Ocean Navigator - July/August 2024

Rolex China Sea Race 2024

The final yachts of the 2024 Rolex China Sea Race arrived in Subic Bay, Philippines, in the late afternoon of April 2 with a total of 21 boats and 191 competitors from 26 British territories having taken part in the 2024 edition. It was a fierce battle between TP52 Happy Go and Standard Insurance Centennial V, but Happy Go ultimately finished the race a mere five minutes ahead of her rival, taking both Line Honours and the IRC Overall win. Chinese entry William Liu’s Seawolf claimed second IRC Overall and IRC Racer 0 second place. Skipper YY Yan said, “We…

Nigel Calder seminar in Portland, Maine, October 29/30, 2024

Electrical systems are the leading cause of problems on boats that have more than a rudimentary electrical system. Most of these problems are preventable; they arise from a failure to abide by core design and installation principles. To take a deep dive into both design and installation issues, OceanPlanet Energy (OPE), in collaboration with Ocean Navigator magazine, Professional Boatbuilder magazine and BoatHowTo.com, is sponsoring an intense, two-day seminar developed and presented by tech guru Nigel Calder, author of the best-selling Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual. Topics include key design criteria for both DC and AC systems; how to keep batteries…

Marina Bahia Golfito

Marina Bahia Golfito on the shores of Golfo Dulce—a southern fjord considered one of the most biodiverse places on Earth—offers incomparable yachting, sportfishing and wildlife experiences that epitomize the very essence of Costa Rica. Located in one of the most vibrant destinations in Costa Rica, Golfito Bay is a “gulf within a gulf,” a pristine landscape framed by the lush mangroves of Corcovado and Piedras Blancas National Parks and home to some of the richest biodiversity in the world. This is where cruising sailors, big game anglers, eco-adventurers, boaters, surfers and outdoor lovers of all ages and interests can reconnect…

Notable New Titles

Finding Serendipity: An Adventure of Boating on North America’s Great Loop by John L. Gray JL Gray Co., 377 pages; $18.95 on Amazon John Gray’s Finding Serendipity recounts a journey on his 29-foot motor yacht, a compact Ranger Tug called Andiamo (Italian for “Let’s Go”). On a flawless February morning, the author and his wife, Laurie, set out on what boating enthusiasts describe as “looping,” a circuit beginning on Florida’s west coast. The couple then cruised north along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to Chesapeake Bay and New York’s Erie Canal. From there, the route crossed the Great Lakes before veering…

Boat Monitoring Systems

The more we streamline and centralize our vessels’ myriad navigation and propulsion systems in one place, either in the pilot house or in the nav station below decks, the safer crew and vessel are while underway on the water. The core of any vessel monitoring system must, of course, include today’s standard array of compass, GPS chartplotter, depth sounder, wind direction indicator and battery charge indicator. More advanced systems include engine monitoring, a radar screen and sensors for water and fuel levels. Battery Monitoring A small day-sailing vessel with an engine used only for propulsion and nav lights can be…

Doggersbank 60 Offshore: a new take on a time-honored classic

Introducing the all-new Doggersbank 60 Offshore. Benefitting from more than six decades of Doggersbank expertise, the proven platform retains the comfort, layout and characteristic look of the steel-hulled Offshore models, set within a manageable size range. In addition to the time-honoured classic, Vripack Design has developed a contemporary sister model—the Doggersbank 60X Offshore—aimed at a younger, outdoor sport-oriented owner. The planned interior for the Doggersbank 60 Offshore will evoke a light and contemporary look and feel. “It will be comfortably finished with solid materials, tactile fabrics, soft furnishings and lighting to create a truly warm ambience,” says Joost Mertens, Doggersbank…

Cruising Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa

Much has been written about boating on the St. Lawrence River—mostly mis-informed or outdated information, as we soon learned. In summer of 2023, we cruised the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and Montreal and the Ottawa River to Ottawa, and we are pleased to report the entire trip was a delight. We completed the American Great Loop in a clockwise direction and crossed our wake at the Statue of Liberty in late June 2023 aboard our Nordic Tug 32, Bessie. With a comfortable and economic cruising speed of 8 mph, the Nordic Tug can also attain 16 or 17…

Storm tactics for small vessels

When we leave the safe, predictable environs of our local cruising grounds, we find ourselves learning, sometimes the hard way, how to survive storms at sea. During my 2000-05 circumnavigation on the 1966 Cal 30 sloop Saltaire, that’s how I learned to survive gales, groundings and even a full knockdown, always emerging victorious against the elements. Crossing oceans on a larger yacht certainly offers obvious advantages. We all know a larger craft is more stable in a seaway, cutting through swells smoothly rather than bouncing over their crests, and offering a smoother ride for her crew. In a small harbor,…

Using Satellites to “Sound” Atmosphere and Ocean

Even when going boating in my home waters where I think I know every stand-alone rock and the boundaries of channels and will only be out for a few hours, I check the weather and carry a navigation chart. Mariners have done this for as long as there have been boats, but the technology for creating forecasts and charts has evolved steadily over time. It’s making big leaps now through changes in the way satellites collect data about the atmosphere and ocean and how it is analyzed. The first U.S. satellite was launched to counter Russia in the space race,…

Protect Your Boat from Lightning

If there is anything equally as scary to an ocean sailor as falling aboard, it is the highly unlikely yet still extant possibility of being struck by lightning at sea. Like a giant battery in the sky, the negative post on that wispy, amorphous blob of a cloud is always looking for the shortest path to ground, which in this case means the highly conductive saltwater on which you are sailing—or the highest conductive point on your boat. So there you are sailing along, listening to Jimmy Buffet on the stereo, blissfully unaware of the big cloud’s intentions as it…