Cheap Autopilot Trick

Autopilot is an incredible investment for a long distance cruiser. The value of being able to let a machine guide your course is invaluable when it allows you to be free from the helm while on watch. Electronic or wind powered autopilots have one major flaw in their design: cost. Both types of units will cost several thousand dollars and require a lengthy installation process.

That being said, there is a cheaper alternative to autopilot: sail balance.

We have both, electronic and wind powered autopilots, and we still use this simple trick. When going to windward, simply lock the helm straight and trim the sails for a balanced close reach. The yacht will not be able to turn further into the wind as the sails will luff and stall, and if it falls off, the sails will bring it back up into the wind.

This trick will allow you to sail as fast and as close to the wind as possible without the cost or complexity of an autopilot system.

To recap, all you need to do is lock the helm straight, then trim your sails for close reach and be sure they are balanced. The yacht will then turn up into the wind and sail along on the most windward course that it can as quickly as it can.

Even with two types of autopilot systems, we still do this trick when beating to windward as it is the easiest to set and allows us to relax in the helm as the sails do all the work.

Raising Anchor in Bad Weather

When waves are high and winds are powerful, raising your anchor to escape the conditions can be a real challenge. In a situation like this, a manual or an electric windlass will still struggle.

The force of the wind and waves is pushing you back with such fury that the chain will be bar tight! How will you get your anchor up in this? You can try to motor up to it, but any slack in the chain will cause the bow to fall off the wind and pull the chain tightly from an angle, making the entire endeavor futile.

The best solution is to negate the engine entirely and simply use the power of the waves in your favor.

When the bow raises up the face of a wave, the chain will go bar tight. As the boat crashes down the back of the wave, the chain will go slack for just a moment. This is when you bring the chain in.

It is a slow and tedious practice but it will bring in around a foot with each wave, which can be as often as every 4 seconds if the period is close.

When you reach the anchor, the waves will help break the anchor free from the bottom and allow you to reel it in as it skips over the bottom with too short of scope to reset. Now you are free to sail away and seek a safer harbor.

Shark!

As if Staniel Cay wasn't awesome enough! Right by the marina, there are a resident school of nurse sharks that just hang around all day long.

Thunderball Grotto

Honestly, Staniel Cay has been our favorite area in the Bahamas. It is so popular with tourists that they offer all the amenities you would like to have, while still being small enough that you feel isolated in paradise when anchored. There is also cell phone coverage here which makes accessing the internet possible while at anchor here. 

Right next to Staniel Cay is the Thunderball Grotto, named so as it was the location for the underwater fight scene for the James Bond movie Thunderball. 

The grotto is a beautiful cavern inside where the limestone has eroded away to create this huge cavern with an open skylight in the center. The best part about the grotto is actually what can be found beneath the surface. 

The grotto is teeming with large fish that will swim right up to you as you swim. At the surface, large stripped fish will come right up to your hands and mask, but if you dive down, larger fish will be skirting along the bottom!

The grotto is best visited at low tide, and at slack water. At low tide, the ceiling is farther away, allowing you to snorkel without hitting your head. At slack water, there is less of a current ripping through which makes the entire experience easier to navigate. 

We visited the grotto our first time at low tide and with a slight current. It was really fun and we spent a few hours swimming around this small area. It might seem like you could see it all in a few minutes, but the truth is every time you revisit a spot, something new will be swimming there. 

We returned for our second grotto experience at high tide, and the current was a bit stronger. The rocks were closer to our heads and the current was very strong. We swam around for a little while but it wasn't as enjoyable. 

If you visit the grotto, be sure to visit it at low tide and when the current is lighter,; you will have a magical time in there! 

Bermuda

​Hello! We are anchored in Bermuda in St. George, on the north end of the island. If you would like to meet up, please email us at riggingdr@gmail.com

We would love to meet the local readers of the blog!​