Sharing my views of the world one photo at a time! Enjoy the view.
Tulips in Manhattan – April 2016
I can’t think of a nicer Tulip Garden than this one in the West Side Community Garden on W89th Street in Manhattan. This 40 year old garden is a triumph of community action and is supported solely by volunteers. It is a wonderful spot for relaxation not to mention enjoying the flora.
Visit their website to learn more and find out about upcoming events. http://www.westsidecommunitygarden.org/about/
Enjoy my tulip photos.
Photos from a stroll from Manhattan to The Bronx, across the High Bridge at 170th Street.
Hanami is an age-old Japanese celebration of Spring. People throughout Japan authoring under the flowering cherry and plum trees with food, drink and friends to appreciate the fleeting nature of the spring blossoms. Hanami is essentially the Japanese ‘preview of spring’. This theme invites us to be present in the moment, aware of the temporal beauty of nature and its diverse expression in the plant life of the natural world.
I had the pleasure of seeing this show on February 28th, in Greenwich CT. Presented by the Green Fingers Garden Club, the show is a Major Flower Show of the Garden Club of America.
Walking in San Francisco yesterday, I stumbled across a number of succulent gardens in Haight Ashbury. You must look closely to see the color!
Finding a tranquil space is a wonderful thing! James Turrell’s installation at the DeYoung is certainly a tranquil space. Even when children come bustling in and are full of excitement, they recognize it as a special place and usually become very silent if others are sitting quietly.
Entering the outdoor space at the museum is free, as is the observation tower. Once in the outdoor space, take a stroll through the small grove of black bamboo and you will enter the dome by means of an encompassing pathway. Be prepared to spend a few minutes in thought once you arrive!
It is sad to note the passing of Dick Newick. One of the greatest yacht designers, Dick designed many revolutionary winners. Trimarans like ‘Third Turtle’, ‘Moxie’, and ‘Three Cheers’, and the proa Cheers. Always very fast, they weren’t designed to any rule other than seaworthiness, speed and good handling! And in the hands of good skippers they went on to win races like the Singlehanded Transatlantic race, the Route de Rhum, and others.
Dick always said there are three design parameters, but most clients would have to choose two of the three…speed, comfort, low price. And he was right, you simply can’t have all three, so he normally chose to put comfort aside. But in fact, when a person faced up to the realities of ‘comfort at sea’ in a small yacht, he would come to realize that Newick designs were surprisingly comfortable! And besides, what could be more comforting than to get to your destination so much faster!
I had the pleasure of owning both a Tremolino and a T-gull, and my days aboard the 23′ Tremolino in particular, provided great joy in the pure pleasure of sailing fast in a small boat with little effort and quite a lot of control. Touching 20 knots more than once, I came to appreciate the more comfortably fast speeds in the 10-14 knot range, and how often those could be enjoyed in surprisingly comfortable wind and sea conditions! The photo above is from 1987, when I enjoyed a great solo sail on Puget Sound, especially when I rigged the pole-less spinnaker, lashed the tiller amidships, and let the boat sail dead downwind without any fuss!
And Dick’s tremolino design gets most of the credit for my survival of the 1982 Double-handed Farallons race, a race which took four lives and a number of boats. Due to my bad judgement we (crew Bob Baker and I) pressed on towards the Farallons aboard ‘Rush’ as the weather from the southeast worsened. Going too fast as we sailed head-on into the growing Pacific swells, we tore the mainsail, and broke both dolphin-striker wires supporting the forward crossbeam. Fortunately it didn’t buckle! Light boats are easy to break and need to be slowed down early!
With a spinnaker sheet rigged from from side to side underneath the main hull to support the crossbeam, and only a roller furling jib available, we decided our best bet was to head off the wind and go north, and beach the boat on the coast. Now going fast into the Pacific swells had tested the boat’s buoyancy and even when the bow dug into green water back to the mast, the hull always bobbed to the surface! But as we headed north and put the wind on the quarter, the boat took off and began to surf down the waves, making quite some speed! As the boat surfed, we felt the rudder cavitate a number of times, rendering it useless. But the tremolino continued to behave well beyond the capabilities of her inexperienced crew. Finally, as dusk was upon us, we came into a slight lee at the west end of Drake’s Bay, beached the boat and left it there safely for two days when it was ultimately trailered home. It was a ride I’ll never forget!
Perhaps the best tribute to Dick Newick is to watch the video at the following link. Then you will have some idea of the grace and thrill of being aboard a Dick Newick trimaran!
Thank you Dick, and I wish you fair winds and following seas always!
note: The tremolo ‘Rush’ skippered by the previous owner Paul Mazza, was one of the first boats to ever finish the single-handed Farallons Race in daylight!
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11 Year old Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek California congratulates her first round opponent at the Heritage Bank of Commerce $25,000 Tennis Championship at Moraga Country Club on 7 August 2013. Volynets, a nationally ranked player, beat the 2nd seed in two sets.
Come out and see some great tennis this week at Moraga Country Club. Men & Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles during the $25,000 Heritage Bank of Commerce Championships. Admission is free and court-side seats are available!
Try the Night Sessions on Thursday night and enjoy the barbecue dinner and drinks while you watch tennis!
See more photos here: http://www.thomaspappas.com/Home/Heritage_Tennis_-_Moraga_Ca.html
December 13 2011
I happened to be in the Marin Headlands with my friend Christina and we decided to stop in at the Marine Mammal Center. How lucky we were to learn they would be releasing two sea lions back to the wild that day! The sea lions had been suffering from a bacterial infection but were now recovered!
So, not only a beautiful sunny December day in Sausalito enjoying the coast, but the opportunity to see these sea lions return to their natural habitat!
I hope you enjoy my photos.
Enjoyed this wonderful musical last night at Miramonte. The acting, singing and music were great. A very professional and fun production! The theater is also excellent. Not a bad seat in the house!
It’s running till March 16th. Go see it.
