All Blog Posts (984)

In continuation of my alliterative titles....OH YEAH!!!

So, what's your favorite beverage (other than water) to take on cruise?  Obviously, one has to take water. Beer takes up a lot of room, and to keep it cold, one has to take a lot of ice.  Even with the good maxi coolers and using blocks of ice to cool down the cooler, 3 to 4 days is about the limit.  Of course, drinking should only be done when anchored and by responsible adults.  ***painfully obvious…

Here I am...congratulating myself about my very "clever" alliterative blog titles lately...YAY ME!!

Out to the Owl this weekend.  Will be preparing for a short cruise in two weeks.  Excited about that...BUT...

I have roaches!  And I don't leave any food onboard most weeks.  However, the owner before me lived on her too, and I would guess they are into their 200th generation or something. 

Yes, I know this is Florida....but I am going to be living out…

not mine, as i do my own work ....someone else does your refitting--you go to sea. it breaks..WHAT YE GONNA DO-- call someone while out there or do it yourself--or will ye make  the trip  return to where it was done and gripe about it not working??   seems to me many do the  latter bit--go back into the original port many miles backsliding from their destination to have original  do-er   redo the work. is ridiculous....why not do it yourself so it is done to your own…

I have four elongated oval shaped plastic windows that I want to replace. Having taken off a similar window from my Corsair I do not want to attempt this on my own. Finding an installer is akin to getting free quality work on any boat project. Realistically, I expect to pay a fair price. I just can't seem to find someone who will take on the job. As I will be venturing north from Cape Canaveral in 21 days I'm wondering if anyone exists up the coast. Maybe I'll come into a marina knowing a…

I have four elongated oval shaped plastic windows that I want to replace. Having taken off a similar window from my Corsair I do not want to attempt this on my own. Finding an installer is akin to getting free quality work on any boat project. Realistically, I expect to pay a fair price. I just can't seem to find someone who will take on the job. As I will be venturing north from Cape Canaveral in 21 days I'm wondering if anyone exists up the coast. Maybe I'll come into a marina knowing a…

I decided to finally take my African Grey parrot, Bogie, out to the Owl this past weekend.  I had been wanting to take him out there to acclimate him to the sailboat and the general atmosphere of the marina.  When I say atmosphere, I mean the openness of physical area and the friendly chats that often go on between neighbors.

I had not been able to handle him for a while as I needed to get his claws and wings clipped.  I have been a very bad parrot mommy because I kept…

you ever got off a free table in a marina? 

OHHHHHH...PICK ME!!  PICK ME!!!  PLEASE....PICK ME!!  [hand up in air]

One of the neatest things I ever found were two long out of print John D. McDonald books, neither of which I had read or even heard about.  A excellent and most unexpected find which are the best kind, of course.

A friend of mine, Brian, found a toaster oven on the "free" table and uses it to this day on his sailboat.  He said THAT…

Arriving at the boat about 2000 hours on Thursday, I unlocked the companion way hatch, climbed down the ladder and using a LED light on my keychain to see what I was doing, switched on the cabin lights, refrigerator, water pump, charger, and AC outlets.  Then back up the ladder to bring down my weekend bag and lap top.  A quick look around the boat to satisfy myself that everything was in order only took a moment.  I don’t think I’m alone in that I worry every time I leave that something…

I love summer.  Let me repeat that:  I LOVE summer!!!  It is my favorite time of year, even though it's not the best sailing weather here in the BEST SAILING STATE IN THE US!!!  Wind is generally light.  Yes, it's like you are being ironed when walking outside....but on the water it's always so much better.  YEAH! 

So, I am reading Tom Sawyer for about the umpteeth time this week.  What a fabulously great summer book!  Mark Twain was a GREAT writer, and Tom…

Ahoy there guys and gals,

With 28 days until cast off I need the chart numbers for Bermuda from Florida, the Cheasapeake, and New York Harbor.

Charts that would cover from Florida to New York would be great. I have tried to order charts online but getting a clear view of what is shown on my little lap top screen is difficult. I could drive to Blue Water Books in Ft. Lauderdale at the cost of $100 just for gas (not to mention a 6 hour round trip drive). So, I'd rather not take…

The United States Coast Guard in response to the recent deaths at the Farralone Islands, have decided to suspend Offshore racing for a period of 30 days while they review the entire process of Offshore Racing from the Northern California area.

Sailors playing volleyball! Who'd a Thunk? So, here I am practicing sporadic unplanned movements once, twice and sometimes three times a week with a group of folks belonging to a recreational meet up. Years ago I attended a beach volleyball clinic and though I enjoyed the 4 hour instruction I was too busy surfing and sailing to get serious about ball whacking. Previous to that I tried a more serious team approach in college but my skills kept me on the bench during the first two games so…

Yeah, I did it. I took some of the cash from the sale of the Sabre, and bought another boat. A Columbia 8.7. Almost the same exact boat that I sail now. Just two years younger. The owner died, his son didn't have the wherewithal to maintain it. The sails blew off into the Poquoson River, and the boat broke free of her dock lines. She ended up across the creek, partially…

Gee, nothing like suffering from writer's block for a while....WHEW!!!  So, I am going to do better.  I promise to post more often, if only to myself...***snort***

Am contemplating moving out to the Owl in July permanently.  I am now living on her on the weekends, and it has been most challenging but do-able.  I enjoy being able to…

Big time offshore shakedown, 24 hour run westerly, tacking out of the gate, with an awsome headwind as usual.  Great trip, a little quezieness on board, cold and foggy throughout the night so the night watches froze.  We picked up a crab pot after firing the engine in the middle of the night, when we had zero wind, zero visibility and was time to start east.  Discovered crab pots can present and immediate emergency situation, crew performed admirably.  So far damage appears to be the…

Re-print from an upcoming newsletter  of the East Coast Sailing Association

So here we are again still moving forward to nprepare for the Pacific Cup, Sunday the 15th Cody and I attended Lee Chesneau's intense weather seminar at the Encinal Yacht Club, it was about 10 hours of very intense surface weather as well as the use of the 500Mb chart to help predict the surface weather and guess where the wind will be.  It was an amazing class and I learned an enormous amount.

Also the life raft has shipped from WQinslow in Florida and should be here in the…

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sassea/

Hm, while being distracted by the myriad of websites flashing before my eyes, I found SAILBLOG. So, I thought, why not have two separate blogs. Sure I can post the same information on both; "redundancy you say?" Permy haps, but my #1 sailing fan tells me I have to get my story told. Besides, recovering from an emotional breakdown last night, I had to take the day off of…

During my mom's final days she reminded me to be thankful I was healthy enough to go to work everyday. If it weren't for my insistence on the way I lived my life, i might have been in a better position to sacrifice my measley salary and  spend more time reading her silly stories, holding her hand, and agreeing to disagree. Mom knew, though, that for me work was my salvation. It wasn't always the money as I asserted. We both knew that. There were just some issues we chose to let…