Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2020 i PassageMaker

It was a run-for-your-life moment. A few years ago, a friend removed an old life raft from his boat and put it on the dock. It was 15 years out of certification, and he was buying a new one. Out of curiosity, he pulled the inflation line. The hard canister burst, the raft inflated quickly—almost violently—and the raft wedged itself between power posts on both sides of the dock. We ran fast enough that we weren’t pinned. And yet, to this day, that episode serves as a reminder for me about why it’s important not only to have a life raft on board, but also to have it mounted in the right place and to know how and where it can be deployed in an emergency. Most of the common,…

These mini salmon and herb quiches are full of flavor. They are great to make for breakfast or brunch when you have company, or when you just need a single serving. They are easy to make because I almost always have the main ingredients on hand; canned salmon is one of my galley pantry staples because it lasts for a long time and is always ready to serve with an impromptu glass of wine. Puff pastry is another freezer backup that can swoop in and save the day. Although these mini quiches are simple, I find them to be elegant without being fussy. They can be a wonderful party dish that’s made in advance and reheated before serving._ Often, I make a double batch: one to enjoy right away, and…

Wanted: Cruising couples in the market for a hardy, classically styled, beautifully finished flybridge motoryacht with long range and customizable accommodations. That’s the target audience for the 67 Cruiser from Turkey’s Vicem Yachts. Istanbul-based, family-owned Vicem has been building recreational boats since 1991, first with its Down East-inspired Classic series, and then with three other styles ranging from 46 feet to 151 feet length overall. Vicem’s flybridge, pilothouse Cruiser line, formerly covering 82 feet to 107 feet, now includes a 67 for couples who want the option of cruising without crew. “We conceived this boat based on feedback from our clients, particularly those looking to do the Great Loop,” says Noelle Semmes, Vicem’s director of sales. “They’ve told us they’re interested in a family-style, long-range cruising boat that has some…

On our fourth day in French Polynesia’s Gambier Islands, still recovering from a 36-day, 4,000-nauticalmile sail from Panama, we ambled down the hill at the edge of the main town of Rikitea. I noticed a new boat in the bay. Sailboats arrived every day from far-flung places like Mexico and the Marquesas, but something was different about this one. It didn’t have a mast. In fact, it wasn’t a sailboat at all. It was a trawler. This didn’t seem possible. How did a trawler end up way out here, in the corner of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by oceangoing sailboats? Less than 24 hours later, I was enjoying beers and swapping stories with Michael Gale and Caroline Kiely aboard the Seahorse 52 Liberty II. Six years earlier, Gale, who is…

I was a 20-year-old college student about to have knee surgery decades before outpatient arthroscopic procedures. I wasn’t looking forward to a week in the hospital, at least a couple of months gimping around on crutches, and a long zipper on one knee for a lifetime. Because I couldn’t drop out of college for the surgery (that would mean an immediate draft notice), I was facing a summerlong recuperation. I hunted around until I found a tired plywood rowboat, which I bought for a princely $50. I slapped on some fiberglass and paint to make it reasonably presentable and, more or less, watertight. A neighbor on the bay, faced with my sob story, was conned into letting me put the dinghy on his dock for the season. And so it…

Ocean passages have a way of cleansing the soul and washing away the worries of the world. But who except the bravest—or craziest—among us would willingly strike out without communications, charts or navigation equipment? And what would the world look like when we returned, particularly if the world were dealing with a deadly pandemic? Experienced Canadian sailor Bill Norrie was well prepared when he left Vancouver, British Columbia, last September aboard his 28-foot sailboat Pixie on a solo circumnavigation by way of the Great Capes. But as fate would have it, he encountered some rough weather along the route, leaving him far less prepared as the journey wore on. According to a report from CBC News correspondent Joel Dryden, a February storm off the Falklands forced Norrie into port in…

It may not rank up there with the great mysteries in life, but it is definitely a puzzlement: Why don’t more boaters set up and understand the use of the Digital Selective Calling function on their VHF radios? Next to the invention of the EPRIB, the single-button DSC feature is the most valuable safety feature developed for boaters. In some ways, it’s even better than an EPRIB. Unfortunately, based on random surveys taken during United States Coast Guard Auxiliary safety checks, fewer than half the DSC-equipped VHF radios on recreational boats are programmed for use. When properly used in near-coastal and inland waters, DSC, with the press of a single button, can alert more people to the need for help than any other method. DSC digitally sends a distress call…

It was embarkation day. Time to set out on our adventure across the Atlantic. We don’t want to call it a circumnavigation attempt yet, though it is our dream to see and share as much of the planet by water as we can before our 9-year-old son, Jack, leaves the nest. The first leg of this adventure was from our hometown of Stuart, Florida, to Kinsale, Ireland, via Bermuda and the Azores. We had been dreaming about this moment for seven years and planning it for the last two. Yet, so far, we were the weak links, running down the dock, moments to spare, friends assembled to see us off, and our other friends and crew handling all onboard preparations. We awoke on time, but as with absolutely all aspects…