The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

  • The New Brazil—And the Old

    The New Brazil—And the Old

    After experiencing the new Brazil—the city of Santiago—Colin and Lou head out to find the old Brazil—up the slower, quieter Rio Paraguacu.

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  • What Worked and What Didn’t

    What Worked and What Didn’t

    There’s nothing like a good long voyage to sort out a boat, for better or for worse, and after 3700 ocean miles between the Canaries, Senegal, Cape Verde and Brazil, Colin reports on what worked and what didn’t.

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  • There are Many Ways to Celebrate Christmas

    There are Many Ways to Celebrate Christmas

    Pèlerin and her crew spend the Christmas at sea, destination Brazil, with arrival at Salvador on January 4th of a new year.

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  • When the Flag Drops…

    When the Flag Drops…

    Before every ocean passage, there comes a final moment, when all of the food, fuel and water is aboard, the boat is ready to go and the goodbyes have been said. All the planning, scrutiny of the weather and last minute checks have been carried out, and there’s no excuse to linger a second longer—it’s time to go.

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  • The First Thing To Go Is Always The Plan

    The First Thing To Go Is Always The Plan

    When cruising, flexibility is a must, and Colin shares how a problem with the engine on Pèlerin led to a change in their planned landfall at the Cape Verdes, which led to a wonderful stop at Marina Mindelo.

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  • Landfall Cape Verde Islands

    Landfall Cape Verde Islands

    Colin uses their trip from Dakar to the Cape Verdes as a good example of how to plan and execute a safe and enjoyable passage.

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  • Landfall in Africa

    Landfall in Africa

    Colin and Lou find a warm welcome at Dakar. But where are all the other yachts that used to visit?

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  • Spoiling The Ship For a Ha’penny Worth of Tar

    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 […]

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  • Sometimes It Seemed Like it Might Never Happen

    Sometimes It Seemed Like it Might Never Happen

    After a winter in the Canaries, it’s time to head for Dakar, Senegal, about a week away. The forecast is looking good, “Pèlerin” is loaded to the gunwales with food, fuel and water, and all systems seem to be behaving.

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  • Hydro Power

    Hydro Power

    Meeting daily electricity needs using power and solar while at anchor is one thing, but what about when passagemaking? Solar can only do so much and wind generation works best when sailing to windward. So is hydro the answer? Colin talks about the pros and cons of hydro generation.

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  • Solar Power

    Solar Power

    There are very few cruising boats these days that don’t have a solar panel fitted somewhere, and many have some pretty substantial arrays. Based on five years of real-world experience, Colin gives some tips and recommendations for how to get the maximum benefit from solar.

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  • Wind Generators

    Wind Generators

    Should you install a wind generator on your boat? Find out from someone who has cruised with one for 5 years—invaluable real-world experience.

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  • Renewable Power

    Renewable Power

    Through a combination of planning, frugality, solar and wind power, Colin and Lou have never had to run the engine of their OVNI 435 to charge their batteries when at anchor. How did they manage that? Read on to find out how.

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  • You Pays Your Money…

    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 […]

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  • The Best Days Of Our Lives?

    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 […]

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  • Staying On Your Feet—The Right Footwear

    Staying On Your Feet—The Right Footwear

    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 side of us. Leaping […]

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  • Staying On Your Feet—Deck Coverings

    Staying On Your Feet—Deck Coverings

    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 […]

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  • Setting The Anchor

    Setting The Anchor

    Colin shares his technique for making sure the anchor is well set.

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  • It’s So Nice When I Stop

    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 […]

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  • Saving The Day

    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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  • When Injury Strikes

    When Injury Strikes

    Okay, you have your medical kit, but what about medical insurance? Colin discusses options in light of an injury he suffered when working on their boat.

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  • Briefing New Crew

    Briefing New Crew

    Once your crew are safely aboard it’s time to brief them on the boat and life on board—safety, watchkeeping, and domestic life. Colin discusses the pre-departure briefing they use on “Pèlerin”.

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  • Preparing For New Crew

    Preparing For New Crew

    Welcoming friends or family to join you on a long leg is something we all look forward to, but in order to make sure that the reality matches the expectation, it pays to plan ahead, and a briefing document can help to make sure everyone is on the same page.

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  • Introduction to Getting Along With Your Crew

    Introduction to Getting Along With Your Crew

    Extra crew can lighten the physical load of passagemaking and bring fun and light when it’s needed. But this kind of harmony doesn’t happen by accident. Colin shares his techniques for managing crew in this Online Book.

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  • Emergency Tillers—Easier Said Than Done

    Emergency Tillers—Easier Said Than Done

    At the beginning of each working season we used to take our old boat out on a really breezy day and push the boat hard to check that everything was in good working order. Whilst we had run through our winter maintenance schedule with great care, winter always seemed to find a chink in our […]

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