Offshore Cruising Preparation Hub | Planning & Safety

Go in with your eyes wide open, or get caught by insurers when making a claim.

Excessive leeward cable sway, mast foot point loading, mast foot grey stains, swage hairline cracks, stiff running rigging, internal cracked mast stems, and cable-end nesting. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, do yourself a huge favour and get a professional rigger.

For blue-water cruising, simple rigging systems with readily replaceable components can make repairs and maintenance considerably easier offshore. Composite material components such as Dyneema and stiff running rigging present remote challenges at the wrong times.

Being proactive during planning and embracing surveys (forget the cost) is extremely important.

This podcast (or video) from MULTIHULL CENTRAL, and Joel Berg from ALL YACHT SPARS gives insight into what riggers do.

Their message is straightforward: simplicity matters when you have to maintain and repair your rig offshore.

A detailed look at mast component problems, in particular in the Med, Andy Postle from ALLSPARS in England gives a thorough insight into the challenges faced with mast rigging components, replacement parts and cheap imports. An eye-opener of what goes on behind the scenes.

Are you still looking for a catamaran? Dispel the myth that catamarans are too expensive.

Although this video is a few years old, two professionals share their honest opinions on high-quality vessels in the offshore cruising category within this price range.

There are even more of these catamarans on the market now.

Where: Coral Sea, with winds at 20 knots, swell around 1 meter/short. These were the conditions for a short early morning climb to the first spreader to untangle a mainsail halyard that had knotted itself around a deck light and radome.

Wearing a helmet did little to prevent a 5 cm cut to the forehead, and rubber-soled shoes did little to protect against a gash on the leg. Resultant bruising from the swaying yacht and hitting the mast was obvious.

Thinking you can hold onto a swaying mast covered in light sea spray is definitely dangerous.

The lesson: Delay mast climbs until flat seas.