Dinner?

But seriously, seas are pretty calm. East winds diminishing. I'm a little farther out than ever before. No one else in sight. I'll be pretty content to bob around out in the North Atlantic tonight.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Motored up to Port Canaveral in the expectation that the winds will shift to an easterly and (hopefully) southerly direction tomorrow. I went through the Barge Canal bridge. The bridge tender had no complaints about my radio. In fact, I think my radio may be too strong now. I think I had two bridge tenders respond to my initial contact.

From my experience, the antenna on a radio is just as important as the radio itself. Maybe more so. I had the idea that an antenna was just a piece of wire that you plug into the radio, but apparently there is more to it than that. In fact, I'm thinking that if you are on a budget, more money should be allocated to the antenna.

I bought a $40 rail mounted antenna in Melbourne. Really on a sailboat, the antenna should be atop the mast. But I've only been up the mast in a bosun's chair once before, and it scared the bejesus out of me. As I get older, I have a little more fear of such things. The nice thing with the stability of a catamaran is that when you go up the mast, there is less rocking of the boat. The bad thing is if you were to fall, there is a lot more deck to fall on.

I wasn't really surprised by the easy contact with the bridge. I've been doing radio checks daily, and instantly have gotten a "loud and clear" from SeaTow (I think in Port Canaveral).

Captain Crankypants

Amy took this photo while aboard. I think I was just posing then, but it accurately reflects my present mood. I have a bit of a cold and am feeling a little under the weather.

I'm going to power through it. The weather looks a lot nicer this week for some distance making sails north:

WEDNESDAY
EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET. A LIGHT
CHOP ON THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT
EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET.
MOSTLY SMOOTH ON THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS.

THURSDAY
EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET. A LIGHT
CHOP ON THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS.

THURSDAY NIGHT
SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET.
MOSTLY SMOOTH ON THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS.

FRIDAY
EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 4 FEET. A LIGHT
CHOP ON THE INTRACOASTAL WATERS.

FRIDAY NIGHT
SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 4 FEET.

SATURDAY
SOUTHEAST WINDS 5 KNOTS BECOMING EAST 5 TO 10 KNOTS
IN THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 3 TO 4 FEET.

SATURDAY NIGHT
EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET.

SUNDAY
EAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET. SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

The New Cool

Amy bought me a thermoelectric cooler as an early birthday present. I saw a couple for sale in a Target a little farther north. We went to the Target in Cocoa Beach, but the only coolers they had ran on AC current. This seems a little pointless to me. If you have unlimited AC current, you probably should just run a regular refrigerator. They're a lot more efficient under those conditions.

I was bummed, but we went to Walmart, and they had a couple 12 volt DC coolers to choose from. I could go on a tangent here about how Walmart has upped it's game, and Target seems to be slacking, but I'll curtail that. Let's just say that I've visited a bunch of both stores on my trip south and I'm impressed with Walmart's newer stores.

If you're interested in how a thermoelectric cooler works, here's a Wikipedia link. Basically, it's a solid state device which when powered, cools on one side and heats on the other. I'm thinking that it is the same type of device which Grampa said powers outer planet space missions. I imagine that the degrading Plutonium on the spaceship heats the device and causes electricity to flow. I think it's the same device, but used in reverse. But I'm sure Grampa can clarify that.

This is one of the cool things I've learned from my limited engineering experience. A lot of devices work backward or forward. A generator is just a motor in reverse. A microphone is just an amplifier in reverse. You can take your ipod earbuds, plug them into your computer microphone jack and use them as a microphone. The sound quality won't be great. Probably because of design to make them work best as an amplifier. But they will work.

But anyway, so far I've been powering my new refrigerator only while I have the generator running. Cooling the stuff inside even for an hour or so makes a big difference over having no refrigeration at all. But I'm looking to get a solar panel to dedicate to the cooler.

Here's a photo of a radio shack thermoelectric device connected to some old solar cells I have aboard. If you place your fingers on it, you can feel one side cold, the other hot.

New Coke

Is Windows Vista the worst piece of crap ever?

To the Lighthouse

I left Baltimore the same time and from the same marina that Leon and Kim did. I really thought that if one of our boats didn't make it to the Bahamas, it would be theirs. They had bought their boat, hauled it out of the water, and done an extensive refit. They had only very recently put the boat in the water before setting out down the ICW. In my mind, that spelled trouble. I thought it would have been better to have spent more time sailing the boat before setting out on a long cruise.

Things break on a sailboat, no matter how new it is, or how well prepared it is. It's just the nature of the beast. I think it's best to do some sea trials before heading out. Banging about the Chesapeake is a much better place to learn what is going to break, and the weaknesses of a boat, than miles from home on the ICW, or out on the ocean.

But enough of my yammering. They made it to the Bahamas. I didn't. And we all know my story. Leon and Kim have been sending out periodic emails about their status. I got one today, and asked permission to post a couple of their emails.

2/25/08

Greetings everyone,

The sun is setting off to port, a 10knot breeze from the NW drying our hair from an afternoon swim in warm crystal clear turquoise water. There's a few people from other boats having sundowners under the palms on the small white sand beach a couple of hundred yards away. And I'm hoping something bites the chicken fat I put on the hook hanging off the stern.

WE FINALLY MADE IT! Made it to the kind of place we've been dreaming of since we left Gregg Neck Boatyard some 4 months ago. The perpetual winter we thought we were in has turned into a beautiful summer! Per our last note, we did indeed leave Ft Pierce around 10pm on 2/15. We had a relatively pleasant crossing despite the Gulf Stream rolling us around a bit. We mostly motored through the night, but a welcome sunrise found us raising all sail and we arrived on the shallows of the Little Bahama Bank around noon, even almost exactly where we planned! The Bank is about 50 mles of open water, so we had to anchor for the night with no land in sight and an uncomfortable roll. But nothing could dampen our spirits after greetings by pods of dolphin in water the colors of which we had never seen nor imagined.

A couple of days sailing found us off Foxtown, where the anchor holding wasn't great, but there was a cell phone tower! Families were informed of our safe passage thanks to BaTelCo who will of course be getting their $2/minute. The next day we pulled into a slip at the Spanish Cay Marina, where we spent the night after checking in with Customs/Immigration and having a delicious (and expensive) meal prepared for us by Spanish Cay Richard, the Dockhand/Desk Clerk/Bartender/Chef, but mainly Chef. We awoke to a strange situation the next morning, one we had yet to experience the whole trip... we had nowhere to go. Finally, we didn't have to "make southing", "beat the cold", "get to the anchorage before dark", or lastly "check in". All we had to do was raise our Bahamas courtesy flag along with the sails and look for a nice place to put the hook down and cook some din-din.

We did find a very nice place, a little bay between Manjack and Crab Cays. Besides a short jaunt across the Sea of Abaco to Cooperstown, we've been anchored here most of the time. We've been resting up with lots of reading and naps, interspersed with dinghy expeditions up magrove lined creeks, explorations of the coral lined Atlantic beaches, and hunting for sea creatures for the dinner plate. Only a Spanish Mackerel caught so far, but it was gooood; tomorrow we might try to spear a lobster or three.

It looks like we'll be leaving here tomorrow, fresh winds coming in ahead of a strong cold front won't be good for this anchorage, but we may be back. Our only appointment on the calendar is to greet Brenda Beck in a couple weeks at Marsh Harbour. We all anxiously await her arrival when she'll finally get some payback on all those dues she paid in the Cold North a couple months ago! Otherwise, we'll meander our way south, probably to Eleuthera and the Exumas, returning to the States sometime in May or June.

Hopefully, we'll find some more internet access along the way. I'm getting this email out to you as soon as I could, but we were quite a while getting to civilization and a little longer figuring out how to "enable" the computer's wireless network card (damned Bill Gates!). I've got a great wireless signal here, broadcasted from the island to the anchorage by the very friendly and inviting couple (the sign on their dock says "Yes Trespassing") who have settled on it after sailing many a year. We were invited to and accepted a tour of the island via jungle paths and soft sand beaches, complete with a hurricane-hole anchorage up the creek, chicken-coop, equipment sheds, hydroponic vegetables, and beautiful landscaping to boot. All that AND free internet access to all visiting boaters! I think we'll be back.
Until next time...

Kim and Leon


3/23/08

Greetings,

With cool rain tinkling on deck and low clouds scudding overhead, it almost feels like spring here in the Abacos on this Easter morning. We hope this note finds you all thawing out from what we hear was a relatively mild winter overall in the Northeast. Generally, it seems to be getting a slight bit hotter and muggier down here, and we start to think about our return trip north bound towards home.

We've enjoyed our time in the Bahamas... though, compared to snow, ice, frigid winds, slick roads and chopping firewood, how could we not? We will miss the warm breezes, clear water of a dozen shades of blue, white sand beaches and tradewind clouds over the sunset. However, we will indeed be very glad to get back to the "good, old U.S. of A." Although it may have a slight bit to do with missing family and friends, Kim is particulary surprised at how much she misses her home country. She dreams of friendly neighbors... a nice, clean and cheap Walmart... filling the water tanks for free with GOOD water... and showers! Oh, showers!!! Who knew we would miss Walmart, of all things?

And so, it must be time to move on as wanderlust pales our current surroundings and the hills over the horizon turn greener. We hope to leave in the next few weeks bound for Florida, back across the Banks and into the Gulf Stream which will carry us the right way this time. Conditions (seas, wind AND crew) will determine how far north we go, but we have a hankering to get back to St. Augustine for Harry's Bread Pudding (what do you think, Katie?). Then, we'll meander north off or in the coast. We're sure there's a few places along the ICW we'd like to see... this time in summer rather than winter weather.

You should find us in the Chesapeake sometime in May, maybe June. Gypsy will stay there for the summer and maybe winter. Our "cruising kitty" needs some replenishment, so we'll get some work for the summer and start on the incredible list of boat-jobs I've developed. Depending on how the summer goes, we may then stay the winter in PA, helping out with the leaf-collection this fall at the Carlile homestead. Kim is smiling nearly ear-to-ear thinking of holidays at home!

Considering the lack of reliable internet service, the next time you hear from us, we should be in Florida. Wish us a safe journey, and we'll see you all soon...

Leon and Kim



----- Original Message -----
From: Scott
To: Gypsy
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 12:07 PM
Subject: Re:

Thanks Kim and Leon! And happy Easter. I'll look forward to meeting up with you guys on the way north.

Would you mind if I posted an excerpt from your last two email updates on the blog? I'm really jealous that you made it to the Bahamas.


----- Original Message -----
From: Gypsy
To: Scott
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 12:34 PM
Subject: Re:

No problem... please include as much as you like. By the way, your boat would be ideal for the Abacos. I don't know how many times I said I'd charter a catamaran if I were visiting here on vacation. You see, there aren't many good anchorages with all around protection. Of the handful there are, several are guarded by shallow (and sometimes hard) bars, which us deep-drafters couldn't get past. The few that are available are thus VERY crowded. With your shallow draft, you could get into many that most couldn't and even in the crowded ones, you could anchor in the shallow perimeters which are usually empty. Otherwise, sailing here is very safe. I think it's safer than the Chesapeake. It is basically an inland sea, with Great Abaco Island on one side and the outlying Cays and reefs on the other. The winds follow a very predictable pattern, and all you have to do is pay attention to when the cold fronts are passing over and bringing in the big blows.

Of course, you do have cross the Gulf Stream to get here, and we were thankful for that heavy, deep keel when things got a little bumpy. But, if you choose the weather right, you can have a pretty easy sail across in less than a day, with conditions much milder than the worst you've seen on the Bay. And so many people go across that finding another boat or two to travel with is no problem.

Just a few bits to chew on until next winter!

Leon

Random Indian River Pictures

Picking up Buffy in Melbourne:

Puffer fish on the line:

Pelicans and fisherman:

Fast trimaran:

Scott drives the boat:

Buffy drives the boat:


Buffy made it home safe and sound, if a little worse for wear. She only took one dose of seasickness medicine while on the boat, but she told me she took another today in NYC. Seems the ground won't stop swaying under her feet (and she's fighting a cold she picked up on the airplane).

The ground swaying is the same thing Fred complained about after his week aboard. I think it's caused by people trying to compensate for the movement of the boat while aboard. Maybe it's some muscle memory of the compensation. Just a theory. I don't have this problem. I think it dissipates after time aboard.

So much for returning Buffy home tanned and rested.

Only Losers Ride the Bus

We rode the bus out to Cocoa Beach today (as we did earlier in the week). Buffy had reserved a rental car in Cocoa Beach for us to do some errands, and for her to drive to the airport tomorrow. It was an economical choice, seeing as how the cab ride from the airport cost $17, and a rental car cost $36. The rental car turned out to be a school bus orange Mustang in which she chauffeured me to the laundromat, Target and Walmart. My clothes are clean, my larder stocked with non-perishables and my tackle box stocked with lures. She also bought me an early birthday present of a Coleman thermoelectric cooler.

We celebrated our successful shopping expedition with an early dinner at Bunky's Raw Bar. I had a tuna sandwich and Buffy had a blackened Mahi-mahi. The food was good, but not nearly as good as the meal I had at JJ Grills when I first came into Port Canaveral. The fish sandwich I had at Grills was flaky, pink in the middle and perfectly seared. I'd guess the fish was fresh. The tuna at Bunky's was cooked somewhat rare, and was probably a frozen piece of fish. Still good, just not memorable.

Buffy says she doesn't like driving the Mustang. But I don't think there's anything hotter than a chick driving a Mustang. Except maybe a chick sailing a catamaran. Vroom, vroom.

The Medium is the Message

I've taken the posts from last year and put them in pdf form.

October Posts
November Posts
December Posts

I've also added them to a "Blog PDF" sidebar which you will see if you scroll down. I think the pdfs are a little more readable than clicking through the blog, if you want to read the blog as a whole. The posts are in chronological order, oldest first, instead of reverse order, newest first. Also, the comments are displayed with the posts, so that you don't have to click through to see them.

The links in the pdfs work, so that if you click on them, you will be taken to the picture, comment section, blog post or wherever in the blog. I left the "post a comment" links in the pdfs. If you comment on an old post, it will be added to the blog, but not the pdf. The pdfs are static. However, I do get email notification when a comment has been posted, so I will read your comment.

The pdfs are a first step towards a book. I have no doubt that the blog will become a book, even if it's only a vanity published book. With the internet it's just become too easy and cheap to publish your own book. So now I've got last year's posts in word processing files and can start to work with them. I still need to work on collecting this year's posts. It's a bit of a tedious process.

Cooking with Cap'n Scott, Guest Edition

This week's cooking column is guest-written by First Mate Buffy.

As the Cap'n mentioned, this week's trip is a trial visit for me to test my boat-living skills. I am considering spending a good part of the summer living aboard. One of the few reservations I have left about this is the cooking-and-eating situation.

Over the past few months, I've been trying to watch what I eat for health reasons. I've forsaken take-out and prepared foods almost entirely, and have been doing more cooking at home with fresh vegetables and meats. I've been eating pretty well and learning new recipes. This week on the boat has thrown me off the wagon almost completely. I told Scott that I wasn't sure whether I was more opposed to the Krill or the ramen in the Krill and Ramen meal.

Here's the challenge. Without refrigeration, most of our food is coming from cans and boxes. Add the humidity, and even onions don't last long. And our cooking appliances are one propane grill and two propane burners, and it's tough to get the heat very high on them. No working oven. A very limited amount of space = limited supply of staples also.


These have been our top meals this week:

Spaghetti with sauce from a jar, with roasted red peppers (also from a jar) - a pic of this was on a previous post.
Cheddar sausages with onions and peppers
Steamed clams (picked up from a seafood shack within kayaking distance from our anchorage today)
Scott's famous egg sandwich
Grilled brats with a side salad of black beans, canned tomatoes and avocado.

It hasn't been too bad and I think it will be better this summer. We're going to try to get Scott a 12-volt fridge (an early birthday present) while I have the rental car tomorrow, which will help somewhat. I think I also need to do a little more research on stove top meals, good recipes using non-perishable ingredients, and figuring out a stretch of menus that use the same (short) list of ingredients. If anyone has a reference for a good "sailboat" cookbook, let me know.

Once I get home, I'm not eating cold cuts with processed cheese on white bread again for a very long time.

Even the Best-Laid Plans...

(Buffy speaks)

Sometimes work better than they're supposed to. We had been thinking that we wanted to spend at least a couple of days in Cocoa, and decided on Sunday night that we would head up there and hang out for the rest of the week. I'll try to get a rental car on Thursday so we can run some errands and I can drive myself back to Melbourne on Friday.

We left our anchorage on Monday morning and began what would be a (mostly) charmed day. The winds were strong, but not too strong, and in the perfect direction. We sailed, no motor, sometimes going as fast as 7-8 miles per hour. While we were on the way, a couple on a motorboat waved at us as they passed. It took us a couple of hours to get almost all the way there, and find an anchorage near the Cocoa Village dock. I was pretty excited to go ashore, since I hadn't really been off the boat in a couple of days and I enjoyed the chance to walk around town.

When we were ready to go back to the boat, we prepared for what would be an onerous process. Scott was going to kayak back to the boat, weigh anchor and bring the boat over to pick me up on the dock. As we were walking back to the dinghy dock, the couple that had waved at us earlier were coming up from their dinghy and introduced themselves. They have a dinghy that is almost real-boat-sized, and they offered to give us both (and the kayak) a ride back to the boat, saving us a lot of trouble and time.

They came back later and picked us up to hang out on their boat to watch the sunset. Our luck almost turned here, when Scott thought I was fully aboard the dinghy and pushed off from our boat. I came within a hair of falling into the water. We had a nice evening on their boat, which was very posh - like a floating condo. Then they dropped us back on our boat, and as they were pulling away, Scott yelled, realizing he had just left his cooler on their dinghy. They circled back and held the cooler for him to grab. He reached out, grabbed it, lost his footing and went overboard, cooler and all. And in even worse luck, I didn't have my camera handy.

Still it's been a pretty smooth trip for me so far. I've only touched one tablet of Dramamine, and even though we've had a lot of chop for the last day or so, I'm adjusting nicely.

(The pic that I think Scott plans to attach to this post is of me steering on our way up the ICW, trying to avoid crab pots.)

Buffy Broke my Pole...

But she helped fix my vhf. So I think her karma is in balance.

Bridge tenders recently have complained that my radio breaks up and that they can't hear me when I try to contact them. I hear them and a lot of other radio traffic fine. But the fact that multiple tenders complained, pointed to a larger safety issue.

Yah, I have a cell phone aboard. And I've had almost constant internet access on my trip. But the main means of communication with other boaters is through a vhf radio. The Coast Guard broadcasts alerts, you can call for assistance from towboat US, hail a marina or bridge, check the weather, or just talk to your buddy in another boat to arrange plans for anchoring.

And of course, if the s*** hits the fan, you can call for help. But obviously, if a bridge tender a few hundred yards away couldn't hear me asking for an opening, no one was ever going to hear me calling Mayday out in the ocean.

I bought a new antenna and with Buffy's help installed it. When I turned on the radio, it was like having the wax removed from my ears. It was the weekend, and the airwaves were filled with chatter, most of which I hadn't heard before. I asked for a radio check and the reply was instant from towboat US.

I feel a lot safer, and I don't think the bridge tenders will be complaining about me anymore.

Buffy only lost a bolt from the pole. We'll find a replacement tomorrow. It won't look good as new, but it'll add character to my pole.

Eat the Krill

The definitive krill recipe resource? I'll ask the dolphins.

From Krillco:
The best source for krill recipes is the "Martha Stewart Cooks with Krill" episode of her television cooking show. Martha prepares krillcakes, chilled krill cocktail, roast krill in puff pastry, krill flambé, and is midway through preparing krill sushi when she is eaten by an X/19 Giant Mutant Krill.

From EatingAsia:
Krill - It's Not Just For Whales Anymore

From ChowHound:
Krill are tiny, shrimplike creatures ... that swarm in the Antarctic south of Tierra del Fuego. In other words, whale food."It is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which repair aging cells,"

Well, that could be true. I've never seen a wrinkled whale.

San Fran ChowHound:
Should the desire hit you, Eon Cafe on Hayward serves krill ... in almost everything ... cookies, clam chowder, sushi, tuna salad.

Krill Recipes:
Chili Sauce Stew with Krill Meatballs
Krill "Shaomai" - Chinese-style Steamed Dumplings
Krill Egg Rolls
Krill Canneloni


My only concern about eating krill scraped from a boat is that a lot of boat hulls are painted with a toxic paint meant to prevent barnacle and algae growth. Probably little, if any of such paint exists on my previously neglected boat. I'll be sure to let you know if and when I build up the courage for a Ramen and Krill meal. Any suggestions for a wine pairing? Maybe a nice Chianti?

Pic is what we had for dinner last night instead of Ramen with Krill. Buffy cooked up some fettucini, mixed in a bottle of Ragu, and added some sliced roasted red peppers.

(Thanks Rose)

Kill the Krill

I scraped the hulls a couple weeks ago when I ran aground, but I must not have done a thorough job. At the very least, I wasn't able to do the insides of the hulls then. When the wind turned against us today, we anchored and I jumped in the water to scrape the hulls. They were covered in algae like gunk. The warm water here must also encourage fast growth. It was very satisfying to see the large hunks of gunk floating off the hulls as I scraped away.

When I came aboard I found that I was covered in krill. It had felt like something was nibbling on me while I was in the water. Kind of like ants were crawling on me.

I suggested that we collect them and boil them with some ramen, but Buffy vetoed that idea. Too bad, it would have made a delicious and nutritious meal.

Spring Break

My Next Boat?

Thanks Rose.

Biker Babe Buffy

Buffy made her connecting flight in Atlanta, but her luggage didn't. Here she is in the Biker Babe t-shirt I bought her in Daytona. Of course, cheap-ass sob that I am, the year on the t-shirt is 2007. I don't think you or she would have noticed, if I hadn't pointed it out.

Shakedown

Buffy's due aboard tomorrow. I hope she enjoys Spring Break on the boat. This will be her first experience cruising. I took her out overnight in the Chesapeake last summer, and she spent a month aboard at a marina in January. Spending a week aboard without a hot shower and a host of other inconveniences will be a lot different.

The Indian River is an almost ideal location for an introduction to cruising. There's little tide to deal with, and I've yet to encounter any tugboats or commercial vessels to steer clear of. Yesterday, when I was sailing down from Titusville, a stiff breeze kicked up which carried us quickly down to Melbourne. If I'd been on the ocean, the wind would have kicked up some seas. But with the shore close, the most the waves built were a light chop.

Fred said that after his week aboard it took two days at home before the ground stopped swaying under his feet. Hopefully, Buffy won't have the same feeling. I want her to return to work tanned and rested.

I consider this a "shakedown cruise" for Buffy. She's thinking of sailing with me from the Chesapeake to Martha's Vineyard this summer. If this week goes well, maybe she'll even consider spending a larger chunk of the summer aboard.

Hopefully this week, the worst that will happen is that we'll run aground, snag a crab pot or two and get jostled by some motorboat wakes. That would be pretty much par for a week aboard sailing in my usual cruising grounds on the Chesapeake.

Master Baiter

Spanish Mackerel and as yet unidentified fish caught today. Mackerel was caught while cruising at about four knots in the channel. Didn't really know he was on the line until I reeled him in.

Other fish caught while cruising slowly through the bridge by Cocoa Village.


Bon Appetit

Banana Puddin'

I can't get the song Banana Pudding by Southern Culture on the Skids out of my head. Except in my head it goes "Banana River, Banana River". This makes even less sense considering that I'm no longer in the Banana River. I'm on the Indian River. Oh well.

Looks like we've got NW winds 10 knots. Perfect weather for a 40 mile sail down the Indian River to Melbourne. I don't need to be there until Friday to pick up Bikini Boat Babe Buffy, so I don't feel compelled to do the whole thing today. But we'll do a big chunk of it. I'll turn on the gps and boatcam so you can come along.

That was Quick

Had a beautiful sail from Cocoa Village to Titusville yesterday. At first, I put the sails up just for form while motoring along. The angle of the wind appeared too tight to get much momentum. I was wrong. Turned off the engine and sailed the whole way north in the channel.

Once past the NASA Causeway bridge, we started beating east against the wind. I wanted to get closer to the launch site. And besides, the weather was just perfect for an afternoon sail. I was in no hurry to get anywhere. The conditions reminded me of the Chesapeake Bay and the boat pretty much sailed itself.

I've heard reports that Geminis will sail as little as 35 degrees off the wind. Mine won't. It's closer to 75 degrees when forward speed falls off drastically on Split Decision. If I take my hand off the wheel and let her sail herself, she wants to go pretty much perpendicular to the wind with sails close hauled.

I anchored near some other boats and went to bed.

I got a call just before 2 am, and another soon after. Thanks again Grampa and Fred for the wake-up calls. Fired up the computer and boatcam, and waited. At 2:28 am there was a bright light and the Shuttle took off. It was eerily quiet as the Shuttle rose. It soon disappeared into the low clouds, and that's when the sound hit. The roar probably lasted longer than the view of the Shuttle, but it was all over in well less than a minute. It was disappointing how quickly it was over, but still very impressive.

Grampa says he was able to see the launch on the boatcam. Unfortunately, I screwed up the boatcam settings, so I don't have any saved images. And I didn't have time to snap a picture, it was over so quick. The image is one I stole from the NASA website.

Update: Grampa again saves the day, and the image from the boatcam.

T-minus 8 hours and Counting

In position for liftoff. Had a great sail today. The Indian River reminds of the Chesapeake a little. Just an easy place to sail.

Here's a post that Grampa sent me about a month ago. I was saving it for the launch. Some of the info is redundant to his last post, but there's lots of new stuff.

Scott was about a little over 1 year old when Apollo 11, the first NASA mission to land on the moon was scheduled to launch in 1969. I was an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Florida, and had been interested in space science and exploration ever since I was in high school (Sputnik was launched when I was a sophomore in college). Being so close to Cape Canaveral, my thought was that Scott would kill me later if he learned he was so close to such an historical moment and did not get the chance to see it (on reflection, my own interests surely were a factor, but his reactions are a definite part of my recollections). We chartered a tour that included lunch and a viewing site that was about 20 miles from the launch pad, and included flights to and from Gainesville. While I am pretty sure that Scott doesn’t remember, the ground shook, the noise was tremendous, and the launch was like something I have not experienced since.

Not experienced since, has some history behind it also. I left the University of Florida in 1973 to join a nuclear consulting firm in the Washington, DC area. One of the things I was asked to do in about 1975 was to take over a project in support of the Department of Energy (AEC, ERDA, in previous lives) that developed and manufactured radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) fueled by plutonium-238 that provide electrical energy to spacecraft that go to the planets beyond the earth’s orbit (Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Pluto, and beyond). Solar energy just doesn’t cut it for most of these missions. As part of this project, we analyzed the risks of launch and mission risks associated with the use of plutonium and provided real time launch accident analyses so that if an accident were to occur, accident response actions could be appropriately directed.

So I got to go to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in support of the launches of the Viking mission to Mars (two landers), a couple of Air Force missions (Lincoln Experimental Satellites), the Voyager missions to the outer planets and beyond, the Galileo missions to Jupiter, and the Ulysses mission around the poles of the sun (from about 1976 through 1990).

These missions and my support of them provided opportunities for family vacations at Cocoa Beach, usually lasting two weeks or more. Scott and his sister, Kristin, and their mother got to enjoy the beach while I was working. We stayed at what was then the Polaris Motel (used by the astronauts then) that was behind an establishment known as the Mouse Trap. The site of the Polaris is now occupied by a Best Western motel, and the Mouse Trap may still live in another incarnation. We certainly enjoyed the town and the beach. Many memories of body surfing, eating at Bernards Surf and Old Fisherman’s Wharf, including feeding the catfish. One time, when Scott’s mother and sister left to return to DC, and Scott and I were batching it, I took him to a showing of Jaws after it was first released. He claims it has traumatized him ever since! How could I have been so insensitive a father? I really thought it would be a fun movie for him, but so goes the judgment of fathers. If that’s the least of the misjudgments that I have made, I feel ok about it.

To complete the story, I left that consulting firm in 1990 and joined the Department of Energy. There, I have been a member of an Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel (INSRP) that reviews the safety analyses for those nuclear missions, for the Pluto New Horizons mission that was launched in January, 2006 and now with the Mars Science Laboratory mission scheduled for launch in September, 2009. I still enjoy my visits to Cocoa Beach. I hope Scott gets a chance to refresh his memories of Cocoa Beach.

Odds & Ends

Free Stuff

The past few weeks, I keep being given free stuff and keep turning it down. The first time was in Jacksonville. I filled up with 15 gallons of gas. The dockmaster only charged me for 5. Actually this time I did take it. I didn't realize I'd been undercharged until I was on the boat and looked at the credit card receipt.

The next time was in St. Augustine. I filled up with 20 gallons of gas. The first pump shut off at about 19 gallons, and wouldn't restart. The attendant and I got a second pump to start and got the last gallon. I went to the marina office and the woman only wanted to charge me for the last gallon. It was a whole thing figuring out how to get the bill right.

When I dropped off Fred, I had to resupply. We had drank all the beer aboard. I went to the marina office/bait store to buy a couple 12 packs. I put them on the counter to pay, the woman was on the phone, looked at me and said you're all settled. I think she had somehow confused me with Fred, whom I later found out had also just come in to buy a couple 12 packs to resupply the boat before he left. I straightened out the situation and paid.

Today, I ordered some take out from a Mexican joint. It took about ten minutes to prepare. Again, the woman just handed me the bag and said "here you go". Again I straightened out the situation and paid.

I don't know what's going on. It's very strange that I'm being offered so much stuff for free. My honesty is preventing me from taking it, but I keep telling myself that I should just take it. If this keeps up, at some point I am.


Steering

Here's something I posted on Sailnet on a thread about monohull versus cat steering:

I have an older Gemini 3000 catamaran. I love to hand the wheel over when I have guests aboard. Singlehanding as much as I do, I'm pretty tired of being at the helm, but it's a thrill to guests. I have a hard time prying them from the wheel.

One thing I've noticed is that people tend to over-steer my cat. I know that if I have the sails set right, not much steering is necessary. On a broad reach she'll steer herself for as much as an hour at a time. She'll drift a few degrees back and forth, but pretty much stay on course.

New helmsmen always seem to be furiously turning the wheel back and forth to stay on a constant course. I try to assure them that isn't necessary. But it's hard to convince them of this. And unfortunately, the wheel doesn't give feedback like the tiller on my old Pearson Ariel.

I overestimated how much help Fred would be on the overnight passage. This is no slight to Fred. I think it would be true of anyone unused to sailing at night on a strange boat in the ocean. The conditions seemed very easy to me, but then I've been on this boat for about 6 months now in all sorts of conditions. There is a learning curve for people who come aboard, and I need to respect that.

Here's a link to the entire thread, if you are interested. Bill, I know you are a trawler guy, but I think you would find some of the threads on sailnet interesting, and the guys who hang out there are very knowledgeable and have a great sense of humor. There are a few motorboat guys on the forum.


Hull 108

I'm in the Cocoa Village anchorage. It's a nice anchorage. There are at least two other Geminis here. Maybe three. I met Al who owns Hull 108. I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone with an older Gemini than mine. He bought it in Arnold, MD in November and sailed it down here with a buddy. That's the same time I left Arnold with Glen and Fred. Weird. He has the same fiberglass rudder cages I had, and they are also falling apart.

Somehow the launch has crept up on me. It's tonight. I was hoping to go ashore today and explore Cocoa Beach. But that's not possible. I was even thinking of stopping by Carla's place of work and possibly getting a tour of the ship. Carla, I don't think I'll be able to stop by and say hi now, but maybe Amy and I will cruise up while she's here. Or I'll stop by on my way back up, when I have a looser schedule. I definitely want to take a couple days exploring my old Cocoa Beach haunts.

Rebuttal

Getting to Cocoa Beach has often required pulling an all nighter. When I was a kid, we traveled in our land yacht, a Pontiac Safari station wagon. Some sailing purists might suggest that I am again traveling in another bloated boat with my Gemini catamaran. I remember on one of the trips as a kid making a game out of finding the cheapest gas price. The winner was 54 cents a gallon. Now the game is to find the most expensive. Winner so far is $3.85 a gallon. You do get gouged on the water.

I had a blast staying at the Polaris Motel as a kid. The beach was yards away. I would spend the days making sand castles (really just digging large holes in the sand) and body surfing in the ocean. Grampa bought me a styrofoam board on which I surfed the waves. I'd also stick it in the motel pool, get a running start from the deck and jump on it trying to surf it like a real surf board. I cracked a couple of the boards in half trying this stunt. It's a wonder I didn't crack my head open on the pool ledge.

I got so sunburnt on one of the trips that it was difficult to climb the stairs to our balcony motel room. I couldn't bend my knees, I was so sunburnt. You wonder why I have so many freckles. Of course, parents weren't nearly as careful with their kids in those days, as the "helicopter parents" these days. My sister and I would climb all over the station wagon while traveling down I-95. We never wore seat belts in our land yacht.

One of the highlights of those trips was a bus tour of the Kennedy Space Center. By myself at about age 8. I'm pretty sure that I saw the inside of the vehicle assembly building. And I have a definite memory of the dual roads and the huge tractor which carries the rockets to the launch pad, one tread on each road. And of course, there were the launches. I have a definite memory of what must have been one of the Voyager launches. And believe it or not, even though I was only about a year old when it happened, I used to have a sort of memory of the Apollo 11 launch. It was really just an impression of light and noise.

Even though I didn't like seafood as a kid, I always looked forward to going to the Fisherman's Wharf and feeding the catfish. It was an amazing sight. The fish would be so packed together competing for the scraps we would toss them. I think the restaurant sold bundles of old hush puppies and fryer scraps that we would toss to the fish.

Grampa insists that he wasn't trying to traumatize me by taking me to see Jaws. But what kind of parent takes their kid to such a movie while at the beach? I think the next day was our last of the trip, and I was afraid to go in the water. It was a windy day and the surf was kind of rough. Grampa assured me that the surf conditions were too rough for the sharks, and that it was fine to go in the water.

I won't even go into the bars that Grampa took me into to play pool at that age.


A Shuttle fuel tank going through the same bridges the boat and I went through to get into the Banana river.

Memories of Cocoa Beach

From Grampa

The first time I visited Cocoa Beach area was probably in 1969. A colleague at the University of Florida Nuclear Engineering Department had a house in Cocoa Beach. He organized a trip for the faculty to watch the launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

We were to overnight at a government facility of some sort near the south gate to CCAFS. We all took along sleeping bags and slept on the floor until the time of the scheduled launch (night launch). Turned out the launch was canceled, so we returned to Gainesville the next day unfulfilled.

The next visit to Cocoa Beach (actually across the Banana River in Titusville) was to watch the launch of Apollo 11, the first moon landing. Scott was with us, and that is the topic of another remembrance.

For a number of years, I was employed by a nuclear consulting firm in the DC area as a project manager and lead technical consultant. I provided safety services associated with the launch of (primarily) NASA spacecraft to the outer planets (Mars and beyond), 1975 thorough 1990. This involved duties during the launches, and required my presence during the period preceding and through the launches themselves. This often was a month or so, especially when there were two launches involved, for example the two Viking missions to Mars and the two Voyager missions on a grand tour to the outer planets. Other launches were the LES 8 and 9 missions, the Galileo mission, and the Ulysses mission.

I took the opportunity to spend time in the Cocoa Beach area in support of those launches to combine it with family vacations. (I am still involved with these type of missions, including the Pluto New Horizons mission that launched in January, 2006 and the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled for launch in 2009).

In those days we stayed at the Polaris Motel in Cocoa Beach. That was a favorite of the original seven astronauts too, I understand. While there, I remember spending time with my colleagues at the Mouse Trap (a bar and restaurant in front of the motel), eating dinners at the Old Fisherman’s Wharf (now defunct, but then feeding the catfish that gathered to receive patron’s offerings), and enjoying the beach and the laid back atmosphere of the area.

It was during one of these vacations that I took Scott when he was about 7 to a showing of Jaws which permanently traumatized him, according to his accounts. In my defense, I also took him to a bar on the Cocoa Beach pier, which from my last visit looks like it has also disappeared, to learn how to play pool. Because he still beats me at this game, I infer that he had a positive experience there. These days, Polaris is a Best Western.

One time I recall us arriving in Cocoa Beach early in the morning after an all night drive. We arrived at about 5 am, before anything opened, but across A1A from a MacDonald’s (that I think is still there). We parked and walked the beach some, waiting for MacDonald’s opening. While walking, someone (either Scott or Kristin) found a $10 bill, which paid for our breakfast. No such thing as a free lunch, but maybe there is a free breakfast!

Scott asked about breakfast spots in Port Canaveral. I remember a place where the breakfast chef did a mean omelet and I stopped there every morning. But that was in the days before Port Canaveral became the home to major cruise ships. Commercial fishing boats were the mainstay of Port Canaveral, and their crew frequented the establishment. Haven’t been back to check on the old breakfast spot.

I missed the webcam shots from Split Decision during the sail past the launch pads on KSC and CCAFS. I have always seen the pads from the aspect of the road from the south gate up to the industrial area, and from inspections of the pads themselves, never from the sea. Hopefully Scott will capture some images on the way north.

Other tips for Cocoa Beach:
Denny’s has a great Key Lime Pie (or at least did the last time I tried it). About a mile south of the causeway just north of the A1A split.
Bunky’s Raw Bar; nice ambiance and good prices for good food (520 causeway).
There are a couple of other seafood restaurants near Bunky’s which are also good.
Pig and Whistle English Pub, just south of the A1A spit. However, they have been in the process of relocating and I’m not sure that they have reopened. But this is a pub that the locals have recommended to me and I have enjoyed it while it was open before the relocation.

All of these would require some local transportation, if Scott's budget can afford it. Of course, a visit to Ron Jon’s is almost mandatory.

Pic is the Apollo 11 launch, computer enhanced from a faded snapshot.

First Mate Fred

Fred speaks:

Where it all ends I can't fathom my friends, I'll just toss out my anchor. Oh, wait a minute. It ends in Cocoa Beach. Well, I think Scott has handled me fairly well. It is always tight quarters on a boat. We had great weather most of the time. It was raining as we came through the lock to Cocoa Beach which was very fun. Got to wear my rain gear. Didn't even get sunburned which was a concern, but the boat is well protected as one is piloting. Saw dolphins, lots of birds, but no manatees. Bike week in Daytona was LOUD. Well behaved for biker dudes, but since most of them were my age or older, I guess that comes with the times. Off to land and car rental. BOO. Thanks, Scott.

9 holes of Tiger Woods Golf while at anchor the first night:


Sunrise on the North Atlantic after a long overnight passage:

Boat Week

Bill told me that it would be a great week to be in Daytona Beach. He told me it was Boat Week. Or maybe that's just what my ears heard. It is actually Bike Week. After listening to the roar of Harleys all day, I can't hear much of anything.

Pic is Fred in front of the Harley Davidson shop on Beach Drive.

The Real Salty Dawg

Grampa Speaks:

Me thinks there is an imposter masquerading as the Salty Dawg. The real story is this. Scott owns a row house in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. When he was in residence there, my better half and I occasionally visited him and we had lunch at his local pub, the Wharf Rat. Good local brews and a special rate at the right times for three at a time. Sometimes we took a sail with Scott on a sailboat he had at the time for a day sail. Scott has plans for installing me in an old folks home about two blocks from the pub, but that’s another story.

One of our (now) eight dogs, Sho-me, an American Eskimo, sometimes came along with us for these adventures. The first time he went out for a sail with us, several hundred yards from the dock when we were just getting underway, Sho-me decided he saw something that interested him off the port side and leaped off the boat in pursuit. I think he had in mind that the water was just a puddle and he would have firm footing to give chase. Imagine his surprise when he began to doggy paddle and we were sailing merrily away.

Well, I couldn’t let a disaster befall poor Sho-me, and fortunately I was in a swimming suit and tee-shirt, so I immediately dove in to stay with him until Scott could bring the boat around and pick us up. Later in the sail we anchored off an island and we took Sho-me onshore to do his ablutions, explore the local habitat, and give chase to the wildlife there. Understandably, he was a little unsure that this was safe as we disembarked (jumped into the water and swam ashore), but in the end he thoroughly enjoyed the expedition, as did we all, and he eagerly awaited future trips to Baltimore.

Although I enjoy the trips to Baltimore to visit with Scott, I do not look forward to the old folks home he has planned for me, even though it is only two blocks from a very enjoyable pub. Sho-me has a different opinion. He also enjoyed lying underneath the table at the pub and scarfing up treats from the lunches we had. I think he also remembers that cute American Eskimo he met on one of our trips, whose owner was considering breeding her. We left contact information for Sho-me as a stud with her owner, but alas, Sho-me never heard again from her. So goes life.





We were in a pretty tight channel coming out of the marina when Sho-Me and Grampa went overboard. I did a u-turn to pick them up. Fortunately, we didn't run aground, even though we went out of the channel. Could have been an oh s*** story, but everything worked out fine. Sho-Me wouldn't leave the cockpit during the trip out to Hart-Miller Island. But he got his sea legs back swimming to the island, and had more fun on the return trip.

The bottom two pics are from the day Grampa gave me his old washer and dryer. If you know anything about old row houses, you know it was quite a job getting them up the stoop steps, through the tight doorways, and down into the cellar. Building codes in the 1800s weren't what they are today.

The Wind's a blowin', the Tide a Flowin'

I motored about 25 miles down the ditch yesterday in a foul mood. I was still angry with myself for being a pussy and not being on the outside sailing. I don't make good decisions when I'm angry. Yesterday the motor was running rough. It was underpowered and drinking a lot of gas. I should have pulled over and given it a thorough check up, but I didn't. I did that this morning, and it turned out that there was simply a problem with the choke linkage. Would have saved myself some grief, and the engine some wear and tear if I had done that earlier.

This morning I did another mile or so to a better anchorage. I accidentally grounded the boat pretty hard. I jumped overboard to push us off and the bottom was pretty firm. Not the muck I'm used to. I decided to get my scraper and give the hull a good cleaning.

A couple hours later I felt a nice breeze coming through the hatches. I poked my head out and low and behold, the wind was in my favor. I looked down at the water, and the tide was also going my direction. I raised anchor and motor-sailed a few more miles to Daytona Beach.

I'm not at my intended anchorage yet. I have two bridge openings to go through, and thought it best to do that in the morning. The webcam should be pretty interesting tomorrow.

There's a constant roar of motorcycle engines in the background. In case you've forgotten, it's Bike Week in Daytona Beach. Also, I've researched the trip to Cocoa Beach for the Shuttle launch on the 11th. From Daytona, it's a 60 mile sail on the outside.

I'm very much looking forward to redeeming myself, and reclaiming my Salty Dawg title.