10 Questions for Amandla

Captain Fabio Mucchi & First Mate Lisa Dorenfest are currently cruising aboard Amandla a Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 473 hailing from London, UK although Fabio is Italian and Lisa is American.

Fabio started cruising in 2001, Lisa in 2011, and they have been cruising together as a team since 2013.

Fabio cruised the Mediterranean on the first Amandla (a Beneteau Oceanis 381) from 2001-2003. He crossed the Atlantic in the current Amandla in 2005 and spent 6 years cruising the Caribbean, South, Central America, US East Coast, Bahamas. Lisa sailed in from The Netherlands across the Atlantic in 2011.

In February 2013, Lisa joined Fabio on Amandla in Isla Mujeres Mexico. From there, they sailed from Florida to Hawaii via Panama, Galapagos, and French Polynesia. From Hawaii they sailed to New Zealand, spending another season in the islands before arriving in Australia.They have since cruised from Australia to Thailand where they plan a refit in preparation for an Indian Ocean crossing in 2018.

You can learn more about their cruise on Lisa's blog or by reading Fabio's book.

They say: "We are both cancer survivors.

Lisa was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer in the middle of her Yachtmaster program in England in 2011. She returned to the sea a week after undergoing a lumpectomy to complete her Yachtmaster Program and cross the Atlantic as Watch Lead. Her cancer returned while she was working in NYC in 2012 and she had a mastectomy prior to setting off across the Pacific in early 2013. She has been cancer free since August 2012. 

Fabio returned home to Italy after closing his boat for the season in Guatemala in 2011 and was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was treated from November 2011 through January 2012. After a lengthy recover, he returned to Amandla in November 2012 to prepare for a Pacific crossing that commenced in early 2013. His cancer metastasized in 2015 requiring a liver resection in New Zealand. He captained Amandla from New Zealand to Fiji 45 days after surgery. In late 2015, the cancer resurfaced in several lymph nodes, requiring four rounds of chemotherapy in Sydney. He has been cancer free since April 2016."

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about passage planning is…”

Lisa: “The only certainty is that our plans will change”.  As a career project manager, it was initially difficult for me to adjust to the fluidity of sailing plans. Their mercurial nature is teaching me to live in the moment and take things as they come.  The most important thing is to be prepared with contingencies when things don’t go according to plan (e.g. ‘what if the weather turns bad when we are scheduled to depart to meet guests in another port’? We now know the answer is ‘defer travel until weather permits’. Our guests can either come to us or wait until the weather allows us to get to them).

Fabio: Prepare your passage for the best weather time of the year. Do not cross during or just before or after the end of hurricane season. Early or late season hurricanes are a possibility. Check your spare parts list and add if necessary. Only you know the state of your boat and can guess what might break.

Having been in both the Atlantic and the Pacific (and Indian) oceans, how do they compare?

Lisa: The Pacific is big. One leg in the Pacific (Galapagos to the Gambier over 21 days) took longer than an entire Atlantic crossing.  The Pacific requires much more self-sufficiency: adequate provisions and replacements aren’t readily available. You need to come with deep stores and sufficient knowledge to troubleshoot issues as they arise with minimal assistance. The Pacific is called the Coconut Milk Run, but for us, it was more like a Milk Shake. The weather was far more predicable in the Atlantic due to the extent of sea traffic piloting its waters and providing feedback to weather services. The Pacific was far more likely to throw us surprises. When a grib file was showing ‘oooo’ winds in an area, we found that meant ‘watch out, we have no idea what is going on here, but it promises to be strong and swirling. Reef! ‘

Our experience in the Indian to date has generally been a windless one although we sailed more than expected in Indonesia (40%!!!). But we have only just begun this Ocean and understand there are many challenges ahead.

Fabio: Crossing the Atlantic East to West is relatively easy. The Pacific raises the bar. Aside from lengthy passages, difficult weather and less accurate forecasting, some areas like Tuamotus require you to learn new skills including entering narrow passes with strong tidal current and anchoring among coral heads. In Fiji we encountered unmarked reefs. Some other areas are not accurate on charts. The crossing from Tonga to NZ either way can be treacherous. It is a continuous learning process

What is the most important attribute for successful cruising? 

Lisa: You have to really want to be here. It is not always unicorns and rainbows: sometimes it can be a real nightmare. As the old adage goes ‘cruising means fixing boats in exotic places’. The list of repairs can seem endless. And given the tight quarters and lack of alone time, a year’s partnership at sea is equivalent to a 10 years partnership on-land. But even in my darkest moments, I always choose to remain in this life, to complete my dream of circumnavigating the world under sail. At its worst, it is better than sitting around wishing I was living my dream. And at its best, there is nothing comparable.

Fabio: Be always vigilant. Do not rely on your instruments only. Keep your eyes open. Do not take unnecessary risks, reef early. Don’t be afraid to change your plans, to change your route to turn back and abort if necessary.

Always be prepared for injuries on board. It may never happen (so far so good) but a good First Aid Course could save a life. Have a good pharmacy on board and learn basic techniques

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?

Lisa: ‘The boat will never be perfect enough, my knowledge will never be deep enough, the time just never seems quite right’…but it is. Cruisers should be most worried about never leaving the dock.

Throw-off the bowlines… you’ll be glad you did.

Fabio: What she said.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?

Lisa: The best thing about the cruising culture is that it is generally supportive, friendly and welcoming. Everyone is willing to share information and pitch in to get another out of a bind. I’ve made some amazing friends out here. The worst thing about the cruising culture is that it can be just like any other. Cliques sometimes form, there are people with strong opinions about ‘what a cruiser should and shouldn’t be’, and in spite of the exposure to multiple cultures, a few sailors remain surprisingly prejudiced. It isn’t some magical wonderland where everyone is all the same and everyone gets along with everyone else ‘all the time’, feeling nothing but love. You will find all kinds out here.  I simply chose to deal with these normal life challenges in an anchorage rather than a cul-de-sac.

Fabio: in some areas of the Caribbean like Georgetown, Bahamas, hundreds of boat spend the full season without picking up the anchor. This is not sailing, it is like parking yourself in an RV campsite. Too much booze at parties too, it becomes the link for socializing.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?

Lisa: While at sea, I love our boat and wouldn’t change a thing (except for adding a washing machine). But at anchor, I do envy those roomy catamarans with all of their storage and entertainment. And what I would give for a crewed, 72-foot mono-hull with a walk-in engine room…maybe next time around.

Fabio : In part, it depends from your budget. I chose a 48ft for the added comfort. It is long enough for blue water passages but not too big to sail solo.  Electric winches, bow thruster, full batten main, lots of chain (we have 360ft) water-maker, SSB HF radio, solar panels and wind generator, AIS transponder, forward sonar, and plenty of navigation back up (4 computers, 2 iPads, 2 plotters) to sail safely paperless.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

Lisa: A washing machine

Fabio: Satellite dome for Internet but it should come with a free unlimited connection too.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?

Lisa: Captain 0600: 1200, First Mate 1200: 1800, Captain 1800-2100, sometimes 1800-2200, First Mate 2100 (or 2200): 0000, Captain 0000-0300, First Mate 0300-0600 ….my favorite watch, the only time I am up to see the sunrise.

Fabio: Like she said

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time? 

Lisa: Initially, admittedly, it was more about the goal of circumnavigating the world under sail as quickly as possible and then getting back to building my career in New York City. The Captain managed to slow me down and build excitement about other sailing grounds (we are now strongly considering The Magellan Strait and beyond after Brazil rather than returning home).  I always had a desire to vagabond, but I thought I would do it in short spurts with long career stints in between. I’ve now been out here for four years and expect to have many years of travel under sail in front of me.

Fabio: I like a mix of both. I am more a slow cruiser. I enjoy living and getting to know places and people. But the first year with Lisa we sailed 11,000 nm in one season

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

Lisa: Do I need my own boat to go cruising? Nope. There are several sites with boats looking for individual crew or crew couples. I list many of them on my website on my ‘Sailing Links’ page. Even if your long-term goal is to sail on your own boat, crewing for others is a great way to get experience and build sea miles.

Fabio: Do I regret my choice to be a full time live aboard? Absolutely not. I have been doing it since December 2005 and I cannot imagine living on land for extended periods of time, at least for the time being.

Read the full interview

10 Questions for Tranquility Bay

Scott, Kimberly and their ship cat Allie have been cruising since 2005 aboard SV Tranquility Bay, a 38' aluminum Groupe Finot Reve d'Antilles hailing out of Detroit, MI, USA. They have spent the last twelve years sailing up and down the east coast of America and throughout the Caribbean.

They say: "From the glass towers of NYC to the steamy jungles of the Banana Republics, we've been pondering escapism and searching for a more connected and meaningful way of life.

You can learn more about their cruise at their website and their YouTube channel.

Tell me your favorite thing and your least favorite thing about your boat

We take it for granted that our boat is incredibly strong. It always brings us feelings of security when the going gets rough. Something that appeals to us more regularly, however, is it's uniqueness. A lot of people – especially in the States – don't know what to make of it. It may as well be a spaceship with its unpainted aluminum topsides and bubble. People are usually very surprised when they come inside and settle into its cozy wood interior.

Our least favorite thing about our boat is that it is often difficult to go unnoticed. Its rugged fishing boat-like appearance has always appealed to us because in our minds it has a simple look, and not a yachty one. When we arrived in Panama, however, where most of the indigenous population paddles dugout canoes, it was hard to ignore the frequent amazement of many of the locals. They pound on the side grinning and say, “Aluminio!” Then they chuckle about scrap prices and the equivalent amount of recycled cans that they'd have to collect to make as much money as they could get by cutting off a chunk of our hull. Sometimes they make us nervous.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

We'd love to have a set of lithium batteries. They're so light weight and put out so much juice. It would be a huge boon to our cruising comfort and if we ever ended up shipwrecked, we'd be carrying our own extensive prescription for depression. However, considering that lithium is a limited resource and witnessing the roadblocks faced by the electric car industry, we don't have fuzzy feelings about any big changes coming soon. But we'd sell our soul for a set of those babies! (hello sponsors?)

In your experience, how often do you think cruisers spend sailing vs. motoring, coastally vs. on passage?

The percentage of motoring vs. actual sailing is hard to know, but what we certainly can say from our own experience is that there is a lot of impatience in the world. If you've just abandoned a thirty-year mortgage or walked away from an unfulfilling career and hopped aboard a sailboat, it can be hard to restrain your excitement. The wind isn't blowing, but you're anxious for the 'real' adventure to begin so you crank up the iron genny and head off, despite a forecast of glassy calm. Or in our own case, you start out making the mistake of jumping at the first stormy opportunity, puff out your chest and call yourselves 'real' sailors. Then you take a severe beating, and spend the next week shore-side looking for parts to replace everything you broke.

We see a lot of people out here trying to girdle the globe during one year sabbaticals. We also see lots of retirees deep into the final chapter of their lives – frequently complaining about there being “too much wind this year.” Of course people that have been out traveling longer tend to be tuned in closer to Mother Nature's frequencies, but really, the true percentages of sailing/motoring are all over the map. I don't think there is a science or study to accurately describe what percentage at any given time choose to motor or sail. Maybe chaos theory?

Spending days on end deafened by a throbbing engine, and enveloped in a cloud of soot isn't so magical. On the other hand, beating your brains back and forth and not making it into an anchorage before dark just to lay claim to some kind of sailing prowess certainly isn't smart either. Everybody wants to paint the perfect picture of their sail through paradise, but sometimes, you just have to eat it – with torn sails or a bruised ego. So … .. . 50/50???

What do you dislike about cruising that surprised you?

There is always a lot of talk about the cruising community. The number of people actually going someplace in their boats is probably equivalent to the population of a small town, so it seems like a fitting analogy. It's remarkable how often we cross paths with the same people flitting about on sailboats.

We've had friends on boats deliver generous loads of medical and school supplies to third world villages. We've met crazy wandering gypsies that have told us stories about parts of the globe that we've never heard of. We've also met folks on shore that have welcomed us with open arms thanks to the many ambassadors of good will that have traveled before us. And then, there are the Hamburger Cruisers.

There are a lot of Hamburger Cruisers out here. Most of them are pretty friendly. Don't get us wrong, many of them have been wonderful to us, but it often seems that their main priority is to eat hamburgers in every country they visit. On an extended progressive dinner party, Hamburger Cruisers travel great lengths, at great expense and discomfort, seemingly, only to find their next patty. Sometimes, however, when there are no burgers to be found – things can get ugly.

What is a cruising tip or a trick you learned along the way?

Slow down and open yourself up to new experiences beyond sampling some local food and taking a tour. Ask yourself why you've signed up for this adventure. We often meet new people trying out life on a sailboat that think they're subscribing to some kind of special 'lifestyle' that they've caught a glimpse of on YouTube, but living and traveling on a boat isn't easy. It takes awhile just to get comfortable with your floating home and develop an understanding for how things work.

We've lost count of the number of times we've met cruisers committed to crazy accelerated plans – things like two year circumnavigations. They often have scarcely enough time to even say hello, much less keep their boat together before rushing off to the next spot. From what we've seen, it's a horrible way to see the world. What is the sense of traveling thousands of miles at great expense and a snails pace, only to do a waterfall tour and head off to the next place?

In your own experience and your experience meeting other cruisers, what are the common reasons people stop cruising?

Probably the most common reason we find people bailing out early is that they've discovered traveling by sailboat was much more difficult and uncomfortable than they had imagined. It never occurred to them what it might feel like to get beat up for days on end. It continuously amazes us how many people – young and old – we watch head out for the first time after lengthy preparation, only to call it quits after they've had their first rough experience. Old age, and difficulties coping with the simple drudgery of operating a boat and living on it is another reason. Sometimes, the missus just wants to be with her grandchildren.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

It's hard to pin down one place, but we do have fond memories of our time in Venezuela. We entered the country shortly after their president called ours the devil. Despite some positive reports we heard before departing Grenada, we had reservations. More than one couple tried to convince us that “Hugo Chaves will confiscate your boat.” While we thought this was foolish, we did debate flying a Canadian flag to save face. Later, we thought that was foolish as well.

The Venezuelans were some of the friendliest people we've met in our travels, and the diverse scenery there was otherworldly. There was a serious crime problem everywhere we went, but thanks to a howling black market currency exchange, we remained somewhat blind to the dangers. Trading a personal check for a backpack full of money was unbelievably exciting. It was like living in the old Wild West.

Over the coarse of a year, we rode a towering wave of economic collapse. Fuel was thirty cents a gallon – delivered. To our surprise, in addition to discovering that Venezuela was indeed a democracy, we learned that the island of Margarita was full of top notch shopping centers where we loaded up with goods at pennies on the black market dollar. We filled shopping cart after shopping cart full of quality liquors, exotic brands of chocolate and giant wheels of cheese. Lomito, Spanish for tenderloin, cost less than ground chuck, so we ate it like hamburger.

We had a great time in Venezuela, and we've never regretted taking advantage of the economic situation there. We were even given free health care as visitors. What's most interesting, however, are people's reactions to our stories about this amazing place. We tell stories of many of our friends that still live there, and of all of the starving Venezuelans – still being crushed by the world oil economy. But the most striking response we ever get back at home is, “gas only cost thirty cents a gallon?!?!”

Over the time that you have been cruising has the world of cruising changed?

Venezuela seems to no longer be an option for cruisers. It is now the world's largest remaining oil reserve – and an economic war zone.

Cruiser rant: What is something that drives you crazy?

People that tell us, “it must be nice to live like you do.” They say it as if they themselves have somehow been cursed. It drives us crazy how people complain about their hectic lives in America. They often hear only what they want to from our stories. We fish. We swim in paradise. We drink cocktails at every sunset.

After meeting so many happy families that live in palm thatched huts with dirt floors – people that swim in the oceans, eat fresh food out of the jungle, and breathe the fresh air – it's really hard to listen attentively to some our friends or relatives complaining incessantly about the horrible complications of their material worlds.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

So I hear you guys have started a YouTube channel, what do you hope to achieve?

We'd like to share what we've learned in the last twelve years of our sailing experience and inspire others to follow their dreams. Currently we are completely overhauling/reconstructing our boat to outfit it for travel to colder climates. It has always been our ambition to travel to the edge of the icepack to see with our own eyes how the world is being changed. We'd like to take anyone else interested in the conversation about the future along for the ride in hopes of increasing awareness of the current situation. Come along for the ride at Sailing Tranquility Bay. 

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10 Questions for Bella Vita

Brett & Stacey Hoopes have been cruising since 2012 aboard SV Bella Vita, a 1995 Hylas 45.5, hailing from Seattle, WA, USA.

From Seattle, they sailed down the west coast to Mexico, then across the Pacific (French Polynesia, w, both Samoas, Tonga, NZ, Fiji) then Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Australia, Indonesia and are currently in Malaysia.

You can learn about their cruise on their blog.

They say: "I worked in the boating industry for 10 years (Marketing Manager for Fisheries Supply) and Brett worked as a Sonographer at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance before we left.  While there, Brett met and cared for many vibrant people who passed away from cancer before their time – many of who had big plans and dreams for when they retired….that they never got to do.  This strongly reinforced our decision to go cruising while we were still young enough to really enjoy it instead of waiting until we retired.  Life is short and you never know what will happen."

Tell me your favorite thing and your least favorite thing about your boat.

Bella Vita is an amazing boat – the perfect size (IOHO) and strong enough to withstand big seas.  We’ve always felt like she could handle WAY more than we can, so probably my (Stacey’s) favorite thing is how safe I feel aboard her at sea.  Brett loves how well-thought out and laid out she is.  My least favorite thing is that it doesn’t have a washing machine aboard (hope to rectify that some day!) and Brett’s is that we can’t access the anchor locker from the deck.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

Brett:  High quality insulation around our fridge.  This has been a MAJOR issue ever since we got to warmer climates.

Stacey: A washing machine!

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true?

Living in the USA, there is a lot of press devoted to how dangerous many parts of the globe are and how we should be concerned about traveling there – especially in Mexico.  We’ve been out now for almost 5 years and NOT ONCE have we ever felt we were in danger (other than from Mother Nature!).  We’ve been amazed by the kindness and giving nature of the majority of people we’ve met along the way.  They’ve made us feel welcome in pretty much every country we’ve visited.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?

Again – people shouldn’t fear that these places will be dangerous or that people are out to steal from them.  That’s not to say you should leave everything open and invite people to take advantage of you – but you shouldn’t waste time on the fear of the unknown when it comes to foreign lands.  What should people worry about?  THE WEATHER!  Do everything you can to learn about understanding weather forecasts and how to interpret them to aid in your routing.  The ability to know when to sit tight and when to GO is one of the most important parts of cruising successfully.  Brett adds that you should NEVER have a timeline – it will get you into trouble every single time.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

Suwarrow – hands down.  You can only get there by boat, and there are only the 2 park rangers that live there – so the area is completely untouched by tourism.  It was amazingly beautiful, an absolute paradise.  While some cruisers complain because you are only allowed to anchor in one area, which is open to winds and filled with coral bomies – we found that it was a little slice of heaven.  Beautiful, clear water filled with marine life, gorgeous huge manta rays, sharks, fish of all kinds and birds galore.  We spent the full 2 weeks allowed there and only wish we could have spent more time.  A close 2nd was the Tuamotos – specifically south Fakarava – which to this day had the BEST snorkeling/diving we have every experienced.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?

What we like:  The cruising culture is amazing.  Cruisers are always willing to be there for each other – to lend a hand to help fix something, to rally around a boat in dire circumstances, or to just share a beer after a hard days work.  A perfect example – while we were in Tonga our fridge stopped working and we needed new brushes.  We asked for recommendations from local cruisers on the daily net – and after the net we were contacted by a boat we didn’t know (at the time) named Iolea.  Paul and Kate just happened to also own a Hylas, and wondered did we happen to have a Grunert refrigeration system like theirs?  It turns out they had a spare set of brushes and were happy to loan them to us until we could get new ones delivered (which of course we immediately gave to them).  These two wonderful cruisers resolved our mini-crisis in a matter of hours – so fantastic!  We also love that cruisers have no qualms about visiting another boat and starting a conversation with cruisers they’ve never met….and within minutes they are likely invited aboard for a tour or a refreshment just because you’re sharing an anchorage.  How many people at home have no idea what the names of their neighbors are even though they’ve lived next to them for years?  I love the closeness and community of cruising – you really do make friends for LIFE!

What we dislike:  Watching some cruisers absolutely loose their sh!t with locals over something stupid because they expect the efficiencies of their home in a foreign land.  There is nothing more mortifying than watching a fellow cruiser (especially when they are from your home country) behave badly with the locals.  We are all ambassadors out here and should never forget to treat locals with the respect they deserve, even when things are not going to our liking.  We are guests in THEIR country and should act accordingly.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?

During the day we don’t really have a standard schedule – whoever wants to sleep can nap as needed.  At 7pm we institute a 3/4/4/3 schedule, with me (Stacey) sleeping first.  If nothing is happening in the morning, I’ll let Brett sleep until he wakes up naturally.  If one of us hasn’t slept well (up during their offwatch time for sail changes, etc.) we make a concerted effort to get that person the rest they need during the day.  It’s important that we are BOTH functioning as well as possible, so we’ve found this works great for us – but every couple we’ve met is different.  During rough weather we often shorten up the duration as 4 hours on can be exhausting in really bad weather.  When you first start out it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you and your partner.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time?

While we both love to sail – we definitely are more attracted to cruising for the travel.  I’ve always loved to travel, but am not fond of flying and hate living out of a suitcase – so the idea of traveling with my home was extremely appealing.  We have loved the comfort of having our floating home when everything around us is constantly changing and unknown – for me, having that little bit that is familiar is really important when you are traveling full time.  These days I sometimes worry that we’ve become true sea gypsies and will never be content to stay in one place for a long time ever again.  I guess time will tell, but as long as we can make the money last we will continue this life for as long as we possible!

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about navigating is…”

Never trust your charts.  Always keep an active watch near land and assume your charts can be as much as a ¼ mile off.  While our charts (Navionics on our RayMarine system) have been exceptionally accurate in most places, there have been exceptions and it’s imperative to use dead reckoning and all the information you have at hand in conjunction with what the charts are telling you.  We also augment our charts with a program called Ovitalmap on our iPad that allows you to download Google Earth images for offline use.  It has saved our bacon more than once and is brilliant when you are cruising in areas where there are no charts at all.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

How has cruising changed you?

When we first left, we were completely caught up with the rush, rush, rush of city living.  Time just continually flies by and before you know it another year has clicked by and nothing has really changed.  But when you cruise, one of the best parts is living a slower life that is less about acquiring things, and more about acquiring experiences.  It brings home the fact that the people you meet and the experiences you have with them is what life is really about.  Life is nothing without love and learning – about confronting your own personal fears and moving past them, while constantly challenging your personal “safety zones”.  Cruising has made us more patient and less judgmental – more understanding of adversity and how it can change people for the worse or for the better.

I think it took us a good 6 months to really start slowing down and accepting the slower pace of our new life.  Having time back – to be completely in control of our own time and how we use it has been a wonderful gift.  Being able to see the world on a small budget is amazing – something I never even knew was possible until we started cruising.  Now that we’ve slowed down and seen so many different places, experienced so many different cultures, we’ve really begun to understand how similar we all really are at our core.  We’ve seen some amazing things and completely different cultures – but at the end of the day the people we’ve met all have the same basic needs and (for the most part) the same values.  They show pride in their country, love for their families, frustration with their governments, they want the ability to feed and raise their families in a safe environment, and they experience all the same feelings and frustrations we’ve experienced while living in the United States.  What used to seem so amazingly different is actually almost exactly the same, no matter what the culture or religion dictates.  If we  could just get people who haven’t traveled to understand that, what an amazing world we would live in. 

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10 Questions for Impi

Brent Grimbeek and Ana Hill began cruising in 2011 aboard SV Impi, a Lagoon 440.

They have cruised Cape Town to Brazil, Tobago, Grenada, Lesser Antilles, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Galapagos, French Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and on to Australia

You can learn more about their cruise on their blog, through their videos, or their Facebook page.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear? And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?

A lot of people we speak to have experience of sailing in the proximity of the coast and are fearful of sailing out of the sight of land. In fact, ocean sailing is way easier and safer than coastal sailing.

A lot of potential cruisers think that all they need is the money to buy a boat and that afterwards you just need money for food and diesel.  Few wannabe cruisers realize the costs of maintenance on a boat and/or have the skills to do good maintenance themselves.

This can result in boats gradually going down hill, becoming unsafe and unseaworthy.

What do you think is a common cruising myth?  

That you are free as the wind!  Unfortunately, the way the world is nowadays we are dependent on banks as one is not allowed to carry cash in excess of 10000 of the currency of the country you enter into without doing a declaration thereof.

In many countries although not in Australia and New Zealand, having a bank account is dependent on having a proof of residential address.  This can become complex once one leaves the home country and maybe lets or sells one’s house.

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about navigating is ... that charts in many territories are inaccurate.  This requires us to use satellite photography as to avoid reefs and coral.

We were fortunate to learn this technique in French Polynesia from some fellow cruisers.  It enabled us to navigate through the Tuamotu Islands without any hiccups as we could clearly mark and identify coral heads.  Similarly charts are very inaccurate in Fiji and sailing from Vanua Levu to the Lau group overnight we were confident that we would not hit a reef as we planned our course very carefully using satellite photos.

Whilst at anchor in the darkest night we can be confident that when the wind changes we are not going to hit any rocks as our boat position can be easily monitored on the satellite photos.

With the benefit of hindsight, what are the boat selection criteria you would use to purchase a boat for long term cruising?

Buy a safe boat that is reasonably fast on the ocean and comfortable at anchor. Equip your boat in your home country and not once you are underway.  For us South Africa was a good country to do this with skilled technicians and affordable prices.

So why do we love our Lagoon?  Well it is a very safe boat, the underside ‘nacelle’ – a large bullnose protruding between the hulls toward the trampoline area tapers, as what I can only describe as a ‘third suspended hull’ – do not think Lagoon build this in as a beautiful looking feature, for it certainly is not – it is undersold and holds a phenomenal ‘secret’ to safety at sea. Let me explain.

We were sailing around the southern tip of South Africa when a storm descended upon us. The waves were breaking to the extent that the surface became filled with foam and soon we were dropping down these colossal monsters doing 17 knots bare poles. Every other catamaran there had to head out to sea, since dropping down these waves would see the bows dig into the back of the wave ahead and they feared pitch poling. Impi was the only boat to successfully round the Cape that day for shelter in the anchorage – why?

We soon learned the magic trick of Lagoon. As the bows descended into the wave ahead, that ‘bull nose’ of the nacelle would make contact with the water surface driving the bows upward, time and time again. The suspended hull effect would assist with keeping the boat steering straight down the wave, where catamaran skippers fear the boat broad siding down a wave face. This feature alone ticked a huge box for us, a major point of safety that was going to prove to be invaluable in some pretty ferocious storms we would encounter crossing many oceans of the world.

In the catamaran sailing community, we often hear sailors measuring the success of a boat by the height of bridge deck clearance – ‘the higher the better’, they would say. This is the clearance or height from the surface of the water to the underside of the boat between the hulls. Now whilst a certain amount of height helps in lighter weather conditions, many sailors do not realize that in heavier sea state conditions, too much height has a negative effect in that the wave energy under the boat gathers more momentum before hitting the underside of the bridge deck. Too little clearance is also not good as the boat can feel unstable, but in our opinion, Lagoon have cleverly found the sweet spot between.

Another incredible attribute to the Lagoon 440 is how the boat sails on different points of sail. The Lagoon 440 surprises so many fellow sailors and especially mono-hull sailors, who do not want to believe a catamaran can sail past them to their windward side, on a close ‘point of sail’. Yes, thanks to the two shorter spreaders on the mast, the Lagoon 440 sails very well upwind since the leech of the genoa can be hauled in closer before being obstructed by the spreader tips. This feature, together with the genoa car tracks, that are positioned closer to midship than many other models of catamarans makes the Lagoon 440 a terrific boat for sailing close hauled. In fact, the Lagoon sails well on all points of sail when using a variety of sails along with a barber hauler configuration for wind astern of the beam.

We can store an asymmetric sail, spinnaker, storm sail and extra genoa with ease and all concealed below the deck in lockers and not stored inside the living area of the boat.

When it comes to speed, of course the Lagoon is not a racing boat as ours is loaded with all sorts of home comforts, but it moves on average 150 to 240 nautical miles per 24 hours depending on the winds, currents and the sails rigged. For example, our previous passage from New Caledonia to Australia was an easy 4 day passage.

The Lagoon 440 leaves the factory at around 12.5 tons, but loaded weighs 16 to 17 tons depending on water and diesel on board.

Of course speed is great while sailing, however, for us arrivals and the time spent at our destination are more important. We arrive with our boat clean, all salt washed with fresh water from our 900-liter water tank and 12V water maker that produces around 60 liters per hour for the 20amps that drive it.
The solar input via our 5 Kyocera 135w each panels (675w total) sees us topping up the batteries, up to 50 Amps, and plenty enough to run the Spectra Newport MKII.

Arrival also sees us with all washing clean, dried and ironed with our normal household ‘6kg washer dryer’ fitted into an outside cabinet, next to a sink and cockpit fridge.

Inside the boat, our fridge may be nearing empty but the freezer will often be loaded with fish caught en route.  Thanks to the outside basin, those can be cleaned and filleted outside, a very clever and well thought through feature by the Lagoon designers who make Impi as close to a home on the ocean as one can get.

As soon as we are cleared, we are ready to explore the delights of islands unlike some of our co-cruisers who are hunting around for laundries, water, and electricity and stay stuck in marinas for days, sometimes weeks on end.  Usually a one-day turn around is all Impi needs before heading out to those ‘paradise like anchorages’.  With 80 meters of 13 mm chain, 20 meter of rope and a 33 kg Rocna anchor, a Delta stern anchor with 20 meters of chain, we can anchor just about anywhere, and the Lagoon carries the weight with ease.

Our Lagoon 440 has enough space for all our dive gear, dive compressor, the heavy dinghy with its 30 HP engine which the davits carry comfortably, makes it a breeze to immediately be exploring those delightful underwater corals.

Of course it all comes down to preference and what one wants to get out of a boat – for us it is more about a home which has the ability to carry all the home comforts safely and at fair speed from one destination to the next.

We live for extended times on anchor and our air conditioning, heating and refrigeration facilities ensure that we make plenty of friends!  It is not unusual to hear:  “Let’s all meet on Impi, because they have space to seat 10 round the table, enough plates and cutlery, air conditioning and a lot of space to store cold beers!”

Lagoons are sturdy boats developed not just for a charter market, they are usually baptized in rough seas - they need to cross the Bay of Biscay on their maiden run and that sea can get seriously upset with tremendous wave action as it is very shallow.

Our patio is similar to that of a mono hull turned side ways, protecting us from large waves from the stern.  In extreme weather conditions, catamarans should not as a rule, be pointed toward the weather as one would in a mono-hull.  Well, for the odd wave that may escape and descend on the boat, we do love the high back of the Lagoon 440, which provides some protection from a wave otherwise finding the aft door into the saloon.

The bridge, a feature seldom found on any other brand for a 45 foot catamaran, gives excellent visibility when cruising through reef-infested waters and is always the place our guests spend most of their time when cruising the islands.  In bad weather it is comforting to be up there as one can feel the wind and the ocean away from the noise below and inside. It brings a new perspective and certain control in what otherwise one perceives to be life-threatening conditions. It is also the area where with wind from astern, we would sleep during crossings wearing our life jacket and harness, mostly because the motion is less aggressive up there.

Another feature we loved about the Lagoon when shopping for catamarans, is the strength and thickness of the ‘fiberglass ‘ – the coach roof is solid and sturdy. It feels safe and offers living room upstairs, something much needed when sailing for years on end.

We do believe the Lagoon 440 is a terrific deep ocean sailing catamaran - we have never regretted our choice of boat to circumnavigate, the boat keeps amazing us.

How did you gain offshore experience prior to leaving?  

We studied for our captain’s license in South Africa with a private tutor who accompanied us on our first long ocean crossing from Cape Town to Brazil.  We have sailed just the two of us ever since.  Our tutor taught us a lot about sail rigging and trimming.  We did our first crossing using 2 genoas most of the time or an asymmetric sail.  Our top speed was 21 knots.  That was a bit too scary! We took 21 days to sail from Cape Town to Fortaleza. You can read about our first sailing experience on Amazon kindle – Atlantic Crossing in 21 days.

Describe a drool-worthy perfect cruising moment

Difficult question as there have been many, so maybe I must go back to the first one, which was in Northern Brazil.

We went into uncharted territory there! With only a vague description from a Brazilian sailor, we headed for Lencois Maranhenses, a national park.  It was described to us as a desert with freshwater lakes.

To get there we cruised for several hours up a muddy river with a 6-meter tidal range. We both started doubting the intelligence of doing this, as there were no other yachts around, just a lot of local fishing craft.  We had been warned that not all of these people were friendly!

We anchored out in the river at night and the next morning took the dinghy further up river where we were told by our friend to anchor.  It was a place we could only reach at high tide, taking care to avoid sandbanks.

A local fisherman drew a map of the course to take to enter and as the tide went up we took Impi into a real paradise with hundreds of red ibis, flamingoes and other birds. We were astounded by fish with 4 eyes, we had never seen before and the most awesome white sand dunes and fresh lakes where cattle would come and drink.  Beautiful jangadas, the local fishing boats, with blue sails would go up and down the river bringing in the daily catch.  The people would take pictures of us, as it was so rare to see a yacht there!  They were very friendly and didn’t even speak Portuguese but an indigenous language.

What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you found particularly accurate?

You cannot go on a charter vacation on a boat for a few weeks and say you have ‘cruised’.  I think that depending on the level of stress in your life prior to cruising it can take several years to actually shed that stress and get into a cruising lifestyle.  To find that connection with wind, weather and ocean, to open your heart to the beauty of your surroundings is something that some people never achieve.    In our modern lives our spirits get shredded and torn into multiple directions.  Cruising for us enables us to get whole again and to have that peace inside with makes us strong enough to deal with adversity and patient enough to wait for any weather window.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

We would upgrade our solar panels to SunPower solar panels.  At this point in time these panels have the highest energy output up to 327 W.  They carry a long power and product warranty and we believe that together with our lithium batteries, which we installed earlier this year, these would significantly reduce our need for the use of a generator.

Have you ever felt in danger and if so, what was the source?   
   
We have felt in danger a few times and we have learnt from it.  One area, which is neglected in a lot of sailing courses, is teaching students how to read the weather on our planet.  We have learnt as we went along and sometimes because we got ourselves into bad situations.

One of these times was sailing from Ua Pau in the Marqueses Islands to the Tuamotu.  The weather looked good according to the GRIBS and the forecast from Meteo France, so we left together with Tempest, an Amel mono-hull, skippered by our friends Bob and Annette Pace, medical professionals from the US.

As we went into the night the benign winds picked up to over 60 knots and the previously calm seas were whipped up into 5-7 meter waves crashing on Impi’s side.  I prepared grab bags, food, meds ready in the cock pit should we need to abandon ship. We kept out a small jib and encouraged Tempest to do the same and sailed all night through vicious waves making speeds around 12 -15 knots on a small jib!.  As the day broke, we saw a Japanese ship on the AIS and contacted them. They told us not to turn back as the storm was worse behind us then in front of us.  They were such great guys, giving us a weather forecast all the way to Fakarava, which proved to be accurate.

One of the reasons we learnt, why we had not read the weather accurately was because we didn’t look at the 500HP layer, we had just looked at the surface weather. What can happen is that the top layer breaks through to the surface given the right conditions.  You then can end up with a rapidly deepening low and cyclone strength winds.  We have learnt to always look at the top layer structure now as to avoid putting ourselves in that position again.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

We volunteer for an animal welfare charity Bien Naitre Animal in New Caledonia and encourage cruisers, friends and followers to become members of this charity as to set up a mobile veterinary clinic in the outer islands of New Caledonia, a service which currently does not exist.  We are grateful to the Down Under Rally Go East for their contribution to the fund. Watch our video on Moose, the abandoned island dog.

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10 Questions for Dos Libras

Tammy, Bruce, and Jezabelle the cat have been cruising since 2013 aboard Dos Libras, a 1995 Catalina Morgan 45 hailing from Corpus Christi, TX, USA. They traveled down the ICW to the Gulf of Mexico from Corpus Christi to Florida then ICW and Coastal down to the Florida Keys. They turned North up the East Coast as far as Charleston, SC., then spent a season in the Bahamas.  They returned to Florida for a summer and then passed through Bahamas on their way down the Caribbean island chain.

You can read more about their cruise on their website.

They say: "We cruise very slowly.  We’ve spent the past three summers in various marinas plugged into the dock with wifi and air conditioning while doing boat projects.  We may or may not do the same this next summer down south.  

Something changed for us over this past summer in Puerto Rico.  Before then we have always felt “compelled” to be on our way to somewhere/  It is difficult to explain but while in Puerto Rico, we realised that we had no real plan until late in the summer and even then it was just to amble slowly down the Eastern Caribbean chain and then decide.  

Bruce is not getting any younger and the stresses of keeping up with the maintenance and repairs is beginning to wear on him.  At this point we may be looking for a place to stop moving and spend a longer period… but…no plans to return to the US!"


What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true? 

I did a lot of research prior to leaving home and found many sources of information.  Gradually over time I have realised that much of the negative information and warnings provided by others has been exaggerated.  Warnings about areas where current is an issue, warnings about shallow waters, warnings about passes or entrances that are tricky. I don’t know if we have just been lucky, or if our skill level is perhaps more developed than the authors of those warnings… but we have taken our boat into places that are supposed to be difficult, with little or no difficulty at all.  That is not to say that a healthy amount of caution is a bad thing. We all have to know our own skill level and what our boat will do, but just don’t be put off completely by what you read. Dig deeper and take current conditions into consideration when making your decision.  You just might miss someplace wonderful if you’re too easily put off.

Finish this sentence “One thing I’ve learned about passage planning is…”  

I have to laugh at this question.  We cruise so slowly and stay so long in some places that we’ve almost forgotten how to plan for passages.  What I consider to be a passage is anything that will require us to establish a watch schedule.  We have found that for the two of us, a two hour watch schedule works best.  It is short enough that we don’t become fatigued, and after the initial sleep, it seems that we are able to fall asleep quickly enough to get a good rest.  I always make brownies or cookies and prepare some pasta salad that is easy to serve and has lots of goodies in it.  I’ve always got my route planned out and we’ve been pretty close in our estimation of the time it will take to arrive with sufficient daylight to safely navigate to our destination.  I guess that is more than one thing isn’t it?  

In your experience how often do you think cruisers spend sailing vs. motoring, coastally vs. on passage? 

We spend a lot more time motorsailing than we ever thought we would.  We always try to sail when possible, but we are not willing to let our boat speed drop below 4 knots for very long before the engine gets fired up.  We have found that the winds are often close to on-the-nose as we’ve been making our way east until now.  But I still hold onto that hope that now that we’ll be traveling in a more N/S direction, we can sail more.  A huge contributing factor that requires motorsailing is that for passages, we would rather wait for conditions that provide a more kindly sea state, which often means lighter winds.  We would rather motorsail in more flat seas than travel under sail alone in seas much over five feet.  Thus far, current has also been an issue - we’ve been traveling against it.  The majority of our longer passages have been with reefed and overtrimmed main to steady the boat, and with the engine on to help us point closer to the lay line.  

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike? 

I like the fact that you can make it what you wish. If you want to have bunches of friends and a full social calendar no problem.  If you want to keep to yourself and see almost no-one that’s OK too.  If I had to come up with a dislike it would be that in some of the more popular Cruiser hang-outs it is sometimes difficult to get OFF of the merry-go-round!

What is a cruising tip or a trick you learned along the way? 

Tea Tree Oil.  I used it a lot the first couple of years out. Now it seems like I find myself using less and less but I believe that is because the mildew has been killed.  I clean my ceilings and walls much less often and my towels don’t get stinky like they used to.  (I use tea tree oil in my laundry soap and in home-mixed cleaners)

What do you miss about living on land? 

Not being wet and salty when I get to where I’m going. Whenever we go ashore in the dinghy it is almost guaranteed that we will be thoroughly splashed either coming or going. Secondly I miss fast internet.  Finding a signal that is fast enough to do much blogging is a constant struggle.  I dream of fast, unlimited internet.
 

Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was overrated (not as good as you had heard)? Was there anywhere you visited that you thought was underrated (better than you had heard)? 

I have found each place we’ve been to be better than I thought it would be in some way or other.  I have a tendency to project past experiences on my expectations for the future.  I have been proven wrong time and again.  Each place is unique and completely different from how I thought it would be.  I have to remind myself of this so that we won’t skip someplace that could be wonderful!
 
Speaking just about your boat (not gear), what is one thing you wish your boat had that it doesn’t and what is one thing your boat has that you wish it didn't? 

I wish we had more deck storage lockers… but then we would have to give up some inside space, so it’s a trade-off.  I can’t really think of anything we wish our boat did not have…

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?  

A new in-house generator and additional battery amp hours.  Our Fischer Panda has died and we are using portable generators.  While this is doing an adequate job, it is a lot of work for Bruce to charge up the house bank, which he has to do at least once per day, sometimes twice depending upon cloud cover. It is also difficult for us to be “that boat” in the anchorage that ruins a perfectly good sunset with a noisy generator.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

We’ve been asked many times why we chose to round Hispaniola to the west and cruise the southern coast of the Dominican Republic instead of following Van Sant’s instructions to do the northern coast.

We like to review all available resources and then make our own decisions as to when and where to sail.  For us, it seemed more sensible, safer and more comfortable to go the way we did at the time of year we did.  Late in the winter when the norther’s were less frequent and weaker, but still making it down as far as Hispaniola the light wind days just before the north winds arrived would provide us with easy travel east, and then when the winds turned north, the island provided protection from the high winds and waves, but we could still travel east with the north wind to carry us along on a beam reach.  Seas were very flat with the island between us and the  winds blasting off of the Atlantic ocean, so it was perfect.  We experienced none of the danger of being on the northern shore with fewer safe anchorages and much higher seas.

The Mona Passage also seems more benign further south and we had a shorter passage than the northern route.  The timing was much easier without having to worry about the hourglass shoals. Plus the storms that roll off of Puerto Rico don’t affect the southern Mona as much.  I don’t know why anyone would ever choose that route over the one we took.  Note:  It can be a very different experience at a different time of year.  We had help with late season northers.

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10 Questions for Happy Monster

Hans and Dory sail on Happy Monster, a 36 feet Najad made in Sweden. The inside is not original Najad, but made by the first owner. They bought the boat in 2002 and left Holland in May 2005. They crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific and arrived in 2007 in New Zealand. There their plans to sail around the world changed and after a year working in NZ they continued sailing up and down in the Pacific. You can learn more about them on their website.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why?

Wendy, our wind vane. She is a Dutch made Bouvaan and steers most of the time. Our new hard dodger we put on in New Zealand, the lights underneath and the solar panels and hand grips on top are very helpful. The Spectra water maker with Z-brain now two years old and never failed. The Z-braine keeps it clean so that we don't have to flush or pickle when we don't use it.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?

An AIS transmitter, so that other ships with AIS will always see you. (if they look) Of course there are some fancy chart plotters with worldwide maps, we really don't need them.

What mistakes did you make in your first year of cruising?

Not knowing we had to grease our rudder shaft often.

What type of watch schedule do you normally use while offshore?

We do a 3 hour watch starts at seven. Every three hours we change, so we have both two time three hours of sleep in the night, on the day we sleep mostly both two times an hour.

Do you have any specific advice for couples cruising?

Start with loving each other very much and you have to like to be together 24/7. Try to do things together as much as possible so that both know how things work.

What is a tip or a trick you have picked up along the way?

Never be lazy if it comes to prevent accidents, like reefing, taking your shoes out of the dinghy while you still can (next morning they were gone). Learn to be patient if you deal with customs and immigration. It takes often a lot of time and if you plan that it will cost you a day, you are feeling good if it is faster.

What is something about the cruising culture you like and what is something you dislike?

We like the fact that the cruisers world is one big family, you all do the same and you help each other with whatever problem. We like the freedom we have and the friends we make. We don't like the goodbye's, and we have to say that a lot.

Have you found "trade goods" to be useful on your cruise? If so, what kinds?

Before we left we had made many lighters, balloons and t-shirts with our Happy Monster on it and they still are very good give aways. We also ordered some inflatable globes to give away on schools and we point out on these globes the trip we made. For the rest we have the usual pencils, flashlights etc to trade or give away.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?

We have visited many many favorite places. Sometimes it is nature and sometimes it is the people that makes the place special. We are now in Fiji and we think that as well the people as the nature as the climate is so good that we call this our most favorite.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

What is a good reason to go cruising?

You can sleep in your own bed and cook your own food while you have a new backyard every time after sailing. You have the one million view on a very low budget. If you want it just do it.

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10 Questions for Silas Crosby

Steve Millar on Silas Crosby completed a self-interview in the Newly Salted style. You can read the original interview here or the perspective of another crew member, his niece Meredith, in her interview.
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At age 56, I am in the middle of another long (metaphorical) cruise.

I started sailing at age 9 just south of Vancouver in a 9′ dinghy, then, in high I school built a 17′ catamaran and cruised the Gulf Islands of BC. My parents didn’t sail or know anything about it.

After several years of race boat crewing, I helped sail a 40′ cutter from Auckland to Vancouver over 6 months in 1974. A good taste of the South Pacific. After a hiatus of about 6 or 7 years of not much sailing, my wife and I bought a Spencer 35 named ‘Cor Leonis’ in 1986. We did an initial trip to Haida Gwaii, then took off again for a classic 3 year trip to Mexico and on to New Zealand , where our son was born.

Returning to BC via Samoa and Hawaii, in 1991, we settled in the Comox Valley, sold the Spencer 35 , had another child , and built the Brent Swain 36 steel twin-keeler, ‘Silas Crosby’ . The construction was a joint project with my brother John , and took 2 yrs and 4 months. After launching in about 1994 we cruised far and wide on the BC coast.

In 2001 the 4 of us did a north Pacific triangle cruise over a year, to Mexico, Hawaii, and home to BC again.

About a year ago in Sept 2010, we set off again to try to fulfill a long held dream., to explore the cruising grounds of the channels and islands of southern Chile and Patagonia. This time the crew was Steve (56) , my brother  (69), and niece Meredith (25). John sailed with us as far as La Paz in the Sea of Cortez before returning to Vancouver.

The idea of sailing from cold water in BC to colder water in southern Chile did not appeal to my wife Barb, so she elected to stay home and live the good life, untroubled by boat fanatics.

We are now in Valdivia, Chile, reaching the end of the austral winter. We arrived about 4 months ago via Easter Island, Galapagos, and Mexico.In the next week or two we plan to continue south eventually reaching Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino sometime around March 2012.

Tell me your favorite things about your boat.
Steel hull , twin keels , continuous tube liferails.  We pay a little bit for the twin keels when hard on the wind , but we still had a good passage from Galapagos to Easter Island with the wind forward of the beam the whole way.

The solid liferails are very sensible. I think only Amel installs them as standard on a production boat. Recommended safety item.

Tell me your least favorite thing about your boat.
Concern about rust. Not too big a problem in the first 17 years , but one does have to pay attention, despite flame-spraying during construction.

I would have loved to be able to justify the expense of a folding or feathering prop. Probably good for 1/2 knot on the wind , maybe more in light winds. The right deal has never come up in a 17 x 15″ 3- blade prop.
Of course, we need a 50′ boat to live aboard in rainy weather but only a 36′ boat to sail and pay for.

How often have you faced bad weather in your cruising? How bad?
Our worst weather was the last week coming in to Chile. We were really psyched up to get some bad weather, and would have been surprised had we not. So the two fronts that passed over us were uncomfortable, but OK.

Until that time I had used the storm jib and trysail only once before to slow down in strong winds coming in to New Zealand in 1987.

Can you think of a sailing tip (e.g., sail trim, sail combination) specific to offshore passages (e.g., related to swells)?  
This is interesting. We really use our whisker pole a lot, and try to sail wing and wing as much as possible because it is so comfortable, steady, and just generally easy on our boat.  When we arrived in Valdivia we have found several cruising boats that don’t even own a whisker pole and make their way downwind by jibing. These are all boats that have sailed thousands and thousands of miles to get here.

Another interesting thing we’ve discovered is how many crews do not keep a watch system. Many of the solo sailors just go to bed and get up whenever. Also some of the couples both turn in at bedtime and get up for breakfast. Some have AIS and radar watches but some don’t.

We tend to generally enjoy the night watches, sort of for private time.

Over the time that you have been cruising, has the world of cruising changed? 
Starting in 1974 we navigated the old, scary , approximate way. The last week coming in to Cape Scott with an RDF and DR was sketchy. GPS is excellent .We have occasionally dug out the sextant, mostly to look at it in wonder, but we don’t push the ‘off’ button on the GPS.  But really, the fundamentals have not changed at all. The people are still the same, great and friendly and helpful. The wilderness areas are still wild.
People still run up on reefs

Navigation is a lot easier, and much less stressful. That’s good.

Engines are more reliable. Sails are stronger and more durable.

What piece(s) of gear would you leave on the dock next time? Why?
We have a 10 1/2 foot Portabote, a 7 1/2 foot inflatable , two 13′ solid plastic kayaks with sprayskirts, drysuits etc, and a 2 hp outboard. We haven’t actually used either of the dinghies since sometime in Mexico. It is a lot of gear to be hauling around. I expect we will need the inflatable in Patagonia for shoreline etc.

What do you miss about living on land?
My family.

While cruising, what do you do about health & boat insurance, medical issues, banking and mail delivery?
DAN emergency health insurance and 2 yr coverage from BC government health system. I went to medical school to prepare for cruising , probably overkill (!) but it is helpful. I was offered a pre-emptive appendectomy , but declined , and brought injectable antibiotics instead.

Banking , taken care of by Herself at Home.

Mail : what mail?

Why did you decide to cruise?
Reading Slocum , then Chichester as a 10 or 12 year old.

What did you do to make your dream a reality? 
Became Obsessive.

Finish this sentence. “Generally when I am provisioning…”
I think that food (any food) is important. Also I am associated with experts in the form of Barb and Meredith.

How do you fund your cruise?
Savings.

Are you attracted more to sailing itself or cruising-as-travel and has that changed over time? 
The romance of voyaging under sail in a small capable vessel to interesting and far-off lands has not faded for me in the least. Miles Smeeton was the first writer that conveyed that to me. It is the travel across oceans under sail. Sailing is important.

Where was your favorite place to visit and why?
As a general lesson, for me, when the ‘Cruising Blues’ set in, it is time to leave town. It happens more often, but not exclusively, in the cities.

I have been back to the Baja side 3 times and around Vancouver Island 6 times, so those must be my favorites.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear on your boat and why?
After several voyages without an HF transmitter on board , I am really enjoying blabbing on the SSB and Ham nets , and on informal scheds. I find that there is still lots of time for watching the birds , the waves, and the insides of my eyelids. The 2 x 85 watt solar panels are plenty to power the radio and the little Engel fridge(also a first for us)

The crude windvane, built to an old design is invaluable.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free?
Fluency in Spanish. It isn’t free, though. I has cost me many, many hours to get to the early intermediate stage.

What is a tip or a trick you have picked up along the way?
Mast Up and Water Outside. Hot tips.

How much does cruising cost?  
$17,345.43 per year, plus or minus, depending on beer.

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10 Questions for Alianna

Sim and Rosie Hoggarth began cruising in June 2004 aboard Alianna, a Corbin 39 hailing from Falmouth, United Kingdom. They bought Alianna in Antigua and sailed the loop, down the Caribbean chain, across to South America, up Central America and North American as far as Washington DC and back down the Bahamas to the East Caribbean. You can learn more about their journey on their website.

What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising?
I had very limited sailing experience but my husband had been sailing for years.  I had complete faith in him and everything we learnt we learnt together.  Ignorance is bliss they say and we have enjoyed the whole learning experience.  I don't think there is anything we wished someone had told us before we got here, otherwise we might never have got here.

Is there something you wish you had bought or installed before starting cruising?
We are a pretty basic sailing boat - we have all the necessary safety and navigational equipment but we don't have radar and I have always felt that it would help when we are on passage to check which way storm heads are moving.  We have managed 7 years without a water maker and other items that some cruisers feel essential - its all a matter of personal comfort.  Sim wishes that we had built a bigger frame to house more solar panels, we physically can't carry any more, while there is always a need for more power.

What mistakes did you make in your first year of cruising?
We were very very cautious the first year of cruising, getting to know the boat and living together in a small space.  I don't think that we made any major mistakes, except in perhaps spending money on items thinking we were going to sail around the world that we now don't need - maybe we shouldn't have been so hasty in that respect.

What is the next piece of gear you would add to your boat if it were free and why?
That's a tough one, I would be torn between a radar for reasons explained above, new sails as ours are very old and baggy or a freezer for ice at cocktail hour - can I have them all?  Sim says an extra 10ft but I don't think it matters how big your boat is you will always need more space for something. If an extra 10ft is unrealistic he would like furling gear for the inner staysail as at the moment it sits on deck and hardly ever gets used.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear?
We both agree that the fear the unknown whether it be weather related, country related or boat related most of the time its never as bad as it seems and the cruising community is a tight knit of people who are always willing to help.

And what is something potential cruisers don't worry about that perhaps they should?
Obviously that same can be said if you don't have any concerns about the above either. Have some respect for everything from the sea, to your boat and the countries you are visiting. Also you need to be able to do a lot of your own maintenance, everyone has to call in some help sometime but unless you have bottomless pockets the ability to do the majority of your own maintenance makes the lifestyle much more affordable to people who are on a budget.

In your experience, how much does cruising cost?
Cruising can cost as little or as much as you want it to.  We consider ourselves to be at the lower end of the scale - we try to live on a US$1000 a month with additional expenses of about $5000 per annum accounting for overspend or haulouts or insurance etc.  We know people that live on less and many that live on more.

How did you (or did you) gain offshore experience prior to leaving?
I had very little experience sailing on a yachts although I had clocked up a few sea miles of off shore sailing on Tall Ships as deck hand and watch leader, I joined a dinghy club before we left and took my day skipper course.  Sim has been sailing his whole life, racing Hobie cats, working on the Tallships as a marine engineer and doing deliveries.  He had his own 20ft sailboat in Cornwall and an RYA Off Shore yachtmaster certificate.

What is a tip or a trick you have picked up along the way?
This is not a tip or trick, its just sensible.  Get the best and biggest anchor you can afford. Buy good quality.  You will have many peaceful nights if you have confidence in your ground tackle.

Where was your favourite place to visit and why?
I don't think I could choose a favourite place and why - The reason we love cruising is that each place tickles a different spot, that's the beauty of being able to move your whole home from one place to another.  But in general terms the East Caribbean offers the easiest sailing with short hops between islands and beautiful comfortable anchorages for most of the time. I do love the Western Caribbean for its different cultures and life styles.

What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it?

How do you decide when you are ready to go cruising? 

Sim felt that at the time he was young enough to go away cruising for 5 years and still be able to get work when he returned. Rather then wait until has was at retirement age.  I was at a time when I was ready for a change of lifestyle.  Once we made the decision to go sailing we sold up and shipped out within 6 months. Best decision we ever made.

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