Columbus Ship Replicas During Biloxi Stopover

Considered to be the closest replicas to the real thing ever built, the Niña and Pinta Columbus ships operated by The Columbus Foundation of the British Virgin Islands were docked in Biloxi most of last month.  Built in the traditional way in Brazil, both of these ships are full of authentic details on deck, despite the hidden engines and more modern crew accommodations down below.

The Pinta replica is larger than the original, but the Niña is historically accurate, at 65 feet on deck with an 18 foot beam and 7 foot draft.  This is the Niña below:

View of the Pinta from on board the Niña:

The Pinta on deck:

The Niña in profile with Deer Island in the background, just across Biloxi harbor:

More about these ships can be found on the The Columbus Foundation website here.  After leaving Biloxi they were scheduled to haul out for maintenance at Landry Boatworks,  Bayou la Batre, Alabama.  The next port where they will be open for visitors is Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

Local Fall Sailing

Fall is generally my favorite time of year on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, and this year was even better since I now have a Cape Dory 27 at the dock and ready for local adventures.  As with any boat, I have a long list of projects planned that I'm still working on prioritizing, and haven't yet decided which will come first or where I'll do the work.  I've been weighing the pros and cons of doing it bit-by-bit in the boatyard near the marina or in the water at the dock, or moving the boat to my backyard on a custom trailer or hiring a local boat mover with a hydraulic trailer to do it.  One way or the other, I plan to decide on that soon, probably after the first of the year.  Here are a few photos taken in local waters since the trip home from Tarpon Springs in July:

This is the anchorage off of West Ship Island the first week in November, taken from my little 9-foot sit-on-top kayak after I spend a half hour of so diving under the bottom to clean the hull and prop.

That trip was Michelle's first time aboard the boat.  We had great weather, and the anchorage to ourselves.

Sunrise over West Ship Island.

These last two were taken by my brother, Jeff from his fishing boat, as I was sailing back to Biloxi from a solo trip to East and West Ship Islands.  They were taken with an iPhone, so not the best quality, but the only shots I have of the boat under sail.  I still had a reef in the main coming in, as it had been blowing a steady 20-25 knots a couple hours earlier.  This boat is really easy to singlehand, a very important criteria I had when I was looking for my next boat.  At this time I have two tiller pilots on board, but will eventually fit a self-steering windvane as well.

Solo Around the Americas in an Albin Vega 27

If you read much sailing news you might already be aware of Matt Rutherford's recent completion of an incredible non-stop circumnavigation of the North and South American continents in a 27-foot "classic plastic" production boat.  No matter what boat he sailed, Rutherford's voyage was a record-breaking first because he is the first person to have completed a non-stop solo circumnavigation of the Americas, traversing both the Northwest Passage and rounding Cape Horn all in one go.  That's 27,077 miles in 309 days, 18 hours and 38 minutes.   You can read all the details on the official voyage site: Solo Around the America's.  Here's a look at the route though, in case it's hard to picture just how long this non-stop voyage really was:

Even before this record-setting voyage, the Albin Vega, drawn by Swedish designer Per Brohall, has attained legendary status for it's sea-keeping abilities proven by many ocean voyages.  John Vigor included it in his book, Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere, which I reviewed here back in 2008.  Vigor gave it a "safety at sea factor" of 6, rated against the 19 other boats included in the book.  The Albin Vega 27 is smaller and lighter in displacement compared to many of the other proven bluewater boats of the same length, such as the Bristol 27, Cape Dory 27 and similar designs.  With a beam of 8 feet even and a draft of 3 feet, 10 inches, it displaces 5,070 lbs on a waterline of 23 feet.  


Here's a good illustration of the deck and interior layout:

I almost bought an Albin Vega 27 myself on two different occasions when I was shopping for boats.  Though they are no longer in production, there are deals to be had in the used market, and sometimes you can pick one up for under 5K, as my dock neighbor did back when I had my Grampian 26 at Point Cadet in Biloxi.  His example needed a lot of work, but I've seen well-equipped Albin Vegas in the 10-15K range.  Not bad for a boat  that we now know can round the Americas non-stop and come back looking little worse for the wear.  Here's a short clip of Rutherford's homecoming in Annapolis:  

SEABRIGHT 33: A New Reuel Parker Design

Reuel Parker was kind enough to send me some study plans for an interesting design he drew recently that he calls the SEABRIGHT 33.  This boat really caught my attention and he probably knew it would appeal to me as I am most interested in those rare designs that combine shallow draft with offshore seaworthiness.  This really looks like a great boat: watertight bulkheads and built-in flotation,  trailerable and not too expensive or difficult to build, yet offering cruising for four with standing headroom in part of the cabin despite a draft of only 1' 9".

Here are a few of the drawings from the study plans:

 

SEABRIGHT 33

LOD:  35' 2"

LOD:  32' 3"

BEAM:  8' 6"

DRAFT:  1' 9"

DISPLACEMENT:  5,000lbs.

BALLAST:  2,000 lbs. lead foil laminated in keel

WATER:  70 gallons 

TYPE:  New Jersey Seabright Skiff. Suitable for sailing in coastal and offshore conditions.  This model is designed with watertight flotation compartments and accommodations for four with a small galley and head.  The type has an excellent record as a lifesaving vessel, and can be used as an island-hopper, coastal cruiser and ocean voyager.  Trailerable behind a vehicle rated for 6,000 lb. towing capacity. 

CONSTRUCTION:  Marine plywood covered with epoxy-saturated Xynole-polyester fabric.  The hull is frameless, being built over bulkheads.  Options for planking include lapstrake, chine log and stitch-and-glue. (Plans are drawn for stitch-and-glue).  Skill level required for construction is moderate to high (lapstrake hull).

OPTIONS:  An inboard diesel (2 cyl Yanmar 2YM15) may be installed under the forward end of the cockpit well as shown on a separate drawing.  An outboard in a well is not practical for this model.  This boat may be rowed standing in the cockpit or sculled using a 10' oar with heavy-duty rowlock mounted on the transom.  Permanent ballast consists of lead foil laminated inside the keel bottom on both sides of the CB trunk covered with 1/4" teak & holly plywood.  If trailerability is not desired, ballast may be increased to 2,500 lbs.  Standing headroom under the sliding hatch (in the galley) is 6' 3"; headroom at the table is 5' 6" with exposed beams, and 5' 7 1/2" with the foam-core deck option.  The deck may be raised no more than 2" if more headroom is desired. Additional rigs are available on a custom-design basis.