The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
Phyllis 
We loved our old Avon dinghy, so much so that we kept it in active service for 20 years, even though it sprang a slow air leak about year 17. (Unless you’ve ever tried jumping 4 feet into the air—it’s about that distance from the dinghy tube to Morgan’s Cloud’s side-deck—off a squishy inner tube, you won’t understand the depth of our loyalty to this dinghy!)
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John and I have a longstanding interest in collecting books on historical and present-day exploration of the high latitudes, or “death and destruction on the ice” as we call it. But it looks like climate change could put an end to this genre more quickly than we thought: This summer, for the first time in recorded history, a sailor has completed a transit of the NW Passage in 12 days solo non-stop and two boats have completed the NW and NE Passages in one season.
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Lunenburg charms with its historic waterfront, dory races, and tasty restaurants. Oh, and it’s a UNESCO world heritage site to boot!
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Morgan’s Cloud is the only boat I have ever sailed on (I only started sailing after meeting John) and so I generally assume that the way we do things on our boat is the way it is done. Which suits John just fine—he’s been able to brainwash, I mean, teach me how he likes to do things.
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Part of the engine installation project on Morgan’s Cloud was the fitting of new engine mounts—which meant welding, which meant sparks flew, which meant the paint in the engine room got speckled. (Morgan’s Cloud’s builder did a wonderful job of most things, but painting the bilge in the engine room was not one of his better ideas.)
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We took a break from working on our boat this past weekend to visit friends in Camden. While there we dropped in on Rob Eddy, yacht model builder. Now, in case you are visualizing wooden half models, think again! What Rob makes are exact, and I mean exact, replicas of (mainly) superyachts (e.g. The Maltese Falcon).
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We have sailed the coast of Labrador many times and appreciate its rugged scenery, beautiful light, and isolation. So when the government of Canada decided to make the northern part a federal park, we were thrilled. But now that we can’t visit the Torngat Mountains National Park, we aren’t so thrilled anymore.
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I can’t imagine that there are many sailors out there who don’t share John’s and my fascination with lighthouses—walking around them, climbing them, photographing them, reading about what it was like to take care of them—we don’t seem to tire of it. However, in Canada, the USA and the UK, and I’m sure in other places as well, as lighthouses are automated, they are almost always lost to vandalism, disrepair, or replacement with a soulless modern version.
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I don’t know about the rest of you, but figuring out how to get bedding to fit the odd size and shape of boat bunks has been an ongoing battle for me.
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Question: Four of us sailed my 36-ft Moody Halberdier from Buffalo, New York to Rimouski, Quebec in Oct./Nov. last year. The biggest problem was cold feet. Sailing boots with extra socks did not do the trick in -5°C weather. Rubber boots with liners were OK. I’m planning a trip to Northern Labrador next summer. Any advice on footwear?
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Question: Could you post detailed photos to your website of the wooden bezels you fitted to your ports to accept Plexiglas covers? Did you do the same for your hatches? We are losing the battle against condensation in Florida’s current cold snap. Thanks!
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Two of the more frequent requests we have been receiving lately are how to find crew or find a boat to crew on. So we decided to post what we know about this topic and then open it up for you to add to it.
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If you want to know what it takes to restore a 30-year old sailboat and some tips on how to get going, we have a link for you. It will either convert you to the older-boat-restoration option or scare you witless (maybe both!).
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Question: What do you use for time keeping at sea? If you use a wristwatch then which one?
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If there’s one place that you really don’t want a valve to bust while in use, it’s in the black water system.
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