Ocean Voyaging - Ocean Navigator

30 May

Sailboat rescued by sailing ship

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean VoyagingGotheborg, offshore tow

Nothing like seeing a square-rigger hove over the horizon and ask if you'd like a tow! If you missed it, this is a great story about a sailboat given a tow off the French coast by Götheborg, a reproduction of an 18th century sailing ship. "Imagine losing your rudder out at sea and sending out a distress call. And then the largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world comes to your rescue. Or in the words of the sailors on the sailing boat: "This moment was very strange, and we wondered if we were dreaming. Where were we? What time…

26 Apr

SSCA adds new management team

Ocean NavigatorOcean VoyagingSeven Seas Cruising Association, SSCA

News from Seven Seas Cruising Association: SSCA would like to introduce our new SSCA Homebase Management Team, ACCLAIM. We are making sure our membership has the support so critical in these times. With ACCLAIM, our growing outreach into the cruisers' lifestyle will be supported efficiently. We highly value our Ocean Navigator - SSCA partnership and our members enjoy the magazine. We hope to ensure they all access and use the valuable articles and advice Ocean Navigator provides our membership. We know our new SSCA Membership Coordinator, Nicole Economou, is an exceptional addition with her expertise in website management and accounting. She…

19 Apr

A rare sailing machine

Tim QueeneyCrew's Picks, Home Page Hero, Ocean Voyaging

In 2005 Harley and Jennifer Earl were sailing around the world in their Hans Christian 41T, Manu Kai, when they stopped at Cocos (Keeling) Island in the Indian Ocean. While there they saw a voyaging sailboat at anchor that Harley said “looked fast just sitting still.” It was a Deerfoot 62 named Emma, one of the series of light displacement boats designed by Steve Dashew. For the Earls, the die was cast. When they returned to Sausalito, Calif., they sold Manu Kai and began a search for their own Deerfoot. According to Harley, there were only about 14 Deerfoots in…

11 Apr

2023 Hurricane Names

Ocean NavigatorHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyaging, Weather

One of the ways that we know a storm is a serious weather event is whether it attains the status of a “named storm.” Hurricanes, being the most energetic of storms in the North Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific, are given names to ease in identification and to speed communications. The National Weather Service actually maintains names for six years into the future. Here are the names on the list for 2023: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harold, Idalia, Jose, Katia, Lee, Margot, Nigel, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince, Whitney. How are the names decided…

17 Feb

ON contributing editor wins writing award

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean VoyagingAnn Hoffner, Boating Lifestyles Award, Boating Writers International, cruising, Sabre 30

Ocean Navigator contributing editor Ann Hoffner has won an award from Boating Writers International at the group's annual conclave at the Miami International Boat Show. Hoffner's piece, "Big Mama the Cruising Spider," which ran in the September/October 2022 issue, won first prize in the Boating Lifestyles category. The article chronicles a boating season aboard Hoffner and husband and photographer Tom Bailey's Sabre 30 Ora Kali as a spider made a series of webs in the corner of the Bimini as the couple cruise through the summer and into the fall. As BWI writing awards judge Kevin Flakey said, "'Big Mama the Cruising…

12 Jan

Rescue recognized with Rob Stephens Seamanship Trophy

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean VoyagingCruising Club of America, Golden Globe Race, ocean, offshore rescue, Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy

The Cruising Club of America (CCA) recently awarded its 2022 Rob Stephens Seamanship Trophy to Golden Globe Race sailor Kirsten Neuschäfer, of South Africa. Neuschäfer was recognized for her at-sea rescue of fellow Golden Globe racer Tapio Lehtinen, whose boat Asteria sank on Nov. 18, 2022 while he was 460 miles southeast of South Africa's Port Elizabeth (which happens to be Neuschäfer's home town!). Neuschäfer rescued Lehtinen and brought him aboard her 36-footer Minnehaha. Here is the CCA website post on the award from CCA communications director John Burnham : The Cruising Club of America (CCA) annually awards the Rod Stephens…

19 Dec

Coast Guard rescues three, 96 miles off Florida

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyagingcoast guard, offshore rescue, USCG

The Coast Guard rescued three people, Sunday, after their 25-foot sailboat became disabled 96 miles offshore of Anclote Island, Florida. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center received a channel 16 distress alert via VHF-FM radio from the vessel’s owner who reported the need for assistance. The vessel had become disabled and with worsening weather conditions, a passenger was requesting rescue for herself and her 12-year-old and 3-year-old children. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew hoisted the woman and two children without medical concerns and returned them to the air station where family greeted them. "This…

02 Dec

Rescue off Hatteras

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyagingoffshore, offshore emergency, rescue, sat phone, USCG

The Coast Guard rescued three adults and a 15-year-old from a sinking sailing vessel Thursday approximately 98 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The 41-foot sailboat Rojodan crew contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina at approximately 6 p.m. Wednesday, stating that they had lost the use of both their engines and jib. The Coast Guard was unable to tow the vessel because of the distance from shore and weather conditions with wind gusts up to 40 knots and sea swells up to 8 feet. A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded and hoisted the four…

26 Oct

Classic ketch goes electric

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean VoyagingAbeking & Rasmussen, electric propulsion, hydrogenerator, lithium-ion batteries, renewable energy, solar panels, steel ketch, Torqeedo

Sometimes a classic yacht is updated to current technology while still retaining its timeless good looks. The ketch Talisman, is a good example of that approach. The 75-foot yacht was built by Abeking & Rasmussen at its yard in Lemwerder, Germany in 1920 — reportedly the first steel-hulled yacht built by the yard. After an eventful life, which included lightning strikes and also a damaging fire, Talisman fell on hard times. In 2019 Talisman's new owner brought the boat to HCC Badeverft in Denmark for a complete refit that would include converting it to electric propulsion using a Torqueedo system. From Torqeedo's…

13 Oct

The Ocean Race launches Generation Ocean

Tim QueeneyHome Page Hero, Ocean Voyagingbiodiversity, ocean ecology, ocean racing, ocean sailing, The Ocean Race

The Ocean Race, a team-based, around-the-world race that begins January 15, 2023 in Alicante, Spain and ends six stops later in Genoa, Italy in July, has announced Generation Ocean, an educational program for students to teach about the world’s oceans, their biodiversity and threats to their health. From the press release: “The Ocean Race is launching Generation Ocean, Join the race to protect our incredible blue planet, a new secondary school learning program. The engaging materials equip teachers and parents with all they need to help learners understand the crucial role the ocean plays in sustaining life on Earth, the threats that are…