Calgary fleet report – November 2016

by Christine McGregor on 6 Jan 2017 The Calgary chapter Fleet had their third meeting of the year on November 21 and as always it was a great evening of learning and sharing among friends. It was a special evening in a couple of ways: first of all was our main conversation topic, which gave Cathy Norrie the opportunity to share some great learning from her and co-skipper Bill Norrie’s recent completion of their circumnavigation on Terrwyn.

Cathy spoke knowledgeably and passionately about what they would have done differently on the multi-leg journey around the globe on their Pacific Seacraft 36, which provided excellent insight for those in the group who are still preparing for their offshore adventure. Topics covered included proper fishing gear, weather information, mast steps, navigation, energy, clothing, provisioning, sails and communication systems and there was a lot of note-taking by the other fleet participants!

After learning the hard way on the first leg of their circumnavigation, the Norrie’s traded out a simple hand line for a proper deep sea reel, favouring their Penn Senator Class reel and rod with roller fair leads.

The second reason our November fleet meeting was particularly special, is that one of our members was just days away from hopping on a plane to meet the rest of her family on their new sailing vessel, that will shortly be taking them around the world. We got to share in some of the excitement and anticipation of these final days – and with her partner already on the boat with the children, got some near-live feedback and insight into the things that pop up that you just never would have expected or planned for. Wishes for fair winds and following seas were abundant, as was the excitement we all shared in seeing a fleet member embark on a maiden offshore voyage!

Calgary’s December fleet meeting welcomed Stan Homer (Homers’ Odessey II) as a guest speaker to share with us his knowledge and experience on Redundancies. Stay tuned for the report.

This article has been provided courtesy of the Bluewater Cruising Association.