Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Cruising World

“When I landed in St. Thomas this past fall, bound for the British Virgin Islands, I was shocked—in a good way!” When a pair of Category 5 hurricanes swept through the Virgin Islands and leveled just about everything in sight in September 2017, well, it made me, and probably many other folks, wonder what the future might hold. The destruction we saw, the task of rebuilding, and the time it might take was unimaginable. But when I landed in St. Thomas this past fall, bound for the British Virgin Islands, I was shocked—in a good way! Life seemed normal, from a tourist’s perspective at least. Restaurants were open, ferries were running, the hillsides looked green, the water was blue. My first stop after arriving in Road Town was Nanny Cay,…

Holly Martin and her father have a good eye for a good boat (below) (“Maiden Voyage,” January 2020). One of the original Grindes was imported on spec to the UK by a broker. To publicize the boat, he contacted excellent helmsmen, two friends of mine, the late Richard Scott Hughes and Dieter Tim, to race the boat. The broker entered the Grinde in Cowes Week in the IOR half-ton class. With a pickup crew, Richard and Dieter raced against the hotshot IOR crews and won going away! The Grinde became a very popular boat in the early ’70s. STICK TO SAILING, FATTY Et tu, Fatty? As you described, yes, plastic in the oceans is a big problem (“Running Hot and Cold on Climate Change,” November 2019), but a recent study…

1. FENDERTEX INFLATABLE FENDERS • PRICE VARIES • PYI.COM Storage space is at a premium on most cruising boats, so although they are necessary, it’s a shame to fill that space with bulky fenders. Fendertex solves this quandary with its light-weight, textile inflatable fenders. They are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, and when not needed, can be deflated, rolled up and easily stowed in a locker. 2. GILL SOFTSHELL SMOCK • $99 GILLMARINE.COM Perfect on its own or layered under a jacket, the Gill softshell smock features a lightweight stretch softshell fabric with a durable water-repellant finish and wicking inner construction to keep you warm and dry. The unisex pull-over is available in sizes XS through 3XL. 3. EDSON CHAIN CARE+ • $29 • EDSONMARINE.COM When taking…

“Ah, Borneo! You can’t get more primitive here on Earth without a time machine.” In October 1975, while building our 36-foot ketch Carlotta from scratch, I happened to pick up a copy of National Geographic magazine featuring Borneo. On its cover was what appeared to me to be a sexy hippy chick, with a cute female orangutan on her hip and another on the ground in front of her. The standing orangutan was named Princess. It turns out the women’s name was Dr. Birutè Galdikas, a primatologist and conservationist, which I discovered as soon as I actually stopped to read the story. But it was that image that spoke directly to me, not merely because of how foxy the doctor looked, but because of its deep-in-the-jungle exoticness. Though I was…

If you cruised the British Virgin Islands prior to 2017, you’re likely familiar with the William Thornton, more commonly known as Willy T, the infamous floating bar that was the scene of much fun and defrocked debauchery before it was destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria and lodged on the beach on Norman Island. After one failed salvage attempt, Chris Juredin, a longtime BVI resident who owns two local diving-related businesses, and Kendyl Berna, an environmental scientist and filmmaker, joined forces, acquired the Willy T, and founded the non-profit organization Beyond the Reef in 2018 to build artificial reefs around the BVI while fostering positive change ashore. Beyond the Reef’s goals were fourfold. Juredin and Berna wanted to “recycle” derelict vessels, create reef habitat, foster positive public relations for the…

Winter is my favorite season on the water. In addition to lighted boat parades and nautical holiday parties, this is the time for the annual Christmas Bird Count, now in its 120th year. My husband and I joined the event on land several times before discovering how much fun it is on a boat. Every year in the southern reaches of Puget Sound, the Christmas Bird Count brings together mariners and birders—two groups who share a passion for the marine environment. We spend a day cruising a pre-assigned route, recording numbers and species of birds, while reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. All on board enjoy a camaraderie that comes from teamwork in icy but beautiful surroundings, moving toward a common goal. The bird count is a census…

“Looking for a new hobby that complements the cruising life? Try the Japanese art of fish printing.” After cruising aboard our boats for 30 years or so, my wife, Liz, and I figured we’d done just about everything one could do in a small space surrounded by water. That is, until we connected with circumnavigators Caryn and Gary on San Diego-based Windflower. They certainly added to our repertoire of things to do while afloat. Our education took place in beautiful Chamela Bay on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. I was returning to Feel Free, our Spencer 51, after a successful spearfishing excursion on the reef off the point. So successful, I thought I should share the wealth with our new neighbors on Windflower. In the dinghy were the usual suspects—triggerfish, parrot-fish, hogfish,…

MONTHLY MAINTENANCE As I walked down the dock, I heard and then witnessed a commotion: roiling water, yelling, someone running toward the bow of their boat to fend off a slip mate. Clearly, something was amiss. As I started running to possibly help, I could see the vessel’s mast shuddering and heard the halyards slapping as it collided with the adjacent boat. At first, I thought a newbie helmsman had gotten overzealous with his bow thruster; after all, at the helm, a wide-eyed, white-knuck-led sailor was jamming the bow-thruster lever back and forth, with no effect. It remained wide open, thrusting the vessel’s bow in one direction. I quickly realized the thruster had a mind of its own; it was malfunctioning. Finally, it mercifully quit, but only because it had…

In a recent post on Sailing Totem, Behan Gifford offered some perspective for sailors who are planning to cruise the Bahamas in 2020. “First it’s important to know that overwhelmingly, the islands of the Bahamas are unaffected,” Gifford said. “Dorian’s impact was focused on the very north: Grand Bahama, and Abaco. Grand Bahama is officially open for tourism again; only Abaco is not. “If you are self-sufficient and willing and able to help, by all means—sail to the Abacos! Volunteer workers are encouraged. “If you can contribute to the recovery by sailing to Abaco and offering services, it’s warmly welcomed. The need for this help is ongoing. Specialized skills such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, mechanics or operation of heavy equipment are especially welcomed, but grunt labor is helpful too.”…

The people of Omoa—a tiny town tucked into a steep valley on Fatu Hiva, in the Marquesas—are some of the most generous we have encountered on our travels. Their unassuming kindness, easy smiles and casual patience bridged our deep language barrier, and we soon formed memorable friendships. Locals would frequently call us over with energetic gestures to practice their few English words or welcome us with gifts of fruit off their trees. This is how we met Bartolome, lounging in the front yard of his cousin’s house. A gregarious local artist, Bartolome invited us to see his carvings the next morning and pointed vaguely down the street—the only directions we would need to find his home. When we ambled by the next day, Bartolome guided us around the house to…

“You never want to run aground in the dead of night on a lee shore. But we’d been drawn to Shishmaref. It wasn’t a boomtown. Quite the opposite. It was a town going boom.” A board the 64-foot cutter Ocean Watch, en route to the Northwest Passage, we’d put the Bering Strait astern and were just miles away from crossing the Arctic Circle. First, we had a mission of sorts, to retrieve a weather buoy for a scientist at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab that had beached itself on a remote barrier island; the drift buoy was now high and dry, but its satellite responder was working fine. We knew precisely where it was. But just a few hours before we got there, we had an encounter that,…