Multi-talented Craig Margetts to be Cruising Masterclass speaker

by Nancy Knudsen on 9 Jul 2013 After a long career since childhood of sailing and racing monohulls, Craig Margetts, a speaker at Sydney International Boat Show Cruising Masterclass, finally 'saw the light' and changed over to multihulls.

Craig and his wife Kerry, with their family of two boys, Stephen and Lachlan, and dog Rhett Buttler, in a Seawind 1160 called Scarlett, set off in May 2011 to circumnavigate Australia, arriving back at the end of April 2012. As some seasoned sailors maintain that it would be easier to take the tradewinds and sail around the world than circumnavigate Australia, this, with two children in tow, was a challenging experience.

As Craig explains, they had thought they would have company. They had entered the Around Australia Rally scheduled for 2011. However, when it was cancelled, (probably because many sailors are put off by the difficulty) they decided to do it themselves. After much preparation, they set off.

While it was a serious challenge, Craig's experience was to stand him in good stead.

He began sailing as a child on Port Philip Bay in Sabots and Mirrors and at University began sailing Windsurfers. This lead onto crewing on a range of smaller keelboats and day or overnight racing mostly on S80s and J24s. When he moved to Darwin he met Kerry at the Darwin Sailing Club and he continued racing monohulls and crewed on the Darwin to Ambon race - giving him his first taste of longer distance sailing.

When he later moved to Mackay he and kerry purchased their first multihull; a Seawind 1000 named INDIGO. They sailed the NSW and Queensland coasts and put their boat into the Cumberland Charter Yacht fleet in the Whitsundays. Several years later they upgraded to their current Seawind 1160 named SCARLETT with a view to having her in the charter fleet, but eventually couldn't resist taking her out of charter to fulfil their dream of longer distance sailing.

Craig is a Medical Practitioner and the Director of Medical Services at Rockhampton Hospital but believes that 'a bad day's sailing beats a good day at the office'. In addition to sailing on monohulls and multihulls, Craig has been an active member of Volunteer Marine Rescue and has occasionally been seen in the company of power boat owners (but we'll forgive him for that).

Craig will bring a wealth of experience to the Cruising Masterclass. There are few cruising sailors who have circumnavigated Australia, there are even fewer who have done it with children on board, and then his comparative experience with both multihulls and monohulls (and no product to sell) will allow him to offer valuable insights to the Masterclass.

Craig will speak on all these aspects of his sailing experience:

- Monos or Multis - do they play nicely together?
- Cruising with Kids: on Board - or - on Bored?
- Preparation of a production boat for a circumnavigation - what extras did we need?

As well, he will tell some home truths about circumnavigating Australia - the highlights, the 'tough bits' and the unexpected delights.

Other subjects to be covered in the Cruising Master Class on 3/4 August include:

Passage Planning
A 'new look' at MOB for short-handed cruisers
Rigging and sails for cruising, incl heavy weather
Vessel systems, water, fuel, power options
Electronics, communications, AIS
Short-handed cruising
Applied Navigation
Insurance for cruising
Anchoring techniques and equipment
Cruising to Tasmania - anchorages, dangers, timing
Cruising to Whitsundays - anchorages, dangers, timing

Attendance is free for the inaugural Masterclass, but registration is essential to reserve your place as space will be limited.

For the full program and further information about the Cruising Masterclass, http://www.sail-world.com/index_d.cfm?nid=109962!click_here.

For ask for more information about, or to register for the Masterclass, http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/activities/cruising-masterclass/index.html!click_here

The http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/!Sydney_International_Boat_Show runs 1-5 August.