Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i Cruising Helmsman

The 24th Beneteau Cup was held on a wild and woolly Sydney Harbour last November. Possibly the longest running such event of its type, it is no wonder of its success when registration includes croissants and champagne. Vicsail Sydney and Flagstaff Marine the NSW Beneteau agent, made sure that all Beneteau owners could win a prize with numerous door prizes and raffle draws. Cool things from PFDs to inflatable paddle boards were finding new homes with delighted guests. Major sponsors, Sydney City Marine and d’Albora Marinas, provided $1000 vouchers and two-night free berthing vouchers, respectively. Over 30 boats from 21 to 58 feet and some 170 sailors enjoyed the day. Beneteau’s multihull sister, Lagoon catamarans, was also represented. Copy Cat ended up with the top honours for that division. Brenton…

Change of ownership communication Ed: the following is a copy of correspondence between Cherylle Stone and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Attention: The Hon Warren Truss Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Nationals Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Parliament House Dear Minister Following the death of my beloved husband in 2012 I have gradually worked through the winding up of his estate and the transfer of all his assets to me, his sole beneficiary. I am now in the process of registering the transfer of ownership of our Australian registered sailing catamaran and am outraged to discover that AMSA applies an enormous fee of $444 for a change of registered ownership. This represents about 1.5% of the value of the vessel and is in stark contrast to the…

Without doubt my favourite flavour profile comes from South East Asia. Colonisation and trade have evolved the foods of the region to a spectacular cacaphony of aromas and tastes. From a typical spice rack, you could not really have done the foods of this cruising ground justice, until recently. Thanks to those tedious reality cooking shows, a wider variety of ingredients in forms well-suited to us cruising helmspeople are now common on supermarket shelves. I am having a bromance with powdered lemongrass and shelf-stable tofu at the moment. While powdered lemongrass is something I have not previously shared with you, it now has a permanent place in my herb and spice collection aboard. Tofu is just tofu, but it is good to see a company making a shelf-stable product in…

There is another very important word that goes with painting, it ensures a perfect finish: sanding. Sanding, sanding and more sanding! The boys were into this in earnest now that the top was on and the whole exterior had been glassed and ‘iced’ with its epoxy fairing filler. They would sand, fill, check, sand, fill, sand and check again with long boards for a perfectly smooth finish. Once the sanding was finished and they were happy, a high build undercoat was applied and the boat resembled a grey battleship for a time. Then it was time for some nice white paint and the boat suddenly seemed to double in size. Thoughts then turned onto how will we get this safely in to our marina berth? When the final gloss coat…

French boatbuilder, Jeanneau, announced the renewal of all models in its range for the year. Its Sun Odyssey 349 is an Australian bestseller with more than twenty yachts on the water, with more to be delivered. In order to integrate the design trends, changes have been made. A bowsprit has been added to the entire Sun Odyssey range. Integrated into the hull lines, it offers greater clearance between the anchor and the bow. It will facilitate anchoring with greater protection including an anchor roller on the centreline. The bowsprit, designed for Code 0 sails, can also carry larger asymmetrical spinnakers for more enjoyable sailing. The aft platforms have been enlarged on the Sun Odyssey 389 (optional), the Sun Odyssey 419 and the Sun Odyssey 449. These platforms are significantly larger…

Castnet Australia’s midgee sandfly suit is made of a lightweight, fine, breathable mesh that sandflies cannot penetrate. It is available in four generous sizes from small to extra large. The sizes are generous to fit over whatever clothing you are already wearing. They may not look glamorous but they do the job. It promises to keep out sandflies, mosquitoes, ants, ticks, bees, leeches spiders and fleas. The suit dries quickly and is only $25 for the two piece suit. Sandfly/ midgee hats are also available. The EZ throwcast net is Castnet’s best seller. Available in four sizes, all nets come with an instructional DVD. It is easy to learn how to cast, the company claims you will be throwing like a professional in 15 minutes. A 250 centimetre aluminium ring…

The first width-variable, sea-going yacht in the world is about to go into production. After two years of testing and improvements, the Futura prototype has been perfected. Awarded the 2015 Bayerischen Staatspreis, production of the Futura catamaran will begin, Futura Yacht Systems is collaborating with the shipyard Polar Yacht Manufacturing located in Pärnu, Estonia. The first in the series will be the 15 metre-long Futura 49. The multihull is designed to unite deep sea-worthiness with an economical berthing space. The yacht’s patented slide-in mechanism makes it possible to transform the Futura from a width of eight metres to a slim 4.8m width and back again, suitable for standard marina berths, with a push of a button. Providing the advantages of both monohull and fixed multihull designs in one yacht. "The…

Eventually all yachties have to tackle problems with the layup material of their freedom machines, whether it be rot, rust or osmosis. It is just the nature of boats, the bottomless hole in the ocean that we so willingly fill. In our case on our yacht Kabuki, we are tackling osmosis, so first off I thought an explanation of osmotic blistering as I understand it, might be useful. Water molecules of mass destruction Definition of osmosis: ‘the passage of solvent molecules from a less concentrated to a more concentrated solution through a semi-permeable membrane until both solutions are of the same concentration’ - Collins English Dictionary. Fibreglass hulls are not totally waterproof (surprise, surprise). Water molecules are small enough that, over time, they can and will pass through the semi-permeable…

With anchor chain, the concern of many people is strength. The reality is, chain is so reliable and so seldom fails that attention should be focussed at longevity not strength. Longevity is determined by the lifespan of the galvanising and CH thought we should have a look. Longevity should be placed ahead of price as it is little value in saving 20 per cent if the galvanising wears out after two years. Especially when another, slightly more expensive, chain might have lasted six years. Historically, galvanising was hot-dipped (HDG) where the chain was immersed in a bath of molten zinc. But there is a new process, well an updated version of an older process: thermal diffusion galvanising (TDG) and also known as Armorgalv. But first HDG. Hot dipped galvanising HDG…

Shimano, the brand well-known for fishing gear, have released a range of gear bags that suit the sailor. While it includes tackle bags and jig bags, amongst the offering are some useful boat bags as well. By repurposing Shimano’s water-resistant Banar Bag a yachtie has a tool bag that will not get its contents wet when sitting in water. Its solid reinforced moulded base ensures the bag does not roll around. It comes in two sizes for any size boat and made from waterproof, UV-protected PVC with a non-corrosive zip and flap arrangement to keep the water out. Also to join the range are a standard gear bag and two styles of backpack. Each backpack is a standard 25 litre size but one comes with a bottom pocket able to…

Cruising on a tight budget – 10 tips to get you out there sooner 1 Go with the boat you have now, rather than waiting until you can afford something bigger. Friends of ours sold a well-equipped Cavalier 32 to buy the shell of a Swanson 38. By the time they had finished it, six years of lost cruising time later, the husband had a health condition and the wife’s parents needed them for daily care. The boat didn’t go anywhere. 2 I f you buy secondhand don’t pay extra for an inventory of outdated or duplicated gear. Electronics go out of date fast and that ‘spare’ mainsail was replaced for a reason, probably because it is worn out. 3 Unless you have marine trade connections, try not to buy…

WIN WITH YOUR PICS! Hi, welcome to the CH cruising pictures competition. Whenever space permits, we will be bringing you a spread of cruising pics submitted by readers, with the picture judged the best winning a one-year subscription to the two magazines in the Yaffa Photo Group, and the second-placed entry a one-year subscription to one of those magazines. Entries are always coming in thick and fast, and judging which is the best is proving a very difficult task. See if you agree with the judges’ choice. Before you abuse the editor, though, be aware the result was decided by an office poll! Winners should email philross@yaffa.com.au to organise their subscription/s. TO SUBMIT A PICTURE Email it as a high res jpg to philross@yaffa.com.au Please include an interesting caption saying…

ANCHORAGE When entering, keep the first mark to port, the second to starboard. Two others with white tops further down mark more of the reef. The small one between the two sets flashes at night and guides banana boats to and from the resort. That is the one missing from most charts. Ignore it for entering the Duck Pond anchorage. Reefs and shallow water are clearly visible in decent light. Holding is good in 10- 12 meters of mud. Call Nusa Island Resort on VHF Ch 69 for an escort if entering in poor light. Just around the corner, beyond the bungalows on stilts, is the spot to land the dinghy at the resort. It shallows to sand and deep grass but is deep enough to pass. Turn left down…

He was only in town for a short time so Cruising Helmsman took the opportunity to interview the recently-appointed Sailboat Marketing Director for Beneteau: Gianguido Girotti. In Sydney to update the Australian Beneteau agencies and also listen to their feedback, Gianguido spoke openly about what is in store for Australia and Beneteau’s three brands: First, Oceanis and Sense. Given his title you would think that Girotti has a sales background. He does, but that is not the full extent of his skills or experience. Born in Italy his family had a long and proud marine history but, as he puts it “while I inherited the passion, I also transformed it into my business.” He attended Southhampton University in the UK, one of the premier marine science universities in the world,…

I was recently contacted by an acquaintance for advice on having his yacht delivered from North Queensland to Brisbane. This got me thinking that there are probably owners out there who do not know how to choose a good skipper. I have some insight into the matter as I am a commercial master and have done many deliveries over the years. For the sake of simplicity I will be politically incorrect at times and refer to “he” or “him” but that does not mean that I do not think female skippers can do the job. Far from it. There can be many reasons why you as a yacht owner may not wish to deliver the yacht yourself, including: lack of time; it is a new boat, perhaps secondhand but ‘new’…

Navico Australia has introduced B&Gs updated Vulcan 7 with ForwardScan, while the entry level Vulcan 5 chartplotter includes features of the bigger Vulcan 7 into its compact form. Vulcan has been designed as an easy-to-use companion for cruising and racing yachts of all sizes. In its basic form as a standalone sailing chartplotter, Vulcan offers all of the standard navigation features sailors expect from B&G including built in GPS, waypoints, routes and a choice of cartography providers, integrated autopilot control and more. Vulcan easily links to existing NMEA 2000® networks. By simply adding a wind transducer, sailors gain access to B&Gs SailSteer feature. By integrating further sensors, sailors can unlock a whole host of other sailing features including true wind and tide. When paired with its ForwardScan transducer, Vulcan offers…

Originally designed for those that work and play in the bush the Rescue Swag is useful for sailors as well. Rescue Swag was born in the horse country of far north Queensland, where riders were getting injured and finding they did not have an easy first aid kit out on the ride. Injuries while horse-riding span from cuts, scratches, bumps and bruises, through to fractured bones and concussion from falls. In such situations first response first aid is vital to ensure proper survival and recovery. Inventor/designer Tracey Beikoff is an avid horse rider and enjoys getting out in the bush away from traditional first aid response methods. She designed Rescue Swag to keep horse riders safer while they are out in ther wild. Now it is being marketed to all…

The yacht of the future should be as simple to use as a smartphone, according to one French technology company. Kara Technology is working in conjunction with Allures Yachting to develop a single link between computer applications, navigation and electronic entertainment on board. All in one usable table. “The Kara multitouch table transforms the traditional chart table into a space of sharing and co-living” according to Stephan Constance, director of Allures Yachting. Allures Yachting launched the first touch-sensitive chart table to the world at the recent Paris Nautic boat show onboard its Allures 39.9, along with creator Ivain Bignonet. “while tablets and smartphones will isolate you, the driving idea behind Kara is to bring crew closer together and make information accessible to all,” said Bignonet. Kara was created to simplify…

Where to next? Jim and I had sailed across the South Pacific, spent two seasons in New Zealand and Vanuatu and were in Australia. From this point, most crews head north to Darwin, join a rally to sail through the red tape of Indonesia and continue on to Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand. There they can circle back to Australia, continue sailing west to South Africa or ship their boat into the Mediterranean. We are not big on rallies and exploring new places with dozens of other boats to see traditional life staged for our benefit appeals to us even less. We are not sure how to proceed until friends suggest sailing through the remote islands of Papua New Guinea. Although PNG has a reputation for violence, they assure us these…

After spending six weeks of day sailing and island-hopping our way through the spectacular cruising grounds of the Krabi Coast, Phang Nga Bay and the western side of Phuket, we were making way for the almost deserted Surin Island group in the north west Thai waters adjacent the Burmese border. We had seen and experienced some of Thailand’s most breathtaking natural beauty such as soaring limestone cliff faces towering above us while we swam and relaxed on the soft silica sandy beaches; or the beauty of the aqua waters of the southern Thai islands. We were also weary of the omnipresent tourism sector that was in every islet or beach location no matter how seemingly remote, filling our ears with the drumming of the wooden Thai longtail boat engines or…