The Good Life

Ah yes, the good life on a boat, even better on a Krogen!

Gilligan & Mary-Anne

Gilligan & Mary-Anne aboard the Minnow.

Krogen Rendezvous

Great time at "Gilligan's Island" (aka Solomon's).  Again Will & Sue did a fantastic job organizing. Randy & Nick got us all in & out without a scratch and no stress. Go slow, think 'island time'.  Works docking too!

The Howells were shopping for a boat to get them off  of "Gilligan's Island"!

Irene

Irene came and went, with a lot of help and coaching we prepared the boat for a direct hit in Pocomoke City. Turned out the storm centre passed about 30 miles east of us. I don't think we saw much more than a sustained 60kts wind. There may have been some higher gusts, and man did it rain! The river got to the top of the docks, low areas were flooded but 12 hours later the worst was over.

Dodged a bullet, hope everyone else did as well.

Fuel Economy Anyone?

This boat is teaching me a lot about boat design. At normal cruise we burn about 2GPH. The boat has no stern wake. That's right, no stern wake. This is in a displacement boat which is the key, I believe, to good fuel economy. Last weekend we ran 1550 to 1600 RPM most of the time and averaged 7+ kts burning 1.7 to 1.8 GPH. The boat is "happy" at this speed and I think for the 48 this is the "sweet" spot. Running harder gives us little gain for a lot higher fuel burn.

Back "Home" in Pocomoke

Well we are now back "Home" in Pocomoke City, MD.  It's been a lot of fun, cruising, meeting people and planning the next adventure.

Now with 9339 NM under the keel and 1510 Hrs on the clock we take a break, do some maintenance and visit with friends.  Ray & Bonnie on Crackerjack live around the corner, as do Arthur & Eloise.  Bill Ulman on sailboat Saguaro is tied up beside us and the "guys" Jim & Herb are just down the dock.  Otis is manning the bridge. Good to see everyone again!

AIS

We are on our way into the Chesapeake, off Virginia beach, in the dark, in heavy squalls.  The rain comes down in buckets. We have several AIS targets but most are not a concern.  We hear a "securite" call on the VHF. A research vessel is doing some type of survey, gives a course, location and references several buoys.  We are not too far apart, about 4 miles, we see the vessel on the AIS and watch it as it closes on us.  The beauty of the AIS is that not only do we see the nice little green AIS image on the radar but when we cursor over it the vessel name & details show up, even after the squall hits and we are "blinded by the rain"!  No radar image just a big yellow screen of "snow" with an AIS image.  I hail the boat on the VHF.  Immediately the captain replies, I tell her of our course and intentions.  "No problem captain we have you on the AIS. We'll be doing a 180 before R4, maintain your course, no conflict".

I have had some discussions in the past with other boaters. Some felt the benefit of a Class B AIS was minimal as they did not feel commercial traffic would pay any attention to Class B recreational traffic.

On this particular night, with this particular vessel I was glad I was "broadcasting".  After the radar the AIS is my favorite tool.  I'd rather be NORDO than be without the radar & AIS.

Powell Cay, Abaco to Norfolk, VA, 99.9 hrs, 742 NM

Sylvianne is still off in Taiwan and we need to get north of Savannah by June 1.  Brother Dave & Brother Bill join me in Abaco.  May 21 at 7 am we weigh anchor at Powell Cay.  99.9 hours later we are tied up at Waterside Marina, downtown Norfolk, VA.

Great crossing and what a great crew!  Thanks guys.  We really got lucky. We had a good "window", got into the Gulf Stream and rode it north.  We ran mostly 1500-1600 RPM, 1.7-2.0 GPH, had ground speeds of up to 10kts at times.  We could have cut 6-7 hours off the crossing but we made such good time we rounded Hatteras late in the afternoon and that would have put us into the approaches to the Chesapeake at 3 am.  I was concerned about commercial traffic and some weather (T-Storms) so we slowed down and actually went back and forth off Virgina Beach, trying to dodge the squalls.  They caught us anyway. The squalls were gusty from all directions at 30-40kts with buckets of rain.  I was a bit anxious with zero visibility in the dark and the rain "blinding" our radar but we managed OK.  Really loved the AIS. More on that in the next post.  At about 4 am the weather cleared and we headed into the Chesapeake. No big deal, now that I have done it in the daylight, a night "entry" would be fine, as long as the radar and AIS are working!

Cell Phones

They start young. Anelize on her cell phone. She'll be driving, and talking on her cell phone next!

Emily Arrives

Sylvianne is still in Taiwan, visiting Danny, John, Anelize & new grandaughter Emily!