Weather or not

Tags

cruising, racing, weather, yachts

When I first started sailing as a kid on Mulungushi Dam, in what is now Zambia, racing was not enjoyable. Gunkholing was what enticed me, sailing into little coves and seeing what was there, exploring in “forbidden” areas was what appealed.

Gunkholing at it’s best

The thought of racing and having to beat someone was pointless, why bother, much better things to do than to waste good exploring time trying to prove who could win what.

As a consequence I never did worry to learn how to get the fastest speed out of a sailing boat, happy to just relax on a boat and explore.

Then I started sailing at sea, the horizon was always beckoning, calling to new, unseen, (for me at least), places. Half the fun was the dreaming of where to go and how to get there.

When my hobby  turned into my career, things changed a bit. Delivering boats mean you need to get the boat and crew there in one piece in as fast a time possible. The weather and the boat, of course, conspire to rob you of the ability to do this without a struggle. It becomes a battle of wits and knowledge on your side and a boat, whose sole purpose it to think of things to do to you next, (at least that is what it feels like), and the weather, which never reads the weather report and so does not know what it is supposed to do, on the other side.

Confronted with a pending storm, in what you have discovered is not such a seaworthy boat, all the racing skills now become a necessity as racing the weather into the nearest port becomes a necessity, far more important than winning a race against humans. Comfort and safety are at stake now.

So I learned to get the best out of a sailing yacht, not to prove I could set sails better than my fellow sailors, but because many times, lives depended on our ablity to get the most out of the boat and the crew. Being able to race the weather will prevent you having to survive it.

Survival mode, funny how photo’s “shrink” the waves

My advice to prospective cruisers…go racing for a season, preferably on someone elses boat, not because you enjoy it but because one day it might just save you.

Check if it is Stainless

Tags

magnet, rust, Stainless Steel

When our boat was being built the poor builder found that if he ordered a box of 100 Stainless steel bolts, nuts or screws 316 grade, some were not.

He was beside himself, not only were they short-changing him by putting in inferior and cheaper bolts, but his reputation as a boat builder was at stake.

What yachtsmen need to know is if a metal is non magnetic, it will not rust. If it is magnetic it will rust. That is why you can use stainless and brass near a compass.

Every bolt has a number on it detailing what kind of bolt it is but screws do not. Checking the numbers is a very laborious task and not one any firm wants to go though.
The problem was solved by using a magnet, any bolts that stuck to the magnet were sent back to the supplier for replacement. In one box of 100, he found only 5 non-magnetic bolts.

I have always told my students to go shopping for their boat with a magnet, if it sticks to the object, it is only chrome or brass plated and not the real thing.

Knives are the exception,  A high-grade Stainless does not hold a sharp edge and blunts quickly, here you do not want a high-grade or you will spend all your time sharpening it.

Stainless steel polishing

Tags

stainless polishing

Stainless needs to be polished regularly, and to keep it really good it needs to be wiped with a chamois in the morning to get off the dew, washed after sailing to get the salt off and washed and polised regularly. This of course is impossible on a cross ocean trip and when cruising in places where fresh water is not easily available.

What I have found is after I have polished the stainless I then polish it with clear shoe polish or Dubbin, this gives it a protective layer against the salt and keeps it for much longer.

In instances where the stainless has deteriorated badly, I use phosporic acid, use gloves and be careful when applying, wash off well once the rusty\oxidised look has gone or it will turn the stainless black.

There are products you can buy that will do the job but as they have the name “yacht” attached, they tend to be pricy, besides you cannot get them in the remote places that we prefere to visit.

Frapping lines

Tags

frapping lines, halyards, mast

Last night was not a good one, some yachts person either has not heard of frapping lines or is not considerate enough to use them.

The continual banging of the halyards against the mast when the wind is blowing,  while trying to sleep is very annoying, most marinas have rules that state it should not happen, but few enforce it.

our blue frapping line holding the main halyard away from the mast. We take the spinnaker halyard to the pulpit and attach it there to keep it away from the mast.

The origin of the word comes from the French verb “frapper” which means to hit. The line basically ties the halyard away from the mast so it cannot hit the mast when the wind blows and so the line does not hit the mast and annoy everyone in the vicinity and  few realize that the banging halyards can damage the boat.

 

 

 

All it takes is a short piece of line to hold the halyard away from the mast, usually tied to a shroud on a monohull, those with stack packs can use the same method we do with a permanently attached line ready for use at any time.

Frapping lines not only makes life a lot more peaceful but also extend the life of the running and standing rigging, remember stainless does not like vibration and the paint on the mast can wear with the continual abuse, let alone the damage to the lines, so it is in the interest of an owner to make sure his halyards are secured.

In the days when I was taught to sail no self respecting sailor would ever allow his halyards to “frapp” against the mast, but unfortunately courtesy seems to be going out of the window in sailing as in so many other aspects of our society.

Listen to the Locals

The locals know what is best, this was demonstrated in Madagascar where they have a beautiful and large island with a great anchorage, that they use as a prison.

A South African single handed yachtsman was warned repeatedly of the dangers, but decided to anchor there for the night.

The Prison Island

In the morning the boat was gone, but so were two of the prisoners. The sailors body was found washed up on the beach a while later, and the boat was found wrecked on the mainland.

We have warned many a yachtsman not to venture into the city at night, or to visit certain areas, or carry big camera and backpacks. Those who listened did not have a problem, those who did not, came back minus wallets, passports, goods and worse some had been injured.

Please, when visiting a place, listen to the locals or those who have been there longer and have learned.

Up the mast

Tags

climbing, mast, sailing, teaching

Sailing up the east coast of South Africa in a trimarran, my crew accidentally let go of the main sail halyard, being a fit young man his remark was “no problem I will go up and fetch it”

We were motoring into the wind to hoist the main so we could beat our way up to the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. The mast had steps on, and he started to climb, got about two meters (six feet) off the deck, stopped and clung there like a pogo bear, descended gingerly and remarked that the jerky movement threatened to throw him off the mast.

“I’ll have a go” said a more mature man, not to be outdone. He too got about two meters up and came down.

“I suppose I will have to go and get it”, I remarked and started to climb, watched disdainfully by the men, when I was two meters up I asked the helmsman to turn downwind, when he had done so I continued to climb and retrieve the halyard.

The two men were laughing and ribbing each other, that they had not thought of the trick of turning a boat downwind when climbing the mast at sea so as to make it safer and easier and needed a blonde woman to show them how, but that was what they were on the trip for, to learn to sail.

That is where experience counts, they never forgot the lesson. A very effective and fun way to teach.

Can you rely on a GPS?

Tags

catamaran, chart accuracy, GPS, Madagascar, navigation, Red Sea, sailing, water colours showing shallow water

One of the other cruising yachtsmen popped round to chat, we were reminiscing about the old days of Celestial Navigation and the ease of using GPS, he mentioned that if you put a waypoint in at the entrance of the one marina in Morocco, near the Algerian border, you will end up on land if you follow the GPS. This happens even when the chart datum is correct.

In Dar es Salaam, there are two Islands off the Yacht club, When you go round the NW of the Islands, the chart plotter tracks you over the end of the islands, you know this is not true as you did not have to get the wheels out.

The NW of Madagascar is the same, in the Nosy be area you will be anchored in your chosen anchorage and the GPS will say you still have half a mile to go. It is out to the W and S.

Going up the Red Sea in a yacht, in the days before the pirates became so active, I was in an advisory capacity on board. We were hit by a NW gale of about 40 knots, the owner wanted to go up the nearest Marsa, which is an dried up river bed that gives a sheltered place to anchor, although rather narrow so care must be taken.

The chart plotter warned that the charts were inaccurate in places. It gave us a position near one that was deep enough to go up, but it land features did not tally with what the chart plotter said. I looked on the chart and correlated the land features, “The place we want is 5 M south of us” I told the owner.

He flatly refused to believe me and relied on the chart plotter so we entered between the reefs, From my position on the bow I could see the entrance and it was very light blue, denoting very shallow water. “The water is not deep enough for us to get over the bar” I called back to him, he just doggedly kept driving. “Guide me in” he instructed. I guided him to the only part of the entrance that was sand and no rock or coral and we ran aground.

An example of how the water colour changes as the depth gets shallower. The colours are very dependent on the clarity of the water. Rock, coral and weed show up as different colours, Be careful of clouds, their shadow can look like a reef, but it moves.

With an ashen face he reversed us off the sand and managed to turn the boat round in the narrow entrance between the reefs, thank goodness it was a catamaran and could turn in it’s own boats length.

We sailed back to where the Marsa was we wanted and nothing more was said, he had learned what could have been an expensive and dangerous lesson.

Visual

The secret to not loosing the laundry at sea

Tags

how not to loose it, laundry at sea, The yacht peg knot

I was in the yacht chandler and ran into a friend of ours, a man who had been at sea on the old square riggers. I loved talking to him as, with older people they are a wealth of knowledge and experience, you never know when you are going to be given a nugget of knowledge.

Unfortunately I had to cut the conversation short as a SW gale was due through and I had laundry up. He laughed, “come let me show you a trick we used on the sailing ships”

This is the trick, I have never had to worry about loosing laundry again.

Tie the one end of your line to the shrouds with a rolling hitch, make a loop in the line using your thumb and index finger

pick up one of the lines outside the loop and pull through

insert the corner or a piece of the edge of a garment into the loop and pull tight.

Voila! THE YACHT PEG KNOT, the stronger the wind, the tighter the knot and the safer the laundry

Ok so you do get little crinkled corners, but they can be hidden and soon come out. Here is the knot again.

make the loop

pull line through loop

insert laundry into loop

pull tight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The knot is easy with one hand, a little practise is all that is needed.

It also comes undone easily.

 

Storage of Grains

Tags

glass, navigation, plastic containers, storage of grains, tin., yachting

Grains tend to grow extra protein when stored for a long time.

Sifting little black things out of white flour is not too difficult, provided of course you have a good sieve. Whole wheat flour, rice and other grains tend to be a bit more difficult as the grain is usually bigger than the weevil. Should you have a larger mesh sieve, you can at least get most of the weevils to fall out of the sieve.

Either way it is a long and painful process, and not everyone can afford to ditch food and buy more, if you are even near a shop that stocks the things you want.

Some people just eat it with the extra protein, I have not yet managed to enjoy the extra crunch in my baked goods.

As sailors we long for remote places, these of course have their drawbacks in the lack of shops and facilities as we know them, it is of course great fun finding ways to adapt to the local way of living and trying their food.

The best way, of course, is to prevent those little bits of protein from hatching.

For short storage, up to three months, putting Bay leaves in the container with the flour/rice etc. will suffice.

For longer storage there are three things you can do

1) Get some ether, this might need a medical script in some places, and just before sealing the container, drop a bit of ether saturated cotton wool on top of the grain.

2) Get dry ice (not always available) and drop a small piece into the container before closing

3) The last method can only be used in metal/glass containers with a metal lid. Put a birthday cake candle into the flour and light it and put the lid on, this will burn the oxygen out of the air, the candle goes out and the protein pieces do not hatch.

All grains and flours need to be kept in water tight containers. Plastic zip locks are good for short storage but for longer storage plastic, glass or tin containers can be used.

Plastic gives off Formaldic acid and can taint the flour for those with a sensitive palate, like me. (probably the only sensitive part I have), I can taste plastic even in bottled water.  They also scratch and stain easily. Worst of all they give off Bisphenol A, a carcinogenic and hormone disrupting compound now banned in Canada in babies bottles. One day, hopefully, the rest of the world will catch up.

Tin rusts and so needs extra care on a boat, I coat the outside of my tins with self etching primer, this way they will last a couple of years, (mine lasted 10 years), and as they are inexpensive and readily available it is not really a problem.

Glass is the other option, with metal lids, paint the lids and they will not rust, they need to be stored carefully and used with care, they are heavier than the other options and on a monohull a smashing time can be had if due care is not taken. I sailed 15 years on a monohull and did not break one, it can be done.

Baking bread on board is one of the psychophysical  boosters for the crew.

On one trip we had a thirteen year old crew member, and as it was hot in the tropics, I baked on my early morning watch, about 0300 in the morning. Not every morning but every second morning as I would bake three loaves at a time followed by three apple puds and make hot custard and the whole crew would get up early when it was done at about 0500 to have fresh bread and apple cake.

Si Navigating

Si had been on watch before me, so I decided I would not wake him up, he had a long watch as he was experimenting with celestial navigation and was having fun with a moon latitude, he could have his share when he woke up on his own accord, so I thought. OK so it would not longer be hot.  Surely that would not matter? BIG mistake, he would not talk to me for days!

Do not underestimate the effect of good food on the morale of the crew!!!!

 

 

 

Towels

Tags

Kenya, Kikoy, salt water, sarong, sheet, shower, storage, tablecloth, towel, versatile, washing

Towels on a boat at sea become unpleasant. They are difficult to dry and when used for salt water baths soon become a mouldering, smelly, scratchy heap.

When at sea we bath with sea water, (which leaves the skin and hair invigorated), and we just rinse delicate areas with a bit of fresh water. Drying off with a towel means the salt gets into the towel and being hygroscopic, the moment evening sets in they get damp, and so start to get mouldy and smelly. When dry the salt turns them into very effective scratching post, not very kind to the skin good for itches though.

Towels are also very bulky and heavy, on a boat where space and weight are a consideration, (especially on a catamaran), they take up too much space, too much water to wash, too long to dry and when taken to a laundromat, too expensive to wash and dry.

For many years now I have used what most would call a sarong, not one made of a light material but a good cotton one. The best I have found are the Kikoy from Kenya, I have many on board as they are so versatile.

some of our “towels” hanging out to dry, you might have noticed that my favourite colour is blue.

As a towel they are brilliant, they are light, fold up small for your shower kit when going to the shower, dry very quickly and if hung up in a breeze they flap the vast majority of the salt out so they do not stay damp and become a scratching post. They do not take much water to wash, (we wash in salt and rinse in fresh), can be used as a wrap, (even the menfolk wear them as they are so comfortable in the tropics), can be sat on and used as a sunshade, I have even used mine as a bed sheet, table cloth and bed cover. Each crew member can have their own colour.

So you cannot get to Kenya or Tanzania to get the “real Kikoy”, all you need is a piece of pure cotton of you favourite colours, about 2 meters, (6 feet) long and 3/4 of a meter  (4 feet) wide, sew up the edges so they do not fray, wash them so they become absorbent, and voilà, a towel.

They are light and store in a fraction of the space required for towels. Once you have used them it is difficult to go back to a towel.