Solo Sailing with Trev White

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Anchoring your vessel is the one skill you need to master. Become a master in the dark arts of anchoring.

Why do so many sailors drag anchor and endanger the lives of their family, crew and their vessel. 

This podcast details my tactics, technique and the procedure I use for anchoring in most locations. This Technique relies on a working motor, furled sails. I also discuss my technique for recovering my anchor as a Solo sailor.

I will discuss sailing into an anchorage and anchoring without the use of your motor in a future episode. For the times when you motor dies.

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Beyond the Helm: Understanding Autopilot Types

Let's discuss and explore the two main types of autopilots for cruisers:

Electronic autopilot

Mechanical autopilot or windvane

Selecting the correct autopilot, windvane and redundant system requires careful consideration of your specific needs and long term plan. It is crucial to set yourself up for success.

Conquering vast stretches of ocean requires more than just skilled seamanship. For long-distance cruising, shorthanded sailing and solo sailing, an autopilot becomes your tireless first mate, allowing you to , sleep, rest, navigate, and even take a dump while your autopilot keeps your yacht on a safe course. 
 
Understanding the concept of redundant systems.

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A solo sailor needs a unique set of skills, knowledge and experiences to operate a yacht solo. 

There are however only two skills the stand out in my mind as essential.

Independant thinking
Confidence

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Solo & Secure:

Essential Mooring Tips for picking up a floating mooring as a Single-Handed Sailor

Missed the mooring bouy again. It happens, often when the winds up, currents strong or you just, miss-timed picking up the mooring bouy.

Then the worst case situation your sailing with your wife or girlfriend and she is at the bow, but she can't pickup the bouy, its too heavy, drops the boat hook and the bouy, as the vessel drifts away or injures herself when trying to secure the mooring rope to your vessel.

This happen every day in a port near you.

It can ruin your day, "been there done that".

This podcast, I discuss a  4 step techniques that works for picking up mooring bouys

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On a recent visit to the boat show in Germany I discovered the amazing magnetic beer glasses made by Silwy.

Do you know that feeling, You're sailing along in a gentle breeze, soaking up the sun, and suddenly, a loud bang and broken glass.  Your glass tips over and explodes onto the deck with a loud noise. Frustrating, right? Silwy puts an end to that, With their clever magnetic tableware, No more picking glass out of your feet. I like drinking beer in glass. its not practical for a yacht, however, I dont like to compromise everything for sailing. Thats why I got excited about those beer glasses.

Magnetic attachment for relaxed sailing:

Silwy has integrated small, invisible magnets into their glasses and bowls. These come with special metal pads or magnetic nano-gel, which you can flexibly stick to tables, benches, or even the cockpit. This keeps your drinks or snacks firmly in place, no matter how rough the seas get. So you can fully concentrate on sailing and forget about toppled glasses or flying snacks.

See for yourself and experience the benefits of Silwy:

• No more falling glasses and bowls
• Secure hold even in rough seas
• Stylish design and high-quality materials
• Practical reusability
• Made in Germany and sustainable

They have a good store Silwy website.  

On TinTin I'm conducting a refit,  I will be including many products from the Silwy range to make life onboard, more conveinient, also to ensure I dont spill my beer and rumbo's, may even get a few wine glasses for ladies.

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The night Alice lead me down the rabbit hole of mouth taping. 

The Kraken bar in Tonga, It was a warm, wet night in Tonga, It had not stpped raining for hours. Esther, Justine, Pierre and myself were soaked through after taking the dinghy from the yacht to the bar.  I managed to get a couple of quick rumbo's under my belt whilst I chatted with the crew from little fish. About this time I met this mysterious chick called Alice. It may have been one too many Rumbos,  Alice, was talking to Esther one of my crew. Alice was looking for a berth from Tonga to Fiji, my intended sailing route in the next week or two.

I did not have any spare berths,  and not enough room for a good looking, random American stunt woman on my yacht. That's where the night started to get weird, by closing time, Alice convinced me that to increase my breathe hold times and depths for free diving, I needed to learn how to do mouth taping and use it as a tool to increase my free diving capacity. I had one foot in the rabbit hole,  just I did not realise it.

Now, this might sound strange, but some people swear by taping their mouths shut while they sleep. 

• Mouth taping encourages nasal breathing, which has several potential benefits.
• Reduce snoring, its bloody hard to snore when your mouth is taped, I like a bottle of red, it likes me. My crew however dont like the results, I can snore like a legend after a night on the red. So give up the red or try mouth taping. Mouth taping does work to eliminate or reduce snoring. 
• Improved sleep quality: Nasal breathing filters and warms air, leading to deeper, more restful sleep.
• Enhanced athletic performance: Nasal breathing promotes oxygen uptake, potentially improving stamina and endurance. 
• Brainpower boost: Better oxygen flow to the brain can lead to improved focus, memory, and cognitive function.
• Free-diving superpower: Mouth taping and breathing exercises can help freedivers hold their breath for longer periods, pushing their limits safely.

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Today I discuss the various options to consider when you first think about buying a cruising yacht.

I have owned two cruising yachts, my first a 39ft Cheoy Lee sloop, constructed from hand laid fiberglass, built in 1974, my current yacht is a 44ft Koopmans ketch constructed from alloy plate. I have looked at, worked on, and sailed dozens of different types of yachts including cats.

I have assisted many friends and people I know, find,  and purchase their dream yacht. Generally by steering them away from large, oversized and overpriced yachts that are not suitable for offshore cruising.

The single biggest mistake, most people make when buying their first yacht. Purchasing a yacht, too big, for their needs. Then they try to turn that yacht, into the house they just left. A sailor needs to think like a minimalist, purge your life and your boat of everthing weighing you down.  Why own a coffee machine, when a coffee plunger provides excellent coffee, at a fraction of the size and space on your yacht. Need more italian flare get a stovetop expresso like my Garrett Wade, minimalisim with style.

You leave behind one life in the the burbs, to explore another on the ocean, reduce your footprint in this world, embrace a simple clean sailing life,  for the life it is.

A yacht is your dream machine, it can take you to places most people will never see. Providing it stays light, lean and hungry for andventure. 

I believe the best cruising yacht, is only just big enough for your needs and no more, it must always be sea worthy, enough to endure and survive a storm at sea,  is fitted with sailing systems, that enable the solo skipper or short handed crew to sail it safely, and safely to me  is a 1000nm in gale force condtions, to the next safe port if required.   

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Fendertex Fenders

High quality inflatable fenders for cruising sailors

• protect your vessel from other vessels and wharfs
• high quality
• range of sizes
• range of colors and custom designs
• deflate to a small size for easy storage when sailing
• inflate easily using your foot pump

These might be the answer to gaining more deck space on TinTin. Traditional fenders use a lot of space to secure, they can be lost in storms or stolen in port.

Checkout https://fendertex.eu/gb/

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Website: www.trevwhitesailing.com

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We sail from Vuda marina to the Yasawas. The plan is to dive with Bull sharks, Manta Rays, and other sea life in some very remote and beautiful bays, while we explore the exotic islands of the Yasawas.

The reality we encounted was stormy condition, big swell and some difficult anchorages, too many boats and some reckless skippers trying to seek shelter in the same small bays.

 Weather conditions turned really nasty without warning, a fouled anchor and huge loads resulted in a broken drum on the windlass.   This forced me to cut an anchor away to escape a lee shore or risk becoming shipwrecked. 

We also experienced some terrible conditions at anchor, this was caused by big swell and storms, life on anchor became truely horrible, the worst conditions, on anchor, I've experience in over 25 years of cruising.    

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Best small electric outboard for cruising sailors wanting a ship to shore motor thats light.

• 6kg
• 45min run time
• easy to install
• recharge onboard
• battery built in

Click here: to checkout the Elite outboard at epropulsion

I dont have any deals with epropulsion just super impressed with the design

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Website: www.trevwhitesailing.com

Sailing Blog: trevwhitesailing

Newsletter: The rumbo express

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