Fire! It's a scary enough thought while ashore. Just imagine cowering in the cockpit of your boat, staring down the companionway as ugly black smoke starts to pour out. What do you do now? If you don't have an answer, think the problem through before you head offshore again. Aside from any knowledge of firefighting techniques, there are three basic steps that will make it much less likely to have to abandon a vessel because of fire. First and most important is to take all action possible to prevent a fire from starting. Second, prepare yourself for fighting the fire…
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An old reliable wind vane

An old reliable wind vane

From the ON Archives Voyager Nat Warren-White, currently crossing the South Atlantic, from South Africa and en route to St. Helena, aboard his Montevideo 43 center cockpit cutter Bahati, sent this tidbit about the joys of a good wind vane autopilot and the troubles of another boat who didn't have one. "We are about 1/2 way en route from SA to St Helena and making reasonable time. I guess we may get there early next week now if conditions stay the same. The So Atlantic high is huge right now and causing lots of clouds and little wind…not what we…
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