On this episode, we set out for a couple of days of exploration. First we take the trail to the windward beach and head south until it ends and the labyrinth of trails begin - where beautiful views can be had atop gorgeous rock cliffs. But we also spent a day on a hike to the Salt Monument by the northern part of the island. And in between we accomplish a little work on the boat and watch the 2015 Georgetown Regatta from our own front seats. Video footage taken from February 25 and March 5, 2015.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Dean's Blue Hole - Long Island, Bahamas
Road Trip! We finally decided to break down and spend a little money on a rent-a-car so we could make the short trip up the highway to Dean's Blue Hole. I figured that since we were within 4 miles of it, and its the deepest salt water hole in the world, maybe it would be worth it. Also, I heard that there was a cliff that you can jump off if you only had the balls to do so. Plus, while we had the car, we'll go ahead and head up to the Sea Wind Grocery Store to do a little provisioning.
All went as planned, and by 10:30 am we were pulling damn near right up on the beach to the Blue Hole - nobody was there and you can see our rent-a-car in the background on some of the pictures. The free-diving platform was affixed and we heard the influx of participants and spectators will start funneling in closer to the end of this month as competition starts April 1.
But looking off into a 663 foot hole is a little weird. Not that we haven't been diving before - hell, we've dove a wall in Cozumel that dropped off to over 1000 feet. But for some reason, a hole is just different. And after we got a little used to it, the boys started jumping off the cliff, and suckered me into it also - although I did take the one a little down from the top.
All went as planned, and by 10:30 am we were pulling damn near right up on the beach to the Blue Hole - nobody was there and you can see our rent-a-car in the background on some of the pictures. The free-diving platform was affixed and we heard the influx of participants and spectators will start funneling in closer to the end of this month as competition starts April 1.
But looking off into a 663 foot hole is a little weird. Not that we haven't been diving before - hell, we've dove a wall in Cozumel that dropped off to over 1000 feet. But for some reason, a hole is just different. And after we got a little used to it, the boys started jumping off the cliff, and suckered me into it also - although I did take the one a little down from the top.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
We Outdid Ourselves!
I know I just posted the great day of cruising we just had en-route to Calabash Bay at the north end of Long Island...but on the way down to Clarence Town two days ago we outdid ourselves. Although it was a little rough going at times - waves sometimes up over the 6-7 foot range hitting us from the port bow direction, and we had trouble keeping the wind more than 40 degrees on our nose - we were able to land this (to us) massive Mahi-mahi. But the big challenge in actually getting her on board was the fact that we were at full sails when she hooked, and we had at least one motor running (can't remember if starboard was on or not.)
Justin was first to the pole and quickly realized that tightening the drag would result in a snapped line (we used to think 40 lb. test was plenty).....it was singing! He could feel and hear the line stretching. So she kept taking it....and taking it until we started to get concerned that she'd take the whole spool. We also realized that if we had any chance of getting the fish in the cockpit, we had to slow down, so Brandon and I pulled in the jib and I turned into the wind enough that we were able to putter along at about 1.5 knots.
As Justin continued to reel her in, she would tease us by jumping out of the water in an attempt to shake loose the lure. Then when she got close to the boat, she made a last ditch attempt by going to the opposite side and half way up and around the starboard hull - Brandon had to go to the steps and pull the line aft so she wouldn't tangle in the prop and rudder.
But the last move was to actually gaff her as she was much too heavy for the line and pole to remove her from the ocean - and so far, its something we haven't been successful at doing. But after a couple of tries, Brandon was able to gently hook the gill and hoist her up onto the boat - a great team effort in all.
Justin was first to the pole and quickly realized that tightening the drag would result in a snapped line (we used to think 40 lb. test was plenty).....it was singing! He could feel and hear the line stretching. So she kept taking it....and taking it until we started to get concerned that she'd take the whole spool. We also realized that if we had any chance of getting the fish in the cockpit, we had to slow down, so Brandon and I pulled in the jib and I turned into the wind enough that we were able to putter along at about 1.5 knots.
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| She went to the opposite side of the boat as a last resort |
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| Brandon trying to sneak the gaff in |
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| Success! |
As Justin continued to reel her in, she would tease us by jumping out of the water in an attempt to shake loose the lure. Then when she got close to the boat, she made a last ditch attempt by going to the opposite side and half way up and around the starboard hull - Brandon had to go to the steps and pull the line aft so she wouldn't tangle in the prop and rudder.
But the last move was to actually gaff her as she was much too heavy for the line and pole to remove her from the ocean - and so far, its something we haven't been successful at doing. But after a couple of tries, Brandon was able to gently hook the gill and hoist her up onto the boat - a great team effort in all.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Bagged 3 Mahi-Mahi en-route to Long Island
Today we decided to head over to the north end of Long Island in preparation for island hopping further south. The problem is that starting this Tuesday wind from the east will be up over 25 knots for about a week, so wherever we are is where we'll be for awhile. So its hard making the decision to leave Georgetown when we know wind like this will be hitting us soon. When you're in Georgetown, you get comfortable - it has everything you need: American television (all four major stations!!), grocery stores, internet, and safety in numbers. And after waiting for our anemometer (wind instrument) to come back from Raymarine for over a month now, fear begins to creep in because beyond Georgetown, you are kind of on your own. Do we leave? Or do we stay?
And that's what happened - we hadn't had them out but about an hour when the first monster Mahi hit. And unfortunately for us, once again, the big one got away - we have not seemed to master the art of getting these bad boys into the safety of the cockpit before they shake that lure right out of their mouth. Major bummer! We devise another plan and put both poles back out again. Lucky for us, there are more Mahi in these waters and within about another hour, we got another hit - a baby, but still a nice one. We can at least look forward to a nice Mahi dinner - we've been redeemed a little.
But today, I made the decision to go ahead and set sail for Calabash Bay on Long Island - the wind was minimal and the waves were non-existant as the waters west of Long Island are still protected from the Atlantic Ocean - seemed like a good idea to peak out and get a little salty. And sails like this can be very productive - you get to dump your tanks and we make water the whole way replenishing our diminished supply as we're not comfortable making water in Elizabeth Harbor. We also let out both fishing poles - a couple of Penn's we picked up at a Key West pawn shop. And when you travel in 2000 feet of water you might just snag a Mahi or two.
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| TWO fish ON!!! |
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| We're perfecting the "Swing-to-the-Cockpit" maneuver |
But the real excitement came after about another hour, the small Penn reel got a hit and Justin ran to it to pull it in and Brandon ran to the other reel to bring it in so Justin wouldn't get tangled in it. But as soon as Brandon started to reel, his lure was also hit - now we had TWO FISH ON!!! For some reason, both fish went to port and Brandon found himself making his way around the solar rack with a big Mahi on (he knew what it was because it kept jumping out of the water.) Lucky for us, we were able to finally get big Mahi inside the cockpit before they both shook their lures and we have finally been redeemed from the two big ones that got away!
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| The baby that we caught after the big one got away |
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Video: Episode #3 Sailing the Bahamas - Norman's Cay to Georgetown
Check out the next episode in our video series. On this installment, we hang out at Norman's Cay for a few days before moving on to Staniel Cay where we chill out while waiting out the wind. We then head down to Lee Stocking where we find a message in a bottle and our first lobster. We then make the short sail down to Georgetown to hunker down and settle in. So far, Georgetown also includes a shopping trip to Top-to-bottom and a little excitement when two boats in the harbor drag anchor during a squall.
Monday, February 16, 2015
What's going on in Georgetown, Bahamas?
Well, I guess there's a lot going on here with the 2015 Regatta just a couple of days away and the official boat count in the harbor is a whopping 353 boats. But with us, not much is happening. We removed and shipped out the Raymarine anemometer (I know, it's only been really used for only about 2 months) but as of today, it hadn't even been delivered because of the snow storm in Boston.....so, we wait. And hey, its not a bad place to hunker down for a month or so...it could be worse.
Most days I get up in time for "the Net" - and anybody that's ever been here knows what that is - its the morning VHF traffic having to do with everything in the area....businesses, emergencies, buy/sell/trade, new arrivals, and people leaving. While that's going on, I'm usually checking my YouTube channel for any comments or questions, I check my email, and my blog. Then I start editing the next video in our adventure series.
But most people here go to shore for one activity or another - yoga, volleyball, meet and greets, or just getting a drink at Chat-n-Chill. But nobody's ever accused us as being too social...so we skip most of those things. Although I did talk Brandon into going ashore the other day to compete in the "Bocci-Ball" tournament that they were having in preparation of the real tournament that's going on during Regatta. And although we've never played before, we wiped out the 23 other teams on our way to victory....and the prize was 2 decent bottles of wine from the cellars of some boat here in the harbor. Even though we don't drink, much less drink wine, I wanted to win and we were very proud to bring those two bottles of wine back to the boat. But the rest of the day is just time wastes ...sometimes we watch tv for most of the day; other times we hop in the dinghy and make a grocery run; sometimes we go to volleyball beach and just walk around - not a bad way to spend early retirement.
But there might be a couple of things about Georgetown some of you may want to know, just in case you might be planning your own trip here:
1. There is actually American channels broadcast over the air here that you can receive if you have a decent powered antenna on your mast. Its pumped in from Miami, Florida and you get all four major channels - ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC plus two local channels. What's funny is that the whole time we were in Key West, there were exactly ZERO major networks broadcast over the air...and only two shitty local channels - but here in Georgetown, we get all four major channels from the United States....I just don't understand that.
2. There is a pump out boat that comes by and will empty your tanks for a fee - ours runs $20 for our 25 gallon tank. But beware, he has a screw off his port side and will come in at your boat at an angle - and even though we had plenty of fenders out, he got us right between two of them. He will also try and get a free beer from you during the waste removal. He'll also take your trash bags for $2 apiece.
3. The local Exuma Market grocery store provides free water at the dinghy dock for cruisers, and so far, its the only place we've seen that provides free water.
4. No matter how close to shore you think you've gotten and that there's no possible way anybody could get between you and the shore, somebody will inevitably squeeze in there. And then next to you and then on the other side of you.....its crazy to think how close they'll drop anchor around you. So if you think you're in a good place for the next front that comes through....soon enough you'll have lots of company if you don't already.
5. There's multiple internet antennas around in the area - there's at least 6 internet signals to tap into with most being some sort of pay by the use kind. The free signal comes from the Exuma Yacht Club but you pretty much have to be at the restaurant to pick it up - even when we use our wifi hotspot.
Well, that's just about it for me for now....Jimmy Kimmel is about to come on.
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| Can you find Catchin' Rays? |
But most people here go to shore for one activity or another - yoga, volleyball, meet and greets, or just getting a drink at Chat-n-Chill. But nobody's ever accused us as being too social...so we skip most of those things. Although I did talk Brandon into going ashore the other day to compete in the "Bocci-Ball" tournament that they were having in preparation of the real tournament that's going on during Regatta. And although we've never played before, we wiped out the 23 other teams on our way to victory....and the prize was 2 decent bottles of wine from the cellars of some boat here in the harbor. Even though we don't drink, much less drink wine, I wanted to win and we were very proud to bring those two bottles of wine back to the boat. But the rest of the day is just time wastes ...sometimes we watch tv for most of the day; other times we hop in the dinghy and make a grocery run; sometimes we go to volleyball beach and just walk around - not a bad way to spend early retirement.
But there might be a couple of things about Georgetown some of you may want to know, just in case you might be planning your own trip here:
1. There is actually American channels broadcast over the air here that you can receive if you have a decent powered antenna on your mast. Its pumped in from Miami, Florida and you get all four major channels - ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC plus two local channels. What's funny is that the whole time we were in Key West, there were exactly ZERO major networks broadcast over the air...and only two shitty local channels - but here in Georgetown, we get all four major channels from the United States....I just don't understand that.
2. There is a pump out boat that comes by and will empty your tanks for a fee - ours runs $20 for our 25 gallon tank. But beware, he has a screw off his port side and will come in at your boat at an angle - and even though we had plenty of fenders out, he got us right between two of them. He will also try and get a free beer from you during the waste removal. He'll also take your trash bags for $2 apiece.
3. The local Exuma Market grocery store provides free water at the dinghy dock for cruisers, and so far, its the only place we've seen that provides free water.
4. No matter how close to shore you think you've gotten and that there's no possible way anybody could get between you and the shore, somebody will inevitably squeeze in there. And then next to you and then on the other side of you.....its crazy to think how close they'll drop anchor around you. So if you think you're in a good place for the next front that comes through....soon enough you'll have lots of company if you don't already.
5. There's multiple internet antennas around in the area - there's at least 6 internet signals to tap into with most being some sort of pay by the use kind. The free signal comes from the Exuma Yacht Club but you pretty much have to be at the restaurant to pick it up - even when we use our wifi hotspot.
Well, that's just about it for me for now....Jimmy Kimmel is about to come on.
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| Just in case you hadn't spotted us. Photos generously supplied by s/v Bueller check out their blog at www.nolandinsight.com |
Monday, February 9, 2015
How Much does it cost to Cruise for 1 month? Here's the answer
The biggest question when it comes to cruising is - how much does it cost? And now that we've been actually cruising for over a month, we know the answer to that question - at least for the first month anyway.
So the break-down does include everything that we spent in the month of January that includes a Caribbean cell phone, entry fee into the country, electronic charts for just about the whole half of this world (we aren't sure where we're going yet), and also the maintenance costs associated with the starter and rent-a-car. It does not include the costs associated with the initial provisioning of the boat - all the groceries and the fuel we bought in Key West before we left and to be honest, we spent well over $1000 in groceries alone, maybe close to $1500. And we've been eating pretty well by our standards over the past month and a half, and we still have enough food to last another 1 1/2 months. All we've been doing is buying more cereal, bread, vegetables, etc. But I estimate that we have probably eaten about $400-600 worth of groceries so far and now that we're in the Bahamas, it will be even more to replace our supplies - but that will probably not show up until March sometime.
So, here is the list and break-down of the cost to cruise:
Janruary 2015
The first list is mostly an itemized list of the separate charges. The second list is the totals.
So there you have it - the cost to cruise the month of January 2015 as done by the Ray family aboard Catchin' Rays - your list may differ.
Check out our latest sailing episode.
So the break-down does include everything that we spent in the month of January that includes a Caribbean cell phone, entry fee into the country, electronic charts for just about the whole half of this world (we aren't sure where we're going yet), and also the maintenance costs associated with the starter and rent-a-car. It does not include the costs associated with the initial provisioning of the boat - all the groceries and the fuel we bought in Key West before we left and to be honest, we spent well over $1000 in groceries alone, maybe close to $1500. And we've been eating pretty well by our standards over the past month and a half, and we still have enough food to last another 1 1/2 months. All we've been doing is buying more cereal, bread, vegetables, etc. But I estimate that we have probably eaten about $400-600 worth of groceries so far and now that we're in the Bahamas, it will be even more to replace our supplies - but that will probably not show up until March sometime.
So, here is the list and break-down of the cost to cruise:
Janruary 2015
The first list is mostly an itemized list of the separate charges. The second list is the totals.
| Diesel | $54.00 |
| Gas | $13.00 |
| Groceries | $265.00 |
| Diesel | $228.00 |
| Gas | $23.00 |
| Weech's Dockage (2 days) | $100.00 |
| Bimini World Marina (1 day) | $55.00 |
| Nassau Habour Club | $203.00 |
| Port Starter | $200.00 |
| Rent-a-car | $112.00 |
| Zincs (4 sets) | $150.00 |
| Entertainment/ Dinning | $119.00 |
| Laundry | $18.00 |
| Electronic Charts | $235.00 |
| Guide Book (we forgot to buy Bahamas) | $59.00 |
| Scuba Stuff | $140.00 |
| Bahama Sim Card for cell phone | $20.00 |
| Cell Phone - Carribean | $210.00 |
| Pre-paid minuets | $180.00 |
| Internet Access | $75.00 |
| Containers | $11.00 |
| Medicne | $13.00 |
| Exuma Yacht Club (1 day) | $93.00 |
| Groceries | $48.00 |
| Dinning | $21.00 |
| Diesel | $91.00 |
| Totals | |
| Diesel | $378.00 |
| Groceries | $313.00 |
| Gas | $36.00 |
| Dockage | $451.00 |
| Maintenance | $462.00 |
| Entertainment/Dinning | $140.00 |
| Laundry | $18.00 |
| Electronic Charts | $235.00 |
| Guide Books | $59.00 |
| Scuba Stuff | $140.00 |
| Communication | $485.00 |
| Containers | $11.00 |
| Medicine | $13.00 |
| Total | $2,741.00 |
So there you have it - the cost to cruise the month of January 2015 as done by the Ray family aboard Catchin' Rays - your list may differ.
Check out our latest sailing episode.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Video: Episode #2 - Bimini to Norman's Cay
Holy shit, we got internet good enough to upload our next video thanks to Bahamian Wifi (its a service that we pay for down here either by the week or by the month, and its pretty fast at times.) On this video, we leave the fast times at Bimini and head to Gun Cay so we could be that much closer to Chub.
After Chub, we head to Rose Island to chill out for a couple of days - which is where we discovered Bahamian Wifi to begin with. From there we head down to Allan's Cay to feed the iguanas and ended up getting caught in a horrible current in a tight anchorage with 5 other boats. It ended up pulling our anchor loose and dragging it as we quickly made the decision to pull it up and re-anchor.
The thing about knowing when to do this is a little harder than it seems. You see, we set up the chartplotter the best we can and put a waypoint right on top of where we think the anchor is so we can see if we've moved further from the anchor as the day and nights go on. We were getting whipped around so much, that it was hard to tell if we were dragging or not, but when the difference became over 40 feet, we had a good indication that we were getting pulled by the current. It was a long night needless to say and that's why we hauled ass to Norman's the next day - we wanted a little more room to breathe. As you can see in the video, there isn't a whole lot of space to anchor between the island to begin with and stack on top of it that we were being swallowed be a 5 knot current that had a death grip on my boat....anyway, that night sucked.
Then we end with arriving at Norman's Cay - where we spent a few days messing around.
As always, stay tuned to the end for fun stuff and a tribute to our family dog Daisy that died in Nassau.
After Chub, we head to Rose Island to chill out for a couple of days - which is where we discovered Bahamian Wifi to begin with. From there we head down to Allan's Cay to feed the iguanas and ended up getting caught in a horrible current in a tight anchorage with 5 other boats. It ended up pulling our anchor loose and dragging it as we quickly made the decision to pull it up and re-anchor.
The thing about knowing when to do this is a little harder than it seems. You see, we set up the chartplotter the best we can and put a waypoint right on top of where we think the anchor is so we can see if we've moved further from the anchor as the day and nights go on. We were getting whipped around so much, that it was hard to tell if we were dragging or not, but when the difference became over 40 feet, we had a good indication that we were getting pulled by the current. It was a long night needless to say and that's why we hauled ass to Norman's the next day - we wanted a little more room to breathe. As you can see in the video, there isn't a whole lot of space to anchor between the island to begin with and stack on top of it that we were being swallowed be a 5 knot current that had a death grip on my boat....anyway, that night sucked.
Then we end with arriving at Norman's Cay - where we spent a few days messing around.
As always, stay tuned to the end for fun stuff and a tribute to our family dog Daisy that died in Nassau.
Just out Catchin' Rays
We've just docked here in Georgetown, Exuma after motor-sailing from Lee Stocking Island today. Before that we were at Big Majors/Stanial Cay for a couple of days waiting out the heavy winds. We didn't hardly get out of the boat because there was a constant 20 knot wind blowing almost the entire time we were there. Prior to Big Majors, we were at Norman's Cay where Brandon snagged his first kill with the Hawaiian Sling - a Lion Fish - the most ecologically destructing fish out there right now and he did his part to rid one small piece of coral from this bully. And it made two nice fish nuggets to boot.
He was also able to find this beautiful lobster hiding under the only piece of coral within 400 yards of our anchorage at Lee Stocking Island. There was a nice Nassau Grouper in there too, but left after he pulled the trigger.
Other than that, we've just been wastin' the days away, hoping to find warmer weather (I know, we're bitchin' about 77 degrees - deal with it) so that jumping into the water would actually be refreshing. But from here, we don't know where we're going - maybe onto Long Island and beyond...but we don't know yet - maybe we'll just hang out here along with the 500 other sailboats at anchor behind us.
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| Tami & Me at our Big Majors anchorage - it was a busy place |
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| Brandon's first Lobster using a Hawaiian Sling @ Lee Stocking |
Thursday, January 22, 2015
We Lost a Beloved Crew member today
Last night, as we were anchored quietly off Norman Cay, our dog of 18 years took a turn for the worse. Her turn actually started a few days ago, but last night she started to seize and was obviously in pain. We gave her medication to help with the pain, but years of congestive heart failure, and what seemed to be her kidneys beginning to fail was more than we wanted to put her through. So today we made a run back up to Nassau to get her to a vet's office to make it as peaceful and humane as possible. She was comfortable for the most part on today's sail as we made really good speed hauling ass and motor-sailing. We got in a cab as soon as we docked and headed for the nearest vet's office - soon after that, our 18 year relationship was over. She will be sadly missed by everybody in this family - and that's an understatement.
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| Daisy having a good time at Gun Cay just 2 weeks ago |
Monday, January 12, 2015
Video: Key West to Bimini has been uploaded
See the crew set sail for Bimini, Bahamas with an unexpected stop in Key Largo for repairs. I've actually been working extremely hard to get this video uploaded as we only arrived into Bimini less than a week ago. But the free internet is so good here, I've been trying to finish this first leg of our adventure and get it uploaded because I have no idea when the next time I'll get these fast speeds again.
Also, I first uploaded the wrong version to YouTube that had an audio error in it...and I could've left it, but it would have driven me crazy, so I've uploaded the corrected version - so, sorry if that messed anybody up.
Next stop: Chub Cay, and we actually head back to Gun Cay tomorrow as we prepare to make the haul to Chub on Wednesday.....stay tuned.
Also, I first uploaded the wrong version to YouTube that had an audio error in it...and I could've left it, but it would have driven me crazy, so I've uploaded the corrected version - so, sorry if that messed anybody up.
Next stop: Chub Cay, and we actually head back to Gun Cay tomorrow as we prepare to make the haul to Chub on Wednesday.....stay tuned.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
A Day and Night spent at Gun Cay, Bahamas
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| The Crew at Gun Cay, Bahamas |
The biggest excitement early on was just getting out of the channel and into open ocean. For some reason there were Hawaii 5-0 type waves crashing right through the marked channel - and I mean these waves were big, about 10 feet or so with a big enough pipe for a small surfer to fit. It was the weirdest thing. Justin had the helm and Brandon and I were sitting next to the mast to keep a watch. And although the boat handled them well, it was the most she'd been sloshed around since we've put her in the water.
The trip down to Gun Cay was pretty uneventful and we decided to keep the motors running to charge up our batteries, but we also put the jib out to help with speed. We went right by the Sapona - which is the shipwreck that Brandon, Tami, and I snorkeled for a bit while en route to Nassau aboard s/v Stray Cat back in 2011.
When we got to Gun Cay, there were two other sailboats anchored down the coast, so we picked our spot and set the hook. The wind was a little higher than I would have like it, and it was coming out of the East - the same side we have to anchor on because the West side is too deep. We went ashore, did some snorkeling and met our neighbors.
We also got a chance to feed the sting-rays that prowl the shoreline - at least Justin did anyway. We're told that they're pretty tame and must be used to people feeding them because they come right up to you and expect food. This little guy was about 2 foot across.
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| Mr. Stingray was looking for lunch |
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| A couple of dolphins came over to check us out, but just for a second |
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Key Largo to Bimini
We pulled in the anchor at Key Largo about 1:30pm and set sail for Bimini. The winds were supposed to be light and the waves were forecasted to be no more than 3 feet all the way there. Passageweather.com was right on the money and the boat performed awesome. Although we didn't get a chance to sail due to the wind being right on the nose, motoring with the current proved to be a fast haul. We pulled in at 3:30am to the Weech's Bimini Boat Dock after navigating through the channel between North and South Bimini - and having never really done this before, doing it at night at an unfamiliar place was a challenge. We located the power, plugged in, and cranked up the air conditioning - in only 15 minuets all of our cabins were cold and we were feeling pretty good about what we'd just done.
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| Pulling in the Monster |
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| Holy shit she's pretty!! |
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| Let the carving begin |
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| Tami doing a great job at filleting our Monster |
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| Tied up at Weech's Bimini Dock |
Monday, January 5, 2015
Our Unexpected Stop in Key Largo
We set sail on December 30th from Stock Island Marina Village en route to Bimini as this is the first major sail in this boat other than a few day sails in and around Key West. We were slightly nervous to say the least, but once we got outside the reef, we hoisted the sails and cut the engines. Heading east, we were going along at around 5 to 6 knots, but just as the sun was setting, the wind died down and started coming straight on our nose. With the wind so weak, even if we had tacked we wouldn't have been making much progress. We started the engines and dropped the sails and were quickly making about 6.5 knots with seas around 3 feet.
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| Our first sunrise |
We all took turns on watch, and I'm not sure anybody got over 2 hours of sleep the whole night - except for Tami who seemed to get the best sleep of her entire life as the constant motion of the boat kept the voices in her head at check. I'd try and lay down, but you hear every slap of the waves and every rpm engine change - and you worry.
The boat handled great, and before too long the sun was starting to peak up above the horizon and we had successfully completed our first night sail. We decided to raise the sails since the wind direction indicated that we'd be able to make a little progress at least until the engines got a break and we could do a morning inspection and oil level check. The port engine looked great - no oil leaks and the level was exactly the same. The starboard engine was a different story. Although the oil level was perfect, there was a small fuel leak - Justin quickly had the part removed and was replacing a small o-ring on a fuel nipple and had it back together. The boat-crippling problem happened during start-up - the starter began to make a horrible grinding noise. The puzzling thing was that this was our brand new starter we installed only 2 months ago. After removal, the bell crank housing was completely broken off.
That's when we decided to head for shore instead of jumping over the Gulf Stream. Key Largo was now the unexpected destination and we soon found ourselves frantically looking for a marina in which to dock. We did find one that could accommodate our needs while we found a replacement starter but with our draft about 3.5 feet, we were instructed to anchor on the back of Rodriquez Key until the high tide at 4:00pm. But with the favorable weather and a boat fully stocked we decided to stay at anchor instead.
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| En route to our unexpected visit to Key Largo |
But what has kept us hear for 6 days now is the unbelievably difficult time we've had at finding a replacement OEM starter coupled with the New Year's holiday. What we've discovered the replacement starter that broke is known for it - multiple forum posting revealed numerous people having the exact same problem with their replacement starter made in China. So we sit. And for the first 5 days, it was ok. But now we're ready to move on.
But a few things we've learned so far:
1. Our anchor holds pretty good
2. We can sail our boat with only 6 inches under her keels - although this one happened accidentally (all around Rodriguez Key has only depths of about 4 to 6 feet
3. We can entertain ourselves well - but we're not sure how long that will last
4. That walking to your destinations can be done, but these short distances we've been walking may not count.
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| Rodriguez Key in the distance |
Today our OEM starter is supposed to arrive - finally, and then we should be out of here tomorrow and on our way to Bimini with a great weather window starting today and lasting until Thursday. We have another night sail ahead of us and maybe that's why I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Marine Air HVAC - an Aqua-logical wonder of the World
During the process of renovating a sailboat, so many things take longer than expected and cost more than the estimates. I read about it all the time - browse any sailor's blog, and you'll inevitably read about such-and-such taking 3 times longer than they thought and costing double what it should have. And while getting our A/C's up and running it did cost a bit more than I would have liked, the fact that we even have a system that functions and operates is a blessing.
During the survey, we couldn't get it to work, so we weren't sure if we had a few extra boat anchors on board or a bad-ass HVAC system...but lucky for us, it was the latter. Situations like these are the main reason we got a boat for almost half the going rate - we took a chance on a lot of systems that weren't operational during the initial inspection and rolled the dice that we could get them up and running for a reasonable amount of money. The watermaker and the a/c system are two great examples of high dollar pieces of equipment that were in-op at the purchase, but only required a small investment and a little work to have perfectly functioning, and important, items on the boat that makes living on one a little easier and a lot more enjoyable.
As suspected, this boat has an extremely expensive a/c system on board. There are two 16,000 btu "chiller" condensers in the forward starboard locker and five air handlers - one in each cabin and one in the saloon. The "chiller" condensers are supposedly the more expensive and more energy efficient kinds to have - Shawn over at S.A.L.T. told us that each one would cost around $4k to replace. And to top it off, each air handler has its own digital thermostat to control the temperature having both a "heat" setting and a "cool" setting as it acts very similar to a household heat pump system.
But here is the cool thing about this system - the condensers work together in a series to chill the fresh water that circulates between all five of the air handlers. They chill the water down to a cool 48 degrees, but when the water gets down to about 54 degrees, the second condenser shuts down while the first continues to run until it reaches that set temp. Once it does, it will also shut off and if all of the five zones have reached their set temps, the whole system will shut down until its needed. But if the chilled water that circulates gets above say 54 degrees, the sea-water pump kicks on and the condensers continue to chill and circulate the water. So what you can do is turn on the circulator pump a little while before you need it, that way, as soon as the air handler is activated, it will have already pre-cooled the water and cold air blows instantly. The other awesome thing about the system is that each air handler has an extremely strong blower that has three levels of blowing strength. When I first turn on a particular cabin, the handler blows on high until it gets closer to the desired temperature at which time it slowly decreases strength until the unit shuts off completely. As we sleep throughout the night, we barely even notice when the unit turns on and off because it only comes on in low strength because it can maintain the desired temp with just activating on low intermittently.
There are also two white control boxes in the condenser locker, and one in each of the five zones throughout the boat. They house circuit boards and control every aspect of the system. The ones in the cabins are attached to and control the digital thermostats.
The odd thing about having only a 3.5 kw generator and such a massive air conditioning system makes a little more sense once we understood the a/c system better. If we had to, we could run just one condenser and it would have to carry the burden of getting the chilled water down to 48 degrees all by itself - it would take a little longer, but it could eventually do it. But yesterday, we did a little research - we cranked up the genset and began turning on the a/c system. It carried the load of both condensers and a few of the air handlers that were powered up with no problem. Seems that maybe such a small genset might be able to power the whole system if it needed to. We probably won't ever run the generator all night long just to power the a/c system, but its nice to know that it could if we needed it to. And while I do have about $1,500 in the repair, I'm told that to install a complete system like this in a boat today would cost in excess of $18k - so its worth keeping this system functioning and operational.
Here's the break-down:
New circuit board and labor: $1100
Complete recharge of system with 407c: $400
Sleeping in a cold cabin on a hot and sticky night: PRICELESS!!
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| The two 16,000 btu Marine Air condensers |
As suspected, this boat has an extremely expensive a/c system on board. There are two 16,000 btu "chiller" condensers in the forward starboard locker and five air handlers - one in each cabin and one in the saloon. The "chiller" condensers are supposedly the more expensive and more energy efficient kinds to have - Shawn over at S.A.L.T. told us that each one would cost around $4k to replace. And to top it off, each air handler has its own digital thermostat to control the temperature having both a "heat" setting and a "cool" setting as it acts very similar to a household heat pump system.
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| Digital Thermostat in each cabin and saloon |
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| The saloon control and vent |
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| Part of the control boxes that house system circuit boards |
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| The saloon air handler (before installing a new filter) - each cabin has one of these nicely installed |
Here's the break-down:
New circuit board and labor: $1100
Complete recharge of system with 407c: $400
Sleeping in a cold cabin on a hot and sticky night: PRICELESS!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Video: s/v Catchin' Rays goes Sailing for the first time!!
Watch the crew raise the sails on Catchin' Rays for the first time. On this video, we take care of a couple small projects and then head out to sea for a perfect day of sailing.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
We raise the Sails for the first Time!
Today, Ralph from s/v Lasata was nice enough to join us on our maiden shakedown SAIL. And just as when we launched Catchin' Rays, this was just as important of a day in the life of this boat because we know its been years since this sailing vessel has been powered by nothing more than the wind, so it was a pretty monumental day for us and for her.
The day was perfect - it was warm with winds steady at 8 to 10 knots with gusts up around 14 knots. Ralph and Cassey arrived at 11:00 am, jumped aboard, and we untied the lines for a nice mid-day sail. Justin took us from the dock and out the channel; soon we were heading towards the tip of Key West and it was time to finally raise the sails and kill the engines. I still can't figure out if I was surprised that she did great, or if its exactly what I expected, but even though there were only light winds, she was still making about 6.2 kts. For those who haven't experienced what its like to have a 16,000 lb. catamaran move along at 6 knots by a light breeze... its truly something that has to be felt and witnessed. There wasn't any violent and overbearing wind to distract us or big waves that constantly crash the sides...it was just the peaceful sound of the water kissing the hulls as it went by. And for us, to see Catchin' Rays glide through the ocean by only the power of the wind was a proud moment for all of us.
The engines did great too - we replaced both mixing elbows so the engine rooms were nice and dry. Even when we ran them up to over 3000 rpm, they were barely getting warm - at 2500 rpm, she was cutting through the water at 7 knots. We also played around in the marina just a bit doing a few 360's before backing her back into her slot at the marina. Ralph suggested that we have a celebratory beer due to a successful sail - so we bullshitted at the picnic table overlooking our boat and toasted to a bad-ass little day sail.
The engines did great too - we replaced both mixing elbows so the engine rooms were nice and dry. Even when we ran them up to over 3000 rpm, they were barely getting warm - at 2500 rpm, she was cutting through the water at 7 knots. We also played around in the marina just a bit doing a few 360's before backing her back into her slot at the marina. Ralph suggested that we have a celebratory beer due to a successful sail - so we bullshitted at the picnic table overlooking our boat and toasted to a bad-ass little day sail.
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| View through the port ocean hatch |
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| Ralph from s/v Lasata giving a little instruction |
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