The picture of a beautiful boat anchored in an idyllic tropical bay often evokes thoughts of warm breezes wafting across tranquil blue waters. What the image doesn’t show is how that same warm breeze can cause the interior temperature of a boat to soar past 100°F.

While portholes and hatches can be opened to let air drift into the cabins, they are often too small or poorly positioned to make a significant difference. One common solution is a wind scoop—a canvas bag fitted over hatches to direct airflow. However, wind scoops require adjustment when the wind shifts, which can be inconvenient, especially at night in a marina or dock.

Enter the Breeze Bandit, an innovative product from Cruising Solutions of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Specializing in practical solutions for boaters, they’ve designed a simple yet effective tool. The Breeze Bandit is a four-sided nylon pyramid that attaches around a hatch using included press-studs. Unlike traditional wind scoops, it doesn’t rely on a single large opening to face the wind. Instead, wind hits the cone and is deflected through a pocket into the cabin, adjusting automatically to shifts in direction. If it rains, the cone can be quickly removed, and the hatch closed.

This concept is so straightforward that I wonder why I didn’t think of it myself during sweltering Florida summers in a marina. Instead, I installed two AC units—a solution far more expensive than the Breeze Bandit’s $65 price tag. A clever marina strategy would be to loan these out to incoming boats; once people experience the comfort, they’d never want to leave.

Watch a video of installing the Breeze Bandit below:

The post Shooting the Breeze appeared first on Cruising World.

Wondering what to get the cruising sailor (or liveaboard) in your life this holiday season? Most of us boat folk are minimalists, which makes us notoriously difficult for gifting. There’s no room for excess on board!

We took a break from publishing a gift guide last year, sending it only to blog subscribers—which generated some email so we’re back, baby! We hope this guide with our handpicked recommendations helps relieve a little holiday stress. Remember, Amazon’s Black Friday begins early.

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. No cost to you, and super helpful for us. Learn more at our values statement; we only make recommendations that we support 100 percent. And if we know of a small business you can support instead, you’ll find that linked here, too. If we miss one, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Clever Cameras

Night vision security camera

Motion-activated cameras with sound and alarms. Notifications gave us peace of mind during travel for Annapolis and the low-light image capture was amazing. Bonus: microphone and speaker let you talk (to your cat, even) through the camera!

Thermal infrared camera

Troubleshoot a diesel engine or wiring issue by identifying hotspots with Flir’s One Gen 3 camera. (Also fun for cat pics!) Caveat: Our friend and surveyor Marga Pretorius points out that this model is not strong enough to see into laminates and detect moisture in the hull of a boat.

Insta360 GO 3S

Great cruising vlog features: Level the horizon (for that sunset time-lapse from the cockpit). IPX8 rating means you can take it snorkeling. Way easier to mount with magnetic attachments, and more! Leveling up POV video with this on Totem.

Low-light, weatherproof camera

Security and a nav aid. Spend $2k (or $20k) on a fancy-schmancy marine version, or about $60 for this copycat and use your MFD as the display.

Quality of Life

Nordic Icebreaker

Perfect cubes even if it’s tossed around the freezer. Our friend Susan says “We’ve gone through a lot of ice cube trays with lids but none have worked until this.” Count us in!

No Eggs, No Worries

Easy methods to substitute for eggs, plus a selection of classic egg recipes re-interpreted to be eggless. Why cruisers need this: It may not be possible to buy eggs in remote locations. The eggs you can buy might be bad (the last dozen eggs I got in the Marshall Islands were moldy inside the shell) and are probably costly. It’s at least a month before I may find eggs for sale. And why not be healthy and compassionate? You don’t need to be vegan to appreciate this cruiser-created cookbook.

Malizia sunglasses

By sailors, for sailors, perfect for this sailor! I was gifted a pair earlier this year, and they now live on my face whenever I’m outside. Polarization lets me see into the coral-strewn water here, optical clarity is #chef’s kiss, coverage is excellent (super sensitive eyes here), and grey tint is perfectly dark in the tropics. Bonus: The frame is 85 percent recycled fishing nets. The Vallon store has a pre-holiday 25% off sale, sitewide, until December 3.

Stick-on bifocals

Hydrotac means I can wear Malizias and read a book at the same time. Less than $20 for a pair, they adhere inside lenses with a drop of water. A second pair converted my snorkeling mask. Way easier and cheaper than prescription lenses.

Water Time!

Prescription mask

Vision more complicated than my stick-ons? SeaVision masks are made in St Petersburg, Florida, and get rave reviews. Built to last, they can adapt lenses to your fave mask, too.

Dive clacker

Needed this a few days ago to get Jamie’s attention underwater about a shark swimming nearby (because sharks are gorgeous, and I didn’t want him to miss it). This makes either a rattle (for snorkelers) or clang (divers tap on the tank). Thumbs up on this and the mask from the dive aficionados aboard SV Motu.

Go Green

UNPaper Towels

Washable, reusable replacements for paper towels, these do exactly what they are supposed to, plus they come in fun colors and prints. I haven’t used paper towels in over a year and don’t miss them a bit! We’re linking to the maker site, Marley’s Monsters, so you can peruse the other goodness they have.

Compressed air fan

Koonie makes another product better! “I got tired of looking for compressed air cans,” said our friend Travis. We’re tired, too: Ditch those refrigerant/propellant cans for good.

On-Board Toolkit

Mini soldering iron

The size of a pencil, this charges via USB. Fortuna crew connects it to a power bank for portability.

Universal funnel

May not sound sexy but it’s incredibly useful. Our workaround in the past has been a thin, flexible cutting board held in place. This is much better!

Digital electronic level

Make your installs look pro-level! This clever device from Klein Tools is a level, an angle finder, a relative angle reference. Its magnetic bottom keeps it in place.

Better cable stripper

Jonard’s wire stripper has an adjustable wire depth. Get it right the first time when stripping small-gauge (large-size) wires for, say, battery bank wiring. This and level (above) tips from the current refit underway on Atargatis.

What’s Jamie getting?

I’ve fallen in the habit of sharing Jamie’s gift in this annual post. This paragraph was mysteriously missing in the copy he proofreads for me. (No spoilers, friends!)

Endoscope camera

16-foot cable reaches into deep dark corners to inspect tanks, the hull behind your generator, and other inaccessible dark corners on board. LED lights at the camera, that connects with Wi-Fi to your smartphone. (I nearly spilled the beans recently for a project where he might have used it!)

Timeless Favorites

These gift ideas never go out of style:

Marmara towels

All Turkish towels are not created the same! We’ve used Marmara bath towels for nearly a decade. The standard size makes great hand or dish towels. Currently 25% off on their site (linked).

Bone conduction headphones retain ambient noise sounds while listening to that audiobook on night watch. SHOKZ became instant favorites on Totem.

Solar powered string lights

MPOWERD’s 44-foot length is great for casting a gentle glow in the cockpit.

AND… A discount on our services!

Gift your friend, a loved one or yourself an hourlong consultation with me and Jamie! We are offering a limited number of our “try-us-out” coaching sessions at 50% off. We can do a lot in an hour. Learn more about how we get people happily cruising here, then get in touch for a custom gift certificate—until they run out!

Still struggling for inspiration? Our guide collection and gift ideas (16 posts) can be found at this link.

The post Our Favorite Things: Holiday Gift Guide for the Hands-On Sailor appeared first on Cruising World.

Personal safety gear is more than a one-and-done purchase. For gear to be effective, sailors need to become completely familiar with it, and commit to a regular inspection and maintenance routine.

The onset of winter might sideline sailing, but it also affords an opportunity to reconsider personal safety gear. Start with a thorough cleaning and inspection of your kit. This includes the foul-weather gear, life jacket, tether, strobe, whistle and AIS beacon. 

Consider replacing older, worn-out gear while adding some new kit. The goal is to have reliable, comfortable equipment that you’re willing to wear. It’s about function, not fashion. The value lies in how effectively this gear keeps you afloat, makes you more locatable, and wards off hypothermia.  

One of the biggest misconceptions is that if an inflatable life jacket has never been used, it must be as good as new. This ignores the fact that such gear is regularly drenched with salt spray, cooked by the sun, then tossed into a locker and ignored. The best way to ensure operational reliability is to follow the manufacturer’s maintenance procedures. Look online for product updates or recalls. 

A friend and safety expert recently surveyed other safety trainers and equipment experts about how often they encounter inflatable-life-jacket failures. One pro reported a 5 percent failure rate. Another said 11 percent. If aircraft had such a failure rate, lots more people would be taking the train. 

Fortunately, there’s a way to beat those odds. It involves carefully scrutinizing key components while doing an annual, offseason inflatable-­life-jacket inspection and maintenance.  

Begin by checking straps and clips for signs of fraying or cracking. Open and unfold the device, removing ancillary equipment such as a strobe or an AIS beacon. Check battery expiration dates, and operate each device in its test mode. 

Next, remove the carbon-­dioxide cylinder and inspect it. Look for an intact seal on the cylinder, and note any signs of corrosion. 

Then, orally inflate the life jacket and leave it overnight in a temperature-controlled environment. The next morning, check to see if there’s been a noticeable dimension change to the bladder. Even if you are handy enough to repair leaking seams on your inflatable dinghy or stand-up paddleboard, don’t attempt to patch a leaking life jacket. Replace it. 

Note how many exhalations into the inflation tube it takes to fill up the life jacket—because if you’re submerged, water pressure will make the process even more arduous. If you go overboard untethered and the autoinflation feature fails, a reflexive tug on the manual-inflation tab can deliver the requisite buoyancy, or the last resort will be oral inflation.

Pay close attention to the autoinflator hardware, either the bobbin type or the hydrostatic system. The former relies on the solubility of a tabletlike compound, held in a bobbin, which dissolves when immersed. This allows a plunger to pierce the carbon-dioxide cylinder, inflating the life jacket. These bobbins can, over time and exposure to high humidity, harden and become less prone to dissolving. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended replacement timetable—often for annual replacement.

Hydrostatic inflation systems respond to slight changes in water pressure when the unit submerges. The pressure-sensing element must make full contact with the water—and in some cases, the plunge is not deep enough to activate autoinflation. The best bet is to follow US Coast Guard wisdom and treat these life jackets as manually inflated systems with an automatic backup. Train yourself to yank the manual-inflate pull tab immediately. If the autoinflate beats you to it, that’s great, but if the auto system balks, no problem—you have already initiated manual inflation, and you still have oral inflation as a backup.

Most sailors find that there’s no perfect life jacket. Inflatables are comfortable to wear in their dormant state, but it’s important to get into the water and experience the transition from deflated to inflated. See how swimming is affected. Discover how vital the leg and crotch straps are to maintaining buoyancy with your head elevated. 

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to attend a US Sailing hands-on Safety at Sea seminar in a pool with pros.  It’s another valuable offseason skill-building opportunity. 

“Practice makes perfect” might be a bit of an overstatement, but familiarity with safety gear does improve outcomes. Getting to know your life jacket means that you have jumped into the water wearing it, done some swimming with it on, and even tried climbing up a boarding ladder. 

If nothing else, find an indoor pool and a few fellow cruisers interested in gear ­familiarization. Dim the lights, and note how a bright flashing strobe on your vest or jacket destroys your night ­vision. (A light on a stalk might be preferable.) 

Try the whistle, adjust the leg and crotch straps, and consider how an AIS beacon would be deployed. See if you could reach a mini flashlight or handheld VHF radio tucked into the pocket of your foul-weather gear. 

Now is the perfect time, before the next season’s sailing begins.

The post Stay Safe Year-Round: Essential Offseason Gear Prep for Sailors appeared first on Cruising World.

My jaw ached from hours of clenching. My fingers grew numb from white-knuckling the companionway as a brace. We were crossing the Sea of Cortez from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with our course set for Chacala on the mainland. There, we planned to rendezvous with my partner’s family.  

We had disobeyed the cardinal rule of cruising: You can choose a time or a place, but you can’t choose both. 

Despite the weather reports predicting sporty winds blowing into the 20s with moderate northwest swells, we were 40 miles southeast of Cabo when the northwest swell grew to 10 to 12 feet, every six to eight seconds, breaking frequently over the beam of our 41-foot Cheoy Lee sailboat, Avocet. The wind was sporty, as predicted, but at a much higher speed of 25 knots sustained with chronic gusts into the mid-30s from behind us.

I was on the first watch of the night, my harness clipped into our dodger, my eyes on the horizon. The only light to fill the ink-black space ahead of us came from the breaking waves that painted the sea with moments of phosphorescence.

Then, the faint glow of the moon began to rise. It was around that time that things took a turn for the worse. 

Bang is a sound you never want to hear at sea, let alone at night. Chris sprung from below as I tried to free myself from the dodger. “What was that?” he asked, thinking we had hit something. 

“It came from the rig!” I yelled over the deafening wind and sea. “I can’t see anything!” 

It took a few moments to realize that our 130 percent genoa that was heavily reefed had completely unfurled, leading us to become overpowered very quickly.

We disengaged our autopilot and immediately broke off, putting the swell more on our aft quarter to prevent further rounding up. Avocet became a sled with hull speeds into the double digits as we tried to figure out a plan. 

I clipped into the helm. Chris secured himself to the jack lines and walked to the bow with a new furling line in hand. 

In horror, I watched waves break over the bow and snuff out his headlamp. He would soon realize that our furling line had chafed through at the drum. 

At first, he tried to install the new furling line within the drum, but there was no way he could get enough wraps. Chris returned to the cockpit to grab another line, kissed me on the forehead, gave me a reassuring smile, and scrambled back to the bow. He attached the bitter end of the line to the sail’s tack and wrapped as many loops around the top of the drum as he could, essentially creating an external furling unit. 

Then, Chris sat, feet braced against our bulwark, and pulled in the furling line. The wind was howling, but it couldn’t muffle his cheers as the sail began to furl in. 

We then used the same technique as dousing our spinnaker to have our main sail shade the genoa, removing as much power as we could from the sail before blowing the sheet to make it easier to pull it in. Once the secondary furling line was secured to a cleat, Chris could remove the defunct line within the drum, install the new one, and reef the sail again to get us back on course. 

This was a worst-case scenario for a furler failure, but the method worked in a pinch. It prevented us from having to pull down the sail, which would have increased risk for us and for Avocet. In high winds, you should actively avoid coming into irons because there is a high probability that it will shred your sails to oblivion or tangle your lines. Or both.

In calmer seas later, after further investigation, we concluded that the furler drum had been set incorrectly and went undetected until the furler line was tested under tension, causing the abrupt chafe and snap. Ever since then, we have reset the furler drum and replaced the line, and have not had a single issue in the additional 2,000 nautical miles under our keel. 

We hope you never have to try this yourself, but we urge you to run through a Plan B, C and D if you should ever experience a failure like this.

The post Redundancy of Thought appeared first on Cruising World.

The International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference has announced 13 Innovation Award Winners and five honorable mentions in the 2024 IBEX Innovation Awards Program managed by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and judged by Boating Writers International.

In the category of Boat Care and Maintenance, there were two winners. First is CMP Group Ltd. for its SMartyr SCP Anode. Judge Tim Murphy stated in a press release: “Nearly every boat needs to be protected from galvanic corrosion, but our typical metal sacrificial anodes add toxic metals to the water we boat in. The CMP SMartyr impressed-current cathodic protection solves this problem and satisfies the ABYC E-2 power requirement with a self-contained lithium battery charged by solar cells. The unit senses hull potential, self regulates and indicates proper functioning with LED lights. It’s a clean solution at a similar price to of sacrificial anodes.

The second winner in the Boat Care and Maintenance category is Arthur Edison, LLC, for CLiX. According to judge Pim Van Hemmen: “It’s always fun to see someone cook up a really clever, simple, inexpensive solution to a problem that has vexed boaters ever since the onboard fuel tank was invented. The CLiX fuel spill prevention product is simply brilliant and revolutionary.”

In the category of Boatbuilding Methods and Materials, the winner was Supersede, for the Supersede Marine Board. According to judge Charles Doane: “This inventive product, designed to replace marine plywood in boatbuilding and other applications, hits a lot of buttons. Fabricated from recycled plastic, it is itself recyclable. It is rot-proof, price competitive, weighs the same, and is more versatile. An important step forward.”

An honorable mention in the category of Boatbuilding Methods and Materials went to Chomarat North America for the G-FLOW 980L Structural Glass Flow Media.

In the category of Deck Equipment and Hardware, the winner is Commercial Sewing for its Outer Armor Self-Booting Power Bimini. Judge Brady Kay said: “The Self-Booting Bimini is the next evolution in power tops with a truly innovative design where the canvas top retracts automatically into an integrated boot box with a simple push of a button. Say goodbye to zipper Bimini boot struggles.”

An honorable mention in the category of Deck Equipment and Hardware went to Gemlux for the Paddle Latch.

In the category of Electrical Systems, the winner is Egis Mobile Electric for the XD Series Flex N2K Remote High Amp Relay. Murphy said: “From simple center consoles to complex cruising yachts, the Egis XD Series remote relay offers an elegant priceworthy solution to delivering power throughout the boat. The relay’s modular design, together with NMEA 2000 monitoring and control, promises to significantly reduce long heavy wire runs, and does so with comforting analog redundancy.”

In the category of Furnishings, and Interior Parts, the winner is Quality Mark, Inc. for the XPower Seat. Kay said: “As boats continue to trend towards automotive-like comfort, the XPower Seat with memory settings and 4 inches of movement in all directions takes marine seating to new heights. The electric seat base is integrated to move on the post for a sleeker and more efficient solution to marine seating.”

An honorable mention in the category of Furnishings, and Interior Parts went to SeaDek for the Magnetic SeaDek.

In the category of Mechanical Systems, there are two winners: Phiber Systems and OhNoH20.

About Phiber Systems, judge Theresa Nicholson says: “After four years of development, Phiber’s pressurized, hydro injection for brine evacuation and remediation is the first product to streamline the flushing process and to have universal application. Phiber makes freshwater flushing maintenance an intrinsic function for any system that uses raw water for cooling, at the touch of a button.”

On the WIF-Pro WIF-Shield by OhNoH20, Doane says: “This clever but simple product takes a critical and ubiquitous bit of kit, the Racor fuel filter, and helps it work even better. The easily removed heat shield bowl enhances key features—the ability to detect water in fuel and easily drain off contaminants—and improves functionality.”

In the category of OEM Electronics, the winner is Tocaro Blue for its Proteus Hub. Nicholson says: “Tocaro Blue Proteus distills radar information to bring an easy awareness of waters around the boat. Proteus helps the user digest and understand information from their boat’s Radar, sonar, and AIS systems.”

An honorable mention in the category of OEM Electronics went to Syntec Industries for its Gussi Italia PowerHub 2.0.

In the category of Outboard Engines, the winner is Honda Marine for the Honda BF350 V-8. Kay says: “With Honda’s first production V-8 engine, their high-power outboard integrates innovative highlights including a fully balanced 60 degree offset crankshaft that eliminates the need for a harmonic balancer along with key exclusive features found in Honda’s DNA. The development of the BF350 enhances its existing lineup and takes Honda power to the next level.”

In the category of Propulsion Parts, Propellers, the winner is Navico Group for the Lenco Pro Control. Judge Richard Armstrong said: “The Lenco Pro Control auto-leveling system leverages existing plane mounting points … and counteracts dynamic running conditions to improve stability, reduce pitch and re-entry impact. This cost-effective system is a snap to install and configure.”

An honorable mention in the category of Propulsion Parts, Propellers went to Mercury Marine for the Mercury Precision Joystick

In the category of Safety Equipment, the winner is Banshee Marine Audio for the Banshee VA1. Armstrong noted: “The Banshee VA1 isn’t the first VHF radio extension speaker, but it’s the clearest and loudest with a 10-watt integrated amplifier and DSP to filter out background noise and emphasize the human voice. The versatile mounting options make it easy to fit on any boat.”

In the category of Trailers, Parts and Trailer Accessories, the winner is Quality Mark, Inc., for the Bow Step G2. “As someone who’s spent the past decade clambering onto his trailered boat by using the trailer head and the spare tire to get over the bow cleat without hurting himself, the G2 bow step is a welcome innovation,” Van Hemmen said. “It’s a smart, well-engineered product that makes getting into a trailered boat so much easier.

The post Winners Announced for IBEX Innovation Awards appeared first on Cruising World.

In the past 50 years, the cruising scene has undergone major changes in boat design, performance, building material, electronic equipment, aids to navigation, and communications, as well as greatly improved weather forecasts. Jimmy Cornell has witnessed all these changes on his five Aventura boats, the first launched 50 years ago in July 1974. We asked him which changes he considers to be the most significant.

No aspect of long-distance cruising has seen a greater improvement than safety. I still shudder when I remember the sleepless nights and constant worry about the safety of my family during our world voyage from 1975 to 1981. I doubt that anyone used to satellite navigation can imagine the anguish of sailing through areas of known dangers using systems that had little changed since the days of Capt. Cook. 

We reached the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal in late 1976. Then, rather than take the traditional route to French Polynesia via the Galapagos Islands, we detoured to Peru to visit the home country of Paddington Bear, my children’s much-loved fictional character. This detour morphed into a daredevil land expedition that took us from the Inca vestiges in the High Andes to the carnival in Rio de Janeiro to the Iguazu waterfalls in Argentina. Back on Aventura, we sailed to Easter Island, Pitcairn and Mangareva in the Gambier Islands. 

From there, our passage to Tahiti had a complication. In those days, France was conducting nuclear tests on the Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls, and we had to obtain permission from the French authorities for the passage to Tahiti. I was alarmed to see that the allowed route had to clear the prohibited area by 50 miles. 

It cut across the southern Tuamotus and past the uninhabited atolls of Maria, Tureia and Vanavana, in an area aptly called “the dangerous archipelago.” No deviation was allowed. We simply had no choice.

Maria is 90 miles from Mangareva, so we left late in the day. We planned to sail during the night in open waters and pass the atoll in daylight. 

At daybreak, I was shocked to see Maria’s low profile peeping over the horizon several miles behind us. We had gained some 20 miles on our estimated position, driven by a swift northwest-­setting current. It was 150 miles from our current position to Tureia, and 30 more miles to Vanavana.

At that point, my astronavigation had become reasonably accurate. When the conditions were right, I was able to work out our estimated position within 5 miles of our actual location. However, a single sight allowed for only a position line to be drawn on a chart, with the location of the observer being anywhere on that line. Therefore, a second sight had to be taken later, so the actual location would be at the intersection of the two plotted lines. 

The easiest way to obtain an accurate position was to take a noon sight about five minutes before the sun reached its highest point above the observer (meridian passage), and then take a second one five minutes later. 

We didn’t have an accurate timepiece on board, so whenever I took a sextant sight, I started my stopwatch. I then switched on our short-wave radio receiver and tuned in to the WWV station frequency, which regularly broadcast the hour and minute in Coordinated Universal Time.

Throughout the day, I kept taking sights. By nightfall, I reckoned we had some 100 miles of open water ahead of us. This gave us a safety margin of about 90 miles, after allowing for an estimated 2.5-knot current at a speed of 5 knots through the water.

My main concern was that, pushed by a strong current, we could easily cover that distance in the 12 hours of darkness. 

At such times, we depended entirely on classic dead-reckoning navigation. Every hour, I wrote down in the logbook the course steered and the distance covered. The latter was based on the readings provided by the trailing log. This consisted of a four-blade propeller attached by a long line to a counter fixed on the stern of the boat. The counter indicated our speed through the water, which allowed me to calculate our estimated speed and the distance traveled since the previous reading. 

During the squally night, the overcast sky made it impossible to take any star sights, so I tried to slow down by reducing sail, but in the 20- to 25-knot wind, it didn’t make much difference. I spent a gut-wrenching night peering blindly ahead into the darkness and listening for the boom of the swell breaking on a windward reef. 

Just as dawn started lightening the eastern horizon, I glimpsed straight ahead of us, at less than half a mile, the telltale white line of breakers. Tureia. 

I disengaged the self-steering gear, ­altered course to port, and steered Aventura at a safe distance off the southern edge of the atoll. It looked much smaller than I expected, but I thought it might be an optical illusion. A couple of hours later, when the sun was high enough to take a sight, I managed to work out our approximate position.

It was a shock to realize that the atoll we had just passed had, in fact, been Vanavana. The much-stronger current than I’d anticipated had pushed us much farther west. We had passed Tureia in the dark without seeing it, a discrepancy in my estimation of some 40 miles.

Another 10 minutes of darkness, and we would have been wrecked on Vanavana’s windward reef. Even now, with the benefit of hindsight and much better charts, I find it impossible to believe that we covered so much ground during the night, unless we had been driven by a 4-knot current. 

We reached Tahiti without any further excitement and spent a delightful time exploring the picturesque Society Islands. Then we enjoyed a leisurely cruise through the Cooks and Tonga. By the time we reached Fiji, the anchorage off its capital, Suva, was full of cruising boats preparing to sail south to spend cyclone season in New Zealand. The motley collection left me wondering where all those yachts advertised in glossy magazines and exhibited at boat shows were. Certainly not there.

Still, it was an opportunity to find out more about boaters’ views on essential aspects of cruising. I prepared a questionnaire and visited the boats in my dinghy. Only boats that had been cruising for at least three months were included. Most had been sailing much longer. Three were completing a circumnavigation, and one was on its second. The average length of their current voyage was 2.6 years, and the average miles sailed was 14,800. With an average sailing experience of 13.8 years, their observations gave considerable authority to the survey results. 

There was, however, one aspect that I found surprising: watchkeeping. By their own admission, 17 skippers kept no regular watches. The crew went to sleep on ocean passages and kept only “loose” watches at other times. 

This relaxed attitude probably explained why only 40 boats had an inflatable life raft. The remaining owners claimed to have other arrangements prepared in case of an emergency: Ten planned to use their inflatable dinghy, of which seven were kept permanently inflated on passage, and three were fitted with carbon-dioxide bottles for rapid inflation. A further eight intended to use their hard tender, three of which were fitted with mast and sail. The remaining four told me that they had no intention of abandoning their boat.

Unfortunately, in those pre-GPS days, boat losses were a regular occurrence in the South Pacific. Looking back, I can only describe our willingness to accept such risks as fatalism: If something is going to happen, it will happen anyway. If you wanted to explore the world, then you had to be prepared to take risks, and most of us did. 

In a follow-up survey, I investigated 30 cases that resulted in 23 total losses and eight near losses. Among the former, five boats and their crew disappeared while on passage. Three of those tragedies happened during a cyclone. The cause of the other two is unknown. A further two boats were lost after collisions with ­unidentified objects at night, but their crew managed to save themselves. This was also the case of the two boats that were lost after colliding with whales. 

The crews of three boats that were lost when they ran aground on a reef at night also survived, as did those of the three boats that broke up when their boats were driven ashore during cyclones. The crew survived in all other losses or near losses.  

Keeping In Touch

Offshore communication has also ­enormously improved the safety and enjoyment of long-distance cruising in the past half-century. 

My first Aventura did not even have a VHF radio. During our 28-day transatlantic passage in 1976, we had no means of communicating with our family other than sending a telegram after landfall. 

Among the 62 boats in the South Pacific survey, half had long-range radios (23 had ham radios and eight had single-­sideband sets). The other half, mostly the non-American ones, had no radio transceivers, except a few who had VHF radios. In those days, ham radios were the only practical answer for offshore communications because marine single-sideband sets were prohibitively expensive. 

Email didn’t exist, and receiving and forwarding ordinary mail caused more headaches than anything else. General delivery was the most used receiving address, but it was also possible to have mail sent to the address of the local port captain, a local bank or an American Express agency. 

Arranging an international bank transfer was often a real nightmare too. Nearly half the participants in the South Pacific survey (30) carried all their money in cash.

If something is going to happen, it will happen anyway. If you wanted to explore the world, then you had to be prepared to take risks, and most of us did.

While some of the findings of that early survey might no longer be of much interest, some subjects are still relevant. So I did another survey. I interviewed 65 sailors who had completed a world voyage or were preparing to leave on one soon. Among them, 26 had completed at least one circumnavigation and a further 18 were close to closing the loop. 

One aspect that has dramatically changed over the years is the average length of cruising boats. The 65 boats in the new survey had an average length of 49.1 feet, a considerable increase from the average length of 39.2 feet in the South Pacific survey.  

Two other significant changes are rigs and hull material. In the South Pacific survey, half the boats (31) were one-masted, among which 19 were sloops and 12 were cutters. Among the two-masted boats, 27 were ketches, three were schooners, and one was a yawl. 

And now? Among the 65 boats in the new survey, there was only one ketch. All the others were one-masted, the majority having some kind of two-foresail arrangement, although few could be described as proper cutters. 

As for hull material, in the South Pacific survey, 33 boats had a fiberglass hull, 15 were wood, five were steel, four were ­plywood, four were ferro-cement, and one was aluminum. In the new survey, 26 boats were FRP, 17 were composite, 17 were aluminum, three were steel, and two were plywood.

Not surprisingly, monohulls were the vast majority (57) in the South Pacific survey, with five trimarans and zero catamarans. Monohulls continue to be in the majority today, with 43 among the boats in the new survey, along with 21 ­catamarans and one trimaran. 

Consumption and generation of ­electricity are also notable. In the South Pacific survey, 48 boats used their main engine as the primary source of generation, 12 had a diesel generator, 15 had a portable gasoline generator, two had a towing generator, and two had solar panels. 

 Today, only two boats in the new survey relied entirely on their engine for generating electricity, while 11 owners—who described their engines as their primary source of generation—also used other means. Solar panels were the primary means of generation on 22 boats, with 15 among them obtaining more than 80 percent of their electricity from that source. A total of 37 boats were equipped with diesel generators, but they were the primary source of generation on only seven boats. The number of hydrogenerators was surprisingly small, but the 14 owners who had them were pleased with their performance. Even lower was the number of wind generators, at 11, which is probably explained by their poor performance when sailing downwind. 

By comparison, in the South Pacific survey, only four boats were using renewable sources of energy, whereas 54 of the 65 boats in the new survey produced more than half (52 percent) of their electricity needs from solar power. An additional 14 percent was produced by hydro and wind power. That’s what I call progress. 

One area where the South Pacific predecessors were far ahead of the current generation was the extensive use of wind-operated self-steering gears. Among the 62 boats in the South Pacific survey, 42 had wind self-steering gear, 28 had an autopilot, 14 had both, and six had neither. In the new survey, 16 boats had a wind self-steering gear and all had an autopilot, with several having a second autopilot as a backup. 

Communications

In the new survey, all boats had some kind of satellite communications on board. More than half used Iridium Go! and PredictWind forecasts. Among those who wanted instant voice-communication capability, the Iridium satphone was preferred, as it also allowed for less-expensive text messages to be sent or received. The days of SSB radio seem to be numbered; there were only three boats that had this useful and virtually free means of communications—for both voice and email. 

The arrival of Starlink and its instant popularity among cruising sailors may herald the most significant development on the world cruising scene since GPS. The completion of my latest round-the-world rally, the World Odyssey 500, in late June gave me an opportunity to interview the 10 finishing crews about their three-year circumnavigations. With one exception, all had upgraded to Starlink as soon as it became available. They were all ecstatic about the contribution that Starlink had made to the enjoyment and safety of their voyages.

I was also curious about the kind of receptions they had received from local people along the rally route. The sailors said they were warmly welcomed everywhere, and many admitted that interactions were better than expected, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. In most places, the locals were pleased to welcome cruising boats again. 

It makes me very happy to say that, at least in that respect, nothing about cruising has changed.

The post For the Greater Good: 50 Years, Going Boldly appeared first on Cruising World.

Are you planning to sail to the Caribbean this fall? Are you excited about spending a few weeks bareboating in the islands this winter?

Dreaming about which island to visit next can lead to some serious reading. Here are a few suggestions about resources that will let you feed those dreams with hearty, nutritional content instead of junk.

There are stacks of references to check before hoisting the sails and anchor. I unfold Imray charts, check the chartplotter for distance, log onto Facebook groups—there’s one for every island—and download the weather forecast. Then, I see what’s up with the ActiveCaptain app. I flip pages in the Doyle Guides to the Leeward and Windward Islands, or in the Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands by Nancy and Simon Scott. There are others, including a dozen guidebooks compiled by Don Street.

Today’s boaters don’t know how lucky they are to have all these resources. It hasn’t always been this way.

One of the first books I read about sailing in this region was Isles of the Caribbees by Carlton Mitchell, published in 1966. Mitchell takes us aboard the yacht Finisterre from island to island through the Eastern Caribbean, with images by National Geographic photographers. I could see what those islands looked like. This book sent me off dreaming of sailing to the tropics.

In 1978, I finally got to the Caribbean for the first time, on a Morgan Out Island bareboat charter out of Red Hook on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. While I’d grown up on lake boats and spent 10 years cruising the New England coast aboard Quinta, my 36-foot Alden sloop, I had no idea what I’d find in the tropics. The charter company gave us a spiral-bound guide, first published by The Moorings in 1974, with aerial photos of anchorages. It included a few words about anchoring, but no information about what we might find ashore. This was to be a DIY adventure.

When I decided to sail my second boat, Fair-Thee-Well, to the Caribbean in 1981, I needed to do some serious research. Street’s books caught my attention. I still have them. It was Street’s A Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles, published in 1964, that paved the way.

He not only provided advice on the various routes from anywhere north to the Caribbean, but he also provided detailed information about every cove, harbor and anchorage on every island. His writing was highly opinionated, and for good reason. He had sailed the Antilles for 50 years.

Street wrote for the serious voyager—the boat owner—not the bareboater. He was less interested in beach bars and French restaurants than in how to get into small coves and anchorages without hitting a reef. Reading Street is like sitting in the cockpit with a beer or a rum punch, listening to a crusty adventurer spin yarns and provide advice. His books are valuable and entertaining, a journey unto themselves. One of my favorites is Seawise, a collection of Street’s thoughts on every aspect of boat ownership and cruising.

His books haven’t been updated recently, but they are still valuable references. As he writes: “The bars and services ashore may change from season to season, but the rocks and reefs haven’t moved in a hundred years.”

Street’s website has a great deal of what he has written, too: street-iolaire.com/

Doyle Guides and App

Chris Doyle’s guides to the Leeward and Windward Islands have been around since the early 1980s. He’s an Englishman who sailed the Colin Archer ketch Sugar Creek across the Atlantic to Grenada in the late 1970s. He skippered charter boats and bareboats, made deliveries, and got to know the islands well. After being pestered by bareboaters asking for directions, he published his own guidebook, selling advertising to cover the cost of printing. He sold the book from boat to boat while paddling his Windsurfer around anchorages. He has been at it all these years.

I’ve been using Doyle Guides for 40 years. I even find the ads useful because they put a face to the services ashore. Doyle Guides also include colored sketch charts as well as information on marine services, hiking trails, restaurants and markets. New editions are printed every two years.

The Doyle Guides app is free and has the newest information. A map shows your current GPS location, and the app lets you locate post offices, Wi-Fi, ATMs, immigration offices, marine stores, dive operators, markets and restaurants. If you get lost ashore, it’ll show you where you are. I even use it while researching from my home in Maine.

You can also download the guidebook to your device. Lexi Fisher, a Grenadian who handles the day-to-day Doyle Guides updates, told me: “The Doyle Guides app has all of the same general information as the printed guides. However, I can instantly update the app version whenever any changes occur. This I do about every two or three days, as information comes in.”

Charts show locations for shoreside attractions and services. Click on one, and up pops detailed information. The app will even place a phone call for you. It’ll show you where there’s fuel and a hospital.

I find that the printed guides are easier to use while I’m on deck, steering the boat, but I like the app too. It lets you access the content offline if you don’t have Wi-Fi.

And yes, I’m paging through my 2009 edition right now, planning next winter’s adventures.

The post Sailors’ Helpers appeared first on Cruising World.

It was just before 0700 on April 26, some hundred miles southeast of Tampa Bay, Florida, aboard John Hamm’s formidable Hylas 54, Split Decision. An hour earlier, I’d come on watch as the powerful cutter roared south under full sail in a solid easterly hovering between 20 and 25 knots, with the occasional higher gust. The seas were confused, bumpy and building, and nobody was particularly interested in breakfast. 

Still, the autopilot was handling everything nicely (competing in the Regata del Sol al Sol’s Cruising Class, auto-helms were permissible). I was perched by the wheel, taking it all in, when silently, unexpectedly, Split Decision rounded up hard to weather. The sails flapped wildly. What the hell? was my first thought. 

Little did I know that the next 17 hours were going to be very, um, interesting. 

We had departed St. Petersburg, Florida, the previous morning bound for Isla Mujeres, Mexico, as part of the 18-boat fleet in this biennial 470-mile Gulf of Mexico distance race that skirts the west coast of Cuba. I’d done the race once before and totally enjoyed it, so when the opportunity to crew on Split Decision ­presented itself, I was all in.

I’d joined a fun, experienced crew of racing sailors from the notable St. Petersburg Yacht Club. They were led by skipper Hamm, who completed a circumnavigation with his family some 20 years ago (Hamm’s brother, Chris, a professional mariner from San Diego, rounded out the six-man team). To say that Split Decision was exquisitely prepared is an understatement. Hamm had compiled a small library of instructional manuals that he’d written over the years on safety, systems, weather and operations that lined the shelves of his navigation station. It was impressive stuff.

On a prerace haulout several months earlier, Hamm had determined that there was water in the rudder. The Hylas service office in Fort Lauderdale recommended the following course of action: Drain it and dry it, make sure there is no rust, and seal it all back up. 

“We followed their ­recommendations,” Hamm said after our adventure. “I am sure if there had been a concern on their part about the integrity of the rudder, they would have suggested we replace it. They never did hint about needing a replacement.”

So, off we went.

The forecast was favorable, if a bit sporty: light airs for the morning start, a building sea breeze in the afternoon, and then a strong easterly filling in just before midnight. It all unfolded precisely as predicted. The conditions couldn’t really have been better, and we were all looking forward to a sleigh ride of a port-tack power reach all the way to Mexico. 

Which is what everyone else got to enjoy. In fact, new race speed records were established in the Racer/Cruiser and Multihull divisions.

We, in an instant, had no steerage. 

I put the autopilot on standby, took the wheel, and tried to get us back on course. It required a bit of effort to do so, after which I switched the self-steering back on. 

Seconds later, Split Decision again spun out of control. “You’d better get your brother up,” I told Chris. 

Hamm had no better luck than I did. 

Now what? It was 140 nautical miles to Key West, 91 to Charlotte Harbor and 108 to the Manatee River, just outside the entrance to Tampa Bay. The problem was, they were all to varying degrees upwind, and if we couldn’t get on top of the situation, we were going to get blown to Texas.

Luckily, we had a brand-new Starlink unit aboard, and crewman Christian Bergstrom took over as comms officer. His first call was to the event organizers. Our race was officially over.

Next, he reached out to all the various commercial towing outfits along the coast, none of which were interested in heading offshore in sketchy weather and a small-craft warning. 

He then contacted the US Coast Guard to apprise them of our situation, and received an offer to send a helicopter to snatch us off, which of course wasn’t an actual option. But they also said they’d send out a boat to tow us in the final miles if we still had steering issues as we approached the shoreline. That was much appreciated. The Manatee River made the most sense, so we swapped the genoa for the staysail and (sort of) pointed Split Decision’s bow in that general direction. 

We collectively surmised that the rudder cables had jumped the quadrant, which was, unfortunately, under the big berth in the aft cabin. Tearing everything apart to have a look in a somewhat violent seaway was in nobody’s interest. Instead, Hamm dug out and set up the emergency tiller, then led a pair of lines to the cockpit winches. 

At this stage, I was back on the wheel and could more or less scribe a wandering course some 30 to 40 degrees left or right of where we actually wished to go. It was maddening, to say the least. Chris set himself up alongside the winch, and when I really lost it, he’d give a quick, sharp tug on the emergency tiller to give me a bit of control. To be honest, it was more akin to sculling than steering, but at least we were heading home. 

It was now pretty apparent that it wasn’t a quadrant issue, but that we’d lost a good portion of the rudder. 

This went on for many, many, many hours.

It was after midnight as we motorsailed the final miles to Tampa Bay. It turned out that upping the rpm gave us better steerage, but there was no way we could directly drive into the Manatee River anchorage. Bergstrom had been in regular contact with the Coast Guard, and true to their word, they sent out a big RIB with a professional crew to tow us the final miles. The tariff? A full inspection once the hook was down. Of course, Split Decision passed with flying colors. After that, at 0300, a bottle of rum made a welcome appearance. 

A while later, Hamm’s curiosity got the better of him, and he plunged into the river to have a look. Which is when he discovered that most of the rudder was missing. I still can’t believe that I didn’t feel or hear anything at the time, basically perched right above the thing. A mystery, indeed. 

Naval architect Gerry Douglas is a mutual friend of Hamm’s and mine, and had hooked me up with Split Decision in the first place. In his former role as chief designer at Catalina Yachts, he’d been especially interested in the hows and whys of rudder failures. When I checked in with him after the race, he was interested in learning more.

Several weeks later, Hamm sent me this update: “Gerry and I met at the boat, and two items came out of that meeting. One was [that] the large 5-inch stainless reinforcement did not appear to be 316 stainless as specified on the drawings from the designer. We think it was stainless, but some lower grade (maybe 304), because when we applied a large magnet to it, there was a small attraction, which would never happen with 316 stainless. The rudder shaft is 316 and had no attraction to the magnet. Gerry’s theory is that the rudder was weakened by water intrusion. He believes once a rudder has water in it, it will get water in it again and it will have some level of weakening due to corrosion. I am not sure if that was or was not a contributing factor on my rudder failure.   

“When the boat was pulled out of the water, the reinforcement stainless was very clean, and was bent and twisted. It now has a little bit of surface rust after being out of the water for five weeks. FYI, upon closer inspection, we found streaks which removed bottom paint and dug lightly into the bulb on the bottom of the keel. With the new bottom job just a few weeks before the race, there should have been no streaks in the paint. Speculation by some of the crew is that we may have hit a net of some kind that dragged under the keel and then hung on the rudder, causing it to break. Who really knows? Lots of speculation here!”

All I do know is that I never got to sip that first cold Corona on a beach near Cancún. I ended up back home with just another sea story and a sad case of the lost rudder blues.

The post Lost Rudder Blues appeared first on Cruising World.

The Mustang Survival M.I.T. 100 is a trusted choice for safety on the water, and now, with a Buy One, Get One Free deal, it’s the perfect time to upgrade your gear. Designed for reliability and comfort, this PFD is a must-have for boaters, anglers, and sailors.

Pros:

Automatic and Manual Inflation: Automatically inflates upon water immersion and can also be manually activated by pulling the handle, ensuring reliable performance.

Enhanced Comfort: Large arm cutouts ensure full mobility, while the adjustable waist belt accommodates various body sizes and outerwear for a customized fit..

High Buoyancy: Delivers 28 lbs / 125 N of buoyancy when inflated, offering 1.5 times the buoyancy of traditional foam PFDs.

Cons:

Requires Maintenance: As with any inflatable PFD, you’ll need to periodically check and re-arm the CO2 cartridge.

For liveaboard sailors seeking reliable and high-speed internet connectivity while cruising the open seas, the Starlink Actuated High-Performance Kit is an indispensable addition to your onboard equipment. Designed specifically for marine environments, this kit offers the technology you need to stay connected with family, friends, and work while enjoying life at sea.

Pros:

Unmatched Connectivity: With Starlink’s satellite technology, you’ll experience internet speeds that rival those of traditional broadband, even in remote locations.

Durable and Marine-Ready: Built to withstand the rigors of marine life, the Starlink hardware is rugged and weather-resistant, ensuring reliable performance even in challenging conditions.

Easy Installation: The kit is designed for quick and straightforward installation, making it easy to set up on your vessel.

Cons:

Subscription Costs: While the initial setup is straightforward, keep in mind that ongoing subscription fees apply for the service.

The Sperry Men’s Billfish 3-Eye Boat Shoe is the perfect blend of classic style and modern functionality, making it a great choice for both boating activities and casual wear. Crafted from premium leather, these shoes offer exceptional durability and a timeless look that pairs well with any outfit.

Pros:

Great Traction: The Sperry men’s Billfish shoe comes fully equipped with Wave-Siping on the rubber outsole to provide stability on wet and dry surfaces.

Cool and Comfortable: Air mesh upper panels and a shock absorbing EVA heel cup provide breathability and added comfort for long days on your feet.

Cons:

Narrow: Some buyers report that the shoes run narrow but Sperry does offer wide and extra wide options for some sizes.

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Two months into our cruising adventure aboard our 1979 Cheoy Lee 41, Avocet, we found ourselves docked in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California, for an unexpected job opportunity. With strong swells rocking the harbor, our fenders took a beating, while protecting our hull from the constant blows against the dock.

We hadn’t yet graduated to sewing our own soft fender covers, so, for temporary protection I wrapped the fenders with towels. By Day 3 of the dock pummeling, I discovered one towel had gone missing, swept away by the surge. I needed a new solution, fast—and preferably one that didn’t cost a dime, since we were freshly two months into our cruising journey. 

As I assessed the situation, I thought: If only I could dress the fenders. Then it hit me: Why not actually dress them? I hurried down below, rummaged through my husband’s project shirts and found the most worn-out ones—perfect for the task. With t-shirts in hand, I returned to the fenders, slipped them on and smiled at my quick fix. Now, sporting Chris’s old shirts, our fenders were no longer naked, and Avocet’s paint stayed protected. 

This little experience reminded me that, sometimes, all you need is to think outside the box. Before you go out and buy something for your boat, take a look around. You might already have what you need. Boats require ingenuity, and sometimes the simplest solutions are right in front of us.

Marissa and Chris Neely share their sailing adventures, from the technical aspects of cruising a classic sailboat to the challenges and triumphs of liveaboard life, through their Sailing Avocet blog. Check it out at svavocet.com.

The post Fender Protection on a Budget appeared first on Cruising World.