Showing posts with label Into. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Into. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
Into the Bay
Very calm today, maybe 40 degrees and very gray with a thick overcast and light fog. Entering the main bay from the marsh, I spot twelve mature swans near the lunch counter (the NE corner). As I cross the bay, I spot one eagle (right) in one of their favorite perches, a stunted birch tree that grows out of a small island on the west side of the bay. The three immature swans swim across my bow from the NW corner of the bay. They take off when I'm about 60 yds away and fly low over a couple flocks of ducks that are in mid-bay. The ducks don't move an inch - ducks apparently can tell the difference between an eagle and a swan. Once on the N shore, I spot the other eagle in a common perch near the lunch counter. I run into C, an avid birdwatcher that I've talked with once before. She spotted over 170 bird species in the bay last year and has counted over 60 since the first of the year. Now I know how to differentiate between a redhead duck and a canvasback. I collect 1/3 canoe of foam and junk from the N shore, including 13 tennis balls. At least I have to get out of my canoe and walk drift logs to do it - I use to be able to collect that much right from the boat.. Once at my usual dump site, a coach-like guy invites me to dump the trash in his garbage cans. I just let it go that I've been doing it all along... but I appreciate the ok just the same. Neither eagle moved an inch during the two hours I was in the bay. Maybe they already ate.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Itching to sail away into the Mediterranean!
13 February 2013
We can’t say we haven’t been enjoying our time in Gibraltar over the winter. The weather has been mostly very good and nothing like the bleak few months we had been expecting. We’ve done plenty of exploring, met some great people and had a lot of fun. Rob’s has made some serious inroads into a book draft of our 2011 sailing adventures in South East Asia. Karen’s been able to get a brush in her hand again and has turned out some very nice portraits and has also begun working on illustrations for Rob’s book. Marc was able to enjoy a trip back home to London and a catch up with family and a lot of friends and since returning has just about burnt out his Kindle churning through books at a prodigious rate. Yes it’s all been good with plenty of laughs. Hell we even came second in the pub quiz at The Lounge this week so why are we all so mad keen to get out of here?
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| Gib has been a ton of fun but we're ready to move on |
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| One of the illustrations Karen has done for the book about our South East Asian sailing adventures in 2011 Rob is working on. If you'd like to see more of her work follow the link to her Karen Oberg Artist facebook page |
Sitting still obviously no longer suits us and we all can’t wait to throw off the lines and start heading east towards the coming summer’s cruising grounds around Southern France, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy’s Amalfi Coast and Sicily. The conventional wisdom is that the Mediterranean sailing season runs from about late May-early June to late September-early October but we have no intention of waiting that long. March to November is more our style and we’ll happily put up with a bit of cooler weather each end if it means we can get back to wandering from anchorage to anchorage discovering new places and new experiences.
So now we’re getting Alcheringa ready to take on another season. In fact from the time we tied up in the marina back at the end of October we have set aside a day a week to work on the boat. Some weeks boat day would simply involve a good scrub from bow to stern on deck and below. However, after cruising the Balearics and Spanish Coast for four months since buying Alcheringa, we discovered a lot about her and developed a pretty solid list of fixes and improvements that we’ve worked through during the winter. We’re pleased to say that our work list is now pretty short and continues to get even shorter.
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| There's a lot of bits in there. Fortunately after being cleaned, oiled and greased, they all went back where they were supposed to . |
Today we pulled apart and serviced all four of our winches for the first time. It was a little daunting thinking about it but thanks to some excellent instructional videos on youtube it proved to be no real problem at all. It’s amazing what you find when you google ‘Servicing Harken Winches’. The next job we tackled was a safety issue that had concerned us since we first sailed the boat out of harbour. For some reason Jeanneau do not provide any secure anchor points at all in the cockpit which we could clip our safety harnesses to. After seeking some advice on the excellent Jeanneau Owners Network Forum, that’s now fixed and we have four secure fittings spread throughout. Our last job this afternoon was fitting a very neat, folding mast step which will make life a lot easier up forward for the vertically challenged amongst us when reaching up to the sail bag or attaching the mainsail halyard.
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| New safety harness attaching points bolted through the deck |
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| Nice shiny, folding mast step for the shorter crew members aboard. |
So we’re nearly ready to go. Basically we’re just waiting for a couple of parcels from Australia to arrive and then we’ll be looking for the first good weather window to come along and it will be back into the Mediterranean for us.
On our way back up the Spanish coast we will make a stop in Almerima Marina and have the boat lifted out of the water for a bum clean. We’ll also get our new AIS (Automatic Identification System) fitted there as labour costs are much lower than Gibraltar. There’s also an excellent supermarket at the marina with a very good range of everything we need at the best prices we’ve found anywhere. We’ll load the boat up to the brim with goodies and then it’s all systems go for the summer.
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| We can't wait for more of this - warm days and great destinations |
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Thursday, 8 December 2011
Archive How to turn a row boat into a sailboat
How to turn a row boat into a sailboat
How to turn a row boat into a sailboat
Simplicity boats - simple boatbuilding, home made skiffs, Simplicity boats is about sharing information that helps people expereience the fun of boat building for the least investment of time, skills, or materials.. Heritage 15 classic little river marine - rowing, rowing, Reminiscent of the romantic rowing craft which graced the waters at the turn of the century, the heritage 15 is as much a joy to look at as it is to row.. Skerry: 15-foot double-ender - fast rowing and sailing dinghy, Our skerry™ is that rare boat combining excellent rowing and sailing qualities into one attractive craft. this is the perfect boat in which to mount an expedition. Transportation crafts ideas for kids: cars, planes, trains, Home > arts and crafts projects for kids > transportation crafts . transportation arts and crafts project ideas for children, including cars, boats, trains, airplanes.
Sailing - reboot (usa 60493), Cruising and living aboard my 1995 catalina 42 mk ii (wing keel) sailboat with my cat xo, the places we visit and the people we meet. the good, the bad, and the ugly.
What verb to use for someone who [drives/pilots] a boat, Hi which one is correct? i drive my boat every morning. i ride my boat every morning. how about a ship? do we drive a ship or ride a ship? thank you.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Organizer Getting into a kayak from a boat
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