We wish you a SaltyTastic X-mas

Flags of SaltyPaws

Guest  flags, are flown in the starboard shouds, as a courtesy to the county you are visting on a boat. Below is an overview of the guest flags we have ordered.

USA - Our boat will be flagged in the USA

 

 "Q" Flag - To be used when entering a new country. The official meaning is: "My vessel is 'healthy' and I request free pratique."

France (Corsica, st Martin, New Caledonia)

Spain

Portugal (Madeira)










Italy (Scilly, Sardinia)

Malta

Greece

Croatia

Cabo Verde

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Dominica

Antigua and Barbuda

Sint Maarten (st Martin uses French Flag)

British Virgin Islands


 


Panama

Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)

French Polynesia (Marquesas, Tumotua, Tahiti, Bora-Bora)

Niue

Tonga

Fiji

Australia

Our Gennaker

Our Gennaker.

This is the gennaker we have ordered for the SaltyPaws. Catamarans are normally faster than monohulls, but this is not so in light winds. Due to the higher wetted surface area of a catamaran compared to the mono hull, there is more friction which leads to a slower boat speed. The solution... The Gennaker. Due to the wide hull of the catamaran no pole is needed to fly this sail, and a massive 113m² is added. We have opted for the All round Quantum A3 Assymetrical cruising spinnaker.

Genaker Polar Chart (True wind speed, True wind Angle) Source: Quantum Sails

The polar chart shows that the A3 genaker can be used 90 degrees to the wind in light winds (<8 knots) and between 120-170 degrees in fresh winds (21 knots +). Personally I don't intend to use the gennaker in winds >20 knots, as by that time we will be making some good progress with the normal sails. We have added a launch funnel, to make setting and removal of the sail a breeze with a crew of 2 humans, and 2 cats.

Our Proposed Route

We have been looking at weather windows, hurricane seasons, insurance limitations, touristic value, start location, end location, preferred cruising duration, piracy tendencies, trade winds and prevailing currents.

Month	Location
April	France, Atlantic Spain, Portugal, Straight of Gibraltar, Spain (med)
May	South Sardinia, South Sicily, Malta
June	Greece
July	Greece
August	North Sicily
September	Sardinia, Corsica, Balearics, exit via Gibraltar
October	Madeira, Canary Islands, Cabo verde (maybe)
November	Crossing the Atlantic, Martinique
December	Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, sint Maarten, saint Martin
January	British Virgin Islands

Off course, planning only goes so far on a trip like this, and therefore the plan is not "cast in stone" but rather in wet beach sand with a significant amount of concrete mixed in. More to come on the detailed planning for the individual legs.

Gear: Ditch Bag Contents

For those of you wondering what on earth is a "ditch bag" and why we are writing a post about it, I would refer to the survival story of Maurice and Marilyn Baily whom with their family survived at sea in a life raft for 117 days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_and_Maralyn_Bailey.  Their story of survival was heroic and possibly as a result of their extensive training and preparation of a ditch bag.  While I hope that we never have to board a life raft, its worthwhile to spend some time putting together that container of supplies which would, at the very least, give us peace of mind our chances of survival and rescue would be improved.  I refer to the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) sea survival handbook for the items we chose to include, plus some additional extras for our feline crew members.

Contents

• Ditch bag x2 - must have positive flotation and be waterproof with easy to carry handles
• Portable EPIRB x1 - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon  This is to send out a signal to satellite that we are in trouble and need rescue
• Handheld VHF (with extra batteries) x1 - To communicate with vessels on within the horizon that might have their VHF turned on
• Selection of flares
• Waterproof LED flashlight (extra batteries) x1 -  to make light signals at night 
• Signal mirror x1 - send light signals during the day to ships or helicopters
• Portable watermaker x1 - make fresh water from seawater to stay hydrated
• 3 weeks of food - high energy bars that have all the vitamins/minerals..Ill pick the chocolate ones of course
• Extra pair of prescription glasses and sun glasses
• Survival books (RYA manual)
• First aid kit and medicine
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Spare cell phone with working sim card
• Boat papers, passports, credit cards, cash, driving license, house keys, boat keys, car keys, insurance papers, cat passports, vaccination recoords important documents on thumb drive in a dry bag
• Duct tape x1 roll - just ask the Mythbusters how long you can survive on an island with just a roll of duct tape.  Dont want to be without it.
• Lighter in waterproof bag - fire = warmth = cooked dinner on deserted island
• scissors - to cut packages easily, kept with medical kit
• Empty water bottles - storage of watermaker water and rainwater
• Small fishing kit - to catch some sushi while in our life raft to go nicely with the chocolate energy bars
• Toothbrush and feminine products
• Tin opener for food tins from galley
• rearming kits for life vests
• resealable polyethylene bags to keep things dry
• Large plastic bin liners
• Cutting board to cut any caught fish and extra galley food
• Inflatable cushions to use for pillows and back support
• kitchen knife and sharpener
• Food tins from galley
• Handheld compass to read bearings from the raft
• handheld GPS to relay coordinates to rescuers
• Dinghy or liferaft pump
• Sailing or leather gloves
• Spare warm dry cloths in dry bags
• Swim goggles
• Thermal underwear in dry bag with cloths
• paper and pen in sealed bag
• sea sickness pills
• chemical heat packs
• Cat toenail clippers to prevent clawing up inflatable boat
• Supply of pet napkins to clean them up
• 3 weeks supply of wet cat food in sealed packets
• Towels/sponges to dry things out

Meet the crew - Tux Tuxington

Bug Security Officer in function

Name: Tux Tuxington
DOB: Feb 2013
Task: Bug Security Officer
Responsibility: Search and Destroy pests such as rats, mice and insects
Special skill: Standing on 2 legs, ok taking a shower
Weakness: Makes sure Luna has her daily laps around the room, eating Luna's food
Outlook on life: Life is a feather
Favourite fish: Orca fish, because it looks like me
R&R: Playing with feathers, hunting down bugs
Least favourite food: I dont have discovered one yet
favourite food: Lasagna, Pasta (with fish sauce), cheese

Meet the Crew - Luna Lunington

Name: Luna Lunington
DOB: June 2006
Task: 2nd Watchmate
Responsibilities: Cleaning & eating spiderwebs, Public Relations
Special skill: Jumping (can jump down 2 meter high cupboard)
Weakness: Shreds plastic bags
Outlook on life: I am a princess
Favourite fish: Moon fish, because it is called after me
R&R: Playing with ropes, sleeping on the bed, walking on laptop keyboards
Least favourite food: Fresh sushi grade fish & shrimps
favourite food: canned tuna & wet cat food

Project Crab OK - Cartoon Cat Art

Project Crab OK - Black Cat Art

Have a Saltytastic Morning with this cappuccino

Aaron was so kind to print these Project Crab Ok barista templates. Every morning is now a Project Crab ok Morning.