Ken's Other Blog

[KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings all!

A lot has happened since my last blog update…

Our GSSR group shipped a full shipping container of boat parts to Japan. To my complete amazement the parts arrived in perfect condition, on time, and with no customs issues or import duties.

Roberta, Shelby and I will depart for Osaka Japan on April 7th, to begin this year’s GSSR cruise. We will spend a couple weeks in Osaka, doing provisioning, and getting the boat ready for departure.

Some boat preparations have already begun…

I asked Jeff Sanson, of Pacific Yacht Management to go over and prepare the boat for this season’s cruising. Last year, we had amazingly few problems, and I’d like to keep it that way. Jeff has now been in Osaka for about a week doing all the work.

To ensure that this will be a trouble-free year, I asked Jeff to swap every belt, thermostat, hose, air filter, fuel filter and zinc on the boat. With four diesel engines (the two mains) plus two generators, this is a big project. He’s changing the oil on all engines, and checking out all systems. He’s also swapping all of the toilets to a newer model. (A job I’m happy to be 4,000 miles away from!) Much of this work didn’t need done, but I like the idea of starting the season with an ‘essentially new’ boat.

I’ve been speaking with (and back-seat driving) Jeff daily via Skype video chats.

Jeff installed my new anchor, and it fit perfectly. I asked him to drop and raise it a couple of times, so that we can verify that it comes across the bow pulpit smoothly. No problem. One of my blog readers suggested I try adding a stainless steel swivel, which turned out to be expensive, and huge, but appears to have been a great addition.

Here's a picture of a sensor I had Jeff install on the loop for my air conditioning (and heating). Last year there many times when I couldn't diagnose problems with the chilled water a/c system. I was constantly climbing into the lazarette to figure what was going on. This will make life a lot easier.

And as expected, there have been a few negative “surprises”…

Boats like to be run. Leaving them sitting for long periods of time is hard on the boat, and I knew that getting everything going again was not going to be fun.

When Jeff started the main engines, water immediately sprayed from the water injection exhaust elbows. Apparently they had rusted out in the off season. New ones were shipped from the US and have already been installed.

Jeff took the boat out for a test run yesterday, and discovered that it was impossible to get the engines past 1500 rpm. Neither Jeff or I can figure why. He sent a diver under the boat, and the props seem clean. The engines should go up to 2100 rpm, and, when sitting at the dock, they do. My guess is that it is nothing more than the engines having sat for six months and just not in the mood to be run. Or, the bottom was dirtier than we thought.

We spoke to both Lugger (who made the engines) and Twindisc (the engine throttles and transmission). Neither had any great ideas for us. We are sending a diver under the boat to clean the props and will do another test run today.

*** LAST MINUTE UPDATE: I JUST RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM JEFF. THEY CLEANED THE BOTTOM, AND THE PROPS, AND THE PROBLEM IS RESOLVED ***

Also…

Jeff mentioned that the seachest, and the raw water strainers, were totally clogged with barnacles. We haven’t pulled the hoses yet, that connect the through-hulls and the sea chest, but I’m expecting that they will be totally packed with crud.

I’ve always described myself as a “warm water cruiser” but there are some definitely head-aches associated with cruising in warm water, and clogging of the raw water system heads the list. At the suggestion of another Nordhavn owner I bought some super-expensive blue silicon hose to replace the current hoses. We’re also putting copper into both my sea chest and strainers, because allegedly that helps.

On a different topic…

We’ve continued working on getting our dog Shelby into the various countries we’ll visit. To my complete surprise there is now a very real possibility that she can enter Hong Kong without Quarantine. It means lots of paperwork, and more testing. It is also problematic, in that she would need to stay on the boat throughout our visit to Taiwan. We’ve already made arrangements to send someone to Japan to babysit her, and rented an apartment for a friend to watch over her. So.. I’m not sure what will happen. We’re working through it and suddenly optimistic that she can stay with us.

Anyway.. this is my last post to the www.kensotherblog.com board. It’s time to restart my www.kensblog.com blog, and start blogging to the huge group. In just under two weeks Roberta and I will be back on the boat, and the fun will begin. Most of you are already registered on www.kensblog.com so you don’t need to do anything to continue receiving the blog. I’ll send out a “first blog entry” early next week kicking off the GSSR 2010. If you have friends who you think might want to receive the blog, this is a good time to register them yourself at www.kensblog.com, or encourage them to go register. It should be an amazing year.

In some ways it will be a simpler, easier, year. But, it is not without challenge. We’ll be in an area that it highly technical, with challenging tides and currents. In the coast guard guide it said that nearly half of all marine accidents happen each year in Japan’s inland sea, where we’ll be in the next few weeks. Currents are tides are a huge factor, and whereas I’m accustomed to these from cruising the Pacific NW, we’ll be dealing with a scarcity of information. There is no nice neat tide/current book I can pick up at West Marine. We’ll figure it out, but I’m sure we’re in for a few surprises.

Thank you everyone for reading my interim blog over the past few months. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it!

Ken Williams

Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci

www.kensblog.com

And, for my books-> www.lulu.com/kenw

PS The GSSR will have four boats this year.The 70' Northern Marine, Starr was originally scheduled to be with our group, but got a late start. Instead they took a southerly route, to Hawaii, and are headed to Japan via the Marshall Islands. If you haven’t been following Starr’s blog, you are missing a very interesting story. Starr is currently “stuck”, with mechanical problems and waiting for parts to reach them, on a little inaccessible island, in the middle of nowhere. Check out: http://starr.talkspotblogs.com

Start your own blog now! Free!

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:57:29 GMT

Ken, Thank you for the call last night concerning 6209 and it cavitation/vibration problem. Looks like you are making headway. Have you got the speed back to normal? I will test run it again Wednesday morning as per your suggestion prior to hauling it on the afternoon. When you installed the stern bustle did you modify the rudder to compensate for the added length? Are you using the old style packing glands on the main shaft and rudder posts on your new boat as apposed to drippless seals which are on hull 6209? Thanks again, Derick

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:47:26 GMT

Chris: We replaced the belt in the dome on the v7 and that seems to be working. Jeff sent to Japan a box full of replacement parts for the dome. I'm not sure what all is in it, but allegedly it's every major part that can break. It is frustrating that I had so much trouble getting the boat cleaned. It's a long story, but the marina is letting us stay there very inexpensively, so our ability to ask for work is limited. It's a private members club, and they aren't really in the marina business. Making money off us is not their goal. We are just something "fun" for their members to look at, and the marina is being exceptionally nice in extending us this courtesy. I am very grateful, but when someone is doing you a favor, your ability to demand service is non-existent. The marina staff is very nice, and I owe them many favors, but there is clearly an inability to insist on things from them. We've also been handicapped by the lack of a large private marine industry in Japan. There are no marine stores, or vendors who are trying to make money off of the boats. We can't find suppliers to do work. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:18:19 GMT

Posted by Ken Williams on Mar 25, 2010, 03:58 PM EST We've been incapable of finding bottom cleaners in Japan despite months of looking. One of Jeff's guys cleaned my bottom and I believe the plan is that he will tackle Steven's next. Ken, Too funny... Got a good laugh out of that. I wonder what Jeff's guy would say? Nice and shiny now! That was too easy! Good luck on this years venture! Chris PS How did the V7 repair go and did you get a complete new dome or just the belts?

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:58:31 GMT

Ron: I haven't seen the installation on the swivel yet. Jeff said he took pictures but wasn't sure how to get his iphone to send them to me. The controversy over the swivel caught me by surprise. I've received several links this morning to various message board postings, and probably wouldn't have installed it if I had read them first. The good thing is that I did read them, and will be much more careful with the swivel, and making sure the swivel comes over the bow pulpit in the right orientation (which is what it was bought to do in the first place!). As so Seabird's transmission.... I haven't spoken with Steven (Seabird) in several days. The last I spoke with him everything had been put back together and he needed to take the boat out for a test drive. Unfortunately, his thruster tubes were so loaded with crud he couldn't get away from the dock. We've been incapable of finding bottom cleaners in Japan despite months of looking. One of Jeff's guys cleaned my bottom and I believe the plan is that he will tackle Steven's next. Thank you, Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:25:38 GMT

Was the transmission job satisfactory?

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:18:57 GMT

The best universal joint may be what you have - the WASI Ball.From your picture, it is hard to determine brand or size - it sure doesn't look very big in the photo. Most criticism of these SS fittings fall inbto two categories: yielding under extreme side loads and their being made of SS. Balls and true universal joints (like the one sold by Suncor) are less susceptible to the side load argument. That argument goes away if a shackle is used to attach the fitting to the anchor. The SS criticism stems from the idea of prolonged submersion allowing the metals to interact. I doubt that your intended use would involve sufficient prolonged submersion. The other common criticism is in fact a criticism of the owner/user. Many fittings depend upon using a form of Loctite on a threaded bolt and owners forget to apply it or check for tightness. That does not appear to apply to your unit. I would check the unit before every use and lubricate the ball with Lanolin. Knowing you, you probably purchased the Swiss/German WASI Ball. Ron

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:18:43 GMT

Ken, this is the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/trawlers-and-trawlering/2009-June/139139.html http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/trawlers-and-trawlering/2009-June/139217.html That's just a couple from last June, but the subject seems to come up every other month or so. By the way, I'd no intention of being a downer! I have no opinion on the subject; just curious because I know you plan your equipment carefully. And I'm about to put a 55 kg Rocna on our N47; hope it sets itself properly on the bow roller. /afb

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:24:05 GMT

It's funny--I blog for work (http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/category/hemmings-editors/david-traver-adolphus/), and I know there are some dedicated followers, but it's not until I contemplate the prospect of another season of Cruising with Ken that I understand just how happy it makes you. It reminds me of awaiting the next installment of a serial in a magazine. Can't wait! Dave

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:06:53 GMT

Adam: I had no idea that swivels are controversial. I'll read through the postings on the T&T list to see what they are saying. My interest in the swivel is in getting the anchor the final few feet into the bow pulpit. With my prior anchor, 110kg, it usually took me 3 or 4 tries to get the anchor to come over the bow pulpit. I've upgraded my anchor to 150kg, and was worried that it would be a nightmare to get those last couple of fit over the bow pulpit. Allegedly the swivel will resolve this by allowing the anchor to rotate into the correct position for coming over the bowsprit. It catches me by surprise that they are controversial. Perhaps there are cheap swivels, and expensive swivels? The swivel I bought was around $500, which seemed like a lot of money for what it is. I've forgotten the strength rating, but it was higher than the surrounding chain. I'll do a bit of research. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Last Entry

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:29:20 GMT

Ken, anchor swivels seem to be pretty roundly condemned by the experienced cruisers on the Trawlers and Trawlering mailing list as weak links (literally) with limited upside. I'm curious about why you decided to install one. Thanks!

[KensOtherBlog] The "Why" boat

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past two weeks I have received at least 30 different emails asking if I have seen the boat called "WHY". I assume that most of you have also seen these pictures, but given the high level of interest I figured I'd go ahead and post them on my blog anyhow.

Several people asked if the boat really exists or not. My research indicates that it really does exist, or at least it is a real design, in search of someone to order the first one. I would expect, that given the interesting look, some billionaire out there somewhere will want to add it to their collection.

Here's a couple of links to websites with additional information:

http://www.why-yachts.com

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/7570/why-wally-hermes-yachts.html

I had to dig a bit to find the estimated cost: $150.8 million. I don't know whether or not this includes the optional am/fm radio.

On a more relevant note...

The spare parts for Sans Souci have now departed Seattle and are somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. They are estimated to arrive in Japan around March 7th. In other words, all is looking good for an on-time departure for the GSSR 2010 in mid-April!

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
http://www.lulu.com/kenw (my books)

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The "Why" boat

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:59:23 GMT

Breaking news! Hermes Backs Out Of Wally Yacht Partnership http://www.boattest.com/Resources/view_news.aspx?NewsID=4046 Sad to see it go.... I guess I will have to use the down payment on a new N120.. LOL

[KensOtherBlog] Some cool whale footage

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

My brother and his family visited us in Cabo this week. A few days ago they took a panga out scuba diving and had a very close encounter with some whales. Most interesting to me is that the panga had my two sons, my brother John, his wife, their two young daughters, plus the two guys running the panga. I can't imagine getting that close to the whales with an overloaded panga of people!

Here's a video they shot, which is poor quality, but I think you'll get the idea:

If you don't see the video above, click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxl57SUvI_c

While on the topic of Cabo...

I was at the Puerto Los Cabos marina in San Jose Del Cabo yesterday, and snapped this picture of the new dry stack boat storage facility that is going in. I've been told that a 150 ton lift is going in, but the lift didn't look that large. I'll back sometime in the next couple of weeks and try to get a better look. It was great seeing the rapid progress they are making, and seeing the marina full of boats. There were a couple of huge megayachts and probably a dozen boats over 100'.

As to the GSSR and our upcoming trip...

The adventure begins around April 15th! That date is coming very quickly now, and there is starting to be a flurry of activity.

As I mentioned in my prior blog entry, we shipped an entire container full of parts to Japan. However, the container literally "missed the boat." I still don't know what went wrong. Everyone is pointing the finger at each other. The story I've heard is that the container holding our spare parts was somehow mislabeled, or not labeled, regarding the hazardous materials inside the container (liquids like oil and fuel additives). Thus, the freighter couldn't carry the container and it was left sitting on the dock. A new freighter has been assigned to transport the container, and it will hopefully still arrive in Japan in plenty of time for our departure. We'll see. I'll be sweating this one until the container clears customs in Japan.

There is some good news...

I was worrying about Seabird's transmission. The transmission was removed from the boat, for overhaul, but has now been repaired. It still needs to be put back in the boat, and some parts are inside the "delayed container" but all is looking good.

Steven provides some good information about all of this in his latest blog entry. Click here to read it.

My biggest project over the past month has been... our dog, Shelby.

As I mentioned in prior blog updates, we've found it impossible to clear Shelby into South Korea, Taiwan or China without putting her through quarantine. She's a very old dog, and we don't want to put her through quarantine.

We've finally got it all figured out. Shelby will be with us until the furthest point south in Japan (an island called Ishigaki) where we'll be met by a friend of ours, Phil, who some of you may remember as having accompanied us across the Atlantic a few years back. Phil will fly with Shelby back to Osaka where we've rented the two of them an apartment while Roberta and I continue with the boat to Taiwan and Hong Kong. It's not a perfect solution, but it works.

As to when the fun begins...

Roberta and I plan to return to the boat around the first week of April. I want at least a couple of weeks on the boat prior to our departure to sort out lots of "electronics" tasks. I've bought new computers for the nav system, and need to swap out the old ones. I'm a computer geek, but still a bit worried about the project, because of the interfacing of the software to the autopilot, the radar and the AIS. That said, if it looks hard once I'm on the boat, I'll simply not do the project. The current ship's computers are fine.

That said, the one thing that argues that I need to make a change is that last year I struggled with Nobeltec's chart coverage in Asia. It just wasn't very good. As part of the upgrade I'll be swapping the boat over to a new charting package, Maxsea Timezero. It's new, and I don't know how stable it is, but it is fast and very fun to operate. The charts of Japan seem much better than what I had on Nobeltec, although... I have a pre-release of the charts, and the copy I have seems flawed. I'm hoping to get a chart upgrade from Furuno before the trip begins. My hope is to have Maxsea, Nobeltec AND Coastal Explorer all installed and operating, so that I can swap between them according to has the best charts for any particular region.

And lastly....

Our GSSR group will be joined this year by Don and Sharry Stabbert, who have the 75' Northern Marine vessel Starr. They departed Hawaii a couple of weeks ago headed towards Japan. It sounds like they are having fun working their way towards us, and if you haven't yet registered for their blog, I recommend it: http://starr.talkspotblogs.com

Here's an excerpt from a recent email Don sent me:

Yokwe (hello in Marshallese) :

We are in a aqua colored lagoon, surrounded by reefs and obstacles on a large atoll south of Majuro called Mili. The village of 400 people here is called MiliMili. It is too windy to take either Starr or the tender to the village which is 14 nm downwind from the entrance to the lagoon. If we could take the tender we would have to run it up on the beach at full speed like a panga in Mexico (I don't think so). We brought some packages from Majuro for one of the World Teach teachers in the village, but we can't deliver them. No one in the village can come to us to pick them up because they currently don't have any fuel for their outboards. We will deliver the packages to some guys on an atoll close by who harvest coconuts for copra, but they don't speak English.

I'm sure you get the picture; this is a very remote place.

Sharry and Don

Thank you,

-Ken Williams
N6805, Sans Souci

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some cool whale footage

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:33:04 GMT

Ken, In US waters, that panga would have been on FOX live coverage of Coast Guard helicopters protecting the whales - glad all were OK – way too many people onboard and especially too many while for scuba diving. The dry stack storage facility should be a hit. I can imagine gringo home/condo owners wanting to keep a boat in Cabo, but not a big one such as yours – dry stack makes great sense for smaller boats. Hopefully would be hurricane proof. Dean

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some cool whale footage

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:32:00 GMT

hi ken, Thanks for video of whale. too close for my liking. You do like to make things hard for yourself don't ya - Losing containers of essential parts - whatever next,lol. And swapping out computer systems in japan AAaaaagh, even for a geek thats madness. Anyway, the best of luck and our wishes that all goes well. Roy

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some cool whale footage

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:07:36 GMT

Well, I just read-up on the subject and they might not have been in much danger depending on what the males were doing – it is mating season down there. Those were humpbacks and they seem to like humans and even let divers close while mating (not me!). PECTORAL FIN STROKING AND SLAPPING: “Pectoral Stroking: Pectoral fins are the equivalent of human hands. They are frequently used to stroke the body of another of the same species, probably during courtship and mating. Mothers and calves also stroke one another as a display of closeness. Pectoral Slapping: The humpback has the largest pectoral fins of any of the great whales. The fins alone can weigh up to several tons! When brought down onto the water from the extended position they create a forceful splash which can be heard from quite a distance, both above and below the surface. Pectotal slapping is a common behavior among humpbacks, thought to be used as a form of communication. Very exciting! Ron

[KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings!

I just received a photo of my new Rocna anchor which ships today from Seattle to Japan.

This thing is a monster!

The last part of our cruising in SE Asia will be during typhoon season, and I'm not sure how easy it will be to find typhoon-safe ports as we get into the islands around Okinawa. This is my 330 pound insurance policy against dragging anchor.

-Ken Williams
N6805, Sans Souci

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:05:29 GMT

Chris: The N68 comes standard with 1/2" chain. It seems more than adequate to the task, and is plenty heavy. -Ken W PS This is possibly my last post on the "kensotherblog" board. My goal is to move all of these blog entries to the kensblog.com website, and start posting there again. I should do that in about a week, and send out my first "GSSR 2010" posts sometime next week. The "fun" begins again April 4th! That date is starting to get here very fast now...

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:13:06 GMT

Ken, Out of curiosity what size and type of chain do you have? Thanks, Chris

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:01:25 GMT

Wow! Wish you all the luck on this voyage Ken! My friends are in Japan as we speak playing a show. So nice up there. nav ccwfilms.com

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:48:14 GMT

Ken, We sadly did not charter a Menorquin, but those two charters were our first and second charters, and we only just got our Dayskipper and VHF Radio Qualifications the winter before. The Dayskipper is the first rank of UK qualifications for private captains and is from the RYA. (Royal Yachting Association.) Our charter companies were happy to let us do both charters bare boat as we had the qualification (I did get near as make no difference 100%) and experience because we have a boat, but which up till then was kept only on the upper Thames. Thus actually no time at sea. So I expect that if you contact and explain to them that you are the famous Mr. Ken Williams and have lots of experience then I am sure they will let you charter a bare boat. Better still, send them a free copy of your latest book as proof of experience. I always knew someone would publish my story! Thanks!! Ruaan

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:25:27 GMT

Ruaan: I posted the pictures here on the website. Very entertaining! I checked out chartering with Menorquin Yachts. Do they allow bareboat charters? It wouldn't be any fun if they force us to have a skipper along. I have both a USCG and Yachtmasters certification. We've talked about heading to Europe if we finish this year's GSSR early enough... http://www.kensotherblog.com/aspx/m/639631 -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:52:48 GMT

Ken, Thanks, but what is a boat otherwise for, but than to wake up anchored in the perfect cala and going for a snorkel before breakfast? I can't believe you sped past Menorca. Firstly, the South Coast has some of the best calas you will find anywhere in the world. Almost every month someone writes in to one of the UK boating magazines with a picture of their secret perfect Menorcan cala that they will not reveal the name of, not saying where it is, and I'm just like, oh that's Cala Macarella. Secondly, one of my favourite places in the whole world is on Menorca. It is called Ciudadella and is the perfect place to moor for the night and sit down in the very localy populated yacht club and look at the ferry come into this very long, narrow and stunning harbour to unload its flock from Barcelona. Great old town too. And they even build their own boats on the island. They are called Menorquin yachts, obviously, and are modern versions of the traditional, Menorquin yacht. Do google them. They are lovely boats, and we thought seriously about buying one, the company just did not think that the boats needed stabilizers. Which they do. As friends of our who has one can attest to. We did two charters in the Balearics. One from Mahon, where we based ourselves mostly in Ciudadella, and another one from Palma, where we promptly made a crossing to spend a night in Ciudadella and to savor the wonderful calas. Another great anchorage in the area, where I hope you spent a night was Isla de Cabrera's natural harbour. (Small island just off the bottom right hand side of Mallorca.) I counted a hundred fish around me before breakfast and then as we climbed the hill to the old Castle, the richest man from Mexico's yacht, Princess Mariana turned up. She is big and is based in the nearby principality. It turned out she wanted to use the harbour to enable her helicopter to land on her deck. This turned out to be the most perfect timing of my life, as I witnessed a super yacht captain not doing his job. The yacht came into the harbour, and kept moving in the direction of the very concrete pier at a snails pace. Kept moving until it was 1 meter from it, upon which the boat tied up at the pier moved violently and it put on reverse with WOT and quickly reversed around the corner, probably to go and weep. I got all of this on camera. I will email you a picture or two. Ruaan

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:37:45 GMT

Ruaan: You are my kind of guy! Chartering in Menorca.. Definitely my kind of cruising. We've gone by there a couple of times in our 62, but always seemed to be in a hurry and went into Mallorca. Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:33:48 GMT

Bobby: Thank you for the tip on the Johnson Bar. I have never heard of the Johnsar Bar, but did some googling, and found them. A week ago I could have sent one over with the container we are shipping. Now, I'm not sure I can get one to Japan. I've been using the boat hook, and it has been somewhat useless. I've already figure out the trick with higher rpms. My throttles have three idle settings, and I always choose the highest for retrieving the anchor. Thank you - Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:03:49 GMT

Ken, Two things that will make your life easier getting the anchor up and into the pulpit. First raise the rpm on your engine driving hydraulics. The higher the rpm the more power you have for hydraulics. Second is get a Johnson bar sized to fit into your chain. When the anchor is about to come into the pulpit you can use the Johnson bar to rotate the chain for the correct entry of the anchor into the roller. In the past I have used the bar to manually set the anchor back in its stay when I lost the roller on the pulpit. Bobby P.S. A Johnson bar is a type of crow bar that is straight. They were developed for the railed train industry but have a wide range of uses.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:36:52 GMT

Hi Ken, this is a fascinating response. I got a fortress anchor last season in addition to the Bruce on the 40' President Semi Displacement Trawler I crew on and am having similar fun thoughts and experiments on how to use this anchor as a backup or a lunch hook or as a stern mounted unit. The captain is not interested in this black art and looks very cinically at me when I go up to the bow and undo the anchor and try and mount the fortress or measure up the existing chain or want to deconstruct the front cabin to make friends with the anchor locker. But after our charter in Menorca a few years back when we almost dragged another boat right onto the the beach after we both fell asleep sunbathing I started then and their to experiment by promptly throwing a second hook in the water after resetting the boat. As far as your anchor is concerned if you cannot raise the anchor, I would attach a long rope and fender to the chain and come back another day to retrieve the anchor. Let me tell you a little secret though. The large hadron collidor in Scern was not built to find the god particle. It was built to smash atoms of the art of anchoring into atoms of the science of weighing anchor to see what is really going on in there. More regards, Ruaan

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:51:10 GMT

Ed: That probably is Fisheries. Jeff picked up the anchor and was moving it to the container going to Japan. I wish I had a picture of him loading it into his truck. My guess is that it took an army of people to lift the thing. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:49:35 GMT

Jay: You never said what caused your wive's near drowning. Bad air? Running out of air? Actually, my confusion is that I was thinking she was diving with tanks, but now I think you meant she was free diving in 30' of water. It's amazing she could do it! I'll remember the locktite! -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:46:04 GMT

Rod: You've asked a very good question. The hydraulic system on Sans Souci is the system I understand the least. I understand it conceptually, but have never made other than very minor repairs. Below is the plumbing diagram for Sans Souci's hydraulic system: http://www.kensotherblog.com/uploads/42227/blog/hydraulics.pdf It does show seperate lines going to each windlass, but whether or not I can easily close off a failed line I do not know. I'm not on the boat now, and can't look at the physical connections to see if there are valves. I do have a full repair kit for the hydraulic system, with extra fittings, hoses and even "rescue tape" which might do the job for a small leak. When I get back to the boat I'll look at the system and try to think about what I'd do. I don't really think the new anchor is going to be much different to lift. The majority of the weight is in the chain. Fifty feet of chain probably weighs as much as the anchor. It's only the final 2 feet of pulling up the anchor that is a struggle. When the anchor pivots over the bowsprit, it sticks. I have to raise and lower it until I get lucky and it falls into place. This anchor will be tougher... -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:13:46 GMT

Ken: Given the experience of Grey Pearl's hydraulic line failure (in an in-accessible region(?) for windlass power does Sans Souci have separate hydraulic lines to each of your anchor windlasses? Have you any back up plans for such a failure? For instance isolation of bad windlass if you lose hyraulic pressure because of a windlass failure itself?

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:06:53 GMT

...reminds me of a time I was anchored in Nassau Harbor on a quiet, calm Sunday morning..reposing in the cockpit reading...my wife says, "are we moving?"...I look around and sure enough we were very slowly drifting...dropped a backup anchor...snorkle trip shows chain nicely laid out with the end of the chain about thirty feet from the anchor...very small pin had released from swivel...(NO LOCKTITE...MY BAD) my wife scuba'd down to attach a line to the anchor...she comes up on the swim platform, blue and gasping, I haul her on board...MAYDAY...zoom for Nassau Harbor Club...ambulance...three days later she's released...OK....doctor says worst near drowning he's ever seen...I scurry around Nassau to find oxygen tanks...diver recovers anchor AND SMALL PIN...we continue a few months of delightful Bahamas cruising with no further incidents...did I mention NO LOCKTITE...anchor holding in high wind is the easy part...chain attachment to anchor-now that's the hard part...good luck

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:19:12 GMT

Looks like Fisheries loading dock. When you get it place it would be interesting to see a before and after picture.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:20:26 GMT

Chris and Ruaan: Yes. You are raising a real issue. My current windlass struggles with my existing 110kg anchor. I'm worried about if it can handle this 150kg model. I'm taking a little comfort in knowing that David Sidbury, with the second N68, has already made the change. In my case, the anchor comes up until it is at the bow pulpit, and then I usually have to help it to get it onto the pulpit (kick, cuss, twist and pull, usually a combination of all of the above). If the windlass ever fails, the anchor isn't coming up. I have a second anchor (a 110 pound fortress) I keep as a backup, complete with its own chain and windlass. That said, both windlasses are hydraulic, so if one fails, the odds are the other won't work. My windlasses are Maxwell 4500. We checked with the manufacturer. The 3500 is the largest they make that has an option for a hand crank. On the larger units Maxwell believes that hand cranking is impossible. If the anchor won't come up, and swapping to the other anchor won't work. I'm stuck. I can try the davit, two feet at a time, or a come-along - but, it is going to be a painful process. Jeff is going to Japan in a few weeks, and taking over an electrically powered hydraulic pump that he thinks he can make run my windlass. We'll see... Thus far, I've always gotten the anchor back, so I'm optimistic. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:52:12 GMT

Hi Ken, I agree you won't drag, but how on earth are you going to power your windlass? Do you have another sub deck that stretches all 68' of your boat and that's full of batteries? Regards, Ruaan

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Getting ready for the typhoons

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:34:09 GMT

Wow! I bet that would be hard if the hydraulic windless failed? Didn't one of the other boats have to manually raise an anchor while on the trip last summer? How would you accomplish that if something happened? Between the anchor dug in and the weight of both it and the chain, that's about equal to a Smart car! :) Thanks, Chris

[KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings All!

Preparations are continuing for the 2010 GSSR run, from Osaka Japan to Hong Kong.

This is just a quick update to pass along a couple of pictures. In my last update I mentioned that the three GSSR boats (Seabird, Grey Pearl and Sans Souci) are shipping spare parts and tools to Japan. Yesterday, Jeff Sanson, of Pacific Yacht Management, sent me pictures of all of our parts ready to go out. The size of the shipment is amazing!

-Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com
Books: www.lulu.com/kenw

shipment1.jpg

shipment2.jpg

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:46:10 GMT

Sam: I'm not sure how many hours Seabird has, but it is certainly a well-traveled N62. When I first saw Seabird, it was in 1993, and she had just arrived in Seattle from Australia. Her owner gave Roberta and I a tour because we were thinking of buying an N62. It's a neat coincidence that Seabird, then named Atlas, was the first Nordhavn 62 we ever saw. Since then, Seabird has found her way to Europe, around the Caribbean, and onward to Japan. The coolest thing about Nordhavns is that they go a LOT of places. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:32:37 GMT

Yikes! How many hours does Seabird have and how old is she? And out of curiosity, what would the group have done if the transmission failed in the Aleutians? Best of luck getting everything taken care of. Sam

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:04:42 GMT

What kind of reduction gear is it? We may be able to find a case around here if it's something common like Twin Disc or ZF. There are always people doing repowerings here with over 300 fishing boats just in the Kodiak fleet.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:32:01 GMT

Bill H: Steven had a MAJOR transmission failure. We're lucky it didn't fall apart in the middle of the Aleutians. They are rebuilding the transmission, and our current worry is that it appears he needs a new transmission case, which will be a nightmare to find. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:30:24 GMT

Kent: That's three boats worth of stuff! Plus, some of the bulk is the new toilets, and the old ones are going overboard. And... the oil is going into the engines. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:45:54 GMT

Just looking at that pile makes me wonder if you have a secret cargo hold.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:01:02 GMT

I thought Steven was having troubles with the hydraulic power take off on his reduction gear. I wonder why they have the whole gear out. I wish I knew more of the symptoms as we deal with that a lot in the fishing industry. Hydraulics are in constant use while hauling and setting heavy fishing gear so we have our share of problems. Could have been anything from a stuck pressure relief, flow control valve, or any one of numerous things. I should have picked you guys up a troubleshooting guide from Island Hydraulics here in Kodiak. Most problems are fairly easily traced through process of elimination.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:34:54 GMT

Bill: Jeff is taking good care of us! The big worry though is Steven's transmission. We have months before we depart to get everything put back together, but there's still a lot of work to be done! -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:33:25 GMT

Miguel: Historically speaking Nordhavns have held their value incredibly well, often selling above their original construction cost. That is no longer true, because of the world economic crisis, but hopefully in a few years, when the world economy is back to normal, it will be true again. My guess is that we are somewhere near the bottom (or, at least I hope we are!), and that if you buy a boat this year, you should be able to sell it for what you have into it or more when the market comes back. Good luck! -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:28:07 GMT

This is a good example of why Ken's travels are so trouble free. Good planning, lots of forethought and a good expediter who knows boats like Jeff Sanson of Pacific Yacht Management.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Pictures of our shipment headed to Japan

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:55:52 GMT

Hello Mr. Ken I am new to the blog, it's very interesting to hear from the owners perspective. I would like to know what kind of resale value (depreciation) the NORDHAVNS have. I am looking to transition from a 2001 bertram 510 (bad move on the resale part). Our intention is to have a floating home for 3-4 years then probably return to a house. Do not want to make more mistakes on a next purchase. Our present boat has been in use in Venezuela almost exclusively so diesel prices are a non issue 1000 gallons = 400$. But now we need something with range economy space for us (06)and when the time comes that it holds its value, the future always hold changes, maybe after this time we can downsize. Anyways if you can help steer me in the right direction as far as the nordhavn and other brands in the league it would be apreciated greatly. BRGDS Miguel Smith

[KensOtherBlog] Some pictures I thought were pretty interesting

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings all!

I just thought I’d pass along a link to some pictures that I found quite interesting…

During our voyage to Japan, one of the boats, Seabird, noted that their transmission and PTO (the hydraulic pump that is driven by the main engine) seemed to be running warm. Steven Argosy, Seabird’s owner, had the transmission inspected, in Japan, and decided that a rebuild was warranted. I forget how many miles Seabird has run, but it is a huge number.

Steven was able to find a great outfit to do the work, and last week Seabird’s transmission was pulled from the boat. When Steven first mentioned the work, I was surprised by two things: 1) That he was able to get the work done in Japan, without him there, and 2) that a transmission can be replaced without hauling-out the boat.

I enjoyed studying the full sequence of pictures. It is impressive to see how they protected the boat’s interior, and the frame they had to construct to get the transmission out of the boat. To see the pictures (about 30 of them), click this link:

http://www.kensotherblog.com/aspx/m/628740

And, on a different topic…

Trip planning is continuing. As I mentioned in my last update, Roberta and I have failed in our efforts to get our dog approved for entry into Korea, China (Hong Kong) and Taiwan. Instead, out latest plan is to have Shelby (the dog) accompany us on the Japanese portion of our trip, and then stay behind, in Japan, while we continue to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Even this has been tricky. We have a friend (Phil, who some of you may remember as our chef on the Atlantic crossing) who will be going to Japan to watch Shelby for the two months it takes us to finish the trip. We need to find him an apartment in Japan that is furnished, and will accept dogs. We’ll figure it out, but it is being a project.

I also noticed this morning that Japan Airlines filed bankruptcy and is shutting down most of their big planes, in order to focus on short commuter flights. We used Japan Airlines to transport Shelby from Osaka to Hawaii, and this might affect our plans for getting her back to Japan. Argh. I’ll figure it out, but this means another project on my plate…

And, lastly…

We’ll be sending, next week, an entire shipping container to Japan, containing replacement parts for the three GSSR boats. Prior to departing Japan I put together a list of maintenance items for my boat. Sans Souci was in fine condition and could have kept going just fine, but with a boat, there is always something to do. I want to be pro-active and replace all belts, hoses and anything else that might fail. I hadn’t realized how large shipping containers are, and the container will be mostly empty, but there are a few big items. For instance, I’m swapping ALL of the toilets on the boat. The toilets on my boat were a new model and have failed more frequently than they should. I’m also shipping replacement batteries, and also some boat tools, that I thought would be hard to find in Japan. I had also planned to ship a complete set of replacement parts for my Mini Vsat (Internet) system, but hit a surprise with the shipper. Shipping satellite communications equipment is apparently a no-no. Another project to figure out.

That’s it for today. Overall, things are going fine with trip planning, and I’m looking forward to being back on the boat (in April)!

-Ken Williams
N6805, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com
www.kensotherblog.com
Books: http://www.lulu.com/kenw

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some pictures I thought were pretty interesting

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:22:42 GMT

Ken, You would think with the "Worldwide" service that they state all over the website one could get help. Have you had it fixed by KVH already, or are you going to do it? According to the website, which I am sure that you checked already: KVH Distributor(s) in Area Kaigai Gijyutsu K.K. M. Arai 2-5-15, Ogi-cho Naka-ku Yokohama Japan Phone: +81 45 664 7318 Fax: +81 45 664 7320 Email: ma@kgkjp.com KVH Representative(s) in Area KVH Europe A/S Kokkedal Industripark 2B Kokkedal DK-2980 Denmark Phone: +45 45160180 Fax: +45 45 160181 Email: info@kvh.dk I would think that I would sure press them hard to find a solution, or to at least import the replacement parts into Japan. Surely other ships / vessels have had problems when in Japan and needed to get parts to them. For the amount of money you are spending with them, they should be bending over backwards for you. The plus is that I would also make sure that you don't pay duties on the stuff you are shipping over there, as it will be removed from the country. I would check with your freight importer to make sure that if you have to pay duties, that they can be recovered once you leave.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some pictures I thought were pretty interesting

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:11:13 GMT

Chris: I tried that, and apparently KVH doesn't have a partner company in Japan. This doesn't make sense to me. KVH did give me numbers for a couple of companies that sell a subset of their products in Japan, but one of the companies was out of business, and the other claimed not to have a relationship with KVH. The problem with shipping communications gear caught me by surprise. My current plan is to breakdown the parts into those that can be shipped, and those that can't. For instance, there is no restriction on the mechanical parts, like the spare belts. The brain, I'll take with me in a box, and hope that it isn't controversial. If all else fails, I'll call KVH and push them hard. My guess is that they'll have a solution for me. I haven't contacted them about this since the first problems. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Some pictures I thought were pretty interesting

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:43:15 GMT

Hey Ken, Could you just purchase “spares” from a KVH office in Japan or dealer there for the vsat, or let KVH handle the exporting / importing into Japan? I am sure they are setup to get parts back and forth with the correct freight forwarder. Just a thought. Normally with proper documentation if the parts leave with you, you won’t be on the hook for import taxes or fees. Thanks, Chris

Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings all!

This is my first blog update in over a month. I would have written sooner, but there’s really been nothing to say. Roberta and I, probably like most of you, were kept busy by the holidays. I haven’t really had time to think about the boat over the past month.

There’s a new blog I’m following that you might want to register for…

http://www.n55delivery.com

It’s for a 4-man delivery crew (three professionals plus a captain) running a Nordhavn 55 from San Diego to Florida through the Panama Canal. The run is interesting because they are trying to make the trip non-stop other than the canal. They’ll be testing the range on the N55, and also their own endurance. It should be interesting.

As to our boat …

Sans Souci is still sitting in Osaka Japan, as are the other two GSSR boats (Seabird and Grey Pearl.) While we were in Japan we asked an American who lives in Japan, and works as an interpreter, to look after the boats in our absence. He knows very little about boats, but is fluent in both Japanese and English. Prior to our departure I trained him on how to start Sans Souci’s main engines and generators, and on how to run the watermakers.

I decided to have him start the engines periodically, even though it isn’t clear that this is a good thing. Starting a diesel engine, running it for 15 minutes, without letting it get warm, leaving it unloaded, and then shutting it down, is almost certainly tougher on the engine than just leaving it shut down. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but now I’m having second thoughts.

This process did discover a problem though…

Within a couple of weeks of our departure the 20kw generator on Sans Souci refused to start. After a bit of testing, we decided the problem was nothing more than a dead battery. One would think that buying a new battery would be a quick easy project. But, that’s not how things work when multiple countries and languages are involved.

As a first step to diagnosing the problem we bought a battery charger, which required at least a dozen emails. I wanted a trickle charger that we could trust to not overcharge the battery, because no one would be on the boat. Once we located a charger, and charged the batteries, the generator started fine, but after 24 hours the battery was dead again.

Finding a replacement battery turned out to be a nightmare. At least 30 emails went back and forth. It’s a bigger issue than just getting the right voltage. I needed an AGM starting battery of roughly the same size as the old battery. Despite having a good interpreter I was never able to get a battery that would work and gave up in frustration. Instead, I’ll ship a battery over from the United States.

One of the other GSSR boats has been trying to work remotely to diagnose a possibly transmission problem. I shared with the owner the effort I had gone through, unsuccessfully, to try to obtain a simple 12v battery, and asked how he thought he was going to get a transmission diagnosed and repaired. He understood the problem and is doing what he can, but is not very optimistic.

Also….

I asked to have a diver take pictures of the bottom of the boat because we had noticed something that looked suspicious on one of the rudders. I need to decide if a haul-out of the boat is necessary or not.

This is a link to the pictures I received:

http://www.kensotherblog.com/aspx/m/602560

There is a bit of white visible around where the rudder connects to the boat. I couldn’t tell if it is some sort of bearing that has come loose. I posted these pictures to other Nordhavn owners, and to Nordhavn, all of whom said that it was just normal barnacle growth, and nothing to be concerned about. I also sent the pictures to the Delta shipyard, who said that they definitely thought I had a problem, but that they thought I’d be fine to wait another cruising season before getting the boat hauled-out. Whether or not I have a problem, I still don’t know.

On a different topic…

Trip planning has started for the 2010 GSSR run. Here’s a picture showing our route, which stretches from Osaka, in Japan, to Hong Kong, in China:

(Click the map above for a close-up)

The route shows as 2,000 nm, which is a huge drop from the 7,000 nm we ran in 2009. Whereas our goal in 2009 was to get across the Pacific within a fairly short weather window, this year we’re hoping to be able to do a lot more relaxing and sightseeing along the way. Also, last year we were on the boats for five months, and this year we’ll only be on the boats a little over three months. We’d prefer more time on the boats, but we’re moving into an area known for typhoons. As the water warms, typhoons will become more frequent, and more ferocious. Typhoons can happen virtually any month of the year, but August and September are the worst. Our goal will be to have the boats safely sitting at a marina in Hong Kong before the end of July.

Traveling with a dog in Asia has become a huge problem. We have given up on getting Shelby into Taiwan or China. The best we’ve been able to do is to receive conflicting information from Taiwan. We now believe that we MIGHT be able to enter the country, as long as Shelby doesn’t leave the boat except to travel directly to the airport in the company of customs agents. China will not allow Shelby into the country at all without a long quarantine.

Roberta and I discussed stopping our cruising in 2010 at the southern border of Japan, and just having a delivery crew run the boat to Hong Kong. We also discussed flying Shelby home from Taipei (Taiwan) and then returning without her. Our current plan, which we believe is what will occur is that a friend of ours will be meeting us in Ishigaki Japan, the southernmost island in the Ryukyu chain of islands. Our friend (Phil, who crossed the Atlantic with us in 2004) will fly with Shelby back to Osaka, where they’ll stay for the three or four weeks it takes us to get the boat to Hong Kong. This is an expensive and complicated solution to the problem, but beats any other option we’ve come up with.

I mentioned in my last update that I was evaluating various nav software packages. It has been a tough decision, but I’m going to go with Maxsea Time Zero. It was a very tough decision, but the bottom line was that I like how Time Zero feels. It is fast and responsive. I was also able to get charts for Japan which seem very good. The major downside is that the other two GSSR boats are still using Nobeltec. I’ll need to also use Nobeltec so that we can continue to swap routes.

And on a completely different topic…

The GSSR group may be growing! Some of you may recall that the GSSR was originally scheduled to be four boats. The fourth boat, Starr, a 75’ Northern Marine, dropped out just prior to the start of the trip.

Instead, Starr, and her owners (Don and Sharry Stabbert), headed to Hawaii. Don and Sharry have recently made the decision to catch up to the other GSSR boats, and hope to travel from Hawaii to Japan over the next few months, arriving in Japan in time to rendezvous with our group.

Don and Sharry will be a great addition to our group. They have cruised 10s of thousands of miles including two trips to Polynesia and this most recent trip to Hawaii.

Don and Sharry MAY be sending out a blog as they go. I have them set up to send a blog, but I don’t know if they plan to blog or not. The website that recounts their past voyages is: http://www.starrvoyages.com, and to the extent that they do blog, you should sign up at: http://starr.talkspotblogs.com to receive them.

And lastly…

Bill Harrington, the Kodiak Alaska based commercial fisherman who was along with us on the trip across the Atlantic, sent me this picture of a new boat he bought for doing scallop fishing. Congratulations Bill!

That’s it for today,

Thank you!

Ken Williams

PS A note about my books….

I just released a Kindle version of my most recent book which is now available at Amazon.com. Just search for “Great Siberian Sushi Run”. To find the printed versions of my book you can go to: http://www.lulu.com/kenw

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:52:25 GMT

Bobby: Thank you. Your assessment is consistent with what I'm thinking. That said, I can't wait to get to the boat and take a look at it myself. I wish you were in Japan now! It has been a nightmare trying to get the bottom cleaned. I've been working on it for three months, and the bottom is just collecting more crud. It's a very long story I won't bore you with, but suffice it to say that working between languages and cultures is impossible. -Ken W

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:34:52 GMT

Ken, Thank you so much for your blogs. I have worked on commercial live aboard vessels as a maintenance engineer and captained day boats. I have been land locked for the last few years and miss the ocean considerably. Your blogs have gone a long way towards making up for that. I am a professional diver and have done a fare share of bottom cleaning and repair. I looked closely at the pictures you have and see two things. One is barnacle growth for most of it and is a non issue other than wanting to get it cleaned up. Make it clear to the diver that you want the shaft to hull area between the rudder cleaned up. This is time consuming and detail work that a lot of divers may leave unattended. The second is a guess because I could not be sure of picture orientation to the boat and rudder. What I believe I am seeing is impact that has taken the paint off the lower support for the rudder. I went to the Nordhavn web site and looked at some of their build pictures and believe I am correct. The impact looks to be cosmetic and should not IMHO be an issue. Until you pull the vessel and repaint just keep an eye on the area to ensure that material degradation is not happening. Good cruising, Bobby P.S. If you need crew on the boat I have too much time on my hands of late due to down sizing from the economy. Although an adventure such you commonly live would have my wife steamed since she is still gainfully employed and would not be able to go herself...LOL

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:26:42 GMT

Since this is a yachting blog I won't try to bore your readers with long explanations. In answer to your questions though; We fish in 40-70 fathoms, mostly soft bottom. Think Shell gasoline for what a scallop is, you can see some in the photos here. The part you eat is the muscle that opens and closes the shells. http://www.alaskaboat.com/ll049pics.htm

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:31:43 GMT

Bill: I started to say a bunch more about your boat, but then realized how little I knew. I know (or, think I do) that you said you'd be fishing for Scallops, but then I haven't the vaguest idea how one fishes for scallops. Do you drag a net? If so, about how deep? -Ken W

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:04:29 GMT

Hi Ken. Thanks for putting my new boat in your blog. That's my kind of trawler. One that pays it's way. 75x20x11'6" fits in the water nicely. I am holding off on Maxsea Time Zero till I see some other people buy it in the fleet and see what they think. The old Maxsea is popular here and I have it on the other boat but sometimes a complete re-do, computer language and all, may not be the best thing. I'll let someone else work the bugs out. It seems a little too flashy to me in the demos, kind of like Navnet 3-D which I was not too impressed with. Keep me up to speed if you hear any good reports.

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:27:35 GMT

Drew: I'm not certain how Time Zero would respond on a slow, or tight memory, machine. I'm running it on a fast dual processor laptop with 4 gigs of ram. My guess is that it would run faster on your laptop than any other program you might consider, but I'd hate to have you try it and it won't run on your machine. Here's what Maxsea says on their website: Processor: 32 bits or 64 bits - 2 GHz cadenced (Core Duo) RAM Memory: 2 GB Hard Disk Capacity: 120 GB Video Card: 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible (WDDM driver, Pixel Shader3.0 and 32 bits per pixel) Minimum graphic memory : 512 MB Screen Settings: 1024 X 768 / 32-bits CD/DVD - ROM Drive 24X recommended for MaxSea Installation Operating System : Windows 7. Used Ports : USB / Serial Network Ethernet 10/100 Mbits connection Base-T Because of the way Maxsea TZ works, my guess would be that the quality of your 3d card, and the amount of ram, is more important than the speed of your machine. Personally, with your laptop...I wouldn't spend the money to buy the product without running some demo disk first. I looked on Maxsea's site and didn't see a downloadable demo, so I'm not sure what you can do. Good luck! -Ken W

Comment on: Starting to think about trip planning for the 2010 GSSR

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:49:09 GMT

Any update on what kind of graphics hardware is needed to get MaxSea Timezero to work well? What do you have? I know what they have recommended on their site as minimum but don't really know how well "minimum" performs. I am looking at running it on a laptop with only a ATI Radeon 3470 with 256MB of graphics memory. Basically that is all that you can get on the laptop with a daylight readable (700 nit) screen and it is at most a midrange capability. Any advice from your experience or links to other reviews would be appreciated.

Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve been continuing to read Jessica Watson’s blog. She’s the 16 year old currently circumnavigating. Her blog can be found at:

http://youngestround.blogspot.com/

Today's entry: http://youngestround.blogspot.com/2009/11/northern-hemisphere.html

I mention it today because it is a bit of a milestone for her: she has now crossed the equator. (Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6xI1jLmBCs)

When I first mentioned her circumnavigation, I hadn’t realized that she was going around the world NON-STOP. I did read this, but somehow it didn’t make sense. I didn’t think it possible. But, she really is doing it! Apparently, there’s a tradition of sailors doing this, and even a set of rules you have to honor in order for the trip to qualify as a true non-stop round-the-world journey. According to the “rules”, she needs to cross the equator at least once during her circumnavigation. She started on the south east corner of Australia, so to reach the equator she has had to sail north east for 4,000 miles! After this she will head south east, down to the southern tip of South America, and then stay south around the southern tip of Africa. This is sure to put her in some rough weather.

She has been doing daily updates, and thus far hasn’t had much to write about, although I very much look forward to her little blurbs each day.

And on a much more techie topic…

As most of you know, I’ve been evaluating different charting packages.

	I just received Maxsea yesterday. It is incredible, and will almost certainly become my favorite PC-based charting package. A few negatives: - It feels like a release 1.0 (which it is). Poor documentation, clunky install (particularly of the charts) - No Windows 7 support (although, they say it is coming in January) - No S-63 chart support - Large hard drive requirement for the charts (not sure the total, but I've installed about 6gb of charts and already and am just getting started) A few positives: - It supports the 3-d cards, so panning and zooming are incredibly quick. - The user interface feels very intuitive. I like how you can shift time to see future currents and tides - It's the best integrated support for downloading weather I've seen. You just highlight a rectangle on the screen and ask it to download weather. So far, it hasn't charged me. - It supports my screens full resolution. I'm running it at 1920x1200, and can split the window in two - The 3d mode is slick, and fast. I like running with a 2d chart in one window and a 3d chart in the other. You could also split the screen to have a raster chart in one window, and vector in the other, or charting, plus radar. (That said, I'm having trouble getting the radar to appear.) I am early on the learning curve, and haven't figured a lot of things out, so the above is just based on a cursory look at the product. One thing: I had expected it to be based on the Navnet3d code base, and it does seem to have much in common, plus appears to have good integration with Navnet3d. However, it really is a different product, and doesn't have, or doesn't have yet, many of the features of Navnet 3d, such as camera support, depth sounder, arpa support, multiple screen support, etc. It slightly annoyed me that the support is based in France. My questions to support are responded to by someone for whom English is a "second language," and there is a lot of French mixed into the response. The good news is that all questions have been answered within 24 hours, and they do claim Windows 7 support by January, whereas Nobeltec claims nothing. I'm currently puzzling over how to import all my Nobeltec routes, tracks and waypoints. I "think" there is a way, but it certainly isn't intuitive. As to stability, there's no way to say. It is too early in the ballgame. Ask me 10,000 miles from now... Overall, it appears to be a revolutionary step forward, and something that most users will love. However, it also feels like an immature product, and less adventurous cruisers might want to give it a year or two to stabilize before swapping over.

I just received Maxsea yesterday. It is incredible, and will almost certainly become my favorite PC-based charting package.

A few negatives:

- It feels like a release 1.0 (which it is). Poor documentation, clunky install (particularly of the charts)
- No Windows 7 support (although, they say it is coming in January)
- No S-63 chart support
- Large hard drive requirement for the charts (not sure the total, but I've installed about 6gb of charts and already and am just getting started)

A few positives:

- It supports the 3-d cards, so panning and zooming are incredibly quick.
- The user interface feels very intuitive. I like how you can shift time to see future currents and tides
- It's the best integrated support for downloading weather I've seen. You just highlight a rectangle on the screen and ask it to download weather. So far, it hasn't charged me.
- It supports my screens full resolution. I'm running it at 1920x1200, and can split the window in two
- The 3d mode is slick, and fast. I like running with a 2d chart in one window and a 3d chart in the other. You could also split the screen to have a raster chart in one window, and vector in the other, or charting, plus radar. (That said, I'm having trouble getting the radar to appear.)

I am early on the learning curve, and haven't figured a lot of things out, so the above is just based on a cursory look at the product. One thing: I had expected it to be based on the Navnet3d code base, and it does seem to have much in common, plus appears to have good integration with Navnet3d. However, it really is a different product, and doesn't have, or doesn't have yet, many of the features of Navnet 3d, such as camera support, depth sounder, arpa support, multiple screen support, etc.

It slightly annoyed me that the support is based in France. My questions to support are responded to by someone for whom English is a "second language," and there is a lot of French mixed into the response. The good news is that all questions have been answered within 24 hours, and they do claim Windows 7 support by January, whereas Nobeltec claims nothing.

I'm currently puzzling over how to import all my Nobeltec routes, tracks and waypoints. I "think" there is a way, but it certainly isn't intuitive.

As to stability, there's no way to say. It is too early in the ballgame. Ask me 10,000 miles from now...

Overall, it appears to be a revolutionary step forward, and something that most users will love. However, it also feels like an immature product, and less adventurous cruisers might want to give it a year or two to stabilize before swapping over.

And, on a different topic…

I’m now in San Jose Del Cabo Mexico, where I’ve been missing our boat, which is still in Japan.

Separate from our Nordhavn, I’m partners with a neighbor in a sport fisher here in Cabo. We’ve owned jointly for several years an Ocean 48, but this summer we decided to upgrade to a Cabo 52.

My partner owns the majority of the partnership, and I don’t really fish, so he assumed all responsibility for picking out the new boat. I had no involvement beyond answering the phone once in a while to say, “If you like it, I’m sure it will be fine.” I hadn’t seen the boat until a couple days ago, and was very curious about it.

We have a full-time Mexican captain, Ramon, who took me out, just for a quick spin around the bay. And, a quick spin it was. My Nordhavn weighs 120 tons, and has 680 horsepower, most of which I never use. The Cabo 52 has 1,600 horsepower, and weighs about 30 tons. We were quickly at 40 knots! Of course, my Nordhavn typically burns about 12 gallons per hour of fuel, whereas the Cabo burns around 170 gallons per hour at 40 knots. As you can imagine, I won’t be going fast very often.

More interesting to me than the high-speed performance was the low-speed performance. I wanted to know the fuel burn at 10 knots. At 9 knots, I was able to get it to 10 gallons per hour, or about .9 nm/gallon, and at 10 knots the burn jumped to 30 gallons per hour, or .4 nm per gallon.

Specifically, I was trying to figure out the range. There are some islands about 220 nm south of Cabo, called Socorro, that are famous for their diving. There are no facilities at Socorro, and I’m trying to decide if I could run this boat out there or not. I’m a little worried about running these engines at such low rpms for so long, but think I could make it there and back. We’ll see. My next goal is to see if I can get a permit to visit Socorro.

The boat is certainly beautiful, and fun to drive. And, according to my partner, it is very comfortable in high seas. He ran it from San Diego to Cabo between hurricanes, in fairly rough seas, and said it was as not bad at all. I don’t fish, so all I really use the boat in Cabo for is occasional sightseeing expeditions with guests (when you live in Cabo you get LOTS of guests!)

I should also mention, although you’ve probably already heard this…

I released my book about the Great Siberian Sushi Run! A preview of the book can be found here:

http://www.tinyurl.com/nordhavn

You can buy a copies of my GSSR book, as well as my previous books, at:

http://www.lulu.com/kenw

And, lastly, the trip planning for next summer’s GSSR trip is still continuing. …

Roberta and I had dinner a few nights ago with Hugh and Teresa O’Reilly, of the trawler Westward. (http://classicyacht.org/westward/)

Hugh and Teresa recently ran Westward, their historic 85 year old trawler, across the Pacific, through Polynesia, to Japan, and back to Seattle, via the Aleutian islands. I was appropriately in awe.

In addition to discussing their trip, they gave me a link to a website for the sailboat “Shadow of Lorelei” (http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shadowoflorelei/)

There are no cruising guides for the part of the world we are headed towards, so each piece of information has to be fought for one scrap at a time.

Shadow of Lorelei’s owners, Mauro and Pauline, who are Australians, are now in the Philippines, and recently cruised the same places we’re going next year: Southern Japan, South Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and China. I have made contact with them, and will be studying their blog.

That’s it for now.

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:37:37 GMT

Adam: I do have the Explorer version of Maxsea TimeZero. However, it is acting as though not all modules are activated. When I choose "About Maxsea Time Zero" from the menu, it says: License Type: Unlimited Product: MaxSea Time Zero Explorer Activated Modules: -AIS module is enabled I suspect there are more modules, and that radar is one of them. I'll write to Maxsea and see what they say. I'll also ask them about the charts. The section you quoted from the manual seems to say that Navnet 3d will find the charts I have on Maxsea TimeZero. However!, will Navnet 3d require its own unlock code? My guess is that we need to unlock for each piece of software. I will report back what I hear from Maxsea. -Ken W

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:12:51 GMT

Rereading the manual, it's not exactly clear whether that means that the reverse is true: that charts installed on NN3D are visible on MSTZ. So I checked the MaxSea Web site support FAQs and found this: "Q1. I have NavNet 3D and MaxSea Time Zero. Are charts compatible? When a MaxSea software is connected to a NN3D network, MaxSea and NN3D share the same charts whatever they were bought with one or the other (MaxSea or NN3D) When MaxSea and NN3D equipment are disconnected , charts can be read only on the equipment in which they are installed."

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:54:38 GMT

Ken, you *absolutely* should be able to share charts between NN3D and MSTZ. See page 63 of the manual, under the section "Sharing Charts between MaxSea and NavNet", which notes, "The NN3D Server option allows to share all available charts in MaxSea to NavNet3D." You mention having trouble getting the radar to display on MSTZ and that there might not be a chart sync option, which raises a question: Do you have the "Explorer" version (about $1,100) which includes these features, or the "Navigator" version (about $400), which doesn't? I hope you are right that the missing features will come in a future release. Unfortunately, if the release cycle for the 1st MSTZ version is any indicator, said features will probably arrive only *after* I've laid down the cash to build out my NN3D-based helm.

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:39:47 GMT

Adam: I don't think charts can be shared between Navnet 3d and Maxsea TimeZero. Or, it is possible that the Furuno group I bought from doesn't know it. They told me I needed to buy both a hard drive for Navnet 3d with charts, and disks for Maxsea TimeZero. I didn't pin them down on if the unlock codes are the same. I'll ask. Overall, Maxsea Timezero is great, and I suspect every feature we could want will be there sooner or later. I think it's just an early release, and new features will be released over time. However, for now, it really is just a replacement for charting. It isn't a fully integrated nav system. -Ken W

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:33:48 GMT

Mike: I do speak french, so the semi-french support doesn't bother me, but I can see how it could bother some others, so I thought I should mention it. It's actually a bigger issue than just language. For instance, have you spent much time on the phone recently with Dell's or Microsoft's support team? Many software companies are moving their support to India. Even though the support reps speak english, it can be tougher to quickly communicate a support issue. The language may be the same, but all the slang is different. I must not be the only one who occasionally struggles with the language barrier. I note that Dell recently starting offering "America-based" support as a premium option. I'm surprised the political correctness police aren't up in arms. -Ken W

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:34:31 GMT

Ken: You are right. I should have read (rather than skimmed) the manual. Comparing the MFDBB manual to the MSTZ docs, I see that in addition to ARPA and sounder display, all sorts of other things are missing: guard alarms, echo trails, anchor watch alarms, etc. Frankly these finding bring me down. I hate proprietary plotter boxes and was fervently hoping to avoid them (except on the flybridge), but MSTZ just doesn't appear to have the feature set yet to be a true MFD replacement. It's annoying to me, and I think a missed opportunity for Furuno. (Or maybe not; in some cases it seems that Furuno is not above handicapping a product [their NN3D AIS, which doesn't support N2K], perhaps to protect their MFD bread and butter.) As you did, I expected MSTZ to be more of a port of the MFDBB software. Indeed back in May a Furuno rep told me that it *was*, but I guess he meant "in spirit" rather than actually reusing the code base. That said, as a planning tool MSTZ is definitely nice. And I *did* get the 3DConnection SpaceNavigator working on it! Mentioning it in my previous post inspired me to spend a few hours banging away until it worked. Let me know if you want more information. Hope the golf game was satisfying. /afb

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:08:47 GMT

Since when is a guy who names his boat Sans Souci worried about a few words in French? Better get the Rosetta Stone out or something! All kidding aside I'm interested to know how MaxSea finally works out for you.

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:47:53 GMT

Adam: I'm heading out the door now (golf date), but will review this when I get back. - Are you sure Arpa is supported? I did look at the manual, and it looks to me like the radar shows arpa targets, but doesn't indicate a way to mark targets. My guess is that Arpa support is "display only". But, maybe not. The radar input is being taken from the Navnet 3d radar, which does have the ability to mark targets, so "maybe". My current goal is to figure how to display the radar. It just isn't showing up. It might be that it isn't sensing a radar on the system and refuses to show the radar screen without seeing the hardware. - I'll check out 3dConnexion this afternoon... Thank you! -Ken W

Comment on: Jessica crosses the equator, and Maxsea Timezero reviewed

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:43:11 GMT

Ken: Interesting to read your experience with MaxSea TZ. A couple of notes: - MSTZ does support ARPA. See page 57 of the manual. - It's not actually clear Nobeltec can export its routes to MSTZ directly, because Nobeltec doesn't support GPX files. Are you able to export your Nobeltec routes to your NN3D system? If so you can use the "Routes and Waypoints Synchronization Wizard" to pull the routes from NN3D into MSTZ. - I agree that the lack of multiple screen support and especially the lack of sounder display are major drawbacks, and could limit the use of MSTZ on a PC in place of plotter hardware as primary helm system. - The charts are huge -- I'm thinking an 80GB SSD might be too small -- and installing them is slow and annoying. Having to download the satellite photo sets from that stupid French web site is infuriating, especially as there is no way to download them in bundles or even access a simple list of download links. A Google Maps-style interface is not useful here. Moreover, the weather map system demonstrates how integrated the chart downloads *could* be if MaxSea had put more thought into it. - Have you ever used a 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator? http://www.3dconnexion.com/3dmouse/spacenavigator.php It's far and away the best way to navigate Google Earth, and I'm trying to figure out whether the driver can be tweaked to work with MaxSea TZ. It would be an amazing way to zoom around the charts in 3D mode. Looking forward to hearing your ongoing thoughts. /afb

[KensOtherBlog] Charting, disasters, and more

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Roberta and I are now making our annual migration south to Cabo for the winter. We’ve been busy over the past week preparing for our trip, so not much has been happening as far as trip planning for next year’s GSSR trip.

Charting

I mentioned that I’ve been researching different nav software packages. Currently, I run Nobeltec, and am very happy with it. However, their charts, in Asia, are weak. Also, Nobeltec has been recently acquired, and this makes their future uncertain.

Thus, I purchased two different packages; Rose Point Software’s Coastal Explorer, and Furuno’s Maxsea TimeZero.

Thus far, Coastal Explorer seems too do everything I want. It imports my tracks and routes from Nobeltec, and adds support for S-63 charts, which Nobeltec didn’t have. This allows me to import charts from the various hydrographic associations around the world, and to purchase the British Admiralty charts. I have a long list of features I was looking for in a nav software package, including the ability to see tides and currents into the future, and support for BOTH raster and vector charts. There is no feature I’ve wanted that Coastal Explorer doesn’t seem to have. I need to spend more time with it, to see if I really like the interface, but my preliminary opinion is very positive.

Furuno is off to a bad start on Maxsea TimeZero. I gave them my departure date for Mexico over a month ago, and they said “No problem” on getting me the software prior to departure. The day before departure they said they were ready to ship the software to me, which does me no good. Shipping to Seattle when I’m in Cabo means it will sit for months. And, shipping anything to Cabo means it may or may not arrive. So… I’m not sure when I’ll see my copy.

Cabo (in more than one sense of the word)

In Cabo (Mexico), I’m partners with a neighbor on a sport fisher. We have owned an Ocean 48 together for a few years. I’m not into fishing, but my partner takes fishing very seriously. Last year, he was a finalist with our boat in the Bisbee fishing tournament, and made some money. There are millions of dollars in prizes available. He didn’t win the big money, but was very happy. This year, he REALLY wanted to win it, and decided a new boat would help. Thus. We traded in our Ocean 48 on a Cabo 52. I haven’t seen the new boat yet, but expect to see it later this week. He says I’ll be blown away. On his way south from San Diego to Cabo, he said that he ran through extremely rough seas and couldn’t believe how smoothly it ran. Unfortunately though, the tournament was last week, and he didn’t win anything. He had lots of stories about, “The one that got away…” All I really use the boat for is to take our houseguests out fishing, and occasional sightseeing tours up and down the coast. I’m looking forward to seeing the new boat!

Jenny

I just finished reading a book about a Nordhavn 46, called Jenny. I was curious to read it, because during our trip to Costa Rica last year we anchored with Jenny several times, and met her owners, David and Mary Schramm. Several people have recommended the book to me.

It’s a long book, but I zipped through it pretty quickly. Anyone looking for what it is like to live on a Nordhavn, and what it costs, will find many of the answers they are seeking. The book is compiled from David’s blog entries, which I had never read. Amazingly, he shares more personal details than one would expect in his blog. As you read the book he talks about his wife Mary starting to lose interest in the cruising lifestyle, and communications between them breaking down. Finally, on arrival in Panama, she exits the boat, and the 20 year marriage is over. This leads to David continuing his quest for adventure, which now includes young ladies in Cartagena Columbia (both traditional and rented). Unusual content for a boat blog, but compelling reading. Life on a boat is definitely a test of a marriage… and, I’m disappointed David’s failed the test, as is David.

Jenny's Journey: The Reality of Living the Dream, by David Schramm (available via Amazon)

And, speaking of disasters….

Here’s the first story I’ve ever read of a trawler being sunk by a jellyfish:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/6483758/Japanese-fishing-trawler-sunk-by-giant-jellyfish.html

And, here’s a couple of stories that are much too close to home.

Immediately after the start of the Bisbee tournament, that I mention above, a boat caught fire and sank. All crew were rescued safely. Nothing scares me more than fire. Recently, someone told me that on a fiberglass boat, the size of a fire doubles every seven seconds. Basically, you either get the fire out immediately, or prepare the lifeboats. On Sans Souci we have fire extinguishers stuffed pretty much everywhere on the boat. That said, these incidents are a reminder that I want to label the outside of every cabinet that holds a fire extinguisher when I’m next on the boat. It is critical that not a second is wasted once a fire starts.

http://www.bisbees.com/Local/news/2009/articles/2009-10-22_BBB_bottomline.htm

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/fishing-chit-chat/165872-boat-burned-sunk-bisbees-today.html

And, coincidentally, and horribly, there was a fire in our home marina in Seattle, the same week:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/jsj/news/69182207.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/jsj/news/69237527.html

http://www.rocheharbor.com/aboutus_news.html

And, lastly…

Our plans for the GSSR in 2010 include a stop in South Korea, however, this stop is starting to look dubious. As we’ve been working through the logistics, we keep hitting roadblocks.

Korea is very picky about allowing dogs in, and has a mandatory quarantine. We think we might be able to get around this, or in the worst case, just keep Shelby on the boat throughout our time in South Korea.

However, there’s a bigger issue…

After South Korea, we’ll be cruising the Okinawa Islands, which are part of Japan. Our boats have been cleared into Japan as domestic boats, meaning that as far as the Japan Coast Guard is concerned, we are Japanese vessels. This gives us many benefits in moving from port to port inside Japan. However, if we go to South Korea, we will need to export our boats. This means lots of paperwork. We’ll also have to export Shelby, which is a complicated process. Then, when we return to Japan, we’ll need to go through the expensive, and extensive, process of re-importing our boats, and Shelby. Argh. Momentum has shifted towards just taking a ferry to South Korea from the closest point in Japan.

That’s it for today!

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Charting, disasters, and more

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:43:52 GMT

Hi Ken When I bought our sailboat 4 years ago practically the only thing I got right was the Nav software. I've been using Coastal Explorer right from the start. A really amazing program. The Rose Point crew are wonderful to deal with and are adding new features at a steady pace. I'm strictly a PNW coastal cruiser so I'll be very interested in a globetrotter's perspective. Brad

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Charting, disasters, and more

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:52:44 GMT

Ken i think the crane operators were out of sink. As i recall after they raised the the boat off the deck they were suposed to keep it level for the horizontal move to the dock but one of the crnes started lowering i never heard if it was a mechacanical,hydraulic, or operator error

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Charting, disasters, and more

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:06:12 GMT

Brian: Here's a news story about the boat that was dropped: http://oceanlines.biz/2009/07/vessel-assist-salvages-launch-accident-nordhavn-56-motorsailer/ http://vesselassistsandiego.com/2009/07/01/vessel-assist-raises-56-yacht-after-it-was-dropped-off-of-a-delivery-ship/ I suspect if you do some googling you'll find many more stories. I doubt anything could have been done to avoid the boat being dropped. The incident occurred while the boat was being offloaded from a freighter during delivery to Nordhavn from Taiwan. I forget if a cable snapped, or the sling slipped off. Nordhavn took excellent care of the owner, effectively lending them a boat while a new boat was manufactured. Thank you! -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Charting, disasters, and more

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:38:21 GMT

A really "newsy," edition. Good. practical advice, observations, product reviews. All appreciated. Ken, do you have any detail on the Nordhaven motor sailer that was dropped while being off loaded in San Diego? The first (and only) news I'd heard was the "for sale" info via the insurance. There may be a cautionary tale or two in the. "wha' happened," why did it occur, and how well was the unfortunate result handled. Thanks,and keep them coming.

[KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I thought I'd pass along this article, if you haven't seen it:

http://www.10news.com/news/21457298/detail.html

The quick story is that a sailboat participating in the Baja Haha capsized when it struck a whale, leaving the crew floating at sea. This is the same route as the Fubar (which we ran in 2007), and which kicks off again sometime in the next couple of weeks. I still remember that on our Alaska trip, we started out by thinking, "Wouldn't it be awesome to see a whale?" By the time we reached Glacier Bay, we had realized that whales represent perhaps the most serious risk-factor in our entire voyage. There were several times when we narrowly escaped hitting whales, and Grey Pearl narrowly escaped having a breaching whale land on the boat. I don't even want to think about hitting one at night.... (which is certainly possible!)

As to my own boat... not much happening.

Our biggest project this week was not particularly glamorous: I swapped about 30 emails on the topic of getting new drawer slides for the boat. We've had several drawer slides fail. These are the little metal sliding rails that hold the drawers. I don't like dealing with these kinds of details, so I've been trying to find drawer rails that are strong enough that I could stand on the drawers and not hurt them.

And, a little more interesting, but still not too much fun...

I've spent the week looking at a replacement for my charting software. I currently own Nobeltec which I run on a PC, and Navnet 3d, which is a dedicated charting/radar/depth device. I like working with Nobeltec, and am accustomed to all of its quirks. However, Nobeltec was just sold to the same people who publish Maxsea (Furuno). I'm not sure what this means, and doubt I'd get the straight answer if I asked. My gut says that this means the end of Nobeltec. Surprisingly, I think Maxsea, as it existed previously is also going away. There was just a major upgrade to Maxsea, in which I suspect the only thing kept was the brand name. The newest release seems to be based on Navnet 3d, which is a good thing.

Adding to the confusion, or at least my confusion, Nobeltec does not seem to be capable of loading the charts I need for cruising in Asia. I need support for S-57 encryped charts, aka S-63. Nobeltec does have an add-in which reads s-57, but not the encrypted charts. Argh.

My current leaning is towards buying BOTH Maxsea TimeZero (their latest release) and Rose Point's Coastal Explorer, and then form an opinion. I have already installed a demo of Rose Point's software, and like it. I'll report back when I know more.

The mysterious pictures above are a bit more interesting. These are from inside the dome that holds my satellite dish, that I use for Internet. It stopped working once we arrived in Japan, and now I know why. The belt is stretched, and about to break! I had the maintenance crew at the marina in Japan pull my dome. My guess is that the constant bump-bump-bump of the Bering Sea was a bit much for the dish. It was endlessly repositioning the dish, to point at the satellite. For this next year, I'll have a fresh belt, and PLENTY of spares.

And, lastly...

I've been researching replacing my anchor light and running lights with LEDs. Prior to the start of the GSSR I swapped all lighting in the boat to LED, and had fantastic results (no bulb replacements, cooler inside the boat, and lower current draw). On Sans Souci, the anchor light is located 46 feet above the water. I'm not thinking about replacing the anchor light because of the lower power drain, although this is perhaps an advantage. In my case, I want an LED anchor light, solely because I don't want to ever be in a situation where I need to scale the mast, while sitting at anchor, at dusk, 46 feet off the ground. LEDs tend to last forever.

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
http://www.kensblog.com

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:07:34 GMT

Ken, For your drawer slides KV is a brand we have used in commercial cabinets for years. http://www.knapeandvogt.com/Drawer_Slides.html?page=products.1 They make slides designed for file drawers shich can get very heavy.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:07:13 GMT

Ken, You can get bright white LED's. They have started using them for headlights as well in new cars now. Here is Aqua Signal being a large manufacture: Main USA website: http://www.aquasignal.info/aquasignal_us/htdocs/news_current.php?id=52 Direct LED PDF: http://www.aquasignal.info/aquasignal_us/files/content/series_led.pdf?id=178 What manufacture do you have currently for your nav lights? While not specifically for boats, Rigid (use to be Holder off road) makes some light bars for off road vehicles that are LED based, to replace HID lighting. They are also used by the military. Might be a good replacement for deck lighting from the mast as well. http://www.rigidindustries.com/category_s/89.htm Thanks, Chris

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:18:19 GMT

Bob: Thank you for a great and informative post, as always. As you mentioned, the sailboat that struck the whale off Baja was much lighter than my Nordhavn. I doubt a whale would sink my boat, although I don't want to experiment to find out. The bigger risk would be that a breaching whale would land on the boat knocking us over. One would think this would be unlikely, but Grey Pearl did have a whale breach close enough that they thought it would land on them. Here's an interesting story from last year: http://www.kensblog.com/aspx/blob2/blobpage.aspx?msgid=463430&beid=19073 It's a 60' brand new Viking sportfisher that was destroyed when it struck a whale in Cabo. On the topic of drawer slides... Do you happen to remember what brand you bought? As to LED lighting... Check out: www.signalmate.com This is just one, of many companies, who claim to offer fully coast guard compliant LED lighting. LED flashlights are certainly as bright as normal bulbs, so I'd assume these LED lights are at least as bright, or brighter, but I don't really know. I'm just starting my research. Thus far, most of the websites I've been to that offer LED anchor and running lights, are fairly lame. I get the impression there isn't much of a market. As to charts... I will buy Rose Point's Coastal Explorer this week. As soon as I have it installed, I want to download and install some representative British Admiralty, and Japan Hydrographic Association charts. I'll compare these to the Nobeltec charts, and report back. My guess is that different charts have different strengths and weaknesses, depending on location, and that there is no one right answer. I'm also curious to try importing Nobeltec routes and tracks into Coastal Explorer, and see what happens. Thank you! -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:58:47 GMT

Hi Ken, A few comments about the J 120 which sunk on the Baja Ha Ha. The J 120 was built about 15 years ago, as an ultra light racing machine--40 feet long, and weight only about 10,000 lbs! (My first sailboat at 29 feet was 10,000 lbs, and I currently own a 27 foot Catamaran which weighs close to 10,000 lbs). The construction is excellent, but the weak place in many of these racing boats is the rudder support mechanism into the hull. Basically they have a tube glassed in, and may or may not have a support bearing under the deck. From what I can read, the boat sailed into a pod of whales. I suspect that as this happened, there may have been a mother and calf which was separated, or at least something occured which agrivated the group. They did attack the boat--or at least started hitting the rudder (perhaps the keel too). I strongly suspect that the rudder tube broke, letting in massive amounts of sea water (consider a hole at least 6" in diameter). The boat sank in about 7 minutes. There have been a number of incidents of both keels and rudders failure in ultra light racing sailboats. When you compare these boats to your Nordhavn--there is just no such weakness. Perhaps the nearest point would be the stabalizer fins and their support. But event there, the Nordhavn is massively built in the way of the mounting of the fins. The rudder is also way over built--and is much smaller. Compounding the situation is the age of the sailboat, unknown maintance (It is an area which is difficult to access, and there could be some weakness, which might not show up unless a rigerous survey was done--this is some speculation on my part). I have a friend whose son was in a 20 foot sailboat in Scammon's Lagoon, (a breeding ground for the Grey Whales) in Baja, when he got between a cow and calf. The whale hit the sailboat so hard, that it threw the crew overboard (they were not specifically injured, nor attacked), and the boat was pushed by the whales all across the lagoon, until it was beached. Another friend's boat had been in the Antiartic, and had ice cuts of the outer layer of glass (balsa planked hull under the glass--as opposed to balsa cored boat). They were hit by a whale off Brazil, and the boat sunk, as the weakened hull was breached. We had a whale "nudge" one of our boats--no damage, but I suspect it was either a warning or the whale was "playing". We had not approached the whale, and it came up under our boat. There was no "attack"--the whale swam off, and of course we made it a point to keep well clear of the whales. On the other hand, as I suspect you have seen, sometimes whales come within 20 feet of the boat, and just seem curious. Drawer slides: In the my current trailerable Catamaran, I wanted to have slides strong enough to support a chest type of 12 volt freezer. The one I own holds "84 quarts" which could potentially equate to over 500 lbs. The freezer slides out from under a settee. I found some slides which were rated at 300 lbs each x 2 = 600 lbs. I have used these for over 3 1/2 years and they seem to be holding up well. They have multiple ball bearings, with a double set of slides. I don't know if you want anything this "beefy" but they are available--and are most likely much stronger than the standard slides. You do have to put a positive lock on the drawer, so it will not slide as the boat rolls. As for the lights, I had always assumed that the larger Nordhavn's had double light bulbs in the navigation lights. Since our mast was 62.5 feet off the water (although I had to go up a couple of times at sea, it was not for changing light bulbs--which is rather tedious). We had 4 different halyards rigged to the masthead, so it was easy to use the windlass for my wife to whisk me up to the masthead. But I had two separate lights, separate bulbs, fixtures and circuits on the masthead. The deck level running lights were only single. I also wanted my lights to be as bright as possible. As you know it is much easier to see the white steaming lights than the lower and apparently dimmer (filtered by the colored lenses) red and green running lights. I wonder how bright you can get the white lights in the LED. It is certainly a good idea to replace them. I have done this on the smaller boats which I now own. They appear to be brighter than the incandescent bulb, but I have not measured the actual lumins. As for charts: I found that many times the British Admirality Charts were far better than the US DMA charts. When we were cruising, (before GPS chart plotters), we used mostly British Admirality Charts in many areas, when we were out of the sphere of influence of the US. If you are having problems getting the accurate charts, you might consider the digital BA charts. I know that I purcahsed some C Map chips for SE Asia for a friend about 6 years ago, and he was not happy with the charts. They may be much better now, and I don't know what chart base the C maps were working from. I can understand your delema! Take care, Bob A

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] Whales sink a boat off Baja

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:26:30 GMT

Ken, I use NavNet 3D as my primary system on board my boat and RosePoint's Coastal explorer as back-up. In many ways I actually find CE easier and more intuitive to work with. Its also proven very stable and does everything I've ever asked of it. I would be really interested to hear how you get on.

[KensOtherBlog] The Nordhavn Rendevous, Life Rafts, Laser Beams, and more!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This weekend I flew, along with three other Nordhavn-owner friends down to Dana Point for the Nordhavn Rendezvous. (Dean Heathcote, N55, John Marshall, N55 and John Henrichs, N64).

Nordhavn asked if I would give a talk about the GSSR, which I at first refused. I get horrible stage fright, plus Roberta and I already had alternate plans. However, when I learned that the 56 Motor sailor, and the 75 Yacht Fisher would be at the show, this pushed it over the edge for me to attend. I thought both boats were great ideas and was curious how they turned out.

The rendezvous started as a small gathering for Nordhavn owners, but kept growing. Nordhavn originally thought that seventy or so people might attend, but over two hundred had signed up when they cut off the registration. Above you see a picture of several Nordhavns that came for the event and rafted together.

In addition to seeing the boats, I was looking forward to meeting Eric and Christi Grab, who just completed a circumnavigation on their Nordhavn 43 Kosmos. Roberta and I met them once before, just as we were preparing to leave to cross the Atlantic in 2004. We had dinner together, and they shared their dream of buying a Nordhavn to circumnavigate. At the time, they had barely been on a boat, and neither Roberta or I took them seriously. Now, they are my heroes, and it was very cool just getting to shake their hands. Their last blog contained a list of questions they are asked over and over again by people they meet, and in my excitement to meet them I think I asked the same old questions they’ve already been asked hundreds of times. They were very gracious, and said they had been reading my blog.

I also was looking forward to seeing Jim and Suzy Sink. They were the first couple to circumnavigate a Nordhavn. Prior to Roberta and I buying our Nordhavn, twelve years ago, we visited their boat to ask them about Nordhavn and their trip around the world. I’m sure they doubted Roberta and I would ever buy a boat and go anywhere with it, but we are working hard to follow in the Sink’s and Grab’s footsteps.

That said, technically speaking, we aren’t following in anyone’s footsteps. The chart above, taken from this issue of Circumnavigator magazine, shows the routes from all known power boat circumnavigations that have taken place. As you can see, we’re the first to take the Northern route. I have no idea whether we’ll choose a more ‘normal’ route after this, or continue our pursuit of ‘uniqueness.’

Circumnavigator magazine can be downloaded here:

http://www.nordhavn.com/circumnavigator/circumnavigatorIV.pdf

As to the 56’ motorsailer, it blew me away! I’m perhaps the wrong person to ask about the motorsailer. I have only sailed with friends, and am no expert. The size of the interior surprised me. There were two very comfortable large-sized staterooms. The salon was very comfortable. There is a full review of the boat, with plenty of pictures in Circumnavigator. I spoke to a couple of different owners, both of which raved about the fuel efficiency of the boat. One said that on their run from Dana Point to Anacortes Washington, a distance of 1,080 nm, they made it non-stop. The motor sailor carries only 870 gallons of fuel, and they were in a hurry, so they motored the entire time. They made the run at 8.9 knots, with 80 gallons left over. That’s pretty impressive! The fit and finish, and the quality of all the running gear was beyond anything I’ve seen before on a sail boat.

I confess to having a non-nautical reason for liking the motorsailer and the yachtfisher. During my business career I was always a fan of marketing, and branding. Nordhavn has a tremendous brand, but it is a very narrow brand. They have the dominant marketshare in a very tiny market. It sounds wrong to say this about someone who makes boats, but they are a big fish in a small pond. I don’t know the size of the total recreational boating market, but suspect trawlers represent a tiny fraction of the overall market. For Nordhavn to grow as a company, they need to expand beyond trawlers. I have no financial interest in Nordhavn, so technically their growth is none of my business, although having spent most of my life thinking about branding, it is impossible for me not to enjoy watching them expand the use of their brand name into new markets. They can’t dramatically expand revenue by adding more models which all compete in the same space.

The yachtfisher is a particularly interesting business case. The sportfisher market is huge, but very different than the trawler market. If you ask a sportfisher owner about his boat, he (and, it is usually a ‘he’) will usually speak about speed in the first few sentences. I am partners on a sportfisher (a Cabo 52), and my partner lives for the fishing tournaments. He wants to race out, catch the fish, and race back to port. An average day of fishing involves getting up early, running twenty to fifty miles out to the fishing grounds, catching some fish, and then running back to port.

Nordhavns are not known for their speed. Full displacement boats are very comfortable on the water, and very fuel efficient, but they are not fast. In a scenario where the boat leaves the port each morning, to zoom off to the fishing grounds 20 miles away, fish, and race back to port, the Nordhavn seems the wrong boat for the job.

However, there is some fraction of the sportfisher market that cares about luxury, comfort, range and fuel efficiency. I live in Cabo San Lucas Mexico, which is a popular sport fishing destination. I watch day after day as hundreds of fishing boats fish the waters within a 50 mile radius of Cabo. Most sportfishers have a range well under 400 miles. It is very uncommon to see a sportfisher more than even 50 miles from port. Are there some percentage of all the people who sport fish that want to break out of this pattern and run hundreds, or thousands, of miles to virgin fishing territory? I think there are. It might not be everybody, but there is some percentage of the market. A Nordhavn can get you anywhere you want to go, in absolute comfort, with very low fuel consumption. I’m not personally a fisherman, so I’m no expert, but what I can say is that I’ve watched repeatedly as friends fishing on my boat drop hooks and pull up huge fish almost immediately. In Attu, a friend caught a 270 pound halibut from my tender!

I don’t know whether the market for a long-range sportfisher (Nordhavn’s yachtfisher) represents 1% of the sportfisher market, or 10%, but I know there is some percentage of the sportfisher market that wants the extreme comfort and range of a full-displacement boat.

Anyway, with that background, I was curious to see the Yachtfisher, and see whether or not it felt ‘right.’ My first impression was very positive. Nordhavn got the look right. When my boat was at Los Suenos in Costa Rica, there were hundreds of sportfishers, plus my boat. We just didn’t fit in. This boat would look right at home, and I would think it would command a ton of respect.

The cockpit is much larger in person than it looks in pictures. The beam is over 22’, and the cockpit is split into two levels, a higher sitting area at the back of the salon, with an immense fishing cockpit below, lower to the waterline. The engine room is huge, easily handling the twin engines. The engines seem overly large for the boat: twin 740hp engines! However, I'm sure this power is a selling feature within the sportfisher market, where guys argue over who has the biggest (engines). The boat surprised me, in that I couldn’t figure where all the cockpit and engine room space came from. The boat is sitting on essentially my hull, stretched another seven feet. The interior had three lower staterooms, plus a large master stateroom, plus crew bunks in the pilot house, offering plenty of space for crew.

And, on a different topic...

Here’s something fun: I noticed another Nordhavn with a hot tub! Here’s a Nordhavn 76, just delivered from the factory. They put the hot tub behind the pilot house. I assume they did it to keep the weight low on the boat, but the view won’t be nearly as good, and they’ll lose this deck, which is our favorite dining place on the boat. That said, I’m sure they’ll love it!

And, on a completely different topic….

Here is a link to my slides from my presentation:

http://www.kensotherblog.com/uploads/42227/nordhavnpresentation.pdf

As feared, my actual speech was a mess. I made notes prior to the talk on what I would speak about. Unfortunately, there was no podium, so I had to hold the microphone myself. This also meant I had no place to put my notes. Of course all of this is just making excuses. Without notes to go by, I just kind of ‘winged it.’ Which wasn’t entirely bad. I had over a hundred slides, and just talked about what I remembered as the slides went by. The good news was that the trip was wonderful, and I had plenty to talk about. The bad news was that I had been asked to keep my talk under 30 minutes, and two thirds of the way through the slides I noticed that Dan Streech (Nordhavn’s president) looked frantic. I looked at the time and realized I had been talking for over an hour. I honestly thought I had been talking for only about fifteen minutes. Oops. I ran through the last third of my presentation in under a minute. Both Dan and the audience seemed to like the pace much better. Oh well… at least I won’t need to worry about being invited back next year.

As bad as I did, it’s tough to believe the audience didn’t get some value from the slides. It was an incredible trip, and I find it impossible to look at the pictures without being overwhelmed with memories. It’s tough to believe we’ll ever top this trip, although, we’ll certainly try!

I asked the group to pose for a photo that I could post on my blog. It turned out very nice, although I probably should have focused the camera.

My talk was followed by a presentation by Sprague Theobold, who previewed some of the early video from his recent trip through the northwest passage. Whereas our GSSR trip across the Bering Sea can be characterized as ‘a pleasant surprise’, the weather gods were not as nice to Sprague. He encountered ice so thick he felt he would be boxed in at any moment. He had to resort to using his Nordhavn 57 as an ice breaker, breaking his way through giant sheets of ice. He had to inch forward as he cut his way through the ice, and emotionally described seeing ice with what appeared to be blood, but then realizing it was his own bottom paint and that he was going in circles. He and his crew were convinced they were going to die, the boat crushed, and them frozen in the ice. He is working now on a documentary about the trip, and it looks like it will be incredible.

I attended a seminar on safety at sea…

I’ve done a few of these, so most of it I had heard before. Although, there was one thing that is on my list to research. The instructor mentioned that no one had been rescued from a life raft as a result of using flares in a couple of decades. This is partially because of the use of modern tracking devices such as epirbs, but also because flares are not really practical on a life raft. Who wants to fire an explosive device from a small rubber raft? There are a thousand ways it can go wrong, and the odds of the flare being noticed are small.

Our instructor mentioned successful tests of small laser devices for signaling.

I had never heard of these, but will definitely consider changing over from flares, which I really don’t like having on the boat. Whereas flares are ‘single use’ items, the lasers last up to 10,000 hours, and are visible up to 20 miles at night, or up to 3 miles during the day. The laser does require batteries, but batteries are easy to find, and they claim a 72 hour life with just a couple AA batteries.

I haven’t researched these, and don’t know if this is a good brand or not, but, check out: http://www.greatlandlaser.com/

I also need to research whether or not these are considered a legal signaling device by the coast guard.

As part of the presentation, they deployed a liferaft. I forget the stats but believe I heard that something like in half of all cases that a ship is abandoned the crew never makes it into the liferaft. There are many things that can go wrong with a liferaft:

- it hasn’t been inspected in a while and doesn’t open
- the line that ties the raft to the boat isn’t secured, and the raft blows away
- the raft snags on the boat, and goes to the bottom with it. It is for this reason that if I ever need to get into a raft, I’ll toss it overboard myself, rather than hoping that the hydrostatic release works

I’ve never watched a raft inflate. It was quick! One tug on the line to it, and in under 5 seconds, the raft was fully inflated and ready for entry. The instructor made one comment I found interesting. The raft that we were looking at looked like it would be tight for two people, but was rated as a six person raft. I have always assumed that the raft companies do this to save money, and bought two eight person rafts for this reason. I figured this would give Roberta and I plenty of space. However, the instructor said that the best protection against cold and hypothermia is each other’s body heat. This made sense, but my hope is henceforth to cruise only warm water. Thus, I won’t be downsizing my rafts.

One more interesting comment from the seminar. In all of the books I’ve read, shark attacks on life rafts are always a huge issue. The instructor pointed out that shark attacks get much worse over time. If you are only in the water for a few hours, the bottom of your raft is clean, and doesn’t particularly attract the sharks. But, if you spend days in the raft, crud starts to grow on the bottom. This attracts the fish, who feed off it, and the sharks, who feed off the fish. I had never thought of it this way. It's another great reason to make sure the epirb is working.

And, lastly…

I mentioned Jessica Watson’s trip around the world on my last blog (the 16 year old Australian girl). I’ve been reading her blog daily, and it is pretty interesting. I hadn’t realized that she is going non-stop! Unless I’m still confused, she really intends to go around the world without stopping. Hence, no clearing of customs or anything – she just keeps going, and has eight months of food onboard! I was critical of her trip, and had a few negative comments on my blog. The debate makes fun reading. To read it, go to the website (http://www.kensotherblog.com) and click on yesterday’s blog entry. I’ve been softened a bit, but just don’t like the idea of any boat running with no one at the helm. The popularity of her blog is staggering. My blog, when we are cruising is considered one of the most popular blogs in the boating community (approx. 7,000 daily readers). My average blog attracts 5 to 10 comments. Her blog is attracting 500 to 1,000 comments a day. Wow! One way or the other, she will come out of this thing famous. Amazing.

That’s it for now…

Thank you!
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Nordhavn Rendevous, Life Rafts, Laser Beams, and more!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:07:06 GMT

Hi Ken, Thanks for the update on the Nordhavn rendevous, and especially on the life raft issues. As for the solo circumnavigation. I saw Robin Lee Graham off, in the mid 60's on his solo (multi stop) circumnavigation. I knew his father and the owner of the Lapworth 24 which they bought for this voyage, as well as his future wife's father. Robin was well qualified (much more so than the young Australian lady). She has taken a number of courses, but has relitatively little real experience. Robin had a lot of real experience. She has a multitude of gadgets to help her survie. Robin had only a sextent, tables, a pencil and pad, as well as a primative RDF (AM, Long Wave, and SSB)--no GPS, no radar, no Loran, no AIS, not even an auto pilot; just a wind vane. He had no long distance radio, nor weather forcasting. I have personally have known over a dozen people who have parished at sea, due to collisions with commerical vessels. I have only soloed a couple of nights--and in our over 200,000 miles at sea, we have stood watch with two of us aboard. She has to cross the equator for the circumnavigation to count. Thus she will go North of New Zealand, and across the Equator near the Line Islands. Then dip back South to the Southern Ocean, where the wind will always be aft of the beam. After slipping South of Cape Horn, she enters the Atlantic, and goes a bit North, then South about the Cape of Good Hope, and South of Austalia, thus back to Sidney. It is a relitatively short distance around the world, and generally out of shipping lanes, except as she rounds the Southern Capes. Dame Ellen MacArthur was a very accomplished sailor when she did her record setting circumnavigation, in a much larger and more difficult to handle boat. But, she had some very serious psychological issues as she made this voyage. Although Ellen has done some sailing since, it was an event which changed her philosophy about solo voyaging. I fear that Jessica Watson may not be well prepared for the emotional issues, for the isolation as well as for the sleep deprivation. There are some very key issues which were in the report, and were noted on many of the forums which discussed her collision with the freighter. Hopefully she has learned some lessons, and obtain some help with sleep pattern, and watch standing. Lastly about the laser Flares: Boat US has tested them and here are their findings: "We found this product to be heavily affected by the atmospheric conditions during our night testing and difficult to see at all during our day test. With a half moon and the glow of an urban sky, the red Greatland Rescue Laser Flare Magnum proved to be much more difficult to see than the Greatland Green Rescue Laser Flare. Aiming both of the lasers proved difficult due to the ¼ mile testing distance as even a moderate amount of ‘sweeping motion’ by the tester made it difficult for the observers to see the laser. Without radio confirmation it was difficult to tell if the signal was even received. Aiming the green flare into the water and slowly guiding it up to the target proved to be a good method. These products will require a lot of practice to perfect a successful aiming technique. " None of these are CG approved. The S O S light by ACR is C G Approved, but it also may be difficult to see in any urban setting. I suspect that if there were multiple beams, or an even wider beam it would be a far more effective device. I picked up a "LED Flare"--which uses 2 AA batteries, and is very bright--It has about 15 LED's--and is designed for auto's, and road safety--both steady and strobe mode are available. They are not to marine standards, but seem like a very handy substitute for real pyrotechnique flares--both on the boat and road. I have several laser gun sites, and they are quite powerful--but very narrow beam. I did read Doug Ritter's Equipted to Survive comments on the laser flares, and he feels that the green one is considerably more visiable and easier to site, because it illuminates the particulate matter in the air which our eyes can see the green color better than the red. It costs about $250 vs $100 for the red. The military is going to adapt the green in rescue. He also emphasizes that training in sighting is essential. I have always carried signal mirrors in my emergency bags, and Doug makes the point that a signal mirror is much better in daylight (assuming sunlight) than either laser. Of course I always carry a combo ACR strobe/flashlight, along with a PLB, and waterproof VHF radio on our life vest pockets. Certainly a laser flare would be a good addition, and I'll probably pick at least one up just to try. I have had to make at least a dozen evasive maneuvers at sea to avoid large commercial vessels who didn't appear to see us. In several instances I confirmed that the watch was asleep on the bridge. Most of these times we had a 62 foot motor sailor, so it was not a inconspicious vessel. Our most frustrating experiences were with fishing vessels at night in the fog. Your observations confirmed what I had heard from other mariners who had sailed along the coast of Japan about the traffic. I enjoy your blogs, and postings, Take care, Bob Austin

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Nordhavn Rendevous, Life Rafts, Laser Beams, and more!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:09:01 GMT

I respectfully disagree with your thoughts on lasers vs. flares. Using a laser with a small beam of light to signal someone is just not possible except under excellent circumstances. Trying to "catch" someone's eye while bobbing around in a life raft in "bad weather"--why else would you be in a raft??-just ain't gonna happen except by luck. A flare will light up the "world" and be much more effective. The reason flares haven't been "successful" in the past is due to radio's, satellites, sea traffic, EPERBS, etc. Call the Coast Guard every 6 months and have a "flare party." Invite your friends, do some experimenting.......believe you will find flares to be "more better." The Coast Guard has not approved lasers as an official signaling device. Keep the flares, use them first. There are a number of "strong" LED flashlights on the market. Try the "big box" stores. Those stores that cater to law enforcement also have these flashlights. Stock up on batteries and change every 3 months minimum. I am not aware of "laser flares." I strongly suggest each person carry, at all times while aboard, a strobe light attached to their person. Also a "big" strobe light or 2 or 3 be attached to the life raft(s). The human eye is attuned to white light so beware of colored lights/strobes. Don

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Nordhavn Rendevous, Life Rafts, Laser Beams, and more!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:49:33 GMT

Kent: Great point! Actually ... Speaking as someone who spent a lifetime in consumer marketing, she did a lot of things right. - She has the right look - There aren't a lot of 'Laura Croft'-style world adventurers who are hero figures for young girls. A significant number of the postings are from teenage girls. It's a large community, and not much competition - Her collision with the freighter was a world-class PR event (although certainly not a deliberate one, or one anyone should repeat.) It got her interviews on all the major networks, worldwide - Schools are using her blog as a discussion topic. Whoever handles her PR, and sponsorship campaign is doing a good job - She is on her way to setting a world record (youngest to ever circumnavigate solo and non-stop) - She speaks well and is charming - She knows what she is talking about It is a PR-person's dream come true. If she can just avoid bumping into anything between now and when she finishes the trip, this should open some doors career-wise for her. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] The Nordhavn Rendevous, Life Rafts, Laser Beams, and more!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:46:46 GMT

Not trying to insult you but if you compare a picture of Jessica to you it is pretty clear why her followers out number yours.

[KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

At the bottom of this email are links to the website, and blog, of Jessica Watson.

Her journey, and blog, is just getting started, so it is too early to say how interesting it will be, but my suspicion is: “very.”

She’s a 16 year old young lady, setting off to circumnavigate alone, in a small 34 foot sailboat, named “Ellas’s Pink Lady.”

Her circumnavigation got off to a dicey start a few weeks back when she was struck by a freighter on a practice run.

Here's an article about the collision, from an Austrailian newspaper:

	Watson missed cargo ship on her radar before collision ARI SHARP October 21, 2009 THE teenage sailor Jessica Watson failed to detect a 64,000-tonne cargo ship on her yacht's radar and then went to sleep less than five minutes before the two collided, transport safety investigators say. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau yesterday released findings of its preliminary investigation into the September 9 incident in which the 16-year-old's 10.4- metre sloop, Ella's Pink Lady collided with the Hong Kong-registered carrier Silver Yang. Ms Watson was on the first night of a journey from Mooloolaba, on the Sunshine Coast, to Sydney as a trial run before her attempt to sail around the world, which started on Sunday. In releasing the report, the safety investigators declined to comment on whether it was wise for her to proceed with the eight-month journey, saying it was up to Ms Watson and her support crew to decide. But before Ms Watson departed from Sydney, the safety bureau arranged a visit to the bridge watch keeper's position on a tanker ship in order to help her understand what could be seen from that vantage point. It also suggested she visit fatigue management experts in an effort to help her better manage her sleep patterns on the solo journey, and encouraged her to fit radar reflectors to make her craft more easily seen. The six-page safety report says Ms Watson checked her radar before a planned sleep about 1.46am but did not detect the Silver Yang on her radar despite it being only one mile from her position. But a crew member of the Silver Yang had spotted the Pink Lady at 1.25am, and 23 minutes later altered the ship's direction by 10 degrees in an effort to avoid it. Silver Yang then applied hard-to-starboard rudder to steer out of the path, but at 1.50am Pink Lady's bow collided with Silver Yang's port side. Lead investigator Peter Foley said Ms Watson had used high-quality equipment, but improvements had been made ahead of her journey around the world. ''She's got a very well equipped vessel, and the radar system, no, we're not concerned about the adequacy,'' he told reporters. The agency said it would take up to six months to complete the report, and that it was in contact with Ms Watson's support crew if recommendations needed to be passed on to the skipper. The report released today will be followed by an analysis and then a determination of safety issues. The agency emphasised it did not seek to apportion blame in the case of incidents it investigated, but instead made recommendations to improve safety.

I must admit that I am not a supporter of this type of venture, and not because of her sex or her age. I will get slammed for this comment, but I really do not think boats should be on the ocean, under way, with no one at the helm. I do not like the whole idea of single-handers crossing oceans. She has radar which is supposed to wake her up if another boat comes within range, which I suppose makes it reasonably safe, although I think the accident would argue that it isn't. I can't imagine that insurance companies think this is a good idea.

Her bravery and sense of adventure is awe-inspiring, and I wish her well. That said, were it up to me, I would not think single handing a sailboat, or a solo person 16 years old circumnavigating, are very good ideas.

Jessica's website: http://www.jessicawatson.com.au

And, her blog: http://www.youngestround.blogspot.com/

-Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:19:56 GMT

Greetings Adam! It was great meeting you. I was stressing out on Friday night over needing to give the speech, so my apologies if I seemed flaky. I'm a software developer, not a public speaker, and freak out when I need to do those kinds of things. I noticed on Jessica's blog that she talks about the training she received from the Coast Guard on sleep deprivation (spelling?), and that she mentioned that she is setting the clock for as little as 5 minutes. She wakes, checks the radar, and goes back to sleep. I do something like this when I'm on anchor watch. I set the clock every 30 minutes, and wake up, check the wind speed, reset the clock, and go back to sleep. Every couple of hours, I look at the chart plotter, to verify we haven't moved. I've done this for years, and don't even think about it anymore, and it doesn't seem to interfere with my sleep. I feel completely rested after a night of anchor watch. Roberta and I haven't done many overnight passages alone. We did one four day passage mostly alone (her parents were with us, but they don't do much except help keep us awake). After the first day, we were into a routine and felt we could have gone forever. That said, I remember being totally exhausted when we arrived, and barely able to think. I hadn't realized how fatigued I was. It will be interesting reading Jessica's blog. I'm sure she'll talk about the sleep topic, and what she does that works or doesn't work. Thank you, Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:22:14 GMT

Ken, we had an interesting but all too brief conversation at the Nordhavn Rendezvous with Jeff, the original owner of 5503 Enterprise. He solo'ed from the PNW (Vancouver?) all the way down the west coast to Latin America. I asked him what his strategy was regarding sleeping; I'd heard previously that he set a course well offshore to reduce the amount of surrounding traffic. His answer was that he trained his body to wake up every hour. He would check the radar and do a visual scan, then go back to sleep. When asked about the effect on his alertness he said that after a couple of days his brain was able to immediately reenter REM sleep after each of these hourly "popups". The Grabs also reported quickly acclimating to their 4-hour watch schedules. I guess the body can handle a pretty significant variance from traditional notions of required uninterrupted sleep.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:37:54 GMT

Ken, Just as the boats on the crossings you have been on (NAR / GSSR) have had happen to them, the autopilot "crashes" for lack of a better term, and you could be driven somewhere else and not even know it for a few hours, way off course. I agree with you, I would be paranoid about leaving the helm unattended. Now if you’re a couple splitting watches, there isn’t to much of a choice. If your doing single person watches and have a restroom break or engine room check? Not to mention medical emergency or slip and fall. At least your not leaving the helm empty for hours at a time, lots can happen in hours. It really all comes down to wanting to set a record, not just to say you did it, otherwise she could wait a few years and then set out once she was an adult. If she is successful, then when does the 15 year old set sail to break that record and so forth? Sixteen years old is a minor, in Australia as well. How does she get a credit card or sign necessary papers for immigration and customs etc? She can’t sign any type of contracts or such as they wouldn’t be binding because she isn’t considered and adult. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_age#Australia.2C_New_Zealand_.26_United_Kingdom Thanks, Chris

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:15:30 GMT

Ed: I thought about the example of 16 year olds getting driver's licenses this afternoon. You are right. Sixteen year olds are old enough to drive on busy freeways alone, where the speeds are an order of magnitude faster than on a boat, and the vehicles are feet from each other, not miles. Single handed sailing still worries me, but I'm fairly alone in seeing it as a problem. It's an area where I am irrationally paranoid. On Sans Souci, I drive people crazy insisting that two people be at the helm at all times. Both Seabird and Grey Pearl do one person three hour watches, but on Sans Souci we do two-person four hour watches. I don't like the idea of leaving the helm unattended during bathroom breaks or engine room checks. With two people, one can 'drive' while the other reads, surfs the internet, runs errands, provides conversation, whatever. Does the coast guard, and insurance companies, have an official policy on sleeping on watch? I guess is it 'unofficially accepted.' Thank you, Ken Williams

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:42:57 GMT

Well I'm sure we could debate this topic endlessly. So I'll just respond to your comments by saying; I would somewhat agree about the maturity/age issue although we let 16-years-olds loose on our freeways every day and they cause considerably more damage and death than Jessica has. I don't know how you miss a freighter on radar, but I do know two highly trained pilots missed a major metropolitan airport recently. I do disagree about solo navigators, Every four years the famous Vendee Globe solo around the world race is held, despite navigation rules These are probably the bravest and most capable sailors in the world and this world would be a duller place without those intrepid sailors. As far as the safety of it goes, I feel a great deal safer on the water with solo navigators than I do at any given moment on I-5.

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:59:15 GMT

Ed: My concerns about the Jessica Watson circumnavigation fall into two areas: 1) I'm very protective of children. Sixteen is hardly a 'kid', but it is still a young enough age that maturity hasn't really settled in. Is a sixteen year old really mature enough to be running through the Gulf of Adan alone? Her run-in with the freighter, and her reaction afterward seemed to argue that she should get a bit more maturity under her belt before tackling a circumnavigation. How does one 'miss' seeing a freighter on radar? 2) I do not like the idea of boats running around the ocean with the helm unattended. I think it is a stunt that could get people killed. The Coast Guard rules are very explicit that a proper watch should be maintained at all times. Perhaps I know too much about electronics, and how likely they are to fail. I've also seen too many freighters with no AIS, who have inadequate lookout themselves. I certainly support your attitude that society should not tell us how to run our lives. However, I would say that it is fine for society to define some minimum age beneath which there are limitations on conduct, and to restrict activities, regardless of age, which could harm others. In this situation we are talking about someone who is not 'legally of age', and who is not 'maintaining a proper watch.' I'm still following Jessica's blog, and really do wish her success. She seems very mature for a 16 year old, and I suspect the collision with the freighter made her a much better sailor. I do think it is very cool that she is doing this, and love that she has such good connectivity. This is a first, as far as I know, that someone on a solo circumnavigation, has had such great internet. She is uploading pictures and video! It will be incredible, and unprecedented, to be able track her trip around the world in such detail. It isn't my style to be negative, but, this one worries me. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:11:37 GMT

"unfortunately we have no laws in place to prevent such things." Thank god we have no such laws in place to keep people from following their dreams. Some of the world's best known sailors went to sea with little to no experience and experience won't keep you from getting run down by a freighter, many believe Joshua Slocum met his fate that way. Our society has become far to afraid of adventure and testing ourselves, we're much more content sitting the on the couch watching Dancing with the Stars. Everyone has their own comfort zone and I applaud those who push their the boundaries. As Jimmy Buffet said "I'd rather die while Im living than live while Im dead."

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:11:53 GMT

Ken, On her web page under the heading route + rules the first line states: " My goal is to sail solo around the world non-stop, unassisted. I have chosen a route that is a traditionally recognised path and distance for ‘around the world sailors’." This is what caught my eye about the non-stop statement. Jim Evans Fairbanks,Alaska

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:19:29 GMT

All: I found the full collision, preliminary report. It can be found at, http://yachtpals.com/files/news/jessica-watson-collision-report.pdf I haven't read it, but hear it is not pretty. From something I read today, the implication seems to be that AIS is her backup for the radar. The problem is that only about 80% of the freighters we saw had their AIS switched on. It was making us crazy. In other words, if there is a lot of sea clutter, her radar is blind. And, if a freighter has no AIS, then her AIS is blind. I'm not sure how she is supposed to sleep? Perhaps, when there are rough enough seas, she just won't be able to. My sense is that single-handed sailors survive, by avoiding busy shipping routes. That, to me, seems like playing russian roulette. -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:30:31 GMT

John: I wonder how she is doing her blog updates? My guess is Iridium. Her comments after crash are what concerned me most. She didn't seem to really get it that the freighters don't pay attention. Our three GSSR boats put out quite a footprint, and there is no doubt in my mind that if we hadn't pro-actively stayed out of their way, we'd have been struck. -Ken W PS This is one of those times where I hope I am wrong. I'm curious if she has any kind of 'chase boat' following along at a distance, or an advance team, who is going country to country to handle clearing for her. Or, perhaps she won't be clearing in and out of the various countries?

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:26:05 GMT

Jim: I didn't see the words 'non-stop'. I'll look to see what I can figure out. I can't imagine that she is going non-stop. She probably means, 'stopping only long enough to provision and fuel'. I can't figure out how to get the blog to send me email when there are updates. Anyone else figured it out? -Ken W

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:50:18 GMT

I am very curious about their definition of "non-stop" as stated on her web page. ?????

Comment on: [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:10:01 GMT

Again Ken, I think your comments are 100% correct. Colliding with a Freighter less than 18 hours after departure from Brisbane to Sydney, when fatigue should not have been an issue shows inexperience in my view. It also caused a lot of comment here about whether she should be allowed to make the trip, but unfortunately we have no laws in place to prevent such things. While we all wish her the very best of luck, the general feeling appears to be an expensive rescue operation is imminent & many doubt she will complete the trip

A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Roberta and I lead complicated lives, and the past couple of weeks have been busy, even by our standards. We live primarily between the boat, wherever it may be, and our home in Mexico. We also have a condo, here in Seattle, that we pass through as we move between the boat and Mexico. When we are here in Seattle, it is usually to do all those things we can’t do when we’re outside the United States. We get haircuts, go to the dentist, visit the doctor, see the accountants, meet with the bank, open months of mail, open boxes, pay bills, and more. We’re usually only in Seattle for a few weeks, and our days are overloaded with errands.

One project which I need to start focusing on is the trip planning for next year’s GSSR trip. I’ve done a bit this past week, googling to find information on cruising Japan’s inland sea, Okinawa, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mostly, it has been a dead end. There aren’t many boats that cruise that part of the world, and most of the few cruising guides that exist aren’t in English. I’ve found a few blogs, which I’m studying, but that’s about it.

The best source of information is to hunt down people who have been there before. When we were traversing the Aleutians, I heard rumor of a trawler that was running our same route the opposite direction, a 50 foot Diesel Duck named DavidEllis. We passed each other about half way across the Aleutians, but never met. With a little research I was able to track down DavidEllis’ owners, David and Dorothy Nagle, who live in Seattle. I swapped a few emails with David, and discovered that he had spent years cruising in the same areas where the GSSR is heading.

Our discussions led to a lunch between Roberta and I, and David and Dorothy, earlier this week. They were a wealth of knowledge!

David is a retired police officer, who picked up his trawler in Hong Kong, and then spent a few years cruising the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. David and Dorothy lived in Hong Kong for a year and a half. In addition to wanting to learn all I could about cruising in the area, I also wanted to see if he had any contacts who might be able to help us with our dog Shelby. Roberta and I have been working for weeks trying to figure out the issues associated with taking Shelby into South Korea, Taiwan and China. David had a puppy onboard all the way from Hong Kong to Seattle.

A major topic of discussion was safety in the region. David was very encouraging with respect to Hong Kong saying that he could live there quite happily, and felt completely safe. However further south, in Malaysia, the Philippine islands, and Indonesia, he said that piracy is definitely an issue. There is a lot of poverty, and any time you have poverty, piracy is a factor. I asked if he had ever been attacked, and he said that he was happy to report that he had not been. However, he did have some incidents which were suspicious and could have been a problem. He was boarded a couple of times by locals who looked threatening, but whom he was able to ‘talk’ into leaving. He felt his experience as a police officer helped him in his attempt to defuse a potentially threatening situation. I asked what he did and he said that he just blocked their path into his boat while smiling and encouraging them to sit down and relax. He also related an incident where his boat was scouted by dangerous looking persons in a panga. Once again, he was able to defer an attack by smiling and waving, even though he could read in their body English what they were planning. As soon as the boat had turned the corner he headed deep to sea, despite rough seas and high winds, knowing the panga would have trouble following. As a civilian I don’t know that I’d have his ability to spot or defuse these situations. There are skills taught to police officers that they don’t teach at software developer school, one of which is the carrying and use of firearms. I did ask if he thought we would be safe traveling as a ‘fleet’ of three boats, and he said that he thought it would add significantly to our safety.

David had a lot to say on the topic of typhoons. One comment in particular caught my attention. He said that although there is a typhoon season, every month of the year has experienced a typhoon in the region. There are months when typhoons are less likely, but no months when you are completely safe. He also mentioned that as we get far enough south to venture into the southern hemisphere, the typhoon season will swap. We’ll need to time our travels such that we leave the northern hemisphere before typhoon season, but reach the southern hemisphere after their typhoon season ends. David mentioned getting clobbered by a typhoon in the Philippines which put two of the three boats in the bay, where he was hiding, onto the beach.

Because we’ll be leaving our boats in Hong Kong next winter, I wanted to learn all I could about Hong Kong. I’ve been there a few times, but arriving on a plane, and staying at a hotel, is a completely different experience than arriving on a boat, with plans to stay for several months. During our search for marinas, I had ruled out several places on Hong Kong island, because the boats sit on mooring balls, not in a marina. We did find a marina that we have reservations at, but it will be a 45 minute drive from the heart of Hong Kong. To my surprise, David said that we should reconsider our decision, and not rule out the mooring ball-based marinas. This to me sounded loony. “How do you get to shore?”, I asked. David said that sampans (little shuttle boats) run regularly to shore. “What about shore power?”, I asked. He said that some moorings have shore power which comes from under the water, but that most boats survive without power. He said that he simply ran his generator as needed, and that once you get accustomed to this, it isn’t a big deal. I asked what happens when he leaves the boat, and he said that he hires a local guy to come about every few days to run the generator. I forgot to ask about what happens on hot days, when air conditioning is required, but I know the answer. Air conditioning means running the generator. It would be nice to be closer to the action, but I can’t imagine leaving the boat sitting on a mooring ball all winter.

David and Dorothy’s website is at: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sempergumbi

And, on a completely different topic…

Nordhavn is hosting an event in Dana Point next week. It’s open to boat owners, and non-owners, and provides a chance to see some of the boats up close, including the newest models; the sport fisher and the motor sailor. I have been too busy to consider attending, but have now decided to be there. Nordhavn has asked that I speak to the group.

http://www.nordhavn.com/news/pressrelease/rendezvous_ca/

I’ll post the slide show from my speech early next week.

And, I’ve started working on my book about our GSSR trip. I’m still working on the copy for the back cover, and don’t know if this will be the cover I go with or not, but here’s the latest thinking:

Lastly, here’s a bit of silliness…

Seattle is a bit of a tourist town. There’s an attraction, called “Ride the Ducks” that uses old amphibious vehicles from WWII to shuttle tourists around town. http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com

The tour is about 90 minutes of which about an hour is around town, then 30 minutes in the water. I’ve watched the tours go down the street for years, and finally got curious. Roberta and I did the duck tour yesterday. Don’t tell anyone here in Seattle, or we’ll be horribly embarrassed, and written off as tourists. However, it was actually very fun. I wanted to sit up front to watch how the ‘captain’ drove the thing into the water.

The drivers really are ship’s captains, and apparently Coast Guard licensed. Our captain mentioned that he had cruised through 31 countries on a sail boat. He was in a good mood, and our 30 minute cruise lasted over 45 minutes. It was pretty impressive. He just drove down a boat launch ramp, and we were cruising. We hit the weather lucky. He mentioned that the prior day there had been high winds and strong rains, and he had to deal with seasick passengers. I would like to have been in the truck/boat while it was pounding, just to see how it took the seas, but it felt much better than I expected. He was able to get it up to 7 knots, and at the end of our ride, he just drove it back up the boat ramp. The steering wheel was controlling the rudder, and it (the Duck) appeared to have a variable pitch prop.

And, lastly, I mentioned Snubbers in my last blog update.

There is been a terrific discussion on snubbers on the Trawlers and Trawlering board:

http://lists.samurai.com/pipermail/trawlers-and-trawlering/2009-October/thread.html

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com, and www.kensotherblog.com

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:25:56 GMT

Matt: Thanks for the feedback. We have spoken at length with the animal quarantine departments in Taiwan and China. The bottom line is that it is impossible to get Shelby into either country unless we are willing to submit her to a mult-week quarantine, which won't happen. She is very old (14 years), and wouldn't react to it well. Our current plan is to have her with us to the furthest point south in the Ryukyu Islands (Ishigaki) in Japan, and then have a friend take her back to Osaka to wait for a few weeks while we take the boat on to Hong Kong. I'm not sure what we'll do in 2011. Between the pirates, and the Shelby (our dog) issues, it is very unlikely we'll continue moving west. My guess is that if Shelby is still going strong, which we hope and expect, we'll load the boat on a freighter and head somewhere dog-friendly. There's a lot of water between here and there, and bad luck to think that far ahead. So .. we'll figure it out when the time comes. Thank you again, -Ken W

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:56:12 GMT

Hello Ken, I have been following your blog for sometime and must say, it has been very interesting. I was pleasently surprised to discover that you are the person behind Sierra games. As a younger man I spent many hours (too many perhaps!!) enjoying your games and still regard them as some of the best out there. I am a soon-to-be boater owner and have enjoyed your blogs about both your travels and the "boat geek" stuff. Living in Ottawa, Canada we are fortunate to have the Rideau Canal, a waterway filled with history and fantastic boating. In some of your recent blogs you have mentioned that you have run into some difficulty in getting your dog into various countries. As a dog breeder I am very familiar with the types of challengers you have encountered. With that said, unless you have otherwise done so, I would suggest that you check out the United States Department of Agriculture - Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS)website for information on the import requirements for various countires (see link below). In addition, you may want to contact your local APHIS office, the details of which are found on the website, as they may be able to assist even further. From what I have seen, there is a 30 day quarentine required in China, and no indictaion as to whether or not this can be waived. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals/animal_china.shtml Anyway, just thought it may be of some use to you. Good luck and I look forward to reading your blog.

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:19:12 GMT

Just a quick note about the diesel ducks. Most all modern tour ducks are not World War II vintage but are new productions. The ones in Seattle and many others around the country are built and operated by http://www.ridetheducks.com They build the ducks http://www.ridetheducks.com/about/equipment.asp. The original WW II units had a terrible reputation for frequent sinkings and a tremendous amount of maintenance.

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:35:07 GMT

My boat rises 45' above the water, and it feels taller. It's quite something to stand on the flybridge and look down. I still haven't become accustomed to trying to drive from way up there. My guess is that the great loop will have to wait until after our circumnavigation. That said, I have no idea what is going to happen after two years from now. I think this year is set. We'll do S Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Next year also seems set. We'll cruise the Phillippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and perhaps Thailand. The year after that, there isn't much between us and pirate-ville except India. I don't see the situation calming down, and I'm not going into pirate territory, Which may mean shipping the boat to the Med or the Caribbean. Any plans more than a month out are to be considered extremely 'soft'. So, anything is possible. -Ken W

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:23:51 GMT

Although the Georgian Bay and North Channel are probably accessible via Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Huron; the other places mentioned plus the most picturesque Trent Severn Canal all have an air draft limit of approximately 16 feet. Access to the Ohio and Mississippi are limited by the same air draft limit imposed by one bridge in Chicago. It is my impression that Ken's boat is as tall as the Empire State Building with a Jacuzzi. Ron Rogers

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:49:38 GMT

I agree. the St Lawrence is your best bet. I've heard the current can be a problem but probably not for Sans Souci. The St Lawrence has the added advantage of having Prince Edward Island and the other Maritme provinces nearby and then once you're in, Quebec City and Montreal. Another option might be New York, the Hudson River (past West Point) to the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake St Clair, St Clair River, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the North Channel. (The Erie Canal might be a bit shallow but there are lots of websites describing it.) This past summer, I saw a 98' Westport in Midland, Ontario (Georgian Bay) docked for a couple of weeks and of course there are some pretty big tour boats cruising the area. I thing it's doable with some research. As Chris mentioned, the Loop would be a problem near Chicago plus the Mississippi, TenTom etc. are shallow, narrow in spots and not very interesting after a few weeks (in my opinion).

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:20:14 GMT

Ken, You can easily get into the Great Lakes. Use the Saint Lawrence Seaway, that’s how ocean vessels get into the Great Lakes. The maximum allowed vessel size is: 740 ft long, 78 ft wide, and 26 ft deep. It’s a popular cruise ship run too during the fall for the foliage color change in the northern part of the seaway. It would be a great cruise from the North East down along the border into the great lakes through the locks. Here is a listing of the vessels in the seaway currently: http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/navigating/map/index.html You would have troubles doing the Great Loop. There is a 19' clearance bridge in Chicago, and parts of the ICW are only about 5' deep. But the great lakes part would be fun. Just think wi-fi access and easy to get rental cars, and most of the menus are in English or French! :-) Also no Shelby problems. I do like the cover of your book, looks great, I will be waiting for my personally autographed copy to arrive! I must admit, that I too was a tourist and that I did the ‘Ducks’ when I was in Dublin Ireland for work meetings. It was a good tour going through the streets of Dublin, and then splashing into the canal / river going by the U2 recording studio. Also while I haven't been on them directly, but have passed them in my boat when we were in Hot Springs, AR and Branson, MO when I had my bow rider and we hauled it all around. They had the deadly accident in Hot Springs about a year and a half before we were there. The NTSB report stated that basically they aren't very waterproof (however to add to that the main drive shaft seal came loose) but the bilge pumps should be able to clear that out and keep up with it. They have a huge chain driven Higgins pump that is rated for 250 GPM or 15,000 GPH but it wasn't working. It let the DUWK fill up and sink in 60 feet of water. Its an interesting read along with the other accident reports of how detailed they can be determining the causes of accidents. Here is the direct link to the report: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2002/MAR0201.pdf And to the other reports: http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm Wish I could be in Dana Point to see your speech, look forward to the cliff notes version! Thanks, Chris Hallock

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:54:36 GMT

Fred: How would I get my boat into the Great Lakes? We've always wanted to do the "Great Loop", but it isn't possible (or, at least practical) in our boat. Or, is it? -Ken W

Comment on: A lunch with some cruisers who have been to SE Asia

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:41:25 GMT

Once you get back to North America, have you considered the Great Lakes, specifically Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Georgian Bay and the North Channel are arguably some of the best fresh water crusing grounds in the world. There are shallow areas and rocks but with good planning and your experience, I'm sure you could manage it. Keep up the good work on your blogs. Thanks.

The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The typhoon made news around the world!

	Powerful typhoon slams into Japan “…TOKYO – A powerful typhoon slammed into Japan on Thursday, damaging buildings and roads, halting train service and canceling hundreds of flights as it swept across the country. One man died and dozens were reported injured. The storm flooded roads and homes, toppled trees and power lines and heavily damaged some buildings….”

This was our first time to go through a typhoon at the marina, so we didn’t know how protected (sheltered from the wind) we would be. The good news is that we are VERY well protected. All three boats made it through the storm without damage. The winds at our boats were not that bad. We had sustained winds at 40 knots, with gusts to 57 knots. The direction of the wind also helped. The winds were on Grey Pearl and Seabird’s stern, and were pushing me off the dock.

A few weeks back, when we were in the Yokohama marina, my boat, Sans Souci, was in the opposite situation. We had tied down the boat for an approaching typhoon, and were feeling good about how well we were tied. As the winds topped 27 knots, I heard a knock-knock-knock on the side of the boat. It was the harbormaster, and he asked if I could move the boat. The typhoon was going to be pushing Sans Souci into the dock, and he was afraid that Sans Souci’s 120 tons of weight were going to smash his dock. I couldn’t believe he wanted me to move the boat in high wind, with a typhoon coming, and grumbled a bit, but knew he was right. Luckily the wind dropped, and I had no trouble moving the boat. Even better, the typhoon made a turn and never came ashore.

Over the past couple of days, as I was watching Typhoon Melor gain strength, and realized that it was going to score a direct hit, I resolved myself that there would be some damage. When we left Japan I was confident that typhoons were over for the season, and yet put plenty of lines on anyhow. I counted the docklines as we left the marina for the last time, and I had 12 lines holding Sans Souci to the dock, most of which were 1 1/8” double-braid, thick heavy dock line. I had also put out far more fenders than were necessary. I wasn’t worried about the boat going anywhere, but did think we would lose some of our canvas covers, and perhaps some of the equipment on the radar arch.

However, thanks to being in an extremely well-protected marina we were sheltered from the heaviest winds. In the days prior to the typhoon striking, Steven and Carol Argosy added additional lines and fenders to all three GSSR boats, for which I thank them immensely. With a little luck Steven will send some pictures from during the typhoon, and if so, I’ll send them out.

And, on a different topic, last night, Roberta and I had dinner with Scott and Teri Strickland…

Scott and Teri crossed the Atlantic with us back in 2004, as part of the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally. Recently, and sadly, they sold their Nordhavn 47. Many of you will remember this picture from the end of the Atlantic Rally, where Teri listed on a rally T-Shirt all of the seasickness medications she took, and joked about selling the boat:

It seems like there have been a number of highly visible drop-outs amongst Nordhavn cruisers this year. A few months back, a Nordhavn 40 owner, Scott Bulger, who has been a very active writer about cruising, sold his boat, after cruising all the way from Seattle to Maine. Circumnavigators, Eric and Christi Grab, who just took their Nordhavn 43, Kosmos, around the world, announced they would be selling their boat.

I think in all three of these cases, selling the boat, after a few years cruising, was always the plan. I remember Scott Strickland’s and my first conversation where he said he had negotiated a deal with Teri to cruise for three years, then buy a house in Minnesota and settle down. Instead, they’ve cruised most of the world over the past five years.

I was curious to see whether or not they regretted selling the boat. And in fact, they are. It's tough to leave a life of world exploration and go back to being a 'civilian.' Both of them are missing their boat, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are back to cruising within a few years. I asked their favorite cruising destinations, and they said: Turkey and Croatia. I asked where they would go if they ever bought another boat. Scott didn’t hesitate before saying, “Across the Pacific.”

And, of course, when guys get together, and have a couple glasses of wine, the conversation always turns to…

You guessed it, Anchoring.

[NOTE: The following discussion is a bit techie. Those of you who aren’t boat geeks probably want to stop reading now]

Our discussion of the typhoon in Japan led Scott and I to talking about the high winds we’ve both seen while anchoring in the Med. Both of us have sat at anchor in winds over 50 knots, on more than one occasion. I asked what scope Scott normally puts out (the ratio of how much anchor rode to the depth of the water). The ‘official’ coast guard recommendation is for 7 to 1 in normal conditions, 5 to 1 in calm seas, and 10 to 1 in heavy weather. A 7 to 1 ration means that if you are in 30 feet of water, you would put out 7 times as much in chain (rode), or 210 feet. However, as with all things, situations vary, and it is wrong to use a hard and fast rule. Putting out 200 feet of anchor rode means you need a ‘swing circle’ of at least 400’, which isn’t always possible, or, necessary. In Alaska, we often had to anchor in deep water, sometimes water over 100’ deep. I carry only 400’ of anchor rode. Even if I had enough chain (rode) to put out 7 to 1 scope, there wouldn’t have been room for my boat to swing in the anchorages. Plus, there’s a lot of garbage on the bottom. The greater my swing circle, the greater the odds I’ll be wrapping my anchor chain around a log or boulder lying on the bottom.

Here’s some fun with math…

100’ of rode = 31,400 sq ft
200’ of rode = 125,600 sq ft
300’ of rode = 282,600 sq ft
400’ of rode = 502,400 sq ft

The table above shows the area, in square feet, inside the swing circle, based on how many feet of rode is out. It says that if you put out 100’ of anchor rode, then the circle formed by your boat pivoting around the anchor is 31,400 sq ft. However, if you double the amount of anchor rode, the square footage of the circle formed rises exponentially, to 125,600 sq ft --- four times as large! If you put 300' feet out, you now have nearly ten times as much square footage of bottom that you need to worry about. If the bottom is nice clean sand, this isn’t a big deal, but if the bottom is littered with crud, which can include rusted out cars, coral, trees and more – this can be a very important topic.

If you agree with the preceding paragraph, then there should be no more anchor rode out than it takes to hold the boat. Historically, I’ve always put out between 5 to 1 and 7 to 1. Scott mentioned that he regularly does 3 to 1, and in calm protected anchorages drops as little as 1.5 to 1 (meaning 45 feet of rode in 30 feet of water).

Scott’s a smart guy, and I like to think I’m a smart guy, and I also assume that the US Coast Guard is full of smart people. So, how can so many smart people see this issue so differently?

First off, let me say that putting out too little rode is a serious mistake. Snagging the rode on a log would be no fun, but it would be much worse to drag anchor on a windy night while sleeping. If the choice is to risk losing the anchor, or risk losing the boat, it’s an easy decision. In other words, this is a case where the right answer should be to err on the side of safety. Too much safety is not a bad thing. However, as I said earlier, dropping 7 to 1 isn’t always practical.

And, the needed ratio for safe anchoring can vary according to your anchor and your rode. There are many different kinds of materials used for anchor rode. I use heavy 1/2” high-test chain with a 250 lb Rocna anchor (which I’m in the process of upgrading to 325 lbs.) The chain is heavy and the anchor is heavy. My Nordhavn 68 has never dragged anchor, despite seeing some fairly tough anchoring conditions.

When I pushed Scott on how he was getting away with lower ratios, he surprised me by having a good analytical response to my question. Whereas I’ve always sought out anchorages with adequate swing room, Scott has put some effort into to quantifying how much space he really needs. This has all been a bit mysterious to me, so I was happy to hear someone with a good idea.

Scott has taken the time to set his anchor multiple times at the same location, each time putting out a different amount of rode. He then backs down on the anchor until the anchor drags. His contention is that all anchors will drag sooner or later, and it is just a matter of knowing what RPM it takes to cause the anchor to drag. For instance, let’s say that he puts out 300’ of chain, and discovers that the anchor drags at 2130 rpm, and then tries the same test with only 100’ of chain out, and the anchor drags at 2100 rpm. In other words, in this particular exercise, there was no material difference in the force required to drag the anchor, so why not go with the shorter amount of rode? It’s an interesting question, if true. Scott has tried this comparison and said that with his anchor, and his chain, he can’t see a material difference between a 3 to 1 scope, and a 5 to 1 scope or even 7 to 1 scope. If high winds are expected, and plenty of swing room is available, then it’s worth doing the longer scope, however, for Scott’s boat, under ‘normal’ conditions, why bother with putting unnecessary chain into the water?

Scott has actually taken this exercise a bit farther, and has correlated his engine rpm to the wind speed required to drag his anchor. For example, and I forget the exact RPMs he gave me, so don't take this literally, he knows that if it takes 2,000 rpm to drag his anchor, he can sleep without worrying, up to 25 knots of wind.

My guess is that the results vary greatly based on: the type and weight of the rode, the anchor, and the bottom. In other words, Scott’s results may, or may not, be relevant to my boat. Thus, I’m not sure what to do with this information, and there’s no way I’m going to do similar testing with my boat. My policy is to not like to push the limits. Putting enough horsepower onto a well-set anchor, to drag it, is completely outside my thinking. It feels like a formula for breaking something; the windlass, the bow pulpit, a weak link in the chain, or, if anything goes wrong, hurting someone. This kind of testing strikes me as dangerous. I’m glad someone is doing it, but happy it isn’t me.

Indirectly, this whole discussion relates to another topic I was thinking about just a few weeks ago…

I wanted to buy a simple shackle to go into my chain rode. At the marine store, there were a wide array available, each at a different price, with a different holding capacity. I forget the specifics, but I saw a variety of shackles running from $10 to over a hundred dollars, each holding different weights. The rated capacities seemed to run from 1 ton to about 20 tons. My boat weighs 120 tons, which stumped me as to which shackle I should buy. It seemed obvious that I should buy the highest rated one. As they say, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. However, I didn’t have the vaguest idea what kind of pressures my anchor rode sees during usage.

Last week, Ron Rogers, a reader of my blog, sent me this chart:

For each 100 sq. feet of boat area presented to the wind -

20 Kts = 136 Lbs.
40 Kts = 542 Lbs.
60 Kts = 1220 Lbs.
80 Kts = 2170 Lbs.
100 Kts = 3990 Lbs.
120 Kts = 4882 Lbs.
140 Kts = 6644 Lbs.
160 Kts = 8678 Lbs
180 Kts = 10984 Lbs.

This shows the pounds of pressure exerted against the boat under different wind conditions. Normally at anchor, your bow is pointing into the wind, so to compute the surface area, you multiply your beam times the height of the boat. This isn’t a particularly accurate way to accomplish this, but gets you into the ballpark. Sans Souci is 21 feet wide by about 45 feet tall, or around 945 sq ft of ‘windage’ when pointing bow-to the wind. For purposes of calculations, and to make the math easier, I’ll trim this by about 20% to 800 sq. ft. because the flybridge doesn’t present a solid surface to the wind. So, to apply the table above, I would multiply these values by eight (800 sq. ft. versus the 100 sq ft in the table.) Thus, in a 60 knot wind, there would be 1220 lbs, multiplied by eight, or around 10,000 lbs (5 tons) of pressure on my anchor rode. This is less than I would have expected, and might still indicate a shackle that can handle double or triple this stress. In a 60 knot wind, at anchor, the sea would be unsettled, and a solid chain rode, pulled taut and incapable of stretching, causes major spikes in stress on the rode and anchor. [Note: This brings up the whole topic of snubbing, which I’ll look at in some other blog…]

I was also curious to use this table to compute the pressure on my boat, if it were turned beam-to the wind. Let’s take the same example from the preceding paragraph, with 5 tons of pressure when the boat is pointed into the wind, and try turning my beam to the wind. Suddenly my windage (the ‘sail’ I’m presenting to the wind) represents the length of my boat multiplied by height, or 68 feet times 40 feet, or about 2,700 sq ft. This equates to about 32,000 pounds of pressure, or 16 tons. Ouch. This example is a bit extreme, but there are certainly times I have been maneuvering in tight marinas, in 15 to 25 knot winds, and discovered that when I turn the boat, I’m suddenly shoved sideways. It is critical to know where the wind is, and how strong it is, in these situations, and to remember that as the wind speed increases, the added impact is exponential, not straight line. Compare, in the table above, the force exerted against the boat at 20 knots, to the force at 60 knots. You have three times as much wind, but nearly 10 times as much pressure against the boat.

That’s it for today. Hopefully I haven’t put you to sleep with this discussion, but we spend a lot of time at anchor, and I’m always interested in learning anything that might make anchoring safer. As I look back over our years of boating, all three of my top ‘scary’ experiences occurred while at anchor.

Thank you,
Ken Williams
Nordavn 68, Sans Souci
http://www.KensBlog.com
http://www.KensOtherBlog.com

PS Steven and Carol Argosy (Seabird) emailed this morning their final update from this year’s GSSR cruising. It also includes a bit more information about the typhoon…

http://www.seabirdlrc.com/aspx/blob2/blobpage.aspx?msgid=485656&beid=39047

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:33:32 GMT

Don: Fun idea! I'm not sure how I could film it though, as I left my video camera on the boat in Japan. Plus, I'm not sure it would be great footage. It's like watching live sports; oft-times what is awesome in person can be boring when viewed a couple weeks later. There's something about the spontaneousness of a live show that video never does justice to. Plus, I'm horrible at public speaking. My guess is that I'm doing a lot of people a favor by not videotaping... I did mention to Nordhavn that I wasn't sure that I have anything to say, that everyone hasn't already heard. They invited me anyhow, but at least they've been forewarned. I'm really looking forward to the event. I asked, and both the motorsailor and the sportfisher will be there. I've been very curious to see both. It's amazing that word has already spread that I'll be there! I just agreed to go this morning. I've wanted to go from the beginning, but the schedule was such that it was going to be impossible. Luckily, I was able to shuffle some things to be there. Thank you! -Ken W

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:41:21 GMT

Mr. Williams: Wish I could be at the "party" in SW Calif for your speech. Have you considered "filming" it and posting on one of your blogs? Bet it would be a hit!

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:09:33 GMT

Greg: I'm not sure I understand your question. Sans Souci is 45' above the waterline, but, as you said, the flybridge is plenty aerodynamic. That is why in the most recent blog I deducted 20% in trying to compute the area of the boat, when viewed from the front. -Ken Williams

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:19:56 GMT

Ken I got to ask is Sans Souci 45' above the water line and the front photos of the 68 on Nordhavn.com dont show much drag above the fly bridge aerodynamicaly

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:55:44 GMT

Hi Chris! I actually have 400' of chain. In fact, technically speaking, my boat has 800' of chain. The boat was originally ordered as a dual anchor boat. There are two anchor lockers, two chains, two windlasses, etc. The only piece missing is that there is only one anchor. I have a second anchor, a 150 lb fortress, but it is disassembled, sitting in a locker, in the portugese bridge. This is a long story. The quick version is that Nordhavn goofed, and built my boat such that the bow pulpit has the two anchors too close to each other to ever be a dual anchor boat. The bow pulpit needs ripped off and reconstructed. I haven't asked Nordhavn to do the work, or made a warranty claim on it, and probably should. Currently, it really isn't that annoying. I use one of the anchor lockers as fender and line storage, and know that I could set it up to deploy an anchor, in an hour or two, if I ever really needed the backup. As to stern anchoring... The fortress anchor that I have was intended as my stern anchor. I've only been in one situation where I wanted to use it, and when it came time to deploy it, the gain wasn't worth the pain. I under-estimated how heavy 150 pounds is. I couldn't lift the darn thing out of the storage locker. I needed to be able to lift it, drag it to the tender, and then drop it about 100' behind the boat. And, then retrieve it by hand -- none of which was going to happen. I need a much lighter stern anchor, which I haven't yet bought, and which will probably be useless. Can a 50 lb anchor hold the stern of a 120 ton boat? In a 15 knot beam wind? I have my doubts. So .. the bottom line is: I am totally screwed up on stern anchoring. Fortunately, where I've been running, I can't imagine more than one or two occasions when it would have been worth doing. -Ken Williams

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:28:20 GMT

Hi Ken, Do you ever use a stern anchor? If so what size do you use? We use them here on our small inland lakes to reduce the amount of scope and swing area in our small coves with shifting winds. How much chain do you have on your boat for your main anchor? Lets see a 325Lb anchor, lets say 300 ft of 1/2 G40 chain @ 2.56lb/ft or 768lbs and say 10 lbs for other misc shackles etc that’s a bit over 1100 lbs of dead weight, not counting all the mud and clay on the chain and anchor. I sure would hate to have a windless failure as that would be a lot to try and haul up by hand. However at 7:1 that’s only about 43’ of water depth or about 110lbs worth of chain not sitting on the bottom. But still 445 lbs to crank up by hand would be painful. You don't have any redundancy in the windless system besides dual windlasses correct? Thanks, Chris Hallock

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:53:21 GMT

Marv: Here's a link to a magazine review comparing different anchors: http://www.rocna.com/press/press_0612_wm_ym_testing.pdf And, to to some good info on Bulwagga: http://www.navstore.com/bulwagga.aspx The magazine article is from Rocna's site, so it has to be assumed to be somewhat biased. I agree that 'resetting' is an important feature for an anchor. In the tests I've seen Rocna doesn't particularly hold better than many anchors, but it usually wins the 'resetting' competition. As long as an anchor is good at resetting itself, dragging won't usually get you into too much trouble. -Ken W

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:40:39 GMT

One critical point about anchoring is that on a single anchor when the boat does a 180 turn, (tide or wind shift) the anchor is no longer holding and has to reset. How quickly the anchor resets is an extremely important consideration. Check out a Bulwagga anchor. They are very unusual but they set very quickly. Marv

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:19:15 GMT

I received an offline email from 'Frode' pointing out that the shape of an object makes a huge amount of difference as to the impact of air moving across it. Specifically, Frode points at this article: http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/4forces.html#fig-bluff which indicates that the shape of an object can make as much as a tenfold difference in the impact of air moving across it. For instance imagine a sail, 10' by 10' pointing into the wind. It certainly puts up more resistance than a giant spearhead pointed into the wind, that is 10' by 10'. I have no idea how the numbers I used in my blog entry were computed, and what sort of hull shape they are based on. My guess would be that they are meant to be representative of an average boat. My primary point was to show that the impact on the boat is a curve, not a straight line. As wind speed increases the force on the boat, and the anchor, rises faster than the wind speed. Overall though, the numbers in the table do seem to be 'in the ballpark' of what I would expect. -Ken W

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:05:25 GMT

Mike: I'm much smarter about this topic now, than I was a couple weeks ago. I had no idea what the working load was for my chain, but now know that it is probably 9,200 lbs. It's good to hear that these things are rated at only a quarter of their breaking strength! In reality, breaking the chain is highly unlikely. The anchor will pop out of the mud long before the chain breaks. I just didn't want to buy a shackle that was below the breaking strength of the chain. And, in actuality, the shackle was for a snubber -- of which there are two. I liked Scott's testing of rpms to try to quantify how well he is set. The other way to look at it, once you have the data, is that if you know that 1500 rpm equates to a 30 knot wind, you can tug on the anchor at 1,500 rpm -- and, if it doesn't drag, you can set a wind alarm at 30 knots and get a good night's sleep. Whereas, presently, if the winds are expected to be anywhere over 20, I stand anchor watch. -Ken W

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:47:59 GMT

Ken, I can't speak to the loads imposed on your boat by wind, but in dealing with cranes and rigging for some time your 1/2" chain if grade 80 (lifting chain) would have a working load of 12000 lbs in a single leg. Working loads are set up with a 4 to 1 design factor, or failure at 48,000 lbs. In 1/2" chain some other options are transport chains (70) 11,300 lbs; high test (40) 9,200 lbs; and proof coil (30) 4500 lbs. Depending on your shackle material and design they usually are built with a 4 - 6 design factor, so match the working load of your chain to the working load of your shackle.

Comment on: The typhoon has hit

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:39:03 GMT

Ken, interesting stuff. I saw a presentation at TrawlerFest Anacortes this year where a retired British engineer presented his data from years of anchoring and experimentation. His conclusions were similar to Scott's, that in general the 5:1-7:1 rule of thumb results in over-scoping. His presentation had a lot of math and I think many eyes were glazing over. When I went up to him afterwards to ask a question about one of his formulas he seemed surprised that I'd gone through the math. One thing he noted, in line with your comment, is that trawlers have much higher anchor size/rode length requirements that sailboats due to the windage effect of the tall hull. I'll see if I can find his deck and if so will post a link. /adam

There's a typhoon coming!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When Roberta and I returned home from Japan, we were absolutely certain that typhoon season was over, but it appears that we were wrong.

Steven and Carol Argosy (Seabird) are still in Japan with the boats, while Braun and Tina Jones (Grey Pearl) are on the east coast, and we're in Seattle.

Meanwhile, a typhoon is headed for Osaka, and it looks like a mean one.

Scale	-
Intensity	Very Strong
Center position	N23°05'(23.1°)
	E131°25'(131.4°)
Direction and speed of movement	NNW 25km/h(14kt)
Central pressure	930hPa
Maximum wind speed near the center	50m/s(95kt)
Maximum wind gust speed	70m/s(135kt)
Area of 50kt winds or more	Wide 150km(80NM)
Area of 30kt winds or more	NE560km(300NM)
	SW390km(210NM)

Roberta and I were at a movie theater tonight when I received the call from Steven alerting me to the oncoming typhoon.

While we were in Japan we had four of these typhoons headed for us, and all turned before reaching land. This one was expected to turn, but has kept coming, and is expected to hit Japan within the next 24 hours.

Hopefully, it will make a last minute turn. If not, the GSSR boats are likely to see winds of 90 knots or more.

Steven spent the day adding fenders to all three boats, and adding additional lines. I felt powerless when speaking to him. There's not much I could say except 'THANK YOU.' Luckily, our boats are in a very strong marina, in the best possible location.

To watch the typhoon yourself, as it approaches, and hopefully fizzles before it reaches Osaka, visit the website:

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/

The good news, if there is any, is that Japan has a long history with typhoons. The cities and marinas are built with the knowledge that typhoons are an annual event. I hope the typhoon doesn't run the track that is now projected, because it looks to me like there is the potential for damage. This said, if any country is prepared for an oncoming typhoon, it is Japan.

And, since I mentioned being at the movies, and on a much cheerier note...

We were watching the film "Julie and Julia" about a young lady who wrote a blog about Julia Childs. She set a goal to cook all of the over-500 receipes in Julia Child's book in one year. It was a cute movie, but I most enjoyed watching her (Julie) sending her blog out, and watching for the comments to roll-in, and agonizing over what to write, only to hit the delete key when she decided it was too personal... and, sometimes NOT hit the delete key when she later wished she had (usually about 2 seconds after pressing the 'send' button.) I knew exactly how she felt. Roberta must have liked the film, because we're now slated for a Julia Child's recipe (Boeuf Bourguignon) for Sunday.

More tomorrow when I see if the typhoon missed us. I recommended to Steven that this could be a good day to check into a hotel, but he said that there is no need. He is confident he'll be safe on the boat.

-Ken Williams
www.kensblog.com, and www.kensotherblog.com

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:23:43 GMT

Hi Ken, I am glad to hear your boat is doing well after it went straight over it. I was tied up in Ramsgate Marina in the UK this summer when a mere gail went through for a few days, and my ropes ate nicely through my varnish and into the teak toe rail. My question is, is it possible to see a picture or two of how your boat is tied up for the typhoon please? Many thanks, Ruaan

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:16:23 GMT

We made it! The typhoon did go overhead, but the marina is very well protected, and we are in the most protected part of the marina. Here's the email I received from Steven... "...It is 7:30 am JST and the storm has passed. No damage to any of the boats other than substantial line stretching, which I will take care of later this am. The highest gusts we saw was 57kts and sustained for a period of about 40kts with horizontal rain. I will check the boats later this am for any water intrusion. Ken – I checked your flybridge access hatch after a ton of rain had fallen and there was no water or even moisture. I will check again this morning. Steven..." I'll send out a full blog update tomorrow, if I can think of something more to say than the above. Steven makes it sound like no big deal, but he worked hard the day before the typhoon making sure all three boats were fendered and tied properly. I'm not sure that without his assistance things would have gone so smoothly. -Ken Williams

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:59:02 GMT

Ken, Any news from Steven? Looks like it went right over the top of the fleet. Looks like the worst of it is over now.

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:58:11 GMT

It doesn't look like winds in excess of 50 knots until the morning of the 8th: < http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/storm-331.html?t=0918 > Ron

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:56:13 GMT

Yikes! Our fingers are crossed that the typhoon decides to leave Japan alone!!!

Comment on: There's a typhoon coming!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:27:36 GMT

Thanks for setting up the blog with an rss feed. It makes it much easier to follow.

Not related to boating

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here's something that has nothing to do with boating...

In my prior life, I made video games for a living. Someone just sent me a link to a t-shirt which is actually selling pretty well, that involves me.

This is very 'inside' and if you don't know what it means, that's probably good. But, one of my better selling video games was called "Leisure-Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards." In the opening sequence, of the first game in the series (there were eight games), there is a password scratched onto the wall of a bathroom. That password became pseudo famous amongst game-geeks. It was "Ken Sent Me".

And, now you know who Ken is... (me!)

If you are a video game fan, who remembers the old days, you might want one of these shirts.

http://shop.cafepress.com/ken-sent-me

I'm a video game fan from way-back...but, do not need one of these shirts. So, don't feel bad if you also don't want one.

And on a different, but equally non-thrilling topic...

I started the project going today, to convert my blog entries, for the GSSR trip, to a book. I don't make any money on the books, but they are fun souvenirs of the trip, and are handy for holding things down. I have a full time person working on doing all the re-formatting of the blogs as a book, and am trying to move the quality up a notch. My guess is that the book won't be to the publisher for a month or two...

-Ken Williams
www.kensblog.com (and, www.kensotherblog.com)

PS Al Lowe, who wrote Leisure-Suit Larry has just released a joke product for the iphone. Al's a very funny guy, and a good friend. Other than usually beating me at golf, he's a good guy. If you own an iphone, check out: http://www.thebinarymill.com/cyberjoke3000/index.php

An update from a cruiser who went through a Tsunami

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Below is a blog entry from yesterday, posted by a cruiser I've never met, Wayne on the sailboat Learnativity, who was in American Somoa when the major earthquake a few days ago hit. It's amazing reading. I'm reposting it here for your convenience, or you can read it directly on his blog, at: http://learnativity.typepad.com/

It reminded me of that old saying, "Boating is best described as long periods of boredom interspersed with short bursts of terror."

Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci

Doing the Tsunami Tango in American Samoa

Whew! Now THAT was a full day! As most of you will know by now I am in Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa and yesterday (Tues Sept. 29, 2009) we took a direct hit from the tsunami effect caused by the undersea volcanic eruption that took place about 130nm south of here. Reports seem to estimate it at 8.0-8.3 on the Richter scale so that counts as quite significant I think; certainly was on the Wayne scale!

** Paste my lat/long 14 16.514S 170 41.554W into Google Earth to see for yourself. This is obviously be the "before" photo and we'll have to wait for the next satellite pass to see the "after"

I’m writing this a day later (Wed afternoon) now that I have a bit more time as things have calmed down a bit, both in terms of water action and more recently all the work in dealing with the aftermath. Many of you have been able to follow this via various means thanks to the efforts of my main man ashore and overall phenomenal resource; John Alonso in Florida. Shortly after escaping from the docks where Learnativity was tied up, I was able to get a few satellite phone connections and both talk to John as well as text him while I did my best to deal with the constant draining and then refilling of the harbor and dodge the endless onslaught of other ships, mostly empty, derelict hulls, containers, docks, oil drums and every other sort of debris you can imagine. John was then able to relay these to all of you via Twitter and Emails and I can’t thank him enough for helping to get the word out and let everyone know what was going on here. Now that I’ve got a bit more time let me start at the beginning and take you through the day of September 29th, 2009 on the good ship Learnativity.

I am up as usual about 6:30 and getting ready to go for my morning shower up on the deck when I became aware of a low frequency thrumming that I could both hear and feel. This continued and my first thought was that there was a large freighter or other ship nearby and I was simply feeling the effects of its large propellers churning the water. Stepping up into the cockpit to look around there was nothing in sight and it was otherwise the start of another day in paradise with the verdant hills surround Pago Pago Harbor rising up steeply all around me and piercing the few clouds in an otherwise brilliant blue sky. The calm harbor waters stretched out as Learnativity tugged gently on her dock lines securing us to the large concrete wharf where we have been docked in about 15’ of water since arriving on Friday afternoon and joined about six other sailboats and cruisers from Australia, USA and Canada.

But what IS that vibration?? It is about 06:50 as I step off the boat onto the concrete dock to see if it was perhaps just on Learnativity or the water? No, it continued and was intensifying if anything. Having experienced several other quakes including Mount St. Helens and the big quake in San Francisco and LA in the 90’s I began to suspect this as the source however it was too gentle and going on too long for my understanding of what an earthquake feels like. And I can HEAR it as much as feel it. Over a minute has gone by now and as I look ashore in search of other points of reference sure enough I can see that the lamp posts and telephone poles are waving back and forth like they were blades of grass in a gentle breeze. Hmmm, I’ve only seen poles move like that once before and that was as I looked outside my office window in Sausalito during the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake. OK, it may be different but I’ve solved the riddle and we got ourselves an earthquake.

A few of my fellow cruisers (people who live aboard their boats while cruising the world) have been awakened and are crawling sleepily out of their beds and joining me on the concrete wharf. The mood is typically easy and friendly as we say quietly say good morning, compare notes and discuss just what’s going on. The thrumming continues through most of this and I’d estimate at least 3 minutes in total. We agree it must have been an earthquake and Gary, an Australian from Freemantle on his 52’ Irwin “Biscayne Bay” with wife Lisa, son Jake and Canadian crewmember Chris, joins us and tells that he has just checked it out online and found reports filed under “latest earthquake” of an underwater eruption about 20 minutes ago 130nm south of us

We continued to casually chat and discuss how unique the characteristics were. None of us had ever experienced an undersea eruption or other such disturbances on our boats and we just left it at that as we dispersed back to our boats for breakfast and one person casually joked that we should just watch for any big wave we see. No such wave ever materialized, it was much worse.

Just as I was bout to step back onto my boat it started to drop. Huh? Before I could even comprehend what was happening it then started to rapidly lean sideways as the dock lines strain and screech, tightening more and more as they take on the full weight of my very heavy steel home. My instincts scream GET ON THE BOAT! I jump aboard and grab onto the rigging as she continues to lean more and more and more. THUD! Holy #^%& we are hard over on our side and ……. WHAT the …..? the bottom of the bay is staring back at me as I dangle by one hand from the rigging.

My mind is cycling through every possible explanation, trying to come to terms with all the inputs and amongst the cacophony of sights and sounds as boats smash around me, deck lines snap, rigging strains. These sounds are overlaid and an ominous and enormous rushing and sucking sound as the water all around my boat suddenly drains away!

But a new noise, like fingernails across a blackboard divert my attention to the near vertical deck and I see poor Ruby (my 2 year old cockapoo and sailing companion) trying in vain to dig her claws into the steel deck, her legs thrashing like a cartoon animation character as she gathers speed going the other way and her tail end is headed for all the fish I now see and hear flopping around on the bottom of the bay as they search of their missing watery home.

Ruby’s a gonner if she leaves the boat so I let go of the rigging, do my best imitation of a full 180 mid air flip and lunge after her with one outstretched hand and desperately reach out with the other in the hopes of grabbing some other hand hold. Just as Ruby is launched off the deck I get a right handful of the scruff of her neck and harness as my left hand wraps itself around the lifeline cable. No time to think, just act. Ruby in hand I scramble up to the opposite (Port) high side of the deck. All hell is breaking loose around me both on my boat and all the others and I’m not going to be able to do much with one hand. I look up above me and spot Jake, Gary’s son (14) standing on the edge of the wharf looking down at me and I yell “Jake! Catch!” and throw Ruby up to his thankfully open arms. He makes a great catch, Ruby is in good hands and I’ve got both of mine back.

Interesting how we all react differently. Back aboard Biscayne Bay, Gary and family have been below making breakfast, when they notice the concrete dock rushing up past their porthole windows as if they were in an elevator shaft. Their boat is in much deeper water around the corner from where I Learnativity is docked, so they are going straight down, lines straining, fiberglass crunching and that ever present surreal sucking sound all around. Gary’s reaction, understandably is to GET OUT! and so they all dash up into the cockpit and scramble up the vertical wall of concrete and rubber tires as Gary pushes and shoves each of them up onto the top of the concrete wharf.

The sucking sound stops.

There is a moment of seeming silence that you’d think would be comforting but you’d be wrong. It’s ominous. And then a new set of sounds begin. The volume with a ferocious velocity. Faster than it has left, all that water is now coming back! All the problems reverse. Learnativity rights itself and is now rocketing skyward. I grab my always-on-my-belt knife and dash down the port side from bow to stern slashing all the dock lines. Scramble back into the cockpit, start the engine, simultaneously shove both control levers ahead, putting the transmission into forward gear and the throttle lever on full. All six cylinders pick up speed as the revs cling, the turbine whines, the prop bites hard into the swirling water below and Learnativity starts to pull away from the ………………………… wharf. What wharf? It’s GONE!

The water rushing back into the bay doesn’t stop at it’s previous level, it continues to go up and up and up the sides of the wharf. It floods over the top and keeps going. The speed and force of of the current created by millions of gallons of water flooding into the harbor is unbelievable water and is doing its best to push Learnativity backwards into the dock and marina as I put my faith into the power of diesel fuel and take a minute to look back and see if I’m going forward or backwards.

It is hard to describe what I see. Closest to me, Gary, Lisa, Jake (clutching Ruby) and Chris are running as fast and best they can through the rushing water for a stone walled garden area in the middle of the concrete wharf that happens to have a small but tall light post embedded into it. I watch helplessly as they climb up onto the base of the light pole, wrap their arms around each other and hang on as the water rushes past them, continuing to rise; up, up, up.

I glance along where I know the edge of the dock to have been and watch as one other boat with a great young crew of five from California have jumped aboard even quicker than I and are motoring quickly away. No wait, on the other matching lamp post down the dock I spot one of their female crewmembers who got caught ashore now clinging to this lamp pole. Other sailboats, including Biscayne Bay have now ripped free of their tethers and I watch as they turn with the continuously rising current and crash into each other, taking the other boats in their path like falling dominos. On the left is the “after” picture of this infamous light pole with (from left to right) Chris, Jake, Lisa, Ruby and Gary posing with much different expressions on their faces. Imagine them and the water level half way up this pole!

As my eyes continue to travel further down the dock, I watch in horror as one cruiser is on the dock trying to untie his lines and is swept off his feet by the torrent of water. His wife is aboard and manages to control the boat as it comes free but I can’t see any sign of her husband in all the flotsam and jetsam churning in the water.

Worse than just the water though, almost everything imaginable has been picked up by this flood of water, torn lose from anything silly enough to try to hold them down and is now looking to smash into anything and everything in its erratic path. I glance back to the lamp post where the Biscayne Bay crew are now climbing higher and higher up the lamp post, Gary has Ruby wrapped around his neck so he can use both his arms to hold on to his family and try to keep from being ripped off the post by the force of the water or hit by one of the boats or containers rushing toward and past them. My brain is cycling through the question of “What can I do to help them?” but it is quite literally out of my hands and I have to turn away and bring my attention back aboard and foreword. Fortunately diesel power overcomes even these humbling forces of nature and Learnativity and I escape to the safety of the middle of the bay. Or is it?

No time to think, just act. With the chaos of other ships, some manned, most not, surrounding me and with the water swirling in every direction it was impossible to tell if I was moving forward or back. I pushed Learnativity as hard as I could with full throttle to overcome the unbelievable opposing force of millions of gallons of water now rushing back in to refill Pago Pago Harbor and doing its best to suck Learnativity backwards into the concrete dock we were fleeing. Looking back to try to gauge direction and progress I couldn’t believe what I could not see. There was no dock to be seen! Just boats and water everywhere. Was I that disoriented? Had we drifted that far? Searching for the dock, I finally got my bearings from the buildings on shore and confirmed that I was just where I thought I was, about 100 feet away from the dock that wasn’t there. What I can see is a pencil thin vertical line that is the light post which now has Gary, Lisa, Jake, Chris literally hanging on for dear life and Ruby wrapped around Gary’s neck. I glance further west and see Emily, the stranded young lady from the California yacht Banyan clinging to the other light post. Then I watch as Kirk, Catherine and Stewart on their sailboat Galivanter motor across the TOP of the dock and get out behind me!

When I think about tsunamis I envision this giant wall of water, a monster wave. There was no wave here. The bay simply emptied like someone had pulled the stopper out of a really big bathtub and then equally as fast put it back in and filled it all up from a giant valve below.

** For some great graphics and explanations of how tsunamis work see this “Tsunami Infographics” site which John kindly passed on.

My brain is struggling to process these visual inputs and try to make sense of it all as I realize the whole dock is under water! That safe, solid, secure concrete wharf which used to sit about 8 feet above the water is now about five feet under water and rising. Boats which were previously tied up to the inside edge of the dock between the shore and the dock have broken free and are careening about in the swirling current, posting great threats to Gary et al on the pole. I look west down to the end of the bay and see that it is filling up with a collection of every floating vessel known to man; pleasure boats both motor and sail of every size, 100’ steel purse seiner fishing boats, trawlers, cargo ships and rowboats. Most seem to be unmanned and are randomly dancing together, running into each other and all headed West. Biscayne Bay amongst them.

Learnativity and I escape the clutches of the incoming current and suddenly speed forward. Hmmm, where did all that ferocious current go? The water becomes eerily calm and smooth. Again, you’d think this would be a good thing and again you’d be wrong. The cycle is now reversing. All that water piled up at the end of the bay, having run up onshore and floated everything there from full buildings to cars, now wants to go back out. This is the first sign of any wave I saw through the whole ordeal as the water rushes back from its momentary travels ashore and has now formed a low wide wave that is headed east back towards me. I’ve now made it out into the middle of the harbor where the water is deepest and I have the most room to run and avoid all the oncoming ships and Looking. I turn Learnativity to face this new rush of water, throttle at the ready to ride out the next surge of current.

Glancing ashore through all this I watch the concrete dock magically reappear as if it is rising up out of the water in some perverse magic trick. Then my brain realizes that the dock isn’t moving up, the water is moving down as gazillions of water molecules all rush to join their buddies down at the West end of the bay. I watch in humbled awe as the water again drains away leaving the dock fully out of the water pilings and all.

On the left here is one of the few photos I was able to snap in the midst of all this you can see the concrete dock with the tires on the side and the water at the level it would normally be at. I was only able to take time for a photo because it is in that lull between surges in and out so this water level is between its high and low. Oh, and you might also notice the sailboat that has been deposited up on top of the wharf! Minutes earlier it had been tied up alongside the dock. Think about it and you will have a better sense of the height of the water as it flooded in such that the boat could float up and over the top of the dock and then be dropped on top as the water receeded.

I would estimate the sea level dropped over 15’ in less than 30 seconds. Then someone hits the rewind button on the video I’m watching and as fast as it dropped the water level starts moving up and my friends on the light poles rush back to it and brace for another dunking. As it turned out, the worst one yet.

Due I suspect to the additional forces gained by the water all collecting its energy up on the western shore, the speed of the water now rushing out of the bay is the highest yet. To make matters worse this was no longer “just” water, it was a giant tossed salad of debris from ships to cars to docks to scrap and crap. All headed back for us with increasing velocity. And again I am rendered helpless to watch with the disgust of not being able to do anything and the embarrassment of being so relatively safe and dry aboard strong steel Learnativity. Lisa, Gary, Jake and Chris grip each other and that slender pole, their bodies now trailing off almost horizontal as the slimy soup rises and rushes past them making every effort to rip their hands from the pole and sweep them away like insignificant insects. They would later recount that this second surge out was the worst of them all and they were within seconds of loosing their grip and the torrent of water began to slack and they returned to vertical as the cycle repeats; current subsides, water goes slack and starts to drop again. The photo on the right is of this infamous life saving light pole in the middle of the dock and was taken just after I’ve come back in and tied Learnativity up just across from it. Four people and a dog are alive today because this pole was there, and a similar one right beside me where the Emily from receded was able to hang on and survive.

As the water dropped away and drained off the dock, I can see Lisa and Jake, with Ruby in tow, make a mad dash across the now dry concrete, hit the shore running and kept on going, climbing up the hillside to watch safely from higher ground. I spot Gary and Chris down on the dock and I speed over close enough that we can yell back and forth. I’m desperate to help them get onto Biscayne Bay and be able to keep it out of any further harm. I try to make a pass alongside the wharf so they can jump aboard Learnativity, but now there isn’t enough water beside the dock to float my boat! I head back out to the middle of the bay and watch and wait for another cycle and then try another pass at the dock to pick them up, but the currents are simply changing too rapidly, there is too much debris to avoid and too dangerous for them to jump. We all watch over the next 15 minutes as Biscayne Bay pilots itself westward down the bay being hit and hitting back other boats along the way. With one of the next big surges she is lifted up onto the mud banks and leans over onto her side to rest high and dry, covered in oil and fuels and badly beaten up.

Another cruiser, Mike from Eureka California was having better luck and an amazing experience as his 27’ sailboat motored down the main street at the far west end of the harbor, circled around the intersection and went back out into the harbor! As the surge he was riding went out it dropped him and his boat onto the ground and then just as nicely picked him right back up again on the next cycle and he was able to get it back into the harbor. He quickly headed out to the far eastern end of the harbor for some clear water and space to inspect below but all signs show that he only suffered some serious gouging of the keel and hull. Amazing!

While all this is going on, Joan on Mainly the boat out of South Merrit Island in Florida is letting us know on the VHF that she has still not seen her husband Dan, the one I saw being swept of the docks in the first surge. One of the big disappointments of this whole experience is the complete lack of response or rescue resources from ashore. I assumed, very incorrectly, with this being US soil there would be plenty such resources; again I was wrong. I learned later that the USCG is land based only and it was over three hours later that they were able to respond with any presence on the water. Nor was their any help from the port authority, no Navy presence, and we were left to our own devices to help each other and coordinate as best we could. There were now about six or more other sailboats motoring around in circles with me in the middle of the bay as we turned back and forth to point into the next surge and tried to dodge the continuing barrage of unmanned ships, hulls and garbage. Joan was doing a great job of single handing her boat and I and others started widening our circles to come closer to shore and cover more area in search of Dan or others who were in the water. This cycle of the tsunami “tide” coming in and out continued for several hours and was like a pendulum, continuously decreasing in height and velocity.

When I was first got out in the middle of the bay my instinct for some reason was to get the word out to both friends and family that I was safe and to let the rest of the world know what was going on. I imagined that there would be lots of news reports about the eruption but very little information on just what was happening locally and I also desperately wanted to know if more was coming and what to expect. Fortunately I carry a satellite phone and while expensive it certainly more than paid for itself in this situation. I couldn’t take my eyes and hands off the tasks of piloting Learnativity and searching for people, but I was able to hit my sat phone speed dial and call John in Florida. Thankfully the time worked out, it was mid day in Florida and John picked up! I gave him a quick synopsis of the situation and asked him to send out a note to the Email list of “Learnativity Followers” (people I send my daily updates to while sailing), post a note to my blog and log on as me on Twitter to relay the text messages I would try to send out as regularly as I could. John has been my lifeline in so many ways, so many times, and once again came through with flying colors as he acted as my ship to satellite to shore relay station. With his help and the wonders of modern communication technology I was able to let my friends and family know I was alive and get to the world at large with some first hand news about the situation here. It seemed to work amazingly fast and I received inquiries from several individuals within the first 20 minutes, wanting to know about their friends and family and very soon thereafter started receiving calls and text messages from news centers around the world. The Twitter feed was particularly interesting and seemed to be the one which spread virally the fastest. It also allowed John and I to get a series of time stamped updates out which people could then review and see the progression of events here. (see http://twitter.com/#search?q=wwwayne for the feed of these Tweets)

Meanwhile, back in the all too real and present situation I was still circling the center of the bay with others, trying to see if I could find a Wi-Fi signal to get on the internet to get updates, avoiding the ever present danger of other ships and debris and be on the lookout for Dan and the growing list of other people who were now missing. I wasn’t able to get on the net but was able to get updates from John and was well informed about the second eruption which fortunately didn’t produce any further surge or tsunami that we detected here in Pago Pago. Whew! Maybe this part is over?

I’m not quite sure of the timing, but about 11am, four hours after the mayhem started on this fateful Tuesday, Sept. 29th, I decided that the surges were down enough and not coming back so I headed for the dock and tied Learnativity to the outside and jumped ashore to help others who were following my lead in. I was anxious to find Gary and Chris who I’d not seen in the past hour while I was circling out in the bay and also to see what assistance I could provide to others who were looking for lost crewmembers as well as the whole situation ashore.

On American Samoa, as with most other islands the only real road is the one which circles the coastal circumference so it is all very close to sea level. Normal sea level that is. When the tsunami hit, the water rose up to a level about 5’ above the roadway and several hundred feet inland. It cleaned out everything in its path, picking up vehicles and dropping them inside buildings and culverts. If the buildings were concrete and well built, the water neatly emptied all their contents, if not it simply washed away the entire building. Cars were strewn everywhere as if some giant hand picked up the island and gave it a good shake. As you walked up to the road there were manta rays, eels and tuna still flopping about on the dry pavement desperately searching for their watery homes. Several hardware stores along the road had been emptied and tools were strewn everywhere. Much of the edge of the water was lined with chain link fencing which had acted like a sieve and was now a colorful mosaic chockablock full of a plastic, paper, wood and weeds.

By the time I got up to the road though, people were already pitching in to help others in need and soon people started to clean up the mess that was everywhere. Traffic was at a standstill of course with vehicles all over the road, wrapped around trees, sticking out of doorways and windows and parked in culverts. Many had simply been washed into the bay. There were injured people everywhere and soon the sirens began and continued on through the night and the next few days as more were found amongst the wreckage and on the sides. Miraculously to me no fires had broken out which was a good thing as there was fuel and oil everywhere. The gas station immediately behind the dock had all four of its pumps knocked clean off their foundations as cars had floated by and the water rose up over them. Now they spewed raw gasoline and diesel out of their amputated pipes. While out in the bay the smell of diesel, gas and oil was overwhelming as most of the large fishing and commercial ships that were swept away had ruptured their tanks and the water was slick with petroleum.

I wanted so much to head for the West end of the bay to find Gary and Biscayne Bay and help them find Biscayne Bay, as well as see if Ruby had survived. But I dare not leave Learnativity alone and there was so much to do on the docks trying to help those whose boats were still there and those who were missing crew members. Gary actually showed up aboard Joan’s boat Mainly to help her dock it and there was still no sign or word of Dan. And so the afternoon progressed as we all pitched in and drifted from one job to the next; cleaning, consoling, assessing and trying to comprehend what had just happened. With son Jake on board Biscayne Bay to keep watch as looting had already begun on ships and ashore, Chris and Gary went back and forth between Learnativity and Biscayne Bay in the dingy, moving all their belongings and food aboard Learnativity as I invited them to live with me for the next while.

As we shuttled all their belongings from one boat to the other we decided to try to get Biscayne Bay back into the water and if she was not taking on water to try to bring her back to the dock. Gary and Chris went back to the boat and with the help of some others and the next big surge, miraculously got her upright and off the mud bank and bottom into deeper water. She was taking on some water, but it was minimal and the bilge pumps would be able to keep up with it. The engine would start but something was wrapped around the prop or shaft or both and they were locked up solid. There was limited steering but with a 25HP outboard on his dingy, Gary was able to push and shove her all the way up the bay and around the end of the concrete dock. With Chris at the wheel and Gary using the dingy as a mini tug boat, Jake threw me the bow line as she raced toward the dock and I was able to wrap the line around one of the large steel bollards and with a final crunch against the dock she was back home. It was hard to believe that only 8 hours earlier this crunched and battered dear boat had been quietly tied up next to Learnativity in pristine condition.

The search continued for our missing comrade cruiser Dan and with no sign of him by mid afternoon Joan went to the hospital and sadly arrived just as they were bringing Dan’s body to the morgue. His body had washed up at the west end of the bay. So difficult to comprehend all this. How is it possible that at 7am you are sipping your first morning coffee together as a happy retired couple in the cockpit of your sailboat docked in paradise on the cruise you’ve dreamed of and worked for your whole life, and then minutes later be washed off the dock never to be seen again? We all did out best to be with Joan as she worked her way through such questions and did what we could to be supportive and consoling. Her boat would not start now for some reason and we were all anxious to ensure that our boats were ready to go at a moments notice should another tsunami strike and so several of us went aboard to set it right. There was no shortage of skilled mechanics and electricians and we all provided tools and labor and Jack stayed aboard to find it was a bad solenoid and soon had it replaced so at least Mainly was back in working order. Hearts and minds would require different tools, techniques and time before they would be so mended.

Learnativity, Ruby and I came through it all pretty much unscathed. Just the stainless tubing bow pulpit had been ripped apart and so I set about removing it and seeing what could be done to repair it. It was beyond repair and so I salvaged the running lights and then set about using some low stretch line I had to create a makeshift set of lifelines to enclose the bow.

Fortunately none of this is structural or will prevent me from continuing to sail to New Zealand where there will be lots of facilities to build a new one. And I was planning on building a whole new dual anchor setup and sprit on the bow which would require a new pulpit anyway. I just didn’t plan on removing the old one quite so soon. Mother Nature apparently had a different schedule and I didn’t get the memo.

Gary and family were back onboard Biscayne Bay assessing the damage for the rest of the afternoon and it didn’t look good. The more you looked the more structural damage and failed systems you found. It was floating and they decided they could sleep aboard that night but I had them over for diner and cooked up a big feed of salad (expertly assembled by Chris) and my tummy filling spicy spaghetti and meatballs. None of us had eaten all day and now with a chance to relax just a bit, the hunger and exhaustion set in. We spent most of the evening quietly reflecting upon the day, dissecting it and discussing this extraordinary and harrowing experience. I think it was very therapeutic for each of us as our minds started to deal with the reality of what all had taken place on this eventful day and what we would need to do in the aftermath of the days ahead. Sleep was both restful and fitful for most of us that night.

Writing this now, two days later, we have continued in this pattern of cleanup, helping each other, repair and restoration of both ships, shore and souls. It will be a long process for all of these. The local people have continued to astound me with their genuine kindness and generosity. In spite of great loss of life all over the island we have had a steady stream of people binging us cases of bottled drinking water, boxed lunches and cooked diners.

In the span of two days I’ve witnessed the full spectrum of both human and mother nature and I’ve learned so many life lessons. It is no where near a complete list, but to finish up this posting I’ll share a few of the lessons I’ve learned through this experience.

Some Lessons I Learned from the Tsunami in Pago Pago:

It may sound trite but it is SO true that you never know when the last time will be for most things. Living in the moment, maximizing every opportunity, are attitude and behavior to live by rather than cute phrases and platitudes.
When it is all said and done, people, friendship and relationships are all that really matter.
The best place to be when trouble or disaster strikes is ON your boat and out in open water. Get there and stay there at almost any cost.
I’ve renewed my conviction and love for steel boats.
In times of great stress and disaster, human nature is on full spectrum display and is the same in all places and cultures.
Put your faith and optimism in people. There is much more good in the world than evil, many more good people than bad.
A big powerful working engine in a sailboat is a safety device. Make sure it is always at the ready.
Mother Nature is a majestic and powerful force on a scale that is truly humbling. It is likely a good thing to be reminded from time to time just how small and puny we are.
Technology, especially communication technology is vastly under rated and under appreciated for how profound a difference it can make.
Sat phones are essential safety devices for world cruisers.
If are ever in the vicinity of a large underwater seismic eruption either get on a boat and head for open water or head inland as high and as quickly as you can.

I hope that by sharing some of these experiences I’ve been able in some small way to help others learn lessons of their own. I’m off to bed now for a few hours to let my head sort through more of this experience and get some rest before another busy day of dealing with the aftermath of this extraordinary life and learning experience.

Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
aboard the good ship Learnativity
docked in Pago Pago Harbor
14 16.514S 170 41.554W

Comment on: An update from a cruiser who went through a Tsunami

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:02:13 GMT

Since you have said you want to go some place warm and tropical is Samoa on your list? How well would your boat do if all the water got drained out from under it?

Comment on: An update from a cruiser who went through a Tsunami

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:50:45 GMT

WOW! I am in shock after reading about the events that took place and greatly saddened by the loss of life associated with this natural disaster. What an absolutely helpless feeling watching these events unfold and having no control to change to outcome for others. But on the positive side, great job of reacting to the events as they unfolded and doing what could be done. I appreciate you posting his blog as it gives us the chance to sit back and reflect on what happened and more importantly, try and be prepared for for our journeys when they come! By the way, I have not been in contact with you lately, but congratulation with the successful transit to Japan. I enjoyed reading about your adventures, and hopefully in the future you will have the chance to read about my travels as the time gets closer for my Nordhavn. Thanks, Jim Evans Fairbanks, Alaska

Comment on: An update from a cruiser who went through a Tsunami

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:34:45 GMT

Great link, very interesting and informative. Thanks. I ran across another great story a while ago about a 43' Nordhavn (Kosmos) at anchor in a storm. Link is http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog/2008/11/25/volcanoes-boats-in-danger-and-emergency-rescues-part-1-of-3/

Return from Japan

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Greetings!

You are receiving this because you registered for my ‘off season blog’ at http://www.kensOtherBlog.com.

If you visited the site you know that I decided to experiment with doing my blog in a message board format. I did this because I thought the format might make it easier for everyone to participate in the discussion, and to start their own topics. Roberta and I won’t be on the boat for the next few months, and I really don’t have too much to say. Last year, I kept busy during the offseason getting the boat shipped home from Costa Rica and ready to go. However, this year, there are no major boat projects planned. The boat is in good shape and already positioned for next year’s run. The only major projects on my list are: clearing Shelby (our dog) into various countries, and trip planning for next year.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I experimented with an alternate format for the blog, and no one seems to love it, including myself. Thus, I’ll go back to doing the blog my old way. I’ll still do it on the KensOtherBlog.com website, which has the small list of just over 400 of you, as opposed to the kensblog.com website which has many thousands. Given that I won’t have much of interest to say, I’d rather bore the smallest group possible. Of course, I could do that by simply not writing anything, but, what fun would that be?

Anyway…

This is a brief recap of events since my last blog.

There isn’t much to say about our last few weeks in Japan. Roberta and I really didn't do much more than just hang out on the boat, doing various boat-projects. We knew that getting the boat ready to be left alone for six months was going to be a lot of work, and were in the mood to get all our work done and go home. We woke up a few days and said, “Should we go find a temple? Go to a museum?” We always decided we’d go sight-seeing ‘tomorrow’ and focus on work today. And, tomorrow never came.

Amusingly, I did pass some time asking myself if Japan represented some of the best cruising in the world, or the worst, or somewhere in-between, and I couldn’t decide which it was. It’s a difficult question, and I won’t really know what I think until after next year. Japan is a beautiful country with wonderful people. However, I was very frustrated with the language issues. A few examples:

We were constantly being invited to various dinners and parties. We met people (Japanese) who spent thousands of dollars to entertain us! We were shocked by the generosity of those around us. However, at the dinners, we often wound up talking to each other. We would do what we could to mingle, but conversations between people who don’t speak the same language are rarely compelling. I’m not particularly good at small talk anyhow, and when I am further constrained by a total absence of shared vocabulary, I get much worse. Another example: Roberta and I took a train to nearby Kobe. We were in a wonderful district with 100s of great restaurants. It was clearly my kind of place, and both of us love Asian food. However, we walked for miles, and never saw an Asian restaurant with an English menu. 99.9% have menus that are 100% Japanese. Someone truly adventurous would enjoy the challenge, but we’re somewhat picky eaters. When we were in Hokkaido, I watched as Kirt, a crew member on Sans Souci, put a menu on a table, waved his finger in the air, and randomly plopped it down on the menu. That’s what he ordered. This is definitely not my style, but seems the only viable strategy. Most restaurants do have plastic food in the front window, which can be pointed at, and I have dragged waiters to the curb, to point at the food in the window, but even this strategy often fails. Sometimes, what looks like tofu in the window turns out to be something much weirder when it hits your plate. And, another more serious example of the problems: My focus the last couple of weeks was on getting the boat prepared for our departure. Without using an interpreter I couldn’t speak with the marina staff. I couldn’t go to marine stores. I couldn’t speak with other boat captains in the marina. Etc. I don’t like being in a position where I’m not self sufficient. It just isn’t my style.

And, of course there are cultural issues. The Japanese were so polite and nice to us, and I wanted to try to return the kindness, but always felt somewhat clunky. Almost all Japanese speak some English. It is taught in their schools, and English words appear everywhere. Few speak enough to actually carry on a conversation, but at least they try. I, on the other hand, did not learn Japanese in school. And, whereas we are on their turf, and they know their cultures and traditions, I had no idea what the rules of etiquette were. I was constantly worried that I’d do something horribly offensive, and not know it. It was important to me that we leave a good impression of Americans, and I wasn’t quite sure how to do that.

In dealing with the marina, I was never sure what they were willing to do for me, and what they weren’t. We’re in a ritzy private members-only marina. I’m not certain that the marina’s primary motivation for accepting us was financial. I think it was just kind of cool to them, and their members, to have the funny looking international boats in the marina. I’m thrilled to be there, and I had the feeling they would do almost anything I asked, but I really didn’t want to be annoying. When motivations are financial, the rules are simpler. I asked them to wax the boat, and thought I could see in their eyes that they weren’t delighted I’d asked, but that since I asked, they had to do it. I was willing to pay, so I’m not sure why they wouldn’t have been happy to get the business, or, perhaps they were happy to get the business. I really have no idea, and that in itself is part of what frustrated me. When dealing cross-culture, and through an interpreter, it’s tough to know when the other guy is happy, and as I said, I wanted to be a good ambassador for other cruisers from our corner of the planet.

And, I must say, there aren’t a lot of us cruising over there. We were in Japan for six weeks, cruised nearly the entire eastern coast of Honshu (mainland japan), and the southern coast of Hokkaido, and saw only one non-Japanese boat. Zero boats from Europe. Zero boats from the US. Zero from Canada, etc. We saw one large racing sailboat from Australia, and that’s it. One reason people were so nice to us is that we are so rare. I suspect that at some of the places we visited we were the first foreign private yachts ever to enter the port, in modern times.

It is an incredibly cool feeling just to be in Japan. When people say to me, “Isn’t boating expensive?”, I respond by saying, “What do you think a portable waterfront home should cost?” There is a huge difference in living somewhere, and staying at a hotel. I’ve been going to Japan for over 20 years, mostly on business, and have learned more about Japan by living there on my boat, in just six weeks, than I did during those 20 years. When you are on a boat you see a side of Japan, or whatever country, that tourists never see. I'm not a good enough writer to explain the difference, but being on the boat forces us to deal with a lot of the basic ‘blocking and tackling’ issues of life that you don’t encounter when staying in a hotel, such as: buying groceries, hiring someone to wash the boat, going to the vet, getting a haircut, reading the subway map, etc. Whereas this can be intimidating at times, it can also be fun and educational. This is a little off the subject, but one of the reasons we moved our prior boat to France was that I’m what some would call a Francophile. I have a disproportionate affection for France. I can honestly say that living in France, as opposed to being a tourist, was a real eye-opener. I’m still a Francophile, but the France we lived in is a much different France than I had envisioned, and visited as a tourist. Personally, there's something compelling about the whole notion of owning a home that allows me to ‘sample’ different cultures around the world, and that can be moved once I’m ready for a new experience. I would think that a portable home must be worth more than a house that is nailed to the ground.

I am SERIOUSLY looking forward to cruising Japan next year. I’ve cruised enough to know what I like best. Anyone who follows my blog knows I enjoy trying to discover and understand cultural differences. However, when it comes right down to it, my primary motivation is the time we spend at anchor. I’m seeking warm blue water and white sand beaches, preferably somewhere close to a series of 5-star resorts, world-class golf courses and great restaurants. And of course, a high-speed internet connection! Nothing beats surfing on a remote beach (I mean the kind of surfing you do with a computer…). As you can imagine, we didn’t see a lot of that this year in Alaska, the Aleutians, Russia or even the parts of Japan we’ve been cruising. However, I’ve heard the islands of southern Japan (Okinawa) are referred to as Japan’s version of Hawaii. We’ll be on a much more relaxed pace, and anchoring/swimming/relaxing will all be part of the plan. A fun fact: US Coastline – 12,380 miles. Japan – 18,486 miles. Japan is a series of thousands of islands, many of them with awesome anchorages, just waiting for us to find them.

And, on a completely different topic…

Roberta and I are now at home in Seattle! Our trip home from Japan went quite smoothly, which really did surprise me. When we first planned the GSSR I had serious doubts we would get Shelby into Japan, and if we did, that we’d get her back out. It just didn’t seem possible.

To get Shelby out of Japan we needed a health certificate. Above is Shelby’s health certificate. I have no idea whether or not it says she is healthy. The good news is that this gave us what we needed to get an export permit. It was quite an experience to obtain the actual permission to export Shelby. We took Shelby to the airport, the day before departure, to visit Animal Quarantine. This meant a two hour train ride, each way, with Shelby. Once at the airport, the Animal Quarantine office was buried deep within the airport, in a secure area that few people ever see. We wandered through hallways, and behind doors, that had us feeling like we were in a very strange place. At Animal Quarantine, they gave Shelby far more of a physical than she had received from the vet. It was quite an experience.

We were worried about Shelby being stuck in the cargo hold of an airplane for a long flight. She’s not a young dog, and refuses to eat or drink when we’re not around. To keep it easy on Shelby, we split the flight home into two legs, stopping in Hawaii. This added a huge amount of complexity, because Hawaii is also difficult to get a dog into. We worked with the Humane Shelter in Hawaii to have Shelby go to their facility, just long enough to change planes. We were able to meet her at their office to give her water and food. The people in Hawaii, particularly the humane society, were easy and friendly to deal with, and made the whole experience as enjoyable as it could possibly be.

And, on another completely different topic…

It was very strange leaving Sans Souci alone in Japan. We have dealt with this issue a couple times before. First, when we left her in France, and second, when we left her in Costa Rica. I wasn’t worried in France, because prior to leaving I was able to hire a local mechanic to watch the boat. In Costa Rica, I would have been worried, had I known Sans Souci would be staying for six months, but at the time I thought Sans Souci would be leaving Costa Rica within a few weeks. This is the first time I have knowingly left Sans Souci alone, in a strange country, with huge unknowns as to who would oversee her. I do have a plan in place that I feel good about, but it does contain risk. We are working with an American interpreter, who lives in Japan, who is our ‘point of contact’ in Japan. We’re only a couple weeks in, and he is doing a fantastic job, but the fact of the matter is that he knows very little about boats. He’s a super-smart, very capable person, and someone we are all impressed with, but boats are not simple. I’ve green-lighted him to bring in professionals, as he can find them, but still, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be better if I were there, and could speak the language. I’m sure all is fine, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry. Everyone does something well, and worrying is what I do best.

So, anyway…

In closing…

I’ve decided to go back to my old style of doing the blog, but will be posting my blog entries on the new website (KensOtherBlog.com). I’m not sure how often I’ll post. Not much is happening, so I'll be writing randomly. I’ll go back to my normal website, and its' huge mailing list, once we get closer to being back on the boat. The current message board will still be on the website, so feel free to use it. Over the next few months, each blog entry I write will be sent via email, and posted on www.KensOtherBlog.com, where all of you are invited, and encouraged, to post your comments at the end of each entry. The comments on my blog are usually better than the blog, so keep them coming!

If you haven't been visiting the website, those of you who enjoy technical issues might want to read the following postings on the message board:

- LED lighting on Sans Souci
- Rocna Anchors
- Bulbous bows
- Rudder Design

And, those of you who are curious about Nordhavn boats may want to download the latest copy of Nordhavn’s magazine, Circumnavigator. Lots of great articles, and a look at their latest boats: http://www.nordhavn.com/circumnavigator/circumnavigatorIV.pdf

Thank you!

Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
www.kensblog.com, and www.KensOtherBlog.com

Comment on: Return from Japan

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:33:16 GMT

Hi Ken, Much better. I don't have to squint! :)

Comment on: Return from Japan

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:44:16 GMT

Chris: It was the first blog entry on this website, and I chose too small of a font. How about this size? Is this better? -Ken W

Comment on: Return from Japan

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:19:55 GMT

Ken, Is it just me or is the font you selected very small for this entry!

Comment on: Return from Japan

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:29:56 GMT

Mr. Williams: Interesting blog today. Couple of suggestion: take the time, where ever you are, and visit the local restaurants--the one's the local's visit--as well as the neighborhood shops and stores. Much more interesting than 5 stars!! Also, go to a good map and travel store and get a fold out that shows pictures of various items--steak, shrimp, MD, DDS, hardware store, drug store, etc. The one I have has over 150 different photos and I have yet to not make my wishes/needs known to anyone. Plastic coated and last forever (ok, had mine for 5 years of world wide traveling and it's still useable). Probably find it on line also.

Comment on: Return from Japan

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:27:17 GMT

Bub: You are right! I only have pictures of the other two boats in rough seas. It's tough for me to take a picture of my own boat while underway! Seabird did give me a few pictures that they took, and I included them in one of my blog entries: http://www.kensblog.com/uploads/16765/2009_07_20_kiska/triptychv2.jpg Just before leaving Japan both Seabird and Grey Pearl gave me some pictures of my boat, which I haven't sorted through yet. I'll look tomorrow and see if I can find any pictures. Thank you, -Ken W

Comment on: Return from Japan

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:49:37 GMT

Ken On your sushi run you posted some pictures of Grey Pearl and Seabird in rough water. What I would like to see is Sans Souci pictures in rough water. I visited Grey Pearl and Seabird blogs but only saw pictures of Sans Souci at anchor or pier side. Do you have any and could you post them please. Keep up the great blogging. Thanks Bub

This is an example blog entry

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:03:26 GMT

This is my blog entry