ONBOARD Voyages AZORES AND BACK PART 2 PREPARATION ‘My 12-month hobby’
Maintaining a wooden boat is a pretty full-time activity, but as Gordon Buchanan found out, equipping Tantina II for the AZAB meant a whole lot more equipment, and work
A
TANTINA II DESIGNER
J Francis Jones
LENGTH OVERALL 31ft 6in (9.6m)
LENGTH WATERLINE 22ft 6in (6.9m) BEAM
8ft 2in (2.5m) DRAUGHT
6ft (1.8m)
DISPLACEMENT 4.24 tons SAIL AREA
451sqft (42m2 )
s any wooden boat owner will tell you, keeping a wooden boat, especially one approaching her 50th birthday, is almost a full-time job. In my case, this has never been truer than over the last year or so during which I have been preparing for the 2011 Azores and Back Race. Until I started examining the ISAF safety regulations in detail, I was obliviously happy that my boat was adequately equipped for offshore passages, and although I definitely do not have a death wish, I’ve for many years been more of the opinion that one should try to be self-sufficient, rather than relying on outside rescue if things go wrong. The AZAB is a Category 1 race, so self- sufficiency is incorporated into the thinking, although much use is also made of modern electronics. Some of these items did require a serious raid on the housekeeping budget. Basics first and after nearly 50 years of sailing in all weathers, a few underwater seams were showing slight dampness despite no signs of leaking. Some recaulking made sense
and I carried this out using a home-made raking tool, and then new cotton applied to the seams, with a final stopping of a traditional mix of white lead and linseed oil putty. She’d originally been built with white lead stopping and I decided against the cheaper alternative of red lead, purely on aesthetic grounds.
Additional work identified as necessary included the fitting of heavier restraints for things like the batteries, cooker, and various loose but heavy items such as the anchors and chain. A reinforcing under-deck stay was fitted to help support the inner forestay. It was deemed prudent to strengthen the seldom-used inner stay in view of its potential use to set a storm jib.
One of the regulations demands that an effective emergency steering system be available, and instead of creating the lash-up that sometimes passes for such a
68 CLASSIC BOAT JULY 2011
system, I decided to fit a Hydrovane self-steering gear, and this meant that some additional reinforcing of the area around the transom was needed. Due to the design of the stern deck and the size of the locker lid that gives access to the inside of Tantina’s transom, I had to engage the services of a long-standing but slim friend to do most of the work inside the stern locker.
“Obliviously happy that my boat was adequately equipped...”
The electronics required include a GPS, a radio transceiver, a radio for receiving weather bulletins, a hand-held VHF, a 406MHz EPIRB, and a satellite phone. Additionally for single-handed entrants the list includes a radar with an alarm system and a radar target enhancer. While I already had a suitable radar, I took the opportunity to fit one of the latest specification dual band RTEs, with a very loud warning buzzer. The race organisers also provide, at a cost, a tracking beacon. An IRC handicap is also a requirement in order that some sense of fairness can be made of the huge variety of boats entered for the race, and although this requires the services of a RORC
appointed surveyor, and the outlay of yet more cash, the RORC, who administer the system, are very helpful. Alongside this endless list of items requiring attention, the basics of fitting-out – painting, varnishing and general servicing – could not be ignored. Checks on just about every part of the boat took on a greater significance. Mast step, chain plates and all load- bearing items were given more than the usual cursory examination, thankfully with no problems discovered. Then, with a few more formalities to complete, there is only the small matter of sailing the 400 or so miles to get to the start of the race at Falmouth in early June, but of course that will be the beginning of calm seas, following winds and blue skies, I hope! Next month: Finding insurance, getting the survey, and Tantina’s angle of vanishing stability
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