Countdown to Cuba – Have Wind Will Travel

Shipyard Project #1: Reinforcing Our Rudder

August 2, 2018anniedike

Let’s talk about our rudder. While Phillip and I are quite pleased with the majority of the systems on our boat and their original design, this was one where—if we could have been there at the factory in Ontario when the Hinterhoeller crew was putting our boat together—we would have asked them to make a slight modification to this rudder design. Here are the components of our rudder:

It is a very sturdy, yet light-weight, high-performance rudder, with a keyway to grip the steering quadrant and a very hearty nut on the cockpit floor that turns and locks down with set screws to hold the rudder tight, the only issue we had had with it is where the rudder post penetrates the cockpit floor. If you can imagine how much pressure is put on our rudder when we are steering down waves in a gnarly sea state, that pressure is magnified at the fulcrum point where the rudder fits through the cockpit floor. And the only thing holding it firm there is a rudder post cap secured with three 1/4” bolts. Here is a photo of the rudder post cap with the nut and plastic bushing, followed by one (with the plastic bushing and nut removed) and the top of the rudder post dropped down a few inches during our rudder drop.

As many of you die-hard HaveWind followers might recall, we first noticed a problem with this rudder post design during our offshore beat to windward when we sailed to Cuba in 2016.

Yep. That’s the one. Try to imagine how much pressure is on the rudder in that photo and how much of that was being translated to those three little bolts on the cockpit floor. It was enough to cause our rudder post to start moving side to side, athwartship. Which, once we saw it, immediately caused Phillip and I to go upside down in the lazarettes trying to stop it.

This is what we found when we got down there:

Just three bolts (the third, on port, is concealed behind the rudder post) with initially only one washer and one nut on each. Adding the additional two is what Phillip and I were doing down in the lazarettes on our way to Cuba. And, while the additional nuts did stop the majority of the athwartship movement of the rudder post on the cockpit floor during that passage, you can see in the photo above where we have tightened them so much they are literally starting to crush the cockpit floor. This is what really worried us: such a small compromised area holding such a critical, heavy, and load-bearing component of our boat.

We knew when we got back from Cuba, we wanted to take some measures to reinforce this area before we sailed to the Bahamas. Our initial reinforcement plan—without having to drop the rudder—was to add large stainless steel flat fender washers to help spread the load of those three bolts. Our buddy Brandon with Perdido Sailor (with whom we usually haul-out) helped us grind the washers down to fit around the cap that sits in the cockpit floor.

Annie making an immaculate cardboard template of the area on the engine room ceiling around the rudder post.

We then used the template to make custom washers to fit around the bolts that go through the rudder post cap on the cockpit floor.

We knew this would be a temporary fix for the season, though, and that, when we got back from the Bahamas and hauled out the following year, we wanted to drop the rudder and really do this project right. And, we knew we would be hauling out again with Brandon at Perdido Sailor because his work is exceptional and he and his guys are willing to allow us to tackle projects there ourselves while they teach, supervise, and rightfully pick on us … that’s shipyard culture. In researching how we were going to accomplish our rudder reinforcement, I mentioned in my Post-Bahamas Projects blog what we discovered when we talked to some fellow Niagara 35 owners through the Niagara 35 Owners Facebook Group. We found one Niagara owner, who was had just finished crossing the Atlantic, and was in the Azores at the time, not wanting to haul out and drop the rudder at the time, decided to add a very substantial backing plate around the top of the rudder post to help reinforce and secure it.

I guess you could call this a topping plate, since he mounted his on top of the cockpit floor. After discussing this at length, Phillip and I decided we wanted to mount our plate underneath the cockpit floor for cosmetic reasons. Either way, top or bottom, we knew a large plate mounted around this hole would help spread the very heavy load of the rudder and help reinforce the cockpit floor. We got with our buddy Mike, who helped us configure the initial custom-washer-fix and who is a talented machinist (and owner of a beautiful 1981 Tartan 37 – boat tour HERE! – you’re welcome! : ), about making a plate for the underside of our cockpit floor. Say “Hey!” to Mike!

And this is the wonderful piece Mike made for us!

Look at that smile. I mean, who wouldn’t be grinning from ear to ear knowing they’re about to have a tough-as-nails rudder rig-up on the boat. Heck yeah!

After measuring underneath the cockpit floor and assessing the sufficient space we had down there (the closest item to the rudder post is our rudder indicator on the port side), we decided on the following fix:

An 8 x 8” stainless steel 1/4” reinforcement plate

After playing around with the plate down below in the engine room, we found sitting it in a “diamond” fashion with one corner toward the bow, one to the stern, one to starboard and one to port, would allow the plate to sit centered on the hole and not touch any other instruments on the engine room ceiling near the rudder post. Like this:

You’ll notice those holes on the cockpit floor by the binnacle base. Those are for the rudder post stops. I was in the process of re-bedding them when the plate came. We do a thousand things when we’re on the hard!

Here is the design, after the center hole in the plate was cut, mocked-up on the top of the cockpit floor:

While this fix (i.e., drilling the three necessary bolt holes through this plate and mounting it underneath the cockpit floor) seems like a pretty easy fix, Brandon spotted another issue when we were dropping and disassembling the rudder.

Pssst: This is why we love this guy and always trust him with any boat repair.

When we pulled the rudder cap from the cockpit floor this was the hole we found that was cut for our rudder post.

Does that look perfectly round to you? Hardly. That’s an amateur Annie cut right there! Not something we expected to find on our blue-water Niagara, but, as the boys at the yard said, our rudder install must have been done on a Friday shift, before a long weekend. Humans are just that. Humans. Someone at the Hinterhoeller facility didn’t really take their time making this cut. But, even if it was round, Brandon also found it was about a half inch too wide for our rudder post cap. Meaning, not only was the cap itself only secured with three 1/4” bolts, it also was not supported in this hole with solid 360-degree contact all the way around.

“We’re gonna fix that,” Brandon said, and he ingeniously came up with the idea to mount the rudder cap upside down (from the engine room ceiling up through the cockpit floor), so it would reveal the gap we needed to fill on the cockpit floor. This photo really highlights, too, the poorly-cut hole and the gap that we wanted to fill.

Brandon then advised us to coat the cap with TefGel (that way the 610 would not stick to it) and fill that wayward-cut gap with 610. That is what I am doing here:

Annie’s got her gun!

We then waited for the 610 to firm up enough to hold its shape (about four hours), then popped the rudder cap out and now found our hole in the cockpit floor for the rudder cap was a nice, snug fit, way more supportive than what was there previously.

This way, as Shane with Perdido Sailor explained, the hole for the rudder post cap, along with the cap and reinforcement plate will all “operate as a system” to hold the rudder secure in the hole, even with the tremendous amounts of pressure that are put on it when we are offshore.

After we sanded our 610 filling and smoothed everything up, we then bedded the rudder cap down with butyl. Love that stuff!

We mounted the plate underneath the floor with our three bolts, using our custom washers from last year’s temporary fix and secured it all with locking nuts. This is the complete rudder reinforcement fix:

Pretty schnazzy huh? As Phillip said to me: “Aren’t you going to sleep better when we’re underway offshore knowing this bad boy is holding everything together?”

Yes, yes I am.

And, added bonus for you Phillip fans out there. I snuck a video of him explaining to a boat neighbor of ours (ironically both in the slip and then at the shipyard as well!) how we discovered this problem and our thought-process in designing the reinforcement. Enjoy!

Phillip and I are both very grateful for the help and guidance shared through the Niagara 35 Owners groups, particularly the input from Larry Dickie, as well as our buddy Mike for the machine work, and the hard-working shipyard repairmen at Perdido Sailor, who helped us engineer and accomplish this feat. We hope sharing this fix helps some of you analyze and upgrade your own rudder systems. As always, if you have any questions about what we did here or just want to talk about it more, feel free to comment or share! Happy sailing folks!

And, don’t worry … we’ve got plenty more project posts to come this summer. Here’s the (short) list! The ones with an “A” beside them are my babies!

Pack Smart, Pack Safe & Book Giveaway #3

December 1, 2017anniedike

“Thru-hulls? Oh, hush! Nothing goes through my hull.” You gotta love Mitch! And every other new boat owner out there who is in that particular stage of boat-buying grief: Denial. When he thinks he is the only person in the world who just bought a boat that can’t sink. As Phillip and I are preparing our boat for the big, blue water passages ahead, I have a much greater appreciation now for all of the gear, supplies, and spares we need to carry aboard not only to make our boat comfortable and well-stocked so Phillip and I enjoy the passage, but more so the safety gear and supplies we must pack to keep her and the two of us SAFE. And by that we mean supplies that both: 1) ensure the boat is prepared to handle rough conditions, inadvertent collisions, fire, power shortage, or one of any other hundred equipment or engine failures that can happen out there; and 2) in the very unlikely, but possible, situation where Phillip and I need to ditch or distance ourselves from the boat, that ensure we, too, are prepared to do that as safely as possible.

While these are not the things you want to think about when planning for a voyage (i.e., a potential emergency), it is something you need to prepare for. And, the more I have truly opened my eyes to cruising this past year and pushed myself to learn and master the more difficult tasks such as navigation, steering, docking, weather planning, and emergency response, I see the need more than ever for the safety gear we carry aboard. I am also noticing that each time Phillip and I set off for another 4-5 day (or even 30-day) offshore run, we learn a few more lessons and add a few more very handy items to our safety gear and spares list. I will share below the new spare items we have added to the list this year as a result of our experiences in sailing from Florida to France with the esteemed Captain Yannick on his 46’ catamaran and mine and Phillip’s longest-ever five-day offshore passage to Cuba, both in 2016. And, since our Holiday Book Giveaway #3 will be a signed copy of my third sailing book, None Such Like It (of the tale of our Amateur-Kretschmer-like experience delivering Mitch’s Nonsuch across the Gulf of Mexico), I’ve included a fun excerpt from the book below from our efforts to fully prepare Mitch’s boat to safely handle an offshore passage. Enjoy and good luck on the trivia!

None Such Like It, Chapter Two: DENIAL

Having gone through the process of trying to outfit a new-to-us boat for a pretty extensive offshore passage on the Niagara, Phillip and I knew, if we were going to be making this trip with Mitch, that that we needed to start making lists early. It’s amazing the things you remember to bring the second time around. Before Mitch even went down to Ft. Myers, Phillip and I jotted down critical safety equipment, spare parts and other items that would be needed for the boat and crew to safely make the passage from Ft. Myers to Pensacola so Mitch could verify whether any of the items were already on the boat while he was there for the survey/sea trial. We sent Mitch with our rudimentary checklist and told him to inventory the items, note what was missing and what might need to be replaced, replenished or re-certified before we headed offshore in the Nonsuch.

LIST FOR MITCH

The house batteries─What’s the situation?
- How big of a bank?
- Starting battery and house? 2 bank?
- Charged by the alternator?
- Power cord, battery charger, etc.?
Is there an autopilot?
What safety gear does the boat have?
- Flares
- Fog horn
- Life jackets
- Smoke signals
  - Check expiration dates on all of those
- Ditch bag?
- First aid kit
- Emergency underwater epoxy kit
Does the boat have a 12 volt (cigarette lighter) charger?
What spares are on board?
- Impeller
- Oil filter
- Fuel filter
- Alternator belt
- Zincs
- Gaskets
- Hose clamps
- Fuses
What fluids are on board?
- Oil
- Coolant
- Transmission fluid
Is there a repair kit for the sail?
- Sail tape
- Needle, thread
- Whipping twine
- Cotter pins, etc.
Make sure the head functions
Does the boat have a life raft?
Do all sea cocks function just fine?
- How many and where─identify and try all
Dock lines, fenders, etc.?
Cockpit cushions?
Make a list of what tools are on board
Make a list of galley supplies on board dishes-wise─pots, pans, silverware, etc.
What’s the bilge pump situation?
- How many bilge pumps?
- Are they wired together or separately?
- High-water alarm?
- Check for manual bilge pumps─how many?
Check for emergency tiller, make sure it works
Make sure there’s wooden plugs, nerf balls, whatever for plugging holes
Fire extinguishers?
- How many and expiration date
- Smoke alarms, CO2?
- How many and where?
Spotlight
Radio and VHF─check them
- Handheld?
Reef the sails during the sea trial─learn the procedure

While Mitch really was taking it all like a champ, checking and double-checking the list with us, I knew he was having trouble understanding the real need for some of these things.

“Nerf balls,” Mitch screeched at me over the phone one day while he was getting ready to make the trip down to Ft. Myers, and I figured that was a reasonable question if he didn’t know that that magically-squishy material, an accidental invention by NASA I’m sure, is wickedly effective at stopping leaks. But, figuring when it comes to Mitch is where I went wrong. Turns out he knew they could be used to stop leaks, he just didn’t expect any leaks.

“Yeah, Mitch. You can use them to plug a leak.”

A moment of silence and then: “But, isn’t that what the sea-cocks are for?” Mitch asked, sincerely curious. “Water starts to come in, you just close them, right? That’s what they do?”

I was glad he couldn’t see my face because I could not hide a smile. That’s when I knew it. He had reached stage two. Mitch was knee-deep in denial. I knew because I had been there. When Phillip and I were looking at our Niagara for the first time, I kept looking around the interior for a good bulkhead wall to mount a television on. Yes, a television. When I finally showed Phillip the “perfect place” I had found for it—the wall between the saloon and our separate shower stall—I only found one slight hold-up.

“We’ll just need to take this lantern out,” I told Phillip, all Bambi-like.

“We’ll need the lantern,” Phillip told me flatly. When my blank stare back didn’t convey understanding, he tried another route. “How are you going to power the T.V.?” which was met by an even blanker stare (if that’s possible). Then Phillip tried to walk me out of my denial, into the land of the knowing. “Honey, we have to run wires and power it. We need the lantern for light and warmth. I don’t think I want a T.V. on the boat.”

It turned out he didn’t. Neither did I when I finally understood what we were truly buying and outfitting—a completely self-sufficient mobile home where we had to engineer a way to generate every bit of light, power, refrigeration and energy needed. I’ll be honest, it baffled me when I first learned the two-prong AC outlets on the boat simply would not work when you’re on anchor. They’re such a tease! I thought they would always magically have power at any and all times, just like they do on land. In Innocent Annie Land, boats out on the blue are still connected to the grid.

I was up to my eyeballs in denial. Like me, Mitch was now refusing to believe he had just bought a complete mobile home that sat, at all times, half-dunked in water with the ability to sink.

“You’ll want the nerf balls, Mitch, trust me. The sea cocks don’t always work.”

But that didn’t really frighten him either. I truly believe Mitch felt he had purchased the only boat in the world upon which sea-cocks never seized up, because he maintained his stance, renouncing all things possible.

“Well, what about the spares? How many of those impellers and fuel filters and zinc things do I really need?”

“However many make you feel comfortable,” I told him, thinking a little fear and weight on his shoulders might help give him a little bit of a reality check. Pssh! He thrust it off like a rain-soaked jacket.

“Oh, nothing’s gonna break twice.”

After a while I kind of admired Mitch’s euphoric “can do” attitude—as in “my boat can do anything.” It was actually nice to not have the significant worry and responsibility of making the trip on our own boat. For Phillip and me, the fact that we were embarking on this journey on Mitch’s boat made it less stressful and more pure fun. It was also exciting for us to think back through that mental process of rigging out a boat for the first time on an offshore passage. It’s a little frightening, a little exhilarating, certainly a fun prospect for adventure. I remembered when Phillip and I wrapped up our own survey/sea-trial and reached that point where it was really happening, we were really about to buy a boat and we were really about to sail her out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Wow, that photo was taken April 12, 2013, the first day Phillip and I ever sailed on our boat. Can you believe that? Time doesn’t just fly, she soars! Because she does, it makes me even more grateful to know we spend most of our days on the boat, on the water, in the sunshine, soaking it all up, even as it’s soaring by. Phillip and I have been busting our hump this summer and fall getting our boat ready for another offshore adventure this winter and I believe she (and we) are more ready than we’ve ever been. And I also believe that our “ready” benchmark will continue to notch higher and higher with each passage we make because we always seem to face a new situation (in addition to the ones we’ve faced before) that teaches us a lesson and prompts us to add something new to the safety/spares list.

Fuel filters. You can never have enough fuel filters. We changed our primary just last week and are bringing 5 spares! We also changed the oil, transmission fluid and coolant and stocked up on extra fluids.

In addition to all of the safety items we usually carry (EPIRB, hydro-static life vests, jack lines, life raft, handheld VHF, handheld GPS, Delorme, Weems & Plath SOS light, flares, compasses, first aid, not to mention our dozens upon dozens of engine spares (oh heck, here’s a detailed inventory list from our Cuba voyage HERE if you want to see everything), Phillip and I have added the following to the list this year, just … in … case:

A spare raw water pump for the engine: It is our old re-built Sherwood which we replaced this year with a new Johnson one (because the Sherwood often leaked around the two seals that separate the oil side from the water side). After seeing the struggles Yannick faced with his raw water pump on the starboard engine across the Atlantic, we thought a complete spare pump would be a good idea.
A spare alternator for the engine: We recently found the old one our previous owner, Jack, had taken off our Westerbeke 27 when he replaced it with a higher-output one. We had it checked by B&M Starter and Alternator here in Pensacola, who verified it runs great. So, just in case our alternator goes kaput and there is not enough sunshine to allow the solar panels to power our battery bank, we have a spare alternator we can put on the engine to ensure we have continued power for radio transmission and the bilge pumps in case of an emergency. Speaking of bilge pumps …
Two spare bilge pumps: While our boat technically already has four (a 500 gph one in the forward bilge, a 1,000 gph in the center bilge, which sits under our sump box that has a 500 gph pump, as well as our manual bilge pump that is operated from the cockpit), we thought it never hurts to have more. So, we purchased a back-up 500 gph and 1,000 gph to replace the pumps in our forward and center bilge areas if need be.
A spare carburetor for the outboard: Okay, so this isn’t technically a safety item. The dinghy is more of a luxury, but if a failed carburetor would stop us from being able to see and feed the Swimming Pigs, or get to a killer kite-surfing spot, or even just get to shore so we can be served drinks by a chesty bartender who smells like coconut rum, I might consider that an emergency ; ).

Phillip was a grease monkey this week, rebuilding both the raw water pump and the spare carburetor.

Now, since we’re having so much fun talking about spares and packing safely for an offshore voyage, even those where Phillip and I are merely helping to deliver a boat as opposed to sailing on our own, I decided to base our book giveaway trivia this time on a very important spare that we certainly could have used on the Atlantic-crossing. This one is for all my diehard YouTube fans out there.

TRIVIA:

What was the first and foremost spare Brandon said we should have carried on our Atlantic-crossing on Yannick’s catamaran, a system which did ultimately fail us and forced us to pull in for repairs in the Azores?

When you need one of these, none such like it will do! First follower to answer correctly gets a signed copy of None Such Like It. And … GO! And, if any of you do not know the answer because you haven’t yet seen our two-hour YouTube movie on the Atlantic Crossing, then you’re in for a holiday treat. Pop some corn and call it Movie Night!

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. Phillip and I are excited to take you along vicariously on our holiday cruise! ’Tis the season … to go to the Bahamas Mon! Ha!

HASTA LUEGO!

December 14, 2016anniedike

This is it! Our official goodbye. We are out! Off! Headed to Cuba! See you next year. Phillip and I were dreaming about this moment every day at the shipyard, every time we encountered a new problem, found a new leak and had to break out another thousand. It all lead to this. We are sailing to Cuba. We’ve spent months preparing, researching and packing and we have had a great time sharing the process with you in Season Four of the YouTube Channel in our “How To” series. We don’t know when we’ll get wifi again or have time to put out our next video. It may be a few weeks. But Season Five will be all travel. We’re taking you with us in videos to Isla Mujeres, Cuba, Key West, Miami and more. Stay tuned and Happy Holidays Sailors!

And, as our continued thanks for all of your support and following along, we put together one last season finale for the YouTube channel talking about and showing you all of the safety gear we will be traveling with and covering our last minute checks (including one unfortunate discovery and repair of a raw water leak) before shoving off. As always, we hope you find the information helpful (and fun!) and enjoy following along on our journey. Stay tuned on HaveWindWillTravel’s Facebook page for updates via our Delorme tracker while we are underway. Wish us luck and fair winds and have a fantastic Christmas!

For any of you looking to do your own offshore voyaging, I have included below a link to our complete 12-page bow-to-stern inventory of the boat in case this sparks some ideas for you of what to stock, how to stow it or how to organize it. Included in here is all of our spares, boat supplies, food, fishing gear, safety gear, etc. Plaintiff’s Rest is loaded down!

PLAINTIFF’S REST INVENTORY — CUBA 2016

And, another Christmas goodie for you! I wrote an article about our rotten stringer repair that will be coming out in the January 2017 issue of SAIL Magazine. It gives me a tingle to think how everything is so connected and truly happens for a reason. It was October 2015 when we watched a fleet of boats sail out of the Pensacola Pass in the Pensacola a la Habana Race and, when we saw a gallant 60-footer pass by that, Phillip and I decided–right then and there–we were going to make a plan to sail ourselves to Cuba. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was Captain Ryan on Libra and we’ve all since become very good friends and I now have a new marketing client who I love to work for (he pays in offshore voyages ; ) … is there anything better?) And, it was the very next weekend after we made that decision (Blue Angels November 2015) that Phillip and I found our rotten stringers. But, Phillip decided–right then and there, with the knife blade still sticking out of the wood–that it wasn’t going to stop us. We would haul out, do the repairs, re-rig at the same time and SAIL TO FREAKING CUBA! It actually motivated us further and because it was so much work getting our boat ready to go, the reward is that much sweeter. And now, right before we shove off, the story of the whole incident comes out in print for you all to read while we voyage. There is sometimes a mystifying symmetry to life that takes my breath away. The good, the bad, the rot. It all happens for a reason and always teaches you something in the process. Never give up!

#84: How to Rig Your Boat for Heavy Weather Sailing

November 18, 2016anniedike

Even after crossing the Atlantic, I still believe some of the worst wind and sea state I have faced has been in the Gulf of Mexico. As Phillip and I prepare to sail across it to Cuba this winter, we want to be ready for whatever the Gulf may dish out. That means heavy weather sail planning in the form of a strong, small storm sail, a third reef in the main, a back-up genoa, and a convertible inner forestay. Follow along as we rig our Niagara out for heavy weather offshore sailing. Only 28 days to go!

Cuba Prep Update!

September 21, 2016anniedike

ERRNNGH. ERRNGH. We interrupt your regularly-scheduled program for this important announcement:

Phillip and I just filed our Permit to Enter Cuba!

Hey crew! I thought I would take a short break from the Atlantic-crossing saga to get you all a bit up-to-date with our current planning for the Cuba trip this winter and what’s been going on with the boat. Patrons are already aware of this through their weekly “Patron’s Extras,” but since they’re getting the complete 2-HOUR Trans-At movie tomorrow, I figured they wouldn’t mind me sharing again with you all here ; ). Let’s dig in.

Our New Rig:

So, the second mast pull. That’s coming out on the video this Friday, the reason for it and what we learned in the process. While it was very disheartening news for Phillip and I to hear, just a few short weeks after we had splashed back from spending the winter on the hard, it ended up (as most things that initially appear to be set-backs) being a not-so-devastating hurdle and another great learning experience for the two of us. I had a lot of fun making this week’s video on it and watching Video Annie go up the mast time and again as well as flail and kick and curse at the top. That’s just pure fun. I hope you all enjoy the video and learn a little in the process.

Going through all of that footage also inspired me to make another video for you all soon covering everything Phillip and I have learned both in the shipyard and with the second mast pull about how to DIY inspect, repair and even replace (if necessary) your rigging. Wait till you see what happened with our new hi-mod mechanical fittings …

You’ll see in the next two videos that, unbeknownst to us, our re-rig was not yet complete when we left the shipyard back in March, but after some more sweaty DIY hours were devoted, she is NOW officially done, stronger than ever and ready to take us to Cuba and anywhere else we want to go over the next ten years.

Heavy Weather Sail Planning:

Once we got all the new rigging in order, our next step was our sail plan. We wanted to make sure we had all possible options for sailing in heavy winds in case we found ourselves in a serious storm out in the Gulf, this was primarily important as we recently decided to sail straight to Cuba when we toss the lines this December. Cuba is the destination we want most to reach and explore this winter and while we’ve hopped along the west coast of Florida before (and love it), this time Phillip and I want to undertake and accomplish our longest offshore passage just the two of us. We also want to get to Cuba as soon as safely possible, so it is the destination of priority. If the Atlantic-crossing did anything for me and Phillip, it was to confirm our mere belief at the time that we would enjoy long offshore passages. We LOVED each of the 4,600 nautical miles we covered from Florida to France, and we are excited to put those kinds of blue-water miles under our own hull, just the two of us.

So, we’re going to do it. Toss the lines in Pensacola and shoot straight for Cuba in (hopefully) a safe, smooth five-day run, our longest yet on the Niagara. The best way to ensure we have a safe passage is to make sure we, the boat and our sails are ready for whatever Mother Nature sees fit to throw out us out there in the sometimes tumultuous, unpredictable Gulf. Hence, the heavy weather sail planning:

Our main sail on the boat is rather new. We replaced it in early 2014 in anticipation of our sail to the Florida Keys that spring.

We had two reefs in the main, rigged with one line at the mast that pulls the tack down to both Reef 1 and Reef 2 from the cockpit, as well as two separate lines that pull the main down to Reef 1 and Reef 2 at the clew, also operated from the cockpit. We have been very pleased with this system as we marked each of the lines the spot for Reef 1 with blue tape and Reef 2 with red tape. That way we just drop the main to its mark then pull the reef lines to theirs, all from the cockpit, making the procedure fast and safe.

One additional option we wanted to add, however, was a third reef point in our main sail for the Cuba trip. It was actually John Kretschmer—in a seminar he gave at the Miami Boat Show we went to back in February, 2015—who said: “The first thing I always do when I’m prepping a boat for delivery across the Atlantic is have the owner put a third reef in the main.” That has stuck with Phillip and I ever since—as did many things Kretschmer said (like how much fun it is to cross the Atlantic going east on the northern route, that particularly influenced Phillip’s decision to join as crew on Andanza this past June). Once again, thank you Kretschmer for sharing your sailing knowledge and experience.

With this advice in mind, Phillip and I got with our local sailmaker—Hunter with Schurr Sails in Pensacola—and talked to him about putting a third reef in our main. I also got a really cool tour of his sail loft in the process. Don’t worry, this will all be coming out in a “How to Rig Your Boat for Heavy Weather Sailing” video soon.

We got the main back from Hunter two weeks ago and took it out to Ft. McRee where we raised her up to the third reef to get a feel for how much (or should I say how little) sail that is and re-ran the reefing lines back in ourselves (a good lesson). It was cool to truly understand how these systems work in order to repair or re-configure them if need be while we are underway.

Case in point, one of the things Hunter told us about the third reef he put in the main was that (in anticipation of heavy weather) we could re-run the reefing lines to be able to pull down to the 2nd and 3rd reef from the cockpit (as opposed to the 1st and 2nd as it is run now) and we can do that now that we have learned how the reefing lines are run. Alternatively, Phillip and I have also discussed merely using sturdy nylon straps or ties around the boom to tie in the 3rd reef, a fool-proof time-tested method but also one that must be executed up on deck, potentially in heavy weather, so we may follow our sailmaker’s advice and run the 2nd and 3rd reef ahead of time. These are all contingencies we are trying to think through and plan for ahead of time in case we do find ourselves in heavy weather in the Gulf, but it is neat to see some of the things we are learning while merely out-rigging our boat for offshore sailing that will translate to some seriously-handy skills when we’re out there cruising.

We also had Hunter make us a new storm sail. In 2014, also in prep for the trip to the Keys, we had our local rigger make us an inner forestay—out of rugged, durable line—that we can rig up for heavy weather (enabling our sloop rig to convert into a cutter). We merely have to hoist Annie up. (It’s a good thing she loves to climb the mast!)

I attach the inner forestay at the mast, then we attach it here to the foreward D-ring on the deck via an adjustable turnbuckle to really tighten her down.

After we had the inner forestay rigged up in 2014, we raised our “storm sail” (from the previous owner) for the first time and Phillip found it was really far too big and flimsy to be considered a heavy weather sail. We were surprised to find it stretched all the way back beyond the mast and seemed to be too thin of a material to proclaim itself capable of handling heavy winds. When I took it to Hunter at Schurr Sails, looking at it and the bag, he thought it was a genoa for a Hunter 30, not in any way a “storm sail.” Go figure.

But, as cruisers we try to never waste! So, Phillip had the ingenious idea to see if Hunter could convert this sail into a back-up genoa that could furl around our forestay by taking off the hanks at the luff and sewing in a the proper bead that would enable it to run up our foils on the forestay. We knew from experience (when our genny halyard exploded on our way to Ft. Myers in 2014 and our genny fluttered uselessly to the deck) that it can be very frustrating to lose the ability to use such a powerful sail.

While that incident was the result of a failure of the halyard, we know there is always the possibility our genoa might get snagged, ripped or otherwise irreparably damaged during our sail to Cuba and, if that occurs, it will be good to have a sail we can hoist in her stead, even if it’s not near as big or powerful. It’s like having a spare in case you have a blow-out. It will at least get you home (or to port). Hunter said this would be no problem and he whipped it up for us, so we now have a back-up genny.

Regarding the storm sail, we had to decide how big (or I guess the real question is how small) we really wanted it. Did we want a (as Hunter called it) “God Help Us” sail that was only 25% of the inner forestay triangle, or a 50% sail that would make us more comfortable in 20+ knot winds but still afford us enough speed to control the boat to get the heck out of a storm?

Decisions, decisions … It was a tough call as Phillip and I are definitely—after our incredible first ocean-crossing this past June—planning on crossing the Atlantic in our boat sometime in the next couple of years, so we do want gear for our boat that serves us well both on our voyage this winter as well as longer, more blue water voyages in the years to come. We decided on a compromise and had Hunter make us a 35% sail (10oz Dacron cross-cut) that we hope will be just what we need for the Gulf-crossing this December as well as ocean-crossings in the coming years. We haven’t pulled and tested that one out yet, but Hunter finished it last week and Video Annie was obviously excited to have it in the backseat of the car.

A New Dinghy:

Phillip and I have been in need of a new dinghy for quite some time. For those of you who have read my first salty saga, Salt of a Sailor, you know all-too-well what happened to our first dinghy—a fantastic 6-seater Caribe model WITH a 2-stroke, 15 hp outboard that we never got to use. For those of you curious, check out the book on Amazon or email me for a free eCopy. It’s a whale of a tale.

All I will say is we will never do davits … Thankfully for our first summer on the boat, our buddy Brandon with Perdido Sailor (he’s been there for us right from the start) loaned us a 4 person collapsible Achilles that has served us very well over the last few years for coastal cruising.

Ain’t she a beaut? Thanks again B!

After our never-doing-that-again experience with davits and our experience with the loaner from Brandon, Phillip and I have found that we like a dinghy that can broken down and stowed below decks, particularly when we’re making a long offshore passage. We like clean decks (as we spend a lot of time sitting up on the deck while underway, most often in our awesome Sport-a-Seats!).

Remember they’ll give you a 15% discount if you use Promo Code HWWT2015! Woot! Woot!

We also like the fact of not having another item we need to strap down and secure on deck in case we get into rough seas. Having a dinghy that travels below decks is definitely preferred for us, so far. When we start traveling and island hopping more (with the ability to tow our dinghy more often) we may change our minds, but at this juncture Phillip and I believe the stow-able dinghy suits us best. And, the one Brandon had lent us—while it was a little small, probably would have suited us just fine for our cruising this winter—but the floor of the darn thing kept leaking. Keep in mind, this dinghy is 15 years old, has been packed and unpacked (by Phillip and I alone) and run up on the beach more times than I can count. So, she’s definitely paid her dues. Trying to prolong her “borrowed time,” however, Phillip and I spent the better part of last summer patching her eighteen times at one point,

and even trying to float the bottom with GFlex in order to stop the leaks. (Brandon thought that was pretty funny.)

No dice. She was still taking on water. So, we knew it was time to upgrade. With everything I have mentioned previously about our needs and desires when it comes to a dinghy. We decided on a 9-foot, 6-seater Achilles that collapses and stows below decks. We debated for a while between the slats that remain in the boat when rolled up or separate floorboards that you insert while assembling. To keep the various pieces lighter, enabling easier transfer from our aft berth in the cabin topside for inflation, we chose the floorboards. Phillip was really excited the day the new dinghy came in! So much so that we blew her up right there in the middle of the living room floor!

Phillip cracked me up trying to row away from the couch! Row, Phillip, row!

The instructions also cracked me up depicting a very detailed “downward dog” move necessary to snap the floorboards in place. Phillip and I found this was a pretty accurate portrayal, though, when we first blew the new dinghy up on deck and started fitting the floorboards in. Don’t knock the downward dog!

We tested our new dinghy out over the long Labor Day weekend and found she worked great. We even towed her behind the boat for the first time and left her inflated at the dock when we got back. I’m afraid we’re getting lazy!

It was a fun rainy weekend but we had a great time anchoring first for a solitary night out at Red Fish Point, one of our absolute favorite places, then towing the dinghy west to anchor out behind Paradise Inn for a little bit of crazy beach night life.

That’s also when we made the “Phillip’s Famous Mojito” video that I hope you all got to check out on Facebook!

Great opportunity to check for leaks!

Behind Paradise Inn (love that place)!

Rain could never slow our “good times” train down. No sir!

Documentation:

Once we felt the boat, rig and safety items were pretty much handled it was time to file our Permit to Enter Cuba! This is the permit (USCG 3300) you have to file with the United States Coast Guard to get permission to enter Cuba:

There are twelve designations you can travel under as your purported reason for wanting to travel to Cuba, ranging from humanitarian aid and education to journalism, professional, etc.

After speaking with several cruisers who have traveled to Cuba recently (thank Wally Moran, with SailingtoCuba.blogspot, for the chart above), many of whom have arguably far less writing credentials or intentions than me, I have decided to travel under “Journalistic Activity,” as I do plan to do many write-ups, articles and videos documenting our voyage to share with others who plan to make the same trip. Phillip and I will let you all know as soon as we hear back from the USCG with (hopefully) approval to enter. Do note the 3300 form is only needed to RETURN to the U.S. from Cuba. I have been told by several sources that all you need to ENTER Cuba is a passport and boat registration.

It does make things a little difficult, however, as you have to “declare” your departure and entry dates on Form 3300 so far in advance. We’re cruisers. All plans are written in sand at low tide. Apparently, the USCG doesn’t think this saying is so cute. They want dates and final answers, and they want them now! We’re planning to pick a date in mid-December and hope all works out. I had a great Skype chat with Wally Moran about our plans to sail to Cuba. Wally has co-authored a cruising guide on sailing to Cuba, Cuba Bound, and manages a VERY helpful Facebook Page (Sailing and Cruising: Cuba) devoted specifically to helping cruisers navigate their way to Cuba, and he gave me some great tips on documentation, registration and getting through Customs. I hope I can piece together enough from that conversation and other resources to make a video on “How to Get Your Permit to Enter Cuba.” Thank you again for taking the time to chat with me Wally!

Life Raft:

One of the last big items on our list is the life raft. Phillip and I are actually having Captain Yannick help us with that from France as, if you recall, he had to really scramble to buy a new one and have it shipped to Pensacola in time for our shove-off date of May 28th and, in doing so, he came across a very good deal overseas. We’re still working out the details on that and have not yet ordered, but we are grateful to Yannick for the help and the money we will likely save due to his savvy online shopping skills. It never ceases to amaze me the many diversely-talented people you meet while cruising and their willingness to help you along the way, and vice versa.

Otherwise, this is our last “short list”:

There is not too much left to do now that the boat is ready. It’s mainly ordering and testing out some navigational aids and new communication devices. After seeing the convenience (and pleasure) of having a Delorme on the boat for the Atlantic-crossing, with unlimited texting, enabling us to chat with friends, family, even professionals if needed, along the way, Phillip and I have decided to purchase a Delorme with likely the same or similar package as Yannick did as well as an iPad for this same purpose during our cruising this winter. We will be sharing the tracker link as well as messaging capabilities with Patrons. If you have enjoyed this update and would like to stay current with us as we prepare to cast off in December as well as see our movements in real time and chat with us along the way, please Become a Patron.

That pretty much brings you all up to date. As you can see, Phillip and I are incredibly excited to be embarking on this next voyage now on our newly re-built and re-rigged boat, just the two of us. The Atlantic crossing has only fueled our desire to travel sooner and further on our boat. I hope the movie I made from our first ocean voyage does the same for you. I will put it out for rent on YouTube soon for those who want to see it but would prefer not to go the Patreon route. Watch for the announcement here.

Oh, oh, one more exciting thing that happened this week! Annie got her wisdom tooth pulled out! This time NOT by pliers. Phillip and I had to see it as fortuitous that she decided to only start painfully piercing her way through the fragile tissue of my gums once we were back onshore, although we got some good laughs imagining how the wily and resourceful Captain Yannick might have handled that at sea. “Get me some epinephrine, some Novocain and the vice grips.” I can assure you, he would have done it. Thankfully, it was only four days of irritating turned intense pain then one hour of wide-eyed, wide-mouthed Annie watching needles, rods and forceps being passed before her eyes before this puppy came out. Good times.

#77: How to Make Money Remotely (and Keep Your Daydream)

September 9, 2016anniedike

If you feel money is your biggest roadblock to living a life of travel and adventure NOW, this video is for you. I have shared the numerous, creative ways I have found to make money so Phillip and I can cruise (as well as the many mistakes and failures I experienced along the way) and have also collaborated with a creative and charismatic team: Marc & Tricia Leach at http://www.keepyourdaydream.com, who have put together their “3 Myths and 5 Tips” for making money while traveling. Dig in!

I first met Tricia Leach when she interviewed me earlier this year for her Keep Your Daydream podcast (which is currently nearing it’s 100th episode!). I found Tricia incredibly easy to talk to. She is spirited and creative and I knew she would be a great resource for this topic because she has interviewed dozens of people who are out there, right now, living an adventurous, location-independent lifestyle and making money remotely to fund it. In her and Marc’s video contribution, they have pulled from their extensive collection of podcast interviews to put together many real-life examples of various ways to make money to cruise and they have compiled all of those resources together for you all in an extensive “Remote Income” resource page on their website. I have included all links below for your benefit. Marc and Tricia are also currently vlogging their own adventure as they travel across the United States in an RV with their family. Definitely check out some of their entertaining and educational videos on their Keep Your Daydream YouTube channel.

Resources:

Marc & Tricia’s extensive “Remote Income” resource page: http://www.keepyourdaydream.com/remote-income

My interview on Tricia’s KeepYourDaydream.com podcast: http://www.keepyourdaydream.com/have-wind-will-travel/

My first interview with Teddy J at SailLoot (discussing my first attempts to market my Billable Hour guide and creation of my company Legalite, LLC): http://www.sailloot.com/sail-loot-podcast-022-have-wind-will-travel-with-annie-dike/

My second interview with Teddy J at SailLoot (discussing formation of an online company as well as some of the legal hurdles, tax benefits and logistics): http://www.sailloot.com/sail-loot-podcast-030-annie-dikes-keys-kingdom-setting-small-business/

My “Market First, Write Second” article I wrote for SavingtoSail.com (discussing some of the tips I have learned from marketing my own self-published books): http://savingtosail.com/market-first-write-second/

Thanks to my many Patrons who inspire me to keep putting these helpful cruising “How To’s” out there. Get inspired. Get on board.

#75: How to Get Your Wife to Go Cruising

August 26, 2016August 26, 2016anniedike

She is NOT a passenger, she is crew! There’s no magic secret to getting your wife (husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other) on board with cruising. She just needs to know the realities and infinite rewards of the lifestyle and want those. Share those basic philosophies with her first and cruising will become merely the means to your mutual end. Once she’s on board in principle, get her (comfortably and confidently) on board in practice with sailing lessons and continued training and teaching together. “Put her behind the helm!” says Linus Wilson. “Make her retrieve a cushion,” says Pam Wall. “Get over your fear of crossing an ocean!” says Lazy Gecko Brittany. And, most importantly: “Remember it is not about the boat or the destination, it is about your shared desires and the more fulfilling life you both want to live together,” says Nick O’Kelly, author of Get Her on Board.

I have worked hard to pull together lots of viewpoints, perspectives and advice from fellow cruisers and trusted sources for you all. If you are struggling to get your significant other on board with cruising, I hope you find this video as well as the resources and interview below helpful. Please let me know in a comment or email!

Resources:

My complete interview with Nick O’Kelly: https://youtu.be/TI2EBLqVksc

Nick O’Kelly’s Get Her On Board: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008P4WR68/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#nav-subnav

Book Review: Get Her on Board by Women and Cruising’s Gwen Hamlin: http://www.womenandcruising.com/blog/2010/06/get-her-on-board-secrets-to-sharing-the-cruising-dream/

Nick O’Kelly’s “6 Mistakes Men Make in Sharing their Sailing Passion”: http://www.womenandcruising.com/blog/2010/07/6-mistakes-men-make-in-sharing-their-sailing-passion/

Debra Cantrell’s Changing Course: A Woman’s Guide to Choosing the Cruising Life: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014DBEFC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#nav-subnav

Many women have told me my first book, Salt of a Sailor, vocalized all of the stupid questions they wanted to ask when learning how to sail but didn’t. If there’s a chance it can do that for your significant other, pick up a copy on Amazon or email me for a free eCopy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7YGKJU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00T7YGKJU&linkCode=as2&tag=havewcom-20&linkId=3UM4C3FFPWHIBTGM#nav-subnav

Pam Wall Sailing and Cruising Consultant: http://www.pamwall.com

Lazy Gecko Sailing: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwIThXjmw8eBlEfFZLgZ3-g

Women and Cruising: http://www.womenandcruising.com

Women Who Sail (Facebook Group): https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoSail/

Beth Leonard’s Voyager’s Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072UO1VA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#nav-subnav

“How to Convince a Reluctant Partner to Go Cruising” (Catamaran Guru): http://catamaranguru.com/lifestyle/cruising-resources/300-how-to-convince-a-reluctant-partner-to-go-cruising

Interviews:

I also spoke with several women who are wives of some of my most long-time, die-hard male followers and I talked to them about their fears, excitement, hang-ups and worries about going cruising with their mate. Thank you Elizabeth, Hallie, Kathaleen and Shelly for sharing your thoughts with us:

Elizabeth (and Rob)

“Let’s start with what makes me nervous. My fear is that I don’t know a lot right now and something is going to happen to Rob and I will just shut down and not know what to do. I’m not afraid of the water at all. I actually enjoy sailing, even when it is a little bit of an uncomfortable ride. My biggest impediment is just feeling nervous leaving the dock. Once I am out there, I think I am fine. I sometimes just want to make sure I hold the lines when we leave the dock, and enter a new dock. I can throw the lines once we reach the marina, usually there are many people willing to help, but if no one is around, I need to feel confident, grabbing the line and getting onto the dock and I do not yet.

Rob handles the boat while we are sailing but I need to feel confident in setting the sail, looking at the wind direction, and knowing how those forces are working. I also want to feel secure that I am not going to fall off the boat if I have to remove a line that is tangled. I recently had to use the radio when entering the marina in order to learn our dock reservation location and whether the dock was starboard or port side. I felt very confident doing that and it was empowering. I think just “going” is what is going to get me over the hump.”

Hallie (and Joe)

“I think I fall into the rare group of women who were completely on board with and encourage their significant others to become full time live-aboard sailors. Once I saw Pam Wall’s presentation and understood that circumnavigation was a thing people did I was on board! I also feel Joe and I fall into another rare category of couples who truly get along and don’t fight … like ever! We have complete mutual respect for each other and I think that is why I am not hesitant in the least about sailing around the world with him. It is all the other stuff that worries me, i. e. weather, boat condition, my abilities, etc.

Joe and I have been sailing as a team in small races and regattas and I think that is key, that experience working together to successfully maneuver the boat in tight spaces or difficult situations. We are mostly a well oiled machine. I know what he is going to do and he knows what I am going to do. We know our roles and know how to do them well. We also really communicate with each other well and that I believe is key. We didn’t start out big on a big boat. We started sailing together on our small 16ft Hobie and on some other smaller sailing dinghy boats through Hoofer’s Sailing Club. Talking before hand and discussing what were possible scenarios and what we should do if those occur before we get out on the water is also something we do regularly. Having both of us on the same page for expectations is really important, especially on the Hobie.

My biggest impediment to cruising is definitely my own confidence in my ability to manage the boat if something were to happen to Joe while we are out there. This one keeps me up at night. Will I be able to manage the boat and situation if something happens to Joe? What if he falls off the boat, what if he is sick, what if he dies suddenly??? I have been focusing on these since I fell off our Hobie two years ago and watched Joe struggle in 25knot winds to get back to me. It felt like 20 minutes but in reality it was only 4. I then thought, “Oh crap, what if Joe fell off the boat?” We would have both died and the boat would have sunk. I had never been at the helm of the boat before because I was always too scared to “drive” the boat. This summer is when I have been taking the helm and learning about how to steer the boat. I think for all women who are new to sailing, this is by far the biggest impediment.

The best way, in my opinion, to get over the hump is to take sailing lessons and get out on keel boats as often as possible to get comfortable. These were the most important steps I can think of that have helped me this summer. I am still nervous about sailing our Hobie with me at the helm so I have not taken that step yet, but maybe in time. (It is a really fast sailboat!!)

I know The Voyager’s Handbook goes over some of how to get your mate(wife) on board. I hope these answers help you. Sailing for me is this freeing/flying experience. I love being out on the water and not hearing a motor (hopefully). It is peaceful and exhilarating all at the same time and I have only been out on small inland lakes where we have to tack all the time! I cannot wait until we can get out on larger water and set the auto-helm and go on the same tack for a day, heck even a few hours would be awesome!”

Kathaleen (and Joe)

“I think my biggest impediment to cruising with Joe is that I have no sailing knowledge or experience, just a passion to try. I am not worried about what it will take to learn (I’m actually excited to learn!), and I’m confident in our ability to find a way to afford to do it. The part that worries me is leaving my family (children and grand children) ashore while we travel to faraway places. What if something happens and I cannot return quickly? How will I get home? I also worry about leaving my business to another’s hands. I’ve scraped this into existence and it’s just barely taking off, what if it fails to thrive?”

Shelly (and Lance)

“Stepping out into the unknown makes me very nervous. Letting go of my comfort zone and trying something new makes me very hesitant. Land I am sure of, I know where I am going there are signs everywhere that tell me when to turn where to go. Ahhh…. but water is wide open you can sail for miles even days with no land in site. That makes me nervous.

My biggest impediment is that I have no sense of direction what so ever. Lance is very good with direction and he is a very logical thinker. I tend to be very emotional and unsure of myself. But I believe in myself enough to step out there and work together to make this happen. My biggest fear is getting sea sick to the point that I am unable to do this. Confidence in myself is going to be key to getting over the hump and making myself get out there and thrive while cruising. Believing that I can step of the land and let the sea carry me wherever it will.”

Our goal is to help more people realize their dream of cruising. Paramount to that is the ability to share that dream with your best friend and soul mate which is why Phillip and I worked hard to produce this video and help those of you out there who may be struggling to get your significant other “on board” with cruising. If you have found these tips and resources helpful, please help us help more people like you by supporting our efforts to share the cruising lifestyle on Patreon.