Year: 2011

Hayden in the bilge, cleaning! Thanks, Radeen!

Today is our 12th day since launching. It was a FUN day…up at daybreak, 0500, working website jobs and making coffee. Then we made a list of the boat jobs needed to prepare for our sail to Maine. Today’s list was:

1. Flush and clean the bilge! Is the pump working and is the float switch working?
2. Change fuel filters, primary 30 micron and secondary Yanmar 
3. Check transmission fluid and seal
4. Replace sea water impeller
5. Clean stainless steel with new product http://SpotlessStainless.com/
6. Hit the pool for a swim

 So, Hayden brought the hose below and cleaned the bilge and confirmed the pump is working fine. Next, we started with the engine, drained the fuel system, removed the Racor filter and dropped in a new 30 micron fuel filter. We then replaced the Yanmar engine fuel filter and re-filled the fuel system and purged the air and ran the motor. All was great…easy jobs.

Drop the starter to gain access to the impeller cover!

Next task was to replace the sea water impeller. On the 3JH2E Yanmar the starter needs to be dropped in order to get access to the impeller. Due to this….I have not replaced this impeller for 5 years! I thought it was time. So I dropped the starter and used my cool impeller puller to remove the old one and installed a new Yanmar impeller picked up at Haven Harbor. With a slick application of lithium grease, I was able to fit the new impeller into the water pump and get the fins leaning the right way as this pump rotates clockwise when viewed from the stern.

After lunch, Radeen took on the job of using the new Spotless Stainless cleaner and sealer, treating every stanchion and the bow and stern pulpit. This stuff is FANTASTIC! She brushed on the foamy liquid with a one inch brush, let it set for 30 minutes and then hosed it off! After that, rust is removed, the stainless is sealed, and it SHINES like brand new! It took her 3 hours to do the entire boat, with no hand-rubbing and the stainless looks fabulous now.

After this, we decided to hit the marina pool and cool off as it has been hot and humid here in MD and we needed a dip. So off to the pool we went.

This fun day was wrapped up with a cocktail party on CAVU, an Island Packet 380, with good friends from IP-45 Elena Paige and IP-35 Eau de Vie. Then we all had a fun dinner at the Harbor Shack. We are so blessed and so lucky to live this cruising life and to share the adventure with great friends. “They” always say….it is not the cruising…but it is the friends you meet along the way that make it so memorable…We would have to agree!

New impeller installed, this pump rotates clockwise so the fins lean left.

Handy tool…impeller puller, used to remove the impeller

Rusty stanchion base BEFORE Radeen cleaned it cleaning

Radeen working on the stainless with SpotlessStainless.com product

Brushing SpotlessStainless on with a foam brush

The same stanchion base after cleaning, all rust removed!

REWARD….let’s hit the POOL….ahhhh!

Wendy, Radeen and Craig leaving the creek

What a great way to celebrate the 4th of July, along with the kickoff of our year aboard, with great friends, good sailing, a BBQ and Rock Hall Fireworks and Parade! We had a wonderful weekend with the goal of having NO PLAN….and I love how this worked out. We left the dock Saturday around 11 am for a daysail and to enjoy lunch on the water…next thing you know, we are sailing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for Annapolis, MD. Why?….because it is THERE….and we can! It is wonderful to share adventures with fun loving friends who enjoy sailing, know who to live on a boat and how to “go with the flow” and take it all in. We honestly had no intentions of going to Naptown, but there we were, under the Spa Creek Bridge on mooring #58.

We were treated to LIVE music and beautiful singing by Craig playing his traveling guitar. Then we realized we were the only boat in the harbor with LIVE MUSIC onboard.  Thank you, Craig! After a wonderful home cooked meal by Wendy, we enjoyed a trip to town and the crazy crowded streets of a holiday weekend. We were happy to return to the peacefulness of Island Spirit for a restful night.

Sunday, with thunderstorms in the forecast we braved the Chesapeake Bay crossing back to Rock Hall expecting to have no sailing winds. We hoisted sails in the Annapolis Harbor and motored out to the Spider where we killed the motor and had a wonderful beam reach sail under the center span and up to Kent Island. There we then took another gybe downwind to the Patapsco River. Then we had a fast reach back across the bay directly to the Rock Hall Harbor. The winds built to a high of 18 knots and we were treated to yet another unexpected day of great sailing!

Arriving in the Rock Hall Harbor, we dropped anchor off the Sailing Emporium where we set up  for a BBQ with Rob and Debbie in anticipation of the massive fireworks display. They arrived with the #1 treat anyone can bring to a boat….ICE CREAM and warm blueberry cobbler! UNREAL….so, Wendy suggested and everyone agreed that it would only be right that we should have this BEFORE the BBQ, as we would not want the ice cream to melt or the cobbler to cool. WHAT A FIRST COURSE!

After the traditional BBQ of hamburgers on the grill, we enjoyed the fireworks over the harbor and the colorful reflections on the water. Thank you, good friends, Wendy & Craig and Debbie & Rob for making this July 4th a special celebration with great friends. We had a blast…

Rough sailing days on Island Spirit

The girls visiting on the deck

Craig is a great sailor and loves to sail

Great friends, Rob & Debbie. (Rob commissioned Island Spirit!)

Craig, Hayden and Rob….great friends

Fireworks over the bow in the harbor

At the 4th of July Parade

Everyone loves a parade…even CRABBY the CRAB

Our wonderful passage from Bermuda to Maryland has ended and we are now moving aboard Island Spirit for the next 12 months! Preparing a boat from the yard to the slip and ready for sea is a lengthy process. All the sails are off, the water lines are full of antifreeze, the dinghy needs to be launched, the outboard needs serviced and the boat needs waxed and cleaned.

So, within 24 hours of hitting the docks from sea, we had her launched, moved into our slip and the sails went on. During this time, I also volunteer my web services to a charity that needed a quick website for the ISTE conference in Phila this week. So I was lucky enough to be doing two of my favorite task….Working on Island Spirit….and….working on websites….

Here are photos of the prep process so far…

The boat in the storage yard, last one left….it is JUNE…remove the cover and launch this GIRL

Launched…but no sails, dinghy on deck, no water, and VERY DIRTY

Roll our properly flaked Genoa/Jib sail onto deck, this is 135% Genny, it is 35% past the mast

Pull sail up to bow, shackle the sail into the furling drum system

Wire the shackles closed so they do not open at sea when the storms hit

Tape wire to prevent sails from catching a wire

Use jib halyard and feed sail into furling foils, hoisting and feeding up sail

Once hoisted, tension the halyard with the winch

Furl / rollup the sail….ready for sea. Note small cutter sail was put on with the same process

Saltwater hands from 6+ days at sea….

Next task….Water system draining and flushing the lines. Change the engine oil, transmission oil, antifreeze and clean and wax the cabin top. After that, enjoy the 4th of July with Wendy and Craig and then depart for Acadia Maine….

SEASON # 11 is LIVE….let’s go exploring….

This is the view from below decks after the gale winds died down to a steady 30 knots. What a great sailing machine an Island Packet 40 is, as it handles these conditions very well. Thank you Captains John and Nancy for sharing the adventure with us.

Did I tell you that John, the owner/captain of IP40, Larking About is a gourmet chef? Every dinner is prepared bu John and he really is an artist in the galley. The meals are all top quality even while offshore sailing in a gale with 30-35 knots of wind! This video we called KICKING IT UP A NOTCH as I was able to capture Steak Flambe prep in the galley while on anchor in Duns Cove on the Chesapeake Bay. Warning…DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF….

Here are 83 photos from our 700 photos taken! These photos show the diversity of the passage from Bermuda to Maryland June 2011. We enjoyed calm seas, beautiful sunsets and full moon rises, gale force winds, and storm conditions peaking at 54 knots of wind. Also shown in these photos are the fantastic meals Captain John prepares offshore. What a treat to enjoy a delicious meal at sea. Thank you John and Nancy.

This video was shot on June 20, 2011 on our return sail from Bermuda to Maryland aboard an Island Packet 40, Larking About. Thank you John and Nancy for treating us to a FULL GALE not one but TWO gales of 32 knots and MORE! What a trip of a lifetime. Thank you John and Nancy for being such good sailors and good friends….

Team LA40, Larking About is crossing into the Chesapeake Bay from sea
after an exciting ocean voyage from Bermuda. We departed BDA at 1430
hrs on Thur. All are doing well onboard and the ship is in perfect
shape. Photos, and videos to follow.
Hayden and John, Nancy and Radeen

Happy Father's Day, WFK and Dads everywhere. Brief because it's a bit bumpy: we are crossing the Stream in a peaceful 26-28 kts, which is DOWN from our average 30 kts plus since 0200 this am. Ship and crew are all well, and we have just finished dinner. The good news is that we have been flying along on tiny sails at 8 kts: the bad news is that right now we are heading for New York! Will report longer later: today has been a safe but stormy ride. Best, Nancy John Hayden & Radeen
1900 Sunday June 19 '11 3602N 7302W WNW 28 kts, speed 7,5 under triple reef main double reef jib and staysail heading 350 🙁 hoping for a wind shift/reduction, maybe will end up in Cape May? 190nm on the bow.

The watery whispers of Larking About began at 1620 yesterday, when we reached the expected light South Westerlies and killed the engine. After 25 hours of motoring, the lazy sail at 5 knots through a calm sea was like resting on a fresh-made downy pillow: we relished the peace and a smooth dinner – sweet and sour pork, which was an easy cook in the calm galley. The winds then steadily freshened, and by 2200 the whispers had turned to gurgles as we hit 6 knots. Four hours later we were double-reefed on the main in 25 knots of wind and streaking along at 8.2 knots with a slight current assisting. So the forecast was correct! And what a grand sail! With a near full moon, flat seas, and 20+ knots at 75 degrees off the port bow, Larking About had one of her best ever nights at sea. My guess would be that last night hooked Radeen on ocean sailing! Talking of hooks, yes we did get a fish on the line yesterday mid-day. It took the line off the reel in a hurry, and some reports state that when it broke the surface the first time, it was at least 5 feet long! Anyway, we were dealing with a foxy old fish, who swam towards the pull, broke the surface again, threw the hook, and I swear I heard him laughing as he threw his tail at us and danced away. So we made do with the pork, and dreamed of Ceviche for lunch, and Mahi-Mahi in a Dijonnaise sauce with capers and lemon wedges. Jim, sound familiar? Talking of Jim, Nancy and I miss you, you were great crew! But then, so are Hayden and Radeen, and they…well, at least, Radeen, is much prettier to look at, and Hayden wears shirts with sleeves on them!
Best to all from a happy bunch Larking About over the Atlantic waves, John , Nancy, Radeen and Hayden
0900 Saturday June 18 '11 3339N 6935W Winds SW 20kts Under Genoa, Staysail, SIngle-reef Main, at 8kts Seas 3 feet, Sunny: i.e. pretty darn perfect!