1921 SteamShip for Med charters SS DELPHINE

We received an email yesterday about the SS DELPHINE, a 1921 Steamship that is available for charter in the Mediterranean.

This has to be one of the coolest charter yachts around and is definitely worth a look just out of general interest if nothing else. Take a look at the post on our "All About Yacht Charters, Sailing Vacations" Blog.




Of course, if you would like to treat yourself and 25 of your closest friends for a week or two aboard this magnificent boat for a Mediterranean yacht charter, contact Paradise Connections :)

Enjoy!

Space saving inflatables: Coolers, Limbo & Decorations

With space at a premium on a small boat, I feel that we can have a few of these fun & frivolous items as they are inflatable and won't take up much room in the locker.

I've been wanting an inflatable parrot and palm tree, but here is something even better... an inflatable palm tree that is ALSO a cooler!



Maybe something will tickle your fancy, too!

iPhone app : Tiki Drinks application

Bob spotted this post on BeachBum Berry.

CALLING ALL BUMS: iPHONE NOW HAS A TIKI DRINK APP

Thanks to our co-conspirator, Martin Doudoroff of Cocktail DB, the app also features scads of vintage Tiki cocktail illustrations and new drink photos, many of the latter taken by Martin himself. READ FULL POST.

Make sure you have this iPhone Tiki Drink application for your next Tiki Party.

Visit our Amazon Tiki Party store... Too late for 4th July 2009, but there's still lots of summertime partytime left :)

Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals

We plan to attend the Newport Folk and Newport Jazz festivals this August. How about you?

• George Wein's Folk Festival 50 - Newport, RI

• George Wein's Jazz Festival 50 - Newport, RI

Don't have a boat? You can always charter one! Here's a few examples:

• Storm Petrel
• Entrepreneurship
• Bandera
• Tivoli
• Wishing Star
• Lady J

Hope to see you there!

St. Maarten bridge to resume normal summer openings

It looks like they are going to be opening the bridge for boat traffic again...

This was in the newspaper 1st July 2009 (The Daily Herald)

Bridge openings resume Monday

PHILIPSBURG--The three regular daily openings of Simpson Bay Bridge will resume as of Monday. However, there will be an opening on Sunday at 6.00pm.

The scheduled openings as of Monday for the off season are at 9.30am, 11.30am and 5.30pm for in and outbound maritime traffic. Outbound traffic precedes inbound boat traffic.

Read more...

There are very few boats over on the Dutch side. It is soooooooo empty.

Happy NATIONAL BOATING DAY - July 1st

July 1 Declared 'National Boating Day' by US Congress

With the arrival of peak boating, and boat selling, season, yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate passed S. Res. 199, introduced by Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), declaring July 1, 2009 National Boating Day. The resolution recognizes the important role recreational boating and the boating industry play in the lives of the nation’s 70 million boaters and the U.S. economy.

Read more at SAIL-WORLD.COM

Have a happy!

Guitar Amps

Just when I think we are gaining a bit of space on So It Goes, Amazon.com sends us an email...

Save over 30% on Select Line 6 Spider Amps

Oh, well... So It Goes :)

Sailrite Yachtsman Sewing Machine WORKING!

Back in May, I set up our heavy-duty sewing machine, a Sailrite Yachtsman, and to my dismay it wouldn't stitch properly.

I thought it might be a tension problem and when I went to turn the upper tension knob, it fell off. Didn't know there were so many little bits and pieces inside of there. Darn! I pushcd it back on and screwed it down tight but no joy.

I wish I had a photo. The needle would go down and then when it came back up, the thread was in kind of an upside-down V formation. Definitely seemed like a tension problem, and the upper tension dealy-bob did fall off... hmmmm....

I put it away and took out our little lightweight cheapo sewing machine that we bought from K-Mart last time we were in St. Thomas for $40. It sewed the net bags for our lures just fine.

Well, a couple of days ago when Bob was preparing the new hard dodger for its next step, I took out the Sailrite machine to have a closer look at it. We bought this from the sailboat Sourcis a few years ago, so it is a 2nd or 3rd hand machine. Unfortunately, they are back in the frozen north (Minnesota?) so I couldn't pop around for advice :)

I dug out the manual but it wasn't all that helpful with the tension problem. It did have an exploded diagram though and it looks like I didn't lose anything.

One strange thing was that after a couple of non-stitches, the thread was no longer through the needle... how could that possibly happen? I changed needles hoping that my problems would be solved... no such luck.

So, I had Bob come inside and sit next to me. I showed him the upper tension doo-hicky and the manual. Seems OK. We then looked to see about the needle and it turns out that I installed it backwards. In fact, I had threaded the needle from the WRONG SIDE! I had inserted the thread from right to left which is what I consider normal, but it goes from left to right! The last thread guide just above the needle had broken off before we bought the machine so that would have given me a hint (I hope!).

Guess what! Problem solved!!! YIPPEE, DO THE HAPPY DANCE!!!

I hope that if you have a problem with your sewing machine it is just a simple thing like threading the needle from the wrong side.

One common tip for these machines is to wrap the thread around the upper tension knob once (a double wrap) for more tension (it's even mentioned in the manual).

I should probably scan the manual & post it for other cruisers.

Happy sewing!

SXM Boat Paint & Stuff closed for summer holiday

Boat Paint & Stuff over at the Time Out Boat Yard (near the French bridge at Sandy Ground) has closed for Bernard's summer vacation.

Closed: June 24 through August 16, 2009.

Glad we bought epoxy from him yesterday ($65/gallon)!

When in St. Martin, check out this shop for paint & epoxy needs. He even has courtesy flags! Bernard's English is excellent so don't be afraid to visit :)

Whale watching more profitable than whale hunting

Saw an article this morning on BBC that Whale Watching is much more profitable than Whale HUNTING! In fact, the title of the piece is "Whale-Watching 'worth billions'".

Read the BBC Article (by Richard Black)

Here's a bit from the article:

"The group commissioning the report, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), says whaling countries would gain from a switch to whale watching.
"However, Iceland's delegate here said the two industries were compatible and could grow together.
"Iceland recently announced a major expansion of its fin whale hunt and plans to take 150 of the animals this year, along with up to 100 minke whales."

What is Iceland thinking?! Compatible???? OMG, I hope they are not thinking of doing a TV show which combines hunting and watching... I know that's a disgusting thought even to use in jest, but ya know, I wouldn't put it past the "entertainment" industry or those viewers who thrive on "reality" shows.

Some small countries vote in favor of whaling because they get big payoffs from the whaling countries. Not cool.

So, cut it out guys! Whales are necessary for the well-being of the oceans which in turn affects the entire planet.

And, while I'm at it, knock off the killing of sharks, too!

Have you pushed the purple button at The Animal Rescue Site, today? Check out their "sign a petition" page.

Sale on Fein Tool Accessories

This morning I received an announcement from Amazon.com "Save up to 40% on Select Fein Accessories".

This is great news for us as the Fein Multimaster is one of Bob's favorite and most used power tools. We'll be using it today to cut through the temporary epoxy spots that we used to tack our new hard dodger down to the coachroof.

Look and see if they have something that you need:
Amazon Sale on Fein Accessories

One of my favorite things...

This is an RSS feed that I follow. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index-at.xml It is the National Hurricane Center for the Atlantic....

It has my favorite subject line:
There are no tropical cyclones at this time.



Keep up the good work !