Did I mention that a Pershing 64 is the yacht equivalent of a Lamborghini? Well in fact I did (see my last article( Life in the Fast Lane: Italian Style”) and it truly is!As I started to write this article at 12:36 PM on Thursday we had just enco…
Follow us on Google Earth
FYI
If you want to follow along with us on Google Earth, here is the link that shows where we have been but also gives you an idea of where we will be going. We are on our way to Germany and the Rhine. We should be there in a few days.
http://cruisingtips.net/maps/wheresdoramac.php
Ru
An alarm sounded which always gets my attention…
The damaged culprit
As we passed through the final lock in our transit through The Panama Canal a nasty and shrill alarm sounded. The hydraulic alarm was complaining that it was showing a low fluid level in the hydraulic tank.
Mane…
An alarm sounded which always gets my attention…
The damaged culprit As we passed through the final lock in our transit through The Panama Canal a nasty and shrill alarm sounded. The hydraulic alarm was complaining that it was showing a low fluid level in the hydraulic tank.Maneuvering through t…
Let’s go for a walk…
Most of you know that there is a park nearby that I favor for walking. Many times I go there and don’t see much in the way of wildlife or birds. The scenery makes it an interesting walk even without wildlife. Walking over and around the salt marsh, watching the waves lap on the shore, … Continue Reading
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Day 125 – 365 Project…Sunrise
Welcome to day 125 of 365 photos…this is the sunrise yesterday looking across the White Oak River. It is pretty rare for me to be up for a sunrise these days so I thought I would share it a day late. I stopped just before the bridge to Swansboro when I saw how pretty the… Continue Reading
The post Day 125 – 365 Project…Sunrise appeared first on Moosetique Musing.
Florida to Georgia
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We grabbed a $20
per night mooring from the St. Augustine Municipal Marina and enjoyed their
nice dingy dock and WiFi from the boat.
The town was picturesque but we decided to head straight for Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. It was a quirky collection of items
collected around the world by one man.
We explained to Emily that as kids we would read about little bits and
pieces of this collection weekly in our local town newspaper. We were delighted that he had items from the
many parts of the world that we had also seen, like Fiji, Vanuatu and Tahiti.
Some of the items like this enormous carving from solid ivory were
breathtaking.
per night mooring from the St. Augustine Municipal Marina and enjoyed their
nice dingy dock and WiFi from the boat.
The town was picturesque but we decided to head straight for Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. It was a quirky collection of items
collected around the world by one man.
We explained to Emily that as kids we would read about little bits and
pieces of this collection weekly in our local town newspaper. We were delighted that he had items from the
many parts of the world that we had also seen, like Fiji, Vanuatu and Tahiti.
Some of the items like this enormous carving from solid ivory were
breathtaking.
And many were simply
silly.
silly.
We toured the
Castillo San Marcos fort and enjoyed a guided tour from a knowledgeable
historian. He gave detailed information
about the design and construction of the fort and explained that it was never
breached although attacked many times.
Castillo San Marcos fort and enjoyed a guided tour from a knowledgeable
historian. He gave detailed information
about the design and construction of the fort and explained that it was never
breached although attacked many times.
Another day we
enjoyed the Lightner museum and Flagler College. We learned that Flagler made millions in
Railroads and built much of this town.
The museum and college were once his hotels and he also built a
magnificent church in memory of his daughter who died shortly after childbirth.
enjoyed the Lightner museum and Flagler College. We learned that Flagler made millions in
Railroads and built much of this town.
The museum and college were once his hotels and he also built a
magnificent church in memory of his daughter who died shortly after childbirth.
After 3 nights in
St. Augustine, we motored up the ditch (intracoastal waterway) and anchored
right off a stately southern plantation.
The Kingsley Plantation has now been taken over by the Park system so
the dock and a self-guided 2 hour tour (using an I-Phone) were all free. This
plantation was unique in that Kingsley (a white man) had bought a (black) slave
girl and made her his wife. She was
ultimately freed by him but owned and ruled over several slaves herself in her
lifetime. We enjoyed seeing the
plantation house, stables and kitchen and the slave houses that were arranged
in a village-like semi-circle. This was
a lovely, peaceful stop with quiet starlit nights and dolphins surfacing all
around our home.
With the wind and
seas calm, we headed off shore for the trip north to St. Marys River. We tucked in the mouth of the river and
turned north to enter Georgia and anchor off Cumberland Island. This is also 90% national park land and free
to us cruisers. The island had several mansions built by the Carnegie family (founder
of US Steel) and the family horses were set free to roam here forever.
seas calm, we headed off shore for the trip north to St. Marys River. We tucked in the mouth of the river and
turned north to enter Georgia and anchor off Cumberland Island. This is also 90% national park land and free
to us cruisers. The island had several mansions built by the Carnegie family (founder
of US Steel) and the family horses were set free to roam here forever.
We
joined in on a 1 hour guided tour by a ranger that had lived on this island for
31 years. Understandably, she was very knowledgeable
about the history and island wildlife.
We saw the Dungeness Mansion that was burned down in the 1950s but
was still imposing.
We had time to walk to the Ocean side and enjoy the beach and the wildlife.
The wind and seas
were still light 2 days later and we decided to push out to sea for an
overnight passage to Charleston. I am
writing this blog while offshore and out of sight of land. The seas are silky smooth with barely a
ripple. Long period swells are rolling in from Africa and our home is slowly
rising and falling as if we are riding on the back of an enormous, breathing
creature.
We plan to be on a mooring on the
Ashley river and in sight of the dock where we first saw Emily Grace and purchased her in 2006. We have a symbiotic relationship, this little
ship and I. I have mended her when she
was broken and she has sheltered us from storms and raging seas. I wonder, Dear
Reader, if Emily Grace will remember
her previous life or is now content in the life she shares with our small
family.
Ashley river and in sight of the dock where we first saw Emily Grace and purchased her in 2006. We have a symbiotic relationship, this little
ship and I. I have mended her when she
was broken and she has sheltered us from storms and raging seas. I wonder, Dear
Reader, if Emily Grace will remember
her previous life or is now content in the life she shares with our small
family.
Tom
Florida to Georgia
We grabbed a $20 per night mooring from the St. Augustine Municipal Marina and enjoyed their nice dingy dock and WiFi from the boat. The town was picturesque but we decided to head straight for Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. It was a quirky collection of items collected around the world by one man. We explained to Emily that as kids we would read about little bits and pieces of this collection weekly in our local town newspaper. We were delighted that he had items from the many parts of the world that we had also seen, like Fiji, Vanuatu and Tahiti. Some of the items like this enormous carving from solid ivory were breathtaking.
And many were simply silly.
We toured the Castillo San Marcos fort and enjoyed a guided tour from a knowledgeable historian. He gave detailed information about the design and construction of the fort and explained that it was never breached although attacked many times.
Another day we enjoyed the Lightner museum and Flagler College. We learned that Flagler made millions in Railroads and built much of this town. The museum and college were once his hotels and he also built a magnificent church in memory of his daughter who died shortly after childbirth.
After 3 nights in St. Augustine, we motored up the ditch (intracoastal waterway) and anchored right off a stately southern plantation.
The Kingsley Plantation has now been taken over by the Park system so the dock and a self-guided 2 hour tour (using an I-Phone) were all free. This plantation was unique in that Kingsley (a white man) had bought a (black) slave girl and made her his wife. She was ultimately freed by him but owned and ruled over several slaves herself in her lifetime. We enjoyed seeing the plantation house, stables and kitchen and the slave houses that were arranged in a village-like semi-circle. This was a lovely, peaceful stop with quiet starlit nights and dolphins surfacing all around our home.
With the wind and seas calm, we headed off shore for the trip north to St. Marys River. We tucked in the mouth of the river and turned north to enter Georgia and anchor off Cumberland Island. This is also 90% national park land and free to us cruisers. The island had several mansions built by the Carnegie family (founder of US Steel) and the family horses were set free to roam here forever.
We joined in on a 1 hour guided tour by a ranger that had lived on this island for 31 years. Understandably, she was very knowledgeable about the history and island wildlife. We saw the Dungeness Mansion that was burned down in the 1950s but was still imposing.
We had time to walk to the Ocean side and enjoy the beach and the wildlife.
The wind and seas were still light 2 days later and we decided to push out to sea for an overnight passage to Charleston. I am writing this blog while offshore and out of sight of land. The seas are silky smooth with barely a ripple. Long period swells are rolling in from Africa and our home is slowly rising and falling as if we are riding on the back of an enormous, breathing creature.
We plan to be on a mooring on the Ashley river and in sight of the dock where we first saw Emily Grace and purchased her in 2006. We have a symbiotic relationship, this little ship and I. I have mended her when she was broken and she has sheltered us from storms and raging seas. I wonder, Dear Reader, if Emily Grace will remember her previous life or is now content in the life she shares with our small family.
Tom
FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf: They’re Getting Close…
Peter Watson and his intrepid crew aboard FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf are now just a few days’ from Panama. Keep up with their progress on Berthon’s web site. Of particular interest may be Peter’s comments after now having voyaged over 6,000 nm in the last two months.
Leaving Legacy
Now back at our home-port, comfortably tied up at The Bluffs Marina in Jupiter, I’ve finally found a few minutes to write a post.
The West Coast Of Florida Tour was a great success; from Marina Jack’s at Sarasota to Legacy Harbour in downtown Ft. Myers, and over to Longboat Cay Mooring, we’ve managed to make everybody’s life online a lot better.
The onSpot wifi guys did a great job.
All of our installs are challenging, but Legacy Harbour Marina was an especially difficult undertaking.
It took more than just mounting the smart gear and turning ’em on, we had to break some rules, technically going where others won’t go and doing what others don’t.
Most of the support and tips the Ruckus techs offered up didn’t work, we were on our own.
We say we build Better Marina WiFi Hotspots and we didn’t stop till that was true.
Eric, Legacy’s Harbourmaster, offering tips to Will on operating the manlift.
Just putting the Access Point high atop the marina office was an obstacle. We had to utilize a lift to get it up there.
But the real problems were to come from these Hi-Rise Condo Towers adjacent to the marina.
The radio frequency interference blasting from these towers can render most WiFi hotspots useless.
After the installation was complete, we ran our first tests and were amazed at how quick the network was. Immediately we were seeing blazing speeds. We were cautiously pleased to find our worries about the towers were unfounded and our smart gear was truly outsmarting the RF noise.
The boaters at the marina were ecstatic.
So we tested till late that night then tested again early the next morning and found the same thing. Fast, real fast.
As usual, I stay around after the install to provide boater support and do onsite, real life, monitoring. It proved to be a good thing, two days later the network came to a creeping crawl. Something had broken.
The boaters weren’t happy anymore.
So we went to work on figuring out the problem and soon we found it.
Not only are the huge condo towers an RF nightmare, over on the other side of the marina is a large cell tower that is using the same 2.4Ghz frequency that we use. What we were experiencing was the radio frequency equivalent to the perfect storm.
Our very strong hotspot was causing disruption on the cell provider’s network so they turned up their signal, effectively blasting us out of the park with their more powerful equipment.
So back to the drawing board.
We can make most changes remotely via the net, but this was an extraordinary situation. So onSpot loaded up with test gear and a few spare parts and headed back to Legacy Harbour.
To make this tediously long story short, we fixed it. Not only did we have to step out of the proverbial box, we had to throw the box in the trash. Almost everything the Ruckus smart guys had us try didn’t work and almost all our past experience didn’t apply.
But, after a couple of days of, “what ifs and let’s see”, we fixed it.
Like all things worth doing, Legacy’s still a work in progress, but their network’s running fast and reliably — at the speeds we guarantee.
Constant Improvement.
As Mel and I left the marina, heading back to Jupiter, I left my web-cam on to record our departure and to see how far our network reached… all the way out to the entrance of the marina.
Perfect.
The proof’s in the pudding
Adios,
Istaboa
P.S. I know most of you tune in for stuff about cruising and boats and we’ll be headed to the islands pretty soon. Mixing business with pleasure, we’re building a new network at Staniel Cay, Exumas. They’ve been needing it for a long time.
Should be fun in many ways.
Nordhavn Exumas Abacos Bahamas trawler Caribbean Pickwick Boat dogs
Memphis Downtown
Memphis Downtown
