"Can't we stop that noise?" asked one of my students on last week's 7-day catamaran cruising course. He was referring to a squeak that had developed in our steering wheel that was likely caused by the wheel's break bushing not completely disengaging from the its shaft. And he was right in that, if it was that annoying, we probably could take the … [Read more...]
Cat to the Future
Just back from a week coaching a new owner of the latest Lagoon 52. Link to Lagoon's presentation of the boat Since seeing them enter the BVI scene a few months ago I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about the new approach that Lagoon were taking with the location and proportions of this catamaran's rig. It seemed … [Read more...]
A Sail to King Kong’s Island…and Beyond
Just back from a whirlwind 6 day/6 island passage training course on a chartered catamaran with a client interested in extending his cruising range by sailing longer legs across international borders in more challenging, open water conditions. Day One: Starting in St. Martin, French West Indies, we headed 40 odd miles south in 15-20kts of true … [Read more...]
“Up to Eleven”
In the mockumentary movie, 'This is Spinal Tap', the guitarist character Nigel Tufnel shows off an amplifier where the volume control, instead of going from zero to ten, "...goes to eleven". Watch the one minute clip here. The popularity of the film caused the saying to subsequently be used when something is being taken to its maximum … [Read more...]
Heads up Cats: be especially wary of a lee shore
Last summer I had the pleasure of coaching the owners of a modern 45’ cruising catamaran on the challenges and satisfaction that comes from an open water inter-island passage: in this case from the BVI south to Grenada. The month was July which is technically within the Caribbean's storm season (June through November) but statistically unlikely to … [Read more...]
Monohull or Cat?
This is perhaps the most common question that 21st century sailors ask themselves and there is no simple answer as both types of boats have their obvious pros and cons. For some the choice is decided by the fact that a monohull will heel moderately while sailing upwind in a typical Caribbean trade wind breeze, while a the heel of a similarly … [Read more...]