Featured Blog Posts (255)

No pics to post yet, but just finished an awesome trip from Mobile bay to Port St. Josehp FL. what a trip. did an over night pasage there, and one on the way back.  It was great weather, lil warm, but thats part of it.  I am so stoked, want to go for another open water passage.  I took the 4-7 watch so I could see the sun rise, ;) I got to see the sunset as well being the skipper I was up at all hours checking things, Gosh I love this sailing on open water, We out ran a storm first passage…

Oh dear, with this dern cold lingering another day my feet are awful chilly. Is it because of the reality of how incapacatated one becomes when hit with flu like symptoms. Just like seasickness that quesy stomach, accompanied with a weird headache and inability to keep food or drink flowing through the digestive tract took control of me yesterday. I was able to function, albiet laborously with the cold symptoms. When my stomach got quesy though, my ability to focus on reading, watching tv or…

Sunday, May 22, Great Guana Cay, Bahamas:  Borrowed dingy plays key role in daring rescue. 

Just three days into an island-hopping vacation in the Bahamas, the crew of the Rhapsody in Blue was launched into an unexpected adventure that could only have been attempted using the dingy borrowed from North Carolina residents Steve and Janet Clayton.

Rhapsody obtained the dingy from its caretaker – the Big Bamboo – at Hope Town on Saturday for convenience in transporting the…

Here we are starting Hurricane season 2011.  It's generally fairly quiet at the beginning at the season so while everyone has their hurricane kit prepared, it isn't too pressing.  YET.  (operative word there)

Sailed out near Cocoa in the intercoastal this past Sunday.  Winds picked up closer to noon with some excellent sailing just under the jib.  YEAH.  Why is it that sandwiches always taste so much better on the water?  Yummy. 

I have been practicing single…

As part of our plans to set up for blue water cruising we have a few planned changes we wish to make (over time) to the power around the boat. One of the first things was to get an inverter and later we will supplement the battery capacity with a third domestic battery and some wind and solar generation.

Its not a hard modification to do, but it is something you have to take care with as one side is shore power voltage (240V for us) and the other is huge cables (70 sq mm) onto big…

Overeating junk food, while the vegetables go to waste. My fitness program has disappeared, and my energy level is again very low. I want to get away from drinking coffee, but it seems to be the only known beverage to keep me awake during those repeatitive IEP meetings I frequently have to attend in order to hopefully afford the voyage of a lifetime.. My love for SPRAY has dwindled. She needs a good polish and buffing. I'm too lazy to figure out how to work the electric buffer; don't want to…

If you happen to be crossing to the Abacos/  Bahamas  be careful on where you pick up Fuel.  Even the most respected places have BAD Fuel.  Why?  if they just received a delivery 2 or 3 hours before you got there and your one of the first one or two boats to get fuel,,,,, then you get the mess that was stirred up in the bottom if their tanks.  ASK..they will tell you and better yet;  wait for a Big Sport Fish to fill up then get your fuel.  If you cross and check in at Old Bahama Bay...... …

Well, it's that time of the year we all look forward to. Friday we hauled S/V Anna Lynn, washed,sanded, on Saturday the first coat of bottom paint was applied, and today Sunday the second coat of bottom paint, touch-up to the boot stripe, and installed the zincs before being lifted into the travel lift. Tomorrow at 0730 it goes back into the water, turrns out to be a fast and furious four days. There is nothing like sailing on a boat after a new coat of paint, how it slides through the…

Jeepers Creepers where did all this dirt and grime come from, not to mention leaves and trees and pollen, and weeds, and dirt, and boat scum? Yuk, I've spent more time cleaning this past week and I still have a long way to go. It all started when a friend agreed to help with yard work for a nominal fee. Three of us spent 8 hours raking, trimming, and carrying debri to the curb on a beautifully sunny day. I was so determined to get the yard clean I failed to take water breaks and by Monday…

Spent the weekend bringing the teak back to that ‘new’ look. Used products from a company called Onward Trading who supplied the active cleaner and neutraliser (stage one and two) and a coloured sealant from Semco.

Took a lot longer than I thought it would given that we don’t have a full teak deck, just the cockpit, toe rail and coach roof.

We like the golden honey colour while others like the aged silver look however the ‘teak oil’ we used last year must have contained linseed…

Boy, my mood has been changing like I'm racing on a light air, shifty course. First I am ecstatic with our ladies' team's performance this past Saturday. The first time on a different boat and we did awesome. Finally, after many, many days on the water, they are efficient with their jobs. It was great feeling to hear all the kudos from fellow sailors.

Second, I am depressed and crying again because when I crawl into bed there is no one to wake up and tell about my adventure. Remember,…

Wind on the intercoastal yesterday was AWESOME!!! 

Making speed up to 6 knots in the Owl, a great sail was had by all.  Wind shifted in the afternoon, and we sailed north back to the marina at exhilerating speed!!  It was one of those days that make you glad to be alive...no problems, just wind and sails and friends and later, adult beverages.  Can't forget those!  It was a spectacular day.

Saw lots of dolphins, diving ducks, along with a few pelicans.  It is…

     I took the day off yesterday to attend a concert in Houston that got cancelled so I decided to spend the day in my favorite hangout spot- Kemah, TX.  The weather was sunny and the temperature climbed into the 60’s by lunch.  I had been considering shopping for a new pair of boat shoes now that the 2011 sailing season is underway.  My current pair have seen better days, and I thought early spring might be the best time to upgrade to something I could actually be seen in a public…

      Remember when you were a little kid and there was something so intriguing it dared you to break house rules to keep going?  And when mom said “no”, that lack of permission made you want it even more.  Then despite numerous pleadings of “oh mom, just one more time!”, your whining got you nothing.

     My attempts to barter with Mother Nature over the past few months for good sailing weather, just like when I tried to persuade mom to let me stay outside and play in the dead of…

in the BEST sailing stae in the US...FLORIDA!!!  And hasn't the weather been great?  YEAH!!  There is a reason that we endure hurricane season in this state and NOW is one of the main ones! 

I hope everyone is having a great year, and sailing as much as possible.  I have had some engine problems (fuel filters had to be replaced) but…

Yet, I act as if researching names of folks I know on facebook and other links will bring me closer to my circumnavigation. It must be a need to connect with those I already know. Afterall I had a great day looking at a 42 foot trimaran and no one to share my experience with. Well, Sammy, my dog, is here. After a few tosses of her plastic, squeezey, shrieky dog bone, she curled up in her little bed. Then, there's Smokey the Bear, Danny's 54 year old snuggly who now shares my bed. He's a good…

So, your feet got cold. Mine got cold too on Christmas Day while anchored at Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno, Florida.

But this week-end the Sassy Sailors from S3 (as in S cubed), did a 24 hour round trip sail from Palm Bay to Vero Beach. The weather was near perfect - our first night's anchorage just north of Sebastian was delightful, the calm wind shifted ever so gently a full 360 degrees by first light which made the hourly anchor checks interesting. After a casual wake up and sail…

I want to purchase a radar system for my Beneteau 361. I already have a very reliable Navman 5500 Chartplotter, GPS system that I'm happy with, however I know nothing about radar or what exactly I need.  I don't think the Navman has radar capability, so I need a receiver and dome that just handles radar.  Should I consider a second backup chartplottrer GPS with a new radar system that I purchase?  I'm interested in doing this in the most cost effective manner possible, so I don't know if…

December 11, 2010.



So when was the last time you saw someone perform an incredibly romantic act and you inadvertently crushed the moment? Let me start from the beginning….



There’s at least 40 cruising boats in the immediate area waiting for this forecast cold front to pass through. The weather is once again warm so why not have a little fun while we’re waiting.



Monument Island is a couple of hundred yards away so a cocktail hour was planned for this afternoon for…