Come Along with S.V. Scream Archives: learning
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24 June 2009
Solar panels, a year in review
The solar panels that we installed last May have been wonderful. We installed two 195 watt solar panels on swivel mounts near the stern. Having cruised full time since we’d like to share a few thoughts.
The pivoting mounts that mounted our panels on have been a success for entirely different reasons than we expected. We [...]
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4 June 2009
Review of Uniden Atlantis 250 Handheld VHF Radio
We bought a Uniden Atlantis 250 handheld VHF radio at the 2008 Vancouver boat show. We bought the radio as we wanted a hand held to use from the dinghy or in an emergency. We’ve had good reception with the radio. The battery holds a charge well. It has been wet many times without any [...]
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17 May 2009
Cruising Budget 2008-2009
The Budget 2008-2009
After years of research we decided that budget of $500/week1 was an appropriate cruising budget for a 45′ sailboat with a crew of two. We found some information on this topic in many sources, but it mostly lacked the level of detail that we wanted. So we have been tracking our budget for [...]
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15 May 2009
Provisioning for Mexico
“People eat everywhere” is a useful phrase to keep in mind when provisioning for a voyage. Wherever there are people you can get food. The conditions are that you may not like what they eat and where there are no people there are no groceries.
Mexican supermarkets are comparable to those in Canada and the US. [...]
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1 April 2009
Sea of Cortez: A Cruiser’s Guidebook
We obtained a copy of Breeding and Bansmer’s invaluable cruising guide before we arrived in Mexico.
When we left the US we could not imagine how bad the official charts are in Latin America. The official charts are often over a century old. The Latitudes and Longitudes of major features are often incorrect by a nautical [...]
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15 January 2009
Back in La Paz
After twelve days trying to get north, we’re back in La Paz to re-provision. We know a number of other boats who are also failing to go north, including Kalagan and Warana from the 2008 BCA Island Fleet.
The winds and seas in the Sea of Cortez aren’t anything like what we are accustomed to. The [...]
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8 December 2008
A Little Help From One’s Friends
One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how helpful cruisers are. Certainly, the Bluewater Cruising Association exemplifies this spirit, with its mission of helping folks who’ve lived the cruising life (”doners”) connect with those who want to (”dreamers”). But we’ve found this desire to help each other outside of cruising clubs [...]
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23 November 2008
Dana Point
After leaving Catalina Island, we motored in glassy seas to Dana Point, a wealthy settlement on the mainland. We had an appointment with Outbound Yacht Services to get a Spectra Ventura 150 MPC (more about that in another post) installed, so we were headed to the docks at Dana Point to get that done.
Our dealings [...]
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9 October 2008
Cape Mendocino
We are now docked in the Noyo River near Fort Bragg. We rounded the notorious Cape Mendocino en route and it was an experience indeed.
The forecast was for 15-25 knots behind us, but at she Cape we got a gale with enormous seas. The Saye’s Rig steered the big waves beautifully, as we sailed downwind [...]
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29 August 2008
What Lies Beneath
When my Vancouver crew and I returned from Grambier Island, it was not the most wonderful sailing day. The winds were strong and contrary, the weather was crummy, pouring with rain and we had a deadline. In short, not an auspicious day.
However, the crew were fantastic, perhaps not realizing how far from perfect the conditions [...]
