Log of SV Free Spirit and ships company

The chronicles of the schooner Free Spirit and her crew, embarking on an open ended journey upon the great rolling heap. Free Spirit is currently pursuing humanitarian and commercial goals in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola. Working under the Ocean Reach USA and Paradigm Research banners, she is serving as logistics headquarters, workshop, and development laboratory for many ongoing projects. This is the log of her journey.....

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Fun At The Beaches In Georgetown

Only in a community of cruiser's would you find a buoy being used as a swing :-)



Awwww, isn't that sweet??? His brother completely buried him in the sand....



Ok, that's it, it's payback time!!



My Drake, you have grown so much in the past hour! The sand here was perfect for all beach activities.




One evening we went to shore at Sand Dollar Beach and saw TONS of this little trails all heading towards the brush line. Upon close inspection we discovered TONS of hermit crabs that must have been seeking protection. It was really neat to watch how organized and systematic their behavior was.



They were super cute too!



Matthew was by far the best conch shell blower that I have heard yet. This was one of our many beach campfire nights.



Our dear friend Leigha from 'SY Tranquility', on which she sails with her family; Cameron, Mia (7) and Fynn (5). I have a short story to share about the start of our frienship with her and her wonderful family. When we were in Annapolis for one night last October, just before the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, we saw a beautiful steel boat anchored in the harbor there. We all noticed that there were the cutest little boy and girl aboard who were climbing and swinging from every available line in the rigging. I mentioned to Tamer that they must have been raised on board the boat and that the family would probably be fun to get to know. The next morning we headed North, and really did not think of them again. Fast Forward to February when we arrived in Marathon to provision for the crossing to the Bahamas. We are going through the mooring field with the dinghy, and we see this beautiful steel boat..... Low and behold it is Tranquility, laid in our path once again. We met them at the weekly potluck on shore, and before we even knew what boat they are from, we hit it off. Anyhow... They were planning on leaving the next day, so we took the few minutes we could and were really sad to see them go. 2 months later they ended up sailing to Georgetown completely unexpectedly, and they were as surprised to see us, as we were to see them! We had a great time getting to know them better!! The cruising community is really quite small on the grand scheme of things.



posted by CT | 7:25 PM

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Laura, I have been following your blog since the beginning. I found it through a Chugach HS newsletter as we HS as well. My dh and I desperately want to cruise and hope to fulfill that dream one day. Right now we have 26 footer that we play on in PWS. I envy your life and ability to do so. I do have a question, hoping it is not to forward. How are you guys funding the voyage? Of course this is what is holding us back.
Enjoying the blog and your adventures. Keep them coming!
AmyinAK ahx2@hotmail.com

1:53 PM  
Blogger Handyside said...

Laura and Tamer-

My boyfriend Garth and I actually met Leigha and Cameron and their two kids today in Reedville, Virginia. They had us aboard the Tranquility for drinks and dinner and told us a bit about the Free Spirit.

Garth and I have been interested for some time now in gaining experience as crew members aboard ships other than the 26 foot sailboat we currently live on, so I thought I'd try and get in touch with you and find out more about what you're doing and weather or not you'll be looking for new crew members anytime soon.

Please email me-

Sarah Handyside

slhandyside82@gmail.com
www.sarahhandyside.com

3:55 AM  

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Introducing Propcalc 4.0

Use Propcalc to easily match your hull with your engine, transmission, and propeller
Put the known data in the top fields, then hit the Update button to get the answers.
Results, of course, should be verified by a Naval Architect or qualified surveyor.
Data is provided for three bladed propellers of average type
For two or four bladed props, use the modifiers shown below.

Fill out the fields as follows:

Vessel LWL (ft) = Waterline length
Vessel Disp (lbs) = Vessel displacement
(max) HP = Rated Engine Max HP
Engine RPM max = Engine RPM at Max HP
Engine RPM cruise = Desired or estimated cruise rpm
(Cruise or Max) Kts = Speed to work the calculations for
Slip = Propeller efficience. 45% is average for a displacement cruiser.
Gear ratio = 1: Gear ratio of transmission
SL Ratio Adj. = This value will be added (or subtracted, if a negative value) to the calculated S/L ratio.

Key information:

If the "hp required" is greater than the "cruse HP", you have your cruise RPM set too low for your engine parameters.
If the "hp required" is significantly less than the "cruse HP", you have your cruise RPM set too high for your engine parameters.
If the "hp required" is greater than the "Max HP", then your target speed is too high for your engine/hull parameters.
The S/L ratio is calculated automaticaly based on your input. It can be adjusted if necessary, but normally it should be left alone.
If the calculated S/L ratio exceeds S/L MAX, then the results are likely to be non-predictive. Try a lower speed requirement.
SL Ratios of 1.1 - 1.4 are typical of displacement hulls. Semiplaning or planing hulls can go higher.

Typical propeller slip values:

Sailing auxiliary, barges, etc less than 9 Kts............45%
Heavy powerboats, workboats 9 - 15 Kts....................26%
Powerboats, Lightweight Cruisers 15 - 30 Kts..............24%
High speed planing boats 30 - 45 Kts......................20%
V bottom race boats 45 - 90 Kts...........................10%


Note:

it is possible to get irrational answers by irrational input , I.E specifying excessive speed for hull type and length
Any attempt to exceed hull speed (1.34 times the square root of the waterline length in feet) with a displacement hull are likely
to fail unless the hull is extremely fine (multihull) or otherwise exceptional. In such cases, an S/L adjustment would be in order.

2 and 4 bladed props:


For two bladed propellers, multiply the diameter by 1.05, and the pitch by 1.01
For four bladed propellers, multiply the diameter by .94, and the pitch by .98
PROPCALC
  Inputs:
Vessel LWL (ft) =
Vessel Disp (lbs) =
  (max) HP =
  Engine RPM max =
  Engine RPM cruise =
  (Cruise or Max) Kts =
  Slip =
  Gear ratio = 1:
  SL Ratio Adj. =
   
    Solutions:
  Prop rpm max =
  Prop rpm cruise =
  Pitch =
  Diameter =
  Static Thrust =
  Cruise HP =
  Cruise HP% =
  SL Ratio =
  DL Ratio =
  SL Max =
  HP Required =