Cruising Outpost News

All the news that fits

Time for a Change

We can’t change the past, nor can we control what will happen to us. All we can do is change our attitude! Inside Cruising Outpost

Time to Grow

Well, so far so good. This is our third issue and once again we are printing about 20% more than the previous issue.

Part of the reason for the growth is the boat shows we go to. At each show we meet more people who learn of CO and subscribe. That’s a good thing!

So, in order to show just how nuts we are we decided to add a couple more shows to our schedule. We even added a new party!

First of all we added the Chicago In-Water show June 13-16, and the following weekend we added the San Diego International Boat Show.

If that’s not enough, we decided to work with the folks at the Boating and Outdoor Festival in Harris Township, MI on Sept. 19-20 where they will have a “Cruising Outpost Bar” and we will host a new Cruisers’ Party. This is just a week after the Newport International Boat Show & Party! How kewl is that?

Check page 22 in this issue for a list of the upcoming parties and join us!

Free Landshark at Margaritaville? Family Ties - Music & Yoga

No, not at all of them, but at the new Biloxi Margaritaville Casino, just mention Bob Bitchin or Cruising Outpost and the management will comp you a cool draft of Landshark beer. What a deal! This is designed for cruisers! The floating slips are brand new and most reasonable. Try the new Margaritaville Restaurant and stores. Feel like trying your luck? They boast that they have the loosest slots and hottest table games on the coast! The best part? This place is run by cruisers! How can you go wrong? See you there.

After Eric Stone finished playing at the Strictly Sail Pacific Cruisers’ Party, he and “Yoga Kim” (Kim Hess) headed over to Las Vegas and tied the knot! It was all very hush-hush, but news spread fast once they were Mr. & Mrs.. Eric has been with us for over 15 years, and Kim has done work with us for about 10. I guess we can say this is “all in the family!”

Catalina Cruisers’ Weekend October 18 – 20, 2013

Mom to the Rescue

In response to a 911 call to save a stranded kayaker, a Washington State dispatcher not only notified the sheriff’s department, she called her mom. The stranded woman, who was an inexperienced kayaker, had come too close to a jetty on the Columbia River and her kayak capsized in the swift current and sank. She was able to climb onto the jetty while her companion paddled off in search of help. The dispatcher realized that her mother, an experienced kayaker, lived nearby and would be able to get to the stranded woman quicker than the sheriff’s patrol boat. Mom and family jumped into kayaks and a skiff, and came to the woman’s rescue. She was cold and shaken but didn’t require medical care.

Cruisers heading to the Mexican Riviera should plan a stop at beautiful Two Harbors! Arrive Friday in time for Happy Hour and live music at the Harbor Reef Bar.

Saturday there will be exhibitor booths, cruising seminars, BBQ & live island music... all at no charge! Saturday night enjoy tri-tip by Port Royal YC, drinks by Adventure Voyaging, sides and dessert by you. There will be a raffle and giveaways to benefit Heal the Bay and the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program.

You can also join Holly Scott from Charlie’s Charts on a ‘Round the Island’ voyage. Then, the following weekend sail south to the Long Beach Strictly Sail Show and join Bob & Jody for a Cruisers’ Party!

Cruising Outpost News Plan Ahead

(Upcoming Cruising Outpost Events)

Chicago In-Water Boat Show June 13-16, 2013 31st Street Harbor, Chicago, IL San Diego International Boat show June 20-23, 2013 Sheraton, Harbor Island, San Diego, CA Pacific Northwest Cruisers’ Weekend August 10-11, 2013 Poulsbo Marina, Poulsbo, Washington

Cruising Outpost Party Saturday Aug. 10

Newport International Boat Show Sept. 12-15, 2013 Newport Yachting Center, Newport, RI

Cruising Outpost Party Saturday Sept. 14

Boating & Outdoor Festival Sept. 19-22, 2013 Lake St. Claire Metro Park, Harris Twp, MI

Cruising Outpost Party Saturday Sept. 21

Annapolis Boat Show October 10-14, 2013 Historic Waterfront, Annapolis, MD Strictly Sail Long Beach October 24-27, 2013 Shoreline Village, Long Beach, CA

Cruising Outpost Party Saturday Oct. 26

St. Petersburg Power & Sail Show Dec. 5-8, 2013 Mahaffey Theater Yacht Basin, St. Pete, FL

Cruising Outpost Party Saturday Dec. 7

For more info on these and other events go to www.cruisingoutpost.com

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Missed it by That Much!

So near, yet so far! A Danish solo sailor who had his heart set on a solo roundworld sail ended up in Britain, instead of his finish point in Denmark, after his yacht was dismasted.

Twenty-eight-year-old Christian Liebergreen had to be rescued after 260 days without setting foot on land. He was only 700 nm from the end of his 30,000 nm voyage when the mast of his 35-foot yacht Jonna came down in heavy seas. He ended up in Brixham, instead of Copenhagen, after being rescued by a lifeboat from Torbay. The incident happened in Lyme Bay, 14 nm northeast of Brixham.

A spokesman for the Torbay lifeboat said, “Everything is fine, and the skipper did everything right. There was a fair old sea running at the time.” Titanic Not That Big!

The Titanic weighed in at 46,328 tons, carried 3,000 passengers and was 882.5 feet long with a 92-foot beam.

The Allure of the Sea, shown behind the Titanic, weighs in at 225,282 tons, carries 5,400 passengers, is 1,187 feet long with a 154-foot beam.

BUT, the Titanic still outclassed the newly built cruise ship!

The Hobie 2013 Everglades Challenge

On March 2nd, off the coast of Tampa Bay, Florida, 88 participants crossed the starting line of the Everglades Challenge. The event – a 300+-mile unsupported, expeditionstyle adventure race for kayaks, canoes, and small boats – can most accurately be described as “grueling.” Five days, nine hours, 26 minutes, 330 miles and 62 participants later, Jim Czarnowski, Hobie’s Director of Engineering, posted the fastest overall time of any competitor on the most difficult route, the famed Everglades National Park Wilderness Waterway. Jim was also on the first Hobie to ever make the remote and challenging passage. Now THAT is adventure cruising!

Feeling Flighty?

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour is 61,000.

The Ferry to Nowhere

It seems no one wants an ice-breaking ferry these days. The prototype was completed in 2011 in a partnership between the Navy, which wanted a fast military landing craft, and the Natanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska, which wanted a ferry. Named Susitna, the ferry was to be owned and operated by the borough, however it seems they overlooked a few important items, like suitable docks and a workable business plan to operate it. Monthly costs for insurance, maintenance, etc., were averaging $75,000, so they are trying to get rid of it. So far they have received only one bid for $751,000. The ferry cost $80 million to build. They are still soliciting buyers, but are also looking to give the ferry away to a government organization that meets federal requirements. One of those being evaluated is in the U.S. Virgin Islands. That ice-breaking feature should come in handy, eh?

Azzam - None Bigger!

The largest private yacht ever built has launched. She’s called Azzam and is a staggering 590 feet long (that’s nearly two football fields) and is longer than some cruise ships. She’s 54 feet longer than the next largest yacht - Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse.

Azzam’s beam measures 68.2 feet (20.8m) while she draws just 15.8 feet (4.3m). She is powered by two gas turbines and two diesel engines which develop a staggering 94,000 horsepower. She will have a top speed in excess of 30 knots and has been described as the most complex and challenging yacht ever built.

Boat builder Lürssen, which has been building boats since 1875, launched Azzam for the first time in Germany at a reputed cost of $400 million. However, there are few clues so far as to who owns Azzam. The new owner gave the team behind the project the brief to build a ‘large luxury yacht with an innovative and timeless design that would be able to travel at high speed in warm and shallow waters, whilst providing luxurious and sophisticated accommodation to its guests.’ The Museum of Yachting

Nowhere in the world is the history of yachting more lovingly preserved than in Newport, Rhode Island, and especially at the Museum of Yachting itself. So if you are anywhere within reach of Newport, one of the oldest yachting-mad towns in the world, there’s an exhibition you won’t want to miss. It’s opening on June 1st, so you have plenty of time to get there. The Museum will feature a diverse collection of Newport yachting scenes to give both residents and visitors alike a look at the history of yachting in this New England city.

Sailing the Stars

Since the mid 1800s we’ve known that light can exert pressure on objects and cause them to move, exactly like wind fi lling a sail. Granted, light does not exert much force, but there’s an unlimited supply that constantly streams from the sun and it’s going very fast. The solar wind, as it is called, can be used to sail the stars and over time, impressive velocities are possible. In less than four months, a solar sail can hit speeds of 8700mph. After three years it can attain speeds of almost 150,000mph. At this speed it could reach Pluto in less than three years.

Submitted by “Dr. Knowitall” aka Dr. Al Lipkin AB, MA, Ph.D., SOB

Cruise Ship Adrift

The adventurous life of M/V Lyubov Orlova as a cruise ship is now over, but it would seem far more exciting days await her in the future. On her latest voyage her salons are empty, there’s no captain on the bridge, no crew attending to her needs, and no band playing. She is the ultimate ghost ship since she was cut loose by Canadian authorities in International waters.

She is now making her way slowly across the Atlantic and drifting towards Europe, all alone. She had previously been condemned to death in a Canadian scrap yard, so for the moment at least, she has escaped the executioner’s axe.

Until recently no one quite knew where she was, but after being adrift in the North Atlantic since the end of January she was fi nally located some 1200nm off the West of Ireland at coordinates 4922.70N and 044-51.34W.

Bottom Job

Feel Like Taking a Walk?

It’s true that walking can add minutes to your life, but you might want to consider the consequences of your actions! If you add those fi ve years onto the end of your life (how would you add them to the front of your life?) you could live to 85 years old. That would allow you to spend an additional fi ve months in a nursing home at an estimated $7000 per month. Maybe your should just enjoy the years you have. After all, it’s not the years in your life that matter, it’s the life in those years!

The Bureaucraps are at it Again!

The so-called “Marine Fair Use” legislation (Senate bill s401) passed the Senate and moved to the House. It’s predicted to be approved. US boaters can expect a new tax early as January, 2014. This and other ‘luxury’ and ‘sin’ taxes are being pushed through easily because they affect a relative minority of voters, and thus pose little risk to most Congress members’ re-election. Senator Kurt Drieson said, “Owning a boat, and especially a yacht, is proof in and of itself of disposable income.” The Senator has previously stated that land-based RVs and “boats with a real purpose, like fishing or hunting,” would not be taxed.

It’s another case of self-serving bureaucratic bloat and a case of creating and funding a navy for the police state.

SWAC Ralley - October, 2014

There are still relatively few people who have actually sailed and explored the Atlantic islands. Now there is an opportunity available to everyone, boat owners and sailors alike, to sail the Southerly trade wind route to the West Indies in their own yachts.

SWAC has been designed to allow you to sail in company with other yachts to the Caribbean Islands and back, along the same historic routes that have been used by the captains of sailing ships for centuries.

SWAC is divided into two main individual legs, a Westbound and an Eastbound Transatlantic crossing, with the benefit of joining at various and convenient starting points. It also offers four additional cruising events. SWAC guarantees unusual places, new and interesting people, and an epic event.

Want to know more? Go to: www.atlanticcircuit.com

Back to School

B&G has announced the launch of its new online sailing academy. Designed to help all sailors, whether expert or novice, brush up on sailing theory and improve technique, B&G Academy consists of innovative e-learning tutorials designed by experienced sailing instructors. B&G Academy tutorials use animated video to cover a variety of subjects including wind triangle, start lines, instruments, safety, race strategy and more. Go check it out at http://www.bandg.com/

Want to Wet Your Whistle?

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle fired into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’ is the phrase inspired by this practice. Darwin to Ambon Race Set for August 17th

The Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race attracts large crowds to watch the action and enjoy the dry season sunshine and festival atmosphere. Join the fleet or find a vantage point from which to see the colorful sailing vessels start their sailing adventure, which ends in Ambon, Indonesia. With the crack of the start gun, the race is on.

The course is 600-nautical miles to the capital of the Spice Islands, and it attracts blue water sailors from Australia and the world. Skippers who wish to enter should contact the Darwin to Ambon Yacht Race Committee or refer to their website; www. darwinambonrace.com.au/

War and Peace

We give up leisure in order that we may have leisure, just as we go to war in order that we may have peace. Aristotle

Sail Aboard the Bill of Rights

Sail this majestic tall ship, with her professional crew, over to Two Harbors for the entire Catalina Cruiser’s Weekend event. Board the boat Friday, 11:00 am at King Harbor, Redondo Beach, CA. Arrive in time for the event kick-off at the Harbor Reef with a live band. Live on the tall ship while you enjoy the event ashore, including Saturday cruising seminars and a free live concert and BBQ Saturday night. Sail home Sunday morning, back around 2:00 pm. For more on this adventure go to www.adventurevoyaging.com

Around the World in 80 Days

Alex Thomson had good reason to celebrate after circumnavigating the world single-handedly on his fourth attempt. He joined one of sport’s most select clubs. Arriving in France to an uproarious welcome, he also had the satisfaction of knowing he was, by eight days, the quickest Briton ever to complete the distance. He rounded the world in that most mystical of times, 80 days. Well, 80 days, 19 hours and 23 minutes to be precise. He was still three days behind the winner, François Gabart, but worth almost $100,000 in prize-money. Not too bad for a “quick trip around!”

And It Has Its Own Marina!

Larry Ellison is buying 98 percent of Hawaii’s pineapple island, Lanai. He didn’t say what he plans to do with the island’s 141 square miles, but says he plans substantial investments that will create jobs and stimulate tourism to the island once owned in the 1920s by the founder of Dole Foods Co. Ellison’s involvement in the deal was publicly announced by Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie. With nearly 50 miles of coastline, it has two resorts, zero traffic lights and its own marina!

Reaching Out to the Youth of America

There is a new campaign from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and other sources, to the Opiate Awareness Institute, that will help provide sailboats to be restored and sailed by young people, which will help build the sailing base while helping keep kids off of drugs. The Opiate Awareness Institute is a new and exciting platform for addressing the youth of America about the extreme dangers associated with the misuse of commonly prescribed opiate based pain relievers. If you know someone who might want to help, Contact the Opiate Awareness Institute at www. opiateawarness.info or give them a call at 727 614-5066

Thar Be Pirates!

April 18, 2013 - Pointe Noire Anchorage, The Congo: Three robbers in a small boat approached and attempted to board an anchored General Cargo Ship. Alert duty crew spotted the robbers climbing the anchor chain and raised the alarm. On hearing the alarm, the robbers jumped into the water and escaped empty handed. Port Control contacted and all crew safe.

April 17, 2013 - Campha Outer Anchorage, Vietnam: Three robbers boarded a bulk carrier via forward bow and hawse pipe unnoticed. Duty AB noticed them in the process of lowering ropes into a waiting boat and informed the Master who raised the alarm and alerted the crew. The crew tried to recover the ropes by using the winch but the robbers cut off the ropes and escaped.

April 16, 2013 - Gulf of Guinea: Armed pirates in a skiff approached and fired upon a tanker under way. Alarm raised and distress signals activated, fire pump started, crew proceeded to their emergency stations and citadel, speed increased and evasive manoeuvres made. After around 20 minutes the skiff aborted the attack and moved away. Crew and vessel safe.

Thanks to ICC Commercial Crime Services http://bit.ly/11PjqFG