Charleston is an amazing city to visit. There is so much to do and enjoy in that beautiful city. You can walk the cobbled streets and gaze at the antebellum houses, visit a plantation or Fort Sumter and for naval enthusiasts there is the Naval and Maritime Museum complete with the USS Yorktown, a WWII era aircraft carrier.
We left Vero Beach on Saturday morning with Alicia, a boat from Sweden, following close behind. The first stop was Titusville, then Easter Sunday we made it to Daytona Beach. I had a big ham on board so we invited the crew of Alicia to join us for dinner.
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1: Blog 27 - Northbound...
After a delightful winter in the Bahamas, we decided at the end of March to head for the US. The weather continued to get hotter and the humidity was climbing daily. It was tough to drop the mooring ball, but we were suddenly excited about starting the trek home.
It has been hot in the Abacos this winter. Whoever said this area was cool this time of year must have visited in a bad year. We have no complaints about the weather. Anyone contemplating a vacation destination should give this area a second look.
Vero Beach, aka Velcro Beach, lived up to its reputation again. Our original plan was to be there for four days, which morphed into a week when we heard high winds were coming in. So we had seven days to visit with friends and finish our provisioning. As it turned out we were there for 17 days.
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1 – Blog 24 – February...
After an autumn in Canada, we arrived back in northern Florida at Adamant 1 on January 3rd and with fingers crossed, we opened the hatch to find no mould, mildew, bugs or critters!
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1 – Blog 23 - Back on...
We are home for Christmas this year. Soon we will be heading back to Adamant 1 for another winter in the Bahamas, but we will celebrate the holidays here with our family first.
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1 – Blog 22 - Christmas...
It has been a long, hot summer here on Georgian Bay and we miss Adamant 1 terribly. We did manage to sail with friends occasionally and we borrowed our daughter’s boat a couple times to get in some sailing time.
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1- Blog 21 – Summer at...
After a good night’s sleep, it was a lot easier to work my way through checking into the US. I finally discovered that since my US phone had been turned off for almost five months, the Google Play app needed to be updated.
Read more: From the Helm of Adamant 1 – Blog 20 –July 2018:...
The first part of this blog will show that not every day is blue sky and sunshine in the Bahamas!
To Own, or Not to Own? Boating without boat ownership
Katherine Stone
all the fun and no hassles without ownership.
There’s nothing like owning your own boat – a dream come true for many boating enthusiasts! But along with the joys of boat ownership come the headaches, frustrations, time-consuming repairs and maintenance, and a constant outflow of cash.
Someone once told me that owning a boat was like having a hole in the water into which you poured money – an accurate description if ever I heard one!
Read more about Boating Without Boat Ownership......
DIY & How to
Gasoline Containing Ethanol Can Disable Your Engine
For many years now, we have used gasoline in our cars and trucks that contains some amount of ethanol, a form of alcohol, and just as a few drops of water combine almost instantly in your Scotch, moisture from the atmosphere can combine with the ethanol in the gasoline that is in your boat’s fuel tank.
Your motor vehicle has a sealed fuel system to control evaporative losses that are a source of air pollution. Fuel is moved into the engine under pressure and any drips that might escape, drop onto the pavement. The engine is open to the pavement below. In an inboard boat, the hull is below the engine and any drips will collect in the bilge with potentially explosive consequences.
Read more about gasoline containing ethanol......
Boat Reviews
Grand Banks 60 Skylounge
The Canadian market has always been a tough nut for yacht designers to figure out. Summer days get really hot; other days are downright cold. There is always the chance things could change in the blink of an eye and let’s be honest, who among us hasn’t stepped off the boat wearing shorts, flip flops and a warm jacket? Canadian yachting has always been a world of contradictions, which is why designing cruising yachts for this market has never been easy. It’s not like Florida or the Med, where weather is dependable throughout the year.
Read more about the Grand Banks 60 Skylounge............
Olympic One-Person Sailing Dinghy Completes Name Change “ILCA Dinghy” Is New Face of World’s Most Popular Racing Boat
Austin, Texas, USA (25 April 2019) – In the wake of last month’s termination of its contract with its European builder, the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) announced today that, from 25 April 2019, all new, class-approved boats will be sold and raced under the “ILCA Dinghy” name. This change will have no impact on existing ILCA-authorized boats and equipment, which will be able to race alongside ILCA Dinghies in all class sanctioned events.
“It’s a big change for a racing class that hasn’t seen anything like this in our almost 50- year history,” said Class President Tracy Usher.
Read More about the ILCA Dinghy............
Destinations
Make Mariposa One Of Your Summer Destinations
Take your boat and a beautiful waterfront setting, pair that with a fantastic musical lineup of over 100 Canadian and international performers, spice it up with an awesome food truck alley, add in an artistically diverse artisan’s marketplace and finish it with a Folkplay area dedicated to children’s fun and you have the successful recipe for the Mariposa Folk Festival.
Each July this longstanding musical tradition kicks off the summer at Tudhope Park in Orillia on the picturesque shores of Lake Couchiching and you can get there by boat. This year’s festival runs July 5-7 and is celebrating 20 years back in the city where it all began 59 years ago.
Read more about the Mariposa.....
Marine Products
Mercury Marine Launches New Mercruiser V8 6.2l 370hp Jet Ready Inboard Engine
Mercury Marine is pleased to announce the launch of the new MerCruiser V8 6.2L 370hp Jet Ready inboard engine. The new Jet Power Inboard uses MerCruiser’s 6.2L small block V8 powerplant in an inboard configuration and has a tailstock in place of a transmission to allow for an easy connection to a jet pump via a jackshaft.
“This engine provides boat builders, dealers and consumers with a Mercury inboard jet option that provides easy integration with a jet pump, a full warranty on jet applications and enables consumers to leverage Mercury’s best-in-class dealer network for service,”,,,
Read more about the Mercruiser V8 Inboard Engine............
Groupe Beneteau unveils its first motor foiler
After developing the Figaro Beneteau 3, the first production foiling sailing yacht, Groupe Beneteau has launched a new innovation, unveiling its concept foiling motor yacht.
DEMS Sarrazin Design, Noval and SEAir brought on board a range of design, technical and mechanical skills, alongside the innovation, naval architecture and product design experts from Groupe Beneteau.
Read more about Beneteau's Motor Foiler............
