Firewood and Uncovering the Shipmate Stove

Yesterday, we cut up firewood into small enough pieces to fit into the wood burning Shipmate stove aboard Mahdee. We now have four bins of firewood. From our prior experiences heating Mahdee with the wood stove, that wood should last us about a week. We didn’t use the Shipmate at all last winter–for cooking or heat. Instead we used the Taylors kero stove. This week we simply decided we’d be cheery and Christmas-like with the sounds and smell of wood burning.

Of course, I’ve been using the Shipmate oven to store things in. For the last year, the Shipmate stove top has provided additional storage for dish drain and more pots and pans. I’ve got bits and pieces of things stored under and between the stove and the heat shield as well. It will take me a couple hours to simply find new homes in the galley for all that stuff!

Waterfront Lands

It is difficult in much of the US for boaters to find a place where they can legally anchor that also is adjacent to a public beach or public waterfront lands where it is legal, and safe, to go ashore. We’ve anchored in places where the shore access is blocked by private development or large-rock riprap unsafe to climb and to leave a dingy tied to while ashore.

The theme seems to be bar the public and boaters from beaches, navigable waterways, and waterfront lands providing public access to the water. Seems like a version of the same story exists everywhere. Here’s a article from today’s New York Times about public beaches: LINK

The Pacific coastal anchorage at San Simeon Cove has access via a public beach. Most anchorages in California, especially those in areas of heavy population–like the San Francisco Bay–do not.
t

My Love-Hate Relationship with Winter

I love the fall colors and the brisk winds and leaves swirling around my legs as I walk. I love, even more so, the cold of winter and the excuse to strike up a warming fire or to relax in the glow of warm candlelight.

This is a picture taken in the first couple years after we moved into our house in Washington, DC. A shot looking up at my cheery bedroom window from the snowy sidewalk, past the holly hedge with clumps of snow.
1

An overcast February day of sailing on the Pacific coast of California.

5

On a boat, it’s a bit different to be cold. I’m someone who likes to wear shoes without socks and goes without gloves throughout the winter. Not on the boat. Here, I must wear gloves early in the season, else when I grab onto the stainless steel of the main shrouds to pull myself aboard, the cold metal bites into my hands–ouch! The interface with the cold is very stark. The charthouse walls are thin and every morning there’s condensation on the inside of the glass from our breath, cooking, and all the boat living that goes on down below decks.

The condensation inside the charthouse during a December gale at anchor.

5

The warming candlelight in the charthouse.
2

The hot coals in the Shipmate’s firebox below.
3

Google Analytics Alternative