierce winds and waves battered the fleet.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                The first daring breakaway came when PUMA sailed to the west of Ile de Sein, a tiny island off the western tip of France.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Ken Read, PUMA’s wily skipper, explained his strategy. "We’re going to go a slightly bigger distance but we think it’s going to pay in the long run."

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                CAMPER led the pack across the stormy English Channel as darkness descended. Up ahead lay the Leg 9 exclusion zone, a perilous no-sail area encompassing the busiest shipping channel in the world.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                At this point, only a mile separated first from fourth place, with PUMA and Groupama to the west and CAMPER and Telefónica to the east as the fleet entered the notorious Celtic Sea where the ocean recoils off the continental shelf and radiates with jack hammer waves.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race    

            After a nasty night at sea, Telefónica held a tenuous lead with CAMPER a half mile astern as the sun rose and the fleet approached the next waypoint, the infamous Fastnet Rock, the most southerly point of Ireland.    

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                PUMA’s westerly route paid off and the black cat rounded Fastnet Rock a minute ahead of Telefónica with CAMPER and Groupama less than five minutes behind.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Rounding Blasket Island on the southwest tip of Ireland the boats drag raced downwind along the west coast of Ireland passing the misty Aran Islands, their towering dark cliffs guarding the entrance to Galway Bay at the breathtaking Eiragh lighthouse.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                It was now a four boat chess match. PUMA sailed the shortest route straight up the middle of the bay, while her rivals took slightly different lines, hoping to catch a little more wind or less current while trying to avoid the wind holes lurking around each headland.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                With 125 miles to go PUMA was a few hundred yards ahead of CAMPER.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Hamish Hooper aboard CAMPER set the final stage. "We have been sailing along some of the most stunning coastline I have seen anywhere in the world. It is rugged and cold and harsh - the perfect backdrop for the final fight of this leg. We are now downwind running to the mark with our A4 spinnaker, which we are desperately hoping will be our golden ticket to be first across the finish line."

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Hooper's wish proved prophetic because while all of the other boats decided to carry lots of equipment to stack on deck for the bumpy ride across the English Channel, CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson was convinced the race would be won in the last thirty miles. The weather forecast predicted a warm front would pass through in the wee hours of the last morning, delivering dying winds. So CAMPER was traveling light. They were also the only boat carrying a huge A4 light wind spinnaker and that proved to be the difference when the winds petered out.

After so many heartbreaking close finishes, CAMPER saved the best for last and snagged its first leg victory and leapfrogged PUMA for second place overall.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Groupama finished seven minutes behind CAMPER and PUMA finished third, followed by a disappointed Telefónica.

                Groupama were the first team to represent France in the VOR since Eric Tabarly's La Poste in 1993-94 and only the second French winners.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                Special kudos go out to the 100,000 Irish loonies who greeted the boats at 2:30 in the morning, fired-up on Guiness and cheering wildly as Mike Sanderson and the never-say-die crew of SANYA edged out Abu Dhabi after finishing last in every race in the only Volvo retread.

                                                  IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

                With the overall Volvo Race winner decided, the Galway in-port race would determine who would get to raise the Volvo In-Port Trophy. CAMPER and PUMA were tied at 39 points, one point ahead of Groupama. On a rainy day in the Emerald Isle, Ken Read and PUMA nailed the downwind start and led from wire to wire in the shifty flat water conditions, taking the tenth and final Volvo In-Port Race, ahead of CAMPER and Telefónica, to secure the in-port series trophy by one point.

                                                 IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race

Next Stop - Galway Pubs

FINAL VOLVO OCEAN RACE SCOREBOARD

GROUPAMA                                      253

CAMPER                                              231

PUMA                                                   226

Telefónica                                           213

Abu Dhabi                                          131

SANYA                                                   51

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/6735_Only-the-strong-survive.html