Cruising Committee

The Cruising Committee meeting cake… of the The Cruising Kitty’s dreams

News flash:
The Can Opener has been invited to join the Cruising Committee at the Red Tabby Yacht Club!

What does it mean? Well… actually we don’t know.

They said we just had to show up for 6 dinner meetings in 2013 and maybe do some other committee type stuff. Like research and organising for upcoming events and event planning. 

Sounds pretty ominous to me.

I immediately volunteered to take care of the dinner–eating end of things and the Can Opener can do the research and organising end of the stick. We like to help the First Mate out wherever possible. Especially in the specialist area of desserts.

And we’ll get to meet a lot of other cruising cats which should be great! I wonder if Pussy Galore has signed up…

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Norway – Destination Dreamin’

Howard Steen, at the Cruising Association two weeks ago, spoke about his voyages around Norway over the last 3 years. He did it in a fine craft of a Vancouver 27 called Martha Maria. The clubhouse at the Cruising Association was filled to ‘standing room only’ capacity to hear him.

Howard started sailing about 20 years ago, but since retiring bought in his own boat and has been sailing intensively solo or with friends around Norway ever since.

He has sailed from Oslo to Tromso above the Arctic Circle – and about 1000nm and 50+ sailing days per year. 

Great Reasons to visit Norway according to Howard

• inspiring scenery – hills, mountains, glaciers
• midnight sun, northern lights
• 100,000+ km coast
• types of sailing is vaired – from open ocean to archipelago to pottering in fjords and along coast
• Norwegians are very hospitable
• English spoken almost everywhere 
• history and culture for example, stave churches only exist in Norway, the Viking museum in Oslo
• multitude of empty and unspoiled harbours and anchorages
• usually can anchor in <10m water
• there are also busy harbours near busy cities if you want them
• excellent transportation connections: 16 primary and 29 regional airports, ferries, trains, fast ferries, buses…
• skiing and great system of mountain huts to stay in if you like hiking in the mountains 
• nearly no insects!
• …aaaaaaaand he crossed the Arctic Circle!

Sailing in Norway

• fjord sailing depth can be >1000m deep
• need to know your mast height accurately in Norway because there are so many bridges between the islands
• need to use your engine a lot – only sailed about 30% of the time due to low winds
• used SIM card and a dongle for communication
• fuel is mostly by hose
• they have an excellent Coast Guard
• not allowed to discharge holding tanks within 300m of shores

Wintering in Norway

• the water is warmed by the Gulf Stream so you can leave the boat in the water over winter
• but you get snow on the boat so you need to cover it to protect the decks
• you need to get permission to overwinter from Customs
• he used a diesel heater and an electric fan heater to keep warm in the winter
• overwintering in a small harbour afloat was 500£ (Tromso was much more expensive)

   

Harbour fees 

• only approx 100-150 krone/day (£10-15/day or $16-24/day)
• in a big city like Tromso they were 200-300 krone/day
  (£22-33/day or $35-53/day)
• often harbours were free to stay in in isolated harbours 

  

Some info sources

• weather info at http://www.yr.no
• sea charts at http://www.kart.statkart.no
• cruising guides from the Cruising Assocation – free!
• RCC Pilotage – Norway Guide, edited by Judy Lomax
• Norway Cruising Guide – ebook, by Phylis Nickel and John Harries    

We love it all! Norway’s on our list…

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Destination Dreamin’ 
Previously:  Cape Horn And North To Alaska

Rules, Rules, Rules!

Goodbye 2008~2012, helloooooo 2013~2016!

One of the books always on the First Mate’s bedstand is The Racing Rules of Sailing, by Paul Elvestrom. And last week at the Red Tabby Yacht Club, at the racing section’s most recent lecture, this was exactly the topic of the day. 

So I spruced up the Can Opener, climbed up on his shoulder and steered him downtown to the club. (My ears are still stinging from your firm grip on them, Furrball!)

The discussion, led by a most able and illuminating umpire old cat, focused on what‘s new in the rules for 2013~2016.

So what’s the big deal? 
As usual, there are some significant changes coming down the pipe. And it’s not just that there’s new rules to learn.  It’s that the interpretation of these rules takes a while to iron out. It’s not a speedy process or all cut and dried. It‘s a seeing and doing on the race course. 

How hard will your competitors push the rules? How will the umps interpret them this time? Will the umps in other countries play them the same way? Or even the umpires at the next yacht club…

Once things settle down and there’s some kind of precedent established then you can really get down to figuring out how to use these rules to best advantage tactically. 

So what’s new?
Some highlights:

• inclusion of a new section on environmental responsibility
• new definition of boats overlapping
• changes to definitions of mark room and room to round it – again
• ‘ownership of the zone’ is gone
• clarifications on ‘room to hail’, responsibilities, hailing at the finish line and hand signals added
• more clarifications to the definitions and implementation of ‘un/seamanlike’ conduct 

The new The Racing Rules of Sailing 2013~2016, by Paul Elvestrom is already on sale. The Rules in Practice 2013-2016 by Bryan Willis goes on sale Friday. We’ll be honing our boat handling skills next year on racing boats as well as cruising boats so I am requiring the First Mate to zip online today and order new copies of both.  

This is detailed stuff to absorb and he‘ll need the winter to absorb it. 

Have you got your new copy of the rules? Mmph? – not yet??  That new toy rodent may be good, but these rules take ages to sink in… Time to get cracking and assign it to an adoring and motivated underling like I did.

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Come Wind or Weather – Reviewed

Book the Captain has snoozed upon:  
Come Wind or Weather, by Clare Francis    

Good news! The Can Opener has just finished another great book by Clare Francis. Come Wind or Weather is her second book – her first book, Come Hell or High Water, was so good we assigned this one to the Can Opener to read as well. 

But wait – who is Clare Francis?
Clare studied at the Royal Ballet School, graduated in Economics from University College London, worked in marketing, excelled at offshore yacht racing, was the first woman skipper in the Whitbread, became a BBC presenter and then… oh yeah, morphed to an international bestselling thriller writer. Not bad. Not bad at all. 

And here is the First Mate’s book review of her second sailing account, Come Wind or Weather …  

Topics Covered

Clare describes skippering ADC Accutrac in the 1977-78 Whitbread Around the World race with 11 crew, thus becoming the first woman ever to skipper a Whitbread team. She covers preparation, refit, funding and the race itself.
 
The Best Part
Come Wind or Weather is not just a record of events. Hands down, what we loved best about this book is her detailed descriptions of the characters on board. 

Actually, were her descriptions so detailed? No. It was her choice of details presented that made the character of each teammate so clear. She interlaced humourous quotes from the Sea Log with concise but vivid accounts of crew interactions and events. Brilliant.

And her description of racing through the Antarctic Ocean is thrilling – and terrifying – in its own right. Oooo, we do love a thrilling tale.

Wishes

Okay. All right. Again, we wish this book were longer. Or that it had a sequel. Hey, wait! It has a pre-quel! It’s called Come Hell or High Water. We loved that one too.
 
Conclusion
We said we’ll read any book Clare Francis has written – and we did.  And we weren’t disappointed.

Post- ballerina-ing, marketing, dominating the yachting scene and BBC presenting, Francis began writing psycho-thrillers that debuted on the NY Times Bestseller list right out of the gate. 

We’ve got a list of her thrillers as long as my whiskers to read. But reviews on those are for another blog… 

Ever read Come Wind or Weather, by Clare Francis? How did you find it? 

Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library? 

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

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Book Reviews
Previously: Taking On The World , by Ellen MacArthur

Cruising Fitness – Progress Review

This is NOT the Can Opener. But if Captain Cat were human, he would look JUST like this.

 

How’s the First Mate shaping up these days?

It’s good to know where you’ve been. Looking back at my scrupulously kept records, I was surprised to see just how far the First Mate has come in one short year. 

While we will always press on, we are pleased with his progress thus far. Three stars and a catnip free-for-all for the Can Opener! 

(Hey, Furrball – it’s supposed to be about rewards that I would like!   Mmph? Who would not like catnip?? The First Mate doth speak in riddles…)

Current Training Plan 2012

• Strength Training: 4x/week, 30 minutes per session, 25% increase in weights carried over last year
• Cardio: 4x/week at the gym, 45 minutes per session, includes 25% intensity increase 2x/week (ie interval training begun). Treadmill, bikes, x-trainer
  
• Crunches: 3x/week, 150-200/day
• Flexibility: stretching before and after, 5 minutes x2

Last Year’s Training Plan
Here’s the point that he started from in 2011…

• Strength Training: 3x/week, 30 minutes per session
• Cardio: 4x/week at the gym, 30 minutes per session. Treadmill, bikes, x-trainer.
• Crunches: 100/day, 3x/week
• Flexibility: stretching before and after, 5 minutes x2

Could I push the Can Opener harder? Of course, I could! But I know this guy. Slow and steady wins the race.

Could he cruise without this fitness training? Of course, he could. Many – even most – cruisers probably do. Seems like a good idea to get him in shape though. I may need some tuna crates hefted out of the bilge-bottom depths of a boat locker someday. He needs to be prepared.

Cost so far

• I have moved the Can Opener to a gym that only costs £216/year ($344/year) or just £18/month ($29/month)! It doesn’t have a pool though… 
• (Last year’s gym was a little dearer: £360/year ($593/year) ie. £30/month for gym membership on special offer. It didn‘t have a pool either. This was a pretty average cost in our town.)
• £50 ($82) – last year’s training shoes, on sale 

What sports/exercise best translate to a live-aboard life?

What else should I add to the Can Opener’s fitness programme? Yoga? T’ai Chi? Any suggestions gratefully received.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Super Smoothies for Power Training

 

Can Opener: Hey! Captain C, your sard–

Captain Cat: You interrupt my karate lesson.

Can Opener: –sardine smoothie arrives. With 10% froth as decreed. I’ll just put youtube on pause then, shall I?

Captain Cat: In a leaded crystal bowl! Yes, that will be fine, Can Opener. All is good in paradise. Muscle rest and recovery is key to maximising… protein after training fuels muscle building… blah, blah, bla. Whatever. Bottoms up!

Captain Cat’s Super Smoothie for Power Training 

Total time to prep:  10 minutes

# Servings:              2

Level of difficulty:   Even the Can Opener can do it

Into a pitcher big enough, dump the following:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup yoghurt (or frommage frais)
• 1 cup ripe bananas (3 medium bananas should do it)
• 1/2 cup strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, peaches, kiwis, mangoes, any kind of frozen berries, or for the very mild palate, pears

Use a potato masher and a fork on a boat (if, like most people, you don’t carry the hand blender on board) – an extra bonus for the biceps. Otherwise, on land and for the fortunate, the handheld mixer is best.

Directions: Peel. Dump. Blend. Slurp.

Options: If you can stand the taste, adding a tablespoon of brewers’ yeast packs a huge vitamin B punch. My observation is, however, that given the choice between brewers’ yeast and more strawberries – most humans will take the strawberries.

Favourite options you’ve added to your smoothie?

  

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Note: Most cats are lactose intolerant. They love cheese, treats are good – but they shouldn’t be carving out a new food group for it. This recipe is intended for humans. 

Captain Cat, on the other hand, can eat anything, anywhere, anytime. My smoothie was still, of course, made with sardines and water. Obviously. Bring it on.

Cape Horn And North To Alaska

Nick Pochin spoke last month about his voyage around Cape Horn And North To Alaska in a Discovery 55. The clubhouse at the Cruising Association as usual was packed to hear him.

I didn’t need to direct the Can Opener to take notes – he knows the drill. Legible notes scrawled on the pad he rested on my backside were double quick and with absolute precision. Well done, First Mate!

(Yeah, too bad this write up is weeks after the fact Furrball –  because somebody shredded them while playing subdue-the fake-mouse games on his sofa cushion… 

Like I said, Mate. You leave ’em on the cushion, you take yer chances…)

The Plan
In 2009, Nick said he knew of only 3 boats going this way at this time. He didn’t speak Spanish, his planned route was against the prevailing winds and current, and his boat was GRP (fibreglass) which many advised him against using for this project. Sounded like a challenge and fun to him ( to us too!), so he sat down and planned his voyage in detail.

He selected a crew with a mix of useful professional skills, that would get along well with each other. He bought a Sat phone, provisions, insurance and tools. He did extensive research with his reading list…

The Reading List
He read an astonishing number of books (many from the Cruising Association library), including: 

• Brazil And Beyond, by Annie Hill 
• World Cruising Routes, by Jimmy Cornell
• RCC Pilot, by Andrew O’Grady
• The Ice Master, by Jennifer Nibe
• A Voyage for Madmen, by Peter Nichols
• Rounding the Horn, by David Slavitt

The Route

• UK
• Madiera
• Canaries
• Cape Verde
• Brazil
• Falklands
• around Cape Horn
• Beagle Channel
• Magellan Straits
• Peru
• Galapagos
• Acupulco
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• Vancouver  
• Alaska! 

The Highlights

• scuba diving
• most officials very friendly – though not all that speedy. 
• (One aid to speeding up processes is to have a Swiss crewmate on board if say, the spouse of the local quarantine officer is also Swiss. Somehow paperwork seems to melt away…)
• spectacular waterfalls
• beautiful easy weather window to get around Cape Horn!
• minke whales
• sea lions
• dreaded kelp
• williwaws   
• Falkland Islands have 486,000 sheep and 1500 people
• spectacular scenery  
• …aaaaaaaand they passed a Vendée Challenge boat on the way!

We are mighty respectful of Nick’s achievement. Does Captain Cat want to go to such a cold and inhospitable place? I think not. At least, not unless it‘s summer…

Would you consider such a grueling voyage? What ever would possess you to do so?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener) 

Destination Dreamin’ 
Previously:  Bora Bora
Next: Cruising in Norway

Ellen MacArthur’s Book – Reviewed

 
Book the Captain has snoozed upon:  
Taking on the World, by Ellen MacArthur   

The Can Opener finally finished Ellen MacArthur‘s first book, Taking on the World… and moments later was snoozing on the sofa, drooling on my cushion! He’d read it in one looooong rush. 

‘Quite addictive,’ he pronounced before passing out.

Herewith his report, knocked out with flying fingers after I roused him with the scent of real Irish coffee. (Our coffee maker has an auto-start button suitable for tapping with cat paws. Of course.)
 

Who is this Dame Ellen MacArthur? 
In 2001 ‘she raced single-handedly non-stop around the world in the Vendée Globe when only 24 years old… second in one of the hardest races in offshore sailing… Prior to her Vendée success, she won the solo transatlantic race from the UK to the USA and went on to win the Route du Rhum from France to the Caribbean in 2002.’

She departed ‘from Falmouth, UK in 2004 on board the 75ft trimaran B&Q… and returned 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, 33 seconds later, having sailed over 26,000 miles to become the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed. 

She was knighted by the Queen in 2005 and has received the Legion d’Honneur from French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.’ *

Topics Covered

Ellen begins with family life at 4 years old and moves on in great detail from there. Every early sailing step she ever made takes up the first half of the book.

Getting into her prep for the Vendée Globe and her description of actually sailing it lasts for most of the rest of the tome. 

Her win in the Route du Rhum from France to the Caribbean in 2002 is tacked on in just a few pages at the end.
 
The Best Part
MacArthur’s drive to get sailing from pretty much day one in her life is very clear. Her dedication and indeed determination over decades is amazing.  

Her life is told with great honesty and poignancy, covering not just her many successes, but also her failures (for example, her failure to get into vet school). It gives a bright picture of an outstanding young woman driven towards her goals and we share with her when she achieves them.

Best part about this book? We were on the edge of our seat every time she described having to climb the mast under terrifying Antarctic conditions and were vastly relieved every time she made it safely back down to the deck. 

We had no clue what conditions in extreme solo racing were really like when we picked up this book. I am sure that reading about it doesn’t come close to actually living it – but it certainly paints a vivid picture. 

And we learned that while the Can Opener and I admire such daring exploits – when we head off on our long term adventures, we will certainly be heading straight for warmer climes! 
 
Wishes

Hmm. She repeatedly gives thanks to the support teams that made her achievements possible. But in a vague and general way. We would have liked to hear about more specific support team incidents (builders, mechanics etc) and how these fed into the final outcome.

One began to get the uneasy feeling that these thank yous were perfunctory and added in as an afterthought. This is more true at the beginning of the book and less true at the end. Somehow Clare Francis’ descriptions of this aspect of racing in Come Hell or High Water seemed a lot more personal and believable.
 
Conclusion
Inspirational. Glad we bought it. Now we’ll donate it to the Red Tabby Yacht Club library. Good to spread the inspiration around.

Ever read Taking on the World, by Ellen MacArthur? How did you find it? Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener) 

* from the Ellen MacArthur Official Website bio 

Previously:  The Reluctant Mariner

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Bora Bora – Destination Dreamin’

Jon Boon, speaking at the Cruising Association a few weeks ago, described his recent adventures in the Pacific Islands, most notably in Bora Bora. (Yes, the Can Opener has been tardy in writing up our lecture notes…   

Oy Furrball! I’ve spent the last two weeks jigsawing all those ripped up lecture note bits back together that you shredded in some wild-abandon pretend-mouse chase-game you had on your cushion. You should be praising my persistence!  

You should not be leaving your lecture notes on my cushion, my friend… However, your point regarding persistence bears some merit. I will consider it… later.)

…I was mightily impressed with Jon’s lecture, in particular his descriptions of the fish – even sharks – that might be caught there. I can taste the mahi mahi now!

How Jon got there

He did a deal with Sun Sail charter company at the Southampton Boat Show and came away with a big smile on his face. Don’t accept the first offer, says Jon. Bargain with ’em.

Jon rounded up enough family and friends (7 people in total on a Jeanneau 34) which was enough to make the charter cost quite reasonable.

 

How much was it?

• Flight from UK via LA to Pacific Islands: £1329/person
• Charter cost for 14 days: £467/person  
• Plus food.

• (This contrasts with the cost of the overwater bungalows (like the ones in the picture above) that cost £9000/week/person)

They carried 14 lbs of food (dry goods) each in their luggage to keep costs down. 

The supermarkets on the islands are well stocked with tasty treats as there are still lots of French expats there left over from the nuclear testing, he said. You can even buy a whole sheep in the freezer if you need one. 

But the food is very expensive… and it’s imported anyway. Might as well import it yourself.

Jon also joined the Cruising Association which gave him free access to pilot books and information… but no map. The CA is quite good for maps in Europe and nearby areas, but they are less well-stocked for regions on the other side of the earth.

Notes on the weather and conditions

• Nov – Apr is rainy season
• prevailing easterly wind of 15-20kn – associated with choppy conditions
• west-going equatorial current of 1kn
• 18 inch tides at Springs

• you can anchor in 10-20ft of water
• line of sight navigation between islands – easy day sails
• the islands are ringed by reefs and there are no reef markers so it makes navigation challenging
• channel markers are coloured by Region A standards   

Great Reasons to visit Bora Bora

• clear water
• unique and friendly culture
• amazing sunsets!
• dolphins!
• horse riding tours along the beach
• beautiful temples (Fare) to see
• glorious forests to explore – you can follow rivers in your dinghy deep into them

• …aaaaaaaand the famous Bernard Moitessier spent ages in the Pacific Islands and Bora Bora. Wrote some pretty good books about his adventures there too.

We are persuaded! Bora Bora’s on our list…

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Destination Dreamin’
Previously: Antarctica – Destination Dreamin’ 
Next: Cape Horn and North to Alaska
  

Racing In The Solent

Image Source

Sigma 38 Racing

Why do we keep getting pulled into racing when really we are dreaming of cruising?? 

Because we keep meeting such gosh darn nice people that persuade us to join them, that’s why.

We spent Sunday crewing on a a Sigma 38. As jib and general trimmer to be exact. And it was a great day.

Once again we learned tons by being on a new team on a new yacht design with a new set up. 

And there’s nothing like racing to usefully underline how critical knowing when and where the tide is. 

Learning more about tides
Watching the other boats pull ahead (thanks to the effects of the tide) is both instructive and devastating. Watching them fall behind (for the same reason) is fantastic. 

And all this underlining happens when you are far from shore, marinas and most other nasty stationary obstacles that crop up with such regularity when you are cruising.

My First Mate, being from the other side of the pond, has never had to deal with tides before this year really. Here in the Solent, it’s something that affects your every move. It’s still not instinctive for him and he’s learned a LOT. This season great strides have been made.

Thinking about yacht design research
Now all these racing boats do tend to be fin and skeg designs under the water. Not the ideal seaworthy long distance cruising design at all, we agree. 

Still, getting to ride different types of yacht designs – even racing designs – is extremely informative. Loads of good learning to be had.

We’ve got to start trying out some classic cruising designs again, however, to further our design research which we must say, has fallen a tad by the wayside recently.  

This past season, we have been focusing on on-the-water training. Now with the winter closing in on us, we need to shift gears and pound out some good design research in the dark months ahead. 

Then having honed our cruising design list yet again, we’ll rig up a new plan to seek opportunities to somehow get on/ get near/ get familiar with those targeted cruising designs… to bring us the next step further towards our goals.

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)