Part IV: UPGRADE TO EXISTING FITTINGS AND EQUIPMENT

Concurrently with sourcing and installing the equipment necessary to equip Sofia as an ocean cruiser we also reviewed what might be required to upgrade her existing set up and inventory. We looked at three main areas; the hull, the rig and the sails.

Hull

In the case of the hull Sofia had a substantial number of DZR/zinc through hull fittings. We decided to replace them all with bronze fittings and to have this work carried out when Sofia was hauled out to have her anti fouling renewed. In this regard, we decided to replace conventional antifouling with Coppercoat. The principal advantage of switching to Coppercoat is that it lasts for approximately 10 years and avoids the necessity of having to renew the antifouling on a regular basis. While it does not prevent the growth of weed and barnacles on the hull, all that is required on lift out is for the hull to be hosed off with a higher pressure hose. The initial application requires the hull to be blasted down to the bare gel coat and all traces of the previous antifouling to be removed before the Coppercoat is applied with the temperature at an appropriately warm level. The upfront cost is expensive. However, when the cost of coats of conventional antifouling is compared over 10 years with Coppercoat the cost is comparable. It is not impervious to damage and scratches will inevitably occur due to contact with mooring chains and grounding. We have had to touch it up twice. The first occasion was in Opua NZ in December 2015 and the second in Darwin Australia in July 2017. We have found it to be effective and would certainly choose Coppercoat again.

Rig

Sofia has twin headsails with a furling Genoa and furling Staysail. She has a tall three spreader Selden mast with in-mast furling for the mainsail. While this arrangement is undoubtedly convenient, we would have much preferred a fully battened mainsail with three reefs and a stack pack. We decided to persevere with the in-mast furling, as we had used this arrangement previously on several charter yachts. With the benefit of hindsight, this was a mistake, as our reservations about in mast furling were born out during our circumnavigation. The mainsail had significant jams in the mast in New Zealand, Australia and the South Atlantic. We were fortunate that none of these jams occurred in very strong conditions and we were able to rectify the jam on each occasion. Nevertheless, we felt very uncomfortable each time. Unless the sail is furled perfectly with appropriate tension maintained on the outhaul, it will be prone to jam. This situation is exacerbated by vertical battens. When we arrived back in the Caribbean in March 2018 after the latest jam in the South Atlantic the Doyle loft in Barbados removed the battens from the existing main and made the replacement mainsail without them! Thus far we have not had a reoccurrence. However, if we were placed in the same situation again we would have switched over to a fully battened mainsail before embarking on our circumnavigation or purchased another yacht with a fully battened mainsail for this purpose.

Replacing all the standing and running rigging was a requirement for two reasons. The first was for insurance purposes. Most insurers expect standing rigging to be replaced after 10 years and Sofia’s rigging was original and already 13 years old. The second was for our own peace of mind. We wanted to start our circumnavigation with new rigging knowing the wear and tear that would be placed on the rig in the years ahead. However, fitting new rigging should not lull one into a false sense of security, as problems with the standing rigging have been ongoing throughout our circumnavigation; occurring in 2015, 2017 and 2018. As a result of this experience, we check the rig on a regular basis ourselves and have the rig inspected professionally before every major ocean crossing. At this point we were also unaware that after the rig or major sections thereof have been replaced, the rig needs to be properly tuned and, if necessary, the tension on the lower shrouds and diagonal shrouds adjusted. If the tension on the rigging is either too tight or too loose, then problems are likely to occur. We also learnt on our circumnavigation that the only way for the rig to be properly inspected is for the mast to be removed so that all the tangs and bolts can be checked thoroughly. We now know much more about our rig and rigging in general than when we started. When we had our rigging replaced we were not present when the mast was stepped back and the rig set up. This was a mistake. If you are in the same situation, make sure that you are present and see exactly what tension the riggers place on each section of the rigging and insist on a subsequent tune-up with the same riggers present.

By comparison, replacing all the running rigging on the mast together with the Genoa and Staysail sheets was very straightforward. The only addition that we made to the rig was to add an additional pole so that we could pole out both headsails when running downwind. This meant adding a second car to the pole track. While the original pole was mounted permanently on the mast we decided to locate the new pole on the deck. In this way, it could be used as the basis of a jury rig in the event of the main rig being lost overboard as a result of dismantling.

Sails

At the time we purchased Sofia it was clear her sails were tired and needed to be replaced. We asked the Doyle loft in Southampton to make us a new suit of sails before we set off on our circumnavigation. The Genoa was replaced in 2013 and the Staysail and Mainsail in early 2014. However, we retained the existing Staysail, as this had not been so heavily used and still set well. We thought that new sails would see us through our circumnavigation. However, we significantly underestimated the toll that wear and tear would take on them. The clew on the Main needed repair after the Atlantic crossing and both Main and Genoa needed repairs and servicing in New Zealand in 2015, New Caledonia in 2016, Australia and South Africa in 2017 and Martinique in 2018. By the time we reached South Africa at the end of 2017, it was clear that the Genoa needed to be replaced and that the Main was on its last legs. We had a new Genoa made by the Ullman loft in Cape Town and a new Main by the Doyle loft in Barbados. We have retained the old Doyle sails as spares even though storage is problematic. The one issue to which we did not pay sufficient attention before we set off was sailing in light airs. Sofia is a heavy displacement yacht and struggles to make progress when the wind is below 10 knots; especially when fully loaded for an ocean crossing. As we subsequently discovered these conditions pertain for a considerable amount of time on a circumnavigation. In our experience, it is a sad fact that ideal wind conditions for perfect sailing are a rare occurrence. The solution to keep moving in light airs is to have a self furling Code Zero mounted on a short bowsprit. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have fitted one.

 

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Part III: ACQUIRING A SUITABLE YACHT

Concurrently with our own preparation, we needed to acquire and equip a yacht for this purpose. We felt that our Jeanneau 40, while an excellent yacht for coastal cruising in Channel waters, where we had sailed her for the previous five years, was not primarily intended for serious ocean cruising. We wanted a class A ocean cruiser such as a Hallberg-Rassy, Oyster or Malo, which have the scantlings and build quality to cope with the serious conditions, which one can potentially encounter on an ocean crossing. After looking at several such yachts in the 40- to 45-foot range including a Malo 42 in Plymouth, we decided that the Malo was the right yacht for us. In particular, we liked its deep, well-sheltered aft cockpit. Nearly all Hallberg-Rassys, Najads and Oysters in this size range have centre cockpits. Our search then focussed on the Malo 42 and eventually through the internet we found two for sale in the Netherlands, which were both newer and in better condition than the one in Plymouth.

There was not much to choose between the two. However, we chose Sofia because she had been very lightly used for a 12-year-old yacht and had been yard maintained during her previous ownership of eight years. Fortuitously for us, Sofia was also an estate sale, which had been on the market for over a year. This was an important factor in terms of our budget. Although she was a quality yacht, she had not been used or fitted out for ocean cruising and we would need to allocate a significant sum from our budget to equip her for this purpose. So we were very lucky to obtain Sofia for a bargain price.

Once Sofia was back on our berth on the Hamble River the serious task of equipping and preparing her for the circumnavigation began. This task fell into two broad categories. First was equipping her with the systems that she would need for ocean cruising, but did not possess. The second was upgrading her existing systems and equipment so that Sofia would be as well prepared as possible and minimise the possibility that she might require extensive work at some point in our circumnavigation. The main items of equipment that fell into the first category were self-steering gear, communications equipment including a HF radio and satellite telephone, a watermaker and additional power generation capacity. 

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Part II:  PERSONAL TRAINING

The first task was to ensure that we were both personally prepared and equipped for this challenge. While both Anne and I were very experienced offshore sailors with many thousands of miles under our belts, neither of us had experience of a long ocean voyage. When I mentioned this to a member of my yacht club, he suggested that we should join the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), of which he was then Vice Commodore. He mentioned that the OCC has an excellent mentoring programme, which pairs members, who are experienced circumnavigators, with potential circumnavigators in our situation. While the normal requirement for membership is to have undertaken an ocean voyage of 1000 nautical miles in a vessel under 70 feet, one is able to join as an associate member with the intention of achieving this requirement within 3 years.

The mentoring programme seemed to be exactly what we both needed and we promptly joined the OCC and signed up for the programme. A little while later we were very fortunate to have Dick and Pam Moore appointed as our mentors. Their circumnavigation in Aliesha - their Halberg Rassy 36 had taken them 9 years in the previous decade. They had overcome significant challenges along the way including a major lightning strike while on the east coast of the USA and the replacement of their auxiliary engine while in the Red Sea. They invited us to come and spend a day with them at their home in Lymington, where we spent a very rewarding time picking their brains and sounding them out on our ideas. Their advice was invaluable and it was very reassuring to know that we would be able to draw on their experience in the future as and when the occasion arose. If you are in the same situation as we were prior to undertaking an ocean voyage, I would recommend joining the OCC and benefiting from it’s mentoring scheme without hesitation. Details can be found on the OCC public website.

Another source of useful information and advice is the World Cruising seminar run by the Cruising Association (CA) at their headquarters in Limehouse London in February each year. The principal speaker is usually Jimmy Cornell, who has several circumnavigations under his belt and is the author of several useful books on planning and undertaking ocean voyages. Further details of these publications are available on his website - CornellSailing.com. The Cruising Association also runs a Blue Water Cruising section, which organises an Atlantic crossing group each autumn and various rendezvous around the world, as well as hosting an annual get together and talk at Limehouse in August and publishing a newsletter at least twice a year. We have certainly found membership of the CA helpful in our preparation for the circumnavigation and during the event itself. It is worth noting that attendance at the CA Limehouse events is open to non-members, although the cost is slightly greater.

We also felt that it was important for us to update our first aid and sea survival skills by attending the relevant RYA courses. In addition given that we intended to install an HF radio one of us would need to obtain an HF licence and attend the relevant course to achieve this. Anne duly obtained her HF licence. Both of us already held VHF radio licences.


Vice Commodore, OCC 

Member Jonathan Lloyd s/v Sophia has prepared a detailed paper on the steps that aspiring world voyagers should take in preparing themselves and their boat for distance sailing. We are posting his paper in sections here and ask our very experienced members to comment, providing different perspectives and insights from their own experience. When completed, we hope to compile a paper on Best Practices in Preparation for Ocean Voyaging as a reference. 

Part I: INTRODUCTION

Undertaking a circumnavigation of the world in your own yacht is not only an activity, which takes a substantial amount of time but one which requires considerable planning and preparation. If you join a rally such as the World ARC, the feat can be accomplished in 15 months. However, most cruisers adopt a more leisurely approach and take up to 5 years and even longer. The more leisurely approach means that the vast majority of circumnavigators are retirees in their 50s and 60s, most of whom are double-handed married couples or partners of long standing. However, there are younger couples often with young children, who are able to take a sabbatical or break from work in order to achieve this ambition. In some cases, they break their circumnavigation and return to work in order to obtain the necessary funds to continue. There are also single-handers, who fall into both categories.

In our case, our circumnavigation started when we left the Solent on 1st June 2014 and finished when we crossed our outward track on arrival in Martinique in the Caribbean on 8th March 2018. Cruising up the east coast of the USA this summer has given us ample time to reflect on how well prepared we were for this challenge and the lessons we have learnt in this regard, which might be of assistance to those contemplating such a venture in the future.

While undertaking a circumnavigation had been a long-held ambition for both of us, the requirements of career, children’s education and caring for elderly parents meant waiting until these responsibilities were no longer a consideration before we could start the serious business of planning and preparing for this undertaking. With the death of my mother in 2012 the opportunity arose to do so. Once her affairs and estate had been settled I agreed to retire in April 2013 with my wife Anne following suit several months later. This would give us approximately a year to get organised. We reckoned that we would need at least this long in order to prepare both ourselves and also prepare and equip our yacht, as well as making the necessary domestic arrangements for a long term absence. At this point, we also set a target date for our departure, as it is all too easy to let your departure date slip if you do not have a target.


Vice Commodore, OCC