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Terry's Tip
Here are some extracts from The Boating Bible newsletter by the author, Jim Murrant, reproduced with permission. We welcome your questions or suggestions about this Newsletter and sailing in general. They may become the subject of a future Newsletter! Email them to info@pacificsailingschool.com.au and I will forward them on to the author.
Cooperation and assistance
When Christophe Bullens finally made it across the
finish line in Cape Town on 6 December, the other
skippers immediately downed tools on their own boats
and went to help him with some of the items on his
extensive 'To Do' list: http://tinyurl.com/26f6vjo
Christophe was lucky that the start of the amusingly
named 'Sprint 2' was delayed for four days due to
strong winds and heavy seas, giving him more precious
time to do repairs.
Unfortunately though, he's been forced back to Cape
Town due to rudder problems – his port rudder has
sheared a bolt and other bolts have come loose,
problems he's unable to fix at sea and single-handed.
A local sailor has volunteered to help get him back
to sea as quickly as possible.
Christophe had to admit that his last minute replacement
yacht, Five Oceans of Smiles too, was under-prepared
for the round-the-world race.
Cooperation and assistance
After winning last year's Sydney-Hobart, Andrew Saies,
an Adelaide doctor, had obstacles to overcome just
getting to the start this year. About halfway through
the delivery voyage, Two True went to Apollo Bay to
change crew ... and went aground. In towing the yacht
back afloat the top of the mast was damaged.
Almost immediately, another Beneteau first 40 owner,
who is not competing in this year's race south, offered
his mast. Fortunately the yacht's boom and instruments
were undamaged and Saies expects to be at the start on
Boxing Day.
Cause for concern
"A further cause for concern is the fact that the owners
of large, powerful vessels tend to be those with the
poorest navigational skills."
Mike Kingdom-Hockings of NewFreebooters.com drew our
attention to this sentence at the conclusion of the
Finnish law report mentioned in last week's newsletter.
He commented:
"I'm not sure who made this observation, but if true it
is worrying. I thought such people employed professional
skippers - however it is probably true that most are
arrogant enough to override them quite frequently."
Lucky to be alive - part two
Catch up with the original story in last week's
newsletter.
Mike also shared his thoughts on the sad tale of the
sinking of the Lady Mary:
Quite a few weak links in the SARSAT chain. Let's
hope they'll result in a few changes.
1. If there is a printed sticker with the EPIRB
registration number on it, why is the owner obliged
to copy it by hand onto the same form? And why is
the clerk trained to transcribe (yet again, making
two consecutive human transcriptions) the more
error-prone handwritten number? A clear case for OCR
scanning, with the clerk checking the result in case
of poor quality printing.
2. In some ways, the staff responsible for the UMIB
broadcast are like air traffic controllers. They are
responsible for people's lives. The fact that two
people were on watch didn't help. There was no check
that the supervisor's instructions were carried out.
In any case, I doubt that much judgment was needed.
The rules for deciding which frequencies to transmit
on could be programmed, so that it would become just
a case of selecting the appropriate class of emergency,
leaving the computer to select the broadcast frequencies.
1. The clerical staff handling EPIRB registrations now
record the printed code on the manufacturer's label, thus
avoiding the error experienced with the Lady Mary.
It is a very good argument for everyone who plans to sail
offshore to purchase an EPIRB with GPS transmitter.
2. Air traffic controllers, yes. It made me think of
ambulance coordinators who are also often over-stressed
and under-resourced. A good idea, Mike, to suggest computer
programming to remove some of the decision making required
when emergency reports are received.
From our reading of the articles, we believe that the Lady
Mary was hit, from behind. In the absence of any other ship
in the vicinity, it seems that the Cap Beatrice may have
been the vessel involved. It seems incredible that it took
investigators two months to interview its captain and crew.
And what about the ship disappearing off the AIS tracking
system? And delaying her arrival at the Delaware breakwater,
taking 17 hours to travel just 66 miles?
Perhaps one day the full story of what happened will come
out. We hope Amy Ellis Nutt and Andre Malok will be there to
record it for all the world to read.
Watch this space
We've held the VHF radio story over and will share it
with you in our first newsletter of 2011.
In their own words: William Bligh
In our passage from the Cape of Good Hope
the winds were mostly from the westward with
very boisterous weather: but one great advantage
that this season of the year has over the summer
months is in being free from fogs.
We chose this quotation from William Bligh because
of the conditions outside Cape Town which delayed
the start of leg two of the Velux 5 Oceans.
Is the master of a leisure craft obliged to observe good seamanship?
You have to wonder what's happened to maritime law when a man
skippering a vessel carrying 22 people plus himself goes the
wrong side of a port channel marker and runs
aground is found "not to have displayed bad seamanship".
Admittedly this was in a legal document rather than some
discussion on seamanship but in the Finnish court that heard
this case he was found not guilty of negligence on the
grounds that he was in charge of a leisure vessel.
Under Finnish law, apparently, there are different rules
for commercial vessels and leisure vessels.
The idea that there can be two separate sets of rules for
artificially separated groups of vessels is just ludicrous.
It begs the question of whether local laws can supersede
international regulations, particularly if the country is a
signatory to those regulations.
Here is the legal summary. We regret that you may need
to register to view it. Otherwise, google the title of this section.
How do you say "the law is a ass" in Finnish?
Lucky to be alive
We found a very interesting, tightly researched and well
written series of articles on NJ.com, the online home of
a number of New Jersey's newspapers. It covers an accident
to the Lady Mary, a vessel fishing at a well known scallop
ground off the US east coast.
It's a lot of reading – six instalments and a summary – but
it if you simply want to get the gist of it, the first and
last one or two cover most of the story.
The story includes several issues that should concern us,
as sailors. And, if nothing else, it reminds us how lucky
Jessica Watson was about 15 months ago when she set out on
her own to sail from Queensland to Sydney, prior to
commencing her circumnavigation.
If, after reading the report you'd like to tell us what
you think, we'd be very glad to hear from you. Next week,
we'll share our thoughts and yours.
Farewell to a great sailor
Reg Gardner was a sailor all his life and a good competitor.
He also designed the Endeavour series of yachts which are
very popular here and in several other countries. He used
the name Endeavour in recognition of HM Bark Endeavour, the
ship in which Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia in 1770.
Reg's passing was noted in a Sydney Morning Herald obituary.
I want to register my own thanks to Reg as I owned one of
his very good boats for some years – an Endeavour 28 – which
actually was designed for the Quarter Ton Cup. It was in fact
longer than 28 feet and had a most remarkable quality, apart
from being a good sailer.
My crew and I called it "Tardis" from Dr Who's extraordinary
spaceship although her real name was Electra. From the outside
Electra looked like a 29 ft boat but inside she seemed far
bigger. Even though we were used to the fact we would still
sometimes gasp when we went down the companionway into the
seemingly bigger boat.
I entered her in many short offshore races from Sydney and
the whole of the CYCA's short ocean pointscore series. Our
best performance in that was in 1981 with two wins, two
seconds and a third, giving us a beautiful piece of silver-
ware, but not the winner's cup.
Watch this space
For next week we will have some interesting facts about
VHF radios and why you need a radio operator's licence,
particularly if you are cruising internationally.
African proverb
Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.
This African proverb encapsulates my concerns about
young people who undergo training to gain yachtmaster
qualifications.
For safety reasons, most sailing schools will not
allow their students to go offshore if the wind is,
or is predicted to become, greater than 30 knots.
But how will that prepare them for the conditions they
may experience when in charge of, say, a 50 ft yacht
halfway across the Atlantic? Even if they are participating
in the ARC rally, i.e. sailing in company, they have to
show their leadership and good sense in how they approach
heavy weather sailing.
How to get blood off your sails
Oh no! One of your crew has cut themselves and
is bleeding on the mainsail. In this case, it's
unlikely that you'll be able to soak the sail
effectively before the blood dries.
You will be busy steering the boat while another
crew member is staunching the blood and exercising
their first aid skills bandaging the wound.
Also, as the stained sail is the boat's main
'engine' it will be needed until you reach
your destination.
So what's the best way to deal with the stain?
Ullman Sails in San Diego recommend:
"Soak the stained portion for 10-20 minutes
in a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part
bleach. Scrub and repeat if necessary.
Rinse thoroughly."
Their site has cleaning methods for a wide
range of stains, from rust to paint, oil to Good response to Nautical Knowledge
We were both very pleased to receive some detailed
feedback from subscriber, Laszlo Horvath, following
his purchase and use of the Nautical Knowledge to
prepare for his boating licence exam.
We were both very pleased to receive some detailed feedback from subscriber, Laszlo Horvath, following his purchase and use of the to prepare for his boating licence exam.
"What I found most helpful was the animated buoyage
system and being able to see the markers during the
day, and the lights only during the night. It made
it extremely easy to learn," he said.
Sailor of the Year awards
Tom Slingsby last week was named the 2010 ISAF
Rolex World Sailor of the Year. He's the first
Australian to win this award.
His recent sailing record of winning two world
championships in two weeks - the Laser Standard
2010 World titles and the Etchells titles - shows
he's a great sailor on his own and as part of a
crew and in two very different classes.
He became inspired while watching the 2000 Olympic
sailing events from Bradley's Head on Sydney harbour.
He now has his sights firmly on an Olympic gold medal
in England in 2012.
The Female Sailor of the Year is world champion
windsurfer, Blanca Manchón of Spain. It was the
third time she had been nominated for the award
– no mean feat at just 23 years of age.
Like Tom Slingbsy, she will be going for gold in
2012, and hoping to be the first Spanish windsurfer
to win a medal.In their own words: J.R.R. Tolkien
There isn't no call to go talking of pushing
and pulling. Boats are quite tricky enough for
those that sit still without looking further
for the cause of trouble.
There isn't no call to go talking of pushing and pulling. Boats are quite tricky enough for those that sit still without looking further for the cause of trouble.
These words were spoken by Ham Gamgee, known
as 'the Gaffer'. He's the father of Sam Gamgee,
Frodo's down-to-earth offsider.
The quotation is from chapter one of book one
of The Fellowship of the Rings, the first volume
of Tolkien's trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892 in
Bloemfontein, South Africa where his father was
a bank manager. With his younger brother, he was
taken by his mother to England when he was three.
His father died of rheumatic fever before he could
join them. His mother died of type 1 diabetes (before
the discovery of insulin) when he was 12 and his
guardianship was given to a Roman Catholic priest.
After graduating from Oxford University with first
class honours, he married his childhood sweetheart,
Edith, when he turned 21.
J.R.R. Tolkien died in Oxford, England in September
1973, 21 months after his wife.
Anniversary giveaway
This is our 100th newsletter. And, by coincidence,
we discovered that we sent out our first issue
two years ago to the day!
That newsletter launched readers straight into a
series of What if... scenarios that skippers need
to prepare for.
Since then we developed the series into a down-
loadable eBook, "How to Survive at Sea: Six
Emergencies and How to Handle Them".
Operation Boat Safe
NSW Maritime conducted on-water safety checks
on 771 boats across NSW over the long weekend,
2-3 October.
This resulted in 24 infringements and 21
warnings. Most infringements were for failure
to comply with safety equipment requirements
– lack of suitable life jackets, in particular.
In an incident last weekend in the US, a
skipper drowned after he was thrown overboard
when his 65 ft yacht was hit by a strong gust.
His three children, aged 13 to 18, immediately
dropped the sails and radioed for help.
Unfortunately, they lost sight of him and he
never resurfaced. The Coast Guard were unable
to locate him but assisted the yacht back to
harbour.
It's notable that the children were all wearing
life jackets. The skipper was the only one aboard
who was not. A life jacket would have given him
the buoyancy required to remain afloat. A tragic
loss.
A sad memory
Speaking of losses, it's now 12 months since the deaths
of Andrew Short and Sally Gordon. At the time we
wondered how two such experienced sailors could lose
their lives. But it was found that Andrew was not
wearing a Personal Floatation Device (PFD) or harness.
Early this year we drew readers' attention to the
report published by the Cruising Yacht Club of
Australia. A number of its recommendations have
already been implemented in an effort to prevent
a recurrence. You can download the full report.
When the coroner's inquest is held we will share
any additional findings that are made.
More whales
On a happier note, just hours after we sent out last
week's newsletter we saw reports of a whale and calf
in Sydney Harbour.
Captain William Dampier
William Dampier (1651-1715), when captain of HMS Roebuck,
was the first Englishman to explore and map parts of
Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Before and after that voyage, as a privateer he made
three circumnavigations, on the final one rescuing the
castaway, Alexander Selkirk, who became the model for
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.
Here's Dampier's description of sailing through the
eye of a storm:
Typhoons are a sort of violent whirlwinds. Before these
whirlwinds come on... there appears a heavy cloud to the
northeast which is very black near the horizon, but toward
the upper part is a dull reddish colour.
The tempest came with great violence, but after a while,
the winds ceased all at once and a calm succeeded. This
lasted... an hour, more or less, then the gales were turned
around, blowing with great fury from the southwest.
Until I read A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William
Dampier: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer by Diana
Preston and Michael Preston, I was unaware of the extent of
his sea-faring experiences.
Must be nice
We received an email with the above subject line
from Canadian subscriber, David Wysocki, owner of
a 25 footer he sails on Lake Ontario. He was
somewhat envious of all of us Down Under preparing
for our summer season.
In fact, there are very few days in Sydney when you
wouldn't want to be out on the water – and they can
happen at any time of the year.
What this means is that we, like sailors the world
over, have to keep an eye on the marine weather
forecasts AND our own observations of weather
conditions that we've gathered over the years.
This week's quotation (below) says it all.
Neither of us is keen on the idea of ice sailing.
The closest we like to be to ice is when it's in
a gin and tonic!
Not that I'm in favour of killing whales
From my own experience – spread over more than
50 years – whales have become a greater hazard
for ocean-going mariners.
I can remember coming around the south-eastern corner
of Australia, out of Bass Strait, and seeing from the
corner of my eye what looked like land in the distance.
This was pretty disturbing since I knew that there was
no land in that direction until you got to New Zealand.
When I adjusted the focal length of my vision I was able
to see what looked like a little island awash in the
water. It was a whale travelling in the same direction
as me.
That experience was quite harmless. Not so that of a
friend of mine in the Atlantic Ocean. He was sailing
from the UK to the US when his yacht was attacked by
a pod of killer whales. I use the verb 'attacked'
deliberately. This was not an accidental occurrence.
The whales charged again and again, bashing into the
side of the boat with the obvious intention to smash
it. My friend, an oceanographer, doesn't know what
provoked that, but he does know that he was very
frightened.
The point is that the number of whales is increasing.
Very likely the number of ocean-going yachts too. In
almost any circumstance you can imagine of the two
elements meeting, the whales are going to come off best.
In their own words: Benjamin Franklin
Some are weather-wise, some are otherwise.
Franklin (1706-1790) was one of the first to observe
that North American storms tend to move from west to
east, and predicted that a storm's course could be
plotted.
He also invented the lightning rod which protects
buildings and ships from lightning damage.
Safety begins at ...
In a couple of weeks our yacht club, the RAN Sailing
Association, is celebrating the beginning of the new
sailing season with two events.
Firstly, there's a cocktail part on the Friday evening
- an opportunity for members and their guests to get
together over a drink. On the Saturday, there'll be a
Parade of Sail and all boat owners are encouraged to
dress ship and take part.
There's also a third activity scheduled – the annual
safety checks. All yachts that compete, whether
offshore or in the harbour, must pass a safety check
for the relevant category before their race entry can
be accepted.
But, before you submit your vessel to the safety
officer, you must lay out and check off all the
items for your category. This gives you the
opportunity to check not just the presence of all
the items but that they are in good working order
and match the requirements.
Cruising sailors don't have this same incentive and
yet it's possibly even more important that they
undertake annual safety checks. Why more important?
Cruisers may sail in less frequented waters whereas
racers are part of the racing fleet. If they get into
trouble, they may need to be self-reliant.
So, when did you last check the expiry date on
your fire extinguisher(s)?
In a building wind
You're out on the water and find that the wind
is slowly but steadily building. You have your
boat fully rigged – No. 1 genoa and full main.
Sitting to windward, you find yourself having to
pull the tiller hard towards you in each gust.
Time to remind your main trimmer to help you keep
the boat sailing optimally – to ease the traveller
as the gust hits and pull it back up the track as
it subsides.
As the wind strengthens the main trimmer's job
becomes more difficult, almost impossible. The
traveller is now near the bottom of the track and
only the mainsheet can be eased. But it takes the
trimmer too long to recover and bring the main
back in as the wind lessens.
Looking around, you see all your competitors have
taken a reef and are handling the conditions much
better. They are not rounding up, which means the
power of the sails is being transferred through
the hull and driving the boat directly forwards.
In the meantime, your boat is producing a
scalloped wake and sailing inefficiently.
Now is not the time to realise that you haven't
led the reefing lines!
In their own words: Herman Melville
Here's a quotation by American author, Herman
Melville (1819-1891). It's from Chapter 1 of
his well-known Moby Dick and obviously applies
to the Northern Hemisphere:
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the
mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November
in my soul ... then, I account it high time to
get to sea as soon as I can.
As Annie will attest, I generally just say:
I want to go to sea!
Sailing goose-winged
When you're cruising you're unlikely to want
to put up the spinnaker unless you have a
skilful crew aboard so sailing goose-winged
will be the only way to go if your course
takes you downwind.
It is possible to sail downwind goose-winged
without a pole holding the headsail out to
catch the wind, but it's not nearly as
effective as spending a few minutes and
rigging your spinnaker pole to do the job
for you.
Get the cockpit crew to release the topping
lift so the foredeckie can unclip it and
attach it to the spinnaker pole. If you do
this first, i.e. before releasing the spinnaker
pole from its position, stowed on the deck,
you won't lose the pole overboard. Attach the
downhaul / kicker.
Next fit the inboard end of the pole to the
mast fitting. Then open the jaws of the pole
and insert the windward sheet. Lift the pole
as the cockpit crew pull on the topping lift
and downhaul and cleat them off so that the
pole is held firmly.
Most people do the next thing – setting the
basic trim of the sail – incorrectly. The pole
should dip down slightly, thereby pulling the
clew down towards the sea and preventing air
from escaping from the narrow head of the sail.
Now you're ready to release the headsail and
pull it across with the windward sheet until
the sail fills. When this happens you may
feel a sudden increase in speed, as the full
sail is exposed to catch the wind.
One of the uses of goose-wing sailing that is
not known to less-experienced sailors is that
it will handle very heavy following winds when
it would be impractical to carry a spinnaker.
I'm talking of winds of 40-50 knots.
The point is that it is easier for the helmsman
to steer accurately than with a spinnaker in
similar winds, and it is less strain on both the
helmsman and the yacht.
The only marginal difference might be that in
flat sea conditions some people prefer not to
have a pole. With a lot of wind, a pole isn't
necessary.
Good for shipping
We've been interested to read that the shipping
industry has cut carbon emissions by 11% by
reducing ships' speed. That's a significant step
towards the International Maritime Organisation's
goal of 15% by 2018.
Some owners have ordered their ships to reduce
speed from 25 to 20 knots. Even owners of many
modern cargo ships have adapted the engines to
allow 'super-slow steaming' at approx. 12 knots.
As well as cutting greenhouse gas, the slower
speed is also cutting fuel bills.
What other measures can we introduce to lessen
our impact on the marine environment?
In their own words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow (1807-1882), the American poet and
translator, was probably best known for 'Hiawatha'
and 'Paul Revere's Ride'.
He did, however, compose poems about the sea, such as 'The Wreck of the
Hesperus' and the following:
The Secret Of The Sea
Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me
As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic legends,
All my dreams, come back to me.
Sails of silk and ropes of sendal,
Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the sailors,
And the answer from the shore!
Most of all, the Spanish ballad
Haunts me oft, and tarries long,
Of the noble Count Arnaldos
And the sailor's mystic song.
Like the long waves on a sea-beach,
Where the sand as silver shines,
With a soft monotonous cadence,
Flow its unrhymed lyric lines: --
Telling how the Count Arnaldos,
With his hawk upon his hand,
Saw a fair and stately galley,
Steering onward to the land; --
How he heard the ancient helmsman
Chant a song so wild and clear,
That the sailing sea-bird slowly
Poised upon the mast to hear,
Till his soul was full of longing,
And he cried with impulse strong, --
Helmsman! for the love of heaven,
Teach me, too, that wondrous song!
Wouldst thou, so the helmsman answered,
Learn the secrets of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
Comprehend its mystery!
In each sail that skims the horizon,
In each landward-blowing breeze,
I behold that stately galley,
Hear those mournful melodies;
Till my soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
Recent experiences
The last ten days for me have been very similar to the
progression that often happens on boats on longer
voyages. In my case it started with a toothache, which
was found to be a tooth with an abscess beneath it and,
finally, to a tooth that needed to be removed under
general anaesthetic in hospital.
I returned home after its removal and initially felt
much better – my system was no longer being poisoned
by the infection and I was taking antibiotics to
kill any remaining bugs.
Trouble was, three days later I was growing more and
more breathless. A visit from my son made me realise
that I was puffing while lying in bed talking to him!
So Annie kindly took me to our nearest hospital where I
spent the day being monitored and tested and thoroughly
checked over. As time passed and my condition stabilised
we both thought I'd be sent home.
Imagine our surprise when I was admitted and kept in
for three nights! One of the problems diagnosed was
pneumonia and I am still taking a course of antibiotics
to beat it.
How does this relate to boats?
When some part of your boat is not working quite as it
should, you have two choices. You can either check it
out straight away or ignore it.
If you check it out, you may be able to pre-empt the
problem developing into a potentially life-threatening
situation. Problems tend to escalate and the sea is a
challenging environment, particularly for electrics and
electronics.
If you ignore it, the problem will almost certainly
develop and may do so in a way that is much, much harder
to remedy than if you had checked it out thoroughly and
solved it.
It's rather like the story of why the battle was lost –
all for the sake of a horseshoe nail.
Tying up your boat
Do you know what to avoid when tying up your boat?
I've found far too many boating websites – particularly
some of the free ones – that offer spurious advice. The
ones that really annoy me give the 'advice' that, when
tying up a boat, the cleating arrangement should end
with a half hitch. This can be extremely dangerous.
If you have to leave the jetty in a hurry, at night and/or
in bad weather, the first thing that you will have to clear
is a frozen half hitch.
I've always found that there's plenty of friction with a
round turn, a figure of eight, followed by another round
turn. If you cleat your mooring lines off in this way you
will be able to undo them easily whenever you want to.
This is the first of my two paramount, invariable, must-never-
be-disobeyed rules. And what is the second? Have an educated
guess then click here to find out.
If you would like to learn about nine good maritime knots
and how to tie them, you will find them on our Skipper and
Crew, Knots and The Language of the Sea CD.
Don't forget your socks!
Many yachties don't bother with socks when wearing sailing
shoes but in the following story socks were lifesavers.
The US Coast Guard was called out at night in response to
the sighting of a flare. Arriving at the location the boat
started working a search pattern. It was tricky as there
were lots of lights on the shore being reflected in the water.
One of the crew thought she saw a white light but lost sight
of it several times. No one else on board saw this light and
the others joked with her that she was seeing things!
After spending quite some time searching, the skipper turned
the boat for home, putting the flare sighting down to an error.
At that moment, a number of the crew saw a white light.
Motoring towards it they found a broken-down motor boat with
seven teenagers aboard. After they had used their only flare
and when they saw the lights of the Coast Guard vessel, they
had burnt their socks, one by one, in the hope that someone
would see them. They were very happy to be rescued.
The moral of the story is that whenever we go out on the water,
wherever it may be, we must ensure we have aboard at least the
minimum safety equipment required by the local regulations.
And, in addition, know that it's in good working order and how
to operate it.
In their own words: Lin and Larry Pardey
Having sailed around the world twice in yachts built by Larry,
he and Lin have written numerous books about sailing and cruising.
With more than 200,000 nm sailed between them, they have plenty
of experience on which to draw.
The following is particularly important if you are sailing
two-up, wherever you are:
The first and most important piece of safety gear you have on
board is a partner who has the knowledge and skills to handle
the boat. There is not one piece of man-overboard gear that is
going to help if the person left on the boat does not know how
to get the boat back to you.
How many more regulations will there be?
Whenever a coroner investigates loss of life on the
water, he or she compiles a number of recommendations
for the various regulatory bodies involved to consider
implementing.
In most cases, the recommendations are readily adopted
as regulations and the lives of everyone who spends
time on the water, whether commercially or for leisure,
become safer.
But there will always be a few who ignore the regulations
– whether it be by ignoring speed limits or being in
charge of vessel while under the influence of drugs or
alcohol.
A local pilot who was to take a ship out of Wellington
harbour recently found the ship's master to be so drunk
that he was barely conscious. The ship's departure was
prevented and the boat's owners, in Japan, had to fly
a sober skipper in to take over command.
That was an extreme case, but we read recently that
maritime laws in Victoria have changed to include drug
and alcohol testing while a boat is at anchor. A press
release announced:
"Allowing testing for drug and alcohol impairment when
a vessel is at anchor, so at least one person is fit to
operate a boat safely and legally in an emergency."
Does this mean an end to overnight raft-ups and other
weekends away?
In Sydney harbour we have seen the banishment of PWCs*,
but unfortunately the commercial tours by high-speed
jet boats remain, to the annoyance of most other harbour
users.
*The Marine Safety Victoria defines a PWC as
"an aquascooter, jet bike, jet ski, wave runner,
ski free, motorised surfboard and any similar
vessel that has an engine used for propulsion.
They are also known as 'powerskis'."
Census of Marine Life
While we sailors enjoy spending time on the water,
the Census of Marine Life has been preparing a report
for release next month on all ocean life, from microbes
to whales.
There's a website, as you'd expect, and a photo gallery
showing some of the more interesting looking creatures:
http://www.coml.org/image-gallery
Laura Dekker and the pirates
Nelson Struck, one of our subscribers, commented:
"I hope Laura avoids the Somali pirates."
In fact, looking at Laura's planned voyage there is
a risk of pirate attacks pretty well from when she
leaves Australian waters until she reaches the Med.
From the publicity her circumnavigation is attracting,
pirates will know that her yacht is fitted out with
all the latest communication and navigation equipment.
In their own words: Not known
After a prolonged search we found two versions of the
following definition, but neither was attributed. If you
know who wrote these words, we'd love to hear from you
so we can add the author's name to them.
What is a seaman?
Between the innocence of infancy and the recklessness
of adultery comes that unique specimen of humanity know
as the Seaman. Seamen can be found in bars, arguments,
in bed, in debt and intoxicated. They are tall, short,
fat, thin, dark, fair but never normal.
They dislike ship's food, chief engineers, writing
letters, sailing on Saturdays and dry ships. They like
receiving mail, paying-off day, nude pinups, sympathy,
complaining and beer.
A Seaman's secret ambition is to change places with
the owner for just one trip, to own a brewery and to
be loved by everyone in the world.
A Seaman is a Sir Galahad in a Japanese brothel, a
psychoanalyst with Reader's Digest on the table, Don
Quixote with a discharge book, the saviour of mankind
with his back teeth awash, Valentino with a fiver in
his pocket and Democracy personified in a Red Chinese
prison cell.
A Seaman is a provider in war and a parasite in peace.
No-one is subjected to so much abuse, wrongly accused,
so often misunderstood by so many as a Seaman. He has
the patience of Job, the honesty of a fool and the
heaven-sent ability to laugh at himself.
When he returns home from a long voyage no-one else but
a Seaman can create such an atmosphere of suspense and
longing as he walks through the door with the magic
words on his lips:
"Have you got the ale in then?"
First aid for hypothermia
Mike Kingdom-Hockings responded to our recent article
on hypothermia:
"You might like to point readers to an article on the about.com
first aid site, (unless you know a better one).
Hypothermia is a serious problem in temperate climates. A Royal
Navy study many years ago came to the conclusion that MOBs didn't
drown in the English Channel - they died of hypothermia."
Here in Australia we access the information provided by the
Better Health Channel.
Otherwise, as mentioned in our most recent newsletter, the Mayo Clinic.
But that's only helpful if you have internet access available where and
when a crew member becomes hypothermic. The best solution is to
keep your first aid training and certification up to date.
Paper charts:
how to check if they’re up to date
Yachting Australia has drawn our attention to an Australian
Hydrographic Service alert with a link to detailed instructions
on how to check if your paper charts are up-to-date.
Firstly, it shows where to find the Chart number and the edition
of your chart. You can then check on the Index of Australian Paper
Charts to see what the current edition is and the most recent
Notices to Mariners (NtMs) that have been issued to update it.
By clicking VIEW you will see a complete list of all NtMs applying
to that chart and click through for their details.
You should be aware, however, that the NtMs apply only to the Chart
edition for which they have been issued.
WARNING: If you have an out-of-date chart, the NtMs cannot be used
to bring it up-to-date.
And no, it's not good enough to rely totally on your GPS.
Another young sailor sets off
Having followed Jessica Watson's blog and, last week,
having watched her documentary, it would be churlish not to
mention that Laura Dekker, the 14-year-old Dutch girl has set
off from Gibraltar to attempt to sail solo around the world.
But she expects to take a year or more – she's planning a series
of stops along the way and will transit the Panama Canal, rather
than round Cape Horn.
In fact, she plans to avoid all the famous Capes. You can check
out her planned route.
In their own words: Lewis Carroll
As well as the well-known Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
Lewis Carroll wrote The Hunting of the Snark, An Agony in
8 Fits.
After our discussion today about keeping charts current,
it's amusing to read Carroll's solution for the Navigator:
He had bought a large map representing the sea,
Without the least vestige of land:
And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be
A map they could all understand.
"What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators,
Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?"
So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply
"They are merely conventional signs!
"Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
But we've got our brave Captain to thank"
(So the crew would protest) "that he's bought us the best--
A perfect and absolute blank!"
I received a copy of these lines, together with the blank
'chart' for my 70th birthday present from a dear friend,
Ian Gray, who is sadly no longer with us.
Rescue! And the risk of hypothermia
When someone falls or is knocked overboard, a
well trained crew will know what to do even if they've
only ever practised retrieving a PFD or life ring.
What they will find challenging is getting the
person back on board.
If the person is conscious and your boat has a ladder,
it will be easy. If you have a life sling or Sea Scoopa
you will be able to use your boat's halyards and main
boom to hoist your crew back on board.
The third scenario, trying to lift a person out of the
water and over the life lines on to the boat is very
difficult to achieve.
In any case, whatever the weather conditions, make sure
the rescued person changes into dry clothes, keeps warm
and rests. And allocate one crew to keep an eye out for
signs of hypothermia.
The Mayo Clinic lists signs as: shivering; clumsiness or
lack of coordination; slurred speech or mumbling; stumbling;
confusion or difficulty thinking; poor decision making, such
as trying to remove warm clothes; drowsiness or very low
energy; apathy, or lack of concern about one's condition;
progressive loss of consciousness; weak pulse and shallow
breathing.
Left untreated, hypothermia can lead to failure of the
heart and respiratory system and death. So you can see
why it's important to prevent hypothermia wherever possible.
Information on paper charts:
Part 8 Additional notes
On every chart you will find additional notes. Most
notes are printed in black and provide information
about tide rips, marine farms, submarine cables, a
local magnetic disturbance etc.
A few are coloured magenta to attract the navigator's
attention to information about a Military Exercise
Area or Traffic Separation Scheme, for example.
A single chart may have 10-15 individual notes relating
to different areas and information.
A wise navigator scans these notes as part of the
passage planning preparation for a voyage. This will
avoid any unpleasant surprises, such as entering a
Military Exercise Area or snagging the anchor on a
submarine cable.
Next week we'll talk about how to check if your
charts are up to date.
Sydney International Boat Show wrap up
This year's show was substantially larger than last,
with extra halls filled with every gadget and gizmo
a sailor, boater or paddler could dream of.
The free talks were well attended, particularly
Jessica Watson's. Annie queued to get a copy of True
Spirit signed by Jess, who must have writer's cramp
by now as her book promo tour is in full swing.
Exhibitors were impressed by both the number of
visitors and the keenness of their interest in
the wide range of products and services on show.
Good for the industry if interest translates into
sales.
In their own words: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Author of the well-known novella, The Little Prince
(Le Petit Prince, 1943), Antoine de Saint-Exupery
(1900-1944) trained as a pilot in 1921 while undergoing
his two years' compulsory military training. In WWII
he was shot down and killed on a reconnaissance flight
over France.
Today's quotation is from The Wisdom of the Sands
(La Citadelle) which was published posthumously in 1948:
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people
together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks
and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.
Keeping a lookout and judging distance off
Whether cruising or racing it is important to nominate
a crew member to act as lookout. You still have to
keep an eye on surrounding boats and any crew member
should warn if they see a bad situation developing.
The nominated lookout's job is to check around the
genoa to ensure there are no right-of-way boats
approaching.
It is useful to have a 'boat system' – a language
understood by all – to describe the location of the
vessel. Use the hours on a clock face, with 12 being
the bow, and emphasise by pointing.
Always tell the skipper the distance off. Some crew
find this hard to estimate for a number of reasons:
• The sea is a blank canvas, unlike a street
where there are parked cars, houses, gateways,
light poles, etc. to help gauge distance.
• Both boats are moving, and not necessarily at the same speed.
• On a windy day, one or both boats may be
affected by the gusts and round up.
Get your crew to practise estimating distance off
by judging distance off the shoreline when you're
sailing parallel to it. If the distance is not changing
much, you'll have plenty of time to discuss and agree.
Then try using other motionless objects – boats on
moorings, buoys, harbour markers – as you sail past.
With practice your crew will gain confidence in using
this important skill and be able to tell you, without
hesitation, the distance off of any approaching vessel.
Information on paper charts: Part 7, Acknowledgements
This section acknowledges any other government
instrumentalities that have provided input to the relevant
hydrographic office for the preparation of the chart. It's
of interest, rather than great value to the navigator.
What you may see on the chart:
Acknowledgements: Public Works Department, Waterways.
(Port Stephens)
Acknowledgements: Geoscience Australia, Great Barrier
Reef Marine Authority (Hydrographers Passage)
On a US chart from NOAA's Office of Coast Survey it's shown:
AUTHORITIES
Hydrography and topography by the National Ocean Service,
Coast Survey, with additional data from the Corps of
Engineers, Geological Survey, U.S. Coast Guard, and National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Next week we'll begin looking at the additional notes that
may be included on a nautical chart.
Sydney International Boat Show
The Show starts tomorrow and Annie, our roving reporter,
will be there to check out what's on offer and collect the
latest information, which we’ll share with you in coming weeks.
This year Terry Wise has kindly agreed to include our poster
and a handout on the Pacific Sailing School's stand (Hall 135).
We're promoting the Nautical Knowledge and using the slogan:
Have Fun – Keep Safe.
Unfortunately for Don McIntyre, one of the Show's guest
speakers, the Talisker Bounty Boat is still in transit from
Kupang and won't be at the show in time for people to look at.
True Spirit at the Boat Show
At one o'clock tomorrow Jessica Watson's book will be launched.
As someone who has been involved with the media and printing all
my life, it's still amazing how quickly this book has been
prepared for publication.
Jess only arrived back in Australia on 15 May and on 9 June
her website noted:
She has been kept busy writing the final chapters of her
book, True Spirit, which will take a few more weeks to
complete and is on a tight deadline to get it all finished
in time for the launch in Sydney on 28 July.
That doesn't leave much time for final editing, design,
production and printing! Let's hope the publishers,
Hachette Australia, have done a good job.
In their own words: Jules Verne
Jules Verne (1828-1905) is one of the pioneers of
science-fiction. In his novels he predicted the invention
of things as diverse as air conditioning, automobiles,
television, rockets, helicopters, jukeboxes. He even wrote
about underwater hydrothermal vents that were unknown at
that time.
The Jules Verne Trophy, currently held by Groupama 3,
is so named in recognition of the challenge set in Verne's
book, Around the World in 80 Days. It is held by the boat
that sails around the world non-stop and with no outside
assistance in the shortest time.
The following is a quotation from another of his best known
works, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (1869-70):
The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the
terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy.
It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely,
for he feels life stirring on all sides.
Had he written this today, Verne could not have included
the third sentence. The pollution we are putting into the
sea every day makes it far from "pure and healthy", as the
crew of Plastiki, recently arrived in Sydney, can attest.
Sailing into a pen
I've often said that it's good practice for
anybody who is going to be in charge of a
yacht to imagine stressful situations which
might occur and pre-plan a way out of them.
I was reminded of that recently when I was
thinking about a time when a friend and I
chartered a famous yacht – Impetuous – to
compete in the Sydney-Hobart race.
The race itself was incident free, but on
the return delivery the motor failed, beyond
our ability to fix it, about 100 miles from
Sydney.
We sailed on but had to consider how we would
get the boat safely into its pen at the Cruising
Yacht Club of Australia which is at the 'bottom'
of a deep inlet in the Sydney harbour foreshore.
Luckily, when we arrived in the harbour, just
after midnight, conditions were perfect – little
wind and a slack tide.
When we neared the pen we dropped the headsail
and let the main down on the halyard so that
only about a quarter of its normal area was
collecting the wind.
We stationed a man on the halyard so that the
amount of main exposed could be increased or
decreased at will. This way we were able to enter
the pen under complete control and at a safe speed.
I recommend this technique to any skipper.
2. Information on paper charts: Part 6, Projection
What you may see on the chart:
Projection: Transverse Mercator.
This is the most widely accepted way of transferring
spherical, three-dimensional data to the flat
surface of printed charts.
Transverse Mercator is a 20th century adaptation of
the original Mercator projection, developed by
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer working
in the 16th century.
Response to last week's newsletter
Mike Kingdom-Hockings made two comments:
Annie, you're not the only person to have run
over the dinghy when picking up a mooring
- and nor am I.
and:
I reckon Ted Turner would have included himself
in the crew count. Great character. Not many people
would enter a 12 metre in the Fastnet, but he did
once.
The mind boggles! These days those competing for the
America's Cup want to race on flat seas in little wind.
Micronesian navigator dies
Scuttlebutt alerted us to an article published in
the New York Times about the death of Mau Piailug,
a palu (master navigator) who, in 1976, used
traditional wayfinding methods to sail from Hawaii
to Tahiti and back in a doubled-hulled canoe, the
Hokule‘a – a 6,000 mile voyage.
In their own words: Mau Piailug
In my library, we found The Last Navigator: a young
man, an ancient mariner, the secrets of the sea
by Steve Thomas. The ancient mariner is, of course,
Mau Piailug and these are his own words:
"At sea, the palu is the chief, the father, the elder.
To be a palu you must have three qualities: pwerra,
maumau and reipy (fierceness, strength and wisdom) ...
"If you are fierce, you are a palu. If you are not
fierce you are not a palu: you will be afraid of the
sea, of storms, of reefs; afraid of whales, sharks;
afraid of losing your way – you are not a navigator.
"With fierceness you will not die, for you will face
all danger. Maumau is almost the same. It means
'strength directed by thought'; strength in your meat.
"The knowledge of navigation brings all three: fierceness,
strength and wisdom. Fierceness, strength and wisdom.
Steve, that is a palu: a palu is a man."
Steve's book is available on Amazon.
These days Steve is the host of Renovation Nation.
Plastiki's voyage from San Francisco to
Sydney draws to an end this weekend.
Arriving at a marina pen or picking up a
mooring takes practice and communication
between all on board.
Learn some basic terms covering the motion
of a boat – from illustrations.
Is Ted Turner's estimation of crew and
mistakes right?
Plastic boat due in Sydney
All being well, weatherwise etc., Plastiki should
arrive in Sydney this weekend, 24-25 July.
Earlier this week her skipper, Jo Royle, described
the boat being hit by a SSEasterly front that came
in with 62 knot gusts. The forecast had predicted
the front would be well to the south.
It was all hands on deck (in their life jackets)
to get the headsail down and three reefs in the
main. http://www.theplastiki.com/2010/07/heavy-winds/
We look forward to welcoming boat and crew to our
wonderful harbour.
Arriving too fast
After you've learned how your boat turns under motor -
http://www.theboatingbible.com/NewsletterArchive2010.htm#Pivot
- you need to gain confidence in maintaining steerage
(for obvious reasons) but also being able to stop.
Many, many years ago the skipper of a boat berthed on the
opposite side of a jetty from me came in so fast that his
bow drove under the jetty and into my boat!
You may ask why he didn't simply engage reverse gear.
He tried but it didn't work. At that point, he had
no Plan B. Fortunately no crew attempted to slow the
boat as they may have been crushed.
The simplest Plan B is to reduce speed early in your
approach. It's not a matter of being scared - it's just
prudent.
Our next story deals with arriving at a mooring
too fast while under sail.
When Annie ran over our dinghy!
Some years ago Annie raced our Thunderbird
(26ft plywood yacht) in our yacht club's Friday
twilight series. She had a regular crew of two,
both competent sailors.
After a quick race in a good breeze, she returned
to the mooring. Her bow crew took her usual place,
first dropping the headsail then holding the boat
hook, ready to pick up the mooring. Her other crew
was ready to drop the main as soon as the mooring
buoy was safely around the post on the foredeck.
Annie's approach to the mooring was faster than
usual, perhaps there was a gust. Normally, the
foredeckie would have pushed the dinghy aside
while leaning over the pulpit to pick up the
mooring line. This time she didn’t.
There was no time to go for Plan B, i.e. bear
away and go round again.
There was a horrible scraping noise as the
yacht ran over the dinghy and mooring line.
But the important thing was that the boat had
caught the mooring and come to a halt.
With the help of the boathook, Annie was able
to retrieve the mooring line from around the
tiller and hook up to a sheet winch. Only when
the sails had been stowed and the boat fully
settled down did she attempt to walk the mooring
from the stern to its home on the foredeck.
So, what went wrong? The problem was lack of
communication!
The telescopic boathook had been broken on a cruise
and I had failed to mention it to Annie, neither had
her crew mentioned its shortness when bringing it on
deck to catch the mooring. She hadn't noticed it,
assuming all to be as usual.
Interestingly, no one came up to us that evening to
chide her for her unseamanlike arrival. Everyone had
been focusing on their own situations or were too far
away to see!
But the dinghy was never quite the same afterwards.
Some nautical terms and their meanings
The other day we found a delightful blog post about
the following six nautical terms relating to a boat's
motion, namely: heaving, swaying, surging, pitching,
yawing and rolling.
We think you'll enjoy the sketches illustrating the
terms. You can view them at six degrees of freedom
and the drunken sailor. We particuarly liked their
depiction of movement, both of the vessels and the
sailor!
In their own words: Ted Turner
Ted Turner, media magnate and founder of CNN, is
well-known in sailing circles. He successfully defended
the America's Cup in 1977 as skipper of Courageous and
skippered Tenacious to win the 1979 Fastnet race on
handicap.
The chance for mistakes is about equal
to the number of crew squared.
One wonders whether he included the skipper when
he referred to "crew"?
Drowning doesn't look like drowning!
Some years ago we were beaten into second place
in a winter series by a yacht named Not Drowning,
Waving. It was probably named after the Aussie
band in the 1980s and 90s. Now we've learned that
it's true: people who are drowning don't wave.
Annie found a compelling report on the gCaptain
blog dispelling the myth that people splash around,
wave their arms and cry out for help when they are
drowning. That's what TV and movies lead us to believe.
Read and share the article, Drowning Doesn’t Look Like
Drowning, with your family and friends.
Of course, when out sailing, if you wear your PFD you
will keep yourself afloat, should you go overboard.
Well cared for lines last longer
When did you last take your lines – headsail lines,
mainsheet, halyards – off the boat to wash and dry them
thoroughly? If you sail all year round, it's worth doing
this twice a year. If you only sail during the summer
months, you should do this at the end of the season when
winterising your yacht.
Washing will remove any build-up of salt and sand that
will, over time, damage the fibres of the lines. In the
case of oil and grease getting on any of your lines, you
should remove it as soon as possible, not wait for your
six monthly wash day.
Place the lines in separate pillow cases or mesh bags
and use a mild detergent in your washing machine. The
lines need to be in bags to prevent kinking, which
would damage them. Do not tumble them dry. Hang them
out on your washing line and avoid kinks.
When clean, the lines can be checked carefully for
any damage or, perhaps, have their ends refinished.
Keeping your lines clean and dry will make your lines
last longer and keep your maintenance costs down.
Sailing in the desert
Right now, in Central Australia, the Lake Eyre Yacht
Club is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a sailing
regatta. To those not in the know, that may sound
obvious but last year, for instance, no sailing took
place all year as there was insufficient water.
While Lake Eyre still has insufficient water to host
the racing it's being held on Lake Killamperpunna, a
lake on Cooper Creek, with access via the Birdsville
Track about 650 km north of Adelaide. Owners and crews
of 60 or so boats from all over Australia have gathered
to compete, camp out and celebrate. The regatta
concludes today.
And although the club may not always have water available
for sailing, it does have a clubhouse! As the club's
website says: "It is ideally suited for use as a Yacht
club having a large hall with catering facilities."
But it's 160 km from the regatta venue!
Final words on docking and undocking HMAS Melbourne
This time we heard from Jim O'Connor, who seems to have
been well-placed to know what went on:
I spent 5 years onboard HMAS Melbourne over the years
and yes we did use the Trackers to get alongside or to
get off the wharf from time to time. However I never
heard the comment from aircrew that they were unhappy
to fly the craft after their use to berth the ship.
So perhaps Bill McCabe's comment reflects his own view
as a licensed pilot?
In their own words: Thucydides
Thucydides (c. 460 BC – c. 395 BC) was a Greek historian
and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War:
A collision at sea can ruin your whole day.
He certainly got that right!
Boat Handling Tip 1
Perhaps the best thing any new helmsman can learn about any boat's behaviour is how it turns. Both
under sail and under motor a yacht pivots with the result that if the bow is turning to starboard the
stern will be swinging equally to port.
It is easiest to imagine that the point of turn is somewhere in the middle of the boat, lengthwise.
It is immediately obvious when a skipper does not know this fact, particularly when leaving a jetty
or wharf. The bow swings out and the stern hits the jetty.
This characteristic of boats also comes into play when boats are going alongside each other or
departing from alongside. It is necessary to move forward in an almost straight line, or to have a
crew member hold a fender over the stern of the boat that's leaving so that when the stern
inevitably kicks in towards the other boat damage will be avoided.
Quick stop innovator dies
John Bonds, a former Executive Director of U.S. Sailing, died in his sleep on his yacht,
Alliance, at Newport Rhode Island on June 8. John was well-known as a safety innovator,
having joined the Safety at Sea committee in 1981.
He immediately began testing ways of rescuing people from the water. After conducting some
600 tests on the water with midshipmen and a range of equipment, he concluded that the
best manoeuvre was the Quick Stop. But it was some years before the Quick Stop
method gained acceptance around the world over the traditional broad reach method.
John then tested life jackets and found that the then recently available inflatable life
jacket was the best option. Again, this went against tradition and took years to be adopted.
How many lives have been saved by this man's determination?
Information on paper charts: Part 5
Navigational marks What you may see on the chart: Navigational marks: IALA Maritime Buoyage System -
Region A (Red to port). OK, so it says 'Red to port', but the novice may be confused by what this means.
The conventional direction of buoyage is from the sea, towards the port or waterway.
So, 'Red to port' in IALA Region A means that you should keep the red lateral marks to port as you
enter a harbour. Charts may also show a symbol that defines the direction of buoyage visually for you.
In their own words: Sir Francis Drake
Well-known sea captain of the Elizabethan age, Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral of the English
fleet that fought the Spanish Armada:
It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me.
But life at sea is better.
I guess it helps when life at sea means that
you are in command of your world!
The mystery of the start line
Where you start on the line may determine your overall result in a race, but how do you decide?
In almost all cases the race will start with a windward leg so as a rule it's safest to start
on starboard tack.
Port tack boats run the risk of being forced to tack or drop below their starboard opponents.
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. You may find that one end of the line is favoured,
giving a slightly freer course to the first mark. If it happens to require a port tack start, then
that's ok because you will have greater boat speed.
You will, however, need to keep a close eye on the boats crossing you on starboard.
Being the only boat starting from one end of the line could mean two things. Either you are taking
a flyer or the rest of your competitors have misjudged conditions. In each case you will at
least have clear wind.
Your choice may also be determined by the tide or, as has been the case in Sydney harbour recently,
the effect of tide plus the outflow of storm water from days of rain and storms. The combined effect
can severely hamper boat speed and push you sideways when you're forced to cross the flow.
When you've made your decision, do some timed runs to the line so that you know how far to sail away
before bringing your boat onto the wind and trimming so that you cross the line at full speed just as
the starting signal is made.
Two approaches to landfall
Jessica Watson and Dilip Donde are both to be applauded as successful solo circumnavigators.
But both faced difficulties in timing their arrivals to suit formal welcome parties in
Sydney and Mumbai.
In Jessica's case, she was criticised by some for slowing the boat down to arrive through
Sydney Heads at 11.00 am on Saturday 15 May. As it turned out and despite the planning, she
had to put Ella's Pink Lady hard on the wind and make several tacks as she sailed for the
finishing line, finally arriving about 2.5 hours after the advertised time.
Dilip Donde took a different approach, as he describes in his blog:
The uncertainty of the ETA proving once again that "Sail Boats do not have ETAs, they have
destinations and that they go towards a destination and not to a destination".
He completed his circumnavigation at 12.30 am on 19 May, berthed in the naval dockyard and
then, on 22 May, quietly left at dawn to re-enter for the formal celebrations. From
what we've seen on the wires, his 'first arrival' was kept under wraps.
Information on paper charts: Part 4, Positions
Now that we’ve looked at depths and heights, we need to understand horizontal datum, correctly
termed geodetic datum. Nautical charts may be divided into three groups, based on their geodetic
datum. Here's an extract from an actual chart in the largest, most modern, group – WGS84:
Positions are related to the World Geodetic System
1984 Datum; (see SATELLITE DERIVED POSITIONS Note).
SATELLITE DERIVED POSITIONS
Positions obtained from the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the WGS 1984
Datum can be plotted directly onto this chart.
What does this mean? Here the navigator is fortunate and does not have to apply any
corrections when plotting GPS positions onto the chart. Most metric charts have been
produced on or converted to WGS 1984 datum.
Note: North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)
is NOAA's standard geodetic and it is equivalent to the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84).
In your chart library, however, you may find a number of older charts, both metric and
imperial.
Some of the more common are designated:
Ordnance Survey of Great Britain 1936 (OSGB36)
Australian Geodetic Datum 1966 (AGD66)
North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27)
However, there are many more varieties of old chart using different geodetic datums so that
if you have some of which you are uncertain we would strongly advise you to contact your
local hydrographic service to find out what corrections, if any, you need to apply.
In the third group you will find a number of charts where no geodetic datum is given. The
Australian Maritime Safety Authority gives the following warning for navigators:
"When using these older charts it is important that positions are determined only by reference
to charted features; this means employing traditional terrestrial navigation techniques
such as the measuring of bearings and/or radar ranges to charted features."
To date the greatest discrepancy found and reported to UK Hydrographic Office in 2009 is
seven miles, in the Pacific Ocean. There could be quite a number of reefs in that distance.
In their own words: Benjamin Franklin
Whether you're a racer or a cruiser, sailing around the harbour or the world, these words
from Benjamin Franklin hold true:
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
If your boat has all the statutory safety equipment aboard, it's like having an insurance policy. It
will be there when you need it.
Mhadei almost home
After leaving Cape Town in early April, Dilip
Donde, the Indian naval commander on the final
leg of his circumnavigation aboard Mhadei, has
just 100 nm to go to reach Mumbai, where his
voyage started last year.
While Jessica Watson had eaten all her favourite
meals a few days before she arrived in Sydney,
Dilip, referring to himself in the third person as
'the chef', had other food challenges:
The chef suffered a bit of a setback today with
the discovery or rather non discovery of any butane
gas in the gas cylinder. That definitely is the end
of any cooking on board and the chef will need to be
at his creative best to make unheated canned food
taste palatable till we reach home 1200 Nm away!
Nevertheless, his menu is bound to have been a
great deal better than that on the Talisker Bounty
Boat ...
In the wake of Bligh
Serial adventurer, Don McIntyre, recently left
Tonga to follow Bligh's voyage to Kupang – the
voyage following the mutiny on the Bounty. With
three fellow crewmen, Don intended to use only
navigation tools that would have been available
in Bligh's time.
For safety reasons, however, the Talisker Bounty
Boat was fitted with navigation lights and torches,
GPS and other modern day equipment packed on board.
Don regularly comments in awe of Bligh's achievements,
e.g. after nearly hitting a reef and breaking out the
GPS and plotter to ensure safe navigation away from
danger.
The crew have also used torches several times to
check their surroundings.
They've been living on short rations:
one/two biscuits in the morning, ditto at night
plus one tin of corned meat between them.
Water is restricted to 1 litre per day.
They've collected limes and coconuts to supplement
their diet. The other day they caught a fish which
gave a lift to everyone's spirits. They even managed
to preserve some fish by drying it.
I bet all are dreaming of their first meal ashore!
Information on paper charts:
In my chart library, I have a chart that shows the
south coast of mainland Australia (from Cape Leeuwin
to Port Phillip) and the north west coast of Tasmania.
That's a distance of 1,800 nautical miles – it's a
small-scale chart. I also have a chart of my home port, Port Jackson
(Sydney) which is a large-scale chart. Below the
title of the former, it gives the scale as
1:3,500,000. For the latter, the scale is 1:20,000.
As you can see, that's a very big difference.
So, a chart that covers a relatively large area
is called a small-scale chart, while one covering
a relatively small area is known as a large-scale
chart.
For the navigator, this means that you can use
small-scale charts for long distance voyages and
when passage planning. However when you are
approaching land or entering a port you need
larger-scale charts.
In fact, as Sydney Harbour is a large area of
water and a busy marine port there are several
charts dedicated to it.
Chartlets have been prepared by the Hydrography
office covering other ports on the NSW coastline.
They're called chartlets because several ports
can be portrayed on a single full-size chart.
In their own words: Jessica Watson
On her safe arrival back in Sydney, Jessica said:
I don't have to worry about the weather any more.
We're sure that it won’t be too long before she
does start watching the weather again.
Jessica's choices limited
The news that Jessica Watson was getting big seas and
swells west of Tasmania as she neared the last leg of
her journey around the world was further evidence of
something I've always believed. The closer you come
to your destination at the end of a long voyage the
more restricted your choice of courses becomes.
While Jessica has been out in the wide ocean stretches
she has been able to avoid much severe weather, on the
advice of her NZ weather router, but now she is nearing
home she cannot so easily avoid nasty weather, or is
more affected by unfavourable winds.
I do not for a minute suggest that she hasn't handled
a fair amount of nasty stuff very well (the Atlantic
gale for instance), it's just that any diminution of
the conditions could only have come if she had gone
further south (perhaps) and therefore further from
her target.
Now she has turned the corner and is heading north she
has the bulk of Australia to the west as a no go zone.
Let's hope she gets nice firm south-westerlies, stays
in the flatter water comparatively close to shore,
and has a quick and safe ride home.
Around the world in a 21 footer
Always on the lookout for adventurous sailors, we found
another circumnavigator who really is doing it the hard
way. The 39 year old Alessandro di Benedetto set out from Les
Sables d'Olonne, France on 26 October 2009. He aims to
complete the non-stop, unassisted voyage in the smallest
yacht ever. At just 21 ft Findomestic Banca is, to my
mind, more suited to harbour or other closed waters
sailing but Alessandro is showing us otherwise.
But it hasn't all be smooth sailing. As he approached
Cape Horn, his yacht was dismasted. (A photo on his
website reveals that it was, I believe, grossly
overmasted.)
His land-based support team expected that this would
mean the end of his attempt. But no, Alessandro built
a 20 ft jury rig and continued. He rounded the Horn,
which he celebrated with champagne and 'foie gras',
and is currently off the coast of Uruguay, heading
for the Equator.
Plea to keep plastic out of the ocean
We can't do anything to stop the spread of oil from
the collapsed rig in the Gulf of Mexico. But there
are some ecological disasters that we can, as
individuals, avoid.
Look at the photo of a turtle on our website. It
should convince you that plastics should be kept
out of the ocean.
So next time you and your crew finish a six-pack, make
sure you cut the rings so that marine life cannot get
caught and tortured for life.
More on the Beaufort scale
From Mike Kingdom-Hockings, newfreebooters.com
Here's a question:
If we abandoned the Beaufort Scale, what wind velocities
would you suggest as thresholds for various sea area
forecast warning levels? And should they, in fact be
coupled with sea state?
(I say this because I was once caught out in a 16ft
racing dinghy, along with 300 other dinghies of various
classes, in a wind that hit Force 11. Since it blew
onshore and came up from nothing, the sea was flat and
nobody was seriously hurt. Thanks to quick thinking by
my skipper, we got the sails off and well tied down
before planing two miles home under bare poles - the
only boat not to capsize.)
To which I reply:
Nothing need change. What's wrong with a forecast saying
"gale force winds of 35 knots"? Sea state can be given
although usually now that is separate.
In any case, Beaufort's sea state is as rough as Beaufort's
wind. His generality will always be modified by local
conditions, i.e. wind against tide, tide with wind, close
to windward shore flat seas, etc. This is a matter of
observation.
Incidentally, since the 1998 Hobart our local forecasts
always say, winds gusts may increase average by 40 per cent.
Mike also commented on the Turkish gulet:
Daina is certainly a beautiful, real yacht. Most of these
boats are available for charter - at a weekly cost of the
same order as what most of us earn in a year...
My response:
Ah, isn't that right!
In their own words: Seneca the Younger
Born in Spain in 3 or 4 BC, Seneca was educated in Rome
and became a noted orator, philosopher and tragedian.
He was appointed tutor to 10 year old Nero, a position
of great influence. But in 65 AD was accused of conspiracy
against him and sentenced to death but committed suicide.
If one does not know to which port one is sailing,
no wind is favourable.
In Jessica's case, she knows exactly where she wants to
sail. We wish her favourable winds to see her home.
Let's sink the Beaufort scale
Isn't it about time we stopped using the Beaufort
scale? In its day - about 150 years ago - it was
the first and a very successful attempt to create
a common rough guide, understood by most seafarers,
as to wind strength and the associated sea state.
But that's all it ever has been, a rough guide.
If you put three people together in a room who have
just spent some time in the same conditions at sea
it is doubtful that any two will agree on what wind
strength, or measure on the Beaufort scale, they
were in.
Think about this. If one of those three had never
been in winds of Force 5 before, then Force 7 will
seem like Force 9 to them. If one of the others had
often sailed in Force 9, he or she will probably
recognise it easily. But then what of the third?
The other two were familiar with Force 9, but were
they talking about its lower limits or its upper
limits. Remember, a Force 9 on the scale is listed
as winds between 41 and 47 knots - a gap of 6 knots,
or 11 kph or just under 7 mph.
Okay. So that indicates a very basic difficulty in
communication using the scale but why use it anyway?
There are perfectly good modern instruments using
anemometers which will record the wind speed to a
very fine degree. They can display in the cockpit
and there can be a repeater below for the navigator.
If you have a depth sounder why would you use a
leadline? Why would you use DR if you have a GPS
system? So why would you use the scale if you can
have a perfectly good instrument instead?
The only use I can see for the Beaufort scale is
if an accurate instrument broke down, in the same
way that you would have to use a leadline if the
depth sounder broke down, and DR if the GPS failed.
If anybody wants to make a case for the Beaufort
scale I'd be very pleased to hear from them.
Navigation White Paper available
The newly formed Alliance for Safe Navigation has
released a white paper by Ken Cirillo of Jeppesen
(producer of C-Map) on the importance of updating
your charts – both electronic and paper:
http://www.allianceforsafenavigation.org/assets/files/UpdatingWhitePaper_2010.pdf
It poses the following scenario:
There could be serious consequences from sailing
with outdated charts. "An act of omission is an
act of commission," Cirillo explained. What if
you have a chart plotter on your vessel and you're
using out of date charts? Say you run aground on
a reef that is marked on a new edition. You could
have your insurance claim denied because the updated
data was available and you weren't using it.
Is it worth taking the risk and endangering both
your crew and your yacht?
My dream boat
When cruising in the Greek islands some years ago,
I was deeply envious of the Turkish gulets. They
seemed the perfect vessel for the region and since
then I've often talked about chartering one, if I
were ever to make a return visit.
Just this week Annie found a picture and story about
a superyacht named Daima that has been built in Turkey
combining modern technology with traditional design
and creating a very beautiful boat.
She's 42.5m long, with an 8.5m beam and 3.5m draft,
allowing luxurious accommodation for 10 guests and
cabins for a crew of seven.
Now all I have to do is find someone to pay the bills.
I'm sure I'll have no problem getting guests.
Abby Sunderland heads for Cape Town
American teenager, Abby Sunderland has been forced to
visit Cape Town for repairs. Both her main autopilot
and her back up system have failed, putting an end to
her non-stop, unassisted attempt. There's not much
anyone could do about that at sea.
At this stage, after repairs have been completed,
Abby plans to continue her voyage around the world.
Good on her!
In their own words: Lin and Larry Pardey
The Pardeys have made two circumnavigations on two
yachts they built themselves - neither of which had
engines. They have sailed nearly 200,000 nm together.
If you can't repair it, maybe it shouldn't be on board.
Passage planning using the Wiley Nautical Almanac
For those who need an almanac for the Channel
– the south and east coast of England from Lowestoft
to Padstow and for the continental coast from
Vlissingen in the Netherlands to L'Aber-Wrac'h in
France – the Wiley Nautical Almanac is available
for free download.
This Almanac provides detailed information on
150 ports, including aerial photographs, chartlets
and pilotage instructions.
It also has weather forecasts, tide predictions
and a searchable database of facilities available
in each port.
Plastiki update
We're quite impressed with the progress made by
Plastiki on her voyage across the Pacific. So far
she has travelled 2,964 nm at an average speed of
5.2 knots. This puts her NNE of Line Islands,
the first of her planned ports of call.
With her twin hulls and sail plan, she is unable
to tack and is very much a downwind vessel. She
has no deep keel or centreboard so there are times
when she is pushed sideways.
As you may be aware, the hull is made from used
PET bottles, but the sails also are made from
recycled PET material:
http://www.theplastiki.com/trackplastiki/
And when the crew need to exercise, the can keep
fit by pedalling specially fitted bicycles to
generate power and supplement the solar panels,
wind and trailing sea turbines!
Clipper Round the World
It's amazing how quickly the Clipper organisers
were able to replace Chris Stanmore-Major as
skipper of Qingdao. Chris has been caught in UK
by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, therefore
unable to fly back to the yacht.
Hannah Jenner has been called from her post,
overseeing the work readying Cork to rejoin the
race in Antigua. It's a bit like musical chairs!
Even more remarkable was the speed with which
Team Finland was prepared for Race 8. Arriving
in San Francisco just before dawn on Monday
after 34 days at sea, she was fully cleaned,
maintained and provisioned and took her place
on the start line at 6.00 pm Tuesday.
Follow the race at:
http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com
In their own words: John Rousmaniere
This week we've found a quotation from
author/sailor, John Rousmaniere:
"The goal is not to sail the boat,
but rather to help the boat sail herself."
The report
into the loss of two lives and 80 ft yacht during
an overnight race drew several comments,
including from Mike Kingdom-Hockings who wrote
"Some serious jolts back to reality here."
The reality is that when sailing offshore or
anywhere at night, extra caution should be used.
The following story shows a wise skipper who
chose not to rely solely on a GPS.
Satellites cause GPS errors - A reader's story
After reading last week's newsletter, one of our
subscribers, Nick Dyer, contacted us about his
experience delivering a Beneteau 40.7 with two
others from Robe, South Australia to Launceston,
Tasmania, last August.
In his own words:
"I have a Garmin 400c. I lost satellites
(for two hours, according to GPS log) south of
King Island (Three Hummock). Good job I had
charts. It was blowing 45 knots and miserable."
He continued with another warning about using
this GPS:
"Another trap with the Garmin - make sure you
calibrate (re-calibrate) the Compass (in the GPS)
each time you go out. I must admit, I've been
very, very impressed with the Garmin 400c, it
has served me very well, although also good to
have a hand bearing compass, charts and a 'deck
log' being updated every hour, on the hour."
Nick added that the Garmin 400c can display
its accuracy in metres, i.e. the more satellites
acquired, the more accurate the device. He said
that he's found that the Garmin accuracy is
consistently is between two and five metres.
He also gave the Raymarine Autopilot he was
using a good report:
"Another revelation to me was how well the
Raymarine Auto did in fairy heavy seas. It
steered better than I could, which is a bit
scary. (Ha!)"
Nick gets my vote for having 'steam' navigation
gear on board, including the relevant charts.
A good rule of thumb is to have the charts for
wherever you are going and also wherever you
may end up, i.e. where the weather takes you.
He also maintained an hourly deck log, meaning
that at any time the recorded position of the
yacht was only one hour old and a proper
departure could be calculated for the DR
(dead reckoning) to safety.
I, too, use a Garmin 400 but I also carry a
backup – a huge, clunky old Magellan which
invariably raises a laugh when first seen.
I soon wipe the smiles when I defy the smirkers
to tell me why they think I would carry such
an antique relic. Only a few managed to think
of the answer. Not only is it waterproof,
it floats!
Blue Water Medal awarded to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
Last week Sir Robin was presented by the commodore
of the Cruising Club of America with "its prestigious
Blue Water Medal, without date, for a lifetime devoted
to the advancement of sailing, sail training and youth
development and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary
of his single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the
world."
The significance of 'without date' is that in the
85 years that the Blue Water Medal has been awarded,
only seven have been awarded without date.
At 70, Sir Robin remains the driving force behind the
Clipper Round the World 2009-2010 race. He was inducted
into the ISAF Hall of Fame in 2008.
Mhadei in Cape Town
Dilip Donde, the intrepid Indian Naval Commander,
circumnavigating Earth, is in Cape Town, remarking on
his blog that his yacht Mhadei was "the center of
attraction of a rather loud group of admirers".
You'll see what we mean if you click through to
his blog:
http://sagarparikrama.blogspot.com/2010/02/reached-cape-town.html
When he leaves Cape Town, Dilip will be on the
final leg of his voyage - home to Mumbai. His first
challenge will be to navigate the Agulhas Current.
Last year, on a shakedown for this trip, he sailed
from India to Mauritius and back, so he does have
some experience of the Indian Ocean.
When he reaches Mumbai, he will become the first
Indian to complete a single-handed circumnavigation.
The Bible on the ARC
Last week we talked about the 25th ARC, this week we are pleased to let you know that one of our subscribers, Rui Soares, from Lisbon, Portugal, is participating in the ARC World Rally.
He emailed to say that he is currently in the Galapagos Islands, leaving soon for the Marquesas. He also confirmed that he has aboard his six disks of The Boating Bible Manual of Seamanship as well as many other references to prepare him and his crew for anything they may face.
We can't promise that we can get later reports on his intrepid voyage – but if we can, we will pass them on to you. Fair winds, Rui.
Which reminds me, some years ago I donated a copy of my book, The Boating Bible (on which the Manual of Seamanship is based) to the ship's library aboard the Young Endeavour, Australia's Bicentenary gift from the UK. Then as now, she operates as a youth sail training ship.
Groupama 3 and the Jules Verne Trophy
Although not big fans of multihulls, we've been following the progress of Groupama 3, a 105 ft trimaran skippered by Frenchman Franck Cammas, in its attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy – awarded for the fastest round the world voyage.
At the moment, they're 60 nm ahead of Orange 2, the current record holder.
To give you an idea of the speed Groupama 3 is travelling at, it took just under seven days to sail from Cape Agulhas (near the Cape of Good Hope) to Cape Leeuwin (Western Australia). That's a distance of around 4,000 miles.
On her biggest day so far, she covered 751 nm. To make a comparison, we consider a 200 nm day a great achievement in the sorts of yacht we generally sail.
Fred Le Peutrec, one of the nine crew aboard reported yesterday:
"Happiness is a funny thing! Not only are we getting used to these average speeds in excess of thirty knots, our enthusiasm is waning...
“We've noticed on board that when you're sailing at 28 knots, it feels like you've come to a standstill! At times you have to get it into your head that you're sailing at 33-35 knots, or even forty...
“We've got our bearings now since we've been sailing on the same tack for the past five days: we're organising ourselves to eat, sleep and keep up the maintenance on the boat.
“We're going to have one manoeuvre to perform during the course of tomorrow, Wednesday. A gybe will be required to reposition ourselves given that the low off New Zealand has filled in. At that point we'll hook on to a fluctuating W'ly breeze."
It's almost impossible to imagine travelling at such speed for days at a time. And staying on one tack for so long.
An offer I did refuse
Talking about Groupama 3 reminded me of an 'almost' voyage I was offered a few years ago. A mature-aged student at Flying Fish class asked me if I would accompany him as navigator of his boat from Cape Town to Florida, USA.
I would be paid and "would have a cabin of my own". This last made me think of the sort of boat that had enough space to have one person in a cabin was either going to be bigger than anything I had complete knowledge of, or a multihull.
It turned out to be the latter so I politely refused what would have otherwise been an interesting voyage.
I refused because I do not believe multihulls can handle really extreme weather as well as monohulls.
Avoiding bad weather by picking the weather patterns
So I pondered the Groupama 3 situation and came up with the following theory. I believe the reason a voyage at such speeds can work is twofold – one is the speed itself. The other is the modern ability to pinpoint dangerous weather and communicate its position to a boat's navigator.
At the speed of travel the multihull can outrun or avoid a storm with ease.
There is a lesson here for mere mortals in monohulls who travel at much lower speeds. They may get the information about a storm but they won't have the ability to evade it.
This highlights one of the recurring pieces of advice I give to student yachties – you MUST learn to watch the weather all the time because it is only by knowing well in advance that bad weather is coming, and where from, that you have a chance of avoiding it.
Most times, people who watch the weather every day, looking at the sky, will have up to 48 hours knowledge of a looming storm. In The Boating Bible Manual of Seamanship's CD on weather I tell you how YOU can do it.
Last of the America's Cup
After several days of not enough wind, the America's
Cup has finally been competed for and won. And it did
give Australia a place on the podium!
And, from little wind to more than enough… Alex
Whitworth warns about his experience of the accuracy
of grib files.
With the Winter Olympics in full swing, it's a good
opportunity to find out a bit about George Vancouver,
the man behind the eponymous city and island.
You know of the ARC as a vessel built by Noah and
his sons to save pairs of animals and birds from the
flood, perhaps during an earlier period of global
warming. But read on to learn about this great
annual event for cruising sailors.
James Spithill wins the America's Cup
While we didn't follow the legal battles around the
America's Cup, we were glad when the boats were finally
able to compete on the water. Although neither vessel
appeals – their inability to handle any wave height,
let alone a good blow – the winner was helmed by
Australian, James Spithill.
Apparently, at the age of only nine, James stated
that one day he was going to win the America's Cup.
Now that he's achieved that, we wonder what his next
life goal will be!
Grib files - just another weather forecast tool
These days every long distance racer and most blue
water cruisers download grib files regularly. But
many of us may not know what grib is. It stands for
GRIdded Binary, i.e. computer-generated forecast
files that provide sea surface pressure and wind speed
information.
Alex Whitworth, skipper of Berrimilla who is returning
to Australia from Falmouth via Lisbon, Cape Town and
the Kerguelen Islands, commented recently on his blog
that:
... the Grib files always underestimate the maximum
wind in any low pressure system - if you double the
grib forecast you are in the ballpark.
Skippers in the Clipper Round the World race 2009-10
have echoed this observation.
With all the weather modelling that is available
worldwide we’d like to see more accurate forecasts
but we wonder if this will ever become a reality.
Vancouver
George Vancouver entered the Navy at 13 and a year
later went to sea under Cook on his second (1772-1775)
and third (1776-1780) voyages. Then, after nine years'
service in the Caribbean, he was given command of an
expedition (1791-1795) to chart the Pacific coast of
North America, from near San Francisco northward, from
30 to 60 degrees north.
Most of his detailed chart work was carried out in
small open boats launched from Discovery and Chatham,
the ships under his command. Part of this exploration
included establishing that Vancouver Island was separate
from the mainland by passing through Queen Charlotte Sound.
Vancouver's experience under Cook's leadership made him an
excellent hydrographer, as is recorded by the Dictionary
of Canadian Biography Online:
The survey had been carried out with remarkable accuracy.
Vancouver's latitudes vary little from modern values; the
more difficult calculations for longitude show an error
that varies from about one-third to one degree.
Vancouver was even more unlucky than Matthew Flinders,
who died shortly after publication of his Voyage to
Terra Australis. Vancouver died in 1798, just three years after returning
from his great voyage, leaving his brother, John, to
complete the revision of his journals and publish the
Voyage Of Discovery To The North Pacific Ocean, And
Round The World In The Years 1791-95 posthumously.
The ARC turns 25
We've read that 150 entries have already been received
for the 25th ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). As there's
a limit of 215 yachts - the number that can be accommodated
in the marina at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)
where the cruise starts – anyone wanting to join in needs
to apply soon!
For those of you who don’t know the ARC, each year the
rally supports many first-timers across the Atlantic,
ending at Rodney Bay marina in St Lucia.
And it's not just the back-up provided by cruising in
company but also the opportunity to participate in
associated seminars and courses to develop your sailing
and passage planning skills before setting out.
In the last few weeks, we've been watching some extreme weather around the world. There was a
fantastic satellite picture of England totally covered in snow and ice. Then the whole of Europe
was frozen, with days of subzero temperatures. In Australia, we've had our share of extreme heat,
torrential rains and strong winds. The rain in Sydney has come down in short, sharp falls causing
gutters to overflow and roads to be inundated. One southerly that came through was particularly gusty,
picking up litter and hurling it around.
Which made us wonder…
When did you last check your boat?
If you're a racing sailor who races all year round, you don't need to heed this as you already go aboard
regularly. If you're an occasional weekend sailor, you really need to check your boat, particularly after storms.
If you're lucky, other club members may keep an eye on your floating investment but you shouldn't rely on that.
Debris can block drainage holes in the cockpit. Lines can come uncoiled and cause the same problem. Sail covers
that haven't been tied down securely will flap and, in a really strong blow, the eyelets may be pulled out and the
cover come free. As your boat yaws on its mooring, or when traffic passes too fast and creates a big wake, rocking your boat violently, little bits of rubbish – paper, cardboard, grunge, etc. – may roll into the bilge and block your automatic bilge pump. No one likes to think that water can get down below in their yacht but rain falling heavily can find ways to do so. If the yawing is severe enough, or goes on long enough, it will cause erratic shocks to the mooring system. Make sure you check that out, even if you have to employ a diver.
An example of good seamanship
We caught up, belatedly, with a story about this year's King of the Derwent, a yacht race held in Hobart on the
2nd January each year, where competitors from the Sydney-Hobart, Melbourne-Hobart and Launceston-Hobart races race against local yachts. It's held after lots of racing crew members have flown home to the mainland, leaving yachts short-handed or gathering their delivery crews and taking on local sailors who are keen to experience sailing on ocean-racing yachts. Sean Langman had entered his yacht Limit but was concerned about the level of his crew’s experience in handling a 100 ft yacht. But as he still wanted to take part, so he called for the No. 4 jib and storm trysail to be rigged. This meant that the boat would be easy to tack and wouldn't get overpowered. In fact, during the race a squall hit the fleet and, although still underpowered, Limit sailed through the fleet and finished one whole leg ahead of the second boat over the line!
CYCA internal inquiry into the Flinders Islet yacht race incident
We've been waiting to read the full report by the committee appointed to review the tragic accident
that happened in October last year when Shockwave was broken up on Flinders Islet and two people died.
A preliminary report was released by the Board of the CYCA in mid-December to allow Sydney-Hobart crews,
in particular, to make any additional preparations based on the recommendations and findings.
Rather than paraphrase them, we thought it best to quote the six recommendations made here:
1. Although it is not yet clearly determined, there is a possibility that GPS error contributed to the
Flinders Islet incident, and in circumstances where there is need to rely upon a chart plotter, it should
not be assumed that the GPS or chart plotter is necessarily accurate to the degree required for safe
navigation.
It is for this reason that manufacturers have a disclaimer on GPS and chart plotters referring to the
variability of the readings from these instruments and to the fact that they should not be solely relied upon
for safe navigation. It is suggested that the position should be verified by other means, including visual
reference, visual bearings, depth sounding or reference to relevant maritime charts.
2. A handheld portable spotlight be carried on board in a readily accessible position, as it has been demonstrated
that the standard floating torch or equivalent does not have sufficient candle power to illuminate objects at a
distance from the yacht, particularly in a search and rescue situation.
3. In the event of complete power failure on the yacht, the yacht's electrical system cannot be relied upon to
provide illumination below decks, and it may be useful to have battery powered emergency lights which are easily
activated.
4. The same end may be achieved by providing each crew member with a small portable torch for use in the event
of complete electrical failure on the yacht or any other emergencies.
5. The Board recommends that owners consider providing a 'mini grab bag' that is easily accessible from the cockpit
of the yacht containing at least a VHF handheld radio, 2 flares and, if possible, an EPIRB.
6. Although it is not a requirement of YA, the Board commends the use of PFDs, particularly at night time and where there is a chance that the sea state and/or conditions on the boat warrant their use.
We have been checking to see if the CYCA Board has released more information from the full report that was to be
delivered by the end of December. We may, however, have to wait until the inquest into the deaths of the skipper Andrew Short and crew member Sally Gordon to learn more about what took place that night.
Radar and the effect of rain clutter and sea clutter
When you first start to use radar to track other vessels it can be very confusing, even in good conditions – light breeze, clear sky and flat sea.
But you really need to be really alert when conditions
deteriorate, which is just when you are most likely to need
your radar. In pouring rain, you should adjust your radar
settings to reduce the effect of rain clutter as far as possible.
Similarly, when seas are choppy, your radar may pick up a lot
of sea clut ter. If you're not careful, you may find it difficult
to distinguish the images of actual vessels from the sea clutter
on the radar screen. Adjust your radar to lessen this effect.
Always remember, though, that radar is just one navigational tool,
and that you must maintain a proper lookout at all times.
And, when appropriate, get on the radio and call up because the
ship you are tracking may be curious and trying to get a look at
you and, therefore, it is following your every move while you are
desperately trying to get away from it!
Around Cape Horn, Sydney-Hobart and London 2012
While we've mentioned Jessica Watson several times and talked
about her solo, unassisted circumnavigation, there's another
sailor who has just rounded Cape Horn. Commander Dilip Donde,
aboard the Indian Navy's yacht, Mhadei. The 56 ft fibreglass
yacht is named after the river in Goa on which she was built
in 2008.
Dilip is the first Indian to attempt a solo circumnavigation.
His preparation for this voyage included a two-handed sail last
May from Goa to Mauritius, followed by a solo return to India.
His circumnavigation includes a number of stops: Fremantle,
Western Australia in October and Lyttleton, New Zealand in December.
His next port of call is S tanley in the Falkland Islands, followed
by Cape Town, before the final leg back to Mumbai. You can watch
his progress via his blog, Indian Navy Solo Circumnavigation.
I have often wondered about the popularity of sailing in India.
I'm sure Dilip's voyage is raising awareness there of sailing as
both recreation and a way of life.
In our 24 Nov 09 Newsletter we wrote about Ajay Rau - an
Indian laser sailor who crewed in the 2009 Sydney-Hobart on
Merit. Merit, an Open 60, finished 19th over the line and
15th overall in PHS.
I'm sure Ajay has plenty of tales to share with fellow members
of the Royal Madras Yacht Club in Chennai. We wish him well in
his preparation for the 2012 London Olympics.
What is happening to yacht racing?
We gave up following the America's Cup many years
ago, not long after Australia II wrested it away
from the New York Yacht Club. In those days, race
results were often decided by the Protest Committee.
Fast forward to 2009 and who knows when the next
America's Cup will be contested. Lawyers seem to have
taken over control of the event, with technicalities
being argued in court.
It's hardly racing!
The Sydney Morning Herald has a report on yesterday's
SOLAS Big Boat Challenge, one of the lead up races to
the Sydney-Hobart. In it Jacquelin Magnay wrote about a
problem aboard Investec Loyal. Apparently its engine
failed and, as that's what works the winches and moves
the canting keel, was unable to tack.
"The engine stopped 12 times during the race, but it
is something we have enough time to fix, it is nothing
insurmountable," skipper Sean Langman said.
Of course, this is not unique to Investec Loyal. A
number of this year's competitors rely on engine power.
What if that happens again on Boxing Day, in the
pre-start manoeuvring? Or in an upwind start, just
as a yacht is nearing the spectator fleet and getting
ready to tack? Or when called to tack to give way to a
yacht on starboard?
This seems to be a basic safety issue and should be a
concern to race officials and competitors alike.
And in any case, it's hardly yacht racing when you have
to sail the whole race with the engine running.
Follow up to how to avoid losing boat speed while tacking
Our item on this topic last week drew the following comment
from one of our Affiliates, Simon Firth. Simon has competed
in more than 25 Sydney-Hobarts, many aboard Mirrabooka,
owned and skippered by John Bennetto.
"We had a saying on the 'Booka' about tacking: "Fast early
and slow late." Mind you, JB never took any notice. If we
got it right we would go into a tack at 7.8k and come out
at 5.9k.
"The real trick is to ease the genoa a little as the helm
is put down. Because of the change in vector caused by the
bow swinging, the apparent wind frees just a little at the
very beginning of the tack and you can maintain boat speed
right up to about 15%.
"Then it's a case of minimising drag as the headsail crosses
the centreline. The 'slow late' bit is to prevent the common
sight of helmsmen throwing away weather gauge because they
have gone too far through the tack.
"Being slow late also gives the trimmers a chance to get it
all in before the pressure comes on. There are very few
boats adequately winched so as to be able to ignore the
last bit.
"How's that for grandmothers and eggs?"
Question about over-masting a yacht
We received an email from one of our subscribers who was
seeking advice about changing the mast of his yacht for a
longer one and increasing the weight of the keel to
counteract it.
Here is my response:
I've given a lot of thought to your question which
actually raises some very interesting alternatives.
Basically my answer to you is that you can't turn a
sow's ear into a silk purse. Unless you have training
that I don't know of you would have to employ a naval
architect to calculate the balance between keel weight
and mast height. Or you might have to know somebody who
has already done what you plan to do.
The first alternative would be expensive and here is
where I've come to a different way you might like to
think. Whatever you do to a very old design will have
two effects.
1. You won't be able to sail in one-design races if
that's what you planned.
2. While you certainly could increase the performance
of your boat by what you plan, it still would not beat
boats of later design against which you would be likely
to race.
What I suggest is that you think about whether you would
be better off selling the boat you have and putting the
money that you would otherwise have paid to an architect
and shipwright, together with the proceeds of the boat,
and with that increased money buy a later and faster boat.
Obviously it's a personal choice. I've only talked about
racing because I presume you wouldn't want to overpower
a cruising boat.
Good luck with whatever you decide. And I'd be interested
to hear your decision.
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How to avoid losing boat speed while tacking
Some racing skippers think it's best to throw the helm over
quickly and then get annoyed when the main trimmer hasn't
repositioned the traveller and the headsail trimmer is still
fighting to bring the headsail around, let alone into trim.
As with most sailing, practice will improve performance but the
first change to make is to get the skipper to tack slowly.
The crew should be aware that a tack will be called for and
expect a cry of "Ready about" from the skipper. The skipper
should wait until the crew acknowledge that they are, indeed,
ready to tack before saying "Lee-ho" and making the turn,
slowly, so that the headsail is not released too early but helps
turn the boat on to the new tack.
Readiness to tack for the headsail means that:
• the lazy sheet has at least one turn around the winch
• the working sheet is uncleated and its tail ready to run freely
• any crew on the rail are ready to move across the boat, out of
the way of the tacking headsail
Readiness to tack for the main means that:
• the main sheet is cleated
• the mainsheet trimmer is ready to move the traveller into
position for the new tack
Take time to practice tacking slowly before the start of your
next race and you should be able to maintain your boat speed
better through the tack.
Watching the weather
With less than a month to go before the start of the Sydney-
Hobart, I've been watching the weather charts as I always do.
It seems to me that the southerly changes are coming through
more rapidly – every two to three days, instead of every six
or seven. Not only that, but the winds before and with each
change seem stronger and gustier than in, dare I say it,
an 'average' year. What this means is that yachts competing in
the Hobart will almost certainly be hit by a strong southerly.
Also different this year is the location and strength of the
Eastern Australia Current. It's much further south than usual.
Every year yachts head out to sea to pick up a few knots'
advantage, but we should expect some breakages when the
southerly set comes up against a southerly change.
So skippers, navigators and tacticians will have to agree on
where to place their yachts to make the best use of the
conditions.
IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea
We were pleased to read that an American couple, Maurice and
Sophie Conti, have received the 2009 IMO Award for Exceptional
Bravery at Sea. They were presented with the Award recently in
recognition of their rescue of three people off Fiji.
They were cruising in Fiji last October when they heard a
distress call late at night, at a time when their radio would
normally have been turned off. After contacting authorities in
both Fiji and New Zealand, the Contis volunteered to go to the
aid of the yacht Timella that had gone aground on a coral reef
two or so hours away.
On arrival at the location, the Contis had to launch their
dinghy which Maurice then navigated to the reef to rescue the
three crew members while Sophie kept their catamaran Ocealys a
safe distance away. When helped aboard, one of the two women
was suffering hypothermia so Sophie gave her special attention to
get her warm and dry.
It's good to see people who are prepared to put themselves at
risk to save the lives of others. Even more so when you learn
that the Contis' had their two young children aboard Ocealys
with them that night.
We congratulate them on their courage, planning, preparation
and performance.
Coincidentally I know the reef Timella hit. It is called
Cakaulekaleka and when I lived in Fiji I went fishing there.
Part of the problem they would have had is that it is tidal
– in other words, it is sometimes below the level of the water.
However it is fantastic fishing!
Christmas Sale
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If you'd prefer, you can buy single CDs for AU$40.50 – 10% off
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* Boat Handling 1 and 2 (not sold separately)
* Navigation and Passage Planning
* Safety and Emergencies
* Skipper and Crew, Knots and The Language of the Sea
* Weathercraft
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Don't rely on electronics
Chart your progress and maintain a log
If you're using a GPS linked to navigation software on your
laptop, it's easy to rely on both to tell you where you are.
It's more seamanlike, however, to keep track of your yacht's
position on a paper chart and maintain a log of its progress.
This is particularly important if there's a storm or other bad
weather approaching. You should get regular marine weather
forecasts while at sea. They will give you the position of the
storm, including wind direction and the speed at which it's
travelling. It's up to you to calculate how long it will take to
reach you.
Before the storm arrives, make sure you have an accurate fix of
your position and plot that position on your chart. You should
also make a log entry showing, at the very minimum, the time,
your heading and boat speed.
But remember, if you're unable to reach sheltered water before
the front arrives, you may need to alter course to suit the
changed conditions.
This manual record-keeping should become second nature to you,
just as shortening sail to prepare your boat for the blow.
It's also good practice if something incapacitates the
navigator, by providing a starting point for whomever tales over.
Debate on whether dinghy sailors make good offshore racing
crew
Once again we thank Mike Kingdom-Hockings for his comments on
dinghy sailors offshore:
Having been through the dinghy racer to offshore crew route, I
can add one small proviso - the habit that needs to be unlearned.
Out of sight of land, dinghy sailors need to remember to steer
a compass course, not try guessing how to get optimum VMG by
following the wind around. The navigator can't do his job unless
he knows where he is!
And, when beating to windward, dinghy sailors need to record
course changes brought about by windshifts, for the same
reason.
This ties in well with 1. above where we recommend that
skippers/navigators chart the yacht's progress and maintain a
log. By recording the boat's course, speed, wind direction and
strength etc. every hour, as well as at any time a major change
occurs, information will be kept that may not be available from
the electronic system.
Managing your power on board
If you want to ensure that you have enough power whenever you
need it, you need to have at least two marine batteries or two
banks of batteries. You'll also need a switch that allows you to
turn both batteries 'Off', switch on battery '1' or battery '2'
or 'Both'.
One battery should be dedicated to starting your engine, the
other used for navigation lights, electronics and 'house power'.
Under no circumstances should you use your engine's battery for
any other purpose.
So, before starting the engine, you will turn the battery switch
to '1'. As soon as the engine is operating and, assuming it's a
diesel, the exhaust has been checked to see that water is being
spat out as part of the engine's water-cooling system, the
batteries should be switched to 'Both'. This will recharge both
batteries at the same time.
But, and this is a big but, you must remember to switch
to 'house power' only when you've turn off the engine. Otherwise
your instruments, lighting, refrigeration, water pump, 12 volt
TV, iPod recharger etc. will draw power from both batteries and
possibly flatten them before you realise what is happening.
Then, when you really need to start the engine again, you may
not have sufficient power to do so.
From Laser racing to the Sydney-Hobart race
As I say in Skipper and Crew, Knots and The Language of the Sea,
I believe that, with a little training, dinghy sailors make
excellent offshore racing crew. In particular, both their
knowledge of the wind – its strength, direction and
fluctuations – and keenness to trim sails to optimise a boat's
performance make them highly thought of.
So I was interested to read about the background of a young
Indian man, Ajay Rau, who plans to compete in his first Sydney-
Hobart yacht race this year. At the same time, he is working
towards becoming the first Indian to qualify for the Laser class
at the 2012 Olympics.
How did he get into keelboats? I don't know the answer, but I'm
sure he'll be a valuable crew member aboard Merit when she heads
south out of Sydney Heads on 26 December.
"Boxing the Compass" from Mr Punch Afloat, 1910
"Assume a fighting attitude, and hit the compass a 'smart
stinger on the dialplate,' as the sporting papers call it. But
before you do so, you had best take care to have your boxing-
gloves on, or you may hurt your fingers."
"Boxing the compass" actually is when you name each of the
32 points of the compass. In other words, North, North by East,
North-North-East, North-East by North, North-East, North-East
by East, East-North-East, East by North, East and so on.
The yachting community is more familiar with the 16 points of
the compass that are used in weather forecasting to designate
wind direction. Namely, North, North-North-East, North-East,
East-North-East, East and so on.
Avoiding collision
The risks some motorists and motorcyclists take when cutting in
front of other traffic, particularly fully laden trucks or buses
full of passengers reminded us of the very similar risk of
collision both at sea and in harbour. The momentum involved
means that trucks and buses take much longer than the average
passenger vehicle to brake to a halt.
Even at a slow speed of four knots, it can take seven or so
minutes and a quarter of a mile to stop a fully loaded 800 foot
tanker. And, what's more, what happens to its steerage when it's
trying to pull up?
And also, on the water there's a large blind spot to be taken
into account. And it's directly ahead of the large vessel, so
that if you get too close, no one on the ship will be able to
see you either directly or on radar. This blind spot can extend
some 200 metres ahead.
Another thing that's often overlooked is the size and effect of
the ship's wind shadow. And then there's the turbulence caused
by its propellers.
All in all, it's wisest to keep well clear of all shipping.
Rescue with a difference
We read recently on Berrimilla's blog about a yacht coming to
the aid of a ship!
After leaving Port Macquarie on its way to Lord Howe Island,
S&S 34 Morning Tide's skipper and crew noticed a ship firing
orange flares. They immediately started the motor, lowered the
sails and headed for the ship. As they approached, they could
see a person in the water.
The crew of the yacht deployed their MOB sling, motored around
him and then managed to get him aboard and wrap him in a
SeaRug.
He had suffered head and back injuries from falling 20 metres
from the ship's deck so, after contacting the water police, the
yacht turned back to Newcastle to put him ashore. A paramedic
was put aboard from a water police boat but decided not to try
to transfer him at sea because of his injuries.
Allan Fenwick, the skipper and owner of Morning Tide, was very
pleased that the lessons he had learned on a Safety and Sea
Survival Course some years earlier meant that the rescue of the
injured crewman went ahead without hesitation. He and his crew
are to be congratulated.
More from Mr Punch Afloat, 1910
"Hugging the Shore.
"When you desire to hug the shore, you first of all must land on it.
Then take some sand and shingle in your arms, and give it a good hug.
In doing this, however, be careful no one sees you, or the result of
the manoeuvre may be a strait-waistcoat*."
*straitjacket
In fact, the phrase 'hugging the shore' really means keeping as close
as is possible to the shore, avoiding the deeper, open water.
An accident that should not have happened
One of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World competitors, Hull
& Humber has been in the news this week for successfully
rescuing a crew member who had fallen overboard in daylight,
25-30 knots of wind and six to eight metre waves. And all credit
to them for their speedy response, the whole recovery taking
just 17 minutes.
But it was an accident that I believe should not have happened.
The 51-year-old crew member was going off watch and moving
towards the companionway when a large wave hit the yacht. He
was knocked off his feet, across the deck and through the
lifelines into the ocean.
Although he had his inflatable lifejacket on, he had broken one
of the rules of safety at sea – he had unclipped his tether
before he had climbed into the safety of the saloon.
On the other hand, Hull & Humber’s crew had been well drilled
in man overboard procedures while training before the start of
the race.
After checking the survivor for signs of hypothermia and finding
none, the skipper motored back to where the MOB button had been
pressed and recommenced racing. But the Hull & Humber team did
lose second place as a result and has been unable to catch its
usurper, Uniquely Singapore.
Exceeding maximum hull speed
One of the great joys of sailing is when downwind conditions
allow the helmsman to catch waves and surf, using the yacht's
hull as a kind of giant surfboard. The feeling of the boat being
picked up and carried along with increasing speed, before
slowing falling off the back of the wave and getting ready to do
it all again.
If the helmsman can keep the rudder aligned with the hull and
make only minor adjustments to course, all aboard will really be
experiencing champagne sailing.
This is just one of the times when you can go faster than what
is otherwise known as 'maximum hull speed'.
Another time is when you are sailing with a current, whether in
a river or other strong tidal area. And thirdly, sailing with a
spinnaker can, in the right conditions, make the boat sail
faster than the theoretical maximum hull speed.
I recall a friend talking about one Sydney-Hobart when he and
the rest of the on-watch realised it was time to drop the
spinnaker and change to a headsail. But only after the yacht had
speared into the back of the wave ahead and, submerged back to
the mast, stopped dead!
X. Whistling
"When you whistle for a wind, you should choose an air
appropriate, such as 'Blow, gentle gales' or 'Winds, gently
whisper'."
From Mr Punch Afloat, Educational Book Co, London, 1910.
Of course, whistling while at sea has long been frowned upon.
Superstition has it that such whistling is at the devil, who
then shows his anger by provoking stormy weather.
But sailors have no problems wetting their whistles when safely
ashore at the end of a voyage.
Close encounters with whales
People pay a lot of money to go out whale-watching, hoping to
take really good close-ups of whales breaching but, for the crew
of J/World, the whales got far too close. The yacht was one of
170 participating in the annual Baja Ha-Ha, a 750-mile cruising
rally from San Diego, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Not long after a morning sked, the crew found they had sailed
into the middle of a pod of whales. Then they felt a bang, then
another. It seemed that one or more whales was attacking the
J/120’s rudder, breaking it and allowing the ocean to flood in.
The five people aboard tried pumping the water out but were
unable to keep pace with the inflow. The decision was made to
abandon ship.
The crew set off the EPIRB, picked up the grab bags and launched
the liferaft. They also grabbed two handheld VHF radios,
enabling them to talk to a Coast Guard helicopter that came to
their rescue some four hours later. This sped up their safe
recovery.
Meanwhile, it took only five to seven minutes for the yacht to
sink. It was just as well they knew what to do and take with
them when they abandoned ship.
Deadlines should be avoided
I have always said that whenever planning a voyage, prudent
navigators/skippers should ensure they arrive in port in
daylight.
One incident we read about last week highlights this. It was
about Russ Day, owner of a 41-foot yacht that he ran aground on
a beach in Florida. He broke one of the golden rules of sailing
– his own.
"Normally it's my prime rule not to sail into and out of harbors
at night," Day said. "But I ended up getting in late and tried
to get into the harbor to anchor for the night."
A single-handed sailor, he admitted that he now plans to buy a
chart plotter to keep track of his position and an auto pilot
that will enable him to leave the helm when he's tired!
He was fortunate that locals volunteered to help him refloat the
yacht, which was undamaged.
Bosun's chair recall
Australia's Burke Marine has issued a voluntary product recall
of the Burke Deluxe Bosun Chair and Burke Standard Bosun Chair
purchased Australia-wide after June 2007 that do not display
either a production batch number or inspection label.
Owners should stop using the above models and contact Burke
Marine to organise a free inspection and load testing.
It has been found that bosun's chairs manufactured in July and
August 2007 may have been fitted with a defective stainless
steel lifting ring that, if used, could split or break, causing
injury or death.
Code Flag 'R'
Code Flag 'R' has no single letter meaning and is, therefore,
only used in combinations with others, e.g. 'BR' means 'I
require a helicopter urgently'.
When yacht racing in some countries, Sailing Instructions may
use Code flag 'R' to indicate that the course to be sailed
should be reversed, i.e. competitors should go to the last mark
first and all marks originally to be rounded to starboard should
be rounded to port and vice versa.
An innovative way to measure time and distance
We've been reading Alex Whitworth's blog of his voyage home to
Sydney, Australia from Falmouth, UK. He recently described how
he breaks down the distance into Berri or Berrimilla Units
(named after his 10 metre yacht) in these two extracts:
In astronomy there's a unit of distance called an astronomical
unit or AU. 1 AU is about 93 million miles, the distance from
Earth to the Sun. In Berri, we have the Berri Unit or S2H which
is about 630 miles [Sydney-to-Hobarts] or just over 10 deg of
latitude.
Both an astronomical unit AU and a Berrimilla unit BU can be a
rough measure of time - the AU being about 7.5 minutes, the time
it takes light to cover the distance between the Sun and Earth,
while a BU is about 5 days [later corrected to 6] at Berri's
nominal and much more placid speed of 4 knots - a fast walk.
This whole voyage would be about 21 BU - sounds much easier to
handle than 13,000 miles - and [as at 24 Oct 09] we've covered
about 4 of them so 17 to go!
The Halloween Howl
Growing up in England neither of us had any notion of the fuss
now made about Halloween. This week in our own street
decorations have been appearing, particularly in the windows and
doorways of homes with young children. And the annual 'trick or
treat' doorknock will take place on Saturday evening.
While surfing the net recently we found a novel way of
celebrating Halloween – the Halloween Howl. It's an annual
regatta held at Newport, Rhode Island for sailors under 15 years
of age on various types of dinghies, with attendant support
boats (particularly important as it's so late in the season!).
As well as divisional prizes, there were awards for the best
Halloween costumes.
Held last weekend, conditions on Saturday were quoted as:
The strong Fall southerly breeze never clocked below 14 knots
and reached a steady 24 knots over the afternoon. Gusts over 28
knots were reported in the last race of the day.
Bravery or bravado?
Following on from the youngsters braving strong winds and the
cooler temperatures, we're not sure whether Peter Burling and
Blair Tuke should be certified! They completed the 120 nautical
mile Cannonball Run to the Bay of Islands in New Zealand in a
49er, hitting top speeds over 20kts. The coastal trip took them
nine and a half hours during which they recovered from four
capsizes and two pitchpolings.
Although not part of the race fleet, after eight hours they were
still close to several 50 footers. Not surprisingly, they too
had a support boat with them.
Code Flag 'J'
The meaning of Code Flag 'J' is 'I am on fire and have dangerous
cargo on board, keep well clear of me'.
A shocking overnight race
The yachting fraternity in Australia has been shocked by the
deaths of two experienced sailors, Andrew Short and Sally
Gordon. They died when Short's 24.4 metre yacht was smashed to
pieces on Flinders Islet, off Port Kembla at 2.55 am last
Saturday. The remaining 16 crew members were rescued, including
two of Short's sons.
From reading the available reports, this is what may have
happened. The yacht rounded the islet, a turning mark of the
overnight race from Sydney. Apparently there was little wind
but the ocean swell had built up after several days of heavy
south easterlies.
After rounding the islet the yacht Chinese-jibed and then was
picked up by a series of swells that carried it sideways and
onto the rocks. Attempts to get the yacht to safety using the
motor failed.
Of the three people who were washed overboard, Short's 19 year
old son was the only survivor. The rest of the crew managed to
scramble ashore.
Safety authorities were alerted by activation of the yacht's
EPIRB and three red flares were spotted by other competitors,
who immediately began to search the water for survivors.
We expect much more detail to be available when the report
for the coroner has been produced.
Australia II and that keel
Anybody who's been interested in the America's Cup will have
seen claims by the Dutchman, Peter van Oossanen, that he and a
Dutch design team were responsible for the winged keel that led
to Australia winning the cup in 1983. He claims that Ben Lexcen,
the Australian designer responsible for the yacht had "between
five and ten per cent" input into the keel design.
It's a bit tough, to say the least, to make such a claim after
years and years of silence and many years after the death of the
man most people have believed to be the designer.
What is more, it seems rather hard to believe since Ben Lexcen
had, many years before the 1983 America's Cup races, put a
winged keel on a Sydney 18-footer he had designed – called
Taipan.
The reason given at the time for Lexcen to go to Holland was
that tank testing facilities there were far more sophisticated
than those in Australia.
Of course, if van Oossanen's claims are correct the Australian
camp would have to give such a reason to prevent their keel
being banned by the Americans. It could have been that what
Lexcen was trying to do was to measure the forces involved in
transferring a dinghy design to a powerful yacht hull.
We'll probably never know the truth but I consider it a shame
that such a claim should be made when the person most affected
by it cannot defend himself.
Code Flag 'M'
Code flag 'M' meaning, 'My vessel is stopped and making no way
through the water'.
In appearance 'M' is a blue flag with a white or St. Andrew's
cross. It's similar to the Scottish national flag.
We welcome your questions or suggestions about this Newsletter
and sailing in general. They may become the subject of a future
Newsletter! jmurrant@bigpond.net.au
It's All About Sailing!
The Boating Bible Manual of Seamanship
torchee & Rob Busy top mark
ft
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