Book review/notes, Voyages of a Simple Sailor, Roger Taylor

[skylark]

Voyages of a Simple Sailor
Roger D. Taylor, 2007
Also internet site thesimplesailor.com, youtube videos

Choice of Boat and Philosophy
Corribee 21 ft junk rigged bilge keel sailboat
Jester Principle - ocean sailing from inside the vessel, no requirement to ever leave the warmth and safety of the cabin
Small easily handled boat
Sailing from inside the vessel, handle main from hatch, no need to go on deck while on passage
no inboard engine
junk rigged with light weather jib, but jib must be set from on deck
low freeboard, shallow draft
foam bouyancy under cockpit floor, lazarette, watertight bulkhead forward of coachroof with foam in v-berth
aft bulkhead made watertight, filled with foam
closed cell foam
bottles filled with expanding foam under bunks
windpilot self steering
large watertight locker installed in cockpit reducing its volume by one half
main hatch washboards replaced with solid mahogany
raised bridgedeck added above existing one
sliding hatch removed and relaced with a watertight hatch
estimates that there is 150% of floatation needed to float the boat
sculling oars to double as jury mast and jury steering
LED navlights, gel cell battery, solar panel are only installed electronics on boat
heavy chainplates as attachment points for Jordan series drogue
Optimus single burner alcohol stove
self steering gear needs to have a strong mechanism for adjustment from hatchway using control lines
hatchway has a top hatch for entry and an aft port for ventilation, self steering control lines and whipstaff control lines
Twin keels discourage pendulum rolling
main sitting position in cabin is starboard bunk with navigation locker folding door behind
seat in companionway with eyes just above the hatch, protected, warm but with good vision

Equipment and Gear
Stores carried in large waterproof plastic containers lashed to cabin sole and under the companionway
no transmitting communication facilities
Handheld GPS
GPS is used at noon every day, and when coastal piloting
shortwave radio receiver wrapped in plastic bags when not in use
plastic bucket for head
loose comfortable clothing
woolen socks
on deck, sea boots, wet weather gear
harness with double leads and clips always used
wet boots, gear stored in aft port quarter berth area
mop up water with paper towels
lighting - hurricane lamp used only in cold weather to warm cabin
nav lights give faint ambient light in cabin
stern light reflected off self steering vane gave illumination on deck
LED headlamp for other needs
sleep with kitchen timer close to ear

Food
Breakfast - fruit muesli with milk
paper towels instead of dishcloths
Apples and other fresh fruit
Lunch - rye, pumpernickel or sunflower seed breads with butter cheese or jam
vacuum packed dark breads
fresh fruit or homemade fruitcake or flapjack
drink water with a bit of lime juice
Dinner - hot meal
waterproof containers packed with single serving ingredients for a number of meals
one packet of precooked rice or pasta (minute rice, ramen?)
one tin of tuna, salmon or smoked oysters
one tin of peas, beans, carrots or sweet corn
one steamed pudding or custard or riced pudding
one hot meal of day
combine maximum taste and nourishment with minimum use of time, effort, fuel and water in its preparation
Example recipe for dinner:
open tin of peas
light spirit stove
drain fluid from peas into small nonstick saucepan
put saucepan on stove
add packet of precooked flavored rice
add tin of smoked oysters
add peas
stir gently for 3 minutes until piping hot
turn off stove
eat from pan
after main course, pudding
energy bar for late night snack
water as beverage

[saxon]

Guarantee eveyone on Sail Far would like this chap. Very modest, quiet and a brilliant sailor. Easy to talk to and to look at him you would never guess he runs some sort of high power finance company. Met him briefly  in Essex once. I thought he was a local fisherman until someone said " That bloke crosses oceans in a 20 odd footer".