Tabla de contenidos para January/February 2022 en SAIL

It’s not often that sailors get a chance to put their rescue and MOB training to the test, rarer still that they do as quickly as newbie California sailor Khosrow “Koz” Khosravani did recently. If and when an emergency situation ever arises, though, it pays to be prepared. This past September, Khosravani, and three crew were about an hour into a trip from Marina del Rey to Paradise Cove, off Malibu, when they noticed a pod of dolphins swimming across the bow of their Catalina 25, Defiant. At the time the boat was about three miles offshore. Next thing they knew, they saw—or at least they thought they saw—a human hand just above the surface near where this same pod of dolphins was now milling about. Steering closer—the crew was…

The Bath Freight Shed is a long, low building that smells like wood shavings and is lit by twinkling strings of lights in the rafters. When you first enter, a small exhibit space introduces the significance of the place, complete with historic artifacts and models of a tall ship and a fort. Farther in is a sectioned-off workshop where you may meet a rigger parceling line or preparing wooden blocks. Beyond that is a door that leads out onto a deck overlooking the Kennebec River—a deep blue sash through Maine’s verdant landscape, tangling with other rivers and fraying into a vast estuary that’s been the home waters of countless vessels over the centuries. Standing on this same deck, you will find yourself in the shadow of an enormous white shed…

For quite some time, I had contemplated an expansion of the house battery bank aboard our 1987 Sabre 38MKI, Orion. There were several potential issues that had kept the project from becoming a reality. But fortunately, while not trivial, in the end, they were all surmountable, and I was able to install an additional pair of batteries to augment Orion’s overall storage capacity. The boat’s original owner had set up a robust system with a standard lead-acid, deep-cycle starting battery and a house bank. The latter was composed of a pair of 6-volt lead acid Trojans wired in series to produce 12 volts while retaining their rated amperage capacity, in this case 215 amp hours (Ah). There were also a pair of alternators attached to our Westerbeke 38B, the original…

Along with other timeless pursuits, like baking sourdough and gardening, singing sea shanties surged back into popularity during the recent lockdown, thanks, in part, to the app TikTok and its “duet” feature, which allows singers from around the world create music together. By the time late-night host Stephen Colbert tweeted it was the “Year of the Sea Shanty”—with a video featuring the unlikely duo of an American gamer and a British rock and roller singing Roll Me Bully Boys in haunting harmony—the trend had hit the mainstream. Almost overnight, thousands of young people had a version of The Wellerman by Scottish singer Nathan Evans stuck in their heads. The original video has been “liked” 2.4 million times since its debut in late 2020. But sea shanties are more than just…

The waters off the Atlantic coast of the southern Iberian Peninsula can be tough enough as it is, but in recent months resident pods of orcas have created a whole new kind of challenge, ramming boats and chewing off rudders. Though initially confined to smaller vessels, larger boats and catamarans are also now reporting encounters, which can last from 20 to 90 minutes. One such “attack” happened to the Nauticat 44 ketch Tuuletar this past September. “[My husband] was awoken by the sound of the hydraulic ram overworking,” Tuuletar owner Catherine Watts says. “Once he realized it was orcas, he immediately put the boat in reverse, which successfully stopped them playing with the rudder.” By then, though, it was already too late. The orcas continued bumping the boat for around…

I walked up to the bathroom and the couple was just getting out of their boat. The man appeared to be in surprisingly good shape. He was well tanned, trim and muscular, not exactly what you would expect for a guy in his 70s. He appeared to be moving without any stiffness. The boat was backed into the slip, a powerboat, white with red trim, maybe 28ft or so in length. The transom and aft deck faced me as I walked by. He and I made eye contact. “Good morning,” I said, and then, “You look fine this morning.” “Yes,” he responded. “No problem. I had someone help me get out of the drink last night.” Clearly he did not know I was that person. As these things do, they…

Time was sail-powered vessels ruled the waves. The Age of Sail, as we now call it, lasted millennia. Then came steam engines and the internal combustion engine. For over a century, sail hung on. But the end was never really in doubt, and with the arrival of the 20th century, square-rigger sailing, in particular, nearly disappeared, despite the best efforts of such mariners as Australian Cape Horner, Alan Villiers. A handful of training ships, like the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Eagle, hung on, the value of experience under sail having long been recognized by the navies of the world. A scattering of vessels also continued to make their living in places like the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and coastal New England: think Indonsian trading schooners and the windjammer fleet in Maine.…

In mid-August 2019, my wife, Terrie, and I laid up our Malo 46, Nada, in Falmouth, England, and flew home to Maine. We booked flights back to the UK for May 2020, anticipating a summer of cruising the Atlantic coasts of France and Spain. Then Covid struck. Remember that first lockdown in March and April of 2020? It seems like a lifetime ago. We all thought we’d be back to normal in May or June. But as May approached, Europe was still locked down. We changed our flights to June, then July and then August before reluctantly concluding there would be no boat or cruising in 2020. We rescheduled for May 15, 2021. March and April of 2021 brought a wave of optimism. Terrie and I were vaccinated; I went…

First held in 2010, the show, which takes place in La Grand-Motte, France, on the shores of the Mediterranean, is about one thing and one thing only—multihulls, in all their forms. Since its inception, the show has served as a showcase for the latest in multihull design, and the 2022 event, which takes place April 20-24, looks to be no different, with a number of debuts already planned, including those by C-Cat, Bali and Catana. The event also provides the perfect venue for multihull aficionados from around the world to compare and share ideas—the more cutting edge, the better. With this in mind, the 2022 show will include what organizers are calling a “Multihull Club Design” area, showcasing the latest in multihull innovation. The show will also play host to…

For off shore racing fans, this past autumn was an exciting one, with scores of solo sailors and doublehanded crews crossing the Atlantic in the Transat Jacques Vabre, Mini Transat and Globe 5.80 Transat. The first transat of the season was the Mini Transat, kicking off on September 27. The event takes place over a roughly 4,000-mile course that comprises two legs: from Les Sables D’Olonne, France, to Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canaries; and from Santa Cruz de La Palma to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Two fleets of Mini 6.50s compete—a “production” class of pre-approved designs, and a “prototype” class that allows for innovation and is oft en a testing ground for systems that oft en eventually make their way up to bigger raceboats. Between…

In case you hadn’t heard, the fall 2021 boat show season was one for the record books. If there was ever any doubt the sailing public still enjoys making its way to Newport, Rhode Island, or Annapolis, Maryland, to see the latest in boat design, those doubts were put to rest this past fall. Boat sales were through the roof, and the lines to get in to see the various boats on display at the Annapolis show, in particular, were unprecedented. Even the weather was outstanding! Adding to the fun was the fact the marine industry also pulled out all the stops this year. Even in the very darkest days of the pandemic, the naval architects and boatbuilders of the world never lost hope as they continued to do what…

Square sails have been used on sailing vessels for centuries, and there is little argument among square-rigger sailors that when the wind is coming from astern a square sail is a fine way to propel a boat of any size, even today. Anyone with a Bermuda rig knows how tricky it can be keeping your sails full running before the wind, especially in big seas. It is usually necessary to pole the sails out with an assortment of lines and preventers. Even then the person at the helm needs to keep a keen eye on their course to prevent the sails from collapsing and refilling with a loud crack! Another concern, especially when running with twin headsails poled out, is they cannot be easily reefed. If conditions change, the crew…

BATTENS IN HEADSAILS, TOO Q: Battens are obviously the norm on mainsails. But what about jibs? I feel like the vast majority don’t have battens, but I’ll come across one every now and then, sometimes aboard small boats with fairly small headsails. What gives? — Ben Reynolds, Lorrain, OH BRIAN HANCOCK REPLIES Battens on jibs make a big difference. A jib is a non-overlapping headsail, and because it is non-overlapping, it’s a good idea to maximize sail area: in other words get as much sail area into the foretriangle as possible. On a conventional jib, the sailmaker will hollow out the leech to make sure it does not flutter. Th is takes away a fair amount of sail area on an already small sail. Adding battens allows the sailmaker to…