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DON'S LOG: stories, experience and advice

Double Opening Hatches

Back in the old days, from the late 70 back to the earliest days of ocean racing cruising boats often raced and ocean racers also extensively cruised. The best dual purpose cruiser racers were designed and built between the early 50’s thru to the late 70’. It is notable that In that period all hatches were almost all double opening (photo) sketch) that enabled them while in port to be opened facing forward gathering plenty of air. At sea they were opened facing aft, still gathering air. When the spray started flying, canvas dodgers were put over the hatches drawing OSY 1 pg 282.To prevent water from driving up under the dodger, it was secured to a breakwater that extended across the forward side of the hatch, and down both sides, by any one of three attachments OSY 1pg 245. The aluminium extrusion that will take a luff rope sewn to the dodger and turnbuttons can both be bought from Sailrite, www.sailrite2.com. Read More 

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Bricking Her

Putting the bricks to a boat, to really push her hard in heavy weather, was an expression used by ocean racers in the 50’ and 60’s when describing pushing a boat to its ultimate. The expression comes from geologist who were exploring for oil in the Mideast desert areas. The geologist did not go out into the desert with land rovers and trucks they assembled camel caravans and rode camels. They always wanted nine day camels not the standard six day camel.

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LAYING UP AFLOAT IN A MARINA OR STAYING IN A MARINA IN A HURRICANE

First of all look at the frequency that hurricane have hit the various yachting centers where there are marinas of any size that make leaving a boat there is a possibility. The below figures based on NOAA hurricane tracks since 1975 when yachting in the eastern Caribbean started taking off

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HURRICANES: PROPERLY LAYING UP ASHORE

Load on a  60' 1/4 inch halyard secures to a pad eye.

To properly lay up a boat for hurricane season is a job that must be done by owner, his captain, a very trusted friend or be done under the supervision by local surveyor.

Screw jacks or fabricated cradle? Fabricated cradles are seldom designed and built for a specific boat so the arms seldom match up with strong points, like bulkheads or half bulkheads.  Read More 

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HURRICANES: DON STREET’S ADVISE FOLLOW IT!

pressure plotted against windspeed
If leaving a boat on a hurricane mooring read Street's advise very carefully. Remember wind pressure goes up with the SQUARE of the velocity.

As noted in the introduction, Don Street because of his age 89, and experience with hurricanes on the east coast of the states and Caribbean, he knows more about hurricane tracks as they approach the Caribbean, and their effect on the yachting industry, than any other sailor or yachting author in the world. Read what  Read More 

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HURRICANES: BOATS IN THE WATER IN COMMISSION

A survey of the tracks of all the------- hurricanes since 1851, that have started as lows in the region of the Cape Verdes, as long as they stay below 19N they track westwards seldom altering course more than 5 degrees in 24 hours. The alterations of course is almost universally to the north. If the hurricane, tropical  Read More 

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CRUISING DURING HURRICANE SEASON

In my first hard covered Guide (first guide Yachtsman’s Guide to the Virgin islands 1964 was privately printed on a hand powered ereneo to the English mimeograph to Americans 1963) Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles l966 (reprinted facsimile editions now available thru iUniverse .com, Amazon and Imray,a wonderful bit of nostalga, the Caribbean in the late 50’s early 60’s) I stated that the best sailing months of the year were may June and July and sometime into August. This is still true today.

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HURRICANE HOLES

Ever since 1975 when yachting in the Caribbean really took off, for 45 years I have been reading about, and personally being told about the disasters that happened in the so called hurricane holes. Every time a hurricane come thru the islands of the eastern Caribbean boats flock to the so called hurricane holes and disaster  Read More 

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LAYING UP ASHORE PICK AREA AND YARD CAREFULLY

The western part of Hurricane Hurricane Alley Anegada west to Eastern Puerto Rico is well named as since the area really started booming with yachts about 1975 , the area has been hit 8 times, with hurricanes 75, two in 79, 84 Klaus, 89 Hugo, 95 and four times in 2017 by Harvey,Irma, Jose and Maria, in 2019 Dorina which luckily passed thru fast and  did  no major damage.  Plus there  were   another half dozen  tropical storms

Thus ten  hurricanes  in 45 years hence  the name  hurricane  alley..

One would think that everyone would have worked out plans to minimize the damage caused by hurricane, but unfortunately they have not. This is the reason it is difficult to obtain insurance in the eastern Caribbean and especially for boats based in Hurricane Alley. Read More 

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LAYING UP ON A HURRICANE MOORING DURING HURRICANE SEASON OR SURVIVING A HURRICANE AT ANCHOR

Effects of wind on 50ft monohull with a 60ft mast laying head to wind
Effects of wind on the achorline load of  50' monohull with a 60' mast laying head to wind. Note loads increase drasticallywith larger boats.

This is not a good idea as is illustrated by my loss of L’ll Iolaire in hurricane Ivan in Grenada in 2004. Iike most sailors felt that Grenada that had only been hit by two hurricanes, one in 1856 and in 1955 Grenada was basically south of the hurricane area. Every summer starting in 1996 we laid up L’ll Iolaire on a good heavy mooring, chain to a rope attached to a buoy. From the buoy to L’ll Iolaire two separate lines lead thru two separate chocks to two separate cleat bolted to big backing blocks. Lines were carefully cover with chaffing gear.

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TROPICAL HURRICANES THEIR TRACKS DAMAGE DONE AND INTERNAL TORNADOES

Tropical hurricanes start as a low pressure wave in the region of the Cape Verde islands. Some lows pick up a circular motion and are almost immediately noted by NOAA satellite and given a name. They are then carefully tracked by NOAA/hurricanes with the positions given every six hours.

Tropical depression , have winds  Read More 

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HANDS-ON SAILOR Article "Hurricane Whole"

DON STREET AND HURRICANES
There is no other yachtsman or yachting author that can match Don Street’s experience with hurricanes ashore and afloat, gained over the last 78 years, Read More 

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