Just Part of the Gig

I'm not a huge fan of books on how to sail I find most over complicated and almost always aimed at racing. While some books here and there touch on the how to sail thing, none seem to do the job I expect. A lot of the boats on cruising these days are more along the lines of how to buy stuff and spend money rather than about sailing...

Not too long ago in one of the Caribbean sailing rags there was a letter telling a story of how the writer and some friends had been at a floating bar when a boat came into the anchorage under sail and proceeded to anchor under sail. Now you would think perhaps the writer was writing to say how nice that someone still has and uses basic sailing skills or perhaps to give the Captain of said boat an attaboy... But no dear readers it was one of those letters that this sort of thing should not be allowed as obviously the sailor in question was putting all at risk with his antics... and if he was doing it right it would have been under power... Power safe... Sail bad.

Now WTF is wrong with that picture?

I'm no Luddite, So It Goes has a motor (an electric one for what it is worth) and it makes sense to use it from time to time but there is something deeply troubling when people who own sailboats equate safety with an engine as if the simple act of sailing is something akin to being out of control.

The fact of the matter is we all should be able to do the basic everyday stuff under sail... Really. It is simply a part of the gig and if you have a problem with it might I suggest you trade in the Bendytoy for a Donzi or better yet a Winnebago.

Which of course brings us back to the books on learning how to sail or improving your basic sailing skills (note the word "basic" which includes anchoring under sail... BASIC!) and one comes to mind that would really piss off the guy who wrote the letter to Caribbean Compass but that would just be a bonus to the fact that it would also go along way towards improving seamanship which is after all the object of the enterprise.

Jerome Fitzgerald seems to be one of those authors whose work has that love it or hate it sort of reaction and looking at some other reviews of SEA-STEADING he really seems to have a knack of getting up peoples noses... Frankly I don't see it, but then again some might say that "I" have a knack of pissing people off as well, so what do I know.

What SEA-STEADING is good at is making all of the so-called difficult stuff simple which is the measure of a good teacher in my world. His chapter on weather is the best I have ever come across and his chapters on boat handling and such things as sailing on and off an anchor are alone worth the price of admission.



Check it out!

Pirate Music

Pirates of the Caribbean has a lot to answer for and I won't bore you with a rant on what is not a good thing about making a film series ( I won't use the word franchise...) based on an amusement park ride but it has become a part of popular culture and while we who have a long time interest in things maritime,nautical and dare I say pyratical might find it less than it could be it most certainty is popular and when all is said and done that is something of a good ting...One of these days someone will make a good pirate movie but if nothing else POTC was a wonderful exercise for Johnny Depp and that alone was almost in itself sufficient excuse to do the film.

I've always liked music that has something to do with the sea and to say that I am enjoying the numerous and varied music that has been springing forth recently of a pyratical nature would be something of an understatement. Who would ever thought that you could listen to pirate rap or metal ( though I am still waiting for Pirate Country Western to arrive!) and while to be truthful the rap and metal offerings are not quite my cup of grog ( sorry could not help that) I really do admire the spirit and creative bent they represent. My personal tastes tend to be along the lines of the British 70's electric folk groups such as Lindisfarne, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention with nods to more modern groups like the Bilge Pumps ( I mean how can you not like a band whose album is Brigands with Big uns!) and the Volunteers a great and wonderful Celtic outfit out of Miami...and suchlike as the model of what type pirate music works for me.

Maybe the best single source to dabble in all of this madness is BilgeMunky radio a podcast of various music piratical..Always a good listen and always fun and I always make sure that I have it on my Ipod when doing those late night watches on passage. When Pirate country western makes an appearance I'm sure the first to have it will be BilgeMunky!

Music available from Amazon.com:

• LINDISFARNE
• STEELEYE SPAN
• FAIRPORT CONVENTION
• BILGE PUMPS

The real deal

There is something very neat about getting up in the morning and being the only boat in an anchorage. Add the fact that with WIFI you can actually check your email and peruse some boat design issues while having your morning coffee and you have to admit that progress is a good thing...But too often progress is a very rare thing and much of the so called "Progress" is simply old tech dressed up as new tech but today I happened on the following tidbit and it is the real deal!

One of the sites that I find oh so interesting is Craft A Craft (thanks Navagear for turning me on to it ) as though he is something of a power person still shares many of my interests like alternative propulsion such as Electric drive and other stuff of boat building ilk of the sort of Bolger mindset...Lots of good stuff. ..For example this really knocked my socks off ...a link to a new type of wind generator YOWZA!!! Be still my foolish heart...More info can be found on http://www.humdingerwind.com/

This is good stuff...Though the folks who make prop driven wind generators may not think so...

My Place in the Food Chain 1.5

I was watching the spearfishing show "Ocean Hunters" on ESPN the other day while in line to get a burger and the thing that caught my attention was just how over gunned the talent was using big guns for less than BIG fish. Which made me wonder just at what point do you jump to a bigger gun...

As you may have guessed I like minimal and simple...Pole spears make a lot of sense as do Slings but force the hunter to get up close and personal to the fish and this is no bad thing as it gives you the skills to get close to the big fish when you go with band guns.

Back when I was younger and dumber there was bugger all available to spear fishers in the form of decent guns...These days there are so many it is simply mind boggling. A lot of people have put a lot of thought and serious quality craftsmanship into gear that works. In the old days a gun that you could depend on was not always what you might be using...

Once I get out of the Caribbean (can you SPELL P.. A.. C.. I ..F ..I ..C?) which is becoming more and more spear unfriendly there will be a couple of new guns in the quiver but for the moment My Rob Allen Railgun is more than up to the Open water stuff I do though I have been seriously thinking about upgrading the muzzle with the Hammerhead when it is time to replace my current bands as they have a nice deal on a new muzzle and bands ...Which the way that bands rot out down here in the tropics will be sooner rather than later! On the other hand their new Evolution spear guns are so cheap...

Speaking of Bowsprit accessories...

All this thinking of bowsprits has me perusing all the boats these days for clever (dare I say Cunning?) plans to get my Gennaker a bit more user friendly.

Coming into the marina the other day I could hardly miss this needful accessory...