Cruising outpost #14 spring 2016

Launch into Spring with 184 pages of seafaring adventure!

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Issue #14 Spring 2016

Contents

Special Stuff in this Issue The Whole Nine Yards Cat Tracks in the Grenadines Broughtons and Back Learning Prop Walk Don’t Let It Break You Rules for Cruising Cuba Rescued by Dolphins Storm Prep in Paradise Sailing with Ciguatera Trouble in the Galley

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Regular Stuff in this Issue Attitudes Bob Bitchin Scuttlebutt Another Way Tania Aebi What’s Out There: New Boat Designs Lifestyle Flotsam & Jetsam Book Review Capt. Jim Cash CO Events & News I Found It at the Boat Show Trouble with Treb Rich Marker Talk of the Dock Zuzana Prochazka Life Aboard Robin Stout Tech Tips Captain Pauly Bubba Whartz Morgan Stinemetz Mackie White Cruisians Parting Shot

8 28 48 56 74 100 136 140 144 149 150 152 154 158 179 180 181

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Attitudes “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” Charles Darwin,

By Bob Bitchin

About 3,500 years ago, just about the time the Phoenicians were at the top of their game, a tiny cypress tree, no bigger than a goose egg, sprouted in Central Florida. It was one of the oldest organisms in the world. In 2012 a 26-year-old woman burned it to the ground.

The tree was “The Senator.” It stood 118 feet tall and lived for 3,500 years. In that time it survived logging, hurricanes, as well as disease, and the Seminole Indians used it as a landmark.

Time. It is the one element of our life that, no matter how we try, we cannot change. Oh, we can change our perception of time, but time just keeps on ticking by.

But, put me on a boat sailing down a coast or crossing an ocean,and I find myself controlling time. If you want time to go by faster, sail into a squall. I guarantee you will see time speed by faster than you ever thought possible.

Sail into a “high” and see time almost stop.

Sitting on deck, maybe tucked into a comfortable bean bag chair leaned up against the mast while the autopilot steers your way, and the hours slow.

It seems like the pleasure of the moment will never end.

As I try to justify this in my alleged mind, I look at the life of that tree. It was 3,500 years old, but did it live? Did it really live its life? I think not.

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I try to imagine what life would be like if we were like that tree, year after year after year not moving.

What were the extent of its “adventures?”

Yes, it got to experience some hurricanes. In fact, it probably sat thru thousands of hurricanes.

And it sat thru 1,277,500 days in the same spot.

That’s 30,660,000 hours of sheer boredom.

Jeanne Calment lived 122 years. She lived in Arles, France for her entire life. How much of her “life” did she live?

And then there are people like Ernest Hemingway. In Just 62 years he crammed more life into his years, I would wager, than both Jeanne and “The Senator.”

You’ll get to a place where you will notice your past is longer than your future. Time keeps ticking by. You can’t stop it. But you can jam as much living into that life is possible.

Yes, it’s possible to add life to your future, but you can’t add life to what is passed.

One of my personal heroes, Dr. hunter S. Thompson, said it the best way I have ever heard it.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a Ride!”

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The Whole N Two Girls + One Dog

Part VII The Canadian Adventure Begins

By Jessica Zevalkink

W

e were in the center of Lake Ontario. I was trying to hide the pride of knowing how far we had come, but I couldn’t shake it as the imaginary line separating America and Canada was only a mile ahead. It was nearly two years prior we waved goodbye to the Great Lakes and here we were, re-entering them as different women. Better than the best friends we were when we began, we confidently moved forward, aware of our consequences, with a full understanding of what we had left behind and what could potentially lay ahead. Without words Katie and I operated. Without questions we moved forward. Without answers we were constantly eager.

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Certainly there was no better day in existence to cross through the center of Lake Ontario. The mast laid horizontal on the deck and we continued to operate solely under power. We chugged over a sheet of glass that only presented itself as a body of water based on the ripples trailing behind. I could barely find the seam where the water met the sky. If I didn’t know any better, I would have

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Nine Yards + One 27-Foot Boat

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The Whole Nine Yards assumed we were on a different planet. One where horizons did not exist. Multiple species of bugs hitched a ride in the cockpit since first light. Like me, they looked in every direction and saw nothing but a vast gradient of blues without interruption. A different planet. Why would they leave? Everything we needed to survive was right here.

Let me rephrase - everything we needed to be happy - was right here.

I was initially perturbed by these bugs and had to repeat over and over in my head to not smash them with satisfaction… but to let the little bug children rest, even if they were using my appendages as their couch.

Trent-Severn The Trent-Severn Waterway is made up of 240 winding miles of interconnecting man-made channels where boats can get from the town of Trenton, in Lake Ontario, to the Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. Forty-five locks, including hydraulic lift locks, flight locks and a historic railway chute, transport boats between the lower and upper sections of the waterway. This has become a popular way to travel the Great Loop, as long as you are made up of patience and your boat does not draw more than 5-1/2 feet.

After two incredible anchorages tucked in between granite rocks and islands known as the “1000 Islands” we headed for the town of Trenton, on the north side of Lake Ontario. Louise was pushing forward bucking bronco style, head into wind-chopped waves. Unlike the other day, this could have been considered the worst possible conditions to be on a massive lake with a mast on the deck. Somewhere back on the East Coast Katie and I lost our good judgement and apparently decided we were invincible. I swore with some kind of hocus-pocus my concentration would prevent the mast from flying off and sinking, and I was completely focused on holding it in place with the power of my eyeballs. Pretty sure it was working.

With all concentration on the mast and nowhere else but, Katie was driving and she pointed out that what-do-yaknow, we weren’t moving forward any more. We had been holding a steady three knots throughout these final nasty miles to Trenton and I looked down at our speed and surely, we were at a standstill. We had become a rocking horse sitting outside of Walmart, someone was feeding us pennies and we weren’t going anywhere.

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Part VII - The Canadian Adventure Begins

We couldn’t put the sails up, because obviously, we were not a sailboat at the time. I could see our destination in the distance, but it sure as hell wasn’t getting any closer.

The engine sounded fine… nothing else sounded peculiar… nothing felt weird. I had flashbacks to the time we lost our transmission in the Bahamas. I began swearing a lot in my head, but those words don’t need to be relayed to express my concern.

We turned around and surfed the waves instead of fighting them as we messed with the throttle and shifter to figure things out. Some masts were hiding behind trees not far downwind. Katie pointed Louise towards what looked like a marina hoping to get us somewhere protected. Louise moved at one knot. It is not easy to dissect an issue when you are violently bobbling around. With a lot of good luck we were able to throw our lines to a nice young lad at the Trenton Yacht Club.

I got in the water to look at the propeller. Where was the propeller? I only saw a forest of weeds. I began hacking away. A bundle of weeds was so tautly wrapped around the shaft and prop I was actually impressed that all the working parts were still intact. Poor little Louise just had her panties in a twist. Problem solved.

The next morning Katie woke up sick. She referred to her sickness as “razor throat” explaining in detail what

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The Whole Nine Yards it felt like to swallow razors. I was not envious of Razor Throat and did my best to stay on “my side” of the boat that day. However, when one of us is sick, its like both of us are sick, so it didn’t matter. Because she felt like crap, I did too.

The day was young and we had plenty of time to turn our frowns upside down.

We fired up the engine and pulled some enthusiasm out of our behinds to enter the Trent-Severn Waterway. The engine puttered out just as we were backing out of the slip. Like a robot I crawled into the basement and bled air out of the lines as Razor Throat cranked it over. With more air bubbles in the system than normal, we didn’t have enough battery to start the boat after bleeding it. Unfortunately, the docks did not have 30 amp electric.

We found the nice young lad who worked at the yacht club when we got desperate for a solution. He removed the battery from his own boat and, like a mailman, delivered it to us as if it were light as a letter. When he passed it to me I pretended that I, too, thought it was light. In reality, the battery pulled me into the basement head first and I disappeared into the depths.

We jumped Louise with the spare battery, I bled the air from the fuel, and we were on our way - knowing that bleeding the fuel first thing always foreshadows a shit day. Not even a mile into the Trent- Severn, I was playing “chicken” with a small fishing skiff in a narrow canal. There was a fork in the river, one way leading to our first lock, and the other leading towards a rushing dam. The skiff was in the center of the fork, the fishermen slowly reeling in their lines as they saw us approach. When I got closer I chose to

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loop around the right side (apparently the wrong side) with intentions to not rush them. “CRRRUUUNNNNCH.” I ran Louise up a mountain and parked her on the highest peak. I swear I heard the fiberglass crushing beneath us. It was an awful sound that I wish upon no boater.

I looked in the bilge; we weren’t sinking.

It didn’t take many attempts to understand we were not going to be able to do this alone. We had to ask the two men in the skiff for help while an audience of Canadian fishermen watched from the nearby banks. Outwardly I was smiling and even laughing (laughing?!?!) with the two fishermen who were about to throw us a line. At the time, making light of the situation was the only way I could handle it when actually, I felt like a complete ass hole who clearly chose the wrong side of the path, who could have potentially sunk our house, and who wanted to crawl into the V-berth and not come out until next spring.

We cleated off a line and the men in the skiff pulled us down from the mountain as we listened to Louise rearrange the rocks under her keel. Razor Throat was on the bow the entire time, silent, her eyes piercing through me; not so frustrated that I had accidentally hit rocks, but that I hit rocks and was pretending that everything was fine while she was up there swallowing razors.

Being somewhat of a flirt in times of need was something I hated about myself. But I didn’t know what else to do because I knew being a bitch wasn’t going to get us anywhere.

Adrift at last, we were thankful for the fishermen who ruined and saved our lives all in a matter of minutes.

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Part VII - The Canadian Adventure Begins

I continued toward the lock… but it wasn’t over yet.

I throttled up, and just like the day before, we were going nowhere. Weeds. Voluntarily I stripped down, threw on my goggles, and got in the water to remove the weeds from the prop. I was the one who got us into the situation in the first place. I felt it was my job to have to plunge into the icy waters at 10:00 a.m. With our Canadian riverbank audience watching the whole thing, I had never been so embarrassed to be flying an American flag.

Like our moods, the sky remained gray. I spent the remainder of the day wondering if there was a hole in the boat and pissed at myself. Katie spent the rest of the day swallowing razors while questioning my navigational judgement. After a few locks, the sky reached its saturation point and overflowed with sheets of rain. Which was exactly what we needed to raise the morale. We parked at the next lock, safely connected to the wall that time - not the ground. I went below and pulled out a moldy tortilla, cut in half a brown avocado and ate it in my wet clothes. We agreed to put the day to sleep and try again the next.

Georgian Bay In Penetanguishene, where the Trent-Severn dumps into the Georgian Bay, we reunited with some of our

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favorite cruisers of all time, a couple we met a year and a half ago back on the Tennessee River. The joy these two brought to Katie and I is unexplainable. We laughed for three days straight until we remembered that we were also there to re-step our mast to sail home. Home.

Home. HOME? I didn’t understand what this word meant anymore and if I thought about it too long I would completely shut down.

Not even gloomy skies could hide the superb landscape. Low stratus clouds swept the tree tops.

Leaves and branches dampened the blow so Louise could glide forward with ease through wooded channels. Surrounded by large mossy rocks, blueberry bushes and handcrafted cabins sitting cozily alongside trees, we snaked around the small-craft channel through the Georgian Bay. We were a sailboat again and even though the conditions to sail through those rocks were slim, the thought of its possibility made us all feel beautiful again. For a moment I forgot I was shivering because everything that surrounded us was blowing my mind. Those waters were connected to my backyard and although dangerous and intimidating, I felt part of that word that most often shuts me down - Home.

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Making Cat Through the We make much of the term “civilization” today, as if it signals a respite from an otherwise inhospitable environment. The word means different things to different people: for some it’s must-have wifi, lattes and spa treatments. For others, it’s access to restaurants and rental cars.

I’m happy with an agile catamaran, ice for cool drinks, pristine tropical islands, aquamarine waters and friendly locals. That’s why I love the Grenadines, a small chain of gem-like islands in the Windward Isles of the Caribbean. You might say, I like civilization, redefined.

The Grenadines stretch along 40 miles of the Eastern Caribbean in a northeast-southwest direction and are so varied, one from the other, that it’s hard to get the flavor of the entire area in just one visit. The better known islands include St. Vincent, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Tobago Cays, Mayreau and Union, but there are dozens of islets in between with one-boatsized anchorages to drop the hook, feel the trade winds on your skin and forget time.

History

Although each island is spectacular in its own right, when taken together and put into context, their unique character really comes to life. A bar-time version of the region’s history goes like this: When Columbus plied Caribbean waters, St. Vincent was known by its inhabitants as Hairoun, which means “home of the blessed” (and today is also a brand of a popular local beer). Over the centuries, the region was settled by various groups like the peaceful Arawak Indians who originated in South America. Eventually however, they didn’t fare well against the new group of warlike Caribs who subsequently moved in, killed the men, kept the women and castrated and fattened some of the children for future feasts. Way not politically correct, I know.

Two hundred years after Columbus, Europeans came en masse to settle and embed missionaries who often didn’t stand a chance against the Caribs but were unbelievably persistent, as missionaries have been known to be. Slave ships from Africa soon followed but between the winds and the shallows, some of them wrecked on the nearby reefs. The surviving Africans swam ashore, mixed with the Caribs and created a new group called

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Tracks Grenadines

By Zuzana Prochazka

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Black Caribs who, of course, didn’t get along with the original Yellow Caribs.

By this time the French and British were also waging half-hearted battles over the territory as well as fighting the Caribs who were in turn, fighting each other. The superior technology of the day, including cannons, muskets and ships, prevailed and the Black Caribs were eventually rounded up and shipped to Roatan off the coast of Honduras. St. Vincent, which spent much of its time under French rule, then became a part of the British colony of the Windward Islands in 1871. In 1979, it and the Grenadines, which together form one country, became an independent state within the British Commonwealth.

This succinct, if a bit grim, synopsis of the islands’ beginnings is told and retold with imaginative flair by locals who tend to insert other “historical facts.” Clearly, there are a few parts missing in the telling of this story

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but you can see evidence of it, especially on St. Vincent (with its fortifications) and Grenada, both of which are worth a few days for land tours. You can charter in St. Vincent and cruise south or alternately pick up a cruising cat in Grenada and go north (although you must check in if departing from Grenada which is a different country).

The winds are typically from some angle north or south of east and there’s usually more of it in the Eastern Caribbean which makes for much more challenging sailing than say, the British Virgins.

Heading north from Grenada, the first major stop will be Union Island that’s visible from a ways off due to its highest peak, the 900-foot Mt. Parnassus that you can’t miss. The main town of Clifton provides great shopping with an open-air produce market and several grocery stores including one that sells gourmet coffee, chocolate and bread. A sundowner at Janti’s Happy Island is not to be missed. It can only be reached via dinghy because it was built on the reef out of thousands of conch shells gathered by Janti, the happy owner. A drink is mandatory because when again will you be on an island created entirely by an enterprising local?

If the trades are kicking up, Chatham Bay, on the western side of the island, makes a good anchorage. This large bay, with a long beach, has many shack restaurants including Shark Attack that advertises “Figure Licking Good Food.” A rum punch is a must – figure licking is optional.

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A mere three miles north lay the exquisite Tobago Cays. As their exotic name implies, this unique island group is an idyllic setting for all things tropical, including a few scenes from “Pirates of the Caribbean” where you expect to see Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow come swaggering around the corner.

Postcard vistas of white sand beaches and palm trees leaning out over the ocean make up the mostlyuninhabited Tobago Cays. It’s as if every angle were a Photoshopped paradise with kaleidoscope colors that invite you to drop out of civilization, even if just for a little while.

Four hedonistic islands hide in the protected waters of Horseshoe Reef. They were designated a Marine National Park in 1998, so rangers make the rounds and ask for $10 EC (Eastern Caribbean dollar which is about 40 cents U.S.) per person per day which is a fair price for the upkeep of the place.

The islands have a “boat boy” culture where men and women come out in their small boats to assist

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with everything from hooking up to a mooring ball, to delivering fresh baked goods, to hauling away trash.

They’re quintessential entrepreneurs so if you take care of them, they’ll take care of you.

There are few distractions here and no nightlife so the Cays are about bringing your snorkeling gear, a couple of books and a cooler of beer, and forgetting the world for a while. The snorkeling is spectacular and the reef provides mostly protected water. There is even a roped-off turtle sanctuary off Baradel Island where turtles feed on the grass only 8-10 feet below the surface and you can hear them munching as they graze.

It’s not unusual to be offered aromatic croissants, baguettes of French bread and handmade jewelry by the vendors who come by dinghy. For evening entertainment off the boat, they will organize a beach barbeque, which usually features grilled fish, rice, vegetables and rum punch. The memory of the conch chowder still makes my mouth water.

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Although there are numerous islands in between, a longer run north will bring you to Bequia, just south of St. Vincent. The two things you’ll notice immediately upon arrival are that you’ve been pronouncing the name wrong (it’s Bek-way), and the friendliness of Bequia’s Englishspeaking population.

Bequia’s Admiralty Bay provides lots of easy anchoring and several moorings off the beach of Port Elizabeth. It’s surprising how much there is to do on an island of seven square miles. A taxi will take you to the windward side to meet Orton “Brother” King who has spent 19 years tending Hawksbill turtles. He rears hatchlings at his farm until they’re old enough to survive on their own at age three. Not only can a turtle feel a good back scratching through its shell, but clearly enjoys it and will happily splash about for as long as you care to do the scratching.

Shopping in town is colorful – literally. Bright T-shirts flap in the breeze outside gift shops and street vendors offer everything from fruit and locally-made jewelry to carved coconut boats. Strolling down Belmont Walkway, a stone path lapped by the waves of the bay, is like window shopping for a place to relax as cafes and bars line up one

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right after the other. The Whaleboner Bar has a bar, stools and an entrance made of whale vertebrae and for terrific pizza, Mac’s is a must.

What’s not apparent in this story is that there are hundreds of islets in the Grenadines chain where you can get lost for a day or a week, just passing time and wondering why you haven’t been here sooner. It’s a land that could swallow up an entire cruising season and never show you the same place twice.

There are many parts of the world that call themselves civilized and in most cases those claims are dubious at best. The Grenadines on the other hand, which differ from one another like snowflakes, are postcard-perfect and once is not enough when visiting these quintessentially Caribbean cruising grounds. It’s easy to start planning the next visit before the first one is done just to sip a Hairoun beer or scratch a happy turtle’s back. I for one will be back soon because I’d argue that civilization is overrated, but civilization redefined, is sublime.

If the Grenadines sound like your cup of tea, you can join Zuzana on a Zescapes cruise. She is planning a multi-cat trip in April 2016. You can get more info at www.zescapes.com.

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Scuttlebutt

All the news that fits

We’re adults. When did that happen? How do we make it stop?

FREE Subscriptions for Active Duty Service Personnel Thanks to Our Subscriber Family

On Veterans Day the last couple years we offered free subscriptions to our active duty service personnel to thank them for their service. We received such a positive response from our family of subscribers that we have decided that part of every subscription dollar will go to give those who are serving a free subscription to Cruising Outpost as long as they serve. Our staff and family have served in every branch of the service and our families have served for four generations. Have a friend or loved one on active duty? They can go to www.cruisingoutpost.com/subscribe to sign up.

Nautical Trivia “Is everything hunky dory?” How many times have you heard that question and wondered, “what the *!%# is “hunky dory?”

(Wanna cheat? The answer is on page 46)

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Scuttlebutt Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery!

What cruising magazine has flattered us so much?

Well, their initials are CW, and after four years of Cruising Outpost using matte finished, water resistant cover stock, they have started using the same. How nice! Now, if they drop their ad percentage down under 40% like we do, we would be extremely flattered… and worried!

Off to a Bad Start About 13 miles off the Florida coast on what was supposed to be the start of a month-long vacation in the Bahamas, the 106-foot yacht Serena III made a distress call. Less than two hours later the yacht had sunk. In spite of choppy seas and high winds, the Coast Guard, along with help from three Sea Tow boats and nearby fishing boats, successfully rescued the six passengers, captain and six crew members. The yacht had departed from Port Everglades and around 6:00 p.m. the crew noticed she was listing to port. The captain went down to check and found they were taking on a lot of water very quickly. The Coast Guard is investigating whether Serena III may have struck the bottom as she left port, possibly causing a stabilizer shaft to fall out.

Meanwhile, she sits on the bottom of the Atlantic in 1,200 feet of water.

Wanna Be a Trailer Cruiser?

As in, cruising a trailerable boat? And more specifically, cruising the Great Lakes? Not sure if there’s an app for that yet, but there is the Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC). Their GLCC School will teach you everything you need to know to get the most out of your Great Lakes cruising experience safely. Things like where to launch, what to see, and what to watch out for. They’ll even put you in touch with local fellow boaters to get you the all-important “local knowledge” for areas you want to visit. For more information visit glcclub.com, email glcclub.@ att.net or call 810-984-4500. Tell ‘em we sent you!

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Scuttlebutt Possible Sunken Treasure Found Colombia’s President, Juan Manuel Santos, announced that researchers with the country’s Ministry of Culture have found a shipwreck believed to be the Spanish treasure ship San Jose.

The San Jose was sunk by a British warship on May 28, 1708 and was carrying billions of dollars in jewels and precious metals at the time. An international team led by Colombia’s Institute of Anthropology and History and the Colombian navy made the find nearly 1,000 feet below the surface of the ocean, about 16 miles from Cartagena, using sonar, underwater cameras and remotely-operated robots. A video released by Santos’s office shows research crews probing a sandy patch of sea floor near the coast. The underwater images are ambiguous to an untrained eye, but officials say the bronze cannons, along with the dimensions and location of the wreck, mark it as the San Jose. A museum will be built in Cartagena to house the new discovery, Santos said.

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Scuttlebutt If It Weren’t for Bad Luck...

Old age is having a choice of two temptations and choosing the one that will get you home earlier.

Yep, poor Eric Valois, a sailor from Montreal, would have no luck at all. It all started in early December when Valois, an experienced sailboat tour operator in the Bahamas, was making a solo trip. Pirates from Haiti tried to board his 42-foot sailboat. He fended them off (they didn’t have firearms), but a few days later he was dismasted and the hull of his boat was punctured during the incident. No worries, he had an engine... except it wouldn’t start. So for five days he drifted, trying to keep his bilge pumps working. Exhausted and in high seas, he finally sent out numerous distress calls and prepared to abandon his sinking boat for the life raft. He said a number of boats in the area ignored his calls. Finally, on Christmas Eve, his luck changed.

A U.S. naval oceanographic survey ship, the USNS Pathfinder, managed to find him in near gale force winds and seas and got him aboard just as his boat sank. He discovered that yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. It was the captain, dressed in a Santa suit for the crew’s Christmas Party which had been underway at the time!

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Scuttlebutt Nine Times and Counting

What Shall We Do With...

That’s how many times two American “sailors,” Bob Weise and Steve Shapiro, have called for rescue in the seven months since they left Norway to sail to North America. Earning the nickname “Captains Calamity,” the two 71-year-olds had to call rescue teams in Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Upon reaching Hayle in Cornwall, Great Britain, they experienced multiple issues and made a ninth call for help after their yacht, Nora, fell over on her side and caught fire. The yacht was not tied up properly at the quayside and fell over when the tide went out. The cause of the fire was suspected to be a candle left burning down below. Neither of the captains were aboard at the time.

Undaunted, as of press time they planned to fix a few things and continue on.

A drunken Russian mariner crashed a 7,000-ton 423-foot cargo ship into Scotland last year. At full speed. The damage was so bad the ship had to be scrapped. An investigation determined that before starting his watch, for which he was the sole officer in charge of the vessel, the officer had consumed about a half liter of rum. This caused him to fail to plot crucial course adjustments and switch on the ship’s navigation system, which could have alerted the rest of the crew to a problem. The ship’s owner, DFDS, has a zero tolerance alcohol policy on board, however the investigation found that the ship, Lysblink Seaways, carried a bonded store which included a stock of booze. Records showed that the store was regularly replenished and empty beer, wine and spirit bottles and cartons found on board after the accident indicated there were frequently more than one drunken sailor on board.

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“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” - George Shaw

Scuttlebutt It’s Awards Season Again

And not just for the movie industry. The Cruising Club of America has announced the recipients of the organization’s five major awards for 2015: The Blue Water Medal “Without Date” is awarded to Australian native Jon Sanders in recognition of a lifetime of sailing achievements, including nine circumnavigations; the Blue Water Medal, awarded to British sailors Tom and Vicky Jackson, recognizes their extensive racing and cruising over more than 34 years; the Far Horizons Award, awarded to Canadian sailors Kaspar and Trisha Schibli, recognizes a meritorious series of cruises aboard their yacht Starfire; the Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship is awarded to Canadian cruisers George Juri and Grit Chiu for their lifesaving rescue in critical conditions; and the Richard S. Nye Trophy is awarded to John E. Sanford of Tiburon, CA, for meritorious service to the CCA. The award recipients will be celebrated at the CCA’s annual Awards Dinner at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan on March 4, 2016.

Meanwhile, the Ocean Cruising Club announced the recipients of its annual 2015 Vertue Award which is given to the OCC club member in North America who best represents club founder, Humphrey Barton, through sailing achievements or service to the club and cruising community.

Sid & Rebecca Shaw are this year’s well-deserved recipients. The Shaws have crisscrossed the South Pacific over many years and many passages with numerous destinations including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and many islands in between. They have also cruised the Atlantic from the Caribbean, Venezuela, Cuba, Nova Scotia, New England, and even their home waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Congratulations to one and all!

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And While You’re at It...

The U.S. Navy is releasing new photos of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) underway for the first time, conducting at-sea tests and trials in the Atlantic Ocean. The advanced guided missile destroyer and multi-mission ship will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces.

While conducting its first at-sea tests, the Zumwalt got to provide an unexpected service. It responded to a distress call from a fishing boat off the coast of Maine and rescued a fisherman who was experiencing chest pains. After a medical evaluation aboard the Zumwalt the fisherman was transferred to a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to a hospital in the area for further treatment.

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Scuttlebutt Pirates of the Caribbean Part I In January the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) issued an alert to vessels sailing in the vicinity of Trinidad, Tobago and Grenada because within a 10-day period there had been reports of two incidents of piracy against sailing vessels north of Trinidad. Both incidents took place in daylight and involved local (assumed Venezuelan) 18-20 foot pirogues with 120-130 hp engines. Each had five or six pirates aboard, several armed with assault rifles. Each also carried a spare powerful outboard and additional fuel. In both cases the sailing vessels were boarded by armed pirates and ransacked for valuables. Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths, but both lost their cash, passports, boat papers, cell phones, watches, computers, other electronics and clothing. The OCC is working with Trinidadian authorities to combat this new threat.

Pirates of the Caribbean Part II On 02/01/16 it was reported to the website Dockwalk.com via email that pirates had attempted an attack on the 70-foot M/Y Golden Eagle off the east coast of Nicaragua on January 27th. Golden Eagle was in transit from Colon, Panama, to Roatan, Honduras. It was north of Colombia-controlled Isla Providencia at the time the pirates approached. Andrea Peterson, owner of the yacht, stated that a 60-foot steel fishing vessel tried to ram and them. A chase ensued and they were able to outrun the fishing vessel at full speed of 14 knots. There were four people on board Golden Eagle, including Peterson’s four-year-old son. The Miami Coast Guard station has been given full details of the incident.

Big Detour Ahead

NOAA is currently deciding whether to grant an application from the Northern Chumash Tribal Council for a marine sanctuary off the coast of California. If approved, recreational boaters, individual anglers and sportfishing vessels will be restricted from navigating an area that ranges from 3.2 to 13 miles from shore, and stretches along the Pacific Ocean coast from north of Goleta to South of Monterey. Stay tuned...

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Scuttlebutt A Long Way to Row!

The Coxless Crew, an all-female team of rowers, left San Francisco in April of last year and arrived in Cairns, Australia on January 25th. Overall, the crew of three permanent members and three others which rowed a single leg, spent 257 days at sea with supply stops in Hawaii and Samoa. Rowing a 29-foot boat named Doris, they set two world records: the first all-female team, and the first team of four, to row the Pacific. They rowed continuously as pairs in two-hour shifts. Their expedition, which is raising money for the charities Walking with the Wounded and Breast Cancer Care, has been filmed for a documentary called Losing Sight of Shore.

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Get a Life

With apparently nothing better to do, a 23-yearold in Maine made a phony mayday call to the Coast Guard saying his brother had been seriously hurt aboard a boat that was fishing off the coast. A seven-hour search ensued while the boat, Lila Rose, sat safe on its mooring. The perpetrator now has something to do. He’s spending a year in federal prison and has to repay the Coast Guard $15,000.

Sometimes a Boat’s Name is Important!

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Flag Talk

When you are cruising, even if you have no other signal flags, you will have to have this one. It’s the flag you fly as you enter a new country, prior to clearing in. Once cleared you can then hoist the flag of the country you are in.

The Perils of Boredom

“Sometimes the thoughts in my head get so bored they go out for a stroll through my mouth.

This is rarely a good thing.” - Scott Westerfield

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Scuttlebutt A Whale of a Find Two 1800s whaling ships which sank off the Arctic coast of Alaska have been discoverd

by NOAA archaeologists. They are believed to be part of the remains of 33 ships that were trapped by packed ice back in September of 1871. More than 1,200 whalers were stranded and had to be rescued. No one died, but the incident is believed to be a major reason for the demise of commercial whaling in the U.S.

Nautical Trivia (Answer to question on page 28) After spending a considerable time at sea, the favorite destination for sailors on shore leave in the port of Yokohama was Hunki-Dori Street. Hunky-Dori was located right in the middle of the city’s red light district. ‘Nuf said.

Good News!!!

Break out the champagne! If your boat is a U.S. documented vessel, starting in 2017 you will only need to renew your documentation every five years instead of annually. You will, however, need to reapply for a new certificate if there are any changes of address or new home port within that time.

Say thank you to BoatU.S., the Seven Seas Cruising Association and other boating groups which advocated for the extension after the Coast Guard began charging a renewal fee.

Deathly Thoughts

When you are dead you don’t know that you are dead. It is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid.

“I love sleeping. It’s like being dead but without the commitment.” - Music Man Dave

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Scuttlebutt ACTIVE PIRACY REPORT - Hotspots Persist Worldwide Despite Reductions in Key Areas London and Kuala Lumpur: 2 February 2016 – Piracy and armed robbery on the world’s seas is persisting at levels close to those in 2014, despite reductions in the number of ships hijacked and crew captured, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) annual piracy report reveals.

IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) recorded 246 incidents in 2015, one more than in 2014. The number of vessels boarded rose 11% to 203, one ship was fired at, and a further 27 attacks were thwarted. Armed with guns or knives, pirates killed one seafarer and injured at least 14. Kidnappings – where crew are taken away and held for ransom – doubled from nine in 2014 to 19 in 2015, all the result of five attacks off Nigeria.

A total of 15 vessels were hijacked in 2015, down from 21 in 2014, while 271 hostages were held on their ships, compared with 442 in 2014. No hijackings were reported in the last quarter of 2015. IMB says one key factor in this recent global reduction was the drop in attacks against small fuel tankers around South East Asia’s coasts, the last of which occurred in August 2015.

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Another Way For seven years now—and once again, it’s always alarming to quantify time by saying things like “for seven years now,” because it really doesn’t feel that long, and the way those numbers sneak up on you, well, it’s good to be able to remember some of what you did to fill those days and years. So, for seven years now, I’ve been sailing to or from Bermuda at least once a year, and no matter how many ocean passages you do, they always qualify as memorable. I’ve written about some of these trip highlights before—like getting seasick, discovering a new gadget, preferring quality time at sea to dealing with teenagers— but never about Bermuda itself, what it really feels like to sail toward or away from that speck.

If you look at a map of the western North Atlantic Ocean, it’s basically empty. Charts will have soundings and underwater features, but a map shows just a vast expanse of blue, and nothing else. Off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas start peppering the paper with islands that lead south into the Caribbean and to all the names that decorate winter travel brochures. But, north of the Bahamas, there’s nothing until Newfoundland—nothing but a little speck in the middle that would be easy to mistake for a piece of dust, if it weren’t labeled with a name. Bermuda.

Raising that dot on the horizon, or leaving it behind, is totally surreal, the only destination for hundreds and hundreds of miles for all boats, from cruise ships to daredevil little day sailors taking on the vastness. It’s just plain old weird to sail away from the congested hustle and bustle of the east coast, to set a course for this pinhead out in the middle of nowhere, to spend four or five days on heaving swells blanketed by the endless skies, the immense heavens at night, the grandness of a watery wilderness, to home in on that magnetic tiny dot that, even once it appears on the horizon, never becomes very large. No mountains loom over anything, no sister islands cluster around this lonely speck that remains speckish.

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It’s an odd place, geologically, a string of little islets and reef clinging to an underwater peak connected by wellpaved causeways and bridges. Colorful houses with pristine roofs engineered to maximize the capturing of water, gardens, flowering ornamental and fruit trees, and stunning pink-ish beaches can all be seen with a bus and ferry public transportation system of Swiss-like efficiency. Organizing and maintaining this very well-run place, the Bermudian is a hardy breed of super-nice and helpful islander who knows how to withstand almost yearly hurricane hits and what it means to live so remotely, so close, yet so far from the rest of the world. To get on or off the island is a two-hour flight, or a five-day sail, from the US. A Bermuda landfall represents a first offshore challenge that entails multiple days and nights spent at sea—unless you’re on one of those racing machines that can do it in 39 hours. I’ve done it in four days, and once, embarrassingly, in twelve. It is only reached after crossing the frigid waters off the coast, followed by the balmy and ornery waters of the Gulf Stream, which may give rise to horrendous storms and conditions that, if the boat survives, has sent many a sailor straight back to homeport with zero intention of ever purposely heading out past a breakwater again.

Back in the 1500s and 1600s, when ships settling and defending the Americas had no choice but to keep making their ways home to the old countries in Europe, in the days before an accurate means of pinpointing longitude enabled sailors to navigate with precision, Bermuda didn’t rate as anything more than a waypoint. Embarking on an Atlantic crossing, ships would set a course for this dot, about 600 miles off the east coast of North America, one-third of the way across the ocean. It was possible to calculate for latitude, but longitude was guessed at based on the ship’s speed and course. This method usually worked long enough to find Bermuda, whereupon a new heading would be set for the Azores, the next waypoint, two-thirds of the way across before making landfall on the European coast.

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Bermuda didn’t have any water and was overrun by the cahow, a bird with a creepy call that spooked mariners who named the place Devil’s Island, and for the most part, passed it without stopping. At one point, the Spaniards released some hogs that multiplied, so sometimes, ships would call in to pick up meat. Otherwise, it was largely ignored until the 1700s when it was settled and tamed by the British.

Like many sailors before me, Bermuda was my first landfall after a long ago solo ocean crossing. And now, it is the first landfall for people on the boats I skipper who are seeking this experience for themselves. On this passage, the winds are often irregular, and the Gulf Stream usually presents some sort of unusual occurrence—weird cloud formations, excessive lightning, inexplicable wave action, a mola mola fish, an army of sailing men o’war jellyfish, fierce squalls—and once the warmer waters on the other side of this oceanic river are reached, a crew will have run the gamut of ocean experience.

On any passage, it takes at least two or three days for a routine to settle in between watches and mealtimes, when people can fall asleep as soon as their watches are over, and feel like eating again. By Day Four or Five, they are fully immersed in life aboard a vessel that is constantly readjusting to conditions and aiming for a pinprick destination on the salon table chart. As the ship’s position draws closer, the heightening excitement level aboard gets more and more palpable.

You can raise Bermuda on the horizon from pretty far out by night, as the loom of lights gives it away from a distance. Actual physical characteristics take much longer to spot in daylight. You’re almost on top of the place before you realize you’re aiming for the lighthouse marking the northern edge of the fringing reefs that extend miles out from the mainland. It

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still takes hours for the rest of the island to hove into sight, for the smells of land to waft over the waters and penetrate the scent you’ve been carrying aboard, for the distinctive lighthouse on Saint David’s head to emerge from the blur and lead you through the narrow limestone cut that opens onto the tranquil waters of Saint Georges Harbor, the anchorage, and the friendly customs dock, where all boats must stop on their ways in or out.

You step ashore for the fi rst time, feel the earth move under you liquidly, and it sinks in. You’ve arrived, Bermuda is real. Land, as small and inconsequential as looked on the chart, is as real, solid and unspeckish as it is surreal, especially as you realize it will also soon be the last land you see for 650 miles.

Just as you start recognizing the smiling faces on the waterfront, you will have to turn around for your second offshore passage back to the continent—all of it quickly culminating into something you can count on remembering forever.

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Broughtons and Back

Flotilla Cruising in the Pacific Northwest

By Darren O’Brien

W

hen we told fellow cruisers we were joining a flotilla of boats on a trip into Canada, we basically heard two kinds of response. Most thought the adventure sounded like a lot of fun and were slightly jealous. Others scoffed at the notion, implying they didn’t have a “herd mentality” and could go anywhere on their own.

Well, we cruise 95% of the time on our own, too. But we happen to find flotillas fun, social, and more often than not a great opportunity to make new friends, learn new things and visit new places. And as opposed to feeling part of a herd, we approach the group travel dynamic with a positive, safety in numbers perspective.

My wife, Lisa, and I have been on quite a few flotilla cruises, mostly of the charter and “Share the Sail” variety.

But this one was different. First and foremost we were on our own boat, Traveler. And this wasn’t a leisurely weeklong vacation in some exotic, palm-tree-lined-beach part of

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the world. It was a one-way, 22-day cruise to the ruggedly beautiful Broughton Archipelago, an essentially wild and remote area off the north end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Getting there, which was the furthest we’d ever been on our boat, also required dealing with some navigational challenges. Things like hazardous tidal rapids, reef strewn narrows, and even a torpedo test range.

Our trip was organized by the Waggoner Cruising Guide, a.k.a. the “Bible for Northwest Cruising.” And to make it even better, our flotilla leader was Mark Bunzel, publisher of the Waggoner. For many years Mark has traveled from Puget Sound to Alaska continuously updating the guide, logging more than 2,500 miles under his keel every summer. His local knowledge and expertise regarding the aforementioned navigation issues, as well as area marinas and countless anchorages, bolstered everyone’s confidence.

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There were six boats in our little flotilla representing quite a range of vessels and experience.

We referred to our seven-knot trawler, a 1979 Cheoy Lee 46 LRC, as the big old slow boat.

Though we were the slowest

A morning briefing session Morning briefing session powerboat, our group also included a Catalina 310 (crewed by a couple in their 80s!) that averaged 5.5 knots. The other vessels were a brand new Ranger 29, a Meridian 368, a North Pacific 43, and Mark’s trusty 30-foot Tollycraft. Regarding experience, beyond Mark none of the skippers or crew had been to the Broughtons before. However, all but one boat had attended the twoday Waggoner’s seminar on Desolation Sound and the Broughtons. So at least we were “well educated!”

Queen Charlotte Strait

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Sarah Point, Desolation Sound The beginning of the trip, which started from Deer Harbor on Orcas Island in the San Juans, was basically uneventful. The biggest hurdle was clearing into Canada on the fi rst day which was, as predicted, very easy and even friendly. Secondly, due to large forest fi res burning on Vancouver Island and the BC mainland, we had to get used to a very hazy sky, with the smoke creating almost fog-like conditions. Not enough to be a hindrance, though.

The third day presented our most unique navigational challenge: Area Whisky Golf. Crossing the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo to the mainland took us either through or around Area WG. As the test range was active that morning the wise course took us around. Not getting hit by a torpedo or otherwise incurring the wrath of the Canadian military was the primary goal. No big deal!

Getting closer to Desolation Sound we finally started seeing the sun through the thinning haze. We actually met a few boats in Powell River that had left the area and were

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heading south, as ash from the fires earlier in the week had heavily dusted their decks a few times. When we made the famous turn to starboard at Sarah Point and officially entered Desolation Sound, the smoke had almost cleared.

We could see the mountains rising dramatically from sea level a mere 20-30 miles away, but with the residual haze it wasn’t the crisp, deep blue sky and water we had envisioned and seen in photos. Still, it took our breath away.

We had been shooting a lot of video as we were making a “Broughtons and Back” documentary on the trip. And so it was in stunningly picturesque Desolation Sound that our main camera, the workhorse that shot all the episodes of Latitudes & Attitudes TV, went on the fritz.

Fortunately, we had just purchased a brand new DSLR camera that shot in full 1920x1080 HD video. We just had to learn how to use it on the fly. Our friend Joe Andrade of Marine Motion was aboard the first week with his camera as well, so we were able to keep shooting.

A few days later saw us reach the first of four rapids. I won’t go into detail here, but suffice to say the

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planning required to hit the rapids at slack tide (highly recommended!) is very important, especially when traversing them in succession against the tide. Rapids were the one part of the trip, along with notorious Johnstone Strait, that put a bit of fear into some of the crews. But having been educated and provided resources like Mark’s daily briefs, the rapids were, to the relief of many firsttimers, a non-issue. Well, except that morning when one

of the boats got turned around and lost in pea soup fog in the middle of Greene Point Rapids, and our radar decided to spontaneously power off while swirling eddies tossed us around, causing the chart plotter to show our directional heading spinning 360 degrees. They were a non-issue…

The ninth day saw the flotilla enter the Broughtons after negotiating a brief 14-mile stretch of Johnstone Strait. We hit the strait early in the day, which is again the recommended

New Vancouver

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McIntosh Bay

thing to do, and enjoyed flat calm as we finally reached the southern part of our intended destination.

We spent the next 14 glorious days alternating between strikingly gorgeous anchorages and staying at some of

Traveler stern-tied

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the coolest, friendliest marinas and floating villages you could imagine. And being part of a Waggoner flotilla in the Pacific NW meant some of the places we visited held special events just for us. One of our favorite moments was at Pierre’s Echo Bay, where owners Pierre and Tove took time from their very busy day to join our little group’s potluck dinner.

That turned out to be a memorable evening.

Three hundred seventy-seven nautical miles and 22 days from whence we began, the flotilla ended in Port McNeill on Vancouver Island. Boats and crews went their respective ways, most of them

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heading home. Mark stayed and visited a few more places in the Broughtons, as every stop for him was a chance to update the Waggoner Guide.

We ended up staying a week at the North Island Marina, enjoying their wonderful hospitality and taking advantage of the consistently strong WiFi (Lisa was closing the advertising for the previous issue of this magazine). After that, we went right back into the Broughtons for another 12 days, where on our own schedule we saw some fantastic new places and revisited favorites.

Like most cruisers we prefer traveling that way, moving at our own pace and going to the places we want to visit when we want. However, there’s something to be said for having an itinerary laid out for you in advance,

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with all the requisite planning and reservations done by experts who have “been there and done that.”

Especially if it’s somewhere you’ve never been before. The Broughtons f lotilla turned out to be one of the best boating adventures we’ve ever had.

Enough so we are considering a Waggoner f lotilla to Alaska next summer!

Interested in joining a Waggoner Cruising Guide flotilla?

2016 trips include Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, and SE Alaska. Visit www.waggonerguide.com.

And look for the “Broughtons and Back” documentary at www.pacificnwboater.com.

Traveler

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What’s Out There?

The new Passport 545AC was designed with the cruising sailor at the forefront of their minds. It has a hull design that features a reverse walk up transom and raised deck house. Both above and below deck you’ll find an abundance of room and comfort, yet it maintains a very sporty and sleek profile.

The high-tech composite hull and deck are designed for speed and sea-kindliness. The sail plan, with its Solent headsail design and mainsail furling system, is easy to use for short-handed sailing, and the

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Large Monohull

safety features of the stainless steel deck fittings are something that all offshore cruisers will appreciate.

Below deck you will find handcrafted, raised panel and louvered doors which are not modular in construction, but hand-built, piece by piece. This creates an interior that flows beautifully from stem to stern.

This new aft cockpit design has been created for the serious offshore cruiser, and from the workroom to the cockpit, they have achieved that goal!

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Passport 545AC

Get all the facts: http://passportyachts.com Passport 545AC LOA 54.5’ LWL 45.47’ Draft (Shoal/Deep) 5’ 7”/6’ 6” Beam 15.5’ Power - Diesel Yanmar 110 hp Fuel 320 USG Fresh Water 200 USG Battery Amp Hours 1355 LPG Tankage two 20 lb. tanks www.cruisingoutpost.com

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What’s Out There?

Power Cruiser

The Nordhavn 43 comes with 25 years of offshore cruising experience. This boat has been designed as a passagemaker made for cruising anywhere in the world.

If you compare it to the N40, the N43 has more interior space, an extra three feet of waterline length and features 300 more gallons of fuel for added range. Compared to the N47 she has a lower profile, giving her an attractive, sleek look even though she is four feet shorter.

The 43 has an 18-inch-wide starboard side deck to allow exterior access from the cockpit

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Nordhavn 43

to the bridge. The boat deck accommodates tenders up to 12 feet with additional room for kayaks or other water toys. You will also find important details in features like the choice of tinned wiring that has great corrosion resistance.

Nordhavn has earned a reputation for building strong and reliable cruising trawlers. The 43 is a perfect fit for a couple or family looking to cruise long-term.

Get all the facts: www.nordhavn.com

Nordhavn 43

LOA 43’ 00” LWL 38’ 04” Beam 14’ 10” Draft 5’ 03” Power (Diesel) Lugger L1066T Fuel 1200 USG Fresh Water 300 USG Displacement 60,000 Holding Tank 50 US Gal Grey Water 50 US Gal www.cruisingoutpost.com

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What’s Out There?

Island Packet is known for well-built cruising boats, and the 370 has evolved into a true cruiser’s vessel. It has a host of exclusive design features, including self-tending staysail, geared steering system and their Full Foil Keel, which combine for superior sailing qualities that will be appreciated as much by the weekend sailor as by the couple cruising the world.

The large, comfortable cockpit and broad anchor platform are just two of numerous deck features on

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Cruising Monohull

the 370. Wide side decks, strategically placed hand rails and recessed foredecks give the cruiser a feeling of confidence and safety topside.

Below decks the 370 offers comfort perfect for an evening retreat or entertaining. The main saloon has a versatile dining table that folds and stows against a bulkhead bottle rack, opening up the area for socializing. For more flexibility when entertaining, a smaller, removable table with a liftout post is available for mounting at either side of the

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Island Packet 370

saloon. Full-length port and starboard seating areas are both comfortable and practical, doubling as sea berths.

The one-piece integral hull and keel of 100% hand laminated high modulus knitted fiberglass are infused with a proprietary pressure-fed roller application system. This is topped off with Island Packet’s well-known light ivory gelcoat with urethane painted boot stripe.

Over the years Island Packet has gained a reputation for building great cruising boats. Their 370 is the right size for couples and small families to sail the world.

Get all the facts: www.IPY.com Island Packet 370

LOA Hull Length Draft (Fin/Wing) Beam Power - Diesel Fuel Fresh Water Holding Tank Mast Height Above Water www.cruisingoutpost.com

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37’ 10” 31’ 00” 4’ 03” 13’ 01” 54 hp 75 USG 160 USG 55 USG 54’ 03”

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What’s Out There?

Okay, let’s start off with the fact that this boat is made in America!

The Gemini Legacy 35 is a very familyfriendly performance cruising catamaran for a lot of reasons. Things like the 34-inch draft that allows the boat to be pulled up right next to a beach or anchored in small, protected coves.

Also, it has been designed so that it can be trucked anywhere in the country, hauled out of the water with a standard size travel lift, and kept

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C atamaran

in a standard size slip. It is a fast, level sailing vessel and it has more interior volume than most 40-foot monohulls.

Ever since 1981, the Gemini has earned a reputation for being a well built, comfortable and easy to sail catamaran. It is built in the Catalina Yachts factory right in Florida, so for most folks, delivery and setup is fast and easy.

If you’d like more info on this family-friendly cruiser, just go to www.geminicatamarans.com.

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Gemini Legacy 35

Get all the facts: www.geminicatamarans.com Gemini Legacy 35 LOA 35’ 4” LWL 33 Beam 14’ Draft 34” Power - 2 Yanmar Diesels 15 hp each Fuel 55 USG Fresh Water 60 USG Displacement 9,800 lb www.cruisingoutpost.com

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Learning Prop Walk

It’s getting narrow up there.

Would you be able to turn your boat around in her own length?

Learning to Maneuver in Tight Spaces We’re just getting ready to spend a little time in marinas, which is always a source of consternation for us.

We have a 40-year-old, 57-foot classic ketch with no bow thruster. She’s got a modified fin keel (an almost full keel) and heavy displacement. In other words, Aleria doesn’t maneuver very well in tight spaces. She is meant to be crossing oceans. That’s one of the reasons we really like to anchor out. But in reality we’re going to have to get to a dock for fuel, water, or overnight in the absence of a safe anchorage at some point. So we have had to learn how to use what we have to get ourselves into tight spaces.

Our boat doesn’t do very well in reverse. Aleria’s rudder is quite small in comparison to the almost full keel.

When motoring forward the wash from the propeller is deflected by the rudder and she steers well. In reverse the

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wash goes down either side of the keel and the rudder is quite ineffectual. Any wind that might be present exerts more force than the rudder might.

She does, however, kick out left (to port) quite nicely when we first start reversing. This is due to propeller walk. It means that we can, indeed, turn our boat in a narrow channel or in a marina. Here are some things that are useful to know about how it works.

Propeller Walk With a single screw boat, you may have noticed that your boat will kick out to one side or the other when reversing and also initially when moving forward. This is known as propeller walk, or prop walk. It is more pronounced when reversing as the rudder is initially less effective, but it also happens when moving forward.

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& Other Fun Games

By Daria and Alex Blackwell

Left orientated (left-handed – quite rare)

When reversing, the stern tends to kick out to the right. When moving forward, it tends to push the stern to the left.

As the propeller turns, the blades move from deeper water to shallower water and then back to deeper water.

At the top of its rotation, in the shallow water, the blades provide less propulsion than in the deeper water. The blade is angled so that the turning propeller will propel the boat forward or in reverse, depending on which way it is turned. However, in its rotation the blade will also push out to the sides, with the top pushing one way and the bottom the other way. The direction of the rotation of the bottom blades determine which direction the stern of the boat will be pushed.

Propeller Types Right orientated (right-handed - most common)

When reversing the stern tends to kick out to the left (port). When moving forward, it tends to push the stern to the right.

If your prop is a right-handed prop, when you reverse, the prop walk will cause your stern to kick to port and your bow to starboard. In ahead propulsion with the rudder centered the prop will rotate clockwise (to the right) causing the stern to walk to the right or to starboard and causing the bow to turn slightly to port or left. It is more pronounced in reverse than in forward gear. Most, but not all, single propeller boats like monohull sailboats have right-handed props.

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Left-hand propellers rotate counter-clockwise to provide forward thrust. When in reverse, they will kick the stern to the right (starboard), and when in forward the stern will be pushed to the left (port).

Left-hand propellers are primarily used on twin engine boats to cancel the steering torque that results if both propellers spin in the same direction. Left-handed propellers are sometimes used on lobster ďŹ shing boats where the wheelhouse is aft and starboard. Kicking to starboard while reversing makes docking easier for these boats. We have also seen left-handed props on the occasional sailboat.

How to Tell Which Type of Propeller You Have To see what type of prop you have, you can stand behind your boat (at the stern) and look at her propeller.

Have someone shift into idle ahead propulsion and note the direction of rotation. If the propeller rotates to the right in forward propulsion, you have a right-hand propeller. If it rotates to the left in forward propulsion, you have a left-handed propeller.

There are several other ways to tell if your prop is leftor right-handed. If you look at your propeller from the side, the leading edge of a right-handed propeller will run from bottom left to top right. On a left-handed propeller the leading edge will run from top left to bottom right.

You can also determine which yours is by holding it in the palm of your hand. If your thumb ďŹ ts comfortably on the blade when held in your right hand, it is a right-hand

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Learning Prop Walk & Other Fun Games propeller. If your thumb lies comfortably on the blade when held in your left hand, it is a left-handed propeller

space meant that we had to come in, turn our boat 180 degrees in a narrow channel, and then come alongside.

Right-handed props shown below

A left-handed prop

Using Prop Walk to Your Advantage Docking Prop walk is a very useful asset for docking. If you have a right-handed prop and know your boat kicks to port, then coming into a dock port-side-to can make you look like a real pro. Just come gently alongside with your bow angled towards the dock. When you are within a couple of feet of the dock, put it into reverse and briefly gun the engine at about half throttle. Your forward motion should stop and your stern will kick to port, towards the dock. When done right, you will have executed a perfect parallel parking maneuver. Your crew will be able to step off the boat to secure the dock lines with ease.

Turning a Boat with Little Room We were cruising out of Long Island Sound in the U.S. one year when a tropical storm warning was issued. We decided to take refuge in a marina but the only available

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When a boat turns, it is actually the stern of the boat being steered, because the rudder is positioned aft.

When a boat is moving forward, it pivots around a point about a third of the distance from the bow, roughly at the mast. When turning in tight quarters, therefore, it is important to watch your stern so it doesn’t kick out into an obstruction. When motoring astern, the pivot point moves to a point one-third from the stern. Add in prop walk and these turning characteristics can be compounded.

We went directly into the lagoon and stopped the boat while initiating a turn hard to starboard. We then put her into reverse and gunned the engine. Her stern kicked out to port which we knew she did. We then put it into forward and revved the engine at about half throttle. Her bow swung gently but obediently to starboard. As soon as she started moving forward, we put her back into reverse, and so on. Throughout the whole procedure our position had not changed – just the direction we were facing. After several reversals, we were facing in the opposite direction, perfectly aligned with the dock.

The proper name for this maneuver is “Back and Fill.” It is also called a “Pivot Turn.” One of the best places to watch how not to do it is Ego Alley in Annapolis, Maryland. This is a relatively narrow channel that terminates with a turning area at its end. When arriving in Annapolis, most boats will motor down this channel to see and be seen. We were, of course, not the exception and did it also.

Most boats will come down the channel hugging the right side, as in the illustration above, next page.

They will then turn left into the space provided (1). Next they will back down. As they have a right handed-prop,

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their stern will kick out to port (2) – irrespective of how their helm is set, as the space is tight. They will then go forward, and their boat will initially turn right before the rudder bites (3) – bringing them closer to the end of the channel. If they have a bow thruster they may save face, but it is undignified to do so. Another reverse and another forward, and they are usually tight up against the wall. The boat hook comes out and there is much shouting and consternation.

It is quite rare for a boat to come in hugging the left hand side as in the second illustration below. Once the initial turn has been made (1), backing down (2) pulls the

stern to port achieving a better angle for an exit. It might take a few back and forths to get there, but the end result (3) is quite easily attained.

Practice this maneuver in open areas before you get into a confi ned space. Learn how your boat reacts under different conditions of wind and current. That way, once you fi nd that you must pivot in a confi ned space, you will be well prepared to execute your maneuver with confidence.

Reducing the Turn Radius Our boat has a rather wide turn radius. To pick up our mooring, which is at the confluence of a small inlet and a wider bay, we have to come in, usually with westerly winds behind us, turn around clockwise into the wind and

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come up on the mooring. The problem is that her mooring is in a relatively small hole in a wide open area. It is quite shallow almost immediately outside the swing radius of her mooring. To reduce the turning radius we once again make use of her prop walk.

Any sharp turn is a challenge for our boat; particularly serious is a sharp turn to port. On an occasion where we

wanted to get into a slip to port in a narrow channel with a current coming towards us, we opted for a 270 degree right turn, again using her prop walk.

We started the maneuver by overshooting the berth and then initiating the right hand turn. At the end of the turn we were lined up with the up current finger dock.

A little forward throttle as we were pushed downstream saw us slide right in to the utter amazement of the dock hand. The frightening moment came when we had to reverse hard to avoid overshooting the slip and making a bulls eye at the far end. Suffice it to say, it all worked just fine.

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Don’t Let It Break You!

Jessica Lloyd-Mostyn Our windlass has broken. There are certain things on your boat that it’s relatively easy to do without and there are others that, when they suddenly stop working, can stall your plans, your mind and ultimately your spirit.

Sometimes you tackle a whole bunch of boat problems in one go. We had just one such period when we first bought our yacht as part of getting her fully bluewater ready to set off from the UK. But nothing lasts forever and we found ourselves frequently needing to explain to family and friends that, just because you spend a lot of time and money on mending things, it doesn’t mean that your boat suddenly becomes infallible.

A boat is really like a house combined with your car and put into an environment which is constantly attacking it. Saltwater and sun eat away at whatever they can with no concept of mercy. In fact, much like home ownership, having a boat means constantly maintaining it as things will always, without doubt, break. There are some items that you can have back-up systems for, like a GPS, or a generator, or a second ground tackle set-up of anchor and chain. But there is a limit to what we can all carry and there are few boats that can boast a second dinghy, a back-up stove or a spare mast. Plus all boats become more and more bespoke as time goes on. Our 24-year-old French

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All systems “GO” sailing to Cuba

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Don’t Let It Break You! windlass on a British boat built in South Africa with a Japanese engine, that is currently in Mexico, illustrates quite well how complex a collage of additions and modifications you can be dealing with.

We’ve found that the real trick is all connected to attitude and how well you are able to adapt to a mind-set of just plain rolling with the punches. Things break, and no amount of money or diligence will make this fact avoidable if you want to actually use your boat and go sailing. But if you can lessen the emotional toll that each breakage takes on your outlook, then it becomes an awful lot easier to deal with what the seas want to throw at you. Consider each one to be a Above: Jessica at the helm in Antigua. Below: James on winch - St Kitts. At the lesson in disguise. bottom you see their boat being hauled on a travelift for out-of-water repairs.

This is particularly useful when You can find haul-out facilities all over the world. planning for an ocean crossing. You walk around and go through the boat both above and below decks and ask yourself, “What happens if this breaks?” Some of these running repairs and damages you can prepare for and others will be tests of your engineering ingenuity. It’s amazing how much you can do with duct tape…

But there are some failures which, due to either limited finances, geographic remoteness or sheer lethargy, you simply learn to live with for a time. You see, there is a happy accident that is born out of things breaking: you learn. It seems that a large part of determining how essential each individual piece of kit on board truly is would be to have it break and see how well you can manage without it. Also, by taking apart the carnage and studying the remains of the latest item to stop functioning, you really do manage to discover a whole lot more about your boat.

We were without refrigeration for a good eight months of our journey so far. We’d had a chest fridge that was working when we left England, but it was behaving funny by Gibraltar. When we were crossing the Atlantic we shut it off altogether, fearing that we were losing battery power when the issue was really a faulty voltmeter. By the time we were mid-Caribbean the compressor totally conked out, so we just decided

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Life is maintenance, and maintaining your winches and other gear can add years of life to them. On the right, hauing out in New Zealand. to do without. It proved much easier before then gave us a better understanding of how much than you might imagine, particularly as refrigeration saltwater we took in through the stern gland, and how is the main power drain on most boats. As we were much fresh water came aboard from rain. island-hopping we were always close to land so we I imagine that there are many of us who are simply bought ice to fill up the now defunct chestcontent to have a dinghy that needs a top up pumping housing and used it as a cooler. No problem. each time it’s used. A chartplotter that’s acting up can Similarly, our autopilot stopped working. On our easily be replaced by an iPhone with the right app and last ocean crossing we were sailing with two friends on board, so we were content to hand-steer as there were always enough hands willing. Once we were back down to only the two of us on board, it seemed natural to continue to hand-steer. We both think that we became better sailors as a result of this loss. No autopilot meant that we played with our sail-trim more so that we could balance the boat better, especially when sailing upwind. We had several passages where we didn’t need to touch the helm at all.

Our automatic bilge pump had never worked which wasn’t much of an issue until the first time that we planned to leave the boat for a long period, which was during hurricane season. Had we not had the deadline of the impending downpours and storms, it would probably still be on the list. Autopilot out? They added a wind-steering system to handle the helm And having to use just the manual pump so they could enjoy the trip until the autopilot could be repaired.

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Don’t Let It Break You

A little mast maintenance - much easier to do with your feet on the ground than dangling from a bosun’s chair.

Want to know how important it is to maintain your windlass? Just let it go out and you will know full well.

charts, and the second burner on our stove that isn’t working too well can simply wait until we encounter problems with the other one.

So it was with our windlass. Prepared for the seemingly inevitable circumstance of it breaking, we had learned how to let down and pull up the anchor by hand. That’s not a straightforward operation when you’re talking about 60 metres / 200 feet of chain attached to a 30 kilo / 66 lb. anchor. But we had learned from past experience that it would be a sensible skill to master and, as a result, felt far more comfortable doing it that way.

When the windlass did kick the bucket it was no big deal. Until we started talking seriously about the South Pacific, that is. The far greater anchoring depths that we’d be encountering coupled with the added challenge of sailing with a baby made us bite the incredibly expensive bullet and bring a new and shining windlass back to Pacific Mexico when we visited England for Christmas.

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On the left, above and on the right you see the importace of the windlass maintenance. They added a new one!!

We are now facing the realities of buying any new equipment for our lovely sailboat. The new thing has different dimensions and specifications from the old one (as the original manufacturer no longer exists), so fitting it requires significant adaptations to be made to the anchor locker.

Ah, sigh, you never do lose the hope that each new repair will somehow be simpler, be dealt with faster, be solved with a ‘plug-and-play’ ease and that this one element of your boat will now be f lawless and fail-safe. But, in the event that it’s not, at least we can all keep learning.

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Below, all things working again, they head to sea waiting to see what breaks next. Hopefully, nothing!

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L i fe s t y l e A Look at Why We Do What we Do

Ever wondered why people love the boating lifestyle?

Well, here in the Lifestyle section folks from all over the world give an insight into what it’s really like out there.

If you have a photo you think tells a good tale, why not send it to us? We prefer you send a digital pic, in as high resolution as you can. Tell us who took the pic and where it was taken. We will probaby throw it into our “digital pile” and pull it out someday. We won’t send you any money, but you will be famous worldwide! Email to: Lifestyle@Cruisingoutpost.com.

Shot by Herb Bradley at Prince Edward Yacht Club in Picton, Ontario, Canada of sunrise and the promise of another lovely day on the water

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By Peter McCartney, Rockland breakwater light, Maine

By Bradford Moore, Booth Bay, Maine

50-year-old Kumulani ready to splash at Bocas Yacht Services

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By Sam Steele, Resurrection Bay, Thumb Cove, S/V Radiance and S/V Creola

By Susan

By Bill Albany of wife Pat in the Sir Francis Drake Channel

Coral Beach, Bahama, ORYC Beach Party

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By Captain Joe of a great looking squall

Barb Spellman at a great Hallowen party at Foxy’s, Jost Van Dyke, BVI

“No Parking Zone” at Whale Cay, sent in by C. Grey

By Brad Kolpin - Key Largo sunset

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By David Miller, off the coast of Belize

Lori, sailing to Key West

By Paul Newell, sunset on a mooring at Zahnizer’s Marina in evening

By Ed Carlson of Jessie on her first sail

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By Brent & Janet Schulze, Catalina Island

Oopsie! By Andrew McConnell

Anne Baker with friends from Isla Del Sol Yacht Club in BVI

From Kevin Smith of their tropical island retreat in Iraq

By Carl, Dylan relaxing in the San Blas Islands

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Bob, Lle la Viche, Haiti

Cindy on S/V Tenacity, mid-Atlantic

By Craig Lyons, with Linda, sailing between Puerto Penasco & Loreto

By R. Holliman, a Pass Christian Harbor sunset

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By Eric Stone, how to get your Harley to the Bahamas

By Terry Hogan, leaving Bermuda for Europe, last out of the cut

Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to produce reproductive organs.

By Wolf Wielga, Montago Bay

By Gregory Webber of the Isle Shoals of New Hampshire

By Antony Dalton, Bliss (in front) and Mi Sueno (rear) anchored at Ft. Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

By Gary, Spirit of Sobraon, Malaysia & Borneo

Another life ruined in East Texas - Joey, age 3, taken by mom Mindy

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By Ron Koris

Diane Linde-Hansen cruising on the Silver Girl on Lake Superior, Memorial Day

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Danielle on Triple Play off Long Beach

by Michael Thomson

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By Captain Jeff of someone trying to get in

Casco Bay, Maine, of Shannon and Glen aboard Sea Mist

By Danny, Sam Francisco

Olivia Frank, Tobago Cays

By Hector Sanchez, Honolulu

By John Buckpitt of his “cruiser.” Oh yeah, he gets to pick up abalone while he’s out... in Australia!

By W. James Watt, Salem, MA

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By Scott of dolphins swimming off Kauai

By Peter, Biscayne Bay Channel, on a day off with friends

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you!

Bill Payne in Puget Sound, house being transported across the sound on the 2nd day of passage to new foundation

By Don Boger, sunset in Pensacola Bay, FL, from Gypsy Soul www.cruisingoutpost.com

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C u ba

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Photos from Cruising Outpost Archives & NV Charts

New Rules, Regu la

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s r e s i u r F & C ts r h a o C r n s o u lati

By Capt. Michael L. Martel S/V Privateer

Cuba beckons. It has been calling American sailors for the half century that it has been off limits to us, its siren song all the more alluring because it has been forbidden fruit. But now it’s becoming more accessible very quickly, with hurdles and obstacles melting away like the drifts from a late-spring snowfall in New England.

I’m anxious to go cruising there as soon as I can. For many, the urge to hurry comes from the feeling that present-day Cuba will be akin to a 1950s Caribbean time capsule.

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to f leece the cruising sailor with exorbitant fees, tariffs, and the like.

There seem to be so many places in the Caribbean that were once nice little harbors to anchor and go ashore to a secluded beach, now overbuilt with private resorts and villas, no anchoring, or at least no going ashore. How long will it take Cuba to become like that?

For certain, the infrastructure to support a huge influx of cruisers every high season isn’t there yet; not enough marinas, not enough chandleries, not enough shore-side restaurants.

But again, to some, this is ideal.

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Cuba - New Rules

And by all accounts, the big island of Cuba, the largest in the Caribbean, is stunningly beautiful with countless possibilities for exploration in harbors and anchorages.

Recent changes, as recent as this fall, within the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury will now allow many U.S. cruisers to legally visit Cuba in their own vessels on a “temporary sojourn,” provided they meet certain criteria. The duration of the “temporary sojourn” is currently 14 days.

These certain criteria apply to three (3) elements: the vessel, the crew, and the duration of the stay in Cuba. Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard requires a form CG-3300 be completed, submitted, and approved prior to departure. The form is available online.

But the procedure is not entirely simple. U.S. recreational vessels (and aircraft) that meet the following criteria are permitted (by exception) to transit to and from Cuba without further approval as a “temporary sojourn.” The purpose of the travel must meet those that have been authorized by the Treasury Department. These are as follows: 1. Family visits 2. Official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, etc.

3. Journalistic activity 4. Professional research and professional meetings 5. Educational activities 6. Religious activities 7. Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions 8. Support for the Cuban people 9. Humanitarian projects 10. Activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes

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11. Exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials 12. Certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing regulations and guidelines These items listed are considered ‘self-determined’ or ‘Self-Permitted’ and the applicant doesn’t need additional approval or review by anyone else, but the cruiser should be prepared to document and provide legitimate justification if challenged. All other travel to Cuba that does not meet any of the conditions set forth must seek appropriate permits and licenses from various U.S. Government agencies.

One category of Cuba travel that is not allowed (and not listed above), is straight-ahead tourist travel, but people are working to change that. In the meantime efforts are underway to extend the ‘temporary sojourn’ duration to a minimum of 30 days to correspond to the usual 30day visa authorized by the Cuban authorities.

As a sign that change is indeed happening quickly, there were two regattas from Key West to Cuba in May of this past year (2015) and another one from Pensacola left at the end of October. Restrictions are easing more and more. Soon, many believe, cruisers will be able to go for pure tourism, and that will be a major step.

Why visit Cuba? It may seem like a stupid question; Cuba is beautiful, historic, boasts a lovely tropical climate, and the people of Cuba are warm and hospitable. With all that Cuba has to offer, you’d think that the response would be, “Well then, let’s get going and sail on over there!” My response would be, “Skipper, don’t forget your charts.”

Then it dawns on the skipper that there aren’t, in fact, any as far as he knows, and there haven’t been any available, either, for a very long time. And there are lots and lots of coral heads mining the entrances to those beautiful coves

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with pink sand and turquoise waters.

The problem is that existing charts, if one could get them, were Cuban government charts and even Russian charts; nothing organized, reliable, up to date, continuous, contiguous, or anything of that sort.

But now, thanks to cartographers and chart makers NV Charts, there are new, reliable, comprehensive charts available for the entire Cuban coast, just recently released and available in paper and digital format.

Using all the available charts from various sources and combining them with newly-available geodata and their own coastal surveys, they painstakingly documented every detail, especially those of critical interest to mariners. It wasn’t easy; Cuba has not been, shall we say, easy to work with until very recently and there are still hurdles to jump.

Hasko and Cornelia Scheidt started NV Charts with nearly two dozen professional chart making associates more than 30 years ago.

They are sailors and boat lovers who also have a passion for chart making.

Not content to rely on everyone else’s data, they bought small vessels and

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equipment, and conducted their own surveys of shallows, channels, and coastal waters of the Bahamas and the Caribbean and Cuba as well.

“We made an exploratory voyage to Cuba from the Bahamas in 2009 and 2010 in a 46’ research vessel under German flag and with German crew,” Cornelia relates. “Cuba is a wonderful place and we loved it immediately. Yes, there is music, there is rum, but it is also an island with a marvelous history and lively culture, the largest of the Caribbean islands, and a terrific cruising ground.” After that, the first NV Charts Cuba region was released in 2010 and has now been re-released in an updated and corrected version for 2015 in NV Charts’ new Atlas format. “Cuba is really the gateway to the Caribbean,” she adds.

They recently announced the release of all four (4) Cuba chart sets in an Atlas style format. These chart regions cover the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest quadrants of the island. “The U.S. Government’s issuance of new rules regarding travel to Cuba is a momentous step forward for the boating industry,” explains

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Cuba - New Rules Hasko. “Now, persons traveling to Cuba can sail there on their own vessels, and with others.” He went on to add, “Cuba charts in paper and digital format will help recreational boaters or charterers explore the coast of Cuba in safety and with confidence.” The chart regions include the download of digital charts as well as free digital navigation software and the free Mobile App for iOS/ OS X and Android devices.

“Before going to Cuba, there are a few things to remember,” Cornelia explains. “First, the tidal change is very small due to proximity to the equator. Tidal information is given on our charts. The passages between the reefs are marked and maintained, as one would normally expect throughout the entire Caribbean, and navigation lights and lighthouses are not often out or out of service, but in any case it is very inadvisable to be underway at night in these waters. The

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safest navigation is in daylight with a bright sun overhead to allow navigation through the reefs, as coral heads abound everywhere. Corals are alive and constantly growing. On the interesting side, parrot fish eat the corals and then make with that the finest pink sand beaches in the Caribbean islands; truly beautiful when combined with these unbelievably turquoise waters.”

“The sailing is great and the snorkeling and scuba diving is also,” she continues, “but you still need your boat, your own little hotel, filled with all that you need!

Soap and toilet paper are scarce; there’s no toothpaste; they have good doctors but no medicine. Take with you what you need! If you are lucky you can buy fresh fruits, but bring your own bag! Be aware that there are only seven fuel stations with docking, and the longest distance between fueling stations is 320 nautical miles. These are also shown on our charts.”

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Cuba is a very big island, bigger than Florida, and about 700 nm from the west in Cabo San Antonio to the east in Cabo Maisí, eastern Cuba, jutting out from the Sierra de Purial mountains to form the easternmost extremity of the island. To the southeast, across the Windward Passage, lies Cheval Blanc Point, Haiti, at a distance of approximately 35 miles (56 km). Thirty miles to the northeast is Matthew Town on Great Inagua Island of the Bahamas.

It is prohibited to enter the harbor of Havana, which is for commercial shipping traffic only. Cruisers need to clear in elsewhere at a designated port of entry. One such place on the north coast of the island is at Varadero. A major-scale marina and hotel complex has been built there, Meliá Marina Varadero, with 1,200 berths and 13 mooring platforms.

The best way to go to Cuba is from the Bahamas and do Customs in Marina Vita, because you can go west with the wind or a short trip to the east against the trades and around the

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Cabo Maisí and then with the trade winds along the protected south coast.

The south coast of Cuba, between Cabo Cruz and Cabo San Antonio, offers a safe ‘inside’ waterway, relatively protected from the outer islands and reefs, but distances between harbors are considerable.

Yet, there are still many interesting landmarks of note, including the chimneys of the old sugar factories, lighthouses, and conspicuous hills.

Marina Vita is at Puerto de Vita, Rafael Freyre, Cuba. This is the most easterly port of entry on the northeast coast of Cuba. The sheltered bay is a hurricane hole and a 30-meterhigh lighthouse marks the entrance to the bay. The marina is very well sheltered, even in a hurricane. Yachts are Med-moored. It is rather isolated however, so a rental car is probably a good idea for reprovisioning and getting around. Holquin is 20 km away. Officials are reported to be very courteous and friendly. You will be asked to anchor off until clearance has been completed.

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Cuba In Havana, Marina Hemingway is a respectable facility with roughly 400 sidetie berths, just a 25-minute cab ride from downtown Havana.

Mariners should be thankful for Marina Hemingway, since as mentioned earlier, Havana has no place for recreational boats to anchor and the harbor is off limits to recreational cruisers.

The only disadvantage to Marina Hemingway is that there is no shopping within walking distance.

To visit Havana you need to rent a car or take public transport, which is often unreliable.

“Like many places in the Caribbean,” Cornelia says, “if you don’t have a rental car, you need to hitchhike and ride with someone going the same way. My favorite place is Cayo Caiman de la Mata de Coco; you will know it by a conspicuous tree and also a fishing shack standing on pilings in the anchorage. You see nothing but sand, shells, fish, and beautiful warm water. What more do you need?”

There are many such places like that; safe gunkholing places in a natural setting, surrounded by mangroves and small cays and endless beaches such as those of Cayo Coco. Cayo Coco is known for its all-inclusive resorts, and is part of a chain of islands named Jardines del Rey. Most people feel that it won’t be long before the old Bahamas – Cuba Loop comes back into popularity. It’s about a 1200 nm loop beginning, for all practical purposes, in Miami, and ending back there. It runs initially (Miami) to George Town, Bahamas, then to Duncan Town in the Jumentos

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New Rules

and across to Puerto Vita, Cuba, before running to Cayo Guillermo, Varadero and Havana. The return trip is Havana to Key West (and then Miami). The advantage to traveling the loop in that direction is that with the trades it is essentially a downhill run to and along Cuba’s north shore, and even back up to Key West from Havana. Going the opposite way is a beat against headwinds and seas.

From Miami to George Town is about 295 nautical miles. The second leg, from George Town to Puerto Vita is 196 nautical miles. The third leg, from

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Vita to Havana, is 454 nautical miles, and the fourth and final leg returns to Miami from Havana for another 263 nautical miles.

Cuba was discovered, to Europeans, by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Now, more than 500 years later, American cruisers have the opportunity once again to rediscover this beautiful island for themselves.

With caution, foreknowledge, good charts and adequate preparation, it promises to be a great cruise, and I find the prospect of cruising there to be absolutely enticing.

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Rescued By Dolphins!

By Dr. Linus Wilson

This first night of the big trip, I tried out a new anchorage that had been mentioned in an old cruising guide.

Published in 2000, its pre-Hurricane Katrina recommendations were sometimes hit and miss.

The Rigolets (pronounced RIG-uh-leez), in eastern Louisiana, is a deep natural waterway that

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Rescued By Dolphins!

The Rigoletes Marina is the last port before Mississippi. Even this outpost of civilization is remote and more popular with fisherman in small skiffs than cruising boats going to and from New Orleans.

is the gateway for cruising boats coming to and from New Orleans.

It has very little traffic, unlike the mighty Mississippi to the south of the Big Easy.

The Rigolets’ anchorages mentioned in that book, which I experimented with, were very exposed---smaller and more shallow than advertised. Who knew how much these marshlands have changed in the 14 years since the book’s publication?! I ended up doubling back to the shallow, mosquito infested, fishing focused but friendly, Rigolets (Bait and Seafood) Marina when the anchorages didn’t pan out. Still, I wanted to avoid marinas as much as

possible to gain experience before entering the reef-strewn waters of the Bahamas. The soft mud of the Gulf Coast, with Tow BoatU.S. at the ready, seemed a safer place to learn than those exotic islands.

The Double Bayou Lagoon lay near the end of the Geoghegan Canal, which was at the start of the Rigolets and near the Rigolets Marina. I dropped the 17-pound Danforth with 30 feet of ¼-inch chain and 90 feet of rode into 15-foot depths of the big, rectangular lagoon which is about 1,000 feet northeast to southwest and even longer northwest to southeast.

There was a big shelf that dropped off to 30 to 40 feet on the southeast

Rescued By Dolphins!

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end which I avoided. (You have to put out less rode if your anchor is in shallower water.)

The anchor alarms on my Garmin chartplotter and my iPhone apps went off all night. Since I was all alone, I kept on stretching out the drag alarm beyond 300 feet. The hazards were far away and they were alligator reeds and mud anyways.

When I pulled up the chain and rode, I found out why the alarm went off so often. We were anchored to

crude oil jelly. My chain and anchor were covered in the black gold. No wonder no one had recommended this anchorage since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. Crude oil jelly has very poor holding power.

Luckily, that was the only anchorage bottom I plumbed made of petroleum jelly. I did not know whether I should have staked a claim or filed an environmental complaint.

Dolphin dove and jumped under the bowsprit as I worked. A couple

View from the cockpit at the Double Bayou Lagoon “anchorage� where the author struck black gold.

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Rescued By Dolphins!

The dolphins disappeared from the bow, alerting the distracted author of impending doom.

rolls of paper towels was enough to remove the offending stuff from my anchor tackle as the autopilot steered straight ahead in the Rigolets. I would clean a few links and then run back from the bow to the helm in the stern on my jackline tether to change the course. At one point the dolphins suddenly disappeared. I looked up and we were headed straight for the reedy shore. I ran back and

changed course as the depths had dropped from 60 feet to six, but the disaster was prevented. I disengaged the autopilot and turned the boat hard to port before we hit the mud at five knots.

This is an excerpt from Slow Boat to the Bahamas. The book details how the author and his pregnant wife took up sailing and eventually went on the big trip from New Orleans to the Bahamas.

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Of The Cruiser

By The Cruiser For The Cruiser

What’s in a name anyway?

Several years ago my wife, Arline, and I decided we wanted to get back into sailing.

Our two girls were in their teens and we had just about finished with the horses. We also knew that this would be the start to our six-year plan to leave and go cruising.

So the search was on for a boat. We did our homework, looked at many boats and refreshed our sailing skills with a quick course in Florida. Our instructor, Bob, an old navy guy, was not your typical old salt, but damn close: an extremely knowledgeable man who helped us learn a lot in a little time.

The last day of our class Bob encouraged us to ask him anything we wanted, so we asked him about the different boats we were looking at. We were trying to decide between an older Catalina, Bristol, S2, and an Ericson. He sent us back to revisit the Ericson. I remember there was something about the Ericson when we first looked at it,

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by Jon Libby

but after the second look, some negotiating and a survey, we were the proud new owners of an Ericson 27 with the name Agapee on the stern.

After moving the boat closer to its new home and preparing it for spring launch onto Skaneateles Lake in upstate New York, we started doing all the things that a new boat owner might do. This, of course, means throwing money into everything you look at or touch.

Plus, there was the grill, the club fees, and launch cost.

Our daughters started looking for the meaning of Agapee. All their research led only to a Greek origin having something to do with love. Arline and I jokingly thought that maybe a couple with young kids had named it when one of the kids said, “I got pee,” and then did. We were looking for a name to strike a cord with our family or our family business. We looked at all the different lists of boat names and had several strong contenders. Since I would always be sailing with a boatload of girls, one of

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my favorites that would never, and I mean never float, was HMS PMS. Besides, to replace the lettering on the stern would cost money of course, and at the rate we were going through that, the name change could wait.

In the mean time we discovered that the previous owner was an elderly man who lived not too far from the boat’s new home. Arline called him and found out that he was a retired doctor. He explained that before he sold the boat he hadn’t sailed it for a couple of years and that his kids and family were really the major force in him selling. Arline told him about how we found the boat, about our family, and our future cruising plans. Most importantly, she invited him to the launching which is always a big deal in this area because several boats hire a crane for a day to launch all the big boats into the lake.

Finally our big day was here, the sun was out, the boat was gleaming, and all the wood looked sharp. The icebox had been filled, and shameless as it may sound, Agapee really stood out. By mid-morning our boat was hanging in the sling and was being swung from its cradle over the water to be launched.

Right then a big Cadillac pulled into the parking lot. An older, well-dressed gentleman hopped out and began walking down to the boats. Arline was confident that this was the previous owner. She went to welcome him while I checked the thru-hulls, fired up the motor, and for the first time moved Agapee to another dock so other boats could be launched. When I landed at the dock, Arline and the doctor strolled up and helped with the lines. With a quick introduction, he climbed aboard and set down his briefcase on the cockpit seat. I swear, he stroked and patted the hull, then grabbed the tiller and sat confidently down with it in his hand in a manner that seemed to say, “Hello old friend.”

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He was very happy to see that we had really taken care of the boat and that we were so proud of it. After a bit of small talk he said, “I brought you kids something.” He grasped his briefcase and set it in my lap. As I opened it I saw manuals, notes, logs. It was filled with every type of paper from the boat that he had; belt numbers, spark plug and filter numbers, radio and stereo manuals, dates and locations of all work ever done on the boat. Kewl!

He said he was quite bitter for a while about selling the boat and about somebody else owning it. He thought he could have sailed several more years, but his kids and family were relieved he had sold the boat. His phone conversation with Arline had inspired him to put aside the bitter feelings and return to Agapee with the paperwork and records in hand.

Arline pulled out snacks and drinks. Then we asked him about the name, its significance, and how it came to be.

He took a deep breath and simply started. “Well, years ago I lost my wife. She was the love of my life. She was my life. I had a hard time and nothing to do. I bought this boat to keep me busy.

Agapee is Greek for ‘My Love,’ my wife, this boat!”

Right after I wiped the tears away, I promised that Agapee would stay with this boat and every boat I ever owned forever.

Agapee has brought my wife and I closer together and closer to our dream of cruising.

People ask about the name and when they hear this story, some are as moved as Arline and I were. Others just ask “Well,.. then why is your dinghy named Agapoo?”

Fast-forward to today... We found the boat we can cruise on, so we have a deposit on Agapee. In a few short weeks we will be the proud owners of an Ericson 36C with the name Kasidah on the stern. I don’t have the full significance on that yet, but maybe there’s another story there too.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Dominica’s Indian river In our second year in the Caribbean we finally had the chance to visit one of the most known touristic places in Dominica. Personally, I’m not very attracted to tourist locations but this one, after spending one year hearing everyone we met talking about it, had to be visited!

We were in Martinique for some months and decided to go north with a friend who had just arrived from Saint Lucia, where he had taken over a secondhand catamaran. We had found it for him during our six months stay in the neighbor island. The friend and family were getting to know their new home and were planning to sail as far north as possible before heading back south for the hurricane season, so we decided to go along and follow them until Guadalupe. We didn’t know that French island yet. They kept going north and we stayed some days in Guadalupe, visiting Point-a-Pitre, Les Saints and some other locations before heading to Portsmouth in Dominica.

In our previous stop in Dominica we decided to stay in its capital, Roseau, after an ordeal of several

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By Joao Gomes

days at sea with technical problems on board. Roseau was welcoming and a safe port for us to lick our wounds! However, staying in the capital of the Nature Island didn’t give us the chance to visit other places and we were too tired to move anywhere. So this time, we went directly to the place to visit, Portsmouth and the Indian River.

I was, let me confess, expecting to see something very special because so many people talked about it and recommended a visit.

However, apart from being positively surprised that one is not allowed to fish in the river, my expectations stopped there. I don’t mean that the Indian River is not a place that deserves to be visited. Of course, like any other natural places, it deserves to have cruisers and other visitors spend some time meandering in its waters, exploring what nature still has to offer. However, it’s not allowed to be visited without a guide.

And, not to forget, but the biggest selling point now is the fact that it was used for some shooting of the

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movie Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest.

Some of the movie props (Johnny Depp’s house, the pirate bar, etc...) are still there and are maintained by the local authorities to assure that the tourists have something to see. Unfortunately, no information is available at each site.

We went on a tour led by a local boat boy turned tourist guide that specialized in the Indian River. We won’t name names, but he’s mentioned in most sailing guides! Boat boys turned river guides was a clever idea from the government to solve a problem with boat boys

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Flotsam & Jetsam

in this part of the country, before it went out of hand and started to be a problem among cruisers. Some years ago cruisers were avoiding Dominica because the boat boys were getting too aggressive in the business of “helping” boat people.

The tour took less than one hour and cost several 50US$ per person. It’s not allowed to use your own dinghy, so we were picked up on our boat by the guide in his well maintained wooden speed boat. He did the tour according to the “book” and rowed all the way inside the canals, showing us the old movie props, Mr. Depp’s “house” from the movie, and still had time to explain something about the fauna and flora in the mangroves coconut crabs, some interesting birds - and the history of the river.

We ended up our trip in the Bush Bar up river (the Ticking Croc Tavern), where we only had the chance to drink a local coffee because they hadn’t any water or drinks without alcohol available! Since we had a baby with us, and we didn’t want to leave the bar without any consumption because so far, we were the only clients in that day, I had to gulp a cup of coffee which I wished I hadn’t!

In the Dominican tourism website they promote the river and the bar saying, “See for yourself where scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed. Up the river you can visit the renowned ‘Bush Bar’ and try our signature rum drink, smoked fish and a variety of other drinks, juices and tasty local cuisine.” Maybe we went on a bad day...

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That was our Indian River experience. I believe that others may have had similar experiences and somehow better ones, But sincerely, I expected that, being a major tourist destination and attraction, it would have some more to offer in terms of information and amenities. I don’t mean air conditioned rooms or cold showers, but a bar with drinks without alcohol and some small local snacks (which Dominica is rich in and they can be found everywhere in Roseau) would go a long way in attracting more people and keep them for a while, bringing more revenue and more funds to preserve the habitat. Some information printed and some more knowledge for the guides could also help make the experience richer.

At least, I did get one of my questions answered. I was puzzled with the name of the river. Indian River got its name from the “Indians” who lived on its banks, mainly Carib Indians, when the colonizers arrived.

After our river experience, out stop in Portsmouth was not in vain. Apart from being always bothered by boat boys during the day, which is an annoyance after the second day of saying we don’t need anything, we had the chance to meet a very interesting artist one night in one of the few restaurants that were serving dinner at that time of the year.

We are against giving money to beggars and avoid even donating money to charities because we never know where it will end up. When someone asks us for money we always ask if they want to eat. If they say yes, we buy them a meal or invite them to join us at the table. However, this time we were surprised that the

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Flotsam & Jetsam

“beggar” didn’t ask us for just money for food or drinks, he promptly told us that if we gave him some money he would draw us a picture. He were inclined to invite him to our table, but the restaurant made it clear that he was not welcome inside the place. Those were the owner’s orders, explained the waiter.

The artist didn’t seem bothered with the situation and stayed in the sand doing his “work” on a piece of paper he found somewhere, while we had our dinner overlooking the bay at night. When we finished, he came near us in the veranda of the restaurant from the beach side and explained his artwork. It was the bay with its hills at sunset, and with our sailing boat Dee in the background.

We heard the waiter trying to hide a merciful laugh when she saw the paper he gave us, but for us, even if the drawing was of bad quality and childish, what counted was his attitude. He didn’t beg for money or food, he worked for it and felt proud of his work. And, art is art; doesn’t matter in what form you do it.

We kept the drawing and we have it in our boat on the wall near the navigation desk. It’s a naive work, but it made us feel warm and happy with this man after being disappointed with our stop in Portsmouth.

If you decide to stop here on your next trip to Dominica, look for Sheldon Hamilton, from Lagoon Village, because he deserves a visit. He does other artistic work with wood, but we didn’t have the chance to see it because we were leaving the Nature Island the next day for Martinique.

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A Surprise in Eastport, Maine

Boom!!! “Was that a cannon?” I wondered out loud.

I was alone on JUDY, my 38-foot Ericson, during my annual September cruise. I often talk out loud when alone.

Somehow it’s comforting.

It was Saturday, 9/12/15, and I was arriving from Grand Manan, New Brunswick, having sailed there solo three days previously from Boston, JUDY’s home port. The Eastport Customs office is open Tuesday through Saturday to accommodate Canadians coming for the weekend. In bold red letters the regulations say: “No one shall board or leave the boat without first completing Customs processing, unless permission to do so is granted by the CBP officer in charge.” If I didn’t clear Customs Saturday, I would have to stay on board until Tuesday. I reached the Customs officer on my cell phone and he said he’d meet me at the town dock, but I couldn’t stay there because of all the boats coming for the pirate festival. That was not any old cannon I’d heard, it was a pirate’s cannon!

Eastport is the easternmost city in the United States. The population peaked at about 5,000 in 1900 when the sardine business was at its height.

There were more than 10 factories, and 5,000 cases, each with 100

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By Len Freedburg

cans, were packed weekly during the season, more than one case per Eastport resident. That’s a lot of little fish. The last factory closed in 2010. The population now is less than 1,500 and slowly declining. Fishing, lobstering, and tourism are the primary industries.

After clearing Customs I motored to the Chowder House. I had met the owner, Bob, during my prior visit in 2008. Bob and his restaurant had hardly changed. He is a retired Coastie who owns a few restaurants. He allowed me to tie up at the gas dock and charged just $25 to stay overnight. I needed ice and he gave me 40 pounds; he’s that kind of guy.

I also reconnected with Captain Butch Harris, a lifelong resident who operates whale watch trips in Pasamaquoddy Bay. About 10 years ago he and a friend built the 118foot schooner Halie and Matthew, and sailed her south. In 2010 she made a relief trip to Haiti, and she’s now in Florida.

The pirate festival is an annual event. It includes an invasion of Lubec, the easternmost municipality in the United States, an invasion from Lubec, a ball, a parade, and fireworks.

I was astounded at the number of people in pirate outfits and the level of detail. Suffice it to say, there was a fair amount of grog consumed too.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

When I woke up Sunday and went up to the Chowder House it looked like it would take a while to clean up, and a man was wandering around looking for his cell phone.

I left with the outgoing tide on Sunday. The tides are 25 feet and there is no point in fighting them. I sailed past beautiful East Quoddy Light on the northern tip of Campobello Island, past West Quoddy Light on the southern tip, and then overnight to Bar Harbor. By evening the notorious Maine fog developed and I had the usual nerve-wracking creep into the harbor at dawn. I was very happy my radar was working.

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I spent a nice day and night in Bar Harbor. I had a terrific waffle at Jordan’s Restaurant and then a short passage to Little Cranberry Island.

During my “regular” life I am a psychiatrist and my time is scheduled. For example I know that I will be seeing Mr. X at 11:00 a.m. every Tuesday. Don’t misunderstand, I love it and want to keep working as long as possible. But one of the joys of cruising is how unscheduled it is. I didn’t know for certain that I was going to Eastport (there are several other U.S. entry ports in Maine) until the day I left Grand Manaan, and I had never heard of the pirate festival. The unplanned and unexpected routine when cruising is one of the reasons I love it, and hope JUDY and I can keep going.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Hot & humid cruising in the Musandam

By John Simpson

bi

The Straits of Hormuz from the Gulf into the Indian Ocean are undoubtedly an extremely busy place for large crude carriers.

Tension between Iran and the rest of the developed world continue to make the Persian Gulf place an energy choke point. More than a quarter of the world’s oil passes out through this narrow channel.

Strangely enough, as a sailing coach in Oman I became a regular visitor through these Straits.

We’d just finished our biggest yacht regatta in the Middle

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East at that time (part of it a 360-mile race from Dubai to Muscat), having used the Straits twice, including delivering the boats to the race from Oman.

Musandam Naturally, my interest grew in visiting the area, even vaguely suggesting to my Omani boss, Salem, that after the racing it would make an interesting cruising ground. Maybe we could run a course on one of the Gulf of yachts in the southern part of the Oman Straits (the Musandam), which is governed by Oman, starting before the summer heat arrived and made the peninsular completely unbearable.

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I’m sure it helps to be barking mad when making your living as a sailing coach, or have crazy ideas about finding interesting places to sail! But after discussing this odd idea in a meeting with his other colleagues, Salem came up with a great proposal. The racing team (as many as wanted) would deliver one yacht to the Omani Naval base in the Musandam.

This was a reward to the sailing team after excellent results in the President’s Cup Regatta. Once there they could have the rest of the week to take a break: chilling out, visiting various places of interest, enjoying some excellent fishing, diving and small boat sailing. Most of the lads would then go home, leaving a few key players who would spend the second week sail training with a young officers course. These midshipmen would then help sail the yacht back.

It was gratifying to find quite a few of the good racing sailors wanted to come; roughly half out of 20 volunteered. It’s not difficult to understand why some

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Flotsam & Jetsam

sailors didn’t come. Once a young Omani is married he has plenty of family pressure. His wife doesn’t normally drive and isn’t (yet!) allowed to make any major decisions without her husband’s approval.

The delivery trip from Wudam to the Ras Musandam Base (RMB) was approximately 175 nm. We left the naval base well before lunch, but soon picked up a decent sea breeze with the yacht mostly hard on the wind. We’d been trolling for fish from the start and we caught four large (8-10 lb) tuna on the bounce. What was very interesting though; quite a heated discussion broke out amongst the lads shortly after we caught the only yellow fin tuna. Omar (a son of fishermen) wanted to throw it back. He didn’t think they were particularly good to eat! It showed me how confident he was that we would catch plenty more!

The west-northwest to northwesterly F3-4 wind continued most of the night before falling away just before dawn. We closed the land and found some gentle air off the shore about 20 miles from the Straits, but had to motor through the Straits at Fakk al Assad (Lion’s Jaw) as the heat intensified after midday. We fi nally moored the boat alongside at RMB about four o’clock after a 30-hour passage.

The peninsular is an arid, rocky and mountainous home to about 30,000 people. The land looks pink and yellow, and it’s very dry. It’s quite difficult to survive here. Most of the sustenance comes from the sea.

Our next few days were spent either fishing, diving or sailing interspersed with a trip on a work (whisky) boat to Little Coin Island with the six young officers (YOs). The Omani Navy maintain this serious

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lighthouse and radar station for the southern part of the Straits of Hormuz. Another day was spent on a Naval Landing Ship Logistic (LSL) visiting Khasab, the biggest town in the Musandam.

Many electrical items - TVs, sound systems, plus other luxury items difficult to obtain - are bought at Khasab, then smuggled to Iran across the 34 mile Straits by their own people in fast boats. Most boats leave just before sunset, arriving on the other side in the dark. These Iranians face severe penalties if caught, but it’s a lucrative business for both local Omanis and the smugglers.

At the end of the first week many of the sailing team flew back on the Air Force skyvan. Three of us remained: Hussein, Mohammad Ali and me, joined by the trainee midshipmen on the yacht. We started teaching them about yacht sailing whilst having a look around the peninsular.

Even though the really warm weather hadn’t yet begun,

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Flotsam & Jetsam it was extremely hot and rather windless in most of the inlets we explored. After five days we returned to RMB to restock and clean up before our trip back to Wudam.

The return leg was far more exciting, with a soldier’s fair wind of F3-4 from the north. We were able to fly the spinnaker for long periods of time after clearing the Straits, romping back in only 24 hours. What made it a particularly memorable run was a very large school of bottlenose dolphin joining us. They played under the bows for several hours, being excited by our decent boat speed. The boat surfed down the waves quite well at times. It had been a good couple of weeks cruising in an area I doubt many other yachts have ever explored before.

If you were in Oman and wanted to cruise the Musandam with your own boat, I couldn’t answer as to whether the government of Oman would grant you permission. The Omani government employed me and I was rather embedded there. We certainly

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had a huge advantage because we could use RMB for water, fuel, showers and re-victual as a naval yacht. The government does encourage tourism and they have built good new harbours roughly every 20-30 miles along the whole of their coast.

They’ve also opened a new marina at Dibba in Zighy Bay in the southern part of the Musandam, which would be a useful starting base.

The diving, fishing, and scenery are very spectacular and the locals are very friendly, making it well worth a visit during the cooler winter months. The only drawback is an occasional Shamal, bringing strong northwesterly winds. Since 2008 the Omanis have been running the world’s fastest passenger ferry from Muscat to the Musandam for tourists. Unless you decide to visit the Gulf, it might be easier to leave your boat in the capital and use this ferry. Either option would be worth exploring to visit this fascinating and remote area.

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Mac The Sailor

Mac was a year old when we bought our first sailboat, a 16-foot sloop with a cutty cabin. As soon as we felt at ease sailing it, Mac joined us on day trips. He was comfortable being in a boat floating on the water.

Two years later we bought a 17-foot Herreshoff Cat Boat, Faithful - one we cruised with.

Mac learned to relieve himself before we entered the ramp to get to Faithful’s slip. We purchased a rubber dinghy to take Mac ashore. Our destinations had to have a place where he could be taken to do his business. As to actually sailing, Mac favored a few spots. One was under our seat in the cockpit where he was with us while being in the shade. When he wanted more comfort, he went below to lie on a plush cushion. During the hot summer, he, like us, sought shade.

Four years later we bought a Pearson 30’. Sailing in this boat, we did a lot more heeling, but Mac had his favorite spot in the head, at ease with the incline of Farewell. However, when we turned on the motor and entered a harbor, he would come up to the cockpit, get up on a seat and look out at the surroundings, sniffing the air, probably looking forward to being on solid ground again.

After sailing to our destination and setting the anchor, Dick would get ready to take Mac ashore. We had

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By Camille Castaldi Blok

purchased a fiberglass dinghy that we trailed behind this larger boat’s stern. Dick would take the line connected to the dinghy, bring it starboard and tie it to a cleat. At this point Mac became aware of what was about to happen and began wagging his tail in anticipation. Dick would get into the dinghy first, then Mac would jump up on the seat and it was my job to hold him back until hubby was ready for him. Then, with Dick holding his collar, Mac would jump into the dinghy and, after Mac was settled in, Dick began rowing ashore. They walked the shoreline with Mac’s nose to the ground enjoying all those new smells.

About a half-hour later Dick would put Mac back into the dinghy and, while pushing the dinghy off shore, would somehow manage to get himself in, too.

While they were ashore, I fixed Mac’s dinner and prepared hors d’oeuvres for Dick and me. Once they were back on the boat and washed up, happy hour began and everybody celebrated with food and drink.

One weekend Dick decided to anchor in the Oyster Bay area. We had spent many a day visiting Dick’s Aunt Edith when she lived there, and we were familiar with parts of the town. After a nice sail there we decided to just hang out and relax the next day, enjoying the beautiful weather. At one point, Dick rowed in to shore with Mac and an Oyster

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Flotsam & Jetsam Bay native gave Dick a hard time about bringing the dog there.

Dick said he was allowed to come ashore as long as he didn’t go beyond the high water line, but the man disagreed. Anyway, Dick returned with Mac and told me what had happened.

Shortly thereafter, a powerboat with four or five plain clothes law enforcement officers approached our boat and arrested Dick. They said they had to take him to the courthouse. I said, “You can’t leave me alone on this boat; I’m just a passenger,” to which they replied that they would bring him back.

I worried for more than an hour and a half until I saw Dick on the shore. He had to ask someone for a lift out to the boat. (So much for returning him to the boat.) He said he was given a date when he had to appear back at

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the courthouse, when the judge would hear the case.

When Dick went to work the next day he told the story to his friend, a lawyer, who said not to worry. The following day his friend came in and gave Dick the documentation showing the law and told Dick to present it to the judge when he returned to court.

The day came and Dick dutifully appeared at court, but the plaintiff never showed up and the case was dismissed.

Consequently, we never anchored off Oyster Bay again.

Mac was getting older and less able to endure long walks, so we decided to rent a go-kart at Block Island. We got one that had a bench seat. In the middle of the floor of the vehicle was an open space, so Dick found a piece of wood that he placed over the hole so Mac could sit on

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it comfortably. We began our excursion of the island on this very hot day going down our first hill, with Mac’s ears flopping in the wind. He was delighted with this new mode of transportation and the comfort of the wind cooling him off.

We headed to the northernmost part of the island, where the lighthouse was and encountered a few hills. At the first hill, Dick got off and walked alongside of the go-kart, holding onto the steering mechanism while I controlled the speed, which was on my side. When we reached the top of the hill, Dick got back on. We continued along until we reached a really big hill. Then we both had to control the steering and speed while walking alongside the go-kart, leaving Mac sitting in his middle spot, enjoying the cool breezes. One man, riding his

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bicycle, said to Dick, “Hey mister, won’t he let you back on?”

Dick purchased a support for Mac that had a handle on top so you could lift him up, very much like a piece of luggage. As he aged, getting back onto the boat was more difficult for him. Dick said we could use the halyard, so he showed me how to lift him up once Dick fastened the halyard line onto the support’s handle. I was able to lift him all right. In fact, I lifted him about an inch above the boat’s surface and Dick had to tell me how to lower him. Mac was happy to get onto the boat again and enjoyed his Milk Bone treat.

All told, Mac was comfortable on our boats. At anchor, he selected various spots to rest upon and, as you can see, he was not worrying about anything and was enjoying his nap.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Stranded Almost Naked

“If you do anything with the Whaler, wake me up!”

These words were from my wife and would prove to be significant.

We were sailing our Island Packet 44, Gusto, leaving from Hillsboro Inlet, Florida, around 0800 to the Abacos, Bahamas. Our planned first stop was at Mangrove Cay by way of Memory Rock, seven miles north of West End. We draw six feet and our dinghy, a 13-foot Boston Whaler “Orca” with a 40hp Mercury, was in tow. It’s a distance of about 94 miles across the Gulf Stream and the Flats and we should get to Mangrove sometime between 2200 and 2400.

Winds and seas were calm and we motorsailed using the main and our 75hp Yanmar all the way to Mangrove Cay. For security purposes out on the flats (the shallow 12-15 foot Bahamas’ shelf you’re over once you leave the Gulf Stream at Memory Rock), I decided to tie the Whaler alongside Gusto and sleep in the cockpit. Carol, my wife, was going to take a shower and go to bed below.

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By Dick Simmons

It was pitch black with many stars, but no moon. As I was lying in the cockpit, Carol came to the companionway to say good night and to tell me, “If you do anything with the Whaler, wake me up!” I went to sleep and woke some hours later to find the Whaler bouncing up above the deck of Gusto in 2-1/2 foot close, nasty waves. I thought I’d better untie her and let her lay behind Gusto. I have only done that about a thousand times, so I saw no need to wake Carol, who was sound asleep.

Timing the bucking bronco that was the Whaler, I stepped down and got in without breaking a leg. I untied the stern line and then the bow line and began to hand over hand my way back to the transom where there was a cleat to which I would attach the Whaler and let it drift back. As I was doing that, a particularly nasty wave tore me, in the Whaler, away from Gusto. I reached for one of the fenders which I had dropped between Gusto and the Whaler when I had tied her up, and missed by a matter of inches. Now I was rapidly drifting away from the Mother Ship.

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When the tide rolls on and off the Banks it runs very rapidly, and I was quickly watching Gusto’s anchor light become smaller. Regrettably, the key to start the Mercury was inside Gusto. I hastily grabbed a paddle and began to frantically paddle toward Gusto. I feel confident in saying that NO ONE can paddle a 13’ Whaler into 25- to 30-knot winds and two- to three-foot seas and three knots of current taking me away.

I wanted to get out the anchor from the forward anchor locker which was beneath a tied-down-for-thecrossing bimini top. As quickly as possible I undid the lines, lifted the bimini and got out the anchor. I dropped it and let out about 50 feet of scope in 10-foot-deep water. I then retrieved another small anchor we have for throwing from the stern for tying up at dinghy docks, and deployed it as well from the bow, hoping I would not continue to drift away toward the Gulf Stream.

I then sat down to assess my circumstances and how I was going to get out of the mess I had made for myself. I only had on a bathing suit and, believe it or not, it gets quite cool in a dinghy at night in the Bahamas. My main concern was that Carol would eventually awaken and discover both me and the dinghy gone. As a result, instead of lying down and curling up in a fetal position to keep warm, I sat up for the rest of the night watching to see if she came out with a light. I was now about two football fields away from Gusto. There was no way I was going to attempt to swim against that current to make it back to the Mother Ship where the key for the Whaler lived.

Some time later, storm clouds appeared. I thought, “If we have a storm Carol will surely come out and find me missing.” In the Whaler there is a white running/anchor light on a two-foot metal pole that is inserted into the steering console. Carol and I are both licensed Ham radio operators and I thought, “I can connect the white light, and using the anchor light switch, send her Morse code for OK.” It has been some years since we took the licensing test and I could remember “O” (- - -) but I could not remember “K” (- . -). I could at least turn on the running lights to let her know where I was. It was much too far away to yell and be heard over the wind blowing against me at that distance.

Eventually my hastily offered prayers were answered and the storm clouds blew away without rain.

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Flotsam & Jetsam Finally, the gray of dawn began to appear and as the sun came up two boats anchored in closer to Mangrove pulled away. I took out flares and struck one – which crumbled. No joy! Took out a second and a third with the same result, as I watched the boats sail away. There was one very small sailboat left, and as he began to move about, I stood on the Whaler seat waving my arms in the standard distress signal. He started to sail away and then suddenly turned and aimed toward me.

For those who say there are no coincidences, allow me to tell you a few. My rescuer, Jason Clements from South Carolina, had read in Southwinds Magazine (an article written by Rebecca Burg, a longtime friend) about the famous Abaco “Stranded Naked – Cheeseburger in Paradise” party held each year at Fiddle Cay just

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prior to the start of Regatta Time in Abaco in early July.

Each year at that party, run and organized by Bobb and Patricia Henderson and numerous volunteers, they give away approximately 2000 hamburgers, 500 hot dogs, and 300 gallons of rum drinks which are made in huge metal garbage cans. Everything is free and people come from all over the Southeastern U.S. for Race Week and to enjoy this great party. As an aside, no one really is naked. The party is partly sponsored by businesses and supported by the sale of T-shirts. An interesting sidelight is that to keep cool, the food line extends out into the Sea of Abaco. Carol and I have both enjoyed volunteering there for a number of years.

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Jason decided, after reading the article, that he had to go to that party. He trailered his little sailboat to Lighthouse Point in South Florida where he met a member of the Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club, an organization that I had been Commodore of in 1976.

An HISC member happened to see Jason and invited him to leave his truck and trailer at their house while he single-handed his boat to the Abacos.

Had Rebecca Berg not written that article, had it not been published, had Jason not picked up a copy of Southwinds at West Marine in South Carolina, who knows how this story might have ended.

Fortunately for me, she did, that magazine did, and Jason read it and decided that was an event in which he had to participate.

Jason circled the Whaler and asked me what I was doing. I explained the circumstances and he agreed to pick me up, take me back to Gusto to get the Whaler key, and then bring me back to recover the Whaler.

Going back to the Whaler, the seas were still choppy and the Whaler was jumping up and down. After a couple of unsuccessful passes we agreed that he would sail close to the Whaler and I would dive in and swim the few feet necessary to board the Whaler. Jason also knew how the tide ran there and said, “I hope you are a good swimmer.” I assured him that for the few feet I would have to swim, that I was. Climbing on board and starting the Mercury ended the Ordeal/Adventure.

Subsequently, over a drink Jason confessed to me that he, “wondered why this guy was sitting in Dinghy Jail!”

As I jumped back aboard Gusto, Carol heard Jason and I shouting back and forth to each other and asked, “What is going on?”

I told her, “We are having a little adventure.” As Bob Bitchin would say, “Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure.”

Two final words of advice: 1. Consider hiding a starter key somewhere in the dinghy.

2. If your wife says to “Wake her up”... WAKE HER UP!!!

I haven’t been married for 61 years to the same woman by being this stupid all of the time! She might disagree.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Premo Goes Fishing

It took a lot of talking into, but Eddie and I finally persuaded Premo to go fishing with us.

It was a beautiful Key West day on the water.

While Captain Eddie gave us a speech on marlin fishing, Ryan dropped a M80 over the side. When it exploded, water sprayed a salty funnel. Eddie yelled, “Knock that shit off! You’re scaring the fish!” We all laughed. Ryan promised to be good, then winked.

Eddie got down to business and directed Premo to cast his line carefully into the breeze, aiming it through the sun where seabirds were having fun.

Ryan interrupted, “My sunburn is killing me.”

Doctor Ed replied, “Put acid on and forget about it.”

Premo climbed gracefully into the fighting chair, then strapped himself in.

For a big man he moved cat-like. Premo hooked a monster and fought well. We cheered him on. Eddie pointed to the left. All of us, except Premo turned and saw darkness gliding below the surface heading directly towards the fish on the line. Premo’s marlin was in jeopardy. A 14-foot hammerhead was about to attack.

Casually, Premo said, “Ryan hold the pole. Don’t lose my fish.” He began to unstrap himself from the fighting chair as Ryan took the exchange. Grabbing the rod, Ryan got pulled wildly across the deck to the side rail. Captain Eddie and I grabbed

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By William Ciccotti

Ryan before he went overboard into the deep ocean.

Remarkably, he held on tightly and never lost the rod. I’ve seen him do that with beer bottles, but never when fishing.

Eddie and I, together with Ryan, franticly held onto the pole. The three of us were thrown all over the deck like rag dolls by Premo’s big fish. Still, we held onto each other and the fishing pole.

Premo never noticed the action back on deck.

Casually, he cracked his neck while gracefully reaching into his shoulder holster and told us, “Now this is a rod.” Slowly, he drew his massive 44 magnum from its custom shoulder holster.

Premo took dead aim and nonchalantly put three slugs into the monster shark. I never saw a fisherman packing heat, let alone a cannon. Boom, boom, boom! Premo fired three bullets; dead on target they flew. The water exploded as the shark thrashed in his death dance.

With a slight nod of his head, Premo climbed back into the fighting chair. We all stared in awe. Snapping his fingers, looking out the back of the boat, he reached a massive paw for that fishing pole. Ryan, Eddie and I struggled the taunt rod back into Premo’s large hands. Never breaking eye contact with his fish, he nodded thanks.

The giant shark was now forgotten about, except by Ryan and me. I grabbed a gaff and Ryan grabbed a Kalik. Reaching out as far as I could

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with Ryan holding onto my shirt tail, I leaned over and hooked the shark. Ryan asked between sips, “Is it dead?”

Pulling more out of the water by the gaff, we saw that half of the hammer head was blown off. I’d say that it was dead.

Around 14 feet long, it was a beauty even with half the head missing. We could always put that side against the wall.

Ryan reached in, grabbing the skull for a better look.

Eddie yelled, “Don’t do that.” Too late. Ryan’s whole arm was under churning aqua water trying to clutch the dead monster. While turning, he didn’t notice what Eddie and I now saw much too clearly. A 12-foot tiger shark was nearing his totally submerged arm. I tackled Ryan and we both were knocked onto the slippery deck of Eddie’s boat. Tackle scraped his arm as it was forced rapidly up out of the deep blue sea.

“What the hell man!?” Ryan angrily yelled. Eddie pointed seaward. We peered at eye level, directly into the angry red eye of the now surfaced tiger shark. Both the shark and Ryan were very angry with me, but Ryan will get over it. To hell with the shark.

Ryan whispered, “Thanks man.”

Premo said, “If you two are through making out on the deck, how about helping Eddie gaff my marlin?”

Laughing, we jumped up and got back to work.

Finally, the big billfish was tired and brought alongside our boat. Yes, she was a beauty. Truth be told and all of this is the truth, the marlin was quite a trophy, but I liked the hammerhead better.

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Flotsam & Jetsam

Pelican Bait or My Dog First Mate is Always on Board

By Linus T. Wilson

A pelican eyes the four-pound dog, wondering if it tastes good

Admit it. During most of the time spent on the boat, especially when it is moving, the lovely ladies are absent. Your wife or girlfriend probably prefers watching football to boarding your hole in the water.

Most of your buddies are probably too busy to spend time with Captain Ahab. Yet, your four legged buddy just can’t say “No.” I first thought of having the dog on the boat during the sea trial for my first sailboat. The owner, trying to seal the deal, raved about how his golden retriever absolutely loved sailing. It was my dog’s fate that was sealed that day. Second to me, no mammal has spent more time on our succession of boats than our dog.

If you are lucky, you have a tiny dog. My dog, Daly, weighs in at four pounds after a big meal. When he was young, my wife and

I lived in the city in apartments on upper floors. That meant 20-inchsquare pee pads and liver treat rewards were much preferred to taking him for a walk every time he got the urge. That made for a perfect transition to the boat after my wife and I got the sailing bug.

A small, sedentary dog such as ours, gets plenty of exercise between his 19 hours a day of naps on our f loating paradise. He is too small to climb into the berths, but he is getting better at jumping to any part of the deck he pleases. A walk in the morning and a few hours patrolling the deck and barking at any interesting people or birds is more exercise than he gets at home. One such patrol, he was the first to spot the duck eggs that were laid in our cockpit!

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The first mate keeps a good lookout in the Gulf of Mexico

Every day sail, every extended cruise, and—more frequently—for most boat repair jobs, Daly was aboard. He doesn’t get seasick, but he is much more clingy when the boat leaves the slip. He is usually pasted to my lap or leg on crossings of the big Lake Pontchartrain or cruises into the Gulf of Mexico. He knows from experience that the cabin is not a safe place on cruises since heavy objects often fall from the shelves and berths as the boat slams through the chop. He rides in the dinghy with some trepidation, but settles down if you put him in his soft-sided pet carrier which is like a third home for him, after the house and the boat. Plus, in his pet bag he can be smuggled into all kinds of places where normally dogs don’t go, or carried when he is too hot or tired to walk home.

On one cruise, a brown pelican circled the boat with an eye to the furry black fi rst mate in the cockpit.

The pelican landed on our boat, and I believe only my presence kept the canine from becoming bird food.

He was also close to the afterlife when he fell overboard at the dock. His instinctive dog paddle and my dive into the brown muck saved his fur that day.

If it is not too hot, I like to have him in a life jacket under way. It is great pelican repellent. Plus, those jackets also come with a handle which is frequently used. Safety of the crew comes fi rst on my boat.

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m r o St n i p e Pr

e s i d Para

By Genevieve Stoltz

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Driving your boat into a bunch of mucky branches surrounded by some seriously murky waters doesn’t sound too appealing, but when severe weather is coming it does have its advantages. Using mangroves as a storm “safe zone” is beneficial as the mangroves break the windage, they offer a strong root system and flexible branches that you can tie into, and they give you other boaters around to weather the storm with.

To Go Bow or Stern In

The most ideal position would have been bow into the mangroves, with our bow pointing in the predominant wind direction. This way our rudder would not be pushed into the ground with every gust. But all those sweet spots were already taken, so we had to back into the bush. That was the only option. The benefit of being stern to is if something on your boat breaks free you end up in the mangroves instead of into another boat. The downside is if someone else breaks loose they are floating towards you (that is if you have your stern in the mangroves with predominant winds on your nose).

The idea of tying into the mangroves is having 50 anchors in 50 spots nearby! This was our first time and we went with what made sense and a few quick peeks at what other boats around us were doing. We are no experts on the subject but can tell you what worked for us in case you are questioning yourself.

Choosing a Spot

As important as how your boat will fit in is, you also want to take a close look at how the other boats around are tied up, because they are as much of a danger as the storm itself.

The last thing you want is to be fending off other boats in the middle of a storm. Also, the least favourable spot in the mangroves is on an outward bend, because you want to have at least a 45-degree angle on your lines to have equal tension. www.cruisingoutpost.com

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If you have three anchors, the dotted line is your primary and solid lines are your secondaries.

If you have only two anchors, they are the solid lines.

If you have time, go through the mangroves and check the depths here and there. If you don’t, you can keep in the back of your mind that most mangroves are rooted in mud, so if it’s an emergency you can drive or back in until you hit bottom and then move forward by two feet until you are off the ground and use that as your “spot.”

Anchors

The configuration will be different depending on the amount of anchors you have. We have three: main anchor straight into the wind (if you are nose in you will have your main going straight off your stern), and the other two anchors no more than 45 degrees off of that. If you have anchors of equal size then it doesn’t matter which goes first, but if you have them in differing sizes you want to put the strongest one in the predominant spot. We dropped our main anchor using the sailboat, and used a dinghy for the secondaries.

Always use a second spot on your boat to “anchor” your line, i.e. tie it to your cleat and then to your winches, as they are well grounded and give you a backup in case your cleat rips out. In severe weather, if you have an

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anchor snubber use it. If not, a tire can be used to soften the tension on your lines by connecting the anchor chain to the tire, and then a line from the tire to your boat.

Lines

Brand new lines are the safest and ideal way to tie into the mangroves. The older the line the more UV damage it may have, and the more stresses it has gone through. But sometimes the bank account won’t allow it. You must ďŹ nd your personal balance between your safety vs. your wallet.

To tie into the mangroves you want to have four-six lines of good length (I will give an equation later for that length). With four lines you want two tied off at mid ship (one on each side) going out at about 45 degrees and tying into the mangroves, and two more coming off your stern

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Equation for Line Length 5 feet to hitch to boat + length of boat + distance to mangroves + 15 feet to tie off to branches. or bow (whichever you have driven into the mangroves) crossing each other and going into the bush. If you have two more lines on hand, use them as well and tie them off your “mangrove end” shooting off 45 degrees into the branches.

We have a 41-foot boat and used three strand, 3/4-inch line (because that is what we had on hand). You need the

line to do the length of your boat (either from mid ship or mangrove end) into the mangroves with 10-20 feet of length left on the end to tie into the mangroves, and 3-5 feet on the bitter end after you have cleated off to your boat. The extra on the boat side is to ensure that you can loosen or tighten your lines as the surges come.

To tie off in the mangroves we found the “knuckles” of the tree, double wrapped our line around so it wouldn’t slide, and tied it with a half hitch and then a bowline knot.

Loose Lines vs. Tight Lines

This depends on if you plan to stay on your boat during the storm or if it will be left unattended. If the tidal change isn’t huge, which it isn’t in most of the Caribbean, and you will

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be on your boat to monitor things, we would recommend to err on the side of tight. This gives less time for the boat to gain momentum in any one direction and cause high impact on any one rope. You will also be around to make any adjustments to them if need be. If your boat will be unattended, then your lines should be looser, to be able to deal with the incoming surge.

Use chafe guards.

They prevent unnecessary wear, which in the end saves money. Eben made our chafe guards out of old fireman’s hose. Just make sure that they are not sealed at the ends to let rain water flow in freely to help reduce heat and lines melting. Same goes for water hoses.

Don’t Get Lazy

Be prepared a full day before the projected storm. Get your spot set, lines tied, anchors set, and then tie everything on deck down, take down all canvas, sails, and anything that would cause extra windage. Stow all extra stuff below.

For larger items, like your dinghy and SUP, find somewhere on land to keep them or tie them into the mangroves too.

Also keep in mind that prepping does not only mean your stuff. Prep your mind for all possible scenarios. Assume that any one line breaks; what is your boat going to do? What are you going to do? Play the scene out in your head and try and predict what will happen. Have a plan for that. Befriend those around you; you may need a helping hand, or an extra anchor.

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Sailing With Ciguatera

by Genevieve Stolz

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E

E

veryone hears the nightmare stories about

getting ciguatera. You may even know someone

who knows someone who knows of someone

who had it. We were those sailors who had only heard the stories. Until it happened to us. Now you know someone.

During a calm night crossing from Vieques to Culebra last year, we were trolling two fishing lines behind the boat in the hopes of catching ourselves a yummy, free meal and also to make our guests, Edric and Kristin’s, trip excellent by adding “ocean fishing” to their sailing experience.

As dawn broke a line vibrated and the boys worked hard at reeling in supper. When it got to the boat we couldn’t quite identify the type of fish it was. Once we arrived in Culebra and were all settled in, Eben went online and spent about an hour trying to identify this mystery fish, but no luck. We usually wouldn’t even consider eating an “unknown” fish, but our guests were so proud of their catch that we felt we would be robbing them of an experience if we just threw it out.

The “meat” of the fish resembled chicken in texture, nothing like we had ever eaten before. But we ate it, it tasted fine, and the night went on.

When we got to bed Ellia, our 19-month-old, woke up complaining of sore legs. I spent the next half hour rubbing her legs and blaming it on growing pains. But not long after, Arias coughed in her “I am going to throw up” type of cough. Eben whipped her out of bed and stood her in front of the toilet just in time. Then she started

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Sailing With Ciguatera complaining that her legs were sore too. That’s when Eben started feeling queasy. He went out into the salon, only to find both of our guests up and not feeling well either. It was all downhill from there.

The night was spent with four adults and two kids all getting sick on a boat with only two toilets to use.

There were people sleeping outside, throwing up overboard. Every bed was covered in towels in case of spontaneous eruptions, and every bowl, bucket, and pot was being used as a vomit receptacle. We would have assumed food poisoning had it not been for the strange symptoms, such as sore joints, muscle spasms, tingling sensations, sore gums and teeth, and slight hallucinations we were experiencing.

As the sun came up and Eben went into to town with a picture of the fish, for a second attempt at trying to identify that deathly thing.

Looking back on the situation it was ridiculously stupid of us to eat it without knowing what it was, but considering it was a smaller fish, and not a reef fish, we thought we were okay. Eben found a couple of locals that recognized the culprit. They call it Jurel, also known as a Big Eyed Jack. They told him that normally, around other islands, that fish would be no problem to eat, but since it was

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caught off the coast of Vieques they wouldn’t touch that thing with a 10-foot pole. They said the waters around Vieques are contaminated and intoxicating all the fish with ciguatera due to the Navy’s use of the area, with its plethora of ordinances in the water.

They told us we needed to get ourselves, but most importantly the baby, to the hospital or we could get severely dehydrated.

Both Ellia and our guest Edric were hooked up to IVs to pump some fluids back into them and give them some meds to stop the hourly evacuation of “you know what.” The hospital also confi rmed that it was, in fact, ciguatera that we had.

The doctor told us that locals won’t eat 90% of the fish caught off the coast of Vieques. Good to know. Wish someone would’ve told us that a day sooner and saved us this nightmare.

Since the intoxication we have done a lot of research on ciguatera as we were obviously not fully informed.

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We thought it occurred mostly in reef fish and that it is a cumulative poison; that once you have reached a certain level you get sick. But this is not entirely true. It can occur in reef fish, fin fish, and shellfish as well. The fin fish that may be affected are the ones that may have come in contact with “artificial reefs,” otherwise known as human junk that has been left in the water. To our horror its symptoms can last days, weeks, months, and in some extreme cases, years after the poisoning.

In the aftermath of that horrible incident we were left with some very strange lingering symptoms. These included: all drinking fluids having the sensation of being carbonated, the hot/cold senses being confused, sore joints and muscles, all-over itchy skin, and the constant headaches. We don’t often take medicine, and there is nothing you CAN take for ciguatera, but Tylenol became everyone’s best friend. Our symptoms lasted about three weeks. The hardest part of it all was not knowing when all the pain was going to end.

Since then we have become known as “the family that had ciguatera” and everyone is always nice enough to impart on us their wives’ tales on how to detect the disease in the future: check the tongue color, or check if the flies will land on it. All I can tell you is that we are much more cautious about the fish we eat now, we are much more educated on this intoxication, and that it sucked, but we all survived it.

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Cruising Outpost’s

Book Review

By Capt. Jim Cash

Reedbound - A year On Ireland’s Waterways

By Giles Byford, Illustrated by Jill Parkinson

On the third day of our chartered power cruise down the River Shannon in September 2015, we tied up at the Municipal docks in Athlone, Ireland’s second largest city.

While touring the old section, sandwiched between the ancient castle and Sean’s Bar (reported to be the oldest continuing active bar in Ireland), we walked by a small, quaint bookstore.

In the window was a book that caught my eye because of the illustration, which depicted the bow of a river barge named Hawthorn nestled in the river reeds. I purchased an autographed copy.

The book begins with Giles and Jill living aboard their canal barge, ­Camberwell Beauty, in England. They decided that exploring Ireland’s waterways was going to be their next adventure, so they set about having a larger boat built. The result was the Hawthorn, a 60’ steel river barge capable of crossing the Irish Sea. They survived the crossing and Giles, Jill, and their dog Hobbes, stepped ashore in Dublin ready to start exploring. The Grand Canal connects the city of Dublin to the River Shannon via a series of locks, and it meanders though the countryside of some of the most bucolic scenery in the world. The book’s description of plowing through the muck and reeds and tying up next to busy thoroughfares in the city canals, then finally breaking

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though to the rural quietness of the countryside, was priceless.

Soon the couple found their way to Shannon Harbour where the Grand Canal merges with the River Shannon. They were caught up in the annual Shannon Harbour Rally of River Barges where they won the prize for the “Best Newcomers.”

They cleared the two locks and started their river cruise by heading north (up-river), but soon were enticed by the River Suck (I kid you not!) just below the village of Shannonbridge, and turned off to explore.

This was to be the norm as the river cruisers, having the luxury of no time schedules, did not let a tributary, a lough (pronounced “lock,” meaning lake) or navigable stream go unexplored. Fortunately for the reader, all the wonderful ancient river towns were visited, each with its arched bridges, and most with a marina of sorts or at least a quay to tie to. Names like Ballinasloe, Shannonbridge, Carrick-on-Shannon, Athlone, Boyle, and the not-to-be-missed monastic site of Clonmacnoise, are all described in detail along with the interaction Giles and Jill had with others they met along the way.

For those that have not been to Ireland, you need to know they take their drinking of alcoholic beverages seriously, and I heard more than once that brewing and distilling was first started in Ireland. Irish beer

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and whiskey are celebrated here, but our author, a self proclaimed connoisseur of beers, is more than a little critical of the selections he found. “Not that I’m knocking Guinness ... (but) its quality varies hugely and you can never be sure what you’re getting when you order a pint,” he says. The book is delightfully sprinkled with anecdotal description of visits to bars, pubs, and people’s homes for the purpose of sharing a pint.

They make their way all the way up to the River Erne and cross over into Northern Ireland (the UK), the river being the dividing line between the two. They cruise into Lough Erne and to Devenish Island, another Sixth Century monastic site, and Swan Island, a renowned bird sanctuary. The reader will feel compelled to curiously trace their voyage on a map throughout the book.

By the northern end of their cruise it was autumn, and their thoughts turned to where to spend the winter months.

They considered both Carrick-on-Shannon and Athlone because they could walk to the markets, but settled on Sallins, back on the Grand Canal, when encouraged by fellow barge cruisers. As it turned out, it was a wise decision since both Carrick on Shannon and Athlone experienced the worse flooding in recorded history that winter.

The following spring, when our couple returned from a visit back to England, they yearned for something more challenging than the large River Shannon and headed south to the River Barrow. Here they bumped their way as far south as Graiguenamanagh before turning around.

Coming back to the canal they headed back west to the River Shannon to visit Lough Derg, referred to as the Jewel of the Shannon, which they were saving as the “best for last.” On Lough Derg they put into Castle Harbour, a short walk to the historic community of Portumna.

When they returned to the Grand Canal at Shannon Harbour, it was the end of their very active year on Ireland’s waterways. However, the bow of the Hawthorn pointed not toward Dublin and a return to England, but back toward the Shannon, leaving the reader to wonder, where is the Hawthorn today?

Reedbound, available at Amazon and other booksellers, is richly filled with river adventures, interactions with the numerous and varied boaters and other interesting folks met along their remarkable journey, and is delightfully accented with English dialogue and humor. Jill’s creative illustrations light up most pages and make one want to go in search of “the reeds.”

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Trouble in the Galley

By John Simpson

Galleys at sea can lead to some varied and amusing situations...

We were staggering south from Cape Finisterre in the middle of a November ten-day beat on my tiny boat, hoping we’d make a landfall in the Canaries. After a fast start in cool but strong northeasterly winds from Plymouth, round Ushant and across Biscay, the wind turned foul.

Strong wet southerlies with their accompanying large Atlantic stopping seas, were hampering our progress.

You have to grab forty winks when you can, so I was catnapping on an extended starboard quarter berth opposite the stove. There I was, dreaming of soft beds and cool beers when - “clang!” - something whacked me right on my napper. The kettle had jumped clean off the cooker. At least it was empty! At the time I was dazed and aggrieved, but later, strangely, I began to treasure that cheap old aluminium kettle complete with its head-shaped dent. Maybe it would remind me not to be so stupid and set off south that late again from the U.K. in a 22-foot boat…

Bigger boats can present different cooking problems. Any hassle rapidly

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motoring Jolie Brise, an old French 55ton pilot cutter, up a narrow, crowded creek on a falling tide, then dropping one member of crew on the pontoon south of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, and even gently running this fine lady aground, turning her round between ferries, quickly disappeared for me… ‘cause we managed to save the last of our ebb.

Leaving the Needles Channel just before dusk, the fresh northwest F4-5 would blow us across to Alderney, tout suite. I had a good Mate, but rather scratch crew (friends and trustees of the Exeter Maritime Museum). Once clear of the bridge buoy, with the boat humming along on a broad reach, I dove below to stick the two chickens we had aboard in the oven along with a few spuds to roast. One crew member had already started feeling seasick and been taken below. With the light fading and the channel swell slowly building, my people would need feeding very soon!

Shortly after returning on deck I heard a loud bang. I was not completely sure of where the noise came from, but had a feeling it might be from below decks. To be absolutely

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certain I grabbed the binoculars from their stowage close to the helm, taking a quick scan of the rig in the gloom, particularly looking at the massive wooden blocks holding up the gaff and the other sails. Nothing wrong there.

Leaving the deck in the Mate’s capable hands, on reaching the bottom of the long companionway steps I skidded fast downhill. I felt as if I’d stepped on a bar of soap. I almost landed in the roasting dish with the two chickens and narrowly avoided a prone body on the dinette berth. I was a whisker away from joining a female crewmember who was bedded down with mal de mer, seasickness buckets at either end. As I careened through the cabin on my greased boots, it was hard to stifle splutterings of laughter. I struggled to steady myself and worked out what had happened.

The oven door lock had failed.

Hot oil on the wooden floor and soles of my boots made for a long, tricky uphill climb to the starboard galley side where I hoped to locate kitchen paper and start cleaning up the mess.

A saving grace was that my chickens and veggies were still intact in their baking tray.

I only mentioned this little saga to my crew after they’d finished eating!

More bizarre years later, we were having a huge evening ‘fuddle’ (Bedu group meal) on the top of the coach roof of Al Bashiq, a Sigma 38 we were racing from Dubai to Muscat (a 360 miler!). It was flat calm on a lovely, warm, moonlit gulf night. But I was rather worse. As their skipper/coach I was pondering how I might have

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blown our first long race with a keen crew by going far too far offshore.

Even less than a mile greatly reduces the chances of picking up the land breeze early.

I finally realized that all the guys had quickly worked that out, and though I was not of the same culture, were gracious enough to forgive me! This meant we could all sit down, laugh and enjoy Adam’s wonderful, lightly spiced Omani food, accepting our loss, though he would have much preferred to conjure it up in windier circumstances…

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Cruising Outpost Event News If It’s Gonna Happen It’s Gonna Happen Out There Issue #14

Evening Edition

Spring 2016

A Very Brief Cruisers’ Party History In 15 years over 25,000 cruisers have downed 250 kegs of beer and around 6,500 pizzas at our parties!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are just a few group photos from some of the 62 Cruisers’ Parties we have hosted around the world.

In the past 15 years we have held Cruisers’ Parties in New Zealand, Tahiti, Tortola, Australia, St. Pete, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Newport, Oakland, Detroit, Antigua, and all over the San Juan Islands. See you at the next one?

Strictly Sail Pacific Cruisers’ Party Ramping Up Fast!

Come Party with Rosie at the Craneway April 9th

To Get Your Discount Advanced Tickets Use Code “Bitchin” at http://strictlysailpacific.com/about/tickets/

Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, CA has got to be the perfect site for the Strictly Sail Pacific Show.

There’s plenty of parking and the Pavilion is large enough for future expansion as well as lots of indoor area for the seminars. The in-water boat area is larger as well. The

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first event is scheduled for April 6-10.

On April 9th, Cruising Outpost will be hosting the annual Cruisers’ Party! They have a place set aside outdoors with twice the room of our previous parties, and if it rains, well, there’s enough room to move the party indoors.

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16th Annual St. Pete Boat Show Cruisers’ Party

T

Once again the Eric Stone Band kept people on their feet!

his is where it all started! Our very first Cruisers’ Party was held at the Strictly Sail St. Petersburg Show 16 years ago! Since then tens of thousands of people have participated in Cruisers’ Parties all over the world.

But this will always be the first!

An estimated 500 people packed the party barge for free beer, pizza and great music from the Eric Stone Band, which came up from Dockside Tropical Cafe in the Keys.

A raffle was held to raise funds for the Educational Tallship Foundation, and everyone had a great time in what turned out to be perfect weather for a boat show. Joining us to make this happen once again were

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Rich & Sarah selling raffle tickets.

our cosponsors at Harken, Chafe Pro, Blue Sky Energy, Kanberra, Quickline USA, Great Bay Distributors, Mack Sails, Tradewinds Radio and Boat Show Management.

If you have never participated in a Cruisers’ Party, this is the one you don’t want to miss.

The folks from 4 Dock supporting Land Shark beer!

Ed from Bay Sailors was a winner.

One of our Founders won too!

Jody congratulating Danielle, who won two years in a row!

Once again, the cruisers gather at the Party Barge for the annual get together at the St. Pete Boat Show.

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I Found It At The Boat Show Since we get to (have to??) spend a lot of time at boat shows, we figured we probably should do some actual work. Strangely enough, drinking Painkillers and eating show-dogs doesn’t quite measure up to what the IRS people think is work. So, in order to be able to write off all the boat show expenses, we actually have to walk around and find new stuff to feature in the magazine. It’s not an easy job, but someone’s gotta do it!

Engel Tumbler The Best Way To Enjoy Cold Or Hot Drinks Longer

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

One of the hottest items to come out lately has been the “Performance Mug.” Taking advantage of the latest vacuum technology, Engel’s new 30 oz, stainless steel, vacuuminsulated performance mugs perform better than any competitor on the market.

Whether it’s a hot or cold drink, the Engel Tumbler keeps it that way longer than any of the competition. And, the Engel “Ketch-It” lid will ensure you enjoy your drink, not wear it. Unlike the competition, the liquid-tight seal keeps your drink in the cup when the boat bounces or you just happen to execute a perfect-form elbow sweep and take that cup from vertical to horizontal in the blink of an eye. AND… you can shake up that drink that requires… a little shakin’…

Just like Engel’s award-winning coolers, (which every one of our staff who live on a boat use!) they’ve thought of the details that matter.

This cup will be your best friend for all of life’s thirst-quenching moments.

You can see more at www.engelcoolers.com, or better yet, at www.cruisingoutpostproducts.com.

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I Found It At The Boat Show

Solar Stik Renewable Energy System Designed For Boats - In Use By The US Armed Forces.

Oh, yeah... did we mention it’s eligible for tax credits on some boats??

Yes, we found this at the boat show. But it was back in 2007 at the Annapolis Boat Show. What happened since then is a boater’s miracle.

You see, Brian and his new bride, Stephanie, were selling the Solar Stik in the booth across from us. We became friends during the show and even ended up featuring them on our TV show.

But as we all know, the marine industry hit a brick wall just about that time. As it turned out, it was just what Solar Stik needed to make it big.

You see, Brian had spent “some time” in the deserts of Iraq before then, and he had noticed it was pretty difficult to get electricity “out there.” So he modified the system he’d designed for his boat and, “Viola! Soon there were hundreds of Solar Stiks on the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan making power for our troops.

Brian and Steph still love getting out and using “the real” Solar Stick when they go sailing. Made of the finest materials, the Solar Stik provides nearly twice the amount of maximum exposure to the sun compared to

conventional flat or fixed mounted solar panels. It is light weight and can be erected or disassembled in just minutes.

Also, now you can make even more power with the Solar Stik Marine Mount System with Breeze Mast Upgrade (that’s where you can mount your wind generator). You will be ready to cruise, keeping your batteries charged so you can enjoy a quiet life at anchor! The Solar Stik comes as a transom mount or as a deck mount, and both are available with the Breeze Mast Upgrade.

So the next time you are looking to add a little “free power” to your boat, go to www.solarstik.com and check this system out. Tell Brian Bob sent ya!

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I Found It At The Boat Show

HullSurvivor Well, It’s Kinda Like A Frisbee... Only Not!

At first look you think it’s just a Frisbee on steroids. But then you can start to see why this product makes so much sense. It’s a no-brainer!

HullSurvivor is made to keep in your emergency kit. Different than bungs or plugs, the HullSurvivor has a 10-inch diameter and has been specifically designed to cover irregular shapes and large holes. It’s designed as a circular disk with concentric sealing rings and center trunnion which effectively reduces or eliminates most incoming water flow.

Using water pressure to keep it in place, HullSurvivor keeps the sea on the right side of your vessel! It can even be deployed from inside the vessel, if you have access to the breach, by rolling the disk and pushing it through the breach.

A modern alternative to old-school wooden bung plugs, HullSurvivor is a temporary fi x for an emergency situation. It is designed to be used alone or in conjunction with other emergency equipment, including bilge pumps, to significantly reduce the inflow of water after a hull breach. It’s designed by Serene Bay Marine and Manufactured in the USA. Check out serenebaymarine.com.

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I Found It At The Boat Show

My Team Talks - Headsets Enter The 21st Century - No More Shouting!!

Calling these advanced communication devices new and improved “Marriage Saver” headsets simply does not do them justice. They can do so much more! “My Team Talks” from Cruising Solutions takes the popular old headset and elevates them to a whole new level of communication. Starting with completely wireless Bluetooth device compatibility, these hands-free, full multiplex headsets allow up to four crewmembers to conference simultaneously – without voice delays or buttons to push! And because these comfortable headsets are water resistant, they’re useful while anchoring, docking, racing, or making sure everyone is accounted for while ashore. Just be sure to buy a minimum of two headsets to make a pair.

Rechargeable lithium batteries provide 10 hours of talk time (or seven days in standby mode). And with Bluetooth 3.0 technology, they can interface with cell phones, GPS, and even iPods.

Why not listen to soothing music and speak quietly to each other while anchoring in a crowded anchorage? You can with “My Team Talks!”

Check out the next generation of onboard communication at wwwcruisingsolutions.com.

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Talk of the Dock - What’s N

That Old Black Magic

These days, marine electronics are so powerful and are evolving at such a rapid pace, that their whiz-bang factor makes them seem like a bit of black magic. Whether it’s radar, cartography, or connectivity, these new gadgets are changing the industry and they’re not your father’s marine electronics.

Seeing in the Dark - Halo Radar by Simrad

See near and see far with Simrad’s new solid state, open array radar called Halo. Combining traditional pulse and 4G broadband radar, Simrad came up with radar that delivers a range up to 72 nautical miles but can also see as close as 20 feet from the boat with remarkable definition.

With nearly zero warm-up time, Halo comes in 3, 4 and 6-foot open array versions and will work with Simrad NSS evo2 and NSO evo2 multifunction displays.

Settings like “Ocean” “Harbor” “Weather” and “Bird” let you select filtering. For distance, use “Ocean” where the array spins a little slower. For up-close, select “Harbor” and the antenna spins up to capture details of the marina. You can even minimize clutter or pick up rainsqualls in detail. Simrad says Halo can see as close as 20 feet from the boat but our test in Hawks Cay in the Florida Keys identified a piling less than 15 feet from the boat with such clarity that you could almost count the feathers of the seagull sitting on top.

The coolest thing is that you can monitor two different distances (near and far) on a split screen so there’s no need to toggle back and forth. Halo also

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supports MARPA target tracking with up to 20 targets in the dual range mode. Due to its low emissions and radiation, Halo has been dubbed “huggable” although that might be tough when the antenna is spinning. Pricing is $4,500-$5,500 depending on the size of the array. Visit Simrad-Yachting.com.

Sharing Everything – Signal K

Signal K is not a product but rather a data model that shares information about boats (yours and others’) and it’s a way for developers to create more boating-specific applications that are phone and tablet-friendly as well as compatible with WiFi and the infamous Cloud.

So what does this mean if you’re not a developer?

Presumably, with an app developed via Signal K, a marina could send you information on docking directions so you never again have to guess where you’re going in a new marina or mooring field. Crowd sourcing works too so information on shifting sandbars may be shared between boaters as well as points of interest like restaurants and fuel docks.

There’s still much speculation as to the practical uses but Signal K can share information gathered by your onboard instruments and sensors and then transmit the data via NMEA 0183 or 2000. The data can include engine information, navigation points, fridge temps, bilge runs and more, and it’s really a way for developers to create new apps for our small (and not really that lucrative) boating market. Now that there’s an easy format, it’s likely that we’ll see many more boating apps to play and work with on our phones and tablets. Dig deeper into this bit of black magic at SignalK.org.

Smartphone Goes Satphone – IridiumGo!

If your budget or your boat size won’t allow for a big satellite dish for worldwide connectivity, why not hotspot your smartphone or tablet via satellite? Now you can connect 5-8 devices with a satellite-enabled gadget at a fraction of the price of one of those fancy deck-mounted domes. There are two that work on both iOS and Android devices and they are called Iridium Go! and Globalstar Sat-Fi. You can make voice calls, send emails, text, search the Internet, get weather, check GPS positions and update your Facebook. www.cruisingoutpost.com

2/2/16 12:25 PM

s New & What’s Goin’ On?

By Zuzana Prochazka

All The Latest News That Fits Between The Sheets As an “Insider” Zuzana sees a lot of what’s happening inside the boating industry. If you are into the boating lifestyle, chances are you’d like to be privy to some of the things that will affect your lifestyle as soon as they become available. So here is some of the inside info she has found while working the boat shows and industry functions. ad 4G-based data networks. WiriePro retails for $650 but add-ons like GPS and antenna upgrades may add a bit to the price. Depending on your abilities, installation may require professional help. Visit TheWirie.com.

Back Up Plans for Pennies – Vulcan 5 by B&G

Besides the hardware, you will need to purchase a service plan (typically at least 12 months and costs vary with voice minutes and data usage but about $130-$150/ month) and download the software to your computer or the app to your smartphone. Iridium Go! is small, waterproof, costs around $800 for the hardware and has superior coverage. Visit Iridium.com.

Reaching Out – WiFi Booster WiriePro

B&G has brought leading-edge navigation technology to the small screen – way small. Whether you need to save on your primary navigation suite or just want a remote standalone back-up system on the cheap, the new 5” display from B&G’s Vulcan is a compact but powerful solution that won’t ding your cruising kitty.

Vulcan retails for $419 for the multi-touch chartplotter and is the little brother to the Vulcan 7. It features a built-in GPS, integrated autopilot control and a choice of cartography. If you want to take advantage of all its functionality like B&G’s SailSteer that calculates laylines and really makes the plotter useful to sailors, you’ll need a wind sensor. Add a transducer to include tide and current measurement or add ForwardScan sonar for collision avoidance. The Vulcan 5 does not include radar.

When you load it up with a wind sensor, external GPS and a speed transducer, the whole package will come to $1,625. For a (mostly) complete solution, that’s a bargain.

Visit BandG.com for more.

If satellite is beyond your needs, coastal cruising will improve immensely with reachable WiFi via a booster that is a combination of a modem and an external antenna. The booster antenna amplifies the land-based signal, and the modem creates a private and secure wireless network for your boat. This allows your phone, tablet or laptop to tap into WiFi for more reliable transmissions from a distance.

Web surfing and video may be a challenge but email and weather updates should work well.

There are many brands to choose from and range claims are up to seven miles but expect a couple miles in most cases. One brand, developed by cruisers, is WiriePro, which will amplify not only WiFi but also 3G www.cruisingoutpost.com

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Life Aboard

Life Aboard on the Hook, R

T

he first boat to greet us as we entered the San Blas island chain in Caribbean Panama was S/V Wooden Shoe. Not long after we dropped the anchor a dinghy puttered by and we met our new neighbor, Susan. We learned that Wooden Shoe was the home of a mature, single woman who’d been living aboard in the San Blas for the past eight years. We were curious as to what it would take to be a single woman living aboard in a remote part of the world.

Cruising Outpost: Tell us a little about you and your boat.

Susan: I bought Wooden Shoe, a 1982 CT 41 Bill Garden design, in San Diego, CA, and moved from Arizona to live aboard with my sister in 1998. I’ve kept the systems on Wooden Shoe very simple so they can be handled by one person. I have minimal electronics, with my electric water pump the most complex electrical system. My solar panels keep the batteries charged. I have no generator or watermaker, so catch rain water to drink which works just fine most of the time, but sometimes in the dry season I have to bring in jug water from shore.

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Cruising Outpost: What made you decide to move from Arizona and onto a boat in California?

Susan: It was my sister’s idea.

She called one day and said we should buy a boat, move aboard and save lots of money. It sounded good to me so I moved to California, took a look at the boat she had found and said “yes” to the entire idea. We moved aboard and started learning the boat. I listened to and learned from everyone I could find who had experience with boats. I sailed with as many people as I could and learned along the way.

Cruising Outpost: How did you end up in the remote islands of San Blas by yourself?

Susan: My sister realized that living on a boat just wasn’t for her and moved back to shore. I took off for Mexico and lived at anchor in La Paz for three years. I managed to survive three hurricanes and decided I’d rather live where there are no hurricanes.

I Went to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Equador and the Gallapagos, and ended up in Panama for a year where I taught cello at the University in Panama City. I

www.cruisingoutpost.com

2/1/16 3:26 PM

Editor Robin Stout Aboard Mermaid

, Remote, Single and Female went through the Panama Canal and found San Blas where I have stayed since 2007.

Cruising Outpost: Did you do all the sailing singlehandled?

Susan: No! I took crew whenever I had an overnight passage or longer. I picked up crew along the way and met some wonderful people that way. When I first came to the San Blas I had a crewmember who was a linguist.

She studied Guna (pronounced “Kuna”), the language that the indigenous people that live here use and was quickly speaking Guna. It is very unusual for an outsider to speak Guna so we made a great connection with the local people. Of course, I had my share of mishaps as well. I was dismasted on one passage and there is no way I could handle that alone, but we limped in and I found someone to help get a new-to-me mast installed. Another time I lost the engine and sailed out through the reefs and back to Linton where I found someone who could repair the engine. Also, when I have a job that is more than I can tackle I hire someone to do the work.

Cruising Outpost: What made you decide to stay in San Blas?

Susan: San Blas is a beautiful place with reefs and palm lined islands with white sand beaches protecting many good anchorages. A big factor was my age. I had been cruising for several years and all the sailing and anchoring is a lot of work. The climate here is manageable. It’s too far south for hurricanes, but lightening can be a worry in the rainy season. I can live here on my Social Security and can get everything I need. There are very few stores so I spend very little money here, so it is inexpensive and I can save my money. Also, there is quite a community among the cruisers in San Blas. We keep in touch over the single sideband nets every morning, so if anyone has a problem there’s a safety net to fall back on. The locals Gunas are quite curious about a woman living alone on a boat. They come out and ask “Sola?” which means solo, but I have a good relationship with them.

Cruising Outpost: How do you get what you need to live on?

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Susan: There is a vegetable boat that comes around about once a week with veggies, eggs, chicken, bread, milk, beer, wine, sodas, and will bring other items upon request. There’s also a boat that will bring diesel, gas and propane. Cell phone and Internet service has evolved over the years and it is much easier to keep in touch with people. If I really need to get to a city, I take a water taxi to the nearby town of Carti. From there a 4x4 takes you to Panama City to tend to whatever is needed in a city, and do the same in reverse back to Wooden Shoe.

Cruising Outpost: What does your family think about your life on a boat?

Susan: I have four children: two in their 40s and two in their 30s as well as one grandchild. They are all okay with my choices and we stay in contact via cell phone.

They have visited and think it is cool and different, but they are not boaters.

Cruising Outpost: Do you always stay in one place at anchor?

Susan: I don’t move around much, but I do move to a good spot for the rainy season and one spot for the windy season. Both anchorages have their advantages suited for the conditions.

Cruising Outpost: Do you have anything else you would like to ad?

Susan: “Living in San Blas is great!”

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Tech Tips

from Capt’n Pauley’s Workshop There are a lot of little things that can make your boat easier to use and more enjoyable. Here are some tips from Paul Esterle, the author of Capt’n Pauley’s Workshop. More can be found at www.captnpauley.com.

Installing a Quarterberth Port A big problem on most boats is the fact that most quarterberths suffer from a serious lack of ventilation. There is a solution for this. The addition of a port opening into the

cockpit provides a ready source of airf low, and it’s not that difficult.

To start, a plywood pattern is cut with the exact size of the required opening in the

The exterior of the new port

The view from in the quarter berth.

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Tech Tips from Capt’n Pauley’s Workshop center of the area you plan on installing the new port. This should be measured carefully.

Then the plywood ring is fastened in place where the port opening is to be.

After that, a follower bit in a router is used to cut the opening.

The router bit will follow the plywood pattern.

Flexible black plastic foam, the kind used to pack

The follower router bit showing the ball bearing that rides on the plywood pattern.

electronics, is saturated with epoxy and pressed into the space between the cockpit wall and the quarterberth sidewall.

Once the epoxy/foam has cured, the remaining space around the opening is filled with epoxy filler, providing a solid plug to hold port fasteners.

The port is then fastened in place. Use a good sealant around the port to eliminate any leaks.

Simple Protective Fender Boards Most cruising boats have a collection of fenders aboard in all sizes and shapes. However, there are times when more protection is needed, such as in locks or against rough bulkheads and/ or pilings. You can make your own fender boards from commonly available materials, which can save your boat’s finish.

Start with two tubular fenders spanned by a section of 2x8 or 2x10 lumber. Deflate the fenders and use rope lashing fastened in place.

Then, inflate the fenders, which locks the board in position. You may opt to cover the board with scrap indoor/outdoor carpeting.

Add drop lines fore and aft to hold the fender in place. The boards can be used either horizontally or vertically, dependant on what the surface is you are trying to be protected from.

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That’s it! Easy, inexpensive and adaptable to all sorts of surfaces.

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Bubba Whartz Appraising Crew Possibilities

By Morgan Stinemetz

Indomitable live-alone, live-aboard sailor Bubba Whartz “Then she was a tactician on someone’s boat and swaggered into the Blue Moon bar not long ago, smiling because of her good reading of the strategic situation and affable as an uncle who had just won the Florida during Key West Race Week the boat she was on was Lottery. able to win the last heart-stopping race and take its He slid up onto the bar stool next to mine and signaled class?” I postulated.

Doobie, the lady bartender who wears tight leather “No that’s not it either,” grimaced Whartz. pants, that he would have a beer. He also pointed at me “Well, what is it then?” I countered. and then at himself. In the sign language of drinking “I was reading the January 9 issue of The Key establishments, that meant that he was ordering a beer West Citizen and came across this news item labeled for me and that he would pay for it, a rare moment in the ‘Prescription for Pain.’ I read it and knew right then that annals of our friendship. this woman, if I can find her, would work out real well on It was late January, and because this was the first time Right Guard,” said the solo sailor.

I had seen Whartz that year, I figured that he had turned “How so?” over a new leaf or had made a New Year’s resolution not “The news item said that this woman was a nurse from to be so cheap when it came to paying Punta Gorda. When she was being for his own liquid refreshment…or the thrown out of a bar on Duval Street “This woman sounds like a refreshment of others. in Key West for being generally world of hurt,” I declared.

“Hey, thanks for the beer,” said I, as obnoxious, she grabbed the security “Ain’t it just too beautiful to Doobie slid a couple of cold ones up the guard by the testicles. The article went imagine?” replied Whartz. bar and collected the money for both of on to say that when Officer Pablo them from Whartz.

Rodriquez—a local cop, I guess—was “Think nothing of it,” replied Bubba. called to the bar, he encountered this woman, and she “What is the reason for all the largess?” I asked. was ‘yelling loudly, cussing and thrashing elbows, arms “I think I have found myself the perfect female crew and legs.’ It went on to say that the 180-pound nurse had member for racing on Right Guard,” replied Bubba, been over served and had been walking into the men’s downing his beer in one long gulp and nodding in bathroom and ‘acting up.’ When asked to leave, the story Doobie’s direction for another. continued, she hit one man in the jaw with a beer bottle.

“What do you mean by ‘perfect female crew member?’” Then, when another man grabbed her, she kneed him in I questioned. the groin,” Bubba said, beaming.

“When I was down in Key West for Key West Race “This woman sounds like a world of hurt,” I declared.

Week last January, I came across a news item in the “Ain’t it just too beautiful to imagine?” replied Whartz. local newspaper, The Key West Citizen. It was all “So, okay, give me the story. Why in the name of all about this nurse from Punta Gorda and what she did things holy would you want her on your crew if you were when she was down in Key West. I knew immediately racing Right Guard?” I wanted to know. that I had to sign her up for Right Guard’s crew,” “She would be our ‘designated hitter’ if we ever got in Whartz explained. a situation that would require a member of our crew to “So she was one of those women no one had testify in a protest hearing,” said Bubba. discovered yet, and she came through as one of the “Does she know anything about sailing?” I asked. shining lights during Key West Race Week, making a “What do I care if she knows anything about sailing,” saving spinnaker set?” I guessed. countered the would-be racing sailor. “She knows how “No, that’s not it,” Bubba said. to handle herself in close quarters, and that is what I am

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interested in. I’d get the word out into the racing fleet about what she did in Key West, that she was part of our racing crew and that anyone who wanted to protest us or got in a situation whereby Right Guard would protest need to them would have to deal with her first. My guess is that we’d be able to sail in clean air all the time. No one would want to get close to us or mess with us in any way. As you know all men have an aversion to pain centered around the family jewels.”

“That is all very interesting, Bubba,” I offered, “but what if she gets upset with you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, let’s say that you made a mistake out on the race course, a mistake that didn’t involve any other boats. What would happen if she really was mad at you and took it out on you personally, right on the race course?” I queried.

“For example,” declared Bubba.

“For example, you are rounding a mark and are in first place in your class. But you miscalculate the current and end up hitting the mark by mistake. You have to round the mark again, which you know is required by the Racing Rules of Sailing. By the time you get yourself sorted out,

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all the boats in your class have passed you, and now you are in last place,” I stated.

“So what are you getting at?”

“What I am getting at is that your pit bull of a protest lady could get just as angry at you as she could get angry at others. She might just reach over and grab you in a way that would bring instant pain to your life in a very personal way,” I explained.

“I had never thought about that,” Bubba responded slowly and deliberately, while signaling Doobie to bring him, only him, another beer.

“May I have a beer, too?” I asked him.

“Order one yourself,” said the sailor, still lost in thought, figuring the possibilities, calculating the chances.

Sometimes it is not good being the messenger. They shot them with arrows or stabbed them with swords or daggers in the olden days. And they still shoot them in the 21st century, too. The methods have simply changed. But I was miffed, and I did not suggest to Capt. Whartz that he could start wearing a testicular safety cup to protect himself from his own crew during sailboat races. It would, however, be a first.

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The Bosun’s Bag Hard To Find “Stuff” For The Cruiser

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*pg 173-177 Bosun's Bag.indd 3

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The Bosun’s Bag

Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.

Hard To Find “Stuff” For The Cruiser

On Sale and on salon tables a full 90 Days!

䜀䔀吀 倀䄀䤀䐀 吀伀 䰀䤀嘀䔀䄀䈀伀䄀刀䐀 䤀一 倀䄀刀䄀䐀䤀匀䔀㼀℀㼀

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176 Cruising Outpost *pg 173-177 Bosun's Bag.indd 4

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Cruising Outpost 177 2/2/16 11:48 AM

In th

there isis issue less tha n

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And we did it O N PURPO SE! Mos

L i s t o f A d ve r t i s e r s Here is where you will find some of the smartest companies in the marine industry.

There are others, but they just haven’t found us yet. Give ‘em time!

Marine Advertisers

Adamov Books 130 AquaMarine 1129 Artisan Mattress 92 ATN 106 Aurinco 133 Balmar / CDI Electronics 32 Balmar / CDI Electronics 46 Barnacle Zapper 119 Bavaria 2-3 Bob Bitchin Books 99 Beta Marina 104 Beta Marine / J-Prop 109 Blue Sky Energy 182 Blue Water Sailing 26-27 BVI Yacht Sales 170 Captain Bob DVD 129 Catamaran Guru 112 Celestaire 93 Clean eMarine America 133 Com-Pac Yachts 43 Complete Yacht Service 131 Conch Charters 171 Coppercoat 108 CruiseRO Water & Power / Technautics 135 Cruising Outpost Products 116 Cruising Outpost Products 156-157 Cruising Outpost Radio 90 Cruising Outpost Shirts 120 Cruising Solutions 137 CS Johnson 117 Curtis Stokes & Associates 160-161 Distinctive Sails 139 Dream Yacht Charter 33 Eastern Yacht Sales 162-163 Edson Marine 4-6 Eisen Shine 131 El Cid Marinas 40 eMarine 89 eMarine 106 Engel 42 Fatty Knees 108 Fortress Anchor 30

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t oth magazin er boating es have over 65% ad s.

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Bosun’s Bag Format

Boaters Resale Shop of Texas Bircher Inc. Cork Mortor CruisingConcepts.com Cruz Pro David Virtue Fatty Knees Gig Harbor Boat Works Kelly Bickford Key Lime Sailing Club Kiss-Radio Tek Marti Brown Masthead Enterprises No Wear Guard OceanMedix Offshore Passage Opp Outland Hatches PoliGlow PYI Sailmakers Supply Seabbatical Long Term Charters Sonset Marine The Canvas Store TradeWinds Radio Tufted Topper

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Cruising Outpost - Winter - Spring - Summer & Fall Issues Next Issue: Summer 2016 - Ad Insertions by 4/15/16 - Art Due 4/22/16 - On Sale 5/31/16 www.cruisingoutpost.com Ads@cruisingoutpost.com 510-900-3616 #105

178 Cruising Outpost pg 190 Ad List.indd 1

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2/1/16 10:10 AM

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pg 179 Mackie White.indd 1

Cruising Outpost 179

2/1/16 4:40 PM

* Cruisians I’m cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.

*A small, exclusive group of people who are mentally ill and feel, for some reason unbeknownst to anyone, that by getting on a small boat about the size of a jail cell and heading out into the most inhospitable place on Earth (the ocean), they will somehow enjoy themselves.

Caitlyn Shipley likes to get out and sail whenever she can. She’s from Las Vegas, but now lives in Annapolis where she can get more sailing in with her dad, Doug, on their Hylas 46, Dream Catcher. At her day job she works with helicopters, so when she’s not on the sea, she’s in the air!

Meg (she’d be the one on the left) and little brother Rusty Everhard are seen here enjoying their Spring Break on a sailing getaway in the Exumas. They both enjoy the sailing life. Now that they’ve been broken in, it looks like they make good crew too! The photo was sent in by Susan Everhard.

This is Dennis Mullen & Marlene, on Ocracoke Island with Different Drummer tied up at the National Park Service docks during the Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree.

They were ending their 7th year of “6 months on & 6 months off” 10,000mile cruise. The photo was taken by Capt. Archer Watkins.

180 Cruising Outpost

pg 180 Cruisian's.indd 1

Andy Crawford is a marine biologist who went searching for the perfect waves to surf and great scuba diving. He sailed into Bocas del Toro in 1999 and never left. He is great at bongos and loves to sail, surf and dive.

This is Roger Hughes on his new perambulator, which his daughters have named “The Bichin.” The name refers to his broken leg.

He has a North Carolina tag to prove it and he’s been designated as a dangerous driver.

When it heals maybe he will be a better driver.

This is Daniel on his way back from Catalina to Marina del Rey during a storm that took out Avalon Harbor.

He was on a training cruise to get his ASA certifications and had been in Avalon Harbor with many of the boats that got destroyed in the storm. He was smart and got out before it hit the hardest.

Sarah Marker is a drug dealer! Well, actually she is a pharmacist. She has a handicap ‘cuz she’s married to Rich Marker, our head cartoonist and Art Director. www.cruisingoutpost.com

2/1/16 4:44 PM

Parting Shot

A summertime raft-up in Hadley Harbor, Buzzards Bay, MA

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Cruising Outpost 181

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pg 182 Blue Sky Energy.indd 1

2/1/16 4:29 PM

pg 183 Airline.indd 1

2/1/16 4:31 PM

pg 184 Sailrite.indd 1

2/1/16 4:32 PM