The s/v Sea Monkey enjoys a moment of solitude anchored in Frys Harbor at Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands. Submitted by Brandon Priest of Santa Barbara, CA.
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Cruising Shot of the Week
Mare Wins Leg 1 of the Atlantic Cup
The Class 40s competing in The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing finished up their first leg early Tuesday morning. Skippers Jörg Riechers and Ryan Breymaier on Mare crossed the finish line first at 1:20:13 a.m. EST with an elapsed time of 78:55:13 to complete the 642 nautical mile first off-shore leg of the Atlantic Cup from Charleston, SC to New York Harbor. The race, the first carbon neutral sailing event in the United States, saw Germany’s Mare finish ahead of Campagne de France (79:16:38), followed by two American boats, Bodacious Dream (79:51:56) and Gryphon Solo 2 (80:48:05), with France’s Eole Generation – GDZ Suez (81:50:45) rounding out the top five.
The race began at 6:25 p.m. on Friday from Charleston Marina with international competitors from the USA, France, Great Britain and Germany competing extremely closely for the three-day, first leg. The teams left Charleston harbor with Icarus jumping out in front of the fleet with the best start. Shortly after the start 40 Degrees’ cap shroud failed leading to their dismasting and retirement from the first leg of the race. Boats were mostly in sight of each other until they rounded Cape Hatteras, where the fleet split into two groups. One group opted to go towards the shore where the wind was forecasted to be stronger and the other half opted to sail further east into the gulf-stream to take advantage of the three knot push. Forecast winds didn’t develop for the group headed for the shore allowing the group in the gulf-stream to establish and extend the lead over the inshore path. Continue reading
Another Tragic Dinghy Death that May Have Been Avoidable
We never like to hear stories like these, but they are also a good reminder to take appropriate safety measures at all times, especially during rough weather.
The crew of the 47-foot Musketeer of Stutton, a yacht from the Absolute Aqua RYA sailing school, had been enjoying an evening ashore last week, and began the normal dinghy tender shuttle that would take them back to the boat. It was just before midnight, the seas were rough and the winds were high, but it was a transfer they had done many times before.
When the dinghy didn’t arrive back after delivering some of the crew, crew waiting on the beach called the Coast Guard for help, thinking “that the outboard engine may have failed.” They couldn’t have guessed that their crew mate had drowned. Continue reading
Salty Dog Rally Leaves BVI, but 1 Boat Already Headed Back
The Salty Dog Rally, organized by Bill and Linda Knowles, left Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI on Tuesday after a kickoff barbecue attended by the Deputy Governor of the BVI to return the fleet of cruisers to the northeast of the U.S.
Unfortunately after just over a day of sailing, the Knowles and their crew aboard the s/v Sapphire, a Jeanneau 54DS, have reported that they have had to turn back for the BVI after hitting bad weather.
The crew reports, “We had a picture perfect day [Tuesday] after we finally left the dock at 1:30pm. We had 15 knots SE winds. Shortly after dark we ran into a band of squalls which lasted all night. Winds averaged 20 knots and up to 30 in squalls. The seas built and became confused. [Wednesday] morning, shortly after breakfast, our auto pilot quit. We are unable to determine the cause and are therefore headed back to BVI. We have one seasick crew member, so in these sea conditions and squalls, three of us would be exhausted by the time we got to Bermuda. We also are not sure if there would be anyone there who could fix it.” Continue reading
Clipper Boats Headed for New York
After making their way through the famous Panama Canal the ten identical 68-foot yachts competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race started the 2,100 mile stage to New York Monday night.
The fleet left San Francisco Bay in this US coast-to-coast leg on April 14. It has made its way through the famous Panama Canal over the last week and is now truly back in its home strait on the Atlantic Ocean, having already conquered nearly 35,000 miles at sea.
The start line was set 60 miles from the coast of Panama. At 2330 UTC Race 11 got underway, as nominated lead skipper Richard Hewson from Gold Coast Australia set a “Le Mans” start. Here all ten Clipper Race entries line up alongside each other and crew race to hoist their headsails in the fastest possible time. Continue reading
Nautor’s Swan Announces New Swan 105
If you happen to be in the market for a new super-yacht, Nautor’s Swan may be able to help. The Nautor Swan’s internal team and designer German Frers have announced their latest design, the Swan 105.
The Swan 105 takes its lead from the previous generations such as the Swan 112, 100 and 130. It is designed to provide the ultimate cruising experience. The performance orientated hull with clean deck layout concealing the substantial internal volume and innovative technical features combine to afford true comfort for owners and guests. The layouts options include an owner’s cabin forward and aft for a personalized preference. With six hull windows on each side of the hull coupled with ten deck hatches and the raised saloon windows, natural light flows into the main saloon area producing bright living quarters. Continue reading
Bronze Age Boat Replica Sinks at Launch
Perhaps they should have tested this before all the crowds gathered around.
The maiden voyage of a replica Bronze Age boat made in Kent had to be aborted when it failed to stay afloat.
The vessel, which is called Boat 1550 BC, immediately began to take on water when it was lowered into Dover Harbor.
The boat is half the size of an original Bronze Age boat which was unearthed in Dover in 1992.
“It didn’t go to plan so we had a bit of a naming ceremony instead,” a Canterbury Christ Church University spokeswoman said. “They had the boat carefully placed in a crane hammock but it filled up straight away.”
No-one was in the boat during its launch. Continue reading
Bavaria to Open New Factory Direct Location in CT
Bavaria Yachts USA has announced that Mystic, CT will be the location for it’s newest Factory-Direct location, positioned to serve the Northeast sailing market. Bavaria Yachts will be based in Mystic Shipyard, where it will offer new boat sales, service, and parts support, all focused entirely on Bavaria sailing yachts. The Bavaria Yachts office will officially open in early September.
“Since our launch in June 2011, the response to our new Farr-designed Cruiser Series, has been overwhelming” explains Kenny Feld, Managing Director of Bavaria Yachts USA. “We anticipate even more excitement with the upcoming introduction of the incredible new Vision Series. We are thrilled that with the opening of the new Mystic office, we will now be able to directly serve the Northeast market. Mystic is the perfect location given it’s accessibility from most major sailing and metro areas in the Northeast. The Mystic Shipyard is also uniquely equipped with the skills and facilities to support the premium service all Bavaria owners will enjoy. Besides, Mystic is just a special place to visit and sail from, as anyone who’s been there can attest.” Continue reading
Kannad Marine SafeLink R10 Survivor Recovery System
Overall Winner of the 2012 Pittman Innovation Awards. West Marine 2012 Top 6 Product. The Kannad Marine SafeLink R10 SRS (Survivor Recovery System) is worn on a lifejacket and activated by sliding off the safety tab and lifting an arming cap to deploy the antenna. The compact, lightweight unit sends alert messages, GPS position and a special identity code directly to AIS receivers within approximately a four mile radius. A unique, built-in, high precision GPS receiver – which updates every 60 seconds – assures accuracy of the transmitted data. With precise location, distance and bearing data, fellow crew members (and nearby AIS-enabled receivers) receive all the information they need to locate the position of the person in difficulty and to enable a speedy recovery. Get more info: www.kannadmarine.com.
Raymarine’s New RayControl App Turns Tablets into MFD
Raymarine has just launched their new RayControl app to transform your tablet into a full function Raymarine multi-function display. RayControl allows you to remotely control and view electronic charting, sonar, radar, and even thermal night vision, right from your tablet. It emulates Raymarine multi-function display’s with touch screen interaction and a virtual slide out multi-function display keyboard. The RayControl app works best on the iPad 2 and better and the Android or Kindle Fire with 1 GHz processor and better and running 2.2.2. or better. In order to use this app, you’ll need to upgrade your Raymarine c-Series or e-Series multifunction display to software version 3.15 or higher. The c-Series and e-Series v 3.15 software upgrades are available for free. For more information, go to www1.raymarine.com.
10 Tips to Storm Proof Your Sailboat
Get ready now for rough weather in port. Smooth sharp chock corners (yellow arrow), add chafing gear, line the hull with fenders, and double up your docking lines.
There’s nothing worse than an overnight storm that you weren’t prepared for or having to scramble to get your boat properly tied up when one is impending. Captain John from www.skippertips.com offers us these tips to make sure you’re always ready to weather the storm.
Would your small cruising or racing sailboat be able to weather a gale, storm, or hurricane in her slip, at a mooring, or at anchor? Will you have peace-of-mind the next time Mother Nature decides to unleash her fury in your area? Follow this handy ten-step checklist to make sure you do!
Wherever you live, you can expect to be visited by severe weather once in a while. And if you’ve strolled through any marina after a major storm and seen the damage, this provides a real “wake up” call to us sailors. What else could have been done?
Much of what I’m about to show you was done with our large fleet at the Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart, Florida to prepare for hurricanes. These boats included sail and power craft from twenty to fifty feet. Most of these boats were tied up inside of slips.
Read over this checkoff list. Add to it. But by all means, print off a copy and add it to your storm preparations. When the heavy stuff comes your way, you’ll be glad you did! Continue reading
Another Big Finish by France’s Yacht Club de Pau
Alexseal partnered with France’s Yacht Club de Pau as part of the refit of their course setting LAB1 & LAB2. Since the development of Alexseal more than a decade ago, real-market field trials like this have been a key component in testing and refining the superior product line. Technical representatives are hands on to address any challenges, and back at the lab, the Alexseal chemists stand ready to try to replicate any condition to find the ideal application solution. As these yachts are launched the world over, the opulent finishes are the talk of the docks, and the comments of the builders, yards, applicators and owners alike tell the rest of the story of how their ALEXSEAL® service was equally impressive To see more Big Finishes, visit ALEXSEAL.com
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Boat Review: Sabre 456
The Sabre 456 was launched late last in 2010 and has drawn a lot of attention from both Sabre owners and would-be Sabre owners.
The Jim Taylor design is an upgrade of the Sabre 452 that was introduced several years ago with a new keel, new rig and modernized interior.
On deck, the 456 has a large, secure cockpit with high seatbacks and a single large destroyer wheel. The main sheet runs to the traveler forward of the dodger so the cockpit is not cluttered. The chainplates for the shrouds are well inboard for close sheeting angles on the genoa and to make going forward easier. Continue reading
Sign Up Now for Sail Indonesia Rally
If you’ve got months to spare, this sounds like a spectacular trip. Sign up now for this year or start planning for next year. Sail Indonesia 2012 will depart from Darwin on Saturday, July 28 for its twelfth annual rally and visit 25 ports over three months including Bali and Singapore. During the rally participants are invited to participate in a linked series of events and cultural festivals at the different stopovers across Indonesia. As in past years the local administration at each of these Indonesian islands has planned a number of events at the time of the rally’s visit which often includes a ceremonial welcome and dinner as well as cultural and arts displays and also dance performances. Participants will be able to see some of the more remote, interesting and less developed parts of Indonesia as they cross the country often away from the well worn tourist areas. At each of these stopovers you will be able to experience different peoples and their cultures, different lifestyles, different arts, different crafts, wonderful foods and of course different languages. However, everyone is welcome to follow their own schedule in exploring these ports. For more information or to sign up, go to www.sailindonesia.net.
Tickets for AC World Series in Newport on Sale Now
Rumor has it that these tickets are expected to sell out pretty quickly so if you want to witness America’s Cup sailors racing in Narragansett Bay, RI again, get your tickets now.
America’s Cup racing returns to the United States next month when the AC World Series brings nine of the top sailing crews in the world to Newport, RI. The American team, ORACLE TEAM USA, currently leads the AC World Series by one point and so the final stop on the 2011-12 AC World Series circuit will determine the overall winner of the first-ever season.
“The championship has been extremely close since the first event in Portugal last summer,” said Jimmy Spithill, skipper of ORACLE TEAM USA. “I won’t be surprised to see it come down to the final race, on the final day in Newport. And that’s the way it should be.” Continue reading
SailQuest Boat Show Takes Place this Weekend!
The SailQuest Boat Show will take place this weekend, May 18-20, at Milford Lisman Landing Marina in Milford, CT. This free show will have all hands on deck to promote National Safe Boating Week which begins on May 20 and will feature many family-oriented sail and power cruising boats ranging from 20 to 50 feet. Attendees will be able to explore the in-water featured boats from manufacturers including Beneteau, Jeanneau, J Boats, Catalina, Hanse, Hunter, Lagoon, and many more. Additional vendors will be offering gear and servinces, and for the kids North Sails will offer a children’s sailmaking activity. For those who want to get out on the water, certified instructors will be offering introduction to sailing cruises. For more information, go to www.windcheckmagazine.com.
Revolutionary Tank Monitors from Gobius
Do you know how full your holding tank is? Not knowing can be a problem and an embarrassment–just as bad or worse than not knowing how much water and fuel you have left. The all new Gobius Tank Level Indicator will measure the contents of all of your tanks cleanly and easily, no matter what material your tanks are made of–aluminum, fiberglass, plastic or stainless steel. Gobius measures your tank’s contents from the outside of the tank. There are no holes to drill at installation and no need to clean the inside of the tank. You calibrate the tank yourself. Only one button controls all features of the Gobius. It is easy to install and easier to use. For more information or to order call 800-801-8922 or visit us at www.AB-Marine.com.
Yikes! Plastics in Ocean Increased 100-Fold Over 40 Years
This is horrifying news on the health of our oceans and the rate at which the human population is damaging them.
A 100-fold upsurge in human-produced plastic garbage in the ocean is altering habitats in the marine environment, according to a new study led by a graduate student researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
In 2009 an ambitious group of graduate students led the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX) to the North Pacific Ocean Subtropical Gyre aboard the Scripps research vessel New Horizon. During the voyage the researchers, who concentrated their studies a thousand miles west of California, documented an alarming amount of human-generated trash, mostly broken down bits of plastic the size of a fingernail floating across thousands of miles of open ocean. Continue reading
US Sailing Launches Cruising Council and Wants Your Help
US Sailing has founded the Cruising Sailors Council with several goals in growing the recreational sailing community. The Council wants to bring new people into the sport of sailing and into US Sailing while providing a forum to examine entrance points for new comers to recreational sailing and cruising, and to advise on ways to foster, market, and encourage participation in the sport of sailing. They also intend to provide forums for safety related issues for recreational and cruising sailors including on the topics of boating safety issues, state and federal regulations and boating law issues, and the further development/review of best safe sailing practices while acting as a liaison with the USCG regarding safety issues, education and training issues, port security issues and homeland security issues and advisories. And the Council will offer information to cruisers on blue water cruising, visiting foreign ports, living aboard, and boat maintenance. And while all of this sounds great, the Council is still looking for more input from you, the cruiser, on what you would like to see them offer and how you currently use US Sailing or plan to in the future. To give them your input and learn more about the Cruising Council, go to www.cruisingsailor.sailingcourse.com.
White Chocolate Cherry Trifle
We’re big fans of dessert around here, and besides using primarily easy to cruise with ingredients, this one also looks delicious!
Ingredients:
1 package prepared pound cake, cubed
2 T. amaretto liqueur
1 16-ounce can cherry pie filling
2 3.3-ounce packages instant white chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Chocolate shavings Continue reading
