Hansen Rigging
LETTERS
Rigging Specialists you had to stand and raise the tiller so that it was less and less perpendicular to the rudder shaft. This begins to adversely affect your mechanical advantage, and it feels as if the pressure on the tiller has increased dramatically. I find that novice drivers will pull the tiller up in the air when tacking, just when they would benefit from the leverage and feel that comes from having the tiller perpendicular. Ideally, you arrange people in the cockpit so that lifting the tiller isn't necessary, and either step over it or in front of it when tacking. Or tack using the autopilot. Chuck Hawley Santa Cruz
Standing rigging Deck hardware Upgrades Leisure Furl
Mast Boom Running rigging
info@hansenrigging.com 2307 Blanding Ave., Ste. GH • Alameda, CA 94501 HOURS M-F 10 am-6:30 pm Sat/Sun by appt.
(510) 521-7027 C. SHERMAN JOHNSON CO. INC.
Marine Hardware KEEPING YOU CONNECTED! Full Line of Hand Crimp, Machine Swage and DIY Cordage Fittings
DIY Lifeline Fittings
Rubbaweld™ Rigging Tape
Unique Accessories
Rigging Hardware Calibrated Turnbuckle
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Grab ‘n Go™ Hook
C. SHERMAN JOHNSON CO., INC. East Haddam, CT 06423 USA Te l 8 6 0 . 8 7 3 . 8 6 9 7
www.csjohnson.com
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Latitude 38
• March, 2019
⇑⇓ MAX EBB EDIFICATION Here's an old solution to an old problem: Lift up tiller. Insert bitter end of mainsheet between tiller butt and rudder post. Problem solved. (Every Cal 20 skipper knows this.) Max Ebb Readers — thanks for all of your tiller thoughts! They drove us to a good outcome. ⇑⇓ A QUESTION ABOUT EUROPEAN CRUISING I read the story about Ni and Krissy Orsi cruising the Med on Finalmente in your November 2018 edition of Latitude (Vol. 497) with high interest. My husband and I will return to Greece in April this year to pick up our cruising life again after having been there on our Lagoon 450 catamaran last summer for two and a half months. My burning question to the Orsis is, how do you manage to cruise in the Med for a continuous six months at a time? With a US passport we are limited to a 90-day stay in the Schengen area within a 180-day period. What's the secret? We somehow want to spend the rest of 2019 in the Med before (hopefully) crossing the Atlantic by the end of 2019, but at this point we don't see how we could spend all of our time in Greece, Italy, France and Spain without having to spend 90 days in a non-Schengen area. Any response would be greatly appreciated. Rita Odlum Opus One Rita — Here's a response from Annibale Orsi herself: "For us it is easy; we are both US citizens and Italian citizens. We carry two passports. If they have a father or mother that was born or their parents were born in an EU country, they may be eligible to receive a second passport; all the information is on the Internet at the different embassies. That is what we did some 25 plus years ago. If that does not apply, then they can apply for an extended visa. "I know several cruisers who have done this in Italy. Beyond that, I also know many people who just do not live to the 90day rule and take their chances — not good. There is a way to use Albania, Montenegro and Turkey to beat the rule because they are not part of Schengen. I hope this helps. [Also, try this link for some info:] www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visacountries-list." ⇑⇓ A QUESTION ABOUT DONATIONS . . . AND LUNCH I have accumulated a lot of marine gear that clogs our boat and my garage. Are there good places to donate things like lifejackets, foul weather gear, used lines and tired sails? I've tried youth programs but didn't get much interest. Are the consignment places I've heard about effective? If so where are they?