crewing

Passage To Poole

/ Ben Starling / Leave a comment
First stop: Swanage Bay

In a comfy corner to windward of the wheel, I stretched and put the paws up. The perfect location to supervise André the owner, Bernard the RYA Instructor Magnificent*, and the Can Opener as he rocketed about as ‘Skipper-of-the-Day’. 

I’m a low key manager who likes to rule from behind by dint of a nuclear-radiating personality and the occasional swipe to the Achilles’ tendon. A kind of Chaircat of the Board, if you will.

Every minute you spend planning is repaid many times over. We knew this when we were doing the passage planning and chartwork the day before we set off to Poole. But seeing the plan executed really underlined Bernard’s message.
We were up bright and early, breakfasted and doing boat checks while the dew was still on the deck. Tidal calculations were checked and rechecked. The weather report noted and compared for continued compatibility with our plan. We were headed out the famous (and challenging) Needles Channel in a blow, so the plan had to be perfect. All was set to go. And so we went…
Through Needles, the sea state was ‘rough’. The Met Office defines this as about 8 to 12 foot waves. And this narrow channel is bordered on both sides by enormous pointy rocks rearing out of the sea to the east and jagged pointy rocks lurking below the surface forever to the west. 
Of course, you never think to take photos at the time (the Needles photo above is from another calmer day…). You’re riveted on the sailing.
 
The first night of the passage we picked up a mooring buoy in Swanage Bay (see leading photo at top) just south of our final destination. 
The second day, after skills drills allllllllllll day with Bernard, we pulled into the night-calm harbour at Poole. The glorious sunset made it all worthwhile.

 

Destination made: Pulling in to Poole

Could we have packed any more learning into our time with Bernard? I think not. 

Passage planning, berthing, anchoring and mooring practice, even some crew overboard work. It was a fantastic and very full training schedule. And much appreciated. 

The entire team has loads to think about and much to practice going forward.

 

–Captain Cat 
(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Bernard Mitchell works with the Hamble School of Yachting. Ask for him by name. He’s in great demand. Plan ahead.

Southern Shore England

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‘Old Harry’ – limestone cliffs worn by the sea near Poole, on the southern shore of England
Yes, indeed. We are steadily mile-building. 

We picked up a new crewmate in Poole two weekends ago – a friend of André, the owner – and moved Un Tigre Beau back along the southern shore of England, past the famously jagged ‘Needles’, up the Solent and back to its regular resting place in the Hamble. 

 

‘The Needles’

 

 

Entering the Solent on the approach to the Isle of Wight

 

A feisty day, force 5 – 7 winds the whole way. I was particularly pleased with the Can Opener’s steering through some nasty swell coming into the Needles Channel.

Must say that this sailing gig is quite exhilarating!  
–Captain Cat 
(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Rules, Rules, Rules!

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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)

Racing In The Solent

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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)

Dolphins Can Stay Awake For 15 Days???

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Dolphins can stay awake… for 15 days??? 

This news just in from the online UK newspaper, The Telegraph:  

In fact, dolphins may be able to stay awake for longer. Recent scientific testing in California of two smart bottlenosed dolphins, called Nay and Say, was planned for 30 days but was curtailed after 15 due to a storm.

Apparently dolphins can sleep with one eye open and half of their brain – called unihemispheric sleep. This ‘allows them to come to the surface every so often to breath, and remain constantly vigilant for sharks.’ 

—————-

This is exactly the kind of performance I need from a First Mate. Should take about 28 days to cross the Atlantic, from the Canaries to the Caribbean.

I need a First Mate who can be constantly vigilant twenty four hours a day making sure we don’t get run down by a freighter or bump into a whale or a shark en route.  

When solo-sailing oceans, you can normally only nap for 15 minutes at a time. Then you’ve got to wake up and scan the horizon for ships. 20 minutes is the approx length of time it takes a cargo ship to blast from the horizon across the waves over to crush your boat (should you happen to be on a collision course).

That’s why I’ve been training the Can Opener for months with ‘sleep interruption drills’. But now I can…

(Can Opener: You mean walking on my face at 3am wasn’t just about opening the smoked oyster tin for you?)

…now I can replace the Can Opener with a dolphin First Mate that is vigilant non-stop day and night AND catches his own food!  

Huh. Last week I wanted to eat a dolphin. Today I want to adopt one. Times change. This news puts a whole new spin on things…

Can Opener: Eat one of them??– that was a basking shark! …Hey, replace ME??

Captain Cat: A shark? (Really?) Well… same difference.

Can Opener: Replace me? Who would polish your orb, catalogue your wig collection, write your Jackie Chan fan letters?

Captain Cat: …Good point. Good enough to make me pause whilst drafting my profile for the dolphin dating site I just bookmarked…

Can Opener: I‘ve got the opposable thumb, Furrball. I‘m the only one ’round here bookmarking anything. That was a secondhand cat site I just bookmarked. 

Captain Cat: ??… 
Hmm… Gives one paws for thought…

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

 Previously: Dolphins

Sailing Again!

/ Ben Starling / Leave a comment

We’re racing on an Arcona 37 this weekend – a nifty Swedish racer-cruiser with a fantastic new captain! 

I am eager to get down to the water, so am currently standing over the Can Opener while he packs the necessities: pet life jacket, fuzzy cat suit, smoked clam rations, Jackie Chan movies on the ipod and the working tiara. 

I am becoming concerned everything will not fit in my taxi (You’ll be taking the train down to the water with me, bud. …Like all the other cats…)

This weekend is double great because we are not just getting in a race with a new team, and not just because we get to learn about a new deck layout and another boat’s systems – we also get to fit in two passages, there and back, to reposition this boat from its home berth, nearly a day’s sail from the race site.

We’re are pysched and ready to go! Right after the Can Opener finishes polishing the motivational sceptre.

 

–Captain Cat 

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cowes Week – Mid-week Report

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It sure is the biggest sailing summer ever round here. The Olympics just finished – and now Cowes Week has started up.
For those who don’t know, Cowes Week is the UK’s biggest annual regatta (save the Olympics of course) and one of the country’s yearly social highlights. 
It ‘is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,500 competitors ranging from Olympic and world class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world. Having started in 1826, the event is held on the Solent…made tricky by strong double tides’ *.
It’s not just a rocking’ regatta – it’s also a great festival, complete with endless parties, street concerts, vendors, prizes and stalls. 
Fun if you are watching the action from land or from the deck of a high performance racing machine.
  
The Can Opener and I were lucky enough to be invited to race on a J122. And lucky enough to be on a great team that’s on a winning streak. Nothing like crossing the line first and getting the gun! 
All credit to the J122’s great skipper – the same nice guy from the Red Tabby Yacht Club who invited us to join him.

View from the J122’s bow



–Captain Cat 
(transcribed by the Can Opener)
* wikipedia