News
from Our Voyagers
(updated
on June 3, 2010)
June
3, 2010
Lester, we love to hear from you! However we are underway again and
it may be a few days before we manage to get back to you!! Thanks for
being patient! G and B
Gerry & Brigitte Stuurop, SY Octopus I,
sailing season 7, Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea, www.stuurop.ch
, Skype
ID: gbstuurop, Int Callsign: VE3UIK
February 3, 2010 Lester, Just a short note to thank you for your wishes and let you know Dolphin Spirit is now at her new home in Hobart, Tasmania, on the south island of Australia. After an uneventful trip, which covered 1200 nautical miles, arrived in Hobart after 8 days at sea. Regards, Rod Mathews (s/v Dolphin Spirit) new owner. [Ed. Note: Dolphin Spirit is a Mark I Corbin which has successfully crossed an ocean and has sailed many bluewater miles.]
February
2, 2010 Lester
I am not hibernating in the snow. In fact I just returned home from
Palacios, Texas where Bodacious ll has been for the past 3 years. I
am planning to sail with a crew of 3 to Marathon, Florida in
mid April, straight across the Gulf, docking in northern Florida
for a few months then on to Summerside, P.E.I., Canada. I
will keep you posted. Murray
Fallaise
January 28, 2010 Dear Lester, I hope you enjoyed the Christmas holidays. For the coming year, good health and enjoyment!Thank you for keeping the website allive. You reached me in the Cabo Verde Islands. ESCAPADE will stay here for a month before I cross over to Brazil. I have been sailing alone from Agua Dulce, Spain via Gibraltar, Santo Porto, Madeira, La Gracciosa, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. All very fast and enjoyable except for the last voyage to Mindelo, Sao Vincente, when I had decent wind for three days followed by almost four days of no wind and additional three days of wind exactly on the nose. I sailed almost 1400 NM for actual 800 NM distance in 15 days. Best regards, Peter Voges, (s/v Escapade) [Ed.Note: Escapade is a Mark I Corbin, which has successfully crossed an ocean and has sailed many bluewater miles.]
March 12, 2009 Lester, After three years in Turkey I left in 2007 and went through the Corinth Canal to the Ionic Isles, enjoyed the Croatian coast and wintered in Venice, which was spectacular. Last year I left the Adriatic Sea and sailed via the Strait of Messina to Sardinia, where Escapade in on the hard at Sant'Antioco. My thanks to you for creating and maintaining the very informative Corbin website! Peter Voges, (s/v Escapade)
Dec 22, 2008 Good day
Lester, I am two and a half months into my first cruise on Tangaroa.
I Left lake Champlain on the 9th of October, down the Hudson, and
then through the intracoastal and a few Atlantic passages I have
reached Cocoa FL. I am spending Xmas in Cocoa Florida. I should reach
my destination, the Bahamas, in mid January. Guy Viger, (s/v Tangaroa
V)
Nov 6, 2008 Lester, Sorry we have never used a
cradle, we had Bright Eyes on jack stands while doing the bottom. She
is almost done and ready to go around the world with a few things
left to do. We get new our new sails tomorrow $13,000+ but it's only
money, so far the complete refit has cost us $60,000 and almost a
year of full time work, but we see the light...... just hope the
light isn't a train running us down. LOL. John and Anita, (s/v Bright
Eyes)
April 15, 2008 Hi Lester, We are getting
the major refit done, but sometimes it feels like it goes on forever.
LOL. We have replaced the fuel tanks (added another fuel tank for a
total of three, 140 gal), all new fresh water system, salt water
system, new engine and drive train, 4 bilge pumps, new septic system,
275 ft anchor chain, rebuilt anchor windless, all new lights below
decks, and have ground the hull down to fiberglass and added 5
barrier coats with 2 coats of antifouling. We have yet to remove the
teak deck and work on the standing and running rigging. John and
Anita, (s/v Bright Eyes)
March 10, 2008 Lester,
America's Great Loop was a 5200 NM trip around the Eastern half of
the US. We had to step and unstep the mast 3 times. We started in FL
and sailed up the east coast to NY City, up the Hudson to the Erie
Canal across the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes, than sailed to
Chicago down the rivers/canals systems to Mobile AL than to the west
coast of FL, around to the FL Keys than up FL, back to where we
started in Jacksonville FL. We stayed on our Hunter for a full year
and only slept on land once while we were in NY City, while doing the
"Loop". I figure that if the wife and I are still talking
to each other after a year on a 26 ft boat the Corbin should be a
breeze, LOL This was a great trip and what a blast. John and Anita
Baumgartner, (s/v Bright Eyes)
December 23, 2007
Hi Lester, She started life as Cap Oceane. We bought her in Quebec as
Cap au Sud. We have pretty much rebuilt everything ; this being the
4th winter out of the water. We figure this entitles us to select a
new name which we are still working on ! We expect to be in St.
Andrews harbor this spring which is on Passamaquody Bay which is the
Maine/USA salt water border. We hope to spend the summer there in the
Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine and by the fall of 09 head very South.
In the rebuild process, you sure get an appreciation of the
sturdiness of the original construction. Galene is really amazing.
And we thought we did a rebuild !! Thanks, Ray Sullivan, (s/v Cap au
Sud).
April 8, 2007 Lester, The check for
Balmacara came yesterday afternoon. The sale is complete. It is hard
to say good by to a good friend but I think that she is going to some
good new owners. They are going to take her across the Atlantic. A
Corbin should be out there crossing oceans. Your web site has
provided us with lots of good information. The new owners became
aware of Balmacara on the Corbin website. Good job Lester. Richard
Bacon, former owner of s/v Balmacara. [Ed. Note: Balmacara
is a Mark I Corbin which has successfully circumnavigated the world.]
March 5, 2007 Hi
Lester, It was not that I cut you and the club off. What happened was
that my sailmail started receiving 200 spam messages a day and i
could not even delete them before sailmail cut me off for abusing the
10 minutes of air time allowed per day. After I got a new sailmail
address the spam went away. Sailmail stated that I got on a mailing
list from someone that had my email address on their computer
probably when they were on line. Therefore I only gave my new address
to family members. Now that I am back in the States (the first time
in 5 years) I set up this Gmail account which I can access while I am
on shore. This is quite recent (about 2 weeks), so now I can keep in
touch with friends when in port, and maintain the sailmail for family
and weather, and navigation etc.Thank you for looking me up. It is
nice to know that someone cares. Yours Truly Henry McAlarney (s/v
2Extreme)....[Lester Note: Henry's Corbin is in Egypt.]
February
26, 2007 Hi Lester, Many thanks for relaying this
message.....”would you be so kind as to give Mr Frank Perry my
email address.....”...I am presently without crew....long
story......in Morgan's Bluff harbour , Nicholl's Town, Andros,
Bahamas. I have a safe dock in the small commercial harbour.....and I
am hoping to find more crew on the internet...kindly provided by a
sportfisher.....who leaves his modem on !! I had crew when we left
Beaufort NC on Dec 13th 2006...we intended to go directly to the
BVI's but weather beat us in at Charleston SC...did the ICW thing
...and hopped across to here from Biscayne Bay....via Great harbour
in the Berry Islands. My crew ran out of time so i will remain here
......till I find someone else to sail with. Hope all is well with
you.....[PS even here I cannot escape other Corbin 39's....last week
I was visited by Voyager XIV with John and Judy Flint on board ]
.cheers, Jeremy Parrett (s/v Two Pelicans)
January 30,
2007 Hi Lester, We are leaving for the Azores in May. Boat will
probably be in Europe several years. We will keep you posted. Thanks,
Brian Hall (s/v Necessity)
December 19, 2006
Hi Lester, Merry Christmas and all the best to you and yours for
2007. We are in the Netherlands, visiting family, while Octopus I is
being catered to on the hard in Marmaris. This year we went from
Tunisia, where we spent the previous winter, via Malta and Italy to
Greece and Turkey. We intend to participate in the Eastern Med Yacht
Rally next spring. Thanks for your web-efforts, all the best. Gerry
and Brigitte Stuurop (s/v Octopus I) (See
Octopus
I Website )
[Ed.Note: Octopus I is a Mark I Corbin,
which has successfully crossed an ocean and has sailed many bluewater
miles.]
December 19, 2006 Merry Christmas Lester
from Two Pelicans .We are in Charleston SC resting up after coming
offshore from Beaufort NC...Leaving tomorrow for Jacksonville
Fl.......a 2 day offshore hop...So far there has been precious little
wind...flat calm seas, wondefully sunny days and amazing starry
nights.....All the best from Jeremy and crew Peter.(s/v Two
Pelicans)
December 17, 2006 Thanks again for the
help Lester. Our adventures with the Dockwise shipping company went
well. They are very professional. Our trip up the Intercoastal
waterway has not gone as well. Our transmission failed so we will be
spending X-mas in a Motel 6. The transmission had been rebuilt in
Thailand three ago. I am not going to take chances this time so I am
working with Borg Warner to get a transmission from them. The next
owner of Balmacara is going to get a boat with all new running gear.
Our destination is Indiantown FL, We are about 30 miles from there.
Thanks Richard Bacon (s/v Balmacara)
December 8, 2006
Lester, We are back in the U.S. and will unload Balmacara from
Dockwise on the 9th of December and take her to IndianTown, Florida
where she will be placed with a broker. Could you please post the
attached spec sheet with the new info. Thanks for your help Richard
Bacon, (s/v Balmacara)
August 28, 2006 Lester, I
hope everyone appreciates all you have done in setting up and running
the website I know I have found it a very enjoyable and useful
addition to our boating activities. We have just returned from a 5
day trip down to NY State, finishing up at Henderson Harbor, not far
from Watertown. We went in company with friends on a Nicholson 39
ketch and returned to our own harbour with a Rhodes 38 joining us.
The owner keeps her in Henderson and he is a friend of our son. He
does a lot of singlehanded sailing, often up to our area. On the
return trip we had broad reaching winds up to 20 knots and all the
boats kept fairly well together. We had one reef in the main and one
in the yankee most of the time, with the staysail stay parked on the
rail. The Corbin was the faster boat! (See
Corbin
Racing)
David Salter (s/v Opportunity)
August
22, 2006 Lester, Took a cruise to Lake Erie & Ontario this
summer, July 12 to August 16. Visited with Jack Veheyden, Kathrian
(127) at Collins Bay Marina. He is in the latter stages of rebuilding
the interior. Dave and Eileen Salter dropped by for a visit. The
following day we went to Bath and spent the night at their dock. Dave
Shaw (s/v Saw-Whet)
August 2, 2006 Lester, We met
Saw-Whet, with Dave Shaw & Ed, his crew, at Collins Bay Marina,
just west of Kingston on July 30. They had more or less kept to their
rigorous schedule across Lake Erie & Lake Ontario. Jack
Verheyden, off Kathrian, was also there and he now keeps his boat at
the same marina, just along the same dock. Saw-Whet came to our dock
in Bath on Aug 1 and we had a very good boat visit, chat and dinner
together. (See Saw-Whet
at Bath) A Saw-Whet is a type of owl! They left this morning. A
couple of photos are attached. Dave Shaw is the one on the left. (See
Dave and
Ed) Although the boat is registered in Detroit, Dave keeps her at
Leamington, Ontario. Dave & Ed live near Toledo, Ohio. Dave said
he will get some digital photos of the boat to you some time! The
boat is very well finished inside and the deck has been beautifully
refinished. Regards, David Salter (s/v Opportunity)
March
13, 2006 Dear Lester, I’m still working my way back from
Katrina. My mast was destroyed. The new one should be here soon.
Thanks for your help with my hull number. A. David Marshall. (s/v
Estrellita) Dog River, Mobile Alabama
December 27, 2005
Hi Lester. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The boat made
it on wheels to Beaufort NC and is safely stored at Bock Marine on
the ICW. I will be returning there next month to build in 4 new
golfcart batteries under the floor in the P/H; install the Ham radio
; fit another Autoprop (ours was too large for the Yanmar 3 GM 30 F);
fit the Hydrovane steering system we picked up on eBay and a million
other things . Ruth will join me in February. We have been contacted
by Paul and Christine Melanson on s/v Quintana.......they are
wintering in Annapolis .As they intend crossing to the Med. in May in
the company of some other yachts we have decided to tag along instead
of joining the ARC 2006...thus some cash for much needed gear. I am
still looking for a life raft or flotation bags, a Parachute anchor,
solar panels, and a spinnaker pole. That staysail boom and its
pedestal are sitting in my garage in Mississauga ,Ontario ! We will
keep you posted .......also on http://www.twopelicans.blogspot.com/.
Cheers, Ruth and Jeremy (s/v Pelican)
December 5, 2005 Dear
Lester: We noticed that we are on your mailing list, but I'm not sure
how much you know about us, or if we are actually members. I bought
my Corbin 39 in 1995 (actually, the first one ever made, according to
Marius), in Ft. Lauderdale, and sailed it throughout the Caribbean
and Central America before meeting my partner, Mike, in 2002. Then,
we sailed our boat (Dolphin Spirit) from Pt. Vallarta, Mexico, to New
Zealand. We ran into several other Corbins on the way, too! Although
we are currently in the Virgin Islands working on a yacht , our boat
is in Fiji, awaiting our return. Thanks for the updates, and we look
forward to meeting more Corbin owners along the way! Marianne Gardner
(s/v Dolphin Spirit)
November 6, 2005 Things have
moved fast here.....I am now married to a charming "young"
thing named Ruth, who wants to cross oceans with me! We have a
website....http://www.twopelicans.ca the boat is in process of being
renamed Two Pelicans !! Hey,one pelican gets lonely eh? In three
weeks or so two pelicans will be unloaded in Beaufort NC, where Ruth
and I will get her ready, rig her and launch her before heading back
here to Mississauga for the holidays. I will be back in Beaufort
early January to get ready to depart for the Bahamas with Ruth. Our
plan is to join the ARC 2006 and spend a few years cruising the
Mediterranean. All the best, jeremy and Ruth. (s/v Pelican
1)
October 11, 2005 Lester, After initially
exchanging emails with Collin Harty in 2002 we finally managed to
arrange a visit. On our return from the Annapolis Boat Show last week
we made a 100 mile detour into N. Connecticut and met up with Collin
and Galene! The countryside is beautiful there but the very heavy
rain made driving tedious. Collin has an amazing setup and his naval
architectural drawings are very professional. The complexity of his
work is mind boggling but the interior of the boat is taking shape
and his glass work is impeccable. We chatted for about 2 hours and
passed on some ideas from our project. I think he still has a few
years to go! Regards, David (s/v Opportunity)
August 7,
2005 I met with Doug
Koger and Jane Alexander (from Wappinger Falls, NY) aboard their
“Hanna” in Marmaris, Turkey. Best regards, Peter Voges
(s/v Escapade)
June 26, 2005 Hi, Greetings
from"Hanna", also in Turkey. We just came back to her after
10 months of working in NC. There is another Corbin, "Escapade"
here in Marmaris, but the owners are not on board. I don't know if
they are on your list or not. The pirate incident related has been
reported first hand in at least 3 places, if anyone wants more detail
from the two yachts involved. We first saw it on Jimmy Cornell's
website, www.noonsite.com.
Also in a recent SSCA bulletin, probably April and in a recent issue
of Cruising World or Sail magazine. Again, April or May issue.
Wishing Fair Winds to all. Jan & Doug (s/v Hanna)
June
24, 2005 Balmacara is in Turkey. It took us five long months to
get across the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea. What a trip! We are
currently located in the US, visiting family. We’ll be here for
some time. Balmacara will sit in Turkey, drying out her bottom
Richard & Kathy Bacon (s/v Balmacara)
February 19,
2005 Hi, We are currently sailing in the shallow (less than
thirty feet) milky green waters of Phang Nga Bay. While the Bay is
not terribly big, it has many shear-sided mountains that rise
vertically out of the water. These limestone mountains are small in
their diameter as compared to their height. Most of the islands in
the bay are uninhabited, offering secluded anchorages under soaring
cliffs fringed with jungle. Many of the islands have caves in which
we take Therapy into, in order to explore. Most of the caves open up
to a small lake with shear sided walls, which are opened to the blue
sky. Sometimes the cave is long, giving one an aerie feeling as he
paddles his way, using a flashlight whose beacon is eaten up quickly
by the cool blackness. Watch your head as the stalactites reach down
from the ceiling and touch you. Do not worry about the moaning of the
water as your wake laps the limestone walls and the quiet talking you
hear is from the bats that you disturb along your way. 2 Extreme is
going to spend the year sailing between Thailand and north Malaysia.
During the year, we will haul the boat, when I would like to change
her propeller. Currently, we are using a three-bladed fixed propeller
that is powered by a Perkins 4-108 and a Hurth gearbox. I would like
to know what the proper pitch, diameter, and number of blades should
be for the most economical operation. I would appreciate the
information. Can someone in the club help me out? Thank You Henry and
Mattie (S/V 2 Extreme)
January 10, 2005 Hi
Lester, Happy new year and all the best to you in the upcoming year.
We just returned from a ( cheap ) holiday to Luperon D.R., we chose
Luperon mainly to check out the bay and the local " rather
large" cruising community, as we hope to stop by there on our
way south and one of our friends from our marina winters there (
without a boat ). The bay is very large, VERY well protected as they
say and during the last hurricaine that went directly by, only 2 or 3
boats got loose. I'm told that they were unattended and not prepared.
They had substantial wind but no real wave action. The living is VERY
CHEAP, little or nothing to do with the government. Stay as long as
you want, some have been there 6 yrs. others more, others less.
Hanging out at the local watering holes we met: Wheelers / Dealers,
defrocked priests, deposed dictators, scammers & scammed etc.
with a good measure of local ladies of ill repute trolling for
business. There were approx. 100 boats there ( no Corbins ) with 3
Canadian boats that came in Thurs. AM from the Turks. I had my
handheld VHF and we watched the guided entry into the bay from our "
resort " ??? balcony, it was neat. We got a sense of Political /
Social higharchy structure there with what appears to be Bruce Van
Sant ( Gentleman's Guide to Passages South ) ( we bought his
autographed book ) ( GOOD read ) at the top with Mike Donovan ( a de
facto Harbour Master ) next, then down the food chain. Everyone seems
to watch who talks and hangs out with whom....I guess once you got a
community like this it eventually evolves this way, anywhere.... No
real facilities to speak of, virtually no parts locally, and shipping
is VERY expensive and only to Santo Domingo so a lot of the boats
have fallen into disrepair some looked like total derelicts. The
water does NOT move much, if any, it's brown, and with all the
discharge going on swimming off your boat is out of the question. I
just thought I share " my " view and our experiences with
you. Best regards, Frank Bryant, (s/v Visitant)
December
20, 2004 Hi Lester. We are about to depart Thailand for the
Med. We will be making stops in Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Oman. We
will join up with other boats in Oman to travel through the Pirate
waters in rout to the Red sea. We will go up the west shore of the
Red Sea while making stops in Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt. We hope to
pass through the Suez Canal in late April and head for Turkey. We
will make a decision on what's next when we complete our 5400 mile
journey to Turkey. I have been working hard to get Balmacara in top
shape for this leg of our travels. She has a rebuilt transmition and
a new main sail. I will keep you posted. Richard Bacon, (s/v
Balmacara)
December 18, 2004 Hi friends, After
having left Corail in Trinidad and spent the summer in Quebec, we
have been visiting Venezuela, since October. We are presently in Los
Roques offshore of Caracas. This is a huge marine park, 28 x 50 km.
Indeed this is a humongous lagoon of coral reefs, small islands and
deserted beeches. It is a paradise for diving snorkeling and swimming
in shallow and warm (30C) waters. We are not sure about our future
plans anymore. If we keep liking it here, we may stay a whole year in
Venez. and the ABC islands which are also offshore of this country.
There are also many other options... Hoping that you are all well and
wishing to see you soon; take care, best wishes, Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year. Carmen & Claude (s/v Corail IV in South
America)
November 27, 2004 Hi Lester, I just
sailed across the Atlantic this year on my boat. Jack Iron is in
Lisbon and I am getting ready to head into the Med and then back to
the Caribbean. Currently the boat is on the hard and I plan to fly
back in June. My new address for your records is 124 Greenlawn Drive,
Lebanon, Tennessee 37087 Thanks, KENT DUDLEY (s/v Jack
Iron)
October 11, 2004 Hi Lester, Just saying
hello from Peniche, Portugal. As proof that Corbins are not slow, I'm
sending a picture of Jakatar in its first regatta. (See Regatta)
I crossed the starting line last but soon overtook
everyone except a Beneteau First. A new bottom job didn't hurt
either. Cheers, Horatio (s/v Jakatar)
October 10, 2004
JEREMY, SEE BELOW. Lester Helmus for the Corbin 39 Owners Group
[Original Message] > From: The Limey's "<TheLimeys@gmail.com>
> To: Lester Helmus "<corbin39@earthlink.net> >
Date: 10/10/2004 9:38:47 AM
Subject: Update
Hi Lester. How are you? I'M AS FINE AS
A 75 YEAR-OLD CAN BE. Good summer? I have been busy refinishing the
exterior > woodwork. I have had to replace an old manual
charger.We now have a Heart 1000 Inverter/charger...the old house
batteries will be replaced this winter with 4 6volt golf cart
batteries in a new storage box under the pilothouse floor. The mast
will be refitted this winter and rewired with tinned wire. I dont
have time to rewire the entire boat before our planned departure next
summer.I intend to seal all terminals in junction boxes.....if anyone
has any advice it would be appreciated. NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN. I
LIKE THE NEW 6 OR 12 JUNCTION "BOXES" FROM THAT MAJOR
COMPANY, IN GLASS FUSES OR AUTO FUSES. ARE CLOSED, BUT NOT
WATERTIGHT, WITH LABELS FOR EACH CIRCUIT.
I have to install a
water tank under the saloon floor...quite a task...the previous owner
used flexible tanks under the settee berths! I have to haul in the
spring to install a V strut (existing single leg strut isnt strong
enough for the autoprop) I will replace some hull valves at this time
too.. A debate is raging over whether to move the Radar from its pole
aft to a mounting on the mast above the spreaders. Any suggestions?
PROS: HIGHER UP WITH FARTHER VISIBILITY. NEATER ARRANGEMENT THAN ON A
POLE. CONS: JIB WILL CHAFE ON RADAR. NO INCLINATION FEATURE. (I
HAVE
A GARHAUER POLE WHICH HAS A DECK-MOUNTED INCLINATION FEATURE.
EXCELLENT COMPANY.) ALSO, MAST BLOCKS RADAR FROM GETTING 360 VIEW.
I
am concerned about the rudder after reading about the incident last
year. Any info on a fix would be welcome...if it is necessary. I
WOULD RUN A WIRE INSIDE BOAT FROM RUDDER SHAFT TO BOLT ON WIND VANE,
THENCE TO A ZINC IN THE WATER . I have considered removing all the
glass; building a web frame, as in a wing section and plating it with
stainless steel. Lastly, I have to install Windvane self steering.
Which units seem to be the best for our stern configuration? If you
have any suggestions I would appreciate them. A. LOOK AT WWW.BUILDING
GALENE.COM (ALSO A LINK ON OUR WEBSITE'S HOMEPAGE) FOR ONE IDEA. B. I
HAVE A MONITOR. C. IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN EMERGENCY TILLER SETUP, THEN
GO WITH AN AUXILLIARY RUDDER. D. STAY AWAY FROM "HYDROVANE",
WHICH REQUIRES A PERFECTLY BALANCED BOAT AT ALL TIMES!
Next summer
we plan to cross the Atlantic by way of Bermuda and the Azores,which
frankly has my a little nervous as my ocean experience is limited to
my days in the British Submarine Service !! BERMUDA CROSSING IS TOO
FAR SOUTH!!!! CONTACT CLAUDE GAGNON FOR ADVICE. ALSO READ MY "NEWS
FROM THE VOYAGERS" PAGE. SEVERAL OF OUR CLUB MEMBERS HAVE MADE
THE TRIP. jeremy (s/v Pelican)
September 13, 2004
(Also see http://www.corbin39.com/voyagingwith2extreme.htm )
Hi. We left Lovina Beach, Bali (Lat 08
09 Lon 115 01) and its thousand and one Hindu Temples at nine thirty
yesterday morning and are on our way to Kalimantan (Borneo)(Lat 02 44
Lon 111 43) to play with the Crocodiles, Gibbons, Black faced
monkeys, and Orangutan's. We pulled into a calm anchorage at four AM
this morning for a rest, and we will set sail at ten PM tonight
heading 170 miles to the next anchorage. Henry and Mattie (S/V
2Extreme)
September 11, 2004 Hi Lester, Just a
short note to let you know we're underway. We sailed from Puerto de
Santa Maria via Gibraltar along the spanish coast to the Balearics
and are presently in Menorca (Mahon) where we plan to spend the
winter after exploring the Islands some more. Best regards. Gerry and
Brigitte, (s/v Octopus 1)
March 16, 2004 Hi
Lester, Romana's back home.We had a great trip from Nova Scotia,
along the eastern US to spend the winter in the Bahamas. We've been
back at work since last June. I still love your site! You can post my
email address if you like. ( lundins@ns.sympatico.ca ) Romana
suffered some damage when hurricane Juan hit our area. We will be
painting her this spring. I am wondering if you could post a question
for me. I am thinking of painting the topsides white with a dark blue
stripe. Have people had problems with dark stripes causing cracks due
to some kind of temperature effects? In looking at the photos, I see
that quite a few boats have dark stripes. Take care, Dave Lundin,
(s/v Romana)
[Editor's Note: Cracking within the "cove
stripe" occurs when the boat is in a slip and one side always
faces South. The direct rays of the sun heats the dark band of color
to the cracking point.]
March 16, 2004 Hi Les, I
just sent you an email by mistake. My email address is
corbin39sailor@Hotmail.com and I wanted to see if my account is
working again. We've taken Moonshadow to the Abacos and are having a
great winter. Currently the boat is in Marsh Harbour, but my wife and
I came back to New Jersey on family business. We've been living full
time on Moonshadow since September and she is performing great. We
hope to be back in the Bahamas next week. Hope you are doing well,
Bill Schwartz (s/v Moonshadow)
January 21, 2004
Hi Lester, We are travelling now. All the family is aboard our
Vééliserdi. And we appreciate this wonderful boat. We
expect to travel for about three or more years. Now, we are heading
Venezuela. But, with this travel, we can not verify our Hotmail
mailbox very often. It is getting full very fast and we are scare to
loose mail. I would like to ask you to pause for a while of sending
us E-mail. Sometime we don't verify our Hotmail for a month. So the
box is full. I always appreciate your web site and I will send you
information if I can. It is always interesting to know the move and
the news of the Corbin's community.Sorry for that request, I hope you
understand. I will promptly advise you for receiving your news as
soon as we will be back home. Thank you, Serge Charbonneau and Diane
Messier happy owner of the hull 150 (s/v Véliserdi)
January
6, 2004 We left Vancouver in Sept 1999 and are presently in
Bundaberg Australia. Ian and Liz Stokie, (s/v Merida)
December
26, 2003 Hi Lester, Yes, we are perfectly OK and have arrived
in Barbados after a 16 days crossing from Cape Verde. It was a
wonderful and easy crossing, the kind you dream of and read about in
the story books. I must limit my message size to 15K because of the
slow speed of HF transmission but normally I am advised of a returned
message.... Having a wonderful time here relearning to live lavishly
again! Have a great Holiday period and best regards, Claude,(s/v
Corail IV )
December 13, 2003 Hi friends,
Tomorrow, Sunday, we will be in Bridgetown, Barbados, having
completed our 2100 nautical miles crossing from Cape Verde. For us ,
this will be a very different Holiday period with no shopping, no
family parties, no Santa Claus, no snow and no decorations. We will
be with Marie-Claude, our daughter, to enjoy the sun, to snorkel,
dive & swim in 30C water and to visit the Island. We wish we
could have you with us to enjoy it all! We also wish you a very Merry
Christmas, a great Holiday period and an Excellent and Happy 2004
with the good health and all & all. Carmen & Claude Gagnon En
route Cape Verde to Barbados Aboard Corail IV
December
4, 2003 Hi, Our crossing, only the two of us, has been underway
since 28 Nov. and, tomorrow already, we will be half way there. If we
maintain current speed, which is not likely, we will have completed
it in 14 1/2 days. Will settle for 16, as hoped. we should be in
Bridgetown, Barbados, in plenty of time (17 dec.) to host our
daughter who offered us the nice gift of joining us for Christmas.
But, nature will decide as quite a few things can happen during 10
days offshore as we have well seen in the spring. Things are going
very well except that the skipper no longer allows me to fish. Have
been generally lucky of late, but 3 days ago we got a 20-25 lbs tuna!
Needless to say what we been having 2-3 time/day... and she said "
enough is enough!" Tough life! Take care & best regards,
Carmen & Claude (Aboard Corail IV) half way between Africa and
the Americas
November 24, 2003 I am the second
Owner. Sue and I bought Whaleback in June 2000 and have sailed her
extensively in the Northeast and lived aboard her on and off since
the purchase. Whaleback's home is in Marina Bay, Quincy (Boston).
Tentative plans now is to head out next Fall toward the Bahamas, and
points South.Tim O'Neil (s/v Whaleback)
November 23,
2003 I have tried to contact you both on 4417 Khz, USB, at 1145
universal time. But I guess we have been all very busy. We are
presently in Praia de Santiago to complete the paperwork to leave the
country. Will be sailing tomorrow night to Brava Island where we will
do the final preparations to undertake our crossing to Barbados,
probably Friday, 28 Nov.. Will go to Trinidad/Tobago a bit later as
we hope our daughters will be able to join us in Barbados for the
Christmas period. Once offshore, will try to contact you at the same
time, but on 13 970 USB. Take care and fair winds, Carmen &
Claude (s/v Corail IV )
November 2, 2003 Hi. We
have arrived in Australia after a ten day passage from Vanuatu. The
trip was very pleasant, light winds for the first few days, gale
force winds for a night, finally settling down to a good beam reach.
Henry and Mattie (S/V 2Extreme)
October 18, 2003
The ship is presently at Rock Hall, MD. We will leave Montrééal
begining of November and travel from MD to Florida on ICW. Our
intention is to stay in Florida until March 2004 and afterwards cross
the Atlantic to Acores and Portugal in may/june 2004. Philippe is
from Canada and Bruno from Switzerland. We will live on the boat for
the next two years. We shall not fail to give you further information
as we travel. (s/v Coochi)
October 16, 2003 Hi
Lester. We sailed across from Nova Scotia to southern Spain this past
summer. Best regards, Gerry Stuurop (s/v Octopus I)
October
13, 2003 My son is living aboard Rhum Punch and working in
Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia at the moment while I take care of
my business in Toronto, Canada. We spent a couple of weeks sailing
together out on the Great Barrier Reef last March and the plan is to
sail/explore around the north coast of Australia in 2004. I would be
happy to help anyone looking for advice regarding Panama and South
Pacific cruising. A couple who crewed for me from Panama to Tahiti
kept a log and have it online at
members.aol.com/JerodiSys/paklog05.htm Also my son posted a MSN
Communities page on the voyage which can be found at
http://groups.msn.com/pacificvoyages/travelnotes.msnw I will get some
photos together to send to you for posting. I see there are not many
Center Cockpits represented at the moment so we can help fix that. I
will be back with answers to some of the posted questions. Thank you
once again - this is a great service to Corbin owners and I for one
certainly appreciate it. Regards, Alan Hand. (s/v Rhum
Punch)
October 7, 2003 Hi, Lester. This is what
we are up to. Balmacara is in Singapore. We departed Brisbane,
Australia in early May. Our destination is Phuket Thailand where we
will hang out for about a year. We stayed inside the Great Barrier
Reef as we traveled up the east coast of OZ. Many long day trips. If
I had to do it again I would go outside the Reef and make a stop in
the Louisiade Islands of Papua, New Guinea and then go to the Torres
Straits. Our trip across the Gulf of Carpentaria to Darwin was a wild
one. They should call Carpentaria the gulf of maytag. After some land
travel in Northern Australia we headed out on a motor boat ride for
Indonesia. We made landfall in Kupang on the Island of Timor. Stops
where made on about 12 islands as we traveled through Indonesia to
Singapore. We were very apprehensive about traveling through
Indonesia from a personal safety standpoint but we can now report
that all of our contacts with local Indonesians were very positive.
Indonesia is a fascinating part of the world. You have to be on your
toes when traveling at night. There are many unlighted fishing boats
and local shipping vessels that had light configurations that we had
never seen before. There were times when we were dealing with 40 to
50 boats an hour. We had three major near misses that we will
remember for a long time. That's it for now. Richard Bacon (s/v
Balmacara)
October 3, 2003 Hi, Hope you are all
well. Please keep sending some news; we will always have plenty of
energy to receive your messages. After sailing the Azores, Madeira,
and the Canary islands, we are now on our way to the Cape Verde
Islands. We are now in our seventh day of sailing from La Palma,
Canary. We should arrive in Sal, Cape Verde, in 3-4 days. The Azores
are great; we like them the best. We certainly hope to be back there
some day. But we have no choice now; we have to go by the Caribbean
first to get there; tough luck! Nature calls. Madeira islands are so
so. This is a beautiful place, but sailors are not really welcome
there. We have shortened our stay as people are not friendly, at
least towards us bluewater cruisers. The Canaries are Europe with all
its luxuries and European tourists. They are beautiful islands and
are inhabited by wonderful friendly people. They are islands of great
contrasts, people wise and nature wise. All at the same time -
desertic, volcanic and tropical with exotic fruits and rare plants.
Too bad we do not speak Spanish. The present crossing is certainly
the best so far. All is going well, we are feeling great, even Carmen
is getting to like it. I must say that conditions have been so far
ideal. As an example, present sailing conditions are: T'ure: 28 C
(was 26 last night); Sky: not a cloud on the horizon; Water T'ure:
27.2 ( yes, we are offshore!); Wind: 15 knots NNE ; Sails: Running
wing to wing; Bearing: 205 deg ; Speed: 5.8 knots ; Sea: Waves 1-2
meters but long at around 10 seconds . This is the best part. As you
can see, this is just like in the children story books... We are now
looking forward to discovering Cape Verde. Will keep you posted, Best
regards, Carmen & Claude (s/v Corail IV )
Sept. 15,
2003 We're heading the boat south to Florida and the Bahamas
mid September and will keep you posted. Thanks, Bill Schwartz (s/v
Moonshadow)
September 13, 2003 Hi, Here is Corail
standing well covered and protected in Santa Cruz de La Palma. With
the newly completed African Queen, thanks to you Gary, its 3 anchors
and a line to the shore (also used for the dinghy dock) , we should
be able to spent plenty of time ashore without worrying too much! La
Palma is renowned for its beauty and superb hiking trails.
Unfortunately it is also known for its lack of facility for cruisers;
thus the complex setup. We plan to stay for at least 2 weeks. Carmen
& Claude (s/v Corail IV)
July 21, 2003 We are
anchored in 25 feet of water on the north side of naviti island in
fiji. it is a gray, rainy, brisk, new england type of day. mattie is
baking oatmeal cookies and i just returned from snorkeling on one of
the most beautiful reefs that i have ever seen. the colors of the
coral were magnificent. i swam into a school of squid. we know them
as bait fish, but their coloring is very different when they are
alive - very bright and iridescent. the villages on these reef
encrusted outer islands are small and quaint. the houses are made of
palm leaves woven in a fashion with thatched roofs. basically they
are one large room with very little furniture. the natives sleep and
eat on the floor. cooking is done on open fires outside the dwelling.
the outhouse is in the back. there is running water from a hose pipe
located in a few places throughout the village. that is where the
washing of dishes, clothing, etc is done. some of the villages have a
small generator which the natives can plug into with an extension
cord if they need electricity and if there is fuel to put into the
generator. no, i have not seen any refrigeration on the islands. no
stores either. there are breadfruit, banana, mango, and lemon trees.
the natives here are black and very friendly. however, it was a
little unnerving to be awoken at five in the morning to the sounds of
a beating drum from within the tree line on shore. yes, the natives
send their information through the air by the use of a six foot
hollowed-out log on which they beat out the message. even church was
announced with the drum. the church service was long with lovely
singing from the choir and fire and brimstone from the preacher who
wore a jacket, tie, and a skirt. yes, many of the native men wear
skirts. henry and mattie (s/v 2 extreme
July 5, 2003
hi, 2 extreme is back on the go after three weeks on the hard. we
had to replace the old rudder which broke it's 1 7/8 shaft just as it
left the top of the rudder and entered the boat. upon inspection the
shaft had been sleeved before and the break was due to electrolysis.
i would like to thank my father and my brother-in law richy for
putting me in touch with lester and the corbin family. lester put me
in touch with many other corbin owners who forwarded me information
about the rudder design. eileen and david salter faxed me the
drawings of the steel work of a corbin rudder. harry and jane of s/v
cormorant brought me line drawings of the corbin profile. i can not
say too much about the help we received in a time of need that we got
from the family and new friends. the new rudder is made from 316 s.s.
frame with 3/4 marine plywood bolted on. it was then filled and
covered with west epoxies, and roving fiberglass. i bolted a zinc to
the bottom of the rudder shoe; however, i could not figure a good way
to put a zinc on the rudder shaft itself. with a new bottom job we
splashed back in the water last monday. we left vunda point on friday
and motored to musket cove, where we are presently. we are planning
on threading our way north up the yasawa islands into the outback of
fiji in the next few weeks before heading to vanuatu. thanks again.
henry and mattie mcalarney (s/v 2 extreme)
July 2, 2003
Hi, We have now successfully completed our first Atlantic crossing
and are "trying" to rest in the Azores. The crossing was
somewhat eventful as during the 15 days, we got hit by 7 lows
including 4 of them which actually did beat us around a little bit.
So we had a "Fiesta de D?pressions". But, we came out all
right with nobody sick or hurt badly; just a few bruises to us and
the boat. We have gained some interesting lessons and experience like
running for a short while under "bare poles" in 48-50 knots
wind and 25-30' seas. We also saw the boomed staysail break away from
the inner stay and fly up around the radar at the first spreader
level! In this case I was on watch and did make a few stupid
mistakes... It was again blowing over 42 kn. We have now been in the
Azores for 2 weeks; one in Flores, a magnificent island with
extraordinary people. This is a must stop for anyone coming this way.
The last week was spent in Horta where sailors from all over the
world constantly converge and leave from. It is quite special to be
sitting in an overloaded 300 boats marina, knowing that each and
every one of these boats has achieved at least one major crossing and
that the crew has not only something to tell but also to teach us. We
are now resting in a small secluded port in Pico and, as we are the
only sailboat around, giving our liver a break! Best regards, Carmen
& Claude Gagnon (s/v Corail IV)
June 7, 2003
HI. JUST A LINE TO STATE THAT 2 EXTREME HAS ARRIVED SAFELY IN FIJI.
IT IS VERY NICE TO BE SECURELY ANCHORED IN FLAT WATER AFTER A 1,000
MILE PASSAGE. IT IS TIME TO REST BEFORE WE HAUL THE BOAT AND START
MAKING A NEW RUDDER. I HOPE THAT ALL IS WELL WITH YOU AND YOURS.
THANKS HENRY AND MATTIE MCALARNEY (S/V 2 EXTREME)
June
4, 2003 LESTER. FOR STEERING NOW WE ARE USING THE WIND VANE
UNIT. THE WIND VANE UNIT WILL ONLY WORK ON A REACH WITH THE WIND FROM
60 TO 130 DEGREES. THE VANE UNIT LET GO LAST NIGHT AND THE BOAT
MAINTAINED ITS HEADING ON A BEAM REACH OF 90 DEG WITH A 3 REEFED MAIN
AND THE STAYSAIL IN 25 KNOTS OF WIND AND 7 FOOT SEAS. WE HAVE 130
MILES TO THE OUTER REEF IN FIJI. I HOPE THAT WE CAN MOTOR THROUGH THE
REEF'S USING THE WIND VANE. I HAVE RECEIVED SOME INFORMATION FROM
DAVID SALTER ON HOW TO CONSTRUCT A REPLACEMENT RUDDER. I AM VERY
THANKFUL FOR YOUR HELP. HENRY AND MATTIE (s/v 2 Extreme)
June 4, 2003 at 8:43 PM Henry,
You should prepare some alternate methods of steering. 1. A drogue,
even a line tied to a bucket may help to steer while sailing. 2. A
rudder, fashioned from a whisker pole attached to a board from under
a bunk, could steer while motoring. Tie the pole to the base of a
stern stanchion. Good luck Lester
June 4, 2003 at 6:35 AM Henry, I will get right on this. Hang in. Good luck. Lester
June 3, 2003 at 5:18 PM LESTER, MY NAME IS HENRY McALARNEY AND I AM SAILING AROUND THE WORLD IN MY CORBIN 39, HULL # 18. WE ARE CURRENTLY ON PASSAGE FROM NEW ZEALAND TO FIJI. WE ARE TWO DAYS OUT OF THE REEF ON THE ISLAND OF VITI LEVU. OUR RUDDER FAILED THREE DAYS AGO. THE RUDDER SHAFT, 1 3/4 DIA, TURNS. HOWEVER, THE RUDDER DOES NOT RESPOND. I AM HIGHLY INTERESTED IN THE CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF THE SKEG AND RUDDER. I AM IN NEED OF A NEW RUDDER IF AVAILABLE; IF NOT, I WILL MAKE A RUDDER WHEN WE ARRIVE IN FIJI. THANK YOU, HENRY AND MATTIE (S/V 2 EXTREME)
June 2, 2003 Hi, We
left Rhode Island this morning for our crossing to the Azores. A
great first day; just like the dream... Carmen & Claude (s/v
Corail IV )
April 15, 2003 The boat will be
launched in July and we will test sail her for the month, then it's
off to the US, Bahamas, Cuba this year. After that, we're off to
Europe.Paul Melanson (s/v Quintana in PEI, Canada)
March
6, 2003 hi Lester, You guessed right! We are leaving end of May
for our first transat. Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde
etc... We will take the next 2 years to complete the tour of the
North Atlantic Islands and experience the real cruising life aboard.
Thanks for inquiring about our daughter. She is not doing so well,
but we are doing everything we can and being close will not help any
more... We hope for the best. As for meeting you and Insouciance in
California we will talk about it when we complete this tour. All the
best and thanks for the offer, Claude Gagnon (s/v Corail IV in Rhode
Island)
December 27, 2002 The Corbin website is
great. A fellow stopped by our boat in Mooloolaba Australia with a
request to see our boat. He has been shopping for a Corbin but had
never seen one up close. He told me about the Corbin web site. Where
have I been? As a Corbin advocate its fun to find some folks with
similar interests. We have been in the Pacific for about six years.
We started with a trip to Alaska and then Mexico. We have visited
many island groups in the Pacific. We were in New Zealand for about
eighteen months and are doing the same in Australia now. The next leg
of our trip will start in March when we will head for Indonesia,
Malaysia, and Thailand. The next leg presents a lot of concerns but
many of the boats that will be going that way are talking to each
other about potential problems. Most of us will be traveling in the
company with other boats. There is comfort in knowing we are
travelling in a Corbin. Richard Bacon, (on s/v Balmacara in
Australia) [Ed. Note: Balmacara is a Mark I
Corbin which has successfully circumnavigated the world.]
October 2, 2002 I
departed from Port Dover, Lake Erie, to Buffalo and through the Erie
Barge Canal. [See Pic
1
] Then we motored down the Hudson,
stepped the mast at a do-it-youself hand-crank crane at the first
marina past the last low bridge. The trip along the canal was
magnificent. We went through 42 locks and actually crossed a mountain
with a valley view. It took 11 days to get to New York. I now think
of all the motorboaters sitting at the marina all summer drinking
beer and wonder why nobody goes cruising through the canals. The
Welland canal goes all the way up to Montreal, Quebec city and the
Atlantic. That alone would be a hell of a trip.All they have to do is
turn the ignition key and go. I probably wouldn't have thought of it
either or perhaps the fuel bill is somewhat of a daunting prospect. I
completed the Atlantic crossing [eastward] on August 5. Jakatar lived
up to the Corbin reputation. We got hit with 25 foot waves, luckily
going in our direction. We ran with it and the boat handled it
beautifully with just the staysail. The crew down below always
thought the storm had let up - it was almost peaceful down there -
until they stuck their heads out of the companionway and saw the
walls of water. Amazingly we hardly got splashed. In the second
smaller storm (more like a real hard blow) near the Portuguese shore,
an unsually large wave broke into Jakatar's port side. It hit us like
a freight train and rammed the boat at almost 90ºº. It
cracked one of the small windows along the hull (I never though that
could be possible), snapped the staysail boom in half and filled the
cockpit with water. Luckily I was harnessed. But the boat sprang back
up without a complaint. We promptly ditched the idea of heading for
the Tagus estuary and headed out to sea where it's safe. Now I look
at boats with large pilothouse windows and think...don't go offshore.
On the negative side, at 23,000 lbs +, a hefty load, Jakatar
sputtered in light winds where lighter boats would probably make good
speed. I'm now based in Peniche, Portugal. Best regards, Horatio
Marteleira (s/v Jakatar) [Ed. Note: Jakatar
is a Mark I Corbin which has successfully made an ocean crossing.]
August 13, 2002 The update should be coming soon. Cormorant is undergoing work in New Zealand and will soon be sailing. See article and Cormorant website.
July 24, 2002 "Thanks
for the introduction. Here's a quick rundown on what's in our plans.
We have just returned from the Caribbean, where we spent 2 years
cruising the Islands on a Hughes 35. We wanted to go farther and more
comfortably so we started looking for a heavier and bigger boat. We
looked at steel boats mostly, for their strength and comfort, and
also two fiberglass boats, the Valiant 40 and the Corbin 39. And as
you all know, we bought a Corbin. 'Quintana Grande', our Corbin
(named in honor of our Hughes 35 'Quintana'), is in need of much
work. We plan on fixing it up and leaving for a Caribbean shakedown
cruise next year. Then after the shakedown we'll do whatever we find
lacking and head out for our circumnavigation via the 5 great capes.
That's our story. Glad to see there is a wealth of information out
there and a fine support group for this vessel." Paul Melanson
(s/v Quintana Grande in PEI, Canada)
June 16, 2002
"Hi. I am Claude, owner of Corail IV, sailing in the COLD
Gulf of Saint Lawrence waters. I think I have sent pictures of my
boat to the website webmaster. If you are interested, maybe you could
get some from him as I do not have internet access on board. Best
regards and good luck." Claude Gagnon (s/v Corail IV)
[Ed. Note: See Claude's photo album at
Fotki
]
May 26, 2002 "Hi
Lester. Sorry about taking so long to give you the serial number. I
live in Portugal and my boat is in Canada. I had Jakatar surveyed for
insurance purposes for the crossing. The boat is almost fully
equipped now and we'll be leaving for the Erie Canal, New York,
Azores and Portugal some time in late May / early June. I'll send
pictures then, one of the crew has a digital camera. Best regards."
Horacio Marteleira (s/v Jakatar)
Feb 2, 2002 Our
plan this year is to spend the summer in the Maritimes (Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick coasts), the fall, down the New England coast and to
finally winter in the Cheasapeake Bay. Next year, we will probably
cross the Atalntic to spend at least a year in the Mediterranean. We
will then complete our North Atlantic tour by crossing again from the
African coast towards South America and back home. Claude Gagnon (s/v
Corail IV) Thank you for keeping the website alive. You reached
me in the Cabo Verde Islands. ESCAPADE will stay here for a month
before I cross over to Brazil. I have been sailing alone from Agua
Dulce, Spain via Gibraltar, Santo Porto, Madeira, La Gracciosa, Las
Palmas, Gran Canaria. All very fast and enjoyable except for the last
voyage to Mindelo, Sao Vincente, when I had decent wind for three
days followed by almost four days of no wind and additional three
days of wind exactly on the nose. I sailed almost 1400 NM for
actual 800 NM distance in 15 days. Best regards, Peter Voges,
(s/v Escapade) [Ed.Note: Escapade
is a Mark I Corbin, which has successfully crossed an ocean and
sailed many bluewater miles.]
