If like me, you can’t yet be out there actually sailing around the world right now, there are plenty of books to help with your sailing plans and assist to build up your sailing knowledge or are just great armchair adventure sailing books to read while curled up somewhere warm and dry. Books are heavy…
Poor Christchurch has taken a big beating by a huge storm which has raged for the last 3 days. I have never seen anything like it! The Lyttelton Port Company weather page on their website recorded 69kts yesterday, and it hasn’t dropped below 20kts. It is pouring with rain and the yachts are taking a…
Heaving to is a strategy for riding out a storm. Thrashing to windward while going nowhere can be hard on the boat, gear and crew. The trick is to get the yacht to lay around 45 degrees in to the wind and sea. Be aware however that you will make leeway downwind so you will…
RCD means Recreational Craft Directive. This is a legal requirement for yachts to have certain safety aspects built in to its design. Yachts are given a CE plate which is fixed in the hull and it contains information about the builder, design, maximum number of people permitted and the category of its design: A. OCEAN:…
I have got my Restricted Radio Telephone Operators Certificate – now called an MROC I believe (maritime Restricted Operators Certificate). But we will also need to get a call sign for the yacht, and some countries require a ships radio licence as well, although Coastguard say on their website that: In most cases a standard…
A great article in Yachting Monthly had some wonderful tips on what to do in the event of running aground. Here are some notes Prevention Check the charts, and know the tide for the places you are sailing know your exact position If unsure, proceed slowly Use your eyes or follow other yachts of a…
Fires on boats are really bad. Poor Wildy nearly caught fire once ages ago just as we were about to start a race. Some wiring issue in the engine bay, and there was smoke, which thankfully one of my fabulous crew sniffed out and managed to extinguish before anything drastic happened. You really want to…
Have you ever visited the Catlins? The locals say that it is mainly overseas tourists that come to visit and very rarely do they get any New Zealanders coming to stay! It is a spectacular spot located on the South Eastern corner of the South Island. It was somewhere I had heard lots about and had…
When you are travelling offshore to destinations unknown, then you need to have a fully stocked medical kit on board to enable you to cope with any situation. You could be at sea for days or weeks – which makes getting to a pharmacy quite difficult. Then when you arrive at one of the deserted…
I love flags, when yachts are flying them it looks like a real celebration going on. I fly mine at every suitable opportunity! Flags have a lot of history in the yachting world – mainly for being a way of sending messages to one another before the days of VHF and mobile phones. These days…
Astrolabe Sailing 