1 October 2011

After the amazing rush of the last few weeks, I can hardly believe that we are now relaxing  in California with my brother, Robert and his wife Christina.

As you know we did most of the packing before driving down to the south island to visit our family in early September. We spent a very enjoyable few days in Gore with Leanne, Shan, Luther and Zeke before heading up to Timaru where we enjoyed Shannon and Dan’s engagement party and a wonderful Sunday morning that we spent with some very dear friends, Moira and Graham.

(Thank you so much Moira and Graham for taking our 12 year old cat Shiva in – I hope she is settling in just fine and has not been chasing any of your chooks!)

Next stop was Kirwee with Dominique, Daryl and Shaun and we based ourselves there for a couple of weeks while Shannon had her hip operation in Christchurch. Thankfully that all seems to have gone really well and she is already off her crutches and is itching to be out and about.

We had loads of family fun there with Leanne and the boys coming up for the last weekend. The boys had a pre-school disco on the Friday night and we had a baby shower for Dominique on the Saturday - only 5 weeks left to go. Let’s hope she has now packed her bag for the hospital!

It is very sad though to see Christchurch in its post earthquake state. From the TV and the other media, it’s really hard to grasp the scale of the devastation and only hope that all will eventually come right and everyone can go back to their normal lives.

People are really enterprising though – just on the next corner from the hospital, sitting on an empty site where obviously a building was demolished, there was a Thai take out - cooking and serving everything out of a caravan! And it was very good too.

Once back in Auckland it was a mad scramble to get the rest of the house packed up and into storage – but we did it and after what seemed like a never ending list of “Things to Do” we evenutally boarded the plane on Thursday afternoon bound for the USA. Thanks Trudi and Michael for the last couple of days and getting us to the airport on time. Many thanks too to Brenda and Pete for the airport send-off! I hope you all enjoyed the rugby on Friday night.

The fly out over Auckland was amazing and we had lovely views over the city, the harbour bridge and up the east coast bays.

And it’s been sunny and warm here – although the evenings are cooler with autumn definitely taking hold. We’ve spent quite a bit of time relaxing and doing some last minute shopping.

Last night we went to an Open Mic session at a local coffee shop where Robert and Christina performed. They do this every Friday and it certainly looks like a lot of fun and a really good idea. Then today we visited Christina’s parents, Ria and Willie, in a town about an hour away from here - it was really good to see them again.

We’re having some issues with cellphones at the moment – we discovered that to use our iphones here was going to cost NZ$1 for each text so we decided that we should rather migrate on to the US networks. We had brought my old Samsung phone with us so we bought a sim card for it from one provider and bought a cheap phone from another provider. But we’re having trouble getting texts through to NZ using the NZ phone and the new sim card, so we’ve now borrowed another US phone to put the sim card into. But still no luck. Lance seems to be having similar issues with the new phone. So a visit back to the appropriate stores mught be on the agenda for tomorrow.

Hopefully we get it all sorted soon as we leave tomorrow night for Baltimore.

2011-10-05 Introduction to Amanzi

Well, finally my feet are back on the ground and I can settle down and relax a bit. After arriving on Monday in Baltimore we got into the hotel (had to wait till a room was available as we arrived long before the official check in time). After settling in (Subway for lunch) we got a taxi down to the boat yard

Spent some time with Jeff of the yard where we have had some minor issues attended to (as found on the survey) and then went and introduced ourselves to our new Lady, Amanzi. It was a cold, grey and miserable day but there she was – floating proud and awaiting our first steps aboard. And, step aboard we did and smiled, and smiled, and smiled. Mary seemed a bit intimidated by her size – seemed huge in comparison to Sanctuary! We spent the next few hours just absorbing the atmosphere and poking around in lockers and engine room and looking at the anchoring system and many other little things.

I didn’t get to starting the motors as I was a bit unsettled by all the switches and dials and also, for the first time, I am being exposed to AC power (shore and generator) and thought it prudent to keep my fingers off the starter buttons until I had had some instruction

We eventually dragged ourselves away just after six and eventually got a taxi – the yard is a bit isolated (being a working yard) and off the main route – and made our way back to the hotel.

And that has been the last time we saw Amanzi No, nothing has happened!! But simply we’ve been so busy with our courses for the last 2 days that we just haven’t had the time to get back to her.

Tomorrow, however, after the boat show we will be meeting our engineer for the afternoon and then the previous owners in the evening

More later!!

5 October 2011 – Womens Only Boat Handling Course

I’ve just spent a wonderful two days doing a “womans only boat handling course” out on the harbour in Baltimore. I was on a very luxurious, very big, 55ft launch!

When we first saw our own boat on Monday afternoon she seemed so much bigger than I expected – but after being on this huge boat I’m sure Amanzi will now seem quite cosy and manageable!

Anyway the course itself was excellent – there were 7 of us on board along with two very experienced lady captains. We seemed to cover everything ie safety, radio techniques, engine room checks, starting the engines, driving the boat, reversing the boat, coming up alongside the dock etc. It was amazing and I have learned so much. I’m now raring to go!!!!!

www.seasenseboating.com

I’ve made some wonderful new friends and we definitely plan to stay in touch. We ended off the day with a graduation cocktail party.

Tomorrow – the Trawler Fest!

7 October 2011 – Crabs!

Think Maryland – think crabs! Crabs seem to feature on every menu here and last night, after a comprehensive run down on the boat’s systems with her previous owners, Hugh and John, we enjoyed a lovely dinner with them at a local restaurant.

Lance had crab cakes (sort of like fritters but rounder) and I had soft crabs. These are crabs that are caught after they have just lost their hard shell, but before their new shell goes hard. I was a bit taken aback at first but the way to eat them is to eat the whole crab!

Both dishes were excellent. Thank you Hugh and John.

2011-10-07 Engines and boats

Well, after 2 days of intensive instruction and hands on practical experience I can now strip a diesel engine down to the bare essentials including removing the injectors and injector pump. It was a great course presented by Bob Smith of American Diesel!!

Held in the luxury of a conference room in the Hyatt Hotel in Baltimore, we (17 students) proceeded to strip the engine down bit by bit. Learned to torque the engine bolts, change the filters,  set the timing and valve clearances and “bleed” the system to remove air bubbles.

Then we wheeled this huge monstrous engine out of the hotel into the loading bay, fuelled her up, attached water for cooling and surprise, surprise, she started on the first press of the started.  We were all rightly proud of ourselves. Hey, I even received a certificate:)

Of course, all this activity didn’t leave much time to even get near Amanzi!!

Finally met with Hugh and John last night and spent a long time going over all the systems and operations. Much to take in but Hugh did a great job of introducing me to almost every nook and cranny of Amanzi as well as answering all my questions. Great Stuff, thanks Hugh and John.

Even got to starting and running the generator and both motors – what sweet purring low rumbles emanated from the exhausts

We only got to bed after midnight after the orientation and then a delightful dinner as Mary has already mentioned.

Today, we went out shopping for “stuff” that we want on Amanzi to personalise her and then spent the afternoon starting to move on board (still in the hotel though) and sort things out the way we want them.

Then also met Trey, the listing broker who sold us the boat and Andy, our engineer who has been attending to a few small issues and alteration I have requested.

Of course, as always in boating, nothing is ever as simple as it at first appears!! andy is installing new throttle controls for me and it appears that another part – a selector switch – is needed to make the throttles work correctly. Another one for the learning curve

Now, once again it’s midnight and time to say cheers till next time.

2011-10-12 Living aboard

Finally moved aboard 3 days ago and have been living aboard since then and loving it. It’s been hectic to say the least!! Imagine moving into a new apartment and essentially trying to completely fit it out with all you need for living – bedding, pillows, towels, crocery, cutlery, and the myriad of other things that one needs for relatively comfortable living.

Then there’s the question of finding place for everything and remembering where you put it.

Add to that a trip to the Annapolis boat show to look at dinghy’s, outboard motors, and a host of other things for the boat.

Slowly the boat is getting tidier and cleaner – Mary is doing a sterling job of getting us shipshape while I have been busy sorting our the tools – they all are very rusty and inventorying the mechanical stuff; repairing a leaky tap and a leaking drain from the sink. Simple jobs but time consuming. For instance, the sink required a new drain attachment which we bought. Then I found that I had to replace the other one (in the double sink) as well. So this entailed 2 8km trips to the Home Depot Store for the various parts. And so it’s been with a number of other things – mostly entailing multiple trips to the shops!!

I think I have had enough “retail therapy” to last a few years but there’s still more to get.

and we haven’t even started on the groceries – “provisions” – for our trip down the ICW!!!!

And with boats there’s always something that takes longer than usual!! New throttle controls require an additional part that has to be ordered in and so the delays mount up. Need to install davits for the dinghy but have to wait for them to be manufactured and then shipped to me! Delays, delays.

Still, overall, I’m giving everything a 10/10

13 October 2011 – Annapolis Boat Show / Ship Shape

Where do the days go? It seems we’ve hardly woken up in the morning and then before we know it it’s the end of the day. We’ve been really busy of course so I guess that has something to do with it.

As Lance mentioned, on Saturday we headed down to Annapolis for the huge sailboat show. The motor boat show is only this weekend but the things we were looking for would have been at both.

We managed to find parking quite easily but had to cross a drawbridge and wait while it was raised for a sailboat or two to pass through. We’ll see lots more of these bridges as we make our way down the ICW but from the water point of view!

The show was great, the weather was fantastic and we managed to get a lot of what we wanted. It was also very busy – look at the photo of the dinghy dock. Not quite sure how you’re meant to scramble over the other dinghys to get to your own!

Today was the first time we haven’t headed off to the shops for something or other – the weather was pretty wet and so we just worked on or inside the boat. I have to say that things are pretty well organised now and mostly everything is now ship shape.

I feel that I can now start to relax a bit.

2011-10-14 De-naming of Lafayette Venture ll

Yes, it’s goodbye to Lafayette Venture ll – Sadly for Hugh and John who owned her for the past 22 years.

Now its time for her to embark on new adventures under new owners and a new name.

First however is the de-naming ceremony which entails removing the name from the boat, then appeasing Neptune, then applying the new name followed by a naming ceremony.

First, the removal of the name:

PS
How do you remove a name that’s been painted on a boat without damaging the underlying gelcoat? With difficulty, it seems – but there is a fairly easy way!! First, forget about paint strippers and the like as they will eat into the gelcoat. So, how? Well, I used a tip I picked up from the Cruiser’s forums – Spray the old painted name with heavy duty oven cleaner – yes, that’s right, oven cleaner. I used Easy Off. Spray it on, let it dry, use a nylon kitchen scourer to wipe what you can off. Then repeat 2-3 times and it will all, almost magically, come off. Just need to use a bit of old fashioned elbow grease for a few stubborn spots.

Be warned that the oven cleaner will discolour the gelcoat yellowish. Then, I used Chlorox bleach to bleach the yellow and, voila – a name easily removed!

14 October 2011 – Visitors’ Book

When we got married (all those years ago ) my parents gave us a Visitors’ Book to keep track of all our family and friends who came to visit and stay over the years - it certainly makes for interesting reading.

Well we decided to bring it along on our trip and plan to ask anyone dropping by Amanzi to sign it.

Last night we had our first visitor – Dave from his sailboat Mary Lee. We first met Dave a few days ago – he is from Northern Idaho and like us bought a boat here in Baltimore. He is also heading down the ICW to Florida, as are several other boaties in the marina. Once we all leave here we’ll no doubt meet up somewhere or other down the line.

Dave has an amazing amount of determination and get up and go – having been laid up for 5 years with a severe back injury he decided he needed to be up and doing something. Earlier this year a friend told him that he could either have pain and sit and watch TV all day or he could have pain and live life. So he drove across the US and has been here about a month working to get Mary Lee ship shape and ready for his trip. He is hoping to one day sail on through the Panama Canal and who knows may even head to New Zealand.

We wish him fair weather and a great trip and we’ll look forward to staying in touch with him – and yes, Dave became our first entry in this section of our visitors’ book.

2011-10-16 Amanzi Name Graphics

Today we applied the new name graphics We brought them from NZ where our friend Ian had designed and produced them for us – STUNNING!!

It seemed to take the most part of the day what with washing and cleaning the fibreglass in preparation for the graphics. Then, place the graphic for positioning and mark the spot. Then apply soapy water to the area as well as to the graphic. Finally peel the graphic from the cover, apply soapy water and then place graphic onto boat. Lastly wait for it to dry and painstakingly remove the backing while ensuring that all bubbles are removed from underneath the vinyl graphic.

Last thing is to stand back and admire it. then repeat whole process fro two more graphics.

In between all this, chat with Dave for a while, have lunch and chill.

At the end of the day, sit back on the deck with a beer in hand and watch the big cruise ship leave port!

Next will be to have the official “naming” ceremony.

2011-10-18 New Dinghy arrives

The new dinghy (dink) arrived before the weekend as expected after we made the purchase at the Annapolis boat show. We were so busy that we only got around to unpacking her now.

Well, how does a dinghy arrive from the manufacturer? Fully inflated  and ready to go you would think. Not so!!! Here’s a photo of what she looks like when ready to go:

 

All pretty and inflated, just raring to go!

And this is what she lookied like prior to pumping her up:

Now, there’s a big difference between the two and you can’t see it. It’s about a thousand strokes of the hand pump needed to inflate it to 0.25 bar (or 3.6 psi as we now have to use US measurements). Well it should be about a 1000 strokes but if you don’t ensure that the valve is closed before you start pumping, then it will cost you another 600 strokes after all the air rushes out after disconnecting the pump. And how do I know this? Well, figure it out!

Finally, this is what she looked like after being dropped off by the shipping company.

I had to borrow a sabre saw to cut all the wooden crating away – without damaging the dink in the process, Then we had to cart all the pieces of wood and dump it in the dumpster. Then Mary and I together lifted the 135lb dink onto the trolley to take down to Amanzi.

And all the while, one of the marina’s staff members stood by and watched!!! Not even an inkling of a thought to help with anything! Although, to be fair, he did organise me the sabre saw.

2011-10-21 Official naming of Amanzi

Where does the time go? Although we applied the names to Amanzi a while ago, it was only 2 days ago that we held the official “naming” ceremony.

We enjoyed the company of Dave (Mary Lee), Steve and Linda (Yesterday’s Dream) and Chris and Kate(who are renovating a 30′ sailboat). Mary performed the ceremony on the bow – just pouring the champagne over the bow – none of this breaking the bottle – and then we all proceeded to share the rest with Neptune.

After that we enjoyed a great BBQ with Steve providing some great tasting pork ribs; Dave some more supplicant to the Gods and us providing different salads. All in all it was a great evening as we enjoyed great company, good food and a beautiful autumn evening.