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You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
Contributed by kismet - This blog has been viewed 23 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 18, 2009
November 15, 2009
Chesapeake Bay
You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
By Jim Favors
As Lisa and I pulled out of Solomons Yachting Center, our home base for the summer, I couldn’t help but reminisce about our five-month adventure in the Chesapeake Bay area. It seemed like just yesterday we were arriving when Quinton, our new harbormaster, helped us into our slip for the first time. It was here we began our exploration of the Bay, meeting the locals, taking road trips to Washington, having friends and family visits, immersing ourselves in local events, sampling the food, all the while trying to...... Read More

Leaving The Med
Contributed by Feel Free - This blog has been viewed 48 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 18, 2009
November 15, 2009
Cadiz, Spain
36 31 N, 06 15 W
Leaving The Med
By Tom Morkin
Just by looking at a map of the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, you might guess that the Strait of Gibraltar that separates the two would prove to be an interesting body of water for sailors negotiating its 30-mile length. You’d be right.



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Reaching The Rock Of Gibraltar Milestone
Contributed by Feel Free - This blog has been viewed 68 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 13, 2009
November 1, 2009
La Linea, Spain
36 09 N, 005 21 W
Reaching The Rock Of Gibraltar Milestone
By Liz Tosoni
In just over two years, Feel Free and crew have sailed the wide expanse (more than 2,000 miles), of the Mediterranean, known to the Romans as Mare Nostrum (our sea), that almost tideless, salty, generally shallow sea the size of 30 Lake Superiors. The shores of the Med are populated by Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and hordes of tourists of ...... Read More

A Cult Following
Contributed by kismet - This blog has been viewed 17 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 13, 2009
November 1, 2009
Crisfield, Maryland
A Cult Following
By Lisa Targal Favors
Before we left Michigan in 2005 to begin our first Great Loop, we joined America’s Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA) and our close friends Mike and Lynn Borer quickly started referring to our new affiliation as that “cult” we’d joined. Well, as we headed north up the Intracoastal Waterway last spring we made a decision to become members of another faction of the boating community, the Marine Trawler Owner’s Association (MTOA).




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How to Beat "Marine" Label High Prices
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 19 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 12, 2009
When I buy for my boat, I usually buy gear that is allegedly made for marine use. There’s a reason. It’s basically that I’m more interested in hanging on to my backside than I am in hanging on to my bucks. And much of the stuff made for use in houses and cars may, directly or indirectly, create a safety issue when used in a boat. So I’m ready to pay more for the marine product because it, in theory, costs more to make. But here’s the rub. Unfortunately, some products with “marine” stamped on them have nothing of “marine” quality other than...... Read More

Make Your Own Look Bucket
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 108 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: November 03, 2009
When we first went to the Bahamas, many years ago, friends told us to be sure to get a “look bucket.” We weren’t even sure what this was, but we got one and it, as well as its many replacements, has been invaluable as a tool, a food finder and a source of entertainment. It’s basically a bucket with a see-through bottom. You put the bucket in the water and look through it. Unless the water is really muddy you can see below the surface. In clear waters you can see far down, even to the bottom. In a way, it’s like snorkeling wit...... Read More

Now You See It
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 185 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: October 15, 2009

Most of us didn’t know it, but during the past two years something happened that will be very helpful and important to us all. A standard for rating flashlights and spotlights has come into being. Why is that important? How many times have you needed a good light and looked at the absurd claims of millions of candle power on product boxes? So you pick out one with the most millions (and maybe the lowest cost), take it to your boat, try it out and discover that it isn’t worth squat. Sure, you can probably take it back, but that fact didn’t help a bit during the dark night...... Read More

Somewhere in Time
Contributed by kismet - This blog has been viewed 177 times and there are 1 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: October 15, 2009
Somewhere in Time,” a movie starring the late Christopher Reeve, takes place in the farthest reaches of northern Michigan, on an island you can only get to by boat. The movie depicts a bygone era (1912) and was filmed at one of our favorite Michigan boating destinations, Mackinac Island and the beautiful Grand Hotel, which was first opened in 1887. Even today, the island’s residents have carefully preserved the charm and uniqueness of the turn of the 20th century. Much like our favorite Michigan port, we recently had the opportunity to discover that Tangier Island, Maryland, has a s...... Read More

Sailing Spains Costa del Sol
Contributed by Feel Free - This blog has been viewed 137 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: October 15, 2009
Our sailing in Spain could easily be classified into three parts: 1) Balearic Islands 2) Costa Blanca 3) Costa del Sol. The last, the Costa del Sol (aka “Costa del Plastico”), has been put behind us. In truth, our nine days on the southernmost coast of Spain were not that bad, especially if you didn’t mind open roadsteads for anchorages, rolling from gunnel to gunnel 50 percent of the time, knowing it would cost $150 a night for a marina berth, being trapped on your boat for fear of taking your dinghy near the surf pounded shore. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Cost...... Read More

Chain Care
Contributed by Tom Neale - This blog has been viewed 231 times and there are 0 comments
Posted In Cruising Log
Posted: October 01, 2009
Have you had to replace your anchor chain lately? If you have, you know it’s a very expensive proposition. I’m not talking about a few feet on the end of a nylon rode. That’s not a very big deal. I’m talking about maybe one or two hundred feet or more on a rode that’s primarily chain. We’ve ridden out hurricanes, tornadoes, prolonged full storms and a lot more at anchor, and I believe that quality chain, if used properly with nylon snubbing lines, is the best way to go, if you can carry the weight. But chain, even the good stuff, rusts, unless it’s st...... Read More

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