‘Acrohc Australis’

‘Acrohc Australis’ is the smallest boat to have sailed around the world. Setting out from Brisbane, Australia, in June, 1984, and returning in May, 1987, Serge Testa logged a distance of approximately 50,000 kilometres. In all, he spent 500 days at sea, while averaging 100 kilometres a day, i.e., 4.16 kilometres an hour - that’s a speed of 2.246 knots. Now, that’s pretty good for an 11’ 10” boat with even less LWL, perhaps 11’. This aluminium micro-yacht has a 5’ beam and draws 5’; she was designed and built by Serge who learnt metalworking when he lived in France.


Serge moved to Australia, and there he became interested in sailing. He acquired a yacht that had sunk and brought her back to life. He confessed it took him quite a while to teach himself to sail, and in the process, sank the boat! Desperate to do some cruising, but short of funds, he designed and built the 11’ 10” ‘Acrohc Australis’. On June 9th 1984 he set off from Brisbane for a shakedown cruise northwards. After a series of groundings while working his way along the Queensland coast he realised he needed to add a bowsprit to make the sail plan balance. Achieving this, he sailed via the Torres Strait to Darwin. From there he crossed the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, visiting Cocas Keeling Islands, Mauritius, and Reunion, but when he arrived in Madagascar he was suspected by the Authorities of being a terrorist. The Indian Ocean had been a baptism of fire, not just because he survived an onboard fire, but because he experienced 4 cyclones, during which his boat was knocked down. He had to endure the torment of a severe rash covering his body, caused by dampness and extreme heat within the enclosed cabin.


From Fort Dauphin, Madagascar he sailed to Durban, where he had to wait three months until the season was right for sailing to Cape Town, but this stretch of the Ocean lived up to its reputation of being difficult, because of contrary currents, strong winds, big seas and the presence of many ships. When he arrived at Cape Town there was a very bad storm, and because of being fatigued, he fell asleep, only to wake up when his yacht crashed over rocks before ending up on a sandy beach. His boat was transported overland to a local yacht club by members of the club. In January, 1986 he sailed to St Helena Island, where he had to wait for finances before he could continue. Afterwards he visited Ascension Island, then he continued to Natal, Brazil, but because he did not have a Brazilian visa, he could only stay there for 3 days. From there he sailed to Cayenne, French Guiana, Tobago, Isla Margarita and Puerto Asul, Venezuela, where he waited for the delivery of a Satnav. This device was a boon, for Serge could know his precise position, which gave him the confidence to sleep when his boat was well away from the hazards of land and shallow reefs.


Arriving at Colon in July, 1986, he prepared his vessel for transit of the Panama Canal. Panama to the Galapagos Islands was the most difficult leg of the whole circumnavigation. At one time he thought he would not make it, because of contrary winds and adverse currents. The severe growth of barnacles was a constant problem, causing him to enter the water at least once a week to scrape them off. He estimated that marine growth on the hull could slow his boat down by one knot. In fact, during the entire circumnavigation he regularly dived under his boat to keep her free of growth, except when in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, where the presence of white sharks made it too dangerous. On arriving at the Galapagos he was told that he could only stay there for 5 days, which was a big disappointment. From there he sailed to the Marquesas Islands, the Tuamotu Islands and Tahiti. He reckoned the most enjoyable part of the whole circumnavigation was a 30 day run to the Marquesas Islands from the Galapagos Islands.


In January, 1987 he continued to the Cook Islands, then to Tonga, from where he sailed to Norfolk Island, but he was caught at anchor on a lee shore, causing him to make a quick exit by cutting the anchor rode before making out to sea. A month later he arrived at Lord Howe Island where he became ill, suffering from a staph infection. Despite tiredness and being ill, he persevered with his voyage. On May, 16th he arrived home at Brisbane, happy and relieved, but sad at having to leave ‘Acrohc Australis’ which had been his home for 3 years.


Notes

When I visited the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, in August, 2006, I took photos of ‘Acrohc Australis’, and later posted them to my old small sailboats web site, along with photos my Australian friend had taken of the boat shortly after her marathon circumnavigation. A few of these photos can be seen above.


I believe that one day, someone will complete a solo circumnavigation of the world in a smaller boat than ‘Acrohc Australis’. During an interview with Christy and Noel Davis of the Furled Sails Podcast web site, Serge said he was surprised and disappointed that no one had beaten his record.


He subsequently sailed around the world again, but in a 60’ yacht built by him and his wife.


Links


Serge Testa’s web site publicizing his book: ‘500 Days around the World on a 12 foot yacht’

http://www.acrohc.com/


Furled Sails web site - Interview with Serge

http://www.furledsails.com/article.php3?article=759

'Tinkerbelle’

‘



Robert Manry never sought fame, and yet when arriving at Falmouth, England, on August, 17th 1965, having sailed the 13’ 5” ‘Tinkerbelle’ across the North Atlantic from Falmouth, Massachusetts, he had instant fame. It had been his ambition for 30 years to sail his own boat across the Atlantic. Yet I wonder if he realised the pain and anxiety it would bring him, not just the agony of sores brought on by being constantly doused with seawater and living in very cramped conditions, but the anxiety he would experience during gales while riding to his sea anchor and the inevitable mental anguish suffered by his wife and two children as they waited for news. I wonder, too, if he fully realised the dangers he would face during the 78 day voyage. He could not have imagined being swept out of the cockpit by large waves into the Ocean, no less than 6 times!, Nor would he have thought it possible to see 60 ships while en route, a few being close enough to be described as ‘near misses’. Two or three ships with good lookouts drew alongside ‘Tinkerbelle’ with the purpose of offering of assistance and provisions.


Manry had chosen an unlikely, and perhaps an unsuitable vessel for an ocean crossing, but his choice had been determined more by his means and material situation, rather than by what was appropriate. Nevertheless, credit must go to him for his planning and modifications to his boat. Likewise he should be given credit for his resolve and courage. ‘Tinkerbelle’ was nothing more than a dinghy, suitable for day sailing, and 30 years old when first discovered by Manry. He spent months restoring the boat by replacing broken ribs and repairing split planking before adding a diminutive cabin. By making a removable platform to cover the cockpit, and by adding a tent, he made room for his family to sleep aboard when doing short cruises, which was his original aim. His subsequent adaptation of the vessel for an ocean voyage by making her watertight when the hatch was closed, reducing the size of the cockpit, adding buoyancy to prevent her sinking if swamped, and the provision of a backup rudder and tiller, brought success. Without these expediencies, I feel sure there would have been a tragic ending to the story. Manry believed ‘Tinkerbelle’ would self-right without losing her rig, even after pitchpolling; fortunately she was not put to the test. He maintained that a keel boat would not fare so well as ‘Tinkerbelle’ with her centreboard, because of the increased forces induced by the weight of a ballasted keel.


It appears that Manry steered the boat much of the time during daylight hours, and his self-steering system was not up to much. He states that he should have had a second Dacron Genoa for self-steering downwind. There were times when his boat made excellent progress, and if favourable conditions persisted into the night he would continue at the helm until tiredness forced him to take rest. His biggest gripe was cotton clothing which irritated him, and it did not keep him warm when it was saturated with water - wool, on the other hand would have kept him warmer and possibly irritated him les or not at all. He suffered greatly from saltwater sores on his buttocks, and his fingers and toes swelled up. To alleviate these painful conditions he applied skin lotion and Vaseline, in addition to taking a course of Achromycin antibiotics tablets.


When it was all finished, Manry wrote: ‘Did I have the right to endanger my life, even slightly, and consequently jeopardize the future of my family? With much soul-searching I answered these questions in the affirmative, although I am willing to concede I may have been wrong in doing so.’


Links


‘Tinkerbelle’ – Online Book
http://www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/tinkerbelle/contents.html


http://www.clevelandmemory.org/manry/video/tink03.ram
Video – Manry leaving Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts.

‘Sea Egg’

In 1968, John Riding’s book, ‘The Voyage of the Sea Egg’ was published by Pelham Books, UK. It gave an account of his adventuresome single-handed voyage aboard a 12’ micro-yacht across the Atlantic from France to New York. Later, Riding wrote a sequel, ‘Sea Egg Again: From Atlantic to Pacific’, describing his follow-on cruise southwards along the American coastline to the Panama Canal and into the Pacific, before heading northwards to Mexico. Departing from San Diego, he made the extraordinary crossing of the Pacific to New Zealand, effectively sailing halfway around the World.


Very little is known about what happened to the intrepid long-distance sailor and his tiny yacht after sailing from Kawau Island, on the NE coast of New Zealand’s North Island, in 1973. He expected the crossing of the Tasman Sea would take about 66 days, but he never arrived at Sydney, Australia, and in due time, he was declared, ‘lost at sea’. No trace of the vessel has ever been found. Possibly the last person to have had a conversation with the 33 year old British sailor was Michael Brien, who owned the yacht, ‘Swirly World’, which he used to tow ‘Sea Egg’ from Auckland to Kawua.


The seaworthiness of ‘Sea Egg’ was well proven and the competence of her crew was beyond question. So what did happen? Possible scenarios are: Total loss by fire; run down by ship; starvation and dehydration of crew due to being at sea too long through contrary currents and lack of wind, with the consequential loss of the vessel on reefs; dismasting, with similar consequences; vessel sunk by predator; loss of rudder or one of the keels, disabling the yacht; deliberate scuttling of the vessel and possible suicide though imbalance of mind, though this is unlikely because of Riding’s past achievements.

'Rob Roy' Yawl

John MacGregor wrote ‘The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy’ and had the first edition published in 1867. The book describing a single-handed voyage aboard a 21’ engineless sailing boat from London to Paris and back became an immediate success, and after many editions, I believe the latest to be published as a paperback was on 27th April 2009. A free Gutenberg online version can be downloaded from this URL: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/27235 . John had already become a popular hero through the publication of books telling of his canoe voyaging on the lakes and rivers of Europe, perhaps the most well-known being, ‘A Thousand Miles in the ‘Rob Roy’ Canoe on the Rivers and Lakes of Europe’.

Here are few excerpts from ‘The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy’:
‘I resolved to have a thoroughly good sailing-boat—the largest that could be well managed in rough weather by one strong man, and with every bolt, cleat, sheave, and rope well-considered in relation to the questions: How will this work in a squall?—on a rock?—in the dark?—or in a rushing tide?—a crowded lock; not to say in a storm?
The internal arrangements of my boat having been fully settled with the advantage of the canoe experiences, the yacht itself was designed by Mr. John White, of Cowes—and who could do it better? She was to be first safe, next comfortable, and then fast. If, indeed, you have two men aboard, one to pick up the other when he falls over, then you may put the last of the above three qualities first, but not prudently when there is only one man to do the whole.

The Rob Roy was built by Messrs. Forrestt, of Limehouse, the builders for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and so she is a lifeboat to begin with. Knowing how much I might have to depend on oars now and then, my inclination was to limit her length to about 18 ft., but Mr. White said that 21 ft. would “take care of herself in a squall.” Therefore that length was agreed upon, and the decision was never regretted; still I should by no means advise any increase of these dimensions.’

I remember first reading this book when I was a youngster. The red leather bound book with gold leaf embossed into the cover and spine with the superb black and white illustrations taken from etchings, was a joy to handle – even the smell of leather and paper was a delight as I thumbed the crisp white pages. Along with MacGregor’s other beautiful volumes I suppose THIS book most of all kindled my enthusiasm for small boat cruising, and thanks to Rob Roy I have had many great adventures afloat – maybe more to come for as long as the old ticker keeps ticking.

‘Sopranino’

John Laurent Giles (1901-1969) was a yacht designer with a flair verging on genius, being able to think outside the common mould. In advance of his contemporaries, he pioneered the design of ultra light displacement (ULD) racing yachts, and he believed that a small boat could be just as seaworthy, or even more so than a large one. Who would have thought of incorporating a reverse sheer into the hull of yacht in the late 1940s? Yet the reverse sheer provides more usable interior space and the resulting raised decks shed water easily; additionally, the higher topsides keep it off in the first place, and if the yacht were to invert, floatation from the raised deck would help flip the boat the right way up.


Well, when Patrick Ellam, an enthusiastic sailor of decked cruising canoes, asked Giles to design him a miniature yacht for fast, long distance cruising. He agreed and passed the brief to one his employees, Colin Mudie. Colin drew up the plans which incorporated the features Ellam wanted, i.e., light displacement and reverse sheer. Thus, the revolutionary 19’ 6” yacht ‘Sopranino’ was conceived, and she was later born in 1950 at the ship builder’s yard of Wootens of Cookham Dene.

Patrick’s ambition was to sail her across the Atlantic, and Colin Mudie jumped at the opportunity of joining him. They set out on 6th September, 1951, and during a sixteen month cruise they visited La Coruna, Las Palmas and the Caribbean, finally arriving at New York, having cruised a distance of 10,000 miles. Shortly afterwards, they wrote a book, appropriately named, ‘Sopranino’, in which they gave a well written account of their numerous adventures. They had proven their belief that an inexpensive, small, well-found yacht could safely cross an ocean in the hands of a competent crew.


Notes


1) On December, 7th 1950 at the inaugural meeting of the Junior Offshore Group (JOG), Patrick Ellam was elected to be the Captain and Secretary. Today, JOG is an organization that arranges races for IRC rated yachts that are based in the Solent.


2) Plans for a midget yacht similar to ‘Sopranino’ can still be purchased from Laurent Giles, under the name of ‘Barchetta’. She is slightly beamier than ‘Sopranino’, but apart from that she differs very little.


3) ‘ Sopranino’ was shipped from the USA in a poor state, but she has been lovingly restored, and she can be seen at Cowes Maritime Museum.


Links

Laurent Giles
http://www.laurentgiles.co.uk/da/92801

Junior Offshore Group
http://www.jog.org.uk/


‘Sopranino’ (The book)
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minim Books (July 9, 1997)
• ISBN-10: 097153215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971532151

‘Nova Espero’

Stanley Smith
'Nova Espero' sailing
'Nova Espero' with cabin


When I was 15, I had the privilege of being the regular crew aboard a miniature converted St Ives lugger. She had been converted to a gaff cutter with a low profile cabin, and she was kept on a mooring at Dartmouth, Devon, England. One particular weekend in 1949, hoards of people gathered by the quayside where there was a tiny clinker sloop. Strapped over her cockpit was an inverted pram dinghy acting as a cabin for her crew. I learned that Stanley and Colin Smith had recently arrived there in this 20’ boat from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. To me, she looked like a day sailer, but I realized her sea-keeping qualities must have been up to the job, as she had sailed thousands of miles from a land far beyond the horizon. She certainly had attractive, easy going lines, incorporating a buoyant bow and a wineglass shaped transom, the base of which was just clear of the water. The simplicity of her gunter-lug rig was evident, there being no backstay, only two shrouds either side of the mast and a double forestay. I have since learned that her waterline length was 16 feet, and her beam was 6 feet 3 inches. She drew 2 feet 10 inches when fully loaded with equipment, food and water for her North Atlantic crossing. That left just sufficient space for the two brothers to lie side by side, i.e., 6 feet by 4 feet. She had 3 feet 6 inches headroom. While on passage, generally one brother would be below, while the other would be at the helm. In their book, ‘Smiths at Sea’, published in 1951, they explained that through lack of funds they could not afford a sea-anchor, a chronometer, a log, oil-bags, or even oilskins! The only thing going for them was ‘hope’ for the future – hence they called their vessel, ‘Nova Espero’, meaning ‘new hope’.

On 17th May, 1951, Stanley Smith and Charles Violet departed from the Festival of Britain Site, London, aboard the ‘Nova Espero’ bound for New York. They were given a letter from the Mayor of London for the Mayor of New York. Damage sustained to the boat during a storm caused them top stop at the Azores to effect repairs. Wisely, before setting out on the voyage, ‘Nova Espero’ had been equipped with a proper cabin and a mizzen sail which would enable her to lie more comfortably to her sea anchor. The North Atlantic adventure to New York took about 18 weeks, via Newfoundland. In 1952 their book, ‘The Wind Calls the Tune’, describing the voyage, was published.

I can’t recollect how the ‘Nova Espero’ arrived back in England, but she may have been shipped on a cargo vessel. In 1962, Rupert Hart-Davis published, ‘Nova Espero’s Third Voyage’, written by Charles Violet, telling of his journey in the little boat through the French canals and of his adventures while exploring the Mediterranean.

'Trekka'

A beloved boat of adventuresome circumnavigators is ‘Trekka’, the 21’ yacht built and sailed around the world by the young John Guzzwell. His book, ‘Trekka Round the World’ was the catalyst that set afire the hearts of many a dreamer.


At the age of 25, on September, 10th, 1955, he put to sea from Victoria, British Columbia, and set sail for Hawaii. From there he proceeded to New Zealand, where he laid up his boat for 16 months while cruising with Miles and Beryl Smeeton aboard ‘Tzu Hang’, their 46’ double-ender. On that fateful voyage in the South Pacific, when they were about 1000 miles from the Strait of Magellan, ‘Tzu Hang’ pitchpolled. Catastrophically, she lost her rig and sustained extensive damage to her superstructure, but a unified and motivated crew made temporary repairs and set up a jury rig that enabled them to sail to Coronel, Chile. Not least in this daunting task of survival, were the woodworking skills of Guzzwell, comradeship, and a combined determination to make it safely to land.


On returning to his boat in 1957 Guzzwell prepared her for crossing the Tasman Sea to Australia, then onwards to South Africa via the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope. From there he sailed to the Panama Canal, then to Hawaii, from where he continued to Victoria, arriving there on September, 12th, 1959 to complete his circumnavigation. In 1961, newly married, John and his wife, Maureen, had a successful cruise aboard ‘Trekka’ to the Hawaiian Islands. He subsequently sold the boat to Clifford and Marian Cain, who completed a circumnavigation in her between 1964 and 1967. Thereafter, the Cains used ‘Trekka’ for day sailing, and when asked by Joanne Witt, one of Clifford’s navigation students if they would sell her, they agreed. She wanted to sail to England. At the outset of her voyage, the Guzzwells kept company with her in another yacht as far as Honolulu, but for reasons known to Joanne, she decided she could not continue, whereupon she sold ‘Trekka’ to Eric Abranovich. Early in 1980 the Thermopylae Club of Victoria negotiated with Eric for the purchase and delivery of the boat to Victoria. He duly sailed the 3,500 miles, and on his arrival he received a tumultuous reception from thousands of spectators, including John Guzzwell.


In 1959 ‘Trekka’ became the smallest yacht to sail around the world, and John Guzzwell became the youngest person to complete a single-handed circumnavigation. Sadly, the latest information I have, about ‘Trekka’, is that she has had her keel removed and is on display as window dressing at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia.* I hope that the Museum authorities will see fit to look after her, not as a window display, but by maintaining her in working condition afloat, so that she can be used on special occasions, such as museum promotions, tall ship gatherings, maritime conventions, and classic boat festivals etc.


*Sadness for ‘Trekka’
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/r/articles/sad/end.htm


Trekka Information
http://www.shortypen.com/others/cleon/trekka/index.htm


Furled Sails web site – Interview with John Guzzwell
http://www.furledsails.com/article.php3?article=736


John Guzzwell’s Web Site
http://www.johnguzzwell.com/Home.html


Photos of ‘Trekka’ at the 2005 Wooden Boat Festival, Port Townsend
http://www.msogphotosite.com/05WBFest1.html

Remembrance Day

Flanders Poppies
John McCrae
Laurence Binyon

Two poems for this special day:

‘In Flanders Fields’ by John Alexander McCrae

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below...
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields...
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields...

‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is a music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncountered:
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.

‘Tilikum’

The unique sailing vessel, the ‘Tilikum’, has fascinated me since I was a boy. She can be seen in restored condition at the Maritime Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Originally, she was a 38’ Indian dugout canoe, but back in 1901 Captain John C Voss acquired her and converted her into viable ocean-going cruising yacht, with the intention of sailing her around the world to emulate the celebrated circumnavigation of Joshua Slocum aboard his rebuilt ‘Spray’. Voss added 7 inches to the topsides of his canoe, inserted sawn oak frames, added decks, a cockpit and an 8’ by 5’ cabin, before rigging her with three short masts, to carry two gaff sails, a Marconi mizzen, and a self-tacking staysail. This configuration of 230 square feet of sail, on a vessel with only 5’ 6” beam, required half a ton of permanent ballast incorporated into a shallow keel, extending the full length of the vessel, plus 400 lbs of internal trimming ballast in the form of sandbags. Further internal ballast was added by way of her stores, including 50 gallons of drinking water in two separate tanks, so that the combined weight gave her some stiffness when on the wind, preventing her from capsizing. With only a 24” draft, ‘Tilikum’ was not the best boat to windward, but with this profile she lay comfortably in gales to the folding sea drogue designed by her owner.

Voss and his crew, Norman Luxton, set off from Oak Bay Harbour, Victoria, on 20th May, 1901, but Voss never completed his intended circumnavigation. After an epic crossing of the Pacific to Sydney, he sailed to Hobart, in Tasmania, then to Dunedin in New Zealand; from there around the North of Australia, via the Torres Strait, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Durban. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope he sailed to the remote, South Atlantic island of St Helena, before continuing to Pernambuco on the coast of Brazil. After a passage to the Azores, his staunch vessel made it up the English Channel beyond Dover, finally putting into the North Kent port of Margate on 2nd October, 1904. From there she was taken overland to London for display at Earls Court. Later she was left to rot on the mudflats of Canvey Island, Essex, until she was re-commissioned and taken to Victoria as a permanent memorial to the achievements of Voss and his various crewmates, ten of them at different times, accompanied him along the way.

John Claus Voss (c. 1854-1922) wrote a book about his adventures, ‘40,000 Miles in a Canoe’, which became a best seller. Later, in 1913, he also wrote, ‘The Venturesome Voyages of Captain Voss’ that included his previous story, plus an account of sailing a smaller vessel, ‘The Sea Queen’, in Japanese waters when caught in a typhoon. In 1971, nine years after her father’s death, Norman Luxton’s daughter, Eleanor, edited his journal based on his original diary and had it published under the title, ‘Luxton’s Pacific Crossing’. Both accounts differ in several places.

‘Tilikum’, the Boat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_(boat)

'Yakaboo'

Fenger sailing 'Yakaboo'
'Yakaboo' on beach
'Yakaboo' at Bruce Mines Museum, Ontario


Yacht designer, sailor and author, Frederic A. Fenger was born in 1882 and he lived to the ripe old age of 88 years. In 1911 he used his rudderless canoe, ‘Yakaboo’, to explore the Caribbean islands and he wrote a book, ‘Alone in the Caribbean’ describing his experiences. The canoe was a beamier version of one he had designed and cruised for over a thousand of miles. Her length was 17 ft, with a waterline of just over 14 ft, and a beam of 3 ¼ ft. When fully loaded with her crew and gear, she drew no more than 6ins, without the centreplate. Having a jib, two batwing sails and a fore and aft adjustable centreplate, Fenger could steer his boat by playing the mainsheet.

Here, I think it is better if I let Fenger describe the characteristics of his unusual vessel:

“So my craft was named before I put her down on paper. She must be large enough to hold me and my outfit and yet light enough so that alone I could drag her up any uninhabited beach where I might land. Most important of all, she must be seaworthy in the real sense of the word, for between the islands I should be at sea with no lee for fifteen hundred miles. I got all this in a length of seventeen feet and a width of thirty-nine inches. From a plan of two dimensions on paper she grew to a form of three dimensions in a little shop in Boothbay and later, as you shall hear, exhibited a fourth dimension as she gyrated in the seas off Kick 'em Jinny. The finished hull weighed less than her skipper -- one hundred and forty-seven pounds.”

“She did not look her length of seventeen feet and with her overhangs would scarcely be taken for a boat meant for serious cruising. Upon close examination, however, she showed a powerful midship section that was deceiving and when the natives lifted her off the horses -- "O Lard! she light!" -- wherein lay the secret of her ability. Her heaviest construction was in the middle third which embodied fully half of her total weight. With her crew and the heavier part of the outfit stowed in this middle third she was surprisingly quick in a seaway. With a breaking sea coming head on, her bow would ride the foamy crest while her stern would drop into the hollow behind, offering little resistance to the rising bow.”

“She had no rudder, the steering being done entirely by the handling of the main sheet. By a novel construction of the centerboard and the well in which the board rolled forward and aft on sets of sheaves, I could place the center of lateral resistance of the canoe's underbody exactly below the center of effort of the sails with the result that on a given course she would sail herself. Small deviations such as those caused by waves throwing her bow to leeward or sudden puffs that tended to make her luff were compensated for by easing off or trimming in the mainsheet. In the absence of the rudder-plane aft, which at times is a considerable drag to a swinging stern, this type of canoe eats her way to windward in every squall, executing a "pilot's luff" without loss of headway, and in puffy weather will actually fetch slightly to windward of her course, having more than overcome her drift.”

“She was no new or untried freak for I had already cruised more than a thousand miles in her predecessor, the only difference being that the newer boat was nine inches greater in beam. On account of the increased beam it was necessary to use oars instead of the customary double paddle. I made her wider in order to have a stiffer boat and thus lessen the bodily fatigue in sailing the long channel runs.”

“She was divided into three compartments of nearly equal length -- the forward hold, the cockpit, and the afterhold. The two end compartments were accessible through watertight hatches within easy reach of the cockpit. The volume of the cockpit was diminished by one half by means of a watertight floor raised above the waterline -- like the main deck of a ship. This floor was fitted with circular metal hatches through which I could stow the heavier parts of my outfit in the hold underneath. The cockpit proper extended for a length of a little over six feet between bulkheads so that when occasion demanded I could sleep in the canoe.”

E-Book: Alone in the Caribbean
http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/mayan/alone_01_2.html

Tribute to Evgeny Gvozdev

Evgeny Gvozdev
'Said'
'Sailing'


The Slocum Society does not give Evgeny Gvozdev a mention, and yet he sailed twice around the world, the second time aboard an entirely home-built 3.6m micro-yacht. His first circumnavigation took place between 1992 and 1996 in a 5.5 metre yacht named ‘Lena’, similar to the one used at the outset of his third attempt in 2008. Incredibly his home-built craft named ‘Said’ was built on a window balcony adjoining his meagre accommodation. From there he lowered her on ropes to an open lorry for attaching the 100 kilo keel and transportation to the sea, in readiness for a 370 mile shakedown cruise.

In 1999 he set sail for his second circumnavigation from the Caspian Sea, thence via the Mediterranean, the Atlantic to South America, through the Strait of Magellan in February, 2001, but when he was at Puerto Natales, the Chilean Navy declared ‘Said’ was manifestly unsafe for the voyage. They magnanimously transported the boat on a steamer to Puerto Montt, beyond the notorious Golfo de Penas. From there he sailed to Tahiti in the Pacific, and on to Darwin, where, in 2002, the 70 year old Russian ran foul of the Australian immigration authorities, because his passport had expired. This meant he could not obtain a visa and meanwhile, as his boat was at anchor, a thief stole from it food, clothing, money, his camera and his radio. His only option was to return to South Africa where he held a visa.

Evgeny said the average speed of his vessel was 2 knots, and at the outset of long voyages he always packed so much food, and water into the boat that he hardly had room to get in. He planned to take 90 days to reach Tahiti from Puerto Montt. Since he did not carry a satellite phone, or use a SSB radio, he could not communicate with the outside world. He did not have a satellite tracking device for others to follow his progress, which meant his three children and four grandchildren had to be patient in their search for information as to his whereabouts. His limited means of navigation was the use of two plastic sextants, a compass and charts which he exchanged with other sailors.

At the age of 74, in September, 2008, he started a third circumnavigation, this time aboard a 5.5 m production boat identical to that used for his first voyage. Unknown to him, he was to receive a fatal head injury while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. He was found dead on a beach at Castelporzio in the South of Italy, not far from his yacht, which was stranded on the beach.

Evgeny was a resourceful, humble character who lived his dreams by overcoming obstacles that would put off most dreamers. He was a man, the likes of whom many would admire, yet few would equal or surpass his great achievements.


Russian Web Site
http://parusa.narod.ru/bib/papers/gvozdev/index.htm

Gvozdev Gallery
http://gvozdev.iwt.ru/gallery.htm

Slocum Society
http://www.joshuaslocumsocietyintl.org/

Small Boat Circumnavigators

'Happy'
'Happy 11'


In 1959 John Guzzwell completed a circumnavigation aboard his 21 foot, self-built yacht, ‘Trekka’. At the time he unwittingly set a world record for sailing the smallest boat around the world single-handed.

Twenty three years later, in 1982, Howard Wayne Smith was attempting to take the record from Guzzwell, when his 13 foot 10 inch Benford sloop, ‘Happy’, came to grief on Nouméa Reef, New Caledonia. He had already sailed 10,000 miles from Miami, Florida, through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos Islands, and the Marquesas Islands. Undeterred, he built a smaller yacht, ‘Happy 11’, from aluminium; she was only 9 foot 6 inches long, but because of her construction she had almost as much usable space as ‘Happy’. Unfortunately Howard lost possession of his boat when she was confiscated by the Australian Customs, which appears to have put paid to his ambition to become the sailor of the smallest boat around the world.

Serge Testa was the next aspirant, when he set off to sail around the world in 1983 aboard ‘Acrohc Australis’, an 11 foot 10 inch aluminium yacht. He completed his circumnavigation in 1987. His record for circumnavigating in the smallest vessel stands today!

To beat Testa, whoever does it will most likely need a ‘yacht’ not dissimilar to Howard’s ‘Happy 11’, but no longer than 10 feet - if he is to retain the record for a good while. I believe this is the smallest vessel capable of doing it, by solving the equation of victuals divided by average speed. Enough food has to be carried, while freshwater can be made from saltwater by using hand operated converters, but the vessel’s speed has to be fast enough to sail the longest leg of the voyage before food runs out. If all goes well, this may be no longer than 3,500 nautical miles, taking 58 days at 2.5 knots. Roz Savage, while rowing her boat from California to Hawaii took just under 100 days to cover a distance of 2,598 nautical miles and she had some food left over.

For those who may not want to make a circumnavigation in the ‘smallest’ yacht, but have aspirations of sailing around the world in a small yacht, I would suggest looking at Jay Benford’s ‘Happy’, John Welsford’s ‘Fafnir’ and Tom MacNaughton’s ‘Farthing’. All three capable little vessels have similar dimensions and displacements.

Trekka
http://www.johnguzzwell.com/Home.html

The Voyage of ‘Acrohc Australis’
http://www.acrohc.com/

‘Happy’
http://www.benford.us/pcty/14happy.html

‘Happy 11’
http://www.maritimemuseum.com.au/Collections/happy_II.htm

‘Fafnir’
http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/fafnir/index.htm

‘Farthing’
http://www.macnaughtongroup.com/farthing.htm

Micro Magic Class

Micro Magic Yachts Racing
Radio Controls

If you want a bit of fun, you might consider trying your hand at radio controlled model yacht racing. The Micro Magic International Class is well established with groups racing their boats in the USA, Canada, and most European countries, including Britain. The UK Micro Magic Class Association has a web site at: http://www.magicmicro.org/news.php and the Micro Magic International site is at: http://www.int.magicmicro.org/news.php .

Weighing only 980 grams, these tiny vessels are 530 mm long and they have a beam of 180 mm. In the UK a ready-to-sail Micro Magic yacht with a Sonic c4 Radio Set and batteries can be obtained for £309.00 from R C Yachts: http://www.rcyachts.org.uk/epages/Store3_Shop2540.sf . Higher specification models range up to £379.00. A Micro Magic 11 kit will bring the price down to £159.00 without the radio and some other parts. If you live in Europe you can order directly from the German manufacturer at: http://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/servlet/AI?ARTN=2014&SessionCheck=4711&language=en for Euros 169.00.

The International Class Association is well organised and Country Associations put on their own races, some offering open meetings.

Here’s a ‘snippet’ from one of the web sites: ‘Racing with model yachts is very attractive and involves a lot of fun in sailing, trimming, boat technologies etc. But boats of the more common international classes are at least 1 m long and sometimes a bit unwieldy.

Whilst competition in these classes is very high, the price of those boats has reached levels many potentially interested people do not want to pay.
Micro Magic is something different. Due to its small size it is very easy to transport. Ready to sail, it easily fits into any car, may be taken on holidays and is something you can take with you all the time just for some moments of sailing. The boat is not expensive to get either. There is no need for an expensive radio control set and the kit is in most countries reasonable priced. Ready to sail the complete boat does not cost you more than you have to pay for just a single component of some other class boats. It requires only few building skills and the kit, manufactured by the well established company Graupner, is easily available in any model-shop.’

Sneak Boxes

A Sneak Box


Sneak boxes have a history stretching back to the late 1800s when Nathaniel H. Bishop immortalised them in his book ‘Four Months in a Sneak Box’. He rowed and sailed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and along the Gulf coast. Later, in 1925 Slade Dale and Frank Coyle sailed their identical sneak boxes from New York to Miami via the Intercoastal Waterway. Their boats were equipped with sails, oars and outboard motors.

The average length of a sneak box is 12 ft, and their unusual spoon-shaped bottom and bow allow them to skim over the water, rather than through it. Their 5 inch draft and 4 ft beam provide considerable stability, ideal for their original purpose of duck shooting and fishing. The name ‘Sneak Box’ came from the fact that the low profile of the boat enabled her crew to ‘sneak’ almost into a waterborne flock to obtain an advantageous position before discharging their shotguns. With their fin shaped centreboards and ample sail area they could sail well on the wind, but rowing against the wind could be hard work.

The traditional home of the Sneak Box is Barnegat Bay, where the class has been adapted for racing under sail.

The Barnegat Bay Sneakbox – its Racing History
http://www.dngoodchild.com/5576.htm

Restoring a Sneakbox
http://www.woodboatbuilder.com/pages/sneakbox-restoration.html

The Intercoastal Waterway today
http://www.reedsalmanac.com/intercoastal_waterway_d.html

Pacific Ocean Perils for the Micro-yacht Sailor

'Yankee Girl'
Pacific Ocean


Yesterday I mentioned Gerry Spiess who sailed his 10 foot boat across the Pacific, and today I stumbled upon an old bedside night light, in the form of a globe, depicting landmasses and the oceans of the world. I was struck by the fact that approximately 71% of the surface of the earth is covered by the oceans, and that the Pacific Ocean alone occupies about 28%. A little bit of research revealed that the Pacific Ocean covers an area of nearly 63,800,000 square miles - that’s twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean, and more than the whole land mass of the world. Within the Pacific Ocean there are between 20,000 and 30,000 islands distributed between Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

Of all the oceans, the Pacific is the most challenging for sailors of micro-yachts, by fact of the enormous distances between safe havens where ship’s stores can be replenished and the weary sailor can take respite from continuous motion. Tiny vessels such as Spiess’s ‘Yankee Girl’ are unlikely to average more than 2.5 knots at best, so with perhaps a passage of 2074 nautical miles between San Francisco and Honolulu it would take 830 hours, i.e., about 35 days. Furthermore, continuing to Brisbane, safe passage between low-lying atolls such as Tuvalu and Kiribati can bring problems of navigation, not just because they may not be seen, but because of unpredictable currents. Near the coast of Western Australia there are the hazards of the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.

A small yacht does not have the speed to avoid hurricanes; therefore great care must be taken to avoid sailing during the hurricane season. This year the official start of the season in the Eastern Pacific was 15th May and at the beginning of June for mid Pacific. Hurricanes and typhoons in the North Pacific generally develop between May and December.

Around-in-Ten

'Yankee Girl'


The original concept of the ‘Around-in-Ten’ Race was, as the title suggests, a race around the World for competitors in 10 foot sailing boats. The first leg was to be a shake-down ‘cruise’ from the Bahamas to Panama. A mother ship was to act as a resources vessel at the start and finish of each leg; she was to sail ahead of the ‘fleet’, and for as long as she was in the proximity of the racers, she would act as a safety vessel. There was a surprising amount of interest in this supreme challenge and several candidates declared themselves possible starters, but one by one, they all withdrew their candidacy.

There were critics who said it could not be done. They had looked at the logistics and maintained that such small boats could not carry sufficient stores for the long ocean crossings, but they must have been unaware of the voyages of Gerry Spiess in ‘Yankee Girl’. Gerry’s 10 foot sailing boat had crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific to prove them wrong. When the idea of a round-the-world race in 10 foot boats was being mooted, I believed it would be possible, and nothing has changed my mind. The challenge remains open via the ‘Around-in-Ten’ web site, sponsored and run by Steve Carey. In fact, the concept has been expanded to individual or group challenges, according to circumstances; for example, if a person wants to test himself and his boat by sailing her around the Gulf of Mexico, he can declare his personal challenge, or if someone invites others to take on an Atlantic race in 10 foot sailboats he can use Steve’s web site to promote his challenge.

Links

Around in Ten web site
http://www.aroundinten.com/

Alone against the Atlantic
http://www.marlinbree.com/alone_against_the_atlantic_33621.htm

Alone Against the Atlantic – Book from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Against-Atlantic-Marlin-Bree/dp/0898935067

Ten Feet across the Pacific
http://www.sailingbreezes.com/Sailing_Breezes_Current/Articles/Nov05/yankeegirl1.htm

Ten Feet across the Pacific
http://www.marlinbree.com/broken_seas_38771.htm

Jays

Fairly regularly Jays visit my back garden, and this morning I had the pleasure of examining one at close quarters. I love watching birds, but especially jays, because they are more colourful than most aves that frequent my neighbourhood. They are generally private, shy birds that keep themselves hidden behind foliage. They particularly like oak trees from which they collect acorns in autumn to store as a source of food for the winter months by burying them. Both the magpie and the jay are members of the crow family, and having similar habits they usually do not get on with one another. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never seen a jay and a magpie together. Magpies will instinctively attack jays. The former have a bluish-green sheen on their wings and tail, but Jays have more distinctive black and white wings with a chequerboard patch of blue, black and white.

The jay I saw this morning was about 11 inches long; therefore it may not have been an adult bird, because mature Jays can grow up to 13 inches. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, because males and females look alike. This one was mainly pinkish brown, and its head had a black and white flecked crown. Either side of its dark grey beak there were black, turned down streaks resembling a Mexican moustache. Jays love eating acorns, nuts, seeds and insects, but given the chance, they will also take nestlings to supplement their diet. Being intelligent opportunists, they will eat small rodents, beech mast, fruits, insects, and feed at bird tables, where they will stuff peanuts into their crops to stash away, and they will gladly eat kitchen scraps if they are available. To a large extent, their adaptability is the secret of their survival in these times of declining bird populations.

‘Swaggie’

Australian Swaggies, circa 1880
Uruguayan 'Swaggie'


John Welsford has named one of his boat designs, ‘Swaggie’, after the Australian itinerant workers who travelled by foot from farm to farm seeking temporary employment during the depressions of the 1890s and the 1930s. These ‘Swagmen’ or ‘Tussocker’s travelled lightly, with minimal possessions, including a ‘swag’ (waterproof bedroll) wrapped in a bag. Characteristically, and of necessity they constantly roamed the countryside, only staying at any one place until no longer required by an employer. Fairly Spartan and rugged, this little ship reminds me of the qualities of these roaming ‘Swaggies’. She’s an 18 foot 2 inch, by 7 foot 10 inch junk-rigged, ocean cruising yacht, drawing 2 foot 8 inches with a long keel.

John put in great deal of thought and effort into the design to satisfy the needs of a client who wanted a small craft for sailing along the Southern Coast of Australia. This coastline has few ports of refuge, and it is a place where gale force winds can make it necessary for the sailor to steer a course well away from land to ride out storms. Hence, ‘Swaggie’ was designed to cope with such conditions. John’s client wanted a simple-to-build boat that would not overstretch his budget, and she was to be capable of being managed from inside to minimize exposure and maximize safety. The accommodation was to be as spacious as possible. It was therefore decided to eliminate a cockpit and rig the yacht with a single junk sail. Her heavy displacement of 2,650 lbs could be increased to 3,800 lbs for coastal cruising, and up to 4,180 lbs for ocean voyaging.

I am attracted to several of John’s designs because of their suitability for purpose, and if I had the resources to build a ‘Swaggie’ I would set about building one right away. I know of one fortunate person who has built an excellent example in Uruguay. His name is Luis Nin Estévez, and he has this web site: http://www.swaggie-uruguay.com.uy/eng/proyecto.html .

Youtube links to ‘Swaggie’

Her Interior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AQHySQap4o

The building process 2004-2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQIS_FXVeOA&NR=1