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.

Cruising Compass is brought to you by 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].

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The Log of Mahina Tiare -- Spitsbergen at last


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 arrive at the Island of Spitsbergen high in the Norwegian Arctic.

Ice bergs, midnight sun and polar bears, oh my!

June 25, 2001 -- 77.41N, 12.59E -- Baro: 1020 ?Broad reaching at 5kts in 9kt SW winds -- 1 mi visibility in fog & drizzle

It's 11 p.m. and we are puzzling at how the western sun will journey across the sky to rise again in the east...by midnight the sun is on it's way east, a bright orb floating across the cloudless sky 15 degrees above the horizon and by 4am it's nearly reached the east to rise on it's daily journey.

By 6 a.m. the sky becomes cloudy as Bear Island looms into view. As we cruise down the west coast, large swells and fog force us to keep a safe distance offshore. Weather conditions are too unsettled to think of landing and since we're expecting the wind to switch further to the north we'd best press on 170 miles for Hornsund on the SE tip of Spitsbergen. Birds by the hundreds keep us company in the light SW winds and whales and dolphins appear briefly, welcoming us to the arctic.

Excitement builds onboard as the crew settle onto sea-life rhythm and Spitsbergen draws closer. At 9 a.m., nine miles from Hornsund, we sight our first piece of ice and begin a game of ice dodge-ums. The wind dies and we motor through ice lumps that grow in size and numbers, their frozen white and compressed blue shapes sigh and breathe in the gray swells like sleeping whales. Soon ice thickens and we are forced to cross a wide band, the large swell jostling and manipulating Mahina Tiare along with the ice. We scramble to assemble our 12' long carbon fiber bergy poles then push lumps away as we twist and shunt our way through.

Sergio stands on the mast pulpit, looking for clear leads through the intensifying ice. Eventually he calls down that he doesn't see any more leads. We are beset seven miles from the entrance to Hornsund, stuck in heavy ice which is crashing and undulating in the ocean swell. These aren't little bergy bits that we just deflect off the bow, but huge, heavy plates of ice, some much larger than Mahina Tiare.

John takes the wheel, putting the engine in gear. When nothing happens he says, "Oh no, we're not moving, I hope we haven't lost the propellor!" He then learns that it is the pressure of the surrounding ice that's preventing the boat from moving forward. Al and I do some massive shoving of bergs from the bow with the poles and manage to open a gap for us to power slowly into, while Sergio stands aft, fending the largest pieces away from the prop with the boat hook. Once we're slowly moving, John calls the Polish Research Station on VHF Ch 16 to enquire about ice conditions in their bay. They reply that the bay directly in front of the base is ice free, but that fog prevents them from seeing further.

The minute John's done talking with the Polish Base, Catherine on Trait d'Union, a 35-foot steel French sloop we had met in Tromso calls us to say they were stuck in heavy ice four miles north of us. There is no panic, but a lot of anxiety in her voice as she says this is their first experience in ice and that neither she nor her husband Daniel know what to do. John tells her that we are moving and can see some leads in the ice ahead, so she says they will try and push south through the pack to join us in Hornsund.

Suddenly through patchy fog we see clear water ahead and call Trait d'Union to tell them the great news! Instead of creeping along at half a knot, we're flying at 7.5 knots, and in less than an hour mountains of ice and rock loom out high in the fog and soon a shoreline with buildings appears. We anchor in the ice-free bay and after lunch visit ashore. Our friends on Trait d'Union and Taonui from Victoria arrive and join us ashore.

The Polish staff of eight scientists are welcoming and show us their humble scientific working facilities of four seismic recording machine, and two small laboratories. We chat with Lisa, a grad student from U.C. Irvine who recently arrived to study little auks, which involves a trek every 6 hours to a marked nesting site for observations on numbers and feeding patterns. She says that the constant threat of polar-bear attack means that for each trip another scientist has to accompany her, keeping watch with a high-powered rifle as she does her bird counting. Over 900 polar bears walked past the base last winter, and one of the three base watchdogs was killed by a bear.

When we asked the base staff if we can hike out to the bay entrance, they say, "Not without rifles!" We have brought ashore with us the two 30.06 guns that we rented in Tromso, so we go exploring. On our way back by the base, we are invited to a shore-side evening beach campfire, but exhausted, we decline.

On Sunday morning, we had a leisurely start to a day surrounded by fog. For morning class we discuss ice tactics and look over the charts and weather faxes. We cruise further into Hornsound and visit an old bear trapper's cabin ashore. We each take a turn shooting the rifles and stick together like glue as we wander the stony beach and sloping hillside carpeted with purple flowering saxifrage and moss, we gaze about in wonder of this arctic paradise. The bay entrance looks fairly clear of ice, and SW winds are forecast which would give us a broad reach for the 115 mile passage to Longyearbyen, so we decide to set sail.

If you'd like to learn more about Svalbard (Spitsbergen), check out these sites:
www.svalbard.com
www.svalbard.net/arktperl.htm (Info Svalbard)
www.sysselmannen.svalbard.no (Svalbard Govenor's office)
www.npolar.no (Norwegian Polar Institute-Research)
www.polar-quest.com (the site of our friends who arranged for our permits and gun rental)

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Pest Control Department
PWC ban in Keys recommended by advisory council


The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary advisory council voted Tuesday to recommend a ban on personal watercraft (PWC) in the sanctuary, a move that will now be considered by a federal agency and will become the subject of public comment. The recommendation by the council to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will also be subject to state scrutiny, according to a report in The Miami Herald, because the sanctuary includes waters in both federal and state jurisdictions. An updated five-year plan for the sanctuary, which may or may not include a recommendation on a PWC ban, won't go to Florida Governor Jeb Bush until next July, said the report.

A Florida statute that prohibits local or country governments or agencies from enacting "discriminatory" laws against PWCs may not be applicable in this case, said the paper, because the law doesn't mention federal or state restrictions. PWC prohibitions already in place in Everglades National Park and in Biscayne National Park are being challenged by PWC industry organizations.

The number of PWCs registered in Monroe County, encompassing the Keys, increased by 29 percent from 1997 to 2000, for a total of 1,721 vessels, reported the paper

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Free Guide to Sailing Adventures


In the July-August issue of Blue Water Sailing, the first annual guide to World Sailing Adventures was published as a free insert. BWS has some of these guides left over and will send you one Free for the asking. The 36-page guide covers bare and crewed boat chartering, sailing schools, offshore sailing expeditions and extreme sailing adventures. All you have to do is e-mail BWS at [email protected]. Please allow two weeks for delivery ? and make sure you send your complete address!

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The Cruising Life - Back in Brazil to the samba beat


We are now in Fortaleza on the north coast of Brazil, tied up at a five-star hotel -- at the exorbitant rate of US$5.50 per day, which includes water, power, and the use of all hotel facilities, including a large tropical swimming pool flowing around palm-tree islands, tennis courts, gym, sauna, and buckets of ice. They treat us as though we were guests at the hotel. It is within walking distance of the old central town, which is very much like a small Mexican city. A short bus ride away is the new high-rise city, with all the banks, modern shopping centers, and restaurants.

We can see why Fortaleza had such a bad reputation among visiting yachts in years past. The yacht club is at the port area, at the other end of the city. You had to traverse a very poor and rough looking favela to get anywhere. Stories of nighttime boardings and robberies were common. Now, visiting boats sit in a large beautifully landscaped, enclosed 50-acre park for the hotel. I am sure The Lonely Planet writers would say we have lost touch with the soul of the people. I say Bravo! We get to keep our dinghy and outboard motor.

Dave Clark, the septegenarian single-hander seeking Guinness Glory (see Cruising Compass #5) is still here, having come down with the flu. He has made the decision to spend the hurricane season in Trinidad, rather than make the dash up the Caribbean Sea to Florida. Good move. We e-mailed information on marinas and yards in Trinidad to his home-base-operating wife in Florida. She will try to line up free berthing for him, which they have been successful at getting for the past three years as he sailed around the world. So, we will again cross paths in Trinidad, and hope for more clarinet solos on those off-season nights at anchor. Perhaps with a steel-band backup.

Yesterday, a quick trip to the supermarket showed the easy side of life in Brazil. The large modern supermarket was stocked to overflowing with fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, meats, and all brands of provisions. On checking out, the manager, Gustavo, appeared with a small handheld radio. The groceries were packed in plastic crates, with chilled foods in a insulated cold box, then loaded in the store's van, and immediately delivered to the marina. The box boys even carried everything down the dock to the boat. "Any time" said Gustavo. Next visit I will ask if they peel grapes for good customers.

Amid the first runs through town, we made it to the Policia Federal to clear in. All of the bureaucracy in Brazil has been the same. Much detail, much paperwork, and very friendly. When our clearance paper from Salvador turned out to be incorrect, he made up one for us, fully dated and stamped. All with a smile. It would not be unusual in other parts of the world to be very much hassled, and threatened with sailing back the 1,000 miles to have it changed. Or, more than likely, the mordida - the bite - in cash under the table, to ignore it. So, Brazil seems to be several different countries living in the same place at the same time. Regular warnings of crime, great swaths of poverty, numerous sophisticated modern areas, invariably relaxed and friendly people, all moving to the maddening scream of Samba, disco, and Brazilian rap music. As Yul Bruner would have said to Anna in Siam: "It's a puzzlement".

Bill Healy
Amadon Light
In Forteleza, Brazil

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From Jimmy Cornell's Noonsite.com


Veteran cruising sailor, author and rally organizer Jimmy Cornell has launched a new website for cruisers that is brimming with valuable information and carries regular news updates and short features on the cruising life. Log on to www.noonsite.com.

Book Review -- The Mind of the Sailor

Source: Gaynor Hodgson (Noonsite.com contributor)

The Mind of the Sailor is a new book exploring the emotional and intellectual aspects of sailing and how they affect cruising and racing yachtsmen alike. It begins by looking at the make-up of a successful skipper, the importance of promoting harmony on board, the particular stresses and strains of the long-distance cruising lifestyle and what makes sailors abandon ship in the face of danger.

Historical chapters consider Captain Bligh and ask why he precipitated a mutiny not only on the Bounty but on several ships under his command. The intense psychological pressure surrounding Donald Crowhurst's disappearance is examined, and events leading up to the double murder on the cruising yacht Appollonia are analysed.

Leading sailing personalities including Sir Chay Blyth, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding and Naomi James answer questions about how sailing has evolved in recent years to include 'extreme sailing', why sailors race singlehanded across the world's most inhospitable oceans, the rise of women skippers, and how the communications revolution has affected the way we put to sea.

The Mind of the Sailor, Peter Noble and Ros Hogbin.
Published 31 July 2001 by Adland Coles Ltd.
ISBN 0 7136 5025 7

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Tech Thoughts
Bonding your on-board electrical system: A different perspective


There are certain practices that are considered gospel by many boat owners, builders and service professionals just because they've been told they are so. One of these is bonding all underwater fittings on a yacht. It's considered good practice by many leading boat builders and in fact they go out of their way to do so, often laminating ground straps into the hull laminate to facilitate the practice. But is this really a good idea and if so, who has proven it so?

When I was in the process of fitting out a wooden 65 ft motorsailor for charter many years ago, I found that the yacht had a serious problem with electrolysis. My father-in-law, a highly skilled electrical engineer and a long-time yachtsman, came aboard one day with a pair of bolt cutters and cut all of the bonding straps. This cured the electrolysis problem immediately. If you think about it, the reason is as clear as day.....you have a boat with multiple through-hulls, each of them probably a slightly dissimilar metal and in addition, you may have a lead keel and a stainless steel shaft engine shaft. All of these metals are connected together on one side by an electrolyte (salt water). Adding a bonding strap between them on the other side completes the circuit, making for an efficient battery.

Not only can bonding cause electrolytic action, but when you have an electrical short in the yacht it can greatly magnify the problem. I know of one yacht on it's maiden delivery trip from Newport, R.I. to Bermuda that developed a short in a bilge pump. Because of bonding wires, stray current was directed to all of the through-hulls, which failed one-by-one during the short delivery trip.

So if you're having a problem with electrolysis consider cutting those bonding wires. And, if you have a yacht with bonding built into the hull, consider getting plastic through-hulls if your metal ones show signs of electrolysis.

Don McNair
President, www.eBare.com,
Merritt Island, Fla.

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