October 28, 2012

Temporary solution to leak in guest cabin

So far we’re pretty happy with our decision to anchor out. A friend sent us some photos from the Deltaville Marina and the dock we were on yesterday is already under water. We’ve had steady rain all day and winds are building, but so far we are very comfortable. Our winds are now in the high 20’s with gusts into the high 30’s. We can see that the docks at some of the local private homes and at the Fishing Bay marina are now underwater. And the real storm hasn’t reached us yet – this is just the warm-up.

The heavy rain has turned up a couple small leaks on board. One is in the port guest cabin and we’ve been trying to identify and fix it since we bought the boat. It’s still leaking but we’re now pretty confident we’ve identified where and why, so hopefully we’ll be able to fix it for good. For now, we’ve got a chamois and bucket set up to catch water. We’ve got another very small leak from the overhead hatch in the starboard guest cabin but it’s not major. A bit more frustrating is that despite a fair amount of work done in the anchor locker over the past couple weeks, we still have some water seeping into the machinery space in the bow. Again not major, but this heavy rain does give us a chance to examine all the leaks more closely. At least they are fresh water, not salt, and won’t do any real damage.

Nobletec charting software set up to monitor position

We have our Nobletec charting software set up to help us ensure we are not dragging our anchor. You’ll see in the photo the boat icon, which shows our current position. Then you’ll see the pink spot – this is the actual track of the boat since we dropped anchor yesterday afternoon. I’ve added the black lines extending 70 meters (about 210 feet) from where we dropped the anchor as a visual guide. As you can see, we swing a bit on the anchor chain, but are pretty well staying put. Fortunately, we can also see this display on the TV screen in our master cabin, so can keep an eye on things from there.

We’re also monitoring the wind using our Furuno RD-33 instrument. We have it set to show the wind direction, current wind speed, and highest recorded wind speed. As of this morning, our highest gust was 33 knots. As I write this, we’ve now seen 40.2 knots, but expect it will get a lot higher over the coming 48 hours. We’ve donned our foul weather gear and done some checks outside. It’s amazing how comfortable it is inside and what a difference in sound, feel, and temperature once we venture out on deck. We’ve still got cell phone coverage, internet, and DirecTV.

Wind direction, wind speed, wind angle, and max gust

A couple people have asked about our anchor set up. We have two 300-pound CQR anchors set up on our bow each with 100 meters of chain. One is connected to an electric windlass (winch) and the other to a hydraulic, giving us some options. As you think about anchoring, it is not the weight of the anchor and chain that keep the boat safe, but the anchor digging into the mud. The weight of the anchor and chain help this process, but the key is setting the anchor in the bottom. There are three theories regarding anchoring for heavy weather. One, both anchors are deployed at approximately 45 degrees separation. Two, deploy one and keep the second in the ready. Three, deploy the first anchor, put out some chain – about 15 meters – and then add the second anchor to this chain, the theory being the second anchor acts more like a huge weight to prevent the chain from being lifted up and thereby keeping the first anchor in the ground. We prefer the second option and while we could do three, it would be very difficult to attach the 300 lb anchor to the chain while on the bow and even more difficult to retrieve. The key problem with option one is the risk of fouling the two anchors (getting them tangled together). We have set our port side anchor, the one on the electric windlass and have a snubber line bridle set up. This is a line that goes out through the hausers (openings) on either side of the bow. A “claw” then connects this line to the anchor chain and enough chain is let out so that the strain is taken by the line, rather than by the single windlass connection. We do not have an engine running now, but if the winds strengthen significantly we have the option of keeping an engine running to allow us to take some strain off the chain and be ready in the event of an emergency.

Today was spent baking cinnamon bread, watching movies, catching up on emails, relaxing,Click on any photo to enlarge and you can now REPLY to blog update emails and it will post your reply to the blog as a comment! Hurray, it’s about time WordPress! I’ll update the blog frequently until after the storm is past, then will go back to a more normal 3-4 week update cycle.

October 27, 2010

Sandy’s projected track

We are in Deltaville, VA where the Rappahannock and Piankatank Rivers meet the Chesapeake Bay, waiting for the onset of Hurricane Sandy which is due to pass this way in the next 48-72 hours. After examining our options and much deliberation and discussion, we have decided to head out to ride out the storm at anchor. We are now tucked into Fishing Bay, which offers good protection for winds from all directions except South. Why, you might ask, would anyone leave a lovely marina and head out into a hurricane? Well, let me try to explain.

Deltaville Marina has fixed docks, not floating docks. That means the docks are at a fixed height and in the event of a tidal surge, common with a hurricane, boats may actually be lifted ABOVE the docks. This provides plenty of opportunity for damage. For the past 48 hours, the boatyard has been lifting boats out of the water as both boats and docks are thereby safer. However, given our size, we are too large to be lifted out at Deltaville or any other nearby marina. Our best alternative at Deltaville was to go into the slip for the 75-ton travel lift.

Most of the boats at the marina have been hauled out

While it’s a large enough slip to accommodate us and would allow us to be tied up securely, it also has the potential to cause damage to the boat. Unlike the standard wood docks, this slip has steel bays on either side, only a few feet above the normal high tide level. With a large storm surge, the risk is that our hull could come into contact with those metal sides and the boat would not likely win! In addition, the risk from flying debris is much greater where there are lots more boats, buildings, and other potential flying missiles.

On the other hand, being at anchor avoids many of those risks. Presuming the anchor is properly set and adequate preparations are made, the risk to the boat is lower than being in a marina. Although it will likely be a bit nerve wracking and potentially uncomfortable for a while, we elected to take this option. We chose Fishing Bay, a nearby anchorage because it is deep, large, and reasonably protected from the north, which is where the winds are initially expected. We spent all day yesterday preparing the boat.

Flybrige settee – cushions removed, hatches taped and table cover secured

This included removing everything possible that might blow or sustain damage from the tender deck and flybridge such as the tender cover and bimini top, all dive equipment normally stored in a zippered deck box, all cushions, life vests, lines, fenders, etc.

It was just a couple miles to the anchorage but the winds are already starting to pick up. Nothing serious yet, just a hint of what’s to come at 10-15 knots. We are secured with over 200 feet of anchor chain out with one other boat, a Swan 57 sailboat, here with us. For now we are relaxing and waiting, but when the fun begins, we’ll be standing anchor watches, making sure we’re not moving! I’ll try to provide an update when the worst is over, but we’ll have to see if we have internet coverage throughout! So don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us for a while.

Of you’d like to see where we are you can go to www.marinetraffic.com and enter the vessel name Shear Madness. A special thanks to all those at Deltaville with local knowledge and our boating friends and other Nordhavn owners for their advice and expertise in helping us through this decision. Click here to send us an email or leave your comment below!

October 11, 2012

Karen and Kathy

The past few weeks have been a chance to spend some time with family, old friends, and new friends. In mid-September we left the boat and drove to Northern Virginia where more than 70 people gathered for a reunion of my former company Landmark Systems. Despite short notice, a lousy mailing list, and a weeknight date, the turnout was great and we had a wonderful time reminiscing about the Good Ole Days – it’s been over ten years since Landmark was acquired! We also attended the outdoor wedding of a good friend on a beautiful day and I caught up with many long unseen friends. Speaking of which, I also re-connected with my best friend from 5^th through 7^thgrades! Karen and I were inseparable for several years, but went different directions in high school and had not seen each other in many years – we never quite determined how many! But we picked up right where we left off – spending a night at Karen’s house and later hosting Karen and husband Mark onboard Shear Madness for dinner.

Dinner with Lloyd and Arlene, Braun and Tina, Dee, and Susan

After arriving with the boat in Solomons, we had a busy weekend, with friends Lloyd and Arlene, Tina and Braun, Dee, and Susan over for dinner on Friday. A fabulous night! On Saturday we had an “open boat” party attended by over 35 friends and family from the DC-Baltimore-VA area. Time was too short to properly catch up with everyone! Our friends Ken and Christine with kids Margaux and Elliott stayed the night and Ken made his famous pancakes for breakfast.

We weren’t done yet! Bob, the manager and director of Shear Madness, the play, finally came for a visit to Shear Madness, the boat along with his partner John. Thirteen years ago Bob had worked us into the cast of the play during our wedding and though we’ve kept in touch, we had not seen each other since. It was great to catch up and it’s no surprise to learn that someone who makes his living with Shear Madness is really funny and entertaining! Bob and Bradley, on opposite sides of the political spectrum, also enjoyed trying to convince each other of their points of view – that too was entertaining and all in good fun!

John and Bob visit the real Shear Madness!

After a day of rest to catch our breath, we departed Solomons to head back to Deltaville to complete some projects. Upon arrival, we met up with friends Linda and Douglas from Aries Too and Peter and Joanne from Journey, both Nordhavns, for a dinner aboard Shear Madness. And another typical cruiser story – for a few months I have been emailing a woman named Marie whose boat was also struck by lightning. We’ve never met but have exchanged stories about our respective repairs by email. When Marie heard we were heading to Deltaville, she told me “you have to contact our friend Bill who lives right across from the marina”. So when we arrived I sent an email to Bill explaining that Marie had suggested I contact him. No more than 15 minutes later there was a knock on the hull and there was a man standing there with a big smile, a bottle of wine, and an invitation to his house!

For technical details, scroll down below photos. Check out new Boat Photos and leave your comments below or click here to send us an email.

Autopilot

Pilothouse with wheel on – see cabinet behind wheel

• As reported in the last update, we had some strange behavior of the autopilot (AP), a Simrad AP25, on the trip to Solomons. It was periodically shutting itself off, or switching from “Auto” to “Follow Up (FU)” mode by itself, sometimes requiring us to turn off the circuit in order to regain control. We have two AP systems consisting of separate steering pumps and processors (computers). We can select Primary or Alternate AP via a switch in the Pilothouse. The systems share two heads (control panels), one remote control, and five Follow Up Steering Levers (appropriately called FU25’s). Because we were experiencing the problem with both the Primary and Secondary system, we suspected one of the common components was the likely cause. Once safely in the marina, Bradley began the tedious task of diagnosing the problem which uncovered another issue – a bit of a flaw in our redundancy.
  

  Wheel removed for access to AP wiring

  The wiring that connects all the AP components is located beneath the helm station in the Pilothouse and requires removal of the wheel in order to access. If there is a problem with the autopilot, as in this case, and we have to manually steer, you need to use the wheel, thus making it difficult to remove in order to solve the AP problem! Anyway, Bradley began by disconnecting all the FU units from the AP. This is easier said than done as each of the 5 FU’s has five wires. Each then had to be reconnected one at a time to determine which one was causing the problem. Fortunately, even while not moving at the marina, we could re-create the problem by simply turning the AP on in standby mode. Soon it would switch itself into Follow Up Mode. Each test took several hours as the failure is not immediate, with Bradley squeezing himself into the small cabinet over and over. However, we eventually concluded that the Flybridge FU unit was the culprit, most likely due to an electrical issue from the lightning strike, and with all other components re-connected, we successfully made the trip to Deltaville with no further problem. Of course, the FU25 model we have is no longer made, so we are evaluating whether a newer model FU50 will work with our system, or whether we can find a couple FU25’s somewhere.
  

We continue to have one additional issue with the Autopilot which I have mentioned previously. When in “Nav” mode where the AP is steering along a route with multiple waypoints, sometimes when a waypoint is reached, the AP wants to do a turn that bears no relation to the next waypoint. We had determined that a piece of data called BWW (Bearing Waypoint to Waypoint) that is sent to the AP is all zeroes when this problem occurs. So let’s say we are on a course of 180 and the next waypoint will be a course of 170. We should make a 10 degree turn upon arrival at the first waypoint and the BWW should be 170, which is then subtracted from our current heading to result in a course change of 10 degrees. However, if the BWW is zero, the AP will attempt a turn of 170 degrees. Not good. Fortunately, any turn of more than 10 degrees requires a confirmation, so will not be automatically executed. So, although we know that the BWW is zero when this happens, we haven’t quite figured out WHY it is zero. But I have developed a theory which I am now testing. We use Nobeltec Trident TimeZero chart plotting software which interfaces to NavNet 3D, an integrated product including chart plotting, radar, and other information. Navnet is also the source of the data sent to the autopilot. Routes can be shared between Nobletec and Navnet (both Furuno products) and can be created, activated, and changed in either system. Typically, I create and activate routes in Nobletec and I wondered if the problem could somehow lie between these two systems rather than between Navnet and the AP. Upon leaving Solomons, I activated a route with multiple waypoints in Nobletec. We had the problem occur at our second waypoint change. I then wondered about a specific parameter called the Waypoint Arrival Radius. This can be set to tell the software when it should recognize that a waypoint has been reached and the next one should be activated; that is how close you need to be to the waypoint before you have “arrived”. What would happen if Nobletec thought we had arrived at a waypoint, but Navnet didn’t? Seems possible that scenario could result in NavNet not sending correct data to the AP. To test my theory, I canceled the route, changed the arrival radius so that Navnet would recognize arrival sooner than Nobletec, and activated the route in Navnet rather than Nobletec. I added a bunch of additional waypoints, all of which were executed with no problem. Since this problem is intermittent, it’s way too soon to tell if we have found a cause and/or solution, but I can’t wait to get out and test it again!

We’ve added a new project to the list at Deltaville – to re-wire the shared AP components and connect them to a switch that will allow us to isolate each component without having to remove the wheel.

Deltaville projects

We have a list of projects to complete at Deltaville, including:

Servicing generators

Installing new engine exhaust fans

Designing and installing screens for the pilothouse doors and main salon side door (really needed in anchorages with lots of flys or bugs when we want breeze)

Installing new anchor snubber-line system and new anchor swivels

Small repairs to a couple ports and hatches and swim ladder

Updating our electrical drawings to reflect all the changes made with the lightning strike repairs

Sept 26, 2012

We arrived back in the Chesapeake Bay after a great trip from North Carolina with John and Patti aboard.

Blue moon night

They were terrific crew and as you can see, Patti is also a great writer! We anchored in Mobjack Bay, not far north of the Bay Bridge/Tunnel. I decided to contact a couple friends in the area. First, my good friends Gary and Cookie who live in Virginia Beach surprised me with the news that they have a newborn daughter! Since this had happened less than two weeks previously, we decided to defer a visit to them until we are on our way out of the Bay. Next, I decided to call Bob and Becky, who we met last June when we anchored in front of their house on the Poquoson River and they came out in their Boston Whaler to say hello and to bring us some fresh vegetables from their garden. They were home and invited us for drinks at their place. We also asked their advice about where John and Patti could rent a car to get back to their home in Annapolis. The Newport News airport seemed a good choice and Bob and Becky even volunteered to give them a ride there as it’s very close to their home. After a great visit with Bob and Becky, we bid farewell to John and Patti.

Yorktown Battlefield

On August 31st while still anchored at Mobjack Bay, we had a Blue Moon – the second full moon of the month. It was a crystal clear night and the moon was truly spectacular. We were all alone in the anchorage – it doesn’t get much better than that! The moon was still shining brightly the next morning. Too bad John and Patti missed it by one day! We then headed up the York River and anchored near Yorktown, famous for being the place where General Cornwallis surrendered during the Revolutionary War. We spent a couple days exploring Yorktown, eating crabcakes at the Yorktown Pub and walking around the battlefield. We also took the tender up the York River about 23 miles to the town of West Point, VA, the birthplace of Lewis “Chesty” Puller, the most decorated marine in US History. West Point is a charming small town and home to a paper mill, but there is no pubic dock or marina to leave a tender and go ashore. Not to worry – some locals encouraged us to tie up to their dock and we went for a walk around town and light lunch. We started back to Yorktown, amazed at how few boats were out on the river on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. It’s a nice wide and deep river and a perfect sunny day but we probably saw only about a dozen boats in 20 miles!

Gary and Patti come for a visit

From the York River, we headed towards Deltaville, which is on a peninsula between the Piankatank and Rappahanock Rivers. We anchored in Hill’s Bay in the Piankatank. We have some friends, Gary and Patti who live a ways up the Piankatank and they came down in their boat for drinks and dinner on board. While out exploring in our tender, we also met Maxine and Michael, who it turns out own the house we were anchored in front of. We invited them over for drinks they next day (they arrived just after a nice storm blew through) and went to dinner at a local restaurant on Gwynn Island – excellent food! Just as we were leaving for dinner, another local came by in his boat on his way to watch the sunset. His name was Richard and he and his wife Vera invited us to his home for dinner – what a treat as Vera is a gourmet cook! We also left with bags of fresh basil and chives from their garden. We had another dinner invitation from Maxine and Michael to go to their house, where we were able to keep an eye on the boat during another storm.

Sunset at Hill’s Bay (photo by Richard Tupper)

We visited the Deltaville Boatyard which has a great reputation. Although they do not have a lift large enough for Shear Madness, we talked to them about servicing the outboard motors on the tender and were impressed by the managers and the outboard mechanic. In typical boat fashion, what started as one simple project soon became several not-so-simple ones. The tender was lifted out of the water and work began. Soon we found more parts that had to be ordered and more work that needed to be done. While the mechanical work was going on, Bradley and I spent most of four days waxing the bottom and cleaning the inflatable tubes and cushions. While it took longer and cost more than initially estimated, we found and corrected several potential problems and the tender is now in great shape. While at the boatyard, we also engaged Jim the electrician to help track down some lingering issues with the meters that monitor our battery charging. We have several other small projects that they will do as well, so we plan to return to Deltaville in October.

Neal works on the tender

At Deltaville we also saw Ray and Susan on their Outer Reef yacht Copeing and enjoyed drinks with them. Ray even had some genuine moonshine but one sip of that was enough for me! We also met Michael, a sailor in his 80’s who lives aboard his catamaran “Wind in the Willows” and cruises every year from Deltaville to the Bahamas for the winter. He has a tender which he rows – no outboard motor. He had his boat hauled out and was working on the bottom himself. He also gave an informal seminar about cruising the Bahamas for several of us at the marina. He’s a well-know and inspirational character here and in the Bahamas and we felt fortunate to have made his acquaintance.

We also met newlyweds Aaron and Liz and their dog Jacqueline Cousteau. They are living aboard their sailboat and we all rode bikes out to dinner one night and visited each other’s boats. We also welcomed aboard Marc who will be cruising with us for the next month. Unfortunately the photographer failed to get photos of these folks!

Nancy, Luther, Cindy, and Bill with Bradley and Kathy aboard Shear Madness

Our next stop was the Great Wicomico River where our friends Nancy and Luther have a weekend home. We found a nice anchorage right in front of Tiffany Yachts, a local boatbuilder and a quick call to their office resulted in permission to tie our tender up at their dock when we went ashore. Nancy’ sister Cindy and husband Bill joined us for a day of bridge playing and great food at Nancy and Luther’s. Luther is an expert player and was able to coach us all on ways to improve our bidding and playing. Nancy fixed a fantastic dinner of slow cooked pork shoulder and lima bean salad. On Sunday, they all joined us on board Shear Madness for a brunch of bagels and lox and a few more hands of bridge. We spent a couple more days in the Great Wicomico, exploring by tender and ashore, with Bradley and Marc cleaning the bottom – this needs to be done regularly to prevent growth from occurring.

Marc joins us to cruise for awhile

Finally it was time to depart Deltaville for the trip north to Solomons, MD. All was fine – for a while! We were running on autopilot and I was doing a log entry when Bradley came to the pilothouse and asked why I had turned the Auto off. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but when I looked the Autopilot display was blank – nothing. And the boat was off course. After correcting the course manually we started looking for the problem. We had a few phone calls with our electronics expert Brian and determined that we do indeed have a problem that will need further diagnosis. I’ll report more of the technical details in the next post. Otherwise it was a great trip and we pulled into Solomons Yachting Center by mid-afternoon, only to discover that our Sub-Zero refrigerator was running warm and the “service” light was on. Ah, the joys of cruising!

Bradley, Kathy, Ron, June, Wendy, and Bernie at Samos

As we came into Solomons, we saw a Nordhavn coming out. Unable to read their name and not seeing them on AIS, I called on the radio and soon found it was Egret, a well-known Nordhavn 46 that circumnavigated the world, keeping a detailed blog of their experiences. We learned from them that our friends Braun and Tina and their new Nordhavn Ocean Pearl were in Solomons. We look forward to catching up with them. No sooner had we docked and finished a quick washdown of the boat than yet another Nordhavn came into view – Tango, a beautiful 78-footer (this is the 76 with a two foot extension to the swim platform and a close cousin to Shear Madness). We were only able to say a quick hello but it was good to see them.

After talking to a Sub-Zero repairman, we determined that the cooling fan was bad and were able to temporarily bypass the problem by positioning an external fan to blow through the condenser coils. That will work until next week when the fan can be replaced. So our food is safe for now! Bradley and I rented a car to drive to Baltimore to attend Trawler Fest, a boat show targeted to people who like cruising slowly on trawlers. We caught up with many good friends, including Jeff from Nordhavn and Patti and John. I wore my Shear Madness T-Shirt and as a result met several folks from the Nordhavn Dreamers group who I had only know via email before. We had a fabulous dinner in Greektown at Samos with Ron and Wendy and Bernie and June. The Ravens fans were out for a home game against the Browns, which the Ravens did win.

We’ll be in Solomons for a week before heading back to Deltaville. Please leave a comment below or click here to email us. Check out new book reviews and see our latest 3-minute video.

Sept. 12, 2012

This post is guest-authored by Patti Dimiceli who, along with her husband John, joined us for the trip from Wrightsville Beach, NC to the Chesapeake Bay. Besides being excellent crew, Patti is the acclaimed author of “Embrace the Angel” (http://embracetheangel.com/) , the incredible story of her daughter Amber and her battle with cancer. Following is Patti’s story of her passage aboard Shear Madness.

Monday evening, 6 pm

The Passage Crew – John, Patti, Kathy, and Bradley

As I sit in the pilothouse of “Shear Madness,” I can smell Kathy cooking up a delicious Moroccan dinner and hear the generator’s soft hum mixing with gentle laughter of the water slapping the hull. Like a dancer’s body surrendering to the music, I feel the boat swaying from side to side ever so slightly as it pivots on its anchor. When I look up from my computer screen, the blue gray rippled water forms the foundation of a scene I’ve dreamed about for a very long time: Being cut off from land, on a boat, with time suspended in this perfect moment. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is off our port side, a dark green line of trees and shrubs divide sea from sky, the setting sun gives the white and gray clouds a luminous, almost dreamlike look. How can I make this moment last forever?

Cape Lookout Sunset

After leaving Wrightsville Beach while the rest of the world was sleeping this morning, we headed offshore and into the undulating seas. Ten hours later, we dropped anchor to swim, check the bottom for growth, read, relax, and get ready for our 30 hour passage around Cape Hatteras and into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, headed to our home in Annapolis. Lots of questions fill my mind: What will the seas be like? Rough? Calm? Will it be cloudy, rainy and dark or will the half moon give us enough light to see the horizon? What time will my 4-hour middle-of-the-night watch start? Although both Bradley and Kathy have spent a good deal of time going over procedures and checklists, will I forget anything? Being on a Nordhavn gives me a true sense of safety and security, but Mother Nature and human nature make me a little nervous. Will I… will they take the trust of putting our lives in each others’ hands as seriously as life and death? Because it is.

Many of the questions I’ve had for years about “living the dream” have been answered in the two days since we’ve been aboard, but a few still linger. I’m convinced that John and I will commit to finding our way to the water, then create a plan—not a dream—to do it. The big question is: Will this offshore passage cement or dissolve our desire to do offshore passages… to cross oceans? One of the most important factors in buying a boat is how you want to use it. We constantly ask ourselves: Do we want to stay close to shore, cruising The Great Loop, lakes, and local waters or do we want to go further offshore to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, and on to the waters of the world? No doubt tomorrow will give us some clarity and help us define the rest of our lives together.

Tuesday morning, 9:21 am

Leaving Cape Lookout

Heading out to sea! After a peaceful night full of rest, at-anchor sounds of the boat, and a very deep sleep, I am ready to face whatever may come my way. Waking up for brief moments through the night, I had to reorient myself, “Oh, I’m on a boat,” then fall fast asleep again. Once, I thought I heard the sounds of someone, something swimming and lay there listening and imagining. “Is that a fish… a dolphin?” I wanted to peek out the port but would have to crawl over John to do it. Before I could think further, I returned to sleep. Living on a Nordhavn is beginning to blur the lines between reality and dreaming. The “butterflies” in my stomach are mixing with the bowl of fresh fruit that is breakfast. A last “lap of the boat” check is under way. We want to be sure all lockers, drawers, and loose items are stowed and fastened. Watch schedule is set, safety at sea instructions absorbed, and the most reassuring statement by Bradley: “Wake me if you have any questions, or doubt, or feel uncomfortable in any way.” Whew! I am not alone.

We’re planning to go around Cape Hatteras about 25 miles offshore (subject to weather, of course) to ensure that we don’t join the over 600 shipwrecks that are sleeping on the bottom of the ocean. “The Graveyard of the Atlantic,” as it’s known, is notorious for its weather changing quickly as well as its shifting sandbars, colliding waves, and unpredictable currents. I think we’re as prepared as we can be, but I’m still a bit apprehensive. Bradley and John set the fishing lines to trail off the stern, using the lures we brought aboard with us. Kathy loaded and turned on the Crock Pot so that we can eat whenever we want through our night watches, then settled in the main salon to read.

John’s got a big one!

4 pm

Just finished my first watch: 4 hours. In that time, I did four Engine Room checks and four entries into Shear Madness’ ship’s log. Excited by being on board and the opportunity to learn more about the displays, gauges, reading the seas, charts, etc., I was definitely not bored. John, Bradley, and Kathy napped and relaxed. Seas are following on our starboard quarter at 4-6 feet and getting bigger. Wind is about 21 knots. Our speed is averaging 8.5 knots, a nice push by both sea and wind. The ride is comfortable, made more so by the stabilizers. The boat rides in a circular, gentle counter clockwise motion but I hardly notice the movement at all. It’s so soft and continuous that it’s actually relaxing. I am loving Nordhavns more and more!

Earlier we passed a 60′ Hatteras fishing boat going the opposite way. At first glance, I thought was a 40-footer since it was being tossed around so much. It’s bow vanished beneath the waves then rose up carrying the seas over the tuna tower. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be in that boat,” I thought as I captured the action on my video camera. A half hour after our fishing lines were set, we heard Kathy yelling, “Fish! Fish! Fish!” With the autopilot on and the the horizon clear, the three of us ran to the stern to see one of the fishing lines straining. Bradley strapped on his rod holder, got one for John, and the two of them spent the next twenty minutes or so reeling in a big tuna. Carving our catch into steaks, we anticipated the next evening’s dinner would be fresh and delicious.

7 pm

We have officially rounded Cape Hatteras! Glad it’s still light out and we can see the sea.

Quite a workout, but success!

Winds have picked up to 32 knots; seas have risen to 6-8 feet, though it seems more like 10 feet as they come in sets. Walls of water replace the horizon as the boat dips down into the troughs. The good news about it being light out is that you can see the following seas. The bad news is that you can see the following seas! Good news: We are traveling at over 10 knots at 1100 rpm. Bad news: We may get to the mouth of the Chesapeake a lot sooner than first anticipated and may have to adjust our time to allow for tides, etc.

Now that both the seas and wind have picked up, the rolling motion has greatly increased, but it’s not uncomfortable. I laugh at myself as I walk like a drunken sailor and find myself overcompensating to step up or go down a step, sometimes missing. My body is definitely getting a workout. Timing a large movement from one handhold to another with the crests and troughs takes some practice but it’s fun. “One hand for yourself and one for the ship” is a phrase I learned while living aboard a 38′ Hans Christian sailboat and I’ve never forgotten it. Today, it has even more meaning. As time goes on, I am feeling more and more comfortable with being on a boat offshore. Many of the questions and doubts I had are being answered and my confidence is building. The displays and gauges in the pilothouse that once daunted me, now reassure me that we are on course, not ready to collide with anything, the engines, stabilizers, and systems are all okay, and the weather on the screens match the weather I see outside. In this case, knowledge is not only power, but adds to my sense of well being.

Cape Lookout Lighthouse through the anchor chain

The four of us have fallen into a rhythm. We move around Shear Madness in tune with the boat, the weather, the watch schedule, and each other. Privacy and personal space is respected and readily available. We also enjoy each other’s company and learning about the people we’ve chosen to trust with our lives, if only for a few days. No matter what happens after this, sharing this adventure with Bradley and Kathy will always have a special place in my heart… in my “Memory Bank” of life. Waiting for darkness with some trepidation.

8 pm

Just as the sun was setting, Bradley spotted another pod of dolphins racing us through the ocean! Unpredictable and frisky, they kept us with us, even at 9 knots. The four of us stood behind the Portuguese bridge shouting encouragement and greetings at these delightful creatures. I couldn’t stop smiling and feeling like a kid on my first trip to the aquarium, but even better. These creatures were free! As I sit in the main salon writing this, I can see the last sliver of light fade. The sunset was glorious, especially since it was cloudy all day. Despite the fact that it is dark outside, inside the boat it’s warm and cozy. I see a metaphor. It reminds me of life—sometimes dark, stormy, and unpredictable. No matter what dark, stormy “weather” is going on outside, having a warm “light” on inside can give you a sense of peace, calm, and confidence.

Wednesday 4 am

Night watch complete, I lay in my bunk (actually, it’s a nice, comfy Tempurpedic double mattress) reflecting on the past several hours. I am as relaxed and comfortable as I have ever been, even more so. Why? Because I am not tethered to land… to the internet, phone, TV, appointments, obligations, responsibilities. The only responsibility I have is to the crew on this boat. Although it is huge and, when I’m on watch, their life is in my hands, being in a Nordhavn and having Bradley and Kathy patiently walk me through the systems, engine room checks, displays, etc. have made all the difference in my comfort level. Because I am a “Student of Life,” I know what I don’t know and look forward to learning more about the cruising life on a trawler.

John and Patti relax on the flybridge

In the wee hours of the morning, Bradley and I sat in the wheelhouse talking, debating, solving all of the world’s problems. We both agree that fear is the biggest motivator which drives most people to make decisions in their lives. It’s fascinating to explore this theory and how it applies to boating, especially passage-making. “Just do it!” is advice that’s repeated over and over on the “Nordhavn Dreamers” message board. These words pushed me to overcome my fear and make the decision to join Shear Madness on this passage. Even though I knew it would only be for a week, I needed to live the lifestyle to know it. I’ve gotten a lot of pleasure reading about the adventures of all of the “doers” on this site. Now I feel as though I’ve become one, too. This experience planted the seed, gave me a glimpse, opened the door (or hatch, if you will) to a whole new world full of wonder. I want this to last.

12 noon

Slept like a baby. In fact, I could have slept more if I were at home and not about to go over the lower Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel and up the bay. Way too excited to linger in bed. By the time I got dressed and dashed up the stairs to the pilothouse, the three of them were up, had coffee, and were about to wake me to see us making the left turn towards the bay. Funny, I thought passage-making would be monotonous. But my days and nights have been filled with events, watches, meal times, good conversations, staring out to sea or up at the sky and pondering, filming, photo taking, and a bit of reading and writing. This morning we splurged. Our usual breakfast of fresh fruit was followed by some scrambled eggs and pumpernickel toast. Kathy used her bread machine to make a loaf which was much better than store bought. (Note to self: Add bread-maker to a toaster and VitaMix for onboard appliances.) Coffee in hand, I found a nice spot on the flybridge to relax and reflect upon where I’ve come from and where I’m going.

Kathy and Patti in the tender

9 pm

We dropped the anchor in Mobjack Bay early this afternoon. It is a large inlet on the Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay. I feel a little melancholy to be connected to land and everything it represents again. Time to return to my “real life” responsibilities, appointments, and obligations. But I wonder, which life is more real: Being on the ocean or living on land? At this time in our lives, John and I need to find a balance—as well as a plan—to enjoy both land and sea. We don’t have to choose between them.Perhaps a smaller boat, which would allow us to keep our land home and save money for cruising, is a more practical … a more realistic approach. It would get us on the water sooner rather than later and give us a chance to live the lifestyle and hone our skills without mortgaging our future. This clarity came to me in the cockpit of Shear Madness late this afternoon. As I stood at the transom rail with the boat behind me looking out on the water, I realized what was really important. “No matter how big the boat or who the builder is, the view is always the same.” As long as I have time and the health to enjoy it, being on the water with the man I love is all that truly matters.

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August 27, 2012

We had a wonderful stay at Seapath Marina in Wrightsville Beach, NC. It’s a beautiful area with water everywhere and people, kids, and lots of dogs out enjoying it every day. (Note – the Channel entrance is much better marked than charts indicate – we entered at night with no problems.) Every morning, dozens of swimmers and paddleboarders take to the water and seemingly every other boat that goes by has one or more dogs on board. It’s a casual, fun, and exceptionally friendly place full of nooks and crannies to explore and sprinkled with great restaurants.

Two Nordhavns at Seapath Marina

We had a chance to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones. We were referred to this marina by our friend George, also a Nordhavn owner, and ended up docked right in front of him. George helped us with various boat projects, lending us tools, materials, and expertise. He even loaned us his crab pot, which promptly went missing! Bradley and George set the crab pot – a wire cube in which you place fish heads as bait, then let it sit on the bottom in 6-10 feet of water. Crabs can get in to eat the bait, but then cannot get out. The pot is attached to a large float so that you can find it to retrieve later. When Bradley and I went to pick up the pot, it was nowhere to be found. Several searches by George and Bradley were unsuccessful. We finally determined that the pot had been set right on the edge of a change in water depth from 6ft to 30ft and had fallen into the hole! After purchasing a new pot, we caught lots of wonderful crabs which George steamed and shared with us. My friend Nancy from Southport, just south of us, drove up for a visit. We took the tender to Dockside restaurant and had a lovely lunch right on the Intracoastal Waterway, then went exploring the area by tender.

Steve W comes for a visit

Bradley and I went out with a dive boat about 20 miles offshore to dive two shipwrecks. The water was surprisingly clear so we had great visibility. We saw some enormous sharks (the non-man-eating kind) and lots of fish. Bradley also took a two day free-diving class. Free-diving is a sport in which people see how deep they can dive without a tank – they must hold their breath. While the “going deep” aspect of it is not of interest, Bradley did want to learn some techniques for improving his breath-holding capability so that he can stay under longer when he is spearfishing with snorkel gear. He says he picked up some good tips and is anxious to be able to test them when we are next able to spearfish.

Bradley with new friends Melody and Matt

As for new friends, we met Steve W, who lives in Wilmington, NC and is a member of the Nordhavn Dreamers group, a collection of people who have a love for Nordhavns and/or someday want to own one. Steve and I have been communicating via email for several months so it was great to meet him in person. He is an airline pilot and also a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, so he had great information to share with us and we had a very nice visit. Hopefully he will be able to join us on a passage someday. We also met Melody and Matt, who were walking their dog on our dock. They have a sailboat at the marina and a house nearby. What began as a casual dock conversation “Nice dog”, “Thanks, nice boat”, led to inviting Matt on board for a tour of the boat, then Melody coming on board while Matt took the dog. They then invited us to their home for a fabulous dinner and offered to let us borrow their paddleboards so we could see how we liked it. We did try our hand at paddleboarding and did enjoy it. It’s a sport that’s gaining in popularity as you stand atop a specially design surfboard and paddle around. The view is much better than when seated in a kayak, but it does take a little practice, especially to learn to turn! We are still deciding whether to add a paddleboard to our on-board toy inventory.

We also met Dave and Cassie on the boat next door, Aussie Rules. No, it’s not Greg Norman’s boat by the same name, but Cassie is Australian. They have two dogs, which was also the door-opener for our first conversation. We all went out to dinner and were joined by their friends, Joe and his wife Debbie. We had great dinner out and enjoyed getting to know everyone.

Trying our hand at Paddleboarding

I engaged in a bit of geocaching, a good way to explore an area. Bradley had several nice bike rides, I went for some long runs, and we got in plenty of walking. As for work, we did a few small projects. One reason we don’t like to be in marinas is that you get a lot of growth from the warm and nutrient rich water around a marina. One project was to clean our sea strainers – these are akin to a skimmer in a swimming pool that strain the seawater coming into the boat that cools the engines and air conditioning. We did not run our engines or generators while plugged into shore power, but the hot summer was still in full force, requiring air conditioning and thus open thru-hulls with seawater passing through the strainers. Small sea critters, like barnacles and their cousins, attach to the hoses and strainers and then grow into bigger sea critters. They stink and need to be scraped off. It takes several hours to clean but also provides a good chance to check all the systems. Similarly, sea critters attach to the bottom of the tender and after two weeks in the water, we took it out to the ocean where we could see well enough to scrape the bottom. It’s amazing how much can grow in just a couple short weeks!

Growth on the basket the sea strainers go in

Aside from normal maintenance, the only other issue we have for now is a slight leak in a fresh water pump. Bradley has taken it apart and was able to minimize the leak and we have ordered and received a “diaphragm repair kit” that will fix it for good. But for those who are hoping for more details about problems, you won’t get them this time! Yea!

Finally it was time to depart from Wrightsville Beach and head north to the Chesapeake Bay. For this journey, we are being joined by some friends who we also met via the Nordhavn Dreamers group, Patti and John. They live in Annapolis so rented a car to drive one-way and will cruise back with us. We had planned to depart the weekend of August 25 (which is also the one-year anniversary of our lightning strike!). But Hurricane Isaac and Tropical Storm Joyce had us guessing until the very last minute. When we were sure Isaac was going west and Joyce had only a short stint as a named storm, we proclaimed all systems GO and Patti and John hit the road, arriving on Saturday, August 25^th. Sunday would be spent getting ready to depart and we actually left the dock at 4am Monday morning. Hopefully the next blog entry will be guest-authored by Patti!

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August 7, 2012

Kathy uses special “Transducer Paint” on the sonar transducer

The first order of business at Jarrett Bay was to have the boat hauled out to assess the condition of our bottom paint (scroll down to technical details if interested). The haul out went smoothly and representatives from Core Creek Marine and Bluewater, the paint manufacturer, were on hand to develop a game plan for re-painting the bottom. Work commenced the next day and we hoped that our time out of the water would be limited to just two weeks. Since it is the tourist season in Beaufort, our house in Sea Gate where we stayed last time was not available for rental and we stayed at the nearby Core Creek Lodge, an inexpensive motel just minutes from the boat yard. We found newly renovated and clean rooms, helpful and friendly service, a room adjoining a full kitchen, and a wonderful gas grill, all right on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Bradley on scaffolding working on scupper doors

While the boat was out of the water we also decided to have the hull waxed again and contacted Bruce from Ultra-Bright who had done a great job last time. Soon he was at work and pointed out some rust stains coming from the hinges on the doors to the scuppers (these are trap-doors that open one-way to allow water to drain from the decks, but do not allow water to come in the other way). This turned into a typical boat project – start one job and find another! Each door was secured by two hinges, which of course are not easy to get to as they are on the outside of the boat and way up high, requiring scaffolding to reach. Each stainless steel hinge had to be removed, buffed by Bradley on a machine, then hand polished with metal polish by Kathy. Finally each one had to be re-attached and sealed with Sikaflex, a special adhesive weather-stripping compound, that is very messy to work with. You always end up with black goo on yourself and parts of the boat where you do not want it! All told, this task consumed more than 20 hours of time.

Pam, Lenny, Carole and Danny visit Cape Lookout (Shear Madness is just visible above Carole’s pink hat)

We had a chance to catch up with many of the friends we made last time we were here, including a wonderful dinner with Gene and Pat, owners of Jenny the Sea Gate dog and their new addition, Peepers, a baby duck that Gene (a duck hunter) has adopted and is raising. Their daughter Cathy, who owns Crystal Coast Interiors, invited us to a birthday party for her associate, Beth, where we met up with many of the Jarrett Bay folks who had worked on the boat last time. We also visited with Karl and Dianne and David at Sea Gate. At the boatyard, we re-connected with Steve and Linda Dashew on their boat Windhorse. Steve is a well-known boat designer who we had gotten to know on our last visit. We had a wonderful dinner out with them and our boats were nose to nose for a few days, allowing Steve to snap a very scary photo during a storm. We also had a lovely dinner with Billy and Linda from Southern Comfort and took a trip to Southport to visit our friend Nancy where we had a nice visit. Tony, a colleague from my Landmar Systems days, now lives in Greeneville, NC and stopped by for a visit. We also took a trip to the Raleigh area to visit Jordan, our dog, who lives there with

his foster mom, Meg. Jordan, who is now 13, continues to amaze us with his good health and zest for life. His shoulder and hips are pretty creeky now, but he doesn’t want to slow down!

Celebrating Dad’s birthday in Naples

We were back in the water in just two weeks, a major accomplishment, and headed out to Cape Lookout for a few days of fun. Cape Lookout is just a two hour trip from Jarrett Bay so soon we were anchored and enjoying the chance to swim, kayak, and explore. We went ashore to see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and museum and took the tender to Harker’s Island. Cathy and her husband Cory came out for a visit and delivered a part we had ordered and Pam, Lenny, Danny and Carole from Sea Gate came out in their boat for a visit and a day on the beach. They left us with delicious tomatoes and cantaloupe from their gardens – very yummy!

Next up was a 70 mile trip to Wrightsville Beach, about a ten hour trip. We planned for an 8pm departure and were actually underway by 7:30pm. Despite slowing the boat to less than 6 knots for the final two hours, we still arrived at the entrance to Masonboro inlet before sunrise. Fortunately it is well marked and gave us a chance to practice our entrance skills. Soon we were safely docked at Sea Path marina, where we left the boat for a few days to fly to Naples, FL to celebrate Bradley’s father’s 79^th birthday. We will stay here in Wrighstville Beach for a couple weeks before heading north to the Chesapeake Bay. We don’t want to get there until September as we have very bad memories of being on the Potomac on August 25^th last year! Speaking of which, I have now completed the epic saga of the lightning strike and ensuing repairs.

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Technical Details

1. Bottom Paint. When in Jarrett Bay for the lightning repairs, we had extensive work done on the bottom (unrelated to the lightning strike). When we had purchased the boat in 2010 we knew it had some blisters on the bottom and had planned to address them at the next haul out. These were caused when during the fairing process in the initial build, the wrong kind of filler was used and it absorbed water, causing blisters. As a result, we had to remove all bottom paint, including the barrier coat, sand the bottom to remove the blister causing filler, then re-apply three barrier coats and three coats of bottom paint. The first coat of bottom paint was green and the second two were black. This allows you to tell when you are down to the last coat as the green will begin to show, at which point you would re-apply the bottom paint (but not usually the barrier coat). How long this takes depends on many factors, but generally we would expect at least 18-24 months before needing to re-paint the bottom. However, just two months after leaving Jarrett Bay, Bradley inspected the bottom (which we always do when at anchor) and noticed bits of green already showing through. He notified Core Creek Marine, the yard that had done the bottom job, and the paint manufacturer that we may have a problem. By the time we reached the Bahamas, we could clearly see green showing in many places. We arranged to return to Jarrett Bay and have the boat hauled out so the paint company representative could inspect it and determine what had happened. Sure enough, when the boat was hauled, it revealed that the bottom paint had in essence “fallen off”. It had been applied exactly according to manufacturer’s specifications for temperature, time between coats, etc. The paint company has no reports of similar problems. Everyone was stumped as to what had happened, but we agreed to a plan whereby the paint company would supply more paint and the yard would provide the labor to apply it, all under warranty. Obviously, we will monitor it very closely.
   
2. Sea-Tel. Upon arrival at Jarrett Bay we were unable to get a DirecTv signal. We had replaced several components of our Sea-Tel satellite system while in Florida. While this normally would not have been a critical problem, the Olympics were about to start! Steve, our electrician in NC and his associate Fran were finally able to track down two problems. First, there was a bad motor in the antenna unit, resulting in a “dead spot” during the search process. Second, there were two wires leading into the multi-switch that were reversed. Soon we were back on track with TV, ready to record all the Olympic events!
   
3. Frequency Meters. I previously reported that the new frequency meters on our main power board were not working. We ordered new ones from Nordhavn (under warranty) and replaced them. They seem to be fine now.
   
4. Spot lights – our outdoor spot lights had been blowing out bulbs. Steve tested the lights and found no significant problem – he suggested that we upgrade to a heavier duty bulb so all bulbs have been replaced.
   

July 17, 2012

Kathy secures the tender with the cables from Naples

After arriving back at Old Port Cove Marina in Palm Beach, we completed the remaining repairs and finishing touches from the lightning strike (scroll to end for technical details). We then flew out to Colorado to attend a friend’s wedding and to visit some family, and then returned to begin our journey north. Our friends Bruce and Anne from Florida joined us for the trip to Charleston, SC then on to Beaufort, NC. Our plan was to sail to Charleston, a trip of about 360 miles which we estimated would take about 48 hours, then to continue on to Beaufort, another 200 miles. We wanted to spend the 4^th of July in Charleston where we were last year as the fireworks show from the harbor was really spectacular.

Peanut Island is a bit crowded!

The weather was looking good, and Bruce and Anne arrived on Saturday, June 30^th. We had planned to depart the marina late that afternoon to anchor at Lake Worth Inlet, but two things deterred that plan. First, as so often happens with boat projects, we were scrambling to finish a couple of jobs. Bradley was still working with a Yacht Tech technician to replace some sensors and a gasket on the small generator and Jeff the Yacht Doctor was finishing up some gelcoat repairs and some cleaning, which stretched well into the evening. Bradley, Bruce and I took a ride in the tender out past Peanut Island where we snorkeled and swam, then came back to store the tender on deck. This is the large, 18-foot Nautica tender that we had left behind when we went to the Bahamas, but now it was to come along with us. After giving it a good cleaning we lifted it up on deck with no problem. All that remained was to secure it in place with the special cables that hold it firmly on deck. Uh oh! The cables were nowhere to be found! Since we had left the tender behind for our trip to the Bahamas, we had not seen the cables in over two months. Where could they be? After searching every nook and cranny on the boat where they would logically be we had a horrible thought – had we taken them to Naples to store there? Yes, that’s most likely what we had done. But Richard, our Naples roommate, was off on a trip and the only way to get the cables (if they were there) was to drive over. So early Sunday morning I set off for a 5-hour round trip drive to Naples while Bradley, Bruce, and Anne made final preparations for our departure. Our backup plan was to buy some nylon straps to hold the tender in place – setting off without having it properly secured was not an option!

Anne tests the self-timer on her camera (Bradley, Kathy, Bruce, Anne)

Luckily, the cables were indeed in Naples, so I grabbed them and returned to Palm Beach. Soon the tender was secure and we were set to go. The new plan was a mid-afternoon departure, heading straight out to sea and north to Charleston. We had to wait for the tide to rise a bit but by 3pm the lines were cast off and we were on our way. Passing by Peanut Island, where hundreds of boats and thousands of people competed for space and created navigational hazards made us anxious to reach the open ocean. But just as we passed through the inlet, we noticed our stabilizers were not working. They were flashing a message “backing” meaning they thought the boat was moving backwards even though we were not. While we expected reasonably calm conditions, we did not want to embark on this trip with no stabilizers! After a few phone calls and a check in the engine room, Bradley found and fixed the problem and we were on our way with all systems operational!

Sunset at sea

As evening fell, we found ourselves alone and making great time. We were in the Gulf Stream, benefitting from the strong current to add a few knots to our speed. We were averaging more than 9 knots, running our engines at 1025 RPM and burning just six gallons of fuel and hour. Not a bad start! Night brought a beautiful moon and continued calm seas with a breeze from our stern. We spent parts of our night watches in the flybridge enjoying the peacefulness. In the morning we were treated to a nice dolphin show and continued to make great time. Bruce and Anne, who have experience in smaller boats, were enjoying the overnight passage, though the guest cabins can get a bit bumpy on a passage as they are in the bow of the boat. But the reclining chairs and couch in the salon and the flybridge settee proved to be good places for naps!

Bruce mans the fishing line while Anne documents

The fishing poles were out and Bruce landed a small tuna. Another tuna was brought all the way to the boat before it got away. And we hooked a Big One – not sure what it was, but Anne saw it leap and noted that it had a big bill. It was definitely big but it took the hook right off the lure and escaped. The wind and waves picked up a bit – nothing too scary but enough to curtail our fishing for the second day as we had 4-5 foot following seas which would make it hard to land a fish. Our speed remained good (we even hit 14 knots during our daily 15 minute Wide Open Throttle run) and by Tuesday morning we were pulling into Charleston Harbor where we anchored near Ft. Sumter, a perfect place to view the fireworks. We wasted no time in launching the tender and going exploring. Bruce and Anne had lived in Charleston so were great tour guides. We went up Shem Creek for a lovely lunch, then on to Ft. Sumter which Bruce and Anne had not visited before. Most visitors to the Fort come on a tourist boat. You can come by private boat, but it is not set up to be real easy to do. At low tide, there is virtually no way to get onto the dock, but with a little creativity you can land on a nearby beach and walk to the entrance. The nice thing is that once the tour boat leaves, you have the whole place to yourself until the next boat arrives.

Bruce and Anne at Ft. Sumter

The 4^th of July brought clear skies and bright, hot sunshine. We visited the Citadel, where Bruce had graduated in 1965 and is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame for his wrestling. Bradley had also attended the Citadel, though it was just for a summer camp program when he was a teenager. The campus was very quiet but Bruce showed us all the sights and made a great tour guide. After a nice lunch we returned to the boat for a swim and to rest up for the evening’s festivities. After our two day passage, we all greatly enjoyed steaks on the grill as darkness set in and the first fireworks began. Once again, we were able to see dozens of fireworks shows – all along the skyline the sky was ablaze. The two largest shows – at Sullivan Island and on the Yorktown Aircraft Carrier/Museum were the grand finale and they were both spectacular. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the 4^th of July!

Ed and Marilynn visit for breakfast

On the morning of the 5^th, our good friends Ed and Marilynn came for a visit. They have a house on nearby Folly Beach and we picked them up at Ft. Johnson for the short trip to Shear Madness where we enjoyed breakfast in the flybridge and a chance to catch up. After dropping them off, we loaded the tender back on deck, raised anchor, and set off for our next destination, Beaufort, NC., a trip of just over 200 miles. It was a pleasantly uneventful trip, again with following seas. We arrived in Beaufort the next afternoon and wanted to drop anchor for the night. We called our friends Billy and Linda, fellow Nordhavn owners from Beaufort, to seek their advice about our proposed anchorage and they gave it a big thumbs up. Then they jumped into their Boston Whaler and came out for a visit, bringing us blueberry muffins and homemade peach ice cream! I can tell you that getting ice cream delivered after a long night passage is really wonderful!

Kathy, Bradley, and Anne

On Saturday, we continued on to Jarrett Bay, where we will stay for a couple weeks. It was time to get the docking lines and fenders out. The current was very strong and docking was not an easy process, but Captain Bradley handled the boat well and we had three people on the dock to help with lines, so soon Shear Madness was secure. Billy had offered to drive Bruce and Anne to pick up their rental car for their return trip to Florida, so we bid them goodbye. It was great to have Bruce and Anne along for this trip – Bruce helped with watches, engine room checks, and several projects and Anne was the official photographer (most of these photos are hers and there are actually some photos of Kathy in this post) and is a great cook! We hope to have them back on board again.

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Technical Issues:

1. Bottom Paint – During our stay at Jarrett Bay just a few short months ago, we had extensive and meticulous work done on the bottom, including sanding off the barrier coat, fixing some blistering problems, re-applying several barrier coats, and several layers of protective bottom paint – one green and two black in color. Shortly after reaching Florida in February, Bradley noticed that the bottom paint seemed to be coming off. There were many places where the green bottom paint was already showing through. We notified Core Creek, the yard that had applied the paint and made arrangements to return to Jarrett Bay to have the boat hauled out and inspected by Core Creek and a representative from the paint manufacturer. There have been no other reports of similar problems with this paint.
   
2. Generator – After replacing the circuit breaker and fuse in the Bahamas, the 20kw generator had been inexplicably shutting off. It was not under extreme load and not overheating and there is no apparent reason for it to simply shut off. It seems that there are some sensors that detect certain conditions like overheating that can malfunction and cause this problem. We ordered new sensors and replaced all of them. Of course this is easier said than done because in order to get to the sensors, then entire frame of the generator needed to be removed and re-assembled once the job was complete. While we were at it, we also replaced the rocker gasket. Since then, we have had no further problems!
   
3. Entertainment system – While in Palm Beach, we had replaced the major components of the Sea-Tel satellite TV system and it was working fine. We had also run a new cable from the DirecTV receivers in the Pilot House to the TV in the salon and everything was working just fine. Upon arrival in Beaufort, we noticed that the Sea-Tel is not locking onto the correct DirecTV Satellite. We also tried to watch a DVD in the salon and discovered that we cannot get sound. This had previously been working. Stay tuned for updates.
   
4. Surge arrestors – One of the last steps in the lightning repairs was to install additional lightning surge arrestors on our critical systems – the engine electronics and the navigational electronics. These arrestors are designed to absorb the charge from a lightning event and theoretically protect the downstream equipment. We don’t intend to test them!
   
5. Head system fuse – You may recall the fuse problem that prevented one of our heads from operating. Turns out there was a poor connection where the fuse plugs in which has now been fixed.
   
6. Frequency meters – The frequency meters on our main power control board have been flashing random numbers for weeks. These meters had been replaced as part of our repairs. James from Yacht Tech theorized that we simply got a bad batch of frequency meters, as he determined that the input to them was fine. We have ordered new ones for installation at Jarrett Bay.
   
7. Stabilizers – Upon departing from the marina at Palm Beach, we noticed that the stabilizers were not active and were flashing a message “backing” indicating they thought the boat was moving astern. A call to James at Yacht Tech (on a Sunday afternoon) resulted in thinking that perhaps a wire on the transmission had come loose. The stabilizers rely on information transmitted from the engines to know the current status of the boat and failure to get that information could confuse them. Sure enough, Bradley found a wire on the transmission that was disconnected, inadvertently bumped during other repairs. He and Bruce were able to reconnect it and the stabilizers were fine.
   
8. Watermakers – in the Bahamas we encountered a problem with one of our two Watermakers. A visit from Tom at Watermaker Marine revealed that one of our new membranes was not working correctly, resulting in the watermaker failing to get to an acceptable salinity level. Tom also replaced the diverter valve which funnels water into the tanks when the salinity reaches acceptable levels as this was also bad. The membranes for that unit were replaced and all is working fine now.

June 16, 2012

At Anchor near Staniel Cay

Since leaving Old Port Cove Marina on May 4^th, we spent 40 straight nights at anchor – no marinas, no dock lines or fenders. It’s hard to describe in words just how great it is to be back in cruising mode! The Exuma Islands turned out to be just what we needed. The water is crystal clear and warm, allowing us to spend plenty of time snorkeling, diving, spearfishing and kayaking. The locals are friendly and welcoming. We’ve met other cruisers for adventures, food, camaraderie, exchanging stories, and even Hearts games. The weather has mostly been good, with just a few stretches of wind and rain.

While in and around Staniel Cay, we met up with several different Nordhavns, including Migration (a 68), Mahara (a 62), Meander (a 47), Sojourn Mariner (a 47) and Downshifting (a 47). One great thing about being part of the Nordhavn community is that whenever you meet a fellow Nordhavn, you have instant friends. Alain and Michelle from Mahara, along with their friend Mike, were great fun and we spent time together diving, spearfishing, eating, and drinking. Mike had to return to his home in Jacksonville as Tropical Storm Beryl passed through, causing damage to his dock and boat. He arranged a flight out of Staniel Cay, with plans to return to help take Mahara back to the US in a couple weeks. We met Rick and Elizabeth from Sojourn Mariner and had nice reunions with Greg and Barbara from Meander and Doug and Karin from Downshifting though our stays only overlapped by a day.

Kate and Curt in their kayak

We also met some other great cruisers, and had an especially good time with Kate and Kurt from Interlude, a 74-foot Deerfoot sailboat. Like us, Kate and Kurt have a tandem Hobie kayak that can be both paddled as well as pedaled, like to snorkel and dive, and play hearts! We had several great expeditions and Kurt was also kind enough to help us with a small problem we had with our generator. We also attended a beach party and barbecue on the beach, organized by Herman, a cruiser who has spent some time here. Later, he joined a group aboard Shear Madness for a pot luck dinner.

There has been much to do in and around Staniel Cay. We have snorkeled the Thunderball Grotto, made famous by the 1964 James Bond movie Thunderball, dived at Jeep Reef and snorkeled in some incredible caves in the Exuma Land and Sea park, and spent many hours in the water spearfishing. In the Bahamas, spearfishing can only be done using two kinds of spears – a pole spear in which a pole with a sharp tip is launched using a large rubber band, or a Hawaiian Sling in which the spear is launched from a slingshot.

Why it’s called Jeep Reef

For either to be effective, you have to be in very close proximity to a fish as they do not have much range and lose momentum rapidly when fired. Bradley and some of our new friends are very proficient with the pole spear and have nabbed several groupers and grunts, making for some good meals. We also kill as many lion fish as possible, an invasive species not native to the area that are proliferating and destroying the reefs and native aquatic life. They too make for a nice meal, though many are too small to bother with cleaning. The water here is absolutely astounding – crystal clear and very inviting. It is so clear it is disconcerting as you can often clearly see the bottom even in 20 feet! It’s nice to be able to see your anchor when it drops and anything accidently dropped overboard it easy to retrieve!

Kim feeds a swimming pig

We also had several kayak expeditions, walked most of the way around Staniel Cay on land, and visited the swimming pigs several times. Big Majors Cay, near Staniel, is known for wild pigs (well, maybe not all that wild). Four large sows stake out their turf on a local beach and when dinghies approach for a visit, the pigs will swim out to greet them in hopes of a handout, which they almost always get. They are cute and quite the tourist attraction. We noticed that it is always the same four pigs on the beach, but there are other pigs on the island, apparently not allowed by the bossy sows to infringe on their territory.

We did take a few days to head south to George Town to pick up our friend Kim from New Zealand. Kim is a good friend we met while cruising in Australia and New Zealand on our previous boat. He was on a trip around the world, part business and had scheduled a week aboard Shear Madness. George Town is about 45 miles south, making for a nice day trip. We picked a day with nice weather and light winds forecast and headed out the Dotham Cut, an opening between islands that allows you to pass from the Exuma Bank into the Exuma Sound and deep ocean water. There are Cuts between many of the islands, but only some of them are suitable for us. Dotham is a nice deep and relatively wide cut, but even so, there’s a strong current and even in nice conditions, it’s a challenge. But we were safely through and had a great trip down to George Town, catching a very nice mahi-mahi on the way.

Bradley and Kim with Demarco, Wills, and Lucky at Rolleville

We anchored near Stocking Island in Elizabeth Harbor and snorkeled some local reefs before Kim’s arrival. While waiting for Kim, we were contacted by Mike from Mahara who was returning from Jacksonville into George Town with his wife and wondered if we could give him a ride back to Staniel Cay. He was not arriving for a couple days and we didn’t want to sit in George Town and wait, so we arranged to meet Mike at the north end of Great Exuma in Rolleville, about 15 miles north. Once we picked Kim up we headed up to Black Cay, near Rolleville and anchored. We were the only boat there and it was really idyllic. The snorkeling was great, though the spearfishing was only fair. Bradley did nab a nice fish, but it managed to get off the spear and was promptly eaten by a large barracuda that was lurking nearby.

We went ashore in our tender to explore and docked at the Exuma Point Beach Bar and Grill where we met the owner Demarco, and his two potcakes (Bahamian dogs) Lucky and Wills.

Eagle Ray in action

Demarco was a great source of information and a real entrepreneur with a very nice restaurant and beach. We soon set off for a walk, accompanied by Lucky and Wills. As we walked around Rolleville, we saw many people out working in their gardens – they were growing various vegetables in the hilly, rocky soil. We were greeted with warm smiles and waves. Soon, we were joined by a couple more dogs, who followed us all the way back. Although Demarco’s restaurant was not open on Tuesdays, he sold us some Kaliks, the local beer and we peppered him with questions about the Bahamas. We also asked him about local fish and what was safe to eat – some fish here carry ciguatera and can make you very sick. Soon he was in the kitchen, cooking us up some conch fritters and barracuda, which is safe to eat as long as its small. It was a wonderful lunch!

Mahara Dinner – Barbara, Kathy, Michelle, Bradley, Greg, Alain, Kim

Later that day we picked up Mike and his wife Donna and the next morning headed north back to Staniel Cay. It was a nice trip with great weather. The only problem was that we could not catch a fish! Back at Staniel, We took Kim to see Thunderball Grotto and the swimming pigs, followed by a great happy hour/dinner on board Mahara with Greg and Barbara from Meander also attending. Then we headed north towards Warderick Wells Cay and the Exuma Land and Sea park for a dive at Jeep Reef and a trip to the caves at Rocky Dundas – great fun!

Sadly, it was soon time to bid the Bahamas a fond farewell. Kim, who has his own boat back in NZ, was keen to do an overnight passage, so we did a day trip to the west end of New Providence where we anchored for the night, then departed for the 30 hour run back to Palm Beach. Conditions again were very pleasant with winds occasionally reaching 20 knots and maximum wave height around 4 feet. We spent most of the journey in the flybridge enjoying the view.

There are some updated book reviews, as well as several new videos – Bahamas Wildlife, Spearfishing, and Navigating from the Flybridge. Check them out if you’re interested and go to the Videos section of this blog for older videos. Click here to send us an email, or you can leave us a comment – we appreciate hearing from you!

Click any photo to enlarge it. If you like sunsets, check out the sunset photo gallery, and for those interested in technical details about problems we encountered, scroll down beneath the photos!

We experienced a few more problems during this cruise, none of them insurmountable and pretty typical of what happens when you are in cruising mode.

1. Head Pump. We have five Vacu-Flush toilets on board, all connected to one head pump which comes on when any toilet is flushed. We noticed that the pump was not coming on immediately when a toilet was flushed – there was a delay of several minutes, but then it would finally kick on. However, soon it would not come on at all. Reading the manual and reviewing the wiring diagram led us to suspect a relay switch – seems we could get the pump to start by tapping on it. Our friend Kurt from Interlude came by and verified we were correct in our diagnosis (note: when you ask a fellow cruiser for help, don’t start out with “we’re having a problem with our heads”). We switched to the backup pump which worked fine and found a source to order a couple new relays as we did not have one in our spare parts inventory. We planned to have it shipped to Kim, who was arriving in New York and staying at the YMCA (I hear it’s fun to stay at the YMCA, though Kim may disagree!). Both the package and Kim arrived at the YMCA on May 31^st, but when Kim inquired, the package was nowhere to be found. He chased it for the two days he was there but it never turned up. No problem – by this time Mike from Mahara was planning to meet up with us and he was able to get a relay from a local electrical supply shop. Upon his arrival, the relay was easily installed and the primary pump was back up and running.
   
2. Generator. We were running our smaller (20kw) generator with a modest load when it tripped the circuit breaker. Then it would not start back up. Attempting to diagnose the problem led to shorting out a fuse, making the problem worse. Again Kurt came over to lend a hand as he had experienced several problems with his generator (also a Northern Lights). We also emailed Bob Senter, a Northern Lights expert and good friend, who responded quickly with some advice. Turns out that coincidentally and unrelated to the circuit/fuse problem, a wire from the starter had come loose. It was reconnected and Kurt had a fuse that we could use, so the generator would start again. However, the circuit breaker showed some burn marks and we determined it needed to be replaced. Mike to the rescue again – he was also able to pick up the circuit breaker we needed and bring it along (note: when you have a boat, all your visitors/guests will be used to deliver parts). Now the generator is working pretty well, but it is occasionally cutting off (that is, shutting down altogether). We are working with James Knight to diagnose and fix this – it may be related to a bad sensor that is triggering the shutoff.
   
3. Fuse for Lower Cabin Head – All of our heads have electronic displays that show when it is “OK to Flush” by displaying a green light. When the toilet is flushed, the light turns red until the head pump has finished cycling, then it returns to green. Inside the toilet tank is also an electronic control board. In the lower head, neither of those units seemed to have power as all lights were off. The other four toilets were fine. We suspected a fuse but could not remember where they were located! This happened late at night when we were all tired so we decided to sleep on it. In the morning we pulled out the wiring diagrams and located the fuses behind the control panel in the Pilothouse. However, we soon determined that the fuses were not correctly labeled on the electrical drawings – the one marked Lower Cabin was actually Pilothouse, the one marked Master was actually Guest Starboard, etc. We went through each fuse and updated the drawings, testing each fuse as it was pulled. No fuses were bad and when the one for the Lower Cabin was re-inserted, the power came back on. So there is some kind of connection problem – possibly it comes loose when we are underway. Anyway, the problem was temporarily solved and we will follow up with making sure the fuse connection is good.
4. The Frequency display gauges on our main power panel have quit working. There are two of these gauges and first one began flashing unreadable data and a week later the second one did as well. The power panel and all the display gauges are new and James, the Nordhavn expert, believes we simply got a bad batch of frequency gauges. We’ll get some new ones and hope that solves the problem.
5. We had some difficulty getting weather broadcasts on our SSB radio. Even in anchorages where other boats clearly were getting the broadcasts, we could not hear clearly enough to make out the words. It seemed as if we were getting interference from somewhere, but even with all other equipment turned off, we could not hear any of the weather broadcasts. This is on the list to address back in Palm Beach.
6. We also had some trouble with our Internet connection. We wanted to get a Batelco sim card to install into our Telular SXT system to provide a boatwide wifi network but when we first went to the Batelco office on Staniel Cay, they were “out of sim cards”. First, let me say there are many Batelco towers spread throughout the Bahamas and Batelco offers very reasonable local voice and data plans. It was just bad timing that we arrived when the local office did not have any sim cards available. So we went to our backup plan – we have a Wave Wifi which can detect and connect to wireless networks. We attempted to connect to Exuma WiFi, which offers internet connection for about $10 a day. We connected long enough to pay our $10, then could not connect again! Later, we realized that if we took our laptops to the flybridge, they could connect (albeit the connection is very slow – Exuma Wifi suggests you have a bottle of Kalik handy to sip on between screen refreshes). This does not make sense as the Wave WiFi has a big antenna and should have longer range than our laptops. Finally, we did procure a Batelco sim card which did work sometimes. It was OK to send and receive emails, but would drop connection frequently and was not great for web surfing (such as trying to locate relays and circuit breakers for friends to deliver to us).

The long promised report of our lightning strike and ensuing repairs is undergoing final edits and will be published by the end of this month.