Storm Warning in Effect

To quote Environment Canada:

'Storm' force winds of 48 to 63 knots are occurring or expected to occur in this marine area. Please refer to the latest marine forecasts for further details and continue to monitor the situation through Canadian Coast Guard radio or Weatheradio stations.

DB Blockers

In 2007, I had two sets of DB Blockers made - one for hearing protection in noisy environments like the mechanical room of a building and a second set for use at rehearsals and concerts for the band.  I just got new attenuation filters for the musician's DB Blockers and put them in, so the French horns behind me at rehearsal won't blow out my ear drums.

Americas Cup Races

Well the racing is over and congratulations to Larry Ellison and his team!  I never thought sail racing could be so exciting.  These boats - or should I say airplanes flying very low - are amazing pieces of technology.  The coverage really gave one a sense of the situation and how close these boats are matched as well as the kind of split-second timing needed to win.  Amazing and dramatic to watch - and this from a cruising sailor who never really liked racing very much.

Sacrificial Covers on the Sails

Our boat is a relatively large sailboat.  We are not in the league of the big yachts you see out here, nor are we a "little boat".  We had made a lifestyle choice when we decided to come out to the coast to put our son in a place where we - as parents of an autistic child - could get the support as parents and he as a child in school.  All that has worked very well and we thank the British Columbia government and the Archdiocese private Catholic schools for their commitment to these children and their families.  We sold our house in Alberta and bought this boat and have never regretted it.

So what makes this different than living on land?  Well, the sails are part of it.  They are the engine that drives the boat and the Dacron really doesn't like the sun's UV rays and when they are stored  furled up around the furling foil, the outer layer of fabric is in the weather.  Hence the need to replace the covering from time to time.  As mentioned in an earlier post, we have the staysail down and we have so far cut 9 panels of 23" x 46" for the leech of that sail.  We ordered another 10 yards of Sunbrella material from Sailrite to cut the remaining 3 panels for the staysail and all the panels for the Genoa.  Once all the cuts are made with the trusty hot knife, we start sewing things together at Val's sail loft (our good friend's garage with ping pong table)

We'll take a lot of pictures of the process.  

Wireless Chain Counter II

The installation is complete with the sending unit now installed on the capstan side of the windlass.

An "L" Bracket Mounts the Sending Unit to the 

Windlass

Wireless Chain Counter

So here is the installation this far:

The Blue Circle Shows the Epoxied Magnet

in the Capstan

Installing the magnet on the capstan side was much easier than on the gypsy and made positioning the sensor (not shown) easier as well.  

Chain Counter Control Mounted

at the Helm

Wiring the Controller to the Up/Down 

Windlass Switch at the Helm

Chain Counter With its Sun Cover On

Around the World for Autism

I wonder how many families out their who are living with and loving an autistic child might sign on to a world circumnavigation for Autism Awareness and to help the cause??  A cruising of the world and documentation of it from THEIR point of view - the world through their eyes.  mmmmmmm.....

Kiwi Knowhow....

America's Cup continues to be dominated by the Nw Zealand team...

These things are so fast, the crew should have licences from the FAA...

The World Through His Eyes...

This idea has been slowly building in the back of my mind.   We bought this boat to see the world, but what would really be valuable is to chronicle that journey through the eyes of an autistic young man and have him narrate the story as it unfolds.  That young man is our son, and at 17, he has been the most wonderful gift that could have been given to us.   

Chain Counter

Turned on the the windlass switch and marked the gypsy and the chain.  I let the chain out by 1 rotation of the gypsy and measured the result as 12 inches of chain.  SO the calibration of the chain counter will be based on this measurement.

America's Cup Cat Aeronautical Engineering

Try this for a great explanation of how these sails rudders and dagger Boards work

America's Cup

America's Cup racing boat digs the bow in as she turns.  This is astounding!!

Len's Sail Loft

Arriving at our home slip at Shelter Island Marina, we took down the staysail.  The sacrificial cover was in tatters at the head of the sail and was showing major damage across the entire leech, so it is time to redo it.   BUT....

1. The original sacrificial cover was just another layer of sailcloth - NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
2. Have ordered SUNBRELLA material from Sailrite along with a professional hot knife because I've got the REALLY BIG SAIL - THE GENOA next because its cheap sacrificial cover is showing it's time - x'ed as well and I'll be making lots and lots and lots of cuts to the rolled Sunbrella material and a good hot knife will seal the edges and protect the material from fraying.  
3. So how do we do this on a sailboat you might reasonably ask?  Well, the staysail is only 170 square feet and one can manage that inside the living space of a larger sailboat such as ours and do what you need to do with your trusty and amazing Sailrite Sewing Machine.  BUT....  the genoa is 495 square feet and "there ain't no way" as you might colloquially express it.  So enter....
4. Val - a dear friend and Executive Assistant to one of our VP's at the office - who has so kindly offered her garage, ping-pong table and two other folding tables to turn the garage into "LEN'S SAIL LOFT" complete with space for my Sailrite LZ1 Sewing Machine.  God bless you Val.  This makes a big job much easier and limits the hard part to taking down the sail and transporting it in a VW Jetta to the "Loft".   

Wireless Chain Counter

Just received my wireless chain counter components and instructions....

I used to build model airplanes without looking at the instruction sheet.  I don't think I'll be doing that this time around...

Attempted Sinking of Island Packet yacht...

News at 11:00

Packeteers Pack It On...