Below 40 South an adventure to be shared

Life is full of adventures,  you can share this one.

For as long as I’ve known him, and that’s a good 25 years or so, Howard Rice has been working on setting out on an adventure that would define his life.

He’s had adventures that top anything that most people have ever had but his sights are high and his ambitions large.

Read on, and follow the team as we help Howard.  While not everyone can sit alongside him in the boat, we can all of us experience the highs and lows of this voyage of exploration through the video that will be made from his cameras.  Support is needed, please help us get what will be an amazing story out there for all to share.

Check out the link below for details on that.

Heres "Southern Cross"  near complete,  being fitted out at SCAMP Camp Michigan this last summer.
As I write shes about to be launched for test sailing her gaff ketch rig tried for balance and her many systems tested.

Me? I designed the boat, it’s a SCAMP, with changes to suit the environment into which it will be venturing, I’ve a Kiwi sponsor who prefers to be anonymous, who’s covered my airfare to Chile from here. This means I can support Howard and help prepare the boat (thanks so much, I could not have even considered it without that help).

Sailing a boat of my own design in the Straights of Magellan was not on my list of possible adventures, but its going to happen.  Life is full of suprises!

Here is the press release from Lutra Productions who will be making the “movie”.

Press Release

Announcing “Below 40 South” a documentary being filmed about a solo voyage of exploration in a 12 foot sailboat through Tierra del Fuego and into the Southern Ocean.

Lutra Productions is pleased to announce we will be producing a documentary film of footage shot by solo sailor Howard Rice as he explores the remote, dangerous and staggeringly beautiful Tierra del Fuego in southern Chile. Howard has built the wooden sailboat he will explore in (A highly modified Small Craft Advisor magazine SCAMP design) and aboard this boat cameras will be mounted to record a daily video diary of his adventures below 40 degrees south.

Dateline: Austin Texas, Port Townsend, Washington- December 7^th, 2015

In February 2016 sailor and explorer Howard Rice will attempt to voyage south on the Straits of Magellan and out into the Southern Ocean to explore the remote southwest islands of Tierra del Fuego. Howard Rice sailed the eastern part of the Beagle Channel and south rounding Cape Horn in a fifteen foot wood canvas sailing canoe in 1990. He returns to explore further. His voyage began with the construction of the boat he will sail and Lutra Productions has documented portions of the build to incorporate into the planned film “Below 40 South, A Voyage To The Dark Side Of The Moon.” Rice’s actual voyage begins in January 2016 on arrival of the crated boat in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Rice and the boats designer New Zealander John Welsford will test sail the boat on the wind swept waters of the Straits of Magellan. Lutra Productions will be there to film the launch and test sailing before Rice sets off alone south into the wilderness of Tierra del Fuego and the storm wracked Southern Ocean. There will be no support boat and no film crew following him. He is sailing solo, unsponsored and will be operating a range of small GoPro cameras to record this amazing and historic small boat voyage. Some men and women may choose to cross oceans in small boats but all sailors know near shore navigating is by far the most hazardous, Tierra del Fuego below 40 south is considered the most dangerous ocean environment in the world and is home of the infamous Cape Horn.

Rice will have one year of opportunity to explore the region but hopes to conclude his voyage within six months of his departure unless more time is needed. The southern winter begins in May and Rice has equipped his 12 foot boat with a wood stove should he need it for warmth and is prepared to sail in winter if needed.

We invite you to contact us to learn more about the plans for the production of the documentary and how supporters can become part of the film production effort. To learn more about Howard Rice’s amazing small boat adventure you can contact either Small Craft Advisor Magazine or Lutra Productions or go to www.below40south.com the official website of the film.

Lutra Productions
4113 Guadalupe Street

Austin, TX 78751

Small Craft Advisor
PO Box 1343

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Media Contact Information:

David Nichols- Producer/Director
Lutra Productions
512 695-7365

david@lutraproductions.com

Josh Colvin-
Small Craft Advisor Magazine

1-800-979-1930

smallcraftadvisor@earthlink.net

www.below40south.com is the official website for the film

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Ive been out having little adventures

Last week I took the ship out up to Kawau Island, about 2 hours away by sea, visited friends their then went to meet up with the beginning of the Kiwi Raid at Sandspit.

I was the “baggage barge” for the first day, baggage including camping gear for about 30 people was a good sized cargo but there is plenty of space in the covered cockpit aft so apart from needing four loads in the inflatable to get it all ashore at Martins Bay where they were to spend 3 nights at the motor camp while exploring the river at Mahurangi and the islands in the area, it was no problem at all.

I had the pleasure of the company of Roz for a couple of days, she is the organiser behind the Taweh Nugganah raid in Tasmania, those people being the bulk of the participants in our raid here.  Nice to meet you Roz, thanks for the pleasant time, you’re a great “deckhand”.

Raid progress reports here, I wish I could have stayed longer,  next year!

http://nzcoastalrowing.org/page/2/

More Kiwi participants too, this is a fabulous event, well organised, well supported with escort boats, the campsites all arranged, food provided, well done all the organising team.

From there, it was Mahurangi Regatta time, the annual event for classic yachts held in the entrance of the Mahurangi River,  there are usually between 250 and 300 boats there and while I’m primarily interested in the small boats, and admit to being biased and wanting pics of some my own designs, this is a fabulous event and one that I hate missing. 

This time, with the aid of Denny on the helm I was able to get around the fleet, hopefully not inconveniencing any of the racers, and got some very good shots.

Waiting near the beach, this is Carlotta Ann, soon to be renamed Kairos, I dont have any connection to the original name and she was an opportunity not to be missed.  Shes my most of the time home, big, comfortable and capable. I still have five other boats two of them with sails so Ive not defected from the small boat fold.

Breeze, 65 ft on deck, operated by an Auckland Maritime Museum volunteer group, a lovely sight at the Mahurangi Regatta, she sails the course with all of the racers and adds much to the spectacle. Yes Ive been up on that yard, while shes not a big ship its still a long way down.

Four of the St Ayles skiffs from the raid, all Tasmanian crews. Thanks for coming over people, great to meet you.

A sloop rigged Pathfinder,   http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/pathfinder/index.htm 

At this stage of the race  lying second to a boat that has won the event multiple times, local knowledge makes a huge difference on this course.

Rogue, slim, easily moved by that big sail. She finished second, well done. 

http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/rogue/index.htm

Saturday Night Special, designed to be a really quick and easy build for events such as the Texas 200, while not at her best in the very light winds ( the T200 is a notoriously windy event, there is an alternative larger sail area rig) she more than held her own among a fleet of very competitive small racers.   http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/sns/index.htm

No excuses for just chasing pics of my own designs, the opportunity does not come up very often so I take it where it happens.  But Ive more pics and will post again.

We took the ship up the river to Warkworth, the town at the head of the navigable part of the river, being a midday tide and a holiday weekend, plus the Raid boats were up there with John Dory their escort,  it was way too crowded and no space at the dock so I managed to turn us around in the smallest space imaginable without touching anyone else, a maneuver that I was very proud of, tied up at the kayak jetty ( not being used at the time) for an hour then headed back out.

Perfect weather, light winds, just enough to move the boats, sunny and calm, itrs a lovely venue and ideal for boatwatchers, birdwatchers as well, there was a big flock of Fluttering Shearwaters resting just off the point as we came in.

I’m back at my home dock now, have a few jobs to do before I catch the bus into the airport and fly across the Pacific to Santiago to meet up with Howard Rice to help prepare the way for his planned Southern Ocean adventure with his SCAMP.

Check it out here.   http://www.below40south.com

The fundraiser is to make a movie so everyone can share the adventure. The cameras are organised, the filming planned, it’s the production costs that we need to cover, even ten dollars will help.  Please.

I’ve not been to Chile before, New Zealand has strong trade ties with that country and quite a few Chileans live here, but this is a first on that continent for me.

I’m very much looking forward to it.

Watch this space for reports.

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