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 July 19, 2007 - Issue 51 Welcome to Cruising Compass, your weekly fix of news, notes and tips for cruisers and sailors.
Help us to continue to grow. Tell your friends about Cruising Compass, or better yet, click on “Email to a Friend” on the bottom of this email!
And as always, we love receiving your
cruising news and photos. Have something to share? Send it to comments@... Click here to view the Cruising Shot of the Week! Have a great shot of your own (you know you do!)? Email it to us and prove to the world that your boat does more than sit in a slip! Pirate report
If you
are planning a trip up the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, otherwise known as “Pirate Alley,” then you will definitely find this report of interest. This piracy analysis, by Simon Blundell and listed on Noonsite, looks at data from attacks over the last several years and offers suggestions to cruisers who are planning to transit the area. Check it out at www.noonsite.com/PDF_Files/PiracyintheRedSea
To stay up-to-date on piracy issues, check out the weekly piracy report by the International Maritime Bureau at http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
Reason to be snap-happy!
As shown by our cruising shots of the week, there are some real talented
photographers out there. If you have any cool boating shots, here’s your opportunity to make $1,000! Yachtbuddy.com is sponsoring a yachting photo contest where the winner will receive a quick grand (and last we checked, there weren’t that many entries yet!). The deadline is Aug. 31st. Check out the rules and enter at www.yachtbuddy.com/phpwebgallery/
Keeping track of loved ones, key personnel and on-water assets is always at the top of the list for large yacht owners. When jet skis can’t be located or an expected call from a tender isn’t received, visions of a breakdown, an empty fuel
tank, and worst of all, an accident, come to mind.
Jeppesen Marine has teamed with Seetrac Tender Tracking to introduce the safest and best way to instantly know the location of jet skis, wave runners, and tenders. When security and safety are at stake, Jeppesen Marine and Seetrac Tender Tracking deliver peace of mind. For more information, visit www.nobeltec.com
Sail on the schooner Fame
Tickets are now available for historic replica schooner Fame’s visit to the Gloucester (Mass.) Schooner Festival on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 1st – 3rd)!
This event
represents a once-a-year opportunity to make longer passages aboard Fame and to experience the pageantry and excitement of the Parade of Sail and the Mayor’s Cup race against other tall ships, schooners and classic yachts! For more info, check out www.schoonerfame.com
Trawler lover?
Whether you are a trawler lover or just a wannabe, you should definitely make a plan to attend the upcoming Trawler Fest in Mystic, Conn., August 2nd – 4th. Trawler Fest offers a unique opportunity to meet other trawler enthusiasts and manufacturer representatives. Learn more at www.trawlerfest.com
4th Annual San Diego Yacht and Boat Show
Spend a day in beautiful San Diego, Calif., and take a
look at all the new, cool boats and gear. In addition to boat stuff, there is live music and activities for the kids too! Check it out at www.sandiegoyachtandboatshow.com/
Downeast rendezvous
Cruising in Maine? If so, check out the SSCA Downeast Cruisers Gam in Islesboro, Maine, August 3rd – 5th. This event is for not just SSCA members, but anyone who is cruising in Maine. Learn more at http://ssca.org/downloads/07maine.pdf
Find out why cruising sailors prefer Blue Water Sailing magazine...Every issue is filled with beautiful anchorages around the country and the world... real stories from real cruisers... valuable cruising advice from experts... the technical information you need to equip your boat for safe and fun sailing... and the best and most in-depth boat reviews... that’s what you will find in every issue of Blue Water Sailing... the only sailing magazine published by circumnavigators.
Get two issues FREE with no obligation by clicking on www.bwsailing.com
Unconventional anchoring
The subject of anchors and anchoring may be the most belabored of any in the cruising life and everyone has his or her opinions. But on the whole, most of us anchor the same way and do it over and over again without variation. But there are some unconventional ways to anchor a cruising boat that can solve some simple problems and make life aboard more comfortable and secure.
Setting two anchors: When the wind in the anchorage builds and gusts so that the bow of your boat begins to sail back and forth causing the anchor rode to snub hard, there is nothing like a second anchor to settle things down and help you get a good night’s sleep. The easiest way to deploy a second anchor is to let out a lot of scope on the main anchor and then power forward at a 45-degee angle to the wind; when you are about even with the first anchor, drop the second and let the boat fall back as you set the second hook. Or, you can drop the
second anchor into the dinghy, with ample rode, and row or motor the anchor to the right spot to set it. Either way, the boat will settle down and cease to dance back and forth.
Stern anchor: There are times when you find yourself in an anchorage that is exposed to rolling ocean swells. These almost never come from the same direction as the wind, so hours or days in the anchorage will be made uncomfortable by the constant roll of the boat. The solution is to set a stern anchor perpendicular to the direction of the swell (even though it may cause the boat to lie beam on to the breeze). By mooring the boat with the bow to the swell, you will find the boat pitches a bit up and down but ceases the gut wrenching roll.
Amidships anchoring: When you are moored to a dock with the wind piping up from the beam so that the hull is constantly squishing the life out of the fenders and threatening to mate with the dock, it is time to set an amidships or breast anchor. Take
you second primary anchor out in the dinghy far enough to provide a five to one scope and set it. Then, you can either make the rode fast to a deck cleat, or rig a bridle from the bow and stern to hold the boat squarely off the dock.
Anchoring by the stern: Odd as it may seem, most modern fin keel cruising boats prefer to lie stern to the wind than bow on, since the high, light bow acts like the tip of a weather vane while the keel behaves like a vane’s pivot point. So, on hot nights when you want as much breeze blowing through the cabin as possible, the solutions is to anchor the boat by the stern and let it hang with all hatches and the companionway open to the wind. The boat will ride easily stern to the wind and you’ll be cooler than your neighbors who still have their bow where they thought it was supposed to be. You know better.
A slice of the cruising life! In addition to the letters and photos that we receive, we love to include cruising stories. Share your story and show the rest of the Cruising Compass community what real cruising is like. Send your stories and/or photos to comments@...
Here is another piece of the continuing adventure from Katie Sanstead and her husband Bob’s cruise down the Bahamas. Their friends Kathy and Ted were along for the ride.
A harrowing day
We were so excited to reach Warderick Wells Cay and The Land and Sea Park on Sunday afternoon. Plans were laid to hike the ruins, visit the Park Headquarters and Boo-Boo Hill to place our boat’s name.
We could see the dark clouds
moving in fast, and another boat nearby called us on the VHF to warn of the strong rush from the incoming currents.
It hit us like a Mack truck and all hell broke loose...
Click here to read more. No one was born knowing how to handle a cruising boat in all weather conditions, how to navigate, provision for passages and use advanced high-seas communications. But you can learn. The best way is to get hands on experience on an ocean passage with teachers who have more than 200,000 ocean miles under their keels. That's John Neal and Amanda Swan-Neal. They run Mahina Expeditions aboard their
Hallberg-Rassy 46 and have taught cruising skills to hundreds of sailors - many of whom are out cruising the world on their own boats. You can do it, too. Visit Mahina Expeditions at www.mahina.com. Here’s a creative and tasty way to prepare your catch of the day. Delicious with brown or white rice and a salad.
Tropical Dijon fish - 1/4 C Dijon mustard
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1/4 C lime juice
- 1/4 C orange juice
- 2 scallions—chopped
- 3 garlic cloves—minced
Marinate fish fillets for 15 minutes, then poach in marinade
The Cruising Life
This is a great little site that is run by a cruising family. While it’s not as up-to-date as it used to be (the kids are in college now), it is still an excellent source of information about living aboard and cruising, especially with a family (and pets!). Check it out at www.thecruisinglife.com/
Here's a useful tool to make anchoring safer and more secure. The Kiwi Anchor Rider is a
simple anchor weight that slides half way down the anchor rode (chain or nylon line) and adds up to 30 pounds to the catenary of the rode - actually doubling the anchor's holding power.
The Kiwi Anchor Rider also dampens side to side yaw in gusty conditions and helps prevent the rode from snubbing on the windlass as it straightens out. Made in New Zealand. This thing really works and is worth its weight in gold - almost - and is much better than a sleeping pill. Learn more at www.anchorbuddy.co.nz or call AB Marine at 401-847-7960 or 800-801-8922.
Rolly-poley
You are lucky enough to be running downwind in
the Trade Winds. The wind is piping at 18 knots and the sea is running a good six-foot swell, so your boat is surging at a good rate. You’ve got the main out all the way and the genoa poled out to windward. Trouble is, there is an underlying swell coming from somewhere off the beam that is causing the boat to roll badly as it surges forward. The crew is not happy. What can you do to dampen the roll as you run on toward a new paradise?
Send your answers to comments@cruisingcompass. A winner, who will receive a Blue Water Sailing hat, will be selected at random from all of the correct answers. - Congrats to this week’s winner, Denis Moonan, who will be receiving a BWS hat for knowing where the mystery leak most likely is... and that there is pretty much nothing you can do about it!
“The chances are good, if you have a keel stepped mast and internal halyards, that wind driven water is
entering the mast through the many holes above deck and exiting in the bilge. I have not seen a reasonable solution to this problem. Mast covers anyone?”
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Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:37 pm
Bill Scanlon <Catalina30Ruby@...>
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