pre New Years anchoring out--night time

In the end, it wound up being a good thing that we weren't anchored close to anybody else.  Because the deck of HemiD rapidly turned into disco inferno.

So, we started off with Sundowners, courtesy of our lovely icemaker.  And mother nature blessed us with her usual beauty.

Then bring on the dancing girls and boys. Holy cow.  It's amazing how spreader lights and a flashlight strobe will bring out the inner stripper in anybody.  ... oh, and alcohol...that too.

But--there's a background story to this.  Our slip neighbors a few boats down had installed a stripper pole on the back of their powerboat cruiser.  Yes.  A. Stripper. Pole.  Lighting in fact.  And they got a 'career' gal from downtown to test said stripper pole.

Luckily, we sailors come equipped with stripper poles already, the above deck on is about 55 feet high, and down below our compression pole does quite well in a pinch.

And...who knew that Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup would launch said dance-a-thon.

So, yes, luckily we were out aways from everybody, because we were definitely the problem boat on the anchorage.  However, I think we out-partied the stripper pole boat that also had gone out to Boca Grande for the night.

However, we did not quite make New Year's officially the next day.  I think we were all zonked by 10pm.

pre New Year's anchoring out--daytime

And then there were four miscreants aboard the HemiD.

Our friends from Kansas City joined us for a few days over the New Year's holiday.  After giving them the whirlwind tour of Key West, we planned for our next couple days to be out on the water.

It was recommended to us that we go out to Boca Grande Key, around 12 miles west of Key West.  Winds were light, but it still made for a lovely sail out there, no cruise ships, shrimping boats or barges to dodge.

We arrived and got up as close to the island as we could, which was still aways out, but I figgered we better drop anchor in at least 7 feet of water.  

Of course, just to mess with our friend Michael's engineering mind, HemiD rapidly did her 90 degree angle to the anchor rode trick that she's so fond of doing.  We figgered it would happen because the tidal currents from the 'gulf' side to the 'ocean' side of all of these keys are quite active.  It was obvious soon that we were nice and set in the great sandy bottom so we loaded up in Tiny Dancer to explore the island.

Thus, Tim's torture of our friend Kimberly with the Torqeedo (aka Prius motor).  There's a lovely display on the motor that tells you how much charge you have, range, speed, etc.  It's run by a built in GPS and pretty accurate, but that doesn't stop my husband from shouting out, we only have 30% charge left.  Yes, HemiD did look aways off.  But that's what oars are for.

There were signs stating that to keep off the island because of nature preserve, so we for the most part kept in the water.  Well, Kimberly and I did, the boys sat in the dinghy and drank beer.

The crew on shore leave.

The boys on dinghy duty.

Boca Grande

Later we went explored a bit more via dinghy.  Met some folks that were in the channel on their CSY.  So we asked how they got so close, and they proceeded to tell us it's not so bad, if we get over the 20 foot sandbar without grounding.  If we got to them before nightfall they'd lead us in a bit deeper to anchor overnight.

After a little thought, we decided that we were fine where we were.  No need to tempt the fates of the grounding gods.

And much to Kimberly' happiness--we made it back to HemiD without running out of Torqeedo juice.

Once again, with the names

Okay, first of all.  The Spouse and I are not the cutesy couple with matching boat outfits and other assorted goofiness.  We for the most part, manage to get by on a daily basis (at least in working hours) as normal human beings with respectable jobs and positions of authority.

However, when it comes to assorted boat toys, it seems everything has to have a name.  Don't ask me why, I have a feeling alcohol becomes involved....note:  Tiny Dancer

So, as we were hanging out having sundowners the day after Christmas (if you live in cold climates, just stick carrots in your eyes now).  And gloating over our new purchases that we had been buzzing around on just earlier that day in the warm tropical air, saying: this doesn't suck.

So I proceed to yammer on about the Montagues and the Capulets. (Our bikes are Montague brand) To which my Tom Clancy, British Naval history reading husband goes WTF?

Sigh.

So, thus begins the Cliff's notes version of Romeo and Juliet.

And then, spouse:  the bikes are now Romeo and Juliet.

And to further cement the fate that has thus bestowed upon his cleverness, we see this sign later on Duval:

BTW--Michael, if you read this, yes, you were riding Juliet.  However, I won't let the guys know...oh, wait....whoops.

Sorry.

However, kind sir, thou was such a noble knight to traverse back and forth to the rental car company with Sir Compy Comp to procure more motorized transportation.

Keeping the economy alive one boat toy at a time

It's been a pretty productive day for our pocketbooks. However, one thing was already purchased and the other two kinda fell in our laps like a gift from the Key West gods.

The first became top of the spouses rapidly evolving priorities concerning all things sailboat after the requisite rum drink after snorkeling was delivered sans ice.  That JUST won't DO.  (Something about us and wanting sweet fruity drinks after snorkeling, I think it's to counteract the salt water).

So after much OCD research, my boy picked out an icemaker and had it delivered to the marina.  Storage of this bad boy is up for debate because it just might require that Tim would have to reallocate some of his junk pile space for it.  We shall see.  However, tonight, we've christianed it with drinkie drinks, it works and that's groovy.

Ice is civiliation.--Harrison Ford in Mosquito Coast.

The second purchase wound up being the dumb luck coup of the century.  We were wandering around downtown Key West and we stopped by West Marine.  So we decided to ask about folding bikes and some sales we saw advertised and blah, blah, blah.

Now, I had some requirements for my boat bike, it had to be easily to adjust seat/handle bar height, break down and NO SMALL WHEELS!  Holy crap, I do not need one more thing to make me look goofy.  However, I get those bikes, I really do, they just ain't for Miss Legs here.

So while chatting with West Marine dude, we told him what we were looking for and he says:  "I have those in the store."

What? WHAT? Seriously? OMG--mega super monster West Marine doesn't even have these in stock. There's a reason, they are stock that don't quite move so well, if the dustiness of the bikes was any indication.

So, I left my husband to start wheeling and dealing, yep, sure enough, they want the bikes gone, and they matched the price we found on the internet.  Whoo hoo.  Bike-o-rama!

So, now we have collapsible bikes for the boat and in-port visits.  We biked around town dodging the Conch Train and tourists for a while and then Tim used his to bike back from the airport after returning the rental car.

One thing after we visited the Eaton Bike Shop I didn't get and I wish I had was the bell that says "Get the f*&# out of my way"  After having the third cruise ship passenger just barge into traffic in front of me I was ready to run some folks down.

So here's our new acquisition---

Christmas gifts....

Last night my husband started lamenting on how he's so sorry he didn't get me a Christmas present and he'd been so busy at work--or it could have been the alcohol.

Hello?

We had already agreed on no presents a LONG time ago, but that's not the point.

I'm here, it's 80 degrees and I'm on my boat.

I think that's all the Christmas present I need.....

Merry Christmas from Key West!

We arrived without a hitch to Ft. Lauderdale yesterday. (Well, there was a close call when the 3 year old behind me coughed right into my face, but my spouse was able to disentangle my fingers from around the little tyke's throat---but if I wind up getting sick, I will hunt the little bugger down).

After the required visits to Southport Raw Bar and West Marine we headed south. 

Friday we had got a call from the marina that our alarm is going off, when that happens it's supposed to call Tim's phone, but he uh, yeah, forgot to renew the SIM card so no ringy-dingy for him.

Now the alarm can go off for several reasons, I think ours is just set up for intruder and high water. (!!!) Finally we got somebody to get on deactivate it and check to see if she's floating. 

Everything is fine, so why did the alarm go off?  We had several theories, but the answer actually came when we arrived on the boat.

We done got no shore power, Lt. Dan.

Evidently, somebody borrowed our hose and coiled it up and threw it back towards our pedestal-in which is clipped our shore power and knocked it loose from the adapter (we have to have a freaky two pronged 30 to 50 amp adapter to get power here--oh and not short out the marina).

So, HemiD was dead as a doornail, she had obviously been that way for awhile. Not good on the batteries.

So any apologies we felt for the neighbors possibly having to listent our Klaxon was quickly erased by a dead boat AND....even WORSE....NO COLD BEER WAITING FOR US!

However, we got hooked up kinda wrapped the cord and adapter so it can't get knocked loose and we'll work on a more fool proof solution today.  (duct tape)

Merry Christmas to all!

Of grounding dinghies and chasing schooners

First, there was trouble in paradise.  But I'm happy to say no spouses were injured in the making of the post.

So, while in Key West we made an attempt to go out.  It started out okay, but gradually got rougher as we went into deep water, oh, and the cruise ship channel, and all the charter boats.

Fun, huh.

Then spouse need to take an 'important work call'. WTF?  So, now, I'm up above, slogging on a broad reach, getting tossed about and dodging traffic.

I officially, call NO FUN, DUDE!  And husband pops up and says, well, if you aren't willing to handle this, why do we have a boat, if you want to motor, why don't we have a motor boat.

And then, he cringes as he sees the transformation into She Hulk.  (My eyes actually do change color, it's super cool).

I reply, and I'm not going to say it was in a nice way, or calmly, or anything like that, I reply:

1--Sailed 100 miles freezing my ass off.
2--Sailed 50 miles with rain in my face at 30 kts and no visibility because: a dodger ain't really necessary says the spouse
3--Spent many a mile on watch so my business owner spouse can work.

Hello? I THINK I'VE EARNED my right to say: No fun, I'm on vacation, don't really want to participate in this day sail. So, he asks if we can at least start SAILING back.  Which sent me back into a tizzy, yeah, because this has been so much fun downwind, let's just point our nose into it.

So after beating him verbally into submission, we pull in the sails and head back up to the marina.  And boy is it groovy.  In which, by my side, I hear a meek, okay, yeah, sailing wouldn't have been very nice like this.  HAH!  HA HA HA!  Told you so!

However, this story ends a lot better.

The day after we took the dinghy out to explore the area, we grounded it.  Not super dramatic, just one of those, you might not want to go that way, it's pretty shallow......never mind.  So we turned it into a game of guess how deep the water is, both of us wishing we had our handheld depth meter with us.

After our day of stillness, we finally had some agreeable sightseeing day cruise weather, so we did. And it was good.

And my husband chased down two schooners and passed them, very proud of his captaining skills. However, this was not hard considering they were deliberately heave to so that a wedding ceremony could go on.

That's my guy, and we lived happily ever after.

Man ain't go not business hassling the wedding boats.

Belated Updated Thanksgiving Feast

So this year was the 3rd year in the past 5 that we had Thanksgiving on the boat, and since this year we hadn't slogged down the coast for the past 12 hours, I thought I'd work on my galley skills.

I had all but perfected my tropical inspired Macadamia nut stuffing in the oven, but alas, the spouse was trying to adhere to a new low carb, wheat free diet.  No, he's not a celiac, he just plays one on TV.

What I did wind up with was healthy, colorful and perfectly suited for the tropics.  On a scale of 1-10 on the meal:
Butternut squash--5
Bok Choy Provencal - 7
Jerked Cornish Game Hen - 10

Butternut squash, now okay, this would have been better if I had either used precut frozen (not an option) or a fresh squash.  And after my wrestling match with the largest spaghetti squash I had ever met just the night before, I was done with the squash family. and knives. cleaning sticky, gooey, squash mess from all over the boat, myself, Tim, my hair.

So, what my attempt to make was a dish that my chef friend Jay had taught me, sautéed butternut squash with garlic and cayenne pepper.  I was almost there, but using precut butternut squash from the deli, well, after awhile, parts get mushy and parts stay intact, so my result TASTED okay, but it was a half mashed, half undercooked presentation and I wasn't happy with my result.

Bok Choy Provencal--turned out pretty good, but I might be too much of a purist to use Provencal type preparation with Bok Choy.  However, it was good, but I think I left out some seasoning, because the recipe seemed kinda bland.  Pretty presentation, though.  By the way, according to my recipe, Provencal is tomatoes, olives, garlic, onions, etc.

Jerked Cornish Game Hen -- Winner! First of all, come frozen so they have a good shelf life in the fridge, cheap as hell (I paid $6 for two), and grill master Compy Comp was able to create a thing of beauty, and this was with the Magma.  After they got thawed out, I washed and dried them, for spice monster Tim I used straight jerk seasoning that I bought at the store, and not no Lawry's or Kraft shit either, some regionally distributed stuff that was the consistency of paste and the smell made you purr.  However, as much as I like jerk seasoning, I am a spice wimp, so I waited about 8 hours before seasoning mine and added a bit of brown sugar (oh, thank you Microwave, oh keeper of my dry goods).  I think Cornish game hen will be in the rotation, versatile, cheap and MagmaBoss can good it up real good.

So below, here's a pic of Thanksgiving ala HemiD style. Since I was starving, I didn't worry about setting up the glamour shot.  Hey Hunter, willing to give me some $$$ for the free endorsement?

This picture is just missing Macadamia nut stuffing.  Seriously.

So, speaking of Bok Choy.  I prepared it again this past week, with asparagus, mushrooms, peanuts, red bell peppers and a coconut/lime/pepper sauce.  Delish.

And suddenly I hear several sailing sisters belting out a chorus of Coconut by Harry Nilsson.

Eat, drink and be merry.

No wind? No problem! Pool's open!

With no wind, grabbing a mooring ball was a piece of cake, I'm glad I still have that ability.  However, the water was so clear, and I kept getting distracting with ooooh, lookee, pretty fishies.

So as my spouse likes to say..pool's open!

And what a pool it is.  However, somebody dropped in about 50 million jelly fish and it was snorkel, dodge jelly fish, snorkel, dodge the jellies.

I'd been stung as a kid and it felt like being whipped with nettles and left a nice welt, I didn't really know if these guys where THAT kind of jelly or what.

Spouse was like .... well, freaked out at first. It was very ironic because I'm all about avoiding any water that I can't see my own feet in while floating around, so me and the lake at home have a dubious relationship - until 100 degree weather kicks in.  However, here?  Bring it on.

We found out later that they are called moon jellyfish and they have a pretty mild sting to them. They are huge and absolutely beautiful. 

But ... for awhile, I did feel like I was in the scene from 'Finding Nemo' 

So, if you want some good snorkeling that most of the downtown charter boats don't go to--head for the Western Sambos.  Make sure you grab the Florida Keys reef map, they are usually free at all the marinas.

My mooring ball skills are still there!

Pools Open!  And what a pool it is!

Some of our jellyfish friends. And yes that's the reef below us, crystal clear
15 feet of water.  Can't beat that!

Marina peoples

Compared to Dinner Key Marina, Key West Harbor is practically a social hot spot.  Which is good.

I think it's because it's become Port Canada for the winter. Seriously, a lot of cars have Ontario tags on them. 

But that's good, Canadians are good peeps.  And...I've been to Montreal in the winter, I'd get the hell out also.

Our new boat neighbors have been coming down here for a couple of years, so they've been filling us in on where to get fresh lobster from the boats and all sorts of little things to help us save a buck or two.

I definitely do like the friendlier atmosphere.  Our neighbor on the other side has the coolest job--chief engineer for a marine salvager.  He works 4 weeks on/4 weeks off. Their last job was lifting a cargo ship in St. Lucia, he showed us the You Tube video, but I've not been able to find it again.

However, you know there's fun to found when you take a walk and find this:

Blender powered like you are driving a motorbike.

The tiki hut out on the point taken over each Sunday for libations and snacks.

Pirates of the Plains convene in Key West

We were lucky enough to meet up with fellow Perry Lake sailors, Pat and Joan on Saturday eve.  They were gracious enough to let us invite ourselves to dinner with them and their family. A great group of people they are!

Duval Street'd again

Ever have that moment when you download your pictures from the night before and wonder what. the. hell?

Well, I have.  In fact this is the second time this has happened off of Duval street, first time involved photos of Tim with a 5 foot tall cartoon elephant statue. 

So's....here ya go.

I believe there was some ass grabbing in this picture.
Please note both of my hands can be seen.

Wasting Away again in Margaritaville

We are back in Key West.  Arrived late Friday night (co-workers didn't appreciate my 'so long suckers, I'm outta here someplace warm) and stayed by Ft. Lauderdale airport so that we could visit the new West Marine store the next morning before heading down.

The new west marine store?  OMG--I actually got weak kneed.  If you are ever in the area, go to it. It's the newest of the 'flagship' stores. 

So a few hours later we finally headed down to Key West.

Places to mention, the Southport Raw Bar, a little hole in the wall joint on a canal just north of the airport.  Good eats in a very laid back atmosphere.

Sports for the rest of us--Volvo Ocean Race

My sailing sister over at Wildcat Sailor Girl has already posted about this also.

But sailor people, it's our time of year.  The Volvo Ocean Race is on, and it's already proved pretty interesting.

Like she says, the coverage is taking full advantage of modern media, so you can get posts from the Media crew on the boats, live footage of the InPort races and scheduled updates on their progress.

Will it be on U.S. TV---that would be a ... no.

The main website is www.volvooceanrace.com. Also, I know there's apps for iPhone/iPad and I think Android.

I really suggest start reading each individual boat's blog, I think they all get translated to English (I did read -- kinda -- Telefonica's update in Spanish. (note to self, brush up on your sailing spanish).

Already, I have been amused by such things as:

1. My husband stating that THEIR boats don't have dodgers. Yeah, and on our boat we don't have to worry about moving 2 tons of crap from leeward to windward and vice versa.
2. Crew members getting seasick and being cured by sausage--which the entire blog made me queasy.
3. New Zealanders--gotta love 'em.  Period.

Best part, the USA port of call will be......MIAMI!!!!

So, will HemiD be part of the spectator fleet?  Stay Tuned.

Lift--Sailboats have it, power boats really shouldn't

People might not be happy with this post.  But two people lost their lives and I need to address something.

First, thanks to my aeronautical engineer friends/clients I give you this graphic:

For sailboaters, we learn the basic concepts of this pretty quickly, after all, a plane wing is nothing but a sail set horizontally.  One of my instructors has told me that's why airplanes have the same navigational light configuration as a boat, but I haven't got that confirmed.

So, here's some basics from the above equation.  Density. Velocity (squared!!) Area.

Okay, why am I on this tangent and what does it have to with power boaters? This week is the Key West Powerboat  Races two guys from Missouri died. Normally, down there,  winds would have more of an easterly prevalence to them.  If (sailors) are lucky some southerly to that.  It's been like that for a couple weeks now and couple weeks ago, the 'natives' kept saying it was cold because of the north winds.

The course for the powerboat race is in the harbor right in front of Mallory Square and the cruise ship dock.  Thus, power boats speeding along and extremely high rates of speed will have their noses directly into the wind.


Here's your homework assignment: Next time you are on a plane, see which way they point the plane.
Answer: Into the wind.

Why?  It helps with rotation to get lift and become .... AIRBORNE.

So, I am not a powerboat racer, not really interested in going high speeds over water and getting the crap knocked outta me.  However, I do appreciate those who are into the sport.  And I also, I am not the organizer, but here's my bitch:  Why have the races in these conditions?

You have a boat that can got the speeds of a 737 at take off and nose into the wind at plane (rotation for you aerospace folks).  Yes, the boat is going to launch. In which gravity is going to have its say.

So two people died this week, and there was another crash today.

So I ask you folks that organize this race:  Are you being responsible?  I say no.

The footage for the crash is on YouTube, and it's shot from Mallory Square.  There are children and onlookers about, what if the boat crashed on them?  Huh?  There is also a mooring field (I don't think the course went close enough to it) but what if they landing on some cruisers?

And if you want a lesson in lift vs. gravity, it's very educational.

So, I put forth my OpEd to say, I am very disappointed that it hasn't been suspended. I'm sure this has been done in these conditions before, but I say it's totally irresponsible.

Comments are welcome.  However, respect the deceased, I do not what to have them disgraced.

Miami to Key West Move, Pt 2

So, we take off from Marathon, and the wind is blowing like a mother, and we have a concrete pier to windward.

So, Tim and I sit an analyze our situation and come up with a damn good plan.

Then I notice that two boats down, a sail couple are doing the same thing. Except, she's probably the stellar opposite of me: Petite, beautiful, 90 lbs dripping wet Asian lady and looking way too damn cute for the maneuver her spouse is coaching her to.  I point this out to Tim and he says, I'm so going over there, she'll wind up in the drink.

Well, lo and behold, they are just moving to go on the hard for bottom work so, they and a marina dockhand come over to help us.

And we got our girl out of our slip as a thing of beauty, I still learned a few things. As deck monkey, you need to set up your lines how you want them, Tim had set them up for me, but they didn't work for me.  It was okay, I dropped the line in the water and was able to quickly haul it in as Tim was reversing. The other alternative was to pull Tim off his reverse course, or I end in the water.

And seriously, if you don't have help, practice how it's going to pan out before actually doing it.

So for a reward of heavy rains, thunderstorms and being completely soaked, we were giving a mostly sunny day with 20 kt winds at broad reach.  We still reefed the main for awhile until we knew that we under control, but later we let them out and we were a sailboat bay-bee.

There was some excitement as the winds died a little but got shifty and we'd be heeled way over for a couple of seconds, but amazingly, no round ups.

Tim was down below when I let out a rebel yell at one gust.  We hit 10 kts of speed.  I could hear him down below whooping and hollering also.  While working.  That's my guy.

Oh yeah, to reference Lonely Islands "I'm on a Boat", we saw dolphins doing flips and shit.  :-)

Key Largo to Marathon

The day started out beautifully.  But no wind. However, with the waters calm motor sailing wasn't bad.

At one point, we looked off to the distant storm and saw a waterspout. Now for a midwest girl, that is somewhat alarming, but for the weather geek in me, damn cool.

It wasn't before long we got slammed with our own storms and we motored through some gnarly weather. No visibility, stinging rain, however the seas remained very agreeable, thank god for that reef out there.

So, we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and it cleared off.  And lo and behold--we can actual be a sailboat!  For about and hour and then the wind clocked onto our nose. Sigh.

However, it was enough to get us pretty close to Marathon and we pulled in at the Marathon Marina and Happy Hour.

New problem with the engine/alternator/electrics.  A lot of agonizing by my husband because he thought he caused the problem, but found out that he didn't ruin his alternator as he feared, but burned out the regulator since the engine compartment got to hot, so we'll have to reinstall the new one outside the engine compartment.

Always learn something!

Sailing with Dummies

Notice that I didn't say, Sailing FOR Dummies.

We started our move from Miami to Key West for the winter.  We arrived late Friday night, and decided to hang around Miami/CocoGrove on Saturday because thee forecast called for bad weather.  It wound up being pretty darn nice.

Anyhow, we proceed to go out that night and took after wine like it was in shortage or something.  Now, ironically, did I not just post, DON'T DRINK THE NIGHT BEFORE if you tend to seasick?

Obviously, I don't listen to my own advice.

So, Sunday morning looms and we take off, and the squalls hit turning Biscayne Bay and Hemi D into a huge tilt-a-whirl. However, with Dramamine and Seabands on, I'm still doing well. Husband is turning three shades of green. He goes down below, but feels guilty because I'm up above in full foulies looking like a drowned rat.

We get to the Biscayne Channel and things calm down enough for my husband to regain his equilibrium.  He starts looking at radar and runs up excited that it clear where we are going.  I give him a sly grin and say, it's clear where we've been. Sure enough there is blue sky behind us.

At this point, I start wondering if my spouse is going to render me unconsicious and I'll wake up and we are back in our slip at Dinner Key Marina.

Now on the Atlantic side of the Biscayne Bay channel there's this area called the breakers. Not always fun on a good day, at 30kt winds on your port bow and 3-4 ft waves, you are in for some adventure.  HemiD was NOT HAPPY.  Oh, and you get to do this for about 1.5 miles.  Yesterday, it was the longest 1.5 miles in my life.  I finally turned the helm over to my spouse after I got exhausted fighting the waves.

Fortunately, the rain stopped, I stayed up to help watch the day markers.

Soon, we got on our course and decided to motor down to Key Largo and fly full jib, we were still getting some pretty strong winds from the N to NE and NW and we didn't want to worry about our main jibing.

Then, as things calm down, I realize. Holy crap, I'm sicker than a dog. I went to lay down for awhile, the boat was pretty smooth for the wave action and wind.  That didn't help, so I decided to go back up top and give Tim his chance to rest and as I was putting my foulies back on, I made the mistake of looking up and seeing wave action off the stern of the boat. And I was done. 

So, I'm going to have to learn to live with this so I got up above, send Tim down to rest, and quickly ran to leave over the stern seat to hurl.  Which is the exact time my husband came up with my life vest, saw me leaned over the the stern rail and said "What the hell are you doing?  Looking for dolphins? That's not safe at all! You know better!"

<<sounds of heaving my guts out>>

"Oh."

Points to the spouse for my safety.  Hilarity afterwards.  Because after I got sick, I felt like new. And merrily put my life vest back on and sent Tim to rest.

So the new phrase if I have to bless the waters is:  'I'm going to look for dolphins'

After that the rest of the trips was uneventful.  HemiD did some surfing of 9kts at times, and we wound up making it to Key Largo two hours before we thought we would considering the events of the morning.

However, there was no alcohol (well, one glass of wine) last night, and we are off to Marathon as soon as the tide permits.  Supposed to be a beautiful day.

So, all in all, Tim and I have learned that we can handle a squall, we know that running with bad weather will be our best bet, and sometimes 'looking for dolphins' is the best way to abate your seasickness.

HemiD visit and minor tropical storm

So, I got to go visit my dear HemiD, basically, I wanted some Special K time with my girl without a spouse on board constantly tearing it apart with the latest project.

So, I arrive, and I am overjoyed to see that she is great since her last visit in July.

I go down below.  Doesn't smell musty. YES!

Now, did the spouse do his hurricane prep projects correctly?  Seacocks closed. Yes. Hatches taped down, NO.  Canvas removed..Yes.  Dock box emptied. NO.

Then my favorite:  The freezer was turned off, but left closed.  The fridge was left on.  So I had the mildew experiment and the solid block of ice situations going on. Great.

Bleach?  Check.

Hair Dryer? Nope. Took it away. Why would I need it in Florida. (Dumbass decision, I wound up buying one the next day--not for fridge dethaw, for hair drying)

So I got the units thawed and de-mildewed and dried and restarted for when we MAYBE show up next week.

So, Saturday morning of my 48 hour trip.  It's raining, but no problem, I find my new most favorite shopping area in the world, a fully enclosed place with a Target, Bed Bath Beyond, Best Buy and food court.  Seeing everything I was looking for was in Target or B3, I was in heaven.

That's good, because the heavens thus opened up. And it started raining. Hard. Really hard.

So, after picking up my crap and waiting for the first break, I begin my mile trip home.  ONE. MILE.

And I learned a lot:

1. Miamians get cranky when you take away their sun.  
2. A rental car will float.
3. Porsches should not take corners at 30 mph in 4 inches of water.
4. After what seemed like 6 inches rain in one hour, Coconut Grove becomes a canal city. No roads, just water.

So, I get back to the boat, and I was blessed with a lull in the weather, but I could see a big hairy storm starting up again.  I quickly got everything thrown on the boat and down below just before all hell broke loose again.

And this time, the rain brought its friend the wind. And for the rest of the day it was 30-40 KT winds and torrential rain.

But I didn't care, boat to clean, food, wine. I'm good.

However, here's a small pictorial:

The flotsam on the left is the remnant of where the water had flooded up to.

This is usually flat as glass.  It looked like a pot boiling.

Boat Projects..ALMOST complete

I went up to the lake to test fit the bimini.

And the wind, it was a-blowing.

And the air...it was dry.

The spouse...was out of town.

So with much cussing and electrocution by static electricity, I got it on.  And was surprisingly impressed on how well it fit.

Except the new aft braces rapid caught and pulled out my binding (not really their fault) and things weren't really lined up like they should.

Some adjustments here/there and a new pedestal cover, we almost there.

A week later, the spouse comes for his review.  Except for a few attempts at murder by winch handle, I took his comments well. 

We both came to an agreement (NO, REALLY) on how we could make it look a bit better.

However, and let me remind you all this, this is my first attempt at my own bimini. My own patterning, my own design, etc etc etc.

And I shall sit here in my own smugness.

SewYoga with Special K

As has been noted, I've been working on a few sail loft projects.

What hasn't been fully explained is the new form of yoga/pilates that I have developed in said projects.

The following move is what I best describe as the Bimini Butt Kick.  

1. First, place yourself in front of your machine.
2. Take your left leg and wrap it under your right leg and reach around so that you are touching your butt with your heel.
3. Take right leg and crank it up until your knee is around your ear.
4. Place right foot on foot control
5. Place left hand on fabric to guide.
6. Go for it.

Be careful because the following will happen:

1. You will get sudden horrible cramps in your hip flexor and/or arch of your foot.
2. Your ass will lose all feeling.
3. You suddenly realize your age when you go to unfold yourself and realize.....you can't.
4. (for pet owners)  You go in full Mario Andretti mode when your dog decides to try out her high pitched crazy bark because she just saw a squirrel out the window.  This is followed usually by the foot cramp, and you'll have to remove the foot control from under your foot with your hand.

So, you know you want a visual, here it is:

Twister ala Sailrite

All in all, the funny joke is:  when you have a big project and you work from the floor (not sure that's advised) you wind up doing a lot of squats, pec work and triceps work.  Didn't realize sewing would be my new work out plan.

Okay, I lie, I never had a workout plan.

Mal de Mar

..the throwing up thing is all controlled by the inner ear, you've got three little bones in your inner ear, and they are called Shadrach, Meshach and Abed Nego.  They control hearing and vomiting, it must be one of God's little jokes.
"Inner Ear, you shall have hearing and vomiting as well."
Inner Ear: "No, no, no, not us, surely stomach--stomach and vomiting."
"No, you. I think it'll be fun..."

--Eddie Izzard, Glorious

People are often surprised when they find out that I suffer from massive motion sickness. The main question I get asked is: Then how can you sail?

Well, having severe motion sickness and being able to do something you love does not have to be mutually exclusive. It, like most things when you are on a boat, takes some preparation and planning.

First off—if you have a tendency to get seasick, you will know it. In my case, I get motion sick with EVERYTHING, always have. Even movies can send me over the edge and more than once I had to leave a theatre so I wouldn’t puke in my spouse’s popcorn.

Understand that you have a motion sickness issue and plan accordingly. Make sure you have the proper medications/patches/wrist bands ready to go.

Prepare your crewmates, make sure they know that at any moment you may be heaved over the side feeding the fish. Also, if you are the type of person who can get vertigo when motion sickness, make sure your crew mates know to immediately take over the wheel if you ask them to. I tend to get vertigo when we round up in HemiD, part of the reason is the high freeboard she has. Patriot doesn’t seem to be such a problem.

If you are on long haul trips, make sure you know what works for you and how it will affect your ability to take watch. I use a mixture of the lowest dose of medicine and my acupressure wrist bands. Too much medication and I’ll be groggy and/or asleep. It may not keep nausea completely at bay, but it does control it enough that I can perform my crew member functions.

In the case you do get violently ill, your crewmates will have to understand that the ability to function is not there at that time. Try to get yourself comfortable and stabilized and do not focus on how bad you are feeling. I heard from a fellow boater that when they go out to blue water, they have a plan that for the first 12 hours or so, she is completely out of commission and then she regains her equilibrium and is fine. They just plan for that.

Here’s some tips that I have acquired to help alleviate the joys of sea sickness.

Take your meds early. Also, pay attention what you take and how much, you might be surprised that you don’t need as much as you think, or you can taper off after a few days on the water. Watch your reaction to your meds, remember you want to be able to enjoy yourself, but not be so groggy you cannot perform your duties as required.

Be open minded to alternative means of seasickness prevention. Some people swear by this oil you can put behind your ears, I’ve never tried it. The acupressure wristbands seem to be helping me immensely because with them I only have to take one pill a day.

Get behind the wheel as soon as you can. We figured out one of the quickest ways to get me sick was for Tim to be getting us out of the marina while I played deck monkey stowing fenders/lines, etc. Now, Tim gets us out of the slip, and I motor us out of the marina while he stows stuff. I can start getting that motion of the ocean going.

Do not get into the seasickness trance, I don’t know how many times I get fixated on the bow of the boat bobbing up and down through the waves. Get your eyes up on the horizon, don’t watch the damn bow of the boat. Look for landmarks if you are close by or buoys if you are not and focus on a distant focal point. It really helps keep you balanced.

The night before you are doing a long sail, you might want to take into consideration any alcohol consumption. The last thing you want is hangover, dehydration and seasickness. Make sure you keep hydrated, we keep G2 packets on board for instant Gatorade.

When the inevitable curdling starts in your gut, try not to panic about it. I usually have my spouse watch the helm, grab some ginger ale, a few plain club crackers and I take a Pepcid. Seriously, Pepcid really helps that feeling.

Eat small bits of food during the day, don’t tax your system if you are feeling ill. I graze on trail mix, sometimes some meat/cheese rollups.

Get your rest, being tired makes you less able to deal with discomfort.

For those who get the honor of travelling with us seasick folks, here’s some advice.
Don’t treat us like we are invalids—your heart may be in the right place, but it’s the last thing we need.

PLEASE don’t ask every 20 minutes, how are you feeling, are you okay? The whole point of not getting seasick is not thinking about it.

If we do get very sick, watch out for us, make sure we don’t go overboard while heaving our guts out. Help us get our food/meds/water whatever so we don’t have to move around the boat too much.

Remember—there may be a time when you get seasick.

Also, if you are anchor, or on a mooring, and feel ill, get in the water if you are able to. That actually can get the feeling abated in a hurry. Or maybe it’s the cold water, who knows.

And also don't be surprised if things that SHOULD help alleviate the symptoms will make you worse.  Many people swear by ginger gum and GinGin candies, the taste is too strong for me will make my symptoms worse. Remember to figure out what works for you.

If you have been on the boat for several days, don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting seasick in your own bed at home. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to take Dramamine for the s/s Serta.

Most of all, remember that motion sickness and being able to go cruising are not mutually exclusive.  It just takes a different sort of preparation.

Sail Loft projects.

After a lot of input (from the actual owners of the boat and contributors from others), sailing with bimini, sailing without bimini, cursing bimini.

We finally put forth a bimini plan.  I once again, had a full revolt and simply said, talk to me when you have the bimini design how you wants it.

And with much re-engineering and design, Compy Comp pulled together a good plan.  Sometimes the: "As long as you are happy, honey, I'm happy" line really does work!

So, now. It's time to do the canvas.  I finally got a 3 hour window in which the wind had truly died on the lake.  It got to be insane how I would touch the patterning material and all of a sudden the wind would appear.

But I digress..

The start of any project, clothing, canvas, upholstery is very intimidating.  I will actually try to do some real time descriptions of the work this time.  There's some good books/videos/advice out there, but every bimini is different.  I got lucky because I have the old canvas to sheet off of and refer to.

Now this pile of crap will somehow become a bimini.

What you see above:

1. patterning material, actually still taped together. marked for zippers, window, hems, backstay slots.

Still needs to be shortened to fit new frame (already marked) and the hems taken up a bit so that they don't block our view like the old one did.

2. sunbrella fabric (marine grade), dacron for reinforcement in places and chafe guard.

3. window material so that we can see our windex from the helm

4. zippers galore.

5. thread, velcro for window cover, assorted crap. I also have webbing for straps but the re-design might not need it.

More later on how this pans out.

Describe this picture

Every once in awhile I will just click a random picture.  Later on, it will ensue hilarity.  Mainly, it's the look on folks faces.

Below is case in point, I know what's going on, but can you figger it out?  Very. Intense. Thinking.

3 men, a binnacle and a screwdriver

Pimp My Ride--Sailor edition

Well, projects are getting knocked out one by one on the boat.

Done:

1. Awl grip/bottom paint
2. Unexpected rudder replacement
3. Unexpected head replacement
4. New stainless trim on vents/scupper drains
5. New lifelines (gotta get the before/after of those)
6. Water pump for motor replaced
7. Gear linkage replaced
8. Shift/gear handles replaced to stainless steel
9. Replace water/diesel/holding tank deck caps
10. Covered white veneer on salon table with stained wood veneer
11. Air conditioner ALMOST done (this resulted in a hilarious moment when our friend almost got dunked in the water by my spouse after asking 'you're not done yet!')
12. New stereo (previous worked on shore power only--WTF?) with new stereos and cockpit speakers and remote
13. Curtains---getting there
14. Stack pack
15. U/V cover for headsail
16. Various other things

Need to do:

1. Finish installing ductwork for a/c
2. Make final decision on bimini and reframe, make canvas
3. make companionway canvas cover
4. Make binnacle cover
5. Final adjustments to stack pack
6. Install wine fridge, er I mean, beer fridge, er I mean ....  ah screw it, the beverage fridge. Man got no bizness being on a boat without a cold beverage.

So all in all, except for a few major things like the hull/rudder work, we've tried to do most of the labor ourselves, and we've done a pretty good job.  I'm going to try to interview the spouse for a 'lessons learned' on his installation projects.

Thanks to the friends that helped, and those who just acted as cheerleaders.  To everybody who enjoyed the impromptu sailboat swap meet that happened on our dock, glad you had fun.  (Well, except for poor Point Jude who had need of some fenders and life jackets--not for the guys, for the boat--yes)

And on a final note about the spouse.  I have praised and extolled the virtues of this man's ability to dinker with almost anything...

But at the end of the day, he's 2/3 Professor and 1/3 Gilligan, good to have around to problem solve, but a little hilarious in the process.

Dodged the bullet

Well, the wind is blowin' harder now
Fifty knots or there about,
There's white caps on the ocean.
And I'm watching for water spouts
It's time to close the shutters
It's time to go inside.
--Trying to Reason with the Hurricane Season, Jimmy Buffett




Hemi D skated by her first hurricane with just minor winds and a good fresh water dousing.


Unfortunately, there's still a lot of friends and family members that are in harm's way.


I wish them well, and hope they be smart and stay safe.

Before/After

Before:

After:

Update after all the canvas is done!

It takes a village to raise a child....

But, it takes several childs to raise our sails.

So, here's what happens when there's no wind. You ask if anybody would like to help use get our sails up and you get a crowd.

Since I was on day 3 of heat induced trauma (muggy, muggy, muggy, no wind, no wind, no wind) I declared a total and complete strike against getting sails up.

So, I recruited help.  I would say big mistake, but entertainment-wise...priceless.

If we look up the mast enough and shake these
rope-y things around, it'll all work out.

You think I'm kidding? This is 1/2 hour later.

Headsail up. Lookeee that cool UV strip.
Oh. Yeah.

That's my boat.
BTW--sail cover and bimini will be updated soon.

Perry Lake Hurricane?

So, Patriot gets delivered, YAY.

Crap whore storm hits that night. BOO!

Actually 70 mph winds. All hell breaks loose at the marina. (There's a reason, but I shall not detail, you can figure it out)

So, I merrily go to start cleaning up the boat from the move and start 'moving in'.

That will not happen right now.  Things have gone awry, and if you take care of a sailor in need, that sailor will take care of you when you need it.

So, the great storm(s) of 2011.

Neighbor's boat that they made. Repeat, THEY BUILT THEMSELVES.
Demasted and shrouds torn from the deck.

Hunter 31 with the head all squirrelly and the main also
coming from furler.

So, it was a sad day on our dock, the Hunter we got refurled, but there was some chafing going on and it's a new boat, that sucks.

However, we had round two the next night, not as bad, but still put forth some damage.

The boat by the demasted boat had its head furler break loose.  And then another dock broke loose and proceeded to eat our friends Prius.

OUCH!

Update

Holy crap. So much going on.

S/V Serenity is finally at her home on Lake Perry.

And...she loooooooks gooooood.

However, her arrival has been ursurped by a freaking freaking crazy storm at Lake Perry, and the Grand Arrival of Hurricane Irene.

Yeah, I know WAH. You got two sailboats. Wah.

However, we have ALOT invested in these boats, and I would very much prefer not to lose them both in the same week thankyouverymuch.

So, some pics of her arrival. I didn't get splash pics (hope to get from our friend) because I had scheduled a meeting, can't call in dead for a meeting you scheduled. Doesn't look good.

Ooo, ooh, I loooook goooood.

So help me christ, if you ding that paint job.
It's go time.

The good news is, no paint jobs were marred in the delivery or masting of the boat.  The paint job is absolutely fantastic.  Totally stoked.

Sail Loft, The Sequel

So, I made it through the head sail.

Kinda.

Well, my mechanical spouse rebuilt my machine, it was impressive.

But it did get done. And while my job might not be 'perfect' it looks pretty damn good.

So, I thought I'd add a few more notes.

You get points for:

The brilliant use of clothespins to keep your hem in place.

You get bonus points for:

Not killing your pet when she decides to eat the curtain panel
that you just finished and hand sewed slugs to.

Actually, that was quite an exciting evening with attempted caninicide and assorted mayhem. (spouse was at a 'trade show' in Vegas...whatever)

However, the culprit, she totally was repentant..not so much.

YUM!

Actually, the little twit tried to take the next panel... OUT OF MY HANDS AS I WAS SEWING IT. In terms of intelligence, this girl is.....preeetttttty.

However, back to the head sail.  It's looking good. More later

My name is Kim, and I'm a Mac

Okay, I was a PC for a long time. After all, them freaking Macs are expensive.

However, after I got continually pissed off by Uncle Bill and Company for the millionth time, I bit the bullet and bought a Mac.

And the angels starting singing.

Now, this is not a promotion for a Mac, just my personal experience.

I won't go into the entire, now I have a Mac I can get my iPod and iPhone synced to the mothership in no time flat while my PC husband is ready to shoot out the lights.

I won't go into that.

I won't go into how my printer never worked well, until I got a Mac. And now the new(er) printer not only works wonderfully, I can print from my iPhone to it. Oh. Hell. Yes.

I won't go into that.

Here's the true selling point for Mac.  The more inebriated you get, the easier shit seems to work for you, I swear it's idiot/drunk proof.  Honestly. I have music playing form every computer in the house through our stereo using Airport Express and I didn't drop an F bomb once.

And I can upload pics and crap to this blog. How cool is that?

I would credit this to the proper person, but I don't know who did it.

I get by with a little help from my friends....

So, honestly, I have a great sewing set up.  Really, I do, when I used to have time, I used to make my own clothing (I'm 5'10", no torso and built like a Daddy-Long-Legs.....not really a category that the clothing companies go after).

So, over the years I have collected a nice assortment of tools of the trade.  The last one being the Sailrite machine a few years ago.

However, when push comes to shove. Nuthin' beats some home grown 'tewls' to help you get shit accomplished.

Thus, I present, stuff you just didn't know belonged in a sail loft.

Order from left to right:

1. Yep, that would be canned air like you use on computers. Blows those itty bitty bits of thread way the hell away.
2. Assorted seam rippers. the one on the left is the shit. And it also is great for impaling thumbs.
3. My bent tip tweezers from my serger. OMG. The best for grabbing shit in tight places.
4. Needle nose pliers. Don't knock it until you've tried it, once you start remove thread with those, you'll never go back
5. The most unusual of the bunch.  And if you are wondering, yes, it IS one of those funky wine opener doodads. I can't open a bottle of wine to save my ass with that (which results in me breaking out in a cold sweat and panicking...Must. Have. My. Precious...), and also, a plastic knife.  Both are brilliant for removing old seam stick or other sorts of two-way tape. I seriously mean it. Blunt, yet thin and strong enough to peel back tape and not hurt the sail. As for opening wine...fuck it.
6. Scissors (duh), always have big and small pair around. And this part is very important. DO NOT LET YOUR SPOUSE NEAR YOUR SEWING/SAIL LOFT SCISSORS!

Oh, and a vacuum. Works great on ripped seams also (after they land on the floor)

I interrupt this blog for an important weather announcement!

It's hot in the Midwest.  By hot, I mean, HOLY F-ING SHIT, DAMN IT'S FREAKING HOT.

That kinda hot.

Here's when you know it's hot.  When you look out your back window and see some local gang members just busting into your joint to use your pool...

Ever see a turkey pant?
Well ya did now!

And please do NOT ask about the DMZ fence you see there. It's a very long story involving mentally retarded canines.

Sail Loft underway--fingers optional

Well, it seems I have this great post.  But my Evil Sailing Sista Sabrina seemed to beat me to the punch, however she gave credit where credit was due so....

okay you ho!............................nestly nice sailing person, and I do mean that.

However as that ho!.............................nestly great gal has been enjoying her kickass boat, I've been quietly adding to the the Evil Sailing Sisters Sew Off rules. Oh, and the revenue of the local wine shop.

So (sew?) the history...Sabrina suggested having a 'challenge', I said hell, let's just go with the throwdown (okay, Bobby Flay, see top, foodie!)

Okay, then later, it becomes smackdown.  What?  WWF here I come!  The only smackdown that's happened is my various implements of sewing and me.  Whatever!

So, the original rules, (if you didn't check out the link already) are:

Okay, I think we need to establish some parameters.

You get:
Points for difficulty of project.
Points if the previous work done was done by an idiot. Unless, of course, the idiot was yourself.
Points if you go 15 minutes without dropping the F bomb and scaring your pets.

Demerits:
More than 5 F-bombs in a 15 minute period.
If you say more than 10 in an hour, you have to go to the penalty box.
Stabbing yourself with seam rippers/scissors/needles anything pokey....and then doing the same dumbass stunt again.
Bleeding on your project. (However, points for efficient blood removal....)

Handicaps:
Rum
Wine
Vodka
Beer

Now, to add to the rules.....

1. Points if you no longer cuss when you stab some pointy object into various parts of your body. As in, do not remove sail cover in your lap......  Ewwww! Don't start getting gross on me, it wasn't like that, it was my leg! 
2. Points if you are bleeding on your project as your husband walks in the door (he, after all, just had the sails cleaned) and managing to play cool and hide the brilliant red spot on the brilliant white sail. (In my defense, I didn't even know I was bleedin')
3. Bonus points if you convince your husband that you Really. Don't. Need. Help.  Seriously, the BandAid/Neosporin/Bandaging Tape supply is low enough.

Demerits:

1. Having a sudden thought while using the hot knife and just revelling in your thought for a moment.  Sunbrella will light on fire if you make it!
2. Losing your shit on the spouse when he says, "I hope you get that done soon, I don't want the sail to get dirty/dusty."  In his defense, see above, he did pay to have it cleaned.

Foot UV removed.
Old royal blue on the luff.
And my laundry, yeah, I know.....

New UV strip installed.