June 8, 2012.

Christys “Parts Palace” is coming along nicely. Things are settling into place and its oh so nice to know whether or not something is in stock. Its even more refreshing to find out that something you ordered has arrived. But its not all fun and games here at the marina....

I had to fire somebody today. I'm sure it sucked for him but I KNOW it sucked for me. The dude was a fairly new hire that had embellished his abilities to the point that now in hindsight I find it,well, laughable. Of course we didn't know that at the time and nobodies laughing now.

About 10 days ago I had to talk to him about the level of effort I thought he was displaying. He didn't realize that I was delivering a monologue and tried to turn into an episode of “Point, Counterpoint”. I had 4 guys working on the same project. One of the fellas has 20 year under his belt and is already working. There’s 2 guys barely making more than minimum wage and they're at work and here comes the new guy with his cup a' java headed towards the already busy crew. Fuck that.

I made sure he was aware of my displeasure with his work ethic and since the conversation was already careening downhill I voiced my opinion on his questionable professional skills. Not surprisingly he was quite taken aback and seemed to think that raising his voice at me would help. He was wrong. One of the bonuses of being a lobster serial killer is that you gain some healthy lungs. You can't talk over me and the limits of my volume have yet to be tested.

The last 2 weeks have been a test of my patience. I was raised that when you started a job you put out some effort, some energy, you endeavored to impress. Watching this guys lethargic approach to everything has been eating at me. It was like watching a glacier move through the boatyard. When it became obvious that the quality of his work was something we couldn't be associated with it was time to part company.

I've never been fired. So I have this notion of what the impact of a firing has on the individual and their family. I figure its pretty traumatic and even though its warranted I’m not looking forward to it. A slacker like this can drag a small company full of hard working people down so he has to go.

When he picked up his check at the end of the day I told him that I was letting him go. His reaction was a complete lack of reaction. No anger, no despair, nothing at all...just an “Oh, okay”. I've been stressing over having to turn his world on its ear and his reaction is.....nothing. I still can't get over it.

June 3, 2012.

Here's a helpful hint from the galley of the Veranda. If the tub of Sour Cream is stuck to the wall its time to defrost the fridge.

Who says I don't know my way around the kitchen....

June 1, 2012.

The biggest benefit of my new job is that I get to see what everyone else at the shop is dealing with. And because you're all my friends I'll be periodically passing those “dealings” along to you.

One of our mechanics, Angus, had an interesting boat to deal with. The Babbler is a 4 year old boat built along the classic lines of the fishing boats run by waterman here on the bay. Instead of reeking of fish guts and blood the boat boasts pleather seating for several people to take a pleasant, slow bell, couple o' cocktail, river cruise. Its quite nice in an old school kinda way. And then there was the fire....

Some of the electrical harness caught fire so the owners decided someone should take a look at it. Angus attended college to become an electrical engineer and after the completion of his schooling he decided that it wasn't really what he wanted to do. If I were his Dad I might have thrown myself off the roof. But anyway.....

He has an affinity for the sea and decided to further his education by attending one of the preeminent boat building schools in the country. Fortunately for me, he now works for us in the glamorous, exotic, fast paced world of fixing peoples broken boat shit. (picture wrench toting supermodels covered in bilge funk driving Ferrari’s)

When the inverter was called upon to do its thing, bad things (fire) started to happen. The fuse block in the cable between the inverter and the battery bank completely melted. The wire itself burned as well. My first thought was WTH? The fuse block melted to the point of physical failure. The clear plastic snap on cover melted like candle wax and the fuse itself distorted and twisted.

Angus had a hunch and used his meter to check the fuse and found that in spite of its condition it was still electrically sound. The fuse had never blown. It was the wrong type of fuse but it still should have blown. Like most of this newer generation, Angus went right to the internet.

Based on the length of the wire run the inverter/ charger manufacturer called for either a 2/0 or 3/0 wire. We were at the maximum length for a 2/0 while we were at the shortest length for the larger 3/0. While the 2/0 wire was acceptable the 3/0 was slightly overkill. Obviously the installer had chosen the 2/0 EXCEPT he had grabbed #2 wire rather than 2/0. So instead of being at the lower end of the suggested sizes he was 4 sizes undersized. So undersized wire + a possible crappy connection at the fuse block = excessive heat which manifested itself as FIRE!

So the Babbler's issue has been fixed by a length of 3/0 wire and a pair of proper fuses. Fortunately for the owners wallet the inverter/ charger suffered no damage and now that its properly wired continues to plug away. All hail Angus.

May 26, 2012.

And now the rest of the news.

With Christy having the new job, some irregular thoughts started going through my head. The organizing shes doing is a massive undertaking. Just when shes got it under control and running smoothly it'll be time for us to head south for the winter. Somebody else is going to come along and slip into a job where the dirty work has already been done.

A month before our return the yard manager at the AHBY set out for greener pastures. The company tried for a time to get along without the position being filled but they found that they really needed somebody to tie the day to day operations together. Which fire to put out first, who's promised what to whom and how to best deploy the manpower were all being approached as each manager saw fit.

The coordination of a 20 person workforce is right up my former alley. So I applied for the job. I found that I had already been considered but our seasonal nature was an issue. I had foreseen this and had only applied because Christy & I had a plan.

Christy having the good job that should get easier with time was a major consideration. Another was the fact that Veranda could use a year off from the grind of cruising. It's time for a refit. With the extra money generated by a full year of working we can perform some major upgrades. Pulling and refurbishing the rig, a new mainsail, a new drive train and a new roller furler are at the top of the list. New toilets we got, so we're covered there.

So we've decided to forgo cruising this season. I committed to staying in town for the next 18 months and in return I'm the new yard manager at Annapolis Harbor Boat Yard. After the October of 2013 boat show my obligation ends and we're free to leave. But at this point who really knows. Its all about being happy and if we're paid like we deserve and are enjoying ourselves here who's to say what the fall of 2013 holds.

At the end of my first week in my new capacity things are looking pretty good. There was laughter in the yard, a LOT of boats were repaired and returned to their owners and the sun even decided to poke through. I think I even glimpsed a unicorn frolicking in the back lot. Timeliness is our biggest issue at the moment but we made a huge gash in the backlog of work immediately in front of us.

Can I do the job? Yeah. I've got the support of management and a talented crew that enjoys doing good work. The quality pieces are all in place, they just need to be applied efficiently. And the parts coordinator loves me....

May 24, 2012.

I've been remiss in keeping up with the blog as of late. We've been pretty busy and there have been some major changes.

The biggest change was in Christy's job options for this season. The woman that she did brightwork with the last 2 years was being a little uncommunicative. Maggie broke a few ribs last year which really put a limit on what she could physically do. Combine this with the unpredictability of the weather and a birthday celebration/ vacation that lasted for more than 2 weeks and the decent paychecks were few and far between.

As we roared up the eastern seaboard Maggie professed a desire to have Christy's help again this year. But once we arrived there didn't seem to be any boats lined up for brightwork and more than a few phone calls went unanswered. Since we're not working as a hobby but for remuneration we decided it might be a good time for Christy to look for full time employment. The hourly rates bound to be smaller as Maggie was very generous but it might work out better in the long run.

My job was looking for a wood refinisher so she went down to inquire about it. Turns out she walked in the door on the right day. There was a mini uproar over the lack of control of the parts we install on peoples boats.

Lets say I was sent to your boat to fix a starting issue. If I determine that a new starter is the answer then I would return to the office, decide what starter was required and then order it. So instead of the mechanic spending time repairing boats he's got to spend time researching and ordering parts. When the part arrives the bill is paid by the company and the starter is given to the mechanic. So I would take the starter that the company just laid out the cash for down to your boat to install it. Then when I filled out my time sheet for the days work if I neglected to note the starter then the starter never made it onto your invoice. Something as simple as a starter install and it probably wouldn't get forgotten but when dozens of parts are going towards a single boat then the mechanics “memory” isn't good enough. Multiply that by several mechanics and the amount of money and parts involved is dizzying. After several instances of costly parts sailing over the horizon without being billed it was time to address the issue.

Christy is now our new parts coordinator. EVERYTHING we order, from tape for the painters, resin for the fiberglass people to breakers for the electrician goes through Christy.

On the negative side is that Christy has never been a secretary so her typing is like most of us, mediocre. She's also having to learn and master three intricate computer programs while her position takes shape around her while one mechanic after another asks for widgets and muffler bearings. It's a lot like learning to swim at the top of a waterfall.

The plus side is huge. Christy gets to shop from more than a dozen catalogs and an unlimited supply of internet resources; all with somebody elses credit card. She gets her shopping fix and the bill isn't ours.

Even though shes not out in the sun with a heat gun shes still busting her ass. But things should get smoother as things fall into place.

May 20, 2012.

Last weekend the princess mounted her new throne. So that left the rest of the head looking a little shabby in comparison. Or so I'm told.

So this weekend was dedicated to yet more boat chores including the replacement of the faucet in the aft head and the faucet in the galley.

The aft faucet went in like it was supposed to so I threw in a bonus and changed out the rather shoddy sink drain. And there was great joy throughout the realm.

While there was nothing wrong with the galley faucet it was an issue that needed to be dealt with to keep the crew in harmony. The chef has a spice rack mounted directly over the sink. When you lifted the lever to turn the sink on, the lever touched the bottom of the rack. The interference was only a quarter of an inch but it was an issue. Raise the spice rack some might suggest....but alas, we could not because the paper towels live directly over the spice rack. Raise them both thou might suggest. Above the paper towels there is a permanent shelf where all manner of galley paraphernalia doth live.

This interference was fairly small and didn't really affect water flow. As soon as the faucet was half opened the water pump came on and that's pretty much that. Raise the damn lever as high as you like but if the pumps already running full blast that's pretty much it. The Princess scoffs at the laws of physics so we searched all throughout the kingdom until we found a low profile faucet at Ye Olde Home Depot that would allow full function of the magical water providing lever.

Eighty dollars and 2 hours of contortionist labor later we had our additional quarter inch of throw and there was once again peace throughout the land. No more water flow than before but that's not really the issue is it.

Since we were on a roll we back flushed and pickled the watermaker. Filled the water tank, defrosted the freezer, checked and adjusted the water level in the ships batteries, food shopped, drove to Home Depot for work, Tucker was groomed, a trip to Petco, cleaned and organized some cabinets and changed the inline freshwater filter.

I'm thinking I've earned Knighthood.

May 19, 2012.

Yesterday at work at the end of the day we got a phone call from the owner of one of the local race boats. It seems while attempting to install a new main halyard he screwed up somehow and had the old halyard fall out of the mast without the new one taking its place as he had hoped. He would like to stop in and have someone install a new halyard. Oh, and there’s racing tomorrow, could we do it right now? Sure Cap'n, come on over.

Its a fractional rig so there’s no other halyards that go to the masthead. That leaves me in the bosuns chair, dangling from the hook on the crane and hopefully, gently brought to the masthead to drop a new line down through the mast.

Like any normal guy the captain was a little chagrined at having screwed up the whole halyard exchange in the first place. He seemed to be very into letting me know that he knew what he was doing as he laid out the plan for the installation of the new halyard. I had already surmised that he knew what he was doing since he had decided to don sailing gloves for the 300 yard motor from his slip to our marina. I listened politely and then explained what was actually going to take place.

I was going to send a line down the mast that he would hook and pull out at the bottom. He'd attach his new halyard and I would pull it up and through the masthead. I stressed that he couldn't be jumping around the decks as he moved on his boat. If the boat heels only a couple of inches at the waterline the masthead wants to swing back and forth several feet. While at the masthead I wrap my legs around the mast to keep my relative position to the masthead steady. If the mast should get away from me it wants to swing 5 feet in one direction while my dangling ass wants to swing in the opposite direction. Swinging away isn't a big deal, its when we start heading back at each other that it starts to resemble “Bill the Piñata versus the 50 foot stick”. The last time I had a captains help it ended with my first emergency room visit in over 30 years. So captain please move slowly and deliberately.

I had to remind him twice from above but otherwise the new halyard installation went pretty well. But this is one of those times when you find out if a persons glass is half full or half empty. While at the masthead I discovered that his backstay had broken wires at the swedged fitting. So there's a very real possibility that if he had gone sailing this weekend it would have parted and he would have lost his entire rig.

When Karl returned me safely to the ground I explained to the captain that his backstay was partially parted. His first reaction was “Damn, after I just went through all this and spent the money to have you replace the halyard, crap”. Frankly, I was kinda dumbf'kingfounded. I looked at him and said “Captain, losing that halyard was a stroke of luck. You just dodged a bullet. That whole rig coulda come down. My trip up the mast is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to the price of your sails and rig. Not to mention that somebody could have been killed.” Right away he snapped out of it but he still lamented “I'm just so disappointed” I told him “Dude, your the luckiest guy I met today”

What queen doesn't deserve a new throne every now and then....Happy Mothers Day sweetie

What did you do on your day off?

May 9, 2012.

The eye is all better and work is going well so I thought I'd use this opportunity to do the fishing season recap.

This year we really knocked the shit outta the lobster with 181 taken. The weather was especially nice, we made it south pretty quickly and the lobster gods favored us with a record harvest. We gave a lot away, we brought 9 back with us and evidently ate a shitload.

57 Lionfish were removed from the delicate ecosystem that is the Bahamas. They're an invasive species and I kill em' because its the right thing to do. They're so dangerous that they just sit there looking at you when you swim up to destroy them. Even after they're shot there’s no fight, they just sorta die. Good riddance. Bitches.

Hogfish is our favorite fish. They can be pretty deceiving when it comes to size. In the past I've been badly fooled and discovered that my catch was a lot smaller than I had anticipated before I shot him. After firing its too late to take it back so I tried to be a lot more selective when shooting.

As a result we only took 14 but I was pretty pleased by the size of all of them.

I only took 1 Nassau Grouper this season. Before the season I saw several big ones but once the season started I just wasn't seein' the large ones. I passed on dozens of borderline fish but I can't really complain.

We took our first Tiger Grouper

ever this year so I have to consider it a success that we came away with 3 Tiger Grouper for the season.

I took 1 Margate this year because he was a monster. They're easy to kill so I really don't bother unless a huge one shows up. And one did.

We also took our first Porgy this year. They're pretty skittish and I was pleased to run into one face to face with my spear already cocked. Another bonus was that he was fairly large and turned out to be quite tasty.

I took 1 Red Hind this year. They're usually fairly small so I generally skip em' but this year a big one challenged me to a game of “around the rock”. He was also tasty....for a loser.

The last fish of the season was a real nice Almaco Jack. He was so big that the meat chunks that Christy prepared in a soy sauce/ ginger glaze were mistaken by guests as ribs until they started eating them.

Big, solid, really firm meat that was very good.

During the season we had a tremendous day of line fishing while traversing a stretch of deep water. We were rewarded with 3 Mahi Mahi. Mahi is a terrific fish and straight out of the sea, they're hard to beat. Of course none of our were as bigs our friend Mikes. Bastage.

May 5, 2012.

Happy Cinco De Mayo everybody. Margaritas and nachos for everyone.

Yesterday we had an older powerboat in the 45 foot range come in with a delivery crew onboard. The boats instruments and fresh water pump all failed during their trip down the bay. The boat has a combination 12 / 24 volt system. The 24 volt side of the system was healthy while the 2, 12 volt batteries were as dead as any battery I’ve ever seen.

The 12 volt battery charger is water stained and obviously is not working. The engines only charge the 24 volt system and the generator has to run to charge the 12 volt side. So they've been plugging in to a dock every night and using an auto style charger to top up the 12 volt batteries every night. They got in late the previous night and didn't apply the charger and now the batteries are dead. Go figure. They don't want to pay for a new charger, they just want to get moving.

We put a charger on the batteries to enable them to start the generator. If they run the generator periodically they can keep the batteries charged and continue on their journey. I'm not sure why but color me surprised when after an hour of charging the batteries the generator didn't even think about starting. Its at this point the captain decided to share the fact that they haven't actually run the generator but he “thinks the survey said it works”.

The abused batteries are not recovering so he opted to replace them with 2 new group 31's. This is when my day started to spin down the toilet.

I was working elsewhere when the new batteries arrived later that afternoon. So at 1530 I grabbed my tools and the batteries and headed down to make the swap. There’s a large set of stairs inside the cockpit so I lifted the first battery over the gunnel and into the cockpit and set it on the top step. I put the second battery next to it and turned to get my tools. I saw the captain lift the batteries and put them next to the opening in the floor.

I should have asked him not to touch them but I just didn't think. What could be the possible harm. It was one of those hindsight moments everyone has that you agonise over later. They were in the midst of washing the boat and when I stepped over the gunnel and into the cockpit the addition of my weight made the boat move ever so slightly. But thats all it took. I watched helplessly as one of the batteries slid off the edge of the wet deck and toppled into the bilge.

I dropped my tools, jumped into the hole and shoved the other battery away from the opening. The battery had fallen 3 feet, bounced off a diamond plate platform and fallen another 2 feet into the lowest bilge. Everything is wet from them washing the boat and the battery is lying on its side in a few inches of water in the bilge. I snatch it out and set it between my knees on the wet diamond plate platform to examine it.

I carefully inspected one side then another. While I'm looking at the third side I realize that the case is split and battery acid is draining out into a puddle that I'm kneeling in. As I put the battery back down it slipped on the wet decking and flopped into the acid. It was like somebody had thrown a shot glass of acid straight into my eye.

None on my shirt, none on my shorts just straight in the left eye. Shit. I jumped up outta the hole and fortunately the guy washing the boat was standing on the dock right next to the cockpit with the hose his still in his hand. I was flushing my eye within 5 seconds of the splash. After 2 minutes I ran up to the shop and used the eye wash station for several more minutes.

Christy then drove me to the hospital in one of the company trucks. The ride would have almost been comical if not for the pain in my eye. We ran into traffic at the last traffic light before the drawbridge. The traffic was caused by a crew pushing one of those long Dragon boats across the bridge on dollies. Christy made a turn to avoid the bridge and the 20 minute clusterf'k that this spectacle was gonna cause.

The new route would add a few miles but it should get us to the highway quicker. At the last light before the highway we ran into traffic from a fresh accident blocking our path. Christy once again changed direction but back towards the smaller streets and traffic of town. After finally getting through the circle on West Street we arrived at the hospital. A trip of less than maybe 8 miles in 35 minutes.

Christy dumped me at the door while she went to park. I wandered into the ER with a moist paper towel over my eye. There’s a long line waiting to sign in, great. A volunteer standing outside the counter asks what happened and when told he immediately took me in for treatment while completely bypassing the line. Awesome.

Pretty quickly my stats were taken and my eye was irrigated. A doctor did a pretty thorough examination. I have some abrasions on my cornea to the side of my line of sight so my vision is unaffected. It should heal in a week or less so after being issued some antibiotic drops we were on our way. The hospital was super efficient and it actually took longer to fill out the paperwork afterword than it did to get treated. Kudos to the hospital.

Having the hose being so close at hand and getting water into my eye so quickly really saved the day. By the next morning my eye was already much better with just some redness and a bit o' pain.

I also noted that when I used the term "masterbation aid" in the last post, hits on the blog went up 40%. Interesting.

May 3, 2012.

Boats are all so different as are their owners. Diversity is good or at least amusing.

This Shannon fifty something footer is one of those boats that I lust after.

A beautiful Vee berth, a double sized quarter berth and copious room for “stuff”. Nice ride.

Although I was a bit intimidated by the 6 faucets at the galley sink. I didn't bother to look to see what they were plumbed to but I'm guessing a foot pump for each of the fresh water tanks, a nozzle for the Sea Gull filtered water, a sea water pump, the standard galley faucet and a dedicated nozzle for rum on tap.

I dunno, the boat just oozes class and if I had a spare $600,000 laying around we'd be the proud new owners.

But in appreciation of diversity this other boat oozes something other than class. I'm not sure what the naked girl from truckers mudflaps is doing hanging from the shower head but my guess is, masturbation aid.

I did enjoy the useful hints for using the head that were taped right to the vanity in the head.

If you guessed powerboat....Bada Bing, you're correct.

April 29, 2012.

We arrived late Wednesday so we spent Thursday morning sleeping in. And it was wonderful. On Thursday I walked down to the job and told em' we were back. It was good to see everyone again and to see what changes had taken place in my absence. Most impressive was an awesome brand new travel lift. After a short visit I borrowed one of the company trucks and did some running around.

Christy and I knocked off a bunch of niggling tasks from the to do list. We went to the eye doctor and had her glasses repaired. We picked up some propane, groceries, hit West Marine and we stopped in and rented a mailbox at one of those places. Once back at the boat I gathered up my tools and loaded them into the truck for the trip down to the shop.

On Friday I started work again. I was surprised that the first boat I was assigned was one of the last boats I touched before leaving. In the fall I installed a bunch of new Alpenglow lights and when I went to tackle a few small electrical problems I found that the water in the bilge was actually showing 13 DC volts. Thats never good but it was time for us to head south so the boat was passed to colleague.

After contacting the owner it came to light that the boat had spent some unexpected time on the bottom of the bay. And since the boat is not a submarine this voyage to the bottom of the sea was very bad for pretty much all of the boats systems. Once refloated another marina did a complete rewiring of the boat. It turns out that its not as easy as it looks because they really did a crappy job.

During the course of the winter Karl removed and replaced various wiring and terminal ends throughout the boat. He also dealt with several “wires to nowhere” that were randomly left here and there. He gave me a quick walk through of what still needed to be done and I spent the day finishing things up.

This weekend the First Annual Spring Boat Show was held here in Annapolis. The show is really small; only filling Ego Alley with boats and a few dozen vendors. We heard that it was $10 per person to attend the show so we decided to head over. Imagine my surprise when we got there that they expected US to pay THEM. I figured since the show was so small that THEY ought to pay US 10 bucks apiece to attend their sad little show. I thought they should pay us this year, maybe next year we'd do it for free and after that as the show got to be more enticing they might be justified in charging admission. I can guarantee that if they had done things my way there would have been a much better turn out and descriptions of the show like “underwhelming” wouldn't be floating around.

So instead of walking through the boat show we did boat chores. Prism Polish on the Stainless and Aluma-Guard on the aluminum. Next weekend I'll clean the ICW mustache from the waterline and the Veranda should be almost presentable.

April 25, 2012.

After wonderful evening at Pete & Lynns gorgeous new home we were looking forward to one more long day to get back to Annapolis. We had a 75 mile day in front of us so we slipped away from the dock at 0600.

The trip out to the bay was directly into the rising sun. With hundreds of crab pots and several fish traps to deal with the trip was a bit of an adventure. But once we turned north it turned into another great day on the bay. The winds were lighter than yesterday but still from a favorable direction so for the most part it was good sailing.

The one thing that did surprise me was the amount of fishermen out on the water. We dodged at least 500 small vessels towing all kinds of crap in the pursuit of the infamous Rockfish. We really had to pay attention as boats were headed in every direction all day. Hundreds of pleasure craft bitching at each other about who has the right of way and who's going to foul whose gear and then we come along and pick our way through all of them. Its Wednesday, why aren't they all at work?

 We had to motorsail the last 3 hours to make it into Annapolis before dark. We arrived during Wednesday night racing but we snuck into Back Creek without getting in anybodies way.

We warped our way into the same tiny slip from last year just as darkness fell. The boat is safe and we're glad to finally take a day off from dawn to dusk traveling.

Veranda done reach.....

April 24, 2012.

Generally, overnight in the Bahamas we'll use between 60 and 80 DC amps from dusk til dawn. The bulk of that is sucked up by the refrigerator and the freezer. Last night with the temps in the mid forties we used 18 amps....all night. It's so damn cold the fridge barely comes on.

We woke to 15 knots outta the southwest. We're at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay so the prospect for a glorious day of sailing was pretty high. We pulled the hook, raised the main and headed out. After 2 miles we pulled out the genoa, killed the engine and began what would be a perfect day of sailing.

The wind was a bit gusty with wind speeds jumping from 11 to 25 knots. We ended up averaging 6.9 knots for our 55 nautical mile day. We're now tied up behind our friends Pete & Lynn's home on one of the 186 Mill Creeks on the Chesapeake. We woke in a Mill Creek, traveled 55 miles only to spend the night in another Mill Creek.

Pete & Lynn usually cruise on their 44 foot Hylas, First Edition. They took this season off to complete the building of their new home. The new house is magnificent with 2 features that I was very glad to see. First was a deep water dock with room for their boat and anyone who happens to drop in. Like us. My other big fav was of course the veranda with a wonderful view of the river.

April 23, 2012.

I just finished up the math and we've covered about 775 miles in 8 days. With only one overnighter on the ocean that's some serious hauling butt. We knew we had 2 days of heavy rain on its way so we really pressed hard to get to the free wall at the Great Bridge Lock in Great Bridge, Va.

We made it to the wall by 1600 hours on Saturday and the heavy rain arrived on Sunday. Like the other 7 boats tied to the wall we decided to stay put until the weather cleared a bit. This gave us the chance to meet Bill and his wife Sali. I've interacted with Bill on various sailing message boards for 5 or 6 years now. They picked us up at the boat and whisked us away and treated us to a really nice lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Over the course of our cruising lives we've met probably 2 or 3 dozen folks that we already had an internet relationship with. I'm always a little apprehensive when meeting people that already know so much about us but once again we've yet to be disappointed.

After bidding our new friends goodbye Christy and I settled in for the evening. Thats when it struck us just how freakin' cold it was getting. Rain with no sun all day forced me to run the generator for the first time in over a month. As the temps dipped below 50º Tucker was invited below for the night.

While checking the weather today we were shocked to see that there’s a large snowstorm making its way up through the northeast. It seems like its going to stay to the west of us but there’s still something disturbing about being at the same latitude as a major snow storm. I mean, its the end of April fer Christ sake.

On Monday morning the rain let up for a bit so we decided to knock out a short 20 mile day. We gathered and stowed our lines and passed through the 1000 lock. As soon as we were locked through the rain once again resumed. It was so nasty we had to use our Nav lights to safely transit Portsmouth and Norfolk. All the bridges cooperated today so we were soon anchor down in Mill Creek awaiting more favorable conditions to start north on the bay tomorrow.

The temps never exceeded 60 degrees today. We had the lanterns of warmth & balminess lit before 1500 even though the warmth from engine is keeping the boat fairly decent.

April 21, 2012. Since we left Saint Augustine we've been hauling ass. After a peaceful night in Winyah Bay we motored 67 miles up the ICW to Calabash Creek, SC. Along the way we got to transit The Rockpile at dead low tide.

There’s plenty of depth and at low tide the dangers are more apparent so I actually prefer the low tide trip. This sign has never made sense to me. They want you to worry about the rocks that you can see.

What about at high tide when they're under the surface. It seems to me that's the time you should be worried. After Calabash Creek we motored another 58 miles to Wrightsville Beach. The highlight of this day was doing the Cape Fear River against the tide. With all sail up and a very light but favorable breeze at one point we were making an SOG of 2.8 knots. We ended up dropping the hook in Wrightsville Beach next to Discovery and Tilt. We had been outta internet touch for a while and they shared their plan to head offshore in a light and variable breeze and motor to Beaufort. A long day on the inside would find us in Mile Hammock Bay and then another day would get us to Beaufort, NC. So it was a no brainer. The next day we pulled the hook at dawn and headed out on a truly miserable day. 10 knots close to the nose, gray as hell, cold, just a shitty day. We motorsailed all day and as the others dropped their hooks in Beaufort we kept on going. We knocked out another 20 miles and dropped the hook in Adams Creek at dusk. The next day was an uneventful 102 mile day down the Neuse, up the Bay River, through Goose Creek, up the Pungo River, through the Pungo Canal and we didn't stop until nightfall just north of the Alligator River Swing Bridge. 102 miles makes for a looong day. This morning we pulled the hook at 0600 for a 72 mile day to the free wall at the Great Bridge Lock. We had to get underway early to make it to the Centerville Turnpike Swing Bridge which has a restricted opening schedule from 1600 until 1800 every evening. We made it by 1500 and after hitting the fuel dock at Atlantic Yacht Basin we tied up at the free dock in Great Bridge, VA by 1600. Then we walked downtown and grabbed us some veggies at a real grocery store. Now we're drinkin'

April 16, 2012.

After 2 days of eating wonderful bargain priced pizza and swilling 2 for 1 beers it was time to leave Saint Augustine.

(work disclaimer)We weren't dragging our feet, we were just pausing for a weather window. The wind has been honking out of the east northeast so on Saturday morning when we pulled the hook we found the inlet impassible. There were 2 sailboats on the outside and they couldn't get in while we couldn't get out.

Rather than sit and hope for a better tomorrow we headed up the ICW to Jacksonville. Conditions there were still dangerous so we found a quite anchorage to drop the hook in. We ended up right in front of an old plantation on the Fort George River. The plantation is now a part of the park system so after dark we had the place to ourselves. Except for the ghosts.

We were just going to bed and Christy glanced out the port and exclaimed “look at those windows!” Up on the second floor of the deserted building the lights were flickering on and off. Full bright fading to black and then back on. Then fading almost out before coming back halfway, then out or full on. Whatever. It was totally random and quite otherworldly and considering the locale a little freaky. Alright, very freaky. But we were tired so we donned garlic necklaces and went to bed.

At 0630 we were out of there and riding the current down and out of Jacksonville. The last 200 meters of the inlet was quite lively and once we turned north the sailing was exactly what we both signed up for. For four hours.

The 3 foot rollers coming under the beam went unnoticed while we had 15 to 18 knots in the sails. But after 4 hours the wind started to fade, dramatically. I spent 5 hours trying different sail sizes and combinations to no avail. Finally with the wind down to 4 knots and us with a boat speed of 1.8 knots we started the engine at 1600 hours. The 3 foot swell never went away so any sail just tried to flog itself to death. Even the Boat Pole of Speed© was no help.

At noon on Monday we rode the tide into Charleston. Since it was so early and we're trying to make tracks north (brown nosing for work) we turned up the ICW and kept going. We got a terrific push from the tide and we put another 50 miles behind us on the ICW and we finally dropped the hook just before sunset and killed the engine after 27 hours.

April 14, 2012.

I just realized I neglected to write about a very exciting event in our cruising lives. We were underway in the ICW just south of Daytona Beach when we were ambushed by the Fecal Federales.

The water cops in New Smyrna Beach are infamous for their heavy handed boarding of private yachts. Some how traveling boaters have no civil rights. If you were driving your car down the road a cop can't stop you and go through your car unless he has probable cause. The cops can't come to your front door and demand entry because they think your septic system isn't up to code. Its crazy but it is what it is, deal with it. A lot of people lose their minds over it and the internet is rife with horror stories of dealing with the waterway Poopie Police.

In the past we've had the Commode Cops board the boat in front of us and the boat behind us but they've never done us. Before today. We were both in the cockpit and I saw 5 heavily armed cops crammed into a smallish center console. They were headed the opposite direction and I waved as they went by. When I received a sheepish return wave I knew our day had come. They spun around and roared up along our starboard side. Damn honey, hide the Haitians and flush the plutonium we're being boarded.

The guy in charge told us they were coming aboard to check our MSD's. I made them stand off while Christy put a leash on Tucker. T-dog isn't very big but everybody has ankles. If Tucker was a 120 pound Rottweiler named Lucifer I might not have said anything. Just let them discover him themselves and maybe they would add something new to the list of questions they ask before they hop onboard. With that done 2 of them hopped across and the head Doodoo Detective started to explain what an MSD was. I start every day on a Marine Sanitation Device so we cut him off at the beginning. Lets just get this over with.

Theres 2, one forward, one aft, help yourselves. After a minute the "head" guy popped his head up and asked me to show him where the appropriate plumbing was. I showed him the valves that send the poop to the holding tank rather than overboard. He noted that they were set to the correct position and locked in place with zip ties. That was it, a moment later they were gone. But not before the younger guy bashed the shit out of his head when he tried to stand upright while still underneath the hard dodger. Snicker, chortle.

All in all they couldn't have been more polite but then again so were we. We came to idle for them to board and then he asked us to resume speed so as not to delay us. When their mission was done they just jumped back into their boat at speed and were gone. The fine for a violation is 250 bucks so it really pays to have your shit straight.

Were our civil rights violated? I dunno, probably. Do I give a shit, no, I keep it in a tank onboard....

April 13, 2012.

Someone wrote with some questions about deploying 2 anchors like we did in Great Sale Cay. So here goes....

When we left Jersey we had never had the need to drop 2 hooks. The tide went up, the tide went down but there was never any current to deal with. If the wind was up, we stayed in the slip rather than venture out on the bay. But once your out and about you have to learn to deal with what Mother Nature steers your way.

Our primary hook is a 66 pound Spade on 200 feet of 3/8's chain. The thing is a beast. I have the utmost faith in this setup and we've slept like babies while others dragged away. But since we carry 4 anchors we never hesitate to drop a second hook the first time I even consider it. Its a lot like reefing your sails. The expert opinion is that if you even consider reefing....do it! Thats the same approach we take with dropping the second hook. Anchors won't do you any good if they aren't in the water. I'd feel like a major asshole if we dragged while we had 3 other hooks just sitting around going for a boat ride.

If I know which way the heavy wind is supposed to come from I have an easy technique that I like to use. If the water is clear as it is in so much of the Bahamas I begin by setting our primary hook just like any other day. We may pay out some additional scope but other than that its the same technique. Then I take our Fortress FX23 and attach it directly to our secondary anchor rode. Its all rope with no chain.

Lets say we have 90 feet out on our primary anchor. I have Christy drive the boat directly up over our well set primary anchor. We go to neutral and come to a stop about 60 feet past the primary anchor. So the set hook is behind the boat. The primary anchor is still set and we haven't affected it other than the chain being dragged up past the hook. This is where I drop the Fortress. I pay the rode out by hand as we drift back. Christy goes into reverse to pull the primaries chain straight while I continue to pay out the rode.

Once I'm sure the chain is straight like it outta be she goes to neutral. Theoretically we have the well set primary 90 feet in front of the boat and the Fortress as a secondary 150 feet off the bow. I pull in the rode and the Fortress has always set within 20 feet. Then Christy backs down on the secondary hook. Once its set I cleat it off so that the chain from the primary is hanging straight down and the entire boat is being held by the secondary hook. Even though the hooks are directly in line with each other they're at least 40 feet apart. This way in the unlikelihood that the secondary hook starts to drag the already well set primary hook will come into play and save the boat.

In Great Sale the sand in the water was so stirred up from the wave action we opted to drop the hooks 45º apart. I didn't want to take the chance of dropping the second hook too close to the primary. I couldn't see the primary so to avoid possibly tripping the primary with the secondary we modified the plan a bit. We dropped and set the primary and then motored off at an angle before once again dropping the Fortress, drifting back and setting it. We ended up with 120 feet of chain on the primary and 140 feet of rode on the secondary so no matter what happened the hooks couldn't get within 20 feet of each other.

I like to use the Fortress as our second hook for a few reasons. Its light and easy to handle. As a directional anchor in a mud or sand bottom its a monster. When we want it to keep us from swinging too close to shore I put it in the dink and drive away while Christy pays out 150 feet of rode. She cleats it off and I drop the hook over the side. I go back to the big boat and hand set the anchor and then re cleat it. The Fortress needs a decent amount of scope to be effective. This need for scope also makes recovery a snap. From either the big boat or the dinghy I just haul in the rode and once the rode nears vertical the hook just pops out. Its hard to believe how the hook that just held our 32,000 pound boat in 50 knots of wind can break free from the bottom so easily. The reason we use all rode is that chain makes manual handling a bit of a pain in the ass.

The Fortress is most effective in either a sand or mud bottom. Anything too hard or grassy and we drop our 45 pound CQR as a second hook. The CQR is much more difficult to handle than the FX-23 and from the dinghy it can be a real ball buster.

In the last 6 years I think we've used the CQR twice and the Fortress perhaps 12 to 15 times. We also carry another, even larger Fortress FX-37 that's never been wet.

If we have 2 hooks down for an extended period of time and as the tide and currents do their thing the 2 rodes may become twisted. Its easy enough to untie the all rope rode from the boat and pass it around the chain rode until its untangled. Or, when anchored in a small tidal creek with 2 hooks I've used the dinghy as a tugboat and just pushed the stern of the big boat around until the rodes are untangled.

I've heard of some people using 2 hooks in series on the same rode but both deployment and recovery is more difficult in both cases. In fact the logistics involved boggle my mind. If its not simple you're not gonna use it. The all rope rode with the Fortress couldn't be easier.

When in doubt, throw 2 hooks out. It only takes an additional 5 minutes to deploy the second hook. Recovery is a snap as well once you've had a little practice. And it sure beats the hell out of trying to kedge your boat off the beach.

April 12, 2012.

Just some random recent stuff...

When Jesus gets tired of walking on water I guess he and one of his disciples jump in the Hobie and go for a spin. You'd think that when the Lord was out on the water he'd have better breeze.

This guy spent 10 years building his own trawler. Its got to be full of “individual” touches. Whens the last time you saw a circular stairwell boarding ladder?

The Department of Homeland Security was out on the water conducting man overboard drills. They needed the practice.

We were in Staniel Cay and found a bizarre stairway....

You ever hand fed a rooster? They're as quick as a snake and definitely have some emotional issues.

Finding blue seaglass is fun. Finding the entire bottle still unbroken leaves you with a conundrum.

And finally, I take this picture every time we pass by. I don't know why but the giant fish face on the roof just makes me happy....