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Cruising Shot of the Week

Thanks to Cruising Compass community member Jen for sending in this week's shot!

"This photo was taken in the BVI last October. Beautiful weather and great sailing up the Drake Channel!"

Send your cruising shot to comments@cruisingcompass.comfor a chance to be featured as the Cruising Shot of the Week!

Dock Talk

Headed to the Eastern Med?

Netsel Marina located in the heart of Marmaris, Turkey, is a thoroughly modern marina with electricity, water and wireless internet all included in your dockage. Marmaris is a main point of entry for Turkey from the Aegean Sea and is located in the southwestern corner of the country. Right now, Netsel Marina is offering a bonus day for every three that you stay. They are also offering a 50% discount on haul outs with 10 free days on the hard. Discounts are also available for monthly stays. Check it out at www.netsel.com

Women on the water

The Bitter End Yacht club has just announced the 2007 dates for their 16th Women on the Water Week. This year’s event will take place Oct. 20-26, right before the popular Pro-Am regatta. The Women on the Water Week is a chance for women of all sailing skill levels to take lessons from big-boat cruising specialist Pam Wall; world-class foredeck crew and sailing racer Martha Parker; and Betsy Alison, five-time U.S. SAILING Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, and coach of the U.S. Disabled Sailing Team. Bitter End’s Women on the Water Week boasts a unique format that includes a skills assessment, one-on-one tutorials and cruising clinics. In addition, participants will start each day with an energizing fitness program, followed by a short information session, or “chalk-talk,” that will cover all aspects of skippering, sail trimming, sail changing, crewing and teamwork. To participate, contact the Bitter End at 800.872.2392 and check out their website at www.beyc.com

Win Steiner Commander Binoculars at Strictly Sail Pacific

Cruising Compass and Steiner Binoculars have teamed up to bring you a unique opportunity to win a pair of top quality 7 x 50 marine binoculars – the Steiner Commander. All you have to do is come by the Blue Water Sailing booth --B-852-- any time before 3 p.m. on Sunday April 22 and fill in a raffle form. You'll also get a chance to meet the BWS and Cruising Compass staff and sign up for a Blue Water Sailing subscription at the low boat show price. See you there

Cool Things to Do

Is there a cool event going on in your community? Email us about it!

Not your typical boat parade

This Saturday, April 14th, the America’s Cup boats will be struttin’ their stuff at the America’s Cup boat parade in Valencia, Spain. The 12 boats will sail down the Port America’s Cup canal each accompanied by a unique choreography of lights, music and fireworks. The parade marks the opening of the America’s Cup competition, which begins two days later with the first racing of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup then goes on to race the Swiss defender Alinghi for the America’s Cup. Learn more at www.americascup.com

Safety at Sea

If you are planning to participate in an event such as the Race to Mackinac, consider attending the US Sailing Safety at Sea seminar this weekend at the Chicago Yacht Club. You can choose to attend either the April 14th or 15th session, and each begins at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $95 and there is a $5 discount for US Sailing members. To register, call 312-861-7777, or visit www.chicagoyachtclub.org for more info.

Off to Bermuda!

• The 2007 Charleston to Bermuda Race begins on May 18. This 777-mile event is open to any seaworthy boat over 30 feet and the entry deadline is May 11. Learn more at www.charlestontobermuda.com.
• The Cruising Rally Association’s Atlantic Cup leaves for Bermuda from Tortola, BVI, on May 3 with the boats gathering on April 30th at Village Cay Marina in Road Town. Like other CRA events, you can choose to enter either in the rally class where boats will be assigned a PHRF handicap and must keep an engine log, or the cruising class where performance is not judged. More info at www.carib1500.com

Strictly Sail Pacific

This is the largest all-sail show on the West Coast! Even if you are not in the market for a new boat (and there will be loads of them to look at), a trip to Strictly Sail Pacific is worth your while. Hundreds of informative seminars all the latest sailing gear are just two of the reasons. Check out the show April 18th – 22nd at Jack London Square, Oakland, Calif. And don’t forget to say hello to the Blue Water Sailing crew in booth 852!

Cruising Compass readers can save $5 off ticket prices! Visit Strictly Sail’s ticketing site here for discount tickets.

5 Oceans frenzy!

The Velux 5 Oceans race village officially opens today! Head on over to the Waterside Marina in Norfolk, Va., this weekend to meet the intrepid solo sailors of the Velux 5 Oceans and check out their awesome boats. The race restarts on Sunday, April 15th from Norfolk for the last dash across the Atlantic back to Bilbao, Spain. For more info about the Norfolk stopover, visit www.velux5oceans.com

Boat Rat's Tip of the Week

Catching rain water

Thumbing through the West Marine catalog and daydreaming about putting a watermaker on the boat, we found ourselves wondering if we could really justify spending $3,000 just to have a shower everyday? And while we continue to ponder the question, we still need to find a way to keep our water tanks filled without having to pull into a dock every other day or lug jerry jugs to and from the boat.

Catching rainwater is the simplest, cheapest and lowest tech solution. You would be amazed at how much water you can catch in a good rainstorm –even just a one-hour squall if the rain is steady enough.

The simplest way to catch rain water is to collect the water that falls on deck. All you have to do is let the rain wash the decks down for a half hour or so –you can speed up the cleaning process with a soap-free deck brush—to remove most of the salt and grit. Once the decks are clean, use towels to create channels to and small dams around the deck fills for the water tanks and, voila, rain water will begin to flow straight into the tanks.

This system works fine but be aware that there is an inevitable residue of salt and dirt that will get into the tanks. Installing a high quality water filter will eliminate most of this residue.

For those who want to collect a lot of water on a regular basis, a dedicated rain catching awning is the best way to go. There are a number of designs for tent or boom awnings that will do the trick. The problem with all rain catching awnings is wind. One solution for those with large cockpits is to design a rain catcher that fits behind the dodger and over the cockpit where it can be strapped down in a good V-shape that will be somewhat out of the wind.

If you intend to use you main awning as a rain catcher, you need to be able to mount it inverted beneath the boom so the lowest point is at the middle where a plastic hose attachment can be fixed. All four corners and the inverted V need to be lashed securely.

A large water catching awning will collect dozens of gallons of fresh water in a steady day of rain. Your tanks will be filled, you can take showers when you like and you still have most of the $3,000 left.

Caribbean Cuisine: Tommy Cantina

Sailing on your stomach: In the wake of an insatiable food sleuth

This story originally appeared in the April 2007 issue of Blue Water Sailing. Louise's Caribbean cuisine stories will be appearing here regularly.

Tommy Cantina, Port Elizabeth, Bequia

South-of-the-border, south of the border

by Louise Wollman

My food fantasies generally run to Chinese egg rolls, Japanese sushi rolls or a perfect bowl of spaghetti Amatriciana. Culinary cravings like this are endemic to a lifestyle where you mostly find goat curry, cuspid-killing conch and bone-dry boneless fish.

A Texas cruiser must lust similarly after taquitos. Me, I would only hanker for Mexican fare retroactively—that is, if I rammed smack into some south-of-the-border cantina. Which happens just about never in the Caribbean.

But then in Bequia I hear about a Mexican restaurant. Visions of overstuffed tacos and plump tamales come entirely unbidden. (Well, there is also the lure of a perfect margarita.)...
read more >>

For the Hungry Crew

Nothing is cozier on a chilly, rainy day than a steaming bowl of chowder in a warm saloon. This one is guaranteed to do the trick.

Corn Chowder with Red Potatoes

From Feasts Afloat by Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Elizabeth Wheeler

• 2 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil
• 1/2 C chopped cooked ham
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk with leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3 or 4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 C chicken broth or water
• salt
• 1 16-oz can cream-style corn
• 2 C fresh or canned evaporated milk
• 3 Tbsp butter softened
• 3 Tbsp flour
• pepper
• chopped fresh parsley

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the ham, onion and celery and sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme and potatoes and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add salt to taste, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add the corn and milk and heat until simmering.

In a small bowl, stir the butter and flour together to make a smooth paste. Add a cupful of the hot soup to the paste and whisk until smooth. Stir the mixture into the soup and simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley.

Website of the Week

NavQuest

Check out this new site that has charts to browse through and a cool trip planning tool. There is also a forum and an online marine store. It’s only recently been launched and the company plans to add more charts soon. Take a look at www.navquest.com

Mindbender

A world cruising plan

You are planning a two-and-a-half year cruise westward around the world via Panama and the Cape of Good Hope. You know you have to cross the oceans at the right time of the year. When should you plan to transit the Panama Canal, round the top of Australia and then round the Cape to meet the best sailing seasons in the Pacific, Indian and South Atlantic oceans? And why?

Send your answers to comments@cruisingcompass.com. A winner – who will receive a Blue Water Sailing hat—will be selected at random from all of the correct answers.

• There were no correct answers to last week’s Mindbender, so this week, there is another chance to win one of our sporty Blue Water Sailing hats! Check out issue 36 in the Archives menu on the right, and send your answer to comments@cruisingcompass.com