Avalon and Night Runs

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Departing October 20, 2006 San Diego, CA arriving October 21, 2006 to Avalon, CA (Catalina Island) and returned October 22, 2006 to San Diego. We left at 11pm Friday night. It is a 12 hour trip to Catalina at Kosmos speed, which is about 6.5 to 7 knots. We had 5 guests with us — Christi’s friend from college, Omar, Christi’s life long friend, Brandie, and Brandie’s husband and two oldest children.

There was no moon and it was quite dark as we headed out. Still in the bay we heard a call on the radio. Hailing fishing boat passing the sub base. Hey, we were passing the sub base too. Hey, wait a minute, radar shows we are the only boat passing the sub base. We do look like a fishing boat. We answered and switched to a working channel. Continue reading

Coast Guard and HAM Classes

Quite a few people ask: Are you two taking any formal classes on boating? The answer is yes. Here are some things we have been up to.

HAM and SSB

We just took and passed our HAM (High frequency AMateur) radio class. HAM radio allows you to transmit voice and data. The special thing about HAM is in certain modes it has tremendous range. To give some perspective consider that some good walkie-talkies have a range of about 5 miles. Common marine VHF can range is about 25 miles. A technical class license HAM can is about 50 miles. A general class licensed HAM operator has a range of Continue reading

Welcome Aboard Card

We had this idea giving people a “Welcome Aboard Card” when they come aboard Kosmos. The card’s purpose is to orient people on some important topics. The answers will be on the back of the card, and you will have to come aboard to get the answers. Boat savvy people will know some of the answers, but some are completely specific to Kosmos. We have more detailed plans and info for crew, but we figure this card helps us for the many short trips we hope to take with friends and family. Below is the card: Continue reading

Training Phase and Marina Neighbors

We wanted to say all is well. To be honest there is nothing too exciting to report. We have been very busy with work, and then busy spending time aboard Kosmos. We are in a training and orientation phase. We get a little more organized and a little more confident each time we are on the boat. We follow various checklists and procedures to ensure safe and smooth operation. Overall the boat is feeling less complex, and we are extremely pleased with Continue reading