Barber Hauler

When sailing downwind, you will ease your headsail sheets to let them catch more wind. The sail will tend to twist when eased too far, losing efficiency and costing you speed through the water. This is where the Barber Hauler comes into play, controling twist while keeping the headsail eased.

Barber haulers are simply sheet leads that are set closer to the beam of the hull than your regular jib sheet tracks. This allows you to sheet the sail to the toe rail rather than far inboard.

If you are sailing downwind in light to moderate airs, attaching a snatch block to the toe rail close to where the clew of the sail is will do wonders. This gives the sail a strong downward pull which will eliminate twist from the sail while putting less tension on the foot of the sail. The end result is a very full sail with minimal twist that will fill with air and send you rocketing downwind.

The reason snatch blocks are ideal for this set up is they can easily be removed from the sheet should you change to an upwind course. Removing the barber hauler is as simple as opening the snatch block and removing the sheet. If winds are very light, this can be done with the sheet under load (as long as you can safely hold the sheet under tension). If the winds are stronger, it is idea to jibe onto the opposite tack and remove the barber hauler now that the sheet has become the lazy sheet.

Next time you are sailing downwind, consider using a barber hauler to control headsail twist and enjoy the added speed through the water while on your run.

Tobacco Cay

While snorkeling along Tobacco Cay Reef, we came across something amazing that made me realize how similar we all are!

A conch shell had ended it up at the top of a large formation of elk horn coral and the coral had begun to grow onto it! At first glance, I began to think of the crew on the Flying Ducthman from Pirates of the Caribbean: "part of the crew, part of the ship"

It made sense that these two completely different animals could grow in such a compatible way though. Coral polyps grow on a skeleton of calcium carbonate and the conch shell is made up of this same material, to the coral polyp, the conch shell is just another compatible structure to grow on!

While corals are endangered, these coral heads are vibrant and colorful (with only a slight amount of bleaching present). Hopefully, the oceans acidity will stay under control and this coral head will survive to completely cover the conch shell to produce a conch shaped elk horn coral.

Honeymoon in Belize

For our honeymoon, we wanted to travel someplace warm where we could relax on a beach and go swimming. Coco Plum became our destination of choice. It's a small reef island with a few huts on it. 

The only issue is getting to this remote island. 2 jets, a tiny propeller plane and a boat ride to get here!

Maddie was a trooper, hopping onto the smallest commercial plane she had ever been on to get there. She is used to large organized airports with different terminals and pathways to get you to your plane, but she went along with the relaxed attitude in Belize where you walk out onto the tarmac to find your small propeller plane. 

My favorite part of this was the local security inspection:

Security officer: "Do you have anything you shouldn't have?"

Me: "Nope."

Security officer: "Ok."

No hassle with metal detectors or strip searches, just walk into the airplane and hold on for the flight! We will be spending a week on these reef islands, relaxing and enjoying the tropical waters for our honeymoon.

Spotting an Uncharted Shoal

When cruising near coastlines, knowing how to spot a shoal can prove to be an invaluable skill!

New shoals can appear along a coastline, especially after periods of heavy rainfall. The runoff will carry sediment out into the water and deposit them near the shore. These shoals won't appear on charts, but they do present a very real navigational hazard.

These shoals are easy to spot, even if the bottom is not visible. The trick is to watch the waters surface! As swells approach the shore, the enter shallow water along the beach and turn into breaking waves. Shoals along the coast will have the same effect on the swells, converting them to breaking waves and warning mariners of their presence.

This birds eye view of a river draining into the sea clearly shows how the waves break along the shallow water bottom contour. While sailing along at sea level, these characteristics are not as visible, simply knowing to watch out for an area where all the waves break can warn you that you are heading towards a shoal.

Deck Lights

Illuminating the deck is crucial on dark nights. I am not a fan of harsh bright spreader lights that blind away your night vision and turn the deck into daylight since they also eat away at your batteries precious amps.

My alternative is to use solar powered yard lights from Home Depot! They do not draw on the batteries and provide a gentle light that will not kill your night vision. They also stay on all night long, letting other boats know that you are anchored and the mast head anchor light is not a star in the sky!

I removed the grass stake and set the lens into a tupperware filled with plaster. As the plaster set, the light was trapped in the stone and properly weighted to keep them from falling over while sailing.

I made a bunch of these a few years back and they have worked very well! They do not slide around on deck and best of all, do not fall overboard!

When we anchor, we spread them around the deck to provide a gentle light and to let other boats know the length of our boat (marking the bow and stern with lights). When morning comes, we collect the lights and set them in the stern where the solar panels charge their AA battery for tomorrow nights illumination.