Further South Pacific Adventures Sea Whisper page 14 Re-Crossing the Atlantic Fairwyn page 24 Cruising Belize Homers’ Odyssey page 28 Starting Over Part 3 Fortuitous page 32 June 2014 Receptionist – Heather Sloat Watchkeepers Rendezvous – Myrna Webster & Dionne Tremblay [email protected] Bartenders – Mike & Kathleen Nolan 2014 Board of Directors Bosun – Vacant [email protected] Commodore – Jennifer Handley [email protected] Speakers – Rosario Passos [email protected] Communications – Peter Burnham [email protected] [email protected] Vice Commodore – Vacant Vancouver Island Watch [email protected] Education – Mike Gregory [email protected] Vice Commodore – Glen Wilson Secretary – Myrna Webster [email protected] [email protected] Fleet Coordinator – Vacant [email protected] Secretary – Carol McNichol Treasurer – Vacant [email protected] [email protected] Speakers – Terry Allen [email protected] Treasurer – Don Craigmyle Past Commodore – Boudewijn Neijens [email protected] [email protected] Membership – Peter Burnham [email protected] Bosun – Chris Stask Reporting to Board of Directors [email protected] Administrator – Elizabeth Gregory Vancouver Watch Communications – Edie Dittman [email protected] Vice Commodore – Glen Middleton [email protected] Advertising – Richard Lees [email protected] Education – Adam Wanczura [email protected] Secretary – Beth Cooper & Janet Jackson [email protected] BCA Historian – Glenora Doherty [email protected] Fleet Coordinator – Connie Morahan [email protected] Treasurer – Barb Angel & Peter McMartin [email protected] Currents – Donna Sassaman [email protected] [email protected] Bosun – Ken Robertson Membership – Elaine Humphrey [email protected] Council of BC Yacht Club Rep [email protected] Judy Barefoot Communications – Rosario Passos Mid-Island – Brian Short [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Receptionist – Elaine Humphrey Webmaster – Jean Baillargeon Education – Norm Cooper & Bill Sassaman [email protected] [email protected] Rendezvous – Tanya Van Ginkel Calgary Watch Fleet Coordinators & Scott Chapman Vice Commodore – Alastair Handley Cam & Marianne MacLean [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Speakers – Peter Simpson Treasurer – Rick Reynolds Membership – Denis Heinrichs [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Weather – Connie Morahan [email protected] Mailing Address Currents is the monthly by the first day of the month prior for newsletter of the CURRENTS inclusion in the next months issue. Bluewater Cruising Association Advertising materials, except for 8886 Hudson St., Vancouver, Bluewater Cruising October Deadline: Tradewinds, should be submitted Association (BCA), August 15th directly to the Advertising Manager. BC V6P 4N2 published 10 times per year from Please contact advertising@blue September to June. BCA is a non-profit watercruising.org. All contributions from Vancouver Club Room Address society, formed in 1978, to foster an active interest members are greatly appreciated and, subject to Ground Floor Library in offshore sailing. Its membership is based mainly in space available, an effort will be made to publish all Scottish Cultural Centre British Columbia with headquarters in Vancouver and material received. Currents reserves the right to edit all active branches in Victoria and Calgary. Membership letters in accordance with club policy. 8886 Hudson St., Vancouver, BC is approximately 500, including at least 90 members Opinions stated in the contents either expressed who are cruising offshore at any given time. BCA is or implied are not necessarily those of the Editor or Telephone a member of the Council of B.C. Yacht Clubs, an Watchkeepers. Neither BCA nor the Editor assumes 1-888-398-3095 Message Box Associate Partner of the Vancouver Maritime Museum responsibility for the accuracy or validity of informa- Call or email appropriate Watchkeeper and a supporter of the Marine Parks Forever Society. tion printed in Currents. No part of Currents may be Effective March 1, 2012, fees for new members reproduced without the written permission of the Editor Internet with Canadian mailing addresses: Initiation fee $100.00 or the contributor of the article. www.bluewatercruising.org plus annual dues $115 = $215. For non-Canadian The Advertising Manager, who will be happy to mailing addresses: add $20 for extra mailing: Initiation provide a schedule of rates and mechanical Administrator $100 CDN plus annual dues $135 CDN = $235 CDN. requirements upon request, coordinates commercial Cheques payable to Bluewater Cruising Association. advertising in Currents. Elizabeth Gregory For more information contact the Membership Currents is mailed free to members and is made Monday 6-9pm Watchkeeper (above). available, for a donation, at Club Nights. Currents 604-684-6423 The Editor should receive all notices, letters, is published monthly by Profile Design Group Inc. advertising, or other items for publication in Currents 604-461-3900. [email protected] Other times leave message at Contributions to Currents are accepted in most forms! Send email in plain text or MS Word to 1-888-398-3095 [email protected]. Keep text formatting to a minimum, and watch for Style Guidelines. Handwritten submissions mailed to the club address are also accepted. IFC JUNE 2014 CURRENTS ERRATA JUNE 2014 VOLUME 37 NUMBER 6 OOPS! It’s time for the editorial team to Regular Features Feature take a summer holiday! In the 2 Editor’s Desk 28 Cruising Belize May ‘Lessons Learned’ column, 3 Top Currents by Stan and Lynn Homer, the subject was erroneously Homers’ Odyssey 5 Current Events identified as ‘Niue, South Pacific’, 5 BCA Calendar of Events rather than as Sailing skills 32 Can You Start Again? (Part 3) Cheryl and Ralph Kallberg, for emergency situations and 6 Fleets of Bluewater Fortuitous the location was identified as 6 Welcome Aboard ‘California Yacht Club, Marina del 7 Notice - New Cruising Letters Rey, California’, rather than as Blog 14 Tuamotus to Niue, Niue, South Pacific. 7 Notice - Board Positions Lionel Dobson and Barbara Thankfully, the rest of the article 8 Mentor Program Erickson, Sea Whisper was placed in its proper sections. 9 Notice - Peterson Cup 10 On the Water 24 Re-Cr ossing the Atlantic I extend my apologies to Nancy and Stephen Carlman, 11 Postcards from Offshore columnist Norm Cooper and to Fairwyn those BCA members who were 14 Letters from Offshore confused by the subject and 28, 32 Features location lines. 35 Tradewinds 40 Galley Watch 41 Lessons Learned... The Hard Way Fleet Liaison: Cam and Marianne McLean Currents June Crew [email protected] Welcome Aboard: Liz Gregory Editor: Donna Sassaman Tradewinds: [email protected] [email protected] with “Tradewinds” Assistant Editors: and your name in the subject line Norm Cooper, Barry Devonald, John Gleadle, David Greer, Advertising: Paul Hunt, Judith McPhie Richard Lees [email protected] Copy Editor: Sally Holland Layout and Design: Cover: Linda Mitsui [email protected] Polyandra, Shaun and Penelope Peck’s Whitby 42 Ketch, on a spinnaker run during the 2013 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40036791 Peterson Cup race. Postmaster, Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Bluewater Cruising Association, 8886 Hudson St., Vancouver, BC V6P 4N2 email: [email protected] 1 Donna Sassaman, Editor See you in September... eing the editor of Currents Aboard’; Norm Cooper for his monthly column, ‘Lessons Bon-and-off over the past Learned...the Hard Way’; Richard Lees for his prowess in twelve years has been a privilege. securing paid advertisements. To each and every one of you, I have learned so much about thank you! And to John Gleadle, who sets sail this summer, putting a monthly publica- bon voyage! I’m happy to know that you’ll be contributing tion together, about different updates from offshore. cruising areas in the world, and To our publisher, Linda Mitsui of Profile Design Group, about our fantastic organization. This issue is not my a huge thank you for a consistently wonderful job and for swan song, but I would like to encourage you to consider your good humour, creativity, and willingness each month apprenticing as co-editor during 2014 – 2015, with a plan to accept ‘just one more’ post-deadline item for Currents. I to assume the editor position in 2015 - 2016. If interested, so enjoy working with you. please email me at [email protected] and I’ll fill you in on the details of the job. To e-Currents Committee members Guylain Roy-Machabée, Rosario Passos, and Jean Baillargeon, kudos for your com- Given the ‘programming’ of school years, I’ve always puter-tech expertise, your patience in explaining all things felt that June was the end of the year and September the hi-tech to this non-techie editor, and your research concern- beginning. So