Twin Rudders: An Update after 18 Years 4/10/2018 Admin 0 views Having run Starr for 18 years, including crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific (we are about to start our 10th Pacific crossing), fixing Starr's steering problem (lack of control) is the single best modification we have made to date. As I listen to other trawler owners talk about their steering problems and how they might solve them with autopilot adjustments, I wonder if they would be better served by adding flanking rudders or the dual rudder solution we adopted on Starr. We wrote about maki... Read More
How can we Design a Better Flopper Stopper? 3/29/2018 Admin 559 views Stabilizing a large yacht at anchor presents many challenges. With their almost unlimited budgets and full-time engineers, megayachts usually choose an electronic solution such at TRAC’s STAR (STabilization At Rest), and smaller, light-displacement yachts often opt for gyro solutions such as Seakeeper anti-roll gyros. Both systems are effective, but they’re costly to install, require full-time generator use and varying levels of maintenance, and create noise. On the other hand, passive stabil... Read More
Hawaii 2017-2018 3/26/2018 Admin 729 views Sharry and I are preparing to take Starr from Hawaii to Kodiak, AK (2200nm) this May. We'll then continue to Prince William Sound. Although we've been silent on this blog for too long, we've been busy cruising Hawaii! Here's a bit from the last year... Nautical Miles run: 1900nm Nights at anchor: 89 Our trips included the following: We made Spring and Fall trips from Oahu to Kauai, where we spent two weeks on each visit anchored in Hanalei Bay. We also cruised the north end of the island t... Read More
Don and Sharry’s Thoughts About Our Seattle-Honolulu Passage 2016 12/4/2016 Admin 4047 views Sharry’s Thoughts: My Last Night Watch of this Passage November 12, 2016 2100-2400 Supermoon I’m sitting on the step on the port side of the wheelhouse, both wheelhouse doors are open and the warm night air at 78 degrees is cooler than the temperature of the sea at 82.5 degrees. I am barefoot, dressed in shorts and a tank top, and the warm night air wraps my body in a soft caress. The “super” moon is a slightly squashed circle of light, not quite full but probably will be by tomorrow... Read More
Last Landfall 11/13/2016 Admin 3623 views Last Landfall November 13, 2016 – Approaching Diamond Head-10nm ahead Day 18 Lee Hillman Brown Starr is one hour from Honolulu after an eighteen-day passage from Seattle. For me and Lee this will complete our last voyage together. For me it has been a trip of intimate memories: of other passages, of night watches, of the night sky and “our” constellation, Casseopia, and of just the two of us sailing Wings together, watch on and watch off – partners, intimate. Now we are coming to ou... Read More
Sea Hunt ---- This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software. Please be kind and keep your replies short. 11/12/2016 Admin 3230 views Sea Hunt November 12, 2016 –Almost to Honolulu Day 17 Duke’s Mahi If truth be told, I am not a killer. Maybe my parents taught me to respect living things, she a microbiologist and nurse, he a pediatrician. A little fishing with Dad as a boy was done but there was no hunting or guns. Compared to me, Brownie is a trained killer, a crack shot and a harvester of the wild and the deep and there is probably no better descriptor of Don than 'equipped.' He's got everything. Tools, large and small, ... Read More