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.
This race is huge. Huge. World-Wide. Organizers said to expect 400,000 people. We were confused by that, but it turned out to be the total number of people attending all of the races. (Not the number of visitors to Richmond looking for hotel rooms.) And apparently, we …
To recap: Saturday was really bad; one of our worst sailing days. See "Dymer Creek: 37°40.281N 076°21.201W" for gory details. Sunday was really good; one of our best sailing days. See "Yopp's Cove: 37°39.070N 076°26.073W" for details.
The forecast for …
Labor Day weekend. The weather on the Chesapeake is (potentially) delightful.
We had — well — a bit of weather. Technically, it was more sea state than we like. The wind was tolerable. The waves? Not so much.
For much of the summer, we've been working (steadily) on refinishing the brightwork. Once …
As long as nothing breaks, today might work out well. After being beaten down by weather yesterday, we find our plans are quite humble.
The forecast was for 13g15 (13 knots gusting to 15). When the tide turns, the seas will drop from over 3' to just 3'. This can …
If you don't really need it, then you work around it when it breaks. The Commodore Says, "If you're not using it, get rid of it."
Here's how my Epifanes finish is coming along.
I'm pleased. You can make out the reflection of the shade cover on the …
"The Kids" (Xan and Han) live way out west. LA and Las Vegas. Once in a while they can structure their vacation to come east and visit mom and dad.
It was a cloudy day with wind out of the E at 17g22. A sporty day in the …
We bought a Wave Stopper Dodger from Canvas Creations. It's quite a bit like having a hard dodger, but it's held on with screws and steel pipe just like a canvas dodger. It's a brilliant hybrid solution that offers many benefits of a hard dodger without the complex installation.
I have no clue about Epifanes. Really. Zilch.
But I have a can. And some "brush thinner." And some foam brushes.
I've got sandpaper in 60, 80, 100, 150, and 220 grit. And a sanding block that grips a ¼ sheet of sand paper nicely.
And I've got woodwork that's …
Went sailing with a bunch of guests from work. Did I take pictures? No.
That's sort of awkward, isn't it?
I did take this picture.
It's a cleat that attaches to a shroud. We use these for our various flag halyards.
It broke. So I took a picture …
We had two "events" on the way North.
The chain looks really cruddy. Flakes of metal are coming off. Not a good look for chain. The question is "Exactly what kind of chain is it?" The difference in measurements between ⅜" HT, ⅜" BBB and 10mm chain is tiny. And …
Once we finished fixing the various things that needed fixing, we could do what we planned to do in Norfolk. Nothing. The trip back was eventful and a bit more delightful than the trip down.
The fix list from the trip down was reviewed in "Running down to Norfolk." Here's …
The trip down wasn't a "delight." It was eventful, but we pulled if off without a major problem. Except for the panhandlers.
We made the dock by 19:00 more-or-less. The wind was almost non-existent. We were out of the creek on a rising tide during the last hour of …
We'd like to leave July 2, Thursday night, and do an overnighter down the bay to Hospital Point. It's 36 miles. Rate×time=distance, right? How hard to can it be?
The basis for all of the planning is to work out the departure time. We don't want to arrive …
We met folks finishing their circumnavigation of the planet.
On Red Ranger, we did some jobs. CA fixed our red sail covers. I played with Epifanes. CA broke a needle. There it is — shattered needle from serious stitching.
Safety note. D-rings must be stainless. The non-stainless D-ring was …
Tall Ships. Fellow Sailors. Beer. Food.
There's nothing quite so good.
Defeating the Arch-Enemy. Even better.
Video: Red Ranger in the Chesapeake.
It's about 25 miles from Deltaville to Cape Charles. With a fair wind, it can be done in 4-5 hours.
With a contrary wind, it can …
Today, we rejiggered the deck wash down system. And solved two mysteries. One was a mystery that could have sunk Red Ranger. The other was just mysterious.
The bilge system involves a secondary use case for deck wash down. The deep bilge pump normally pumps bilge water overboard. We can …
On Red Ranger, we use the 5F's of safety.
Flooding
Falling Overboard
Fire
First Aid
Fatigue and Famine
These help us separate what's safety critical from what's merely a good idea.
Which leads us to pumps. Hull integrity, hose integrity, and hose clamps are important preventative measures. A dripless shaft …
We've find a new location for our mascot. You can see him peeking out of the bottom instrument window.
He's sitting where some former instrument used to be. No idea which instrument it was. But there he is.
We found him inside the aft hatch sliding …
With the water tanks a mess, we can still host guests and sail around in the Piankatank River. Outside party time, we do have some new water problems to solve.
We set up some gallon jugs of dock water in each head and five gallons of grocery …
We're limited in what we can do on the weekends. Partly it's the time. Partly it's CA recovering from surgery. She still can't lift much or bend over. Activities must be balanced against rest time.
Smart helps. Sometimes, we're smart. Sometimes not.
We bent on the two head sails. We're …