A nighttime collision off Thailand
There are few things a sailor fears more than a collision at sea. On our circumnavigation, unfortunately, it happened. Our random moment was an experience that will stay with us forever and it even resulted in some persistent PTSD symptoms for several years afterward. Luckily, we were able to extricate ourselves without losing our boat.
We had arrived back aboard our Montevideo 43 Bahati just before Christmas. I’d been on a job in Tokyo and my wife Betsy flew in to meet me in Japan for a short side trip to Kyoto before returning to Malaysia with the aim of sailing north to Thailand for Christmas with our friends aboard the cruising boat Empire, who were relaxing in Ao Chalong, Phuket, waiting to ring in the New Year. We had become good friends with Eivind and Heidi and their two young boys, Marius and Eirik, since our first meeting in the Gala pagos and we felt like they were the closest thing to family we had among the cruising community. Marius and Eirik were like grandchildren in our hearts and minds. Nothing sounded sweeter than the idea of being with them to celebrate the holidays.
We provisioned and prepared to leave our good friends at the Telaga Harbour marina on the northwestern end of Langkawi Island on Christmas Eve, estimating that with the prevailing breeze behind us it would be an easy overnight sail north to Thailand. Betsy had come down with a bronchial infection in Japan and I was exhausted from a week of back-to-back corporate training programs, but we were determined to leave despite our collective fatigue. This was our first mistake. In fact, after discussing our itinerary we made the decision to sleep for six hours before casting off because we both recognized we weren’t really rested enough to put to sea. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have left at all, but, as the saying goes, “hindsight is 20-20.”
Quietly leaving harbor
Denne historien er fra September/October 2016-utgaven av Ocean Navigator.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September/October 2016-utgaven av Ocean Navigator.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Stay Connected
Satellite phones have evolved a full ecosystem of gear and services
Respecting Paradise
Thoughts on voyaging responsibly
Yankee sails on
The steel ketch Yankee in the Connecticut River.
TRANSPAC RACE PREP
How a group of determined mostly military veterans built a race team
NOAA upgrades its global weather model
More data and a better global weather model should make for improved weather distributed to users, like this temperature gradient map.
From North Sea fishing to Sea of Cortez voyaging
The former Dutch fishing vessel turned power voyaging yacht Varnebank in Mexican waters.
Chatter Chartroom
IN 2019, MY HUSBAND, DOUG PASNIK, AND I RACED OUR first Transpac together with a team of 10 on our Andrews 70, Trader, comprised primarily of military veterans (see story on page 22). This year we are doing the race again and inviting four mentees from The Magenta Project to race with us.
Doing it all with one screen
The steering station on this Gunboat cat is equipped with large-screen B&G Zeus MFDs.
Don't scrimp when it comes to the crimp
Solid crimp connections make your power voyager’s electrical system more reliable.
Chartroom Chatter
Maritime Publishing acquires Ocean Navigator
