Making Lemonade From Lemons .....

Ouch ! Crystal Blues suffered mightily in a collision at sea last month, just off the New Jersey coast and we've spent the past six weeks dealing with the aftermath of that incident. While we are physically OK, I can't say the same about our emotions.

The Ugly Duck

She was hit by an errant commercial trawler, the Ugly Duck, that approached from our port side and initially failed to give way. Yes we were under sail, however the guy at the trawler helm eventually decided to accelerate and turn to port, a bad mistake. So we turned to port to cross his stern, which would have been simple, except that 30 seconds later he changed his mind (panicked?) and turned hard to starboard as if to run down our port side. We again corrected, this time to starboard, but it was not to be - in the last few boat lengths the trawler straightened up and collided with our port bow. We had nowhere to go.

In fact they hit us three times - after the vessels fell apart from the first collision she accelerated into us again, and then again a third time - clearly nobody at the helm at that time. I believe the young guy in control panicked and abandoned the helm. It was a massive collision, and a lesser vessel would be at the bottom of the ocean now, however she took the hit and actually kept sailing until we dropped the sails.

Dangerous AIS Targets? New Challenges To Safe Navigation

A Busy Waterway, However The AIS Fish Beacons Give Me Great Fears

Heading north around Cape Hatteras a few weeks back, we found ourselves facing a number of targets along our intended course - only some were more dangerous than others. That green target at top right of the image (36870200) was an American aircraft carrier performing incredibly tight turns and circles - but that wasn't the danger. Neither was the fast moving target to the left of our track (the track in black), which was the Captain Caden, a 21 meter fishing vessel out of Barnegat Bay.

FV Handful & Four Local AIS Beacons

The real danger was that tiny cluster of targets on our starboard side - the US flagged fishing vessel Handful, seen here with a cluster of AIS beacons around it (note : this image, and those that follow, is produced by replaying our voyage on our electronic nav system. The target shapes are different when in actual navigation mode). If we zoom in (at right), the picture becomes more clear - one primary AIS target, being the fishing vessel Handful itself, plus a cluster of four AIS fish net beacons floating around her. Fish net beacons, using AIS. Hmm. OK, read my lips. Say after me. This is not good....

The AIS system was devised and built as a safety system for vessels under management. It was not built as an identification system for unmanned, unpowered fish net and long line floats that do not ask questions and cannot correct their course. If the technology is used for net tracking, the targets should display with a clearly different icon or graphic on screen. But they do not. They look just like ships on screen.

The IMO (International Maritime Organisation) has published guidelines for the display of navigation related symbols on screen (read them here) and no fishing target beacons are included. The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation has published a draft paper (read it here) on marking of fishing gear, which acknowledges the illegal nature of AIS fishing beacons, but doesn't come down against them.

Thanks to Ben Ellison, author of the excellent PANBO marine electronics blog, I obtained the following information from a US Coast Guard website :

"18. Can I use AIS to mark nets, pots, traps, moorings, or as a race mark, etc.? There are no outright prohibitions to use AIS (i.e. AIS AtoN) as a marker (see Types of AIS and IALA Recommendation 1016 – Mobile Marine Aids to Navigation). However, it is not permissible to do so with equipment intended for use on vessels, (i.e. AIS Class A or B devices), for lifesaving (i.e. AIS SART, MOB AIS, EPIRB AIS), or with devices that are not FCC certified and licensed. See 47 CFR §§ 2.803, 2.805, 2.301, and 80.13 regarding licensing, station identity, and the prohibition to sell, market, or use radio devices that are not FCC authorized (search, Equipment Class: AIS)." It appears then that so long as these devices are FCC approved, they can be used at sea. But are they FCC approved?

So, what has gone wrong? Firstly, Chinese manufacturers have seized on an opportunity to use AIS electronic packages as fish net beacons, though without any approvals from relevant international AIS scheme managers. Secondly, US fisherman keen to track their nets (at  very low cost) have seized on these tools and deployed them, even though they are illegal under US law (my opinion). In fact you can't buy these readily in the USA - you have to order them online through Ali-Baba or one of the foreign web supply chains.

Above is the Ova fishing buoy beacon, sold out of China on the internet for not much over US$100.00, waterproof to 10 meters, and it comes pre-programmed with it's own MMSI number. Wait a minute - how did that happen? An MMSI number is supposed to be a Maritime Mobile Service Identifier - a number that identifies a vessel and an owner and tracks back to the national registration of the identified vessel.

Who ever heard of MMSI numbers being issued by the factory that built the product.... geez. They are supposed to be issued by the country of registration!

Then there are other brands and models - in fact there are so many models that there is an entire market place on the web where you can buy these (illegal) devices. Check out the page at this address. Many are shipped with software on disk plus a cable that allows the user to program the MMSI number - this is completely illegal under US FCC regulations.

Many fisherman, reading this story, will be wondering what the heck I'm complaining about - OK so it's illegal, but where is the harm? In fact it can be said that the fisherman are doing us a favor by identifying nets and floats that otherwise would be invisible to us at night. However until these beacons can be identified easily on screen as floating beacons (and not ships), then I believe that some dangerous situations are being created. Read on for the story on that ....

So, Which Ball Valves Are You Using ?

Philmac Ball Valves On Our Seawater Manifold

My story on ball valve replacement at sea (read it here) lead predictably to the question of ball valve construction. Are you a traditional bronze kind of sailor? Or maybe you like stainless steel? Or just maybe you've converted to the newer industrial plastics, made with glass reinforced PVC or Nylon?

On Crystal Blues we love the industrial plastic valves, and have used Philmac ball valves for almost 20 years. These are built for the industrial process and agriculture industries, are tough as nails and (the best part) are cheaper than all those products that have the word marine included in the product description.... still, I understand the Philmac valves are approved for use on commercial vessels in commercial survey in Australia and New Zealand.

Engineered plastic valves are light, strong, do not corrode and won't conduct electricity, all properties that I love. Nowadays there is a new and I believe even higher quality product available - made from glass reinforced PVC. New Zealand company TruDesign make a superb range of tough, precision plastic skin fittings, valves and plumbing components specifically for the marine market. These are sold all over the world, and have certifications from Bureaux Veritas, ABYC, CE and ISO. These are the valves and fittings that will be used on Crystal Blues in the future.

Or Are You Using "Marelon" ?

Glass reinforced plastic valves and fittings are also made using Marelon, principally marketed in the USA by Forespar. Unfortunately these valves have experienced well publicized failures over many years. Marelon is a version of Dupont Zytel, a glass reinforced form of Nylon, a fine structural material, but perhaps not best suited to making marine ball valves, as the base material is weakened by immersion over long periods.  Read The Discussions Here and buyer beware.

TruDesign Diverter Valve

We won't use the Forespar Marelon valves. I should also say that the Forespar Marelon toilet waste diverter valves we purchased never worked properly - the closed outlet always leaked slightly, meaning the holding tank had to be emptied periodically even when not being used.

They were not fit for purpose in my experience. That was an expensive mistake, rectified by refitting with TruDesign diverter valves.

Changing A Thru Hull / Ball Valve At Sea

New Valve Going On, No Water Enters the Boat

We've done this a couple of times now, and it's a really simple and fast maintenance job. Finding a dripping leak in a ball valve on the engine sea water inlet, we investigated and found it was seeping through the seal to the handle. It had given us 15 years of service, so I was happy to replace it. We located the spares we carry and selected the right size - 1.25" in this case.

Next we needed a diver, and in chilly St. Augustine that was not going to be the Admiral. No way said she! A call to the local cruiser's net identified a willing local, so we scheduled the job for the next day at slack tide. Note that Crystal Blues has skin fittings (thru hulls) with stand pipes that are threaded, to allow the ball valves to be screwed on and off, without actually effecting the skin fitting.

Diver Ryan arrived right on time, and as he prepared his gear and suited up I started on my own work sequence :

- Close the faulty valve and loosen the hose clamps on the hose connected to it

Trusty Toilet Plunger

- With the hose clamps out of the way the hose tail (hose barb) is unscrewed from the valve. It rotates easily inside the hose, meaning you don't ever have to fight to actually get the hose off the hose tail. This is made easier if you always apply a little silicone sealant to the hose tail during assembly, before sliding the hose over it.

- Once the hose tail is disconnected the action begins - Ryan the diver enters the water with our trusty toilet plunger and holds it over the water entry point. He taps three times on the hull to signal he's ready, and I open the ball valve - voila, just a tiny amount of water enters the boat, before the pressure differential forces the plunger tightly against the hull and seals the entry.

- Unscrew the old ball valve, clean up the threads on the stand pipe, apply new PTFE tape and then screw on the new valve. Close the valve, tap three times on the hull and the diver removes the plunger. Simple!

- Some time later I re-attached the hose tail and re-fastened the hose clamps. Job done.

While many older boats still have skin fittings that incorporate the valve, many newer vessels are built with separate components which allows this process to work just fine. From my perspective, $80 for a diver for 30 minutes is a lot better than $800 for a haul out, just to change a ball valve.

Diver Ryan Was Faster & Cheaper Than A Haul Out

Navionics Is Sold To Garmin, Autonomous Ships Are Here Next Year

In sailing industry news, my most interesting events of the month are these ...

Autonomous Ships

The worlds first autonomous electric powered ship, Yara Berkland, will be in service on the Norwegian coast next year. Read all about it here. She will apparently replace 40,000 diesel truck journeys on southern Norway roads. And quite a few commercial seamen will not be required of course.

Garmin Acquires Navionics

The full release is here, but two days ago Garmin announced they had purchased Navionics. Now we may see the dangerous Sonar Chart issues finally fixed.

It will be interesting to see how Raymarine enjoy having to buy Navionics charts from their biggest hardware competitor.  Ouch, that must hurt.

Charleston Hurricane Reminder

Like a sad and permanent warning sign, this sailboat has been high and dry on the banks of the Ashley River in Charleston, South Carolina, for the past 10 months or so. It dragged anchor during the last hurricane that passed by here.

One American friend told me that through the summer, he is "always looking over his shoulder" as he sails on this coast. You just can't tell when a hurricane will head your way.

In Australia, tropical cyclones don't extend much below 28degrees south, but on the US east coast hurricane impacts are felt all the way north onto Long Island, at 40 degrees north.

In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy killed over 40 people, destroyed 250,000 vehicles and flooded the New York subway system, shutting down business and cities all over Long Island and the New Jersey shore.

The storm surge was over 14 feet above normal high water.

Hurricane Matthew Passes North Of Us In 2016

Our (new) marine insurer, Y Yacht Insurance, asks us to be north of 36 degrees by June 1st, or we would not have cover for damage caused by "named storms" - this is not an uncommon condition, though some insurance companies allow cover to continue somewhat further south.

Needless to say, we'll cruise the US coast this summer somewhat cautiously, always watching over our shoulder. In reality, we're watching the 5 Day Tropical Weather Outlook on the NOAA web site, as per the image at right.

You can see the current NOAA Hurricane Center warnings, if any, by clicking here.

Carriacou to Martinique - Assisting French Customs Along The Way

French Customs Patrol Boat

Two weeks ago we sailed out of Tyrell Bay in Carriacou, heading for Martinique, looking for our first taste of France in the Caribbean. It was a 24 hour passage, covering some 130 nautical miles, and involved a mixture of spirited sailing, and flat calms requiring the engine to keep us moving forward.  We sailed right past the Tobago Cays, Mustique, Bequia, St Vincent and St Lucia - many wonderful anchorages - however life just isn't long enough to stop at every island and we're still on a mission to reach the USA before the end of May. Equally, we're careful about personal security and were committed to bypassing St.Vincent, among others (St. Vincent is responsible for more than half of all security incidents involving cruisers in the Caribbean area).

The Vessel Of Interest- Click The Image To Enlarge

Approaching Martinique we were over-flown by a patrol aircraft, then an hour or so later a very beautifully presented patrol boat (so very French) approached us at speed and asked our intentions. They sat on our stern quarter while we worked our way through the basic identification tasks for the vessel and crew, established our intentions as tourists in Martinique and as bona-fide cruisers for the past 12 years before approving our approach to the island and wishing us a good day.

Their final question was to ask if we has seen any unusual boat activity in the past few hours - which we had. I explained that we had observed a small trimaran on a reciprocal course (it was heading south) that seemed to be badly handled, with sails not trimmed properly and steering a little wildly.  They were immediately interested and asked for all of our observations, timing, position etc. - it was clear this was a vessel they were looking for. I explained that the vessel was transmitting its position via AIS, and that as our navigation system logged all targets and data I could replay our course and establish its last known position received by AIS.

Now they were really interested and offered to stand by while we shut down the Transas navigation software and re-booted it in playback mode, scanning for that vessel and event. It took 10 minutes but we were eventually able to give them an accurate last known position, course and speed for the offending vessel, after which they thanked us profusely and steamed on their way. We're not sure what was going on, but were sure happy to help.

Arriving in Fort De France a few hours later we anchored in 4 meters of water, close to the old fort on good mud holding ground and found ourselves right in the heart of town - what a joy! The French had provided a nice dinghy dock on the bay promenade, and it was literally only 50 meters to the first coffee shop and restaurant. Oh joy, welcome to France.

Dirty, Dirty, People - Again - Removing The Antifouling Paint

Photo courtesy Peter Laine

Early This Morning, Speckled Progress Is Measured

Crystal Blues is looking like a speckled hyena, sitting awkwardly on the hard stand in Trinidad. We in turn are looking like wet and bedraggled coal mine workers.

Six years of accumulated paint is coming off, as we sand back to the yellow tie coat layer underneath. The black antifouling paint is quite toxic, also incredibly tough, so we're using an air powered random orbital sander and wet sanding under a water spray to eliminate the dust.

Along the way we're repairing some deep gouges caused by the (very) nasty net we hooked up off the coast of Suriname. That net dragged paint of the boat in about 20 places, initially around the waterline and then lower on the hull when the propeller twisted it up tight. In two places it went back to the steel, so we're repairing the epoxy base coat as well.

Andy Sanding With Ley On Hose Duty

After the first full day of sanding we hired someone with younger shoulders to share the load.  Our local friend Andy works freelance boat jobs in the yard here and is a practiced hand when it comes to this work.  We rotate ourselves on and off the air tool, totally dripping wet at all times, and gradually the black color is removed and the speckled hyena look takes over.  

The hard stand area here (yard web site here) is not really hard - it's a sandy soil that looks like dredging spoil. Each time it rains the entire area is boggy and soft, and in the tropical downpours there is two or three inches of water under the boat. The only positive side of all this is that we are cool, which is a pleasant change in this hot and humid climate. One more day should see the job completed and we'll move on to less onerous tasks. 

Onward To Trinidad - Preparing For Haul Out & Refit

Afternoon Thunder Storms Welcome Us To Trinidad

After two weeks in Grenada we moved onward to Trinidad, just 80 nautical miles away, in theory.  In practice that distance grew as we first sailed east and then south, avoiding an area known for robbery and occasional attacks on cruising boats - it appears that the desperate social conditions in nearby Venezuela have turned Venezuelan fishermen into opportunistic robbers.

Peaceful Conditions At Power Boats A Dock

Not a problem, we can go around it - so we sailed a large dog-leg of almost 120 nautical miles and arrived in Trinidad relaxed and looking forward to our new home.

Up until this arrival we had assumed that booking a marina berth was like booking a safe, comfortable place to berth our vessel. Not so in Trinidad it seems. Yes we had a berth, but it was a pile berth exposed to the ocean from the south. Waves would break right over the dock we were tied to in any decent southerly wind.  Hmmm - all this and it 'aint cheap my friends. No floating docks, no sea wall - but hey, it's the Caribbean, just chill man. Add another few fenders and every spring line we have, then you can sleep at night. Specially if you drink enough rum.

Tropical Storm Matthew Passes North Of Us

Some two weeks after our arrival here hurricane Matthew passed to the north of us, then unfortunately grew to Category 4 status and proceeded to tear up the island chain and threaten the US south east coast.

Local advice was to leave the dock when southerly winds were possible, so we did just that and anchored up in nearby peaceful Scotland Bay, for a relaxed evening as Matthew (thankfully) turned north and accelerated away from us.  Bless his very dark, black and stormy Force Four heart.

Trinidad is below the accepted hurricane zone, which is why we're here - however, big rotating storms passing just 100 miles north of us tend to focus our attention somewhat. Jeez....

In The Slings, Michael Driving Crystal Blues To Ground

Two days ago we hauled out of the water - at predictably great cost to the management, Crystal Blues was lifted by a sixty ton travel lift using double slings at each end. I felt good, specially after I dived in the filthy dock water to check the sling positions myself. "No Sir, we don't have divers" was the boat yard response - so in I went.

I pumped detergent into the water for a minute or so before diving, just to break up the oil slick on top. Not a tropical paradise here at the dock ....

Ah, but now we're really here - propped on the hard stand in a nice position, immediately adjacent to SV Tegan, friends from more than 12 years back.  Only problem is that they (Janet & Joe) are not here ... they're home in Canada ... so we'll watch both boats.

The daily regime is now up at 6:00am, and get into the work before the heat arrives. Breakfast and coffee are handled quickly, as we contemplate a job list that is probably too long to be completed in the time we have available. Such is the cruising life.

Stainless Hose Clamp Failures

Hose clamps seem to be such simple things - yet choosing the wrong types can sure mess up an otherwise perfect sailing day.

As we departed from Suriname three weeks ago we found that our salt water pump was sucking some air - water was still flowing, but each time the pump started it took a few seconds to prime.  That pump feeds the deck wash system and the toilet, so it wasn't a major inconvenience.  However we then found that the water maker was also sucking air - more of a problem, because it then produced fresh water with a lot of air, and the tanks were not filling as fast (it's also not good for the RO water maker system).

We eventually found the culprits - two failed hose clamps on the salt water manifold - they had cracked right through but still looked just fine. 

Back in 2001 we had replaced all of the perforated hose clamps on board with stronger and more reliable non-perforated types. It was a real chore at the time but it proved worth while as the systems became more reliable. I remember running all over Surfers Paradise, Sydney, Darwin and even Singapore chasing up my favourite Norma brand "Torro" type hose clamps. However after more than a decade in service some of our clamps are now starting to fail, where they have been exposed to saltwater drips or spray.

Of course they are all made from 316 stainless steel, with 316 stainless screws, so what is going wrong ?

It seems that our failures are not the Norma clamps - they are other brands including ABA, that have a fairly large perforation hidden inside the clamping screw mechanism.

The Norma "Torro" clamps have a more robust screw attachment and a smaller perforation in the band. To see non-perforated hose clamps failing is unusual, specially when they made of 316 grade stainless steel, however when you look at the failure  it's predictable - they failed at the perforation hidden inside the clamp mechanism.

So, we'll keep using the Norma Torro clamps whenever possible, in the "W5" 316 stainless steel grade. They are now available with Philips "cross" drive, as an option - how many gouged and bleeding fingers would that avoid ? If you want to see basic hose clamps done properly, check this link, specially the options on the last pages. I'm quite sure that other good quality brands exist - I just haven't found them yet.

Caribbean Summer - Hurrican Season

This is our first time in the North Atlantic with Crystal Blues, and also our first time to be watching for hurricanes. Here in Tobago we are below the "normal" track of these storms, and at a latitude of 11.19 degrees north we are below the 12 degrees 7 minutes north navigation limit imposed by our insurer for the summer months.

So we can cruise in Trinidad, Tobago and southern Grenada, but the rest of the island chain is off limits from June 1st to November 30th.

Friends and family back in Australia have asked how much warning we would get and how we know if we are in the path of a storm. The answer is shown here - the US Government NOAA National Hurricane Center publishes an excellent information site with data updated every six hours. Weather disturbances and low pressure systems are shown clearly, with detailed analysis and probability of storm formation in the forecast period (5 days).

If we hover our mouse cursor over one of the identified disturbances a complete analysis is provided, as shown at left here.

Of course this is only one of the forecasting tools available to us, which include regular HF radio broadcasts from experienced forecasters. However this is the one we turn to each morning and evening for an update of activity in the region.

Outside of these reports we still download daily GRIB files from the Sailmail "saildocs" server that give us a seven to ten day forecast based on standard weather prediction models. In theory these various services give us the information we need to decide on staying put or moving, if a tropical low does develop.

Suriname Cruising Services Guide

For those following in our wake, we've published a useful guide to cruising services in Suriname, adding to the collection of guides available online.

The guide can be downloaded from this blog - click on the appropriate tab above, select Suriname (or any other country) from the list, and the pdf file will be delivered from our Dropbox cloud storage.

The guides are searchable, so you can use Adobe search functions to find items based on keywords. 

The Suriname guide can also be downloaded here.

Enjoy Suriname!

When A Gale Is Blowing, Watch The Marina Move

It was far worse at Tuzi Gazi Marina in Richard's Bay (story here), where many boats were seriously damaged late last year. But even the "good" marinas here in South Africa can suffer when it blows hard.

This is the main walkway at Royal Cape Yacht Club just when today's expected gale force winds started pumping.  The difference between here and Tuzi Gazi was however immediately obvious - management here were on the spot as it happened, observing and checking.

 All the local marinas are moored in place by heavy chains, tethered to anchors on the bottom - divers inspect and adjust the chains periodically.  However if the chain length isn't exactly right, you can get some surprising events at certain states of the tide.  After raising our fenders we also ran lines off on the port side of Crystal Blues, to haul her clear of the (now exposed) plastic marina floats.

Seizing Wire Or Cable Ties - That Is The Question

Image Courtesy Rocna Anchors

So, how do you lock the screw pin on a shackle? Using monel or annealed stainless steel seizing wire is the traditional (and best) method, but it's slow, and often leads to pierced fingers and blood on the deck.  Very messy.

For really important connections (like the running back stays) we do use seizing wire, and then wrap the connection with self amalging tape to smooth it off and protect nearby body parts.

The same goes for anchor shackles, or anywhere that mechanical and/or abrasive forces are likely.

But there are many applications on-board where an alternative method can be acceptable, even though traditional wisdom advises against it...yes, nylon cable ties can be safely used in many situations.

UV Degraded Cable Tie Failure

Problem is, most nylon cable ties fail very quickly in sunlight due to UV degradation.

However you can use cable ties and expect reasonably long life if you use the correct type.

For some time we've been using UV stabilised cable ties in a range of sizes from the manufacturer KSS. Typically we get five years of reliable use from these.

Note the "W" as the final letter in the model number - that signifies "weather proof", implying UV stabilised. You can buy a similar product without that "W" notation, but it will not last as long...

Really; How Strong Are Your Dock Lines ?

Twelve years ago we purchased a set of plaited nylon dock lines for Crystal Blues, made by Marlow in England.

These were an expensive purchase back then, but we wanted the nylon for it's natural stretch - what a great shock absorber nylon is.

We purchased plaited nylon lines because they are quieter than double braid - they do not creak and squeak when cyclic pressure is applied at fair-leads and cleats. This silent behaviour is important to live-aboard cruisers, or at least to those who wish to sleep at night.

However we know that nylon is degraded by UV light, and in recent years we've been careful to add additional dock lines whenever the wind strength increased.

Here in South Africa the winds have been incredibly strong, and we were keen to replace the old lines as soon as possible. We looked at a range of locally made plaited lines made from nylon or polyester, and also at double braid lines that use a nylon core protected by a braided polyester cover.

Markus Loading The Test Machine

However, before spending our hard earned cash, we decided to see just how strong our existing dock lines were - could they still be trusted? We visited the Southern Ropes factory in Cape Town, where we were able to destructively test one of our existing dock lines. The results were, quite frankly, very disturbing.

With great assistance from Markus Progli at Southern Ropes our very tired dock line sample was tied to the test cell.

Markus set the test in motion and then stood back a little from the machine, with fingers planted in each ear. What was going on we asked? Markus walked even further from the machine and then explained that when the line broke the noise would be incredibly loud - loud enough for people even in adjacent factory buildings to hear it!

At his suggestion we moved further from the machine, hands over ears, waiting for the big bang. At this point the line was stretching incredibly, having increased in length over 50%.  Small creaking noises could be heard, high pitched squeaks and squeals from the tortured line.

Lines That Go Bang When They Break

Starting The Test

So what happened next? At 100% stretch (the sample had doubled in length) the nylon line finally broke, not with a bang, but with a pitiful UV degraded whimper!

The test rig showed the failure at 749kg, which is rather poor when we consider the original 16mm line had a rated breaking strain of 6,640kg. The nylon line had lost more than 85% of it's original strength.

It was completely rotten, due to UV degradation.

Use The 16mm Dockline Or The 2mm Dynema String ?

At this stage of the test I was surprised to see Markus with a cheeky twinkle in his eye. He looked around among the various rope samples in the test area and appeared triumphantly with a very thin piece of Southern Ropes Dynema line.

Handing Ley a piece of 2mm diameter Dynema "string", he said "hey, you should tie your boat up with this, it's actually stronger than your dock lines"! OK, so he made his point, though Dynema doesn't stretch enough to be useful as a dock line.

Goodbye Old Friends

Now we know that our old nylon dock lines are well past their use by date.

So we're evaluating replacements, and leaning towards double braid lines that use a nylon core with a woven polyester cover to eliminate the UV damage. The cover is very loose on the core, and should not squeak (we hope).

We've purchased two for testing, and they have remained silent even in Cape Town's high winds and mobile marinas. These should last for many years without such a dramatic loss of strength.

Can anyone comment on the mixed nylon / polyester lines ? Do they squeak and squeal ?

Dynema Shackles; Then & Now

As cruising sailors we can find ourselves a little behind the bleeding edge when it comes to changes in sailing technology. In a way I'm comfortable with that, happy to let the racing guys figure out what works and then adopt it some time later, when it costs much less.

So, we're now very happy to be using "hi-tech" Dynema (or UHMwPE) soft shackles, as in the image at right, in several applications on board Crystal Blues.  However yesterday we were taught a very clear lesson in just how far these new line technologies have moved ahead.

We visited the Southern Ropes manufacturing facility here in Cape Town, on a mission to analyze the remaining strength in some of our older lines (more on that later).  While there we noticed two HUGE soft shackles made of UHMwPE being checked.

Rated at over 76 tonnes, these shackles are made from 28mm UHMwPE line that has been heat treated and coated to improve the strength and life of the shackle.  This one is destined for the mining industry.  Interesting to note that the sailing market is only around 5% of Southern Ropes total business base.

Southern Ropes showed us the heat treatment facility where these lines are effectively baked under controlled tension to minimise the "creep" or elongation characteristic that is the one down side of UHMpWE or Dynema in longer term use.

The production line includes baths to die the fiber to desired colors and other stages that apply coatings to enhance the line strength by retaining the fiber alignment as it comes off the hot tension rig.

Simon's Town, South Africa - Blowing Your Sox Off

50 Knots On A Moored Sailboat Is Not Much Fun

Folks warned me that Cape Town was windy in the summer, but I really didn't expect this much wind. Sitting here in the marina at Simon's Town, we watch the wind speed as a form of entertainment - what will it hit today?

For the past five days its been blowing around 40 knots average, and for several days much higher.  Local mountains create katabatic gusts that swirl through the marina.

Yesterday, friends watched a waterfall being blown uphill, just above the town.  Yikes. We go forward to check the dock lines frequently, but over 45 knots that means holding on to the life lines - in the marina! Some boats are diving and bucking as if they are at sea.

Tonight we sat in the cockpit for an hour having sundown drinks and saw wind over 50 knots several times in the gusts, with the average for the hour being 45 knots. Just nearby, aboard the catamaran Emerald Sea, they measured 65 knots. This wouldn't be so bad if it was just for a day, or even two days, but it is expected to blow like this for another week.

Crystal Blues is riding to five (count 'em) spring lines, three starboard bow lines and numerous others. Chafe is constant - we added woven chafe protection to the bow lines yesterday, it was full of holes by the morning.  Tonight I added Spectra sheathing to two bow lines, we'll see if that survives. Vigilance is everything here.

Finally, here is a first for us - in the big gusts, the wind blows the fenders up through the lifelines and onto the deck. Give us a break! Locals are totally adapted to these "breezes", after all they get 100 days per year of gale force wind, here in Simon's Town. The locals also call this wind the Cape Town Doctor - we do love Cape Town, just not the doctor's medicine!

The 2015 Indian Ocean Crossing - Five Vessels Lost, A Very Tough Year

Yes, 2015 was a tough year for the Indian Ocean crossing - on Crystal Blues we suffered an unusual amount of damage, and many boats were lost or abandoned.  But was this an unusual year?

The massive El Nino conditions certainly had an effect, with the Indian Ocean waters being hotter than ever before.  I suspect that what we really had were "elevated" ocean wind conditions, compounded with a large number of boats undertaking the crossing.


Of course many cruising boats reported excellent conditions, specially those that crossed early in the season.  However both the southern and northern routes had their fare share of casualties over the course of the season.

Typically, the northern route vessels traveled from Chagos westwards across to the Seychelles and then south via Madagascar.  Southern route vessels crossed from Cocos Keeling to Rodrigues, Mauritius and onwards, or from Chagos down to Rodrigues or Mauritius and then onwards.

We chose the latter route, finding ourselves in 60 knot conditions for several days, with large breaking waves sweeping over the boat from the south east and from the south.  Swells were in the 8 to 10 meter range.  It was certainly challenging, and I was bloody glad to see Rodrigues appear out of the rain early one morning.

An informal "Indian Ocean Crossing Group" exists on Facebook, and this year there were 69 boats listed for the passage.  I estimate that at least another 30 boats made the crossing without listing in the group.

So what is the big picture for boats that crossed the Indian Ocean in 2015-what was the damage bill and just how tough was it?

The Stainless Thing That Went Bang In The NIght

Successive Stresses - Click To Enlarge The Image

Some weeks back I reported on a failure of our stainless steel boom bail, when a rain squall brought about a fairly gentle but inadvertent jibe - you can see that story here.

We're still working on the boom repairs, and on installing webbing slings as main sheet and preventer attachment points for the boom.

However the failure of that part is an intriguing lesson in the finite mortality of stainless steel on board the vessels we call home.

This image shows the failed part, and after consulting with experts I can see that this was not an instant total failure - in fact it clearly started to fail a long time back, and subsequent stresses have continued to weaken the bar until less than 50% was holding the thing together. Then came our latest jibe, and away it went.

Naval architect Evan Gatehouse, sailing on the catamaran Ceilydh, showed me how the "beach sand" tide marks on the right hand side are the record of successive stress events, and the final failure is visible with its granular structure at bottom left.  You can't trust old stainless steel it seems.

High Winds Sink Tuzi Gazi Marina - Again

Crystal Blues Stern & The Sinking Docks

This section of the South African coast is a real weather engine, with a succession of high and low pressure systems dancing along the coast with unusual frequency.  The wind will swap from North East to South West and then back again within 24 hours, and then flip over again within another 24 hours.  It seems never ending.

The docks here at Tuzi Gazi Marina were badly damaged by a 70 knot gale about three weeks ago, when the main pontoon collapsed into a spectacular concertina.  Unfortunately several visiting cruising boats were damaged in that blow.  The dock staff have worked endlessly to repair the dock sections that failed, but each successive storm puts the damaged floats underwater again, so the dock buckles further.   A lack of parts and a complete lack of new floats is hampering their effort.

The initial disaster was caused by the failure of rusty anchor chains.  The heavy chains that hold the marina in position are tethered to concrete blocks on the sea bed.  These moved in the big blow and have not yet been re-positioned, so the entire structure is moving around in the wind, flexing the hinge points and further stressing the structure, specially at low tide.  Its a mess.