Wilderness Cruising | Nautitech Open 40 blog

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...

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...

I'm so thankful for our davits. On the Open 40 it means that raising and lowering the dingy with the 3:1 pulley setup is simple and can be done with minimal effort.  We are in our fourth year as liveaboards over 20,000 nm sailed. We have left our Highfield CL130 with Suzuki 9.9 outboard on the davits throughout. That's pretty good going, to think that we can prepare the dingy to cross an ocean in under three minutes.  Often overlooked when securing the dingy are the cleats placed specifically to stop sideways movement. It's horrible to see someone sailing along with the dingy crashing from side to side, when it is so simple to tie up.  To secure it from sideways movement:  Lift up the dingy, aim to get the dingy side tucked in right up to the bottom of the davits.  Take the painter to the cleat just behind the main sheet winch, and tighten the so that the side of the dingy presses firmly up against the back of the boat.  Take a line from the stern of the di...

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...

What chain hook do you use? This is one of those eternal boating questions among cruisers. It's almost like asking for an anchor recommendation, except that more sailors can agree on anchors. Chain hooks are a problem because there isn't a bullet proof, simple, and generally recognised answer.   People want three things out of their chain hook. 1.       Simple to operate, easy to put on and take off 2.       Reliable, it must be secure, and do its job when conditions worsen 3.       Marinized equipment, it must be robust, and stand up to a harsh environment   In a old poll on Cruisers Forum 13 chain hooks are compared.  https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f118/anchor-chain-hook-poll-95248.html   Eye Grab Hook 37 Rolling hitch knot 20 Other 15 Mantus Chain Hook 12 ABI Chain Grabb...

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...

So our water maker finally broke down beyond repair. We made several mistakes in selecting and installing this particular watermaker. Having one of these units malfunction is not a nice experience. In fact it could be pretty serious depending on where you are. The reason is you need water is to drink. Having one of these units means you can spend pretty much an near unlimited amount of time out in remote areas. Boats do need consumables of course, but with a good watermaker onboard, all you need is food, and fuel. So to setup for 2 months it can be pretty easy, 3 months possible, but you have to work harder and plan better.  Our fuel tanks hold 215 litres each, this lasts us around 1-2 months before they are below half. We could use less diesel, but we like hot showers. When it comes right down to it, we don't actually need the diesel to live, just live more comfortably. Coming through the Pacific we toped up 80 litres in Marquesas, our next top up was Fiji over 4 months later. Our...