Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts

[IStream]

Gotta luv a poster telling Starzinger he doesn't know anything. 

I tell ya, a guy circumnavigates the globe twice doublehanded and suddenly they think they know it all!

Not to mention their misguided faith in the evil and mysterious diesel auxiliary and its perpetually contaminated fuel lurking below the floorboards. 

 

[estarzinger]

Gotta luv a poster telling Starzinger he doesn't know anything. 

Hey - there is always more to learn. And a few laughs along the way.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

I tell ya, a guy circumnavigates the globe twice doublehanded and suddenly they think they know it all!

Well, he singlehanded to Iceland, so he only learned half as much from that experience  as he could’ve had he done  that trip doublehanded, with his SO.

 

[estarzinger]

^^ there is actually a 'serious' note related to this . .  .  . . . back in the '50's and '60's it was a recognized problem among the remaining sailing fleet that the old 'cape horn captains' were retiring and their new replacements just had nowhere near their depth of experience or knowledge.  And that has continued, it is harsh to say it but even todays very best sailors are really just casual amateur compared to those old cape horn guys who could do lunar calculations on the back of a napkin and build a new offshore capable cutter from scratch from live trees if they needed to and so much more.

You look at some of the navigation mistakes made by the pros in the Volvo race (and the clipper race) and the lack of depth is just very apparent even in the top ranks.

And when those top guys are like that, we all around here just have to remind ourselves constantly (sergeant Shultz German accent mode) "I dont know nothing'.

 

[Ajax]

@estarzinger You're not inspiring self-confidence for my little jaunt up the coast in July.

 

[toddster]

^^ there is actually a 'serious' note related to this . .  .  . . . back in the '50's and '60's it was a recognized problem among the remaining sailing fleet that the old 'cape horn captains' were retiring and their new replacements just had nowhere near their depth of experience or knowledge.  And that has continued, it is harsh to say it but even todays very best sailors are really just casual amateur compared to those old cape horn guys who could do lunar calculations on the back of a napkin and build a new offshore capable cutter from scratch from live trees if they needed to and so much more.

You look at some of the navigation mistakes made by the pros in the Volvo race (and the clipper race) and the lack of depth is just very apparent even in the top ranks.

And when those top guys are like that, we all around here just have to remind ourselves constantly (sergeant Shultz German accent mode) "I dont know nothing'.

Reminds me of a couple of books I read last year from the 30's and 40's.  Sounds like qualified Captains were already getting scarce.

Tango Around the Horn - a crew sails "America's Last Great Sailing Ship" with a cargo of lumber to Africa during WWII.  A large part of it was verbatim excerpts from the diaries of two crew members.  Remarkable the number of times the captain discovered a navigation error and they were actually hundreds of miles from where they thought. e.g. all hands on deck looking for islands in the fog that were no where near.  

Sterling Hayden's Wanderer.  Only a small part of the book, but apparently by the 30's they were hiring teenagers and twenty-somethings to deliver old ships.  Though reading between the lines it sounds like those were more like suicide missions than real commercial ventures.  

 

[estarzinger]

@estarzinger You're not inspiring self-confidence for my little jaunt up the coast in July.

excellent  perfect state of mind to be careful.

 

[CapDave]

You look at some of the navigation mistakes made by the pros in the Volvo race (and the clipper race) and the lack of depth is just very apparent even in the top ranks.

I don't know any of these people or their backgrounds. I'm sure they could get on my boat and sail it way faster/better than I can. That said, it wouldn't surprise me in the least that people who came up as pure racing sailors would not necessarily be great navigators. I don't know what kind of mistakes you're pointing to?

I did learn to navigate with a clock and a compass, and sailed tens of thousands of miles including two Atlantic crossings before I ever sailed with Decca, or Loran, or any satellite navigation. So the old skills aren't completely gone! Though it's true most cruisers I meet would be utterly lost without their GPS chartplotters......literally would not know where to begin.

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

Reminds me of a couple of books I read last year from the 30's and 40's.  Sounds like qualified Captains were already getting scarce.

Tango Around the Horn - a crew sails "America's Last Great Sailing Ship" with a cargo of lumber to Africa during WWII.  A large part of it was verbatim excerpts from the diaries of two crew members.  Remarkable the number of times the captain discovered a navigation error and they were actually hundreds of miles from where they thought. e.g. all hands on deck looking for islands in the fog that were no where near.  

Sterling Hayden's Wanderer.  Only a small part of the book, but apparently by the 30's they were hiring teenagers and twenty-somethings to deliver old ships.  Though reading between the lines it sounds like those were more like suicide missions than real commercial ventures.  

Read Eric Newby's 'The Last Great Grain Race'.

I've a few others from that era as well.

Yeah those guys had vast experience by the time they got to be captain.

FKT

 

[stief]

Old salts never had vapour trails to follow for backup                 

 

[[email protected]]

Old salts never had vapour trails to follow for backup                 

chemtrails

 

[Steam Flyer]

Read Eric Newby's 'The Last Great Grain Race'.

I've a few others from that era as well.

Yeah those guys had vast experience by the time they got to be captain.

FKT

Shucks, Lightoller got shipwrecked 3 times before he even made 2nd Officer

All Newby's books are worth reading IMHO

FB- Doug

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

it is harsh to say it but even todays very best sailors are really just casual amateur compared to those old cape horn guys who could do lunar calculations on the back of a napkin and build a new offshore capable cutter from scratch from live trees if they needed to and so much more.

Last “great” one I can think of (I’m sure there are others) was Yves Parlier - that fantastic story, sort of the modern day equivalent to the lunar calcs on the back of a napkin ability.  (More akin, actually, to the latter “example” you gave - but I’ve a feeling Yves could figure out the lunars, if pressed )There are probably other version of his story that relate the very innovative mast repair he did in more detail, but this is a good one.

https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/12/15/47722/

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

Best lines from the article: 

“I suppose I was the perfect candidate for this operation, because I started out with an engineering degree specialising in composite materials,” Parlier says with a grin. He borrowed five 25W bulbs from his navigation lights, slipped an electric wire inside the stump of the mast and made a “furnace” by layering a fleece jacket, survival blanket and sleeping bag.”

“He thus succeeded in extending his mast by six metres, a job that usually requires a crane. “I managed to bring the temperature up to 60C, enough to polymerise the bonding agents required for the repairs,” he adds, as if this was child’s play.”

 

[Zonker]

pure racing sailors would not necessarily be great navigators.

I agree - except I think there are some very good "tactical/strategic" navigators who are good at placing a boat to best advantage in the middle of the ocean to take advantage of weather systems and how to make the boat go fast.

It's the stuff around the edges they tend to ignore unless really close to land (i.e. Volvo through the Strait of Malacaa, Bass Strait..

 

[Zonker]

“I suppose I was the perfect candidate for this operation, because I started out with an engineering degree specialising in composite materials,” Parlier says with a grin. He borrowed five 25W bulbs from his navigation lights, slipped an electric wire inside the stump of the mast and made a “furnace” by layering a fleece jacket, survival blanket and sleeping bag.”

Day 1 of our first offshore passage. We hand been hand steering all day because it was so new and exciting. I was lowering our Navik wind vane paddle into the water. Broke off the little gudgeon  for the paddle's trim tab.

Removed the paddle from the water, quickly made the appropriate fiberglass repair. Stuck a meat thermometer against the repair and wrapped it in several layers of aluminum foil. Turned on the stove and slowly baked it 6" above the burner for 30 minutes, rotating it constantly. Raised it up and down to keep the temperature stabilized. It cured nicely.

Put it back in the water as sun was setting. The repair held until we sold the boat. Remember kids - when working with resins heat can be your friend (or enemy)

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

Always carry a meat thermometer?!? . (That is quite possibly the very last thing I’d think to pack onboard...although I suppose that, cooking meat sourced from a developing country market, having a meat thermometer to ensure something is properly cooked might possibly be a good idea...)

 

[Ishmael]

Always carry a meat thermometer?!? . (That is quite possibly the very last thing I’d think to pack onboard...although I suppose that, cooking meat sourced from a developing country market, having a meat thermometer to ensure something is properly cooked might possibly be a good idea...)

We have one of these on board as well as at home:

It's useful for all sorts of things besides making sure the chicken is done. Waterproof, too.

 

[Jud - s/v Sputnik]

We have one of these on board as well as at home:



It's useful for all sorts of things besides making sure the chicken is done. Waterproof, too.

“All sorts of things”???

 

[Ishmael]

“All sorts of things”???

I will extend to the use as an oral thermometer, but that's it.