Saturday, July 30, 2011

Emily, don't be a bitch ...

As I write, Mother Nature is giving birth to what could be the first hurricane of the season, hurricane Emily. No abortions, no way of stopping it, nothing anyone can do but watch and wait to see if Emily will pay them a visit and leave them homeless, destitute or dead.
Having spent a good part of my life in the tropics in what is know as the hurricane belt, I have been through my share of tropical storms and hurricanes both ashore and afloat. The worst was hurricane Luis, a category 5 monster that devastated the island of St. Maarten, sinking or throwing ashore almost 1200 boats in the process. The two photos were taken during and after hurricane Luis. I rode out the storm at anchor … well, actually, seven anchors and a massive mooring.


At the end of the storm, which lasted two days, our boat was about the only one left in the war zone of Simpson Bay Lagoon that wasn’t damaged, and to this day I don’t know why. I had boats sink under and around me. Astern, a dozen yachts, some upside down, littered the shore and many were beyond the beach and amongst the trees.
I spent a good part of the next couple of weeks diving in the toxic brew of the lagoon, blindly feeling my way through the wrecks, salvaging what I could for friends whose homes and dreams were lost, some without trace. That exercise left me with a serious respiratory infection that has bothered me on and off to this day.
I remember friends hugging and sobbing on the beach, some not only lost their boats and everything they owned but eventually saw their marriages and relationships end in ruin. Looting was rampant until the Dutch military arrived with their helicopter gunships. Armed soldiers enforced a curfew. There was no water or electricity. People found God, others kicked him into touch.


Throughout the worst 48-hours of the storm, when the wind reached 155pmh, I was monitoring the VHF radio and heard some remarkable things. I heard someone on a ship, aground and battered by giant waves, ask the police for assistance. A police woman replied: “We are all too frightened to leave the station. God be with you.” Then the radio went dead or she turned it off. There was incredible humor, too. One skipper spoke calmly as his boat was driven onto the concrete dock outside a local bar and receive this from another yacht: “Order us a packet of fags and a bottle of rum, we’re right behind you.”
One thing I will never forget is the power unleashed by the storm and thinking, even then, how wonderful, nay beautiful, it all was.
Before air and water mixed and made it impossible to breathe, I would crawl along the deck to the bow wearing my mask and snorkel, check the warps and then shuffle back to the cockpit again. Eventually, the return journey was made backwards because it was two dangerous to turn around. On my final jaunt, I was blown out like a flag and that put paid to that.
If you are reading this and you live in the hurricane belt, then stay safe. If you live elsewhere, please wait a few days before naming your daughter, Emily.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Spray hoods … Oh, the shame!

Photo: 1932 classic Driac II showing spray hood with greenhouse removed.

There’s a lot to be said for an inside steering position on a cruising yacht and although I would never admit it there were times in the past when I would have given my last case of rum for some shelter. When I started sailing, British yachtsmen were expected to sit in an exposed cockpit and suck up whatever the weather threw at them. Yacht designers were complicit in this by failing to include any form of shelter in their plans. Real yachtsmen sat at the helm in all weathers, donned their leaky oilskins, and did the right thing by keeping a good watch at all times. Behave like a man they said and look into the wind and spray, and we did, be manly that is, even my wife.
Our first boat, on which we crossed oceans, was just 23 feet long, with a large open cockpit and no protection from the elements at all. Wind, sun, salt—we took it all on the nose and that is one of the reason’s I now have problems with ‘weird’ things on my skin. Back in our early days, we wouldn’t have been seen dead sporting a spray hood, no sir, they were for wimps. Our yacht would always remain sleek and uncluttered by unsightly canvas and stainless steel frames. The only exception was a French Plexiglas ‘bubble’. Wow, I wanted one of those real bad because they smacked of Bernard Moitessier, Cape Horn and voyages through the Southern Ocean. Whereas a canvas spray hood made you a wimp, a bubble made you a hero!
With maturity came common sense, well, at least some, and on our next boat we fitted a spray hood and in so doing all my morals went out the porthole. Why? Because we fit a spray hood to a classic yacht! There, I’ve confessed and feel better for it. Not only did we fit a spray hood, we also fit a frame at the back of the cockpit. This allowed us to attach a canvas top with a removable back and sides, in fact we turned the cockpit into a greenhouse and it was wonderful. I did the steel work and my wife sewed. I must say, when the whole thing was rigged, the boat looked like shit, but boy were we happy. At the first sign of bad weather, we would roll down the sides and sit in comfort.
On my final voyage with this boat, I left St. Maarten with her looking like a classic yacht but by the time I was north of Anguilla, I was watching the world go by from the comfort of the greenhouse. I took the thing down before docking in the Azores, so that people would know how tough I was and did the same before entering Falmouth in England.
The boat we have now was designed to the old British character building code of ‘real yachtsmen sit out and suck it up’ and I am currently seeking ways to protect us from the weather. It looks like another greenhouse is on the cards, my wife likes the idea so much she is reading up on Hydroponics.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Sea Books and eBooks


One thing that the eBook revolution has done is open the world of publishing to writers of sea books. For instance, my friend Cap'n Fatty Goodlander now has ten books in his stable and is working on more. His latest Somali Pirates and Cruising Sailors is an in-depth look at how, when, where, who, and why Somali pirates and cruising sailors interact—and the social, economic, and personal cost of Somali piracy to all concerned. Fatty is the perfect man to write this book, having recently cruised through the same pirate infested waters with his wife Carolyn. Fatty chronicled the voyage in Red Sea Run, a fascinating story of how a cruising couple maneuvered through the dangerous sea lanes off Somalia only to fall foul of land-based pirates in Egypt, a country where officials have turned extorting money from yachtsmen transiting the Suez Canal into a fine art. Fatty has heartily embraced new publishing and his popular books are a joy to read.
Earlier this year I was sent the Kindle version of Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before the Mast with eNotations by Chris Thomerson to review. Thomerson has done an extraordinary job. In this wonderful version of the famous sailing classic, you highlight a word or phrase that you don’t understand and up pops a thorough explanation. This has opened up the world of square rig sailing like never before and turned Two Years Before the Mast into a must read for anyone even slightly interested in maritime history. After reading this eBook you could just about sail a square rigger! I can’t recommend this book enough.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Frank Virgintino will soon publish a Kindle version of A Thinking Man's Guide to Voyaging South ~ Cruising the Caribbean. The ambition of many sailors living in North America is to sail south to the West Indies. The voyage can be tricky and a lot has been written about the best way to do it, however, the info is now rather dated. Mr Virgintino has come up with the most comprehensive guide to passages south that I have ever read and, believe me, not only have I read them all I’ve also made the voyage south several times.
Two fun reads available as eBooks are Julian Putley’s Sunfun Calypso and Sunfun Gospel. A BVI resident, sailor and writer, Julian’s books come with great reviews. The two ebooks, along with Julian’s famous paperback: A Drinking Man’s Guide to the BVI, are all available from Amazon.
Island Ice and Wet Feet by B.D. Anderson are two more rollicking Caribbean yarns that are available at the touch of a button.
My own book, Caribbean High, an action adventure that takes the reader on a thrilling seagoing chase through the islands, is selling well on Amazon. I didn’t know what to expect when I published, but the book has received some cracking reviews and I am very grateful to my readers. Spurred on by the success of Caribbean High, a second novel is now in the works.
All the writers mentioned (and I am sure there are many more) are experienced sailors with a gift for telling a good story and for sharing their knowledge. They tell it like it is, good and bad, and that is what sets them apart from those who write about the sea yet have never sailed upon it. So, if you are looking for a good nautical read then point your spyglass towards the Amazon website where you will find some terrific eBooks about the sea.
Happy reading.


Caribbean High ... The Movie