Sailing on a beam reach in 35 knots of wind on the way to Bermuda.

Fatigue and corrosion cracks are always something to watch for on any sailboat. Doubly important for one that undertakes long ocean passages far from help. Learn how to use penetrating dye to look for small issues before they become big ones. The jewelers loupe I use: https://amzn.to/4kcnUFF The Dye penetrant products: Cleaner: https://amzn.to/3QwtK7f Dye: https://amzn.to/4ba6LIN Developer: https://amzn.to/4gYhqrc Links are sometimes associate links where I receive a small commission if you buy through those links. It does not affect your price at all. All products mentioned were bought by us at retail price, and no consideration was received in any way for a review. I only recommend products I have used, and would use again.

Anchoring is a basic skill for the cruising sailor. Sometimes we see people who just do not get it. Or even close. This is so bad I can not decide if it is funny, or just sad... Our blog post on how to anchor: https://fetchinketch.net/boat_thoughts/anchoring-is-easy/ My Patreon page, if you think this content is valuable, throw me a few coins and I promise I'll spend it on making better videos. https://www.patreon.com/c/CruisingConsulting

Details on how to service the C-drive on Amel sailboats. There is nothing new and dramatic in this, just the best practices. The C-Drive that Amel used on their cruising boats for decades was, and still is, a great drive train for a cruising boat. It is simple, robust, smooth-running and quiet. Like all parts of a boat it does take maintenance to keep it in good form. This video goes into detail about how to change the oil seals on the bottom end as required every 800 hours of engine operation. In addtion to the seals, proper alignment of the engine and drive train is key to keeping them happy. See this video for detail on that: https://youtu.be/BGfegulZQBI The seal puller I describe in this link.: https://amzn.to/3PghpDK Molykote 111 Silicone grease used to lubricate the seals is here: https://amzn.to/49Ve9Hk Comments and questions welcome. Some of the links posted might be affiliate marketing links where I get a small commission if you buy the product featured. This does not increases your cost in any way. Nobody has paid me for posting any of this information, and nobody has given me free product to review or use. Everything I recommend I buy at retail cost.

The Annapolis Sailboat Show is a large in-water boat show held ever October. Hundreds of boats are packed into the water around the City Dock in downtown Annapolis. One of the most entertaining parts of the show is watching all this come apart within hours of the closing bell. About halfway through this timelapse, you'll watch one guy maneuver a 50 foot square dock with a tent on it, in 20 knot winds, with a single outboard, and park it neater than you can with you boat with a bow thruster.

There are a number of choices on most boats for which is the safest line to use to go aloft and work on the mast. This is one thing to consider. Safety while aloft is a large, important topic. This is one tiny piece of that.

If you are looking for PART TWO of this sequence, Look here (It's FREE!): https://www.patreon.com/posts/aligning-amel-c-111155851 Aligning the drive engine to the Amel C-drive is a critical maintenance procedure. If ignored or done incorrectly, much expensive damage will eventually be done. This is a two-part series on why this is important, and how it should be done. Required watching for all owners of a Amel Maramu, Super Maramu, or Amel 54 with a C-drive power train. Here is a like to a drawing for the tool used to do the alignment: https://fetchinketch.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/c-drive-alignment-tool.jpg http://www.CruisingConsulting.com Products mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of this presentation (some of these will be affiliate links where I might get a commission, but that has no effect on the price you pay.) The best silicone grease for general use on a boat: Molykote 111 https://amzn.to/3Td1kBb Nickel based anti-sieze compound. I use this stuff on just about every nut and bolt in the engine room. Mariner's Choice Never-Seez: https://amzn.to/3Z6s6yX Best puller for removing the Vetus coupling from the C-drive Shaft. Be sure to shop around for this one, the price varies greatly from one vender to another. Bucks Algonquin 50MCP00500 Flange Puller https://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/5-inch-50mcp00500-flange-puller

A short introduction to the USCG AIS Data Verification tool. Make sure other vessels are getting all the data about you they should, and that it is accurate. Link to the tool: https://navcen.uscg.gov Help me make more better videos, join me on my Patreon page: http://patreon.com/CruisingConsulting

The Amel Downwind Poles are a great system for flying twin headsails, but they need to be rigged correctly. Incorrect rigging can be dangerous. Here is the engineering analysis for the right way yot do it, and what can happen if you get it wrong. My Patreon Page: http://patreon.com/CruisingConsulting Here is a link to the French Maker of "The Tempest" rope: https://lancelin.com/produits/ Unfortunately, the contents of this video have been misrepresented on line. This video does NOT say that this mistake caused any particular event. I do not know what happens on any boat--except mine. This video applies to using the downwind poles as Amel recommends: with the genoa and ballooner for running before the wind. Amel recommends NOT using them one at a time. Although we do occasionally do that in light winds, I would recommend you follow Amel's procedures. This is about ONE particular kind of error that has been posted online as the "right way" to do it even though the poster knows it is contrary to Amel's procedures, but he "likes his way better." Be careful of the advice you follow. I 100% stand by my analysis in this video. Rigging the poles incorrectly CAN cause a dismasting. If it did, or did not, in any particular case I can not, and will not say.

Chesapeake Boat Rodeo, Solomons Is. The skipper of Lady Isla has a wet finish to his docking speed run!

Our fishing trip out to Baltimore Canyon, and seeing pilot whales on the surface, and on sonar complete with drone closeups.

Just a pretty picture of our boat, a light house and a sunset.

When we arrived in Charlotte Amelie on the island of St Thomas we found out we had arrived just before the start of their 4 day long Carnival Celebration. Food, music, fun! It was a celebration by and for the locals, and while tourists were certainly welcome, the real reason for the party was for the local's enjoyment. Opening credit music: "Beach Party" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Fishing while cruising the southeast coast of Puerto Rico on our Amel 53 sailboat, Harmonie. Catching grouper, tuna, and crevalle jack with the rod, and remoras and tarpon with the camera. Follow our blog at http://fetchinketch.net In April of 2017 we were anchored at Isla Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island) and had a great couple of days fishing. We put grouper, big eye tuna, and jack into our freezer and had some fun with the "fish cam". This is the first "full length" video of our trip. I have learned that video production is hard! I'd love to hear from anybody and everybody with constructive criticism. If people like this, we will do more! Bill & Karen

This video is about Bonefishing in the Caicos Islands

20 knots of wind, close reaching at 8 knots

Our time at the Lauderdale Marine Center is finished, and we are heading down the New River toward the ocean. This was a lot less stressful a trip than the way up. Almost no big boat traffic to contend with.

While we were sailing south from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in November 2016 we were visited by a pod of dozens of Spotted Dolphin who spent hours playing around Harmonie as we sailed along the central Florida Coast.

All about our sailing adventures here: http://fetchinketch.net The annual Annapolis Sailboat show ends promptly at 5PM on Monday. Over 300 boats have to clear out of the harbor by the next morning because the same space is used for the powerboat show the following week. At 5:00 sharp a cannon shot starts the choreographed process of disassembling a tangled assortment of boats and docks that took most of a week to put together.

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