Underway finally

Meet Zoe who is in the lap of luxury sitting at the helm. The customs office opened at 8 am but there had to have been 50 people waiting to leave so we didn't get out of there until around 9.30am.  We left and immediately had engine issues so we anchored. I checked the secondary fuel filter and there was a wire on the end of it that was disconnected. I also changed out both racor filters because they were dirty. We pulled up the hook and the engine was a lot better but still not quite right. So we had to anchor again and I then changed out the secondary fuel filter and this time after pulling up the anchor, the engine ran perfectly. We finally left out of Town Cut at 11am. Now we are off! Wahooooooooo!

America's Cup Racing

I had an absolute blast watching the first day of racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Even though the defender does not normally race, Oracle was allowed to compete in the first rotation. There were 6 exciting races each taking about 10 minutes each with each syndicate racing twice. In one race, SoftBank sailed by Dean Barker from Japan put a big hole in the English boat, Landover sailed by Sir Ben Ainsley.

I am off in the morning to sail on S/v Sapphire to the Chesapeake. I will run my Inreach satellite device tracking and post comments. You can see it at

http://share.delorme.com/PeterRyan

Tall ships

In combination with the America's Cup here in Bermuda, there is a tall ship regatta.

The rest of fleet are coming in over the next few days. There is no racing in the America's Cup today because it is too windy and we are still planning on leaving here on Sunday.

In Bermuda

Well I am in Bermuda at the moment, and planning to sail back to the Chesapeake on my friend's Jeanneau 54. So much for doing the Great Loop. I met Bill and Lynda Knowles while on the Salty Dawg Rally and their sailing vessel Sapphire is gorgeous. They ran into a bit of bother and asked me to crew for them.

I was all set to start sailing up to New York from where my boat is in Florida, but this came along and I couldn't pass it up. I hope to see the start of the America's Cup here tomorrow with a departure to the USA of Sunday. After I get back to the USA I am planning to sail to Marsh harbour on David's Westsail 32, Annie.

My plans are written in sand at low tide.

Being landlubbers

My boat ​is in Stuart Florida and I am traveling to visit family and friends in Florida and Georgia for a couple of weeks. Last night I slept in a bed on land for the first time in five months and it felt so strange. The ground I walk on seems to move because I have sea legs. Anyway I will continue the blog in a couple of weeks.

Having a pet onboard

A lot of cruisers have dogs and cats with them to keep them company while living aboard a boat. To me it limits your travels and is unfair to the animal and that is why I have chosen not to get a pet. With dogs, you see them every day on other boats, getting agitated especially first thing in the morning, wanting to go ashore and find the nearest bush to pee under. With cats, there is the danger of them falling overboard. I have seen some situations, where the owner has been able to make it work and overcome these problems. Putting a mat on the transom helps or if you can find that rare cat that is not too curious and will happily stay aboard then ok. Where there is a will, there's a way. A neighbor boat has asked me to look after their herbs while they are away.

It is actually fun! I have to keep it out of the wind, water it with a quart every morning and give it lots of sun. I think I have already messed up though because some of the leaves on the basil are turning brown. Who knows, this may be the start of something.

Chasing leaks

I have been complaining so much lately about how much my boat leaks, I decided to do something about it. The main culprit is the Genoa track. First off though were the stanchions. Just a matter of taking the carriage bolts off and on with lots of sealant. Then lifting the teak toerails and sealing holes.

 I have done this before using 5200 but this time I used a loctite product that I am a fan of.

It poured with rain last night and I am happy to report that there are no more leaks on my starboard side.

Now I have to work on my Port side.

Car Ownership Liveaboard Economics

I have a Chevy Malibu that I keep stored here in Florida while I am out cruising. When I pass through here a couple of times a year, it is nice to have wheels to buy parts for the boat, visit family and the extra mobility is convenient. Seeing I hadn't used the car in 12 months I decided that it was overdue for an oil change. Well the good folks at the oil lube place wouldn't change it. They noticed foam on the oil cap and said that I needed a new head gasket. Anyway the long and the short of it is today the car is being worked on. $1200. It seems like every time I turn around, there is something. Storage fees, taxes, insurance, new tires and brakes. As expensive as renting a car is, I have decided, it is cheaper than owning your own vehicle and Uber has pushed me over the edge. I did need it initially to establish residency here in Florida so that I no longer needed to pay state taxes but it is coming up to my third year here, and I probably need to sell it.

Replacing the raw water strainer.

My filter basket was well over due to be replaced so that was my boat chore de jour. I have to ask though. Why are there so many different sizes and types of these things?

Surely they could follow the KISS principle and bring the price of nearly $50 down.