[Golfito, Costa
Rica, 8 37.271N, 83 09.123W]
Greetings all!
Our friends, John and Gloria
Buchan, joined us at Los Suenos for the final week of our trip. John is a
life-time boater, both power and sail, and he and Gloria have crossed the
Pacific (Transpacs to Hawaii) twice in their own sailboat. John spent this last
summer in Europe racing his TP 52 sailboat (http://www.buchanracing.com).
Our original plan had been to
end our adventure at Los Suenos, and let a delivery crew take the boat 200
miles south to Golfito, where it would load on a freighter for delivery to
Victoria, Canada. However, the surge in the marina at Los Suenos was bothering
us. We didn’t like the idea of leaving the boat unattended in a slip
where the dock lines needed constant adjustment. Luckily John and Gloria are
flexible, and love boating. They agreed immediately to a change in plans.
The run from Los Suenos to
Golfito is only 200 miles. We had two options; take our time and anchor along
the way, or just do it in one overnight run. After a group discussion, we
decided to take our time and anchor along the way.
Our first run was a short 40
miles south, where we dropped anchor in a bay, that we had all to ourselves, at
Manuel Antonio state park.
When we went to sleep on
Friday night, the plan was to sleep late on Saturday, and spend all day
Saturday swimming, diving and hiking. On Saturday morning (8am) , as we were
sitting on the boat watching the waves break on shore, and thinking about what
it would mean to “swim in” and then try to hike in wet swim suits,
the conversation shifted to “Maybe we should just get going.”
Actually, I’ll digress
for a moment to talk about something that I was thinking about last
night. My friend John is someone who knows boats better than I ever will,
and who has had a wide range of both power and sail boats. I had been looking
forward to showing him our boat, and cruising with him and Gloria. What caught
me by surprise is how both John and I share a love for boating, but come at it
from such different perspectives. I tend to think of our boat as a portable
home. We’ve tried to create something that gives us all the comforts of
being at home, but which can be teleported to exotic places. I once said, while
defending what we spend on boating: “What would it cost for a water front
home in Tahiti, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia,
France, Spain, and more? Our boat takes us anywhere we want to go, in extreme
comfort. It also allows us to explore when we get there.” I think John
looks at boating differently. We both agree that boats can move you from point
A to point B, but whereas for John the excitement happens between points
A and B, I tend to focus on what happens when you get to point B. I tend
to think of boating as swimming, diving, barbecuing, exploring, and living, in
exotic places. There’s something that is “different” about
arriving at a place on your own boat, and staying a while, versus flying in,
taxi-ing to a hotel and hanging out by the pool. It’s a minor, but we
think important, distinction. I do believe my friend John does appreciate all
of these things, but I also believe that when he thinks about boats, his real
passion is for the subtle nuances that I don’t, or can’t,
appreciate. For instance, John talks a lot about speed. As we were turning the
pages together of a yachting magazine, John pointed at a 100+ foot boat, and
said “See that Ken, that boat can do 25 knots.” I responded:
“John. I’m fairly certain that if that boat and our boat left
Seattle traveling together, headed for the Panama Canal, we would arrive
first.” Actually, I have no idea if that is true or not, but my
experience has been that Nordhavn’s may not always be the fastest, but we
do tend to get there first. We usually have longer range, and have fewer trip
interruptions due to weather or mechanical issues. I’m not saying that my
approach to boating, or John’s approach to boating, is
“best”. If I have a point (which is sometime doubtful), it would be
that I found it interesting that two people can dedicate such a large portion
of their lives to boating, yet see it so differently.
Our next anchorage was
“Bahia Drake”, another 50 miles south. If we were going to get
going, we had to get going right then and there. Thus, while Roberta was still
getting ready for the day, John and I started prepping the boat to go. When I
started the engines, Roberta called me in the pilot house, to ask “Did
you just start the engines?” She quickly agreed that it was time to move
on. Not only was there the issue of swimming to the beach, but there were
clouds on the horizon (literally). There’s a boating saying: “You
got to go when the going is good.” In other words, if you have flat seas,
and calm weather, it’s a good time to move. None of us wanted to be in a
position where we’d be faced with running in tough conditions, or missing
a flight.
As you move south in Costa
Rica, the landscape gets greener. We are in rain forest country, with an
emphasis on rain. There’s also an emphasis on lightning. From Manuel
Antonio we could see the lightning to the south east, our next destination.
Drake, our next anchorage is near Cano Island, which is famous, and considered
by some sacred, for receiving more lightning strikes each year than any other
point in Central America.
I confess to having an
irrational fear of lightning. Or, perhaps it’s not irrational, depending
on who you ask. When lightning strikes a boat, nothing may happen, or you may
lose all electronics, or, you may blow a hole in the bottom of the boat.
Anything can happen. Allegedly, my motors will keep plugging away if we lose
all power, but I’d be willing to bet that they wouldn’t. In fact, I
am unshakably convinced that if we took a lightning strike bad enough to fry
electronics, the engines would be dead, and we’d be stuck floating. Our
prior boat, a Nordhavn 62, had a “mechanical diesel engine” which
really only needed fuel to be happy. But, emissions regulations are now such
that newer engines are computer controlled. I asked if I could have an old engine
instead of a new fancy engine, and was told that it is now impossible. I asked
a representative of the engine manufacturer if my motors would still run if
lightning fried the computers, and whereas his lips were saying
“it’s very likely”, his eyes were saying “No way in
heck.” Of course, just frying the electronics is amongst the best you can
hope for. The reality can be much worse. During construction I did ask for
every anti-lightning safe guard I could, but ultimately, these are probably
placebos. If lightning strikes, and you are in the wrong place at the wrong
time, you are going to have a bad day. Statistics would indicate that your
chances of being hit by lightning are right up there with winning the lottery,
and I can say with great confidence that I will never win a lottery. Nor can I
say that I know anyone who has won a major lottery. However, I know PLENTY of
people who have lightning stories. Personally, my philosophy on lightning is a
little like my philosophy on hurricanes: avoid areas where lightning strikes.
Whereas hurricanes are nearly 100% avoidable, lightning is tougher to avoid,
but I do what I can. In this particular case, it meant traveling during the
day, and moving fast through the area.
John fished on our way south,
and as always Sans Souci proved herself a perfect fishing platform.
We arrived at Drake at around
2pm. I had really just thought of it as a stop-over, but it turned out to be a
great anchorage! The bay is huge, and although I had heard there can be swell,
we found it quite calm. Thirty minutes after dropping anchor we had the tender
in the water and were off exploring.
As we were heading to shore,
we noticed a panga coming out of a river to our right. This looked interesting,
so in we went. Once inside we discovered a resort with a dinghy dock. This was
too good to be true!
We had arrived at an
“Eco Lodge” of which there are many in Costa Rica. It was a very
cool looking place, although we noted that the rooms didn’t appear to
have air conditioning. I don’t know that I’d want to be quite that
“rustic.” After stopping for at the bar for
“refreshments”, we decided it was time for a jungle hike.
Our next day’s journey
would be Sans Souci’s last on this trip. We would be running 85 miles
south to Golfto. I had never been to Golfito before but had heard rumors of
shallow water and currents. Thus, I wanted to arrive at high slack. By this I
mean that I wanted a high tide, for maximum depth, and to arrive before the
tide would turn, while the water was slack. Looking at the tide chart, this
would occur at 11am. Question: How does one run 85 nautical miles and
arrive at 11am. Answer: You wake up very early….
Although we could see
lightning around us in every direction, Roberta and I woke at 3am to start the
run south. We had the anchor up and the boat moving by 3:30am. Daylight, and
clear skies arrived by 5:30am. By the time our guests woke up, we were running
in calm seas, and having a great time! The weather gods had decided to reward
our journey with a smooth last leg! We even had a bit of a current pushing us.
I ran at low (1175) rpm and still averaged 10.5 knots. For a while I was seeing
over 11 knots. Even the dolphins stopped by to guide us south.
[Note: don’t look too
closely at the picture above or you’ll see some mud on my anchor.
That’s what happens when you pull anchor at 3am while half asleep. This
is my first boat with anchor wash, and I strongly recommend it. However, in
this case, it missed a spot.]
Looking at the charts, I had
expected a tricky, and narrow, entrance to Golfito. In actuality, it was nice
and wide, and relatively well marked. You need to pay attention when entering,
but it was easy, and our marina, the “Fish Hook” was a pleasant
surprise.
Before entering our marina,
we passed by the Banana Bay marina where another Nordhavn was sitting –
the GREY PEARL! In 2004, the Grey Pearl and Sans Souci (our Nordhavn 62)
crossed the Atlantic together. Soon we’ll both be heading to Alaska, and
the Pearl will be on the same freighter north, from Costa Rica, as Sans Souci.
As we were backing into the
Fish Hook marina, my lines were caught by another set of Nordhavn owners: the
crew of Paloma, a Nordhavn 43; Patrick, Susan and Jonathon.
Note the sign for the
Restaurant at the Fish Hook (Lucy’s): They describe themselves as a
“Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant”. How can you not like a place
that like that?
I should say a bit about the
Golfito area, and how unusual it is. Golfito is located at the back of an
enormous bay (50+ miles deep). The bay is called Gulfo Dulce (the sweet gulf).
The name was certainly justified in that we had dead calm seas throughout the
Gulfo Dulce. Golfito itself, is a smaller bay (perhaps 5-10 miles long) which
pokes off from the Golfo Dulce. In other words, imagine a nice calm bay, within
a larger calm bay, and you get the idea.
After our stay at Los Suenos,
and its surge, we prepared for tying at the dock by putting six fenders on each
side of the boat, and four across the back. We tied the boat with six lines,
including criss-crossed spring lines and stern lines. We were ready for war!
Later, we realized this was silly. Golfito is a safe, calm, secure moorage.
It’s a perfect place to leave a boat. The marina staff are terrific,
helpful, and good people. Both Fish Hook Marina, and Banana Bay Marina are
highly recommended. I should also mention that all of Costa Rica is a hurricane
hole. Hurricanes do not hit Costa Rica (at least not on the Pacific side).
Although Fish Hook and Banana
Bay are great marinas, I’m using the word loosely. They are small marinas,
holding only about 20 boats each. Here you see Sans Souci sitting at the end of
the dock at Fish Hook.
When I asked at the marina
office about site seeing, one of the office-workers, Collin, offered to take us
around and give us the town history. As it turned out, Collin was the sales
manager for a new condo and 217 slip marina project at Golfito. This was fine
in that he wasn’t at all pushy, and was quite passionate about Golfito
and the upcoming marina. He said they would be selling the slips, and have
slips up to 120’. I asked what a slip would cost and he said
“$350,00 for a 60 foot slip”. The condos would range up to a
million dollars. We visited the site of the marina, which is making progress,
but looks several years from completion.
Although I generally avoid
talking about local history, the Golfito history seemed so wrapped up in the
town’s personality that I’ll pass it along. As described by Collin
(I heard slight variations on the story from others), Golfito was at one time
the hub of the banana trade in Costa Rica. Golfito was essentially a
“company town” for a company called “United Fruit
Company.” The center of the bay in Golfito holds an enormous dock; meant
for the freighters that used to load bananas for export all over the world. Essentially
everyone in Golfito worked for United Fruit, who provided their housing,
medical care, and even milk.
In 1985, for market, labor,
or political reasons (depending on who you ask), United Fruit abandoned Golfito.
The homes were sold to the people at essentially no cost, but they had no jobs.
Since that time, Golfito has been trying to re-establish itself, and provide
jobs for its 3,000 or so inhabitants. We saw Palm Oil production, teak farms,
pineapples, rice, etc. Costa Rica even put a huge duty free shopping center in
the heart of Golfito, hoping to lure people to the area and create jobs. We
also saw signs that they want tourism to be part of their future, but many
people said “We don’t want this town to ever become a big touristy
town like Jaco or San Jose. We still leave our doors unlocked, and everyone
knows everyone. This is a nice little town, and we want it to stay that
way.”
As part of our explorations,
we took a taxi a couple hours away to a small surfer town, Pavones. We were told
that the waves were such that you could “ride a wave for a mile”.
It was a very cool little town, and we enjoyed the day. I even noticed a
sailboat anchored out, and was depressed that it wasn’t us.
On our last day, I contacted
the port captain to see if there was anything I should do to ensure that the
delivery crew would have no trouble taking the boat out of the country. He said
“I’ll come get you. This is going to be a major project.”
Normally, Port Captains fancy themselves as Kings of their territory. I was
shocked to have one offer to pick me up at my boat. He said it was lucky I had
called him. Had the delivery skipper shown up to take the boat out of the
country without my having done all the proper paperwork, customs could seize
the boat. This meant going to an attorney for a power of attorney, which turned
out to be a longer process than expected. We then called a couple of customs agents
who agreed to come in after hours and process the paperwork.
I don’t want to get
anyone in trouble, so I will not comment on which country or port this applies
to (although the answer is “more than one”), but I would recommend
that anyone dealing with officials in foreign countries do the following:
1) Have plenty of boat-logo t-shirts available. These
make great gifts for port captains, customs agents, marina staff, etc.
2) Carry plenty of cash. American bills work well.
3) Be polite and friendly. This is off the subject, but
relevant. I asked one port captain to describe the boaters he dealt with. He
divided the world into: Sport Fishers, power boaters, and sail boaters. He said
his favorite were the power boaters. They were polite and “generous.”
The worst were the sail boaters. He then said, “I’ll take that
back. 2% of the sail boaters are really nice people, but some are grumpy and
most are cheap.” He went on to say that he had just had a sail
boater yell at him for his borderline English. The sail boater said “If
you people are going to work with Americans, can’t you at least learn the
language?” The port captain smiled and said “I am sorry sir, but
because we are having language difficulties, our talk has ended. You must hire a
local attorney and a translator before we can continue.” The sail boater
was out over $1,000 before he received his clearance. I do not mean anything
derogatory to sail boaters or port captains. My only point is that in third
world countries SOME port captains, and customs officials, will expect gifts.
We had a customs agent that sent me back to the boat when I showed up without a
proper t-shirt. It’s tough for me to know what is appropriate, or legal.
Most are happy with nothing more than a smile and a thank you. I had one that wanted
an envelope with $40 in it. If in doubt, go with the smile and hope it works.
If it isn’t enough, they have ways of letting you know….
4) Learn at least a few words of the local language. I
speak very little Spanish, but the little I speak helped immensely. Most of the
forms I had to fill out were in Spanish, and most of the officials speak little
or no English. Being able to communicate at least somewhat make a BIG
difference.
And, that was that. Our trip
had ended. It was sad to leave Sans Souci sitting at the dock, and even sadder
as we were flying away, over the Golfo Dulce and I looked down at the flat
water, and realized how many great anchorages we had missed.
But, my story doesn’t
end there.
I get questions virtually
every day from people who are building their boat, and want to know what we did
right or wrong on our boat. This was Sans Souci’s first major trip, and
I’d have to say that it performed amazingly well. We finished the
trip with some maintenance items, but they are essentially the same items we
left Seattle with 5,000 miles ago. Our boat exceeded all expectations.
Following are a few random
thoughts on the boat, and things I might or might not do again:
·
I have mentioned
a couple times that we went to a Rocna anchor. We still haven’t really
had an anchoring situation where we have put the anchor through its paces.
We’ve had a few nights at anchor in 20+ knot winds, but no serious blows.
So, I can’t comment on its holding power, beyond saying that it held us
reliably under all conditions with only perhaps one instance, where it MAY have
dragged 50 feet or so. Importantly though, it set EVERY time on the FIRST try,
and I’ve never had an anchor do this. I am confident that if it ever did
drag that it would be highly likely to reset itself instantly.
·
We blew it
ordering tenders. Our larger tender, the 15’ AB tender, exceeded
expectations, but our smaller tender is the wrong tender for the job, and will
be sold as soon as I can unload it. We need a 10-12’ lightweight
inflatable with wheels, and a hard bottom, appropriate for beaching in any
conditions.
·
I would do Sans
Souci’s electrical system differently. This is a larger boat than
we’ve had before, and needs thought about differently. On our N62 we
never used the generator. When we sold the boat, after eight years, we had only
about 300 hours on each of the generators! The vast majority of our time was
spent sitting at anchor, and using the generators for an hour a day to charge
the batteries. Underway we had a “cruising alternator” that would
charge the batteries. We didn’t like the sound of the generator wrecking
the tranquility at anchor, and did all in our power to avoid running a
generator. I have been told that on larger boats the right thing to do is to
“just start a generator when you leave the dock, and turn it off when you
reach port.” I never understood this, and designed our boat with a large
(14kw) complex inverter system, and a huge (1500 amp hour, 24 volt) battery
bank. We never used either. They are unnecessary weight and complexity. Sans
Souci really belongs on a generator at all times. That said, we’ve been
cruising in a warm climate where air conditioning is critical at all times. In
Alaska I may feel differently. I’ll wait until after Alaska to decide if
I want to toss the inverters and batteries overboard.
·
Sans Souci
is a huge boat. Everyone who tours it says “Ken – there is no way
this is only a 68 foot boat.” The captain of a 120 footer said that it
felt just as spacious as his boat.
·
We overkilled the
entertainment systems on Sans Souci, and it was worth it. We have a DVD jukebox
(Kaleidescape) that everyone loves. Our goal was to create a boat that felt
more like a portable home than a boat. We perhaps overdid this, and it feels
more like a floating Ritz Carlton. Our guests have been very happy.
·
We put in a
diesel furnace for space heating, heating the hot tub, and for water
heating. It has been 100% reliable, uses little, if any, electricity, and has
been wonderful.
That’s it! My blogs
have ended, at least until they start again. Expect that around June 1st
to 15th we’ll get going again, this time headed north to
Alaska.
Thank you for your
participation, and all the great questions. [Note: Make sure you read the
Q&A that follows for some interesting emails]. I hope that I haven’t
bored you.
Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68
Sans Souci
PS My friend John gave the
ultimate compliment to Sans Souci. We were moored next to a beautiful old
classic sailboat in Golfito, which was just returning from six years in the
South Pacifiic. All of us were impressed by it, but also noted that while we
were watching TV in air conditioned comfort, the sailboat’s crew was
sitting on deck sweating their tails off trying to read. I can’t imagine
how they sleep below deck at night. As we were walking by the ultra-impressive
sailboat, on the last day, John looked over and said “Ken. I really got
to get into this ‘cruising’ lifestyle. Maybe I’ll think about
a Nordhavn someday.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Email Q&A – Write me (Ken Williams) at: kenw @ seanet.com
NOTE: When writing me DO NOT include my update. I
often have limited internet bandwidth and have trouble receiving large emails.
MY RESPONSES TO YOUR EMAIL ARE PRECEDED BY +++
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Ken,
You said: “…I should periodically put some
sort of anti-barnacle solution into the sea chest and strainers to kill any
growth in them and the hoses…..”
Ken, what is an anti-barnacle solution? Do you
have a specific product name? Also, I'm crossing the Gulf soon....what is
the fartherest you have ever been from shore, unless making a long range trip?
Tommy
+++ I don’t know the answer to this.
Perhaps others can suggest something. We’ve been out of the US, where
there are no West Marine stores. My plan is to ask this question as soon as I
get home. I did ask a smart boater friend, who recommended using Muratic Acid.
This seems strong to me, but he insists it will work fine, and he has been
doing it for years. Form your own opinion on this one.
+++ As to how far we’ve run off shore, we once
stopped in the center of the Atlantic for a swim! However, you seem to be
asking about coastal cruising. Generally, I favor running at least 10 miles off
shore, to avoid rocks, crab pots, and other boats. However, several smart
boater friends are constantly trying to convince me to run the beach for
generally smoother weather, and a shorter ride to shelter should the weather
turn. I ran Nicaragua 5 miles off shore, and it felt too close.
-------------------------
No one asked about the incident I reported in Mexico,
and what happened, although I did receive an email from someone claiming to
have the inside scoop. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the email, but
following is my summary of what it said:
+++ I received an email regarding the Mexico incident
I referred to in my last blog update. It was an incident where a power boat
(BESAME) was stopped for boarding by a boat claiming to be Mexican Military.
Besame stopped, and was approached by a tender full of masked men carrying
automatic weapons, who refused to identify themselves. Besame’s
Captain decided that the boarding party could be terrorists and drove away,
escaping without incident. I wish I could find the email, but the gist of
it was that the boarders were in fact Mexican Military, and that it is their
policy to board wearing masks. The West Coast of Central America is frequented
by drug traffickers who can be quite nasty people (have you seen the film
‘No Country For Old Men’?). The Mexican military likes to conceal
their identity rather than risk retaliation against the families of their
soldiers. It is easy to forget that these “encounters” can be as
stressful, and dangerous, for the military as they are for us. All I can say is
“I’m very happy it wasn’t me who was approached for
boarding.”
---------------------
Ken,
Thank you so much for allowing us to live the cruising life
vicariously through your blogs. My wife and I have enjoyed reading them
through-out your entire trip and we are looking forward to the Alaska trip as
well. My wife and I currently have a 400DB Sea Ray that lives in Portland while
we live in Phoenix so we both miss the boat and boating a lot. Your blogs have
provided both of us with many hours of enjoyment. The good news is, I think my
wife is finally convinced that the Sea Ray needs to transform itself into a
trawler. She’s actually talking about possibly participating in another
FUBAR if it comes up again…………. I can only hope. We
wish you both fair winds and following seas!
Dave & Joy S
+++ Thank you! See this recent announcement. You may get your
chance!
The
“FUBAR” Odyssey
Is Back … Fall 2009
The
San Diego Yacht Club and the Mexico Tourism Board are
sponsoring the next rally for power
boats to Baja, Mexico. They will be assisted by Del Rey Yacht
Club and California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. The event will be held late
2009.
The boats will gather in San Diego and travel 900 miles to La Paz. This cruise
is planned for mid-sized powerboats capable of traveling at least 450 n.m. at
eight knots without refueling. FUBAR
stands for Fleet Underway to BAJA Rally.
The FUBAR is designed to
support powerboats that need refueling while traveling down the Pacific side of
Baja, and the FUBAR is
arranging fuel. Vessels with larger fuel capacity have no trouble doing
this route on their own, but are welcome to join the FUBAR as well.
Escort vessels manned by experienced skippers, mechanics, doctors and other
experts will accompany the FUBAR.
Boat manufacturers and makers of major marine engines, electronics and other
related equipment will lend their expertise. Safe routes will be prearranged,
and a weather-routing service will oversee the cruise.
Stops along the route include Ensenada for fuel at optimum prices and clearing
into Mexico. Turtle Bay is another fueling stop with stops at Santa Maria
Cove, Mag Bay, Puerto los Cabos, Muertos Bay and La Paz, the final
destination. The number of participants will be limited.
Participants will have the opportunity for fishing or whale-watching.
Some may opt to depart at Cabo San Lucas for Puerto Vallarta and the Mexican
mainland, while others will want to continue with FUBAR up into the Sea of Cortez as far as La Paz
before branching off on their own.
Applications and signups will be first quarter of 2009. Sponsor inquiries
are welcome. Check for updates on the website at www.sycy.org/fubar.
--------------------------------
Hi Ken,
A quicker ( not as
thorough, but much easier) way to unclog your hoses is to run a coiled snake
from the strainer (unscrew the top) back to the thru hull. The point of worst
restriction seems to be the elbow screwed into the strainer. You'll know you
got it with the increased water flow. I have not had any clogging from
the strainer to the sea chest. Be careful with biocides, etc if your water
maker pulls from the sea chest. The snake you can buy at any plumbing store. I
cut it down to about two feet long and chuck it in my cordless drill motor.
Also check the business end to make sure it's smooth enough to not tear the
hose up.
Jacob M
Nordhavn 55 owner
+++ I thought about using
a snake, but have been in places where it’s a LONG drive to the nearest
Home Depot. I do plan on buying one and putting it on the boat. My thought was
to see if I could find one that I could insert from the outside, through the
thru-hull, although I’m not sure how I could do that logistically.
-----------------
Ken,
We met on Fubar...we were
on the light green Northwest 45, "Nor'wester".
Are you planning on stopping
in Anacortes for Trawlerfest on your way north? Jan and I will be
departing on Nor'wester for points north some time after Trawlerfest ends.
If you are going to be
here, stop by and say Hi.
Sincerely,
Peter
Peter Whiting, CPYB
American Expedition Yachts
Northwest Trawlers
Cap Sante Marina
Anacortes, WA 98221
(360) 317-7456 (cell)
www.americanexpeditionyachts.com
+++ Our current schedule
is such that we should be there! I doubt our boat will be back from Costa Rica
yet, but we’ll take at least one day to see the show. I look forward to
seeing you again!
---------------------------
I have had fowling
problems on 90 degree elbows from growth and salt. If possible eliminate the 90
degree elbow and use a straight coupling. The flow rate at the inside of the
elbow is low compared to the rest of the fitting and things readily collect
there and start growing outward.
Marv S
++++ Yes – I should
eliminate the 90 degree elbow. I’ll see if it is possible. One
other thing I need to fix: A mechanic who was “helping” me in Costa
Rica snapped off the handle on a couple of my thru-hulls. I need to replace
them. It wasn’t the mechanics fault. I haven’t been good about
“exercising” the thru-hulls and they welded themselves shut. Ouch.
------------------
Hi Ken,
surge
at a marina.
I have a bit of experience here, we dealt with a major surge at
Ocean World in the DR two times.
A) we upgraded to 1 1/8 Double Braid spring lines - keep them long,
tighten the 2nd one with the engine. (our normal lines are 7/8" double
braid), If you have to use lighter diameter lines, you will need to
double each of them.
B) Chafe gear - needed for where the line cuts the dock and around
the cleat if not perfectly smooth. http://ropeinc.com/c.
- This stuff is balistic nylon and Velcro's over a line. We have about a dozen
of these each about 36" long.
C) T docks are not as good as one that permits you to tie the boat
off from the opposite side. This is easier on the fenders.
D) we use Blow Up fenders from Prostock, http://www.prostockmarine.com/products.html
These are used on Mega Yachts - much stronger then
Haypolin. We have (4) 18" x 48", (4)
18" x 60", and (1) 18" x 120" for the stern or
special situations. [we also carry blow up fenders from Avon - a carry
over from the last boat (7) 12" x 34". Prostock fenders
can take more pounding and abrasion then any other fender I have ever
used. The added advantage is that take hardly any space when stow them, done
with the same pump in reverse.
Richard
Nordhavn 64 owner
+++
Thank you Richard. My boat came with three quarter inch line, and it is too
small. I ordered the 1 and 1/8 inch line as you suggested, from Rope Inc. I
also ordered some replacement fenders from Prostock, and their anti-chafing
gear.
---------------------
Hi Ken,
I have enjoyed receiving your updates very much, sounds like you had a great
time. I do agree that groundings do unfortunately happen, if you travel far
enough you will encounter the bottom on occasions. While we all hope when this
happens it will be a soft grounding, it seems reading your comment and mention of rock, u
encounted the unwanted form of grounding. Did you dive the hull and
inspect for any damage or gouging, hopefully it is not too serious. I guess you
will have it hauled when you get back to Seattle to do a proper inspection and
carry out any repairs before the trip to Alaska. I would definitely like to
hear your story on the "Vultures" sometime. Looking forward to more
blogs, safe cruising.
Steven
+++ Darn. I hoped no
one would ever ask about my grounding. Oh well. Now that the cat is out of the
bag, here’s the story:
Within a few weeks of
taking delivery of our boat, Roberta and I had just successfully navigated a
very tight, high current channel, and were congratulating ourselves on making
it look easy, when things went wrong. The sun was directly in front of me, and
reflecting off our anchor (our prior anchor, a new stainless steel CQR). I was
suddenly blinded and couldn’t see out the window or on the Nobletec
screen. I asked Roberta to fetch my sunglasses and threw the boat into neutral.
Suddenly, I saw a silhouetted buoy in front of me, but couldn’t figure if
it was red or green, and couldn’t find it on the chart. Things were
happening fast, and the current was moving the boat, even though in neutral. I
pointed the boat at the buoy, thinking I’d have time to figure which side
to pass it on, a serious error. To make a long story short, I incorrectly
determined the color, and passed it at 1 knot, within inches, on the wrong
side. The starboard side of the boat was immediately aground. Making things
worse we were at high tide. This meant waiting for a new high tide might not
solve the problem.
I immediately called
the Coast Guard on the VHF radio, and they asked my cell phone number, to call
back. Within seconds the phone rang, and it was “Vessel Assist”,
which I understood as being the Coast Guard. They asked if I needed assistance,
and said they were in the area, and would respond in minutes. This had me
feeling better. When I hung up the phone rang again. It was the US Coast Guard
calling! I was confused, and they explained that independent contractors
monitor channel 16 for calls to the Coast Guard, hoping to make money providing
assistance. The Coast Guard asked if we were in danger or if anyone was hurt. I
said we were all fine, and I just needed to be pulled off the rock. They said
Vessel Assist was my best option, and explained that the US Coast Guards role
is to prevent loss of life, not loss of boats. If we weren’t in danger,
their job was done. I tried to persuade them to send out a boat, and did my
best begging, but they weren’t coming.
An hour later Vessel
Assist arrived, with a small 30-footish boat. By this time the tide had
dropped, and Sans Souci was starting to lean. Apparently the starboard side was
sitting on a ledge and the port side was still floating. Roberta, Shelby and I
moved to the small boat. The gentleman on the boat said that in his opinion
Sans Souci was going to soon start taking on water, and that it should be
pulled off right away. I said “Great, let’s do it.” He then
explained that he wasn’t permitted to tug us off the rocks without a
signed “Salvage Agreement.” I asked to see the agreement he wanted
me to sign, and didn’t like what I saw. I was never given a copy and
don’t want to mischaracterize it, but my recollection is that it
essentially transferred ownership of the boat over to them. He said it was the
standard agreement. He argued that signing the salvage agreements is standard,
and that all that would happen is that it would lead to a negotiation between
his company and the insurance company, where he would get a piece of the value
of the boat, in return for rescuing us. I said I would not sign anything
without speaking with my insurance company and he said he wasn’t pulling
me off the rocks without a signed agreement. We had a stalemate. Meanwhile,
Sans Souci was leaning over farther and farther as the tide fell.
After a half hour of
this, he said that he couldn’t pull Sans Souci off with the boat he had
anyhow, and needed to go trade for his larger boat. I said he should go get the
other boat, and I would continue to try calling my insurance company. Another small
boat from Vessel Assist arrived and we transferred to it, while I continued
making calls. I knew that there was no way I would be signing a salvage
agreement unless Sans Souci was truly taking on water, and I just didn’t
think that was going to occur. I consulted with several friends, and tried
negotiating a rate with Vessel Assist to have them pull me off the rock. I was
more than happy to pay a fair rate, but I was not going to sign a salvage
agreement. It was NOT going to happen. We had a magic deadline hanging over our
heads. This was all a long time ago, so I’ve forgotten the precise
details, but I had gone aground at a fairly mild tide cycle. The upcoming cycle
would be for a higher tide (which I liked), followed by a much lower tide,
which was a real problem. We went aground around 5pm, and the next high tide
wasn’t until 3am. It was our best chance of coming off the rocks. If we
missed it, the following morning’s low tide would be a SUPER low tide,
and possibly create a dangerous situation.
I started phoning tug
boat companies, and they all had the same thing to say. They could not pull
private boats off the rocks. Their insurance company wouldn’t let them. I
was getting VERY worried. Finally, Jeff Sanson, from Pacific Yacht Management,
who does maintenance, and deliveries, on Sans Souci, started making calls, and
calling in favors. Jeff did the un-doable, and persuaded a tug company 75 miles
away to charge a reasonable fee to tug us off the rock. The bad news was those
75 miles. They would be arriving right at 3am, when we needed to be pulling the
boat off the rock. Meanwhile, I was stuck sitting on a Vessel Assist boat,
while their other larger tug was being sought. They still wanted me to sign the
salvage agreement, and weren’t giving up on their possible big payday.
For nearly 10 hours I sat on the Vessel Assist boat, hoping that the tug Jeff
found would get there in time. As we reached 3am, Vessel Assist’s larger
tug showed up, as did the tug that Jeff ordered. The Vessel Assist team looked
very disheartened. Although they upset me with their “Sign this now or
your boat will sink” tactics, they were actually very nice people, and
just doing their jobs.
I asked Vessel Assist
to back off as the other tug attached a HUGE rope at our bow. During the preceding
hours, I had gone back aboard Sans Souci several times, and felt it make a
major shift while I was crawling around the engine room. My hope was that we
would float free on the high tide, and that is somewhat what happened. As the
tide came up, the boat returned to an upright position, and the line barely
went tight when we drove off the rock.
To Vessel
Assist’s credit, they had absolutely no agreement from me to pay them a
dime, yet their guy came aboard my boat, to help guide me in the dark to a smooth
anchorage he knew of. Along the way we worked out a fair “consulting
fee” that included his coming back the next day to dive under the boat to
look for damage. On his return the next day he reported that my starboard
stabilizer was banged up, but that he could find no other damage. Roberta and I
ran the boat another 80 miles or so to Seattle, where the boat was hauled out,
and verified that the props had never been touched, and that no water had come
in. We had escaped with essentially no damage! Thank goodness for the twin keel
on twin engine boats! And, thank goodness for Nordhavn quality!
I don’t like
being defensive about this, but should mention that we are not the first boat
to have gone aground in that particular location. A larger boat had gone around
in exactly the same spot the night before, totally destroying its running gear.
Another boat had gone aground the prior week in the same location. One person
told me that people buy houses on the nearby hill just to watch the excitement
as boats go aground. I hope that isn’t true….
Oh well. If there is
a message to this story, it is to read any paperwork you are given before
signing, even if things look tough. Signing a salvage agreement, except in the
worst of circumstances, is probably a bad idea (my personal opinion).
-----------------------
Ken, I had read that
at one time you had a 15' Boston Whaler as a tender. I am thinking about
getting a 13' Boston Whaler Sport to use as my tender when the time comes to
get my N55. Other than the inflatable not needing fenders, do you still see any
advantage to the RIB or would you go back to a tender like the Boston
Whaler? I would be interested to hear your comments since you have had
the opportunity to use the RIB and all the problems with getting it to shore
etc...
Thanks, Jim E
+++ Boston Whaler
will not like my saying this – but, I didn’t like mine at all. Try
to get a test drive in one and see what you think. Mine was heavy, and
didn’t plane well. It also was at the limit of my davit, and I
didn’t like the creaking noises as the tender went up and down. An
inflatable can be a pain (they can get leaks or punctures easily), and wear out
faster than a Whaler which has hard sides. Having had both, I prefer the
inflatable, and most others I have spoken with, who have had both, feel the
same way. I like the idea of being WELL below the weight limit on your tender.
I have had inconsiderate speed boaters pull water skiers within feet of my boat
while lifting the tender, and seen my tender bobbing like a cork. With a tender
near the weight limit of the davit, I’m positive I’d have lost the
tender, and possibly have had injuries. I’ve also had damage to the side
of the boat while lifting or dropping a hard-sided tender. With just two people
it is tough to stop a tender from spinning while it is dangling. It’s a
tough decision, with no perfect answer. Good luck!
------------------------
I just wanted
to tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog and reports. I was supposed
to do the run from San Diego with FUBAR with my Mom and Dad (Phyllis and Marty
Fliegel) but work got in the way. Then getting to hear about the rest of
your trip, was almost like being there (not quite, but close)
Thanks again
for taking all the time.
Have a safe
journey back and enjoy Alaska. Bry
Bryan F
+++ Thank you!
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