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To stop cruising

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Taking a sabatical Our life in the UK was really good. We lived in a leafy Surrey suburb, with an active local church, a farmers market, links to London, lots of social activities, and we had jobs we enjoyed. But after two decades of work we felt the need for a sabbatical. Our dream was to explore, and to sail. So we quit our jobs, bought a boat and set off for a life of world cruising.  What happened We knew we could travel for two years, but had no fixed destination, this was the extent of the plan. It turned out that we loved the lifestyle, and our 2 year sabbatical turned into 4. Every day on the water is different, and we accumulated many stories.  The Pandemic Ultimately we found ourselves in New Zealand, and were thrilled and relieved to arrive here. We were two years in and it felt like the end of our journey. We had seen more than we dreamed of, we made it across the Atlantic, and Pacific, sailing over 20,000 nautical miles, and visiting 17 countries. Sailing into Opu...
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Lazyjack lines

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Lazyjack tips The Open 40 comes with lazyjacks running inside the mast. At some point they cross and emerge towards the second spreader. Running the line outside the mast makes them run smoother, and easier to maintain, and less likely to chafe. An added benefit is that if they break they wont get stuck inside the mast. To make this change you will need: A cleat Two small blocks A spare line to secure the blocks to the spreader A Bosun's chair, and a helper Simplfied procedure: Add a cleat to the base of the mast so that there is a cleat at either side. You could double up on the existing one. But I think it makes sense to have a dedicated cleat for each lazyjack line. Uncleat the lazyjack lines.  Remember to add/leave a mousing line, just in case you want to run something else up. Ascend the mast, and tie the blocks on the second spreader, 6" from the base of the mast. While you up at the second spreader, take out the lazyjack line and run it through the new block straight d...
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The Bilge Blower

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Our bilge blowers are Rule 24v 76mm. I know this because one recently died. This is how you get to know your boat better. By focusing on an area each time essential repairs or preventative maintenance is needed. It really confused me to find the 24v version installed as my boat is 12v, so where would the fan get 24v from? I could see it connected to a relay, perhaps that increased the voltage supplied to the fan somehow? I measured just over 13v with my trusty Fluke multimeter. This means the 24v fan was only running 1/2 speed. Sourcing direct replacement parts was difficult. Both Burnsco and L&P told me there were no 3" 24v blowers in the country. The 24v version is not commonly used and I worried that switching to 12v might cause problems.  It may still be possible to repair the old rule blower by cleaning the motor brushes. But I decided to just replace them with 12v blowers instead. I also decided on the TMC model. The ends of the TMC blower are still 3" but the housi...
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Sailing downwind, why you need a spinnaker

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This is our spinnaker, and how we sailed across the Pacific. When we bought the boat we didn't really know how to sail, we hadn't taken our day skipper, and were very much still beginner's. I have one video when we were still a light boat doing 10kts in the Solent. I turn to Fung and say " 10kts! We'll cross the Atlantic like this ".  It turns out we did cross the Atlantic, but not like that. We were the last boat in the final rally organised by Jimmy Cornell, we arrived dead last, and were so slow that our fellow cruisers wondered what happened to us. It didn't look that way when we departed Mindelo. After our first 36 hrs we were on for 200nm days. It wasn't to be, and after the katabatic winds left us we wound up almost a day behind the fleet. We didn't realise it at the time, but the boat was not yet ready for down wind sailing! As a catamaran, downwind should be what we excel at, and we do, but the thing that caught us out was lig...
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Making good decisions

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Looking back, I can see that a few key decisions have had a major impact in my life.  Living on a boat, we make decisions that affect us everyday, and these decisions are more frequent, and their effects are amplified. A bad decision could cost lives. At best you get lucky and a bad decision doesn't lead to any loss. So you need to develop good decision making skills. Yesterday was another example. New Zealand - already in covid lockdown - went into Tsunami alert. Anchored in Mahurangi harbour, we had another decision to make. Abandon the boat and head for a Tsunami evacuation zone. Head up river. Stay put. Head out to sea. Sailing friends on their own boats, have their own decision to make. Civil defense, harbour master, or coast guard. no matter who offers advice, they are not the one making the decision, and while good intentioned will not live with the consequences. Decisions you make about the boat are entirely your call. We already learned this lesson about good intentioned a...
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