10.03.2007
Sail-World's Cruising World newsletter
This week's magazine comes to you from Cartagena, where we crew of Blackwattle are discovering a wonderfully old Spanish colonial city.
If you set off on a simple sailing holiday, the last thing you expect is to be involved in is saving the lives of shipwreck victims, but that's just what happened to a couple who headed for the Caribbean.
Gipsy Moth IV - yes, Francis Chichester's rejuvenated yacht and the one that went on the Tahitian reef last year - has been involved in a pirate incident in the Gulf of Aden. And talking about solo adventurers, Ken Gourlay is now doing well, and Donna Lange has crossed her outbound track! Congratulations Donna!
Huge variety of articles this week. Read about the top US boat names for 2006, the extravagant claims of a new 'extreme' anchor, and how sailors in remote a remote Tasmanian harbour are being asked to avoid trapped whales.
The Caribbean(and the rest of the world) is paying more and more attention to megayachts where the 'big bucks' are - does that mean that the standard cruising boat will end up being ignored in the future?
There's a profile of a very interesting cruising couple on a Stevens 50, Julia, Jay of Gandalf fame has written a tongue-in-cheek article for would-be circumnavigators, and as usual there's Blackwattle's newest account -sailing from Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles to Cartagena.
Read on, enjoy, and
Sail safe
Holiday Sailors Save Shipwreck Survivors
It must have been the last thing they thought could happen when they went on a sailing holiday. Two US sailors on a holiday cruise of the Caribbean have saved the lives of some Haiti shipwreck survivors. Bruce Smith, 52, and his wife Jan Hein were sailing from Panama to Antigua last Tuesday when Jan spotted what looked like a weather buoy in the water miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31632&ntid=30
Cruisers' Profile: Julia
It's instantly obvious when you meet them that these two beefy blokes make a great two-handed cruising crew. Both highly competent and experienced sailors, one is the electronics whiz, the other the engineer. What a team! They're high-energy individuals, both with successful careers, fast talking, smart, funny and - gay....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31631&ntid=30
Whale calls being decoded
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are forging a new understanding of whales,the largest mammals on Earth....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31617&ntid=30
Extreme Anchor - with Extreme Claims
If the claims about the latest anchor from XYZ are true (that it will exceed existing anchors by from 500-900%) then it's worth checking out. Designed for weeds, rocks, and grass, the manufacturers claim that the XYZ Extreme will outperform any existing anchor in sand, clay and mud....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31606&ntid=30
Circumnavigate Ambitions? - Buy the Package!
Jay Barry has just finished a seven year circumnavigation with his wife Carol in their lovely boat Gandalf, a classic IOR rated steel sloop. Jay has written this tongue-in-cheek description of how you would purchase such a trip in as a package tour:...
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31580&ntid=30
Caribbean: More Megamarinas for Megayachts
As the yachts get bigger and more numerous, the Caribbean is running out of parking space. The answer to this invasion of the so-called megayachts? Megamarinas....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31561&ntid=30
Gipsy Moth IV in Pirate Incident
The Round World 2005-7 Blue Water Rally has reported a pirate incident involving Gipsy Moth IV, Francis Chichester's famous yacht, now rebuilt and on a world circumnavigation. The yacht was in the notorious 'pirate alley' off the coast of Yemen, and headed for the Red Sea, when the incident occurred....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31560&ntid=30
Good conditions make good sailing for Ken Gourlay
As I said yesterday I had good mileage up till lunch yesterday and it has continued. It's the best for a long time. I've forgotten how wearing it is on you having the boat move around so aggressively all the time. I got down to three reefs and No 3 but as the swell built, and I still have the westerly swell from two days ago .......
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31618&ntid=30
Donna Lange crosses her outbound track!
'Last night I crossed over my outbound track. Officially I have circumnavigated the world in the southern hemisphere... ..' Congratulations Donna!...
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31598&ntid=30
Top Boat Names of 2006 - Is Yours There?
BoatU.S., the United States' largest recreational boat owners association, announced today its '2006 Top Ten List of Most Popular Boat Names.' None of the bad news that made national headlines during the year seemed to prevent recreational boaters from selecting 'feel-good' names for their vessels....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31581&ntid=30
Appeal to Remote Sailors: Watch out for Whales
Local newspaper The Mercury reported today that the Parks and Wildlife Service in remote Strahan, on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia, is urging yacht crews in Strahan for a sailing event to be vigilant when entering or exiting Macquarie Harbour because of a stranding of whales...
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31603&ntid=30
Sail-World's Blackwattle - Bonaire to Cartagena
Cruising Editor Nancy Knudsen and her husband Ted Nobbs continue their circumnavigation in their Peterson 46, Blackwattle. They are in Bonaire, in the Netherlands Antilles, on their way to Panama. 'I am nervous. Strange. After taking advice from 'everyone', we have decided to get to San Blas - our next destination - staying close to the Colombian coast, rather than the direct route....
http://www.sail-world.com/newstext/pda.cfm?Nid=31582&ntid=30
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