Robert B Lipkin (better known as Bob Bitchin) has certainly done his time in deep water and shoal, much of it in his 42-ton ketch Lost Soul with his partner, Jody, and a variety of crew.
Bob is also the guy who set up the well-known Latitudes and Attitudes magazine in the US. He's a resourceful and enthusiastic sailor, but what sets him apart from the crowd is his ironic view of his own considerable achievements and his unique turn of phrase. Reading his book Letters from the Lost Soul: A Five Year Voyage of Discovery and Adventure is a rare treat.
We join him and his crew as they tackle a spectacular reef passage in the far Pacific. Then, after catching our breath, a second extract sees him once again running an impossible current through mind-numbing surf into a reef-strewn Mexican haven that then turns downright nasty on him. Somehow, the Lost Soul survives.
Here we sat. The boat was rocking, the pass had waves breaking across the opening, and there was a storm on the way that would have us going straight into it for 750 miles to our next stop. This was the final exam of sailing.
Young Luke and I jumped into the dinghy and fought our way through the waves to the pass to check it out again. It was gushing through the pass at about 7-8 knots, with large breakers across the front and a lot of very shallow coral heads on the inside. The winds would be blowing at 45-50 knots on our beam if we tried to go through. We took the dinghy to the other side of the island to see if we could anchor, but the waves from the south-east storm were still breaking at about 15ft there.
So these were our choices on this final exam we were facing. We could:
Bu hikaye Yachting World dergisinin April 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Yachting World dergisinin April 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
wallywind 110 launches
The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.
Youth AC puts on a show
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.
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