Hi, Doug, and list,

On Jan 1, 10:10 am, wrote:
Skip Gundlach wrote:

As our travels and travails are pretty well documented....
..... That there were terrifying times, angry times, frustrating
times, chaotic times, and many other less-than-"perfect" times doesn't
change the fact that in the end, it was joyful, blissful,
exhilarating, fun, and above all, a great adventure.

Things never work out as planned, but it's nice when things work out
about as well or better than you planned, in the end. Glad to hear
that you've recovered from the wrecks and are moving onward. Right now
we're hunkered down for this freeze + nor'easter just a ways south of
you all.

One thing I'm curious about and haven't seen you mention- you had a
molded lapstrake pulling boat (a 12-footer IIRC), are you using that
for a dinghy?

If, by "pulling" boat you mean rower, I don't have one of those.
Memory fails me if it was you who was building a 20 pound carbon fiber
rowing dink, but at that time I'd been considering a Little River
Marine 12' Heritage for a dink. I never owned one...

That it's strictly displacement, and 2HP max, has ruled that out for
our purposes. We have a new 10' PortaBote which I've modified to take
rowing sculls (10' carbon fiber oars, and appropriate rowlocks, but
still floppy sides to the PB) and which uses a 6HP very effectively.
Our day-to-day, davits-slung, dink is a Walker Bay "rib" (same basic
material as their "hard bottom" boats, but with tubes around) with an
ancient 15HP 2-stroke. The oars and its rowing characteristics are
strictly from hunger, but otherwise we're very pleased with it.

All that said, LRM now makes all of their Heritage line (also) in
single hull models, making them very much lighter. For those
preferring a rowing environment, only, they are stellar boats to that
purpose, and the 15 and 18 models are available as doubles (convert to
either one or two people rowing), fixed or sliding seat (cost is an
issue for us; if we were to go to that cost, we'd get the sliding
seat, as it's orders of magnitude more efficient for propulsion and
overall workout; only someone with leg problems wouldn't benefit from
that sort of exercise). I grumble when I row the PB but dealing with
a sliding seat aboard (which didn't live in the - in the case of the
PB - opened boat) wasn't an option.


I've seen the hookah style underwater breathing apparatus in use a few
times by fellow cruisers, that seems like a great tool for working
under the boat. We plan to get one in the near future.

We bought the one which is electric, because it takes up very little
room. It, the two hoses and all the associated hardware, and our dive
gear all fit in a standard dive bag. The power for it is a Honda
EU2000i which we have for "emergency" charging (such as today, when I
discovered I'd left the charger on overnight after taking advantage of
"shore power" to run 110V items in the boat as well as the hookah pump
and the recursive loop in the inverter pulled us down to 65%
overnight) and power tools ashore.

Folks chatted up about them, before my purchase, were usually negative
about any hookah, saying they didn't get used, usually, and therefore
sold. However, those who have and use them are very glad to have
them. That said, there are usually some available on various used
gear forums, craigslist, SSCA and the like



I'll post again after we reach Miami. The weather forecasts (well, you
know how we feel about the accuracy of those available to us, but
they've been saying essentially the same thing for more than a week,
so it seems reasonable to expect some congruence between the forecast
and the reality)

Hate to disagree, but usually we get a pretty good forecast... I'd say
that over the past year of daily tallying forecasts with short term
(24 hour) results, the forecasters are pretty close 80% of the time
and right on about 50% of the time. Kind of like the tide
predictions.... they're not perfectly congruent to the real world but
they're close enough to provide a workable tool for day-to-day cruise
planning.

Heh. We are just very skilled at finding the 20 and 50 percent,
apparently. The downside (not enough in the forecast) got us on the
rocks the first time, and henceforth, it was either way lighter than
forecast, or way stronger in an entirely different direction. Our
frustrations usually lay with the forecasted stronger winds which in
RL were nearly nonexistent...


... have it as a marvelous, rollicking run from here to
Miami. We'll leave before dark, to get outside the entrance in
daylight, and pull into the Port of Miami, likely, while it's still
dark. From there we'll go to our mooring and commence local sailing!

Stay tuned for the reality of the trip...

I can understand your wanting to get south away from a hard freeze,
but setting off in front of a predicted 30 knot nor'easter.... which
will be blowing against the Gulf Stream to boot... may be on the hairy
side. We're staying put until probably Thursday or maybe even Friday,
and we're going all the way "inside".

Hope you have a good safe run down the coast!

Thanks. We're not going near the Stream. It will truly be a mess in
that time - forecasts in the stream call for 15-18 feet after
midnight, with gale gusts. We'll hug the coast where it's forecast for
20K, 3-5', and by late dark-morning/midnight+, potential 40 gusts.

As of this minute, we're considering sailing down the ICW, which will
take longer, of course, but if the wind holds, could be done. I have
less than no enthusiasm for driving this boat to Miami! :{)) - but if
we have consistent 15+ winds in any of the directions forecast, it's
do-able, bridges being a serious nuisance, but not a problem...


Fresh Breezes- Doug King


L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its
hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

We just came back from a chilly walk and watched the boats anchored
out in St. Augustine's harbor bouncing around, can't imagine being
offshore today... actually I can imagine it quite well, and would even
consider it fun in a daysailer or racing class boat, for a few hours,
but not for a long run and especially not in a vessel that was also my
home! I hope that Skip will reply from Miami after a great run, being
already south of us, or that they're snug "inside" somewhere.


One thing I'm curious about and haven't seen you mention- you had a
molded lapstrake pulling boat (a 12-footer IIRC), are you using that
for a dinghy?

Skip Gundlach wrote:
If, by "pulling" boat you mean rower, I don't have one of those.
Memory fails me if it was you who was building a 20 pound carbon fiber
rowing dink, but at that time I'd been considering a Little River
Marine 12' Heritage for a dink. I never owned one...


Ah so, my mistake, thought you did have one. There were a bunch at a
rowing event on the Tennessee River. There are a number of things I
don't like about the boat but apparently they've caught on.


....We have a new 10' PortaBote which I've modified to take
rowing sculls (10' carbon fiber oars, and appropriate rowlocks, but
still floppy sides to the PB) and which uses a 6HP very effectively.
Our day-to-day, davits-slung, dink is a Walker Bay "rib" (same basic
material as their "hard bottom" boats, but with tubes around) with an
ancient 15HP 2-stroke. The oars and its rowing characteristics are
strictly from hunger, but otherwise we're very pleased with it.


Y'know, everybody says "all *serious* cruisers have an RIB with *at
least* a 10hp outboard. When you all have some experience, you'll get
one too." I guess my 40 years of experience isn't enough? I suspect
that my temperament is far different from most "serious cruisers" and
we have done very well with our rowing-only dink.

All that said, LRM now makes all of their Heritage line (also) in
single hull models, making them very much lighter.

They're great at marketing but frankly I am not impressed with their
design or boatbuilding. They could make the boats much lighter &
stiffer if they wanted to. I spoke with them by phone and in person
(at a boat show) about building a semi-custom boat out of their molds
for me, but they really had no interest.

It's nice to see a boat like that become popular, but I also hope that
some of the folks who like them will go a bit further into the sport
and see what a real Whitehall (or any other classic *working* pulling
skiff) is/was like.


.... we'd get the sliding
seat, as it's orders of magnitude more efficient for propulsion and
overall workout; only someone with leg problems wouldn't benefit from
that sort of exercise).

Me too, except that it's not an option for a working tender/dinghy and
wouldn't be practical on a 9' LOA anyway.

It would be awesome if we could have a workaday dinghy, a speedy RIB
for long-distance grocery or snorkeling runs, and a sporty rowing boat
for exploring. Then two Lasers for fun sailing. Let's see, I need
about a 55' cruiser!!


Thanks. We're not going near the Stream. It will truly be a mess in
that time - forecasts in the stream call for 15-18 feet after
midnight, with gale gusts. We'll hug the coast where it's forecast for
20K, 3-5', and by late dark-morning/midnight+, potential 40 gusts.


That sounds ugly enough that it would keep me in port... in fact it
*is* keeping us in port!
Call us wimps

As of this minute, we're considering sailing down the ICW, which will
take longer, of course, but if the wind holds, could be done. I have
less than no enthusiasm for driving this boat to Miami! :{)) - but if
we have consistent 15+ winds in any of the directions forecast, it's
do-able, bridges being a serious nuisance, but not a problem...


Right, the ditch is far less fun for most of this stretch and
troublesome for a boat like yours... we go right under most bridges
and have yet to run aground in the ICW (we have bumped occasionally
when exploring off the chart).

Anyway am looking forward to hearing from you all. Maybe our paths
will cross.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Hi, Doug, and list,


On Jan 2, 1:56 pm, wrote:
We just came back from a chilly walk and watched the boats anchored
out in St. Augustine's harbor bouncing around, can't imagine being
offshore today... actually I can imagine it quite well, and would even
consider it fun in a daysailer or racing class boat, for a few hours,
but not for a long run and especially not in a vessel that was also my
home! I hope that Skip will reply from Miami after a great run, being
already south of us, or that they're snug "inside" somewhere.

Well, indeed, we did invite two additional crew, Lydia having become
considerably more open-minded in the last few month, Prudence and
Patience along on this trip.

So, we're anchored in Lake Boca Raton, a puddle off the ICW. Due to
the bridges, we'll have to go outside to get to Government Cut, the
area we're headed to, and it's still pretty messy outside, but it's
only about 15 miles. We'll take under advisement whether we go from
Port Everglades, the nearest (well, perhaps only) opportunity tomorrow
PM or hang there and wait for a bit.

And, of course, I had said:

Thanks. We're not going near the Stream. It will truly be a mess in
that time - forecasts in the stream call for 15-18 feet after
midnight, with gale gusts. We'll hug the coast where it's forecast for
20K, 3-5', and by late dark-morning/midnight+, potential 40 gusts.

That sounds ugly enough that it would keep me in port... in fact it
*is* keeping us in port!
Call us wimps

Well, I had next to no sleep on NYEve, and that was the deciding
factor. Looking at the bouy reports this evening, likely it would
have been do-able, but I really didn't like the prospect of rigging
for gales, but only having 20 all the time. I would have been a
constant rock and roll. The forecast, by the time we'd have left,
had deteriorated to the gusts being gale or better, and with a
doubling of wind speed over typical, that could have been a real
bugger to manage...

As of this minute, we're considering sailing down the ICW, which will
take longer, of course, but if the wind holds, could be done. I have
less than no enthusiasm for driving this boat to Miami! :{)) - but if
we have consistent 15+ winds in any of the directions forecast, it's
do-able, bridges being a serious nuisance, but not a problem...

Right, the ditch is far less fun for most of this stretch and
troublesome for a boat like yours... we go right under most bridges
and have yet to run aground in the ICW (we have bumped occasionally
when exploring off the chart).

Heh. We got perhaps an hour of sailing - which was lovely - but with
all the bridges, and the extremely narrow channel, elected to motor
the rest. At that, near marker 33, which was knocked over and barely
above the water, under sail, we went aground firmly not far from the
bridge, having touched several times before that. Roll up the sail,
and back off the bar, and that was the last of the sail.

Here, the biggest deal is how cold it will be tonight. Little wind,
just enough water, which makes for a short anchor chain, having eaten
dinner (which warmed up the saloon), we'll watch a movie and repair to
our opened-engine-room-doors-warmed aft quarters. We'll get an early
start tomorrow, and, all other things being normal, will be on the
ball in front of the Miami Yacht Club (not a club ball - a friend's)
and hooked up to the internet again...


Anyway am looking forward to hearing from you all. Maybe our paths
will cross.

I'd enjoy that. And, for any watching, with bated breath, here's
hearing from me :{))


Fresh Breezes- Doug King


L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its
hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)

On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:35:39 -0800 (PST), Skip Gundlach
wrote:

Hi, Doug, and list,
....
Well, indeed, we did invite two additional crew, Lydia having become
considerably more open-minded in the last few month, Prudence and
Patience along on this trip.
....
L8R

Skip

No that's an anti-depressant Rx I can relate to -
What a guy!

Brian W

Hi, Doug, and list,


On Jan 2, 1:56 pm, wrote:
We just came back from a chilly walk and watched the boats anchored
out in St. Augustine's harbor bouncing around, can't imagine being
offshore today... actually I can imagine it quite well, and would even
consider it fun in a daysailer or racing class boat, for a few hours,
but not for a long run and especially not in a vessel that was also my
home! I hope that Skip will reply from Miami after a great run, being
already south of us, or that they're snug "inside" somewhere.

Well, indeed, we did invite two additional crew, Lydia having become
considerably more open-minded in the last few month, Prudence and
Patience along on this trip.

So, we're anchored in Lake Boca Raton, a puddle off the ICW. Due to
the bridges, we'll have to go outside to get to Government Cut, the
area we're headed to, and it's still pretty messy outside, but it's
only about 15 miles. We'll take under advisement whether we go from
Port Everglades, the nearest (well, perhaps only) opportunity tomorrow
PM or hang there and wait for a bit.

And, of course, I had said:

Thanks. We're not going near the Stream. It will truly be a mess in
that time - forecasts in the stream call for 15-18 feet after
midnight, with gale gusts. We'll hug the coast where it's forecast for
20K, 3-5', and by late dark-morning/midnight+, potential 40 gusts.

That sounds ugly enough that it would keep me in port... in fact it
*is* keeping us in port!
Call us wimps

Well, I had next to no sleep on NYEve, and that was the deciding
factor. Looking at the bouy reports this evening, likely it would
have been do-able, but I really didn't like the prospect of rigging
for gales, but only having 20 all the time. I would have been a
constant rock and roll. The forecast, by the time we'd have left,
had deteriorated to the gusts being gale or better, and with a
doubling of wind speed over typical, that could have been a real
bugger to manage...

As of this minute, we're considering sailing down the ICW, which will
take longer, of course, but if the wind holds, could be done. I have
less than no enthusiasm for driving this boat to Miami! :{)) - but if
we have consistent 15+ winds in any of the directions forecast, it's
do-able, bridges being a serious nuisance, but not a problem...

Right, the ditch is far less fun for most of this stretch and
troublesome for a boat like yours... we go right under most bridges
and have yet to run aground in the ICW (we have bumped occasionally
when exploring off the chart).

Heh. We got perhaps an hour of sailing - which was lovely - but with
all the bridges, and the extremely narrow channel, elected to motor
the rest. At that, near marker 33, which was knocked over and barely
above the water, under sail, we went aground firmly not far from the
bridge, having touched several times before that. Roll up the sail,
and back off the bar, and that was the last of the sail.

Here, the biggest deal is how cold it will be tonight. Little wind,
just enough water, which makes for a short anchor chain, having eaten
dinner (which warmed up the saloon), we'll watch a movie and repair to
our opened-engine-room-doors-warmed aft quarters. We'll get an early
start tomorrow, and, all other things being normal, will be on the
ball in front of the Miami Yacht Club (not a club ball - a friend's)
and hooked up to the internet again...


Anyway am looking forward to hearing from you all. Maybe our paths
will cross.

I'd enjoy that. And, for any watching, with bated breath, here's
hearing from me :{))


Fresh Breezes- Doug King


L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to
make it come true. You may have to work for it however."
(and)
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its
hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts."
(Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah)