Long Term Provisions

In July 2017, we are setting off for a very long cruise. We are going to start with a Trans-Atlantic voyage, stopping at Bermuda and at the Azores. Our plans from there are not set in stone and can change at a moments notice. One thing that will not change is our need for sustenance.

Food on a cruising yacht is referred to as "provisions" because they are assets that are set aside for a later need, such as feeding the crew and keeping them alive! There are two main types of provisions on a cruising yacht: short term and long term.

Short term provisions are foods that will not last very long, also known as perishables. Short term provisions tend to be "fresh foods" that are tasty, but expire shortly and must be consumed before this time comes. These include items like milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and breads. Within this category, the foods will last different amounts of time. An egg stored without refrigeration (and turned frequently) will last a month easily, while a banana will ripen and spoil in a week.

Short term provisions are always purchased right before departure that way they can last as long into the voyage as possible. Once they are used up, you won't have any more until you make landfall again.

Long term provisions are foods that will last for a very long time. While short term provisions expire in days or weeks, long term provisions will last for years. These tend to be canned foods, which are not always as tasty as fresh foods. Canned vegetables are disgusting, but canned beans and meats can make a very tasty meal! It is important to try out a specific canned food before you stock up on it. It won't expire for years and if you don't like it, you won't have any excuse to throw it out for years!

Since canned foods can last for years, you can safely stock up on them in your home port in preparation for your journey. Stocking up on canned foods long before your departure date will greatly reduce the stress and cost of last minute provisioning. The cost and work had been spread out over the past few months, now all of your time and money can be spent on what you need for the short term provisions.

The other advantage of carrying a large storage of canned foods is they keep for a long time and give you more flexibility in your shopping at foreign ports. You know where to find the best deals where you live because you are a local. When you arrive in a new port, you are not a local and a great deal may be hiding from you just around the corner, or on the other side of town! You will be subjected to the prices that are presented to you in the area near your yacht. If these prices are prohibitively high and you don't have enough food on board, you will be forced to purchase these high priced foods or starve. If you have plenty of canned goods stored on board and the prices are too high for your budget, you can buy just what you need and continue on to a new land with better prices. Your canned foods will keep you fed and going as you continue on your voyage.

Our plan is to carry enough canned foods to feed us for close to a year. This may sound extreme, but we have plenty of locker space and we like canned fish and canned beans! Canned beans will not be our main source of food, but we have been known to eat beans right from the can on rough days and nights. Neither of us felt like spending much time in the galley so beans seemed easy enough. At the end of the meal, all we had to do was wash the spoon! This kept effort and morale at a minimum as we worked our way through the stormy seas. Once the weather cleared, we resumed our usual methods of cooking and eating real meals prepared in the galley.

To meet our idea of "enough canned food for a year" we would need approximately 400 cans of beans, 200 cans of fish, and 100 cans of meat. This may sound like a monumental number of cans (and a lot of weight), and it would be if we had to cart and store all of this in one trip to the store. By spreading it out over many months, we are able to confront the cost and effort involved in a more manageable way.

Sea Anchor Rode

When laying hove to in severe weather, we find our rate of drift can be a bit fast and we fore-reach a smidge. This led us to decide on the purchase of a sea anchor which will reduce our rate of drift and stop our fore-reaching.

A sea anchor is basically a parachute in the water. As the boat pulls on the parachute rode, the parachute opens up and holds onto the water. The larger the parachute, the more water it can hold and the more it grips the sea. Ours is a 12 foot parachute that will be connected to an all nylon rode.

As you can imagine, the sea anchor can only be used in deep water. The parachute can be damaged by contact with the sea bed, so it should only be used in deep water where the risk of bottom contact is non-existent.

The main difference between a regular anchor rode and the sea anchor rode is the thimble at the end. The sea anchor utilizes a much heavier stainless steel thimble with a bar welded near the throat to prevent the ends from flexing or twisting. This will protect the eye splice from additional chafe damage while under load. The swivel on the parachute helps reduce twist in the rode and keep everything in place while deployed and under load.

The throat was tied with a small piece of dyneema using a Double Larks Head Knot. I used a Double Larks Head because it was faster to tie than a Constrictor Knot, though the Double Larks Head doesn't hold as well in dyneema.

The three strand rode was passed over the thimble and tied at the throat, then the tail was unraveled and spliced back into the standing rode. To reduce the stresses on the splice, the end of the eye splice was tapered. 

Tapering a splice is very easy to do, so don't feel discouraged. The first five tucks are performed with no tapering because they are under the most load and strain. After these five tucks, the tapering begins.

Tapering is very simple and straight forward, four yarns are trimmed off every third tuck. This means that you will trim four yarns off and carry out three tucks. All you need to do is repeat this process until the yarns have been trimmed and tucked away.

If you want to take tapering to the next level, read on! Tapering can either be done on all three strands at the same stage or it will be staggered. Performing it on all three at the same time will result in a stepped taper. Alternatively, you can stagger the tapers which will result in a more even taper.

Stepped tapers are performed by trimming 4 yarns off all three strands, then carrying out three tucks. This will make the bulk of the splice reduce every third tuck.

Staggering the tapers is just as easy and results in a more uniform taper. To do this, only one of the three strands will be trimmed each tuck. This will result in all the tufts lining up on the splice as all the trimming will occur on the same part of the rope, but each line will be trimmed every third tuck.

Both result in an even taper that will reduce the stresses on the rode at the splice, resulting in a stronger splice overall. If you are doing a tapered splice, it will be stronger than a non-tapered splice. Deciding on stepped vs. staggered is simply choosing between minute details. 

Hull Repair

Whatever hull material you choose for your cruising boat, you should be capable of repairing a holed hull in a remote location. This may sound rather extreme, being how boat yards are available in every major port of call.  The problem is if you find yourself stuck with a problem in a non-major port of call.

Say you have a carbon fiber yacht, and find yourself on an island with a small fishing village and you bumped into a coral head. Now you have a hole and you can't get your yacht to a major port of call where skilled labor to repair your problem can be fixed. This is why you should be skilled in repairing your own hull and carry the materials and tools you need to repair a holed hull.

If you choose a wooden boat, you will need to carry along the minimum tools you need to repair a hole. You should have the tools needed to scarf in a repair plank and enough wood to carry out a repair to the bottom planking. This is where the biggest problem comes into to play for wooden boats: Where can you store enough wood for a planking repair in a small cruising boat where the wood won't get moist and rot?

The space and rot problems are severe enough that most choose to only carry the tools they need and plan to simply purchase the wood wherever they find themselves should the problem arise. This is fine as long as you have a hull made from woods commonly found in the area you will be cruising. If your hull is made form an exotic wood, you will be faced with two choices should the problem arise:

• Use a different wood that is readily available where you find yourself.
• Have your specialty wood shipped in to where you find yourself.

Wood is wood, what difference does it make if you mix and match? A lot! Each wood will shrink and swell at its own rate. If you mix species, you can create problems when the woods begin to swell at different rates and this can create irregular stresses on the fasteners and frames.

Shipping your specialty wood in can prove to be very difficult. Not only will you be unable to hand select the quality of wood that you want in person because you are stuck on an island and nowhere near the lumber yard you are ordering from, but you will also have to pay for shipping and then wait for its arrival.

This is where FRP hulls shine! FRP stands for Fiber Reinforced Plastic, and this means that the hull is made of plastic and reinforced by fibers. Glass fibers (fiberglass) are the most common at the moment, but newer fibers are coming into the market all the time. Kevlar and Carbon fibers are becoming very common on high level racing/cruising yachts because they offer greater strength to weight, allowing the hulls to be built lighter while still being just as strong.

If you find yourself stranded on an island with a holed hull, finding the exact fibers that your hull needs may be a challenge. Luckily, you can carry your fibers folded up in a bag stored in the bottom of a locker. The fibers won't rot and they won't take up much space at all! Looking at your hull, I'm sure you know that your yacht is not made of a giant woven tapestry, there is a hard shell that holds it all in place. This hard shell can easily be carried in metal cans in their liquid form. Should a problem arise, all you need to do is mix up the liquid and wet the cloth to fix the hole in your hull. 

This might sound so much easier than working with a wooden hull, but there is a caveat. The liquids in the can are very toxic to the environment and old cans can rust out and leak. If a chemical leaks out of the can, you now have a mess in your hull and a lack of a required component in your hull repair plan. This is why it is a very good idea to store your cans individually inside a plastic container. Should the can leak out, it will still be contained inside the plastic container and can still be used with no mess to the inside of your locker.

Each hull material has its pros and cons for stranded island repairs, but the most important thing is that you know how to work with the material of your hull. If you don't know how to work with your hull material, no tools will help you complete the repairs. If your yacht is new, simply practice working with the materials on a different project (or create a new project that uses the materials). If you have an old boat, you have had plenty of experience with fixing everything as you rebuild the boat to get ready for cruising. Either way, make sure that you are proficient in repairing your own hull that way you can always fix your boat with the materials you carry, anywhere in the world.

Monitor Wind Vane Installation: Part 6, Clearing the Transom

The wind vane needs to have access to swing and move without obstruction. This means that all our clutter and gear needs to be relocated and moved away from the transom. The big things that need to go are the stern anchor, davits, and wind sensor pole. 

I cleared off the large components, but left the stern light mounted below the rail. This too had to be removed as it interfered with the counterweight movement. If the Monitor were set on a starboard tack and close reach, the lead weight would bump into the stern light and make the unit get stuck.

The stern light was not that major of a problem since the Monitor has a stern light built into the frame. The other equipment was more of an ordeal to remove and relocate. The stern anchor for instance is frequently used to position our yacht with an East/West orientation. This orientation keeps the cockpit shaded and the solar panels in full sun all day long. 

The davits on the transom were of a different use. They were a royal pain in the stern to use, so I rarely every used them for their intended purpose. I purchased them to hoist the dinghy up and bring it along as we sailed, but it was very inconvenient. The dinghy needed to be tied up well to avoid it from sloshing side to side as we heeled over. It also required a bunch of fenders to avoid damage to the lettering on the stern. This was the first and last time I ever raised the dinghy on the davits!

From then on, the davits served other purposes, like storing our spare lines or raising batteries into the boat while on the hard. 

The davits were removed and disassembled, but they will be stored in a locker. Should we find ourselves on the hard and in need of lifting many heavy items into the boat, we can always assemble and install the davits temporarily. Rope storage will be relocated to another location on the boat, possibly a lazarette organization system for the ropes. Storing the ropes inside a locker fulfills a few tasks: it keeps the ropes away from salt, it keeps the ropes out of the sun, it keeps the rope out of sight.

Salt makes the ropes stiff and harder to use when you need them. The sun eats up the ropes via UV degradation. Keeping the ropes out of sight makes the boat look neater and also reduces the risk of someone else using the rope for their projects on their boat.

The Monitor Wind Vane is the most important piece of equipment on the transom, so its mounting requirements take top priority. If anything impairs its ability to function, that thing must be removed and relocated. Storing ropes or lifting batteries is not the priority while sailing across an ocean! Keeping these priorities in line allows us to maintain the yacht in the most functional of methods and will allow us to sail in the safest method possible.

Crew Position Available

Greetings all, we are looking for a third crew member for our voyage across the Atlantic from Bermuda to the Azores.  This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity!  

We would prefer that you have sailing experience, but prepare to relax for most of the trip! You would mostly serve as good company and peace of mind since Maddie is nervous about single-handing the boat if something were to happen to me. Both sets of our parents would feel more comfortable if we had a third hand along for the longest stretch of our journey.  

You will find details about the trip, our vessel, and contact information below.  We hope that you will consider joining us for this segment of our adventure!

If you are interested in being crew or have any further questions, please email us at RiggingDr@gmail.com.

A few things to know about our personalities: 

We are very laid back, especially at sea.  We enjoy listening to music, reading, and playing games.  We are not huge drinkers, but there's nothing quite like a happy hour on a calm day.  I am slightly introverted and enjoy my alone time, but I also enjoy good company.  Maddie is extroverted and always easy to talk to.  

Wisdom is a 45 foot Morgan from 1968. She has been completely refitted and repowered. The equipment list includes:

Power and Batteries

• 20kw electric motor/hydrogenerator
• 210Ah 48VDC motor battery bank
• 525Ah 12VDC house battery bank
• 100W solar array on stern
• 200W flexible solar array on deck
• Electronic autopilot

Pumps

• 1000gph electric high water bilge pump
• 500gph electric bilge pump
• 250gph electric shaft sump pump
• Whale Gusher manual bilge pump
• Edson 1 gallon per throw manual bilge pump

Rigging

• Synthetic standing rigging
• VPC running rigging
• Sta-set control lines

Sails

• Battenless dacron mainsail with 3 reefs
• Full batten laminated mainsail with 2 reefs (spare mainsail)
• 100% jib with 1 reef
• 95% staysail with 1 reef
• 80% staysail with 1 reef (spare staysail)
• Nylon 180% drifter (light air sail)
• Nylon battenless mainsail (light air sail)

Safety and Navigation

• VHF radio with AIS and GPS
• Handheld GPS
• Satellite communicator
• Garmin chartplotter with GPS
• Depth sounder
• Windspeed and windpoint
• 4 person Offshore Life raft
• Ditch bag
• Life Sling
• Emergency boarding ladder
• EPIRB
• Floating orange smoke
• Non-expired flares
• LED signaling device (electronic flare and spare batteries)
• Flare gun
• Handheld VHF radio
• Paper charts
• Sextant, compass, and accurate time piece
• Sea anchor
• Monitor Windvane

Provisions

• 160 gallons of water in rigid tanks
• 27 gallons of rain water in bladder tank
• Rain water collectors
• 80 gallons of diesel (for heat)
• Large volume of canned and dry foods
• Large ice box for cold items

To prevent a mutiny while crossing the ocean, we feel it is important to lay out some ground rules before we proceed any further.

• We do not have any significant range on our electric motor, so if there is no wind, we will put up the nylon sails and sit as we drift along. This is when we cook nice meals and read books or play games.
• If we see foul weather approaching, we will put up the storm sails preemptively and sit as we await the storm to approach. When the storm hits, we heave to and wait for it to pass over. If the winds are too powerful, we will deploy the sea anchor and lower the reefed staysail, but the trysail will remain set to keep us hove to. We will not lay-a-hull during a storm. 
• Fresh water is very precious. Water usage is calculated based on how many miles we have left to go. If we are sailing quickly, we can use more water for showers or laundry. If we are not moving, the water usage is also exceedingly strict.
  • We carry 120L of bottled water in addition to the tanks, this is enough for 3 people to survive for 20 days comfortably.
    • Based on 2L per person per day
• Teeth are brushed with clean sea water. Fresh water used to rinse if necessary. 
• Showers will depend on how much we all smell and how fast we have been moving in the right direction.
• We heave to at night and go to sleep. I (Herb) wakes up at a regular interval to check for approaching vessels. AIS proximity alarm is also set to a 2nm proximity alert range. 
  • Sleep is very important, and we feel that getting a good nights sleep will better allow us to make the critical decisions that will keep us all safe. This will make the voyage take longer, but only by a few days.
• No drugs please. 
• No smoking please.
• No drinking please. 
• We will not enter a harbor by night. If we arrive at the Azores in the afternoon, we will heave to and enter the harbor in the morning.

The tentative schedule is to leave Bermuda around Oct 3rd and arrive in the Azores before November. We will be doing a fall crossing of the Atlantic, and our route will be roughly 35*N. We will ride the northern portion of the doldrums, where there is no wind because when the massive winter gales rage by to the North, they will create plenty of wind from the West in the doldrums. We will ride these puffs of wind as the storms roll by in their cyclical pattern. 

When a storm is North of us, we will have comfortable wind to sail in. When there is no storm to the North of us, we will sit and cook as we wait for the next storm to blast by and give us another push in the right direction.

Our actual course and date of departure is subject to change based on weather conditions and patterns around that time.

October 3rd was arbitrarily chosen as the departure date from Bermuda. If you feel that a different date around that time frame works for you, let us know, we are very flexible with times and dates.