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When I was younger, I was a sort of  low-calorie version of a survivalist. Vaguely worried that Janet Reno, the Red Army, or possibly even aliens  might be coming, I bought a large gun safe and proceeded to fill it with a rather thrilling assortment of firepower. I raised my bed up on blocks  and stacked cans of survivalist chow underneath. I studied  and practiced wilderness survival techniques.  It was a harmless activity really, and not entirely unreasonable given the lurking San Andreas fault which to this day stands poised to wipe out Northern CA.  When the  Big One came, I rationalized, I would protect my  cans of Dinty Moore till they pried them from my cold dead hands.

That phase of my life concluded when I somehow managed to acquire a mate (of the female persuasion, no less).  She was OK with the arsenal (in fact she shoots better than I do), but not so sure about the other stuff.  I remember her reaction upon examining my survival food cache under the futon-- "Creamed corn? Seriously?" She shook her head.  "Bad survivalist."  It soon became apparent that having such a woman at my side was far better than being capable of briefly irritating the attacking US Government with the entire contents of my gun safe. Now, when the End Of The World As We Know It (EOTWAWKI) comes, I'll just sit back and let Sweetie handle it.  

Being a semi-reformed survivalist I may appear normal to most people, but I still get paranoid tingles once in a while.  And lately I've been thinking about GPS.

I noticed recently that both of my GPS devices, a Garmin GPSmap 60CS and Blackberry Curve, were displaying a circle of uncertainty around my position at normal map scales. Most of the time  I can rely on the GPS to accurately place me 2 meters from the third blonde on the left at the beer barge, should that unlikely need ever arise. But for some reason Both units seemed unsure if I was off the launch ramp, or sitting atop the marina store. It was no huge deal, I mean I probably wasn't going to lose track of the lake, but it was anomalous behavior from devices I had always trusted. Being a software nerd, I started thinking about this-- Obviously, something was going on with the constellation if both independent units were suffering from reduced resolution.  In minutes the old here-come-the-invaders reflexes, long dormant, re-energized and sent me into DEFCON II and a half.  Fortunately Sweetie stepped in just in time to slap some sense into me ("there are no black helicopters jamming your blinkie, idiot"), but the damage was done:  How much can we rely on GPS?

I assume anyone reading this knows generally how GPS works.  Many of you probably know in great geeky detail how it works. Some of you think GPS stands for Gerbil Positioning System, and it's all run by furry rodents from the Mothership behind the moon. Bless your hearts. Have you considered that the GPS constellation is getting rather long of tooth? I know that the system has worked pretty well (especially for a government program), but the orbiting Gerbil Containers are starting to suffer from squeaky hamster wheels after two decades in outer space.  It's not like they're replacing them routinely. One big solar flare, and all of a sudden we might find ourselves unable to locate the nearest Starbucks. Or the Shoals of Lingering Death.

And let's not forget that our blond-triangulating capability exists at the indulgence of our friends at the Department Of Defense, through a mechanism called Selective Availability. The gummint can, whenever it wants, flip a switch in some secret underground location and instantly cause thousands of powerboaters to crash at high speed into docks, shorelines, and each other. Okay, they are already doing that.  But it'll be even worse when their blinkies fail.

 Given the current global situation, Mr. Semi-Paranoid Survivalist Lite refuses to discount the possibility that the military  might have to enable Selective Availability at any time to prevent the technology from being used against us, for example if some whackaloon in Berzerkistan decides to fire off a cruise missile at Washington.

So, given that we could experience a general GPS degradation, or even a mass failure that befuddles millions of glowing dots on LCD displays, what should we be doing to make sure that we won't become hopelessly lost when our GPS suddenly bricks on us?

I'm probably in good shape. I don't think I'll get hopelessly lost on my lake (if I do, that'll make a great blog post). But a lot of you make epic SCA-worthy voyages, and actually sail out of sight of land sometimes. Have you thought about what you would do if your GPS suddenly becomes inert? When I eventually venture beyond my little lake, I figure I'll take my plotting tools, charts, and maybe even my plastic sextant, just in case. Perhaps I'll even try navigating the old fashioned way, and use the GPS for a backup only. Charts are easy to stow-- they flatten nicely under cases of creamed corn and gunpowder.

And when that cruise missile comes at me, I'll probably still be on course for the beer barge, instead of sailing around in circles like my GPS-dependent fellows.

What's your plan?

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Taken at Mystic Seaport, this photo of Andrew's J II was used as the header for this years John Gardner Small Craft Workshop at Mystic, June 5 & 6.

J II pre launch

In the water

Andrew sailing at Mystic

The J II or Jeanne Henderson bears Iain's mothers name and is quick and lively, but a bit tender, IO redesigned her with a bit more beam and she's now the Arctic Tern

A very nice build, indeed.

The accursed yoke tiller. Even Iain Oughtred doesn't like them

all photos courtesy Andrew Kitchen



Timing is everything, it is said. Recently a posting on the Oughtred Yahoo group caught my eye. Andrew Kitchen had uploaded some pictures of his Oughtred J II. The J II is the first iteration of my all time favorite of Iain's designs, the Arctic Tern. She was fast and nimble, but a bit tender, so Mr. Oughtred redesigned her for more stability, with a bit more beam and more strakes per side. From Andrew:
The boat was completed in 2004, so she is actually a J II Yawl (the
earlier design on which Arctic Tern was based). She performs
beautifully, although she is a little tender, which I think explains
why IO modified the design. I have day-sailed her since, but never
cruised. I'll be showing her at this year's Wooden Boat Show at Mystic,
as part of the IBIM exhibit. I am particularly excited about this as
Iain Oughtred is scheduled to attend the show this year.

Yes, indeed. Last night I made a last minute decision to purchase my ticket to the Oughtred Tribute Dinner next Saturday evening at the WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport. Now sold out. I'll be looking to meet Andrew and his boat, which he's bringing to Mystic for the I Built It Myself exhibit. Maybe I can even cadge a sail!
Silent Maid will also be there...hmmm, maybe I'll be able to cadge another sail. I know that Russ Mannheimer is also planning to attend, unfortunately not arriving in Sjogin, oh well. Still it looks to be a great weekend. See ya there.

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USS Card
courtesy tobyotter

USS Franklin
courtesy Emmett Baker's Ulithi website

Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands
courtesy Wikipedia

That's Dad, Signalman Second Class, USN on the right, typically with a beverage in hand.

Eugene Alford Armstrong

All photos are from Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands between Aug. 1944 and Nov. 1945
personal archive







My Dad served in the US Navy during WWII. As his eldest son, and born in 1951, dad's memories of his service experience were still vivid and I was constantly hearing the stories. He served for a spell on the USS Card, a Bouge-class escort aircraft carrier. He was a Signalman, Second Class. In those times a signalman was required to carry his battery for the signal lights on his back, backpack style. About 50lbs. worth. While wearing this gear my Dad fell from grace, ie. the USS Card, into the sea, was rescued but lost a kidney in the affair. The stories he told of his recuperation on Long Island and foray's into Manhatten almost daily included the fact that as a sailor in uniform he could not buy his own drinks or dinner, so generous were his admirers. What he told me about the reaction of young ladies will go unmentioned. Later he shipped out to Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolines, which became the largest Naval base in the South Pacific and was the staging area for the war with Japan. Unlike many, Dad thoroughly enjoyed his service. Over and over again he repeated the story of the USS Franklin being towed into harbor on Ulithi listing severely to starboard. Read more about the Franklin and Ulithi at Emmet Baker's website.
At one point Dad acquired a small mahogany runabout, powered by a little 40hp. Merc outboard, which proved to be a magic carpet, opening a gateway to the Ohio, waterskiing, and overnight camping trips on 18 mile Islands. The best kind of fun for young kids and worth the prep work we put into the boat. Dad moved on to the universal oceanic many years ago. I have no doubt that the stories and the boat were the seed of my current interest. Thanks Geno! Happy Fathers Day.

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I can't tell what this is and Suzanne didn't know either, thought it might be a boat part.

Marsh

Mantoloking Beach

Beaton's from a parking lot across the bay

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Mantoloking Beach

Looking south from the boatyard

Sjogin

Boatyard awash

Marsh



all photos courtesy Suzanne Beaton

I remember this day vividly. Even inland, nearly 100 miles from Beaton's, we experienced high winds, up to 50+ mph and constant rain, a wild day. Rain hard enough to create the first ever leak in my apartment.
The photos here were taken by Suzanne Beaton, wife of Tom Beaton, the third generation operator of this venerable boatyard, known for it's very high quality of workmanship, it's attention to several Barnegat A Cats, left to the yard for upkeep and a builder of high quality. Responsible for at least five A'cat builds, Beaton's is also home to Sjogin. I found this suite of storm photos while casually browsing Facebook. At first blush they appeared to be ordinary snaps of a tremendous weather event. My memory of the day and the furosity of the storm held me a bit and slowly I began to sense something more interesting. I began to see these photos as a straightforward attempt to communicate experience of the storm, probably as seen through the eyes of a gifted amateur photographer. They were pretty gray, so I played with them slightly in my photo editor, pulling out some color here and there, adjusting luminosity. Inevitably I began to compare my response to these photos to my perception of the photos on the gulf tragedy I had recently put up. I was struck by the ability of these photos to somewhat innocently convey the event, without reference to their maker, in contrast to the highly self conscious ( though beautiful) photographs by professional photographers and photojournalists in the previous post. During a phone conversation with Suzanne, she answered my question as to whether or not she was a professional photographer "not quite" and confirmed her status as a gifted amateur as I had guessed. I thought so for two reasons, first, she had not manipulated the photos and second, and more importantly, her 'style' did not intrude on the communication of the photographs. They are pretty straightforward, beautiful in their own right, but not self referential and loaded with 'art' baggage. I found the contrast with the pro's pictures revealing and instructive. Suzanne's work exhibits a good eye for composition, a demanding search for the fact, but are unencumbered with the need to convince us that she is a 'good' photographer. I applaud this and feel it makes for clearer communication. Let me know what you think.

The bay and marsh pictures are from the vicinity of the Beaton Yard, and the beach pics are Mantoloking Beach.
You can view the original photos and much more on the Boatyard's Facebook page, if you are a friend.

Thanks to Suzanne and Tom Beaton.

I am posting these photos with joy and a great deal of admiration for Suzanne's 'braving the storm' to document it.

Thanks

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Ulla, the Ullapool boat was launched without ceremony on Friday, May 21

Splashed!

Adrian Morgan, a local boatbuilder and well known ex boating journalist, standing, lent a guiding hand to the builders of Ulla, led by Topher Dawson

In this photo, as ell as the two preceding, one can see the
the Viking style steering board, like a paddle, used by Ulla to eliminate problems with a rudder. It's a bit of an experiment, and we'll see how it performs. A full exposition of this steering method and the rationale behind it can be found here

Putting their backs into it on Loch Broom

Loch Broom

Lesley Muir, on of the moving forces behind Achiltibuie's Coigach Lass, proudly display's the wax model which will be cast in bronze and become the Lass' figurehead.

The Lass being carried down the ramp at Old Dornie for splash.

Lass' sea trials

Ulla rowed over for the ceremony from Loch Broom,

and of course, an informal match race began!

The Lass pulls ahead

Coigach Lass raced with five other boats at Anstruther this weekend with an all women crew, all over 40. They didn't win the race but won something more precious.

this photo courtesy P Nisbet/Coigach Lass

all other photos courtesy Chris Perkins




The Scottish Coastal Rowing Project is very healthy and rowing into it's first sanctioned races. The Ullapool boat splashed unceremoniously on Friday, May 21, and the Coigach Lass to somewhat greater ceremony (pipes) on Saturday, May 22. A cordial crew from Loch Broom rowed over to share the moment for Coigach, and naturally, a match race was soon underway. It's enlightening to read the teams respective blogs of what ensued. According to Coigach, they won the match hands down, but the Ullapool site has it that out of deference to Coigach Lass on her splash day, they 'allowed' her to pull ahead. H'mmm.
In any event, the first full regatta took place on Saturday, May 29, in Anstruther with six boats/teams attending. More here...

I've been following this project from it's inception last fall and am highly impressed with the vitality, industry and eagerness of the participants, really a remarkable phenomenom. It would be especially nice to see this Scots bred concept travel round the world, and invovle communities from other cultures building their own historically indigenous craft as a mirror to this Scottish idea.

The boats used by the various communties are all built to Iain Oughtreds St. Ayles design and kits are available through Alec Jordan.
Visit the Coigach Lass.
Visit Ulla.
VisitThe Scottish Coastal Rowing Project.

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Front cover of Roger's latest book, due out in August

Roger was awarded the 2009 Jester Medal in recognition of his continuing efforts promoting and experimenting with singlehanded sailing.

Off the North of Iceland

Rounding the NW coast of Iceland, the headland at Straumnes

Off the headland of Straumnes, NW Iceland


all photos courtesy Roger Taylor

Roger Taylor is among those making last minute preparations for the start on Sunday of the Jester Challenge 2010. However, Roger and Mingming will likely not be making landfall in Newport with the rest of the participants. If conditions permit, Roger is planning, instead, in a move reminiscent of Moitessier, to head for a landfall at Cape Dwyer, Baffin Island, a cruise designed to mirror his cruise to Jan Mayen Island last summer, and again putting him within the Arctic Circle. I'm a little disappointed, as I had planned to meet Roger upon his arrival in Newport, but no matter. It's another great adventure for Roger and Mingming, and I'm sure he'll share his adventure with us. Godspeed and safe voyage to you, Roger.
Other news is that Roger was awarded the 2009 Jester Medal for perpetuating the spirit and traditions of ocean cruising established by Blondie Hasler and Michael Ritchie. Congratulations Roger!
The 'soft' photos are screen captures from Roger's understated but totally compelling and mesmerizing videos of last summer's cruise, these taken from the northwest tip of Iceland.

Roger has another book coming out, a book about his voyages in Mingming. I'm sure it will be as deeply engaging as his previous book, ' Voyages of a Simple Sailor', if not more so, will document his recent voyages in Mingming and will have some information on how Roger has adapted his boat for singlehanded sailing.

From the back cover:

'In his new book Roger Taylor follows straight on from 'Voyages of a Simple Sailor', taking us on three more extraordinary voyages aboard his junk-rigged Corribee Mingming. This simple, rugged 21' yacht, constantly developed and honed for effortless single-handed ocean sailing, goes where much bigger and more sophisticated craft fear to tread. Iceland, Rockall, the Faroes, Jan Mayen, the Greenland ice, together with a southern interlude to the Azores, are all encompassed in these enthralling adventures. Written in Taylor's trademark style - fast-moving, witty, uncompromising and intensely observational - these stories will take you to sea as you've never been taken before.'

Due to be published this August, you can reserve a copy here.

Roger! Bon Voyage, have a great cruise.

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Some of the assembled fleet prior to the start of the 2008 Jester Azores Challenge

Copyright © Anne Hammick 2006 Copyright © Sandra Leek 2006

Kenyan Tim McCloy's China Blue is a modified junk rigged Folkboat fitted out in fashion which bears great similarities to Jester

photo courtesy tim McCloy

Roger Taylor's minimalist entry Mingming, a modified junk rigged Corribee MK1.
Roger is planning to start with the fleet but then take a divergent course, in a move reminiscent of Moitessier in the Golden Globe, and head for Baffin Island. I'll have more on Roger soon

The interior of Mingming packed up for the Azores in the '08 Azores Challlenge

The smallest entry in this years Challenge at 20', the self built Golant Gaffer Just Right, is Gus Davidson's entry. She is sailing in support of Macmillian Cancer Support.

photo courtesy We sail the North Atlantic Ocean

Bill Churchouse and Belgean will be looking to repeat his performance in the '08 Azores, where he was first in.


photo courtesy Bill Churchouse via Jake Kavanaugh

Here's Bill in the cabin of his Westerly 22


photo courtesy Bill Churchouse via Jake Kavanaugh

Rory McDougall built his Wharram Tiki 21 Cooking Fat and then sailed her around the world, being the smallest catamaran to do so.

photo courtesy Rory McDougall

Guy Waites will be sailing his Contessa 26 Red Dragon

courtesy Guy Waites

Thomas Jucker's 28' Lyle Hess Bristol Channel Cutter built by Samuel L Morse in 1990. Marta was bought in the US for the express purpose of entering the Jester Challenge. Feeling unsure of his single handed capabilities, Thomas tested himself over the summer of 2009 by sailing first to Bermuda, then the Azores, and England.

Here we see the starting gun being fired (2008) with it's plume of talcum powder to make it visible to all entrants. the shot is fired from Ewen Southby Tailyour's Black Velvet by the late Mike Richey. Ewen is one of the organizer's of the event, and also a participant.

all photos courtesy Jester challenge/Jake Kavanaugh unless otherwise noted

This year's Jester Challenge is set to commence to the starting blackpowder blast at 1300hrs on Sunday, May 23 from Plymouth England. First run in 2006, The Jester Challenge has been instituted to restore to open ocean racing the spirit ot of Blondie Hasler's 'Amazing Idea'. The race is from Plymouth, England to Newport, RI. This will be the second time the Challenge has been run from Plymouth to Newport, the first was in 3006, with an amended version to the Azores taking place in 2006. It is a single handed race for boats under 30' intended to revive Blondies' vision of Corinthian, unassisted sailing in small yachts based on self reliance and seaworthiness. It is in fact, a sort of laboratory for developing tools and techniques for singlehanded sailing of smaller boats. Though technically not a raid, because it's not done in open boats, and not about rowing, I would posit that in some sense it is the inheritor of the spirit which allowed the inventors of the raid, the vikings, to sail from Scandinavia to the New World! The mother of all raids.

On the original conception of the Jester Challenge:

JESTER CHALLENGE
Notes by Ewen Southby-Tailyour
Up-dated 23rd November 2005
One of the aims of The Jester Challenge is for the skippers to take full responsibility for their actions and their vessels without nannying sets of rules (nor a £1000 entry fee). Another aim is that it should be FUN with the results not taken too seriously: who wins is less important than arriving safely. Sponsorship of the event and of individual yachts is not overtly encouraged - although Blondie certainly had no objection and was always grateful, knowing that without it his race would not have achieved the status it enjoys. The rules are at a minimum on the understanding that Challengers - as Corinthian yachtsmen - will accept that it is up to them to ‘behave like gentlemen’ with regard to the use of engines, accuracy of timings, numbers on board(!), adherence to common-sense, safety equipment and so on. We want to keep The Jester Challenge simple and un-fussy while proving that events like this can take place without all the hullabaloo and hype - and yet still be worthwhile taking part.
In 1960 Blondie Hasler's 'amazing idea was first sailed by five yachts, four of whom were under 26 feet: navigation was 'traditional', self-steering was 'experimental' and all crossed the Atlantic in good order. The only time that this has occurred. However, by 1968, he was worried that the race's success contained the seeds of its own death, with excessive competitiveness one of the reasons cited. Fearing a demise he planned a Series Two that, if necessary, would begin in 1980 with…no sponsor nor organising club…ordinary yachtsmen going about their (legal) business…making an independent passage on (their) own responsibility…no rules…no entrance fees…treating (the skippers) as adults who can…take their own risks….

More here and updated here.

This years entry list is a testament to the chord this event has stuck in the hearts of adventurous yachtsmen. The entry list for the first Challenge included 13 brave souls. This year's entry list shows a whopping 82 entrants!

You'll be able to follow the boats as they move across the Atlantic with Ocean Race Track here.

Special thanks to Jake Kavanaugh and Roger Taylor for their assistance in writing this article.

You should be able to follow the 'race' on Ocean Race Track.

See also Bill Serjeants post: http://bills-log.blogspot.com/

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