Mast raising without a crane sounds a daunting prospect but it is actually very straightforward if you prepare properly. Some years ago I wrote an article which you can see here, https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/articles/11-technical-articles/268-safe-mast-lowering-method so this is really just an update. This video shows my Chat 18, which has a mast from a beach cat, and thus one that could be pushed up by hand, but here I show the system that works on any size mast - the biggest I have raised this way was on a 50ft ketch. The key features are a good tabernacle, a "gin pole" - in this case the boom - and most important, the use of temporary shrouds thus ensuring that the mast cannot fall sideways. These shrouds must have "chainplates" that line up exactly with the tabernacle pivot bolt. When down the mast rests on a, eg, dinghy trailer mast support at the back of the cockpit. If you regularly raise you mast you can fit a trailer roller to the bracket, so it's easy to push the mast to and fro for trailering. The "gooseneck" for the ginpole is a shroud adjuster from my junk box, suitably bent and screwed to the front of the mast. Roller reefing gear has to be kept straight and has a tendency to catch on the cabin roof etc. So I always lash it to the ginpole in about the right position. The "chainplates" for the temporary shrouds are, again, from my junk box and are 25mm OD aluminium tubes that clip into place and are easily removed. They also take guywires from the forward end of the ginpole to stop that falling over. I attached the spi halyard to the ginpole, but you can just rely on the forestay/furling gear. The mast is then raised up using the mainsheet shackled to the forestay chainplate (you may need a longer rope, depending on your boat). 4:1 is easy on small boats, on bigger boats lead it back to a winch. Of course the most load is when the mast is horizontal, you often have to push on the mast when lowering to get it to start moving. So if you can get it off the support you know you can hoist it all the way. So it all seems a lot of ropes and preparation but it's all worth it as the mast cannot fall and you always have total control, even in a cross wind. And you can usually raise the mast singlehanded. If you are only occasionally raising/lowering the mast then the temporary stays can be rope. Make a loop in the end and pass it over the spreaders and round the mast using a boathook or, on bigger boats, a bosun's chair. Easy to pull off again afterwards. Before sailing always check the mast with binoculars or camera to ensure there are no twisted shackles or, especially, T bar terminals (which is why I don't recommend T bars on trailable boats.) Use tape or elastic band to hold the stays in the correct position while hoisting - both will break away as the shrouds tighten.

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Over a year after we first arrived in Trinidad and our live aboard yacht was hauled out, we finally took to the sea again this week! Sadly it was not in our Leopard 45 (it's still undergoing warranty), but instead in a converted Privilege catamaran owned by a Trinidadian family we'd met around the shipyard. Our Australian Shepherd dog has always LOVED dolphins and she was beyond excited to see some swimming alongside the boat as we made the journey from the dock at Chaguaramas in Trinidad to go "Down De Islands". ______________________________________________ https://www.travelsketchsailing.com/ ☝Check out the website for more info on us, the places we go and products we use 📷 After backpacking Asia, road tripping Europe and doing a bit of van life, we’re now exploring the world aboard our Leopard 45 catamaran. 🎶 Music from Artlist ➼ Get yourself 2 months free with a subscription https://artlist.io/Telicia-1577425 #sailing #catamaran #travelvlog #LifeStyle #travel #trinidad #caribbean

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Learning how to make what the locals in Papua New Guinea call picnic—a process similar to what we would call a BBQ—offers insight into essential food preservation techniques. In these remote villages, where access to electricity and refrigeration is limited or non-existent, drying fish and other methods become vital for survival. This picnic technique is just one of the many ingenious ways they preserve food in an environment where resources are scarce. Places: Louisiades Archipelago, Papua New Guinea Buy us a coffee ☞ https://buymeacoffee.com/onceuponareef Or Send us a gift ☞ https://throne.com/onceuponareef Follow us: ✔INSTAGRAM: @onceuponareef & @wheres.poppy ✔PATREON ☞ https://www.patreon.com/c/onceuponareef Poppy's YouTube Channel ☞ https://www.youtube.com/wherespoppy 📧 BUSINESS INQUIRIES - onceuponareef@protonmail.com Hey there, we’re Ryan and Poppy, a couple of adventure junkie sailors out to explore the most amazing reefs and islands in the world. We hope by documenting everything this lifestyle encompasses, we will inspire, raise awareness and support on going research to do our part in protecting these natural life systems. Subscribe if you’re on board! #onceuponareef #papuanewguinea #sailingchannel

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Here's a link to a video made by LUGGY, a local personality and future mayor of Fishguard, who we met while he was making a live broadcast and while we were anchoring. LUGGY's livestream shows Snow Gum from new angles which we haven't seen before. The first link below goes straight to our part. The second link starts at the start. Regards from Carolyn and Rick. https://youtu.be/YT0JhZruuzA?t=13940 https://youtu.be/YT0JhZruuzA

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