Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 i Cruising Helmsman

IS SAFETY TOO EXPENSIVE THE late advertising guru Leo Burnett once said “only 50% of my ads work, the problem is I don’t know which 50%.” The same can be said about safety, literally an investment for life. Yes, safety can be expensive, but this is not to say the canny buyer cannot maximise the value for their hard-earned cruising dollar. We find taking a whole-of-life approach on equipment pays dividends. Consider: not only the purchase cost, but the quality, cost of servicing, whether the item can be self-serviced, the reliability and reputation of the retailer in regards to warranty and defects. It is also possible to use perfectly good generic brands versus premium brand products. A major national chandlery offers replacement PFD 33 gram CO? cylinder refills for $19.95…

WEATHER forecasts are never going to be perfect. As mariners, it is our responsibility to interpret, adjust and prepare. Technology is transforming our reception of weather forecasts. They are improving with more weather observations, satellites scanning the earth faster and greater resolution. The multitude of options by way of weather apps could be seen as an improvement, but often the choice is overwhelming. Which weather forecasting can we rely upon? The World Meteorology Organisation manage a program called the World Weather Watch. To predict the weather, modern meteorology depends upon near instantaneous exchange of weather information across the entire globe. Established in 1963, the World Weather Watch combines observing systems, telecommunication facilities with data processing and forecasting centres. This is operated by its members to make available meteorological and related…

DIDUNO You may not be surprised to know that worker bees are all females. One of their tasks is finding water. But if they fall in and get their wings wet, they can’t fly. They can, however, use their wings to make tiny ripples on the surface and then use those ripples to glide to shore. SHOESTRING SAILOR How secure is your anchor chain on the bow roller? In the weather most people choose to sail in, keeping the chain on the roller is not an issue. When you are caught in strong winds and choppy seas, however, the situation changes. If the chain jumps off the roller you have a problem. Not only is it difficult and potentially dangerous to lift the chain back into place, but it will…

ENVELOPED by the sound of a mournful ‘moo cow birthing’ foghorn reverberating through the dank air we sailed away from Halifax, Nova Scotia, into a rippling curtain of fog. In Nova Scotia’s thicker, wetter, colder kind of fog the litany of shipwreck sagas are palpable along its shoal, rock and island littered coastline. No visibility, tides and currents pulling boats this way and that, no chance of a sun sight to settle dead reckoning positions; no wonder, in times gone by, hulls and souls were destined to disappear. Certain our course was empty of other vessels and hazards, via the telltale tablet and unfogged radar, we assuredly sailed full pelt into the murkiness, past fog hidden Brig Rock, Sober Island, Tom Fool shoal, The Lump and corroborating waypoint buoys each…

FIVE years ago we were at a remote Pacific island with just a few other yachts. There was socialising ashore and chatter on the VHF. This year we sailed to another remote island: Lord Howe. It was an easy 470 nautical mile sail from Fraser Island, Australia, with a northerly breeze behind us. The random element was the current of up to two knots that sometimes helped and sometimes hindered. We had downloaded the most recent water temperature chart with the idea of staying in the warm water of the East Australian Current that flows south from the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately navigation by thermometer is yet to be perfected on this boat. As we got closer to Lord Howe, the wind changed from the north to the south and…

Entries open for Airlie Beach Race Week ENTRY for the Whitsunday Airlie Beach Festival of Sailing can be found online, along with the notice of race. The Whitsunday Sailing Club (WSC) hallmark regatta, now in its 32nd year, will be held from 6-13 August, again featuring some of the most scenic courses on offer in the world. According to Race Director Ross Chisholm, “Competitors really enjoy the challenge of the mass start with well over 100 yachts jostling for position on two start lines.” The mass start also provides a breathtaking sight for locals and tourists to the beautiful Whitsundays at this popular time of year. Where else would you want to be sailing in an Australian winter? Entry is open for IRC Passage, One Design, Performance Racing, Performance Cruising,…

HERTZ SOUND NOW AT AMI AMI Sales has partnered with Australian importer and electronics specialist TDJ to bring audio brand Hertz Marine Audio to Australia’s marine and RV market Based in Italy and established in 1998, Hertz Marine range of speakers, amplifiers, receivers and accessories are installed on boats in over 60 countries and hold numerous awards for quality product design. Hertz Marine audio equipment is dust, ultra-violet, humidity, corrosion and vibration resistant and its IP ratings offer high levels of protection, perfect in ensuring a long lasting product with great performance, all designed to perform in demanding marine environments. The complete marine range is the audio solution for jet skis and wake boats through to yachts and houseboats. The Hertz Marine range is expanding, with new release models of…

INSURANCE is often considered a necessary evil. But can the boat owner afford not to have the appropriate insurance especially in the face of escalating natural disasters? In 2017 a few mariners in Queensland were thanking their lucky stars as the state’s largest marine insurer responded quickly by treating all claims as ‘perils of the sea’, avoiding the perils of litigation. Unfortunately, others were not so lucky as insurers limited their losses due to the unprecedented number of natural disasters across Australia in recent times. The changing weather patterns due to global warming now significantly affect the world with Australia not being isolated. From metropolitan Brisbane in early January 2017, TV cameras beamed pictures around the world of torpedoing concrete walkways and marina pontoons ripped from supports caught in the…

DESPERATELY trying to conserve heat in a sodden, salt encrusted sleeping bag. Cold, wet, somewhat battered and completely humbled by nature; it was probably the longest night of our lives and presented each of us with the opportunity for the deepest introspection. We three were alone in the Southern Ocean. Alone save for the company of the sound of the tempest outside. The seas and winds continued unabated, we had the sound of the recently-compromised rigging with the grating of the gyrating mast succeeding in keeping us focussed that long dark night; focused on each and every successive wave that rolled us until our leeward rail again submerged. Some hours earlier we had suffered a knockdown that sent us to our beam’s end. A frothing freight train rammed us broadside…

INTERNATIONAL SAILING ACADEMY The top web story this month was a feelgood one. Possibly due to so much bad news currently floating around? When the 2020 Laser Masters World Championships were postponed indefinitely owing to the Coronavirus, the Victorian Laser Association, was facing financial losses from the cancellation. The VLA executive was therefore pleased to be informed that the International Sailing Academy was transferring its sponsorship from the Worlds to the Oceanic and Australian Laser Masters Championship, which at time of writing was still going ahead. Nice work ISA. facebook.com/ CruisingHelmsman…

KENNETH Grahame wrote in his wonderful children's book, ‘The wind in the willows’ “believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” I think Ratty got it right - to a timber boat tragic, there is no better way to describe the joys of owning such a beautiful 'living' thing. This is the story of the bringing back to life of a traditional timber yacht, New Silver Gull. Having been left to the elements for too long, she was recovered just in time and restored to be, now, a classic yacht in every way. THE BEGINNING A bright and sunny day way back in 1989, we had our first look at this dilapidated wreck of a…

MORE BIRD DETERRENTS THAT WORK Loyal CH reader Graham Stanton offers some additional tips for minimising bird droppings on moored boats. Graham was my first ever contributor when I took over Ideas Locker from the late Bob Couper in October 2008. He now sails the Easy 33 cat Too Easy on Lake Macquarie. Tired of the line of swallow droppings along the deck, Graham strung a length of fishing line above the lifelines. This was supported by PVC ‘posts’ on each stanchion. Graham added a fishing sinker in the middle of each span to drop the line closer to the wire lifeline. Observation proved that when the birds tried to land, they hit the fishing line and flew off. Under sail, Graham just drops the PVC pipes off the stanchions…

SPACE is a luxury on a yacht, which is one of the reasons why multihulls are so popular. Put two hulls together you naturally have more space. From that starting point, factors designers work on when designing a new catamaran include: enhance the usage of space and make the ride smooth and safe. Lagoon's previous design in this range was the popular 450, which sold over 900 units. An impressive statistic, so why update on a best seller? Probably because when you can get the design team from VPLP to take a look at it, then you are assured of making it even better. The result is the Lagoon 46. JUST THE FACTS Even though it is only 380 millimetres longer on the waterline it is what VPLP have done…