2016/1 The Journal of the Ocean Cruising Club 1 Boatyard Or Backyard Rolling and Tipping with Epifanes Delivers Exceptional Results. Professional or amateur, once you’ve rolled and tipped a boat with Epifanes two-part Poly-urethane, it will be your go-to strategy for every paint job. The results are stunning, and Epifanes’ tech support is unsurpassed. Still great for spraying, but Epifanes roll-and-tip is the proven shortcut to a durable, mirror-like finish. Yacht Coatings AALSMEER, HOLLAND Q THOMASTON, MAINE Q ABERDEEN, HONG KONG +1 207 354 0804 Q www.epifanes.com FOLLOW US A special thank-you to the owners of Moonmaiden II. Beautiful paint job. 2 OCC FOUNDED 1954 offi cers COMMODORE Anne Hammick VICE COMMODORES Tony Gooch REAR COMMODORES Dick Guckel Peter Paternotte REGIONAL REAR COMMODORES GREAT BRITAIN Chris & Fiona Jones IRELAND John Bourke NORTH WEST EUROPE Claus Jaeckel NORTH EAST USA Denis Moonan & Pam MacBrayne SOUTH EAST USA Bob & Janellen Frantz WEST COAST NORTH AMERICA Ian Grant NORTH EAST AUSTRALIA Nick Halsey SOUTH EAST AUSTRALIA Paul & Lynn Furniss ROVING REAR COMMODORES Scott & Kitty Kuhner, John & Christine Lytle, Chris Cromey & Suzanne Hills, Simon Fraser & Janet Gayler, Martin & Elizabeth Bevan, Rick & Julie Palm, David & Juliet Fosh, Jack & Zdenka Griswold, Franco Ferrero & Kath McNulty, Jonathan & Anne Lloyd PAST COMMODORES 1954-1960 Humphrey Barton 1960-1968 Tim Heywood 1968-1975 Brian Stewart 1975-1982 Peter Carter-Ruck 1982-1988 John Foot 1988-1994 Mary Barton 1994-1998 Tony Vasey 1998-2002 Mike Pocock 2002-2006 Alan Taylor 2006-2009 Martin Thomas 2009-2012 Bill McLaren 2012-2016 John Franklin SECRETARY Rachelle Turk Westbourne House, 4 Vicarage Hill Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9EW, UK Tel: (UK) +44 20 7099 2678 Tel: (USA) +1 844 696 4480 e-mail: [email protected] EDITOR, FLYING FISH Anne Hammick Falmouth Marina, North Parade Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 2TD, UK Tel: +44 1326 212857 e-mail: [email protected] OCC ADVERTISING Details page 240 OCC WEBSITE www.oceancruisingclub.org 1 CONTENTS PAGE Editorial 3 Admiral Mary: A Life to Celebrate 5 The 2015 Awards 21 Voyaging to the Top of America 42 Ellen Massey Leonard From Nova Scotia to Scotland 55 Debi Dennis & Jack Markin 5000 miles in ‘The Variables’ 63 Suzanne Hills & Chris Cromey Forum Fear 70 Simon Currin The Loss of Ramprasad 74 Sam Coles Winter Sun to Midnight Sun, Part 2 85 Stuart Letton Capricorn and Back 91 Iain & Meg Buchanan Sending Submissions to Flying Fish 101 Hard Yakka! 103 Rosemarie Smart-Alecio Shelduck’s Cruise to America 111 Neil Hegarty & Anne Kenny Darwin to Dampier via the Kimberleys 123 Mike Bickell Fetching Panacea 137 Peter McCrea & Doug Theobalds Alone on the Ocean ~ Passage Making 145 Vicky & Tom Jackson How to Get Started on Facebook 156 Frances Rennie Book Reviews 159 Yacht Designer’s Notebook & Yacht Designer’s Sketch Book; Atlantic Islands; Reach for Paradise; Wildlife of the Caribbean; Gordon Bennett and the First Yacht Race across the Atlantic; Offshore Sea Life ID Guides: US West & East Coasts; The First Indian; How To Read Water Swan Song? 169 Rev Bob Shepton From the galley of ... 181 Bill Salvo, Niki Phillips, Linda (also on pages 194 & 200) Lane Thornton and Liz Hammick Howth to Torrevieja 183 Ken & Carmel Kavanagh A Trip to Remember 195 Vicki Mortimer The OCC Strengthens Links with the.. RCC Pilotage Foundation 202 George Curtis A Brittany Cruise ‘OOPB’ 206 Mike & Helen Norris More Land than Sea 217 Thierry Courvoisier Obituaries and Appreciations 226 Advertisers in Flying Fish 239 Advertising Rates and Deadlines 240 HEALTH WARNING The information in this publication is not to be used for navigation. It is largely anecdotal, while the views expressed are those of the individual contributors and are not necessarily shared nor endorsed by the OCC or its members. The material in this journal may be inaccurate or out-of-date – you rely upon it at your own risk. 2 When I started editing Flying Fish in the early 1990s I always put obituaries at the front as a mark of respect – until Mary Barton, who was Commodore at that time, said she found it depressing and how about putting them at the end? I was hesitant, therefore, about leading off this issue with the fascinating account of her own life which begins on page 5. But really, where else was appropriate? Admiral Mary was unique in the history of our Club, and it’s fair to say that without her leadership nearly 30 years ago the OCC might well not have survived. Do read her life story, whether you’re an old stager or a recent joiner – and once again my thanks to all who contributed. Now back to the prosaic: several members have reported problems in despatching articles from more remote parts of the world – despite appearing to depart safely, their message never reaches me. So if you send something and don’t hear back within a week or so please check that you have the address correct and try again ... and if that doesn’t work, send it to Rachelle at [email protected] with a request that she forwards it on. Still on the subject of sending things, rather than attaching multiple photos to multiple e-mails do try a great little (free) program called WeTransfer [www. wetransfer.com]. It could hardly be simpler, and has the great advantage (over Dropbox, for instance) that you receive an e-mail saying your files have been sent, and another when the recipient has downloaded them. Brilliant! Even so, it’s always wise to send an e-mail as well, of course. For those whose writing is on a more ambitious scale than the occasional Flying Fish article, we review eight or ten books in the average issue, many of which are by members. So if you’ve written either a how-to sailing book, or a novel with a sailing background, please drop me a line and we’ll take it from there. Regretfully Flying Fish does not have space to carry reviews of non-sailing novels, however gripping. A couple of pleas: several of my valued team of proof-readers have retired over the past year, so members with sharp eyes for errors of all kinds – grammatical, typos, mis- spelt place names, etc – are invited to apply! Secondly, my larder of recipes is almost empty, so do share some of your favourites, whether sophisticated ‘marina party’ items or creative combinations easy to knock together in bad weather or from depleted supplies near the end of a long passage. Many thanks indeed. Finally, the usual reminder – the DEADLINE for submissions to Flying Fish 2016/2 is Tuesday 1 October, but as always it’s wise not to leave it until the last moment. If you’ve not written before please take time to read Sending Submissions to Flying Fish on page 101, and e-mail me, Anne Hammick, on [email protected] if you have any queries. Cover Photo: Celeste and sea ice near Barrow – see Voyaging to the Top of America, page 42). 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GET FREE FORECASTS AND TOOLS NOW AT WWW.PREDICTWIND.COM 4 ADMIRAL MARY: A LIFE TO CELEBRATE (As members will be aware, Admiral and Past Commodore Mary Barton passed away on 1 December 2015, days before her 96th birthday. Three years earlier she had recounted the story of her life to circumnavigator and past member Mrs Pam Moore, to whom we are all indebted for transcribing these recollections and making them available within the Club. Many others also wished to contribute their memories of Mary, and I would like both to thank Erik Vischer for his help in collating these, and to apologise to anyone whose words have been edited or omitted due to pressure of space.) Mary Barton (née Danby) was born on 8 December 1920 in Rochester, Kent – her father was commander of the Royal Naval barracks at nearby Chatham at the time. Her first sea passage was at the age of two, when her mother, Phyllis, took Mary and her two older brothers to Melbourne on the SS Diogenes to join their father (now a captain) who had been posted to Australia. Mary’s mother came from an Australian family, so they had relations waiting for them in Sydney. Three years later the family returned to Chatham. In 1929 Captain Danby was promoted and posted to Malta for two years, and Mary and her mother joined him there, the boys remaining at school in England. This was a happy time for Mary, now aged 8, attending school in Sliema in the mornings, and Brownies, dancing classes or taking walks with her father in the afternoons.