Below 40 South an adventure to be shared

Life is full of adventures,  you can share this one.

For as long as I’ve known him, and that’s a good 25 years or so, Howard Rice has been working on setting out on an adventure that would define his life.

He’s had adventures that top anything that most people have ever had but his sights are high and his ambitions large.

Read on, and follow the team as we help Howard.  While not everyone can sit alongside him in the boat, we can all of us experience the highs and lows of this voyage of exploration through the video that will be made from his cameras.  Support is needed, please help us get what will be an amazing story out there for all to share.

Check out the link below for details on that.

Heres "Southern Cross"  near complete,  being fitted out at SCAMP Camp Michigan this last summer.
As I write shes about to be launched for test sailing her gaff ketch rig tried for balance and her many systems tested.

Me? I designed the boat, it’s a SCAMP, with changes to suit the environment into which it will be venturing, I’ve a Kiwi sponsor who prefers to be anonymous, who’s covered my airfare to Chile from here. This means I can support Howard and help prepare the boat (thanks so much, I could not have even considered it without that help).

Sailing a boat of my own design in the Straights of Magellan was not on my list of possible adventures, but its going to happen.  Life is full of suprises!

Here is the press release from Lutra Productions who will be making the “movie”.

Press Release

Announcing “Below 40 South” a documentary being filmed about a solo voyage of exploration in a 12 foot sailboat through Tierra del Fuego and into the Southern Ocean.

Lutra Productions is pleased to announce we will be producing a documentary film of footage shot by solo sailor Howard Rice as he explores the remote, dangerous and staggeringly beautiful Tierra del Fuego in southern Chile. Howard has built the wooden sailboat he will explore in (A highly modified Small Craft Advisor magazine SCAMP design) and aboard this boat cameras will be mounted to record a daily video diary of his adventures below 40 degrees south.

Dateline: Austin Texas, Port Townsend, Washington- December 7^th, 2015

In February 2016 sailor and explorer Howard Rice will attempt to voyage south on the Straits of Magellan and out into the Southern Ocean to explore the remote southwest islands of Tierra del Fuego. Howard Rice sailed the eastern part of the Beagle Channel and south rounding Cape Horn in a fifteen foot wood canvas sailing canoe in 1990. He returns to explore further. His voyage began with the construction of the boat he will sail and Lutra Productions has documented portions of the build to incorporate into the planned film “Below 40 South, A Voyage To The Dark Side Of The Moon.” Rice’s actual voyage begins in January 2016 on arrival of the crated boat in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Rice and the boats designer New Zealander John Welsford will test sail the boat on the wind swept waters of the Straits of Magellan. Lutra Productions will be there to film the launch and test sailing before Rice sets off alone south into the wilderness of Tierra del Fuego and the storm wracked Southern Ocean. There will be no support boat and no film crew following him. He is sailing solo, unsponsored and will be operating a range of small GoPro cameras to record this amazing and historic small boat voyage. Some men and women may choose to cross oceans in small boats but all sailors know near shore navigating is by far the most hazardous, Tierra del Fuego below 40 south is considered the most dangerous ocean environment in the world and is home of the infamous Cape Horn.

Rice will have one year of opportunity to explore the region but hopes to conclude his voyage within six months of his departure unless more time is needed. The southern winter begins in May and Rice has equipped his 12 foot boat with a wood stove should he need it for warmth and is prepared to sail in winter if needed.

We invite you to contact us to learn more about the plans for the production of the documentary and how supporters can become part of the film production effort. To learn more about Howard Rice’s amazing small boat adventure you can contact either Small Craft Advisor Magazine or Lutra Productions or go to www.below40south.com the official website of the film.

Lutra Productions
4113 Guadalupe Street

Austin, TX 78751

Small Craft Advisor
PO Box 1343

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Media Contact Information:

David Nichols- Producer/Director
Lutra Productions
512 695-7365

david@lutraproductions.com

Josh Colvin-
Small Craft Advisor Magazine

1-800-979-1930

smallcraftadvisor@earthlink.net

www.below40south.com is the official website for the film

Ive been out having little adventures

Last week I took the ship out up to Kawau Island, about 2 hours away by sea, visited friends their then went to meet up with the beginning of the Kiwi Raid at Sandspit.

I was the “baggage barge” for the first day, baggage including camping gear for about 30 people was a good sized cargo but there is plenty of space in the covered cockpit aft so apart from needing four loads in the inflatable to get it all ashore at Martins Bay where they were to spend 3 nights at the motor camp while exploring the river at Mahurangi and the islands in the area, it was no problem at all.

I had the pleasure of the company of Roz for a couple of days, she is the organiser behind the Taweh Nugganah raid in Tasmania, those people being the bulk of the participants in our raid here.  Nice to meet you Roz, thanks for the pleasant time, you’re a great “deckhand”.

Raid progress reports here, I wish I could have stayed longer,  next year!

http://nzcoastalrowing.org/page/2/

More Kiwi participants too, this is a fabulous event, well organised, well supported with escort boats, the campsites all arranged, food provided, well done all the organising team.

From there, it was Mahurangi Regatta time, the annual event for classic yachts held in the entrance of the Mahurangi River,  there are usually between 250 and 300 boats there and while I’m primarily interested in the small boats, and admit to being biased and wanting pics of some my own designs, this is a fabulous event and one that I hate missing. 

This time, with the aid of Denny on the helm I was able to get around the fleet, hopefully not inconveniencing any of the racers, and got some very good shots.

Waiting near the beach, this is Carlotta Ann, soon to be renamed Kairos, I dont have any connection to the original name and she was an opportunity not to be missed.  Shes my most of the time home, big, comfortable and capable. I still have five other boats two of them with sails so Ive not defected from the small boat fold.

Breeze, 65 ft on deck, operated by an Auckland Maritime Museum volunteer group, a lovely sight at the Mahurangi Regatta, she sails the course with all of the racers and adds much to the spectacle. Yes Ive been up on that yard, while shes not a big ship its still a long way down.

Four of the St Ayles skiffs from the raid, all Tasmanian crews. Thanks for coming over people, great to meet you.

A sloop rigged Pathfinder,   http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/pathfinder/index.htm 

At this stage of the race  lying second to a boat that has won the event multiple times, local knowledge makes a huge difference on this course.

Rogue, slim, easily moved by that big sail. She finished second, well done. 

http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/rogue/index.htm

Saturday Night Special, designed to be a really quick and easy build for events such as the Texas 200, while not at her best in the very light winds ( the T200 is a notoriously windy event, there is an alternative larger sail area rig) she more than held her own among a fleet of very competitive small racers.   http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/sns/index.htm

No excuses for just chasing pics of my own designs, the opportunity does not come up very often so I take it where it happens.  But Ive more pics and will post again.

We took the ship up the river to Warkworth, the town at the head of the navigable part of the river, being a midday tide and a holiday weekend, plus the Raid boats were up there with John Dory their escort,  it was way too crowded and no space at the dock so I managed to turn us around in the smallest space imaginable without touching anyone else, a maneuver that I was very proud of, tied up at the kayak jetty ( not being used at the time) for an hour then headed back out.

Perfect weather, light winds, just enough to move the boats, sunny and calm, itrs a lovely venue and ideal for boatwatchers, birdwatchers as well, there was a big flock of Fluttering Shearwaters resting just off the point as we came in.

I’m back at my home dock now, have a few jobs to do before I catch the bus into the airport and fly across the Pacific to Santiago to meet up with Howard Rice to help prepare the way for his planned Southern Ocean adventure with his SCAMP.

Check it out here.   http://www.below40south.com

The fundraiser is to make a movie so everyone can share the adventure. The cameras are organised, the filming planned, it’s the production costs that we need to cover, even ten dollars will help.  Please.

I’ve not been to Chile before, New Zealand has strong trade ties with that country and quite a few Chileans live here, but this is a first on that continent for me.

I’m very much looking forward to it.

Watch this space for reports.

Long Beach to San Diego

Sunset in Dana Point.

The day finally arrived when we gave up our much coveted berth in Alamitos Bay and began our journey south to warmer climes and new adventures. January 3rd, the day of our departure, dawned cold, damp and foggy and we felt our way out of the harbor using GPS and Radar because visibility was down to about 150 feet. By 1100 it began to burn off as we motored down the coast to Newport Beach in zero wind. By the time we tied up at the guest dock at American Legion YC, it was sunny and beginning to warm up nicely. We spent a couple of days there, finishing up a few little projects on the boat but mostly socializing with friends. On the 5th, we departed from Newport Beach under balmy skies and, yet again, no wind. In about three hours we had the hook down in the west basin at Dana Point Harbor.

Gray whale headed south off Point Loma.

Off Camp Pendleton the Ospreys were at work

Sunrise off San Clemente. 

We departed Dana Point at 0530 on January 6th and after a pleasant sail in very light air, arrived at Southwestern YC in San Diego harbor at 1500.  On the way we spotted some Humpback whales about a quarter mile off the starboard bow, and a few minutes later a couple of Grays forty yards off the port beam.
Well stay here in San Diego a few days to socialize with friends and make final preparations for Mexico

Marlow Hunter 40 Review

Early last year I saw an article about the acquisition of Hunter Marine by Marlow Yachts. Like many sailboat builders during the Great Recession, Hunter found itself in some financial difficulty and was rescued by a stronger company. Sailboaters may not be familiar with the Marlow brand because it is a powerboat company. They build boats in Asia and market them globally. Marlow Yachts are widely respected and I think they will bring much more than a cash infusion to Hunter. Hunters aging product line needed an update and I suspect that there was some Marlow influence in the design and production of their first new boat, the Marlow Hunter 40.

When I first saw the drawings of the MH40, I thought this boat had better be fast because its not good looking. But a couple of months later I saw one on a mooring in Catalina and must say that the boat is indeed much prettier than the drawings indicate. From a purely aesthetic point of view, it is an exceptionally bold design statement with its powerboat-like hullform and sharply detailed deck. I think this boat blurs the line between power and sail by incorporating powerboat features into a sailboat. Only time will tell if this is the start of a new trend or not.

Spacious cockpit, massive transom and hardtop dominate the view from astern

Beginning with the deck, its hard to get past the knife-like window design. I think some will like it a lot and others might find it a bit too stylized. The cabin trunk itself is low and sleek, with the cockpit coamings integrated into the roof line. The cockpit is very large with twin wheels, a large dropleaf table amidships and a stainless steel arch that incorporates a bimini and mainsheet traveler. The transom incorporates a large trap door that folds out to make a swim or boarding platform. Im not a fan of this arrangement and Ive been told that Hunter will incorporate step into the transom so boarding from a dinghy wont be quite the challenge that this configuration presents.

Hunter is the only production cruising boat builder I know of that still uses the Bergstrom & Ridder rig. Weve all seen Hunter boats with the diagonal shrouds that go both ways (diamond shrouds), and some with deck struts as well to support the rig. Properly done, the B&R rig is set up without a backstay which is how the MH 40 is built. This arrangement allows for a large mainsail but it also puts a lot of compression load on the mast, especially when flying a spinnaker. All of this is fine if the system is well engineered, and the fact that there are hundreds of Hunters sailing with this rig attests to the quality of this arrangement. With all that said, I still prefer a basic two or three spreader rig and a backstay for cruising. The MH40 can be ordered with a classic mainsail, but my guess is that the vast majority of these boats will be set up with a roller furling mainsail. Notice that the traveler is mounted on the bimini. It appears to me that Hunter, like some other sailboat manufacturers is trying to make the sailing of the boat as labor free as possible. I guess thats a good thing for many people but I like to sail, to trim my sails and to get the best out of them. That is certainly possible with this arrangement, but whenever Im on a boat with the sail controls removed from where I think they ought to be, I feel distant from the actual sailing of the boat.

The hull of the MH40 takes the concept of chines to the point where there is little difference between the aft sections of this hull and those of a powerboat. This certainly makes for a lot of interior space aft and Hunter took full advantage of it to create a beautiful aft stateroom. With a displacement of 19,700 pounds and sail area of 910 square feet, the MH40 sports a D/L of 188 and a SA/D of 20. This is indicative of a moderately heavy boat with a fair amount of sail area.  The keel options include a deep one of 6-8" draft and a shoal version with 5-2" draft. The boat should move well in light air and the hard chines will provide a good deal of initial stability as the breeze builds. On the other hand, the hull appears to be quite full in the bow and the chines give it more wetted surface than a more conventional design. I think the MH40 is going to be an excellent boat under power and I would opt for the largest engine they offer. There are more than a few builders these days that are pushing their products in this direction, and it makes sense for boat buyers who love the idea of sailing to their weekend destinations but are constrained by time deadlines.

Hard chines and massive wings on the keel.

Marlow Hunter offers the 40 in two and three stateroom configurations. You can see how those chines in the hull contribute to expansive accommodations aft. Im impressed by the size of the aft cabins in both versions, but the single aft stateroom could be described as luxurious. The galley is large and there is adequate seating and living room in the main salon. The forward cabin is snug but adequate and everything is finished with Hunters usual attention to detail.

Overall, I have to respect the bold styling of the Marlow Hunter 40 and I think there is definitely a market for a good coastal cruising sailboat that can provide reasonable sailing performance as well as a good turn of speed under power. These days people have precious little time for relaxing at their favorite cruising spot and the MH40 may be just the right combination for todays busy cruising family. Its good to see the Hunter name survive and I wish them all success with their new line of boats.

Three Days in Avalon

Weve had abnormally cold weather here in southern California in the last month so when the forecast changed to unseasonably warm conditions for the next few days we decided to head for Catalina. Departing Long Beach around 11:30 on Sunday, December 15th, we had a light northwesterly breeze for the entire passage.  About mid-channel we broke out the flare gun and fired off some expired rounds for target practice. Its a fun way to get rid of old pyrotechnics and gives the crew a chance to get familiar with them. Though we usually stay at Two Harbors or Emerald Bay, this time we chose Avalon because at this time of year the island is nearly deserted of tourists and its a perfect time to visit this quaint town.  We picked up a mooring on the west side of the small harbor and got the boat squared away just in time to relax in the cockpit and enjoy a spectacular sunset.

Finisterra in Avalon

The boat is nearly ready to head for Mexico so the dinghy and liferaft as well as the deck bags are all lashed in place. Over the next few weeks well make final preparations and provision for the first leg of the journey south which will take us first to San Diego, then Ensenada, Turtle Bay, Mag Bay, and on to San Jose Del Cabo at the tip of Baja California.

Avalon looks festive as the sun sets behind the hills.

The next day we went ashore early and wandered around town a bit. The atmosphere was more like a country village than the bustling tourist destination it is in the summer. It was a beautiful warm morning and we hiked up to the Botanical Gardens a mile or so behind the town. Our route took us up Avalon Canyon Road and along the way we passed the golf course. I was surprised to see that the horse stables that had stood for years next to the course had been bulldozed. I wonder what theyll replace them with.

By midday we were back in town and played a round of miniature golf before heading back to the boat. I love playing there and we do it every time were in town. The course is basically a botanical garden with greens. Its a tranquil place with lots of hummingbirds and other flora and fauna...much better than an amusement park setting. Back aboard Finisterra, we relaxed and prepared for another beautiful sunset and moonrise.

With the mainland in the distance, the moon peeks from behind a cloud bank.

For a few moments the moonrise looked like a sunset. 

The next day we took advantage of free tickets for a Humvee tour into the back country between Avalon and Little Harbor. The tickets were courtesy of the West End Cruising Club which we had joined a year or two back. I was eager to take this tour because its the only way, besides walking, to see the interior of this end of the island. The Island Conservancy, which manages about 90% of Catalina imposes strict limits on travel in this area. Our route took us up to the airport, which is located on a high point in the middle of the island, then across to Little Harbor and Ben Weston beach, and returned to Avalon via Cape Canyon Road.

The Carnival Inspiration 

By 0800 a cruise ship had anchored off Avalon and the shore boat fleet was busy shuttling tourists ashore so it was a good time to head for the hills, no pun intended. This is a weekly port call for the Carnival Inspiration which also calls at Ensenada and its home port of Long Beach. The ship will depart for Ensenada at 1700 and the town will revert back to quiet village mode until next Tuesday when the ship will arrive again.

The view from the airport road.

Looking northwest from the airport road toward Long Point.  

Bison are plentiful in this part of the island. Unfortunately Catalina has been suffering from drought in the last couple of years and water is scarce. The Conservancy has been placing water tanks at many of the natural ponds where there is usually water for the wildlife.

Female bison and their calves run in herds while bulls lead more solitary lives. This young bull is on his own.

Later we caught up with this small herd. The trail on the left is the Transcatalina Trail which runs from Avalon to Parsons Landing and on to the west end of the Island.

After we passed the airport the road turned to rough dirt and gravel so it was a bouncy ride past Rancho Escondido and on down to Little Harbor. The rancho, owned by the Catalina Island Company (the Wrigley family) has been converted from a horse ranch to a vineyard enterprise. They grow chardonnay, zinfandel and pinot noir grapes that are shipped to the Rusack Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley by air. There they are made into fine wines. We missed an opportunity to taste them, but learned that they are available at one of the restaurants in Avalon. We did have a fine meal at another new restaurant in town, the Bluewater, which also has quite a respectable wine list.

El Rancho Escondido was formerly a horse ranch specializing in Arabians. 

Its hard to imagine a more idyllic spot to practice the vintners art

From the vineyard of El Rancho Escondido we drove down to a point overlooking Little Harbor. It looks like its wide open to a southwesterly swell, but there is a protective reef that makes it a reasonably secure place to anchor most of the time. It was deserted on this day, but in the summer there are usually three or four boats anchored bow and stern in this tiny cove.

Little Harbor is the far cove. In the foreground is Sharks cove, which is one of the few places on the island that occasionally has ride-able surf. 

 From Little harbor we turned inland again and drove up Cape Canyon road. We passed the old abandoned coach house which was once a stopover for horse drawn coaches, then we stopped at the eagle sanctuary. Right now there is only a single Bald eagle and a Golden eagle in residence. This is a good thing, since the Bald eagles that live on the island are all healthy. The Bald eagle that lives at the sanctuary was permanently injured several years ago and cannot survive in the wild. The Golden eagle is the last of the breed to live on Catalina. They are not native to the island and now that there is a healthy population of Balds, they are able to keep the Goldens from reestablishing themselves on the island.

Cape Canyon Coach House

From Cape Canyon we drove up the dirt road to Blackjack peak. From there we rejoined the Airport road and returned to Avalon. Im not a big fan of guided tours, but this one was fascinating. If you like back country touring youll enjoy this one.

Finisterra at her mooring. The squid were running inside the harbor, which brought the sea birds and seals in to feast on them all around the boat. 

Wednesday dawned cold and blustery and it was time to get back across the channel before a predicted storm arrived, so we dropped the mooring and got shot out of Avalon harbor by a strong wind coming down the canyon. As the day wore on, however, the wind lightened and shifted around to a westerly direction and we had a delightful sail on a close reach back to Long Beach.