Welcome to the PREMIERE EDITION of Cruising Compass. The newsletter has been designed with cruisers in mind and offers all who wish to participate a forum for new ideas, personal stories, comments and more. Your contributions are welcome. Whether you sail across your local bay or around the world, Cruising Compass is for you.

Cruising Compass is brought to you by boats.com and Blue Water Sailing magazine. The magazine's editors and regular authors are a rich source of knowledge and information on everything to do with boats, sailing, cruising and the world of voyaging. So, send us your questions and we will do our best to find the answers for you, which we will publish in the newsletter.

Correspondence should be e-mailed to [email protected].

 

Things that go 'BOOM' in the galley


 

From: Bill Healy, Amadon Light (Tashiba 40), Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Friends anchored near us just found a badly chaffed propane hose aboard their boat. It brought to mind our near-disaster experience at sea.

We were three days into the passage from Palau to the Philippines, and it was just after breakfast. The wind had been blowing 20 knots on the starboard quarter the whole time. I was on watch in the cockpit, and Gary was sitting in the dinette reading. There was an explosion, with a deep concussion. It was startling and shocking. The double glass oven door was blown out across the cabin. There were glass shards everywhere.

It took a minute to stop hyperventilating and realize that it had been a propane explosion. At that point I spoke the immortal words to Gary: "You clean up the mess, and I will install the spare oven door."

Quickly, we figured out what had happened. The stove is a New Zealand "Mariner" brand (no longer made). The stovetop burners and oven burner are "safety-off," but the broiler's ceramic burner is not. We had had toast for breakfast, and inadvertently we shut off the solenoid switch instead of turning off the broiler knob first, then the solenoid switch. A while later, a kettle of water made it onto the stove for more coffee, the solenoid was turned on and a stovetop burner lit. However, neither of us noticed that the broiler knob was still turned on. While the water was heating, the propane was flowing inside the oven. When it reached the open flame, it exploded.

Fortunately, the hatches were open and a good breeze was running through the boat, so not too much propane had built up. The good news is that such an explosion would be an easy way to go, but only if the blast is big enough. Do not try this with a medium-size explosion, as the burns would be nasty, and the work to repair the interior too difficult even to contemplate. We were amazingly lucky to have a third-rate, small-time blowup, and neither of us was standing in front of the oven when it happened.

Yes, we did have a spare oven door. In lieu of carrying one, however, having safety burners on all the stove and oven ports and checking the supply hose and connections regularly are better ideas. We always use soapy water as a leak detector whenever tanks are changed over. Also, the valves on the tanks have a seal to tighten down on when turning off the gas - as well as one to tighten up to when the valve is opened. So, when we're handling the tank valves we unscrew them as firmly to the top as we do to the bottom when we turn them off. Otherwise you can get a small leak around the valve stem in opened-valve position.

 

European Union to relax VAT regulations for boats cruising in Europe


 

The follow note appeared on Jimmy Cornell's new website Noonsite.com. Jimmy and his family have loaded volumes of valuable cruising information onto the site and provide visitors regular cruising updates from correspondents around the world.

Under the provisions of a new article (No. 562) that was expected to come into force on 1 July 2001, privately owned boats belonging to non-EU citizens and flying the flag of a non-EU country will be allowed to spend 18 months in the EU. This period will count from the moment the vessel arrives in an EU country until the moment the vessel leaves the EU. It is not yet clear when and how the 18-month period can be extended, and for how long the vessel must remain outside the EU before a new period can be commenced. The new regulation will only come into force once it is published in the official journal of the EU. Furthermore, it may take a few weeks or even months before the various customs officials get to familiarize themselves with the revised regulations. An update on the latest situation will be featured on noonsite once the new regulation has come into force.

 

The voyaging life: Sailing in the Pacific for the first time


 

The following letter from Diana and Garland Flournoy arrived via e-mail (SailMail) from mid-Pacific Ocean as they sailed west toward French Polynesia aboard their Little Harbor 50 Cornelia Maria.

Our first Pacific passage was from Panama to the Galapagos. This time of the year that's all in the doldrums. The Galapagos lie 912 miles southwest of Panama. The winds, such as they were, blew out of the southwest. Our philosophy on fuel conservation is to use a third on the first half of a passage, a third on the second half of the passage and keep the other third just in case.

When we left Panama, we motored 16 hours amid dead calms down the Bay of Panama, which is notorious for its lightning so we wanted to get clear as quickly as possible. After that, we cut off the engine and started sailing, running the engine two hours a day to keep the batteries up and the reefer cool. We tacked a lot. The winds were usually under eight knots and the substantial current always seemed to take us where we did not want to go. The only two directions we seemed to be able to sail were southeast and northwest, both the wrong way. It was not uncommon to tack and find ourselves making good a course 120 to 150 degrees from the previous tack.

On day five, we were a little over a third of the way to the islands. We sailed on. The winds moved slightly to the southeast so we were able to go west and soon a magical thing happened; the currents started flowing in our favor toward the southwest.

Along the way, the leech and foot stitching on our new 125% genoa started coming apart and we got a small tear in the luff. We changed down to a 95% working jib that performed beautifully. Nine days after we left Panama, we made landfall at San Cristobal, Galapagos. We ran the engine only 41 hours total, including the 16 leaving Panama and the 16 hours keeping the batteries charged. No, we aren't the Pardeys. Our boat has an engine which we use, but for all practical purposes we sailed through the doldrums - all of it close-hauled. And we are proud. Oh, and we sailed through some hellacious squalls in which we could not see the bow, though we never met more than 30 knots of wind.

Today, we are on day six of our 3,100-mile passage to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. We are doing 7.6 knots under twin headsails in 10 knots of apparent wind. We set the pole to windward before we left the anchorage as we knew we could count on southeast winds and did not want to mess with our heavy pole at sea. The first four days we made from 144 to 179 miles a day under full genoa and single reefed main. Winds never climbed above 16 knots, except puffs to 20. Winds were 30 degrees aft of the beam and we were really moving. Yesterday the winds went a little more to the east, so down came the main, up went the reacher, and we jibed the genoa over to the pole. You can't believe how pretty we feel under the twin headsails, which could easily carry us the remaining 2,000 miles to Fatu Hiva. We have been helped by west-setting currents of one to 1.5 knots. We sailed our rhumb-line course until we hit a favorable current, then headed west to ride it as long as possible. It's been a great ride so far. Wish you were here to share it with us.

 

Westsail owners to unite in San Francisco


 

The 2001 Northern California Westsail Rendezvous will be held September 21st-23rd at South Beach Harbor Marina in San Francisco. Bear in mind that it's not necessary to be a member of the Westsail Owners Association to attend one of the group's Round-Ups. So if you'd always heard about the Westsail legend and wondered what all the fuss was about, here's your chance to see a bevy of Westies all in one place, board several different boats to inspect the various interior layouts, and chat up the proud owners about the objects of their affection. Come on by. You'll be more than welcome. To reserve a slip or for more information please contact: Randy Leasure at [email protected]. Ph: 650-704-2104. www.westsail.org.

Instrument System Calibration


A high performance instrument system can't function properly without accurately calibrated sensors. Calibrating an Ockam system is straightforward and on a day with moderate, fairly steady breeze can be done in a few hours. First, you must calibrate or "swing" your electronic compass (follow the manufacturer's instructions and it is easy). Then, boatspeed is dialed in by "trip" logging while motoring back and forth along a known distance. Then it's time for sails up, and monitoring displayed Wind Direction while tacking and jibing. Detailed information is found in the Ockam System Manual (downloadable in the products section at www.ockam.com) or email Tom Davis for a calibration crib sheet ([email protected]).

 

Extreme Offshore Sailing - following the Open 60s


 

Kingfisher wins the Baltimore-Boston leg of the EDS Atlantic Challenge

Ellen MacArthur's fleet Open 60 nipped her British rival Mike Golding at the very end of a 400-mile dash up the U.S. East Coast. This was Leg 4 of the event, which started in St. Malo France at the end of June. The fleet will be heading back across the Atlantic on the final leg of the race starting on Monday, August 13. CC will keep you posted.

On Thursday, August 9 at 21.01.46 local time in Boston, Kingfisher crossed the finish line and won Leg 4 of the EDS Atlantic Challenge. Kingfisher finished about 10 miles ahead of the second-place finisher ECOVER.

It was the second leg in a row won by the Kingfisher team and the second time the yacht has come from behind to snatch victory from a previous leader.

Kingfisher skipper Nick Moloney, in charge of the program while Ellen sat out a leg, was visibly excited by the victory. "It was a great race," Moloney gushed upon arrival at the dock. "I'm really grateful to have had the chance to do this. The pressure was really big when Ellen left this in my hands. We went for it, we really went for it and I think we deserved to win. It was a privilege to sail with such a great team."

Almost exactly one hour after Kingfisher crossed the finish line, ECOVER finished to take second place. Their official time was 22:04:54 local time.

ECOVER skipper Mike Golding used his yacht's superior downwind abilities earlier in the leg to pass Kingfisher one day into the leg. But he was able to hold first place only until the offshore breeze disappeared, taking with it his downwind advantage.

"We went inshore to get the offshore breeze," Golding said. "Classic - we just ended, parked up in a bit of a hole, and Kingfisher rolled in on us. They were on the inside, we were on the outside. The separation was about a mile-and-a-half and they got away, we didn't. We got away about a quarter of an hour later and that was enough to give them a little edge."

Kingfisher passed ECOVER and steadily extended its lead for the remainder of the leg.

Behind ECOVER, Josh Hall and his Gartmore team took the third podium spot, blasting into Boston Harbor at 2 AM local time. Hall and crew, all looking remarkably rested, horsed around on the deck, the obligatory if traditional champagne spraying over everyone.

"It was great sailing," Hall said. "We got slightly out of sync with ECOVER and Kingfisher during the first evening on our jibes and had separation from them."

Hanging to the west to try to catch the cold front and westerly breeze that were forecast but didn't materialize cost them 50 miles. During the second day they were able to make up some of the loss, but never regained it all. "Kingfisher and ECOVER sailed a brilliant race," he acknowledged.

 

Fall Boat Shows


 

Savvy buyers know that the fall shows are a great time to buy: good deals, new models, and plenty of time for delivery and commissioning for the next sailing season. This year the finance rates are the lowest they've been in a long time. And with the new boatsbank program, getting a loan has gotten a lot easier. You can apply online, get multiple lenders to compete for your business, and get your loan approved FAST. There's a call center for help, a wide range of financing options, and very competitive rates. www.boatsbank.com

 

New Product Alert: Tools for cruising navigators


 

Weatherfax 2000 software now works with Pactor II modems

Jonathan Selby, Managing Director of Xaxero Marine Software Engineering, Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand, recently announced the development of a new version of his top-rated WeatherFax 2000 software for use with the Special Communications Services (SCS) Pactor II radio modem.

SCS of Germany developed the Pactor II mode of high-speed digital data transmission over single-sideband radio (SSB). Their device, also called a terminal node connector (TNC), connects between an onboard radio and computer. It has created a revolution in long-range marine communications, allowing mariners to send and receive worldwide wireless data including e-mail. The SCS radio modem also makes an excellent digital signal processor (DSP) to convert analog radio broadcast weatherfax and NAVTEX signals into digital data an onboard computer can easily display.

The new WeatherFax 2000 version uses this radio modem instead of their conventional
external demodulator hardware cable. This allows sailors to install a simplified system with fewer wires and connectors. The same serial cable and com port that is used for e-mail can be used for weatherfax and other data. This software-only version is offered for approximately half the cost of the demodulator version.

Steven Bowden, President of NavCom Digital, which distributes Xaxero software
in North America, said, "This new version of WeatherFax 2000 represents a significant advance in simplicity for the cruiser who already owns or plans to install the SCS radio modem. Anytime you can reduce the number of components in a system, the reliability of the system increases. The lower price also helps justify the purchase of the radio modem by increasing its versatility. Now, one high-quality digital device can control all computer-based onboard communications."

WeatherFax 2000 is a software system that permits users to receive satellite weatherfax images, charts, navigational telex (NAVTEX), Telex, and Morse code broadcast free from land-based high-frequency (HF) transmitters on SSB frequencies. The system software runs on a personal computer (PC) using the Microsoft Windows operating
system. The system hardware consists of the same standard RS-232 serial cable that
connects between the PC and the SCS radio modem.

This version of WeatherFax 2000 is copy protected - a user may evaluate the
software for a period of 30 days or 30 runs, after which key features of the program
are disabled unless it is registered.

The software can run in the latest Microsoft Windows operating systems and is easy to install and set up. WeatherFax 2000 offers a completely new concept in weatherfax reception called multi-tasking. The fax software can run in the background, unattended, while the computer is utilized for other tasks such as navigation. Yet, when it is needed, the software displays and prints crisp, detailed weather photos and maps. In addition, it can receive text weather information in remote locations, by using either Morse code or NAVTEX.

WeatherFax 2000 features include full compatibility with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, or 2000 operating systems, complete context sensitive help including a detailed tutorial, timer for unattended reception with database, advanced image processing capability, worldwide weather fax frequencies and schedules, and software controls for selected HF radios.

Xaxero Marine Software Engineering, Ltd. can be contacted at PO Box 1, West Park Village, West Harbour, Auckland 1250, New Zealand. Website: www.xaxero.com. NavCom Digital can be contacted at PO Box 1352, Kemah, Texas 77565. Ph: 800-444-2581 or 281-334-1174; Fax: 281-334-3320, E-mail: [email protected]