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Viking

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Viking

  1. We dropped the hook west of Boot Key where a dozen other boats were anchored. Funny you mention hoving to because the next night we tried to figure out how to do just that. We were heading directly into a 12kt wind in Florida Bay. Night came and we could no longer motor since there's a god damn fucking ass ton of crab pots in SW Florida. We'd tried a few things to stop our motion without success and finaly just deployed the jib and slowly sailed perpendicular to the wind until it shifted. I need to figure out how to hove to in a cat.
  2. We left Samana, DR to head back to Florida on Monday. The Bahamas is closed to transiting boats so legally our route had to be around the Bahamas on the north or south side. I was tempted to cut through the middle and take my chances (its huge with limited naval resources, so 99% chance I'd go undetected) but eventually decided on the south route. Trip was 6 days, 900 miles from DR to Marathon where we rested 1 night and then another 150 up to Charlotte Harbor FL. No idea what are options are for next year. I worry that even if countries are open what the reception will be like. Our current thoughts are that if the Bahamas is open by November that we'll head there for next season and spend 6 months there and then maybe 6 months in the US and Canada northeast (Nova Scotia, Maine, Chesapeake, etc)
  3. I just fueled up in Marathon and heard that other marinas along the keys are open. The dockhands are being cautious: they spray the fuel handle with disinfectant and tell you to stay on your boat.
  4. Yup. Just about everywhere is closed to foreign boaters. We've heard some nightmares: eg people crossing the Pacific being denied entry. You can't blame the Islanders: if they don't have Corona then why take the risk? Even islands that you should have rights to enter are finding ways to deny entry. We have friends, US citizens, that are harassed in Puerto Rico. They were allowed entry (since that is controlled by US Border Patrol) but the governor of PR closed all marinas and the cops harass you when you anchor. They finally had to move to the USVIs. One of the few places that is still open and accommodating to cruisers that have no other options. We're personally looking to get off the boat until the Bahamas opens up... Hopefully in November.
  5. if you're wanting stimulus then there's no better group to give money to than a boat owner. Give me 100k and I'll put riggers, electricians, mechanics, fiberglassers, painters, etc, etc to work instantly. I'm still in Samana planning how to get back to mainland US by boat in the next month or two. 5 or 6 boats left here a day ago heading to PR with plans on Grenada. That was our plan but it just seems too hopeful and risky. I don't see ports opening up to outsiders for awhile. Hope I'm wrong and shit gets better.
  6. That's all been priced in. Now it's a growth stock.
  7. Ayup. My wife is from rural Kansas and her family has suffered from the really shitty doctors there. She's learned that the best doctor in town is the vet and if you want good care you need to go to Dallas.
  8. God damn I hate you. That looks so fucking good. <-- 1000 miles from the nearest whataburger
  9. Coup is a quick and fun game. Arboretum is also good. Pick up some board games too. Ticket to Ride. Reef. Catan.
  10. How many hours did the trip take you? When you wrote 200 miles I started thinking like a cruiser and figuring out how many days that'd take. But you're in a Ferrari vs my VW bus. Badass boat by the way... I need to figure a way to cross paths so I can bum a ride. Are you keeping it in S FL for awhile or taking it up to the lakes?
  11. I've been meaning to post some pics of the boat but I got my phone wet and dead shortly after we got to Staniel Cay and it took 6 weeks until I could get a replacement in George Town. We left GT the day after my phone finally cleared customs (which was a total clusterfuck) and then took off to the DR on half a weather window. The first half from GT to Turks and Caicos was glorious down hill sailing.. 15 knots at 120deg and 3ft waves. The second half was shit. The wind increased to 25 gusting 30 and the waves and swell grew to 6-10ft and it was on our beam for 36 hours. The boat is a 2004 Manta 42, built in St Petesburg FL. This is at Water Cay in the Raggeds. After 2 weeks in George Town my wife and I needed a break and found it here. There were no other cruising boats for the 5 days we were there. Here's where we are currently in Samana, DR. The boat looks small but that's a 70' monohull on the right that belongs to a boarding school in RI and a 65' Bertram on the left.
  12. That sounds miserable. Does your route take you between Nassau and the Berrys? The waves look particularly shitty there.
  13. Whoopsie!
  14. Not yet. I've got a bunch of pics taken while on the boat but very few of the boat. I'll try to get some at anchor. Maybe we'll do some MOB drills and I'll get some of the boat under sail. 😁 Our plans are *breathes deep* to get to Grenada by June which is the start of huricane season. It's going to be a bitch though since we're going against the trades until we get to the Virgin Islands. Might need a new thread to document your travels. There's a thread for boat retirement/sabbatical but I'd be the only one posting to it. I dunno if my ego is big enough to have my own surly thread. We'll prob hit staniel cay on the way down to Georgetown. Been there? Any recs? We know little about the exumas except what is in the explorer charts.
  15. I finally got the boat "ready", quit my job, and pushed off the dock for good a week before Christmas. We were trapped in the Fort Myers area for a week while a system spun around but Christmas day brought us a N wind that we used to get to the keys. We've been moving fast ever since trying to get to the exumas. We generally sail a day for 6-10 hours and then take the next day off. We're currently anchored off Highbourne Cay where the Christmas trades are in full force. Winds E at 25 gusting 33 all day and night for 3-5 days straight.
  16. My wife is from Kansas and her family has a huge gathering every three years at her cousin's house in Wichita. The place is fucking huge and badass. No cookie cutter mcmansion bullshit. There's at least 6 entrances to the place. Marble throughout. The master stairway (there's 3 sets of stairs) is 6+ feet wide. I was in awe of the place. Put that house in Highland Park and it's 5-10 mil easy. In Wichita? They bought it for 450k. My mass built home in the Dallas suburbs was just a tad cheaper.
  17. My marina neighbor has a Lagoon 450 flybridge like the one pictured. I used to think that the flybridge would be fucking badass but then I saw that the riggers needed a 5 step ladder to reach the gooseneck and the end of the boom. Fuck that.
  18. This man speaks the truth. Also look for uncooked torts in the frozen aisles. Those are the best. The others have preservatives which ruin the simple flavors of a tort.
  19. Viking

    Memphis

    I lived in Memphis for 8 years and still travel there regularly for business. I'll just echo some of the good suggestions made so far: Gus, Central bbq, Wiseacre. I'm not a fan of fried chicken but I fucking love Gus'. The original location downtown is by far the best. Just be prepared for really slow service. There's been a restaurant boom in Memphis in the last decade. Lots of really good food beyond bbq and fried chicken. If you want a great steak then Folk's Folly is badass. Los Tortugas Deli Mexicana is great. Get the torts and not the tacos. Cooper-Young and Cooper-Madison have some good restaurants. Alchemy and Robata Ramen and Yakatori are good. Kudos for no one recommending Rendezvouz. That place sucks.
  20. If any financial entity offers to loan me long term money at 0% interest, I take it.
  21. I get about 30 minutes into episode 1 of every season before I remember to turn on CC.
  22. Here's a good example of why boat projects can take so fucking long. The hatch over my helm is busted up. See that boom on the left? It strongly objects to the hatch being open in the most violent of ways as the previous owner discovered. Fortunately the manufacturer of said hatch is still in business and still makes the exact same hatch. Same part number, same dimensions. This should be an easy job! But nah, the holes on the bottom frame were all moved by 1/10 of an inch. My bimini top is aluminum and I know of know good way to "relocate" a hole 1/10" in Al. This isn't the first time where I've replaced an item from the same manufacturer only to discover that the mounting template is totally different. Why?!
  23. Since you don't have much I'd recommend negotiating straight cash, as much as you can and grossed up, and you take care of everything. You can turn it into a nice bonus that way. Just hire movers on each end and a company like ABF to move your container. My wife once worked for one of the largest corp relocation companies in the country and she's got crazy stories about the shit that CxOs put them through. Long term hotel stays, 0% mortgages for new homes, guaranteed sales price for their current home, refrigerated trucks for their wine collection, cranes to lift their custom built outdoor grill over their home because they can't live without it.
  24. No idea. The A/C wasn't running so the only load on it was my charger keeping the batteries topped up which requires less than an amp.
  25. A tornado in Auckland vs 56' catamaran. Fuuuuuuck. I've been away from the boat the last 6 weeks but will be back in Florida in 2. I did get a nice email from the marina office shortly after I left that my shore power pedestal let out all of its smoke. Boats... they can't go 1 week without needing attention ($$$).
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