Indholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2018 i Cruising World

BE Prepared Come late summer and early fall, many of us with boats in salt water have reason to worry. Sailors lucky enough to already have made it to the Caribbean, Mexico or off into the Pacific have it the worst, since a few thunderstorms today can easily swirl up into a tropical storm — or worse — tomorrow. Having a solid plan in place ahead of time for how to deal with things is critical, a lesson sorely learned during the 2017 hurricane season. Hence, our focus on hurricanes in this month’s Hands-On Sailor section. But even East Coast sailors who do most of their cruising along the Carolinas or farther north are well advised to keep a wary eye on the tropics. I know from May until nearly…

Your gripping article on the loss of Bowditch (“Surviving the Imperfect Storm,” May 2018) and remarkable rescue of her crew 40 years ago touched my wife, Nancy, and me in a strange way. The dinghy shown aboard 24 de Febrero is similar to our Telson, purchased about the same time (now 42 years ago) in Solomons Island, Maryland, for $360. It had no flotation and was built by a now untraceable company, MAT Plastics, in New England; a close version appeared some years ago as the well-done (and way more costly) Oxford Dinghy, built on the Chesapeake’s Eastern Shore. We’re marine biologists, and Nancy named the dinghy after the pointed rear end of a tiny estuarine shrimp! It has followed us cruising many thousands of miles along the coast. While…

Second Chances by Greg Coppa (2018; Stillwater River Publications; $15.95) Second Chances tells of St. Thomas charter-boat captain Skip Thornton and his wild ride toward self-realization. The novel has the rich tone of Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford mysteries: well-developed characters coping with complex dynamics between locals, tourists and waterborne vagabonds. White’s prose reeks of the Florida backwaters and their culturally threatened inhabitants; Coppa’s evokes imagery of the too-free-and-easy Caribbean life, and of quiet Wickford, Rhode Island, where Thornton ultimately fetches up. Few profundities will be found in Coppa’s Second Chances — just revelations of unseen rhythms of sailing communities and those who carve out lives in them, balancing carefree days on the water with those simply trying to stay afloat. —Nim Marsh Still Water Bending by Wendy Mitman Clarke…

Mergers and acquisitions aren’t new in the business world, but they are posing some interesting questions to navigators as the world’s two biggest electronic cartography manufacturers — C-Map and Navionics — have both been acquired by larger marine-electronics companies in recent years, potentially heralding a new era of increased innovation for end users while also potentially elevating the table stakes for marine-electronics manufacturers. Some back story. In March 2016, Jeppesen (a Boeing subsidiary) sold C-Map, its marine cartography business, to Digital Marine Solutions, which is owned by the Swedish-flagged Altor Equity Partners, a private-equity firm that also owns Navico, the parent company of the B&G, Lowrance and Simrad brands. While this acquisition put C-Map under Altor’s roof, Navico and C-Map continued to operate as independent companies for the next two-plus…

TRANSITING Neptune’s STAIRS It’s not easy finding four line handlers smart enough to catch a rope and dumb enough to get involved with a Panama Canal transit aboard Ganesh, our hard-used 43-foot ketch. Here’s the truth of it: The only common denominator among my friends is that they lack judgment. Thus, I coaxed aboard Handsome Henry, of London; the notorious Sailor Sandy Lord, of Vermont; and Greg and Liz Ann Mulvany, of Lagniappe, a Pacific Seacraft 37 from New Orleans. This wasn’t our first transit. My wife, Carolyn, and I have used Neptune’s Stairs so often the Panama Canal Authority gives us frequent-flyer miles. And our last transit had been a piece of cake. We’d center-locked through, with two other vessels rafted alongside as potential fenders. No problem; their crews…

DRY SEASON: May-October wet season: November-April CYCLONE SEASON: November-April. Active cyclone area: south of 10° S; west of 140° Wdistance: Panama to Australia — 8,000 nautical miles CULTURAL AREAS: Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia/New Zealand references: World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell noonsite.com (Virtually everything you will need to know on a current basis will be found on this comprehensive website.) Atlas of Pilot Charts — South Pacific, DMA/NOAA The Pacific Crossing Guide by Kitty Van Hagen Charlie’s Charts of Polynesia by Charles and Margo Wood Landfalls of Paradise by Earl Hinz and Jim Howard South Pacific Cruising by David Thatcher South Pacific Anchorages by Warwick Clay Rocket Guide to Vanuatu & New Caledonia Solomon Island Cruising Guide by Dirk Sieling New Zealand Coastal Cruising Handbook by Royal Akarana Yacht Club…

SEAMANSHIP Long-term passage planning requires more than just familiarizing yourself with the seasonal weather patterns and entry requirements for countries you plan to visit. Every boat needs regular maintenance and seasonal haulouts, not to mention a backup plan in case unexpected repairs are needed. Many sailors who follow the popular Coconut Milk Run think it’s necessary to sail to Australia or New Zealand to find proper facilities to address both regular and unexpected boat issues, but that is hardly the case. Nor is it necessary to flee the tropics during the cyclone season; safe refuge can be found for your vessel to weather approaching cyclones. Scattered throughout the South Pacific are several reputable and reliable boatyards that offer cruising sailors everything from fiberglass repair to bottom paint, and short-term haulouts…

Capt. Henry Marx personified the salty old-style chandlery owner — a friend to many sailors, a naval-history buff and an entrepreneur who remained a sailor’s advocate. Many Long Island Sound sailors got to know Henry and his chandlery as the no-nonsense source for quality sailing gear. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to developing Landfall Navigation into a thriving brick-and-mortar business, Henry published an information-rich catalog and became an online vendor. Throughout, he remained a practical visionary, and his contributions to the sailing community kept pace with the growth of his business. Henry passed away from pneumonia on June 28 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 77. Henry’s version of “value added” included a commitment to safety, seamanship and youth sailing. It all began right in…

One of the great benefits of the cruising lifestyle is enjoying the bounty from the sea. While sailing the Sea of Cortez aboard our Valiant 42, Contigo, my family and I decided to anchor in Bahia San Carlos, North of Guaymas, Mexico, to sit out a blow. We spent an excellent day snorkeling the reefs and playing on the beach. Later, when a shrimp boat came in to shelter for the night, the day got even better.§ My daughter and I jumped in the dinghy, armed with a few magazines, some chocolate bars and a couple of greenbacks. We traded them for a canvas bucket full of freshly caught shrimp, then hurried back to the boat to make dinner. § Pasta is a staple on Contigo. It’s quick, easy and…

FROM high ALTITUDE to high SEAS I’d been holding on to the companionway stairs when the boat lurched suddenly to port and I crashed headlong into the galley. After I brushed myself off and returned to the cockpit, a little shaken but otherwise composed, the skipper, Kevin Farebrother, informed me I had blood running down the side of my face. Fortunately, I was in good hands. Not only is Farebrother a firefighter from Perth, Australia, he also served in the British army’s Special Air Service and is a highly trained emergency responder. Without batting an eye, he had me fixed up with gauze and antiseptic within minutes. We were sailing from Falmouth, England, to the Golden Globe 2018 starting line in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, in the SITraN Challenge, a…

To visualize the potential track of a tropical storm or hurricane approaching the Eastern Caribbean from the east, start by plotting the latest position of the center of the storm. Then, draw forward from that position a 10-degree-wide cone, and you have the area in which the center of the storm is likely to go. The length of the cone is the storm’s speed of approach (knots) times 24 (hours). Do this every day, obtaining the most recent information on the storm’s position and speed of approach from the National Hurricane Center. The tracks for all of 2017’s hurricanes are pictured above. Anyone with an internet connection can obtain this information directly from the NHC, which updates its predictions every six hours, refining them with data from satellites, hurricane-hunter aircraft…

To the North west Passage During the summer of 2018, the crew of DogBark!, an Open 60 race boat turned family cruiser, embarked on an incredible journey — to sail from Seattle to Greenland via the Northwest Passage. The crew of four adults and two kids plan to complete the 6,000-mile adventure in less than four months, during the brief Arctic summer. Follow along on their journey at cruisingworld.com/1809nwpassage. Time to Saila Jeanneau Through a new partnership, SailTime bases will now offer Jeanneau sailboats to their members and owners. SailTime, a boat club that allows members to schedule time aboard boats at any of the company’s bases, will provide Jeanneau an additional way to access the sharing economy and to tap into this growing market of buyers and boaters.…

Shrimp broth is simple to make, and brings rich flavor to this dish. To prepare the broth, place reserved shrimp shells in a medium-size saucepan. Coarsely chop onion, add to shells, and add water to just cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to reduce and concentrate flavors, then strain. Yields about 1 cup of broth. If you want to make this delicious shrimp broth even more flavorful, you can add fresh herbs such as thyme, bay leaf or parsley to the simmering water.…

THE DEFINITIONS AND DELINEATIONS OF A SEA VERSUS AN OCEAN ARE COMPLEX, CONTESTED AND BEST LEFT TO THE LEARNED GEOGRAPHERS TO DEBATE. FROM A SAILOR’S POINT OF VIEW, EXCLUDING LANDLOCKED BODIES OF WATER, THE REST OF THE BRINE IS A CONTIGUOUS PATH TO GLORIOUS GLOBAL ADVENTURE. HAVING SAID THAT, WE DO HAVE OUR FAVORITES. WHILE THE DREADFUL GRIND OF THE ICE PACK IN THE FAR NORTH AND THE TOWERING GRAYBEARDS OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN HAVE THEIR DEVOTEES, MOST SAILING FANTASIES TURN TOWARD THE SEDUCTIVE STRUM OF THE UKULELE, THE SWAYING PALMS AND THE WHITE-SAND BEACHES OF THE EXOTIC SOUTH PACIFIC. Ferdinand Magellan may have been a bit optimistic when he named a body of water that encompasses nearly one-third of Earth Mar Pacifico (peaceful ocean), for, like all oceans, it…

A CLASSIC tale Here in Newport, Rhode Island, the works of Capt. Nathanael Herreshoff are still very much on hand for all to see. A fleet of handsome S boats races weekly on Narragansett Bay. Several sweet little Herreshoff 12½s bob on moorings around the harbor. The cool little town of Bristol is just a short hop up the bay, and once there, the mini cruise is not complete without paying a visit to the Herreshoff Marine Museum, which commemorates the historic works of the famous Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., where the so-called “wizard of Bristol” plied his trade. And once a year, at least, classic yachts from all over gather in town for racing in a waterborne spectacle that must be seen to be believed. Like almost everything to do…