To Peel or not to Peel?

I remember the first time my computer got a 'virus'.  It was my freshman year of college and the dawn of the computer age.  One day while typing away on page nine or ten of a fifteen page essay, the screen on my computer suddenly went black while white squiggly lines danced across it.  "What the...?" I said under my breath in confusion as I started frantically hitting keys.  A half hour later one of the "techie" guys on our floor confirmed it:  my computer had a virus.  "What do you MEAN my computer has a "virus"?!?" I asked accusingly.  I literally could not wrap my head around the fact that a piece of equipment could get 'sick'.  It just didn't make sense.

While I don't remember the first time I heard about boat blisters, I remember having a similar reaction.  "What!?!  Boat's get BLISTERS?!" I mean, that just seemed weird.

A "gelplane" for gelcote peeling

The short answer, is yes:  boats can get blisters.  Like a blister on your heel, a boat blister is a raised bubble filled with fluid.  They are certainly not uncommon, nor are they the end of the world, but you do want to take care of them for they have the potential to hurt you and, if left unattended, they only get worse.  Blisters on a boat (usually) occur below the waterline when the sneaky water molecule permeates the paint, gelcote and (ultimately) the fiberglass.  Water and fiberglass react, causing a little science project otherwise known as "osmosis", to occur on your hull.  I'm no expert, but from what I understand when fiberglass gets wet, it gets weak and you should fix it. To fix it you must remove all the layers of paint and gelcote in order to expose the fiberglass underneath.  There are a number of ways to do this; paying a professional to do it with a handheld powered planing tool is the more expensive (and significantly easier) one.

When we did the marine survey on our new boat, the surveyor uncovered some areas of moisture in both the deck and the keel.  While he saw no indication of blistering of the hull*, he strongly suggested we peel the bottom of the boat down to the fiberglass to see what we found.  The owner of the boat yard said the bottom looked okay, that we might be able to get away with sanding and a few more coats of bottom paint but he said there was definitely "something" going on.

Hmmm...what to do?

Peeling and repainting is not a cheap project (about $12K for a 44 foot boat), but luckily we negotiated the price of the boat down to compensate for this.  Never prone to skimping when it comes to caring for our boat(s); instead of "pocketing" the saved money, we decided to peel the hull.  Agressive?  Perhaps. While nary a blister was uncovered, there was an area of wet fiberglass in the keel that needs to be cut out, re-glassed (essentially built back up) and faired (smoothed out).  It was a good thing we peeled.  We now know exactly what we are dealing with and the 'problem' is easily fixed.

Now that the fiberglass is exposed, we let the boat "dry out" for about thirty days (our hull has very little moisture in it, so thirty should suffice) with periodic fresh water rinses in between to draw out moisture (yeah, seems counter-intuitive, but it works).  The yard will then do weekly checks with a moisture meter to determine the dryness of the hull.  Once the hull is dry, they will re-apply the gelcote and bottom paint.  If you paint your boat before you let a wet hull dry out properly, you will have a virtual blister party on your bottom.  No one wants a blister party on their bottom, no one.

Asante with her bottom peeled.

A closer look at her bottom.   Cheeky monkey!

Moral of the story:  a blister on the bottom of a boat isn't going to respond to a band-aid any more than a computer virus is going to respond to an antibiotic. 

Here's a more scientific and explanatory article on the blister issue for those interested.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

* Like bourbon and whiskey, not all boats with osmosis have blisters, but all boats with blisters have osmosis.

An Olympic Sighting

I love the Olympic Games.  Love, love, LOVE them.  I love the sport, the stories, the moments...as someone who has been a competitive athlete most of her life, there is something so special about the camaraderie of a team, the spirit of competition, and the excitement of success.  With each event I watch my heart beats a little harder in familiar anticipation of the gun, my breath quickens as I recall the heightened nerves before a race, and my eyes well with tears at the tug-at-your-heartstrings tales of overcoming impossible odds and incredible triumph.

One such story is that of Kirani James, the Grenadian running sensation who won the Gold in the men's 400 meters during London's 2012 games, marking the first medal ever to be won for Grenada.  Kirani fever ran deep in Grenada while we were there.  His home town of Gouyave (now dubbed "Kirani town") is a favorite of ours, and when Kirani won the 2011World Championship in Korea, the island came alive with glory and support.  "Pride" does not even begin to describe what the locals feel for their champion.  He has put Grenada on the map. He has shown his island nation to the world.  He has achieved greatness and, no doubt, inspired a generation of Grenadian's to aim high and reach for the stars.

As I was watching the games last night, they did an informative side story about Kirani and his home nation of Grenada.  As I watched, I smiled as I saw familiar places and vistas, but imagine my surprise when I saw a familiar face! Sure enough, there on the television I see the unmistakable and beautiful smile of my most favorite market lady, Theresa.  The same woman who I saw and chatted with at least weekly.  I call her the "mayor of the market" and have always told her what a great face she has.  I mean, isn't her face great? She is going to trip when I show her that the above image of her was seen by millions of people around the world.  They don't get the NBC Olympic coverage down there so I'm sure she has no idea.

Theresa and I in February 2012

The Olympics never cease to amaze and inspire me.  Congrats to Kirani and to beautiful Grenada!  You've always been GOLD to us!

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Freedive

"Humans are suspended in this interesting place between man-made and organic. We have an almost instinctive impulse to revisit nature, to return to water, to seek balance with the world"

- Chelsea Stephen & Uto Iha

Freediving is a form of diving whence the diver attempts to achieve great depths on a single breath. There are no snorkels, no dive tanks and no breathing apparati to assist; just the power of the swimmer's lungs and stamina of their body.  My sister, Chelsea, who's passion for the ocean runs deeper than anyone I know, developed a love of freediving when she lived in the Bahamas.  Some of you who follow this blog and our Facebook Page closely might even know that she is also an artist...

This week in Portland, Oregon her artistic installation Freedive has opened and it is amazing.  An adamant subscriber of the mantra "reduce, reuse, recycle" her labor of love is a true vision created by 751 plastic bottles, 674 glass bottles, and 31 gallons of water.  Her talent as a visionary and artist is incredible to me.  If any of you are in the Portland area this month, check it out at Good: A Gallery at 4325 N. Mississippi Ave.  If not, check out the pictures below and be sure to visit her Tumblr page to see her brilliance on a regular basis.

"Freedive is a mystifying underwater snapshot that will take your breath away. The immediate message is simple: with some attention our trash can be transformed into beautiful resources. Upon diving deeper, it's less about trash-to-treasure and more about the desire to return to a more natural order."

 Chelsea, I love you. You never cease to amaze and inspire me.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Depth Sounding, Old School...

My uncle Bob dropped off this pretty little relic of the past yesterday.  It might not look like much, but this device is a sounding lead and it was used for navigation by the ships of yesteryear to take bottom samples and, most importantly, take depth readings.  As with many early innovations, it is perfectly simple in it's design and execution: a three pound weight (or 'lead' as they are called) is attached to a line.  The weight (which has a hole on the underside to collect bottom samples) was then cast over the side of the boat by a "leadsman" and when it hit the bottom, he would yell out what depth read on the line.  Knots in the line mark certain depths in fathoms and "Mark twain" ('twain' being 'two' in Old English), for example, was the call for two fathoms (and the inspiration for the pen name of Samuel Clemens, himself a former Mississippi river pilot).  A lead much like the one pictured was what Columbus used to bring his ships to the shore of the new world.  A similar contraption made sure Magellan's ships didn't run aground.  This little pice of metal and line had quite a responsibility.

Items like this are a nice reminder that before we all became so reliant on technology and obsessed with gadgets, there was another way.  While I certainly benefit from and love technology, I do tend to think that the ease in which we do everything nowadays and our dependence on the push of a button is atrophying our minds to think in other ways...I think that's why I love cruising - because no matter how many gadgets you have, there will come a time when you must revert to some old school logic.  What do you think?

Love

Brittany, Scott & Isla

Coffee, Anyone? The Aeropress Coffeemaker

On Rasmus, Scott and I were tea drinkers.  This was not by design (despite the fact that my mom is British and I was raised on tea), but by default.  We left with a French press and had planned on making delicious, fresh coffee to keep us up during those wee-hour night shifts and jump start our lazy mornings in sleepy anchorages, however that didn't last long.

The first (and only) time we used our French Press was on the Erie Canal.  I remember it well.  I don't remember the coffee, mind you, but what I do remember is the mess I had to clean up afterwards.  Those coffee grounds clung to that French Press for dear life and it took a tremendous amount of water to clean the contraption and rinse all of the rogue coffee grounds out of the sink.  On a boat where water is a precious commodity, I deemed at that moment that we would be tea drinkers.  And tea drinkers we were, until now.

I get a lot of emails from marketing companies and such offering us free products, gizmos and/or offering payment in return for blogging about their resorts or companies.  Most of the time, I don't accept (when I do, I tell you).  If the company or product is not something I have had personal experience with or would use myself, I politely decline.  But when the folks at Aerobie contacted me about their AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker I thought twice before I said "no thanks" - and I am so glad I did.  This thing is the BOMB!  French press, move over!  The AreoPress is in town!

Long story short, I am now a coffee making fool.  If you pay us a visit these days, you get a cuppa joe made by yours truly - I love it that much.  My dad is particularly fond of this arrangement, being that he loves coffee and I now love to make it.  It's easy, it requires no power, it takes up hardly any space, and it's good.  Really good.  Perfect for the boat.

The Aeropress works similarly to a French Press, but without the mess.  You put the fine-ground coffee into the big plastic cylinder, set it atop a coffee mug, top off the plastic cylinder with boiling water, mix for 10 seconds and then push down the steaming contents with the plunger-type insert until you bottom out at the filter.  What results in the mug is one seriously tasty cup of coffee.  Depending on the coffee-to-water ratio, you can make espressos, lattes or whatever type of brew your heart desires.  The best part?  The used up coffee grounds just pop out of the bottom into a garbage can and one quick rinse later, you're good to go again.  It is so easy.  If my instructions baffle you, check out this Youtube Video on how to use it.

I can PROMISE you, this is one product that will make it on to the new boat.  As for my dad, he's now a total convert and has an AeroPress on order for his boat.  And now I have to run, dad is watching the olympics and has requested his "evening cup"!

(Note: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED)

And now for the giveaway! Aerobie will send an Aeropress to one of you fine followers!! Here's how you can register to win (c'mon you know the drill!):

1. Comment on this post telling me why you love coffee (you will notice I have removed captcha and made it easy for you!)
2. Share our blog with like-minded family and friends; you can do this one of two ways:
   1. Share us in your own blog in the form of a post or send a link to our blog in an email (make sure you copy us on the email so we know you did it and can enter you!)
   2. AND/OR Share our Facebook Page by clicking "SHARE" on the link to this post and commenting below it.(Don't forget to comment or else I might not see that you shared us!)

BONUS:  If you do all three (i.e. share by email, blog post and share our FB page, you will be entered three times and therefore increase your odds of winning!)

Once you do one of the above, you will be entered to win! I will draw the winner on Monday and I seriously cannot wait to get one of you guys this awesome coffeemaker - you will NOT be disappointed!

Happy Brewing!

You Can't Reason with the Hurricane Season

While hurricane season "officially" began June 1st, it is September that is the month that keeps most cruisers and Caribbean locals on their toes, for this is the month that, historically, packs a punch in the form of tropical waves, storms and - of course - hurricanes.

Last year, Scott and I decided to spend hurricane season in Grenada.  There were a couple reasons for this: first of all, Grenada is a magnificent island that has plenty to offer the live-aboard cruiser during those hot, muggy months of idleness.  Secondly, it is considered out of the hurricane box.  Discovered in the 1970's by Paul Hebert, this "box" (one of two in the Caribbean sea) is an area covering 335 square miles where most hurricanes that continue to Florida tend to pass through.  The key word is most.  Need I remind anyone of Hurricane Ivan in 2004?

As of yesterday afternoon - there was a storm brewing out in the Atlantic that had a 70% chance of becoming a Tropical Storm Ernesto (it has since become "Tropical Depression 5" and is expected to reach Tropical Storm Status tonight) and a similar chance of passing directly over Grenada.  Our former home, the Port Louis Marina set into motion their hurricane action plan and people were getting ready for a potential hit.  While this development was not unheard of, it was definitely unusual.  Usually storms head North.  Usually they track clear of Grenada.  Usually we don't need to worry.  Sigh.  Weather, however, has a way of throwing curve balls at us; harsh reminders that we are just passengers and not the drivers of this big round bus.

Not going to lie, being prone to worry myself, I was very nervous.  Not only do we have many friends in Grenada, but Scott is down there and scheduled to sail with twelve passengers and his crew of six on Friday, the day this storm is expected to hit.  Luckily, Scott is not prone to worry. "There is no fear in a Captain.  You just do what needs to be done" was his response to my anxious text yesterday morning.   The company he works for has procedures in place for situations like this and, if necessary, they will delay departure while Scott and the crew storm prep the ship and bring her to her storm mooring in a protected anchorage.  Safety is always first at sea.  I am confident he will be fine, he is an excellent captain with a very experienced and competent crew.  But still...

This, my friends, is one of the down sides of cruising.

Many (but not all!) cruisers in the area prepared for the storm.  The prudent ones removed their sails, doubled up lines, added chafe protection and secured the decks, and the really prudent ones even tucked themselves up into the mangroves.  While the current models suggest this storm will miss Grenada entirely - which is a huge relief - all of that preparation was not done in vain, for when it comes to life afloat, it is always better to be safe than sorry.  Hoping those that do lie in the storm's path are safe.

"In a storm at sea, luck is highly biased to the sailor who has a plan." 

- Lin and Larry Pardy

In case you are curious - weather sites we like and use are the following:
www.wunderground.com
www.passageweather.com
www.noaa.gov
www.intellicast.com

When we are underway and without internet - we love the weather reporting/routing from Chris Parker over the SSB (single side band long-range radio).

New Boat Pictures: Our Brewer 44

Our new boat, a Brewer 44

Many of you have asked for pictures of our new boat.  Here are some photos of her from her listing on Yachtworld.  Hope you enjoy!  She sure is a beauty, isn't she?

Her two-tone deck is beautiful

The port side salon, looking aft to the u-shaped galley

The starboard salon, we are converting the two seats to a single settee.

Another view of the salon 

The very well thought out U-shaped galley, great storage and access to the fridge/freezer

The navigation station

The walk through to the aft stateroom, tons of storage and to-die-for engine access to the right.

The aft stateroom with it's king size berth, you can sleep both fore to aft or athwartship 

The aft cabin head

The spacious v-berth with tons of storage

The 'guest' head

Love,

Brittany, Scott & Isla