Wilderness Cruising | Nautitech Open 40 blog

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...

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...