Cruising World – May 2018

On Watch

may 2018

cruisingworld.com

26

I

am prepping for our fourth circum-

navigation differently from my fi rst,

not because I’ve changed my cruising

philosophy but because technology con-

tinues to evolve. For example, I used to

carry a spare set of injectors, gaskets (in-

cluding a head gasket), an alternator and a

starter motor for our diesel engine. Now,

with the advent of worldwide airfreight,

I merely ship them in as needed. This not

only saves weight and upfront expenses,

but it’s economical and practical because

it eliminates the chance of my spares

being water-damaged prior to use.

These days, I only carry such

consumables as fan belts, fi lters and lu-

bricants. Filters, by the way, are a special

problem because some of them have met-

al housings that need to be kept rust free.

I store them in an airtight Pelican case

with a 110-volt rechargeable closet dehu-

midifi er. (I also stow my 12 external hard

drives in such cases, and ditto my exten-

sive camera gear.)

I attempt not to think in terms of new

or traditional technology, and instead, on-

ly consider what actually works offshore

on a moonless night in 30-plus knots of

breeze. Thus, the boat that I grew up

aboard in the 1950s and my fi rst boat

in the ’60s had kerosene running lights

because they were the best, most de-

pendable way for a small yacht to stay lit

up prior to the advent of solar cells. On

our ketch Carlotta, during the ’70s and

’80s, we had Perko hybrid running lights

(with thick glass Fresnel lenses) that fea-

tured both electric bulbs and kerosene

lamps. In the 1990s, on Wild Card, I used

incandescent bulbs powered by the in-

creasingly dependable solar cells. Now I

use extremely reliable LED running lights

that are sealed in epoxy and burn almost

nothing. Hooray!

Our fi rst two circumnavigations were

without refrigeration. We went to great

lengths to preserve food. Meat, mostly.

However, our third circ, aboard our new-

to-us (40-year-old) Wauquiez Amphitrite

43 ketch, Ganesh, included 12-volt solar-

powered refrigeration. Nonetheless, Car-

olyn continues to use our pressure cooker

to can beef, pork, chicken, veal, lamb and

turkey prior to leaving port, and then fi sh,

beans and veggies on passage.

Why go to all this trouble? Because

we are making fewer stops now than

ever before, and hence, sailing longer

distances because of our modest pocket-

book. The sad truth: International

clearance and agent fees have skyrock-

eted. One Pacifi c nation charged us $4,

$40 and $400, respectively, each time

we stopped. Lord knows what they’ll

demand on this great circle!

Our fi rst transit of the Panama Canal

cost a couple hundred bucks; recently,

friends of ours transited to the tune of

$2,000, all inclusive.

On our last circumnavigation, in

Part of the problem with provisioning while circumnavigating is that every time you discover a

truly great new product, you can only buy more of it 2,000 miles to windward.

BY CAP’N FATTY GOODLANDER

Aboard Ganesh, the Goodlander’s nav

station is the marine equivalent of the

Tower of Babel. By design, the instru-

ments run separately, making it highly

unlikely they’ll all go out at once.

LET’S Make IT FOUR

We are making fewer stops

now than ever before, and

hence, sailing longer

distances because of our

modest pocketbook.

CAROLYN GOODLANDER