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.
Four big things yesterday.
Another issue to wrestle with: the air conditioner.
We've used the forward A/C twice in the last two years. About a month ago when it was hot. About a week ago to test it after I pulled it out to get at the chainplates.
It's been hot. Really …
The machine shop did an excellent, outstanding, amazing job of cloning the first 8 chainplates.
It took some beating to get the new ones into the boat. Mostly the beating was because the new steel was perfectly straight and the fiberglass knees are slightly irregular.
The trick appears to be …
We spent part of our summer dismantling Red Ranger to get at the chainplates. They seem like massive blocks of steel. Except. While stainless is chemically tough, it's not really all that stiff. I learned this while westling with 12′ pieces of bar stock.
Now is the time to write a pithy, clever retrospective on the first year of living aboard a sailboat and seeing the watery parts of the world.
Instead, I've posted a picture from our first sail on Red Ranger, from June 27, 2010. We hadn't rigged the ratty old dodger …
Highly recommended product: The Pro-Fill system from Jan Watercraft Products.
I saw the video. Discovery recommended it highly as a great simplification in topping off the water for large battery banks. We have four Trojan T105 Plus batteries, and the two in the back of the area are almost …
The marina had a wedding reception for a local waterman. That means a lot of deadrises tied up to C dock. Plus a tent. Plus a DJ. Plus some music.
There were perhaps five visiting deadrises.
It is the official Viginia state boat.
The good news is that they …
The question arises, how much did we spend on fuel? What's the cost of bopping up and down the coast?
As they used to say, Your Mileage May Vary. If you're planning your first big trip (like we were not so many years ago) you'll need to think through your …
Happy Birthday Marja! Thursday was a big old party out in the parking lot by Motu. We saw Sapphire, Tilt, Baloo, Serenade among others.
Summer Wind was there, too.
We met them last year in Elizabeth City.
See "Week 6: Get Out of Town (Point) for Hurricane Sandy" for …
Even more foraging fun. Miss Ingy taught CA how to use a crab pot. She got four Jimmies her first day.
In addition to the crabs, she also got some ugly-looking Oyster Toadfish (a/k/a Mudtoads.)
It's a bit of a struggle getting the crabs to stay in …
That was fun. And now we know a little about how it all works.
Brooke and Susan from Liquid Therapy showed us the basics of catching Croaker.
Brooke likes a 2 oz. weight, and two number 4 hooks. He suggests synthetic blood worms in …
In addition to fussing around with software, we're also doing minimal boat jobs. CA's making Floating Leaf Tiny Quilts, working and learning how to crab as well as fish. Crabbing. Animals that live in the mud under the marina.
Meanwhile, I've done almost nothing.
Said farewell to Escape this …
Time to upgrade to a better blogging tool.
Avoid the rush, update your bookmarks now. Our first year, 2012-2013, ends soon.
Our second year officially starts September 16, 2013, at the new address:
In addition to fussing around with software, we're also doing minimal boat jobs. CA's making …
Made slow progress on two jobs: chainplates and raw water pump.
Chainplates have been inspected. We're still working on putting everything back in place. And working out the next steps.
The raw water pump is in place, too. We still need to test it. That requires time and a certain …
CA continues to work part-time.
We're saying goodbye to Blue Line II. We all thought their repairs were done and they'd be heading north to finish the Great Loop and return to Michigan. It's become more complicated than that, however. While we'll miss them, we're cruisers, and we'd like to …
CA continues to work.
I continue to do some tasks around the boat. I've graduated from small tasks to the significant summer-time chore: removing and inspecting all 16 chainplates. Some of this requires skilled carpentry: disassembling and reassembling fine teak furniture.
We were told by some old salts that the …
Beyond boat jobs, CA has a day job.
She's working at the marina part-time. Up early to work in the office, handle retail sales, pumping gas, fixing broken things, cleaning things, answering the phone and radio. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about it.
With Inspiration gone, the screen porch doesn't …
Back to boat jobs. And waiting for parts for pending boat jobs. We're not working at a blistering pace. During the years of refit, we had only the weekends, so we hustled to get jobs done and checked off in our 48 hours of boat time. Now, we're just easing …
We're back on Red Ranger; done vacationing in New York and Texas. No more blogging from my mother's basement.
How do we feel about leaving friends and family? How do we feel about returning to the boat?
It's mixed. We can talk about space and organization. We can talk about …
We're off Red Ranger, vacationing in New York and Texas.
I'm still blogging from my mother's basement.
The immediate purchases are done. Boxes should arrive at the marina over the next week or so.
I've been seeing friends and family. Running errands for mom. Mooching free dinners off dad.
And …