Category Archives: Location

Categories by location. A general catch all for anything involving a certain area.

Passage Across America Begins

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As we wrapped up our circumnavigation in May 2009, we made two plans. One was simple — buy a car. Since diesel had served us so well on our journey and there was some great new diesel technology available for cars, we decided to get a brand new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Second, we decided to plan another travel adventure for exactly one year later. These two plans have connected in an interesting way.

Remember our first big passage? It was the longest passage we ever did aboard Kosmos, and tested the limits of her range. It was 2832 nm (3256 statute miles), and it took three weeks.

Doing range calculations became an everyday part of cruising life for us. So somewhat on a lark, Eric decided to calculate the range of our new Jetta. According to the car specifications, it can do an impressive 600 statue miles on a tank of fuel (14.5 gallons/42 mpg highway). However, what if the car had two people, luggage, and so much fuel in containers that we hit the car’s maximum weight limit? After he ran the numbers, he was astonished to find it was almost the exact same range as Kosmos.

So what did we do with this information? We planned a “land passage” of 2832 nm across the USA on one load of fuel. We are going from San Diego, California (the southwest corner of the country) to Kennebunk, Maine (northeast corner of the country). That’s right, we are going to fuel up on San Diego, and not need to get fuel until we reach the state of Maine, literally traveling corner to corner. We are Continue reading →

Exploring Tempe

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Tuesday, December 15th Today Eric attended a work conference while Christi went sightseeing. Since she had heard there wasn’t much to do in Phoenix, she was pleased to find that there were plenty of things to keep her occupied, all within walking distance of the hotel.

She left the hotel at the same time as Eric, at 0845. The streets were completely deserted, with few pedestrians or cars. Two things were evident: this isn’t a business district and school must be out of session for the winter break. Arizona State University is located here in Tempe, and Tempe is considered to be primarily a college town.

It was a beautiful day””clear, sunny and warmer than it has been in San Diego, so she was happy to be out walking around. She took Mill Street, the main drag, north a few blocks to the Tempe Town Lake and Beach Park. Near the lake there is an old abandoned mill, which she is assuming the street’s name came from.

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At the park entrance was a sign she found surprising. She knew the Continue reading →

Kosmos Haul Out and Off to Phoenix

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December 14th – A couple weeks ago, the weather turned cold and rainy. In San Diego, December usually has mild weather and the rain don’t start until January. The earlier than normal and heavier than normal rains are a result of El Nino, an unusual weather pattern that occurs every 2 5 years. The El Nino pattern affects a huge chunk of the world, and affects each area differently. In Panama, it has a negative effect on the wildlife, in Indonesia it brings drought, and in Southern California, it brings excessive rain. Of course, since Southern California has been in a severe drought for the last three years, the rain is a welcome relief.

Our marina was feeling a bit ominous. The docks were deserted. The days are short and were very gray. While it was warm and dry inside Kosmos, on the walk to and from the boat, the moist, damp air seemed to permeate our clothes. The especially strong winds made a perpetual “woooo” sound through the sailboat masts that sounds like ghosts howling. It was the perfect setting for a horror flick.

So, we were quite pleased when we woke up early this morning to blue skies, bright sunshine and no wind. And the forecast said no more rain for the next few days. Yay! Weeks ago we had scheduled Komos to be hauled out today for new bottom paint, and we had been worried that the adverse weather would affect the bottom painting.

We pulled out of our slip shortly after dawn broke. The water was flat as a pancake and looked like a mirror beneath us as we headed over to the boat yard. Unfortunately, we were heading east, so the incredibly bright early morning sun was blinding us. But we were so happy to see the sun that we didn’t mind the glare.

Like the haul outs in both Australia and Turkey, we pulled Kosmos into a special finger slip and secured her. A huge machine called a travel lift rolled up to the edge of the dock. The travel lift has straps, and the straps were lowered into the water and secured underneath Kosmos.

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The machine slowly Continue reading →

The San Diego Maritime Museum – Part 2

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Saturday, October 17 (continued from yesterday) — Next we went to see the HMS Surprise. This boat was originally named Rose and was built in 1970 in Canada as a replica of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Rose. She is 179.5 feet long, 32 feet wide, has a 13 foot draft, and displaces 500 tons.

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The replica builders used the original plans and were obsessed with making an exact copy of the original. The original HMS Rose was built in 1757. She served in Continue reading →

The San Diego Maritime Museum – Part 1

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Saturday, October 17 Last weekend we took Kosmos out for a short jaunt just to give her some exercise. This weekend Eric intended to work on some boat chores, but when he got up this morning, he just didn’t feel like it. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and he wanted to go and play. We decided to go over to the Maritime Museum. Christi has never been there and Eric hasn’t been there in years. The main reason we wanted to go there is to check out the Russian submarine they have on display. We are dreaming of owning our own submarine someday.

When we got to the museum we were delighted to see that they have recently added another vessel to their collection, a submarine! It is the USS Dolphin, the only operational diesel-electric submarine in the US Navy’s fleet. The USS Dolphin is 165 feet long, 18 feet wide and has an 18 foot draft. She displaces 800 tons. Her engine is a Detroit 12V71 diesel: 1650-hp and she has only one shaft. She is fitted with “246 Module VRLA Battery”. Under water, she can do 10 knots for a short duration, for sustained time under water she can do 4 knots.

She was first commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 2007. Thanks to a special pressurized hull, she is the world’s deepest diving submarine. How deep she has actually gone is still classified information, all the navy will disclose is more than 3,000 feet. In 1969, the USS Dolphin launched a torpedo from the deepest depth ever recorded. Most of her career she was used for research, aiding the navy in the development of submarine-ship communications, Extremely Low Frequency antennas, sonar systems, and ocean floor surveys. Later in her career, she was also loaned out to civilian organizations for special oceanographic studies. Most of its life in was in service in or around San Diego. In 2002, she almost sank. The sub was saved by the brave crew onboard and nearby military vessels that came the rescue. She was seriously damaged and the navy spent $50 million dollars repairing and upgrading her. The retrofit was completed in the summer of 2005 and she went back to work. A year later the navy decided to retire her and a few months later she was pulled from service.

Of course, we made a beeline for USS The Dolphin. The tall hatch that sticks up used to be the only entrance/exit onto the sub. As you can see, the hatch is quite small and steep. When equipment needed to be loaded/unloaded, it had to be disassembled into small bits and reassembled on the other side. The hatch was also the only source of fresh air. There was no snorkel onboard, so when they dove under there was no fresh air source. The museum built a special entrance that is easier to get in/out of. You can see the walkway to the door to Eric’s left.

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When we walked in, we were surprised Continue reading →