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I’m pleased to report that I have no first-hand experience with hurricane-force winds in my cruising experiences on Moonshadow. While I’ve ridden out two hurricanes, one on a 40,000 ton ship and the other in a hotel room, that was enough to convince me that I wanted to be as far away from this type of weather as possible.

That said, I am a firm believer that with hurricanes, avoidance is the key. It is our practice, and our insurer’s requirement, that we leave the tropics during the summer hurricane season. This is still, however, no guarantee that one won’t encounter the odd out-of-season tropical cyclone, or that a hurricane won’t wander north or south out of the tropics into our summer cruising grounds in the sub-tropics.

This is exactly what happened in 1997 in Mexico. Hurricane Nora formed in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico and headed out to sea in a northwesterly direction. It then made a big U-turn and came back to Mexico, making landfall near the middle of the Baja Peninsula, then turned north in the Sea of Cortez and moved right up into the state of Arizona.

Between the Satcom C weather information, the Chubasco Net and other cruiser’s nets, we kept up to date on Nora’s location, wind velocities and projected track. Since we were cruising in the lower part of the Sea of Cortez, we made a beeline to the nearest hurricane hole which was Puerto Escondido, near the town on Loreto on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula. Puerto Escondido is a natural hurricane hole, almost completely surrounded by land, and flanked to the west by a large mountain range. At one point, Nora was forecast to come right over us, but we reckoned that the mountains would serve to block some of her full force. As it turned out, she passed well north of us and all we saw were heavy rains and a few hours of winds in the 30-35 knot range.

If we were caught out with a hurricane bearing down on us, we would look for some sort of landform that would give us protection from wind and waves. A place where a small body of water is almost completely surrounded by land, preferably high ground, with a bottom composition that provides for good anchor holding is the ideal situation. Puerto Escondido in Baja is a bit deeper than I like (average about 40-60 feet) but pretty good. Vuda Point Marina and Musket Cove in Fiji both look to me to be excellent. The bay behind Oyster Island off the coast of Espiritu Santo looks pretty good and has been used by those cruising in northern Vanuatu. In the absence of a hurricane hole, I would look for a mangrove swamp, run the boat up a narrow creek, anchor and tie up to the mangroves. You may end up with some scratches in the topsides, but you should stay put and be protected from large seas and a lot of flying debris.

Our ground tackle consists of our regular anchor, which is a 110 pound Bruce with 300 feet of 10mm chain, a folding fisherman anchor, two very large aluminum Danforth style anchors, and three 250 foot, one inch diameter nylon warps. How we would deploy all this would depend on the protection available, the bottom composition, swing room, availability of moorings, pilings, trees, etc. My preference would be to hang on one rode with at least two anchors attached for best holding. For emergency chafe gear, I carry a couple of yards of old fireman’s hose. This can be easily cut and put over lines at potential chafe points. We have also used old rags or towels held in place by duct tape to protect our lines.

I suggest that in the comfort of your home or marina, that you create a hurricane procedure checklist. When it all turns to custard out there, and you might not be thinking clearly, it is nice to have a step-by-step list of things to do to prepare yourself and your yacht for the worst. I keep min (copy attached) in my “emergency procedures” binder at the nav station.

I think that all of us who live aboard and cruise strive to keep our living quarters and belongings dry. But no matter how hard we endeavour to seal out the elements, the odd drop or two seems to make its way inside every now and then.

While mast boots and chain plate deck penetrations can be a couple of the worst culprits, I am pleased to report that, so far, they haven’t been much of a problem on Moonshadow.

I can’t take any credit for my chain plate’s water tightness. They were sealed well at the factory with Sikkaflex or a similar product which, after 16 years is still performing well. It this case, my thinking is “if it ain’t leaking, don’t fix it.”

Chainplates and deck plates sealed with Sikka

That said, when we repainted Moonshadow in ’99, we resealed the surrounding deck plates with Sikka. These keep the bulk of the deck wash and UV rays away from the seal system underneath that is doing most of the work.

For the mast boot, we have a three-part system.

First, supporting the mast inside the collar is a product called “Spartite.” After the new mast (1999) was stepped and the rig adjusted, the riggers set the precise fore & aft and athwartships positions of the mast at deck level with some additional lines. A putty “dam” was formed around the mast in the bottom of the mast collar and the two-part Spartite mixture was poured into the top of the mast collar around the mast.

Spartite between the mast and the collar

When the Spartite sets, in about 24 hours, it provides a permanent support for the rig at the mast collar, as well as providing a more or less watertight seal around the mast.

In addition, we also have the typical rubber boot fastened around the base of the mast and over the top of the collar with large diameter hose clamps. In our case, have used a purpose built boot that is fitted to the mast and the collar. Note that the top of the boot is turned inside out to cover the hose clamp. The only snafu about this type of boot is that it must be slipped over the bottom of the mast before it is stepped in the yacht.

Mast boot

Lastly, to protect the mast boot from the pressure of deck wash and UV rays, I have also installed an acrylic canvas boot, which also serves to make the whole system look tidy.

An acrylic canvas cover to protect the mast boot from spray and UV

While I have had no evidence of leaking at the mast collar, sometimes when we are power reaching, we get a bit of a creaking noise at the mast collar as the boat flexes in a seaway. All in all, I would trade this for leaking any day.

The only sport I enjoy more than SCUBA diving is sailing, and fortunately cruising and diving go hand in hand. One nice aspect of cruising is being able to get to some of those remote dive sites not accessible to the shore-based or even live-aboard dive operations. From what I’ve seen out there, with a bit of thought, most any cruising yacht can be set up to make diving fairly easy and enjoyable. A dive compressor is one piece of equipment that I wouldn’t leave home without!

I have a 110 volt powered portable Bauer compressor aboard Moonshadow. I purchased it as a second-hand reconditioned unit from an outfit called Brownie’s Third Lung in Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1994. My unit has been retrofitted with an automatic discharge system for condensate and automatic shutoff when the tank has been filled to the desired pressure. The cost was about US $2600.

As for the logistics, the compressor is securely attached to a shelf in the lazarette in a spot that allows for adequate ventilation. It has been hard wired into the main electrical panel. An 80 cubic foot tank takes about 28 minutes to fill to 3000 p.s.i. Tanks are filled during the genset run. For better ventilation, the lazarette hatch is left open when tanks are being filled and there is an extension to the intake hose that picks up air from near the hatch opening. Additionally I have a 15-foot fill hose extension for filling tanks on deck or in the dinghy tied to the stern. As an aside, for cleaning the bottom or clearing a fouled prop, I have a “hooka” set-up, which is a regulator with a 50-foot hose for getting into the water without having to put on SCUBA gear. By placing the tank on the gunwale amidships, I can easily reach the entire bottom of the boat for a wipe down or any other work below the surface. In the event of a fouled prop or other underwater emergency, I can be in the water in less than a minute.

The compressor has been very dependable and trouble free. Maintenance is simple and consists of changing the filters every 25 hours, the crankcase oil annually, the drive belt as necessary, checking oil level regularly and running the unit at least once a month to keep all the parts and seals lubricated.

It is important to have tanks stowed securely before you get underway. I designed a very simple system for holding the tanks in place in the lazarette. The system consists of a marine grade plywood shelf attached to the hull next to the bulkhead. This was routed out to accept four 3” tall sections of PVC pipe that are slightly larger in diameter than the base of the tanks. The PVC sections were glued in place. The 4 tanks stand in the PVC receptacles and are strapped up top to secure them to the bulkhead with very heavy nylon webbing/Velcro straps. They can easily be filled in place.

Since we are often diving in remote locations that may be far from any medical assistance, we have taken a few extra precautions. First of all, I have taken the PADI “Rescue Diver” course. Second, I always carry a pocket mask to facilitate easier rescue breathing. We carry oxygen in the event that we do have a dive emergency. Lastly, we usually limit ourselves to one dive a day, use a dive computer, and don’t dive beyond one hundred feet.

How Do We Get Weather Information?

Where to get weather information is a subject that could (and usually does) fill a small booklet or cruising guide in virtually every cruising area of the world. I suppose the amount of information available to you is dependent on how much equipment you are willing to purchase and use, and how much time you are willing to put into gathering and interpreting the data.

I have only cruised in a few areas of the world, so I offer this limited and probably over-simplified guide to gathering weather information based upon the equipment aboard Moonshadow and my limited experience

Observation

Professional weather forecasts are nice to have, but in the best case are about 60% correct. Last season in Fiji we got whacked by a small depression that never even showed up on the Australian or New Zealand fax charts, let alone the local (Nadi) forecasts. We had half a day of gale force winds and torrential rains. That said, there is no substitute for going up on deck and having a look around. The old joke is that if the deck is wet, it’s raining. If the deck is white, it’s snowing. If you need your sunglasses to see the deck, it’s sunny. If you can’t see the deck, it’s foggy. If the boat is standing up, it’s calm. If the boat is leaning, it’s windy. The point is that there is no substitute for you senses when assessing the weather situation.

The Barometer

Barometers are inexpensive and small these days. They are even built into some wristwatches. There is no reason not to have one aboard. We log the bar every hour on passage and watch the trend. If it’s rising, you are moving into, or a high is moving onto you, and you should have generally fair weather. If it is falling, especially if it is falling fast, then batten down, as you will likely get some heavy weather. Depending on where in the world you are located, you can take evasive action and move toward the navigable semicircle of a strong weather system. If you have a weather fax, you can see from the bar your likely juxtaposition in a weather system.

VHF Radio

At least one working VHF radio is essential equipment on a yacht. Most first-world countries provide at least coastal weather forecasts on some sort of regular schedule over the VHF airwaves. In the third world, you can use your VHF to gather weather information from other (perhaps better equipped) yachts, passing ships, and, in areas where there are lots of yachties, the local cruiser’s nets. If you are not sure of the schedules, check the local cruising guides, ask the local maritime services or ask anyone who has been around for a while.

AM/FM Radio

In addition to local music, news and sports, the local radio stations often will have some sort of weather information, particularly in island nations such as Fiji. Since many yachts have 12-volt house electrical systems, we tend to use car stereo equipment that can receive AM/FM bands as well as play cassettes or CD’s. Be aware that in some countries, such as New Zealand, the radio bands are slightly different than the US, so you may have to buy a small piece of equipment called a “band expander” to be able to use your gear down here. Any local car stereo company can sort you out.

World Band Radio

If you don’t have the space or money to equip yourself with a SSB and/or Ham radio, for about US $100 you can get a small portable world band radio. With it you can tune into (but receive only) any local weather forecasts and cruisers nets. In this part of the world also enjoy listening to AM/FM radio and broadcasts from the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Australia and Radio New Zealand, which have great world news and commentary and in some cases, weather forecasts for the islands. Radio Shack and some other stores sell a book with the worldwide schedule of short wave radio broadcasts.

SSB

Undoubtedly the most valuable communication tool to the average cruiser is their single sideband radio. With it we can tune into local weather broadcasts, passage tracking and weather services such as Russell Radio (New Zealand) and Pentacomstat (Australia), and cruisers nets, as well as access email weather reports (with services like SailMail) and weather facsimile (when interfaced with a personal computer). In the South Pacific, Bob McDavitt’s book on South Pacific weather has a very complete list of sources and radio frequencies for weather information. In other areas, one can consult a local cruising guide or ask other cruisers for the frequencies and schedules.

Weather Facsimile (Fax)

If you have the space and money for a dedicated weather fax receiver, it is a very valuable source of information. The main advantage of a dedicated fax is that it can be programmed to receive the products we want, and then it just spits them out without the need to turn on the computer and tune up the SSB. During the cruising season, I keep the fax on full time and receive the local analyses as well as 24, 48 and 72-hour prognoses. Frequencies and fax schedules for the various stations worldwide are available in a book that is available at most nautical bookstores.

Sky Eye

For less than US $1000 you can purchase a piece of equipment and software that, when interfaced with a PC, will send you real time photos of the sky in your area from polar earth orbit satellites as they pass overhead. I like to compare these to weather faxes to determine the extent of convergence zones and fronts and to more accurately locate the positions of weather systems that may affect us. There are a few brands available, but I have one that is made in New Zealand by Xaxero called the “Sky Eye.”

The Web

There is a plethora of weather information available on the World Wide Web. To access it, one must have a PC and some way to get on line, either via some sort of on-board satellite communication system or on land at an Internet café or via a hard telephone line. I use both. The Iridium portable satellite phone is now available for well under US$1000. For weather information I like to use the grib files available with the MaxSea nav program and forecasts and maps available on the New Zealand MetService web site.

How Critical is Weather Information?

In most cases, planning a passage around good weather information will make the difference between a comfortable passage and an ordeal, a swift passage and a slow, wet slog, an uneventful passage and a misadventure fraught with gear failures, sea sickness, injuries and fear. In extreme cases it can mean the difference between life and death.