The following will not be broadcast due to technical difficulties

4/1/2013 Globalstar and Ocens gave me an early April Fools joke! They lead me to believe that I could send and receive emails at will. Jokes on me! I’ve discovered a conflict that will keep us from corresponding with you during our Gulf Crossing: The AIS system we have installed (think of it as a […]


We’re Off!

No fanfare, no cheering crowds, no crying babies. We slipped the lines quietly at 11:00 AM and headed out the channel. The weather looks good for a smooth and comfortable passage to Key West via the Dry Tortugas. I hope to be able to upload daily updates and perhaps a picture or two along the […]


The wind never blows aboard Double Wide

I’ve been having some problems with the wind instrument on Double Wide. Several months ago I sent the part at the top of the mast off to be repaired and $400 later, it came back to me ready to reinstall. While that was going on, I had a rigger doing some work at the top […]


Making our lists, checking them twice

The To-Do lists are complete and we’re ready to go. The only thing left to do is make a liquor store run and load the groceries aboard. We’re ready to go!! Our good friend Tom McHugh is going to sail across the Gulf with us and he will arrive at the boat Sunday around noon […]


Santa Came to Visit Double Wide

I got Michelle a new Helmsman’s Seat this past Christmas. Some of you may think that’s a bit like buying your wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary. I get it, but I can’t help myself — it’s in the genes, but that’s a story for another time! Actually, we really needed a new seat and Michelle and […]


Great Use for a GoPro

I got a GoPro for Christmas and I’ve been having a lot of fun on the ski slopes with it. I got to thinking about how I could turn a toy in to a tool for the boat. Here’s what I came up with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw6vbkbJ1Ng My GoPro model has a wifi connection that allows me […]


Cockpit Enclosure – At Last!

It was supposed to be finished by the end of November. It wasn’t. Then it was supposed to be ready by the end of December. Nope. How about January? Nada. Definitely it will be ready in February. Uh Uh. March is do or die. Success!!!


A Room with a View

One of the projects that has been on my list for a number of years was to replace the windows in our Main Salon. Our old windows had crazed so badly that you could barely see through them and it was down right dangerous to sit below and steer with the remote autopilot. The main […]


Fall is for Maintenance

Fall around the Haley house means it’s time to think about maintenance projects aboard Double Wide. This year we have a number of projects that we want to undertake and some of the the work can’t be done in Ingleside, so off we go to Seabrook… Here’s a partial list of the items on our […]