SAIL CARE chapter 2
Each sail has been designed to withstand wind stress, stress induced upon mast and equipment, sea waves and – above all –a specific wind range. Knowing the wind range is essential for sail proper use and stowage.
Summer cruises: Gallinara island
Seen from the sea, Liguria offers spectacular views. However, from a sailor’s point of view, things are not that simple. From La Spezia to Ventimiglia almost no natural shelters are available to protect from southerly winds or coves deep enough for a boat to safely moor for the night (except for Sestri Levante roadstead, which is always overcrowded in summer). The only island in this sea area is Gallinara, just over a green cliff on Riviera di Ponente, off the coast of Albenga.
Marine toilets: joys (and sorrows)
ands up if you have never spent some minutes (in the best of cases) or a couple of hours (in the worst of cases) of your holiday time kneeling by the WC or, even worse, with your head in the toilet bowl or by the seacocks. On-board toilets or better, marine toilets, bring joy and sorrow to all yachtspeople. Joy, as there is nothing better than having a toilet within a few metres when you need one urgently. Sorrow, as when something goes wrong – which happens quite frequently – the necessary repair work is long-lasting, complicated and as unpleasant as you can imagine.
The life jacket
Life jackets are safety devices per excellence and a must for boaters. Yet they are too often left stored and unused, and not only by amateur yachtspeople.
Welcome a warm winter at sea
Let us therefore look at what are the best heating options for dinette and cabins and the most popular heating systems for a comfortable boat even in winter unless you prefer shivering or risk a bronchitis cuddled up in your sleeping bag!
The sea under the Christmas tree
Christmas is almost here and if there are yachting and sailing enthusiasts among your relatives and friends, or just someone with a passion for the sea, well, let me say that the chances of you getting the perfect Christmas gift are really high. In the…
Sailors’ things: 9 reasons to want to be a sailor
You are a cool guy, there is no doubt, and you are successful in every field of life: you have an amazing job, a nice house, an enviable car and an even more enviable girlfriend. You have travelled a lot, you have made great experiences…
Clothes do not (always) make the sailor
Boating clothes are not a matter of style, nor of brands (not always, at least), nor trends. Dressing to face sea, sun and wind (and on-board manoeuvres) is a matter of safety that some people do not know and many forget. First, wearing the right…
Change of course: sailing as a metaphor of life
A common mistake when thinking about sailing is to believe the boat to be a confined space we have to embark on, one in contact with the others. Hence all the fears linked to coexistence and all the urban legends (actually, marine) on the furious…
Joys and sorrows of sailing
Sailing is a combination of joys and sorrows: for both aspects there is plenty of choice! We all have plenty of pictures piled in a drawer or stored in our computer as mementos of some magic sailing moments, but, certainly the same cannot be said…
I cross over: how to prepare an atlantic crossing
Crossing the Atlantic is a dream, but even preparing to live the dream can be daunting. For anyone embarking in a “deep water” adventure, months and weeks before the departure might be stressful. There is an endless list of work, while combining job and family…
Into the blue with a green thumb: growing a garden on boat
With a limited space and obvious pitfalls due to salt, wind and movement, many of us would give up right away the idea of growing your own vegetables on boat. It could be possible: I have had a chat with some hardened navigators who are…
