most Common CaUSeS are Worth a men- anchors when their warps became Editors N otes tit) rl . twisted and chafed through. This insidi- Roller reefing. SUILVEN'S jib was ous problem was brought to my attention when I discovered that one of SUILVEN Heavy W eather very nearly torn to shreds during a gale because l hadn't rolled it away tight Il's mooring warps - no Iess than 14mm After sitting out some of the worst enough. Slack turns on the drum had nylon m ultiplait - had been half worn storms in living memory aboard our Tiki allowed about a quarter of the jib to through at the point where it just grazes 26, SUILVEN II, I'm feeling a Iittle fraz- unfurl in a force 1O. The sheets were the rudder. This had no doubt been zled to say the Ieast. Before I go up cleated off allowing her to strain against caused by the bobbing motions of the im measurably in your estimation I should her anchors with her bows just feet to boat as it rises to the small waves add that we haven't actually Ieft our windward of a boulder strewn beach! generated by south westerlies in the Foss Quay mooring during this time! We Fortunately l was close at hand and creek. Fodunately, I noticed this during a have, however, spent m any anxious managed to scramble aboard and save routine inspection and further chafe has nights being tossed around by storm and the situation. Another owner wasn't so been prevented by sleeving the warp at occasionaly hurricane force winds, dea- Iucky - his roller jib was destroyed but that point with a shod piece of polythene fened by the rattle of rain and hail on fortunately the boat was ashore at the tube. A Pahi 31, moored just a few 6m m pIy and the unearthly shriek of time. Needless to say, if you are going boats away, had Iost one of her anchors wind in the rigging. W e've seen boats to Iay the boat up it is well worth spend- and slewed around in a gale when a capsized on their moorings, trees dis- ing half an hour removing a roller jib. By rather sharp edged fairlead chafed membered, workshops blown away and the way, the incident brought to Iight the through the warp. Happily, she escaped sails torn to shreds. fact that when the jib is furled away damage. Worse things happen at sea so they (with a couple of turns of jib sheet I could go on and at the risk of teaching say, and indeed they do - but they can around it for extra security), there should Grandma to suck eggs (a quaint English ' often be prevented by forethought and be no more than a turn Ieft on the drum expression) I will add the following com- planning. For those of us yet to m eet - otherwise the potential for slack creeps monsense guidelines. our first gale at sea I hope that this i n . If you must Ieave your boat moored in heavy weather edition - based on the Rolling away the jib in Iight airs is best the same place for long periods make experiences of those who have met done a bit at a time, pausing lo remove sure that her warps are checked at regu- many - will prove invaluable in the men- any slack by heaving in on the sheets. Iar intervals - and that includes the taI and physical preparation necessary to With Iarge jibs or genoas this may be mooring or anchor ends and any points see it through. done by careful use of the w inch. where warps cross. Move them around In the face of a gale an experienced Secure the sheets by tying them to the to spread the wear and better still pro- crew is then as im podant as a strong winch bodies - do not rely on them stay- tect the areas where it occurs. and well equipped boat for the battle ing put in a dlclam'' type cleat. Of course, against the elements is as much psycho- at sea in a blow there logical as it is physical. Regrettably may not be a problem as boats are som etimes abandoned by in- the jib would have been experienced crews when the going gets rolled away in a rising tough - an action that in itself often puts wind and autom atically them at far greater risk than actually tensioned if not, read staying aboard and sitting it out. 1 () r1...... remem ber once watching a crew of four OK, so you are half way being taken off a monohull by a Iifeboat. across the Atlantic and They were a few m iles offshore in con- you've just lost your roller ditions that the seasoned sailor would jib. Somehow you've probably describe as uncomfortable but managed to pull down or certainly not dangerous. But they were cut away the remnants aI so debilitated by seasickness that and your rig has with- they could not m ake the 30 miles dow n- stood the extra strains. wind to the nearest safe harbour. I Fodunately you have got would hazard a guess that inexperience a storm jib which is set was at the root of their emergency. on a flying Iuff and you For newcom ers it is particularly important hoist this to get underway to build up experience slowly and deli- as the wind moderates. berately, stretching yourself a Iittle bit Your light weather sail - a further with each passage. Then you will flat cut spinnaker, gen- get to know your own limitations as well niker etc. - also set on a as those of your crew and boat and flying Iuff will come in Iearn how to safely work around or handy when the wind extend them . Remem ber a Polycat will drops. If not, it's going to Iook after you probably better than any be a slow passage...... other small boat - just as they have done for generations of seafarers over Chafe thousands of years. You m ay rem ember that the chain of events that Ready for the storm ? Ied to the break up of The exceptionally stormy British winter Eddy Evans' Tangoroa we have just been through has seen GAIA (Iast issue) staded many boats damaged and two of the with the loss of both his Hurricane force winds found their >ay l'nto the top third ofthis rollergenoa, destroying it in minutes. Theseapeople/sailorman Contents X
First Im pressions 611,-11-1 rl (1 t .1 :, 7r-I 1(-1 :! 1 ...... kI
Taking the High Road - Tiki 21 in Scotland ...... 5 l / r I* /*
A Moving Experience - Pahi 31 ANDIAMO ...... 7
/t qrt)h!l t () t 11 () qril 11 rll (,ll ...... 6) H eavy W eather
Bound for Belize - ocean going Tiki 26 ...... 10 A AII Hell Broke Loose - KIDO battles south ..... 11 KIDO in Grenada - Kido Project update ...... 12 *ri 11*1 1! 1 (1 11 I:tliirtl ...... 1 tl
E1 Cllllill () t 11 (! E3 () FII ...... 1 îl il thllh!)r (rl,t 11 (, r rrt,tl d1 rl-It1 tl (,tp ...... 1 15 Lifestyles
N ews and W ees Sunrise over a Hina on Millbrook Lake. S pecial Heavy W eather Edition
Any heavy weather adicles that m issed the deadline will be held over for future issues.
W e are still very short of photographs, especially of the Iarger boats. Can you help? W e need Ocean Cruising material too - there's a free years subscription to the author of any Ocean cruising Cover picture: 'IT'S SLIPPERY SAM' on Ullswater. article!
The Sea People is edited by Dave Skelhon wiih help from Jill Brown and Steve Turner. Hon. Secretary: Sandy Turner Published by The Polynesian Catamaran Association, Editorial and Secretarial Address: Treasurer: M ike W ynn Foss Quay, Milbrook, Torpoint, Plymouth PLIO 1 EN UK. Cruising Secretary: Tim Forrester Printed by DTP (UK) Ltd., 25 Liddell Road, West Hampstead, London NW6 3EW. Racing Secretary: Dave Hender
No. 13 May 1990 * I3rinted on 1 fltlt?z; rccycled paper 3 First Im pressions
most cats get at speed. I've also avera- T iki S unrise ged 12 or 13 knots over short and medium distances. The Tiki 31 unlike the by Phil Le M aitre 21 seems to slice through rough water without the usual bumps and bangs of Phl'l Le M aitre 's superbly finished Tiki works well - the boat tracks well too. waves hitting the underside of the plat- 3 1 >as undoubtably the star attraction Tacking isn't bad either. It's slower than form . The Tiki 31 's plaporms are in fact at the 1989 SA Cruise in Company much higher from the water. ln the tide the Tiki 21 but then it's a much bigger rips the usual death defying accele- (Sea People No. 12). Her astonishing boat - plus you have to remem ber that rations take place - you know, pick up a windwardperformance has overturned you are putting two masts through the wave, the apparent wind increases then oId l'deas about schooner rigs. W hy wind. The usual Tiki tacking rules apply hang on for the ride of your Iife. It really she should go so well, when the too. gets the oId adrenalin flowing! forward mainsail probably backwinds The amazing thing about this design is W indward performance is excellent. You the aft sail isn't clear. Any Ideas? its stability - it's so stable. I think the Iow would expect a schooner rig to be poor aspect schooner rig helps to achieve this to windward - not so in this case, The and winds of F5 - 6 can be taken with- Tiki 31 seems to point very high for a After a lrouble free Iaunch on April 20th, out reducing sail. Usually reefing takes TIKI SUNRISE 1 1 - my Tiki 31 - had to cat. In fact. earlier this year whilst place to take the boat down to a much attending the annual PCA meeting the wait another 6 weeks for her first sail. safer speed - especially when it starts Alas, Jeckells had Iet me down so m any getting wet. I either take the m ain down Tiki 31 managed to outpoint two Tiki 26s and Jim's new Tiki 28 (sorry Jim) - much times on their delivery dates it just or reef b0th m ain and m izzen - the for- to m y suprise, too. 1 find when going to wasn't true (other Tiki sailors including m er is much quicker. Earlier this year, m yself have been badly Iet down by windward l have to shee! the traveller to whilst sailing back from Alderney in a windward to stop the m ain back-winding Jeckells too - Ed). How embarrassing crisp F5, I reduced down to jib and the m izzen. This seems to work fine. sailing around with just a Tiki 21 jib. reefed m izzen. W ind was against tide However, I did manage to sail to Herm and the boat was going a bit too fast in Listed below are a few personal opinions and back several times with this sail, the very steep seas. The wife was with about the boat - some good. some bad - averaging about 3 knots with a good m e on this occasion and insisted on that are apparent after a season's sail- fresh breeze on the side. The rest of the staying on deck wilhout any oiîskins. ing, time was left down to the outboard, guz- Although the boat became dry after reef- It is very wet upwind in rough conditions. zling up petrol at an alarm ing rate. ing it was too Iate for Rosemary who I can only describe it as being Iike a W hen the sails did finally arrive to m y was soaked. deck hand on a submarine (maybe 1'm astonishment the holes for the wish- I remem ber on one occasion taking the exaggerating a Iittle). The water dis- bones had been excluded. I just couldn't boat out in a F 5 - 6 westerly. This I appears very quickly though and the believe it! I had a few choice words over thought would be a peuect opportunity to scuppers in the cockpit work very well. the phone to Jeckells, although they see what the boat would take and how Earlier this year at 1he PCA meeting I were very sympathetic and sorry I had m any knots she had hiding up her told James I thought the boat was some- no choice but to send the sails back sleeve. With just myself on board and times a bit wet. He explained that il (they had done the same thing to full sail set I screeched up the coast on really required the cockpit tents as another set of Tiki 31 sails a few weeks a reach. I can only guess at a speed - I shown on the study plans. These tents previously). However, I did get the sails think about 20 knots was reached but which are set up on stainless steel back with 1he correct holes in a very this could be a Iittle conservative. The frames would actually stay erected whilst quick 7 days. Jeckells do make very boat rem ained stable at a1I times with sailing. This would give the sheltered good sails but som etim es they can be just a slight nose down motion which sitling headroom for any passengers very unreliable. A rather clever zip design is incorporated into the sails of the larger Tikis. It m eans that the sails can be put on without unstepping the masts. which is a blessing. After aI1 this tim e l wasn'l really in a hurry to go sailing - I'd waited so Iong. When I finaly did manage to get some in I wasn't disappoinled. The schooner rig offers m any different sail combinations. W ith aIl sail set. slight wealher helm is felt which gets a bit worse as the wind increases (most Tikis get this). Drop the mizzen and slight Iee helm is achieved. In fact, when you get the balance right, ie. main and jib se1 with 1he correct am ount of mizzen up. the boat will sail itself. For heavy weather, reefed jib with reefed mizzen The Seapeople/sailorman aboard. As these tents would be profes- The cabins are very sm all for the size of the conditions get rough it's the same sionally made they would considerably boat and this is mainly due to the large oId story - the boat begins to pitch and add to the cost of the boat. centre cockpits which l personally think prop. cavitation begins. You either have The masts could do with being a foot waste a Iot of space. If I was starting to drop the revs. or sail. Ionger, The gaffs are not at their maxi- again maybe l'd consider having one Although the rig works very well it's mum height when they hit the shrouds - continuous cabin. The only problem is complicated and carries its fair share of this leaves about six inches clearance at w here to put the two centre cross ropes. W hen two or more are on board the bottom of the sail. Although this in beams. The other answer of course is it's fine but when single handing it's itself is not a problem it would be nice to the cockpit tents which I might add at a another story. Afler a days sailing I see where you are going! later stage. At the moment I use a tar- paulin slung over one of the wishbones usually feel shattered but probably my For me the whipstaff steering does not which is attached to the stays. This age is creeping up on me. Aiso I have work. It gives the rudders only about no use for the mainsail wishbone. works very well, but there again I There's a good sheeting angle so I don't 50% of their total Iock. When sailing in haven't tried it in any strong winds. confined waters or trying to avoid a col- bother with it at all. Iision it could prove very dangerous. In As I sail m ainly by myself the boat suits AlI in aII 1'm very pleased wilh the boat fact it won't even tack the boat for me my needs very well. One of the main and in no way do I regret building. I find whilst sailing. W hat it does provide, cabins is used solely for navigation. A her very safe and stable and don't need however, is a super self steering system . chart table is fitted with a chad rack lo sail with sheels in m y hands. Now It'lI hold the boat on course for quite above, glued to the inside of the cabin with winter just around the corner it's Iong periods. The rope which passes roof. l sleep in the other main cabin. time to get those Iittle jobs done which through aIl the pulleys dampens the tiller Power is provided by a 15hp Iong shaft eluded m e during the summ er. W inter movement down. On Iong trips 1 use the Mariner, which gives a top speed of nights will be spent planning that ocean whipstaff steering whilst on short sails about 8 knots, but for petrol consumption voyage which I one day might do. Who and pottering around l use the tiller bar. cruising at 6 knots is preferable. W hen knows.
Peter 6, and Kate 4) were immediately ejected into a dense cloud of Scottish midges (once bitten - never forgotten) to Taking The H igh warn approaching vehicles of our ''in- stant'' road block. Quite quickly an inter- ested group of onlookers assembled from the halted traffic, proffering advice R oad and alternative routes. The only alterna- live is in fact 1he highest motor route in the British Isles so we knew we had to Major T J Daplyn Iearns some impor- and highly efficient masl raising system solve this one on a self help basis! tant Iessons when he traj/s his Tiki 21 (Seapeople No.8) which employs her 9 Eventually, after unloading the contents to the Aesr Coast of Scotland. foot sweep oars as an A frame. of b0th hulls, we achieved the necessary weight reduction to allow me a deter- Form er Lives Now, as SW IFT 2 she has passed into mined rush at the hill while Anne and my (to date) less-than-tender hands. I the kids provided moral and vocal sup- Regular readers of ''Seapeople/sailor- am happy to repod that six years and port. man'' will be fam iliar with the Tiki 21 sail three owners from her building she number 45. In 1982/3, as SASSY 3, she remains a beautiful and well preserved LESSON 1: Study a Iarge scale map of was built to a fine degree of finish by lady - able testimony to the quality and intended trailing routes (though I still Maurice Killen and for a couple of sea- care of M aurice and Ashley's building maintain that we would still have made it sons migrated annually to the warmer and maintenance skills. lnitial reactions if it had not been for that b----- oill) and climate of the Mediterranean Sea (Sea- from admirers were that I had obtained a have the midge repellent handy at all people No.s 1 and 3). By 1985 (Seapeo- brand new boat! times. pIe No.4) she was being regularly crewed by Paul W ells of 1988 TRANSAT Trailing Troubles Laying a M ooring fame and had grown a new asum inium Having taken delivery of her in July .88, As we are lucky to have a permacent stick and enlarged rudders. Maurice had we trailed her the 635 road miles from home in this rem arkable pad of Scot- also introduced other sensible modifica- Surrey to the beautifut and rem ote Iand, SW IFT was to Iive on a self-laid tions to improve her coastal trekking Applecross peninsula on Scotland's north s w i n g i n g m o o r i n g . T b e s e l e c te d capabilities. In 1986 she was transferred west coast, The journey was Iengthy (17 anchorage Iies within a short distance of to 1he care of Ashley W oods as SPLIN- hours divided into 2 hour ''watches'' split the house and is sheltered in aIl but the TERS 2, taking up residence in Ems- between my Iong suffering wife and very strongest of northerlies. W e pre- wodh Harbour but trailing as far afield as myself) and relatively uneventful until we pared the mooring from 3/8'' galvanised the English Lake District. In Emswodh were within sight (well, 12 miles) of our chain (1 1/2 times HW S determined by she rode out the '87 ''Great October destination. On the single-track coast Ieadline soundings) and a concrete bot- Storm'', retaining her hold on her moor- road we encountered, on a blind corner tom weight. The Iatter consisted of some ing when many other boats went ashore and a 1 in 4 gradient, a patch of oil 2O0Ibs of concrete and steel reinforcing (the only damage sustained was the loss which very effectively rem oved any trac- rod cast in a discarded fishbox. This of her dolphin striker, carried away by tive power that our Peugeot 3O5 Diesel weight we deem ed adequate in the pre- the power of the waves sweeping her). Estate could impad on a heavily Iaden vailing wind and wave conditions when From Ashley she acquired a ''Iow tech'' trailer. Anne and the children (Tom 8, both the nature of the bottom (crushed No. 1 3 May 1 990 5 shell and mud) and the 1ow flat form of also managed some very fast passages Navigational Error the fishbox were taken into account. A across the Inner Sound, although quite 3/8'' galvanised swivel was incorporated how fast became a subject for debate After I had suppressed a shudder over into the buoyed end ot the chain. The following our initial outing when l dona- just how close the falling mast had been assembled mooring was consigned to ted the spinner, line and sinker to the to despatching my second born, I the deep after the fashion of a burial at sea bed while perfecting my technique Iowered the sails from their new horizon- sea. The bottom weight was positioned for handing a towed log. taI position and lashed the mast securely on two 12 x 1 1/21' scaffold planks Iaid inboard across the beams. I consoled LESSON 3: Pass the freed end of the myself with the thought that it would across the gunwhales of our 16ft GRP Iog line the other side of the tiller bar workboat with the chain flaked down before returning it to the water when make dismantling a much faster job Iater behind it. At the appropriate moment one on. I staded the trusty Seagull and handing the log. lf you can afford it, motored towards our Iandfall. Rounding end of 1he planks was raised and the carry a spare Iine and tiller assembly. weight, followed by the chain, went the Iighthouse l experienced my second smoothly over the side. Subsequent in- Dism asted surprise of the day when, consulting my spection revealed a perfect position on chart for the first time that morning, the bottom . AII too soon the time to return south made the rather disconceding discovery came around. W e decided to forego the that this was not the Iighthouse that l Given a greater scope of chain it might drama of the coast road and selected wanted. be more seamantike to stop the flaked another haul-out site some 15 miles to chain with light Iine for added control but the south. On the appointed day 1, LESSON 5: Always plan any passage, this was unnecessary in our case due to accompanied by my younger son, set even across the bay, on a chart. W hen the shallow anchorage site. Despite a out in a steady force 4/rising 5. We underway refer to the chad at frequent heavy blow from our vulnerable quarter, made excellent time and I could see intervals to reorientate yourself and take the mooring did not move off its marks (1 across the sea Ioch to a Iighthouse into account changing conditions and sighted these with a handbearing com- which was the Iandmark of our intended bearings. This may sound obvious but pass immediately after the Iaying 'cere- on this occasion I failed to do it and mony' in order to determine any ten- ended up 8 miles adrift on a 15 mile dency for SW IFT to walk her mooring Y passage. about). Unfortunately the mooring wisl not The 8 miles were fortunately downwind be available on our next trip to Apple- and I had prudently shipped sufficient cross as a 45 foot cruising monohull reserves of fuel to motor the whole way. decided that it Iooked too good to pass * * I also had aI1 the tools and m aterials on by on the very day that we vacated it for board to re-erect the sailing rig if that the season. W here SW IFT had failed had proved necessary, which it did not she was aII too successful and failing to (with hindsight I believe we would have allow enough scope, picked up the entire made better time if l had done so). Peter assembly on 1he neyt high tide, moved it went to sleep in one of the hulls for the som e 50 metres before entangling with remainder of the trip while I fitted ear- another swamped cabse. l have secured plugs. Anne and the remainder of the the remains to a marker buoy and will shore pady were understandably most retrieve it for re-laying at a Iater date. anxious by the time we finally arrived in LESSON 2: Either mark the mooring our Iow profile mode and I sincerely y - . - . - . - wished that we might have had some buoy clearly with the bottom weight rat- î > . .. >. . . vw g ing or increase the bottom weight to . means of communicating our delayed arrival. cope with any forseeable uninvited destination. About 2 miles from our mark guest. I will opt for the Iatter solution the windward hull began to feel a little LESSON 6: A radio will always be a next time, probably employing three fish- ''Iight'' in the increasing wind (we were Iuxury item until the moment you actually boxes Iined to a central riser. very Iightly Ioaded) and I rolled a reef in need it - then it will become vital. I will The lnner Sound b0th main and jib to slow us down a bit. probably be investing in a VHF handheld As SWIFT came back onto her course for next year or at the Ieast a couple of Sailing in the Inner Sound was a marvel- again and picked up speed, the mast fell cheaper CBs for ship-to-shore communi- lous experience. W e are blessed with down. Luckily it had missed both of us cation. some of the finest scenery and tam est although Peter was sitting in the Ieeward The haul out really did go faster, It had wildlife in the British Isles. W ild otter, hatch on which it had come to rest. The to, in order to beat the rapidly falling seal, dolphin and basking shark inhabit mast foot remained in the step held by tide. Drills practised in the familiarity of the sheltered waters between the islands the tension of the windward shroud. A our Surrey front garden paid off ''in the and SW IFT seemed to attract them swift exam ination revealed that the star- field''. That is, with the exception of the wherever she went. This sum mer's board bow snap-shackle securing the combination of a steeply sloping slipway weather was not the kindest and we forestay brace had failed at its swivel and a strong crosswind. These elements were glad that we were able to dry out pin. Closer inspection revealed that the combined in order to overturn one of the on shore each evening. W e made a m etal was discoloured with rust which l hulls from its bogey wheels. The only decision to postpone Ionger than day had dismissed as a cosmetic blemish. dam age sustained was the Iower rudder sailing trips for years when the weather LESSON 4: Examine aII elements of rig- lashings pulled out of the sternpost. This m ay be drier and the children possibly was subsequently repaired in an after- more philosophical aboul sleeping in ging regularly for dam age and signs of corrosion - be suspicious of any dis- noon w ith a m arine pIy insert and damp clothing! We managed some relayering with nylon c10th and epoxy. memorable picnics on the islands testing colouration of stainless materials - parti- in ful the Ioad carrying capabilities of a cularly where such pads are critically LESSON 7: The dismantled hulls are Tiki 21 when on one occasion 10 per- Ioadbearing. Iighter than one imagines. Adequate sup- sons of varying ages were aboard. We port and protection from wind effects are essential. 6 The Seapeople/sailorman Blow Out motorway in the rain) or to summon ''the shown us what she can do and although m an that can''. Not surprisingly, 1 settled our Iearning curve has been steep, being The Ioading of the trailer was uneventful for the Iatter. taught by such a mistress has been a and 2 days Iater we trundled southwards LESSON 8: W ork through ALL possible pleasure and a thriil. l get the im pression with SW IFT. At 4 o'clock in the morning that SW IFT knows more about sailing one of the trailer tyres blew out on the crises in your mind before embarking on coastal trekking and practise im mediate than we ever will! It is a testimony to her motorway and we pulled onto the hard design that she is capable of being so shoulder for repairs. I soon discovered Action Drills for each BEFORE depar- ture. I have since obtained a heavy- forgiving of our poverty of experience that the car wheel jack was not going to and expedise. W e are really Iooking for- be strong enough to lift the trailer Ioaded weight trolley jack which will add to the ward to next year's coastal trekking and with the boat and stores. My options a I I - u p we i g h t b u t w i 1 I do a n y jo b required. have already managed a couple of were simple - either unload the hulls and weekends on the Solent since returning trailer in a repeat of the coast road in- This update may sound Iike a tale of from Scotland. In addition I have already cident (only this time on a darkened woe - believe m e, it is not. SW IFT has obtained plans for her bigger sister!
A M oving Experience
by Andy Berrisford
Following two happy years with a mediately. l had a week off work and be a railway sieeper. lf anyone has a Heavenly Twins, 1 boujht Andrew Hazel and Mansell made it up to spare 1OO foot wingmast, I've got the Beard's beautifully bullt Pahi 31 Pwlhelli. At the same time south westerly crossbeam to support it! gales set in and the only sail in an ANDIAMO in March 1988. As m y Second Attem pt DlY abilities are in the mechanical otherwise enjoyable week proved that m oron class l had her surveyed by ANDIAMO was fast, weatherly, comfor- Last June saw the next attem pt to get table and turns a towed Tinker Traveller round to the east coast. Three weeks Bob Evans, who according to 'çsea dinghy into a submarine at 7.5 knots. It People'' is one of the few people holiday this tim e and crew included the also proved that I needed a new starter kids (girls aged 5,2 and 1 ), Eileen and capable of doing the job properly cord for the Mariner 15. This obligingly Nell (mother-in-law aged 72 and blind). I on W harram s. Suitably reassured, I broke when we went to stad the engine should have realised what was to com e started to wonder how l was going to motor into the strong headwind over when Amy (the 1 year old) dismantled th to get her up to lpswich from the bar at Pwlhelli. Sure enough, no new heads within 10 minutes of board- Pwlhelli in North W ales. spanner the right size to replace the ing. The next few days followed the ANDIAMO was Iaunched in 1985 but cord and no searoom to tack through the same pattern, First of all, the wiring har- entrance. So the Tinker was bailed out, ness installed by the marine electrician had spent some time on blocks exposed tied to the starboard hull and the ailing to the fearsome winds of the north in Pwelhelli for a second battery churned Mercury 3.5 on the dinghy brought us out 24 volts, greatly improving the cabin W elsh coast. Some remedial work had safely back. Time ran out, so I even- been identified on the survey so l deci- lighting for a shorl tim e until the bulbs tualjy got Bob Evans to deliver it down exploded. (1n case any doubters ou1 ded that m y first port of cal would be to M ilbrook for me. By aII accounts he Foss Quay in Plymouth to get Steve there think I made a mislake connecting had a good trip, although he was very the second battery, I still have 1he wiring Turner to do the repairs. Several plain- rude about the unusual marine head fit- tive phone calls later managed to get m e diagram he thoughtfully provided). Once ted, which his Ietter described as ''an this was soded out it was time to con- a crew for this first 1eg down to Ply- invention of the devill'' I think the reason mouth. Hazel and Mansell Rees were at nect up and check the Decca Navstar a Ioose end in Plymouth and being Pahi for his comment had something to do sel. True to form , this started playing up with the fact that it seemed to Iiquidise 31 owners themselves sounded ideal (1 for the first tim e in two years, but a Iong the contents of the bowl and then spray drive to their head office resulted in a forgot to tell them that I taught myself to it under pressure at the poor sod trying sail from Ian Mellor's book ''Sailing Can quick fix while I waited - thank you Nav- to flush it. ANDIAM O now boasts a posh star. By lhis time we had Ieft Foss Q uay Be Simple'' on the flight out to a flotilla new PAR head. holiday in the Greek islands). The idea and were moored in M ayflower Marina. of the Greek trip was to persuade my ANDIAMO is Bermudan cutter rigged Stores, fuel and toys Ioaded, we set off. wife that sailing was aII blue skies, with roller reefing on both head sails and Shortly afterwards we returned. The new sandy beaches and fair winds. Instead, behind-mast roller reefing on the main Autohelm 2000 refused to hold a course the Iate October trip majored on rain, (is this what Jim W harram would despite intensive fiddling off Plymouth gales, broken diesels and sea m ist describe as appropriate technology?). Sound breakwater. Two or three war- which dropped visibility to 20 yards - aII They aIl work wonderfully but because ranty repairs Iater it worked perfectly, but on the first day! Eileen was suitably im- the rigging is tightly set up high com- gales set in. By lhis stage, and with my pressed! pression Ioadings are put on the mast holiday time rapidly running out, I real- support beam. Bob Evans had noted ised l was not going to ge1 to the east Problem s at Pwlhelli some flex on this beam during his trip so coast in shod hops. Facing a mutiny, I plans fell apad almost im- amongst his other repairs Steve suppor- put the family in a holiday cam p near ted it with a piece of what appeared to Plymouth and set off single handed. No. 13 May 1990 0 1.'r1 lhtt'r t! i'l) ! $ 1( 9. t . rr t'y t' lt' t! j'hapt' r No wind arrived for the first 5 hours, so I led the sails - keeping a hand on the for the final trip into W alton Backwaters motored deisurely towards Lyme Bay. staysail sheet in case of emergencies - and set off in the afternoon into the tail Later the wind picked up slightly so 1 and did a fair impression of a cork bob- end of a gale with the wind and waves proceeded under various sail and engine bing through the entrance. At Ieast l got on the nose. The engine was pushing us variations, enjoying the sunshine. a round of applause from a tourist on through it aIl manfully but it was bloody Because of this slow progress I realised the harbour wall - I reckon I was safer uncom fortable. Just to cap it all, that W eymouth in daylight was not on, than he was. som eone had moved Black Deep 6 buoy so I decided to go on to Brighton. I was storm bound in Brighton for 3 and the Thames Estuary in choppy con- ditions at Iow tide is no place to get Iost W ar Gam es days, eventually setting off at dawn in a gentle breeze, m y depadure only involv- in! The Decca came up trumps, howe- Aboul midnight I was between Podland ing the odd bounce off other boats in the ver, and l came off the wind at dusk and the Isle of W ight and definitely feel- marina. The wind was virtually aft and heading for the Backwaters. ing a bit tired, At this stage I was almost immediately my mainsheet slid Those of you who know the area wil attacked by a helicopter and what through the boom putting the main out of understand the complete absence of any appeared to be a squadron of frigates, action for the rest of the voyage (1 could recognisable features or Iights at the who obviously decided that it was m uch have sworn I put a figure of eight knot in entrance to W alton Backwaters at night. more fun to gang up on an intruder into it). No matter, still two headsails Ieft. The I nosed in carefully under Decca and their private war gam e than to stick to wind started picking up past Beachy slung the hook in 2 metres of water their previous plans. Their opening star Head with fairly steep following seas. where I thought the channel started and shell coincided with my first mouthful of The trailing Iog was showing 8-10 knots waited for daylight. This revealed my a fresh cup of coffee. My scream of average with up to 14 knots on the surf. position to be within 10 metres of the agony as the coffee fell into my Iap must Passing Dover, I hit 14.8 knots on one buoy I had been aiming for so, feeling pave surely been heard for miles around glorious extended swoop which must distinctly chuffed, I had a cuppa and and probably resulted in the hoisting of a have given the assorted hydrofoils, watched the early morning fishing boats skull and crossbones when the flotilla hovercraft, ferries and container ships head out past me. As there was no returned to harbour. To m isquote W el- some interesting plots on their radar. wind, I raised the anchor, fired up the lington -'.1 don't know about the enemy, Somehow we managed to miss them a1l M ariner and headed up the creek, but they scared 1he hell out of mel'' but it was aII getting a bit hairy so I Twenty seconds later the engine died. Approaching Brighton dropped down to staysail at South Fore- It later transpired that l had a Ieak in the land, reducing speed to about 6 knots. fuel Iine at the carb, so I had actually The remainder of the night was Iess The forecast was now F6-7 westerly, used twice as m uch fuel as I had eventful but the wind picked up at dawn and not fancying the Thames sandbars allowed for. M y triumphal entry into my lo a F5 SSW and I went past the lsle of in those conditions, headed for Rams- new home berth at Titchm arsh Marina W ight at a fair old clip, with the seas gate. The rem ainder of this leg was un- was somewhat spoiled by being on the building steadily. By 1pm the wind had evenpul by my standards, apart from end of a tow rope from a kindly passing risen to F7 SSW and 1 staded to turn once briefly unfurling the genoa to totally m ono . towards Brighton. The seas were steep hum iliate a couple of monohull cruiser/ As fate would have it, a job move in and ANDIAMO was oflen surfing, still racers on the way in. under the control of the Autohelm . By 1989 resulted in relocation to Plymouth. this tim e I was tired and the thought of W ho Moved the Buoy? The trip back to my current mooring at Brighton m arina's excellent facilities out- Foss Quay in Millbrook however is. as Gales set in again, so I headed back to they say, another story! weighed my worries about the entrance Plymouth by train to spend a few days in these conditions. I called them up to book a bedh. Their response, in outline, with the fam ily. I got back to ANDIAMO was lo suggest that I was m ad and how did I want my rem ains disposed of - if they were ever washed up. 1 haughtily reminded them that I was sailing a W harram and that yachts designed to sur- vive hurricanes treated such conditions as a matter of rou- tine. I was wrong again. The entrance was Iike a m ael- strom with ferocious cross and back currents creating waterspouts in the onshore wind and waves breaking over the top of the harbour wall. My Tinker, resting on the forward netting, was ship- ping and retaining Iarge quan- tities of the English Channel despite the deflated survival canopy covering it, which didn't do much for the trim either. I put the motor on, fur- Beware of Iow flying Pahis? Andiam o clears a hedgeas she's craned outatFoss. The Seapeople/sailorman to the S()o t,l lnloi tlgiotl arlgain. A T ow W e finally got away the nexl clear day but with a not so clever forecast - SW 5/6. As we Ieft the mooring buoy it g?ot tangled around the rudder and with a jol T ham es snapped the Iine. The next 50 yards down the trawler went aground and the forward netting beam splintered as I Adrian Scarfe here desribes the trau- trudged through the mud to the boat on crashed into the back of him . Off we mas of m oving his Oro around the the river Stour at Manningtree. After went again with m e very worried know- south east coast of England, with some squelching around for about an hour ing one of the main beams to be pretty noteworthy com ments on the potential stabbing at the places where the sheets rotten and the deck mountings suspect. difficulties ofpartnerships and towage. joined and along the waterline, I decided The crossing to Southend was a night- the hull was pretty sound and agreed to mare with seas coming just aft of the give him the asking price. beam and the wind blowing beam on. About 2 years ago a sailing friend asked The next task was to move it to the Never having been on a W harram with me if I was interested in building a 42' building site on a farm where I could flexible mountings, the independent Captain Cook on a 50-50 basis. At the movem ent of the hulls convinced me it '' same time another friend, Andy Otterley, ...the trawler went aground and was breaking up. Luckily it go1 dark and (now head of ''Save the W hales'' Green- the forward netting beam splin- aII I could do was steer at his stern Iight peace) asked if I was interested in crew- lered as l crashed inlo him .'' some 50 yards in front. Looking at him ing on a sailing boat on a three month in front rolling aIl over the pkace didn't expedition. rent a m obile home and be close to the make m e any Iess worried bu1 I was boat. l think one of the most important am azed at how slable the cat was. After a Iot of heart and soul searching I being picked up by the seas and surfing decided to go for the Captain Cook things is to have the project on your explaining to Andy that if I went for the doorstep so each day you can do at down the waves. I even managed to boil Greenpeace option l would end up work- Ieast a couple of hours. a kettle on a sm all gas stove without it ing for them full tim e, whereas by build- I wrongly thought the moving was going faling over. l was getting a far more ing the Captain Cook I would still be to be the easy part but no one on the comfortable ride than him . able to do some work for Greenpeace Stour was prepared to lift it out for m e, Exhausted without being tied to it. so I thought I'd tow it round and up the Nine and a half hours Iater we arrived The building started and at first work Thames. I own a 26 foot clinker Cornish day fishing boat and l was thinking of cold and exhausted, after having to fight progressed very quickly, then as time towing it m yself but after Iooking at the the helm constantly just to keep her in went on my parlner's enthusiasm Iine with the tow. The next job was to decjined and I vidually built the second chads and tides I decided I didn't have the power to tow from Harwich to South- take my boat down to Holehaven to tow hull on my own. After Iots of pointed her back up to W alton on Thames to be com ments from me it finally came to a end in one hit. The tides were a bit awkward and the number of sandbanks Iifted out, not being able to get through head and a show down with me saying Shepperton Lock because of her beam. ''OK, either you buy me out or I buy you and shipping lanes were very offputting, so l arranged for a 36 foot trawler from outl'' My padner being understanding I got a mate who is ex RN to help me said - OK 1'11 buy you out since it was Southend to tow m e from Manningtree to on this Ieg - an ex chef from the Ark my idea originally. This was hard to Southend. The trawler didn't show the Royal - so at Ieast I'd be alright for food swallow but a price was agreed and the first weekend as arranged but turned up and hot drinks on the way down. High partnership dissolved. on the next only to be thwarted by fog. tide al Teddington was 0100 so we Ieft ' Finding the Right Boat K q O tch D m Next thing for me to do was U.K. O to zo :& k q. S'eoom ' find a similar sized W har- m . % Go'%o cie. * ram design either in need u-œm@ Hor.o. . .î of refitting or an unfinished # 1. project. Larger Wharrams o l . seemed to be hard to find J . Ctoc'hoo and after attending the bar- . .oo ' %* e.' beque at Devoran I had just . # . . about to resign myself to Z . , stading again from scratch. Z . ' J Then, however, a Ietter arri- * . . *. py ved from Malcolm Cox in ' G26G-1 ER LOMDO' s2 ' . z . . * . G (xJ n 6. z' . Manchester telling me of an ' . . . Oro near Ipswich. . . Merw ' '8G t'W *-V' ' , . . ' ' ' z . ,- pu .. . . 1 . - .- . . I telephoned John Zalucki . 'K& w . .
' the owner straight away . & & . ' . . . ' . . ghwxs sac a.r.e. and arranged to meet him . ..- * ..... * ''''' @''# ' * ' at 0730 next morning on ?F wœ. t'. t*o * o.' ofa / o I p * '- the Iow tide. W e m et and . . No. 13 May 1990 there 2 hours before high water. Just M aster raced over to us. 1 explained to The total cost in time and money for this after passing Ham mersmith the prop fou- him that m y m ast with correct Iights had exercise was f500 for the trawler tow - led and alI the drive went. We limped been stolen the day previously - true. He he put his price up by 2200 - and 2650 into a creek to await Iow water to clear grudgingly allowed us through lelling us for the crane and two adics. I daren't the prop of a large sheet of builder's to keep well to the side through central guess at the overall cost in time off work polythene and set off again downstream London. (Iuckily I'm self employed) and petrol on the next tide, arriving at Holehaven at This we did, fouling the prop 3 more costs etc... I didn't touch the boat again 1530. W e hooked up and started towing times but managing to clear it. As we hit until New Year's Day as I had just about at 1600 about an hour before Iow water. Hamm ersm ith the fog set in and from had it with boats for a while. But now It got dark at about 1630 and navigating there to Teddington was yet another the enthusiasm has returned and l'm back up searching for green flashing ordeal. We arrived at Teddington at hoping to get it ready for re-launching buoys against a background of multi col- 0145 to the amazement of the Iock kee- next year. oured lights was an ordeal in itself. per who duly asked for a towing fee and I know that the move was done at the Through London told us we were raving m ad. By now I wrong time of year bu1 I felt that the was quite used to this kind of comment boat would deteriorate with another win- As we approached the Thames barrier I and took it with a smile. W e moored up ter in the water. especially as the decks radioed through to tell them who I was at W alton and went home for a well leaked. and what I was doing. As we passed earned sleep. The next weekend she through I heard them on the radio to the My thanks go out to aII concerned with was Iifted onto two trailers, the beams the m ove and to Malcolm Cox for Ietting Harbour Master saying that l was show- removed and transpoded to the farm ing incorrect Iights. G reat - the Harbour me know of this boat so quickly. where she now lies awaiting the refit.
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already has a transatlantic in a Bob and Dan Beggs leave Plym outh 's Mayflower Marina bound for Belize. Iarge monohull to his credit. W ith the army's support he is taking the boat to his next posting in total Confidence in the boat they realised that constant eypo- Belize where it will be used for adventure training of British Sure to wind and spray when beating into rough seas would troops stationed there. Dan had also m ade a Biscay cross- be testing for them both. ing in a small monohull. Bob explained that the heavily so it came as some relief when we Iearnt that they had
rockered ''V'' hulls and skeg hung rudders of the Tiki are reached Porto Santos, M adeira. 16 days Iater mainly afler ideal for operating off beaches and taking the occasional battling against headwinds gale force at times or sitting accidental grounding on one of the many coral reefs that out periods of calm . During this time they had also spent 2 Iitter the coastline. days weathering a severe gale in La Coruna, making this fast A Tough Beat winter passage a truly remarkable achievement in such a Smal boat. 8Tthho sMe of us who saw him off from the Mayflower Marina on w e will keep you informed of his progress and hope that we arch waited anxiously for news as southerly gales Wjjj t)e able to give a full report in a Iater issue. swept Biscay and Finisterre. Although Bob and Dan had
The Seapeople/sailorman H eavy W eather A II H ell B ro ke Loose
by Paul Ballard
Here is Paul's accountof his somewhat I love the Scillies and they are well possible by telling Beat that we could storm ridden tnp to the Canaries. He worth a visit but would not recom mend now relax and I set our new course of points out the efficacy of trailing tyres your first arrival to be after dark. St. 18O degrees magnetic. Mary's harbour charge a fee but if you and the need to think as positively as Two hours Iater alI hell broke Ioose. I possible when the going gets tough. It go over to Green Bay on Bryher you can reefed al sail until finally l had jusl 1he was a rough introduction to ocean dry out for half the tide. The scenery is fully reefed jib up and we were running breathtaking and the only shop provides before an easterly gale. The wind in- sailing for his crew, Beat, and the everything including fresh baked bread. voyage made a deep impact on b0th of creased lo F9 with big breaking seas so them . Paul ends with a poem that ''I had com plete faith that no m atter I lowered the jib and trailed two tyres on expresses b0th their thoughts about 15O foot warps from the bows. The how bad the weather the Oro motion was m uch better, W e Iashed the the experience. would see us through safely.'' wheel and went below for a hot meal and a drink. At times Iike this I am glad October 4th With a F4-5 nodh wes- to be on a catam aran - especially a I had just delivered my Tangaroa terly we left at 1600hrs for my waypoint W harram. I know of nothing better when CATARINA and her new owners to 90 miles west of Cape Finisterre. 1he going gets rough. Even in those con- South W ales from Millbrook, Plymouth. ditions she rode the waves beautifully Now 1 climbed aboard the 46 foot Oro October 5th W ind NW F4-5, 19O miles logged from the Scilly Isles at 1600hrs. and only rarely did any heavy water KIDO which I was to deliver to the Can- com e on deck. ary Islands to join up with the rest of the October 6th Wind Northerly F4, 34O Kido Project waiting aboard 55 foot m iles Iogged from the Scillies at 16OOhrs W e ssept our usual 2 hours on and 2 HOKULEA. October 7th W ind Easterly F4-5, 520 hours off and 18 hours Iater the storm m iles Iogged from the Scillies at had abated just enough lo try and sail Kido had a new mast beam and step south again. W e retrieved the tyres and fitled along with a Iot of cosmetic work 160Ohrs, carried out by Beat Rettem und, the hoisted the reefed jib and off she shot but I could not steer as both Swiss member of the project who was to sail with me. %aZ' t-t jjg : > ' aawxsk u the wire steering cable and KIDO still needed a Iot of / Y--'>a the tiller to rudder bolts had work but the winter gales zz . sheared whilst we were would soon be with us so our SG X making sternway - obviously / the pressure on the rudders test sail would be to the Scilly L z Isles I:R X had been tremendous. . z O Z . We made repairs and set off ctober 3rd. 1989 7th:7 ' t g acu G / on a course o ,vefy At 1 10O hours we left PIy- 't t slowly closing the Portu- mouth's Mayflower M arina l guese coast. W e made 80 with our 9.913p four stroke l . miles in the next 12 hours Yamaha pushing us dead into A XX œ%.u c.iw.: llm -t'tzka but th en the weathe r a 25 knot SE wind. I hoisted ti.cg.. j uz,- deteriorated. This time 1 lrai- the mizzen and then the I led tyres from the stern and s> m ain . 5,co: ux os, tmh- w a took aI1 sail down to ruc Once through 1he tae.w Bridge Buoys 1 turned 45 Z '' before the storm. As the degrees off the wind and we
Bill Holland and three friends chartered working jib, full main, with three people had cut the forestay Sashing the m ast a Tiki 2 1 from Steve Turner in the on board for pad of the way and left it would have swung back and up and we summ er of 1988. As things turned out standing. W e were very im pressed with could have tied it on to the rear beam the holiday >as very s/rrl Iived. Out of the boat's windward performance in spite for the tow back. This may have saved the four' lkvo had experience of dinghy of the fact that we could have done with the decktent which got m angled in the more tension in the jib halyard. The jib tow through the force of the water bai- sailing and windsurfing and had also was a bit baggy, probably because the Iooning out the canvas, as well as con- chartered monohulls in Scotland and Ioop in the bowline to which the head of siderable strain on the rigging. the east coast on five previous occa- the jib was attached was too Iong, but slbns. None, however, had sailed a To conclude, I would Iove to spell ou! to as she was doing fine we Ieft it. everyone's satisfaction exactly what the catamaran. The Fatal G usl wind speed was when the boat cap- Here is Bl'II's accountof events. sized. I don't know. I would estimate it Coming closer to the chain ferry it was was blowing about Force 5 and gusting apparent that the wind had increased in 6. There was definitely a veer in the The day started som ewhat frantically as strength and there was much more of a gust, which caught us more on the we had not appreciated how quickly the chop on the water. W ith hindsight, we beam , and the swell was about 18''. The tide receded on our m ud bedh. A few should have hove to and reefed down or average weight of those on board was quick instructions from Steve, one of made for the bank. But still the boat was about 1 1 stones. IF W E HAD BEEN which was ''practise reefing'' (a gale was tacking cleanly through the water with no REEFED W E W OULD HAVE BEEN OK forecast) and we were off. We spent weather helm at all. W e crossed the and if we had soded out the jib halyard about two hours sailing off the Naval chain ferries on a pod tack then tacked we probably would have still covered the docks in Plymouth, downriver of Tor- close to the west bank. O ur starboard same ground in the sam e time with the point, getling used to tacking and gybing tack took us out beyond the shelter of reef. The helm throughout the day - right in moderate winds and getting quite Torpoint and the swell increased. About up to going over - was extrem ely Iight excited over the ease and responsive- three quarters of 1he way along this tack and the boat never gave any sign of ness of the boat handling and its incred- my im pression is that we caught a gust being overpressed in the conditions and ible acceleration. W hat developed was a which had veered a Iittle to the west. wanting to round up. W e were probably dinghy system of handling the boat. W e The windward hull came out of the water stupid to think that it would. had two people forward, one on each fairly smartly and we seem ed to hover at about 60-70 degrees. I was on the From this point on everyone (especially hull controlling the jib sheets, and they Steve) was most helpful and displayed a stayed there. One person in the middle Ieeward hull which had dug in, decks awash. The canvas trampoline on the great deal of restraint. This was a Iearn- swapped hulls on the tacks to the new ing experience we could alI have done windward hull and helped sheet in. The front was ballooned out and helmsman also sat on the windward hull the main sheet was snaking so we had three people ''uphil'' and one through the fairlead on the aft down, but of course everything was on beam . The two crew on the the Ievel. This was not a thought out windward hull were not dinghy arrangem ent but seemed to be instinc- sailors and did not step out tive. but came sliding down the deck and the boat rolled over. W hen vle got fed up of Iooking at and tacking round the sam e moored barges, Help Arrives we decided lo head off against the Iast The damage to the boat at of the ebb tide up the River Tamar for a that point was, as far as I'm Iittle exploration. The wind was SW and aware, nil. W e were aII very 14 1 Q H gusting enough to heel some of the rac- shocked but otherw ise fine Q fl o t) pk D ing monos over as they jockeyed for and everyone was in a iife- positions downstream of the Royal Albert @! I t ç g. 1 Bridge. W e shot under the bridge and jacket and had been aII day. 4 xo 11 4,T W ithin 10 m inutes we had a I 1. spent three quarters of an hour exploring 50 foot dockyard workboat, a up river until the tide turned and then staded heading back. The wind was now police Iaunch and an RNLI in- hard on the nose and the tide was shore inflatable to help us, beginning to run swiftly as we tacked wich was very reassuring. W e under the bridge. It took us a good hour accepted the help of 1he dock- yard boat to tow us into one and a half to sail back to the chain ferry of the Canards as we were in against a stream that had the Iarge the shipping Iare. W hat we ships' moorings heeled over at about 45 did not realise was that if we degrees. We raced a Wayfarer with No. 13 May 1 990 without. O ne day when I have the tim e 2. W ith four adults aboard especially seen Bora havens around the coast to own a boat it w1l be a cat. The others with two on each hull - the deck edge where full size boats tied up to concrete will never go near one again. dug in, preventing the boat from slipping posts six feet across and had a feeling back to an even keel. that if they didn't Iike it, then neither 3. When the boat was righted the jib would we. There was one boat Ieft on sheet was found to be still cleated off. the sea heading for home Iike the toast Steve makes the following comm ents. Hand hold sheets in strong winds! was burning. W e signalled tor help, he turned and picked us up. W e waved 4. Reef early! IF IN DOUBT REEF! goodbye to the GP and arrived back at The boat will probably sail just as fast so Punat in good time for Mass. Total time Bill's estimate of the wind strength was a do not overpress it. This capsize hap- Iittle bit on the Iow side. RAF Mountbat- from cast off to pick up about 7 or 8 pened in sheltered waters. On the open m inutes. ten weather centre at Plym outh was sea there would have been Iarger waves recording mean wind speeds at the time and the violent motion and spray Cold Air from the Hills of Force 6 with gusts of 8. Another point g e n e r at e d w o u I d p ro b a b I y h ave W e've weathered a few Bora since then. wodh noting is that although they had prompted the crew to reef. been sailing with three people on the None, thank goodness, quite so drama- windward hull until then, at the time of PS The boat was righted by first remov- tic. They can be real kilers in the winter the accident there were two people on ing the rig then Iifting it out of the water picking up railway trucks and dumping each hull. As the boat cleared the shel- onto a pontoon while still inveded. The them in the water. The word simply ter of the Torpoint shore they were Iashings were then undone on one hull. means an easterly wind so you will hear exposed to the full force and true direc- The other hull with beams attached was forecasts of a gentle Bora. It is, in fact, tion of the wind for the first tim e. An rolled over, then the first hull turned up the norm al m orning offshore breeze. The eyewitness (Commodore of a Iocal sail- and replaced. W hile capsized, the Tiki other Bora is a katabatic wind. Cold air ing club) who was on the chain ferry floated eytremely high in the water, the heaps up on the mountainsides which reported: buoyancy of the cabin tops supporting it rim the Adriatic to reach the sea at with just the bow and stern handles im- Force 8 and above. Its main feature is ''The cat was Iifting a hull before the mersed despite the Ioss of the two capsize, when it was hit by a gust. The the speed at which it increases - in our main hatches. The rig survived un- case from flat calm to Force 7 in five boat rose gradually onto its beam end, scathed despite having been towed minutes. the crew did not seem to react and they about 1 mile upside down with both sails evenlually fell off.'' hoisted and the jib sheeted in. The alu- Be Prepared Some interesting conclusions may be minium mast was totally unmarked but So what's to do? W eather forecasts can drawn from this account: the sails, having been towed through the tell you that there is a Iikelihood of a Experienced dinghy sailors/windsurfers Naval Dockyard, wil never Iook the strong Bora but they are fairly Iocal so m ay no1 realise when a cat Iifts a hull at same again! there will be m any forecasts before one what seems to them a modest angle ot hits you. They are preceeded by a heel. O nce on one hull the boat is sail- period of intense calm and the sort of ing on a knife edge. X weather when you can hear a pin drop now has us scanning the eastern hori- zon for wisps of clouds on the mountain tops or catspaws rushing across the a bite of breakfast and pack the boat for water. The main defence though is to be off. By now there was a slight NE prepared. There are other strong winds T he B o ra breeze so 1 Iet go the Iine to shore and in the Adriatic in summ er but they build hung to the anchor while I put up the jib up over 24 hours or so. W hen we are The Chill W ind of the Adriatic ready to run out of the bay. But it was choosing an anchorage, therefore, our not to be. The wind increased, the jib first priority is good shelter from the By Mike W ynn flogged, the anchor dragged and I was east. W e never risk a sm all anchor or being pushed onto the rocks at the side short scope overnight and if a Bora of the bay. l called Jenny to help, we seems Iikely, put out a second anchor. Thl's will be of particular relevance to took a moment off to put on Iife jackets This is easier than it seems because the and l resumed my struggle with the sail. direction of the Bora is so predictable. those intending to jol'n the multihull Still no joy. We were blown out of the W e pull up to the first anchor, give the meeting in Biograd thl's summ er bay and, in the short steep sea that had boat a shear across the wind (which is (details given /*5 /asl issue). It is sprung up, capsized. She came up easy enough in a cat - the main problem interesting how kvt? a// end up owning quickly, swayed a few times and went is to stop it shearing) and drop our and sailing Polynesian catamarans over again. Time for a think. second anchor. W e then veer every bit and Mike pointed out to us that it >as of rope we have, take down the tent and this Iittle I'ncident with stability factors Not So Rare retire to our cabins. thatpersuaded him to slart building his There is a note to m yself on the side of Tikiz 1 GRA TITUDE. the chart which says NE wind = Bora = BAD. True enough. The next bit says The alarm went off early on Sunday ''Rare in sum mer''. Not so true. W hat we because we wanted to sail 5 miles into Punat to get to M ass. The G P14 was '' tied to the shore, held off by a small ---from flat calm to Force 7 in five anchor and we were sleeping under a m inutes-'' small overhang in the cliff. lt was a didn't know was how Iong it would last perfect day - warm and still - so it was although I suspected about 24 hours straight out of the bag and into the sea, which turned out to be true. W e had The Seapeople/sailorman H eavy W eather Techniques
By Steve Turner
Sooner or Iater even the Iuckiest of sai- Ieeward and a hostite Iee shore which have been used in this way. I believe, lors will meet conditions demanding spe- seemed comfodably far off will approach however, that the humble car tyre takes cial actions to preserve the safety of with frightening speed. A drogue strea- a Iot of beating and is so useful as an their boat and possibly their Iives. The med from the stern will not only slow the emergency fender or cable snubber that sheer violence of the weather in these boat down to a m anageable speed but no cruising cat should be without a few. survival conditions can be so daunting will also increase control over the boat A long warp made off from a bight from that without the confidence gained by allowing you some choice of direction the sterns with a couple of tyres threa- having a clear idea of how to best help run instead of proceeding willy-nilly ded onto il slows the boat down remark- their vessel cope with wind and waves, downwind. ably and may just help to protect the cat crews have abandoned yachts (in some This drogue - which should not be con- from breaking seas by providing a sort cases Iosing the product of years of fused with a sea anchor - is lowed over of ''slick'' upwind. work and their most valued possession) the stern rather than the bows so that Sea Anchors when. with a Iittle forethought and pre- the boat runs off bows first thus protect- paration, both boat and crew would have ing the rudders from the enormous A calamaran unable to make any pro- survived unscathed. In the 1979 Fastnet strains which would otherwise be im - gress upwind yet without sufficient room disaster crews were Iost after taking to posed on them as the boat will still be to Ieeward to allow it to run off will have their Iiferafts when their abandoned ves- moving through the water at an appreci- to try Iying to a sea anchor, which needs sels survived untended. able speed. to be considerably (arger than the Tow ing a Drogue drogue m entioned above. There is a The drogue should be employed on a vogue amongst American mulihullers to catamarans are of comparativelv liaht 1009 enough scope to allow it to Jie in use a parachule for this purpose. displacement and constructio n' a'-nd the trough before the one in which the apparently with great success. The para- require tactics to suit their particular boat is lying, otherwise it wilf be carried chule should be deployed on a line with characteristics. Given enough sea room, towards the cat by each crest. subjecting a swivel from the bow . a cat is generally happiest running off the warps to intermittent snatching Ioads. before a gale. However, even under TbO drogue can be improvised from Most polycats should be able to claw to bare poles a cat wilb run at speeds equipment carried on the boat for other windward away from a Iee shore in aI which quickly eat up the mises to Purposes sails, floorboards and bunk but the worst condilions. Practise with cushions are among the items which reefing and familiarity with the way your boat handles under various combinations Te te # A X w ue- Qsxwzvkpl ogp of reduced sail gaired in more m oderate conditions will prove invaluable whec cçele cjw t required in earnest. Beating into breaking seas w ill put fore hatches and the general structure of the boat to their trx *h severest test. A reliable m ethod of securing the hatches and a sheltered position to helm the boat can make the * j vital difference in survival conditions. Ocean cruisers whose jibs are fitted with jib roller reefing gear should carry a ururp owx o? wxx.p strong storm jib and have a practised method of setting it. A roller jib, when reefed to a pocket handkerchief. will be œGom> eM s a poor perform er to windward and any failure of 1he reefing gear could lead to W l N U disaster. Confidence in your boat and your ability to deal with extrem e conditions will help fvetec+. xxxrp g carry you through situations which ac a> - t oxzz unprepared crew m ight f ind testing beyond their Iimit. The worst storm has / an end - cope with it. stick it out and gain pride and confidence in your ability îas @ v.v- c- $ru to face the sort of test not often met by urban m an. No . 1 3 May 1 990 Lifestyles A Living W indow apIifnhedisl otsy''olTepw hcoyl ic kGreidrgl sai,rn d.Tinwgo thCea tasamilainragn/csr'u'. ishinisg The Search was O n Although l àdmire people who build their by Revco, Echo and M acro. own boats, I was definitely not interested in building, so the next best thing was to find a used one. W ith this in mind, Echo I'm sitting in an eight-sided cedar see if we could make a Iiving cruising and I sailed off to cruise the beautiful cabin on M itchell Bay in the San and performing. We did and it was fan- Canadian Gulf Islands. which are sand- Juan Islands, W ashington, USA, tastic! W orking gigs on the weekends, wiched between Vancouver lsland and then sailing off to the next one with the m ainland. W e had seen one on a watching the wind blow gusts up mooring up there the year before and to forty knots through the tall firs plenty of tim e to get there. Sailing is probably the ultimate recuperation for the thought it would be a good place to start and the tenacious m adronas. intensity of street perform ing. our search. The boat. AOTEA (Great Happy to be warm and creative White Cloud), was an Oro and belonged around the wood stove as the The following two years were more of to Tom and Ann Hennessy, who run squalls tear up the Strait of Juan the same. However, during that time we Sutil Lodge bed and breakfast and developed a growing dissatisfaction with Southwind Sailing Chaders. They turned de Fuca. This kind of weather the monohull. You know - slow and tippy m akes the 4x6 foot south facing us on with a splendid sail on AOTEA with four feet below the waterline and no and we were without doubt 'hooked'. window better than a Iarge screen room to spread out. Being movem ent video! O ne W harram owner 1ed us to the next adists, the Iatter annoyance was a big and before we knew it these ''funny Greetings! PCA member Living W indow minus for us. Also, we were just another boats'' were coming out of the proverbial reporting in. Living W indow?l! plastic white sailboat with a biue sail woodwork. W e met Tom Hembroff briefly cover. Know what 1 m ean? Also a new Yes, open your PCA membership list and took a good Iook at his Ariki PIGGY. (at the time) friend of ours, Livingson Andrew Frayling asked us to sail with and there it is in the USA. In the Kint, had his Rainbow Puppet Theatre Ls...l-iving W indow. Monohullll? W ell yes, built on Narai hulls and although he had him across the Georgia Strait from the but as Echo is always pleased to no sailing rig, he moved it around easily Gulf Islands to the mainland on his announce - ''That was then and now is Tangaroa TOM PATZ. W e had a good with an oId M ini Cooper automobile breeze and made the crossing in thee NOWI'' engine. Truly inspiring for the Iikes of us Ever since I becam e interested in sailing water borne Bohem ians. hours, averaging 8 knots. Hey, this was getting to be fun! I have adm ired catamarans. I sailed That's when the catamaran bug bit - and some of the earlier Hobies and enjoyed bit hard. I sent away for aII the cata- W e kept Iooking. It seem ed we were the experience very much. However, by maran information I could get. W hen l finding W harrams everywbere we went. the tim e I got enough money together to received James W harram 's design book Stowed away in garages, deep in the actually buy a boat, l was Iiving in the Pacific North W est and was m ainly i n te r e s t e d i n c r u i s i n g boats. Now I'm not saying there are no cruising cata- m arans here, but they arec't exactly the ''yacht'' of choice for the vast majority of northwest boa- ters. Anyway, I bought the Vega - a Swedish built 27 foot monohull - in 1986 to cruise and Iive aboard. It was great as the Vega is a fine boat. Echo and I took our per- forming com pany, Living W indow , on the ''road'' with it. During the spring, sum - m er and fall this area, in- cluding British Columbia, is ''ga-ga'' for festivals and art fairs. W e put together a street act for busking and set out to The deck tent is made of Vanllla Sunbrella material andgives GRACE that conestoga wagon Iook. 0 The Seapeople/sailorman closed cell foam form ed around it, then shaved off to shape and epoxy glassed over. The result is the Ionger water Iine and she is extremely clean through the water. Although they are slightly ''fragile'' if the boat hits something big and heavy in the water. They will, however, act as a ''squishy bum per''. The other modifica- tions include inboard ''shark fin'' rudders, which are large and powerful. Also, she has 4' fixed keels, 10'' deep with a 6' copper foot on the bottom. W hen dried oul, she sits Ievel on the keels and rudders as both were built very strong. GRACE'S performance and manouevra- bility has turned m any an eye our way. Sailing to windward is a pleasure as the keels ''Iock'' her into the water and leeway is m inimal. She tacks readily and helm response is quick and sure. W e are cruisers and not overly critical Sailing GRACE in the Gulf Islands. Note the Iarge deck area. about performance but, in comparison to most other boats Echo or I have sailed woods up on blocks or tucked away in deck tent until we found the design that on, GRACE is a dream ! W e can paddle some shallow ''no man's water''. The works, then had it sewn up at a sail Ioft. her Iike a couple of canoes, even advantages of this type of craft were A veritable Iuxury saloon and it stays up against contrary currents. Imagine that! becoming increasingly obvious. It was during a blow! W e use shock corded W ell, somebody has to balance out the clear we had to have one - pronto! tent poles for a flexible fram ework and Alaska oiI spill and, besides, we get a ln December 1988 l sold the Vega and can ''slap it together'' in about 15 charge out of the incredulous stares we Echo and I set out travelling around the minutes, give or take a beer or two. If get from other boaters as we paddle in US Iooking for a cat for us any of you happy campers would Iike and out of anchorages and marinas. But, . W e sear- ched the west coast and then over to more details I will be happy to provide. of course, these are the advantages of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico where we Modif ications smal! boats and perhaps nothing new to m et cleo and Bob Phillips. totally im - m ost catam aran sailors. m ersed in building KAIMO LO LO - a 42 GRACE is an oId Tane design with a W e cruised G RACE throughout the San foot Pahi design. Ironically. they too had recent birthday. Construction was initia- Juan and Gulf Islands Iast summ er and cruised in a Vega for several years ted in 1983 and finished in 1986, W ith Fall (1989) and plan for more extensive before they were inspired to build a thO bOW and stern extensions she has a northerly cruising this spring and summ er W harram. From there. we flew to Florida 27'4'' LOA with a speedy 26'6'' W L. The with ideas of doing some more offshore Where l have relatives and sailed with extensions were added on the hulls after coastal sailing. Tom Miliano on his Hinem oa TW O Construction of the stock design and are RIGHTS. W e saw a great num ber of a Single piece of 3/8'' marine pIy with Living window, P.O. Box 298 boats but alas the ones that were for Friday Harbour, W A 98250 sale were either too big (we're small boat fans) or they just didn't ring our beli. V'rlf-%lîg kcèi Return to GRACE . 1'67SV So we returned to the San Juars and decided to take a second Iook at a Tane we knew to be on Orcas Island. Actually. J>-7w/'$!o- we had sailed on her the year before with Clay Philbrick. who with Birch Gerke of Port Townsend had designed and O constructed the modificatiors. W hen we -' x. first Iooked at GRACE we were still . h . ; Il J N. . $ aboard the Vega and she ''seemed'' too . t I l , small. although she sailed fantaslically. Our second Iook was through ''new'' eyes and we m ade the decision to buy. . ffJ-,. rtytl-pz.rs. W e imm ediately staded cruising and out- o . fitling. Being cam pers, we already had o û . equipment that was just right for this type of boat. James' flexispace concepts tuce right into our simplistic Buddha natures so even on the Vega we steered clear of installing gear permanently, and thus we had much of what we needed. W e experim ented with plastic tarps for a No. 1 3 May 1990 N ew s from Sea People Australia m en who have made very hard livings in but we will Iet you know when it's done. heavy traditional monos. Eb Ballantyne built Tiki 26 No. 12O in 7 Other things which need to be done months, com pleting it during the last To sum up, the Tiki 26 has exceeded through age and wear and tear are the Australian winter. Eb initially had pro- my fondest expectations and I congratu- nets replaced - and will be done in a blems conveding the 8 X 4 foot sheets Iate the W harram s on a superb design. sim ilar manner as they Iasted well and of pIy shown on the plans to the con- By the way, l found it impossible to get were strong and reliable. The back net siderably sm aller 1200mm X 240Omm a round 5 inch extrusion for the mast in held the Avon while travelling plus Iots of sheets available in Australia. He writesr- Australia, but the Iam inated wooden one other junk - sea anchors etc. and the odd person. The sails need work and a ''During building I was shattered by the is excellent (and quiet). I would also Iike to thank local wooden boat enthusiast new jib is in order as the oId one was sudden death of my great friend, Mark destroyed on the Iast sail. Bramley, the m an who sowed the seeds and materials supplier Robby Ayliffe for of my belief in the Polycat concept in my his friendly suppod.'' A new old motor will be installed - a monohull orientated mind. His mem ory is 35hp Evenrude with extensions to make it a Iong shaft. This should give us the enshrined for me in my boat called Eb News from PYXIS - by Diane Mccann Tied - my name used in an obvious play power we need and could have used in (taken from the Norl/7 American Polycats many instances entering reefs and other on words considering the m ethod of newsletter) securing the beams to the boat. Just strong current places. before his death M ark com pleted a mag- W e are still aboard PYXIS (an Oro) in The HAM radio is installed so we could nificent true to plan Tikiroa which sits Sydney Harbour, anchored in the area do some real communicating with some proudly alongside Eb Tied in St. Vincent polycat folks if they are on air. John will Gult. be getting his Iicense here within a few Another trauma for m e was a violent months. Another solar panel purchased reaction to epoxy resin (see Seapeople as they are relatively inexpensive in Aus- No. 12 - Ed). I was advised medically to tralia and the two will provide ali the stop building but with gloves, ointment power we can use including a TV (reluc- and mask etc.twhich did not help) plod- tantly adm itted but only a small black ded on and got there. How could one and white). possibly turn one's back on those grace- W e attended the inaugaral polycat Sail fuI hulls so full of promise? Fodunately In at Pittwater just north of the city and after com pletion the reaction has gone saw some excellent W harram s. W e have and aII is well. shown your newsletter to them . The The craft is aII that the designer pro- Australian rep. for W harram plans wan- mised and more. Recently I sailed to ted to do the newsletter but the m em- Adelaide across the Gulf and returned bers and builders wanted to be free to (off course) covering 48 miles in four take Iiberties with designs and ideas - and a half hours. My wife Fay and I use the W harram official version prefers to the boat for trolling for snook (a pike Iike m aintain the Iine and therefore safety fish that abounds here). I have fitted a seems to us to be the better path. Johnson 9.9 which appears perfect and Glad to see Aben MacKenzie has com- with the standard prop allows speeds of pleted his Pahi 31 . W e said goodbye to 12 knots plus. Carl Reynolds and his son at Patonga one of the same design (called ATC) a Creek I have made additions (1 stress additions few months ago, built and sailed by Mike as plans were strictly adhered to in the designated for foreign vessels. About 30 Bromley, who made a fast passage to constructional sense) which include a boats are here in this small bay. lt's free Tonga doing 1800 m iles in 15 days. slatted deck four feet wide between the and water is available with buses and W e congratulate Roly in O BOREA doing forward and mast beam instead of the trains nearby. Being only two train stops aII that solo sailing and doing it well, He trampoline (very satisfactory). Also a from the heart of Sydney it couldn't be deserves top accolades. W e plan to similar deck between the aft beam and better. make the serial drogue as Roly sugges- an additional beam 18 inches from the PYXIS was painted and restored in Coffs ted - our friend Mike on the Pahi made stern. I found this necessary as it was to Harbour eighteen months ago but on the such a drogue before leaving and used say the least difficuit to adjust my auto- rather rugged sail from there to Sydney it with good success through a vicious helm crawling (with harness of course) the beam s appeared to be unhealthy so Tasman gale. W e still use our ''Jim out onto the hul when in rough seas we will be replacing aII four of them - Brown'' tyre drogue - always from the which we encounter here frequently. The they are now 13 years o1d and have had stern - with twin storm jibs held to beam
Autohelm has to be fitted with the unit much use (abuse ?) . We have had an ONdS to keep the drogue Iine tight. 19 inches from the pivot point of the offer from a polycat mem ber here in W e will try to keep in better touch. ln rudders. Another departure was 2 inches Australia for the use of his garage to April/May 1990 we will be setting out more depth in the cockpit which hasn't build them - typical polycat hospitality. again for the Pacific heading for Tonga to date induced any slam m ing. This tim e the beams will be made of where we would Iike to spend time, then A plus which certainly was not expected F14 grade oregon or maybe white beech on to explore the many islands of Fiji was the acceptance and enthusiasm of or perhaps a composite with oregon in and who knows where from there. Iife-long fishermen (some over 80) who the middle (Iike foam sandwich) and said if they had their time over again this tougher heavier spotted foam on the top would be the design for them. This from and bottom Iayers. This is still undecided Carl GOXOO/JS personally dellkered the 1 8 o lir.ll'tq.t! t', ' ! t ,( 1',.. ret.yclckl papk'r The Seapeople/sailorman following news to us when he visited W e spent a day away from building our waters, shooting the Ontario breeze with M illbrook in April. Pahi sailing KAPITO on a sum mers day our CRIKKER. Darren Clement sailed his An impromptu meeting was held in and got very sunburnt (one of the curses Tiki 21 overnight from Toronto to get to March (Autumn) by the Sydney PCA. of building W harrams inside). Tim and the meeting in time - a mammoth and The new venue was at Patonga Creek, Heather Whelan have finished a major hair raising trip. Her deck tent also fell a nice secluded spot with BBQ and toilet refit with new centre cockpit, stove with into the mammoth category (a full size facilities situated in Broken Bay just oven and flexispace in the hull for their geodetic camping tent from the photo- nodh of Sydney. The entrance is very two children. They are planning to carry copy -ed). Rob Jones and his sister trai- narrow and had to be entered just on cruising the Pacitic in May when the 1ed their Hina in trom Port Rowan, before high tide - hence a good place cyclone season finishes (please Iet us spread the hulls on Rob's ingenious trai- for cats, not monohulls. krlow Heather and Fl'm what Pacific Ier, Iaunched and sailed with the fleet. cruising is aII about! - Ed). On Sunday they reloaded the nimble Around 25 people turned up with 2 Tik- boat back onto the trailer for the return iroas, a Tanenui and Terry Simpson's Tikis are alI the craze at present with Tiki 21s, 26s and 31s underway plus a trip, highlighting the other Iong distance Raka BEETHOVEN, which arrived just in cruising capability of polycats. time for the BBQ and had to anchor off Tikiroa. W ade Doak's Raka slipped its the beach. He then sailed home that mooring in a gale and was damaged on Still on Saturday the m ultitude divided night. rocks but has now been repaired. W e've themselves onto the various boats and recently heard (second hand) of Captain went for a sail. Although the winds were Other news: Ray Mills is applying the Cook RANGOON MOON built by Peter Iight water was flying and some came final touches on his Tikiroa to be laun- Lind-lohnson in the Middle East and back rem arkably wet. After a feast and ched in April. Steve W agstaff also hopes sailed by him to New Zealand. m ore talk there was a drift to boats, to Iaunch his Tiki 31 at the end of April Our own boat is proceeding well with tents, trailers, cabins and motels for the then sail round to Pedh. W e also Iaun- night. ched our own newsletter, named ''Cross- cabin sides and decks completed and we hope to Iaunch sometime in 1991 .'' Sunday saw the arrival of Dave Pluant from Ottawa with a pair of hand crafted sea kayaks, polycat style. One even had CANADA eyebrows. Great attention getters and Sail In 89 - by Rozanne Moizer (taken pretty too. Many visitors tried paddle from the Nor!h Am erican Polycats news- pushing. Slim hulls really go! There was a general round of boat visiting by Ietter). dinghy and by swim , m ore story telling, One of winter's pleasures is recalling more idea swapping, more dreaming and past summer delights. Sail ln 89 brought then it was time to drift away - each a gratifying number of sails breezing into boat being cheered and waved to as it Cassidy's Bay at Howe Island, A grow- slid out of the bay. ing number of land visitors arrived via the ferry, som e oId friends, some finding Yes, Sail In 89 was a good one. us for the first time. There were about 80 of us both Saturday and Sunday. The weather was kind to the campers and in UK spite of the encroachment of the Moizer As a Tiki 26 owner I am not suprised to building, there was enough space for hear a Iot of talk about racing from fel- everyone. The annual Sail In gives Iow owners, as even my relatively hea- encouragem ent to the curious who are vily loaded cruising boat has em bar- just investigating the adventures of poly- rassed owners of Iarge monohulls and Tim Whelan with his daughters Libby catting. It gives them a chance to get similar sized catamarans with her speed and Faith by IKA ROA at Tutukaka aboard a real boat, to feel the wind, to and windward pe/orm ance. This will marina. appreciate the stability, to share ideas surely attract the attentions of competi- and to get knowledge and advice. tive sailors and it is good to hear from beams''. Peter Hackett who picked the At one point w hile standing quietly Alan Jewitt of Kendal, Cumbria - owner name said ''it would help to hold our watching the boats and general activity, of GRP ''IT'S SLIPPERY SAM'' - that PCA group together.'' a conversation floated by which tickled this potential is being realised. At the moment I am at Foss Quay on my ears. ''W e should keep in touch, ''IT'S SLIPPERY SAM is Iaid up at Bar- holiday, Iooking around for new ideas since it seems we will aI1 be going south row for the moment and has survived and getting a few photos to record the together.'' Three couples talking - hith- the winter quite well. Barrow has m ore hive of activity around here. edo strangers - now with shared inter- than its fair share of cats - including a ests and a com mon goal. T a n g a r o a c a I I e d T O O K A N O O Z - New Zealand The boats m ade a pretty sight. Roly because of the vast expanses of mud at It's good to know that an update from a H u e b sc h ' s O B O R E A was p ro u d I y Iow tide. I plan a few extra creature member on the far side of the planet dressed overall as she Iay at anchor. comforts this year, including a spray can Iand on my desk just a week after it There was W INDCHIME, almost ready to dodger from D Sails and possibly a was posted. Thanks to Charlie W riggles- be off to the sunny south again. Perhaps headlining. Another project for the Scott- worth from Grey Lynn, Auckland for she was sharing sail-talk with OBO REA ish Islands Peak Race is a pedal keeping us informed. and boasting a bit to Harry and Becky powered outboard. This is specifically Ellis' boat LANOA, yet to get a sunburn allowed for in the rules, as is rowing. I 'There is still a dedicated bunch of buil- plan to use a bike frame with a Iarge ders and saiiors in New Zealand. The but fresh from a rocket-like passage down from Toronto. There was Neil and outdrive prop suspended between the Brazier family have enjoyed their first hulls aft of the cockpit. Stay tuned for season sailing their Narai Mk.4 KATIPO. Karen's boat NARA NOG, also a sea- soned southerner, now sailing on Iocal m ore details! No. 13 May 1 990 1 9 I intend sailing up to Oban the week before the race - a distance of 23O miles via the Hebrides. I am Iooking forward to B oo ks...... B ooks...... B ooks this already but am Iess sure about spending 2/3 days aboard with a crew of 5. Read any good sailing books Iately? If Shrimpy Sails Again - Shane Acton. SAM was on Ullswater for 2 weeks Iast you have Iet us know about it so that we Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1989. I.S.B.N. 1- July for the ''Ullswater 2 Peaks Race''. can pass your recomm endations on to 85260-216-3 This was a friendly sailing and running other mem bers. It is useful to state the I very much enjoyed reading Shane's race organised by a friend in which I title, author, publisher, publication date first book, ''Shrimpy'' (by the same pub- and I.S.B.N. number. competed against a Mirror Dinghy, a Iishers) which tells the story of how he Puffin Pacer, a Merlin Rocket as well as One Summers Grace - Libby Purves. bought a 18 foot plywood daysailer for Darl, Condor and Catapult Catamarans. It tells of her sail around Britain with E400 and Ieft England with f50 in his SAM did wel on the first downwind leg, husband Paul Heiney (both are well pocket and the determination to see a finishing 6 minutes ahead of the Ieading known radio and TV broadcasters in the bit of the world. As many of us know, he Merlin Rocket and just behind the Dart UK - ed.) and two small children during com pleted his 8 year circumnavigation in and Condor. W e were however defeated the summ er of 1988. They have a Cor- 1980. In 1984 he set out again in the by vigorous and Iegal paddling on the nish Crabber (a monohull on traditional sam e boat and this book recounts his return Ieg. Lake sailing proved to be working boat lines) and took 99 days at voyage through the French Canals, his very enjoyable, showing how fast Tikis a fairly leisurely pace. This is a very tough Atlantic crossing and Ieisurely are in sm ooth water, l saw a burst of good read and would be of padicular Caribbean cruise. It is a thoroughly prac- over 1 O knots in fairly moderate con- interest to those contemplating fam ily tical and down to eadh guide for anyone ditions and severely embarrassed an sailing of any type. l strongly recom- contemplating cruising the world on a Enterprise dinghy going lo windward. mend it. tight budget. There is a yellow Tiki 21 moored on Ed. Ullswater but unfortunately its owner was Alan Jewitt not to be seen. I also had a m arvellous trip over to the Isle of Man during the August Bank Holi- day. My brother and I sailed over in 1he dark on a clear moonless night. W e were aim ing for a Iighthouse near Ram- N ext Issue say which is high and visible for over 20 m iles. Because it flashed only 3 times The next magazine will be mainly a building issue. W e need building adicles - every 30 seconds, and because we have especially about bigger boats. W e can only print what is sent in so please, no com pass Iight, I found m yseif steering experienced builders out there, put pen to paper and tell us how it's done. Shod a zig-zag course, corrected every 30 articles on time saving ideas are always welcome. If in doubt about the suitabilty of a particular article for the m agazine please write in and ask. W e need pictures too - seconds. can anyone out there help? The highlights of the weekend were an impromplu reaching race with a modified Scheduled so farr- Banshee and the return trip. W e won the race with speeds of between 7 and 13 Building Oro ALIAS by Sm ith & Jones knots (F4-5) and sailed back to Barrow in beautiful conditions. close hauled in a A case for the sm all boat fairly gentle wind. averaging 5 knots over 45 m iles.' The com plete guide to anchoring and mooring. Paul Ballard spent the winter putting W e hope to get it to you at the end of November, so the copy deadline for adicles is together the m ouldings of his GRP Tiki the end of August, and news by the end of Septem ber. 26 SCAT which had a cham pagne Iaunch on 30 M arch. Anna French from SHERE KHAN and her friend Ba Deakin did the honours by sim ultaneously pour- M em ber to M em ber ing champagne onto the bows! The BBQ that followed was well attended by other Tiki 21 for sale. (1986) used one season O ro KIDO for sale - see pages 1 1 and b u i I d e rs w h o . re p I ete with co p i o u s only. Road and Iaunching trailers. Alloy 12 for m ore details. amounts of Dave Hender's home made m ast, teak tabernacle, superior cabin elderberry wine (''Tuesday's vintage''), hatches. Electronic speed and Iog. huddled around the fire in the cool eas- Ready to trail and sail. No deck tent or terly wind lo ge1 down to some serious outboard. Lying Lincoln UK. 2,850. Tiki Talk. The following morning Paul Phone 042771 454. made his first voyage under sail accom- Double berth available for UK sum mer panied by his m olher and 85 year oId meeting on Narai Mk.2. Suitable for grandmolher. experienced Narai sailors. Contact Chuck Roach, c/o M icheal Britton, 9 Scott's Close. Churchstow, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 3RB.
The Seapeople/sailorman fishing boats of northern Europe survived ture of the m odern inflatable Iiferaft. Its storms by rowing or paddling to keep early use is advocated and described Jim 's C olum n their bows into the wind. Often they vividly in Gaptain Voss's book ''The Ven- threw a drag overboard at the end of a turesome Voyages of Captain Voss'', The Tests of Tim e long warp, consisting of a spar and the which has just been reprinted. attached sail to help in holding the bow On our first two pioneering Atlantic We (meaning myself and my extended into the wind. family, which includes aII PCA mem bers voyages, we had deep projecting rudders The other ancestor of the modern cata- - rather Iike the deep daggerboards of and Wharram builders) have been maran - the raft (an example of which is some modern catamarans, However, we designing or sailing offshore catamarans the famous Kon Tiki sailing raft) - could, found out that when the catamaran lay Ionger than any other designer and and did, Iie beam onto the sea so that beam on into the waves like a rafl, the sailed many more offshore sea m iles stormy sea crests would rol over the side slip Iurching of the raft form threw than any other multihull type. As far as windward edge, disappearing through the tremendous strain on these projecting we know, no Polynesian catam aran has open wooden slats without sweeping the rudders. been overwhelmed by stormy seas or raft deck clean of structure and people. has rolled over and sunk. So we then put a sea anchor, contrary Lying to the seas to general practise, Qver the stern, In Of course, we do know of inexperienced this way when the catamaran was flung crews who have been terrified by the So, from the beginning, our catamarans forward by the storm wave crests or wild power of a sea storm and begged were designed to Iie head or stern to the cascading wave suuace, it Ieft the rud- for help to be taken off their catamaran. storm sea Iike the open-decked small der trailing in 1he norm al manner. For W e also know of surviving storm-bat- craft. However, because of our decked when the sea anchor was put over the tered Polycats who have accepted a tow hulls without open cockpits but with b-o-w the boat was flung backwards so and then been pulled apart by the high strong small hatches and the hulls that the rudders slammed sideways put- speed of the bigger ships. separated by slatted decks the craft ting greater strain on the rudder blades W hen I designed my first 23' 6'' seago- could, if caught beam on to a Iarge sea, and Iashed tiller. ride it sideways Iike the Kon Tiki raft. ing catamaran in 1953, the only data For this reason, the special feature of available was historical. The drawing To avoid the risk of Iosing a mast and the w harram catamaran is thal the stern shows the origins of tbe modern cata- sails, m any small open craft in the Iate is designed to handle folowing storm maran out of this historic data. 19th and early 20th centuries carried a seas using these features: sea anchor, the fam ous conical canvas The information then available on heavy bag 1 . canoe sterns to meet the advancing weather survival was that the open sea . This was standard issue on aI canoes of the Pacific and small open ships Iifeboats (rowed) of the RNLI. storm wave crests Nowadays, it is the essential safety fea- 2. no Iarge cockpits
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'T'kl fq. K:p'h 14 fzot,d i. s' P.J c I '-l , / B c tè s.$ r2x f'h 1 $ o (. rs s4 M.z I ro c cj 3. main hatches that face inwards the size of boat). The first time that we we hold very strongly to the idea of towards the platform heard this theory was in the early 1960s, slowing down before gales to keep con- 4. the maximum amount of deck slatted when Adhur Piver publically claimed, at trol. to Iet the boarding sea crests run an AYRS (Amateur Yacht Research One essential criterion for heavy weather through Society) Iecture in London, that his boats sailing is preparation. Have food and could sur'f at 30 knots before the storm, warm drinks ready as the storm is rising, Keep the Speed Dow n thus avoiding the worst of the gale. He because it is very hard to cook when the vanished on his trimaran a few months boat is moving about violently. Above all, On our first Nodh Atlantic voyage, we after this statement! dropped the use of the canvas sea keep the damp and spray out of the anchor which we had used in the South This idea surfaced again in 1988 when interior of the boat. Open the hatches Atlantic voyage and used motor tyres at John Shuttlewodh, in an adicle headed sparingly and for the minimum Iength of the end of warps - one at each side of ''M ultihull Design : Considerations for time. Do not alow pedple with wet hair the aft beam. W e found that, with tyres Seawodhiness'', wrète that '' a multihull and clothes to clim b into a dry bunk. If at the end of 30 fathom warps we could will sur'f very easily, making for fast you are on urgent call, sleep in your wet slow the m ad rush of the 40' Rongo ocean passage making in the open clothes on the floor or special wet travelling at speeds of 8 knots plus ocean. Sailing downwind in winds up to bunks. under bare poles, down to speeds of 1-3 40 knots is usually quite comfodable and The noise from a storm can become knots and that we could steer at an easy. The apparent wind being reduced unendurable but always remember that angle of 45 degrees off the wind. by the high boat speed ...... at surfing your craft is designed to survive Iike a speeds in excess of 20 knots.'' A few Never did we consider it a practical pro- Iife raft. lt is, however, much more com- weeks (ater one of his 5O' catamarans fodable! If you Iook after your ship, it position to run before a storm at high pitchpoled following his philosophy! So, speeds of 10/20/30 knots (depending on w ill Iook after you.
C aption C om petition
''W hat do you m ean, Pahi 31s are w et boatsl''
JW D caught in conversation with a Pahi 31 owner Any witty suggestions about what they were discussing?
The best entries will be published in the next edition!
22 The Seapeople/sailorman * BRAND PRODUCTS : i I I : * 1 I i
i
X ., . . ) . .! wj f y jI $ .y. j sx. j j PREPARATION . !? ? z. k. ,. It is im porunt t() , . . -. , t taujjt. J- v r , .j witla wolld that Iaas ' 4.w ) '-- '' ' t5 bemeon isatduerqe ucaotnetley ndt r(i)ef dw. (T)(h)de î '- . . - .... . l '':- j for com posite should be a s Q.x>.- -- . ,. low as possible, .. s .y j o y < V. k.j q? a j j y, ) z oyo .
. a., ENCAPSULATING .,v .I . ' . - ''. % z s - ' .. - W EST SYSTEM resins .-. .r(.x-q ? t 1' V - sta b i l i ze t h e m t) i s t u re c o n te n t ( t hk -- 4 - (.)f the w'tltld, nxaintain a set - ' sta nda rt1 ()f physical properties ' y and provide excellent 'h dim ensional stability. N x ï v-.- - - / < . - - - . y SLJRSCKIPTION ' , Boxolxc --' ( FOKM The j (lint btlnded T'he only monthly Journal in the world öevote entirely to 4he uith W EST SYSTE M eptlxy NeM and views on multihulls -Y' ' bectlmes strtlngk'r than thi? # A wotld be i ng j oi n e d. Li tt I :.% clamping pressure is required ' -- to achieve a gtltlt1 btlnd. U.K. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION f 13 . J --- . ------de z. . ' . <
O v e r sea s S tl b sc r 1 p t 1 o n $ 2 R o r E 1 6 CONST-R UCTION ?.,/,% ' Q k/, ?' ''1. '>') ' . - . N j. E x t r'a fo r' A I R X! A I L $1 5 or ( 1 2 EST SYSTEM prtlductslt j tz k u / 9. E u rope a r) F I R S T C LA SS M A l L $/4 or E 2 el im i na te the need f t)r ' ) m tlcha nical fastenings such as 3 : k l yt '. l t2' . x k f 5 'p t q- , 1 1 l t ( ! () r LJ . S . Do1 ! a r' '.a C, I R U) N 4 ) . $ tib f'? 0 5 0 scre / ! th e rewf tsl, rbe ()sl utsb sa enqdu rei nvet tcst larnrtdls itln .. wj j ,' : .b PLEASE * nd me a year's subK ription. starting w ith ./ k. - problenns are ntln-existent in an aI1 , z ' y.J ,. btln d ed ckln struct i () n. NAM E
(BLX K LEU E RS PLEASE)
Pl-œ continue my su- iption when it t- orres ren---enle *nd bill rr- until I Rncel wK- --ription published by CHAND L ER PUBLICA TION S L TD. 5 .? HI G1l S T RE E T , TO T NES , DE VON TQ 9 SNP, &. K .
No. 13 May 1990 Tiki Deck Tents & Tram polines
R E P A I R 9, S E R V I C E e
M a n u f a c t u r e r of S a i I s , D o d g e r s , C o v e r s e t c . r n ... 813312 R o p e s & W i r e s S p I i c e d January/February 1984 Cover Photo. Gale poak's RAKA 'INTERLOCK' in Rikoriko Cave, New Zealand, with inside storv: rA Cat Among The Dolphins'. SUBSCRIPTIONS M ULTIHULLS M agazine brings you 1 year 2 years w orld-w ide catam aran, trim aran U.S. Rear of 49, Fore Street, and proa news. Timely articles on Surface $18.00 $22.00 designs, buying, building, racing, Foreign Torpoint, Plym outh, cruising and safety of m ultihulls. Surface $22.00 $36.00 C ornw all. Bi-monthly (6 issues per year). Foreign Airmail $39.00 $75,00 421 Hancock St. Payable in U.Dollars, bank draft Quincy, (Boston) lnternational Postal Money MA 02171, USA TeI: (617) 328-8181 Order or Visa/Mastercard
k ï 1 $ . 4 ' b l BUILDERS OF ( ) ' i î'î'ss j% G .R.P. PO LY N ESIA N CA TA M A RA NS Z '
Tl KI 26 KITs FROM :4,soo + vAT , .-,. xtjrr SA ILA W AY 27,500 VAT TA o su s' 'Efy a ;, ojjs 0 FULL CRUISING SPEC c n :17 g21Lg. . E9,950 + VAT yàgz) zra N E W TIKI 21 IN G.R.P. KlT OR SAILAW AY PLEA SE SEN D FO R DETA ILS
PLEASE FORW ARD or return to: Sandy Turner, Foss Quay, M illbrook, Torpoint,Cornw all PLIO IEN, U.K.