Phyllis

Phyllis has sailed over 40,000 offshore miles with John on their McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, most of it in the high latitudes, and has crossed the Atlantic three times. As a woman who came to sailing as an adult, she brings a fresh perspective to cruising, which has helped her communicate what they do in an approachable way, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 18 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

Nuuk, Greenland—We’re Here!

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This is the first post describing our Arctic science trip on Morgan’s Cloud in 2011, starting with our arrival in Nuuk, Greenland, where we found a lot of changes from our first visit 16 years ago.

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Why Go North? For The People

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Though this is third in the series explaining why we keep going north, it’s not down the list in our hearts: the people we meet in the north are a big reason we keep going back.

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A Propane Tank Gotcha

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JHH5II-10014-EditThis is a small FYI post about a big pain in the butt!

The gotcha started innocently enough with me blithely loading our propane tanks into the back of the car and driving to our local Canadian Tire to get them filled—as I had done with no problems in the past—prior to our heading south last fall (2010). However, this time the Propane Guy (PG) said, “I can’t fill them. They are more than 10 years old.” Either this was a new rule since we last had them filled in Canada (it has been in place in Europe for a while) or the PGs who filled them before didn’t check. Whatever.

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The Perfect Seaberth

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S/V Morgan’s Cloud’s seaberth in the wider configuration

One of the most important factors in making safe seamanlike passages is getting as much rest as possible. And one of the most important factors in getting enough rest is having a proper seaberth.

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A Big Adventurer In A Small Boat

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A small boat anchors in front of the cliffs at Teltvika.On our way to Svalbard (Spitsbergen) in Morgan’s Cloud in 2002, we stopped at Teltvika, a cove on the west side of Bjørnøya (Bear Island), a virtually uninhabited island which lies at the halfway mark on the 550 nautical mile passage from Norway.

During our second evening at Teltvika, the fog came in pea soup thick and the wind started to blow hard. Around dinner time a very English voice came over the—until now silent—VHF, saying it was the sailing vessel Sumara calling for Bjørnøya Radio, a radio relay station on the north coast manned by a few Norwegians. When they were unable to raise Bjørnøya Radio, John managed to connect with them, only to find that they were hoping to anchor in Teltvika for the night.

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Spinlock Lifejacket

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deckvestOne of the many things that attracted John and I to each other is that we are both gimped. John has one leg shorter than the other and a slight scoliosis and I have congenitally flat feet and knock-knees. John walks like a duck and I walk like a penguin. It is a match made in heaven!

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Warm Hands, Please

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From left to right: Gill Helmsman, Outdoor Mitts, Fisherman’s, Neoprene, Ski

A while ago I wrote about how we keep our feet warm when sailing in colder climes. In this post I will address the issue of keeping our hands warm, which aren’t, unfortunately, as easy to please.

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Closed For The Season

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Due to John’s and my penchant for sailing in the high latitudes, “Closed For The Season” signs have become somewhat of a theme for our cruises. In early spring we are on our way north and nothing is open yet, and by the time we turn south in the fall, it’s all over.

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