Innholdsfortegnelse for November 17 i Cruising Helmsman

THE stunning islands of the Caribbean sweep across the Atlantic in a shower of emerald pearls from the throat of Southern USA to the cleavage of South America. The tranquil Caribbean Sea on the leeward side licks at her white beaches, dotted with coconut palms and timber gelato painted shacks swaying to the calypso beat. Each individual island’s inhabitants – descendants of Arawak Indians, Caribs, French and English colonisers and African slaves, mingle in a cocktail of spices and rhythms, heady with the scent of frangipani, rum and nutmeg. Like priceless gems, the islands glitter with pride and beauty separated only by short day sails to perfectly protected anchorages. You could spend a season or a lifetime plying these gorgeous islands. Have you ever caught a lobster, squeezed coconut cream,…

LAST year Jasna and I were hired to deliver a 3 million dollar yacht 2000 miles from Tahiti to Fiji. When I met the owner, I asked whether he had paper charts on board. His rather condescending reply was “no. I don’t have a steam engine either”. The implication of course is that paper charts have been made obsolete by electronics and only beardy-weirdy luddites like us still use them. Fortunately for him, we always bring our own paper charts and were glad we did as the course the owner had entered into the electronic chartplotter would have ended in disaster, shipwrecking us no less than three times! The problem is that there are many obstructions not shown at certain magnifications on the electronic charts and others that are not…

“BREATHE through your mouth,” I said as I tilted Captain Hunk’s head forward and pinched the soft part of his nose. I kicked the scallop bucket under his dripping blood. Three of the seven scallops we had caught snapped shut. The other four lay forlorn in the bottom of the bucket. He did not look pale or clammy so he was not going into shock. “Shall I make your favourite?” I asked. Sauté them in butter with chillies, garlic and a squeeze of lemon?” He raised his head, and said, “$3 each.” “Pardon?” “I reckon those scallops work out, oh, about $3 each if we take diesel into account.” They’re $2 each in Woolworths.” “And bigger.” He gave a throaty chuckle. I shoved his head back down. His nosebleed began…

THE short tory of the Binder’s cruising history says they met, travelled, built a boat while having kids and then cruised. Magic some would say, or maybe it was fate. Either way a perfect nomination for ‘Cruiser of the year’ award Jack began life in America amongst skyscrapers and super highways, smog and streetlights so he rarely saw the stars. Except for wide sandy beaches and beautiful surf, he had few escapes from city life. A memorable time came when his parents took him on a donkey ride deep down the gloriously carved Grand Canyon that awakened his love for the great outdoors. Judith, a.k.a. Jude, had a completely different upbringing in a quiet north England town. Her family often explored the green hills overlooking the North Sea, fishing for…

This month’s prize will go to Mike McEvoy of Sisu MHYC. Thanks to the Australian Madura Tea company for supplying one of these boxes. www.maduratea.com.au READY FOR CHRISTMAS? If you haven’t used the boat for a while and you’re planning to head out over the Christmas break, now is the time to check your gear. At a minimum, check the safety gear is still in date, operational and on board. Fire extinguishers, flares, and life jackets are not much use hanging up in the shed. Are the life jackets still legal for your crew, or have the kids grown out of theirs? Do you have enough for guests, and their kids? DIDUNO The first woman to circumnavigate the world solo was Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, crossing her west-about track in March 1978,…

HOW can I tell the story of Clair de Lune? How can one old timber sailboat cause so much emotion? This story is a rescue mission, an impractical, expensive adventure that we simply felt compelled to do. The restoration of a very special sailboat. In contemplating such a task, we were, as Spock from Star Trek would say, “irrational, illogical human beings.” BACKGROUND When my husband Don was ten, his father Bill White started building Clair de Lune in Vancouver, Canada. She was launched before he turned sixteen and he inherited her at eighteen upon his father’s sudden passing. In the summer of 1977, aged 24, Don started a four year world circumnavigation, which I joined him in when we met on South Molle Island in Queensland. We completed the…

OUR boat, Blue Pelican, is a Pearson 424 ketch. My wife Jody and I have been continuously cruising her for seven years, mainly east coast USA and Caribbean. In 2015 we transitted the Panama Canal and sailed Blue Pelican across the Pacific to Brisbane, Australia. In reviewing our sail plan prior to our Pacific crossing, I recalled having read about the concept of a nylon mainsail many years ago. A light wind mainsail. How good would that be for any long stretches of light wind? A condition that will most likely be encountered at some point in crossing the Pacific Ocean. When you have just enough wind to fill a sail, but then you get that slap back with the next bit of wave or swell. That ‘fill and flop’…

Serves two • scallops: 6 to 12 each, depending on how many you’re lucky enough to have scored • a good glug of cider vinegar • ½ a small onion, finely chopped • 50 grams of butter • 1½ tablespoon of flour • ½ cup of milk. Milk powder mixed with water works fine for this recipe • a little chopped fresh parsley, if you have it • grated cheese and/or breadcrumbs 1. To open the scallops raw, select two knifes: one flat and the other sharp. Pick up the flat knife and a scallop and insert the knife near the hinge. Slightly prise apart the two shells. Turn the scallop flat side down and run the sharp knife between the flat shell and the muscle holding it shut. The…

Deb Bott reports on the first day of the Sail West Kalimantan Rally for 2017. THE Rally was ready to kick off with five yachts plus ten eager Australians. We have done rallies before and usually the welcoming ceremony has been held at night with cultural dancing, speeches from the Regent and other officials over a well-prepared dinner featuring local fare. But this time we all headed ashore for our welcoming ceremony at 10am. What greeted us was overwhelming. It was as if everyone in Sambas had turned out to greet us, all the fleet members were mobbed with children gathering around, mums and dads all extending their hands for a warm handshake and everyone else looked on from a distance. We all felt as if were famous, everyone wanted…

WHAT do pirates, cruise liner dinner guests, sleeping beauties and yachties have in common? They were all in the Whitsundays for the last weekend of August 2017. A total of 205 boats and several hundred people converged on the Gloucester Passage for this year’s Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Rendezvous. Among them were cruisers Rick and Glad Smith, who planned their costumes long before weighing anchor on the Clarence River for the event. Dressed in outfits incorporating Y-fronts, suspenders, cold cream, 1950’s hair rollers and cucumber eye patches, their interpretation of this year’s theme ‘what were you wearing when the ship went down?’ won them the coveted accolade of ‘best dressed guy and girl’ on the Saturday night. But it was their pirate treasure attire for the final day that…

PROLINE R RELEASABLE TETHERS After an initial 18 month trial run with its ProLine tethers, Wichard has launched its releasable range in Australia after excellent feedback overseas. Features include an overload indicator with shock absorption in the strap. There is a choice of a 0.8 metre strap, a 1.4m, a 2m and a dual tether with 2m and 1m straps. The webbing is reflective so visible at night and absorbs little water, drying quickly. The ProSnap snaphook and the quick opening snapshackle are forged in 316L stainless steel in France. The redesigned snaphook allows easy opening with just one hand. The clip also has a wide opening of 26 millimetres and a special tip which makes hooking and unhooking easy without getting caught. Four models are available to suit your…

IF you anchor often enough a time will occur when your yacht is brought up abruptly against the hold of your chain and anchor. Initially it might be a gentle bump but, as the wind increases, it can become quite aggressive and frightening. Snatching at anchor is debilitating for crew and, at worst, is probably the most common cause of an anchor dragging. So minimising the effect is beneficial. It is not only wind that causes this snatch loading. Commonly as the wind increases, the wave action, especially in anchorages with a bit of fetch, also increases. You only need a gust coinciding with a peak wave and a swell at high tide when your scope is at its lowest and you have a classic dragging situation. Historically there were…