Thought For The Day - To me, nothing made by man is more beautiful than a sailboat under way in fine weather, and to be on that sailboat is to be as close to heaven as I expect to get. It is unalloyed happiness. - Robert Manry, author, Tinkerbelle
Couldn't have agreed more, especially seeing a couple of sailboats underway enjoying the fine weather this past weekend. Unfortunately, we're not moving right now due to a problem with one of our engines that El Capitan will get around to fixing one of these days.
On a more somber note, I recently read about a boat boarding at Yachting and Boating World, one of the boating forums I monitor. Although this happened at Swansea, England, it could happen anywhere. In short, the guy awoke shortly after 6 AM and discovered two guys had opened the patio doors and were proceeding to burglarize the boat. He interrupted them, but they made off with his DVD and TV. He now locks his doors at night. Several other boats around him were burglarized also. Visit Pamcom Security and stay safe.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Thought For The Day - "The cabin of a small yacht is truly a wonderful thing; not only will it shelter you from a tempest, but from the other troubles in life, it is a safe retreat." - L. Francis Herreshoff
One of the things I enjoy most about this crazy cruising life I lead is that you never know what will happen next. Today is a perfect example. We got up, went to church, visited a fellow cruiser in the hospital (he returned to his boat later today I'm glad to report) and returned to the boat planning to read the Sunday newspaper out in the cockpit while we enjoyed the beautiful fall air. However, on the way to the boat we learned that they were going to film a scene for an episode of "America's Most Wanted" right on our dock.
You might recall that the pier we're on is approximately 1,000 feet long and is substantial enough to drive cars on. There are about 10 piers of that length in this area because it used to be a Navy mothball fleet storage site. They set up a camera on the pier directly across from our boat, so at least the boat may get her 15 minutes of fame when this is shown on TV, assuming the editing room doesn't cut her out first. After we were alerted that they were about to begin we heard cars approaching very fast. Indeed, they passed by our boat doing at least 70 mph. It was an SUV being chased by a cop car. They did this about 4 times before they were satisfied with the take.
After they shot this scene, the actors and camera crew moved over to another pier where they were going to film a chase scene followed by a scene in which the SUV is driven into the water. This chase scene involved the cop car stopping at the entrance to the pier then the cop getting out and running after the SUV which was speeding down the pier. Again, they filmed several takes before they were happy.
Now for the SUV going in the water. Unlike the previous scenes, this one took a good bit of setting up. They had built a short ramp over which the vehicle would go into the water. They took all precautions to obey EPA regulations including removing the engine and any parts that could discharge oil. Since the SUV had no engine, it was attached to a truck via cable. The idea was the truck would start pulling the SUV, which contained 2 dummies, and once the SUV got up to speed, it would roll right up the ramp and into the water. They had all sorts of real and fake policemen, real firemen, and other safety officials on hand.
While we were waiting, we talked to the real policeman who had apprehended one of the criminals when this crime happened back in July. After the SUV ran off the end of the road into the water, he had jumped in the water, swam across the river and up the bank before he caught the passenger of the vehicle. The driver, unfortunately, got away and is still at large. The cop was playing himself in the episode and was driving the police car in the second chase scene.
After more setting up, including maneuvering a crane into place to raise the SUV after its dunking, again to please the EPA, all was finally ready for filming. Everything went off without a hitch. The truck started the SUV rolling, the SUV went up over the ramp into the water with a large splash, then the 2 divers in wetsuits, who were playing the criminals, swam away from the sinking vehicle. The real cop, mentioned above, reprised his role and jumped into the water in an attempt to apprehend the "criminals".
Since a stiff breeze was chilling us to the bone, we didn't hang around for the crane to raise the SUV from the depths, but returned to our boat on our bicycles. Enough excitement for one day. Stay safe.
One of the things I enjoy most about this crazy cruising life I lead is that you never know what will happen next. Today is a perfect example. We got up, went to church, visited a fellow cruiser in the hospital (he returned to his boat later today I'm glad to report) and returned to the boat planning to read the Sunday newspaper out in the cockpit while we enjoyed the beautiful fall air. However, on the way to the boat we learned that they were going to film a scene for an episode of "America's Most Wanted" right on our dock.
You might recall that the pier we're on is approximately 1,000 feet long and is substantial enough to drive cars on. There are about 10 piers of that length in this area because it used to be a Navy mothball fleet storage site. They set up a camera on the pier directly across from our boat, so at least the boat may get her 15 minutes of fame when this is shown on TV, assuming the editing room doesn't cut her out first. After we were alerted that they were about to begin we heard cars approaching very fast. Indeed, they passed by our boat doing at least 70 mph. It was an SUV being chased by a cop car. They did this about 4 times before they were satisfied with the take.
After they shot this scene, the actors and camera crew moved over to another pier where they were going to film a chase scene followed by a scene in which the SUV is driven into the water. This chase scene involved the cop car stopping at the entrance to the pier then the cop getting out and running after the SUV which was speeding down the pier. Again, they filmed several takes before they were happy.
Now for the SUV going in the water. Unlike the previous scenes, this one took a good bit of setting up. They had built a short ramp over which the vehicle would go into the water. They took all precautions to obey EPA regulations including removing the engine and any parts that could discharge oil. Since the SUV had no engine, it was attached to a truck via cable. The idea was the truck would start pulling the SUV, which contained 2 dummies, and once the SUV got up to speed, it would roll right up the ramp and into the water. They had all sorts of real and fake policemen, real firemen, and other safety officials on hand.
While we were waiting, we talked to the real policeman who had apprehended one of the criminals when this crime happened back in July. After the SUV ran off the end of the road into the water, he had jumped in the water, swam across the river and up the bank before he caught the passenger of the vehicle. The driver, unfortunately, got away and is still at large. The cop was playing himself in the episode and was driving the police car in the second chase scene.
After more setting up, including maneuvering a crane into place to raise the SUV after its dunking, again to please the EPA, all was finally ready for filming. Everything went off without a hitch. The truck started the SUV rolling, the SUV went up over the ramp into the water with a large splash, then the 2 divers in wetsuits, who were playing the criminals, swam away from the sinking vehicle. The real cop, mentioned above, reprised his role and jumped into the water in an attempt to apprehend the "criminals".
Since a stiff breeze was chilling us to the bone, we didn't hang around for the crane to raise the SUV from the depths, but returned to our boat on our bicycles. Enough excitement for one day. Stay safe.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Thought For The Day - The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do. - Ted Nelson
I decided a quote on computers would be appropriate considering we've just solved our ongoing internet problem on this boat. This marina has T1 internet service included in the monthly rent. This sounds great until you face the reality of splitting a very weak signal. How can a T1 signal be weak? Well, this marina is composed of one very long dock (over 1,000 feet) as it used to be used by the U.S. Navy for storing a mothball fleet. The signal must travel about a quarter mile from the office to the dock, then down the developed portion of the dock (another 700 feet or so). We're sitting about midway down the dock, so, even though they've installed a signal amplifier further down the dock, we don't get the benefit of that and we're on the edge of the unamplified signal coming from the office.
We've been able to run one computer off the signal from the dock successfully by lowering the connection speed on the computer, but the signal was too weak to be split by a router so that we could run 2 computers off of it. I think we must have tried 4 or 5 different routers and hubs, but none would run at the lower speed the computers were set to. Until today when we finally tried a 5-port Network Everywhere hub made by Linksys which would run at the lower speed. Funny thing is that not only are we now running both computers off the line, but the connection speed is faster. Now we can both do our parts to replenish the cruising kitty. Stay safe.
I decided a quote on computers would be appropriate considering we've just solved our ongoing internet problem on this boat. This marina has T1 internet service included in the monthly rent. This sounds great until you face the reality of splitting a very weak signal. How can a T1 signal be weak? Well, this marina is composed of one very long dock (over 1,000 feet) as it used to be used by the U.S. Navy for storing a mothball fleet. The signal must travel about a quarter mile from the office to the dock, then down the developed portion of the dock (another 700 feet or so). We're sitting about midway down the dock, so, even though they've installed a signal amplifier further down the dock, we don't get the benefit of that and we're on the edge of the unamplified signal coming from the office.
We've been able to run one computer off the signal from the dock successfully by lowering the connection speed on the computer, but the signal was too weak to be split by a router so that we could run 2 computers off of it. I think we must have tried 4 or 5 different routers and hubs, but none would run at the lower speed the computers were set to. Until today when we finally tried a 5-port Network Everywhere hub made by Linksys which would run at the lower speed. Funny thing is that not only are we now running both computers off the line, but the connection speed is faster. Now we can both do our parts to replenish the cruising kitty. Stay safe.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Thought For The Day - Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
Pete Seeger
One of the things I like most about cruising is that you never know what you'll see on any given day. Even sitting in a marina, as we are now, things change every day, especially when you're near working industrial docks. They're putting in floating docks in our marina, and a dragline on a barge has been busily setting the posts that anchor these docks. Today I learned how the barge that carries the dragline anchors itself. It has 2 large steel posts on it which extend through the barge. The dragline raises or lowers these posts one at a time. When lowered, these posts anchor the barge. The barge was originally over by one of the large piers, and I had wondered why it didn't move considering there were no lines from it to the dock. Now I know.
Stay safe.
Pete Seeger
One of the things I like most about cruising is that you never know what you'll see on any given day. Even sitting in a marina, as we are now, things change every day, especially when you're near working industrial docks. They're putting in floating docks in our marina, and a dragline on a barge has been busily setting the posts that anchor these docks. Today I learned how the barge that carries the dragline anchors itself. It has 2 large steel posts on it which extend through the barge. The dragline raises or lowers these posts one at a time. When lowered, these posts anchor the barge. The barge was originally over by one of the large piers, and I had wondered why it didn't move considering there were no lines from it to the dock. Now I know.
Stay safe.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Though For the Day -
Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.
-Richard L Evans
Had some land-based friends over for dinner last night, and they seem enchanted with the idea of actually being invited to someone's home for a meal. How different from the cruising community where it's not uncommon to go to another boat for drinks or dinner. Cruising really allows people to get back to the basics in life including sharing the gift of friendship. Stay safe.
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