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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CRUISING COMPASS - # 8 - SEPTEMBER 5, 2001

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].

To review the full archive of past Cruising Compasses go to www.cruisingcompass.com

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The Skinny on Transiting Suez


 

(Notes from the Blue Water Rally Fleet's organizer Peter Seymour following the transiting of the Suez Canal last spring.)

Our Blue Water Rally fleet transited the Suez Canal and I thought that you may appreciate an update on the current situation regarding increases in fees for yachts. Unlike the Panama Canal, where there is a fixed-price structure depending on boat length, the new charges for yachts are dependent upon a complicated measuring formula based on the `Danube Rule'. This measurement has hitherto been applied solely to commercial shipping and is designed to ascertain the bulk carrying capacity of a vessel. It seeks to establish the cubic capacity of a yacht less that area allocated to the actual running of the vessel, such as the size of engine rooms etc.

Having studied the fees levied against a number of vessels transiting the Canal, we have ascertained that the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) calculation of 'tonnage' is very roughly double the gross tonnage. There are so many minor variations in the design of yachts which unfortunately make the exact calculation significantly difficult to determine. The result is a widely varying scale of charges, which only vaguely reflects yacht length.

Unlike independent yachtsmen, who may find it difficult to assess the variations that can occur between yachts, we have been able to compare the fees levied against our Blue Water Rally fleet and there are some interesting contrasts eg: Bowman 40 - US$190, Vancouver 38 at US$203 and even an Oyster 49 at US$ 232 were cheaper than a Westerly Corsair 36 at US$ 234. A 62ft American Bougainvillea was charged US$ 412 and a Najad 52 had to pay US$ 552. A steel Bill Dixon-designed Jarratt 50-footer at US$ 217 and a Hallberg Rassy 49 at US$346. Most expensive of all was a Prout 46ft catamaran which was to be over US$ 600 until we protested and the charge was reduced to US$274!!

These charges are for the SCA transit fees, which includes the cost of pilotage, permission to transit, special canal insurance and Ministry of Transport tax. It should be noted that in addition to the above charges approximately a further US$120 should be added which covers Agent's fees (mandatory) and Port and Light dues. The individual charge previously placed on each crew of US$ 10 has been scrapped and the fee imposed last year by The Egyptian Ministry of Transport of US$120 per yacht has been reduced as this was a standard charge for commercial shipping and was applied in error to yachts. There is now a flat rate for yachts of US$ 40 which is part of the SCA transit fee. Very roughly a standard 50 footer can vary in overall cost from US$ 337 to an amazing US$ 672 due to the apparent vagaries of the measurement system. The agent we recommend is the Prince of the Red Sea Company, 36 Gohar El-Kayed Street, Port Tewfik, Suez, Egypt Fax: 00-20-62-330965 e-mail: [email protected] The contacts are: Mr Ashraf Soukar or Captain Heebe.

You may be interested to note that we have written to the Governor of the Suez Canal Authority expressing our concerns at the lack of a coherent measurement system for yachts. We have urged that there should be a table based on either gross tonnage as represented in the Yacht Register or length overall. Future yachtsmen will recognize this as a fair and straightforward system against which they may be able to calculate charges.

Note: The next Blue Water Round the World Cruising Rally 2001-3 departs Gibraltar on
October 28, arriving Jolly Harbour Marina, Antigua (via Tenerife in the Canary Islands) in early December. The rally is a cruising-only event, with no racing. Yachts range from 37-70 feet, with majority in the 40-to-50 foot range. One of the advantages of joining a Blue Water Rally is the ability to "drop out" in the Pacific, e.g. at Fiji or Cairns, for a year or more so you can enjoy a visit to New Zealand or spend another cruising season in the Pacific islands. The rally organizers provide hospitality and event services in each port of call and logistical support for the fleet while underway. North American cruisers may join the rally in the Caribbean or in the South Pacific. For more information contact Peter Seymour, Blue Water Rallies, Windson Cottage, Chedworth, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England GL54 4AA. Phone: 44-1285-720-904. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.yachtrallies.co.uk.

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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 log of Mahina Tiare - Exploring Spitsbergen - Glaciers, bears, walruses and beautiful landscapes


 

John Neal and Amanda Swan-Neal run Mahina Expeditions aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 46 Mahina Tiare. We join them as they continue to explore Norway's high Artic island of Spitsbergen. (If you have an atlas handy, one that shows Norway's Arctic islands, you can follow MT's cruise more easily.)

We press north under gray skies, sighting looming mountains and gleaming glaciers. By 1200, we round Spitsbergen's NW corner expecting to encounter heavy concentrations of ice but surprisingly, the waters are ice-free and we race across the top of Spitsbergen to arrive at the sandy atoll island of Moffen by 1830. Success! 80 degrees north!

We celebrate with dinner at anchor, watching 40 walruses wallow on the beach and frolic in the waves. We use the range ring on our Raytheon radar to check that we stay the minimum 300 meters off the island.

Decimated by hunting for their hides, tusks and blubber, only 37 walruses were sighted in 1964. Now their population is around 1,000 and these Obebenus rosmarus "toothwalking" animals are an unusual sight. We raise anchor at 2130 in search of a calmer evening anchorage.

The vast expanse of Liefdedjorden to the south of Moffen greets us with a still calm in the wee hours of the morning. Light descends through gray clouds and bounces off snowy mountains, glaciers and bergy bits through a pink haze that hangs in the cold air. We weave through the Andyoyane islands, low covered tundra mounds, and spot what we were in search of....an ice bear (polar bear) wandering across the beach. He strolls in to the water and sets off swimming for the far shore. We ghost along...watching.

Once anchored at 0400, we take a dinghy trip and spot a mum and cub snoozing on the hilltop. Mum is not interested but the little guy keeps popping up his head, inquisitive as to what we are. These are so called fjord-polar bears who do not follow the pack ice but stay behind in the summer eating birds eggs, berries and moss. Before leaving Andoyane after a few hours of sleep we have eight polar bear sightings. Impressive! Our next anchorage is the protected glacier of Holmiab on the NW corner, a long, snowy and gray 50-mile motor sail to arrive at 2300. Inspecting the glacier wall by dinghy in the morning we are daunted by it's size...it didn't look that big from the anchorage!

Ashore, we swing by a hut at the bay's entrance and, noticing a Zodiac tied to shore, stop for a visit with the two Sysselmannen rangers based here to report weather, wildlife and tourist activity.

In exchange for a hot shower aboard they provided answers to our many questions and a guided tour of the whaling site containing stone walls for the blubberpots and whalers' graves with protruding bones.

We sail on for Virgohamna, Danskoya Island, to view the remains of many attempts in the late 1800's, by balloon, to reach the North Pole. Ashore, guided by a map, we identify the pieces of strewn hodgepodge; wood, wire, rust and pipes become the framework of buildings and technical equipment needed to fly the giant airships of Andree and Wellman. Remains of a Dutch whaling settlement are situated in the center, an overflow town from Smeerengurg (blubbertown)on the far shore. Continuing on for the day we anchor late in the evening at Magdalena fjorden, enjoying a short night surrounded by glaciers and high mountains.

A morning wake up call from Hans, the Magdalena Bay policeman, had us scrambling out of bed and whipping up pancakes. It's fun for us to chat with these guys, stationed here for just eight weeks and hear their stories. Hans' normal job is in state security, similar to the FBI, and he lives in Kristiansund, where he enjoys sailing his folkboat with his wife and girls. He has long dreamed of owning a Hallberg-Rassy boat, so we leave him with a poster of the HR 31.

Ny Alesund is our next port and we arrive in early evening and tie dockside so we can take on fuel and water. We invite Paul, the power plant engineer who sells of diesel fuel, aboard for dinner and are fascinated that he is the third generation of his family to work and live on Spitsbergen. His grandparents were hunters and trappers, and his parents were captured when the Germans seized Spitsbergen during the war. Now Paul and his wife have the only child in Ny Alesund, an 18 month old baby girl who is well doted on by the community of 80.

Ny Alesund is a modern research station with scientific bases from 17 nations studying radiation, magnetism, meteorological, geophysical and seismology observations year round, while in summer fieldwork such as glaciology, botany and zoology is undertaken. We explore town, chat with few scientist and maintenance crew, stock up on souvenirs before heading south to a quiet anchorage on the SE side of Forlandsundet.

We're beam reaching at 6.8 knots for the Russian coal mining town of Barentsburg, 40 miles to the West of Longyearbyen in Isfjorden and from all accounts this working settlement of 800 people should prove an fascinating stop. As we won't have satellite reception once in Isforden we will have to end our log entries for this leg here. It's been a fabulous two weeks with a crew that have risen with eager smiles to all events and adventures, the scenery continues to astound us and we are keen to undertake more adventures on the next leg, sailing north again, then back to Tromso on the mainland.

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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 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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South Pacific Cruising - Staying flexible, waiting for parts


 

We have to stay flexible. Our path in not always what we expected. We have learned not to seek control but to try and make the most of each ay as it is given to us. Our plan to sail with Theresa (who is visiting from home) to many of the nearby islands did not materialize. We had an engine problem which required that we have a part flown in from Germany and we were promised it would arrive and repairs would be made before Theresa's arrival. It didn't. In fact, it still isn't on the boat and Theresa has returned to Richmond. No engine means no power except what we are able to get from our little wind generator...when there is wind. That is why we aren't sending many e-mails. We have very little power. Theresa's visit was a joy and we saw much more of Tahiti and her people than we would have if we had moved on as planned.

We took a "safari" trip across the center of the island in a 4-wheel-drive Land Rover on dirt/mud roads you wouldn't believe. As we drove through mountains 8000 ft high and the roads were barely wide enough for the Land Rover with sheer drops on one side and rock cliffs on the other. Parts of the road had washed out badly. Not a trip for the faint hearted. But the beauty...God's majesty was spread before us. Many waterfalls over a thousand feet high all around us. Sometimes we would be looking at five or six at once! We stopped at two crater lakes and the mirror reflections were magnificent. The bright blue sky, emerald jungle and soaring mountains... all reflecting on the shimmering surface of the lake. There are plans and money allocated to put a road through these pristine mountains in the next two years. What a loss that will be. It's like paving paradise to put up a parking lot. We also took the Jet Ferry to the island of Moorea and snorkled among her myriad of rainbow tropical fish in crystal clear water. These were wonderful days...not what we planned but perhaps better because of their spontaneity.

Dianne and Garland Flournoy
Cornelia Maria
Tahiti, French Polynesia

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Round the world rally route and dates finalized


 

Source: Loisirs Nautiques

(The following report first appeared on Jimmy Cornell's website noonsite.com, which is a invaluable resource for cruisers that contains both resource information on routes and ports worldwide but also regular updates from correspondents in the best cruising areas.)

A round the world rally will start from Bordeaux, France, in September 2002 and will finish in the famous French port in June 2004. The announcement was made by Gildas de Gouvello, publisher of Loisirs Nautiques magazine, at an offshore cruising seminar held at La Corderie Royale in Rochefort. The seminar was held in the historic setting of the beautifully restored 17th Century ropewalk and was attended by over 200 sailors many of whom expressed a keen interest to join the first ever event of this kind to start from France. (Note: boats from North America may join the rally in Panama or in the South Pacific.)

A carefully chosen route will give participants the chance to visit some of the most beautiful cruising grounds of the world. After stops on the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal, the fleet will visit the Canaries and West Africa before crossing the Atlantic to Martinique. Having reached the South Pacific via the Panama Canal, the route will stop at various island groups on its way to the Torres Straits and the South Indian Ocean. The Cape of Good Hope will be passed early in 2004 in time to reach Salvador da Bahia for its famous carnival.

The outbound route will be recrossed in the Caribbean before the fleet will make a symbolic detour to New York, and a visit to the UN, dictated by the theme of the rally: the rights of the child. Stops in Bermuda and the Azores will bring the fleet back to Bordeaux in time for the wine festival that is celebrated every year in this world famous wine producing area.

For logistical reasons, the fleet will be limited at 30 yachts, with a minimum length of 11 metres (36 feet). Both monohulls and multihulls are accepted, and the position of each boat will be featured daily on a dedicated website. During the course of the rally various events will be inspired by its theme "The rights of the child": The twinning of various schools in Bordeaux with a school in each of the 44 ports visited by the round the world rally; A charter outlining the rights of the child will be handed over at official functions held at every stop to focus attention on the abuse and neglect still suffered by children in many parts of the world; Each yacht will be sponsored by one of the famous wine producers of the Bordeaux region and will carry around the world a case of their wine. These will be auctioned on arrival in New York and Bordeaux and the proceeds donated to a children's charity. To ensure the safe delivery of their cargo, each crew will be generously endowed with its own supply of wine.

Contact Florence Martin: Loisirs Nautiques, B.P. 140, 33151 .Cenon Cedex, France. Tel: 0033 557 809195, Fax 0033 557 809190 .Email: [email protected]

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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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