Father's Day Sail!

Finally! We worked on Reboot for a bit on Father's day. We then went up the very dirty Milwaukee River (the sludge being pushed downstream from the heavy rains is amazing) for dinner. On the way back the winds were just perfect so we popped the jib after clearing the lift bridges and headed out into the Lake. We got the main up and had a very pleasant sunset sail.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cruising Budget - How Much Does it Cost?

There has always been a great interest in knowing how much to budget for the cruising life. The answer is always "it depends." I too was frustrated by the "it depends." In an effort to shed some light on the subject here is my take on the parameters of "it depends." I own a 42' sailboat and have done some cruising in North and Central American, Portugal, Spain and the Canaries, and in the Caribbean. My personal take is that one can cruise and tour comfortably in a 40 to 45 foot boat for about $2,500 to $3,000 per month. One can "live aboard" for much less. I am assuming that you are on a sailboat to see the world, not stay in a relatively small area.

The Big Issues

There are four factors that have an overall influence on both initial and operating costs. They are:

What risks you are willing to take,
How much comfort you desire,
What you consider to be a prudent insurance profile,
Where you cruise

Risks

There are various pieces of equipment tha…
Read more

The ultimate golden shellback

Image
PRECISE NAVIGATION!The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought the Master, Captain John Phillips, the result.The ships position was LAT 0 S 31' N and LON 179 S 30' W. The date was 31 December 1899 “Know what this means?” First Mate Payton broke in, “We are only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line.”Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime. He called his navigators to the bridge to check and double check the ships position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed. The calm weather and clear night worked in his favor.At midnight the Master ensured that the Warrimoo lay still on the equator at exactly the point where it crossed the I…
Read more

Marking time

We intended to leave Savusavu this morning and head out to explore more of Fiji. The rain quelled our ardour. So I came into shore to pay the marina for one more night on the mooring ball. I also figured I could get a hot shower. That got me thinking. If you had every told me during my executive days that in my retirement I would be sharing the "mens' locker room" to take a shower or use the bathroom I would have laughed. But the thing is, I do. Sure I use the head when on Reboot. But marine heads are notorious for clogs. So the less use the better. (We have a rule on Reboot: any woman who flushes a "feminine napkin" down the toilet pays a $200 fine for a new pump and gets to unclog the system! They are brutal on the waste system no matter what the package says.) Showers are another thing. It takes the water maker 4 hours to make five gallons of water. Then you have to run the engine to heat the water up. It is a great disincentive.Fair winds and following sea…
Read more