tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89816971310200333472012-01-29T07:12:03.539-08:00Life aboard s/v Eolianbobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.comBlogger5481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-69703463464582913032012-01-26T06:39:00.000-08:002012-01-26T06:39:00.366-08:00

How to get that first line ashore when you are approaching a dock? Here's a simple idea, available from DockWand, that we all, every one of us, need to have on one of our spring lines: Giving credit where credit is due, this was seen first at The World Encompassed. I'll be looking for this item at the Seattle Boat Show this coming weekend.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-23253211743651508742012-01-23T13:55:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:55:12.022-08:00

What a difference a few hours makes! Here we are, literally less than 75 hours after the end of this year's "Seattle Snomageddon", and there is beautiful bright sunshine outside, temps in the mid to upper forties, and there is not a trace of snow in sight.  After living decades on the Western slope of the Rockies and having to shovel my roof at least once a year, I just cant say enough praise

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-90805821536188215782012-01-19T08:43:00.000-08:002012-01-19T11:59:10.718-08:00

Findings so far: The Benmar clutch relay draws 100 mA.  Plenty of headroom within the ST5000's spec of 2 amps. Yes, PWM* is used for the output in all operating modes.   When set up to drive a hydraulic pump, the duty cycle is higher, but still uses PWM When you press the +1 button (adjust the course 1°), the PWM duty cycle is about 10%.  There is no chance this will operate a relay coil.  The

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-43408387191866161962012-01-18T12:25:00.000-08:002012-01-18T12:34:04.494-08:00

It never fails, does it? In the middle of the biggest storm of the year, your water tanks run low.  So you have to go out and face 20+ kt out of the North, filled with stinging blowing snow (it doesn't show in the picture, does it?).  You have to hook up the very stiff hose to the dock hose bib.  You have to de-ice the hose - its full of ice, but not quite frozen solid (thank heavens!).  For a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-33089215667794533882012-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:002012-01-19T11:11:52.977-08:00

The old Benmar 14B (Remember when schematics came with electronics?) You may remember that a long, long time ago I posted a picture showing the bench testing of a Raymarine ST5000+ autopilot (sadly, that post seems to be gone...). Well today I start in earnest the process to graft the ST5000+ onto the old Benmar drive.  I am thinking out loud here, while I write this up, so bear with me...

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-24699521480898799472012-01-12T06:17:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:17:00.930-08:00

It is probably a coincidence that the marina posted this notice at the head of our dock Tuesday, just a week after this blog posting. And kudos and thanks go to Deborah and Marty of Three Sheets Northwest, for giving that original post prominence on their site, putting it just under the article about the two boats that recently burned in Edmonds.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-32127342899047286902012-01-09T06:59:00.000-08:002012-01-09T12:47:24.884-08:00

You may have one of these fairly ubiquitous Dickenson Newport heaters aboard.  I hope you are familiar with the process for lighting it, but if you are not or you struggle to get it lit, here is the process we have developed on Eolian over the years: This is a "pot burner" type of heater.  That is, the diesel is admitted into the bottom of a "pot", where the heat of previously burned fuel

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-40921835011245466802012-01-06T06:57:00.000-08:002012-01-06T06:59:04.814-08:00

Recently (and earlier) I've referred to making ricotta onboard - that wonderful sweet creamy cheese.  Bonny, the Italian lady that taught us to do this, told us that making cheese which would be used in cooking dinner was just another part of making the dinner itself in her family. I have been asked how we do it - it is simplicity itself: In a pan which is large enough, put 1/2 gallon of whole

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-7386297552383949382012-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:002012-01-04T19:20:19.660-08:00

It's a kind of music.  The wind is howling, rain is blowing against the deck and windows, the fenders are squeaking, and the boat is rocking back and forth, keeping time in the slip.  And down below we are cozy.  The heat pump is keeping us warm, and I am making cheese (ricotta). Life is good.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-10527724955571891992011-12-31T14:06:00.000-08:002012-01-01T06:34:21.296-08:00

m/v Clupea This morning when Steve cranked the starter on m/v Clupea, a gorgeous old wood boat, the starter solenoid exploded, starting a fire. Steve was able to extinguish the fire before any real harm was done, and then he called the Fire Department to come check out everything with their IR gear to make sure that the fire was really out (I would not have thought of that).  Thank heavens

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-53116454292581638612011-12-30T18:40:00.000-08:002011-12-30T19:04:54.082-08:00

Some of you may have noticed that there is a new tab on the blog: Contact.  And some of you may have sent me email at the address on that tab.... Abject apology! I screwed up the setup of the email account - I did not get your email. Things are correctly set up now.  Please, please, PLEASE send your email again (perhaps you still have it in your Sent Mail folder). Thanks! (Oh, and thank you

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-72798220818122254172011-12-25T06:31:00.000-08:002011-12-25T06:31:55.700-08:00

From the crew of Eolian to you and yours, May the joy and hope ofChristmas fill your hearts thewhole year through

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-32541887494879293632011-12-22T06:41:00.000-08:002011-12-22T07:12:13.764-08:00

As liveaboards, we like to do our part in advancing the boundaries of human knowledge.  Here on Eolian, we believe in the Scientific Method, so we collect data. One kind of data we have been collecting over the years, is how this whole Archimedes-discovered thing about displacement and floating actually works.  As you have probably guessed from the title, we have been float-testing random

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-28228855647767939972011-12-21T13:58:00.000-08:002011-12-21T16:34:43.898-08:00

After six hours, and a trip to West Marine to buy yet another handful of plumbing fittings, we now have a working seawater circulation pump on Eolian, and our heat pump is once again pumping heat.  The original pump was a Cal Pump, and the new one is a Teel pump, manufactured by Dayton, a major, MAJOR pump manufacturer (model # 1P808A, recorded here so that I have it written down somewhere). I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-62442369380529423312011-12-19T09:36:00.000-08:002011-12-20T08:33:30.630-08:00

The first time, a few years back, there were maybe four or five dinghies.  And if I remember correctly, only one was lit up - the rest of us waved flashlights or something.  But that was several years ago, and my memory is not known for its accuracy (maybe we were all balanced on floating logs, paddling along and waving flaming torches). Rudolph leads the way But this year, all the dinghies

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-18414119470447962312011-12-16T07:06:00.000-08:002011-12-18T12:48:48.035-08:00

You buy vinegar in gallon jugs. Frequently. You glance warily at the house AC ammeter when plugging in your hair dryer You check the tide tables when you are making a big grocery buy Lightening scares the bejeezus out of you Your stove only has two burners You've run out of water in the middle of a shower In conversations with your friends, the most common topic is "the head" When someone says "

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-22803387228589051612011-12-14T07:57:00.000-08:002011-12-14T07:57:18.582-08:00

When I arrived at the end of G-dock after having been away from Eolian for a day and a half, I was surprised to see no water coming out of the heat pump discharge.  The sinking feeling I had only deepened when I got down below and found the temperature to be 52°, 10° below the setpoint I had left on the thermostat while we were away. Yup, the circulating pump which supplies seawater for the heat

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-80803641391473058792011-12-12T14:14:00.001-08:002011-12-12T14:16:36.886-08:00

Look what was posted on the dock-head bulletin board... Recognize a boat there?  The three lit-up boats are Ghost (on the left), Eolian (blue lites, on the right), and Ambition (multi-color, on the right).

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-47594087724877921262011-12-09T15:33:00.000-08:002011-12-09T19:23:18.875-08:00

Three Sheets Northwest notes this safety item - you need to check your flares. Note that the "signals" they speak of are the actual cartridges - not the gun that shoots them (although it too is orange in color). Orion Safety Products has issued a recall for two models of its hand-launched aerial signals, citing problems with the devices failing to launch and/or ignite. The recall applies to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-47149977117997909122011-12-08T06:33:00.000-08:002011-12-08T07:17:13.229-08:00

I would never have considered it.  Or if I had, I would have assumed that the effect was small enough to be of academic interest only. But Cliff Mass, our primo weather blogger here in Seattle, says otherwise - and proves it.  Cliff points out that our recent record high atmospheric pressure was accompanied by significantly lower tides.  Stealing a couple of public-domain images from his blog (

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-57795454271001611102011-12-07T06:16:00.000-08:002011-12-09T16:35:09.238-08:00

On 12/5 Jane and I attended the Winter BrewFest held over at Hales Palladium, in nearby Fremont. What a wonderful event!  A total of 34 Northwest microbrewers were represented there, each with several unique brews, many made just for this event.  Your entrance fee got you 6 (I think?  I could possibly have lost track...) tokens, each was good for 5 oz of someone's special brew...  and that was

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-75917099566008871242011-12-05T09:49:00.000-08:002011-12-05T19:37:14.708-08:00

It was Friday; we were coming back down from skiing at Stevens Pass.  We were in that peculiar apres-ski feel - muscles tired and warm, bodies relaxed. We had just entered the left-hand lane of the westbound trestle east of Everett - this is a looong pair of bridges over a tidal slough - one bridge each for eastbound and westbound traffic. Suddenly there was a powerful vibration from the rear

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-83717952983322892992011-12-03T12:32:00.000-08:002011-12-06T22:23:59.168-08:00

'Tis the season We finally have the Christmas lites up in the rigging on Eolian.  Now this is not an easy task.  The lites themselves make endless problems with tangling, and are wont to snag on anything and everything, including each other.  And then there are the logistics of getting things up there at the top of the masts without having them wrapped around a shroud or a halyard or something.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-73074371673659422542011-12-01T06:28:00.000-08:002011-12-01T06:28:32.551-08:00

Except for the smallest ones, monohull sailboats (you multihull readers can skip this post) universally have a keel on their bottoms.  They carry this device around with them because: It helps to keep the boat from sliding sideways when the wind is not taken directly astern, and it keeps the boat from tipping over when the sails are full of wind. Today, I'd like to talk about the second item:

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-62220624630618494472011-11-30T18:25:00.000-08:002011-11-30T19:04:40.727-08:00

Just in case you didn't notice it... over there on the right...   you'll now see the current wind/gust/pressure plot from the NOAA weather service station on West Point. I hope you'll find it useful... or at least interesting.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-52604142032087109202011-11-28T09:49:00.000-08:002011-11-28T09:49:06.690-08:00

At nearly $50/quart, marine paints and varnishes are expensive. And they are worth every penny. In my dim and barely remembered past, I have used any number of products of lesser cost.  But after using the top tier paints and varnishes, I have learned that using the cheap stuff is a mistake.  The good stuff goes on like thick cream (paint) or honey (varnish).  And it self-levels to a mirror

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-91283937798001939552011-11-24T07:40:00.000-08:002011-11-24T07:40:00.800-08:00

In many cultures there is a harvest festival or feast, celebrating the end of the toil in the fields, growing and harvesting the food for the winter, and before the start of the rationing to make that harvest last until the first crops of the spring are available. Americans have set aside the forth Thursday in November as such a holiday.  I have no familiarity with the harvest feast customs

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-12794137437283052512011-11-23T09:15:00.000-08:002011-11-23T09:15:23.750-08:00

Say you have to drive a screw in a location where you only have room to get the screw and screwdriver in there.  Or that you are working at full arm's length, with only one hand. How would you do it? Here's an old mechanic's trick: Start with a piece of tape perhaps an inch long, held sticky side up Push the screw thru the tape, so that the sticky side is against the underside of the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-8426088937683468522011-11-21T18:29:00.000-08:002011-11-21T18:29:26.802-08:00

As it is a safety item, I feel it is important to get the word out as widely as possible.  I'm sure Chuck and Susan would agree.  Here is their posting  (thanks to Chuck and Susan on s/v Sea Trek for this information) We have been users of the Mustang Inflatable vests for many years and have been very satisfied with them. But we recently have been made aware of a recall due to a problem

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-69450748805181805612011-11-21T07:38:00.000-08:002011-11-21T15:43:14.281-08:00

Our old thermostat died. It was a great little thing - it kept the temperature right where we wanted it, and was 7-day programmable, so that we could set it up to match our lifestyle.  But unfortunately, the touch screen became more and more recalcitrant, eventually ignoring our ever more frantic finger taps altogether.  And then it started doing very weird things, like reporting -50° as the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-59979174954636526732011-11-16T18:28:00.000-08:002011-11-16T18:28:44.286-08:00

Last nite I rode my bike home. End of the road Now, that in itself is not at all unusual - I do it all summer, and most of spring and fall.  In early spring and late fall, I don't make the entire ride - I ride from Shilshole to the Ballard Locks, and put my bike on the rack on the front of the bus - this is enough of a ride to be invigorating, and it keeps Jane from having to fire up The Beast

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-33322006228714137952011-11-14T12:29:00.000-08:002011-11-16T09:41:15.701-08:00

Last week we got the last of our secondary dock lines installed, and we had already added our "winter" fenders, all to be ready for the winter storms. And as it turns out, not a moment too soon. As I write this, Seattle is being lashed by one of the spiralling tails of the winter hurricane that just finished with Nome, Alaska. Hurricane?  Alaska?  I can hear you folks in the Caribbean and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-4508206826324597482011-11-11T07:06:00.000-08:002011-11-11T07:06:00.468-08:00

If you didn't read that title carefully, you saw "winged heels" and are probably visualizing Mercury's boots. But that's not what I want to talk about.  Instead I want to discuss winged keels.  I mean what is the big deal, after all?  Sure, they're modern, sure they're cool, and "every boat must have one".  But why, exactly? It's all about end effects. Huh? OK, now I have to build something

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-36269691737393393102011-11-10T21:31:00.000-08:002011-11-10T22:15:13.076-08:00

If you are not a blogger, this will be new to you.  If you are, then it has probably already happened to you. When writing a post, you are presented with two choices: Save - as a draft for more work later, or Publish - to the world You know what I'm going to say, don't you?  If you hit the wrong button, your incomplete, inane, rambling post gets published in all its unprepared ugliness for the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-76624629377013671002011-11-09T18:42:00.000-08:002011-11-09T18:42:00.452-08:00

Do you have "traditional" instruments?  You know, a depthsounder, a knotmeter, a wind speed/direction indicator?  Or do you have a large screen in the cockpit with all of that instrumentation and more in virtual form?  As an "early adopter" and self-admitted gadget freak, I have a nearly unconscious tendency to lean to the new, the shiny, the integrated.  The "glass cockpit" draws me. But then

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-79505997441167319942011-11-05T11:33:00.000-07:002011-11-05T11:35:34.183-07:00

We are a little community out here on the dock, more so than on shore because we all share a common interest and experiences. This is manifested in many ways - trick or treating is one of them. Because of our environment (and thanks to Angela of Ghost for starting it), we do this traditional task in what I think is a very "civilized" manner. Angela posts two sign-up sheets at the head of the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-50016488740026199152011-11-02T18:49:00.000-07:002011-11-03T07:45:15.137-07:00

This is a liveaboard blog.  At least I'd hoped for it to be one - "life aboard s/v Eolian" is what it says up there in the header.  In my posts I often try to give the liveaboard viewpoint, and try to accentuate how that differs from life ashore. People frequently stumble across this site by doing a search for "living aboard a boat in Puget Sound", or "live aboard Puget Sound", or something

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-16028717702024415022011-10-31T13:03:00.000-07:002011-10-31T13:03:31.548-07:00

But when your boat is named Ghost, there should be no surprise in that...

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-75552501715278159852011-10-28T07:42:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:56:34.471-08:00

I'm going to do something a little risky here - I'm going to try to recreate in you a feeling we have. It's a Friday nite.  It is dark.  There is a soft Seattle rain (some might call it drizzle, but that would be inaccurate).  We have walked down to The Baithouse, a tiny little venue right on the Ship Canal, close to the marina.  In fact, it is actually the daylight basement of someone's house,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-82076965489149545262011-10-27T18:37:00.000-07:002011-10-27T18:37:00.375-07:00

Today, a coworker handed me a hardcopy of the Commencement Address that Steve Jobs delivered to graduating Stanford University students in 2005.  It is perhaps the most inspiring such address that I have heard, and it moved me to share with you, my friends.  Because of copyright constraints, I am not allowed to reproduce the whole speech here, but I am allowed to make an excerpt.  I chose the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-41938801922432502892011-10-26T20:03:00.000-07:002011-10-27T07:56:20.323-07:00

One of the ideal boat foods is the Northwest tropical fruit: squash.  There are so many different kinds - unfortunately the idea for this post came after we ate our personal-serving sized Sweet Dumpling squash for dinner tonite.  So I can't show you the beautiful fall tableau that they made in the above picture along with the candle and the Delicato squash. If the only squash you have ever

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-43453008177250552402011-10-24T19:52:00.000-07:002011-10-24T20:07:56.672-07:00

The city and port of Olympia lies at the far southern end of Budd Inlet, and is the furthest south you can travel on water in Puget Sound.  Olympia is the capitol of the State of Washington, and as it is an historic place, it would be appropriate to add a little historical perspective here. In 1792 George Vancouver sailed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca to begin to chart the area, and to seek

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-60414604771296348002011-10-20T18:22:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:41:15.703-08:00

The days are getting shorter. In some deep part of my brain, inaccessible to my awareness (I like to think of it as an iPhone app that runs in the background), a calendar reminder is going off.  Way up high in my consciousness, this alarm manifests in a non-verbal way, as a desire... ...to pull in       ...to finish              ...to get ready for bad weather                     ...to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-55763346607742158262011-10-17T10:00:00.000-07:002011-10-17T11:12:26.567-07:00

Excerpt from chart 18456 Depths in feet At the far Northeast end of Budd Inlet (see chart 18456, or page C or 18445), just above Dofflemeyer Point, lies Boston Harbor.  There are no tricks or cautions in approaching Boston Harbor, however it should be noted that a fair tidal current runs here.  There is a nice protected anchorage with a good mud bottom, but when we visited in the summer of 2011

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-70415658268050490942011-10-15T08:53:00.000-07:002011-10-15T08:55:21.514-07:00

I never would have guessed that one of the toughest things about being a grandparent is the waiting. When you are directly involved in the process of creating a new life, there is waiting of course, but still.  You are involved. Ah, but as a grandparent, you are at arm's length.  You want to help, to know - but you can't.  You must just  ...wait.  And given Erica's mammoth 47 hour labor for her

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-91353641605031145562011-10-14T10:19:00.000-07:002011-10-14T18:51:33.912-07:00

It's easy, right?  Just like home? Well not so much. Let's start with the the central cooking appliance: the stove.  Compared to boat stoves*, the ones in houses ashore are huge.  The stove on Eolian is unusual for a boat stove in that it has three burners... many boat stoves have only two.  And these are also not your household burners - they are smaller in size and heat output than you would

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-21871887273520456162011-10-12T06:36:00.000-07:002011-10-12T06:36:00.563-07:00

What happens to the guitar player/auto mechanic who cuts himself on his left hand little finger (anyone who has done work on cars knows that this is not an unlikely event)? Well, first he lays off the guitar for a while - he needs all the fingers on his left hand to make music (or at least to attempt it, in my case). Then he probably picks up the guitar prematurely, when the healing seems to be

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-55580020148269119032011-10-10T07:25:00.000-07:002011-10-21T10:04:14.556-07:00

There are times that you have to do something unpleasant, something that you really just don't want to do.  There are many ways to convince yourself, to persuade yourself, to fool yourself. In this case, the technique I chose was to sneak up on myself.  (Anticipating the inevitable comments, yes I do hide my own Easter eggs.) Water temperature It is fall and thus it is time for the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-2109967419767399082011-10-08T07:48:00.000-07:002011-10-08T08:08:57.383-07:00

Three things coincided to make this possible: Our neighbor happens to be gone this morning, leaving us with a clear view to the East The days are getting shorter and shorter. This means that sunrise happens when I am awake and sufficiently caffeinated to see and recognize a worthy scene We are sitting around on the boat this morning, waiting for news that Erica's labor has started.  (Did I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-69174617153257795362011-10-05T06:30:00.000-07:002011-10-05T08:19:29.226-07:00

You know that wonderful anticipatory feeling you get when you first crack the cover of a new book?  You've set aside some protected time, you find a comfortable place to settle, provision yourself with the necessaries (some munchies?  a glass of wine?)... and then you open the book and dive in, letting the author take you for a ride. Well I've been having that feeling a lot lately, and yet

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-47189215637131791192011-10-03T12:01:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:41:15.705-08:00

Here in Seattle we are now welcoming the return of fall weather.  For those of you not in Seattle, that means: rain.  And with the return of the rains, there is the return of the possibility of deck leaks.  (OK, I know that this is a lame post.  But come on... not everything about living on a boat is sitting in the cockpit and watching sunsets with a glass of wine). Yes, here on Eolian, with the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-48309507067440872892011-09-30T07:16:00.000-07:002011-09-30T07:16:36.657-07:00

Some might say that wine is a vital boating fluid aboard Eolian. They would be right. And although box wine is now more frequently what is found in the liquor locker, the traditional wine bottle still makes appearances too.  Among other reasons, because no one would ever suggest that a "message in a box" would have any staying power in the ocean. But now, this brings us to the crux of things.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-10365449326548985652011-09-28T19:15:00.000-07:002011-09-28T19:21:22.334-07:00

I once read a science fiction story that had aliens coming to Earth specifically to obtain basil, which to them was a drug.  And of course, pesto was their equivalent of heroin. Now, we don't crave basil that much. Quite. We find that basil goes well with almost everything, but it is not easy to grow up here in the Northlands (our friends in the Midwest tell us that there it is a pesky

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-6866221570517277872011-09-26T07:07:00.000-07:002011-09-26T07:07:01.086-07:00

On Saturday, we got that call.  You know, the one that no boat owner ever wants to get. Brent & Jill, our next door neighbors (bless you guys!) called us Saturday morning (we were away from the boat) and told us that our bilge pump was running every 20 minutes or so. Yeah, THAT call. I jumped in my TransAm and may have grazed some speed regulations getting to the marina. Thankfully, what I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-60366166533157324402011-09-21T19:24:00.000-07:002011-09-21T19:24:00.126-07:00

By now you probably know that I really enjoy Brittany's writing.  Recently, she condensed into a Letterman Top Ten list much of what I have been trying for years to convey about life on a boat.  Now bear in mind that she and Scott are not living tied to a dock in Seattle, but rather are freely roaming the Caribbean, so some of this does not directly apply to us.  But I think that item 6 is

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-37319389662419244912011-09-19T07:02:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.707-08:00

Friday, Sept 16 and Saturday Sept 17 (delayed due to sparse internet connectivity in the South Sound) On an out-and-back trip, one of the problems is that the return trip can be kind of anti-climatic.  As soon as you turn around, you are in territory you covered only a little while ago, and there is a mixture of the beginnings of nostalgia and the undeniable draw of home.  We try to minimize

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-91368184088884046282011-09-18T14:52:00.000-07:002011-09-18T14:52:46.057-07:00

Thursday, Sept 15 (delayed due to sparse internet connectivity in the South Sound) We rose pretty early and bid adieu to Olympia.  Early because we are now northbound, and the ebb tides are in the morning right now.  Up until today we have been very genteel with our cruising - the tides have dictated (!) that we not leave our anchorages until afternoon. We threaded the needle back out the long

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-63426113643918116402011-09-18T10:28:00.000-07:002011-09-18T10:43:12.630-07:00

Our Clearwire cell system modem has apparently died. I have a couple of posts to finish out our cruise, but I can't do them from my iPhone. So. Know that we are safely home at the dock, and still have stories to tell.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-87947487511433750582011-09-17T07:14:00.000-07:002011-09-17T07:18:03.538-07:00

Wednesday, Sept 14 This morning we took a harbor tour of Boston Harbor, and ended up at the Boston Harbor Marina for breakfast.  This is a delightfully random place.  It reminds me of some of the stores we saw in Desolation Sound - over a friendly uneven floor they sell beer, ice, boots, gifts, food, clothes, books, chandlery, fresh seafood, and more that I have forgotten. Later, I put the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-45456022949942836962011-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:002011-09-16T12:33:09.626-07:00

Tuesday, Sept 13 For breakfast this morning I made cornbread.  Aside from the corny, yummy goodness, this provided cabin heat, which was welcome this morning.  The hot days of summer are over, and Autumn has fallen with a crash.  After breakfast we masked, sanded and got a coat of varnish on the port caprail.  And after lunch, we threaded the needle out of Vega Bay and drove the entire distance

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-9585478087513350052011-09-14T20:31:00.000-07:002011-09-14T20:44:54.639-07:00

Alone in Vega Bay Monday One of the interesting things about boating in the South Sound is the dearth of boats here.  Compared to north of the Narrows, there are very, very few. After spending a non-moving day at anchor in Gig Harbor, we are now at anchor in Vega Bay, one of the southernmost anchorages in the South Sound. There is no internet here, and tho there are two boats at anchor in the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-11436557476832658412011-09-11T08:21:00.000-07:002011-09-11T08:21:29.162-07:00

Tho I have said before that the current in Colvos Passage always runs north, that is not strictly true. On big tidal changes, the tidal flow can prevail. Yesterday we had a change from 0.7 ft to 10.9 ft - that was sufficient to give a 0.5 - 1.0 southerly flow. And yesterday we were blessed with a 15 kt northerly wind. This made our run down Colvos Passage truly a sleigh ride. Hours of 5+ kt

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-26142062086858442852011-09-10T08:28:00.000-07:002011-09-10T08:31:00.408-07:00

Whew! We are starting our decompression vacation following the wedding. Last nite we sailed to Eagle Harbor as the first stop on a South Puget Sound cruise (we have no planned itinerary - that's the way I like it). I captured this picture of the Seattle skyline just as the setting sun gilded the skyscrapers with light - did I mention that the view from here is great? Today, after a dinghy

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-91537510685113643282011-09-06T07:35:00.000-07:002011-09-06T07:38:10.270-07:00

The deed is done (After a brief period of rest, we will return you to our regularly scheduled living aboard blog)

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-80512794445631977032011-09-02T08:31:00.000-07:002011-09-04T10:14:00.887-07:00

A little introspection here.  But not entirely off topic because for me, music and sailing are natural partners, intertwined.  It's a little tricky doing this kind of analysis because the observer is the observed, and the analytical instrument is the target of the analysis.  But here goes: It is extremely rare that when I first hear a song from a new-to-me artist (say, for example Gillian

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-13714193074361908372011-09-01T05:48:00.000-07:002011-09-04T08:16:15.347-07:00

Eolian's freezer is about 12" square, which doesn't sound like much, but it is 38" deep.  Lying on the counter top, I can just barely touch the bottom; Jane's arms are not so long as mine - she cannot.  Also, the two (!) holding plates do not reach all the way to the bottom - this means that if a not-yet-frozen item is dropped to the bottom, wedges under the holding plates and then freezes like

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-24161128827981804422011-08-29T07:08:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.701-08:00

A while back, we were in a position that required us to traverse Puget Sound from Port Madison to Shilshole in heavy fog.  (Now, I guess I should examine that word "required" more closely, but that's a story for another time). Puget Sound has a lot of shipping traffic, and an active and professionally run VTS system.  And we have radar on Eolian.  So I was not particularly worried...  focused

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-69230848539500505412011-08-26T07:08:00.000-07:002011-08-26T07:08:00.228-07:00

We are rapidly closing in on Adam and Kaci's wedding, and not only am I running low on free time for blogging, but worse I am running out of spare intellectual capacity.  It seems there is a limit to the number of things I can keep active at once (and that number seems to be decreasing...).  Huh.  Who would have thunk it.  Blogging is going to have to get scarce for the next couple of weeks.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-82721611859126865512011-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:002011-08-24T19:29:43.307-07:00

A chubasco is a sudden wind that comes down out of the mountains in the summer in the Sea of Cortez.  Is it a katabatic wind?  Maybe Cliff Mass knows for sure; I certainly don't. Here in Seattle we don't exactly have a chubasco, but we do have a predictable, thermally-driven wind that shows up every evening in the summer when the real, prevailing winds don't disturb conditions too much. As the

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-78517532847711939662011-08-22T10:02:00.000-07:002011-08-22T14:17:25.318-07:00

Walking down the dock this morning, I saw this skiff - clearly, it has a story in it. Now, I happen to know that on the big Nauticat that the skiff belongs to there live two delightful little three or four year old girls.  Twins in fact, with matching purple polka dot pajamas.  So as I walked past the skiff I imagined I heard giggles, squeals and delighted, high-pitched chatter as they played in

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-57494347277948358172011-08-19T08:18:00.000-07:002011-08-19T08:19:49.521-07:00

Nothing existential this morning... We sailed down to Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island yesterday evening and anchored.  Here's the view back towards Seattle at dusk: Sadly, this was before the city lights were on. Also sadly, I have found that I cannot successfully take pictures of the cityscape at night from a moving boat. And this morning, foghorns are moaning out on the Sound: (and we

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-40393123989864726042011-08-17T19:14:00.000-07:002011-08-17T19:14:08.783-07:00

I've talked about this before, long ago.  But a recent post by Brittany over at Windtraveler really drives it home by quoting Sterling Hayden. Go read it. Paraphrasing that famous philosopher Yoda, "There is no someday.  There is only now."

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-64989831938814881172011-08-15T12:56:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.700-08:00

Never been on a large sailboat? Ever wonder what it might be like? Here's a short video I shot near sunset last Thursday from the bowsprit, looking back over Eolian as we sliced across Puget Sound at 6.5 kt under ideal conditions, making our way to Port Madison. Sailing this way makes the perfect day for me - excitement for a while, followed by serene time at anchor...  the perfect mix, and

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-13675085807023095602011-08-12T11:28:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.698-08:00

Quick - what's one of the last things you would expect to hear me say we did on the boat last nite? You said, "Make cheese", didn't you? I love cheese. Let me say that again:  I love cheese. So the combined Father's Day/Jane's b'day present that Adam and Kaci gave us was a perfect fit - tuition at a cheese-making class. The class we attended was the first in a two-part curriculum, and dealt

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-46779163971794896712011-08-10T21:13:00.000-07:002011-08-10T22:10:09.070-07:00

I bit the bullet. It was clear that the old computer was sending out warning signals of impending failure. One should pay attention to these. I bought another one - it's a Dell E1505 with 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk and a 15" screen... a far cry from the old one which had (when everything was working) 10 GB disk, 640 MB memory and a 10" screen. Today's prices simply amaze me... I got it for $149.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-16961388674364049782011-08-08T06:26:00.000-07:002011-08-08T06:26:00.067-07:00

Collective nouns are interesting to me (you know, a murder of crows, a pod of Orcas, an embarrassment of riches).   So what is the proper collective noun for jellyfish? A clump? A wad? A clot? A jar?  Wikipedia gives two: a fluther of jellyfish, or a smack of jellyfish.  Neither of these, it seems to me, fits well.  I propose: a preserve of jellyfish. This Saturday morning, when returning

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-28840853700687113812011-08-05T12:21:00.000-07:002011-12-05T10:41:47.103-08:00

We are at anchor in Liberty Bay, off of Poulsbo, and I am hearing a sound that takes me back to my youth:  the Lutheran church is playing their bells at noon.  I believe that this custom goes back to the middle ages, when the church would be expected to be the only timekeeper in town.  At least it gives me pleasure to think about it that way, with the long thread of history attached. Ghost

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-39045813972222815052011-08-03T20:04:00.000-07:002011-08-11T07:57:24.928-07:00

I am still working with computer woes.  Last nite I think I isolated the problem to a bad memory module.  When I pulled the module out of the laptop, the errors stopped.  Well the whole darn computer nearly stopped - there is only 128 MB of memory on the motherboard, and even running Linux, that is not nearly enough.  But I was able to get some critical files safely off of the machine. I have

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-62607221787492128122011-08-01T13:12:00.000-07:002011-08-01T13:17:33.254-07:00

While Jane was Back Home Again In Indiana, I decided to tackle a pretty disgusting task: cleaning out the shower pan in the aft head. After living aboard all these years, I am embarrassed to admit that all I have ever done was to clean off the hair catcher. And slowly but surely the pan got dirtier and dirtier. Despite bleach dousings, a layer of hair, bacteria, and what Joe of Tropic Star once

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-37031446314367688242011-07-29T07:08:00.000-07:002011-07-29T07:17:01.074-07:00

It is that time of year again.  When all of Eolian's brightwork must be masked off, sanded and another 3 coats of varnish applied.  Yesterday, I began. And as I did so, I found myself thinking about what is routine, what is drudgery and what is joyful work.  When we first got Eolian, I tackled such tasks with the dedication and gusto that their novelty brought.  Over the years, I have learned,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-6123031761861102552011-07-27T08:38:00.000-07:002011-07-27T09:10:16.143-07:00

Each of us lives in our own little bubble of awareness, with large parts of our lives on automatic.  This is normal.  And when things are not quite right for us, we complain about the discomfort - this too is natural; it is human. In this I am flagrantly guilty.  I have whined and complained about our cold Seattle weather, far more in person than to you, patient blog readers.  Some might even

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-71538536642643519302011-07-22T05:56:00.000-07:002011-07-22T05:56:00.280-07:00

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a week. See you again in August! bob

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-31552970347838107862011-07-20T18:10:00.000-07:002011-07-20T19:49:01.213-07:00

In a summer when there has been significant whining (I admit: some of it mine) about the cold, and where there has been the open collection of weird statistics, like how many minutes this year the temperature has been above 80° (78, but who's counting), this evening is a wonderful, rare jewel. The temperature is 78°, there is just enough breeze so that it is enormously pleasant outside.  Our

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-48901293845103709152011-07-18T09:28:00.000-07:002011-07-18T16:47:57.399-07:00

Heavy fog out there this morning, fog horns out on the Sound, and 54°... working inside just seems the right thing to do. So, first project: repair my boat mocs.  It seems that the harder and less flexible wear pad is separating from the foam stack which forms the heel.  And that somehow the foam stack is compressing or wearing away?? So taking advantage of one of those boat chemicals that

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-85421081419677914302011-07-15T13:41:00.000-07:002011-07-15T13:41:27.073-07:00

In a rare two-fer, this is the second post of the day here at Windborne... But I think this is important to get out there.  This is a public service announcement, copied from s/v Sea Trek's blog: There has been a lot of discussion recently on how the U.S. government could possibly allow LightSquared, an independent 4G LTE provider,  to put up 4,600 transcievers sending broadband data services

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-65715596403365518712011-07-15T09:29:00.000-07:002011-07-15T09:51:30.960-07:00

Well yes, since you asked, that *is* two cheese blintzes topped with strawberry/raspberry jam and whipped cream.  And in an amazing coincidence, this morning I again took Jane to the airport just like I did nearly a year ago.  And as I passed by the IHOP, I found that the car had mysteriously turned into the parking lot without any input from me.  But, like Ron Popeil says, "Wait! There's more

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-39295624217374268452011-07-13T19:00:00.000-07:002011-07-14T08:12:28.831-07:00

If you are squeamish about where your food comes from, you might want to skip this post.   On the other hand, if you are ignorant as to where it comes from, then you should definitely read on. I previously did a three-part series about crabs - how to catch 'em and cook 'em. In the last part of the series I talked about how to kill and clean them, but didn't provide much visual guidance.  Here I

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-3572483960362326072011-07-11T10:57:00.000-07:002011-07-15T17:36:32.821-07:00

Yesterday afternoon while we were sailing back from Bainbridge Island, in a lovely 12 kt close reach, I had to dodge a container ship.  Now that is not notable - we frequently have to take a bearing on these big ships and decide if we need to alter course. What was unusual yesterday was that the ship (one of the Hanjin Chinese freighters) was really hauling a**...  she seemed to be making at

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-6653272782592771802011-07-08T07:21:00.000-07:002011-07-08T07:59:12.214-07:00

Brittany on s/v Windtraveler has some wonderful reflections on the freedom that the cruising life imparts.  And, as usual, her lyrical prose is a delight. Go thou and read. Yes, you.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-24531498895436879422011-07-06T19:15:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:38:18.652-08:00

We live in a wonderful place. Jane met me at Ray's Boathouse for happy hour after work - she walked and I arrived by bicycle from the University of Washington. Can you imagine having half-price drinks and half-price entrees in a setting like this and then walking home? Yeah.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-3405924645092823082011-07-05T06:45:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.695-08:00

After four days and several grazing encounters with crowds, we found tranquility at last, in Port Madison once again. This is a picture of my Port Madison state of mind.

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-52053637894494061562011-07-03T09:06:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.694-08:00

With Liberty Bay filling up, it was time for us to escape. We hoisted anchor and threaded the needle at Keyport and then over to Manzanita Bay on the West side of Bainbridge Island. The plan was a good one. When we arrived, there were only a few boats at anchor and we were able to choose a good spot. With the anchor down, we settled in for a perfectly relaxing day at anchor: reading, guitar,

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-9407707264668835212011-07-02T08:20:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.690-08:00

META: Well now that was interesting.  The profound difficulties of typing on an iPhone keypad changed my writing style!  Looking back at yesterday's post, I see short sentences (where normally I have to carefully guard against overly-complex, parenthesized, run-on sentences, like this one) and a seeming majority of words with only one syllable.  This morning, while Jane has her weekly two-hour

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-55203047432934225272011-07-01T07:57:00.000-07:002011-12-22T09:24:05.686-08:00

(This is an experiment. I am going to do all four days blogging on my iPhone, typing on its the tiny keypad)Thursday When I got home from work, Jane had the boat ready to go. We left immediately. Since it was pretty late, we needed to be destination-oriented (a curse, I know). The wind was out of the NW and strong at 20+ kt, so pure sailing was not in the cards. Instead, we motor-sailed under a

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-46218585724595379162011-06-29T18:07:00.000-07:002011-06-30T08:53:19.283-07:00

South Puget Sound Soundings in fathoms (click for a larger version) A favorite destination in the South Sound for many is Filucy Bay, located on the Southeastern corner of the Key Peninsula.  Many will refer to Filucy Bay by the name of the tiny town centrally located on it: Longbranch - most folks will use the names almost interchangeably.  Calling Longbranch a town is probably historically

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-88707939864139945442011-06-27T12:11:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:41:15.707-08:00

Seattlites joke that you know it's summer here when the rain turns warm.  Seriously tho, I have a different measure.  I deem us to have completed our annual transit thru Woebegone and to have entered into Summer when we can leave all Eolian's ports and hatches open all night for the first time. Last nite was that nite, and it's early this year! We're in SUMMER!

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-60227565037513617752011-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:37:42.187-08:00

Scientists who study these things tell us that the olfactory lobe of our brains - where the sense of smell derives - is closely connected to our limbic systems - the seat of emotions.  I have no doubt of this, nor should you.  All it would take is one whiff of your high-school sweetheart's chosen perfume, and all the uncertainty, self consciousness and confusion of those times would return to

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-79603520542998153952011-06-21T21:34:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:41:31.191-08:00

Sunset on the eve of the Summer Solstice - 9:10 PM here in Seattle at the Western end of the timezone and up near the Canadian border.  From here on the days get shorter. Sadness. (Yes, that is a wine glass.  Also sadly, it is an empty wine glass.)

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-67157490769583367102011-06-20T08:16:00.000-07:002011-11-16T09:45:02.801-08:00

I'm pretty sure that it doesn't show well in this photo, but this morning is a summer morning in Seattle.  You know the kind - where the air is still and humid, and full of the wonderful smells of growing things.  And the icing:  here on the water, you can smell the sea too.  It is warm and cool at the same time.  Just breathing the air fills you with promise for the coming day - it's like

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981697131020033347.post-64817701955527232682011-06-18T08:52:00.000-07:002011-06-18T09:19:47.352-07:00

Erica & Adam aboard DejaVu III, ca. 1985 It is so awesome.  No, not as in the now-common parlance, but rather in its original meaning:  AWEsome. Being a father, that is. You bring these small, completely helpless creatures into the world (well, OK, the mother does have a small part to play here, but this is Fathers' Day, after all). And then they rapidly become *people*.  People with dreams

bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17236481906016930762noreply@blogger.com2