Ocean Navigator - September/October 2024

2024 Pacific Cup: a grueling race to Hawaii

The first three finishers of the 2024 Pacific Cup, all sloops, crossed the finish line in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii, only a week after starting their grueling passage from San Francisco with winds topping 30 knots. The T52 Saga finished with an uncorrected time of eight days 02:10:54, the Wylie 70 Rage sailed in after seven days 19:49:35 and the Rogers 46 Lucky Duck finished after eight days 02:10:54. Each vessel in the race was required to report its position at 0800 each morning to the Pacific Cup Yacht Club (PCYC) by email. Crew could include a brief report on other…

iNav4u launches Zora 2.0 fully configurable OS

iNav4U, a developer and manufacturer of top-quality navigation software for offshore vessels, now offers exactly what many ocean sailors have been waiting for: Zora 2.0, a system that “integrates all navigation instruments, systems, controls and applications to manage modern yachts.” Whereas this level of vessel management may have been the exclusive domain of ocean cruise liners in the past, this technology is now available in an easily managed package for ocean yachts from iNav4U. The developer of Zora 2.0, a former software company executive who spent a decade cruising on a Lagoon 470 catamaran, used experience gained from crossing oceans…

New Navy Pier in Chicago

Boaters on Lake Michigan and in the Chicago area will appreciate knowing the new Navy Pier Marina will soon be under construction and should be available for occupancy by the summer of 2025, according to NPM Venture LLC. This marks a landmark development in the Chicago area, which has long been a popular nexus for boats transiting the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan is part of the waterway connecting the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean via the Mississippi River on the American Great Loop. Large infrastructure developments such as this require a long period of planning, design and permit…

savvy navvy releases updated app

Sailing the world’s oceans is a lot easier and safer when we have the latest navigation technology on our vessels. The latest app update from savvy navy, Over the Horizon AIS (OHA), keeps us informed of other vessels in our area through our cell phone’s onboard internet connection. This means no hardware to install and no extra Ethernet cables to route through bulkheads or behind cabin furnishings. Whereas typical AIS systems keep us informed of vessels in our area, probably visible from our decks, savvy navvy OHA keeps us apprised of vessels well beyond the horizon, adding greatly to our…

Protect your vessel in hurricane season

The 2024 hurricane season will soon be upon us, so it is of critical importance for those of us living in hurricane-prone areas to prepare for the worst. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts what could be one of the most active storm seasons in recent memory with a potential of 23 storms of 39 mph or higher with 11 predicted to become hurricanes and five capable of reaching category one, two or three at 111 mph or higher. Given the incredibly destructive force of hurricanes, those of us living in hurricane-prone areas need to take every measure…

Notable New Titles: The Last Days of the Schooner America

The Last Days of the Schooner America by David Gendell Lyons Press—296 pages: $34.95 In the world of nautical libraries, much has been written about the most famous yacht ever built. Her name was America. I myself have drunk from this Niagara of commentary. Yet now in a new work by author David Gendell – is a text of flawless prose with an eye to the sheer physical beauty and excitement of the great vessel. Gendell’s gripping narrative extends to the Annapolis, Md. boatyard where in 1944 the schooner, by then a rotting hulk, literally disintegrated under the weight…

Electronic weather devices

Having the right weather resources aboard your boat can make all the difference between an enjoyable passage or a harrowing story to be told later. And those resources continue to get better. Recent emhancements to weather forecasting and equipment have made getting stuck in bad weather considerably harder to do. “Improvement in forecasting over the last few years has been great,” said Jason Cordeira, an atmospheric scientist with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. “The models get better and better, to the point where we’re forecasting out five to seven days now, whereas it was only three to five days a…

Nordhavn 51 Debut

Anyone who has visited, or better yet, cruised on a Nordhavn yacht understands intuitively the level of dedication and craftsmanship that goes into every one of these fine motor vessels. Designed and built to deliver an elegant cruising experience in a potentially harsh, unforgiving offshore environment, Nordhavn yachts continue to please their owners with consistently high quality and great performance. In recent years, many potential customers have wondered if it was possible to emulate the spacious elegance and solid performance of the Nordhavn 41 in a larger vessel, which would be far more capacious and faster under power yet still…

Cruising on Bessie: Brewerton, N.Y. to Trent-Severn Waterway, Ontario

In late May, we returned to ESS-KAY Yards on the Erie canal where we had stored Bessie, our 2004 Nordic Tug 32 for the winter. A week on the hard was ample time to have the anti-fouling paint renewed, some fiberglass dings and scratches repaired and a good start on having Bessie detailed, which she sorely needed. Detailing usually includes only the hull above the waterline, but we chose to have the entire vessel detailed. Jason Ash, a thorough master detailer, insisted I remove the four solar panels on the pilot house roof so he could detail that normally out-of-sight…

Red Sea Knockdown

I had spent all night on a Friday in early April close-tacking my way to Gezerit Zabargad, a two-mile-long island marking the eastern border of Foul Bay on Egypt’s southern Red Sea coast. The Imray pilot says the island has several moorings, donated by U.S. AID to protect the coral reef from anchors. I saw none and found nowhere to drop the hook. Too bad because the reef-protected lagoon was as clear blue and pretty as any I had ever seen. Into a light head wind I motored Saltaire, my 1966 Cal 30 sloop, the last 30 miles to Ras…