{"id":2993,"date":"2014-01-23T08:35:57","date_gmt":"2014-01-23T12:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tusentakk2.com\/wordpress\/?p=2993"},"modified":"2014-01-23T08:35:57","modified_gmt":"2014-01-23T12:35:57","slug":"us-virgin-islands-jan-5-13-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tusentakk2.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/us-virgin-islands-jan-5-13-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"US Virgin Islands — Jan 5 – 13, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a few places in the Caribbean that are so comfortable, so pleasant and so familiar, that returning to them feels like returning “home”. \u00a0 One of them is Francis Bay, St. John, USVI, where we settled in among friendly neighbors that must feel the same way, since they are so often there when we are: \u00a0Hunter and Devi (Arctic Tern<\/em>), Lee and Sharon (Allegro<\/em>), Bill and Coleen (Dolce Vita<\/em>), and Tom and Lesley (Farhaven<\/em>). \u00a0Also in the mooring field when we arrived, and hosting a sundowner that very evening, were Morgan and Lindsey (Nirvana<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The sheltered bay provided a welcome break from the raging winds we have so often experienced this winter, and the surroundings provided great opportunities for swimming and hiking.<\/p>\n

We also engaged in some major projects. \u00a0The depth sounder had been acting flaky, and an installation of a new transducer before we left Trinidad had not solved the problem. \u00a0Nor did swapping the depth instrument in the pilot house — the one into which the transducer is plugged — with the seldom-used instrument in the master stateroom. \u00a0 That left what? \u00a0The Sea-talk. \u00a0So we disengaged that and ran the depth instrument in stand-alone mode, getting its power directly from the boat via a spare sea-talk plug that Hunter graciously provided. \u00a0That apparently removed the problem. \u00a0What remains now is for me to attempt to re-integrate, one at a time, the components of the original Sea-talk network in order to find the bad boy. \u00a0 Why re-integrate? \u00a0Because the stand-alone configuration gives me no depth or wind indications on the flybridge, and no wind indication in the pilot house. \u00a0(I am indifferent to lack of depth indication in the master stateroom.)<\/p>\n

The other major project was the installation of AIS on Tusen Takk II<\/em>. \u00a0 (A word of explanation for the benefit of land-lubbers: \u00a0AIS means Automatic Identification System. \u00a0Active systems send and receive signals; passive systems receive only. \u00a0The signals sent contain such information as the name of the vessel, the speed, the direction of travel, the coordinates, and so forth. \u00a0The receiving instrument uses that information and similar information from the receiving vessel to calculate the closest approach and the time of that closest encounter. All of this information is then displayed on a computer running navigation software, or on a chart plotter.) \u00a0At the sundowner on Nirvana<\/em> a number of captains sang the praises of AIS, recounting how during night passages the unit had kept them informed of the path and intentions of the large ships that ply the seas, and had made it possible to hail an approaching ship on VHF by name, ensuring that they would answer. \u00a0When I admitted that we had no such unit, Bill (Dolce Vita<\/em>) urged me to come over the next day and see his installation.\u00a0As he conducted the demonstration in his cockpit, he remarked that he had another unit installed down on his nav station below, and that his new unit had replaced the old and the old had not been used for a couple of years.\u00a0\u00a0 He offered to give it to me, and suggested that I bring my computer over to his boat to see if it would work.\u00a0 I did, and it did.<\/span><\/p>\n

So then we had the problem of installing the system on <\/span>Tusen Takk\u00a0<\/em>II.<\/em>\u00a0 The AIS unit functions as a MUX, receiving info from the vessel\u2019s GPS at one speed through a serial connector, combining that info with the info received on a VHF (or AIS) antenna (from other, transmitting boats), and sending the info back through the same serial connector (but at a different speed) to the computer running the navigational software.\u00a0\u00a0 Without Bill, I would have been at a loss.\u00a0\u00a0 With his help, after several attempts, we succeeded in tapping into the correct GPS output and getting the unit working!\u00a0\u00a0 Fantastic!<\/span><\/p>\n

(For those who are curious, the AIS I installed is a passive unit, and the computer in question is my backup navigation device, running Nobeltech 8.something on an old Dell that just keeps on ticking and running Windows XP (gakk).\u00a0 When\/if I upgrade I will simply need a serial-to-USB converter to get the info to the new computer running the new nav software \u2013 which will definitely NOT be Nobeltech, given their policies concerning upgrades and additions to their charts, and will definitely NOT be a Dell, given that it is not a Mac.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Our stay in Francis was not all work. \u00a0Our neighbors got out nearly every day, either snorkeling or hiking or both. \u00a0Our projects got only somewhat in the way; we joined the crew in an expedition to explore the now-defunct Maho Resort on one day, and on another the crew took multiple dinghies to Cinnamon Bay and explored the nearby ruins and then took the more challenging path up the mountain to Centerline Road, where we turned around and came back down.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Jan. 13 we moved over to St. Thomas and took a slip at Crown Bay Marina, where we a) \u00a0equalized the batteries, b) provisioned, c) hired a taxi to help us get our new carpets at Tropical Shipping, and d) readied ourselves and the boat for the arrival of friends from Savannah: \u00a0Beth Logan and Steve Ellis.<\/p>\n

About the carpeting. \u00a0We sought the advice of the folks at Kadey-Krogen, and learned that a number of KK-ers had used Jennifer Highlander (carpetgirl@att.net) who works at or near Stuart, FL. \u00a0 We contacted her and she agreed to help out. \u00a0 We sent her patterns that we carefully cut to size on craft \u00a0paper. \u00a0We sought her advice on carpet style and color, having also sent her swaths of material from our sofa cushions and window treatments. \u00a0 She ordered the carpet material, cut them to size, attached borders, and sent them and appropriate carpet padding (also cut to size) to Miami, where they were placed on a Tropical Shipping vessel and sent to St. Thomas, USVI. \u00a0 We carpeted the entire boat (except the engine room \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0) and are extremely pleased with the results. \u00a0 Our careful creation of the patterns and Jennifer’s careful work have resulted in carpets that fit each spot perfectly.<\/p>\n

About our Savannah guests: \u00a0tune in to the next edition of “Chuck and Barb go cruising”.<\/p>\n

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