tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26861594123088246842024-03-13T14:11:26.872-04:00plodding to paradiserealizing a dream, one day at a time.tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-80999241428279864092010-10-24T22:32:00.000-04:002014-05-09T18:16:44.146-04:00DID YOU EVER WONDER ….<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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… how people arrange their lives to go sailing full time? I sure did, because that was our goal. I scoured blogs and books and magazines, but every story about cruising full time began with "We threw the lines…." But how did they do it? Did they sell everything or keep a storage unit somewhere? How did they choose their cruising boat and how did they outfit it? Which clothes did they keep, and did they take along the stapler and the dictionary? Did they ever feel alone and tired? Was their To Do List so long they feared that they would never reach the end?</div>
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I started this blog to leave a blueprint for those who came after us, a daily log of each decision we faced, each land tie we broke and each footprint we made on our plod toward the water. My first post was on <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/2008/07/going-off-grid.html" target="_blank">July 19, 2008</a>.</div>
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Over on the left, you can find links to two years of posts on topics like <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/boat%20shopping" target="_blank">how we chose our cruising boat</a>, those endless <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/TO%20DO%20lists" target="_blank">To Do Lists</a>, the rigors of <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/Downsizing" target="_blank">downsizing</a>, the <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/emotional%20toll" target="_blank">emotional toll</a> of reinventing our lives, and a surprising and horrible <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/financial%20crisis" target="_blank">financial crisis</a> that threatened to derail our plans.</div>
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But we did it!! We successfully completed a 5-year plan to sell everything and sail away on <a href="http://ploddinginparadise.blogspot.com/2010/10/our-new-world.html" target="_blank">October 24, 2010</a>!</div>
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<a href="http://ploddinginparadise.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvxXEWn48_u9dAKXgIEkWVirGwKaODkDLkS4xv6GpJ5NRwHyFLZMxbXKxGmxFiI9NVYT59tJ_NcgZR-yBvBXQNO08dOKY4qJ1MiBPeF7tgBQgDr36gxHBTzjJYJWkc8zzi73YHfPzs5I/s1600/pIp+header.png" height="117" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you haven't already made the leap, come on over to our new blog: <a href="http://ploddinginparadise.blogspot.com/">ploddingINparadise.com</a>. We sailed for four years and have set off on ever new adventures. Don't miss a thing.<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-23374505225237272032010-10-22T23:53:00.014-04:002014-05-05T22:55:30.063-04:00ON YOUR MARK<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Manteo, NC -- Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.<br />
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I know what you're thinking. Every day is the first day of the rest of my life, but let me explain.<br />
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Tomorrow, at long last, we will untie the lines and leave this dock in Manteo, sail out of the Roanoke Sound and leave our home waters. In this marathon plod to the water, tomorrow is the finish line, the successful culmination of a 10-year plan. We made it. We did it. Our plod to the water is complete.<br />
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While I don't know yet exactly how I'll feel tomorrow, today is an emotional salad bar. Tomorrow is the first day of school, graduation, every vacation rolled into one, an appointment for a root canal, my final exam in calculus, the first day of a new job, Christmas and birthdays and anniversaries. Tomorrow is everything.<br />
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And as we head south, we'll be following Old House Channel, notoriously treacherous, strewn with markers that tenuously guide the way.
As our navigator, I study the charts to determine what lies ahead and then scan the horizon, watching, waiting with faith that the next mark will not only appear but make the path clear. And just when my nerves start to fray, my faith wavering, knowing that a wrong turn means running into underwater perils, the mark appears.<br />
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But at some places along the way, the water, the marks and our movement through them conspire to create an optical illusion, and I experience moments of utter confusion. The only way to find perspective is by looking back at the last mark and then looking ahead to the next, lining them up to make sure we are on the path.<br />
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As we have navigated this long, long plod to the water, through the dense fog of an economic downturn, so many times I scanned the horizon ahead with faith that a mark would materialize in time to show us which way to turn. And each time, at what felt like the very last moment, there it was, tardy in my book, but there all the same.<br />
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Just as on the water, that next mark points us to where we were going but not how to get there. It is the path behind us that gives us the perspective we need to make our way. It is this blog that reminds us where we've been. This is where we look to line up all the marks behind us together with the one ahead to know we are in the channel, to assure us that we are on the right path.<br />
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And tomorrow, as we finally leave the dock behind us and set off into the wide open water that is our future, we laugh, we sing, we weep, we tremble in fear and jump with joy.<br />
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And then we scan the water ahead, looking for the next mark.<br />
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Chip and me and <i>Cara Mia</i>, we three. May we always sail on fair winds and kind seas.<br />
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TO OUR READERS: This blog, ploddingTOparadise.blogspot.com has now ended. Our long plod TO the water is now complete. You will now find us <a href="http://ploddinginparadise.blogspot.com/">ploddingINparadise.blogspot.com</a>. We hope you'll come along for the ride.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-46704983050278533382010-10-13T21:19:00.001-04:002014-05-05T22:56:13.029-04:00PROVISIONING<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bridgeville, DE -- A four-night stop at Chip's parents in Delaware to provision.<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-42528669761383594052010-10-11T23:33:00.098-04:002014-05-07T12:21:18.391-04:00POWER SHOPPING<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Annapolis, MD -- As we stood at the gate of the Annapolis sailboat show this morning, I felt overwhelmed by how very far we've come in one year. When we entered the show last year, sad and wistful, <i>Isabella</i>, our old boat, was back in the Outer Banks having her <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/2009/10/isabellas-progress.html">belly repaired</a>. We were living in a <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/2009/07/training-ground.html">small apartment</a> with no viable prospects for the business, wondering if the waiting would ever <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/2009/10/fabulous-ending.html">end</a>.<br />
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Last year, we watched with aching hearts as a long line of sailboats headed south from Annapolis, their bows pointing toward the Bahamas.<br />
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This year, we enter the show triumphant, no longer dreamers but cruisers, inexperienced, yes, but ready to take our place in line heading south as soon as we return to the Outer Banks.<br />
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Our shopping list for the boat show was titled "Mission Critical." This was not intended to be melodramatic but rather was descriptive of the contents:<br />
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<li>Life Raft</li>
<li>Life Jackets</li>
<li>Foul Weather Gear</li>
<li>Anchor</li>
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We were waiting at the gate at opening time with our friend John, who came along as part moral support, part sherpa, part tempering agent and part court jester, all well served.</div>
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We were among the first 20 people to enter the show (nerds) and were escorted out at closing (nerds). In the meantime, we snagged an amazing deal on a Revere life raft and two Mustang harness life jackets, all the while trying on every major brand of foul weather gear.<br />
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Mission accomplished.</div>
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One amazing year. One amazing shopping trip.</div>
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One happy toast to good times -- despite the fact that the bartender was pissed at the world as embodied by Chip, and dumped half a bottle of nutmeg in his painkiller. Look at that!</div>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-79207031207941522212010-10-09T20:59:00.002-04:002014-05-07T12:21:38.816-04:00HELP FROM ABOVE ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Manteo, NC -- Our friend Pete helping us with electronics installation. He'll be continuing his help from above and below while we drive to the Annapolis sailboat show.</div>
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Thanks, Pete!!!</div>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-67977620053069405562010-10-08T21:03:00.037-04:002014-05-05T22:58:03.634-04:00GOING RETRO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, the new radar and GPS arrived, but the old stainless steel stand is too short, so we had to order a new one.<br />
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The new standard for a stainless steel helm stand is 1.5", but we had to order the old 1" pipe, so it would fit the current (old) pedestal. Why does it matter? All the instrument wires have to be threaded through the stainless steel tube.<br />
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The new equipment comes with plugs that are just over an inch wide, and just a little wider than our old 1" pipe. All the wires will have to be cut, threaded and spliced or traced back to their source, disconnected, pulled back to the helm, threaded through the new pipe, pulled from the helm back to their original source and reconnected.<br />
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And those wide plugs that make the new equipment so easy to just plug and go? They are wider than the PVC conduit inside the mast -- the conduit that keeps the wires from clanging around inside the mast, which is a hollow metal tube. Nothing to do about that, so now we have two wires free-ranging in there, lying-in-wait to torture us on rough nights.<br />
<br />
Top all this off by chasing the old wires through hatches, under tanks and behind the walls -- and then threading the new wires through the same paths. We did this today, only to discover that the new wires aren't quite long enough to reach the helm, so we now have to figure out how to get them extended.<br />
<br />
Retro-fitting. This is how sailors learned to curse.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-58618154521127679252010-10-07T20:43:00.003-04:002014-05-05T22:59:09.076-04:00A SCARY PLACE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzWdsDm08xV0cvmHwVhZW5gdySwGvse0weShMzjhH4Rwhyphenhyphen1eBRuEpsnzB_gktcVxjTjy6pe2bk3MHHOkKVR9VTwWuOzAsNBrIDuLw8GDTPHcT30L0jwrm1BUIl3SWfUkwUHVHK7ZYgXY/s1600/20100924_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzWdsDm08xV0cvmHwVhZW5gdySwGvse0weShMzjhH4Rwhyphenhyphen1eBRuEpsnzB_gktcVxjTjy6pe2bk3MHHOkKVR9VTwWuOzAsNBrIDuLw8GDTPHcT30L0jwrm1BUIl3SWfUkwUHVHK7ZYgXY/s320/20100924_0188.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Manteo, NC -- Our new GPS and radar have arrived. We're taking apart everything at the helm to make way for the new configuration to be installed.<br />
<br />
I had the compass out and was peering down into the well beneath it. When I setting the compass back in place, I thought, "Wow, we better be sure to get the compass back in with north pointing the right way!"<br />
<br />
I'm not making this up. I actually thought this.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I really scare myself.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-32128810688175857032010-10-06T20:26:00.005-04:002014-05-07T02:10:33.850-04:00LEARNING WHAT WORKS -- OR NOT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvwjuzvzx59pikl4zLerp6DebeAo9iV32Qg8bx_3DeqUnMmUqUPcP-28c1kQK7l2EVckcjmnp4vb1agCmcqe3FVydNG_aQJqjfCuvBFp8gcPMxCkISf5ZIplGi9vdOc2ldXINB_WBB-Y/s1600/20101006_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvwjuzvzx59pikl4zLerp6DebeAo9iV32Qg8bx_3DeqUnMmUqUPcP-28c1kQK7l2EVckcjmnp4vb1agCmcqe3FVydNG_aQJqjfCuvBFp8gcPMxCkISf5ZIplGi9vdOc2ldXINB_WBB-Y/s200/20101006_0259.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
Manteo, NC -- Before I moved onto a boat, I thought, bamboo chopsticks, perfect!<br />
<br />
Now that we've been through two hurricanes and tons of rain, the boat is a little damp. Not because it's leaking, but rather because the air is humid.<br />
<br />
I opened a drawer in the kitchen and found those mildewed chopsticks in the photo.<br />
<br />
Wood is fine, it just has to be finished or heavily oiled. Lesson learned.<br />
<br />
On another note, you might wonder if it's possible to mess up a recipe with only three ingredients. The answer is yes.<br />
<br />
I made corn tortillas tonight. They were terrible. <br />
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<br />
Guess I'll try again another day... If you have advice, please, click on that "comment" link below and let me know!</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-43442871574383678842010-10-05T21:02:00.001-04:002014-05-05T22:59:46.266-04:00MANTEO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DBjIgFC9-nryIfcuv5PkU9xiCPOJiJrIlPlQ6kpBoIy-fA1vPNwh9QXSGsK2HI8RgIM6HvF5uayYjGkr5lzXS9jr5pLYbbYHNABbUeII6wrLuxFDVfUqlBk3G6CbYDaX1o6mUegyYio/s1600/10+5+10+manteo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DBjIgFC9-nryIfcuv5PkU9xiCPOJiJrIlPlQ6kpBoIy-fA1vPNwh9QXSGsK2HI8RgIM6HvF5uayYjGkr5lzXS9jr5pLYbbYHNABbUeII6wrLuxFDVfUqlBk3G6CbYDaX1o6mUegyYio/s320/10+5+10+manteo.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah, fair Manteo, I must admit, I'll miss you.</div>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-55837010048651225902010-10-03T15:15:00.008-04:002014-05-05T23:00:09.997-04:00FLOATING ER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzJLAAEHY-6NHKepq82uQvGnpi-8CARVhs3l6VnBJVJcKE0NhtCdocZ6xc6FoQHxslDEgWNcbW2r5ie9X5WnPEION-VHxgxaXRZP30qX6tH6MFQUpAi45Ch6A5IFrZdRquCxsCS9svw4/s1600/20101003_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzJLAAEHY-6NHKepq82uQvGnpi-8CARVhs3l6VnBJVJcKE0NhtCdocZ6xc6FoQHxslDEgWNcbW2r5ie9X5WnPEION-VHxgxaXRZP30qX6tH6MFQUpAi45Ch6A5IFrZdRquCxsCS9svw4/s320/20101003_0418.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Manteo, NC -- A marine first aid kit came with the boat, so I decided to inventory the contents to see what needs to be replaced.<br />
<br />
I fully expected to find things like bandaids, alcohol swabs and gauze. I was not disappointed.<br />
<br />
I was not expecting a scalpel, skin stapler and a CPR mask. The instruction booklet has step-by-step instructions for things like reviving an unconscious person and performing an amputation. Jeez.<br />
<br />
Give us a gurney and a triage team, and we'll be a floating hospital.<br />
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I'm all about being prepared, but let's hope we only use the bandaids for paper cuts and the aspirin for rum hangovers.<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-58851877596252634032010-10-01T15:38:00.097-04:002014-05-05T23:00:59.371-04:00OUT LIKE A BANSHEE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Manteo, NC -- If Hurricane Earl brought September in like a lion, then tropical storm Nicole took it out like a screaming banshee.<br />
<br />
We'd been keeping a wary eye on the storm and the low pressure over the eastern seaboard, yet, it still caught us a bit unawares.<br />
<br />
About 8 a.m. yesterday the wind went from zero to 20+ gusts from the south -- right on our stern. Within 30 minutes, the bow had blown too far forward and the anchors that rest on the bowsprit were pounding on the dock. It took both of us to inch the lines in enough get clear of the dock. One of us would pull the line up to make some slack while the other would pull it in on the cleat. Pull, pull, pull, "Ready? GO!" It was inelegant, but it worked -- for the moment and at relatively low winds.<br />
<br />
The prevailing wind for the storm would be from the south, the only vulnerable direction in this marina -- and the total opposite of the heavy winds during Earl. The morning preview at 20 knots was a good warning for us that we didn't want the same thing at 40 knots.<br />
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The wind kindly backed off, giving us a calm window to get the heck out of dodge, or at least to the outskirts. We bolted to a slip on the other end of the marina that the dockmaster calls the "Sea of Tranquility."<br />
<br />
Every 30 minutes or so for the next 24 hours, sometimes more often, I said, "Thank god we moved!"<br />
<br />
As evening approached, the wind was gusting in the 30s, and waves were breaking over the dock. Yes, over the dock.<br />
<br />
And then it kept blowing, not in gusts, but like a big-ass fan. We thought Earl went on for a long time, but this one, thanks to the series of lows along the East Coast, lasted at least twice as long.<br />
<br />
Fortunately the "Sea of Tranquility" turned out to be an accurate title. <i>Cara Mia</i> remained calm and unscathed, yet again, even as other boats were flailing around, some sustaining a good bit of damage.<br />
<br />
We are thankful that we safely weathered a big storm in familiar water, yet again.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-67326296677706951082010-09-27T10:58:00.026-04:002014-05-05T23:01:31.480-04:00SWEEPING CHANGES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Manteo, NC -- I've been looking for the perfect broom to sweep our very small stretch of wood floor in the boat.<br />
<br />
My dreams came true at Walmart yesterday. As we were standing in line to pay for our basil plant, sewing thread and ledger book, I spotted the Slipper Genie!<br />
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<br /></div>
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Thanks to Oprah, the genies might be familiar to those who have television, but to me they were a shocking revelation.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Brilliant.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Perfect.</div>
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<br />
Cue the music!<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-62322687263263147202010-09-25T20:51:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:01:57.332-04:00GUESS THE CHORE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Manteo, NC -- Okay, what boat chore requires the following tools:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>10 inches of small line</li>
<li>a small grabber tool</li>
<li>a paint stirring stick</li>
<li>a cup of water</li>
<li>a shopvac</li>
<li>a sheet of rubber</li>
<li>pair of scissors</li>
</ul>
<div>
We didn't know either. Well, we knew the chore: clean out the raw (sea) water filter. What we didn't know was how complicated it would get.<br />
<br />
The housing of the filter is clear glass, but in this case it was jet black. When Chip pulled up the basket, the bottom disk broke off and stuck on the shaft.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My hand fit far enough in the opening to slide the disk up to within three inches of the top where the opening was smaller. Hmm. What now? String! We looped the string under the disk and it popped right off -- and fell down into the glass. Sigh. That's where the grabber tool came in.<br />
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With the disk out, we could now see an inch of sludge in the bottom of the glass tank. The shopvac nozzle was too wide to fit, so we put the tube over the shaft, only able to suck the water out from the middle. Paint stirrer and cup of water, er, cupS of water. We scraped the bottom with the paint stirrer, poured in water, turned on the vac. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Empty shopvac. Repeat. Repeat until all the sludge is gone.</div>
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<br />
So, now we just drop in the new basket. Wait! There's no hole in the bottom. Let's drill one.<br />
<br />
Great. Now we just put in the new gasket, and we're done. Wait! West Marine discontinued our gasket. Let's cut one ourselves.<br />
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People often ask us, "What do you <i>DO</i> all day?" We just shrug our shoulders.<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-23613150196487895672010-09-24T23:57:00.034-04:002014-05-05T23:02:24.363-04:00ME, BRAVE?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Manteo, NC -- As our departure date looms, my excitement is feeling more and more like anxiety.<br />
<br />
As we complete more and more of our preparations, I feel less and less prepared.<br />
<br />
The last few days I've worried about everything: my inexperience, the weather, whales, equipment failure, our health, bedbugs. Okay, not the bedbugs, but now that I think about it....<br />
<br />
And then, tonight, we were walking down the dock and saw the most beautiful wooden kayak, which we failed to photograph (sorry). It was as beautiful as any of <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=wooden+kayak&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1256&bih=684">these</a>.<br />
<br />
We stopped to talk to the owner of the kayak, who paddled here from just north of D.C. and is headed for Savannah.<br />
<br />
Savannah, Georgia.<br />
<br />
In a kayak.<br />
<br />
In the ocean.<br />
<br />
Suddenly my big, brave sailing adventure seems like going on the flume ride at Six Flags.<br />
<br />
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Savannah. In a kayak. Jeez!</div>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-15322637637409960652010-09-21T16:29:00.004-04:002014-05-05T23:02:42.583-04:00BEST BAR IN TOWN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciSLu9HbfbGT_LKdAihjzVdFdjQHP2-xn6kUJGT7t3aEA3OqRz7rgDehr6w5MfgjoJbTtfe41HCI0pos_SIqrwTJZ7Xn5Sh4iIRqjfQZ30ZKmMMTcr4vn6RiE5jp52kU8_DxT6QDCH6k/s1600/Photo+on+2010-09-19+at+10.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciSLu9HbfbGT_LKdAihjzVdFdjQHP2-xn6kUJGT7t3aEA3OqRz7rgDehr6w5MfgjoJbTtfe41HCI0pos_SIqrwTJZ7Xn5Sh4iIRqjfQZ30ZKmMMTcr4vn6RiE5jp52kU8_DxT6QDCH6k/s320/Photo+on+2010-09-19+at+10.08.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Chip bought a boat-friendly guitar, a Little Martin. Since it's made of mostly composite materials, it's resistant to changing temperature and humidity. It's supposed to hold its tuning -- so far so good!</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-54933170814089783542010-09-19T23:10:00.011-04:002014-05-05T23:03:10.076-04:00AND THE NEXT 12 YEARS...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBLWpxS51PVYCKbf5hSx40yz6_ZkPK1HmvIA86rmSZP2FfoFRpygUcIgSVNlfP5ydbTobMGZYL7mwYVtcYLot64DX_513DGCl89B8F_FRBfDcW28UqQctpMsbS4m6gVXgXrx3haZYW5M/s1600/IMG_6431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBLWpxS51PVYCKbf5hSx40yz6_ZkPK1HmvIA86rmSZP2FfoFRpygUcIgSVNlfP5ydbTobMGZYL7mwYVtcYLot64DX_513DGCl89B8F_FRBfDcW28UqQctpMsbS4m6gVXgXrx3haZYW5M/s320/IMG_6431.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a>Manteo, NC -- Today is our 12th anniversary. I decided it was time to tell Chip the truth, something I'd been hiding, avoiding, skirting, making light of for a long time now.<br />
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At brunch, I swallowed hard and came out with it:<br />
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"I don't want to go north."<br />
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"Really? Me either!"<br />
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Well, happy anniversary to us, because now that we decided we can just head south -- where we REALLY want to go -- we are <i>jacked up</i>.<br />
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I pulled out all the Bahamas and ICW guides. We bought a Caribbean travel guide.<br />
<br />
YAHOO!!!!!! Now THAT'S cause for celebration.<br />
<br />
Crystal clear turquoise water, here we come...</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-50784117228068881882010-09-16T18:12:00.019-04:002014-05-05T23:03:34.801-04:00TUFTING<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Manteo, NC -- It finally came. Our wonderful mattress topper that makes the V-berth bed feel like a mattress.<br />
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After making fun of their ad for the last five years:<br />
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It seemed only fitting to make our own:</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrMYlcpaHLZhsWN4Nz_jkuXcSGCiAfR-34cQtCD1XhG6B1HQz4nndvvkOy_rJfEKnV1h1gPhEpvRwof0dofxatxh9_ugK8bGa4CLjjAaSQWY9b1fFYJ5iFewcJZYpLuWpqXT-UquREYQ/s400/tufted+chip.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></div>
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p.s. -- Chip asked me to add: That is NOT me in the first photo. That is the ad for the topper. Chip did not ask me to add this: That IS Chip in the second photo.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-61406911014450793982010-09-15T16:19:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:03:50.636-04:00GOING SOLAR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The solar panels. They arrived today!!!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two big ones that will be over the bimini, one of each side.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a little guy that fits between the backstays -- or will when that rack is built.</td></tr>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-77067226269095186422010-09-14T14:15:00.004-04:002014-05-05T23:04:24.382-04:00GRIDLOCKED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Manteo, NC -- Our society is not set up to deal with drifters like us. There is no clean way to go off the postal grid.<br />
<br />
We now have a post office box in Delaware, but we want OFF the lists, not to have the junk FORWARDED.<br />
<br />
Sure we could just ditch and leave the new owners of our house and business to shovel the deluge of paper, but, well, that seems rude.<br />
<br />
For two entire years, we have called everyone who has sent us a piece of mail and asked them to desist. We have gone online to request removal from lists, returned mail with RETURN TO SENDER in red Sharpee. We have called again -- and again. I have called The Company Store more than I've called my own mother. You just wouldn't believe how much freaking time we have invested in erasing ourselves.<br />
<br />
And still, the wine shop gets spammed with piles of trash. We bring the pile of trash to the boat and once again call, write, return to sender, lick our paper cuts.<br />
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Then, here's the worst part, we order something and have it delivered to a friend's house. Guess who now inherits our junk mail. AAAAAHHHHHHH.<br />
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Not having a physical address causes some odd dilemmas. This is one of my favorites: I went to my credit card's web site to stop mailings to the wine shop. No problem, I'll have them mail stuff to the PO box in Delaware. Problem.<br />
<br />
There are three mailing addresses associated with the account: A card mailing address, a correspondence mailing address and a statement mailing address. One of them has to be a physical address, no PO box. So, stick with me here, I put the PO box as the card mailing adress and the correspondence address. I left the wine shop address as the statement address and signed up for paperless statements. Will this work? That remains to be seen.<br />
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A few weeks ago I tried to add Google ads to my blog to make a little money when you click here. Guess what? You can't use Google ads without a physical address. Post office boxes don't count.<br />
<br />
If I were smarter I would think of a clever play on "I think, therefore I am."<br />
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Sigh. Don't write.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-62393931570985317362010-09-14T13:18:00.000-04:002010-09-14T12:35:11.642-04:00BACKBLOGGINGIf you're just checking in to see if I've updated the blog lately, you might want to scroll down to <a href="http://ploddingtoparadise.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html">August</a>. There are a lot of new entries (and will be more) that show up after the Hurricane Earl hoopla.<br />
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Thanks for reading!tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-4125461650641704292010-09-13T15:01:00.000-04:002010-09-13T15:01:44.069-04:00CONGRATULATIONS!One of my readers has published a book! Congrats to <a href="http://laurawharton.blogspot.com/">Laura Wharton</a> on the publication of <a href="http://www.secondwindpublishing.com/ThePiratesBastard.html">The Pirate's Bastard</a>. Best of luck, Laura, and let us know if you'll be doing a signing out here before we leave...tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-85887679753119387042010-09-11T16:05:00.001-04:002014-05-17T01:32:26.267-04:00A REMEMBRANCE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Manteo, NC -- September 11, the anniversary of the unspeakable tragedy wrought by extremism. Religious zealotry without spirituality excludes and destroys.<br />
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There is no god worthy of worship who would approve violence against the innocent.<br />
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May the families of the 9/11 victims find some measure of peace in their loss and hope in our collective future.</div>
tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-54262485964495529382010-09-07T22:39:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:05:46.419-04:00OUR OWN TEST SAIL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We took <i>Cara Mia</i> out for a test sail today. It was the first time I raised the main by myself. It's a beast! The full battens make it really heavy. I got it within six feet by hauling at the mast and a little further by winching. Chip had to step in for the final heave ho. It will be my workout challenge.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Downeast Rover</i> led us into the harbor.</td></tr>
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-31863481367483750002010-09-07T12:13:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:06:20.384-04:00ON SECOND THOUGHT ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now that we've had a few days to ponder weathering a hurricane on the boat, it's time to evaluate how it went.<br />
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On the face of it, I realize that riding out a hurricane onboard a boat seems careless, cavalier, stupid. Yeah, but ours was calculated stupidity.<br />
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We've been riding out Outer Banks hurricanes on land, and securing our boats at dock, for 15 years. We are in familiar waters and have a good feel for how things will play out. Had we been far afield, our decisions would have been different.<br />
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First, let me throw out a retroactive blanket of forgiveness to everyone who didn't call ahead and offer us a place to stay. We stayed on the boat by choice, because a) we wanted to do everything we could to keep the boat safe, and b) we wanted to experience that level of storm, to hear 40-knot wind in the rigging, to see how the boat responded.<br />
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We get an A+ for predicting Earl's antics. He stayed offshore and blasted us with steady 40-50 knot winds with gusts up near 70 (we think). No water issues -- no water blowing out or flooding in.<br />
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The only thing that caught us unawares was the actual size, and therefore length, of the storm. In a closed-off cabin being tossed around in the clamor of pounding rain, yowling wind and groaning lines, it seemed interminable.<br />
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Were our lives in danger? No. Had the hurricane made a sudden change in course, we probably would have stayed ashore and kept watch.<br />
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Was the boat in danger? We were on the opposite side of the dock from the heavy wind, protected from derelict boats. The only boat next to us was a power boat, so there was no rigging to worry about. Nothing went wrong, but the wee hour scenarios went something like this:<br />
--What if the pilings give way? That was a clear possibility. In that case, we would have had some serious banging around and likely a lot of damage. Everyone here was worried about the pilings. A large powerboat took one out a few months ago in a minor blow.<br />
--What if the cleat on the dock gives way? Same as above.<br />
--What if the staysail starts unfurling?<br />
<br />
WHAT WE DID RIGHT:<br />
--Doubled up all our dock lines<br />
--Removed the jib<br />
--Removed the bimini<br />
<br />
WHAT WE'LL DO NEXT TIME:<br />
--If we tie up to a cleat on the dock, check its integrity. Otherwise, we'll fret about it all damn night.<br />
--Remove the dinghy and put it ashore. We didn't have any trouble, just another precaution that seems prudent.<br />
--Remove the staysail. We had no issue other than worrying about it. The time/effort in removing it would have been much less.<br />
--Decide based on the storm if we should remove the main. Several dock walkers thought we were negligent in leaving it on. I noticed they did not come back by to say, "You were right." The main was safe because the prevailing wind direction came right on our nose (which is why we left it).<br />
<br />
NOT SURE:<br />
--Dropped two 5-gallon buckets on each side to arrest rocking motion. Jeez, it's impossible to know. We were definitely rolling around. I now feel a certain kinship with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker.<br />
--Staying on the boat. I wouldn't want to stay onboard in anything above 50 knots.<br />
<br />
Finally, we offer a sincere apology to <i>Cara Mia</i>. We should not have been in the Outer Banks during hurricane season. Please forgive us for putting you through that.<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2686159412308824684.post-22903665017305653862010-09-04T22:16:00.000-04:002014-05-05T23:06:36.831-04:00SAIL TEST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We went roving around on the <a href="http://www.downeastrover.com/cms/">Downeast Rover</a>, a test of the post-hurricane sail installation. The sail and sails were beautiful!<br />
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tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0