–Captain Cat
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
Gone Sailing – Back soon!
Month: September 2012
Antarctica – Destination Dreamin
 |
| Photo by: Rita Willaert |
I spruced the Can Opener up and dragged him down to the Red Tabby Yacht Club last week – for the first evening lecture of the (off-)season!
Steve Powell presented the Falkland Island-Antarctica-Chilean Channel segment (5 months) of his three-year round the world tour. He purpose built Uhuru, an Oyster 62, for the journey.
Wow! (Did we mention – WOW!!?!!?) His photos were spectacular! Both Steve and his brother are pro photographers and – Great Bastet! – does that ever make a difference!
After posting here, I am off to troll the internet for photo courses to order the Can Opener to take.
Steve’s team
For the Antarctica leg, Steve was accompanied by his buddy Alastair, his photographer brother, an ice guide/climber/diver and a 23 year old First Mate. Steve himself, despite growing up in Lymington, England had only been sailing for a few years before setting out on this journey of a lifetime.
It was an interesting choice of teammates and ‘fit’ is extremely important to consider when you are planning to be out of contact and miiiiiiiiiiles from anywhere for long periods of time. Steve said they went 6 months once with only 1 day spent sleeping off the boat. It was a team that seemed to get along very well indeed with similar goals and aspirations.
The team did seem, however, to be a little light on the sailing-experience side. Steve said that in the toughest storms only he and the First Mate could handle the steering and that only he and the First Mate ever left the cockpit. The rest of the team really did not seem to have much sailing experience. I would have expected an engineer, a doctor and maybe an IT crewmate to have been included in the mix.
Steve, however, chose to train himself in extreme wilderness and medical emergency training and to choose a crew that was very fit in the first place. And this worked out well for him. The worst medical crisis that happened in 3 years was that he had to hand out painkiller for hangovers. Also his boat was designed to have backups for every system you could possibly think of on board.
Steve’s boat – redundancy is good
Steve was very involved in the design and build of his ship, insisting on redundancy for every possible system on board.
People usually choose a steel boat for Antarctic voyages, but Steve preferred fibreglass as more suitable for the overall journey he had planned. Apparently the materials specialist he consulted said that if you hit an iceberg – no matter what you are made of – you sink. It’s just that steel boats sink more slowly. So Steve went with fibreglass.
And instead he added two autopilots to Uhuru, two heating systems, two intake systems, 3 anchors (2 spade, I danforth), redundant halyards and lines, 2 sets of all safety gear: life rafts, grab bags, communication systems… etc etc.
The Route
They went from Falkland Isalnds to Ushuaia, Argentina to Antarctica (Thunder Bay, Point Lockroy), past Cape Horn, back up through the Chilean Channels (4 weeks, 600 nm), Magellan Straits, and then back to the Falklands.
Why did he do it?
At first, Steve just wanted a challenge… and sailing around the world seemed like a good one. Then it seemed like everyone was doing this.
But not too many people voyage down to Antarctica. So that’s what he did.
Highlights of the Antarctic leg
- icebergs and growlers – provided 1000 year old ice cubes for their evening G&Ts
- volcanoes
- williwaws
- wildlife: penguins galore, seals, whales, dolphins, endless birds…
- fresh fish, crabs, scallops for dinners
- Force 10-11 storms and 30 foot seas on the way back to the Falklands – he found that heaving-to is the perfect antidote
- but usually quiet, beauty, amazing contrasts and absolute peace…
Any damage to the boat?
Yep. Birds pecked the buttons off his autopilot and there were scratches from growlers on the bow. Other than that… no.
Would Steve do it again?
Now that he’s already done it once?
Uh… Nope.
That challenge is done. In fact, Steve’s not sure he’s even going to keep his focus on sailing. …But if he did do it again, he do it in a steel-hulled boat. And it would be an Oyster.
Steve’s focusing now on looking for the next big challenge. We’re looking forward to seeing what he’s up to next…
 |
| Photo by: Rita Willaert |
Got any fantasy dream-of-a-lifetime journeys in mind? Where would you go?
–Captain Cat
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
Previously: Grenada – Destination Dreamin’
Next: Bora Bora
Downsizing – Round 2
Earlier, first Quarter this year, the Can Opener resolved to downsize EVERYthing . Yep, that’s right. Everything.
I was skeptical but cheered him on from my usual kinetic perch on the comfiest sofa cushion. And he’s made some definite inroads on the paper stacks there’s no denying.
But now we approach the final and 4th Quarter of the year and it’s time to mark progress again. That is if I can find my First Mate under the boxes… Yes, Downsizing Round 2 has begun.
The ultimate goal?
To fit our entire life into 20 boxes or less.
The chances of achieving this by year end?
Hmmm.
Things that can get us closer to the ultimate goal?
- Putting all our tunes on an online account and in a single hard drive as back up.
- Kindle. Kindle. Kindle. Ideally the only paper books we’ll carry aboard will be reference texts. And a few literary wonders as back up. The Can Opener does love his books, so this will have real impact.
- Our new scanner is our new best friend. Paper and documents. Photos. Sentiment. Scanning a life of photos into the computer and loading ’em online is a project in itself.
Have you ever downsized your life to fit in a boat – or any other similarly small living space? Japanese hotel room? Tent? Dorm room? Spaceship?
Got any great finetuning tips for managing seemingly endless amounts of stuff?
Any helpful hints gratefully received…
–Captain Cat
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
Previously: Downsizing Everything
Cruising Castles – South Shore Of England
Why do we love cruising?
It’s the places you go, the people you meet, the food, the wind on yer whiskers… but last weekend it was the castles.
We raced out of Poole on the Sunday and there, at the harbour mouth as we headed out to the start line, was sparkly Branksea Castle just glowing back at us from the shore.
We get a kick out of castles, thinking about the history and who’s lived in them, the stories. Sweet to view them from the water too.
We can’t find too much info about the history of this particular castle, but it sits on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour – the island where Lord Baden-Powell and his boy scout camp started it all.
Cruising makes learning history seem not just painless, but fascinating.
–Captain Cat
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
Sea Library – Autumn Additions
Just ordered some more great books for the sea library!
We’re officially into Autumn now and with the sailing season slowing down, I’m stocking up on books for the First Mate’s new study regime.
I’ve found some excellent sailing ‘travel-writing’ books and some more written by solo round-the-world sailors – just the sort of inspiration the Can Opener needs!
Lookin’ forward to some good snoozing ahead…
Travel Writing
- The Reluctant Mariner, by Joanna Hackett
- The Cruising Woman’s Advisor: How to Prepare for the Voyaging Life, by Diana Jessie
- Cruising in Seraffyn, by Lin Pardey
Solo Circumnavigation
- Taking on the World, by Ellen MacArthur
- Against the Flow, by Dee Caffari
- Around Alone, Emma Richards
- Come Hell or High Water, by Clare Francis
Book reviews coming soon!
–Captain Cat
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
Coming soon:
Book review of The Reluctant Mariner
Book review of The Cruising Woman’s Advisor: How to Prepare for the Voyaging Life
Book review of Cruising in Seraffyn
Book review of Taking on the World
Book review of Against the Flow
Book review of Around Alone
Book review of Come Hell or High Water
Cruisin’ Lectures – Autumn 2012
Done!
The end of the summer sailing season has come and gone. There are still a few chances to get in some on-the-water training in the next few months, but it’s also time to look forward to Autumn/Winter and plan for all the best land training this new season will bring.
I have set up a first draft of the Can Opener’s lecture schedule. There’s loads of opportunities to learn in the big city!
I’ve booked the First Mate for:
- 7 lectures at the Cruising Association
- 1 lecture at the Red Tabby Yacht Club (so far, hopefully more to come…)
- 4 networking events at the Red Tabby Yacht Club
- 2 trips to the Southampton Boat Show
- 8 mini-lectures at the Southampton Boat Show
- 2 RYA specialist courses – First Aid and VHF
It’s a good start.
Hopefully I’ll be able to load him with a few more learning opportunities as they arise this Autumn/Winter.
We’re taking it to the next level this year. We’re gonna do it aaaaaaaaaall!
–Captain Cat (transcribed by the Can Opener)
The Cruising Kitty 