Latitudes & Attitudes #36 Fall 2021

YOUR PASSPORT TO A LIFE OF SAILING ADVENTURE!

182

PAGES OF CRUISING ADVENTURE!

HE’S A MARINE, SHE’S A COP. THEY LIVE ABOARD.

Sailing War Story PUERTO VALLARTA TO KO’OLINA

26 Days VIRTUAL CRUISING WITH

MV Freedom

Fall 2021

Issue #36

BOAT SPOTLIGHT DUFOUR 470 MONOHULL HH OPEN 44 CATAMARAN OUTBACK 50 MOTORYACHT

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Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine YOUR PASSPORT TO A LIFE OF SAILING ADVENTURE!

182

PAGES OF CRUISING ADVENTURE!

Sailing War Story He’s A Marine,

She’s A Cop. They Live Aboard.

26 Days

Puerto Vallarta To

Ko’olina

Virtual Cruising With

MV Freedom

Fall 2021

BOAT SPOTLIGHT

Issue # 36

DUFOUR 470 MONOHULL HH OPEN 44 CATAMARAN OUTBACK 50 MOTORYACHT

LatsAtts.com

U.S. $7.99 / Canada $8.99 On sale through September 3, 2021

About the Cover:

Melanie Farmer-Simon was enjoying a day out sailing with her new husband when he took this pic. They sent it in for the boat people section, but ya know what! It makes a much better cover than a smaller pic in Boat People! Oh, yeah, and last issue? That cover was shot by Melanie! How about that, she got a two-fer!

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Issue 36

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Fall 2021

All The News That Fits!

What You’ll Find Between the Sheets This Issue

14 Attitudes

86 Underway

18 Sailing Alekona

98 Charter Boat Etiquette

26 Scuttlebutt

104 Lats&Atts Lifestyle

42 There is a Difference

128 Life Aboard

44 Virtual Cruising

130 Bubba Whartz

50 Sailing War Story

146 Tech Tips: iPad Mount

59 Boating With Lucy

134 Talk of the Dock

64 Cape Horn Share The Sail

136 Book Review: Plunge

66 Cruising Chesapeake Bay

138 Casablanca and Rick’s

72 Puerto Vallarta to Hawaii

144 Found It At the Boat Show

78 New Design: Dufour 470

148 Passing the Dream

80 New Design: HH Open 44

153 Cap’n Cap’n

82 New Design: Outback 50

154 Brokers Section 171 Bosun’s Bag

Page 44

177 Mackie White 178 Advertiser’s Spotlight 179 Ad List 180 Boat People

Page 50

Page 59

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7/28/21 12:43 PM

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Latitudes & Attitudes 7 7/21/21 3:26 PM

™

Janitorial Assistant Bob Bitchin bob@LatsAtts.com

Media Princess Tabitha “Bitchin” Lipkin tabitha@LatsAtts.com

Head Wordsmith (Editor) Katie “Bitchin” Chestnut katie@LatsAtts.com

Marketing & Video Darren O’Brien darren@LatsAtts.com

Boat Show Queen Jody “Bitchin” Lipkin jody@LatsAtts.com

BS Slaves Jeff & Marie Inshaw jeff@LatsAtts.com

Staff Infection Tania Aebi

Share The Sail Crew Jessie & Katie

Contributor Zuzana Prochazka zuzana@LatsAtts.com

Web & Art Guru Richard Marker rich@LatsAtts.com

Life Aboard Queen Robin Stout robin@LatsAtts.com

Editor Emeritus Sue Morgan sue@LatsAtts.com

Subscription Information Latitudes & Attitudes PO Box 15416 - North Hollywood, CA 91615-5416 Subscriber Service 818-286-3159 LatsAtts.com/subscribe-latitudes-and-attitudes-magazine/

ADVERTISING

Advertising Goddess Lisa O’Brien lisa@LatsAtts.com 510-900-3616 Ext #105 Latitudes & Attitudes Box 100 Berry Creek, CA 95916 Phone 510-900-3616 info@LatsAtts.com Office Mascots Jessie & Katie Bitchin Cash “Bitchin” Chestnut

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People Who Helped Us Create This Issue

Adam Zawadzki Anna McKinley Capt. Jim Cash Chuck Ritenour David Hagstab Donna Gambino Erin Carey Jason Abshire John Laskowsky John Simpson Lisa Alberte Mandy Sorg Mark McMillan Morgan Stinemetz Russ Whitford Shane McClellan Steve & Chelsea Olson Tom Renner Wade Rogers People Who Didn’t Help Us With This Issue

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Captain Crunch Major Screwup Printed in the USA We Support Boating

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Latitudes & Attitudes 11 7/21/21 2:31 PM

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Latitudes & Attitudes 13 7/22/21 1:16 PM

Life is like the ocean — it has its ups and downs.

By Bob Bitchin I was laying on the aft deck of Lost Soul. We were anchored in one of the best anchorages we’d ever been in: Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga. The bay was at least a mile across, and the depth was pretty much 30 to 40 feet in good holding. We had just sailed down from American Samoa, and the difference between the harbors was amazing.

While we were in Pago Pago, American Samoa, we’d found that the harbor pretty much sucked. There was a huge tuna processing plant right in the harbor that discharged right into the bay, the water smelled, and there were wrecked tankers on the beach from a hurricane a couple years earlier.

But in Vava'u, the anchorage was clean, and there was little to no industry. It was like stepping back 75 years or so.

They say that paradise is a state of mind. Of course, I am not one to argue with “them,” but at that particular moment I was in paradise, and not just in my mind.

Ya see, I believe that every cruiser has a picture in their mind of what paradise would be for them. For some, it’s drifting down the Mississippi. For others, it’s being anchored off a classic island like Mykonos, or maybe off the beach in St. Tropez. In my mind, paradise looked like being anchored off a pure Polynesian island, tucked in and secure, with good sailing companions, on a boat I had “pushed” halfway around the world.

The crew on this leg of our world cruise consisted of two young Canadian lads we’d picked up while in French Polynesia, a lovely 30-year-old engineer who had just broken up with her boyfriend in Pago Pago, and my first mate (now wife!), Jody.

It was evening. We’d just finished a great meal that started with fresh spicy tuna sushi made from a small yellowtail we’d caught sailing in, followed by Jody’s famous Shepherd’s Pie. I was laying on the aft deck box I’d built before leaving our home port. It was topped with a cushion about the size of a queen-size bed, and I was kicked back against one of

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our bean bag chairs we always leave on deck, looking up at the quadrillion stars blinking in the heavens.

It was there, at the zenith of my life, that I vividly remember thinking, “If I die now, it would be okay.”

Oh, there were plenty of other times when I had felt almost guilty for the life I was leading. At that time we’d been out a little less than a year, during which we’d sailed south to Mexico, then across to the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, and Tahiti.

The “purpose” of the voyage (like we needed a reason???) was to read a book I’d found at a small chart and book store in San Pedro, California, titled An Island to Oneself. It was written by Tom Neale, a hermit who strove for years to get to a small uninhabited island he’d seen while on a frigate in World War II. The island was Suvarov (Suwarrow) Island in the middle of the central Pacific — and I did read that book anchored in that island.

And we kept discovering new surprises, like finding an anchorage that would hold one hundred boats. When we reached that anchorage in Neiafu, I realized for the first time just how my life had changed from being “back there.”

And that is how it seems to work for most people I’ve talked to over the 35 years I lived aboard and cruised. At first it’s a little fear and trepidation. Selling the family farm is a big step, and that was what you did back then.

Even those of us who had the dream, as we attempted to bring that dream into reality there were always those little “things” tugging at you.

Am I doing the right thing?, Am I sure this is what I want?, and the ever-frequent What the hell am I doing! popped into my head dozens of times.

But that night, a perfect night in a distant anchorage halfway around the world from my home port, the realization hit me — I’d done it.

Oh, not just me. It was also my friends who pushed me when I lost confidence. The crew who sailed with me for thousands of miles, having more faith in me than I did.

As I sit here writing this, about 30 years after that night, I can close my eyes and see it in my mind. I can feel it. The perfect anchorage. The perfect weather. The perfect crew on the perfect boat. Life couldn’t get much better.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, there were hundreds of great nights. There were a few bad nights, and one or two horrendous nights (and days!).

But I can tell you this with complete confidence: If and when you cast off your lines, you will face adversity.

You will encounter situations you might prefer to miss. But also mixed into those days, weeks, months, and years, you will be able to experience at least one night like the one I had in Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga, that October night thirty years ago.

As you go through this folly we call life, occasionally you will stumble onto something that will alter it forever. For me, it was the day I decided to have lunch at the marina instead of at Mamma Rosa’s, and somehow that little “left turn” ended my in a lifestyle that has not only changed my life, but I honestly believe it saved my life.

Don’t dream your life, live your dream!

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7/21/21 11:09 AM

Great Ideas!

In 1974 we had a great idea: build a seaworthy yacht with a strong commitment to value.

For the past 47 years we have embraced that idea and added plenty of new ones.

Today we have 11 models, six cat-rigged sailboats and five sloop-rigged sailboats.

Each boat, from the 14’ Picnic Cat to our 27’ Cruiser, is not only hand-built to our original idea but are simple to sail. And isn’t that why we sail in the first place?

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7/21/21 3:32 PM

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SAILING ALEKONA – BAJA

By Jessie Zevalkink-Yeates

“This yacht had become more than a toy; it had become my primary tool with which to dig through this world in search of life’s lessons.” — Alvah Simon

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I promised my father I would varnish the teak, and I promised my mother I wouldn’t go to Tijuana. I promised Luke I would be brave enough to sail with our baby, and I promised Otis I would keep him safe. I promised to be kind to myself in finessing the role of motherhood aboard the new-to-us steel ketch, Alekona.

I was quickly learning that the boat was far more complicated than the baby, and being a wife and a so-called captain was far more complicated than being a mother. Being a mother was the easiest part of our journey south; the rest of the positions required exceptional effort. What we learned in our first 1,000 miles sailing together as a new family, aboard a new boat,

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SAILING ALEKONA

BAJA in new territory, was how valuable our time away from the rest of the world was. How fruitful it is to be alone, together, in a place where we are incapable of being distracted by all of the things that make us forget to be grateful.

Following Luke’s passage south from San Francisco to Ventura and sailing Alekona under duress, we felt confident having our then four-month-old son on board.

The shakedown cruise around Point Conception had provided Luke with enough adrenaline to get him through the year, and suddenly he became the conservative one between the two of us. For an ambitious man who assumes it will be no problem to sail around Cape Horn with a one-day toddler, he dialed back his need to pushpush-push and began to be very particular about how we sailed, when we sailed, and where we sailed. Bearing witness to this mind-shift was a great relief, as the speed at which I desire to travel rarely matches his.

Although my desire for adventure was equally cavernous, I too wanted to sail to Mexico. I too wanted to take our baby to sea. I too want to take a toddler-to-be through the gap in the southern oceans between Chile and Antarctica. I can’t say if we will or will not choose to take such a risk, but whether we do or whether we don’t it doesn’t change our attraction to it. I live now perpetually in a space where the exposure of and the protection of Otis will alway be tugging me in opposite directions. The relationship between desire for adventure and momma-bear intuition is intricate.

On a warm Sunday evening we arrived in Ensenada, Mexico. We tied up to a wood dock at Baja Naval where the local tour boats race around the harbor blaring music from their speakers, their wake traveling past our hull. Tired and pleased to have the California coastline behind us, it proved itself to be unprotected, overpriced, and over capacitated. I’ve always loved California — there isn’t another state that impresses me as greatly with its topography and versatility.

But if I am being honest, we couldn’t afford cruising there.

We listened to the mariachi from the promenade, drank our last beers, and remained on board until a doctor arrived the following morning to administer Covid tests, which were required prior to going ashore.

It took us nine days, I repeat n–i–n–e d–a–y–s, to clear into Mexico with Customs and Immigration after being run in circles to attain our Temporary

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Import Permit. Recapping WHY it took nine days is a boring and meticulous article in itself, but it had to do with our vessel’s confusing paperwork due to how we purchased the vessel in the first place. Alekona was donated. We purchased her under a charter contract, which on paper says that we are the captains, not the owners. This required an authorized, notarized captain’s letter with its t’s crossed, i’s dotted, proper indentation, exact matching signature, some glitter, a kiss, and maybe even a spray of the port captain’s favorite perfume. The one we had with us wasn’t good enough. The second one we had shipped to us directly to Ensenada wasn’t good enough. Nothing was good enough, and you can see quickly that this became nothing but a red-tape–run-us-in-circles–take-ourmoney sort of situation.

I broke the promise to my father as I watched the varnish peel off of the cap rail under the oppressive Mexican sun in those nine days. I broke the promise to my mother when we made one last desperate attempt to clear our vessel into Mexico and rented a car to go see Juan Carlos at the Banjercito in Tijuana. We had been misled by many different conversations about what was needed to check into Mexico, and if I took anything away from the experience it was A) Do not do anything bureaucratic on a Saturday, it will be double the price, and B) If you are a chica captain, relinquish your role and send a dude, even if all the paperwork w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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SAILING ALEKONA

is in your name. Save yourself some money and save yourself some time. C) Don’t make any promises to your family. The joy of being legal visitors in Mexico aboard a legal boat was stupendous. We celebrated with muchos cervezas y tacos.

Grant, a friend of a friend who happened to be in the right place at the right time, joined us aboard in Ensenada to crew down the coast of Baja. Before we could go anywhere, we had one messy mission to execute. Our engine mounts dangerously needed replacing, and I was not about to motor another mile until the new ones were installed. Grant turned out to be delightfully mechanical and we didn’t hesitate to make use of his adeptness. Grant and I spent hours — many, many hours — upsidedown, prepping the engine to lift it off its mounts. A wizard named Alfredo at Baja Naval took over when we ran out of tools and knowledge. He was quick, creative, and quiet. He lifted our 1,300-pound rusty Isuzu from its well on an aluminum I-beam with an engine chain hoist and managed to access all the mounts nearly single-handed. I enjoyed watching and learning from a good mechanic, and although we were unable to fully communicate, I never doubted his ability to accomplish the daunting job. Within three days we had four shiny engine mounts installed, and it cost us a quarter of the price it would have in California (roughly 750 dollars). At last, we were able to prepare

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and provision for our passage down the Baja Peninsula.

With Grant on board, we became much more efficient. I was able to focus on Oti and let the boys do most of the heavy lifting.

The forecast was flawless. We calculated a two-day downwind leg to Bahía Tortugas, and a 3.5 day leg from Bahía Tortuga to San Jose del Cabo. Grant was new to sailing but by no means new to adventure — his eyes were sparkling the morning we left, and Luke was hyper to be back in his element — sailing.

I had no reservations about being offshore for several days, but what became most important to me was how I was managing my energy. We divvied up our watches and sank into rhythm with Alekona. It was still cold. Cold enough for me to have foulies and a furry hat that would place me in Fargo, North Dakota. Wind crept down the space between my jacket and my hat. I was embarrassed to put on more layers even though no one was watching.

I snacked for calories not for flavor and sipped on concentrated coffee. At 0330 we were smashing along, and for the first time ever, I felt true love for night watch.

True love for my time alone.

Only occasionally did Otis and Alekona require my attention at the same time while the others were asleep. Otis woke up and was fussy. He wanted my w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

7/2/21 6:37 PM

BAJA undivided attention and he wanted the food my body was making for him. The wind was shifty and I tried to keep us on course. I tweaked the Hydrovane and immediately returned to making funny faces at Oti and jiggling his feet to keep him quiet. As long as he smiled, I was okay. When he didn’t, I’d happily fall off course to fix it. I knew nursing and tending to a baby at sea would be hard, but knowing does not better prepare you. I stripped down to my waist in the wind. Life jacket off, fleece up, boob out in the cold.

I secured myself somewhere where the rolling seas couldn’t mess with my child’s supper time, and held on to him tight. I pressed with my feet and pulled back with my core to keep us stable while he dug his face into my chest and grabbed anything his tiny fingers could close around. We sailed into the night and there we were, caught between exposure and protectiion, adventurer and momma bear.

Barreling down the coast of Baja, we jibe every six hours or so, holding a nice angle to the waves and keeping Alekona steady. She sails beautifully, and we are pleased with her performance, aside from Grant who was fighting seasickness for the first time in his life. I felt god awful for him, but he handled it well and came back alive once his body synced up with the motion of the sea. I admit to being very tired after several night watches, and woke up grumpy at 0600 one morning to Luke needing a hand raising the code zero. It was abrupt and I had been sleeping as deep as the Puerto Rican trench. I got on deck and everything was sweating with dew. Within 30 minutes the wind died and we had to reverse our code zero steps and put the engine on. I lay back down still grumpy on the worn grey leather settee that we now tell guests is made of sea lion. Because that’s exactly what it looks like. Weathered sea lion. I closed my eyes and tried to return to the Puerto Rican Trench in hopes that I could resurface a better version of myself. I still needed to be a mother when Otis woke up. Several hours later, I woke to the sound of the boys reeling in a mako shark who had misjudged his lunch.

Cabo San Lucas was just around the corner. In less than 24 hours we will have traversed the entire Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula. In those 1,000 miles Oti’s thighs have filled in. Strong at the core and wrapped up in pillows, a baby seal’s flubber. Curled around my soft tummy he was fast asleep and I couldn’t believe what we’d already done together in four months time. With many sea miles logged, his chubby legs will one day stand lean and strong at the helm. I kept the promise to my husband that I would be brave enough to sail with our baby, and I do believe I kept the promise to be kind to myself in the process. Tired-eyed and grateful, we carried on — adjusting course around the southern tip of the peninsula, distracted only by the needs of Alekona and the needs of Otis. Closing in on the magic of the Sea of Cortez, we knew our journey through Mexico was only beginning. We were finding our groove as a sailing family, and in the freshly-read words of an explorer named Alvah Simon, “This yacht had become more than a toy; it had become my primary tool with which to dig through this world in search of life’s lessons.” How valuable our time away from the rest of the world has become. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Lats&Atts Scuttlebutt If It’s Gonna Happen, It’s Gonna Happen Out There

Issue #36

All the News That Fits Between the Sheets

Fall 2021

Norway’s Ship Tunnel!

Norway is about to build what it’s calling the world’s first ship tunnel. After decades of planning, the Norwegian Coastal Administration just received approval to move forward with the project, with construction slated to begin in 2022. The Stad Ship Tunnel will run through the Stadhavet The pandemic has stopped us twice, but no more! In peninsula in the northwest, and it should help ships safely fact, Australis Ship Lines is working with us to make our bypass the dangerous, exposed waters of the Stadhavet “Round The Horn” bucket list trip even better! Oh, and it’s Sea, where the topography and ocean currents are known to produce high waves coming from all different directions. our publishers birthday as well!

Once complete, it will be 1.06 miles long and 118 feet wide, Originally it was a four-day trip — BUT — since they and it should be large enough for most of the vessels in the were unable to run last year, they’ve made us an offer we coastal voyage fleet to pass through, though it will be too can’t refuse! They have extended the voyage to include 5 small for most cruise ships. nights, and an additional stopover on Magdellena Island National Park AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE!

Cape Horn Here We Come!

March 10-15, 2022

These are not your typical “cruise ship.” It is a luxurious vessel that is small enough to get into hidden corners of the fjords, with excellent services and fine dining, highly knowledgeable expedition leaders, and comfortable lounges and spacious cabins to relax in after a day’s exploring Zodiac boat excursions to remote, uninhabited locations are included. This is a true adventure cruise!

You can find more info on the LatsAtts.com website, but space is limited. We reserved 20 double cabins, and they are going fast, now that we have opened the voyage up for reservations. Just $300 holds your space. Bbook directly with the shipline, and be sure to tell them it’s the Latitudes & Attitudes adventure voyage.

For more info on the ship & trip go to pages 64-65 or you can visit www.Australis.com or the Lats & Atts website!

Nautical Trivia

What is the “whiskey plank” on a wooden vessel?

Wanna Cheat? Answer is on page 38.

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Nautor’s Swan is Presents the the ClubSwan 125.

The ClubSwan racing yacht range is well-established.

And now, the ClubSwan 125, which now sets the highest possible benchmark for Nautor, is finally at sea and ready to debut at Fastnet, taking part in one of the most iconic events in the sailing calendar.

“At Nautor’s Swan we are very proud of having completed the construction of the ClubSwan 125. This is going to be a milestone in the history of yachting. We are grateful to the owner for having entrusted Nautor to build this boat, sharing with us the same values we have of innovation, technology, quality and reliability.”

The ideal wind speed for sailing is between 8-12 knots

The easiest wind to maneuver small and mid-sized boats in is between 8 and 12 knots. This wind is manageable while still being able to reach good speeds.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 29

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Capt. Bill Pinkney Inducted Into The Sailing Hall Of Fame

Captain William “Bill” Pinkney, a Chicago native living in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, is being inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

In addition to the induction, Pinkney will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, which has only been awarded a few times.

Captain Bill will join such notables as America’s Cup winners Ted Turner and Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail around the world solo. In addition to his many accomplishments are a Peabody Award winning documentary about his sail and a children’s book he has written this is used nationwide as a Basel reader for first graders, as well as an autobiography that Maya Angelou called “….a travel book of the first order.” As expedition leader of the “Voyages Home” project, he took teachers to Brazil and West Africa to create a five-part video series distributed by Great Plains National, a division of the University of Nebraska.

As the first Master of the Freedom Schooner AMISTAD, he has traveled the East and Gulf Coasts, England, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Cuba, telling the story of the revolt of African captives that sparked the first Human Rights case in the U.S. Supreme Court.

at boot Düsseldorf.

boot Düsseldorf has always risen to meet new challenges. There is still no better place for your business to take off again. The international sector who has a passion for water sports will come together at the world’s largest boat and water sports trade fair in 2022. As always, we are fully committed to you and your business – especially when the seas get a little rough.

Düsseldorf, Germany

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For show information: Messe Düsseldorf North America Tel. (312) 781-5180 _ info@mdna.com www.mdna.com For hotel and travel arrangements: TTI Travel, Inc. Tel. (866) 674-3476 _ info@ttitravel.net

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Croatia Share The Sail...At Last!

We first schedueld our Share The Sail in Croatia for May 2020. Any ideas what happened?

Yup, the pandemic kinda messed things up, so we rescheduled for May of 2021. Oops... still going! Can’t travel, so once again we reset it for May of 2022.

Hooray! It looks like we can do it now! There were a few folks who couldn’t make it with the new schedule, and we’ve filled most of those from our “standby list.” But if you’d like to see if there might be a recent dropout, just email: jody@latsatts.com, and we can check!

Southport Marina Billed for Dock Repairs

Getting hit by Hurricane Isaias was bad enough for boat owners moored at the Southport Marina, with more than 100 boats damaged and nowhere to store their vessels, but now the owners have received notices from the marina that they would be responsible for paying for damages to the docks. It was like salt on a wound, according to one owner. With bills ranging from around $8,000 to more than $20,000, the marina is expecting boat owners to pay for the damages incurred to the docks but boat owners’ insurance companies are pushing back and have filed a federal lawsuit against Southport Marina.

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Cruising Dogs Now Being Affected By CDC

A notice to all of our cruising friends with dogs. The CDC has implemented a ban of at least a one year on dogs coming from Central America. That means that as of July 15, 2021, if your dog has traveled to Central America or numerous other countries, they will not be allowed back into the US. If you try to bring them in they will be sent back to the country you were in at your expense. There are three “narrow exceptions.” The first is if you are a federal employee. This ban affects Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala, as well as most of the rest of Central America.

Here’s a link: www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-ananimal-into-the-united-states/high-risk-dog-ban-frn.html.

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On a shroud! Baggy wrinkles are used to prevent sail chafe and are usually attached to the main shrouds, port, and starboard. They can be used on any shroud that may rub against a sail. They were traditionally made by sailors out of old lines cut to various lengths and attached to a central core to form a sleeve.

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24 Passenger Electric Powered Sub Goes Down 100 metres

Designed for cruise lines and tourist operators, this Triton Deepview 24 electricpowered submarine uses two Fischer Panda thrusters as main propulsion and two ‘vertrans’ thrusters to dive as deep as 100 metres, taking its passengers on incredible underwater excursions.

The Deepview is a submersible, meaning it departs and returns to a mothership rather than a land-based port. Triton is one of the premier manufacturers of personal submersibles and developed the first viable, acrylic-hulled versions in 2007.

They now have four lines: Leisure, Professional, Ultra-Deep, and the Cruise and Commercial models, which include the Deepview 24, the 660/9 (up to 10 passengers) and the 5-7 seat Triton 1650/7 which has the world’s largest spherical acrylic hull.

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Sailing didn’t get a smooth start in the Olympics. It was originally scheduled to take place in the 1896 Olympics, but due to the weather was postponed. (Sound familiar?) The 1900 Olympics didn’t include sailing amongst the sports (Rude!), but the 1904 Olympics did.

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The First International Online Exhibit of International Marine Artists

Long title, but a kewl site. An amalgamation of dozens of countries’ marine art, all on one site. If you are into sailing, this is a site you should check out.

You’ll find it at: https://americansocietyofmarineartists.com/International

Father and Son Hailed as Heroes After Rescuing Missing Boater 40 Miles Off Coast

A father-son duo from North Carolina rescued a missing boater some 40 miles off the coast after an empty vessel nearly rammed them.

Andrew Sherman and his son Jack were deep-sea fishing when they noticed a boat heading for them. The boat passed them by some 15 yards, but they didn’t see anyone driving. “There’s a little cabin in front, so you can’t totally see what’s going on, but you can easily see the pilot house where the guy would be driving,” Jack Sherman said.

They caught up with the boat and hopped on board, finding it empty. Andrew Sherman called the Coast Guard, but it wasn’t clear how long they would have to wait for someone to arrive.

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Do Boats Sink All The Time?

It happens every time, right? An idiot walks onto your boat and says something like “Hey, don’t these sailbats sink all the time?

There is an answer for that. “Nope, they usualy just sink the one time!”

First All-Electric Hydrofoyl

Navie, led by two MIT engineers, recruited Oracle, Team USA’s principal design engineer for the 35th America’s Cup, with Paul Bieker, as lead naval architect.

“Our goal is to work with the best team possible,” said co-founder and CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya.

“We are ensuring that Navier 27 is the best performance electric craft built. Navier is a 27-foot foiling performance vessel that’s capable of a range exceeding 75 nautical miles under electric propulsion.

Looks like the America’s Cup boats may help design faster power boats!

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# 1 I N S A I L I N G E D U C AT I O N A S A . C O M S ome of us are born sailors, we just don’t know it yet.

T hen, when the time is right, the sea calls us and we dream of what life would be like on a sailboat. We check ads for used boats and start sail because our deep down, you’re calling f riends “captain.”

If this describes already a sailor. you, it’s time to learn how to sail because deep dow n, you’re already a sailor.

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AT ANY PARTICIPATING ASA SCHOOL* *Participating schools only. Offer expires December 31st, 2020. Must enroll in an ASA course before 12/31/2021 in order to receive discount. Visit asa.com for a list of ASA schools.

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NATIONAL EST.

BO

W

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TE R

HO

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N TI

S AT

NE W PO R

Celestair’s Ken Gebhardt

1935-2021

1970

EB

R AT I

NG 50

A YE

RS

Our long-time friend and associate Kenneth Lewis Gebhart passed away April 29th, 2021.

Ken, who was from Wichita, Kansas, was born 29 October 1935 in Montclair, N.J. He founded Celestaire, Inc., a company that sells celestial navigation equipment. To promote and test his theories, he made several flights across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in single-engine Cessnas, using the only available navigation system at that time — celestial. Many will remember him as a long-time sailboat show exhibitor of sextants, and presenter of seminars on celestial navigation. The company he founded in 1972, Celestaire, Inc., rose to become the largest distributor of marine sextants and related publications in the world.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958, he went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Physics from the University of Louisville. He was also an Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and an avid member of the Order of Quiet Birdmen.

But most of all, he was a friend and mentor to any and everybody interested in celestial navigation.

And he taught our publisher how to do it!

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Customize your Craft Reflect your personal style, inspire your guests, and capture that “this-is-the-life” feeling every single time you step aboard.

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www.designmd.com · info@designmd.co

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ACTIVE PIRACY REPORT from the International Commercial Crime Services: A Narrative of the Most Recent Attacks

July 15th, 2021: 18:48.8N – 091:46.3W, Ciudad del Carmen anchorage, Mexico: Around five persons in a fishing boat armed with a gun approached an anchored offshore support vessel. Seeing the armed guard onboard, they aborted the approach and moved away. The incident was reported to the Port Authority.

July 16th, 2021: 01:16.02N – 104:12.39E, Singapore Straits. The duty officer onboard a bulk carrier underway noticed a suspicious boat alongside the ship and notified the master, who instructed the crew to check and secure the accommodation. The engine room crew reported five robbers armed with a knife outside of the steering room. The alarm was raised, resulting in the robbers escaping without stealing anything.

July 16th, 2021:10N Port Au Prince Anchorage, Haiti. Five robbers armed with a gun and knives boarded an anchored bulk carrier via long ladders. The general alarm sounded, and crew proceeded into the accommodation. Upon hearing the alarm and seeing the crew’s alertness, the robbers escaped without stealing anything.

July 13th 2021: 22:02.48N - 088:05.28E, Haldia, India. Robbers boarded a berthed bulk carrier. The duty engine crew noticed the padlock of the entrance door to the engine room broken and spares missing. The alarm was raised, and crew mustered and carried out a search. The incident was reported to the local agent.

July 13th, 2021: 12:01.4S – 077:12.6W, Callao Anchorage, Peru.

Five robbers boarded an anchored tanker using ropes. The duty crew on routine rounds noticed the robbers and raised the alarm.

The crew mustered and a search was carried out. The padlock to bosun store found cut. Nothing was reported stolen.

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rainmandesal.com Latitudes & Attitudes 41 1/10/20 3:51 pm 7/21/21 2:35 PM

ANOTHER WAY LORD OF THE FLIES

By Tania Aebi

outweighed the bad is what I truly learned and believed In 1954, William Golding wrote The Lord of the in the days before the internet and social media. For now, Flies, the story of a group of adolescent boys stranded what was once meant to bring us all together seems to on a desert island after a plane wreck. Freed from be driving us apart. Another historical blip. But that’s not the constraints of society, they turn on each other, where I’m going with this. cruelly and brutally, Golding’s take on what happens Instead, let me tell you about the April article and to people stripped of all the trappings of society and Peter Warner. In 2018, the first time I read about him, laws. At base, and likely because the atrocities of he’d just published a book about his life and a certain WWll had shaped his world view, Golding’s message early chapter that had shaped everything thereafter. is that we are all savages focused on survival of the He was a crayfishing boat captain in June of 1965 strongest, greediest, and fittest. This book has been when six Tongan teenaged boys escaping the stifling taught, analyzed, and discussed in classrooms ever boredom and terrible food of their boarding school, since. Eventually, Golding even won a Nobel Prize for “borrowed” a 24-foot sailboat for an afternoon lark. Or a Literature and got knighted. fishing expedition. Or a journey to a Fijian island, 400 miles Flash forward almost half a century to April of this away, that history book Tongan year, when I read the obituary for warriors had raided a century Peter Warner who died at the age ...goodness prevails. earlier. Or fiercer than expected of 90 while sailing near the mouth People want to be good. winds, a broken rudder and sail, of a very familiar river in Australia.

A wave had swept him overboard Historical blips where bad eight days spent adrift, and fifteen months surviving on the desert and by the time his companion guys have muscled their island where they washed up. swam them to shore, it was too Eleven years after the late. Reading again the story of way to the top for a while, misanthropic Golding published Warner’s life reminded me of how and the news and media, the fictional, world-famous tale much I want to disagree with Golding’s perspective on humanity make us think otherwise. about English boys in a similar situation turning on each other, as a whole. this true story describes what can really happen. Here Something like five years ago, I did a presentation is what Warner’s Tongan delinquents did. about my solo circumnavigation as a much younger Instead of forming warring tribes and designing female. During the Q&A that followed, a man in a weapons, they landed on a rocky shore and recovered cowboy hat asked if I’d ever been in a situation of grave with fish, coconuts, and bird eggs. When they danger, where I’d needed a gun to protect myself. Over regained enough strength to clamber up a 600-footthe years, this has come up often enough, and I always high escarpment to the island top, they discovered an repeat that I don’t do guns, and what’s more, I never abandoned village with some tools, domesticated food ran afoul of another human being. Rather, and perhaps plants, and feral chickens. They built shelter, got a fire because I was a young girl on my own, people all around going, then developed a watch schedule to make sure it the world, of all ages, religions and cultures, went out of never went out. their way to help, to be kind and generous, to hear my Sidenote: The island’s name is ‘Ata and its history stories and tell theirs. is what also could have given Golding such a despairing A huge takeaway from this grand sailing adventure outlook on humanity. The settlement was empty because was about how goodness prevails. People want to be an earlier Tongan king had relocated the women and good. Historical blips where bad guys have muscled children after all the men had been kidnapped by a British their way to the top for a while, and the news and media, slave trading vessel. Now, this village saved the boys. make us think otherwise. Tension, conflict and fear To survive together, they created chore and duty sell better. Cowboy hat dude kept pushing, so certain rosters, they gardened, took care of each other. One boy he was that I must have encountered hostile situations made a guitar from wrecked boat pieces and coconuts, where a gun would have been necessary. And, I had to another carved sculptures with the one knife they found, insist this hadn’t been my experience. Globally, good far

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In May of 1985, an 18-year-old Tania set sail from Manhattan, New York, and became the first American woman and youngest sailor at the time to circumnavigate the globe. Upon her return to Manhattan in November 1987, Tania had visited 23 countries and sailed 27,000 miles. Nowadays, Tania runs charters and delivers boats all over the world when she’s not at home, raising her sons, working on her next book, or battling snow in the winter and weeds in the summer. and they began and ended each day with songs and prayer. Disagreements between the two oldest, the de facto leaders, were resolved by both retreating to opposite ends of the island to think and cool off. When one boy broke his leg, the others figured out how to make a splint that allowed it to heal perfectly.

Peter Warner, who found them in 1966, was the son of an Australian industrialist who had rejected the western capitalist life and fled to sea. With his fishing boat, he had sailed from New Zealand to the Tongan islands, and his ship was anchored off ‘Ata and setting crayfish traps when they spotted signs of brush fire on a hillside. Then, a figure appeared on the shoreline, waving and running toward the water, followed by others. As ‘Ata was supposed to be uninhabited, Warner and his men waited warily, guns cocked, just in case. He’d heard how Polynesians would make prisons of little islands, where they sent their criminals. Instead, the first boy swam out, clambered aboard and started telling the unbelievable tale. The rest of the group followed, talking and laughing in the wheelhouse on the way back to Nuku’alofa, healthy and happy to be rescued. Everyone at home was so relieved to see the kids who had been presumed dead they threw them into jail for stealing and wrecking a boat. Tough love.

Warner paid for the boat, then called an Australian film crew to come sail back to the island with them and make a documentary.

Apparently, the cameramen weren’t intrepid enough for an ocean voyage, seasickness, swimming through the surf ashore to a rocky island, and scaling the cliff up to the settlement, so the edited result was 30 unwatchable minutes.

Then, the rest of life happened, with these boys and Warner forever bonded by this shared experience.

Life stories overlapped throughout the following decades, some of the kids ended up crewing on Warner’s boats, one wrote the foreword to his book.

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in their spontaneous community, suggesting that cooperation, not conflict, is an integral feature of human nature. One could wonder if another difference might be that these were Polynesian boys, not English kids. Warner wonders just this, especially since eight years later, with one of the ‘Ata boys for crew, they rescued four young Western sailors who’d wrecked their ferro-cement sailboat on Middleton Reef and camped out for six weeks on a nearby Japanese fishing boat wreck.

Maybe they would have eventually rallied and started hunting for fish, figuring out how to distill fresh water, adapt and hone some survival skills. But, in the desperate way he found them, Warner didn’t think they’d have lasted another month. Maybe Golding’s perspective was shaped by the English striving for individualism and imperial might, not the gentler communal Polynesian influence, which ended up being key to survival. What we do know is that The Lord of the Flies is pure fiction, the Tongan story is very real. And beautiful. And something cowboy hat dude needs to think about.

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Virtual Cruising 44 Latitudes & Attitudes

MV FREEDOM

By Darren O’Brien

It goes without saying that cruising means different things to different people. However, the concept of “freedom” is likely one of the primary reasons those of us who choose this incomparable lifestyle have in common.

Even when the vessel of choice and cruising grounds vary so dramatically from boater to boater, region to region.

While the majority of popular YouTube boating channels feature sailboats in tropical locales (because what’s not to like about that?), Shawn and Elizabeth Krenke, based in Seattle, WA, have chosen to live and cruise aboard a long-range trawler in the Pacific NW. For the time being, anyway.

“The plan is we’re going to work another one to three years then take off for Alaska,” explains Elizabeth, acknowledging that all cruising plans are drawn in the sand

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BoatersTube video channel profiles are dedicated to the memory of longtime Latitudes & Attitudes contributor Paul Kortenkamp, author of the first four Virtual Cruising articles. The continuing series is now written by Darren O’Brien, former creator of Latitudes & Attitudes TV. An experienced writer/director/producer in film and video, Darren shares his insight into popular boating channels available on YouTube and other video sharing platforms. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Virtual Cruising Cruising

at low tide. “After that Mexico, the Panama Canal, Caribbean, eastern seaboard, and then across to Europe.” If they’re lucky, this intrepid married couple will eventually make the Mediterranean and cruise to Sardinia, one of seven “Blue Zones” in the world. If the rest of us are really lucky, Elizabeth will continue to churn out their highly entertaining videos.

Their YouTube channel, MV Freedom, started as a hobby for Elizabeth back in 2015 when they owned their previous and third boat, a 40-foot Sea Ray Sundancer. Viewership began to grow in 2018 with the acquisition of their dream boat, a 2004 Nordhavn 43 they aptly named Freedom. Once the pandemic set in, their views and subscribers really took off.

With her mechanical engineer husband, Shawn, working full time and keeping their boat in peak operating condition, Elizabeth spent a great deal of 2020 further honing her video skills as a photographer and editor. Her shooting and editing style consists of, in her own words, “less is more.” You won’t find an overabundance of special effects, zooms or swish pans. Rather, you’ll find just the right balance of art and reality. She recalls one video instructor’s camera directive as “don’t move!” In other words, frame the shot and let the action do the work. The result is some stunning imagery while underway and at anchor. Even her drone shots are tastefully captured with a modicum of slow movement, allowing the viewer to soak in the scenery.

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MV Freedom

Watching their videos, you will also discover Elizabeth’s excellent storytelling skills. She excels at creating narratives that capture not just the location or the journey, but the entire gamut of feelings and emotions that living aboard and cruising evokes.

Especially while juggling Shawn’s work schedule, a marriage, and most recently, that pesky worldwide pandemic.

If there are silver linings to be found with COVID, their channel is certainly proof. Previously, Elizabeth had been working full time in a merchandise management position at a large national retailer based in Seattle. But when quarantining became the norm, she quit her day job to pursue her passions: teaching yoga (remotely at the time) and making videos. Fans who have been following MV Freedom since the beginning are quick to say the quality of her videos has improved to the point they have become appointment viewing. Even to the level of “award winning.” In fact, their video “Our Nordhavn Life” was First Runner-Up in the inaugural 2019 Nordhavn Film Festival (even though most people, myself included, thought they should have won the Grand Prize!).

Shawn, who costars in their videos along with their rescued boat dog, Mr. Sully, readily admits his on-camera reluctance. “I’ve never really been super into it,” he says. “But I do like the end result. She does a really good job.” Despite his reticence, Shawn does a great job hosting their “Weekly Q&A” at the end of each video. He’ll answer three to four questions w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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from viewers around the world, doing a particularly enthusiastic job when the question is mechanical or technical in nature.

On the other hand, from her effusive, positive personality, one might surmise Elizabeth was born to be in front of the camera. Not so, she says. “I’m not super comfortable being on camera. I still prefer to be behind it.” Even though she prefers the production work off camera, she has a very engaging presence in front of it. And with her writing and editing abilities, she is able to expertly interweave her and Shawn’s on-camera, in-the-moment reality sound bites with occasional voice over narration to great effect.

Knowing that some boating YouTubers are making fairly decent money with their videos, you might think the Krenkes have similar goals for their channel. “Honestly, we have no goals. We just want to keep the channel fun,” explained Elizabeth. “I love the process, the creative aspect of it.” Currently releasing a new video each week, she’s not even sure that once they take off cruising full time she’ll want to keep such a schedule, as they wish to avoid making the creation of videos just another job. “We want to enjoy our cruising and show the places we’re going to,” she added. Though she admits for as long as she is making videos, “It would be nice if it brings in some fun money.”

48 Latitudes & Attitudes

Besides content emanating from a powerboating platform, another element that sets them apart from so many other video boating channels is they actually live in a thriving, urban environment. And while in normal, non-pandemic times Shawn commutes across three time zones to spend most Mondays through Thursdays working in Milwaukie, WI, they’ve still managed to put more than 7,000 miles under Freedom’s keel cruising out of Seattle the past three and a half years. Mostly on long weekends! That doesn’t even include the ambitious circumnavigation of Vancouver Island they completed in less than two weeks on their previous vessel. So you know the Krenkes, both of whom have USCG 100-ton licenses, really do get out on their boat as often as possible. You can’t tell by looking at their Nordhavn, though. Not only does Shawn have the boat working in tip-top shape, their trawler looks absolutely Bristol doing it.

And no matter where they go, they go in style.

Many folks of the go simple, go now variety love the idea of pairing down and minimalist cruising.

Not the Krenkes. They have all the creature comforts of home aboard. From ice whenever they want it, to electrical appliances and electronics for navigation, communication, and entertainment.

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MV Freedom one of Bob Bitchin’s favorite sayings echo in my head: “I can’t recommend decadence as a way of life, but it has worked for me!” Shawn and Elizabeth aren’t mega-yachters by any stretch. After all, as owner/operators they do all their own work. As true cruisers, they simply know what they want and they’re set up to live it.

As far as cruising grounds go, the Pacific NW has an embarrassment of riches. Sure, it might occasionally rain here (wink, wink), but within just a day or two, and in some cases mere hours, you can go from waking up on the hook in a quiet, remote cove and later be in a bustling, seaside metropolis with oftentimes world-class dining and shopping.

Not to mention a plethora of chandleries and marine services. In addition to Seattle, there are a dozen other “large” cities on Puget Sound, including Victoria and Vancouver just north of the border in British Columbia. If you want proof that an urban destination can be worthwhile, check out their video “Why Boaters Love Seattle.” But then there’s the real draw of cruising in the Pacific NW, the internationally renowned San Juan Islands. A world away just 60 nautical miles north of Seattle. The Gulf Islands are next just across the border. Not to mention Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, and of course, southeast Alaska. So far, the favorite place they’ve

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been to by boat is the rugged Tofino area just north of Barkley Sound on the remote and wild west coast of Vancouver Island. They’ve made quite a few engaging videos cruising to that particular region the past couple of years that have even inspired us to follow in their keel steps.

When you check out the more than 140 videos on their YouTube channel you’ll find a wide range of topics, from those incredibly beautiful PNW destinations to overnight passages, boat repairs, and maintenance, to the simple and even mundane joys of living aboard – both at “home” in the slip and out where they belong, somewhere at anchor.

My recommendation is to start with some of their later videos, those produced after purchasing the Nordhavn, then explore the entire channel. This is all to say, if you’re looking for an interesting, atypical boating/cruising channel, or you just enjoy watching well-crafted boating and travel videos, then MV Freedom should be on your subscriptions list.

“Freedom lies in being bold,” quoth Elizabeth in their award-winning film festival video. “The time to go is now. To live, to explore. To be free.” Watch the Krenke’s videos, get to know them a bit, and you’ll definitely appreciate and likely identify with their contagious sense of Freedom. A sentiment all cruisers — whether power or sail — have in common.

Latitudes & Attitudes 49

Sailing

War Story

By Anna McKinley

He’s active-duty Marines; she’s active-duty police. They have two teenagers and a boat dog (a Great Dane!), and they live aboard their catamaran, War Story, full time!

“You’re crazy!” is almost always the response, and it’s an accusation that I don’t deny.

The dream started over 14 years ago, when I met Jason, my future husband, in my senior year of college. I offhandedly told him my romantic notion that I would love to live on a houseboat. I had no idea what it entailed, and really didn’t plan to put it into action. However, it planted an idea in Jason’s head, one that he couldn’t shake, and evolved into a new dream of circumnavigating the world together by sail.

Meeting new people can take us down a rabbit hole of 50 questions; there’s just a lot to explain. The typical introductory questions lead to more questions. What do you do for a living? I’ve been a police officer for over 8 years now. It’s a topic that tends to perk people’s curiosity. Usually then I’m asked what my husband does for a living. My husband Jason is active duty, he’s been in the Marine Corps for over 17 years. Where do you live? We live aboard a sailing catamaran full time. The punchline is: Yes, we have kids! Two teenagers and a boat dog, a Great Dane.

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Sailing War Story Of course, as a Marine, Jason is a person of action. By 2015, Jason was learning to sail off the coast of Camp Pendleton, and a few years later we purchased our own boat.

We even completed a PCS (permanent change of station) with our boat hauled across the country; we pulled her out of the Pacific and splashed her in the Atlantic. Upon arriving at our new station, we decided to find our forever boat, and make the plunge to live aboard full time.

After hours of looking online and climbing over a few catamarans, we came across a beautiful Privilege 395, named War Story. Her owner was a Special Forces veteran, and immediately there was something about her we couldn’t shake. The owner’s care and attention to detail was evident throughout the careful logbooks and labels that covered just about everything. Still, we had our doubts; was buying a boat again the right move to make?

Should we just go get a house like normal people? Would we go crazy living aboard with teenagers and a dog? Was this just a stupid, horrible investment?

We headed to the 2019 Annapolis boat show with War Story in the back of our minds. As

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I happily wandered around the boat show with a cold Pusser Painkiller in hand, I struggled with a thought that had been bothering me. Our plans to circumnavigate the world after Jason’s retirement from active duty excited me, but I kept asking myself... why? Is it just to have fun?

Just to travel? What was the purpose? Jason and I have a trait in common of being driven people; it’s something that draws us together, we want to know what the mission is, what value we are bringing to the table.

Sailing has brought us together as a couple and a

family. It’s been tremendously therapeutic for mental, physical and emotional stress that has been brought through endless deployments, field and training exercises, and all the critical incidents we have experienced. What if we shared this with other military and veterans? First Responders? What if we introduced them to this life, and it was helpful for them?

As usual, anytime I get excited about an idea, I immediately call up Jason before even really thinking it through. He happened to be across the boat show, and when I told him my half-baked idea, he laughed. It wasn’t because it was funny; he happened to be standing in front of a table for a group called Valhalla Sailing. Valhalla Sailing is a non-profit dedicated to teaching Veterans to sail and race, while regaining their sense of self and community.

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Sailing War Story It was a serendipitous moment for us; we aren’t crazy, there are people out there pursuing this and there is a need for it! Our ride home cemented that we would purchase War Story. It felt like we were continuing on the dream of the previous owner as we fleshed out our dream and future plans for her. We didn’t know all the details of how we would make this happen (and in many ways still don’t) but we knew it felt right and the pieces were falling into place for the long term plan.

Since living aboard War Story, we have personally introduced many people in our local veteran communities to sailing and the simplistic lifestyle that comes with it. We have found ourselves in a very unique community ourselves; many of our good friends here are in their seventies, still living an active lifestyle and sailing. A unique, twin bond of service and sailing proves to overcome many differences, including age.

In a few short years, the two of us will be out of our uniforms and setting off into cruising full time. For now we are sailing and gaining as much experience as we can while preparing our boat for her future adventures.

The dream is quickly turning to reality. For many who serve, transitioning is a difficult, stressful thing, even for those who are ready for a new chapter. Leaving the camaraderie, the brotherhood, the routine, and yes, even the adrenaline and stress, can be a daunting endeavor. Sailing is our means of bridging the gap between the present and the future, shaping our new chapter, and providing us our next mission.

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WELCOME BACK TO ANNAPOLIS UNITED STATES SAILBOAT SHOW OCTOBER 14-18, 2021 CITY DOCK, ANNAPOLIS, MD

SHOW UPDATES + TICKETS: AnnapolisBoatShows.com

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Boating With Lucy

By Donna Gambino

“I Love Lucy” has nothing on me. The sitcom character constantly had things go wrong, and I’m the same way, especially when sailing. My husband says if I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all. A colleague once said, “Let me know when you go on vacation so I WON’T schedule mine at the same time because bad things happen during your vacations.”

It’s true. When my husband is asked, “How was your vacation?” he calmly replies, “Well, no one died…” For example: I’ve ended up in the ER once; I got my arm pinned between two boats while docking another time and looked like Popeye for a week; the transmission failed on the boat another time and we had to sail home (100 miles); we’ve been chased home by hurricanes twice, including on our honeymoon; and I almost needed to be airlifted off a remote island while on bareboat charter in the BVI. September 11th?

Yup, that was during one of our vacations too.

Donna with her coffee cup…

You can never have too much coffee!

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Jim at the helm leaving Norwalk

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Boating With Lucy

Anchorage in Great Salt Pond, Block Island

The Great Salt Pond

Leaving Block Island at O-dark-thirty and heading home before the storm

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So, what do we do during a pandemic? We take our boat to Block Island for vacation. What could go wrong? Well, let me tell you about just a few of the things that happened.

We live on a 40-foot trawler called Blue Moon.

She is fully ballasted and has an extremely efficient hull with a canoe stern.

The rounded underbody has one drawback: it rolls like a pig in the mud when hit abeam by waves.

We headed out from Norwalk, Connecticut, at O-dark-thirty (0530 hours) on a calm day which promised to be very hot and muggy. A great trawler day with very little wave action, but so hot that even the silk flowers started to wilt. We had the ebb current with us for the beginning of our trip down Long Island Sound and we were going along nicely at 7-plus knots.

After a few hours on the flybridge, I went below to use the head and it wasn’t pretty (sorry to be gross), so I decided to take a shower.

One nice feature of the Willard-40 is that it has a separate stall shower in the head. After decades of living aboard with a wet-head, I got tired of soggy socks, so the stall shower was a big quality of life improvement.

I got into the shower and was all soaped up when a wake hit us broadside. At first, it wasn’t too bad, just a gentle side to side motion, but the intensity increased very quickly. By w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

Sunday afternoon exodus is always quite a parade as the weekenders leave Great Salt Pond, Block Island

now I was holding on tight to anything I could grab in the shower. I was covered in soap and sliding around on the slippery shower floor when I started to hear something very large crashing back and forth in the main saloon like an angry rhino trying to get out. But there was not much I could do until the wake passed so I just held on.

Now I know how laundry feels in a washing machine.

The waves finally passed and things calmed down.

We didn’t seem to be sinking or in imminent danger, so I took a moment to quickly rinse off some of the soap. Then I pushed on the shower door to exit, but it wouldn’t move more than an inch. So now I was stuck in the shower while my husband was on the flybridge and couldn’t hear me. I took a deep breath.

I realized the stick used to measure the water tank, which hangs next to the shower door, had swung over the handle of the door pinning it closed. It reminded me of the shower scene in the movie “Captain Ron”!

I was able to extract myself from my predicament with only slight contortions. I grabbed a towel and ran into the main saloon, expecting to find tomato sauce, flour, and olive oil strewn across the cabin sole; but luckily, no food came loose. The offending noise was made by my husband’s office chair. It is on casters and had been sliding across our nice teak and holly sole, banging into the dinette on one side and the shelves on the other. I quickly secured the offending chair while saying a few choice words under my breath. I reminded the helmsman (that same husband) to alter course next time a wake came our way to avoid any issues.

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Block Island beach along the entrance channel to Great Salt Pond

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Catamaran astern as we cross Block Island Sound

Chair that was banging around the main cabin when hit by a wake.

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uneventful. No nuclear submarines trying to run us over out of Groton (two years ago), no maydays on the VHF radio (another trip where we diverted to assist), and no giant sea turtles to avoid like a ski slalom through Block Island Sound.

The Great Salt Pond on Block Island was packed when we arrived, which is often the case on a Saturday night. We found a great spot to anchor right near the harbor entrance, far away from the crowds.

We dropped the hook and cracked open a cold one.

Life was good!

One nice thing about Block Island’s Great Salt Pond is that there are so many water-based amenities.

Aldo’s bakery has a boat that traverses the harbor twice a day selling baked goodies, coffee, and other delectable foods. There is an ice boat, a water boat, a pump out, and a garbage boat, as well as Old Port Launch water taxi for trips ashore. How cool is that!

We were hoping to hang on the hook for a few weeks to get away from the heat wave hitting the northeast. It was at least 10 degrees cooler on Block Island than back home in Connecticut. Therefore, we decided to top off our water tanks the way the locals do, at the water point near the dinghy dock just past Paines Marina.

The water spigot is attached to a piling just off the launch ramp by the Block Island Marine Institute.

It is in 4 to 10 feet of water, depending on the tide, without a dock or anything nearby other than the pile to grab onto. There is a second pile on the other side of the boat launch where people hang out to wait if someone else is using the water point.

We use a 14-foot Bluejay sailboat as our dinghy, and thoroughly enjoy sailing in the harbors we visit. We loaded every bucket, water jug, plastic container, and cooking pot we had on board and sailed to the water point. Someone was there ahead of us, so we sailed around Trim’s pond while we waited. That didn’t work very well since someone else jumped in ahead of us not knowing we were in the queue.

Once the other dinghy left the “waiting” piling near the water point, we sailed over to get in line.

As we approached, we dropped the jib but not the main. That was our first mistake. I climbed on the bow with a line and grabbed the piling, but a sudden wind shift caused us to overshoot. I managed to pass the line around the piling, and my husband grabbed it just as I was pushed off the boat and onto the piling, hugging it for dear life. I felt like Wile E. Coyote in a cartoon as I was left holding onto the piling while the boat sailed past me. The piling was covered in slime and seaweed, so I slowly slid down into the water. I came up sputtering and laughing, and decided to just stay in the water until our turn at the spigot. I think I scared my husband, but once he w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

The quiche and pie in the galley that we ended up cooking in the toaster over after we ran out of propane. heard me laughing he sighed in relief. No ER trip today thankfully! But the day was young!

We filled up our water containers and headed back to Blue Moon.

Because of the gusty winds, not all of the water made it back to the trawler since the buckets didn’t have lids, but the Bluejay sailed very well, even with the extra 400 pounds of water. Time for a long, hot shower!

I enjoy cooking and baking even while at anchor. We had a lot of eggs and I thought a quiche would be nice. Since I was already making a crust, I decided to make extra for an apple pie. Both were in the oven and we were relaxing on the aft deck watching the world go by. I’ve been baking for so many years now that I often just go by the smell to know when something I’m cooking is almost done. I started to worry when I realized there wasn’t much of an aroma, so I took a peek in the oven and checked the thermometer. The temperature had dropped, so I looked at the burner (propane stove/oven), and it was off. I tried to relight it a few times, but it wouldn’t fire up.

My husband went to investigate the fuel situation and realized we were out of propane, so he checked the backup tank… it was empty too. Drat! We both were sure the 20-pound backup tank was full. Later, we realized we had used the second tank to shrink-wrap the boat last fall, and apple pie in the cold oven. Luckily we have a generator, so we fired it up and pulled the toaster oven out to finish the job. This was the first time in two years we had needed to use the generator. Usually the solar panels on Blue Moon take care of all our electrical needs, even hot water.

Unfortunately, reports of hurricane Isaias coming up the coast made us reconsider hanging out at anchor, so after a wonderful week, we reluctantly headed home.

Considering we were traveling on our boat during a pandemic, I think we did pretty well! Now onto our next adventure, trying to buy a boat in Newfoundland during a pandemic with the borders closed and winter quickly approaching. What could go wrong? w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Latitudes & Attitudes “Bucket List” Share The Sail

Cape Horn adventure!

March 10-15th, 2022

Join Bob & Jody on the adventure of a lifetime!

6 days, 5 nights aboard the Ventus Australis adventure cruise ship in Tierra del Fuego!

This is different from our typical “Share The Sail” event. Usually we charter a group of boats and our readers join us to experience the cruising lifestyle in places like Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Greece, or the Caribbean. But this time we will land on glaciers, go

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ashore with penguins, and then “Round the Horn”!

We will cruise the hardiest waters of the world — in comfort! No, not on small sailboats. Instead, we have reserved 20 cabins on a 100-cabin, small adventure cruise ship. AND we will be among fellow sailors, so

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you can imagine the talk at the lounge in the evenings! This has been on our bucket list for years.

The trip is set for March 10–15, 2022, and will depart and return to Punta Arenas, Chile. We’re excited to say that Australis, the cruise line that runs the trip, was able to extend the standard four-day voyage to Cape Horn to run for an additional day, making it SIX days and FIVE nights, at no extra cost! They have also added Magdalena Island National Park to the last night aboard ship. Oh, yeah, and it’s publisher Bitchin’s birthday as well! Join the fun!

Reserve Your Cabin Before It’s Too Late!

You can reserve your choice of cabins with just a $300 deposit.

Rates vary depending on the class of cabin you choose.

Book your cabin directly with Australis, and make sure you let them know you are part of the Latitudes & Attitudes Group trip on March 10–15, 2022. Most people come in a few days early and stay a few days after to see the area, and hotels are plentiful.

Please note, the folks at the cruise company have agreed to depart from and return to Punta Arenas, as opposed to the original ending point being Ushuaia, Argentina.

Cape Horn is on every sailor’s bucket list, and we are really looking forward to this event. Reserve early, because spots will go fast!

You can see more at their website here

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And you can re ser ve your cabin here

Email: ylopez@aust ralis.com

Latitudes & Attitudes Cape Horn 6-Day, 5-Night Voyage

Take advantage of this exceptional 6-day, 5-night tour, available only in the 2021–2022 season. You will be able to visit all of the hidden and mythical corners of Tierra del Fuego. In a unique opportunity to start and finish in Punta Arenas, this journey takes you through the fjords of Patagonia between glaciers and virgin forests, combining, in a single roundtrip, the main landmarks of Australis’s traditional routes. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Cruising Destination:

Around 35.5 million years ago, a meteor roughly 3 miles wide slammed itself into the earth, right into what is now northeast America. This crater paved the way for over a thousand surrounding streams, creeks, and rivers to flow into its aftermath, impeding the regrowth of forests. Now, fast forward millions of years later to when the glaciers of the Ice Age had melted, and that’s when the modern-day Chesapeake Bay was formed. Today, it is one of the largest estuaries in the world, spanning over 200 miles long and 30 miles at its widest point. And depending on who you ask, it is arguably the top sailing capital of the United States — and most certainly renowned worldwide.

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Chesapeake Bay

By Mandy Sorg

of my own country was, to me, still very much foreign – not to mention enticing, what with being farther from the threat of summer hurricanes.

The deep blue waters of the south became a tannic brown, the palm trees had been swapped with maples and hardwoods, and white sandy edged beaches morphed into grasses, hills, and the occasional cliff. Having never cruised these waters prior, an extensive list of sailing destinations was made, in part by the recommendations of passing cruisers and the trusty internet. Being home to a multitude of must-see waterfront towns and cities, it’s near impossible for any cruiser to see them all in just one summer. So, in no particular order, except that of which the wind blew us first, Shonto set out for a tour of the bay, seeking destinations that can easily be visited within a few summer months. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Cruising Destination: Chesapeake Bay

ST. MICHAELS In conversations, other cruisers gave their opinions on the Bay’s must-see locations, and when each would end their recommendations with a “…but my favorite is St. Michaels!”, you knew there must be something special about the place.

As Shonto rounded the bend on the Miles River after a gorgeous 25 nautical mile spinnaker sail from Edgewater, the first sight of St. Michaels was of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse, standing guard on the edge of its harbor.

Two cozy anchorages lie on either side of this screw-pile lighthouse, each a very short dinghy ride to the well-built public dinghy dock.

St. Michaels, named after the town’s first church, dates to the mid-1600s. Its primary industry was building schooners, which were historically used to defend the Bay against British Navy attacks in the war of 1812. As a famous recount goes, St. Michaels was termed “the town that fooled the British,” for after hearing of impending attack, the townspeople hung lanterns in trees on the outskirts of town, tricking the British into

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cannonballing that area instead of the real St. Michaels. After the war, and with it a decline in shipbuilding, the town was revived via the fishing and, mainly, oystering industry.

Today, it is a top tourist destination, with cottages tightly packed along streets adorned with English-like gardens, a main street teeming with shops and restaurants, and the stunning Inn at Perry Cabin (where the Wedding Crashers was famously filmed). Hammy’s Hideout, our frequented eatery – try the Thai chicken and adult milkshakes.

And for those that enjoy a stiffer drink, there is a distillery, winery, and brewery all on the same block! At the Eastern Shore Brewing Company, I’ve personally discovered a new IPA favorite — the “F Bomb.” But it is the maritime museum that is the true must see.

It is packed with such information, that it took two separate trips to see it all with any real appreciation. The museum had recently been awarded a $5 million contract from the state to build a working replica of a 17th century trading ship bringing European settlers to, what is now, Maryland.

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visit, I was fortunate enough to witness the Maryland Dove’s frame being built entirely of wood, before its planned launch in 2021.

WYE ISLAND Just five nautical miles northeast of St. Michaels is a hidden gem – the Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area (Wye Island, for short). The Maryland Park Services manages 2,450 acres of this 2,800-acre island for recreation, agriculture, and conservation purposes; and it is, in my opinion, the most pristinely beautiful spot in all of the Bay. Shonto meandered her way through the winding and picturesque Wye East River to anchor in the Dividing Creek, a still and quiet waterway nestling you in between its towering trees. But, be forewarned, there is zero cell service, though you shouldn’t be needing it anyway.

There are endless outdoor activities offered within the island — hiking, biking, and even horseback riding. It houses a robust holly tree over 275 years old, six amazing trails you could explore for miles each day (some of which maze through orchards and cornfields), and is a haven for bald eagles and Canadian geese. If you want to watch the sunset with the most soothing (yes, soothing!) sound of Canadian Geese song, look no further. Our only distraction from nature was the occasional quiet crabber and a daily pump out boat were you to need one (which, might I add, I hold a great deal of appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay’s keenness and efforts on keeping its waters clean!). This solitude of nature was, hands down, the most difficult place to leave.

ANNAPOLIS The city of Annapolis was notably the most encouraged city to visit in the Bay — it’s almost seen as a cruiser’s rite of passage to sail into Annapolis’ harbor.

After weighing anchor in Wye Island, it was a glorious, smooth-water, 36-nautical mile northwest sail. (It also happened to be our anniversary, and a day in which I sailed in my wedding dress, because why not?). In my mind, the best option for a true Annapolis experience is to grab a mooring ball in its harbor. You’ll have an iconic view of downtown from your deck, and the dinghy dock at Kunta Kinte Park is a short ride away, putting you smack dab in the exact spot of downtown you want to be in.

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Cruising Destination: Chesapeake Bay here that will inevitably take your ride hostage while you’re away.

First settled in 1649 by Virginian Puritans, Annapolis (named after Princess Anne, the heir to the throne at the time) was our country’s first peacetime capital. Now, it is the capital of Maryland, the United States’ capital of sailing (okay, arguably), and famously home to the United States Naval Academy. The city’s past is of huge political importance. There was the Annapolis Convention of 1786, the Treaty of Paris was signed here after the Revolutionary War, and it houses the oldest State House that, to this day, is still in legislative use — just to name a few.

Everywhere you look, crabs, anchors, and Maryland flags decorate the streets in full parade fashion.

Retail shops like Musto and Halley Hanson dominate the scene, and the smell of Old Bay Seasoning radiates through the air. Eateries are plentiful — might I suggest the crab dip at Harvest Wood Grill & Tap; the sushi and noodles at Joss Café & Sushi Bar; and the chicken and waffles at Iron Rooster. Once you’ve satisfied your appetite, there are many attractions to visit — the most popular being the State House, the William Paca House & Garden, the US Naval Academy, and the Banneker-Douglass Museum.

But my personal favorite is to take a quick drive to Quiet Waters Park, to hike (or bike) the 340 acres of exceptional forest and meadows overlooking the Harness Creek and South River.

ROCK HALL To sail anywhere north of Annapolis will inevitably require that you cross under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This bridge is a 4.3-mile long, 186-foot high suspension bridge — and the only one to span the width of the bay, connecting the western and eastern shores. After sailing 17 nautical miles northeast from Annapolis, we arrived at Rock Hall, a town nicknamed The Pearl of the Chesapeake. Instead of getting a slip in the harbor, Shonto was comfortably moored in Swan Creek, a very narrow waterway quietly tucked away just north of the harbor.

Rock Hall is a quaint fishing village with a population just over 1,300.

Staying here feels like stepping back in time, or at least slowing down, and has an atmosphere unlike any I’d seen elsewhere on the bay. The harbor has delicious seafood restaurants, including the famous Waterman’s Crab House where you can get (you guessed it) fresh-caught jumbo Maryland crabs. On the streets surrounding the harbor stand many well-kept houses, quiet and still, with the only noise coming from the playing school children

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nearby. Shops and a local music venue occupied the main street, and the best coffee shop in town, Java Rock, sat just at the end where you could sip your coffee under the shade trees while listening to the sounds of church bells ringing beside you. But there is more to Rock Hall than their small-town charm.

Each August, cruisers and land-lovers of all ages descend on the city for the main event, Pirates & Wenches Fantasy Weekend, a three-day long, vibrantly celebrated pirate invasion.

SOLOMON’S ISLAND Roughly 45 nautical miles southwest of Rock Hall lies the town of Solomons Island on the very tip of a peninsula. Shonto was cozily anchored in Mill Creek, where each night we were treated with gorgeous sunsets. Originally settled and named Bourne’s Island in the mid-1600s, the land was later purchased by a Baltimore businessman, Isaac Solomon, in the 1860s, from which the town now gets its name. Solomon, understanding how significantly well protected the surrounding waters were, established a shipyard and fishing fleet of over 500 vessels by 1880. The island has since stood as an active maritime and oystering location. But, perhaps one of the most notable maritime relations was during World War II, when the Navy chose the island to be its training site for amphibious operations.

Today, it is a popular weekend destination, particularly within the boating community. Whether you’re heading north or south from the ICW or ocean, Solomons is an excellent midway stop within the Bay, and a pleasant town to relax in. The island has a long and easily walkable boardwalk to the west, where you can read the accounts of historical naval activities, and to the east the street is lined with shops, excellent local restaurants, a tiki bar, and a plethora of marinas. To the north, there is the beautiful, and not to be missed, Annmarie Sculpture Garden, a family-friendly forested park displaying work from renowned sculptors and artists.

-----------------------------Though my first summer visit to the Chesapeake Bay only held a handful of locations, that’s partly one of the wonderful things about the Bay. You see, it is just so incredibly large, with so many worthy places to see, that there is just no way you can visit them all, in any true appreciative manner, in just one cruising season. Year after year, it is a place that can bring more exploration than the last. There is an abundance to explore, from the sweet, quiet town of Galesville, the crab cook-offs of Cambridge, and the disappearing land of Tangier Island. And what better way to explore the special gems of the Chesapeake Bay, just as so many did in its past, than by the sea? w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Ko'olina Marina, Hawaii

By Steve & Chelsea Olson - s/v Jean Anne

While our 26-day trip from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Ko'Olina, Oahu, Hawaii, was still fresh in our minds, Chelsea and I thought we’d answer some questions that we had been asked about the trip. We came up with this list of questions and each answered them before reading what the other person wrote. This was a voyage we’ll always remember! Read on and see why!

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What was your favorite part of the trip?

STEVE: The day where we had the least amount of wind was actually one of my favorites. There was nothing we could do but relax. Swimming surrounded by those large fish hundreds of miles from anywhere was an experience I’ll never forget.

CHELSEA: Ironically, the day we had no wind and only went 32 nautical miles.

The seas were so flat and calm, the water was so blue, and the boat was still. We swam with a hundred mahi mahi that day and got to look down into the water and see the endless blue that it was. It really was a once in a lifetime day.

What was the most difficult part of the trip?

STEVE: Just dealing with the swell at night when the wind would die down.

The boat would rock a lot, making it very difficult to sleep at all. Everything became more difficult and you constantly had to brace yourself to avoid injury.

CHELSEA: The constant rolling of the boat. Everything was more difficult: brushing your teeth, cooking dinner, getting dressed. You ALWAYS needed one hand for the boat, sometimes even both hands to hold yourself still.

What was your biggest concern before leaving?

STEVE: Dealing with squalls at night.

This was our first time dealing with them. Our new doppler radar was pretty awesome, as it really highlighted these when we put it in weather mode.

CHELSEA: Injuries. I was constantly reminding myself and Steve to move slowly and cautiously to avoid accidentally hurting ourselves underway. We have a medical kit onboard, and of course we know how to do basic first-aid, but I was worried about the bigger injuries (i.e., broken bones, deep burns, etc.).

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How was the trip different than you expected?

STEVE: I never 100% felt great. I never got sick to my stomach, but, even weeks in, my stomach always felt just a little bit “off.”

What do you wish you would have brought?

STEVE: Honestly, I thought a lot about this for a long time before the trip. I didn’t want to really be missing something, so I think we planned well.

The only thing I really wished we had was an installed wind generator. I will be buying one before we leave Hawaii for sure.

CHELSEA: It was definitely bouncier. I figured once we hit the trade winds, the swell would even out, and while it did, we still rocked quite a bit.

What did you bring, thinking you’d need, but hardly used?

STEVE: I loaded my Kindle and brought a bunch of DVDs, but didn’t read or watch as much as I thought. Also, we thought we’d use the Hydrovane almost all the time, but our new autopilot was just so great that we used that a lot more. I’m glad we had the Hydrovane though, for peace of mind in case the autopilot failed.

CHELSEA: Mostly seasonings for food. I bought so much to make all these meals, but when you’re out there, the less flavor the better. Plain green veggies, lightly (if any) seasoned chicken. Plain applesauce. Bread with only peanut butter. Don’t plan crazy meals. The simpler, the better! w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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CHELSEA: A good, supportive pillow! The boat rolls around a lot and when trying to sleep, your body and head tosses and turns. I woke up almost half the nights with headaches from a tweaked neck. Also, I wish I would have made more already-made meals for the first week. Something easy to throw into the oven or on the stove. The sea state was uncomfortable the first 10 days or so. It made cooking difficult.

What did you learn from this trip?

STEVE: That we could actually do it.

The longest we had sailed non-stop prior was only four days. This trip really required us to manage all of our resources (electrical, food/water, etc.) and think long-term.

CHELSEA: That I know more about sailing than I thought I did. Steve has always been the sailor and I just kinda helped, but after this trip, I realized that there’s quite a bit I know how to do. I kinda always saw myself as “the helper,” but now I think I could single-hand if I wanted to. Just to be clear — I don’t want to!

What advice would you give others about making this voyage?

STEVE: Make sure you are able to easily reef your boat and have a plan to be able to get the sails down/furled even under load. We planned for this and it made the trip SO MUCH less stressful.

Getting caught with too much sail up was one of my biggest concerns.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 77 7/27/21 4:22 PM

What’s Out There?

Cruising Monohull

Dufours new 470 is being made available in an Easy, Performance, and Ocean version. Since we are cruising sailors, we find that the Ocean version is a little more to our needs than the Performance, or racing, version.

The Dufour line of cruising boats has long been one of the prefered brands, and this 47 is a perfect fit for the family that is ready to go cruising.

A lot thought has got into the design, ensuring the comfort of those aboard. Actually, the Dufour 470 comes in three interior layouts. Whether it’s sailing with a large or reduced crew, their design allows for simple sailing while retaining very comfortable sleeping areas.

The Ocean version is ideal for owners who want a more traditional manoeuvring plan with the

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sheets positioned on the coamings and the halyard and mainsail traveller manoeuvres close to the helm station. This allows for ease of handeling.The Ocean version has halyards, reefing lines, and the controls for the coachroof-mounted mainsheet traveller at the companionway. The other lines are taken to a pair of winches aft near the helm stations.

The 470 rudder is well forward, allowing it to operates clear of the disturbed water near the transom. and the wide beam forward in the hull creates a more balanced shape when the boat is heeled.

So, if you’ve been looking at boats in the 45-to-50foot range as a possible world cruiser, this one could just be the one. For more information on the Ocean Version of the 470, go to www.Dufour-Yachts.com.

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Dufour 470

GET ALL THE FACTS: www.dufour-yachts.com

Dufour 470 LOA 48.72’ LWL 44.46’ Draft 7.38’ Beam 15.55’ Displacement 29,100.98 lbs.

Power 60 hp Fuel 66 USG Fresh Water 140 USG w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Latitudes & Attitudes 79 7/21/21 4:32 PM

What’s Out There?

Cruising Catamaran

The folks at HH Catamarans, in collaboration with the Disabled Sailors Association of the UK, have developed a new design that allows independence, dignity, and the ability to compete with able-bodied sailors. The HH44’s design enables the disabled sailor to easily get on and off the boat, down into the hulls with full chair turning room, and up onto the side decks and foredeck.

Naval Architect James Hakes has created an outstanding design that encompasses everything required in a new look. The salon is large with nice furnishings and a modern styling. In front of the salon, a helm station offers complete weather protection and is configured for full helm and sail control from a wheelchair. At the aft end of the salon is a complete working galley. The two large forward salon windows tuck away, and there’s a

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large opening sunroof. The side windows slide forward to open, the salon entry doors open into the cabin top, and a large opening safari window at the aft end of the salon. This catamaran OPENS up, and as the breeze flows through, the sailor gets that outdoor feeling — and it makes cooking in the galley while facing aft a whole new sensation.

But this boat is not just for the disabled. By design it is large, open (thus the name), and exceptionally easy to get around, and to handle the sails and anchoring.

This boat may have been designed for the disabled sailor, but families will find the open layout of this cruising catamaran something that will make their life aboard so much easier.

For more information on this or other boats from the folks at HH, just go to www.HHcatamarans.com.

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HH44 Open

GET ALL THE FACTS: www.hhcatamarans.com

HH44 Open LOA 44.39’ LWL 42.91’ Draft 4.36’ Beam 24.62’ Displacement (Min./Max.) 19,840/25,350 lbs Power two Yanmar 3YM30AE Fuel 72.6 USG Fresh Water 106 USG Black Water 21.1’ w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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What’s Out There?

Power Cruiser

The Outback 50 was developed for active boaters who appreciate the space and economy of a large trawler, but want more speed, more flexible deck space, and comfortable, no-frills interiors that keep the focus on casual deck living.

What you find in the Outback 50 interiors are modern materials combined with traditional teak finishes and clever design elements to minimize maintenance, maximize comfort, and provide a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

You’ll find extraordinary deck space. Even more than most 70-foot yachts. The deck accommodates both comfortable outdoor living and convenient on-deck storage. The open transom and standard removable security railing allows yachters to easily bring on deck kayaks, paddleboards, and even a tender or jet skis with the optional winch system.

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Hull #1 was launched in September 2019 and made its debut at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.

The unique hull design and modern tunnel technology results in a keel that helps protect her running gear in shallow waters as well as offshore. The particular prop/ tunnel configuration of the Outback 50 contributes to efficiency and comfort, and allows her to access cruising locations inaccessible to more conventional yachts with deeper drafts.

The Outback 50 features twin engine propulsion for three important reasons: performance, draft, and safety.

Redundancy in engines, running gear, and rudders, offers increased security.

So if you’ve been looking at a power-cruiser for your family, this could be the one. For more information about the Outback 50, go to www.OutbackYachts.com.

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Outback 50

GET ALL THE FACTS: www.outbackyachts.com

Outback 50 LOA 56’3” LOD 53’11” Draft 3’ Beam 15’6” Displacement 40,000 lbs Power 2 x 320 hp Volvo Fuel 550 USG Fresh Water 150 USG Cruising Speed 18 knots Maximum Speed 21 knots w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Latitudes & Attitudes 83

7/29/21 11:30 AM

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Latitudes & Attitudes 85 7/21/21 11:20 AM

86 Latitudes & Attitudes

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Underway!

Ever wondered why people love the boating lifestyle? Well, here in the Underway section, folks from all over the world show us 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 the highest resolution possible. Tell us who took the pic and where it was taken. We will probably 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: Underway@LatsAtts.com.

By Max Shaw, s/v Fluenta at anchor in Ailuk Atoll, Marshall Islands w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

Latitudes & Attitudes 87

By Eva Santoro, of sunset at Dutch Harbor in Jamestown, RI

By Robert Waldrup, a very happy dog taking a break from the boat!

By Carl & Joyce Berdie, New York, NY

By Captain Mike, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

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By Sandy Edmonson, Santo Domingo

Jeff, Debbie, Tommy, and Sharon while cruising in the Virgins!

By Trampus Wells, of s/v Soluna

“Hurricane Helen” relaxing aboard Ms B in Manjack Cay, Abacos

By David Meyer, of Lisa on Vieques Island

By Scott Helm w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

Latitudes & Attitudes 89

By Kevin & Barbara, somewhere in the Caribe

By Nelson Schlaefer, of Humphrey on his Beneteau Idylle 15.5 in New Harbor Block Island, RI

By Melinda Medley, on s/v Sava in the Winward Islands

Laura, Amber, Amanda, Lisa, Aby, Susanna, and Nicole on Lake Dillon, CO

By CB Stokes, of Franes, Elliott, Oliver, Eve, and Chris hanging out in the sailbag at Sunset in St. Croix

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Aboard Felicia in Swinoujscie Marina, the most western port of Poland. Nearly the end of the cruise.

By Paul Newel, sunset at Kelly’s Cover off Norman Island, BVI

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By Rebecca Searfoss, Puff on s/v Dreamcatcher at Island Moorings Marina in Port Aransas, Texas

By Laura Ehlers, a brisk October morning at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo

By Ray Muzika, Charleston, NC

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Latitudes & Attitudes 91

By Bob, off Île-à-Vache, Haiti

By Steven Jankowski

By James Devee, Pirate Weekend at Rock Hall, MD. A goal without a plan is just a wish. - Larry Elder

By John Robbins, s/v Want To off Grand Turk Beach

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By Bill Burgner, in Orlando, FL

By Robert Feld, of Rocky sailing

By Edward Lehman, off Oriental, NC

A goal without a plan is just a wish. - Larry Elder

By Jessica, crewing in Maine

By Craig Lyons, with Linda, sailing between Puerto Peñasco and Loreto

By Hardy Browne, “Come on, Dad, let’s go to the beach!”

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Latitudes & Attitudes 93

By Jason Sigmundstad

By David

By Eva Santoro, of Stephan sailing on a friend’s boat in Jamestown, RI

By Bob Feld

John Glass anchored off Settlement Point, Bahamas

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By Captain Bob, of s/v Sovereignty

By Jeff Owens, of the tall ship Niagara

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By Gary Green, of Insula under cruising spinnaker coming back from Catalina Island

By Rob Jones, of Linda Jones in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

By Daniel Padilla, Alberto Casas in the hammock

Curt and Jill Albro aboard Namahana in Mexico

By Robert Betancourt w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

Latitudes & Attitudes 95

By Jeff Thornton, low tide in Ft. Pierce, FL, from the mast of s/v Grace

By Mark Wareham, taken on the northeast coast of Newfoundland

By Ric Bischoff on Saba

By Terry Hogan, a longboat replica in Geraldton Harbour, Western Australia

By Richard Frankhuizen, with Paul, Richard, Phil, and Brian

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By Tammy

By Denny Ray, BVI’s odd motors

By Joe & Juliette, s/v Osprey

By Tim McAbee

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Latitudes & Attitudes 97

Charter Boat Etiquette

By Erin Carey

Have you ever considered booking a sailing vacation and wondered about the dos and don’ts surrounding your time onboard? Knowing what to expect and understanding the correct charter boat etiquette goes a long way towards improving everyone’s time on the water.

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What Can You Expect on a Hosted Charter Vacation?

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Charter Boat Etiquette While many boats are run by a captain and first mate on behalf of a charter company, some are owner-operated, which means you are essentially being welcomed into the host’s home. This comes with its advantages: The experience is often more personalised, the captain and first mate know their boat intimately and they will likely go above and beyond to ensure you have the experience of a lifetime. However, how you behave on a hosted charter can vary from a bareboat charter, and you may also be wondering what to expect of your hosts. Will they join you at mealtimes? Can you help yourself to drinks or snacks throughout the day? Is there a curfew at night and will there be enough privacy and comfort to enjoy romantic evenings or skimpy bikini-clad ladies?

Every owner-operated charter business is unique, and each offers a personalized experience. However, there are commonalities, like being respectful of one another and the yacht, not wasting water and electricity, obeying local customs and laws, and simple things like taking off shoes aboard. In regards to other practices, I decided to speak with the captain

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and first mate of Sail Dauntless, a luxurious 55-foot Jeanneau charter vessel that focuses on food, relaxation, and exploration.

Jim and Judy Brown, the owner-operators of Sail Dauntless, have hosted and entertained countless guests over the past four years. After providing charter vacations

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throughout the Caribbean, they decided a change of scenery was in order, and will be hosting guests out of Newport and the Hamptons this summer — the perfect base for a variety of itineraries. From exploring Montauk Point Lighthouse or Long Island Winery, to lazing on the deck with champagne in hand, the stunning coastline and plentiful shoreside activities will be sure to impress.

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Having aligned expectations is the best way to keep customers happy, and it’s no different in the charter world. Knowing what to expect alleviates uncertainty. So what does a typical charter aboard Sail Dauntless involve?

Upon arrival, guests can expect lemon-scented towelettes and a boat tour while their luggage is delivered to their staterooms. In their room, guests will find a welcome letter detailing the basic expectations aboard. Once settled, guests onboard Dauntless enjoy a welcome champagne toast with snacks, a safety brief, and consult pilot books and charts of the area with the crew. A sailing route is determined based on interests and the weather forecast, and then the boat gets underway for a sunset cruise. The itinerary is reviewed daily and can be adapted, taking conditions and preferences into account.

For many visitors, a hosted charter boat trip is a once-ina-lifetime experience. Therefore, it is up to the hosts to ensure their guests’ vacation is an experience they will never forget.

As is standard among most owner-operated charters, the guests fill out a multi-page preference

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Charter Boat Etiquette sheet a couple of weeks prior to departure, to indicate their favorite ingredients, dishes, dietary restrictions and beverages of choice. In accordance with those preferences, chef and first mate Judy prepares a customized menu and provisions the yacht with the best ingredients possible. Judy is the queen of the galley and cruising aboard Dauntless is nothing short of a gourmet culinary affair, but is it rude not to invite your hosts to tea? Generally, hosts do not eat with their guests unless invited, and Jim and Judy are totally ok with that.

“It is actually better for us if we don’t eat with our guests, that way we can better attend to their needs and requests. We definitely don’t want them to feel obligated to invite us,” said Jim. “There is a dedicated snack drawer in the galley and guests are welcome to help themselves at any time. The fridge and freezer are always full of provisions chosen specifically for the guests onboard and our bar is fully stocked in accordance with the preference sheet,” said Judy.

Many customers wonder whether alcohol is included in the charter bill and if there is an etiquette surrounding its consumption. With Sail Dauntless, a generous ship’s bar is inclusive, but specialty products do cost extra. As long as safety standards are maintained, guests can help themselves to drinks and ice whenever they like, day or night, although their hosts are always available to serve them. “It’s their vacation, after all, no judgement from us,” Judy explains. But what happens if the bar runs out before the end of the charter? In Sail Dauntless’s case, “If the estimated amount is exceeded, we simply purchase more at the next port and are reimbursed at the end of charter.” No big deal Dress code can be a tricky subject. On Dauntless, as long as local customs and laws are adhered to, anything is possible. Sunbathing in the nude and skinny dipping at night are acceptable pastimes, but in the interest of hygiene, guests are required to cover up at the table and inside the boat. “Private time on the bow along with a night skinny dip has been requested before, and we have no problem with making ourselves scarce to allow for that,” said Jim.

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The Sail Dauntless crew are experienced cruisers and one of the benefits of cruising with Jim and Judy is the fact that they will happily share with you all elements of the liveaboard lifestyle. This is perfect for those using a charter to decide whether or not the liveaboard lifestyle is right for them. A try-beforeyou-buy, if you will. It’s up to the guests if they want to participate while sailing, by helming the boat or handling the lines; or while anchoring they can witness the well-oiled machine that is Jim and Judy at work, a fine example of teamwork at its best. While anchored, guests may enjoy snorkeling, lazing on the floating toys, or swimming with the sea life.

There is no curfew for parties aboard or shoreside excursions, and transportation by dinghy can always be arranged, no matter the time of day or night. “We want our guests to know that they can come to us, with absolutely ANY problem, and we will be available to assist,” said Judy. It’s personalised service like this that sets owner-operated charter vacations apart!

Timelines and comfort levels differ from company to company and from boat to boat. Typical charters with Sail Dauntless run for seven nights, however they also offer day and weekend charters.

This summer they will be sailing out of Newport and the Hamptons, with each itinerary tailored to individual groups. Special requests are considered and usually discussed prior to booking. “Anything is possible,” said Judy. “If you get seasick, we can limit the times we sail, and we are very aware of which foods sit best.

If you want to surprise your wife with a fancy dinner, we’ll make it happen! Need a cake? We’re on it! Or perhaps a live guitarist to accompany a proposal? We love surprises! It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had unusual requests; that makes it fun for all of us!” said Judy.

As far as luxury goes, Jim and Judy’s yacht has three private queen-size cabins — one being the stateroom with a comfortable walk-around queen-size bed and en-suite bathroom, complete with running hot and cold water for the shower and washbasin and a fresh water push-button electric w w w . L at s A t t s . c o m

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Sail Makers to the World...

Kevin Smylski Cowichan Bay B.C. leesailsbc@shaw.ca 778-422-3332

toilet. They also have a bunk cabin that can accommodate two older children. Air conditioning is available and a hammock is located on the deck along with chairs and cushions. There are shaded seating and eating areas, with lots of room for sunbathing. But what about those oh-so-important electronic devices, will guests be able to charge their phones and laptops? “In every cabin, we have specifically installed USB sockets to charge most devices at any time of the day or night and AC power (120v) is generally available at all times,” said Jim. Phew! Although he was confident you would forget about them, the moment you stepped aboard.

According to Judy, people want to know who they are spending their holidays with, living in the small quarters of a sailboat. “It’s as important for guests to have a good feeling about the crew, as it is for us to make everyone feel at home. In our case, our place of work is also our permanent home during the sailing season, and that’s how we want everyone to feel aboard Dauntless, at home. We always introduce ourselves via a Zoom meeting and potential guests are welcome to ask us anything during that conversation. We want them to be 100% confident in their decision to sail Dauntless!” When guests use logical sense and understand the limitations that come with the benefits of being on a boat, the rules of living onboard are easy. Jim and Judy are enthusiastic about providing their guests simply their best vacation ever, so much so that they made it their tag line!

Given the state of the world and the fall in popularity of cruise ships, there isn’t a better time to embark on a chartered yacht vacation. Sailing is the perfect socially distanced activity, and many charter hosts have implemented strategies to ensure guests remain safe while onboard.

Dauntless has also introduced smaller down payments and the offer of a 100% refund, should the virus prevent guests from travelling. In addition, they have allowed for greater time between charters to conduct an even greater sanitisation of the vessel, and as hosts, they will have regular Covid tests to put guests minds at ease.

Being aware of charter boat etiquette eliminates doubts about your upcoming vacation, prevents embarrassment in certain situations, and ensures a pleasant experience is had by all. There would be nothing worse than misaligned expectations in such a confined space. Jim and Judy can speak for all hosts when they say communication is key and guests are encouraged to discuss any concerns prior to departure, as well as during the cruise. While charter hosts have seen it all (and then some), don’t let your next vacation be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Welcome aboard! w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Bob Dyer Ridgeway, Ontario Bob.dyer@lastmilenet.ca 905-894-8847

Alex Smith  Broad Reach Marine Lexington, SC brmcanvas@gmail.com 803-920-9131 Alan Klee  Delta Sailing School Isleton, CA Leesails@deltasailingcenter.com 916-966-1855 Doug Marshall  Lee Sails, NW St. Helens, Oregon leesailsnw@gmail.com 503-680-1914

Visit www.leesailsdirect.com today to view our construction process, hardware, read testimonials and obtain a quote.

DIRECT.com Latitudes & Attitudes 103 7/21/21 2:27 PM

Knowing Your Boat

By Mark McMillan

Our sailor’s souls seek the unknown. Foreign shores and passages not yet taken, shrouded in mystery awaken us. Our dynamic world of wind, waves and tides, while chaotic to those residing ashore, balms our adventitious spirits with ever-changing seascapes. We ply this wild world in our trusted boats. As we chase mysteries over the horizon, we work to eliminate them aboard.

When we first buy a boat, whether brand spanking new or pre-owned, she is a mystery. It takes time to learn her strengths, weaknesses and little quirks, to properly understand her. Soon approaching the dock becomes a comfortable routine; eventually we begin to trust her in a strong gale, and high seas. Things will break in remote places and, somehow, we figure out how to make the repair.

Over time, the mystery fades, with the onset of an easy familiarity. This is when the boat truly becomes ours.

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My current boat is my fifth sailboat spanning almost forty years. She is a 2006 Leopard 40 catamaran that I acquired in 2013. I plan to sail her as long as I can sail. It occurred to me the other day that every single system has failed at least once. She has no more little pockets of the unknown.

When a system fails for the first time, it can be a stressful, deep learning curve. Searching YouTube and chat rooms for advice, we seek out the knowledge needed to perfect the repair. We all make mistakes that set us back, testing our patience and fortitude, finding that extra bolt when the project is done, or mounting a part the wrong way. Many a sailor has been heard screaming profanities, not at their beloved boat, but at themselves for some screw-up when making a first-time repair.

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The confidence and knowledge gained through the first repair puts us at ease. We know what the repair will take and get on with it. We catamaran owners, with our many duplicate systems, know this feeling all too well.

My boat is my home now. After purchasing her as a seven-year-old Moorings charter phase out, I put the boat into another charter fleet in the BVI. I learned a lot from the company’s team during the three years they managed her. They would maintain the boat when I was back in California, and if something broke when I was sailing her, they would walk me though the repair over the phone or via email. This early experience was invaluable. I surely tested their tech’s patience on a few occasions. Looking back the now at things that I needed help with they seem rudimentary, but at the time they were great technical challenges.

Changing impellers on, or priming, the diesel’s raw water pump, repairing fresh water system leaks, changing filters, and the like are skills that everyone sailing remote destinations should know. If they don’t, they will learn them soon enough by necessity.

We have all heard that the cruising life is just fixing your boat in exotic locations. While this hard realization drives many away, a true sailor accepts this as the price paid for the life that they love. When every repair is a first-time experience, it can seem overwhelming, but rest assured that eventually you too will have seen it all before.

I waited six years to complete a major refit. By then she was a thirteen-year-old boat in need of midlife update. I had put more than 10,000 sea miles on her, and she had spent almost ten years in charter. I knew where she needed structural improvements and added new fiberglass and stiffening to the bulkheads, deck tabbing, and mast step. I would recommend that any new owner of an older boat sail her for a while before a major refit. While a surveyor’s report is helpful, first-hand experience sailing in a wide range of conditions gives one the intimate knowledge critical to scoping a refit. As one becomes familiar with a boat, priorities will change. Building this intimacy with a boat before spending a ton of money upgrading her seems only prudent.

If one owns a boat long enough, one day they too will have repaired everything at least once. Having torn every single thing apart and put it back together leaves one with the confidence that whatever happens, it can be handled. It teaches what spare parts and tools must be kept aboard. The mystery will creep back a bit when a new groan or creek develops, the source of which will manically be hunted down. Once found, the comfortable familiarity will return.

The sailor values this familiarity. He knows his boat and the boat is truly his. If someone suggests upgrading to a larger, or newer boat, the sailor may just say, “I’m fine with the boat I have, we know each other.”

We sail to new lands because we crave the unknown, but when it comes to our boats, familiarity rules the seas. w w w .L at s a t t s . c o m

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Short Winter Cruising

By John Simpson

Many years ago, I used to have two moorings on the Solen — quite illegal then as it probably is now, but I’m not sure. We lived in Milford on Sea, about five miles away from our winter mooring in Lymington. This was handy for any minor re-fits afloat; also owning a mooring at Marchwood was closer to my work.

We treasured these winters when not seriously re-fitting our old wooden yacht; she needed to be kept wet due to her clinker planks and age. I am sure that the Lymington Harbor Master knew we were pushing it, but he seemed to like my beautiful boat.

He knew I would push her to go sailing all autumn, winter, and spring, and was a fine old master mariner himself.

Blauwe Slenk was a dream yacht to own for me, having seen these Dutch boats as a boy with my parents in Kampen on what used to be called the Zuiderzee. Finding Blauwe on the Hamble, though in need of

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a big re-fit, made a dream come true. G. A. Kroes designed and built them in the 1930s onwards. My boat was built in 1956 as a cruiser/racer for the North Sea. She was a popular design called a Jupiter, but all finished slightly differently. They are a collector’s yacht in Holland.

Re-fitting her took quite a long time, though like a large Folkboat or Vertue, once sailing she was effortlessly quick for her small size. I’ve seen a few Kroes boats over years of sailing — they are always immaculate as the Dutch do with everything. I’ve even been told off by a Dutch bloke in a plastic yacht whilst locking at IJmuiden to go up the North Sea canal to Amsterdam. He said that Englishman shouldn’t own one. We were taking her back for Kroes to see the re-fit.

An old pal, Adrian Morgan, used to build lovely traditional clinker boats in Ullapool, but never saw her. Probably he would w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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have preferred I’d done many more things that I’d not done.

We took her offshore in the summer for a couple of weeks. During the winters we went mostly over to Yarmouth, into Keyhaven or Newtown creek on any good weekends, or during the week. Cowes or the river at Beaulieu were longer, but neither were many miles away and in the sheltered waters of Isle of Wight.

It was extremely tiny cruising, often with a good high pressure weather window. It could be quite cold for my wife Janet, but not for awfully long. I was more acclimatised due to sailing all year round, then. Small breaks were a great privilege with the kids being looked after for us. Any lack of daylight didn’t bother us much.

The places we sailed into were “a bit like the back of my hand,” but as much fun as our much longer summer holidays. Janet loved these short jaunts with many seabirds, porpoises and often frost on the decks. Well able to hear the chuckle of ‘Blauwe Slenk’ planks with the old Victory paraffin heater making it slightly warmer below decks. We needed that heat after an upwind leg whilst using the tide to help.

I do not know how many do this now. But I expect it’s many more w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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than the late 80s to early 90s, when they’d let you sleep in the pub at Buckler’s Hard. If they knew you had to row back to the Piles and thought you needed some warming, drying clothes etc.

Over several winters, we explored the western Solent properly. There was no overcrowding...even Taff used to come out in Yarmouth to push us into a berth with his dory if he thought it was a tight one. He never collected any dues. Letting us know where it was best to eat.

But never mentioning to Janet that I’d seen him earlier that week. If I had headed down to Poole or Weymouth with a YM course.

We were totally sure our little 27-foot Dutch yacht could not wait to get out autumn, winter, or spring; she never groaned or leaked as much. It was rarely snowy, but sometimes windy, very damp and coolish.

Her one pot Yanmar used to bang away when it was needed. Maybe she enjoyed them as much as we did. Who knows…but with Covid still around, it might be better to limit your aspirations to be local this season?

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7/26/21 12:14 PM

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Excursion in the Museum

By Adam Zawadzki

It was February 2017, when my son, Kamil, and I were in a crew sailing from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, to Gdynia, Poland. During this cruise, the skipper told us about a very interesting maritime museum in the town of Marstal on the Danish island of Aero. I decided then I needed to sail there and visit it.

It was finally possible in 2019, after I’ve bought a bigger, sea-going boat, s/y Felicia. My crew is nearly constant: my wife, Ela, who has sailed with me from the beginning (1988 or so). She is an excellent

cook, likes this job, and — also very important – was never seasick.

Our son, Kamil, began to sail with us even before he was born, is already an experienced sailor, and completes our crew.

We started on the morning of August 26, 2019, from our home port of Kamień Pomorski, off the western Polish coast. From here to the sea is some 6 nautical miles and a drawbridge. By sunset we were near Cape Arkona, the northwest cape of the German island Rugen. Our plan was to sail at night and the next day,

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Latitudes & Attitudes 109 7/29/21 11:47 AM

as far as possible. But it quickly turned out quite troublesome.

We hadn’t gotten our autopilot back from service in time, so the helmsman wasn’t able to leave the helm, even to make navigation.

Sailing required two people on deck, so I decided we wouldn’t sail during the night unless necessary.

One evening during his watch, Kamil saw a lot of strong lightning and storm clouds over German mainland. I saw it when I woke up and decided to escape north. We turned to the nearest port in this direction, Klintholm Havn on Danish island of Møn, some 30 nautical miles off. We reached it around 8 a.m. using the engine — it was silent before the thunderstorm, which came in the afternoon with heavy rain. But we watched it from a safe position.

The next day we set sail just as the sun rose, in order to reach Rødbyhavn on the island of Lolland, some 60 nautical miles west. We motored all day due to the lack of wind, passing by big wind farms south of Lolland and crossing a very busy ferry route from Denmark to Germany. At sunset, at the entrance to the port of Rødbyhavn, we had more evidence that what we’ve been taught in sailing courses isn’t necessarily true. They say there are no tidal currents on Baltic Sea. And in fact, there are no tides. But in Danish Straits there are tidal currents, sometimes very strong, which we had experienced in previous years, and now we entered the harbour with our port side forward.

The next morning, we bagan the final stage to Marstal in mist. We met a few beautiful old-timers under German flag on the way and I shot some fine pictures.

The mist wasn’t very thick, but it lasted until stronger winds came in the afternoon. In a fresh breeze from the west, a 5 on the Beaufort scale, we circled the southern cape of Langeland island. By late afternoon, we were at our destination, the harbour of Marstal. Formerly, it was a big trade and fishing port, but now nearly all is occupied by yacht and motorboats.

The next morning, we of course went to the museum. Really, it is quite big and very interesting. It displays a huge maritime and fishing tradition of Marstal.

This small town of 5,000 souls gave Denmark many captains, sailors, fishermen, and shipowners. Its fleet was impressive in the 19th and 20th centuries and sailed all over the world. The yards of Marstal had built hundreds of ships for different purposes. There are many, many

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exhibits from those times. Nowadays, Marstal is the home port of one of the biggest container carriers owned by the Maersk company. This ship had even been there for a courtesy visit, anchored nearby in the bay. She of course wasn’t able to enter the port being bigger than it. Visiting this interesting place took us nearly all day.

The next afternoon, we began our back trip home.

We took another way, going north of islands Lolland and Falster. We sailed this and the next day with winds from west at a 3 to 5 on the Beaufort scale, mostly in rain but sometimes without, then spent the night in the small, lovely port of Tars on the west cape of Lolland. We finally moored in Stubbekøbing, on the northeast coast of the island of Falster.

Here we began a fantastic, most pleasant stage of our cruise. The next morning was sunny and warm, with winds from the stern at a 5 to 6 on the Beaufort scale.

Under full genoa and reefed main, our Felicia simply seemed to fly over the waves, reaching speeds up to 9 knots. This transit took all day, but for us it was too short… Before sunset we entered very shallow waters between German islands of Rügen and Hiddensee, and finally moored in the marina of Vitte on Hiddensee.

The bay of Hiddensee is very shallow, with only narrow, deepened waterways fit for sailing. So we motored.

We passed by town of Stralsund on the German mainland.

We didn’t visit it, as we’d done it a few times before. Then we passed the drawbridge. After a few turns of Strelasund Strait (between Rügen and the mainland) it was possible to set the sails. Next was the bay of Greifswalder Bodden, and we set our course for the mouth of the Ryck, a river on w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

7/26/21 12:14 PM

JACKLINE INSURANCE PROGRAM the southwest coast. Near the entrance of the river is the port of Wieck. It has an interesting, mighty anti-flood gate and a historic wooden drawbridge from the 19th century.

Kamil hadn’t yet been here, and I wanted to show him some interesting things. We passed the bridge, went some two miles up the river to town of Greifswald, made it to the marina after sunset, and moored in the darkness.

Greifswald is interesting itself, with its beautiful old town and with boats and ships mooring along river Ryck. There are also workshops in which oldtimers are being reconstructed, and it’s possible to visit them. And on the opposite side of the street, the famous yacht yard of Hanse is located. Unfortunately, we could only see the large new luxury yachts through the fence. In the later afternoon, we were back in Wieck. Nearby, a 20-minute walk away, are the ruins of an ancient, 800-year-old abbey of Eldena, connected to both German and Polish significant families. With its old trees, it’s a very climatic place, frequently chosen by newlyweds for photo sessions. After visiting this site, our evening in the cockpit in the calm port was very pleasant.

From here, we had one day of sailing to the most westerly port of Poland in Świnoujście. We knew the way along Greifswalder Bodden, half-around small island of Ruden, along deepened waterways to the Bay of Pomerania and along its coast to Świnoujście. It ran smoothly with wind still from the west, and by the afternoon we were in the marina.

Here Kamil had to catch the train home, because he was in a hurry to catch another cruise. Students have very long vacations! So, Ela and I finished our cruise together, with sunny weather and westerly winds at a 3 on the Beaufort scale. By the afternoon we were in the marina of Kamień Pomorski. It is located directly below the historic cathedral, in which famous organ concerts are held. We appreciate finishing our vacations listening to the concert.

During our cruise, beyond the very interesting museum which was our aim, we saw many beautiful places and had much, much fun sailing. It took us 12 days, during which we sailed 460 nautical miles. It is a trip we will remember for a long, long time.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 111 7/26/21 12:14 PM

Captain Ron On The Big Screen!

By Jason Abshire, Photo by David Hagstab

I would venture that at some point in Tiger Woods’ tenure as a top golfer, he has at one point uttered under his breath “Na-na-na-na” and made the putt. For those of you who don’t know what it means to “Be the ball, Danny,” it’s a reference to Caddyshack.

For hockey fans, there is Slapshot, for baseball fans, there is Major League or Bull Durham—my favorite, I might add. I have to give Talladega Nights honorable mention for all of you NASCAR Fans. I’m sure there are many others omitted, so my apologies. From each of these, a language specific to the genre has been developed. In a moment you can tell so much about a person from the quotable satire they enjoy.

It is no secret that in the sailing community that our jargon exceeds most all others. We use terms like sacrificial zinc, stanchions, self-reefing furling jib sails, and snatch blocks. These are all specific and always germane to our craft. But since 1992 our language was amended by an unsuspecting new boat owner and a vagabond of a boat Captain. I’m of course referencing the movie Captain Ron. Name a fellow sailor who doesn’t know what it means to “kick the tires and light the fires,” or “If we get lost, we can just pull in somewhere and ask directions. If we get lost, we get lost together.” Let us not forget the most important quote, “It shows.” (This is offered when someone is bragging

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about something asinine and is a favorite to toss to new sailors that are inexperienced.)

Having been a liveaboard for almost a year, my wife and I have found the sailing community to be more welcoming than any suburbanite life ever. The people here at Waterford Harbor have never hesitated to offer the knowledge, physical effort, and love for their fellow sailors. I for one am grateful and do everything in my power to reciprocate. Society, as a whole, could take a lesson from our sailing community. It is very inclusive and ostracization only follows one’s inability to not take into consideration your fellow sailor’s needs. We all help each other, regardless of our knowledge and ability, and that is all that is asked. Whether you can plumb, sand, sail, cook, or play the guitar (my talent of choice), you find yourself offering up your abilities to your pier mates. They are all worthy because at some point, you know, they were upside down in your lazarette or cussing you because you were rocking the boat while they were suspended forty-five feet off the ground in a boson seat to repair your mast light—the expression “cussed like a sailor” is true to its meaning. But when all of the work is complete (or at least postponed), out comes the rum (just kidding, we usually drink while we work), and as a collective we have full-on events. There is not another place where I can think of that you can pull together thirty people in an instant. The photo attached is w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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THE RESORT AT

NEW MOD HOM EL ES OPEN

Port Ludlow Marina is open year round and offers: • • • • • • • of a typical weekend here in Kemah, Texas, where I and roughly thirty of my vagabond friends (and I do mean friends) gathered to watch a screening of Captain Ron. We, however, have the boat from the movie. And as you can see, it’s joined by the beautiful backdrop of a Texas sunset on the coast. Though you may not have the opportunity to enjoy the same experience, I hope that your community affords you the same “types” of experiences, and hopefully someday we can join you and when you tell me how good you are at varnishing teak, we can share a bottle of rum, and I can say, “It shows.” And as a sidebar, if this makes it to you Kurt or Martin, come on down and enjoy the weekend with us!

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Latitudes & Attitudes 113 7/26/21 12:14 PM

Buttered Eggs

The Mystery From Treasure Island!

By Tom Renner

On any other day, the ride from Martha’s Vineyard to Block Island would be a nice, easy beat to the southsouthwest. But today it was slam bang splash, slam bang splash, slam bang – OH! Here comes one up inside the genny and into the cockpit- and then blugh, sliding sideways down a big slow wave. Repeat for eight hours.

My wife, Nina, and daughter, Lauren, were below and on the verge of seasickness. A week of southerlies had set long, slow waves from the south, and today the wind changed to the northwest, setting up a steep chop across the long, sickening rollers coming to our left. Our day had begun at first light, leaving Menemsha Pond, setting a course west southwest to Block Island. It was a gray, damp morning. Even on a 44,000-pound, deep-keeled ocean boat it was going to be a long and miserable day.

We had been gone a month and were looking forward to getting to the quaint island, one of our favorite places to anchor, relax, and indulge ourselves by having the most wonderful clam chowder in all of New England at the National Hotel. Our five-year-old daughter was anxious to get onto Block Island and visit its irresistible toy stores, ice cream shops, and best of all, sunglass shops for a new pair of Oakleys.

They are born that way, I thought. Five years old and she knows the fashion value of $130 dollar

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sunglasses. She will commence earnest negotiations, hoping Dad will cave in to her ever so rational argument for their necessity. Lauren was on a first name basis with the shopkeeper. She was a spectacular negotiator for a five-year-old, but she also knew the value of compromise and would be gracious about accepting cheap knockoffs.

Once in the lee of Block Island’s North Jetty, the southerly rollers quieted down and the crew below returned to normal. Our daughter began playing on the salon table with the PlayMobil farm we had bought for her in Essex, Connecticut, on our way north. One thing we made sure of was to have different toys aboard the boat than those she had at home. This provided her with her own special interest in our sailing trips, a sense that Lion Heart was a fun place to be, and was one additional incentive that enhanced her excitement to go sailing.

At the outer buoy marking the entrance to New Harbor at Block Island, we rounded up and dropped the headsail, staysail and main. The mizzen was left up to assist in anchoring in the often-crowded anchorage. The starting of the engine and the luffing of the sails signaled Lauren to our arrival. She came up into the cockpit to watch the sights as we motored past the Coast Guard station and into the anchorage, moving ever closer to town. We found good holding on the north side of the w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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anchorage and set our anchor. It was time for a welldeserved dinner and a movie aboard.

Dinner was bratwurst with Bavarian sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and a salad. The movie was picked by the crew, and they had chosen “Treasure Island,” the 1950’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel. For those who have missed it, it’s a swashbuckling tale of innocents and pirates on a search for the fabled treasure of the treacherous Captain Flint. The whole family loves it.

As we watched the beginning of the movie, when Squire Trelawney and his young charge Jim Hawkins scour the cobblestone waterfront of Bristol for a crew to man their expedition, they encounter a one-legged cook in a tavern who has taken an inspired interest in their search. They have unknowingly met Long John Silver, the notorious pirate now washed ashore and wearing an apron instead of a sword. Excited to ingratiate himself to Squire Trelawney and improve his chances to sign aboard their voyage to find Flint’s gold, Long John smiles down upon young Jim Hawkins.

“Aye, yer a pity t’starve fer” says Long John, in his way asking Jim if he’s hungry.

“Yes, why I am, Mr. Silver,” Jim replies, looking up into the smiling eyes of the pirate.

“Sit ‘e down at a table and I’ll fix ye some buttered eggs,” says Long John.

Lauren and my wife watched in rapt attention as w w w .L at s a t t s . c o m

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Long John continued to use his wiles and the promise of buttered eggs to win the confidences of Squire Trelawney and Jim Hawkins, all in an effort to get himself appointed to hire the crew for their ship. He delivered breakfast with a smile and a glint in his eye.

I, on the other hand, always on the hunt for a new recipe, began to wonder what “buttered eggs” were. They certainly could not be any existing recipe for eggs, for most eggs and omelets are cooked in butter. These had to be special. Buttered eggs must be something different. By sunup I had conjured a new recipe for eggs that would steal the soul of the unwary and shine a star on Flint’s gold. Here is Long John Silver’s recipe for buttered eggs: BUTTERED EGGS: Ingredients: 2 Eggs 1 tablespoon butter 1 ounce of water Technique: 1. In an omelet pan, melt the butter on medium heat.

2. Break the two eggs into a bowl so that when they are poured into the omelet pan they cook evenly and form a perfect circle. Pour them into the sizzling butter.

3. When the eggs have formed and the whites have turned white, pour the water around the edges of the eggs.

4. Increase heat to med-high. The water boils.

What happens is that the water displaces the butter and the butter rises to the top and is used to cook the top of the eggs in hot butter. At this point you must rock the liquid over the top of the eggs continuously, back and forth, back and forth. The liquid will cook the top of the egg whites perfectly without cooking the yolk. The water prevents the bottom from burning and will evaporate during the rocking, leaving behind a buttery sauce that will top the eggs when plated.

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Basically, they are the most perfect sunny-side up eggs you ever tasted, and they are in a butter sauce.

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There you have it: The essence of cruising in boats. Whether it be a port sailed to a dozen times before or a recipe imagined from a movie you’ve enjoyed and passed on to your children, there’s gold at the end of every passage.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 117 7/28/21 12:58 PM

Moitissier & Dorothy

By Russ “Popeye” Whitford

The Vendee Globe is the ultimate sailboat race.

Solo sailors race non-stop, around the world. The roots of this epic test of sailors goes back to 1969, the Golden Globe race. The book Mad Men chronicles this bizarre race. But the sailor who has captured our attention is the sailor who didn’t even complete the race, Bernard Moitissier. Moitissier was clearly in the lead, off the coast of Brazil. He had only to complete the Atlantic crossing to England and claim the prize.

Instead he tacked.

One lap of the world just wasn’t enough. Bernard Moitissier decided to just keep sailing. He headed back around Cape Horn to French Polynesia.

This story is well known among sailors.

The story that is seldom told is the life of Bernard Moitissier after he arrived in French Polynesia.

We are fortunate enough to have met Dorothy Lubin Levy, an AmericanFrench-Polynesian woman who is a cultural spirit of French Polynesia. Dorothy was the first person Moitissier met when he arrived in Tahiti. She remained a lifelong friend throughout his remaining years

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while there. We were honored when she shared some fascinating stories with us in Huahine.

“I was at the town anchorage when Bernard arrived.

There were cameras, press, and a crowd of people there to greet him. Bernard came off the boat and was cowed by the mayhem.

He had been at sea, alone for one and one-half years! He was savage (wild).

He looked like Gandolf, hair and beard past his shoulders. He could only talk in a whisper. He asked me, “Can you help me?” with pleading eyes.”

Bernard was drawn to Dorothy right away. She drove him to her home where he could rest and escape the fanfare. Later, they would strip the sails from Joshua and care for them at Dorothy’s home. There he felt safe and Dorothy helped shield him from the attention. “It wasn’t just his long isolation that caused him to avoid attention. It was his nature. Bernard’s life was sailing, little else mattered. He was uncomfortable with his celebrity status and the attention.”

Sometime later, Bernard was visited by a French journalist. Ellen brought a bottle of wine as she W W W . L AT S A T T S . C O M

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interviewed Bernard aboard Joshua. That bottle of wine led to marriage and a son Stephan. They sailed all over French Polynesia.

“It was difficult for Ellen, being married to Bernard.

He was whimsical and would spontaneously decide to go sailing. Practical matters never occurred to him as important. At one point, son Stephan was being raised by a community of French hippies on Mo'orea. The marriage with Ellen didn’t last. But they remained friends, Bernard’s engaging spirit prevailed.

“Bernard always slept on the floor. He was close to nature, being raised in Vietnam, he was close to the land. When he sat, it was often on top of a table with legs crossed, smoking his cigarettes or pot if available. He looked 100 years old and had the most engaging laugh.

Bernard had a child-like view of the world around him.

When my daughter, Sabrina, turned two, I asked her who she wanted to come to her birthday party. The only one she requested was Bernard.”

Dorothy is also quite a sailor. At times she lived on a Tahiti Ketch. In 1976, Dorothy and her two year old daughter, Sabrina, sailed on the Baltic schooner, Free, to New Zealand with a group to protest nuclear testing by the French in the Tuamotus, French Polynesia. She was hitchhiking with her daughter and they were picked up by a local couple. She said the New Zealanders were quite supportive of their protest. They passed an old man on the road. Dorothy yelled, “Stop, we need to pick him up.

He’s my father.” Sure enough, it was Bernard. He had sailed Joshua to New Zealand. The organizers of the Free protest went on to found GreenPeace.

“Bernard was supportive of our nuclear weapons testing protest but did not want to get involved. He was a private person and didn’t want public attention.

Bernard was an activist in his own way. He wrote letters to all the mayors in France and suggested they remove the ornamental trees in public spaces and replace them with fruit trees.”

Bernard sailed to the small atoll, Ahe, in the Tuamotus. There he started a small farm. The mayor of Ahe complained about the rat problem on the atoll. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Latitudes & Attitudes 119 7/26/21 12:14 PM

Bernard hatched a plan. He sailed to Tahiti and collected cats. Dorothy reflected, “He had a few 55 gallon barrels on Joshua. He opened one to show me and it was stuffed full of yowling cats!” A few weeks after Bernard released the cats on Ahe, the mayor summoned him to her house. She was not happy about all the hungry cats prowling her island expecting to be fed instead of hunting rats.

“I was raised in California until I was 10.

My great-grandfather was a successful businessman in Tahiti. Money attracts money and he eventually married a Polynesian royal woman. Polynesian blood is like vanilla extract, just one drop is all it takes.

When I arrived in Tahiti for the first time, I heard the drums, I could feel right away this was my home.”

Dorothy’s aura attracted another great spirit, Bobby Holcomb.

Bobby was a Hawaiianborn Polynesian with Native American ancestry.

He loved Polynesian culture and promoted it among the youth. His paintings and music embody the Polynesian Spirit.

Bernard and Bobby met for the first time at Dorothy’s home in Tahiti. Bernard told Dorothy, “He is a true spirit, go with him.” They would ride into the valleys of Tahiti in Dorothy’s 2CV and “visit” local farms. “No one cared if you helped yourself to a little produce.” Bernard and Bobby delighted in these adventures.

Dorothy was pregnant with Sabrina and went to the hospital in Tahiti for an ultrasound. “I told Bobby that I was going to get to see the baby and he asked to come along. We were walking along and ran into Bernard. He was carrying his javelo (spear) to throw in the athletic field, near the hospital. We told him about the ultrasound and he wanted to see it too. So there I was in the waiting area with Bobby and his ropey dreadlocks on one side and wild looking Bernard on the other, carrying his spear. They were both fascinated by the images of Sabrina.”

Bobby moved to Huahine, the island of the woman spirit. He called Dorothy and asked her to join him in Maeva, Huahine. “Bring the geese and all the animals.”

Dorothy had about a dozen geese, guinea pigs and a horse. All came with her and Sabrina to Huahine.

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“Bernard visited us often in Huahine. He loved the geese and even taught some to sing Happy Birthday.

They had the run of the house and loved to sit up on the dining room table with Bernard who sat cross-legged and cut vegetables.

“I sailed with Bernard on Joshua. But he wouldn’t let anyone touch a line while sailing. He would command, ‘Just sit here and don’t touch anything.’ He was all over the boat doing the work himself. He was truly a solo sailor even when he had a willing crew.”

Bernard consulted with some Hollywood producers on a few movies. Actor Klaus Kinski even asked Bernard to teach him to sail. Bernard sailed Joshua to Mexico where he met with Klaus. They were sailing off the coast of Mexico when a big storm was approaching. The Hollywood star said, “We have to get off this boat.” Bernard said, “You have to get off this boat, I’m staying.” Sure enough, Joshua was wrecked and sent tumbling on the shore.

Bernard survived but Joshua was wrecked.

“Bernard wasn’t Bernard without a boat. I told him he had to build another boat.”

With some money from his Hollywood friends, Bernard commissioned the construction of a new boat.

Tamata was built in the Pacific Northwest as a simple and rugged design. Tamata means “try” in Polynesian.

He sailed it back to French Polynesia to his home in Raiatea, where he married Veronique, a French woman who was an accomplished sailor in her own right. They sailed Tamata in the nearby islands of Taha'a, Bora Bora, Raiatea and Huahine. By then, Bernard’s health was failing, he needed Veronique to help him sail.

Bernard was suffering from lung cancer. He wrote his last book, Tamata, while living with Veronique in Raiatea.

“Bernard called me and said he was sending me a copy of his new book. I told him, “Don’t mail it, sail over here and give it to me.” Bernard implied he would never sail again. He flew to France for treatment and died shortly after.

Someone had restored Joshua after the wreck in Mexico.

They sailed it by Bernard’s funeral ceremony in Brittany.”

Now I get to tell my small part of this story. Lisa and I have lived in French Polynesia for two and onehalf years on our boat, Tumultuous Uproar. We consider Huahine our home in French Polynesia. Dorothy has w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

7/26/21 12:14 PM

䈀漀挀愀猀 䐀攀氀 吀漀爀漀Ⰰ 倀愀渀愀洀愀

䘀甀氀氀 匀攀爀瘀椀挀攀 䴀愀爀椀渀愀 泰 䌀愀氀礀瀀猀漀 䌀愀渀琀椀渀愀 眀眀眀⸀戀漀挀愀猀洀愀爀椀渀愀⸀挀漀洀 戀漀挀愀猀礀愀挀栀琀挀氀甀戀䀀礀愀栀漀漀⸀挀漀洀 䠀愀甀氀 伀甀琀 夀愀爀搀 泰 㘀 ⴀ吀漀渀 吀爀愀瘀攀氀椀昀琀 眀眀眀⸀戀漀挀愀猀戀漀愀琀礀愀爀搀⸀挀漀洀 戀漀挀愀猀礀愀挀栀琀猀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀䀀礀愀栀漀漀⸀挀漀洀

shared stories and Polynesian culture with us on a few, but not nearly enough, occasions. We have visited the marae, ancient religious grounds where Bobby Holcomb and Jimmy Buffet wrote the song “One Particular Harbor.”

I wish space here allowed for me to relate Dorothy’s story about those two.

We heard that Bernard Moitissier’s last boat was in the yard at Carrinage, Raiatea. Lisa and I rode our bikes there to find Tamata. We asked a young Frenchman on a bike next to an old steel boat, where we could find Moitissier’s boat. He just pointed up to the woman on the deck. Sure enough, we had found Tamata. Veronique even invited me up to look over Tamata.

Tamata is a strongly built steel boat about 33 feet long. She is a double ender, tiller steered. Down below, I have never seen so many coiled lines, all neatly hung up along the walls. There was a simple galley and an ancient, two-stroke diesel. There were simple bunks and a few bookshelves. Nothing extra, nothing yacht-like. Tamata is an efficient sailboat, sturdy and seaworthy. Dorothy had explained to us that Veronique was readying Tamata to sail, in case she needed to sail to a remote atoll to escape the Covid epidemic. To date, Tamata has not been re-launched.

I have always regarded Moitissier as my sailing hero. Our son, Logan, was in an Opti race at the age of 10. He was leading at a reaching mark but did not turn, he just kept sailing. The coach chased him down and asked, “Logan, why didn’t you turn at the mark?” Logan replied, “I was having such a great sail, I just wanted to keep going.” I later told Logan, “You did a Moitissier!”

We are so fortunate to have lived in the land of Moitissier. We are thankful to Dorothy for telling us about the life of Bernard Moitissier in his adopted home of French Polynesia. Somewhere in Bernard’s ancestry must be that one drop of Polynesian vanilla extract. We believe we have that one drop as well. w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

pg 104-127 Lifestyles - MKC.indd 19

㤀뀀㈀ ᤠ⸀ 㔀ᴠ一Ⰰ 㠀㈀뀀㄀㐀ᤠ⸀㐀㔀ᴠ圀

Latitudes & Attitudes 121 7/26/21 12:14 PM

A Septuagenarian Adventure

By Captain Jim Cash

“U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, this is sailing vessel Oasis, do you copy?” That was the beginning of the conclusion of our winter sailing adventure on the Gulf of Mexico. We were five days out of Orange Beach, Alabama, in February delivering a Valiant 47, “hove to,” five miles off the entrance to Galveston Bay, out of fuel, and in a fog so thick it was hard to see the bow of the boat. We were not yet in cell phone range, but every 15 minutes or so we could see the ghostly image of the huge freighters slipping by with their fog horns vibrating through the gauze like haze.

What was it our publisher, Bob Bitchin, said (Spring 2021 issue)? “The adventure begins when something goes wrong, and the more wrong it goes the more the ‘adventure’ can be appreciated.” Well, if that is the standard, we had a very appreciable adventure.

It started shortly after the first of the year, 2021, when I was asked by the harbormaster of a local resort marina if I could help a couple (younger than me) sail their boat to Texas. My first thought was, Why can’t these requests come along when there was a balmy 10-15 knots of breeze with sunny skies and 75 degrees? I met with the couple and learned they had recently bought the boat in Annapolis as they dream of liveaboard cruising, but have only had professional skippers sail the boat for them.

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Initially they wanted to sail with me to gain experience, but as the short weather windows opened and closed, and the Polar vortex swung south engulfing East Texas in freezing temperatures, they opted to meet us in Galveston. As it turned out, this was a good decision, or a nice Valiant might very well be on the market again today.

I called a couple of old sailing buddies … and I mean old—all of us over 70. “Want to sail to Galveston?”

I asked. Being retired and bored with Covid-19 confinement, they agreed, and we kept waiting for that weather window. I was assured by the owner that all the systems worked, and there was over 100 gallons of fuel. I spent several hours of orientation with them and learned the fuel gauge was inoperable, but “Don’t worry,” he said. Soon, four full days without rain and temps touching 60 loomed into the picture, and we made the decision to go for it. Mind you, it is February on the Gulf of Mexico. I often tell people that I have crossed both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans in sailboats without major incidents but have had my butt kicked twice in the Gulf of Mexico.

The morning dawned bright, with all provisions aboard, we untied the lines and waved our farewell to the owners. Helping me was Bernard, past Commodore of Mobile Yacht Club, and Mike, retired from the Army w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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Corps of Engineers. We left the dock and immediately had to pass under a 70-foot bridge with a 65-foot mast, and I knew “on paper” there was plenty of clearance, but looking up it was hard to believe that mast wasn’t going to smack the bottom of that bridge. It did not, and we motored west along the Intracoastal Waterway to Mobile Bay, sailed past Sand Island Lighthouse (circa 1873) and into the Gulf. We raised the main, but the furling genoa would not unfurl. I climbed out to the bow, now rising and sinking over the 2-foot chop from the southeast, and the furling drum came off in two pieces in my hand; let the adventure begin!

Fortunately, the boat was “cutter” rigged and the staysail unfurled nicely. We set the autopilot (I believe it was as old as us) and settled in for a chilly but relaxing sail with the bow pointed on a course to pass nicely south of the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana Cajun country.

This first day and night, though a little rocky-rolly, was not bad. The sunset was beautiful, and though the hope for a “green flash” was not fulfilled, the star-filled night skies and the setting of the blood red moon was spectacular. All I could think of was that even a bad day on the water is better than a gorgeous one ashore, and that every day on the water adds a day to your life — important for guys our age.

The first 24 hours marked about 125 nautical miles of progress. The morning sun brought enlarging waves w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

pg 104-127 Lifestyles - MKC.indd 21

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and soon the motion of the boat was uncomfortable, but not just for us but the autopilot. This relic was just not up to the chore and soon it gave up. So now only a quarter through the passage we had to hand steer 24 hours a day for 400 more nautical miles. We took watches and switched on and off the helm. The wind had picked up, and though we were making good speed, the chill factor was taking its toll. It was about 4:00 p.m., all of us were feeling woozy and I saw we were only 14 nautical miles off the delta of the Mississippi River, so we took a vote (3 to zip) to put in and find an anchorage for the night. This proved a harder task than thought. The anchorage in the guidebook we found to be silted in and with little protection. After consulting with the river pilots who were annoyed we were in and out of the shipping lanes, we dropped the huge 45-pound plow on the bottom of the West Bay, well protected and in about 19 feet of water. By the time the hook was set it was after 9:00 p.m. We were beat and hit the bunks after wolfing down cold sandwiches.

The morning dawned sunny, warming but not a breath of air. After a nice breakfast we had a new perspective and were eager to be off only to find that the windlass, although huge and looked up to the task, would not budge, not even a groan, and yes the switch was on and the light lit up. How much adventure can one stand, I thought. I jury-rigged a line from the anchor chain to the mast winch and hand cranked the hook off the bottom. We motored out of the bay and picked up a little breeze, though not enough to sail at more than a few knots, so we motored, and motored, and motored.

Dodging the oil and gas rigs in the daylight was no issue, but after another spectacular sunset and the rising moon on a coal back sky, the radar screen was covered with those yellow blotches so close they merged together. I steered toward the black areas on the screen and hopped for the best. For entertainment on my watch I observed three “shooting stars,” and another awesome red moon as the crimson color orb sank slowly into the western horizon.

The sun was up when I came on watch in the morning. I glanced at the depth meter and saw 15 feet, turned and saw the shoreline only a few miles off our starboard, and the chart dotted with wrecks and obstacles. We were skirting Isles Dernieres off Louisiana.

According to Wikipedia, it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1856 where 200 people perished, and the island was

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left void of vegetation. I altered our course to take us further offshore. We had made 143 nautical miles in the last 24 hours of motoring with little help from the sails.

Seas were still flat, with what little breeze was coming from the port quarter. We had about 150 miles to the entrance of Galveston Bay by 8:00 a.m. the morning of day four. There was still no help from the sails and we had been motoring for 48 hours. We added the five gallons of fuel from the one Jerry can the owner had left on board and hoped it was enough. I had been assured there was plenty of fuel and told “You can motor all the way to Texas if you had to.”

The good news was that it was a bright sunny day, the oil and gas rigs had about disappeared, and we were entertained by pods of dolphins jumping and squealing at us, but still we motored and motored. At 5:30 p.m. the sky was clear and we waited again hoping for the elusive “green flash“ as the sun sank toward the water on our fourth day at sea.

Bernard was on watch at 8:30 p.m., I had just nodded off in my bunk when I heard Mike gasping for air in his bunk. He was wearing his CPAP to sleep, and the generator had gone off. Then I heard the shout from Bernard, and the sound of the engine faltering. “Turn it off” I shouted back, knowing those were the sound of the last gasps of fuel being sucked into the engine, and I didn’t want to run it dry. All hands on deck, as we were going to be sailors whether we wanted to be or not. The winds were still light, but up went the main. Not being able to turn into the wind with motor assists, and with the wind off the port quarter, I was only able to get the fully battened main to the second reef. So there we were, double reefed main and 80% staysail in less than w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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8 knots of wind. We were on course and managed a little over 3 knots under sail. “It is, what it is,” I said and headed back to my bunk. We all took our turns at the wheel that night ghosting along, with the quiet being a little eerie.

The following morning, when daylight helped to see, we managed to crank the main to the first reef, giving us another half knot or so. We were closing in on the Galveston Bay entrance about noon, but I could see a layer of dense fog on the horizon. Soon we sailed into it and it wrapped us like a wet sheet.

We were 15 miles out of Galveston, no cell service, house batteries about gone, the chartplotter had shut down, and our handheld VHF was not strong enough to rouse anyone. We could hear, though not see, as the huge ocean freighters made their way out of the bay, and I hoped we were far enough away from the shipping lanes not to be a nuisance to them.

We hove to and were slowly drifting toward the shore. I was starting to see the darker color through the fog and desperately wanted to call TowBoatUS, but still no response from the handheld VHF. I finally made the decision to try the ship’s more powerful VHF down below for one last attempt while there was a little life left in the house batteries. I tried calling TowBoat US because the owner had given me his member number, w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Latitudes & Attitudes 125 7/26/21 12:14 PM

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126 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 104-127 Lifestyles - MKC.indd 24

but there was no response. Getting desperate I hailed the Coast Guard and they came back immediately. I explained the situation, they asked all the appropriate questions regarding our safety and promised to call TowBoat US for us. Shortly they hailed us back and announced that the towing service was sending a boat, though it would be several hours and we should try to maintain our current position; don’t you love our tax dollars at work?

We had taken down all sails and were sitting, drifting, with the tide currents; though the fog was still so thick everything looked the same in all directions.

We must have drifted into cell phone range because after a few hours of waiting my phone rang. “Hello, this is Captain Scott, I’m trying to find you guys. Can you blow a horn?” We found the boat’s air horn and gave it a good long blast, and sure enough, soon, emerging from the fog, he came with his lights flashing … and the William Tell Overture blaring from his loudspeaker — no, just kidding, but that’s what seemed appropriate.

He circled us once, stood off, adjusted some towing lines and came up alongside, and tossed us a line tied into a bridle and instructed us to secure it to our port and starboard bow cleats so the bridle would clear the anchor roller and ground tackle. The line slowly w w w . L at s a t t s . c o m

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tightened and he called again instructing us to follow him. I thought to myself, What else can we do?

Twilight turned to darkness as we were hauled through the fog, with the towboat’s lights making dim halos up ahead. Hours went by and I kept thinking, I hope he knows where he’s going. Soon a bridge loomed up ahead and I braced for the crash I was sure was going to bring the mast down, but we slid under and I marveled that Captain Scott must have done his homework. I remembered the bridge from studying the chart and knew we were getting close. Soon we slowed to a stop and the lines were adjusted for tight maneuvering. We left the main channel and wound our way through a canal neighborhood with beautiful homes and manicured lawns that met the water’s edge. Then we turned into the marina. We had called ahead and the dockmaster had waited for us. Captain Scott, spun his tow boat around, adjusted the lines again and expertly backed us into the slip. “Good job, Captain!” I shouted.

He waved his appreciation and off he went into the night.

We tied our lines, plugged in our shore power, bid good night to the dock staff, and went below to take a breath and toast to another successful delivery. What do they say, “Any landing you can walk away from…”.

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pg 104-127 Lifestyles - MKC.indd 25

Latitudes & Attitudes 127 7/27/21 4:06 PM

LIFE ABOARD

Editor Robin Stout Aboard Mermaid

Liveaboard Community Pulls Together For a moment, close your eyes. Let your mind wander to an exotic location on the ocean. Not a location filled not with palm trees and sandy beaches, but rather one so remote that the only way to access it is either by boat or floatplane. A seaside location nestled in steep, misty mountain fjords that are dozens of miles long but only a few hundred meters wide, ending in glaciers the height of city buildings, and wider than a city block. Here, the mountains rise nearly vertically out of the ocean to 3,500 feet, and the rain and wind of a temperate rainforest sometimes lash the Sitka spruce, western hemlock, red cedar, and Douglas fir trees with relentless consistency.

Orcas, humpback whales, seals, sea lions are your constant companions. Dall’s porpoise frolic just feet from the bow of your boat, seeming to beckon you forward to a new adventure. Salmon, halibut, and cod are your gamefish of choice. Bears roam the woods and are the apex predators. Wolves pack together for the hunt, having never been hunted out of existence here and then reintroduced.

Eagles and ravens patrol the skies above, while mountain goats roam the ridge lines. Five species of salmon call this area home, and Sitka blacktail deer and moose roam the woods and muskeg. Here, the Tongas National Forest, the largest intact forest in the United States, provides gigatons of pure, clean oxygen as it stretches over some 26,100 square miles. Icebergs haunt the fjords, like trolls under a bridge, and wait to scrub the moss and everything else off your boat’s hull.

In this ruggedly beautiful land of fjords, glaciers, and mountains, the Pacific Ocean rules supreme. Mountains rise thousands of feet from its depths, often nearly straight up out of the ocean blue, and dominate the skyline. Most summers, their snow-capped peaks never completely lose their wintery cap of snowfall. Avalanches are common during winter months, in part because the coastal mountains concentrate the moisture in the clouds as it moves across the flat ocean and then collides at pace with seemingly immovable masses of land that have been carved and created by prehistoric glaciers and tectonic

128 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 128-129 Life Aboard 36 - MKC.indd 2

By Wade Rogers

forces deep within the earth. Here, the ocean weaves its way through the coastal mountain range and works its way into an endless array of fjords and bays, some of which are 40 miles long and adjacent to the main channels at right angles. All this water creates a labyrinth of islands, some big, some exceedingly small. Among them are the fifth, seventh, and tenth largest islands in the United States, in this order: Chichagof, Admiralty, then Baranof.

Around these islands and fjords, ocean wildlife thrives, even today while wildlife populations in other places are dwindling, due in part to human traffic, pollution, and anthropogenic climate change. But in Southeast Alaska, while these effects are being felt, this seems for now to be the “land that time forgot.” The sea is replete with a variety of seafood, from salmon, halibut, rockfish, cod, mussels, clams, and three varieties of crab, and salmon. On land is an abundance of berry plants such as Lingonberry, Thimbleberry, bunchberries, high bush cranberry, etc. In the fall, edible fungi abound, including bolete, the delicious chanterelle, morels and others grow in abundance due in part to the wet and humid environment with cooler temperatures in the fall. As if this weren’t food enough, the sea provides yet another bounty: seaweeds. A lot of seaweeds, many of which are very edible, including nori, which is used in sushi. Sometimes, herring will lay their eggs in seaweed and on one sailing adventure, I ran across an entire lower tidal area that was covered in nori onto which the herring had attached their eggs the night before. Both are edible and highly prized, and I must say that the natural combination of both in the wild was a magical, cultural, gastronomical event!

Against this backdrop of what seems to be a neverending supply of natural foods and resources, one would think life for the first inhabitants of Southeast Alaska would be easy and idyllic. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most salmon spawns only happen during certain times of the year. Certain seaweeds are annual in nature and not ready to harvest until a specific time of the year. The W W W . L AT S A T T S . C O M

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abundant berries only ripen in late summer and early fall and are highly prized by black bears, so cautiously pick them! Deer migrate from the lower elevations in winter to the alpine meadows in the summer. Moose are as large as a horse and much more aggressive. Admiralty Island has the highest concentration of brown bears in the world, where it’s estimated that there’s a brown bear for every square mile.

Harvesting enough food throughout the season to make it from one resource period to another takes years to learn and a lot of physical labor, and it can even cost you your life. Hypothermia is a constant danger in the colder, wetter months, so if the bears don’t get you, the cold and wet certainly can. This is a foreboding landscape, where one slip on a mountain slope can be deadly, and falling into the ocean is lethal more often than not.

It takes a special breed of people to call Southeast Alaska home, and especially to have done so for thousands upon thousands of years. The original inhabitants of this land were the peoples of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes. It is estimated that their presence in Southeast Alaska goes back to anywhere from 14,000 to 20,000 years ago. While the scientific consensus has long been that people migrated across the land bridge from east Asia and Siberia into a new ice-free zone in the interior of Alaska after the last ice age, there’s some good science now that points to a more coastal migration route. It is well known that these First People were excellent seafarers and had long ago mastered canoe building techniques, so a coastal route where the ice sheets probably first melted would have been possible. Some of the Tlingit canoes were as much as 60 feet long and were made from red cedar that was carved not by iron age tools like an ax or an adze, but from stone and possibly raw copper tools.

They were literally Stone Age hunters and gatherers, but with an extraordinarily rich, advanced, and ancient culture. These were tough individuals who braved a world most Westerners would never know and they managed it bearing their young and burying their dead along the way.

They developed methods to build plank houses, created halibut hooks from wood and bone (a skill that was passed down from generation to generation), erected totem poles with deep symbolic meaning, and masterfully carved W W W .L AT S A T T S . C O M

pg 128-129 Life Aboard 36 - MKC.indd 3

caricatures, wove Chilkat blankets with mountain goat wool, and had a rich matrilineal family structure.

I’ve now set the scene for the reason for this article.

Given the current racial atmosphere in the United States, it is heartwarming when people of differing ethnicities come together to lend a hand and never really notice their cultural and/or racial differences. A Haida native friend of mine suffered a medical condition that caused him to fall, several times, while living aboard his powerboat. These “falls” limited his mobility and ability to do everyday tasks, so he moved in with friends and took his silver carving tools and other expensive personal items off his boat and stayed at a friend’s house until he recovered a bit. “Nate,” as I’ll call him, is a Haida master silver carver whose “formline” jewelry has been purchased by people all over the world, and he needed a hand and a truck to move his expensive and heavy carving equipment back to his boat. I contacted a friend and crew member, Kacie, and she contacted a Tlingit friend of hers as well as some missionaries she knows from the local Mormon Church.

On the arranged day, we had a truck, three Caucasians, two Tongans, and one Tlingit ready to lend a hand to my Haida friend! Kacie provided breakfast on the go, and we all met at Harris Harbor in Juneau, Alaska. After walking down to Nate’s boat to make introductions, we left the harbor in three separate vehicles and went to the home Nate was staying at while he recovered from his injuries. Within half an hour, we’d loaded boxes of Nate’s gear into the truck and made our way back to the harbor, where everything was carried down the ramp (our tides in Juneau can vary by up to 25 feet at times), and safely stowed on his boat. Nate plans to set up a small work area on a long bench on his power boat to do his traditional Haida silver engravings, which are available at the famous Mount Juneau Trading Post.

It wasn’t until after we’d finished that we noticed the different ethnicities in our group, and what’s interesting is that all of them (Tlingits, Haida, Tongans, Caucasians) have robust maritime cultural histories. It was our shared love of the sea and love of another person that bound us together to simply forget about those differences and just work together as humans to help another human in his time of need. It costs nothing to be a good person, especially when we realize that there is more that unites us than divides us.

Latitudes & Attitudes 129 7/26/21 10:34 AM

Doobie did as instructed and put two draughts on the bar in front of us.

“Who’s paying for this?” she wanted to know. Bubba instantaneously pointed at me. In the course of human events, certain things never change. I nodded my head to Doobie. Yes, I’d honor the tab as I had done innumerable times before.

Then I turned to Bubba and told him that his sailing craft had been featured in a sailing magazine story about tasteless boat names, telling Bubba that Right Guard, the writer had stated, had to have been named after a

By Morgan Stinemetz deodorant.

Stirred from the lethargic appearance I’d seen when I came into the bar, Bubba blazed in rebuttal with Bubba Whartz, skipper of the ferro-cement sloop blistering speed.

Right Guard and inveterate single-handed sailor, is known “Pomme de cheval!” he snapped. Frankly, I didn’t to available-for-dating women in the Sarasota, Florida, know what he was talking about, so I later asked someone area as a definite C-. It could be because he chooses about the phrase. I learned that it translated from French to wear his red baseball cap, the one with the Peterbilt as “horse apples.” I didn’t know Bubba knew any French. embroidery on it, while dining in upscale restaurants. It He always surprises. could be due to his invariably sticking his date with dinner “Right Guard wasn’t named after a deodorant,” checks or bar checks, large and small. And it could be Bubba emphasized. “I don’t use deodorant. Where did this because he chews Red Man and carries an old Starbucks story appear? I’ll sue.” cup to spit into.

“I can’t remember the There’s a rumor floating name of the magazine where around that once when the story appeared, but it said he put his arms around a “Right Guard wasn’t named after that the boat with the Right date to kiss her goodnight, Guard name on the transom he spilled tobacco juice a deodorant,” Bubba emphasized. “I was in the Sarasota, Florida, down the back of the new area. You sure as hell are in cashmere sweater she’d just don’t use deodorant. Where did this the Sarasota, Florida, area, received from Hermès. That Bubba,” I responded. “And if is, however, hearsay. story appear? I’ll sue.” your sloop isn’t named after When I went to the a deodorant, what does the Blue Moon Bar recently, I name mean?” was hoping to find Bubba in “The name of my boat residence. My trip was due to a story about tacky boat has a great deal to do with my personal philosophy,” names that I’d read in a sailing magazine the night before. Whartz offered.

The boat name that immediately caught my eye was Right Well, that caught me entirely in flagrante delicto. For Guard, the name of Bubba’s sailboat. The location of the one thing, I’d never imagined Bubba to possess a personal boat, the story said, was Sarasota, Florida. philosophy much beyond not paying for beer or anything There were other vessels’ designations mentioned else that required the outlay of cash money. Were I to in the report condemning a lack of taste on the owners’ guess, I’d surmise that Whartz built Right Guard for less part. Among the ones I remember were: BARF, Aquaholic, than $500. I’d just never had the guts to ask him.

Passing Wind, .38 Special, and Vlad the Impaler. As a “Personal philosophy? How does the name of your collection, they were odious, like the names of feared boat reflect your personal philosophy?” guards at Bergen-Belsen.

Bubba responded with: “It advertises that only a The author of the on boat names story asked, minority, the physically sane, the morally purer, the most pointedly, why anyone with any grey matter whatsoever conscious, can serve the national interest.” could possibly name a sailboat after a well-known “Where did you come up with that idea?” I asked. deodorant. I considered it a valid question because I’d “I read it someplace,” Bubba retaliated petulantly. never thought much about it myself.

“On a men’s room wall?” I wanted to know.

Captain Whartz — he has a six-pack license — held “Smart-ass,” grumped the sailor. “I read it in a book down a solo bar stool at the Blue Moon when I entered. that I found on the ground when I was in Washington Other than Doobie, the bartenderette, he was the only last January. There were a lot of people there that day person in the place. I slid up onto the barstool next to for Trump’s speech on the Mall. Some of them went on Bubba and said good morning. to the Capitol. I didn’t. I picked up the book and started Bubba looked at me blearily and said to Doobie, reading parts of it. When I got tired of reading, I went to the “Two beers. One for me. One for him. And start a tab.” National Zoo on Connecticut Avenue to see the animals.

Bubba Whartz Bubba Gets Offended By A Boat Name

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There are hippos, elephants, lions, tigers, and tapirs there.

Plus, it’s free.”

“You’re off subject, Bubba,” I reminded him. “Taking what you profess as gospel, would say that extreme right, far-right, and ultra-right are accurate labels used to describe militant forms of insurgent revolutionary right ideology and separatist ethnocentric nationalism such as Christian Identity, the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Movement, and the National Liberty Alliance?” I inquired.

“No, man, I wouldn’t say that. I would never say that,” Bubba replied.

“Do you know what Völkisch means?”

“Is it something you say when someone sneezes?”

“How about Mein Kampf?”

“Same thing,” Bubba said. “It involves sneezing.”

“What do Mano Blanco in Guatemala and Battalion 3-15 in Honduras mean to you?” I asked the sailor.

“I think they are social organizations,” he replied.

“Guys get together and play cards. Something like that But, look, you’re making this real complicated for me with all your questions. I don’t know what you are talking about.

My boat has always been named Right Guard, and it will always be named Right Guard. I am not going to change the name. Ever.”

“What if someone, at some future time, asks you where the name of your boat came from, what will you tell them?” I questioned Captain Whartz.

“I’ll tell them it’s named after a lineman’s position in NFL football. It’s simple,” Bubba said, looking at his empty glass. “Now, buy me another beer.”

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Latitudes & Attitudes 131 7/26/21 2:08 PM

Tech Tips from Captain Shane McClellan

There are a lot of little things that can make your boat easier and more enjoyable to use.

Here’s a tip from Captain Shane McClellan that can help!

Custom iPad Mounting Bracket During the global pandemic, I was stuck aboard Guiding Light, a Lagoon 410, in St. Lucia for over a month. During that time I worked on the boat, beginning with a deep spring cleaning of my spares locker that led to me finding some parts and material that I forgot I had. As soon as I saw them I knew they would be perfect for building the bracket I wanted at the helm to hold the tablet that replaced my chart plotter.

Many people have asked why I am replacing my chartplotter with a tablet using Navionics software and the answer is simple. My chartplotter is the Garmin 4212 that came with Guiding Light when I bought it 11 years ago. I figure the Garmin is probably 13 to 15 years old and the screen has started to go dark and pixelize in the middle. I spent a couple months trying to find a new screen, since the rest of the chartplotter worked great, but I was told this model has not had parts available for years. This left me with buying new as the only option. Well, as I compared a new chartplotter ($4,000-5,000) with a GPS-enabled tablet with waterproof case (around $300)it did not take me long to decide which way I wanted to go…In fact, I bought two tablets and still saved SO MUCH money. The added benefit is that the tablet saves me a ton of battery power.

Now I needed a place to hang the tablet as I sail the seas. That is when I found the L-shaped aluminum angle iron in my spares. As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for what I had in mind and with that said I was off.

It took me about eight hours total as I used a hacksaw to

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cut the aluminum to the lengths I wanted and then sawed one side down on the three pieces to the proper depth. I even used one of the sawedsoff pieces as a backing plate. Next I used my vice grip and slowly bent one of the L shapes to form a curved lip. Once done I used a grinding wheel on my cordless drill and smoothed out all the edges and corners and then drilled holes to rivet the whole thing together.

All I had left to do now was take two aluminum bars and bend them to the right length and angle so I could attach the bracket to the bulkhead. The first one went great, but the second one was more brittle and kept snapping every time I bent it using the vice grip and I ran out of material. Also one of the butterfly bolts I had used to attach the old charter plotter to the bulkhead broke. At this point I had to stop until I could get to shore to get some new material.

Turns out aluminum bar is harder to find in the islands than I expected and I was shot down after visiting 4-5 hardware stores. That is when it dawned on me to check the metal shop at the boatyard. I should have gone there first (and will in the future) because what I needed was sitting right there. As soon as I got it back aboard I fixed the broken bolt with parts I did find at one of the hardware stores and bent the new bar perfectly. I drilled holes in it, grounded it down, and riveted it all together.

It turned out exactly as I had hoped and the only thing I wish I had done was use a GoPro on time lapses to document the work I put into the creation.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 133 7/26/21 2:31 PM

Talk of the Dock

By Zuzana Prochazka

Securing a Charter in Busy Times Jump the line, even when everyone is booking like mad

What a crazy time for travel. It’s as if in the post-pandemic normal, everyone’s off the chain and done with being cooped up. Prices for hotels, flights and boat charters are off the charts – and that’s if you can even get a spot. So how can you get a (more or less) guaranteed sailing vacation and sail a lot? Answer: own the boat. Ok, that sounds scarier than it is. Charter yacht ownership gets you out on the water frequently and can make lots of financial sense between yacht availability, tax advantages, and paying down the cost of a boat that you may want to take cruising someday. Let’s look at the benefits and check if you’re the right fit.

The Why & How of Chartership

For newbies, charter is a great introduction to the cruising lifestyle. You’ll meet like-minded people, have extensive opportunities to sail, and even get instruction via professional skippers/instructors.

Charter companies guide you through the entire yacht purchase process and hold your hand through the owner experience, so it’s like having a friend in the business. You receive information on the purchase and maintenance of the boat, the details of the charter contract and the process of selling the yacht down the road. Most companies offer onsite or offsite financing and insurance, have advice on boat selection, provide

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lessons on managing the yacht as a business, and outline highlights of fractional ownership.

If you’re a seasoned sailor contemplating going cruising in five years, you can work toward having a boat that’s paid for by the time you’re ready to cast off the dock lines. In the meantime, you can sail extensively, get credentialed or generate income in the process.

Who’s the Right Fit?

You must ask yourself a few questions to see if the proposition of ownership makes sense for you. Do you have the time to take full advantage of 2-3 months of sailing per year? Can you travel frequently and on w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

7/21/21 4:22 PM

The Latest Industry News & Gossip short notice? Would you like more sailing instruction or credentialing? Would you like tax-advantaged income while you sail? Are you thinking of cruising in retirement?

There are many reasons to own but make sure you have at least two of the above to make this work.

Boat, location & company selection

Selecting a boat depends on your goal. If you want to work down the cost of a boat you expect to eventually take cruising, choose that specific kind and size of boat.

If you want to generate the most income, consider a large multihull that will be in demand for high weekly rates.

Choosing a location follows the same thought process above. If you want to retire onto your boat and sail the Med, then consider Greece or Croatia as the place to put your boat, but if you want a boat that works hard for you, pick a location where the charter traffic is heavy and the season is long like the British Virgin Islands.

When choosing a charter partner, the key is to do your due diligence. Find a charter company that is large enough to have staying power but small enough to personalize your program. Is the company financially sound? Does it have a long history suggesting future longevity? Does it offer the flexibility to sail at multiple locations, so you get different experiences? Can you pick up the phone and speak to a person to understand how your asset is managed?

YO UR DIG ITAL B OAT IN G C OMMU N I T Y

The exit strategy

The better you define what you want from the program, the more you can structure what goes into it. Do you want to sail more and have exciting vacations? Do you want to hone your skills or teach your kids to sail? Do you want to retire and take the boat cruising? At the end of your contract, will you roll over to another boat for extended ownership? Will you sell the charter boat and buy your own cruiser? The proposition of charter yacht ownership begins at the end, so think things through.

almost guaranteed

Don’t get me wrong, charter yacht ownership isn’t a like having your own boat tied up at the local marina so you can use it at will. You still have to schedule the boat you own (or any other boat at a reciprocal base around the world), but you’ll have priority and many more weeks to use it than the typical charterer who is now scrambling for availability.

Also, if your boat is booked, it means it’s earning money, so it’s a win-win. Charter yacht ownership isn’t for everyone, but if you fit the profile, it has lots of benefits and you can go sailing – a lot – and on relatively short notice.

As an insider, Zuzana has the privilege of seeing a lot of what’s going on 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 information she has found while working the boat shows and industry functions. w w w .L at s a t t s . c o m

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SCUTTLEBUTT.COM Latitudes & Attitudes 135 7/21/21 4:22 PM

Book Review

By Capt. Jim Cash

Plunge

One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

By Liesbet Collaert Author Liesbet Collaert is a Belgian woman, educated as a schoolteacher, but with a wanderlust that has her hitch-hiking through Italy at 17, and after college backpacking through Southeast Asia. At age 27 she heads to the United States. She says “I haven’t looked back since.”

In the very first sentence of Liesbet’s introduction we are told, “Freedom to do what I want, go where I please, and be myself …” I think that is a great definition of the cruising life. “Embrace everyday as it comes, while exploring the unknown.” That sounds like a great purpose for cruising.

The idea of going cruising is suggested by Liesbet’s boyfriend Mark and they purchase an old (1970s) Islander Freeport 36 in California which they name Four Choices.

The trip down the California coast with sea sickness, engine problems and torn mainsail takes its toll. “Don’t know if I can take this” … “Who chooses to be miserable on the water?” … “We have to stop this madness before we regret sailing forever.” Finally, “Cruising is not in our cards yet,” she proclaims, and Four Choices goes on the market. Wow, I wondered, two chapters into the book and the cruising is already over?

After roaming around in a Ford camper on land, the couple are starting to think “What to do?” Take the camper to Belize or try sailing again? This time a catamaran looms on the horizon in Annapolis, Maryland, a 35-foot Fountaine Pajot Tobago 35, which was “More stable for the dogs,” Kali and Darwin. The decision is made, and their new home is named Irie, meaning “All Good” in the Jamaican Patois language. “When you’re Irie, you’re

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at total peace with your current state of being.” Great name for a sailboat, right?

Underway in their new boat, heading south on the ICW though the Chesapeake with the ambition to get warm again, they cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

Life is good. As the cruising season comes to a close, their choices are to head back to the States or find a hurricane hole. They keep going with Luperon in the Dominican Republic as their safe harbor destination for the season.

Sure enough, what Caribbean cruising story can happen without a hurricane, so we have “Ike,” which they ride out anchored in the mangroves. In the next several chapters we have everything from self-doubts, a relationship on the rocks then saved, a sick dog, a parental visit, starting a business, and island hopping while dealing with various other issues.

The most interesting part of these next chapters for me was the sharing of the challenges of the cruising life, especially on a tight budget, and at their age, while interacting with the normal domestic life of friends and family. Liesbet struggles with her instincts that she may want to have children, but doesn’t get the same vibe from Mark, and is not sure how they would do, adding a baby to their lifestyle. They have to deal with the terminal diagnosis of a sibling, with the sickness and death of their second dog, and the business they were trying to operate while on the go.

“The business is sucking the pleasure out of cruising,” Liesbet states.

They have an on-going discussion of heading west and crossing the Pacific, and start heading to the western Caribbean, where we get to experience their w w w . L at s A t t s . c o m

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adventure in the San Blas Islands with the Kuna Indians.

They then decide to take the “plunge” and the South Pacific is in their future, with family flying in to join them for the canal crossing. Mark agrees, though grudgingly, and they “Swap the known for the unknown.”

These next chapters turn from romance novel to cruising guide. We join them for their tour of the Galapagos (you will very likely want to put this on your bucket list of places to visit. According to Liesbet, “If my number one reason to sail is to get to places I can’t get to otherwise, my number two is to be surrounded by wildlife, and the Galapagos delivers.”

The chapter There is No Turning Back (an account of their passage to Gambier, a path less traveled) should be very enlightening to those wondering how it really is “out there.” Liesbet writes “Despite being extremely uncomfortable and getting tossed around for days, vomiting, feeling numb, unable to do anything more than hold on and brace ourselves, we don’t feel unsafe.

We’re not scared.” She claims she can handle it — if they get there without losing their sanity. At long last she proclaims “I can smell dirt, we’re almost there … land ho!” Lisbet claims that the last mile is always the longest; amen to that.

After two months of roaming about the Gambier Archipelago they need to move on and the Marquesas is on their horizon, looking forward to hikes through the jungle to the “Most quintessential waterfall, in the most paradisiacal settings.” They are swimming with manta rays, and a festival delivers an experience of sharing the indigenous peoples’ cultures. However, reality sets in with needed boat service, and cyclone season triggers the decision to sail west with Tuamotus and Apataki’s boatyard as their next destination. During this passage, Liesbet makes a most poignant observation: “Sailing is about the wind… the weather is your boss and the wind is your manager. It decides where you go, and when, and how fast or slow … it’s the wind that messes things up.”

The final chapters bring us face to face with the reality of cruising, including dealing with health issues while at sea and enjoying the beauty of “third world” beaches and rainforests but also experiencing their health services. The couple’s cruising days come to an end and their home for the last few years goes up for sale. “Irie ceased being our anchor to our previous life.” During Liesbet’s final flight back to the States her seat companion asks “Where do you live?” She contemplates that question and simply says “Nowhere and everywhere.”

This book, as told through a woman’s perspective, shares personal feelings from both good and bad experiences of the cruising life. We learn how one’s mental state is affected by loss of family, pets, issues with physical health, relationship ups and downs, all occurring while away from our norms and comfort zones, in places with limited amenities, and often when languages and cultures are far different from our own w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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Casablanca Let’s start with a history lesson. What country first recognized the USA? Hint: it was in 1777. Second question: What is the longest unbroken friendship treaty the USA has?

Hint: it was signed in 1786. Answer to both is

Morocco.

When you think of Morocco what do you envision? Camels, the mysterious Tangier, Berber pirates, an exotic land, or maybe Rick’s Café in Casablanca. It is all of that and more — well, except for the pirates.

As SoulMates slipped her lines in Aqua Dulce and headed south, we looked at each other, and Chuck said, “We got good wind, and if we turn now, we can be in Israel in four to five days.” We both looked longingly to the east but continued south, sad to leave the Mediterranean after seven great sailing seasons. But new ports of call awaited, so with full sails, SoulMates headed south for an overnight to Melilla, Morocco. First you need to know that Melilla is one of a few Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast.

Why? Well, that we won’t go into. But it is very Spanish, and when we arrived on Sunday everything was closed.

Leaving the marina, the first thing the crew saw was the landing platform for UFOs. The next day was spent exploring the city and encountered something we often found in various city squares — a fishing boat with boat names and dates on its base. Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations around; we have seen tiny fishing boats heading out when we wouldn’t, and seen them on the water and admired their courage. As we walked around, we said a silent prayer for all fishermen. We wanted to go inland and visited several tourist offices only to be turned away. Finally one introduced us to a guide via telephone, and we made arrangements to meet a guide in Al Hoceima.

Sailing up and around, we arrived in Al Hoceima just as the fishing fleet was headed out. Chuck proceeded to play dodge-a-boat in the narrow passage into the harbor. In contrast to what the cruising guide promised, we found a brand-new marina with great dockage and efficient officials who very quickly checked us in. Then it was time to explore the city — and guess what I found?

My favorite: a fresh market! Soon SoulMates was stocked

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a and Rick’s

By Chuck Ritenour, s/v SoulMates

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Casablanca and Rick’s with fresh fruits and veggies. At a streetside café, we met with a guide that would take us 100 miles south through the Atlas Mountains to Fes, the crossroads of the ancient Trans-Saharan trade route and Morocco’s second-largest city.

With arrangements made, it was time to head back to check on SoulMates.

Twenty nautical miles from Al Hoceima it sounded like something hit the bottom of SoulMates, and she slowed down. In calmer conditions I would have jumped into the water to look, but the seas were not conducive to that. So, with the engine on low RPMs, we limped in. Once tied up, I jumped in and saw the prop wrapped up. I went to the marina office and asked about a diver, and within minutes one arrived. After a bit of work, he stacked a large amount of plastic that had wrapped around the prop.

While in Moroccan waters, we had seen a lot of plastic that seemed to be coming from Europe. SoulMates is trying hard to go with as little plastic as possible. As for water bottles – nope, hayir, la, oxi, het. You should be too. No water bottles on board.

Fes is an incredible city with the largest medina in the world. Inside the walls of this distinctly historical section of the city live one million people. Now, we have seen and navigated through medinas before, but this one was huge. A guide took us through it, and it would have been impossible to get out without the guide. Ever see a street sign in Berber? How about the world’s oldest tanning factory that is still in use or the world’s first university that is now a mosque and craftsman beyond reproach? All in Fes. Combine that with a drive through the Atlas Mountains with a guide who explained everything, it brought old Morocco to life.

Moving onto M’diq, we found another new harbor and a yacht club where the King of Morocco keeps his boat. M’diq is a local tourist town where inland folks come for a weekend on the beach, but we came to explore the nearby town of Tétouan with a medina that is a UNESCO world heritage site. While I was wandering through the medina, I for once got turned around. Luckily, a guide was leading a group through, and I simply asked where we could eat. The guide told us to stay with him and lead his group on, eventually pointing to a little place with great food. Once outside the medina, we ran across the guide again,

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who for a small fee took us on a tour of the city from the center and one of the king’s palaces to a Muslim, Christian, and Jewish kasbah. What is a kasbah? A neighborhood.

This one just happened to have a 500-yearold Torah and incredible wall paintings on houses in the Muslim section.

Moving on, SoulMates made her final port of call in Tangier. Sailing down the coast, we first went into a port and were chased out by the coast guard; wrong Tangier port. A few miles further on was the city of Tangier and a brand-new port.

Heading in, I swung SoulMates around a breakwater only to be waved out. I had entered the brand-new fishing port. Ok, third time’s the charm — and yes, I found the one-year-old Tanja Marina Bay marina, simply a beautiful marina and a great place to winter over. Atop the hill overlooking the marina is the old city; to the left is the modern city. I, of course, loved the old market, while Patty loved Carrefour.

Leaving SoulMates in the care of the marina, we jumped a high-speed train to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

The first stop had to be the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. It is simply spectacular.

In the mausoleum are the tombs of Mohammed V, his son Abdallah, and the late King Hassan II. After, we took a walk around town and to the harbor, where we saw some sailboats. Reading the water, I

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Casablanca and Rick’s said, “This looks very tricky but doable with high tide and good sun.”

We caught a train south to the fabled city of Casablanca. Before, we had been to Monaco looking for James Bond; now, it was time to find Bogie and Bergman. Ok, so it was not Bogie and Bacall of Key Largo.

But hey, this was Casablanca and it was time to find Rick’s Café. However, first was the Hassan II Mosque, site of the second tallest minaret in the world, and perhaps the most beautiful mosque we have seen.

A walk across town brought us to Rick’s Café, built to the exact specifications of a couple of the movie. People were leaving as we arrived, and as it was late in the afternoon, we thought a quick drink in such a famous place was in order, but it was closed. The doorman told us we could make a reservation for dinner — in fact, they are required. Since we had made a dinner reservation, I actually dressed up in a nice shirt and long pants — and even socks.

As we sat beside the piano, I kept looking around for Sam (Dooley Wilson) to walk over and sit down, followed by Bogie himself, and of course, Bergman walking through the door. Of course, just like Monaco, no one showed up. Oh well. The meal, service, and atmosphere, made up for our missing Bogie, and were beyond description. Now, I’ve eaten delicious meals from famous restaurants all over the USA, but when Bob Bitchin offers me a meal at any restaurant in the world, I’ll be choosing Rick’s Café Casablanca.

Our last stop was Marrakesh, the fabled city in the desert. If you want to

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BoOks By Bob Bitchin

Fire Sale!

A few months ago, the Lats & Atts offices and home burnt to the ground in Cailifornia’s Bear Fire. Every copy of all 9 Bob Bitchin books in inventory were turned to ashes. We have decided to reprint one at a time, and from now on we will ONLY be selling hard-cover prints signed by the author. Biker To Sailor was the first to be reprinted, then Brotherhood Of Outlaws. Now Starboard Attitudes is coming off the press. You can order any of these books, signed by the author. The remaining 6 books will be printed and made available in coming months. Watch for release dates! If you’d like to be notifiedbyemailjustsendBobandemailandasktobe put on the notificationlist: Bob@latsatts.com

Get 'Em While They’re HOT!

spend time in the desert with the Berbers, this is the place.

But most come to Marrakesh to visit the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and the largest souk in Morocco, which is next to it.

The square really comes to life in the late afternoon and at night, with food stalls, snake charmers, magicians, monkey trainers, and entertainers of various sorts. Surrounding the square are various eating and drinking establishments. We did sample their wares so we could assure you the food and adult beverages are great. But don’t be surprised if when taking a picture someone asks you for money. It is a bit of a tourist trap.

From the square we walked to the Saadian Tombs, the royal necropolis for the Saadian sultans and their families, then back to the square via a different route.

The King’s Palace was across the street, and I decided to take a picture while he was in residence. Though I quickly decided that was ill-advised when uniformed guards and a man in a suit with a bulge in the wrong place waved a no-no finger at me. Ok, no pictures.

Back in Tangier, we followed one of our favorite traditions — we take all the money we have and buy dinner the night before we check out and sail off. It was a wonderful dinner.

As beautiful, wonderful, and inviting Morocco was, it was time to set sail for points west. As SoulMates rounded the breakwater, I looked back and told Patty, “We will miss all this.” Patty says she saw a tear in my eye. w w w .L at s a t t s . c o m

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Bob practices what he preaches and writes about—not dreaming the life, but living the dream—and inspires by his example.”

Tania Aebi, Author, World Class Sailor From body guard, to hardcore biker and on to Salty Dog, Bitchin has managed to traverse the past half century doin’ it his way.

Bob Clark, Founder “Run to The Sun” “Colorful tales of the salty seagoing adventures of Bob Bitchin - a swashbuckling sailing rogue! A great read! “ Bob Adamov, Award-winning author

Order Your Signed Copy NOW!

WWW.BobBitchin.com www.LatsAttsStore.com/collection Latitudes & Attitudes 143 7/27/21 4:36 PM

I Found It At

The Boat Show KVH V30/V3-HTS

The world’s fastest, lightest ultra-compact maritime VSAT systems Communicating at sea is becoming more and more important. Back in the day we used to escape from civilization, but in today’s digital world it is easier than ever to stay in touch no matter where you are on this big blue ball.

The new TracPhone V30 and the TracPhone V3-HTS are ultra-compact VSAT systems that enable you to leave the shore behind, not your connections. It is designed for the smaller (30 to 75-foot) cruising boat, as opposed to their normal lineup for Mega-Yachts. This system has been designed for the cruising boater.

It delivers unmatched speed for its compact size, is suitable for boats as small as 30 feet, and offers an easy-to install design and global coverage via the powerful mini-VSAT Broadbandsm HTS network – the No. 1 maritime VSAT service.

It’s never been so affordable or easy for everyone onboard to browse the Internet, get weather information, check email, stream HD content, connect with the office, chat via services like WhatsApp,™ and more.

For more information, go to www.KVH.com.

Unlimited Airtime Plans

Metered Airtime Plans

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7/26/21 10:39 AM

I Found It At

The Boat Show Bimini Butler Admiral

Easy Up - Easy Down ... Hey! This is easy! For boats and dinghies!

The new heavy-duty anodized aluminum Bimini Butler Admiral is now available from Ameri-Brand Products, Inc. The “Bimini Butler Admiral” is designed for sailboats and dinghies, and is a fantastic way to increase headroom under your bimini top. You and your crew do not have to be “cramped” anymore!

While you’re underway, the top sits in its normal position. When at rest, and more headroom is desired, the Bimini Butler Admiral can temporarily increase the height of your existing top by up to a full 15 inches. It’s very easy to deploy, only taking a minute to extend the bimini to the desired height, and a minute or so to let it down.

Machined billet aluminum body and stainless steel components provide exceptional quality. The Bimini Butler Admiral has been engineered and manufactured for strength and durability and is designed to last for many, many years.

For ease of installation, it mounts to existing deck brackets. Fits 7/8-inch OD tubing.

Currently available in cobalt blue, onyx black, and natural aluminum. We have a very limited supply at this time and will be producing these units twice yearly.

Learn more at www.Bimini-Butler.com.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 145 7/26/21 12:19 PM

I Found It At

The Boat Show Discover Lithium Batteries

70 years of battery technology leadership; a decade in lithium battery innovation

Discover has a complete line of starting, dual-purpose, deep-cycle house and trolling motor marine batteries.

Lead-acid and Lithium marine batteries get you where you want to go and, more importantly, get you back again.

Discover offers MIXTECH flooded, DRY CELL and AGM marine batteries, heavy-duty batteries and Marine Electric Trolling Motor Batteries with built-in countermeasures against acid stratification, the number one cause of premature performance loss and battery failure. Check out their maintenance-free options with handles, dual terminals, and flame arrestors, which provide safety and convenience of use. » Faster charging – 5x faster than lead-acid; 2x faster than standard lithium batteries » Lower weight – HALF the weight of a lead-acid battery

» Available in standard 12-volt sizes for deep-cycle boat applications; 12-, 24-and 36-volt models for trolling motor applications.

» Lower total ownership cost – 1 Lithium Blue = 10 leadacid batteries replacement over time

» Dischargeable up to 100% of Depth-of-Discharge (DoD); lead-acid only discharges to 50%

» Free smart phone app (iOS and Android) for real-time Bluetooth access to battery state of charge, voltage, operating current, temperature and diagnostics

» 5-year workmanship warranty

» Drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries, with terminal protection and carry handle for quick installation. Can be paralleled

» Provides up to 2x runtime » Performance guarantee of energy throughput, NOT number of charges » Solid-state relays

If you’d like more info on the Discovery line of batteries, just go to www.DiscoverBattery.com. Tell ‘em we sent ya!

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I Found It At

The Boat Show AR From NV Charts NV Charts New Augmented Reality Eases Navigation

Navigating by phone has been getting easier and more common. Now the folks at NV Charts have developed a new system that makes it even easier to use!

The new AR system from NV Charts View displays points of interest, which they are currently becoming the preferred system. It will take a few more months until this process is complete for all regions. Once it is, you will be able to see the harbors and anchorages in your area in the AR View, meaning you’ll see it directly on your screen, which might help orienting in your area.

In addition, the AR View will display AIS Targets, which is probably what is the most fun about it. You would need a AIS NMEA source in addition to your wifi, and then

you would be able to view the targets not only in the chart, but also in the AR View.

A few things in advance: The AR function is mainly dependent on a compass that is calibrated as accurately as possible. To calibrate the compass, you can rotate the phone around all axes, and if GPS reception is good, you can also move steadily (i.e., preferably on board).

This ensures the phone links the magnetic direction with the geographic north. The devices are very sensitive to all magnetic objects in the vicinity (e.g., also magnetic latches on a phone case or steel hull).

Want more info as it becomes available? It’s easy!

Just head to their website, www.NVcharts.com.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 147 7/26/21 10:36 AM

Passing the Dream

By Captain John Laskowsky, MMSAI Art by Rich “Magic” Marker

I have been in the marine industry for over a dozen years as a sailboat aficionado of sorts, at least in my hometown, and am regularly called for advice from our local marinas when they have the seemingly impossible challenges to repair boats of all kinds. I have done everything from repairs at sea to limp home during a gale, to full-blown restorations taking tens of thousands of dollars and many years to complete. I even developed a business doing so, though as I grow older and my body reacts poorly to hard physical labor, I have limited my trade to marine surveying and bottom diving/ cleaning. This is the true story of an event that struck my heartstrings that I was fortunate enough to be a part of thanks to an old sailor passing the torch to a new generation of sea-drawn folks.

One evening I received a phone call from a lady asking me to look at her sailboat that she wanted to rehab in order to sell. She said I was highly recommended by a friend of hers. I had done a minor restoration to her boat’s topside a year prior. Her friend was very happy with my work and suggested that she call me to help her and her husband ready the boat for sale. We arranged to meet with her and her husband in the coming days to make a list of things that they wanted to be done. On our appointment day, she had met me in the driveway with a pile of parts that belonged to the sailboat. I asked what her plans for the boat were. She wasn’t sure if they wanted to complete the work list they had compiled for me, or just get it together enough to sell. Regardless, they wanted to get rid of the boat. I asked to see it, and she led me to the backyard where it had been tied to a dock some time ago. She was in a state of disrepair but had beautiful lines.

She was a classic boat indeed. The wife said the biggest concern was the bilge pump not working, and with the oncoming hurricane season was worried about the boat swamping. I climbed aboard and made a list of parts I

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needed. She agreed to buy them, and I would be called back when she had everything.

A week passed, and I was running new bilge hose and wiring in a new pump to the existing bus bar. Once finished, I was offered a cold glass of water to quench my thirst due to the late July weather we have on the west coast of central Florida. I asked the wife if she had discussed the plan for the boat with her husband to see which direction they wanted to go with me and the boat’s repair. She excused herself and went inside the house. A few moments later her husband was slowly walking outside with her help and sat next to me. He was a tall, once-muscular man with a weathered face and a huge friendly smile. I was told that they wanted to get rid of the boat as soon as possible because of the stress of owning a boat during hurricane season. They were willing to give her away to the right person and indeed tried in prior years, but never felt comfortable with the people that came to claim her. My advice was to let me try finding a new owner, and we can screen them together. I also recommended they not put any more money into something they were willing to give away as long as it wasn’t something that jeopardized her ability to float. Hesitantly, they agreed. I took several photos of the vessel and gained a quick narrative of her specs from the husband. The best part was he was the original owner! He had ordered the boat the day his first son was born back in 1976! Not too many people can say they are the original owner of a 45-year-old boat, or anything for that matter.

I posted the picture of the boat online and within a few hours I had a list of seventeen people that wanted the boat. With the help of the husband, we had weeded w w w . L at s A t t s . c o m

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out all but two. The first of the two we found out wanted to sail her as is 150 miles south. I had explained that the boat had not moved in more than 10 years and was in a bad state of disrepair. “No problem. I have sailed worse. Anyhow, I need a new place to

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live and this boat will do for now,” he said. With that he unknowingly dropped out of the final pick and a call was made to the second guy on our list. A sailor in his younger days, he had retired a month earlier and wanted to restore a boat on his own and get to know each and every system so he could fix any part on the go.

After the restoration he planned to stretch his and the boat’s sea legs and sail the Caribbean and who knows after that. I looked over the table to the husband, his gaze far with a grin on his cheek, his head nodding slowly up and down as he murmured, “Congratulations, son, you got yourself a boat.” I felt a wave of sadness rush over and squelch the new owner’s happiness.

I understood both: having loved a boat you ended up selling to get the next one that would better suit your hopes, and dreams of sailing into distant shores and uncharted waters. I drew up a bill of sale with a

Latitudes & Attitudes 149 7/21/21 3:00 PM

warranty and guarantee clause for the husband to protect him if the new owner became overwhelmed and set the boat adrift as he gathered all the paperwork for the boat.

It was impressive seeing the factory build sheet with everything he had ordered extra along with all the owner’s manuals for the boat’s different systems.

The day came for the new owner to take possession and relocate his new venture to his homeport a mere quarter-mile away. It was coincidence that he lived only a few canals over, and said he was familiar with the boat, having passed by her while he kayaked, and never dreamt of owning a boat like this. He and his wife were like two otters playing the way they were moving about the boat checking her out. Once satisfied, they approached the back porch where the husband and I were watching the show. The husband, with a jolly voice but stoic face, asked, “So, what do you think? Can she make your dreams come true?” With eager enthusiasm the new owner said she would fit the bill and more. After the paperwork was all signed and exchanged, the new owner said he was going to get some parts and tools and see if he couldn’t get her started. We all agreed to meet back the next day at the same time and parted ways. I sat with the old owner who stared at the boat as he talked to me. He thanked me and shook my hand with a tear in his eye, grateful that the boat was going to somebody worthy of having her and treating her the way she deserved — the way she commanded.

The next day we were all on time. I sat with the old owner and his wife on the porch sipping coffee, then later a bottle of water all the time while watching the new owner scurry back and forth while his wife cleaned and polished the topsides. The boat was waking up and coming alive right in front of us. What an amazing thing to witness. She was shaking off all the dirt, grime, and mildew that had collected over the years. The old owner reminisced and told stories from when he took her for the first sea trial to taking ownership of her and the first harrowing sail before he knew how to handle her. All was told with a light and happy tone. I then asked where he had sailed her and the tone changed to a more somber tone. “We started out in Massachusetts where she was splashed. Boy, what a cold and miserable day that was,” he said, gazing off with a smile. “I had two friends from the office and my ex-wife on board. We sailed her into New York harbor and spent a few days there. It was good times. From there we hopped down to Delaware, then North Carolina and onward to South Carolina, spending a day or two exploring each port. Then we wanted to taste

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offshore and went on the outside around Florida all the way to Ft. Myers. Once the boat was tied securely, my friends raced to the airport to catch a flight back north and my ex and I went on from Ft. Myers to our home right here. We sailed almost every day for the good part of a year and learned her ways, and she learned ours. The following year we did what most uprising sailors do: We started taking longer day trips that led to overnighters that led to a few days out, to a week at a time. Before we knew it, we were in Louisiana, then Texas, and then why not let’s head to Mexico. We returned home and the third year we decided to take a year and travel, so we did.

The one thing we didn’t plan for was a year turning into twenty. Our kids were all grown, having lived a life on the water, and we were growing old.” His tone and face were growing icy once again. I tried not to stare at him, but he wouldn’t have noticed as he was a world away and in another time.

“We decided that twenty years of endless ports and stories that would take another twenty years to retell, both good and not so good — they can’t be called bad stories because we survived, so I call them not so good as I would not like to revisit them, but they didn’t kill us. We decided to hang it up and finally go home. We were renting the house and the lease was up, so the timing was perfect. After a year back home and trying to re-establish life on land, my ex and I were anxious to go for one last sail. We wanted to go back to the Atlantic side of South America. So, the following year we did.

The best time of my life was sailing that boat. My ex had enough as the kids were starting a new life on land and family became more important back home. So we went back. The ex-wife had enough. I hadn’t. My boat was part of this family. It had brought us such strong emotions and feelings. She had her own personality, with good days and bad days. Some days she would groan as to say ‘Take it slow — I’m sore today,’ other days she would shoulder in and fly! Our sailing days were numbered. At least as far as visiting distant shores and faraway places were concerned. That is what she wanted and that’s what I gave her. She took our house in Massachusetts and I kept the house here in Florida with the boat. I took off again and sailed the Caribbean, but the boat needed a crew. So I found some crew that wanted to get out of the islands before hurricanes picked up for the new season.

As we left for a run back to Florida, we were caught in a horrible storm and were blown down several times. We made it back, but that was it for me. I lost my sea legs and my nerve for open water. Once I dropped the crew off in w w w . L at s A t t s . c o m

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St. Petersburg to go off on their own ways, I sailed back here and tied her up. I haven’t been on her since. The last time anyone tried to start her was my son over ten years ago now, and she didn’t want anything to do with him, or me for that matter. We deserted her and she was mad.

Rightfully so, too. We were ready for a slower life, but not her! She wanted the open ocean like she deserves and needs to live. To be. So there she sits. Breaking my heart every day, reminding me of a life well past. It is time she continues on without me. She has places to go and things to do. Her slumber is over. It’s time to dust her off and get her back to the sea where she belonged all along. Not tied w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

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up like a caged animal waiting to die. And I don’t want her to watch me die either.”

We sat for a few minutes absorbing the stories when the new owner came up to us and plopped down in the chair next to the previous owner. “I have fresh fuel, filters, and batteries, and bled the fuel system and changed the oil. Can you give me any tips on her temperament to start her up? Could you come aboard and give me any tips to steer her or sail her?” the new owner asked. The old owner didn’t move at first, then slowly lifted his head and said, “The last time I was aboard her was the day I tied her to her holdings some

Latitudes & Attitudes 151 7/21/21 3:00 PM

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152 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 148-152 Passing The Dream - MKC.indd 6

time ago. No, son. I cannot help you. She will give up her secrets to you. You just have to figure out her combinations, and those, my new friend, she has already changed for you to find out. She has already moved on from me and is solely yours now. It’s not that I don’t want to help you; she doesn’t want me to help. You need to do this together and learn each other’s personalities — earn each other’s trust. That is something that cannot be told, it is something that must be experienced and earned through time.”

The new owner smiled and gave a sharp nod of acceptance, then disappeared back to his new boat.

The old owner and I sat in silence once again.

What was a few hours on a Saturday morning for me was a lifetime for him. I was so grateful to be a part of this experience and his life and share the stories he laid before us to laugh and sometimes cry. I made small talk with his second wife who didn’t care much for sailing or boats in general. She loved living on the water and kayaking through the mangrove maze of trees that sheltered their house from the weather off the Gulf of Mexico. She was relieved that the boat would be gone soon and both her and her husband could finally relax by not having the stress of the hurricane season and the worry of the boat being further damaged or worse sunk by the storms. While we were talking, the old owner was still a world away reliving his life during a different time. Then there it was: the cranking of a diesel engine turning over and firing to life after more than a decade of sitting. Once the smoke cleared, the new owner ran to the helm busy as a mouse checking gauges and operating the throttle and gear shift. The commotion snapped the old owner out of the past. With a jolt, he sprang out of the chair, a huge smile and joy lighting up his face, and began to clap for the new owner, or for the boat itself for the start of a new journey. The new owner came down from the boat and up to the old owner and thanked him once again. He asked if we could untie the lines for him and he would be off to the canal a few over and the boat’s new home. We agreed and went to the dock. I was heading toward the bow line when the old owner grabbed my arm and said in a stern voice, “I have the bow. Give me the bow and you take the stern. And give me a second.”

I walked aft and grabbed the lee end of the stiff and weathered stern line, ready to undo it from its cleat.

I looked toward the bow, waiting for instruction from the old owner who was supposed to be watching the new owner for the ready to go nod. The old owner had his right forearm resting on the boat with his head tight to his arm. I could not make out his words, but he was speaking to the old gal. He looked up at the new captain, then at me, and with tears in his eyes nodded, and with a single twist of his wrist, untied the line from its cleat like he had a million times before.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 155 7/23/21 1:45 PM

1973 53’ Gulfstar - $99,900 Lars Bergstrom - 910.899.7941

1980 51’ Morgan - $170,000 Curtis Stokes - 954.684.0218

1987 50’ Gulfstar - $79,000 Curtis Stokes - 954.684.0218

1981 47’ Nautor Swan - $97,500 Ed Pickering - 410.708.0633

2002 46’ Hylas - $350,000 Lars Bergstrom - 910.899.7941

1989 44’ Brewer - $137,500 Barbara Burke - 904.310.5110

1966 41’ Rhodes - $119,900 Bill Boos - 410.200.9295

1987 41’ C&C - $55,000 Ed Pickering - 410.708.0633

1986 41’ Sigma - $75,000 Steve Horinek - 239.887.0898

1992 40’ Sabre - $55,000 Crystal Hanley - 407.247.8733

1979 40’ Bristol - $39,500 Jason Hinsch - 410.507.1259

1970 38’ Herreshoff - $49,500 Mary Catherine Ciszewski - 804.815.8238

To see more details about these and all other yachts around the globe, please visit our website at

www.curtisstokes.net 156 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 156-157 Cyrtis stokes.indd 2

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Worldwide Yacht Sales Yacht Charters New Yacht Construction

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Latitudes & Attitudes 157 7/23/21 1:19 PM

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2012 PASSPORT VISTA 545 CENTER COCKPIT “Blue Sky” Is possibly the best equipped and maintained example of the highly successful Passport Vista 545 Center cockpit available on the brokerage market today! In 2012, the Passport Vista 545 center cockpit was named “Boat of the Year” by the Cruising World judges and “Blue Sky” was the Passport used by the judges for their review. She is now available, call for more details and price.

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2015 PASSPORT 545 AFT COCKPIT “PATHFINDER”

The

CRUISING WORLD’S 2016 Boat of the Year and Best Full-Size Cruiser over 50 feet, this 2015 Passport Vista 545 Aft Cockpit features a reverse walk up transom and a raised deck house. A thoroughly modern and stylish yacht offers an abundance of room and comfort yet keeps a sleek, low profile. Pathfinder has two large staterooms each with their own head and separate shower. There is also a large walk-in utility room with a 7-foot long workbench, numerous lockers, and a washer/dryer. A breathtaking, better than new turnkey yacht, Just step on board and sail away! Asking $895,000.

Cruisin bette

For more information on these and other previously owned yachts, please contact us: ANNAPOLIS: Yacht Haven, 326 First Street, Ste. 404, Annapolis, MD 21403

160 Latitudes & Attitudes

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PASSPORT VISTA 545 CC An exceptional Passport 545 with shoal draft & performance Solent mast and sails. Electric winches, bow thruster, generator, air conditioning, and much, much more. Call for details.

2007 PASSPORT 470 AC Best equipped and designed Passport 470 ever built & capable of cruising shallow water destinations.

Priced below its current value. Asking $450,000.

2008 PASSPORT 470 CC Fully equipped for cruising. Excellent condition with unique double walk thru, 3 stateroom layout and shoal draft. Asking $524,500.

2002 PASSPORT 470 CC A very special Passport with a staysail ketch rig and three staterooms, very well executed.

Asking $465,000.

2012 PASSPORT VISTA 545 CC The best equipped and maintained Passport 545 on the market! Asking $935,000.

2006 PASSPORT 470 CC Classic Passport 470 Center Cockpit with two stateroom/two head double walk-thru layout.

Pristine condition. Asking $489,000.

CLASSIC PASSPORT 40 AC Beautiful example of the legendary Robert Perry cruising yacht. Several to choose from.

2015 PASSPORT VISTA 545 AC Cruising World’s 2015 Boat of the Year. Breathtaking better than new, turnkey yacht. Asking $895,000.

1995 GOZZARD 44 AC A well equipped, comfortable, and safe cruising yacht.

Asking $245,000.

1997 GOZZARD 36 AC An elegant blue water sailing yacht of rich construction and beguiling character uniquely designed for a sailing couple with occasional guests, a single hander, or a young family. Asking $175,000

For more information on these and other previously owned yachts, please contact us: ANNAPOLIS: Yacht Haven, 326 First Street, Ste. 404, Annapolis, MD 21403

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410-263-0008 www.passportyachts.com

Latitudes & Attitudes 161

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Get YOUR Yacht Sold Fast!

162 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 162-163 Massey Yachts.indd 2

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We Need YOU to List with US!

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166 Latitudes & Attitudes

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YOUR VIRTUAL BROKER

53’ Amel Super Maramu 2004 $339,900

50’ Beneteau 50 2011 $279,000

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www.atomictunayachts.com Alameda 2099 Grand St. Alameda, CA 94501 w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

pg 167 Atomic Tuna.indd 1

888-833-8862 Alameda 1070 Marina Village Pkwy.

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Latitudes & Attitudes 167 7/21/21 2:49 PM

7

pg 168 Annapolis sailyard.indd 1

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Latitudes & Attitudes 169 7/21/21 2:37 PM

Team Jeff & Jean can help you find your Dream Cat!

The Yacht Broker that Outworks the Competition!

We work for YOU! As licensed Buyer’s Brokers and authors of “The 5 Step Plan to Buy a Boat to Go Cruising”, we’d love to help you find the right catamaran for the right price, at no cost to you!

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7/27/21 8:40 AM

The Bosun’s Bag Hard-to-Find “Stuff” for the Cruiser

BAVARIA C57 2018 Rare opportunity! Excellent platform for living aboard & extended World cruising. This yacht has reliably carried the owners through the Med, Caribbean & East Coast of the U.S. Fun to sail & easy to handle – even with a small crew. Thoughtfully equipped to ensure comfort, safety & ease of handling. Stylish Walnut interior. 3 staterooms, 2 heads, large salon, utility/laundry area, tremendous storage. Large cockpit with 2 U-shaped seating areas; tables lower to make lounge areas. Aft of twin helms is a wet bar with grill, sink & refrigerator drawer. Large drop-down bathing platform reveals a garage accommodating a Williams Jet rib. A great opportunity for you to get aboard and sail away to your desired destination! Asking $775,000. www . SJYACHTS .com

matt@sjyachts.com | 843-872-8080

Confusious says, “Never insult the man who makes your food!”

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Latitudes & Attitudes 171 7/22/21 1:43 PM

2004 53’ AMEL Super Maramu “2000 Redline” $339,900

Located in Hawaii. Ready to go cruising.

The Amel Super Maramu 53 2000 Redline is one of the best engineered, robustly built, and comfortable long range cruising boats available.

This one is ready to go anywhere with excellent upgrades and professional maintenance.

ATOMICTUNAYACHTS.COM 510-759-8481 wayne@atomictunayachts.com

172 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 171-176 Bosun's Bag 36 - MKC.indd 2

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SternPerch Seats

After market seats, pads, and rail cushions

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Latitudes & Attitudes 173 7/22/21 1:43 PM

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510-900-3616 ext. 104 Fax: 510-900-3617 174 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 171-176 Bosun's Bag 36 - MKC.indd 4

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Cooling the boating world since 1947 TOLL FREE

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To Donate, Participate, or Volunteer, go to:

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Wanna Cheat? Here are the answers to this issue’s Extra Large Maritime Crossword Puzzle. Go ahead, no one will know... except you!

On Page 176

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Latitudes & Attitudes 175 7/22/21 1:43 PM

Giant Latitudes & Attitudes Nautical Crossword Puzzle Created by Myles Mellor

Across

Down

1 Sailor’s song 2 Swimming, surfboarding, etc.

3 With masts fully extended 4 Lured 5 Only used an aqualung and flippers, under water, 2 words 6 Flippered ocean critter, 2 words 7 Ancient calculator 8 Blackbeard’s nationality 9 Space exploring group, abbr.

10 Hospital areas, abbr.

11 Elder 16 Continuing 17 Expression of dismay Spectrum creator 18 19 Jamaican music 21 “Beauty ___ witch” (Shakespeare), 2 words 25 Illusion 27 Looking up to 28 Dine

176 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 171-176 Bosun's Bag 36 - MKC.indd 6

Bikini or speedo 29 30 Wedding promise, 2 words 32 Champagne nickname 34 Break of day, 2 words 37 Credit, for short 38 Paddled craft 39 Kind of layer 41 Volcanic island in the Caribbean, 2 words 43 Fall back as a tide 46 Arrives at the shore 47 Hitched, so to speak 48 Oahu greeting 49 Make a navigation mistake. e.g.

54 Eerie ability, briefly 56 Sushi food 58 Christopher Cross #1 hit 59 A long way off 61 Lifeboat gear 62 Place for a plug 63 Swamps 65 Moved abruptly due to the force of the ocean 66 Hung in there 68 “Lord __ the Rings” 70 Waldorf salad ingredient Sweet smell 71 73 Completion of a voyage 74 Picture House vote 77 78 Neither Rep. nor Dem.

Wanna Cheat? The answer to this are on page 175

1 Mariners 6 Pretty marine predators, 2 words 12 Music sheet abbreviation 13 Island in a Beach Boys lyric Three hulled sailboat 14 15 Sometimes the sea is smooth as ____ 18 Spanish beach 1997 Best Movie Oscar winner 20 22 Rum cocktails with lime or lemon juice Hamlet’s repeated verb 23 24 Half 26 Believer suffix 28 Underwater exploring, 2 words 31 Boisterous bash Urban transit 32 “And the rockets’ ___ glare . . .”

33 34 Opposite of masc.

35 Towards the sky 36 Eccentric or fanatical sailor, for example 40 Flow smoothly 42 Mountaineer’s challenge 44 Tanning area 45 Beatles’ vessel , 2 words 50 Trawling equipment 51 Over there 52 Deer relative 53 Compass pointer 55 Snaky swimmer 57 Promotional efforts 58 Enjoyed the taste 60 Primitive and porous marine animals 64 Abundant 67 Sign of goodness 69 Water area around Corfu, 2 words 72 Upgraded an old vessel with new features 75 Freeze, 2 words 76 Teeming 79 Belonging to a lady 80 Kind of feeling 81 Ocean inlet 82 Went from the deck to the hold, for example

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Latitudes & Attitudes 177 7/21/21 4:26 PM

FFE EATU RERDE D ATU LATITUDES & ATTITUDES – Advertiser Spotlight

YEARS IN LATS & ATTS: 18 BUSINESS: Sewing Supplies Retailer LOCATION: Columbia City, IN “At Sailrite, we take pride in being a one-stop shop for the doit-yourself cruising and sailing lifestyle. We got our start selling sailmaking kits and correspondence courses, and although we’ve grown over the years and expanded into new markets, our heart will always be in the marine world. Sailrite’s DIY philosophy fits perfectly with the self-reliance, determination, and grit of the sailing and Hallie and Matt Grant cruising lifestyle. There is tremendous crossover between the sailing and cruising lifestyle and the can-do attitude that dwells in every DIYer. Thanks in part to our relationship with the Lats & Atts crew, the Sailrite family continues to grow. We can’t wait to see where we go from here.”

www.sailrite.com 178 Latitudes & Attitudes pg 178-179 Ad List - MKC.indd 2

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You

ADVERTISER INDEX These are the smartest advertisers in the marine industry! Be sure to tell ‘em where you saw ‘em.

Marine Advertisers

AB Inflatables 181 55 Annapolis Boat Show Annapolis Hybrid Marine 40 Annapolis Sailyard 168 Artisans Custom Mattress 75 ASA-American Sailing Assoc. 37 133 Atlantic Towers ATN 115 Atomic Tuna Yachts 167 Aumaris 28 B&G Yacht Management 27 Bacon Sails 131 Bavaria Sail & Power 12-13 Beta Marine 36 Blue Water Sailing School 56-57 Bob Bitchin Books 143 121 Bocas Marina 30 boot Düsseldorf Com-Pac Yachts 15 169 Conch Charters Coppercoat 111 125 C.S. Johnson Curtis Stokes & Assoc. 156-157 Defender Marine 33 DesignM.D. 39 Doyle Sails International 16-17 Eastern Yacht Sales 166 4-6 Edson El Cid Marinas 32 eMarine Systems 77 eMarine Systems 123 Forespar 117 Froli Sleep Systems 131 Great Lakes Scuttlebutt 135 Hamilton Ferris Co. Power Products 34 HMC Handcraft Mattress Co. 125 Hylas Yachts 2-3 IMIS/Gowrie 111 Indiantown Marina 119 Kanberra Gel 109

Keenan Filters 7 170 Kelly Bickford KiwiGrip - PYI Inc. 117 L&A Hats 133 127 L&A Jackette L&A Ship Store 154-155 84-85 L&A Subscription Ad Lee Sails 103 164 Litte Yacht Sales Mack Sails 29 Mack Yacht Services 31 Mainsheet Partners 133 MarTek Davits 131 Massey Yacht Sales 162-163 Mystic Knotworks 115 Newport Int’l Boat Show 38 Next Gen 131 OCENS 119 Offshore Sailing School 10-11 Pacific NW Boater Tested 137 Passport Yacht Brokerage 160-61 Port Ludlow Marine 113 PYI Inc. 123 Pyrate Radio 152 Rainman Watermakers 41 Royal Cape Catamarans 63 S&J Yacht Sales 158-159 Sailrite 182 SailTime 24-25 Seabbatical Charters 170 SeaFrost 35 Shadetree Fabric Shelters 121 Smiths X-treme Cleaners 133 South Coast Yachts 165 St. Pete’s Boat Show 58 Two Can Sail 170 Ultra Marine West 9 55 US Boat Show Wakespeed 113 8 Wichard Winch Wench 126

ADVERTISERS

You can reach the most active segment of the boating market - in print and online! w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m

pg 178-179 Ad List - MKC.indd 3

Boats, Brokers, Charters Bosun’s Bag Annapolis Sailyard 168 Atomic Tuna Yachts 167 Bavaria Sail & Power 12-13 15 Com-Pac Yachts Conch Charters 169 Curtis Stokes & Assoc. 156-157 Eastern Yacht Sales 166 Hylas Yachts 2-3 170 Kelly Bickford Litte Yacht Sales 164 Massey Yacht Sales 162-163 Passport Yacht Brokerage 160-61 Royal Cape Catamarans 63 S&J Yacht Sales 158-159 24-25 SailTime Seabbatical Charters 170 South Coast Yachts 165 170 Two Can Sail

Boat Shows

boot Düsseldorf Newport Int’l Boat Show St. Pete’s Boat Show US Sailboat Show

30 38 58 55

Atomic Tuna Yachts Banner Bay Marine BB Zarcor Call of the Sea Foundation Cruise RO Watermakers CruisingConcepts.com Escape to the Islands/ Russ Furtick Forget About It Foss Foam & Rudders Gig Harbor Boat Works Hart Sytems Hydrovane Int’l Marine Inc. Keylime Sailing Club King Air Marine Kiss-Radio Tek Little Yacht Sails M&B Shipcanvas Co. Masthead Enterprises Matthew Turner Tallship No-Wear Guard OceanMedix Offshore Passage Opps.

Pyrate Radio S&J Yacht Sales Sailmaker’s Supply South Coast Yachts Technautics VISAR

Non-Marine Advertisers

None! Why would we want that? This is a boating magazine. Ya wanna see fancy watches, pick-up trucks, and high-priced cars, read the other mags!

Don’t Wait!

Contact Ad Director Lisa O’Brien aboard Traveler in the San Juan Islands.

510-900-3616 Ext. 105 Lisa@LatsAtts.com

Latitudes & Attitudes : Winter - Spring - Summer & Fall Issues Next Issue: Winter 2021-2022 Ad Insertions by 10/11/21 - Art Due 10/15/21 - On Sale 11/30/21 Contact Us Today: ads@LatsAtts.com 510-900-3616 ext.105

Latitudes & Attitudes 179 7/29/21 10:05 AM

Boat People

Meet some folks who have managed to make a lifestyle out of most people’s dreams. Boat people can be found on oceans and seas, scattered around the globe. They can be spotted easily. They are the ones who have a glazed look in their eyes as they scan the horizons. Here are a few we’ve seen. Have you seen any lately? If so, email a photo and information to: submissions@LatsAtts.com

Charlene had never been on a sailboat before when meeting her husband in a bar in Zihuatanejo in 2012. She was on vacation with her parents, and very interested in the boat life. In February 2014, we sailed back to Zihuatanejo and were married on the beach where we met. It’s been a big change of life for her, LOL!

This is Mary, seen while sailing in Guadeloupe with her twin sister, Jean, and husband, John. They are “inactive liveaboards” as they live in Denver, and sailings a little tough there, so they charter… a lot. Their last charters were in Tahiti and Guadeloupe. They liked Tahiti the best. Duh!

Brian Stork sent in this pic of wife Shelly and thier Giant Schnauzer, Moses, onboard their Hylas 56, Aria.

They live aboard and had just arrived in USVI from Florida. Friendly Moses has quite a few sea miles under his collar and is a great ambassador for the cruising lifestyle.

Steven Jankowski from the Bronx has spent most of his adult life in the entertainment business as a stagehand in the 1970s NYC rock & roll scene, and on the road as a band roadie and road manager. In ‘99, he sailed from LA to Tahiti. Steve sails his 34-foot Catalina and currently resides in San Pedro, CA.

Lats & Atts Founders Circle member Bob Feld sent in this his picture of son Travis and 5-year-old granddaughter Rachel Lynn on her first trip to Catalina from San Pedro on a Fairweather Mariner 39. Travis was fighting fires in Northern California last summer. Thank you for all that you do!

First time sailing! Trevor Triche, 14, accompanied his grandfather, Captain Jim Cash, on a friend’s C&C 36 for a daysail on Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Trevor studies the trumpet, piano, and guitar, and is also a history buff. Trevor says the summer sail was a “truly amazing experience.”

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pg 181 AB Inflatables.indd 1

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DIY DNA IS IN OUR

1969 — Sailrite founder, Jim Grant.

For over 50 years, Sailrite has been a haven for adventurous marine fabricators and DIYers.

What started in 1969 as a source for amateur DIY sailmaking has evolved into the industry’s

1988 — The Grant family at Sailrite’s third Columbia City location.

most trusted source for fabric, notions, tools, hardware and everything you need to become a self-reliant sailor.

Here’s to another 50 years of sailing and sewing together.

To get to know us, visit

Sailrite.com/about-sailrite

2021 — Three generations of Grants working at Sailrite.

FABRIC

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SEWING MACHINES

©2021 Sailrite Enterprises, Inc

pg 182 Sailrite.indd 1

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TOOLS

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KITS

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FOAM

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NOTIONS

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HOW-TO VIDEOS

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SAILRITE.COM #sailrite

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