Voyaging with Velella: The work of cruising in tropical Mexico

9:22 PM Sat 8 Jan 2011 GMT

'Velella - Meghan rowing' SY Velella

Continuing the 'Voyaging with Velella' series by American Sailing Association writer-at-large Meghan Cleary. Meghan, Prescott and their kitten Nessie are on a planned 9-month cruise in the tropics: It?s no secret that cruising may be fun, but it?s not all play. The tropics have an easy time ravaging all your hard work: peeling varnishes, blackening oils, and fading canvases; not to mention keeping your metals coated in a fine film of salt and sprouting a five-o?clock algae shadow almost overnight on the hull. Basic tasks like laundry are a day-long event, beginning with gathering all possible fabrics into a body-bag-sized sack, hefting ...

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by Meghan Cleary, American Sailing Association