06.24.08
S/V Kaiwo Maru.
I paid a quick visit to Kobe last week. From my hotel room overlooking the harbour, I could see the ‘Kaiwo Maru’. She is a fully rigged four masted sailing vessel. Together with her sister ship the ‘Nippon Maru’, they serve as training vessels for the Japanese Merchant Marine. Always impressive to see these beautiful tall ships.
05.25.08
Animated Knots.
On one of the forums about cruising I frequent, I found the site Animated Knots. It’s the coolest site about knots I have ever seen. The contents of the site also can be purchased as a program, to run independent from the internet.
05.17.08
Storm survival.
Much has been written about storm survival tactics, and much of it is about the different systems of sea anchors. Sea anchors have the function to enable the boat to hold position in a storm, and keep the hull in a direction towards the waves to minimize the chance of serious damage due to breaking waves.
There are basically two main schools of thought, each with their own supporters. One camp favours deploying a parachute type sea anchor from the bow, the other system consists of a series of small cones deployed from the stern. I will not go into all the pro’s and cons of either system, but refer to the website of Melbourne based Bryan Glover, where this series drogue system has been documented in detail.
I will buy a series drogue system for ‘Waratah’ from Bryan, once I am ready to sail. The system for my boat will consist of 139 nylon cones, spread out over almost 100 meters.
I asked Bryan to send me something for my blog, and he was kind enough to write this article about his own boat ‘Asgard’.
I bought Asgard in May 2000, she is a sloop rigged 28ft Swanson, 10 ft
beam with a 20Hp Bukh diesel, built in Sydney in 1982, 18mm fiber glass,
built like a tank. Asgard was in Sydney and I planned on sailing her
home to Melbourne, the route was much the same as the 1998 Syd - Hobart
disaster except I would turn right into Bass Strait and follow the 40deg
south line. I had some dingy sailing experience but no blue water, and
since I intended going solo I needed something to stop my eye from
twitching.
Voss, and David Lewis “Ice Bird” relied on drogues as do retired old
salts you find mumbling obscenities in boat yards, problem fixed, heavy
warps, or large cone or Delta drogue or drogue chute or para drogue or
Galerider or tires or drogue stones, they all have vocal supporters
which is perplexing because like all single unit devices logic dictates
the tow line will go slack when the vessel is in a tough, or pull out of
the face of a wave and kill you (RNLI life boat team) or tumble forward
in a breaking wave causing slack in the line and possible broach.
Trucking from Sydney was even money, until I read the US Coast guard
report CG-D-20-87 all about the series drogue and its ability to save a
vessel in a once in a life time wave strike, this put a spring in my
step, my eye began to perform as designed and I started eating again.
The Jordan U.S. coast guard report told me for Asgard’s 4500
Displacement I needed a 100 cone series drogue, with a 10 to 15 kg
weight on the end that would sink when the vessel was in the trough of a
wave preventing slack developing in the line. I would travel through the
storm at 0.5 to 6 knots averaging 1.5 knots. The drag produced by the
drogue would be:- Volume (0.27) x no of cones x speed in knots Squared =
drag in lbs@ 1 knot drag = 12 kgs
@ 2 Knots drag = 48 kgs
@ 3 Knots drag = 108 kgs
@ 5 Knots grag = 300 kgs
@ 6 Knots drag = 432 kgs
@ 10 Knots drag = 1200 kgs
@ 15 Knots drag = 2700 kgsDonald Jordans research and development of the drogue giving specific
data which allows us to construct drag to a given displacement, not
relying on a single unit, but spreading the stress loads over 100 or
more units was survival poetry.
I had a wonderful sail home, nearly hit by a ship off Port Kembla, blown
semi out of control into Jervis Bay, ran aground in mud at Eden, spent 3
nights at Refuge cove Wilsons Prom, managed to pump all 200 liters of
fresh water into the bilge, ran out of gas, spent 5 blissful nights
sheltered behind Erith Island in Kent group, fishing, reading, cooking
on the beach and exploring this uninhabited Bass Strait island group.
When I glided into my berth in Melbourne and tied up I felt blissful, I
had completed a journey, overcome a fear. I didn’t have to use the
drogue on that trip but I had in my own way.
Last but not least I want to share this picture about Bryan’s special ‘dry-testing’ method for series drogues.
05.07.08
OceansWatch
Today I want to give a heads-up for OceansWatch, an organisation I recently joined, and which deserves to be promoted. I will provide below, unedited, some information on their organisation and goals.
OceansWatch is a not-for-profit Trust with a rapidly growing membership of individuals. Although we are based in New Zealand our membership is worldwide and is made up of - medical doctors, dentists, engineers, dive instructors, underwater photographers, international development specialists, nurses, midwives, researchers, academics, tourism operators, outdoor educators, radio operators, scientists .. the list goes on!.. and many others interested in making a difference to coastal communities and their associated marine environments. By linking these island communities to those who are actively involved in marine research, education, humanitarian work and conservation we are able to offer practical solutions to their problems.
As we are a very young organisation, in this first year of operation projects are being focused in the Western Pacific on Vanuatu, Tonga and PNG where OceansWatch team members are already familiar with the local conditions.
OceansWatch offers its members a variety of opportunities to participate in marine conservation and humanitarian assistance programmes. As there are thousands of issues concerning the marine environment and thousands of solutions, OceansWatch has chosen to start with something that the Marine Biologists on our team www.oceanswatch.org/team are certain will be of benefit.
Having looked carefully at Reef Check www.reefcheck.org they are happy that the science is good and the results meaningful and of value. Reef Check is a system of monitoring reef health with particular reference to the effects of pollution, over-fishing, and the aquarium and curio trade. The Reef Check scientists have chosen their indicator species carefully to measure these pressures on the reef. The results go into an international database accessible by anyone and Reef Check regularly report on the state of the world’s reefs.
It was important for us that it was relatively simple for members to be able to help in a meaningful way and we feel that Reef Check fulfills our criteria. This year we are running a training programme in Tonga, but we ultimately aim to have bases worldwide where members can receive training. Once trained, members will be able to help out on the 2008 projects in Tonga, Vanuatu and PNG, with the possibility of more in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. We can only work in countries defined as “developing” by the UN.
In addition to this in Vanuatu, OceansWatch will be working alongside Project MARC (Medical Assistance to Remote Communities) who welcomes our assistance on education and marine conservation projects. We will set up new Reef Check transects in an MPA (marine protected area) established by the local Chief; help the Fisheries Department mark established MPAs, as well as supporting current Reef Check programmes. In addition OceansWatch members yachts will distribute resources to local schools and items such as reading glasses under guidance of the local Red Cross. More details will come out shortly.
As well as practical projects, OceansWatch is also a forum for discussion and networking amongst like-minded people and as a member we encourage you to actively use our forums via the website. www.oceanswatch.org/forum .
I am adding a few links to related articles and information for further reading.
oceanswatch-general-introduction
04.29.08
Windfinder
A heads-up for a nice website with wind and weather information. It’s called Windfinder. Apart from up to date information about wind speed and direction, it also provides wave heights and periods, temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and barometric pressure. Forecast data for a week are available, in 3 hour increments.
Another nice feature is the availability of wind statistics for most locations. The distribution of wind speed and direction can be seen for every month of the year.
For selected locations, mainly USA and NW Europe, also information on tides is provided.
11.28.07
The child acts up again
It is childish behaviour like his that gives the civilized world the shits about the ‘Peoples Republic of Cunts’ a.k.a. China.
Pissing off the US by not letting their fleet into Hong Kong for a scheduled visit on Thanksgiving is one thing, and just shows how childish these ‘people’ are. Denying ships in distress access for shelter is something that would outrage any mariner, not just me. And this is the ‘country’ we gave the Olympics to! When will we come to senses, and stop these criminals? If there was ever need for a ‘regime change’, then it would be here.
US Pacific Commander Criticizes China on Naval Issue
Pentagon
27 November 2007The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific has criticized China for denying three U.S. Navy ships access to Hong Kong Harbor in recent weeks, saying the decisions were not responsible. The commander spoke with reporters at the Pentagon via satellite from his headquarters in Hawaii. VOA’s Al Pessin reports.
Admiral Timothy Keating said the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and its support ships were scheduled to visit Hong Kong over the American Thanksgiving holiday last week, but Chinese authorities denied permission to enter the city’s harbor at the last minute.
“This is perplexing. It’s not helpful,” he said. “It is not, in our view, conduct that is indicative of a country that understands its obligations as a responsible nation.”
The admiral says hundreds of family members of the task force’s crew had flown to Hong Kong at their own expense to meet the ship and spend the holiday with their loved ones. He says China later granted permission for the Kitty Hawk to visit, but by then the ship had changed course and it was too late to return.
Admiral Keating says another incident a few days earlier was even more disturbing. He says two small Navy ships that hunt for mines at sea were caught in an unexpected storm and asked for permission to enter Hong Kong Harbor for safety. China denied the request and the ships rode out the storm at sea.
“This is a kind of an unwritten law among seamen that if someone is in need, regardless of genus, phylum or species, you let them come in,” he said. “You give them safe harbor. So this is an area that causes us a little more concern. And that is behavior that we do not consider consonant with a nation who advocates a ‘peaceful rise’ and harmonious relations.”
Admiral Keating said he hopes the difficulty with access to Hong Kong Harbor does not continue, and he says U.S. officials will address the issue with their Chinese counterparts. He says he does not want to reduce military cooperation with China, but rather to increase dialogue and joint training in order to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to work our way around some of these aggravations, if you will,” he said. “We hope none of the aggravations are from us. We think they’re all from them. As the Olympics loom larger and the summer of 2008 comes upon us, we are hopeful that the behavior of the Chinese will be more like that of other responsible countries.”
The admiral reported he hopes to make his second official visit to China in January, during which he said he will discuss the access issue, as well as concerns he has about the expansion of Chinese military capabilities, some of which he says indicate “a little more aggressive strategic goal” than China has publicly stated.
He referred specifically to new weapons, training programs, a naval expansion and improvements in Chinese air-to-air combat skills. The admiral also repeated concerns about potential military applications of China’s space program, including its anti-satellite weapon and apparent lack of concern about the space debris the weapon’s test caused in January.
11.05.07
Don’t try this with plastic…
It could have been an advertisement for steel hull boats. This steel hull yacht was rammed by a freighter off the Canary Islands. The French crew of three were unharmed, and were able to jury-rig a mast and make it to the port of Las Palmas. Had they been sailing in Tupperware, I doubt they would have lived to tell. Needless to say, my boat is going to have a steel hull.
11.03.07
Marintec 2007, Shanghai.
From November 27 - 30 Shanghai will host the bi-annual Marintec exhibition again. The Marintec 2007 will be held in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Pudong.
Since the first exhibition in 1981, the Marintec has been steadily growing. My first time at the Marintec was in 1999, as an exhibitor. Then it was still held in the old exhibition centre on Nanjing Road, opposite Shanghai Centre (Portman Hotel).
The previous exhibition in 2005 showed more than 1000 exhibiting companies from 28 countries on an area of 27,000 sqm, and attracted more than 30,000 visitors.
