We've been sharing this video of a scuba diving cat with our various sailing friends who also have cats aboard, and thought we should share it on this blog as well.
I love how she has a doggy diving buddy!
Cat-blogging Friday!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
NEW ANCHORING RESTRICTIONS IN USVI - Christmas Cove
UPDATED with more links... Also, there will be a meeting on this at 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at DPNR's conference room at Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
Beginning October 1, 2008 the DPNR (Department of Planning & Natural Resources) is planning to remove all live aboards in Christmas Cove (St. James island), Secret Harbor and False Entrance (St. Thomas).
The article in the St. Thomas Source (August 20, 2008) says that DPNR "expects to install moorings for charter boats and other vessels whose captains want to spend the day or the night at Christmas Cove. The number hasn't been determined yet, because [DPNR] has to decide how they'll fit, Tapia [assistant director of the Dept of Planning and Natural Resources Environmental Enforcement Division] said. How long boaters will be able to stay also remains in question."
We like Christmas Cove. So It Goes spent a few days there over last Thanksgiving weekend visiting our charter yacht friends Marolanga. I don't see what the problem is as it is not overcrowded. It can be annoying when the tourist boats come and anchor too close to you, but it is only for a short time so you just grin and bear it. Why compound the rudeness of the tour boat and be a downer for the happy tourist... Just a downward spiral of events that is best avoided.
This also affects us as charter yacht brokers as many of the charter boats either begin or end their charter at Christmas Cove. It is close to Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook so it is just a short, pleasant jaunt for the charterer's first night aboard. It's a pretty spot with good snorkeling. What a shame that DPNR wants to regulate this.
We haven't been to St. John in quite a while but we have heard from friends that using the mooring balls there is best to be avoided.
There's not much space to anchor in Vessup Bay, Red Hook, St. Thomas. It is not a comfortable anchorage as it is open to the swell, not to mention the wake from ferry boats and power boats.
So, there's still Long Bay, Charolotte Amalie (I hope!). We spent a week or so there when we attended the St. Thomas Charter Yacht Show last November. We anchored near the US Coast Guard and it was OK until a cruise ship anchored in Long Bay. DPNR came and told us we had to move. They also went around and told other boats that they had to move. This is because as potential terrorists we are not allowed to be closer than so many feet to the cruise ship. We were the only boat that followed instructions and moved. DPNR never came back and checked or hassled the other boats again.
Sorry for the rant, but I find this upsetting and frustrating. I could go on and on but I'll spare you :)
No need to get into a negative mood as we have too much stuff to do...
Also, it is another pretty day in Marigot, St. Martin. We are going to go to the vet and get some more kitten food this afternoon.
Have a good one!
Beginning October 1, 2008 the DPNR (Department of Planning & Natural Resources) is planning to remove all live aboards in Christmas Cove (St. James island), Secret Harbor and False Entrance (St. Thomas).
The article in the St. Thomas Source (August 20, 2008) says that DPNR "expects to install moorings for charter boats and other vessels whose captains want to spend the day or the night at Christmas Cove. The number hasn't been determined yet, because [DPNR] has to decide how they'll fit, Tapia [assistant director of the Dept of Planning and Natural Resources Environmental Enforcement Division] said. How long boaters will be able to stay also remains in question."
We like Christmas Cove. So It Goes spent a few days there over last Thanksgiving weekend visiting our charter yacht friends Marolanga. I don't see what the problem is as it is not overcrowded. It can be annoying when the tourist boats come and anchor too close to you, but it is only for a short time so you just grin and bear it. Why compound the rudeness of the tour boat and be a downer for the happy tourist... Just a downward spiral of events that is best avoided.This also affects us as charter yacht brokers as many of the charter boats either begin or end their charter at Christmas Cove. It is close to Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook so it is just a short, pleasant jaunt for the charterer's first night aboard. It's a pretty spot with good snorkeling. What a shame that DPNR wants to regulate this.
We haven't been to St. John in quite a while but we have heard from friends that using the mooring balls there is best to be avoided.
There's not much space to anchor in Vessup Bay, Red Hook, St. Thomas. It is not a comfortable anchorage as it is open to the swell, not to mention the wake from ferry boats and power boats.
So, there's still Long Bay, Charolotte Amalie (I hope!). We spent a week or so there when we attended the St. Thomas Charter Yacht Show last November. We anchored near the US Coast Guard and it was OK until a cruise ship anchored in Long Bay. DPNR came and told us we had to move. They also went around and told other boats that they had to move. This is because as potential terrorists we are not allowed to be closer than so many feet to the cruise ship. We were the only boat that followed instructions and moved. DPNR never came back and checked or hassled the other boats again.
Sorry for the rant, but I find this upsetting and frustrating. I could go on and on but I'll spare you :)
No need to get into a negative mood as we have too much stuff to do...
Also, it is another pretty day in Marigot, St. Martin. We are going to go to the vet and get some more kitten food this afternoon.
Have a good one!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday Sunday Sunday & no funny cars in sight
We left the USA in 1980 but I assume everywhere still has the "Sunday Sunday Sunday" advertisements for Funny Car Races at their local race tracks...
Speaking of funny cars... some people think the Citroen 2CVs are funny looking. I think they are COOL! Saw one recently in the US Import Supermarche parking lot at Sandy Ground, St. Martin, FWI. I like the Ferarri sticker on the windshield :)
The Citroen 2CV will be celebrating its 60th birthday in October. France is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 2CV with a special exhibition of the car at the Cite des Sciences et de L'industrie in Paris. This would be an interesting event to check out if you were doing a French canal barge cruise (cheap air fares for Sept/Oct 2008)... Hey, I try!
Tropical Storm FAY was not even a Tropical Depression when it passed over us. Late Thursday afternoon we had some lightning and thunder which Willow did NOT like. She was pretty nervous and wanted to hide but just couldn't stay put in one spot. Buffy was a bit worried but not much... She is the Slayer, after all :)
Speaking of which, they did find another palmetto bug (a 2-inch or larger cockroach looking bug for those of you fortunate not to know) the other night and brought it down below to play with. Why must cats do this? Yuck! I hate these bugs. Fortunately we very rarely have them. I had to chuck this one outside before Willow brought it into the bed to play with. Even dead they are gross.
We have good WiFi today so we are taking advantage of doing web stuff. Where to begin???!!!
I have added two new French barges to our web site: ENCHANTE and NAPOLEON plus I have done a bit of blogging and adding to our Charter Newsletter. Whew!
Yesterday we went for a swim. The water was so clear and almost flat. Just perfect! The water temperature has gone up a bit though which is not good hurricane-wise, but it was still refreshing.
Oh, I have to look at Amazon.com and check out the new FEIN MULTIMASTER. This is definitely one of our favorite tools and we have heard that they have made an improvement for attaching the various blades. So here's the link so you can check it out, too: CLICK HERE!
Back to work!
Speaking of funny cars... some people think the Citroen 2CVs are funny looking. I think they are COOL! Saw one recently in the US Import Supermarche parking lot at Sandy Ground, St. Martin, FWI. I like the Ferarri sticker on the windshield :)
The Citroen 2CV will be celebrating its 60th birthday in October. France is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 2CV with a special exhibition of the car at the Cite des Sciences et de L'industrie in Paris. This would be an interesting event to check out if you were doing a French canal barge cruise (cheap air fares for Sept/Oct 2008)... Hey, I try!
Tropical Storm FAY was not even a Tropical Depression when it passed over us. Late Thursday afternoon we had some lightning and thunder which Willow did NOT like. She was pretty nervous and wanted to hide but just couldn't stay put in one spot. Buffy was a bit worried but not much... She is the Slayer, after all :)
Speaking of which, they did find another palmetto bug (a 2-inch or larger cockroach looking bug for those of you fortunate not to know) the other night and brought it down below to play with. Why must cats do this? Yuck! I hate these bugs. Fortunately we very rarely have them. I had to chuck this one outside before Willow brought it into the bed to play with. Even dead they are gross.
We have good WiFi today so we are taking advantage of doing web stuff. Where to begin???!!!
I have added two new French barges to our web site: ENCHANTE and NAPOLEON plus I have done a bit of blogging and adding to our Charter Newsletter. Whew!
Yesterday we went for a swim. The water was so clear and almost flat. Just perfect! The water temperature has gone up a bit though which is not good hurricane-wise, but it was still refreshing.
Oh, I have to look at Amazon.com and check out the new FEIN MULTIMASTER. This is definitely one of our favorite tools and we have heard that they have made an improvement for attaching the various blades. So here's the link so you can check it out, too: CLICK HERE!
Back to work!
Friday, August 15, 2008
St Maarten Dutch Bridge Reopens Today August 15, 2008
This article is from today's "THE DAILY HERALD":
Better late than never (and off-season, too!)
Bridge reopens for marine traffic today
SIMPSON BAY--After more than a week of not operating due to repair works, normal opening hours for the Simpson Bay bridge will resume today, Thursday.
Daily opening hours for inbound and outbound traffic are 9:30am, 11:30am and 5:30pm.
Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC) reminds captains that they can only transit the bridge channel after the bridge attendant has given the green light for clear passage.
For further information about bridge operations, call SLAC at 545-3183.
Better late than never (and off-season, too!)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
AMAZON: GO GREEN - New category
Amazon now has a "GO GREEN" category that you may wish to check out.
Since we live aboard our boat, So It Goes a CAL-34, we are very interested in being environmentally friendly and also in ways of generating power (solar & wind). We converted our CAL-34 over to an electric motor several years ago before it started to become hip... that's us... trendsetters :) Although, we are a sailboat and that is what we do... SAIL! We only tend to use the motor for things like going through the channel to go into the Lagoon or other tight, unavoidable spots. We usually anchor and up-anchor under sail.
Amazon has other handy things such as reusable shopping bags. I wonder how these will hold up as cat toys? As you can buy 5 bags for under $10, I could afford to give one to Willow & Buffy for a destruction test. Our kittens love playing with paper bags but after a few days they get quite a few holes in them
We heard the other day that IKEA is going to start selling solar panels. That's great!
Enjoy!
Since we live aboard our boat, So It Goes a CAL-34, we are very interested in being environmentally friendly and also in ways of generating power (solar & wind). We converted our CAL-34 over to an electric motor several years ago before it started to become hip... that's us... trendsetters :) Although, we are a sailboat and that is what we do... SAIL! We only tend to use the motor for things like going through the channel to go into the Lagoon or other tight, unavoidable spots. We usually anchor and up-anchor under sail.
Amazon has other handy things such as reusable shopping bags. I wonder how these will hold up as cat toys? As you can buy 5 bags for under $10, I could afford to give one to Willow & Buffy for a destruction test. Our kittens love playing with paper bags but after a few days they get quite a few holes in them
We heard the other day that IKEA is going to start selling solar panels. That's great!
Enjoy!
Weather is better
5PM UPDATE... SEE BELOW...
I was going to do an update yesterday (Tuesday) but our WiFi was being very tempermental and we only had good-enough service between 5-6:30pm... So It Goes.
So anyway... yesterday morning's forecast showed all of the tracks being a bit farther north than this mornings forecast, but according to NOAA it's not going to be much other than a big tropical wave going through here tomorrow. Whew!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 8am - Invest 92L
Our WiFi (from PolyPat Boatyard) is doing good right now so we are going to take advantage of this and then dinghy into Simpson Bay later to return our DVD's.
5PM UPDATE: The bad news is that the latest forecast has all of those pretty colored lines lower down and coming right over the top of us. The good news is that the National Hurricane Center continues to give it only a 20-50% chance that it will develop into a Tropical Depression by Friday afternoon. It is well past us by that time and only TD strength!
We'll keep an eye on it.
I was going to do an update yesterday (Tuesday) but our WiFi was being very tempermental and we only had good-enough service between 5-6:30pm... So It Goes.
So anyway... yesterday morning's forecast showed all of the tracks being a bit farther north than this mornings forecast, but according to NOAA it's not going to be much other than a big tropical wave going through here tomorrow. Whew!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 8am - Invest 92L
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOKThis will probably be a disappointment to the news weathermen as a potential storm always gets them excited... I'd rather be ho-hum calm :)
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
800 AM EDT WED AUG 13 2008
FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...
1. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN DISORGANIZED IN ASSOCIATION WITH A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND A TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED ABOUT 300 MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES...AND THE AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT MISSION SCHEDULED FOR TODAY HAS BEEN CANCELED. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE ONLY MARGINALLY FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO HAS DECREASED. THIS SYSTEM WILL CONTINUED TO BE MONITORED AS IT MOVES WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH.
Our WiFi (from PolyPat Boatyard) is doing good right now so we are going to take advantage of this and then dinghy into Simpson Bay later to return our DVD's.
5PM UPDATE: The bad news is that the latest forecast has all of those pretty colored lines lower down and coming right over the top of us. The good news is that the National Hurricane Center continues to give it only a 20-50% chance that it will develop into a Tropical Depression by Friday afternoon. It is well past us by that time and only TD strength!
We'll keep an eye on it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weathering the weather INVEST 92L
Aargh! This system is still quite far away (850 miles from the Windwards) so a lot can happen between here and there, now and then...
So it goes....
We'll check out Dr. Jeff Master's blog after breakfast and see what he has to say.
TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
805 AM EDT MON AUG 11 2008
A TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED OVER THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC ALONG 47W OR ABOUT 780 NM EAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS IS SUPPORTING AN AREA OF DISORGANIZED SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM 12N-16N BETWEEN 42W-50W. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SCATTERED MODERATE TO ISOLATED STRONG CONVECTION NORTH OF A 1009 MB LOW EMBEDDED ON THE WAVE AXIS NEAR 11N. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS IT MOVES WESTWARD AT ABOUT 10 TO 15 KT.
So it goes....
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Portable generator update HONDA EU2000i & All Power 1000W product review
This is an update to our post of March 22, 2008 as many people come into our blog via this post:
New portable generator All-Power 1000W with inverter
While the All Power 1000W portable generator with inverter was relatively inexpensive and locally AVAILABLE (very important), it just didn't have as much oomph as we wanted to run our 24V battery charger and the occasional circular saw usage.
About 2 weeks later, we bit the bullet and bought another HONDA EU2000i from Island Water World in St. Maarten. We were lucky because it was the last one they had on the island!
Still works great, of course. And our modification that we made so we can run the generator off of an external gas tank is wonderful. We have a hooked up to a 3 gallon gas tank which is easy to fill and lasts a long, long time. It's easy to do! Take a look at Bob's Boat Bits Blog and see how you can do this too:
CLICK HERE: Upgrading the poor mans Hybrid system...
Enjoy!
New portable generator All-Power 1000W with inverter
While the All Power 1000W portable generator with inverter was relatively inexpensive and locally AVAILABLE (very important), it just didn't have as much oomph as we wanted to run our 24V battery charger and the occasional circular saw usage.
About 2 weeks later, we bit the bullet and bought another HONDA EU2000i from Island Water World in St. Maarten. We were lucky because it was the last one they had on the island!
Still works great, of course. And our modification that we made so we can run the generator off of an external gas tank is wonderful. We have a hooked up to a 3 gallon gas tank which is easy to fill and lasts a long, long time. It's easy to do! Take a look at Bob's Boat Bits Blog and see how you can do this too:
CLICK HERE: Upgrading the poor mans Hybrid system...
Enjoy!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Gunboat CREAM in St Martin
This morning we had a new neighbor for awhile, the Gunboat catamaran, CREAM. I assume he was in Marigot so he could enter the Simpson Bay Lagoon via the French Sandy Ground bridge as they are actually working on the Dutch bridge.
I thought I'd post this photo because we get lots of hits for people googling the Gunboat catamaran "Looking for Elvis".
Anyway, I'm not sure why it is named CREAM because it is a green boat. The shade of green reminds me of my 1969 Plymouth Fury III, in fact :)
I thought I'd post this photo because we get lots of hits for people googling the Gunboat catamaran "Looking for Elvis".
Anyway, I'm not sure why it is named CREAM because it is a green boat. The shade of green reminds me of my 1969 Plymouth Fury III, in fact :)
Saturday, August 02, 2008
CHARTER YACHT "TOY" SUGGESTIONS
I haven't been horseback riding in almost 30 years. There's just not enough room for a horse aboard our CAL-34 So It Goes... not with two kittens anyway :)
So, how about a Horse Simulator? Still too big for us, but it would be a nifty "toy" for the larger boats at the next charter yacht show!
Here's another cool item that we saw last month in the Lagoon just inside of Marigot, St. Martin: The BBQ Donut.
You can just see the outboard behind the support for the beach umbrella. Perhaps you can use the umbrella as a sail. Have it be a riding sail so the "bow" of the donut is facing into the wind so the smoke from the central BBQ is always blowing "aft". Can you have a bow on a round raft???
I think this would be the perfect complement to the Sail Dive Charter Trimaran PROMENADE, whose "Power Lounger" was the hit of last November's St. Thomas Charter Yacht Show.
Just raft those two babies together and you have the makings of an unforgettable party!
If you are interested in yacht charters, visit our Yacht Charter Newsletter Blog: CLICK HERE
Visit our website: http://www.paradiseconnections.com
So, how about a Horse Simulator? Still too big for us, but it would be a nifty "toy" for the larger boats at the next charter yacht show!
The £40,000 virtual reality riding machine combines a mechanical horse with a host of electronic sensors and a screen, to recreate the joys of an outdoor ride without the need for mucking out.Here's the link to the TELEGRAPH's article: CLICK HERE
Here's another cool item that we saw last month in the Lagoon just inside of Marigot, St. Martin: The BBQ Donut.
You can just see the outboard behind the support for the beach umbrella. Perhaps you can use the umbrella as a sail. Have it be a riding sail so the "bow" of the donut is facing into the wind so the smoke from the central BBQ is always blowing "aft". Can you have a bow on a round raft???
I think this would be the perfect complement to the Sail Dive Charter Trimaran PROMENADE, whose "Power Lounger" was the hit of last November's St. Thomas Charter Yacht Show.
Just raft those two babies together and you have the makings of an unforgettable party!
If you are interested in yacht charters, visit our Yacht Charter Newsletter Blog: CLICK HERE
Visit our website: http://www.paradiseconnections.com
Friday, August 01, 2008
Cleaning the BBQ
Cleaning the BBQ is not one of our favorite chores aboard the CAL-34, So It Goes.
Here is a tip that we just read on the blog, Lifehacker...
I'd go out and try it right now (ya, sure!) but it is raining...
Hope this helps!
Here is a tip that we just read on the blog, Lifehacker...
"Wipe your grill clean without the chemical waste by rubbing an onion against the grate of the grill."Read the posting: CLICK HERE
I'd go out and try it right now (ya, sure!) but it is raining...
Hope this helps!