Renne's book signing was this past weekend. We were hoping for a great response, but Friday was not very active and Saturday was St. Patty's Day and EVERYONE seemed to be on Duval Street!! Actually she did okay and walked away with selling a dozen books. Renne' was still very excited. She just realized she doesn't like to sit and wait for someone to stop by. Talking with people individually, like at home or here at the docks has worked the best. She did get a suggestion to check out her newest book with the elementary school our granddaughter, Payton, attends, and let them critique and make suggestions for improving it.
We are getting back to normal. Working 3 or 4 hours a day on regular maintenance and taking the rest of the day going to the beach, or dinghy down to a local restaurant for breakfast - actually lunch as it took 1-1/2 hours to get there by water (15 minutes by car), or watching movies off our SATA drive!
Today, I am working on the sub-flooring for the aft head. I am waterproofing the wood by using WEST Systems resin. Hopefully it will not rot the way the first one I completed did. The sub-flooring will go in tomorrow and then I will finish the teak floor on top of it by Friday.
Renne' is working on the mosquito netting for the main hatch and repairing the companionway cover. Her new sewing machine is great! She really loves it.
The best thing is we are relaxing. We would post some pics, but we have misplaced the camera. Dang, this getting older is for the birds!!! But we are relaxing! We are anticipating departure for the Bahamas about the first of May. We will spend some time there and maybe work our way up the coast to the Chesapeake. If we do that, we would really like to see it and be back here by November. We will see.
We are disappointed we won't make St. Thomas in time for our 10th anniversary. We will be right here in Key West, but that is okay. we will have fun anyway. If you are thinking of taking some time, make reservations now and come on down for April 20th! We will make a weekend of it. We already have the case of champagne and wine, we just have to get the ice to chill it!
We are going up to the Navigator Bar and Grill - it is 5:30 for happy-hour and maybe dinner. So we won't be on the dock for Sundowners tonight, but we will be at the Navigator for sunset, so come join us! It will be a lovely sunset! We miss you guys!
JonNe'
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Some Exciting Stuff!
Some exciting stuff! I think I have said Renne' has a book signing this weekend. The Navy Exchange is sponsoring her, and there has apparently been a great deal of effort in announcing this event. Renne' was asked yesterday if she had enough books on hand for this. We are hoping 60 of each is enough. If not, we will have to take names and deliver! As you see in this picture, she has her name on the Marquee!! She said she has never known anyone who had their name on a marquee before!! Ha!
Renne' is also working on the illustrations for her new children's book, Nighty Night Sailboat Goes To Spain.
She has sent it to her niece, Sharon Segrest, Ph.D, who will translate it into Spanish for her. This one will have the English with some Spanish word references on one page, and on the opposite side will have Spanish with some English word references on the opposing side. She also decided to have a couple of 5 and 6 year old relatives read and critique the book. That worked really well on the first volume. Renne' found CreateSpace, the publishing side of Amazon for self-publishing. Once she figured out the process, she discovered using them is not nearly as difficult as working with Publish America, who published her novel, The Last Payload.
Our friend, Keith Davis (violin maker extraordinaire and master story teller), has just moved from his previous publisher to CreateSpace for the second printing of his first book, The Iron Lake Fishing Club, on Renne's recommendation, and is close to publishing his second edition.
Keith is also publishing his second book, Kitchen Stories from the Iron Lake Fishing Club.
Keith's stories derive from his living on the Northern Michigan Peninsula NORTH of Wisconsin!! He was my roommate during my freshman year in school and finally got smart and moved south and set up his new violin shop in Hammond, Louisianna during the months PRECEEDING Hurricane Katrina! His response following that devastation was he would rather that than another COLD winter in the Frozen Tundra of Northern Michigan!! So Keith's outlook on life, and the stories of Gershom and Ernie, allow me to have a better outlook of our life on this boat. Life throws a lot at you, and the philosophy these guys have is you just kind of swing with life and look at it with a jaundiced eye and you just keep on going.
You can get the one's that exist already at Amazon and Createspace (https://www.createspace.com/3729974 for Nighty Night Sailboat, and https://www.createspace.com/3823482 for Nighty Night Sailboat Goes To Spain when it becomes available). Keith's will be coming soon and I will let you know how to get them.
Our projects this week have included tracing out a fresh water leak SOMEWHERE on the boat!! When the pressure begins to drop (because of the leak) the "on-demand" pump comes on to re-pressurize the system. There are so many places to look for the leak, and I have found three. But also found a major leak under the sink in the drain hose unrelated to the pressure system. That took all day yesterday and several trips to Home Depot! But the worst leak turned out to be the Water Heater! Doggone, I had to take that one completely apart to find the source. It turns out, there is this microscopic pin hole in the water tank, caused by corrosion. That called for replacing either the tank or the waterheater itself. After searching the entire country, the water heater we have is on back order for several weeks and we were able to finally find one! So we ordered it and it will be in today (Wednesday). It should be installed tomorrow. Then the floor in the aft head has to be replaced (there is a big hole-2' x 2'- there - we had to get the teak and holly replacement when we were back in Houston last month). So our project list continues.
Here is the current list of remaining projects before we leave in May:
Install Watermaker Complete
Renne' is also working on the illustrations for her new children's book, Nighty Night Sailboat Goes To Spain.
She has sent it to her niece, Sharon Segrest, Ph.D, who will translate it into Spanish for her. This one will have the English with some Spanish word references on one page, and on the opposite side will have Spanish with some English word references on the opposing side. She also decided to have a couple of 5 and 6 year old relatives read and critique the book. That worked really well on the first volume. Renne' found CreateSpace, the publishing side of Amazon for self-publishing. Once she figured out the process, she discovered using them is not nearly as difficult as working with Publish America, who published her novel, The Last Payload.
Our friend, Keith Davis (violin maker extraordinaire and master story teller), has just moved from his previous publisher to CreateSpace for the second printing of his first book, The Iron Lake Fishing Club, on Renne's recommendation, and is close to publishing his second edition.
Keith is also publishing his second book, Kitchen Stories from the Iron Lake Fishing Club.
Keith's stories derive from his living on the Northern Michigan Peninsula NORTH of Wisconsin!! He was my roommate during my freshman year in school and finally got smart and moved south and set up his new violin shop in Hammond, Louisianna during the months PRECEEDING Hurricane Katrina! His response following that devastation was he would rather that than another COLD winter in the Frozen Tundra of Northern Michigan!! So Keith's outlook on life, and the stories of Gershom and Ernie, allow me to have a better outlook of our life on this boat. Life throws a lot at you, and the philosophy these guys have is you just kind of swing with life and look at it with a jaundiced eye and you just keep on going.
You can get the one's that exist already at Amazon and Createspace (https://www.createspace.com/3729974 for Nighty Night Sailboat, and https://www.createspace.com/3823482 for Nighty Night Sailboat Goes To Spain when it becomes available). Keith's will be coming soon and I will let you know how to get them.
Our projects this week have included tracing out a fresh water leak SOMEWHERE on the boat!! When the pressure begins to drop (because of the leak) the "on-demand" pump comes on to re-pressurize the system. There are so many places to look for the leak, and I have found three. But also found a major leak under the sink in the drain hose unrelated to the pressure system. That took all day yesterday and several trips to Home Depot! But the worst leak turned out to be the Water Heater! Doggone, I had to take that one completely apart to find the source. It turns out, there is this microscopic pin hole in the water tank, caused by corrosion. That called for replacing either the tank or the waterheater itself. After searching the entire country, the water heater we have is on back order for several weeks and we were able to finally find one! So we ordered it and it will be in today (Wednesday). It should be installed tomorrow. Then the floor in the aft head has to be replaced (there is a big hole-2' x 2'- there - we had to get the teak and holly replacement when we were back in Houston last month). So our project list continues.
Here is the current list of remaining projects before we leave in May:
Install Watermaker Complete
Install SSB Complete
Replace block on mast Complete
Move spare halyard forward Complete
Inspect/Replace Voltage Regulator Not Required
Inspect/Repair (I/R) Manual Bilge Pump
I/R Secondary Bilge Pump
Change Fuel Filter Complete
Clean Air Conditioner Filter Complete
Clean Hot Water Line in fwd head Complete
I/R commode pump mechanics Complete
Repair floor in aft head
Re-organize V-Berth
Install snaps on sun screen Complete
Replace snaps on full enclosure
Repair Sail Covers
Replace motor-lift line Complete
Replace dinghy lift lines Complete
Make mosquito screens for hatches
Repair hatch arms Complete
Replace all port-light seals
Install on/off switch to refrigerator fan
I/R sailing instrument switches
Replace aft navigation light Complete
Seal water inlet to stop leak Complete
Cut Spare 3/4" Dock Line
Copy Movies over to spare Disk
Install Binocular Holder
Move Music over to MP3
Clean Refrigerator Complete
Add Diesel Treatment and Filter Fuel
Change Engine Oil Complete
Change Oil in Generator Complete
Reorganize Garage Area Complete
Replace Bow Chock Complete
I/R Water Heater
This afternoon, Renne' and I are going to the beach to enjoy Spring Break. So catch us about 6 this evening for Sundowners! We have the Jack, rum and gin, bring your own glasses and join us!!
JonNe'
Replace Bow Chock Complete
I/R Water Heater
This afternoon, Renne' and I are going to the beach to enjoy Spring Break. So catch us about 6 this evening for Sundowners! We have the Jack, rum and gin, bring your own glasses and join us!!
JonNe'
Friday, March 9, 2012
You Might Be A Cruiser, if. . . .
Our friend, Rita Wolf, found this in the Cruising World Blogs and I had to pass it on. It is so true, and we have been victim of most of them! The very last one definately is US!
Scott gave me this idea for a blog post one morning when he was helping me get breakfast supplies and said something to the tune of "I wonder how many people sleep over cookies, granola bars and chips." It was in that instant that this post was born. Of course this list is not finite, it could probably go on forever. However, just for fun today:
You *MIGHT* be a Full-Time Cruiser if...
...you sleep over your "pantry" and literally have to crawl in and out of bed...
...leaving a tap running for anything longer than 2 seconds makes you cringe...
...you don't think twice about a 2 mile walk to the grocery store...
...you're hyper-tuned to out-of-the-ordinary sounds and/or smells...
...you wake up with mysterious bruises you don't recall getting...
...you light your stove with a match and make toast over an open flame...
...you get really excited about a half-way decent, one-pot meal...
...you see a new gadget and your first question is "how many amps does it draw?"...
...your life is dictated by the weather...
...you have more zip lock bags than is normal or necessary...
...you have mastered the art of washing with mere quarts of water...
...laundry done by your own two hands comes out better than the laundromat...
...you pretty much wear the same thing every day, and no one notices or cares...
...ice is a luxury that is always accompanied by a big smile and a high-five...
...cardboard is the enemy and is not allowed on the boat...
...when something breaks, your first instinct is not "who to call?"...
...you use T-9 and WD40 as frequently as others use hairspray...
...you laugh out loud if someone on land complains they "don't have room"...
...you don't mind warm beer, in fact, you sort of like it...
...you have no clue what's on television or in the theaters and don't care...
...you've peed in the sink - not because your drunk - but because it's just easier...
...you use only one quarter of the paper towel at a time...
...you know your boat like most people know their children...
...you long for more solar and/or wind power and ogle other peoples' set-ups...
...you've seen the bare ass of at least one of your boat neighbors before...
...finding a new way to store something more efficiently literally makes your day...
...you get really excited when you look at a balanced battery meter...
...you get a tour of another boat and get jealous of storage space...
...you have more flashlights and head-lamps than a spelunker...
...prepping to cook a meal requires you to get on all fours at any given point...
...you break a sweat just getting out the tools necessary to complete a job...
...you cannot walk into a marine store without buying something...
...you know the wind speed just by the sound and feel of your boat...
...you use oil and vinegar not only for salad, but for your toilet - on a regular basis...
and my personal favorite, you know you're a full-time cruiser if...
...you honestly don't know where the day, week, month, or year will take you...
What can you add to the list?
Love,
Brittany & Scott
You Might be a Full-Time Cruiser If...
by Brittany & Scott on s/v Rasmus
Brittany & Scott on s/v Rasmus
You *MIGHT* be a Full-Time Cruiser if...
...you sleep over your "pantry" and literally have to crawl in and out of bed...
...leaving a tap running for anything longer than 2 seconds makes you cringe...
...you don't think twice about a 2 mile walk to the grocery store...
...you're hyper-tuned to out-of-the-ordinary sounds and/or smells...
...you wake up with mysterious bruises you don't recall getting...
...you light your stove with a match and make toast over an open flame...
...you get really excited about a half-way decent, one-pot meal...
...you see a new gadget and your first question is "how many amps does it draw?"...
...your life is dictated by the weather...
...you have more zip lock bags than is normal or necessary...
...you have mastered the art of washing with mere quarts of water...
...laundry done by your own two hands comes out better than the laundromat...
...you pretty much wear the same thing every day, and no one notices or cares...
...ice is a luxury that is always accompanied by a big smile and a high-five...
...cardboard is the enemy and is not allowed on the boat...
...when something breaks, your first instinct is not "who to call?"...
...you use T-9 and WD40 as frequently as others use hairspray...
...you laugh out loud if someone on land complains they "don't have room"...
...you don't mind warm beer, in fact, you sort of like it...
...you have no clue what's on television or in the theaters and don't care...
...you've peed in the sink - not because your drunk - but because it's just easier...
...you use only one quarter of the paper towel at a time...
...you know your boat like most people know their children...
...you long for more solar and/or wind power and ogle other peoples' set-ups...
...you've seen the bare ass of at least one of your boat neighbors before...
...finding a new way to store something more efficiently literally makes your day...
...you get really excited when you look at a balanced battery meter...
...you get a tour of another boat and get jealous of storage space...
...you have more flashlights and head-lamps than a spelunker...
...prepping to cook a meal requires you to get on all fours at any given point...
...you break a sweat just getting out the tools necessary to complete a job...
...you cannot walk into a marine store without buying something...
...you know the wind speed just by the sound and feel of your boat...
...you use oil and vinegar not only for salad, but for your toilet - on a regular basis...
and my personal favorite, you know you're a full-time cruiser if...
...you honestly don't know where the day, week, month, or year will take you...
What can you add to the list?
Love,
Brittany & Scott
And The Fun NEVER Ends!!
In the last update, of January 10, Renne' and I were thoroughly enjoying our arrival in Key West. This has been a memorable two months, in the words of my favorite comedian and Cajun Story Teller, Justin Wilson, I Gawrontee!! It has been a whirlwind of activity. As always, some really good, some really ugly, and some that just keep us going on and on and on with this adventure. We both continue to marvel at the fact we would both rather be doing this than anything else in our lives. It is just hard to think of what would entertain us as well as what we are doing now.
First things first: We have already announced to those with tickets who are heading for St. Thomas for our wedding renewal - PUT ALL TRAVEL PLANS FOR US ON HOLD!! We still have to notify the minister, but we are not able to leave Key West yet - I will explain that in a few minutes - Not that we do not want to get it done, nothing could be farther from the truth, but we are here in KW until we put 40 or 50 more hours on the engine! Considering St. Thomas is 1400nm from Key West via the Bahamas, The Turks and Caico's, the Dominican Republic and all of those beautiful places all of our other cruising friends are getting to see, and at an average of 100nm per day travel. That is 14 days of straight sailing under the very best weather conditions! This is the beginning of the second week of March-remember the axiom,"March comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb"? We have had 30-40kt winds out of the east for a week. We ain't goin' nowhere in that direction for the best of two weeks.
So why do we have to put 40-50 hours on the engine before we can leave? Hmmmm, long story. Back around the first week of February, just before we were to leave for the Bahamas, Renne' got called to Columbia, SC to care for her daughter, Shannon, who was back in the hospital. That took 2-1/2 weeks! In the meantime, my Brother-in-Law, Dave Barker (my eldest sister's husband) was here to assist in getting ready for the trip, and psyched to make a great run to Bimini and on to the Exumas. Dave had been here about 2-1/2 weeks when Renne' left. In that time, Dave and I had completed the installation, troubleshooting (there is always troubleshooting when it comes to MY DIY projects), and finally drinking the final results of the watermaker I have been planning to install for over a year! Talk about a jigsaw puzzle!
So, a week or so after Renne' left, and after finishing the watermaker, as we had decided would head for Bimini ourselves and let Renne' catch up with us when she was finished with Shannon, Dave and I thought it would be great fun to sail east (again the interesting direction) to Marathon for a fun-filled weekend on the hook, kinda to get ready for the real adventure. D and I headed out of the marina at about 1000 that Saturday morning with about 20kts of wind off our nose. The kicker was the growing 3' waves in Hawk Channel that day, both of which were coming out of the east. Therefore, NO SAILING! We would motor the 38nm by water. After an hour, making about 1.8nm, I realized we were not going to make Marathon by Sundown. We were about to head back in, but Renne', over the phone, recommended we sail west to Key West and see the area by water. Great Idea! So we tacked the boat and headed west. We set the jib and went romping off to see KW. During the transit, the winds grew to 38kts and waves began building to 3-4 or 5 feet. I remember thinking it would be a long trip back to Boca Chica, so our goal was to get to KW and turn around and motor back!
We entered the main ship channel where the cruise ships depart for the east coast of the US. My thought was to start the engine, pull into the wind shadow of the two cruise ships in port, and furl the sail and depart! Simple! However, upon starting the engine, and getting no response from the helm, I gave the helm to Dave and ran below to look at the engine room. Does this sound the least bit familiar?? Remember last June as were were forced to go into Miami because of engine vibrations? Sure enough, I opened the engine compartment and found a 4" gap between the prop-shaft coupler and the transmission coupler. Dumbfounded, I realized this was the 2nd time in 8 months that we had suffered a prop-shaft coupler failure! What are the odds??!?!?!
We again tacked around, and tried to head out the ship channel under sail, but the winds were too strong to get much headway, in fact we were losing way. We actually were heading SOUTH toward Cuba! I instantly calculated by this time the next day, we would be off the coast of Cuba trying to explain our engine failure. That and Renne' would be pissed that she had missed this great trip! So the better part of valor as a husband, partner, B-I-L, sailor and human being, so as to not be thrown in jail for cavorting with the enemy, we hove-to (stalled the sails).
So as all good Navy Sea-Stories begin: "There we were, stranded, you just ain't gonna believe this! This is a real NO-Shit Story! Waves crashing over the rails, winds howling eerily, sails flapping uncontrollably, all trying their best to drive the Sailing Vessel JonNe' and it's occupants to the depths of Davy Jones Locker! Though we were gonna DIE!
45 minutes later we were headed back to Boca Chica in tow by TowBoat US.
Five days later, we were hauled and blocked on the hard at a local boatyard one key up from KW being inspected by the local Yanmar (engine) dealer trying to determine why we had thrown our prop-shaft a second time!! Now I don't want to gripe too much about Marathon Boat Yard in Marathon, Fl, who installed the engine to begin with, but here is what we found!!
The engine mounts were installed incorrectly and on the wrong sides! They collapsed under the load and the engine dropped, putting a strain on the prop-shaft - causing the failure.
The engine filled with water - the entire exhaust system had been installed incorrectly! No riser pipe from the exhaust, meant not enough height between the engine and exhaust water-lift muffler! The water-lift muffler was too small for the length of the exhaust hose (13' of 3"ID exhaust hose), the exhaust loop on the stern was too low, all allowing seawater from the following seas to enter and fill the exhaust hose and muffler, driving water into the engine!!
We are back in the slip today, $15,000 of our kids inheritance paid out for this engine repair, grateful to Mark De Jong, of Mark's Diesel Engines or Diesel Engines of the Florida Keys for the work he has done, and looking for an attorney who might take our case for not a lot of money!!
Now we have to put 40-50 hours on the engine to make sure this thing doesn't happen again! So we might go to the Tortugas in April or up the west coast of Florida for a week. Who knows!
Now we have to put 40-50 hours on the engine to make sure this thing doesn't happen again! So we might go to the Tortugas in April or up the west coast of Florida for a week. Who knows!
We spent our first night aboard, for Renne', in six weeks. The mechanics had to take down part of the water system, and I had to rebuild it. I am not as young as I was even last year! Boy was I stiff! I have three new projects to work on: I have to replace some flooring in the aft head; and second, I have to change the location of the ventalation blower for the Generator, to make it easier to cool; and third, we have to recharge the refrigerator, or at least get it looked at. It just seems to be working harder to cool than it should!
The last events to occur in the past two months were the wonderful friends and relatives to show up here in KW! My cousin, George and his lady friend, Alesia were here for several days of fun; our friends Warren Gloss and his lady friend, Caroline, stopped by in their RV and spent an enjoyable week with us; and we found our cruising couple friends, Al and Sue McDonald on a mooring ball in Marathon and Jim and Linda Delaney on the hook here at Garrison Bight. Great days with both of them, and we are envious they are in the Bahamas ahead of us.
As we really are not good at planning too far ahead of ourselves, our plan at this moment is to head for the Bahamas about the first of May with a group from here in Boca Chica. We will spend a few weeks gunkholing then will join a few of them as we head north to the Chesapeake. We hope this year will be the year we actually get there. So for the moment, we want to sit and relax for a few weeks and enjoy the warm weather to come.
Renne' has a book signing this weekend at the Navy Exchange for both Saturday and Sunday. We have had to restock her supply of both The Last Payload: The MECS Experiment and Her newest children's book: Nighty Night Sailboat. She is working on the newest volume: Nighty Night Sailboat goes to Spain, but has to finish up the illustrations. She has two more in the works, Santa Finds Nighty Night Sailboat, which has to be finished by July, and Nighty Night Sailboat Visits Mount Vernon, George Washington's Home.
Renne' has a book signing this weekend at the Navy Exchange for both Saturday and Sunday. We have had to restock her supply of both The Last Payload: The MECS Experiment and Her newest children's book: Nighty Night Sailboat. She is working on the newest volume: Nighty Night Sailboat goes to Spain, but has to finish up the illustrations. She has two more in the works, Santa Finds Nighty Night Sailboat, which has to be finished by July, and Nighty Night Sailboat Visits Mount Vernon, George Washington's Home.
We really appreciate all of our friends here in Boca Chica for the moral support you have given us and ALL of our friends, fans, and relatives who put up with our adventures and mis-adventures. We really love this life, and hope to continue it for some time to come. I hope to put up some new pictures from this period in a few days.
For now, we love you all, and we need to spend some time here on the docks DRINKING!! come join us for sundowners!!
JonNe'
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