Kaimusailing

s/v Kaimu Wharram Catamaran

Vessel Name: Kaimu
Vessel Make/Model: Wharram Custom
Hailing Port: Norwalk, CT
Crew: Andy and the Kaimu Crew
About: Sailors in the Baltimore, Annapolis, DC area.
21 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA
01 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA
23 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
15 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
11 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
06 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA
26 January 2024 | St. Marys, GA
14 January 2024 | St. Marys, GA
09 January 2024 | St Marys, GA
23 December 2023 | St Marys, GA
10 December 2023 | St Marys, GA
25 November 2023 | St. Marys, GA
17 November 2023 | St. Marys, GA
17 November 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
03 November 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
26 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
17 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
11 October 2023 | Somers Cove Marina, Crisfield, MD
04 October 2023 | Alice B. Tawes, McReady Pavilion, Crisfield, Maryland Eastern Shore
03 October 2023 | Alice B. Tawes, McReady Pavilion, Crisfield, Maryland Eastern Shore
Recent Blog Posts
21 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA

Just Add Water

The rainy weekend started off with overcast and fog but no rain. It looked like I might be able to get something done on the D4 dinghy. I wanted to change the bow seat which is really the bow deck. The sailing option uses the deck to hold the freestanding mast. I didn’t like how the deck looked, [...]

01 March 2024 | St. Marys, GA

D4 Dinghy Alternative Seats

The rain event was more wind than rain, strong winds with gusts up to 44 mph. We drove into town to see what the harbor was like. There was a small sailboat that had dragged anchor and was sitting close to shore. The tide was out. We left and played with Bleu at Notter’s Pond.

23 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA

D4 Inside Seams

Day two of the dinghy build started out with me finishing wiring the hull bottoms together on the centerline of the bottom panels. This was much easier than the wiring of the chine edges of the bottom panels and the side panels.

15 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA

D4 Dinghy Day One

A Wharram Pahi 26 had been anchored in the river nearby the boatyard and was hauled out with the travel lift. I went around to look at it and talked to the owner couple. I was surprised that it had been built in Martinique in 1988. The boat is more than 30 years old.

11 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA

D4 Redux

The inflatable (deflatable) dinghy I had bought was deteriorating. It had bottom seams separating. It is a West Marine branded dinghy made out of PVC. HH66 is the adhesive to reattach the seams. A friend had a similar problem and bought the same adhesive. I was waiting to hear from him how it worked [...]

06 February 2024 | St. Marys, GA

The Clincher

We decided to go to Amelia Island for the day, probably to the beach. Our plan to cycle around on the Raleigh 20’s seemed like a bad idea, Bleu can’t keep up with a bicycle for very long and when he quits he quits. So we would walk, where?, Fort Clinch State Park. She has a forever pass for Florida [...]

Southward

14 November 2021 | St Marys, GA
Cap'n Chef Andy | Chilly
It was moving day, pack up the car. The pizza oven and utensils had already been packed at Eve the artist’s house. Now in the marina tools and boxes and bags were loaded till the car’s trunk was completely full. I had to readjust some things so that the Camry’s trunk hood could close without crushing anything. I put a clean tarpaulin on the back seat. I texted Eve about my progress and she suggested I come over and drink wine with her and Diana.
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Lamb chop dinner was on the menu. Diana said she couldn’t stay for dinner and Cuddily called and said she was not feeling well and wouldn’t make it to dinner. By the time it was time for dinner Eve and I were both quite drunk. Still, the grill was lit, roasted beets came out of the oven as well as a toasty baguette. Leftover asparagus was warmed up. Halved and buttered butternut squash went into the oven. Salad was prepared with a lemony olive oil dressing with fresh basil and garlic. My timer went off that the grill must be up to temperature. The lamb chops with their minced chive and who knows what else garnish went onto the grill. I set a timer guessing at how long to grill the chops before turning them over. It was dark outside at the grill, so it was not possible to look at the chops to see how done they were. The timer went off and the chops came off the grill.
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In the kitchen we assembled our meals on the plate. The 5 liter box of red wine was almost done. The 3 liter Black Box malbec was almost done. The chops were cooked to perfection. The roasted beets were a revelation. If beets are healthy then I can resurrect an old borscht recipe from my grandmother.
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I was not legal to drive, at all, and I opted to sleep in Eve’s guest bed. I should have fallen right asleep after a long day, but I was sore and achy and Eve doesn’t have ibuprofen, doesn’t believe in OTC medication. I had a rough night.
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In the morning I realized I would not be driving to Georgia that day. I went to the marina and brought eggs, ham, and cheese back to Eve’s house and made a 4 egg omelet using some of her leftover minced onion and garlic. We had slices of sourdough toasted and buttered, and coffee. Surely now I would get some sleep. I returned to Sunsplash and took all my medications of the night before and the morning, as well as ibuprofen. Still hard to sleep. I ended up not sleeping. I sort of rested and almost slept.
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I did more packing. Eve wanted me to get some new shoes and throw away those fetid Aqua Sox. We went to Pocomoke with Cuddily and I picked out a nice pair of slip on loafers that had an aggressive tread that would be safe on a boat deck. In the parking lot I threw away the Aqua sox, wiped my feet with alcohol wipes and put on the new shoes. We went to Don’s for orange crushes and food. I had new england clam chowder that was described by Cuddily as Ocean City clam chowder, so thick the spoon would stand straight up by itself. Not desirable consistency. I had seared ahi with wasabi and soy that I had to ask for. We returned to Crisfield.
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CM called about a recent job interview and when I said no one came to dinner, just me and Eve, and she said maybe they wanted us to have a romantic evening. I suggested they didn’t want to be there to break up the fight.
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Kahlua, Eve’s black lab, was very agitated, her dinner now about 2 hours late. Cuddily was already home and I said goodbye to Eve and left to sleep, hopefully, to be fully rested for the long drive.
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I slept like a fallen tree, comatose, and woke up, I wonder what time it is, 11:34, PM, and now I felt ready to start the day. To tire myself I did Sudoku Daily Challenge and did today’s and then after midnight tomorrow’s. I tried to sleep. At least I rested.
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At about 3:30 AM I decided to finish packing and make breakfast. A bag of trash went to the dumpster. Eve had given me apples in a Maryland Food Bank bag. I used the bag to hold all the loose ends, Canon camera, a bag of medicines, the phone charger, the can of coffee and coffee filters. The bike had to go below, kind of clunky getting down there, I should stow the water hose. It wouldn’t come off the spigot. Water was spraying everywhere in the night. Dark. Tighten the spigot’s valve as much as I could. Go to the car, dew on the windows, fire it up, blast the defroster, roll down the driver’s and passenger’s windows so I could see traffic. It’s like taxiing a plane when you are wending your way on a long trip. The marina is like the airport, the big marina with its lanes and DNR designated driveways, move slowly and check your instruments, pause at the end of the taxiway, the automatic gate opens, off you go. The speed limits in Crisfield are just federally mandated signs, they have no relation to reality. The Camry has a lot of pep, but the local pickup trucks, GMC, from Tawes, are loud and fast. I have to keep up with one that is following me. I’ve been in town long enough to know how to go.
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The back road that goes to Pocomoke goes past farm fields and thus herds of deer, big whitetail who thrive here. Mists and fogs drift across the road. I’m nervous. Every beady eye small light is a deer, two of them together are certainly a deer. I slow. I brake. I’ll never get to Georgia this way. When I get to Pocomoke on RT 13 I start to worry about crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and then going through the myriad of interchanges and strange roads to go to Norfolk.
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It seems like forever to go down the rest of the DelMarVa peninsula. I open the easypass module on the windshield to pay the two tolls. I get billed $5.99 today for using the easypass. It’s easy. The path over the bridge, sunrise, can’t stop to photograph, keep on my toes, I’m driving barefoot, morning traffic, too early for rush hour, end up on RT 58 heading North or West. Nice road. Get to I-95 near Emporia, VA. Have to stop although the car seems to run forever on almost no gas. I need to use the men’s room and get coffee. I’m eating chocolate chip cookies with nuts in them from Eve’s sister. I call Eve. I’ve only been on the road for 2 hours, but she sounds like she’s being wakened.
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Down I-95, just like always. I don’t feel tired until I hit a big traffic tie up, construction and confused motorists. If I was really alert I would know to get off and go a little bit West and get on 301 South. When I do, an exit later, I go along at normal 55 speeds and some village slow downs, resist the urge to get back on the Big Road South, finally do, recognize the green buses and red Honda Civic that I was with, jammed in traffic, just up the road.
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According to the digital menu and gas mileage, I can drive all the way to St. Marys without stopping. Go ahead and try it. I have to stop just to walk around. The car seat does a good job on my old back.
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We are like a pack of hounds on the trail South. I want to get my place in line and they do too. The adaptive cruise control on the Camry is a pain. When there is slow traffic the cruise control automatically slows you down to avoid the slow car in front of you, then the impatient driver behind, who is wondering why you are driving so slow, passes you and pulls right in front of you. The cruise control backs off again, you go even slower, another impatient driver passes you, and so on. After a while you are at the end of the line. I hate it.
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The driver’s assist is an attempt to help the driver by recognizing road hazards and of course the lines on the road delineating your traffic lane. It is a constant fight with this feature. I hate it. The car is in a constant tussle with me trying to drive the line I want to drive and the driver’s assist doing its best to wreck that. Awful.
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I stop again at a Wendy’s for what I thought would be a simple burger and some kind of drink, like ice tea, but the $4 great deal looks tempting. I get it. A small dry chicken patty, very small, with an unfortunate sprig of Iceberg and a dab of mayo, plus I get 4 tiny fried chicken tender pieces, maybe they fell off some more substantial meals, a huge pile of french fries. Very bad meal. Bad Meal.
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As the miles count down to St. Marys, I ponder, do I stop to shop for breakfast items, do I stop to get fuel, or do I just get down to the boatyard while it’s still light to see if Kaimu is habitable. Is it flooded with rainwater, infested with giant cockroaches, you don’t know what is there until you are there. I opt to continue right through to the end.
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The gas prices are in the 3.25 range and the gas station near the gas station restaurant near the boatyard is only 3.17 as I go by. I will come back for dinner and gas. I drive into the boatyard and right up to Kaimu. On board there are no cockroaches, even they have their limits. Some water in the bilges. I meet my neighbor, Andy, on Guy’s old boat, Guy who sailed with Radio Bill to the Bahamas, didn’t land and sailed back. Nice boat.
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I pee in the Porta-john and head up to get fuel and food at the corner. The gas pump is so slow I wait until I get 1 gallon from it. Unbelievable. In the restaurant, Pirate’s Point, I sit at the bar at the end. I don’t know the bartender. She is tattooed up and down, aren’t tattoos painful? She has dark eyes and some kids saying mommie, and I guess a husband there while she works. The special tonight is Chicago Hot Dogs, two for 6.50, and I have a Yuengling. The hot dogs are not as good as what I envisioned, let’s put it that way. Rick, the operator of this establishment, is going around getting his hands on things, focused, he doesn’t see me at all, I call out Rick and he acknowledges. We are glad to see each other. I pay my bill and leave.
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I had already determined that Kaimu’s bedding wasn’t soaked, I could lay in for the night and finally sleep. I slept till almost 10:30 in the morning. I made coffee with the last of my water and had to clean out a skillet that had sat for 6 months with no maintenance, filthy, encrusted with some sort of mold, I just wiped it down to the bare cast iron, lit the propane stove, boiled water, shifted teapot while the awful skillet got hot. New ham and old olive oil, egg, sizzling, sourdough bread, trying to get organized in the morning, get my morning meds, my CoQ10, eat and feel like you could sleep for more hours. Face the day with reluctance. The main obstacles have been crossed, yet I feel like shrinking back.
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My Specialized Crossroads bike that Jane Morgan had turned me onto was sitting alone under the boat. Chain rusted. I put a drop of 3-in-1 oil on each link, then tried to rotate the chain through the sprockets. It wouldn’t go. More oil, more attention to some that needed more oil, rotate, eventually I got it to go around with some glaring glitches. Chain links that didn’t want to swivel.
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I rode through the boatyard to get the kinks out of the chain and maybe out of me. I ran into Ron the carpenter and Denis, the Canadian truck driver, I was delaying my chain maintenance to catch up on their difficult summer. I ran into Doc, of Doc’s Chop Shop, and said I would find him later after I broke in my chain.
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I rode on. Over to the Breezeway. The old vehicle that I had borrowed from Rough Rider Lynn was there. It was now Robert’s. The front end was damaged. The Breezeway was nearly empty. I rode on. Up through the new section of the boatyard, now full of boats. Rocky the owner was there, we talked a bit. He thought he and his young son had had covid last year.
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I ran into Doc and he showed me around his end of the boatyard. Was I going to Wallyworld? Yes, maybe later.
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I began dewatering the starboard hull. Maybe 15 gallons in a Walmart bucket 3 gallons at a time. Its handle breaks off and it dumps the water on the galley sole. I switch to another bucket and continue. I’m pooped and stop. No Wallyworld today. I sleep another night until late in the morning. After breakfast, at noon, I pick up Doc and we go shopping. I am down to the end of the gas tank and put 13 gallons in. Back at Kaimu I put perishables in the fridge. I make some ersatz mac and cheese with tuna, edible. Again I sleep late. I work in the galley to clean up the counters. I allow myself to watch the local football game, Jacksonville getting walloped by the Colts.
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The image is my first look at Kaimu upon my return in fading daylight.
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