Schooner Nina

There are “grave concerns” over the fate of the historic American schooner Nina, missing with its crew of seven en route from New Zealand to Australia, Maritime New Zealand said Thursday.

The 70-foot boat left Opua, north of Auckland, bound for Newcastle, north of Sydney, on May 29. It was last heard from on June 4, when it was about 370 nautical miles (425 miles, or 685 kilometers) west-northwest of Cape Reinga in northern New Zealand, Maritime New Zealand said. The distance from Opua to Newcastle is more than 1,100 nautical miles.

The American schooner Nina and the seven people aboard have been missing since June 4.

According to Maritime New Zealand, the people on board are six Americans—three men and three women—and a British man.

The vessel is equipped with a satellite phone, a spot device that allows regular tracking signals to be sent manually and an emergency beacon. The emergency beacon hasn’t been activated.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand began a communications search on June 14, broadcasting alerts into the area seeking a response from the Nina or from vessels that had seen it. No sighting has been reported by any other vessel since June 4. Two extensive area searches have also turned up nothing.

Click here to read more from CNN.

Click here to read more from Fox News.

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LOA 33′ 0″ (10.06 m.)

LWL 29′ 10″ (9.09 m.)

Beam 10′ 11″ (3.33 m.)

Draft 6′ 6″ (1.98 m.)

Sail area 671 sq. ft. (62.3 sq. m.)

Ballast 3,350 lb. (1,520 kg.)

Displacement 8,338 lb. (3,782 kg.)

Ballast/D 0.40

D/L 140

SA/D 26.1

Water 32 gal. (121 l.)

Fuel 20 gal. (76 l.)

Holding 12 gal. (45 l.)

Mast height 55′ 0″ (16.76 m.)

Engine 18-hp Volvo Penta

Tom McNeil

C+C Yachts

(440) 392-2628

www.c-cyachts.com

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Secchi Disk

Out of the blue one afternoon, I got a call from Dr. Richard Kirby, a Marine Institute fellow at Plymouth University in England. He wants to recruit volunteers for a study he and his colleagues are conducting to survey and map the seasonal and annual changes in phytoplankton worldwide. These microscopic organisms are the first link in the marine food chain and, like most sea life, have a preferred temperature range. If climate change is affecting their numbers, it would be useful to know where and by how much.

We all like projects and tinkering. Sometimes I think maybe that’s why we own boats. They keep our fingers nimble and our minds occupied. And a lot of us worry about the state of the waters in which we sail, despite the opinions to the contrary that pop up on our letters pages from time to time. So I was intrigued.

“Because the phytoplankton live at the surface of the sea, they’re being affected by rising sea temperatures due to climate change,” Kirby explained in a follow-up email outlining the Secchi Project.

To measure and quantify what is actually occurring on a global basis, Kirby and his team hope sailors and fishermen will pitch in and help collect data, since it would be tough for a handful of researchers to cover the world’s oceans on their own.

To gauge the amount of phytoplankton in a water column, one just has to measure the turbidity of the water using a simple device called a Secchi disk, which you can easily make on your own. The disk is named after Father Pietro Angelo Secchi, S.J., an astronomer who created the first disk in 1865 to measure water turbidity in the Med.

To make your own disk, cut a 30-centimeter-diameter circle out of a sheet of plywood, plastic, or metal and paint it matte white. Put enough weight on one side (Kirby suggests 200 grams, about seven ounces) to make the disk sink in seawater, and add an eye on the other side for attaching a surveyor’s tape measure. The tape costs about $18 online, or you can use a rope calibrated in 20-centimeter increments.

Out on the water, with the sun at your back, lower the disk over the side, letting it sink until you lose sight of it. Then record the depth. The researchers recommend taking readings between 1000 and 1400.

To file your report, all you need is a smartphone and the Secchi app developed by computer scientists at Plymouth University. The app uses the phone’s GPS to capture your location, then provides an easy-to-follow sequence of prompts to enter the data that Kirby and crew will track. The app either transmits the data in real time or stores it until you return to land and have Internet access again.

It’s that simple. So now you have a project for a rainy morning when you can’t get down to work on the boat. And during the season, you can justify all your sailing adventures by chalking it up to research. All for the phytoplankton.

Click here to read more from editor Mark Pillsbury.

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Jones River Watershed Association

In honor of World Oceans Day, West Marine announced the recipients of their annual Marine Conservation Grants program. Grants are being awarded to organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada who are working to “improve and protect marine habitat,” which is a key part of West Marine’s mission. Due to the abundance of worthwhile projects, West Marine upped their grants to $40,000 instead of $30,000, which was previously announced.

The Marine Conservation Grants are a component of West Marine’s BlueFuture initiative to help create a sustainable future for our planet. The focus of this year’s awards is on projects that enhance marine habitat, engage anglers in data collection and educate anglers about barotrauma. The thirteen recipients are based in Massachusetts, Florida, Washington, Louisiana, California, British Columbia, Canada and Hawaii.

2013 West Marine Conservation Grants:
1. Gloucester, Massachusetts – Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries
2. Kingston, Massachusetts – The Jones River Watershed Association
3. Sanford, Florida – The Snook & Gamefish Foundation’s Angler Action Program
4. Miami, Florida – Coastal Angler Science Team (CAST)
5. Jacksonville, Florida – TISRI
6. Bellingham, Washington – CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) North Sound
7. Covington, Louisiana – Recreational Fisheries Research Institute (RFRI)
8. National Marine Sanctuary “Classic” in California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington, Massachusetts, Michigan and Hawaii
9. Central Coast, California – Coastside Fishing Club
10. Petaluma, California – Golden Gate Salmon Association
11. Brentwood Bay, British Columbia – Sea Change
12. Honolulu, Hawaii – Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG)
13. Concord, California – Water4Fish Inc.

To read about each of the projects and why they were chosen as winners, click here.

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Del Viento- Friday Harbor

We left Victoria this past Saturday, in the wee hours (that’s 8:00 a.m. in Del Viento-speak) and headed to Friday Harbor, a U.S. port in the San Juan Islands. We tied up to the customs dock and I grabbed our folder of documentation and passports. Nobody was in the small office on the dock. I picked up the yellow courtesy phone.

“U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.”

“Hi there, this is Del Viento. We just arrived here in Friday Harbor.”

There was a long pause. “What role does the person in the red pants play?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Aboard your vessel, who is the person in the red pants?”

I turned around and glanced back at the boat, Windy was sitting on the coaming in her red foul weather bottoms. “Oh, that’s my wife, Windy—I guess she’s the skipper on this leg, she helmed the boat over from Victoria; I slept much of the way.”

“Why did she run up and down the docks when you arrived?”

Run up and down the docks? I thought back: she drove us in, I hopped off with the stern line, she jumped off after she stopped the boat and then we both adjusted the lines… “I’m not sure what you mean; she didn’t run up and down the docks when we arrived.”

“We have cameras that cover the dock from one end to another. Your crew member in the red pants left the vessel and walked outside our camera range—I want to know what she was doing.”

“Uh, respectfully, she did nothing more than walk between the bow and stern lines, securing the boat.”

“Do you have any fruit or vegetables aboard?”

“Yeah, we have garlic, a couple apples, a few bananas, some mangoes…” I was mid-sentence when he interrupted me.

“Please get back aboard your vessel and wait for me to come down there.”

I told Windy about my phone call and the camera surveillance–our voices hushed in case there were hidden mikes too. After about 10 minutes, Mr. Officious came walking toward us. We tried to crack his demeanor with our smiles and hellos as he approached, but he was having none of it.

“Passports please.” He focused sternly on our happy family sitting on the rail. “Frances, please raise your hand.” She complied. “Where’s your mom?” he continued.

Now Frances is a sharp little boat schooler, but a bit shy around strangers, and feeling pressured. I took a deep breath before she finally smiled and pointed at Windy.

Mr. Officious barely nodded before training his glare at my wife. “You left the boat and walked this way,” he said, sweeping his arm dramatically towards the bow, “outside of our camera range.”

“You mean to that bow cleat? I was securing the boat…” Windy said, and she wasn’t amused.

“Do you have any weapons or explosives aboard?”

“No, nothing.” I said.

“Did you allow anyone aboard your vessel in Canada?”

“Of course, several times, we were there for quite a while, made a lot of friends.”

“Did you buy anything in Canada?”

“Uh, yeah, lots of stuff, mostly food and sundries.”

“But you’re telling me that everything aboard this vessel—everything—belongs to you and you know what’s aboard.”

“Yep.” I thought for sure this was the question before the search. In San Diego last year, coming into the U.S. from Mexico, we were all four made to sit on the cabin top under the watchful eye of two customs officials while a third spent 15 minutes looking through our stuff down below.

“You have nothing aboard you plan to sell?”

I wanted to explain to him that everything’s more expensive in Victoria, even Canadian maple syrup. I’d be a fool to try and import anything. “We have nothing to sell.”

“You’re checked in. Here’s your clearance number.” He handed me a slip of paper, turned, and began to walk away and stopped. “Oh, the mangoes you have aboard—please get them for me.”

Windy brought up three glorious, perfect mangoes. We’d already enjoyed a couple and were foolish not to have eaten these before we arrived. Windy dumped them into the plastic bag he held at the end of his outstretched arms.*

And without a word, he turned again and walked away.

Now, I know the drill. Years ago I sat through a grueling three-hour CIA polygraph exam. Mr. Officious is trained to unsettle us, rattle us, and intimidate us. Like a polygraph examiner, his job is to induce stress and ferret out inconsistencies and otherwise make us feel like criminals when we’ve committed no crime. It’s a game and I’m happy to play.

But the game was over, he’d cleared us back in. He’d cleared us right out of his narrow jurisdiction and we were now as free and innocent as my grandma sitting in her Nebraska living room.

I called after him, just 20 feet away, heading down the 350-foot long empty Customs dock, not another boat in sight. “Is it okay if we stay here for just 10 minutes, to make a phone call, before we untie?”

He stopped and turned and paused, “No, you can’t.”

--MR

• Can you imagine how great it would be if there had really been five mangoes aboard, if Windy had mistakenly grabbed and surrendered only the three she first saw, if Frances happened to discover two more later at the bottom of the hammock and we enjoyed them immensely? Can you imagine?

We did a bit of provisioning in Friday Harbor. Eleanor (sporting her new short doo) is finally strong enough to lug beer, bless her heart.

Windy’s always been our mast ascender, this was my first time up on this boat. I did a final rigging check, fixed our ProFurl halyard wrap stop, and installed two dozen stand-offs I made to attach our SSB antennae to the back stay.

I__n our twenties, we traded our boat for a house and our freedom for careers. In our thirties, we slumbered through the American dream. In our forties, we woke and traded our house for a boat and our careers for freedom. And here we are. Follow along at http://www.logofdelviento.blogspot.com/

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Morris SUP

Maine boatbuilder Morris Yachts has announced the design of their new custom Inflatable Standup Paddleboard (iSUP) as an added benefit with the purchase of an M46 sailing yacht. While paddle boarding often overlaps with the sailing lifestyle, no semi-custom production sailboat manufacturer has ever offered a custom paddleboard alongside a sailing yacht.

To create the board, Morris Yachts partnered with Hawaii-based C4Waterman to develop a custom board for this boat. This board is 10’9″ and designed for beginners all the way through to experts. The 34″ width gives it both extra volume and provides a very stable ride.

“Morris Yachts prides itself in creating exceptional yachting and yacht ownership experiences,” says Doug Metchick, CEO Morris Yachts. “Offering a custom paddleboard is just another way we can enhance our customers’ time on the water and help them get the most out of their sailing lifestyle and, ultimately, their Morris.” The M46, introduced in March, was designed to meet the demands of today’s active sailing family and her innovative drop down transom design provides easy and convenient water access for the Morris iSUP.

The M46 includes an on-board storage plan for the Morris iSUP. “The iSUP and storage bag will slip neatly into its allocated place in the M46’s bow locker where it is held in place by a security strap. When ready for use, all the owner has to do is release the strap and lay the board flat on the nearby foredeck to inflate it,” says Peter Smith, Chief Engineer for Morris Yachts. A pump with pressure gauge, carry bag, paddle, deck pad and hand hold are all included with the Morris iSUP.

For more information on the M46 and the custom paddleboard, visit www.morrisyachts.com

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Donald Backe

Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing have announced that nominations are now open for the 2013 Maritime Heroes Award. Now in its second year, the 2013 Maritime Heroes Award is seeking out men and women across the United States that have made outstanding contributions to the longevity and accessibility of sailing.

Nominations for the Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award will be accepted from June 3, 2013 to August 31, 2013 at www.maritimeheroes.com. Finalists will be selected by Old Pulteney and US Sailing representatives. A public vote will then be held on the website and the 2013 Maritime Hero will be announced and honored at a ceremony in February 2014 during US Sailing’s Sailing Leadership Forum in San Diego, California.

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OSTAR

Race Update from June 4:

The last 48hours of the 2013 OSTAR have seen some exciting developments. Early updates on Monday 3rd showed Andrea Mura closing in on Roger Langevin’s position. Around midday the two 50 foot yachts were less than 20NM apart and Mura had finally overtaken and reclaimed his first place position. Late on Tuesday 4th, Mura had extended his lead on the trimaran to over 40NM and it seems that the match race for Line Honours has truly begun.

Almost 400nm to the north east of the two lead boats, the Gypsy Moth class leaders Richard Lett on Pathways to Children and Jac Sandberg on Spirit have continued to sail consistently and despite Spirit being forced further north during the strong winds of Sunday, they are once again neck and neck with less than 10NM difference in their distance to finish. Third place in the class is currently held by the Italian Open 50, Vento Di Sardegna who still owes a lot of time to the smaller boats.

Late on Tuesday, the tracker update showed Ralph Villiger on Ntombifuti had set sail, put Brest behind him and is ocean bound. He’s enjoying a favourable 10-15knot wind from behind the beam which is forecast to continue for at least the next 20hours. Hopefully this will aid in him closing the nearly 600NM gap which now stands between him and the rest of the fleet.

Jonathan Snodgrass reported on his dismasting and repair progress. In the early hours of Wednesday 29th, Lexia‘s foremast failed and Jonathan was forced to cut it free to prevent hull damage. Falmouth coastguard offered assistance but Jonathan insisted on returning to Falmouth under his own steam. Having since returned to Plymouth, he has ordered a new mast and suit of sails and is planning to re-join the race early next week.

Read more at ostar.rwyc.org

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Terminals such as shown on the alternator and all the termination points in any starter motor circuit need to have an insulating cap over them to keep sparks from flying if a metal object comes in contact.

The other all too common point where our inspectors found no protective cover was at positive battery terminals. Just remember that a short circuit at that point in your electrical system could cause the battery to explode. I don’t think I need to explain why that might not be a good thing.

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alternator no boot copyboats_8669.jpg

Continuing with our theme the week before last I want to look further at the results from our ABYC Boat Safety Check event last month in Annapolis. As mentioned in my last post on this event the number one item our inspectors found was faulty or non-existent ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s). Next on the list were issues related to over-current protection for both shore power and DC circuits on board. When I’m talking about over-current protection I’m referring to things like fuses and circuit breakers. To refresh everyone’s memory, these are the devices that can prevent an electrical fire on your boat in the event of a short circuit in your electrical system, for any reason. Additionally, protection of termination points in the wiring for circuits that may not actually have a fuse or breaker installed such as starter motor circuits or in some cases alternator circuits is also a requirement under ABYC Standard E-11. The photo below, on a brand new boat illustrates that many folks, including the people actually building boats ignore this basic requirement.


Terminals such as shown on the alternator and all the termination points in any starter motor circuit need to have an insulating cap over them to keep sparks from flying if a metal object comes in contact.

The other all too common point where our inspectors found no protective cover was at positive battery terminals. Just remember that a short circuit at that point in your electrical system could cause the battery to explode. I don’t think I need to explain why that might not be a good thing.

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