A mid-winter rescue, Oceans of Hope, Baja Ha-Ha—World Cruising news

by David Schmidt, Sail-World Cruising Editor on 26 Feb 2015 Anyone who has ever ventured offshore knows that picking your weather window for a long voyage is as important to the trip’s chances of success as selecting the right crewmembers and ensuring that the vessel is seaworthy and fully up to the challenge. In the past two weeks, two Australian sailors, Jason McGlashan and his father, Reg McGlashan, have made international headlines for their decision to leave Newport, Rhode Island on Friday, February 13, bound for Port Macquarie, Australia-a serious undertaking in any circumstance, but one that was certainly intensified by the choice of vessel and season.

Some backstory. Jason McGlashan (age 37) had been in the market for an ocean-worthy steed for some time, and recently discovered an eBay listing for a 43-foot custom-racing sloop that was built in 1995, and which was available for a pittance. Jason bought the boat sight unseen, and father and son spent several weeks in Newport, preparing 'Sedona' for the long voyage home. While Jason had 25 years of sailing experience, his father was a greenhorn, albeit a keen one.

Against the advise of their newfound friends in Newport, the McGlashans set sail on that most unlucky of days, and their voyage-expected to take months-ended two days later when the pair were successfully rescued 150 miles south of the island of Nantucket by the United States Coast Guard after their vessel suffered electrical problems and destroyed sails. Sadly, Jason spent three years working as a miner to save up for the vessel, which is currently adrift.

Not surprisingly, this ill-fated cruise has been one of the hottest topics in international cruising news, and one that has been fiercely debated in recent days. Get the multimedia report, inside this issue, and remember this tale the next time that 'keeping to the schedule' seems more important than making proper, seaman-like decisions.

Meanwhile, in happier news, the crew of 'Oceans of Hope', a 67-foot yacht that’s circumnavigating our lonely planet crewed by a group of sailors who are living with multiple sclerosis, recently enjoyed a great visit to the Galapagos Islands, where the crew got a chance to see the same natural beauty and biota that so inspired Charles Darwin. Learn more about their Galapagos adventures, inside, and stay tuned for more news from this great circumnavigation project, as it becomes known.

Speaking of the Pacific Ocean, don’t miss Sylvia Stewart Stompe’s great trip report from the famous Baja Ha-Ha cruising rally, which takes sailors from San Diego, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 'We arrived at Turtle Bay, the first Ha-Ha stop, and dropped the anchor at 10 am after three days and nights at sea,' wrote Stewart Stompe. 'This is when the fleet really starts to come together, seeing all the other boats in one place, about 175 this year! We get to know boat personalities by hearing them check in on radio, meeting on the beach, and other novel ways, such as the boat that hung nautical flags from the forestay and announced a prize to anyone able to decipher the message.'

Get Stewart Stompe’s full report, inside this issue.

And while no one ever likes to think about actually activating the life raft, UK-based sailor Wayne Ingram has announced his plan to intentionally spend seven days and seven nights in a liferaft in Portland Marina, Portland Harbour, Dorset, both as a way to help raise funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) families centre, and as a way to help further academic research.

'The reason I want to raise money for GOSH is to help children from the UK as my previous fundraising over the last ten years plus has been for foreign children,' writes Ingram in his report, which is inside this issue. 'This has never been on the back of some tabloid story but by visiting them in their own country, experiencing the hardships and constraints they witness, inevitably raising money for the cause, knowing it will be used in the right place at the right time.' More, inside.

Also inside, find out more about the 2015 Miami International Boat Show’s annual Innovation Awards, check in with Don Macpherson about his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a custom Swan 90, and find out more about cruising the Bahaman island of Eleuthera.

And finally, don’t miss Lindsay Lyon’s advice for avoiding a shark encounter.

May the four winds blow you safely home,