Means of Seeing what the eye brings

May 8, 2008

The Log, Part 2

Filed under: Centaurea,friends,the log,travel — osteoderm @ 2:09 am

May 8th

02:09EST – 19º41.129’N 065º11.275’W SoG 4.7kts CoG 340ºT Trip 154nm
Mellow/mellow. Steering 350ºC. Aries goes great.
Some shipping traffic.

06:24EST – 19º58.821’N 065º20.713’W SoG 5.0kts CoG 340ºT Trip 178.3nm

07:52EST – 20º05.815’N 65º24.548’W SoG 5.0kts CoG 330ºT Trip 187.8nm
Swell shifting SE. Increasing cumulus clouds. Wind still10kts.
Routing places us near 20º45’N 65º50’W @ 0800EST May 8th

09:20EST – 20º11.268’N 065º29.248’W SoG 5.0kts CoG 320ºT
Shook out main reef, all plain sail set.

11:41EST – 20º21.217’N 065º37.810’W SoG 5.0kts CoG 320ºT Trip 211.2nm
Sent position to router. Checked in with Leigh.

17:06EST – 20º48.065’N 065º50.600’W SoG 4.6kts CoG 320ºT Trip 247.2nm

17:48EST – 20º50.579’N 065º52.622’W SoG 5.9kts CoG 350ºT
Motor on, [charging] batteries.
Charging laptop and satphone.

18:30EST – 20º54.472’N 065º54.422’W SoG 7kts CoG 350ºT Trip 256.2nm
Motor off.
Iridium charged and left on.

22:08EST – 21º10.870’N 066º05.080’W SoG 5.2kts CoG 320ºT Trip 279.7nm

May 3, 2008

“So There We Were…”: The Log, Part 1

Filed under: Centaurea,friends,the log,travel — osteoderm @ 9:41 am

May 3rd 2008
Ship’s Crew suffering from extreme rum-poisoning. Still in port, awaiting repairs to “Ol’ Rippy” [torn mainsail] and arrival of rental EPIRB and liferaft.

May 6th
9:41pm – Green Cay Marina/St. Croix
Vessel prepared for departure. Took on 3x 5gallon diesel jugs plus 12 additional gallons to top off main fuel tank. Filled main water tank 30gals plus loaded 35 gallons water in jugs. Mainsail repaired and looks good, new reef tack lines rove and tested. 8-man Avon liferaft mounted in bracket on main hatch cover. Route to WP4A23 (18º17.5’/64º38.5′) laid into handheld GPS.

May 7th
01:45EST – 17º48.270’N 064º40.134’W SoG 5.0kt CoG 350ºT Trip 4.9nm
Departed St. Croix approx 0030hrs. All plain sail set. calm/calm
Aries steering well. Boat still carries weather helm with full main.

02:25EST
Winds puffing 15kts+, boatspeed 6.5kts. Single reef main, struck staysail.

05:00EST – 18º04.178’N 064º38.510’W SoG 5.3kt CoG 002ºT Trip 25nm
Many dolphins.

06:13EST
One jerry jug diesel found to be leaking – approx 3gallons lost to bilge.

07:37EST
Transiting Flanagan Passage, BVI
Trip 43.2nm

11:42EST – 18º34.120’N 064º40.522’W SoG 4.8kt CoG 002ºT
Standing past Jost Van Dyke
10kt+ ESE winds
Sent position to Commanders [weather routing service].

[CJ] 16:01EST – 18º59.277’N 064º51.233’W SoG 5.1kt CoG 345ºT
Boat is paralleling us to the east most of the day.

18:47EST – 19º09.493’N 064º55.340’W SoG 4.5kt CoG 335ºT Trip 110nm
Motor on, charging house [battery], laptop.

20:00EST
Motor off. Seas calm, some clouds moving in
Laptop charged.

23:43EST – 19º30.754’N 065º06.450’W SoG 4.6kt CoG 330ºT Trip 139.4nm
Still steering 350ºC, great night sailing. Single reef main, full jib and stays’l.
On schedule for 140nm day!

March 11, 2008

stunned, just stunned…

Filed under: Centaurea — osteoderm @ 6:07 am

img_1150-medium.JPG

February 28, 2008

gadgets and progress

Filed under: Centaurea,friends,gadgets — osteoderm @ 8:02 am

I finally FINALLY have a new new keyboard for my crappylappy (thanks Mom!), with the letter UUUUUUUU!! as well as the various other buttons lacking on the CL. It’s a Targus rollable rubber membrane ‘board; still getting used to the key action, but dang it seems otherwise boat-perfect.
On the boat itself lately, well, hmmm. So crazy busy with client boats right now (worked through last weekend, and will through this one too) that I’ve had precious little time for Centaurea. At least all the hours piling up will help with the expenses!
Prior to this last crazy week, I’ve gotten past/over/through/beyond a handful of key obtacles on the boat. Chiefly, not only is the engine in, but the new shaft, flange, and coupling are installed, aligned, and secured. Also, the much-modified new-old-new boomkin is once again back on the boat, this time sporting a Sturdy Mount for the Aries. Go Aries! Now the only things that stand between me and floating are: paint (again again! AGAIN! When will it end!?), ie., the bootstripe, a section of topsides at the stb bow, and then the primer(s) and anti-fouling on the bottom. Oh, and the other obstacle; my psychoholic boss, whose erratic and sparking craziness always threatens to throw last-minute tangles into the mix.
The rigging has been going together really well. I have now just the upper shrouds and backstay to build. The uppers are straight-forward, but I’m having yet further internal debates over the arrangement of the backstay. I’d like to have an adjustable backstay rig, but the two usual turnbuckle-replacement options are too expensive, and a split backstay adjuster is a bit of a step backwards. The other option is a (rather too complicated an not exactly cheap either, although cheaper) cascaded direct purchase… I fear that the rig will be installed with a limp and hanging over-length backstay, with me still undecided.
The other major bits to do now are: install the last of the exhaust plumbing, including a water-injection fitting, find and install a new engine heat exchanger (ouch), and install the engine controls and cables. Still many other smaller bits to take care of, but the engine bits and rigging will make me pretty autonomous, even if not ready for offshore workouts.
A couple of good friends here have just bought their own First Real Boat, which they are likewise readying for an imminent launch. The pace and excitement of their preparations largely mirrors my own, excepting that they are working over a proven boat to simply float around the local waters, whereas I am prepping a long-since-decommissioned craft for a month of North Atlantic spring! Ah well, no frets, no fears; even the usually naysaying wags gruffly oblige that Centaurea is far more than up to the task.

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