Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Having Fun in Hawaii

Glenda, a Shatoosh crew, is joining me for the first week in Hawaii, on Oahu. I am house sitting on the north shore, right on the water. The swimming has been great, the food wonderful and we joined friends for another visit to La Mariana Sailing Club(LMSC) to hear Ron sing and play the keyboard as many of his friends join in. It is always an amazing evening.























The other day we had an impromptu sail on the big Makani Catamaran.The winds were up and the Molokai channel was rough.

































Na Wahine O Ke Kai  2012

 It also was the day for the ladies(Wahine) outrigger canoe races from Molokai to Oahu. About 40 nm trip.
They started at 0700 hrs. Breaking seas closed out the Haleolono Harbor entrance for the start of the race, but the wahines continued through the breaking surf to get to the starting line.There was a canoe collision which was caught on video and televised on local TV. The winning time was 6 plus hours, however when we arrived at 1500 hrs canoes were still finishing.  The seas were huge for them and often 20 ft. An Aussie wahine told me she has competed in 25 yearly races but this one was the worst.

Stay with this 5 minute video for the start of the race. To think this was just the beginning of a very long day.
You can see several of the capsized canoes and women in the water at the start.. I'm surprised to see they did not cancel the race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xk-ir0ZS1U

News coverage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2R2kt72YIw&feature=related

A closer look
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvEdJlRsSzY&feature=related

After our sail we headed for the beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel and I was there for the Waikiki Yacht Club to finish. You go girls.

The conch is blown for the arrival of each canoe.

WYC canoe arrives


Glenda fixed a nice last supper. We had a wonderful time together and I'm certain she will love to come again. Ahi shasimi, baked sweet potatoes and asparagus.



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Shatoosh Gets A Present

My birder-crew person, Care met me for lunch yesterday and surprised me with a new birding book for Shatoosh. I thought she must be sympathetic for me having such an outdated bird identification book. Actually, her motivation was driven by gratitude for our long standing friendship, now over 47 years and her ability to crew on Shatoosh from time to time. Thanks Care, I will be looking forward to using it with the fall migration of birds to the Puget Sound.
This is her pick of birding books.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Water Shoes

Since arriving in the Salish Sea, I have been having a terrible time walking on the beaches in my old water shoes. I'm not used to the large, slippery, slimy, barnacle encrusted rocks, shells, and driftwood. At times, my ankles have been twisted, crunched and my old shoes are now in shreds. I've been scouting the stores, but haven't found what I want, until today.

My criteria are:

Need support and stability
No leather
Toes and heels protected
Easy on and off
Can be hosed off.
Good in water, rocks, and for short hiking on land

I think I found exactly what I have been looking for.
Made by Alpine Design out of recycled bottles and other plastics. Ghille V style
Bought at Sports Authority, on sale for $29.99.
They are soft and very comfortable.






















I'm headed for another Hawaiian trip to house sit and will definitely try them out. See you in a few weeks. Aloha.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Overhead Chart Rack

One is always looking for extra space on a small boat and I have always thought about this small space created by the hardtop and the existing cockpit/helm area. Could this be used for charts, or Cruising guides?

Today another one of Jim's gifts was installed. I was able to get the first slat installed the other day, but quickly realized that I would need to make a line up jig for the slats and this would be a 2 person job. Care, one of my crew, came to Shatoosh to help me install the slats for my new overhead chart rack.

Thanks again Jim for pre-drilling the holes and sending me the slats. Lucky for me, he had a slat pile that were the exact length I needed left over in his shop. I used 10, but, if needed, I could add slats.


This T-bar helps separate the slats and keep them lined up
so we can drill the holes

The finished slats

The first chart book fits nicely.

The space is 1.5 inches deep and 33.5 inches long.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Galley Extension

Remember my friends, Jim and Patti, from Orcas, Island, Washington. They were in the South Sound cruising on Fox's Secret and we rendezvoused at McMickin Island and Jarrell's Cove. Jim offered to make me several projects when he returned home. It didn't take him long as several packages arrived in the mail the other day and I have been finishing them in my garage.

I went to Shatoosh today to see how the galley extension would fit. Take a Look.



Make sure the tray clears height of mattress.






































Fiddle size and shape can vary















Jim even supplied the piano hinge, the wood screws and the tray leg, which is a removable piece of teak placed between 2 wood blocks.

















Wow, this turned out really nice. Thanks Jim, I really appreciate your generosity and your talent. Lets see what else we can make? I've got our list in my project book.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Tweaking my Toothpaste

My buddy, Too Tall Tom, has sent me a link for RV-space saving and everything ideas, which are applicable to boats,as well.
www.andybaird.com
So in reading some of it, I thought about my toothpaste. Since I moved the toilet paper holder, it took up the space where the toothpaste lived. I wanted a new home for my toothpaste, so while this wasn't in the link, I came up with a new twist for its new home.

Folded over my towel rack and held in place with a large paper clip. This is now a one-handed twist on and off operation. I have to admit it is rather clever and refreshing.