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.
Our two most recent zinc anodes haven't lasted 6 months.
They used to.
What changed?
(1) Solar panels. (2) GFCI outlets. (3) A few small things.
The solar panels mean that we now generate power constantly. Constantly.
I added a Camp zinc grouper. This is 6 pounds of …
Our insurance requires a survey every five years. We contacted John L. Schnoering. Traditional Yacht Surveyors, in Deltaville, and got a detailed list of what's right and what's wrong with Red Ranger.
The "red flag" item on Red Ranger? What's the single most dangerous thing that must be fixed? We'll …
Some things we did during the winter.
That was it.
We didn't …
Took some of the family — Niece Hjördis, CA, Sis Nancy, Mom Judy — to see Red Ranger on the hard at the boat yard.
Not shown in the picture are Bro-in-Law Andy, Nephew Sumner, and Nephew Winsor.
Red Ranger weathered the winter without too many problems.
The bilge froze …
I shouldn't be surprised there's such a thing as competitive rock climbing. As a sailor I know that if there are two sailboats going approximately the same way, it's a race, pure and simple. Maybe not so cutthroat competitive as America's Cup or Volvo Ocean Race, but… All it takes …
After a lot of winter — more than we would have expected for city that's in "The South" — we were happy to take a good long walk along the James today.
Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nghV4SdxgPM. This is what the James River looks like when it's …
Since it takes two to climb, how did we get these pictures? Glad you asked. Rock climbing is all about puzzle solving. And that's your little puzzler.
Top rope climbing is a two-player team sport — one person actually does the vertical ascent part — the other person belays them. The …
It appears that they do this on purpose: they shoot under the railroad bridge, then — somehow — raise the bow up and drop their heads into the water before hitting the next waterfall.
The railroad bridge is after some flat water in the middle of the sequence of rapids.
I …
A few years ago, one of the bigger boat jobs was adding a second electric bilge pump. See A Manifold of Bilge Pumps. At the time, it felt epic because it was a job that was safety-critical. As in "your life depends on doing this right." Or maybe "Do this …
It's still early, but, we aren't doing much on Red Ranger this season. We're parked on the hard in Deltaville.
Working life is interesting. That was the point, more-or-less.
What's very important is the "I don't have any career aspirations" part of working. If it's fun, that's cool. Otherwise… No …
It mildews rapidly unless you're airing it out constantly.
Here are CA's gloves that we wore last winter as we worked the boat south.
These were bagged to prevent them from getting wet in their storage locker.
Whatever spores were in there loved the dark confines.
Many …
Upgraded the laptop to Mac OS 10.10, Yosemite.
This leads to many software upgrades.
It leads to GPSNavX not working at all.
Sigh. The Involuntary Upgrade. Unpleasant, but necessary.
I went to the App Store and plunked down my $59.99 for the latest and greatest version.
I open …
Sigh.
The fun thing (two weeks ago) was ascending the mast to examine someone else's lighting. They had a short. Somewhere. I want aloft to look around. It didn't seem to be up there. The Aqua Signal was clean and tidy. Bulbs looked good.
Sadly, they'd looked at the …
In Deltaville this weekend, we visited with boats heading south: Bellatrix, Joie de Vivre, Island Time and Rovinkind II.
All heading south.
All except Red Ranger.
We'll be traveling with them vicariously.
Joie de Vivre will be heading offshore to make St. Augustine in one …
There are some important lessons learned in safety here. Very important.
One of the first pieces of safety equipment we bought for Red Ranger was a Life Sling 2. It's a tidy container with hook and loop strips (Velcro™) that fastens neatly to the taffrail or lifeline somewhere.
Most …
We'll call this the "Menehune Modification" to the Whitby/Brewer fuel tank vent issue.
For non-sailors the essential issues are these:
Your boat has some fuel tanks. Red Ranger has one. Sister ships have as many as three.
A fuel tank needs an air vent. Fuel going in will displace …
This is what it looks like when you inflate a small 4-person six-person life raft.
What's important here is that it's (a) small and (b) small. While it clearly looks like it might remain upright, there are issues.
In horrifying, scary weather, this may …
When we bought Red Ranger, we didn't realize we were buying an entire family.
We tried to sail to Galesvile, had a number of problems. We sailed back to Deltaville, got in the truck, and drove to Annapolis.
Did not attend.
A really great trip.
Another really great trip.
CA …
There's a middle way between cruising — sailing all the time — and living at a marina and moving the boat rarely if ever.
This is Island Time. Just launched after several years on the hard. It's a Brewer; a sister ship to the Whitby. She's quite a bit like Red …
Maybe renovation is a bit too big for this. The Red Ranger has two long, fixed portlights that let in a lot of sun. And heat.
In the summer, these need to be covered to keep the interior livable. It's that or air conditioning.
And we ripped the AC out …