What a most enjoyable weekend. We have had a great time sharing with Renne's niece, sharon, her son Aiden, and friend Michael. A barbeque dinner at Michael's sister's house celebrating her significant other, Phillipe's birthday. Thank you for including us. Renne's dad and mom, Bill and Wilma, came down from, st. cloud and it is always a pleasure to share our lives with them. We will head out tomorrow, Monday, morning. We expect to be in on Wednesday. Winds will be fighting us for part of the way, but we are ready to get going, so we will slog away for some hours.
We miss you all,
JonNe'
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
What a GREAT Day!!
Absolutely beautiful in sunny Clearwater, Florida! I had forgotten what a great place this is. Renne', Kent, and I walked around part of the island yesterday. The beaches are so white, it hurts your eyes to look. actually the ladies on the beach were really nice to look at, but, then Renne' hit me in the eye for looking to hard and now my eye hurts - was it the sun or the fist??? LOL! Not really, but it helped the story line! I lived here on Clearwater Beach on my boat in a marina provided by a local condominium. It was really nice. I have forgotten what it was like to walk around here. I spoke with my daughter, Cami, yesterday, and she she wanted to get married at one of the local beach hotels here - had to ask if there were any likely guys yet. Doggone, that was two of my ladies I didn't please yesterday. I have to watch what I say!! Haha, I am having so much fun!
We took the dinghy out for a run this morning. For those who are not aware, Renne' and I purchased a Walker Bay Genesis Rigid Inflatable Dinghy of Craigs List last year. We followed that up with a 15hp 2-cycle Yamaha Outboard Engine. We are having to learn to do so much. As we have planned all of this, but never done it in reality, we are getting a real dose of reality as it crashes into ideas each time we do something.
We are traveling with the dinghy deflated on top of the deck under the staysail boom. so this morning, as we are sitting in the slip, I thought it would be a good idea to launch the dinghy. It's HEAVY! Kent and I wrestled it out of it's happy home, inflated it on deck, then launched it. It will take a little more practice for Renne' and I to do it by ourselves. Then we wanted to drop the outboard down to the dinghy. Now neither of us have never owned an outboard before. so it was another evolution getting the engine clamped down, fuel tank installed, seat installed, life cushions onboard, ice chest put together with beer and soda, arch davits let down to board the dinghy, stabilize the dinghy on the arch davits, then we looked at each other and figured we had had enough work, it was time to enjoy. so once again, we realized we are retired, not on vacation, there is NO HURRY for anything!
We will head out for Key West on Monday morning. It is 2-1/2 days south. We should be in the marina at Boca Chica by Wednesday afternoon!
as for right now, we are enjoying the good life. We invite any of you to come sail with us or visit us. Just let us know when you are coming. We hate to overlap guests - it does get crowded. But you will enjoy every moment, we guarantee it!!
In the meantime, we will visit again in our next port!!
We took the dinghy out for a run this morning. For those who are not aware, Renne' and I purchased a Walker Bay Genesis Rigid Inflatable Dinghy of Craigs List last year. We followed that up with a 15hp 2-cycle Yamaha Outboard Engine. We are having to learn to do so much. As we have planned all of this, but never done it in reality, we are getting a real dose of reality as it crashes into ideas each time we do something.
We are traveling with the dinghy deflated on top of the deck under the staysail boom. so this morning, as we are sitting in the slip, I thought it would be a good idea to launch the dinghy. It's HEAVY! Kent and I wrestled it out of it's happy home, inflated it on deck, then launched it. It will take a little more practice for Renne' and I to do it by ourselves. Then we wanted to drop the outboard down to the dinghy. Now neither of us have never owned an outboard before. so it was another evolution getting the engine clamped down, fuel tank installed, seat installed, life cushions onboard, ice chest put together with beer and soda, arch davits let down to board the dinghy, stabilize the dinghy on the arch davits, then we looked at each other and figured we had had enough work, it was time to enjoy. so once again, we realized we are retired, not on vacation, there is NO HURRY for anything!
We will head out for Key West on Monday morning. It is 2-1/2 days south. We should be in the marina at Boca Chica by Wednesday afternoon!
as for right now, we are enjoying the good life. We invite any of you to come sail with us or visit us. Just let us know when you are coming. We hate to overlap guests - it does get crowded. But you will enjoy every moment, we guarantee it!!
In the meantime, we will visit again in our next port!!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
JonNe' is in Clearwater, Florida
Now this was an interesting leg! We tried to leave P-Cola Monday about 1030, but due to operator error - i.e., Jon failed to re-install the top of the new fuel filter after inspecting it for clogging, we starved the engine of food fuel and spent an hour priming and starting the engine - now everyone knows why a Perkins 4-108 Diesel engine has mostly been replaced by Yanmar's. Following that, Kent and I spent another hour cleaning the diesel fuel out of the bilge. We knew Renne' wouldn't go across the street with that aroma, let alone all theway to Clearwater. We finally managed to clean and start the engine, so at last we were off by 1:30pm. Talk about fantastic sailing! 12 hours of magnificent winds in the very best direction. Then the wind died down on Tuesday morning sometime. We started the engine and motorsailed for Clearwater under power. Now Clearwater is 275 nm from Pensacola. 2.5 days direct. We were doing great until the fog hit-now when fog hits you on the Gulf of Mexico, it is like the curtain was dropped on your Broadway show at the last minute during a performance! 1/8 to 1/4 mile visibility for next30 hours. We were anticipating getting into Clearwater last night at about 11:30. But talk about DARK!! We could barely see the bow with all the fog. We slowed our progress down to 2-2 1/2 kts and made it in this morning.
While on this leg, we had at least 30 dolphins playing tag with JonNe', caught our first fish aboard her (a Little Tunny) which was excellent, saw a few satellites go overhead, realized when you are 150 nm from anywhere, there is little light pollution to block your view of the Hevens, and found the Gulf of Mexico can be so flat (does mirror sound flat?) that individual stars reflect in the water with no distortion, and for so long you wonder when you might fall off the edge of the earth. Great couple of days!! Except for the refrigerator going down and losing a few days worth of frozen food, everything was great.
We will be here probably until sunday. We will keep you up to date.
Best,
Jon, Renne', JonNe' and Kent
While on this leg, we had at least 30 dolphins playing tag with JonNe', caught our first fish aboard her (a Little Tunny) which was excellent, saw a few satellites go overhead, realized when you are 150 nm from anywhere, there is little light pollution to block your view of the Hevens, and found the Gulf of Mexico can be so flat (does mirror sound flat?) that individual stars reflect in the water with no distortion, and for so long you wonder when you might fall off the edge of the earth. Great couple of days!! Except for the refrigerator going down and losing a few days worth of frozen food, everything was great.
We will be here probably until sunday. We will keep you up to date.
Best,
Jon, Renne', JonNe' and Kent
Monday, February 21, 2011
First an apology
to all our friends who are not on Facebook, who have been trying to follow us on spot messenger and can't. I am not really good at this and still have not figured out how to get the messenger to record here. I will have to figure that out when we get to Key West -
Yeah Right Jon, you will not have time to do that with all the drinking you are planning on doing on Duval!!
But the big realization is that Renne' and I are NOT on vacation, we don't need to be anywhere, at anytime,on any schedule. Wow that is cool. Kent brought that up last night while we were deciding when to leave - it was an AAAHHH-Ha moment!
Yeah Right Jon, you will not have time to do that with all the drinking you are planning on doing on Duval!!
But the big realization is that Renne' and I are NOT on vacation, we don't need to be anywhere, at anytime,on any schedule. Wow that is cool. Kent brought that up last night while we were deciding when to leave - it was an AAAHHH-Ha moment!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
We are in Pensacola
Thanks to all of our friends who have expressed concern about the first week of our trip. We did great and so did JonNe'! We left Kemah on sunday, intending to stop briefly for fuel, top off the water, and pump out the holding tank. By the time we got to galveston, the fuel dock had closed and we decided to stay over until Monday. We ot everything done by 9:30am and headed east. What perfect weather. Clear skies, pleasant winds, full moon so bright it was almost like daylight.
We stood 4-hour watches during the day and 3-hour watches at night. Renne was still recovering from not feeling well, so Kent and Jon stood the night watches from 9pm-6am while Renne' fixed a lot of the meals.
We ran into difficult winds about the 5th night and spent two days beating to weather to get to Clearwater, Florida. Renne' had some bookkeeping she had to do, so she had to have access to a computer no later than sunday. Finally realizing we weren't going to make Clearwater by sunday, we chose the simpler route-head north to Pensacola. We got here saturday afternoon and pulled into a slip at the Naval Air station marina. $21 bucks a night, how could we miss. Jon's closest friend, Keith and his wife Diane happened to be here from Hammond, La and our friends Loretta and Charlie liver here, so it has been a wonderful reunion with them all.
When we entered the marina yesterday, we followed another Tayana 42, (our boat), same color, same year manufactured into the marina. How in the world did that happen???
We are leaving tomorrow morning (Monday) for Clearwater, then on to Key West as soon as we see Renne's niece and Renne's dad and stepmom. she is very excited about getting down there. Kent as usual is just rolling with the punches. We are so glad he is with us.
More when JonNe pulls into the next port!!
We stood 4-hour watches during the day and 3-hour watches at night. Renne was still recovering from not feeling well, so Kent and Jon stood the night watches from 9pm-6am while Renne' fixed a lot of the meals.
We ran into difficult winds about the 5th night and spent two days beating to weather to get to Clearwater, Florida. Renne' had some bookkeeping she had to do, so she had to have access to a computer no later than sunday. Finally realizing we weren't going to make Clearwater by sunday, we chose the simpler route-head north to Pensacola. We got here saturday afternoon and pulled into a slip at the Naval Air station marina. $21 bucks a night, how could we miss. Jon's closest friend, Keith and his wife Diane happened to be here from Hammond, La and our friends Loretta and Charlie liver here, so it has been a wonderful reunion with them all.
When we entered the marina yesterday, we followed another Tayana 42, (our boat), same color, same year manufactured into the marina. How in the world did that happen???
We are leaving tomorrow morning (Monday) for Clearwater, then on to Key West as soon as we see Renne's niece and Renne's dad and stepmom. she is very excited about getting down there. Kent as usual is just rolling with the punches. We are so glad he is with us.
More when JonNe pulls into the next port!!
Monday, February 14, 2011
We are off!!
This morning was definitely interesting and fun. We started out with breakfast with 16 of our favorite friends. We all met at skipper's at 0630, and you begin to realize who your friends really are when they will get up that early on a sunday morning! Breakfast was fabulous. We then went back over to the boat to finish up getting everything aboard. Well at least down below! We were concerned about the low tide- which turned out to be a valid concern. It took us two hours to get out of the slip and slipway. Everyone was enjoying Mimosas watching us struggle with the really LOW tide! Towboatus was finally called and we were towed out of the slipway. We weren't out of Kemah until 11:11am. We were able to sail nicely til we hit the ship channel and the winds from the south forced us to motor to Galveston. We averaged about 3.4 kts. Arriving, we stopped at the Galveston Yacht Basin but they were closed for fuel, water, and our pumpout prior to going off-shore. We tried Pier 19 (which we found after an hour of searching, but as it was sunday, they had closed also. We decided to pull into a slip at the Yacht Basin for the night. We will wait for their opening at 8am. Kent's wife Diane came down for dinner and the night. salmon, broccoli, and sweet potatoes for dinner. We also toasted the beginning of our adventure with a very nice beer from our friends Gerhard and Daisy Meinecke. Leave it to a German to find an appropriate beer called Full sail.
This will probably be our last post until the next stop.
Take Care Friends and Fans.
Jon and Renne'
This will probably be our last post until the next stop.
Take Care Friends and Fans.
Jon and Renne'
Sunday, February 13, 2011
We are on our way
Finally, we will be leaving Sunday morning at about 8 am. Watch us on our spot messenger.
Best,
Jon and Renne'
Best,
Jon and Renne'
Friday, February 11, 2011
Our Window has opened
Today, Kent and I finished installing the last of the tie-down eyes on deck for the liferaft, and I was able to replace the clevis pin at the base of the jib roller furling with a longer one. The original had been installed improperly and neither Renne' nor I felt comfortable without finally replacing it.
Our insurance will go through tonite. So we are saving about $700 going with USAA and Markel American Insurance Company rather than Lloyd's of London. It sure is expensive though. The advantages are several: First, it is an American company through USAA. What a great company - I have been a member of USAA for 35 years. Boy does that make me feel old!! Secondly, we are able to have coverage in Key West and Jacksonville during hurricane season, and we are not excluded from the Gulf of Mexico as we are with several others.
Renne' has finally turned the corner on whatever was causing her difficulty, so she is finally feeling better. We have decided to leave on Sunday morning about 730am or 8. We would love to have you join us for breakfast on Sunday morning at Skippers at 0630 Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you and saying farewell. We have a great weather window for the next week, so we expect to have a great sail. Pay attention to the upper left corner of this page for our progress!!
We are so excited. We are finishing up packing on Saturday, need to turn in my car at CarMax also. Loosing my shirt on that one, but it is important. Renne' went grocery shopping today and has been putting away groceries for the past two hours. She also found the insurance for us, and overall has been really busy with the administrative issues we have to deal with. Bless her heart!!
Man, we are excited.
Our insurance will go through tonite. So we are saving about $700 going with USAA and Markel American Insurance Company rather than Lloyd's of London. It sure is expensive though. The advantages are several: First, it is an American company through USAA. What a great company - I have been a member of USAA for 35 years. Boy does that make me feel old!! Secondly, we are able to have coverage in Key West and Jacksonville during hurricane season, and we are not excluded from the Gulf of Mexico as we are with several others.
Renne' has finally turned the corner on whatever was causing her difficulty, so she is finally feeling better. We have decided to leave on Sunday morning about 730am or 8. We would love to have you join us for breakfast on Sunday morning at Skippers at 0630 Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you and saying farewell. We have a great weather window for the next week, so we expect to have a great sail. Pay attention to the upper left corner of this page for our progress!!
We are so excited. We are finishing up packing on Saturday, need to turn in my car at CarMax also. Loosing my shirt on that one, but it is important. Renne' went grocery shopping today and has been putting away groceries for the past two hours. She also found the insurance for us, and overall has been really busy with the administrative issues we have to deal with. Bless her heart!!
Man, we are excited.
Friday, February 4, 2011
This is Houston and it is COLD!!
We are here in Kemah at least until Thursday, February 10, 2011.
The weather here is miserable!! Granted both Renne' and I have spent time north of Dallas, but this is bitter cold for us. Today is one of those days we are really glad we have a great heater on board. Prior to two years ago, just before moving aboard, heat was generated by small ceramic heaters. When our old air conditioner was rendered useless by an electrical surge caused by a nearby lightening strike, we replaced the A/C unit with a reverse cycle A/C - Heating unit. It keeps JonNe' at a toasty 75-76 degrees continuously during the day and 68 deg at night. Otherwise, the boat was a lot less comfortable and did not make a real cozy place to stay during the winter. So many thanks to all of our friends who have offered their homes as a refuge during this winter storm.
Several things have been accomplished since the last posting. The battery charger was returned to us on Wednesday. The little auto battery charger we have been using to assist the wind generator and solar panel has been getting pretty warm and for whatever reason, wasn't keeping the batteries up. Renne' and I had re-installed it yesterday afternoon but shortly after the installation, I noticed it wasn't putting out anything - I had to think about this - fresh back from the manufacturer and not working. We went to dinner last night with our great friends Steve and Judith Andriko at Don Julio's. Great muscians, excellent food, excellent companionship. That was enough to relax my mind enough to come up with the thought of blown fuses in the feed lines to the batteries. I had installed 50 Amp fuses on each of the House and Start battery banks, and I knew I had to put one in for the genset battery bank, but I had skipped that step when I re-installed the charger. So I pulled the bed apart AGAIN to get to the batteries, put a meter on the fuses to check for current flow, and discovered both of the 50 Amp fuses were blown. I think that happened prior to sending the charger in for repair (at least it makes sense). So I had to run to the storage unit (28 deg outside) twice, for fuses and then fuse carriers (they had both been blown out with the fuses), replacing them prior to going to bed. This morning, lights are running well, the batteries are reading 13.5 volts (hooray)!!
We also have finished installing our new amplified WiFi antenna. Wow, what a difference. In order to use the system wirelessly, I have to install a wireless router today, but that is only to get rid of the network wire stretching across the room.
We have new cell phones. These will allow us to use local sim cards in countries we are visiting. We understand the cell phones can be unlocked after 40 days of use - perfect for us. Renne's phone stays the same, mine will change. Oh well. We will alert you as soon as we know something.
Let's see, the companies used for this episode are:
Newmar Power, Inc (battery charger), Santa Ana, Ca (714-751-0488
L-Com, Inc., (amplified WiFi antenna, bullet, and Point of Entry) - 800-341-5266, ask for Tia Vaden
WalMart, (cell phones) WalMart FamilyMobile
Best to all of you!
Jon and Renne'
The weather here is miserable!! Granted both Renne' and I have spent time north of Dallas, but this is bitter cold for us. Today is one of those days we are really glad we have a great heater on board. Prior to two years ago, just before moving aboard, heat was generated by small ceramic heaters. When our old air conditioner was rendered useless by an electrical surge caused by a nearby lightening strike, we replaced the A/C unit with a reverse cycle A/C - Heating unit. It keeps JonNe' at a toasty 75-76 degrees continuously during the day and 68 deg at night. Otherwise, the boat was a lot less comfortable and did not make a real cozy place to stay during the winter. So many thanks to all of our friends who have offered their homes as a refuge during this winter storm.
Several things have been accomplished since the last posting. The battery charger was returned to us on Wednesday. The little auto battery charger we have been using to assist the wind generator and solar panel has been getting pretty warm and for whatever reason, wasn't keeping the batteries up. Renne' and I had re-installed it yesterday afternoon but shortly after the installation, I noticed it wasn't putting out anything - I had to think about this - fresh back from the manufacturer and not working. We went to dinner last night with our great friends Steve and Judith Andriko at Don Julio's. Great muscians, excellent food, excellent companionship. That was enough to relax my mind enough to come up with the thought of blown fuses in the feed lines to the batteries. I had installed 50 Amp fuses on each of the House and Start battery banks, and I knew I had to put one in for the genset battery bank, but I had skipped that step when I re-installed the charger. So I pulled the bed apart AGAIN to get to the batteries, put a meter on the fuses to check for current flow, and discovered both of the 50 Amp fuses were blown. I think that happened prior to sending the charger in for repair (at least it makes sense). So I had to run to the storage unit (28 deg outside) twice, for fuses and then fuse carriers (they had both been blown out with the fuses), replacing them prior to going to bed. This morning, lights are running well, the batteries are reading 13.5 volts (hooray)!!
We also have finished installing our new amplified WiFi antenna. Wow, what a difference. In order to use the system wirelessly, I have to install a wireless router today, but that is only to get rid of the network wire stretching across the room.
We have new cell phones. These will allow us to use local sim cards in countries we are visiting. We understand the cell phones can be unlocked after 40 days of use - perfect for us. Renne's phone stays the same, mine will change. Oh well. We will alert you as soon as we know something.
Let's see, the companies used for this episode are:
Newmar Power, Inc (battery charger), Santa Ana, Ca (714-751-0488
L-Com, Inc., (amplified WiFi antenna, bullet, and Point of Entry) - 800-341-5266, ask for Tia Vaden
WalMart, (cell phones) WalMart FamilyMobile
Best to all of you!
Jon and Renne'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)