New book released: global circumnavigation on a CD30

[Russell]

John,

Great book! I finished it last night, now my wife is reading it.

Tell us more about your boat. Motor, chainplates, brand of steering gear and how it works with the worm gear steering. Where did you mount your solar cells? What brand of stove? Where did you keep your dinghy? Storage? light wind sails? Thoughts on toilet alternatives?

Some of us are inclined to do some bluewater sailing. As far as I know, there are only two Cape Dorys that have circumnavigated: Fenix and Orca. I did a Google of your name and the name of your boat, and didn't find much. You have been a member on this message board for over a year, and have only made the two posts in this topic. You write awfully well for someone who keeps so much to himself. Please Please, tell us more.

Doug

Many more have, a Cd40 did, a member of this board, comonocruising or something like that. At least 3 36s I know of have(not know personally but from magazine articles and such) and I an sure many many more, Cd is the kind of inexpensive overbuilt conservative cruisers that people on a budget seek out for these kinds of voyages, our community on the message board only represents a small minority of the CDs out there, I have no doubt the numbers of CDs that have circumnavigated are well over a dozen if not a couple dozen.

[SVOrca]

Hi Tom,

Sorry we missed you in Sitka. We arrived in Juneau a few days ago and are heading down towards the Endicott Arm and associated glaciers. We will keep an eye out for you this summer.

Doug,

Thanks for taking the time to read the book. I didn't put too many boat outfitting specifics in because I was afraid it would be cumbersome for non-boaters, but this is an excellent place to expand a little.

We have the original Volvo 2-cylinder diesel from 1978, 13hp, I believe. It has been very reliable, but I think we only put about 80 hours on it during the circumnavigation.

I bought a used Monitor steering vane on craigslist. Hans—the head guy at Scanmar and designer of the Monitor--quickly became a friend and supporter of our trip, even though we didn't see much business from us. After 40,000 miles, the only failure we had was a circlip that I replaced in about ten minutes. I also found the beginnings of a hairline fracture in one component; Hans replaced it without question at his own expense, including shipping. The steering vane worked fairly well with the worm gear, but it only has a steering range of about a half-wheel-turn in each direction. Sometimes, after a hard passage, the play in the steering from the worn bronze took up a quarter-turn of that, which was frustrating. If I were to do the trip again, I would convert to a tiller. The Monitor loves a tiller, and I love not having to steer. We left California with an electronic autopilot but never used it. In Tahiti, I decided to test it and discovered it had already failed. We put it in the dumpster.

I mounted the two 85 watt panels on the dodger and trimmed them in varnished mahogany. The wood was mostly to cover their sharp edges, but it ended up looking very nice and we received lots of compliments on the 'traditional' look.

We have an unpressurized Origo alcohol stove. It is fine; it costs about $5/week to run it, which is a little pricy. It is quite safe as the alcohol vapor is lighter than air and dissipates quickly.

The dingy is a Montgomery 6-8 with sailing rig, which fits nicely between the mast and traveller atop the trunk cabin. The pram-type bow doesn’t like pushing through any sort of chop, though, and our particular dingy seems to have a mean streak in her.

We carried four sails. A Sailrite-kit yankee jib on roller furling. A small, heavy, hank-on staysail which didn't see much use but when we needed it, we needed it. We carried a nylon drifter which we used extensively, perhaps half or two-thirds of days at sea. Our first mainsail was a roach-less, batten-less Sailrite kit with three reefs. The leech turned to dust after about 20,000 miles. Several sailmakers suggested this was from the way strain is concentrated along the leech of the sail when there is no roach; I'm not sure. We replaced it in South Africa with a Quantum with minimal roach, short battens, and four reefs (the original third reef wasn't deep enough so they put a fourth one in for me). I can't remember if I told them we didn't carry a storm trysail or not; that might have been the source of the confusion. It's a nice sail, that works well.

I like the bucket for a toilet, but the first mate does not. We now have a Jabsco twist-n-lock that was inexpensive and has been reliable. It seems to be the toilet of choice with the commercial fishermen here in SE Alaska, and parts are widely available in most countries. As a side note, I never met anyone who didn't love their Lavac.

For ground tackle, we carried three complete sets. Working tackle was a Delta-35 with 150' 5/16 HT, which we used 99% of the time. For most anchorages, that was plenty of chain and the most we could fit in the bow locker anyway. We spent most of our time at anchor, probably 1,200 or days, and dragged twice; both were in crowded anchorages/mooring fields when we tried to get away with 2:1 scope because of limited swinging room. We also carried a Fortress FX-23 with 30 feet more chain and 300' of nylon, which we used to kedge off several times. I also set it along with the Delta a few times when we were expecting big wind. Lastly, we carried a 70-ish lb Luke 3-piece fishermen anchor with chain/nylon, which we never used. I think a second, larger Fortress would have been less intimidating to set and retrieve and would have had a lot more holding power in the bottom types over which we typically anchored. Our windlass is a used, manual S/L hyspeed, which is discontinued and parts are hard to find. It has a spotty reputation but we were gentle and kept it well oiled and greased. It has been fine.

I hope this helps. The internet access is pretty inconsistent as we cruise around SE Alaska let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!

John

[Tom Keevil]

John, if you're going down Endicott Arm, don't miss Ford's Terror. The only chart is 1:297,000, which is essentially no chart at all, but here's some local knowledge.

The rapids are about a mile in. We've been in and out twice, and each time slack water was about 50 minutes after high tide at Juneau. At the time of Juneau high tide, it is still a whitewater rapid. The entrance is not obvious. Snuggle up close to the double waterfall on the right (water is very deep there), and take a bearing of 290 magnetic. That is the spot to head for. There are hidden rocks to port and starboard, so don't wander around. Last time the rocks on the left were marked by a grounded iceberg. There is room for only one boat, and a blind 90-degree turn in the middle, so be sure to do a Securite call before starting in.

Once in, you are in a flooded Yosemite Valley - cliffs, waterfalls, granite domes - simply amazing. You can anchor in the west arm. Get really close to shore to the right of the stream, and you can anchor in 45-50 feet. It's always been really calm in there for us, even when it was blowing hard outside.

You can go over the terminal moraine at the entrance to Endicott Arm at times other than slack, but don't go at maximum current. We came out at maximum ebb last month, and got seriously tossed around in frighteningly large whirlpools - don't do that. We didn't hit a rock, but that was luck.

Have fun, and hopefully we'll see your somewhere along the way. Just downloaded your book on the Kindle.

[bgephart]

I really enjoyed this book - exciting, funny and extremely well written. It's great to see the close relationship both of you developed with Orca, just like the rest of us CDers do with our boats. Thanks for sharing you adventure!

[Skeep]

Just saw the post and immediately ordered the book! Thank you for your "self-promotion" of this. In a world of glamour and glitz, it is refreshing to have something so close to home and ordinary such as a book someone wrote. Respect. Will certainly look forward to reading your adventure--something 99 percent of us will never achieve! thanks!

[oldragbaggers]

Just ordered your book for Kindle. My husband and I are both looking forward to reading it. Good on you for getting out there and doing it.

[oldragbaggers]

You should also post something about your book, and your voyage, on http://www.cruisersforum.com/ There are always threads going about "what kind of boat can I sail around the world in." And there are a ton of wannabes with lots of questions about doing it in small boats.

[Russell]

You should also post something about your book, and your voyage, on http://www.cruisersforum.com/ There are always threads going about "what kind of boat can I sail around the world in." And there are a ton of wannabes with lots of questions about doing it in small boats.

Good place to find a bunch of judgmental armchair sailors who will rip your voyage to shreds even though they have never left whatever little bay they sail on. Sorry, not fond of that forum.

[oldragbaggers]

You should also post something about your book, and your voyage, on http://www.cruisersforum.com/ There are always threads going about "what kind of boat can I sail around the world in." And there are a ton of wannabes with lots of questions about doing it in small boats.

Good place to find a bunch of judgmental armchair sailors who will rip your voyage to shreds even though they have never left whatever little bay they sail on. Sorry, not fond of that forum.

I will admit, they can get a bit "snarky" sometimes. I don't post much there for that reason, but some of the threads are entertaining to read.

[Skeep]

It took me a bit longer to get through ORCA but that's not because of a lack of interest. Fascinating tale to me. It is not pretentious at all, but more confessional and honest, enabling the reader to appreciate from afar both some of the technicalities of sailing in general and the human condition in the face of stress during such a voyage. I really could not put it down. And I finished it this morning after waking up at 3am and reading for several hours non-stop from just after your crossing from Tasmania until your arrival in Sitka.

Thank you for taking the time to write your journey for most of us who will never have the journey on our plate. And although not a detailed view of the Cape Dory design, when appropriate, particular features shown through as when you were knocked down in high seas near Madagascar and the keel got you back up in one piece. I held my breath with you then and know that such a high seas event is a tribute to a solid vessel and lots of luck!

Also, appreciate your comments and vignettes of sailors you met along the way. Having been a BVI sailor for many years, owning a large Beneteau down there, people are exactly as you described for the most part and getting worse due to the industry exploding and multiplying their fleets. Your perceptions of them are exact! And the ocean trash too is sad. But nonetheless, you brought it to our attention and for that I thank you and Kara immensely.

The one question which still raises it's head is your ages, and the years you did your Circumnavigation? And, are there some photos of ORCA? These answers would be quite interesting, thank you much.

[SVOrca]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the feedback. This is a very welcoming message board and I appreciate the friendly responses. I'm thrilled that everyone is enjoying the book.

Tom, we loved Ford's Terror. We anchored in the east arm just past the gravel spit between a huge boulder and a 5,000 foot cliff in 30 feet, good mud, and stayed a week. Probably the most spectacular anchorage we've ever used. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hi Skeep,

I'm so glad you liked the book. As to our ages, I bought the boat at 23, departed California at 24, and took four years to circumnavigate. I was lucky to land a good job right out of college, and we saved every penny of every paycheck that we could. I attached two photos, one from Tom's spot--Ford's Terror--and one from the Dawes glacier, which a few miles away. Hope you enjoy.

Fair winds,

John

Ford's Terror

GOPR0138.JPG

Dawes Glacier

DSCN3158.JPG

[Skeep]

Wow, that is freaking awesome!! Thanks!

But John, what were the years of your Circumnavigation? The book is very current! Wifi and such are within the past 8 years so I was thinking you guys did this very recently? Am I right?

PS: Wrote an Amazon review for you. 5 Stars. Terrific job. I've been to Hawaii, Samoa, Tasmania, the Carrib and the Panama Canal and you got it right man!

[Sea Hunt Video]

Can anyone buy from Amazon or do you have to be a member I think I know the answer.

If you have to be a member (I am not and I have no desire to be) is there any CDSOA member who is also an Amazon member who would be willing to buy the book (hard copy-paper) and then ship it to me. I will gladly pay all costs associated with this effort.

I apparently live in the 20th century. I went to my local book store and asked them to order it. They said they cannot and have no access to this book. Only available from Amazon. How is a book that is published and has an ISBN number not available from any reputable book store

[Skeep]

You should be able to purchase as a guest on Amazon?

[Jim Evans]

I thoroughly enjoyed John & Kara's book - I highly recommend it. Their blog at http://orcasvlog.blogspot.com is enjoyable to read also, and has a lot of great pictures of their trip. Update #14 in 2010 has a couple of good photos of their solar panel installation - a practical solution, in my view.

Great job, John and Kara - you are an inspiration for lots of us!