Planning for the Future

September 2012

By Darrel



The author ... doing some planning?

Yikes, I get the shivers just thinking of this title for two reasons. The first reason is because planning was a big part of my job as a housing researcher, and probably the least most exciting time of the year, yet one of my job tasks which management placed a lot of emphasis on. The second reason is because in my current situation, i.e., cruiser (although I have to use that term loosely given that I am typing this entry from our condo (which has not drifted or dragged since we have been here) planning is a very abstract concept and is most often written in the sand on a tidal beach.

 

 

 

 

 Actually I am writing this entry at the request of my co-captain, Loretta.  She says that she gets a number of enquiries by email and Facebook (of which I have no friends) whom are interested in where and when CanKata is planning on heading once we have restarted our circumnavigation.

Well I don’t mind telling people about our possible, projected plans and best guess as to where and how our future will likely or probably unfold, but to put it down in writing which could be used as a record and held against me – YIKES!

The following is based on a true PLAN but the names and locations have been withheld to protect DARREL.

Before I provide you with an outline of our intended course and schedule I feel I need to inform you as to the tools that have gone into the planning process. Hopefully at this point you will think, okay I just finished reading the blah blah blah that Darrel wrote regarding a new way to get their boat out of the water, and have now decided to click that little red box with an X in it at the top right corner of the screen.

For those of you who are still reading, here is a quick listing of the tools that we have used to help us plan the route of our anticipated circumnavigation.

Studying our Jimmy Cornell books.

 

World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell which provides route planning advice and essential information on over 500 sailing routes around the world. It tells us the best time to travel along various routes and gives essential information about the wind and currents that can be expected during that time.

World Cruising Handbook by Jimmy Cornell which can be described as a “nautical tourist guide” and provides need-to-know information about the most popular cruising destinations around the world. It tells us how long we can stay in the various places we intend to visit.

Visual Passage Planner is software designed to assist in the planning of offshore voyages. It lets you plot your intended course and it will depict weather conditions, i.e. wave height, wind speed and direction, probability of hitting a gale, etc., for the time that you plan to be undertaking that leg of the voyage.

Cruisers network which consists of web sites, blogs, emails, and anything else in cyberspace with the exception of Facebook (did I mention I don’t have any friends). Notes from cruisers who have taken the same path as we hope to follow in their wake are invaluable and abundant. This is especially true when you venture off the main path, as we expect to do for certain legs of our circumnavigation.

Insurance Policies also dictate where and when we can make a passage. Any area where piracy is active is off limits, thus we will not be taking the usual Red Sea route, and as it stands today we will not even be able to go through the Maldives. Even the Chagos islands are being questioned as to whether or not they are safe. Also, insurance policies stipulate that you cannot be sailing an area where a “named storm” is a possibility.  I’ll bet insurance providers don’t have a lot of Facebook friends either.

The last tool that we use to help us determine our path is to use current weather reports and superimpose those reports onto the area where we hope to be at that same time but only one to six years later. In other words verifying the other tools mentioned above to determine if climate change has had any effect on the sea and wind in the areas we are thinking of going.

 

Plotting, on computer, the first part of the circumnavigation.

 

And here's how we plan to head back after spending time in the Caribbean.

Having said all that, and providing the tide doesn’t come in to wash away our well thought out plan, here is the schedule that we may end up taking.

But before I do, I must emphasise that the first leg of our voyage is to cross the Indian Ocean and at this time we have plotted 4 different routes. The preferred route has us leaving Thailand in February and takes us to Sri Lanka, or close to it, and then south to the Maldives, and then down to the Chagos islands and from there off to Mauritius. But as said earlier this route now falls into the piracy zone. The second route leaves Thailand in March and takes us down the Malacca Straight to Singapore and then through Indonesia, i.e., Java and Sumatra and then from there off to Mauritius. This route isn’t our preference since we have already done the Malacca Strait once and were not impressed the first time.  Route number 3 takes us from Thailand down the West coast of Sumatra and then hoping off to either the Chagos, or straight through to Mauritius. We have to wait to see how the piracy issue is around the Chagos before making that decision. In all cases, once we get to Mauritius the next stop will be Reunion Island and from there we will head straight for Richards Bay, South Africa. We will be avoiding Madagascar, again due to the pirates.

Here is a table showing our predicted route and schedule:

 

Thailand to Thailand

From                                  To                                 Approximate Date(s)                                   Distance

                                                                                      (Leaving/Arriving)

Phuket	Maldives	L Feb 1       A Feb 15 (2014 )	1500
Maldives	Maldives	1 1/2 month	300
Maldives	Chagos	L Apr 1       A Apr 3	300
Chagos	Mauritius	L May 3      A May 15	1250
Mauritius	Reunion	L Aug 15     A Aug 16	150
Reunion	Richards Bay, South Africa	L Oct 1        A Oct 15	1400
Richards Bay	Cape Town	L Jan 1        A Jan 17 (2015)	900
Cape Town	St. Helena	L Jan 23      A Feb 6	1700
St Helena	Salvador	L Feb 9       A Feb 28	1950
Salvador	Fr Guyana	L Jun 1        A Jun 3	2000
Fr Guyana	Guyana	L Jun 5        A July 7	399
Guyana	Trinidad	L Aug 1       A Aug 10	500
Trinidad	St Martin	L Nov 1       A Jan 1 (2016)	600
St. Martin	San Blas	L May 1       A May 31	1100
San Blas	Belize	L No 1         A No 30	800
Belize	Panama	L Jan 1        A Jan 30 (2017)	800
Panama	Galapagos	L Mar 1       A Mar 9	900
Galapagos	Marquesas	L Mar 17     A Apr  15	3000
Marquesas	Tuamotos	L Apr 25     A Apr 30	600
Tuamotos	Tahiti	L May 10    A May 12	200
Tahiti	Bora Bora	L May 15    A May 20	200
Bora Bora	Cook Islands	L May 30    A Jun 5	500
Cook Islands	Palmerston	L June 20    A Jun 22	200
Palmeston	Samoa	L Jul 1       A Jul 6	600
Samoa	Fiji	L Jul 20     A July 26	700
Fiji	Vanuatu	L Aug 10   A Aug 15	600
Vanuatu	Solomon’s	L Aug 25   A Sep 2	800
Solomon’s	PNG	L Sep 22    A Oct 1	600
PNG	Philippines	L No 1       A No 15	2000
Philippines	Malaysia	L No 30     A Dec 10	600
Malaysia	Singapore	L Dec 20   A Dec 26	900
Singapore	Thailand	L Dec 27   A Jan 10, 2018	600

 

Replanning?

Please note that the information contained in this entry is NOT intended for navigation or planning purposes. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information in this entry, the author and publisher make no warranty, expressed or implied for any errors or omissions, nor are we to be held accountable for any changes that may result.

Update Notice:  Two days after typing this entry, I made the mistake of offering Loretta one more option and that is to move our departure date up by one year. She seemed to like that idea. We are now giving a departure date of February 2013 serious consideration – stay tuned!  YIKES!!

A Different Method of Haul-out

September 2012

By Darrel

Every so often we have to access CanKata’s bottom, whether it is to clean the hulls, change the sail-drive oil, change the sacrificial zincs, undertake fiberglass repairs (due to being hit by a reckless hobie cat sailor), replace the sail-drive bearings and seals, repaint with antifouling, or to have it surveyed for insurance purposes.



Our first intentional beaching - 2008 in Bums Bay, Australia

When any of this work is required we usually go to a marina with a travel-lift or to a gently sloping sandy beach where there is sufficient tide to not only enable us to drive CanKata up onto the beach, but to also be able to get her off at the next high tide.

Although it sounds easy to do, an intentional beaching of CanKata is quite stressful. Mind you, anyone who has accidentally ran aground (okay we, or more precisely - I, did actually do this once) would argue that the running aground part of the process is not near as stressful as the moments that pass when you are waiting to see if there has been damage done to the hulls, rudders or props and you are beginning to sink, or to determine if and how you are able to get off.

So in most cases, provided a travel-lift is available, we opt for this more expensive method. However, having seen a boat fall from the travel-lift in Trinidad reminds us that even this method is not failsafe.

CanKata at Ao Po Grand Marina, waiting to be hauled.

When we first arrived in Phuket we toured all the marinas to investigate their facilities. One of the newest marinas, Ao Po Grand Marina, had friendly staff, potable water, a fuel dock and nice stable docks, but unfortunately no hauling facilities. This marina actually became our preferred marina when we had to leave CanKata unattended in order to do some land travel. Well, some time last year the marina added a haul-out facility which incorporated a 50 ton hydraulic trailer instead of a travel-lift.

While we have been living in our condominium for the past four and one half months, CanKata has been safely stored at Ao Po Marina. We knew that we needed to have her hauled for bottom work this September and decided that it was time to give the new trailer method a go. We first discussed the methodology with Derrick, the marina manager, and he quickly demonstrated that he and his crew were not only competent but also very experienced with the trailer. They have hauled a number of boats with the largest boat being a 36 ton, 60 foot motor yacht. He also told us that they take their time to ensure the lift goes as planned without causing any damage. They only haul one boat per day to avoid feeling rushed. And they dive on every boat to ensure the lift points are properly placed and not causing any pressure points on items such as through-hulls, speedo impellors, etc.



Loretta and a marina worker watching closely - no sign of stress yet.

Loretta and I arrived at the lift dock at 12:30, which coincided with high tide, and once there basically handed over CanKata to Derrick and his crew. We asked Derrick if it would bother him, or cause undue stress if we stood by and watched the process. He just smiled and told us that having us oversee the process was certainly okay and that it would not cause any stress. I think he was thinking that if anyone here is stressed it was the two owners of CanKata.

 

Our stress level was definitely lowered when Derrick commented, "Boy, this is one well-built boat".

Darrel doing the paper work.

The crew gently moved CanKata into place and then Derrick slid (with the help of a large Cat tractor) the trailer under CanKata so that the pre-set lift points were precisely as planned. A diver was deployed to ensure the beams made contact on a safe area and the trailer was adjusted to pick up the load and slowly raise it out of the water.

Jenny wind generator chatting with a palm tree.

CanKata was then pulled up the ramp into an area where the crew used a high pressure system and scrapers to remove the sea growth that had accumulated on the hull over the past 24 months.

Once the cleaning was completed CanKata was moved to its location on the hardstand and gently lowered onto blocks supporting the two keels together with four jacks at the bow and stern of each hull.

Loretta and I both had a sigh of relief once CanKata was safely stored and ready for her grooming which is to occur over the next four weeks.

 

 

Latest news is in our Thaismiths Blog

Hi there. Please note that while we are in Thailand (should be here until January 2014 ,,, or maybe 2013 ...), we are also using another blog: http://thaismiths.blogspot.com/ . We hope you enjoy the stories and many photos that we have posted there.

Best regards,

Loretta & Darrel