Cruising World March 2015

Should Middletown, Rhode Island, sailor Geordie Shaver cross paths with American Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz in some waterfront bar, I’m guessing those boys might tip their caps and buy him a beer. History channel’s two prime-time antiquers, after all, know a good find when they see one, and Geordie found himself a doozy: the mahogany and teak wheelhouse that was added to and later removed from Sir Thomas Lipton’s storied J-Class sloop Shamrock V. So, where do you accidentally stumble across a piece of the 1930 America’s Cup challenger, the graceful sloop that crossed the Atlantic only to be bested by Enterprise in the waters of Newport in the fifth and final try by Sir Tea to take the Auld Mug home? Well, in this case, it would…

News and notes from the cruising community They’re known as the Organ Pipes, the towering columns of dolerite rock that flank the steeps of Mount Wellington on the Australian island state of Tasmania. Geologists say the distinctive spires were born during the planet’s Jurassic period, specifically when Tasmania separated from Antarctica in the breakup of the supercontinent known as Gondwana. These days, the pinnacles attract countless rock climbers who test themselves on routes like Lost World, New World and the Teardrop Wall. And once a year, they also lure a different sort of outdoor adventurer: the sailors competing in the annual ocean-racing classic known as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Perhaps fittingly, the Organ Pipes are the visual and maybe even spiritual reward near the conclusion of the 635-nauticalmile…

I have been a fan of your magazine for many years and have enjoyed reading Fatty Goodlander’s column, On Watch. Lately, however, Fatty's attempts at humor have passed into racism. His stereotyping of Indonesia and its inhabitants ("Zen and Diesel In Indonesia,” January 2015) has become downright of ensive. I realize that this fact may have eluded your largely wealthy, almost exclusively white readership, but someone should remind Mr. Goodlander (and his editor) that we live in an increasingly pluralistic world here in the 21st century, and his poking fun at the “natives” is in poor taste. I hope that Fatty cleans up his act at least as well as he cleans up his diesel. VIA EMAIL Cap’n Fatty replies: Thank gosh for your letter: I was worried my column…

In 2012, along with her husband and two daughters, Heather Tiszai cruised the Bahamas aboard their 32-foot Bristol sloop, Mi Cielito. She and her family were saddened by the lack of diverse and healthy food available to island residents and visitors — but not surprised. Little had changed since the years when Heather worked as a sailboat captain for International Field Studies, a nonprofit educational and scientific organization established to promote and assist teachers with field study programs. At that time she hosted students on sailing expeditions around Andros and the Exuma islands, teaching marine and island ecology. From this experience she knew about the impact of conventional farming techniques on marine ecosystems. Returning home to Bellingham, Washington, Heather founded Growing Alliances for Sustainable Agriculture (GASA) with an aim to…

CRUISINGWORLD.COM THREE UNDER THREE Moving back aboard a boat after a time ashore is no small feat under normal circumstances. Doing it with three kids under3 years old? That's a whole different story. After a year in the Chicago suburbs, the Meyers crew of Asante — Scott, Brittany, and their daughters, Isla, Mira and Haven — are back aboard their Brewer 44 in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. "Despite trying to be minimalists, we have no fewer than seven bags coming down with us," Brittany said in a recent blog post. "That is not including the three 15 x 15 x 15-inch boxes we shipped already. When it comes to babies on boats, you gotta have equipment." How will the family of five adjust to being on board? Follow along on…

Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three. My finger tapped the horizon. Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six. What had started as a few hulking forms on the horizon became a dozen, and the dozen multiplied until we counted 37 freighters. That’s right, 37 looming obstacles to dodge aboard Namani, our 35-foot Dufour sloop, in its approach to the Panama Canal. And that number included only freighters waiting outside the entrance. How many more were about to emerge from behind the breakwater? Terrifying? Exhilarating? I’m still not sure which. There were ships weighing anchor, ships dropping anchor, and ships holding position for imminent action, smoke drifting from their exhaust stacks. I couldn’t help but imagine a video game in which tiny sailboats attempt to dodge oncoming ships. For us, the Canal wasn’t just a gateway to a…