Author Archives: peter

Golden Globe Race # 3 – before start

USUAL PROCEDURE? 2018 July

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Puzzling things out

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER Puzzling things out

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Peter and the market

WINDPILOT – INTRIGUE AND COPYCATS Intrigue and copycats

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Hydrovane – Windpilot

WINDPILOT – PROPERLY EFFECTIVE WINDVANE STEERING SYSTEMS Hydrovane

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Golden Globe Race 2018 – emergency rudder

IN EXTREMIS – LOSING THE RUDDER SOS Rudder

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Achilles heels – Saildrives

THE HOW AND THE WHY From the harbour tug operator to the car driver with an empty tank, anyone with first-hand experience knows the best way to set a large load moving in the right direction is to push it … Continue reading

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Influencers

INFLUENCERS AND INFLUENZA – THE SILENT POWER Influencers and influenza: both have the capacity to render one powerless, but while influenza’s challenge to the immune system is impossible to overlook, the influence on our thought processes of sources we trust … Continue reading

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Cardinal sins – the rudder

RUDDER, TILLER, WHEEL STEERING, EMERGENCY TILLER Is overconfidence the order of the day? Have we lost our respect for the forces of nature? Naively succumbed to the marketers’ forked tongue? Is the new really always better than the old? Are … Continue reading

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Golden Globe Race 2018 – La Longue Route 2018

PLANNING A LONG VOYAGE Six months is really quite a long time, at least when it comes to travel planning. 2018 January

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Hanse Yachts – experiences – three times

EXPERIENCES WITH A BRAND NEW HANSE 588 I know Ariana und Jayme Souza since about 9 years, and of course it has been about transom ornaments. Jayme, living and working as surgeon in Salvador at that time and a sailor … Continue reading

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The importance of a strong rudder

APPEARANCE AND REALITY A tour of European trade fairs and marinas reveals which marketing campaigns and promotions have gained the most traction and highlights the latest trends and developments to have been packaged up, badged (invariably) as important improvements and … Continue reading

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Longue Route 2018

GENESIS OF THE LONGUE ROUTE 2018 To plagiarize shamelessly Jack London – or his wife Charmian, both wrote exactly the same sentence without specifying the author – “it’s all the fault of Captain Joshua Slocum and his ship the Spray!” … Continue reading

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Golden Globe Race 2018 – Longue Route 2018

THE EARLY BIRD AND THE WORM The time is racing away. Watch out or you might find yourself left behind, washed up – a social outcast even. You have to keep up, everyone says so. Perhaps there’s comfort to be … Continue reading

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Peter – 70 years

PETER FOERTHMANN – 70 Years – UNPLUGGED With 70 years on the clock, my life’s drone has soared to a height at which one could be forgiven for expecting a measure of wisdom, a modicum of life experience. Peter – … Continue reading

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From Aries to Windpilot

THE CHANGE FROM ARIES TO WINDPILOT MADE SIMPLE As the years have passed, innumerable UK-based boats that once had an Aries in pride of place have switched to the Windpilot Pacific. The differences are striking – time marches on (at … Continue reading

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Self steering on catamarans

Relief from manual steering for catamaran crews Catamaran sailors too have the right to close their eyes once in a while. Ocean-going catamarans at sea are almost without exception steered by electric autopilots, with permanently installed inboard autopilot systems generally … Continue reading

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Transom ornaments part #2

BIMINI – PERSONEL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Transom ornaments 2

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Transom ornaments part #1

INSTALLATION, OBSERVATIONS, ( OVER ) ANALYSIS Transom ornaments 1

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Tom Cunliffe – a sailor to the core

MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT In my (ever more swiftly flowing) life, it is moments of human contact and personal connection that truly touch my soul, warm my heart and provide lifelong pleasure.

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SV Vaguebond – Ivan Steenhuyse BE

HALF WAY DONE Hi Peter, after sailing more than 15000 miles in 16 months, we’ve arrived in New Zealand. Our Windpilot did almost every mile of steering during our trip and she is one of the best purchases we made … Continue reading

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