October 20, 2024
I picked up McMurdo Smartfind S20 units before leaving for Mexico in 2016. The batteries in these units have a seven year life span which meant they expired in 2023, but I decided to disassembled one and checked the voltage. The battery pack had s lithium manganese dioxide (li-mno2) battery which is good for applications with long-life requirements. Reviewing datasheets…
October 4, 2024
Well let’s call it day 1.5 since I arrived late afternoon Thursday, but this was my first full day… Walking around, visiting the National Maritime museum, and a musical at the Sydney Opera House
September 29, 2024
Calculations were made, questions were asked, and the result was we needed water and the best place was from a drinking fountain just outside the ferry terminal. So early in the morning, with jerry cans in hand Carl and I headed to shore to start the process. It actually went smoothly and we received our arm work out carrying the…
September 27, 2024
No resting for us, with a strong southern blow coming that brought rain overnight, we wanted to leave the dock as early as possible. I had scouted a breakfast takeout place nearby and snagged a breakfast wrap and latte as soon as they opened. Back to Sky Pond it was time to go! Off the dock at 5:45am we made…
September 26, 2024
Overnight, at times it was a bit loud and the boat rolled uncomfortably, but nothing like we had seen previously, maybe a 3 out of 5. On my 3:00am watch the wind was up to 18 knots, so off went the engine. Our speed was bouncing between 5.5 and 6.0 knots, which would be fine. Continuing my podcast listening kept…
September 21, 2024
Amazing sailing conditions continued until around 4am when the wind dropped and Roxy had to start up an engine on her watch. Ugh, it was shaping up to be a motoring day (which was forecast). On the plus side it was incredibly mellow conditions. The fishing line was out early with a new lure in hopes of tuna poke bowls…
September 19, 2024
The day had arrived! The wind seemed a bit calmer overnight, which was nice since we knew the first hour would be bashing into the wind/waves. After coffee, we fired up the engine and were on our way. It took half an hour to get out of the bay. Once looping over the top it was a bit rough but…
September 18, 2024
Change of plans again, the forecast had stabilized and while we would have low winds for a good chunk of the passage to Australia it was good enough to head out. So today we would check out and provision for the passage. After a longer wait than typical, we flagged down a car. A nice couple drove us about half…
September 16, 2024
We have been watching the weather forecast and it was looking like we would leave in two or three days so that made today a big prep day to get the boat ready for a blue water passage. We didn’t kill ourselves but we did spend most of the day working. I also finished up the bottom cleaning, and was…
September 15, 2024
Provisions running a bit low I decided to head to Luganville to pick up a few things to hold us over until full provisioning the day before departure. I got very lucky and five minutes after hitting the road had a ride in the back of a pickup. It was a nice ride, waving to everyone as we bumbled along.…
September 14, 2024
The forecast was spot on with not much wind and mellow seas. After preparing for an all day bash, since we would be going into the prevailing wind/waves, it was a wonderful bit of luck. We were able to make water and relax for the 40-mile motor south, back to Palikulo bay. No real excitement to share. Around 2pm we…
September 2, 2024
Weeks since our last provisioning, it was time. Yesterday we flagged down a taxi driver and scheduled an 10am pickup. About twenty minutes early Roxy and I arrived at the spot and began waiting. A few taxis and a mini-bus stopped to ask if we needed a ride. We explained we had scheduled a pickup and were asked if we…