6 min ago
Topic:
OCC survey about long range comms
Roberto.RitossaPosts: 3
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Hello all,
a few weeks ago I replied to an OCC survey received by email, ''Long range communications survey''. Just checked the email was on March 11th, contributions by March 15th.
Can the results be found anywhere, or will they be published some time in the future?
Regards
roberto
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4 days ago
Topic:
Posting and Replying to Posts on the Forum
bweigel2@gmail.comAdministrator Posts: 27
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To make a new post on the OCC forum, select the appropriate forum category (i.e. Cruising Information, etc.) and select the button labeled "New Topic" in the upper right corner.
To Reply to an existing post, there are two options. You may click the button labeled "Reply" in the upper right corner or select the button "Quick Reply" at the bottom. Both reply in much the same way. "Reply" has additional options for formats and attaching files.
If for some reason, these buttons are not available on your screen, first confirm that you are logged in. If these options are still not visible, contact it@oceancruisingclub.org for further assistance.
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5 days ago
Topic:
Paper Charts Iceland and Faroes
DickPosts: 393
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Hi Geoff,
I write harbor notes for everywhere we visit. Below is an example of my area notes and of one of the harbors/islands we sailed to. If interested in more information, contact me off-line at Alchemy128(at)gmail.com.
Enjoy, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
THE FAROE ISLANDS May-June 2017
These notes were written by Dick and Ginger on Alchemy and reflect our personal likes and dislikes. Many reasonable people may differ. Our intention is for these notes to be a supplement to the regular guide books. There is some overlap, but if the guidebook says it all, I may not mention the port/anchorage at all. Please also notice the dates for which we are reporting conditions. The weather/crowds/ambience may be quite different at various times of the year or my notes may be quickly out of date; please send a quick email with changes. Thanks, Dick & Ginger, s/v Alchemy.
Please do not copy and or distribute. I do these notes for myself, OCC members and friends. I would hate to see them on Facebook and the like.
Area notes:
1. Good to very good cruising guides are “Arctic and Northern Waters” by Andrew Wilkes and the Cruising Association (CA) guide by Michael Henderson. It is a good time to start reading the Sagas, which can sometimes be found at the local bookstore in Torshaven or can be found on-line.
2. The Bradt guide to the Faroe Islands is excellent, with lots of detail and hiking suggestions.
3. If a member of Cruising Association, there is an HRH in Torshavn who is a great resource.
4. The warning reports of Faroe-ese current velocities is not exaggerated. Download the app “RAK” for Faroe currents which, we found, is more accurate, more detailed, and easier to use than other resources.
5. If arriving from the W and the currents are against, consider a stop in Vestmannahavn (or Eidi) as you will only have to buck current for a few miles. Then continue on to Torshavn when the current turns. Or stay a while (see below). I believe one can check in at either place.
6. The tourist offices have excellent hiking guides. The hiking in the Faroes is fabulous, but there is always the real danger of thick fog/clouds, especially in the high country. Take a compass and a good sense of your back-trail: following trails in thick fog/clouds is not easy while confusion/dis-orientation is easy to come by.
7. Also, one can be on a nice hike in the sun and only want a T shirt. If the sun goes behind a cloud, a drizzle emerges and the wind picks up, one can become very cold very fast. Take lots of layers and waterproofs. Weather is very changeable.
Tvoroyri, Suduroy:
We came in late (still daylight, but would have been easy in the dark with radar) and anchored easily and comfortably at the end of the fjord. Although the day was only hazy offshore, the island was shrouded in thin fog and invisible till ½ mile away: a little unsettling. The designated anchorages at the mouth of the fjord were reported to be rolly by a cruiser who came in later. The next day we rafted off a wooden fishing boat turned day charter boat on the nearby wooden wharf where we had power (you need a long cord) and there was water. Bathrooms/showers were a walk away at the harbor office where the HM gives you a key. Another cruiser stayed on the wharf near the fuel dock/fish factory.
The tourist office and the Bradt guide list some hikes that sounded excellent, but we never saw a cloud ceiling less than 200m and so did not do them. We did walk up the river valley where there is a well delineated trail and a very nice loop which starts in back of the school/community center. We also walked the roads down toward the WWII ruins which had some impressive farm compounds and some excellent columnar basalt formations at the shoreline. Get info at the tourist office where you can also get the key to the church--worth a look-see.
We had lunch at the café MorMor where we had superb fish soup and bread. The museum needed a call from the tourist office to be opened, but we did not go. The fish factory (the north one, which makes salt cod) was worth a visit. We went to buy fish, but also used that as an excuse to get a look. They ended up giving us the fish. Across the fjord is a salt storage facility from the old days, now a community center where there is a display of photos of all the ferries that have serviced the island. Ask if music might be happening there. A very pleasant community. No fees.
Skookum wrote:
Thanks Dick,
I have indeed joined CA. So I will pursue that line too. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
Geoff
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5 days ago
Topic:
Paper Charts Iceland and Faroes
SkookumPosts: 2
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Thanks Dick,
I have indeed joined CA. So I will pursue that line too. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
Geoff
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6 days ago
Topic:
Brisbane: Good electrician wanted - Lithium change
DickPosts: 393
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Hi Alex,
I would suggest, for a widely wandering or passage-making boat, that the owner study a Lithium install until he/she feels like they could do it without professional help including working up schematics etc.
Then hire professionals who will review your work and make suggestions.
In this way, you can more knowledgably supervise the work as it proceeds (which I believe is necessary in the majority of boat yards), but more importantly, you will have a much better chance to successfully trouble-shoot the system when there is a hiccup on passage or when in a remote anchorage.
Be sure the professionals give you detailed schematics as well as all paperwork.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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7 days ago
Topic:
Brisbane: Good electrician wanted - Lithium change
Guest
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I mean *project* manage...
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8 days ago
Topic:
Brisbane: Good electrician wanted - Lithium change
Julia.SlomanPosts: 1
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Hi Alex
There is a very good boatyard down the coast at the Gold Coast called Boat Works. There are a number of businesses there. I have used a company called Ocean Degree to protect manage various works on my boat. They are very good. They can arrange this work for you.
Hope this is helpful
Julian Thornton
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8 days ago
Topic:
Crew wanted - Caribbean to Galicia/Atlantic France
Mick.ElliottPosts: 1
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Hi, I am in need of crew from Bermuda to Gibralter for 12 April 2025, as a crewmember has got sick. Did you get a lot of responses for your ad, if so, can you pass on the details of any folk who may be up for the challenge not suitable for your timings...thanks, Mick Elliott
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9 days ago
Topic:
Paper Charts Iceland and Faroes
DickPosts: 393
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Hi Geoff,
Good luck on finding used or borrowed paper charts. You might try the Cruising Association if a member (and you might become a member as they had excellent information and a great port officer in the Faroes). There is (or used to be) an outfit in Bellingham, US, where they copy charts in black and white and sell for much less $$ and I have heard of Ocean Grafix. Google both for information and reviews.
We did have some old paper charts when going to the Faroes and to Iceland, but do not remember using them. We did use old paper charts for Greenland: they were not to be relied on blindly (fog or night).
Our present SOP, when offshore, is to operate primarily on e-charts on a laptop/chartplotter with Navionics on an IPad as a back-up. We like to have enough small-scale paper charts to deal with a catastrophe: likely a lightening strike where all mother-boards get toasted. These can likely get a boat safely off a port/harbor where one could call for local knowledge or follow a boat in.
We are likely to have paper charts if coastal cruising and intending to do some gunk-holing: this is not a safety decision so much as it is so much nicer to plan our wanderings looking at paper charts.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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9 days ago
Topic:
Paper Charts Iceland and Faroes
DickPosts: 393
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Skookum wrote:
Hi OCC folk,
I am taking "Skookum" out of her shed in Finalnd and back to the North Atlantic this summer, 2025. Having some paper chart back up would be wise. I have old charts of the Baltic and Shetlands. Can anyone help me with any paper charts of Faroe and Iceland please? Old, photocopied, marked..., I don't mind. Happy to buy, or rent, or borrow and return in them in September - whatever works for you.
Cheers
Geoff Payne
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9 days ago
Topic:
Paper Charts Iceland and Faroes
SkookumPosts: 2
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Hi OCC folk,
I am taking "Skookum" out of her shed in Finalnd and back to the North Atlantic this summer, 2025. Having some paper chart back up would be wise. I have old charts of the Baltic and Shetlands. Can anyone help me with any paper charts of Faroe and Iceland please? Old, photocopied, marked..., I don't mind. Happy to buy, or rent, or borrow and return in them in September - whatever works for you.
Cheers
Geoff Payne
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11 days ago
Topic:
Subscribing to a Forum Topic
bweigel2@gmail.comAdministrator Posts: 27
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One quick update, you will only see the controls to subscribe to a topic if your are logged in. The OCC shares the forum with the general public. These users can not reply to posts or access the subscription controls. Only members that are logged into the Forum will be able to perform these functions. To login simply click the "Login" in the header and enter your OCC website login information. If you access the Forum from the website when you are already logged into the members area, this step will not be require.
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11 days ago
Topic:
NOAA Compromised
DickPosts: 393
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Hi Ernie,
Yes, Fifth Risk: Thanks for the correction. I was thinking of Fifth Business, a Robertson Davies book.
And that was one of Lewis’ dryer books, but I did learn a ton about how my (the US) government works and was especially impressed with the chapter on NOAA and the crucial importance of its governance.
My best, Dick
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11 days ago
Topic:
NOAA Compromised
DickPosts: 393
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godshalk wrote:
Dick, it's The Fifth Risk. Not one of Lewis's best books, IMHO, but written in 2018, it was prescient. And understated the risk.
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12 days ago
Topic:
Lithium Batteries
Mike.StirratPosts: 1
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We used Overkill in Pittwater to do our Lithium setup. Sam and his team did a great job. https://www.overkillenergy.com.au/
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12 days ago
Topic:
Brisbane: Good electrician wanted - Lithium change
Alex.RamseyerPosts: 2
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Hi, are there recommondations out there for a good electrician or company to help change my battery infrastructure to lithium?
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12 days ago
Topic:
Lithium Batteries
Alex.RamseyerPosts: 2
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I'm heading to Australia this year and am looking for the best place to change the batteries and all other necessary items to a lithium infrastructure. Are there recommendations out there, where exactly to go (in the Brisbane area or south east coast) and who would do a reliable, excellent job in that regard?
Alex, sv NO STRESS
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13 days ago
Topic:
NOAA Compromised
godshalkPosts: 6
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Dick, it's The Fifth Risk. Not one of Lewis's best books, IMHO, but written in 2018, it was prescient. And understated the risk.
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13 days ago
Topic:
NOAA Compromised
godshalkPosts: 6
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bweigel2@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Robert,
Yes, I suspect that is a very real possibility.
If you wish to read about NOAA and its function as part of the US government, Michael Lewis wrote a superb book, Fifth Business and one of its chapters was solely on NOAA. You might want to read that very admiring chapter to give context on what is to come.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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13 days ago
Topic:
Falmouth 24h Emergency Telephone Number.
Michael & Anne HartshornPosts: 10
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Good Afternoon
The updated numbers for UK Long Range Search and Rescue are
JRCC UK: +44 (0)344 382 0025
Medical Advice: +44 (0)344 382 0026
Email: ukmrcc@hmcg.gov.uk
This has replaced the MRCC Falmouth number. The Long-Range Search and Rescue contact details are for all areas outside of the immediate UK search and rescue region.
Best regards,
Duty Officer
JRCC United Kingdom
JRCC UK: +44 (0)344 382 0025
Medical Advice: +44 (0)344 382 0026
Email: email we received
Anne & Michael.
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