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.
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 …
After replacing the chainplates, we have not been able to get the deck totally watertight.
We've been applying liberal volumes of various goos: mostly Boat Life Caulk.
Yes, it discolors a little. It bonds to almost everything (excepy polyethelyne). It makes a durable, watertight seal. It's not wonderfully flexible …
One day I (finally) noticed something odd about the winches on Red Ranger. This is one of the many things I thought about when I have four hours to sit on deck and watch the ocean. You have time to think about — well — everything.
I noticed that the feeder arms …
Check out this work of art:
An amazing restoration, lasting several years here at Deltaville Marina.
That's a lot of wood. And a lot of loving care to restore it to sea-worthy condition.
Start with any of these links:
http://oceanresearchproject.org
https://www.facebook.com/OceanResearchProject
http://www.cruisingworld.com/gallery/how-to/green-wakes/matt-rutherfords-ocean-research-project
http://www.allatsea.net/matt-rutherford-launches-ocean-research-project/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesleyann-coker/matt-rutherford-sailing_b_3306143.html
http://yachtworldheroes.com/?p=1458
Apparently, the transmission died …
Boaters agound? Landlubbers who have a boat?
Richmond. River. Canal. Trains. Craft Beer.
There's a lot to like here.
And. Bonus.
After seeing a good bit of the US East Coast, there's a lot to like in many cities.
The clouds last night presaged a rainy Saturday. Maybe we'll …
We're officially weekenders.
We went down to Red Ranger and sat around doing nothing.
Nothing.
I topped off the water in the batteries. CA did some laundry.
We moved some things off the boat that we want in the apartment.
We visited with other marina folks on the screen …
We know some full-time and part-time liveaboard cruisers. The full-timers live on the boat. The part-timers work seasonally and interleave boating and working.
Some of the full-time liveaboards we know aren't literally "full" time. If they're unemployed, they may spend months off the boat. We know of folks who …
The crew of Red Ranger has been working. Mostly in Richmond, VA.
And visiting Portland, OR.
And working. Business travel took us from Portland, OR, to Richmond, VA, (for just 18 hours) to Wilmington, DE.
How does this round of vacation-to-business travel compare with life on Red Ranger?
When …