Our most recent tender to Dirona was an AB 12VST capable of about 32 kts (37 mph, 60 kph) and a range nearing 50 nautical miles. Our new ‘tender to condo’ is a Honda Passport Elite that is even better across most dimensions. We’d so far not needed a car since returning to Seattle, as…
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Winter Boating: Sealskinz Waterproof Gloves
Spraying down the ground tackle in Arctic Norway. Many boats have an automatic wash-down pump that helps clean the rode before it goes into the anchor locker. For those without, some choose not to clean the rode at all. We’ve not had an automatic wash-down on either of our boats, but we do like the…
Northgate
Northgate Mall, opened in 1950, was one of the first modern shopping malls built in the US following World War II. The mall is currently going through its second major renovation, this time evolving into a mixed-use facility that includes the training center for the Seattle Kraken NHL team. Not much was open in the…
Northern Lights Rear Main Oil Seal Leak, Part 3
A couple of years back, we developed a serious rear main oil seal problem with our Northern Lights 12 kW generator. Oil was being sprayed all over the inside of the generator enclosure and running down the block. It was a real mess. Clearly the seal needed replacing, but it’s both a big job (notes…
Fall to Winter
As fall ended in Seattle, we continued to take advantage of our downtown home, attending sporting events and enjoying restaurant meals. And the purchase of a patio heater allowed us to also keep spending time outside on our balconies, despite the weather. We also had our first traditional Thanksgiving dinner since leaving the US in…
Bremerton by Ferry
The Washington State Ferry fleet is the largest in the United States with 21 vessels that annually carry over 23 million passengers. The ferry system also is the second largest in the world for vehicles, transporting an annual average of 10.3 million as part of the state highway network. Ten routes operate out of 20…
WildLanterns Light Display
The WildLanterns winter light display at Woodlands Park Zoo just north of Seattle is simply amazing. We’d seen several pictures and were expecting an entertaining show, but the experience far exceeded that in scale, quality and interest. The show is spread throughout the zoo’s 70 developed acres (28 hectares) and visitors take in the exhibits…
Gear We Like: FLIR ONE Thermal Imaging Camera
A few year back, we picked up a FLIR ONE Thermal Camera from Amazon. It’s only $200 and operates as an extension to an Android phone (IOS also supported on similar hardware) with an on-phone application. Every 6 months we use the camera to do a full scan of the breaker cabinet, the DC cabinet,…
Flare over Seattle
Downtown Seattle is full of apartment buildings overlooking Elliott Bay, with frequent ferry and commercial traffic. If a distress flare were fired in this area, you would expect this to generate a lot of reports. But when one was set off on a recent Tuesday morning, we might have been the only ones to report…
2021 Summary
Although 2020 was a year of big and unexpected plan changes, for us, 2021 brought even more. We started the year living on our boat in Norway and ended it living in our apartment in Seattle. In between, we travelled 4,933 nautical miles across the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to…
