Cruising outpost #20 fall 2017

From the Creators of

CruisingOutpost.com

CRUISING

PARADISE NEW ZEALAND TO FRENCH POLYNESIA

JESSIE

SETS SAIL AGAIN! THE BEAUTY OF THE

BEAST

SAILING WITH WHALES IN VAVA'U

S/V SOULMATE’s GREAT ADVENTURE

MAST FLYING

HIGH ON SILK! Fall 2017 Issue #20

BOAT SPOTLIGHT ELAN GT5 OUTREMER 4X SOLARWAVE

SOLAR DRIVEN POWER CRUISER!

U.S. $7.99 - Canada $8.99

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In th

there isis issue less tha n

39.7%

Advertis

ing!

And we did it O N PURPO SE! Most o th e magazin r boating es h 65% adave over s.

Person Responsible for This Bob Bitchin bob@cruisingoutpost.com

Editor at Large Sue Morgan sue@cruisingoutpost.com

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

Staff Infection Tania Aebi Contributor Zuzana Prochazka zuzana@cruisingoutpost.com

Life Aboard Queen Mother Robin Stout robin@cruisingoutpost.com

Web & Art Guru Richard Marker rich@cruisingoutpost.com

Media Princess Tabitha “Bitchin” Lipkin tabitha@cruisingoutpost.com Marketing & Video Darren O’Brien darren@cruisingoutpost.com

BS Party Manager Dave Dudgeon dave@cruisingoutpost.com

Boat Show Slaves Jessie Zevalkink & Katie Smith (Also Godmothers to the Office Cats!)

Intern Copy Editor Natalie Shorr

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Advertising Goddess Lisa O’Brien

People Who Helped Us Create This Issue

Suzy Carmody Annie Dike Paul Esterle Len Freedberg James Gyore Rob Hamic Tatiana Lundstrom Maggie Matias Jessica Lloyd-Mostyn Chuck & Patty Ritenour-Ridgway Lea Ann Rock John Simpson Robert Scott Chuck Steffens Morgan Stinemetz Marc Vandendorpel Robert Walker Jeff & Judy Wahl Jessie Zevalkink

This Issue’s Cover: Arguably the best marine photographer alive, this photo is from our friend Billy Black. If you see a boat photo you like, the odds are in favor that Billy shot it! In the last 20 years we have run at least 10 covers from his great lens. Thanks Billy!

Next Issue Goes On Sale December 3, 2017 Printed in the USA

People Who Didn’t Help Us At All Donald Trump Hillery Clinton Millard Fillmore Rutherford Hayes

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Many people disagree with our punctuation usage. For those people, we offer these punctuation marks to be used wherever they like!

‘.?;:!-” “ ‘ ;: ,.,*@!

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Contents

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Special Stuff in this Issue Desiree’s Great Adventure Jessie Zevalkink Water Babies Featured Cruising Vessel - Rogue Tiger Sailing Russia New Zealand to the Society Islands A Sailing Lady Hits the Silk Beauty of the Beast This Place: Cranberry Island There’s This Place: Georgetown, Bahamas

Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.

Issue #20 Fall 2017

33 48 57 62 70 100 104 112 140

46 48 Regular Stuff in this Issue Attitudes Bob Bitchin Outpost News Another Way Tania Aebi What’s Out There: Monohull -Elan GT5 What’s Out There: Multihull - Outremer 4X What’s Out There: Power Cruiser - Solarwave Silent 55 I Found It at the Boat Show Lifestyle Latitudes & Attitudes Talk of the Dock Zuzana Prochazka Life Aboard Robin Stout Bubba Whartz Tech Tips Captain Pauly Galley Gourmet Bosun’s Bag Mackie White Cruisians

8 14 30 42 44 46 79 86 118 148 150 152 154 156 176 185 186

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CRUISING OUTPOST (USPS 011-950) IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY CRUISING OUTPOST, 9353 Oroville Quincy Hwy, Berry Creek, CA 95916.

Periodical Postage paid at Berry Creek, CA and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CRUISING OUTPOST, PO Box 15416, North Hollywood, CA 91615-5416.

™

© 2017The Bitchin Group, Inc.

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By Bob Bitchin

When I first started sailing it was kinda late in my life. Let’s just say “over 30” and leave it at that. I started by reading all the magazines that told of what I would need once I got out there. Then there were books by people like Lin & Larry Pardey, Herb Payson and Bernard Moitessier. From these I gleaned a lot of the “rules” of cruising. After all, there has to be rules, right? If not, we’d have anarchy.

But then there are the “real” facts. Honestly, real facts just don’t pay any attention to the rules. No one can tell another person what cruising will be like for them. Every skipper has to rely on what he learns during his time at sea. Every situation at sea has its own parameters, and day by day, as you spend more and more time at sea, you learn what can be done in certain situations.

Okay, so I know that there are supposed “rules.” Take anchoring for example. Most books written on the subject suggest 7-1 scope when anchoring. But I can tell you there were times when I was very comfortable anchored off Catalina in 108’ of depth and I would only use 3-1 scope. I felt comfortable because for my boat, using an “over-size” anchor (110-lb. Bruce) with all 3/8 chain seemed reasonable to me. As it turns out, using that combination, I never drug anchor and that was what I used for over 20 years!

But (a very large word), I also remember when we anchored off Cabo San Lucas in 1983 at the tail end of a hurricane. I used the Bruce, and after 50 feet of chain was let out I shackled on my back-up 65-lb. Danforth, then let out another 50 feet of chain, then added my Fortress anchor. Finally, when I reached the end of my 300 feet of chain, I shackled on my 300 feet of one-inch nylon rode I carried for a second anchor, ending up with 600 feet of total rode with three anchors. I still slept like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

And then we have to consider the world is changing all the time. What I knew to be true in the ‘80s about sailing kept getting outdated. Electronics improved, as did navigation, maneuverability, sail material and safety gear.

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When I first crossed the Pacific as skipper I used a sextant.

GPS had not been invented, Satellite navigation could only be afforded by the very wealthiest of cruisers and commercial vessels, and even Loran was out of my financial realm.

Today, all that has changed. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Why bad, you ask?

Well, consider this. New people being introduced to cruising today have a lot more technology at their fingertips, but I feel they enter the field too easily. Many people start planning a cruise and rely on modern goodies to make their cruising life easy. Combined GPS, radar, and navigation software show the “reality” of where you are.

Or is it? Is it reality? I can tell you I have had some really good laughs over the years watching large, expensive yachts run into reefs, rocks and other boats because the skipper relied on his autopilot being told what to do by his chart-plotter.

I remember many years ago when a friend of mine took a group of about 20 people out for a day on his 65’ Hatteras to do some fishing. After a day of hot sun and cold beer, they were heading back into port when he decided to leave the bridge to go to the aft deck and empty the bait tank.

Yup! You got it. He slipped when dumping the tank overboard and went over himself. The panic aboard when the boat was about to hit the rocks at the entrance of the harbor and he could not be found was anything but funny. The search for the next 18 hours to find him wasn’t funny either.

(They did find him, alive.) He even made his way into the “Book of Bobs” (yes, his name was Bob and he was found “bobbing” and no, it wasn’t me!!).

So read what the experts say, then make your own plan and be sure to rely on your own common sense. I lived aboard for over 35 years and sailed over 100,000 miles, and there is one thing I know for sure - I don’t have any idea what will happen the next time I am out cruising!

No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. - Isaac Asimov

Attitudes

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2016 BOAT OF THE YEAR & Best Full-Size Cruiser Over 50 Feet Passport Vista 545 Aft Cockpit

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“ A powerful yacht built to exacting standards, the Passport 545 was our judging team’s unanimous choice as the top-overall-boat for 2016. ” Cruising World

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They don’t build them like this anymore...but we do.

www.passportyachts.com 326 First Street, Suite 404, Annapolis, MD 21403 | 410-263-0008

456AC | 470AC | 470CC | 480AC | 515AC | 515CC | 545AC | 545CC | 585TC | 615TC

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Outposter’s News If It’s Gonna Happen It’s Gonna Happen Out There Issue #20

Evening Edition

Photo courtesy of Nigel Rigden

A soldier who survived m

Better than a Cadbury!

Instead of a cream filling, the Exbury Egg contains a bed, stove, desk, wet room and skylight, and is solar powered for minimal environmental impact. The idea was conceived

by British artist Stephen Turner and served as his floating residence for a year while he studied the local environment on the Beaulieu River, UK. Created with the help of Perring Architecture and Design, and SPUD design studio, the Exbury Egg has now been turned into a traveling art exhibition titled “Everything Comes from an Egg.”

Fall 2017

Share the Sail French Polynesia June 28 thru July 5th, 2018

The first, and arguably the best Share the Sail we have ever participated in has been the one in French Polynesia. Starting in Raiatea, we then cruise the most beautiful waters in the world to Taha’a, Bora Bora and Huahini. If you never participate in another Share the Sail, this is the one you need to be on.

Share the Sail started almost 20 years ago with this same itinerary, and it was legendary. It created the Flotilla Charter concept.

We are bringing the whole Cruising Outpost and Lats&Atts family for this one, so it is not to be missed! Each boat will have an experienced staff or family member on board to help with navigation and in an emergency, but this is a Share the Sail so everyone shares in the navigation, cooking, piloting, cleaning and fun!

You can get more info and reserve your cabin with a deposit at www. cruisingoutpost/sharethesail, or email bob@ cruisingoutpost.com.

You can dream about this trip, or you can do it. All it takes is your participation to create the memories of a lifestime!

Nautical Trivia What is the oldest buried treasure map ever discovered, and who is the pirate that left it?

Bonus Point: Where was the treasure located and was it ever found?

(Wanna cheat? Answer is on page 22)

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Cruising Outpost News Believe It or Don’t, It’s True!

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work? Alaska!

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NOAA Wants to Stop Making Charts

NOAA decided to stop printing paper charts several years ago by certifying private companies to print official NOAA paper charts. New certified printing agents bring buying options.

Despite the decision to privatize print chart production, NOAA has released a National Charting Plan that calls for ceasing production of the images used to print the charts. This action will have a profound effect on recreational boating. Several private chart companies do an excellent job of reformatting NOAA data into vector databases that are widely used by U.S. boaters in chart plotters. GPS systems and chart plotters are incredibly useful, but prudent mariners know that one should always have a set of paper charts on board for reference and backup in case of electronic malfunction or power failure.

Virtually all boating safety and captain training schools teach plotting skills using paper charts in order to ensure safe navigation. Once again, our politicians are giving us our turn in the barrel!

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Cruising Outpost News Old Friend with New Tricks -Proteus Yacht Charters

For almost 20 years we have worked with Scott Farquharson on our Share the Sails, from his position as “dock manager” in Tortola all those years ago, through his being President of Dream Yacht Charters and Sunsail out of London. Finally, Scott is venturing out on his own and we wish him all the luck in the world.

His new company, Proteus Charters, handles boats all over the world from 100+’ yachts with crew and skippers, to bare-boat charters in all of the most beautiful places on earth.

If you are thinking of chartering, give Scott a try. His website is proteusyachtcharters.com, and you can email him at: info@proteusyachtcharters.com. Be sure to tell him BB sent you. By the way, he will be working with us to provide the boats for our Tahiti Share the Sail in June of 2018.

A Rose is a Rose... etc.

It was about 1979 when Tommy Chong gave Bob Bitchin his name.

It was when Cheech & Chong were making their first album and BB was the first contestant on “Let’s Make A Dope Deal.” This photo was taken a couple weeks ago when they met for the first time in 38 years by the Bitchin Ranch in the Sierras.

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Jeanneau Celebrates 60

In 1957 Henri Jeanneau, already passionate about aeroplanes and automobiles, discovered a brand new passion - for boats! In 1958 he built his first fiberglass boat. Now, all these years later, his boats are plying the oceans of the world!

Help them celebrate at www. jeanneauamerica.com.

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Cruising Outpost News It’s a Woman’s World

What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?

All were invented by women.

Katadyne Spectra Prize!

The folks at Katadyne (Spectra) have donated one of their great Survivor 06 Emergency Watermakers for our Pacific Northwest Cruisers’ Gathering as a raffle prize! It is the smallest hand-operated emergency desalinator in the world.

Recommended for emergency life rafts and individual survival kits, it’s trusted by militaries and individuals around the globe. The proceeds from these raffles go to the Educational Tall Ship Foundation!

The Pacific Cup

The “FUN Race to Hawaii” runs every even year, starting from San Francisco. Begun in 1980, the race has been enjoyed by thousands of racers sailing well over a million miles in total.

The 2018 Pacific Cup invites well-prepared boats to race to the warm, welcoming shores of Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Before the race, participants will attend safety and preparation seminars and social events including the very popular Bon Voyage party. For the latest news on the Pacific Cup you can go to their website at https:// www.pacificcup.org.

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Cruising Outpost News

It’s Hard to be Humble!

Not sure who feels best about this one! It seems our Founder, Bob Bitchin (hey Mom, he means me!), has been one-upped by his granddaughter, Tabitha Lipkin. She won an Emmy for a documentary she produced, directed and starred in.

Bitchin was on the air five years and never got anything. How is this fair? But truth be told, she is a lot cuter AND more talented!

Did I Do That?

So, when is this “old enough to know better” supposed to kick in???

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Cruising Outpost News

Kadey-Krogen 40th!

It was a little more than 40 years ago that yacht broker Art Kadey sat with naval architect Jim Krogen in Miami.

As they talked, Jim sketched on a piece of notebook paper what would become Kadey’s personal cruising vessel, the Krogen 42’. That meeting led to a business partnership, KadeyKrogen Yachts in 1977. The company remains privately owned and operated and is still building power-cruisers!

Congratulations on 40 great years!

Free Subscriptions Now to Include Merchant Marines

For the past year or so we’ve been offering free one-year subscriptions of the print issue of CO to all active service personnel. It was brought to our attention that we should be including the Merchant Marines in this program. Their members currently outnumber the Coast Guard, so they should, and from now on will, get free subscriptions to Cruising Outpost. If you, or any of your friends or relatives are active duty in any of the branches of the US military shown above, just go to www.cruisingoutpost.com and select the “print subscription” drop-down menu, then select “Free subscription for active military.”

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Cruising Outpost News Yacht Firm Boss Guilty of Safety Breach

Nautical Trivia

(Answer to the Question on page 14) There isn’t one. No one has ever found a real pirate’s buried treasure map. Since longevity wasn’t considered a benefit of their lifestyle, it’s believed that most pirate’s spent their money as quickly as they could.

Douglas Innes has been found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of a boat which capsized in the Atlantic, resulting in the loss of four lives. He had been responsible for the Cheeki Rafiki, which lost its keel 700 miles off Nova Scotia in May, 2014.

The crew, James Male, Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, and Paul Goslin, had been returning the 40-foot vessel to Southampton from Antigua Sailing Week when it capsized. The vessel was eventually found with the life raft, but no sign of the four men. Their bodies have never been found.

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Cruising Outpost News Edson Dog Versus Outpost Cat(s)

It all started at the Chicago Boat Show.

That’s when Connor from Edson started going on about his new puppy, Bradley. Believe it or not, he actually thought his dog was smarter than the Official Cruising Outpost

Forespar Donates PureWater+

The folks at Forespar have helped out at the raffles we hold at our Cruisers’ Parties by donating their great new PureWater+ System as a prize at the Pacific Northwest and other events. This is a new unit they developed to help get good tasting water back on board cruising boats.

Cats, Jessie & Katie (and yes, they were named after the ladies who work with us at the shows!). In any case, he sent this pic showing Bradley “working” on his computer.

“Hogwash!” says I. His dog is merely sitting and staring at the computer, whereas our extremely astute felines managed to duplicate themselves on the screen behind them. Okay Bradley, now it’s your turn.

Don’t just sit there... do something!!

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Cruising Outpost News Statutory Statuary

Ella Vickers Passes Way Too Young!

But She Lived Her Life With Style

Ella Vickers was well known and loved by everyone in the marine industry that knew her. For years she and sister Brinley worked at boat shows selling their custom designed bags made from used sailcloth, which became a standard in the fashion industry world-wide.

Ella leaves behind her two young children, Mellia and Oliver, and her husband Tony. Ella was just 46 years young when she lost her battle with cancer. She had a air for life that all who knew her will forever remember.

This dyslexi

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

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Cruising Outpost News Richard Swayze, AKA Don Knots Gone, But Not Forgotten!

Richard Swazey passed away on July 5, 2018. He died in the country he loved, Thailand, where he lived with the love of his life. Richard was on the very first Share the Sail in 2001 in Tahiti, and became a part of the “family” that was created on that amazing adventure.

His sense of humor and personality stood out, and he was one of the nicest people you could ever know. He last sailed with us during the Thailand Share the Sail in 2010. It was like old home week, as he’d moved to Thailand and he and his wife Somjit were our “tour guides.” He will be missed by all who knew him for his great sense of humor!

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Early To Rise?

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I’m doing.

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Cruising Outpost News ACTIVE PIRACY REPORT from the ICC - A Narrative of the Most Recent Attacks (as of press time) July 30, 2017 - Around 15nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria: Armed pirates boarded a general cargo ship underway. The incident was reported to the Nigerian navy who responded and located the ship. It was reported that some crew members were missing. The Nigerian navy vessel towed the ship to a safe port for investigation. July, 22, 2017 - Around 65nm NW of Dakar, Senegal: A fishing boat approached and attempted to board a bulk carrier underway. Alarm raised, all crew mustered, Master increased speed and conducted evasive maneuver. Due to bad weather, vessel managed to evade the boarding. All crew safe.

July 22, 2017 - Around 65nm NW of Dakar, Senegal: A fishing boat approached and attempted to board a bulk carrier underway. Alarm raised, all crew mustered, Master increased speed and conducted evasive maneuver. Due to bad weather, vessel managed to evade the boarding. All crew safe.

July 14, 2017 - Manila South Harbour Anchorage, Philippines: Two robbers boarded an anchored container ship via the hawse pipe. Duty watch keeper informed the Chief Officer who raised the alarm. Crew mustered and moved towards the forward. Seeing the alerted crew, the robbers escaped with ship’s properties. Manila VTMS informed. The coast guard boarded the ship for investigation.

July 13, .2017 - Around 16NM SSW of Bonny, Nigeria: Six persons in a skiff boarded a general cargo ship underway. Alarm raised, SSAS activated and all crew retreated to the Citadel. Nigerian Navy boarded the vessel and found all crew safe.

July 10, 2017 - Manila South Harbour Anchorage, Philippines: Unnoticed robbers boarded an anchored container, stole ship’s properties and escaped. The theft was noticed by the duty crew during routine rounds. Incident reported to the Coast Guard.

June 13, 2017 - Singatac Anchorage, Pulau Bintan, Indonesia: Duty AB onboard an anchored offshore supply vessel noticed four robbers near the stern of the vessel. He immediately informed the duty officer, switched on the search lights, sounded ship’s whistle and shouted at the robbers. Seeing the crew alertness, the robbers escaped. A search was carried out. Nothing reported stolen.

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Cruising Outpost News July 02, 2017 - Nacala Anchorage, Mozambique: Duty crew onboard an anchored container ship noticed two robbers attempting to board.

Alarm raised and crew mustered.

Seeing the crew alertness, the robbers escaped without stealing anything.

June 30, 2017 - Puerto La Cruz Anchorage, Venezuela: Around four to five robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker and entered the forepeak store. Alert crew noticed the robbers and raised the alarm resulting in the robbers escaping without stealing anything.

June 23, 2017 - Around 33nm ENE of Kuantan, Malaysia: A tanker enroute from Singapore to Songkhla, Thailand was boarded by six pirates armed with guns in a speed boat. They took all the crew hostage, hit a few crew with their guns and damaged the navigation and communication equipment. They then sailed the tanker to an unknown location where part of the gas oil cargo was stolen and transferred into another vessel. Before escaping the pirates stole crew personal belongings and ship’s properties.

After the pirates departure, the crew sailed to a safe port.

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Another Way I sold my boat. And, early this summer, I helped the new owners get her back in the water, rigged, systems recommissioned, and delivered up Long Island Sound, from Newport, RI to Brooklyn, NY. We had coordinated a couple of mutually free days for the trip, and unless a southwest gale started blowing, we were going. Of course, fingers were crossed for following winds and sunny skies, but we got calm and rain instead. And, cold. It was the beginning of June and overnight, we were wearing long johns, foul weather gear, socks, boots, hats, gloves, and still shivered while clutching cups of hot tea.

I was a little nervous. Three years of re-launching after winter seasons had demonstrated there was always something that hadn’t fared well during hibernation.

One year, it was the engine water pump, another, the head pump. Last year, summer sailing was plagued by random engine stalling. I finally changed all the barely used filters, in case the culprit was some innocuous dirt on a gasket, and it had resumed good behavior, though it hadn’t been run very much since, either.

On the morning of our departure, we bent on the mainsail and jib, rigged all the reef lines and sheets and motored out of the slip. As we headed down the Sakonnet River toward the Atlantic Ocean, I plugged in the brand new autopilot that had been installed and tested only days before getting hauled for the winter. In November, it had worked like a charm, in June, it didn’t.

The fi rst problem, but not insurmountable. We were three people and could hand steer.

But, what would a 48-hour-long motor up the Sound reveal? An engine problem that actually hadn’t been solved, or something else to rear its ugly head on the new owner’s maiden voyage? As we pitched over a vexing residual swell on the nose that had to be endured for several hours before changing course, my ears were very keenly attuned to any variation in pitch, any indication pressurized fuel wasn’t reaching the cylinders.

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Even though my third boat had a mostly reliable engine, my fi rst boat and her lemon had left me with thirty years of engine-related PTSD. I just couldn’t get over it. Ever after, whenever an engine has propelled any boat I’ve skippered, it has been accompanied by a constant low-grade anxiety in anticipation of some sort of failure.

One’s own boat, unlike a charter boat, is also something one has to repair. Once you’ve dealt with whatever underway situation that was irksomely handicapped by no engine, you still have to deal with the repair and/or expense. Reward: a working engine.

For the time being. Until something else fails.

Three weeks after the motor up Long Island Sound, this next story takes place on another boat outside of Bermuda Harbor. Six crew members and I had just checked out with customs, called Bermuda Radio and announced we were leaving, destination Newport, RI, 635 nautical miles away. ETA, between four and five days. There was wind and we motored into it, bouncing over the swells so those destined to become seasick started turning green while wrestling to pull up the massive mainsail for the first time.

Over the racket of the flapping fabric, clattering mainsheet blocks and whipping reef lines, the propeller started making a funny sound. I revved the throttle a bit. It settled down. Sort of. Once the sail was up, we fell off, set the course, started the watch schedule, and were done motoring for the day. The engine was virtually new, installed a year earlier, and I figured the noise was folding prop-related, we’d figure out the best RPM later.

The rest of the afternoon and overnight, we sailed.

Beautifully. Boisterously. We were well over a hundred miles away from Bermuda by the next morning when it was time to charge the batteries. I turned on the engine, and since it was already running, and because the wind had calmed, thought to add some propulsion and put it

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in gear. There was that noise again. A kind of rumbling that didn’t bode well, at any RPM. One of the crew who loved solving engine problems helped me pull open the access panel, which stayed open until it closed for good, engine declared inoperable. Bushings in the coupling were shot, it was chewing itself to pieces, literally. Unless we wanted the mound of metal shavings to keep growing and find out what would happen, we’d have to sail all the way back.

The low-grade anxiety for a potential engine failure morphed into dread for a potential flat calm, which I’ve experienced many times on this particular passage. It can be feast or famine out there, and when you’re in the Gulf Stream with a calm, it’s good to be able to motor and get out of it as fast as possible, especially when people have flights booked.

It ended up being the best passage ever. The winds died down a few times, but never completely, and always returned. We screamed through the Gulf Stream on a quarter reach, tobogganing down the slopes.

Crew always ask, “how big are those waves?” Regular ones are between four and six feet, I reply, the big ones between eight and ten. But, these might have even been ten to twelve. I was snoozing in the early morning when a fellow on watch came down and said it looked squally. I’d barely stuck my head out of the companionway when we got slammed, thirty knots of squall and pelting rain punched us through the outer wall of the Gulf Stream’s clutches, and the wind persevered. One of the other fellows aboard had Boat US membership, so the next evening, we were about five miles offshore when the breeze finally died totally, but there was our tow, waiting to bring us across the mirrored water to a mooring. Lovely.

Even lovelier, I handed this boat and her coupling over to the owner, his headache now.

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And, my boat is now somebody else’s headache as well, even though our farewell was as sweet as it gets.

All the way up Long Island Sound, the engine purred.

Through Hells Gate, down the East River, escorted by armed Coast Guard RIBs as we passed the United Nations Building, across the Lower Bay, under the Verrazano Bridge and up into Rockaway Inlet, it never even hiccupped. And, not to be outperformed by the engine, at one point, I retried the Autopilot, and it decided to work, too. For the fi rst time since I’d bought this little lady, the ratio of enjoying to worrying was fi rmly allied with enjoyment. Thoroughly. I felt a few little pangs: what if selling her had been a mistake, now that she was in such good shape? But, they didn’t last because I also knew if she were still mine, I wouldn’t be enjoying, but obsessing over potential weaknesses and wondering what would break next.

Instead, now I can worry about when I will miss all the worrying and start thinking about getting another boat.

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7/27/17 5:07 PM

Desiree’s Great Adventure: Conquering the Great Lakes

by Jessie Zevalkink

LAKE MICHIGAN: Monday morning I wave farewell to Northport, Michigan. This is the second time I have sailed away from my home port; all the familiar feelings swell up. The elation of the unknown beams from my face in the shape of a grin. In contrary, the suspense of the unknown nearly boils from my skin in the form of hives. I am sailing to England out the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and across the North Atlantic where icebergs roam. This goodbye requires long, deep breaths.

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Desiree’s Great Adventure I don’t cry when we wave goodbye. I kind of expected to. I can be such a child in that way, when all of the hard work stacks up to the monumental moment of releasing the dock lines.

The crew may have caught me glassy-eyed, but I am the first to admit to crying (hard) yesterday. It was unexpected. The Wizard (Dad) was helping me rig up the mizzen. He knew it was our last day together for some time.

He wasn’t just saying goodbye to me, but to his sailboat which I think he is more concerned about. He was calm, giving me diligent direction and walking me through one last lesson.

All of the work we had done together, all of the time, the money, the persistence… it extracted a puddle of water from somewhere unknown in my body and shoved it out of my eyes. I couldn’t believe what he had done to make this happen for us. I couldn’t believe he was letting me sail his boat across an ocean. His Desirée. His first daughter.

His first love. I lost it. I thanked him. I told him I loved him. I wiped my eyes dry. And that was it. We carried on rigging the mizzen boom.

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The first set of crew are courageously on board with me until we reach Detroit. My team-mates, my soldiers, my guinea pigs are beaming with me, each of us hyper, myself in particular with the wings of a Red Bull. I don’t know if my crew understand what sailing Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are going to be like. I don’t know if I understand either. Together we will figure it out.

Together we will do our very best. Together we will dress like Eskimos and sail through the frost.

For three days, three little Eskimos look to me for answers, for direction, and trust me to make good decisions. I’ve never been a captain before. Only a cocaptain. The hazards that go along with sailing through the Great Lakes in the middle of April begin with 37-degree water temps, frosty decks, freezing nights, arctic and unpredictable winds, harbors that have yet to be dredged, buoys and markers that have yet to be placed. My crew is trusting me. I am trusting Desirée.

There is no doubt I am feeling the pressure.

LAKE HURON: We pass under the Mackinaw Bridge. It remains as magnificent as every other time.

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Conquering the Great Lakes

...it extracted a puddle of water from somewhere unknown in my body and shoved it out of my eyes. I couldn’t believe what he had done to make this happen for us.

I couldn’t believe he was letting me sail his boat across an ocean. His Desirée. His first daughter.

His first love. I lost it. I thanked him. I told him I loved him. I wiped my eyes dry.

The trucks roar over the metal grates and we look up at the structure as if we have never seen it before. We sprint downwind in large rollers. The engine we are using to charge everything up quits. A few accidental gybes occur. This rattles us all, me in particular, fully understanding its danger.

Desirée’s sturdy cedar boom in which we’ve coated with varnish too many times to count comes hurling port to starboard. This is my fault.

Twenty-five knots at our back and I am too occupied trying to bleed fuel out of the engine instead of holding a proper course. I know better than to rely on anything but sails, but my training came backwards. Engine first, sails second. I am doing my best to re-format what I know best.

The weight of responsibility thickens. I understand my experience level and stay within those boundaries. I have

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been forced to exit them already, merely because there is nothing sensible about sailing the Great Lakes this time of year. I keep my chin up, I remain a bit ambitious, and a bit exhausted. The crew helps maintain a high morale.

Together we have push-up, dip, and plank competitions just to stay warm. We move as much as possible to keep our viscous blood flowing.

One of us is on disc jockey duty at all times, the array of music from each of our libraries impressive. I can’t get myself to take a nap; not even close. I am switched on in every way.

For six days we average 64 miles a day at 6.1 knots. We travel in daylight and pull into marinas weeks before they open. We are alone. It’s not until Detroit we see another sailboat. Nothing but frigid water, three freighters and one ferry. The crew and I find a rhythm and I am satisfied from the inside out with our

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Deseiree’s Great Adventure operation. We make it to Detroit on schedule for crew change, but part of me isn’t ready for them to leave. The next crew arrives tomorrow, my “Spice Girl” crew…starring Katie Smith and two of my other best girlfriends.

LAKE ERIE: Sailing through Lake Erie with my girls, my Spice Girls, our travels are congruent with a blockbuster film. A classic yawl, chock-full of women, sailing through the freezing cold is not your average sight to see around here. We have no audience. There is still no one around.

Katie has taken some stress off of my shoulders. We operate well together and always have. She’s a good helm, and an even better entertainer. We are her full-time audience.

The band agrees to sail overnight, 138 miles to the entrance of the Welland Canal. I hide my nerves, which I tend to do well. Katie helms us opposite the inviting sunset, and we watch the weather make its transition from delight to chaos. The sky is breathtaking. The forecasted westerly wind is about to kick in. When it does I take the helm. A consistent 35 knots of wind is at our back, gusting to 42. The night gets black. We are flying forward at record speeds. I am focused. On a mission. I am so tense I can feel my neck and shoulders winding themselves into knots. We arrive in Port Colbourne 24 hours later. Red eyed and rough around the edges, we check in with Canadian customs and purchase a pass to lock through the canal.

The Welland canal is 28 miles long, with eight locks that drop you 326 feet into Lake Ontario.

Canal traffic calls for us and two other pleasure craft to lock through together. When they call you to go - you go. None of us expected a nighttime operation. The wind

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Conquering the Great Lakes

The band agrees to sail overnight, 138 miles to the entrance of the Welland Canal. I hide my nerves, which I tend to do well. Katie helms us opposite the inviting sunset, and we watch the weather make its transition from delight to chaos. The sky is breathtaking. The forecasted westerly wind is about to kick in. When it does I take the helm.

A consistent 35 knots of wind is at our back, gusting to 42. The night gets black.

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Desiree’s Great Adventure has gone to sleep. We run flawlessly through seven well-lit locks into the night. When we arrive at the last lock we wait for two hours for an up-bound ship to pass. The ship passes and my biggest fear strikes. The engine won’t start. It’s the starter. It’s 2:00 am and I don’t have the time or brain capacity required to fix the problem. Traffic control requests we get towed through the last lock. The sailboat in front of us tows us through without hesitation and releases us adrift towards a cement wall to tie up. It is not a graceful pass-off, but it works.

In the morning I dig into the basement where the engine lives. The starter is dangling from its bolts, one of which is completely stripped. The problem is fixed after dismantling the alternator and the coolant hoses to access the starter, and a three-mile walk to the hardware store to buy some J.B. Weld. I notice a scratch in the hull from last night’s docking; it hurts my insides when I see it.

LAKE ONTARIO: The olive oil has congealed. Snowflakes rest on my Gill gear. The lines wrap stiffly around the winches. The northerly air sears the side of my face. I ice skate on the frosty deck to raise the mainsail. My nostrils are smokestacks. I’ve always been a believer about having control over my attitude in awful conditions and do trust greatly that bitching is a waste of energy. Don’t get me wrong - I do bitch. I bitch most often in the form of writing, but very little in the physical presence of other humans.

In 18 days I’ve begun to learn most everything I was hoping. I’ve learned I am still understanding Desirée. How 18,000 pounds moves through the water.

How to get her perfectly balanced. How to maneuver in small spaces (still scared of reverse). I am learning to adjust my course depending on where she wants to go, not where I want to go. I am learning

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Conquering the Great Lakes

The northerly air sears the side of my face.

I ice skate on the frosty deck to raise the mainsail. My nostrils are smokestacks. I’ve always been a believer about having control over my attitude in awful conditions, and do trust greatly that bitching is a waste of energy. Don’t get me wrong - I do bitch. I bitch most often in the form of writing, but very little in the physical presence of other humans.

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Desiree’s Great Adventure

Conquering the Great Lakes

her systems, from plumbing, to electrical, to mechanics, forced to dabble in each subject. I am falling deeply in love with this boat. I am feeling proud of her. I am feeling self-sufficient. Feeling self-reliant. Feeling resourceful. Feeling well prepared for the next step.

I toggle between thoughts. “I’ve come a long way. I think I actually know what I am doing,” and “Who in the world do I think I am? This is not wise.” It’s constant. I sit right in the middle. On the edge of my seat at all times, even in my sleep.

Testing myself regularly. Trying to understand that it is an ocean I am going to cross, that these lakes are just here to prep me, to mess with my mind.

Onwards to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

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What’s Out There?

Elan Yachts are fairly new to the US market, but they have been some of the most popular boats in Europe for years. The GT stands for Grand Tourismo, and they have brought the true meaning of that to the yachting world - a true performance “Grand Touring” yacht.

In the cockpit you will find more room than on most cruising boats. The dual table system offers plenty of seating and very innovative cockpit options like converting the seating into a sunbathing lounge.

It also leaves room for ample storage. All control lines are led aft for the helmsmen to handle, leaving a clear

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Cruising Monohull

and uncluttered companionway, great for shorthanded sailing. The swim platform makes for easy swimming access, and the decks are clear and make moving around above deck easy.

Once below decks the Elan features an inverted saloon layout with galley forward. Once again, this offers good storage space for the cruiser, like a stand-up shower!

The new GT5 is available in two- or three-cabin layouts for maximum utilisation of the yacht’s full beam.

Once you set foot on the new GT5 you will know you have found a real cruising vessel.

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Elan Yachts GT5

Get all the facts: http://www.elan-yachts.com Elan GT5 LOA 43’ 3” Hull Length 40’ 8” 37’ 1” LWL Draft 8’ Beam 12’ 9” Power 38 hp Diesel 44.7 USG Fuel Fresh Water 58 USG www.cruisingoutpost.com

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What’s Out There?

The new Outremer 4X catamaran is a lighter and faster version of the Outremer 45 catamaran. The new boat is about 3′ longer, so effectively 48′ long. All her bulkheads are built out of carbon fiber and she also has a carbon fiber mast which is standard. This new catamaran features carbon appendages also, such as carbon rudders and dagger boards. In light air, sailing under Code-O, the Outremer 4X catamaran will be sailing faster than the wind.

The Outremer 4X is built for comfort as well as speed. Below you will find a very comfortable layout with plenty of room for a crew of up to eight people.

The cockpit is also well designed for ease of handling.

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Cruising Catamaran

The Outremer 4X has special gelcoat paint and hull graphics which make her stand out as she enters any marina. When she is under sail she is truly a sight to behold.

Sailing the new 4X is what will sell you on her most. She is light and performs extremely well in most weather conditions. For cruisers who are looking for a boat that can stand up to ocean crossings and perform at speeds that will cut-down passage times, this could be the answer they have been looking for.

If you’d like more info on the Outremer 4X Catamaran, you can find it on their website www. catamaran-outremer.com.

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Outremer 4X

Get all the facts:

Main Deck

Below Deck

www.catamaran-outremer.com

Outremer 4X LOA 48’ Draft 3.3/6.6’ Beam 23.3’ Power 2x30 hp Fuel 336 liters Fresh Water 450 liters Displacement 8.2 tons Starter Batteries 2x70 AH Service Batteries 180 AH www.cruisingoutpost.com

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What’s Out There?

The new Silent 55 Cruiser from Solarwave is made for cruising, using only solar power to keep her going! Silent, inexpensive, and totally renewable energy!

In the rare case that the sun is not shining for several days, the range-extender is a safe and reliable power-source that guarantees fully charged batteries. Thus a Silent is always entirely independent from the weather. As soon as the sun is shining again, the batteries will be filled up noiselessly and for free. This saves large amounts of fuel and money. It’s also, as the name implies, silent!

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Solar Power Cruiser

What really sets this boat apart from a conventionally powered motor or sailing catamaran is that this boat is significantly less expensive to buy, and maintenance costs are extremely low.

There’s almost no maintenance work to do at all.

Your operational costs are also minimal, and you get the highest level of security and reliability with redundancy for every vital system.

If you’ve been waiting for a reliable solarpowered cruiser, this could just be it. If you want more info go to: http://www.solarwaveyachts.com.

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7/25/17 3:32 PM

Solarwave Silent 55 Cruiser

Get all the facts: www.solarwave-yachts.com Solarwave Silent 55 Cruiser LOA 54’ 8” Draft 2’ 1” Beam 27’ 7” Power 2 x 25 kW e-motors Fuel 2X300 liter “range extender” fuel Fresh Water 500 Liter Waste water Tankage 445 Liter Displacement 14,1 Ton www.cruisingoutpost.com

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r e t a W

s e i b a B

by yd M ca Llo

Jessi

rld o w he t g n isi u r c ile h w mily a f a g n i t Star

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by tyn d Mos y o l L ca

ssi

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Cruising children are generally friendly, conversational, undaunted by adults and relatively hardy. Without exception, children we’ve met whilst cruising have looked us in the eye when they speak and can scramble up the mast, onto the boom or jump off the boat with the ease and coolness of one who has being doing so their whole lives.

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S

ince choosing the liveaboard cruiser way of life we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of other families we’ve met. There seem to be a lot more people taking to the seas these days, and long-term global sailing on a yacht no longer needs to be a dream saved up for one’s retirement.

Over three and a half years ago we threw off the dock lines in Falmouth, England and began our adventure. We left with the intention of sailing around the world in roughly two years and finally returning to London with some amazing memories.

We rented our house, spent the money we’d put aside for an extension on a boat instead, and set off with a little sailing experience and a very limited understanding of boat maintenance, but with a healthy amount of optimism. We joked about returning with children!

Everything was about educating ourselves: sailing better and more efficiently, interpreting the weather more capably, becoming more skilled and less flustered when it came to running repairs. We became a great team of two and really developed as sailors.

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Having rushed through our first 8,000 miles, we ended up staying in Panama for the following eight months. We only really started to appreciate what living on the boat truly meant once we slowed down a bit. We were enjoying ourselves and the new-found freedom that long-term cruising offered seemed to suit us.

I was 30 and James, my husband, was 42 when we started talking about starting a family.

The idea of the ‘normal’ life back in London with kids, a home and a traditional career seemed less and less relevant to us. James would need to be working longer hours to support our new family. We’d be doing something which is meant to be about togetherness, but the way in which we’d have to go about it seemed lopsided, separate and contradictory. We’d acclimatized to a life where we were happily spending 24 hours a day in each others’ company, working as a well-functioning team, and modern parenting simply didn’t make sense.

There’s a traditional way of going about having babies on land, which seems to also involve buying

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an immense amount of gear. But where was the manual for expectant parents on a yacht? How do you baby-proof and what equipment is really necessary in a home where space is at a premium?

What do you do once your little ones are crawling, walking or potty-training?

Like any would-be parents and all sailors, we realized that some plans cannot be entirely controlled. We had no idea if we would even get pregnant straight away, so we needed flexibility in our options. While still in Caribbean Panama we agreed that if we were lucky enough to get pregnant soon, attempting our next ocean passage during our first pregnancy might not be wise, so we’d put off our cruising of the South Pacific for another year. By the time we went through the Panama Canal in January, I was already at the end of my first trimester, so we turned right, explored Pacific Central America and fought against wind, current and all seafaring common sense in order to reach Banderas Bay in Mexico. We spent three months sailing over two-and-a-half thousand miles to where we planned to give birth and would have to deal with a medical system in a language we’d only just started learning.

‘Boat kids’ are a great advertisement for the benefits of sailing with children. However, the advantages are not always necessarily to the sailing itself, but to the way of life as a whole. Cruising children are generally friendly, conversational, undaunted by interactions with other adults and relatively hardy. Without exception, children we’ve met whilst cruising have looked us in the eye when they speak and can scramble up the mast, onto the boom or jump off the boat with the ease and coolness of one who has being doing so their whole lives.

A boat baby, however, seemed like a more overwhelming prospect. When our daughter was born we had the boat in a marina just to get used to the new arrival in a more controlled

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way. The usual kit - a crib, a stroller and a car seat weren’t going to work onboard, so we focused simply on strategies for how to handle sleeping, feeding, carrying and changing. Surprisingly, all of these are fairly simple with a newborn. Our cabin has a wall-to-wall bed so was perfect for co-sleeping with no worry of her falling out. I breast fed her, so that meant there were never any bottles to sterilize or formula to buy. A sling or soft-structured carrier was the easiest way of getting her on or off the boat and for helping to lull her to sleep as we walked the docks. We chose to use cloth nappies and had plenty of water for laundry whilst moored in the marina.

We began to think that we’d completely got the hang of being boat parents.

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Two things changed that: the boat moving and the baby moving. As savvy sailors we’d managed to time our new arrival for hurricane season, but once the seasons changed there was no need to stay in the marina, plus we couldn’t afford the high season rates. We had to start cruising again. Resuming our lives at anchor with an infant meant that every trip ashore needed a strategy. We had to have a bag packed full of nappies, wipes, snacks and extra bits of clothing.

This was when we started using a baby life jacket, as anchorages are not necessarily still.

Even when your journey ashore is calm, the wind can kick up giving you a wet and bumpy ride back, which is daunting with a baby. We had to get used to being at the helm with her strapped to us in the carrier, learn how to change nappies underway and find a safe place for her to doze in, taking into account the heel of the boat and unpredictability of the sea.

In retrospect, all of that seems simple once your baby becomes mobile. No longer can you turn your head away and expect the child to be in the same place when you look back. Our first passage as a family was a 26-day, 2,850-mile crossing of the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. It was then that our eight-month-old daughter learned to crawl, which meant that I saw a lot less sea and a lot more of the cabin than before. However, we made one major concession and enlisted an extra member of crew. It was a smart decision and one that we’ve found is a good compromise for those who choose not to give up on their larger sailing goals. After arriving in French Polynesia we were fortunate enough to pick up casual crew again to lend an extra hand during our passages across the South Pacific. It worked well for us as it gave extra sailing support to James, which made up for my energies being needed elsewhere.

It also provided a much-needed relief for the work onboard as, in truth, sailing with an infant is definitely hard. Yet the payoff for the effort is a huge gain. Our daughter has had two engaged and attentive full-time parents since the moment she was born. My husband has witnessed every milestone: first steps and first words, and is a present and supportive teammate for me as we

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adjust to being parents. Touching base with family and friends back home makes us conscious of how unusual that is for a father and has meant that we’ve avoided that imbalance that we were worried was an inevitable part of early parenthood.

Our one major change to the boat has been the addition of ‘baby netting’ all along the guardrails, pushpit and bow. This allows Rocket the freedom to roam without needing a parent hovering over her. A boat is already a remarkably baby-proof environment; there are rounded edges, drawers are fitted with features that stop them flying out at sea, and there are no live electrics or other dangers at toddler-height, as they’d be a liability out on the water.

The issue of what to do when your children reach school age is much more straightforward than might be assumed. A boat is a highly complex, rich and stimulating environment for a child and the schooling options available to cruisers’ offspring seem relatively simple. Widespread internet access in even the most remote islands allows for distance or correspondence learning to be an effective method of teaching. Quite often the parents choose for the kids to go into the local school in whatever town, whatever country they drop the hook in for a time, which allows them to have immersion learning, meet other children and swiftly become more adept at a new language than their parents. There’s also the option of choosing a more instinctive curriculum generated by the circumstances of the journey itself: learning about the French language, Captain Cook, European foreign policy or even local species of reef sharks and manta rays when sailing in Tahiti for example.

Just because they’re still too little to hoist the mainsail or stand a watch at the helm doesn’t mean that children can’t get involved. Watching for the mainsail luffing, helping catch a fish, answering questions about the figures on the instruments or identifying a bird can all help younger kids to join in. We’ve known children as young as six that steer competently under engine. As they get older their roles and responsibilities can evolve and the knowledge that they’re contributing more to life aboard gives a great sense of satisfaction.

It’s true that the realities of sailing with a baby can be tough at times and it’s made us adjust our

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sailing strategies and approach our cruising plans differently, thinking in terms of what will work best and be most comfortable for all of us. Our daughter now has her first ocean crossing under her belt and has even learned to walk despite fairly lively sea conditions. We don’t wish to always sail with extra crew, so we’ll probably have a year or two of coastal rather than ocean sailing. But as long as we’re enjoying it we can keep a happy balance of staying true to our cruising couple past, while being full-time parents as well.

After nearly four years at sea we had a second child in New Zealand, this time a boy called Indigo. It was another simple pregnancy and he was born at home when we were housesitting for friends. Our first maternity experience had given us the confidence to seek out the support of an un-medicalised birth and the midwife we found was brilliant.

Suddenly, as a floating family of four, we had our hands full. Whereas previously we were able to take turns with the baby, we now had a walking, talking and inquisitive child to account for as well.

It was no longer as simple as safely installing a child in her carrier, playpen or highchair where she could play with some toys or doze off. We now had someone else actively engaging with our cruising.

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Any sailing move meant explaining to Rocket what we were doing and why we were doing it, along with important principles and safety instructions, all without it becoming an endless list of do’s and don’ts as we hated the idea that we would end up sucking all the fun out of her sailing experience.

Now that the kids are older, both talking and walking, we continue to write our plans in the sand. Previously, sailing as a couple, we would have happily done longer hops, all-nighters and pushed through worse weather in order to eat up some miles and get to a specific destination.

These days we have to consider the kids’ moods, rhythms, stamina and preferences and take our cues from them. We’re acutely aware that while our family voyage is something that we have chosen, our children were only born into this situation so we try to continually check in with the aspects of cruising that they both enjoy and cater to that as much as possible. We can’t wait to see how our littlest crew-member grows and love that by doing it this way neither one of us misses a moment of that journey.

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Cr uising Ou t pos tʻs Fe at ure d Ve te ran Cr uising Ve sse l

Rogue Tiger 1979 Formosa 41

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By Maggie Matias

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My husband and I decided to look at sailboats one day online. We each had our own separate iPads. I came upon a picture of Rogue Tiger and knew if I showed my husband a picture, he would fall in love with her. With much reluctance, I showed him the picture and it took only a few minutes to place a phone call to the owner, a few days to take a trip to Goderich, Ontario to see her, and a few hours to purchase her.

The owner told us Rogue Tiger had never seen saltwater and was always stored in a building every winter. It was obvious he loved her for 12 years. We had a new vision for her and wanted to share her beauty with others. Rogue Tiger was flawless. Her wooden masts, striking white deck, teak trim, teak interior and brass fixtures were magnificent. She reminded us of sailing royalty.

Rogue Tiger was built in 1979 in Taipei, Taiwan by the Formosa Boat Company. She was first bought by a lawyer in Toronto, Ontario and was brought to Toronto on a container ship. Her name was Peace IV, and represented when China became at peace with Taiwan in 1979.

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She was then sold to a lawyer in Hamilton, Ontario. As with a few relationships, she was not loved and she was left to her own devices and became a weathered and beaten boat. Rogue Tiger was battered and not appreciated for her true beauty and classic lines.

For sale once again, a shipbuilder from Goderich, Ontario saw her classic beauty despite her weatherbeaten exterior, bought her and restored her to her former glory.

He named her Rogue Tiger for her strength and tenacity. Her interior decor reflects her “tiger� name. As beautiful as she is, we give him all the glory for restoring her and we are blessed to own her.

My husband and I sailed her home to live in Port Dover, Ontario. On our journey home we met a huge storm on Lake Erie. It was a very traumatic event but Rogue Tiger sailed through it with strength and confidence. It was then that our relationship with her started and we knew, beyond any doubt, that she would take us anywhere we wanted to go.

We decided that her beauty needs to be seen and appreciated by others, so we started inviting others to Port Dover Pier on Lake Erie. People look forward to seeing her everyday and we hear all the compliments she deserves. It is our goal to allow those who have never sailed before, an opportunity to sail on one of the classic boats that made people fall in love with sailing.

David and I are taking Rogue Tiger to the Bahamas to allow her to spread her sails freely in the beautiful, clear blue waters of the Abacos. We love to share her with others. David and I love history and it is our hope that we can keep the classic sailboat ever present.

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Welcome to the Black Sea, where the forecast is not what you are going to get. As a lot of freighter captains, big fishing boat captains and tugboat captains all told us, the Black Sea is some of the worst sailing they have ever encountered. It is called “Black” on purpose.

It was early morning and Chuck was checking the weather while Patty started breakfast. After checking his normal forecast he looked at Patty and said, “Well, it won’t be comfortable, but doable if we are going to be in Sochi, Russia on the day our visa begins.” Patty asked how bad and Chuck replied, “We’ve done worse, but it is not really nice.”

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We finished breakfast and Chuck stepped into the cockpit and down to the dock, only to be greeted by the tugboat captain on the tug tied up next to them. The captain knew we wanted to leave so he asked, “Leaving today?” Chuck said yes, but the weather was a bit iffy.

The captain laughed and said, “You are not going anywhere today,” and pointed to the breakwater in the

By Chuck & Patty Ritenour/Ridgway

Sailing Russia

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Boat parade with lite winds to honor Russian Navy

Yacht SoulMates tied up in Sochi, Russia

far distance. Chuck looked and all he could say was wow, as the sea was breaking over the breakwater. The tugboat captain laughed and said he couldn’t leave today and even a freighter scheduled to leave today couldn’t. Chuck went back on board and contacted our agent to cancel our early afternoon departure for Sochi, and then emailed the agent in Sochi and told him we were not coming and would contact him with our arrival date when we had one.

Welcome to the Black Sea, where the forecast is not what you are going to get. A lot of freighter captains, big fishing boat captains and tugboat captains all told us, the Black Sea is some of the worst sailing they have ever encountered. It is called “Black” on purpose. So why go there? For us it was a place on the map that

almost no one goes to, difficult, and because we had not been there. As we sat in Turkey for the winter we said hey, let’s go to Russia. Getting the cruising guides for the Black Sea we found that even the authors had not been to Russia. Chuck took a look and said Russia sounded like a place we should go, while Patty asked why do we want to go there? Chuck, in the usual sound sailors logic said, because we have not been there. Case closed, we are going.

That was the easy part. Doing a lot of research and work we found we needed a visa. We have one of those USA passports that, like American Express, is accepted almost all over the world, without a visa. Okay, so we go to the Russian Embassy and get a visa, right? It is not that easy.

First, you need an invitation from a

The approach to Sochi

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Camille and Pavel with Chuck and Patty in Sochi

Agent David and Georgia police checking us out

The club racing fleet in Sochi

Russian. How many of us know a Russian well enough to get them to invite you to their country?

As far back as we can remember we never even met a Russian, so how do we get an invitation? We put that question to the Cruisers and Sailing Forum and got an immediate response to contact Vladimir Ivankiy who owns Cruising to Russia, and gave us an email: vladirir@sailrussia. spb.ru. Vladimir works almost exclusively with boats entering Russia via the Baltic Sea, but said he would work with us and told us what he would need.

The biggest thing was the arrival date. We contacted him in late October for a sail to Russia the following summer. We never sail to a schedule and he wanted a date specific for entrance. Wow. Not being deterred we used OpenCPN to plan a route with an approximate sailing date, miles,

ports of call, estimated weather delays, and breakdown days.

We gave him a date of July 10 at Sochi, Russia and a list of ports that we would visit in Russia.

Harsh political reality set in as Vladimir told us the ports we listed in Crimea could be visited, but we would then be banned from countries in the western Black Sea, possibly Turkey, and the EU could fine us. The USA government could fine us for visiting Crimea.

We could also not apply for the visa until at least three months prior to our arrival, which meant we could not apply before April which was closing in on our departure date.

Vladimir did get us our invitation and then worked with us on how to apply for the visa itself.

We went online to fill out a lengthy form and emailed it to the Russian Embassy at visa.kdmid.ru and made an appointment to formalize

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A few of the smaller vessels in Sochi Russia

the visa. We were in Turkey, so we took a trip to Ankara and went to the embassy only to find all appointments were canceled for that date. But they gave us an address to a company that would help and sent us to VHS where we met Ludmila, who helped us with the final paperwork and made sure that she had the visas for us the next day. We cannot say enough about how great the Russian Embassy was to us, and a far departure from the American Embassy that did not even respond to our emails.

With visas in hand we headed north from Kusadasi to the Dardanelles Straits, Istanbul and the Bosphorus Straits. Traveling across northern Turkey and Georgia we took our time and did some inland travel, but we were always aware that we had a certain date in Sochi.

Vladimir told us we would have to use an agent in Russia and gave

us an electronic introduction to Evgeniy Izhevsk of Sochi Yachts in Sochi, www.sochiyachts.com. We started emailing Evgeniy with our plans and he asked for copies of this and that, which we photographed and sent him. All in all, Evgeniy made it quite simple for us.

Back in Georgia, we sat for two days waiting for the weather to improve and called our Georgian agent, David, who showed up with the police to check us out.

But before leaving the police, the tugboat captain, a freighter captain, David and even Evgeniy told us to stay at least 25nm off the coast as we head north because of possible piracy issues around South Ossetia, a state that broke away from Georgia. Russia and Georgia fought a very short war over it. Now, we usually take such warnings with a grain of salt, but when even the Russians say stay off, you stay off.

Bottle of champagne that suddenly appeared as a thank-you for being in the boat parade

One of many mega yachts in Sochi

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Beach at Sochi, Russia

Chuck and Patty in Red Square, Moscow Nightlife in Anapa, Russia

One of the venues made for the winter Olympics - now unused

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As we sailed out of Poti, Georgia for a 100-nm run, we emailed Evgeniy and told him we would be at the pilot station off Sochi about 1200 the next day. Well, we had a good night and it could not have gone better; we spotted Sochi about 0900 and via our SSB and WinLink we emailed Evgeniy that we would arrive at the pilot station at 1000 hours. He emailed back and said no, you will not!

1200 means 1200, period. Okay.

As we approached the Russian coast we did as we always do when entering a new country’s territory; we started radioing the Coast Guard to announce our arrival. We only heard a bunch of static. We did not stop and continued calling. Soon we saw a fast boat coming straight at us. We kept radioing and eventually the fast boat acknowledged our call, but even close in it was difficult to understand. It was the Coast Guard and they asked us to change channels. They came in clear as a bell and asked a bunch of questions. We gave them Evgeniy’s name and phone number and were told to standby. After a few minutes they told us to proceed to the pilot station at 1200.

Okay. We floated out there for two hours and we did it with company of the Coast Guard.

At 1200 we arrived at the pilot station, called Sochi Port Control and heard, “Welcome SoulMates, we have been expecting you. Please proceed to the harbor.” They gave us explicit instructions on where they wanted us to go. We rounded the breakwater and entered a huge cruise ship terminal and saw someone at the end waving us in. We slid SoulMates up to the dock and a longshoreman grabbed our lines. A guy said, Hi, I Evgeniy, welcome to Russia and these folks would like to come aboard.”

Soon the boat was filled with police, Customs, and Immigration officials who very quickly checked us in and left.

Evgeniy asked if we had a Russian flag and we said yes. He told us we almost got into trouble because we were flying our yellow Q flag, as we always do when entering a foreign country, and the police wanted a Russian flag raised immediately. He also told us that Sochi Grand Marina was waiting for us and to call port control to move over to the marina.

The marina met us with a dinghy and escorted us to one of the most beautiful marinas we have visited in a while. As we backed in a bunch of guys caught our dock lines and asked where we were from. When we said USA they broke out in big smiles and with robust handshakes welcomed us to Russia.

Most of the world knows Sochi as the home of the 2014 Winter Olympics, but Sochi is also a beach resort. It has a subtropical climate with temps varying between 50°F in the winter and 75°F or so in the summer. The streets are lined with palm trees and a variety of plants that only grow in warm areas. There is large beach that has what we defined as pre-sand, i.e. pebble beach, full of people. As a beach

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One of the most beautiful churches in the world - Church of Spilled Blood - St. Petersburg

resort it has a variety of entertainment venues including a large stage next to the marina that has free concerts. A quick two-hour drive and you are in the Winter Olympic’s village that is testament to why Olympic Games should be held in the same location for multiple years, because of the expense that a country has to incur to host the games. As with any beach resort, Sochi is expensive, but very beautiful.

Back on the docks we made friends with folks who captain and maintain the boats there. Behind us was a retired freighter captain who, more than once, came aboard SoulMates to share Raki and his life history with us. But the best were a young couple, Camille and Pavel, who wanted to become full-time cruisers. Camille is a former member of the Russian freestyle ski team and now teaches skiing in the winter and is a boat captain for day trippers in the summer. Pavel came to Sochi to help build the Olympic Village. He stayed on and is on the ski patrol in the winter and maintains, repairs and captains boats in the summer.

What great kids. At one point they came to us and asked if we would like to participate in a boat parade to honor the Russian Navy. Patty said no way and Chuck said what time do we have to be off the dock? All the boaters where

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Agent Evgeniy with Chuck and Patty on docks in Sochi

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Socia, Russia street scene

surprised when the American boat showed up to salute the Russian Navy, but were thrilled that we participated. After we got back to the dock a bottle of Champagne appeared in our cockpit that we, of course, shared with many.

We left SoulMates in the care of Camille and Pavel, and headed out to visit Russia via train. With limited time we went to Volgograd, the old Stalingrad to visit one of the most famous battlefields of WWII, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. How can one describe such a trip in a few words? You simply can’t, but the Motherland Statue in Volgograd, the Kremlin, Pushkin Museum, churches and subway system in Moscow, the Hermitage, churches and economic museum in St. Petersburg, and getting to meet Vladimir, were amazing. But the best were the people, who were helpful, funny and kind to us everywhere we went.

In Russia, when your visa is for 29 days they mean 29 days. So with a 350-nm sail to Odessa without the possibility of stopping, Chuck started

Volgograd Motherland Statue where thousands who died defending Stalingrad are buried

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checking the weather 10 days prior to the end of the visa. He noted a storm was due in the western Black Sea and if we delayed the departure until the 29th day, we would sail into what appeared to be a very bad storm. So with few days left we set sail to Novorossiysk. We decided we would make the 110nm sail in two days and found a somewhat protected anchorage near Tupase. Tupase has an oil-loading platform and as we passed near it we were contacted by Port Control who asked our intentions. They told us no, you will not anchor there, you will anchor at such and such coordinates. Well, let’s just say the Russians are not used to dealing with small sailboats and as such, worked with us when we told them that anchoring in 400’ of water was not possible. Port control got a bit of a chuckle out of it and were quite nice in helping us find suitable anchorage.

As we approached Novorossiysk, we sent an email to ask about dockage and then got into a protracted discussion about the cost based on engine size of kw vs hp. One of the things we did was copy Evgeniy all our emails and eventually he helped us work it out, only to find we could not check out the following day because the Customs dock was closed. So, we sailed on to Anapa.

Anapa is another beach resort. As we brought SoulMates into the dock a day tripper boat was unloading next to us.

Everyone on board watched as we tied up and wanted a picture of the boat flying the American flag. Anapa was fun, but we had to get underway. With three days left on our visa our agent brought Customs, Immigration and police down and we were quickly checked out, however the police insisted on checking each cabinet, under the floor and even under the dinghy that we carry on the foredeck. When they were finished and Chuck was tying down the dinghy, the agent came up and said we must leave now, as all the officials would not move until we left. Okay. We slipped our dock lines for the three-day sail to Odessa.

What a great adventure and how privileged we were to be able to sail to such a great country and make such good friends.

We were truly honored. As an aside, the storm did blow in 18 hours after our arrival in Odessa with winds in excess of 50 knots. We won, but were sad we could not stay longer in Russia.

We now know what “From Russia with Love” really means.

Neighborhood in Sochi

Vladimir of “Cruising To Russia “with Chuck and Patty in St. Petersburg

After leaving Anapa, this guy crossed in front of us patrolling the Crimea coast - no AIS and no radar signature

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ur trans-Pacific voyage started in Wellington, New Zealand in June, 2015. New Zealand lies in the southwesternmost corner of the “Polynesian Triangle” which stretches to Easter Island in the east and Hawai’i in the north. French Polynesia lies in the centre of the triangle and for the last seven years we had been dreaming

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of casting off our 45-foot sailboat, Distant Drummer, and setting sail for Tahiti.

The usual route from New Zealand to French Polynesia stays south, gaining as much easting as possible in the roaring forties before turning north to beat up to the Austral Islands on the southeast trades. However, a series of deep and nasty low pressure systems over the Chatham

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Islands scuttled our plans and strong northwest winds forced us onto a port tack up the east coast of the North Island.

By the end of the first week the wind had dropped to a light westerly and we finally were able to head east, riding the top of the low. Two weeks into the passage another major low formed ahead of us, so we had to turn north again, and

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endured six days of near gale force winds. Finally, in the last week the wind eased, the skies cleared and we had some lovely sailing weather. We arrived in Tahiti after 26 days at sea. We were very glad to tie up to a berth in the marina in Pape’ete and enjoy a good meal and a cold beer without everything sliding off the table!

Exploring Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest of the Society Islands which are the western-most archipelago in French Polynesia. They are classic South Sea islands with a rugged craggy volcanic core surrounded by an azure lagoon and protected by a fringing coral reef. Our first day in Pape’ete was a holiday, so we had a day’s grace before having to deal with Customs and Immigration formalities. After catching up on some much needed sleep we wandered down to the Place Vaiete which was abuzz. There was a public dance and the square was filled with Tahitian rhythms and boogying people with flowers in their hair. We ate at a roulotte (a Tahitian food truck) which provides reasonably priced food and open air seating - a great place for people-watching!

After completing Customs and Immigration formalities the next day, we were ready to have a look around the city. The history of European settlement of the islands is echoed in the city’s churches; the yellow Catholic cathedral and the pink Protestant “temple” reflect the original settlement by the London Missionary Society followed by the ascendancy of the French colonists. The produce market is a wonderful bustle of humanity selling a bewildering selection of tropical fruit, vegetables and fish, as well as tourist arts and crafts. Upstairs is a great little café which has WiFi (enchantingly pronounced “weefee” in French). Internet coverage is

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reasonable in the Society Islands, but sparse to non-existent in the rest of French Polynesia.

We didn’t stay long in Pape’ete as we wanted to watch the Tahiti leg of the Billabong Pro Surf Championship, which was being held at Teahupoo, in the southwest corner of Tahiti Iti. We anchored in a little keyhole bay in front of the harbour and about a five-minute dinghy ride to the pass where all the surfing action was taking place. Unfortunately, the swell was disappointing and the massive overhanging waves for which “Chopes” is famous, did not really materialize.

Nonetheless, there was plenty to explore in Tahiti Iti. The road ends at Teahupoo so any further exploration has to be done on foot, bike or boat. We took the dinghy down the coast in search of the celebrated Vaipoiri Cave. The mountainous shoreline is incised by steep, forested valleys that look totally impenetrable. After several dead ends and inquiries with bemused locals, we found the path and had a soggy walk through the dripping green jungle up the Hotapu’u Valley. Swimming in the cool water in the pitch blackness of the cave waiting for the eels to bite our toes was exhilarating and a bit spooky.

Back in Tahiti Nui we took a “safari” tour up the Papenoo Valley following dirt tracks along the river from the north coast up into the caldera in the centre of the island. We walked to a beautiful waterfall and swam in the plunge

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pool, then had a picnic beside the river, feeding the eels with bits of ham. On the way back we stopped at Pointe Venus, the spot where Captain Cook measured the transect of Venus in 1769, but apart from a lighthouse and a monument to HMS Bounty there was not much to see there.

Magical Moorea

After we stocked up on food, wine and baguettes, we crossed the channel to Moorea, Tahiti’s beautiful sister. The islands funnel the southeasterly winds, often making for quite a boisterous crossing. But after rounding Pointe Aroa the wind eased, giving us a pleasant sail along the north coast.

The “headline” bays of Moorea are Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay, both of which can become very crowded during the sailing season.

We dropped anchor on the northeast side of Cook’s Bay off Pointe Paveau, but with more than 25 boats in the anchorage we later moved down to the head of the bay which was more sheltered and less busy.

The highlight of our stay there was an early morning visit by a humpback whale. It cruised slowly past our boat and continued further into the lagoon where it played amongst a bunch of weeds, diving and blowing and flicking up its fins and tail. Then it turned and came back directly towards us. As it swam straight past our stern it was watching us watching him! It was an amazing experience; we were a little awestruck to see such a large creature so close to the boat.

After a couple of days we moved around to Opunohu Bay and anchored off the lovely white sand of Ta’ahiamanu Beach. The dramatic backdrop of shear, craggy mountains is famous as the site where Mutiny on the Bounty was filmed. We got on our bikes and had a lovely quiet ride around the bay. Despite being such a hot tourist destination, the bay is strangely undeveloped beyond the gates of the five star resorts, with few of the roadside pearl shops and tour operators that crowd Cook’s Bay. To kick off our Moorea experience we took another “safari” to see some of the interior of the island. The tour took us to scenic spots such as Magic Mountain and Belvedere where we had a great view over both Cook’s and Opunohu Bays. We visited the remains of several maraes

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in a beautiful bay on the west side of Toopua which are pre-European religious sites used for Island and enjoyed snorkeling in crystal clear worship, burial and human sacrifice. They were water. The coral was lackluster, but the reef part of a network stretching from NZ to Hawaii fish were plentiful and some playful manta rays to Easter Island, with the Society Islands right entertained us for several minutes with graceful in the centre. We had a fun drive on a dirt road swoops and dives, unaware or unfazed by the through the mountains and pineapple plantations snorkeling tourists. and even managed to fit in a tasting of liqueurs The main town of Vaitape was a lively (mainly pineapple based!) at the local distillery. spot, with several restaurants and a couple On Saturday night we went to the Hilton to see a Tahitian dance performance. It The passes in the Society Islands are was very enjoyable and the dancers generally fairly wide and deep and are and musicians were very skilled; well buoyed. lithe women with swaying hips and undulating grass skirts, and toned of supermarkets which were handy for male dancers decorated with tattoos. Their bulging provisioning. We took a mooring off the quay at eyes, poking tongues and stomping feet reminded the Maikai Marina where the staff was friendly, me of the Maori huka. The gentle dances of the the mooring fee was cheap and free weefee was women provided a soothing counterbalance to the available at the bar. fierce intensity of the male dancers.

Bastille Night was a joyfully noisy affair, with Bastille Day in Bora Bora crowds of people hanging around and loud music From Moorea we had an overnight sail to throbbing across the bay. Table football seemed to Bora Bora, passing the eastern Leeward Islands generate high levels of excitement with the local of Ra’iatea, Taha’a and Huahine during the night, lads, and after canoeing and petanque, it seems to and arriving the next morning to navigate the be the most popular sport on the islands!

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Before we left Bora Bora we anchored in Baie de Povai opposite the infamous Bloody Mary’s Bar and Restaurant. The board at the front boasts the names of the rich and famous musicians and film stars who have visited the hostelry. It was pretty quiet when we were there but the cocktails were good.

Outstanding Snorkeling and Diving The crossing from Bora Bora to the neighbouring islands of Ra’iatea and Taha’a was a comfortable day sail. As we passed through the reef and motored through the lagoon we had to keep a keen lookout for coral heads. We dropped anchor in the Tau Tau Lagoon and found ourselves in one of the most pristine snorkeling spots I’ve ever seen. As we drifted along on the current flowing in across the reef, we were saturated in the rich and vivid colours of the reef fish and the coral. The next day we took the bikes ashore and rode to the village of Patio on the northern tip of the island. Taha’a is the vanilla capital of French Polynesia, so we hoped to pick up some bargains however as it was Sunday; everything was closed up with

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no- one around. They take their Sunday “dayof-rest” very seriously there!

We crossed the lagoon to Ra’iatea to dive the Teavapiti Pass which is said to be a world class site for shark encounters. It was not as outstanding as Fakarava (in the Tuamotus) but we saw plenty of blacktip and grey reef sharks which are very impressive at close quarters.

The most aggressive creatures on the reef were the Titan triggerfish which can become quite territorial and are prone to attack divers!

Huahine – Saving the Best until Last The last island we visited before returning to Tahiti was Huahine, probably my favourite of the Society Islands. We entered the lagoon through Passe Avemoa on the northeast side of the island. The passes through the reefs of the atolls in French Polynesia are legendary for their strong currents and eddies and the standing waves which frequently develop across the entrance. The passes in the Society Islands are generally fairly wide and deep and are well buoyed. Passe Avemoa is one of the tighter ones and you need to get your tides and winds right!

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We anchored off the village of Fare which has a wonderfully sluggish and sleepy quality. On Sunday morning the old men gather at the pavilion on the wharf to play their ukuleles. With the children splashing in the water and dogs and goats lying around, the undulating music lulls you back in time. The narrow pass keeps the cruise ships away so there are few restaurants and no big hotels in the village, but the supermarket is surprisingly well stocked and enabled me to top up with fresh produce. We also discovered the superb rum punches at happy hour in the Huahine Yacht Club which left us staggering back to the dinghy on a couple of evenings. The only downside to Fare was the anchorage; it was crowded with little swinging room and the strong swirling currents and coral bombies gave us some anxious moments.

On our last day we made a Tour de Huahine Nui (the northern part of the island) on our bikes. It turned out to be a little bit further than we had planned and we did get a little bit lost and a little bit puffed by many of the gradients, but the superb views of the lagoons and craggy hills provided some of our best memories of the Society Islands.

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

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create/edit routes, modify waypoints and set active waypoint alarms. You can also monitor and activate boat functions remotely anywhere in the world. The Sentry add-on tells you what is going on aboard your boat no matter where the vessel is, including bilge/high water alarms, door and entry alerts, anchor watch, perimeter alarms and more.

There are up to 16 sensors/actuators that can be connected. Sentry is a paid add-on that requires activation for monitoring.

With connection plans as low as $39.99 per month, the Mazu system makes global satellite communications affordable even for cruisers on a budget. Anyone with an iPad can download the all new Mazu app for free from the App store and start using it now, including FREE NOAA charts! For more information on Mazu go to their website www.mazu-marine.com.

Cruising Outpost Event & Boat Show Section www.cruisingoutpost.com

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I Found It At The Boat Show

Dometic Portable Fridge-Freezer Simultaneous cooling and freezing with wifi control

Here’s a great idea from Dometic. It’s the new Dometic refrigerator-freezer. One advantage is that it has temperature zones which can be set to the temperature you want. It operates on multiple power options: 12V, 24V, 110V. You can have simultaneous cooling and freezing in one unit. Available in multiple sizes from 26 liters to 94.5 liters and using Smart technology, the CFX-95 can be remotely monitored and controlled by a new mobile app (Android & iOS). It is alarm enabled to alert you if it goes above the desired temperature. You can get more info on their website at: www.dometic.com.

Wire basket simplifies finding those hard to find items!

Need a light? No problem, this unit has one built in!

Deep-freeze performance down to –22 °C with ease.

Control your temp with easy-to-use WiFi app!

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I Found It At The Boat Show

SailStep A strong, well-built and rugged boarding step

The folks at SailStep have answered a problem that has long haunted sailors: how best to get on and off the boat. What they have designed is a very rugged step that hangs off the side of most boats with no alterations or adjustments. Just hang it over the side and step off.

Constructed from heavy, anodized aluminum, SailStep is designed for aluminum, fiberglass and/or wooden rails. It matches the aluminum found on most sailboats.

SailStep was designed to put the interface at the very first step which creates a stable and intuitive experience. The sturdy and compact design makes it ideal for travel and for stowage. It’s the perfect replacement for dock stairs and ladders both for travel, and for use at your home port.

If you’ve been looking for a ladder that is stable, will last, and is easy for anyone to handle, this is the answer.

If you’d like to see more on this heavy-duty SailStep, you can go to: http://www.sailstep.com.

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I Found It At The Boat Show

Torqeedo Electric Outboard For tenders, dinghies and daysailers up to 1.5 tons Light weight: 32 lbs. complete with battery heaviest piece is 19 lbs.

Perfect for cruising tenders!

We have always liked the idea of an electric outboard for our dinghy when we were cruising. No more need to carry ultra-flamable gasoline aboard was the main reason, but also the fact that we could recharge the unit using solar panels. That added to the beauty of this type motor.

Torqeedo’s Travel 1003, with its integrated lithium battery and its efficiency, is the alternative to a small gasoline outboard. The Travel can do everything that a 3 HP outboard motor can, but it’s environmentally friendlier, quieter, lighter, and a lot more convenient. Any of your crew can lift it with ease, yet the Travel easily propels tenders, dinghies and daysailers up to 1.5 tons and – when needed – over long distances, too.

The Travel is also something of an expert when it comes to communication. It discloses its most important information to you, connects with your smartphone and can be charged from a

The optional spare battery simplifies getting the most out of your Torqeedo

standard power outlet, from a 12 V connection or from a solar charger. The motor has an on-board computer with GPS-based calculation of remaining range!

The versatile Travel can charge other electrical devices for you as well. The batteries are equipped with a USB adapter, allowing your mobile phones, laptops and other equipment to share the Travel’s abundant battery capacity.

With simple forward/ reverse drive and manual tilting, it’s easy to use the 4-step manual trim device. There are two shaft lengths: short 62.5 cm / long 75 cm and the Travel 1003 comes with the battery and charger and 2 year warranty. Also, it can be easily dismantled for transport and spacesaving storage.

Did we mention it is completely waterproof and weighs about 32 pounds total?

For more information and options go to their website: www.torqeedo.com.

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Li f es tyl e A Look at Why We Do What we Do

Ever wondered why people love the boating lifestyle? Well, here in the Lifestyle section folks from all over the world give an insight into what it’s really like out there. If you have a photo you think tells a good tale, why not send it to us? We prefer you send a digital pic, in as high resolution as you can. Tell us who took the pic and where it was taken.

We will probaby throw it into our “digital pile” and pull it out someday. We won’t send you any money, but you will be famous worldwide! Email to: Lifestyle@Cruisingoutpost.com.

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Tory Rubin on the beach in Bequia trying to have fun... and achieving it!

Nice hat!

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By Chuck Lennox, Channel Islands, CA

By David Willmington

By Terry Sovil, Raspberry Bay, Lake Superior

By Roger Martinson, Sierpe Marinson, Costa Rica!

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By Ben Muri of son Dean headed out Ponce Inlet for the annual Lipton Cup Regatta

Ted, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

Submitted by Patricia Bently

By Cindy Holden of Dabola and Perkins on Tenacity

By Cap’n Tony in St. Croix

By Brandon Lovejoy

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Cruising Outpost 89 7/27/17 4:48 PM

Photo of Rachel Keener in Cherry Cove, Catalina with her Hans Christian 43 moored behind her.

By Jim Paddock of Faith on the Columbia River, Oregon

By John Eustis at Black Lake, NY.psd

By Captain Joe of Wendy on Kuon Beach

By Bob Feld

By Heather of Cap’n Carey and crew aboard S/V Cerridwen, Benicia, Ca

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A grin from my father (Mike) as we yank the old Atomic 4 out of my 45-yearold Tartan 30 in preparation for a new engine from Beta Marine.

Black Point Beach

By Joe Robinson, Port Huron to Mackinac Race on northern Lake Huron at sunset

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By Deb onboard SurfsUp of Silver Knots heading to the Keys

Cruising Outpost 91 7/27/17 4:49 PM

Stowaway, taken in Deshaies, Guadeloupe

by Donna Garcia off S/V SundayMorning

By Charles of cruisers’ dinner in Cockerells Creek, Reedville, VA

By Taylor Valentine, Hawaii

By Jeff, Marie & Abby aboard Plau, Caribbean

By Joanne Dean of Macgregor 26X , anchored off of Bahia Honda while en route from Montgomery, AL to Key West, FL

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By Bill of wife Trisha, sailing near Key Largo, FL

By Bongo Bob Norway, of boats coming up to start line to wait for fog to lift...

Captain Roger at Happy Hour, Vancouver Island circumnavigation

By Chuck, taken on Catalina Island www.cruisingoutpost.com

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Cruising Outpost 93 7/27/17 4:50 PM

Northern Queensland, Australia Curtis overlooking the Pool Anchorage, North Channel, Ontario, Canada

Of Jaimie Alyssa

By Bob Newingham, taken at sunset on July 4th, 2016 at Spritzer Lakeside Marina on Lake Erie just before fireworks

Isla San F S/V Nellie J We

By James Garnier of approaching storm in Marina Hemingway, Cuba

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By Bob, Sint Maarten

Isla San Francisco in the Sea of Cortez S/V Nellie Jo and S/V Idle Dreams are two Westsail 32s anchored out

Caught by Jim Guthorman while crossing to Bimini on S/V Amata Marie, his CSY 44 48� wide, 25 pounds, fed 10 people!

Stephan Barfield, Provo to Clarencetown via Myaguana, Plana Cays, Lady Slipper Cay, Bahamas

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Cruising Outpost 95 7/27/17 4:52 PM

From Richard

Taylor Swift & friends on Catamaran

From Laura and Bob, Dock 4, St. Petersburg, FL

Lee Ann Rock, Staniel Cay in the Exumas, Bahamas

Tradewind Seeker near Nanoose Bay, BC

By Craig, Virginia Beach where the Bay meets the Atlantic

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By Peter, trade winds on a reach

By Bill Grega, Molasses Reef off of Key Largo

By Dan, Rangiroa Atoll in the Tuamotus, S/V Long Windid in background

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g n i l i a AS s t i H y d a L k l i S e th e Dike

By Anni

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Why is canvas on a boat so mesmerizing? Imagine a massive, billowing spinnaker rising and filling and growing taut before the sun. So fragile, just a thin, sheer sail held at three points, but yet, so strong. Capable of propelling the boat, heeling her over even, with enough wind.

I believe it is this dichotomy of beauty and strength that captivates us and in my mind, it is the same with the silks. Big billowing sheets, flowing and flicking, sheer before the sun. It is absolutely mesmerizing. Then you see her; such strength to be able to climb them, grip them and yet she seems so fragile, her entire body hanging weightless, suspended from a single point.

“She’s crazy!” you think. And I would have to agree with you. I start to think it, too, looking back on it.

Offshore, on a five-day run across the Gulf of Mexico, rather than checking the rigging I’m all tangled up in it, hanging from silk ribbons at sunset. But, call it crazy, call it beautiful, bold, I call it: No regrets. I will never forget that moment. That feeling. While I have soared weightlessly, floating freely in satin sheets from the mast of a sailboat many times, never before had I done it underway, with the movement of the boat gliding on the water swaying me left and right, surrounded by a salty breeze and a blue horizon, albeit with the water up and a melting pink sun down.

So how does one become an on-the-water aerial silks performer? My secret? You don’t.

Don’t perform. Create! See it as an artistic outlet. I’m no performer. I’m just a little athletic and a little brave. But anyone can do this. Man or woman. There are no set parameters.

One swoop of the spinnaker halyard around the forestay, then another, lower down the mast-line (we use the topping lift for the whisker pole on our boat) to pull the spinnaker halyard back to center between the forestay and mast, use them both to hoist the silks, and then you’re ready to fly. Of course, I have to give the disclaimer (the recovering attorney in me

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feels compelled): Hang with care and silk at your own risk. But, definitely do it!

You don’t have to be Hercules to do a few simple, fun tricks. String a few together timed to some captivating music, add a little dramatic flair and—voila!—suddenly you’re performing an elegant silks routine. YOU are an aerial silks artist. It also doesn’t cost that much to get your own set of silks—around $180 at www. aerialessentials.com—and they’re cruiserfriendly. They pack down pretty small and are rather easy to set up anywhere! Hang them on the boat, from a tree, from a ceiling. And they double as a very versatile boat hammock.

What are you waiting for? Go for it!

Now, I didn’t start out on a boat. I learned in a noisy, mostly-for-kids “fun zone” kind of gym, struggling with the most basic footholds. It never dawned on me to buy my own silks and—much less—hang them on my very own boat until I met one amazing woman. Cue Hanna, the tiniest little sexy bundle of red hair you’ll ever meet. Ninetyeight pounds soaking wet, she can lift her own body weight with one hand. Oh, and give you a sultry smile while she’s doing it. Not the sweaty hog-in-heat expression that I do when I merely attempt it.

I had the pleasure of performing with Hanna recently with www.

SailLibra.com on Captain Ryan’s stunning 1969 Bill Tripp custom offshore sailtraining boat at the Miami Boat Show.

Hanna was one of my instructors early on and a sailor as well, cruising often on her husband’s parents’ boat in the Bahamas. The first time I saw a photo of Hanna doing the silks on a sailboat, everything clicked for me.

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“I have a boat. It has a big, tall mast. I can do this anywhere while we’re cruising?” Hell yeah!

When I started talking to Hanna and her in-laws about how they rigged the silks up for her on their 47’ Beneteau, we connected and I actually ended up spending a week with them—in the Bahamas for the first time myself—in the Abacos Regatta, 2015. I even flew my own silks there with me and hung them from the gallant mast of Cheval while anchored out near Green Turtle Cay. And it was all thanks to Hanna. What a fun story to share!

If there is one thing cruisers can agree on, because we darn sure know it’s not the best way to fix a crack in your diesel tank or stop leaking port lights (to 5200 or not to 5200?), hands down, across the board, it’s that the cruising community is incredibly, and impressively, small. There’s just really not that many of us out there truly doing it. And thank goodness, right? The mooring fields and anchorages would be even more clogged up.

Maybe we should keep the secret. Probably.

But I won’t keep this one. Because the more people out there silking on their sailboats does not diminish my enjoyment of the activity in any way. It only enhances it. I love to watch others do it. What a beautiful thing to see!

Annie & Hanna “hitting the silk” at the Miami Boat Show

But then, I also see three couples on various boats in the anchorage, wine glasses in hand sitting on their bows, watching and truly appreciating the free show. I hang, suspended from three points, feeling weightless and free, with the beautiful blue water up and the pink, melting sun down. Spontaneous, mesmerizing moments like this are what life is made of. We should all strive for such bliss. Get crazy. Get bold. Climb, float, soar, and look back on your own moments with the same admiration and revelation. No regrets.

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y t u a e B e Th

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e h t f o

t s a e B rt

By Robe

Walker

again, w o l e b I peer . s t n i o e rolls ap g h t d i r r a l M a r � s a co a from w “There! s t e h o g d u e o p h hat I t rge tor w a l s g a n t i ht at s h g t i ju e a r m t o s s e and swims d t i I s ! e s l t i a to wh o turn t y b y l a n b o A , it. other m eels s f t i t beneath r a o h f w s sound gain in a n e y h a t w , s r u om ou o z d n a tag. n around a e c o me of a g a e k i l

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My wife, Cynthia, and I had chosen to do a bareboat cruise in the Kingdom of Tonga because we’d heard it was an island paradise. However, on the last flight to our destination from Fiji, no one showed any interest in the Tonga of postcard dreams. All our fellow passengers wanted to talk about was humpback whales, and they were obsessed. Cynthia and I thought this rather quaint as we settled into our seats, ready to sail off to what Tonga was really about.

We weren’t completely surprised by the topic of conversation, given what we’d learned in preparing for our trip. In particular, Tonga’s probably the best place in the world to dive with whales. Interesting, we thought, immediately dismissing this from our list of things to do. Diving with whales would interrupt our gunk-holing through perfect hideaways. There was also the small matter of sharks; marine biologists had speculated a recent spate of attacks in Australia had something to do with recovering whale populations.

It’s 7:30 a.m. as I weigh anchor from the harbor at Vaka’eitu where we’ve luxuriated for three days. Last night we joined the two other boats anchored here to attend a “feast,” a necessary part of any Tongan cruise. All you do is drop your hook and friendly locals approach with invitations to nearby islands.

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SEA FROST ®

Niafu, Vava’u, Tonga

We were interested for cultural reasons, but found ourselves ravenous once the delicious food was served, including the obligatory roasted pig which had smoked all day beneath piles of banana leaves.

The hook comes free, then the windlass cranks our chain from eight meters of water. A mostly clear sky is tufted with clouds and a stiff breeze makes the coconut palms dance atop the encircling ridge of the island. We set course for Mounu Island, home to the Mounu Island Resort and the best dive operation in the Vava’u group, headed by Allan Bowe. That’s right. We’ve just left our postcard perfect anchorage to go do a whale dive. Cynthia’s idea.

An hour later we secure the mooring just off Mounu, a low-lying six-acre cay surrounded by halos of sand. We’ve just stowed our lines when the dive vessel, much like a salvaged PT boat of WWII vintage, zooms our way. As it comes alongside a bearded man, Allan Bowe by the webpage photo, shouts for us to jump. He’s spotted whales and there’s not a second to waste. We bounce aboard as he hits the throttle. A Polynesian woman, Martha, introduces herself as the divemaster and points for us to sit.

“We’re really going to do this?” Cynthia asks.

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“It was your idea,” I say.

Ten minutes later we’ve donned wetsuits and fins, and are holding our masks with snorkels. Allan’s idled the engine in a deep ocean pass. The boat rolls as islands seesaw in the distance. “Go!” he shouts.

Martha plunges in, then Cynthia. I hesitate, then jump, unhappy as the cool Pacific washes over me. We should never have left Vaka’eitu.

“See it?” Martha shouts and kicks off. We follow through the bounding sea. “There!”

I put my face beneath the waves, peering to where Martha points, and realize that what I think is the ocean is actually a blue-gray form drifting towards me. I try to kick, to breathe, but find myself paralyzed. As the creature comes into view, all 50 feet of it, my terror melts away and I’m a child again, enchanted by the benevolence of a wondrous world. The whale glides past, its huge, black eye keeping a friendly watch on me.

We’re on the boat again, the whale having left, Allan scanning with binoculars. In a minute the engines throttle up full-tilt for an island. Just offshore where the ocean blue begins to pale, Allan shouts, “Jump!”

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I’m relieved the bottom is visible at 80 feet, even if I don’t see anything.

“There!” Martha points. I peer below again, just as what I thought was a coral ridge rolls to its side and something large torpedoes from beneath it. A baby whale! It swims straight at us, then sounds for its mother, only to turn around and zoom our way again in what feels like a game of ocean tag. The nursing humpback delights in our company until mother nudges it off. After a few false starts the calf dives and they disappear into the shadowy water.

At 10:00 a.m. we’re broad reaching for Hunga Island beneath a sparkling sky.

It was tough leaving Port Maurelle, a cove scalloping the leeward side of Kapa Island and probably the most delightful place we’ve seen. A pod of five whales just left us after a 20-minute escort, three frolicking males, a female, and her calf. It’s been like this every day since swimming with them; whales in front and behind us, coming for a look then shying away, big tail swats, rolls at the surface and hefty spouts. It’s illegal for anyone but a dive operator to be within 1000 feet of an animal, given conservationist concerns. This makes sense with the sordid history of human exploitation. But today, our newfound friends are breaking the law as dive boats scurry about, oblivious to the fact that the whales are with us.

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On rounding the northern cape of Hunga we get a view of Late Island in the distance, an inactive volcano some 30 miles to the west-southwest. As I study its ghostlike visage, Cynthia cries and I look to see a huge creature breaching no more than a hundred yards away.

Completely out of the water, it plunges back, cratering the ocean, only to surface almost immediately with a playful roll, as if beckoning us to follow. Should we?

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Our trip is coming to an end all too so soon. Unfortunately, tomorrow is Sunday, the day we hop on a plane for home. We’re tucked in between Mala and Kapa Islands, but the he wind is stronger than I’d like with lightning in the distance.

I did a rather poor job anchoring this afternoon, putting us too close to the “Japanese Gardens,” a lovely reef for the daytime snorkeler and a lousy piece of the underwater world for the anchored mariner. So, as Cynthia sleeps below, I’m up on deck keeping watch.

Eventually I doze off, only to waken to church bells. It’s 3:00 a.m., the weather has settled, and starry pinpricks speckle the sky. Church bells? I stand in the cockpit and rub my eyes, but there’s nothing to see except several pointy gleams on Mala Island. After the bells stop comes the boom, boom, boom of a drum on Kapa Island, then silence, until the church bells clang a minute later. For the next half hour it’s back and forth, a Christian Church and the Gods of Kava speaking to one another over the nighttime waters of Tonga.

Once it ends, fatigue settles over me and I head below, trying not to wake Cynthia as I crawl beside her in the warm berth. I fail, at which she asks if everything’s okay. I reassure her just as the cooing starts, and for the life of me, I can’t place the sound.

An oboe? Did we leave the radio on?

The sound forms a steady note, then a coo, coo, coo, an elephant doing its best mourning dove imitation, then silence, followed by another note an octave lower, a soft sound that’s amplified by our fiberglass hull.

“Whales,” Cynthia says at last, solving the mystery.

“You’re right!”

“Two of them.”

“You know they sleep on the bottom? They go up and down all night to breathe.”

Eventually, like the bells and the drums, the whales go quiet and we fall asleep. Not for long though, and upon waking I go topside to ready the boat for departure. The air is salty fresh and dark island shapes form craggy silhouettes against the pre-dawn sky.

I’m stowing a sheet in the lazarette WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

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when the water spouts with the force of an open fire hydrant.

I search the vague light but can’t see anything. As a light mist sprinkles over me, I realize that my anchor watch was for naught. The whales were there and had sung to reassure us.

Upon returning home our friends have questions.

Is it as beautiful as the pictures? Are the anchorages all empty? We answer their questions without inspiration because there’s only one thing you want to talk about once you’ve jumped in the water and frolicked with them; once you’ve shared a harbor through a windy night with them. So Cynthia and I tell our friends about the whales, and when I give my best rendition of the humpback song I now know -- that mournful oboe cooing – they exchange skeptical glances and some shake their heads. But Cynthia and I could care less if they think we’re obsessed. Tonga’s the best place in the world to interact with whales. That it’s also a beautiful cruising ground is somewhat incidental.

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: e c a s Pl

i h T ere’s

Th

e l t Lit y r r e b n a r C d n a l s I

by Len

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erg

Freedb

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On February 27, 1762, the General Court of Massachusetts made a grant to Governor Francis Bernard. In September of that same year, the Governor visited the island to view his new possessions.

“Came to Neskeag Point, thirty miles from Ft. Pownall. Found several vessels there, among which was schooner with my surveyors on board, who left Boston five days before me.

Took them on board and with a pilot proceeded for Mount Desart. Arrived there at 3 o’clock, but the wind being against us we were two hours turning into the harbor. At first we came into a spacious bay formed by land of the great island on the left and of the Cranberry Islands on the right. Toward the end of this bay, which we call the Great Harbour, we turned into a smaller bay called the Southwest Harbour. This last is about a mile long and three fourths of a mile wide.”

“Hello, come right in,” boomed a friendly voice in response to my tentative knock on Ashley Bryan’s door. Thus I entered a magical place on Little Cranberry Island in Maine. I was alone on JUDY, my 1984 Ericson 38, on my way home during my annual September cruise.

I left Hingham, just south of Boston, on Saturday morning, motored to Gloucester for the night and on Sunday sailed for the next 24 hours or so downwind, first with the spinnaker and then wing and wing with the main and Yankee to Winter Harbor just beyond Bar Harbor.

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When I started the engine just outside Winter Harbor no water was being pumped through and it started to overheat. The wind was blowing in, so I easily sailed to Winter Harbor Yacht Club where I had a reservation and was towed to a mooring by their dockmaster, Jim, and his helper, Emily. The engine problem turned out to be a failed impeller, per usual, and I had spares so it was an easy fix.

The man who had answered my tentative knock was Ashley Bryan. He is now 92. He grew up and was educated in New York City. Refused admission to all the art schools to which he applied because he was African-American, he was accepted at Cooper Union where admission was blind, based solely on the art submitted by the applicant. He served in the army in Europe in WWII, traveled widely, and was a professor at several colleges including Dartmouth. He fell in love with Maine and moved to Little Cranberry Island in the 1980s. He

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has written and illustrated children’s books, makes stained-glass windows including ones with sea glass he finds, and creates extraordinary puppets from beach debris. His house is filled with brightly colored crafts he has collected and his own work. He has a large workshop and is in the midst of several projects at the same time.

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Little Cranberry Island is home to 50 year-round residents, lobstermen and their families, and another 300 or so in the summer. Years ago, tired of their mail being misdirected to Great Cranberry Island, the residents successfully petitioned to change the official name to Isleford. There is a lovely small museum, part of Acadia National Park. When I was there they had an exhibit of lobstermen art, crafts, and writings. The Ashley Bryan tworoom K through 8 school has two teachers. Lauren, originally from New York state, has been there three years and loves it. Her job comes with housing upstairs in the school! This year there are 17 children, about half from Great Cranberry Island who come over on a boat every day. It’s a 15-minute trip; nice when I was there, cold and rough in the winter. All children go to the mainland, just two miles away, for High School. The school is part of the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative that includes five other islands in

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addition to the two Cranberry Islands. At one time there were 300 inhabited islands off the coast of Maine. Now, probably less than 50. Some of the islands with larger populations have their own, non-consolidated schools.

A lobsterman directed me to a vacant mooring and that night the sky was filled with stars and the Milky Way. The next morning I left and had a lovely sail to Isle Au Haut, then a short hop through Fox Island Thoroughfare to Rockland, largest city in Penobscot Bay. My wife, Judy, joined me there for the weekend during which we went over to North Haven for the night, where there are 350 year-round residents and a K through 12 school with 60 students. We sailed back to Rockland in dense fog the next day. One more night on a mooring and then I was off to home, again downwind, and on my home mooring in Hingham in less than 24 hours.

Little Cranberry Island, and the others like it, represents a unique way of life, understandably cherished by the

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residents. In the summer there is a restaurant in the harbor, and there are a few shops with local crafts. When I was there the only store open was the lobster cooperative selling sodas, snacks, and a few tourist items. The only market on the island, which shares space with the Post Office, is for sale. As Ashley Bryan told me, residents all watch out for each other. They have to; they are isolated and the climate is harsh. Many of the residents have vegetable gardens and I met someone who keeps chickens. There is a constable, although I can’t believe he is busy, and there is an EMT. Residents take the mail boat or their own boat to the mainland for shopping. For short trips on the island most residents walk or use golf carts. There is a ferry to the mainland that pulls up to a rocky beach in the harbor and lowers a ramp to load and unload cars and trucks.

You can walk clear across the island in less than an hour. There is a feeling of safety, closeness to nature, and lasting values the sight of which can be lost in our busy lives in cities.

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Panama To The Galapagos Islands

By Jeff & Judy Wahl

W

ith our 1000-mile crossing from Bahia del Sol, El Salvador to Panama almost behind us, we got slammed at Punta Malo, where we had to sit out five days of 30+ knot winds in the anchorage. When we pulled into the Balboa Yacht Club in Panama at 3:30 p.m., Rex, the manager, made sure Judy was through Immigration and able to make her 5:30 a.m. flight so she was able to see her mother for her last hours on this Earth. We cannot say enough good thinks about Rex and his professional crew at Balboa Yacht Club. In a town that is overpriced on almost everything, Balboa Yacht Club goes the extra step to give you hospitality and service.

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If you need to haul your boat at Flamingo or put her in the boat yard to get work done, be ready for sticker shock.

We sailed out a week later than planned for our next 1000-mile crossing to the Galapagos Islands, thanks to some sticker shock boat work. We were also a week earlier than others who had great winds. When sailing downhill out of Panama to the Galapagos Islands, be sure to have some measure of the Papagayo winds to help you west.

After three days, Larry Burton and I were becalmed with little to no wind. Larry is a friend from Puerto Vallarta who volunteered to crew for our crossing. With

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From $175/night!

LEARN TO SAIL! Judy at home taking care of details from her mother’s passing, the crossing fell to myself and Larry. Larry is a great guy whom I would go to sea with anytime.

The first two days were almost perfect downwind sailing past Punta Malo with a fantastic current up to two knots. If you come down from the north heading into Panama City you will find out why Punta Malo gets its name. If forecasts say 20, it will be blowing 30 “on the nose.”

We were sailing our Sundeer 60, a quick boat that Judy and I purchased a year before. I’m still learning her systems and what she likes and doesn’t like. Our last boat, a 47-foot Wellington Pilothouse, was a real workhorse.

Making the move into an over-powered, sleek sled is a bigger jump than I ever expected; a boat that is definitely above my skill level, one I can grow into. I never thought I would be sailing at 12.8 knots.

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Three days after leaving Panama we were out of wind and started motoring part time, as I really don’t like sailing at less than two knots with sails flogging. At 400 miles we came to where the tidal currents converge; the Humboldt current meets the Panama current. You could draw a line in the water where the currents meet. To port the water was full of ripples and rough, to starboard the water was a mill pond full of debris from the rain forests to the south. This area went on for a couple of days with turtles and fish feeding off of the logs.

Finally, after seven uneventful days, we arrived at San Cristóbal and checked in with our agent, Bolivar Pesantes (bolivar.pesantes@hotmail.com), a great guy that just takes care of everything. Any question is answered and with absolutely no stress. Our check-in was so uneventful that it kept me wondering what all the fuss is about stopping in the Galapagos.

After spending a fun-filled week in the tranquil San Cristobal and getting a personal guided tour with Caroline, a local who lives with her boyfriend on a 38’ Morgan in the harbor, we were ready to check out Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a nice day-sail to the west. I could live in Santa Cruz. This it is my kinda place - just enough stores, restaurants and sights to see to keep me occupied.

Taxis are one dollar. Gotta love it. My tuna dinner was swimming just hours before. We loved getting to know the locals and their culture, one of the main reasons to cruise.

The internet in all of the Galapagos is the only down side I could see. As a local stated, most visitors are there for a couple of weeks and will accept the slow internet, the speed of dial up. But living there and trying to live with the slow service year around is not anything to be proud of.

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On Santa Cruz, be sure to take an inland tour of the turtle ranch and don’t forget Tortuga Beach and the iguanas. Oh, and the blue footed boobies and the penguins and the flamingos. I say that if Disneyland, San Diego and South Beach, Miami, are your kind of places, don’t go to the Galapagos. The Galapagos is all about nature with no glitz or glamor. Love it! The Galapagos Islands need to be on your bucket list.

It was time to get loaded up with diesel at $3.10 per gallon, provision and head out for our next crossing to the Marquesas, just 3000 miles west.

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The Day My Family Sailed Away

By Tatiana Lundstrom

W

hen my family first moved on a boat in 2002, I was a shy, abnormally tall and chubby kid. I had friends in second grade (and a boyfriend, hi Taylor!), but I was not great at meeting new people. By the time the two years on Linnea were over, one of those things had changed drastically. I was still chubby, I had grown to be even taller, but I had somehow overcome my shyness.

So what does this have to do with why I think kids love boats? As I mentioned before, I was a chubby kid. Big boned maybe? Sturdy would be a good word for it, except for my complete lack of the coordination and balance aspect that would make the ‘sturdy’-ness apply. Though it wasn’t my size that stopped me from being outgoing, the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to go up and talk to kids wasn’t helped by the fact that I was much larger than them. I was too shy to start a conversation and only made friends after my brothers had met them and brought me into the conversation. I struggled for the first couple of months, especially after we left France.

Somehow, even though we didn’t speak the same language, I had become quite close with some French kids while we were in a marina there. We stayed for a month while my parents got the boat ready for cruising,

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and finally headed off into the Mediterranean near the end of July. Once the excitement of going off to travel the world had worn off and I realized we wouldn’t be returning to France, I felt dread creep over me. Who would be my friends in the new places? I refused to put myself out there and meet new people, so at that moment, I decided my brothers would not be allowed to make new friends, lest they abandon me.

Though I didn’t tell them my plans, I thought I had a great chance of making them a reality. I mean, how many people do you meet while living on a sailboat? As it turns out, quite a few. At the first anchorage, we spotted another “kids boat” as we called them, and my dad suggested that we go make friends. In retrospect, he probably just wanted us to get out of the boat so he and my mother could relax after our first big trip. I took this suggestion terribly. How dare he ruin my plan? I quickly said that I had no interest and that they probably didn’t want to talk to us anyway.

My brothers, sweet as they were, were also completely fearless. They quickly said yes and started lowering our five-foot kids’ dinghy with paddles into the water.

My mind raced. How was I supposed to stop this or make it so I didn’t have to introduce myself? Immediately,

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I started begging my dad to come with us. He refused, which brought me to the verge of tears. I was unable to understand how he expected me to do this on my own, especially when these other people were literal strangers!

Chubby me got my way, as I often did, and no one left the boat to say hello. I promised my brothers that we would go over to say hi tomorrow, and started mentally preparing to meet the strangers.

When the next morning rolled around, I was almost excited to go make friends. I wasn’t dreading it as much, and figured I could just come back to the boat if it was awkward. Once my brothers popped their heads out of the boat though, they saw that the other boat had already left the anchorage. At that moment I learned a lesson that I would have never learned on shore. When you’re sailing, if you don’t make friends today they could literally disappear forever the next day. It was about a week until we saw the next kids’ boat, by which time I was ready to talk to someone besides my little brothers. I could only deal with so much Pokemon.

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Diving Bonaire And Curacao

By Robert Scott - S/V Honeymoon Forever

O

ne of the greatest things about the cruising life for my wife, Virginia, and I is the freedom and ability to Scuba dive just about every place we go. We have been out here over three years now and could write volumes of all the incredible dives we have had cruising. From the Florida Keys through the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USVI, BVI and all through the Leewards and the Windwards, it has been an amazing journey both above and below the waterline.

We are currently bouncing back and forth between Bonaire and Curacao and have been here since late January this year. It is a wonderful cruising area, yet we see very few cruisers in comparison to all the other islands we’ve visited. I guess that is because they are out of the way and unless you are coming or going to/from Columbia or Panama, most cruisers would not travel this far south as a “destination.” However, we have done so and we highly recommend it to anyone for a plethora of reasons. First and foremost would be the diving!

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A lot is made of Bonaire and its wonderful, abundant reefs. And all of that is true. I first dove Bonaire back in the early ‘90s and it was pretty amazing then. Today, I find it just as amazing. Perhaps it’s just me. After a little over 40 years of diving and having logged close to 4000 dives, I am still awed when I dive a place of wonder and beauty. Not all dives are created equal; some are far more superior than others.

Just as it was back in the ‘90s during my first visit, Bonaire is still full of wonder and beauty. New growth is apparent everywhere you look. It has abundant fish life, though mainly small reef fish. For some reason you do not see a lot of large fish in Bonaire. It has great visibility and steady temps year round.

This makes it a diver’s choice destination spot for those making their annual dive trip from points worldwide.

Hotels and dive shops to fit all different budgets line Kaya Gob N. Debrot and C.E.B. Hellmund - the main roads along the western shore, all selling a promise of comfort and wonder. The roads are dotted with big and small rocks painted bright yellow, and have the name of

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the reefs at the location where they are. All coastal waters surrounding Bonaire and Kline Bonaire are declared the Bonaire National Marine Park. You must buy a tag even to snorkel there. The fees are $10 for a snorkel tag, $25 for a dive tag, and are valid for one year. The money goes towards the management and protection of the park.

The majority of the diving in Bonaire takes place on the leeward or western side of the island ranging from Karpata in the north to the Slave Huts in the south.

There, you will find over 50 named reefs and dive sites.

Mostly all of them can be accessed from the shore.

Forty-seven of them can also be accessed from a boat, as there are mooring balls throughout the island. The shoreline is rocky with a combination of crushed coral and rock. There is very little natural sand beach area in Bonaire. The really good part is that you are less than 50 yards from shore to reef, and in a lot of instances, much closer! The mooring balls are placed so that the bow of your vessel points towards the shore and your aft hangs out right over the start of the reef line! If you are diving by boat, whether your own or a charter, you have zero swim time to get to the reef! How cool is that!

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Bonaire and Kline Bonaire are surrounded by an almost fringing reef. It slopes gently down from the shoreline to a depth of approximately 30 feet, then the wall drops to 150 feet and deeper in most places. Some of my favorite dive sites there are Something Special, 18th Palm, Reef Scientifico and Buddy’s Reef.

The major town (small but major to the island) is Kralendijk. There you will find shops and restaurants to suit everyone’s taste and style. There are a few other tourist related activities and sites to see and visit on Bonaire, but not many as the island is small. The main reason for traveling there is definitely the diving!

Diving Curacao might be one of the best kept secrets in the Caribbean. Very few (outside of Dutch Nationals) travel to Curacao for a dive vacation. When one thinks of Curacao they normally think of the great beaches, resorts, culture and history, and the great variation of landscape. It certainly has all of that diversity as a destination. But that almost becomes an afterthought once you are there and start to discover all of its dive offerings.

With that thought in mind, please allow me to enlighten you on this. Curacao has AMAZING DIVING! There are 82 named and dive-able reefs on the island. Thirty-one of these sites can be accessed from the beach or shore. Like Bonaire, the majority of them are on the leeward side of the island running from south in Oostpunt to the north in Westpunt / Watamala.

The first thing that stands out to me every time we dive Curacao is VISIBILITY! It is incredible, no matter what site we have dove. You have easily 200 feet plus, as far as the eye can see underwater.

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A fair amount of the beach dives we have done have small piers which make entering and departing the water so much easier. And the cool part is, they all have small dive shops right on the beach that can rent gear, do tank refills, get local advice, etc.

The reefs in Curacao are very pristine and full of vibrant colors and growth. Massive colonies of hard and soft coral formations are wildly abundant no matter where you are diving. The fish are ubiquitous; so many different species and variations, from the smallest of damsels to the largest of the moray eels and barracudas! These reefs seem to have a far greater number of larger fish than we’ve seen in Bonaire.

The profile of the dives is very similar to Bonaire as far as the closeness to shore and the way the reef slopes downward until you reach the “wall” where it drops straight down. Even when we were at 84 feet diving the Alice In Wonderland Reef, Westpunt, we still had over 200 feet of visibility.

Some of our favorite dive sits in Curacao are Alice in Wonderland, Vaersenbay / Kokomo Beach, Double Reef, Marie Pampoen, Playa Forti and Saint Marie. We really love the easy access and having piers for getting in and out of the water. The other thing we have found is that the friendliness of the dive shop personnel at all of these sites is absolutely welcoming. We have all of our own gear, so all we really need to do is just rent the tanks, yet we get treated like we are spending hundreds of dollars (guilders). All of them have been amazingly friendly and helpful. In addition, the majority of them had showers, lockers, bathrooms, storage facilities, fresh water dunk tanks for your gear and a full service dive and repair shop.

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Today Was A Good Day

Y

“

By Captain Rob Hamic aboard Miss Lone Star

ou kids watch out for gators,” said my lovely wife Aubrey as the little ones were playing in one of the many bayous that we frequented along our journey through the Southern ICW. She mentioned that one of the locals told her that they were more concerned about the water moccasins than the gators. That is really saying something considering you could throw a rock and hit several gators that were floating silently in the water around our boat.

I took a minute to enjoy our new scenery as the white steam rose from the murky green water into the Spanish moss that hung from old trees bending into the water below.

I had never seen anything like it.

I took several hours before the sun rose to properly acquaint myself with the GPS that gave me so many problems on the first leg of our voyage. This time I set a good course that was much more reasonable in terms of distance, turns and obstacles. I now understood why the device was so expensive.

I turned the silver keys and heard the engines crank up with a low growl. I was already proud of our little

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Cruisers Yachts 3375. Her twin 454 big block engines drank a lot of gas, but she was the sexiest thing that I had seen in awhile, second to my beautiful wife. She contained everything we needed to live really well and she was basically self-sufficient long enough for the kids to drive us more than crazy. Our crew sat down in our comfortable seats and we motored down a large channel that was deeper than my draft. Our vessel was tiny compared to the large Ukrainian cargo ship that I passed on my starboard.

I turned Miss Lone Star port at the Devil’s Elbow and into the ditch we went.

I found my boat’s sweet spot at about 25 knots and she seemed to use less fuel than the previous day’s slow pace of 35 knots. I felt more confident because of the fact that I hadn’t killed us the day before. Referring to my captain’s log it reads: “We travelled safely without confusion.” I have a clear recollection of the day and I can tell you that I was still scared, but hopeful, that I would extend my streak to two days.

We ventured through a couple of small locks and it was an interesting process for me to experience first hand.

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The procedure was strait forward: radio ahead, enter, hold the boat steady and clear the lock. Repeat. We had to call ahead to get through an interesting contraption called a pontoon bridge. I mentally checked it off of my bucket list as I went through. Then I got on the throttle until we were zipping down the ICW. I read forums that said there was a lot of commercial traffic, but we didn’t experience the annoyance of other boats.

We were on a seriously desolate course as we proceeded east through Louisiana. It was dry and barren enough to remind me of the Euphrates River that runs through Iraq, without the sand, camels or people trying to kill me. Our destination was Intracoastal City and we knew in advance that we would have to find a place to tie up or anchor because the only gas station was presently closed.

The former owner was being buried in the ground. We were told that fuel would be available the next day and I was excited to partake in what was the cheapest fuel on the ICW at $2.85 per gallon.

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We motored slowly into “town” and noticed the station and almost nothing else, literally. There was a boat ramp with several large and rusty cleats. The weather was warm and dry and by that I mean 110 degrees with a heat index of 120 degrees. Just like Iraq in July. I felt the familiar beads of sweat that cooled off my entire body because of the soft dry gusts that never stop. We tied the boat competently and scratched our heads as to what we might do next. My iPhone told me that a store was a few blocks down and ice cream seemed like a good idea.

We let our German shepherd service dog, Onyx, run off leash because we figured that there was no animal control on duty in a town that didn’t have a country cafe.

Our kids were turning red by the second, but they were riding the hell out of their scooters just the same. We found a place that looked like a store but with no signs of life and some benches under the building which was built up on 15-foot stilts. It sucks when you promise your kids ice cream and there is none, but that seemed to be our reality on this day.

We sat down to reassess our situation and coughed as the brown dust rolled in after a truck parked. A couple of local guys got out and walked up the stairs into the building that we were sitting under. They exited with a 12-pack of beer and came down to join us. I know hard people and these guys qualified through their red, cracked skin, weeks-dirty jeans and hard look. I felt the sweat running between my warm skin and the cool metal of my Glock tucked in the waistband of my cargo shorts.

“Are y’all in that boat?” they asked. I answered in the affirmative as I turned my head to observe our freshly waxed, bright white vessel at the end of the farthest distance from civilization. I immediately realized that we

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would be there all night and I felt as self-conscious as a hipster at a Willie Nelson show.

Aubrey spoke up as I heard the characteristic crack of air filling a freshly opened can of beer. “Is this a store?” The guys told her that the owner kept the lights off to keep the bills down. She left me alone and removed the kids upstairs to see if there might be an operational ice cream cooler in the dark store. She came down directly with the kids’ little ice cream coated faces in tow. I was into my first of several beers with my new friends. They seemed intently interested to hear about what we were trying to do and where we wanted to go.

We polished off the remaining beers and we said standard good-byes. I’ll never forget one of the guys asking me if I ever watched the movie Deliverance as we walked away. I told Aubrey that country folk have strange senses of humor, but she insisted that I stay up through the night to ensure our own personal safety.

“Why do women always over-react?” I wondered.

I wasn’t exactly sharp at sunrise after pulling security all night, but I figured that we should get going at a proper time, like sailors. I enjoyed waking Aubrey and the kids up at 5:00 a.m. where they slept below in the constant temperature of 69 degrees. My girl may appear like a gorgeous L.A. model, but she was raised in the country and she is a great cook. I enjoyed some chow and we filled up our tanks with coffee from my brand-spanking-new propane coffee maker that I ordered so we didn’t have to turn on the generator while we spent our new boat life on the hook. At the time I was surprised that it didn’t work as advertised, but it made a good cup if you didn’t mind coffee grounds and a burnt taste reminiscent of something my Grandma reheated on her stove.

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My First Mate tossed the lines to the guy at the gas station like a pro and we were out of there after topping off the tanks. I got Miss Lone Star up on plane as I saw an opening to the Gulf to my starboard. We were really doing it, whatever it was! Would today be the day that I would be exposed for the incompetent ass that all of the forum comments said I was?

We went through Bayou Beef Lock outside of Morgan City, LA and our trip became seriously beautiful. “This is why I took the ICW through Louisiana in the first place, not cutting through the Gulf,” I thought. I may or may not have acknowledged to myself that it was hurricane season. We saw 100-foot cypress trees standing strait up while some others leaned without explanation into the much wider ICW waters below. I sighted a bald eagle flying along with our vessel as I high-fived myself inside.

Aubrey documented it in image and video because she is a professional and that’s what they do. It was exhilarating and everything I expected.

We pulled into Houma, LA at about 4 p.m. and it was more than I expected after the previous night. We called ahead and arranged for a spot at the City Marina under the bridge. We were the only boat in the 10 spots. The dock master said he hadn’t had a boat in two weeks. It was clean, nice, and there was a shady city park with all of the things that would make my little ones happy just beyond the dock.

I heard them scream from the cockpit of the boat when they saw their salvation. We could barely tie the lines before they jumped to the freedom that was dry land and play toys.

We decided that it was in our best interest to take a short walk into town to grab a bite of local cuisine, and ice wouldn’t be a bad idea for our beer that was above comfortable drinking temperature for self-respecting

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cruisers. The walk turned out to be more than my dog’s paws could endure in 115-degree heat. We ducked into the first place that we saw and she was laying lengthwise on the cold floor before we could ask if they were open yet. Thinking back on it, I can see how the waitress must’ve been confused by our clan. Our ranks were filled by two whiney kids, one very large dog that gives people pause, and Aubrey and I who wore our cowboy hats as usual. I thought that we might be well received in that I washed myself down on the back of the boat (with soap) before we departed for dinner.

We ate our sparingly prepared deep fried bacon mac’n’cheese and buffalo fries topped with popcorn chicken, bacon and cheddar cheese, drenched in house made buffalo sauce and topped with crumbled blue cheese and basil ranch sauce. The waitress informed us that they made all of their own sauces and added sugar to everything, as if we were Yankees and didn’t know it existed. Onyx might have been on edge because I forced her onto a boat. She wore out our welcome after she chased

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two sets of patrons who were attempting to enter the airconditioned lair. I gazed upon my hound and I realized that she was understandably irritable because it also reminded her of the prevailing conditions in Iraq. Life’s an oyster, right?

We corralled our crew and sashayed our way back to the boat now that the sun wasn’t burning our faces off. We grabbed a bag of ice to bring the beer back to life and I noticed Aubrey’s long cotton dress blowing in the wind as she waited outside of the store for me to return. I keenly observed a beautiful bead of sweat form on her cute little forehead and glance off of her sweet little nose. “Hurry up f*!+er,” is what I heard next. In all of her elegance, she stopped to throw a casting net for a boy from a bridge on the way home. She caught a mess of fish for him. In a few short minutes we returned to Miss Lone Star. My ice bag had reduced itself to less than half before I sloshed it into the new cooler resting on the back of our new home.

Today was a good day.

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The LiveAboard Life

By Marc Vandendorpel aboard Sea Dreamer

Timmonds Cove

bigger was needed. In the fall of 2013 we purchased our It all started one lovely Sunday afternoon in the early first real cruiser, a Hunter 30, and adventured with Peter summer of 2010. My wife and I were strolling on the further away from our home port of Eastern Passage every fishing wharf located in the village of Eastern Passage, time the weather permitted. My wife started to really not too far from our Dartmouth home. I couldn’t get my enjoy the sailing life. eyes off a 36-foot sailboat tied up against the Our good friend Peter left for central wharf and the gentlemen in the cockpit. We introduced ourselves and quickly discovered America the following summer. My wife and that Peter was a local liveaboard just I kept on adventuring further and further away, but to realize our dream of going to sailing back from the Bahamas. He invited rejoin him in his country, a 30-footer was us aboard and I was pleasantly surprised a bit too crowded. After reading sailing how roomy his sailboat was. We stayed all afternoon chatting and looking at pictures magazines I was set on a cutter-rigged boat, and in the fall of 2014 we purchased a 1984, from the trip.

37-foot Hunter Cherubini cutter.

The following Sunday, Peter invited us We sold our home in early summer and for a sail (pending weather). After clearing left on a two-month sailing vacation. We the Halifax Harbour and trimming the Timmonds Cove sails, he handed me the helm. I was sold on travelled the southwestern shore of Nova Scotia, Chester, the head of St. Margaret sailing. That night my wife and I decided to Bay, Mahone Bay, and anchored in coves sell our cabin cruiser and we purchased our and marinas, meeting other sailors and families. first sailboat the same summer, a 24-foot Challenger.

With 25 years of experience, Peter took me under his Upon our return to Eastern Passage we decided to live on the boat and become year-round liveaboards. wing and shared all his knowledge on sailing. We kept We rented a privately owned wharf behind the Inn at the Challenger for another year, realizing that something

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Home of Sea Dreamer Fisherman’s Cove and installed our own utilities. We spent the winter and spring cleaning it, fixing all the water leaks, put new stain on the teak, removed the old stained hull carpet, repainted the interior and reinstalled new hull carpeting inside the aft cabin, lockers, and cupboards for coziness and insulation. This spring I installed solar panels to power the fridge and electronics, switched to LED lights and installed a diesel generator. At the time of purchase, the boat was already nicely equipped with air conditioning, a 3000 watts Xantrex inverter with the Heart Interface Link 2000R charging system, and two 8D gel batteries for the cabin.

As we decided to become year-round liveaboards, our main challenge was to equip the boat for winter living and make it our own. I installed a Webasto diesel furnace, built removable, insulated, wood covers for the hatches (it’s good to let the sunshine in, even when it’s 10c below zero), and insulated as much of the interior as I could, mainly the galley and V-berth.

Entering Timmonds Cove

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The crick, Eastern Passage I had noticed a lot of cold draft coming from the front of the boat, so I took the clothes locker apart and insulated the bow with 1.5� of foam insulation, sealing every hole I found. The galley also needed attention. A cold draft was coming from the drawers and the bilge, and a lack of cupboard space was quickly addressed. We added a microwave stand with spice rack, built an extra cupboard for canned and dry food.

In the salon, more dry storage was added behind the seats for paper towels, toilet paper, etc. The sliding Plexiglas doors on the salon cupboards were badly scratched, so I went to a print shop and made custom decals with sailing sceneries to cover them. I raised the chart table by three inches to slide in a small fridge and freezer. Eventually the fridge will disappear and make room for a custom-built freezer in our preparations for the Bahamas and Caribbean in a couple years.

In the V-berth, three-inch memory foam was added to the four-inch cushions, making it very comfortable sleeping. My wife modified all of our comforters and bed sheets, cutting them to the size of the mattress.

Our home base, Eastern Passage, is a small fishing village just outside of Halifax where fishing and tourism are the main economy. The Government Wharf has many small boutiques and restaurants, some open all year long.

The Eastern Passage Summer Carnival, Tallahassee days and other festivals are big tourism attractions for the local economy. Fall and winter are the lobster season, where you can purchase your fresh lobster right off the boats at a very reasonable price.

Summertime Voyage We set sail early on Saturday, August 1st, not a long sail - just four miles, to Timmonds Cove on McNabs

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Shining Water Island just outside of Halifax and spent the weekend with friends. McNabs Island offers a couple of well protected coves, Timmonds and Wreck Cove, with good anchoring ground and moorings. Wreck Cove has a sandy beach and can be very crowded on a warm weekend. While visiting the island we took the time to walk the trails and visit the historic Fort McNabs.

On Tuesday morning we set sail toward Betty Island and the Rogues Roost, a well known destination for local sailors, about three to four hours from Eastern Passage.

The Roost offers good anchorage and some moorings are available. Good knowledge of the islands and good charts are a must; you are among many rock islands and very shallow water. However, once you arrive it’s like another world, very tranquil and sometimes you may see a deer or two sunbathing on the rock island. Be well provisioned, as there not much for grocery stores around. While moored in the Roost we reunited with two local friends on their boats and met a couple our age aboard a Catalina 47.

Mahone Bay

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Shining Water

After spending the week there we decided to set sail toward Mahone Bay, about a five-hour sail from our location, with our new friends and their Catalina 47. Mahone Bay, a very popular and beautiful tourist destination, offers a nice civic marina with all the amenities except laundry at very reasonable rates. The marina has a large and deep mooring field and can accommodate any size of yacht, however, if you’re not the mooring type, good anchoring ground is available outside the marina mooring field at no charge. Many small islands and coves are within short distance from the town, with good anchoring ground and nicely sheltered from the wind. Restaurants, boutiques, tourist attractions and grocery stores are within walking distance from the marina.

After 10 days it was time to set sail toward St. Margaret Bay and Schooner Cove, about a six-hour sail.

Back in the early summer I met an older sailing couple on the Halifax waterfront and took up on their invitation to visit them in Schooner Cove. So here we were, knocking at their door. We tied up to the dock and spent four beautiful days in their company.

It was time again to set sail, not too far this time, only about six miles to Shining Water Marina to do our laundry. Just after docking and tying up our boat, we met a young couple from France preparing to set their boat on the hard for the fall and winter storage. After four years of sailing the Bahamas and Caribbean it was time for them to go back home and work for the winter. We exchanged emails and made a spring date for us to sail the eastern coast of Nova Scotia, when they will be back in Canada.

After a week we set sail for French Village and the St. Margaret Sailing Club, a place I will recommend to every travelling sailor. The staff made our stay very

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enjoyable; from the Commodore to the lounge staff, all were very pleasant. The only drawback was no laundry on site or grocery store, so you have to come prepared.

With a large mooring and anchoring field and docks with power and water, this secluded place was like paradise to us at very reasonable rates. While visiting, my wife and I were invited to a BBQ and to participate in the Sunday race. We declined the race, our boat is more like a cruiser, however we followed the boats that afternoon and came back for the beer and BBQ. After five days and waiting for a storm to blow past the bay, it was time to set sail back to Eastern Passage and home. We left French Village early, as a storm was brewing for the afternoon, and decided to stop at the Rogues Roost as the wind was picking up (about a fourhour trip). Only minutes after picking up a mooring, another sailboat arrived for the same reason. The wind blew all night, moving the boat around. I got up a couple times to check the lines and making sure all was okay.

The next morning it was time to leave for our final destination, Eastern Passage. The four-hour trip was good until we entered Halifax Harbour, where a wind warning was issued. The final hour was rough as the north wind was blowing directly in our face. After rounding McNabs Island it was a smoother ride to our destination, making a good ending to an enjoyable summer.

Nova Scotia’s eastern shore is very pretty in the summer with many cruising destinations. The Head of St. Margaret Bay, the Chester Basin with the town of Chester and the race week happening every August, Grave Island, Treasure Island from the television series, the old town of Lunenburg (home of the Bluenose and Picton Castle) are all great places to visit.

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There’s This Place:

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George T

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e Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas

by Lea Ann Rock

There are few cruising destinations that offer as many forms of entertainment and conveniences as George Town on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas. The crew of S/V Nomad heard tales about George Town many years before our first trip to the Bahamas. The sailors describing this harbor called it “Chicken Harbor.” I didn’t like the sound of the name and asked the meaning.

We were told George Town was a place people going south to the Caribbean stopped and ended their cruise. The anchor-challenged sailors stayed because they were too scared to finish their journey.

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In reality, a few boats decide not to go south after reaching George Town (GT), but most continue on their way. For some sailors, they find exactly what they are seeking in GT and see no reason to continue searching.

There are sailors that return to GT after circumnavigating. They have seen all the world has to offer and choose to call George Town, Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas, home on a fulltime or part-time basis.

What do sailors fi nd so alluring in GT? First, the harbor is well protected and offers an exceptional place to weather storms.

During the winter months, many anchorages at other cays are not tenable in certain wind directions. GT offers good holding and great protection in all wind directions throughout the year.

As in most of the Bahamas, the water clarity in GT is fabulous. You can snorkel in the harbor, swim with dolphins, find sand dollars, sea biscuits and other shells.

Cruisers bring small sailing dinghies, wind boards and kayaks to enjoy in the protected waters. The water is so clean and clear that cruisers have no qualms about using their water makers.

David, the captain of S/V Nomad and my husband, Gypsy, the boat dog, and I love to run and walk daily for exercise. Stocking Island is located across the harbor from George Town and is one of the best beaches in the Bahamas. From end to end, this ocean-side beach is two miles long. At low tide you have a nice firm surface to run or walk. Gypsy and I usually walk four miles a day while the captain runs six. The beach is one of the biggest attractions for us in this harbor.

Community plays a big part in any harbor.

In GT, there are always fellow cruisers available to help with projects, offer advice, loan a tool or share a glass of wine. Recently, a cruiser experienced a medical emergency. The community rallied around him during this crisis. While he was away in the hospital dealing with

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life, the cruisers moved his boat to a safe and secure area.

When he returned to GT, his boat was tucked in a nice anchorage and had weathered some strong winds without a problem.

The flags that fly behind the boats are from all over the world. The United States, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan and many other distant shores are represented.

French and English are the common languages spoken on the radio. Cruisers are always ready to tell you where they have been and what they have learned.

First-hand knowledge abounds in these waters.

Each day at 2:00 p.m., cruisers gather at Chat’N’Chill on Stocking Island to share a drink, play dominoes, volleyball, music or just chat. I love to run the domino table and enforce the George Town Beach Rules. Over the years, a variation of Mexican Train Dominoes has developed in GT. Each game stands on its own as a win/loss. There are no points to count. We start with double 12 and work our way down to double blank.

By not keeping points, players have the ability to play a hand or two and then move to another activity. In two hours, I might play dominoes with 20 different people.

The conversation never stops as people throw down their tiles. We hear when the mail boat is expected, who is sick, who is sailing away and what is going on back home. The domino table is the hub of the beach.

David loves to play the guitar and often plays with other musicians while I am enjoying the domino table.

There are a wide variety of instruments that show up on the beach. Guitars are the most common instrument heard. One cruiser, Chris on S/V Aldebaran, is a very experienced harmonica player and often joins the guitarists. The music is a great backdrop for the domino players and the volleyball players.

Volleyball is called Fun Volleyball at Chat’N’Chill.

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accent from England can always be heard calling, “Players!” At the sound of Allison’s voice from S/V Sea Dog, everyone scurries to the court for the next game.

There are many amenities in GT that keep cruisers coming back year after year. There are several places to eat, two very nice grocery stores and, of course, multiple liquor stores. GT is a place you can do laundry after a long trip. Lee’s Corner Laundry is a jewel.

There is so much to do in the George Town Harbor.

There are hiking trails on Stocking Island, land tours on Great Exuma, fishing opportunities, a Library that only costs $3 a year for full membership, and such incredibly nice people. The straw market offers not only handmade baskets and jewelry, but fresh veggies. The Exuma Market offers a free dinghy dock and free RO water.

George Town is also known for the Cruising Regatta which has been held for 37 years. Some people love the Cruising Regatta, some tolerate the Regatta and others leave the harbor during Regatta. All are impressed with the number of cruising boats that reach GT during this time. In some years, the number of vessels in GT for the Cruising Regatta has exceeded 500.

Most people do not fully realize the good accomplished with the proceeds from the Cruising Regatta. Each year,

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the Regatta Committee contributes funds to many local charities. The cruisers have fun and the community benefits. I call that a win-win for everyone.

Regatta is made up of many events, but starts with the Variety Show which was formerly called the Talent Show. It is held in George Town at Regatta Park and includes acts from cruisers and Bahamians. It is so fun to see children concentrate so hard on their dance steps and watch cruisers put on skits or play music. This year, we were pleased to hear an outstanding Bahamian singer, Peaches.

She walked on stage and noted that she did not bring an instrument with her. She stated, “I will be the instrument.” Wow, what a voice!

Another event during the Regatta is the Poker Run headed by Bill on S/V Providence. Bill sets up drink specials and prizes at venues around the island.

Participants drive their dinghies from venue to venue and acquire a playing card. At the final ceremony, a winner of the poker game is announced. A day of fun and drinking is had by all the cruisers.

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using swim ďŹ ns for propulsion. The object is to gather more coconuts than your competition. I did this once and found it a very competitive event.

There is actually sailing during the Regatta: the In Harbor Race, the Around the Island Race, and then after Regatta the Long Island Rally. This year I was so pleased to see a Bahamian sloop participating in the In Harbor Race.

As Regatta winds down the weather is usually nice enough for boats to begin trips south, back north or possibly just explore other islands. Several weeks after Regatta, boats will begin to return to GT for another amazing event, the Family Island Regatta.

The Family Island Regatta features days of sailing by different classes of Bahamian sloops. The fun begins as many of the Bahamian sailboats arrive on mail boats. Mail boats are cargo vessels that move goods throughout the islands. The sloops are lifted off the mail boats and set up for practice runs and eventually races.

As you travel from community to community in the Bahamas you will spot trophies from past Family Island Regattas. These trophies are very important to the communities and are honored prizes. If you mention the trophy to the shop owner, you will be told the story of the boat, crew and race. The history of those races is never forgotten.

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A couple of years ago the crew of S/V Nomad saw the Family Island Regatta for the fi rst time. The Bahamian sloops are anchored at the start line and surrounded by all the spectators. You are close enough to hear the skippers talking to their crew. I so enjoyed being right there in our dinghy as the sloops passed. It was a photographer’s dream!

It’s easy to see, with all the things to do in George Town, why cruisers return year after year. And no matter what you do all day, there is always an outstanding sunset to enjoy each evening. The most difficult part of living in GT is trying to decide if tonight’s sunset is better than last night’s.

Why don’t you take a trip to GT and see for yourself?

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Talk of the Dock What’s New &

The Internet of Things Takes to the Water Hyper-connectivity is coming to a slip near you

The Internet of Things (IoT) – if you haven’t heard of it, type it into Google and behold this beast, looming in the not-so-distant future. The concept centers on hyper-interconnectivity and information sharing between everyday items like refrigerators, engines, road signs, bridges and such. Few have truly explained what IoT is and fewer still can really envision what it will look like when it’s fully baked, but experts agree that it will impact our lives in myriad ways – and that includes boating.

Basically, anything with an on/off switch and an Internet connection can become a part of the IoT so think what that means on your boat: lights, pumps, engines, security and navigation equipment can communicate with each other and with you. Because the marine industry is about 10 years behind mainstream land-based technologies, boats aren’t yet as advanced as houses with their high speed Internet, Nest thermostats and voice-activated personal assistants like Google Home or Amazon Echo. But as digital switching replaces the traditional electrical panel and onboard equipment is controlled via phone apps, more stuff is talking to each other – and to you. Coming aboard and simply asking your boat to turn on the lights, start the genset and A/C, and fire up the engine is not too far off.

A few marine companies are already dabbling in various aspects of the technology. Marine electronics manufacturers like Raymarine, B&G, Simrad and Garmin are bringing everything together in the multifunction display (MFD). Your single screen interface is not just for navigation anymore. Instead, you can monitor engine stats and control entertainment

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What’s Going On?

By Zuzana Prochazka

and communications without ever leaving the helm.

Security and vessel monitoring companies like GOST are packaging up information on bilge levels, battery voltage, shore power connection, vessel intrusion and more. Most devices are integrated with multiple datagathering sensors and WiFi capabilities so they can capture and share information. Just a few years ago, this stuff seemed whiz-bang as the “Smart Home” concept took off. Now, it’s coming at us on the water.

With the cost of connectivity decreasing, all this information can be brought off the boat for remote monitoring, diagnostics and vessel tracking. Broadband Internet is becoming widely available even at marinas, cellular signals can now reach as far as 20 miles offshore with antenna boosters, and satellite VSAT connectivity is within reach of mere mortals who don’t own superyachts.

For the boater, this may translate to increased confidence that your engine is serviced on schedule, that the A/C will work when you get to the dock, and that the navigation software is up-to-date on your MFD. You can watch your boat via camera feeds from your home as it sits in the marina and know whether a hatch has been opened, the batteries are low, a high water alarm was activated or even if the boat is moving – when it shouldn’t be.

You can also set the mood for your Friday afternoon arrival so your guests are greeted with the lights on, the stereo playing, and the icemaker full. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Overall, the IoT of boats means preventing problems before they occur and enhancing your experience when you untie the dock lines. But the IoT of boats hasn’t been easy.

Boating is a small industry with few consumer dollars so it won’t lead the IoT revolution. Also, data is interesting but until someone turns it into useful information, it doesn’t mean much to us aboard. Until the IoT of boats makes products and experiences stronger, cheaper, cleaner, friendlier, or more efficient, it will generate little interest and even less money for equipment manufacturers.

The waters are still murky. The IoT of boats may make boating more fun and more like the rest of our lives, but at the same time, it may become more complex and interdependent. What does that mean for you? Well, even if you’ve been consumed by your boat project list and have had your head in the bilge lately, know that you’ll not escape the IoT. So learn about it and embrace it – because it’s coming to a slip near you.

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Life Aboard

Restoring SEAL

Living aboard a 90-year-old vessel under construction

When you think of living aboard you probably think of digging your toes in the sand of warm, tropical locations. But not all liveaboards fit this pattern. Colder climates also attract liveaboards as we discovered when we spoke with Russell Peterson, owner of the M/V SEAL who lives aboard with two large dogs in Juneau, Alaska’s, Aurora Harbor.

Cruising Outpost: Tell us a little about your boat: Russell: M/V SEAL is a 68-foot, wood-hulled motor vessel designed by H.C. Hansen and built in Seattle in 1926. She was the first vessel to be built and commissioned for the Territory of Alaska and her first mission was to combat what was then called fish piracy in Southeast Alaska.

She’s been through several lives through the years. After patrolling for fish poaching she became a Fish and Wildlife patrol vessel and was later used as a Park Service vessel in Glacier Bay. She’s been featured in NOAA’s “Golden Age of Sail” as well as in National Geographic Magazine’s June, 1956 edition.

After she was retired from government service, she was set to be crushed when I rescued her. I’ve been restoring her for the past 13 years and I’ve made huge progress, but still have a long way to go.

Cruising Outpost: What is it like living aboard a boat under construction in the winter in Alaska?

Russell: I have lived aboard boats in Juneau for 30plus years and aboard SEAL for 13. The first few aboard SEAL were really bad. Water poured through the deck. I

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had no heat, no running water, no power. I had to bring jerry cans of water in. I worked and saved to buy a water pump, wood stove and upgraded to five place boilers.

Living aboard while under construction takes a lot of planning. Storage space is a big problem. I have all my parts, lumber and tools everywhere. Staging materials is the hardest part of living aboard a project.

I would love to have a container or shed on land for storage, staging and work. I am an organized person and this mess drives me nuts! What doesn’t kill ya makes you weirder...

Cruising Outpost: It is obvious that you have a passion for this boat and life. How can you explain this?

Russell: When I was a little boy I would get under the blankets with a flashlight and look at the 1956 issue of National Geographic with the map of Alaska and photos of SEAL, while dreaming of slipping away and becoming an adventurer aboard this boat in Alaska. I learned to build small boats and work on boats at an early age. I built my first boat at the age of 10 while dreaming of doing exactly what I am doing now. That 1956 National Geographic inspired me to pursue this lifestyle, but I didn’t even realize this was the same boat featured in the magazine until I was doing research on SEAL and came across the article. I am still amazed that my inspiration to move to Alaska and live this life is now my home! I think we found each other. It’s hasn’t been an easy path; I’ve had to break a few eggs to create the omelet that is my life www.cruisingoutpost.com

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Editor Robin Stout Aboard Mermaid

Cruising Outpost: Tell us about living on SEAL with two huge dogs.

Russell: They are the love of my life. Living on a boat with dogs also takes planning. They’re Alaskan Malamutes and need exercise every day. They love the beach so I watch the tides to make sure I take them at low tide so they have room to run. They’re very friendly and social. When we are downtown and cruise ships are in, they are quite a hit. Lots of tourists want to pose and take pictures with them.

Cruising Outpost: When do you expect to finish and what are your plans when SEAL is complete?

Russell: I am 75% done with topsides. I expect to finish the stern this summer, then will need to haul out to finish the waterline. Next will be portholes and masts.

The interior will take some time. When the restoration is complete, I would like to see SEAL taken back to her original statement. For example, to be part of the Sea Shepherds or a marine mammal educational vessel.

Museums need access to her. I would like to see her available to nonprofits and used as a springboard for others.

Ideally she could make enough money to fund other Alaska historical boats. There is lots of information on SEAL, her history and the work in progress at www.mvseal.com.

Cruising Outpost: What advice would you give others who may be considering a venture like your unusual home?

Russell: It is the best thing ever. It is not easy, but it is rewarding. I have had to come up with new ways to make her stronger and better. This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart and must be done for the love of the boat. www.cruisingoutpost.com

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Bubba Whartz One Never Knows

In a never-diminishing quest to locate the illusive pot of gold at the end of an illusory rainbow, intrepid liveaboard, solo-sailor Bubba Whartz—designer/skipper/ builder of the ferro-cement sloop Right Guard—has set many courses. Some of those courses were circular, some linear. All shared one element; they went nowhere.

Doobie, the bartenderette at the Blue Moon Bar, mentioned recently that Bubba had become involved in developing a prototypical plan that would give senior citizens residing in congregate living facilities a psychological boost because the seniors’ capacity to do so for themselves had evaporated with the passage of time.

In and of itself, Capt. Whartz’s decision to depart upon another voyage of discovery was not startling. What is slightly mind-boggling, though, is the simple truth that he managed to survive all his previous peregrinations without killing himself, sans having Right Guard sink beneath him or getting detained in nations that considered stoning a miscreant as a reasonable form of punishment for littering.

“Bubba talked about calling the operation Geezer Pleaser,” Doobie explained. “The second word in the name would be spelled P-l-e-e-z-e-r. Bubba thought it will attract more attention that way.”

“Doobie, alliteration as a means of getting attention is a non-starter. Back in the golden days of yesteryear, putting alliteration into a newspaper story headline carried a certain panache. It did occur occasionally in smaller markets where free shopping guides were the local newspaper’s biggest rival for advertising dollars,” I remonstrated. “Headlines were created and attached by copy editors. Many copy editors did not play well with others and were easily amused.”

“Sport!” said Doobie, on the way to taking the props right out from under me, “do you actually believe anyone could give a damn about what you just said? Too many notes.”

When Doobie addressed someone as “Sport,” what followed usually had a lethal quality imbedded.

“Incoming!” carried the same sense of urgency on a battlefield. No reply came from me. But I’d seen Amadeus.

152 Cruising Outpost

pg 152-153 Bubba Whartz.indd 2

By Morgan Stinemetz

“The concept Bubba has originated is to give people—old people, senior citizens, geezers, whatever it might be that folks call others who are on the downhill grade of their existence—something that could encourage them to recall their yesterdays with a smile,” Doobie proffered with a sharpness that cut.

“It wasn’t your idea, Sport. It came from the alwayschurning intellect of Brother Whartz. Maybe you have never been in a nursing home or congregate living facility where the only way to get out is horizontally.

And maybe you never breathed deeply enough to inhale the penetrating odor of ammonia to where you will never forget its meaning.

“Bubba’s idea is to send college-fresh girls, blossoming with intellect and sweetness, and Congressional-page-qualified young men, plated with courtesy and purpose, into these facilities to leave upon several designated residents a highly visible hickie,” Doobie stated, opening a plastic bottle of spring water.

“Why?” I asked.

“Why not?” she replied.

“Does Bubba expect to make a big bucks from this?”

Doobie looked me in the eye. “Fair question,” she acknowledged. “Bubba has been known to have a sharp interest in money-making schemes that sometimes border upon questionable taste and legal thin ice.

“However, in this case, the hickies are free. Bubba told me the people who have been selected to receive the honorary blemish are mentally okay and pretty much self-sufficient. All of them are in private rooms, so the house call, so to speak, can be made in private.

In the morning, at communal breakfast, the hickie will be evident. The dining room will be abuzz with gossip.

The previous night’s targets will feign utter surprise at having hickies, come morning. Breakfast will sound like bee hives have been kicked over…many, many bee hives. A mystery like a phantom hickie planter will keep matters jumping for days. Free hickies are the icing on the cake. ” “It just might raise a ruckus,” I agreed. “Mysteries are interesting.”

www.cruisingoutpost.com

7/27/17 2:59 PM

It that very moment, just as I finished the last word of the sentence I’d just uttered, Captain Whartz came inside the Blue Moon from the searing Florida sunlight, and sighed largely as the coolish and shaded interior took the Florida harshness away and placed it in a location where it did not count.

“Hi, guys,” Whartz greeted. “Doobie, two drafts. Put them on his tab,” rolling his head in my direction.

“Am I going to get one of those beers?” I asked.

“You bet! Nice of you to pay for them,” Bubba told me.

I pounced.

“Doobie explained to me all about how you plan to start a service called Geezer Pleezer to lay some gift hickies on older folks in nursing homes and fill up their days with attention and salacious gossip from people who did not get any blood-filled bruises. And the hickies are free! Bubba, there is…”

“Free? No way! That’s fake news! Probably came from one of those failing newspapers or a TV station from a catastrophically low-rated TV network,” Bubba sputtered. “Where did you get your information?”

“From Doobie,” I replied.

“She was drunk,” Bubba declared.

“Doobie doesn’t drink,” I said.

“Sad!” Bubba concluded.

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

pg 152-153 Bubba Whartz.indd 3

Cruising Outpost 153

8/1/17 5:39 PM

Tech Tips

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

Cabinets and Storage Lockers the Easy Way Many boats don’t have enough storage spaces, especially in the galley. Additional handholds are also often needed. One solution is to integrate these needs into a combined stanchion/galley cupboard over the galley sink.

As with any major project of this sort, building some prototype cabinets out of 3/16” thick artists foam board will firm up dimensions and designs.

The foam board prototype is mounted in position over the galley sink so we could check for sight lines and clearances.

154 Cruising Outpost

pg 154-155 Tech Cabinet edited.indd 2

The substrate is MDO plywood covered with laminate.

This is high-end plywood with exterior glue and few, if any, voids. Once both sides of the plywood are laminatecovered, proceed to cut out the individual cabinet panels, using the foam board prototype for the dimensions.

You can cut the panels to size using a guide clamped to the panel and a ball-bearing follower bit in a router. The panels are screwed together from the inside, using cleats in each corner.

The finished galley sink cabinet mounted on its supporting stanchions.

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

7/28/17 10:58 AM

Tech Tips from Capt’n Pauley’s Workshop The finished cabinet awaiting doors. The wiring inside the cabinet is for a fluorescent light fixture underneath the cabinet.

The notch on each outside corner of the cabinet is filled pieces of mahogany stock and then rounded off the outside corners. The cabinets are designed to use stock teak doors, available from marine suppliers. The resulting cabinets are quick to make, reasonably priced, look great and are easy to keep clean. Use these techniques to expand your belowdeck storage spaces.

www.cruisingoutpost.com

pg 154-155 Tech Cabinet edited.indd 3

Cruising Outpost 155

7/28/17 10:58 AM

Stuffed Pork Chop with Cabbage Salad

(serves 2) 2 pork chops 1/2 soft pear, thinly sliced (apple can be substituted) 1/4 small cabbage, shredded 1 large egg, beaten 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (coarsely grated stale bread can be substituted) 1 tsp dried thyme 3 strips parma ham (prosciutto or bacon can be substituted)

Vegetable oil for cooking

Stuffed Pork Chops

By James. Gyore

Landfall is a time of bounty. Markets and shops are begging to be explored, full of fresh local ingredients to provision the boat with.

The western Pacific rim is very fond of pork. I traded several rolls of quality fishing line for two gorgeous pork chops. Haggling for some cabbage and a few eggs, I handed over a few hooks to go with the line. Dollar-wise, it was an almost equal trade, the difference being just cents, though I suspect the butcher and his brother-in-law felt they got the better of me.

Lets toast landfall and pork with a chilled glass of apple cider!

156 Cruising Outpost

_pg 156-157 Galley gourmet.indd 2

Toast parma ham till crispy.

Cut a pocket into each pork chop and fill with half a strip of parma ham and pear slices.

Combine thyme and bread crumbs.

Coat pork chops in egg mixture and then cover in bread crumbs. Shallow fry pork chops.

Saute cabbage and stir through remaining two parma ham strips, broken into large pieces. Add any remaining pear slices to cabbage salad once removed from heat.

To serve, assemble a neat pile of cabbage salad onto a plate and top with pork chop.

Note: Do not overcook cabbage, taste it, warmed through, with a little crunch, is perfect.

Panna Cotta

By James. Gyore There are few desert recipes for just two. This recipe can be doubled up easily to suit as many servings as you might require. I’ve designed this recipe for two, simply because there is usually just the two of us aboard.

This panna cotta is made with long life and shelf stable UHT milk and cream products. Turkish style coffee has long been a standard item we provision aboard our yacht.

It’s a great coffee, and yes, a great spice ingredient too.

It’s the coffee syrup that is the star of this desert. Most guests aboard mop up the last smudge of the syrup with a finger, but more than a few have actually licked their plates clean!

A note about gelatine. I’ve listed 1 tablespoon of gelatine powder in this recipe based on the recommendation of the particular brand of gelatine I provision. Read the label of your particular brand of gelatine and follow their advice on how to set 300ml of liquid.

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

8/2/17 10:24 AM

Panna Cotta (Serves 2):

150ml UHT Cream 100ml UHT Milk 1 tsp Turkish style coffee 2 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Gelatine powder 50ml hot water Coffee syrup:

Coffee Syrup:

1 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Turkish style coffee 1 tbsp Water

Combine cream, milk, coffee and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat immediately.

Combine hot water and gelatine and stir to dissolve the gelatine.

Add the dissolved gelatine to the saucepan and whisk to ensure all ingredients are well combined.

Divide the mixture between 2 lightly oiled 150ml ramekins and refrigerate to set. Up to four hours may be required.

Turn panna cotta out onto a plate when set or present in the ramekin.

Combine all coffee syrup ingredients and heat gently until sugar and coffee has dissolved.

Divide the coffee syrup between the two servings and garnish with some crushed pistachio nuts.

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

_pg 156-157 Galley gourmet.indd 3

Cruising Outpost 157

8/2/17 10:25 AM

Proposed Weather Graphics Policy Change Alert

The decision making process for a vessel planning to leave the dock or underway at sea requires a boater to be able to follow the tracking movement and intensity trends of synoptic scale weather systems (low and high pressure systems) relative to vessel motion. Thus, a vessel’s encounters with these pressure systems will provide the answer for east-, west-, north-, and south-bound transits encountering head, beam, quartering, and following winds along with associated sea state conditions; all are tied into vessel performance.

The graphics below illustrate and depict the present policy of tracking all weather systems. This means the tracking direction of movement, latitude and longitude positions, of all low and high pressure through increments of 24-hours, and intensity trends as both illustrations below indicate.

For all Surface Pressure Analyses, as well as 24-, 48-, and 96-hour Forecasts, the “H” or “L” character symbols depict the latitude and longitude positions of the system(s) based on the chart’s valid date/time. For all Surface Pressure Analyses, only the mean +24-hour direction of movement after each “H’ & “L” is depicted. For all 24-, 48-, and 96Hour Surface Pressure Forecasts, there will usually also be an arrow representing the mean 24-hour direction of movement before and after (-/+) for each “H’ and “L”.

The major government “service provider,” the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), has

158 Cruising Outpost _pg 158-159 Lee Chesneau Weather.indd 2

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8/2/17 1:19 PM

proposed eliminating minus (-)24 hours of tracking for each of the 24, -48, and 96-hour surface low pressure system(s) of warning strength (gale, storm, and hurricane force) from its Surface Pressure Forecast products. Additionally, the OPC does not want to track any low pressure system(s) of less than gale force strength (34 knots minimum at the low end), nor any high pressure system(s) at all.

From OPC’s vantage point, if its proposed policy change is enacted, this would reduce their time and labor doing the present format and would enable the government agency to add an additional product…a 72-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast.

This would bridge the gap between the current 48- and 96-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast products as generated on the 12Z forecast cycle. Since there are two forecast cycles daily (00Z & 12Z), this change would occur for the 12Z cycle only! Thus, the 00Z forecast cycle which does not have a 96-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast, would not have a 72-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast either. This will leave the boater with just a 24- and 48-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast.

Hence the addition of the 72-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast on the 12Z Forecast Cycle only, would leave a lopsided

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

_pg 158-159 Lee Chesneau Weather.indd 3

availability of Surface Pressure Forecast products because it does not and will not exist on the 00Z Forecast Cycle!

For the time and labor effort saved, from OPC perspective, “best practices” would be that the boater is better served by OPC generating a second 96-Hour Surface Pressure Forecast. This would provide a day-night continuity for the vessel weather forecasting and route decision making process, as boaters operate on a 24-hour schedule from before they leave a dock (or port), or while underway at sea, and prior to arrival at their destination or port of call. Given the reality that most boaters will rely on a few products for their weather forecasting and route decision making, the minus (-) 24 and plus (+) 24-hour tracking of all pressure systems allow for any given single forecast chart to show again, 48 hours of not just movement of these pressure systems and geographic positions, but intensity trends as well. This is especially true for longer voyages where the 96-Hour Surface Forecast becomes more important! Readers and followers of CO should contact the NWS director Dr. Louis Uccellini to voice your support for maintaining existing policy (Louis.

Uccellini@noaa.gov).

Cruising Outpost 159 8/2/17 1:20 PM

160 Cruising Outpost

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161 Cruising Outpost

pg 161 South Coast yachts.indd 1

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162 Cruising Outpost

pg 162-163 Curtis stokes.indd 2

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164 Cruising Outpost

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7/27/17 2:57 PM

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pg 165 New England Yacht Sales.indd 1

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pg 166 Little Yacht Sales.indd 1

7/27/17 1:40 PM

pg 167 Wagner Stevens.indd 1

8/2/17 11:38 AM

168 Cruising Outpost

pg 168 SunCoast yachts.indd 1

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7/27/17 5:31 PM

pg 169 KSY Global.indd 1

7/28/17 5:24 PM

170 Cruising Outpost

pg 170 Moorings.indd 1

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7/28/17 5:28 PM

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pg 171 Kadey Krogan.indd 1

Cruising Outpost 171

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172 Cruising Outpost

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pg 173 Conch Charters.indd 1

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174 Cruising Outpost

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pg 174-175 Blue Water Sailing School.indd 3

Cruising Outpost 175

7/28/17 5:49 PM

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

Indigo: Celestial 48 Center Cockpit Ketch

Bluewater cruiser made famous by Bob Bitchin and lots of other sailing magazines as well as Lats & Atts TV. Numerous upgrades: custom heavy duty bow/ground tackle solution, custom dodger, genset, 2800 watt inverter, 900 Ah of AGM batteries, custom sail bags, Maxprop feathering propeller, full electronics at helm including two color chartplotters, 48-mile radar, autopilot, VHF and RAM, instruments and repeaters for redundancy, and more.

Excellent layout, master aft with island king sized berth, new interior upholstery, separate engine room, 250 gallons of both fuel and water, dual Racor fuel filter system, 32” flatscreen TV with BluRay player, microwave, standup fridge/freezer, etc. $149,000. totemgroup@msn.com

OFFSHORE PASSAGE OPPORTUNITIES Your Offshore Sailing Network. Sail for free on OPB’s. Learn by doing. Gain Quality Sea time towards your lifetime goals. Sail on different boats with different skippers to learn what works and what does not. Want to be a paid skipper? Build seatime and network with pro skippers. We are the crew network for the ARC, Caribbean 1500, NARC, World ARC Rally, Salty Dog Rally, Newport/Bermuda Race and delivery skippers worldwide. Helping Sailors Sail Offshore Since 1993. Learn more and join online at www.sailopo.com or call 1-800-4-PASSAGe (1-800-472-7724).

KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE FOR THE PRICE OF A GOOD WINCH HANDLE

176 Cruising Outpost

pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 2

www.cruisingoutpost.com

7/28/17 5:00 PM

1985 44’ Wellington cutter rig

1985 44’ Wellington cutter rig. A well owned example of these wonderful vessels. Comes with registered mooring between St Thomas and Water Island. Crown Bay Marina 5 minutes away. All amenities including airport 8 minutes away. Everything goes with the vessel. Tools, spares, dingy and motor.

Come sail the easiest chart, line of sight, beautiful Virgin Islands. Asking

$80,000 David. 480-226-6721 Or Email: luger222@yahoo.com

WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 3

Afrodesia: 1996 43’ Shannon

This is an amazing opportunity to own one of the most sought after classic yachts of her time! Afrodesia is wellknown within the yachting community as Mr. Morgan Freeman’s personal sailboat for the past twenty years.

She has been kept in excellent condition and has had many recent navigational upgrades. Mr. Freeman sailed her from Rhode Island to the Caribbean, where the boat has since been sailing the beautiful waters of the British Virgin Islands down to Spice Island of Grenada.

The net proceeds of this sale will be donated to charity, and she is being offered at $299,500.

sales@Shannonyachts.com Shannonyachts.com

Cruising Outpost 177

8/4/17 1:51 PM

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

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178 Cruising Outpost

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pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 5

Cruising Outpost 179

7/28/17 5:01 PM

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

Television!

Reg $39. a set

While they last

$20. a set

www.

bobbi

FTW Publishing Box 100 Berry Creek, CA 95916

tchin.

com

Add $2.75 Postage for First set and $1.50 For each Additional

180 Cruising Outpost

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WWW.CRUISINGOUTPOST.COM

7/28/17 5:02 PM

You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk

The Real Video Story Behind Captain Bob:

Other People’s Paradise DVD

The story of one man’s escape from civilization to the world of cruising. This is the story of how Latitudes & Attitudes came into being. Never boring. A look into what the reality of cruising is all about. 48 Minutes.

Now on DVD Reg $29.95

Now just $19.95 www.bobbitchin.com Wanna Cheat? Here are the answer to this issues Maritime Crossword Puzzle.

Go ahead, no one will know.. except you! on Page 183

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pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 7

Cruising Outpost 181

7/28/17 5:02 PM

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

Audio Book

Emerald Bay

Now Available!

Read by the author - Bob Bitchin

A full year of Cruising Outpost on one DVD!

Four full issues of the best read in Cruising - all on one DVD for easy referal

Year 1 - 2013 Year 2 - 2014 Year 3 - 2015 Four full issues plus free “wallpaper” and a Bonus TV Show!

www.CruisingOutpost.com Audio Book

Emerald Bay

by Bob Bitchin

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Read by the author, this is the full Treb Lincoln adventure novel. It started on a boat in Emerald Bay... and ended up half-way around the world!

5 Disc Set Reg. $27.95

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1 column X 1 inch 2 column X 1 inch 1/8 page ad 1/4 page ad

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510-900-3616 ext. 104 Fax: 510-900-3617 Use Your Visa/MC/Amex/Discover 182 Cruising Outpost

pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 8

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7/28/17 5:03 PM

Get the Outpost at these Local Direct Dealers

Available at Most Magazine Outlets: West Marine, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo & Chapters plus these great local Marine Stores Does your local Marine Store carry Cruising Outpost?

If not, let them know that it’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3

1. Go to our website - 2. Sign up to be a direct dealer - 3. Make more sales!

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pg 169-175 Bosun's Bag (original 2).indd 9

Across

1 Rudder control 4 On a boat 9 Ship’s leader 10 Vast expanse 11 Tide movement 14 Arrives on the shore 15 Opposite of don’ts 16 Deer 17 Lure for a fish 18 Wood coating 23 ___- retired, mostly not working 24 Any port in a storm 27 Move abruptly, as a ship 29 ___ or swim 30 ____ West, Florida 32 Type of trout 35 Nautical canvas 36 Veterans on deck

1 Changed a boat’s course 2 Hit the shore gently, as a wave 3 Shoulder piece worn by naval officers 5 They bob up and down in a harbor 6 Yes, to the captain 7 Little hills on the beach 8 Stable and balanced, as a boat- 4 words 12 Cruisin’ Outpost adventurer, first name 13 Sandy shore 15 Go with the tide 19 Morning time 20 Mini waves 21 Surprise!

22 Life-____ 23 Launched, as a message 25 Good grades in exams 26 View 28 ___nara, goodbye!

31 “Uh-huh” 33 Long slippery fish 34 Beginning letters for play or arm

Down

Wanna Cheat? The answer to this are on page 181

Bocas Marina Bocas del Torro Panama

Cruising Outpost 183 7/28/17 5:03 PM

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

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Advertisers: You can reach the most active segment of the boating community - In Print or On-Line.

Cruising Outpost - Winter - Spring - Summer & Fall Issues Next Issue: Winter 2017-18 - Ad Insertions by 10/17/17 - Art Due 10/24/17 - On Sale 12/3/17

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* Cruisians

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

This is Mackenzie. She has been raised sailing with her grandfather, Gary, who also plays the drums with the Eric Stone Band. Mackenzie has been attending the Pacific Strictly Sail Show since she was four years old, when she started pulling the winning raffle tickets at our Cruisers’ Parties. She has not missed a show since!

Open Door Policy: Show up with the beer and we’ll open the door.

We met Al Simonson on the beach at Anegada during the Dark & Stormy Regatta.

He sails S/V Island Girl and is out of Beverly, MA. We had some real fun over at Cow Wreck Beach and ran into Richard Branson while swimming there. His attitude helped make it a very fun weekend!!

Aaron Stagg and wife Heidi are getting ready to take off for a world cruise. They are getting their boat ready in Alameda, CA, and will soon be heading south to warmer climes. They are not sure when/if they are coming back!

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This is Gary Peterson. He’s been helping us with the PNW Cruisers’ Weekend for more years than either of us will admit! He loves to sail, and as you can see, he’s got crabs!!!

Here is one great way to spend your birthday! This is Greg Sage on his 59th birthday. He’s anchored in Desolation Sound, about to down some great looking steak while enjoying a fine wine. And, noting there are two plates, he’s not alone. Happy Birthday!

Eric Forrester plays a mean base and proved it at the most recent Pacific Strictly Sail when he played with the Eric Stone Band at the Cruisers’ Party.

Besides being a kewl base player he is also Bitchin’s nephew!

Meet Heidi. She is a true sailor. We first met her about eight years ago at a boat show as she was sailing south to warmer weather. As you can see, she has a great smile! www.cruisingoutpost.com

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