For dedicated Atlantic sailors only
Tamarisk
Sat 20 May 2006 15:39
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As is described elsewhere in this log, when we're
on passage we spend a great deal of time listening to a Canadian ex-yachtsman
and amateur weather forecaster called Herb Hilgenberg. From his home in Canada
via SW radio, Herb provides a weather and routing service free of charge to any
Atlantic yacht that asks. Every evening you check in and tell him where
you've got to and he tells you where to go to get the best wind for your passage
or how to avoid bad weather. If you listen to all the boats check in, you can
see how friends are getting on.
We've only been able to talk to him since Giles
gave us an SSB transceiver and we got it fitted in St Lucia. When Herb first
acknowledged our call, we all cheered. If you're a bit anxious about the
weather, hearing Herb say you'll be ok is a very big relief. So it's not
surprising that he has become a bit of legend. He started the net when he lived
on a boat called Southbound 2 in Bermuda and Southbound 2 remains his call sign.
Of course the one thing you want to know about any legendary yachtsman is what
sort of boat he sails or sailed.
Well, we found Southbound 2. A guy called
Mark, who fixed our radar and also manages the Dockyard Marina in Bermuda,
bought Southbound 2 and renamed her Dreamhunter. Otherwise, he
said, he'd have forever been being asked for weather advice. When Herb
comes to Bermuda to see his daughter, he borrows the boat back to maintain the
net. We realise a very, very small number of people will have any interest in
this at all. But those who are interested will be very interested. The boat
is a double ender, about 45 feet long and branded a 'Corbin'.
  Southbound 2 in Bermuda's Navy Dockyard
Marina
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