TRANSATLANTIC CROSSING
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
We have a new, well equipped ocean yacht. We are very happy
with the performance of our yacht and almost all of the equipment on
board. However once we set off to cross the Atlantic in May 2007 we
quickly found that there were a few things we could have used on board, but had
not thought of. This is a list of what what worked; what did
not, what was indispensible, what we wish we had on board and what we
should have left on the dock in Antigua.
Equipment Hall of Fame
Storm Staysail
We have a removable baby-stay and for
most of the voyage our storm jib was hanked on to it ready to deploy.
Whenever the wind started to get up or we had a forecast of winds exceeding
15kts we would hoist it in addition to the Genoa, knowing that we could roll up
the Genoa from the cockpit and that the storm staysail would withstand whatever
nature wanted to chuck at us. We got in the habit of leaving it up with
the Genoa, regardless of wind conditions. We found it helped us point
closer to the wind, especially with the Genoa partly furled. Set it and
forget it.
Tackle-free running backs
Our staysail rig requires running backs.
The conventional ones incorporate a block and tackle and must be managed
from outside the cockpit at each tack. We replaced these with low stretch
lines that can be left loosely cleated to either side of the cockpit, then
as needed each can be tensioned on a winch. No need to leave the cockpit
with every tack to change backstays and no need to dodge heavy airborne blocks
swinging about at head height.
Raymarine Autopilot & Mamba shaft-drive steering
Worked 24/7 for weeks at a time. The shaft-drive steering is
bulletproof. The autopilot electonics went through a period when it
disengaged several times, fortunately in relatively calm conditions. We
later discovered a loose main electrical cable. Once we fixed it the
problem went away. The Autopilot was an indispensible and a powerful
reliable tool which worked harder than any crewmenber and took hundreds of miles
off our route.
Village Marine VIP Watermaker
A basic simple unit in a self-contained
module that just happens to fit perfectly in the locker below the V-berth on the
H49. You turn it on and it makes water till you turn it off. How
simple is that? No computer or electronics to go wrong, just a pump and a
couple of switches, Brilliant.
ICOM 802 HF radio with Pactor Modem
We cannot believe
that there are boats out here with no HF radio! We get a text message from
one boat every day asking us what the weather is and whether there are any
storms out there, all they can receive is 160 characters of text by SMS -
scary. Our HF radio has pulled in weather GRIB files of up to 20k bytes
and detailed weather reports every day we have been at sea. It keeps us in
touch with family and friends by Winlink email and allows us to communicate with
the fleet of other yachts crossing the Atlantic. It allows us to speak
daily with our weather router and to be aware of other vessels needing
assistance, as well as providing us with the reassurance that if we were in
difficulty we could raise another nearby yacht to our aid.
Indispensable. There are those that say HF is unnecessary with a Sat
Phone. To them I would point out that our sat phone was inoperable
for two months in the Caribbean while we awaited a replacement dome; that
it works for about 5 minutes every hour or so in the
mid-Atlantic (Globalstar does not advertise full Atlantic coverage);
and that HF is a comparatively low tech, therefore reliable piece of kit
with all the electronics inside the boat, while the sat phone is a complex and
inherently unreliable piece of equipment with a dome full of electronics
exposed to the elements. By all means get a sat phone (we have one) but
don't forget the HF radio with Pactor Modem (for email).
Lee Cloths rigged for
saloon couches
When the going
got rough, this is where we all (except Joan) wanted to sleep, in the center of
the boat where there is the least motion, and firmly wedged between saloon
cushions and the lee cloth.
Dodger and Bimini with side
curtains
Ours was constructed by Andy's Canvas in Fort Lauderdale. Unless you enjoy
discomfort this can make all the difference between a dry and cozy
passage or a wet and miserable one. Especially appreciated by
Joan and Alan. Racing sailors may think you are cissies but they secretly
envy you.
Silicone trays for baking
bread and for ice cubes
Non-Stick, oven-proof, don't slide around, can be crumpled or folded
to fit in any space. The smell of warm bread in the morning. Nice
large chunks of ice in our sundowners. Don't leave home without a
few.
Sturgeron 15
Seasickness medication, if you or any
members of your crew are susceptible to mal de mer, this stuff works! Not
available in the USA, we got ours in England. Try Canada or the internet
as well, it's well worth going through the trouble to obtain it.
Services Hall of Fame
Herb Hilgenberg
Indispensable. Don't even think about making
a transatlantic crossing without using his superb weather routing. His
guidance may be a little on the conservative side, but when it comes down to
saving you from a storm, he will do the job!
M.A.Y.S. (Mid Atlantic Yacht Services) Horta and Ponta Delgada,
in The Azores
Whatever you break they can fix and probably more
quickly than anywhere else on the planet. You need a 240v transformer for
Europe? They will wire one up for you, make the cables to your order and
have it delivered to your boat in 3 hours. A rudder fall off? They made
one for a Beneteau 52 on a Friday night. They started at 5:30 in the
evening, welded a new rudder, filled, epoxied it and had it ready to go on
Saturday morning. No doubt they prefer more advance notice, but when the
chips are down they will work with you. Prices....Fair considering the
above.
Wish we had...
A manual fuel pump, some hose
and a jerry can or two
We carried ample fuel for the crossing but others don't and in case of
emergency it would be nice if we had the capability of offloading some fuel
to assist a fellow cruiser in need of a Mid-Atlantic top
up.
A
spare electric fuel pump
To have just in case the
genset pump fails. Our genset relies on the electric pump for its
prime and it has been making worrying noises recently - but so far all is well
with it.
Cash to buy fuel in
Horta
They only take cash at the
fuel dock and we can only withdraw $300 in Euros per day from the ATM so for
those on a tight time line you will need to stock up on cash to have
sufficient to fill your tanks and avoid delaying your departure from
Horta.
Hylas specific:
A lee board for
the third cabin
A board about 4"
higher than the cushion that would fit in the channel inboard of the lower bunk
would have made the lower bunk more habitable on a port tack.
Double jam cleats either side
of the cockpit led to the secondary winches
The secondary winches on our H49 each control two lines;
on the port side we have the jib furler and the staysail sheet; on the starboard
side the mainsail outhaul and the staysail sheet. With the staysail (or
the storm staysail) deployed we have no means to easily transfer a loaded line
to the secondary winches on either side. We have a boom brake that can
take the load of the mainsail outhaul, but using that requires leaving the
cockpit.
A.I.S.
For only around $250 we could have known the
name and details of the several ships that passed us in the Atlantic. When
we approached Portugal we were trying to track over 20 ships. Traffic
is a real concern and knowing the name of the ship makes it much more likely (we
believe) that they will repond when hailed on the VHF.
Should have left
it on the dock
Remarkably very few
items fall into this category.
Yoga books
Did we really
think that we would be able to learn yoga on a storm tossed
sea!
