Archive for » 2009 «
Saturday, August 08th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
The crew woke up to a great, yet hot, day with nice 12-15 mph winds. Some defining moments from Saturday:
- Started with a hearty breakfast
- Matt watched his wedding band slip of his freshly sun-screened hand and go kerplunk in the murky, muddy water at the slip! We assumed it was gone forever and made peace with the loss.
- Discovered new marina neighbor, Steve (who Christie coincidentally had met while running boat errands a few months ago and who happen to have bought a Pearson 365 that we looked at before buying our beloved, Kaleo!)
- Our surveyor (who we highly recommend if you need the best) and sailing friend/mentor, Drake Epple, stopped by to say hi. It’s always a treat to see him and we look forward to him joining us for a sail soon.
- Explored the treasure trove, Boaters Resale Shop of Texas, near our marina
- A great sail in the Bay with enough heel to make us all a little nervous, spotted lots of jelly fish hanging out and kicked back with lunch, fun chats and discovered our new favorite sailing channel on Pandora
- Saw a freshly sunk boat just outside of the channel with the captain still aboard and coast guard just arriving
- Jeph spotted a net to which he suggested dredging for the lost ring. On the 6th shot, Jeph nonchalantly announced, “this is the one guys”, Matt said a little prayer and the next thing we knew, Matt was spraying water through the mud to discover his ring the net! The pictures show Matt’s excitement and amazement.
- The guys spent the rest of the afternoon fitting the test companionway doors while the girls took a nap below in the cool A/C.
- We had a great dinner at Skippers, and then we went for a night motor (our 1st time to leave the slip after dark & navigate out of the channel). It was also our 1st time to see ocean phosphorescence lighting up the waves light underwater fireflies!
- Deck Schwab RedBeard even entertained us with a little recorder performance.
Category: Friends, Refit, Sailing
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Saturday, August 08th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
This weekend we hosted our first overnight couple and great friends, Jeph & Amy aboard Kaleo!
A few highlights from Friday:
- Road trippin’ in Ph’s BMW, “Beverly”
- Creating our pirate names (Deck Schwab RedBeard, 1st Mate Knuckles, Captain Stinky Feet, Admiral Christiana)
- Dinner at The Aquarium and walk around Kemah Boardwalk (shocked at feverishly feeding catfish)
Category: Friends, Sailing
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Thursday, August 06th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
Today the first parts of our data network arrived, two Furuno FI-50 displays. These will be the primary displays for critical information in the cockpit.
The one on the left is a three-line digital display that will show water depth, speed, water temp & various other bits of navigation data. The one on the right will show the wind speed & direction relative to the bow of the boat. This will be great because right now we have to look at the windex on the mast to tell what direction it’s blowing, which makes for a sore neck by the end of the day.
Category: Electronics, Furuno, Refit
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Monday, August 03rd, 2009 / Christie & Matt
I got the garage cleaned out from the move and am building a workbench. That way I can “work” on Kaleo while in Dallas.
First projects slated to hit the bench: rebuilding the watermaker and building companionway doors from teak.
Category: Refit
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Saturday, July 25th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
Our good friend, Maurice, joined us today for a great sail and to help Matt with some boat maintenance. We started the day by hoisting our captain up the mast to diagnose navigation light issues, went out for an afternoon sail (Maurice even took the wheel for the majority the time) and then wrapped up with the 1st oil change and relaxed over dinner and chats. 
Category: Friends, Maintenance, Sailing
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Monday, July 20th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
Straight from Sweden. Our friend Jenny, who works for Sony Ericsson, sent us a sweet backpack & shirt from her adventures in Marstrand (a port of call in The Volvo Ocean Race).
The shirt is that great wicking material & it just looks racy. I’m going to want to put Kaleo’s rail in the water & sail fast every time I wear this. Though I do feel a little bad wearing this gear since I was cheering for team Puma, who took 2nd behind Ericsson 4, throughout the race.
Thanks Jenny for the great gear!
Category: Friends, Gear
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Thursday, July 16th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
The first sign of a tropical depression in the Atlantic popped up on my RSS reader from the National Hurricane Center!
I am praying for a mild hurricane season. I just can’t stand the thought of Kaleo sitting out a storm while we are stuck in Dallas.
Category: Weather
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Sunday, July 12th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
I inflated the dinghy in the garage this afternoon to see what this little boat is all about. The dinghy is the like the car is to a house. It is our means of getting to shore from the boat when we are at anchor. Kaleo has a draft (in water depth) of 5′ 6″ so she can’t pull up to the shore unless there is a slip. In fact, in our slip she sits in the mud at low-tide.
So the dinghy will be our means of getting around the neighborhood when we are our cruising. The one that came with the boat is a West Marine 8-footer. The decision I am trying to make is, hard or rigid-inflatable dinghy?
We are going to take the dinghy back down to the boat and give it a try for a few months. No doubt this decision, like so many in cruising will involve lots of research, lots of differing opinions and ultimately just going with whatever works out.
Category: Cruising, Dinghy, Refit
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Thursday, July 09th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
We took on a new challenge this weekend and decided to anchor out to watch the fireworks for the Fourth.
We spent Friday testing the windlass, which needs some work, & doing general boat work. Afterward, I modified the Revere copper clad bottom pots we ordered from eBay and as wedding gifts. They have a rivet holding the handle to the pot and by drilling the rivet the handle comes off to nest within each other, taking up a lot less space. (A critical feature on a 34′ boat.) We got this great idea from our cruising mentors, Kirk & Lisa. Thanks guys!
Saturday came & it was hot (about 100). We worked on the boat and I mounted a solar garden light on our piling so I could more easily find our slip after dark.
Our marina neighbor, Kevin, hoisted me to the top of the mast so I could try and figure out why the mast navigation light doesn’t work. I was unsuccessful and ended up cutting my hand open because the bulb shattered as I tried to remove it from the socket. But I did meet our neighbor
and we agreed to trade his winching skills for my mast scaling ability. I plan to help him mount a block for a spinaker halyard next time we’re here.
Th family came about 4:00 and we motored out to the bay. There was more vessel traffic than we’d ever seen. And that was just the beginning. We picked a spot & Christie did a fantastic job of piloting while her brother & I dropped the hook. Her dad BBQed chicken while I worried about other boats anchoring too close. We ate a great meal & then watched the fireworks from the best vantage point we’ve ever experienced! The fireworks were so close & powerful that they shook the boat as they went off.
By the time we pulled the hook after the fireworks, the bay was inundated with boats. We then began the two hour journey back to the slip that typically only takes about 30 mins.
We’re heading back in two weeks and can’t wait!
Category: Family, Refit, Sailing
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Saturday, June 20th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
We had an inventory weekend & cleaned out part of the boat. Christie spent time diligently writing thank-you notes for our wedding guests while I tackled the lazarettes. I found all sorts of interesting stuff and the picture below shows it piled up on the deck. The next step is to take on the storage behind the salon seats, called settees.
Category: Maintenance
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Friday, June 19th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
Today we mounted the “Welcome Aboard” mat that Christie’s parents gave us for our finger pier, hung out, gave Kaleo a good bath, cooked, and explored what was aboard.
Category: Maintenance
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 / Christie & Matt
We jetted down to Houston for Easter weekend with The Family and had a chance to spend Friday night aboard Kaleo. Staying on the boat was exciting but I kept getting up in the night to check our dock lines. Even though they’ve held un-watched for the last month, I was still nervous about them. I also added to the project list as the foot of the v-berth needs to be extended as the top of my head was right on the edge.
If I could choose one word to describe the experience it would be “silent”. The whole evening was so quiet and we were still in the middle of a city. I can’t wait to hear (or not hear anything) when we are on the hook (that means anchored out, surrounded only by water).
Saturday we spent some time messing about and received an excellent house warming/wedding gift of a new Kuuma grill for the aft rail. This was a gracious gift from Craig, Christie’s father. We plan to get it installed next time and give it a try.
We also motored out to the mouth of the Kemah cut then turned around (Christie had to get back for a spa appointment). It was lots of fun, or so I thought until I saw the pictures that Christie’s mom took. I look stressed out! Yet backing out of and pulling into the slip went superbly, I must still have some beginners luck on me. We tied her up and once again were sad to leave.
Category: Family, Refit, Sailing
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Thursday, April 02nd, 2009 / Christie & Matt
I would really like to have this.
Category: Gear, Inspiration
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Saturday, March 14th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
With all the buzz about buying our little ship and moving her to the new marina, we forgot to mention that we picked a name for her: Kaleo (ka-lay-o) which is a Greek word from the New Testament. It has a few meanings depending on the context of the verse but overall it means there is a sense of privilege that is bestowed on believers who were once far away, who are now given a new status in the Lord. There is also a sense of mission. This isn’t a list; it’s a responsibility of carrying out a life of service that is contrasted to the ways of the world. It is also a sense of permanency. Once a believer is called, there is a sense of completion by the hand of God.
Here are a few verses that support the above write-up from our pastor, Chris McGregor.
- “To call to a Participation in the Privileges of the Gospel” – Romans 8:30, 9:24; 1 Cor 1:9, 7:18
- “And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he glorified.” – Romans 8:30
- “even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” – Romans 9:24
- “God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” – 1 Cor 1:9
Category: Cruising, Inspiration, Sailing
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Saturday, March 14th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
We did it! We bought a boat! She is the one in the picture above, being piloted by the former owner in the Harvest Moon Race.
It was an exciting Saturday: Sea trial, paperwork, pulling the raw water impeller, our first grounding, a near perfect docking by me (beginners luck) and leaving her for a speedy return to Dallas. I will follow up with all the details but until then I have to think about what I just got us into!
Category: Boat Shopping, Maintenance, Sailing
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Sunday, March 01st, 2009 / Christie & Matt
We just got back to Dallas from Houston (Dayton actually) & are headed off to bible study with the McKinney Ave Group. We had a successful survey on Saturday, hauling our future (and yet to be named) home for a complete inspection. On Friday evening we drove down to Christie’s parents house, getting in around midnight. A quick six hour nap & we were headed down to Seabrook to meet our surveyor. Drake Epple, from Perry’s Marine Survey came highly recommended & has helped immensely throughout the whole process. He actually looked this vessel over when we first viewed her a few weeks ago and was impressed then. A full day began with hauling her out of the water …
… looking her over from the bottom up, including Drake snapping photos for his survey report.
After a few hours down the salon (while Christie practiced napping in the V-berth), we wrapped the day up by an inspection of the mast head and rigging. That involved me going up the mast (voluntarily) in about 30 knots of wind.
Unfortunately it was a little too windy to go for a sea trial as we don’t own the boat yet and didn’t want to break anything. So, it’s another drive to Seabrook in two weeks so we can take her for a sail, sign the paper work and move her to our new slip.
The biggest decision we now face is what to name her …
Category: Boat Shopping, Haul Out, Survey
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Thursday, February 19th, 2009 / Christie & Matt
This blog has been part of the “cruising plan” almost as long as the plan has existed. But my reasons for not creating it have been tied to my fears of failure. I didn’t create this blog because I was fearful that it would hold me accountable to the dream. With the help of my lovely bride-to-be I have slowly gotten over that fear. And the dream took its first big step today …
The owners of a beautiful sailboat have accepted our offer! We now begin the dance of survey, sea trial, insurance and who knows what else! I am planning to start making more regular updates so please stay tuned.
Category: Boat Shopping, Cruising, Inspiration
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