Ocean Navigator 172 2008.09 PDF

ON172_cover_final.
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Oil-eating bugs H Finding crew via the Internet
September 2008
Issue No. 172
$4.99 U.S. $4.99 Canada
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Nordhavn will display at this year's fall boat shows. Visit nordhavn.com for details.
NORDHAVN Compatibility
“Nordhavn was the only choice that satisfied
my dream of long-distance cruising
and my wife’s expectations for comfort.” Jim Lyle, owner of Nordhavn 43
Special Blend
Special Blend at anchor off of Vava’u, Tonga where the Lyle family connect with nature and fall in love with the stress free life their Nordhavn 43 gives them.
Jim and Martha Lyle had been comfortable in my home. I wanted my

boaters for 40 years cruising things around me and I wanted the
locally around the waters of feeling of security.”
their Florida home. They decided
to expand their cruising grounds to Space-wise, the Nordhavn 43
include the Bahamas and the Caribbean was the ideal length for them:
until Jim learned about the Nordhavn not too big that Jim felt overwhelmed
40 that P.A.E. had taken around the handling her and not too small that
world. “It had never occurred to me quarters seemed cramped. The couple
that a motorboat could do that,” said recently finished a 10-month itinerary
Jim. “Suddenly, the Bahamas and that brought them from Florida to
Caribbean weren’t big enough.” New Zealand and were pleased at how
well they got along. Says Jim, “We
Bulletproof construction, a have been married 40 years and never
Special Blend offers Martha a home anywhere in the world. thought spending 10 months within
highly efficient full displacement
design, predictability at sea and a only choice that satisfied my dream of 43 feet of each other was possible. But
notable track record impressed Jim. Finally, long-distance cruising and my wife’s we didn’t want to leave. We fell in love with
his childhood fascination with exploring expectations for comfort.” the stress free life our Nordhavn gave us.”
the South Pacific seemed within reach, but You, too, can get closer with your family by
taking such an extended cruise with Indeed, Martha wanted to take hot showers, going far away in a Nordhavn. Call, click or
Martha by his side was unlikely. “Martha lounge in air-conditioned comfort during fax today Nordhavn today. 949.496.4848
has gone along with me on most of my humid climes, enjoy drinks with ice and Fax 949.240.2398 www.nordhavn.com
boating expeditions, but I soon realized kick back in a great-looking salon. “After
that she wasn’t going to go ‘camping’ for cruising for nearly a year, the boat becomes
any extended cruise. “Nordhavn was the your home,” said Martha. “I wanted to be
40II 43 47 52 55 56MS 60 62 64 68 72 75EYF 76 86 120

Pacific Asian Enterprises • 34179 Golden Lantern, Suite 101 • Dana Point, CA 92629
949.496.4848 Fax 949.240.2398 www.nordhavn.com
01_15_ON172_chatter.qxd 7/29/08 10:46 AM Page 1
Contents 10
9
Departments
Chartroom Chatter
6 Newport Bermuda Race 2008
8 Raider breaks Bermuda Ocean Race record
8 Cynthia Woods sinking
9 Junk raft
10 400th Alerion design delivered
10 Pilot Cutter Review Championship
12 Yanmar approves biodiesel fuel
13 The Fairhaven project
14 Notable New Books
Marine Tech Notes

16 Tiny bilge-cleaning crew
By Tim Queeney
Power Voyaging
18 A synchronizing inverter allows for
18 a smaller genset
By Nigel Calder
Correspondence
24 Trouble in spades
24
27 27 Crewing in the age of the Internet
Voyaging Tips
56 Super Wi-Fi antenna
By Harry Hungate
Nav Problem
64 Alone around the world with just
a screwdriver
By David Berson
For bonus materials, check out the

current issue at www.OceanNavigator.com.
14
www.oceannavigator.com
32
OCEAN
NAVIGATOR
Issue #172
MAR I N E NAVIGATION AN D OCEAN VOYAG I NG
September 2008
Features 43
Ocean Voyaging
32 A sail on the wild side
56
A passage from the Indian Ocean
to the South Pacific is a lonely slog
along the lee shore of New
Guinea’s north coast
by Ann Hoffner
Voyaging Weather
38 Weather communications
A case study on how voyagers
commonly gather weather data
while passagemaking
by Josh Warren-White
43 One arrow in the quiver

Grib files provide excellent weather
info but aren’t a sole source for
38
voyaging decisions
by Ralph Naranjo
49 Fiber rigging comes 49 30

20 10 0 10
20
of age 40
Atl
anti
c Ocean
Africa
30
40
50
Many large vessels now use fiber

50
60
60
n
ea
instead of metal rigging

Oc
70
South
fic
America
70
Paci
by Nigel Calder
80
80º
80
South
Pole
90
On the cover: Nat Warren-White standing watch on

100
100
80º
the aft deck of the 43-foot cutter Bahati, halfway
110
70º
110
Pa
cif
through a 3,000-mile passage from the Galapagos

ic
O
12
ce 60º
0
0
12
an
Islands to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.
13
50º
13
0
14 Australia
64
0
Josh Warren-White photo
0
14
15 40º
0 0
160 15
170 170 160
180
CONTRIBUTORS OCEAN
NAVIGATOR MAR I N E NAVIGATION AN D OCEAN VOYAG I NG
ALL DEPARTMENTS: 207-772-2466

FAX: 207-772-2879
Ann Hoffner (Ocean Voyaging, “A sail on the wild side,” Page www.OceanNavigator.com
32) and Tom Bailey set off in the early 1990s to sail EDITORIAL
around the world. Two-and-a-half years later they Editors@OceanNavigator.com
had only reached the Virgin Islands. They bought a EDITOR Tim Queeney
COPY EDITOR Deirdre Bannon
bigger boat, fixed it up and in 2000 set off again. In ART DIRECTOR Kim Goulet Norton
their Peterson 44, Oddly Enough, Hoffner and Bailey ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Susan Sargent
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Scott Bannerot
sailed from the Bahamas to Maine, down the coast Twain Braden
to Florida and through the Caribbean and the Pana- John Snyder
ma Canal. From the Galapagos they sailed to the Nigel Calder
Steve C. D’Antonio
Marquesas. They zigzagged across the South Pacific, Eric Forsyth
spent time in Darwin, Australia, then returned to Chuck Husick
Jeff & Raine Williams
the South Pacific and are now crewing on another David Berson
boat on a voyage to South Africa.
ADVERTISING/MARKETING
Advert@OceanNavigator.com
Josh Warren-White (Special Section on Weather, “Weather
WEST COAST/CANADA
communications,” Page 38) is a 27-year-old graphic design-
INTERNATIONAL Susan W. Hadlock
er who recently returned to San Francisco after sailing MIDWEST / GULF / FLORIDA Bruce Cole
12,000-plus nautical miles from the East Coast of the EAST COAST Charlie Humphries
MARKETING MANAGER Matt Geoffroy
U.S. through the Caribbean and across the South Pacific PUBLISHER/
to New Zealand, aboard his parents’ boat, Bahati. In ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Alex Agnew
2005, Warren-White’s father and mother (Nat and BUSINESS / CIRCULATION
Betsy) purchased a 43-foot sailboat, refit it and set sail on CIRCULATION MANAGER Janice Fowler
a westward circumnavigation of the world. Warren- BUSINESS MANAGER Doreen Parlin
White served as first mate on the voyage and hopes to EVENTS COORDINATOR Sarah Grimm
RETAIL PARTNERSHIP Josh Roberson
buy a boat for a future circumnavigation. He can be FINANCE/PARTNER Michael Payson
reached at jwarrenwhite@gmail.com. More from the
WEB SITE
voyage of Bahati can be found at: www.bahati.net.
Webmaster@OceanNavigator.com
WEB SUPPORT Carrie Fowler

Nigel Calder (Features,“Fiber rigging comes of age,” Page 49)
and his wife Terrie have built or finished the hulls of two CUSTOMER SERVICE
70-foot canal boats and a 39-foot Ingrid cutter. They oceannavigator@pcspublink.com

866-918-6972
sailed a Pacific Seacraft 40 for five years, and then had a
Malo 45 built in Sweden. They are now building a sec-
ISSN 0886-0149
ond Malo 45 with an experimental electrical system. An Ocean Navigator is published in January, March, May, July, September, October
and November, with an annual special issue of Ocean Voyager in April, for
acknowledged marine technology expert, Calder is best $27.95 per year by Navigator Publishing LLC, 58 Fore St., Portland, ME 04101.
Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Maine, and additional mailing offices.
known for his books Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electri- Postmaster: Please send address changes to Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box
461468, Escondido, CA 92046.
cal Manual and Marine Diesel Engines, both in their third Copyright © 2008 by Navigator Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reprinted in any way without written permission from
editions. In addition to more than 200 magazine articles, the publisher.

Subscription rate is $27.95 for one year (eight issues) in the United States
he has also authored several books, including Cruising and its possessions. Canadian subscription rate is $31.95 U.S. funds. Other
foreign surface is $33.95 U.S. funds. Overseas air mail is $62.95 U.S. funds
per year.
Guide to the Northwest Caribbean; Cuba: A Cruising Distribution: Newsstand distribution, domestically and internationally: Coast
to Coast Newsstand Services LTD., 4230 Finch Ave. East, Suite 1, Toronto, ON
Guide; Nigel Calder’s Cruising Handbook; and How to M1S 4Z9. Phone (416) 754-3900; fax (416) 754-4900.
Contributions: We solicit manuscripts, drawings and photographs. Please
Read a Nautical Chart. address all material to Editor, Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box 569, Portland, ME
04112-0569. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the safe handling of con-
tributed materials.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE LANE PRESS
4 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2008 www.oceannavigator.com

Chatter
Chartroom
BY JOHN SNYDER
corrected to 61:06:38 with a total elapsed time of

under ORR rules and 103:00:28 corrected to
100:13:44 under the IRC 56:53:20.
rule. In addition to the St. Other silver was taken
David’s Lighthouse Tro- by Paul Hubbard on
phy, Sinn Fein also won Bermuda Oyster who’s
the newly established 101:07:11 elapsed times
North Rock Beacon Tro- corrected to 81:38:51
phy for winner on correct- making them first in
ed time among all of the Class 12 and winning the
122 IRC-rated boats in Carleton Mitchell Finis-
Barry Pickthall/PPL
both divisions. terre Trophy. Twenty-time

Julien Dougherty of Bermuda veteran Rich du
City Island, New York Moulin and crewman
sailed Tenacious, his Chris Reyling won the
Newport Bermuda Race 2008 Beneteau First 36.7 to a double-handed division
win in the Gibbs Hill for the fourth time aboard
Division of traditional Lora Ann with a corrected
keelboats with professional time of 80:37:47.
crews against the Reichel- The 635-mile Newport
<<
Above, the start of the Pugh 90 Rambler, Reichel- Bermuda Race has been
2008 Newport Bermu- Pugh STP65 Money Pen- sailed from Newport,
da Race. Moonracer, IN THE 46TH RUNNING OF THE ney and Reichel-Pugh 69 R.I., to Bermuda since
an LH60 owned by NEWPORT BERMUDA RACE, Bella Mente. Tenacious 1936. It will be sailed
Michael Hudner Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 arrived at the finish line again in June 2010.
(right), gets a good Sinn Fein won Class 1 and
start in the Class 14- the St. David’s Lighthouse
cruiser division, ahead Trophy making it the Rari-
of Twilight (538), a tan New Jersey Yacht Club
Cook 51 owned by skipper’s fourth successive
Robert Kiley. Class 1 win and his second
Daniel Forster/Talbot Wilson/PPL
<<
Right, Speedboat, Lighthouse win in a row.
Privateer and Il Rebovich and his amateur
Mostro at the start crew of six sailed the most-
of the Newport ly upwind race in an
Bermuda Race. elapsed time of 104:43:57
6 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2008

37º 49.6' N 122º 28.2' W
“I feel that the passage itself should be one of the pleasures of the cruise.”- W.I.B. Crealock
• Come aboard Pacific Seacraft yachts at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD, October 9-13th
• Attend the Pacific Seacraft Sailing Symposium on the waterfront in Washington, NC, October 25-26th
www.pacificseacraft.com • info@pacificseacraft.com • 252.948.1421 phone • 252.948.1422 fax

Chatter
Chartroom
Raider breaks 32 miles off Freeport using

Bermuda Ocean acoustic equipment. The
hull went down about 27
Race record miles off Freeport. Officials
RAIDER, A CUSTOM-BUILT S&S from Texas A&M vowed
48-FOOTER SKIPPERED BY DAVID to spare no expense to
Ross of Annapolis, Md., determine the cause of the
set a new record for this accident that sunk the
year’s 16th running of donated boat. The univer-
Texas A&M University
the Bermuda Ocean sity has contracted T&T

Race, a 753-mile race Marine Salvage to recover
down Chesapeake Bay the hull.
to St. George’s, Bermu- Cynthia Woods had a
Cynthia Woods
<<
da. Averaging more than Salvage divers recovered history of grounding. It is

8 knots, Raider broke Cynthia Woods’ hull and reported that the boat ran
record-holder Chessie sinking its detached keel. Note aground between three and
Racing’s 2006 time by TRAGEDY STRUCK THE 40TH that the keel bolts are still seven times since it was
45 minutes, finishing in ANNIVERSARY OF THE REGATA DE in place. Texas A&M Uni- given to the university in
three days, 13 hours, 18 Amigos, a 610-mile race versity has vowed to 2005. A 2007 grounding
minutes and 58 seconds. from Galveston, Texas to determine the cause of was significant enough to
The Bermuda Ocean Veracruz, Mexico, when the tragic accident that separate the keel from the
Race was established in one of the race boats sank. claimed one life. hull fore and aft.
1979 and After the grounding the
is spon- nication boat was repaired by the
sored by was lost same yard that assembled
the East- and the the boat when it was
port Yacht boat donated, but it is not clear
Club in missed its whether or not a marine
Maryland 0800 surveyor used ultrasound
and the radio call. to inspect the work. While
St. Five of there was no annual
George’s the boat’s inspection of the boat, at
Dinghy and Sports The sailboat Cynthia six crewmembers escaped least three people, includ-
Club, Bermuda. The Woods, a Cape Fear 38R and were rescued by the ing a painter and a diver
race is intended to be a owned by Texas A&M Coast Guard after an cleaning the hull before the
biennial event open to University, foundered 11 exhaustive 26-hour search regatta, noted no damage.
both cruising and racing nm south of Matagorda on about 23 miles from As a precaution, a sister
vessels. This year’s race June 6. The boat began Freeport, Texas. A sixth vessel has been taken out
included 26 competitors taking on water at about crewmember perished. of commission. The acci-
in four divisions: dou- 2345 and within seconds The cause of the sinking dent is under investigation
ble-handed, mini 6.5, capsized. Search and rescue is thought to be keel fail- by Texas A&M University
multihull, and PHRF. commenced after commu- ure. Divers found the keel and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Algalita Marine Research Foundation
of recycled material, which

Junk raft includes rope woven from
A KON-TIKI-STYLE RAFT APTLY plastic bags and the fuselage Alerion 33 — Onne van der Wal Photo
NAMED JUNK SET SAIL FROM THE of a Cessna 310 serving as a
Long Beach Aquarium in cabin. While there is no
California on June 1. motor, the raft is equipped MAKE CRUISING SAFER AND EASIER
Buoyed by some 15,000 with navigation and com- A low-friction Harken CB (Captive Bearing)
Battcar system lets you quickly raise,
plastic bottles and built munication electronics. A
reef and douse your full-battened main on
entirely of trash, Junk hopes wide range of corporate and all points of sail from the safety of the cockpit;
to reach Hawaii and raise private sponsors has made a dependable ‘extra hand’ when you’re sailing alone
public awareness about the the project possible. or with inexperienced crew—no matter what
the weather.
plastic debris that now fouls To spread their message
the world’s oceans. that our oceans are at risk Harken Battcar systems cost far less
Dr. Marcus Eriksen, Joel from plastic debris the team than in-boom or in-mast furling. These systems must
sacriﬁce sail area and efﬁciency to furl properly, but a
Paschal and Anna Cum- has partnered with schools main with Battcars has plenty of power to drive
mins conceived the project as well as civic and environ- the boat through the water. Sails reef quickly
while serving as crew aboard mental organizations. and easily to keep your crew safe.
the ORV Alguita. Sponsored For more information Harken Battcars are easy to install without hiring a
by the Algalita Marine including video links visit professional rigger. Cars roll smoothly off the track for
Research Foundation of their blog at cleaning and maintenance.
Long Beach, Calif., the www.junkraft.blogspot.com.
team was studying plastic
<<
marine debris in the North Aptly named, Junk is built

Pacific gyre. Eriksen, a sci- entirely of recycled materials
ence educator, Weather including more than 15,000
Channel personality and plastic bottles and plastic
TECH TIP: Our low-friction Battcars drop
Gulf War veteran and bags woven into rope. Sailors the main so fast, we advise a wrap on the
Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel halyard winch to slow your take down and
Paschal, an experienced maintain control.
sailor, will be aboard Junk Paschal hope that by sailing
while Anna Cummins the raft to Hawaii they will
manages shoreside support raise awareness of the risks
for the voyage. plastics pose to the ocean
The raft is built entirely environment. 1251 E. Wisconsin Ave., Pewaukee, WI 53072, Tel: 262-691-3320
Fax: 262-691-3008, Email: harken@harken.com, Web: www.harken.com
Chatter
Chartroom
400th Alerion sailer, a modern boat loose- bined. It seems only fitting
ly based on the 26-foot that the Alerion is alive and
design delivered sloop of the same name well in Warren, R.I. not far
WARREN, R.I., BOATBUILDER, that Capt. Nathaniel Her- from its Herreshoff roots in
PEARSON COMPOSITES LLC, reshoff designed for his Bristol, R.I.
delivered its 400th Alerion personal use in 1912. The popularity of the
Express 28 in June. The The popular appeal of boats (available in a range
R.I. boatbuilder also builds the design gave rise to of lengths from 20 to 40
J/Boats, 44-foot sail train- countless imitations over feet) comes from their ease
Classic Sailing, UK
ers for the U.S. Naval the years. Today a number of sailing in a wide range of
Academy, True North of boatbuilders are meeting conditions and their hand-
expedition express power- the demand for these boats some classic looks. They
boats, PDQ power cata- with a variety these “gentle- maintain strict one-design
marans and several other man’s day sailers.” With standards and are easily Pilot Cutter
brands of sail, power and delivery of the 400th Aleri- handled by one person, Review
commercial vessels. on Express, Pearson may thus eliminating the need
Pearson is often credited well have produced more to line up crew, etc. For Championship
with introducing this pop- of this style day sailer than more information on the THE THIRD ANNUAL PILOT CUTTER
ular style of elegant day all other builders com- Alerion Express 28 or other REVIEW CHAMPIONSHIP WAS
Alerion models visit held at St. Mawes, Corn-
www.alerionexp.com. wall, U.K., from June 20-
22. The race was estab-
lished in 2006 as part of
the Fal River Festival as a
celebration of the pilot
gigs and sailing pilot cut-
ters that serviced Fal-
Pearson Composites LLC
mouth and St. Mawes in

the 19th century. The dis-
tinctive plumb-bowed
craft with their gaff-rigged
<< After almost 100 years, the mains sporting distinctive
enthusiasm for Nathaniel pilot letters competed in
Herreshoff’s classic Alerion racing from Fowey to St.
design is still strong. Pear- Mawes in Falmouth Bay.
son Composites LLC, of St. Mawes was an impor-
Warren, R.I., builds several tant base for the 19th-cen-
boats based on Capt. Nat’s tury pilot, given its view
original Alerion. The com- of shipping traffic out
pany recently launched its beyond the Manacles
400th hull, a 28-foot Aleri- The overall winner of
on Express. this year’s event was Iris,
SHORE POWER
CAN’T HANDLE
EVERYTHING
AT ONCE.
<<
Above, with their distinctive Cornwall, England, for the

plumb bows and gaff rigs on third annual Pilot Cutter
display, pilot cutters com- Review Championship held
peted in the waters off at St. Mawes.
Plug into shore power. Turn on the A/C, the coffee

maker, the water heater, and CLICK — the shore
fuse blows! But with a Phoenix MultiPlus you
can draw more current than your shore
connection can provide! The battery compensates
for insufficient shore power. Excess current is used
to recharge. And parallel operation of two or more
units lets you meet even
the greatest power
demand. For more
information on Victron
Energy products,
including our FREE book,
Energy Unlimited, visit
www.victronenergy.com.
skippered by David Brun- Agnes, and Jolie Brise.

yee, finishing first in all The event is sponsored
three individual races. by Classic Sailing, a
Other boats to compete British-based sailing
Thomaston, Maine | 207-354-0493
were Marian, Mascotte, organization that offers www.victronenergy.com
Chairman, Lizzie May, charters on a variety of
Annabel J., Hesper, Eve of classic boats, large and
St. Mawes, Polly Agatha, small.
www.oceannavigator.com SEPTEMBER 2008 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 11

Chatter
Chartroom
Yanmar The Fairhaven

Morris approves project
biodiesel fuel NORTHEAST MARITIME INSTI-
Yachts YANMAR MARINE ANNOUNCED TUTE IN FAIRHAVEN, MASS., IS
chooses THAT IT HAS APPROVED THE USE

of B5 biodiesel fuel in a
partnering with the U.S.
Department of State in a
Nanni number of its marine
engines. Biodiesel is the
project aimed at building
bonds of friendship
name given to clean-burn- between youths whose
"Nanni Diesel makes
ing alternative fuel pro- homes and communities
good sense for the
duced from domestic have been torn apart as a
cruising sailor.
renewable resources. It does result of political conflict
Nanni is a smooth
not contain any petroleum and war. The project will
and reliable engine.
products and is blended focus on a small group of
They are slower
with petroleum diesel to Palestinian and Israeli stu-
turning, quiet and
produce a cleaner burning dents. They will be brought
fuel efficient. Nanni
fuel releasing less particulate together in southeastern
and Waterway
matter and greenhouse gas New England for three
Power Center give
emissions. It is biodegrad- weeks of sail training aboard
excellent service"
able, nontoxic and free of Fritha, a 74-foot Murray
Tom Morris
sulfur and aromatics. Peterson-designed brigan-
The B5 blend contains a tine. The six students will
maximum of five percent learn the basics of coastal
biodiesel mixed with stan- navigation and seamanship
dard diesel fuel. It must and be challenged through a
conform to ASTM D6751 variety of team-building
or ISO EN14214 specifica- exercises designed to build
tions. Yanmar warns that long-term friendships and a
biodiesel blends can spirit of reliance on each
IN THE USA adversely affect certain other as a community. They
1 - 800 - 286 - 8758 metal, rubber and plastic will also study marine ecolo-
e-mail: nannidiesel@waterwaypowercenter.com engine components in the gy as a means of teaching
fuel-supply and return sys- the future leaders of these
2017 Renard Court Annapolis, MD 21401 410-266-0590
tems and recommends cus- countries that there are
tomers contact their Yan- alternatives to violence. The
mar dealer before using the hope is to have these same
Nanni Industries S.A.S. fuel. Owners must verify six students return to
www.nannidiesel.com that the correct fuel-supply Fairhaven and Fritha in
and return system materials 2009 and serve as mentors
See Nanni Diesel at the Newport & Annapolis Sailboat Shows! are being used or risk void- for the incoming group.
ing their engine warranty. Approximately 77 stu-

Nanni Diesel
looks out for the true
sailor and fisherman
with
marine engines
from 10 to 320 HP
for fishing & sailboats
Northeast Maritime Institute
RELIABLE, POWERFUL,
E A S Y TO M A I N TA I N
dents, ages 16 to 18, are Administration-approved
expected to be served by the and STCW-compliant
program over the next few courses and a variety of pro- SAILDRIVES 10 - 62 HP
years. Students are selected fessional development and
for the program by the U.S. licensing upgrades. NMI INBOARDS 10 - 320 HP
Department of State and has plans to build a 65- SOLAS 21 - 50 HP
American Embassy Cultural meter barquentine to
Affairs staff. The State accommodate future stu- KUBOTA & TOYOTA based
Department’s Bureau of dents.
Oceans and International For more information
Environmental and Scientif- visit www.northeastmar-
ic Affairs will be supporting itime.com.
the scientific content of the
<<
program’s marine and envi- The 74-foot Murray IN THE USA

ronmental components. Petersen-designed brigan- 1 - 800 - 286 - 8758
Northeast Maritime Insti- tine, Fritha will serve as
e-mail: nannidiesel@waterwaypowercenter.com
tute will be handling the home and classroom to a
navigation and seamanship group of Palestinian and
parts of the program. Israeli students. The hope Nanni Industries S.A.S.
is to build bonds of Z.I. - 11, Avenue Mariotte - 33260 La Teste – France

Northeast Maritime Tél. +33 (0) 5 56 22 30 60 - Fax +33 (0) 5 56 22 30 79
Institute offers a wide range friendship and under-
world wide nannidiesel.com – www.nannidiesel.com
of U.S. Coast Guard and standing through a
Commonwealth of unique shared maritime © Ufficio Grafico Nanni Trading, Roma – design: MONICA INFANTINO
Dominica Maritime training experience.

Chatter
Chartroom
Notable New Books

Sloop: Endless Sea
Restoring My Family’s Wooden Alone Around Antarctica —
Sailboat — An Adventure in as Far South as a Boat Can Sail
Old-Fashioned Values By Amyr Klink
By Daniel Robb Sheridan House, 2008
Simon & Schuster, 2008 272 Pages
336 Pages www.sheridanhouse.com
www.simonsays.com
As to the vast and possible ocean
Tell these escutcheons you see
What Daniel Robb’s
That the bounded sea may be Greek or Roman:
new book Sloop is not is a
The endless sea is Portuguese.
guide to rebuilding his
— Fernando Pessoa, 1918
family’s 1939 Herreshoff
12 1/2, Daphie. Yes, there So opens Amyr Klink’s cumnavigation through the
are hints on moving an old whose spirit seems to Endless Sea, a recount of his planet’s most unforgiving
boat, building a steam box silently guide Daphie’s solo circumnavigation salt water: the Southern
to bend frames, construct- restoration. As he seeks the below the Antarctic conver- Ocean. Klink’s storytelling is
ing a temporary building advice from old timers and gence zone. While not very captivating and reminiscent
shed that’s capable of with- veteran boatbuilders he well known in the U.S., this of Bernard Moitessier as he
standing a New England establishes new friendships is the Brazilian sailor, takes us along on his four-
winter, chalking, talk of and explores old-fashioned author and businessman’s and-a-half-month voyage.
rivets and much more. values. Rebuilding the first book to be published We share his loneliness, joys
The book’s real subject boat’s fragile timbers con- in English. The translation and fears as he expertly navi-
is an elegantly written nected him to his past, his by Thomas H. Norton gates treacherous stretches
meditation on the process. family’s history. makes for exceptional read- of ice-choked sea. He strug-
More than fastening plank In the end, he has ing. gles to stay warm yet still
to frame, it explores the restored much more than a Sailing aboard Paratii, manages to find joy in every
deeper meaning he finds beautiful little Herreshoff his custom, 50-foot alu- day of his journey — even
in restoring the old boat. 12 1/2, he has restored minum AeroRig sloop, when he finds his tooth-
Robb reflects on Thoreau, himself. Klink embarks on a cir- paste frozen stiff.
His skill as a sailor and
calm, common-sense
Chuck’s There’s nothing like talking
with a knowledgeable friend
that’s a recurring conversation
between Chuck and ON editor Tim approach to problems and
corner and getting good advice. What

if that friend was ON con-
tributing editor Chuck Husick
Queeney. Go to the ON Web site
and subscribe to Chuck’s Corner.
And don’t forget Running Fix, the
mishaps are apparent
throughout the book. Even
given the dangers he faced
giving you insight on your boat Ocean Navigator blog. during this remarkable cir-
and its systems? You can get Chuck’s Sound Advice cumnavigation, Klink still
that advice by listening to Listen to Chuck’s latest podcast at: imbues his account with a
Chuck’s Corner, the podcast www.oceannavigator.com/chuck gracious modesty. ■
16_17_ON172_TECH 7/29/08 11:00 AM Page 16
MARINE TECH NOTES
Tiny bilge-cleaning crew BY TIM QUEENEY
It’s a fact of boating life, oil line of products based on the the average person would have
and diesel fuel will find its way microorganisms from the a hard time differentiating from
to the bilge. Methods for get- domain called Archaea. These bacteria.
ting this oily water out of the tiny critters can convert oil and It seems that these micro-
bilge range from a sponge and a other objectionable chemicals scopic, single-celled Archeae are
bucket to absorbent pads to the into a harmless material that very similar to bacteria, but dif-
Keeping the
use of microorganisms that can even be eaten by fish. fer in some important ways
bilge clear of
“eat” the oil and convert it onto Scientists currently shoe- (well, important to biologists,
oil, diesel and
less objectionable materials. horn all life on earth into three anyway). These include their
other contami-
Two of these companies are domains: 1. Eucaryotes (which, evolutionary history and their
nants can be
messy work.
Clean Water Solutions of New- just as you’d guess, includes biochemistry. Another differ-
One clean
port, R.I., and Bio-Sok from plants, animals, humans, fungi ence that makes Archaea
approach to the Hampshire in the U.K. and slime molds), 2. Bacteria unique is the materials they can
problem is to When it comes to this bio- (everything from spirochetes to use for food, such as metals,
unleash attack approach, there is a new thermotoga and aquifex — ammonia, hydrogen gas, and,
microorganisms product that harnesses a myste- don’t worry, I don’t know what of course, hydrocarbons like
to do the dirty rious “third domain” of life. that means, either) and 3. diesel fuel and engine oil. Its
work. Clean Water Solutions offers a Archaea, tiny organisms that this ability to eat hydrocarbons
— which includes a long list of
chemicals such as MTBE,
nitrates, benzene, cyanide, veg-
etable oil, even animal feces and
fish blood — that makes these
diminutive Archaea so useful.
Given the right combination
of water, oxygen, temperature
and motion, the Archaea in
Clean Water Solutions’ prod-
ucts will go wild on hydrocar-
bons in your bilge. At the end
of the digestion process, the
“waste” produced by Archaea is
fatty acids. According to Clean
Water Solutions, these nonhaz-
ardous lipids can be safely dis-
posed of — you could even
feed them to your fish.
John Snyder
Clean Water Solutions uses

a mixture of 100 different

16_17_ON172_TECH 7/29/08 11:00 AM Page 17
strains of Archaea in its products. carbons within its wax matrix. and the Bio-Sok unit can be safely
Mixed in with a clay-based carrier, Microorganisms are attracted to the disposed.
the Archaea lie dormant until condi- PRP and then break down the hydro- These and other products cleverly
tions are right, then they multiply carbons. After roughly 30 days, the make use of microorganisms to fight
every 20 minutes and live for 90 microorganisms attracted to the Bio- the natural propensity of oil to find
days. According to Susan Homer, Sok PRP will have run their course its way into the bilge. ■
CEO of Clean Water Solutions, these
microorganisms are not the result of
tinkering in the lab. “They are not
genetically modified,” Homer said.
Clear High-Gloss Varnish Classic
“They are naturally occurring strains high-gloss, high-solids varnish.
Flexible, one-component, and
found throughout the world.” loaded with UV filters.
Clean Water Solutions offers their
Archaea in a variety of packages. For Woodfinish Gloss/Matte
High-build, clear varnish without
boat owners looking to clean up a sanding. One-component, high
gloss or satin finish.
messy bilge, the most likely product
appears to be their Oil Eradicator
Rubbed Effect Interior Varnish
series. These combine the Archaea Rich, hard, satin finish.
microbes with a sponge-like foam One-component, interior varnish.
carrier. The unit floats in your bilge

for months, consuming oil. At the Rapidclear/Rapidcoat Quick and
easy, semi-gloss, clear or lightly
end of the summer, you can throw tinted wood protection without
sanding. One-component.
the foam unit into the trash with no
worries about oil contamination.
Polyurethane Clear/Satin
These Oil Eradicators come in a vari- Two-component, absolutely
clear, ultra hard, high gloss or
ety of sizes based on boat length. satin finish. Superior durability.
Clean Water has another product
called MicroTabs. These are small PP Varnish High speed, flexible,
high-gloss finish. The ultimate
packages of a clay/Archaea mixture two-component varnish for
that can be dropped into a sewage- professionals.
holding tank. The Archaea consume

the nasty items in the holding tanks,
especially odorous items like ammo-
nia that make holding tanks so Obsession?
Obsessed with brightwork? We believe there’s a right varnish for every job. Interiors,
unpleasant.
exteriors, glosses, satins, and mattes — even tight-schedule formulas that dry fast with no
Another company that uses sanding required. The crowning touch for fine woods, Epifanes finishes are the very best
microorganisms to clean up oily bilge available. Look for Epifanes at your local chandlery or contact our headquarters in Maine.
water is British-based Bio-Sok in Read more product and technical information at www.epifanes.com or email for our CD.
Hampshire. Bio-Sok operates a bit
differently than the Clean Water
Solutions products, however. The
primary ingredient in Bio-Sok is a AALSMEER, HOLLAND I THOMASTON, MAINE I SHEUNG WAN, HONG KONG
petroleum remediation product 1-800-269-0961 I www.epifanes.com
(PRP), a type of modified beeswax
that floats and holds oil and hydro-

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:03 AM Page 18
POWER VOYAGING
A synchronizing inverter
allows for a smaller genset BY NIGEL CALDER
T he ability to synchronize
your inverter to shore
power or a genset can provide
A power voy-
ager will typi- substantial benefits. For
cally use a power voyagers, more than
variety of for sailing voyagers, alternat-
sources for AC ing current (AC) is an impor-
power, from tant source of power. And
shore power sometimes you find you are
to genset to using AC from different
an inverter. sources, such as shore power,
The ability to an inverter and a generator.
synchronize How can those different
these sources sources be synched so their
provides flexi- output is in phase?
bility and If an AC source is a clean
other benefits.
one (such as the main power
grid), the oscillations of the
Steve D’Antonio
changing current form a

series of smooth sine waves,
but if the source is not a
clean one (as is the case with momentum.
most small onboard AC gen- Let’s imagine two genera-
erators) the waveform is tors running independently.
ragged, and may be constant- Let’s say that if we plot their
ly varying. waveforms on the same
These waveforms are a screen, they do not coincide.
function of changing mag- This is known as being out of
netic fields as the rotors in phase. If we connect these
generators spin inside their two generators to the same
stators. In other words, the output circuit, tying them
waveform produced by a together electrically, in effect
generator is a function of the the momentum of the two
relationship between two spinning rotors is counter-
Steve D’Antonio
heavy pieces of metal, one of posed, creating a violent

which is rapidly spinning shock load. Something is
and as such has considerable likely to break. I once worked

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:04 AM Page 19
on a 2,000-hp generator point a switch was

whose crankshaft was thrown to bring the
snapped in half through new generator on line.
being brought on to a Nowadays, synchro-
foundry’s power grid when in nization is done with
an out-of-phase state. sophisticated electron-
To prevent damage, if two ics.
AC sources are brought onto In 2003, Victron
the same line, the waveforms Energy, a Dutch com-
Nigel Calder
must first be matched both pany and a technical
in shape, and in time. This is leader in the DC-to-
known as synchronization. In AC inverter market, released capability had previously Reinout Vader, of
the old days, we did this by its MultiPlus inverter. This been available in the off- Victron Energy,
manipulating the governors has the ability to electronical- the-grid home-power mar- adjusting an oscillo-
on the generators to slightly ly synchronize its AC output ket (notably from Trace), scope during test-
slow one down, or speed the waveform with that of shore this was the first time it had ing of Victon’s syn-
other up, until the two wave- power or an onboard AC been available in the marine chronizing inverter
forms coincided, at which generator. Although such a world. in the Netherlands.
The N2K Advantage

™
Connect. Collect. Display.

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N2KView ™
Whether you want to monitor your vessel’s systems while

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rudders, navigation instruments, local weather, electrical systems and more.
Maretron gives you the freedom to build the system you need:
Engine Monitoring System Ultrasonic Wind/Weather GPS Depth/Speed/Temp. Compass

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Pressure, Fuel Rate Relative Humidity Over Ground, Magnetic Variation Cumulative Log, Trip Log Advanced Stabilization
To find out more, visit our website at www.maretron.com or call us at 866. 550. 9100

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:04 AM Page 20
POWER VOYAGING
Synchronization brings with it now likely to happen every time a

substantial potential benefits for heavy load comes on line (such as
power voyagers. your air conditioning). This will
put a heavy load on your batteries.
Boosting the However, you have the option
shore-power cord to limit the current level (amper-
Let’s imagine your boat is at the age) that is taken from shore
end of a long dock with undersized power, with the inverter supplying
AC cabling and many other boats anything that exceeds this level,
plugged in. You will see a substan- drawing its power from the boat’s
tial voltage drop in the shoreside batteries. By adjusting the current
supply. If you plug in and add control knob on the panel, you can
additional high loads (such as air find a level at which the shore-
conditioning) you will drag the power voltage is kept above an
voltage even lower to the point that acceptable minimum, with the
this may cause much AC equip- inverter picking up any additional
ment on your boat to run poorly, load. Instead of being either on
may damage some, and can, in shore power at an unacceptably
some circumstances, create a fire low voltage, or else on inverter
risk. For most people, it’s not a power, which will rapidly drain the
good idea to plug into low dock- batteries, you can take as much
side voltage, but in your case you power as possible from the shore-
are the owner of a MultiPlus con- power cord and simultaneously
nected to Victron’s VE.Net display supplement this from the boat’s
and control unit, or else have a batteries via the inverter.
similar inverter from another man- Now let’s assume your load is
ufacturer (there are other compa- quite variable. For example, the air
nies entering this marketplace). conditioner cycles on and off.
You plug into shore power. When it is on, its load exceeds the
Within 10 to 20 seconds the Mul- amp limit you have set on the
tiPlus has synchronized with the shoreside supply, and as such the
shore-power supply, and switched inverter is called upon to meet the
to its pass-through mode. Your AC additional load, discharging the
systems are now running off shore batteries. But when the air condi-
power. You see on the VE.Net dis- tioner cycles to off, the load is less
play that the extra load is dragging than the amp limit. The inverter
the shore-power voltage down to will switch into its battery-charg-
unacceptably low levels. If it goes ing mode, adjusting the charge rate
below some user-settable mini- to load the shore-power cord to
mum (the factory default is 91 your preset amp limit until such
volts on a 120-volt system and 180 time as the batteries are charged to
volts on a 240-volt system), the the point that they cannot accept
inverter will automatically discon- the available charging current. The
nect the shore-power cord and battery-charging voltage regulator
switch to invert mode, which is will now scale back the charging

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:05 AM Page 21
amps, reducing the load on the Ask For a Test Demo

generator below the preset limit. Before You Buy Our Competitor’s
Finally, let’s assume another boat
on the dock upstream of yours
So-called “Stabilized Binoculars.”
You Will Find Their’s are:
brings on a heavy load, dropping NOT Stable on a Boat NOT Stable in a Car
your shore-power voltage such that NOT Stable in a Plane NOT 100% Waterproof
the amp setting you have in place
is now too high to protect against
low voltage. As the input voltage to
the inverter falls towards the cut- Buy the Best...
Fujinon True Stabilized Binoculars
off threshold, the inverter will scale
back any battery-charging output
to try and sustain the input volt-
age. If the voltage still falls below Used by the U.S. Coast Guard
the low-voltage trip point, follow- Features:
ing a small delay (to protect against Day Night Stabiscope
nuisance tripping when loads with
high-inrush currents kick on) the Fujinon has been manufacturing the
inverter will seamlessly disconnect world’s highest quality binoculars for over 75 years.
the shore-power cord and switch to We have been a trusted U.S. Military supplier for
invert mode. more than two decades, fulfilling contracts
with more than a
The hard life of generators quarter of a million pairs
These two functions — boosting of rugged, heavy duty binoculars.
an incoming AC source and maxi-
mizing battery-charging opportu-
nities — have even greater benefits
when applied to onboard genera-
tors instead of a shore-power cord.
The typical life of an onboard
generator is a miserable one. Let’s
assume, once again, that the pri-
mary reason we have a generator is
to run air conditioning. Most air
conditioners have high start-up or
inrush loads that are up to six
times the running load. If the gen-
erator is not to stall when the air
conditioner first kicks on, it must
be sized to handle this inrush load,
but now it is grossly oversized for
the running load. When the air FUJINON Inc., 10 High Point Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470
conditioner has cycled to off, there For more information call: (800) 872-0196 Ext. 205
is no load at all on the generator. or (973) 633-5600 Ext. 205 or visit: www.fujinon.com
This combination of light run-

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:05 AM Page 22
POWER VOYAGING
ning loads and no load is a terrible stream of the boat’s shore- AC system exceeds the current
operating environment for the power/generator selector switch, it limit setting (e.g., the air condi-
diesel engine driving most marine will parallel itself with the genera- tioner’s inrush current) the inverter
generators. It is extraordinarily tor’s output whenever the genera- will seamlessly meet the excess
inefficient from a fuel consump- tor is on line. Now we can size the demand by pulling the necessary
tion point of view, creates a high generator to handle the running energy from the boat’s batteries.
level of exhaust pollutants, and load of the air conditioner (or Any time the demand on the AC
results in soot formation in the other loads), rather than the peak system is less than the current limit
engine that accelerates engine con- load, and use the MultiPlus con- setting, the inverter will switch
tamination, increases maintenance, troller to set the current limit for into battery-charging mode to
and reduces engine life. Addition- the generator at a level that will recharge the batteries. During the
ally, at light loads the generator is keep it from overloading and off cycle with the air conditioner,
likely to be operating inefficiently. stalling during inrush and other so long as the batteries have the
high-load events. In many cases, capacity to accept the charging
Synchronizing inverters generator size can be reduced to as current, and so long as the inverter
If a MultiPlus or similar synchro- little as 25 percent of what would has a battery-charging capability
nizing inverter is added to the elec- be used in a conventional system. that can utilize the generator’s out-
trical system and wired down- Any time the demand on the put, the inverter will keep the gen-

18_23_ON172_POWER 7/29/08 11:06 AM Page 23
erator loaded to the preset amp erators at full continuous rated evolutionary development of exist-
limit. This will not only keep the power. If the peak efficiency load ing technology. At another level,
diesel engine that is driving the can be determined, or is available they represent a qualitative leap
generator operating at, or close to, from the maker, for optimum effi- forward. In particular, the ability
its maximum efficiency whenever ciency it can be used to set the to boost what would conventional-
it is running, but it will also keep current limit on the generator. ly be considered a grossly under-
the generator operating at, or close We have now substantially sized generator, and to then keep it
to, its maximum efficiency in con- downsized our generator, with well loaded by charging a buffer
verting mechanical energy to elec- concomitant savings in cost, battery bank at those times when
trical energy. weight and volume, while also AC loads are light, can transform
Victron’s testing has demon- improving the generator’s operat- the power equation on a power
strated that most diesel engines and ing efficiency by ensuring that it is voyaging boat that uses an AC
generators run at peak efficiency at loaded to its most efficient operat- generator. ■
something less than full power ing point. This will reduce fuel
(typically, around 80 percent of full use, lessen maintenance, and Contributing editor Nigel Calder
power). This correlates well with extend the engine’s life. is the author of numerous books,
the recommendation from genera- At one level, synchronizing including The Boatowner’s
tor manufacturers not to run gen- inverters are nothing more than an Mechanical and Electrical Manual.
24_31_ON172_corresp.qxd 7/29/08 11:06 AM Page 24
CORRESPONDENCE
came up on the radio one wanderings. Rod is a New

evening sounding worried as he Zealander — a Kiwi.
announced water spurting in Rod and I sat down with the
from the gland around his rud- dispirited skipper of Sunrise to
der shaft. The automatic bilge mull over our options. It was
pump was clearing about 30 possible to haul the boat,
gallons per hour. We tightened though this would be on a
the radio schedule in case marine railway and necessitate
things worsened. Sunrise digging a deep hole to drop the
arrived safely at anchor at Min- rudder. The yard did not look
delo a few hours after us. too encouraging on this idea
Ulla Norlander
Bill found that it was not the and there was no epoxy avail-
rubber lip seal around the top able on the island. Clearly the
of the through-hull bearing professional solution could take
that was leaking. A considerable a while to organize and be of
gap had appeared between the doubtful quality. Bill was not
Trouble in spades rudder shaft and the stainless used to the idea of taking on
To the editor: I have a friend steel collar that was intended to major work without help from
who exhibits paranoia when he rotate inside the bearing. In a yard. But Rod and I were able
talks about an uncharted rock port there was no water coming to convince him that to a Kiwi
Above, Andy that pops up ahead in one in as the top of the bearing was the “difficult can be done; the
O’Grady cor- ocean after another. I am just above water, but even in impossible just takes a little
rals the rudder beginning to feel the same the gentle swell there was an longer.” We were a little over-
of Sunrise, a about spade rudders. Two years ominous clunk each time the awed as Bill accepted our pro-
43-foot sloop ago my wife Ulla and I towed a rudder swung side to side. posal to drop the rudder in the
from New disabled yacht in from the open We had sailed to Cape Verde water, build up the shaft with
Hampshire, Atlantic after she had lost her to meet Rod and Lu Heikel. layers of glass and epoxy before
after he and a rudder. Since then I have read Rod is author of many sailing refitting the collar and then
group of voy- of three boats being abandoned guides and co-authored Ocean neatly pop the shaft back into
agers removed in last years ARC trade wind Passages and Landfalls with me. place. Could we really do this?
the foil from crossing after losing their rud- This was the first time that we The rudder was foam-filled
the sloop’s hull ders, and heard of other similar had crossed track on our ocean and buoyant and we had to
in the Cape problems and mishaps over the
Verde Islands. oceans of the world.
Right, Rod Sailing between the Canary
Heikel and Bill and Cape Verde Islands we
Stephan formed an informal radio net
rebuild the with our boat Balæna, our
rudder on the friends Rod and Lu Heikel’s
foredeck of Skylax and Sunrise, a 43-footer
Andy O’Grady
O’Grady’s boat from New Hampshire skip-

Balaena. pered by Bill Stephan. Bill

find a way to sink it. While Bill ened, the epoxy mixed. We time at 68º. But we reckoned
dismantled the steering gear, wound epoxy-saturated layers that six days should do it in
Rod and I made a rope harness of heavy double-bias cloth to the tropics. With a friendly
around the rudder blade and build up the shaft to the restaurant in which to cele-
shackled lengths of chain to it. required diameter. When we brate and good local music,
When we thought that it was were nearly there we added a the time did not hang too
no longer buoyant, Bill couple of turns of a lighter heavy on our shoulders. Sun-
removed the heavy nylon collar woven cloth, a layer of epoxy rise set off down the trade
at the top of the shaft and — microfiber mix for bonding wind passage to the Caribbean
nothing happened. The buoy- and gap-filling and slid the and reported not a drop of
ancy of that blade was amazing, newly sanded and degreased water in her bilge.
I had to dive under to add stainless collar back into place.
more weight and wedge myself The epoxy kicked off quick-
between the rudder and the ly in the tropical heat and after
hull and push down. Suddenly 20 hours we were able to swing
it came free and immediately the blade back into the water
turned bottom up as I frantical- and tow it back to Sunrise.
ly pushed it away from the hull. Now we had to fix weights that
We had it free and clear but to would hold the bottom down
get it back in would require and preferably give the shaft the
delicate adjustment of the cen- same angle as the hull bearing.
ter of buoyancy to ensure that Working on the surface this
it could be maneuvered verti- time it was easier to make a
cally into position. snug rope harness around the
By this time Bill, a physi- blade and tie bundles of 0.5-
cian, had thrown off the doom inch chain onto the bottom,
and gloom and was beginning forward side of the blade. Even-
Ulla Norlander
to smile and joke as we towed tually we had enough that it

the rudder out to Balæna’s wait- floated upright with minimal
ing foredeck repair shop. “This buoyancy so that I could press
is not so different from physi- it down and under the hull. For In our opinion, unsupport-
cian’s work,” he mused. “You safety’s sake we called upon ed spade rudders are not sea-
Andy O’Grady
make a diagnosis, decide on a help from a local scuba diver to worthy, especially on a yacht
and Lu Heikel
treatment and then get on with steady the blade as it went in. that is going to make long
guide the
the job.” With no fuss the shaft popped downwind passages, which can
rebuilt rudder
We lifted the rudder aboard back into place and only 24 put enormous loads on the
back into the
with a halyard and laid it on hours after removing it, Bill was steering gear. Bill Stephan knew
waters of Min-
deck. Now the team swung refitting the hardware. this too; he had tried hard to
delo harbor.
into action using the materials Now came the difficult find a suitable boat with a skeg-
that both Skylax and Balæna part. Sunrise had to wait as supported rudder but failed to
carry as a matter of course. The long as possible for the epoxy find one that pleased him.
cloth was cut, the shaft rough- to cure. Seven days is the cure We have seen that rudder

The Evolution YACHT

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Andy O’Grady
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• Quality construction
Smithwick & Mariners represents Stephan tow the rudder across Mindelo
• Solves misalignment many quality insurance companies
• Dampens shock loads and
Harbor to their sloop Sunrise. The rudder
shaft vibration
to fit the needs of almost any sailor.
was lifted back into place and the repair
Smithwick & Mariners
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placed at just one point, can lead to
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serious leaking and potentially to
structural damage that could imperil
the boat. Along with Rod Heikel, I
feel strongly that it’s time for design-
ers, builders, insurers and buyers to
reject this type of rudder for voyaging
boats.
As if to reinforce this conclusion,
two days later, at the very same dock,
we saw a 47-footer that had her rud-
der sitting on deck. The owners had
encountered exactly the same prob-
lem and used Rod’s left over epoxy to
make the same repair.
We demonstrated that anybody
competent to sail the seas should also
be able to undertake most repairs the
boat may need, even in the most out-
of-the-way places. And lastly, voyagers
should never depart without a good
supply of epoxy and glass fiber cloth
on board.
Andy O’Grady and Ulla Norlander

voyage aboard their 42-foot gaff cutter
Balaena and are currently in the
South Atlantic.

Crewing in the age sons now finding one another

digitally, and in droves. The
Profile-based: In the pro-
file-based category are the Aus-
of the Internet most popular Web site within tralian www.FindaCrew.net
this genre, and English sites
To the editor: At the customs www.FindaCrew.net, registered www.CrewSeekers.net and
dock of Ordnance Island, 184,000 visitors in April 2008; www.Crewbay.co.uk. These
dwarfed by nearby cruise ships, nearly triple its 2006 monthly sites are the sailing equivalent of
Captain Tom, his wife Jean and average. MySpace, Facebook or
Conor Dillion
friend Dick stood to greet me. So why now? Match.com: they are profes-
After a brief round of introduc- One reason is that Internet sional, expansive and require a
tions, we marched through access is finally reaching the subscription for anything more Above, Conor
balmy, 20-knot gusts into St. remote (and previously uncon- than casual perusing. Dillon aboard
George’s Parish, passing King’s nected) sailing destinations of To use them, captains and Canard Azul en
Square and the replica ship the world. The Caribbean, for crew create personal profiles, route to the
Deliverance on the way. Once example, has reportedly seen an within which a sailing time- Azores. Below,
on the mainland we sat down 832 percent spike in Internet frame is established, a region Canard Azul
at the table of a small diner. access since 2000. Much of this of the world defined and rele- alongside in
There, over a traditional is broadband access. Hotels, vant sailing experience listed; Bermuda. Dillon
Bermudan breakfast of eggs, Internet cafes and even locally Find a Crew and Crewbay also joined the crew
mouth-puckeringly salty cod, owned coffee shops have allow crewmembers to post of Canard after
fried potatoes and coffee, final hopped on the bandwidth photos. Then, with beating finding the ope-
arrangements were made to sail wagon, resulting in a sailing hearts and clammy hands ing via an Inter-
the 1,900-nm voyage from community that is never too (okay, so maybe it’s not quite net crewing serv-
Bermuda to the Azores. All far from email access, Internet as exciting as Match.com), ice. From left,
were in good spirits, and it was telephony or a crew-finding captains and crew search for Dick, Barbara
not just the coffee. Web site. Captains can now one another. (whom Dillon
This had been our final search for crew months in The perks vary between replaced), the
“interview.” It was my first advance. sites. A quick look at author, Jean, and
meeting with the crew of Another reason is that crew- www.CrewSeekers.net shows a Captain Tom.
Canard Azúl, after having finding sites have taken a stunning design, an intuitive
found their listing on the Inter- much-needed cue from popu-
net a month earlier. All had lar social-networking ventures,
looked forward to this allowing users to create detailed
moment, yet we were not profiles to find the right match.
alone. There is much more to crewing
Ours was just one of many anonymously than a compli-
parallel meetings around the mentary itinerary. Now, hidden
world that day, all the result of amongst the Internet flotsam
crew-finding Web sites. of broken sailing sites, col-
The Internet is flattening lapsed commercial ventures
the traditional and provincial and woefully outdated forums,
world of crewing. Crew-find- a few crew-finding Web sites
ing Web sites have experienced are changing the way sailors
Conor Dillion
a dramatic increase in populari- find each other. A few have

ty, with captains and crewper- risen above the rest.

CORRESPONDENCE
layout and many sailboat listings. onboard, crew gender or even current The Web site has the most active
However, www.FindaCrew.net port of call. All will help to find best- users, contains many sailing-related
and www.Crewbay.co.uk offer other suited sailboat or crewperson for you. threads and also sports a recent
advantages. While all three Web sites Forum-based: The three crew- design overhaul.
allow captains to list sailboats free of finding sites under the “forum” cate- Interestingly, www.FloatPlan.com
charge, only at Find a Crew and gory are notably less formal than their looks and behaves like a post, but
Crewbay are crewmembers extended profile-based cousins. However, they technically it is not one. Postings are
the same privilege. An even greater are useful and available to anyone. emailed to the “Floatmaster,” who
benefit is the ability to initiate “first They are South African-based updates the site once or twice a week.
contact” privileges. Here members www.CruiserLog.com, Canadian And for those sailors who are closer
can establish contact with each other www.7knots.com and www.Float- to a postbox than an Ethernet con-
before fully subscribing, doing so Plan.com out of California. Much as nection, even snail mail will be post-
using a scripted messaging tool. This before, potential crewmembers and ed to Float Plan.
policy allows for a reasonable expecta- captains post cruising plans and rele- Yet all three sites have their utili-
tion of success for captain and crew. vant experience, only here it is posted ty. These forums are fast, easy and
Also worth mentioning is Find a in an open, Web-forum format. a minimal amount of effort can
Crew’s highly specific search tool: Of the three, www.CruiserLog.com produce results.
users may query by language spoken is superior in nearly every respect. In perusing these Web sites,

crewmembers will note the many their willingness to follow directions. owner of a 35-foot Wauquiez Pretori-
experienced sailors looking for It took daily perusing of these sites an Canard Azúl. Tom and his wife
positions. It may feel competitive. and a few emails before I arranged a Jean were in need of a replacement
The beauty of these sites phone interview with Captain Tom, deck hand, and their voyage from
though, is that they are noncom-
mercial in nature. They connect Canard Azul, a
people with people, and sailing Wauquiez Pretorian
experience is not always a captain’s 35, stern to in Bermu-
highest consideration. da. Using an Internet
Your highest asset will be a flexible crewing site offers a
schedule. Parts break, itineraries more comprehensive
change and sailing windows are approach to finding
reliant upon the weather. Many pleas- crew or finding a boat
ure-cruising captains I spoke with than the old method
said that in the past they had taken of posting flyers at a
on a number of inexperienced crew, marina or on a yacht
and some, only half-jokingly, said club’s bulletin board.
they prefer these crewmembers for
Conor Dillon
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CORRESPONDENCE
Bermuda to the Azores was the tain I’ve never met?” “What about without a minimum of a telephone
approximate passage I hoped to his/her safety record?” And “what is interview, during which all of your
make. More importantly, our time- the condition of the boat?” questions should be addressed.
frames were compatible. All are good questions, and all When considering a working pas-
But perhaps by now alarm bells should be answered. No reasonable sage, there should remain no doubt
are ringing. “How can I trust a cap- captain will take on a crewmember regarding a captain’s sailing creden-
tials and safety measures. Nor, from
the captain’s perspective, should a
JOEL F. POTTER • CRUISING YACHT SPECIALIST, LLC potential crewmember’s work ethic,
Passion for Passagemaking trustworthiness and reliability come
into question.
So ask questions, and ask many of
them. Many intangibles will be
learned over the phone — sense of
humor, intelligence and stability —
that will affect whether a passage will
be pleasant or unpleasant. This is a
simple, human judgment. If anything
does feel uncomfortable, captain or
crew should politely decline. There
are always other sailboats, as there are
PURE PLEASURE always other crew.
Really, isn’t the spending of immensely pleasurable high quality time what we make an I had multiple telephone conversa-
investment in a live-aboard voyaging boat for in the first place? At AMEL, we understand that tions with the captain of the boat
pleasurable time at sea is a well balanced combination of absolute safety and security, easy
and effortless single handed manageability, and gracious, “all the comforts of home,” Canard Azúl before agreeing to fly to
livability. All of your experiences with AMEL will be pure pleasure, from beginning to end. Bermuda. Tom is a former racer,
That’s our promise. We keep our promises.
speaks with a heavy Milwaukee
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especially with the many exclusive AMEL technologies and advancements which make the AMEL
54 so easy and pleasant to own, enjoy, and maintain. When you order your new AMEL 54, you taste in music. Our conversations
will know, to the penny, precisely how much it will cost and the exact date and time of day you reassured me of both his competence
will take first delivery. It has always been this way at AMEL.
as a captain and the safety measures
PLEASURE IN OWNERSHIP. All new AMEL 54 owners are treated to a week of familiarization
schooling on their own brand new AMEL 54 at the shipyard. Thereafter, you will be well served he would employ on the open water.
by what we know and believe is the best after sales service team in the industry. With AMEL serv- I also felt eager to sail with him. Sens-
ice stations on the Atlantic Coast, The Mediterranean, and in the Caribbean, staffed with AMEL
employee-owners and stocked with AMEL spares, we pride ourselves on being able to say “Ask ing from the telephone conversations
anyone who owns an AMEL how we treat them.” that we would get along well, my
PLEASURE IN MOVING UP OR MOVING ON. When the time is right for obtaining your next AMEL encounter with the good-humored
or for a change to other leisure time activities, we again make the process pain free and as effort-
less on your part as is possible. crew at St. George’s Harbor was
Straight talk. Accurate representation. No monkey business. merely the final confirmation.
The Internet journey thus con-
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Amel’s Sole Associate for the Americas Gone not, of course, are the days
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the days of shaking a hand or buying Crew-finding Web sites are here to Seattle. This was his first Atlantic cross-
a cold drink as the means to a quick stay though, and will continue to ing. He is happy to hear of others’ crew-
passage. All are alive and well at mari- help sailors do what they love most. finding success stories at:
nas worldwide. These journeys begin with a click. ■ conor@conordillon.com.
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32_37_ON172_VOYAGING.qxd 7/29/08 11:10 AM Page 32
OCEAN VOYAGING
A sail on
the wild side
A passage from the Indian Ocean
to the South Pacific is a lonely
slog along the lee shore of
New Guinea’s north coast
By Ann Hoffner
Photos by Tom Bailey
W
hen we imagine the But we misread the litera- traveled the strait from the rela-
gate between a pair ture and failed to get visas for tively sheltered waters of
of oceans we usually Papua New Guinea ahead of Indonesia, eddies and counter-
think of the Suez or Panama time. Irian Jaya, the Indone- currents showed where the
Canals, or the great capes. The sian western half of the big western seas fought with the
Ann Hoffner Indian and Pacific oceans, island, was closed to yachts leading edge of the Pacific to
and however, are separated by during the time we applied for the east. Even as we struggled
Tom Bailey’s many islands and feed into entry. As a result, we were eastward through the last bit of
Peterson 44 each other through a web of looking at a 1,700-mile pas- current we could see a large
Oddly Enough channels, of which Selat sage direct to the Solomon ocean swell crashing into the
on a calm Sagewin, the path we chose, is Islands, which straggle south- shores of Batanta Island. We
morning off just one. east from the east end of didn’t feel it until we emerged
Irian Jaya, the We were doing this route, PNG. It was not a comfortable from the shelter of a bit of
province of eastward down the remote feeling to be on a lee shore and windward reef, when our 44-
Indonesia north side of New Guinea, denied shelter but we were foot Peterson sloop, Oddly
abutting Papua partly for a second chance at used to the rhythm of passage- Enough finally began to lift to
New Guinea. the South Pacific. East making: getting sleep, eating the long, lazy roll.
Indonesia had been an excit- and meeting daily problems. We turned off the engine
ing cruising ground, exhaust- The steep green hills of the and pulled out the jib, settled
ing in its remoteness. But we Selat Sagewin were like the into our first long passage in
definitely wanted to try the sides of a grand entrance hall. two years. There’s something
South Pacific again. For most of the 18 miles we soothing about the limited

choices of offshore sailing. You extends to Australia, the

don’t have to worry about find- northwesterly wind isn’t con-
ing a safe anchorage, or where stant, and is broken by bouts
to go tomorrow. I just put my of strong easterly winds and
head down and face what boats trying to get east to the
comes next. Pacific can be stuck for days or
weeks waiting.
Reversing currents I expected the winds of
Through this whole area, from Papua’s north coast to be vari-
northern Australia through able too. Being in the equatori-
Southeast Asia, the prevailing al zone, they should also tend
wind and current reverse them- to be lighter if we did have to
selves twice a year, so that you beat against easterlies.
can theoretically flow in and On this leg we were travel-
flow out between the two ing in company with Auspray, a
oceans, like a floating coconut. 40-foot steel sloop owned by
This is the monsoon weather Kevin and Trish Comer. The
pattern (monsoon from an Comers were beginning their
Arabic word meaning season). first long passage. I didn’t real-
Sailboats heading to Asia or the ize how jaded I’d become until
Indian Ocean on the southeast I suggested in our last idyllic
trades generally travel through anchorage in the Kofiau For the first day and a half
A dwelling on
the Torres Strait between the Islands that I’d like to stay an in the Pacific after leaving
the wild north-
south coast of Papua and extra day and they said, no, Sagewin, things seemed to go
ern coast of
northern Australia. The reverse they’d prepared themselves and okay for them. This was a false
New Guinea.
course is not as easy. Even needed to go or they would sense of security, based on new
though the monsoon pattern lose their nerve. cruisers’ expectations of good
0° Ann Hoffner and

Oddly Enough’s route
Tom Bailey did not
Salawati Biak
New
Hanover Kavieng have the neces-
Vanimo
Manus Island
Selat, sary paperwork to
departure New Ireland
point Wewak enter the Indone-
Irian Jaya Bismarck Sea
sian province of
5°S Irian Jaya or the
Papua New
Guinea New Britain country of Papua
Bougainville
Alfred Wood/Ocean Navigator Illustration
New Guinea. They

Solomon Sea were consigned to
lf of Papua
a long passage
Gu
Seram Sea along the north
10°S coast of the island
Torres Strait
Louisiade Archipelago of New Guinea.
Coral Sea
Australia
130°E 135°E 140°E 145°E 150°E 155°E
SEPTEMBER 2008 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 33

OCEAN VOYAGING
conditions. Both boats had reduced to unassisted hand- fear something. Each item to
struggled with autopilot prob- steering, and had their main overcome means the mind just
lems in Indonesia, but when radio turned off in the cabin so moves onto something new to
Hoffner and
we left Kofiau they appeared to the one not steering could rest. chew. I no longer fear what I
Bailey were
be solved. Ours, in fact, were Our own watch-setting had can see; I know Oddly Enough
traveling in
solved. Auspray’s autopilot, been delayed, and we spent will pull through a gale with
company with
however, died for a good precious amounts of Tom’s our help.
another voy-
twelve hours into the trip, sleep time taking down the Since our two cruises in the
aging boat,
although in smooth conditions mainsail, reefing the jib and Kimberley region of northwest
the 40-foot
they could still lock it and use snugging everything tight. Australia, a preoccupation with
steel sloop
it to put some pressure on their None too soon, as the seas the intricate interaction of
Auspray,
hydraulic helm. started breaking just about wind and current has held me.
owned by
sundown, and the wind con- My log entry for 2300 that
Trish and
Storm waves from the tinued to build. With each log night says, “Wish wind would
Kevin Comer.
north entry that night, it was ease. ‘Fraid seas are going to be
During the second day the stronger. At 2020 it was 15 to monster from it.” It’s the invisi-
swell grew to 3 to 4 meters. It 20 knots; at 2300, 18 to 22; ble that can work me into a
was a long swell from the just past midnight, 22 to 24; at stew of worry.
north, most likely racing out of 0200, 26 to 30. By the middle Because this passage was
a winter storm far in the North of my second watch it was 25 long it gave us the illusion of
Pacific. Auspray angled north a to 35 knots, and by 0500, we’d being in deep ocean. In fact,
few extra miles for a ritual been in a full gale for two we were coastal; the first night
crossing of the equator. As the hours. The direction had we didn’t make it far enough
afternoon waned the wind stayed steady out of the west- offshore to escape the wind
came up, and with it a sea from northwest, which put us on a shadow of Irian Jaya, and by
the west. It crossed the swell, dead run. I’ve learned, but the middle of the second night,
creating a pattern of humps couldn’t impart to Auspray, that we were 25 miles off, but out-
and valleys and the occasional what gets a sailor through these side Teluk Cenderawasih, a
flat plain, which made Oddly kinds of rough conditions is vast, ill-surveyed bay across
Enough roll crazily. We hadn’t time. Even the worst storms whose mouth ran the
heard from Auspray as the sun come to an end and you have Schouten Islands, including
headed toward the horizon, to find a way to get yourself the island of Biak, which had
and I didn’t like the look of the mentally through them. Of 2,500-foot peaks. The mon-
clouds building over the high course, we had a Sailomat soon drift — the name given
mountains of the mainland 20 wind vane tending our boat — to the current which builds up
miles away. We blasted a VHF when we are under sail we under pressure of the wind
signal from the tops of the don’t depend on an autopilot. under the northwest monsoon
swells and at last found a famil- and goes against the normal
iar voice. In the slop of the No fear for the visible west-setting ocean current —
waves they’d finally been As humans, we tend to always had been helping us. Now it

divided at Cenderawasih, one We’d had no time to think Later I was in the sea berth,
branch hooking south under about storm sails and were still my ear a few inches away from
the islands and later rejoining under a tiny scrap of jib poled the ocean, when she did it
the branch carrying us east at out, but that might have con- again. It happened with a
a 1.5 knots. So, besides the tributed to the Oddly’s good sound like I’ve only heard in
ocean swell, we had compli- handling of the conditions. dry country when a flood
cated currents swirling stream races into an empty
around, interacting with gale Four steep waves streambed. The scrap of jib was
force winds. I was watching astern when a held in a vise by our triangulat-
The moon was almost full series of four waves loomed ed whisker pole, and its posi-
and cast its light even through up, each of which not south- tion forward drew Oddly ahead
the clouds, but we lost it ern-ocean high but high and helped keep her speed up
around 0400 and with its light enough; and straight as walls and her bow pulling. We’d
gone, I felt cold and alone on behind her: short, land-affect- crossed the South Pacific run-
watch. I sat under the dodger, ed seas. The first looked as if it ning with both mainsail and
which gave scant illusion of would break onto her aft deck, jib, but lately had been using
shelter since the duckboards but at the last minute she lift- just the poled-out jib down-
were closed and the wind came ed her stern and the wave wind, and while one part of
from behind, and watched the roared underneath her. She me was uncomfortable,
waves rear up behind the boat. settled, bucked slightly, and because I always like to start
Up, shoot forward, down. lifted again. with the main up on the theo-
ry that it was the harder sail to Hoffner at the
raise in a wind, we found that mast of Oddly
Oddly tore along comfortably Enough to
with a small jib and the trian- remove the
gulated pole held it very stiff. sail cover
As dawn crept up, we took from the
the boat off the wind vane and main as she
I hand-steered while Tom prepares to
replaced a block on the control raise sail.
lines. We also found we had
drifted within sight of a couple
of shallow banks with small
islands. We’d been running by
paper charts, which were too
large-scale for detail, and had
to quickly pull up the electron-
ic charts to figure out what
radical course change would
best miss the banks. I worried
that the currents around the
shallow banks would be horri-
ble, and my heart was in my
mouth as we pointed our bow
SEPTEMBER 2008 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 35

OCEAN VOYAGING
Not necessarily. Local

weather reporting in this area is
not on much scale or depth,
and faxes out of Australia, Asia
and the U.S. show overall
weather patterns and pressure
gradients but are not detailed
enough to take into account
local effects.
General wind patterns here
are predictable. The offshore
waters on the top of Papua
New Guinea are open to the
full expanse of the North Pacif-
ic swells but geographically are
in the equatorial region of the
South Pacific. During the
southern hemisphere winter,
for the passage between the catch the fresh water and even- easterly trade winds prevail. In
islands. By now the wind was tually so much rain poured the southern summer, when
down to 15 to 25 knots but down the decks I simply we were sailing, the northwest
Shallow banks
the seas were still huge and opened the fills and let it pour monsoon moves into the
and a lee
coming from several directions, in. Indonesia had been dry and region. The monsoon is a
shore can
so what had been a straight ski hard on our water supply. result of pressure differences
make for an
run now became a series of At 0200 the next night, that build up between the two
unsettling
sharp rolls which arrived squalls hit again and Auspray hemispheres.
passage.
unpredictably. You could be called for a heave to, their voy-
Above, the
tucked into a corner of the aging nerves shot. We would The monsoon effect
untamed
cockpit and suddenly be rather have taken advantage of In the southern summer, a big
shore of New
thrown 3 feet if you lowered the wind, which was steady low forms over Australia, and a
Guinea.
your bracing foot. from the northwest even with corresponding winter high
the squalls, as we still had forms over Asia. Air is drawn
Slipping between the 1,300 miles to go. I also was from the high, south across the
banks eager to get away from land, equator, to the low. The trade
We slipped between the banks which I suspected was generat- winds blowing west across the
without incident, and later, ing the squally weather. Pacific enter the area affected
with the crew on Auspray While the land was proba- by this pressure difference, or
exhausted, we hove to at sun- bly generating the squalls, the gradient. North of the equator
set, well downwind of the gale must have some other gen- the winds are easterly — actu-
islands. It was a lumpy but esis, however. What had caused ally northeasterly, which is the
secure night. On my second it? In these days of grib files, normal direction of northern
watch the skies opened, and weatherfaxes, and software that hemisphere trade winds.
instead of fighting to stay dry, I downloads and evaluates satel- Around the equator they start
let the rain wash the salt out of lite weather, wouldn’t some- to bend under the influence of
my skin, then set up buckets to body have predicted a gale? the gradient-induced flow,

becoming northerly. Below the

equator the trend is northwest.
We call the easterlies the trade
winds, but it was these seasonal
shifting winds that people in
the Indian Ocean and South- Left, Oddly
east Asia utilized in order to Enough under
travel back and forth. sail. Below,
The Papuan coast is very voyaging is
rugged, with mountains rising not all hard
to 10,000 feet. Every day of work. Hoffner
our passage those mountains relaxes in the
generated grey clouds and rain, cockpit.
also a predictable pattern. My
understanding of such coasts at coast, eventually reaching 40 were some gross lapses of
night would have predicted an miles offshore where the seas understanding. Auspray was ill
offshore breeze from the were no longer affected by equipped to anticipate what it
mountains, if anything, not a shore currents or river deltas, would be like to shift to ocean
slightly onshore gale. As we and we were out of reach of passagemaking from coastal
were unable to stop in Irian mountain squalls. The strong work, and we had not found a
Jaya, we’ll never know exactly northwesterly held, and we had way to impart our experience
what happened. several days of glorious sailing. to them. They couldn’t contin-
The conditions were It was strange to be going east ue to the Solomons, and we
remarkably like the reinforced so easily. ended up entering Papua New
trades that we encountered in With hand-steering, Auspray Guinea at Vanimo, 20 miles
the South Pacific. I contacted a was standing considerably more across the Indonesian border. ■
friend of a friend at the Dar- than one-hour watches and
win meteorological office, who even with heaving to, they were Ann Hoffner is currently sail-
replied: “When you have a rel- done in. Along the way there ing in South Africa.
atively stable air-mass flowing
obliquely onto a shore with a
mountainous range, you could
get this. Because the air is sta-
ble, it won’t flow over the hills,
but instead the flows converge
and wind is forced to accelerate
along the line of the hills. That
explains why the flow would
have been nearly parallel to the
coast. Good if you’re going
downwind I guess!”
After the Schouten Islands
the coast angled southeast from
Cape D’Urville. We continued
east instead of following the
38_48_ON172_SPECIAL.qxd 7/29/08 11:14 AM Page 38
WEATHER
When voyagers
leave their home
waters they
must learn to
adapt to the
changing
availability and
differing types
of weather
products.
Voyaging weather communications

BY JOSH WARREN-WHITE
Josh Warren-White
n today’s world one need not way to New Zealand. Here’s a found similar setups to be quite
A case study
I be a meteorologist in order
to gather weather data and
utilize it to make informed
real-world example of how one
voyaging yacht gathers and uti-
lizes weather information to
common among other offshore
vessels we’ve met along the way.
Some rely entirely on the satel-
decisions for offshore passage- insure (as best we can) safe and lite phone, some on the SSB
on how making. In the information age successful offshore passages in and many use both.
there is a wealth of just that — various regions of the world. While on passage, we receive
voyagers daily weather grib files via
information. So where are voy-
commonly agers getting their weather Grib files email. Thanks to a simple pro-
information and how are they Aboard Bahati, we have a fairly gram created by the good folks
gather using it? simple setup to receive electron- at Saildocs, any voyager with
About two years ago I set sail ic data while offshore: a laptop offshore email capabilities can
weather data with my parents aboard their computer, Pactor-II modem, access free weather data by
while 43-foot cutter, Bahati, from the an old but strong Icom 710 sending requests to Saildocs (a
East Coast of the U.S. on a SSB radio and a SailMail email similar program is also available
passage- westward circumnavigation. account. As a backup, we also from MailASail.com). All one
Since departing, we have cov- have an Iridium satellite phone needs to do is email Saildocs
making ered 12,000 nautical miles and the proper connection with simple text commands,
through the Caribbean, Pana- cables that allow us to down- which automatically uploads
ma Canal and across the South load emails as well as make certain files from the Saildocs
Pacific, eventually making our emergency phone calls. We’ve server that are then provided to
38 www.oceannavigator.com
the user in an automatic email NOAA GFS forecast is for our

response. projected position over the fol-
To request weather informa- lowing hours and days. There
tion via Saildocs, we have are also numerous free grib-
found the most simple and reading software programs
user-friendly approach is the available online.
Airmail email client (provided We study the grib files
by both SailMail and Winlink closely, watching the predicted
to their subscribers — also pressure, wind and sea-state
available as a free download to for our area. But we also view
Josh Warren-White
all amateur radio operators). the data with a critical eye, as
Airmail has a built in module we are constantly reminded by
titled Catalogs under the Win- marine weather forecasters
dow menu. Here, users can around the world that grib navigate to the Catalogs mod-
make requests for grib files by charts are raw meteorological ule and choose the forecasts for
selecting the area one would data. These files are computer our region from the list provid- Josh Warren-
like covered on the map and generated and do not have the ed. Among this list we have White at the
choosing the various parame- benefit of analysis carried out automated email access to text computer as
ters desired. You then click by a human forecaster. Thus forecasts from weather agencies he gathers
Request, which generates a they are limited in their accu- around the world. weather data
query email to be sent to Sail- racy, especially as the date the We also access text forecasts aboard his
docs. Making the requests prediction is valid for gets fur- from marine weather forecast- parent’s 43-
through this Airmail window ther and further from the date ers based in various regions foot cutter
allows us to not have to learn it was created. This warning that provide forecasting and Bahati.
the scripting language and file has borne true for us during routing services to offshore
names that Saildocs uses to many passages between Maine voyagers.
automatically generate our files. and New Zealand. This has
After sending the query and led us to the common conclu- Voice forecasts via SSB
receiving our grib file via sion that grib charts can be Forecasts with human interpre-
email, our next step is reading very useful, but are best used tation are also available as voice
it. We often use the software in conjunction with forecasts broadcasts via SSB and Ham
program MaxSea to navigate that carry human analysis. So radio (as well as VHF radio in
on our laptop computer. Our where do we get this human various coastal regions, of
Raymarine GPS provides the analysis? course). While in port we
program with data via a serial often compile lists of frequen-
cable, so in MaxSea we already Text forecasts via email cies and broadcast times for
have our current position, One way we get that human weather forecasts in the region
course, hull speed and route analysis while offshore is we will be transiting. These fre-
plotted on our navigational through narrative text forecasts. quency lists are readily avail-
charts. We simply take the grib These can be gathered from able on various Web sites and
files we received via email, many different sources. Aboard cruising guides.
import them into MaxSea and Bahati, we receive them
overlay them on top of our through Saildocs requests just Forecasters and weather
navigational charts. This gives as we do grib files. We simply routers
us a picture of what the go into the Airmail program, There are professional and

WEATHER
er/router who provides atten- down on the rhumb line.

tive, free services over HF radio We were among a number
to vessels sailing in the of boats sailing from Tonga to
Atlantic. New Zealand on similar routes
While in the Caribbean we and quickly began tense morn-
regularly used the services of ing conferences on the SSB
Chris Parker, who has a similar radio to share weather informa-
setup to Herb’s, but also pro- tion and discuss each other’s
vides email forecasts and oper- strategy for riding out the
Ralph Naranjo
ates through a modest yearly or strong blow coming down
monthly subscription fee. from the northwest. These
Then in the South Pacific radio conferences (often
region, for support with the referred to as nets) can be very
amateur forecasters, routers potentially difficult passage helpful to share information
Methods for and meteorologists operating south to New Zealand, Bob and strategy between vessels,
capturing in various regions of the world McDavitt provides excellent though they often come with a
weather data who specialize in providing forecast and routing services to heavy dose of group hysteria
include HF SSB, weather services to voyagers offshore vessels, mostly that ultimately may not help
above, and and offshore sailors. The oper- through email communica- the situation.
Iridium satellite ating structure of these service tion. With the aid of Bob
phone, right. providers varies dramatically Here is an example of how McDavitt, who was watching
More important from business-minded weather McDavitt’s forecasting support the storm develop in real time
than just the routers who charge on an helped us through a tense situ- via satellite, we were able to
hardware is hourly basis to regional weath- ation: Like many other vessels radically change course in order
knowing the er gurus who charge nothing in the region, our intention to encounter the frontal
sources of data and work from their homes was to sail Bahati to New boundary of the system in its
as a voyager over amateur radio land-based Zealand in order to wait out early, less-developed stages and
change with stations. the South Pacific cyclone sea- then skirt
cruising We have used both types of son. Heading south from the around the
grounds. For forecasters, receiving weather equatorial islands, as you get backside of it,
example, in the information and advice from higher in latitude into what is remaining in the
Caribbean all over the map. We have espe- commonly known as the vari- least dangerous sector.
voyagers will cially found the services provid- ables, storms can whip up We were studying the
rely on Chris ed by the various regional quickly and give even the NOAA GFS grib files, which
Parker, while in marine weather gurus to be of most seasoned sailors painted a terrifying picture of
the Atlantic great help. Sailing from the a good beating. For winds topping near hurricane
they’ll tune to East Coast of the U.S. out to us, what appeared strength. But Bob was looking
Herb Bermuda and then down from to be a benign at many different models and
Hilgenberg. Bermuda to the Caribbean we eight-day passage, came to the conclusion that the
used the services of one of the turned into a nail- GFS model was predicting the
weather-routing businesses: biting 14-day storm too early and too strong.
Courtesy Iridium
Locus Weather, based in ordeal, when an In the end, his prediction was
Maine. We also had daily com- unanticipated correct. It blew, but not at hur-
munications with Herb cyclonic low-pres- ricane force. Either way, we
Hilgenberg, a weather forecast- sure system started to bear were grateful to be in the least

Split Lead
SSB Antenna
N
M No need
dangerous sector of the system, even for backstay
insulators
if it added an extra week to the voy- M Easy installation
age. It was in situations like this that M No swaging, no
cutting
we were quite glad to have local M Tough, water- Communications
proof, reusable expert Gordon West
expert knowledge and a very attentive M Highly conduc- reports
and patient friend on our team. tive RF elements “I have done
M Watertight lead- numerous SSB ham
Each of these regional maritime wire to antenna and marine radio
forecasters carries with them a connection checks with this sys-
M Stiff 34’ LDPE tem and have found
detailed knowledge of the region in housing secures no discernible signal
which they operate and provide per- firmly to back- losses, even when
stay wire used with a well-
sonalized service that voyagers can grounded backstay
count on. That said, we take their aboard a steel-
hulled vessel. The
advice as just that — advice. GAM Electronics, Inc. antenna...can bang
191 Varney Street out a signal just as
Manchester, NH 03102 though it were sus-
A route to the Galapagos Phone: (603) 627-1010
Fax: (603) 622-4738
pended in mid-air.”
Some time ago we enlisted the servic- www.gamelectronicsinc.com
– Sail Magazine
October 2005
es of a professional weather router gamelectronicsinc@juno.com
based in the U.S. to help us find the

best window to sail from Panama to
the Galapagos Islands, 1,000 miles off
the coast of Ecuador, which is classi-
cally a challenging stretch of ocean
often riddled with calms and counter-
currents. We had already started the
passage once and had been forced
back to Panama due to major issues
with our charging system, so we were
familiar with the frustrations this
stretch of ocean could dish out.
Four days into the passage, it
became clear that the conditions were
considerably different then the router
had predicted. They were actually
playing out as the grib files were pre-
dicting, in contradiction to the fore-
cast and routing advice we received
via email from the land-based profes-
sional. Five days into the passage —
300 miles off the coast of Colombia
and still 500 miles from our intended
destination on the island of Santa
Cruz, Galapagos — we had to make
the call to defer from the advice of the
router and follow a different course. If
we had followed the advice given, we

WEATHER
would have traveled further south hit headwinds for days, forcing us to sailing) gathering and processing
along the South American coast, then use the last bit of our precious fuel weather information. At the end of
turned due west around the equator. fighting our way off the coast. the day we sit down together as a
Upon turning west we would have Instead we stuck to the southwesterly group with the information provided
rhumb line, made a couple of extra to us by the regional forecasters, with
tacks and had a pleasant nine-day the local knowledge that only they
Voyager’s passage, arriving with fuel to spare. have, and couple it with the informa-
This was a key lesson in the necessity tion we have received through data,
weather data of making our own decisions utiliz- text and voice transmissions and
sites ing all of our available resources. make our decisions for ourselves.
Even professionals can be wrong, Our lives and the safety of our vessel
www.saildocs.com especially when it comes to some- are in our hands and we are ultimate-
www.sailmail.com thing as unpredictable as predicting ly responsible for the decisions that
weather. Bob McDavitt’s own caveat we make while offshore. Luckily, in
www.mailasail.com says it all: “Weather is a mixture of this day and age we have access to
chaos and pattern.” ample resources to inform these diffi-
www.airmail2000.com
cult decisions.
www.winlink.org Putting it all together
In preparation, during the week or Josh Warren-White is a graphic
www.caribwx.com
(Chris Parker in the Caribbean)
so leading up to an offshore passage, designer who recently returned to San
we typically begin talking to forecast- Francisco, California after sailing
www3.sympatico.ca/hehilgen/vax498. ers and routers, downloading grib 12,000-plus nautical miles from the
htm (Herb Hilgenberg in the Atlantic) files and text forecasts, listening to East Coast of the U.S. through the
www.weathergram.blogspot.com the weather broadcasts for the region Caribbean, the Panama Canal and
(Bob McDavitt in New Zealand) and getting a feel for the weather across the South Pacific to New
patterns of the area, while starting to Zealand, aboard his parents’ boat, 43-
www.midcoast.com/~locuswx/
look for a favorable window and footer Bahati. Josh can be reached at
(Locus Weather in Maine)
route for our desired passage. jwarrenwhite@gmail.com. Stories,
Josh Warren-White Once we are finally at sea, I spend photos and position reports from the
a good portion of my day (aside from voyage of the Bahati can be found at
eating, sleeping, fishing and actually www.bahati.net.
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While gridded
binary (grib) files
can provide
weather data for
just about any spot
on earth, the
quality of the data
is not always so
uniform.
One arrow in the quiver

STORY AND PHOTOS BY RALPH NARANJO
he term grib refers to by the U.S. Coast Guard and weather forecasting and the
T gridded binary files, geek

speak for a compressed
data format favored by meteo-
found free to download on the
Web. Other weather-wise
mariners find grib files to be a
development of a clear perspec-
tive of what tomorrow will
bring. The more volatile the Grib files
rologists as a means of digitally racer and cruiser’s best friend. climate and higher the latitude provide
transmitting weather data. It A cottage industry has grown or the closer you are to hurri-
has become both the favored around repackaging weather cane season, the more advanta- excellent
buzzword of the weather wor- data and selling to sailors hun- geous a heads-up weather-driv-
ried and a topic that experts gry for a magic touchstone en game plan becomes. weather info
continue to debate — quite that will tell them what condi- The good news for contem-
but aren’t a
possibly leaving sailors with tions lie ahead. The best way porary sailors is that never
more questions than answers. to understand what’s right for before has there been so much sole source
Lee Chesneau an ex-NOAA you is to take a look at both valuable data within easy reach
Ocean Prediction Center sides of this argument and get of those poking along coast- for voyaging
meteorologist, now an engag- a feel as to where you fit. But lines or sailing thousands of
ing weather seminar speaker, before we dive head first into miles from home port. There’s decisions
tells mariners to steer clear of the brewing controversy, a lit- only one catch: if you’re after
the raw model data that grib tle background information more than a look at how the
files graphically provide and needs to be shared. barometer is trending, where
opt for the forecasts, surface If there’s one area of sea- the clouds are coming from
analysis and 500-mb informa- manship where knowledge is and which way the wind is
tion already being broadcast power, it lies in the realm of blowing, you’re going to have
www.oceannavigator.com 43
WEATHER
to make some decisions the right season for a passage — pre-

about hardware and soft- pared to endure what comes along.
ware, along with just how Communication equipment takes a
much of an investment back seat to storm sails, vessel stabili-
weather wisdom is really ty and structural integrity. Their
worth. gamble, like those who set off with-
There are three schools out a diesel auxiliary, is one of higher
of thought when it comes stakes and greater challenges in sea-
to weather awareness and manship.
how to keep pace with a The second, and perhaps most
volatile atmosphere. The sensible approach to weather aware-
first is exemplified by a ness, is the do-it-yourself process
Computer-based weather tools like grib and dwindling group of fatalists that begins with the development
grib readers make analyzing large-scale and stoics who prefer to reject com- of a weather-101 level of knowledge
weather easier. However, small-scale munication technology and take and an equal familiarity with radio
weather effects, like local fogs, right, may what comes along. They embrace signal propagation and what it takes
not show up on computer maps. the idea of being prepared for weath- to receive VHF, cellular, SSB and
er contingencies and simply picking satellite voice and data broadcasts.

This approach assumes that the as an amalgam of all

onboard decision maker can read a three philosophies.
surface chart and make sense of the
contours that make up a 500-mb Buying what you’ve
chart. The premise is that an already paid for
informed decision maker is actually Do-it-yourself oriented
more reliable than a radio link with weather-aware sailors
a shoreside weather consultant. believe that NOAA has
The third option is to relegate done a pretty fine job of
some, or all, of the weather-info sampling and evaluating
gathering to an expert not on the dynamics of the
board. With this abdication of atmosphere and put that
weather awareness, comes com- information at the finger-
plete reliance upon an external tips of the boating com-
expert and a communication link munity. So, they ask
that carries no guarantee. Of themselves, why pay oth-
course, most weather-savvy pas- ers to use the same model
sagemakers see the ideal approach data and charts to

WEATHER
prompt your decision making? Most for-a-fee weather sync with each other, one call-
But this argument only holds gurus willingly admit that they ing for calm seas and sunshine
water for those who have done base their decision making on and another placing a rousing
their homework and can han- the same model information gale in your path. The grib
and forecast data that NOAA charts generated will be equally
provides for free in voice and contradictory and there’s no
digital format, promulgated via human element ready to add
the Internet. Their value-added an expert’s opinion.
can be two fold: These services
specifically focus on conditions Developing grib data
in their client’s vicinity and the NOAA sifts data from the
experts themselves are often atmosphere via weather sta-
experienced, small-craft-knowl- tions, weather balloons, ship
edgeable mariners. This local- reports, satellites and ground
ized awareness and their under- radar. Their models GFS,
standing of specific model AVN and Wavewatch III give a
shortfalls, associated with the shorthand digital summary of
dle tasks like reading informa- unique conditions of a specific the information tweaked by
tion on weatherfax 24-, 48- water body, can be of consider- weighted mathematical formu-
When in coastal
and 96-hour charts and under- able value. They rightly refer to las. For example, the GFS
waters, NOAA’s
standing why a teardrop- such expertise as value-added model covers land and sea
land-based
shaped isoheight line on a in developing their custom areas and generates wind vec-
weather radars
500-mb chart is an alarm bell forecasts. And it’s exactly what’s tors at a 10-meter height over a
can provide
indicative of the formation of a missing in every grib file. grid that is either 0.5 x 0.5, 1 x
detailed
cut-off low. And if you want Grib data is based upon 1 or 2.5 x 2.5 degrees in speci-
precipitation data
grib files, satellite radar analysis purely computer model-driven ficity. The data includes wind
and satellite
of the sea surface and its asso- calculations using complex speed, direction, temperature,
imagery can show
ciative relationship to wind algorithms and there’s pressure, humidity and much
sea surface water
speed for pre-passage plan- absolutely no human interven- more.
temps, above. All
ning, it’s all on the Web. Ben tion, not even a look out the Wavewatch III is another
this data can be
Franklin’s wisdom about the window. What’s amazing is model that streamlines infor-
viewed on
“weather-wise and the other- how accurate these computer- mation and offers only high
electronic chart
wise” seems to sum it all up. If crunched projections can be. seas data limited to oceanic
displays, right. But
you are informed and have In fact, those voyaging in wind, wave and current that is
offshore and in
developed an onboard deci- remote Great Southern Ocean available in a much smaller file.
many less- It’s updated in three-hour
sion-making process, you are regions have been shocked by
populated areas intervals and the model is run
better off regardless of whether how often the grib-file forecast
of the globe, four times a day. Its grid size is
or not you also plan to sign up matches local conditions even
weather data 1 x 1.25 degrees, meaning that
for a grib-file service, lash up a though weather stations and
collection is less each data point is for a rectan-
Sirius satellite weather radio sampling are scarce. This fact
complete. gular area of sea surface, rough-
receiver to your Raymarine, alone is a great testimony to
Furuno or other networked how good models are getting, ly 60-miles-by-45-to-75-miles
digital plotter or intend to pay but despite this glowing up (depending upon the latitude
for a concierge custom-fore- side, there are times when the of the cell). The Navy has put
cast service. models are 180 degrees out of models like NOGAPS and

COAMPS in the public domain and to your communication gear

more and more data is being shared of choice. Inshore, this
worldwide. might be a dockside land-
line, cellular provider or Wi-
Acquiring grib files Fi link. At sea, an SSB with a
Ashore, the public can use high- digital Pactor-III node can
speed Internet capability to snappily do the job, as can SailMail,
download grib files, but at sea it’s a Ocens Mail and other
Slowsky world out there with baud email/SSB links. Inmarsat and Iridi- well ahead of a cold front, which
rates that make a 90s shoreside- um and other satellite systems can often pack more of a wallop than the
dialup connection seem impressive. also tie the grib-file reader to a service cold front itself. This phenomenon is
This means that either you’re going provider. Ham operators use prod- most noticeable on the north wall of
to spend huge amounts on satellite ucts like Ugrib and their Pactor- the Gulf Stream and information
phone, Inmarsat or other provider air equipped transceivers to circumvent garnered from NOAA’s GFS model
time or you will need to purchase a the costs of a commercial service, but runs are regularly tweaked by meteo-
plan with a provider such as Weath- the process is less user friendly and rologists developing a forecast. They
erNet or Saildocs that compresses the products are not quite as easy to look at satellite photos of the stream’s
grib files and provides them via SSB handle. constantly changing north wall con-
or satellite service. Feedback from Ideally, grib files should be used as ditions, and check ship reports as
competitors in a recent California-to- an input factor in forecast develop- well as note how different models
Hawaii race had a few owners spend- ment, just as the trend of the baro- read a similar situation.
ing $2,000 on airtime for weather metric readings or a shift in wind Leaving a forecaster entirely out
information downloads! direction is factored into a forecast. of the loop is a gamble with a seri-
The next investment is in a grib- Basing the whole forecast on a grib ous downside, and it’s why skilled
file reader, a software program that file run is too monolithic. For exam- navigators use grib files as another
turns a binary string into a color ple, models that are spot-on with tool in their box — not the only
chart depicting wind velocity and sea wind-velocity predictions with one tool available. ■
state as well as other vital meteoro- type of weather system often miss the
logical data. Grib Explorer or anoth- wind-velocity implications associated Ralph Naranjo is a freelance
er Windows-compatible program with another. A case in point is the writer and photographer living in
can be nested on your PC and linked prefrontal trough squalls that arrive Annapolis, Md.
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Index to Advertisers
Page Advertiser Product Page Advertiser Product
47 Ample Power Co LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Electrical systems 12 Nanni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder/sail
30 Amel – Joel F Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sailboats 13 Nanni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diesel engines
44 Balmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alternators 44 National Marine Electronics Assn (NMEA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Electronics
55 Beta Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diesel engines 1 Newport International Boat Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Show
58 Cape George Cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder – sail 29 Nobeltec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Electronic charting
51 Dr. LED – Dynamic Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lights 59 Nordhavn Brokerage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brokerage
17 Epifanes USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Varnish/Paint c2 Nordhavn Yachts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder – power & sail
26 Evolution Shaft Razor Cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Line cutter/Shaft systems 5 North Sails Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sailmaker
53 Fawcett Boat Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boat supplies 51 Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder/Boatyard
41 FloScan Instrument Company Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Flowmeter 7 Pacific Seacraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder– Sail
21 Fujinon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Binoculars 51 Para-Tech Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sea anchors
c4 Furuno USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Electronics 23 Pioneer Marketing and Research/Steiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Binoculars
41 GAM Split Lead Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Antenna 42 Rumery’s Boat Yard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boatbuilder/Boatyard
60 Gozzard Yachts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sailboats 45 Scan Marine Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stove/Heater
20 Hansen Marine Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Engines/Generators 45 Sea Breathe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diving air for cruisers
9 Harken Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sailboat equipment 48 Sea Frost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Refrigeration
47 Hart Systems (Tank Tender) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tank measuring system 26 Smithwick & Mariners Insurance Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Insurance
58 Hathaway Reiser & Raymond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sea anchors 58 Spartite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mast wedge
22 HRO Systems/Sea Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Watermakers 54 Spectra Marine Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Watermakers
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48 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 www.oceannavigator.com

49_60_ON172_FEATURES.qxd 7/29/08 11:19 AM Page 49
Fiber Many large
rigging vessels now

use fiber
comes instead of
metal
of age
Courtesy Future Fibres
rigging
by Nigel Calder
etal rigging is increas- ends of the fibers. There are and cone until all are equally
M ingly becoming a
thing of the past on
racing boats and large yachts.
two considerable challenges:
the first is to ensure that all the
fibers in a bundle are adequate-
loaded, and then the tapered
plug is fully tightened. A tradi-
tional threaded terminal screws
During the past decade, four ly gripped; and the second is to into the base of the cone.
Heavy-duty fiber rig-
companies — Future Fibres, ensure that they are all equally Navtec later successfully adapt-
ging installations
Navtec, SmartRigging and loaded. Because of the incredi- ed the bi-conic fitting for PBO,
can be found on
Composite Rigging — as well bly low stretch of these fibers, if but Future Fibres simultane-
large yachts like this
as several emerging smaller loading is unequal, the most ously did an end run around
standing rigging ter-
players, have succeeded in over- loaded fibers will try to take all Navtec with the continuous
mination by Future
coming the considerable chal- the load, resulting in overload winding process (also known as
Fibres.
lenges that underlie adapting and failure, and then the next the sling process), which has
polybenzoxazole (PBO), car- most loaded will load up and come to predominate.
bon fiber and other space-age fail, and so on, producing a Continuous winding uses
fibers to sailboat rigging. sequential failure. two titanium or stainless steel
The greatest technical hur- Early on, Navtec developed thimbles placed apart at a dis-
dle in adapting the new fibers a bi-conic socket-and-cone end tance equal to the length of the
to rigging has been finding fitting for Kevlar rigging. This finished piece of rigging. Fibers
mechanisms to attach end fit- fitting traps the fibers between are then pulled off a spool and
tings without compromising a tapered plug inside a cone. wrapped around and around
the strength of a rig. With tra- The plug is partially tightened. the thimbles in one continuous
ditional rigging in mind, initial The fitting is loaded up to run until sufficient fiber has
attempts focused on bonding stretch the fibers, allowing been added to achieve the
or clamping a fitting to the them to slip between the plug desired strength and stretch
www.oceannavigator.com 49
properties for sion and then to maintain this bon-fiber rods at relatively high
this piece of tension over the life of the rig- speeds for use as strength ele-
rigging. There ging, which requires a mecha- ments (Composite Rigging can
is now no risk nism to maintain the relative produce up to 48 rods at a
of the fibers position of the fibers on the time per process line at a speed
pulling out of thimbles. of 40 feet per minute; there are
the end fittings, 12,000 carbon fibers in each 1-
Nigel Calder
but the chal- Carbon-fiber terminations mm rod).

lenge of main- Carbon-fiber rigging has When applied to rigging,
evolved in a different fashion. instead of changing the diame-
In the past, carbon-fiber rods ter of the extruded carbon rods
have been extruded in whatev- to match the loads on a rig,
er diameter is necessary to Composite Rigging decided to
achieve the desired strength bundle up however many of
and stiffness. However, not the 1-mm rods were necessary
only is it expensive to extrude to achieve the desired proper-
custom rod sizes, but it is also ties. This substantially drops
difficult to attach end fittings the cost of the rig over custom-
Above, because the fittings are only extruded carbon while greatly
Navtec’s gripping, or glued to, the accelerating the pace of rigging
braiding fibers on the outside of the construction. One of Compos-
machine for rod. Problems are compound- ite’s engineers, Rob Sjostedt,
making fiber ed by the fact that convention- was a sailor and devised a
rigging. Right, mechanism for preloading all
al carbon rod pultrusion tech-
a bundle of
niques require a mold-release the rods in a bundle to an
PBO fibers,
Nigel Calder
agent that inhibits the bond equal tension and then splay-
the raw mate-
between end fittings and rods. ing them out inside a cone
rial of PBO
Composite Rigging’s break- where they are glued in place
rigging. Far
taining an even load on the through lay in finding a way to with epoxy. Once set, the glue
right, because
fibers remains. In fact, the both reduce the cost of making bonds to the surfaces of all the
carbon does
not need
loading challenge is greater. the rods and at the same time rods, creating a large bonded
waterproof-
Consider a bundle of fibers improve the security of the end surface area to absorb the
ing, in areas
wrapped around a thimble. If, fittings. We have to go back to loads. The incompressible glue
where there when under load, the outer- the fiber optic industry to see plug cannot be pulled out of
are no chafe most fibers work their way in how this came about. the cone.
issues, the towards the thimble, the ten- Fiber optic cables are pulled To keep weight out of these
rods just need sion on these fibers will reduce, in bundles. The cables are not terminals, the cones are
holding transferring the load to the strong enough in and of them- machined from stainless steel
together in a other fibers, with a risk of the selves to withstand the stresses or titanium that is pared
bundle as at kind of sequential failure of being pulled. Another high- down to a minimum thick-
left. The described above. Future Fibres, strength fiber is added to the ness and then bound in pre-
braided Navtec and SmartRigging have bundle to take the pulling preg carbon fiber. This pro-
sheath at all developed very expensive, loads. Composite Rigging cre- vides the hoop strength neces-
right is for highly customized, proprietary ated a mechanism for continu- sary to keep the load on the
chafe protec- machines and processes to ously and economically extrud- epoxy plug from splitting the
tion. wind the fibers with equal ten- ing small diameter (1 mm) car- cone. The net effect is a very

effective, high-strength terminal at higher temperatures. In

that places a balanced load on all the practice, at temperatures
rods. Clever stuff! below 100° F, which is what
is normally found in rigging
Protecting the fibers applications, damage from
At this point in the process, whether moisture intrusion is gener-
it’s Aramid, PBO or carbon, we have ally limited. For any reason-
bundles of parallel fibers with end fit- able life expectancy, PBO
Nigel Calder
tings in place. These fibers need to be fibers must be kept in the
packaged up to minimize their cross- dark and sealed inside a
sectional area (to reduce windage) watertight sheathing. mating (heat shrink) tape around this
and must be protected from chafe. All four manufacturers have and shrink it down. SmartRigging
That’s about it for carbon, but PBO devised mechanisms for wrapping has a mechanism to slide a continu-
and other fibers also need to be pro- the fiber bundles in a manner that ous heat-shrink tube over the fibers.
tected from various environmental holds the fibers tightly together. For This is then shrunk down. In all
conditions. PBO, for example, is example, Future Fibres and Navtec three cases, the heat shrink provides
damaged by ultraviolet rays (UV) spiral wrap a high-strength debulking both UV protection and waterproof-
and moisture intrusion, with the tape around the fibers to compress ing.
effect of moisture being exacerbated them, then spiral wrap self-amalga- Composite Rigging pulls the car-
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have different properties. Typi-

cally, when comparing one
technology to another, the
baseline that is used in any
given application is the stretch
of the Nitronic 50-rod rigging
that would have been used
prior to the advent of fiber rig-
ging. Because Kevlar stretches
more than PBO, it takes more
to achieve an equivalent stretch
and as a result it ends up being
Nigel Calder
larger and heavier. This is why
PBO has largely supplanted it
Above, the bon rods together with Kevlar thinks it has the best approach in recent years. Today, when
Open 60 Hugo thread. As noted, the carbon to this rather critical issue! money is no object (for exam-
Boss had a needs no additional protection Finally, whether PBO or ple, many high-profile racing
wide variety against the environment. carbon, the rigging needs pro- boats) the primary comparison
of fiber stand- For the three PBO users, so tecting against chafe. This is
ing and run- long as the heat shrink is not provided by a braided sheath.
ning rigging, damaged, it does a good job of Future Fibres and Navtec have
including keeping moisture out along the a weaving machine that allows
components length of the rigging. Water- the density of the weave to be
from Future proofing the cable itself is thus varied along the length of the
Fibres, Smart relatively easy. piece of rigging according to
Rigging, and What is not so easy is mak- the anticipated chafe. Smar-
Composite ing the terminals watertight, tRigging has devised a mecha-
Rigging. (Boss and ensuring the watertight nism to slip the sheath over the
was later lost integrity of the transition from rigging and then tension it.
due to a keel the terminal to the heat shrink Given the inherent durability
failure.) on the rigging itself. Each man- of its pultruded carbon rods,
Right, carbon ufacturer has a somewhat dif- Composite Rigging only
standing rig-
ferent approach to this. Navtec, applies chafe protection in areas
ging from
for example, has a carbon shell where chafe is anticipated. In
Composite
glued around the terminal and all cases, the sheath is invariably
Rigging, car-
to the thimble, and sealed to some exotic material such as
bon chain-
Nigel Calder
the heat shrink on the rigging one of the Aramids (e.g.,

plates with
with additional heat shrink. Kevlar or Technora), or high-
titanium
inserts and
Whereas SmartRigging has density polyethylene (e.g.,
pins.
devised a mechanism to create a Spectra or Dyneema), chosen is between PBO and carbon.
poured terminal in which the for such properties as its mois- Here we see, at least on the
PBO and thimble are fully pot- ture, UV and chafe resistance. surface of things, that for a
ted in a dense, hard, rubber-like given amount of stretch, car-
substance. Future Fibres clamps Aramid versus PBO versus bon is significantly heavier.
a mold over the terminals and carbon Then there are the end fittings
injects resin. Naturally, each The finished pieces of rigging and spreader fittings that must

also be taken into account. Given the maxi project, their discontinuous
fact that the thimble-style fittings rigging was still found to be 5 per-
used in continuously wound PBO cent lighter. Finally, in 2006, Smar-
rigging tend to be lighter than the tRigging launched its own version of Since 1985 Ocean Navigator has been the
resource that offshore voyagers swear by.
socket-and-cone approach used by continuous PBO rigging, with five
N
Composite Rigging, once again, boats already rigged, and claims to
ow you can access those
PBO would appear to have the edge. have restored a 15 percent weight years of expertise any time
However, it’s not this simple. advantage over continuous carbon! you like. With its searchable
Almost all modern high-tech rigs archive containing over 2,000
serious navigation and seamanship
have discontinuous rigging, which is Two types of costs
articles, Ocean Navigator Online is
to say that any part of the rig that This leaves the cost issues. There are the perfect companion to your
comes to a spreader terminates at two aspects to this: the upfront cost Ocean Navigator subscription.
that spreader. This is in contrast to and the lifetime cost, which is not the
traditional rigging, which is continu- same. If two different approaches cost Best of all,
ous from the masthead to the deck, the same up front, but one lasts half it’s now FREE to all
Ocean Navigator print
bending around the spreader tip. as long as the other, then it is twice as
subscribers.
Discontinuous rigging adds more fit- expensive over its lifetime.
tings than continuous rigging, but Up front, Kevlar is about twice the Register today.
whereas, for example, a two-spreader price of rod rigging, PBO is about
www.Ocean Navigator.com/register
continuous rig would have cap one-and-a-half times the price of
shrouds and intermediate shrouds Kevlar (which makes it about three
both coming over the lower spread- times the price of rod), and carbon is
ers and down to the deck, the dis-
continuous rig will have a single
about one-third more expensive than
PBO (i.e., four times the price of
FAWCETT
shroud running to the deck from the rod). If you start adding titanium end BOAT SUPPLIES
lower spreader, reducing the overall fittings, costs can go considerably
weight. higher. BEST SELECTION,
Composite Rigging has devised a But then the rigs are 70 to 80 per- KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF,
mechanism to build prestressed con- cent lighter than rod. In the case of EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
tinuous rigging in which the various superyachts, this can literally translate # Sailboat Hardware
shrouds and their associated diago- into tons of weight saved aloft. A # Safety Gear
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by Future Fibres reduced the rig # Apparel
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together such that the carbon bundle weight from 2,869 lbs (1,304 kg) to # Custom Rigging Shop
at any given point is only as large as 769 lbs (350 kg) for a saving of 2,100 # Plumbing & Electrical
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ciencies of discontinuous rigging Holland using Composite Rigging’s
without any of the multiple spreader carbon rigging saved an estimated
fittings normally needed. Composite 1,600 kg (3,520 lbs) as compared to
Rigging claims that the net effect is rod rigging. These savings translate
to cancel out the normal weight into improved motion and stability,
advantage of PBO with the added improved performance to windward, 110 Compromise St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
benefit of significantly reducing reduced fuel bills and/or a substantial Phone (410) 267-8681
windage. Future Fibres counters that reduction in the keel weight (in some Fax (410) 267-7547
www.fawcettboat.com
in a recent independent study of a superyacht examples, by several tons).

As we have seen, for the same becoming increasingly confident The other inspection point for
stretch as rod, PBO and carbon are about life expectancy issues. PBO rigging is the connection
approximately 100 percent stronger. between the terminals and the heat-
Let’s assume rod rigging that would Maintenance shrink sheathing. Over time, there
be loaded to 25 percent of its ulti- When it comes to maintenance, the may be a tendency for the heat
mate breaking strength. The load on key requirement is to inspect the rig shrink to pull away from the termi-
the replacement PBO or carbon rig for damage to its sheathing. With nal. There is an inner glue layer that
will be the same, which means a rig carbon, the only concern is that the provides additional protection, but
with the same stretch will be loaded rods are not damaged through abra- clearly if the PBO is exposed it will
to 12.5 percent of its ultimate break- sion, shock loading and impact. lead to problems. Navtec terminal
ing strength. In theory, there will be With PBO, there is the additional covers also need to be inspected for
reduced fatigue degradation and critical need to maintain the protec- signs of cracking or opening at the
enhanced life expectancy for the tion from UV and moisture intru- glue seams (unlike Future Fibres and
fiber rigs. sion. In general, damage to the SmartRigging, the terminals are not
In practice, no one knows what is sheathing is easier to detect than the filled with any kind of sealing com-
the reasonable life of these rigs. The kind of incipient cracks that threaten pound).
longest that any of them have been in failure with rod rigging (this is It’s easy to forget that PBO and
service is eight or nine years. As the because most rod rigging cracks are carbon rigging is less than a decade
years go by, the manufacturers are hidden inside terminals). old. In that time, it has been thor-
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Above left, a fin-

ished terminal
with titanium
thimble, carbon
shell and heat-
Nigel Calder
shrink tubing cov-
ered with a braid-
ed sheath. Above
right, a light-
oughly tested on the race- players are jumping in with PBO and carbon rigs have weight racing ter-
course, including many of the lower cost solutions (e.g., Pow- truly come of age and are likely minal does not
world’s toughest events such as erlite Rigging and EasyRig- to see continuing rapid growth have the same
the Volvo round-the-world ging). As volume goes up and … until the next revolutionary moisture protec-
race and the Vendee Globe. It price comes down, we can fiber supplants them! ■ tion as the
has emerged with an expect fiber rigging to increas- sheathed termi-
enhanced reputation, and as a ingly work its way down into Nigel Calder is the author of nals and, as such,
result the pace of adoption is more price-conscious markets. numerous books, including is designed with a
accelerating rapidly, especially We will likely test a fiber rig on Nigel Calder’s Cruising Hand- shorter life
in the superyacht arena. New our next boat. book. expectancy.
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VOYAGING TIPS
Super Wi-Fi antenna

STORY AND PHOTOS BY HARRY HUNGATE
P ractically every marina

worldwide now provides
WiFi access, but you may be
antennas” and a number of sites
will appear. Review several of
them to get a general idea of 2
assigned a berth that is either what’s available. I selected the
completely out of Wi-Fi range antenna described in
or where the signal is marginal. www.wireless.gumph.org/arti-
If you are on a mooring or at cles/homemadeomni.html, due
anchor you can lose your Wi-Fi to its apparent ease of construc-
connection completely each tion and use of readily available
time the boat swings around. materials. The antenna
Commercial high-gain external described on the gumph site is 3
omni antennas such as the Net- a collinear dipole design. This
gate ANT-H2415-Pro are read- means that each segment of
ily available for $130 or so, but one-half wavelength cumula-
Voyager Harry
if you are reluctant to part with tively adds gain to the Wi-Fi
Hungate with
your hard-earned cash, here is a signal to produce an effective
the super Wi-Fi
antenna he
cost-effective solution (around gain of 6 dB or more, depend-
built from plans
$35) that will greatly extend ing on the number of segments. 4
obtained on your Wi-Fi range and earn While the plans show an anten-
the Internet. extensive bragging rights on na of eight segments, I added
The result was your electronic prowess. four more segments, hoping for
increased Wi-Fi On the Internet you will a further increase in gain.
range for find lots of detailed informa- Print out the instructions
roughly $35
tion on antenna design and from the Web site and follow
plus setup and
construction. The actual con- them very carefully. Don’t 5
assembly time.
struction of the antenna despair at the details — it’s
requires careful attention to surely not rocket science. Here’s
detail, as the dimensions are a somewhat digested version
critical, but it is generally with- plus a few helpful hints:
in the capabilities of most do-it- Obtain 3 feet (or 1 meter) of
yourself boaters who can meas- RG-213 marine-grade coaxial
ure and solder. cable, 6 inches (150 mm) of
The omni-directional anten- RG-58U marine-grade coaxial
na is the design of choice for a cable, three small FT-50A-67
6
boat, as you do not have to aim ferrite toroids (www.amidon-
the antenna at the Wi-Fi site. corp.com), one USB Wi-Fi
In the parlance of the antenna adapter, such as Netgear
engineer, the omni antenna has WG111v2, or equivalent, one-
no nulls. inch (25-mm) PVC conduit
To get started, google and fittings, hand tools, 60/40
“homemade omni Wi-Fi rosin core electronic solder, etc.
56 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2008 7

Lay out the length of the sheath on both ends to gain instructions) attached to the
RG-213 coax on a flat surface access to the braided shield, tak- base, both of which require the
and carefully work it into as ing special care not to damage use of a Wi-Fi card in your lap-
The heart of
straight a length as possible the shield. Mark a dot where top or desktop computer that is
Hungate’s
before you do any cutting at all. the point or apex of the V- capable of accepting an external
antenna is a
Any curvature will be much shaped cut should begin and antenna. If you already own a
length of RG-
harder to cure when the coax is mark a corresponding dot Wi-Fi card with a connector for
213 coaxial
cut into the shorter segments exactly in line with the first dot an external antenna, such as the
cable. 1) The
for the antenna, and curved on the other end of the seg- Proxima model Orinoco Gold
length of each
segments will degrade the per- ment. This will insure that the PCMCIA card, then you have
segment is
formance of the antenna. Use connected segments will line up the choice of terminating your
critical. Cut V-
only marine-grade coax, such as exactly, rather than take on a new antenna with a coax con-
shaped grooves
Ancor, as it is tinned and will twisted shape, which will nector and either purchasing an
into the coax,
not corrode as quickly in the degrade the antenna perform- already-made coax cable with
without cutting
marine environment as will ance. Tin the center conductors suitable connectors, or you
through the
bare copper coax. and exposed shields prior to sol- could simply attach a length of
braided shield.
Cut the RG-213 coax into dering the segments together. coax to the end of your new
2) Assemble the
segments to the lengths speci- Assemble the segments with antenna and connect it directly
cut lengths
fied in the instructions: 11 seg- a jig as described in the instruc- to the Wi-Fi card in your com-
using a jig and
ments of 49 mm and one seg- tions. I placed the segments puter. But, since coax connec-
solder together.
ment of 74 mm. Measure twice over a dimension guide to tors and coax cables of any type
3) A USB Wi-Fi
and cut once! Compare all of insure that the spacing was or length incur a loss of signal, I
adapter. 4)
the sections and discard or exact at 40.5 mm — the most reasoned that a design that
Scratch
rework any sections that are too critical dimension. would use USB and eliminate
protective
short or too long. After a few Examine the completed the coax cable and connectors
coating from
trial cuts with a hacksaw yield- antenna to insure that no would be good for at least two
the patch
ed quite crude results, I hit strands of the shield or center reasons: 1. minimal signal loss
antenna and
upon the idea of using a tubing conductor have gone astray to between the antenna and the
ground plane.
cutter (a new one with a sharp create a short circuit. Double- computer; and 2. I could avoid
5) Wi-Fi adapter
cutter wheel!) to cut the seg- check your work with your dig- the purchase of a Wi-Fi card
connected to
ments to length. A sharp hobby ital multimeter set on “continu- with external antenna connec-
the lowest
knife was used to cut away the ity” or “ohms” to check for tor and instead use a very cheap
antenna
6 mm bits of shield and dielec- open circuits or short circuits: USB Wi-Fi adapter.
segment. 6) Cut
tric on both ends of each seg- continuity between the center A Google search of “external
a section out of
ment down to the center con- conductor of the lowest seg- Wi-Fi antenna hacks” produced
the PVC pipe
ductor. A wire stripper was used ment and the tip center con- a site that showed how to mod-
plug to create a
to remove the dielectric from ductor; open circuit between ify a low-cost USB adapter to
channel for the
the center conductor. Cut away the braided shield of the lowest accept an external antenna.
USB cable. Seal
31 mm of the braided shield segment and the braided shield Have a look at
the section back
from the 74 mm segment to of the tip, as per the instruc- www.xp11.com/g54/g54.htm
to the plug
form the one-quarter wave- tions you downloaded from the and
with silicone
length top segment, leaving the Web. www.nathanlipscy.com/wire-
rubber. 7) The
dielectric and center conductor. The commercial omni less_usb_hack/ to get a general
completed
Use the hobby knife to very antennas have a coax connector idea. All makes of USB Wi-Fi
antenna before
carefully remove a small V- at the base or have a length of adapters are very similar in
final assembly.
shaped section of the outer coax (the “flylead” in the Web design, so it’s easy to apply the

modification to any of them. shiny metal cap.) Scrape off the pro- 67 ferrite toroids onto the RG-58U
Another Internet search resulted in tective coating over what’s left of the coax and then solder the other end of
the online purchase of a Netgear patch antenna and the ground plane. the center conductor to the braided
WG111v2 USB Wi-Fi adapter. Net- The ground plane is the outer shield of the lowest antenna segment.
gear is a known brand, and this item perimeter of the circuit board. A mag- Solder the RG-58U braided shield to
is cheap (about $12 — cheap enough nifying glass will no doubt be of great the center conductor of the lowest
for experimentation!). It is a simple help in this task. Tin both areas in antenna segment. The ferrites absorb
exercise to peel off the label and then preparation for attaching the connect- RF energy on the outer surface of the
pry off the plastic housing to reveal ing coax. Work quickly to avoid over- braided shield and prevent reflected
the bare circuit board. Discard the heating the adapter. RF power from damaging the Wi-Fi
plastic housing, as it will not be need- Connect your new super Wi-Fi adapter. The antenna will work just
ed. Identify the patch antenna to antenna to the USB adapter with a fine without the toroids, but I can’t
which the external antenna will be short length (two inches or 50 mm) say for how long!
connected — it’s on the end opposite of RG-58U (small-diameter 50-ohm With completed antenna in hand,
the USB connector. Use a sharp coax). Solder the RG-58U braided visit the local hardware store and hunt
hobby knife to reduce the patch shield to the ground plane of the through the plumbing and electrical
antenna to a small square section adapter and the center conductor of sections to find a length of one-inch-
nearest the lead from the RF section. the RG-58U coax to the adapter diameter (25-mm) PVC conduit.
(The RF section is what’s under the antenna lead. Slip the three FT-50A- Conduit is thinner than pipe so the
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P R E V I O U S L Y O W N E D Y A C H T S
NORDHAV N 55 ('05) NORDHAV N 62 ('01)
“Honu Kai” is the 55 “Patty M” is the first
that took the cruising Nordhavn 62 to conquer
world by storm and is hull the globe! Delivered in
number one of what very 2001 she toured the world
well may become the from California to England
biggest success story with her original owners.
ever by PAE/Nordhavn. Her current owner did an
She has cruised the extensive upgrade fit out
Hawaiian islands and in 2006 before crossing
has ventured back to the Atlantic and Patty M is
California and then back in the Pacific.This is
returned home to Hawaii a captained yacht which
where she is presently has been given profes-
moored. She is equipped sional attention and shows
with the majority of the much younger than her
popular factory options years. She’s ready for a
and had been carefully second lap around the
looked after by her planet. Located in Califor-
thoughtful owners. Locat- nia.
ed in Hawaii.
Asking $1,499,000 Asking $1,675,000
For details contact For details contact
Jeff Merrill at Jeff Merrill at
949-496-4933 949-496-4933
NORDHAV N 57 ('98) NORDHAV N 47 (' 04) NORDHAV N 47 ('04)

This twin engine, 1998 “Susan J” is a beautiful- “Dance” is a thoroughbred
model, Nordhavn 57 has ly equipped Nordhavn 47 throughout and will delight
been kept in pristine con- located in the Pacific you as you cast off for
dition and is loaded with Northwest and designed adventure to wherever you
gear. Cruising New Eng- for northern. Located in want to go. Located in
land. Oregon. Rhode Island.
Asking: $1,100,000
Asking: $1,098,000 Asking: $945,000 For details contact Dave
For details contact sistership
For details contact Balfour 401-293-0910 or
Larry Gieselman at Jeff Merrill at Jeff Merrill at
949-496-4933 949-496-4933 949-496-4933
NORDHAV N 50 ('04) NORDHAV N 57 ('02) NORDHAV N 43 ('06)

“Inisfail” is a one of a This 2002 model is new to “Miss B Havn” is a well
kind. She comes with the market and loaded thought out Nordhavn 43
hydraulic windlass, bow & with gear! Some of the and she’ll take you to any
stern thrusters, emer- items include the John corner of the Earth. She is
Deere engine with only
gency bilge pump, custom 1,190 original hours, wing the preferred two stateroom
interior, teak and holly engine, 20 KW generator, layout with built in office
throughout. Located in Trac Stabilizers, plus desk. Located in Florida.
Massachusetts. much more. Location:
Seattle, Washington.
Asking: $895,000
Asking: $950,000 Asking: $1,250,000 For details contact
For details contact For details contact Larry Ray Danet at
Ray Danet at 772-223-6331 Gieselman at 949-496-4933 772-223-6331
A D D I T I O N A L L I S T I N G S
Nordhavn 64 (‘07) Pending Nordhavn 40 (‘07) $665,000
Nordhavn 64 (‘06) $2,750,000 Nordhavn 40 (‘00) $465,000
Nordhavn 62 (‘96) $989,000 Nordhavn 35 (‘04) $459,000
Nordhavn 62 (‘93) $995,000 Nordhavn 35 (‘01) $299,000
Nordhavn 57 (‘02) Pending Viking 48 (’05) $995,000
Nordhavn 55 (‘07) $1,899,000 Ocean Alexander 43 (’00) $549,000
Nordhavn 47 (‘06) $1,050,000 Euros Vat Paid Beneteau 42 (’05) $395,000
Nordhavn 47 (‘05) $795,000 Saberline 36 (‘98) $225,000
Nordhavn 47 (‘04) $1,325,000 NZ Tax Included Chaparral (‘98) $29,750
Nordhavn 47 (‘03) $895,000 Catalina 36 (‘03) $139,900
Nordhavn 47 (‘03) $905,000 Glacier Bay 34 (‘06) $299,000
As a division of P.A.E., the developer and builder of Nordhavn trawlers, we are intimately familiar with each vessel on the market. N-ON-Sept08
We also have listings of other quality power and sail vessels. Please call our office nearest you. www.nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Yachts NE • 222 Narragansett Blvd. • Portsmouth, RI 02871 • Tel: (401) 293-0910 • Fax: (401) 293-0914 • nesales@nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Yachts SE • 600 NW Dixie Hwy • Stuart, FL 34994 • Tel: (772) 223-6331 • Fax: (772) 223-3631 • sesales@nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Yachts NW • 901 Fairview Ave. North, Suite A100 • Seattle, WA 98109 • Tel: (206) 223-3624 • Fax: (206) 223-3628 • nwsales@nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Yachts SW • 24703 Dana Drive • Dana Point, CA, 92629 • Tel: (949) 496-4933 • Fax: (949) 496-1905 • swsales@nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Europe Ltd. • 10-12 Firefly Road, Hamble Point Marina • Hamble, Southampton SO31 4NB • UK • Tel: +44 (0) 2380 456342 • Fax: +44 (0) 2380 457741 • europesales@nordhavn.com
Nordhavn Australasia Ltd. • Level 30, AMP Place 10 Eagle St. • Brisbane Qld. 4000 • AUS • Tel: +61 (0)1300 783 010 • Fax: 61.7.3102 6253 • peter@nordhavn.com.au
For more brokerage listings, visit www.nordhavn.com
signal attenuation will be slightly less. imum mounting flexibility. Choose a ily handle maximum legal power.
I found a piece with the enlarged end length suitable for your application. Shop around on the Internet for the
for joining which handily accommo- The completed antenna can be best deal on Wi-Fi devices.
dated the USB Wi-Fi adapter. Aes- permanently mounted to a rail or can Performance testing of the omni
thetics are an important consideration be hung from an eye installed in the antenna consistently produced signifi-
here! A PVC pipe coupler or union, a top cap of the antenna, or just use a cant gains over that of my Netgear
pipe cap for the upper end and a pipe length of light twine. If you install an WN121T, which is a costly direction-
plug for the lower end completed the eye, seal it with a dab of silicone rub- al antenna and is not weatherproof. In
parts list for the watertight housing. ber (RTV) to prevent water getting fact, when my WN121T was unable
Drill and cut the PVC pipe plug as in. to find any networks at all, my super
shown to create a channel for the USB The inexpensive Netgear antenna found six and I was able to
cable. Drill the hole slightly larger WG111v2 USB adapter’s power out- easily connect to and use the Internet.
than the USB cable. A dollop of sili- put is a measly 50 milliwatts. While Total cost of the homemade omni sys-
cone rubber (RTV) will seal the cable you will be able to receive signals from tem was less than $35.00. ■
channel and the top cap when you distant Wi-Fi access points, you may
have completed the assembly. The not be able to connect with them due Harry Hungate and his wife Jane
Netgear WG111v2 USB Wi-Fi to the low-power output. Higher- Lothrop are currently Wi-Fi-ing aboard
adapter comes with a 5-foot (1.5- powered Wi-Fi devices are available their Corbin 39 Cormorant in South-
meter) USB cable, but I substituted a up to 500 milliwatts if you need addi- east Asia, having departed Annapolis,
16-foot (5-meter) USB cable for max- tional range, and the antenna will eas- Md. in 1997.
GOZZARD YACHTS
IT TAKES MORE THAN WORDS

TO DESIGN AND BUILD A BOAT!
519-524-6393 FAX: 519-524-9180
email: info@gozzard.com website: www.gozzard.com
Goderich, Ontario, Canada, N7A 4C6
BUILDERS OF THE 31’, 37’, 41’, 44’, 54’
CUSTOM POWER and SAIL to 70’

61_64_ON172.qxd 7/29/08 11:25 AM Page 61
Classifieds
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LEARN CELESTIAL NAVIGATION lifelines, furling gear, winches, line,
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VISIT US ONLINE AT
61_64_ON172.qxd 7/29/08 11:25 AM Page 62
Classifieds
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61_64_ON172.qxd 7/29/08 11:26 AM Page 63
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tom power and sail to 70’. Come and see for yourself the excellent craftsman- the world or day-tripping to a nearby harbor, a Nordhavn will get you there.
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61_64_ON172.qxd 7/29/08 11:26 AM Page 64
NAV PROBLEM
Alone around the world

with just a screwdriver BY DAVID BERSON
T here is only one single-

handed sailor that I know
of who has had a statue erected
in the 1930s, was named Legh
(for the initials of his sweet-
heart) He departed
lived until 1965. Legh was
given a place of honor in a
national maritime museum.
in his honor. That distinction Montevideo in June of 1942, Dumas wrote of his exploits in
belongs to the great, yet over- sailing with no radio as he was his book Alone Through The
20 10 0 10
20
looked, Argentinean, Vito concerned that if stopped at sea Roaring Forties.
30
40
an tic Oce
an
Africa
30
Dumas, who during
40
he might be thought a spy. Of course, Dumas was a
Atl
50
World War II set out on Almost immediately he got great celestial navigator, whose
50
60
60
ea
his 32-foot double- into trouble, the hull sprung a work at sea was spot on. An
Oc
70
South
fic
America
70
Paci
80
80º
ender and became the plank, and Dumas injured his example for all of us who think
80
South
90
Pole
first solo sailor to arm. The injury developed an that celestial navigation is out-
90
100
100
80º
round the three great infection that, despite injec- moded and “quaint.” In our
110
70º
110
Pa
cif
capes of the world. The tions of antibiotics, caused him nav problem, we have him on
ic
O
12
ce 60º
0
0
12
an
13
50º
statue stands at the agonizing pain. He become his boat on June 18 somewhere
13
0
14 Australia
0
0
14
15 40º
0 0
15
160
170
180 170 160 southern tip of South delirious and contemplated off Cape Pillar, bound for
America, where, dressed in foul amputating his arm with an Cape Horn. He is not sure
Alfred Wood/Ocean Navigator Illustration
Vito Dumas’
weather gear with a sou’wester axe or his knife in order to stay how far south he is so he takes
route took
hat snugly in place, the great alive. Before he set to that task, a noon sight to get an LOP
him eastward
Dumas looks out to sea. though, he passed out. When (and a noon latitude line). He
around the
Dumas, like Bernard he awoke the wound had is at a DR of 54° 39’ S by 73°
Southern
Moitessier was a man in love begun to drain. He later cut 37’ W. Height of eye is eight
Ocean during
with sailing boats and the sea. out the infected abscess. feet. There is no sextant error
the height of
He was an accomplished Dumas arrived home 13 and there is no chronometer
World War II.
painter, poet, cattle rancher, months later to a hero’s wel- error. He shoots a lower limb
and a man of great faith who come. He was the first recipi- shot of the sun at 16:56:20
supposedly took only a screw- ent of the first Slocum Prize GMT and gets an Hs of 11°
driver on his circumnavigation. awarded by the Slocum Society 45.4’.
He lost this sole tool some- and was honored by the Royal
where along the way. A cir- Cruising Club of London. A. Calculate the latitude of
cumnavigation during the sec- Perhaps his greatest contribu- his position at LAN
ond world war must have tion to solo sailing was eschew-
seemed like madness, but ing heaving-to in the southern For a complete solution,
visit www.OceanNavigator.com.
Dumas was already age 42 and latitudes choosing instead to
he figured time was short to run before the waves.
Answer
achieve his dream. Dumas continued sailing
His boat, a ketch-rigged after the war and retired to an Latitude at LAN: 54° 40.5’
Colin Archer type that he built estate in Buenos Aires where he

c2_c4ON172.qxd 7/29/08 11:27 AM Page c3
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Oil-eating bugs H Finding crew via the Internet

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40II 43 47 52 55 56MS 60 62 64 68 72 75EYF 76 86 120

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