Innehållsförteckning för July 2015 från Cruising World

First the good news: We’re sailing better boats, drinking less booze while on them, taking safety courses and wearing life jackets more often. And those efforts are making it a whole lot safer out on the water than, say, in 1973, when 1,754 people died in boating-related incidents. The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, citing Coast Guard figures, finds that 2014 was the second-safest year on record, with 610 recreational boat-related fatalities. That’s up from 560 deaths the year before, which was the safest on record. The report points out a couple of interesting conclusions. Just 12 percent of the fatalities happened on boats where the operator had taken a safe-boating course. If you study and earn a certificate (or attend a Safety at Sea seminar), it means…

If you like C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian, you won’t be able to put down this fourth installment in a series of historical maritime novels that follow the exploits of Captain Charles Hayden. Canadian author Russell has captured all the action and nuances of the great days of sail in a Caribbean setting, at a time when empires were fighting over possession of islands and plantation slaves were in revolt. Rick Martell Make Westing & Other Tales of Sea and Sail by Jack London (2015; New Street Communications; $12.99) As a teenage oyster thief on San Francisco Bay in the early 1890s, young Jack London reckoned he’d be dead or jailed by 21. Luckily, London survived his early indiscretions and became a legendary teller of epic outdoor tales. In this…

I think that it hit me when my daughter Caitlin was excited to put together her presentation for Volvo Ocean Race Night at her school. Or maybe it was when we were part of the spectator feet welcoming in the first three finishers of the race leg to Newport, Rhode Island. Upon seeing the boats and sailors, Caitlin was completely star-struck. Despite living on a sailboat (and having a Cruising World editor for a mom), Caitlin has never been that into sailing. But the Volvo race? That is something that she, and the rest of her school, is into. Caitlin just finished up fourth grade at Pell Elementary School in Newport, and this year, the curriculum took a very interesting sailing twist by including Volvo Ocean Race-oriented lesson plans. Our…

Preparation is everything. Most dismal passages fail at the dock, long before things start going wrong offshore. You have to have a good boat, with the proper gear, and know how to utilize both in the conditions experienced. This is especially important when things don’t go as planned or the crew isn’t performing at peak efficiency. My wife, Carolyn, and I seldom get fatigued offshore, but we often tire as we approach land. This is only logical. Land is the danger. Our recent transit through the Torres Strait, of northern Australia, is a good example of this. We were nearing the end of our delightful 13-day ocean passage from French New Caledonia. Commercial traffic was increasing. Our AIS was buzzing with targets. “Can that be right?” I asked Carolyn, yawning.…

As in any park, Dry Tortugas National Park has certain regulations that visitors must abide by. Here are a few of the most important rules for boaters. •Overnight anchoring is only permitted in sandy areas within one mile of Garden Key Harbor Light. The main anchorage near the ferry dock is soft sand, and the depths there range from 4 to 26 feet; make sure your anchor is well set. Boats that anchor in the shallow sea grass often drag. • All boaters need to obtain a boating permit before exploring or staying overnight in the park. The park ranger on duty at Garden Key (Fort Jefferson) issues a permit upon your arrival. If you arrive outside normal business hours, you can pick it up the next day. Rangers monitor…

SOURCING PARTS Parts for the gray-water sump came from two locations. Hardware store: $40 • 4-inch PVC tee, threaded middle leg. • Reduction bushings at each end to accommodate a ¾-inch thread fitting. • ¾-inch thread to 1-inch nipple (wastewater in). • ¾-inch thread to ½-inch right-angle nipple (pickup in the tank). • ¾-inch thread to ¾-inch nipple (tank discharge). • PVC primer and cement. Marine Store: $210 • Box of stainless-steel hose clamps. • 14 feet of ¾-inch hose. • Whale Gulper 220 12V Gulper Diaphragm Pump ($154 online price match). • ¾-inch vented loop. • Strainer. TOOLS, TIPS AND TRICKS • Screw gun with Phillips and flat-head bits. • A socket adapter for the screw gun that fits the hose clamps. (This makes adjusting the clamps fast and…

In North American summer, the charter area is the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. During North American winter, the two-masted schooners travel to the Raja Ampat islands, an archipelago in Indonesia’s West Papua province. Depending on the size of phinisi, six to 14 guests are accommodated by a crew of 15 to 21 members. The traditional exterior houses a luxurious interior, off ering a comfortable platform from which to explore the expanses of eastern Indonesia. Full service aboard can include massage and/or reflexology treatment. Activities include snorkeling, scuba diving and tours of Komodo National Park, home to the giant Komodo dragon. For details, contact Northrop and Johnson Yacht Charters (njcharters.com). Pick Your Crewed Boat and Region Pricing incentives are off ered for crewed charters aboard a selection of unique boats…

If it’s summertime, Matt Rutherford must be off in the land of the midnight sun. The intrepid adventurer who sailed around the Americas — 27,000 miles nonstop and singlehanded via the Northwest Passage and Cape Horn, in a 27-foot Albin Vega three years ago — is off again. No surprise. But these days his voyages have a higher purpose. Rutherford and his scientist partner, Nicole Trenholm, are cruising off Greenland in his 42-foot cat-ketch Colvin Gazelle, Ault. They spent the winter in Annapolis, fxing Ault up, and plan to relinquish the aft berth they normally occupy when Dr. Deborah Bronk of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences joins them for a week of studies. Since his wild ride around the continents, Rutherford has created Ocean Research Project, a nonprofit designed…

We modern-day sailors of contemporary cruising boats have become very familiar with synthetic formulations. From Kevlar laminate reinforcement and Dacron sails to Spectra line and Teflon packing material, we’ve not only come to trust products made from scientifically synthesized materials, but they’ve taken on an aura of superiority, and often with good reason. It’s not surprising, then, for many boat owners to consider using synthetic-based oil in auxiliary engines. After all, the benefits of synthetic lubricants are undeniable. Or are they? The most common type of synthetic motor oil lubricant is a polyalphaole-fin (PAO)-based lubricant. Through a process known as polymerization, it creates a pure formulation of uniform molecular chains. Mineral-based oils, on the other hand, are refined from crude oil, yielding a molecular uniformity that is significantly less consistent…

We’ve all been there. You’re underway, and the depth on the chart is not what you’re seeing on your sounder. Or perhaps there’s a channel marker that’s out of place, or a boat sunk in a narrow channel. Sharing this information — whether you’re on the giving or receiving end —has become easier than ever thanks to the quickly emerging field of crowdsourced cartography. Navigation equipment companies like Navico, Raymarine and Navionics, and coming soon, Nobeltec and Furuno, have created platforms to allow you to collect soundings and other observations as you sail, and to upload them so you can either contribute to crowdbased databases or customize charts (think fishing holes or remote anchorages) for your own personal use. Depending on your chart plotter (or computer and navigation software) and…