Voyaging

Practical Sailors June and July 2008 issues documented veteran West Coast racer Skip Allans preparations for the 2008 Singlehanded TransPac, a race he eventually won. In this tragic epilogue, Skip describes his final days aboard his custom Tom Wylie-designed sloop, Wildflower. After 62 hours gale-force winds, Skip made the decision to leave Wildflower and transfer to a commercial vessel, the MSC Toronoto. Just before boarding the passing container ship, Skip scuttled the boat he called home-one that he built himself 34 years before. Skip describes in this article the weather conditions, what gear and techniques worked well during the storm, what led to his decision to leave Wildflower, and how he boarded a 1,000-foot-long, 125-foot-high container ship in gale conditions.

Practical Sailors review of medical kits designed for coastal cruising is the second in a four-part series on on-board first-aid. The first part reviewed medical kits for daysailing, while this one examines medical kits for boats with a crew of one to four people where help may not be available for up to 12 hours. Practical Sailor examined the contents, packaging, instruction manual, and organization for four kits: Ocean Medical International (OMI) Class C Day-Tripper, Adventure Medical Marine 1000, Fieldtex Excursion, and Orions Open Ocean. Marine 1000 met most of the content requirements we deemed necessary for coastal cruisers needs, and it excelled at the organization.

First contested in 1978, the Singlehanded TransPac (SHTP) offshore race crosses 2,120 miles of Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay to Hanalei Bay, Kauai. Though the singlehanded race has been dubbed a bug light for weirdos, world-class navigators and sailors often throw their lot in with the pack. Longtime singlehanded racer and cruiser Skip Allan took time out from his TransPac preparations to outline the equipment he keeps onboard Wildflower, his 27.5-foot Thomas Wylie-designed sloop/cutter. From his Sail-O-Mat windvane to boom vangs to tiller pilots, Allan discusses a range of gear helpful to all singlehanded sailors and small boat sailors. He outlines his sail inventory and storm tactics, along with his approach to provisioning and eating at sea. A second installment of the Singlehanded Sailors Notebook will take a look at onboard electronics and safety gear for the solo sailor.

We review two new abandon-ship bags from ACR.