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.
We started replacing the running rigging back in September. See Home Handicrafts — Splicing for the start of this. We're not done, but we're close. Really close. And I'm getting better at splicing.
The start of this effort is an exhaustive enumeration of all the running rigging. Red Ranger is a …
There's another big Winter Storm pummeling the northeast. Which means cold winds and high seas down here.
This has just shown up in the AMZ450 forecast for St. Mary's, GA.
Tuesday Night And Wednesday North winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet.
And PredictWind has similar details …
There's kind of stomach-churning lurch that happens. It's a sudden change in direction or speed that seems to catch you off-guard; it's a visceral thing. A twinge in your gut that something's not right.
We leave Mom's a day early to avoid crap weather between Schenectady and Hendersonville. We leave …
If we didn't still have a million things to do, we should leave right now. But. We still have water tanks to fill, laundry to do, and we need to take the truck to storage. So. Instead of leaving when the window opens, we'll leave tomorrow as it's starting to …
What is the truck question? To keep or not to keep, that is the question. And if we keep, where to keep to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?
Back in '12, we sold the truck. No problem until we needed a vehicle to commute to a job …
It got cold. Much of the northeast had a huge winter blizzard.
We had this.
Yes, that's 38°F, which is really 3°C.
It's not a blizzard with dangerous levels of blowing snow. It's just cold. Indoors.
The space heaters are running non-stop. While today's …
Our 2012 Walker Bay has finally become more liability than asset.
Here she is, waiting to get rolled up and ready to be unshipped.
The high-pressure air floor finally sprang a leak.
We talked with repair places and they were not optimistic.
So we started looking …
We're heading South to visit — if we can — a bunch of birding sites, looking for bird sightings.
The overall, vague outline is to get to St. Mary's, GA, during the weather window on Tuesday. (We'd like to go Monday, but we won't quite be ready; stay tuned for complications.) The …
Today (Jan 16) we're enduring a big winter storm.
We're enduring it from the relative safety of Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Red Ranger is tied up at Cooper River Marina, in Charleston.
We can't really continue our Southbound journey until we can get out of the snowy mountains and down …
We're planners. CA and I can't do much without a detailed plan. We worked for a company that liked to have an MBM (Minute-by-Minute) for software deployments.
It's cold at Mom's. It's pretty cold in Charleston. It's not so cold in Key Biscayne. So. That's our objective.
Not so fast …
We're starting to plan our southward trip while wintering at mom's. It's right cold around here.
This means helping clean out her closets. She's not a nomad, but she'll be moving sometime later this year. It seems like she's got bunches of old stuff that no …
First, let me vent. Details of the journey will follow, when not blocked by freight trains using the tracks.
US rail needs numerous improvements. The lack of high-speed tracks is an ongoing national embarrassment. The long-standing, goofy fetish with "privatization" needs to end. No individual exploiter should get rich providing …
When we left Herrington Harbour, we left our truck behind. When we moved aboard in 2012, we sold the truck, and had no vehicle. This — it appears — was less than optimal. This time around, we're keeping the truck.
Now that we're in Charleston, it's time to move the truck down …
We're leaving Red Ranger for a few weeks. This is an important lesson learned when we lived aboard in 2012-2013.
We're taking "The Palmetto" north to find our truck, Seeker. Then we're taking the truck further north to say hi to St. Judith.
Once we have Seeker, we can …
Let's not get too excited. We're staying in Charleston until Feb 15 more-or-less. But. What's next?
What's next is to get further South. It's right cold in Charleston.
While the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia call to us, it's winter. So we aren't listening to their call.
We're …
Nighttime lows have dipped to 2°C (40°F?). This means heaters. Since we're at the Cooper River Marina, and we seem to have reliable shore power, we can run electric heaters in the evenings and mornings. There are a lot of steps between shore power, dock power, boat, and …
Life at anchor means taking the dinghy everywhere. When Red Ranger is our home, the dinghy, named Scout, is our car. We're looking at a replacement. We really like the air-floor because they're light.
She was new in 2012. It's been a good, long run. But. Her days are numbered …
CA loves the marshlands around here. Bird heaven. Our neighborhood hawk is making sure CA's not here to grab the delicious rock pigeon.
There are other neighbors, too.
In case we needed any reminders that we've moved south.
Upgraded our mid-ship cleats.
Here's a picture of one of the old 6½″ cleats.
Good for ½″ line. Rock solid.
You can see the new dock line behind the cleat. It's ⅝″ and you can't really make a proper clove hitch around …
This isn't our first rodeo. We lived aboard in 2012 and 2013.
Great experience. The 2012 year, in particular, everything was new. We had a million questions and asked everyone. Lots of people gave us much needed advice on how to live on a small boat in a big ocean …
Page 1 / 2 »