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.
Overnight in the Rhode River.
Here's where we anchored.
There's a big open creek with a bunch of low islands. Very salt-marsh. Many other boats because it's very pretty and accessible.
It's a few hours south of Annapolis. A few hours north of Herrington Harbour.
Here's something …
The West River Sailing Club Labor Day cruise involved a parade of rain showers on Saturday, leaving a lot boats on the dock. We ventured out Friday and learned a new word: "dog-stopping."
The cruise had two destinations. We'd been told about La Trappe creek. "Lovely," "Quiet." Those sorts of …
Yay! After posting my story, Cheryl sent pictures of Rob.
And her feet.
We might post a picture the painting Cheryl gave us. Here's the real deal, though. Her online portfolio: http://cherylwilsonart.com/index.html Enjoy.
Finally got cousin Robert and his wife Cheryl out on Red Ranger. We tried last summer, but there were complicated family issues, and our schedules never aligned.
This weekend was perfect. Light breezes. Not too hot.
And this
The US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle. On it's way to …
This weekend, we went to West River Sailing Club for a party. The actual location was about 0.5 nm away from the club as the crow flies. Google said it would be five miles driving around the creeks of West River.
What's important is that unlike our last big …
We invited our neighbors, Dan and Jen, to the boat. The weather was deep into the realm we call "sporty" — wind was about 15 kn, gusting into the low 20's. It was supposed to slack down to 10 kn later in the day. Summary: 15g20>10.
Sporty conditions aren't for …
We used to carry two spare anchors on deck. We have two on the bowsprit, ready for use.
Yes, that's four anchors. If we need to stay put, we can.
On the left is a CQR. ("Secure", get it …
She's a boat — there are always things to do. We have enumerated the jobs using Trello. There are 51 things on the backlog. Okay. It's not a million. Some are really complex. Others are a trip to Home Depot to find the right gasket for the faucets.
Instead of work …
The bottom line on boat maintenance is the sea trial. It may look like things are working when you're in the slip. Getting out into the open water is where — metaphors fail me. The rubber doesn't hit the road. There's no pudding to be proven.
There were several momentous things …
When we lived aboard, we didn't think much about the water tanks. Correction. We thought about how full they were, but that was the limit. In the Bahamas we got water periodically in two 5-gallon jerry jugs. This kept the tank levels steady. In the US, we had a 30 …
There's a love-and-care gap exposed by visiting the Red Ranger only on weekends. This leads to weirdness.
Once upon a time, we covered so many miles in one year (something like 2,000) that oil changes happened pretty often. It's about 200 hours, which (at 6 knots) is about 1 …
First, and most important, the main saloon hatch leaked. But, there's also this issue of preserving data from the old chart plotter. You know how some projects just spin out of control? Those are the projects that tend to dredge up historical artifacts.
Here's the …
We're getting Red Ranger ready for the summer. This means a thorough cleaning. It also means answering the questions like "What's this?" and "Why do we have it?"
It also means looking at the work done (and not done) over the winter.
Yes. That's a duck …
Two things are essential for racing on sailboats.
I have some ideas about this. Years ago I did a little racing in our first boat, a Buccaneer. It's an 18' dinghy, designed for comfy, reasonably safe two-person racing. I crewed a bit. I did really badly. I had a vague …
This is different.
It looks a bit like a church event. Multiple generations. Folks congregating, socializing, forming and strengthening their connections. There's a strong sense of thanksgiving. Not so much worship and praise.
This is West River Sailing Club.
Worship and praise was …
This was our old helm arrangement.
The white box on the left is the "chart plotter". GPS receiver with charts that shows exactly where we are. It's integrated with the radio and receives AIS positions from other ships and shows them relative …
Details will trickle into the blog from the electronics refit. I'm not doing it myself, so I'll have to report on the status of the folks from MTS. When we get out sailing (in the spring and summer), I'll provide details. For now, overviews.
Here's an important new feature. It's …
In the southern bay, (below the Potomac) winterizing is a good idea. It hasn't frozen hard there in years. The recent polar vortices may change that.
In the northern bay, however, the creeks do freeze.
This year, we did the following.
Six gallons of anti-freeze went into the …
The boat show is down. The hurricane season is starting to wind down. Here's Red Ranger without any sails.
We're almost ready for winter haul-out. We have a dozen important jobs to do, including rearranging drains, replacing hoses, upgrading the electronics.
Still. Sniff. We're happy …
CA does it again. A wonderful meet up. Useful information. Fun parties. Good boat visiting. Generally great weather.
From left to right: Allegria, Red Ranger, Shooting Star, and Alembic. Two of the boats (Red Ranger and Shooting Star) are local to the Chesapeake. The other two …