Sailboat or Submarine?
The passage got worse before it got better. The wind went into fitful gusts then died completely and shifted 180 degrees about 25 miles out. We then entered a wall of water–one of the thickest downpours I have ever witnessed. It was a rain was so heavy I couldn’t see 100 feet in any direction. […]
Approach Avoidance… I Don’t Wanna Go
Squall rain and a whipping wind woke me at dawn as Swell yanked and yawed on her mooring. I squeezed my eyes shut and rolled over again, not ready to face the reality of the day ahead”¦ despite the less than ideal conditions, I would HAVE to leave today. I had attempted to wait for […]
I’ve Got No Strings to Hold Me Down
The amount of chaos inside Swell that had accumulated over the last two weeks of projects in the marina was mindboggling. Wood and metal scraps, half used glues and caulking, bits of wires, dirty rags, random screws, washers, and nuts, broken and assorted drill bits, frayed ends of cut ropes, cans of paint and varnish […]
Reef Smooch
To my own disbelief, I had correctly wired in the wind generator and watched with glee the next morning as the ammeter on the board showed amps coming in with each gust! Without further celebration, I got back to work to remount and rewire the solar panels. My ‘albatross’, arrived in timely fashion with my […]
Wind Generator, Some Assembly Required
With Sylvain’s assistance, the wind generator post goes up”¦up”¦up”¦and we both stand back and have a look”¦ “Trop haut,” (too high) we both agree. “It’s going to vibrate too much.” UGH. The sun is almost setting, can’t it just be right!? We pull it down again. I dismount the wind generator, hang it from the […]
Foreign Pests of All Sizes
After a weekend of full surf immersion, I greeted the final items on the list last Monday with a sunburnt smile”¦ Okay, here we go”¦ Pull up the re-cut headsail. Go to the top to see where it lays. Search my hardware extras and find the PERFECT piece to lash to the masthead to make […]
A Sprint to the Present
Swell is once again bobbing happily in the Pacific for now, only at the boatyard marina, but piece by piece and day by day Swell comes together. Under time pressure from the Dear & Yonder filmmakers to be ready for some action in the next few weeks, I have been busting my tail to get […]
Float My Boat
It’s been hot–really really really HOT. I feel like an ant under a magnifying glass in this sun. The seasons shifted while I was away. The trades no longer dissipate the intense tropical heat. Instead it lingers about you like you’re constantly standing in hot soup. By 8am it’s blazing and it doesn’t let up […]
K.O. In Round Two
Round two started off all wrong. I mistimed the paddle out, taking 3 or four in the impact zone and found myself way down at the ‘first crack’. I caught a fat, walled right and then paddled against the current down to the reef. Only just arriving to the peak, my arms already burned. I […]
Just Can’t Get Enough
Anna and I managed to make it out between sets that morning. Once outside, we sat wide where we’d be safe enough from the looming destructo sets, but still able to claw our way into the waves that peaked too far right for the guys sitting deeper on the reef. I stroked into one right […]
