October 2018
CORK RACE WEEK 2018 Email communications on board Tasmania, New Caledonia BARGEBOATS, TROPICAL FRUIT, Kayaking Alaska
Dragons and boobies! SisterShip 1
COVER: 2018 Double Bay Sailing Club Women’s Laser Regatta. (Photo: Lucky Lion Photography)
Contents Features
Lockers
9
Some Days Are Diamond
3
Page 3 Girls
13
DBSC Women’s Laser Regatta
4
The Bowsprit: Editorial
16
Winlink: Global Radio Email Service
5
Message in a Bottle: Letters
25
Fear -Writing Competition Winners
44
Shero: Lauren Demos
26
Fear - Judges’ Comments and Bios
50
Flat Bottomed Girl: Barge Boats
29
Fear - Winner: Paralysed in the Pacific
63
Where in the World?
34
Fear - Into the Blue: A Man’s View
64
My Galley Rules: Sweet Sensations
37
Passage Adventures: The Wrap-Up
73
Pearls of Wisdom: Plastic-free
45
Remote Southwest Coast of Tasmania
80
Upon a Painted Ocean: Art Feature
54
How Can I Help? Safety
81
Green on Blue: Leafy Sea Dragons
59
Cork Race Week 2018
85
Watercolours: Photos
70
A New Boat
86
Book Club
75
Roger Booby: Wildlife
87
Service Directory
Brogo, NSW 2550, Australia.
©copyright 2018. SisterShip Press Pty. Ltd. Original editorial and advertisements in this magazine are copyright and exclusive property of SisterShip Press Pty. Ltd. Reprinting of any material in whole or part requires the written permission of the publisher. Comments and opinions expressed within this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors.
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Editors: Jackie Parry and Shelley Wright Postal Address: 59 Bellemount Lane,
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SisterShip 2
Page 3 girls! Celebrating real women on the water Send your ‘Page 3’ photos to editor@sistershipmagazine.com
LEFT: WENDY JOHNSON, generator repairs. Australia.
RIGHT: RAYLENE SYMONS up the mast to replace the main halyard and inspect equipment. Australia.
LEFT: LAURA helming SV Caber from Bundaberg to the Whitsunday Islands. Australia. SisterShip 3
The bowsprit
In July of this year SisterShip announced our first short story writing competition for women on the water. The topic – fear. We were inundated with entries from around the world, stories that were heartbreaking, inspirational, gut-wrenching and soul-baring. Four independent (and anonymous) judges undertook the mammoth task of selecting 12 finalists and whittling these down to our three major prize winners (entrants were also anonymous). Your SisterShip editors were not part of the judging process, we did however, read each story as it came in, at times with tears streaming down our faces. The courage shown by these women in sharing their stories is enormous. We are delighted to share the winning story with you in this issue and to announce that 46 of these stories will appear in an anthology which will be available on October 31st! We congratulate our winners and finalists and thank every woman who shared her story with us, and of course our judges too. The SisterShip team is in awe of you all! In keeping with the topic of fear we include a fear-related letter trail that illustrates that fear is also felt by those left on shore. We then break with tradition and include a contribution from a man. Why? In a magazine for and by women? Simply to highlight that while women might appear to dominate the fear stakes, we don’t own them. John Hembrow, from SisterShip’s partner the Down Under Rally, speaks frankly about
overcoming his own fear before heading offshore for the first time, and shares advice that helped him. What do many of us turn to after a fearful experience? Sweet food! In keeping with our ‘Fear’ theme, Karen Oberg has cooked up a storm of tropical fruit desserts. For one of our editors, it doesn’t get much better than black sapote mousse! Our ‘Passage Adventurers’, Lucy and Mathilde, have completed their Alaskan kayak expedition (see April SisterShip) and we include their wrap-up in this issue. We also bring you reports from the Cork Race Week and the inaugural DBSC Women’s Laser Regatta.
Those following the 2018 Golden Globe Race, are no doubt aware that drama hit some of the race fleet as they crossed the Southern Ocean between South Africa and Australia last week, with two dismastings and the rescue of Indian competitor Abhilash Tomy. Susie Goodall (see June SisterShip) avoided the worst of the weather and is currently placed in 4th position headed towards Australia. Clip on those safety tethers and join us aboard SisterShip as we toss the lines once more… Shelley Wright &
Jackie Parry SisterShip 4
Letters Message in a bottle Women support women, that’s evident in the success of the Women Who Sail (WWS) movement globally, a Facebook group with over 15,000 women members. There are subgroups in Australia, Asia, the Med, New Zealand, and elsewhere. You can read about the founding of Women Who Sail here: http://bit.ly/FoundingofWomenWhoSail This post below from Ava Ryerson, appeared on WWS recently. The fear contained in these words is powerful and real. Many women related to this content – initially the
Send your letters to editor@sistershipmagazine.com
fear wasn’t Ava’s, it was someone else’s. But given a free rein, fear is contagious. Given the relevance (and importance) of the following topic we sought permission to publish this post from the Women Who Sail FB group. Ava’s post led to over 240 responses of support from every corner of the globe. With permission from WWS, Ava (and her aunt), and Suzanne we reproduce the following...
Anyone have experience with naysayers that you love? I just received this message from one of my aunties regarding crossing the Pacific (leaving in a few days!). We are feeling ready on all fronts and have seriously and endlessly talked about weather and passage. We have a trusted friend weather routing us every day. We feel good. Then this just jarred me. I feel super guilty about stressing my family out but what can I say to them? I just think there is no way they would understand. I could use some advice on the best way to respond to this message respectfully… “Please, please, please decide not to go, it really is too dangerous and not worth your beautiful life. It is never too late to change your mind. Until you’re in a storm which you cannot get out of. If anything happens to one of you; sick or hurt or appendicitis or toothache, seasick nausea, the other must take all responsibility. The ocean waves are tremendous. No system is perfect. Your mother was in true shambles with that storm you were in, she was literally desperately falling apart. Please don't do this to her. Is it really worth it? Is anything or anyone else 's dreams worth your own life? Please consider, consider, consider extremely carefully. Grandpa is completely convinced you should not go. He has experienced the terrors of the violent ocean waves, in a large boat, and felt you are woefully underestimating your undertaking. I know your mother will be shaking in total fear every minute, I have heard her fear first hand. And her tears. Please Ava reconsider. We love you and are so supportive of all on your undertakings, until this one that we must tell you as those who care about you it is unwise..." SisterShip 5
This is just one of the responses (reprinted with permission)... There are two types of people in this world. There are ones who are controlled by their fears and there are others who face fears and die without regret. We tried to puddle jump this year from La Cruz. We got 800 miles out and had to turn around because our batteries failed, and we didn't have enough fuel to motor the entire way. It was a rougher trip than I had expected, and we learned a ton about what we will do next time. We were sick the first three days, reefed down but still heeled over a lot of the time and the seas we're very confused. Can you say uncomfortable? Cooking was much more difficult than I expected, certain foods didn't last well, But never did we feel scared for our lives. We have a pactor modem and downloaded grib files at least twice a day. We also have an Iridium GO!TM that sends automatic location updates and allows texting to a land based emergency contact. We even were able to imbed this location beacon into the boats website. (More people "followed" our journey than expected.) Anyway, people were scared for us too. Once they understood that we were prepared and confident, their fear turned into excitement for us. (By the way, we have a kick-ass ditch bag too, just in case). Suzanne Mathieu Website: Seagypsysuz.com Instagram: @Seagypsysuz Suzanne currently lives on a sailboat in Mexico, SV Epiphany, a 46 ft Jeanneau, which will be headed to Panama in the Fall. She calls Melbourne, Florida home when she is not on the boat. She and her boyfriend enjoy traveling to remote locations via sailboat and intermingling with other cultures. She especially enjoys helping people by sharing her photos and blogging about their adventures.
Ava’s response to her Aunt... Aunt Teresa! I can understand why you and grandpa are afraid for me and this trip. But it is something that I have worked very hard to accomplish and Pajo and I have done every possible thing to make sure we are prepared to be safe on this journey. We have spent money to get the necessary things we and the boat need even though we don't have much. We have consulted and reached out to all the pros and people who have done ocean voyages, attended seminars at boat shows and read hundreds of books. We have sailed over 6,000 miles so far and endured some tough stuff off the coast of Nicaragua that left me questioning a lot of things. But in the end, I still want to continue the journey because it is my dream too. I know it is scary for everyone around me because it is an unknown, but in our large network of sailors there are many who take this path and it is not unknown to us. I am part of a FB group of 15,000 women sailors around the world and many have done this same trip this same time of year. It is the safest time to cross the Pacific. We have a weather pro sailor friend on land who is checking on us every day and sending us weather info daily via the device. We have everything on the boat we need to fix anything... It will be challenging and scary but rewarding and fulfilling all at once. We are not naive to the mighty power of the ocean, we have been humbled by it before. We have a satellite device that we can use to communicate to other boaters, family and to coast guard if necessary. We also have personal emergency beacons on our life jackets that with one button sends out a distress signal to USCG. We have the essential antibiotics, medical kit and seasick patches that a travel doctor prescribed to us... SisterShip 6
Continued...
From Aunt Theresa:
I could go on! I feel like we are more prepared than most people doing everyday normal things on land! Driving 70mph with a thousand other cars sounds a lot more dangerous to me!!! So you see we are not taking anything lightly. I hope this eases some of your stress. I have a lot of emotions and stress I'm dealing with getting ready to leave and I could use some support and a little faith from my family! I know my dad and grandma are watching over us and I will pray to them too. I love you guys very much and I hope Grandpa realizes that sometimes you just gotta trust that everything is going to work out, like grandma said to him after kid #6...
Ok ok ok!!! That all helps SO MUCH!! I'm glad it's your dream too and wow you did your research!! Then...wish I could go too! Send my water spirit ocean vibes to the big blue sea, across the world and back! We’ll be cheering you on!!!
I hope you understand. I talked to my mom today and she is worried but what mother wouldn't be. I am feeling the pressure of this but I have to live my own life. I can only hope that my family can send me positive energy right now because it is only going to help me be strong for this trip. I love you Auntie, and please read this to Grandpa!
I have also thought to visit you at one of your ports! So keep sharing and know that I love and relish every drop off what you share: I feel the sand in my feet and smell the salt and feel the wind in my hair, hear the water lapping and the sails flapping (do you hear sails flapping??? I like to imagine it anyway). From one romantic to another: Sail on girl!!! Experience, thrill, relish, feel, smell, listen, see everything you possibly can, you are only young once! Love you to Tahiti and back!!!!
xxoo Ava Rye
You are living a true dream, when I read your posts I imagine myself being right there, on the beaches and feeling and hearing the wind through those trees: I replayed that one a couple times really soaking it in. Your sharing is a wonderful gift maybe especially to me. I love to imagine how it feels to be sailing, and traveling!
One of our lucky SisterShip subscribers will win an AbsorbLiteTM microfibre beach towel thanks to Tesalate! Tesalate AbsorbLite towels are specifically engineered to allow sand to slip off and to dry in half the time of a regular towel. Compact and lightweight they are perfect for the beach and watersports!
To be drawn on December 10th. www.tesalate.com SisterShip 7
More about Ava Ryerson... I am a 33-year old sailor who hails from Seattle, Washington. I grew up on the eastern US in the lovely state of New Jersey, and have never sailed until about three years ago. I spent my twenties in the hustle and melting pot of lights and culture in New York City. There I built a career in the music business, burning the candle at both ends, as one does in NYC. At some point, I had enough of the grind and took a job that moved me and my cat across the country to Seattle. The mountains and lush green Puget Sound called to me. After a year of settling into the gig and establishing a community, I got laid off from the music job, then another one. It was time for a career change and to explore life in the Pacific Northwest. In search of an equally fulfilling role and something new, I taught myself some web design and worked for a wedding planning and event designer. Then I took a job as a barista and manager of coffee shop in the salty part of town called Ballard. There I met all kinds of characters and an amazing community of people. I thrived so much more in these roles than in a cubicle setting. In the midst of career changes and a little life chaos, I met a liveaboard sailor named Pajo with a dream to sail around the world. After sailing with him up through the waterways of Seattle, Puget Sound and Canada, I fell in love with sailing, from the thrills of riding on the wind to the access to wild, remote spots. I also really liked cooking on the boat, so challenging and rewarding.
convert the bare fiberglass race boat into a cosy budget cruising boat, complete with a conversion from diesel to electric. We are committed to a petroleum free life aboard and are never looking back, the custom electric drive is completely powered by renewable energy, right down to the sailing/ rowing dinghy. Having enough boat projects completed to feel ‘ready’ to untie the lines and head offshore, we left in September 2017 taking two burly crew members who stayed on until San Francisco. Many adventures, projects and learning experiences have been had since then, having sailed 10,000 miles from Seattle, through Mexico and Central America and jumping the Pacific from Costa Rica to French Polynesia. Cinderella and crew are in Tahiti currently making plans for re-rigging after a broken shroud halted our plans to make it to New Zealand this year. They will be navigating a long stay visa, finding marina space and are researching a conversion from rod rigging to Dyneema. http://www.sailingcinderella.com/
Credit for ‘whale pose shot’ Katherine Fleming.
And in the blink of a year, I had found a new home for my cat and was selling my vinyl records, a scooter, a car, all my vintage clothing and the rest of my earthly possessions to join this redheaded guy on his 35-foot Ericson sailboat named Cinderella. Over two years, we worked like mad to SisterShip 8
Some days are diamond
Denise Lowden I woke up this morning to a sea of blue, cliché I know, but the sky and sea blended into a beautiful blue. It seems especially nice today as the first two weeks we have been here in New Caledonia, have been spent in the marina in a haze of drizzle. Not that it’s stopped us exploring the culinary and cultural delights, but we have been a little damp doing so. Today however, I wake up at Ile Mato (Mato Islet for you non-French speakers). Ile Mato is below the southernmost tip of Grand Terre (the big island) and 26 nautical miles south from Noumea, the capital. Having finally escaped the marina we were keen to explore some of the islands. Being enthusiastic divers, we wanted clear water with the promise of either snorkelling or diving. According to the local digital guide we had purchased, Mato offered both. Ile Mato is a small island with a peak of about 45 metres which we climbed yesterday. Heavily overgrown, with vines clinging to our feet, it was not the most obvious of tracks, but the view was spectacular. There is something special about the way water changes colour over reef, coral, and sand. The camera struggles to capture all the tinted transitions, it’s so pretty. ‘Wow,’ is whispered more than once. The island is mostly surrounded by reefs and coral heads, providing excellent protection from, at present non-existent, winds. We are
still within the enormous lagoon that stretches the length of Grand Terre so the sea state is extraordinarily calm, and made for a great night’s sleep. Having spent two nights here we are keen to keep exploring, and having looked at the predicted weather, we decided to head to Baie de Prony (Prony Bay) the very southernmost tip of the mainland and into its deep protective bay. The wind looks like it’s going to pick up to 25 knots and out here in the low-lying islands it would make for a less comfortable stay on the boat. Jamie is reluctant to head in to the mainland. The bay I have selected for its protection is also the site of a large nickel mine (green-gold as the locals call it), and he has visions of us anchored outside of Port Pirie (a mining town in South Australia) – not a pretty picture. But, he is pragmatic about the decision, it is the best place to go given our current location. So, after a lazy morning we head off. The low winds belie the incoming rain and winds and we need to run an engine to keep us going. As we near Baie de Prony Jamie’s mental image takes place; it does indeed look like a mining bay with three large ships taking up much of the space near the entrance, in a queue of sorts to be filled. We push on, sails are lowered as we enter the bay and become completely becalmed, as owners of a sailing boat we always prefer to sail if we can, there is something magical about gliding through glassy waters though. SisterShip 9
Book release eBook available for preorder via Amazon - to be released 31st October 2018! *
*Paperback to follow.
To preorder your copy click here A collection of inspirational and practical stories from women on the water. Gasp, cry and laugh out loud as forty-six women from around the globe reveal their deepest fears and coping strategies while voyaging on (and in) the world's waterways.
Experience a unique journey, witnessing the emotional turmoil that fear can create as dreams, and loved ones, are threatened.
These true tales of raw emotion and courage will help you tackle fear, cast off the lines, and take heart in knowing you are not alone.
Not just for women, men should read this too. If you want to take your partner sailing these stories are a remarkable
insight into the minds of women as they unfold the secrets to help you – help them – love life at sea. SisterShip 32
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Into the blue: Overcoming and managing fear A man’s view
John Hembrow Before Leanne and I sailed off into the wide blue yonder we had never been more than a few miles from land – in fact before we departed Australia for New Caledonia in 2009 we had never sailed out of the sight of land. Was I afraid? You Bet! (Leanne was not at all afraid by the way!) We had done a lot of coastal cruising before we made our first ocean passage, and several overnight sails were part of this coastal cruising, but to be ‘out there’ for several days and nights on our own was for me at least a daunting prospect and one I was not at all excited about.
You see, I am in it for the destinations; the sailing for me is just a way of moving my home from one country to another. Having said that, I am enjoying the sailing more and more each year. In the months and weeks before we departed back in 2009 I spent a lot of time asking anyone who I thought might be able to provide me with some advice about bluewater sailing. Initially I was concerned, as most told me that it was very dangerous and not something that I should be doing. I very much wanted to spend extended periods cruising in other countries so I started to ask those who gave me this advice
if they themselves had actually done any ‘bluewater’ multiday passages. Turns out none of those who advised us not to do it had ever done it themselves! I decided that I needed to find people who had actually done what we hoped to do and ask them for advice. This, as it turned out, was not an easy task however I eventually did meet a few and all of them encouraged us and were eager to provide suggestions and advice. In the end it was a conversation I had with a fellow who had sailed single-handed across the pacific. He said to me, ‘You know what you should be most afraid of when sailing in the ocean – LAND!’ He then said that he was not at all afraid of being in the ocean but that he feared coastal passages as there were so many more dangers when sailing on the coast then there was in the ocean. Some 40,000 nm and almost 10 years later I find myself writing this story and I can say on reflection and without reservation that he was 100 percent correct. Sure we have had a few days and nights in the ocean that were not fun, but compared to having to navigate in coastal shipping lanes and in areas of poorly and even sometimes uncharted reefs I can say I would choose the SisterShip 34
ocean passages every time. Please don`t misunderstand me, there is plenty that can go wrong when you are ‘out there’ and I firmly believe it is essential to take the time to find out what can go wrong and learn what to do when it does. I can confidently say that every bad situation I have found myself in could have been avoided entirely. Learning about what you can do to avoid being in a bad situation is just as important as learning what to do if it happens, in fact the old saying: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ could not be more relevant than when applied to offshore sailing and cruising. So, what is FEAR? An anticipation or awareness of real or perceived danger. Some of us are more easily frightened than others and we all have different ways of managing fear. Some of us ‘just do it’ and deal with the fear along the way, and others ‘never do it’ because they are too frightened of what might happen. For those whose fear is based on what might happen the following acronym can often help to understand what is going on. False Expectation Appearing Real This is not to say all anticipation-based fear is false but often this is the case.
Many of us have watched movies or heard stories of boats and people being lost at sea and it is true, this happens. It does not however happen to everyone who goes to sea, in fact it happens to a very few. Below are some suggestions for managing fear so it does not stop you from living your dream: Plan and prepare for the worst then hope for the best. •
Write down the things you are afraid of.
•
Learn how to prepare yourself and your vessel well so that the likelihood of the things that you are afraid of happening actually happening is very low.
•
Learn what to do if the worst happens.
•
Practice what you have learned with someone who is experienced.
•
Perhaps take an experienced crewmember along with you.
I am not at all ashamed to say that I am still very anxious every time we set sail and I believe some fear is healthy as it serves to warn us of possible danger and allows us to ‘adjust our sails’ in order to avoid the situation completely or to employ the skills we have learned and practiced in response to the event in order to get the best possible outcome. Courtesy of Sarah Steenland.
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Shero! Reading Tanya Aebi’s ‘Maiden Voyage’ for the first time a year ago, I really connected with the struggles and tribulations of her journey. But mostly, I fell in love with her boat: the Contessa 26. The more I read about the Contessas, the more I knew that was the boat for me. Full-keeled, bluewater cruisers, of staunch build, they’d been sailed multiple times single-handed round the world. So, when the opportunity arose to purchase the Contessa 26 of my dreams, I jumped. A rebuilt, 1972 version, Hull No. 27 Little Minute. No matter that she was in Maine, more than 1,000 miles away from my home in Michigan. No matter that my sailing experience consisted of six months of day sails on an 18-foot pocket cruiser, along with sailing my 18-foot sea kayak in endurance coastal racing in Florida. This would be an adventure of a lifetime. And it’s finally happened. Little Minute and I arrived home in Michigan after traversing more than 1,000 miles. It took six months of planning, three months of staged sailing legs in between full-time work as a veterinarian, and various other challenges. I had my first of many overnights, did my first oil change, navigated NYC waters alone (what an experience!), and had to rely on the Women Who Sail Facebook group for last minute Erie Canal help (thanks, Pam!), after unexpectedly dismissing crew. I met a lot of old salts, new salts, and everyone in between including the Mayor of Catskills, New York in a marina tavern.
Sailing in Maine for her "Maiden Voyage".
And me? I’m already planning the next journey! LAUREN DEMOS is a veterinarian from Michigan, USA.
Sailing Lake Ontario, well-heeled.
Stacey, a friend, helping with the last of the Erie Canal locks.
For someone who learned to sail 12 months ago, I’m thrilled! So, for now, Little Minute will hang tight for a “little minute” until she travels to her final berth in Northern Michigan in the next few weeks. SisterShip 44
The Remote Southwest Coast of Tasmania
Julienne hiding behind the swell as she hugs the coast of South West Cape with the cliffs behind the sea mist.
Three yachts, all crewed by friends, recently set out on the adventure of the year: to explore the island of Tasmania with a full circumnavigation. Usually, March is a time when the weather is more settled, and the winds are not so strong and more predictable. Unfortunately, this year that was not the case. Gales dominated our time away and so it started with a gale. We waited out the first nasty blow in Dover, a safe place in such conditions. A local fishing boat and a yacht at Flinders Island came to grief. After three days, the westerlies had subsided from the 35 to 40 knots we had been experiencing and swells of seven to eight metres eased, and we sailed to Recherche Bay for an overnight stop. At first light on Wednesday 22nd March we headed off with a forecast of easterly winds and swells abating to three to four metres. It was our intention to explore the coast. Ian Johnston was collecting photographs for his
Sheenagh Neill
cruising guide of the area. The group were sailing boats of various lengths and drafts and helping him to test the anchorages in many unchartered areas he is writing about in a book to be released later this year*. The boats Phase Three, a Zeston 36 with a draft of 1.5 metres, Julienne, a converted wooden cray fishing boat also with as draft of 1.5 m, and Tahiti, a Sun Odyssey Jeanneau 42i with a draft of 2.15 m, set off at dawn. Ian, on Julienne, practically lives along this coast line, to him it’s like his second home so he hugged the coast and cliff faces with the confidence of someone who knew where they were heading. Paul Strong on Phase Three and his crew had also sailed there frequently. For us it was our first time. In unknown and unforgiving waters with a four-metre swell we stayed further out and tried to take snaps of the other two in the sea mist and beauty of the rugged Southwest. The occasional set would come in at over seven to eight metres, this did not phase Ian SisterShip 45
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