Loose Moose on the way to Meaux to be launched
Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo or a mention of this unique boat but...
Bob has an interesting video on BoatBits today of a guitar boat... CHECK IT OUT!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Unconventional boats...
Back when we were aboard Loose Moose in Meaux France, moored in front of the Meaux lock on the Marne, we were surprised to see a green Heineken bottle boat... Twice!
Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo or a mention of this unique boat but...
Bob has an interesting video on BoatBits today of a guitar boat... CHECK IT OUT!
Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo or a mention of this unique boat but...
Bob has an interesting video on BoatBits today of a guitar boat... CHECK IT OUT!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tropical Wave passing through St Croix today
Yesterday we had the beginnings of a tropical wave start to pass through. I'm glad we popped over to the supermarket in the late afternoon (plus we each had an ice cream bar to celebrate NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY) to get some lunch fixings for the week.
This morning started out nice and blue. Looks like the system has passed. A bit later we hear the grumbling of thunder. A few drops of rain... Willow hides under the bed while Buffy stays outside in the shelter of the upside-down dinghy on deck.
Then Bob notices that the tropical disturbance is now labelled INVEST 97. It is up and a bit to the left of us, off the eastern tip of Puerto Rico... This weekend Puerto Rico had a waterspout that then went on land as a tornado which upset the kickoff of a sailing rally.
This morning started out nice and blue. Looks like the system has passed. A bit later we hear the grumbling of thunder. A few drops of rain... Willow hides under the bed while Buffy stays outside in the shelter of the upside-down dinghy on deck.
Then Bob notices that the tropical disturbance is now labelled INVEST 97. It is up and a bit to the left of us, off the eastern tip of Puerto Rico... This weekend Puerto Rico had a waterspout that then went on land as a tornado which upset the kickoff of a sailing rally.
Image from Wunderground
It's raining pretty heavy now. Willow is tucked up under the bed and Buffy has come inside and is napping. I hope Kerry & Bazza have managed to get everything done to button down Promenade in Puerto Rico before flying to their Pied-à-Terre in California for the summer.
Maybe we'll do an inside project today... sew something? We'll see...
Should dig out a couple of Beatle songs like RAIN and GOOD DAY SUNSHINE ???
Willow just came out from hiding. The rain has stopped... for now. Still some thunder. One good thing about not having a mast is that we don't have this tall lightning rod saying "me, me, over here!"
Oh my gosh! That loud CRACK! was close... Willow just went way under the bed. I might join her :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Gray day in St Croix
This morning while still in bed, I looked up at the hatch above my head and saw GRAY. It looked like it was going to snow but there wasn't that crisp, chilly feeling to the air. This is what it looks like now.
It's good for doing internet work. I can't believe it is only 10:30am and that I've accomplished so much. Maybe because it is such a HO-HUM day.
Bob just poured the third cup of espresso, so after we drink that, we'll try to make plans for the day.
It was raining a few minutes ago, so I put a plastic storage box on the bed to catch drips. Buffy is looking at it because she has really taken a liking to it. I place it on the salon table at night so she can sleep in it. It has been very comfortable for her as it has been very rolly the past few nights. Willow, on the other hand, is hiding under the bed. Nowadays, since Hurricane Omar, she runs for cover when it starts to rain hard.
We have given up on watching the TV series 24, season 5, (which we have only viewed once) because we have more bad discs. I don't understand why though. They have problems with accessing the 3rd and 4th shows on the discs. They are the large 7GB discs so maybe they have a glitch with doing the second side.
We are now watching the 2nd season of LEVERAGE instead.
Hi, me again... I forgot about another little rant... I went outside to take my "wintry" photo this morning and my camera wouldn't work as it was demanding that I feed it new batteries. OK, I gave it two brand new fresh AA Energizers that I've bought within the last 2 months. I take about a dozen photos and already the battery warning icon is flashing at me. We have a couple of nice DSLRs but I like having this little Canon digital pocket camera because it is easy to carry and fast to point and shoot. But, if it doesn't work due to battery issues, it is not worth carrying about as it's not doing its job of being there when a good photo opportunity presents itself.
Vivitar has a "cheap" underwater camera, but it only has a digital zoom. It claims to be waterproof to 10 meters (about 33 feet). Fujifilm has a waterPROOF digital camera with a 3x optical zoom. It is supposed to be waterproof to 10 feet (careful, not 10 Meters as camera above). But, that's OK as I'd only use it for snorkelling and more important when in the dinghy getting a bit of spray or when it is raining. Oh well, not going to waste time looking at cameras today... many other things to do :)
Not one's idea of a Caribbean day
It's good for doing internet work. I can't believe it is only 10:30am and that I've accomplished so much. Maybe because it is such a HO-HUM day.
Bob just poured the third cup of espresso, so after we drink that, we'll try to make plans for the day.
It was raining a few minutes ago, so I put a plastic storage box on the bed to catch drips. Buffy is looking at it because she has really taken a liking to it. I place it on the salon table at night so she can sleep in it. It has been very comfortable for her as it has been very rolly the past few nights. Willow, on the other hand, is hiding under the bed. Nowadays, since Hurricane Omar, she runs for cover when it starts to rain hard.
We have given up on watching the TV series 24, season 5, (which we have only viewed once) because we have more bad discs. I don't understand why though. They have problems with accessing the 3rd and 4th shows on the discs. They are the large 7GB discs so maybe they have a glitch with doing the second side.
We are now watching the 2nd season of LEVERAGE instead.
Hi, me again... I forgot about another little rant... I went outside to take my "wintry" photo this morning and my camera wouldn't work as it was demanding that I feed it new batteries. OK, I gave it two brand new fresh AA Energizers that I've bought within the last 2 months. I take about a dozen photos and already the battery warning icon is flashing at me. We have a couple of nice DSLRs but I like having this little Canon digital pocket camera because it is easy to carry and fast to point and shoot. But, if it doesn't work due to battery issues, it is not worth carrying about as it's not doing its job of being there when a good photo opportunity presents itself.
Vivitar has a "cheap" underwater camera, but it only has a digital zoom. It claims to be waterproof to 10 meters (about 33 feet). Fujifilm has a waterPROOF digital camera with a 3x optical zoom. It is supposed to be waterproof to 10 feet (careful, not 10 Meters as camera above). But, that's OK as I'd only use it for snorkelling and more important when in the dinghy getting a bit of spray or when it is raining. Oh well, not going to waste time looking at cameras today... many other things to do :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
That's entertainment... DVDs
Last November we bought Seasons 6 & 7 of the TV Series 24. We decided to watch Seasons 1-5 before watching 6 & 7.
So, the other night we were down to the last two episodes of Season 4 and the disc has unrecoverable file errors. We tried the DVD on two other computers and it was the same story. We tried to rip it but it couldn't read the file structure of the disc. Bummer.
We then started Season 5 which had a little recap of what happened in Season 4... we saw that they killed off Jack and then managed to get this Energizer Bunny up and running again. Everything was fine until the 3rd episode on the 2nd disc. CTU discovers where the nerve gas is located but upon opening the cases, they see that the canisters of nerve gas are missing. Then the show stalls with the "spinning pizza of death" cursor on the screen, and finally DVD Player crashes. Same thing again and again. This afternoon I thought I would try to run "tonight's" disc on my computer to make sure that it was OK just in case our DVD player says there is a problem when we watch it tonight as maybe the DVD player is causing the disc to be damaged. No, that's not the case because when I tried to play the last episode of Disc 3 on my computer (before running it in the DVD player) it said "skipping over bad sectors". I tried to rip it but that didn't fix anything. Couldn't watch the program.
What to do? We've only watched this series once and there is no evidence of scratches or mold/mildew on the DVDs.
Large TB hard drives are now more "affordable" so perhaps we should rip all of the DVDs (hundreds!) to a hard drive. But that still doesn't solve the problem of not being able to re-watch this series.
Shucky-darn... So It Goes...
We then started Season 5 which had a little recap of what happened in Season 4... we saw that they killed off Jack and then managed to get this Energizer Bunny up and running again. Everything was fine until the 3rd episode on the 2nd disc. CTU discovers where the nerve gas is located but upon opening the cases, they see that the canisters of nerve gas are missing. Then the show stalls with the "spinning pizza of death" cursor on the screen, and finally DVD Player crashes. Same thing again and again. This afternoon I thought I would try to run "tonight's" disc on my computer to make sure that it was OK just in case our DVD player says there is a problem when we watch it tonight as maybe the DVD player is causing the disc to be damaged. No, that's not the case because when I tried to play the last episode of Disc 3 on my computer (before running it in the DVD player) it said "skipping over bad sectors". I tried to rip it but that didn't fix anything. Couldn't watch the program.
What to do? We've only watched this series once and there is no evidence of scratches or mold/mildew on the DVDs.
Large TB hard drives are now more "affordable" so perhaps we should rip all of the DVDs (hundreds!) to a hard drive. But that still doesn't solve the problem of not being able to re-watch this series.
Shucky-darn... So It Goes...
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Installing Lifeline Netting
We bought some lifeline netting back when we first got our two little kittens.
They were especially worrisome as the little tykes would run around the deck at night (cats love the dark) and we were always hoping NOT to hear thumpa thumpa thumpa screech (like fingernails on a blackboard) screech and then PLOOF (as the French would say).
When we put the netting up to the lifelines it just wouldn't go on straight. There must be a trick. Yes, there is... Matt Grant tells us it is all in the diagonals...
I found this FREE instructional video over at the Sailrite.com website. There are other handy goodies over there too, so take a look.
The cats have not gone PLOOF (low center of gravity, and fiberglass-piercing claws) but after we install our new stanchions (many were bent or broken when we lost the mast) we'll put up the netting now that we can see how simple it is.
Our first meeting at our vet's pet adoption center in St Maarten
They were especially worrisome as the little tykes would run around the deck at night (cats love the dark) and we were always hoping NOT to hear thumpa thumpa thumpa screech (like fingernails on a blackboard) screech and then PLOOF (as the French would say).
When we put the netting up to the lifelines it just wouldn't go on straight. There must be a trick. Yes, there is... Matt Grant tells us it is all in the diagonals...
I found this FREE instructional video over at the Sailrite.com website. There are other handy goodies over there too, so take a look.
The cats have not gone PLOOF (low center of gravity, and fiberglass-piercing claws) but after we install our new stanchions (many were bent or broken when we lost the mast) we'll put up the netting now that we can see how simple it is.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Clean and charged
Yesterday we received our new battery charger. We hooked it up late yesterday afternoon and it works just fine! We have completely charged up our 12V system in a few hours. This charger has more oomph so we won't have to run the generator as long which is cool.
This afternoon we went and did a load of laundry over at the very nice laundromat near the ballpark. Tie up your dinghy at St Croix Marine.
The machines are larger than what I remembered from when we were first there. It's very clean, bright, and new. There is a coin changer to the right of the office counter. We used the $5.50 machine (all of the $3.50 machines were in use) and had room left over which is better than overloading. We found a shortcut to it today from the parking lot near Ace hardware.
It's #8 on my map MAP FOR CRUISER'S of Christiansted St Croix USVI. It's probably best to download the map to your computer so you can enlarge it for details. (Here's another link for STX info)
It takes about 25-30 minutes to wash which is enough time for us to do a quick shop at the Schooner Bay supermarket just up the street. The washers spin the clothes fairly dry which helps when humping the clothes back to the dinghy and they dry rather quickly on the lifelines.
I must make another observation... The Coke machine outside of St Croix Marine has to have the coldest cans on the island! 75 cents, too.
Oh yes, their price for gasoline went down today to $3.10/gallon. I think diesel was $3.19.
This afternoon we went and did a load of laundry over at the very nice laundromat near the ballpark. Tie up your dinghy at St Croix Marine.
The machines are larger than what I remembered from when we were first there. It's very clean, bright, and new. There is a coin changer to the right of the office counter. We used the $5.50 machine (all of the $3.50 machines were in use) and had room left over which is better than overloading. We found a shortcut to it today from the parking lot near Ace hardware.
It's #8 on my map MAP FOR CRUISER'S of Christiansted St Croix USVI. It's probably best to download the map to your computer so you can enlarge it for details. (Here's another link for STX info)
It takes about 25-30 minutes to wash which is enough time for us to do a quick shop at the Schooner Bay supermarket just up the street. The washers spin the clothes fairly dry which helps when humping the clothes back to the dinghy and they dry rather quickly on the lifelines.
I must make another observation... The Coke machine outside of St Croix Marine has to have the coldest cans on the island! 75 cents, too.
Oh yes, their price for gasoline went down today to $3.10/gallon. I think diesel was $3.19.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINGO
Wow, can you believe that Ringo Starr is 70 years old today. Amazing!
When the Beatles came out I was in grade school. I remember hearing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra on my Mom's radio in the kitchen and thinking what will happen to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones when they get old... like 35-40, let alone 60... or 70!
When I'm 64? Never :)
Visit the RINGO STARR STORE
on Amazon.com for everything Ringo!
Little Steven's Underground Garage had a nice show this week (show 431) entitled Ringo Stars and Stripes Forever, as it is also 4th of July week. Besides featuring Ringo's music, Little Steven included interviews from past shows. Very good.
Visit Little Steven's Underground Garage. This coming week Little Steven will have something from Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. We can't miss that! We saw them two or three times in Paris. It was sort of sad because when a local music TV show interviewed South, they kept asking him questions about "The Boss". So It Goes...
I enjoyed this blog post from Brilliant Breakfast this morning, "Do You Feel Old Yet?" about Ringo.
Live Long and Prosper
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINGO AND MANY MORE TO COME !!!
When the Beatles came out I was in grade school. I remember hearing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra on my Mom's radio in the kitchen and thinking what will happen to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones when they get old... like 35-40, let alone 60... or 70!
When I'm 64? Never :)
Visit the RINGO STARR STORE
on Amazon.com for everything Ringo! Little Steven's Underground Garage had a nice show this week (show 431) entitled Ringo Stars and Stripes Forever, as it is also 4th of July week. Besides featuring Ringo's music, Little Steven included interviews from past shows. Very good.
Visit Little Steven's Underground Garage. This coming week Little Steven will have something from Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. We can't miss that! We saw them two or three times in Paris. It was sort of sad because when a local music TV show interviewed South, they kept asking him questions about "The Boss". So It Goes...
I enjoyed this blog post from Brilliant Breakfast this morning, "Do You Feel Old Yet?" about Ringo.
Live Long and Prosper
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Birdwatching
I clapped my hands and the tube bird flew off (Buffy chased it alongside the boat) and then it circled and joined its friend again on the dinghy.
Remember the two fishing boats I mentioned yesterday? Well, this morning they left just after 5:30 am. Must have a different schedule for holiday weekends :)
Friday, July 02, 2010
Time to catch up
It's been awhile since my last post. There's so much catch-up to do that it makes one put it off... tu sais?
So, here It Goes...
Yesterday was Canada Day. Today is Territory Day in the BVIs and then, of course, Sunday is July 4th, US Independence Day, which will be followed by taking Monday off as well, if you can swing it!
At the beginning of last week, we started making preparations to move the mast out of the parking lot (and away from Mr P's special moods) and onto the boat. On Wednesday, we were prepared for the two of us to drag the mast to the dock using a cart or handtruck, but SURPRISE we had four guys who came to help. (Thanks to Jim the carpenter, Mark with the new kitten, Mystic Mark, and the other dude). It was quite easy (especially for me as I just looked out for traffic) to carry the mast over to the boardwalk in Christiansted. We waited for the day-excursion boats to finish up and move off, and then we upped anchor and went to the dock.
I am so happy with our Electric Yacht electric motor. I skillfully guided the boat up to the dock with nary a bump or a shucky-darn :) I'm looking forward to when they will offer a remote control, as then I won't have to do any unpleasant bending to "give it some gas" or shift, and lose sight of where I'm going. This will be available soon, I hope... HINT HINT!
We invited our helpers to meet us the next day at the Brew Pub for Thirsty Thursday for $10 pitchers of their special microbrewery beer, as well as some excellent chicken wings (my favorite is the teriyaki). Nobody showed up but we managed to celebrate all by ourselves just fine. Their loss...
After placing the mast on the boat in their crutches, we then proceded out of the mooring field where we were anchored in Christiansted Harbor and out to the Gallows Bay area and picked up one of the transient mooring balls. It has the tendency to be a bit more rolly at times but it is SO QUIET. Wow, I feel free!
We're far from the maddening crowds, out of the fishbowl, away from the noisy and smelly seaplane... We stay dry while going into town and might get wet on the way back, which is a big improvement to getting wet on the way to town at the beginning of the journey :) If the conditions are a bit too rolly for some precision thing we want to do, no problem... we'll just drop the mooring line, switch on the motor, and whirrrrrr over to a calmer patch of water.
Then there's always the motorboats who never think about the wake they are making or don't give a hoot...
But, it's really not too bad... Just the occasional one that causes the glass on the table to crash to the floor... And then there's the pair of them that cause a humungus roll at 6:00am. I guess they just want to get us out of bed since they're up... Am I starting to rant :)
So, that's enough about that... On to battery chargers...
Our 12V battery charger is on the fritz (poor Fritz). This Xantrex 2-20-40amp unit has always been a problem since Day 1. When on 40 amps, it overheats and only runs half the time, so we've always used it on the 20-amp setting. I mentioned this to Budget Marine in St Maarten the same week that we bought it and they really weren't interested in my problem. A few days ago, it started overheating at the 20-amp setting due to the fan no longer working. I have placed a portable fan to blow into it and I think this might help, but it is still shutting off and thus taking a long long time to charge the batteries.
Bob has had his eye on a 60-amp charger that he's found recommended by several cruisers on the internet which works well with a Honda 2000i generator. But, as we wanted one NOW and also to avoid big shipping charges, we decided to get something locally.... Not going to happen!
We first went out to the Do-It Caribe hardware store and they were out. Then we walked to NAPA who were completely sold out and didn't know when they were getting more. We tried the Sears/Kmart store... nope. We then went to Kmart and no joy there either. So we hiked over to Cost-U-Less where they had generators, inverters, and jumper cables, but no battery chargers. The next day we tried Ace Hardware. When I phoned they said they had LOTS of chargers. In reality they only had a 2-amp trickle charger and a large charger on wheels. They said that they are supposed to be getting a container the next day so there might be some out on the shelf next week. Not much good to us now, though. So, back to the boat.
Bob did a bit of internet shopping and found the recommended charger that he's been wanting all along from a place in Oregon. The store quickly responded to his emails and understood the special PayPal problems that sometime occur when dealing with addresses in the USVI... He would make sure the address label was correct before sending the package. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail was only $10.70. It would be wonderful if we receive it today as I assume Monday will be a holiday. But, if not, we'll limp along with what we have. [It didn't come today, hopefully Tuesday]
Which brings me to a future project of building our own wind generator. Bob is currently researching this and coming up with a parts list... and then we'll add this to The List. Watch this space and BoatBits, of course!
So, here It Goes...
Yesterday was Canada Day. Today is Territory Day in the BVIs and then, of course, Sunday is July 4th, US Independence Day, which will be followed by taking Monday off as well, if you can swing it!
The mast is ON the boat
At the beginning of last week, we started making preparations to move the mast out of the parking lot (and away from Mr P's special moods) and onto the boat. On Wednesday, we were prepared for the two of us to drag the mast to the dock using a cart or handtruck, but SURPRISE we had four guys who came to help. (Thanks to Jim the carpenter, Mark with the new kitten, Mystic Mark, and the other dude). It was quite easy (especially for me as I just looked out for traffic) to carry the mast over to the boardwalk in Christiansted. We waited for the day-excursion boats to finish up and move off, and then we upped anchor and went to the dock.
I am so happy with our Electric Yacht electric motor. I skillfully guided the boat up to the dock with nary a bump or a shucky-darn :) I'm looking forward to when they will offer a remote control, as then I won't have to do any unpleasant bending to "give it some gas" or shift, and lose sight of where I'm going. This will be available soon, I hope... HINT HINT!
We invited our helpers to meet us the next day at the Brew Pub for Thirsty Thursday for $10 pitchers of their special microbrewery beer, as well as some excellent chicken wings (my favorite is the teriyaki). Nobody showed up but we managed to celebrate all by ourselves just fine. Their loss...
After placing the mast on the boat in their crutches, we then proceded out of the mooring field where we were anchored in Christiansted Harbor and out to the Gallows Bay area and picked up one of the transient mooring balls. It has the tendency to be a bit more rolly at times but it is SO QUIET. Wow, I feel free!
We're far from the maddening crowds, out of the fishbowl, away from the noisy and smelly seaplane... We stay dry while going into town and might get wet on the way back, which is a big improvement to getting wet on the way to town at the beginning of the journey :) If the conditions are a bit too rolly for some precision thing we want to do, no problem... we'll just drop the mooring line, switch on the motor, and whirrrrrr over to a calmer patch of water.
Then there's always the motorboats who never think about the wake they are making or don't give a hoot...
But, it's really not too bad... Just the occasional one that causes the glass on the table to crash to the floor... And then there's the pair of them that cause a humungus roll at 6:00am. I guess they just want to get us out of bed since they're up... Am I starting to rant :)
So, that's enough about that... On to battery chargers...
Our 12V battery charger is on the fritz (poor Fritz). This Xantrex 2-20-40amp unit has always been a problem since Day 1. When on 40 amps, it overheats and only runs half the time, so we've always used it on the 20-amp setting. I mentioned this to Budget Marine in St Maarten the same week that we bought it and they really weren't interested in my problem. A few days ago, it started overheating at the 20-amp setting due to the fan no longer working. I have placed a portable fan to blow into it and I think this might help, but it is still shutting off and thus taking a long long time to charge the batteries.
Bob has had his eye on a 60-amp charger that he's found recommended by several cruisers on the internet which works well with a Honda 2000i generator. But, as we wanted one NOW and also to avoid big shipping charges, we decided to get something locally.... Not going to happen!
We first went out to the Do-It Caribe hardware store and they were out. Then we walked to NAPA who were completely sold out and didn't know when they were getting more. We tried the Sears/Kmart store... nope. We then went to Kmart and no joy there either. So we hiked over to Cost-U-Less where they had generators, inverters, and jumper cables, but no battery chargers. The next day we tried Ace Hardware. When I phoned they said they had LOTS of chargers. In reality they only had a 2-amp trickle charger and a large charger on wheels. They said that they are supposed to be getting a container the next day so there might be some out on the shelf next week. Not much good to us now, though. So, back to the boat.
Bob did a bit of internet shopping and found the recommended charger that he's been wanting all along from a place in Oregon. The store quickly responded to his emails and understood the special PayPal problems that sometime occur when dealing with addresses in the USVI... He would make sure the address label was correct before sending the package. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail was only $10.70. It would be wonderful if we receive it today as I assume Monday will be a holiday. But, if not, we'll limp along with what we have. [It didn't come today, hopefully Tuesday]
Which brings me to a future project of building our own wind generator. Bob is currently researching this and coming up with a parts list... and then we'll add this to The List. Watch this space and BoatBits, of course!
Monday, June 21, 2010
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER
Today is the official First Day of Summer... Hope yours is a nice one :)
We've had a pretty crappy windy and rainy weekend but it could have been worse. It was a reminder to put "fix leaky hatches above the bed" on The List. We had a tropical wave pop through which was one of those that might develop into something. The sky was back to its normal pretty blue color this morning but now it is gray and a bit rainy looking... So It Goes...
I was surprised to see that there's a new weather system (Invest 93) now sitting on top of Curacao. That is where we had planned to go for this "summer" season (don't use the "H" word).
The first day of summer means today is Fête de la Musique! Oh, to be in Paris today... It is so cool because there are bandstands set up everywhere (along with stalls for food & drink) and it seems like each time you turn a corner there's someone playing...
One year we accidentally ran across Joan Baez singing at Place de la Concorde. That was a surprise.
Of course it is not just a Paris festival but all over. It is just that LOTS happened in the Paris area. We had good times in the south as well.
Maybe next year :)
We've had a pretty crappy windy and rainy weekend but it could have been worse. It was a reminder to put "fix leaky hatches above the bed" on The List. We had a tropical wave pop through which was one of those that might develop into something. The sky was back to its normal pretty blue color this morning but now it is gray and a bit rainy looking... So It Goes...I was surprised to see that there's a new weather system (Invest 93) now sitting on top of Curacao. That is where we had planned to go for this "summer" season (don't use the "H" word).
One year we accidentally ran across Joan Baez singing at Place de la Concorde. That was a surprise.
Of course it is not just a Paris festival but all over. It is just that LOTS happened in the Paris area. We had good times in the south as well.
Maybe next year :)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Star Wreck, the movie
It is a low-budget, foreign-made Star Trek comedy and really quite well done. It is in Finnish, but with English subtitles. The only problem I had with the Finnish is that when I looked down to pick up some spilled popcorn, I missed some of the dialog that went by :)
We got our copy from of Star Wreck from AMAZON.
--- --- --- --- ---
Oh, it's the same one again... I thought it was something new. We like ZERO percent !!!
Statement as of 2:00 PM EDT on June 17, 2010
For the North Atlantic... Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico... A strong tropical wave approaching the Leeward Islands is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms as it moves to the west-northwest at about 15 mph. Although strong upper-level winds should prevent tropical cyclone formation...locally heavy rain and gusty winds are possible in the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico over the next day or two. There is a low chance...near 0 percent...of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours. Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
UPDATE: Friday June 18th : This morning it was back to 20%. Maybe they made a typo yesterday when they said zero... So It Goes
I wonder what tonight's DVD viewing pleasure will be? BIG LOVE, perhaps?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Word Processing & Office Suites: Lotus Symphony
We have Apple MacBooks. When we bought these just over 3 years ago (yes, just out of AppleCare Warranty) to replace our previous MacBooks which replaced our iBooks, we decided to not go with Microsoft Office that we previously used. We had Apple Works on our previous MacBooks but this time we went with the newer Apple product that people were touting which was iWork.
I've never liked iWork Pages word processing application and I have given it a pretty good chance. We didn't get iWorks Numbers app because it was sold separately and therefore cost more and we don't really use spreadsheets.
When someone sends us a Word document it opens in Pages but never quite correctly... Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought this was Apple's answer to MS Word. Also, when someone sends us an .xls file, I don't have an application to open it and use my Mac's default "Quick Look" viewer. This works to look at a file but it is still lacking...
So, this morning I found IBM Lotus Symphony which is a FREE office suite package. Yes, FREE. I used to use Lotus-1-2-3 way back when in Paris! I watched their video presentations for the word processor which seemed similar to the Word I used to use.
This was a no-brainer for Ms CheapSeats... Free download of a "Lotus" product. Cool.
The only problem so far is that it took about 90 minutes to download (229MB), but my connection didn't fail and it installed OK. I had a bit of a problem finding it in my Applications Folder. I looked for "IBM" and "Lotus", then found that it was named "Symphony". Not a big deal, just took a few moments of searching in Finder. It is now residing on my Dock.
There isn't an "import" command, so I tried opening a Pages document with the ".pages" file extension and it was not recogized as a valid file type.
The Pages document I had was of a charter contract which has a combination of text and tables with shaded rows. Using Pages, I exported this as a Rich Text Document. I opened this in Symphony and tables and text formatting had disappeared. I then exported it as a Word document and when I opened it in Symphony my tables were still there... HURRAY! I probably have to do a bit of text formatting, but that's OK.
I just tried to open an Excel (.xls) spreadsheet in Symphony and it worked finest kind.
Looking forward to playing with this new application.
You can find it here and try it yourself:
This is the Beta 3 version
http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/SymphonyBetaHome.nsf/home
I just found a blog I'll have to check out:
http://lotussymphonyblog.com/
This afternoon we are going to make some progress on our new dinghy that we are building. Must remember to take photos... my little pocket digital camera eats batteries. So It Goes...
I've never liked iWork Pages word processing application and I have given it a pretty good chance. We didn't get iWorks Numbers app because it was sold separately and therefore cost more and we don't really use spreadsheets.
When someone sends us a Word document it opens in Pages but never quite correctly... Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought this was Apple's answer to MS Word. Also, when someone sends us an .xls file, I don't have an application to open it and use my Mac's default "Quick Look" viewer. This works to look at a file but it is still lacking...
This was a no-brainer for Ms CheapSeats... Free download of a "Lotus" product. Cool.
The only problem so far is that it took about 90 minutes to download (229MB), but my connection didn't fail and it installed OK. I had a bit of a problem finding it in my Applications Folder. I looked for "IBM" and "Lotus", then found that it was named "Symphony". Not a big deal, just took a few moments of searching in Finder. It is now residing on my Dock.
There isn't an "import" command, so I tried opening a Pages document with the ".pages" file extension and it was not recogized as a valid file type.
The Pages document I had was of a charter contract which has a combination of text and tables with shaded rows. Using Pages, I exported this as a Rich Text Document. I opened this in Symphony and tables and text formatting had disappeared. I then exported it as a Word document and when I opened it in Symphony my tables were still there... HURRAY! I probably have to do a bit of text formatting, but that's OK.
I just tried to open an Excel (.xls) spreadsheet in Symphony and it worked finest kind.
Looking forward to playing with this new application.
You can find it here and try it yourself:
This is the Beta 3 version
http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/SymphonyBetaHome.nsf/home
I just found a blog I'll have to check out:
http://lotussymphonyblog.com/
This afternoon we are going to make some progress on our new dinghy that we are building. Must remember to take photos... my little pocket digital camera eats batteries. So It Goes...
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Jeannie Kuich : Celebration Of Life & Obituary Announcement
In lieu of contributions, please give to the Humane Society of St. Thomas, 340-775-0599 in the name of Jeanne Kuich.
Jeanne Zimmerman Kuich, St. Thomas, USVI
Jeannie, to her many friends on St. Thomas, died June 9, 2010. She was born October 20, 1936 in Louisiana and lived in Houston, Texas from the time she was two. She left for college in 1954. A graduate of Colorado University in 1958 she married Mike Kuich in Houston August 20, 1959. Jeannie and Mike moved to St. Thomas in 1967 where they went into the charter business. With Michael she co-owned 5 different sail boats ranging in size from the 50 foot Stargazer to the 84 foot Queen of Sheba. An avid sailor, Jeannie sailed the islands from Grenada to St. Thomas many times. With Mike she sailed to Bermuda 5 times, New England twice, Nova Scotia twice with one trip to Norway and all the points in between.
In 1982 she ventured on a two year sail around the world.
Jeannie is the author of the astronomy book “Soap Operas of the Sky”. She contributed many articles on Sailing and Astronomy to such publications as Cruising World, All At Sea and the Compass plus she wrote the regular feature "Sky Lights" for the VI Daily News.
Jeannie is survived by her husband Michael Kuich, her step sister Sarah in Houston and her many friends on St. Thomas, the BVI and abroad. Jeannie was an active member of the Audubon Society and EAST.
________
Thanks, Sue, for this information.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Summer is off to an early start
The first day of summer is June 21st this year but the summer storm season (don't like using the "H" word) officially began already on June 1st.
So, we are two weeks into the season and they say that Invest 92 might become something...
THERE REMAINS A HIGH CHANCE...60 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
The tracks of this model are higher than they were yesterday. It is still quite a ways off so maybe they will keep shifting upward and away from us. Hopefully nothing will become of this potential storm for anyone.
Good incentive for getting those needed boat projects done :)
So, we are two weeks into the season and they say that Invest 92 might become something...
THERE REMAINS A HIGH CHANCE...60 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
The tracks of this model are higher than they were yesterday. It is still quite a ways off so maybe they will keep shifting upward and away from us. Hopefully nothing will become of this potential storm for anyone.
Good incentive for getting those needed boat projects done :)
UPDATE: HURRAY!!! The 2pm forecast now says 40% chance
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Onion Dip Recipe & Amazon Gift Certificates
Bob sent me this link to this Onion Dip recipe at the King Arthur Flour website. (remember the King Biscuit Flower Hour?)
It's only just after 8am and I so much desire some chips and dip... or a waffle :)
Amazon sent me an email this morning about their Summer Reading Store. We need to get some new reading material so I'll check this out later today.
Father's Day is coming up soon (June 20th) and maybe an Amazon Gift Certificate is just THE gift. Especially easy for all of the cruisers out there. You can have the card emailed and schedule the date for it to be sent. This is handy... Say you are doing a long passage and your sister's birthday will happen during that time. No problem. Schedule the gift certificate to be emailed on her birthday. Cool, huh?
Still nothing on the epoxy delivery front :(
So It Goes...
?)
It's only just after 8am and I so much desire some chips and dip... or a waffle :)
Amazon sent me an email this morning about their Summer Reading Store. We need to get some new reading material so I'll check this out later today.
Still nothing on the epoxy delivery front :(
So It Goes...
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Mast update
Still haven't received our 3-gallon epoxy order...
We have moved stuff out of Jerry's shop and are moving things out of the parking lot. We are thinking up cunning plans on how the two of us can move the mast to the dock so we can place it on So It Goes and finish it on the boat.
Ordered a used (very good) staysail from Baconsails.com yesterday.
We have moved stuff out of Jerry's shop and are moving things out of the parking lot. We are thinking up cunning plans on how the two of us can move the mast to the dock so we can place it on So It Goes and finish it on the boat.
Ordered a used (very good) staysail from Baconsails.com yesterday.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Popcorn Kittens Video
Bob showed me this YouTube.com video because he knew it would make me laugh & smile. So right he was!
So, now I'd like to share it with you folks.
Hope this gets your weekend off to a good start. Enjoy!
So, now I'd like to share it with you folks.
Hope this gets your weekend off to a good start. Enjoy!
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Mr Zip on Vacation? Active "summer" season
Yesterday (Wednesday) we received our mast's "sock" in the mail. This was shipped Priority Mail on Friday so it seemed to me that we should have received our 3-gallon epoxy kit that we ordered last Tuesday. I called up RAKA and they said it had been sent but they had a problem at the post office. The postal employee said it couldn't be shipped via Priority Mail which is odd because they did it 3 weeks ago and many other times, so it is coming First Class. He said we should get it by Friday, but we'll see...
Maybe Mr Zip's vacation replacement just wasn't hip on such things... Probably doesn't even know that he missed Towel Day a couple of weeks ago :)
So It Goes...
On another front... As you probably know, "they" have forecasted that this will be an above-average, super-hyperactive summer season for those sorts of storms. I don't like to use the H-word.
Yesterday, Bob posted the 2005 storm map on BoatBits which had 28 named storms. I was happy to see that none of the tracks were in our area of the Caribbean. Check it out!
This morning's Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog reports on the seasonal h*cane forecast issued June 2, 2010 by Dr. Phil Klotzbach and Dr. Bill Gray of Colorado State University (CSU).
So It Goes...
Maybe Mr Zip's vacation replacement just wasn't hip on such things... Probably doesn't even know that he missed Towel Day a couple of weeks ago :)
So It Goes...
On another front... As you probably know, "they" have forecasted that this will be an above-average, super-hyperactive summer season for those sorts of storms. I don't like to use the H-word.
Yesterday, Bob posted the 2005 storm map on BoatBits which had 28 named storms. I was happy to see that none of the tracks were in our area of the Caribbean. Check it out!
This morning's Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog reports on the seasonal h*cane forecast issued June 2, 2010 by Dr. Phil Klotzbach and Dr. Bill Gray of Colorado State University (CSU).
So It Goes...
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Tuesday was a "two fer"
The sky did not look promising at all on Tuesday afternoon. In fact, it looked a lot like it did in the morning... GRAY.
But, it didn't rain. It didn't rain all day which is great because we were able to apply the second layer of glass to the mast.
We were scraping the bottom of the barrels with the epoxy :) I was surprised that the pumps still worked with less than an inch of resin in the bottles. That was great. For the last batch of epoxy, I had to decant the resin and hardner into their own cups, then measure using a syringe. Had enough epoxy plus a bit left over! We should be getting another 3 gallons in the mail today.
The sock material was sent Friday so that should be popping up anytime soon, too.
Happy day.
But, it didn't rain. It didn't rain all day which is great because we were able to apply the second layer of glass to the mast.
We were scraping the bottom of the barrels with the epoxy :) I was surprised that the pumps still worked with less than an inch of resin in the bottles. That was great. For the last batch of epoxy, I had to decant the resin and hardner into their own cups, then measure using a syringe. Had enough epoxy plus a bit left over! We should be getting another 3 gallons in the mail today.
The sock material was sent Friday so that should be popping up anytime soon, too.
Happy day.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Two for Tuesday???
We hope to apply the second layer of biaxial cloth today. We have applied one 12" strip and hope to do the other, weather willing.
We woke up to a solid one-tone gray sky. No clouds... just solid gray.
We decided to go and get some water and gasoline. Gasoline has gone up to $3.45/gallon at St.Croix Marine, from $3.20. Diesel is $3.19/gallon and if you buy more than 500 gallons of diesel (cash) the price is $3.03. There is a further discount if you buy more than 1000 gallons. Someone who just passed through Bermuda told us it was almost US$4.00 per LITER.
After returning to the boat it still looked like possible rain.
Quite often it will look like this and nothing ever happens... although usually more often than not, it will rain.
So, we went for it !
It took about an hour...
We will wait for another half hour (3:30pm) and go see if we can turn the mast over and complete this second layer of glass.
Finger's crossed!
Another epoxy tip: When working with epoxy, try not to drip sweat into the epoxy.
We woke up to a solid one-tone gray sky. No clouds... just solid gray.
We decided to go and get some water and gasoline. Gasoline has gone up to $3.45/gallon at St.Croix Marine, from $3.20. Diesel is $3.19/gallon and if you buy more than 500 gallons of diesel (cash) the price is $3.03. There is a further discount if you buy more than 1000 gallons. Someone who just passed through Bermuda told us it was almost US$4.00 per LITER.
After returning to the boat it still looked like possible rain.
Quite often it will look like this and nothing ever happens... although usually more often than not, it will rain.
So, we went for it !
It took about an hour...
We will wait for another half hour (3:30pm) and go see if we can turn the mast over and complete this second layer of glass.
Finger's crossed!
Another epoxy tip: When working with epoxy, try not to drip sweat into the epoxy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday Memorial Day
There were only a few drops of rain last night. Not enough for Buffy to come inside.
This morning we went and put on another 12" strip of biax cloth. We were going to come back in an hour or so to start on another 12" strip but it rained about 10 minutes after returning to the boat... of course! But we weren't too worried that it would cause any problems.
After checking out the remains of Ace Hardware's tent sale, it looked like it was going to rain some more so we just went back to the mast and put the tarp over it. Right now, sun is streaming through the ports although the sky still looks like potential rain. Hope we'll do the carbon tows and the 2nd layer of biaxial cloth tomorrow (Tuesday).
Here's a photo of Woo from the boat s/v Love Inn. Woo and his friend Bob were visiting Jerry at the shop. He really likes the wind from the fan... his fur was flying all over, wish I took a video.
Hope you are having an excellent holiday weekend.
This morning we went and put on another 12" strip of biax cloth. We were going to come back in an hour or so to start on another 12" strip but it rained about 10 minutes after returning to the boat... of course! But we weren't too worried that it would cause any problems.
After checking out the remains of Ace Hardware's tent sale, it looked like it was going to rain some more so we just went back to the mast and put the tarp over it. Right now, sun is streaming through the ports although the sky still looks like potential rain. Hope we'll do the carbon tows and the 2nd layer of biaxial cloth tomorrow (Tuesday).
Here's a photo of Woo from the boat s/v Love Inn. Woo and his friend Bob were visiting Jerry at the shop. He really likes the wind from the fan... his fur was flying all over, wish I took a video.
Hope you are having an excellent holiday weekend.
Sunny Sunday
It was a sunny Sunday and we went to the yard at 1pm and prepared the mast and got the first 12" wide strip of biaxial fiberglass applied.
Hopefully, Monday morning we will turn the mast over and do the in-between strip which is probably 9" wide... Run some carbon tows and then apply a 12" strip of biax. Then in the afternoon, turn the mast run some carbon tows down that part, and do the other "fill in the gap piece" which will make for two layers of cloth.
Hope the "tube sock" will arrive on Tuesday, but I'd really be surprised if they have even mailed it yet... It should make finishing the mast easier.
That's the plan... we'll see how it goes :)
Hopefully, Monday morning we will turn the mast over and do the in-between strip which is probably 9" wide... Run some carbon tows and then apply a 12" strip of biax. Then in the afternoon, turn the mast run some carbon tows down that part, and do the other "fill in the gap piece" which will make for two layers of cloth.
Hope the "tube sock" will arrive on Tuesday, but I'd really be surprised if they have even mailed it yet... It should make finishing the mast easier.
That's the plan... we'll see how it goes :)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
SUN-day
This morning we awoke to glorious sunshine.
It's a bit steamy outside right down with the wet ground getting heated up.
Last night was quite something though. We had a squall go through with lots of wind and heavy rain. That passed and then we had bouts of very heavy rainfall. We had to pause the DVD a couple of times because we couldn't hear the show due to the noise of the rain.
Willow was very freaked out with the rain. I wonder if her rain-phobia started with Hurricane Omar? Buffy doesn't mind usually. She'll even stay outside if it is raining lightly.
I thought Bob was joking in BoatBits today when he said it's been raining for 40 days. Seemed to me that he was referring to Bill Cosby and his Noah & the Ark routine (I love his album), but it really has been 40-ish days because we started this mast-building gig on April 9th.
So, we'll see how today goes....
It's a bit steamy outside right down with the wet ground getting heated up.
Last night was quite something though. We had a squall go through with lots of wind and heavy rain. That passed and then we had bouts of very heavy rainfall. We had to pause the DVD a couple of times because we couldn't hear the show due to the noise of the rain.
Willow was very freaked out with the rain. I wonder if her rain-phobia started with Hurricane Omar? Buffy doesn't mind usually. She'll even stay outside if it is raining lightly.
I thought Bob was joking in BoatBits today when he said it's been raining for 40 days. Seemed to me that he was referring to Bill Cosby and his Noah & the Ark routine (I love his album), but it really has been 40-ish days because we started this mast-building gig on April 9th.
So, we'll see how today goes....
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday Showers... Rain, that is!
Just went outside and took some photos of Christiansted Harbor, St Croix
When will this let up? Can't glass the mast in this weather... So It Goes
When will this let up? Can't glass the mast in this weather... So It Goes
Friday, May 28, 2010
Rain Rain GO AWAY!
Guess what... Yes! More RAIN...
The islands are nice and green now. WAPA on St Thomas has some kind of water generating problem, but I hope they have been able to catch all this rain we've been having.
My friend Kerry, owner-operator of the charter yacht PROMENADE, took a few photos for her blog.
Wednesday in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas
Thursday in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas
Probably looked pretty much the same today, too :)
Since we are talking about depressing weather, did you see this on Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog ???
We received an email from a client in Reno Nevada this morning. He said that he awoke this morning to 2 inches of snow and 31 degrees. I'm surprised as it's almost June! His local news media said that this May has been the coldest on record in 125 years...
This afternoon I had a phone call from the Irish Hotel Barge Shannon Princess. I was complaining about all the rain we've been having in tropical paradise, and he said that they had a glorious and sunny day on the Emerald Isle of Ireland.
So It Goes...
The islands are nice and green now. WAPA on St Thomas has some kind of water generating problem, but I hope they have been able to catch all this rain we've been having.
My friend Kerry, owner-operator of the charter yacht PROMENADE, took a few photos for her blog.
Probably looked pretty much the same today, too :)
Since we are talking about depressing weather, did you see this on Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog ???
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its 2010 Atlantic hurricane season forecast today. NOAA forecasts a very active and possibly hyperactive season. They give an 85% chance of an above-normal season, a 10% chance of a near-normal season, and just a 5% chance of a below-normal season. NOAA predicts a 70% chance that there will be 14 - 23 named storms, 8 - 14 hurricanes, and 3 - 7 major hurricanes, with an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) in the 155% - 270% of normal range. If we take the midpoint of these numbers, NOAA is calling for 18.5 named storms, 11 hurricanes, 5 major hurricanes, and an ACE index 210% of normal. A season with an ACE index over 175% is considered "hyperactive." An average season has 10 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 intense hurricanes.This is an interesting tidbit from NOAA...
We received an email from a client in Reno Nevada this morning. He said that he awoke this morning to 2 inches of snow and 31 degrees. I'm surprised as it's almost June! His local news media said that this May has been the coldest on record in 125 years...
This afternoon I had a phone call from the Irish Hotel Barge Shannon Princess. I was complaining about all the rain we've been having in tropical paradise, and he said that they had a glorious and sunny day on the Emerald Isle of Ireland.
So It Goes...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)