Hello, Ken and CC

 Click on the individual links and read the story of our journeys onboard the Wildebeest III. The more recent stuff was the trip to Oz on Beaujolais, a CSY 44. Please excuse occasional bad spelling and consistently horrid writing. Some of this I had to just speed through and get it down before I lost interest and track of the stories. This is a long story so get comfortable.

Here is a link  that discusses meeting famous sailor, Robin Knox-Johnston:  . The early boating years are sort of described, too.

The journey across the Atlantic: (In order)

Blog 1. London to Calais

2. Retire from Navy, prepare sailboat for departure.

3. Lymington UK.

4. Depart on epic voyage.

5. Cherbourg.

6. Guernsey.

6.5 Another channel listing

7. Brest.

8. Gijon, Spain!

9. Costa Del Muerte, Espana.

10. Portugal

11. More Portugal

12. Portimao

13. Rota

14. Off to Canary Islands.

15. Atlantic

16. Atlantic 2

17. Sea Anchor

18. More Atlantic...

19. Again

20. Weather is here

21. Arrive St Lucia

That's the end of the interesting stuff concerning the Atlantic.

Further reading (And my take-away on boating wisdom; Ocean crossings are easy. The departure is the tough part. Fear and Air are holding us back from our next grand adventure, so let's break through and live!!!)

2010's trip to Oz;

Shots

Beginning trip to South Pacific

Sailing with Roger XXXX on Beaujolais in 2010;

Fiji Video Links

To Rarotonga

More Rarotonga

Rarotonga to Beveridge Reef

Roger's Niue Link

Beveridge Reef and Niue

Beveridge Reef

 

Niue

Tonga

More Tonga

To Fiji

Fiji

Sailing In Fiji

Impromptu visit home

Oz

Arrival in Oz

Back again, if only for a moment!

Awright, Barco was underway this weekend at Metro Park in J-Ville for the Elvis Costello Concert.

We arrived at an almost empty marina, just two other boats were there for the weekend. The dockage is free with only a nominal charge for electricity.

We spent a little time with the other boats and left around 1800 for the Florida Theater, about a mile away from the boat. We ate a small meal at the local Burrito Gallery and settled into our loge seats to watch a great  show.

Declan McManus was playing solo with a guitar and piano doing many of his songs in not the usual manner, mostly in the style of a busker earning a few bucks for well played music. Very nice, and we enjoyed  ourselves at the intimate venue.

Back to the Barco by 2330, we shared a few drinks with our new friends from across the way, hooting and howling until the 0130 bed time alarm.

Sunday blasted into being, sometime around 0730. We enjoyed coffee and toast in the warm morning sun and complimented our new friends when they emerged from their stylish houseboat into the brightness. We were invited over for morning beverages and it all went downhill into a dock party with four boats in attendance. We ran out of beer by 1500 and decided to nap until sunset...

Here is the evidence: As always, click to enlarge photo!

Dan is coming out to see if winter is truly over.

Downtown in the distance

Sunday morning coming over bunch

Everyone is having a fine time

Srsly

A fine boat with a lively crew

Over here!

Henry built this boat by hand, and is 3/4's the way around great loop.

Henry and DeDe

France and Peter from Canada

Nancy and Dan

Cool boat across the way

Boating conference on Castello.

Hart Bridge

Barco waits.

Peter (from Germany) enjoys PBR.

Underway, heading for home.

After completing a two hour nap, the decision was made to get underway in the daylight rather than wait to leave at 0600, tomorrow. It was a quick trip through downtown and we arrived at home base before the sun had completely set.

Big thanks to Dale and Nancy, for getting the party going at the crack of nine. Henry and DeDe for keeping us balanced as we solved the world problems while drinking potent potables and finally, to Peter and France for bringing a European flavor to our fun dock party.

Best time in ages!

Barco Sin Vela, Out.

More on today!

"The transmission has a fault that we are trying to locate", said Andre, of the 'spensive car servicing joint.

So now, the venerable Family Truckster is down for maintenance? On the eve of a three day weekend???  Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Good thing we have other conveyance, not to mention the offer from 'spensive car servicing joint to use at no charge one of their loaners or a rental from da' rental joint nearby.

If I were known as a fraternity, it would be Kilo Delta.

Ok, I bought some lotto tickets for the weekend, we may be due for some good luck now after this annoying adversity. At least we are all healthy and free of pain!

See ewe later...

Barco (Kilo Delta/Not Mission Capable), Out.

Setbacks and responses

Somebody spent an afternoon, a cold winter afternoon... Scrubbing the exterior of a boat to prepare for the weekend adventure. Knocking the green stuff off the North side of a Southbound vessel, one could say.

While this was going on, I was waiting for the arrival of the technician who would make the generator do it's generating thing and thusly make us ready for living aboard for a three night period. Tom came and indeed, did maketh the lightning cometh forth from the kohler-created contraption!

Then we had a look at a small leak on the starboard diesel which had a twin (leak) on the port diesel, just about the area of the fuel injector pump(s).

"This is not good, spaketh the Wizard (Tom), for these pumps are verily sensitive, and will not respond well to the machinations of mere men. But they are to be tended by practitioners of those dark arts, prophets of the profit who have trained years as apprentices to the demons that control the light and fire that lurketh in the cast iron hearts of locomotion." "And, this ain't shade-tree mechanic stuff, uh-huh!"

In other words, diesel fuel injector pumps operate at precise pressures (1500 psi) and any deviation may cause the engine to possibly Never. Run. Again. Or at any rate, not start when I turn the key. So I better get the boat spending unit chits together and ready the pain suppression team because this one is gonna hurt.

I called Roy's Diesel on Lenox avenue and chatted for twenty minutes with the nice man. He says it will be at least $750 per unit for the rebuild and $89 bucks an hour for install/reinstall time. Three days to get it all done.

So now I know whose kid is going to college. His.

After all this had gone down, there was still one person who had not been included in the ongoing situation;

She Who Will Be Obeyed.

The One who is looking forward to a grand three night visit (on Her Boat) to the Nation's Oldest City.

This was going to cause grief, and I do not like to be any cause of grief in her life, it just doesn't pay, knowwutimean?

I went online and used the goo-gal to see if anyone else has had these problems with Perkins 6.354 engines.

Yep. very common issue, usually resulting in overhaul of the injector pump, at great personal expense. Good news is that Perkins 6.354 diesels have a planned life expectancy of 15K hours, (Mine have 2600 on the clocks) excluding fuel injector pumps.

When She Who Will Be Obeyed came home, she asked about the Barco Sin Vela, and the state of her readiness for travel. I gave her the bad news first and then said we could still go on our trip is she didn't mind the gallon or two of diesel fuel in the bilge.

And if any diesel got pumped overboard we could be subject to a $5000 fine...

There was a little wailing and gnashing of teeth, mostly from me. We established that the trip was most likely to be canceled and the weekend would be shot, and it was only partly my fault.

Plan B was started on after dinner. I sent 'regrets' to the City Marina and the Marine Trawler organization for our upcoming absence. I began searching on the Webz for Plan B's destination and found it in New Smyrna Beach, a mile or so North of the Canaveral National Seashore.

Today's taskers are take the Family Truckster to the 'spensive sports place and have service performed. She Who Will Be Obeyed requires sunshine and seashores for her anniversary weekend and She will damn well be gettin' it!

It's a ragtop weekend, since there is no Barco there will be Family Truckster, with a beach front balcony at the destination!

Oh, yeah. I just set a 1230 appointment to meet the diesel dood at the boat and I also have to take my Mom to the eye doctor at 1220.

It's. Always. Something.

Have a fine day.

Barco out.

Saturday Morning coming down...

Title would make an interesting moniker for a song, considering that coming down implies someone being in a state of inebriation or at least being a bit high the night before.

Nope. Dined on Indian spiced braised lamb shanks with one glass of Argentinian merlot to chase it down. Afterwards it was water and a short evening of nothing-doing. This morning I have made the bacon butties, served them to She Who Will Be Obeyed and her birthday celebratin' dad along with the life giving coffee. So now begins the coming' down part in which I perform the kitchen field day with particular concentration on removing grease from pans and surfaces.

Note: I hate the fact the house reeks of bacon, but that is the price we pay for first world affluence.

My march to a slimmer waist-line continues unabated, having been on this forced march since the beginning of December. In the previous five days I have walked no less than 27 miles on the treadmill with good result. My daily wear belt has no more notches and is loose thereby making my gig line look sloppy. Eight more pounds will see me back in my London era suits and jackets, which is a goal. According to Captain Ron; "Incentives are good, I learned that in rehab..."

In the past ten years I have packed on a significant amount of tonnage and in which I have bounced up and down (five pounds at a time) and continue to have been frustrated by the hopelessness of being fat. For instance, I was running four miles a day back in June and all I did was hover at a point fifteen pounds above my present tonnage. The results were that I got very sore knees and still the heap big waist. On Thanksgiving, my very good friend and beer drinking partner Phil informed me he was on that Atkins thing, and that he dropped a couple pant-sizes. So off I went on the same mission but instead of going hard-core into so-called dieting I will resolve to enjoy wine or beer on special days along with whatever cake or desserts, too.

My overall sense of physical feeling today is one of positive goodness. I walk five or six miles on the treadmill, pump a little iron in our gym and get the ol' heart rate up and still take the recuperative naps. Cutting out the excess carbs has been minimally hard, and giving up dried fruit and other goodies like bread is a tough habit to break, sort of. But I'm eating salads and regular foods anyway, and in fact it's not much of a difference from my regular dining experience. Just no breads, cereals, fruit and beer. We don't eat much processed foods around here, so everyone else residing at the Veldt Lounge and Serengetti Spa is not put out too much.

Besides, She Who Will Be Obeyed deserves someone who looks reasonable in nice attire and photographs well. Like the old days...




The take away line I like in that song is "...Recallin' what made it a ball".

T-Minus six days until the next underway period to St Augustine.

Barco out.

Day eight of the new year, and I can't seem to get motivated!

"Moi?"

I was visiting the Old AF Sarge blog and he had so much to say and all of it nice... Meanwhile, I sit here at the computer wrestling with Maogwai Cat for space at the keyboard. Mao is trying to knock my cup of water off the table and make me pay attention to HIM. There is head butting and purring, too.

'Be loozin' my twain of thought, see.

Anyhow, I am looking pretty weak blogging wise, compared to my new friend up in the Northeast who is full of stuff that needs to get out. Here in the colder part of North Florida, aside from wrestling the cat there isn't too much that is interesting going on.

We are having some diesel leaks repaired on the twin Perkins engines, seems the lines going in/out of the injector pumps have decided to vent a bit of fuel into the bilge, which just. Won't. Do. Smelly for all involved and the Coast Guard gets a bit miffed if they catch a boat dribbling oil slicks on the national waterways.

While we (Ahem, the Royal 'We') are at that mess, we might as well have all fluids changed along with the filters on all engines and generator. Seems we are planning a little field trip to the Oldest City, (St Augustine) next Friday for a three nighter. I am hoping for more appropriate temperatures to accompany us on our seven hour expedition.

In honor of the cold weather this week, I covered some of our plants outside. Did you know what happens with broccoli when you wait too long to pick? Hmmm?

This;

Broccoli flowers!

The buckets are protecting some  brussels sprout plants. Off camera is a nice cocktail lime-something else tree which is covered by the traditional lime-tree Hijab, I mean black plastic bag.

Stay warm out there, keep the powder dry and the family safe!

Barco Sin Vela, out.

About to begin the new boating year...

With a run to Six Mile Creek, home of the Outback Crabshack. Premier destination for hit-or-miss dining pleasure coupled with beautiful rural surroundings. The free dock provided for customer use is the reason for visiting anytime! I really like the folks at the Crabshack for providing this unique, Old Florida styled destination.

Ahhh, but this trip is all depending on me feeling the love from the local weather, which is looking cloudy. Saturday may be a better day for this expedition as local wx is forecasted to be sunny and warm, which means a clear sky for our evening aboard. Stars are an important part of any boat trip, would you agree?

As a few of you know, I am all about sunshine and warm over cloudy and cool. It's the need for a sense of weather improvement which directly aids the happier attitude and general well being that keeps me going on. Yet another reason to reside in the South! Winter here lasts a week or so at a time, unlike up North where the snow and lack of sunshine is a direct threat to mental and general health. Snow and ice to me is oppression. Skiing is good fun and exercise, but one should drive four hours, get the exercise finished, drive home and enjoy warmer weather.

More But's...;

But, before going anywhere, I gotta wash the filth that has settled on the decks off of the Barco because it has been a few weeks and the boat looks like a homeless vagrant lives there. Yet another delay to getting underway, I know. Unlike many homeless vagabonds, we do have plenty of food and drink onboard to keep the crew in a merrier sort of way no matter what we wind up doing.

More action, less talk!

Barco Out.