Gavin Le Sueur - Multihull Seamanship: An A-Z of skills for catamarans & trimarans / cruising & racing

MULTIHULL
SEAMANSHIP

Copyright 2018 Fernhurst Books Limited

The Windmill, Mill Lane, Harbury, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. CV33 9HP. UK Tel: +44 (0) 1926 337488 | www.fernhurstbooks.com

This second edition published in 2018 by Fernhurst Books Limited
Previous edition published by Fernhurst Books in 1997.
First published in Australia in 1995 by Cyclone Publishers, PO Box 7338, Cairns, Queensland

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a license issued by The Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher..

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781912177080
eBook ISBN
9781912177653 (EPub)
9781912177660 (Mobi)
9781912177677 (ePDF)

Cover photographs Gavin Le Sueur
Front cover: Musket Cove, Fiji during race week
Back cover: Lau island group, Fuji

There are no hard and fast rules at sea. Sailing is an art and, for this reason, the author would like to thank those who shared their art and assistance with editing and advice during the production of this book.

Many topics were debated and discussed in online forums, yacht club bars and at beach barbeques. I have had feedback from many multihull designers, racing and cruising sailors. This invaluable experience-based advice has been incorporated in this edition.

My illustrator, Nigel Allison, worked hard and professionally as he put up with continuous changes and reviews for this edition. Whenever the wind blows Nigel is out there getting salt in his eyes. It is good to be around people with enthusiasm.

And I have a friend who does not sail. Stephen King, my art director and designer who has been on a dry journey with me since high school. None of my books would have happened without his intelligent input and ideas.

This book is for people who are, or are contemplating, multihull sailing. There are many textbooks on the market which detail general seamanship principles. This is not one of them. This is about catamarans and trimarans and the skills needed to enjoy and understand them to the utmost. Both racing and cruising yachts are catered for, as are trailer-able multihulls.

Seamanship is not a black and white skill. It is an evolution of knowledge, a building of information through experiment, thought and experience. There is no definitive word on an evolving skill.

Multihull Seamanship started as my personal index of how tos.

It has grown through experience and by others sharing their knowledge. It is my turn to give back some of that to my colleagues on the ocean who venture forth in hulls of two or more.

Safe multihull sailing.

Gavin Le Sueur

This edition of Multihull Seamanship has been updated after more than two decades of offshore cruising, intermittent racing and family life aboard a sequence of multihulls. There have been lessons hard learnt (capsizing a 50 ft catamaran) and many material and design changes. I have had most disasters happen, broken or torn just about everything and had to deal with nappies at sea. I have continued to talk to fellow multihullers in anchorages, marinas, forums and blogs. The wealth of knowledge available now can be overwhelming and, because of this, I have decided to continue to keep this edition true to its goal; comprehensive multihull seamanship rules that will help guide every skipper who ventures forth in these wonderful yachts.

Throughout the years my co-skipper Catherine has been by my side as we continue our multihull adventures. Without her, life would be like having only half a boat. Thank you my darling heart.

Gavin Le Sueur built his first multihull, a 16 ft Mosquito catamaran, while at high school. After graduating from Melbourne University in Medicine, he purchased and moved aboard Moshulu a 35 ft Hedley Nicol Wanderer trimaran. Deciding that offshore sailing was the life, Le Sueur entered in the two-handed bicentennial Around Australia Yacht Race.

For this adventure, he obtained the then fastest offshore racing catamaran in Australia a 37 ft Crowther Super Shockwave named D Flawless.

In preparation, Le Sueur raced D Flawless in many Southern Ocean races and eventually to New Zealand in the Two-Handed Trans Tasman Challenge. During this 1,000 nautical mile race, Le Sueur and his 21-year-old crew, Catherine Reed, survived a hammering from Cyclone Bola. They sailed through the cyclone eye to complete the race and gained the best competitors trophy. En route back to Australia two months later D Flawless struck a whale while surfing downwind at night.

The subsequent liferaft story, and his earlier adventures at sea and on land, are detailed in Le Sueurs first book Windswept.

Within days of rescue, Gavin and Catherine were fortunate to be offered the use of another catamaran for the around Australia race a Crowther 40 ft shorthanded racer named John West.

Aboard John West, Gavin and Catherine raced around the Australian continent. This marathon, hailed as the toughest coastal race in the world, encompassed more than 8,000 miles of hazards. Swirling tidal currents around tropical reefs in blistering conditions contrasted further down the track with sleet, snow and blinding storms in the notorious roaring forties of the Southern Ocean.

Gavins story of the around Australia race and the drama behind the multihulls that both capsized and survived is told in his second book The Line.

On a personal level, Gavin was told by his father that if he ever found the perfect crew he should marry them. He did, proposing to Catherine on the finish line of the around Australia race.

Fletcher, Estelle, Gavin, Baden & Catherine

Since this race Le Sueur has continued the multihull adventure. He purchased John West (renamed Windswept) and sailed the east coast of Australia, continuing to race. Multihull cruising became the focus when their family expanded and the Le Sueurs have had many years living aboard and exploring the Pacific and south-east Asia aboard their sequential catamarans Magic Happens (Hitchiker 40MkIII), Chaotic Harmony (Catana 42S), Top Gun (Crowther 50 racing cat) and Whim (Crowther 43). A life at sea brings many adventures.

Le Sueur has a depth of practical knowledge and seamanship hard won. The Le Sueurs have lain under parachute sea anchors in storms, capsized their 50 ft racing cat, had fires, electrical failures and equipment breakdown, anchored in all conditions and jury-rigged just about everything that could be jury-rigged.

Gavin, Catherine, Estelle, Baden and Fletcher Le Sueur have a home base in Cairns, Tropical North Queensland, Australia. Sailing remains their lifes adventure and the enthusiasm continues whenever the wind blows. Gavin races off the beach catamarans, kite surfs and kite foils, and is always planning the next multihull cruise.