Sailing beneath a full moon across a calm tropical sea towards some
romantic destination is a wonderful dream, but to make it become a reality requires
careful preparation, or the dream can turn into a nightmare.
The boat you choose should be a solid, robust cruiser. There is no point in buying a
modern racing yacht as it will have been designed to be sailed by a large crew of
specialists and will need weekly maintenance. The ideal boat for a good cruise
should be simple, with a large carrying capacity, and easy to maintain. Bear in
mind that it is not always easy to find good mechanics or materials abroad, and
most repairs and maintenance will probably be done by the crew.
It is important to get to know the boat well before sailing so that you will know how
she will respond in various sea states and weather conditions. Try changing her
trim by moving weights fore and aft to see the response. Experiment with the sails
to obtain the best balance. Remember that a well-balanced boat needs less rudder
and will travel faster. Make a proper check-list for the stores and spares that will
need to be carried. For example, there is no point in taking a spare engine, but the
right fuel, oil and air filters, spare fan belts and perhaps a spare alternator, are
advisable. Standardise things as much as possible. If the same size of rope can be
used for a number of purposes, then a spare coil of that rope might well cover
nearly all your renewal requirements.
Electronics
There is a huge array of modern equipment available and these
'goodies' can be tempting. It pays to keep the
requirement to a minimum to reduce expense and complexity. Small boat radars
are now quite cheap and can be used for navigation as well as keeping a lookout
in fog. The Global Positioning System (GPS), with its
worldwide coverage and position updates every few seconds, has proved a boon
to the busy yachtsman, but anyone contemplating a long voyage should master
astro navigation to fall back upon if the instrument fails or the batteries give up.
Radio communications are now everywhere and are important for the
boat's safety. Short range, Very High Frequency
(VHF) radio is in use worldwide for port operations and for
communications between ships at sea. It is best to buy a good, multi-channel set
and make sure that the aerial is at the top of the mast as the range is not much
greater than the line of sight, so the higher the aerial, the better. For long-range
communications, use Single Side Band in the medium- and high-frequency bands,
but the shore stations that used to service these bands are fast disappearing.
The new Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
is already coming into force for commercial traffic for larger ships. By 2005 it will be
universal. All vessels will be required to have digital selective calling on their
VHF sets, and, if they are going beyond the range of shore
vHF stations, MF, and beyond 450 km,
HF as well. Satellite communications are also becoming
common. The least expensive piece of equipment to handle it is Satcon-
C which can handle telex and email. It is inexpensive, but
brings instant distress, urgency, safety and general communications to the smallest
yacht. All yachtsmen should take a GMDSS course to
understand the new safety procedures.
There is a worldwide network of amateur radio operators or
'hams', which can provide a regular link for
those who take the relevant licence.
Meteorology plays an important part in any voyage, and the rudiments of weather
systems, and how they are going to affect the weather on the chosen route are
essential knowledge for anyone making any voyage. Weather forecasts are
broadcast by most nations, but it is possible to buy a weatherfax machine, which
prints out the weather picture for a selected area and costs about the same as an
SSB radio set. Alternatively, these weather faxes may be
received with the normal SSB and displayed on a computer.
Charts are now computerised and, when interfaced with the
GPS, will show the position of the yacht on the chart in use.
There are some small anomalies due to the change in the data and you should, in
any case, take the paper charts of the area you will be sailing through.
The crew
The choice of crew will ultimately decide the success or otherwise of the venture. Its
members must be congenial, enthusiastic and good work-sharers. Nothing
destroys morale on board a boat more quickly than one person who moans or
shirks their share of shipboard duties. Ideally, the crew should have previous
sailing experience so that they know what to expect, and it is well worthwhile going
for a short shakedown sail with the intended crew to see if they can cope and get
on well. Never take too many people, it cramps the living quarters and usually
means there is not enough work to keep everyone busy. A small but busy crew
usually creates a happy, purposeful team.
Beware of picking up crew who ask for passage somewhere at the last minute. For a
start, you will not know their background and will only find out how good or bad
they are once you get to sea, which is too late. In many countries, the skipper of
the boat is responsible for the crew, and you can find that when you reach your
destination, immigration will not allow the marine
'hitchhiker' ashore unless they have the onward
fare or ticket out of the country. If you do take people on like this, make sure that
they have money or a ticket, and I recommend that you take the money as security
until they have landed. I once got caught out in Durban with a hitchhiker who told
me I would have to give him the airfare back to the US.
However, he 'accidentally' fell into the harbour,
and when he put his pile of dollars out to dry, we took the amount required for his
fare. Never hesitate to send crew home if they do not fit in with the rest of the
team. The cost will seem small when measured against a miserable voyage.
Provisions
Always stock up for the longest possible time the voyage might take, plus ten per cent
extra. The system that I use for calculating the food requirement is to work out a
week's worth of daily menus for one person. I then multiply this
figure by the number of weeks the voyage should take plus the extra, and multiply
that figure by the number of crew on board.
Always take as much fresh food as you can. Root vegetables will last a couple of
months, greens last about a week, Citrus fruit will last a month, if kept well aired
and dry. Eggs, if sealed with wax or Vaseline, will last a couple of months. Meat
and fish should not be trusted beyond a day or two unless smoked, depending on
the temperature. Flour, rice and other dry stores will last a long time if kept in a dry,
sealed container.
The rest of the provisions will have to be freeze dried or canned. Such foodstuffs are
of good quality in Europe, the USA, South Africa, Australia
and New Zealand, but not so reliable elsewhere. The USA
does not produce canned stewing steak or minced steak, so if you are going to
have to stock up there make sure you have plenty of ways of cooking corned beef,
Spam or ham. Code all the cans with paint, then tear off the labels and cover the
whole tin with varnish as protection against salt water corrosion and stow securely
in a dry place.
When taking water on board, first check that it is fresh and pure. If in doubt, add
chloride or lime to the water tanks in the recommended proportions. Very good
fresh water can be obtained from rain showers. The most effective method is to top
up the main boom, so that the sail 'bags' and
the water will flow down to the boom and along the gooseneck, where it can be
caught in a bucket. There are a number of desalination plants on the market. If the
budget allows, they can be worthwhile in case the water tanks go foul and rain
water is hard to come by.
Safety
The safety equipment should be up to the Offshore Racing
Council's minimum standards. Ensure that the life raft has been
serviced before sailing, and that everyone on board knows how to use their life-
jackets and safety harnesses. A number of direction-finding and recovery systems
have been developed recently for picking up anyone who falls overside, and this
drill should be practised before the start of the voyage. A 406 Mhz
EPIRB distress beacon is essential - make sure it is
properly registered with its relevant authority. Take a search and rescue
transponder (SART). These provide a short-range signal to
radar sets and can be invaluable for rescuers looking for a life raft.
Paperwork and officialdom
Before setting out on a long voyage, make sure that someone at home, such as a
member of the family or your solicitor, knows your crew list, their addresses and
your intended programme - and keep them updated from each
port. Make sure your bank knows what you are planning, and that there are
enough funds in your account for emergencies. It is better to arrange to draw
money at banks en route rather than carry large sums on
board.
The boat should be registered. This is your proof of ownership and the
boat's nationality, and it also means that your boat comes under
the umbrella of certain international maritime agreements.
A certificate of competence as a yachtmaster is advisable. Some countries (Germany,
for instance) are starting to insist on them. The crew must have their passports
with them, plus any visas required for such countries as the
USA, Australia and India. More countries are demanding
visas these days, and you should check with the embassies or consulates of the
countries you intend to visit for details. You should also check the health
requirements and make sure that the crew have the various up-to-date inoculation
or vaccination certificates. It is always advisable to have tetanus jabs before
starting a voyage but most doctors' surgeries can provide list of
recommended inoculations.
Before setting out, obtain a clearance certificate from customs. You may not need it
at your destination but it will be helpful if you run into difficult officials.
On arrival at your destination, always fly your national flag and hoist the flag of the
country you have reached on the starboard rigging, on the yard if possible, and the
quarantine flag (Q). If officials from the customs and
immigration department do not visit the boat on arrival, only the skipper need go
ashore to find them and report, taking the registration certificate, port clearance,
crew passports and any other relevant papers.
Smuggling and piracy
Smuggling is a serious offence and the boat may be confiscated if smuggled items
are found on board, even if the skipper knows nothing about the offending items.
There are certain areas where smuggling and piracy have become common and, of
course, it is largely in the same areas that law enforcement is poor. The worst
areas are the Western Caribbean, the north coast of South America, the Red Sea
and the Far East, particularly near the Malacca Straits. There have also been a
number of attacks on yachts off the Brazilian coast. The best protection is a crew
of fairly tough-looking individuals, but a firearm is a good persuader. Never allow
other boats to come alongside at sea unless you know the people on board and, if
a suspicious boat approaches, let them see that you have a large crew and a gun.
Call on VHF, or send an alert on the Satcom if you feel
threatened. If the approaching vessel is official, they are probably listening to
VHF channels. When in a strange port, it is a good rule never
to allow anyone on board unless you know them or they have an official identity
card.
If you do carry a firearm, make sure you obtain a licence for it.
Murphy's law says that if you carry a rifle, you will never have to
use it.
