Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Cruising Helmsman

HAPPY to report two sailors who featured in Cruising Helmsman have been awarded by the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) for their achievements in bluewater sailing over the past 18 months. The recipients of these awards were selected from among those nominated by OCC members. The Club’s premier award, the OCC Barton Cup, named after Humphrey Barton founder of the OCC, went to Germany’s Susanne Huber-Curphey, the first woman to navigate the Northwest Passage singlehanded. Susanne completed her passage “with great style, ability and perseverance, beating many experienced crew who were way ahead. She provided all support and immense friendship to others, even when her own resources were at their limits.” Susanne’s feat appeared in early issues of CH thanks to letters she sent to contributor Jim Duff. The OCC Seamanship…

GREAT Barrier Reef Marine Park released figures for the six week Christmas holiday period showing that 54 illegal recreational fishing offences were detected in the marine park during that time. Over half were for poaching in no-take green zones with Cairns seeing the most illegal recreational fishing. There were 28 offences over the six weeks. This was actually down on last year’s illegal activity during the holiday period so at least fishers have taken notice of a recent education and compliance blitz. Andrew Simpson, GBRMPA field management assistant director, was encouraged to see that more people were taking poaching seriously. “If you fish in a green zone you will get caught and risk a $2,100 fine.” As well as poaching from no-take areas, there were ten instances of excess fishing…

HAPPY memories of my boating days are as wide and varied as are the different craft I owned: varying from single rowing shells to a prawn trawler. In between exists a number of fine yachts which I cruised and raced. My first yacht was the Restricted class Tassie III whose cruise from Brisbane to Lord Howe Island and back was described in CH February 2016. She was a 21 footer who, in our youth, we asked her to do things she was not designed or built for. Tassie was sold and burnt on a bank of the Caboolture River in 1987. A winner of the Forster Cup and many bay and estuary races, I have a starboard chainplate of hers on the desk in front of me right now. I…

TOHATSU Corporation is Japan’s oldest outboard manufacturer and commenced manufacturing way back in 1956, the same year television was introduced to Australia, the Melbourne Olympics ran and the year I was born. Not that me being born compares to other milestones, but it helps to illustrate it was a helluva long time ago. I have been long-term testing Tohatsu outboards since 1982 and every engine I’ve borrowed has been 100 per cent reliable. For example, a two stroke M8B I’ve been testing since 2005 has never missed a beat and frankly is the most reliable small outboard I’ve ever tested. But the LPG 5 is a whole different ballgame. Though it is based on the four stroke MFS6, first released on the Aussie market in 2000, the 5 has totally…

OUR story will be familiar to many. My husband sailed as a youngster and always dreamed of owning his own boat; he would sail it up the Queensland coast and possibly further afield. However, I had rarely sailed and did not know if I would enjoy it. This year we made our first extended trip up the Queensland coast. One advantage that we did have, we had always done a lot of things in the outdoors. This gave us some useful, basic navigation skills but, importantly, it also taught us to never underestimate nature. Some would say that we are overly cautious, but at least we are still here to tell the tale. When we reached 50+ I suggested to husband Mike if he was going to buy a boat,…

THE Indonesian government is constructing marina expansions to take advantage of its vast coastline, the second largest in the world, according to Asia Pacific Superyachts (APS). The south east Asian country wishes to attract more cruising yachts, especially superyachts to its spectacular islands and abundant natural beauty. Now the government has executed some plans, some already in effect, to ease yacht visitors’ arrival and departure. President Joko Widodo has announced that Indonesia will build up to ten ports in a push for maritime tourism, including cruise ship ports and marinas. The government has sought to develop other toursim destinations for yachting, cruising and diving. The Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua, for example, are home to the planet’s most diverse fish and coral resources and have been named by CNN…

IT is February and you are anchored in a little bay in remote Arnhem Land. For some reason you have been unable to communicate with the outside world for a few days. However, you have been watching the barometer as a guide to any upcoming bad weather. You last read and recorded the barometer in your log at 1500 local time and it was 1004 hectopascals (hPa – old millibars). You have had a big day and it is 2100 and you are just about to go to bed. You check the barometer again and it has only fallen 1hPa so you decide to turn in. This could be one of the biggest mistakes of your life, you could be very much in danger! During the six hour period in…

THE Great Australian Bight separates western from eastern Australia. Like the Nullarbor Desert on land, the coast is inhospitable and there are no coastal towns in the 600 miles from Ceduna to Esperance. Large chunks of the intervening coastal waters are poorly charted and, apart from Eucla roadstead, there is no anchorage that is reliable in all winds for over 500 miles. But either side of this hiatus are interesting cruising grounds and, in summer, a Bight crossing in either direction offers a far quicker route between east and west than going via Torres Strait. Summer is the key, because from about November to March the prevailing winds are moderate with an easterly component. Cold fronts do pass through every four to six days, but in the Bight tend to…

IN an increasing world of same-same, every now and then something pops up that takes the best of yesteryear and enhances it with modern technology. The trailer sailer Cygnet 20, from Bluewater Cruising Yachts, is one neat package. First glance evokes memories of the old crabber yachts dotted around the English coastline: gaff rigs lashed to tanbark sails from Ratsey and Lapthorn; even the little cuddy cabin top has the old style portholes. Indeed that is what naval architect Peter Lowe was hoping for when he first conceived the idea. Working with partner Will Hardcastle they have taken the quirky look of the crabber and moulded it into an easy-sailing, slippery little trailer sailer. Joining up with David Bradburn and his boatbuilding team at Bluewater Cruising Yachts was the next…

ONE hundred extraordinary images, celebrating the diversity of the natural world is currently on loan from the Natural History Museum in London and on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year award is a prestigious photography event that has provided a global platform, showcasing the natural world’s most astonishing and challenging sights, for over 50 years. Winning images are selected for creativity, originality and technical excellence. Originally launched in 1965 and attracting 361 entries, today the competition receives almost 50,000 entries from 92 countries highlighting its enduring appeal. Kevin Sumption, director of the Australian National Maritime Museum, said the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition held broad appeal due to its rich subject matter showcasing the diversity of life. “This is one of the…

THE first two months of 2018 saw the Women Who Sail Australia (WWSA) group celebrate several milestones. Throughout January, women around Australia, plus some in SE Asia, met for local celebrations to mark the group’s fourth birthday. The group then celebrated the addition of their 2500th member with a week of giveaways and prizes. This April, members will once again converge on Port Stephens for the third annual WWSA ‘Gathering on the bay’. The success of the two previous Gathering events has resulted in the weekend conference for women being stretched to become a threeday event from 6th to 8th April for 2018. The Gathering will be held at Nelson Bay and is open to all women interested in boating. Guest speakers include solo, Antarctic circumnavigator and world record holder…

SON OF A SON OF A SON OF A SEAHAG Hi Phil, I am writing to you in your capacity as editor of the January 2018 issue of Cruising Helmsman and having seen the article by Condy Clark (Close encounters of the wildlife). Under the heading ‘Dolphins’, the author refers to Little Tiger, of which I am the current owner and have been since purchasing her in September 1978. The only prior owner was EC (Marcus) Clark, so I suspect Condy, not known to me, was a close relative of Marcus. Little Tiger is at RPYC pen C41, still sails regularly and will, in the afternoon, race later today. The attachment to this email is a copy of the only photo of the yacht, which Marcus gave to me back…

THE rain had scared away the sandflies. There was little wind, ‘viz’ was down to around 50 metres. In keeping with weather lore, the fourth Annual Easter Regatta began in far from perfect conditions. Then again, none of the skippers and crew seemed to care, for, at the sharp retort of a gun, an assortment of around twenty boats sounded off a cacophony of tooters, foghorns, wolf whistles, yippy-i-ooohs and giddyups and, with that, the regatta got underway, faster than long weekend traffic. After weeks of anticipation, preparation and vast sums spent on diesel and a new fuel filter, I had been surprised to discover this was in fact a sailing event. I have been a gigantic fan of the Sydney Hobart race since, well, forever and at the risk…

CENSORSHIP in media has been around for a long time. We all like to think we live in a society where the rights of free speech are enshrined by law and by morality. Well think again, how many times have you heard someone’s comments on the radio or TV perhaps expressed a little coarsely and covered by the ever popular and cheerful ‘beep’? This obliging little sound protects our delicate sensibilities from being subjected to vulgarity and profanity. Thoughtlessly offered curses by people who are seemingly uncaring or oblivious to the damage done to the moral fabric of society with every utterance of bad language or improper expression. I, being of sensitive, chaste and sober disposition, am a great admirer of the beep but feel it is over-worked in maritime…