We run Dirona like a small apartment with little regard for power consumption, power load or power source. Right now we are moored at St. Katharine Docks in London plugged into 32A/50Hz power. But we run the same way whether we are plugged into 50A/60Hz power in the US or if we were anchored off…
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On the Hard at Saxon Wharf
Boats have been damaged or destroyed during lift operations, so we’re always nervous whenever we haul Dirona out. We were impressed with the care Saxon Wharf took in the lift, including asking for exterior hull photos to could assess where to place the lifting straps. The operation went smoothly and by mid-morning we were safely…
Portland to Southampton
Storm systems rolled through Portland, UK for four nights before the forecast showed a gap just long enough for the 60-mile run to Southampton. On our approach to Southampton Waters, we transited the narrow and current-swept Needles Channel, passing the dramatic chalk cliffs and Needles Lighthouse off the southwest tip of the Isle of Wight….
Portland, UK
After spending New Year’s Eve in Falkmouth, UK, we were booked into the yard in Southampton on Jan 8th for routine maintenance. You would think a week would be plenty to travel the 200 miles from Falmouth to Southampton, but big weather systems, some with 50kt winds, were forecast for most of next week. We…
Falmouth
One of the reasons we came to Falmouth for the holiday season was for the New Year’s Eve Fireworks display from Pendennis Castle right above the marina. We had a great time celebrating the New Year while watching the display and really enjoyed spending a couple of weeks in the area. Falmouth is crazy-busy in…
Engine Work for Christmas
We had an intermittent engine control unit fault code on Dirona‘s John Deere 6068AFM75 that started shortly after we departed Kinsale, Ireland. Under higher loads or at idle when running the hydraulics, we sometimes get a 1347.7 fault code which indicates the actual fuel rail pressure is different from the called-for pressure. This occurs is…
Plymouth
While in Falmouth, we made a day-trip to Plymouth to visit our friends Jean and Matt Findlay and tour the town. We first met Jean and Matt in 2014 on their Beneteau 57 Superted V on Stewart Island in southern New Zealand and crossed paths an amazing number of times after, but haven’t seen them…
KVH V7-HTS: Twice the Speed & More Coverage
Frequent readers of this blog know we have become very dependent upon satellite communications. In fact, we have three different satellite technologies on board Dirona, as described in Communications at Sea. Here, we complete a quick survey of the satellite systems on Dirona, our experience with them, and why we upgraded to the KVH V7-HTS system four months ago. Our…
Dublin to Falmouth
We crossed 9,500 hours our John Deere 6068AFM75 main engine on the 243nm run from Dublin, Ireland to Falmouth, UK. This run would take us past the strong and sometimes dangerous currents off the most western tip of the UK at Land’s End, so we we left just before midnight to catch favourable tides. Conditions…
Dun Laoghaire
Two massive piers, built in the early 1800s, create a huge 250-acre (101-hectare) sheltered harbour at Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary) near Dublin. Dun Laoghaire Marina is a large, 820-boat marina behind a second set of breakwaters within that protected harbour. Although the marina is outside Dublin proper, it has convenient train access to the…
