One Man and His Tropical Sailing Dream
On this day 25 years ago, Sparklemuffin was born in the sweaty tropics of San Jose, Costa Rica. She was long in gestation, and arrived a very healthy 17,000 pounds, entering this world known as “Bulldog Sally.” She has come so far, and yet her journey is just beginning. Her birthday wish is to return…
Yesterday I received my first weather fax! I might be a nerd (ok, replace “might be” with “am”), but it was pretty exciting. The clearest ones came from the Pt. Reyes station, which is closest. I did get one from as far as New Orleans, but none of the foreign stations I tried came in…
Below is the feedback I have offered in response to NOAA’s request for public comment on the elimination of raster charts. Greetings, I am writing in response to NOAA seeks public comment on ending production of traditional paper nautical charts. Executive Summary The move from raster to ENC charts is inevitable, and I am confident…
These custom-made chainplates will be mounted at the stern (rear) of the boat and used to attach a Jordan series drogue. The drogue (not pictured) is a long rope with 150 or so fabric cones sewn into it. When trailed from behind it slows the boat to keep it from going too fast down the…
Testing the new OptoLamp LED tri-color and anchor light, which will be mounted on top of the mast. It uses amazingly little power (< 0.2 amps) and is visible for two nautical miles. The high, bright light improves safety by increasing the ship’s visibility to others while at sea. And the LED anchor light will…