Yes! you guessed it, our condo is now sold, after 4 months on the market we [...]]]> In the last week, thing have been developing quickly and thankfully have been moving in the right direction. We will be “SDF” like we say in France (Sans Domicile Fixe translate: no fixed address), sooner than we thought.

Yes! you guessed it, our condo is now sold, after 4 months on the market we were starting to wonder if we would have to anchor in land life one more year around. Not the warmest idea, in our heart…. But after one last meeting with our real estate agent, and lighting the dynamite results were nearly instantaneous and miraculous. By this, we mean the property is passing hand at the end of August (4 days after my parent’s departure and ideal departure time), fully furnished and within 2% of the asking price.

We owe you one Monte! We were worried but we may have not expressed well enough to you our sense of urgency! That will be the morale of the story.

In no time we went from showroom conditions to a garage sale décor. My manly BBQ is already gone (need some R&J therapy ….), the rest will follow quickly. To add to our relief, our dream to sale it all furnished became the reality!  which means no need for a major moving or sale… this is a big weight off  our shoulders. We will just keep our memories in a storage.

Next on the chapter, the business!

To be continued…

But before departure while the family was still in bed, I decided to do one more trial. If you follow me there is still that 20% [...]]]> This week-end was one of the first days of sunshine around here! Did we ever enjoy it… so much so that we don’t have any pictures to share.

But before departure while the family was still in bed, I decided to do one more trial. If you follow me there is still that 20% left of interference bugging me… And there is still one more high tech check to do! For that I used good old aluminium foil to link to the ground on the turner and had it tested.The result? Well, no change at all “on” or “off”. All bands were tested and…nada. In the end, the only solution left is to move the tuner to the other side!

While on route, we conducted more tests, received an email from our friend in the South Pacific and we are happy to report that we have no problem with any instruments while undersail or with the autopilot.

The plan was to “sail” to an island then meet our friends, Ray and Sharon for Lunch. Unfortunately mother Nature has it, and we could only motor into the wind on a glassy water though we had a fantastic relaxing potluck onboard Letitgo. The surprise was that we met with another catamaran in the bay, and the multihulls were the majority. Wow, more and more people are ready to take the chance on capsizing those days!

The return trip was motoring with the wind on the nose on glassy water, do you notice a pattern here? Lucky for us we had the current with us for this extreme tide situation due to the biggest moon of the year. While we were underway we received some good news via e-mail! But you will have to wait for unveiling once it become a very good news.

We ended the day with another fantastic pot luck with preper cruiser friends. Wild salmon was sacrificed and good laughs were shared. All in all, hard life isn’t it? Indeed it takes a lot of preparation and planning to relax. I feel we will adapt and settle well into it, what can I say it’s hard work to succeed….

So how did I learn more than I ever wanted to know about SSB installation? Simple, the owner [...]]]> Pure coincidence, I’ll tell you. You remember the RF interference interrogation? And because I have too much time on my hand at the moment I am dwelling into details and trying to solve this utter mystery.

So how did I learn more than I ever wanted to know about SSB installation? Simple, the owner of the company cares and doesn’t like to see his product associated with questionable install. Let me introduce you to Carl, he is the owner and patent holder for the KISS counterpoise/grounding system.

Carl had heard enough of my complaint about interference and my questioning through our regular e-mails, so he decided to render Letitgo a visit. Coincidently she is berthed not too far from where he is based.

This took place on a sunny day, a pure luck in PNW! And after a thorough check of the entire install and a few minor adjustments : soldering and heat shrink the GTO15 connection to the tuner, placing a few more chokes. We started testing with the tools of the trade. His instinct was telling him that the proximity of the tuner to the navigation table was the problem.

Reception was great and the tuner was doing his job in record less than 4 seconds a good sign for the neophyte that I am. Second step was the SWR power reader, after a few whistling in the Mic. The results were in a power around 40Watts and no return to speak of. So the system is operating and the multiple contacts with Pactor showed no major fault in the install. Still we had some light flashing and this annoying buzzing from the Yanmar control panel speaker.

On the bright side we do not have any white noise even in the marina, no autopilot interference, and the stereo speaker doesn’t pick up any noise. Let’s celebrate to that.

The following 4 hours saw us :

• relocate the antenna to be away from the shroud,
  
• eliminate every possibility from the system,
  
• scratch our heads in unison,
  
• exchange the KISS just in case,
  
• add another one to be double sure,
  
• scratch our head some more
  
• and finally admit that nothing else could be done but move the tuner to the other side of the boat with no guarantee of success knowing that some of the flashing lights interference are on the other side.
  

I felt Carl’s frustration as he was puzzled in front of our enigma since we had made no head way… Damned multihulls, making our life hard again, and there is no back stay! Though very kindly Carl donated his time and knowledge, along with another kiss system. Carl I can’t thank you enough for all this, I have more knowledge than  I could have ever dreamed of. Now I know one day it will help somebody somewhere and I will make sure to mention my source.

Once the antenna was reinstalled, I could make contact from San Diego to Olympia on various bands via Pactor better than ever! Was it propagation or the tweaked and optimized install we will never know. Only the RF voodoo knows.

Will I have the courage to switch turner side? Will I learn to live with it? Only time will tell and how courageous I feel. And now I want a meter to be able to diagnostic other install. Here we go, I am in trouble again.

EXTRA:

Just got a reply from Karen on Don Quixote a Lagoon 380 with the tuner a the same spot.

“Of course you do. The RF will make everything light up. As for the yanmar…. Heck you can get interference from a generator 200 feet away at anchor. These are normal and known. If that’s the worst you’ve got, don’t fuss it. Other things can claim your attention. As for our grounding. We have a dynaplate in the hull and lined the port bilge with copper foil. Didn’t make the interference go away but it does make us LOUD.”

Privacy is not a bad think once in a while and V put the final touch on the back window curtain. Now when we are dock Mediterranean in Tahiti on the boulevard (some have to [...]]]> Over the week-end some project were finished and we are happy to share the result.

Privacy is not a bad think once in a while and V put the final touch on the back window curtain. Now when we are dock Mediterranean in Tahiti on the boulevard (some have to dream), we don’t have to be feel like we live in an aquarium.

Next come the yogurt testing, and this time we have a winner. All component were present, of course a little bit of crème in it would make it even smoother. V is happy to share the recipe and trick.

Yogurt making

Ingredients:

1 l milk (whole milk works best) otherwise Homo milk works too

1 Yogurt (about ½ cup 125ml) – this is your starter- or the equivalent of an individual pot

Optional Not in L mind: You can add powdered Milk to make a thicker yogurt – 1 to 2 tbsp or for a thicker one the equivalent of an individual pot of yogurt ½ cup. That what V used for this batch

A word of caution: Make sure that all your ingredients are as fresh as possible this will help for a better fermentation.

Use if at all possible whole milk rather than 2% or skim; your yoghurt will not set as well if you use a skimmed milk. In that case you can use powdered milk that will prevent a more liquid yogurt.

• 1^st step: Bring your milk to a boil, and then remove from the heat
  
• 2^nd step: Let it cool down. It will take approximately 45min to 60min to drop the temperature down-It has to be between 90 F° and 110 F°. Below that temperature the yogurt won’t set at all, and above it will become half liquid half solid.
  

If you don’t have a thermometer, check with your finger, it has to feel lukewarm.

• Now it is time to mix all the ingredients. If possible use a wooden utensil to mix rather than metal, the microorganisms prefer wood to metal and therefore develop better. Mix well, and pour in your container.
  
• Now, you can place it into the Easiyo thermos and add your boiling water. Let it ferment for about 8 to 12hours.
  

  For people with lactose intolerance: it is recommended to have a longer fermentation (overnight)
  

• After that time, remove from the Easiyo and place in the fridge to set.
  
• You have a natural yogurt ready to eat!
  
• If you don’t have and Easiyo, you can use your rice cooker, but the heat doesn’t stay trapped in it very well, or a very good thermos.
  
  

Here you have it, in between all this we took the time to clean the bilge, with the “help” of B did the spring cleaning of the outside and re-organized the underside of his bunk. No places have been left un-turned on Letitgo. It feels good, we know what we can play with.

All this was capped with a great potluck onboard an South Pacific veteran multihull, for a great evening of chat fun and storytelling. Thank Ray and Sharon for your hospitality.

So what’s going on around here? you may wonder! Well, it is rather simple:  one [...]]]> A good quality to have indeed…. And at this very moment we are at a stage where we need lots of it! Unfortunately I didn’t inherit many “Patience” genes, but thankfully *V* has it for the two of us…

So what’s going on around here? you may wonder! Well, it is rather simple:  one asset is not liquefying fast enough to our taste. You see, Letitgo is ready and is getting all stocked up every week-end. Consequently at this point we are waiting “patiently” and creating some make-work projects! Oh dear…

The equation was simple. We would put the non generating money asset on the market, (read house) and once done we would move on to the business. But luck has it, we have more bites on the money making side than the other one! Funny enough…. And now, in the midst of all this, we have one student with a date line for enrolling in university for September, if we don’t escape.

We have said it all along: if we are not able to sale we will have to wait another year. But who are we kidding? Would you really stay one more year at work if you could retire and had the opportunity to start cruising. NO, thank you for the chorus.

By the way, is there any ancient rituals from the Marquesas or South Asia which involves attracting good luck? It will be reimbursed once we realize the sale, promise. Please take pictures of ceremony and then e-mail the receipt to us.

On a more realistic point this past week-end our home was once more set/organized and cleaned for yet another open house hence we could make a run for Letitgo. We have no photo, but we could see the surprise from some of our dock neighbors who are not aware of our plan. You see, we had half the weekly production of refinery transferred from the car waiting for proper storage. Ok maybe a little less but still enough to sustain us for a little while. The theory being we have an income now, so let’s enjoy it.

What kind you may ask?

2 Stroke

4 Stroke

Gear oil 80W90

Diesel oil

Coolant

While we had our hands in the oil business, I decided to cross one line from your list. Oil change for the windlass! I had done the research a while back and it seemed like an easy process. Well, well… it actually turned into a 2 hour job. Italian design is great but why would you not put a drain plug, too easy in their opinion. This coupled with cold oil made for a sore back today! What? do I hear sympathy?….

Before that my energy was focused on the RF interference, the 20 feet of Coaxial cable bundled up in a corner might not be the best idea. A few zap straps lost their life in the process, *B* was my handler and some soldering was botched up for the new terminal. Please never ask me to do any soldering on your boat, if I offer, just decline politely and offer me a beer to knock back some sense into me.

Nevertheless, you know you are looking to take your mind from timeframe when… you tackle that kind of job before living to cruise.

My personal trainer Tom a veteran Ham, open my eyes a few weeks ago. I had seen the Telnet button, I had click it but never [...]]]> You don’t always have your SSB or Ham radio handy, but you still would like to be able to use Airmail. The solution is closer than you think.

My personal trainer Tom a veteran Ham, open my eyes a few weeks ago. I had seen the Telnet button, I had click it but never dig deeper into it.

Well this is way to set it up, once done you can access and trial out what ever option you would like. Download grib file galore, trial every single request in the catalogue from the comfort of your home. But remember once at sea you have a limited size and time of file you can get over the waves.

Enjoy until you partner remind you that there is life away from the computer.

In the setting of Telnet the Yellow lighting symbol

Remote Call sign WL2KS

Remote Host SanDiego.winlink.org

Port 8772

Timeout 120

Password CMSTELNET

Protocol B2

]]> http://svletitgo.com/2012/04/airmail-and-telnet-the-training-wheel-solution/feed/ 2 http://svletitgo.com/2012/04/the-yogurt-contest/ http://svletitgo.com/2012/04/the-yogurt-contest/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:57:53 +0000 V&L http://svletitgo.com/?p=2735 Thank you for an amazing day of celebration on our 20th anniversary. Which included a few amazing restaurants a long walk in civilization and some great reads in Chapters… See *L* you can be romantic! This time around we didn’t visit any boatyards, nore chandlery and we had agreed on “no” to the computer, refreshing! [...]]]> Thank you for an amazing day of celebration on our 20^th anniversary. Which included a few amazing restaurants a long walk in civilization and some great reads in Chapters… See *L* you can be romantic! This time around we didn’t visit any boatyards, nore chandlery and we had agreed on “no” to the computer, refreshing! Now, I know the French president is busy at the moment with the election campaigning, but a phone call would have been nice and quite frankly a medal can be sent without fanfare! I will not take offence… But really who needs a medal?

Now back to reality of the “cruising preper life” truthfully our preferred daily routine. A yogurt  tasting extraordinaire contest was in play for our next lunch! For that we want to thank Dawn and Tom who kindly provided us some samples of the Easiyo mix. So Easiyo versus home-made (with a probiotic starter) *V*.

Who will be “the champagne” or (crème de la crème) of yogurt?

And by the way Dad, this was our last bottle of “Grand Siecle”, so before the socialists take over and nationalize all cellars as a sign of decadence : may be you should bring a few more for us to store, just in case.

This tasting was conducted like a classic wine tasting, comparing the different aspects of both products side by side. Disclaimer: Food is important in our household, the fridge is full of natural products and we don’t purchase pre-packaged products in general. We buy Greek yogurt or natural ones, no fruit ones or any containing gelatin.

The Easiyo was Greek and Honey so to make a fair comparison we added honey to the home made.

Left Easiyo                       Right home made

Color and consistency

The Home made one is more liquidy and of white color. The Easiyo has more a pudding like texture with a rich yellow aspect which makes really appealing. Although note: the Easiyo was made just the night before, and the homemade two days prior which always makes it more liquidy.

Smell

The first smell after opening was overpowering to say the least on the Easiyo front. As for the home made one it had no particular smell, and yet it is not our favorite.

First taste

It seems like the Easiyo doesn’t fit our taste bud, a more chemical gelatinous dessert like but not yogurt in any way shape or form. The home made one is still too liquid and acidic for me, but a lot more enjoyable on our palate. This one was also a test and was prepared with a pro-biotic starter which gave it that more acidic flavour.

Second trial

Like jumping with a parachute this time around we knew what to expect, our senses were sharpenned. A little more honey in the home made did the trick, a spoon of Easiyo in it gave it the smoothness.

But *V* said no to a second spoon of Easiyo, declaring that it tasted like old socks.

Final result

We are so sorry Dawn and Tom. We know you brought these back from New-Zealand and were really excited for us to try but so far our first taste of Easiyo is not a favourite. After much deliberation we decided that even if frugality is a motus operatus around this household nobody was going to eat it. *V* and I decided to give it another chance once we get the opportunity to purchase a new pack in New-Zealand. In the mean time *V* will perfect her recipe and once mastered will display the result in another post. As she is also working at a more classic recipe.

The war was over, the verdict harsh.