Another Jib Mizzen affair

I seem to be doing more than my fair share of jib and mizzen sailing lately.

After three days of having no wind at Sucia, we awoke to a very nice 15kt southeasterly wind for the return trip on monday.  Perfect!  A welcome sight after having motored over 40 miles during the previous three days.

Bob and I set sail for Sandy Point marina together, Bob in his Jim Michalak designed Scram Pram "Duck" and I in Ellie, having dropped off my son Tim at school in Bellingham the day before.

The wind and seas gradually increased during the voyage.  About halfway there I started to get hit with some spray.  Reefing early is always a good idea and its something that I always do.  Besides, I was in no hurry to get home!  So we hove-to and went straight to jib and mizzen.  It was a good decision as the seas continued to build and I still got sprayed on despite being heavily reefed.  Here, enjoy this one in slow-motion.

I was very impressed with Bobs Scram Pram. Its fast!  Really fast.  And dry too.  Bob can pilot the boat from inside its warm, dry cabin without sacrificing his view of his beautiful surroundings. My next sail was last weekend.  The forecast was for 10 mph winds.  Excellent!  I could do with a nice relaxing sail. Ellie and I set out for our typical daysail - a lap around Hat (Gedney) island.  It started out with a pleasant breeze, just as forecast, but then a squall quickly rolled in, churning up the bay.  There have been frequent thunderstorms here lately, so I decided that it would be an excellent time to high-tail it home.

The more times I do it, the more I appreciate using Ellies mizzen to heave-to.  When the conditions get rough, I simply sheet the mizzen in tight, lash the tiller, furl the jib and drop the main.  Ellie points into the wind and stays there, giving me ample time to reef, collect my thoughts, take a break, or whatever.  If you look closely at the following video, youll notice she doesnt point directly upwind, as you might expect.  She settles in at about a 45 degree angle to the wind and travels in reverse.  Note how the waves are hitting the starboard bow.

Heaving-to like this only takes seconds when you have all the controls led back to the cockpit.  Even lashing down the tiller is quick.  I use a bit of line with three loops in it.  One in the center and one on each end.  I slip the center loop over the tiller and the end loops over the stern cleats and thats all there is to it.

Still, I am looking forward to a relaxing sail next time out!

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My love affair with Hogfishes

 People always ask what is a Hogfish and why would you name your boat after one.

When I first sailed to the Bahamas in 1977 spearing a Hogfish was the most sought after goal of all boaters as they are the best tasting fish around. They can be speared relatively easily if they have never been approached before. If they have been shot at and you missed then they can be a challenge to get near for a kill shot. You have to have a kill shot if using a Hawaiian sling or you will loose your spear. 

Spearing them with a pole spear you can just hang on to the rubber and get towed about if your shot is in a solid spot. This has been lots of fun over the years for me.

When I first designed and built the original Hogfish sailing Sharpie yawl I knew it was going to be a different looking sailboat than the norm. I wanted a boat that just fit me with my type of sailing, cruising and lifestyle. With this in mind I needed a good name to go with this new boat. The Hogfish is a goofy looking fish when swimming about the bottom. I has a fearsome looking mouth but these fish are really just big Wrasses that eat crabs, sea biscuits and what ever comes their way. They can change their

body colors in an instant to camouflage themshelfs. When they die they can be very beautiful, like a sunset. 

Following are some pictures of my carved Hogfish and others that have crossed my path.

Carved for Kim Sands in Abaco out of cedar

Carved from a mahogany tree that washed ashore on Powell Cay in Abaco for an American client.

Carved for Dale and Mandy Roberts in Abaco 22 years ago

A female. All Hogfishes are transsexual where as the dominate female will turn into a male and grow the long snout and take over the female harem. I wonder how all the Christian male homophobic spear-fisherman deal with this fact. Can the fish just decide not to change at any time?

About as big as they get.

A stylized one for Bill Hutcherson

Our house with a neighbor. I love the colors here in this shot.

Mahogany with copper "Spriggs" as they call the three dorsale fins here in Spanish Wells. I have seen up to four at times.

Rachel on our front porch awhile back. The trees and bushes are now 10 higher. Our neighbors that have just built a house next door are always asking us to cut them down saying they are blocking their view. Some people want to sit in the front row and still be able to look at everything on both sides. We just smile at them knowing that all our grey water from our house is watering these native plants that give us shade, privacy, protection from storms and give a place for all the creatures that inhabit them to live. Our neighbours have cut 80% of their trees and bushes down replacing it with grass.

Kalessin with a Hogfish I speared in Exuma 23 years ago free diving in 45 of water. I have used a tracing of this fish for all the carvings you see here.

Back in my ole spear fishing for a living days.

Made of crab wood I found in Bequia a while back. Now in the home of Theo and Kims in Spanish Wells.

When I designed and built the original Hogfish sailing Yawl I wrote a note to myself naming my design company " Hogfish Designs". This was 26 years ago. I knew back then that the hogfish was going to some day be the "it" fish. I mailed this to myself and keep this  unopened letter as a sort of copyright time frame of when I thought it was cool for me to sail about the Carribean sea in a boat with a huge pink stripe down the side calling itself the "Hogfish".

I like to think I made it easier for men to now wear bright colors .

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