Norfolk, VA
To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.
The (short) 2024 season is almost here.
We're moving out of Texas, after nine months.
We have some restowing and rearranging at our base in North Carolina. And then we'll have a month or so on Red Ranger.
Stand by.
For now, some pictures of packing the truck.
This is …
We're focusing on April 10th, 2024.
If all goes well, we're bound to arrive Safe Cove Marina on that day.
We've got about three intensive days of commissioning before launch. (I'll share the list, don't worry.)
Then we'll need to spend a some time at their dock, where the potable …
As noted in Looking at the future, it's time to start dreaming again.
For this year, the Gulf Coast of Florida is our aspiration.
Getting out of Charlotte Harbor would be pleasant, if we can do that.
I've updated my planning charts to include the Bahamas (for next year) and …
It's time to start arm-chair sailing again.
Our stay in Texas is drawing to a close.
The sailing season is slipping away from us. It's December to June, more-or-less.
We think it shapes up like this...
Drive from NC to Florida.
Clean and launch Red Ranger. Safe Cove …
From a friend: https://www.finsulate.com/en/
(They're not a boater, but they're interested in preserving our planet.)
https://www.finsulate.com/en/antifouling-products/seagrade/
Interesting. Leaving a note here for future me to look at in two years.
Right now, we're hoping to spend maybe a month in …
Since about 2018, I've been calling myself a "technomad".
(There's a portable speaker system with this brand name. Not related. At all.)
I count myself a member of the group of folks who do high-tech work and live a nomadic life. Here are the two key criteria:
I write books …
Status Report. Red Ranger is on the hard in Safe Cove.
Nothing has changed. Scott looked in on her recently, and reconnected shore power.
We're still in Texas.
Here's a factoid that come up in the Whitby Call yesterday.
Dash-223
Durometer 75
We have 6 fillers. The …
Status Report. Red Ranger remains on the hard in Safe Cove.
We remain in Texas.
We have some potential "plans." But. Without many details, plan is too strong a word.
Meanwhile, here's the Thanksgiving Bloody Mary Bar.
Many fixings. Many levels of hotness.
Celery. Pickles, Cheese Curds …
Status Report. Red Ranger is on the hard in Safe Cove.
Nothing has changed. Hurricane season is still in full swing.
We're still in Texas.
The picture is from Utah.
Status Report. Red Ranger is on the hard in Safe Cove. She's ready for another hurricane season.
We've returned from Rehoboth Beach and are on our way to Ft. Worth, TX, for a few months.
Come November -- and the end of Hurricane Season -- we'll see what the family situation is …
Start with the back-story, Painful Head-ectomy.
And Week 1: Stowage and More Stowage.
Some Details: Horrifying Failure — Averted and Scout's at the Dinghy Doctor. Also, Southbound Day 28-29 Offshore Passage, specifically the "Wed10 — Noon Watch (Noon-16:00; CA)" entry.
Also, see Second (and Final) Head-Ectomy for a non Nature's Head …
Some great questions. And some answers.
I think the sailor (and writer) Beth Leonard said "Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places."
The ocean is demanding, and mere human ingenuity isn't up to creating a vessel …
Where will we be for the balance of the 2023 Hurricane Season?
Traveling on land.
We've finished all the Hurricane Ian repairs. We're almost ready to go.
Plans for 2023-2024 Sailing Season?
Going to be doing family care. We'll leave Red Ranger high and dry.
Not much …
We're in the Mojave desert. This is an odd place for a sailor. But we've become addicted to desert life.
At sea, of course, the view in all directions looks alike -- water. During our first few hikes in the desert, we were bedeviled by an "it all looks alike" confusion …
About a month ago, we had questions about the rig.
And they were answered.
We're not there, in case you weren't sure.
It's almost Hurricane Season. We opted to drive around the US, birding inland locations while we waited from the canvas folks to finish the dodger work.
We'll be …
"Are [the rivets] just holding the spreaders in place until the shrouds are installed?" someone asked.
(Not just random "someone", but someone with a 16' catamaran with a simpler rig. A boat that can easily sail circles around Red Ranger. But doesn't have a bar or heads.)
Riggers called us back today.
(Not them in this picture, it's an old picture of me.)
Things up there look really good to the riggers, too.
This news is a huge relief to us. Huge. Relief.
When I went up the mizzen, I …
I think our sailing season has slipped away from us.
We would need to haul out before June to avoid Hurricane Season.
Because of some other travel, we have less than two months open to us.
If all the work was completed tomorrow, we might try to get launched and …
I went up the mast today.
Things up there look really good.
I swapped out the mast-head light. The old LXTA-S (an OGM light sold by Weems and Plath) worked; the wiring harness had failed.
In a panic, I had purchased a replacement …
Sailing refreshes our souls.
The hurricane damage was a personal injury. Like a broken finger or a knee that needs replacing.
It's not a permanent disability. It's something we'll either get over completely, or, we'll learn to live with our new body in whatever shape it takes.
The separation for …
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