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Sunbrella lasts forever right?

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Acrylic Painted Sunbrella for Better Sun Protection

(Written by John) Sunbrella lasts forever right? Well, as it turns out, not really. 

Years ago I had a sail-cover made from sunbrella fabric that was of a questionable age. It ended up ruining the main sail as the SPF from the cover had deteriorated to about that of a window screen.

Luckily the sailmaker (North Sails) stood behind their product. They allowed me to purchase a new sail at their cost after the first sail basically dissolved in 7 years. Despite the fact that it was my old suncover that wrecked the sail.

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How do you get weather forecasts at sea?

Posted on by by Posted in Boating Tips from Bad Bunny John, Sailings

Source: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDYOC053.Global.SSTAnalysis.shtml

(Written by John) Whenever we meet people and tell them that we have sailed across oceans, they always want to know about how we deal with big storms. My answer has always been “We avoid them”.

It has been said that there is a time and place for everything, and in boating, you never want to be in a location during hurricane or typhoon seasons. So a constant moment north and south to get out of the storm belt is a yearly or twice yearly occurrence.

When I first got the boat and we were coastal cruising,

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Sailing from New Zealand to Australia – Autopilot Problem and Engine Issue

Posted on by by Posted in Australia, Boat Projects, Boating Tips from Bad Bunny John, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sailings, South Pacific

Tracking Map on GPS: Green (Autopilot Driving), Red (Hand Steering while Troubleshooting), Yellow (More Hand Steering during Diagnosis), Blue (Hove-To = Boat In Park)

(Written by John) Famous last words ” I have an idea, let me try this”

During my normal watch period of 8 until 2 I decided to try and manual steer the boat for an experiment to see if we could get more downwind performance. I turned the autopilot off and tried to manually steer us downwind while easing off the Genoa sheet and letting it billow out in front of the boat.

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Starlink and Its Mount Installation on “Sailboat Bad Bunny”

Posted on by by Posted in Boat Projects, Boating Tips from Bad Bunny John, New Zealand, Sailings

Starlink Antenna after Cutting the Bottom

“High Speed Internet Around the World”! This has been a game-changer for sailors Worldwide.

It was just four years ago when we first heard about Starlink. At that time, we didn’t believe this technology would become available so quick for sailors. However, when we arrived in New Zealand, we ordered a Starlink system and have been using it ever since.

At sea, having access to weather forecast information is critical, and Starlink has been a tremendous help. We absolutely love it! Go Elon Musk!!!

Finding the right installation spot on a sailboat proved to be a bit of a challenge.

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