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.
Summer Land Cruising is almost over. Hurricane season is an unholy mess — looking at people struggling with Ida, but, also heading toward a conclusion. We still have to get back to Deale, where Red Ranger is docked.
Which means the start of Red Ranger's south-bound cruise.
And that means …
This was a week-long 2400 mile spin back across the country. A few birding stops, usually close to the hotel. Our general schedule is to drive 350 or so miles each day. For us, this is a comfortable pace.
Take out dinners back at the hotel. Not taking any risks …
We're about to pull up the hook. We're bound for a little jog down the coast to San Diego before returning east. I'm starting to lose track of the legs.
If you look a the rocks in the bottom ⅓ of the picture, you might see …
California. 2400 miles down. Almost done. Then, 2400+ miles back.
This interstate highway system is nothing short of amazing.
Here's the journey from Nashville to LA. (The first bits from McLean to Nashville involve me not having working batteries in the SPOT tracker.)
We stopped for a few weeks in Ft. Worth. Then we started rolling again. This meant some hiking in the Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge, near Amarillo, TX.
The refuge doesn't seem to be too large. (At least by Nevada standards.)
But it has a few …
June 10th, we departed our apartment in McLean, moving to Hendersonville, North Carolina. We spent almost three weeks getting moved in.
June 30th, we left North Carolina for Ft. Worth, Texas. Here's a shot from a walk near Nashville.
July 11th, we'll be leaving Ft. Worth, bound for Las …
If you use https://www.navcen.uscg.gov, you'll see some changes later this year. It appears they're going to be modernizing the look. This will break some links.
On the whole, the volume of data for mariners can be daunting. It's difficult to keep track of charts, pilots, guides …
In late September, we'll be back on the boat. (I'm writing this at the end of June, doing a little armchair sailing.)
In October we hope to be jumping "outside" at Beaufort to sail for Charleston.
This will be 32 or so hours at sea. Ideally, it's 32 hours or …
See "Finding a Single Source of Truth" for some back-story.
I'm planning routes. And working with OpenCPN's planning capability. And my own NavTools planner.
I've found that we have some (minor) differences of opinion here.
Or.
I've been doing it wrong. (This is much, much more likely. Aircraft pilots and …
The point of a sailboat is a way to be mobile.
That means we don't own much.
Here's what was in our apartment the morning we left Virginia:
An Ikea Poäng chair, a cart, a computer, and some luggage.
The chair had to be given away …
We have a primary chart plotter on Red Ranger. And we have backups. A lot of backups. A second chart plotter, an iPad, a MacBook pro. I even have iNavX on my phone, so it can work under limited circumstances. (I don't have all of the US East Coast charts …
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has a street address, I'm sure. But it also has a dock in Muddy Creek off the Rhode River. So we can anchor nearby and take the dinghy in. Who needs a car?
It seems so simple. There were, however, surprises. Big surprises.
The SERC …
Red Ranger last moved in once in August 2020 and again in October 2020. Before that she last moved in October 2018. She hasn't been out of the slip in the last 8 months.
We decided to go back to Cambridge, MD, for Memorial day.
On the way… the Pride …
The stove doesn't work. Actually, it doesn't work reliably. You can't fix an unreliable thing without a sensible diagnosis. Why doesn't it work? And diagnostic work is very much a learned art form. Something you learn from others who've been there before you.
It's all fun …
There are a lot of boat status details. Voltage level. Charging. Course being steered. Bearing to the next waypoint. Fuel level. Wind. Weather. Traffic.
And the number on the bilge counter.
It often goes like this: "Bilge count is zero. That's a container ship. Course is …
Voyage planning is the second best part of this whole living on a boat thing. The West River Sailing Club cruising fleet plans a number of outings each year. They're a great way to learn about the best spots on the bay. And meet up with friends.
Dropping anchor in …
Are two heads better than one?
I've reached my limit on removing marine sanitation devices. There were two heads on Red Ranger, and I've removed them both. That's my personal limit. There's a world of pain in dealing with sanitary hose and (I hope) I'm past wrestling with it.
The …
The cockpit has teak planks with black caulk. Very traditional looking.
The teak wears down. The caulk splits away from the wood.
I've been avoiding this for 10 years.
At first, I thought all the caulk had to be carefully scraped out and replaced. It appears …
Lots and lots of boats have Perko brand deck fillers. We don't. I can read "Japan" on the filler cap. And that's about it.
Is it a Perko clone? Can I buy Perko o-rings?
It is fundamentally different? What size o-rings do these fillers use?
I peeled off an o-ring …
The solar panels are about 8 years old. The SunWize 24W panels seem to work, but also seem to be delaminating. It's time to upgrade. There are some nice-looking 55W panels that might fit on the foredeck without getting in the way. The Go Power! Solar Flex Solar Charging Expansion …