Articles by: Colin

Colin

The Stars May Be Out…

by on May 6, 2013
The Stars May Be Out…
Land people sometimes ask what we cruisers do out there in the dark in the middle of the ocean. You don’t keep going all night, do you? Yes, we keep sailing. Don’t you just go to bed? No, we have to keep a watch out at all times. What for—surely there’s nothing out there? Well not a [...]

At The Turn Of The Tide—Two Anchors Done Right

by on April 18, 2013
At The Turn Of The Tide—Two Anchors Done Right
Some of my favourite anchorages are strongly tidal, a perverse eccentricity you may think. But I love the living feeling of the boat as she swings to the new tide, and the ever-changing view scratches my curiosity constantly and gives me a heightened sense of place. Other than that, tidal anchorages only offer endless possibilities [...]

Keeping The Water Flowing

by on April 6, 2013
Keeping The Water Flowing
Left to my own devices I could happily be a lazy guy, but that’s by no means a good thing to be when you’re in charge of a boat. When running charter boats that are in daily use, daily, weekly and monthly maintenance check lists are absolutely de rigeur to ensure that, random mechanical failure apart, the boat [...]

Filter Boss Fuel Protection System

by on March 11, 2013
Filter Boss Fuel Protection System
Regular readers of this site will know that I take a more than passing interest in fuel quality and our dependence on engine reliability. I believe that these are matters that go to the heart of modern cruising. Therefore, I also believe that anything that can offer improvements in terms of engine reliability has got to [...]

“Pèlerin’s” Transatlantic Voyage—What Worked and What Didn’t

by on February 5, 2013
“Pèlerin’s” Transatlantic Voyage—What Worked and What Didn’t
There’s nothing like a good long voyage to sort out a boat, for better or for worse. That much I learned running a working charter boat for so many years. Every season we’d cover around 8000 hard miles between the English Channel and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. On our return to Falmouth at the [...]

Spoiling The Ship For a Ha’penny Worth of Tar

by on December 6, 2012
Spoiling The Ship For a Ha’penny Worth of Tar
Before any long passage I conduct a careful examination of all of our standing and running rigging, checking particularly for chafe and any sign of corrosion – better to do it well in advance than wait until the last minute when there’s no time to effect repairs. So before we left the Canaries I went [...]

When bad luck strikes….

by on November 3, 2012
I’m sure that all of you, our friends and readers, will be greatly saddened to hear that John had a fall while out hiking in Newfoundland and, as a result, has suffered a broken femur. He is being well cared for, and is in good spirits. Naturally this will cause some upheavals in the AAC schedule [...]

You Pays Your Money…

by on September 16, 2012
You Pays Your Money…
Just made for the job One refreshing thing about Spain is that it is still a country where people carry out many of their own repairs. Evidence of this can be seen in the number of ironmongers (ferreterias) that still exist in even relatively minor towns, Aladdin’s caves filled with every conceivable item for some [...]

The Best Days Of Our Lives?

by on September 1, 2012
The Best Days Of Our Lives?
Will we get there on time? Those of us with a few years under our belt have seen extraordinary changes in the world of sailing during our lifetimes, not just in terms of the sailing performance of the boats we sail, but also in their comfort and safety, which in turn generates the confidence for [...]

Staying On Your Feet—Part II

by on August 23, 2012
Staying On Your Feet—Part II
 Grippy soled, well-protected sandals One thing we have a ban on aboard Pèlerin is going around the decks with no shoes. Stubbed toes can easily be badly damaged, as I found out one night in a pitch-dark harbour when another yacht announced that they were coming alongside by the simple expedient of slamming straight into the [...]

Staying On Your Feet

by on August 15, 2012
Staying On Your Feet
Staying safe on deck needn’t be an eyesore. Question: What’s one of the easiest ways to sustain a serious injury on a yacht? Answer. A fall. Question: What’s one of the easiest ways to prevent that happening? Answer: Decent non-slip everywhere! So why is such a simple way of staying safe so often ignored? When [...]

Anchoring—How Not To Do The “Canna Shuffle”

by on August 5, 2012
Anchoring—How Not To Do The “Canna Shuffle”
After seven years of using a ‘new generation’ anchor, it’s been quite an education to go back to the older generation. A bit like exchanging your Porsche 911 for a Volkswagen Beetle—both will get you from A to B, but there the similarity ends. For the last two years we have chartered yachts for our [...]

It’s So Nice When I Stop

by on July 29, 2012
It’s So Nice When I Stop
Over twenty years ago I received an offer from Britain’s leading whale and dolphin researcher to become a reserve skipper on his annual survey in the western isles of Scotland. Wow, I thought, what an opportunity, and promptly seized it with both hands. Which only goes to show that you should always look before you [...]

Saving The Day

by on July 20, 2012
Saving The Day
It’s a fact of life that even in our throw away world of ‘service by replacement’ equipment there are times when good old fashioned improvisation can save the day, especially when you’re thousands of miles from the nearest service centre. As a result, part of any spares kit should comprise of a mix of wire, [...]
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