August 22, 2015
Wanted to archive this short article from Quantum Sails on the Cruising World website … good info Taking your friends and family out for a day cruise is just about the best way we can think of to enjoy the fall colors that are about to start painting the northern parts of the U.S. But […]
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Tags: cruising world, encore, quantum, reefing, sailing
September 28, 2020
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Tags: 1970s, chevy van, mellow, memories, mp3, Music, music monday, musicmonday, sammy johns, social unrest, thoughts
September 4, 2020
Larry and Lin Pardey have been a couple of my sailing idols since I was in high school. Their life adventure, magazine articles and books have been a mainstay in keeping the cruising lifestyle close to my heart and in my dreams. I’ve posted a few times before regarding their philosophy and many skills, but […]
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Tags: articles, Books, larry pardey, lin pardey, new zealand, nytimes, obit, Obituary, pdf, sailing
November 10, 2017
There is not a single "cruising" sailor my age who hasn’t been influenced one way or another by Lin and Larry Pardey. Their "go small, go simple, go now" sailing books, videos and decades of article contributions to the sailing community have been huge for generations of dreamers and sailors. I really enjoyed a recent […]
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Tags: article, cruising, crusing world, lessons, life, magazine, pardey, sailing
October 10, 2016
The Giffords are part of a growing, but little-known community of people called cruisers. (A 2011 survey placed the global total number of cruising boats at 10,000.) “Cruising requires that you learn to live without structure. And some people are really afraid of that.” While many cruisers are couples or individuals who have given up […]
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Tags: article, cruising, liveaboard, pardey, story, totem
April 14, 2016
Although Fatty Goodlander’s book "Creative Anchoring: Everything About Anchors and Anchoring" is a more in-depth guide to anchoring your small boat, a 2014 AllAtSea.net article by the same author is shorter and very good advice. I’ve read it before, but it is worth archiving on my personal blog just in case the link disappears. Anchoring […]
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Tags: anchor, anchoring, archive, fatty, fatty goodlander, goodlander, sailboat
March 31, 2016
Solo ’round-the-world sailor Donna Lange is safely at anchor west of the Panama Canal after lousy weather stymied her non-stop circumnavigation via the Cape Horn. She detoured after suffering damage and lose of her electronics and will head for a Rhode Island completion after passing through the canal. Her initial plan was to be the […]
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Tags: circumnavigation, donna lange, sailboat, sailing
April 6, 2015
There are several issues to address before gaining much confidence in our existing non-electric Cape Horn Self Steering gear … first and foremost is that I’m missing both the light and heavy air windvanes. These are the vanes which set the course based on wind direction and transfer the “off-track” detection to the paddle which […]
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Tags: cape horn, cruising world, encore, self-steering, windvane
March 28, 2015
One of my favorite sailing authors Fatty Goodlander has a new book, Creative Anchoring: Everything about Anchors and Anchoring, and it is now available. With some travel ahead I opted to purchase and download the ebook to my iPad for $9.99 at Amazon. Fatty's writing style is always entertaining be it a magazine article, sailing […]
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Tags: amazon, anchoring, Books, cruising, ebook, fatty goodlander, sailing, sharkshares
March 25, 2015
My magazine reading has slipped in recent years and after 35 years of nary a missed issue of Cruising World magazine, I’m considering canceling my paper issue. Actually with all the information available on the Internet I may not even want a digital copy? I’ve posted numerous tips and comments associated with the publication, but […]
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Tags: crusing world, magazines, publications, sailboat
February 11, 2014
One of the pleasures of my “adult” life has been enjoying coffee. Generally I’m content with run of the mill canned coffee or “plain Joe” restaurant brew for that first cup of the day, but after dinner or on the weekend I much prefer a freshly ground bean from roasters who know their craft. Recently […]
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Tags: coffee, jamaica, kona
August 6, 2010
Far be in from me to discourage sailing, cruising and voyaging around the world … but at some point a parent will go too far in supporting a parent’s a child’s dream. Personally speaking my childhood hero was Robin Lee Graham who set sail at 16 for his around the world voyage – and there […]
Filed under: Cellphone, Sailing, Weather by RichC | 2 Comments »
Tags: circumnavigating, colin, hurricane, sailing, track-it-deluxe
April 16, 2010
Checking my list for the weekend and it looks as if there is a bit of work in the yard … yes the grass is growing, as are the weeds. But higher on the priority list is installing our new “cash for appliances” energy efficient dishwasher. Unfortunately the delivery was not without an issue … […]
Filed under: Books, History, Personal, Sailing by RichC | 2 Comments »
Tags: Books, cruising world, dishwasher, History, magazines, sailing
March 26, 2010
I’ve waited a few weeks in order to fairly judge the NetTalk phone service and it’s associated smallish hardware device which promises “Unlimited Local and Long Distance Calling in the US and Canada.” The VOIP service is similar to other marketed services and devices that transform broadband Internet connections into something that resembles traditional landline […]
Filed under: Productivity, Technology by RichC | 14 Comments »
Tags: bills, nettalk, phone, telephone, voip
January 26, 2010
Wayne Meretsky shares the “Loss of Moonduster“ We arrived in Savusavu, Fiji, on Monday, November 23, after a fairly uneventful 3-day passage from Tonga. Our goal was to spend a month cruising the western Yasawa Islands before leaving from Lautoka around Christmas to arrive in New Zealand early in the New Year. After a week […]
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January 12, 2010
For many years I’ve contemplated buying a fairly expensive reference style book — one that I really don’t currently need, but have wanted. Since I had a few Christmas dollars to spend (thanks Mom H.) I figured now was the perfect time add the $60.00 628 page book to my library. After spending a few […]
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Tags: book, cruising, ocean, sailing
December 31, 2009
I’ve mentioned my favorite sailing magazine (Cruising World) before on my blog, but a fraction of a second appearance of a December 2003 issue in one of my favorite CBS television programs, NCIS, made my night. We’ve been working our way through the television series when during the ‘Untouchable’ episode in Season 3 of […]
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Tags: cruising world, magazine, ncis, sailing, television, tv
September 17, 2009
Since my mind in on planning our trip to Annapolis and sailing, it seem fitting to tie today’s post to Tuesday’s when I mentioned my favorite periodical Cruising World. My collection of that magazine is similar to may who have a collection of back issues of National Geographic magazine. Anyway, it’s a good time to […]
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Tags: crusing world, fatty goodlander, magazine, sailing
July 17, 2007
Glancing through my August 2007 issue of Cruising World magazine, I recognized the “Shoreline” photo as solo-circumnavigating sailor Donna Lange. Long time readers will recall the many posts made in my blog and might enjoy seeing one last photo celebrating as she heads into her home port of call, Bristol Rhode Island. (larger image) The […]
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May 1, 2007
From all accounts and an email from Donna, the festivities in Bristol were pretty humbling or as she herself writes: “Life is beyond amazing at this point. The events happening are surreal. Someone pinch me.” The past week has been a whirlwind for Donna Lange, as she managed to give speeches, share some music and […]
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July 13, 2023
My friend Jeff and I (same age) have been struggling with how to let things go that were either ours … and that we no longer need … or part of our family’s history? He has tons of books that he’s been donating to the local library, a storage unit with some of his mom’s […]
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Tags: Books, cruising world, family, jeffp, magazines, meatgrinder, miterbox, old tools, tool wall
June 2, 2022
The “bowling” comment I made a couple weeks ago triggered me thinking about what “junk” to put back in my office storage closet and what to toss. There are “functional” but OLD computers (with hard drives and too much CPP customer data), boxes of magazines … and more to the point … my old bowling […]
Filed under: Friends, Memories, Personal, Photos, TBT by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ada, bowling, capri, college, drew, founders hall, jeff pitts, jeffp, katelyn, ohio, ohio northern, onu
November 9, 2019
When chatting about our recent vacation to Florida with a long time customer (friend) in Akron, Ohio, he asked why we picked Delray Beach, Florida as an area to buy a condo (I detected he is beginning to think about retiring). Although I realized that I really haven’t given much thought to how we ended […]
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Tags: aerial, bathroom, brenda, brenich, condo1718, delray beach, encore, florida, History, kitchen, life, Memory, remodel, retirement, richc, sailing, update, VacationOct2019
March 2, 2019
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Filed under: Advice, Alexa, Archive, Audio, Hobby, Misc, Personal, Photos, Sailing, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Alexa, annalyn, audio, birthday, change, dreams, echo, future, hobby, Humor, life, lifetime, message, mp3, planning, projects, sailing, setbacks, soap, thinking, woodworking
January 18, 2019
The recent price increases rumbling through the economy are starting to be felt in the products we all use and have learned to appreciate. One of the services I’ll likely eliminate before the monthly price increase is the streaming service Netflix. We did this once before, but with all the new added content and lack […]
Filed under: Business, Computer, Entertainment, Marketing, Memories, Movies, Personal, Productivity, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: adobe, budget, computers, email, expenses, magazines, mailbox, microsoft, netflix, overhead, reading, Software, subscriptions, tech friday, techfriday, ups
December 30, 2016
There are much better places to save articles than a publicly available blog like Evernote, GetPocket, Google apps as well as locally archived HTML, Docs and PDFs, but I still occasionally enjoy having them on MyDesultoryBlog. So as with a few other archived articles on reefing (1 & 2), I’m saving this Cruising World Seamanship 101: […]
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Tags: article, cruising world, reefing, sailboat, sails, seamanship
July 16, 2016
Use these tips for properly charging and monitoring AGM batteries to maximize their efficiency, output and lifespan. Source: Monthly Maintenance: All Charged Up
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Tags: alternator, battery, charging, cruising world, maintenance, sailboat
May 27, 2016
Top ways to use your tablet or iPad on board your boat — Matthew Sheahan 12/15/2015 How are sailors using their iPad or tablet on board? Matthew Sheahan talks to cruising sailors, racers and industry professionals Photo: Tor Johnson As iPads and other tablets become a part of the arsenal of electronics on board, their […]
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Tags: archive, cruising, ipad, sailboat, tablet, yachting world
October 13, 2015
From Cruising World’s Facebook page: It’s How-To Tuesday! Here is one of our favorite, quick and easy ways tie a dependable stopper knot that won’t slip.
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Tags: cruising world, encore, knots, sailboat
September 10, 2014
Mention Great White, Tiger and Hammerhead to most people at the beach and they will usually bristle with concern or at least know you are talking about “dangerous” sharks. Mention the Bull Shark and NOT many realize that IF the minuscule chance of a shark attacked occurred, the Bull Shark would very likely be the […]
Filed under: Environment, Nature by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: attack, bites, bull shark, fishing, ocean, sharks, sharkshares, surf
February 16, 2014
One of the longer term projects that I continue to ponder and seek opinions on is how to handle the Zodiac while keeping one of Encore’s expensive options, the Cape Horn Self-Steering gear. It has been a quandary for a while now and I’ve gone back and forth. A recent ad in Cruising World classified […]
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Tags: cape horn, dinghy, encore, inflatable, sailing, self-steering, zodiac
April 18, 2013
I’ve been sort of monitoring the sharks along the Florida coast for a couple years and with the advanced GPS locators tagging a few Great Whites, the migrations are amazing. A story from the Key West Keynoter newspaper seems to have one even farther south than Mary Lee. A Massachusetts man diving with his father […]
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Tags: great white sharks, sharkshares
December 22, 2012
Here’s a tool tip (pun intended) right up my alley from a Cruising World reader … sharper-wedge shaped needle nose pliers (used for pulling staples, etc). I regularly modify cheap screwdrivers for a variety of project … and will add this modification to one of my junker pliers.
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Tags: pliers, tools
May 4, 2012
I received a needed lesson in blessings and being thankful today. My sailing friends Mark and Judy Handley have been sharing their daily lives online for many years while cruising around the world. Their circumnavigation ended over a year ago, but Judy continues to document their return to a “somewhat” more normal life. Unfortunately this […]
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Tags: chemotherapy, grandchildren, handley
November 3, 2011
I’m glad there are some innovative types out there, but flying and electric sixteen propeller multicopter is not ever going to be as comforting as being in a Boeing 767 (see yesterday’s belly landing in Warsaw, Poland). A company called E-Volo in Germany has built a spider-like multicopter that is capable of lifting a “rider”using […]
Filed under: Aviation by RichC | 1 Comment »
Tags: electric, flight, germany, multicopter
August 15, 2011
Couldn’t resist dreaming of exotic ports of call and far away anchorages … this one is from the Chagos in the Indian Ocean (he archipelago has the largest expanse of undisturbed coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, as well as rare and endangered species of birds and other wildlife. There are strict conservation rules, which […]
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Tags: anchorage, chagos, cruising, magazine, sailing, world
July 25, 2011
One of the more interesting EV airplanes at Airventure 2011 this year. SolarWorld, a large U.S. manufacturer of solar panels, will showcase the maiden U.S. appearance of a zero-emissions electric aircraft at EAA AirVentureOshkosh 2011 in Oshkosh, Wis., starting Monday. The single-seat Elektra One is designed for more than three hours of flight, a range […]
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July 3, 2011
Siemens, along with Diamond Aircraft and EADS, unveiled the two-seat airplane called the DA36 E-Star, at the 2011 Paris Air Show. The series hybrid propulsion cuts fuel consumption and emissions by 25 percent, compared to today’s most fuel-efficient airplane propulsion systems according to Siemens. E-Star’s propeller is turned by a 70 kW electric motor and […]
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Tags: aviation EADS, diamond aircraft, hybrid, siemens
December 9, 2010
Encore – and UK built 1986 well equipped 36’ Westerly Corsair CC I’ve been offline and a bit out of kilter the last couple of days … I could say I was busy Christmas shopping, but then what I’m doing sort of stretches any Christmas present budget that I’m aware of? I headed to sunny […]
Filed under: Personal, Photos, Sailing by RichC | 2 Comments »
Tags: encore, florida, sailing, weather
November 15, 2010
The 2004 Jean-Claude Picot seriolithograph from our trip to Bermuda this past summer finally arrived (Trip archive: Post 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ). I’m saving an image of the painting so that at least I’ll have a record somewhere. Our Saturday afternoon unboxing Since 1956, Jean Claude Picot has been working exclusively as […]
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Tags: archive, artwork, bermuda, cruise, vacation
April 28, 2010
Since I spend part of my day on the road, my mind wanders from the tiring chatter of political radio talk that never ends (and focusing on driving) to daydreaming about sailing and escapism. I suspect most everyone has dreams or plans for retirement, but some are probably a bit more realistic than mine? I’ve […]
Filed under: Personal, Sailing, Video by RichC | 6 Comments »
Tags: dream, for sale, sailboat, yacht
September 15, 2009
I realize that the post title could be a bit misleading as I’m not “preparing as a presenter” at the 40th Annual Annapolis Sailboat Show, but “visiting” the show. Traditionally my wife and I would take a yearly trip to Annapolis toward end sailing season and enjoy the ambiance of the old city. We’ve detoured […]
Filed under: Sailing, Travel by RichC | 7 Comments »
Tags: annapolis, boatshow, crusing world, Sailing Friends
March 15, 2008
When I heard about the passing of renown conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. on February 27th 2008, I started to reminisce about the impact he had on my life. I am able to put a finger on a few people who have played a significant role in developing my personality, my interests, my views and […]
Filed under: Books, History, Memories, Obituary, Personal, Sailing by RichC | 10 Comments »
Tags: Books, memories, sailing, wfb, william f buckley
April 27, 2007
For those of you keeping up with Donna Lange and her solo circumnavigation here and elsewhere, she is visiting the Rhode Island Statehouse today in preparation for a welcome home celebration on Saturday in Bristol, RI. Officials in the state have declared April 28th “Donna Lange Day” — how cool is that? Following her visit […]
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Tags: donna lange, inspired insanity, new zealand, sailing
March 23, 2007
Those of you who have been following Earthrace and looking for updates like me, might have wondered what’s happening? (no updates for several day until today) I’ve noted that they suffered problems with an engine and would be coming in for repairs, but never suspected the news would be so grim. Unfortunately on March 18 […]
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