Sofa To Sailboat, & Orca Deterrents

Ah, Pumpkin Spice and Boat Shows, isn’t October the best. Anywho, here’s what happened this week in water-world.

In today’s letter:

• Sofa To Sailboat: 17’ Atlantic Crossing.

• Noise Complaint: A new Orca deterrent device.

• Sailing Snippets: AYC Fire, No Luffing Loafers, New Dubai Season, 2023 Annapolis Sailboat Show.

Sofa to Sailboat

A power-lifter, a marine surveyor, and a parrot are preparing to cross the atlantic in a 17’ boat, to raise money for charity, and no, this is not the setup for a joke. John-Kenneth (JK) is the marine surveyor and experienced sailor, who started the project to help with his recovery from PTSD, and Ferris Collins is the gold-medal winning power-lifter. Ferris has no sailing experience, hence the project name, Sofa to Sailboat. As he says, he is literally going from sitting on his couch to crossing the Atlantic.

(That is awesome, and also insane. We love it.)

The boat is Poppet, an early 1970’s Leisure 17, and is being fully refitted for the journey with new rigging, bulkheads, and hatches for the journey. The planned route in December 2024 will take them from The Canary Islands to Antigua. Poppet is being retrofitted with a limited watermaker, but won’t have refrigeration (all meals will be freeze-dried), or a head. However, she does have a bucket outfitted with some foam cushion.

As for the parrot, he is known to bite and be foul mouthed. You can read more about their preparation and upcoming adventure, as well as donate to the cause on their official page here.

Orca Deterrent Device

The solution to Orcas attacking sailboats might just their dislike of certain frequencies. The company GenusWave makes an underwater sonic device, called Targeted Acoustic Sonic Technology (TAST) that deters sea lions from salmon fisheries. It turns out the same device also works to keep whales away from commercial fishing boats, reducing the risk of bycatch and entanglement, with no harm to the whales or interruption in their hunting grounds. It is now being tested off the coast of Portugal as a potential solution to the Orcas there that have a taste for sailboat rudders.

Volunteers are being accepted to test it out, and TAST is expected to be available to the public in 2024.

Read more about the project on Genuswave’s site here. To be fair to both sides, there is some controversy from the animal rights side of the isle about the safety and efficacy of these underwater sound devices, aka “Seal Scarers,” but GenusWave’s position is that their low frequency sounds poses no harm.

However, their testing sites remain a secret to avoid any activist repercussions.

Sailing Snippets

Antigua Yacht Club Fire: The iconic Antigua Yacht Club, host of the prestigious RORC Caribbean 600, Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, and Antigua Sailing Week, was tragically destroyed by a fire on October 2nd, likely started by lightning and winds related to tropical storm Philippe. The Caribbean 600 will still proceed as planned, and the AYC family owners have made a statement that all dockside marina facilities remain operational.

No Luffing Loafers: Fashion designer Leonard Ferragamo has been at the helm as NautorSwan evolved into the iconic builder that it is today, known for their world class design. Read the story about their evolution and growth into competitive single-design racing here. 

New Dubai Season: SailGP is adding a 13th season with the Dubai Sail Grand Prix in Mina Rashid, to be held on December 9-10.

Annapolis Sailboat Show: October 12-15. Tallship Pride of Baltimore II will be on display and offering deck tours, and the Creators Booth will be hosting YouTubers Beau and Brandy, Calico Skies, Breaking Waves, David Shih, Distant Shore, Lauren Landers, Learning the Lines, MJ, Ryan & Sophie, Avocet, Catalpa, Dacia, Dauntless, Nahoa, and Parlay Revival among many others.

That’s it for this week, stay safe out there ya’ Salty Dogs, and we’ll see you next week! (Or at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, who’s going?)