Arriba’s fallen mast had come to rest on the port side and, although a few windows had broken during its fall, the hull appeared undamaged. My relief was short-lived though, when I realized that half of the mast was dragging through the water. Cathie was soon joined in the saloon by Merri and Vela. There was shattered glass everywhere—the saloon floor, the saloon sofa, and the bathroom floor. I cautioned everyone to wear shoes, except I ignored my own advice and promptly cut my feet. One glass shard went so far into my heel that, despite repeated attempts by Cathie and Merri to f ..read more

Today is International Women’s Day, so I’m dedicating this post to four intrepid women who circumnavigated the world. Jeanne Baret (1740~1807) Mode: sail Duration: 2 years 3 months Disguised as a man, Baret became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in the 1760s as a member of the French expedition of Louis Antoine de Bougainville. She was an expert botanist and served in that role on the expedition although her contributions went largely unrecognized for centuries. In 2012, Solanum baretiae, which is a wild relative of the potato, was named in her honor. Nellie Bly (1864~1922 ..read more

It was midnight and my watch had just ended. I’d barely climbed into bed when Cathie starting bellowing from the helm, “Alan, the boom doesn’t look right!” What now? I’d already had enough excitement for one night. Barely two hours earlier, the gennaker had come tumbling down when its halyard gave way. It had been hard work carefully retrieving the sail in darkness, which had dragged through the water between Arriba’s hulls. Miraculously, the sail appeared to be undamaged. Disconnecting the sail completely would have required clambering out onto the end of the prodder pole while underway ..read more

Three months had passed since we’d sailed from Nouméa to Sydney.  We’d enjoyed Sydney for a few days then sailed 52 nautical miles south to Shellharbour, where we’d berthed Arriba. Now, it was late November and with summer-like conditions and a fresh crew, it was time to resume our homeward voyage. Our first stop was the delightful town of Kiama, a mere eight nautical miles down the coast. The public jetty there made shore access easy and we treated ourselves to dinner ashore. Kiama The next day we pushed on to Eden, covering the 163 nautical miles in 22 hours, arriving at ..read more

Wow, how time flies! Nine years ago, I posted 10 tips for sailing catamarans. Since then, I’ve learned a few more tips I’d like to share. On technique: 11. Tack fast, tack tightTacking a cat can be challenging, especially in light winds. Due to their lightness, cats lose speed very quickly when tacking, so you need as much speed as possible going into the tack. Further, a tight, centered main helps with steering and prevents the mainsail from backwinding. Ease the main only when past the head-to-wind position. 12. Traveler first, mainsheet secondWhen you get overpowered, before rushing to ..read more

Have you ever wondered how longitude was calculated before the era of GPS navigation? The concept, known as the timekeeper method, is simple. The Earth, which revolves around the Sun once every 24 hours, is divided into 360° of longitude. Longitude can therefore be calculated by comparing the local time, as defined by the Sun's position at local noon, with the time at a known place, such as Greenwich, UK. Every hour of time difference corresponds to 15° of longitude, so a time difference of 6 hours corresponds to 90° of longitude and 12 hours corresponds to 180°. John Harrison first propos ..read more

  Our last day in New Caledonia had arrived, which meant one last chance for breakfast at our favorite boulangerie. After that, Merri and I went to Johnston’s Supermarket for essentials, such as wine, cheese and souvenirs, while the rest of our party went food shopping at the Port Moselle market. By 11:33, we were refueled and on our way. The excitement of our bluewater passage was tempered by sadness at leaving New Caledonia. Departing Nouméa. To take advantage of the 15-knot south-southwest wind, we decided to exit via the Passe de Dumbéa. We were under sail as soon as we cl ..read more

The Loyalty Islands (Iles Loyauté) – the name alone is practically an invitation to visit. The islands were named by the British in recognition of the friendliness and charm of the indigenous Melanesian and Polynesian peoples, who had preceded them by thousands of years. Idyllic scenes of beautiful islands and pristine coral waters offered additional allure. From the moment we started planning our New Caledonia sailing trip, we knew that the Loyalties would be part of the itinerary. Our passage to the Loyalties started from Baie Ouie on Grande Terre, where we awoke to calm winds and ligh ..read more

For five nights, we had grown accustomed to a frenetic lullaby of fast-flowing water sloshing against hulls. Now, with Nouméa's Bastille Day fireworks finale over, we bobbed gently at anchor and the boat and its inhabitants descended into blissful silence. Occasional noises emanating from ashore were exotic reminders that we were in a new land, but not exciting enough to disturb our slumber. The following morning, we motored the one mile from Baie de L'Orphelinat to Port Moselle Marina, arriving just before 10:00. We were unable to raise the marina over VHF, so we borrowed one o ..read more

New Caledonia. How can a place so close to Australia be so unfamiliar? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that its inhabitants speak a language that few Australians master. I was vaguely aware of the country as a place where francophiles went to hone their language skills. But until I started researching South Pacific sailing destinations four years ago, I knew very little. Geographically, New Caledonia is one of four land masses that once comprised Australasia. It separated from Australia, along with Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, about one hundred million years a ..read more