Cruising World August 2015

Call me kooky, but I spent the better part of the fall and all winter and spring watching a small boatshaped icon as it “sailed” from Cape Town, South Africa, across the Indian and Pacific oceans, around Cape Horn, up the coast to Brazil, on to Newport, Rhode Island, and then east across the Atlantic to finally (blessedly) make its last landfall in Gothenburg, Sweden, on the first day of summer. It was my dot, El Jackalope, after all, and my entry in the Volvo Ocean Race Virtual Regatta. I blame my colleague Dave Reed, editor at Sailing World, for this. One day in late October I walked into his office, next door to mine, and caught him studying an electronic chart covered with wind arrows. He showed me the…

The best pictures of sailboats make a bold, single statement. As you focus in on this photograph, its rich detail makes for an interesting narrative. These three J-class boats are dueling in a brisk breeze, and are a perfect example of a gallant image that is worthy of study. The J-class boats by themselves certainly look majestic on the sea, but take a closer look. Notice the crew on the middle boat all sitting on the side, with each crew leaning forward. It feels as if the sailors are trying to nudge the boat forward with their bodies. In contrast, the windward J boat has all its crew sitting low to reduce the windage coming over the deck. It makes the viewer wonder, Which technique is the fastest? The leading…

In the February article on watermakers (“Water, Water Everywhere”), author Emily Fagan said her watermaker was rated at 38 gallons per hour. But she proudly said the warm waters where they were operating allowed production of 60 gallons per hour at her ideal 800 psi pressure. My understanding is that operating pressure must be reduced to produce the rated gallons per hour at normal temperature; otherwise the membranes will have a very short life. My experience is with two watermaker systems — from Sea Recovery and Spectra — with total production of approximately 200,000 gallons. Both companies’ operating manuals specify adjusting the high-pressure pump to whatever pressure resulted in the designed production rate. If you leave this information from your article uncorrected, I fear that many other cruisers could be…

Living on an island in the West Indies that boasts 365 beaches (“One for every day of the year!”), Martin Dudley has it pretty good. His family came to Antigua in the late 1960s, and for the most part he’s called this place home. But aside from the tropical waters and the warm trade winds, Martin’s seen the island change substantially over the last 50 years. From English colony to fledgling country, lush mangrove forests to five-star hotels, Martin’s witnessed a country that’s undergone political and environmental disruption. For Martin, his journey from sailor to environmental watchdog started at an early age, when he grew up in Fitches Creek, an area on the northeast side of the island where he sailed a 10-foot Mirror dinghy after school. With a big…

CRUISINGWORLD.COM THE CREW OF DEL VIENTO is busy exploring the Marquesas in French Polynesia. One of the highlights so far? The marine life. Blogger Michael Robertson shares some details from an afternoon swim: “‘Mom, Mom! Come here, quick!’ Windy sprinted on deck. Eleanor was stripping down to her bathing suit, trying to find her mask, and pointing at the giant manta ray swimming in circles and doing somersaults right next to Del Viento. ‘Can I go in, can I go in, please?!’ When the second ray showed up, Windy joined Eleanor, and when a third joined the party, it was enough for Frances to ignore the jellyfish stings she’d gotten on her last two swims, and she jumped in too. For 20 minutes, the three chased after the three.” Follow…

If you are in Beaufort, North Carolina, in the early weeks of August, beware, my beauties! On our humble English sailboat Folly, visiting the beautiful town on the coast after sailing all the way from England, we found ourselves in the middle of a pirate attack! Deafening cannon shot roared out from the schooner Meka II and the last remaining North Carolina skipjack, Ada Mae, as they approached the historic town and were in turn fired upon by a battery of cannon onshore. Clouds of blue smoke swallowed the protagonists. Anchored in Taylor Creek, we had been quietly contemplating the attractive waterfront, completely unaware that this re-enactment of a 1700s battle was to take place. The infamous pirate attack of the town, and subsequent repelling by the civil militia, is…