tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072Thu, 15 May 2008 20:50:40 +0000http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/noreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)Blogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6009403813512543497Thu, 15 May 2008 20:37:00 +00002008-05-15T17:50:40.794-03:00Passage PlanningQuestion: [edited for brevity] I’m planning a cruise of the west coast of Greenland. For charts I have the choice between C-MAP electronic charts running on Furuno Navnet with Maxsea on a PC and Danish paper charts. Which would you recommend? Answer: In a perfect world, both. Let me explain why: Although the C-MAP electronic charts are pretty much exact copies of the Danish paper charts and are http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/05/which-charts-for-greenland-electronic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6523920884339453944Sun, 11 May 2008 18:23:00 +00002008-05-13T18:06:30.969-03:00Passage PlanningQuestion: [edited for brevity] We're planning to sail from New York to Falmouth (UK) leaving around May 18th. Our plan is to sail WSW out from New York till we hit the Gulf Stream and then attempt to sail the great circle to Falmouth. We're debating whether to consider a more southerly route to stay clear of weather systems? Any views? Answer: This type of question (asking for a suggested routehttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/05/picking-route-across-north-atlantic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-8663524951261030151Thu, 08 May 2008 20:52:00 +00002008-05-08T17:57:38.591-03:00SeamanshipQuestion: Would you recommend 3/4" or 1" rode for use with a Galerider Drogue for a 46 foot 33,000lb cutter? Answer: I would think that 3/4" would be adequate, but you should check with the manufacturer who should know what the loads generated by each Galerider size are. With that piece of data in hand you can then size the rode. I would allow at least a 100% safety factor since nylon rope's http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/05/rode-size-for-galerider-drogue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6249841647352990990Mon, 05 May 2008 21:05:00 +00002008-05-05T18:11:26.775-03:00Passage PlanningQuestion: [edited for brevity] I’m planning an Atlantic Crossing from Boston to Scotland. How can I recognize the best moment weather wise to leave for the safest crossing? Answer: Since weather forecasts are only accurate for about four days, at best, there is no way to manage the weather for an entire crossing of that length by picking a given day to leave. This means that you and your boat http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/05/atlantic-crossing-picking-go-date.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6196840661086405859Thu, 01 May 2008 21:06:00 +00002008-05-01T18:13:17.528-03:00SeamanshipOur heavy weather series continues to attract interesting comments and suggested alternatives from experienced ocean voyagers. This one comes from Lane and Kay Finley who have a lot of ocean experience and make films about sailing, which are mostly sold in NZ and Australia. They also have a great web site with lots of good information. “During the filming we launched a parachute anchor accordinghttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/05/comments-about-parachute-anchors-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-9036364497316977900Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:25:00 +00002008-04-29T17:41:13.113-03:00Passage PlanningQuestion: [edited for brevity] I will be sailing to Gibraltar from the Chesapeake via the Azores. When would be the best time to leave and when would be the earliest I could/should leave? Answer: This is a pretty standard west to east Atlantic crossing. The best time to leave the east coast of North America is late May to mid-June. The earliest is probably mid-May, although leaving that early http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/best-time-for-west-to-east-atlantic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-696951329370280137Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:40:00 +00002008-04-26T12:55:20.965-03:00EquipmentQuestion: What sort of life raft do you have on Morgan’s Cloud? Answer: We have a RFD Beaufort 6-person commercial SOLAS raft. The advantage of this raft is that Revere and RFD Beaufort are partners in it: Revere in the USA and RFD Beaufort for the rest of the world. Or at least that seems to be how it works, although you can buy a RFD Beaufort in the USA too. Anyway, this means that you can http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/life-rafts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-8064138620731229740Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:44:00 +00002008-04-20T12:11:52.151-03:00EquipmentQuestion: [edited for brevity] What is your preference regarding the best place to mount a radar antenna? As far as we can tell from the pictures of Morgan’s Cloud you have mounted yours on a pole aft. Our previous experience with radars tells us that the antenna should be as high and free as possible. Wouldn't a radar antenna mounted on the mast just above the first spreaders give better range http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/radar-scanner-position.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-2504565825673418881Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:29:00 +00002008-04-16T14:03:05.148-03:00 Keeping the batteries charged When we were planning our new boat, one of the first aspects we discussed was our preferences for power generation, and our desire to have as much “free” energy input as possible. There were three reasons for this; our desire to avoid the complexity of a diesel generator; our own commitment to renewable power after so many years of both working in the environmentalhttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/self-sufficiency-in-power.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colin Speedie)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6640948351590131538Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:17:00 +00002008-04-15T15:34:29.641-03:00SeamanshipThe last two posts in the series, in which we wrote about our solution for the retrieval of our Jordan Series Drogue, drew an interesting e-mail from Hal Roth, who did not like our solution because of the loads involved. He was kind enough to share an excerpt from his upcoming book, to be published by International Marine in May, detailing the problems our mutual friends Willem and Corri Stein http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies_15.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-7245541414263919239Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:23:00 +00002008-04-14T09:00:42.964-03:00Rants and MusingsNick is an award-winning photographer with some of the best sailing and high latitude pictures we've seen. His site is well worth visiting if you are interested in the north. Click on "ice" for some truly stunning shots of Greenland. Looking at Nick's stuff makes me want to throw my camera overboard and forget the whole thing! Just kidding, actually his images http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/nick-cobbing-photography.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-8983883508342541119Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:38:00 +00002008-04-09T15:48:22.462-03:00Boats and DesignQuestion: [edited for brevity] I’m refining the deck layout on the 41' voyaging boat I'm fitting out from bare hull. She will be sailed as a sloop, but fitted with an inner forestay for heavy weather. I am currently weighing the benefits of keeping that sail on a furling unit versus hanking it on to a removable stay. As she will be sailed shorthanded and pointed away from the equator, I like the http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/staysail-stay-roller-furling-and-fixed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-2528899723536143056Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:56:00 +00002008-04-02T09:44:57.903-03:00SeamanshipIn the last post in this series we talked about the difficulties in retrieving a Jordan Series Drogue and a way to make it practical using a drill motor and winch bit. However, that is only part of the solution. Like so many things in offshore sailing, the devil is in the details. But before I get into that, a word of caution from a very experienced source: “I'm scared of the way you have http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/04/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-6879922300508917243Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:42:00 +00002008-03-23T17:44:08.366-03:00SeamanshipWe will be traveling for the next week so the blog will be quiet unless we get to an Internet connection. When we get back next week we will be sharing some really great comments on the Heavy Weather Series from experienced sailor and author Hal Roth and two time circumnavigator Evans Starzinger, including some good ideas for drogue retrieval. The chance to discuss heavy weather strategies withhttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/03/do-it-your-way.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-1448512199757090954Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:08:00 +00002008-03-19T09:27:07.615-03:00Seamanship[We received an e-mail a few weeks ago from our friend Bob Tetrault who has been following our heavy weather series. Bob went to Maine Maritime, has a master’s ticket, and has fished the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank in all kinds of weather. He currently owns three boats that fish the Gulf of Maine. His email is primarily about his experiences dragging up abandoned sea anchors but it is also http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/03/professional-fishermans-take-on-heavy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-674317310909928058Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:51:00 +00002008-04-02T09:51:19.264-03:00SeamanshipIn the last post I wrote about our deployment system for our new Jordan Series Drogue on Morgan’s Cloud. In this post I’m going to look at how we are going to get the damned thing back aboard after the storm. You would think that the first place to look for a solution to this challenge would be the manufacturer or designer of the drogue system. Well, afraid not. While the information provided http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/03/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-7952972082101607878Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:55:00 +00002008-03-14T12:08:35.828-03:00Anchoring Our new anchor in place awaiting a securing bracket The first sailors anchored using heavy stones, attached to long ropes, and often with an army of slaves to pull them up. Thank God those days are over, and that we now have excellent choices of anchors available, and powerful windlasses to retrieve them. There can be few more important decisions to make than what ground tackle to choose whenhttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/03/anchoring-in-modern-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colin Speedie)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-2366096050193040099Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:06:00 +00002008-05-15T17:30:26.767-03:00Passage PlanningThis post has been archived to our main site. Please see Sailing routes.http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/norway-to-chesapeake-bay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-5243942271016584486Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:57:00 +00002008-02-23T14:22:01.475-04:00SeamanshipOK, enough blather about why we selected the Jordan Series Drogue and why you need a complete system for dealing with a drogue or sea anchor; on to the nuts and bolts of our deployment system. Attachment Points When setting up to use our new Jordan Series Drogue, the first issue we examined was attachment points for the bridle. Although we have massive stern cleats and fairleads that would http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-4221391674057708013Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:41:00 +00002008-03-14T12:07:23.983-03:00Boats and Design Bringing our new boat home for the first time From the first time I saw one, I thought that one day I’d like to own an OVNI for long distance cruising. Living and working for part of each year in France meant that I encountered OVNI’s and their sisters from Garcia and other builders regularly, and saw them return battered but proud from distant shores again and again. Listening to their skippershttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/s-word-stability.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colin Speedie)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-5116321125235429397Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:01:00 +00002008-02-19T07:46:23.495-04:00SeamanshipMany of us (I have been guilty of this myself) buy storm survival gear, throw it in a corner of the lazarette, and head off to sea congratulating ourselves on our foresight and seamanship…not a good idea. Fast forward to a building storm at sea. You are seasick, exhausted, and the boat has just experienced a partial knockdown, scaring the living daylights out of you. You need that drogue http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies-9you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-2208238977031815354Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:15:00 +00002008-05-15T17:27:37.160-03:00SeamanshipThis post has been archived to our main site. Please see Anchoring.http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/mooring-by-stern.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-3660763444775338765Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:37:00 +00002008-05-15T17:26:09.195-03:00Maintenance and RefitThis post has been archived to our main site. Please see Painting aluminum boats.http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/new-aluminum-boats-what-to-paint-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-5456629127652826529Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:11:00 +00002008-02-07T13:54:37.707-04:00Boats and Design Here in Europe the standard rig for most yachts sold as “cruisers” is still the sloop, usually with a large overlapping genoa of 130% or more. That might be fine in sunny sheltered waters with an army of gorillas to help out, but is less than ideal for shorthanded crews sailing in windy and exposed seas. This is when the ability to shift gear to suit the conditions by reefing swiftly and safelyhttp://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/practical-cruising-rig.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colin Speedie)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81466309740160072.post-7819180219062781688Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:16:00 +00002008-02-03T12:50:26.752-04:00SeamanshipOn Morgan’s Cloud our heavy weather system has always included two options: our standard strategy of heaving-to, with or without a drogue over the bow, and, although we have never had to use it, a backup system. In the last post I wrote about our decision to replace the old backup system and in this post I’m going to write about the new backup system we selected and why. I have always had http://morganscloud.com/aacblog/2008/02/heavy-weather-gear-and-strategies-8our.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John & Phyllis)