World Cruising Survey – Reviewed

March 6, 2012March 21, 2016 / Ben Starling / Leave a comment

Links at bottom below post

Book the Captain just finished snoozing on: World Cruising Survey, by Jimmy Cornell

Who goes cruising and where do they go? What do they sail?
What’s it like to participate in the Atlantic Cruising Rally?

Best Part
It’s always good to hear from experience and this book is a survey of the experiences of hundreds of cruisers surveyed on just about everything you could possibly want to know about.

It’s got surveys on cruising routes, engines, communication and the tech to do it, first aid, personal prep, safety gear… all laid out – charted, graphed and analysed. And loads of illustrative examples/anecdotes.

Wishes
This book is copyright 2002. We wish there was an up to date version.

You can find more recent objective surveys on equipment and safety gear put out by the Seven Seas Cruising Association though. And apparently, Practical Boat Owner magazine is good for this too.

Conclusion
An interesting read. The theory of course is timeless.

But a lot of the surveys deals with tech and equipment – engines, communications equipment, electronics, safety equipment – and the technology and brand names have moved on, everything’s changed.

So while it was a fun historical read and we’ll keep it on the shelf, it’s probably not the first investment to choose for an up to date cruising library. We’d look forward to seeing an updated edition of this in the future, however.

Ever read World Cruising Survey, by Jimmy Cornell? How did you find it? Any good recommendations for other books for the sea library?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Book Reviews
Next: Sell Up & Sail – Reviewed

Previously: Bryan Willis, The Rules in Practice – Reviewed

Cruising in Oceania

March 1, 2012March 21, 2016 / Ben Starling / Leave a comment

Waterfalls at Vanuatu

The last Spring lecture at Limehouse last night… Sigh.

Henry and Kiki Capleton presented some highlights from their travels through Oceania: notes on the Palmerston Atoll, the Hobart ‘Round Tasmania’ Rally and some islands around Vanuatu.

A inspiring presentation with spectacular photography. We left knowing even more powerfully why sailing to distant locations is so unique.

It’s not just about loving sailing and being on the water. It’s that there are some places you just can’t get to without your own boat.

And that makes the experiences once you are there that much more incredible. Few people get to see such untouched beauty. Their experiences and photos really drove that home.

How they got sailing

had only done 1300nm on passages
had passed RYA Coastal and Day Skipper courses
bought a Contest 44, their first boat
did a few shakedowns cruises from New England to Bermuda with experienced friends on their boat
and off they went…

How they got to the Pacific

via the Panama Canal
used one of the cheaper agents, cost $900 ($600 to the agent and $300 to the authorities)
had to wait 9 days to get a place to get through
each boat needs 4 ‘line handlers’
usual custom is to practice by helping someone else go through
then you return to your boat when your ‘place’ comes up and take on two newbies who in turn are practicing to take their own boat through later…

Palmerston Atoll

only true atoll in the Cook’s group
population: about 90 – all descended from an English ship’s carpenter who settled there in Victorian times with his 3 Polynesian wives
they collect rainwater, and fish and grow copra both of which they trade
when you arrive:

you send ahead a VHF message
then you are met by one of the family in a boat who will show you your mooring spot
they invite you for dinner and maybe some entertainment (singing, dancing) the next night

in return, visitors exchange whatever skills they have (carpentry, engineering, medical etc) or give supplies

Tasmania

they joined the Hobart Rally
spectacular highlights:

MacQuarie Harbour
Strahan
Port Davey
Bathurst Harbour
D’Entrecasteaux Channel
Wineglass Bay!

Islands around Vanuatu

waterfall bays
exchanged t-shirts for fresh fruit and vegetables
t-shirts are also appreciated as thank you gifts
met many chiefs
were invited to attend church
attended much dancing which involved a ‘thumping’ style in grass skirts with rattles tied around the ankles
saw water music where women stood waist high in water and slapped it to make different tones and so create the music – wow!

I would use the word ‘moving’ to describe this presentation. We certainly left totally psyched to notch it up and throw ourselves back into the cruising studies, prep and downsizing with renewed vigor.

Today I attack the biggest pile (huge) of the Can Opener’s papers to organise and file. Haiiiiiiiii-yaah!

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Destination Dreamin’
Next: Menorca – Destination Dreamin’
Previously: Mallorca – Destination Dreamin’

Cruising Lectures
Next: Ocean Passage Making
Previously: Piracy – The Chandlers’ Somalia Excursion

Sail Away Presentation

February 10, 2012March 21, 2016 / Ben Starling / Leave a comment

Links below at bottom of post

Iarose early this morn, around 11am or so, still groggy from last night’s arduous journey to the Cruising Association.

I staggered over to the Can Opener and installed myself upon his shoulder, the better to supervise his write-up of the presentation we attended by Nicola Rodriguez.

With all those thumbs he has, I must say he still types quite slowly…

Nicola Rodriguez, author of Sail Away, has cruised for eight years in Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, and written articles for Yachting Monthly, Yachting World, Practical Boat Owner, Blue Water Sailing and Sail magazines. She and her husband love cruising so much, they had the Gift Registry for their wedding at a marine chandlery.

She gave some fun and useful tips on cruising in her presentation last night, that were illustrated with beautiful photographs from her book…

Setting a timeline to get away

An immoveable date to depart will make sure you actually cast off the dock (rather than fixing just one more thing) and get cruising.
Joining a rally to cross an ocean is helpful for this.

On packing away your life on shore

Inventory everything and keep a record of what is stashed in which relative’s house.
Pack the things last that you expect to need first when you return.

On persuading a reluctant spouse to sail away

Show them many great and exotic pictures of the Caribbean.
Point out that most areas of the world are already charted (to increase the ‘safety feeling’).

Kids on boats

It’s hard work to have kids on boats, but the rewards are equally large.
Kids are actively motivated to do all their homework on boats – because after that they can go play with the sea turtles and iguanas.

Guests on boats

Advantages: unlike children you can get rid of them.
Make sure guests know the boat routines and crew-overboard drills – and guests that know how to fish are a plus!

Where to winter

You can stay on mooring balls in New York – right in the city – for $30/night!
Maine and the Intracoastal Waterway will also get you out of the hurricane belt.

Overview

In Sail Away, Nicola discusses chapter by chapter:

how to make your sailing dream a reality
finances – budgeting to sail away
selecting, preparing, equipping your boat
sailing with children
how to leave your old life behind
life aboard
planning your route – with info on routes/destinations around Europe, Caribbean, and Pacific
blue water sailing
cruising the Caribbean
hurricane season
cruising the Pacific and beyond
sailing back – how to return to life back home

Conclusion

Nicola seems to pack a lot of vivid images and information into a small book. We already have quite a few entries in the sea library that cover the same topics in more technical detail, however, so we won’t invest just yet.

Sail Away looks useful as an introduction to the cruising lifestyle for those who are considering the idea and want to get a taste of what that might be like. It is written from a UK perspective, so may be especially useful for those in the UK and Europe.

And the Sail Away photography included is spectacular.

Any other books you would recommend for cruising? I am always looking for the next round of additions for our sea library…

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Lectures
Next: La Dolce Vita
Previously: Jimmy Cornell Speaks

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Jimmy Cornell Speaks

January 26, 2012March 21, 2016 / Ben Starling / Leave a comment

What relevance does wine and cheese have to pilot charts?

Well, if you’re at a presentation given by Jimmy Cornell on his most recently published work Cornell’s Ocean Atlas: Pilot Charts for All Oceans of the World, it’s a straight line, one-to-one relationship. Slideshow above, wine and cheese table right there below.

And sure enough, they do go together very well indeed.

Last night my First Mate and I wended our spritely way to the Cruising Association to listen to Jimmy speak and to test his charts-wine-and-cheese hypothesis. A big paws-up there.

Here are the highlights of what he covered…

Old pilot charts compiled a looooong time ago
The old pilot charts are a wonderful tool for voyage planning – but they are based on data that was compiled by guys with names like Captain Cook and Lieutenant Bligh in the 1700s, 1800s, etc. Some of the data was on the ball… and some of it none too accurate.

New data now available
These days new weather, current, temperature and other climate-type info is being compiled by NASA, NOAA (we’d never heard of these guys either) and a bunch of other groups with really long names. They use satellites and giant computers to collect piles of useful data – data that is now in the public domain.

Not only is the data more accurately collected, but it is also more recent – thus reflecting the changing wind strengths, directions, hurricanes seasons etc. Did we mention the changing hurricane seasons?

The basic premise
Jimmy and his computer wizard son, Ivan, have created new pilot charts of the world using this new, more accurate, and more recent data and presented it in a useful way for cruisers planning their routes. And they published all this

in their new Cornell’s Ocean Atlas.

As well, Jimmy pointed out…

The value of pilot charts

voyage planning
take advantage of prevailing winds, seasons and weather
want to be in the right place at the right time

How to plan a route

Plan your route by working backwards from where and when you would like your final destination to be.
Take advantage of prevailing winds and favourable currents and you can get there faster than with a straight line route to your destination.
For example: the Canary Islands via Cape Verde to the Caribbean is faster than sailing a line straight from the Canaries directly to the Caribbean.
Further, Cape Verde is also a good point to drop off unwanted crew…

Conclusion

This looks like an important resource. This only surprise is that no one has done this for cruisers earlier.

Ever been surprised at the closeness of an obstruction when using data from the old pilot charts? Or found the depth suddenly and unexpectedly shallow?

What happened? And what did you do?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Lectures

Next: Sail Away Presentation

Previously: Chuck Paine Speaks

Maiden Voyage – Reviewed

January 13, 2012March 21, 2016 / Ben Starling / Leave a comment

links below at bottom of post

Book the Captain just finished snoozing on: Maiden Voyage

Just finished Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi. It describes her solo circumnavigation starting at age 18 from New York in 1985 and finishing 2 years later in 1987.

Zipped through the whole book in less than a day. Obviously a gripping tale.

The stuff I loved

She did it at 18 years old – holy shiny binnacles, Batman!
She did it on a boat that was only 26 feet long!
At the time, she was the youngest person ever to circumnavigate (minus 80 km during which she had a friend on board)
She seemed like a cat lover – she took along 2 cats!
I got through the whole thing in less than a day – I was riveted.

Concerns
She left on an intended circumnavigation:

with little sailing experience
without knowing how to anchor, navigate or fix an engine
without fixing simple factory defects in her boat that could easily have been found during shakedown voyages*

and most disturbingly…

en route, she gave away one of her cats!!

Yikes! Who could do that??

I found it fascinating, interesting, insightful, and was totally hooked… until the unforgivable moment of madness at the end of the book when she gave away one of her cats!!!!!!!

After that, I did not have the strength to carry on and assigned it to the Can Opener.

Any other books you would recommend for cruising? I am researching for the next round of additions to our sea library…

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Wikipedia, Tania Aebi

Other Book Reviews

Next: 20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere – Book Review

Previously: Self-Sufficient Cruiser – Book Review

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The Cruising Kitty

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circumnavigation

World Cruising Survey – Reviewed

Cruising in Oceania

Sail Away Presentation

Jimmy Cornell Speaks

Maiden Voyage – Reviewed