Dear Compass, I just read the article “Fiberglass Boats and Damage Control” by Hugo du Plessis in the November 2004 issue of Caribbean Compass and agree with his assessment that it will be impossible to get to the hull to do any type of damage control. So my question: When I think about damage control on my boat I start to think about a bigger pump to remove the water, but I think that’s also flawed because I have no idea as to the volume of water coming through, say, a three-foot diameter hole at three feet under the water. Is there a chart showing the rate of flow of water through different-size holes at different depths? Jerry Howard Hi Jerry, We forwarded your letter to Hugo du Plessis, marine surveyor and author of the comprehensive reference book Fibreglass Boats (now in its fifth edition), whose response appears below. By the way, we wonder where you found a copy of the November 2004 issue of Compass! Our on-line archive only starts with 2007. If any other readers would like a copy of Hugo’s informative article, e-mail sally@caribbeancompass.com and we’ll e-mail you a copy. Better yet, buy his book. CC Dear Jerry, Calculation of water flow through a smooth pipe is basic engineering technology. Any book of basic engineering tables will probably help. I bought my copy of the small Pocket Book of Engineering Tables by Professor Lowe, written in 1888, when a first-year engineering student and have referred to it often throughout my career. From this and other tables your answer is approximately 50 gallons a minute (proper Imperial gallons, of course). But the most important part is that word “approximately”. The calculation of water flow is so bound up with constants and allowances for different shapes that it is really not much help when dealing with any orifice other than a smooth pipe. And “another orifice” is what you will have in the event of damage to a fiberglass hull. A nice round hole suggests a plumbing fault and any boat without accessible sea cocks (throughhulls) in working order — which few on survey ever are — is not safe to go to sea. (In any case, more boats sink in harbour through defective plumbing than shipwreck or storms. Fibreglass always fails by splitting (single or linked splits), like torn trousers. A hole can be formed only through multiple impacts such as result from pounding. Therefore you will usually be faced with a jagged split of unknown length and shape, ragged-edged and of unknown width, at varying depth, plus random impact from waves, all of which and more are relative. Your computer, which every boat (except mine!) nowadays cannot apparently put to sea without, would almost certainly be the first thing put out of action by the rising water. I think you are looking at this from the wrong end. In practice I suggest you should consider the largest pump you a) can afford; b) have power for in any form including manual; c) have space to fit; d) can run four hours (e.g. what is required by an accident mid-ocean or on a coral reef); e) can back-up for failure, blockage, loss or exhaustion of power; and f) …plenty more. Then accept that fate will always decree that the damage is worse than you have planned for. Sorry I cannot be more scientific but this is not really a scientific question. There are just too many imponderable factors. Rules and regulations are only guidance to prevent builders fitting the least they think they can get away with. Best wishes, Hugo du Plessis Lymington, England Dear Compass, In the May 2011 issue of Compass there was an absolutely interesting Letter of the Month from Stuart Dalgliesh, asking, “Is there an insurmountable rift between the sailing ‘yachties’ and the power boaters in general?” You always have to see issues from both sides. I think the biggest problem between sailing and motor vessels is the use of a generator. For years, cruisers work on the principle of “going green”, which means enjoying nature with all its beauty and using as little fuel as possible. Every one of us has to calculate how many Amps will be needed to satisfy all our electrical needs. Therefore we equip our boats with solar panels and wind generators to charge up our battery banks. But what is it with the motor cruisers? They run their generators 24 hours a day, as long as they are in any anchorage, explaining that they have a modern boat with all the electrical equipment that is available. This is only possible for Trinis and Venezuelans, where the cost for fuel is close to nothing. If they had to pay US$9 per gallon, as we have to pay in Martinique, for example, things would no doubt be completely different. We cruising sailors live for many years on our boats. Don’t think we are old-fashioned or poorly equipped. We live a modern and up-to-date life. We have a stove and oven, a fridge, some have a freezer; all of us have a computer and a radio running, and watch videos. A lot of us even have a watermaker and a washing machine. We also have a generator, but we don’t have that cracker box running for 24 hours! And if we are, let’s say, three and more weeks in an isolated anchorage — where should the fuel come from? Fact is that power boaters tend to be only short-term visitors in any anchorage. We cruising sailors have to show patience for them, and can easily await the moment when they have to go back to their fuel stations down south. I ask the motor cruisers whether they would like it if someone parked his car in front of their house and let the motor run for 24 hours? Or the neighbour ran a gas generator day and night? Would you like that? If your answer is NO, then you have to think about endlessly using your generator on your boat! On weekends the power boaters, especially in Trinidad, come out into the bays like bees from a beehive. They lay anchor, mostly with a line to the trees ashore. Fine, they are able to do so, because they do not have a six- to eight-foot draft like our sailing yachts have. Now comes the point I don’t understand: the powerboat’s engine is shut off, but the generator runs endlessly till the end of the holiday. These people come out to be in nature, but they don’t hear the birds singing, the frogs croaking, all the other different sounds and the smells of the jungle. Although some of them have really nice and gentle music that we sailors can enjoy in the dark evening hours, others put the radio on at such high volume that the sound blasts the narrow bay from all sides. Maybe they need that noise level to drown out the noise of their generators. Cruisers who have spent time in Trinidad have already gotten used to this phenomenon. We anchor somewhere else while the power boaters use their bays from Friday afternoon till Sunday evening — as noisy and smelly as they want. (I mention as well the huge amounts of small motor vessels, filled with people with beer and other alcoholic drinks in hand, coming into Scotland Bay on Sundays at about 5:00PM, to circle around at high speed and give their last hurrah. It gives to me the impression of the impulsive finale in a concert. I think that a wind generator on top of a powerboat doing 20 knots would charge quite a lot into the batteries.) We sailors then have the bays from Sunday night during the week till Friday with all of nature’s silence, natural beauty, singing birds, climbing monkeys, croaking frogs, glow worms, and bats. Looking at the theme from this trade-off perspective, the two groups get along quite well together. I wish happy cruising and secure anchoring to all motor and sailing cruisers. Enjoy life, but not always at the expense of the nerves of others, and with a bit of acceptance of your neighbours — we are not alone! To everyone, all the best for 2012, Angelika Gruener S/V Angelos Hello Compass, I just want to write to you about the so-proclaimed Marine Protected Area around Sandy Island in Carriacou. I know you have covered this issue already in your magazine quite often but I want to inform you and other readers about our experience. The whole park is just a moneymaking thing out of us boaters. There is nobody who protects anything: the only reason is to collect money from us! My wife and I came in the beginning of December to Carriacou and while we stayed there we also wanted to enjoy some time around Sandy island and go diving, as now, with the marine protected area, there should be more fish around — this is what we read in your magazine was the whole intention of this park. One day during our stay around Carriacou we went across to Sandy Island and picked up a mooring buoy. One hour later the patrol boat came and collected a US$10 fee for the day. Later this day when I jumped in the water to have a look at our mooring I was surprised to see that those moorings are way too short and not safe, as on our mooring line the splicing had already started to open up. The rest of the day we enjoyed our time on Sandy Island, which is really nice and has now a big park sign on the beach. The next morning we woke up on our boat and were quite surprised that we saw a couple of local fishing boats anchored around Mabouya Island and also one on Sandy Island, because we thought that it is not allowed to fish or anchor inside the park. We had two dives arranged for this day with a local dive shop. We were told that there is now another park fee for divers of US$2 per day or US$10 for a year. When we got picked up from our boat at Sandy Island we went first with the dive shop out to the Sisters, which is supposed to be really great diving. On the way out we saw three more fishing boats which were towing lines inside the park and another one circling around the Sisters. The diving itself on the Sisters was spectacular with a shark and eagle rays. It was one of the best dives we have done in the Caribbean. After this dive we went to Mabouya Island for another great dive but on the way over we saw again one of the fishing boats we had seen earlier, still towing lines inside the park. We also passed two fish pots close to Mabouya. After we saw this we decided to leave the Sandy Island park and moved further on to Hillsborough. The park doesn’t protect anything, as the fisherman are still fishing as usual inside the park and the park rangers just might be coming out to collect the mooring fees. And if we dive inside the park we have to pay another fee on top. FOR WHAT? Those fees are definitely NOT for protecting the environment and reefs as nobody cares. We spoke also to other boats and they told us that they had complained already about this to the park rangers but they do not do anything about this issue. And the patrol boat comes out only for a couple minutes a day to Sandy Island to collect money from us yachts and that is it. We will not stay inside the park in the near future. We are not willing to pay another dollar for unsafe moorings, which, by the way, are way too close to each other. And we also will not pay another dollar for diving or snorkeling inside a park that doesn’t protect anything except maybe the fishermen who are fishing there every day. We are supporting marine parks by any means but as long as nobody really cares about the Sandy Island area, which is in our opinion really worth protecting, we refuse to pay another dollar! Kind regards, Calvin and Sheryl Boat Name Withheld by Request Dear Calvin and Sheryl, We passed your letter on to Davon Baker of the Sandy Island/Oyster Bed Marine protected Area. His response appears below. CC Dear Calvin and Sheryl, My name is Davon Baker, and I chair the volunteer, stakeholder board that has oversight for the Sandy Island/Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area (SIOBMPA). Your e-mail was forwarded to me by two receiving parties, including the Caribbean Compass. I am happy to take a few minutes to respond to your concerns. When I first read your complaints, I spoke with one of our wardens. He explained that quite often, users are of the perception that absolutely no fishing is allowed within the MPA. SIOBMPA, however, does allow for traditional seine fishing, with some restrictions. This is because we understand the need to have a balance between conservation and the social and economic needs of a people who are very dependent on the sea for their livelihoods. The allowed seine fishing is not supposed to impact on the species we seek to protect. Now, let me hasten to say that having reread your letter, the instances you specifically described I do not think all fall within the “safe” practice of seine fishing, which the SIOBMPA allows. And even in the cases where fishing activity is allowed, the boats should certainly not anchor within the protected area. Towing [a fishing line], also, should definitely not happen within SIOBMPA. I have personally seeing towing happen, and have had a fishermen speak “fisherman’s language” to us (Grenada’s National MPA Coordinator and myself) when we intercepted his boat. I regret to know that not only does it happen, but that it seems to be quite prevalent. As an organization, we must not be seen as a body whose actions fail to match what we teach. I do understand the frustrations that may have led you to conclude that SIOBMPA is strictly about money. However, I can assure you this is certainly not the intent of the project and the declaration of a protected area. At the same time we must remember that active MPA work in Grenada is fairly new, and we are learning as we go. SIOBMPA has been around for a mere 17 months. This project is slowly but steadily finding its legs, relying on very limited resources, both human and otherwise. However, it forges ahead, intent on protecting Carriacou’s priceless marine resources. With the help of users like yourself, we can learn from our mistakes and redouble our efforts to achieve our conservation goals. We should, however, be careful not to suddenly expect “there should be more fish around”. Marine conservation, I believe, takes time and hard but consistent work to yield very noticeable results. I am convinced we will one day get there, hopefully sooner rather than later. In the meantime, however, I will not leave you with excuses; instead, I would pledge that we would keep addressing those issues which are brought to our attention, thus ultimately making SIOBMPA more appealing, more attractive, much more irresistible — a true conservation haven. I am happy to share with you the news that SIOBMPA, a month ago, participated in an MPA enforcement training program, held jointly with other protected areas in Grenada and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. This we hope would have better prepared our wardens to address infractions, such as you described, happening within our protected zones. This was a follow-up effort to myself and other MPA colleagues participating in a Training of Trainers course in Belize, back in September 2011. We hope that as a direct result of this training effort, we would now be able to better protect the very dear resources we have been challenged to conserve. Additionally, SIOBMPA personnel received training to become certified ReefCheck Eco-Divers early in 2011 and conducted an initial survey right here at Sandy Island (see www.reefcheck.org/news/print.php?id=732). This underscores our commitment to keep learning marine protection best practices and to effectively apply such new knowledge to improve our conservation efforts. Our work has barely just begun. With regard to the moorings, we have diligently sought to ensure that they are very safe, and that users are not placed in harm’s way by using them. We are pleased to say that we have successfully eliminated past mooring issues, and have not had an incident in nearly a year. Again, I urge users to immediately inform us of any specific situation that may seemingly compromise your safety, so that it may be addressed and rectified. Together we can make this work. I am also very pleased that you enjoy Sister Rocks and rate it so highly. Thank you. We do hope that we can boast of other areas like this in years to come. And I do hope that you would return in person to see that we are indeed serious about protecting marine life. I wish that persons who are dissatisfied with our work, those who feel that complaints to our wardens fall on deaf ears, and especially those who have been threatened within the MPA, would contact the board directly at siobmpa@gmail.com and even copy it to me at dkmbaker@gmail.com. I wish that your sincere complaints would stir within all of us involved in this project the urgent need to steadfastly work towards our proposed goals. Thank you for helping to remind us where our focus needs to be. I look forward to having you back and wish you great sailing in 2012. Sincerely, Davon Baker Carriacou Dear Compass, On Sunday, the 27th day of November 2011, the skipper of Baleeiro passed away. The mizzenmast of his ketch fell on power lines in a Trinidad shipyard, and he did not survive the high-voltage shock. He leaves behind a truly loving and faithful wife and mate, and a wounded boat, which undoubtedly was looking forward to seeing the Pacific waters. Having been around at the time of the disaster, I can only say that I believe fatigue influenced that split-second decision that led to tragedy. To whoever is eager to finally put their boat back in the water, as Geraldo was, and as I have been, let it be known that rushing to get rid of the amazing clutter and unbelievable mess piling up on deck, as well as around it and underneath it, asks for Murphy’s Law. To all, fair winds, blue skies! Alexandra S/V Blue Wind Hello Compass Readers, The following describes an incident that cruisers should be aware of. About noon on Saturday, December 10th, 2011 I had my wallet stolen as I was leaving the AFOO supermarket in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten. To my chagrin, it was taken by a highly professional team using techniques that go back centuries — techniques described in Oliver Twist, for example. As my guest and I entered the store from the side entrance we noticed a number of people loitering about outside the exit. Since they were a mix of men and women and they just seemed to be waiting. We gathered the items we came for and went to the checkout stand. After paying for the goods and sharing the load between us we headed for the exit. There we had to work our way through the group as they were all but blocking the exit. As we passed, a scuffle broke out, and my guest and I were momentarily separated. At this point I believe my wallet was taken from my hip pocket — not that I realized it at the time. If I had noticed it, I expect it would have gone badly for both me and the unarmed security guard just inside. I discovered the loss a few hours later and went back to the AFOO supermarket and asked if my wallet was found. The checkout clerks and the security guard expressed no knowledge of it. Neither of them seemed concerned about what happened outside the store. The incident could have been prevented if the security guard had simply gone to the exit and either pretended to or actually taken pictures of the team with his cell phone. That would have dispersed them without confrontation. Since I had prior experience with pickpockets, I had less than one hundred dollars in US currency in the wallet along with a debit card and an out-of-date driver’s license. A phone call to my bank cancelled the card and when I receive a replacement some six weeks from now I will no longer carry it in my wallet. Currently I am wrapping a rubber band about my large bills and my last credit card and hiding them in a front pocket. Karl on Cochi Hi Compass, I knew there was something missing in my life here in Puerto La Cruz recently, apart from cooking oil, milk, and nightlife — Compass! So I made a connection and found it on line. Wow: I’m blown away! This is great — so easy to use and with terrific quality images, plus the goldmine of unique information and knowledge stored in the archives. No more searching through piles of tatty clippings from old issues. Congratulations! I am also going digital, I have put an e-version of my book, A Small Slip, on Kindle (available at Amazon.com) and am finishing a new e-book to follow it. I’m sure Compass will have a very successful 2012; such excellence merits nothing less. Best wishes, Cris Robinson Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela Editor’s note: A Small Slip is the true story of how cruisers Cris and his wife, Anne, after their Starlight of Mersea was wrecked at Las Aves, ran a boatyard and marine railway on Isla de Plata, Venezuela. Dear Compass Readers, We want to hear from YOU! Please include your name, boat name or address,  and a way we can contact you if clarification is required.  We do not publish individual consumer complaints or individual regatta results complaints.  (Kudos are okay!) We do not publish anonymous letters;  however, your name may be withheld in print at your request.  Letters may be edited for length, clarity and fair play. Send your letters to: sally@caribbeancompass.com or fax (784) 457-3410 or  Compass Publishing Ltd. Readers' Forum Box 175BQ, Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines