At Mai Kai Marina, Bora Bora, Domino looks small compared to Megayacht SalpertonJune 25, 2014Huntington Beach, CaliforniaWe’re off the boat for the summer. It’s the first time we’re “abandoning” DOMINO in the five years we’ve been cruising, and I…
Munchkin Invasion
We’ve been busy with company the past week. First came Matt & Mandy and the Munchkins. (Franklin & Ellie). The first order of business was to get the two little ones acclimated to their life jackets. Surprisingly they wore them without any obje…
Added a few features
I added a Wishlist for the boat the other day. Not everything on this list will be required before the boat goes in the water. Just some forward thinking and dreaming. We’ll outfit the boat as we go and get what we need when we can afford it. I found a…
Alaska 2014 – East Side of Baranof
June 20, 2014, continued.
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| The shipwreck at the entrance to Olga Strait continues to rust away |
Departing Saook Inlet at 0850, in rain of course, we headed into Peril Strait towards Chatham Strait. Low clouds and rain limited visibility to only several miles. We followed Maximo, retracing our path through Thatcher Passage and past Warm Springs Bay. There were several Humpback whales feeding, but too far away for camera shots. There will be a purse seiner fishing opening soon, and the fishing boats were flocking to the harbors nearest Hidden Falls, where the opening is scheduled. Places like Takatz Bay, Cosmos Bay and Warm Springs Bay will all be full.
The wind picked up from the SE, along with the seas as we continued south past the tip of Admiralty Island’s Point Gardener, where the fetch from Frederick Sound increased the sea height and gave us pause as to continuing south. However, we knew the bays behind us were probably full, and the next closest anchorage was our destination, Red Bluff Bay, some 20 nautical miles further south. We just gritted our teeth, stowed loose gear and plowed through the sloppy, short seas until we were at the entrance to Red Bluff Bay, where both the wind and the seas disappeared and the skies briefly parted.
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| Red Bluff Bay Entrance – Large Magnetic Variations here |
Proceeding to the head of the bay we anchored at 1530 in a spot we had used before, since our favored spot was occupied by the charter vessel “Alaskan Song”. We had covered another 52 nautical miles, for a season total of 1119. Maximo had stopped at the entrance area to set their prawn pots on the way in, then came and anchored nearby.
Shortly after anchoring we went back and set prawn pots in our favorite location, which produced about 4 dozen nice spot prawns by 2000 that evening. The rain continued into the night.
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| One of nearly 100 waterfalls in Red bluff Bay when it rains hard |
June 21, 2014
After checking the prawn pots in the morning, getting a nice haul of another 10 dozen, we moved Spirit to our favorite spot, more sheltered from the SE gale that is predicted to occur this evening into Sunday morning. The rain continued without letup all day. Later in the afternoon two other pleasure craft, both from Orcas Island, joined Spirit and Maximo at the head of Red Bluff Bay. Aside from checking the prawn pots it was a good day to catch up on reading and relaxing onboard.
Late in the afternoon Patrick went halibut fishing in gruesome rain. After losing the bait three times, and with the seas coming in off of Chatham Strait Patrick returned and prepared the BBQ for the prawns that had been marinating all day. Steve Oberto came over for appetizers of grilled prawns on the BBQ and then both went to pick up the prawn pots. Numerous prawns were frozen for another day. While Patrick was gone, a megayacht came in, the Cielo Mare, and anchored in the middle of the bay.
After processing more prawns, and with the rain continuing as a tropical downpour, we called it a night and retired to bed with our books.
June 22, 2014
Hearing the wind pick up at 0400 Patrick checked on the anchor and it seemed to be OK. By 0600 however, the wind was gusting to 27 knots, bouncing off the hills and changing direction from SE to NW. The bay had changed color to muddy greenish brown from all the runoff. The steep hillsides were covered with new waterfalls bringing more silt down. Patrick put out more scope on the anchor and everything seemed fine. Checking the prawn pots in gusty winds and chop, along with heavy rain punctuated by periods of even heavier rain, we brought back our limit from the pots.
Turning on the Nobeltec navigation system, we discovered that the AmbientNav display had failed, so we jury-rigged the TV set from the forward stateroom, which can be used as a computer monitor, using Velcro to hold it in place until we can get a replacement in Sitka, and a permanent fix when we return in the fall.
June 23, 2014
We picked up the prawn pots on our way out of the bay at 0700 in driving rain. The seas were a little lumpy until we passed Point Gardener, where the wind calmed, the seas became glassy smooth and the fog set in.
Contacting SYS on the phone when in cell phone range, we found the display is repairable, so we will send it back to Seattle next week. Meanwhile the TV set is working fine as a navigational display monitor.
Continuing north in Chatham Strait we took an impromptu stop at a possible halibut hole, along with Maximo, who was already anchored in 200 feet of water. We pulled several hundred feet away and also anchored in 200 feet of water, the most we have ever done. Within 20 minutes we had hooked into a halibut, which when we finally got it to the surface, required harpooning due to the size. After slitting the gills, while still in the water we let the halibut tire out and then pulled it aboard with the harpoon rope. The halibut measured 49 inches, with a predicted weight from the tables of 56 pounds. We tried to weigh it, but it was more than our 50 pound scale could handle.
The halibut went onto ice and we continued to fish for another hour, but with no luck. Maximo also caught 2 halibut while there. We finally called it quits, since the tide was now running hard, and cruised into Rodman Bay where we anchored for the evening. The bay was carpet bombed with commercial crab pots making it an interesting anchoring exercise to avoid the floats.
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| Miriam’s Halibut – 56 pounds |
The halibut was filleted, portioned, vacuum sealed, and frozen until we transfer it to Big Blue Seafoods for storage and shipment to Bellevue.
June 24, 2014
Pulling the anchor at 0630 to hit slack current in Sergius Narrows, we headed across Peril Strait and investigated the public float at False Island. The float looks like a good alternative in stormy Peril Strait weather, tucked into a small sheltered cove on Chichagof Island. The skies partially cleared momentarily and we saw blue for the first time in days.
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| Another brown bear on the beach at False Island, Peril Strait |
Heading back west towards Sergius Narrows, our brief glimpse of the sun was replaced by fog and rain. The rest of the trip into Sitka was uneventful, just low visibility, often less than 500 yards. As we approached Sitka the skies lightened marginally as we docked at Eliason Basin, on the end tie of float 7.
We have now covered 1234 nautical miles on Spirit, and over 250 miles on the Grady White tender. The box score for fishing includes 5 halibut and 5 King salmon, countless Dungeness crabs and spot prawns, and even a few rockfish: not great, but a good start.
The next two days are maintenance days and housecleaning prior to the arrival of Jill and Vaughn Weedman, who will fish with us until July 1.
Maryland, New Jersey and New York
We had a nice visit with Tom’s family in Ocean City,
Maryland. His mother lives 15 minutes
away from the marina and we spent all but two nights sleeping off the boat at
her home. All three of us luxuriated in
baths almost every night and really slept soundly in her beds. We played cards
or other games each night and it was like we had never left. She had a small list of things to do mostly
in her kitchen area that was being updated.
Most items were completed quickly and we were happy to help out. We also did some other little items and some
cleaning but brother Jeff has been doing most of this work for the past six
years.
Maryland. His mother lives 15 minutes
away from the marina and we spent all but two nights sleeping off the boat at
her home. All three of us luxuriated in
baths almost every night and really slept soundly in her beds. We played cards
or other games each night and it was like we had never left. She had a small list of things to do mostly
in her kitchen area that was being updated.
Most items were completed quickly and we were happy to help out. We also did some other little items and some
cleaning but brother Jeff has been doing most of this work for the past six
years.
While we visited, a local mechanic sorted out problems with
a generator (new raw water and coolant pumps) and lugger transmission (reverse
plates missing and damaged seals from Africa repair). The work was more expensive than we have
grown used to but the work seemed to be done right and higher prices, I fear,
are going to be the norm from here on.
a generator (new raw water and coolant pumps) and lugger transmission (reverse
plates missing and damaged seals from Africa repair). The work was more expensive than we have
grown used to but the work seemed to be done right and higher prices, I fear,
are going to be the norm from here on.
As a bonus, Tom got to see his brother Mike working on the
kitchen and brother Jeff and sister-in-law Peggy and two of their 6 kids. Emily really enjoyed playing with Brian who
had latched on to her and never tired of playing games. We enjoyed being
paraded around to my mother’s bingo and AARP clubs and we even got interviewed
by Ocean City Today for an article about the circumnavigation.
kitchen and brother Jeff and sister-in-law Peggy and two of their 6 kids. Emily really enjoyed playing with Brian who
had latched on to her and never tired of playing games. We enjoyed being
paraded around to my mother’s bingo and AARP clubs and we even got interviewed
by Ocean City Today for an article about the circumnavigation.
After two weeks, we headed out to sea and after two quick
stops in Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, we found ourselves anchored just off
Liberty Park in New Jersey just across from New York City. We still cannot believe that there is a free,
protected anchorage near this city where most marinas charge about $200 per
night for dockage. The half-broken dingy dock that was here in 2008 is now gone
and we now have to dingy right under the Statue of Liberty torch and by Ellis
Island to leave the dingy at the expensive marina. From here we can take a $7 ferry right to the
World Trade center in Manhattan.
stops in Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, we found ourselves anchored just off
Liberty Park in New Jersey just across from New York City. We still cannot believe that there is a free,
protected anchorage near this city where most marinas charge about $200 per
night for dockage. The half-broken dingy dock that was here in 2008 is now gone
and we now have to dingy right under the Statue of Liberty torch and by Ellis
Island to leave the dingy at the expensive marina. From here we can take a $7 ferry right to the
World Trade center in Manhattan.
We stayed here for 5 nights exploring the city for two days.
On our first day, we saw the 911 memorial that was quite moving and the new
World Trade Center building (Freedom Tower) that was built while we were
traveling.
On our first day, we saw the 911 memorial that was quite moving and the new
World Trade Center building (Freedom Tower) that was built while we were
traveling.
We then took the subway
uptown to spend the day in the Museum of Natural History. We spent a full day
exploring the museum and barely scratched the surface. The pterosaur exhibit and the exhibit on
poisons were particularly well done.
One exhibit worked by standing on a special pad and flapping
your arms, you could control a live video of a flying and hunting
pterosaur. Emily understood that all the
information was being transmitted though her feet to the computer. The foot pads could detect arms flapping by
the fluctuating changes in foot pressure.
Pressure on the toes would cause the bird to dive for fish and pressure
on the heels would make him soar higher.
Left and right turns would be directed by the differences in pressure
caused by leaning…very well done.
your arms, you could control a live video of a flying and hunting
pterosaur. Emily understood that all the
information was being transmitted though her feet to the computer. The foot pads could detect arms flapping by
the fluctuating changes in foot pressure.
Pressure on the toes would cause the bird to dive for fish and pressure
on the heels would make him soar higher.
Left and right turns would be directed by the differences in pressure
caused by leaning…very well done.
Emily found it interesting that many of the poisons like the
tarantula, manchineel tree and
poison dart frogs had been seen (and handled) first hand! We also saw the Mysteries of the Unseen World in
their IMAX theatre.
tarantula, manchineel tree and
poison dart frogs had been seen (and handled) first hand! We also saw the Mysteries of the Unseen World in
their IMAX theatre.
Day two kept us closer to the boat and we spent the day
inside the Liberty Science Center which was about a 10 minute walk from our
anchorage. Although many of the exhibits
and interactive displays were geared toward kids younger than Emily, there was
still plenty to keep us amused all day.
A high cool factor was given to the 3D simulator that required remote
operation of two robotic arms to do delicate tasks like moving and transferring
small objects. Emily was much better at
this than Dad.
inside the Liberty Science Center which was about a 10 minute walk from our
anchorage. Although many of the exhibits
and interactive displays were geared toward kids younger than Emily, there was
still plenty to keep us amused all day.
A high cool factor was given to the 3D simulator that required remote
operation of two robotic arms to do delicate tasks like moving and transferring
small objects. Emily was much better at
this than Dad.
We also saw
two movies (Great White Shark and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar) in the nation’s largest IMAX dome theater. The domed screen is 88 feet in diameter and
seats 400 which is just a tad bigger than the 17” screen on Emily Grace.
After a quiet Sunday aboard doing homeschool and a few boat
repairs, we headed back to the city. Although the subway was crowded with morning rush hour
traffic, we did not experience 105 dB music, smell any stinkfruit (durian) or
see anyone carrying live goats or chickens.
repairs, we headed back to the city. Although the subway was crowded with morning rush hour
traffic, we did not experience 105 dB music, smell any stinkfruit (durian) or
see anyone carrying live goats or chickens.
The first stop was FAO Swartz (toy store) uptown near central park. Emily experienced culture shock with 3 floors
of toys. We next wandered around central
park seeing the Handsome cabs and did some people watching around the pond. We
found authentic Maine lobster rolls for lunch at Luke’s Lobster in the Plaza
food center.
of toys. We next wandered around central
park seeing the Handsome cabs and did some people watching around the pond. We
found authentic Maine lobster rolls for lunch at Luke’s Lobster in the Plaza
food center.
We strolled down 5th avenue enjoying the
elaborate window displays. St Patricks’
Cathedral was covered with scaffolding for renovations and Rockefeller center
was converted into a restaurant, so things were less impressive than we
remembered. Not discouraged though, we
rounded the corner a turned into a LEGO store.
Emily has not tired of LEGO and we even found a couple of bargains. She hand built 3 mini-figures and filled a
container with all the special pieces she could fit in a special cup.
elaborate window displays. St Patricks’
Cathedral was covered with scaffolding for renovations and Rockefeller center
was converted into a restaurant, so things were less impressive than we
remembered. Not discouraged though, we
rounded the corner a turned into a LEGO store.
Emily has not tired of LEGO and we even found a couple of bargains. She hand built 3 mini-figures and filled a
container with all the special pieces she could fit in a special cup.
We were back on the boat by late afternoon and slept good
again in the Liberty Park anchorage.
Tomorrow we will ride the 3-4 knot current up the East River through
Hell’s Gate and into Long Island sound.
Our plan is to slowly work our way back towards Groton and our old yacht
club in Pine Island by early July. Our
old car is still being revived after sitting for 6 years and we are uncertain
where we will find dockage while we unpack the boat. Any Readers with dockage in the area are
encouraged to let us know.
again in the Liberty Park anchorage.
Tomorrow we will ride the 3-4 knot current up the East River through
Hell’s Gate and into Long Island sound.
Our plan is to slowly work our way back towards Groton and our old yacht
club in Pine Island by early July. Our
old car is still being revived after sitting for 6 years and we are uncertain
where we will find dockage while we unpack the boat. Any Readers with dockage in the area are
encouraged to let us know.
Tom
Maryland, New Jersey and New York
We had a nice visit with Tom’s family in Ocean City, Maryland. His mother lives 15 minutes away from the marina and we spent all but two nights sleeping off the boat at her home. All three of us luxuriated in baths almost every night and really slept soundly in her beds. We played cards or other games each night and it was like we had never left. She had a small list of things to do mostly in her kitchen area that was being updated. Most items were completed quickly and we were happy to help out. We also did some other little items and some cleaning but brother Jeff has been doing most of this work for the past six years.
While we visited, a local mechanic sorted out problems with a generator (new raw water and coolant pumps) and lugger transmission (reverse plates missing and damaged seals from Africa repair). The work was more expensive than we have grown used to but the work seemed to be done right and higher prices, I fear, are going to be the norm from here on.
As a bonus, Tom got to see his brother Mike working on the kitchen and brother Jeff and sister-in-law Peggy and two of their 6 kids. Emily really enjoyed playing with Brian who had latched on to her and never tired of playing games. We enjoyed being paraded around to my mother’s bingo and AARP clubs and we even got interviewed by Ocean City Today for an article about the circumnavigation.
After two weeks, we headed out to sea and after two quick stops in Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, we found ourselves anchored just off Liberty Park in New Jersey just across from New York City. We still cannot believe that there is a free, protected anchorage near this city where most marinas charge about $200 per night for dockage. The half-broken dingy dock that was here in 2008 is now gone and we now have to dingy right under the Statue of Liberty torch and by Ellis Island to leave the dingy at the expensive marina. From here we can take a $7 ferry right to the World Trade center in Manhattan.
We stayed here for 5 nights exploring the city for two days. On our first day, we saw the 911 memorial that was quite moving and the new World Trade Center building (Freedom Tower) that was built while we were traveling.
We then took the subway uptown to spend the day in the Museum of Natural History. We spent a full day exploring the museum and barely scratched the surface. The pterosaur exhibit and the exhibit on poisons were particularly well done.
One exhibit worked by standing on a special pad and flapping your arms, you could control a live video of a flying and hunting pterosaur. Emily understood that all the information was being transmitted though her feet to the computer. The foot pads could detect arms flapping by the fluctuating changes in foot pressure. Pressure on the toes would cause the bird to dive for fish and pressure on the heels would make him soar higher. Left and right turns would be directed by the differences in pressure caused by leaning…very well done.
Emily found it interesting that many of the poisons like the tarantula, manchineel tree and poison dart frogs had been seen (and handled) first hand! We also saw the Mysteries of the Unseen World in their IMAX theatre.
Day two kept us closer to the boat and we spent the day inside the Liberty Science Center which was about a 10 minute walk from our anchorage. Although many of the exhibits and interactive displays were geared toward kids younger than Emily, there was still plenty to keep us amused all day. A high cool factor was given to the 3D simulator that required remote operation of two robotic arms to do delicate tasks like moving and transferring small objects. Emily was much better at this than Dad.
We also saw two movies (Great White Shark and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar) in the nation’s largest IMAX dome theater. The domed screen is 88 feet in diameter and seats 400 which is just a tad bigger than the 17” screen on Emily Grace.
After a quiet Sunday aboard doing homeschool and a few boat repairs, we headed back to the city. Although the subway was crowded with morning rush hour traffic, we did not experience 105 dB music, smell any stinkfruit (durian) or see anyone carrying live goats or chickens.
The first stop was FAO Swartz (toy store) uptown near central park. Emily experienced culture shock with 3 floors of toys. We next wandered around central park seeing the Handsome cabs and did some people watching around the pond. We found authentic Maine lobster rolls for lunch at Luke’s Lobster in the Plaza food center.
We strolled down 5th avenue enjoying the elaborate window displays. St Patricks’ Cathedral was covered with scaffolding for renovations and Rockefeller center was converted into a restaurant, so things were less impressive than we remembered. Not discouraged though, we rounded the corner a turned into a LEGO store. Emily has not tired of LEGO and we even found a couple of bargains. She hand built 3 mini-figures and filled a container with all the special pieces she could fit in a special cup.
We were back on the boat by late afternoon and slept good again in the Liberty Park anchorage. Tomorrow we will ride the 3-4 knot current up the East River through Hell’s Gate and into Long Island sound. Our plan is to slowly work our way back towards Groton and our old yacht club in Pine Island by early July. Our old car is still being revived after sitting for 6 years and we are uncertain where we will find dockage while we unpack the boat. Any Readers with dockage in the area are encouraged to let us know.
Tom
Day 165…Laughing Gull
Welcome to day 165 of 365 photos…this Laughing Gull was sitting on a post at the park and as he flew, I snapped a burst of photos. With not much time to bring the camera up, aim and snap, I rushed a bit. When I brought the photos into Lightroom, I thought that I would… Continue Reading
The post Day 165…Laughing Gull appeared first on Moosetique Musing.
Crystal River and the Withlacoochee River Videos
Beach House and crew would like to share a couple of short videos taken as we cruised some of the rivers in the Big Bend section of the Florida Gulf coast.This one is from the Gulf of Mexico, up the Crystal River to Kings Bay. The Withlacooche River fr…
Another Book List and a visit to the Deggendorf Library
NMYC Yacht Club, Deggendorf
Day 52 of 90..
Guten Tag,
It has been especially good today as we finally GOT SOME RAIN !!!! The river levels are forecasted to rise so hopefully we’ll be on our way tomorrow to Passau which is our final stop in Germany. Our next country will be Austria, also a Schengen country […]
EUREKA – HISTORIC SYRACUSE
Envoy is now in western Sicily’s Egadi Islands.
Next stop was Syracuse – first settled 3,000 years ago, a major city by the 4th century BC, and once one of the most powerful in the Med, “rivaling Athens in prestige” to quote Lonely Planet. Here Archimedes was born in 287 BC, and lived until he was accidentally killed during a Roman invasion. Grand Harbour, protected by Ortygia Island, is sheltered in most conditions, and we anchored off the town to sit out an approaching front with winds expected up to 30 knots. In fact we got a few days of winds only in the low 20s with occasional gusts to 30, but it was very rough in the open sea and we were pleased to be safely in shelter with our floppers stoppers down to reduce roll..JPG)
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Next stop was Syracuse – first settled 3,000 years ago, a major city by the 4th century BC, and once one of the most powerful in the Med, “rivaling Athens in prestige” to quote Lonely Planet. Here Archimedes was born in 287 BC, and lived until he was accidentally killed during a Roman invasion. Grand Harbour, protected by Ortygia Island, is sheltered in most conditions, and we anchored off the town to sit out an approaching front with winds expected up to 30 knots. In fact we got a few days of winds only in the low 20s with occasional gusts to 30, but it was very rough in the open sea and we were pleased to be safely in shelter with our floppers stoppers down to reduce roll.
Waves breaking on the shores of Syracuse as front passes
This fortress at the entrance to Syracuse is off-limits as still in use by the military
Sadly the sea is too polluted by sewage coming from the land for swimming or use of the water maker; in fact we’ve found sewage odours to be quite common in harbours so far – part of a wider problem of poor infrastructure quality in Sicily.
After the front passed it became fine and sunny with temps in the mid-high 20s; everybody says the Med summer is late this year – maybe it’s arrived at last!
One day we visited the dark and eerie Catacomb of San Giovanni, where passageways beneath the church have about 10,000 niches carved out of solid rock to hold the dead. These date from the 3rd century and were built into aqueducts dating from the classic Greek period several centuries earlier. No human remains are visible today, and these sites have been targeted by grave robbers throughout the centuries, who’ve long since taken items of value. You wouldn’t want to get lost in here!
Grave sites in the Catacomb of San Giovanni
Plan showing layout of the underground Catacombs
The cobbled lanes of Ortygia’s Old Town are fascinating to wander through, and history seems to have blended well with present day functionality.
Stunning courtyard of a Venetian mansion
Cathedral in Ortygia’s del Duomo Piazza
Sicily has a three-legged symbol, similar to the Isle of Man’s – apparently it came from the Normans who brought the symbol to both places
Syracuse has an interesting food market – far smaller and quieter than Catania’s but where it’s easier to wander around, smell the roses and chat with stallholders about their wares.
Fabulous delicatessen at Syracuse market
Hiring a car is expensive in Sicily at about 75 Euros (NZ$117) per day, but we explored the nearby countryside, finding it relatively quiet and traffic-free, with a huge amount and variety of agricultural activity including wheat, grapes (Sicily has stunning wine), olives and citrus fruits.
Church in village of Palazzo Acreide
We also stumbled across a fascinating typical Sicilian cemetery with numerous family mausoleums, some of the older ones being about the size of small houses.
Typical family mausoleum
One of the larger mausoleums
I felt safe withdrawing cash at this ATM with mounted police nearby
TECHNICAL – nothing to report
LOG – As at 8/6/14, we’d spent 62 days aboard and cruised 602 miles for 97 engine hours.
