Haircut day
Today Mark and “the lads” got haircuts. The barber shop at the Marina attaches numbers to the length of the haircuts with 1 being the shortest.
As you can see, they tried to save on remembering large numbers. They don’t look too happy about it.
Mark has shown us what happens when occupants of the boat have long hair (Molly and Kendall both have long hair). First, it gets caught on things. The clips that hold the sunshade and the bimini (the cover over the cockpit) are natural hair magnets. They not only attract the hair, they grab it and pluck it.
Second, the boat has a natural circulation of anything that falls on the floor. It eventually gets washed into the bilge and into the strainers that cover the drains to the pumps that push any bilge water to the sea. One example is the shower. It is in the same room as the head (toilet) much like a camper. When a person showers, the water (and hair) goes into the bilge and gets pumped into the sea. Long haired people leave a trail behind in the bilge pump strainers.
These three skin-heads will not leave a trail at least until we at sea for several weeks.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Day minus 6
Pacific Puddle Jump
No work on the boat today. The sailing magazine Latitude 38 sponsored a lunch where they presented the Pacific Puddle Jumpers with a flag for their boats. The Tahiti tourist agency was a co-sponsor and gave several talks about French Polynesia. One of the most interesting talks was by an agent who arranges the entry and exit visas along with all of the relevant official permissions and documents. I think he had unanimous acceptance from all of the non-EEC boat owners.
We had a chance to meet many of the other boat crews including Ray and Peggy Wilson from Long Beach, Ca. Their boat is Sol Searcher.
Terry is from Vancouver, BC is currently looking for crew (anyone interested?) for his 50” Southwind III. He is planning to single hand it if he cannot find anyone to help. I get the sense he is a very experienced sailor.
Gar and Nicole Duke are from Sausilito and their boat is Dreamweaver.
No work on the boat today. The sailing magazine Latitude 38 sponsored a lunch where they presented the Pacific Puddle Jumpers with a flag for their boats. The Tahiti tourist agency was a co-sponsor and gave several talks about French Polynesia. One of the most interesting talks was by an agent who arranges the entry and exit visas along with all of the relevant official permissions and documents. I think he had unanimous acceptance from all of the non-EEC boat owners.
We had a chance to meet many of the other boat crews including Ray and Peggy Wilson from Long Beach, Ca. Their boat is Sol Searcher.
Terry is from Vancouver, BC is currently looking for crew (anyone interested?) for his 50” Southwind III. He is planning to single hand it if he cannot find anyone to help. I get the sense he is a very experienced sailor.
Gar and Nicole Duke are from Sausilito and their boat is Dreamweaver.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Day minus 7
Most of the people who will read this blog are sailing neophytes like me. A trans-ocean passage on a small sailboat is not something they have a lot of experience with. Pardon the explanation is you already know this.
It seems to me so far that there are two parts to a cruise - the part at sea (which I have yet to do) and the part in port - which has occupied the last 10 of my days. It may seem obvious but much of the time in port is spent preparing for the time at sea. Boats are constantly under attack from their natural element - the ocean. Mechanically, they must withstand enormous forces and sometimes the sea wins. Chemically they are slowly being eaten by corrosion and here the sea always wins. Today we spent the day ministering to Star in both areas.
The boats in the PV marina are moored pretty close together. A few days ago, our neighbor lost control when docking and hit the side of Star just above the deck. The impact bent the stanchion (one of the stainless steel poles that support the lifelines). To repair it means taking down the sunshade, removing the lifelines, removing the stanchion and sending it to a shop to be bent back to its original form. The sunshade has a coating of salt from its month-long exposure so that had to be removed before it could be folded up and put away.
You can see where this is going.
We spent the day washing down all of the above-deck surfaces of star with Simple Green, brushes and sponges. (“Swab those decks, mateys”) Remember what I said about corrosion? You could almost hear Star breathing a sigh of relief as clean water washed off the saline enemy.
We still have to get the stanchion back and replace all the rigging that attaches to it, but we are one step closer to going to sea
It seems to me so far that there are two parts to a cruise - the part at sea (which I have yet to do) and the part in port - which has occupied the last 10 of my days. It may seem obvious but much of the time in port is spent preparing for the time at sea. Boats are constantly under attack from their natural element - the ocean. Mechanically, they must withstand enormous forces and sometimes the sea wins. Chemically they are slowly being eaten by corrosion and here the sea always wins. Today we spent the day ministering to Star in both areas.
The boats in the PV marina are moored pretty close together. A few days ago, our neighbor lost control when docking and hit the side of Star just above the deck. The impact bent the stanchion (one of the stainless steel poles that support the lifelines). To repair it means taking down the sunshade, removing the lifelines, removing the stanchion and sending it to a shop to be bent back to its original form. The sunshade has a coating of salt from its month-long exposure so that had to be removed before it could be folded up and put away.
You can see where this is going.
We spent the day washing down all of the above-deck surfaces of star with Simple Green, brushes and sponges. (“Swab those decks, mateys”) Remember what I said about corrosion? You could almost hear Star breathing a sigh of relief as clean water washed off the saline enemy.
We still have to get the stanchion back and replace all the rigging that attaches to it, but we are one step closer to going to sea
Day minus 8
The "ham" in me
I am running out of pictures to post.
This one is from last week but it shows the cabin of the Star with Carly, Pat, Ryan, Andy and Mark. Star has a 14’ wide beam but the designers put in a lot of storage so the cabin is not as wide as Dave’s boat which only has a 12’ beam. Nonetheless, it is comfortable and the four of us should be comfortable on the crossings. Mark has designed a watch schedule that has all of us awake from 10 AM to 6 PM. The first watch, which will probably be me and Kurt, will be from 6 PM until 2 AM. The second watch by Mark and Andy will be from 2 AM to 10 AM. During the 8 hours, at least one person will be on deck and they will do a binoculars look around every 20 minutes. They will also be required to respond to radio communications during the watch.
Yesterday evening I received a fax of my general license ham radio “certificate of successful completion”. I had taken and passed this test in early February but could not get the license because at that time the rules required that I also pass a 5 word-per-minute Morse code test. I found I could do about 3 words a minute but got brain lock when it went faster. This requirement was abandoned by the FCC on February 24 - yesterday - so with the certificate, $15 and the proper form I was able to upgrade my technician license to a general license. This is a huge benefit for Star since it will allow us to use the lower frequencies (the famous 20 meter band) that bounce off the ionosphere and can give radio communication for thousands of miles. This is definitely a good thing when the boat is thousands of miles from shore.
The rest of the day was spent washing the boat and putting away extra gear in preparation for the trip. We still have a few more maintenance items to complete and Mark now expects that we will leave on or about March 8.
I am running out of pictures to post.
This one is from last week but it shows the cabin of the Star with Carly, Pat, Ryan, Andy and Mark. Star has a 14’ wide beam but the designers put in a lot of storage so the cabin is not as wide as Dave’s boat which only has a 12’ beam. Nonetheless, it is comfortable and the four of us should be comfortable on the crossings. Mark has designed a watch schedule that has all of us awake from 10 AM to 6 PM. The first watch, which will probably be me and Kurt, will be from 6 PM until 2 AM. The second watch by Mark and Andy will be from 2 AM to 10 AM. During the 8 hours, at least one person will be on deck and they will do a binoculars look around every 20 minutes. They will also be required to respond to radio communications during the watch.
Yesterday evening I received a fax of my general license ham radio “certificate of successful completion”. I had taken and passed this test in early February but could not get the license because at that time the rules required that I also pass a 5 word-per-minute Morse code test. I found I could do about 3 words a minute but got brain lock when it went faster. This requirement was abandoned by the FCC on February 24 - yesterday - so with the certificate, $15 and the proper form I was able to upgrade my technician license to a general license. This is a huge benefit for Star since it will allow us to use the lower frequencies (the famous 20 meter band) that bounce off the ionosphere and can give radio communication for thousands of miles. This is definitely a good thing when the boat is thousands of miles from shore.
The rest of the day was spent washing the boat and putting away extra gear in preparation for the trip. We still have a few more maintenance items to complete and Mark now expects that we will leave on or about March 8.
Day minus 9
Still in a hotel
Today was the day I was to check out of the Villa del Palmar (VdP), Flamingos in Nuevo Vallarta and move back into town to the VdP, Vallarta so I got up early and went to the gym to use the great facilities one more time. The gym was well equipped with new exercise machines plus it was well lit, air conditioned and had US television news.
The move to the other hotel took most of the morning and I got to Star in time to listen to Bob Becker explain the ins and outs of a computer navigation program he gave to Mark. This has a map a bit like Google Earth. You put in the starting coordinates and the end coordinates and it plots a great circle route and than reduces it to waypoints on a Mercator projection marine chart. I had done this manually at Mark’s request but my result is no where near as cool as seeing the result on a satellite image that can be rotated and zoomed. I suspect we will use this all the way across.
We got a call on the radio from Robin and Michelle from Warrior a 50 foot boat that Mark had met several times along his travel Southward. They were arriving in PV and wanted to say hello. Both are from Australia but spent the last few years living in Santa Cruz while working and teaching at Stanford. Robin’s speciality is nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Michelle did her post-doc in applied linguistics studying how people learn languages. They are interesting people but they will not be on the jump. they are sailing South and will likely go through the canal.
Today was the day I was to check out of the Villa del Palmar (VdP), Flamingos in Nuevo Vallarta and move back into town to the VdP, Vallarta so I got up early and went to the gym to use the great facilities one more time. The gym was well equipped with new exercise machines plus it was well lit, air conditioned and had US television news.
The move to the other hotel took most of the morning and I got to Star in time to listen to Bob Becker explain the ins and outs of a computer navigation program he gave to Mark. This has a map a bit like Google Earth. You put in the starting coordinates and the end coordinates and it plots a great circle route and than reduces it to waypoints on a Mercator projection marine chart. I had done this manually at Mark’s request but my result is no where near as cool as seeing the result on a satellite image that can be rotated and zoomed. I suspect we will use this all the way across.
We got a call on the radio from Robin and Michelle from Warrior a 50 foot boat that Mark had met several times along his travel Southward. They were arriving in PV and wanted to say hello. Both are from Australia but spent the last few years living in Santa Cruz while working and teaching at Stanford. Robin’s speciality is nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Michelle did her post-doc in applied linguistics studying how people learn languages. They are interesting people but they will not be on the jump. they are sailing South and will likely go through the canal.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Day minus 10
Puddle Jump meetings
Every Friday, the Puddle Jump (PJ) meets at Paradise Marina for lectures and discussions relating to the trip. This week there was an hour on weather and a second hour on marine electrical systems. Afterward, several members had lunch to continue the discussions on navigation and radio communication.
There is a lot of sharing of knowledge, experience, tools, help with each other’s boat problems and equipment. One boat had all the detail charts of four of our destinations and allowed us to make copies for our own use.
I learned, much to my surprise, that I could upgrade my ham license right here in PV. All I need is a copy of my “certificate of completion” and on Sunday I can go to the ham radio test session and upgrade. This will make a huge difference in Southern Star’s ability to communicate while at sea.
As you might expect, I took several pages of notes.
Every Friday, the Puddle Jump (PJ) meets at Paradise Marina for lectures and discussions relating to the trip. This week there was an hour on weather and a second hour on marine electrical systems. Afterward, several members had lunch to continue the discussions on navigation and radio communication.
There is a lot of sharing of knowledge, experience, tools, help with each other’s boat problems and equipment. One boat had all the detail charts of four of our destinations and allowed us to make copies for our own use.
I learned, much to my surprise, that I could upgrade my ham license right here in PV. All I need is a copy of my “certificate of completion” and on Sunday I can go to the ham radio test session and upgrade. This will make a huge difference in Southern Star’s ability to communicate while at sea.
As you might expect, I took several pages of notes.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Day minus 11
The Irish
I had to attend the member’s meeting so I stayed around the hotel until after lunch.
Mark was working with “the lads” as he calls them so I walked about 2 miles up the beach to the small town of Bucarias in search of the makings for sushi. The hotel told me that a market called Palacio China (China Palace) carried oriental foods. It was very hot and by the time I got there I was dripping. The market was a dud so I decided to look for an Internet cafe.
Suddenly the clouds parted and I was standing in front of the Shamrock - an Irish pub. What a crazy world. the best part was they also had free wireless Internet.
After a black and tan, I felt a lot better.
I had to take a picture of Hugh the proprietor standing in front of the map of Ireland. Of course he also had the famous Irish toast over the door. The most surprising thing was the picture of Dirty Nelly’s and Bunratty Castle on another wall. He confirmed that every Irishman knows of Dirty Nelly’s even though it is in such an obscure location. Of course the Raychem Ireland crowd knew it as it was only a few miles from the Raychem site.
I had to attend the member’s meeting so I stayed around the hotel until after lunch.
Mark was working with “the lads” as he calls them so I walked about 2 miles up the beach to the small town of Bucarias in search of the makings for sushi. The hotel told me that a market called Palacio China (China Palace) carried oriental foods. It was very hot and by the time I got there I was dripping. The market was a dud so I decided to look for an Internet cafe.
Suddenly the clouds parted and I was standing in front of the Shamrock - an Irish pub. What a crazy world. the best part was they also had free wireless Internet.
After a black and tan, I felt a lot better.
I had to take a picture of Hugh the proprietor standing in front of the map of Ireland. Of course he also had the famous Irish toast over the door. The most surprising thing was the picture of Dirty Nelly’s and Bunratty Castle on another wall. He confirmed that every Irishman knows of Dirty Nelly’s even though it is in such an obscure location. Of course the Raychem Ireland crowd knew it as it was only a few miles from the Raychem site.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Day minus 12
The crew of Southern Star
Another puddle jump boat hosted a pot luck lunch at the marina. I met several of the other boat captains but it will take several meetings before I can match names, faces and boats.
When we got back to Star, the rest of the crew had arrived.
Andy is from Colorado. He worked in the Peace Corps in Samoa (which is pronounced SA MOA) and will use this trip to visit his Samoan family.
Kurt is from California. He finished his degree at Cal last year and has been working for the last year awaiting the cruise. He seems to be 100% surfer, Dude.
Another puddle jump boat hosted a pot luck lunch at the marina. I met several of the other boat captains but it will take several meetings before I can match names, faces and boats.
When we got back to Star, the rest of the crew had arrived.
Andy is from Colorado. He worked in the Peace Corps in Samoa (which is pronounced SA MOA) and will use this trip to visit his Samoan family.
Kurt is from California. He finished his degree at Cal last year and has been working for the last year awaiting the cruise. He seems to be 100% surfer, Dude.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Day minus 13
Meeting the "Puddle Jumpers"
There will be about 15 sailboats that will make
the crossing this year from PV to New Zealand (NZ) . This is know as the “puddle jump”. Several boats always maintain contact in case one needs help.
Mark has arranged with:
Dave aboard No Regrets is sailing with his son Pat and Pat’s girlfriend Carly. Dave was a fireman in Ca;ifornia and Pat was in college when they decided to make a trip down the California coast. They met Mark in San Diego and extended the trip to PV. By the time they got here, they had already made up their minds to go further.
Jim is sailing Cardea with his son Ryan. They are from Michigan and have planned this trip for years.
Mark says there will probably be about five boats in our group.
There will be about 15 sailboats that will make
the crossing this year from PV to New Zealand (NZ) . This is know as the “puddle jump”. Several boats always maintain contact in case one needs help.
Mark has arranged with:
Dave aboard No Regrets is sailing with his son Pat and Pat’s girlfriend Carly. Dave was a fireman in Ca;ifornia and Pat was in college when they decided to make a trip down the California coast. They met Mark in San Diego and extended the trip to PV. By the time they got here, they had already made up their minds to go further.
Jim is sailing Cardea with his son Ryan. They are from Michigan and have planned this trip for years.
Mark says there will probably be about five boats in our group.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Day minus 14
Meeting the "Puddle Jumpers"
There will be about 15 sailboats that will make
the crossing this year from PV to New Zealand (NZ) . This is know as the “puddle jump”. Several boats always maintain contact in case one needs help.
Mark has arranged with:
Dave aboard No Regrets is sailing with his son Pat and Pat’s girlfriend Carly. Dave was a fireman in Ca;ifornia and Pat was in college when they decided to make a trip down the California coast. They met Mark in San Diego and extended the trip to PV. By the time they got here, they had already made up their minds to go further.
Jim is sailing Cardea with his son Ryan. They are from Michigan and have planned this trip for years.
Mark says there will probably be about five boats in our group.
There will be about 15 sailboats that will make
the crossing this year from PV to New Zealand (NZ) . This is know as the “puddle jump”. Several boats always maintain contact in case one needs help.
Mark has arranged with:
Dave aboard No Regrets is sailing with his son Pat and Pat’s girlfriend Carly. Dave was a fireman in Ca;ifornia and Pat was in college when they decided to make a trip down the California coast. They met Mark in San Diego and extended the trip to PV. By the time they got here, they had already made up their minds to go further.
Jim is sailing Cardea with his son Ryan. They are from Michigan and have planned this trip for years.
Mark says there will probably be about five boats in our group.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Day minus 15
The Southern Star
The Villa del Palmar in Puerto Vallarta (PV) talked me into staying at their new property, Flamingos, which is in Nuevo Vallarta about 40 minutes by bus North. The good news is it is a beautiful location, the bad news is it is too far away.
Over breakfast I could see whales breaching in Bandaras Bay not far from the restaurant. Pretty cool.
PV is a jungle. I suppose it is much like the other coastal cities in the mainland but very different from the desert of Cabo San Lucas.
After breakfast, I made my way to the marina to get the first look at the Southern Star. There she was on K dock looking like a gypsy caravan. The pink flamingo on the back is clearly the work of little Kendal.
Mark took me along on my first foraging trip to Walmart. I guess it is no surprise that it looks like every other Walmart.
I find that my Spanish lessons have paid off. I am nowhere near fluent but at least I seem to be able to get by a lot better than the last time I was in Mexico.
The Villa del Palmar in Puerto Vallarta (PV) talked me into staying at their new property, Flamingos, which is in Nuevo Vallarta about 40 minutes by bus North. The good news is it is a beautiful location, the bad news is it is too far away.
Over breakfast I could see whales breaching in Bandaras Bay not far from the restaurant. Pretty cool.
PV is a jungle. I suppose it is much like the other coastal cities in the mainland but very different from the desert of Cabo San Lucas.
After breakfast, I made my way to the marina to get the first look at the Southern Star. There she was on K dock looking like a gypsy caravan. The pink flamingo on the back is clearly the work of little Kendal.
Mark took me along on my first foraging trip to Walmart. I guess it is no surprise that it looks like every other Walmart.
I find that my Spanish lessons have paid off. I am nowhere near fluent but at least I seem to be able to get by a lot better than the last time I was in Mexico.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Day minus 16
Marina Puerto Vallarta
Well, finally underway after months of planning. How do you pack for eight months? What do you take and what can you do without? I hope my endless lists did the trick – yet I have that nagging feeling there was something crucial I forgot. I guess I always feel that way at the start of a big trip. Usually there is nothing that I either cannot do without or that I can’t find when I need it. This last part won’t be true when the boat is a thousand miles from land.
Ian picked me up at seven and reminded me one more time not to check anything critical. “What will you do if the airline looses it? he said. Hey, I’m a sophisticated frequent traveler (SFT) so I know what to do. Not long after I got to the airport, they took away my SFT card. I had forgotten the dreaded “no liquids, gels or aerosols” rule. My one checked bag was already gone when security discovered sunblock, insect repellent and a corkscrew in my carry on. I guess packing at midnight was not such a good idea. And I thought I was so well prepared in advance. Hey, sometimes even the Babe struck out.
Reflecting on the departure I realized that while I was excited to be starting this adventure I was also more than a little sad to say goodbye to Chorna. She has been my little companion for over sixteen years – following me around, sitting on my lap. She will be seventeen in March and even Lhasa Apsos do not live forever and I am sure she will not last another eight months. She followed me out the front door and after loading the car, I picked her up, gave her a hug and let her give one last lick on the nose with her little pink tongue.
Well, finally underway after months of planning. How do you pack for eight months? What do you take and what can you do without? I hope my endless lists did the trick – yet I have that nagging feeling there was something crucial I forgot. I guess I always feel that way at the start of a big trip. Usually there is nothing that I either cannot do without or that I can’t find when I need it. This last part won’t be true when the boat is a thousand miles from land.
Ian picked me up at seven and reminded me one more time not to check anything critical. “What will you do if the airline looses it? he said. Hey, I’m a sophisticated frequent traveler (SFT) so I know what to do. Not long after I got to the airport, they took away my SFT card. I had forgotten the dreaded “no liquids, gels or aerosols” rule. My one checked bag was already gone when security discovered sunblock, insect repellent and a corkscrew in my carry on. I guess packing at midnight was not such a good idea. And I thought I was so well prepared in advance. Hey, sometimes even the Babe struck out.
Reflecting on the departure I realized that while I was excited to be starting this adventure I was also more than a little sad to say goodbye to Chorna. She has been my little companion for over sixteen years – following me around, sitting on my lap. She will be seventeen in March and even Lhasa Apsos do not live forever and I am sure she will not last another eight months. She followed me out the front door and after loading the car, I picked her up, gave her a hug and let her give one last lick on the nose with her little pink tongue.
Friday, February 16, 2007
The beginning
Neophyte sails to New Zealand
My computer dictionary defines “neophyte” as “a person who is new to a subject or skill”. I chose that name for my blog because I am both new to blogging and new to sailing - the subject of this blog.
This adventure started on land about five years ago when I began to realize for the first time that I was not going to live forever. What a concept!
My second realization was that most of my generation had it wrong. We were supposed to work until retirement and then have fun - and for most it was too late by then. The current “X” ers, or whatever the twenty and thirty somethings are called, have it right. Enjoy life as it goes when you are still young and healthy enough to get the most out of it. So I decided to join the X generation.
It’s not that I have had a boring life. I have had a very fulfilling business career that allowed me to travel the world; but there were still a few places I wanted to go and I wanted to live some of the adventures I had read about for years in National Geographic.
made a list and in the past four years, I hiked in Alaska, climbed the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu and hiked in Patagonia. All wonderful and exciting venues. That left only three essential things on my list: China, New Zealand and South Dakota.
Thanks to Tim, in a week or so, I will be headed for New Zealand aboard the Southern Star, a comfortable and safe 45’ Island Packet owned and captained by Mark who is a careful and accomplished sailor. I have prepared myself with sailing lessons and a ham radio license. My only fear is the sun and I have UV block clothing, lotions and hats so if I don’t do anything foolish, I should be all set.
So, let the games begin and let’s get on with the adventure.
My computer dictionary defines “neophyte” as “a person who is new to a subject or skill”. I chose that name for my blog because I am both new to blogging and new to sailing - the subject of this blog.
This adventure started on land about five years ago when I began to realize for the first time that I was not going to live forever. What a concept!
My second realization was that most of my generation had it wrong. We were supposed to work until retirement and then have fun - and for most it was too late by then. The current “X” ers, or whatever the twenty and thirty somethings are called, have it right. Enjoy life as it goes when you are still young and healthy enough to get the most out of it. So I decided to join the X generation.
It’s not that I have had a boring life. I have had a very fulfilling business career that allowed me to travel the world; but there were still a few places I wanted to go and I wanted to live some of the adventures I had read about for years in National Geographic.
made a list and in the past four years, I hiked in Alaska, climbed the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu and hiked in Patagonia. All wonderful and exciting venues. That left only three essential things on my list: China, New Zealand and South Dakota.
Thanks to Tim, in a week or so, I will be headed for New Zealand aboard the Southern Star, a comfortable and safe 45’ Island Packet owned and captained by Mark who is a careful and accomplished sailor. I have prepared myself with sailing lessons and a ham radio license. My only fear is the sun and I have UV block clothing, lotions and hats so if I don’t do anything foolish, I should be all set.
So, let the games begin and let’s get on with the adventure.
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