Ocean Navigator - November-December 2017

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Contents Issue #244 November/December 2017
10
Features
Ocean Voyaging
24 Across the Skagerrak
Power cruising Norway’s fjord coast
by Steve D’Antonio
4 Special Section
31 Why wireless?
Departments
Networks haven’t
completely dropped cables,
but the wireless approach is ever more
Chartroom Chatter handy and useful
37
4 Two new records set during 2017 Transpac by Ralph Naranjo
5 Mariners still seeking help via old frequency
37 The future of
6 Venerable voyaging boat sinks at the start
networking?
7 Notable New Titles Connectivity is king and voyagers can

8 Human magnetoreception
9 Notable New Titles
42 expect more in the years to come
by Tim Queeney
Marine Tech Notes 40 Move over, lead-acid

10 Inflatable sails Lithium-ion-based batteries gain wider
by Tim Queeney acceptance
by Scott Neuman
Power Voyaging
12 Safety minimums?
by Jeff Merrill
16
Correspondence
16 Super typhoons and
Christmas at sea
19 River of fear
22 Reader disagrees on boat insurance
Voyaging Tips
42 What is the ITCZ and why
does it matter?
by Robin Urquhart 7 24
Nav Problem On the cover: Mahina Expedition member Peixi Yan completes
For more on voyaging, follow us on:
48 A ferrocement schooner tucking in the first reef while en route from Morocco to Lanzarote
www.facebook.com/oceannavigator
by David Berson aboard Mahina Tiare, a Hallberg-Rassy 46. Photo by Amanda Swan
www.twitter.com/oceannavmag
Neal.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 1

Ocean
navigatOr
contributors
MARINE NAVIGATION AND OCEAN VOyAGING
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 1-866-918-6972

EMAIL: oceannavigator@pcspublink.com
EDITORIAL
Ralph Naranjo (Correspondence, “Why wireless?,” page 31) Editors@OceanNavigator.com
is a freelance writer and photographer based in EditoR Tim Queeney
Annapolis. Naranjo is also a U.S. Sailing Master 207-749-5922
Copy EditoR Kate Murray
Trainer, part of U.S. Sailing’s National Faculty ARt diRECtoR Kim Goulet Norton
and a past chairman of its Safety at Sea Commit- CoNtRibUtiNg EditoRs Scott Bannerot
tee. He is a past holder of the Vanderstar Chair Twain Braden

Nigel Calder
at the U.S. Naval Academy and oversaw all sail Harry Hungate
training, seamanship and navigation programs Eric Forsyth
Jeff & Raine Williams
for midshipmen. He began sailing in childhood David Berson
on Long Island Sound and in 1975 he and his Ken McKinley
wife, Lenore, set sail on a five-year circumnaviga- Wayne Canning
tion on their 41-foot sloop Wind Shadow, as told

in his book Wind Shadow West. He is also the ADVERTISING/MARKETING
author of Boatyards and Marinas. Advert@OceanNavigator.com

WEst CoAst Us & CANAdA,
iNtERNAtioNAl Susan W. Hadlock
207-838-0401
Robin Urquhart and his partner, Fiona, (Voyaging Tips, EAst CoAst Us & CANAdA,
iNtERNAtioNAl Charlie Humphries
“What is the ITCZ and why does it matter?,” page 42) set 207-939-1929
sail in September 2015 on a multi-year trip to pUblishER/
AdvERtisiNg diRECtoR Alex Agnew
Australia, aboard their Dufour 35 Monark. Robin 207-450-5363
holds a Master’s in building science engineering

CIRCULATION/EVENTS
and is constantly fascinated by all the things that
break on the boat. For more on DIY projects, EvENts & mARkEtiNg
CooRdiNAtoR Jody Gould
misadventures and tips for life on a boat, visit
their blog at www.happymonarch.com. bUSINESS
FiNANCE Ken Koehler
bUsiNEss oFFiCE Lee Auchincloss
MAIN OFFICE
phoNE 1-207-822-4350
david berson (Nav Problem, “A ferrocement schooner,” ISSN 0886-0149

Ocean Navigator is published in January, March, May, July, September, Octo-
page 48) absorbed his father’s dreams of the sea

ber and November, with an annual special issue of Ocean Voyager in April,
for $27.95 per year by Navigator Publishing LLC, 30 Danforth St., Portland, ME
04101. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Maine, and additional mailing
while growing up in the Bronx. Through a series offices.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box
of friendships, most notably with Steve Burzon, 461468, Escondido, CA 92046.
Copyright © 2017 by Navigator Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. No part
Nick van Nes, Greg Walsh and Eben Whitcomb, of this publication may be reprinted in any way without written permission
from the publisher.
Berson slowly got sidetracked and one day awoke Subscription rate is $27.95 for one year (eight issues) in the United States
and its possessions. Canadian subscription rate is $31.95 U.S. funds. Other
aboard a schooner, holding a 200-ton master’s foreign surface is $33.95 U.S. funds. Overseas air mail is $62.95 U.S. funds
per year.
license in one hand and a sextant in the other. Distribution: Newsstand distribution, domestically and internationally: Coast
to Coast Newsstand Services LTD., 5230 Finch Ave. East, Suite 1, Toronto,
ON M1S 4Z9. Phone (416) 754-3900; fax (416) 754-4900.
He lives in Greenport, N.Y., and is co-owner of Contributions: We solicit manuscripts, drawings and photographs. Please
address all material to Editor, Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box 569, Portland, ME
Glory, Long Island’s only electric passenger vessel, 04112-0569. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the safe handling of con-
tributed materials. All other departments, 207-772-2466.
a 30-foot Elco launch. PRINTED IN ThE UNITED STATES by ThE LANE PRESS
2 OCEAN NAVIGATOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 www.oceannavigator.com

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Chatter
Chartroom
BY CASEY CONLEY
20.2 knots. Stan Honey

served as navigator aboard
the super maxi, which is
owned by Netscape found-
er Jim Clark.
Comanche’s Transpac
record follows its new
monohull trans-Atlantic
record, which was set last
summer, also with Honey
as navigator.
The 2017 Transpac was
the 49th running of the
biennial race, which leaves
from Point Fermin, Los
Angeles, and ends east of
Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing
Diamond Head lighthouse

near Honolulu. There
were 49 entrants in the
2017 contest representing
the U.S., Canada, Norway,
Peru and Russia. One ves-
Two new records set during 2017 Transpac sel, Mark Dowdy’s SC 50
Both the multihull and mono- 21.7 knots. The finish Hana Ho, retired due to
hull records were Broken this supersedes a 20-year-old engine trouble.
<<
The 100-foot Comanche,

skippered by Ken Read, set summer during the 2017 record set by Bruno Peyron Race organizers said
a new Transpac monohull running of the Transpacific aboard the vessel Commo- weather patterns returned
record. Yacht Race from Los Ange- dore Explorer. to normal for the 2017
les to Honolulu, which The 100-foot super running after the last two
started on July 3. maxi Comanche, skippered events were affected by El
The ORMA 60 trima- by Ken Read, finished in Nino formations in the
ran Mighty Merloe, skip- five days, one hour, 55 Pacific Ocean. Breezy con-
pered by H.L. Enloe, fin- minutes and 26 seconds ditions that helped propel
ished the 2,225-nm course — besting a 2009 mono- Comanche and Mighty
in four days, six hours, 32 hull mark set by Alfa Merloe to new records fell
minutes and 30 seconds Romeo by more than 12 off slightly after the lead
for an average speed of hours. Comanche averaged boats finished, according

to Transpac spokesman unidentified floating
Dobbs Davis. objects were an unwelcome Mariners still
For the second straight challenge for Transpac seeking help via
running, Manouch competitors. Dobbs said
Moshayedi’s Rio 100 took the “trash” problem was
old frequency
home the “Barn Door” widespread and affected the u.s. coast Guard is urG-
trophy for fastest mono- most vessels. inG mariners to make sure
hull sailing under manual In one serious incident, they understand — and
power with a time of six Moshayedi’s Rio 100 struck can operate — communi-
days, 17 hours, nine min- a large object that broke cations equipment on their munications devices has its
utes and nine seconds. the port rudder and opened vessels, particularly during own limitations and specif-
Frank Slootman’s Pac a hole in the hull. emergencies. ic functional capabilities,”
52 Invisible Hand won the “The inventiveness The Coast Guard issued the safety alert continued.
King Kalakaua trophy for and quick action of the a safety alert in August The Coast Guard
fastest corrected time, fin- crew not only secured after learning some single considers single sideband
ishing in eight days, three the hole in the stern sec- sideband radio users are radio, particularly models
hours, one minute and 28 tion of boat,” Davis said, still trying to contact the equipped with digital selec-
Coast Guard over an incor- tive calling, “an especially
rect frequency. The Coast reliable” way of contacting
<< Left, the crew Guard said it stopped the Coast Guard during
aboard the monitoring the former distress. Triggering the
RP 63 Aszhou. international radiotele- emergency button on SSB
Above, the phone distress frequency radios sends an alert to
start of the 2182 kHz more than four Coast Guard Communica-
Transpac. years ago. tions Command.
“Nevertheless,” the In place of the former
Coast Guard said in the distress frequency 2182
alert, “many mariners con- kHz, the Coast Guard
seconds. Navigator Jason “but careful sail selections tinue to attempt to contact monitors the Global Mari-
Owens aboard the Gun- along with measured use the Coast Guard using time Distress and Safety
boat 62 catamaran Chim of their emergency rudder this frequency. Also, many System SSB-HF frequen-
Chim earned the Mark in combination with the mariners attempt to contact cies 4125, 6215, 8291 and
Rudiger Celestial Naviga- remaining starboard rudder the Coast Guard using 12290 kHz.
tion Trophy. allowed them to keep rac- their EPIRBs, cellphones, For more information
As with the recent ing and still finish in time satphones and even NOAA on Coast Guard emergency
Vendee Globe and many to claim the Barn Door weather electronics. procedures, visit www.nav-
other offshore races, prize once again.” “Each of these com- cen.uscg.gov.
www.oceannavigator.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 5

Chatter
Chartroom
A quick check of before, considerably worse

the bilge seemed for wear.
normal, and we After a drowning in
all went home. salt water, it’s crucial to
On Tuesday thoroughly wash down
morning, she everything in fresh water
was resting on before the seawater has a
the bottom of chance to dry. Fortunately
the travel lift slip my son Colin was staying
with water inside with me, so the two of us
the boat about rushed through the boat,
a foot above the emptying lockers and
engine. A pan- washing the interior with
icked call from a hose. The deck was soon
the yard when littered with gear from
they started work the interior drying in the
that morning hot sun. The next priority
Eric Forsyth
got me rush- was the diesel engine —

ing down. The we pumped out the sump
Venerable voyaging boat sinks yard crew had already and removed the starter,
got pumps in the boat, which was obviously
at the start but they would do no ruined. This exposed the
Editor’s note: Contribut- good until the leak was starter ring, and Colin
ing editor Eric Forsyth stopped. I splashed my laboriously turned over
has won the CCA’s Blue way forward with water the engine after adding
Above, Eric Forsyth’s Water Medal and sailed up to my thighs. I could
<<
Westsail 42, Fiona. more than 200,000 miles, feel quite a strong current
Right, Fiona flooded but he sometimes has to coming from the head; it
at launch when a hose scramble like any other didn’t take long to find
failed. voyager when things go a severe leak from a hose
wrong. Here he relates the on the starboard side,
unexpected outcome after and I shut the through-
the launch of his Westsail hull valve. With the valve
42 Fiona. closed, the pumps would
be effective — by lunch-
the start of this year’s cruise time, Fiona was floating
was hardly auspicious; Fiona again. They maneuvered
began at the bottom, or the lifting straps back
more literally, on the bot- under the boat and by
Colin Forsyth
tom. She was launched mid-afternoon she was

at Weeks Yacht Yard late back on the cradle where
on a Monday afternoon. she had been the day

new lube oil by prying the
teeth on the ring with a Notable New Titles
large screwdriver. Eventu-
ally he completed six full The Last Voyage of learned that the men had
revolutions. the Hornet: The Story taken to the boat — along
The 12-volt system that Made Mark Twain with their shipmates in two
had destroyed itself by Famous other open boats — after
comprehensive electro- by Kristin Krause their vessel, the square-
lytic action, starting with Royal Fireworks Press rigged clipper Hornet, laden
four heavy-duty batteries. 168 pages with 20,000 gallons of
These we replaced and I kerosene and 6,700 boxes
bought many feet of thick In June of 1866, a young of paraffin, had caught fire
marine-style wire and Samuel Clemens was hid- and sunk in the middle
large swage-type terminals ing out in Honolulu after of the Pacific. They were
so that I could start to a dust-up in San Fran- thousands of miles from
rebuild the backbone of cisco. The law was after the nearest atoll and subse-
the 12-volt distribution him for inflammatory quently sailed 4,300 miles
system. In the meanwhile, remarks he’d published to fetch up on Hawaii. In vival in the open boat is
I hired three teenag- in the Chronicle against a the meantime, the two gripping at times, much
ers — sons of a friend rival newspaper publisher. other boats had disappeared of the background regard-
of my daughter — to Clemens was essentially without a trace; these men ing nautical practice and
thoroughly wash down living in exile in Hawaii, were the sole survivors. history is somewhat basic
the insides of lockers and an ocean apart from the Clemens recognized the and readers who are more
the cabin furniture with country whose attention story for the scoop it was experienced mariners may
detergent; all were cov- he craved for fame and and took assiduous notes find their attention going
ered with a nasty scum fortune as a writer. And of their conversations over adrift in certain scenes.
of dirt and grease. All the then he heard about a the course of a single day. Nonetheless, perseverance
electrical accessories — boat of castaways that had He then stayed up all that will be rewarded by a truly
starter, alternators, shaft fetched up on the north night, dashing off a story well-written account of
generator, etc. —were dis- shore of the Big Island. of the men’s harrowing the adventure and Mark
patched by the yard to an The men had supposedly adventure. The following Twain’s subsequent esca-
auto electric expert. Some lived on three days’ rations morning, he sent the manu- pades.
items were replaced and in an open boat for 43 script back to San Francisco Last Voyage of the Hornet
some rebuilt. After a few days. They were delirious, on a mail ship, where it was by Kristin Krause is a fan-
days, Fiona was refloated starving, emaciated and quickly published in the tastic tale, both for its narra-
when the errant hose was nearly dead, but they had Sacramento Daily Union, tive of the hapless sailors in
replaced. To my relief, a hell of a story to tell. and then around the coun- the open boat, and also for
the engine fired up nicely Clemens called in a try and around the world. the circumstances that led
after a new starter was favor from a diplomat The celebrity of Mark Clemens to capitalize on his
installed and the lube oil then visiting Hawaii, and Twain was launched with good fortune and launch his
was recycled again. together they interviewed this story. career as a teller of tales.
Eric Forsyth the crew of the boat. He While the story of sur- Twain Braden

Chatter
Chartroom
not that I don’t trust our ture on the subject. A few

Human magnetoreception GPS or our compass; the things stood out. Scientif-
like many offshore sailors North Star reminds me ic consensus is that birds
on watch at niGht, i dwell of an earlier time in life and animals, along with
on all kinds of things. On when, with an accurate many other creatures,
clear nights in the North- clock, sextant, tables and routinely navigate using
ern Hemisphere, I con- all, I navigated our sloop the Earth’s magnetic
sistently look up at the safely on long passages field. Sometimes they rely
North Star, roughly gauge without electronics. As on magnetite, (Fe3O4)
its angle and orientation we drift away from tradi- which is a widely available
A computer simulation above the dark horizon tional offshore navigation iron oxide found in all
<<
of the Earth’s magnetic and compare it with our skills, I’m reminded that living creatures includ-
field. The lines represent GPS latitude. A quick perhaps there was a time ing humans. Magnetite
magnetic field lines. look at the magnetic in history when human can detect the Earth’s
steering compass reassures beings were able to deter- magnetic field and send
me we’re on course. It’s mine direction without signals to the creature’s
the aid of a magnetic brain, which checks an
compass. internal map and sends
Man has long been any course-correction sig-
amazed at animal and nals.
bird navigation. How do A second magneto-
they migrate and find reception element is the
their way for thousands protein crytpochrome
of miles? Think about the that is housed in the
size of hummingbird and retina of the eyes of all
butterfly brains. Carrier living creatures, humans
pigeons are particularly included. It also reacts to
amazing — they can find the Earth’s magnetic field.
their way back to their Cryptochrome is par-
home roost from faraway ticularly sensitive to low-
places they had never pre- frequency green or blue
viously visited. light. The importance of
I’ve always believed both detectors depends
man has an innate abil- on the species.
ity to use the Earth’s The Earth’s magnetic
magnetic field to find field is an electric “field”
direction. Out of curios- measured at about 0.56
ity, I Googled human gauss and not an accel-
and creature magneto- eration force like gravity
reception systems and (gn). When compared
waded through the huge as forces that man can
NASA
amounts of recent litera- detect and utilize, the

Notable New Titles
An Inexplicable cross-
Attraction ing
by Eric Forsyth the
Yacht Fiona publications equa-
yachtfiona.com tor,
400 pages issues
AWeith/Wikipedia
with
I consider myself a cruis- crew
ing sailor and enjoy read- — it’s
Earth’s magnetic field is ing excerpts in various all
<<
The Arctic tern is a naviga-

about 100 times smaller tion champ, flying between publications about where there,
than the force of gravity. the Arctic and Antarctic. other sailors have sailed and it’s all something any
Because the Earth’s mag- and what they’ve found of us who have ventured
netic field is a very low- magnetic field using there. But reading about offshore can relate to. Also
intensity “field” and not magnetite, or more likely, 50 years of cruising pas- chronicled are all of his
a force, it gets easily lost the eye protein crypto- sages and destinations, as interesting onshore experi-
among other natural and chrome, but of course Eric Forsyth’s book pro- ences.
manmade electric fields more research is needed. I claimed … that seemed It’s all presented in Mr.
occurring throughout our visualize a special pair of like it might be a little Forsyth’s matter-of-fact,
environment. Laboratory high-tech glasses that help over the top. often tongue-in-cheek style
experiments with human us “see” the Earth’s very I needn’t have wor- that underscores the humor
detection of the magnetic weak magnetic field lines ried. I’ve listened to Mr. and patience one needs
field must be done in a of force and determine Forsyth talk about some when voyaging.
very carefully controlled magnetic north. I even of his cruises, and I am I do a transoceanic pas-
environment. Because the donned a blindfold and happy to report that his sage every five years or so;
literature concluded that walked in circles in my writing style is as engag- there is an itch to it that is
controlled experiments yard in hopes of detect- ing as his storytelling. hard to deny. I believe that
with humans were some- ing magnetic north! No If you like cruising, Eric Forsyth has that itch
times unrepeatable, my definitive results. ocean passages or visiting in permanent form, hence
hopes were diminished: I While man has for- exotic places, read this the 50 years and the “inex-
wanted to learn that man gotten how to use his book. Mr. Forsyth does a plicable attraction.” While
could still navigate just internal navigation capa- wonderful job of taking I envy his ability to act on
like other creatures if we bility, animals, insects, you along on the boat his love of sailing, I am also
tried hard enough. sea creatures and birds all with him and his crew grateful that he can share
Only recently have have refined their use of (whom he seems to have his experiences with us.
biophysicists concluded the Earth’s magnetic field, a magic Rolodex for find- An Inexplicable Attraction
that perhaps man does the sun and other sensory ing), and sharing the high is second best to actually
have the ability to navi- factors. and low points of each being there. n
gate using the Earth’s Richard de Grasse passage. Repairs at sea, Peter Stoops

MARINE tEch NotEs
Inflatable sails BY TIm quEENEY
Edouard Kessi and conditions. The sail rides on a

Laurent de Kalber- stayless retractable mast.
matten. The Inflat- Kessi co-owns the sail loft
ed Wing Sail (IWS) Voiles Gautier in Switzerland
is a symmetrical and is the co-developer of the
foil that is formed 3Di three-dimensional sail-
by air pressure. making technology behind the
Battery-powered black sails used by the Alinghi
electric fans pump race team. That technology is
air into the inflated now part of the North Sails
sail and are designed group. According to the IWS
Courtesy IWS
to stabilize its shape website, in 2010 Kessi “devel-

for various wind oped the first hard multiple-
W hile sails and wings are

both airfoils designed
to produce lift, the differences
IWS inventors between them are obvious.
Kessi and de One is made of cloth while
Kalbermatten the other tends to be a fixed
take the rig for structure. A sail’s shape can
a test on Lake be changed, it can be reefed
Geneva — note to reduce its area and, if all
the clean deck. else fails, it can be dropped
Right, the IWS to the deck. A wing gives
with its distinc- you fewer options. Wings
tive tufted can produce substantial lift,
leech. however — witness their use
on America’s Cup race boats.
But what about inflatable
wings, like those used in wing
parachutes? Two sailors in
Switzerland have introduced
an inflatable wing sail that can
be changed in shape and also
be dropped to the deck like a
cloth sail.
Called the Inflated Wing
Courtesy IWS
Sail (inflatedwingsails.com/
en/), it’s the brainchild of

filament composites and was The IWS idea takes the • The aerodynamic center
the co-founder of North TPT. horizontal Woopy wing and stays stable in every wind con-
During these last years, he makes it vertical. Along with dition.
worked on the production of the inflatable wing concept, • This kind of sail can eas-
large inflated textile structures the two Swiss sailors also ily be driven by an automatic
such as the inflated hangar developed a retractable mast system.
of Solar Impulse, which shel- that fits inside the inflatable Further advantages
tered the ultralight airplane sail. Thus, the entire rig com- claimed for IWS include the
during its world tour.” In the pacts into a small package elimination of battens and
1980s, Kessi worked on devel- with no mast extending high deck hardware and the con-
oping the modern paraglider above the boat. Another aspect trol of sail shape by changing
and worked in the inflatable of the inflated sail’s retract- the internal air pressure. The
textile industry for 15 years able mast is the lack of any IWS site claims the IWS
with the company Ailes de K, standing rigging. Like other system would be suitable for
which he co-founded with de freestanding rigs, there are no cruising sailors.
Kalbermatten. He’s an active shrouds or fore and aft stays, When asked by email if
sailor in monohulls and mul- no chainplates, no turnbuckles the IWS was suitable for
tihulls and is the record holder and no other deck gear associ- heavier winds, Kessi replied,
of the Lake Geneva Bol d’Or. ated with a traditional rig. “We have already sailed on
De Kalbermatten is a When asked about the Lake Geneva for two months
longtime pilot in fixed wing, impetus behind the inflatable and sailed in wind conditions
helicopters and hang gliders. sail, Kessi replied via email up to 25 knots with two reefs
His and Kessi’s company Ailes that the goal was to apply and retracted mast.”
de K manufactured the first the advantages of the Woopy Would the IWS be some-
industrial paraglider, called wing to sailing, “to have a soft thing that voyaging sailors
La Randonneuse, which was wing rig with a telescopic mast would use? Probably the big- Courtesy IWS
popular worldwide. As told that gives all the advantages gest questions the IWS would
on the IWS site: “In 1999, described in our presentation have to answer with cruisers
he invented a new concept of [on the website].” would be issues of cost, reli-
wing by marrying an inflated According to the inventors, ability and durability. If the The IWS sail
paraglider wing to a horizon- the IWS provides the follow- retractable mast system fails performing in
tal mast. The ‘Woopy wing’ ing advantages: to retract, how easy would it heavier winds.
was born. Even today, it still • The sail flies vertically. be to get at the mechanism
flies in hang gliders, ski glid- • The NACA airfoil has to repair it? Plus, since the
ers, ultralight aircraft and been studied to develop a high sail has to hold pressure to
even as unmanned aircraft. driving force for a low righting inflate, how durable is the
Two years ago, Laurent and moment. fabric and how easily is it
Edouard Kessi joined forces • Using a symmetric airfoil patched? To be fair, these are
again and, by sharing their allows for tacking from one also questions for traditional
respective flying and sail- side to another without having cloth sails. While the inflat-
ing competences, tested the to trim the sail shape. able sails don’t seem like
Woopy wing vertically on a • The symmetric airfoil is something most voyagers
yacht. The new concept was a balanced and places itself in would quickly embrace, IWS
success and led to the birth of the best position to maximize is an intriguing concept that
the IWS.” the driving force. might garner some traction. n

power voyaging
Safety minimums?
STORy ANd PhOTOS By JEFF MERRILL
demands. Regulations nor-

mally vary slightly due to
boat length, so I encourage
you to look this up online
to see what rules apply to
your specific trawler in the
countries you plan to visit.
Start with the USCG PDF
pamphlet download called “A
Boater’s Guide to the Federal
Requirements for Recreation-
al Boats and Safety Tips.”
Loose items
For this article, my focus is
on the “loose” safety items
you need to have and other
items for you to consider
adding. I won’t review the
boatbuilder requirements like
This Kadey
E lvis Costello’s song “Acci-
dents Will Happen” is a
catchy tune and, as it relates
Preparation comes down
to these three words: Are
you ready? I overuse the
navigation lights, air horn
trumpets, backfire flame
arrestors (for gas boats) and
Krogen trawler to boats, I like to focus on expression “safe boating is no toilet/holding tank through-
is well designed the “will” part. To comply accident” when speaking to hulls. Remember, however,
for voyaging, with USCG regulations, your groups about offshore cruis- it is your responsibility to
but how well trawler needs to have some ing, but it’s true. I believe make sure your running
equipped is minimum safety gear aboard. your approach should be to lights are working since bulbs
it with safety These items must be identi- do more than just the mini- can burn out, and you also
gear? fied or presented to the Coast mum as your family’s lives need to know when you
Guard when you are board- may be saved by your careful can (and can’t) open your
ed. Accidents will happen planning. waste discharge through-
— they’re inevitable — so The USCG and other hulls and how to position
it’s wise to think this through national authorities have Y-valves. Hint: Leave all
and anticipate and accumu- developed fairly universal waste through-hulls closed at
late what you need before safety requirement standards, the dock.
you go out cruising, not just so you need to look ahead if Typical “loose” USCG
to follow the rules, but to be you are cruising across bor- minimum requirements
safe and prepared. ders to see what each country include the following:

• Personal flotation devices (one also mean loss of lives, so when minimum safety requirements are
wearable PFD for each person, and you are going offshore it’s smart to really not enough as you venture
one throwable) have a life raft and EPIRB. Neither farther away from land.
• Fire extinguishers (current is required, but both are common If your vessel is stranded dead in
dates, not expired) aboard properly prepared trawl- the water, you can signal your loca-
• Sound-making devices (horn, ers. My personal feeling is that the tion by using a flare. If someone
bell)
• Visual distress signals (flares)
• Pollution regulations (oil and
waste placards)
• USCG Navigation Rules of
the Road booklet
As soon as you leave the dock,
you are on your own, but this inde-
pendence necessitates forethought.
Sure, there are towing services and
other boaters who may help you
if you have an accident, but you
should strive to be self-sufficient.
There is a good reason why safe-
ty is such a priority, and there are
several common distressing situa-
tions that can happen on a trawler
that would be mostly resolved by
ensuring you have the mandated
minimum safety provisions on
board.
Here are a few disasters you may
encounter and need to be prepared
for. If you have a fire (most likely
in the galley due to a cooking mis-
hap), it would sure be nice to have
a fire extinguisher close at hand. If
your boat is punctured and sink-
ing below the surface, do you have
comfortable life jackets to wear
that will keep you floating if you
abandon ship? Do your life jackets
have whistles attached to them so
that you can be heard in a roiling
sea with heavy winds? The whistle
is not required, nor is a small
strobe light, but I recommend they
be affixed to your PFD.
Loss of your trawler should not

power voyaging
falls overboard, you’re required to ents to get a fire blanket so that

Safety items have a Type IV flotation device — they can smother a flame. You
• Inflatable safety harnesses (and typically a life ring. You can make need to think about first aid for
tethers to jack lines rigged on deck) this a more practical rescue device injuries and damage control for
• Comfortable life jackets by connecting a waterproof strobe crashes. See the accompanying
• Abandon ship “ditch bag” (com- light on one end using floating sidebar for a list of loose items you
plete with carefully selected neces- polypropylene line tied to your life may want to have on your trawler
sary items) ring on the other end. This will (the list is only a start).
• First aid kit give the MOB victim more to look There are two loose items
• Day/night flares and grasp for while reaching for the required for environmental compli-
• Meteor/parachute flares life ring. If you do have a MOB ance (think pollution, not safety):
• Orange smoke signals incident, sound the horn five times an oil waste discharge plaque and
• Fire blanket (DANGER). This will let the a trash/garbage placard. Any vessel
• Cyalume SnapLight sticks person in the water know you are more than 40 feet in length must
• Waterproof flashlights aware they’ve gone over and are also have a written trash plan on
• Floating strobe coming back to recover them. board.
• Lifesling If the weather collapses and you
• Immersion suits find yourself in a thick fog bank,
• Carbon monoxide/smoke alarms having a bell and an air horn helps
• Drogue signal your presence to other boat-
• Sea anchor ers who are probably also cruising
• Personal locator beacons along slowly. When we lose our
• Portable VHF sight, we instinctively turn to our
• Portable GPS sense of hearing. Most of the newer
• Portable SART (search and rescue VHF radios have a horn/hailer
transponder) built in that will sound at regular
• Binoculars intervals. Of course, AIS on your
• Emergency bungs/plugs/cones for chartplotter and radar significantly
through-hulls reduces the stress factor when boat-
• Portable bilge pump ing with limited or no visibility.
• Crow bar A small portable mirror can be
• Signaling mirror used to catch sunlight and flash Having a life ring, line and light available on
• Rescue tape your location. Smoke devices are deck like this is good safety planning for a
• Safety matches also very effective in bringing possible man-overboard situation.
• Survival food rations attention to your small floating Are you aware that a copy of
• Drinking water blip on the great big ocean. Most the U.S. Coast Guard Rules of the
*Small metal pail (requirement in offshore cruisers prepare and con- Road book is also a must-have?
South Africa) for making a controlled tinually update their “ditch bag,” a Don’t forget you may have some
signal fire medium-sized floating waterproof built-in safety components, like
*Ax (requirement in Canada) to case kitted out with safety essen- bilge pumps, fire suppression sys-
break through or cut away debris tials that is always ready to go in a tems and an anchor with ground
from a crash flash if they have to abandon ship. tackle — all three can save the day.
Jeff Merrill Since fires are potentially likely Your nav/com electronics suite has
in the galley, I also advise my cli- many safety features built in with

GPS, radar, chartplotters, etc. All email with “JMYS Safety Loca-
vessels must monitor VHF chan- tions” in the subject line. This
nel 16 while underway. Become list is designed for trawlers over
comfortable talking on VHF; it is 40 feet in length and includes the
an incredible communication tool USCG minimums (i.e., what to
but it can be intimidating to the show when boarded) as well as
uninitiated. some strongly recommended safety
Since most trawlers also have a items like a fire blanket, Lifesling,
dinghy aboard, don’t forget that EPIRB, life raft, survival suits, etc.
your tender should also be outfit- It is organized to identify each
ted with safety provisions such as item and its location so that you
fire extinguisher, horn, life jackets, can find things quickly in an emer-
etc. gency.
Please take this article to your
Do the research trawler and review your own safety
Safety preparation is a deep subject package to not only make sure that
that we are only skimming, and you meet the minimum require-
there are always new safety prod- ments, but also consider additional
ucts coming on the market (the gear that other boat owners have
See Rescue streamer and Sirius acquired to make sure you dial-in
Distress light are two relatively your trawler for safety. Preparation
new ideas). Surf the web and look and prevention minimize accidents
up the safety selections in catalog A fire blanket is a good option for dousing — a good minimum standard to
websites like Landfall Navigation small fires before they can grow into large achieve. n
and Defender Industries. Peruse ones.
trawler blogs and see what type of your trawler is in compliance. Jeff Merrill, CPYB, is the presi-
dangerous situations your fellow By researching boating safety dent of Jeff Merrill Yacht Sales,
cruisers have been caught in and products online, you will discover Inc. - www. JMYS. com. He is a
how they handled it. Study the a broad selection of items you may veteran yacht broker who provides
USCG requirements and read the want to have aboard your trawler. individual attention and worldwide
ColRegs to remain familiar with It is your job to keep everything professional representation to buyers
right of way, overtaking procedure, current, so check your flares’ expi- and sellers of premium brand, ocean-
head-on situations, etc. ration dates and make sure every- going trawlers. Merrill is active in
When I sell a new or used thing is ready to go — life jackets, the cruising community as a public
trawler, I often suggest to my cli- for example, should be out of their speaker and writer and enjoys spend-
ents that, prior to heading out for plastic packaging. ing time at sea with clients. Jeff has
their first big cruise, they should For my trawler-buying cli- written several “Dialing-In” your
pick an off weekend and make ents, I have created a briefing trawler articles for Ocean Naviga-
an appointment with their local that includes every piece of safety tor’s Power Voyaging column and
USCG auxiliary who will conduct equipment they own and where it is constantly looking for new ideas
a courtesy vessel inspection. These is stored on board. If you would to improve and simplify the trawler
wonderful volunteers will go stem like to receive a copy of this list lifestyle. If you have a suggestion or
to stern and write up a “fix it” in a “fill in the blank” MS Word want to get in touch, please e-mail
ticket so that you can make sure document, please send me an Merrill at: Jeff.Merrill@JMYS.com.

correspondence
Super typhoons and Christmas at sea

To the editor: Our passage were light and the ride was
from Papua New Guinea comfortable.
Right, the to Palau was a long, Then we got tripped up
view from the drawn-out affair. We were on that imaginary line, and
bow as Heath- crossing the equator, so this ghosted across zero degrees
er Francis was somewhat expected. slow enough to watch the days, we put a whopping
departs Kavi- Everyone who has sailed that numbers on the hand-held 40 hours on the engine, a
eng, Papua route before us as well as our GPS count down like the personal best (or worst) for
New Guinea. weather router (a service that New Year’s party we were us, and although we clawed
Below, at sea we employed for the first hoping to have in Palau. our way further north at an
on a sunny time this passage) assured The crossing happened, as ear-splittingly slow pace, we
Christmas Day. us that once we got over the it did the first time on the did not find much wind.
equator and through the way to the Galapagos — in When the wind did finally
doldrums, the winds would the dark — despite our best fill in, it was not at all from
fill in. Being good sailors, we planning. It is, however, a the prescribed direction,
believed them and sailed due momentous occasion even but we happily glided
north out of Kavieng, PNG, when it’s not your first time. along, close reaching and
hoping to find the shortest We celebrated by pouring pointing exactly toward our
line as possible through the ourselves a glass of rum, destination.
windless zone. For the first making sure to tip a bit to Ten days into our passage,
three days, although the wind Neptune in hopes of winning things started to look up: We
was out of the northwest his favor. were making progress, the
and on the nose, we sailed. The rest of the passage, conditions were comfortable
The sea was calm, the winds however, did not go as and, if we could keep pace,
planned. we might even make port in
After eking time for Christmas. Then
our way north, came a couple days of dirty
we were forced weather. We battled sudden
to motor to free violent squalls, sat in the rain
ourselves not for hours on end and buoyed
from drifting, our spirit with the occasional
a state of sail glug of rum in our midnight
we don’t mind thermos of tea. Conditions
participating continued to build and soon
in, but from we were rocketing along
wallowing around on only a small section of
in the swell as headsail in 30 to 35 knots.
we got pushed The distant northern
eastward by the horizon grew dark.
Heather Francis
current. Over Dark like I have never

the next three seen before — purplish,

Heather Francis
impenetrable, metallic gray, more westerly course.
cold, calculating and violent The system did develop
looking. For days Steve into a typhoon. We had
wanted to sail almost due sailed through the toddler
west even though we still had stages of Super Typhoon
to climb another two degrees Nock-ten. On Christmas
Heather Francis
north to reach Palau. For Day, it hit the Philippines
days I wondered about his with a ferocious roar and was
reasoning. entered into the record books
Then we got the call from as the most intense storm to evaporated and my mood
our weather router. hit land on Christmas Day darkened deeper than that Heather Fran-
Located approximately for the last 60 years. northern horizon. It wasn’t cis and Steve
50 nm to the northeast of us Although the skies until 12 hours later that the Hertik cel-
was a low pressure system. lightened when the winds filled back in, and ebrate cross-
A low that was deepening depression moved off, so during that time we rolled ing the line
and moving fast, thankfully did the winds. On Dec. 24, and clanged about, not even aboard Kate,
toward the northwest. We with 193 nautical miles to drifting 1 nm. In my fog of their Newport
were advised to alter course sail, we were left adrift in a sleep-deprived frustration, I 41.
for the next 24 to 36 hours, confused sea, sails down and let the disappointment get
and on Dec. 20 we sailed everything clanging around. the better of me.
away from our destination Our 193 nm is, oddly, After we raised sail and
and all hope of arriving close to our best distance got underway, I grumpily
before Christmas. sailed in a 24-hour period. ate dinner. Then I went to
That “fast-moving system” I was still hopeful that the bed without a goodnight,
was a tropical depression wind would fill in and we sprawling on the cabin sole,
with a high potential to would arrive in Palau on hoping to catch up on some
deepen into a typhoon Christmas Day with enough sleep. (You can’t fall off!) I
within 24 to 48 hours. The time to spare to unpack the sat my midnight watch with
system had been on the radar boat, chill a bottle of wine a scowl on my face, even
of the forecasters for the last and the four cans of beer though there was no one
several days down around 4° we’d saved, hang up some there to see it. All I wanted
N. This explained the crappy decorations and cook a nice to do was close my eyes, fall
conditions that we had been Christmas dinner before it asleep and pretend the whole
experiencing for the last three got dark. thing wasn’t happening —
days. This explained Steve’s As the hours drifted by, that we weren’t going to
sixth sense about keeping a these lovely possibilities spend Christmas at sea.

correspondence
But, as the Grinch so wisely Two days later, on the 27th,

noted, “You can’t keep Christmas after stalling outside the reef for
from coming.” When I woke at eight hours, waiting for daybreak,
download 0600, I was greeted by a breakfast we cleared customs in Palau.
nv charts App of hot polenta sprinkled with When we tied up to the mooring,
Charts the last two pieces of bacon and I was a little disappointed the
& a smile from my jolly elf, Steve. journey was over. After 20 long
On the tree, which I had put sometimes-trying days at sea, I
Digital Marina Guide felt like I could keep going. As if
up several days before in a spurt
for the I could only remember the sweet
of holiday hopefulness, was a
US East Coast selection of “presents.” Hand- spots.
FREE drawn cards noting all the things
Steve wanted to give me when we
The night before, in the dark, I
wrote this in my journal:
got to port. Under the tree was my “Now, with the prospect of
old woolly sock, brimming with land on the horizon, literally as
bits and pieces Steve had collected Palau is right in front of us, that
around the boat, things he knew I familiar feeling of disappointment
liked or would make me smile: a is starting to creep in around the
packet of coffee, a tin of teriyaki- edges. Disappointed that the journey
flavored tuna. And, like the is over — that this incredible, vast
Grinch, I suddenly felt my heart and ever-changing blue existence
burst out of my chest, growing two is about to be interrupted by land
sizes in gratitude for the fact that — solid, immoveable, unforgiving.
Steve not only put up with me but That this beautiful, simple, raw state
showed me what Christmas was of mind will be temporarily lost. It
see us at really about. takes several days out here to become
Annapolis Sail Show C 1
As it turned out, Christmas empty enough to feel full, and only
Day was beautiful! We had perfect a few hours ashore to be full enough
For 35 years nv charts has winds, calm seas and clear skies. that you are empty. The trouble is
produced charts of Europe, the For lunch I dug out the bottles of never letting go of everything, it is
Mediterranean, the Caribbean,
the Bahamas, the US East Coast olives and sundried tomatoes that holding on to the nothing that you
and Cuba. I had been saving, cut some cheese find out here. Of not cluttering
In cooperation with Atlantic and salami and opened a box of up the beautiful space inside you
Cruising Club’s Digital Guides
not-stale Ritz crackers. We sat in that only the ocean can help you
to Marinas ©.
nv charts are relied on by the sun, enjoying a cold beer and discover.”
cruisers, racers, the Germany Kiel a picnic lunch while listening to And that is why we are looking
Pilots and the US Coast Guard. Christmas music. We had curry ahead at the next passage.
chicken cassoulet for dinner while —Heather Francis is from Nova Scotia. For
watching a spectacular sunset. more than a decade, she’s traveled the world
That night, the skies were clear living and working on the boats. In 2008, she
and full of stars and, for the first and her Aussie partner Steve bought Kate, a
time in many years, I saw the Big Newport 41-foot sloop. They are currently in
Dipper. Christmas, it turns out,
www.nvcharts.com doesn’t come from a store.
the Philippines. Follow their adventures at
www.yachtkate.com.

River of fear
To the editor: Somewhere in the
wilds of central North Carolina on
I-95, where trees grow tall and cell
reception is spotty, I passed a green
sign that said “Cape Fear River.”
It was wide, straight and shallow,
more of a creek than a river — the
kind that would make for a nice
afternoon on a kayak or canoe.
I knew that it meandered on
southward for another 100 miles,
where it then dumped its brackish
contents into the ocean at Cape
Fear and spread out over Frying
Pan Shoals. Hard to believe that the
gentle waterway I was looking at
Robert Beringer
was the same one that my daugh-

ter, Rona, and I had battled a few
weeks earlier.
There are places in the world Chesapeake. The wind blew hard Robert Beringer at the helm of his
that suffer the indignity of a nega- from the south and we were under Catalina 34, Ukiyo.
tive misnomer in their name: Ice- sail on the ICW. Approaching the
land is a beautiful island with mild, southern entrance near Southport, Fortunately, I had already furled
sunny summers and hundreds of I checked the tides and saw that the the headsail and run out the main-
geothermal hot springs. And you’d afternoon low was soon coming. sheet traveler. We heeled over and
be surprised how nice a place Hell, With the great aft wind, I reasoned, the speedo accelerated to 9 knots.
Mich., is. But whoever named the we would have a nice, if slow, pas- We pitched and yawed in a giant
Cape Fear River obviously traveled sage up the river and catch the slack washing machine as each obstreper-
its lower reaches because the name — and eventually the flood. The ous wave lifted the boat and turned
suits it perfectly. sky was blue, we were skimming us broadside, requiring a hard turn
On days when wind opposes the along at 7 knots and life was good. on the wheel. No way the autopilot
tide, the river’s intensity rivals the Just shy of the turn, I saw what would handle that, so it was hand
Gulf Stream and should be tran- should have dissuaded us from steering for now. Not the best
sited with extreme caution. The key going on. Four boats (and their situation, but nothing we couldn’t
to a smooth passage is to wait for wise captains) were anchored off to handle.
both favorable tide and wind. This the side of the ICW. Up ahead on Ukiyo slugged through what
requires one of the most important the river, the boats were double- felt like open ocean. It was both
skill sets in sailing, something I am reefed and heeled over. Gulp — in exhilarating and energizing — until
woefully short on: patience. for a penny, in for a pounding. my eyes glanced down at the small
We were traveling north on We made the turn. The ripples chartplotter and it all came back to
our Catalina 34 Ukiyo, anxious swelled to 6-foot rollers and the reality: Our COG was 1.5 knots.
to reunite with our family in the 15-knot breeze freshened to 25. Ouch.

correspondence
We were dealing with the full there were no places of refuge until enjoying the ride and not worried
ebb of the biggest river in North we were out of the river. So I mus- like the captain.
Carolina. My intractable impa- tered a smile for Rona and quipped, A couple trawlers lumbered by
tience had put us in a lousy posi- “Gonna be pretty bumpy for a heading south, no doubt surprised
tion. It would be dangerous to turn while, I think we better hold off that such a small vessel would be
around in these conditions and on lunch.” To her credit, she was heading north on the ebb. The Fort
Fisher car ferry crossed our path,
the spray splashing high over its
bulwarks. Foot by foot, we crawled
up the river that would not release
its lock. And on one particularly
large and pooping wave, we cork-
screwed enough that the wind
caught the back of the mainsail and
slammed it over to the other side.
Within seconds I detected a
reduction of forward thrust. Some-
thing was wrong, but I wasn’t in
a position to investigate. Rona
peeked out in front of the bimini
and pointed upward. “Dad,” she
said sadly, “the sail ripped.”
“How much?” I asked. “All of
it,” she answered. I handed her my
cellphone and she took a picture.
“Yup, all of it,” I echoed. We car-
ried on, a wounded whale, until I
spotted nav aid G177 and the mer-
ciful exit from this awful passage.
But the day’s excitement was
not over. After negotiating Snow’s
Cut and turning into the anchor-
age at Carolina Beach, we dropped
anchor, dragged and went aground.
But we finally got a break: The tide
began to flood, lifting us off the
sandbar and allowing us to motor
off to a convenient mooring ball,
furl the tattered remains of the sail,
and get some hot food in our stom-
achs. I was asleep in the fo’c’s’le
that night before it was dark.
—Robert Beringer is a college administrator
with a USCG 50-ton master’s license.

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correspondence
Reader disagrees on boat insurance Liability: If your boat “hits some-

thing” and sinks and you want to
To the editor: I love your magazines. I 10-car owner doesn’t just say, “Well, walk away, you’re probably going to
found the 2017 Ocean Voyager issue if the one I’m driving crashes, I guess be stopped by the folks in the crash
particularly wonderful and was read- I’ll just fix it or buy another.” He area (and potentially the Coast Guard
ing it cover-to-cover, making mental says “I’d better have a big 10-car nest and other authorities) and told “Not
and physical notes and deciding to egg in a very safe account to pay for so fast — get that wreck out of here!”
preserve the entire thing on file for things just in case.” And the only And even if what you hit was a log
future reference — that’s how valu- difference between you holding the that, presumably, doesn’t have a law-
able and useful I think it is — until “insurance fund” and the insurance yer to sue on its behalf, there’s still
I got to the final article by Eric San- company doing it is that you can’t the folks whose property is impacted
ford about boat insurance (“Boat spend it or invest it in anything by the leaking fuel, or the tow/sal-
insur- other than very low-return, very safe vage folks you hire who drop a piece
Voyaging
Skills ance: an things, while they can. on somebody’s toe, or if you were
Boat insurance: evalu- Let me cut to the major problem: unlucky enough to get outside your
an evaluation ation,” Liability. What Mr. Sanford doesn’t mythical 95 percent safety zone and
O Ocean seem to understand is the business hit or be hit by another boat, a pier, a
ne of the first things that the reason, most just shrug and
most boat owners look say, “Too expensive.” Granted,
for when they buy a new most of these are live-aboards who
boat is insurance. Depending on reside on their boats full time and
the size of your boat and your on a very limited budget. Many of
planned cruising grounds, there these boats are simply not worth
Voyager model of insurance, which is not swimmer or a pet dog, you can expect
can be anywhere from zero to 20 insuring anyway.
companies offering coverage, with But what about my 10-year- south of the line that the com-
rates varying from 1 to 5 percent old trawler that set me back pany decided was the “hurricane
of your boat value per year. That’s $300,000? Should I insure it? For belt.” Of course this “belt” is com-
quite a range. Some companies what amount? What deductible? pletely arbitrary — pretty much A voyager
looks at
a lawsuit. A huge one. For which you

are subsidiaries of auto and home What are my navigation limits? every marine insurance company
2017). “profit from premiums,” but rather

companies, while others only sell What are the real risks? What has a different set of lat/long coor-
marine insurance. about liability? These are all ques- dinates to define it — and beyond his insur-
Last summer I decided to go tions that you need to answer that, fairly absurd.
bare — bare of boat insurance, before plopping down thousands Yes, based on the past 70 ance
that is. The reason is neither of dollars on insurance. years of data, most hurricanes needs
I’d “profit from investment on premi- will probably have to hire a lawyer
long nor complicated; indeed it Pretty much all marine insurers (typhoons, cyclones) occur within
is based on the same sort of actu- require a survey before they will a certain area during a certain
arial and statistical computations insure a boat. This gives them an time of the year. The operative Story and
that insurance companies use to idea of the boat’s potential value word here is most. In 2011, there photos by
set premiums. Basically, the price as well as condition, so this factor was a full-on hurricane (Irene) Eric Sanford
is derived from risk analysis, sta- is pretty much out of your hands. in Vermont. It destroyed major
like to ums and make enough on that to that will cost you more than your
tistics and ROI (return on invest- You can always “suggest” a lower buildings and caused massive
ment). or higher value, but generally this flood damage. For those of you
In my travels, I have come will still be within 10 percent of actuaries reading this, Vermont is
across many cruisers who don’t the surveyed value. not located on or near any ocean.
carry insurance. When asked for The main reason that I
insurance premiums.
decided to The hurricane zone
respond still profit after paying claims.” Big

drop my In the Atlantic, the hurricane
insurance belt generally falls between 12° N
was that my and 30° N latitude from June 1 to Left, the
premiums December 1. Of course, there can results of
jumped be hurricane-force storms any- Hurricane
to the difference, bigger statistical problem Folks, people sue everyone and
from $5,500 where and at any time of year, but Marty in La
Paz, Mexico.
a year to statistics show that they are more
Above, a
$9,000 a likely to occur in this area during yacht in
year, and this period than at other times. Antarctica,
my deduct- Some companies start hurricane on balance
ible went season as late as July 15 and end-
many and big error on Mr. Sanford’s part. everything for reasons that seem to
a higher risk
from $5,500 ing November 1. area than
to $50,000. My situation was that the only many tropical
Why? reasonable East Coast marina that locations.
Because I could haul and store my 47-foot
was exactly catamaran was located 31 miles
have none of that “common sense”

31 miles too far south to be considered
2017 OCEAN VOYAGER

fallacies, 49 The whole liability issue becomes
38_51_voyaging_skills.indd 49
misun- 2/17/17 5:43 PM
a critical and dangerous flaw in his Mr. Sanford seems to think he’s
derstandings and, I believe, down- piece. got. And they do it for life-changing
right dangerous errors in this piece Let’s say you’re willing to write amounts (not even counting the time
because if it encourages others to do off your $300,000 boat if it sinks. away from your work or your boat-
as the author says he’s done, it will be Let’s say you’re willing to spend ing fun that is necessary to defend
genuinely hazardous to their finan- the money you would have spent yourself in the equation). The idea
cial health. Let me note up front on insurance on fun, fuel and fan- that you can blissfully cruise along,
that I do not work for, own stock in dangos. Let’s say you’re the kind or even be happy with your well-tied-
or have any relationship whatsoever of 10-car owner who can afford to down on-the-hard hurricane-season
with any insurance company other throw them away when they crash, storage, let alone with driving a
than as an informed customer. let alone when the ashtrays are full. random one of your 10 cars as your
First of all, he clearly has no con- Fine. You’re now in a percentage of whim decides and NOT have liabil-
cept of what “self-insurance” means the population that is smaller than ity insurance is not just dumb, not
or, if so, doesn’t display it here. The your magic 5 percent of course, but just cavalier, but potentially finan-
idea of it is not “don’t spend the fine if that’s your choice. It is a free cially suicidal.
money until you have a problem,” country … but as with everything —Dan Fendel is a TV writer and director, a
but rather “put the money aside else, “free” doesn’t mean free in a writer/editor in the fields of food, wine, travel
yourself instead of having the insur- place where lawyers, ambulance- and hospitality, as well as a playwright, sailor
ance company do it.” The mythical chasers, shysters and greed abound. and boat owner living in Los Angeles.

piece. I didn’t go into the insur- able to have and use radar. Radar
Eric Sanford responds: ance business model since I didn’t isn’t mandatory, however, and
I know what self-insurance is, feel those details were necessary. with reasonable planning and cau-
and I agree with Mr. Fendel’s Yes, there is always liability tion you can do fine without it.
understanding of the term. What I involved no matter what we do For me it’s a willingness to accept
don’t agree with is that the insur- in life. My decision to not have the consequences.
ance companies can handle “my insurance is based more on the I’m sorry if my article misled
money” better than I can. I have way I use my boat. Generally, we anyone into the idea that they
a 40-year history of double-digit anchor out in remote places (as should drop their insurance. I
returns on my investments. opposed to crowded anchorages), never suggested, and I DO NOT
I also understand the insur- avoid other boats whenever pos- suggest that anyone do what I do.
ance company model of taking the sible and sail or cruise at 6 to 8 I am no authority on anything.
premiums, putting aside a gov- knots. My point is that boat owners
ernment-mandated percentage to Not having insurance is no should analyze all the hazards
pay claims and investing the rest more irresponsible than not hav- involved and make an informed
to make a profit. I talked to several ing radar. If you cruise in areas decision as to where to spend their
insurance agents before I wrote the where fog is common, it is advis- money. n
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OCEAN VOYAGING
travel more than 700 nautical

miles. Nikita was negotiat-
ing the narrow channel into
the harbor. Her skipper deftly
backed the vessel up to a bulk-
head and I hurriedly tossed my
bags aboard and stepped onto
the swim platform, where I was
met by her owner, Michael,
along with Captain Magnus
and mate Ida. After a short run,
we arrived in the fishing port of
Thyborøn, where we had din-
ner aboard and spent the night.
The following day, Nikita
set off across the Skagerrak
for a half-day’s run to the
Norwegian coast. Among our
first stops was the port Reke-
fjord. It would be a stretch to
call this a village; there’s no
Across the
Skagerrak
bank, hardware or drug store.
Rekefjord is simply a series
of homes, docks and count-
less small boats surrounding
a bowl-shaped depression,
in the middle of which is an
Power cruising Norway’s fjord coast extremely well-protected harbor
that is reached via a narrow pas-
STORY AND PHOTOS BY STEVE D’ANTONIO sage. As we entered the harbor
we passed, both to port and
A
starboard, a large quarry opera-
fter spending it was a warm sun-drenched tion, where granite hills were
a few days in spring day. When I arrived in The Fleming being systematically dismantled
Copenhagen, I Lemvig, however, I was greeted 75 Nikita in the and turned into gravel. Two
hopped a train for by a chill wind laden with Geirangerfjor- 300-foot ships were docked,
a four-hour ride north across moisture. The North Sea is not den. This fjord, along with a few barges, which
Jutland, the peninsula that far away, and its effects were with its snow- were being loaded with gravel.
makes up much of Denmark noticeable. After a 30-minute capped moun- While the picture one imagines
and separates the North and walk through the village and tains and many is of dirt, dust and industrial
Baltic Seas, to Holstebro. From along the shoreline, past fields waterfalls, is grit, nothing could be further
there I took a short bus ride to planted with swaying golden acknowledged from the truth. It helps that it
the 750-year-old far northern canola flowers, I arrived at the as one of Nor- was drizzling, however, even
seaport of Lemvig; the famed marina. Within minutes I saw way’s most if it wasn’t, somehow I don’t
WWI Battle of Jutland took Nikita, the Fleming 75 aboard picturesque. think there would be any dust.
place not far from its shores. which I was to spend the next It’s the neatest, most squared-
When I left Copenhagen, few weeks, during which I’d away quarry I’d ever seen; no

rust streaks the equipment, no for nearly a full day, including
Alesund
trash litters the roads, noth- use of the galley range. When
ing appears to be out of place. onboard loads exceed what the 62° N
The harbor’s history is rooted shore power can supply, the

in mining — iron ore was first inverters make up the differ-
mined here around the same ence, and when onboard loads NORTH
time the Union and Confed- diminish (at night for instance), N O R W A Y
SEA Bergen
eracy went to war. some of the shore power is used
60°
The village guest dock was to recharge the batteries. Rosendal
unoccupied, and it was a good

thing because Nikita occupied Sør-Hidle: Skudeneshavn
its entire length. After mak- An “oasis” at sea
SW
Rekefjord
ing our lines fast, we plugged Here lies the horticultural mar-
ak
ED
58°
in our twin shore power cords vel Flor & Fjære, which trans- e rr
ag
EN
using one of the many adapt- lates to “high and low tide,” a Sk
Nikita’s
ers Magnus had made up. We jewel in the midst of a sea of route
were afforded a luxurious twin stone and sand. Lemvig
DENMARK
16-amp supply (8 amps isn’t In 1965, Åsmund and

56°
unusual in this region). While Else Marie Bryn bought the
this might appear inadequate farmstead Mangela, which was 4° W 6° 8° 10° 12°
for a vessel of Nikita’s size, her located on this island, where island, Åsmund and his chil-
electrical system is atypical in they built a small cottage as Above, Nikita dren planted trees (one summer
that her loads are simultane- a retreat from the bustle of crossed the they planted 2,000 of them)
ously shared by the shore power Stavanger. Åsmund owned and Skagerrak and in order to give the cottage a
and inverters, which in turn are operated a busy commercial explored Nor- refuge from the unrelenting
carried by her 2,000 amp-hour nursery in the city, and the way. Below, northerly wind.
lithium-ion battery bank. On island provided a welcome the village of Ultimately, due to
its own, the bank can supply retreat. During the family’s Geiringer. Åsmund’s failing health, he
all of Nikita’s electrical needs summer residences on the and Else Marie decided in
1975 to move to the island
permanently. After being here
for a few months, Åsmund
needed something to occupy
his time, and thus he planted
a garden, the harvest from
which was sent to the nursery
back in Stavanger. Strangely
enough, Åsmund’s health
began to improve. By 1995,
the barren, wind-swept island
retreat had been transformed
into a veritable Garden of Eden
with its own microclimate. In
this year, Åsmund’s son Olav
Bryn opened the gardens to the
public, hosting tours and recep-
tions. Much to the family’s sur-

prise, in the first summer more as we began our sojourn by the many perimeter trees
than 7,000 guests ferried to the through the gardens the sun Above, the planted by Åsmund and his
island to drink in its splendor, appeared and remained our panoramic family decades ago, it offers a
and the word spread. Today, companion for the rest of the view of Lyse- warm environment, literally
visits to the island’s gardens day. fjord as seen and figuratively, one that sup-
and gourmet restaurant, which The garden has continued to from Preikes- ports semi-tropical fauna, while
is overseen by 20-year veteran grow under the watchful eyes tolen, or Pulpit offering an inviting haven to
Dutch chef Andre Mulder, of Olav Bryn and his wife Siri, Rock. Below, those who visit.
exceed 30,000. Visitors have who acted as our guide. The Nikita‘s first
included all three houses of variety of plants and trees, not mate scans the Traditional villages
Norway’s royal family, and the to mention koi, was nothing helm station’s Located on the southernmost
location has hosted the Norwe- less than astonishing, particu- nav instru- tip of the island of Karmøy,
gian Chess Tournament. larly when one considers the ments as the the charming fishing and ship
I’ll confess, when Michael latitude at which it resides — vessel makes repair village of Skudeneshavn
inquired as to whether I’d like about the same as Northern its way through is home to just 3,000 people,
to visit Flor & Fjære, a garden Labrador. The plants range Lysefjord. making it one of Norway’s
that included an entrance fee, from roses and bonsai trees to smallest towns. In 1990, it won
not wanting to be the stick in cacti and windmill palms, and second prize for Norway’s “Best
the mud I reluctantly agreed. each garden contains exotic Preserved Small Town,” and its
The sojourn turned out to be plants from the world over, 225 immaculately kept wooden
an especially memorable feast punctuated by small lakes, houses, many of which date
for the eyes, lens and palate. stone bridges and waterfalls. back to the 1840s, are regarded
While the day dawned cloudy, Thanks to the shelter created as some of the best preserved in
Europe.
When we arrived there it
was gray, chilly and drizzling;
however, the following day
ranks as the best weather I
encountered during my time
aboard Nikita. The village’s
white homes gleamed in bril-
liant sunshine, and a steady
procession of small power and
sailing vessels ran out of the
port all day, several of which

were crewed entirely by middle- course,” he said, “the village is ited; snow-capped mountain
school-age children as part much different because of oil.” ranges 30 miles away were
of the town’s sea education He hesitated for a moment as clearly visible. It was warm
program. A traditional seafar- he stared into the distance, con- enough to eat lunch on the
ing festival is held here in late juring up images of his youth, I flybridge. We steamed for two
June or early July. Known as imagine, and then said, “Much hours to the island of Bjergøy,
Skudefestivalen, it runs for four has changed, and Norway is which is across a narrow strait
days and is the largest gathering now wealthy.” He also noted, from Ramsvig Handelsstad. A
of coastal culture in the region, local guide we met at a previous
attracting both old and modern port call insisted we must stop
vessels of all kinds, including here for a meal — he guaran-
tall ships. Craftsmen demon-
strate traditional boatbuilding
skills and barrel and model
making in addition to operat-
ing antique engines. Left, with his
In addition to its picturesque “crush” cap
setting, Skudeneshavn is also a and trimmed
center for ship repair, complete beard, the
with a dry dock in which a mate aboard
steel fishing vessel was being the fishing
repaired. I chatted with a local vessel MS
resident, long retired and in his Rapp looks the
80s, who grew up here; when with an element of pride, that part. Right,
he was a young man, because one large oil support vessel, MS Rogaland,
“the town was too poor,” he which was berthed nearby and moored in
spent his career working around towered over the village, was Stavanger, was
the world in the oil industry, instrumental in capping the built in 1929
and then returned to enjoy his infamous Deepwater Horizon and played
retirement. He shared a few well. the part of the
interesting stories and facts. He Nikita cast off her lines and hospital ship in
noted that when he was young, left Skudeneshavn in her wake. the recent film
fishing was the only trade open She cruised over a cobalt sea Dunkirk.
to young men, many of whom and under a virtually cloudless
emigrated to America. “Now of azure sky. Visibility was unlim-

teed an unforgettable experi- rebuilt by the current own- the sink, “A former CIA chief
ence. ers over the past 17 years into Nearly mid- peeled potatoes right here with
When we first contacted the a luxury conference center, night in Åle- me,” and then, seeming to not
Ramsvig Handelsstad Inn to which, being not far from sund and the be able to hold it in, confided,
make dinner reservations, they Stavanger, caters primarily to sun is only “…it was Stansfield Turner.”
nearly hung up on us, thinking the world’s oil industry and just setting. The guide could not have been
(as they later told us) we were ensures absolute privacy by Ålesund played more right: It was a memorable
telemarketers. When we arrived hosting only one group at a a pivotal role and enjoyable evening.
at their dock earlier in the day, time. Buildings are made using in WWII as a With a population of about
they veritably kicked us off, slate roofs and heavy vintage center for the 800, the tiny village of Rosen-
claiming a function would take timbers and planks, which transport of dal, located on the southern
place shortly. We were simply house conference rooms, a members of the shore of the Hardangerfjorden,
not welcome. dining room and 15 double resistance. is about six miles west of the
An auspicious start it was suites along with a newly built sprawling Folgefonna glacier,
not; however, the staff more art gallery. The former bakery which we visited and where
than made up for this early has been transformed into a we spent the morning skiing.
rocky footing as they later modern kitchen that is overseen One of the village’s highlights
welcomed us for a specially pre- by master chef Árnie Ívar The- revolves around the 17th cen-
pared dinner at which we were odorsson. tury Barony Rosendal — a
the only guests. The Icelandic After dinner, which included historic estate and gardens
chef presented and described local crab and halibut, we were located within the village, clas-
each course as it was served, escorted to the subterranean sified as Scandinavia’s smallest
and proprietors Mette and Jos- bar where Jostein served aqua- castle. Built in the 13th cen-
tein Soland shared with us tales vit and regaled us with tales tury and rebuilt in the 1820s,
of the inn and island’s past (the of his worldwide wanderings Kvinnherad Church is also
room in which we ate included and literary exploits (he is a located here. Rosendal is also
a vintage shop counter, com- former professor of Scandi- known for its shipbuilders (in
plete with goods from the ’30s navian literature and taught 1900 there were more than 300
and ’40s, including cigarettes for a time at the University of registered shipbuilders within
rolled with Norwegian tobacco Washington, living in Seattle’s the municipality), including the
made during the war). famed Ballard neighborhood famed Skaalurens Skibsbyggeri
The former trading post, where, surrounded by Scandi- yard, which first began building
which was first constructed navian heritage, he says he felt wooden vessels here in 1855
in the 16th century, has been very much at home). At one and built Norwegian explorer
transformed, renovated and point he told me, pointing to Roald Amundsen’s Gjoa, for his

Northwest Passage expedition. town square, a bronze statue mechanical, it was a veritable
Before Nikita departed this Below left, honors one of Rosendal’s own nirvana. In addition to the tra-
port, I made the 25-minute the 99-year- Fjord horses, the award-win- ditional large circular rotating
trek from the waterfront to the old funicular ning stallion Rosendalborken, blade, a second machine was
Rosendal Barony, the “castle.” in Bergen which belonged to the owner of also present; it uses a series of
The grounds and gardens are transports pas- the Castle Rosendal in the mid- reciprocating blades and pow-
among the most enchanting sengers to the 19th century. ered feed rollers that are capable
and well kept of any I’ve seen. top of Mount Originally from the moun- of simultaneously cutting a
Given the time, I could blissful- Fløyen. Below tainous regions of western large log into several planks. It’s
ly walk the paths that crisscross right, the mani- Norway, the Fjord horse is an ingenious piece of machin-
the estate all day long. cured grounds
While there, I asked a of the Rosendal
woman working in one of the Barony, known
expansive vegetable gardens to locals as
where I could find an example “the castle.”
of the Norwegian Fjord Horse,
the country’s own stout breed.
She gave me directions to a
riding club where two mares
and a foal were corralled. I’m
said to be agile and of good ery that, given the time, I’d
temperament, and these were pore over for hours while inves-
no exception. They quickly tigating its inner workings.
came to the fence as I walked
up and nibbled on my hand, The final port call
camera and coat. One of the At 11 p.m., the sun was seem-
world’s oldest breeds, believed ingly fixed in setting mode,
to have first migrated to Nor- and the sky was a mixture of
way more than 4,000 years yellow, blue and orange hues.
ago, they were selectively bred A couple was silhouetted on a
by Vikings at least 2,000 years distant jetty as they, too, took
no equestrian, but in my high- ago and because of their isola- in the ever-so-slowly unfold-
latitude travels I’ve encountered tion in Western Norway, they ing spectacle. What’s fleeting
and taken an interest in a num- remained a pure breed. The in the middle latitudes can last
ber of unique breeds, including Fjord horse has been used for for hours when one ventures
Newfoundland, Faroese and centuries as a working farm to the far northern or southern
Icelandic ponies. I made my horse in Norway. regions. As a photographer,
way there and was not disap- Adjacent to the stable was high-latitude lighting has an
pointed: They were handsome a working, vintage water- ethereal quality all its own, and
examples, buff-colored with powered sawmill. The shop was the extended sunrises and sun-
a distinctive clipped two-tone open and I walked through. sets are especially gratifying.
mane and a sturdy body. In the For those who love things In addition to being the

home of Rollo, the 10th-cen- fishing boats known as Møre submarine chasers, which were
tury founder of the dynasty of Mountains, Cutters that were unique to the faster and safer than the fishing
the dukes of Normandy, Åle- waterfalls and Ålesund area. The boats were vessels — all of which survived
sund was also known as “Little isolated farm- timber and between 50 and the war.
London” during WWII, both steads serve 70 feet with twin masts and With a heavy heart, I bade
because of resistance activity as a backdrop a single-cylinder semi-diesel farewell to Nikita and my ship-
that took place in and around as a sailboat engine. Most crossings were mates, Michael, Ida and Mag-
it, as well as the frequent small ghosts through made during the winter, which nus. When I arrived aboard
boat crossings known as the one of the afforded the Shetland Bus two and a half weeks prior, I
“Shetland Bus” made between many chan- the camouflage of long dark was a complete stranger. I was,
it and Scotland’s Shetland nels between nights while also subjecting it however, immediately adopted
Islands. The exploits of those the mainland to notorious North Sea gales. and made to feel welcomed and
who ran the Shetland Bus are and Norway’s A number of these vessels and a part of the family and crew by
the stuff of legend. Early in countless bar- their crews were lost through all from the very first day. n
the war, all of the crossings rier islands. enemy action or in bad weath-
— carrying resistance fight- er. A respite arrived, thanks to Steve D’Antonio is a marine
ers, saboteurs and agents, as the U.S Navy, which in 1943 systems expert, writer and photog-
well as supplies in and refugees provided the Shetland Bus with rapher (stevedmarineconsulting.
out — were made using local four steel, 110-foot former com).
The inspirational Pulpit Rock

Lysefjord, nearly 2,000 Preikestolen or “the sands every year, there
feet below, carved Pulpit Rock,” with my was nothing to indicate
its way through the shipmates and just half a that anyone had ever
granite landscape; its dozen other hikers who stood here before. The
smooth waters looked had also made the early closer I stood, kneeled
as if they’d been cast in morning hike. There and then crawled up
obsidian. The vista was were no guardrails, to the sheer drop-off,
simply jaw-dropping, no warning signs, no attempting to gain the
and hours could be restrooms or water foun- ideal vantage point for
spent absorbing its many tains — it was unadul- photos, the better it felt.
nuances. I shared the terated beauty. In fact, It was spiritual.
granite plateau, called although visited by thou- Steve D’Antonio

NETWORKS
Networks
haven’t
completely
dropped
cables, but
the wireless
approach is
ever more
handy and
useful
Why wireless?
Story and PhotoS By raLPh naranJo
E
lectronic navigation Currently, Ethernet tech- we are now in an era of evolu-
was revolutionized by nology and a cable-based tion rather than revolution.
the introduction of the network allow an immense One of the most promising
GPS signal, and today wireless amount of data to be shuttled new trends, however, is the Above, using a
technology helps it continue to to and from multifunction ability to wirelessly link a tab- tablet for naviga-
evolve. displays. The system can let or smartphone to a boat’s tion while on a
But one of the big questions interconnect training sail. Left,
is whether a wireless network a wide variety a B&G Zeus MFD
and phone/tablet technology of onboard wirelessly synced
will sideline the multifunction digital and with an iPad, mini
display (MFD) and its hard- analog sensors, iPad and a smart-
wired network — cornerstones radio receivers, phone.
of current electronic naviga- radar, infrared
tion. The short answer is no, or cameras and
at least not yet. There are lots other devices.
of upsides to wireless routing, This electronic
but there are also some seri- architecture
ous drawbacks, and hardwired has been in
networks like copper wire elec- play for a
trical grids will be around for couple of
quite a while. decades and
www.oceannavigator.com 31
NETWORKS
networked navigation system. What changed my mind transit of the C and D Canal
This process allows crucial about an onboard wireless con- and a sail down the traffic-
navigation data to be better nection between my iPad and ridden Delaware River. It was
Right, weather disseminated among the crew, nav system stemmed from an a challenging itinerary that
data on a and it even allows our tablets unusual sail-training cruise. included plenty of night opera-
iPad running and phones to act as a wireless Recently, I spent a few days tions, side-setting currents and
iNavX. Below, remote evaluat- even the extra complication
a lighted nav control, ing a of a spring tide. Once clear
aid in twilight changing crew of Overfalls Shoal, situated at
during the settings who were the mouth of Delaware Bay,
author’s train- that range being we would sail a coastal route
ing sail. from the trained to New York Harbor and see
course by the how the sail-handling part of
headings Annapo- the puzzle played out. The off-
to what’s lis School shore sailing would be the easy
being dis- of Sea- part; the navigation challenges
played on manship. would be the real trial by fire.
the vessel’s But Once the gear was stowed
MFD during and the navigation and safety
screen. the three briefs given, the lines and fend-
Being days ers disappeared and we effi-
slower spent ciently got underway. Shortly
than under- thereafter, my impromptu
most to way, the training also began. The crew
embrace a roles was well equipped with iPads
Courtesy iNavX
new trend, it reversed and and quickly synced them to
took me a while to fully realize the teacher learned a few new the sloop’s Simrad NSS nav
the value of moving shore- lessons himself. The school system using an iOS GoFree
based smartphone and tablet had been training a close-knit app. Fortunately, my role was
technology afloat. Part of my group of relatively new sailors to stand back and observe,
reluctance is that I like my nav and wanted a third-party opin- intruding only when and if
table aboard Wind Shadow and ion on how the training was things went well off course.
find it the right place to do going. When I stepped aboard, During the next three days, I
route planning, consider the I found the crew fully engaged was the one who learned how
effects of a wound-up weather in preparing for departure — a situational awareness can be
system or double team with good sign in itself. I had been maintained and enhanced via
the helmsperson as the radar told that the lads were very wireless technology — with
observer in overcast condi- experienced with terrestrial ori- or without a chart table. The
tions. It’s a place that puts me enteering but relatively new to crew negotiated tight channels
in a “pay attention” mode and the seafaring rendition of the and dodged traffic ranging in
automatically sidelines the navigator’s art. I hoped that the size from skiffs to ships. The
extraneous. So, I was a little latter would be bolstered by lookout, navigator and person
reticent about handling those the former. on the helm all had large-scale
tasks on the fly with a smart- Their cruise plan included digital charts displayed on their
phone or tablet in hand. a sail up the Chesapeake Bay, tablets or at the chart table-
32 oCEan naVIGator NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 www.oceannavigator.com

mounted MFD. In tight confines, Wi-Fi sources. Interference caused by by shutting down as much of the
we were often accompanied by an electrical and electronic devices oper- vessel’s electrical system as possible.
overabundance of commercial traffic. ating nearby can also impact signal Then, on a breaker-by-breaker basis,
The crew put the AIS chart overlay quality. Those who notice a drop-off reintroduce the load. This controlled
info to good use. The person acting in data-handling speed should try a sequential return to full power often
as lookout referred to the AIS data simple troubleshooting process. Start identifies the culprit. In some cases,
that was wirelessly sent to his tablet.
When he contacted nearby merchant
ships using a VHF hand-held radio,
he already had the name, position
and CPA of the vessel and would
then confirm its location, course and
speed plus any meeting, crossing
or overtaking details. In short, this
teamwork among the crewmembers
benefited from the enhanced access
to network data that was provided
by the Wi-Fi link. Not only did the
crew get high marks, their instructor
decided to expand his nav station
into a wireless information hub.
Background
Wi-Fi networking was developed
nearly two decades ago. Interest-
ingly, it was initially designed as a
wireless cash register linking system.
Few realized how many devices the
technology would benefit. Today,
all four major marine electronics
manufacturers offer ways to link
their hardwired networks and MFDs
to smartphones and tablets. It’s been
accomplished through the use of
built-in routers or network bridges
that allow their hardware to commu-
nicate with smartphones and tablets
via a radio frequency (RF) link. The
low power signal has a range that’s
greater than Bluetooth communi-
cations but still measured in tens
or perhaps hundreds of feet. Even
though built-in routers offer good
signal-to-noise ratios, Wi-Fi signals
are prone to interference from other
www.oceannavigator.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 oCEan naVIGator 33

NETWORKS
it can be a smartphone or tablet to your Smartphone and tablet users

microwave onboard network delivers must download an app spe-
oven, alterna- plenty of other valuable advan- cific to the brand and model
tor or even a tages. One of the most benefi- of the MFD installed aboard
nearby LED cial features is that it engages the vessel. It lets their smart
lamp with an more of the crew in navigation device link to the boat’s elec-
electronically awareness. It’s interesting to tronic navigation hardware in
noisy voltage note how comfortable people a manner that’s similar to how
regulator that are with operating their smart a home-based wireless router
emits spurious devices — a value added when works. The app allows the
RF interference, which can it comes to implementing a mobile device to become part
Above, live degrade a Wi-Fi signal. Other wireless link on board. of your onboard network, pro-
radar data times, it’s distance and shield- Most systems allow the viding repeater capability and
on a smart- ing that may make it necessary skipper or navigator (system mirroring what’s displayed on
phone. Below, to install a standalone router in administrator) to designate the MFD screen, as well as act-
the Furuno the system’s network. whether a specific phone or ing as a wireless remote control
TZTL15F MFD An Ethernet cable connec- tablet functions as repeater, a capable of manipulating digital
has Wi-Fi tion is always a little faster and read-only function or provides charts, placing waypoints and
capability for quite a bit more secure than full system control. The latter routes, and switching func-
connecting a wireless connection. And allows changes to be made to tions.
to wireless that’s a key reason why some routes stored in the memory, This combination of mobile
devices. manufacturers prefer to keep display settings and other vital and fixed hardware can be as
autopilot controls as a hard- parameters. Most experienced streamlined as linking your
wired function. However, the navigators are reluctant to give smartphone or table to a
convenience and user-friend- out full control access to every- single standalone GPS/plot-
liness of lashing up a familiar one on board. ter. Recently, I tested B&G’s
Vulcan 7; its multifunction
display is teamed up with a
built-in GPS and Wi-Fi router.
All it took to sync my iPad was
to download the GoFree app
on the iOS device, turn on the
Vulcan and follow a couple of
menu prompts, and the iPad
recognized the B&G unit as if
it were another familiar sho-
reside Wi-Fi signal source. As
soon as I selected the Vulcan
icon in the “settings” menu, I
had the ability to use the iPad
as repeater anywhere on deck
or below, as well as control
what the Vulcan was display-
Courtesy Furuno
ing. This digital partnership

seems to double the usefulness

of the standalone device.
Furuno, a pioneer in Wi-Fi inter-
face technology, is about to roll out With the
additional wireless capabilities for correct apps
its TZtouch2 system. Just around loaded, wire-
the corner is the ability to connect less devices
to the Web, acquire weather, access can look just
crowdsourced chart info (Com- like an MFD.
munity Charts) and connect with
a cloud-based data service. The
company’s products are showing up
on more and more commercial and
military craft, they understand the Raymarine purchased TackTick displays. These signals can also be
commercial-grade ECDIS demands, some years ago and reintroduced an networked with other Raymarine
and much of the research for that upgraded set of wireless sensors and electronics or even used with another
segment of the industry trickles new display systems. The waterproof manufacturer’s network. Eliminat-
down to the small-craft portion of solar-powered setup transmits wind, ing the dreaded mast cable puts a
their market. depth and speed data to mini MFD smile on the face of many sailboat
Split Lead
SSB Antenna Rumery’s Boat Yard
On the Saco River for the past 50 years
N
M No need
for backstay
insulators
M Easy installation
M No swaging, no
cutting
M Tough, water- Communications
proof, reusable expert Gordon West
reports
M Highly conduc-
tive RF elements “I have done
M Watertight lead- numerous SSB ham
wire to antenna and marine radio
connection checks with this
M Stiff 34’ system and have
LDPE housing found no discernible
secures firmly to signal losses, even
backstay wire when used with
a well-grounded
backstay aboard a
GAM Electronics, Inc.

PO Box 305
steel-hulled vessel.
The antenna...can Safe, convenient storage
Harrison, ME 04040
Phone: (207) 583-4670
bang out a signal
just as though it & quality workmanship
were suspended in
www.gamelectronicsinc.com mid-air.”
sales@gamelectronicsinc.com
%
Rumery’s Boat Yard

– Sail Magazine
www.rumerys.com 207-282-0408

NETWORKS
owners and equipment installers. really counts and the rain is blow-
But the golden rule remains in play: ing sideways, staying dry is just
The more wireless signals, the more one of many challenges. In such
chance of interference. conditions, seas are washing over
Raymarine’s latest lineup of the boat and the pitch, roll and yaw
Axiom touch-screen MFDs offer are conspiring with heave, sway and
both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connec- surge to send every unbolted item,
tivity, plus expansion through their including the crew, where it doesn’t
tried and proven Ethernet-based want to go. It’s the worst possible
backbone. RayNet cabling has held time to have your nav station in
up well in the marine environment, your hand. It’s a time when you can
and it’s interesting to note that when discover that suction cup-attached
it comes to Wi-Fi links, the com- brackets were never made to act as
pany’s position is that “Wi-Fi is ideal a hand hold. In tough conditions,
for non-mission critical accessory you quickly grasp the value of a
connections”— a statement with permanently mounted MFD that’s
which most technicians in the field really waterproof, one with a liquid
completely agree. ingress protection rating of IPX7,
Garmin has also entered the wire- which indicates that a device can
less world with cable-free sensors for withstand up to a meter of submer-
depth and wind data, along with sion for 30 minutes.
built-in routers that link smart- Soaking the electronics inside a
phones and tablets to the Garmin fixed or portable device is just one
network. of several heavy-weather impedi-
ments that come into play. A friend
A word of caution of mine recently recounted his
Enthusiasm over our mobile devices experience with a squall that packed
seems boundless, and manufactur- wind-driven raindrops that hit his
ers of fixed-mount marine electronic touch-screen MFD hard enough
navigation gear were wise to build in to continuously prompt screen
wireless interface capability. But still changes and make the touch-screen
there’s a wing of navigation’s cogno- process utterly useless. In such cases,
scenti that sees their phones and the ability to switch from the touch-
tablets as the mainstay of electronic screen function to a knob, track ball
navigation, rather than characters in or toggling mode is a big plus.
a support role. There may be some Once all the upsides and down-
validity of their claim — in calm sides are tallied up, wireless routing,
weather and smooth seas, it’s very smartphones and tablets still get a
convenient to keep track of progress thumbs-up as an onboard asset and
with a mobile device loaded with another tool that an able crew can
iNavX software. As a traditionalist put to good use. n
who still teaches celestial navigation,
I must admit that iNavX resides on Ralph Naranjo is a circumnaviga-
my iPad and gets put to good use. tor, freelance writer and photographer
But for me, when precise navigation based in Annapolis, Md.

Connectivity
is king and
voyagers can
expect even
more in the
years to come
The future of networking?

By tIM QUEEnEy
Courtesy Digital Yacht
W
ireless networks boat network were limited to a lying communications protocol
and access to the few: performance instruments, (e.g., NMEA 0183, NMEA
Internet on board positioning receivers (like loran 2000, SeaTalk, I2C, 1-Wire,
has increased dramatically in and GPS), autopilots, etc. And ZigBee, etc.) in a way that is One of the pos-
the past few years. Now it is those units were usually con- friendly to Wi-Fi, cellphones, sible big trends
becoming rare that a voyaging nected via proprietary networks tablets and the Internet. Signal in networking is
vessel doesn’t have a local wired offered by marine electronics K is the next-generation solu- the open-source
or wireless (or both) network companies. A few years ago, a tion for marine data exchange. Signal K system.
on board. One potentially group of volunteer developers It not only allows for commu- Digital Yacht’s
important development is that got together and worked out nication between instruments iKommunicate is a
the types of devices that can be a networking language called and sensors on board a single Signal K gateway.
connected will increase via a Signal K that allows just about vessel, but also for sharing of
new open source networking any device in the “Internet of data between multiple boats,
system called Signal K. Another things” to participate on a boat aids to navigation, bridges and
coming change is the prospect network. marinas.”
of increased areas of coverage Signal K is a free and open The idea behind Signal K is
for high-speed Internet, pos- source universal marine data to make just about any device
sibly including the entire globe exchange format that makes use on the boat or in the sur-
if announced satellite Internet of the HTML 5 standard. Sig- rounding marine environment
plans come to fruition. nal K, according the Signal K capable of sharing its data. This
In the early days of onboard Association’s website, “provides networking option is already
networking, the types of devices a method for sharing informa- possible using the NMEA 0183
that could be connected to a tion independent of the under- and NMEA 2000 networking
www.oceannavigator.com 37
NETWORKS
standards (though Signal K is capable said. “We’ve sold more than 2,000 more frequently. The drawback to
of greater speed then the NMEA units and it’s growing all the time.” relying on Wi-Fi connections is not
standards), but in order to use those As an open-source development only the need to purchase access,
standards, devices need to be certified project, Signal K requires interest but also the limited range of Wi-Fi
by NMEA — a process that involves and effort from software writers to signals. Even when coastal voyaging,
paying fees for certification. A mari- move forward. Digital Yacht is trying there may be few or no Wi-Fi signals
na, for example, is unlikely to pay a to help that process along by spon- available.
fee to get certified to put NMEA-net- soring a contest called Code Afloat One alternative is to use a longer-
working Wi-Fi transmitters on any (codeafloat.com), which is designed range cellular phone connection. As
of its privately maintained buoys or to help spur interested mariners and long as you have a contract with a
on its docks. Yet, with Signal K, the non-mariners to write new Signal K cellular service, you can make use of
process is easier and requires no more applications. The contest, which runs its cell signals as you proceed along
than the cost of a Wi-Fi transmitter. from July 2017 through October the coast (provided there is cell
One of the interesting things 2017, offers a $2,500 cash prize for coverage, of course). For example,
about Signal K is that it is currently the best application and two $500 marine networking company The
a wide-open field, and there may be prizes for the best ideas. Wirie makes a high-gain cellular
great applications of Signal K that no The other possible looming devel- antenna unit called The Wirie Pro
one has yet imagined. One company opment is wider access to the Inter- that can increase cellphone cover-
that has moved forward with offering net. While the early days of Wi-Fi age range. As Liesbet Collaert, one
a Signal K product is Digital Yacht, on boats were a time when voyagers of The Wirie’s founders, put it in an
which offers a device called iKom- could find open Wi-Fi connections email, “We definitely think that the
municate, a Signal K gateway that unsecured by passwords, that era Internet development will be more
converts NMEA 0183 and 2000 is largely gone, with marinas and cellular-focused, hence our creation
data to Signal K HTML 5. Accord- waterfront businesses like restaurants of the Wirie Pro. Wi-Fi has become
ing to Nick Heyes of Digital Yacht securing their Wi-Fi access points. a spotty option over the years, and
America, the iKommunicate unit is Also, as voyagers have become accus- while it remains the cheapest way to
increasing in popularity. “Signal K tomed to having a wireless network get online and a nice option when it
started slower than we’d have liked, on their boats that is connected to is available, people are now so used
but it’s a self-funded effort,” Heyes the Internet, they want to have it to getting online easily and reliably
with their phone that the cell data more capable satellites called Iridium Internet network. These satellites
connections are becoming the way to NEXT. The NEXT spacecraft will would still have access to Earth sta-
go. Also, people don’t mind spending have higher data speeds compared tions much farther out at sea than
money on more expensive cellular to the original generation of Iridium cellular coverage. OneWeb is even
plans, since they ‘demand’ immediate satellites. touting its satellite constellation as
and constant Internet.” Another solution to at-sea Inter- being capable of cross-communica-
Even cellphone coverage has its net via satellite may come from tion like Iridium satellites, meaning
drawbacks, however. What about planned satellite Internet efforts they could provide coverage even
when you’re offshore or in a remote that include announcements from when the satellites have no Earth sta-
anchorage? How do you feed the Google, SpaceX and a company tion in view. Voyagers could make
need for the Internet then? Satellites called OneWeb. The OneWeb pro- use of this satellite coverage to get
are the way to fill that gap, but satel- posal, for example, calls for provid- Internet access at sea.
lite options are either too low band- ing global coverage with a massive More Internet connectivity seems
width, like Iridium and Globalstar, constellation of 648 satellites in low to be the trend. “Everything depends
or too expensive for many voyagers to Earth orbit (see image on previous on cheaper Internet access on boats,”
use, like Inmarsat. page). All of these firms are looking Digital Yacht’s Heyes said. “We’ll
Iridium is changing the formula toward potential users in parts of the see the next thing within five years:
for its own service by launching new, world without an extensive wired global Internet access.” n
TANK
TENDER
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PRECISION
TANK
MEASURING
SYSTEM!
Accurate tank soundings
have never been easier
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monitors up to ten fuel
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Reliable non-electric and
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For information please call or write:
(253) 858-8481 Fax: (253) 858-8486

Move
over,
lead-
Lithium-ion-
based
batteries
gain wider acid
acceptance by Scott Neuman
M
anaging a cruising Of course, the heart of it all Ken Jones and his family
boat’s DC electri- is the house battery bank. Lead- have been cruising the Carib-
cal system can feel a acid flooded cell units were bean aboard their Catalina
bit like performing a juggling once the only choice; however, 380 Aqua Vida since 2013. A
act. The demands of modern, in recent years, other types of year and a half ago, he needed
power-hungry onboard ameni- lead-acid chemistry, such as to replace the house bank of
ties, such as refrigeration and absorbed glass mat (AGM) and several heavy and cumbersome
watermakers, must be balanced gel cells, have made significant 4D lead-acid batteries. At the
against a bevy of charging inroads. And now, a small but time, Aqua Vida’s sole source
sources: solar, wind, engine growing minority of cruisers is of charging was the engine’s
alternators and stand-alone opting for a different battery alternator. First, Jones decided
generators. Any miscalculation chemistry: lithium-ion, or Li- to add 400 watts of solar pan-
can send the elaborate network ion, the same technology that els. Then, a solar contractor
crashing down. powers your cellphone. steered him toward Clearwater,
Above right, the Fla.-based Lithionics, a pioneer
48-volt lithium-ion
Charger Load in marine lithium-ion battery
installation aboard
installations.
Keith Underdown’s
Anode Cathode Anode Cathode
Jones had a lengthy con-
44-foot catamaran
versation with the company’s
Cat Ion. Right,
engineering manager, Stephen
the workings of a
Tartaglia. He even visited the
lithium-ion battery
Lithionics facility, and was
while charging and
discharging
duly impressed. “Based on
[Stephen’s] explanation and
Electrolyte Electrolyte Electrolyte Electrolyte with the technical information
[available], we made our deci-
Separator Separator
sion,” Jones said.
KEY: = Li+ The system chosen for Aqua
= Current Vida relies on a computer
developed by Lithionics that
40 www.oceannavigator.com
constantly monitors battery vitals and AGM were simply too heavy. “Lith- years with a perfect safety record. In
temperature. If it senses flow in or out ium batteries provide a much higher fact, Lithionics has worked closely in
of the batteries that exceeds accept- power density, and can be much the past two years with the American
able parameters, it shuts down auto- more rapidly replenished by a DC Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) to
matically. Jones said that’s happened generator,” he said. develop standards for the use of the
twice aboard Aqua Vida, and both Running on the batteries only, high-tech batteries in boats.
times it was when the batteries hit Underdown’s range on dual Whisper Alan Olson, project manager for
the low end of operational limits. In Drive electric motors is only about an construction of the recently launched
those cases, he was able to switch to a hour. But, with the diesel generator Matthew Turner, a San Francisco-
backup mode that kept 10 percent of replenishing the batteries, he can go based educational tall ship, started
battery capacity in reserve. as long as his diesel fuel holds out. thinking about electric propulsion a
The biggest advantage to lithium- Cat Ion is on her second set of Li- decade ago when plans for the vessel
ion? “They recharge significantly ions. The first generation, installed at were in their formative stages. At the
faster than conventional batteries,” the yard, was when the technology time, lead-acid was the only viable
Jones said. “There are only small was “in its infancy, and relatively option and the numbers for them,
losses when transferring the electricity expensive,” Underdown acknowl- particularly considering the weight,
generated into storage. This allows us edged. Seven years later, he put in just didn’t add up.
to use a smaller house bank and get “improved and evolved” lithium iron Li-ion proved to be the missing
the same results.” phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries sup- piece of the puzzle. “By the time we
But at $1,300 a pop for each of plied, like Ken Jones’, by Lithionics. [were] ready to make a final deci-
Aqua Vida’s three new 75-Ah batter- Although by then the price had come sion two years ago, technology had
ies, the initial cost was significantly down, it was still a hefty $15,000 to changed with batteries,” Olson said.
higher than for more conventional repower the 20-kW bank. Under- After doing considerable research,
options. If Jones’ math proves to be down, however, was pleased with Olson opted to go with BAE Systems,
correct, however, the new lithium-ion the results. “At anchor … [we] can which enjoys a good reputation for
batteries are an investment that will run microwaves, washing machines, installations on hybrid buses and
last three to four times as long as his watermakers, air conditioning, fridge trucks.
old 4Ds. and freezer, and depending on usage, Olson acknowledged that “we
we go for several days without need- had folks telling us it was not a good
A step further ing a recharge.” idea,” but ultimately, any safety con-
Keith Underdown has gone a step cerns were allayed. Matthew Turner’s
further. Not only is Cat Ion, his Safety concerns? Corvus Li+ batteries supplied by BAE
44-foot PDQ Antares catamaran, Of course, it’s impossible to talk Systems are Lloyd’s of London com-
equipped with Li-ion batteries, but about Li-ion batteries without pliant. The same installation has been
his 48-volt battery banks are the hub addressing the safety concerns — approved by the Coast Guard for use
of a diesel-electric propulsion system primarily the risk of fire, a problem in passenger vessels. Safety features
that was built into the boat when it that has gotten a lot of media atten- include shutdown technology and
was laid up in 2007. tion. With the elaborate monitoring a system for spraying water on hot
Underdown’s brother, Ian, an systems now available and the latest batteries in the unlikely event of “run-
electrical engineer working in the lithium iron phosphate technology, away chemistry.”
field of battery technology, was the which is much more stable than the With more interest in this technol-
first owner of Cat Ion and the mas- earlier chemistry, Tartaglia at Lithi- ogy, the price for cruisers seems likely
termind behind its unique power onics claims the company’s batteries to come down. It might not be long
system. “By replacing the inboard are even safer than lead-acid. before they’re powering your boat. n
diesels, we were still constrained by He says the company has done
the boat’s engine design weight,” “well into the hundreds” of instal- Scott Neuman is freelance writer living
Underdown noted. Lead-acid and lations on boats over the past seven aboard a Tayana 37 named Symbiosis.

VOYAGING TIPS
What is the ITCZ and why

does it matter? BY ROBIN URQUHART
ahead of us the whole way
down to the equator, at which
point it jumped right over us
and set up at 6° N again. We
were through without having
to cross it. In a way I was dis-
appointed, but in another and
more honest way, I was very
relieved. It was as much luck as
it was route planning.
The experience raised a few
questions: What exactly is the
ITCZ, why are sailors so afraid
of it and why is it so hard to
predict?
In order to understand the
ITCZ, it is important to under-
stand a little about pressure and
wind. Wind is nothing more
Robin Urquhart
than the movement of air from

high pressure to low pressure.
W e were warned about the

Intertropical Conver-
gence Zone (ITCZ) well before
ITCZ. We checked weather
forecasts religiously. The ITCZ
seemed to jump all over the
Air pressure differences are
primarily caused by differential
heating of the Earth’s surface.
Above, Robin we left on our Pacific crossing. place: One day it was at 8° N Close to the equator, the sun is
Urquhart at It was constantly brought up in and the next 5° N. We stayed at or near its zenith and there
the helm while discussions with other cruisers. north and went farther west is intense heating. As the sun
in the ITCZ. We were given strategies for than we had originally intended heats the air, the air volume
Right, the ITCZ getting through as quickly as in order to stay
changes posi- possible and cautioned by tales above it. At
tion during the of voyagers from previous years 10° N, 131°
course of the who had not been so lucky. W, 30°
weN saw it July ITCZ
year. “Took years off my life,” was starting to drop
how one sailor described ghost- andEquator
ducked January ITCZ
ing through thunderstorms. south. We were
30° S
So, it was with no small lucky — the
degree of trepidation that we ITCZ stayed
began our approach to the a few degrees

increases and it begins to rise. This
zone of warm moist air is known as
the ITCZ. As this huge column of
air rises, air from surrounding areas A simplified dia-
must rush in to fill the void it leaves gram of how air
behind. This rush of air from the warmed along
tropics toward the equator is what is the equator rises
known as the trade winds. and produces
However, due to the Coriolis a low pressure
effect (the result of the Earth’s spin on zone with vari-
moving objects like masses of air), the able winds.
trade winds don’t flow straight down
to the equator but are bent to the this reason that NOAA calls squalls Boats departing from Mexico motor
right in the Northern Hemisphere “areas of localized moderate to strong an average of 54 hours during a cross-
and to the left in the Southern Hemi- convection.” ing, whereas boats departing from
sphere. This results in the northeast the Galapagos motor more than 80
trades and the southeast trades. The South Pacific Convergence hours.
Zone (SPCZ) Squalls: Expect to encounter
Why is there no wind While the conditions for the ITCZ frequent squalls, especially overnight
in the ITCZ? are a global phenomenon, it can be and in the early morning when the
The ITCZ was first called the Equa- argued that the ITCZ as we know air temperature cools. The cool
torial Doldrums in 1855 due to it forms only over oceans. Over the temperatures cause the warm moist
its “calm and baffling winds.” The Pacific Ocean, the ITCZ is known air to drop its moisture content and
ITCZ is a wide band of constant low as the South Pacific Convergence create localized convection. The
pressure due to heat from the sun. As Zone (SPCZ) to differentiate it from wind speeds in the larger squalls are
we already know, wind is air moving where it forms over the Atlantic and often in the 20- to 30-knot range
from high pressure to low pressure, so Indian Oceans. The South Pacific and generally last 20 to 60 minutes.
where there is constant pressure there Convergence Zone is the strongest of Squalls usually blow themselves out,
is no need for air to move around and the ITCZ locations and the one most but if they are large, they create a
hence there is no wind. often crossed by sailors. positive feedback loop and can last
for a longer period of time. Riding
Why are there so many squalls What to expect in the SPCZ the edge of a squall is sometimes a
in the ITCZ? Conditions in the SPCZ are variable, good way to sail through the other-
The intense heating at the equa- but if you are going through it there wise light conditions, but generally
tor causes air to rise and wind to be are a few things you can come to it is safer to avoid them where pos-
sucked in from the tropics, or what expect. sible. We used our radar to identify
we call the trade winds. As the equa- Light wind: The wind will be squalls at night and even to better
torial air rises, it cools down and the very light, often in the range of 0 to understand their movement during
air can no longer hold the moisture 5 knots. It will generally come from the day. This helped us avoid the
it carries. The cold air releases its the east, but depending on squall vast majority of squalls, especially
moisture as ice and rain. The cold conditions it can be coming from larger ones.
precipitation cools down the sur- any direction. Boats often conserve Based on the last five years of
rounding air as it falls and a convec- fuel so that they can motor quickly data published by Pacific Puddle
tion cycle forms. The air moving in through the SPCZ, which in addi- Jump, the average highest wind
this convection loop is what we feel tion to the light wind also contains speed encountered on the passage
as wind at the ocean surface. It is for squalls with the chance of lightning. is a little more than 32 knots and

VOYAGING TIPS
is almost always experienced in How to cross the SPCZ winds. Otherwise it can be 72 hours
squalls. The highest reported wind Timing: Certain times of year are of motoring. San Diego, Panama and
speed in a squall from the last five better than others to cross the SPCZ. the Galapagos are also common hop-
years was 50 knots, though 82 per- The tropical cyclone season in the ping-off points that have their own
cent of boats reported maximum North Pacific is generally accepted conditions to take into account.
encountered wind speeds of less to extend from May to November. Weather forecasting: Once into
than 40 knots. Maximum reported While crossing during cyclone season the trade winds, the sailing is very
wind speeds are usually higher is possible, your insurance premiums consistent until you approach the
than experienced wind anyway, as will skyrocket — if you can manage SPCZ location. The location changes
the transducer is at the top of the to get insurance at all. Most sailors from day to day, so it only makes
mast and is subject to the sway of choose to cross during the Northern sense to really pay attention to it
the boat in swells, which can add 5 Hemisphere’s spring/summer, with when you are getting close to typical
knots of speed. The highest wind the best time usually somewhere latitudes. The SPCZ rarely goes above
speed we saw on the crossing was a between mid-March and the end of 10° N in the spring/summer months,
little more than 30 knots in a squall April. According to Pacific Puddle so we began checking at 12° N. Pacif-
and it lasted for five minutes. Jump data, 67 percent of boats leave ic Puddle Jump data from the last five
Thunder and lightning: Large between March 15 and April 15, with years indicates that boats leaving from
cumulonimbus clouds can gener- another 20 percent leaving before the Mexico cross the equator at an aver-
ate thunder and lightning. We saw end of April. age of 126° W, whereas boats leaving
quite a bit of sheet lightning (cloud Local conditions: Each departure from points farther north cross at an
to cloud) in the distance when port has its own specific weather con- average of 133° W. Boats that leave
we were close to the SPCZ, but ditions, and it is important to check from Panama and the Galapagos typ-
nothing touching the water. It is these before planning a passage. In ically cross around 92° W and 87° W,
uncommon for lightning to touch our case, we departed from Puerto respectively.
down on the open ocean and even Vallarta, Mexico. The Baja peninsula NOAA’s National Hurricane Cen-
more rare for a boat to get struck, causes a lot of wind shadow, so it’s ter provides an Eastern Pacific Trop-
but it can happen. It is mainly for important to wait for a low pressure ical Weather Discussion, which lists
this reason that the SPCZ is feared system above the peninsula to create the location of the ITCZ and weather
by sailors. Avoiding the larger con- enough north wind down the Sea conditions around Mexico and South
vection cells will reduce the likeli- of Cortez before sailing 300 miles America. This was the most valu-
hood of encountering lightning. off the coast until you hit the trade able source we had and the one we
Screenshot of a grib file. The

author found this type of
weather data can be useful for
predicting squalls in the ITCZ.

checked most often. We also looked start seeing squalls up to two days out. bent on harming transoceanic sail-
at 12-, 24-, 48- and 72-hour surface Many cruisers also bring a large- ors. It is a complex weather system
analysis charts from NOAA, though scale Admiralty chart of the Eastern that, when properly understood and
we found anything beyond 24 hours Pacific on which to mark the location accounted for, does not need to be
to be highly changeable. These prod- and movement of the ITCZ. Using feared. Squalls are common and most
ucts are available via weatherfax from colored pencils, we drew the axis passagemakers receive a boat wash or
the Pt. Reyes and Honolulu stations of the ITCZ based on the NOAA two. Picking the right time of year to
or more commonly accessed through tropical weather discussion every 12 go, checking weather along the way
an email request to Saildocs. hours. We could see the movement and altering course to accommodate
We found grib files to be sur- over time of the ITCZ, which we the location of the ITCZ will help
prisingly accurate, especially when hoped would help predict its future make a crossing less stressful and
sourced from the GFS. The gribs location. The movement seemed more comfortable. n
we requested listed pressure, wind, almost random and convection could
precipitation and swell. While we be encountered anywhere from 30 Robin Urquhart and his partner
had been warned not to rely on the miles to 180 miles on either side of Fiona are on a multi-year voyage
gribs for accurate precipitation, we the axis. This method was interesting, aboard their Dufour 35, Monark.
found that they were quite good at but it didn’t prove very useful. Urquhart has a Master’s in building
predicting when and where we would The ITCZ is not a mythical beast science engineering.

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JULY/AUGUST 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 47

Nav Problem
A ferrocement schooner
BY DAVID BERSON
R achel and Ebenezer, pos-

sibly the first ferrocement
coasting schooner working in
the other interests and started
in the windjammer trade
from Camden, Maine. After
in Michigan to do day cruises
under the name of Malabar.
After a few years, the vessel was
the schooner travel business, one season, Captain Williams sold again and worked in the
began as an idea in the mind sold Rachel and Ebenezer to Florida Keys as an adjunct to a
of an engineer at Bath Iron Dan and Sue Hallock, who Boy Scouts sailing program. As
Works in Maine. The idea had an interest in schooners of this writing, the vessel has
was to gather a group of work- to daysail out of Greenport, lost its Coast Guard certificate
ers at the shipyard to finance, N.Y. The Hallocks ran Rachel and is in sad shape, neglected
design and build a ferrocement and Ebenezer for a few years at the Key Largo Yacht Basin.
schooner until about 1984, when Eben Let’s join Captain Ken
that could Whitcomb — a prime mover Hamilton, master mariner,
be enjoyed in the building and sailing of on a passage going north to
among the schooner Harvey Gamage Greenport from Bermuda. It’s
them all — purchased Rachel and May. Captain Hamilton, being
or put to Ebenezer from the Hallocks. a minimalist, relied on his
work in Whitcomb operated first noon sites and advancing lines
Camden, from St. Thomas, then from of position.
carrying Key West in the winter and We are doing an upper
passengers from Greenport in the summer. limb shot of the sun at Local
in the bur- As an aside, I sailed on Rachel Apparent Noon. Height of eye
C.A. Hill geoning and Ebenezer from Greenport is 10 feet. We, of course, will
The passenger schooner trade. and was so impressed with the be using the 2017 Nautical
ferro-cement The idea of a ferrocement village that I moved there per- Almanac. The day is May 15,
schooner hull was not a novel idea, as manently in 1994. the DR is at 38° 15’ N by 65°
Rachel and ferrocement boats had been The schooner’s time in 20’ W. We need to calculate
Ebenezer originally built by the French as Greenport was eventful. In the time of LAN for our noon
in the early as 1848. The framework 1985, it was on a mooring sight. At the time of the sight
Caribbean in of a vessel of this type consists during Hurricane Gloria and the Hs is 71° 05’. n
1981. of a shape, usually a rounded broke its mooring lines, com-
bilge boat, formed of rebar and ing ashore on Shelter Island A. What is the Ho?
covered with wire mesh, tightly with only minimal damage, to B. What time in GMT is LAN
bound together to conform to land in a sandy spot where it at DR?
the vessel’s hull and subdivi- was dug out by heavy equip- C. What is the latitude?
sions. The building was done ment and towed free. At the
Answers
at the Long Reach Shipyard in end of the second season in
Bath, which launched Rachel Key West, Whitcomb and
C. Latitude is 38° 17.1’ N
and Ebenezer in 1975. his group sold Rachel and
GMT
Captain Fritz Williams, an Ebenezer and the vessel was
B. Time of LAN is 16:16:01
original investor, bought out moved to Grand Traverse Bay
A. Ho is 70° 45.7’

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A.G.A.

CORREA & SON

A.G.A. Correa & Son • PO Box 1 - Edgecomb, Maine 04556 USA

Marine Tech Notes 40 Move over, lead-acid

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 1

MARINE NAVIGATION AND OCEAN VOyAGING

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tee. He is a past holder of the Vanderstar Chair Twain Braden

tion on their 41-foot sloop Wind Shadow, as told

author of Boatyards and Marinas. Advert@OceanNavigator.com

holds a Master’s in building science engineering

FiNANCE Ken Koehler

bUsiNEss oFFiCE Lee Auchincloss

david berson (Nav Problem, “A ferrocement schooner,” ISSN 0886-0149

page 48) absorbed his father’s dreams of the sea

2 OCEAN NAVIGATOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 www.oceannavigator.com

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20.2 knots. Stan Honey

Diamond Head lighthouse

The 100-foot Comanche,

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A quick check of before, considerably worse

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tom. She was launched mid-afternoon she was

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