Subscribe to our free weekly Newsletter
October 5th, 2009So-called sailboats
February 15th, 2010It wasn’t hard to choose my subject in response to Tillerman’s current group writing project, “Worst Sailing Invention Ever”.
Motor boats, and, get me right, by this I don’t mean vessels that use motors as their only method of propulsion, but so-called sailboats that have to run their motors 24/7 to support an ever-increasing range of equipment – canting keels, water ballast, button-controlled winches, etc.
Now, if people want to take these motor boats cruising, then that’s ok by me, or they can race each other. But if they want to race them against my friends and me who are sailing on traditional yachts I don’t want anything to do with them. I want to be in a race where competitors rely on the manual exertion of their crews.
It’s not that I’m against engines: I am for them when they are used as auxiliaries. Engines are great for maintaining battery power for navigation lights, communications, navstation equipment and house power.
And I’m not against having a well-chilled beer at the end of a race.
Charles Darwin’s Birthday
February 12th, 2010Today is the 201st anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, ‘Father of Evolution’. His voyage on HMS Beagle from 1831-1836 is being retraced by Randstad Clipper Stad Amsterdam, with his great-great-granddaughter Sarah Darwin and a group of scientists and researchers aboard. This beautiful clipper arrives in Sydney tomorrow for a four day stay.
Avoid penalties by reading the Sailing Instructions
February 10th, 2010Three competitors in the Clipper Round the World 2009/2010 race have each been given a 60-minute time penalty. In breach of the Sailing Instructions, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Cape Breton Island and California entered the Singapore Traffic Separation Scheme at the start of the current leg from Singapore to Qingdao.
In the first leg Hull and Humber and Cork were penalised for a similar offence, which should have made all the competitors especially careful. I was glad, however, that there were no repeat offenders – impossible in the case of Cork, who was abandoned after running aground on the Fremantle-Singapore leg.
The advice to READ THE SAILING INSTRUCTIONS is particularly important if you only race occasionally or are participating in a special regatta. You may find that marks you normally pass to starboard are designated to be left to port. This is to be expected if the race has been organised by a club other than your own.
You can’t win races unless you sail the proper course and you shouldn’t rely on following other yachts. What will happen if you are in the lead?
Make sure there’s an EPIRB in your grab bag
January 25th, 2010Another recommendation from the Flinders Islet yacht race incident preliminary report* was that yachts should have “a ‘mini grab bag’ that is easily accessible from the cockpit of the yacht containing at least a VHF handheld radio, 2 flares and, if possible, an EPIRB.”
Personally, I don’t think the EPIRB should be optional. I’d be much happier knowing that there was one in the grab bag if I needed to abandon ship.
If you do plan to get one, it needs to be a manually operated EPIRB so that you can activate it when necessary. And preferably with GPS, which can update rescue authorities with details of your position – particularly important when being blown along in a liferaft.
* You can read our report on the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) Board’s recommendations in our Newsletter Archive.
Spotlight vs floating torch
January 22nd, 2010The recently released preliminary report* into the Flinders Islet yacht race incident recommended that:
A handheld portable spotlight be carried on board in a readily accessible position, as it has been demonstrated that the standard floating torch or equivalent does not have sufficient candle power to illuminate objects at a distance from the yacht, particularly in a search and rescue situation.
I must say that I appreciated the usefulness of such a spotlight when arriving in Southport, Tasmania long after dark. We were one of six boats sailing from Hobart to Port Davey, in the South West Heritage Wilderness. One of our fellow voyagers, Charlie, had arrived and anchored earlier. As we approached, we talked on the radio and he said he’d go out on deck and shine his spotlight to show us where he was. He also illuminated other boats, moored or at anchor in the bay. As a result we were able to find a safe place to anchor nearby.
A floating torch would certainly not have provided sufficient light to help us.
As a result I would certainly want to have a handheld portable spotlight on board any yacht I was going sail at night and recommend that other skippers do likewise.
* You can read our report on the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) Board’s recommendations in our Newsletter Archive.
Carry your own torch
January 20th, 2010I remember one of the Christmas presents I received on the eve of my first Sydney-Hobart yacht race in 1987. It was a small, black Maglite torch, with a lanyard attached – my personal light to be used when working on deck at night. It was also very useful down below at change of watch when searching for my sheepskin hat or sailing gloves or other ‘missing’ piece of clothing or equipment. It meant that I did not have to switch lights on to find my way around, disturbing other crew members in the process.
After the recent loss of two crew members from the yacht, Shockwave, at Flinders Islet, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) set up an internal inquiry. The fourth of the six recommendations made by the Board of the CYCA recognised the importance of providing illumination below decks, stating that it “may be achieved by providing each crew member with a small portable torch for use in the event of complete electrical failure on the yacht or any other emergencies”.
Lucky for me that Jim had years earlier provided me with this safeguard.
Read our full report on the Board’s recommendations in our Newsletter Archive.
