"Stuff Happens"

Two nights ago, in preparation for loading the perishable food for the trip, I turned on the refrigerator....it didn't start!! Having a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering I did the usual things...I turned the switch on and off several times. I banged the display...all to no avail.
I looked at the manual and the schematic showed a fuse on the compressor, put there as a backup in case the switch (breaker) went bad..
The compressor is located in the starboard lazerette and to get to it I had to empty the lazerette (its a locker about 5 feet deep by 6 feet long by 3 feet wide meant to hold stuff you might need (lines, fenders, buckets, whatever).
I crawled in and crouching down in the bottom front part of the lazerette I could see the compressor, but the fuse is on the opposite side of where I could see. Using a mirror positioned behind the lazerette I could see the fuse, but I couldn't pull it out (and if I had succeeded, there was no way I could have put it back in .

I decided to call a marine refrigerator service company. He whined about how busy he was what with the Annapolis boat show coming up, but promised to send someone out on Thursday (today).

We started planning on foods we could bring and meals we could make without refrigeration..

Molli and I spent this morning loading clothes and bedding onto the boat while  waiting for the service guy to show...

He never showed and didn't return calls so I decided to see what I could do myself

I spent some quality time this afternoon down in the starboard lazerette (after having spent time emptying it out so I could get into it). 

As I mentioned, the compresser is tucked up under the deck at the forward part of the lazerette. 

After staring at it for a while I noticed a black wire, the ground wire from the battery, was not attached.  But of course the attachment point is hidden behind part of the compressor (actually right next to the fuse that I couldn't reach before. Having nothing to lose at this point... I took part of the compressor off-the electronic control- so I could get to the terminal. Assuming a pretzel shape,  I attempted to reconnect it... Almost had it once... And decided I really needed to find someone much more limber than me.  

I called Tidewater Yacht Services who had done much work for me this summer, some of it actually taking place in the lazerette as part of the radar installation and sort of implied they had knocked off the wire and could they send someone limber over to help me. I was desparate and they took pity on me.  One of their guys showed up an hour later. 

Took him 15 minutes (Oh to be able to bend agan.)...and now it is cooling away!!

I celebrated by driving over to Whole Foods and buying 10 steaks that are going into the freezer tomorrow!!

Tomorrow (Friday) we shop for other perishables (cheese, vegetables) and continue packing. 

We plan to cast off our lines Sunday morning

All is well!!

Heading South Again

A few years ago, in belated recognition of my advancing age and finally overcoming denial about my decreasing strength and stamina, but still wanting to continue sailing, I  started thinking about downsizing from our IP 380 to something smaller, perhaps something around 30-32 feet LOA. So I looked at a bunch of different boats at the boat shows, read reviews in the sailing magazines, even visited a few dealers, but nothing offered the features, style and comfort of our 380…

After some more thought I decided that we would keep Priority, our IP380, but upgrade it with an eye towards decreasing effort and increasing comfort.

Last year we added a new Lofrans Tigres windlass which has enough strength to pull the boat up a mountain. At the same time we added a Sidepower Bow Thruster to make it even easier to maneuver the boat in an out of slip and off the dock. Following Drew Sunstein’s suggestions we mounted two type 27 batteries under the forward berth, just over the bow thruster to supply both the windlass and bow thrusters, putting the batteries in parallel with the 4 battery housebank. All 6 batteries would charge as a single unit, but the instantaneous current draw of the thruster or windlass would mostly come from the two batteries up front.

It works as planned.

This summer I threw caution and money to the winds and added many new features. 

• I replaced all the batteries (the housebank batteries were 10 years old, and I decided to start fresh this year with all new batteries)

• I added a Magnum MS2812 inverter/charger with battery sensor and remote control. In part I wanted to take advantage of all the battery capacity I have (a total of nearly 570 Amp-hours) so I could run the microwave and a Keurig coffee maker while  at anchor or even underway (remember, I’m talking comfort) and in part because the original, 16 year old Charles charger 30 amp charger is way underpowered for the current battery capacity. The Magnum has a 125 amp capacity charger!

• I added a Raymarine 18” HD radar and a Raymarine a95 Multi-Function Display (MFD). I also added a RMK-9 remote to the MFD to create a hybrid touch and knob system just like the e95 system that Raymarine sells (for $500 more!). 

• I worked with the nice folk at NavPod to design a pod that would hold the MFD, remote and my old B&G instruments.

• I had new helm rails built to hold the new Navpod. I used a design brilliantly created by Norm Pierce and perfectly executed by Kato.

• I mounted the radar on a stern pole, also built by Kato. By the way, Terri and Keith, the owners of Kato are a pleasure to deal and talk with.

The new radar standing proudly on its stern pole (there is a nice nonsuch just in front of us in the yard at Tidewater)

The new Navpod. The Raymarine a95 is in the center, the RMK-9 remote is just below to add knob control  to the touch screen. My old B&G instruments are nicely positioned around the radar

With the new helm rails, which positions the navpod forward and slightly above the compass, visibility forward (presence) is maintained. But I will be increasing the height of the helm cushion so Molli will also be able to see forward (which actually was a problem for her even with the old arrangement

Side view of the new helm arrangement. Norm Pierce designed and Kato executed brilliantly

• I installed an AIS transceiver (Si-Tex) and antenna splitter (S-Tex). I had been receiving AIS via my matrix VHF 2100 radio, but wanted to be seen as well as see. Of course the AIS displays at the MFD at the helm.

• One very nice thing about the Raymarine MFD is that it acts as a WIFI hotspot, streaming its screen (and controls) to any wifi device on the boat (In my case, an iPad, iPhone, and Nexus 7) so you can, for example huddle up under the dodger and still see the display back at the helm….very nice on a cold, rainy night!

• I finally had a remote oil filter installed, with the remote filter placed at the rear of the engine compartment, just above the muffler and under  the aft bunk. I can now actually see and touch the filter at the same time…makes oil and filter changes a relative pleasure!

• I replaced the 16 year old Raritan PHIIE head with a shiny new, and comfortable, Elegance head made my Raritan. 

• I replaced the 7 year old Lectrosan sanitation device which was starting to get cranky (I came to find out, in conversations with the nice folk at Raritan Engineering, that the expected life of these devices is about 7 years, which has been my experience}..but they are a lot easier, and a lot cheaper, to replace than a holding tank..and I haven’t used mine for about 12 years. I added a 3 way valve so I can switch the waste to the holding tank if and when I sail in the Keys

• While I was at it I replaced all the sanitation  hoses on the boat. Some of them were original (i.e. 16 years old) and were becoming smelly.

• I replaced the lifelines which were original with the boat and had way too many rust streaks. Seco South knew the dimensions of my old ones and sent me the new set in about 2 weeks. I decided to go with bare steel wire and actually think it looks nicer than than the white plastic coated wires I had before.

• I had the nice folk at Annapolis Performance Sailing put together two jacklines made of the new synthetic line to attach to the padeyes in the cockpit. They put a braid over the line to resist UV degradation so I can just leave them attached. 

• Finally, I had the bottom painted again (this time I chose Petit Trinidad SR, black) and had Propspeed put on the propeller. 

All of the work, with the exception of the lifelines and cockpit jacklines, was done by the guys at Tidewater Yacht Services here in Baltimore and they did outstanding, highly professional, work. 

 

We are now just a week away from the start of our latest voyage south, heading again for Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. Once again we will be in flotilla with Hayden and Radeen (and perhaps others) and I could ask for no better company.

We will be spending the next week putting food, bedding, and clothes on the boat. I’ve already changed the oil and oil filter, changed the fuel filters, and even changed the transmission fluid (although I’m not at all sure that is ever necessary). The water and fuel tanks are full, and I’ll once again fill two 5 gallon  diesel jugs and put them in the lazerette as backup. 

One big change this year is that Molli will be joining me on the trip, at least as far as Charleston, which should increase the enjoyment of the trip considerably. 

Robert  Brown, who helped me bring the boat back to Baltimore from Miami last spring will be joining me in Charleston and we’ll be heading offshore to Miami, continuing our most interesting discussions as we go.

Summary of the Trip North

The total time for the trip was 7 days and 16 hours (we left the slip in Coconut Grove shortly after 6am on Saturday, May 16 and arrived at my slip in Baltimore at 9:50pm on Saturday May 23.

We spent 3 days and nights on the ocean sailing from Coconut Grove to Morehead City.
We spent the night at the Morehead City Yacht Basin and then sailed to Dawry Creek where we spent the night at the Dawry Creek Marina.
We then sailed to Coinjock where, after a dinner of 32 oz Prime Rib, we spent the night
We then sailed to Norfolk, sailed on past the warships in the harbor and then into the Chesapeake Bay where we sailed nicely till about midnight when the wind, which had been blowing 12-15 knots from the West  turned North (the direction we were going in) and increased to 25 - 28 knots. We spent the next 7 hours crashing into waves (while dodging tugboats and sailboats and cruiseliners. At 7 am we had enough and turned into Solomons and anchored for 4 hours, taking a brief nap. At 11 we set out again to find the winds had calmed to almost nothing, the seas had flattened and off we went up the Bay to arrive in Baltimore at 9:50pm.

So...we sailed some, motored some, motor-sailed some, and slept some...for a total of 184 hours

We put 112 engine hours on the boat.

We used a total of 108 gallons of diesel (or just under 1 gallon/hour)

We used no oil (a good thing!)

All in all a great trip!
The boat is comfortable and reliable (a very good thing!)

Robert is a great Captain, and I look forward to sailing with him again.

There are somethings I've decided I want to add to the boat, in anticipation of doing the round trip from Baltimore to Florida at least several more times.

Radar: While AIS is a wonderful thing, there are some things that don't send an AIS signal. Besides non-commercial boats, which are not obligated to have and use AIS, there are some commercial boats (especially fishing boats) that don't bother. There are also plenty of sailboats (especially in the Chesapeake) without AIS and of course there are many unlit buoys scattered around which are impossible to see at night. Additionally it would be nice to be able to see a squall coming (although happily none came our way the entire trip!).
I"m currently agonizing over which vendor to go with. The leading contenders are Raymarine and Garmin. I will go with an 18" radome, but haven't decided if I'll mount it on the mast or an a pole behind the cockpit. I also haven't figured out where I can put the display and not screw up the ability to look forward over the instrument panel.

AIS: I can now receive, using my VHF radio and extracting the AIS signal via a serial to USB converter and putting that into my MacBook Pro at the Nav table. But I can't output a signal and I'd like to be able to be seen as well as see..At the moment I"m looking at a "black box" unit sold by Si-Tex for ~$500 and I'll need a splitter (~250) so I can use the share the VHF antenna with the radio.

Inverter/Charger: It would be nice to be able to use some home appliances (which only run on120 volt AC) while at anchor (or even under sail). In particular I"d like to be able to use the microwave to defrost some of the food I keep in the freezer and to use the Keurig coffee maker from time to time (having given myself a second degree burn on my ankle while making drip coffee on this trip, this has now become a necessity...not a luxury!). I'm looking at a Magnum 2812 that can put out 2800 watts, or possibly a Xantrex 3012 that can put out 3000 watts..both are overkill, but I don't have to use all the power available! The microwave uses 600 watts while the coffee maker uses 1200 watts. I'd only use these intermittently (say for less than 15 minutes at a time) so they wouldn't put too much drain on the battery. (to calculate...say I use the microwave for 10 minutes which amounts to  100 watt-hours. if we assume the inverter works at 100% efficiency (I'll correct that in a moment) then that comes to about 8 ampere-hours. Assuming only 90% efficiency that brings it up to about 9 amp-hours. I have 6 batteries which each have about a 90 amp-hour capacity to I have a total of about 540 amp hour capacity. So the microwave, used for about 10 minutes would use up less than 2% (actually 1.7%) of the battery capacity...bupkas!!

Head/Electrosan/Salt tank: We have a 15 year old electric head, a 7 year old Electrosan (a gadget that macerates and sterilizes the waste material from the head and dumps it overboard (no holding tank needed) and a 7 year old salt tank (needed to keep the Electrosan happy) that is acting up. There is little worse than worrying, each time you or someone else flushes, whether its actually going to go where it is supposed to go. It is worth it, for my peace of mind to install new equipment. I've already purchased an "Elegance" electric head and a new Electrosan and Salt tank and they will be installed by Tidewater next week!

Remote oil filter: For reasons that are absolutely inscrutable, Yanmar (a Japanese maker of Diesel engines) installs their oil filter horizontally, to ensure they will leak oil everytime you change the filter. Island Packet compounded the issue by placing the engine so that the side wall of the engine compartment is about 3 inches from filter. they also positioned the engine so that the filter is below the floor level (almost in the bilge). When I go to change the oil filter I can either see the filter or I can touch the filter..I can't do both. So I stuff a lot of diapers under the filter, reach down with my hand (with my head around the corner of the engine compartment to be sure I can't see what I"m doing), unscrew the filter and then spend about 15 minutes trying to work it out around several of the components that are attached to the engine...blocking the way out!. Of course oil is dripping everywhere. Then I reverse the process to get the new filter in (but at least no oil is dripping on this part of the adventure).
I will be installing a remote filter kit that enables me to move the filter to the rear of the engine compartment, with the filter hanging down (so I can put a bucket under it) and lots of room all around...I can't wait to have that in place!! maybe next week!!

Second try

After a brief rest we listened to the weather reports and reviewed the current weather at Thomas Point light (about half way up the Bay) and saw the wind was now 8 knots from the west. we upped anchor at 11:30am and set sail for Baltimore...a second time. As we entered the Bay it was sunny, cool, with a light breeze of 8 knots from the west, just as it was at Thomas Point. . It was hard to believe that only 5 hours earlier we were battling high winds and waves. So up the Bay we went

It's been a beautiful motor sail. At 5:30 pm we are passing Annapolis and approaching the Bay bridge, which means we are about 4 hours from home!

Annapolis I off to the west

Bay bridge ahead

Into the Patapsco at 8pm. The Francis ascot a key bridge ahead

FSK Bridge at sundown

We pulled into the slip at Harnorview at 9:50 pm.

Priority in its slip again

The entire trip of 962 miles was accomplished in 7 days and 16 hours. Amazing!!

The entire trip was amazing. Can't wait for the next one

Last leg....almost!!

The day (Friday) dawned sunny and cool and we pulled away from the Coinjock dock at 6:05, and for once didn't have to stop or go back.

Leaving Coinjock

 Instead we plowed a furrow in the bottom of the North River, nearly into the Currituck sound. Presumably due to the strong winds of the previous day had pushed the water out of the north River and our keel was dragging in the mud as we wandered side to side looking for deeper water. We finally found some and headed into Currituck sound. 

Currituck Sound

It was cold, breezy, with lots of spray coming over the dodger. Not at all pleasant. But we were soon on the other side and into the north landing River, which was much nicer and warmer. It's a pretty River, winding through very scenic countryside, marred only by the occasional swing bridge, which gave us a chance to play "hurry up and wait" at each bridge

. There is also a Great Lock (that's the name)

Robert holding a line in the lock

 which always has very pleasant 

and helpful tenders and we were soon on our way into Norfolk 

It's fun to look at the amazing collection of warships lined up on display. 

One of the several aircraft carriers in Norfolk 

We passed through Norfolk without event and on up the Chesapeake Bay by 2pm!

It was warm, sunny with a 12 knot breeze from the west. We were making 6.5 knots and hoped to Baltimore by 4pm on Saturday

It was not to be

Every thing was fine till around midnight when the wind shifted to the north, on our nose and mover the next 4 hours built to 28 knots. The Bay became choppy, with waves crashing over the deck and into the cockpit.    Our speed slowed to about 2 knots and it was miserable!! By 7am we'd had enough and pulled into Solomons where we anchored and collapsed into bed

We plan to leave again around noon, when the winds are predicted to decrease into nothingness. We'll see. 

Our hope now is to get to Baltimore before midnight!

One final thing, I think I was remiss in not sufficiently describe the meal at Coinjock

The Prime Rib weighed 32 oz, was perfectly cooked and delightfully tender. I managed to eat it all, savoring every morsel, while also enjoying the baked sweet potatoe and the pickled beets.  A nice Cabernet rounded out the meal, and of course there was ice cream for dessert

A fantastic meal. Not rivaled by those other pretenders

On to Coinjock

On to Coinjock (Thursday, May 21)

We left Dowrey Creek marina may 6:05 am.  Then turned back at 6:06am to retrieve a fender that had fallen overboard (much finger pointing and comments about a bad stopper knot). Through heroic efforts and remarkable contortions by Robert the fender was successfully retrieved and we were on our way again

Leaving Dowrey creek at sunrise

We turned immediately into the Alligator-Pungo canal, a 28 mile long, narrow, tree lined canal (some might call it a ditch) with partially submerged tree trunks at either side.

The Alligator Pungo Canal

We stayed in the middle and happily no tugs passed us in either direction. After about 4 hours we emerged into the Alligator River, then on to the Alligator River swing bridge. The bridge tender was very accommodating and we didn't even have to slowdown as we went on through. 

The alligator River swing bridge

About to go through

Then into the Albemarle sound, a 15 mile wide estuary that stretches down to Hatteras in the east and can sometimes be treacherous if the winds and currents don't align. Today we had lots of wind, but small waves and raised our sails (a full staysail and receded jib and main) we sailed along at 7 - 7.5 knots across the sound with ends of 18-20 knots, gusting to 25. Just as we were exiting the sound the wind rose to 28 knots, but we were reducing sail anyways. 

A storm had been predicted for the afternoon. We had entered the sound around noon and happily although the winds were up and clouds kept building. There was no storm until we were about 5 miles from Coinjock marina when we started seeing lightening on the horizon. The coast guard came on the radio with a warning of a squall approaching the sound with 50 knot winds, hail, and lightening. We increased our speed and were at the marina, tying up at 5pm. The heavens opened at 5:05pm!!

Rich Fieldhouse had tied up at Coinjock a few hours earlier and the three of us went to dinner at the famed Coinjock restaurant 

Let me now sing the praises of this Mecca for those who appreciate Prime Rib

There are those who speak highly of Abe &Louies in Boston, or of the Prime Rib in Philadelphia, and while they are indeed good, the  prime rib at the Coinjock restaurant represents the very pinnacle, the acme, the zenith, the ne plus ultra of Prime Ribdom. They serve a 32oz slab of meat, perfectly cooked to your specification, with a baked sweet potato side and pickled beets. The waitresses are of an age and have been there forever. The decor is 1950's rustic. Half the clientele are from the surrounding towns and half are from the boats (ranging in size up to 90 feet). All are happy

And so were we!!

Rich is on his way to his son's wedding in June, and will then sail up to Baltimore in July. He has been keeping company with a woman that I hope to meet in July 

   

Morehead City

Today, the third day of our voyage, we sailed into the Beaufort Inlet at 12:30, 3 days and 5 hours after we left Coconut Grove. It was a trip of 618 nautical miles, taking 77 hours, of which we motored 55 hours and sailed 22 hours.We used 46 gallons of Diesel fuel, achieving an efficiency of 0.8 galllons/hour....alll techy stuff but tell me we made great time and the engine and sails...the entire boat and crew performed brialliantly. 

I made some observations about long distance sailing (and of course what we did isn't really long distance sailing, but my limited standards, it is).

First you get really tired. It wasn't as bad the third day, perhaps I am getting used to the constant rotation of 3 hours on, 3 hours off, sleeping when you can, but tiring nonetheless. 

Second, you lose weight...with all the boat motion It is hard to eat, much less prepare fancy meals while underway (and by fancy I mean anything more than a peanut butter and jellly). I couldn't even make a thermos of coffee without causing a second degree burn (healing nicely, thanks for asking). and further, with the constant ship motion - somedays worse than others - its a struggle just to sit without falling over...you are constantly working to do the simplest things, like walking across the salon.

Third, you really don't see much of your shipmate..one of you is always on watch, the other is sleeping, and with a crew of two, that's all there is. 

It was the same coming down last fall...I really enjoyed the trip from Baltimore to Charleston, more than the trip from Charleston to Miami..we'll see how I llike the trip from Morehead City to Baltimore this time. 

We had an excellent  dinner this evening on the boat to celebrate our speedy trip. 

Robert had bought some steaks and potatoes while we were provisioning. I had purchased salad fixing and frozen "steam in a bag" vegetables......and of course I have several boxes of wine on the boat. We barbecued the steaks using the Barbie on the cockpit railings,used the microvave to prepare the potatoes and vegetables (brocolli in cheese sauce) and I threw the salad together (literally). We dined in the cockpit...a truly enjoyable meal...and the first one we had together since slipping the lines

In many things in life it is the voyage....I'm wondering if in sailing it is the destination?...Gonna have to do more experiments!