May 8 – Great Bridge, VA

By on May 9, 2016 in The Pearl

Great Bridge Historical Park Free Dock

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” —Dalai Lama

Great Bridge is one of my favorite places to sit and relax. I love to watch the show of boat on the river…the bridge opens on the hour so you know exactly when each performance is going to take place. The bridge blows a horn to warn all that it is about to open then it lowers the barrier arms to stop traffic and the show begins. Everything from small fishing boats to huge yachts, tugs and barges parade by. Through the years we’ve spent a lot of time here and the show never gets old.
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PHOTO OF THE WEEK – Sea Fan Garden AE

By on May 9, 2016 in Avatar

The story behind SEA FAN GARDEN AE… A brand new addition to my online gallery, this is Sea Fan Garden AE photographed near Culebrita Island in Puerto Rico just last week. As we embarked on our month long Caribbean cruise in April, I Read More …

Solving the Jigsaw Puzzle

By on May 9, 2016 in M/V Alpenglow

Most of the significant navigational challenges along the Inside Passage (i.e., Strait of Georgia, Cape Caution, Dixon Entrance) are solved the same way. You wait for the weather to settle down, either the wind or wave height (often both since wind is the main driver of wave height), and go for it.

Halfway up Vancouver Island, however, is a challenge that requires putting together multiple factors. Coming down from the northend of Vancouver Island is Johnstone Straight. Coming up from the southend is the Strait of Georgia. Where they meet are a multitude of islands between the Vancouver Island and the mainland joined by several fiord like inlets that penetrate the mainland. There is a lot of water sloshing through here creating a dozen or so named rapids with tidal currents that will change from as high as 13 knots (about 15 miles per hour) in one direction to 13 knots in the opposite direction over a period of six hours.

The winds play a factor as Vancouver Island is a major impediment to weather systems. The channels between the islands and inlets jutting into the mainland become the routes of choice for the winds associated with the high or low pressure areas moving between the Pacific Ocean and the North American continent.

When the direction of the often strong winds oppose that of the often strong currents, the waves created by the wind will become short in period and steep. Travel in those conditions will become difficult, unpleasant or, at times, unsafe. If the winds and current move in the same direction, however, you can speed along relatively comfortably several knots higher than your normal cruising pace.

Figuring out a route, there are three main routes with several variations, becomes a puzzle of monitoring the weather forecast and timing the currents through the various rapids. We’ve traveled through here thirteen times (either north or south) and the exact route we take is seldom known until a day or two before we actually do it.

This year’s trip involved taking the middle route through the Octopus Islands then using Mayne Passage to switch to the eastern route closest to the mainland. The final leg, a fourteen mile section in Johnstone Strait before cutting up into the more protected waters of the Broughton Archipelago was a bit of a bash in 20-25 knot winds opposing current.

We hope to round Cape Caution in the next day or so and complete the second half of the route to Ketchikan and little more expeditiously than the first half.

Find my iPad!

By on May 8, 2016 in Change of Latitude

 (Continued…)

VULAGA – FULANGA

By on May 8, 2016 in Domino
VULAGA  (AKA FULAGA)



May 9, 2016
OPUA, NZ –  
This will be my last post for a while as we are leaving NZ this afternoon… HELLO Minerva Reef and Fiji.  So, I’m catching up on the last of the Laus we visited, the lovely Vulaga.

In the village of Navadamu, as in the other 2 villages, women gather clams and prepare them for shipping to Suva

 Hush… what was once the best kept secret in the Lau Group is now a source of delight for many cruisers.  There was a time when only a handful of yachts would head into the Easterlies and beat up to Vulaga, the southernmost of the islands of the Lau Group.  However, times have changed.  Last year, some 50 yachts visited this paradise.

Before fishing inside the lagoon, make sure that you are not dropping your line into a “tapu” area
Ask the Chief and your family during the SevuSevu ceremony

I won’t post pictures, because if you haven’t been there yet, you want to be surprised and delighted.  So, the only things I will talk about are the pass and the village anchorage.
Use Waypoints 7-11 to come in.
Tested by DOMINO (1.2 m  draft) and several other yachts in our group, with deeper draft
Before coming into the lagoon, it’s not a bad idea to call VULAGA RADIO on Ch.16.  Either Sarah (the nurse) or Sikelli (her husband) or Joe (Sikelli’s brother) will respond and confirm the tide time.

Plenty of room to anchor at the village.
Go to shore immediately, walk 20 minutes up the trail, and bring your yangona!!!!
The pass is pretty tricky, a dogleg, and a bit narrow.  Coming in, stay close to the black rock on port, as the reef is pretty shallow on starboard.   Best time to go through (check tide table at MOALA): About the same time as high tide and  almost 2 hours after low tide.  We got at the pass early (in both directions) and waited for slack, but this is about right.


Once inside the lagoon, it’s pretty smooth sailing, as long as you keep a good lookout.  The village anchorage is in 5-7 meters, good sand, very good holding.  To dinghy ashore, be prepared to shuttle your little craft back and forth or, better, consider kayaking.
Either way, the villagers are absolutely delightful.  Go do your SevuSevu ceremony and the Chief will assign you a family.  Make sure you go to church with your family on Sunday and enjoy the singing!  ‘nuff said!, you need to discover the rest for yourself.
Till next time….

dominomarie

2016-11 Lowe Inlet to Prince Rupert

By on May 8, 2016 in Wild Blue

Sunday, May 8, 2016Rather than fight the current, we opt to “sleep in” until 9.  Then we’re back on the Grenville northward using any current in our favor.  Gray turns to light clouds, then sun and wind as the morning becomes afternoon.In Nor…

May 6 – 8, 2016 Pensacola

By on May 8, 2016 in Last Trade

May 6 – It was kinda chilly when we got up and it’s still just 65 after 9 am.  We decided to ride our bikes to the Pensacola Hardware store because Josh needed a part and this hardware store has all kinds of things.  Yup,  it had what he…

[MVStarr] We Are Back Home at SBMC

By on May 8, 2016 in M/V Starr

Starr departed Kaneohe, Oahu on Friday April 10 and Arrived home at Salmon Bay Marine Center on Saturday morning April 23.

Details of the Passage: 13 days
Distance – 2430.nm
Hours running time: 313 hrs
Genset hours, 169 hrs
SOG average -7 .75 kn
Fuel – 1.15 g/nm
(This is higher fuel consumption than normal. Our standard cruising speed is 1450 rpm; 5 of 13 days,we ran at 1600 rpm in order to help drive into heavy head seas.)

Part I – Fixing Things: We hurried home in order to be ready to host Suma Yacht Club for Opening Day at Seattle Yacht Club on May 7, but we had some work to do to get Starr ready.

1. Locate and repair the water leak into our main guest stateroom:

Lexan Cover on Portlight
Lexan Cover on Portlight

Don built a dam against the stateroom’s port light and flooded it slowly with a hose until the source of the leak became apparent.
Don built a dam
Don built a dam

Port light pad eye that caused the leak
Port light pad eye that caused the leak

The water test showed that a stainless steel pad eye was poorly bedded. When we did the refit, we used Sikaflex 291 bedding rather than 3M 5200.

We had also used fine threaded screws that were too small. After the water test Don removed all 14 pad eyes, cleaned them off, roughed them up with course sandpaper to give more tooth, re-bedded them with 5200, and then used #12 self tapping screws.

When Don turned the boat around to re-bred the starboard pad eyes he found that we were missing the 5 ft x 1ft x1/2 inch Lexan port light storm cover. YES, we had it on when we departed Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Missing the storm cover and 4 of 6 padeyes on the starboard portlight .
Missing the storm cover and 4 of 6 padeyes on the starboard portlight .

There is a 6-inch vertical scratch just below the front of the storm cover which suggests that we might have hit something that caused us to lose the stormcover.
There is a 6-inch vertical scratch just below the front of the storm cover which suggests that we might have hit something that caused us to lose the stormcover.

2. Diagnosis of unfamiliar noise coming from the prop shaft:

While turning the boat around Don noticed a noise from the propeller. Upon inspecting the propeller and shaft, we found that the Spur F2 line cutting V block was torn apart. http://www.spursmarine.com

We had picked up nets in the prop twice on our passage home, but what is confusing is that the cutting blades on the Spurs don’t have any nicks nor do they show any other damage. We identified the problem, but will have to replace the broken holding block and the spur assembly when we haul out in the Fall.

Spurs
Spurs

Trashed V block- missing a ½” thick section
Trashed V block- missing a ½” thick section

The divers from Emerald City Diving
The divers from Emerald City Diving

Then we spent a lot of time Cleaning and Polishing to be ready for the Main Event!

Part II – The Main Event: Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day with our friends from Suma Yacht Club It was as glorious day in Seattle on Saturday, May 7.

Sharry, Azusa (our Japanese daughter), Donna (Don’s sister), Captain Don
Sharry, Azusa (our Japanese daughter), Donna (Don’s sister), Captain Don

Summa YC Commodore Kodera driving Starr
Summa YC Commodore Kodera driving Starr

Having a lot of Fun!

Everybody Wave
Everybody Wave

Summa YC decorated Boat – Escape to Kobe
Summa YC decorated Boat – Escape to Kobe

Azusa with her new friends Erico and Kentaro
Azusa with her new friends Erico and Kentaro

The Little Captain
The Little Captain

Picture Time
Picture Time

A Boatload of Happy People
A Boatload of Happy People

AND A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

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[MVStarr] We Are Back Home at SBMC

By on May 8, 2016 in M/V Starr


Starr departed Kaneohe, Oahu on Friday April 10 and Arrived home at Salmon Bay Marine Center on Saturday morning April 23. Details of the Passage: 13 days Distance – 2430.nm Hours running time: 313 hrs Genset hours, 169 hrs SOG average -7 .75 kn Fuel – 1.15 g/nm (This is higher fuel consumption than normal. Our standard cruising speed is 1450 rpm; 5 of 13 days,we ran at 1600 rpm in order to help drive into heavy head seas.) Part I – Fixing Things: We hurried home in order t…

Boat Projects

By on May 8, 2016 in M/V Dirona

Soverel Harbour Marina has been an excellent stop to replenish our boat spares and supplies, address Jennifer’s shoulder injury, and just relax and enjoy a slower pace. While here, we’ve also completed a ton of boat projects, ranging from battery replacement to canvas work to automation systems. Below are the majority of the projects we’ve…