Tethering.....Another Drifter's Tool

Currently on Assignment in Los Estados Enidos

I took possession of my new Blackberry Curve (BBC) 8330 once on terra firma in the states. I like gadgets and especially the BBC. I suspect other smartphones are nearly as amazing. I am learning new applications daily but have come across a really exciting application, at least for me. I stuck with Sprint as my provider specifically because they offer tethering, which is the ability to use the phone as a modem. I was flumexed to find that tethering is offered, but only for Windows XP/Vista users. Bummer man. In a spasm of activity, I spent an afternoon on the internet, skulking throughout Blackberry Geekville to find a work around. I found it! Not only does it work, I've been able to configure the laptop and BBC to speak with one another via Bluetooth. So, not only do I have internet connection where ever I have cell service, but I can avoid using a USB cable. Beautiful.

I like to roam, I also like my information. I can do both easily. The pic is my mobile command post set up at the breakfast table.

Capt Chris

Kayaking with Janina

Central Florida, USA
Currently on hiatis from Christa

I rendevous with Janina who resides in central Florida, not far from my parents house. Janina had several options well researched for a day of fun in the sun in the sunshine state. Being nautical types, we opted for an inland water adventure. We Kayaked about twelve miles down the Weeki Wachee river, somewhere in Florida. It was a really cool experience. We started out at the Weeki Wachee Springs Park and rented the kayaks. Once on the river, we flowed along in the 3 mph current that twists and turns, with shadows cast from the gigantic Cypress trees providing some relief from the sun. The river is spring feed, cool and as crystal clear as the Bahamas. Carp and other critters were scurring throughout. Wow it was a wonderful day. And equally wonderful to catch up with Janina!

Capt Chris

Latitude38 Article

I penned an article about my sailing adventure and submitted it to a couple of different publications. Latitude38, a legendary sailing rag from San Francisco published the article in the June and July edition of the mag. They did some minor edits, but used the photos I submitted. I am thrilled they published it. I've published several times with them, and while on active duty the Coast Guard would publish a Search and Rescue monthly column in Latitude. I was one of the folks who researched and put the article together before the boss put his stamp on it and submitted. During this time I went to some Latitude38 Crew List parties and other functions, really gaining an appreciation for the magazines dedication to all things nautical. So surf on over to www.latitude38.com and check it out. For readers who are not familiar, don't waste your time with mags like Cruising World, you'll learn more and feel much more engaged by reading Latitude. plus the mag is free!


Capt Chris

Slacken in Central Florida

Sorry folks I have taken so long to update said blog. I departed Grenada aboard an American Airlines plane on July 6th and safely made it to Tampa, where Dad picked me up for further transport to Summerfield. It truly is wonderful to be back in the United States, home of the brave. I have lots of irons in the fire, as the saying goes. I've been pretty busy visiting my parents and 86 year old grandfather who has been pretty ill in Vero Beach.

Culture shock is real. I've missed the ease of gathering supplies and taking care of the daily choirs. St Maartin was the last place I'd been that really had any kind of westernized grocery stores. Even then they were small, expensive and limited. Then the other day I entered a Publix and was bewildered at its scope. I would have not done well on the Prices Right as I totally had lost contact with what was a reasonable price. For example, I am a coffee snob and want good coffee. The best coffee I could find in Grenada was Dunkin Donuts original blend, 12 OZ. Price? $26.95 USD. I was lockin up. I did have a clue that $26.95 was a bit pricey, but didn't know I could get the same coffee and size for about $5.00. On the flip side of that coin, I dined on some beautiful red American "organic" tomatoes that were ok, but compared to tomatoes in the island tasted poorly. Fruits and vegies in the islands look mangled, likely are filled with seeds and stalks, but the taste is rich and full of flavor. This tells me that food in the US is being engineered in some fashion to look good at the expense of taste. I always side with function over fashion; then again I am a male.

Another bummer is all the traffic signs and stop lights. In the bannana republics, to the in experienced eye, things looks quite chaotic, with all the horns and cars stopping where they like. But really an organized ebb and flow is occruing. Personal responsibility dictating society? How shocking. American driving is regulated in every aspect.

Capt Chris

Hurricane Cradle Video

On The Hard in Grenada

In a Hurricane Cradle
St Davids, Grenada
12 01.463'N 061 40.712'W


I spent two weeks in the anchorage off Grenada Marine boat yard where I hauled-out this morning. I am happy to finally be out of the water. The anchorage was rolly, even when the wind stayed easterly. Any wind south of east caused an uncomfortable situation. Two days ago a minor squall came through, and I could tell the anchor had moved, not by much, maybe a foot or two, but any movement at all is cause for concern. A Catamaran completely broke loose and was going to wash up on the beach. An alert Frenchmen blasted his horn until the sleepy sailor came out the hatch blinking. Afterward I moved to a mooring.

Each day while anchored I'd tackled a small prep project to get things situated for haul-out. I've found I'm not one to do everything at once and then take a few days off. Little successes seem to fit me. The hauling process went great. The most difficult portion of the haul-out was backing Christa into the slings. After 11 years of ownership, I am about as expert as one can get with maneuvering a Westsail32. Any boat or ship has limitations. The trick always is to explore the limitation. To explore limitations you have to have boat driving skills in the first place. This is where my time in the Coast Guard has made all the difference. If you can believe it, I found it takes more skill to maneuver Christa at a whooping 39 feet length overall than it did to maneuver Morgenthau at 378 feet. You could actually "walk" Morgenthau sideways with an outboard shaft backing bell and the bowthruster. So with backing Christa into the slings I understood I couldn't do it with out "bumping" into things. So now I just estimated what and where I'd bump and made sure I was able to fend off. Worked like a champ.

The yard folks seem to be really knowledgeable and professional. It can be a little rattling at first, bacause like many places in the Banana Republics, there is junk everywhere. Old cars, engine blocks and trash of all kind strewn about. This always makes me wonder, if they can't bother to clean up, how can you trust they will come through elsewhere. But I've payed attention, checked out the travel lift and some other equipment and as far as I can tell all the equipment is maintained. And, the crew who hauled and placed Christa in the cradle were all business.

First night up on the hard, I quickly learned that with all the short-comings of the anchorage, one advantage was lack of mosquitos. At sunset, as I reveled in the electricity pouring into the batteries and the hum of the refrig, I suddenly noticed the hundreds of mosqitos buzzing around. I closed all hatches, fired up two fans and deployed the Off. I was held at bay until I started blasting away with my can of Raid. I knocked down the sworm and gained the upper hand. I think the word was out as I had no more troubles the rest of the evening.

So this week I'll finish up the jobs that can only be done out of water. I'll get some estimates on a couple of projects for the future so I can budget properly and then blast off next Monday aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Florida.

Capt Chris

Poolside Video

Poolside Grenada

Anchored St Davids Harbor
Southern Coast of Grenada
12.01.00N 061 40.05W


I was clued in the other day by Tom & Amy, formerly of the Team Sandpiper, and currently Team SadieSea Charters of St John USVI, that a phat pool could be used at the little resort. So yesterday the day dawned clear with no rain in sight. I was poolside the bulk of the bay. The resort is empty as it is now hurricane season. I didn't see one person the whole day. Since I deep sixed my iTouch awhile ago and my iPod nano also broke, I'm without mobile tunes. So I enjoyed the symphony of nature. Good thing I had my kindle up and running for max reading.

Pretty nice view of Christa I should say. But the weather is back to the norm. Dreadful down pours every hour or so and very humid. When I head ashore I generally get pinned down somewhere, waiting for a gusher to let up. Post deluge, I nose out, assess the likely hood of making it to my next destination before another gusher. Leap frog Grenada style. Right now I'm pinned down at the little beach bar at Grenada Marine. Thankfully we haven't had any thunderstoms, Salinas style with heavy winds. Just lots of rain thus far.

Capt Chris

The Southern Edge

Anchored St Davids Harbor
Southern Coast of Grenada
12.01.00N 061 40.05W




I arrived on Tuesday June 16th after a short, but painful motor sail from St Georges harbor. This is as far south as I intend to go. Christa will be hauled out on the 29th and set ashore, in a hurricane cradle. What is a hurricane cradle vis-a-vis a regular cradle? I'll provide a picture once Christa is in the cradle and let the pic tell the story. But in normal fashion, and I guess it is par, that my last seven miles were straight into the teeth of the trades. You may recall when I sailed from Carriacou I tried mightily to sail down the eastern shore of Grenada to prevent the aforementioned seven mile beat to windward. But I failed and ended up in St. Georges Lagoon, which in hindsight turned out to be for the best, even though I had the recent tough sail. St Davids really is deep in a valley far from the conveniences of the main town of St Georges. I'd go nuts spending a month or more in St Davids.


Above is a picture of Christa's current spot on the planet, taken from atop an abutment at a small resort called the Bel Air Plantation that overlooks the harbor. The anchorage is open to the south and when the wind swings around to the southeast, as it does frequently this time of year, the boat starts to roll. But, thus far it hasn't be out of hand. I will spend the next couple of weeks getting Christa ready for long term storage. Some of the items to attend to are, change the main engine oil, strip the sails, strip and wash canvas, winterize the Honda 2000, same for the outboard, strip as much rigging as possible. Generally get the boat hurricane ready, just in case. I'll also try and pre-stage some things to make life easier when I return.


So what do I do all day? I know many wonder and it can some times be a tough question to answer. As some many know I plan on using the the GI Bill to complete college. I've been shocked at the amount of effort and planning such a transition entails. But that is what I have been doing. Submitting applications, working on personal statements, crunching dollars, checking time lines, thinking about the downside and generally doing some soul searching. Since I plan on using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, just being rolled out, it has taken many Skype calls and research to digest what is happening. I even did an interview with the LA Times regarding California and how the new bill and California school systems are not meshing well. It can be very confusing and critical for me to understand the bill before I make any big moves, such as sailing back to Florida and trucking Christa to California, only to find the GI Bill will not cover the tuition. Wouldn't want that kind of Wuups. But I should know what I'm doing by September. So that's it for now from Grenada.


Capt Chris


PS: Don't forget that you can double click on the image to expand out. Also have a gander at my Picasso Photo Album and Youtube videos

Short Video of Marigot Bay