Archive for the 'Pick Something Here' Category
June 20, 2019
Adventures always come with big decisions and preparation. The better prepared you are the better set you are to deal with any troubles along the way and also to simply enjoy the trip. Just like a family road trip you consider what you want with you in the car to make the experience more enjoyable. Cold drinks, books, games, the route and a pillow may be all the things you want to consider. But will it all fit? Can you stretch out your legs with all that stuff? Will there be enough bathroom breaks along the way? And then there is the infamous “take the car in for service before you go”. The mechanic does an oil change, rotates the tires and then sais…..”did you know your exhaust has a hole in it” and you start to weigh the need to replace the exhaust or not.
Eleanor is our fantastic Valiant 42 that we are taking across the ocean. Her owner is meticulous at making sure things are done correctly, which of course includes the proverbial “take her in for service”. As such, the yard has been hard at work installing new antennas, fixing switches and countless other “little things” on the list, however the big decisions are always of great discussion. This little road trip is more than just a family vacation in the car. Taking a sailboat across the ocean and onward to other adventures after that requires establishing a significant level of sustainability onboard. Until the invention of the perpetual machine, we need to generate power to keep our batteries up. This has invoked the age old argument of swapping the battery banks out for new. In this case the batteries were due to be replaced, but should the traditional lead acid batteries/AGM be put back in or should the boat go with lithium batteries. I think I just heard Tesla’s ears perk up. There is always a risk with adding something new onboard without sufficient sea trials and in this case the new is a massive part of our sustainability. On the one hand, the new battery system will mean significantly less charging to be done and less consuming of diesel. The new lithium batteries can run lower and not suffer damage. They are also more stable in a crisis when lead acid can become a toxic gas when mixed with salt water. On the flip side, a new battery installation means new variables not yet tested and a time line that no longer meets our casting off criteria. The yard is working 12 hours a day to install the system. It’s not as simple as a couple of 2 gauge black and red wires cranked onto posts. The entire system starting at the shore power, wind generator, solar panel and engine needs to be converted as the power supply comes through to the charger and into the batteries.
Ultimately this has all lead back to that discussion of “planning the road trip”. Our plan manages a bunch of variables : food to keep us warm and properly caloried,
icebergs through the Labrador Current, Oil Rigs off of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the long stretch up to 54° north to Scotland and then the infamous currents in the Great Race coming in to our final port in Kilmelford Scotland. How do you pick and plan your road trips and keep your calorie count up? What are the variables you take into account and where do you make compromises you are happy to live with and others that you just say no to? We cast off Monday early morning! woohoo! Bring on the adventure!!!
Diane
May 31, 2019
What’s your next adventure? Planning adventures is always a journey on its own. My next trip is Maine to Scotland. Helly Hansen toques, t-shirts and fuzzy fleeces for all that mother nature has to offer us! Then there is food planning, route planning and oh yeah… a little sea survival and safety equipment to pack on the boat. Our route takes us right through the iceberg pack. Fortunately it is a bit smaller and closer to Newfoundland than it was a month ago! Radar will be on and eyeballs will be peeled!
May 3, 2019
My next adventure is a nice northerly route from Maine to Scotland. Planning is key to being prepared for any adventure. This particular one will take us from Maine up past Nova Scotia and Newfoundland through the icebergs of the cold Labradore Current and onwards for 2,900 Miles to Scotland. We’ve picked the best time of the year to go, end of June. However….don’t kid yourself….sea temperature will be 10° or less and the air temperature not much more than that. The trip is on a Valiant 42. A sturdy well built cutter rigged cruiser well kitted out for the trip. Next week myself and my crew will do a sea trial and make sure all boxes are ticked! What’s your next adventure? Are you prepared? Food, clothing, routing…. all part of the fun game of having adventures.
March 7, 2019
Up next we have a fantastic bunch of Instructor candidates keen to become OPSC Instructors. Next week I will join the instructor team in Montreal to facilitate the Instructor Development Program for the Offshore Personal Survival Course here in Canada. I’m particularly looking forward to facilitating some of this in French. Its not often I get to teach in French 🙂 Awesome way to ssssttttrreeetttccchhhh my skills!
Diane
Feb 25, 2019
Back in January if you were chatting with me at the Toronto Boat Show, I told you how much I was looking forward to a month of teaching in the British Virgin Islands. The lineup was to be an Intermediate/ICC course first and then three Basic Cruising courses to follow. All of this in the beautiful BVIs on a Beneteau 41 called Jinty Binty.
Well the BVIs and my students from Advantage Boating really lived up to my expectations! We had four weeks of tacking, gybing, crew overboard drills, tests, turtles, snorkeling at the Indians, wandering through the Baths and fantastic dinners with wonderful people. The BVIs may have been devastated by hurricane Irma and Maria, but they are really starting to thrive again!
Not only did the teaching live up to my hopes and dreams, but the winds were outstanding! The BVIs are famous for consistent Easterly tradewinds of 15-20 knots at this time of the year. The first week was perfect, just as the brochure promised. The second week was a little light in the winds but we did all the training and still got to our anchorages on time each night to have some fun. The last two weeks however really packed a punch! The average winds were 20 knots. For most, this is the limit for a Basic Cruising course. We managed with a reefed main just fine. Then the last week was full of 20-25 knots and gushy punches of rain really living up to the tradewind daytime squalls. All managed with 2 reefs in the main and a partially furled jib.
Thanks to all my wonderful students for such a great experience and thanks to Advantage Boating in Ottawa for giving me the opportunity!
Diane
November 26, 2018
November 6, 2018
Watch out sailing world, here we come! This past weekend, three of us in Ontario participated in an Instructor Evaluator training weekend. Two of us are looking to become evaluators of instructors and one is moving up to a Senior Instructor Evaluator. The rest of the motley crew in the picture were the facilitators. I am very much looking forward to this new role of nurturing in new sailing Instructors and guiding them to a level of professionalism that we are all aspiring to. I will still be out there teaching all the usual lessons and sailing the high seas on crazy adventures…..this is just one more facet of my professional sailor life.
Diane
October 24, 2018
Here it comes! The Toronto International Boat Show and International Women’s Day. Proud to have been asked to speak at the event. Check out the schedule, pick your activities you would like to learn more about and maybe I will see you in my safety seminars!
Diane in Gijón, Spain
January 13, 2018
Here’s your chance to check out some crazy kit you might have with you sailing.
Play the Ditch Bag Game and climb into a liferaft to see what it feels like at the Ontario Sailing Booth in Sailfest.
Diane
January 13, 2018
Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club was in fine form Thursday night, learning how to inflate,repack and use all of the fancy things inside their inflatable lifejackets. Part of my traveling road show promoting education and safety with the Offshore Personal Survival Course. Up next Toronto International Boat Show. There are various show times throughout the week both at the boathouse and on the stage. Bring your lifejacket and see you there!
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