Cruising and sailing dictoinary

PANADOL® See "acetominophyn"

PASSPORT - Some countries require foreigners to carry the original of their passport at all times (Ecuador, Colombia). Most countries we have visited required our passport for identification in order to get a cash advance; several asked for it to cash traveler's checks, (once) to convert cash into local currency. Be prepared.

PARACETOMOL See "acetominophyn"

PETROL - Gasoline

PHARMACEUTICALS - "The Offshore Doctor" (see "Books") has a good list of drugs recommended for cruising yachts. For prescription antibiotics, don't let your doctor get away with not providing you with a prescription and good information on use of them. Do not ruin your stay in a beautiful anchorage or island because of a strep infection that can't be treated locally. Lots of stories about this. In Southeast Asia, beware of counterfeit drugs in Thailand and Indonesia - a serious problem. According to a report in TIME Magazine, the only places in Southeast Asia where one can be sure of getting proper pharmaceuticals is in Hong Kong and Singapore. We cannot prove it, but we know of people who have found antibiotics that they bought in Malaysia to be ineffective, and there is some reason to believe that it was a counterfeit drug.

APPENDIX - TIME Magazine article on counterfeit drugs:

TIME, January 26, 1998 Vol. 151, No. 3
Swallowing Bitter Pills Fake and adulterated medicines are posing health risks greater than the diseases they're meant to cure By NISID HAJARI During one of the meningitis outbreaks that periodically ravage the lands bordering the Sahara, a team of Belgian doctors trekked into Niger's remote Madoua district in 1995 to deliver a potentially life-saving vaccine. They inoculated thousands of villagers before noticing imperfections in the drug, which had been donated by neighboring Nigeria. The transparent solution did not always dissolve correctly, and strands of hair floated in several vials. "When we first received the shipment, I joked that it was probably fake," recalls group leader Dr. Ginette Marchant. Tests proved her horribly right: the "vaccine" consisted of little more than saltwater. Marchant guesses that at least 300 of the villagers who received the placebo eventually contracted meningitis and died, while an additional 60 were handicapped for life. Such tragedies have become an epidemic unto themselves. Experts estimate that up to half the medicines now sold in sub-Saharan Africa could be fake, and the problem neither begins nor ends at that continent's shores. "Africa is a dumping ground for counterfeit drugs produced in Asia," says Dr. Harvey Bale Jr., director-general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association in Geneva. From Karachi to Beijing the production and distribution of contaminated medicine has developed into a virtual shadow industry--a network as amateurish as the individual con who refills discarded syringes with sugar water, and as professional as the massive chemical factory that labeled barrels containing deadly diethylene glycol, commonly used in lacquer and anti-freeze, as harmless glycerine. (That 1996 shipment, thought to have originated in Dalian, China, made its way into a cough syrup that killed more than 80 children in Haiti.) The region's ill are regularly faced with medicines that contain substances ranging from chalk dust to fruit peels--"cures" that can be as deadly as the disease. The extent of the contamination remains frustratingly difficult to pin down. The most dramatic indications of the threat are anecdotal--the Karachi woman killed by a brand-name, broad-spectrum antibiotic later found to contain talcum powder, or the Latin American man whose kidney transplant failed because the drug meant to prevent organ rejection was apparently a Chinese-made counterfeit. Authorities in Asia's developing countries often lack the resources to track their sprawling pharmaceutical markets accurately: in India an estimated 26,000 companies produce licensed drugs. And, for their own reasons, both the larger drug companies and local governments shy away from publicizing fakes. Although Western health officials name mainland China as perhaps the world's largest producer of substandard medicines, Beijing insists that its inspectors found irregularities in only 29 out of more than 167,000 cases investigated last year. Pakistani authorities claim that a mere 2% of the 20,000 drugs registered for sale nationwide are faulty. But private estimates are less reassuring. Dr. Kaleem Butt, head of the Pakistan Medical Association, thinks the proportion could be as high as 50%. Bale estimates that counterfeits make up at least 5% to 10% of the Asian market. Even those figures reflect only a fraction of the problem. The definition of a counterfeit--medicine packaged to resemble a name-brand pharmaceutical--can include both placebos and drugs deliberately made with the wrong dosage of active ingredient, as well as those that release that ingredient at the wrong rate. But the dangers that confront patients are even more varied. Across Mexico mysterious and poorly regulated generic brands fill pharmacy shelves; the companies listed as producers, using vague names like American Pharmaceutical, often turn out to be as fake as their products, and investigators suspect the drugs

PHOSPHORIC ACID - Many rust removers contain phosphoric acid. Good for removing rust stains in fiberglass (Oxalic acid is gentler). Can remove calcium buildup in water lines (but Muriatic acid is faster). (see also, "Hydrofluoric Acid", Oxalic Acid", "Muriatic Acid", "Vinegar")

POLARITY - Reverse polarity on your shoreside power will create severe electrolysis problems. Australia and US sell polarity detectors. Australia's is great, just plug into any outlet.

Friends of ours had been tied to a dock in American Samoa for several years when we arrived. When we tied up at the dock for a few days and hooked into the power supply, Peter found that the polarity was wrong for our boat. He made some adjustments in the wiring, and things were okay. I asked Peter what would happen if he hadn’t corrected the polarity. He said that because our boat had a good bonding system, not a whole lot, but we would go through our zincs really quickly as our boat behaved like a giant submerged battery. I mentioned it to our friends, but the skipper was an academic-type who hadn’t the faintest idea of electricity and its quirks, so he just shrugged. Several months later, as we were sitting in Tonga, he came up on the radio to tell us that he couldn’t use the engine, that his engine was leaking cooling water dramatically, and could somebody tow him into the anchorage. When he was settled in the anchorage an engine mechanic came out to look at his engine, which had its entire water pan corroded through. As they sat there, more things continued to deteriorate, and they decided to get hauled out on the railway haulout facility there. We were no longer in Tonga when they fired up their poor engine, but other friends reported on their progress the 200 yards to the dock - “they made it to the dock just as their propellor fell off.” We can’t help but think that all their maintenance problems were the result of their unbonded boat suffering electrolysis from the miswired electrical supply. So beware.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS - Some formerly British Islands in Caribbean, most Latin American countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pacific Islands (except Vanuatu) do not require a doctor's prescription to sell pharmaceuticals. French countries require a doctor's prescription. Homeopathy is quite popular in France, so be forewarned that some doctors will prescribe homeopathic substances instead of antibiotics.

PRESERVING FOOD:
Cheese: Hard cheeses can be waxed by dipping whole cheese in melted wax, will then not need refrigeration. Soft cheeses can be preserved for long periods by completely covering in vegetable oil and storing in sterilized glass jars. Refrigerated cheese lasts longer without mold if wrapped in a paper towel moistened with vinegar inside a container.

Chilis: Whole, or chopped, with seeds removed, covered with vinegar in glass jar, will keep for 12 months or longer. NOTE: do not let metal touch contents - take out whole chilis with wooden or plastic utensil. CAUTION: Do not use bare hands to prepare large quantities of chilis - the oils do not wash away easily, and every time you wet your hands for days afterward they'll burn (obviously, this has happened to me!)

Garlic: Will keep for months in a cool dry place if left in the bulb. Peeled and immersed in vegetable oil will keep even longer in refrigerator - oil good for cooking, salad dressings, but garlic is so universally found that this is rarely needed, unless you like the idea of garlic-flavored oil as I do.

Fresh fruit and vegetables: If washed in a mild chlorine bleach or iodine solution (or use antibacterial tablets, such as Milton's, Steadiflow - which see) and allowed to dry completely before storing, will extend the life of most vegetables as well as kill nasties such as cholera, typhoid bacillus, and the parasite that causes amebic dysentery. To keep large quantities of onions and potatoes from bruising and sprouting, and from spreading mold throughout the batch, store in old white cotton socks. Each sock can hold up to 2 pounds of onions or potatoes. If one is bruised or goes bad, the sock absorbs the weeping so it doesn't spread to others so quickly, and is easily identified.

Many vegetables can be kept well without refrigeration by wrapping them in newsprint. Cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, turnips are good candidates for this.

PROVISIONING - Never, ever buy in quantity anything you haven't tried and like, even if the brand is a familiar US label. Check expiration ("use by" or "best if used by") dates on packages (remember, US is virtually the only country that places its month first in dates). Also, ask around - some countries' products are so variable in quality that trying one package will not be an adequate sample. US brand names are produced locally in various countries for that country's taste and budget. Some of them are significantly different in taste and quality from those found in the States, so beware. Do try other countries' products, especially France's - many are superior to US brands in either quality or convenience.

RAIN CATCHERS: Our rain catcher is a bit unique for cruisers, though about a year or so after we came up with the idea, we saw a virtually identical system illustrated in CRUISING WORLD Magazine. Since all our sailing is in the tropics, we have a large bimini that covers the aft end of the cockpit, protecting the helmsman from sun and rain. The Bimini is slanted slightly forward. Along the side rails of the Bimini we have attached "gutters" made of PVC pipe. The one end of the gutter is closed off, the other end has an elbow fitting to reduce pipe size to accomodate flexible hose. Water flows into the gutters from the sides of the Bimini into the hoses that are led to our tank fills, or to jerry jugs if we are away from the boat or underway. It can be risky leaving the hoses to fill water tanks unattended - a long enough absence, or a torrential downpour could result in a lot of water in the bilge once the tanks have filled to overflowing.
The advantage of this system over the usual hose fitted to a boat's sun canopy is that it can collect water even when you are sailing. It is extremely easy to set up (the gutters are in place permanently, the hoses take a few seconds to plug in), and when at anchor and the sun canopy is up the water that is caught drains onto the Bimini and thus into the tanks or jerry jugs. We can attach a filter to the hoses in anchorages where the air pollution dirties any water that we catch, and it is always instantly available no matter the conditions. SEE PHOTOS

RECYCLING - Many plastic containers are convenient for use around the boat. My chemist father-in-law warned us that all plastics are not created equal. In the U.S., plastic containers that are intended to hold food are regulated by the Food & Drug Administration, and thus the quality of the plastic will be better than plastic containers that contained non-food items. This is more important than we usually give credence to - the plastic in non-food containers uses a lower quality “plasticizer”, and will more readily migrate out of the plastic - nasty stuff you don’t want to ingest.

- Squeeze Mustard (or honey, syrups) bottles - become salad dressing containers, soap dispenser for laundry & bathing off back of boat and serve as small galley containers while larger bulk container stays in locker. I have squeeze mustard bottles with permanent labels for cooking oil, salad oil, olive oil, and vinegar. I buy oils and vinegars in large quantities, gallons when possible, and thus the small bottles are more easily stored and more easily used.

- Ocean Spray 2 quart and gallon plastic juice bottles are excellent because they are six-sided, so store well in lockers, they are air tight with a gasketed lid, and all plastic (other companies are now also using these bottles). I use them to store rice, sugar, coffee, any granular bulk food product (each 2-quart bottle holds just grams shy of 2 kilograms). Use to make solar iced tea, store reconstituted juices. Also freeze beverages in them for backpacking excursions, cold drinks at pot lucks (two bottles will just barely fit in our freezer box - Adler Barbour Cold Machine). On offshore passages we fill with fresh water for our "abandon ship" bag.

- Liquid laundry soap bottles become: dinghy bailers; anchor rode floats; anchor trip line floats. We choose laundry detergent by the color of its container.

- Soft Soap™ pump bottles in galley and head for dispensing soap for washing up.

- Small plastic bottles with plastic lids for holding small parts (nuts, bolts, screws, etc.)

- Roll-on deodorant bottles are good for mosquito repellent, keeps it off your hands.

- Old white cotton socks that are too stretched out to wear any more are excellent for storing onions and potatoes - see “Preserving Food”

REFLECTIVE TAPE - Great for finding dinghy or boat in dark unlighted anchorage, and it is amazing how dark an island with no electricity gets on a moonless night. Intended as a way our boat can be found at night in an emergency by a rescue boat. Also great gift for people. Makes little lights seem bigger and brighter. We also put reflective tape onto a channel marker in an uninhabited anchorage with only one exit from the reef - just in case we needed to escape in the middle of the night.

REFRIGERATION: Ours is 12-volt exclusively. It is small, but the freezer unit, about 1 square foot, is adequate (barely) for our needs. We would not want to do without refrigeration in the tropics, though we have met many a boat that has. Although we haven’t seen as much of them recently, engine-driven holding plates were very popular about ten years ago when we were still sailing in the Caribbean. These holding plate refrigerators, we are told, are very efficient. However, we noticed that when the boat was in a marina, with unlimited electricity available, the boat still needed to be run for one or two hours every day to keep the refrigeration running. Since we have a wind generator and two solar panels, we do not feel that the refrigerator is a major drain on our resources.

REFRIGERATOR BOXES Our refrigerator is a standard top-access box. Almost three feet deep, it used to be difficult to keep order in the box, and with the freezer (evaporator box) near the top, fresh vegetables often froze if they fell to the bottom of the box. After a lot of false starts, I've come up with a system that works for us.

The small freezer (evaporator box) is set in the back half of the box. I installed two rubber tracks along the sides of the box just forward of the freezer, which divided the box into two sections. Peter made up two 3/8" fiberglass panels to slide in the tracks. Each panel was the full width of the box and half the height of the box. The after end of the box, with the freezer box, was thus isolated from the forward section. I then had three plastic boxes made up to fill the forward section. (see). The bottom box is where I store food and drinks that I want very cold, and things which I don't use on a daily basis. The smaller of the top boxes can hold six soft drink or beer cans. It usually holds four beer cans and a jar of jam. The larger box holds vegetables, butter, and other items that I use on a daily basis.

The back section, closest to the freezer box, is where I store half gallon bottles of water, wine, meat, frozen food that will be used within the next week. I can pack a frozen chicken underneath the freezer box and it will stay frozen for two or three days, and be only half-thawed after perhaps four days under there. I can keep cryo-vac'ed beef that has been frozen by the butcher for several months stacked up under the freezer box, and still have room for my bottles of water, juice, and wine alongside. I put a "cold blanket" over the after section where the freezer is, so that only the forward section with the boxes, is exposed to the air when the top is opened.

The boxes are made of thin flexible plastic - the type that is used for cutting boards. This plastic isn't glued, it's heat-bonded. I made up the patterns for the three boxes and brought them to a plastics shop to cut and make up for me.

The boxes are very strong and light. I punched holes in the sides of the top boxes to insert strong cord which is used to lift the boxes out. The series of boxes and panels enables me to find things quickly and easily, and creates temperature "zones" in the box. The refrigerator doesn't run as hard because less heat is let into the box when the lid is opened, and my vegetables, especially my precious celery and peppers, don't freeze anymore. SEE PHOTO & "Melon Gear album"

RINGWORM - Highly infectious fungal infection, untreated leaves nasty scars. Various medications for it, worth carrying a small supply. (see also, "Fungus Infections", "Staph Infections")

RUST
- Tools: all your tools will rust, no matter how carefully you keep them from touching salt water. A new product that helps is Metal Wax. Also, silicone grease works.

- Canned food: if your food lockers are dry lockers (i.e., bilge water cannot get to them), cans usually will last without any treatment. Those people who varnished their cans told us they had lockers (or bilges) full of peeled varnish and cans just as rusty as anyone else's. EXCEPTION: canned fruit juices, canned fruits, canned soft drinks - seem to form pinholes - some of this is electrolysis if aluminum soft drink cans are stored with food tins - the soft aluminum drink cans often form pinholes, the carbonated or acidified liquid leaks onto the tins setting up electrolysis and causes them to rust and leak (especially along the seams). After too many disasters I will not store aluminum cans with any other canned foodstuff.

- Rust remover: Rust Stain Magic (highly dilute Hydrofluoric acid) is good for removing rust from clothing. Phosphoric Acid or Oxalic Acid is good for removing rust stains from fiberglass. Follow directions carefully, and wear rubber gloves. Although I swear by it, hydrofluoric acid is a dangerous acid to use, so be careful.

- See also: Brass Wool; Metal Wax; Oxalic Acid; Phosphoric Acid, Salt Water; Silicone Grease; Steel Wool.