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Bahamas Arrival

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Beneteau 445 Starlight on the Bahama Bank
Starlight on the Great Bahama Bank

Starlight arrived in Nassau at 1400 on Friday, June 5.

I guess this completes the short first leg of the voyage, since there will be some big changes aboard going forward from here. The owner and his family will be aboard, for one thing. This trip is the idea of the boat’s owner, Simba Hoo, who decided that he wanted to sail from the USA to his planned new home in New Zealand with his wife and two daughters, who are emigrating from China. Instead of just taking a plane over and setting up their new life, they first detoured for an entire year in the US, during which time they toured and shopped for a boat. Everyone I meet tells me that you just don’t hear about Chinese sailors, and this is something that Simba also noted. His goal is to become “China’s first cruising family”, and this is the motivation for making the voyage. There will be much to learn along the way, as the family just spent their first night aboard the boat last night. Simba was aboard to deliver the boat from Oriental, NC (where I joined this venture), to Daytona Beach, FL, but the rest of the family has not yet gone sailing on the boat. It’s going to be an interesting journey. Stay tuned for updates…

Updated Tracking Page

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Since I will be sailing on Starlight for the coming months, I have updated my “Current Position” page to show information from the Iridium GO! unit that we have aboard. The top map will now look like the map below. We’re at the red dot.

Still working in Ponce Inlet

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There are still pieces of equipment to install, provisions to buy, and stowage to be arranged. All of this is happening at Sea Love Boat Works in Ponce Inlet, FL. This post’s picture is of the Ponce Inlet lighthouse, which keeps watch over us as we finish preparing Starlight for the long trip ahead.

New Project

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Beneteau 445 Starlight
Beneteau 445 Starlight

A slight change of course for this summer…

I am helping a family refit and sail this Beneteau 445. The planned voyage will take us from Daytona Beach, Florida, to New Zealand via Panama. We are aiming to arrive in New Zealand by December. We are currently refitting in Ponce Inlet, Florida, but will be underway just a couple of weeks from now. It’s shaping up to be an interesting tale, so check back from time to time…

Away at Sea

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Just a quick note to say that I will not be able to reply to comments, etc. until about the end of August… There will be some updates here soon, mostly about project work and plans for the next sail. Thanks for stopping by!

Up and Running Again

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For anyone who visited this site between July 17 and now, I have to apologize for the error message that you likely encountered. This unfortunate downtime was caused by a security hole in the software that I use to send out emails when there is a new post. Thanks to one of my readers for alerting me of the problem by email. For anyone who uses WordPress, I encourage you to read more about the security hole that caused this problem at http://blog.sucuri.net/2014/07/remote-file-upload-vulnerability-on-mailpoet-wysija-newsletters.html. Almost 2 million sites were affected by this problem.

Fortunately, the bot or person who tried to alter this site had some syntax errors in their code, so the worst that happened seems to have been that an error message was generated and the site did not display. The site has now been thoroughly scanned, and I took the additional step of removing every file that had a change log more recent than my last update. If you notice anything on this site that now does not work, please let me know using the contact form. Thanks!

How to Build a Dreadnought 32

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I have just added a new page to the site with the original instructions that the factory included with the Dreadnought 32 hull.    It runs to all of 11 pages, and is an interesting read, not only as far as the techniques involved, but also as an example of late 1970’s homegrown technical writing.

Idle Queen was finished by Harry Heckel, Jr. from a bare hull and deck, which he bought pre-joined from the factory.  It took Harry 9 months to go from a newly-delivered hull to launching.

The new page is here.

 

In Memory of Harry Lightner Heckel, Jr.

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Dreadnought 32 Idle Queen with Harry Heckel, Jr.
Idle Queen’s builder, Harry Heckel, Jr. (left), and I, on the docks in downtown Portsmouth, VA, in August of 2013

 

Below is a copy of Harry’s obituary.  He was an inspiration to many; including me.  May he rest in peace.

“Home is the sailor, home from the sea…Harry L. Heckel, Jr., died peacefully at home after a short illness February 7, ten days before his 98th birthday. He is preceded in death by his parents, Florence Matilda Williams and Harry Lightner Heckel. Harry was born February 17, 1916, in Los Angeles, CA. After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley, Harry began his 30-year career with Allied Chemical (now Honeywell) in Syracuse, NY in 1941 as a research chemist. He became director of Allied Chemical’s Nitrogen Division Research Lab in Hopewell, VA, prior to working out of Morristown, NJ, as Director of Five Year Planning. An avid boater and former Commodore of the Hopewell Yacht Club, Harry turned his love of sailing into his greatest achievement. After retirement, Harry and his wife Faith (Faido) Irene Smith Heckel moved onto their sailboat and sailed extensively. Two years later Harry took a 32-foot Dreadnought hull, rigged her, and designed and finished the interior to create the Idle Queen. After Faido’s death in 1989, Harry kept sailing. At the age of 78 he completed his first solo circumnavigation. He completed his second solo circumnavigation at the age of 89. In 2007 Harry received the Joshua Slocum Society International’s Golden Circle award in recognition of this feat. Harry’s travel memoir, Around the World in 80 Years—The Oldest Man to Sail Alone Around the World—Twice! was published last year. Harry is survived by sons Harry L. Heckel III and Carl B. Heckel (Dixie) of Mechanicsville; daughters Florence H. Russell (Mike) of Cleveland, Ohio, and Faith H. Wagner (Richard) of Midlothian; siblings Florence Mary LaRiviere of Palo Alto, CA, and John W. Heckel (Catherine) of Friday Harbor, WA; 9 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and many longtime friends. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Diabetes Association or the American Red Cross. In remembrance of Harry, you may wish to read his book. A memorial service is being planned.”

Familiar Waters

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Dreadnought 32 Idle Queen
Idle Queen in Oriental harbor

Idle Queen is back in Oriental, NC, for a visit and to get some maintenance done.  I will get a trip log up soon.  The last few days served up an interesting mix of weather, places, and people…

Warm Comfort Food–Corn Chowdah

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Idle Queen's "Galley" sign
Idle Queen’s “Galley” sign

Idle Queen is resting at Solomons, MD, anchored up Back Creek.  The air temperature is in the 30’s, the wind is howling out of the northwest, and it is raining.  It is time to dig a couple of those rust-spotted cans of creamed corn out of the bilge and turn them into a hot, super-tasty meal.

This is a meal that is easy to plan for even on a boat without refrigeration, as all of the ingredients keep well.  Here’s what you need:

  • 2 cans cream-style corn
  • 1 package (about 10-12 ounces) of “side meat”, or other salty, tasty meat of your choice.  Sausage, and bacon work well, but the cured “side meat”, which resembles bacon, requires no refrigeration.  Canned meat will work, too.  Of course the dish can be made without any meat at all, and this is what my parents served when I was young, but adding the meat adds a whole lot of flavor.
  • 3 medium potatoes (about 1 pound
  • 1 medium onion
  • A few cloves of garlic (more or less to taste)
  • 1 tsp Thyme
  • Salt and pepper
  • Optional, but delicious:  1/4 cup of cream (Those little “half and half” creamer cups don’t need to be refrigerated.)

Here’s how I go about cooking it all up:

First, cut the “side meat” or bacon into bite-size pieces and fry in the bottom of a large saucepan.  While this is cooking, dice the onion and garlic.  Add to pan when cut so they can start cooking and adding their flavors.  Cut up the potatoes into pieces about 1/2 inch on a side, and then add them to the pan.  Barely cover it all with water–just enough to cook everything.  Add the thyme and bring it all to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes and onions are cooked through.  When the potatoes are cooked through, add the cream-style corn and cream.  Bring it all back to a boil (or just hot if you’re conserving cooking fuel), and then it’s done.  Pepper to taste, preferably with fresh-ground peppercorns.  Since “side meat” is salt-cured, there is probably no need to add additional salt, but add some if desired to your taste and the ingredients that you used.

Enjoy!