Log of SV Wendaway

Andre Malraux

So I am rereading a book which made a big stir in our lives, 40 years ago or so. I’m talking about my high school buddies – David, Rob,  Tim – and those other guys.

It was Man’s Fate by André Malraux. A difficult book I remember, mostly because although we all admired it (because we all admired it), Malraux was also seen as something of a philistine.  And we were not.  So we disapproved but in a principled sort of way. At least that is my recollection.

I actually have no recollection of actually reading it, although I could talk about it with fervor.  I remember that much. Man’s fate,  yeah – man’s fate.

Now I am reading it, I think for the first time; so actually my first sentence is a lie. Not much has changed. Continue Reading »

The big smile

It was a hot and dusty hike into the famed waterfall on the Rio Carboneras, but when we got there Wendy had the biggest smile on her face I’d seen in awhile.

To put it mildly, Wendy has been rather hot since she left Vancouver last November.   Meaning that the hike up the dusty shores of the river had put her in the mood to jump into the cool waters without hesitation.

Two days ago, Steve and Denise from the sailing vessel Brendon (read their blog here) kindly invited us along on a day’s expedition to the Las Palmas falls.

Along with crews from Whisper, True Companion, and Capricio, an even dozen cruceros (including us) left from the dinghy dock at the La Cruz marina and hopped on a total of two buses to make the 40 km ride.

Continue Reading »

Last week, a vessel cruising north of the Panama Canal reported via ship’s radio that the Southbound Net was no longer functioning. Untrue!

The Southbound Net is alive and well – the problem is it has moved frequencies. Here are the coordinates:

Time: 0145 UTC
Frequency: 4054 kHz SSB (Upper Side Band)
Net Coordinator: Mark Schneider SV SolMate (KI6UPS or WDE2635)

Purpose:

Southbound Net is a volunteer operation dedicated to improving the safety of mariners especially those traveling south of San Diego, CA and north of Panama. Every night we take check-ins from cruisers, record their coordinates, facilitate ship-to-ship radio traffic, and share relevant and interesting information.

How to Check In:

Southbound Net is a controlled net which simply means that the conversation is coordinated by a “net controller” or host who facilitates things by making sure only one boat is talking at a time. When the controller calls for check-ins, please come with your boat name only. When you hear the controller call your name, come back with your boat name, ship’s call-sign, number of persons on board, location, destination and local weather including wind speed, direction and sea state. If you have anything of general interest to the fleet, please let us know.

If you would like to call someone else during the net, inform the controller that you have “traffic”.

How the Net Is Organized

At the beginning of the Southbound cruisers’ net, the net controller will first identify herself and then call for emergency traffic. At this point it is important to listen for very faint signals that may indicate a remote station requires assistance. If you hear something and it is clear the net controller is not receiving it, please inform her immediately.

Fortunately we rarely receive emergency calls and the net moves on with the controller calling for check-ins from vessels that are currently underway.

When all underway vessels have checked in, the controller will then call for “general check-ins”, which includes folks that are at anchor or in marinas.

Currently Southbound Net is not providing weather information. This may change in the future.

NOTE: We have recently changed frequencies from 6516 kHz USB (this is a Single Sideband channel) to 4054kHz . Please change your information and pass it along to other cruisers.

If you would like to contact any of the volunteers on the Southbound Net, please visit our temporary website for more information.

Fair seas!

Mark

Radio SolMate

Yesterday I got an email from my brother Neal who suggested I might be spending too much time on our ham radio. “I’m a little worried that you’re becoming another Uncle Harry and you’re getting a little too radio active.”

Uncle Harry and my dad invested a lot of effort shouting at each other across the country over very expensive ham radio equipment. What – their regular telephones were chopped liver??? Continue Reading »