Brad Avery

im Carnett, Special to the Daily Pilot HOBART, Tasmania - Alaska Eagle, Orange Coast College's beautiful, 65-foot sail training vessel, finished 24th out of 80 boats in the 55th annual Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, staged between Christmas and New Year's Day. The race is known or its wild and rough conditions. Last year's event claimed six lives. Eighty yachts started this year's race on Sunday, Dec. 26 in Sydney Harbor. Fifty yachts finished, while 30 were forced to retire.

ABOARD THE ALASKA EAGLE, off South Georgia Island — With 30 knots of wind behind us, Alaska Eagle was flying along at 11 knots. Suddenly we found ourselves in fog with 200 feet of visibility. "Up for ice!" Peter called from the mast. As we quickly turned toward the wind, a golf cart-sized chunk of glacier slid by to starboard. In clear weather, the ice is easy to spot by our four lookouts, but the fog now demands more attention; hitting a ton or two of a bit of iceberg can do serious damage.

ABOARD THE ALASKA EAGLE, anchored at South Georgia Island — We've spent the last week exploring the southern half of this extraordinary sub-Antarctic island. Our days have consisted of sailing to a new anchorage in the mornings and going ashore in the afternoons to visit the abundant wildlife and do some incredible hiking. We have found that sailing 15 or 20 miles to the next cove involves 40 to 50 knots of wind. After three weeks aboard, the Alaska Eagle's crew is now taking heavy-weather sailing in stride.

552 CLUB JUNIORS: "Celebrate the Holidays" with the 552 Club Juniors at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Balboa Pavilion. At $55 per person, the holiday party festivities include dinner set against the festive backdrop of the Newport Harbor Boat Parade, dancing to "Blue Machine," 50/50 drawing and silent auction, and presentations of the Coslow and Davies Outstanding Juniors Awards. Funds raised will go toward the new Women's Pavilion at Hoag Hospital. Organizers note this is a great way to kick off the Holiday Season and make new friends.

A shopping benefit is happening this weekend at At-Ease in Fashion Island. At-Ease will donate 10% of its sales to Children's Hospital of Orange County. The event will also include entertainment, special orders and trunk shows. Today, members of the U.S. Olympic Sailing team will sign autographs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. And, Bill Ficker, the winner of America's Cup 1968; Brad Avery, the director of the OCC School of Seamanship; and yacht designer Gino Morelli will greet customers from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sperry Topsider and Reyn Spooner are showing their latest spring and summer lines.

"On Tuesday, Jan. 30, a close friend and neighbor suffered a stroke in his spine, a rare and life-changing medical experience," according to Rotarian Joan Archibald, a member of the Rotary Club of Costa Mesa. Bill Thomas is 40, married with two young children — Keoni, 3, and Makaio, 9 months. Thomas is at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and is on a respirator. He is paralyzed from the neck down. You can read more about Bill at www.neighborbill.com . The neighbors and the Rotary Club are coming together from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. April 27 for a Casino Night at the Halecrest Clubhouse, 3107 Killybrooke Lane, Costa Mesa, with the proceeds going to the Thomas family Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.

EDUCATION Radio personality donates 58-foot sailboat to OCC What do Walt Disney's nephew, the former president of Yugoslavia and one of America's most popular radio personalities have in common? As of last week, they've all donated boats to the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship — with Laura Schlessinger, known to radio listeners as "Dr. Laura," becoming the latest donor. Schlessinger donated her cruising sailboat, which she named On the Air, to the sailing school on Feb. 23, and the school announced her gift on Wednesday.

Kevin McMahan, a 6 foot 2, 196-pound wide receiver from the University of Maine, was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the 255th and final pick in this year's NFL Draft. That selection earned him the distinction of being this year's Mr. Irrelevant. McMahan will travel to Newport Beach, and from June 15 to 19 he will receive gifts from hundreds of businesses, be treated to a day at Disneyland, and be honored at a banquet. On June 15, McMahan will be roasted, toasted and presented with the Lowsman Trophy at the All-Star Lowsman Sports Banquet at the Irvine Marriott, where ESPN's John Ireland will serve as master of ceremonies.

This week, I'd like to solicit opinions from our readers on a couple items. The first two have to do with some different things we've done here at the Daily Pilot this week, starting with the diary-style column we are running from Guy Hebert. Let me tell you all the genesis of that. We were approached by the Mighty Ducks organization with the idea of having Hebert, a Newport Beach resident, write a diary during the playoffs. Hebert is a former goalie and was an active member of the team the last time the Ducks made the playoffs.