Remember that organized-chaos v-berth that is also our guest room?
In preparation for our guest, the first job, was to get everything out, and clean. We're pretty good about ventilation, and dehumidifying, so I was pleased to see that there weren't any mold/mildew issues, just dust. There are three small drawers under the v-berth platform, where we kept soda in cans, it was the one area that was a total mess, due to one of the cans exploded sometime, somewhere in our travels. We hauled all of our stuff to our dock neighbor's boat.... he doesn't need to see how much we filled it up....
Of course, there are many things stored under those platform boards, lines, rigging, project supplies, stuff we might need.
Then, the ventilation layer, we bought a whole roll of this stuff called Hypervent, and we roll it out under our mattress, the salon cushions, and under the v-berth cushions, we even have it in our truck camper, under the mattress. It's kind of a plastic mesh, and it really works to keep moisture out from underneath, and eliminate the potential mold problem.
We didn't have snow in town for Christmas, I'm okay with that. It is coming down the hillsides, and mountains around us though. I bet we'll have some in January, and February, which is typical for Wrangell.
Anyone want to host me someplace warm, and snow free? 😁
How about this festive sign? Yes, I have "Christmas Vacation" on the brain, and no, I haven't pulled out my copy and watched it yet. That activity is on the upcoming schedule.
My son separated from the Army this year, and entered the private job sector. He said he was getting a Christmas bonus from his company, and we had fun texting back and forth about the jelly of the month club, and how not to let cousin Eddie kidnap his boss. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just see the Chevy Chase movie. It's one of my favorites, and no matter how many times I've seen it, I still laugh. If you don't like it, (woe to you, I'm not sure we can be friends), just ignore this paragraph.
We were in town shopping the other day, and found these bags outside the door of both grocery stores. Whoever is the generous Santa elf leaving these, blessings to you.
Free Toy Fairy!
Then we saw this sign in someone's yard, not Christmas themed, but good for a chuckle.
We're glad to have some friends agree to come join us in Wrangell for a few days after Christmas. Our "guest cabin" needs some minor straightening... 😁 fortunately our dock neighbor will be gone, and has graciously consented the use of his boat. We will stack our tubs in his main salon, and make room for people.
Here's one of my favorite renditions of the Halelujah Chorus, done in the Alaskan village of Quinhagak.
The Deep Sea, made by Neal Agarwal is one of the coolest websites I have ever seen. If you are interested in the ocean, and marine life, check it out. Don't forget to keep scrolling until you get to the end. It's fascinating! This graphic is at Neal.fun, check it out for other interesting, interactive fun. I loved the "Share This Page" content, read all the way to the bottom, and click on one, it's worth a chuckle.
When I'm on the water, whether in Denali Rose, some other boat, or my kayak, I don't like to think about what's under me, it freaks me out. I know, that's weird, but I only concentrate on the surface.
Alaska Department of Fish & Game, produced this ebook, "Alaska's Wild Salmon", beautiful photos, and terrific information about our state fish. It's long, but worth the time to read, and it's free!
If you would like news, stories, photos, and recipes for all things Salmon, click here, to subscribe to the "Five Bites of Salmon" newsletter.
This is missing the word Samuel Jackson is known for saying.
There were some other images that were funnier, but I try to keep this blog mostly family friendly.
We aren't asked what's in our wallet, that's kind of rude, but cruisers are often asked, "what's in your ditch bag".
Here's one of ours, yes, we have three ditch bags, I'll show just one today. This was an exercise I should have already done, but I had actually never gone through the bag, item by item before. I knew that if Bill packed it, that it would be filled with all kinds of good safety items, so I was complacent.
ACR Rapiditch
This bag has floatation built into it, and will float about 25pounds of equipment. I was taking photos on the bed, and I had pushed back the cover, since the pattern is too busy for pictures, and I tried no to disturb the sleeping Gus in the background. 😁
The first EBIRB is in an outside pouch. [This is in addition to an EPIRB mounted in the boat, and 3 PLBs; 1 in a pouch on each of our PFDs, and one vacuum packed in the liferaft...]
An emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon, a portable battery powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate airplanes, vessels, and persons in distress and in need of immediate rescue. In the event of an emergency, such as the ship sinking or an airplane crash, the transmitter is activated and begins transmitting a continuous radio signal which is used by search and rescue teams to quickly locate the emergency and render aid. The signal is detected by satellites operated by an international consortium of rescue services, COSPAS-SARSAT. The basic purpose of this system is to help rescuers find survivors within the so-called "golden day"[1] (the first 24 hours following a traumatic event) during which the majority of survivors can usually be saved. The feature distinguishing modern EPIRBs, often called GPIRBs, from other types of emergency beacon is that it contains a GPS receiver and broadcasts its position, usually accurate within 100 meters, to facilitate location.
The underside of the lid has a mesh pouch, contents:
Waterproof flashlights and a diving light [We also have headlamps and flashlights in each of our PFD pouches- always with us...]
Hard to see here, but that black snake is a heavy duty bungee style SUP leash, connected to the bag so we can attach it to our person, or whatever, so that the bag doesn't float away in an emergency situation...
Some boat emergency items: a soft bung to plug a leak; some goop to stop a leak [in case you can quell a leak before actually evacuating...] and a silicone measuring cup [which can be used as a bailer, drinking cup, pee and/or vomit receptical, etc...]
In these two black plastic containers contain rolls of biodegradable wag bags for waste- kitty or otherwise.....
A floating SOS signal light [USCG approved in leu of pyrotechnic flares...]
Field First Aid Kit [in it's own heavy duty waterproof bag] and 100 feet of nylon line
GPS and VHF radio; each in a waterproof Pelican case, and they both use the same AA Lithium batteries [20 year shelf life, no leaking, and work well in cold temperatures...]
Two stainless steel knives: one is a pocket knife similar to a Swiss Army kniff, and the other is a sailor's knife, with a few different options. [We also have knives attached to our PFDs...]
Daytime Emergency Signal Flag, which can only be seen in the daylight, no fancy stuff involved. [One is included with the SOS Emergency light, above...]
Cliff bars for easy nutrition [and a few pouches of cat food too...] and lots of line for whatever.
Life raft/dinghy repair kit [supplementing what is already vacuum packed in with the liferaft...]
A ziplock of various sized ziplocks.
Tide Tables [replaced annually]
Two headnets, well, you know, mosquitoes, and other flying annoyances. Two vacuum packed survival, heat retention suits. [Being warm is good...]
Burried in the bottom is a small, portable solar panel kit for recharging batteries, phones, etc.
Everything is tied to the bag, so that if you open the top zipper, things can't fall out, and float away.
Yes, there are many other things that people put in their ditch bags, but wait.... there's more! I did say we have a couple more ditch bags, but you'll have to wait for future installments to see what they contain...
How many of you remember this original, "BUT wait there's MORE" ad? Hahahaha, you'll be showing your age if you do!
Elsie hasn't been feeling well lately, so we put a heating pad underneath of the box that sits next to the heater vent. She has been monopolizing the box because Gus didn't know the pad was there. He recently found out.
Another water bowl close by, to make life easier.
Cat face-off, who will out stare the other for the rights to the warm box.
Gus won, but he didn't play fair, he bapped Elsie on the head with his paw. Not very gentlemanly of him.
I don't think he looks very contrite here, do you?
Elsie ends up on her sheepskin on the settee.
So now when Elsie needs to curl up in the box, we distract Gus with a toy, outside time, extra chin scratches, and by the time he turns around, Elsie is all snuggled up, and warm.
