We are still on the hook at Playa Francesa, doing a few chores on the boat, working on the FPB program, and hanging out with the cruising fleet. We’ve had some amazing light the last few days as you can see above and below. The first two photos are morning shots. Interlude is above.
We have enjoyed the benefits of big roach mainsails for a long time (beginning 50 years ago in cats). In the late 1980s we started putting roach past the backstay on our monohulls. With the Sundeer Series a combination of swept spreaders and rig geometry allowed really aggressive roaches. When Dan Neri moved to North Sails and made sails for Beowulf in the photo above they were the biggest roached sails – mono or multihull – North had made. The advantages are many:
Here are a few photos of different details on FPB 64s number three and four. We will start with the swim step extension on the fourth boat, shown above. This boat is being built under survey, to Australian New South Wales rules. As such, there are numerous details required by the authorities, so the boat can be chartered. One of these is four rather than three lifelines.
Just when we thought it could not get any better at Playa Francesa, a deck of clouds moves in promising a spectacular sunset. With friends aboard to help conclude a lovely day at anchor we settle down to enjoy the moment. As you will see in the photos which follow, Mother Nature outdoes herself yet again.
Official Notice received via e-mail Wednesday:
BEACH PARTY – Thursday October 21, 2010 – Celebrating Birthdays & Anniversaries Aboard: CRISTATA, BARE FEET, INTERLUDE, etc.
Playa Francesca West – Petonque Tournament begins at 1500 hrs
Bring: Your Own Beverages, Plates, Cups & Utensils, Dish to Share,
Supplied: Cake, Music, Games
ALL CRUISERS WELCOME
It is the middle of the week and we are getting caught up. We had time last night to put together what follows on our favorite Mediterranean city.
The second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah, is resting quietly in Neah Bay, Washington, having made landfall at 21:34 UTC.
A happy Sunday morning to you.
Lanzarote is an island of amazing visual contrasts, made all the more powerful when there is good light and a few clouds. Yesterday we did a bit of touring, pulling off the road periodically to sample the aesthetic delights, of which there are many, with perfect conditions for taking the odd snapshot.
Puerto Calero marina is throbbing with music, lights, and serious partygoers. Although it is midnight there is no sense in trying to sleep, so we dressed, put on our ID bracelets, and determined to test the low light capability of the Canon 7D camera. The photos which follow were shot at an ISO of 3200 and have been run through NIK Define anti-noise software.
If nothing else, the Puerto Calero special events staff know how to put on a regatta soiree. Party planners take note.
FPB 64 #2, Sarah Sarah, is within a day of putting finish to their passage. The crew must be relaxing as they have sent in a long report, which follows.
AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: WDF4288
TIME: 2010/10/16 00:00
LATITUDE: 43-37.351N
LONGITUDE: 133-22.67W
COMMENT: Partly to mostly cloudy, air 58°F, sea 61°F (corrected temperatures), 1026 mb, wind light/variable, 0.7m swell from NW with no wind waves.
As you will note from the report above Sarah Sarah has positioned herself under the benign influence of a high pressure system (1026 mb) to complete her passage. Boat and crew are well, and plans are being coordinated for friends and family to meet her as she makes landfall.
We have a ring side seat to the RC 44 Worlds, both preparation, and the racing which is taking place within view of the breakwater. A few photos follow, shot with a 500mm F4 lens (occasionally with a 1.4 extender). If you want to see the latest in fast sail design, check these out.
Sarah Sarah and her intrepid crew are entering their seventh day a sea from Hawaii. The predicted frontal passage has occurred, just a bit early. Boat speed and good weather routing now has Sarah Sarah positioned within the influence of a high pressure system. They should be able to make their landfall without further frontal boundaries and their gales.
We noticed this beautifully fashioned stainless steel anchor down the dock and got us to thinking.
Puerto Calera and Lanzarote are looking better all the time. I turns out one can rent a car for a weekly rate of about 120 euros, insurance included, which makes it convenient to explore as time permits (they even bring the car to you). Yesterday we did a bit of reconnoitering for photo opportunities. The light was not conducive to anything wonderful, but we now have a handle on some local options for late in the day, once the clouds disperse. A few samples follow.
Having completed their fifth day at sea Sarah Sarah’s crew is undoubtedly celebrating having half of the 2275 nautical miles to the Straights of Juan de Fuca behind them (actual distance with weather jogs is likely to be closer to 2400 miles). According to Rick Shema (see below) they have one more frontal passage, perhaps gale force, and then the long range forecast is quite good considering the time of year and location.
After a brief period of heading north of the rhumbline during a frontal passage Sarah Sarah is back on track for the Straights of Juan de Fuca. From her satcom update:
TIME: 2010/10/11 23:59
LATITUDE: 33-47.92N
LONGITUDE: 149-29.92W
COMMENT: Back on rhumbline to C. Flattery @ 15:23Z, ave. 9.6 kts. Overcast, occas. rain, air 68°F, sea 76°F, 1023 mb*, wind SE at 18 kts.*, 1.2m swell from E
The second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah, has had an uneventful trip weather wise between New Zealand and Hawaii. Aside from a day spent in confused large beam seas, the boat and crew have not been challenged, at least from a design standpoint. A leg like Hawaii towards Seattle will be different. It is going to present them with a variety of confused sea-states, which will test the ability of the boat to maintain its average passage speed,(speed, as you know, is the holy grail of safe passagemaking, especially in the fall crossing the North Pacific). A few comments from the boat, and Rick Shema, their weather router, follow:
We have been keeping an eye on the Atlantic and Caribbean hurricane season. Although we won’t be heading across the “pond” until the 21st of November, we want to keep track of the trends. This season is forecast to be a more active than recent years and if the heat energy isn’t being transferred out of the tropics the risks increase for late tropical cyclone activity.
The graphic above is from the National Hurricane Center for this evening (2100GMT). You can keep an eye on these yourself here.
Although there are still a few weeks left to our European cruising season we are going to make an early award of the Wind Horse “Marina of the year” trophy to Puerto Calero. The facilities are lovely, there is a nice mix of shops and restaurants, the staff is great, prices are reasonable, and the surrounding countryside is amazing.
The second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah, is on her way from Hawaii towards Seattle, a 2300 mile passage. The crew just sent in the report which follows.
We could enjoy an anchorage like Playa Francesa for a long time. But having convinced ourselves we didn’t care for the odds of the anchorage with six meter/20 foot swell wrapping in, we said our goodbyes and set out to see some new territory. The coastline of Lanzarote is starkly beautiful. It reminds us of parts of Nevada and New Mexico in the US Southwest.
Playa Francesa is what cruising should be. No crowded marinas, no crowds, just beautiful surroundings and a few like minded friendly cruisers (at the end of this post there is a link to a high res slide show).
There’s a large fall storm brewing in the North Atlantic that is going to generate some sizable swells. Will they or the southwest wind shift have a major impact here and if so what do we do? The image above is of Playa Francesa on Graciosa Island. Waves generated by northeast winds have no trouble finding their way around the island, albeit in attenuated form. But what about northwest swells?
Playa Francesca is a bouncy anchorage and when we found out Interlude has a pair of Magma Flopper Stoppers we decided to test one. You can see it and our well worn unit on the aft deck. Their’s is nine years old, ours five. Surprisingly they both weigh the same, so are both easy to handle. Note the anti-twist/retrieval line added by Interlude’s owners.
Our approach to Isla Graciosa and Playa Francesa, at day break, is a good example of how we use the various electronic nav aids closing with land. Our preference is always going to be eyeball navigation, but when conditions do not permit this, we put these tools to work.
We’ve been hove to – which in FPB terms means running slowly on one engine – waiting for the sun to illuminate Playa Francesca. Our Maptech electronic charts of this area are essentially worthless (more about this another day) so we are using radar and sonar to work our way in.
“That day, in those conditions, it was the only boat I would have wanted to climb aboard to face the English Channel.”
–Motor Boat & Yachting Magazine
Given the wonderful sea and wind conditions we’ve had on the passage between Gibraltar and the Canary Islands you may find our fixation on having interior spaces and handrails optimized for rare negative events puzzling. We’ll let the photos in this blog, all taken within a 12 hour span, speak to the subject. After reading this blog if you would like to see high res full screen photos of the waves there is a link at the end. Read the rest »
We are a little less than a day from our hoped for destination, Playa Francesca on Isla Graciosa, just off the northwest corner of Lanzarote. This is reputed to be one of the better anchorages in the Canaries and authorities willing, we can hang out for a few days before going into a marina. We have been making such good progress that we have had to slow down so we don’t arrive in the dark.
The breeze has finally clocked to the northeast as predicted and is now squarely behind us. We’ve been experimenting with various lenses and camera angles trying to capture the size, shape, and chaotic nature of the seas. While far from perfect we have an interesting collection to demonstrate how things are in pleasant conditions, and why if you are headed to sea, you want the interior and deck designed for security when the unexpected happens. Once we get connected we’ll post these for your viewing pleasure.
Meanwhile, we are adapting to the being at sea. Reading, watching an afternoon movie (Casablanca of course given Morocco is under our lee), writing, a few photos, a bit of design work and some very slow speed motion tests with our stabilizers for an interesting project that is in its preliminary stages. The washer and drier are in use, we luxuriate with hot showers and baths (we do recall the old days before watermakers), enjoy the flying bridge, communicate with both Sailmail (SSB) and UUPlus (Iridium satphone), and keep watch. In short, aside from a change in sleep patterns, this is much like being at anchor.
10/2/2010 8:32 AM (UTC) position 31
We are roughly half way to Lanzaroate Island in the Canaries and we have had a chance to do some real world prop protection testing. Last night we encountered dozens of fishing boats with nets – they appeared to be a mile or more in length – on the surface. There was a six to ten foot (two to three meter) sea running. Some nets were lit, others not. In the process of maneuvering around these obstacles we became entangled – a cruiser’s (power or sail) worst nightmare.
We were running at 10.5 knots at the time and the instant we heard the net on the hull we went to neutral. Stopping left us beam to the seas which set us rolling, but surprisingly not enough to disturb keyboards, computer mice, binoculars, and various clocks all of which were unrestrained on horizontal surfaces.
We put our eight cell flashlight to use (the first time it has been used in earnest in five years) and could see the surface line and string of floats trailing from the starboard stabilizer fin, but it did not appear to be on either of the props.
We rotated the boat clockwise, using first one engine and then the other, until we were head to wind with the boat at right angles to the net. Backing down cleared us of the net and we proceeded without any further excitement.
We were pleased to find that the leading edge fences on the stabilizers worked as intended to keep the net from catching on the fin shaft and that the full skegs on the props kept them from entanglement. Since we previously tested with logs and ice we no officially conclude this phase of research.
The wind and waves are not as advertised, being initially forward of the beam. However, they have now gone to the starboard quarter, deep enough to start surfing, which we are doing at present to 13/14 knots. Given the wave shape we are hopeful of more fun as we alter course to the left.
10/1/2010 1:17 PM (UTC) position 34
Sarah Sarah is berthed at the Hawaii Yacht Club on Oahu. Prior to turning in they sent us a few photos of Palmyra Atoll (above), Pango (at the end of this blog), and the trip up.
Preliminary data indicates that for the last leg, across the hurricane belt, Sarah Sarah averaged 9.8 knots turning 1750 to 1800 RPM, with top surfing speed of 14.7 knots. Average fuel burn reported by the engine’s CPU was 4.5 US gallons / 17 liters per hour. Good going guys!
It was 62F/16C inside Wind Horse this morning, our fenders are soft in the cool air, there are three mega yachts fueling next to us in Gibraltar, and the Azores high is pumping. This means an easy exit from Gibraltar and 20 to 30 knots on the stern all the way to the Canary Islands. We have the deck rigged for passaging, emergency gear is about to be deployed, a last trip to the market is in the offing, and the engine room check will proceed shortly. And then we are off into the Atlantic heading southwest.
With a short hop like that between Gatos and Gibraltar – 165 nautical miles – there is always discussion about how best to deal with timing. It can be done in two day hops, or a single leg which requires an 0200 departure so that we arrive in time to check in. Getting up in the middle of the night could be considered painful but working out of an anchorage in the dark is one of the pleasures of cruising and compensates for the requirement to leave a warm bunk.
There are a few roadsteads along Spain’s Costa del Sol where it is possible to tuck in and gain protection from westerly winds. When we saw the shape of Gatos anchorage, and the lovely desert colors, it was obvious we needed to stop.
The last three days moored in Barcelona a surge began to wave us back and forth along the sea wall to which we were tied. This caused an uncomfortable jerk at the end of each cycle, so we modified the aftermost dock lines as shown above.
The prevailing current in this part of the Med. is west to east. But there has to be a balance to the flow, and that balance can provide a counter current. We’re running at 1800 RPM here, which should move us at 10.8/11 knots, so the 11.4 knots shown indicates a favorable push. How do you find counter currents?
We’ve enjoyed the Balearics and loved Barcelona, but none of it compares with the feeling of Wind Horse slipping down the six foot (1.85m) waves in which we currently find ourselves surfing towards Gibraltar. A spectacular sunset and clear sky filled with stars heightens the mood aboard.
Following is the latest report from the second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah as they make their way towards Hawaii.
We’ve had some partially clear nights lately, and with the Moon approaching full, we could oftentimes clearly see the clouds and waves, which made night watches much more interesting. We didn’t encounter any more vessels after our last report, three days out of Pago Pago, American Samoa.
On September 21st, at 19:16 UTC (8:16 in the morning by ship’s clock), we crossed the Equator and entered the Northern Hemisphere at a longitude of 161°43.88’W. This marked Bill’s first ocean crossing of the equator, and he joined John and Brian in the ranks of “shell-backs,” being a “pollywog” no longer.
We were walking back to Wind Horse a few days ago and stopped to chat with the owner of this very cool looking A-class cat. 85kg all up, simple rigging, major buzz for the buck. Given the recent noise in the yachting press about the new axe bows and wave piercing designs, this got us to thinking.
Barcelona. Home to Gaudi, Miro, Picasso, where Mies van der Roh introduced the Barcelona chair, an amazing visual and historic mix and simply the most astonishing city you can imagine.
We’ve now been in and out of half a dozen Med. mooring situations and have a handle on the technique required to keep the blood pressure normal and avoid giving pleasure to bystanders waiting for “fun”. As we are about to head back to the Atlantic we thought we’d pass on what has been learned.
When the modern mega sailboat era started in 1988 with the launch of the Ed Dubois designed Aquel, for the most part the boats were ungainly, hard to manage, and very slow. This started to change a decade later as owners who were sailors began to demand more performance. One of the benchmark designs was the Ron Holland designed, Huisman build, Juliet.
As we have seen in Palma the performance end is these days well covered with very high performance designs. Now there is a new trend, energy efficiency. The 87m/190 foot ketch shown above, another Holland/Huisman collaboration, is a lovely looking cruising yacht into which great effort has been put to make her efficient. We suspect she represents a new benchmark in the field of design and construction. Juliet provided the inspiration for this project.
We were fortunate to be invited aboard for a tour.
We have been hearing for years from our friends in the ranks of the pros what a great spot Palma was to spend the winter. Having now been in and out of the harbor for the past three weeks we understand the allure. Out of season – it is quieting down now – Palma has a desirable mix of marine infrastructure second to none, a lovely town, and interesting countryside to explore.
We’ve had a four hour hang in the slings in Palma to replace our damaged stabilizer fin. We are not happy with what we found.
We promised a few days ago more on this yacht.
Let’s start at the beginning, with the hull shape. We are looking at a 36/40 ton 73 footer, motor sailing at 9.4 knots, or a speed length ratio of 1.15. Check out the bow and stern waves, which will tell you how hard her original 150HP Izusu diesel is working. Maybe that’s why it is still running smoothly after 10,000 hours.
The crew of the second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah, have just arrived in American Samoa from New Zealand, after a brief stop in Nieu along the way. Brian Rickard has just sent us a batch of photos to go with their reports, which follow.
Enigma, ex Katana, may be the coolest mega stinkpot in Palma or anywhere. She is svelte, and rather than maximize volume, has clean lines, and will be exceptionally efficient at planing speed.
After a week of meeting with clients, chores, a bit of design work, some writing and socializing, we have escaped from Palma. Heading east around the island we are hailed on VHF by old friends on the yacht to the right above. Conference, check the chart, reverse course, and here we are. This 27-year-old design has been afloat for 24 years, is on her fifth set of custodians, and about to complete a third circuit of the globe. Any idea of her provenance? We’ll have more in a few days.
We have used Furuno radars for 30 years without a single problem until last week. The image went blank on the monitor, and after replacing a blown fuse was still blank, and red as shown here on the secondary output. The word from our friends at Furuno USA was a bad processor board and to get t he local rep aboard.
Here is the latest thing in booms – the carbon equivalent of the “Park Avenue” boom pioneered by the J Class mega-cutters in the 1930s. This is a healthy, performance oriented trend, something we like a lot better than in the mast and in boom furlers. They are simple, reliable, and making a neat, svelte package with the sail furled and cover in place. You can even make a case for a slight end plate effect from the platform, increasing effective aspect ration and reducing induced drag.
We mentioned the coffee shop at the corner of the cay or muelle as piers are called in this part of the world. It is a morning hang out for some of the professional crews and they are having a wonderful time from the looks of things. There is work of course, but it takes place all over the world. New places, new people, new experiences.
The last two mornings clouds to the east have made for wonderful sunrises. The marina is quiet, the water is glass smooth, and it is refreshingly cool. What more could you ask for? A cup of coffee and pastry? Coming right up at the coffee shop on the pierhead.
I have been looking for the articles you have done on your aluminium dinghy.
Re the build and the reasoning.
One I remember was when you decided to cut the bow off to allow pushing etc.
If you could direct me to them it would be much appreciated.
Regards
Mike
Long time correspondent Alan Leslie was kind enough to send us a few photos yesterday from the capital of the island nation Vanuatu, Vila. This is one of two Sundeer 64 cutters. For a mature lady she is looking very good to our eye.
We have been pleasantly surprised by the water clarity in some of the Mallorcan anchorages we have visited. So we charged the battery on our three year old Olympus submersible camera and decided to see if the seals were still watertight.
Every now and then we look at Google Analytics to check traffic on the SetSail and DashewOffshore websites. In the past we have done this on a monthly basis. This morning we decided to look at the previous four months in total, and were amazed to find 333,463 pages had been downloaded – over a million pages a year on an annualized basis.
To the 12,000+ unique monthly visitors who spent time with us we say thanks for coming.
One of the things we love about unpainted aluminum is the ability to get at the grime with a high pressure power washer. It is amazing how fast one these devices will remove dirt, bird poop, and other unpleasantness.
Hello Steve and Linda:
I have a
relatively simple question, we are considering having an aluminum
sailing catamaran built for us in the Philippines (Tim Mumby design)
and I am intrigued by the idea of having bare aluminum decks. Does
this work in the tropics where we tend to spend quite a lot of time?
Seems like they would get quite hot. If it does work, any thoughts on
sources for non skid plating that would work for this?
BTW, you introduced me to some calculations on prop tip speed and
cavitation that made our Max Prop work much better.
thanks
Steve
The FPB 64s are fitted with emergency tillers, the main purpose of which is to lock the rudder on center when hove to behind a parachute anchor. The two inch schedule 40 steel pip (galvanized) slips over a projection on the tiller to which the hydraulic cylinders attach.
Sunday morning, its quiet aboard Wind Horse, and there is time to partially catch up on photos. A few items which have caught our eye follow starting with this brand new 105 footer, just in from her Capetown builders.
Our wifi amp/preamp booster recently died and at the suggestion of Troy Bethel of Yacht Dynamics we picked up an Alfa Networks AWUSO36NH two watt booster. This is connected with a USB cable (our previous unit was ethernet based).
Knowing we were headed into the world of mooring stern to we debated about adding a purpose built “passeral” to Wind Horse. It seemed like a waste to spend several thousand dollars and have to store the resulting purchase for a few marina visits. At Sue Grant’s suggestion we decided to wait and see what was really necessary. What follows is a selection of high end fashion statements, and more down to earth solutions. At the end we will show you our solution.
We’ve been hearing for years that Palma was a special place, and frankly, with our experience to date in the Balaerics we had our doubts. But one look at the amazing collection of moored yachts as we entered the harbor and we knew it was true.
We’ve fouled the anchor on everything from lost hurricane chains, to engine blocks, to coral heads. But this is the first time we’ve hooked a sewer line (unmarked). Since the camera was hand we thought a few shots of the clearing process might be of interest.
We are starting to understand the appeal of zero speed stabilizers and gyro stabilization systems for yachts which are boomless. The anchorages which we have visited so far are not what you would characterize as calm. Of course if you have booms and flopper stoppers they are fine.
The second FPB 64, Sarah Sarah, is bound for the Pacific Northwest. As it is late summer in the Northern Hemisphere, there is pressure to get the sea trials wrapped up, and be off to the north. So, we have not been able to get the time required onboard for a complete set of photos. However, we do have some interesting details to share and over the next week we’ll do a series of posts.
We’ll start with the owner becoming familiar with his new cruising machine. Note the back up manual wheel. The wheel is removable, but at this point the plan is to leave it in place (there are two auto pilot systems as well which are the primary steering systems).
Greetings,
I have followed Wind Horse occasionally and am in tune with your design philosophy. I am delighted to see your new 64.
I have several questions that I could not find answered on you excellent web pages:
What does FPB stand for?
What is the cost of your FPB 64?
Have you reduced the draft on the prop skeg after the first version? I live on the Gulf coat of Florida where shallow draft is important.
Thank you,
Randy Knight
It is the real world mistakes we have made which form much of the basis for how we do things. For example, the constant worry about 22 hull penetrations in our uninsured fiberglass 50 footer 32 years ago led to a compulsive drive to eliminate these in our own designs. It has been a dozen years since we have kissed anything hard below surface. No more. Today we did a really good job of it.
The photo above and below are the PR versions of where we are at present.
And they are accurate before 1200 and after 2000 hours. The rest of the time, the people and boat watching, not to mention lessons in naval architecture are wonderful.
We’ve been reading the Paul Theroux’s book on his travels in the Med. “The Pillars of Hercules”. At one point he rails against travel writers who sugar coat reality. Not wanting to fall into that camp we herewith rededicate ourselves to calling it as we see it. Let’s start with exotic Formentara where we have just dropped the anchor.
As we are planning a fall crossing of the Atlantic we’ve been watching the hurricane season develop with interest. According to the long range weather gurus at Colorado State University, the conditions for a very active season are strengthening. These include:
The best way to check fuel consumption is by filling the tank. Ideally this is done before and after a passage so just the underway hours are used in the calculations. When you are in coastal mode, as we have been, some interpolation is going to be required. As we have just topped off with diesel in Gibraltar we thought you might be interested in the figures.
There are all sorts of hints that it is time to leave. The fridge is so full it will hold nothing more, the immediate neighbor is playing with his tiller sans pantalones, and there is a west wind blowing when we are headed east.
Carol and Mike Parker have updated their cruising logs with a series of entries from Vanuatu. Click here to see their latest.
Gibraltar is one of those names which rings bells for the cruiser. It is a destination that everyone, sooner or later, would like to visit. So it was with us, and we left the charms of Rota allowing plenty of time to sample this fabled destination. There have been a series of surprises, starting with the traffic in the Straights of Gibraltar.