Sailing, it's what's for Breakfast

Ahoy! Welcome to I’dRatherBeSailing, the sailing newsletter that keeps soap in the emergency kit, just incase we wash ashore…

In today’s weekly round-up for you:

• Science Says: Sail more, live longer.

• Story of the Week: 1,000 miles from shore without steerage.

• Oceanis in Antigua: We found an air-conditioned bareboat steal.

• IMOCA’s and Mimosas: The Ocean Race comes to Rhode Island.

• No Salt, No Sharks, No Stress: An incredible sailing non-profit for Veterans, and our donation match.

Sailing…it’s what’s for Breakfast

How many times have you raised the main, tucked into the windward side of the cockpit as the boat heels over and thought “life is great.” Well it turns out there’s a little science to back up that feeling. In Blue Mind by marine biologist and author Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, he argues that being near or in water can promote mental clarity, lower stress hormone levels, and increase feelings of well-being. Another study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that being near water can improve creativity and problem-solving skills. Next you’re going to say sailing makes you lose weight too. Well…one study conducted by the American Council on Exercise found that a 150-pound individual can burn up to 260 calories per hour while sailing, which is equivalent to running at a moderate pace.

So there you have it. Messing about in boats is good for you. Next time someone asks why you’re always sailing, you can say it’s for your health. Why go to the gym when you can go for a jibe? You can’t argue with science.

1,000 Miles from Shore without Steerage

I was alone and adrift 1,000 nautical miles away from the Hawaiian Islands with a broken rudder and only two choices before me. I could either figure out how to steer Triteia, my 1965 Alberg 30, or I could call for rescue and scuttle her once a cargo ship arrived.

Less than an hour before I’d been hand steering, desperately trying to get Triteia to find her course. It was our first day in the Pacific tradewinds after departing from Marina del Rey, California, bound for Hilo, Hawaii. Even allowing for the usual challenges of running with the seas and the wind, something was off, Triteia refused to hold true. I’d disengaged my old Sailomat auxiliary rudder windvane and taken the helm to try and find her groove. The winds were Force 4-5 with 2m seas.

Suddenly the tiller went completely slack in my hand, quietly falling to starboard as the boat came hard up into the wind to port. There was no sound, no dramatic event, but within seconds, as I swung the tiller back and forth with no resistance, the gravity of my situation rang loud inside my head…

Our story pick of the week comes from James Frederick of SV Triteia, and originally appears in Yachting World. The full story of how he jury-rigs steerage using a droge, a spinnaker pole, and his headsail to make it safely to Hawaii is here, and an inspiring read. You can keep up with Jame’s adventure, and check out his route tracker as he sails slowly around the world, on his website here.

Charter Steal of the Week

Air-conditioned Oceanis in Antigua. Say that three times fast.

Antigua Sailing Week kicks off next week, and sadly we won’t make it but it did pique our curiosity about sailing there, and oh buoy were we pleasantly surprised. Our deal hunting lead us to one heck of an Easter Egg, maybe one of the best deals currently available in the Caribbean. If you can scrounge together 4 salty friends, the 5 of you would sail for two weeks in Antigua on a brand new air conditioned Beneteau Oceanis bareboat, in July, for about $60 per person per night. Not a bad deal for a couple weeks in paradise.

The downside? Flights are in the $600 range, so it might cost you as much for the flight as it will for the boat. But that’s still a good problem to have.

The charter is offered through Dream Yacht Worldwide, and I’dRatherBeSailing has partnered with them to offer our readers an additional discount, shown below. You can email us at [email protected], or fill out our questionnaire here for more info on this particular adventure. Readers can also use our partnership to save an additional 5%-10% on top of all current discounts for any DYW charters departing 2023.

Sail more, spend less. That’s our motto

(We just made that motto up. But kind of catchy, right?)

The Ocean Race comes to Newport

If you’re lucky enough to be in RI mid May, you’re in for a treat. The Ocean Race is making a stop in Newport for the third time in the history of the race, and thousands of fans will get to experience the week long sailing fest. Now if only they’d let us race one of those IMOCA’s…please, just for a few minutes…

• The Ocean Race will be hosted in Newport, Rhode Island from May 13-21.

• The boats will sail into Newport around May 10 and will be dockside for viewing.

• Visitors can tour a Tall Ship and try their hand at sailing in one of 14 boats with an instructor.

• There will be daily events including film screenings, live music, food trucks, and an exploration zone to learn more about sailing and the environment.

• May 17-18 is the pro/am sailing race and May 19-21 is the weekend with the Dock Out Ceremony, Sailing Parade, live music, and other activities.

• For more details check out this article from the local paper, Sentinel & Enterprise.

Sailing ‘Round the Web

No Salt, No Sharks, No Stress: No Salt Sailing is a nonprofit dedicated to creating a learning and empowering environment for veterans and transitioning veterans (and their families) who face mental health issues. Our organization will offer veterans the opportunity to sail with experienced Skipper/Captains, learn to sail, explore the Great Lakes, and develop maritime skills. Classes will challenge participants – both physically and mentally, recreating a sense of community and pride in their accomplishments while building transferable skills such as woodworking, rigging, and electrical systems. You can read their story, and donate to the amazing work they’re doing here. I’dRatherBeSailing is honored to have them as subscribers, and we’re going to match today’s readers donations up to $500. Drop them a note along with your donation saying you’re a reader, so we can match your donation. They are a new organisation, and every donation is a little wind in their sails.

Search Suspended: After searching 200,000 nm, the Mexican Navy suspends the search for the three missing american sailors who tragically disappeared last week in 20m swells off the coast of mexico. Update from the Anchorage Daily News.

Sailing Yacht A is a Pain in the B: The fall from grace of the mega-sort-of sailing yacht, which is now racking up mega-fines and headaches for the Italian port authorities tasked with maintaining her. The story here.

Rocks Harass Sailors: Two happy gents were rescued, uninjured, by the Norwalk Marine Police after their Pearson 303 got hung up on the rocks on an outgoing Tide. (For centuries, rocks have been appearing out of nowhere and harassing innocent sailors, as we all can relate). The New York locals showed up in force to gawk, as locals have been doing for centuries. Read the official incident report here.

Streaming ‘n Steaming: Never miss an episode of Below Deck when stuck out in the middle of the pesky Pacific without service. Starlink announces Maritime service for $250 a month, with a $2500 one time hardware fee. Some cruisers have been using the Starlink RV package for the past few years, with varying degrees of success. Head on over to Starlink’s site for more info, or head on over to CruisersForum to read everyone’s 2 cents on the matter, which is equally as informative, and more entertaining.

Safe winds you salty dogs, we’ll sea ya’ next week.