Free Book - 'From the Ocean to the Sky' by Sir Edmund Hillary

[Thames]

I just got this through the post and thought someone here might be interested:

From the Ocean to the Sky (Hardcover)
by Sir Edmund Hillary (the first man to summit Mount Everest)

£0.01 for the book and £2.75 for postage... what a bargain!

From the Ocean to the Sky: Amazon.co.uk: Edmund Hillary: Books
or USA:
Amazon.com: From the Ocean to the Sky (9780670331727): Edmund Hillary: Books

It's about Sir Hillary's expedition from the Indian Ocean all the way up the River Ganges as far as his powerful jetboats could take him (Nandprayag). Unfortunately there's almost no info in the book on the boats' construction or design, but the adventure is a real appetiser for anyone considering this voyage, which used to be possible in larger, slower and heavier boats as far as Handiwar but you'll have to check whether they've built any dams since then. Be sure to ship plenty of clean drinking water!

Has anyone here sailed up a major river before? Like the Ganges, Yangtze, Parana etc...I heard about some going up the Amazon.

[skipmac]

Sounds quite interesting. I'll take it but will the £2.75 get it over the pond to the colonies ie the USA?

If not I can give you a UK address to send it.

Skip

[skipmac]

Don't know if this counts but I sailed up the St Johns River in Florida.

[Thames]

Wow! One look at the map shows me there are plenty of inland waterways to explore in Florida! I'd be very interested to know how far you made it up the St John's River and the draft/propulsion power of your boat.

The book is also for sale secondhand on US Amazon for the ridiculous price of $0.01 + $4 shipping. When I bought from Amazon UK I thought it was a con until the book did actually arrive through the post (choose a seller with a good rating). USA Link:

Amazon.com: From the Ocean to the Sky (9780670331727): Edmund Hillary: Books

[skipmac]

Well I only made it to Green Cove Springs, about 30 nm. There you have the Shands Bridge with a rated verticle clearance of 45' and I'm about 52'. 42' boat with 58 HP diesel and 5'2" draft.

With a shorter mast and moderate draft I think you can make it about 80-90 miles further to Lake Monroe.

Sections of the St Johns river you can't see or hear any evidence of civilization. Looks like it did before the white man came. We regularly see alligators, otters, and all manner of birds. Not quite like the Amazon but it's a lot closer and one doesn't have to worry about poison arrows and strange diseases.

Thanks for the Amazon link. Seem to make more sense to buy a copy on this side of the pond.

[Thames]

Hi Skipmac that must've been a lovely trip. I've spent quite a while flying around on Google Maps and looking at user-submitted photos (a very distracting hobby!). It seems that once you get through every major city port, there's often a beautiful, peaceful quiet river navigation further inland. What a lovely way to explore a new country.

Currents and river traffic can be tricky, but usually worst in the estuary which can be a busy port with strong tides so once you get through that you're laughing. With my local club last week we kayaked from Putney right through central London to Tower Bridge and that was amazing. Some rivers will take you a thousand miles and you get a more intimate encounter with the shoreline and locals. In Russia you can go up river from the Black Sea and visit Kazan and Moscow, some beautiful lakes and finally pop out in the Baltic at St. Petersbourg. Unfortunately they're not very keen on foreigners doing that at the moment.

I wouldn't get a shorter mast, just put your mast in a tabernacle (basically a supported heavy duty hinge & stopper) so you can lower it on the fly. That way you're only limited by draft or power of propulsion against the current. If your boat doesn't have one, it can be retro-fitted to a rigid alloy mast. Another forum user, boatman61, has a tabernacle on his boat:

Originally Posted by boatman61

A lot of Hurleys were fitted with tabernacles to facilitate trailer sailing... they're pretty simple set-ups.. a base plate with an 12 - 18in cheek either side, a back plate about 6in and the front open... two holes for through pins to hold the mast upright till you set the stays... pull the bottom pin for lowering and the mast pivots on the upper pin... forestay is released and a line attached for lowering.
My boom could hinge up flush to the mast...

Originally Posted by Mark Johnson

A tabernacle mast is not a problem. Of coarse you need a hinge base... You rig some side shrouds with a bit of stretch to them. Hook up the forestay as well. Then you also rig some stretchy lines from the boom end to keep it under control. It needs a strong toppin lift line to the mast head. (this makes the boom a "gin pole") With a block & tackle you can raise the mast by pulling aft and down on the boom end. It is really easy once you get your "system" figured out. You can do it by yourself.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Thames

Hi Skipmac that must've been a lovely trip. I've spent quite a while flying around on Google Maps and looking at user-submitted photos (a very distracting hobby!). It seems that once you get through every major city port, there's often a beautiful, peaceful quiet river navigation further inland. What a lovely way to explore a new country.

Currents and river traffic can be tricky, but usually worst in the estuary which can be a busy port with strong tides so once you get through that you're laughing. With my local club last week we kayaked from Putney right through central London to Tower Bridge and that was amazing. Some rivers will take you a thousand miles and you get a more intimate encounter with the shoreline and locals. In Russia you can go up river from the Black Sea and visit Kazan and Moscow, some beautiful lakes and finally pop out in the Baltic at St. Petersbourg. Unfortunately they're not very keen on foreigners doing that at the moment.

Tabernacle not really a practical option for my boat. Mast is stepped through the deck on the keel. Could be done but I already have plenty of other projects to keep me busy.

Have heard the Russians aren't too interested in promoting yachting. Too bad.