Messing About In Sailboats

Electrical Issue - Epilogue

Earlier in the week, I blogged about my electrical issues. I eventually gave up trying to fix it myself (not a long trip) and took the boat to the marina where the Great Joel, the excellent contractor who can fix anything, resides.

It took Joel a good few hours of poking around to get to the bottom of it. It turns out it was a ground issue, specifically the ground cable back to the panel was the root cause. As a result there was a 3 volt drop between the batteries and the panel.

Apparently, the cable was old and knackered (like its owner) and now that it's replaced, I am hopeful that the issue is fixed.

Over the last few weeks there were many opinions offered, fairly evenly split between a short or a ground issue. The "grounds" had it.

Onward!

My Favorite App - Marine Traffic AIS on iPhone

My favorite new app is Marine Traffic. (Actually it's not that new just new for me). Basically it gives you AIS on your iPhone or iPad. So long as you are within range of a cell tower you can get full details of vessels within range.

It's good on the iPhone and awesome on the iPad. Here are some screen shots. Basically, you use the map to see ships in your area, touch the icon to see detailed information about the vessel. It's availble for iPhone and Droid.

Cape Horn On A Cat

These two intrepid guys sailed around the islands at the bottom of the world on a 6metre catamaran. They spent 60 hours in ...well, the type of conditions you get around Cape Horn. Chapeaux as they say in France!

 

Cool App For San Francisco Sailors

A pair of San Francisco State University researchers has developed a free app called “Bay Currents,” available now through the Apple app store.

According to to their publicist, "Bay Currents uses real-time information from land-based sensors along the coast and San Francisco Bay to give sailors a look at present current conditions, the previous 24 hours of currents and a projection for the next two hours. Users can locate their position on the water using GPS technology or place pins at points in the Bay to get an understanding of currents at that location."

I downloaded and it looks cool but as I don't sail out West I have no idea if it provides useful and accurate info.

You can learn more here.

HMS Victory And Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard

Just returned from a week long business and family trip to London. I took the day off on Tuesday and went down to Portsmouth to visit HMS Victory and the Historic Dockyard. This place is truly a must-see for anyone who is naval history buff. I spent three hours and had to fly round most of the place. I didn't see everything.

The guided tour of HMS Victory gave great insight into life aboard with some good stories about Traffalgar. The Traffalgar experience was a bit lame and frankly gave me the one other visitor the giggles.

The Mary Rose exhibit is well-done and HMS Warrior, a massive steel steam and sailing battleship was HUGE. I only had 30 minutes and I had to almost jog round it.

Here are a few pics

 

The Brambles Cricket Match

 

Bramble Bank aka "The Brambles" is a very shallow patch in the central Solent. At Spring Tides the sand can be uncovered which creates an opportunity for a wonderful annaul event. Every year two local clubs challenge each other a cricket match. Read more here.

They only have 30 minutes to play. In my view quite a good thing for cricket which pust me to sleep. The enetrpising folks from Henricks Gin had time to set up a bar to serve G&T's

This my friends is why I am a proud to call myself an Englishman.

How to get a boat with a 80ft mast under a 65ft fixed bridge

Thanks to Tim Fletcher for this.

Teja Wooden Boats

via www.tejawoodenboats.eu

It's always great to see nautical craftsmanship spring up in unusual places. I read this nice little article in Classic Wooden Boat, a UK magazine, about Teja Wooden Boats, a Lithuanian boat builder that will make you the sweetest little oak clinker for a bargain.

If I had a spare $6-7K this would be high up on the list. What a little beauty!

This hit a special note for me as my Dad was from Lithuania. I wasn't aware of their nautical history but according to Teja's web site (I think they used Google Translate as this is a little wonky):

Our venture started here in Lithuania, on the east coast of the Baltic sea, where Baltic tribe lived, merchants of which in the 3rd - 6th centuries by the sea traded amber with the Roman Empire and then in the 7th and 8th centuries fought with ships of Vikings, and where fishermen and yachtsmen, navigating in the sea till nowadays, left their important seafaring heritage. We are happy to be a part of a new generation of Lithuanian boat builders, maintaining the traditions of the past.

Happy St Patrick's Day

The Pogues, Body of An American. One of my favs. I saw the Pogues the year this video was made, in London at the Hammy Palais and it's still the most fun I have ever had a concert. How the hell Shane McGowan is still alive is a bloody miracle.

I got to love this particular song as I just finished watching all five series of The Wire. This song is a recurring theme is this amazing TV series.

 

Boat garage in Charlevoix, MI

OK, it's for motor boast (pshawwww!) but this place is amazing. It's $2 million garage for classic wooden motor boats. God, I love this country!