Cruising Kitty Sailing Events List 2012

The Cruising Kitty’s Sailing Events List 2012

Here’s a list of the sailing and cruising events the Can Opener and I participated in in 2012:

Highlights

• yacht delivery from Malaga, Spain to Poros, Greece in a 40 ft catamaran
• Red Tabby Cruising Regatta
• team racing with the Red Tabby Yacht Club
• Cowes Week
• Junior Offshore Group racing 
• Sigma 38 racing
• passages with Cap’n André on Un Tigre Beau
• lectures at the Cruising Association
• RYA courses

Total number of events: 

• exams/courses: 2
• cruising lectures: 25
• cruising and sailing celebrations: 25
• books read: 22
• different boats sailed on: 9
• deliveries: 1
• days team racing: 1
• days on delivery: 21
• days fleet racing: 7
• passage days: 18 

Total days on the water: 47

Sea miles gained this year: 3600

Next year… we‘d love to double it!  

Why count up where we’ve been? You gotta know where you‘ve been to know where you’re going. At least, we figure it can’t hurt. And it feels good too.

Next up: I’ve got the Can Opener working on our Cruising Resolutions for 2013. 

When he’s done, he can have the smoked oyster I’ve got waiting for him, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight here! 

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Kitty’s Lecture List for 2012

The Cruising Kitty’s Lecture List for 2012

Here’s the complete list of the cruising lectures the First Mate and I attended in 2012:

1. London Boat Show: Electrics for Boaters
2. London Boat Show: Diesel Engines
3. Cruising Association: 35 Years of Cruising Sailboat Design with Chuck Paine
4. Cruising Association: Sail Away
5. Cruising Association: Jimmy Cornell Speaks
6. Cruising Association: La Dolce Vita – Cruising the Islands of the Central Mediterranean 
7. Cruising Association: Hostage – A Year at Gunpoint with Paul & Rachel Chandler
8. Cruising Association: Cruising in Oceania
9. Red Tabby Yacht Club: Ocean Passage Making
10. Cruising Association: Mid-Ocean Things That Could Spoil Your Day
11. Cruising Association: Power on Board
12. Cruising Association: Communication At Sea
13. Cruising Association: Victualling and Food Care
14. Cruising Association: Fuel Care – Biocides and Bugs
15. Cruising Association: Grenada
16. Cruising Association: Yacht Preparation and Equipment
17. Cruising Association: Medical Matters on Board
18. Red Tabby Yacht Club: Southern Adventure
19. Southampton Boat Show: On The Water Training!
20. RYA VHF Course
21. Cruising Association: Spain and Back in a Summer
22. Cruising Association: Bora Bora and the Pacific Islands
23. Cruising Association: Cape Horn and North to Alaska
24. Red Tabby Yacht Club: Racing Rules for 2013~2016
25. Cruising Association: Cruising to Arctic Norway

Huh. It didn’t seem like so much at the time, but when you write it all down… it adds up nicely!

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Victualling And Food Care

Next up at the Cruising Association last weekend, was a lecture on ‘Victualling And Food Care’, with Sandy Duker. O my!

Food is my personal favourite and my own specialty. I do love to organise the First Mate to a well provisioned yacht! Preparedness for every exciting milestone in the day (ie. every meal time) is a top priority.   

As Sandy approached the lectern, I leaned forward on the Can Opener’s shoulder to catch her every pearlescent word. I knew I indeed had a secure grip on my perch to get me through her lecture when the First Mate let out a mighty yelp.

Sandy revealed all her secrets of food care aboard yachts and the Can Opener wrote ’em down:

Assumptions 

• You are catering for 2-3 weeks,
• refridgerator exists,
• but no freezer.

Consider 

• likes of the crew
• medical conditions eg diabetes
• allergies 
• is the boat ‘dry’ or ‘wet’? 
• people eat more at sea – out of boredom, because they are cold, on watch… 

Meal Structure / day

• 3 meals
• 3 snacks
• Happy Hour!   

Planning Provisions

• overcater for drinks
• plan meals sequence to match freshness of the fruits/vegetables
• make a daily planner… and convert it to your shopping list
• plan to grow your own sprouts, herbs 
• leave big roasts till end of journey as they take longer to defrost 
• overestimate how much water you need – do NOT rely on watermakers. These break down regularly.
• overestimate hot beverages needed
• plan for every eventuality – assume that you cannot rely on the fridge, the watermaker etc…

Good Things To Include In Your List

• lemons
• limes 
• dried fruit
• squashes – they keep forever
• beans, chick peas
• patés in tins
• freeze dried meals – found in moutaineering shops, can also be ordered online
• fish – do not rely on fish caught at sea. You may catch ’em, you may not… 
• cereal bars (better than chocolate for snacks which melts in the heat)
• fresh herbs growing 
• tinned olives, nuts
• fruit cake

 
Note: packaging

• flour and grains that are pre-packed (ie not loose in bins – more likely to have insect eggs in them that will later hatch…)
• soups in packets (take up less space)
• tomato sauce in tins (not in tubes as these are often badly crimped and leak) 
• choose packaging that squashes flat (eg UHT boxes) as you will be carrying all that garbage to the next port…
• no carboard!

Fishing 

• need a fish hook/gaff to bring the fish aboard
• make sure the fish is really dead before you bring it aboard – or there will be an awful mess in the cockpit
• PUT A SIGN next to the engine to remind yourself to bring in the fishing lines before you start the engines
• consider any fish you catch to be a bonus, an extra to provisions. Don’t rely on them!

How to Shop

• if in a rally eg ARC, where there are many other people provisioning at the same time – you need to buy earlier
• shop in the markets yourself – don’t arrange for delivery
• choose both ripe and under-ripe produce
• supermarkets near yachting centres will often vacuum pack your meat in portion/meal-sized eg Las Palmas, Canarias 
• be careful – some countries leave the ribs in meat which can puncture the vacuum packing
• look for Cruising Association members discounts at stores eg Jolly Harbour in St Lucia

Water Conservation 

use salt water for:

• washing hair with dishsoap and a freshwater rinse
• washing dishes
• washing vegetables with salt water in the middle of the ocean – water is clean

Food Care

• yoghurt – make your own
• eggs – turn them daily
• remove packaging 
• double wrap pasta and grains in your own plastic, seal and date
• wash all fruit and vegetables, and air dry in cockpit before storing
• store potatoes, onions, carrots in string bags in cupboards – for airflow and its easier to check them through a string bag
• use ‘stay-fresh’ bags
• inspect food every day – because it will suddenly go off in one day and must be used immediately
• store cheese in boxes in fridge, and/or wrap in a vinegar cloth

 
Managing Inventory

• date and label all tins and bags with permanent marker – contents and date
• name each of the lockers eg SFP, saloon forward port (to refer to in inventory lists)
• NOTE: if boat hull is dark then storage lockers will get very warm/hot
• inventory list: product, package type, number, location
• do weekly physical inventory check
• update provisions inventory list every time something is used

Cooking

• pressure cookers are:
• faster
• use less gas
• easier for washing up – only 1 pot
• good in rough weather as are sealed

The Cruising Kitty’s Favourite Books 
on Provisioning and Food Care 

1. Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew, Lin Pardey
2. Sail Away!, by Paul and Sheryl Shard

 

 

Wow! A ton of good advice from Sandy. We’ve heard much of it before from others, but it’s always good to hear it again and to know that this stuff really works!

–Captain Cat 

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)

Cruising Kitty Lecture List – 1st Half of 2012

The Cruising Kitty’s Lecture List 

1st half of 2012

Here’s a list of the cruising lectures the Can Opener and I attended in the first half of 2012:

• London Boat Show: Electrics for Boaters
• London Boat Show: Diesel Engines
• Cruising Association: 35 Years of Cruising Sailboat Design with Chuck Paine
• Cruising Association: Sail Away
• Cruising Association: Jimmy Cornell Speaks
• Cruising Association: La Dolce Vita – Cruising the Islands of the Central Mediterranean 
• Cruising Association: Hostage – A Year at Gunpoint with Paul & Rachel Chandler
• Cruising Association: Cruising in Oceania
• Red Tabby Yacht Club: Ocean Passage Making

This of course, meant endless note taking, transcribing and reviewing for the Can Opener.

He met the challenge magnificently. We are very pleased with our First Mate’s continued progress. 

Yesterday I gave him two more gold stars. He seemed pleased.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

RYA VHF Radio text – Reviewed!

I assigned this book to the Can Opener to read while we were on the Spain to Greece delivery. He ploughed through it quite quickly – clearly a riveting read.   

Also required reading not just by me, but by the UK Coastguard too. Anyone who operates a VHF* on their yacht must also have a VHF license. 

VHF radio equipment is regularly used for sending and receiving boat to boat, boat to marina and boat to Coast Guard messages. It is an important piece of safety equipment on most yachts.

I’ll be dragging the Can Opener with me on a course to get our licenses soon. And this is the textbook that goes with the RYA licensing course…

How do you use a VHF? What can it be used for anyways? How do you send a distress message properly? 

These answers could save our lives one day, so I made sure the Can Opener paid careful attention to this valuable little book.

Best Thing About This Book

• clear
• concise
• has all the info in it we need to know to get our VHF Operator Licenses
  

Wild Wishes

• There was no brand to brand comparison of VHF equipment – just general explanations of what an average VHF looks like and how it works.
• But hey – that was not the goal of this book. This little book did the job it promised to do.
  

Conclusion 

We like books that do their job. And if you are going to get your VHF license with RYA… you kind of have to buy it. So we did.

Fortunately this is a well written and useful little text.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Very high frequency (VHF) is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz…Currently VHF is at the low-end of practical frequency usage, new systems tending to use frequencies in SHF and EHF above the UHF range…. 

Common uses for VHF are FM radio broadcast, television broadcast, land mobile stations (emergency, business, private use and military), long range data communication with radio modems, amateur radio, marine communications, air traffic control communications and air navigation systems (e.g. VOR, DME & ILS). –wikipedia

In the US

 
In the UK

Book Reviews
Next: The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, by John Vigor
Previously: Celestial Navigation, by Mary Blewitt

The Route Actually Taken

Where did we go in the end?

Here’s the route we actually followed during our three week delivery of the catamaran from Malaga, Spain to Poros, Greece…

 

Delivery Route:

• From Malaga, Spain through the Alboran Sea
• Alboran Sea to the Balearic Sea
• Balearic Sea to Algerian Basin
• Algerian Basin up to Trapani, Sardinia 
• North up and over the top of Sicily via Palermo and Milazzo to the Straits of Messina
• From Messina through the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas to Patras, Greece
• East through the Gulf of Corinth and the Corinth Canal 
• And finally to Poros, Greece in the Aegean Sea!

It was pretty ambitious – in the end we travelled 1553 nautical miles in just 3 short weeks. 

We saw winds ranging from 12 knots to 40 knots+, gusts up to 50 knots and swells up to 15 or so feet.

We’ve come a loooong way. And we’ve learned a lot. Time to head home to rest, recover and reflect. 

Well…I’ll be doing the reflecting while the Can Opener busies himself, cleaning and ironing my cape, restocking the pantry, and preparing those 17-step appetizers I’ve been fantasizing about for a good two and half weeks now. 

Outstanding appetizers, as we all know, assist greatly with reflection…

–Captain Cat 

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)

Casting Off The Bow Lines: The Delivery Begins…

Good bye Caleta del Vélez! 

Up out of my comfy cabin bed at an unseasonal 8am. Provisions and personal belongings already stowed. Sails prepped and at the ready. A hearty crew breakfast of chorizos y chocolate…

… and then we’re off!

I organised the Can Opener and the crew to cast off the spring, bow and stern lines, let the wind catch my bow to spin us around and then steered a confident course for the open sea.

These catamarans carry quite a lot of freeboard – at the wheel I sit nearly 9 feet above the water. It’s kind of like driving a small office building across the Med. Ah me, new experiences every day…

 

And hellooooo Alboran Sea! 

–Captain Cat 

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)

Provisioning The First Leg

Saturday early mornings in Caleta del Vélez, there’s a market that sets up and lines the waterfront street by the marina. 

Vendors and canopies pop up over rickety tables, mountains of goods are carefully laid out. Clothes, toys, sunglasses, bedsheets… and piles of food. 

From my perch on the Can Opener’s shoulder and by tweaking his ears starboard and port side as needed, I deftly steered him towards the prepared meat section. 

…Somehow, we still managed to arrive in front of the area targeting that evolutionary wonder, the herbivore. 

Nothing against herbivores. Most are quite tasty. Living with one, however, is another thing altogether*. Quite messes up my laboriously planned 5-course meat menus. 

Despite my clearly reasoned arguments in favour of daily steak tartar rations, the Can Opener was not to be deterred. He and the crew loaded up on (brightly coloured and admittedly beautiful in a still-life-in-oils kind of way) fruits and vegetables. We were planning a 5 day crossing of the Alboran and Balearic Seas and the Algerian Basin, so spoilage was not an issue.

The Can Opener mumbled something about scurvy as he passed the oranges to the vendor for weighing. Then he added ginger, packs of pasta and rice, and jars of tomato, pesto and British-mild veggie curry sauce to our satchel at the next stall (accompanied all the while by a mini lecture to me about bland food and seasickness).

I don’t need a lecture on seasickness, I know all about it. I’ll be bed-ridden for the first 3 days at sea as usual, and expect to be waited on hand and foot till it passes. Happens to the best of us.

By dint of much abuse of the First Mate’s ears, I was finally able to get him to relent and load up on copious amounts of sardine tins. Enough to get me through to Sardinia anyway. 

We do not eat kibble.

–Captain Cat

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)

* Note: The Can Opener is not an actual vegetarian, just a near one. He tries a lot and then fails… every time a juicy steak walks by. On passage, however, he sticks to his idealised agenda. There are no burger franchises at sea.

Planned Delivery Route – 6 Seas and a Basin

View Planned Delivery Route: Spain~Greece 2012 in a larger map

Here’s the plan…

Delivery Route:

• From Malaga, Spain through the Alboran Sea
• Alboran Sea to the Balearic Sea
• Balearic Sea to Algerian Basin
• Algerian Basin up to Sardinia (if there’s time)
• Sardinia past Tyrrhenian Sea and around Sicily 
• Sicily to Malta (if there’s time)
• Malta to the Mediterranean Sea
• Past Ionian Sea to Kalamata, Greece in the Pelopennese
• Around the Pelopennese to Spestes, Greece on the Aegean Sea!

It’s pretty ambitious – about 1300 nautical miles in 3 weeks. Of course, plans are made to be changed. But this is the plan we’re starting with.

And we’re on our way!!

–Captain Cat

 (transcribed by the Can Opener)

Carrying Self-Inflating Life Jackets on Planes

Are you planning to fly to a start/end point of a voyage with your self-inflating life jacket? 

Inside your life jacket is a CO2 cylinder. Are these ‘dangerous items’ according to flight regulations?

Normally compressed gas cylinders would be classed as a dangerous item, but according to IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulations, they are exempted – with the permission of the individual airline.

Best to get everything in writing and carry that documentation with you (don’t just show up at the check-in counter and try to ‘wing it’). Apparently these rules are a bit of a grey area and not every security checker knows about these exemptions.


So what to do?

1. Call your airline’s customer service at least a week or more ahead of time, and explain what you want to do.
2. Ask for an email confirming they know who you are, what flight you are on and that they approve your carrying a life jacket (and replacement cylinder) on board. 
• It’s better to carry the life jacket and spare cylinder with you in the cabin which you know will be pressurized (versus checking it into the hold which may or may not be pressurized…) 
3. Then print out and carry with you:
• IATA regulations (scroll down to Passenger Information 2012) on carrying Self-Inflating Life Jackets on Planes and
• the email from your airline’s customer service.
4. When you check in, let the check-in counter know what you are carrying and show the documentation above (as in 3).
5. The airport security checkers can still refuse to let you take it on board even with all these steps done. Leave yourself enough time to go back and check it into the hold if you have to.

 
That’s what the Can Opener and I will be doing when we head down to Spain for the boat delivery. It’s about as prepared as we can get.

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Reference

• RYA/CAA Guidance
• Yachting and Boating World Forum (Note – discussion has a UK/European focus)

Safety Gear
Previously: Life Jackets – How Much Does Safety Cost? 

Previously:Sailing Boots – Dubarry or not?