Self Install

Nautig now self installs like a regular windows program. Download the setup file here. The initial program setup includes the basic charts and more detailed charts for the Chesapeake bay. For other detailed charts you still need to download and unzip one or more of the following files. They should be unzipped into the "chart" directory.

Charts_1.zip	100 mb	Florida Keys to North Carolina
Charts_2.zip	90 mb	North Carolina to Long Island Sound
Charts_3.zip	70 mb	Long Island Sound to Maine

Beta Test

Enlarge Map

NautiG program files:

NautiG.zip	70 mb	The program, directory structure, basic charts and satellite imagery
Charts_1.zip	100 mb	Florida Keys to North Carolina
Charts_2.zip	90 mb	North Carolina to Long Island Sound
Charts_3.zip	70 mb	Long Island Sound to Maine
Satellite_1.zip	40 mb	Two more levels of satellite imagery
Satellite_2.zip	130 mb	Final level of satellite imagery

If you can't tell, the above is a flash program. You can drag the map, just like in Google maps. You can click the buttons to zoom in and out. Although, you probably can't see the buttons very well unless you enlarge the map.

The program has nautical charts superimposed on satellite images. Kinda fun, but it's been done before. What I haven't seen, is an offline version which you can use on a boat without internet access. So that's what I've been writing the past few weeks. The files which make up the program are listed above. They include a lot of satellite and chart images, almost 500 megabytes worth, so I broke the program up into separate files.

The first file, NautiG.zip includes the basic files and program to get started. Once you unzip the file, you should see a directory structure which looks like this:



NautiG.exe (anchor icon) is the program. Subsequent chart_X.zip files should be unzipped into the the chart directory. Satellite_X.zip files should be unzipped into the satellite directory.

If you download and try the program, please let me know if it works, and what you think of it. I've installed it on three computers so far: two Windows XP computers and one Vista. So far, the program has run fine on all three. I'll ask family and friends to try the program over Thanksgiving, and then post about it on some sailing message boards. For the time being, the program only runs under Windows, although I have plans for Mac and Linux versions.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Picture from last year's Thanksgiving on the boat in NC.

Kyle and Maryanne Made It!

And they added my Yotreps widget to their blog. I'm honored. The widget doesn't exactly fit in the sidebar of their blog. I forgot to mention that the dimensions of the widget can be changed. Just fiddle with the width and height numbers in the code below until you find the appropriate size for your map.

<iframe
width="265" height="260"
src="http://nautig.com/wc/tracker/yotrepsHTML.pl?callSign=AI4QI&width=250&height=200">
</iframe>

I'm working on an update of my NautiG/Boyfriend Tracker/Nautical Chart GPS program. Hopefully I'll have something to post about that next week.

Yotreps Widget

Update: Improved and moved the tracking widget to the sidebar. It now tracks all the boats reporting to Yotreps. Just select the boat's call sign from the list and hit the "get" button. Clicking "Enlarge Map" will take you to that boat's Yotreps page with more information about the boat. Kyle and Maryanne's call sign is AI4QI.

This widget can be embedded in any webpage. I used the code below in Google Blogger. (Change the call sign to whatever boat you want to track.) Let me know if you try to embed the widget in a webpage and have any problems.

Code:

<iframe
width="375" height="300"
src="http://nautig.com/wc/tracker/yotrepsHTML.pl?callSign=AI4QI">
</iframe>


Kyle and Maryanne left last week on their sailing adventure to the Caribbean. They have a Gemini catamaran too, although much newer than mine. They're much more adventuresome than I am. They did a little bit of the ICW to start the trip, but now are way out in the ocean. They're not even bothering to stop in Bermuda, which I hear is a nice place in the middle of the Atlantic to visit.

Being that far out, they do not have cell phone service. But they do have an Iridium satellite phone. They've been updating their position on a website called Yotreps, and sending short updates about their progress. They have a link to Yotreps on their blog, but I thought I'd create a little map for them like the one I used to track my progress.

Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!

Amy emailed me this morning that Sarah Palin was coming to our town today. Regardless of her politics, there is something about a woman running for vice president, who hunts and fishes, and was a former beauty queen, which pushes some buttons in my male "joe sixpack" psyche. Amy seems to tolerate my fascination with Sarah Palin, and I guess by emailing me about the event, she also indulges me.

I brought a camera with me, and had visions of getting a photo of Gov. Palin and me together. The reality turned out to be me standing in the cold rain for an hour elbowing a bunch of cold, wet conservatives for a good view. She spent most of the visit indoors, but came out to greet the crowd briefly before leaving. Disappointingly, the best pics I got were some blurry photos of her waving as her bus passed by.

Mostly Unabridged

Finally completed a version of the book which contains most of the blog, including comments. Most of what was deleted, was for space. With all the pictures and formatting, it can be tough to get everything right without orphaned pictures and lots of blank wasted space. But I'm pretty pleased with the result. You can read it here.

I was able to get it all in under 400 pages. Grampa suggests that this is too long for a book, even if a lot of it is pictures. I'm going to start work on a "tightened up" version of the book. I'd like to get it down closer to 300 pages, while getting rid of extraneous stuff and making it more readable.

If anyone has specific suggestions of stuff to cut, or more general advice on how to edit the book, I'd love to hear it.

In other news, Kyle and Maryanne left Portsmouth, VA heading south on the ICW. I'm not sure where their destination is. But I'm pretty jealous that I'm not going with them.

Amy-Cuda

I'm thinking about getting this for xmas as a present for Amy.

Unabridged

Work on a version of a book including comments, is coming along swimmingly. The first version of the book I mostly copy & pasted, and formatted by hand. For this version, I've mostly automated the process. I wrote the perl script below to download the blog and strip a lot of the html formatting from the text.

#!/usr/bin/perl
use LWP::Simple;

open INFILE, "bloglinks.txt";
@lines = <INFILE>;
close INFILE;


foreach $line (@lines)
{
  if ($line =~ /(http.+html)"/){unshift @urls, $1;}
}

open OF, ">blogcontent.txt";

foreach $url (@urls)
{
  $on = 0;
  my $content = get $url;
  @content = split(/\n/, $content);
  foreach $content1 (@content)
  {
    if ($content1 =~ /Post a Comment/){$on = 0}
    if ($on == 1)
    {
      $content1 =~ s/<br \/>/\n/g;
      $content1 =~ s/<br\/>/\n/g;
      $content1 =~ s/<BR \/>/\n/g;
      $content1 =~ s/<BR\/>/\n/g;
      $content1 =~ s/<\/h3>/(-\/B-)/;
      $content1 =~ s/<p.*?>/\n\n/g;
      $content1 =~ s/<span style="font-style:italic;">/(-I-)/;
      $content1 =~ s/<.*?>//g;
      $content1 =~ s/.+, 200.+M/\n\n/;
      $content1 =~ s/(comments:)/$1\n\n/;
      $content1 =~ s/^ +$//;
      $content1 =~ s/<dd class='comment-footer'>/\n\n/;
      print OF $content1;
    }
    if ($content1 =~ /<h3 class='post-title entry-title'>/)
    {
      $on = 1;
      print OF "(-B-)";
    }
  }
}    
close OF;

Also, I've refamiliarized myself with regular expressions. Regular expressions are a really powerful tool for parsing texts. I use them often when programming, but they would be really useful to anyone who had to do large scale editing and formatting of texts.

Not sure if the perl script would be of use to anyone else. If there were a demand from people who wanted to download their blog to their computer, I could probably place the script on my server and hook it up to the web to automate the process for others.

I should have a pdf of the unabridged book completed sometime next week. So far with text only, no pictures and little formatting, the book is about 300 pages. When done, I'm guessing it will be 500 some pages. If that's the case, it should cost about $20 including shipping.

So far eight copies of the book have been sold. At first I assumed that maybe grampa had bought a bunch of copies to give to friends, but additional copies of the book have been ordered. So maybe Grampa and I don't account for all the orders. If you ordered a book, thanks! Please let me know what you think of it (including any corrections/typos).

And wish the Admiral and me luck. We're running in a 5k tomorrow. I haven't run in a road race in years, but I've been working out daily at the college gym. Hopefully I'll have a good time.

Book Praise

Provocative, erudite and entertaining. What makes this book so
important is its honesty and courage. - Flipper, Dolphin Life and Times Magazine

Engrossing. Cap'n Scott is at the top of his writing game here.
Distills an enormous amount of information into descriptions
both portable and intriguing. - Bent Anchor Daily

Serious, gracefully written, and at the same time, as gripping as a
thriller - Ariel, Mermaid Monthly

Rich in detail... I have not stopped thinking and talking about this
book since I finished reading it. - Rusty Wench Magazine

A work of genius... marvelous to read. - Bubba Gump, Shrimpers
Quarterly

Cap'n Scott has a strong claim to being the best sailing writer
now working in the North Atlantic. Captain's Blog is a marvel. -
Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate's Booty Blog

One of the most eloquent and gifted writers of contemporary
sailing... A wonderful collection of stories, beautifully written
and deeply felt. - Flotsam and Jetsam Daily

The Captain has captured our times like a bug in amber. -
Shamu, Whale Tail Review

Book Tour

I ordered a copy of my book last week and it arrived on Monday. I'm pretty impressed. I had my doubts that something produced on my computer and printed by some dot com internet company would be of very high quality, but it is. My vanity book is virtually indistinguishable from a "real" book. Best of all, it cost $9 + $4 shipping = $13. It's a little mind blowingly cool.

I was concerned that the pictures wouldn't look good. There are a lot of them, and obviously aren't as impressive in black and white print, as they are in full color on a computer screen. But they look fine in print.

I used Open Office word processor to edit the book and produce the PDF for printing. I had some difficulty with Open Office, mostly because of my unfamiliarity with some of the advanced formatting commands. It took me awhile before I found Lulu's templates which set a lot of the formatting for me.

I found the Lulu publishing website pretty straight forward and easy to use. I made some errors, mostly due to this being my first book. But I'm definitely going to use Lulu again and would recommend it highly to anyone who's thought of writing a book. I'm just amazed that I have such a professional looking product in my hands, and that it was so cheap and relatively easy to produce.

Book preview and ordering is here. If you are someone who contributed regularly to the blog, I'd like to give you a signed copy of the book as thanks for all the emotional support during my trip. Same goes for all the folks who gave me tangible aid through the trip. The gift is a little self serving. Sorry. And it hardly matches the generosity of say, someone who gave me his old rudder cages after mine were destroyed.

Also, because the abridged version of the blog turned out so well, I'm going to start work on a version which includes blog comments. And of course, my publicist is busy scheduling my book tour!

I'm so Vain

Among the many exciting things I've been doing since arriving in Richmond, I've been working on turning the blog into a book.

You can read the book pdf here. It includes most of the blog posts, but none of the blog comments. Even so, it weighs in at over 200 pages. Eventually, I want to figure out how to include some or all of the comments into a version of the book, without turning it into a 1000 page epic tome.

When I'm finished editing the book, I'm going to publish it via Lulu.com. Lulu is an online, on-demand, vanity publisher. According to their website, the cost to publish a single copy of the "Captain's Blog" will be under $10, and there is no minimum order. I'm excited to order a copy and see how the quality of the printing is. It'll be pretty cool if it looks like a real book.

But one of the last things I want to do to complete the book, is to solicit recommendations to put on the back cover. You know, the blurbs that say something like, "Engrossing. Cap'n Scott is at the top of his writing game here. Distills an enormous amount of information into descriptions both portable and intriguing." (This is an actual blurb from the back cover of a book I'm holding in my hand.)

I'm sure that a ringing endorsement by a well respected celebrity like Admiral Amy, Grampa or Old Salty, is just what I need in order to turn the book into a best seller!

Hurricane Amy

I came up north to celebrate Grampa's 70th birthday earlier this week. (Happy B-day Grampa!) I combined it with a visit to the boat. It's been a beautiful week. I was planning on returning to Richmond today at the latest. But looking at the weather this morning I changed my mind.

Hanna isn't supposed to be a full blown hurricane when she reaches Baltimore, but they are predicting several inches of rain, 40mph winds and a significant storm surge. I've added some docklines, removed my bimini, topped off my batteries and water.

I also put my car in a parking garage. When Hurricane Isabel passed through a few years ago, there was some flooding. I was surprised how many very nice late model cars were flooded. What kind of dumbass leaves his car in a flood plane when a hurricane is coming? I can understand houses getting flooded, but a car? Especially when higher elevation in Fells Point is only a few blocks from the water.

I wasn't sure how Amy would react to my staying in Baltimore to watch over the boat for a few more days. We had been planning on going to First Friday in Richmond, playing tennis and shopping for a new bike Saturday, and then a "date night". When I called her this morning I wasn't sure which I should fear more, Hurricane Hanna on Saturday or Hurricane Amy when I returned to Richmond on Sunday.

Amy assured me that nothing more than a weak tropical depression would be passing through Richmond in my absence, and that it should clear up before my return.

Imagine

We were sitting on the back porch last night while Amy cooked her famous grilled pizza. Meanwhile, I pondered life in Virginia and the empty dog house in our backyard.

While sailing, I hoped that I would come upon someone giving away kittens. I wanted to adopt one as a boatmate and name it chum. But that never happened, which is a good thing, because our new landlord does not allow cats. He does however allow dogs under seven pounds. I don't want a dog. And Amy doesn't want a small dog. She wants a big one to protect the house.

So anyway, last night we decided to adopt an imaginary big dog. We decided on a lab, even though I don't like labs. (Sometimes you have to compromise.) We have yet to decide on a name for our imaginary dog. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Amy the Artist

Back to the Future

This guy reminds me of Biff.

Boat owner claimed he was adjusting GPS

Gloucester car shop owner faces charge of homicide by boat - GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

The Reasons' owner facing charges in fatal boat crash

D.J. Walsh leaves a hole in sailing community

SouthCoastToday.com: Regatta will be dedicated to former chairman Walsh

The Second Oldest Profession

$600 / 1br - Cozy Third Floor Apartment (Fells Point)

Reply to: hous-999999999@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-07, 8:06AM EDT

This apartment is located on one of the nicest blocks in Fells Point and features wood floors and exposed brick. It is a small apartment suitable for one person occupancy only. The bedroom's dimensions are 14x12 with a small closet. The kitchen and bath together are also 14x12.

There is a washer and dryer and storage space in the basement. Rent is $600/mo plus utilities. Cats are ok, but please no dogs. $600 security deposit.

Any St. at SomeOther St. google map yahoo map

* cats are OK - purrr
* Location: Fells Point
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

About once a year, I have to find new tenants for one of my apartments. I've perfected my apartment renting technique over the years. Craigslist and email make things a lot easier than when I first started.

Back then, I bought ads in newspapers and had to answer phone calls all day. As you can imagine, it can be hard to keep track of conversations and appointments with 20+ people over the span of a few days. No matter how organized I would start out, my notes inevitably turned into a mess and I would screw up something. With email, I have a written record of all my correspondence.

When I first started as a landlord, I tried a couple times to tell people that I was showing the apartment from say 10-2 on Saturday, and to just come on by. I learned quickly that this does not work. You have to treat each person as an individual, and "sell" the apartment to that person, as if no one else was interested in the apartment.

You also have to be ready to show the apartment when you place the ad. When someone responds to the ad, they are interested in, and thinking about renting the apartment. The next day, for whatever reason, they may not be so interested. I immediately start getting responses from the ad as soon as it is posted. I tell folks that I am at the apartment and they can come by now, or in the evening after work.

But I also like to schedule showings for Saturday morning. For this reason, I usually post the ad on a Thursday or Friday.

I schedule appointments a half hour apart. Typically, I'll have a half dozen people scheduled for Saturday morning. Inevitably someone will be late and I'll have to show the apartment to two people at the same time, violating my "sell to the individual" tenet. But what are you going to do?

About half the people who see the apartment will want to rent it. This time around, the first four people wanted to rent it. I asked them about the other apartments they were looking at. I got the sense that most of the apartments in the $600 price range are dumps. I take pretty good care of my apartments. The reason why I price this particular apartment so low, is that it is tiny. 350 square feet.

A lot of people who look at the apartment seem to think that if they fill out an application and everything checks out, I'm going to rent it to them. Not the case. If I have 18 people look at the apartment and nine want it, there are usually three people whom I would never rent the apartment to, three whom I'd be ok with as tenants, and three whom I really want to move in.

An example of someone whom I would never let move in, would be the guy who left four voice mails on my phone. One or two voice mails, ok. But after that, I've got the message that you are psycho, and you should have gotten the message that I'm not going to return your calls.

So anyway, I just signed a lease with the new tenant an hour ago. She's an elementary school teacher. I'm busy this week doing paint touch ups and minor repairs to the apartment before she moves in.

A friend once described landlording and prostitution as great gigs because "you sell it, but you still got it." The only problem is that in both professions, you really have to hustle. Or as Ross said, "You really do have to 'work' for those rental dollars."

In One Word or Less

I placed an ad last week on Craigslist to rent out one of my apartments that is empty. Amy and I bet on how many responses there would be to the ad. We decided on an over/under of 20. Amy took over, I took under. 25 people responded before I pulled the ad. I won't tell you what Amy won, but she was pretty happy with her prize.

This was the funniest response I got:

I'm interested in renting your studio. Please email me short or one-word
answers or call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx (Call xxx-xxx-xxxx from 8/7 to
8/10). My phone blocks all outgoing toll calls but can receive any call.
Appreciate!
Since I can't view and take measurements myself ( not in Baltimore
till mid August), could you kindly provide such crucial info to me? In
that way I won't need to bother you with viewing and will not delay
the renting process.
Once you provide the needed info, I can seal the deal.

Full address w/ zipcode?
House on slope?
Proximity to cemetery or mortuary?
Age of bldg?
Type of housing: Single house? Rowhouse? Multiple-unit bldg? Secured
apt. bldg?
Date last renovated: Kitchen? Bath?
Floor? Walls?
Square footage of apartment ?
Flooring of kitchen? Of bathroom?
Total # of floors?
Which level is unit on?
Avaib: Mid-size self defrosting fridge?
Microwave? Air-
conditioner? Modern tub?
Window covering? Wardrobe closet ?
Measurement of wardrobe closet(s)?
Of kitchen sink ?
Of bathroom sink ?
Of height of ceiling?
How many minutes to walk to nearest JH hospital shuttle bus stop?
Walk to large supermarket?
Any safety precautions (iron gate, alarm, surveillance camera, window
bars etc)
Lease requirement?
Move in from Aug 18th possible?
What does rent $600 include?
Pls send a picture of each room.


I thought the question "Proximity to cemetery or mortuary?" most intriguing. Would that be a good thing or bad? I would think dead people would make great neighbors. Quiet, trouble free. But I suppose someone might think otherwise. I thought about emailing that the house was haunted, and other joke answers. But I decided it wasn't worth the time, and answered the email with zero words.

Take Out the Garbage

Per Grampa's request, a new post. I don't have much to write about though. Spent yesterday cleaning one of the apartments after a tenant moved out. Had dinner at the Helmand in Baltimore and enjoyed sleeping in the air conditioned apartment last night. Looking forward to watching the Ravens pre-season game tonight.

Ominously, I received an email from Google stating that they've identified my blog as a potential "spam blog" and will shut it down in two weeks. The email had a link to request a review, but the link doesn't work. I'm trying to contact them, but they don't make it easy. So, if the blog disappears soon, you know why.

Pic is from a year ago when I had just bought the boat. Things don't look too much different, except for some wear and tear, and new rudders. But the boat is back in that same slip. One of the guys at the marina said they think the boat is like a homing pigeon to that slip.

Your Boat Stinks

Plenty of people have told me that my boat stinks, both literally and figuratively. Of course the boat has the usual boat smells. And the odor of a guy who has a hard time remembering his last shower.

One of the worst smells is when someone uses the head. Air is forced out of the holding tank and it smells like the worst fart ever.

All that was topped by the stink of the bacterial soup brewing in my garbage can in the July heat.

NYC Again

I've now been through NYC three times, but this was my first time going through from the North.

Saw the latest public art exhibit today.

I was a bit underwhelmed. Wish I had seen this instead.

I've seen a lot of warships on this trip. This is was the first peaceboat.


For a while, It looked like the Free Ikea water taxi and I were on a collision course.

Radio Days

Yesterday, I heard a Mayday call on the radio for the first time ever. The woman sounded quite frantic. It turned out that her boat was not sinking and no one's life was in danger. The boat had just run aground. Sheesh.

When I was near Cuttyhunk and Newport, the radio was full of Securite calls. These are usually only made by large ships to let folks know that they will be entering or leaving port or a small channel. The fog had rolled in around Cuttyhunk, and visibility was severely restricted. All these little boats were calling out their position and heading, especially if they were nearing a channel or high traffic area.

I got caught in the fog on the way to Newport. I was planning on using the Securite call when I got near the channel to Newport, but the fog cleared before then. Fog seems pretty common there, and a lot of the boats have radar. I don't.

Today someone (I assume accidentally) had their mike button pushed. They were broadcasting their music radio over their vhf radio. First they had a classic rock station playing, but then switched to adult contemporary. Among the playlist was Led Zeppelin's "It's been a long time", Matchbox 20's "If you're gone" and the Spin Doctors' "Two Princes". There were some guys talking in the background, but I couldn't make out the conversation. I imagine the guys looking something like the clown in the picture above.

Sunday Update

Today we had several children playing with the radios on their parents' boats. " hello hello hello googgoo lala". Also I forgot about the person calling the Coast Guard about the Great White Shark a few days ago in Martha's Vineyard.

Ah, Summertime.

Good News and Bad News

Which do you want first?

The good news is that it looks like I will make the Gemini raft-up this weekend. The weather forecast looks favorable and despite a lot of wind today, I was able to make a few miles down to Point Judith.

I've realized what a pussy I've become regarding wind. This morning the wind was gusting 20-25 knots. I ordinarily wouldn't go out in that much wind. But I knew this morning there'd be a windward shore preventing the waves from building up too much.

I also realized that I've never reefed a sail. (Reefing reduces the amount of sail exposed to the wind.) My M.O. is to lower the mainsail and go on a jib alone. That's fine, and I averaged 4-5 knots on the jib alone this morning. But maybe I ought to practice reefing the main.

More good news is that my engine is charging the batteries. When Lou was aboard, he pointed out that I ought to check some of the wiring on the engine, which I did. I've noticed recently that I've used my generator less often to charge the batteries, but I wasn't sure if this was because of the engine charging or some other factor.

And now for the bad news. My generator wouldn't start this morning. I know the outboard engine is charging the batteries because that's the only way I have any power now. It doesn't charge a lot, so I'm on restricted power.

The problem with the generator is no spark. I think I've narrowed it down to the electronic ignition. Now I just need to find where I can order a new one. That's it in the picture.

Martha's Vineyard Pics

The Harbormaster

I'm in Newport. I didn't mean to be here now. Circumstances dictated it. This is perhaps the center of the yachting universe, and I end up here in high season. Me and my boat don't belong here. We belong in some deserted gunkhole enjoying the sunset with throngs of mosquitoes. Not in Newport with throngs of million dollar yachts and people who look like they stepped out of J crew catalogues.

I thought of blogging about a few things the past week or two, but decided it best to keep my mouth shut. I don't know who reads the blog, but I know some people up here are keeping an eye on my broken down boat.

I was in a harbor in Martha's Vineyard when the harbormaster from another harbor on the island tracked me down and told me I wasn't allowed to anchor in his harbor (which I had done a couple nights earlier).

I feel like a guest here in New England during yachting season. I don't want to wear out my welcome. Last night I anchored in a tiny harbor full of moorings. All of the harbors here seem to be tiny and full of moorings. A few minutes after anchoring, the harbormaster dingied out to my boat and suggested that it would be best if instead of anchoring, I took one of the moorings. He did take pity on me and my boat, charging less than full price, because he "could see I was on a budget".

New England is in sharp contrast to the ICW and my trip through the southern states. Down there, I was mostly able to anchor in places which were deserted. And even in the crowded harbors like St. Augustine or Charleston, I'm not sure I ever met a harbormaster. Also in the South, any harbor of any size is full of abandoned junk boats. Perhaps that's the South's water analogue to the junk car in the yard.

I do want to give a shout out to Falmouth and its Harbormaster. Amy decided we should meet up there to offload her stuff from the boat. The guidebook mentioned a restaurant where we could tie up for lunch. When we got there, the restaurant option appeared unavailable, but I radioed the harbormaster and he gave me permission to tie up at the town dock to unload.

Amy says she wants to be a harbormaster when she grows up. I want to be a tugboat captain when I grow up. I think we'll be a good match if that ever happens.

Pic is of my new crocs. I bought them after my teva sandals broke. They were on sale at West Marine. I thought about blogging about how in addition to being stupid looking, they aren't that comfortable. But I decided no one could possibly be interested in hearing about that.

And you thought I was crazy

This guy just finished paddling the ICW from Florida to Baltimore in a kayak.

News Story
Blog

The really funny thing is that he averaged 30 miles a day. That's about what I average too. I feel like such a slacker.

Larry & Joey

We bought lobsters and steamed them on the boat. I wanted to name my lobster Louie, but Amy said that Lou of Lou & Meg wouldn't appreciate it.

We had hoped to make it to Cuttyhunk today, but the weather was deteriorating, so we cut the trip short. Also, Amy got seasick as soon as we left the harbor this morning.

Cousins

Many thanks to Mary Ann and Fran for taking in a couple of salty sailors. (And to my Uncle Bob for hooking us up with the connection.) Mary Ann and I are distant relatives who probably never met before. We really appreciated their generosity. (And I appreciate how much better Amy smells after a hot shower.)

Dinner! What, no fish?


Thor the dog. Amy thinks he would look good on our boat. But I think he's a little large for our little catamaran.


Pic of us disembarking from the two person kayak we borrowed. Amy thinks I should get a larger kayak like theirs as a dingy.

Fish Face II

Caught a striped bass today. We call 'em rockfish where I'm from. It was the fifth rockfish hit we've had on the lure we troll. (I'm pretty sure they've all been rockfish. That's the most common fish that would take the bait in the waters we've been cruising.) I lost the other fish. I think I was reeling them in too hard and yanked the hooks out of them. This one I reeled in slowly after Amy put the boat in irons (or as she says "chains").

It's the biggest fish I've ever caught on my own and made a delicious dinner (lots of leftovers too). Amy and I each took a fillet and had a cook off, Top Chef style. She's going to post about the cooking and I'll link to her blog when it's posted.

The (we don't want any) Visitor's Dock

Our guidebook mentioned a "Visitor's Dock" in Norwalk. Amy blogs about how useless the dock is. The dock was empty when we arrived. Now we know why.

Later in the evening a pretty cool cloud formation appeared in the west. It finally arrived overhead, and was accompanied by lightning, high winds and rain. We dragged anchor, despite having set two anchors. (Yes, I did the reverse engine test to make sure they were set). Pictures on Amy's blog. Afterwards we were treated to a full rainbow. There was even a hint of a double rainbow for a couple minutes.

NYC

Yesterday's trip could be divided into three parts: crossing Raritan Bay, New York Harbor, and the East River. If I were to do it again, I'd probably break the legs into multiple days in order to time the tides better.

The current across Raritan Bay and into the Narrows was pretty strong pushing us out into the ocean. We had to motor. If we had timed the tides right, we probably could have sailed. With the price of gas these days, we'd have come out about even paying for a night at a marina.

Amy found NY Harbor disconcerting and asked me to take over steering. There were a lot of barges at anchor and ferries zipping about. I still think Norfolk, VA Harbor is worse. At least in NY you're in a protected harbor with lots of water to maneuver in. Norfolk isn't as protected, and you have to share a skinny channel with lots of big boats.

Entering the East River was a relief. The wind and waves were a lot calmer, and there was a lot less traffic. I fretted about entering the river earlier than the guidebook recommended, but we were fine. At first we were doing 4-5 mph, but by the time we hit Hell Gate the current had caught up to us and we topped out at 8.5 mph.

I was tempted to keep going past the Throgs Neck Bridge. It was a pretty evening with a nice wind and current pushing us along. But it had been a long day, so we anchored.

Hell Gate

The plan is to transit the East River through NYC tomorrow. Our cruising guide advises to be at the Battery (southern tip of Manhattan) two hours after low tide. We should then be able to catch the current to ride the 15 miles or so up the river to Throgs Neck and LI Sound (but hopefully not too much current).

So the plan is to be at the Battery at 3:30pm. That should put us at Hell Gate 4:30-5:00 and Throgs Neck 6pm or so.

Here's the data I got off the NOAA site (link is in the blog sidebar)

Mon 6/16

Battery Tides
low 1:35am high 7:35am low 1:31pm high 7:38pm

Hell Gate Tides/Current
slack 9:12am 3:32pm
max current 1209pm -4.3 6:32pm +3.3
low 5:20am high 1033am low 5:16pm high 10:46pm

Throgs Neck Tides/Current
Slack 2:11pm 9:12pm
max current 544pm +1.3

Look Ma, No Wheel

We were coming into Barnegat Inlet. The wind was with us and the tide against us, kicking up some short steep seas. Just then as I made a hard turn to starboard, avoiding a trawler coming straight at us, the wheel came off the helm.

Just kidding. We were waiting at a marina in Forked River the past two days for a new helm to arrive. The old helm broke a bunch of teeth off one of the gears, and the steering has been pretty sloppy recenty. Yesterday the new helm arrived and I installed it.

New Teleflex Big-T helm out of the box.

Wheel, bezel (mount), and old helm.

Hole where wheel and helm used to be.

New helm installed.

If you compare the first and last picture of the new helm, you'll see that I cut off a washer in order to insert the steering cable. The new helm isn't really meant to be opened. But other than that, installation went pretty smoothly. The most difficult part was seating the cable on the gears, and rebolting the helm cover.

Fish Face

Amy caught two Bluefish yesterday. On the dock later, she does her best fish impersonation.
Cleans a fish. (Thanks Dennis for the fish cleaning kit!)

And eats a fish.

Jib Up

The boat came with a bunch of foresails, including this blue striped one we raised the other day. I also have a spinnaker, but I left it at home. Glen, Fred and I tried raising it back when this trip started last November, but we couldn't figure it out. I decided that if I did figure out how to raise the spinnaker, it would be an invitation for trouble. No doubt I would have it up and get caught in too much wind.

Amy blogged about last night's dinner. I'm sure she or I will blog about tonight's dinner. We'll be cooking up two fish she caught today!

I'm Bored

These words had barely left Admiral Amy's mouth when there was a knock on our door. Or at least on what passes for a door on a boat. Maury and Sandi hailed us from their passing dingy. They're on a (much newer) Gemini Catamaran anchored by us. They treated us to a tour of their boat, and today both boats are headed to Atlantic City.

Pic is M&S's boat as they passed us on the way to Atlantic City (added after post was written).

Annapolis to Cape May

I had some trepidation about making this leg of the trip. It's composed of two large bodies of water, the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, with a skinny canal connecting them. Currents are fast and conditions can be treacherous, especially on the wide open Delaware.

Prior to leaving, I researched the trip online. Some of the information was confusing, so I thought I'd give our trip experience on a small slow boat.

The best piece of advice I can give is to hit the east end of the C&D canal at high tide. This will put you in position to ride the ebbing tide down the Delaware Bay. I'm also pretty sure that this is the right time and place to ride the ebbing tide through the canal and down the Chesapeake (although I haven't done that yet, so I can't say for sure).

Also on tides. The tide tables are tide PREDICTIONS! I consulted two tide tables which differed on predictions by as much as two hours. Use the tide tables as guides, but also observe the tides yourself and make your own predictions.

Most info I found suggested that the Delaware Bay does not have anchorages and that the trip down the bay needs to be made in a single leg. This is not true. There is an anchorage at Reedy Island, just south of the canal. We anchored in Cohansey River. It's wide and deep, with a fast current. It's surrounded by marshland. Not an ideal anchorage, but it will get you out of the Bay. Also, Back Creek is suggested by guidebooks as an anchorage. Both are half way down the bay.

Catch the tide in the morning if possible. If there are head winds, they will be lightest in the AM. Over the course of the day, the winds generally build and a head wind against the tide will create short steep waves making for a lumpy, uncomfortable ride. You'll also avoid any summertime thunderstorms.

Watch out for shipping traffic, crab pots and black flies (bring plenty of insect repellent).

Chesapeake City in the C&D Canal is a nice stop. There's a small public dock you can tie up to. There's only room for about three boats, but you can raft up, despite what the old bat on the "Ice Cream Boat" tied up to the dock says. The dockmaster told us we were fine rafted up to another boat. Docking is free. Electricity is $10. If there's no space at the dock, anchor in the basin and use the free dingy dock.

The ice cream at the small stand by the dock is good and cheap. Amy recommends the birthday cake flavor. There's nightly live music at the marina/restaurant. Thursday night they have a $5 special on frozen drinks. I'd avoid Chesapeake City on summer weekends, unless you are looking for a party and don't mind a crowded anchorage.

This guy's advice about transiting the Delaware Bay is good too. Pic is the Ferry docked in the Cape May Canal.

Sun Shower

I was in a crappy mood today. But watching Amy take a sun shower in the cockpit this evening put me in a better mood. Being clean seemed to put her in a good mood too. I was dubious as to the practicality of the sun shower, but it seems to work. Warm water with decent water pressure. And it didn't use too much water. There's still plenty left in the bag for another shower or two.

I took a bath in the Delaware Bay today. I feel plenty clean too. But my standards of cleanliness may be lower than Amy's.

Helmsman

The latest thing to break on the boat is the steering. Crossing the Chesapeake out of Baltimore, the steering seized up. We disassembled the steering box and found a couple teeth broken off a cog and stuck in the gears. The steering is now a little sloppy, and I'm not sure how long before more teeth break off the cog and the steering is totally kaput. I'm searching the internet for a replacement gear box.

Even with the degraded steering, Amy was an excellent helmsman this morning. And she didn't get seasick. In fact, after a couple hours driving she was giddy. A giddy Amy can be a handful, but I'll take it over a cranky Amy any day.

Stolen from Amy's blog:

I can’t even begin to describe the difference a day makes. We did veg out at our anchorage yesterday. There were terrible storms in the area, and lots of people are still without power in the nearby counties, but Scott found us a very protected spot. It just felt like a regular thunderstorm, and we watched the rain come down while we had dinner. (Salmon patties, recipe coming soon.)

Scott got up early this morning, and by the time I got out of bed at 6am, we were on our way up the Chesapeake Bay. He explained that we need to catch the tide at the right point, so we could move faster. The wind was in the wrong direction, so we motored with the current, but against the wind. This does make for a bumpy ride (and the sound of the boat smacking down on the water after a wave is a little distressing). I did discover one key to avoiding seasickness. If I’m at the helm, my eyes are glued to the horizon. I drove for about half of the morning, and I didn’t get a bit queasy.

A little before noon we made to the public dock in Chesapeake City, MD, where we even got to have lunch on land! (So much excitement for me today.) Tomorrow, we’ll get through the C&D canal, and anchor at the other side, in the Delaware Bay. It is nice to be making progress AND to be feeling good.

A Better Start

Stolen from Amy's blog:

Yesterday was our first day heading out of Baltimore. In the end, we made it about 30 miles to a creek on the other side of the Chesapeake bay, and we’re currently about 30 miles from the mouth of the C&D canal. (Recently, at my goodbye dinner in Western Mass, Matt asked about our route north - this is it: We’re going to cut through to the Delaware Bay, and then down around Cape May, and then up the Jersey coast to the East River, to the Long Island Sound.)

Yesterday’s trip could have been a better start for me. While the weather started out nice, the winds kicked up after noon. Scott was pretty excited because we got up to 8 mph, on sails alone. For a bit, I was a little caught up in the wonder of travel without motor, and thinking it was kinda cool. But the waves and the motion caught up with me. At least the motion sickness pills work as a sedative too.

We were most of the way across the bay at this point, so we kept going until we reached a small inlet, and were about to head into a creek to anchor, but the steering was stuck. So we dropped anchor for a while so Scott could figure out what was wrong. After a fix that will work “for now,” we were able to get into the creek to anchor. At the end of the day, I topped it all off by slipping on the stairs inside, and maybe breaking my toe. Swollen, hurts like hell, but nothing to be done about it. Those who know me will not be surprised: there were some tears.

We’ve stayed anchored here for about a day, in part because of thunderstorms, and in part, because I think Scott was afraid that if we had two days in a row like that, I may jump overboard and not come back.

Gunkholing

Definition - Cruising in shallow water and spending the nights in coves.

Left Baltimore yesterday morning. A small craft warning was issued from noon on. Possible anchorages along our path were White Rocks, Hart-Miller Island and Worton Creek. As we rounded H-M Island, the weather was holding and I decided to head up the bay and across to the Eastern Shore. Big mistake. The boat and I were fine, but the Admiral got seasick as the wind picked up and swells began to build.

It was a bad start to our cruise. I'm trying to make this trip as enjoyable as possible for the Admiral. But there is the tension of having to be in Martha's Vineyard by the end of the month. While this isn't a strenuous schedule, it does mean that we have to keep moving.

We're hanging out in Worton Creek today, gunkholing. We could make some miles today. The weather seems ok. But there are isolated thunderstorms rolling through, and I don't want to get caught in one of them.

Amy took her first sun shower this morning. She wouldn't let me post a picture of her showering in her bikini, so instead the pic is of me taking a bath in the creek.

Ready?

Girlfriend aboard, aka Little Blonde Distraction (LBD)

Storage space cleared for LBD, so she won't be so cranky.

Girlfriend's car parked at Grampa's house for the summer.

New anchor purchased.

New main halyard installed.

Boat power-washed. First shower boat and I have had in a number of months.

Leaky hatches removed, cleaned, recaulked and reinstalled.

Engine tuned and sounding better. No more misses or dying.

New fridge purchased for 3rd floor tenant.

Minor house maintenance completed.


I think we're ready.

Thanks to Glen and Maryanne and their clan for Memorial day crabs and birthday cookie. It's been ages since I've blown out candles on my bday.

Thanks to Grampa for storing LBD's car and giving us a ride back to Bmore.

Thanks to Mike at my old marina for hooking me up with electricity again.

Thanks to Sandy and Dennis for the new knives and fisherman tools (seen in the pic). Now I just need to catch something.


Winds are predicted calm and then southerly tomorrow. I was hoping for a short shakedown sail tomorrow. But if things go well, we may make some miles up the bay. I'll try to get the boatcam and gps online for the sail.

New Halyard

The old main sail halyard (line with which you hoist the sail) was beginning to disintegrate. The halyard runs from a cleat at the bottom of the mast, up to a pulley at the top of the mast, and back down to the sail. You might think that you would have to climb to the top of the mast to replace the halyard line, but that's not the case.

Sewed the ends of the old and new halyards together.

Taped the ends together.

Pulled the old halyard and then the connected new halyard through the mast. Cut the old halyard away. Tied the new halyard to the shackle with a bowline knot and cleated the other end.