Big Bertha

Matanzas River
29 48.97 N 081 17.53 W

We had a leisurely day on the ICW.  We decided to bypass Saint Augustine.  We've seen the sights there before, and we had no errands to run on shore.  The bottom line was Libby's statement.  She said that if we stopped to get a mooring for the night, she would not be interested in going ashore.

And now for a topic left over from last summer:

In the picture below you see me holding Big Bertha. That’s what I call our 80 pound Luke anchor.



We bought Big Bertha specifically for Lake Champlain and places like Porter Bay. You see, zebra mussels have invaded the lake and made the water much clearer. That allowed sunlight to penetrate to the bottom to depths it never did before. That in turn caused an explosion in weeds, especially the kind called milfoil.

Many of my prior favorite anchorages were so choked with week that I couldn’t use them. I could drop the CQR anchor or the Danforth anchor but they wouldn’t bite. The problem was that the weeds were so thick that the lightweight anchors couldn’t penetrate down to the mud. I had to increase my minimum anchoring water depth on Champlain to 15’ and then to 20’. My favorite sheltered spots where I could anchor close in at 7’.

The solution was Big Bertha. She sure penetrates to the bottom. The two pictures below show us raising anchor after Tropical Storm Irene in Porter Bay. The entire 120’ of chain I had out was fouled with weeds, and Big Bertha brought up 150 pounds of weeds with her. I was sure sweating by the time we got all that on board and clear of weeds.

When not on Champlain, Big Bertha comes apart in three pieces. I store the pieces in the lazarette, down below the water line. A secondary benefit is that we have a great storm anchor if we ever need it. We felt extra secure during Irene with Big Bertha and 120’ of chain out in 7’ of water.

A fisherman’s type anchor (such as the Luke) is also useful if you must have short scope. Suppose you come into a harbor so crowded that you can’t anchor with anything more than a 3:1 or even 2:1 scope. Then the fisherman anchor can serve you well. They rely more on their own massive weight to hold rather than a clever shape.

Big Bertha is so big that she has a 7/8” shackle on the end. I use 3/8:” shackles to attach my anchors to our 5/16” chain. No way a 3/8” shackle can couple with a 7/8”. I have to tie an enormous bowline knot in our chain to attach it to Big Bertha. I wire down the loose end. It appears to do the job well. I've never tied a knot in chain otherwise.

When we are sailing on Champlain, Big Bertha can’t be left on deck. We carry her tied to the side up at the bow. I figured out how to do it in a way that isn’t loose and doesn’t scratch the hull.

When we pull into an anchorage on Champlain among all those local weekend sailors, you should see their eyes pop when I unleash Big Bertha.

No Plans, No Cares

Sisters Creek
30 26.09 N 081 27.39 W

On Friday our friends Mike and Nancy took us out to a nice restaurant in Mayport.  It was right next to the Mayport ferry terminal and it had a great view of the river.  We were interested in Mike's stories about hiking on the Appalachian Trail.  It has certain similarities to boat cruising, but many differences.  Thank you Nancy and Mike.

Today we're heading down to visit Terri and Larry on the Saint Johns River.  They have a place on the water just a bit west of the ICW.  Tomorrow we'll head south on the ICW, hopefully with a near optimum tidal current boost.   I would like to get past Saint Augustine Monday, then head for Matanzas Inlet arriving at high tide on Tuesday.  We can spend a day or so exploring there.

After that what?  We have no plans, no schedule, no cares.  For the next 5 days or so the weather does not look favorable for going outside.  Therefore we'll just poke along the ICW.  Maybe we'll try the new marina at Marineland.  Maybe we'll call our school mate Kerry when we're in Daytona.  That's not a bad agenda; right?

Smartphone Apps Redux

Fernandina Beach, Florida
30 43.14 N 081 32.78 W

My friend Don bought a new smartphone.  He asked me to update my list of apps that I find useful while cruising.  Glad to.  Here goes:

Nautical Apps Navionics USA East -- a full featured chart plotter with the whole USA east coast.  Does things your regular chart plotter can't.  Does not need a cell phone signal to work.  Battery hog but a great backup for only $9.99 Tide Predictor Weather Bug Deluxe -- great weather centered on your GPS pos.  Doppler radar shows animations of thunderstorms up to 100 miles away.  You can tell if a storm will hit you or not.  Get the deluxe version (I think $1.99) First aid quick ref in your pocket Real Calc Hurricane Hound Free Bubble level Sound meter & Vibrometer.  These meters are not calibrated but you don't care.  Just start a log and record baseline values (such as cruising at 1800 RPM with phone flat on deck above the transmission.)  Repeat periodically.  You're looking for sudden jumps or creeping trends. Tricorder - named after the hand-held scanners in the original Star Trek, but it's very useful.  See gravity/acceleration in 3 axes.  magnetic field in 3 axes.  Acoustic spectrum.  GPS position and satellites.  Cell phone signal and WIFI signal strengths, and solar activity.   Gives you a window on the built-in sensors in your phone. Nautichart   phone version of activecaptain.com  (I don't like it much) passageweather.com is a primary source for weather.  Go there, and they have a phone app.  Sailflow.com is similar but better for inland waters.  You can save bookmarks with both passageweather and sailflow for your favorite regions, then put icons for those bookmarks on the desktop for quick access. Star Gazing Google Earth.  Centers on your GPS position. See what's behind that bank of trees.  Like having a chopper mounted camera following you around. Google Sky Map.  Blows everyone's mind.  Point your phone at a bright object in the sky and this app shows you it's name.   Predisat  -- see times & where to look for ISS flyovers and Irridium flashes. Meteor Showers -- like predisat but for meteors ISS Lookup -- see where the ISS is right now. Sky Eye a built-in planetarium progrem.  (on your laptop get a world class free program Stellarium -- great fun) ZP Dashboard.  Like a pilot's heads-up display for heading and azimuth.  Useful when trying to locate an object by declination and elevation. Utility Two touch timer -- timer/alarm clock Barcode scanner App2SD -- may or may not work on your phone. Moves apps from scarce memory space to plentiful SD card space.  Makes your phone faster but startup time for apps might be slower.  If this doesn't work, you can fill up your phone's memory faster with too many apps. Wifi analyzer. Data quota.  Who's your carrier? I have Verizon.  They provide an app that shows my data use for the month, so I can compare it with my quota.  Vital. Password Master  I store copies of all my online and phone account names and passwords here.  It is protection if you forget them. Lookout -- vital, free, antivirus security for your phone.  Also backs up some stuff and has features for a lost phone.  I don't need the premium version. cab4me    Gives you the phone number for the nearest cab to your GPS pos.  S2 Calendar Widget -- displays this month's calendar as an icon on my home screen.  Click it to make appointments. Easy Tether Pro -- My most important program.  It makes my phone into a broadband modem for my laptop.  I'm using it right now to write this email while under way.  At night, Libby and I watch movies or TV shows on the laptop via the phone's tether.  Cell providers and Apple are cracking down on tether programs.  They want to charge you an extra $50/month for tethering service.  My app I got for $9.99 before they clamped down so I'm grandfathered. You should at least try to get it and install it. Call Confirm  prevents butt calling.  Pops a window that makes you answer YES I really do want to dial this number. ebay key ring.  Scan and store the numbers of all your credit/loyalty/membership cards.  Then you don't need those cards in your wallet and/or provide a backup record in case you loose a card.  The app claims that it can show the card barcode on the screen and the store's scanner will scan it, but that part doesn't work. Shake To Answer -- does what it says. Quick Settings -- give much easier and more convenient access to phone settings. Entertainment (whatever suits your taste. I use the following) Youtube viewer News - I'm a news addict.  Every day I use apps for Slashdot/NY Times/Drudge Report/NPR/Dilbert/Fox News/USA Today/Washpost/Public Radio. Google Reader.  Give it the list of blogs/podcasts you follow.  It gives you a consolidated list of new stuff since you last looked. Music -- MP3 music/podcast player. Listen -- player for online podcasts Angry Birds - everyone else on this planet has it already, you might as well do it too. Bubble buster, Space Physics, Fish Food, Toss it, Quadit, solitare -- fun games Caution If you have a data cap of 2GB or less, you'll have to watch your use.  Video sucks it up fast, about 0.5 GB per hour of viewing.   Audio takes about 1GB every 6 hours of listening.   If you have 4G, it is so fast you can use up your monthly data quota in 11 minutes!!!  If you have a 256MB cap, you'll need WIFI almost all the time.  Be careful.  I'm lucky to be grandfathered with unlimited data for $30/month.  That lasts as long as my contract. If I ever get a new phone and a new contract, I lose the grandfather privilege.

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Repaired and Ready

Fernandina Beach, Florida
30 43.14 N 081 32.78 W


Well, our new mounts are in, the engine is aligned.  For the time being, vibrations seem to be a minimum.   We have yet to settle on the long term solution.  I plan to go on the hard at Cracker Boys in Fort Pierce, but we have not net decided on a course of action.  Stay tuned.  I'll let you know what Beta says.


A very favorable surprise was the good service from Tradewinds,  a local marine service company with proprietor Wayne York.  They did the job in 3.5 hours @65.   Two years ago, Helseth Marine, from Vero Beach, took 9 hours @$100, and the end result was not as good. Quite a difference.  Our local friend, Charlie recommended Tradewinds.  Thanks for that tip Charlie.


On the social scene, we've been riding high this week.  Yesterday I was using my computer in the sailors lounge here at the city marina when I heard a loud voice behind me, "You're Under Arrest."   It was Darrick, the police chief from Wisconsin who is now Captain of the cruising boat Y-Knot under direction of his Admiral Sharron.  They left Beaufort NC the day before we left Little Inlet.  Darrick was better at reading the weather than I was.  He hugged the coast rather than following the rhumb line.   During the two days we were out, Y-Knot passed us and arrived at Saint Marys Inlet 5 hours before we did.


Tonight, we had a visit from local cruisers Larry and Terri.  They live nearby on the Saint Johns river.   We introduced them to Darrick and Sharron, and the 6 of us went out for a very nice Italian dinner.   Fernandina Beach is a great place for such activities.  It is also a great favorite for tourists.  Every day we see tourists walking around the waterfront obviously charmed by the atmosphere.  It reminds me of how Libby and I were instantly enchanted by Boothbay Harbor Maine when we first encountered it on our honeymoon way back in 1965.


Tomorrow night we have a date with Mike and Nancy.  After that, we're not sure on our next move.  The weekend weather is not the best for going offshore.   

Holding Pattern

Fernandina Beach, Florida
30 43.14 N 081 32.78 W


I got lots of good comments and advice yesterday about my vibration problem.  Read the comments to yesterday's post.  


We're going ahead with the motor mount replacement without having a real resolution to the vibration problem.  What choice do we have?  I plan to consult with Bud Taplin and Stanley at Beta before proceeding.   


In any event, we'll be here in Fernandina most of the week.  We had dinner with Charlie & Mary last night (Thank you very much.)   Tomorrow we're meeting with Larry & Terri, and on Friday with Michael and Nancy.  That's a pretty full social calendar.  We love it.

After that?  We're not sure what.  Remnants of Hurricane Rita may pass here on Saturday bringing gale winds. Maybe not. Weather forecasts on Rita are very uncertain.   We sure hope that's the last named storm this year.


So far, we're still well ahead of the pack of cruisers heading south.  Many of them are restricted by their insurance policies to not go south of the Carolinas before November 1.