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Sailing the Rias Baixas in Galicia Spain

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Galician Celtic musicians Over the past month, we sailed down from Ireland along the wild west coast, then crossed to Spain via the Bay of Biscay to sail the Rias of Galicia with 60 boats from the Irish Cruising Club. To say that it has been an absolute delight would be an understatement. I will tell each of the stories individually, but this is the introductory opening.

Day of departure

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I'm a fan of moving aboard several days before departure. You find out what you forgot to bring, you find out what you forgot to remove, and you find out what's not working so you can fix it. This time, we had multiple SNAFU syndrome. Alex went aboard to bring a load of stuff while I stayed behind packing more stuff. He was to run the generator and chill the fridge freezer. Problem #1, the fridge didn't cool. Problem #2, the exhaust pipe was leaking into the boat. Problem #3, the generator was charging too high and kept creeping up and spiking. Our hearts sank. It didn't help that it was a beautiful day.

Emirates Team New Zealand taking the America's Cup down under

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Foils, wings, and pedal power led the Kiwis to a massive 8-1 victory over the billionaires of Oracle Team USA. Burling, at 26 the youngest helmsman in the AC, made the transition from junior AC in 2013. So the oldest trophy in sport goes to the youngest skipper. Once again, innovation trumped unlimited financing. But was this sailing?  One might argue not. And how was it a contest of nations when in the last race there was no true American aboard the Oracle Team US entry?

The most beautiful boats ever built

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The J Class hosts arguably the most beautiful yacht design ever. That's why they are still being built. And this year, for the first time ever, 8 of the 9 assembled in Bermuda and 7 were expected to race during the America's Cup challenge. Three of the yachts are the original surviving yachts of 10 built. When they approached the start for the first time. Kenny Read was at the helm of Hanuman, one of the newer vintage builds. In this historic America's Cup J Class Regatta in Bermuda, three different crews won races on the opening day. Just one point separated the top two boats, Hanuman and Ranger on seven apiece, with Lionheart poised for three way final day showdown on eight. The yachts are: JK3: Shamrock V JK7: Velsheda JK4: Endeavour J5:    Ranger JK6: Hanuman JH1: Lionheart JH2: Rainbow J8:    Topaz JS1:  Svea JH3: Yankee J9:    J9 In second place in a dramatic, high stakes final race laden with tension off Saint George's island, the L

Guns and cruising

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The recent increases in terrorism and migration have once again gotten cruisers thinking about whether they should be carrying weapons on board. I will lay out the reasons why I believe weapons are not a good idea for cruisers. Guns aboard are a personal choice. But not for us. 

Bringing Aleria home

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Aleria at the new marina pontoon Aleria ready to go for a swim What has become our new annual migration between Westport and Killybegs in the West of Ireland took place in the north to south direction last week.  We launched Aleria on the high spring tide in Donegal on Wednesday evening. Having had a new shaft and prop fitted, our first dilemma was that the PSS gland was leaking too much. Back up in the sling and mechanics aboard to burp and tighten the seal. Back down again and ready out. Alex pushed the throttle and nothing happened! Back up again. Broken throttle cable. The mechanic suggested we drop in and motor slowly with him aboard to the new marina. We inch our way over in brilliant sunshine and total calm. At least there was something to be grateful for. The T end of the new pontoon is reserved for visiting yachts (€2/m/day). It had 24 feet of water at half tide. Phew!

NOAA has posted a draft plan on the future of charting

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NOAA has undertaken a comprehensive plan to evolve their chart products. The following statements are from NOAA announcements recently released: "The NOAA Office of Coast Survey has released a draft National Charting Plan. The plan describes the current set of NOAA nautical chart products and their distribution, as well as some of the steps Coast Survey is taking to improve NOAA charts, including changes to chart formats, scales, data compilation, and symbology. The purpose of the plan is to solicit feedback from nautical chart users regarding proposed changes to NOAA's paper and electronic chart products. Coast Survey invites written comments on this plan that is available from https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/​staff/​news/​2017/​nationalchartingplan.html ."

Psychological prep for offshore sailing

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My husband and I, like most couples, sail short-handed. Setting off on an ocean crossing or even a briefer offshore voyage takes a good deal of advance preparation, especially the first time.  There's a progression of experience we've noted. The first voyage is filled with fear, primarily fear of the unknown. You make lists, then lists of lists, then prepare for every eventuality. With each successive voyage, unless they are significantly different, the fear is replaced with other emotions, including excitement, anticipation, anxiety and determination. But a healthy dose of fear and respect for mother nature is always good to have. The one thing one needs to fight wholeheartedly is complacency. Complacency can lead to mistakes, and mistakes can be catastrophic out there.

What about electric laser "flares"?

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Handheld flare for night time location signalling.  We've been very interested in electric flares as an alternative to pyrotechnics since we staged a demonstration of flare use at our yacht club more than a decade ago. That demo showed us how dangerous it can be to have flaming magnesium dripping out of a flare that is held from an inflatable life raft. Pyrotechnic flares were invented in the mid-1800s.* A technological alternative that won't melt your vessel around you seems like a good idea. Flares have two applications: the first is to attract attention and alert others to an emergency situation, the second is help locate the person or vessel in distress. So two types of flares are needed for day and night: those that shoot high up into the sky and those that are held close by after the alert has been spotted. The convention of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) has standardized the signalling device recommendations to increase the chances of rescue anywhere in the world.

Apocalyptics

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Summer is coming to the rest of the world. For years, I've been feeling dread and doom for humanity. I've often shared with Alex that I feel that the end is coming for the world as we know it. There are too many people and not enough resources. It's a scenario heading for disaster of biblical proportions for the human species. I have read Lovelock and I subscribe to the Gaia Hypothesis that the earth is a single organism in which each species is inextricably linked and controlled to ensure the survival of the whole.

Shipbuilding heritage in Beaulieu

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Carpet of bluebells Visiting our friends, the Meakins, is always an interesting experience. They live in Southampton, UK, a city with a rich maritime heritage. In fact there is so much history everywhere that it becomes a game to discover how it all interlocks. Row, row, row your boat  On arrival, we were offered a trip up the Hamble River by row boat. Alex and Philip rowed up river against the wind. The marinas got progressively smaller until they disappeared altogether. Here we entered another world. A protected ancient oak forest carpeted with bluebells. The River Hamble in Hampshire, England flows for 7.5 miles (12 km)  before entering Southampton Water. It is tidal for about half its length and is navigable in its lower reaches, which have facilitated shipbuilding since medieval times. Leisure craft are still built there today and boating is very popular on the River. The river, its banks, and its shipbuilding yards, have also been used for military purposes, particul

Happy Hooking at Beaulieu Boat Jumble

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Daria and Alex Blackwell draw a crowd at PBO Ask the Experts Live 2017 Photo credit: Practical Boat Owner. Alex and I were invited by Practical Boat Owner to present our anchoring seminar at the Beaulieu Boat Jumble near Southampton in England on the 23rd of April. It was the 40th anniversary of the event's launch. Forget the fact that Beaulieu is pronounced bewley, we had always wanted to visit the legendary jumble and this was the 30th anniversary of the event. It was a great opportunity for a triple whammy: promote our book, visit the jumble, and see our good friends Lynda and Philip Meakins. Some of the attendees from our point of view. Photo: Alex Blackwell We thought about coming by car so we could load it up with stuff we wanted to buy, but it proved to be too expensive and time consuming. We flew to Southampton and Philip met us at the airport. After a lovely evening with Philip and Lynda, it was showtime. We had sent our presentation off to Laura Hodgetts to

Alphabet Soup of Cruising Clubs

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View from Knockranny over Croagh Patrick, Clew Bay and Clare Island For the past two weekends, we have taken part in the annual meetings of first the Irish Cruising Club and then the Ocean Cruising Club. I am a new member of the ICC this year, which has about 650 members in Ireland. I am a flag officer of OCC, which has about 3000 members around the world.

Top Ten Tips for Safer Sailing

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These are things we learned, often the hard way, on three Atlantic crossings and many more offshore passages. What things have you learned that can help others sail long distances safely? 1. The No.1 rule of sailing: STAY ON THE BOAT! Having a healthy dose of fear of falling overboard can save your life. Remember: 'One hand for the boat, One for yourself.'

Top Ten Tips for Safer Anchoring

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by Daria Blackwell, co-author of Happy Hooking. The Art of Anchoring.  We're starting the year with a new summary from our book with our top ten tips for anchoring safely. Do you have any tips to share with us? 1. Select your spot carefully. Do not anchor on a steeply sloping bottom, on a lee shore, or in close proximity to other vessels. Follow the lead of other vessels in the anchorage for method of anchoring (one anchor, how much scope, etc.).

Fear not...sail off in 2017, you will not regret it.

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One of the questions we often hear from people who would never contemplate crossing oceans or moving to another country is, "Weren't you afraid out there?" Yes there were times when we experienced fear, but we didn't panic. We spent years learning everything we could, practicing what we would do if something went wrong, and beefing up our spare parts department. We knew if we didn't panic and worked together, we could work our way through almost anything.

Sailor's superstitions

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Superstitious  by Stevie Wonder Very superstitious, writing on the wall Very superstitious, ladders bout' to fall Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass  Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past When you believe in things that you don't understand Then you suffer Superstition ain't the way superstition ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃ(ə)n,ˌsjuː-/ noun excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural. A widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief. I am not a particularly superstitious person, but I don't like to tempt the fates either. It is well known that sailors as a lot have been highly superstitious since taking to the seas over the centuries. Let's look at some of the beliefs and what their roots may have been. 

Coverting GPS Coordinates

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At some point in time, degrees, minutes and seconds that had been used to designate coordinates on a chart were changed into degrees and decimal minutes. In another step, the morphed into decimal degrees. Google maps uses decimal degrees. Charts use degrees, minutes and seconds, and some chart plotters and other mapping tools use degrees with decimal minutes. It drives me crazy to try to figure out one from the other.

Speaking about books

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We have been invited on several occasions to deliver lectures based on our books. Our anchoring book was actually born from a lecture. When people wanted to buy our book after the talk, we said, "What book?" That's when we set out to write Happy Hooking .

Manchester Cruising Association talk on Cruising in Ireland

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We were invited by Manchester Cruising Association to deliver our talk on Cruising the Wild Atlantic Way of Ireland.  We were met at the airport by Roy Conchie, Commodore, and dropped off at the Brittania Ashley Hotel in Hale, Cheshire.  He and his delightful wife Susie took us to dinner later and made sure we were settled with our plans for the day.  Roy was a very accomplished photographer in another life. Susie an accomplished accountant. They were just back from Barbados.