MAJOR PROGRESS ON ENVOY’S FIRE DAMAGE REPAIR

By on May 22, 2017 in Envoy
Envoy is in Lefkas Marina undergoing repairs for cosmetic damage caused by fire on an adjacent boat while we’re living ashore in a nearby village.
Tomorrow, Tuesday it’s a month since we got back to Lefkas and progress seems to have been painfully slow, but on Friday we got the insurer’s approval to proceed with repairs and our repair contractor, YachtPaint, started today. In fact they were on the job by 0830 – the earliest we can ever recall a contractor turning up for work on Envoy. Let’s hope that’s a good omen!

We had expected repairs to start much sooner but with insurance there is a process to go through and here’s a timeline of this whole affair so far:

Tue 25/4: arrive Lefkas the day of fire
Thu 27/4: meet assessor and YachtPaint manager
Fri 28/4: receive quote from YachtPaint to clean Envoy of fire debris and forward to insurer
Sun 30/4: organise accommodation and rental car as we can’t live on board
Tue 1/5: insurers approve cleaning quote
Thu 4/5 – Fri 5/5: crane hoists RHIB down from Envoy and YachtPaint clean Envoy so damage can be properly inspected
Tue 9/5: assessor returns for full joint inspection with YachtPaint and us. Degree of damage identified and YachtPaint to quote for total repair
Wed 10/5: original expected cruising start date
Fri 12/5: meet YachtPaint at Envoy to discuss repair quote
Sat 13/5: Sailand and I list all rigging needing replacement
Mon 16/5: Sailand remove all broken windows and portholes and send to glass factory. I obtain quote for 3 soot-damaged covers that need replacing. YachtPaint’s quote received and forwarded to assessor, who sends to insurer
Tues 17/5: Sailand do a considerable amount of non fire-related work
Fri 20/5: insurer’s verbal approval to proceed obtained. YachtPaint advised
Mon 22/5: insurer’s written approval expected. YachtPaint start work
Sat 24/6: projected completion date
Fri 30/6: projected launch and sea trial date
Tues 4/7: projected departure and start cruising date

Looking back it doesn’t seem so bad to get repair work started four weeks after the event, although with the benefit of hindsight we could probably have saved a few days. Presuming everything now goes according to plan we will have lost nearly two months of our 2017 cruising season.
There’s still quite a bit of non fire-related work to do, the biggest job being an overhaul of the Naiad hydraulic stabilisers expected to take 4-5 days. We’ll be doing our best to have work done concurrently, although it’s not possible during grinding, sanding and spraying.

Segway Tour in the Distillery District

By on May 21, 2017 in Boatel

If you have never been on a Segway, here’s your chance to go on a guided tour on a Segway with the folks at GO Tours Canada conveniently located in the heart of the Distillery at 30 Gristmill Lane. We recently did the … Continue reading →

Segway Tour in the Distillery District

By on May 21, 2017 in Boatel

If you have never been on a Segway, here’s your chance to go on a guided tour on a Segway with the folks at GO Tours Canada conveniently located in the heart of the Distillery at 30 Gristmill Lane. We recently did the … Continue reading →

May 20 – Waterford, NY

By on May 21, 2017 in The Pearl

Waterford Canal Welcome Center

“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?” ― Hunter S. Thompson

Our decision not to leave with the crowd yesterday was a good one. It was fun to watch the boats moving west through Waterford, but getting to enjoy the Troy Framers Market today was even better. We took the Black Bridge Trail over to Troy again…what an easy way to get around. 
CONTINUE READING HERE…»

May 19 – Waterford, NY

By on May 20, 2017 in The Pearl

Waterford Canal Welcome Center

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” —C.S. Lewis

Today was the day…the Erie Canal opened for it’s 193rd year. This year marks the beginning of their Bicentennial Celebration. After a little entertainment and many speeches from state and canal dignitaries the boat horns were blown and the locks were officially opened. Most of the boats on the dock and even more boats that moved up the Hudson came through today. I’m glad we decided to wait a few days.
CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Newport to Grand Banks

By on May 20, 2017 in M/V Dirona

The first seven days of our 2,800nm passage from Newport RI to Kinsale, Ireland were a battle. We battled negative Bay of Fundy currents, low-pressure systems, and a water-ingress issue that threatened the boat and took us ten hours to resolve. On the positive side, we also got a push from the Gulf Stream and…

Provisioning our way to Petersburg

By on May 19, 2017 in M/V Alpenglow

Our usual practice upon departing Ketchikan after first arriving in Alaska is to start trying to fill the freezer with seafood.  For us the easiest are prawns and crabs.  We left Ketchikan the morning of Friday, May 12 and headed to Fitzgibbo…

19 May 2017 Shelter Cove Marina, Hilton Head Island, SC

By on May 19, 2017 in Kindred Spirit III

    With this blog, I’m the bearer of good news. Instead of sending a notice to your inbox every time we post, if you would like to follow our blog, when you open it, there’s an obvious option to “subscribe”. If you chose that, you’ll receive a notification. If not, then you’re spared the boredom of these missives. We hope you elect to follow us. Never now where we may show up.

     Yesterday, Thursday, was our last day on Hilton Head. We had 1 more restaurant to check off our list so we cycled to Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks on Skull Creek. We lunched on their deck and the food was totally outstanding. As we were about to leave a very long sea creature swam up near the shore so all the diners sprang to their feet with cameras poised. It looked like a gator but they aren’t in salt water so must’ve been a croc…? Wonder what the interaction would be between it and dolphins?



                             What is it? Looks quite at home in salt water.

                                A close up look at Neptune’s Trident

     Loved our bicycle trip on these safe and dedicated trails. For the most part, they’re shaded making for a comfy ride. HHI’s got to rank among the top best and safest bicycling towns. As much as we enjoy HHI, the ONLY way I could live there is if we had a heliport. Traffic is horrendous and we inquired about proposals to remedy the issue and there are none. Many times we’d pass motorists on our bikes and quite a distance later, they’d catch up with us but they never progressed faster than we did.
     A perfect ending to a magnificent month was to relax on our fly bridge last night sipping adult beverages and listening to The Headliners entertain for 3 hours. Lots of shagging happening. People-watching during this event is very engaging and most interesting.
     This morning we bid adieu to our slip neighbors, Darah and Mike. They were delightful folks to live next to, in fact the entire dock was very enjoyable.
     We’d hoped to get a picture of us, Neptune, and Kindred Spirit III in the background but it never pays to tarry. Had we not put it off…. Can barely see more than our enclosure and even though the tide is rising, it won’t be high tide till 3 PM and we’ve gotta make tracks so that we don’t hit (not literally) the low spots. 

   
     We included a few shots of the wake we left as we departed. Love Shelter Cove but sure feels and sounds good to feel the water moving beneath our hull again as we are Charleston/Mt.  bound. When I think of HHI, only Shelter Cove comes to mind. Why go any place else—shopping, dining…it’s all right there.

Dock office and marina store

We included a few shots of the wake we left as we departed. Love Shelter Cove but sure feels and sounds good to feel the water moving beneath our hull again as we are Charleston/Mt.  bound. When I think of HHI, only Shelter Cove comes to mind.Why go any place else—shopping, dining…it’s all right there.


        Love the wind in my face and tousled hair. Feels blissful.
Bill and Laura
At anchor somewhere south of Charleston, SC

May 18 – Waterford, NY

By on May 19, 2017 in The Pearl

Waterford Canal Welcome Center

“What if, instead of thinking we have to choose between our ordinary life and an extraordinary life, we began to realize they’re the same thing?” ―Emily P. Freeman

The Eric Canal is scheduled open tomorrow and the Welcome Center was a busy place today as flags were hung, bleachers were set up, wires were laid for speakers and the yard was mowed. It was another extremely hot day, so we took our new blow up kayak out for a spin. It felt wonderful being on the water. We paddled over to Peebles Island…Stan fished and I did a little hiking and a lot of relaxing. 
CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Newport Yachting Center

By on May 19, 2017 in M/V Dirona

Newport Yachting Center was a wonderful place to live for a few weeks as we staged for our Atlantic crossing. The marina had just put its docks back in the water the week prior to our arrival, but we didn’t realize just how early we were in their season until we’d been there a month…