Welcome to 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.

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

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The Cruising Life - Cruisers Gam on a South Atlantic Isle


 

We are still at Fernando de Noronha Island, and it appears to be a way
station for South African yachts fleeing the country. It is sad to see and
hear their stories, as the ones now leaving are those who were determined to
stay when Mandela came in. They speak of great increases in crime, and all
have stories of robberies or attacks on themselves or family members.
Inflation has been increasing rapidly, and the Rand continues to plummet. It
is now R8 to US$1. It was 4 to 1 when we were there in 1993. Property values
are dropping like stones, and savings are being wiped out.

We were alone for several days after arriving. Within three days four South
African boats came in, and three more are due in several days. None are
going back. Few have any idea of where they will go, or what they will do.
All are just going. A couple on a 35-foot boat he built are heading for the
Caribbean to look for work. He is 75 and many years retired. He thinks he
has another 5 years to make some money to again retire.

Early yesterday morning there was the sound of another boat nearby. On
looking out we saw a black-hulled 33-foot boat flying a large American flag
swinging to anchor. On the bow was painted in large gold script, the name
'Mickey'. We had heard of the boat and the fellow aboard. His name is Dave
Clark, and he set out from Florida in 1993 to make an entry in the Guinness
Book of World Records as the oldest singlehander to circumnavigate under
sail. Well, that attempt came to grief in the Indian Ocean in 1995, when the
boat was dismasted and sank. He was rescued by an ocean freighter, but
everything he owned was aboard the lost boat.

Dave returned to the States, and somehow got another boat for another try at
the record. He left Florida again in 1998, and the second attempt came to
grief as well. The boat opened up and sank 150 miles off of Cape Town, South
Africa, earlier this year. Again he made it ashore in Port Elizabeth, and
within months had another boat to continue on from Cape Town on the final
run to Florida. It is about 3,000 miles to Fort Lauderdale, and if this boat
does not sink along the way, he will be given quite a welcome on arrival. I
did not mention that Dave Clark is now 77 years old.

We had a small party aboard Amadon Light for him yesterday evening, and
invited the two remaining South African boats as well. Half way through the
drinks, eats, and sea stories, Dave opened his backpack and pulled out a
clarinet. Seems he makes his living busking, playing the clarinet
accompanying tapes of the Big Bands of the 1930's. So, unexpectedly, we had
entertainment at anchor, which was a great surprise and a delight to the
nine of us on board. He is a raconteur as well as a sailor and musician, so
we all had to work to hold up our ends of the conversation.

After one night's sleep he had great difficulty pulling up the anchor by
hand and getting under way. By late afternoon 'Mickey' was just a dot on the
western horizon, moving slowly in light airs. We expect to catch up with him
in Fortaleza, Brazil, as we will sail on the weekend. There is another cloud
on 'Mickey's' horizon, as Dave feels under great pressure to make Florida by
August, as CNN and other TV stations are expecting him in. That puts him in
the Caribbean during the hurricane season. A risk we would never take,
Guinness Book and television cameras or not.

Bill Healy
Amadon Light
Fernando de Noronha

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Cruise in comfort.


 

Cruising sailors deserve high performance and comfortable clothing. Check
out what can make a world of difference to your disposition when you're
spending days on the water. It's the Camet 3000 Sailing Shorts. They are
made of fast drying Supplex and are reinforced with a Cordura seat patch, to
add an optional 1/4 inch foam padding. --your butt will thank you. Check out
the Camet sailing gear: www.camet.com

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The Log of Mahina Tiare - Sailing to Spitsbergen, Saving an Eider duck


 

John Neal and Amanda Swan-Neal run Mahina Expeditions aboard their
Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare. This year they have generously consented to
allow the readers of Cruising Compass to sail with them via the regular logs
of their sailing adventures. We pick them up in late June as they and their
expedition crew sail on toward Spitsburgen high in the Norwegian Arctic.

June 21 -- 72.59N, 19.31E -- Baro: 1018 - Broad reaching at 7-8 kts, ESE
winds @ 18-24 kts Clear skies!

It's the Summer Solstice - the longest day of the year! We're sailing 80
miles south of Bear Island and 230 miles south of Spitsbergen in great
conditions. The passage from Tromso to Svalbard (Spitsbergen to
non-Norwegians) is higher latitude sailing than Cape Horn to Antarctica with
the same potential for serious weather conditions. However, it looks like
the Weather Goddess has smiled on Mahina Tiare! Our Leg 2 crew joined us
Tuesday noon and by 1500 we were underway for a favorite anchorage.

Yesterday we practiced Lifesling overboard procedures on our way to a final
stop for fuel and a hike at Vannag, before sailing to Spitsbergen. We had
the best of summer's day to date, although a cold front will be blowing
through tomorrow night bringing rain and a wind shift.

The discussion of sailing to Spitsbergen arose in 1996 during our Antartica
expedition, at the suggestion of crew. Now, five years later, two Antarctica
crew are joining us, Al Maher, on this leg, and Bob Franke on the return
trip to Tromso. Only a handful of sailboats receive permission from the
governor to sail to Spitsbergen during the six-week window. Expensive Search
and Rescue insurance is required and the governor requires that anyone
venturing ashore outside the settlements carry a large caliber rifle for
protection against polar bear attacks. (Polar bears killed and ate two
people last summer.) We rented two 30.06 WWII Mausers from a sports store in
Tromso and have our permission papers from the governor onboard.

Ice conditions are a constant concern, and when we left Gothenburg the ice
charts displayed thick ice extending to Bear Island, 150 miles south of
Spitsbergen. Light northerly winds over the past few months have pushed more
ice south but this past week the winds switched to southerly and the ice
situation (according to the Norwegian forecasters) appears better.

Two nights before leaving Tromso, we admired a female Eider duck passing by
with four tiny ducklings in tow. A minute later there were only three, then
a tiny duckling, barely able to swim, floated between Mahina Tiare and the
Canadian yacht Taonui that we were rafted to. Tony from Taonui scooped the
duckling up in a bucket and we went looking for its mother, who had
disappeared under the dock. No luck on finding mum and the duckling seemed
on its last legs as it was smothered in diesel oil from one of the many
slicks in the harbor.

Amanda washed him in warm water and set him to dry on a towel in front of
the heater. Within 20 minutes, Tromso (Amanda rejected my suggestion of
naming him "Diesel" in favor of "Tromso") had warmed up enough to open his
eyes, raise his tiny fuzzy yellow and black head and make feeble squeaks.
That night Amanda lined a plastic case with a towel, put in a hot water
bottle and kept Tromso next to her in bed. In the morning when I opened the
box Tromso took off, tearing up and down the length of the boat, peeping
excitedly and occasionally tripping over his big feet, exploring every
cabin. We never found the mother, but a pet store near the harbor said they
would try and find a home for him, which they did that afternoon. We sure
miss the little guy and hope he does OK.

Here's an introduction to our high-latitude adventures crew:

Al Maher, 55, has sailed with us nearly every year for the past ten years is
a commercial property manager who sails on San Francisco Bay.

Liz McLoughlin, 60, is an ex-Catholic nun who is now an injury prevention
researcher. She and her husband recently bicycled & camped 3,900 miles from
Boston to San Francisco with her 22 & 24 yr old niece and nephew

Tom Hall, 70, took our weekend Offshore Cruising Seminar in 1983 and then
sailed their Downeaster 38 from Seattle to New Zealand. They also sailed to
Cape Horn with us in 1995 and Tom, an international health planner sailed
with us to Pitcain Is. As soon as they return from Norway they take delivery
of their new Nordhaven 40 long-range power cruising boat and proceed from
Dana Pt, CA to Alaska.

Richard Ressman, 59, is an orthopedic surgeon from Chicago who sails on the
Great Lakes and is looking forward to more sailing after he retires next
year.

Larry Avins, 54, is a retina surgeon from St. Louis who recently sold his
Swan 43 that he enjoyed cruising aboard in the Caribbean.

Sergio Aquino, 31, is an economist from Brazil who is presently living in
the San Francisco area and may circumnavigate Vancouver Island this summer.

These folks make an eager and cohesive crew for this potentially challenging
expedition. One of the real benefits of the high latitudes in mid-summer
(today is the summer solstice!) is that the sun never sets. In fact it never
even got close to the horizon last night. It sure makes landfall and ice
navigation easier.

For more on sailing expeditions with Mahina Tiare log on to
www.mahinaexpeditions.com

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Sailing courses for women in October


 

Sea Sense have announce they will be initiating courses for women who want
to learn to sail, or sail better, on San Francisco Bay this October. Sea
Sense, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., will be running these two seven-day
courses starting on October 14 and October 21. These live-aboard courses
will cover helmsmanship, sail trim, boat handling, navigation, docking and
anchoring, safety equipment and man-overboard prevention and recovery. The
courses will be taught aboard a fully-equipped 43-foot sloop.

Patti Moore, co-founder of Sea Sense, said, "The big bay has been calling us
for a long time and since October weather is perfect, that's when we'll be
there."

For more information contact Sea Sense, P.O. Box 1961, St. Petersburg, FL
33731. Ph: 800-332-1404.

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South Pacific Cruising -- Tahiti at last, and now it's wash day!


 

We arrived late yesterday afternoon in Papeete, Tahiti after a six day
passage from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas which led through the atolls of the
Tuamotus. After the villages of the Marquesas, Papeete is a metropolis. The
first thing we did after arrival is go to the grocery store. It was a
supermarket with everything we would find at home. We splurged on candy and
junk food. We are anchored stern to shore with two lines tied on shore. This
morning we are enjoying a welcome rain. We are able to fill our tanks with
rain water instead of lugging jugs of water from shore. We have an awning
over our cockpit with a long hose which runs to the deck fitting for our
water tanks. God is sending lots of fresh rain to fill them. You are so
lucky to have clean water on tap any time you want it. Take nothing for
granted. In the Marquesas we washed clothes in two wash tubs (one for soap
and one for rinse). Do you know how much muscle it takes to wring out sheets
and towels by hand? A lot! On washdays our boat is festooned with laundry
from stem to stern. With luck we will find a laundromat here so that we can
have clean sheets.

Dianne & Garland Flournoy
Cornelia Maria
Tahiti, French Polynesia

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Fall Boat Shows are Coming Soon


 

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. With the new boatsbank program, brought to you by our friends at
boats.com, 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

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Tech Report -- In-boom mainsail systems


 

The following tech report on in-boom mainsail systems appears in the
September 2001 issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine

Two years ago, BWS examined in-boom mainsail furling systems and concluded,
at the time, that boom manufacturers, riggers and sailmakers - not to
mention boat owners - did not have enough experience with in-boom systems
for the magazine to recommend this gear for extended passagemaking and
offshore sailing. With regard to boom furling, we remarked in May 1999, "the
fact that a high degree of operator expertise is necessary for proper
operation is worrisome."

In the intervening years, all that has changed. Furling boom systems
available today from the five companies that have invested in the ongoing
process of refining their equipment reflect extensive use at sea, and early
engineering glitches have been rotated out if not eliminated altogether.
Moreover, riggers and sailmakers have learned the art of fitting ancillary
hardware and building the sails so that all the complex pieces work
together.

The reasons for the in-boom revolution are fundamental to good seamanship
and enjoyable sailing. Unlike in-mast systems, boom furlers allow the
mainsail to be lowered conventionally should the furling device fail; unlike
the sails required for in-mast systems, the mainsail for a boom furler can
be cut with plenty of shape, ample roach and full horizontal battens; unlike
the spars required by in-mast systems, the spar for a boom furler can be
lighter, smaller in diameter, and tuned at will (read: bent) with standing
rigging adjustment. In a slab reefing situation, you can reef an in-boom
main efficiently from the safety of the cockpit, and you can dial in the
amount of sail you want to fly, which allows you to balance the helm in a
wide range of conditions.

Of the five systems on the market, the Hi Lo Reefer from John Mast in
Denmark (distributed in the U.S. by Bente Trading Co.) and the Leisurefurl
(Forespar) have been out there the longest and both companies have hundreds
of successful installations under their belts. The Profurl system has been
available for five years and has gained wide market acceptance. The Furlboom
originated in Australia and is now manufactured in the U.S. by Yachting
Systems of America. Last though certainly not least, Schaefer Marine is
introducing their new entry in the in-boom market this fall.

The systems vary in their degrees of complexity, installation and cost, yet
amidst that variety lurks a model for just about any boat from 20 to 80
feet.

Furling system profiles

Hi Lo Reefer: Developed by Danish spar manufacturer John Mast, the Hi Lo
Reefer appear in 1991 in Europe as the Jon Boom. The Hi Lo Reefer is one of
the simplest and lightest units on the market. The stainless-steel gooseneck
can be retrofitted to most mast sections. The furling drum is positioned at
the aft end of the boom, which minimizes the offset between the sail's luff
and the mast - an offset filled with a foil section of new mast track made
either of PVC or of aluminum. The Hi Lo Reefer shows the narrowest aperture
in the top of the boom of all the models, and it is the only model on which
the foot outhaul can be mechanically tightened or loosened. It has been
engineered for boats from 20 to 50 feet.

Leisurefurl: The Leisureful concept was developed in New Zealand in the late
1980s and to date more than 1,500 systems have been installed worldwide.
Forespar now manufactures and markets Leisureful in the States.
Leisurefurl's ingenious solution to minimizing the offset between the
furling mainsail luff and the mast has been to place the furling drum on the
forward side of the mast with the drive axel led through the mast to a
universal joint at the forward end of the rotating mandrel just above the
gooseneck. The mainsail then feeds into a narrow PVC track installed in the
existing mast track. The sail's foot attaches to the mandrel only for the
middle third of the foot's length, winding that component first so that
draft in the sail can be flattened efficiently simply by taking in on the
reefing line. Also, given this draft control, the sail can be built a little
fuller than is possible with the other systems. For boats 30 to 80 feet.

Furlboom: Developed in Australia, the Furlboom is similar in many ways to
the Leisureful. The main difference lies in the placement of the furling
drum on the after side of the mast below the gooseneck, which facilitates
retrofitting the system on an existing spar. The mandrel is turned by a
universal joint driven by the control drum. The sail runs in a one-piece PVC
track fitted to the existing mast track. The boom itself is a tapered box
section with a wide-open top and internal counter-catenary roller
stabilizers. Furlboom uses the same approach as Leisureful for sail
flattening, wherein a middle and after section of the mandrel winds on
before the forward section at the tack. For boats 30 to 60 feet.

Profurl: Already a leader in the roller-furling headsail market, Profurl's
relatively novel solution to making in-boom systems work efficiently differs
from solutions that came before it. Placing the furling drum at the
gooseneck of course dictates that the sail's luff be offset as much as four
inches aft of the mast. Profurl has devised an articulating luff track
mounted on aluminum brackets let into the existing mast track. The luff
track remains parallel to the boom as the sail is trimmed, which reduces the
friction caused by binding and improves the aerodynamic laminar flow of wind
over the sail's leading edge. The grooves in the luff track are
asymmetrical, designed to prevent the bolt rope from jamming when the sail
flogs. The boom has a wide-open top, which reduces the chance of a jam when
furling and allows the boom to serve as an excellent water catchment system
for cruisers. The mandrel rides on graphite-lubricated nylon bearings. For
boats from 30 to 60 feet.

Schaefer: Schaefer Marine's new in-boom system was introduced last summer
and will be shown for the first time at the fall boat shows. Schaefer is a
leading manufacturer of marine hardware and has been building robust
roller-furling headsail systems for 25 years. The fruit of several years of
research and engineering trials, the new boom-furling system sports a
freestanding track mounted aft of the mast (similar to Profurl's),
articulated to pivot with the angle of the sail and boom. A stainless-steel
guide has been incorporated into the sail feeding process, which keeps the
sail from bunching as it is rolled. The furling drum has been placed at the
aft end of the boom, where it is easily serviced and avoids complicating
matters at the gooseneck. Schaefer uses oversize Torlon bearings on the
mandrel ends. The foot of the sail fits on the full length of the mandrel
so, unlike the Leisurefurl or Furlboom systems, rolling in a flattening reef
involves rolling up a full panel of the sail. For boats 34 to 53 feet.

BWS Thoughts

In-boom furling systems are neither simple nor inexpensive, however the new
generation of equipment available today represents a huge step forward in
the quest to simplify sail handling. You can expect to pay between $6,000
and $12,000 for a complete system (including vang, blocks, line stoppers and
whatnot); on larger boats adding an electric winch and double-acting
hydraulic vang would seem virtually essential.

BWS has sail-tested the Leisurefurl, Furlboom, Profurl and Schaefer systems
and we've found that all work remarkably well - better by leaps and bounds,
incidentally, than the predecessors and prototypes that led the way to these
units only a few years ago. Notably and regrettably we have not tested the
Hi Lo reefer. Our sea trials showed us - not surprisingly - that the
adeptness of furling and unfurling was in direct proportion to the
experience level of the operators. Conversely, a test sail with green
sailors gave us a look at what can go wrong during the learning process,
including botched roll-ups due to uneven halyard tension, sail creep on the
mandrel due to an incorrect boom angle, and the like.

We found that reefing when running dead downwind was difficult but not
impossible. The articulated sail tracks on the Profurl and Schaefer systems
helped here. Certainly, heading up from a dead run to allow the sail to luff
makes reefing considerably easier. Jibing aboard any sailboat requires the
crew's attention, but with a furling boom the jibe has to be extra smooth;
the new booms are heavy, so a crash jibe can do real damage to people and
gear, and a complete Chinese gibe can damage the boom's working parts. We
suggest fitting a boom brake for offshore sailing.

When considering a system, look for one that is well supported in your area
by a sailmaker and rigger. Correct installation and a sail designed to the
system's specs are vital. If you are going world cruising, a system
supported by an international dealer network will add to your peace of mind.

In-boom roller furling is going to simplify sail handling on our cruising
boats and should allow us to continue cruising longer in life. Those are
good things. Being able to report that time in the field and technical
refinement have added immeasurably to the ease of use and dependability of
this equipment makes it much easier to recommend it in the pages of this
magazine.

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GET TWO ISSUES OF BLUE WATER SAILING FREE


 

Are you ready to go cruising to the far ends of the earth or do you like
cruising closer to home? Either way, Blue Water Sailing magazine is for you
- if you love cruising. Every issue is filled with cruising stories,
in-depth reviews of boats, gear and equipment. We offer sound advice on
seamanship, navigation and the art and science of sailing a cruising boat.
The magazine's regular contributors include circumnavigators Jimmy Cornell,
Brian Hancock, Beth Leonard, and Bill Beiwenga - so you know they have the
experience to tell it like it is. You can have TWO ISSUES of Blue Water
Sailing ABSOLUTELY FREE by logging on to www.bwsailing.com. Look for the 2
FREE ISSUES button.

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