With over 400 power and sailboats on display, in-water and onshore, the
South West International Boat Show showcases the very best in sailing and boating.
This year, Sail America will be organizing a program of seminars that cover all facets of the sailing and boating lifestyle, from the magic of discovering exotic new ports around the world, to the must-have knowledge of staying safe and healthy at sea.
Below are just some of the entertaining and educational seminars that are included in the price of show admission, these will be held at the South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center, which is also the official hotel of the Boat Show and conveniently located at the Marina. Respected experts and skippers, best-selling boating authors and world cruisers will share their fascinating tales of sailing adventures and their expert advice about the boating lifestyle. A full Schedule and Timetable will follow shortly.
George Day
The 10 Things They Never Tell You About The Cruising Life
The experts all are happy to tell us all about the boats and gear and safety procedures we need to be safe and successful cruisers. But there is a lot that the experts never mention, either because they haven't been out there themselves or because they are not interested in the aspect of cruising that deals with uprooting your life and heading over the horizon to parts unknown. The 10 things people never tell you about the cruising life will open doors to the real cruising life, what it entails, what are the rewards and what are the hardships. It's not all rum drinks with pink umbrellas in them out there. Nor is it all shipwrecks and pirates. Humorous....we hope.
The Countdown to Cruising
How to prepare your boat, yourselves, and your shore side life so you can get away cruising. This one hour seminar will focus on the practical side of equipping a boat for offshore sailing and will delve into the preparations a crew must make to get themselves ready, too.
George Day is the Publisher and owner of Blue Water Sailing Magazine and Cruising Compass. Prior to starting the company, he was Editorial Director for Cruising World and Sailing World in the 1970s and 80s. In the early 1990s, he and his wife Rosa took their two sons on a five year circumnavigation west-about aboard their 43-foot ketch Clover. George has cruised and raced more than 100,000 miles offshore. He is the author of three best selling books: Out There (with Herb McCormick), Safety at Sea and The Well Managed Sail Boat.
Bob Bitchin
Cruising the Big Blue Ball Called Earth
Ever wonder about cruising over the world? Hear new tales from Latitudes and Attitudes founder Bob Bitchin.
Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine was started on the return from the world cruise.
It has grown into one of the largest and most respected magazines in cruising.
It boasts a readership of over 185,000 happy readers (and a couple of grumpy ones!). Bob is the Editor and Publisher of the magazine, Producer and host of the
TV show, and is building hull #1 of the new Shannon Global 52 "Attitude" which he will cruise, as time permits.
Brion Toss
Rigging Basics
Fundamental procedures, from a rigging raconteur. Learn about “eyeball engineering”, rig tuning, knots and splices, drilling and tapping, epoxy-potting, deck layout, how to point a stripper arm, why you should probably turn your Genoa cars around, and much more.
Rig Loads, Big Loads
A sailboat can generate tons of force when it powers up its rig. This is fine, as long as the rigging system is designed and fabricated to deal safely with all that power. Join rigger Brion Toss as he demonstrates the loads that rig components bear, how to establish safety factors, and how all that energy can be channeled into moving your boat.
The Hidden Causes of Rig Failure?
Good sailors make regular, careful rig inspections, but how can they inspect things that they cannot see? Rig failures can originate inside spars, in decks, and in other places that aren’t readily inspected, and where disassembly isn’t always an option. In this talk you’ll hear where and how to look for these hidden causes. Even the ones that are hiding in plain sight.
Brion Toss has over 30 years of yacht rigging experience, specializing in rigging cruising vessels for offshore voyages and rigging racers to win with speed and handling. Brion regularly consults for naval architects, boat builders, and yacht owners. In addition, Brion has taught workshops and given presentations on mechanical advantage, going aloft safely, inspecting rigging, tuning rigs, rope splicing, knot tying and many other topics, working with sailors, boat builders, Coast Guard inspectors, the Surveyor organizations NAMS & SAMS, architects, horse trainers, arborists, tree house builders, timber framers, and the National Forest Service, among others. Brion has rigged, and worked aloft in, hundreds of sailing vessels, and has worked at heights in trees, stadiums, scaffolding, and cranes for a vast array of rigging projects.
Brenda Wempner
Sailing Made Easy
Learn the basics of sailing, including tacking, jibing and sailing terminology. Points of sail and proper sail trim will be discussed as well as an introduction to rules of the road.
Bareboat Chartering in Exotic Destinations
Learn the secrets of successful bareboat chartering, including arranging for the boat, provisioning and planning an itinerary. This lecture will include tips and ideas for a more successful charter experience and discuss ways to get started cruising in a new destination as skipper or as crew. Cruising areas discussed will include the Canadian Gulf Islands, Tahiti, Croatia, San Juan Islands, Caribbean Islands and more.
Captain Brenda Wempner learned to sail as an adult and now holds her U.S.C.G. license and teaches sailing. She works for American Sailing Association in the Education Department.
Marti Brown
Safety at Sea with Marine SSB
On cruising vessels, Marine SSB is alive, well and thriving.
Learn how this technology can inexpensively help you gather
weather forecasts and safety information at sea. This
seminar will discuss briefly how the technology works, how
to set it up and how to use it. Don’t leave port without it!
Capt Marti has solo sailed around Florida and The Bahamas
since 1990. She has helped thousands of cruisers learn to
use their marine single sideband radios and radio email
systems with her easy to read "Idi-Yacht" series books and
her fun and engaging seminars. For more information see
idiyachts.com
John Gambill
New Technologies in Energy Production and Storage
With the recent increased interest in green energy, there have been numerous improvements in technology, much of which benefits cruising sailboaters. We will discuss available new technology in batteries, solar, wind, and system components.
John Gambill is an "Integrator", a new title for someone who consults, advises, designs, fabricates and sells renewable energy equipment. He jokes that he is basically, a motorcycle mechanic without the math ability to be called an engineer. He is experienced in Caribbean cruising, delivery, technical troubleshooting, and juggling.
Kim Hess
Healthy Cruising with Yoga Onboard™
Just as we devote time & attention to the maintenance of our vessels, we must also give as much, if not more care to the health of our bodies. Join Kim Hess, author of Yoga OnboardTM in a session of Cockpit Yoga. We will also explore the various options we have available to maintain and possibly enhance our health as we cruise. This will be an interactive discussion so bring your questions & more importantly your ideas to share with others.
A full time yoga instructor, and live-aboard, Kim continuously searches for ways to bring her yoga practice into her daily life. Kim blends together the various styles of yoga she has studied along with her personal experiences to bring to life her own eclectic style of yoga; ones own body, the rhythm of the breath and adaptation are the foundation for a well rounded class accessible to all levels of yoga practice. Being passionate not only about yoga but about sailing, she brings these two loves together in her nationwide seminars, workshops, private sessions, a book and DVD. Her bi-monthly column, Healthy Cruising, in Latitudes and Attitudes Seafaring Magazine is a must read for anyone serious about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while cruising. She can also be found on Latitudes & Attitudes TV Season 4 sharing Yoga OnboardTM tips. Kim also has her USCG Captains license and is currently offering charters in the Miami and Keys area, and will be setting sail for the islands in the near future. For more information visit
www.yogaonboard.com.
Lee Chesneau
The Weather Briefing: Self Reliant Weather Interpretation Skills
This seminar: Introduces some surface weather maps and what the anticipated weather forecasts are for several geographical areas from the East and the West coasts and other areas of the country; Discusses human intelligence products as generated by the National Weather Service (NWS); Reviews tropical cyclone avoidance techniques using the 1-2-3 Rule; Provides an overview of what mariners self reliance; Makes recommendations for weather chart collection and display for logical forecast processing, interpretation, and decision making. This seminar is for everyone who enjoys day sailing, and coastal or offshore cruising.
Lee Chesneau is a highly seasoned senior marine meteorologist with a distinguished 36 year career in maritime weather forecasting, ship routing, writing, key note speaker at seminars, and a certified U.S. Coast Guard STCW Basic and Advanced Meteorology instructor. Lee’s focus as an accomplished instructor and lecturer for various maritime organizations is educating every seagoing mariner on self reliance in marine weather and forecasting, strategic routing, and most importantly, in prudent self reliant decision making. He has his own company, Lee Chesneau’s Marine Weather, marineweatherbylee.com and e-mail at
lee@chesneaumarineweather.com.
Steven Bowden
Communications for Cruisers
This seminar covers the "patchwork quilt" concept of using different digital communication technologies to keep in touch. The focus will be on the options available (including new products) and the way that cruisers actually use the different technologies: Wi-Fi at the dock, broadband cellular underway, HF SSB radio, satellite phones and satellite broadband when offshore. We will address how to adapt these technologies to a cruiser's needs and budget as well how you can move your business aboard.
Steven Bowden grew up sailing and scuba diving in his native Florida. He worked for charter companies as diverse as Caribbean Sailing Yachts and Windjammer. Bowden later began working with television and video production companies including the Scuba World TV Series, Sea Fans Video Magazine and TravelVision International. Bowden and his wife Pamela House lived aboard their 40 foot cutter
"Narkosis" for five years. He is a volunteer navigator aboard the 1877 Barque
"Elissa," the official tall ship of Texas. They founded SeaTech Systems in 1994 to design, build and market integrated navigation, communication and weather systems based on the personal computer. He became the first sales representative for The CAPN navigation software which is the official program of the US Coast Guard and Navy. Bowden and his wife also own NavCom Digital which is involved in wholesale distribution of marine electronics and software as well as manufacturing of accessories for satellite phones. They live near Galveston, Texas.
John Franta
Affordable Synthetic Standing Rigging
This seminar will explore the benefits of using synthetic standing rigging. Learn about both the benefits and the limitations of this new material type. John will give a light but data based presentation on the merits of using synthetic line for standing rigging.
John Franta is an engineer, sailor and a director at Colligo Marine. He has spent years studying synthetic rigging and its applications to the sailing/marine world. John is an avid multihuller and keeps a 40 foot racer/cruiser tri-maran in the sea of Cortez in Mexico.
Jeff Grossman & Jean Levine Grossman
Take the Drama out of your Dream
The Dream is cruising off into the sunset, footloose and carefree, relaxing and having fun along the way. Reality can be filled with moments of panic, fear and anxiety from weather, seas, crew, broken boat systems and shore side hassles. Learn where the Drama comes from and how to remove it from your Dream!
Couples Cruising to the Caribbean
From the Erie Canal to the Virgin Islands, one couple can cruise without long offshore passages or more than one overnight at a time. Though the Caribbean is the destination, you are cruising from when you leave home, learn the many wonderful places to stop and see along the way!
Jeff grew up sailing in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas and learned to visually pick through reefs before learning to drive a car. Jeff has been actively boating over 45 years sailing as captain since the age of 15. Jean has been sailing since she was 12 years old, first on the Chesapeake Bay and then in the Caribbean on vessels ranging from sunfish to 80’ schooners. Jeff and Jean have extensively cruised the Caribbean and Florida on their current boat a Skye 51. Jeff holds an Electrical Engineering degree and has worked with almost all forms of electronic navigation from B-52 Inertial Navigation systems to modern integrated ARPA radars. Jean is a Marine Surveyor, a member of the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) and is ABYC Standards Certified. Both Jeff and Jean are 100GT Masters and ASA Certified Sailing Instructors. Jeff and Jean assist couples in realizing their sailing dreams with their company, Two Can Sail.
