Big Pimpin’

Ronstan’s new Orbit Winch makes easing sheets and halyards a lot easier

Winches for operating sails have been around for roughly 50 to 60 years, and they still look more or less the same. Even technically, winches operate basically the same way they did when Grandpa was in his prime. So what’s the big deal, when Ronstan now launches their new Orbit Winch?

‘Well, a lot of things’, says Thomas Galster, content manager at Ronstan. ‘More than anything, for most of our customers it’s the QuickTrim feature. Every sailor knows the endless procedure of making minor trim changes. Especially with jib sheets, but it could be a halyard or basically any trim line. When the line needs to be tightened, it’s easy enough – just take a turn or two on the winch handle.

But easing is a bit more time-consuming: You need to remove the handle, take the line off the top, ease the line and then put everything back. In most styles of sailing this has to be done with short intervals. So making that part easier would make a real difference. And this is exactly what we have done with the new Orbit Winch: All you have to do is use one hand to rotate the self-tailing top, and now you can just ease the line out as needed with your other hand. You don’t have to take the handle off or even remove the line from the jaws.’

More here.

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Far be it from us to insinuate any sort of wrongdoing here, but isn’t it always suspicious when a big powerboat goes up in flames in Floriduh? The boat name is enough to call for an investigation!

A 28-metre Cheoy Lee superyacht named Self Made was destroyed in a fire at Yacht Haven Marina in Fort Lauderdale last night (12 October).

The incident was reported at 10.30pm and fire crews were met with “heavy fire”, according to a statement by the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue service. More here.

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It had been five years and nearly 35,000 nautical miles of hard sailing—including three years in Antarctica and Chile—when we finally turned north for the Caribbean. We were ready for a change and the chance to swim in warm, crystal clear, blue waters again, and it was time to get Zephyros, our 47-foot Boréal, in for a tune-up at a proper yard.

Trinidad’s reputation for boat work made it an obvious choice, so we reserved a spot in the Peake Yacht Services yard for the 2022 hurricane season (July-November), fully expecting our visit to be mostly work and little play—which is also part of Trinidad’s reputation. But what we found was much more, and our experience there was only enhanced by the three weeks we spent meandering Trinidad’s largely unsung neighbor, Tobago, after our work at the yard was finished.

We left for Chaguaramas, Trinidad, from Mount Hartman Bay, one of Grenada’s popular southern bays, on August 31. We’d stopped in Grenada to get our paperwork in order and the permits for our cats to clear customs with us, which took an unexpected six weeks. The Peake yard worked with our changing and sliding arrival dates, remaining accommodating throughout the process.

Some people are nervous about this 95-nautical-mile passage because there have been pirate incidents along the route in the past. The Trinidad Coast Guard requests that boats file a float plan before transiting, and they monitor VHF 16 with a high-powered antenna and repeaters. We know of a couple of incidents when the Coast Guard has come as far as the offshore oil platforms—30 nautical miles off Trinidad’s northern coast—to tow and assist boaters having problems like malfunctioning engines or flooding. They understand that cruisers have concerns and are taking maritime safety and security seriously…

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From the forums…

Rockland (Maine, USA) – Windjammer Grace Bailey had a catastrophic rig failure this morning, with 3 badly injured and one dead. It was perfect Fall sailing weather, about 15 kts SW, little sea, and bright sun (if a bit chilly). The Bailey is one of the originals of the Maine windjammer fleet, built originally in 1882 for coastal cargo, and converted to passengers in the ‘40s.

She’d been in Camden ever since, moving to Rockland after being sold this past winter. The accident happened just outside the Rockland breakwater and were within an hour or so of the end of the cruise. Super, super sad.

I head of this by text from someone peripherally involved just after it happened, then overheard details minutes later from my Coast Guard next-door neighbor as he was on the phone and headed to the base in Rockland. Thought of putting this in the Buy a Drink thread but thought it could deserve its own.

Photo from someone nearby. Discuss here.

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To the Editor,
Sailing Anarchy,
San Diego CA

Dear Sir,

It falls to me, as World Sailing Executive Vice-President for Gender Equity and Sexual Diversity, to respond to your offensive commentary on the Gender Design Survey initiative recently announced by the World Sailing Trust.

This may be a matter for derision among the male heterosexual sailing community but for those of us who make a handsome living inventing meaningless issues and then attending all-expenses-paid conferences around the world to promote them, these are issues of considerable significance.

Let me provide one example: the term “Man Overboard”. This is plainly insulting to any sailor who does not identify as “male”.

The obvious replacement – “Person Overboard” – appears adequate until we consider its acronym, “PoB”. This could be confused with “Persons on Board”, which is required in the Owner’s Declaration before any offshore event.

The World Sailing Trust now proposes a new term: “Lesbian/Gay/Bi-sexual/Transgender/Intersex/Queer/Asexual Person Overboard”. This might take a little longer to say than the previous hail, however, as the person drowns they will have the comfort of knowing they were not demeaned by any slight on their current sexual identity or preferences…

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An inferno engulfed Falmouth Harbour, Antigua as Tropical Storm Phillipe travelled across the islands in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday 2nd). Whilst some reports claim it was instigated by lightning, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. No deaths or injuries have been reported at this moment in time. Government authorities are also reporting widespread flooding on both islands.

“First and foremost, the most important thing is that everyone is safe. No one has been hurt or injured,” Devin Joseph, Yachting and Sailing Business Development Manager, Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority tells SuperyachtNews. “The commercial building, however, has been fully destroyed, which housed the Dock Master’s Office, Cloggy’s restaurant, Turtle Surf Shop, Skulduggery bar and café,  Ari fish shop, Dockside supermarket, Marina Gym, and Seabreeze bar and café.” More here.

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Don’t know the story, just know it is the fear of  “are we clear?” come to life…

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