Easy Go Adventures

Strong Trade Winds

2012-02-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Last evening we went to Peter's Bar and Grill in Logon, Dominica for the traditional Friday night barbecue. I had my favorite ribs while Kathy had chicken. Joined by our friend Peter we had a pleasant social evening on land. On the way back to Easy Go Kathy and I stopped at a new beachfront bar called Barbed Wire and owned by "Spesh". He had invited us to visit as it is his new endeavor and he is trying very hard to make a success of it. We left our dinghy at Big Papa's beachfront restaurant and bar where we visited with Big Papa and some other boaters before rowing back out.

The winds have been getting stronger over the week and were freshening up as we got back. During the night they picked up even stronger causing the boat to veer around on its chain and heel over to 10 and sometime 15 degrees in the gusts. We have 150 feet of 3/8 inch chain on a 44 lb Bruce anchor that is holding quite well in 30 feet of water with a mixed sand, rock and weed bottom.

As today progressed the winds picked up higher with a few boats dragging anchor and having to reset. Those boats on moorings have not experienced any failures yet.

One boat came into the anchorage with the mainsail blown out and another with its roller reefing head sail looking somewhat worse for wear. Lots of sails will be resewn over the next few days.

Winds appear to be gusting strongly off the mountains well in excess of forecast wind speeds. To make ourselves more comfortable and minimize the veering in the gusts I put our 22 lb Bruce anchor out over the bow roller on about 50 ft of 5/16 inch chain so that is is hanging straight up and down. When the boat starts to veer this anchor has a braking affect and the boat's motions are subdued. The added benefit is we have another anchor on the bottom in the event that the first one starts to slip. We can rapidly deploy more chain and rode if needed.

We've used this setup numerous times to sit out gales over the years. We'll be sleeping soundly tonight even if the wind is piping up.

Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security (PAYS)

2012-02-20T05:16:00.000-08:00

Last evening we attended the beach barbecue and dance which is a fundraiser for the Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security (PAYS). Fantastic barbecued chicken with salad and fried rice and a bottomless rum punch glass prepared everyone for an evening of music and dance. The numerous yachties kicked up the dust and socialized with each other. This is one of the best venues we have come across for all the yachties from different countries to get to know each other.

We returned to Easy Go in our rowing dinghy near midnight, far later than we normally stay out. As we were preparing to go to bed there was a bloodcurdling scream off the port side of the boat and we both rushed on deck to see what the matter was. While the wind was not particularly strong it was strong enough for a dinghy with a broken down engine and a hysterical passenger to blow by us faster than I could get a rope to throw.

We have no motor on the dinghy so our next option was to find someone with one as this person obviously was being blown to sea without a flashlight or oars for self rescue. Kathy kept the beam of our multi million candle power light trained on the rapidly disappearing dinghy while I put out a Mayday on the VHF. We got one response which went silent after I explained the situation. No aid was forthcoming. I then got out the fog horn and started to blow three then five toots to try and attract attention. Another party goer was fortunately returning to their boat and we attracted their attention with the fog horn and calls of Mayday. They motored over by us rapidly while Kathy instructed them to follow our light beam to the now almost invisible dinghy. Fortunately they were able to find the errant dinghy, take it in tow and headed back to the anchorage. The Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security (PAYS) boat met them on the way in and took over the rescue.

This event could have had a very bad ending if we had not fortunately been in the right place at the right time. A reminder to all those people that put blind faith in the internal combustion engine. Make sure that you have oars, a flashlight and a VHF radio whenever you go out in your dinghy. The life you save may very well be your own.

Dominica 2012

2012-02-16T01:28:00.001-08:00

We sailed from Jolly Harbour, Antigua to Portsmouth, Dominica to give the sails a good try out and get our sea legs back. The southwest winds had us tacking and trying to stay, unsuccessfully on our rhumb line. Winds varied from total calms to 35 knot katabatic winds off the mountains of Guadaloupe.

We had a tacking comparison to a conventional cutter rig and were able to outpoint in 20 knots of wind. Not bad for a junk rig. We're totally satisfied with the new sails and look forward to getting some more long distance sailing in. We are planning to head back to Nova Scotia in the spring to do some alterations to Easy Go.

Dominica, where we last visited in 2008, is still our favourite hangout in this part of the Caribbean. Relatively prosperous, laid back and minimal dependence on tourism create the type of social climate we prefer. Known as the "Nature Island" a great deal of food is produced and exported to other islands.

We're planning a long stay here to allow us to do some hiking in the mountains and visit some of the areas with volcanic activity.

We had the good fortune to meet up with Al and Michelle on Easy Listening from Lunenburg Nova Scotia and see the sailing ship Sorlandet with students from Class Afloat, also from Lunenburg while we were all at anchor in this idealic anchorage.

Sailing Again

2012-01-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

It seemed to take forever to get our repairs made and get back out on the water, but in reality it was a little over a month. The new sails are working tremendously well. We're making a few fine tuning adjustments. Just short sailing hops for a couple of weeks then take them for a good passage. It is nice to be at anchor in some of the most scenic beaches we have ever seen. Antigua has more beaches than I though possible combined with short trips between them.

New Sails Photo Essay

2012-01-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Check out the New Sails For Easy Go Photo Essay.

New Sails For Easy Go

2012-01-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

We made our own sails for Easy Go the first time around. Using the Practical Junk Rig with reference to The Chinese Sailing Rig we had a functional and good looking suit of sails. Their deficiency in blue water and heavy weather sailing soon became apparent however. The cloth was too light and fluttering caused damage under way and even when they were furled in the lazy jacks. Patching and reinforcements minimalized this until UV degradation and the powerful weather we experienced sailing south in November 2011 indicated that it was time to replace them.

We met Andrew Dove of Antigua Sails at Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua and it soon became apparent that he is light years ahead of us in the technology of sail design and fabrics. Using the original Easy Go sails we lofted up the new ones on the floor of his spectacular sail loft and got them cut out and taped together in one evening. The staff of Antigua Sails then took on the work of sewing them together with their state of the art air powered Cordes ogspotsewing machines.

Andrew had some interesting and radical ideas on sail building which we have incorporated or are considering for the the future.

These sails are made of a high quality 7.5 ounce polyester. Andrew identified that the original material we had used was an inferior loose weave polyester that depended on resin for its strength. The new sails are a tighter weave with less polyester. The material will stand up to UV degradation longer and will with endure the trials of heavy weather better.

The top two triangular panels are made significantly different with the single seam horizontally from equidistant and perpendicular between the battens at the leech and terminating at the luff. Heavily stitched they will resist the fluttering and stretching that the previous sails experienced. The radial appearance shows strength and it looks good as well. After the top panels had failed twice it was time to try something different. We are looking forward to giving them a good workout and seeing how they stand up.

The lower rectangular panels are stitched vertically as were the originals.

All panels have a small scallop on the leech to minimize fluttering. The leech and luff have lines sewn into the edges to adjust the tensions at the ends of the sails. They can also be tied to the battens in the event of a blown out panel to secure the battens until repairs can be made.

The loops for the sheets are spectra rope that has a loop formed mid way. The two tails are unlaid, fanned out and then glued and sandwiched between the reinforcing patches for the grommets that retain the battens.

Andrews experience with blue water sails indicated that all the reinforcements were far to light. These sails are really beefed up.

Eyelets are hydraulically pressed. The four corner attachment points are also tied back with webbing loops sewn into the reinforcement patches rather that the traditional hand sewn rings.

Chafe protection for the batten pockets against the mast is provided by a spectra webbing that should last longer than the sails. We were suitably impressed with the first sails chafe protection using the seat belts from old Lada cars. They still show only minimal wear.

Now for some interesting innovations that we are considering. Andrew has successfully painted polyester sails increasing their UV resistance and strengthening the fabric. The paint used in a high quality Acrylic Latex House Paint cut by half with water. The paint is applied with a roller. There is some minor flaking but this is minimal and decreases with further applications. A small price to pay for added sail life. This innovation is high on our list. We will let the sails weather a bit then add the paint to change the colour from basic white. Acrylic Latex House paint has served us well on the decks and hull of Easy Go.

A very radical innovation is in the batten construction. We have not implemented this yet but again it is high on our experimental list. The current battens are aluminum tubing which experience memory issues after being used in heavy weather. The top batten on the rectangular sail panels tends to bow and not come back to its original shape. I have straightened them out and use them lower in the sail rotating out the battens every time we reinstall the sails. Andrew has been experimenting and using Air Battens on Code 0 sails and we both agreed that it was likely the best form of batten to develop camber in the Junk Rig Sail. While these battens can be extremely complicated with compressors to inflate or deflate the battens a simpler rig is envisioned for Easy Go. Using a constant thickness high pressure air hose with machined ends to accept the batten lashings and a air filling fitting they will be pumped up to the appropriate pressures with a bicycle pump. They can be made virtually as rigid as aluminum tubing but will give camber to the sails at slightly lesser pressure. I'm hoping to do some experiments over the next year with this process and look forward to results from any one who has seen or used air battens. I think they will simplify the building of the sails allowing a flat traditional sail to develop a superior camber comparable to that of a traditional non battened lug sail providing the lift necessary for better windward performance. Andrew is developing techniques where the air batten will be built into the fabric of the sails minimizing weight and the need to lash a batten at all. When this becomes a reality the Junk Sail will become easier to make and rig to the mast.

Questions About Dories, Junk Rigs and Stormy Weather

2012-01-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

We've had some questions about the details of the way the dory design of Easy Go performed in storm conditions. We use some time tested techniques in heavy weather but it really just comes down to three techniques that have always worked well for us.For winds that come up on the nose and we don't want to lose ground we take down the head sail and lash it to center to keep it from flopping around. The main sail is left up with two panels and sheeted to center. The boat comes up into the wind with the helm lashed to the lee. I prefer not to lash it all the way over as it becomes a drag rather than a steering device placing more loads on the rudder. The flat bottomed dory design will fall off slightly at between one and two knots typically. She creates a slick to windward that breaks most of the waves making the ride much calmer and stable. The boat will heal a bit, about ten degrees and the crew gets a good rest.For downwind running in a gale and more we utilize two techniques. Reggy, our wind vane self steering decides when it can no longer cope with the heavy wind by taking up the stretch in the nylon control cables to the tiller and simply laying over to the lee side. When this happens we have two options. For running down the wind we lash the tiller to center and put warps out the stern under bare poles. The warps are 100 yards of anchor cable and mooring lines with one of our large orange fisherman float/fenders attached to the end. This rig passes through one or two waves behind us and provides a good breaking action when the boat is pushed forwards on the face of a wave. The second warp is our 10 kilo Bruce anchor on 75 feet of ¼ inch chain and a bit more anchor rode. This sinks down and does not tangle with the floating warp. Typically it trails at about 20 degrees and provides great stability and a slowing action. Even with all this dragging in the water we have seen speeds up to four knots running down the wind. The boat does not go straight down the wind but tends to be about 20 degrees off to one side allowing the waves to pass diagonally past the stern. The occasional wave will break over the stern but the Griffith hatches that we installed work very well at keeping the insides dry..Our second method of running down the wind is to take down the sails and lash the tiller to lee as though we are heaving to. We leave a warp out the stern. This increases the angle to the waves to about forty degrees and the keel creates a very strong turbulence to windward breaking virtually all the waves. Without the drag the boat will heave to but does not create as effective a slick.Both bare pole techniques give great stability to the boat. When the boat starts to roll a bit it is time to change techniques to a straight downwind run. Reggy comes into play here and will steer the boat quite well as the wind starts to decrease. He lets us know when it is time by standing back up a bit as the wind decreases pressure. We put a panel or two of the head sail up to assist Reggy with going straight downwind and to help prevent a broach. The floating drag is left out during this phase. When the winds drop a bit further we start putting up the mainsail to get fully under sail. Easy Go lets us know when we need more sail as she tends to get a little rolly. Put up another panel of sail and she is stable and moving forward efficiently.Having sailed conventional and junk rigs I would prefer to have the junk rig for really serious heavy weather. While one can carry a large inventory of sails for a conventional rig when they blow out they are finished. With our junk rig sails, which on this most recent trip were decidedly tired an well past their expiry date, we were able to make our destination with sails that were only 80 percent remaining and sailed over 1000 NM in this shape to get us to the end. We do have strategies. We left the bottom three panels reefed when the winds rose to ensure we had something to sail with after the storms subsided. The top panel of the head sail was entirely gone. Nothing but a few ribbon left on the yard. Lashing the battens and yards together to retain the shape of the sail allowed remain portions to work well. Grommets on the both leech and luff pulled out taking large chunks of sail with them. I sewed the sails directly to the battens and while not really pretty they did work well. The Junk sails allow for a minimum of deck work and repairs can usually be left until sea conditions are safe and suitable for the repairs needed.We carry large pieces of light canvas drop cloths typically used by painters as a form of patching that we can do underway. While we have not had to utilize them yet it gives us confidence that we could fashion a workable sail at sea if we needed to.We didn't need to lash the sails down during storm conditions but simply sheeted them as close to center as we could. We did put small pieces of rope around the sail bundles to keep them from fluttering in the wind and this keep damage to a minimum.We had the main sail lazy jack fail at the end of one storm where the brand new line chafed through on the eye under the boom. We were able to repair this at night in fairly rough conditions. And keep from damaging the rig much more. The sails was torn by the lazy jack when it failed but the tear did not grow larger over the following weeks of sailing. Our new waterproof headlights, normally used by climbers, proved the worth with the night work we had to do this trip.We lash our sheets directly to the battens. We have had bad experiences with the use of webbing directly to the sail. We had observed that the edge of the sail abraded with the webbing and have had no problems at all with the batten attachment.Sail cloth is always a great point of discussion. Kathy made the set of sails that we are now replacing in 2005. Made of 5 oz cloth as per recommendations from a number of sources it has given us many miles of use. We always felt it was a little light and required many repairs over its lifetime. In discussions with the sail loft where our new sails will come to life we were informed that the material we had used in the first set was an inferior cloth that had a loose weave that was resin filled. It has a short life and breaks down from UV quickly. The sail maker was surprised with amount of travel we have done with them and the lack of reinforcements. These sails were truly finished as they fell apart as we were laying them out at the loft. The new sails will be in 7.5 oz polyester cloth with a dense weave and little resin. While we know a lot about sailing we admit that the technicalities of sailcloth are beyond our expertise. Niice to speak with someone who knows the ins and outs of the materials themselves.This trip saw the top two sheeted battens of the main sail take a bend of about six inches although they did not kink. This is the first time this has happened since we built the boat. I straightened them our with a piece of wood for a fulcrum and lashing to a deck cleat. Working them slowly and a little at a time they are almost back to normal. They will be placed in the lower sections of the new sail in a less stressed position while taking the undamaged battens and rotating them into the top part of the sail We have yet to kink or break a batten and are pleased with their performance.Now to the dory. I am decidedly biased when it comes to the dory shape. Being Canadian, the dory is almost as much a Canadian marine icon as the canoe. They proved themselves time and again in the historic Grand Banks fishery. Easy Go has never had her masts touch the water although they were close once on a breaking wave on a bank in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Our recent storm experience had us concerned for a few hours of hurricane force winds. The sea was entirely foam and moving horizontally across its surface. We were definitely at the mercy of the elements and closed all the hatches, including our round hurricane hatch, and just rolled along. We never went more than thirty degrees over even with large waves breaking against the hull. Once conditions eased we opened the hurricane hatch and started using the pram hood once again. We seldom have ever closed the hurricane hatch and prefer having the pram hood for sail adjustments and looking around. The rear deck hatch is only opened for the rare occasion where I need to go on deck, such as when setting warps. I've had the rear deck hatch open doing some job only to find myself in spray or in one occasion to find the deck under a foot of water. The raised design of the Griffith hatch keeps the majority of the water out. We have put lifelines around the deck recently and feel far more secure. When going forward and often even on the back deck I'll put on a harness connected to a central lifeline to stay on the boat.

We Love Our Pram Hood

2011-12-18T11:45:00.001-08:00

The round hatch and pram hood combination located centrally at the stern of the cabin is without a doubt the most defining feature of Easy Go and any Badger true to the original junk rigged design. The round hatch provides a stable, safe and practical location for all sail adjustments. With a headlight on I am able to make minor sail adjustments on the darkest of nights. When we are hit unexpectedly by a squall in the middle of the night I can get the sails down without going on deck. This one safety item is well worth incorporating into the design of any boat and would make a great alteration to a factory made yacht.I have to admit that I am not a metal worker so the pram hood as presented in the Practical Junk Rig would have been a challenge. The cost of the bronze rods in Canada seemed to be paralleling the price of gold so we looked to a different construction method that would provide a comparable pram hood.When we had our port lights cut at a plastic shop we also had some flat pieces about 1.5 inches wid cut to make the bows required. This included the captive bow under a lip around the top of the round hatch and two other bows to support the original Sunbrella top. These two bows were secured by pockets to the material and with some screws to a couple of blocks of wood that were mounted on the captive ring of plastic. A little adjustment made the pram hood completely collapsible so that the hurricane hatch can be closed as required. The captive ring is held on with a short piece of rope that spans a gap in the plastic. This is tightened until the ring is secure but can still be rotated easily.Watch keeping is easy with a couple of steps up the ladder under the round hatch then a quick look around. In stormy weather one can peak out from under the pram hood then judge when the next wave is going to strike for a quick look around from the top of the highest wave. I usually don't bother with a raincoat even in the heaviest of weather.The first design lasted four years before I broke one of the pram support bows. We were not near a plastic dealer so went to a local hardware store a bought some flexible plastic water pipe. I crushed the ends with pliers then mounted them on the same bolts as before. Kathy made a new top with Top Gun.Kathy misses the sunlight affect that the original yellow Sunbrella provided. The Top Gun is dark blue and does not allow light to come in as before, when closed. This pram is working well and will suit our needs for many years to come and if it needs repair we can find suitable materials regardless of where we are at a reasonable price..

Sailing To Caribbean – 2011

2011-12-16T11:04:00.001-08:00

November 1, 2011 was a perfect day to set sail from River Bourgeois and our new home. With mixed feelings and strong emotions we said goodbye to our friends and neighbours over the previous days. The planning was done, the routes plotted, the weather checked and rechecked. A little skim ice had formed overnight in the anchorage but with the sun and heat of the day it soon disappeared. The winds were light, too light for us to sail away. Carl kindly towed us out of the inlet and into the Lennox Passage with Harold and Gordon acting as deck crew. Waving goodbye the turned our backs to River Bourgeois as our sails filled taking us out to sea beyond Isle Madame. Little did we know that the Lighthouse at Canso would be our last sight of land for forty tumultuous days.The weather forecast included light to moderate northerly winds but these never appeared and we beat against the southwest wind to get below Sable Island. We had the winds turn to the north after getting off soundings south of Sable Island and enjoyed a few hours of downwind sailing before a weather front came through in the dark and gave us an accidental gybe and started the storm cycle that was to repeat itself a number of times. We got the sails down with a hole in the front sail and a tear in the main. Not a serious situation in the junk rig as we have discovered. This weather was a strong wind event so we had warps out the stern and rode under bare poles for thirty six hours before we were able to get under sail again. We anticipated that we would experience a couple of gales this time of year so were not surprised.Approaching the Gulf Stream we had good weather and favourable winds which made this crossing easy and uneventful. We are always wary of crossing the Gulf Stream as it can get quite nasty in a hurry if the winds are not good. We found two strong currents in the crossing which set us to the east within the limits of our proposed rhumb line. We were becalmed for a few hours shortly after get through the Gulf Stream and a large swell started to make its presence known from the South East. When the wind came back it was also from the South East and for the next three weeks stubbornly stayed in the southerly directions. We beat constantly and eventually worked our way to 56 degrees longitude, two degrees further east than planned but eventually worked in our favour. A second gale gave us a thirty six hour bit of heavy weather with large seas and strong winds again, fortunately out of the north, before we set sail again. This time we had more damage to the head sail that required a few repairs.The seas remained large and it took us more than three weeks to get south of Bermuda which we passed while it was three hundred miles to the west of us. A short time later we got into a full storm that went on for more than five days where we found ourselves running again under bare poles and warps with the wind from the north. This may have been the effects of Tropical Storm Sean. The seas and winds were the largest and strongest we have ever experienced. Easy Go kept us safe although the ride was extreme in the thirty foot plus seas. We closed down the hurricane hatch and made the boat watertight. It was a relief to see the end of this storm although the winds again shifted to the south making for heavy tacking in large seas that caused more damage to our weakened sails.One more bout of heavy weather, a tropical cyclone, came after four weeks and this again lasted five days under bare poles running and hove to. With about 600 miles left to go we started to get concerned about our time lines and water supply. We were fortunate that we were able to get a weather report from a passing Chinese Oil Tanker that indicated favourable winds a few days out. The northerly breeze of F5 was welcomed and we started making days of over 100 miles running on the Main Sail towards Antigua.When we cam within sight of Barbuda, just north of Antigua the winds went light and variable. We sailed north away from land to keep a good offing while the winds stabilized. A front with heavy rain and wind came though which we were able to ride through the channel between Barbuda and Antigua. A bit of tacking in the night brought us to anchor near the entrance to St. John's Harbour in Antigua. We called on the VHF for towing assistance. The sails were in pretty bad shape and were not relaiable enough to maneuver within the tight confines of this busy commercial harbour.We finally tied up to Redcliffe Quay after forty days at sea. Customs and Immigration were courteous and helpful in processing our paperwork. John, the fisherman that towed us in, got us a hire truck to take the sails to English Harbour where we met with a knowledgeable sail maker who we can work together with to make new and stronger sails. We are making arrangements to take a long term stay at Jolly Harbour, Antigua to do necessary maintenance, and evaluate the future of cruising Easy Go.This was the toughest and most demanding trip we have made to date.

Building “Ambos Mundos”

2011-12-16T10:45:00.001-08:00

While cruising the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland during the summer season to 2010 we came across our little piece of paradise where we would eventually swallow the anchor when it is time to come ashore.This little piece of paradise is located on Cape Breton Island in the community of River Bourgeois. A couple of acres of cleared land with water views and one of the most protected anchorages one could desire made it the perfect location. As we like to give names to boats we felt we should give this property a name that reflected how we felt. We named it “Ambos Mundos”, a shortened Spanish name for “The Best of Both Worlds”. As an added bonus it reminds of us of one of our favourite hotels in Havana, Cuba which has the same name. Many a pleasant afternoon was spent sitting on the rooftop bar drinking Mojitos while looking out over the top of the city..We hauled Easy Go in St. Peter's, Nova Scotia for the winter of 2010/11 to make the minimal repairs from our encounter with Hurricane Earl. Needing a place to stay for the winter we purchased an old travel trailer and put it on the property as a temporary residence. The Refleks heater from Easy Go was transferred to the trailer and made a very comfortable place to over winter. A little small but a great place to practice the guitar and plan for a new home.Kathy and I felt that a land based home should reflect our personal values, environmental concerns and be established as a self supporting and sustainable housing project. We also wanted to adopt many of the ideas and concepts that we have learned while cruising Easy Go to various parts of the world. To this end we found a concept plan from Tumbleweed Homes that gave us a practical small home using their Bodega model. The plans were not sufficient for building but with modifications we were able to bring it up to Nova Scotia's building code and started construction in the spring of 2011. At 350 square feet of main floor living space and a 250 square foot insulated attic loft it is ideal for two people.The foundation is an engineered reinforced concrete slab that will act as a heat sink. The walls are 2x6 inch framing with ½ inch plywood sheathing that are strong and would be equally useful if used in a boat. The roof is 2x12 inch with plywood sheathing and a steel roof over all.Insulation is sprayed in foam that exceeds code. This material is the best we could find and not only insulates the house but adds to its structural integrity,We had the house completely closed in by the middle of October 2011 as we prepared to sail off to the Caribbean on Easy Go for the winter. The building season was intense with a great deal of rain and cold temperatures. Another weather challenged project working around climate change. We had two tropical storms add to the weather mix. The changing weather patterns are becoming more and more evident as we continue to live on and near the Atlantic Ocean.

Reggy The Regulator - Windvane Steering

2011-08-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

Ocean sailing requires some sort of self steering. In the previous century, the 1960´s and 70´s, home built and jury rigged steering systems dominated. Sheet steering and vane steering to a rudder mounted tab were the most popular forms.

On our first Easy Go, a sloop rigged Grampian 26, sheet steering made life simple. I would rig a small back filled riding sail inside the jib sail, and put a line from it to the tiller. With the addition of a piece of surgical tubing to balance the rig we travelled many miles while the boat steered itself. We could have built a small wind-vane system, however the push pit was already overcrowded and we certainly didn´t need any more weight on the back of the boat. The sheet steering system we used is adaptable to the junk rig and we still keep a version of sheet steering on the latest Easy Go just in case Reggy the Regulator decides to quit working. Our Benford Badger 34 ft junk schooner has an extremely large and well balanced rudder. With a schooner rig we are also able to balance the sail plan quite easily making the load on the steering quite light.

Where did Reggy the Regulator originate and what makes it so special? Reggy, gender neutral, is the result of a few hours work following the excellent plans and descriptions from Bill Belcher´s book, Wind Vane Steering (ISBN 1-877197-00-9). This book was previously published as Yacht Wind Vane Steering and should be considered essential in a yacht´s library. Using the plans for the OGT Mk 1 horizontal wind vane was an easy process. For a cost of less than $25 ($CDN) our new crew member has taken on the task of steering us on our adventures over the past few years. Having guided us in good and bad weather through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Canada and across the Atlantic as far as the Açores, Gibralter, Morrocco and West Africa before taking us back to the Caribbean. We are totally confident that Reggy will go on for many more miles with minimal repair and maintenance. The vane steers directly via the tiller and has no under water appendages to snag weed, line or other garbage that we frequently come across. The name for Reggy originated while we were stopped at Ville de Gaspe, Quebec, Canada where the local French Canadian residents referred to the vane steering as our "Regulator". Needing a name we decided Reggy was easy to remember and a gift from the great people of this region.

Reggy is constructed from some scrap plywood, mahogany floor underlay, some 1"x3" pine that we had laying around, a few bolts, scuba diving weights and some braided cord to fasten the vane to the tiller. A picture is worth a thousand words. Here´s Reggy...

Reggy is surprisingly simple to build. We built the mounting post by laminating some pieces of pine together and clamping this post to the main sheet horse. Easy Go is a double ender and this location was safer for adjusting the steering, particularly in rough weather.

The fixed platform is attached to the post and the adjustable turntable above with the vane mounted above all. Lines pass through a couple of blocks at the base of the post and through two blocks to attach to the tiller with a couple of adjustable rolling hitches. The lines coming down the front of the post are for remote steering adjustment. The true beauty of this steering system is that the two disks do not need a locking mechanism to maintain the heading. Turning the top disk in small increments allows for infinite adjustment.

Maintenance requires a little white grease on the two wooden bearings that the vane pivots on and that is about all. In more than seven thousand miles wear has been minimal. We have not even replaced the control lines to the tiller! Some important notes to remember to build in the backward tilt of the vane that keeps the vane stable and keeping friction to a minimum b using small control lines on large blocks. We put a layer of plastic, actually some flimsy kitchen ctting boards we found in a dollar store, between the two layers of the turntable to make adjustment easier and keep the disks from wearing on each other.

Bill Belcher indicates that this vane could be built out of aluminum but with the minimal cost in wood and hardware along with the ability to do field repairs anywhere in the world Easy Go´s vane is going to remain in wood. Without a balanced rudder this same vane could be used to control a trim tab on the rear of the rudder or become the driving force for a servo pendulum gear. With this home built gear self steering for long range cruising is available to all cruisers at minimal cost and maximum benefit.

More Yuloh Information

2011-07-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

The Easy Go Yuloh was shown in action for a few brief seconds on the YouTube video produced by Chris Bray during his stay in St. Peter's, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It is an interesting video to watch.

This video is an excellent example of the Yuloh propelling boats in China. Efficiency and cost effectiveness allow the yuloh to be a practical propulsion for water taxis.Chinese Yuloh

Easy Go - Home in River Bourgeois

2011-06-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

We have finally had our first sail of the season. The weather moderated on Thursday June 23, 2011 and we were able to say good bye to Chris and Jess on Teleport and Beth and Evans on Hawk in St. Peter's. Always sad to say good bye. Teleport is heading to the Northwest Passage. Hawk is on the way to one of our favourite places, Newfoundland.Easy Go let loose her lines and we used the Yuloh to scull our way to the St. Peter's lock arriving just before sunset. We tied up for the night on the Bras d'Or Lakes side of the lock. Up early we were ready to get through the lock at 8:00 am so that we could leave on the falling tide. Easy Go easily slipped through the lock with Kathy steering and Bob pulling her through with the mooring lines. With the tide higher on the lake side than the ocean side the current gently boosted us through.On the ocean side of the lock we made our final checks and set off for home. We had an entertaining moment at the end of the canal with a wind shift and a little current eddy that spun us completely around in a 360 degree turn. Without a motor and light winds for the sail this is always a possibility. We made it out of the canal on the second try and started tacking our way towards the Lennox Passage.Light and variable winds slowed us for a couple of hours while we watched a wind shift approaching from the east. The wind picked up in a matter of moments and we were off on a boisterous sail for the second half of the trip. We dodged the lobster trap floats and came into the inlet at River Bourgeois on the half tide at hull speed. Up the inlet and around the end of Church Point we did a couple of tacks before setting anchor in view of our new land base where we are building this summer.Easy Go is resting on two anchors, looking forward to more trips later in the season.

Spring In the Maritimes

2011-06-21T04:31:00.000-07:00

Is weather change a reality? How about global warming? This spring on Cape Breton Island has confirmed the first point and we're still looking forward to seeing some of the warming. Today is the longest day of the year and morning temperatures are 10 degrees C with a brisk NW wind. This has been the trend since the beginning of May. Not too many boats travelling and the local boats are slow to get commissioned. It is really nice to meet some of the cruisers who are travelling through the area and exchange stories and observations. Looking forward to some warming weather and the start of the Festival Season with music and cultural events.

Cruising Memories - Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

2011-06-19T12:16:00.001-07:00

Some places just grab me when I visit them. Peggy's Cove is one. I have always wanted to take a trip there so when the opportunity presented itself in May of 2010, Kathy and I jumped a the chance. The sea,the rocks, the sky, the sheer majesty and wildness of the place gives a person on land a true respect and awareness of how powerful the ocean truly is. Even for those of us who have experienced the full wrath of a storm at sea are still awed by the powerful spectre of nature.The wildness of the ocean is countered my the mill pond quiet of the cove here. We came by road as the entrance is tricky and more so for an engine-less boat.Visit the Photo Essay for a tour around this magnificent piece of Canada.

The Herrshoff Y-75 Anchor

2011-06-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

After being blown ashore in September of 2010 we looked at our ground tackle and decided to get a new anchor. We looked around at various models, had thought of making our own and decided to order the best one we could find through Kingston Anchors.

View the Photo Essay for more details.

While we toyed with the idea of putting in an engine ultimately we decided that an engine may have saved us from going ashore but better anchoring would have prevented it. Our ground tackle arsenal now consists of:

1 - 75 lb fisherman anchor
1 - 35 lb fisherman anchor
2 - 44 lb bruce anchors
1 - 22 lb bruce anchor
1 - 44 lb danforth anchor

Combining this with around 400 feet of 3/8 inch chain and at least that much 5/8" nylon rode will hopefully keep us secure next time we experience a big blow.

Installing Junk Rig Masts 2011

2011-06-19T04:15:00.000-07:00

In the past we've used home made mast cranes to install or reinstall the mast on Easy Go. They have all worked successfully. This year we didn't have access to a mast crane. We hired a boom truck from the local building supplier, RM Landry and Son, to pick up the masts from where we stored them, move them to the St. Peter's Marina on the Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada then install them. What a joy to work with almost no tide and a hoist that could put the masts straight down through the partners. Using a couple of walkie talkies I was able to communicate with the operator and make small adjustments as necessary. All done in about 30 minutes of easy work.

Our masts are two aluminum flagpoles and utilized a very strong flagpole mount on the bottom of the boat. Once in place the masts have never shifted. Our innovative wedging system on the partners is almost bullet proof. The unstayed masts require special attention to get them set up right but once in place there is little to do other than wax them to keep corrosion at bay.

View the Photo Essay for this years install.

Spring On Cape Breton - Launch Day for Easy Go

2011-05-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Spring has been slow to come this year. We came back to Easy Go in St. Peter's on May 15, 2011 from our wintering place in River Bourgeois. Cold and rain have been the main weather pattern of spring this year. We had below freezing temperatures as late as May 22, 2011 when we came across ice in the dinghy. Warm weather will be arriving soon!

Launching Easy Go was not nearly as exciting as when we pulled her in the fall. The trailer was adapted to fit the bottom of the boat and we had considerably less distance to haul her. She was easily lifted onto the trailer by Cape Breton Crane then backed down to the small craft launching ramp and lifted from the trailer to the water.

Lateness of the day and poor weather prevented the installation of the mast so they were left out until a later date.

Check out the Easy Go Launch Day Photo Essay.

Internet Resources - Duckworks Magazine

2011-05-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Those of us who build boats are always looking for new and innovative ideas. Duckworks Magazine has new articles every day and an easy to use search to find whatever you need to know about small and not so small boats.

Great ideas for a new dinghy, something that all cruisers are looking for. Great trip logs for small boat adventures to places that are never written up in the cruising guides.

I stop by this site every time I have a few minutes to look around. Never been disappointed.

Stop by Duckworks Magazine soon.

The Easy Go Yuloh

2011-04-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Chinese yuloh is a viable alternative auxiliary propulsion devise for small to medium size sailing yachts. The thoughts of a Chinese lady with child slung on her back who can propel a 2 to 3 tonne sampan at up to 3 knots for prolonged periods is enticement enough for me.

Our present yacht, Easy Go, is a 34’ Junk Rigged Dory Schooner of Jay Benford design. She has no motor and relies entirely on wind, yuloh and kedge anchor for propulsion. We have found, through experimentation, that it is indeed possible to abandon the Internal Combustion Engine for an environmentally superior form of auxiliary propulsion.

We, Kathy and I, have been messing around in boats as long as we can remember having jointly purchased our first ones somewhere around forty years ago. At that time we were in a small sunfish sailboat and a canoe, both of which relied on human propulsion or the wind. We did sail the canoe on occasion although paddles were the primary motive force. While living in the Temagami area of Northern Ontario, Canada, we found the sculling action of a canoe paddle would allow one to approach wildlife closely. Indeed I once bounced off the side of a moose as the canoe glided in a little too close. Many other paddling techniques in a canoe also simulate the sculling motion.

Moving forward in time we became increasingly interested in rowing and sculling both of our “Easy Go” sailboats. The first, a Grampian 26 fibreglass boat, was a test for both rowing and sculling with conventional yulohs. Rowing was a success and sculling left a great deal to be desired. The future of moving the yacht without a motor was a firmly planted idea and has encouraged our continued ongoing research.
In 2005 we built the present Easy Go. Determining that we were going forward without a motor, the first prototype yuloh was built in Gaspe Quebec, Canada, using locally available birch. This yuloh was designed from information gathered by our first researches on the Internet and the fortunate review of The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze by G. R. G. Worcester.

The first yuloh was about 18 feet long with a six inch wide blade at the tip which tapered to about four inches where the blade exited the water. We mounted the yuloh on a trailer hitch ball, more commonly seen on the rear of cars for towing boats and utility trailers. This yuloh was in two pieces so that we could do some adjustments, if required lengthening or shortening became apparent. From our research we felt that we had a prototype that met the basic design factors. We were not sure about how the bent shaft would work so this was not built in. A straight shaft with the top end of the handle attached by a lanyard to the deck at waist level was our first introduction.

A couple of important design flaws became apparent and were eventually easily remedied. We worked with both of the flaws for some time before finding their remedies.

The first, and one that I feel most builders will find on the Internet, is the blade configuration. All the pictures, sketches and photos we could find showed a blade with a curved side and a flat side. Think of the side view of a Frisbee and you will get the idea. We made the curved side the top and the flat the bottom. It seemed logical in providing an easily feathered blade that would move quickly and with little effort on each of the strokes. It moved easily and moved our ten ton displacement boat in and out of anchorages. However the strokes seemed a little too easy and discussions with others, particularly Slieve McGalliard of the JRA (Junk Rig Association), started our progression towards where we find ourselves today.

Our first modification was to disassemble the two part yuloh and flip over the blade so that the flat surface faced up and the curved faced down. Our first trials while we were cruising in Morocco proved that we were heading in the right direction. The power of the yuloh was exponentially greater. The yuloh shaft and blade blade bent on each of the power strokes leaving vortexes at the end of each stroke.

The second modification was needed as a direct result of this power. With a straight shaft on the yuloh tied down to the deck at waist level it proved difficult to roll the blade to its proper feathered position on each stroke. Lashing a one inch by sixteen inch piece of doweling to the inboard end of the handle provided the necessary leverage to twist the yuloh to the proper angle on each stroke and allowed us to easily access harbours, bays and rivers that were previously the domain of engine powered water craft. In some cases we were able to access areas that might at first appear to be impossible to get into. Slow speeds and good manoeuvrability make touching bottom less important and grounding is not the problem it once was.

With a prototype now working to perfection it was time to make the last modification that would make it a truly authentic Chinese yuloh. I tried every way to adapt our, now, close friend but it was not to be. Back to the drawing board and using new design factors obtained again through research and discussion with others a final plan was designed. I learned a long time ago not to name something unless you planned to keep it. So now we have Yuli the Yuloh to keep Reggy the Regulator (wind vane steering) and Billy our outrageous Handy Billy company.

This is the design criteria of the Easy Go Yuli.

1. We made a scale drawing of the side elevation of the hull. Having built Easy Go from plans provided by Jay Benford we had accurate drawings of the hull. Using this drawing we performed the following sketches to achieve the design from which to build.
2. Draw a line at 45º clear astern of the hull provided the starting point. T (Tip) – W (Waterline) – F (Fulcrum) – L(Loom).
3. Make the line 60% of the hull length, such that the bottom mark (T) is 30% of the length below the waterline, and L is 70% of the length above W.
4. Mark point F (fulcrum) 66% up from the bottom.
5. Transfer the line forward to the hull to position where the fulcrum will be located. Easy Go is a double ender without a transom. It was necessary to build a small platform near the stern on which to mount the pin that would become the fulcrum
6. Draw in the yuloher to scale, and adjust his/her position so that the tip of the loom (unbent) is above their head. This should indicate the level of the platform they should ideally stand on, and may be at cockpit seat level rather than at the cockpit sole level. In the case of Easy Go our foot well is very small and the back deck and hatch is where we stand while using the yuloh.
7. Mark the bend point a short distance below the yuloher’s aft hand and just below the level of his shoulder, and draw in the upper section of the loom bent forward some 9 to 10º to get L2.
8. Draw in the lanyard from the tip of the loom sloping forward some 14º to the level of the yuloher’s feet. We placed a eye bolt in the rear bulkhead at the deck level giving a forward angle that seems to be doing the job. I don’t believe it is a full 14 º but it does work.
9. This is the general setup to decide on the blade width and cross section which may vary from near the tip to near the waterline.
10. A reasonable starting width for the blade of a large vessel would be about 4% of the yuloh length at the tip, tapering in a straight line to 3% of the length at the waterline, and 0.4% of the length thick at the tip increasing to about 0.8%L thick at the waterline.
11. Make sure the blade is cambered with well rounded edges on the lower surface, and flat on the top surface if not slightly concaved near the tip.
12. Prepare for the fudge factor. On Easy Go we could not meet all the criteria perfectly and made our compromises to fit the space available.

Here are the measurements that we ended up with for Easy Go:

1. Yuloh Length 60% Hull Length, 20 ft actual (calculated to 20.4 ft)
2. Blade length 6’2” from tip to waterline
3. 12’ 6” from blade tip to fulcrum
4. 4’ 0” from fulcrum to bend in handle
5. 3’ 6” from bend to top of handle
6. Blade width tip 9.8”; waterline 7.3”
7. Blade thickness tip 1”; waterline 2”

Our yuloh is made of locally available black spruce barn board planks that we were able to pick up in rough finished 1”x9” pieces about 16 feet long from a local farmer/logger. Using epoxy resin the planks were glued together. Cutting out the rough shape from the “recipe” gave the blank that we then shaped in the final process. The tricky part was scarfing the planks together to create the bend in the handle. Using a power plane the scarfs actually worked out quite well. Final shaping was done with the power plane to give the shape that was desired. We were pleased to find that when following the “recipe” precisely the taper from the tip of the blade to the very end of the handle is constant creating a pleasing form for the eye and a strong yuloh. We chose not to round the handle but to simply round the edges with a router. Keeping as much material on the handle seemed to be more important for strength. The edge of the handle, as shown in the picture is used to guide the yuloh. The pushing and pulling is done with the rope that attaches the handle to the deck.

Storage of the yuloh can be somewhat problematic. Easy Go has a raised deck cabin and with a couple of chocks with tie downs the yuloh resides safely and comfortably on the port side of the deck. It is not instantly available so should not be relied on in emergency situations.

Until recently we had no lifelines and the premiere version of our yuloh simply slipped back on the deck (we didn’t even have chocks for this one but it did rest firmly lashed to the deck for two trans Atlantic crossings) and dropped on to the ball, tied to its attachment point and away we went. Installing stanchions and putting on lifelines created complications. However we completed the yuloh, put its mounting pin in place then untied the lifelines and gave it a test run. Oops, back to the drawing byulohd. The yuloh snagged the stanchion at the cockpit and required a rethink. The simplest solution was to cut the stanchion off near the base and epoxy in a plug so that now the stanchion is easily removed along with the lifelines and there are no obstructions while the yuloh is in place. The lifelines are secured to the furthest back stanchion by lashing tying them to it. The lifelines are made or rope and are easily tied so that while the yuloh is in place the lifelines are still somewhat effective.

The pin to mount the yuloh on was easily solved by taking a piece of a dock spike. Solid steel and about ½” in diameter and ground down to a rounded top. This has provided an excellent mounting point for the yuloh. Many sources of information indicated that a small ball should be welded to the end of the pin but we have found this to be totally unnecessary. The yuloh as built rests comfortably on the pin with no further restraints to keep it in place. It is tied to the boat by the lanyard so that it is instantly available when required. Preparing the yuloh before entering the harbour and stowing after leaving gives the flexibility and instant availability that was only previously found with a motor.

The yuloh has a replaceable board with a hole drilled at 45 º hole drilled in it to accept the mounting pin. Presently it is made of spruce with the hole hardened with epoxy and filler. Eventually it will be replace with a piece of white oak when we come across one.

We thought we might need to fabricate a weight to put on the end of the blade to sink it. Using the yuloh has made this initial impression unnecessary. The yuloh does float a little at rest but once it is started it quickly sinks down to its working position. The operator simply starts the sculling action with the shaft in both hands. After one or two strokes the yuloh lifts to its full operating position and the thrust and pull of the yuloh is made with the lanyard. In our case the yuloh is mounted on the port side. The right hand is the power hand on the lanyard and the left hand is the balancing hand located on the yuloh near the bend. The bend in the yuloh provides a fulcrum that flips the yuloh with very little energy expended.

The desire to push the yuloh quickly is counterproductive. Our modest experiments to date show that about 20 complete stroke cycles per minute, (20 to the left and 20 to the right for 40 strokes total) can be maintained for extended periods. Depending on the conditioning of the sculler higher speeds can be achieved although we find that even lower speeds concentrating on form will produce very respectable results.

Physical fitness will improve with use. Stomach muscles, arm muscles and the entire cardio respiratory system will leave one tired after extended use. The yuloh is a product of an ancient civilization and its use was ingrained at a very young age. Remember the baby mentioned at the beginning. In an era of rediscovery the yuloh is a device that is practical and valuable in the world of modern sailing, yachting, and small craft.

View the Photo Essay of the Easy Go Yuloh in action

Repairing Easy Go

2011-04-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our plans were to head somewhere warm for the winter of 2010/11 but our experience with Hurricane Earl changed those plans. Always been tough to follow "Plan A". So we hauled Easy Go in Saint Peter's on Cape Breton Island and got to work on the repairs. I dove the bottom before we hauled and it was evident that some repairs were needed.I also wanted to check the hull keel joint to ensure that this was all okay. Once the boat was out of the water the damage appeared to be insignificant. A few days repair working around rapidly cooling fall weather and rain storms saw all the repairs made. In the spring we will put on a couple of coats of bottom paint and launch Easy Go.

We did another Photo Essay showing the work that was needed and how we accomplished it. Look at the photos here:

Photo Essay - Blown Ashore

2011-04-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Kathy and I have spent the winter at River Bourgeois on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. While we have not been sailing we have been planning our next series of trips and reflecting on voyages we have done in the past.

We had a few pictures of our "Shipwreck" experience of September and these have been supplemented by a number of local individuals that were kind enough to take pictures of the event and then share them with us. Thanks to all who helped us in many ways.

We have put together a Photo Essay to share the experience.

Easy Go On The Hard

2010-12-09T15:04:00.000-08:00

We hauled Easy Go in St. Peter's Cape Breton Island and were pleased to find that damage from our grounding in Hurricane Earl was minimal. A few chips and some parging missing from the keel, dings in the chines from laying down at low tide and general grinding off the bottom of the rudder were all easily repaired.

We had planned to stay in St. Peter's for the winter but the owner of the house we had arranged to stay in backed out of the deal at the last minute. No problem for the Easy Go crew. We found a great little trailer and set it up on our building site in River Bourgeois getting a head start on our shore based lives.

Looking forward to getting Easy Go back in the water in May and heading out for some new adventures in 2011.

Cruising Memories – Piracy, Drug Dealers and Violence

2010-09-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

In more than fourteen years of cruising we have experienced a number of occasions that were violent, threatening and caused reflection on why we were pursuing the cruising lifestyle. From the beginning I must emphasise that we have never been directly targeted or become victims. The media reports seem to exaggerate all acts of violence and robbery by calling them piracy when they occur on water. Follows are some of our observations, some of them comical, that we have experienced while cruising abroad. Certainly there are many more but here are some of our favourites.

Cuba

During a year in Cuba we were amazed by the very calm and safe environment that we lived in. We heard stories of robberies and muggings but never came close to any ourselves. We did see a small fist fight between two Cuban men over a woman. This is a common occurrence everywhere in the world that rarely even makes the newspapers. Drug dealing was almost nonexistent. I was really amazed when I was approached by a middle aged man in a market offering me a drug from his concealed wallet. I almost broke out laughing when he produced a small blister pack of Viagra. Of course being a proud male I declined the offer as not necessary.

We left Havana and going west, counter clockwise, around the main island we visited numerous ports without problem. No baksheesh, no bribes, no threats. Only nice people offering their generosity on every front. In the small village of Santa Fey we were escorted by a lady to the local store for cigarettes and oranges. The cigarettes are great trade items. We then went to her home where the man of the house was going over the black beans for dinner making sure there were no small stones or sticks. We were asked to stay for coffee, cooked over a small diesel flame and review the only book in the house. It was an autograph book of other cruisers that had stopped with the same hospitality. Of course we signed the book and found the record of a couple of other people we had met along the way.

We often saw fishermen along the way and occasionally were approached for trade. They invariably kept their distance until we started a conversation. Trading for used clothes, rope, fishhooks, needles, thread, fabrics and books and magazines gave us fish, lobster, fresh produce and guides within the communities that we visited. Not once were we threatened or intimidated.

The most intimidation that we felt while in Cuba was from government officials in some of the more remote ports. We never looked for officials to register in the anchorages that we happened into. Invariably within half an hour we would feel or hear a rowboat come alongside. Rowed by a local the official would appear with paperwork and sometimes a pencil and stamp but frequently without either. We would then produce the necessary pencil to fill out the paper work. While most places we were allowed ashore, there were a number that were off limits for no apparent reason. Respecting the ban on going ashore never caused a problem. I one small and very scenic anchorage east of Cayo Largo I rowed ashore to a small ranch where a worker stood watching me as I landed and approached with very poor Spanish. After the formalities the worker asked if I had a cigarette. After this transaction was completed he told me I could not be there and would have to leave now. To emphasize the point I was guided back to the tender with a gentle hand on my elbow. A sincere adios saw me off.

On Isla de Juventud in the village of Nueva Gerona the rules seemed to change as the days went on. At first staying at the wall of the commercial port was free, then a small fee was to be charged and our ships papers and passports were taken for safe keeping. The Guarda asked if I had any "Armas de Fuerza" flicking his hand as if indicating a lighter. Fortunately my Spanish had improved to the point where I felt he was not looking for a lighter but was referring to whether I had a gun aboard. I replied I was a "Man of Peace" with no need for a gun. He smiled and shook my hand. This was not the last time that I was greeted in this way. On leaving Nueva Gerona I met with a more formal Guard when retrieving papers. I was brusquely told to wait outside his office door while he processed the papers. Not friendly but very official, just like I have experienced at home in Canada or with our friendly neighbours in the USA.

Guantanamo Bay

Normally cruisers do not try to go here. In 2004 we were circumnavigating Cuba and coasting along very close to the shore. We passed the USA airport looking at the defoliated area between the USA and Cuban lands when we were contacted on the VHF radio by "Long Glass", and observation post and contact from the USA base. It was almost comical as the voice was a Hollywood version of a blown out drill sergeant who had yelled at the top of his lungs once too often. Some general polite conversation followed. We asked permission to pass through the bay to the Cuban side but were denied. Some action on shore indicated that a patrol boat was getting ready to come visit if we did not follow directions. We were asked to move four miles offshore as that was the perimeter distance that was being maintained. We were monitored throughout the night as a freighter that was coming a little close to us was advised by Long Glass of our location so they would not run us down. The lights of the base were observable all night as it really never got dark anywhere on the base. While not violent for us, this base has a reputation in Cuba and throughout the world as a location of abuse, torture and the very worst the USA military has to offer its prisoners.

Haiti

Haiti has a reputation for violence, corruption and poverty. We did not land in Haiti. The night we approached happened to also be the night that a UN force led by the USA invaded the country to dispose its leader, Aristide. Sailing in the windward passage we started to pick up radio traffic between USA marine units and other cruisers in the area. Then the sky lit up as if with lightening followed by the loud roar of canons and the occasional burst of machine gun fire. This was getting serious. Over the radio we heard that Haitians trying to escape were being intercepted by marine forces, removed from their boats and then the boats sunk as a military exercise. This has been substantiated to us by reliable sources at a later date. We turned off our navigation lights and later in the night when our towed tender swamped we cut it loose to avoid getting caught up in this government sponsored madness. Governments and the military seem to have the highest levels of violence that we have come across.

Jamaica

Jamaica has been avoided by cruisers as a violent country. This may be founded on visiting Kingston, we didn't go there. Other areas are purely magical and such was our experience in Port Antonio. We were offered some various herbal intoxicants on numerous occasions but a friendly and simple decline was always met with a smile and sometimes a shrug but nothing further. The people of Port Antonio are among the friendliest and helpful that we have ever met. Good food, lots of reggae and markets full of food our all memories of our stay here.

Guadaloupe

I think we stopped at Guadaloupe during a low point in its existence. While all the cruising guides refer to numerous disruptions due to strikes we met with an unfortunately protracted and ultimately violent strike and civil disobedience approaching a civil war. The people of Guadaloupe were dissatisfied with the increasing cost of living and were lobbying for an increase in minimum wage and a decrease in prices to be equal with those of France. This is obviously a difficult problem to resolve in a department so far removed from the home country. When we entered the country we were able to get basic food supplies, baguettes, wine and rum. We did find it strange that the homes were shuttered with steel shutters and not many people were in the streets. Then things got nasty. Cars were set afire along with park furniture. Grocery stores were shut down. Government offices were ordered closed. Banks and bank machines ran out of cash money. The economy ground to a halt. Gasoline was only available at certain stations for a very short time. Long line ups queued and tempers flared. The ultimate outcome resulted in violence and shooting followed by murder and chaos. Time to leave. We could not obtain outward clearance and an exit visa. We stayed another day looking for a way to get these necessary documents to no avail. We pulled up the anchor and left. We still feel this is a good place to return to in more settled times but not under conditions like we experienced during our stay.

Dominica

This island is the "Nature Island" and well deserves that name. We saw little evidence of the standard high rise developments that have ruined may of the other islands and a more agrarian culture. Lots of fresh food. However there is also a substantial herbalist society here growing lots of ganja. Poverty here also has begun to encourage more violence and robberies since we were there last. We had no problems anchored in front of Big Papas bar where on water security ensures an undisturbed night's sleep. Make sure that you lock everything up.

St. Kitts and Nevis

Nevis is quite peaceful but the neighbouring island of St Kitt's had a flurry of shootings and murders while we were there. It appears that the worst of North American gang culture is slowly filtering into the once idyllic islands.

Morocco

While in Morocco we had no problems. Pick pockets abound and some of the cultural events and begging is rampant among the women and children. Violent crime may exist but we did not see any around the marina at Agadir. Security here is tight with lots of police. We travelled inland extensively, but always with a guide and driver. Better to be safe here than to go into an area that is known to be problematic.

Newfoundland

2010-09-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

We had a short trip of only a couple of weeks to Newfoundland this year. The season was getting late as we departed Baddeck in the Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island. We had intended to make a trip in 2009 but August hurricanes had delayed out departure from Lunenburg. This year we had just enough time to go and get a taste of the "Rock".

Timing our departure from Baddeck to be about two hours before the change of the tide gave us a favourable current all the way out of the Great Bras d'Or Channel and on into the Cabot Strait. We had a following wind from the southwest and a two metre swell from the northeast as we entered the straits. Conditions were uncomfortable to start the trip but as the night progressed, the left over swell diminished and we made excellent progress.

We entered the Cabot Strait with a couple of hours of daylight remaining and made good offing before the sun went down. The lights of Sydney and area dropped astern as we sailed towards Burgeo, our fist landfall in Newfoundland. Two nights at sea found us within a few miles of the coast but nothing could be seen through the mist. We were only a couple of miles off the islands that protect Burgeo when the mist thinned and the sun appeared giving us a spectacular view of the islands and hills in the distance.

Easy Go was not able to make the anchorage at Burgeo and the winds had risen from the wrong direction for us to make it in. The channel is too narrow for us to tack. We went in to King's Harbour to anchor on a good sand bottom in the mouth of King's Harbour Brook. This is a wild salmon stream located in a very scenic place and great for exploring the hills and waters in the area.

Sailing without an engine in areas of strong tidal flows and variable winds is a challenge and tends to make a cruise longer than one would experience with the aid of a motor. We have enjoyed staying long times at anchor but would recommend an auxiliary motor for anyone seriously considering a cruise to Newfoundland. We will be putting in auxiliary power next time. The sculling oar is not up to the power that nature

We journeyed by dinghy rowing to Burgeo about three miles distant. When we were about one mile from Burgeo a small fishing boat picked us up, taking the dinghy in tow. We had an informative ride into town, passing through the pond where a whale, commemorated in Farley Mowat's book " A Whale for the Killing", was shot many years ago. We were then shown where "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float" was kept during the eight years that Mowat spent here. Burgeo is road accessible and is becoming the home to many of the people who are moving in from the outports. This year Grand Brit closed. It is sad to see the traditional homes of so many being deserted due to economics. Burgeo is small with good walks and nice people. Every one we spoke to was helpful and full of stories, history and advice. We bought a few groceries and rowed back to the boat.

During our stay in King's Harbour a gale blew through. We put out an extra anchor and snuggled up to the shore to get away from the worst of the swell and waves. I don't think I would like to be there during a real blow!

Here are a few pictures

Visiting the old outports in the area, seeing the piles of firewood high on the cliff tops and the hard life that the few remaining fisherman are enduring are evidence of the amount of work and strength of will that it takes to remain on the southwest coast. Rowing among the sunkers with the suck of the waves and the power of the water needs to be seen to be fully appreciated.

We got a good wind and headed back towards Cape Breton staying offshore in the Atlantic. A day and a bit out we heard that Hurricane Earl was becoming a concern to Nova Scotia. We were in a race to get to River Bourgeois or find another safe anchorage. The last two days were a beat against the southwest wind and large swell coming from Hurricane Earl. We entered St. Peter's Bay at three am where a total power failure on shore extinguished all the shore lights including the lighthouses. We reached between the two green markers located at Cap Ronge and Petit Nez until daylight then proceeded on. Tacking back and forth in the Lennox Passage we waited for the tide to turn and allow us to entre River Bourgeois. Late in the morning we made our way in under sail, put down the anchor a breathed a sigh of relief that we were in a safe anchorage. We spent the following morning getting down extra anchors and chain in what the Sailing Directions indicated was a good anchorage. Snug and secure we waited for Earls arrival blissfully unaware of the events that would take place in 24 hours as Earl blasted through and set us on shore.

Cruising Memories - Santiago de Cuba

2010-09-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

We came here for the music as this city is reputed to be the birthplace of the best Afro/Cuban music in the country.

On the south coast of Cuba is the historic port of Santiago de Cuba. This was the first capital of Cuba under the Spanish in the early 1500's. A spectacular fort was built overlooking the entrance to the harbour to defend Santiago de Cuba from pirates. The fort served its function well as pirates did not even try to invade after this formidable structure was built. The most recent international battles that took place here are the battle of San Juan Hill of Teddy Roosevelt fame and the entire annihilation of the Spanish Atlantic Fleet by the American forces during the Spanish American War. Both of these events have had long term repercussions for both Cuba and the United States. In the fort is an excellent museum with a very well displayed overview of the battle of warships. Cubans remain appreciative of the American intervention in the first battle of Independence led by Jose Marti. This intervention led to the independence of Cuba from Spain and ultimately to the revolution led by Fidel Castro.

Sailing in our first Easy Go we coasted along the south coast and entered a number of ports before arriving in Santiago. We had heavy easterly trades around 25 knots over a east bound counter current creating a very steep and choppy sea. Easy Go dropped off each wave heavily as we slowly beat our way towards the fort at the entrance to the harbour at a maddeningly slow pace. We finally and gratefully reached the lee of the cliffs on which the fort was perched at the entrance to the harbour and sailed in calmer water to the marina located about one nautical mile inside the entrance. The facility was in the process of reconstruction with concrete wharves and minimal services. With the creative placing of fenders we were able to keep ourselves protected from the concrete during the minimal rise and fall of the tides along with the surge that comes in from the Caribbean Sea. As in all of Cuba, at this time, water and electricity were sporadically available. Easy Go was a basically self sufficient boat producing all our electrical needs and carrying our basic food needs. Water was acquired from the dock as available and was of the highest quality.

Entry procedures were extensive as this port is a international port of entry. Seldom used as a port during a circumnavigation we noted that certain fees were not applicable to us as we had already payed them when we entered Marina Hemingway the previous year. Our cruising permit was evidence of payment and was updated accordingly. For the first time in our Cuban experience items such as our portable radio, portable GPS and all our flares and flare gun were placed in bond for the duration of our stay. This was described as an anti terrorist procedure and was not inconvenient in any way. These items were placed in a heavy plastic bag and sealed with an official tape that in theory could be checked any time during our stay. In fact this was never checked. The day before our planned departure I asked if we could break the seal so that I could plot our course on the GPS and there was no problem with the security people. Always friendly and as accommodating as they could be the people here made us feel welcome.

The health inspector checked recesses in the boat for mosquitoes. There are concerns that mosquitoes coming from other islands can bring diseases that have been controlled in Cuba such as malaria. A mosquito was found in the berth area, captured and identified as a Cuban variety and not a problem. I think if a malarial mosquito had been found the boat would have been quarantined and fumigated. Malaria is rampant in nearby Haiti. This same doctor cleared our physical health by observation.

Customs and Immigration were the same simple processes as in other Cuban ports with multiple forms to fill out and many official looking stamps. This legacy of the long colonial occupation by Spain will last for many years to come.

The whole clearance process took less than an hour and was actually a great way to get information on markets, local attractions and transportation. Buses are available as are inexpensive taxis. There are official taxis and unofficial taxis. Using ones judgment here is valuable for safety. We've never had a problem but we have heard stories of others who were robbed and worse using unofficial taxis. While we have heard the stories we have never met anyone who personally had a problem.

A few boats entered the port during the night and were denied entry until morning when all the officials could be brought together to go through the entry process. These boats were required to stay at anchor off the wharf until morning when procedures were completed.

Now we were free to check out the local area for markets and restaurants. We had the very good fortune of meeting Rosa and soon after her husband Pedro who reside just outside of the gates of the marina compound. There two little girls and teenage son were a joy to be around. Using very poor Spanish we were happy that Pedro had a much better mastery of English. Pedro invited us to take meals with his family and use him as our local shopper and guide. He bought all our food for us at significantly less than we could have purchased it. We gave him the difference so that he could by some cloths and other necessaries for the family.

Institutionalized holidays are different in Cuba than in North America. Two of the largest civic celebrations we experienced were Mother's Day in Havana and Valentine's Day in Santiago. As a civic holiday stores are closed, people get dressed in their best clothes and parade in the old cars or on foot. We had become quite friendly with Pedro and Rosa as Valentine's Day approached. Pedro asked me if he could buy Kathy some silk flowers for Valentine's Day as a token of his friendship. I responded that he didn't need to ask my permission although I thought it quite considerate of him to do so. Apparently it is impolite to give a married woman a gift without her husband's permission. To reciprocate I asked Pedro what I might be able to give Rosa that would be useful. His response, with a large smile, was immediate. She would like to have a pig.

A pig for Valentine's Day! Now this is unique and led to one of the greatest experiences we had during our time in Cuba. Not knowing how to interpret this request I asked Pedro to expand on his request a little so that I fully understood where we were going in this conversation. He wanted to be able to have a grand fiesta for his family and friends on Valentine's Day with a full pig roast, vegetables, rice, fruit, cake and of course rum. In addition we needed to have lots of charcoal to roast the pig. To get the process started Pedro would need to go into the mountains and select the right pig and get a truck to bring it home. This was all starting to sound a little expensive so it was time to ask for the bottom line. How much is this going to cost? Pedro, again very quickly, said fifty dollars would cover it all. It seemed like a small amount to feed a dozen people? I gave him the money and waited to see what would happen.

A few days passed by. We visited the Morro Castle and hired a vintage automobile to take us there and into the city of Santiago the following day. The marina is about two miles by road to the castle fort overlooking the entry to the harbour and closer to ten miles to the city of Santiago further up the bay. In Santiago city proper we visited a museum in the home of the first governor of the island. Built by the Spanish in the early 1500's it looks far more Moorish than the Spanish architecture we had seen in other cities. The manager gave us an excellent tour. A highlight was the smelter that was originally built in the kitchen to melt down the gold and silver that was found locally and brought from abroad. This smelter had more recently been used as an oven in the kitchen. Recent archaeology had found its original use and it required little restoration.

While in the city we went to the bank to get some cash. The guard at the bank entrance quickly escorted us to the front of the line where we were given the cash we required after the production of our passports. We have found that passports are required in many countries as basic identification and use them frequently. A visit to a rooftop bar on the hotel opposite the governor's residence and stroll around the city streets ended with a meal and drinks in a small bar with live Afro-Cuban music. A violin was playing the coronet part until a German tourist with a coronet stepped in to fill the void. The music was very creative and enjoyable. Our taxi returned shortly after for the return trip to the marina. We had not paid the taxi for the trip in as payment was refused until the days travels were ended. Such honesty and trust is rewarding.

After a few days Pedro met us as we were heading out for the days touring and asked us to visit his house to meet the pig. Meet the pig? OK. We walked on over and into the house. In the closet sized bathroom resided the pig, alive breathing and complaining loudly. Did we have a knife that he could use to dispatch the pig? No, okay he could borrow one from his uncle who would also come to help prepare the pig for the roasting the next day. Could I come and help? Sure, never seen this done before so it would be a new experience. Did I have a camera to record the preparation? No, I didn't think I need to record this for posterity.

The next morning we went over for coffee and got the pig ready for roasting. A large charcoal pit was dug in the neighbour's front yard. Pedro's home fronted right onto the street and had no place to do this type of cooking. A large bag of charcoal was placed in the pit over some kindling and wood then lit. Now the fire would have a chance to heat up and we could progress to the next step.

The children were taken inside by Rosa and Kathy and other children in the area were also taken inside so that they would not see what was going to happen with the pig.

Very quickly a knife was produced and a quick incision at the base of the neck then a downward thrust to the heart provided a quick ending to the pig's existence in this life. There was quite a bit of squealing, as only a pig can do, during the hog tying and although disconcerting did not last long. Using boiling water and a very sharp knife the hair was scraped away leaving a pink flesh. With evisceration completed the pig was mounted on a hardwood pole length wise with a few nails strategically placed to keep it from slipping. The rotisserie mount was two steel chairs straddling the charcoal pit and a primitive handle nailed to the end of the spit for rotating manually. We figured it would take eight hours to cook the pig on a hot day, over hot coals, in the sun. We needed refreshments. Rum and various citrus juices were produced and the real work began.

The day was hot and sunny with the heat from the roasting pig requiring numerous refills of the glasses of rum and juice. As a public holiday with no one working there was a parade of cars and people out for walks dressed in their finest clothing. A tour bus stopped at the Marina entrance and the visitors piled out to take pictures as quickly as possible. I was the designated pig turner attending this chore with a glass of rum in one hand, the turning handle in the other, a Tilley hat on my head and what likely appeared to be a sleepy look on my face. Lots of pictures were taken of this traditional Cuban pig roast with one gentleman finally asking if I was Cuban. He was somewhat surprised to find this Canadian sailor hard a t work with the pig roast.

Rosa in the meantime was preparing vegetables, yucca, cakes, rice and beans over a charcoal cooker to compliment the meal. The pig was finished roasting in the late afternoon as was set aside to rest until dinner. In the meantime we went for a shower and changed into more suitable clothes to return for dinner. We came back to a room full of people, a dozen or more, sitting down to a feast that lasted for hours. Georgio came up from his boat in the marina along with many neighbours. Conversation was abundant in English and Spanish. A late night return to the boat satisfied and happy with the days events was a comforting reward.

Our departure from Santiago came a few days later with a gift of food, including remnants of the pig roast, from Pedro and Rosa. Many tears were shed as we said goodbye to our new found friends. I will always remember their waving arms from the balcony of the marina as we put up the sails and left the dock. The spectacular Morro Castle was passed slowly to port as we headed to sea and points further east.

Blown Ashore by Hurricane Earl

2010-09-08T10:13:00.001-07:00

This is the account of how we survived being blown ashore and near loss of Easy Go.

It is hard to determine all the causes of a shipwreck. There is usually no one cause but a series of events that accumulate quickly and ultimately end up with damage or loss of the boat.

On Saturday September 4, 2010 at about 3:00 PM ADT Easy Go was blown ashore by Hurricane Earl at River Bourgeois on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia. Kathy and I were aboard and fortunately no one was injured and the boat was refloated on the high tide on Sunday evening with the assistance of the great people of River Bourgeois. Both the rudder and the keel have been damaged. Easy Go will need to be removed from the water for repairs.

We spent a couple of weeks in Newfoundland in the Burgeo area exploring a few anchorages and enjoying the rugged beauty of "The Rock". With a good weather report we headed towards Cape Breton Island and after a day at sea we heard that Hurricane Danielle was going to pass by although a safe distance to the southeast over the Grand Banks. She was making some good size swells slowing progress. Two days later Earl made his appearance on the weather forecasts and we were still two days out. Large swells from the south and a head wind made for slow going as we buried the bows and slogged along beating against the southwest wind for two days. We became concerned that we would not make it to a safe harbour before Earl blew ashore.

We arrived in River Bourgeois the morning of Thursday September 2, 2010 arriving off Isle Madame at three in the morning. Approaching the shore all of the lights went out, including the lighthouse. A general power failure had removed our important aids to navigation and left us with no choice but to head back to sea and the safety of deeper water and the navigation markers near the entrance to St Peter's Bay.

It was a great relief to get into the harbour at River Bourgeois and sail the anchor in near the main wharf near the entrance to the harbour. This is where the fishermen dock. When we came to anchor we sailed in the first anchor, a forty five pound Bruce, to ensure that it would hold well. This anchor was set with one hundred and twenty feet of chain in three fathoms at low tide and four at high. The chain rattled along the bottom indicating that it was a good clear gravel with little weed. We put out a second anchor, a forty five pound Danforth, with seventy feet of chain and one hundred and fifty feet of rode. We didn't move further up the harbour as the wind was against us and we thought we would be safe enough with our heavy ground tackle. Gilbert, a very experienced fisherman, told us he was moving his boat from the wharf to a more protected location and suggested we raise our anchors and do the same. Winds were forecast to be about forty knots and we felt that we would be okay, besides we had a couple of anchors and lots of chain out to retrieve. Mistake number one! We broke our rule to follow the advice of fishermen.

It turned out that we had set the anchors in a kelp bed. Mistake number two!

The winds started up late in the morning and the weather forecast changed. Earl was predicted to make landfall well to the southwest in the Digby area and follow a course up the Bay of Fundy. It is difficult to predict the path of a hurricane and Earl swung to the east and travelled along the coast making landfall in the Lunenburg area putting our location in the dangerous section of the hurricane. Now instead of forty knots we were looking forward to sixty to seventy knots of wind. Without a motor, rising winds and heavy ground tackle down we would have to ride out the storm where we were. The harbour is relatively well protected by a natural break wall with a narrow opening that has a strong current on the rise and fall of the tide. The current was noticeable where we anchored but not of great concern. Mistake number three!

The winds continued to build but the seas were not large. We were comfortably riding out the storm staying fairly steady and pulling nicely on both anchors when the first indication that we might be in trouble arose. It appeared that we had possibly slipped a little, or the chain had stretched out a bit and we settled back two boat lengths. The boat continued to holding its new location and a third anchor was made ready to deploy in the event that we started to move again. The wind continued to build as high tide approached then veered suddenly from southeast to south while increasing in intensity and we broke loose. Easy Go drove towards shore stern first dragging both anchors. We came to rest bow out on the sand and gravel bottom with rocks adjacent to a ruined wharf. During all this time Harold, his boat had gone ashore as well but he had been able to get it off, stayed close to us in his boat in case we needed rescuing. It was much too wild to try and get a line aboard and pull us off. Everything was happening very quickly. The pounding on the bottom lasted about half an hour as we driven higher on the beach. We secured a line to shore and pulled ourselves higher on the waves.

As the tide started to fall and the winds diminished. I got in the water which was really nice and warm. By this time the waves had subsided and the wind was down considerably. We put some ropes to the old wharf to try and keep Easy Go from leaning to far over and damaging her hull. This strategy seemed to work well. We managed to get her over on her port side. The water continued to drop with the tide and Kathy was able to wade ashore in knee deep water. Many people came by to help us get the lines to shore, pull up the tender and offer moral support. When we got ashore we were warmed and fed in Wayne's home and taken to stay with Albert and Janice for the night.

We returned to the boat after the morning high tide to start getting her ready for the evening high tide. Carl came out to retrieve us and informed us that two boats and lots of people had been at Easy Go at six in the morning to pull us off. We were not there however so she spent the day high and dry. The evening tide came at six pm and was not as high as the morning tide but we were somewhat afloat. Two boats came to pull but the wind was up a bit so Maynard cut his line off and Harold pulled us off with his boat alone. A little bumping and grinding while we pulled to deeper water ended the ordeal.

Harold towed us to the docks at the River Bourgeois Mariner Society where we are tied up and getting the boat organized. Fortunately we came ashore near the property we had recently purchased so we are making arrangements to stay here for the winter, repair Easy Go and decide what we are doing next.

During the hurricane two other boats came ashore. A sailboat broke its mooring and came up high and dry. It was easily refloated on Sunday morning. At the height of the storm Harold's boat dragged its mooring but he was able to get aboard and motor it off the shore. The floating docks at the RBMS also had a little damage but all was quickly repaired. Many trees were blown down in the area, some of them quite mature. Most of the damage occurred when the wind suddenly veered from southeast to south and increased in intensity overwhelming boats and trees alike.

Diving the boat on Tuesday showed all the damage to the bottom. Both chines amidships have paint scrapes and bruises from sitting on the bottom. The bottom of the rudder has been ground down. The keel protected us and took the brunt of the damage with the entire bottom having small pieces missing and a little of the reinforcing steel is showing. The bow anchor roller is a little twisted from the pulling off. The hull was not compromised. Now it is time to build a cradle and haul Easy Go from the water to let her dry out and make the repairs.

In our cruising this is the second time that we have dragged anchor. The common theme between the two events was that there was weed on the bottom that prevented the anchors from setting correctly and ultimately leading to their failure.

Lessons learned, pay attention to local knowledge, don't underestimate the power of a storm, find the most protected place you can and finally dive the anchors to make sure that they will stay put.

A special thanks to all the people of River Bourgeois, our new neighbours, for all the help and kindness they have shown us in our eventful entrance and introduction to our new community and home.

Summer Cruising – Cape Breton Island

2010-08-10T10:56:00.001-07:00

Our second Nova Scotia summer, 2010, has been considerably different from the summer of 2009. An early spring allowed us to get Easy Go back in the water in early April with a couple of coats of anti fouling. The storage at the Lunenburg Foundry worked out quite well with the constant attention to detail by Tim and Danny. Easy Go was well taken care of.

Easy Go had an uneventful passage from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Canada to St. Peters Lock on the island of Cape Breton also in the province of Nova Scotia. Leaving on June 8, we took three and a half days to come the little more than two hundred nautical miles due to light winds and a couple of calms during the nights. What a great way to start the cruising season with no heavy weather and keeping standard watches day and night. The temperatures at sea were chilly during the nights but during the day we were often able to sit on deck in shirt sleeves.

We saw the wreck of an abandoned fishing boat floating near the approaches to Halifax Harbour that could have seriously damaged Easy Go had we not been keeping a good watch.

Visits from numerous whales and even a couple of basking sharks made the trip enjoyable. Visits became more frequent after we had passed Canso by and were headed across the Chedabucto Bay to St. Peters. Puffins, gannets numerous types of seas birds along with the seals kept us entertained.

Sailing into the wharf at St. Peters Lock was not difficult although the route through St. Peters Bay is rather convoluted to stay in the channel. The south west wind allowed us to make the necessary tacks and we doused the head sail out from the channel then dropped the main sail a bit off the wharf giving us momentum to sail up. With the wind coming off the wharf we got close then stopped moving. Putting up a couple of panels on the main gave us the needed boost to simply come up beside the wharf and step off with line in hand and secure to the bollards. We pulled Easy Go down the wharf with the assistance of one of the many friendly people found here. Tying up under a light and well up from the locks gave us a safe and free place to stay. People from around the area come to visit every day.

Shortly after arriving in St. Peter's we were visited by Al and Diane (Letitia II) for a few days. We went looking around the area with visits to Isle Madame, L'Ardoise and our new homebase of River Bourgeois. We found a nice little piece of land to build a Canadian base overlooking the very well protected harbour where Easy Go will eventually be moored. We're looking forward to visitors anchoring nearby or driving in for a visit. Be sure to call as our travelling cruising days are far from over yet and swallowing the anchor is still some time into the future! The lighthouse at the harbour entrance can be found at 45°37.6´N, 60°56.9´W. Strong tidal currents are to be found in the entrance with the strongest on the flood. Taken in the correct tide this is a very easy harbour to enter and the back bay is a great hurricane hole with a good bottom for anchoring.

While Al and Diane visited we found "Lobsters are Us" at Little Harbour, 45°35.0´N, 60°44.5´W, and returned with one of our many new found friends to get a good feed. Also at Little Harbour is a very well stocked distributor for Stright Mackay marine chandlery where I was able to get a new fender. Within the town of St. Peter's are an excellent grocery store, hardware store, Internet access (CAP site where Francine is a great help), pharmacy and just about anything else one might need. The Lion's Marina, 45°39.7´N, 60°52.5´W, on the lake side of the lock is one of the best on the lake with excellent protection. The Manager, Jerry, can access just about anything one might need for repairs and give you advice on everything Cape Breton.

We stayed in St. Peter's for four weeks closing the deal on our new property and visiting the many interesting activities, events and locations to be found here. We met the yachts NorthAbout and Dagmar, two yachts that have circumnavigated by the North West and North East passages. A very entertaining and informative time was spent with the crews of these yachts. Shortly after they departed we took Easy Go through the lock and on to the Bras d'Or Lakes. This was accomplished by lining the boat into the lock and then down the short canal to the lakes. We tied up overnight at the lower end of the canal, attended a Ceilidh at the Bras d'Or Lake Inn and headed out the next morning, July 16, after saying goodbye to Jack and Glenda who have a nice little cottage overlooking the lower end of the canal.

A short sail took us to Damiens Cove near Cape George where we spent a few delightful days enjoying the solitude while watching the deer walking the shoreline of the islands and the eagles soaring overhead. Only a few boats visited this large cove while we were there.

We headed out to the area of the Barra Straits to move into the northern end of the lake. Taking a side trip towards Denys Basin we anchored in Fraser Cove, 45°55.1´N, 60°57.5´W. Exploring this area was fascinating with rowing trips into McKinnons Harbour where we met Dave and Gary at their family cottage along with another Dave at his home. Many islands to explore and lots of wildlife. Again there were numerous deer walking the shores and swimming between the islands. Eagles perched in the tall trees near us and swooped down to catch a meal of fish. Even seals and one porpoise were seen.

In Fraser Cove we spent enjoyable evening and meals with Jack and Allison and Paul and Madeleine at their homes overlooking the cove. Long walks towards Orangedale and passing through the village of Estmere, now only a few buildings, gave us good exercise while we waited for the wind and tides to align so we could sail through the bridges at the Barra Strait Causeway. Paul drove us to the Barra Straits causeway so we could see the wind and tide in action as well as a good look at the approaches.

The Barra Strait Causeway, 45°57.6´N, 60°47.8´W, funnels a great deal of water, and wind, through the narrow passage creating currents in excess of three knots at the change of the tide. Wind over tide is not a good combination to experience here. Everything aligned on August 3 and we set off early in the morning to make the passage. A light SW wind carried us to the double bridges in a couple of hours and we contacted the bridge tender for an opening while we were still about one mile south. The railway swing bridge is open except when a train is coming at which time the train has the right of way. Everything worked out well for us as a sailboat under power was approaching the bridges from the north and against the current at same time we were approaching from the south under sail. The bridge tender opened the vehicle double bascule bridge for the other boat and just kept the bridge open until we sailed through. We passed at the peak of the tide with a small rip in the entrance to the 30 meter wide canal that bounced us around a little. With the combined wind and favourable current we passed by at about six knots and quickly moved towards Baddeck. Within fifteen minutes of our passage through the canal a train travelling towards Sydney crossed over closing the bridge. Lucky us!

The protection offered by the hills and the short fetches for the wind allowed us to sail from Barra Straits to Baddeck wing on wing directly down the wind the entire way with no rolling. One of the best sails we have ever had.

We came into Baddeck during the annual Race Week sailing races and threaded our way through three races going on in the approaches and anchored in the lee of Kidson Island at 46°06.1´N, 60°44.7´W. An excellent view of the racing events and close proximity to the village of Baddeck along with great protection makes this an ideal stopover. Baddeck is the center of sailing activity on the Bras d´Or Lakes and home of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site and Museum. The museum has excellent displays of the life works of Bell including his development of the telephone, aviation experiments that culminated in the flight of the Silver Dart, the first heavier than air flight in the British Empire and the development of the HD-4, the fastest hydrofoil boat in the world in the early 1900's. Although the village is now a mostly quiet tourist town, it was once the bustling centre of aviation and watercraft design experimentation in North America.

While visiting Baddeck we have made new friends including Art and Maria who have a wonderful home overlooking St. Annes Bay and Henry at Cape Breton Boat Yard along with local and visiting boaters. Jim MacDonald has a very cute little houseboat and a nice tugboat that he built himself moored across from the Cape Breton Boat Yard. He told us a story of his time as crew on Irving Johnson's wooden schooner Yankee, now sunk at the end of Baddeck Bay. In 1953 Jim was taking the Yankee through the Barra Straits when a train came along and the tender closed the bridge while the Yankee was in the canal and unable to stop. The Yankee ended up sideways in the canal against the bridge while the train passed by. If that was not exciting enough Jim had to go under the bridge and train crouched on the deck so that he could turn off the Yankee's engine.

Baddeck is the ideal place to provision before heading out on the passage to Newfoundland or points beyond.

It is getting time to be moving on again as we wait for the weather to allow us to move north through the narrow straits at Carey Point and into the Cabot Strait where, weather gods permitting, we will head towards Newfoundland for an abbreviated visit.

Time Millionaires

2010-05-28T12:29:00.001-07:00

The cure for "Time Poverty" is to slow down, be less productive and enjoy every minute of the day. As a sailor I have come more and more appreciative of the concept of time being the only true possession that we can be in control of. Pursuing the dream of becoming a long distance sailor allows for true focus on what is really important in life.

How does one start to accumulate time and become a time millionaire? Stop, sit down, and assess what you are doing while sailing. Do you have all the gadgets and toys on board? Are they making your life simpler or part of the competitive accumulative lifestyle of the modern Western culture?

Take control now! Less is more except when it relates to time. What does 'Slow Living' represent?

Slow living is not doing less. It is pursuing a life with an eye for details. Goals are attained in a less aggressive fashion. Each individual enjoying what they do and interacting with people and live in harmony with both man and nature. The core motives of the slow living include re-inventing the art of simple living, re-establishing family ties, reviving family values and creating leisure time.

For those setting out on the passage of slow living consider building your own boat. While it may not be a great saving in money over the purchase of a used boat, it will be the first slow passage that you will make. The time it takes to consolidate your ideas, find the boat plans that will best meet your needs and then build the boat will establish a bond between you, the boat and everyone else involved in the building process. We built our boat "Easy Go" in less than a year. We have met people who took twenty five years. The end of the process was the same, going sailing in a boat that exactly meets the requirements that you have established. Don't have the skills or initiative to build a boat? Find one that you can afford with your savings, leaving at least half to set out with as a nest egg, then go sailing sooner.

We set out on Easy Go with only the minimum of electronics, no engine, no generated electricity and with less accomplished our goals in crossing the Atlantic Ocean from North America to Europe, Africa and returned with a fresh perspective on what is really necessary for sailing. No motor meant we needed to improve our sailing skills and find alternative modes of propulsion for entering tight harbours and anchorages. Perfecting the use of the yuloh sculling oar allows us to manouever silently in the tightest of harbours. A little breeze makes sculling difficult? Get to know your kedge anchor and work up into that spot you would never have tried with a motor. Setting or retrieving an anchor in absolute silence that sailing on or off the anchor provides many of the most pleasurable moments we have experienced. On passage the wind strengthens and weakens but seldom do we get becalmed. We seldom make a record breaking passage by today's standards, but reading about the passages during the historic period of sail makes us very much the norm. I've always preferred a few extra day at sea enjoying the ocean wilderness and picking up an extra fish than be stuck in an anchorage. Slowing down and assessing the perfect tide and time to come into a harbour or anchorage allows one to transform from the passage maker to the more sedentary life of the harbour community. For us the passage is the destination and when it is over the new place and people we have found are equally important.

The developers of the high-tech world have devised endless "time-saving" devices that range from electronic navigation devices to automated weather reports. These really do reduce chore time for some people, but how do they spend those saved hours? They give them away on the phone or texting friends with inane updates. Not to mention all the time wasted looking for parts or people to repair all these time saving conveniences

We don't have a cell phone. Cell phones were seen by many as the biggest time-waster until texting came along, and now that seems to consume every moment. Studies continue to demonstrate the time wasting that texting causes with thousands of momentary thoughts being transmitted every minute. Who cares? Are we so insecure that we need to tell our 200 closest friends everything we do? We use email to advise our friends and relatives when we have arrived in a new place. To minimize their worry and give them more time to slow down we keep our information flow to a minimum.

Keeping expenses low and have no preconceptions of where we were going along with a flexible and open itinerary allowed us visit places in depth and get to know the people and cultures. The rewards were greater than visiting more places fleetingly.

We made a few trips inland. We found the best way was to see what was available locally through our new found friends and with contacts in local tour companies we have never been disappointed. Other travellers, whether they are sailors or other long term travellers are the best source of advice in every place we have travelled. Being open, honest and interested in other peoples viewpoints along with a spontaneity and a positive sense of following your instincts will provide just the adventure you were looking for.

Forget the private car. Travel on public transport, chat up the locals, make contact with Taxi drivers and get a "guy" to be your local fixer.

If you don't feel good about the town or anchorage that you are in move along to somewhere that you feel would be better. It is amazing how your perspective of a place can change! If you really like a place and feel sad to be leaving soon, stay a little longer even if it means skipping another destination. Its your time. Use it to acquire the best memories you can. This is capital the we time millionaires collect.

'We are what we eat' goes the adage. The 'Slow Food' culture takes us one step further. It lays emphasis on the belief that 'we are how we eat'.

Slow Food afficinados consider mealtime as a quality time to be spent in the company of family and friend. We encourage people to take time to prepare their meals and to relish it, by eating slowly. Nnothing can be worse than wolfing down junk food and washing it down with empty calories. This ruins our metabolism and promotes obesity.

Slow food promotes a 'back to nature' culture and persuades people to grow veggies and fruits in their back yard , support local produce and promote organic products. We find this aspect of 'Slow Living to not be possible with the exception of growing sprouts on our boat. We do however visit many places both urban and remote that have exceptional local fresh food markets. Fish fresh from the sea, vegetables with soil adhering and meat that was freshly butchered in the morning are all experiences we have had. Staying long enough in one place allows a personal relationship to develop between the market vendor and yourself. More than once an item for a special customer has found its way into our grocery bag. We've also been advised to come back tomorrow as there will be better produce coming in then. Need a special item? No problem, just ask.

Cooking slow also adds to the quality of our life. A slow cooker on the stove all day provides an aromatic ambience. Using a pressure cooker can speed up the cooking process, when necessary, and also adds an element of safety when at sea in a lumpy seaway.

There's no question that the stress of modern life is causing numerous health problems, but much of that stress is self-inflicted. Many people are just trying to do too much, trying to fill every moment with "stuff," and it's killing them. These people are suffering time poverty.

Sailing is, by its very nature, a Slow Movement. Whether you're going out for a couple of hours or a couple of years, it's a fine way to reduce the stress of our everyday lives.

During a long passage, Slow Books are prized and you actually have the time to enjoy several chapters at one sitting. Once you arrive at your destination, trading books and doing more reading takes the place of mindless television and video games. Looking for the local library is always a high priority for us. Slow Living allows us to sit back and enjoy the sunrise and the sunset, without feeling that we need to be accomplishing something else.

When we're offshore, there are no video games or cell phones or other distractions to erode "family time." We work together to make the boat go … we trim sails and set courses and check the windvane steering to ensure that it is steering the boat properly. Its not as easy as pressing the starter in the car and going for a drive, but its far, far better.

In these changing economic times, we need to rethink our priorities and return to the values of a simpler time. Inexpensive sources of energy are being getting harder to find. Wind is one of the few sources of energy that cannot increase in price. Its always had the same price...free. Wind is there for the taking by those who have the time.

Let's start a Time Millionaires Movement, but let's do it slowly and build our own time equity as Time Millionaires!

Whale of a Hug!!!

2010-05-13T08:16:00.001-07:00

And
Other Denizens of the Deep

Kathy and I had the experience of a lifetime on a passage from the Canary Islands to the Cape Verde Islands. Surrounded by more than 50 Pilot whales up to 25 feet long they made us part of their pod for an hour and a half. Swimming within inches of the boat with the occasional nuzzle and hug was incredible. Whale breath, splashes from flukes and tails, vocalizing everything that one could hope for!

We put on some music and the whales started to vocalize quite loudly as though singing along. When we turned off the music they went back to their previous level of communication which is still quite impressive when heard through the hull of a sailboat.

As the sun was going down we reefed the sail, changed course a little and they went on their way.

Figure 1 - Adult Pilot Whale

We have been visited by many other whale species during our travels including Killer, Sperm, Humpback, Fin, Minke, Beluga, and Blue whales.

Although not a whale, we had a Basking Shark follow Easy Go within one metre of the rudder off the coast of Nova Scotia. This plankton eating shark was almost as long as Easy Go and inspired the theme music of the movie "Jaws" while keeping us company. Tiger sharks also visit during open ocean passages discouraging any thoughts of swimming. Hammerhead sharks are common in the Azores and will come to the side of the boat when the dishwater is discharged to see if there are any tidbits.

Figure 2 - Minke Whale

The minke whale (above) kept us company for three days while we cruised in the areas of Georges Bank and Browns Bank near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. We forgot it was there as we became used to its presence and would be startled when it came up for a breath during the night watch. This whale was particularly friendly and would swim beside us upside down giving us a view of its belly and would occasionally fall astern for a quick nap before catching up to us. After three days it simply went away as mysteriously as it arrived.

Dolphins and porpoises are frequent visitors. On one passage south of Cuba dolphins led us through a tricky pass on a coral reef. They seem to watch out and assist boats whenever they can.

OpenCPN Navigation software

2010-04-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

This software is open source software, available free. Our testing of this software has shown it to be comparable to many commercial versions.

Here is a download link to OpenCPN.
http://opencpn.org/

Spring In Lunenburg

2010-03-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Winter has been really "Open" this winter in Nova Scotia. Open is the term used here for a warm and relatively snow free winter and its been all of that. By the middle of March we experienced temperatures in the mid teens Celsius and as high as the low 20's just this past weekend. This has helped us get Easy Go ready for spring launching, hopefully, by the middle of April. The bottom antifouling paint is applied and most of the exterior additions and renovations are completed. Easy Go has faired the winter well and the interior wipe down and new painting is going along very fast. New lockers in the galley and nav station are working out well. The latest improvement will be new lockers in the berth area so that we can store our clothes in a more civilized fashion. We have been using rubbermaid containers and stuff sacks till now. The new arrangements will keep the clothes drier and more organized.

Winter has interesting affects on the boat. Condensation has continued to be a problem that we have not had before. In December we blamed it on the snow but the boat has never really dried out so it is just the climate and the fact we cannot leave the hatches open long enough to get all the moisture out. We are assured by the locals that things will improve and that this summer will not be a repeat of last summers almost continuous rains and fog. We'll see. No promises about hurricanes and tropical storms however.

Plans are to head north to the Cape Breton area then on towards Newfoundland and Labrador for the summer.

Sailing a Junk Rig Schooner

2010-03-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

We are often asked why we choose to sail a junk rigged schooner for offshore sailing when more technologically improved sailing rigs are available today. Up until recently the response would be that we always were intrigued by the rig and simply wanted to sail one. Having been aboard a Colvin Gazelle at Marina Hemingway outside of Havana, Cuba only increased the desire to build and sail a junk rigged boat. We built a Benford Badger design and have sailed it from Canada and back on the Atlantic circuit with stops in the Azores, Portugal, Morocco, Canaries, Cape Verdes, and Caribbean before returning home to Canada directly from Jamaica. Easy Go, the name of our boat, is a junk rigged dory schooner, engineless, with auxiliary power in the form of a Chinese yuloh. Kathy and I built this boat in Canada close to Lake Erie. Previous to this boat we had sailed a Grampian 26 on the Great Lakes and as far afield as the Caribbean. The Grampian, also named Easy Go was a conventional sloop rigged boat. The best reason for sailing a junk rig became apparent during the 3200 NM nonstop 37 day passage from Port Antonio, Jamaica to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. Port Antonio is located on the north shore of Jamaica. A choice of beating through the Windward Passage and then a downwind run in the Old Bahamas Channel or taking the old sailing route through the Yucatan Channel and riding the Gulf Stream is the decision to make. We chose the traditional downwind/current riding route along the south shore of Cuba and on north. Leaving on April 29, 2009 gave us a pleasant overnight passage to the first landfall off Cabo Cruz, Cuba where we not only passed by the great anchorage we had stayed at previously under the watchful eye of the lighthouse but were visited by a blue whale that dove under the keel at the very last moment giving us a little anxiety. Our next landfall was off Isla de Juventud, another one of our favourite places when sailing the south coast of Cuba. Our final view of Cuba was the lighthouse at Cabo San Antonio, the western most point of Cuba. Fishing was excellent with good catches of tuna.

Turning the corner inside of the major shipping lanes off this cape we headed north east in the general direction of the Dry Tortugas. While the current was in our favour it was very weak and we had an easterly wind during our passage of the Florida Straits all the way from Cabo San Antonio until we were off Key Largo in the Florida Keys. While we have experienced beating to windward for short periods of time during our last two years we had not come on a time where we would be beating day and night for the better part of a week. The strength of the junk rig in beating to windward became rapidly apparent and appreciated for its steady pull and comfortable ride as we tacked across to the Dry Tortugas on a starboard tack then switched over to a port tack until we saw the lights of Havana then back to starboard tack to head us towards Miami. On this portion of the passage we picked up our first Dorado (dolphin fish) and started our time proven salting and drying. Without a motor, electricity is not possible to provide refrigeration. We have researched and successfully utilized traditional methods of food preservation for some time and no longer desire refrigeration in any form.

The tabling on our sails was not up to par and had been giving us some problems with the seams failing on the trailing edge as a result of flutter. This was part of the design when Kathy sewed the sails. We didn't know how much tabling would be required so put on the minimum amount of only about one inch. Off Key Largo we hove to for the night and in the morning put a few stitches on a couple of panels to secure the tabling and headed north with the wind on the starboard quarter. We picked up the full force of the Gulf Stream over the next few days and rolled off 170 mile days three days running and came close for a number more. Then we experienced a North Easter in the Gulf Stream! We've been in big blows before but nothing with the intensity and longevity of this one. It started with a strong line of thunder storms out of the south west that went on for about twelve hours then the wind swung quickly to the north east and increased in strength to a F7-8 and stayed there for three days. We sailed as long as we could. The seas became very high and breaking due to the wind over current affect so we hove to on a starboard tack to take us out of the Gulf Stream towards the mainland USA. The whole affair started when we about 150 NM east of Cape Fear North Carolina and ended five days later with Easy Go off Savannah Georgia after a number of changes of tacks and damaged sails. The last two days of the blow had subsided quite a bit but it was still too rough to work on the deck to effect repairs and get under way.

During the storm we were buried by the breaking seas three times where the water came through the closed hatches and overwhelmed the boat. We were not knocked down but simply at the mercy of nature. The hove to main sail kept us far reaching although we did lose about 80 NM during the five days. On day two of the storm, while hove to under the two top panels of the mail sail we had a tear in the top panel that eventually shredded and took way about 30 percent of that panel. The next one down also tore but did not shred. The head sail was furled but the wind did damage the portions of the sail that were exposed to flapping in the strongest part of the storm. Long tears were evident.

When the storm ended we thought it might be prudent to go into Charleston, South Carolina and make repairs but after a long assessment we decided to jury rig the sails and head to Lunenburg, Canada where we could make the necessary repairs and possibly build a new suit of sails if required.

This is the time where we really appreciated the design and strength of the junk sail. Using light rope we tied the battens together in their original configuration leaving the holes and tears as they were. Cutting out any flapping fabric was about the only thing we did to the sail cloth. With the sails up and pulling we didn't really notice much difference in the boats handling or pulling ability. None the less, it is heart breaking to look up and the tattered sails but at the same time knowing that they will keep you going for the next 1000 NM or more is satisfying.

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. We had a few windy days, many calmer ones. More great fishing and visits from many inhabitants of the deep. Killer whales, a minke that stayed with us for three days, seals and not far out of Nova Scotia a basking shark very near as big as Easy Go decided to follow our rudder by about three feet giving us a tremendous opportunity to see this fantastic plankton eating shark up close.

We arrived in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on the rainy morning of June 6. Tired but happy that Easy Go, the junk rigged dory schooner we had built ourselves had completed the circuit of the Atlantic and brought us home safely although she was suffering a little. Three weeks later the Kathy had rebuilt the sails, strengthening the weak parts and after another month of improvements and upgrades we are ready to head out again for more sailing adventures.

Atlantic Passage - Ville de Gaspe, Quebec to Praia da Vitoria

2010-02-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Easy Go departed Ville de Gaspe in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on June 15, 2007 at 0315 EDST (0715 UTC). The timing was perfect. We rode the katabatic wind falling from the mountains to sail away from the dock and out of the harbour break wall. Silently gliding out on the ghost of a breeze under a star filled sky started the trip in a dream like fashion.

We are travelling without a motor, having sold the old and very reliable Honda 9.9 outboard motor to the sailing club at the Marina de Jacques Cartier. Not having a motor makes us totally dependent on wind power although we do have a yuloh, a type of sculling oar, for getting in and out of tight places in calm conditions.

Five hours of good sailing and the sighting of a Minke whale indicated that the trip is off to a good start. The barometer, steady at 1021 mb and the promise of a southwest wind buoyed our spirits under the sunny and warm wind. Should know better than to take the wind gods for granted! The wind died as we approached the mouth of Baie de Gaspe and then changed to ESE, right on the nose. We beat for a few more hours as the wind strengthened then hove to anticipating that the wind would change during the night and we could make our way towards the Magdeleine Islands at the centre of the Gulf of St Lawrence. The winds diminished by morning, June 16, but stayed out of the SE.

Time to put Reggy to work. Reggy is short for Regulator as the French speaking people of Gaspe referred to it. Yes we decided that Reggy was going to be a it. The newly designed and built wind vane was not completely installed when we departed so we quickly finished the install and went on a port tack SW back towards the Baie de Chaleur and away from the shipping lanes of the St. Lawrence River. Reggy steered very well for his first night of work. Our work is now reduced to keeping watch for shipping and making sure we stay on course.

We beat into a SE wind for two days arriving off the mouth of the Baie de Chaleur in a heavy mist at 1200 UTC June 17 then changed to starboard tack towards the Magdeleine Islands. Plans to pass to the south of the Magdeleine Islands and head into the North Atlantic through the Cabot Straits between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island has not been changed. We hope to make a quick visit to ports along the south coast of Newfoundland as we passed by.

The wind just died abruptly and we sat becalmed for the afternoon with a large swell still coming out of the SE. I always look here for the wind to come from the opposite direction when it changes suddenly. I was not surprised when the wind came back as a gale out of the NW. We reduced sail and let Reggy keep us on our planned course. There is no wind velocity indicator on Easy Go. We rely on indicators such as wave height and type. The wind stayed at thirty knots with higher gusts during the night. Waves were comfortable at about three metres. During one particularly strong period of wind I went on deck to help Reggy as he was being overwhelmed by the wind. The wind continued to rise all day, June 18, to about 40 knots and waves came up to four metres and then five meters as we approached the ominously named Isle de Corp Mort. The striking cliffs of the island rise out of a reef strewn sea. A bearing broke on Reggy and he was retired from service until repairs could be made.

Time for Plan B. Hand steering around Isle de Corp Mort and getting under the lee of the Magdeleine Islands became a priority. We had not slept well for a couple of days and the cold and exhaustion were starting to take its toll with continuous hand steering. At one point just as we passed the Isle de Corp Mort we almost struck a seal playing in the huge seas. He did not see us until the last moment and dove slapping his tail like a beaver. During the worst of the storm we had a visit from a porpoise just nosing about to see what we were up to. We had a large wave break and knock us on our beam ends as we came into shoaling water but after passing by this area the waves were diminished. We hoped to anchor at a sheltered sand beach on the south shore of the Magdeleine Islands but were unable to make the beach with the wind and seas as they were. We continued on until we were well under the lee of the Magdeleine Islands then took down the little scrap of sail that was on the forward mast and lay ahull for a couple of hours. Some boats lie ahull well and don´t complain. Easy Go is not one of them. We rolled and were thrown about quite a bit. Not getting any rest I went on deck and put up a couple of sail panels on the stern mast, sheeted them in tight and then tied the rudder to the lee to balance the boat. A miracle! The boat settled down instantly and slowly fell off to the east while meeting the wind and waves at a good angle. We were still being hit by large waves that shuddered the entire boat, but we no longer rolled side to side or were in danger of a rogue wave rolling us over. A flashing strobe marked our spot in the unlikely event that someone else was around. The lights of the Magdalen's to the north were comforting. Time to sleep.

Morning comes early this time of year. June 19 is close to the longest day of the year. Waking to a much diminished wind and wave action allowed us to set the injured Reggy and put him back in charge of steering. Implementing Plan B we decided to head south to Prince Edward Island to make repairs and adjustments to the way our stores were loaded before going any further. By afternoon Reggy was hurting a bit more so we retired him again and went back to hand steering. We hand steered most of the afternoon and came under the lee of East Point on PEI and headed west past Souris to a bay that our Sailing Directions suggested offered fair protection. Coasting along PEI is beautiful. The island has every shade of green. Summer had arrived here and so had we. The scenery is so different from the north end of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Farms and low land with no granite in sight. A few lobster pots to watch out for, however.

Reviewing the Sailing Directions and getting up early in the morning to catch sight of the fishing boats led us to believe we could get into the more protected anchorage at Bay Fortune, PEI. We put up the sails and caught a light anabatic breeze and the rising tide to move easily up the river to a good safe anchorage. We were guided by the local lobstermen on the dock as we glided silently past.

After coming to anchor in the calm and beautiful river we repaired the lazy jacks. Still don´t know exactly what the right configuration will be. Hope that they don´t snag the yard in floppy conditions as this has been a continuing problem and nuisance. Used the dinghy to go to shore and see if we could scrounge up some scrap plywood to make a new bearing for Reggy. This place is really clean. We couldn´t scrounge up anything at all. Spoke with some of the fishermen and one, Edwin Mckie took us to his home where we were given everything we needed for repairs, a few spares to boot, some wine and a few lobsters for dinner. Just love the support we get from local watermen. The masts had been trying to throw themselves out so we built some mast wedge retainer blocks and got them all in place. No more worry about the masts launching themselves off the boat when a large wave gives us a kick.

We stayed in Bay Fortune until June 25 and after finishing the repairs we headed out into the local area to check out the surroundings. Locals were offering us rides and recommendations on where to go and more importantly, where not to go. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

On the morning of June 25 we had a light outgoing breeze and the tide turned early after sunrise so it was time to leave again. Up anchor and underway at 0815 UTC and headed out of the harbour. The lobstermen had been out for some time and we had the opportunity to talk with a few as we sailed through the fleet as they pulled their pots. The end of the season was coming soon so they were in a hurry to get all they could.

The sailing across the east end of Northumberland Strait and into St. Georges Bay was fast and just about as perfect sailing as one can have. Boat speed was sometimes over 7 knots and no reefs in the sails. We made really good time until about 1700 UTC when the wind died completely just one mile short of the Canso Tidal Lock. A little sculling and working the light winds got us to the lock and through about 0100 UTC.

The Canso lock and causeway are recent impediments to navigation through the Strait of Canso. The lock master met us at the dock on the approach to the lock and handled our lines. As he physically towed us through the lock we were provided a full commentary and history of the lock and causeway along with recommendations on where to stop in the next town, Port Hawkesbury. About half a dozen motorless boats, like us, arrive at the lock every year. The regulations of the lock state that all watercraft must be passed through regardless of their propulsion. This is distinctly different than many other locks we have gone through that simply won´t deal with motorless boats. Cast out of the lock we got sails up quickly and started to tack towards Port Hawkesbury. Again the wind died and we drifted along in the current eddy by the causeway for the night keeping an eye open for any freighters that might come along. The night was uneventful and with the sun came a little breeze that allowed us to tack to Port Hawksbury and get into a dock at the local yacht club. We were able, and encouraged to sail right up to the dock where the dock hands took our mooring lines and tied us up with out a problem. They are used to motorless sailboats and know how to handle them at the dock. Arrived at June 26 1300 UTC.

We went to bed and caught up on our sleep waking to a strong southerly breeze. Needed more lines on the dock to keep us safe. The docks here, as in many marinas are not long enough to accommodate a 34 foot (10.5 metre) boat. One needs to be creative in how they tie!

We spent the next couple of days exploring Port Hawkesbury and getting a little supplemental shopping done. We also bought a chart for the Canso Strait. We had run off our detail charts on the way south to Prince Edward Island and had only a very large scale chart to navigate by. Much relieved to have something with more detail to see us out into the Atlantic.

June 29 was the start of the Canada Day weekend celebrations and just off the yacht club a Canadian Coast Guard Cormorant helicopter provided an hour of great entertainment. They did a life saving demo, dropping one of the divers into the water then coming back to rescue him.

After drinking some beer and enjoying the Canada Day celebrations the weather window looked promising for July 1 and we were away from the dock under sail at 1045 UTC. The light NW winds pushed us down the straits and towards the Atlantic. Underway at last. Later in the day the winds did a 180 degree change to the SE and came up. Headed into West Arachat harbour to anchor for the night and wait for the winds to change to a more favourable direction to get us offshore. The anchorage was very protected and begged us to stay for a while and check the area out more. Local resident Troy came to Easy Go on his electric powered PWC and visited for a while. He came back later in the evening with lobster, shrimp and halibut. Another great send off. At dark we had a fantastic fireworks display from the town of Arachat, just one mile to the east. Anchored in the centre of the harbour it seemed as though the display was just for us.

We were up early, July 2 to check out the weather conditions. Very light winds and clear. Sculled out of the harbour to catch the west wind. The sails were up and when we were almost to the first of the ripples the sails filled and we were off tacking our way back out to Chebucto Bay. We crossed the bay to Cape Canso where the fickle winds caught up with us again. The wind died and the current pushed the boat toward the shoals around the cape. Its always a good idea to give capes a very wide berth as currents and changeable winds have caught us before. The wind came back from the south and we crossed to the north side of the bay and headed towards the Bra d´Or Lakes as the start remained slow. The wind picked up late in the day from the SW so we headed to sea with Reggy in control. The wind died again at 2130 and we took down the sails and drifted. This is going to be a slow crossing by all indications. Into our third day and still not really underway. July 3, 0200 and the wind picked up from the SW so we put the sails back up and had good sailing until 0900 when the wind gods indicated that we had enough and everything went calm again. The routine of taking down the sails and bracing the sail bundles is becoming routine. The residual swell causes the sails and yards to swing if we don´t take the time to do this. We played with the gusts all day with the sails up and down in fluky winds. The wind finally filled in from the SW at 1600 at 10 kts and finally on a beam reach, all sails up in the sunshine. Away we go again! Life is good.

The wind died during the night for a couple of hours then came back again from the SW at 10kts then rose to 20 kts on the afternoon of July 4. Now the sailing is getting better. A fin whale was surprised to see us as we passed the "Gully", a marine reserve to the west of Sable Island. The whale splashed, dove and seemed irritated by our presence. We maintained a steady course and the whale eventually dove and did not come back to visit. A large pod of dolphins came during the night, vocalizing and bow riding during the night. It is always pleasurable when these friendly creatures drop in for a visit. We let off the wind a bit heading more east as the seas grew larger and breaking. By 1800 the wind subsided to 15 kts and the seas had subsided enough to go back to 160 degrees magnetic, our desired course. July 5 and the winds are rising again from the south, making it difficult to make our way south with 20 kts of wind virtually on the nose. Wear and tear are starting to show some of the weakness in the rig. Hove to at 1500 to retie some knots in the lashings and parrels on the head sail. Decided to have supper while we were hove to. Much calmer this way. We raised the sail and made our way almost due east until dark. We´re between Sable Island and the Grand Banks. I don´t want to experience either of these places if the weather continues to get worse. Hove to at dark and the winds continued to rise during the night. Good plan to heave to before it got wilder. The night was noisy with waves crashing into the boat. This is the strongest weather Easy Go has experienced and is handling it without problem.

July 6 and the winds dropped to 20 to 25 knts from the south. We tried to get as much southing in as we could but it is difficult in these seas and wind. July 7 brought more of the same strong southerly winds. Hove to until 1400 then put up two panels on each sail to run just below the wind as it changed to the SW. Doused the main sail for the night and ran at 4 knots on two panels of the front sail. The morning of July 8 we put two panels of the main sail up and went on a beam reach at 113 degrees True. A cold front came through during the night and we hove to again. The winds were strongest yet and came from the SW to W to NW as the low passed over. July 9 the winds were more reasonable from the SW and we had a great day of sailing until the wind died at 0200 on July 10. This is getting very repetitious. The wind came from the east at 0900 and we headed due south to try and get off the track of the lows that seemed to be rolling over the area one after the other. We have dropped to 42 05 N, 52 20W. The wind died for 6 hours during the night. Took down the sails and tightened up the lazy jacks and a few of the knots on the battens. The rig has been taking a beating with the variable winds and passages of the lows. July 11 and the winds are back from the west at last. The fog is heavy this morning and we are still in the ice berg zone. A steady watch is kept on deck as the sails are up and pulling well at 150 degrees True Good fast sailing in F5 conditions and boat speed to 6 kts. This is what we are looking for as the fog lifted later in the morning. We entered the Gulf Stream about 1500. The air and water temperatures shot up considerably to 24 C. Finally we have warm water. We are near to where the Titanic sank and almost out of the ice berg zone. We have not seen any bergs or indications. This is a year of low ice activity and we are glad for it. Having sailed over the wreck of the Empress of Ireland near Rimouski, Quebec and now close to the remains of the Titanic induces time for reflection and thinking of all the lives that were lost in both of these sinkings. On July 12 we changed directions to SE to intersect 40 degrees latitude and continue east towards the Azores. The winds are favourable and the air temperature has now climbed to 28 C. The water is the beautiful colour that we remember from our last passage in the Gulf Stream. Our spirits have risen enough that we started fishing, but nothing for the pan today. We had continuous sailing through the night, something that has been rare so far, and arrived at 40 degrees latitude on the morning of July 13 and changed course to due east with a nice wind on the starboard quarter. A pod of killer whales, more than 10, came by today to check us out. We didn´t interest them and they passed us by and continued determinedly on their way.

Sailing seems to be getting better and steadier. July 14 brought more good sailing although we are not getting the 100 miles a day we had planned on. Getting close to it though and our pale skins are starting to darken up. Indeed I´m getting sunburned on the arms and need to cover up. July 15 and everything is pretty much the same as yesterday although the wind is up a touch and the seas are rougher and breaking. We are making good speed through the water, but our distance over bottom is not spectacular. Put some bungee cords on Reggy to dampen the oversteering we are starting to have. The wind is more from the stern and the waves are causing a few difficulties to sail due east. The wind went to the north overnight and the morning of July 16 had us further south than we had planned. But not to worry. Headed back north towards 40 degrees. The wind died later in the day and our lack of progress became apparent. We are in a large eddy! Now drifting west and eventually north at up to 2 kts. Global climate change is becoming more apparent on this trip. Losing hard earned miles today. Had the sails back up at 1030 on July 17 and with the winds from the NW to N we are underway again heading due east. We had a few showers overnight but nothing serious. Four dorados appeared in the wake at 1330. Put out a line but they were not interested in biting and eventually left us. Guess we´re just not fast enough for them. Looking down at them in the wake gave a great view of these beautiful and powerful fish as they rode along with us.

July 18 was another day of light winds from the NW but we are making good easting with the wind on the quarter. The wind rose a little after the moon set. July 19 we gybed to the south reaching 40 degrees 05 minutes north and then went back to a port gybe. We passed a structure floating today that appeared to be a house or barn of some type. Glad we didn´t run into it in the night. Always lots of garbage around us. Most of the garbage has some component of plastic and is originating from North America. July 20 to 22 was light winds with us gybing and making the best of what we could get. We´re making about 80 to 90 miles a day so it is really not all that bad. During the evening we reached our waypoint to head south to Flores and went on a new bearing to head us in that direction. The wind is over the starboard quarter and the seas are small, only about a metre or so. We are sailing SE and making a good time of it at 5 knots or better. July 24, Flores is is sight. We´ve been seeing the clouds above the island since daybreak and the mountains show themselves at noon. We approached the anchorage to Lajes das Flores three times to make sure we could get where we wanted to be. On the third attempt we put the anchor down in forty feet of water at the outer edge of the harbour. 1800 hours and all is secure. Tonight we don´t keep watch. Easy Go is secure on her tether after bringing us more than half way across the Atlantic.

July 25 we tour the town, send emails and go out for dinner and a few beer. We are checked in by Customs and Immigration at the bar where we have stopped for dinner. It is nice to be back in a more laid back part of the world. We stayed in Flores with boats coming and going, although most are going. The season is ending and people have places to be. Flores is very hard to leave however. The magic of its landscape and people will be missed.

The winds are light and on August 11 we get a little breeze and up the anchor at 1320 sailed out for Praia da Vitoriai with Reggy in control once again. A beautiful night sail with a short lived calm from 2145 until 2330. We averaged 5.7 knots and made 96 miles in 24 hours towards the islands of Faial and Pico. We sail into the channel between Pico and Sao Jorge and are almost out the east end when the wind dies. We spend the entire night drifting in the channel and rolling in the slop. The wind is very light in the morning and we work our way slowly east in the wind shadow of Pico and the whirlpool currents that swing us around a couple of times before we break out back into the Atlantic beyond the island of Sao Jorge. At 1830 the winds pick up from the SW at F5-6. We shorten sail as we don´t want to arrive too early. Making only 3 knots we roll our way to Ihla Terceira and at day break close the shore for a scenic ride up the coast. At 0700 we are off the harbour entrance to Praia da Vitoria. Lots of heavy equipment and cranes on the moles rebuilding the storm damage to the moles. We raise a little sail to tack into the harbour in the N to NW winds. Takes a couple of tries to get the angles right and we are in, in only two tacks. Just about up the yacht harbour and the anchor is down at 1000. A little rest and a row in to clear in with Customs and Immigration. August 15 and we are visiting the town and surrounding area. August 18 and the winds are still strong from the east making the anchorage very rough. We get a tow into the marina and take a dock to wait out the wind. The wind out waits us and blows steady from the east to southeast for the next two months. Some friends leave for mainland Portugal and take three weeks of beating to windward to cover the first 700 miles. Time to stop and take a long term berth for the winter. Praia is home until spring.

NOTE: When we arrived at Flores we were checked in by the local Police. There is no Customs and Immigration office here so they simply take down details. The Police do not have a stamp for passports and indicated that we didn't need one. When we arrived at Praia da Vitoria on Terceira we were checked in by the Marina Staff and it was indicated that we did not need to see Customs and Immigration so again didn't get the stamps for the passports. This created a problem further on when we applied for visa extentions. Not being from the EU we did need stamps in the passports and renewing our visas was a little challenging and took a few days to get through the hoops created by this oversight. In the future we will ensure that we get stamps. Even further along in Morocco, this oversight became a problem again when officials noticed the lack of an entry stamp and only an exit stamp and we had to explain our situation again .

Winter In Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

2010-02-17T17:42:00.000-08:00

We patched the sails and did some upgrades on Easy Go in June, July and into August. We then sat out Hurricane Bill in Lunenburg where the winds did not go over 50 knots and the tidal surge was only a couple of meters. We had to wait again as Tropical Storm Danny passed us by but we were able to move to Princess Inlet in Mahone Bay to sit out this storm which packed a pretty good wallop and put a couple of boats on shore when they slipped their moorings. Finally we were able to sail in Mahone Bay and visited many of the towns and anchorages in this superb cruising area. Back to Lunenburg in late September where we became "Extras" in a remake of the movie "Moby Dick". Lots of fun to see how a movie is made!!

Kathy and I were able to do some land cruising for part of the winter visiting friends and family that we have not seen for quite some time. We are now getting "Easy Go" and ourselves ready to head off in May. We've sourced our supplies, updated charts and looking forward to warmer weather. This years agenda is to see Newfoundland and then find somewhere warm to spend next winter.

More news to follow when we come out of hibernation!!!

Bob Groves

Building Easy Go

2009-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Jay Benford designed Easy Go is a Junk Rigged Dory Schooner built in 2004-5. Photos of the entire building process can be found at:

Building Easy Go

Kathy and I took just about a year to build our sailboat. She proved very seaworthy and with two Atlantic crossing left little to be desired.

While in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia this past summer, 2009, we made a few improvements with changes to the galley cupboards and nav station storage. Some new paint, changes to the cockpit and long overdue stanchions and lifelines she is even safer and more enjoyable than ever.

We knew during the construction that we would not get everything completed as we wanted to get out sailing again. Always a work in progress Easy Go will never be finished!

Drying Fish at Sea

2009-10-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

On Easy Go we have no motor and no electricity other than a small battery and solar panel to charge a computer. We often find it necessary to dry excess fish at sea while on passage as we have had tremendous success in catching more fish or larger fish than we are able to eat immediately.

Our drying process is simple and very efficient. Fillet the fish leaving the skin on each fillet. The fillets are cut into two inch strips from belly to back and then cross cut against the grain of the meat into 1/4 inch by 2 inch strips still all attached to the skin. When this process is completed rinse well with ocean water to remove any blood that remains and get the fish nice and clean.

The next step involves dissolving 1 cup of coarse pickling salt into each gallon of water required for brining. We find our deck bucket with one gallon of ocean water and the cup of salt dissolved to work very well. Put in all the strips of fish and let soak for a couple of hours.

After soaking is complete the fish will have become noticeably denser and easy to hang from lifelines. We tie the fish on by poking holes in the skin at one end and tying them on with some net twine.

Now wait a couple of days and then run you thumb between the fish flakes that are connected by the skin to ensure that all the flakes are separated and drying equally. After four or five days in normal dry weather and trade wind sailing the fish will be dry for storing. Break all the flakes off the skin and place in an onion bag and hang in a dry place in the galley where they can continue to air.

We have stored fish for three to four months with no spoilage in climates as varied and the Canaries, Caribbean Islands and the shores of Nova Scotia. Dorado and various types of tuna have been preserved successfully in this fashion.

To use the fish in a chowder or pie reconstitute in fresh water overnight, as would be done with beans and use them as you would fresh.

Bob and Kathy Groves
Aboard Easy Go - Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

2009-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Easy Go arrived in Lunenburg on June 6, 2009 after a 37 day passage from Port Antonio Jamaica. This beautiful and historic town is a UNESCO site and is very unique. There are a number of festivals over the summer months. We enjoyed the Folk Harbour Festival which is the longest running folk festival in Nova Scotia.

Easy Go has had her sails resewn by Kathy. Numerous improvements with more storage are also completed making life far more pleasant. The new yuloh (sculling oar) continues making our motorless mode of transportaion possible. Our cruising over the summer has been limited to one month around Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia. This area is very nice cruising ground with numerous island and bays to anchor in along with beautiful scenic and historic towns. The towns of Mahone Bay and Chester were particularly delightful.

There is still some great fall cruising to be done with the fall colours just beginning.

Plans are to winter in Lunenburg and continue along the Atlantic Canada coastline again next cruising season.

We will be adding numerous pictures, both historic and contemporary from our travels. The building of Easy Go will also be added for those interested in building their own Junk Rigged Dory.