Offshore Sailing - Ocean Navigator

01 Jan

Ex-Navy sub should extend Alvin's reach

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

A deep-diving submarine, similar to the famed Alvin, has been donatedto the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution by the U.S. Navy. Sea Cliff, a close cousin to Alvin, is able to dive to 19,500 feet with a crew of scientists. Although WHOI future plans do not include operating two manned submarines, according to Adm. Richard F. Pittenger, associate director of marine operations, the addition of a second submarine will enable the Institution to mix and match parts to create a better sub. "Sea Cliff is not going to be used as it is too large, too clumsy, and too expensive to…

01 Jan

There's no place like Peter's in Azores

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Mariners who have visited the Azores over the years have undoubt-edly stumbled into the islands' world-famous gathering place for travelers: Café Sport. Opened by Henrique Azevedo in 1918, this harbor-front café and bar has been welcoming tuna fishermen, whalers, boaters, and yachtsmen to Horta, on the island of Faial, for the past 80 years. Today it is run by the new patriarch, Henrique's 72-year-old son Jose Azevedo (called Peter by those who know him, a nickname apparently given by a passing Dutch seaman when Jose "was just a tadpole"). Peter celebrates his own milestone this year50 years of continuous service…

01 Jan

CrossPac' to depart for Sydney in 2003

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

A new short-handed race that will run between San Francisco and Sydney, Australia, via Hawaii will be held in 2003. Appropriately called the CrossPac, the 6,500-nm race will depart the Golden Gate Yacht Club during the summer of 2003. Participants will be sailing either single- or double-handed in boats up to 60 feet in length. (The race committee is still considering allowing multihulls.) Organized by Californian Alan Hebert, the race is being coordinated and sponsored in San Francisco by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, in Hawaii by the Waikiki Yacht Club and the Hawaii Yacht Club, and in Sydney by…

01 Jan

Voyager's gold

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Over the centuries, alchemists devoted their lives to converting lead into gold. Had they asked any sailor they would have been told that their fortunes would be better assured by finding a way to convert sea water into drinking water. An adequate supply of water is the most critical supply for any voyage lasting more than a few hours. The amount of water available often defines the difference between a pleasure cruise and a survival exercise. Most pleasure boats depend on periodic replenishment of water storage tanks. This process works well for voyages of short duration or, with stringent control…

01 Jan

"After the Storm" book tour begins

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

John Rousmaniere, author of "The Annapolis Book of Seamanship" and "Fastnet, Force 10," launched his East Coast book tour this week. His compelling new book looks at the ominous power of the sea through the eyes of those that have been there and suffered the wrath of its storms. July 9: Bristol, R.I., Herreshoff Marine Museum, 7 p.m. (401-253-5000) New Jersey July 11: Toms River, N.J., Ocean County Public Library, 6 p.m. (732-349-6200) July 12: Bay Head, N.J., Bay Head Bookshop, 3 p.m. (732-892-1235) July 12: Bay Head, N.J., Bay Head Yacht Club, 6 p.m. (members and guests) Maine July…

01 Jan

Barking dog' navigation aids pilot

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

As we all know, a good navigator should never fail to take advantage of any cue that aids him in piloting his vessel through hazardous coastal waters, particularly when the weather is thick. Nova Scotian Jock Fleming was one who readily subscribed to this theory. One morning in 1864, as the American Civil War was beginning to wind down, the citizens of Halifax awoke to the news that a Confederate sea-raider, the C.S.S. Tallahassee, John T. Wood commanding, had entered port for repairs. Although Halifax was officially a neutral port, Royal Navy personnel there made little effort to hide their…

01 Jan

This week's quotes from Volvo Race crew

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

Grant Dalton, Amer Sports One: "Brother, is it wet. It would be impossible for the boat to be any wetter. We bail it (literally) every two hours maximum and the water just pours over the deck. This is not your average heavy spray, more walls of white water, which eventually penetrate through everything, and through all of this the boat continues to thunder along, now under small spinnaker in a confused sea." Arve Roaas, djuice: "Several boats reported icebergs yesterday, and as we spotted one, we realized our radar was not working, which is bad news for night sailing in…

01 Jan

Thanks to you. we've turned 100

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

By this stage you're probably sick of hearing about the arrival of the new millennium, the Y2K bug, and the raging debate about whether the 1,000-year cusp date is Dec. 31, 1999, or Dec. 31, 2000 (technically, the second date is correct, but we recognize most people will jump at any pretense for a partysee below for our excuse). So let's change the focus by a factor of 10. Forget about things millennialwe're going to bring back the human scale and talk about things centennial. For most people, 100 is a number they can come to grips with. For example,…

01 Jan

Alden's Malabar X reconstructed

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

From Ocean Navigator #119 January/February 2002 The call of the sea can reach far inland to unlikely places. Like to a boatyard on the shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York. That's where a $1.1 million wooden schooner is nearing completion. She's a reincarnation of John Alden's ocean-racing Malabar X, a victim of Hurricane Bob and the ravages of time. Doug Hazlitt, a seventh-generation grape grower on the family vineyard overlooking Seneca Lake, bought the hulk in 1997. He hoped to fix her up and put her to work in his Seneca Day Sails charter business he had started…

01 Jan

Schooner America's varied history

Ocean NavigatorOffshore Sailing

When New York Yacht Club Commodore John Stevens ordered the building of America, he could hardly have imagined the remarkable legacy his dream racer would have. In 1851 Stevens asked designer George Steers for a schooner of about 170 tons that could win a 60-mile race )bout the Isle of Wight. Steers designed a very clean two-masted schooner with an LOA of 94 feet, a beam of 22.5 feet, and a draft of 11.5 feet. The stoical old salts of the Royal Yacht Squadron must have needed extra starch for those famous stiff upper lips as they painfully watched Stevens'…