Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Cruising Helmsman

Unlike paper-rock-scissors, this is no game and is actually, according to Pantaenius Insurance, deadly serious. The following is actually about more traditional forms of navigation and obligations as a skipper. It is the definitive statement in the great digital versus analogue debate. Clobal positioning systems (GPS) and chartplotters have been a tremendous development, aiding in both the accessibility and ease of use when it comes to navigation. As such, they have also introduced a whole new category of sailor to the wonders of the ocean. However, the perception is incorrect. It is the skipper’s responsibility to have Admiralty (hydrographer) charts with them. After all, safety at sea begins and ends with the skipper. Thinking of changing a cruising destination? You are required to notify Pantaenius Insurance of this, but it…

Yachties in New South Wales are benefitting from complimentary access to some of Sydney Harbour’s best marina facilities as part of the expanding ‘Sydney Harbour destinations plan’, now in its third year. Nineteen commercial marinas have opened doors to the boating public since the NSW Government launched the Sydney Harbour Boating Destinations Plan in 2013 to improve access for boaters through casual, short term berthing or mooring and access to key facilities. “Our iconic harbour is the jewel in Sydney’s crown and some of Sydney’s finest marinas offer boaters free access all year around to allow them to hop off, take a break, or grab something to eat or drink,” Director Maritime Angus Mitchell said. “Nineteen popular locations including Rose Bay, Gladesville and Mosman are offering this service for anyone…

Crossing one of the roughest pieces of water in the world without any sailing experience? What would you call it: naive, risky, brave? Would this be another crewing horror story? German adventurer, Gesine and her skipper, John Allen share the tale. Gesine: Guten tag, mein name ist Gesine und ich bin ein backpacker aus Deutschland. This is the story of how I backpacked across Bass Strait, the highlight of my eleven months in Australia and one of my biggest adventures ever. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that this dream came true as I did not have much on my side. All I had was big, big luck. John: It all started with a conversation on Barrenjoey Light, a Catalina 470, in a Hobart marina. “John, I don’t think…

The day had finally arrived for the cabin top to be glued on. A milestone to be celebrated with a customary ‘roof shout’. The top was carefully positioned in place once the glue had been applied to the bonding surface and, because the top had been dry fitted many, many times before, they knew it would fit perfectly. So it did and finally we had our cabin top in place for good. The guys had to set to work after it was bedded down to remove any excess glue and ensure all surfaces were nicely bonded. Then weight was applied on top to keep the pressure on the joins. A few days later it was time for the roof shout and a good time was had by all, with most…

A bimini for a cruising yacht today is so much more than just a sun screen. It can be a base for an electrical power station, dinghy davit, part of a cockpit long sunshade or a very serious asset to cockpit safety. Your best chance to do it properly is when the boat is brand new. Too often one sees a disaster of unplanned additions to a floppy sunshade, each year yet another item gets added to a flimsy base. The result is an unseaworthy mess of wizzing wind blades and flapping canvas. Amazingly, none of the production yacht manufacturers seem able to address this problem properly. They never advertise the yacht with pictures of a bimini fitted, the only options available are billowy structures, expensively produced on lightweight tubing.…

It was calm and peaceful as we weaved our way through an array of flotilla and mooring lines. “Thar she lies; that’s her,” the old man exclaimed with a measure of impartial authority, as if she were the only vessel afloat, which may well have been the case. When I caught sight of the traditional timber gaff cutter nestled safely on the lee side of the bay, instant visions of grandeur and adventure flashed through mind and soul. Imagine what it would be like being free, that is: truly free. So far so good, I thought, trying not to show my emotions in order to keep the price down. The description he gave over the phone seemed accurate to this point, justifying the time spent on travel from Perth to…

Anybody who has cruised the eastern Australian seaboard will know of Alan Lucas and his wife Patricia. Born in Sydney’s Mascot, July 1936, Alan was immediately drawn to sailboats. His first boats were built from scavenged materials found after the Second World War, such as airplane belly tanks to corrugated iron canoes and kerosene drum rafts. During his teens he enjoyed occasional skiff racing and became the owner and restorer of an old launch. Alan was trained as a commercial artist, which can easily be seen by the drawings and paintings that accompany his stories in both Cruising Helmsman and Australian Sailing. While building his own 31 foot cruising yacht Rendezvous, he became a foundation member of Australia’s Junior Offshore Group (JOG). This club was begun in the UK in…

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) has announced changes to the upcoming 2016 show. The layout of the exhibition will be reworked, including dedicated product precincts to improve the flow of exhibition space, maximise visibility for exhibitors and enhancing the visitor experience, the organisers claim. One of the precincts will be a dedicated sport and trailer boat precinct, to be known as ‘The boat yard’. It will be located close to the waterfront George’s Paragon restaurant and adjacent to C pier. The Boat Yard will have 1600 square metres of display space, while also being able to offer sea trials to prospective buyers. The superyacht and marine pavilion will relocate alongside the main pavilion, encouraging foot traffic through its display of Australian-made products, global service providers and the latest gear…

Has MSQ gone mad? Notices to Mariners No239 dated 17th August 2015 relates to crossing the notorious Wide Bay Bar. My wife and I were intending to cross the bar from Great Sandy Straits to sea recently and referred to Notices to Mariners (NTM) to check on the latest waypoints, bearings etc. Having crossed the bar eight times in recent years, we have a very considerable respect for it; so expected to see the usual information of waypoints which we could pre-enter into our plotter. We were surprised to find that waypoints are no longer published by MSQ. The previous NTM had reduced the number of published waypoints from three to two (i.e. waypoints 1, 2 and 3 had been replaced by A&B). In the latest NTM, reference to A&B…

We all know how harsh the sun is on our boat and its equipment. Most protective covers are easy to sew and you do not need to spend a fortune. If you have old covers laying around or have picked up a discarded one from the laundry block and not sure what to do with the canvas, you could, in twelve easy steps, sew a cover for your tender outboard fuel tank for example. This project should take about two hours from start to finish. You will need these items: sewing machine, good thread (I use a polyester), scissors, a quick unpicker, pencil, canvas, piece of leather, strong elastic, piece of wire and some insulation tape. 1 Undo the old hem if it is a used cover. 2 Measure up…

Trojan couplings for your trailer Trojan have released its Streamline range of trailer couplings on to the market. The Streamline sits lower on the A-frame than previous designs, allowing for easier clearance and preventing dents and damage on tail gates and rear doors. Trailer couplings have long been the culprit of tailgate and rear door damage and dents. Standard coupling designs do not allow for enough clearance and therefore put you at risk of damage to the vehicle. The Streamline 2 tonne non-braked coupling range includes the Streamline standard coupling that fits conventional two-hole mountings and its multi-fit coupling that fits both two and three-hole mountings. Both couplings come with the option of zinc, galvanised or painted finishes. Created with strength and durability in mind, both couplings are fully static…

Marinas can be a safe haven from the toils of cruising, a place to meet like-minded cruising friends and a place to find experts who can undertake the necessary repairs before resuming the dream. They are also a small, confined community where the stresses of close neighbours and inconsiderate behaviour can lead to unnecessary problems. While we prefer to anchor away from marinas wherever possible, there are times when no alternatives exist or work needs to be carried out while connected to shore. Over the years we have experienced a range of situations with marinas and the following may help cruisers to have a positive experience. Many of the issues associated with marinas stem from long-term liveaboards. These people represent the bread and butter for marina operators as they provide…

My first yacht Tassie III was a Restricted 21 footer, a popular Australian class of harbour and estuary racer. The class dates from 1913 with a maximum waterline of 21 feet and a total sail area of 450 square feet. The Governor General of Australia Lord Forster presented a trophy for the class, the Forster Cup, which was to become a premier interstate sailing competition. Tasmanian’s were fiercely competitive, they combined their superb boat building timbers and skills with the leading helmsman of his day: ‘Skipper’ Batt. The craft sharing fame with him was Tassie II whose painting graces the foyer of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in Hobart. Interestingly the half models of Tassie, Tassie II and Tassie III are all on display at the club. No plans…

Sailability Bayside is a volunteer organisation based in Manly, Brisbane. It provides people with disabilities the chance of sailing on Moreton Bay in small yachts called Hansa dinghies designed specifically for disabled sailors. Sailability Bayside is a not for profit organisation and receives no government funding. It is fully volunteer staffed and takes clients aged 10 to 90 years old with a range of disabilities: physical, cerebral palsy and mental disabilities. The clients (sailors) are encouraged to steer the dinghies with a tiller, if they are capable. Last year Sailability Bayside undertook over 4000 individual sails for the disabled. Women Who Sail Australia (WWSA), in collaboration with Grotty Yachty Clothing in Airlie Beach, recently combined together to help raise funds for Sailability Bayside through the design and sale of WWSA…

In July last year 52 cruising boats of all shapes and sizes, from all over the world, took part in the Multihull Solutions 2015 Sail 2 Indonesia Rally. Run by the Island Cruising Association, the group of more than one hundred people from all over the world including New Zealand, Australia, England, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, USA and Canada visited the Banda Islands, Namrole and Wakatobi, the fourth mustering point for the Rally. The boats and crew were privileged to visit some fascinating islands and townships. Such as the district of Larantuka, home to one of the last traditional whale hunting villages. As whale hunting is quite an emotive subject some of the fleet opted to bypass this stop. The anchorage is quite dramatic with two live volcanoes as…

Cut the rock’n roll One way to reduce rolling when sailing wing and wing with the headsail boomed out on the opposite side to the mainsail, is to have a pole long enough to stretch the sail fairly flat. Most spinnaker poles are fine for spinnakers, but a bit short for poling out an overlapping headsail. It does not usually matter, but when there is enough wind to set the boat rolling that belly in the headsail can exacerbate the roll. If you have a furler, try rolling up the headsail a bit until the pole stretches it tight. Flattening the sail in this way should reduce the roll noticeably. At the same time, make sure the main is also kept flat by use of a preventer or vang. The…

There are a number of bureaucratic issues that complicate life for non-EU citizens planning to enjoy extended cruising in the Mediterranean. There is even more so if you are wanting to liveaboard in the winter off-season, rather than go to the expense of flying home. The majority of European Union countries are signatories of the Schengen agreement which provides civilised freedom of movement about the continent for its citizens. But, unfortunately for Australians, they also share common rules when it comes to visas for non-EU citizens. The regulations are not only confusing but also a mine field for unsuspecting travellers. See the side bar for details. The bottom line is that the rules make it virtually impossible for Australians to live aboard over the winter in a Schengen zone country.…

Thailand has always been popular amongst the cruising community as a place to get work done on a yacht. Most cruising yachties have heard of the boatyards in Phuket. These tend to be attached to resort type marinas which have pools and units to stay in, while you work on your boat. However, as these boatyards are becoming more expensive, cruisers are looking elsewhere. Hidden up a tidal muddy river, reminiscent of Denga Bay in Darwin, is Phithak Shipyard and Services (PSS-Satun) near Satun, in Southern Thailand. PSS–Satun is also just 20 miles from the duty free island of Langkawi in Malaysia. A yard for all craft Originally a yard catering for local traditional timber fishing boats, it is now increasingly popular with a selection of cruisers from all around…

Californian film-maker Bill Babington and I were intrigued to cruise the 850 kilometre stretch of the Straits of Malacca (Selat Melaka), a passage connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Our six week journey up the coast of Malaysia was on a warm-timbered monohull, a Liberty 485 called Solstice. When we departed Raffles Marina Singapore around 8:00am, the humidity was already sticking to our skin. We snaked our way through the ‘waiting-room’ of rusted tankers and overloaded barges with anchor chains thicker than our mast, my eyes glued to the binoculars looking for any sign of movement. The ship fenders alone were three times the size of our dinghy. We knew first-hand that big ships and cruising yachts were not made to play. A near collision in Indonesia with…