Practical Boat Owner - February 2016

Planning and undertaking an Atlantic crossing

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CASE STUDY

SKIPPER: NICK FABBRI

SOUTHERLY 38 RUBY ROSE

Nick Fabbri and his partner Terysa

Vanderloo were undertaking their

first Atlantic crossing in their

Southerly 38, Ruby Rose (GBR),

together with friends Neil and

John. The couple, whose

previous offshore sailing

experience was three days,

went through every emotion

‘from excitement to abject fear’.

The pair installed a Watt&Sea

hydrogenerator. Nick said: ‘It cost

a stupid amount, £3,000, but we

got a £500 discount. ‘We’re quite

a power-hungry boat as we run it

like a house. We want to watch

DVDs, we’ve got a bread machine

and a watermaker. We’ve got three

gas bottles, but the boat heats up hugely.

‘We had an old towed generator and it was an absolute pain in the

arse to retrieve, dragging 30m of line, and it only produced 6A. This

new one is meant to do up to 25A. If we get 20A from it at 6/7 knots

we’re laughing; we can watch every single series of Game of Thrones.’

Other power sources on board Ruby Rose include ‘a wind generator

that’s meant to generate 15A, although it won’t downwind’ and two

Staying safe
In addition to checking that your
insurance covers the crossing,
make sure your liferaft is suitable
to cross the Atlantic. It’s also
essential to make sure that your
navigation and interior lighting
is in good order as sailing the
tropics at this time of year means
only 11 hours of daylight. Chris
said: ‘Many people are surprised
that half the trip is in darkness.’
Communications are essential,
both for the crew and for loved
ones at home. The ARC regulations
recognise this, with every boat
carrying a YB satellite tracking
device that updates the ARC
website every four hours. Many
yachts have SSB radio and
participate in daily sessions to
share experiences and, often, just
chat to people outside the boat.
WCC managing director Andrew
Bishop said the ARC Radio
Net Group was divided up into
three yacht groups, and yachts
equipped with SSB could join in
with the radio net in their group at
the specified time. VHF plays a
part too: sailors are warned not to

CO-OWNER: DAWN KELLY

SOUTHERLY 42 RST DAWN CHORUS

Dawn Kelly and her partner Martin Whitfield were making their

first ARC crossing with their two dogs plus two crew on their

Southerly 42 RST yacht Dawn Chorus. Martin has his RYA

Yachtmaster qualification, while Dawn has her Coastal

Skipper. The couple did a one-day maintenance course

with Hamble School of Yachting in preparation for the ARC,

where they met crewmate Steven Fisher, who had recently

completed his Yachtmaster.

Their other crew Debra Irizarry, a surgeon from Colorado,

was found on Ocean Crew Link: Dawn said: ‘we’re really

pleased with that’. At sea, the border collie dogs, Buzz and

Bonny, wear ‘state-of-the-art Ruffwear lifejackets’ and have

been trained to go to the toilet on pieces of AstroTurf, which

have long sail ties attached so the fabric can then be sluiced

down or dipped overboard to wash off.

Dawn and Martin’s first Atlantic experience was ARC Europe,

18 days sailing from Bermuda to the Azores. Dawn said: ‘All

went brilliantly until we were 200 miles from the Azores and we

got hit by a gale’. The sprayhood and windvane were ripped off, the staysail destroyed and the galley table

broke off. Together with a 70-year-old experienced crewmate called Donny, Dawn and Martin lay on cushions

on the floor to wait it out – for 20 hours. Dawn said: ‘All of our electrics blew. Before it kicked off really badly

we contacted the coastguard, gave our position and said “if you don’t hear from us in the morning...”’

CASE STUDY

Border collies Bonny and Buzz with their

skipper Dawn Kelly aboard Dawn Chorus

Ruby Rose’s Terysa Vanderloo and Nick Fabbri with friends Neil and John

100W solar panels. There’s also

a Hydrovane wind self-steering

device onboard.

An early test of the

hydrogenerator showed positive

results: ‘It doesn’t make any

noise, which is important as our

sleeping quarters are right next to

it. It’s meant to self-regulate, so if

we end up with too much power

it calms itself down.’

The biggest draws on the boat

will be the navigation lights and

fridge (3A). Nick said: ‘We’ve

done the entire boat to LED

lights, which draw nothing. As

long as we keep the fridge going,

we’re fine. It’s full of frozen,

vacuum-packed meats. We’ve got

ribeye steaks for a midway treat:

we’ve also got M&S sausages and bacon for a midway fry-up and for a

fry-up the day after we arrive in St Lucia after a big sleep.’ Follow Nick

and Terysa’s blog at http://www.rumsodomyandthelash.com.

 HELPFUL HINTS: Go to the butcher with your vacuum-packed

meat and they will freeze it for you, then deliver it frozen. Fit LED

lights. Fill the anchor locker with bottled water.

be tempted to turn off or down the

twice-daily VHF listening watch –

‘it might be you who needs it!’

With this in mind, the rules insist

on a spare antenna for the VHF,

which according to Chris can

prompt protests. He explained:

‘People need to think outside the

box. If you’ve lost the mast, the

mains VHF will transmit 25W, while

the handheld’s only 5W. You get

a much better transmission for a

longer distance with a mains set.’

Medication

Any sailors with medication,

particularly diabetics, are

advised to put a week’s supply

of medication in the grab bag.

Chris says: ‘A lot of people think,

“why a week’s supply?” But if

you’re rescued by a commercial

ship, they won’t divert locally –

you’ll carry on to wherever.’

This warning became a reality

for the British-flagged Moody

Grenadier 134 Magritte, owned by

Steve and Teresa Arnold. The four

crew were evacuated by the cargo

vessel SCL Basilea on 4 December

after their cruiser began taking on

water the previous evening. On

the advice of MRCC Falmouth,

a Mayday was issued and the

yacht’s EPIRB activated. SCL

Basilea diverted to provide

assistance, and with Magritte’s

crew safely evacuated the ship

continued en route to Spain,

arriving 12 December.