August 13, 2025
Talk about a cheap chartplotter; Samsung Galaxy 11 inch tablet for $160, OpenCPN for $9.95. charts from The Chart Locker for $25. All in for under two hundred bucks, resulting in charts of the area I cruise along with satellite images (left off ArcGIS since it matched Bing). What a bargain! OpenCPN for Android can be downloaded from the GooglePlay…
August 3, 2025
All Seawind 1160 sailboats end up having issues with the black pain that surrounds the windows cracking and becoming dull over the years. My friends Carl and Roxy (SV Sky Pond) had 3M Deep Matte Black Wrap Film Series 2080 applied when they hauled their boat at Boat Works in Brisbane and were extremely impressed with the appearance. Allan and…
October 3, 2024
We didn’t have to rush off in the morning so I started my day with a walk around Main Beach and a nice sit-down breakfast. Ah the luxury. After one last shower it was time to move Sky Pond up to The Boat Works for some maintenance and where she would be sold. It was a pretty mellow trip with…
October 2, 2024
We had been cautioned about the challenges of getting into a slip at the Southport Yacht Club due to strong currents and we had a 20 knot breeze to deal with as well, so we planned our arrival accordingly which meant an early arrival. Truth be told it was an easy hop onto the dock with excellent planning ahead of…
October 1, 2024
It was just a few hours down to the next spot. We left early thinking the current would be in our favor. Whether it was the 18 knots of wind on the nose or our inability to figure out the tide, the result was the same – a slow trip south to Wave Break island. We dropped the anchor in…
September 30, 2024
After the strong winds and rain finally passed us, it was time to move. Back around the corner, where we had problems anchoring, past the “yacht club”, and on down the Canaipa channel. It was an interesting section with lots of homes nearly each having a boat on a mooring ball. A bit further south it must have been the…
September 27, 2024
No resting for us, with a strong southern blow coming that brought rain overnight, we wanted to leave the dock as early as possible. I had scouted a breakfast takeout place nearby and snagged a breakfast wrap and latte as soon as they opened. Back to Sky Pond it was time to go! Off the dock at 5:45am we made…
September 26, 2024
Overnight, at times it was a bit loud and the boat rolled uncomfortably, but nothing like we had seen previously, maybe a 3 out of 5. On my 3:00am watch the wind was up to 18 knots, so off went the engine. Our speed was bouncing between 5.5 and 6.0 knots, which would be fine. Continuing my podcast listening I…
September 25, 2024
After midnight conditions improved to what I would call “moderate” (probably a 3 on John’s scale). My second break to sleep was not great but I did manage a few hours with an interruption in the middle to help Carl drop the main sail due to lack of wind. With arrival assured, I took to clearing out the freezers of…
September 24, 2024
The night continued to be a rough one, thankfully things mellowed a bit and by sunrise the violent waves banging the bridgedeck were starting to diminish. Our speed increased too and the arrival into Brisbane was looking like it was on track to beat the southerlies. On my morning inspection we were up to 6mm (0.25″) of salt caked on…
September 23, 2024
A bit after sunrise the winds started to creep up, once Carl came up we immediately raised the sails. The wind gave us a knot of extra speed over the engine bringing us to 6.5 to 6.7 knots. A much appreciated speed bump. For another hour things were pretty chill. The wind started to creep up and with it, an…
September 22, 2024
Very little wind overnight and currents against us ensured the past 24 hours would NOT be a record day. Blerg. After the sun came up, I let the fishing line out and with it, hopes for tuna for dinner. After our daily coffee, weather check, and reading the news, Carl noticed a fish skimming the surface being chased by something.…