Yes, last week we had two of those days that Seattlites brag about. The kind of day that brings out crowds of bicyclists, joggers, shoppers crowding Market Street and boaters swarming the docks. As soon as the temperature edges above fifty degrees they are out in shorts and tee shirts with dreamy smiles on their faces. It was a startlingly beautiful day...by Seattle standards; the kind of day that would have my Hawaiian friends huddled around electric heaters and wrapped in blankets. But here…
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Added by Orvil Newton on April 29, 2009 at 12:11pm —
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Finally, I'm finished redoing the electricity of the boat!!!. I just stripped the old mess, designed a new floating ground system and did all the wiring. Everything seems to be working fine, and not a single fuse/breaker went off. I'm actually impressed with myself. It did take me about a year to do the learning, the design and the work itself (working only one day a week).
One of my three Trojan J185H seem to have shorted one cell. Well, we'll have to live with only two (about 500…
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Added by Marco Garcia on April 29, 2009 at 2:33am —
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It wasn’t too long ago that manatees were raised for food; hence Cowpens Anchorage near Islamorada, Florida. As slow and as stupid as they are; they are hard to catch. Manatees only eat sea grass and it’s hard to put sea grass on a hook. Running over them with a boat is not practical either. Contrary to what the Save the Manatee Foundation claims; very few are killed by boats. In Broward County only one per year has been killed by a boat over the past 30 years. That’s usually in Port Everglades…
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Added by Bob E Sherman on April 28, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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Ok, so a great deal of time has gone by since my last post. We have been on the move most of that time. We spent 20 days in George Town, Exumas where we finally got our dingy repaired using a bottle of sealant. That worked much better than the patches that were applied in Nassau. They started to come off and I used goop to stick them back on but they really didn't get the job done as there were many tiny holes due to chafing. The sealant works like the stuff in fixaflat and under the right…
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Added by Jim Jackson on April 28, 2009 at 2:37pm —
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Don't you just hate having to give up something you love for something else you want? It's that same old Tony Robbins theory on instant versus delayed gratification. I don't mind delaying happiness as long as I don't have to give up something I like. Take the annual Melbourne Yacht Club's spring regatta. Held over two week-ends; one for small boats and one for big boats, I have attended this event probably 20 times. Because I want to turn my dream job of being a sailing journalist into a…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on April 25, 2009 at 3:36pm —
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Unlike a traditional hen party where ladies gather round to share their beauty secrets, host a baby shower or buy Tupperware, seven sailing lassies representing the MYC and the ECSA Women’s Racing Series cozied up at Sassaman’s place to embark on a virtual adventure to the ends of the earth. This wasn’t a competitive event, just a few hours of inspiring conversation spurred by the magnanimity of Gary Jobson’s polar expeditions.
The clarity of Jobson’s DVD was no less spectacular than…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on April 19, 2009 at 1:36pm —
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Here's a few words I thought I would throw out in hopes of getting ideas on how to use them in future writings. Send me your thoughts; you know like the days of old when you were in school and your teacher had you write your vocabulary words in a complete sentence. Use your imagination, be creative, funny. serious or delirious. Just relate them to sailing. Thanks, Marlene
Here are this week's words:
aperitifs
magnanimity
veroten
Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on April 18, 2009 at 3:01am —
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After small boat sailing and racing - Solings, Sunfish, Windsurfers & Hobie 16s, and wanting to be able to go cruising, I jumped into skippering a Hunter 33, with a tall rig for the sluggish summer winds of New York and Connecticut's Long Island Sound. This was with friends and BAWYK (Before and with young kids). Since the kids flew the nest, I'm starting my 4th season with Imogene Z, a classic bay sailer; 17' Oday 1982.
Imogene Z has new everything except the basics - hull, mast…
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Added by Suky on April 13, 2009 at 7:38pm —
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Early on in my school counseling career my supervisor, Libby Schmidt, warned me to ask busy people to help out when needed. She went on to explain that busy people have a knack for getting things done. I guess that is a complement, because just about the time my blackberry shows every moment of every day for the next six weeks is full, I couldn't seem to refuse a request for help.
One of my crew, Susan, wanted to buy a used 'total gym' fitness contraption. Because I have been using…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on April 12, 2009 at 8:15am —
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I have been posting a blog at http://americanvega.org/captainslog.html since before we left Hawaii, beginning in April of 2007 with my retirement and our preparations but I will post new entries here as well. The latest news is that after destroying my old laptop I now have a new and much more powerful computer that has made video editing easier and I have been working through the 200 odd hours of recordings we made in the preparation phase and during our trip so far. I added one this morning…
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Added by Orvil Newton on April 11, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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My plans were to sail the entire pacific coast of Costa Rica down to Golfito; I made it no further than my first port of call from Nicaragua - Coco in the gulf of Papagayo. I had to wait for a few days in Nicaragua before crossing the gulf of Papagayo due to high winds. I still managed to see 35 knots on the way across but Callisto embraced the conditions. She is a true blue water boat and really just starts to get her teeth into at 20 knots, at 35 knots I was trible reefed. II am a single…
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Added by PETER PAPPAS on April 11, 2009 at 1:59pm —
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Ok, so I bought the WaveRv Wi-Fi antenna and hooked it up. I was curious about adding a 5 ft length of cable and how to determine signal strength so I called the tech support # on the web site. First thing they wanted to know was which trailer park I was in! I told 'em I don't do the trailer park thing! I tried e-mailing for tech support a week ago but still no response.
Added by Bruce on April 6, 2009 at 3:23am —
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Those who remember the slight hesitation a millisecond before their first kiss should empathize with future anticipated endeavors. Unlike the long awaited kiss at the doorstep ending our first date, some things come to us for the first time without much fuss or memory. Does anyone remember their first spelling test? How about the very first picture they drew in kindergarten? Really now, does anyone remember the first time they walked three steps.
Then, there are those times that we…
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Added by Marlene A. Sassaman on April 4, 2009 at 7:39pm —
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