Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
I have been taking advantage of an excess of free time (a long story) and some good weather to get a jump on this year’s boat jobs. Here is my original post on what needed doing. Here’s where I am at:
1. Get the #&!@&ing outboard working: I have spoken with Al at the marina and for a few hundred bucks I will have a new bracket and a working outboard very soon. Huzzah!
2. Sand and paint the bottom: Done and dusted and I have blue paint under my nails to prove it.
3. Clean and grease the winches: Still needs doing
4. Touch up the wood: Half-way done
5. Clean and Polish the Fiberglass: Getting started
6. Replace the boom vang eye on the mast: Check
7. Re-bed the Halyard Clutch: Done
8. Get up the mast and fix the wind indicator: Still need to do.
9. Inspect the rigging: Not yet.
10. Install Traveler: Not doing as removing the old one will cause a lot of problems.
Submitted by Ship of the Day
The CMA CGM Medea is scheduled to enter the Port of Rotterdam later this afternoon. She will berth at the ECT Delta Terminal and depart within 36 hours with destination Hamburg.
Submitted by Sail Southern California - Sailing Blog
There’s a new restaurant in the neighborhood and I’m happy to report an enjoyable dining experience every time I have visited, which is several at this point! Italian Job is just behind The Harbor Mart and just below The Lookout, which recently reopened as well.
Italian Job is a nice easy stroll from the SailTime boats on Dock C, so this really is a positive development! They offer an affordable lunch menu and a dinner menu that is very fair. Owners, Fabrizio and Allison are hands on. This place has a good chance of becoming a cult foodie favorite and in so doing survive and thrive.
For one, the pizza is the real deal; thin crust and super fresh ingredients. Calimari is wonderful. Great soups…and Gelato, to die for Tiramisu. We have yet to have anything that we haven’t liked. It’s one of those places where you want to try everything at least once.
The Anacapa Yacht Club, whom SailTime is a Sponsor of, is just next door now. So far, we have had them cater a couple of our weekly club dinners while we put the finishing touches on the kitchenette. Not only did they create a great meal, they priced it at the usual club prices (cheap).
Submitted by Sail Southern California - Sailing Blog
In the first installment of this series we chose a sailing destination and the time of year we want to travel. Now it’s time to find a crew and a boat. Picking the boat is easy. Choosing a crew is not so easy. If you seriously want to take a sailing vacation you need to start talking it up in your family and friend circle so you will have some preheated candidates. The number one mistake I see new vacation sailors make is underestimating just how many “candidates” it might take to get a full compliment of crew. Also. consider the destination and it’s average sailing conditions. While you can’t guarantee the weather some destinations are notoriously more challenging than others.
Maybe the crew is going to just be your family. Or maybe two families. Sailing vacations are great because they combine activities and promote team building. In a perfect world, it’s good to have a couple of energetic young people and at least one other person who has good sailing skills. A charter can be a fun communal get together or a tight-knit family vacation. Whatever works for you.
Charter sailboats; 32-39 feet will usually have two private sleeping cabins and a salon couch that converts to a bed. 40-50 foot boats are the norm in the charter business and offer at least 3 cabins, four when you get to 45 feet and even 5 cabins in the larger yachts. Catamarans are popular because they appeal to non-sailors and sailors alike . They generally offer 4 spacious cabins.
In the previous installment, you might have wondered why I left three months open to make the boat reservation. If I am going to need to fill 2 cabins with crew, I am going to let as many people as I know about it. The sooner I can get a commitment, the sooner I can book the boat. When you reserve a boat you are going to usually pay 50% of the charter as a deposit and the rest 60 days before departure. The way you find serious people to join you is to tell everyone that the first person to make the deposit is the person who gets to go. A good rule of thumb on approximate boat cost is $200 per cabin per day.
I will never be able to afford the yachts I charter. But I dont have to. What’s more, I get to try out all kinds of different boats over the years. On our upcoming Aeolian Odyssey we have a 2 year old Lagoon 440. I’m really excited because Ive sailed their 410 several times, but never this model.
One of several islands we will visit off the coast of Sicily, Filicudi, is very small and has ruins dating back to the Bronze Age!
So, now we know the place, the date, the boat and the people who are going with us. All thats left to do is get into some research over the next several months. We’ll cover that in our next installment.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
This picture was taken by Terri the marine assistant at Rothera on a dive I did with her on my birthday at Anchorage wall. The Labidiaster radiosus get stressed pretty easily and when they do their legs drop off. They are a sea star which is found in the south pacific and atlantic oceans.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
Down here at Rothera our last name is what we do so Claire is Claire Doc, I am Ash Boat etc. So the above picture is Ash Boat and Johnny Mech out with the girls (AFI PHD beakers) doing world class science. There isn’t enough room on the CTD boat so we take out two and raft them up so the three or four beakers have a science platform and we have a sunbathing one!
Submitted by Ship of the Day
The Castoro Sei (IMO: 8758603, Port of registry: Nassau, Bahama’s) is a semi-submersible pipelay vessel with an overall length of 152 metres, a width of 70 metres and a operating draught of 7.8 up to 15.5 metres. She provides a safe, reliable and stable operating platform capable of laying subsea pipelines up to 60 inches in diameter, with additional facilities for offshore construction works and flotel capability. The semi-submersible hull construction with optional thruster assistance for enhanced position keeping enable operations to continue in adverse weather conditions. The Castoro Sei is equipped with 2 rotating gantry cranes 134 tonnes capacity and three 110 tonne pipe tensioners for pipelaying. She provides accomodation for 330 persons. The Castoro Sei is currently owned by Saipem, Italy and was built in 1978 by Fincatieri. More information can be found at the Saipem site. 
The Castoro Sei is expected to arrive later tonight towed by the tugs Blizzard and Maersk Tackler.
Click here for the current position of the Castoro Sei
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
Wow what a dive. The visibility seemed to be endless. Rose Gardens is a pinnacle dive just off Anchorage. There was quite a lot of swell on the pinnacle itself so we got dropped in a little swim away.
We went in to take back the marine equivalent of a wood lice and also to collect some seal bones (see above picture).
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
There are some really amazing photographers down here on Base. This picture was taken by Mike Shortt of Shags.
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
LV Trophy Auckland
Photo: Stefano Gattini/AZZURRA
Submitted by Ship of the Day
HMS Ocean (L12) (IMO: 9079456, Port of Registry: Portsmouth, UK) of the Royal Navy is an Amphibious assault ship (or Landing Platform Helicopter) or Helicopter carrier), the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force. She is currently the largest ship in the Royal Navy. She can deploy an Embarked Military Force (EMF) of a Royal Marines Commando Group from 3 Commando Brigade supported by aviation and landing craft assets. The ships company includes 9 Assault Squadron from 1 Assault Group Royal Marines. Ocean is also capable of limited Anti Submarine Warfare activities, supporting afloat training and acting as a base facility for other embarked forces including Counter-terrorism units.
She was constructed in the mid 1990s by Kvaerner Govan Ltd on the Clyde and fitted out at Barrow-in-Furness prior to first of class trials and subsequent acceptance in service. She was commissioned in September 1998 at her home port Devonport, Plymouth, Devon. In her sea trial she managed to reach a top speed of 20.6 knots, however her usual top speed is 18 knots now totally fitted out and with the addition of new equipment (Source: Wikipedia).
The air group of up to 12 Sea King HC-4 medium-lift helicopters, six Lynx AH-7 light-lift/anti-Tank helicopters, and four Mk5 landing craft is provided by the Commando Helicopter Force. However, she can also support the Westland WAH-64 Apache operated by the Army Air Corps and helicopters of the Royal Air Force including the Chinook.
Ocean can transport up to 15 fixed wing Harrier[14] aircraft of Joint Force Harrier in the ferry role, but is unable to operate as a fixed wing aircraft carrier.
The HMS Ocean is expected to arrive later this afternoon at the Holland Amerikakade Rotterdam.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
The end of season is approaching fast. In less than three weeks I will be on the RRS Shackleton heading north on a 14 day cruise stopping at all the BAS stations doing last call or closing them up for the winter. In some ways I am looking forward to the cruise as it is something I have wanted to do for years but I am going to miss a few things about this place.
Last night at 11:30pm the last two twin otters headed North to Punta and today the two otters that left last week got into Calgary where the BAS planes live for the southern winter. It was an amazing site to see the apron, hanger and the runway all lit up for them to take off. However, as it was a night take off they didn’t do the traditional low fly by. Danny was on SAR so he has the boat on the crane down at the wharf.
This morning the Dash 7 left with 9 people onboard for Punta and north onto Canada. She will be back October 16th when the first summer people come back onto base. Their fly by was pretty low but not the lowest I have experienced – I was out on SAR at South Cove on the boat to wave them off and said good by on the Aero VHF to the pilots Alan and Mark.
We are moving to winter work hours starting this weekend which means no working saturday or sunday and 9-5 monday thru friday. So more time to head out into the hills and bag some more peaks.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
I didn’t really write a lot about my week at Fossil Bluff and seeing as at the moment we have had a few days of bad weather on base and I have only been doing paperwork I thought I would write a little about what you do at Fossil Bluff. The place is a fueling stop for the twin otters taking field parties south into the deep field. We make sure the runway is clearly marked and the flags and drums are maintained. When a plane comes in we man a fire sledge and give them the latest wind speed and direction and after landing we fill them up with fuel from the drums.
So basically you are a fuelling attendant and also a met observer when you are there. Every hour we do met observations for the airplanes and call Rothera on the HF radio with the information which includes – wind speed, direction, dew point, temperature, cloud cover and height, contrast and horizontal definition, pressure etc.
This is the met office at Fossil Bluff! The file folders have reports going back to the early 60’s when the base was used as a base for geological studies. They had a few dog teams at the hut to get field parties further south and across to the antarctic peninsula.
This picture shows how anything that is left on the snow eventually melts in and then freezes in so it is a daily job to hack away at the ice with an ice axe and make sure that drums of fuel stay on wooden pallets so they can be used and then the empties removed back to Rothera. In previous decades the drums were emptied and then left but now BAS is being responsible and all dunnage is taken out. We spent a few days digging out dunnage from the ice from many years ago.
Some days planes don’t come in but we still have to do the met obs but we can do them on the satellite phone allowing us to go for climbs and walks in the local area.
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
The Clipper Race is on the Pacific leg from Qindao to San Francisco and facing the toughest conditions to date. Below is an excerpt from their regular email update.
The last 24 hours have brought another reminder that the ocean gives no quarter to the crews taking part in the Clipper Race - this is serious racing, through towering seas and gales, extremes of heat and cold and, as is forecast in the next 24 to 36 hours, periods of little or no wind at all.
Describing the conditions he and his crew have just come through, Spirit of Australia’s skipper, Brendan Hall, says, “Last night was black as the ace of spades and windy enough to blow the hair off a wet dog. The waves were large and very powerful and their white, foaming crests loomed up ominously over our stern. Several of them broke over the transom, filling the cockpit up with white water. Our bowman, Andy (Rose, a journalist) found smug pleasure in observing that the back of the boat was, for once, wetter than the front.
“We’ve had very testing sailing conditions and the critical decision for me was saying when to back off and slow down, so as not to over-stress the sails, rig and deck gear. After one particularly vicious 45-knot gust, we dropped all sails except one and slipped along cautiously until the wind had eased.
“As always, we are thinking long term victory, not short term glory and, after sustaining bad sail damage in similar conditions on Leg 2, we have learned this lesson the hard way. I am proud to say that Spirit of Australia and her crew survived the first of many testing gales the North Pacific undamaged, undaunted and now back to racing 100 percent.”
“Last night we experienced the strongest winds and biggest seas we have seen since leaving Hull on September 13 last year,” confirms Jamaica Lightning Bolt’s skipper, Pete Stirling. “After dropping the mainsail to make some essential repairs we ran with just the staysail through the night until first light this morning. Before hoisting the staysail we were making 7 knots with no sails at all then after it was hoisted were averaging over 10 knots. In the middle of the night the on watch recorded a speed of 19.6 knots whilst surfing down the face of a big wave. Given how far offshore we are it is surprising how confused the sea state is as by now we should be seeing more regular ocean rollers. Because of this confused sea state we had a few big waves side sweep us in the middle of the night knocking the boat on her side and filling the cockpit with water. Undeterred the boat picked herself up every time, as did the crew, and carried on with the chase to catch the leading boats. Despite a sizeable gap between us and the leading three boats there is still every chance of getting a point or two at the scoring gate. “
This reminded me of Brian Luster’s account of the race during the same leg. Tough, tough sailing. You can read more about Brian’s account with this post and the subsequent daily logs.
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
I am not sure if I am the first but I certainly won’t be the last to welcome a new nautical blogger to our midst, Captain Black’s Sea Chronicles. From what I can ascertain, Captain Black is a 24 year old sailor who is lucky enough to live in Annapolis, sails a Catalina 30 in Chesapeake Bay (lucky bugger!), races a lot and has taught sailing. He is also reading the best sailing book ever, a A Voyage For madmen. Top Man!
Here is a bit about his blog in his own words:
What You’re Going to Get: This is basically going to be about me and my sailing adventures.
That includes my continuing work towards my captain’s license, my weekend outings out on the Chesapeake and connected waterways, possibly some Wednesday & Sunday night races (if I can work out some type of deal at work to leave early on Wednesdays), repair/general work notes, maybe a bit about shipping, sailing related thoughts and musings, my inevitable attempts to buy a boat, prep work for my circumnavigation and eventually the log entries of my circumnavigation.
Welcome to the neighborhood Cap’n Black.
Submitted by Ship of the Day
Today’s SotD is the CMA CGM Parsifal (Flag: Liberia, IMO: 9318060). The ship is capable of transporting about 8,200 teu and has a capacity for 700 reefers. She is 335 meters long, 43 meters wide and has a deadweight tonnage of 100,800. The vessel was built in 2006 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Korea and is managed by E.R. Schiffahrtsgesellschafts MBH, Germanyand is currently sailing on CMA-CGM’s Far East - North-Western Europe line (FAL3).
The Parsifal is scheduled to enter the port of Rotterdam later this evening with destination ECT Delta terminal.
Submitted by Ship of the Day
Today’s ship of the day is the recently delivered MSC Danit (IMO: 9404649, Port of Registry: Panama). This container vessel is 365 meters long and 51 meters wide. Due to her design with the superstructure midships, she is capable of transporting about 14,000 TEU, more than Maersk PS-class (amongst which is the Emma Maersk). One can argue about the looks of this vessel, however the design ensures for better stability and lower trim for higher speed, when the ship is fully loaded. The main engine of the container ship is MAN B&W 12K98MC-C with full output power of 72,240 kW. This power is enough for the ship to reach maximum speed of 25 knots. The MSC Danit is operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company on their Far-East to Europe loop.
The MSC Danit will arrive later tonight at the ECT Delta terminal, Rotterdam from Felixstowe and will depart within 36 hours.
Click here for the current position of the MSC Danit
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy NJ is having an open house:
The RYC Open House is coming on March 20 from 1 to 4. If you ever wanted to learn more about RYC, now is your chance. We will be hosting club tours, there will be live entertainment, some munchies, and members who can talk about the cruising, racing and entertainment opportunities that come with RYC membership. Come on down!
Details about how to get there can be found on RYC.org or by downloading this file
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
When the Gould came in for calibration of our CDT and Gould night we also did an oil spills excercise. The ship had according to the scenario got a hole in the port side tank and was leaking fuel out. So the people on base that had been trained in oil spill response went to work. We slipped launched the boat in North Cove and came around to assist in putting the boom around the stern of the boat.
The fast tank was assembled and the skimmers by the guys on land and we then pretended to skim the fuel off the surface into the tank.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
A month ago or so we walked Reptile Ridge past Repeater Buttress but then it was late in the day so we came off about half way to Vals. On Saturday we made it one little bump before Vals and then abseiled down off the ridge. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.
Submitted by Ship of the Day
The Eleonora Maersk (IMO: 9321500, Port of Registry: Svendborg, Denmark) is, together with her sisters (amongst others) ‘Emma Maersk‘, ‘Estelle Maersk‘, ‘Evelyn Maersk‘ and ‘Ebba Maersk‘, the largest containership ever with a total teu capacity 11,000 teu (of which 1,000 forty foot reefer containers) according to the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. A total capacity of 13,500 teu is also possible when containers are not fully loaded. This capacity is possible by stacking the containers in 22 rows wide. Maersk calculates the teu capacity with loaded containers. The vessel is 397 meters long, 56 meters wide, has a depth of 30 meters and a deadweight of 156,907 tons. Amazingly, all this size and capacity requires a crew of only 13. The specially designed Wärtsilä diesel engine delivers 80,000 kW. A waste heat recovery system is installed to optimize the use of the energy produced, so that the engine can deliver up to 90,000 kW. The vessels in this series will also establish new standards for safety and environmental responsibility. Environmentally-safe silicone paint, for example, is used on the hull, below the water line, reducing water resistance, and thereby fuel consumption, by 1,200 tons per year. The ship was built by Odense Steel Shipyard Ltd in 2006. The new MSC vessels, amongst which is the MSC Danit are smaller in dimensions, but can transport more TEU than the PS-class vessels of Maersk, due to their smart design (which doesn’t give the vessels the best looks).
The Eleonora Maersk is expected to arrive later this afternoon at the APM terminal, Rotterdam from Algeciras. Tomorrow, the vessel will set sail for Bremerhaven.
.JPG) The Eleonora Maersk seen arriving at Rotterdam at January 24, 2007. Many thanks to Rene Nicolaes of Sea-Ships.com for the photo! |
Click here for the current position of the Eleonora Maersk
Submitted by Messing About in Sailboats Blog
Yesterday evening I was lucky enough to attend “Sir Robin Knox-Johnston - a Life in Sailing” at NYYC. Sir Robin is in New York to receive an award from the Cruising Club of America and was able to be a guest speaker at NYYC while he was here. Not surprisingly the place was packed.
As readers of this blog will know, I am in awe of the man and his accomplishments. I have never seen him in person and he did not disappoint. As expected, he is down-to-earth, humble and very engaging - funny in a dry British way. He told his sailing life story and he had some wonderful anecdotes. His single-handed non-stop circumnavigation and victory in the Golden Globe Race in 1968-69 was only the start of a great life in sailing and in fact the rest of his life is just as interesting.
For much of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, Sir Robin had been given up for lost. His radio transmitter died in the Indian Ocean and after a mail drop off Australia he was not heard from for months. His family feared for his life. He finally was able to make contact in the last few weeks of his 312 day voyage when he encountered a British ship on Easter Saturday who relayed that he was safe and heading for home.
The next day, the priest in his church back home was delivering the Easter Sunday service and inserted into his sermon that it was only appropriate that although given up for dead, Robin Knox-Johnston would reappear on the day of the resurrection.
A few days later, he made the Lizard and was within reach of Falmouth and the finish line. After 312 days at sea, he was craving “a pint of beer, a steak and a bath in that order”. He was asked by the race committee what his ETA was . He said that he thought he would make Falmouth at 9 am. “Er, would you mind delaying?”, came back the response. “Why?” “The Mayor of Falmouth will be welcoming you with his wife and she has a hair appointment later in the morning so could you sail around for a few hours while she prepares.” Sir Robin did just that and finished obligingly at 3 pm.
The rest of his life has been filled with challenges of equal magnitude to the Golden Globe. Most notably he became president of the Sail Training association,a British organization that teaches young people about life at sea and more importantly about life - period. He talked powerfully about the impact that the two week voyages had on teenagers from blighted urban parts of Britain. In his words “This is what made life worthwhile.”
At the end of his presentation he was asked why he loved sailing. He was a little stumped by this. It’s a simple question that requires a big answer. For Sir Robin Knox-Johnston it was about two things. Firstly, it is because it offers so many different aspects. Whether it’s the thrill of competition (and make no mistake, he is very competitive) or it’s the relaxed joy of cruising with family. Secondly and more profoundly, it’s about freedom and the ability to be in charge of your own destiny.
At the end of the evening, and at the heavy coaxing of the party I was with, I went up and introduced myself. I felt a little like a teenage girl meeting the Jonas Brothers but he could not have not have put me more at my ease. Hearing my accent he asked me where I was from and we talked about the Clipper Race. He then went off and had a cigarette.
Submitted by Racing Yacht Management Blog
Waiting for the wave on the ramp in my boatsuit as I had come straight from SAR.
Evacuated to the traverse waiting…
At 6am on Saturday morning the fire alarm went off so we dragged ourselves out of bed (only half hour early in my case) to the tagging board all thinking bad thoughts about the person who had burnt the toast. Well it wasn’t toast… The Base Commander had been called by BAS as due to the Chilean earthquake the USCG had put out a tsunami watch for the Antarctic Peninsula including where Rothera is! We were told originally that it was meant to hit at 7am and we were given the option to make our own choice as to what we wanted to do. However, the watch was changed to a warning that we could see this wave hit Rothera at 10am so John made the decision to require a full evacuation of station.
All the airplanes were to take to the skies and head towards the Falklands. Everyone involved in the air unit went to work to get all the planes in the air by 9:30am and that meant that I had to provide SAR cover with the boat until they were in the air before retreating with the rest of the base up the ramp to the high ground of the traverse. The heavy machinery was taken to as high ground as possible. Survival and SAR equipment was taken up to the caboose including tents set up and extra food. So it was all go on base. In the end there was a 20cm rise in sea level for a short period of time. So lots of excitement at Rothera.
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