FEBRUARY 2014
NW SAILING NEWS
PAGE 13
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Broad Reachings by Eric Rouzee
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ight off the top, I have to apologize for this month’s column. I just spent nine days on the island of Kauai, and honestly, part of my brain is still back there. I’ve already begged my editor’s pardon as well. She just reminded me of my deadline, and said she was glad I didn’t get eaten by a shark. I wholeheartedly agreed with her. In the short time I’ve been back, I’ve been asked more than a few times if I got in any sailing while I was in the islands. Regrettably I have to confess that I didn't, unless you count the fact that the bartender at Lava’s on Poipu Beach (conveniently across the street from my condo) could cut a pineapple slice for a Mai Tai that made that tropical libation look pretty much like a downwind sailing yacht. In that case, I did a lot of sailing. Honestly, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of sailing going on in Kauai, at least not that I could see. There were a couple of large charter catamarans (very similar to the Schooner Creek-built versions in service over on Maui) that would ply the waters in front of our lanai every day. But I got the impression they were more interested in following the dozens of humpback whales surfacing and breaching a couple hundred yards off the beach than they were in sailing the constant trade winds. The Nawiliwili Yacht Club in Lihue appears to have a fairly healthy race schedule, and also promotes the Kauai Channel Race, which runs from Kaneohe, Oahu to Nawiliwili, Kauai in the summer. Judging from some of the photos of last year’s race, it looks like a great event, although I’m sure that 100 mile stretch of water can get fairly interesting in a good breeze. Which we had no shortage of while I was there. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I should sail my own boat to Kauai and start a program to teach young Hawaiians how to sail their own islands. About that time, the Kauai Sailing Association was brought to my attention. This non-profit was started by the Nawiliwili Yacht Club to, in their own words, “facilitate opportunities to experience sailing and marine education in Kauai, Hawaii. The non-profit corporation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes concerning sailing, marine cultural exploration, science, ecology, biology, navigation, and boating safety education.” It’s a great, admirable idea, and I applaud the NYC for thinking of it. I just wish they hadn’t aced me out of a dream job in paradise. Oh well, I guess I can always get a sail making job over at Lava’s.
A Few Cool Apps I recently loaded a cool app to my iPhone, titled Skipper. It’s a navigation app that’s designed to run on your phone or tablet, and gives you your course, speed, heading, as well and pitch and roll, and allows you to save tracks that you’ve traveled. For all intents and purposes, it’s a backup chartplotter, but if you're into having as much redundancy on board, it’s not a bad
“If your boat is geared right now for coastal sailing and not exposed offshore stuff, you’ll need to add a fair amount of equipment to make her legal.” idea to try. You may have already heard of this one, but if not, check out Earth Wind Map at http://earth.nullschool.net/. Yeah I know, it’s not actually an app, but it's pretty cool. On their website, they describe the technology as “a visualization of global weather conditions, forecast by super computers, updated every three hours.” Its creator is Cameron Baccario, and, as its name suggests, it shows a reasonably detailed depiction of current global wind conditions, including direction and strength. While I’m not ready to give up all other forms of weather prediction and current condition researching, it does offer an interesting view of what’s going on anywhere in the world, and I could certainly see it being a useful tool for long passages and ocean racing. Take a look and see for yourself.
Oregon Offshore, Anyone? I know it’s only February, but if you’re thinking about prepping your boat and participating in this year’s Oregon Offshore from Astoria to Victoria, B.C., it definitely not too late to get started. I’ve had more than a few conversations over the years with skippers who were interested in doing the race, but simply didn’t have the time to get ready and seaworthy. If your boat is geared right now for coastal sailing and not exposed offshore stuff, you'll need to add a fair amount of equipment to make her legal. Life raft, EPIRB, and emergency rudder come to mind as big purchases / projects that you’ll need to have completed. If you have time, and if you’re reading this before it’s over, get up to the Seattle Boat Show with a good, solid checklist and see what’s available. I did this back in 2006, thinking I was only going to price shop at the show. A few hours later, I walked out of CenturyLink with a $6,000 bill. Yeah, it’s a spendy race to get ready for initially, but look at it like this: if you have any dreams of extended cruising, you’re going to want all this stuff anyway. And hey, that $3,900 offshore life raft may seem expensive on the showroom floor, but it probably seems pretty cheap if you're actually having to climb inside it out in the ocean. That’s how I sold the cost to my wife, anyway.
“Yep, there’s a lot of gear to get ready for an Oregon Offshore. The crew of California Girl in 2011.” Photo Credit: California Girl