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Read more: We Should Focus On Staying Aboard, Not RecoveryThere are countless articles, books and courses that focus on recovering a crew overboard, but what really matters to the short-handed crew offshore is making as sure as humanly possible that a crew overboard situation never happens in the first place—we need prevention, not cure. This chapter introduces this Online Book and that basic concept.
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Read more: What Worked and What Didn’tThere’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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Read more: Is It a Need or a Want?A fundamental fact is that, even if you are rich, you can’t have it all in an offshore voyaging boat and that goes double for the rest of us with more modest means. So the most important step in selecting a boat that will be successful for you is to identify the things that you really need. In this chapter I give you an easy to use and apply test to do just that.
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Read more: There are Many Ways to Celebrate ChristmasPèlerin 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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Read more: A Better Chain PlateWhile thinking about the Adventure 40 I have worried most about two areas: chain plates and the rudder. Let’s look at a way to fix the former right.
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Read more: 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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Read more: The First Thing To Go Is Always The PlanWhen 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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Read more: Rose Blanche, Newfoundland—The End Of The RoadThough road-served, Rose Blanche still has an out-of-this-world feeling.
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Read more: Adventure 40 FAQ—The BoatAnswers to recurring questions that come up in the hundreds of comments to our articles on the Adventure 40.
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Read more: Landfall Cape Verde IslandsColin 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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Read more: A Mariner’s 14 New Year’s ResolutionsI have got to the age where I’m comfortable with my bad habits and so the standard New Year’s resolutions hold little interest for me—I’m simply not giving up whisky* or chocolate. But as a voyaging sailor, I know that forgetting the basic rules of seamanship can be the slippery road to disaster. And even after […]
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Read more: Burgeo, Newfoundland—What? A Canal?Burgeo, Newfoundland—bakeries, beaches, and…a canal?
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Read more: John’s Thoughts & Photos, December 2012“Fun Tax” I got an email from yacht designer Ed Joy, about something else, to which he added the following: I agree with the sentiments in your hull form article. Racers having great fun scampering downwind on their sleds are dreading the “fun tax” that must be paid when it’s time to harden up the […]
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Read more: One Anchor or Two?John answers the question of whether to use one anchor or two.
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Read more: 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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Read more: Spoiling The Ship For a Ha’penny Worth of TarBefore 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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Deadman’s Cove, La Hune Bay, Newfoundland—Hankering For An Anchoring
3 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesFree
Read more: Deadman’s Cove, La Hune Bay, Newfoundland—Hankering For An AnchoringDeadman’s Cove has it all: a sheltered anchorage (in most conditions), challenging hike, stunning scenery, and a private swimming pool.
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How We Will Build The A40 At A Great Price AND Deliver Great Quality
87 CommentsReading Time: 4 minutesFree
Read more: How We Will Build The A40 At A Great Price AND Deliver Great QualityTo understand how much it costs to build a boat we need to understand boat size and that has nothing to do with length overall.
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Read more: Sometimes It Seemed Like it Might Never HappenAfter 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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Read more: Broken Skipper—What We Did RightJohn discusses the things he and Phyllis did right when dealing with his life-threatening injury.
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Read more: 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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Read more: Broken Skipper—What HappenedJohn describes a very serious injury he sustained while hiking and how incredibly helpful the Wilderness First Aid Course he and Phyllis took the year before was to managing this life-threatening situation.
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Read more: 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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Read more: Lopolight—Beware The Time Suck Of ComplexityLet’s face it, there is never enough time to keep a boat that is actively out there voyaging in perfect condition: Or at least, there is never enough time if we actually want to see the places we visit and have a life outside of boat maintenance. Therefore, we have to prioritize and be careful […]
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Read more: McCallum, Newfoundland—Where Brooms Can TalkMcCallum is another friendly Hermitage Bay village with a quirky custom.
