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The Perception of Freedom

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One of the best things about having a boat is the sense of freedom you have in choosing your destination and setting off.  Due to some essential tasks we needed to complete, we spent three days up the Whangarei river. But now we're out! Days of early starts and late evenings muddled our sleep patterns. One more early start is needed for us to get to Mahurangi harbour to clean our boat bottoms.  A haul out is scheduled next week, but the last time we hauled out, a high pressure wash damaged our copper coat. So we didn't want a repeat of this, and decided to forgo the pressure wash this time. As we didn't want to lift out with dirty bottoms, it means we have to clean them, so this why we are heading for Mahurangi. We prefer super settled, almost glassy conditions, and shallow waters for bottom cleaning, and Mahurangi provides this.  So we were up before dawn, the waxing moon giving us just enough light to get ready. We made it back round the gap between the isolated da...
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Floating Rock!

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Just before our departure from Tonga, the talk among cruisers was of the underwater volcano.  The active volcano had been puffing out clouds of floating rock. Floating rock! It sounds so strange, until you realise the rock is pumice. The rock has so much air trapped that it rises to the top of the sea, and spreads out like a giant slick. These brownish floating pumice fields appear on the ocean surface. They dampen the shape of the waves, making the sea look sludgy, they get blown about by the winds, and drift in the currents.  On a boat you do not want to go near any of this stuff. Although they are light, the rocks are still abrasive. They do break up, but this only presents a bigger problem for boats as the pumice fields become more spread out. In dead calm conditions it would be difficult to steer clear of the pumice. Once you enter a field it can be so spread out that and it leaves you unsure how to escape. If you are going too fast you could take damage, but too slow and...
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Americas Cup ‐ 2021 - Race 7 and 8

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What a dramatic Americas Cup race. Yesterday's race was cancelled due to light winds. But light winds actually make for a more interesting race. If you missed it, here's the link. Its worth watching. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2411813889062536/permalink/2851674165076504/ With winds over 12kts,  the race can feel like more of a parade. The boat that selected the best sail, or the boat that wins the start wins the race.  If the winds are light, like they were today, around 8kts, there is a chance the boats fall of their foils. If this happens it dramatically changes the race. We saw this in the Prada Cup, the feeder series of the Americas Cup. Today was the first time we had light patchy winds in the Americas Cup, and it was super exciting. It can be tricky to follow the racing from the water with a poor angle. With a lag in the broadcast coverage you are constantly trying to piece together a strange view and a delayed commentary. We managed to get a good spot overlooking t...
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Americas Cup - 2021 - Race 9

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Yesterday I said, light winds in the Americas Cup were more exciting as they add the possibility of the boats falling off their foils. Today I have to eat my words. Stronger winds are just as exciting, especially in boats so evenly matched. Watch race 9 here.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2411813889062536/permalink/2852516351658952/ By now the sailing characteristic of both boats are known by all. Luna Rossa can point higher, but Emirates can sail faster, and make better VMG on downwind legs. Considering the size and speed of these boats the sailing is close! Race 7 and 8 saw passes, lead changes, close starts, and boats coming off their foils.  Skipper of American Magic Dean Barker stated in the TVNZ coverage  "It was the most bizzare race." Today, the wind strrength was up, we saw 12 - 18kts, averaging around 15kts, the teams were practicing on the course, and different jibs were going up and down. There was a sense that the days racing would be even more exciting th...
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Tuning the Autopilot response

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The autopilot is made up of an electronic compass, a controller, and an arm -  a kind of piston that attaches to the steering quadrant. The response is how quickly the system moves the rudder back and forward to keep the boat on track. I'm writing about this as we went through a set of setting cables, this can be unnerving when you are out sailing on the ocean and suddenly have no steering, but that's another story. Anyway, we are not the only ones to see broken steering cables. So what's the issue? It could be wear and tear, but we have now done more than double the miles on the new cables than we had on the old ones, and they are still in good shape, so we must be doing something else right. We are careful to keep the right amount of tension on the cables. Too tight and the steering will feel stiff, too loose and the cables could slip out their tracks. We keep them greased where they run through pulleys and the quadrant, but the main thing we do is balance the boat, and t...
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