October 31, 2003
Basic Sail Repair Kit
We all know that it is important to be prepared for emergencies. In your car you have a set of jumper cables, a flashlight, a spare tire, even a snow shovel, just in case. It is possible to have the same peace of mind out on the water. You never know when you are going to find yourself in the middle of a port to port with a tear in the spinnaker or a blown out batten pocket, and it is good to be ready.
It is possible to perform minor sail repairs while on the water, all you need to have are a few basic items on board. Your sail repair kit should include the following: two hand sewing needles, a hand palm, waxed thread, zip ties, a sharp knife or scissors, slides in appropriate sizes, sail repair tape (dacron), and a short piece of high modulus line. Small tears can simply be taped, while larger tears can be hand sewn for temporary use. A simple baseball stitch should be enough to get you to your next port.
If you are planning an extended trip away from civilization, you may also want to consider keeping the following tools on board: a long batten, a hack saw, webbing, a scrap of heavy sail material, shackles in various sizes and a drill.
While it is best to trust a professional sailmaker for all repairs, it is possible to make minor repairs while on board, in order to get safely to the next port.
Jim Frisinger
Bluffton Bay Sails
231/ 759 – 2532
Linky Sailing News
Racing Middle Sea Results, Nokia wins. US Offshore Champs.
News Hanson medal awarded. Soldini's concerns. Jacques Vabre WX. Wild Thing . Cup Venue. Brits. Ellen is ready
Great Lakes Ballast Water meeting.
College Sailing Hobart hosts St. Marys defends War Memorial .
October 30, 2003
Water Level Update
Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.
Reference Point- Measurements in Inches
Difference from Chart Datum -7
Difference from last month -4
Difference from last year -10
Difference from long term average for October -25
Difference from Record High -65
Difference from Record Low +6
Forecast for 24 November 2003 -2
Click for information on other lakes.
Note: A recent peak into a book showed the following description of low water in the summer of 1886, on the Menominee River "The low water level in the River severely affected work in the paper mills, and it was anticipated that the mills would have to close down if it did not rain soon. In addition, Marinette was without electric lights, since water was needed to generate electricity. Residents were, as a result, relying on the light from kerosene lamps."
Linky Sailing News
Racing Middle Sea podium fills. Gold Cup
News New J's. Sail Newport. Etchells rankings. USCG Auxilliary . Attention must be paid. AC Site News. War Baby winsGreat Lakes Indiana plans. Erie dead zones to be studied.
College Sailing Harvard regains # 1 ranking.. Harvard also hosts/defends women's regatta title.
Weather visual above in text via link
Jacques Vabre: Monohulls
Open 60 Class
With a total of 17 boats on the start, 5 more than the last race in 2001, the IMOCA Class represents the biggest fleet out of the four in the TJV and boasts the most international field of skippers from 8 different countries. It is impossible to predict the strongest teams as the talent is so strong across the board and the proven class designs will be pitted against some new generation Open 60’s.
The 2001 winner, World Champion French skipper Roland Jourdain is defending his title on board the proven Lombard design Sill, which is now owned by his co-skipper, 29 yr old Alex Thomson, kicking off his 2004 Vendée Globe campaign in a strong position.
In this class, much attention is also being paid to the two brand new monohulls on their first offshore race. Virbac, the first Farr-designed Open 60, is in the hands of Jean-Pierre Dick. Next to her in the basin is the new Ecover, the third Owen-Clarke design after ‘Pindar’ and ‘Team Cowes’. For British skippers Mike Golding and Brian Thompson, theirs will be a rude baptism when they hit 40 knot winds on the nose on the first night sailing down the English Channel but if anyone is up for the job, these two heavily experienced skippers are more than capable of winning through. Golding has occupied the other two podium positions in previous races and so the only one left for him to fill is the top spot. Another skipper on for raising the bar on his 3rd place performance from 2001 is Aussie Nick Moloney, racing with Figaro skipper Sam Davies on Team Cowes. A boat which is likely to threaten these skippers is Pindar, which is a highly competitive boat in terms of pure speed, and with past TJV winner Emma Richards and the transatlantic record breaking Kiwi co-skipper Mike Sanderson on board, this will be a team to watch out for.
Around Alone winner, Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm, with co-skipper Christophe Lebas (Cheminées Poujoulat/Armor Lux) is renowned for his ‘heavy foot’, there are no brakes on this boat. Three ex-Vendée Globe skippers appear in the line-up: Joé Seeten & Eric Dumont (Arcelor-Dunkerque) as well as Dominique Wavre, who has announced his new sponsor and boat name as Carrefour Prévention. The Vendée’s winning boat, PRB, is now in the hands of skippers Vincent Riou and Jeremie Beyou, new to Open 60’s but well grounded in other disciplines of offshore racing. After a significant weight loss program over the winter, VMI, the Open 60 in the hands of Sébastien Josse & Isabelle Autissier, will be for one a hard act to follow in any reaching conditions like the Trade winds. Another light and quick boat is Garnier, ex-Aquitaine Innovations, skippered by Belgian Patrick de Radigues with Elie Canivenc. One dangerous skipper to watch is Spaniard Javier Sanso, who played cat and mouse with the top three 60’s in 2001, and he is back on Objectif 3 (ex-Gartmore), this time with adventurer Charles Hedrich.
With 7 boats represented in this fleet, Group Finot is still the dominant design: VMI, PRB, Arcelor-Dunkerque, Garnier, Carrefour Prévention, Objectif 3 and Loire-Atlantique (Antoine Koch & François Robert) – all these boats were constructed between 1997 and 2000 with proven downwind performance and speed.
The race will be more of a challenge for the older boats in the fleet which came out between ’89 and ’92. However these four boats will have their own fierce competition: Gonnagitcha is being helmed by legendary skipper Mike Birch and his son Robert; Adecco is in the hands of another family team, Bob Escoffier and his daughter Servane, 60e Sud is skippered by Vendée veteran Didier Munduteguy and there is a Canadian pairing on board Ciment St Laurent Océan of Georges Leblanc and Marc Nadeau.
Open 50 class
Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2001 in the Open 50 monohull class, Aussie Paul Larsen could well put in a repeat performance. With British skipper Conrad Humphreys, they are racing on board a winning boat. Designed in 1996 by Group Finot, Hellomoto (ex-Ashfield Healthcare/Cray Valley) won the Route du Rhum 2002 with Nick Moloney at the helm, and Around Alone 98-99 with Jean-Pierre Mouligné. Their main competition comes from ‘le Défi Vendéen’ skippered by Jean-François Durand & Stéphane Chemin. This boat won the Saguenay/Saint-Pierre/Vendée transatlantic race this summer, and the Berret/Racoupeau 2002 design is a good all-round performer. Heavier and older yachts, Branec III (Langevin/Lemay) & Labesfal (Diniz (POR)/Taylor (ENG) are pinning their hopes on a long upwind slog in heavy conditions for the first few days of the race in order to play their advantage. Labesfal weighs 13.4 tons, Branec III weighs 8 tons – a real drag compared to Hellomoto’s 5.5 tons! The wild card is Storagetek, the smallest boat in the fleet. Winner of the 2000 Europe1NewMan Star with Jean-Marie Arthaud (Biotonic), Storagetek won Class III of the Route Rhum 2002 with helmsman Régis Guillemot, who then elongated the hull by 5 foot in order to comply with the Class II monohull category for this event.
Weather :
The Race Director will take a decision on the multihull start this Friday morning as the forecast is still for a strong low pressure system to arrive on Sunday morning. The monohull start is not affected as there will be a small anticyclone to calm the conditions enough for their Saturday afternoon start.
October 29, 2003
College Sailing Report
Weekend Winners: Mass Maritime/Macmillan, Hobart William Smith Hoyt and MAISA Sloops, ODU Nelson Women's, Harvard NEISA singles,
Team of the Week: Hobart William Smith for winning their district sloops and then winning the Hoyt Intersectional
Sailor of the Week Clay Johnson Harvard '07 won the NEISA single handeds with only 47 points in 18 races, winning 7 races including the final 3.
Linky Sailing News
Races Middle sea race.
News Bermuda news. Sailor trophies. Land speed competition
Great Lakes Mariners Memorial . Truck ferry
College Sailing Tufts qualifies. Weekend report. PCIYRA women's 1 ups.
Ogelbay Norton's Fred R. White Inbound Muskegon Channel over the Weekend
October 28, 2003
1st Aid Learn and Help Learn
This is the third of a series of articles on the subject of sailing safety. The articles will attempt to combine different ideas on safety from sources such as the Red Cross, personal experience, computer programming and other outdoor pursuits.
The goal is to link these ideas from diverse sources and see what kinds of safety routines and knowledge can be developed.
Possessing 1st aid skills comes from the 10 essentials. It means you know how to treat medical emergencies when more formalized help is not available, which is almost 100% of the time when sailing. Volunteering is one of the Red Cross 5 preparation steps.
Incentive to learn 1st aid can be personal in satisfying a desire to be better able to care for yourself. Incentive to become a 1st aid trainer goes beyond self. The more trained people, the better the chances there will be a qualified person to care for you if you are unable.
If you both know 1st aid and train others you increase everybody's chance of health, safety and survival.
King Edward Gold Cup Analysis
Bermuda and it's International One Desig Fleet played host to the annual King Edward Gold Cup. The regatta is part of the Swedish Match Tour.
The eventual winner was Peter Gilmour defeating another match race veteran Chris Dickson. That pairing along with some events that occured along the way are the take away from this event.
Along the way Dennis Conner was defeated by Paula Lewin, while Gilmour beat Russell Coutts. Conner is an infrequent match racer, but the Coutts defeat is more suprising as he won the event as recently as 2000 and had his veteran crew with him. Also eliminated early was Peter Holmberg the 2001-2002 tour winner.
Of more interest is the final four of Dean Barker, Jesper Radich + Gilmour and Dickson. The old guard- both Dickson and Gilmour debuted in the 1987 America's Cup v. the new guard as Barker is 29 and 2003/03 Tour Champion Radich is only 27.
Gilmour took out Radich 3-0 in the semis while Dickson beat Barker 3-1.
Then the old dogs put on a full 5 race final. They traded over early's and ended the first 2 races tied at 1. Gilmour then took race 3 and lost race 4 via penalty. Race 5 was a multiple penalty job with Dickson's team ulimately sufering a crew work error that gave Gilmour the Gold Cup 3-2.
Some of the same stars that topped sailing in 1987, still do in 2003. That's one of sailing's selling points- competiive longevity. Compare sailing to football- 1987 MVP John Elway is retired. You have to go to 1995 and Brett Favre to find a football MVP who is still playing. Not so for sailors.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Middle Sea . Race Gold Cup.
News 2004 Transat. Tall Ship match race. Land speed record attempt . Solar storm
Great Lakes Muskegon ferry dock
College Sailing Mass. Maritime wins Macmillan. Hobart tops at MAISA sloops .
October 27, 2003
Jacques Vabre Predictions
On November 1st, the bi-annual Jacques Vabre trans atlantic race will start from Le Harve France. The course will take the fleet below the equator to a finish in Salvador Brazil.
There are 50 and 60 foot classes for both multihull and monohull yachts. The boats are sailed doublehanded. This article concludes our preview of the race, with predictions of the top 3 finishers in each division.
Enter your predictions in the comment areas below.
Open 60 Trimarans
1. Groupama
2. Foncia
3. Sobedo
Open 60 Monohulls
1. Team Cowes
2. Sill
3. Ecover
Links for this article provided by Intersail
Jacques Vabre News
On Saturday morning at 10.00am French time under the winter sunshine the Transat Jacques Vabre Race Village was opened officially by Le Havre’s Mayor Antoine Rufenacht to the rhythm of a Brazilian samba band in the impressive new race sponsors’ tent and in the presence of hundreds of local French people as well as many visitors from Brazil.
Catherine Roux, the Director of Marketing for Kraft Foods France gave her impressions on the event side of the race, which has attracted their sponsorship since the very beginning: “It is the human facet that gives the event a unique spirit – all these men and women are here working for your pleasure. Amongst them is Gérard Petipas, President of the race organsiation Pen Duick, whose passion for sailing and the people in this sport gave him the inspiration. “The skippers participating in this 10th anniversary edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre are the best in offshore racing,” he declared, before sending out the general invitation to all to watch the start and enjoy the festivities this week. Nothing becomes official in a race which ends up in Salvador without the presentation of the race’s ‘mascot’, Brazilian Dayse Vieira, who was adorned in her full Bahian dress. She introduced the President of the Centro Nautico Da Bahia (CENAB), José Raimondo Zacarias, who announced: “Everything is ready to welcome you all to Brazil, with music, dancing, happiness and caipirinhas!”
All the boats entered in the 4,340m double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race from outside France made it to the Paul Vatine basin before Friday midday deadline. There are now confirmed a record 39 boats taking the start line: 17 multihulls and 22 monohulls. A total of 38 skippers are competing in this race for the first time, including British skippers Sam Davies on ‘Team Cowes’ and Conrad Humphries on ‘Hellomoto’, Portugese skipper Ricardo Diniz on Open 50 ‘Labesfal’. There are British entries fielded in each class, from Alex Thomson as co-skipper on board 2001 winning Open 60 ‘Sill’ with French World Champion Roland Jourdain, to Mark Taylor on board ‘Labesfal’ in the monohull classes, as well as Ellen MacArthur on Open 60 multihull ‘Foncia’ to British pairing Ross Hobson and Andi Newman on the smaller multihull ‘Mollymawk’. The only other all-British campaign is skippered by Mike Golding with Brian Thompson on the newly launched ‘Ecover’ Open 60.
Out of the 9 women in the race 2 are racing on board Open 60 multihulls, Ellen MacArthur and Karine Fauconnier on ‘Sergio Tacchini’. Britain’s Emma Richards on ‘Pindar’ is the only female skipper in the Open 60 monohull class, however legendary Frenchwoman Isabelle Autissier is co-skipper with Sebastien Josse on ‘VMI’.
There are 10 nationalities represented in this race from Irish to Australian, and in fact three skippers are from the Southern Hemisphere: Aussie Nick Moloney, who won the Route Du Rhum in Class 2, now on board Open 60 ‘Team Cowes’ and fellow countryman Paul Larsen, the defending Class 2 monohull champion, this time round on ‘Hellomoto’, joined by Kiwi Mike Sanderson, record-breaking racing skipper of Mari Cha IV, on ‘Pindar’. The only North American entry comes from Canada, Georges Le Blanc and Marc Nadeau on board Open 60 ‘Ciments St Laurent’.
The Route:
Exiting the English Channel (48 28 N 5 06 W) – Westerly gales blowing up the channel make for upwind tacking battles out of the world’s busiest shipping waters and notorious tidal vaguaries. There could be a North Easterly wind if a high pressure system sits over England, giving the fleet a quicker run out into the Atlantic.
Bay of Biscay – In November, the Bay lives up to its reputation with active low pressure systems whipping up strong westerlies and a rough sea – probably the harshest part of the race.
Cape Finisterre at 42 54 N 9 16 W – The course rhumb line passes off this notorious headland, which can trap any boat that comes too close and has not calculated his route properly. Only a losing tack to the Northwest will get you out and round this promontory. The sailors call the seas in this area ‘boat-breaking’ as the distance between waves shortens nearer the coastline.
The N Hemisphere Trades – Racing down the coast of Portugal is the fun part, with high speeds maintained by the steady following winds.
The Islands – The rhumb line takes the fleet past the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands, which can either create wind funnels to accelerate the boats or indeed great parking lots to halt their progress too. The tactics come in to play here in order to choose the right route through these obstacles.
The Doldrums & Equator – The toughest part of the race tactically and mentally, weaving through the unpredictable light and squally conditions in the transition zone before the Equator. The sailors attest to the fact that each time is never the same! These days, the high tech and ultra lightweight carbon racing machines never completely come to a stop here, even the lightest breeze can be exploited.
The S Hemisphere Trades – The fleet change hemispheres and season, as they enter spring time and benefit from South Easterly winds to propel them to their destination.
The Ascension Island waypoint (multihulls) – After the Equator the fleet splits in two, and the multihulls must head towards the Ascension Islands directly into the SE Trades, so another tacking battle ensues. However, once round, the multis fly directly into Salvador, skirting above the S Atlantic anticyclonic system called the Saint Helena High.
Arrival into Salvador da Bahia – the fleet have to decide whether to play the local winds off the Brazilian coastline or stay offshore for a more regular flux, but the conditions are favourable for the last run into the finish line.
The Course mileages:
Multihull Open 60 – 5,190m course: 2001 winner was Groupama, at an average boat speed of 15.04 knots
Multihull Open 50 – 4,400m course
Monohull Open 60 & 50 – 4,340m course: 2001 winners were Open 60 Sill (av. Boatspeed 10.92 knots) and Open 50 One Dream, One Mission.
Linky Sailing News
Races Alfa Romeo leads light air Middle Searace. Gilmour beats Dickson for Gold Cup. Adams/Mallory results
News Vabre Village Opens. Liverpool to host Clipper
Great Lakes Photog dies
College Sailing 4 qualify at NE singlehandeds. ODU wins Nelson Trophy
Hobart takes Hoyt Trophy
Visibility was slight near the Muskegon Pierheads on Saturday.
October 24, 2003
Jacques Vabre Preview # 3
On November 1st, the bi-annual Jacques Vabre trans atlantic race will start from Le Harve France. The course will take the fleet below the equator to a finish in Salvador Brazil.
There are 50 and 60 foot classes for both multihull and monohull yachts. The boats are sailed doublehanded. This article is the 3rd installment of a preview that will look at some of the entered sailors and boats.
Since 1999 a growing number of the teams have been co-ed. For instance Ellen Macarthur sailed with Yves Parlier that year and will team for the 2nd time with Alain Gautier. Unlike the Volvo Ocean race where all women's teams have competed and not done well, short handed ocean racing is an arena where women are absolutely equal with men's teams.
Ellen Macarthur and Emma Richards
There are 10 co-ed teams of which we will look at 5. In the Open 60 trimaran a pair of French skippers have co-skippers from the UK. Alain Gautier and Ellen Macarthur will sail Foncia, while Karen Fauconnier and Damian Foxall will sail Sergio Tachini.
Gautier is a Vendee Globe winner and finished 2nd in the 2001 Jacques Vabre with Macarthir as co-skipper.
Fauconnier is a 2003 Sailor of the Year candidate, while co-skipper Damian Foxall has background from Figaro's to Race Class cats.
Past performance makes Foncia the favorite over Sergio Tachini.
The Open 60 monohull's have three prominent co-ed teams. Emma Ricahrds will skipper her new Pindar with Kiwi Mike Sanderson on board. Sanderson is skipper of Mari Cha IV but short on Open class time.
Aussie Nick Moloney and Brit Sam Davies will sail Team Cowes best known as Ellen Macarthur's Kingfisher.
Sam Davies and Nick Moloney
An all French co-ed team will sail VMI. Skipper will be Sebastain Josse with highly experienced Isabelle Autissier as co-skipper.
Richard's boat is supposedly quite quick, while VMI was the winner of the 1999 Jacques Vabre. However, Team Cowes is an excellent boat, Nick Moloney has a lot of time aboard so of the three mono hulls I'd tip them.
Next week we'll make our podium predictions....if you have thoughts use the comment area below and post them!
Linky Sailing News
Racing Gold Cup. Middle Sea Entries. Chicago Match Race. Adams/Mallory
News Battery basics. Farr signs up. VOR thoughts. SOTY candidate Ainslie in Bermuda . VDH ready. Peyron speaks
Great Lakes New observation system. Mud sampling. Ice Atlas
College Sailing Navy news. SAISA singles
October 23, 2003
Torresen Marine Needs a Rigger
Sailboat Rigger
SAILBOAT RIGGER: Established sailing oriented service yard
looking for full time rigger. Experience required. Salary
commensurate with experience. Duties include stepping and
unstepping masts, splicing, installing and maintaining
roller furling systems. Other positions available:
http://www.torresen.com/employment/
You may send resumes or employment inquiries to:
Kathleen Torresen
Torresen Marine, Inc.
3126 Lake Shore Drive
Muskegon, Michigan 49441
or email to: kathleen @ torresen.com
Torresen Marine New Website Design
This week Torresen Marine debuted a new design for our website. This design change has several goals. One is to make the home page of the site more compact. Another is to give visitors a better idea of the range of services Torresen Marine offers both online and at our facility in Muskegon MI. Visitors can learn about boat storage and service
The new design highlights opportunities for visitors to interact via our Marine Engine Forum and Sailing News areas.
Our online ship's store is also undergoing improvements. Watch for a more extensive product line in the near future. Meanwhile, you can still purchase products such as the popular Ultimate Sailing Calendar.
Torresen Marine plans to continue providing customers all the necessary knowledge and skills to visitors via our online presence and in person in Muskegon MI.
If the scenario above appeals to you should know that Torresen Marine is seeking a sailboat rigger and has other employment opportunities.
Torresen Marine's new homepage. Let us know what you think in the comment area below.
Torresen Marine's New Homepage
Boat Smart: The marine radio a life-saving tool or pain in the stern
The marine radio a life-saving tool or pain in the stern
By Senior Chief Tom Rau, Coast Guard Group Grand Haven
The marine radio, offers an instant connection between those in distress and rescue responders. In the hands of professional sailors it has proved to be an expedient life-saving tool, however, in the hands of many recreational boaters it has proved to be a real pain in the stern for rescue responders. It’s not uncommon for a recreational boater to call the Coast Guard requesting assistance and then provide a sketchy or, worse yet, no position at all which can then lead to a lengthy search.
Lake Michigan is an immense body of water extending over 330 miles with a maximum width of 118 miles and a surface area of 22,300 square miles, which equates to 117 million square feet. The average recreational boat occupies less than 30 square feet of surface area- a speck if that. If I drove around the entire shoreline of Lake Michigan, it would take 800 miles to make the round trip. Lake Michigan including its major bays, harbors, nooks and crannies has carved out over 3,200 miles of coastline.
That’s a lot of area for Lake Michigan’s 19 Coast Guard Stations and Air Station Traverse City to guard. Each station has been assigned areas of responsibility that cover the entire Lake Michigan coast line. Although stations may have several boats, normally only one duty boat crew stands by to run search and rescue- in short, one boat one crew. It doesn’t require a MIT degree to figure out the strain needless searching can place on limited resources. Nor does it take a slide rule jockey to work out a solution. The remedy lies with Joe or Josephine boater and proper use of the marine radio to activate an expedient and possibly life-saving rescue. Here’s how.
Location I once asked a communications radio watchstander at Group Grand Haven’s rescue coordination center how to cut down on needless searching. ‘Require all boaters to carry a GPS unit,” he said. Yet, many boaters labor under the illusion that when they call the Coast Guard, by some magical means they can determine the caller’s position. It’s the same small-boat mentality that calls large commercial vessels in fog and ask them if they can seem them on radar.
The watch officer on the bridge could have a dozen contacts on his radar screen and some recreational boater wants to know if the bridge officer can see him or even better yet identify him amongst a dozen or so radar contacts. Give the watch officer a break, only a boater can effectively mark their location. Unfortunately too often recreational boaters are unable to provide an accurate position, which leads to the Coast Guard and other rescue agencies depleting resources and time conducting needless searches while depleting precious time that could prove fatal to a wayward boater. Location, location, location it is quintessence of search and rescue. It’s entirely the boater’s responsibility.
Don’t procrastinate The old adage, ‘he who hesitates is lost”, couldn’t be more apropos for boaters who procrastinate calling the Coast Guard regarding safety concerns. My dad use to say: “procrastination is the thief of all time.” On Lake Michigan procrastination could steal your life. Boaters would be wise to follow a standing order for Coast Guard ship board conning officers, “if in doubt, that is reason enough to call the captain.” Don’t be timid either. The Coast Guard welcomes calls. You are not inconveniencing the radio operator. It’s a lot easier for them to gather pertinent information in a timely manner rather than at the last moment during an emergency. Should the boater correct the concern, a simple radio call assures a win win situation for all. Better you make that call early than too late- so make the early call.
Lost Communications For whatever reasons, which totally baffles me, many boaters lose radio communications with the Coast Guard. Most boaters contact the Coast Guard over VHF-FM Channel 16, the distress frequency. Once the Coast Guard determines the boater’s location, nature of distress, and number of people aboard, they will request, if it’s a non emergency, that the boater switch to Channel 22, the Coast Guard public working frequency. For whatever reasons, perhaps the boater’s radio isn’t programmed to channel 22, or the boater doesn’t know how to change channels, or the boater has a change of mind, or they corrected the problem, or they received assistance from another boater, or what ever, communications end.
Understand that once the Coast Guard rescue response system has been triggered there is no stopping it until officials can determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the calling party is safe or, God forbid, deceased. Thus the only person that can stop the search and rescue process is the boater one way or the other.
Delayed calls Many boaters after observing a boater in possible distress, depart the scene and later call the Coast Guard, which instantly activates the search and rescue system and requires the Coast Guard to take action. Had the reporting party checked out the situation on scene and then communicated with the Coast Guard, they could spare the rescue system an onerous search.
It’s far better for the rescue response system and for boaters that they maintain effective communications, then for rescue responders to fill in the gaps with resources that might be needed to effect a timely rescue elsewhere. Boat Smart- keep in touch and utmost know your location.
International Numbers
A study by the Maritime Safety Authority of New Zealand provides information on how safe the boaters of varying countries are. Using fatalities per 100,000 vessels Denmark has the highest fatality rate at 24.6 per 100K. Lowest is the UK at 1.5 per 100K. On average the USA shows a rate of 6 per 100K.
Michigan has 1,003,947 registered boats. Using 2000 statistics Michigan had 31 boating deaths. This is a rate of 3.1 per 100K. This is the same rate as Sweden which has 1.3 million boats.
Areas with higher boating death rates include Western Australia (17.2/100K), Tasmania (10.0/100K), and New Zealand (8.7/100K).
These areas have climates that allow boating 12 months per year. They also are in the area of the Southern Ocean considered treacherous even by around the world sailors.
Germany (2.5/100K) and the United Kingdom (1.5/100K) have lower rates. Both of these countries have at least some boating on inland lakes as does Michigan.
This is just another tool/perspective we can use to consider how safe we and our boating peers are.
Safety Notes
Notes from an article in the September 2003 issue of Yachting World. Article written by a survivor of rescue at sea. Boat he was on lost her keel. He and another person surived- 4 others persished.
Can't always depend on a life raft. The situation may not be ideal and you may have to survive without the raft.
Author Cave Diving experience which served as cross training for surviving this situation.
For sudden incidents such as loss of the keel you need all equipment on your person.
On board his vessel the following safety rule was in effect: all crew were required to wear a PFD/ and safety harness and be clipped on.
Certain foul weather jackets have toggles which allow attachement of PFD's. Jacket toggles: Author suggests using wire ties to permanently attach PFD to jacket.
Toggles for PFD Attachment
How to dress? Dress for the worst expected conditions
Aussie Survival course key, highly reccomended
Survivor's personal safety gear included: Personal EPIRB, and hand-held strobe
He stowed his strobe inside his inflatable PFD with velcro, then a landyard to the oral inflator
Recommended Strobe duration: Look for one with 4 AAs or 2 C's, such a unit will last at least 1 nite.
He also velcroed his EPIRB to his PFD.
Your personal knife and all equipment must be immediately accessible. He uses the following set up to keep his knife ready. The Lanyard of knife is kept outside of jacket pocket. It's held in this ready position by velcro sealed pocket
of jacket.
Knife Stowage
Flashlights. He wears one on a lanyard around his neck. He keeps a spare in coat pocket.
Personal Flares: He uses a sleeve pocket to stow these.
Knife: Had to cut away harness tether, couldn't detach harness.
A hood and also a hat are key to staying warm.
During his time in the water the author found that breaking time into segments was beneficial.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Conner eliminated, Coutts advances at Bermuda Gold Cup.
News Hobart defender enters + an Ameircan entry
Great Lakes Conference Report. 6 rescued. Ballast Water Mtngs.. Wreck found. Ferry news
College Sailing Tech IG's. Wisco News. Sloop Champs to be sailed in Flying Scots.
The John J. Boland unloads at West Michigan Mart Dock
October 22, 2003
2003 Sailor of the Year Voting
Torresen Sailing Site visitors will again choose the female and male sailors of the year.
Here are the female candidates:
Corrie Clement Womens College Sailor of the Year
Karen Fauconnier Winner Open 60 Trimaran Grand Prix
Sally Barkow Rolex Winner of the Rolex International Women's Regata
Emma Richards- 4 in Class I Around Alone. She was the 2002 female sailor of the year.
Hannah Swett Yngling World Champion
The Male candidates are as follows:
Ben Ainslie Winner of Finn Worlds and Pre Olympic Regatta
Russell Coutts- Winning America's Cup Skipper for the 3rd time. Coutts was a SOTY nominee in 1999 losing out to Giovanni Soldini.
Armel Le Cleac'h Figaro Solo Winner
Bernard Stamm Winner of Class I of Around Alone
Brad Van Liew- Winner of Class II of Around Alone
Cast your votes and enter a drawing for a 2004 Ultimate Sailing Calendar.
Made In Muskegon Compass
The above image is of a typical marine compass. Typical except for the fact that it's the only one that says made in Muskegon MI.
I believe that the compass was made by the Carpenter Brothers company of Muskegon. The compass is installed on a 1973 boat.
Although none are made in Muskegon, the Torresen Marine Ship's store does have a full selection of top quality compasses.
What is the Proper Size Fuel Filter
A question that comes up during haul out/winterization time is:
What is the proper size fuel filter for my diesel engine?
Answer:
Many sailors add Racor (or Groco etc.) filters to their diesel engine. The purpose of these filters is to provide fuel filtration in addition to the on engine filter.
Let's begin with the stock "on engine" filter. These filters are typically 10 microns or under. In layman's terms 10 microns means they filter out particles 10 microns or larger in the fuel.
You can then add additional inline filters before or after the on engine filter. If you want to add a filter after the on engine filter a 2 micron element would be appropriate. A 2 micron element should only be used as the last filter prior to fuel being ingested by the engine. Put another way a 2 micron filter should not be used prior to the on engine filter.
If you want to add a filter prior to the on engine filter, ie between the tank and engine you should use at least a 10 micron filter. If you use a filter that is known to be of good quality, then 10 micron will likely be sufficient. If you are at all suspicious about fuel quality you should go to larger 15 or 30 micron elements.
Another way to look at this is that your filtration system should have filters with larger micron numbers nearer the tank and your final filter should be smaller than the primary filter, as small as 2 microns.
When it's time to change, the finer the filter (or the smaller the number of microns) the more frequently the filter will need to be changed.
Our Marine Diesel Direct Online Store you can order Racor replacement elements such as the R12 , and R24
College Sailing Report
Weekend Winners: Team of the Week: Harvard wins this fall's only 4 division regatta the Navy Intesectional. Yale wins their women's intersectional.
Sailors of the Week Molly Carapiet 06 and Jenn Hoyle 05 of Yale, winners of B division at the Yale Women's Intersectional with 15 points in 10 races. They won 7 of 10 races.
This weekend's regatta hosts include Texas and Connecticut College
Links for this article provided by Intersail
Water Level Update
Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.
Reference Point- Measurements in Inches
Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month -3
Difference from last year -10
Difference from long term average for October -24
Difference from Record High -64
Difference from Record Low +7
Forecast for 17 November 2003 -2
Click for information on other lakes
Linky Sailing News
Racing Cayard/Trinter win Star NA's. Bermuda Gold Cup.
News Holmberg joins Alinghi .
Great Lakes Bad news for Larinda. State of the Lake Conference
College Sailing Yale Women Win. Dartmouth report. HWS. The only 4 division event
October 21, 2003
Jacques Vabre Preview # 2
On November 1st, the bi-annual Jacques Vabre trans atlantic race will start from Le Harve France. The course will take the fleet below the equator to a finish in Salvador Brazil.
There are 50 and 60 foot classes for both multihull and monohull yachts. The boats are sailed doublehanded. This article is the 2nd installment of a preview that will look at some of the entered sailors and boats.
Continuing from Part 1 there are 2 more past winners entered. Thomas Coville and Herve Jan teamed to win the mono hull title in 1999. This year they will sail on Open 60 trimaran's.
Coville is the skipper of Sobedo. Jan, who twice has been part of Jules Verne record setting crew, will serve as co-skipper of Geant. Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux is the skipper of Geant. The extremely capable Jacques Vincent, a 6 time circumnaviagator will team with Coville.
Of these past winners Geant would seem a good bet as she won last years Route Du Rhum transat.
The sailors profiled so far have been French. There is a strong British presence led by Mike Golding's new Open 60 mono hull Ecover. His co-skipper is Brit Brian Thompson.
There will be another 100% British team on the 45 foot trimarn Mollymawk. Ross Hobson and Andy Newman will both sail their 1st Jacques Vabre.
Next we will preview the five co-ed teams in the race.
Accomplishments
Samuel 'Shark' Kahn, age 14, won the Melges 24 World Championships with a crew....Richard Clark ( three times Canadian Olympic Finn representative), Mark Christensen (multiple Volvo race veteran), Brian Hutchenson (Melges 24 sailing guru) and Brian Lee (Shark's 20 year old cousin).
John Kolius age 40+.... finished 2nd at the J80 World Championships with a crew of Caleb Borchers, Roberta Steele, Mallory Fontenot and Megan Mulhern. The last three are members of the La Porte Texas high school sailing team. Kolius won an Olympic silver medal in 1976 and J 24 World titles in 1980 and 1982.
Kahn's win has been questioned, ie - was it bought? what role does the helmsman's skill play? etc. Meanwhile Kolius took some of Shark's peers and raised that up to world class level at a simarly early age.
You can choose which acheivement you prefer. Suffice to say that there looks to be plenty of young sailing talent on the way to keep things competitive.
Linky Sailing News
Racing Cayard leads Star NA's 6 skippers, including Dunn and Hardesty advance at Gold Cup . Sunfish Worlds. SF Racing
News Cup Hall of Fame , Olympic trial wildcard
Great Lakes Great Lakes freighter fleet purchased. St. Paul remains on the Lakes
College Sailing Navy Report. Potential Olympians. Orange Coast wins West Coast Sloops
The entire Couregaous crew present an autographed model to America's Cup Hall of Fame inductee Gary Jobson who is fighting cancer.
October 20, 2003
Book Scout Look Out: The Risk In Being Alive
The Risk in Being Alive
Brian Hancock is a South African native with accomplishments in crewed ocean racing, solo sailing, sailmaking and writing. He has written 'The Risk in Being Alive' a "to this date in my life" compilation of stories.
Hancock has two Whitbreads under his belt. These form the subject matter of some of the tales. Most memorably he tells of rounding, or nearly not rounding Cape Horn, on board Alaska Eagle. This with fellow sailor and author Skip Novak. ( 4 JU 03). Hancock writes of knowing that he and his shipmates had escaped with their life and vows to return.
He also writes of his involvement with the sole Soviet entry in the Whitbread. He sailed only one leg on the uniquely designed Fazisi. The boat lacked standing head room and sausages were stowed above Hancock's bunk.
Hancock grew up in apartheid South Africa. He writes of several bouts of travelling within South Africa, and his time in the South African army. It's fair to say that apartheid is a sometimes acknowledged, sometimes not, theme of the book.
Two of my favorite chapters were 'Tea With Condors' and 'The Roo in The Refrigerator'. In Tea With.... Hancock travels to Cape Horn to spend time on the land and to pay his respects and give thanks for surviving the Alaska Eagle hell ship Cape Horn rounding.
He and his expedition mates meet up with a man named Miguel who is tending a sheep station. Miguel is a loner and cooks elaborately with ingredients including goose eggs and Old Milwaukee beer. Hancock ends this episode having climbed a 6,000 foot mountain and seeing condors up close.
In 'The Roo'... Hancock recounts a Trans Australia hitch hiking journey. Eventually he meets up with another loner living in a corrugated iron shack in the Australian outback. This fellow turns out to be a bit mad, as he stows an intact kangaroo in his refrigerator.
Despite these meetings with loners, Hancock later attempted an Around Alone campaign. This campaign ended with a grounding off Bermuda in his Open 50. He lacked local charts for Bermuda and so ran Great Circle up on a reef. This ended his chances at racing.
This episode shows perhaps the books best quality: honesty. Whether it's running on a reef or putting his 'bakie' in a ditch, Hancock doesn't hide the travails of an adventuresome life.
The 'Risk in Being Alive' is an honest, compelling and interesting read.
Introducing the New Intersail
Torresen Marine has upgraded the capabilities of our popular Intersail directory.
The table below shows how Intersail can be used to access information on a variety of sailing topics.
| INSTRUMENTS |
| NEW JERSEY SAILING SCHOOL |
| TEAM CHALLENGE US |
| ENGINES |
| ROLAND JOURDAIN |
| SAFETY |
| AUSTRALIAN YACHTING |
| INTERLUX YACHT FINISHES |
| LIGHTHOUSES |