Back from the land of not blogging/ Fawcett's talk on Newport Bermuda Prep

Sorry for my hiatus from blogging. I missed you too.
Last night, I went to a seminar at Fawcett's on "Gearing up for Offshore" which had a focus on the Newport Bermuda Race.  For those of you who are not local Fawcett Boat Supplies is a Annapolis based awesome sailing store pyacht is their online world. They have everything you could ever need for your boat and even better the sales staff are all very knowledgeable.
Some bits and pieces of the things I learned last night as they apply to the Newport Bermuda Race are :
1. Lifejackets- officially need leg straps and mod kits are available for mustang and other lifejackets however if you use a mod kit to make it correct for the Newport Bermuda Race then that pfd no longer counts as far as the coast guard is concerned.
2.Tethers. Tethers need a quick release at the point closest to the body. This did not always exist if you have an old tether then you need an upgraded one like this.

3.Primary and backup VHF need DSC. What is DSC you ask? Basically it is a button on your VHF that send out a distress signal and makes your distress signal show up on everyone's VHF with DSC in the area. It allows the boats around you to know you are in distress faster then if they had to wait for the coast guard alert. In the case of a man overboard it makes it easier for someone to come help you or for you to come help others. In an ocean race this makes a lot of sense as most likely those in the best position to help with be the boat just behind you in the race. Example 

4.  Satellite phones are now being required
5.Radar reflectors that you have on your boat now are almost certainly not big enough for the rules for Newport Bermuda. They are looking for huge ones so large that they currently do not exist in the store and only one company makes them.
6. Backup navigation lights ( your red green white tricolor) need to have a 2 miles distance and a separate power source which is different then the old shorter requirement and many boats had them hooked into power source not separate. You know want something like this tri color as your backup that uses batteries.

Well this is what I learned and I hope it is helpful to some of the rest of you. I'm trying to find a ride for Newport Bermuda if anyone is looking for crew.

Under Armour Women's Offshore Sedna Shorts

So I live in Baltimore home of Under Armour. I love the company and often sail right past their headquarters. So when they made a line of offshore shorts I was so happy. I went out and got a pair right away of the ones I tried on the Sedna were my favorite. I have been wearing them sailing. ( yes even sailing past the Under Armour headquarters)

Pros
1. Cute
2. The semi belt buckle aspect is lovey and makes them fit wonderful at the waist
3. The zippered pockets are convenient and open and close well but too small see cons
4. The fabric is durable and has held up to non skid without pilling
5. The fabric is sweat wicking and quick dry
6. Baltimore company

Cons
1. Too short : they are not long enough that if you are sitting on the rail your bare skin is against the rail which is painful
2. Related to 1 the too short aspect also causes rolling up in the thigh area with extensive movement
3. The pockets are not deep enough for a multitool or really much of anything a but deeper would be nice
4.A minor thing they only come in black and purple. I own the black which is nice looking but a dark tan or light gray would be good since well purple shorts are a but much for me.

Overall
B- I might get them again but they are better for cruising or hanging out at the bar rather then racing.

If you want to but them they are $37.99 and you can get them here

Note I am in no way affiliated with Under Armour I just wear their clothes and sail past their headquarters.

Review Musto Evolution Womens Sailing Shorts

Sailing shorts for women are hard to find good ones.

First lets define what makes good sailing shorts. 

1. Good fit. ( This is a major issue for most sailing shorts)

2. Pockets- they need to be of useful sizes and easy to open with gloved hands

3. Belt loops - I at least like to mini carabeener my multitool via a long line to a belt loop so I do not drop it overboard

4. Reinforced or padded and reinforced rear end.

5. Fast drying

6. Long enough to protect the back of your thighs when on the rail without being so long as to be ugly.

7. Movement you need to be able to have full movement for climbing around on the boat without the shorts pulling against your legs

8. Durable- Non skid can do a number on your clothes and given the amount of sailing I do has ruined several pairs of shorts. Sailing shorts are not cheap and for these prices should hold up. 

9. Style/Price

I have been searching for the best pair for years. I've tried on or owned almost all of the major contenders from Camet, Underarmour, Gil, Zhik, Atlantis,Henry Loyd ect. 

Finally I found a pair I actually love. Musto Evolution Performance Women's Shorts

So how do they do on the criteria we established above

1. Fit- Seems to be true to size. Waist to hip area is comfortable(which is rare usually sailing shorts either have a really tiny waist and huge hip area or no assumption of hips at all) and I wear the same size I do in most normal shorts. 

2.Nice deep pockets. The big thigh pocket I wish was on the right leg not the left but that is just me. It is plenty of space for your cell and money at the after party or during the race I often put the gloves in that pocket before the race. The thigh pocket is really two pockets the velcro one on top and the zipper one underneath. I mainly use the velcro one. It is nice for a roll of tape or a pair of gloves which getting things rigged up on the way to the race course. The hip pockets are also good I use the one on the right for my multitool and they are deep enough for that and that is a rare thing. After races it is big enough to hold a beer can. 

3. They smartly put the belt loops right at the top of the pockets so carabeenering stuff with an idiot line( a bit of light line connecting a tool to a carabeener so that you do not drop overboard like an idiot) to your belt loops and putting it in the pockets works great. 

4. These shorts do not have padding or the option for padding but that is ok. They do have a reinforced rear end which is nice and great protection against abrasion of nonskid. The texture also helps prevent slipping on boats with insufficient non skid when on the rail.  A comment from one of my guy friends was that the placement and grey color of the reinforced rear tends to emphasize attractive rear ends of female sailors due to the curve. I am not sure if this is true or my friend is just a typical horny sailor. 

5. Well last night I was wearing these and got splashed with bay water and soaked at one point on the rail and they were entirely dry by the end of the next leg. So they pass that. Not sweat wicking but they do dry fast. 

6.I'm 5'10''  with  lot of that extra height being legs so sometimes shorts are too short on me. These fall about five inches above my knee cap. This is long enough that they protect my thighs on the rail and help prevent those obnoxious rail line bruises. 

7. They have a nice oval in the crotch gusset and such so I can fully do the splits or get one leg entirely up and the other entirely down without issue. Total full range of movement in them without pulling on the crotch or back of legs. Perfect in this criteria. 

8.Durable. Since I bought these I have done probably 20 races in them things from ocean races Annapolis to Newport to Wednesday and Thursday night races on boats from 22- 80 feet and they still look brand new after washing. No rips, tears, pilling, or worn down spots. Rare are the shorts that can withstand all that with no damage. 

9.Style/Price- They are totally attractive enough to wear to the post race party but not so cute that you would wear them out in a non sailing crowd.  At $110 they are in the range but at the high end of the range for price of women's tech sailing shorts.

Overall I think these shorts are a 9 out of 10.  They are the best female racing shorts I have found go get yourself a pair.

What would I change?

They only come in Black or Stone. ( I own black) but my ideal color would be a dark tan. Stone is too light and shows dirt black is too dark and gets warm. 

I would put the thigh pocket on the right side not the left.

If they could get the price below 100 that would be much better.

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with Musto or any sailing gear manufacture. I just wear their stuff. I am also not affiliated in any way with APS which is where the link goes to buy these shorts. I just know they stock them. Neither company knows I exist and this review is unbiased in that regard. 

I found a great deal on Sperry Boat Shoes and Sandals I'm sharing

Ok I admit it I have a massive weakness for Sperry. I own more Sperry shoes then all other shoes combined not just for racing or sailing ( although that too) but for general casual shoes. I own so many different colors and almost always buy on sale. Normally Sperry shoes start at expensive and go to really expensive. So I am sharing with you the great deal I saw at Defender. In case you do not know Defender is a great online store for boat stuff.
Blue and Tan Bahama Boat Shoes
$9 Now $4.50 For size 9.5 and 5.5 normally these run $60

Seriously $9 Now $4.50 each that is insane if you have the right shoe size this is awesome

Sandals They had a ton of different women's sandals also $9 each with list prices normally about $50!!!!

White with floral Sizes 5.5 and 9.5

Then there are the silver and yellow sizes 6,7.5,8.5,10,11

These are also super cute Navy and Plaid but they sadly are only size 6 sold out

Plus how about these White and Ocean Blue for size 6,6.5, 7, 8.5, 9.5, 10. 11sold out

Then my favorite but not in my size are brown and leopard these are so great  seriously one of you readers who wears size 6 needs to get these and wear then just because I can not with my big size 10 feet. clearly purchased them as they are now sold out

I am in no way affiliated with Defender or with Sperry I just wear lots of Sperry shoes and sometimes shop at Defender. I ordered myself several of these pairs and wanted to share the great deal with you ladies. So cheap boat shoes and sandals and thus more money for spending on food and sailing.

I am very happy with shipping as well as they have already arrived. Here is a picture of the three I ordered.

My cheap new Sperry shoes and sandals

The blue and white sandals are my favorite as the texture of the blue part is amazingly comfortable I am going to go order the yellow and white pair which has that same texture now.

Edited to add :
Looks like they dropped the price to $9 for a few other pairs. I do know they have a minimum order of $25 but just buy a few pairs.
Other pairs at $9
Navy Starboard Boat Sneakers 
Size 6

White Starboard Boat Sneakers
Size 6

And for $19 

Linen and coral and leather Bluefish 

Size 12 sold out

Boat Provisioning Trick

Next week, I am going with my family on a week long trip where we are chartering a sailboat in the islands.( I promise I will show pictures) We have done this several times before and it is always a great time. I am starting to pack and as such I wanted to show you this trick I  learned over the years. So when you bareboat charter a boat you do not have a chef. Thus you either cook aboard yourself for the week or eat out every meal. My family typically cooks breakfast and lunch and goes ashore for dinner most nights. This is interesting in terms of spices. You do not want to travel with a spice rack nor do you want to buy at inflated island prices a bunch of seasoning you will use only for a meal. The solution is recycling. During the year when you use up one of those little containers that hold a bunch of different sugar sprinkles wash it out and keep it. Use a paper funnel to funnel in spices and then close again and put inside a ziploc and place in your luggage.

Now contains Pepper, Old Bay, Salt, Italian spices,  Red Pepper, and  Taco seasoning

You can see on the jar that it is still embossed with the words Holly Leaves and Red Crystals left over from some Christmas sugar sprinkles. Bonus, you can also just leave it there when you are done and not have to worry about it. You can buy prepackaged combo spice dispensers they are similar however you can not control the spice combo. What I like about this is that only those spices I expect to use are contained in the mini canister.

Best Free Android Apps for Sailors and others on the water

There are a million apps out there but here is my list of the best ones that are free. Some come as more advanced paid options. By Category the best are

Weather

Weather Channel  
The weather for where you are and where you want to be. Classic wonderful.

Marine Weather by Bluefin
Excellent on the water weather! Gives marine forcasts and warnings

Wind Alert 
Wind speed, forecasts  and history at thousands of spots around the globe. Real time snapshots of local wind conditions. A must have!

Tide App
Simple but useful: Tide times at lots of locations and sunrise sunset.

On the water 

SailDroid
Speed, log , GPS position, red backlight option. Great for when down below off watch and want to check how the boat is doing.

Marine Traffic
Oh no is that container ship heading your way? All the big container ships and many smaller cool boats use AIS ( automatic identification system) this tracks all of the boats that use AIS and allow you to see where they are going and identify the boats.

Twas the night Before Christmas

Boaters stocking

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the boat the stockings were hung by the mast with care in hopes that St Nick soon would be there

St Nick

I in my cap

had just settles down for a long winters nap

When out on the bay arose such a clatter.

A little old driver so lively and quick I knew in an instant it must be saint nick. 

He whistled he shouted he called them by name 

No trimmer, Now Fordeck now Grinder 

On Pit, on Spintrimmer on rail

Now Sail away, Sail away all

Merry Christmas from Single Sailing Savor

Dear Sailing Santa

Dear Sailing Santa,
I've been very good this year. Sailing , helping out with Sailibration here in Baltimore, overall a really good girl. I have a Christmas list of items I would love for Christmas but are much too expensive to ask my family for. So below the Sailing Savor Single Santa list. Perhaps you want to spoil some sailor gal in your life.
1.Musto HPX Gor Tex Ocean Trousers in Red
Yup they are $635 but Santa you fly through all sorts of weather you understand that there is not such thing a bad weather just badly dressed for the weather.


2. Camet Wahine Shorts
At $78 for a pair of shorts I want them but that is a lot for a pair of shorts. The old womens camet shorts XL sizing was way way off and fit someone who wore a size 6 normally so I am hesitant to buy the new design until I can try them on in the store.


3. Mustang Inflatable Harness PFD
This fall I sailed the Chesapeake bay great schooner race and a man on another boat died when he got knocked overboard and his shipmates could not get him back in for several minutes. This drove home the importance of a PFD and of tethering in to me. So $241.45 or not I am getting myself this in red before next season. Kinda hoping it goes on sail before then or Santa?!?


4. Sperry SeaRacer GripX3 Sailing Sneakers
New race sneakers would be excellent. I've tried these on and very grippy and friends who own them love them.



5.Seabag
I really like the chain design seabag. The pink with the industrial chain is such a nice contrast. My other sailbag is white  with a red stripe and I use it all the time. For $165 they are expensive but super durable bags.



6. J111
Santa if you are really nice this would be great!



Thanks Santa!!

Gear review :Sailing gloves

Now the best gloves for you will depend on three things 1. What position you are on the boat? 2. What shape hand do you have? 3. Temperature 4. Do you like your finger tips out?

Regarding these issues
1. Generally you will use your gloves the most when you are a trimmer. Line sliding in and out of gloves causes tons of wear and tear. Better wear and tear on your gloves then on your hands. Helmswomen often do not even need gloves unless it is for cold metal helms or if the helm is slick. Fordeck it depends on your own preference and grip. Generally, fordeck can get away with less rugged gloves. The most durable gloves are the Gil Pro racers. However they start very stiff and are a lot harder to move your hands in.

2. They sell women's gloves. Sometimes in pretty colors. For those with small and narrow hands this can be a great option. However for women who have large or wide hands this will not fit. Women generally have longer fingers compared to width of hands then men and this causes an issue with gloves. Since the women's size gloves are only a good fit for women with small hands if you wear a medium or large gloves in the men's sizes( large women's gloves in women's winter gloves really anything over glove size 7) women's sailing gloves will not fit. Men's full fingered gloves will also not fit as the ratio of width to height is perpetually off. The best solution is to wear the smaller size in 3/4th fingered gloves.
My favorite sailing gloves are Gil's Championship gloves. I've been wearing versions of these gloves for years. they seem to tweak them every year from blue to black to slightly other designed but they seem to always be the best fit on the market for me.

3. Temperature! Well it is probably obvious that on a 110 degree day in August and a January Frostbite race -10 degree day you want different gloves. The Gil Championship gloves I recommended in the previous section have been black for the last few years and make your hands sweat something fierce. I miss when they used to be blue and and not cause as much hand sweat.  During that time of the year I recommend Ronstan gloves as they are a lighter color and your hands will not sweat as much. During the mid summer I know a lot of people just cut the tips off of latex coated cotton gloves that you buy at the hardware store. They only last a race but they are very cheap and not nearly as hot and sweaty as other gloves due to being white. Mid January when it is snowing and cold you need warm warm warm gloves. If you are at the helm or in a position where you do not have as much wear on your gloves any waterproof winter gloves can work and good ski gloves are great.However, if you are a trimmer and near lots of wear the best option are the full fingered extreme sailing gloves by Gil. I wear silk glove liners inside my gloves when it gets really cold. This also helps with the fit of the full fingered winter gloves.

4.  Finger tips out. My general preference is for finger tips out and this results in better grip for me. However friends of mine have said the opposite. So at the marine store try on the gloves both with full finger and 3/4 and go over to the line and see which works best for you.