[Public-list] Offshore Preparation

[Richard Mair]

    Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 14:47:38 -0700
    From: Brian Hofler
    Subject: [Public-list] Offshore Preparation
    To: "Alberg 30 Public List (E-mail)"
    Message-ID: <022101c6ed7e$df3bfab0$203922c7 at headoffice.rcabc.org>
    Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

    Does anyone have a must do, must buy, must know list for sailing an A30
    offshore?

    Brian Hofler, M.Ed.,
    Executive Vice President
    T.604.882.9734
    F.604.882.1744


We are offshore in an A30, currently in the Canaries.  Here are our thoughts on what is necessary for offshore sailing, with the note that it depends on what kind of offshore cruising you plan to do, and for how long. 

We have and recommend:
Offshore sails (we got ours from Rolly Tasker through Shoreline Sails in Toronto and are very happy with them).  Sails should include a drifter for light weather and storm jib and tri-sail for heavy weather.  
Windvane - a must have, as far as we are concerned (we have a Cape Horn and highly recommend it).  We use a Tiller Pilot when the wind is too light (apparent wind less than 2 knots) or we need to make adjustments to the vane.
SSB with a modem and computer and SailMail (or other e-mail program, depending on whether you have a Ham certification) plus weather fax capability which will get you weather anywhere we have been so far.  On passage, we have found talking to Herb on the Southbound II net gives us the most accurate weather and his forecast is tailored to your position and route. Plus he can help you find favorable currents.
Radar, for those times when either visibility is poor or weather is such that you want to avoid time in the cockpit - keeping a watch for other traffic is essential (we also use a hand held compass to check bearing and course of ships we see).
Good ground tackle, for when you get to where you are going.  We have three anchors, a Bruce, a Plough and a Danforth, all heavier than recommended, and all-chain rodes on the Bruce and Plough.  What anchors you choose depend on you, but experience suggests that no anchor holds in all situations.  We would like to add a fisherman as well.
We highly recommend replacing the running lights, particularly those on the bow as they take a lot of water over them; at the very least they should be raised and replaced with brighter ones - best would be installing a good masthead tricolor, so that you can be seen as far away as possible.  We plan to do the latter as soon as we can.
Since you will need a good supply of electrical power - at minimum for running lights and anchor lights, but also for communication, radar etc. - good batteries and an efficient  way to charge them are very important. We have an AirX wind generator and are going to add solid solar panels. We cannot recommend flexible solar panels unless there is a change in their technology.  Ours lasted about a year before delaminating and rusting, whereas we have met  people who have been using the same solid panels for 15 years without problems.
 When things start to get out of control, or sometimes just for comfort or to work on something, we heave to, and agree that it is an important technique to master.  Luckily, the A30 heaves to well.  For really nasty weather, we have a sea anchor and a Jordan series drogue. We have not had to use our series drogue yet, but we have talked to a couple of people who have in winds of 50 knots and greater.  They described the difference before and after deploying as like night and day.  One boat was a similar boat to the A30.
 Other things:  If you can find a way to improve your nonskid, do.  Make sure you can and do fasten everything down - it makes for a much more comfortable trip.  There’s probably more we haven’t thought of, but we are willing to answer any questions we can.  Though it may take a while as we are not always close to Internet.
Into The Blue  A30 609
Richard and Margaret (Having a great time).



 		
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