Southern Cross

[amish rob]

Re: Southern Cross

Hey Rob
Slocums book is excellent. Embarrassed to say I have just read it for the first time as part of my research for the voyage. I am going for a number of reasons paramount of which is to dig deeper into the lives and history of the Yaghan people. Sadly they are gone now but the remnants of where they lived for thousands of years (village and camp sites, etc) are scattered throughout the region and many of these have not been seen by modern man (those in the SW islands) and I hope to stay in these places and document them. Slocum got into serious trouble headed into the "Milky Way" (the SW islands), this is where I want to sail and explore. The voyage may not have much cache to some but to me it may be the most dangerous place to sail any where. The route I am going to take is fraught with challenges and dangers and the first 1/4 of the voyage is by far the most difficult second only to the Wollastons and Cape Horn but it is a neck and neck second.

In PT last month a nice sailing couple (circumnavigators) came to see my boat as I derived after sailing and they told me of a recent mishap in the SW islands, they were not sure but said a very famous sailor was just lost there...............he was in a big boat the antithesis of my strategy.

I have always had a tough time sleeping in hammocks but a great idea.

Howard,
I'm even more excited for you now. I have always been fascinated by all the Americans, but the Yaghans are one of the most unique.
Just imagine being down there and seeing some half naked cats in canoes... Or being in such a "deserted" place, and finding yourself surrounded by fires...

I will certainly not argue that you are sailing into one of, if not THE gnarliest place on earth. However, I know you are an adventurer, a modern day explorer type, and not a stunt man.

I hope you have a fantastic summer.

Peace,
Robert

[Timo8188]

Re: Southern Cross

Hi Howard, sounds that the narrative point of view will change from the first-person to the third-person soon. All the best for your voyage! I hope Southern Cross takes good care of you and brings you back safely.

I think John Welsford and another person may be keeping folks up to date with photo and report posts from Chile before I set sail.

[Howard Rice]

Re: Southern Cross

Thanks Ian
I chose small because I can man handle her onto land (with some work) and I can work hard to sail her flat with my weight as moveable ballast. Southern across also draws inches (board up) and will go to weather quite nicely on her skegs. Good for poking the shallows when seeing protection, beaching, etc

[Max F]

Re: Southern Cross

Thumps up Howard! Southern Cross looks awesome man!
I hope all the gods will keep an eye on you and send you manageable weather and helping currents.
Good luck on you.
Best wishes and save travels
Max

[Howard Rice]

Re: Southern Cross

Hi Max.
Thank you. I plan to be as careful and conservative as I can be. If I am able I am going to have the chance to explore one of those last untrodden places on the planet, much of which has likely never seen the foot of man. We'll see!
Thanks again.

Thumps up Howard! Southern Cross looks awesome man!
I hope all the gods will keep an eye on you and send you manageable weather and helping currents.
Good luck on you.
Best wishes and save travels
Max

[Howard Rice]

Re: Southern Cross

A quick note from the Strait of Magellan
I am here and awaiting my boat, which was due in yesterday but has been delayed in shipping. Today I should hear from the shipping agent as to exactly when it will arrive.

Plenty to do though, seeking provisions, meeting with the Armada, customs, purchased charts and am about to waterproof them, a long list of "to do's" done. I arrived in Chile on Dec 3rd and was shortly joined by John Welsford and his wife Denny, Phil McGowin and Dave Nichols. This is the film crew documenting my voyage. It has been consistently very windy here and brisk, southern spring time is in the air.

I will keep updating here as I have time. Lots of logistical challenges once the boat arrives, glad my pal John is on board to help out.

[skaraborgcraft]

Re: Southern Cross

Thanks for the update. No need to tell you how important those small details can be, so good you have time to sort them.

[Howard Rice]

Re: Southern Cross

The devil is in the details for sure. My little back burner project (a voyage in a small boat) has been running smoothly albeit slowly given my life, wife, cutting the lawn, work, etc etc all has had to take priority. Well I say smoothly until the day before I had to have the crated boat meet the shipment truck. I thought I had done a pretty good job with 12 hours to go before the truck hook up the wheels fell off!

I ran into a major heart breaking snag of my doing and had to instantly get over it and get on with it, a great warm up for all the ad lib work that will come my way. The issue had serious knock on impacts and I am experiencing them now that I am here in Chile. This is the nature of voyaging, things happen, suck it up and move on instantly. Nothing insurmountable but close.

A quick note from the Strait of Magellan
I am here and awaiting my boat, which was due in yesterday but has been delayed in shipping. Today I should hear from the shipping agent as to exactly when it will arrive.

Plenty to do though, seeking provisions, meeting with the Armada, customs, purchased charts and am about to waterproof them, a long list of "to do's" done. I arrived in Chile on Dec 3rd and was shortly joined by John Welsford and his wife Denny, Phil McGowin and Dave Nichols. This is the film crew documenting my voyage. It has been consistently very windy here and brisk, southern spring time is in the air.

I will keep updating here as I have time. Lots of logistical challenges once the boat arrives, glad my pal John is on board to help out.

[kenjamin]

Re: Southern Cross

Hang in there, Howard. Stay flexible and don't lose your sense of humor. That's what gets me through the rough times. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. We're pulling for ya!

[signalcharlie]

Re: Southern Cross

Hi Howard

Thank you for sharing info on your trip and the boat. Do you have any photos of how the rudder is rigged to extend and retract? We are working a similar setup on our Penobscot 14.

Have a great trip!

Kent

[gilberj]

Re: Southern Cross

Hi Howard,
go with care. Wish I could be there to.
John

[Daniel Noyes]

Re: Southern Cross

The devil is in the details for sure. My little back burner project (a voyage in a small boat) has been running smoothly albeit slowly given my life, wife, cutting the lawn, work, etc etc all has had to take priority. Well I say smoothly until the day before I had to have the crated boat meet the shipment truck. I thought I had done a pretty good job with 12 hours to go before the truck hook up the wheels fell off!

I ran into a major heart breaking snag of my doing and had to instantly get over it and get on with it, a great warm up for all the ad lib work that will come my way. The issue had serious knock on impacts and I am experiencing them now that I am here in Chile. This is the nature of voyaging, things happen, suck it up and move on instantly. Nothing insurmountable but close.

a major heart breaking snag ?


hope things work out for you guys, hope you can have fun and enjoy the ride even if there's a few bumps along the way.

[Howard Rice]

Re: Southern Cross

When small boat voyaging bumps along the way = to be expected.

Some bumps are easy in that they happen as isolated incidents, others have knock on impacts. The day before my link up with the first delivery truck (Michigan to Miami) I hit a snag and as a result I had to mad scramble to get the boat loaded meaning other things in the programmed run up to arrival here on the Strait of Magellan couldn't happen. My fault, classic pilot error, so it goes.

I have spent days here solving the "knock ons" with moderate success meaning I will sail with some trouble. However a new twist (to be expected) has occurred, my boat is late now going on a week and I can't get to solving the Michigan mishap until it does. Makes me nervous given where I am about to sail.

The boat was due in on the 15th and now I am not sure when it will arrive. If it had come in on schedule I could have gotten after a replacement mizzen mast build with the materials I sourced and tossed in the crate before screwing it shut in Michigan. Yet here I sit waiting, today a day off as I have done what I can as far as provisioning, etc.

The day before she shipped I was in full load mode, a squall came up blowing piles of fall leaves and some of my gear around the shop yard. I moved my truck to get a dry bag that had blown under it and drove over my mizzen mast which had been covered by leaves in the blow. What a stun moment! This caused me to stop and source sitka and more epoxy (6 hours gone in a day that was running so smoothly). The knock on is this, I could not go to pick up the unbuilt utility trailer going in the crate for easy land transport here nor 40 or so percent of my dry food (grains already purchased) and a dry bag of essential gear. No time.

I managed to find the one sitka board within a 200 mile radius of my location and additional epoxy so I would not have to use my on board repair stock. I made the truck the next day with 30 minutes to spare knowing they would leave if I was delayed, or so I was told. In the end my all nighter wasn't that critical because the trucker and his wife were the nicest folks and said they would have waited as they were excited to meet me and my little "on a shoestring budget" dream.
Oh well, I'm still a happy guy having accomplished this much.

There is little room for error down here as it is plain ice cold and windy as can be every day just like I remembered from my last voyage south of the Beagle Channel. Don't like the weather, no worries it will change in minutes and does.

The last photo is of my sailing canoe Sylph being packaged for shipment to Micronesia...................I long for even smaller and simpler!


Below is a photo of the boat in the crate. Fractured mizzen mast is in the crate, lower left corner of photo. If it had to be a broken spar the mizzen was the one, simple to build..............so I am building a birds mouth spar in Patagonia, another new and exciting experience all part of the big picture.
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I'll miss that mizzen mast, I built a beauty, strong and light. Now I'll build another.
[IMG][/IMG]

[RFNK]

Re: Southern Cross

Bummer! We've all done things like that! But not what you're about to do .... A minor hiccup - go well!

Rick

[PeterSibley]

Re: Southern Cross

We hope it's just a hiccup and the knock ons can be solved . Good Luck!