Electric Power Winch Driver for Sailboats by Winchrite

Our post of 23 August 2013 about my friend Mark Clarke and family cruising in the Baltic and the Russian coast showed the Milwaukee power drill he uses for electrically driving his winches on s/v Bear.

Another product is the Winchrite by Sailology, a purpose built electrically powered winch handle, practical and easy to use. Here is a product description and specifications taken from the Sailology website http://www.sailrite.com/ 

Winch Rite is an affordable, light-weight, safe, cordless electric winch handle designed specifically for use on sailboats. All weather resistant design and extended battery life make the WinchRite a perfect addition to your sailing gear!

Winchrite electric handle by Sailology

The cordless Winch Rite handle produces great torque at variable speeds and was designed with safety in mind. It features an integrated rubber inlay for anti-skid prevention and a weather resistant cover for increased durability and protection. The winch cog contains a unique drive to prevent failure in both rotation directions and will not unthread or snap the retaining screw.

This electric winch handle works on all single and two speed winches where a standard eight point handle is utilized. Operate the WinchRite handle at the lowest speed of your winch to ensure maximum pull and the lowest battery consumption.

Winch Rite Technical Specifications:

Winchrite holster

Exterior housing: Composite of ABS and PC plastics resulting in superior durability and strength.
Drive: Integrated standard winch cog of stainless steel.
Torque: Achieves 110+NM (81 lb/ft) of torque to stall
Rotation:50-110rpm via variable speed technology in both directions allowing for two speed winch rotations.
Battery: Internal rechargeable 21.6V Lithium
Weight: 6.2 lb/2.8kgs.
Included with WinchRite:
100-220 volt AC shore power
12 volt DC Trickle charging device
Drive Cog
Storage tote bag




Here is another video showing more features: 



The Milwaukee power drill option also holds currency with cruising sailors and you can go to the Cruisers Forum website  
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f124/winchrite-36874.html
to update yourself on the discussion.

You can read much more about yachting equipment and sailboat cruising in my book 'Sailing Adventures in Paradise', downloadable from my website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com/

Ebook Global Readers 'Read an Ebook Week' from Smashwords

Smashwords, the global ebook aggregator is once again running their 'Read an Ebook Week'. This is the sixth year and like everything in the ebook world it is expanding at an incredible rate. Smashwords has to be one of the success stories in the electronic publishing world for independant authors.

In the six short years from a standing start in 2008 when they had ninety authors and published one hundred and forty titles only, Smashwords has grown into a giant. At last count for years end 2013, they now have 83,700 authors signed up, publishing globally a whopping 276,100 titles! 2014 should see another year of massive growth. 

Smashwords distribute to ten or so retailers and libraries around the world, with the main ones being Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

I have three titles available and for this 'Read an Ebook Week' only, March 2 - 8 all three titles are available absolutely free. Just got into Smashwords website https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek and search the title bar to find my books.

Sailing Adventures in Paradise

Fishing Tales and Other Tales

Fitness and Exercise Fun for Baby Boomers and Seniors

You can also visit me on my website www.sailboat2adventure.com and catch up with my blog archives on sailing. I look forward to meeting you there. Happy reading.
      

Clipper Round the World Race Update

The Clipper Round the World Race boats are currently battling it out in Race 9, which is the leg from Singapore to Qingdao (pron: Chingdow) in China. There are eleven remaining after Jamaica Get All Right retired following the failure of her forestay turnbuckle. They have a jury rig in place and are currently motoring into Kotu Kinabalu to fit a replacement and continue with the race.

The boats are into their fourth day now and around 5 degrees north of the equator and 112 degrees West, heading for the South China Sea.

Here are some videos of the event which give a very good idea of the conditions, good and bad, that the crews are experiencing in their 'adventure of a lifetime'. All of these vessels competed in the Sydney to Hobart race in December and I met with quite a number of them whilst they were here. To a man and woman, even though many of them said it was the toughest thing they had taken on in their short lives, they would not have missed it for the world and were enjoying every minute of it.


By the time they had arrived in Australia they had of course covered many sea miles and the one thing that came through strongly was that they had all learned that no matter how serious a situation was confronting them, they now knew that they could handle it. This is an incredibly empowering feeling and they all expressed the personal growth they had gained from this experience.

They still have a long way to sail with the fleet finally arriving back in the UK mid 2014, so many more challenges will need to be met and overcome before they finally dock back at the finish line. 

As the race is in stages the crew come and go depending on which legs they have booked and apart from the skippers, very few crew would complete a full circumnavigation, preferring in the main to take one or more legs of the race.

For anyone contemplating sailing off over the horizon one day in their own sailboat, the Clipper race is a fantastic introduction to the world of ocean sailing/cruising/racing. Sailing experience is not necessary to 'sign on' because by the time a leg or two has been completed, the experience gained is such that any crew member would have the confidence to begin planning their own sailing odyssey.

Go to their website http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/ where you can find full details of the race, the boats, crews , routes etc.

Videos courtesy 'Clipper Round the World' and YouTube

You can read much more about the cruising lifestyle in my book 'Sailing Adventures in Paradise' with '101 Dollar Saving Tips for Sailors', which you can purchase from my website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com/.  

Sailing Odyssey Malaysia to the Mediterranean via Red Sea

Some people just never know when to stop! One of our members Lloyd Price, is one such of these folks. Having cruised the coastal waters of Australia, then onto Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Borneo, Brunei over a six year period, he then sets sail to the Med via Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt and finally through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea.

Deja vu111 in the Red Sea, Sudan

He owns and sails a Seawind 1000 (10mtrs.) catamaran named Deja vu111. I haven't asked him what the 111 signifies, but I am sure he has a story to tell behind that? he is a passionate promoter of this class of vessel and had no inclination after all these years and sea miles to change to any other type of vessel. She has been his home now for ten years and he shows no sign of giving up his odyssey any time soon. 

SPECIFICATIONS OF … SV DEJAVU III

• Overall Length:                            10.00 metres
• Beam:                                      5.9 metres
• Draft:                                     1.0 metres
• Displacement:                              5.5 tonnes
• Underwing Clearance:                       0.75 metres
• Steering Twin Helms Cable Steering:
• Engines: 2 x 9.9hp, High Thrust,
• Engine Stroke:                              4 Stroke,
• Outboards Yamaha Outboards
• Fuel:                                       100 litres
• Fresh Water:                              400 litres



Layout of Deja vu111

• Holding Tanks:                              90 litres

Having recently completed his circular route of the Mediterranean, he has exited through the straits of Gibralter, cruised down the Morrocan coastline past Casablanca, and currently enjoying the delights of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, prior to crossing the Atlantic into the Caribbean. With over 38,000 nautical miles under his belt/keel, Lloyd can truly consider himself a highly experienced and seasoned sailor. 

He has his own website http://www.svdejavu.com/ and blog where you can keep up to date  with his sailing exploits and travels.

Lloyd has recently published a book 'A Sailing Odyssey-Malaysia to the Mediterranean', of his voyage experiences in Deja vu111 on that passage. It is available on Amazon both in hard copy and ebook on this link http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Odyssey-Malaysia-Mediterranean-Lloyd-Price-ebook/dp/B00FSTJNYW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395014691&sr=1-1&keywords=sailing+malaysia+odyssey. It is crammed full of seagoing episodes and technical incidents both good and challenging, so very worthwhile reading. Any sailor contemplating ocean voyaging will enjoy and learn by reading Lloyd's book. 

Lloyds book as it appears on Kindle Books

When he has caught his breath and safely tucked away in the Caribbean, he plans on writing the next chapter of his odyssey and publish a book on his experiences in the Med. We wish Lloyd every success with this, his first book and continued great sailing.

Boat specs. and images courtesy Lloyd Price

You can read much more about ocean voyaging in my book 'Sailing Adventures in Paradise' including '101 dollar Saving Tips for the Ocean Voyager', downloadable from my website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com/