Blog Archives
Casual Time On Ticket To Ride
Over the last few weeks we have had time to sail with a lot of different people on TTR. Many come aboard with an HH representative or a Morrelli & Melvin rep to decide if this is the type of boat they want. Others are friends/future HH owners. And happily, sometimes our kids and their friends visit.
I know some photos while under sail would be a nice addition, but we are still pretty focused on improving our sailing of this boat so I don’t usually stop for pictures. But I did get this quick clip of a friend enjoying a comfortable sail on TTR:
A perfect place for a spot of coffee.
We have had the opportunity to sail to Catalina Island one weekend by ourselves and one weekend with friends.
Avalon Harbor at sunset.
When the friends on board are future HH owners, Frank and I get a kick out of watching how often the measuring tape comes out so comparisons to the boat plan and our physical boat can be made. And anytime a hatch is opened, every man on board gets in the mix whether they want an HH or not!
“Let’s just see where the shower pump is located.”
Jeff and Harry deciding where the wiring will run on their HH cats.
Tyffanee and Melissa also took advantage of being on board this HH cat and learned a bit about the electronic equipment on TTR.
Becoming familiar with the C-zone
The weather cleared so we strolled about the shops in Avalon and hiked one side of the harbor. The up side to all the rain we have seen in California is that the whole island of Catalina is lush and flowering! Here are some things that caught my eye:
This cactus photo bombed my picture of Avalon Harbor.
Do you think those will all bloom?
Just a pretty shot with vibrant colors.
Hmmm, is the car dumping rocks downhill?
Pausing high in the hills of Catalina.
The pretty weather allowed me to stroll out on the breakwater at Avalon and get a decent picture of Ticket to Ride chilling on the mooring ball. It is still hard to believe that this pretty boat is ours!
It was fun to see TTR moored!
One thing that delights us about TTR is that she is extremely comfortable under sail. Even when we are clipping along at 15 knots, the boat slices through the water and the ride is easy. Also, I do not hear any noise in the rigging on Ticket to Ride. On our last boat, Frank worked hard to reduce the creaking and squeaking of the mast, boom and shives. His efforts helped, but even at her best, LIB was noisy compared to TTR.
TTR’s tall black mast seems to be a beacon for sailors, especially racing sailors. We have had many folks follow the mast and stroll down the dock or stop by in their dinghy just to see Ticket to Ride. It has been interesting to meet so many people. What I have learned is that I know nothing about the racing side of sailing! But TTR draws the racers and they are willing to put up with my lack of knowledge just because they like the looks of TTR and can imagine how well she performs.
These days we are pushing hard to get Ticket to Ride settled as best we can before we shove off for Cabo San Lucas. We have joined the NHYC to Cabo Race but our motto is “Party not podium!” The meaning of our slogan is that we are joining the race so we can meet a lot of nice people and enjoy the festivities. We do not have any illusions or plans to win.
In addition to ourselves, Gino, Rogan, Kristen and James will be on board TTR. This “race” to Cabo should be a great chance to get some miles under our keel and learn a bit about sailing from experienced folks.
Our start date for the race is St. Patrick’s Day so I have advised crew members to bring green! Until then, our days will be filled with details like meeting the race safety requirements, getting our paperwork in order for Mexico, making sure our communications systems are all working properly, preparing food before the passage, etc.
It will be very difficult for me to leave California as I have loved having the opportunity to spend time with our sons. But I’m fairly confident that the wind and waves (kite boarding and surfing) will entice them to come see us in Mexico. (At least that is what I keep telling myself to prevent sadness from setting in.)
We are also looking forward to exploring Mexico, being back on the hook and getting in some snorkeling and diving.
Thanks for stopping by to read our blog. I hope things will slow down a bit and I can write more often, but we shall see. If you want to hear from us more often, please check out our FB page.
Up Goes The Mast ~ Finally
So, the pace has not slowed one bit since TTR was put in the water!
After waiting several days for the port of LA to have room to unload the ship carrying Ticket to Ride, we had to wait four more days to have the mast raised on our boat. The crane operators at the yard next to the marina do not work in the rain, so we waited and waited for the rain to stop.
We were not idle as Chris (of HH), Scott (of Rigging Projects) and Francois (of Pochon) worked on various items around the boat preparing for the mast stepping, setting up electronics, instructing us about the boat, etc.
The mast on the HH55 is different from many sailboats in that the shrouds and stays are prefabricated from carbon fiber strands and are a fixed length. The mast is actually on a hydraulic lift and its’ height is adjusted to make the tension of the rigging correct.
Here are a few photos from the day we stepped the mast on TTR:
Chris attaching the crane to the mast.
Lift off from the cradle.
Swinging the mast over to land so lines and electronics can be sorted out.
Lauren and Scott guiding the mast onto the stands.
Once the mast was on the stands, Scott and Chris worked on the lines and attachments while Francois worked on the electronics on the mast (radar, antennae, etc). Lauren and I waxed the mast since this is the most accessible it will be for quite a while. I know, kinda strange to wax a brand new mast, but one last coat might help protect it and keep it shining.
After all of the electrical conduit, halyards, etc were run, reviewed and settled, it was time to lift the mast and actually put it up on TTR.
The first crane was adequate for moving the mast to shore, but it was not tall enough to easily lift this 80 foot mast into proper position so a bigger crane was brought to the yard.
Raising the mast again to move it back onto TTR.
Frank, Gio and Lauren have guidelines attached to spreaders to help orient the mast.
The taller crane allowed the mast to be completely upright while moving.
Francois is in the hatch to guide electronics wires downward.
Scott and Chris preparing the jack and shims for the mast.
Scott attaching the second shroud.
Chris attaching the forestay and third point of balance for the mast.
Checking the pressure and shims before the mast is finally lowered into place.
Still in the yard, Scott goes up the mast to check out the rigging.
In this picture you can see that the boom has not yet been attached. That was done the following morning while I was away so I don’t have pictures. But I can tell you that a bridle was made using the topping lift. The bridle was attached to the center of the boom and used to lift the boom so it could be attached to the gooseneck.
The boom is on, mainsail attached and Scott is checking things out again.
After running a few errands, it was very exciting to come back to the dock and see Ticket to Ride dressed with a mast, boom and mainsail!
We were very fortunate because although there was some rain, the next couple of days the winds cooperated well and allowed us to progressively test TTR and the rigging. Our first day out was fairly mild and was used to make sure all the lines were running properly, the rigging was well tuned, the reefs and all the sails were working well.
Of course we let the professionals take the lead and Chris, Scott, Gino, Erik, Mark, Gio, Lauren et al took the reins. Every sail configuration was tried a few times. This crew was accustomed to working together and the sails were raised and dropped, adjusted and reefed, tweaked and tested more quickly than seemed possible.
By the third day of sea trials, the wind had filled in and we had TTR stretching out like a race horse in the home stretch. We saw a top speed of 24.7 knots speed over ground!
Kind of long, but skipping the hull on TTR.
The boat feels surprisingly stable even at high speeds! When we were skipping the hull and on the verge of flying it, Ticket to Ride felt secure and solid. But I was very glad the pros had the reins and knew how to immediately de-power if necessary.
With sea trials over, it’s time for Frank and me to learn how to sail TTR without extra hands on board. HH understands that this type of performance sailboat takes some learning and they allow Chris and Lauren to stick around to take care of issues that arise and to teach us about our sailboat.
Having Lauren and Chris with us for a little while has been invaluable! In addition to being good company, they are patient and excellent teachers. We are truly fortunate that HH provides this service and that Chris and Lauren are so talented!
Thanks for reading our blog. It has really been busy on TTR and I have not had time to write, so if you are interested, please look at our FB page for more regular postings.
Our Ship Finally Came In!
If you haven’t been checking our HH55 Ticket to Ride Facebook page, you might not know that after seeing the container ship holding TTR anchored in the harbor for 7 days, our sailboat was finally unloaded! The process of unloading a sailboat and setting it up again has been very interesting! Well, I have found it interesting, but it is my home, so that could add to the appeal.
First, I must tell you that the week Ticket to Ride was delivered, L.A. was experiencing more rain than usual. In fact they received almost as much rain that week as they usually receive in a whole year!!!
This was not perfect weather, but we were so happy that TTR was arriving, it didn’t bother us a bit during the off loading process.
Chris Bailet, Gino Morrelli, Frank, Mary Grace, Mark Womble, Scott Gray
Chris Bailet, HH commissioning skipper, Gino Morrelli and Mark Womble of M&M and Scott Gray of Rigging Projects and Frank and I arrived at the port bright and early wearing our foul weather gear. We were escorted to the container ship immediately. TTR was in the hold of the APL Sentosa which was in the process of being unloaded by cranes.
(Video of a crane unloading a container.)
I was amazed at how huge and fast and organized the process of offloading the containers actually occurs. But when you consider that the APL Sentosa can carry 13,892 containers, they better load and unload quickly.
Midway up the stacked containers – the photo doesn’t really capture it.
We climbed ladders and gangways in the Sentosa until we were about midway up the height of the stacked containers where the ships’ bosun met us and unlocked the doors where TTR was secured.
TTR was snuggly wrapped and strapped down inside a locker all to herself.
Our first step was to unwrap the lower half of the shrink wrap protecting Ticket to Ride so the U.S. Customs officers could board and inspect her. We were not allowed to board TTR until Customs gave us the all clear.
Seeing “Ticket to Ride” written on the stern for the first time.
Once TTR was inspected, the crane operator removed the three sections of roof covering Ticket to Ride. Chris Bailet, commissioning captain for HH Catamarans, had wisely directed us to leave the top of the shrink wrap on the boat until the container tops were lifted. The noise of that process was deafening and dirt and rust rained down on the boat. I was super happy Chris had told us to wait to unwrap the boat!
After the roof was gone, we unwrapped the remainder of the protective plastic and unstrapped TTR from the Sentosa. The crane hooked into the HH shipping cradle and began rising to tighten the straps while Chris verified that TTR was properly balanced before actually lifting her out of the ship.
Shrink wrap off and ready to lift.
Chris had just signaled the ‘go ahead’ to lift TTR when suddenly the electricity to the whole port of L.A. went out!
How could that even happen?
Mort, the foreman from the port, told me that almost anytime it rains they experiences ‘brown outs.’ Seriously?!
We were surprised and disappointed the electricity had gone out but we were really, really glad the outage happened before TTR was lifted!!! Can you imagine the stress of having your boat suspended 100 feet above ground and having the electricity go out?!
About 30 minutes later the electricity was restored, the crane was recalibrated and the lifting process began again. While we waited for the electricity to be restored, the wind and rain settled down which made hoisting Ticket to Ride a good bit safer.
TTR was gently lifted out of the confines of the ship and hoisted over the side of the Sentosa above the concrete loading area of the port.
(Video of TTR being moved sideways above the port loading road.)
The crane move sideways, parallel to the Sentosa until it was aft of the container ship and across from an area of the dock open to the water.
Gino Morrelli, Mary Grace and Frank.
Since TTR was still strapped to the shipping cradle, she had to be lowed to the peer and unstrapped so she could float free when the platform was in the water. Chris removed straps and once more verified the balance of the boat on the cradle while Frank and I took pictures and celebrated that TTR was finally here in the States and almost in the water.
Finally entering the water!
We watched as Ticket to Ride was lifted one last time and moved toward the water, then we scrambled over to the Towboat USA boat which ferried us the few meters over to TTR while she was still slightly suspended in the water on the cradle.
Chris made short work of starting the engines and making sure all was well aboard before asking the crane operator to release TTR to the water.
Chris piloting TTR away from the port of L.A.
Amazingly, after TTR’s 7,035 mile trip on the Sentosa, she was in perfect condition and the engines started up without a hitch.
The rain had included a good bit of wind and kicked up the sea state, even behind the breakwater it was quite rough as we motored to the Alamitos Bay Marina. But HH did an excellent job of securing the mast and boom and they didn’t budge a bit even with the steep waves.
Waves breaking over the breakwater.
If you look beyond the TowBoat, you can see the spray of the waves pounding against the breakwater. The swells were pretty big where there were breaks in the sea walls but even with the slippery shipping rudders, Chris handled TTR without any difficulty.
Needless to say all of us exhaled a sigh of relief after Ticket to Ride was off the ship, back in the water and safely at the dock.
Next up would be swapping out the shipping rudders for our spade rudders, stepping the mast and tuning the rigging. BUT California had another surprise in store for us…. the shipyard won’t operate the cranes in the rain so we actually had to wait four days before we could begin that process. Which I will share in the next blog.
After waiting what felt like a very long time for the delivery of TTR, Frank and I are excited to feel like this dream is really coming to fruition. We couldn’t wait to move on board, so we spent that very first night on Ticket to Ride and have been here every night since.
We are thrilled to be back on a floating home and hear the sounds of water at night as we drift off to sleep.
Once more we must express our sincere gratitude to the many people who have and are helping us with TTR. Hats off to HH Catamarans for building our very special home with excellent quality and high standards. AND for understanding the need for and providing the help of the commissioning team. A huge thank you to Morrelli and Melvin for designing such a great catamaran and incorporating the modifications we wanted so TTR would suit our needs very well. Innumerable thanks to Chris Ballet and Lauren Battaile as they spearhead the commissioning and teach us to make this cat purr – or roar!
Thanks so much for stopping by to read our blog. We welcome your comments. For more regular information, please visit our FB page.
Stiiiil Waiiiiting!
I would love this post to be about the arrival of HH55 Ticket to Ride, but it is about delay instead.
I wish that was the California coast in the background, but…
Unfortunately this photo is not TTR with Los Angeles in the background. This is from our time sailing in Xiamen, China.
We have been tracking the container ship carrying TTR as it crossed the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. We were excited to see it getting close to LA and knew the ship was arriving around January 7th.
But close is all we are at the moment.
So close and yet so far….
This is a screen shot showing the location of the container ship carrying TTR. The ship arrived on January 7th, but the port is backed up and the vessel is anchored just outside of the unloading docks.
Yesterday we were told “our” container ship would dock on Friday and the contents would be unloaded on Monday, January 14th. About a week later than expected, but we had an expected date.
This morning we received notice that although the contents of the ship had been released, Customs has pulled back on that decision and wants to inspect the ship. I have no idea why this decision has been made. I only know that it means TTR will not be unloaded Monday.
Our agent has assured us that all the paperwork is in order and has been turned into the authorities. We have done all we can to make the delivery go smoothly.
We no longer have an off load date.
So now we just wait. And we wait. And wait.
Thanks for reading our blog. We hope to have better news soon. Please look to our Facebook page for more up to date information.
Ticket To Ride Is Arriving! Yippee!
Sailing TTR in China
Needless to say we have been impatiently awaiting the delivery of our new HH55 Catamaran. We signed a contract in early September 2017 and waiting for Ticket to Ride to arrive has been a challenge.
Let It Be floating in the Bahamian water.
That isn’t to say we have not enjoyed ourselves while TTR was under construction! We absolutely loved our last sailboat, Let It Be, and the exploring we did on her.
Watson Falls, Oregon
Having a chance to drive around the U.S. and see so much of this country has been really eye opening and we have seen amazingly beautiful places.
Crater Lake, Oregon. And yes, that blue is the actual color of the water in certain light!
However, we do miss living on the water and we are super excited to move on board TTR.
Based on what we heard today, the container ship carrying Ticket to Ride will arrive in Los Angeles on January 8th!
TTR wrapped and ready to be loaded on the container ship.
Once the ship arrives in Los Angeles, TTR will be unloaded onto a dock where we will dispense with the shrink wrap currently protecting her. After the shrink wrap is removed, TTR will be lowered into the water and we will motor away to our temporary marina in Long Beach.
The mast will remain on the coach roof while we motor to the marina. Stepping the mast requires a crane which we were able to schedule for Friday.
HYM employs the services of a young captain, Chris, who will help us commission TTR and make her ready for sailing and life aboard. Chris has been involved with the commissioning of all of the HH55 cats and has experience commissioning and racing the HH66. So in addition to making sure everything is functioning properly on TTR, we are counting on Chris to teach us a few tricks and secrets about handling the HH55.
Racing the HH66 Nala. (Photo from HH Catamarans)
Although the HH55 is built to fly a hull like in the picture above, that is not of interest to me, and I will not be asking Chris for advice on this maneuver! (Yet.)
In addition to Chris’s proficiency, experts from Rigging Projects and Pochon Electronics will be on hand to set the rigging properly and get all the systems up and running.
Fortunately for us, Morrelli and Melvin office in Newport Beach which is only a stones throw away from Long Beach. That means we will have additional support and knowledge from M&M, who designed the HH catamarans.
We will certainly offer greater detail about what is happening on TTR as things progress and I have time to write about the experience of taking delivery of our HH55. But for now, getting TTR ready will keep us busy for the next little while!
What a fun way to begin 2019!
Check out our FB page if you would like to see more frequent posts about TTR.
Thanks for reading our blog. And thank you for hanging out on land with us while we were between boats. We look forward to getting our sea legs back and sharing our cruising lifestyle once again!
Merry Christmas!
“It isn’t the size of the tree that matters, it’s the love in your heart that counts!”
Quotes made up by me. 🙂
Our Christmas tree this year is 20″ tall!
We hope you have a Merry Christmas this year and we especially hope it is a blessed one.
Surprise! We will be mountain biking in Santa Cruz!
Our Christmas be spent in the RV in Santa Cruz, CA and will include our kids this year. Since we consider them, and our families, our greatest blessing, we know Christmas will be wonderful.
Just one of the amazing things we saw traveling the U.S. (Arizona)
Needless to say, 2018 has been a year of change for us, but thankfully they have been good changes and changes of choice. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time exploring the U.S. since selling Let It Be back in May.
Photo taken on a bike ride in the Dolomites, Italy
Another pretty view from our VBT bike tour.
In addition to traveling the U.S., we had the opportunity to go to Italy for an excellent bike trip through Vermont Bike Tours. A special thank you to Terrie and Brad for inviting us to join them and their friends. The people were really fun and the places we visited were great.
Frank at the helm of TTR.
We also traveled to China to oversee the progress of TTR and to sail our boat. We expended a LOT of energy in the building process of Ticket to Ride throughout 2018 and we can hardly wait for her delivery to the West Coast which is expected just days into the new year!
TTR being hoisted to the shipping dock.
TTR is the culmination of the vision of Morrelli and Melvin being brought to life by HH Catamarans, with slight changes to accommodate our specific preferences. There are far too many individuals who contributed to this project to name them all, but we are very grateful to every single person who has helped us along the way.
Ticket to Ride wrapped and ready to load on a container ship.
As we conclude 2018, we are thankful for our many blessings and for the opportunities we have to see so much and meet people from all over the world. We are thankful for prayers answered, especially those for friends who have battled illnesses or who have lost homes to natural disasters. We are conscious of our losses this year, especially of our sweet dog, Captain.
As we transition into 2019, we do so with thanks and great excitement. We can hardly wait to move onto Ticket to Ride! For us, there is something magical about living on the water and we look forward to doing so again.
Thank you to those who have traveled with us through our blog this year, especially since our focus was temporarily directed away from cruising which is the basis for our journaling. We look forward to learning about our new boat and resuming the cruising lifestyle and we hope you enjoy our musings as we move forward.
Once again, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the birth of Christ and blessings to those who celebrate differently. We hope 2019 is filled with joy and contentment for you.
As always, thank you for visiting our blog. If you would like to hear from us more often, please check our FB page: HH55 Ticket to Ride. We look forward to returning to the water in 2019!
Hoodoos, Hikes and Petrified Wood
After leaving China, we arrived in Salt Lake City and settled back into RV life pretty easily. It was really nice to be able to cook our own meals after being away for a month. However, the weather was cold, especially after being in Xiamen where the temperatures were in the 70s.
Snow – an added incentive to leave Salt Lake City.
We spent several days trying to resolve the question of what really happened to our dog, Captain, but we were unsuccessful. After visiting the vet, animal control and the pet sitter, we had to accept that we will never know the truth. We shed many tears as we left Salt Lake City without our sweet Cappy. We were very happy to leave SLC as it is the place we will always remember with sadness, anger and regret.
This photo gives you a glimpse into the size of Bryce Canyon.
Our destination was Bryce Canyon and it was beautiful! We still felt the chill of late fall, but there wasn’t any snow and the cold weather brought beautiful clear skies.
Layers of color are revealed as the mudstone and sandstone erode.
Bryce is known for its’ “Hoodoos” which are formed through a weathering process primarily of freezing and melting of water within the walls plus the erosion of rain. Bryce experiences around 200 freezing and melting cycles each year and these cycles create cracks that rainwater seeps into and begins to erode.
Off season and cool weather meant very few hikers.
Walking the trails in Bryce and driving around the Canyon, we found the colors and light-play beautiful. Initially we thought the cold temperatures would deter us from hiking, but actually down in the canyon we were protected from the wind and were quite comfortable.
That’s I walking down to the gateway in a hoodoo.
One benefit of the cooler weather was a lack of crowds. Being delayed in arriving at Bryce allowed us to see it with fewer people around. We enjoyed the quiet we could find without crowds and often had minutes at a time without running into other hikers.
The canyon floor felt more lush.
This bright orange area seemed to have formed in a spiral.
The switchbacks coming out of the canyon were the most crowded area we saw.
Sunset was coming as we were driving the rim road.
Bryce Canyon was absolutely beautiful and interesting. Visiting on such a quiet day with a slight bite in the air and a crisp clear sky as well as having the opportunity to hike through the canyon for a couple of hours made this a truly delightful day.
The next focal point on our tour was the Petrified Forest. I wasn’t sure what I would think of this but Frank was charged to see these old fossils. Turns out he was right – the Petrified Forest was amazing!
Don’t be fooled…. that log is a rock.
We stopped in the town of Tropic, UT at the town center to see the museum. Although the museum was only one room, it had a good amount of information and seeing the samples of petrified trees alone was worth the stop.
Reflections on the polished surface aside, this is pretty amazing.
Three rings of petrified trees are on display and each has been polished to a high gloss so the colors are bright and clear. I had no idea these fossils were so colorful and pretty.
From the museum, we headed to the actual Petrified Forest for a two mile hike that would thread us through the remains. The Forest has over 5.2 million tons of exposed tree-rocks that are strewn about the Petrified Forest. We were in awe of these trees-cum-stones.
Fourteen pieces of “wood” lining this path are stones.
Looking at many of the stones, you could imagine they were really pieces of a tree that a child had left crayons on and the crayons had melted leaving a rainbow of colors.
Love this array of color!
However, once you touched the tree, you realized it was indeed stone and a much more dense and solid one than the rocks around it. Petrified wood measures 7.8 on the Mohs hardness scale…. diamonds are a 10 on the same scale. One cubic foot of lava rock weighs about 50 pounds. One cubic foot of petrified wood weighs between 160-200 pounds. Yep, that is solid!
Frank agrees; these fossils are solid!
Also, these trees are over 200 million years old! That is dinosaur time frame…. so chances are, these stone-trees were once living trees munched upon by brontosauri! That’s pretty crazy to think about.
It looks like bark but it feels like stone.
Once again, the Petrified Forest was empty. We saw only three people on our hike and they were in a big hurry. Pretty quickly we were the only people walking the paths and we explored a very long time. I wasn’t sure I would get Frank away before sunset!
The sun was setting as we descended the last hill to the parking lot.
Our final park visit was Zion National Park. Zion is as pretty as Bryce Canyon is but in a different way. Capturing Zion’s beauty was more difficult because it is difficult to portray the sheer magnitude of the walls.
Silly observation ~ I love the color coordinated red of the pavement.
Plus lighting is bright and shadowed in the same frame. Our eyes can adjust for this, but I don’t have sophisticated photo software that will adjust separate areas of a photograph. My pictures are minimally adjusted, so the photos of Zion do not do it justice.
This ravine is deeper and taller than it seems in this photo.
We only had one day in Zion, but we used our time well. We hiked the Overlook Trail for the grand scheme of the park and here are some of the sights from that trail.
Desert Bighorn Sheep. Pretty cute!
The swirls were very interesting.
Yep, soon I heard, “Oh it bit me!” Hope she is ok.
Frank enjoying the summit.
Our view at the top of the Overlook.
This looks like Frank might be having an amazing moment!
Next we walked the River Walk, which although touted as “easy” (so something we would usually skip) was well worth the walk since the scenery is different from other parts of the park.
This is prettier in person where your eyes adjust for the shadows and light.
You can certainly understand this artist’s inspiration.
This heron was slowly stalking something in the water.
How is that for camouflage?
Did you see them before the zoom in?
Finally we walked as much of Angel’s Landing as we could, but the sun was setting and we weren’t about to get caught in the dark!
This walk was a bit strenuous but the sights were great.
The squiggly walk….look how plants grow everywhere.
We only made it as far as The Wiggles, but it was good exercise and there were more great views.
I am sure we will catch flack for this, but we have decided to wait and visit the Grand Canyon on another trip. We want to make some family visits before TTR is delivered to California and we don’t want to rush through the Grand Canyon. Our thought is that another year we will make reservations to stay in the Park and spend several days there. We think optimal visiting time at the Grand Canyon would be late September when the crowds have thinned a bit and the temps have cooled but are not cold.
Additionally, there is only so much sightseeing we can do in a limited amount of time before it feels like we are just checking off boxes instead of really enjoying the destinations. I would rather delay seeing the Grand Canyon to a time when I will not feel rushed and we will have time to appreciate its splendor.
~HH55 Catamaran Update~
Ticket to Ride at the HH facility in Xiamen
We impatiently await the delivery of TTR to Long Beach, California. She should arrive early in January. Once Ticket to Ride is unloaded from the cargo ship, the mast will be re-stepped, rigging will be tensioned and TTR will be put through her paces to make sure all is well. To say we an excited about our new home is an understatement.
!!!!!!Five or six weeks until delivery!!!!!!
Our Final Visit to HH in Xiamen, China
We anxiously await the delivery of our new home.
Frank and I have just returned from three weeks in China and what is probably our last visit to that country. When our oldest son decided to study in China, I was apprehensive about his being so far away in a country where I could not communicate if he had trouble and whose government is so different from ours in the U.S. But having now visited China several times, I admit I feel very safe there. I have never felt I was in danger of anything other than getting lost.
Our visits to China have been very positive. The people are nice and willing to help, though we have to play charades to ask a question, order food or generally get around. Sometimes the charades, combined with the small amount of English a local might speak will allow us to communicate. But often, our communication doesn’t really work. If you have any interest in visiting China, I strongly recommend a guide if you don’t speak Mandarin.
On the whole, I find the Chinese to be a happy population. I see a lot of laughter and I enjoy how playful and unsophisticated some of their interactions appear. I also enjoy their love of cartoon-like characters. Somehow these things make me feel that the people here are young at heart and it makes me wish I could communicate with them more.
HH has taken excellent care of us during each of our visits, making sure we have transportation and are very well fed! We sincerely appreciate the service and care HH has provided and we will miss seeing the staff who has always been welcoming and accommodating.
This trip, Frank and I spent most of our time in Xiamen at the HH factory. If we weren’t there, we did not venture very far from our hotel but instead spent our down time studying for our next level of captains licensing or working out in the gym or enjoying the scenery from high in the hotel.
I wish I could capture the flavor of China to share with you, but the variety of experiences is broad. Instead, I will share a few photos I took while walking or being driven by the HH driver. (Please excuse the less than excellent quality of the photos.)
Doors are an important feature of buildings.
Although Feng Shui is a concept I learned about only 15 years ago, it is entrenched in Chinese society and beliefs. According to this belief, direction and appearance of the front doorway is especially important because it allows energy to flow freely into the home and throughout the interior. Even on relatively modest homes or places of business, the doorways were often elaborate. I could only catch a couple as we were driving.
Landscape is lush and well maintained.
I don’t know if the soil is exceptionally good or if the Chinese have a special talent for gardening, but so much of the surroundings are beautifully tended and sculptured. The sides of highways were often tiered with a variety of plants, parks are sprinkled among high rises and flowers are often in planters outside of homes or businesses.
Although Xiamen has a ton of tall apartment buildings and buildings in general with the definite feel of a large population, there are also green spaces to relieve the density of the buildings. Admittedly, there are also many buildings with laundry drying from balconies, or tall, new buildings near shorter, older ones that look near collapse, so the city doesn’t feel pristine, but instead feels very much “lived in.”
Older buildings in foreground, newer buildings past the highway and green space mixed in.
But as I’ve said before, China is defined by both the old and new, the modern and the traditional. Daily life is a juxtaposition of repurposing old things and embracing new ones.
A belt driven engine of some kind.
A young woman was pedaling these wooden crates.
I’m not sure how this is steered.
In addition to these unique vehicles, there are plenty of new cars including some extremely expensive ones, but I would not like to navigate any of the roads myself. Lanes seems to be simply suggestions and not a hard and fast rule in China. I have never seen people drive cars SO close together, on purpose, without a bunch of horn honking. I have complete respect for the folks who drive in Xiamen!
More cranes than Dallas!
For a while, when we lived in Texas, we used to say the state bird was the crane because there were so many building cranes being used for construction. But I am certain there were more building cranes in use in Xiamen than I ever saw in Dallas!
Xiamen University is large complex of buildings and they are still adding facilities. I read that there are over 40,000 full time students at Xiamen University, though with such a large campus I never saw it look at all crowded although we passed it ever day on our way to the HH facility.
Xiamen University is huge and brand new.
All of the red roofs in the background are part of Xiamen University.
Interesting architecture on newer buildings.
Zoom in on the necklace, earrings and hat!
I just had to throw in this photo session we saw while visiting Piano Island. I have no idea what the purpose of the ‘shoot’ was, but I found this woman’s whole outfit intriguing. Now I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to assume that my fashion taste was anything like that of most advertisements I see, so I am not assuming that this is representative of the average Chinese consumer. But I did love the mixture of elements in this outfit! The bustier top combined with the socks and high heels, along with the power fist necklace and the giant earrings?! Pretty interesting.
To me, this speaks of the combination of sophistication yet playfulness I tried to allude to concerning the Chinese.
Please do NOT think I am being derogatory of the Chinese. That is not my intention. I am simply trying to show what I observed and interpreted as a childlike quality retained by the people that I found heartwarming and likable.
One last photo…. what do you notice is missing from our hotel?
Do you see a pattern here?
I had no idea why these floors were missing. Turns out the Chinese believe in avoiding what they consider unlucky. In this case, it is the number 4. Therefore there was not a 4th, 14th or 24th floor in our hotel. I’m not sure how they managed to eliminate three whole floors, but it was very tricky!
In conclusion, my initial concern for my son’s safety while he lived in China changed completely after I visited him there in 2013. Today, after several additional visits to China, I have become quite fond of many aspects of it, although I do not really know much about China because when language and reading are not understood, a culture cannot truly be absorbed. The only judgement I have is based on my interaction with those who could speak to me and my general impressions and intuition, both of which were favorable.
However, even if I could speak Mandarin, I would never trade the U.S. for China. Frank and I thoroughly missed our home country. We prefer the culture and manners of our native land and were happy to return.
Now that our last visit to the HH factory is completed, we are counting the days until Ticket to Ride will be delivered to the U.S. via container ship!
Thank you HH and Morrelli and Melvin for creating our awesome future home!
Putting Our Stamp on TTR ~ Part I
One of the benefits for us of buying an HH55 catamaran is the opportunity to customize the boat to our liking. No doubt that Morrelli and Melvin designed an incredible boat and HH is doing a fabulous job of fabricating that boat. But we still have been able to add our own little stamp to the boat we will receive in a few months.
Beginning on the outside and forward at the bow, here are just a few items we have changed from “the norm” on previous HH55s.
Trampoline – The standard trampoline supplied by HYM is a 1 1/4 inch knotless dyneema material that is attached with individual lashings to the many, many attachment points on the hull. The 1 1/4 inch reference relates to the size of the hole between the strands of dyneema line. This dyneema trampoline is an excellent, lightweight choice for offshore and racing, the getting there part of sailing; however, for both the getting there and the being there part of sailing we chose an alternative. We wanted a trampoline comfortable for bare feet, dog paws, knees during yoga and relaxing at anchor. Simply put, we wanted to make the trampoline serve as both a useful and comfortable outdoor space. Sunrise Yacht Products to the rescue! Richard worked beyond his duty to properly size and manufacture an offshore trampoline that would have all the benefits of dyneema with a host of other advantages. We settled on the Sunrise Offshore Polyester Open Net with 3/8″ net openings and attachment grommets to match each of the hull attachment points. We are super excited to play and work on this trampoline. By moving to this trampoline we did add 22 pounds to the overall weight of TTR.
Left represents the weave we chose for TTR. Right is a 1″ dyneema open weave.
Generator – Hudson Yacht has been installing a 12KW Fisher-Panda generator on the previous HH55’s and this was simply a deal breaker for Frank, my favorite mechanic. We have had different gensets on previous boats; however, the Northern Lights 9KW genset on Let It Be far surpassed any generator we have owned. The NL was quiet, easy to service, incredibly dependable, and NEVER failed to start. When we sold Let It Be, the genset had over 8,000 hours, ran beautifully, and the only part we had replaced was one alternator. Frank feels that the key to the NL genset success is that it has No, None, zero green circuit boards, only relays, and it runs at 1800 RPMs not the 3200-3600 RPMs seen with the Fisher-Panda. The NL genset is about 40 pounds heavier than the FP which makes zero difference to us. Our boat, for better or worse, will be electrically demanding and we accept the need for a generator; however, we absolutely wanted a machine on which we can depend.
A brand new Northern Lights Generator for TTR.
Bow Thruster – HH offers a bow thruster located in the starboard forepeak with a dropdown lower unit when the thruster is in use. All 3 of the previous HH55s have opted for the thruster; however, we chose to delete the thruster from TTR. Having the experience of Let It Be with no bow thruster and the fact that we expect to spend very little time coming to and from marina docks; we feel very comfortable with no bow thruster. The financial savings was big and eliminating the thruster saved us over 440 pounds!! However, we did build a monolithic patch in the forward hull allowing for easy installation of a bow thruster if desired in the future.
450 mm Extended longeron (bowsprit) – Since our sailing plans and reason for buying Ticket To Ride include a tropical circumnavigation, we realize that much of our sailing time will be spent with the wind aft of the beam. On Let It Be some of our favorite sailing days had the wind TWA at 130-170; however, we also found that to be a challenging wind direction for sail configuration. Alas, with Gino Morelli’s advice and working with our sailmaker, Matt Bridges, from Doyle NZ, we decided to extend the longeron / bowsprit by 450 mm and fly a large furled reacher from the very end of the bowsprit. This bring the headsail further forward into cleaner wind, less blanketed by the mainsail.
Longeron installed on TTR.
Cableless Reacher – The mainsail, genoa, and self tacking staysail on Ticket to Ride will be supplied by Doyle NZ (our choice) and will be very similar in size and cut to the previous HH55s. The reacher/Code sail is where we have changed course from the previous HH55s. Again, since tropical circumnavigation is our plan we talked at length with anyone knowledgable about appropriate sail configurations for such plans. Matt Bridges from Doyle NZ is an excellent listener and his first proposal included a cableless reacher. “What is that animal?,” we asked. In brief, a cableless reacher eliminates the very thick torque rope around which a removable, furled headsail is normally wound when furled. Instead of the 3/4 inch torque rope tensioned to sometimes over 5 tons, the cableless reacher has additional spectra and carbon fibers built into the luff of the sail and is tensioned to about 1/8 of the torque rope specs. The trade off with a cableless reacher is that it will not go upwind as well as a torque rope and will never be a Code 0 or an A1. Rather the cut is more A2 or A3. WOW, that’s exactly what we want!
Cableless reacher production drawing from Doyle Sails.
Considering all the above features of the cableless reacher, we also did not order a gennaker at this time. We feel the cableless reacher will be much easier for us to handle alone and it provides 80% of the benefit of a gennaker. Eliminating the gennaker is a huge dollar, weight and storage savings.
Another view of the reacher drawing.
Spade Anchor and galvanized chain – Hudson Yacht’s standard spec for anchor and chain is a Stainless Lewmar Delta anchor and stainless chain manufactured in China. I don’t know about you, but, we say thank you to our anchor every morning when we wake up to find ourselves in the same spot as when we went to bed. Let It Be was delivered with a Lewmar Delta Anchor which worked fine in ideal conditions. Sailors know that ideal conditions are seldom found! After 3 weeks on Let It Be, much anchor research, and a boat show special, we chose to give Let It Be a new Spade Anchor and we never looked back. Grass, mud, sand, wind, or any combination of the above and we were always set. So why would we want to return to the past with Ticket To Ride? TTR will be sporting a beautiful stainless 1 piece Spade anchor. Concerning anchor chain, Practical Sailor says it best, “Steer Clear of Stainless-steel Mooring Chain.” Stainless chain, in addition to being inherently weaker, suffers from crevice corrosion leading to failure with no warning. We have spec’d 10 mm galvanized Acco chain for Ticket To Ride.
Hopefully our anchor will never land in such a shallow spot!
Watermakers – We really did not vary too far from the HYM standard Spectra watermaker. What we did change is its location. Frank and I had a love/hate relationship with the huge storage capacity below the berths on Let It Be. On the love side it allowed us to carry ample spares, tools, and toys. On the hate side it seemed like every time we needed something different it was stored below a bed requiring the removal of bedsheets, mattresses, mattress support boards followed by digging. The watermakers on HH5501 and HH5502 were installed below the master berth…. a much less than ideal location in our opinion! Considering filter replacement, checking for leaks and the noise generated while making water, my maintenance specialist began an earnest search for a different location. After many emails, evaluation of drawings, and support questions to Spectra, the decision was made to put the Spectra 24v Newport 700 in a purpose built compartment in the port side forepeak. The HH crew is confident this will be an excellent long term home for the watermaker due to access for service, weight distribution and water spill cleanup. Only time will tell for this untested location.
It’s very fun to share the construction of a new boat with our friends and readers. The items above really only scratch the surface of the changes we have made to TTR to meet our needs. In a future blog post(s), we will share other custom changes to solar, electronics, seating, general arrangement, and so on.
In just a few days we are heading to China for the ‘soft launch’ of TTR and we look forward to seeing her in person! During soft launch, Ticket to Ride is placed in a pond so most of her systems can be tested. Soft launch allows HH to review all of the components of boat systems and it will give us our first chance to begin learning about the systems on TTR that will be new to us. (And I get to see how the interior colors I chose actually work together. Fingers crossed!)
Many, many thanks go to the HH crew, Gino Morelli and Mark Womble (Morelli and Melvin), Matt Bridges (Doyle NZ), Paul Hakes, and at the top of the list is Let It Be. She was much more to us than a platform for learning but WOW we did learn a lot from Let It Be.
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Do You Want to Know a Secret? (1963 Beatles Album “Please Please Me”)
Thomas inspecting the paint job on HH55-03.
Things are really starting to Come Together on our new boat. We couldn’t have made it Without A Little Help From My Friends (Gino Morrelli and Mark Womble of MM and Paul Hakes just to name three).
Working hard and taking good care of the boat.
We have driven Long and Winding Roads in our RV while HH works Eight Days A Week building the boat to our wishes and keeping up their excellent fabrication standards.
Do You Want To Know A Secret? We can’t wait to move onto our new boat and Follow The Sun. When we are out on the water, we feel good in a special way. We love to take our dinghy, Day Tripper, to shore. She never takes us half way there!
We were very happy sailing along in Let It Be and enjoyed having people spontaneously sing to us when they read the name of our boat. So we hoped to find another Beatles song title that we liked as the name for our new boat. Several friends suggested Yellow Submarine, but we don’t want any part of a sinking boat!
I love the contrast between the teak steps and the hull color!
This new boat will be our Ticket to Ride the oceans and explore the seas. Yep, if We Can Work It Out, we want to circumnavigate and she will be our s/v Ticket to Ride.
But we don’t want to be part of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, we want our friends and family to visit us on s/v TTR! The beauty of the world is much more fun when shared with others!
s/v Ticket to Ride is going back indoors for more work.
We thought a lot about what to name our boat and we hope this name is fun and fitting… and that it might inspire singing along the way!
Thank you so much for reading our blog. We look forward to returning to the water and sharing those travels. In the mean time, thank you for keeping up with us as we explore the U.S. by land.
