Displaying Aqua Map Route on Google Maps

Exporting & Importing Aqua Map Routes to Google Maps

This is my How to 'Export Aqua Map Routes and Import them to Google Maps'. I don't do it that often that I can just remember how, so here's my cheat sheet.

Why do this?

Simple, because it's cool. And it's nice to be able to share a map of our sailing routes with others. We do have a Garmin Inreach, so we can share our current track and position with others. But when it comes to planning, sharing the route helps everyone play together.

What's needed?

• A device on which to run Aqua Map App. We use Samsung Tablets and Phones.
• An Aqua Map Account, Aqua Map Master Subscription so that you have a GEC Account ( where you can store your routes, tracks etc online).
• An Internet Connection.

Ok, here goes:

Step 1: Create a route - If you have Aqua Map then you know how to do this. Here's a quick primer.

• Open the app
• Click on a the chart where you want to start the route
• Select the Route Editor icon 
• Click on the chart to create a route to that click point
• Click again for each turn you want
• When done, click on Stop Editing
• Click Save
• Now the route is visible on the chart, click on any of the connector points for that route and click the 'i' icon for info on that route. Now you can edit it, give it a name that means something.
• Now you have a route in Aqua Map - Easy

Step 2: Upload the route to your GEC account.

• Click on a connector point of the route
• Click on the 'i' icon for the info on that route
• Click on the Share icon 

• Click on 'Public folder' 
• Select the format ( Google Maps will use either GPX or KMZ
• Now the route is stored in your GEC Account - Public Folder.

Step 3: Import the route to Google Maps

• In a web browser, navigate https://www.aquamap.app 
• Click on Chart Viewer 
• If you are not logged in then you should see something like this screen

• If you are logged in to your GEC account then you should see something like below.
• Note that your GEC account folders are shown on the left side of the chart.

• Click on the folder to which you uploaded your route.
• Click on the route name
• Right Click on the file name and select Download.
• Save the file to a known location.
• Now you have exported your route file to your computer and you're ready to import it to Google Maps.

Step 3: Import your route to Google Maps.

• Make sure you are logged into a google account
• Go to https://www.google.com/maps/d/home
• Click on 'Create a New Map'
• Click on the 'Create' button acknowledging that you'll be using some of your Google drive data.
• Click on 'Untitled Map' and type in a name for this map
• Click Save
• Click on 'import' and locate the file that you downloaded.
• Wow, Done!

I used the Share option on Google Maps to show the result. Here's the link, I'll update the google page and the route over the next few days.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1xPqNdfAjuXdbGOr-whjtXe7VellLhoY&usp=sharing

That sounds like a lot to do, however it only takes a couple of minutes. If you would like a video showing the process, please comment or contact me directly.

Thanks.

Paul

Memorial Day Weekend Cruise - 2025 Pt. 3

Memorial Day Weekend Cruise - 2025 - Planning the trip home.

Making the assumption that we get to Jensen Beach for the Memorial Day Weekend, we're looking at the trip home - From the Jensen Beach Mooring Field back to our Dock in Fort Lauderdale.

The Route from Jensen Beach Mooring field is around 37nm and should take just over 7 hours in good weather.

I really like Aqua maps, the Route explorer provides plenty of info about any route. In this case, it shows 36.3nm, 7:15 total time ( hours ) and we would use 4.8Gallons of diesel if we motored all the way. There's 1 fixed bridge on the route and if we needed to refuel, then it's $4.15 per Gallon.

( YES I KNOW - it's a sailboat, Sailboats do not sail in straight lines ) 

Like the arrival at the St. Lucie Inlet, timing is also important when leaving the Inlet.

We're staying at Jensen Beach on the Mooring Ball Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, departing for Lake Worth on Monday Morning. St. Lucie High Tide on Monday May 26th is 10:40 and the Inlet is about 90 minutes from the Mooring field.  So if we leave the mooring field at 09:00, we'll transit the Inlet around 10:30. ( According to Aqua Maps, it should take 1:39 hours : mins. 

We'll plan to stay about 1nm off of the coast to ensure we're not fighting the Gulfstream's northerly flow. Same as the Route north, we'll duck into Lake Worth on Monday and have a Mooring reserved for that evening. Tuesday morning we'll depart out of the Lake Worth Inlet and turn South, staying pretty close to shore again and we should be at Hillsboro Inlet on Tuesday May 27th around mid afternoot, a good time for the High Tide at 15:10.

So that completes the sailing plans.

Summary of the Return Trip:

• Monday - Jensen Beach 09:00 Depart the Mooring field
• Monday - St. Lucie Inlet 09:30 Exit the inlet
• Monday - Lake Worth - Mid afternoon - Mooring Ball
• Tuesday - Lake Worth - Drop the Mooring Ball
• Tuesday - Hillsboro Inlet - 15:00 - 16:00 Enter the Inlet
• Tuesday - Dock - Arrive an hour later.

Looks to be an exciting trip, we'll get to test our new Riding Sail, maybe I'll get the new Batteries installed by then too. 

I'm working on a post about how to export a route from Aqua Maps to Google Maps, that would be cool.

See you on the water.

Paul 

Memorial Day Weekend Cruise - St. Lucie Inlet

 Safe Boating through the St. Lucie Inlet

Credit to the Florida Oceanic Society.

In our planning for the 2025 Memorial Day Weekend Cruise to Jensen Beach, we had to review the St. Lucie Inlet to ensure a safe arrival and departure.

Peggy found this page which shows a Trifold Brochure published by the Florida Oceanic Society, it's a really good, no, not 'good', it's an essential read for anyone unfamiliar with the Inlet.

Eximius has a draft of 5'7" plus another inch due to the gear loaded in the boat.

We're always mindful of the tides of any inlet that we plan to pass through and the St. Lucie Inlet is known to be a risky adventure. However, our boat came from Manatee Pocket and was routinely sailed out of the St. Lucie Inlet, so we know it's ok, just requires a careful understanding of the conditions and the channel markers.  Having a reliable engine is a plus, having a full suite of electronic navigation and depth information at the helm is also a plus, however, we'll have our anchor ready to launch just in case.

Ok, with the inlet in mind, let's review our plans, but first a thought:- It's often said that the most dangerous thing to have on a sail boat is a 'Schedule' !! Schedules tend to push decisions on whether to go or not, whether to go this way or that, whether to push on or duck. We're very aware of that and so we tend to put in alternatives and decision points but still we're not afraid to recognize that perhaps we should back down and seek an alternative. So the trick is - be aware of the alternatives.

On to the Route Planning.

According to Aqua maps, the route from our Dock to the Marina a Lake Worth for our overnight stop is 37nm, 7.5 hours.

We're not worried about our entrance to Lake Worth as big ships go through that inlet so there's very little risks. However, our exit from Hillsboro Inlet is one to consider. The 'Hillsboro District' dredges the Inlet almost continuously, and, really important, they publish the Chart of Soundings every month. Here's the link to their latest Soundings. 

The chart shows the soundings as well as the date and time they were taken. We lookup the data and determine the actual depth above MLW at that time. Under calm conditions, we can always transit the inlet, we just have to avoid the really shallow areas. But if the Ocean is stirred up near the Inlet, then with waves of 3 or 4 feet, those soundings drop significantly. We have touched bottom several times in the Inlet, the bottom is sand and we can feel if the boat touches it, it just pushes through. But if we dig into the sand more than an inch or two, then we could be in trouble.  So, we plan our transit of the Inlet to ensure we're safe. Ideally we would transit when the tide was rising, much better to know that the depth will increase and lift us off rather then when the tide is dropping and we bare the risk of grounding deeper.  Low Tides at Hillsboro Inlet on May 22nd are at 07:17, so we'll plan to transit to the Ocean around 8am.

As mentioned, the tides are not an issue when we are due to arrive a Lake Worth Inlet. So our next navigation planning is from Lake Worth to St. Lucie Inlet then on to the mooring field at Jensen Beach.

So, high tide Friday May 23rd 2025 is at 6:54am and Low is at 13:50. The tide will be rising after 2pm but the St. Lucie Inlet is subject to shoaling, so we would rather arrive at the St. Lucie Inlet around 5pm.

Setting up a route on AquaMaps from Lake Worth to St. Lucie Inlet is about 40nm and at perhaps 5knots, that's 8 hours of sailing. If we get a bit of a lift from the Guld Stream so, maybe we'll do 6knots, that brings our transit time down to about 7 hours. 

We need to be leaving Lake Worth Inlet 7 to 8 hours from 5pm, ie. We should leave Lake Worth Inlet around 7 to 8 am ( a transit from 8am to 5pm is 9 hours ) It's easy to slow down so that we time our arrival at the St. Lucie Inlet )

If we left at 8am, we should arrive at 5pm but we could leave at 9am and still arrive around 5pm assuming there is some decent ( not too much ) wind.

There, we have our departure time for Lake Worth  - you know we'll be scouring the weather info Thursday night to help make the decision when to head out of the lake Worth inlet or even to go up the ditch from Lake Worth - not my favorite choice.

If we get to St. Lucie Inlet at 5pm, we should be at the mooring by 6pm - time to head out to dinner with the other club members that get there on Friday night.

To wrap up:

Depart the Dock 7am, exit Hillsboro Inlet at 8am

Arrive Lake Worth Thursday evening

Depart Lake Worth Friday Morning around 8-9 am either on the outside or up the ditch.

Arrive St. Lucie Inlet Friday evening around 5pm and to the mooring around 6pm 

Next: plan the return trip.

You get there quicker on a power boat, but you're already there on sailboat !

 

Memorial Day Weekend Cruise - 2025 Pt. 1

Planning for a cruise to Jensen Beach Florida

Our local Sailing Club - HISC - Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club is planning a cruise from Hillsboro Inlet to Jensen Beach FL over the Memorial Day. For us, this will be a two day trip up to Jensen Beach and a two or three day trip back. Stops in Lake Worth and possibly Jupiter are in the cards.

The plan includes meeting up with a few other club members in Jensen Beach, and a whole bunch of members that will drive up for a Saturday evening casual dinner locally. Should be a great trip.

The planning involves research on the Route, Mooring options, Anchorages, Tides & Currents and, of course, the weather. The cruise is planned for May 23rd but we'll probably leave the dock on Thursday May 22nd and return by May 28th. We're in no rush to head back, although that could change - it's Hurricane Season June 1st through November 30th. So an early return is always in the books.

Ok, where do we start?  

What is the distance we have to cover at about 5 knots?

If we head up the ditch due to a grumpy ocean - or - Plan B. then we're familiar with the route, it's the same one that we did in 2015 when we brought Eximius from Solerno Marina in Manatee Pocket by Port St. Lucie back to our rented dock in Fort Lauderdale, except it's the reverse course.

On both the route North and back South, we have the option to enter/exit the ICW/Ocean via Jupiter Inlet, but ideally we'll sail outside each day enroute rather than up/down the ditch.

The route via the Ocean is:

Day 1. Thursday May 22nd

• On the ICW 
• Our Dock south of Atlantic Blvd
• Atlantic Blvd Bridge
• 14th Street Bridge
• Hillsboro Inlet Bridge
• Turn North East on the Ocean to grab some lift from the Gulf Stream
• Lake Worth Inlet
• Anchor overnight by Peanut Island

Day 2. Friday May 23rd

• Depart via Lake Worth Inlet
• Turn North East on the ocean, just as we did on Day 1.
• If weather dictates, 
• We'll come in from the Ocean at Jupiter Inlet
• At Jupiter Inlet, we'll turn North and head up the ICW to Jensen Beach
• If the weather is good, then we'll continue up to Port St. Lucie Inlet
• Turn North and head for Jensen Beach
• If the weather is from the SW we'll anchor South of the Causeway
• Else we'll drop anchor North of the Causeway.

Day 3 Saturday May 24th

• Fun Day 

Day 4 Sunday May 25th

• Fun Day

Day 5 Monday May 26th - Memorial Day

• Raise Anchor
• If the weather is fine, we'll take the Ocean route to Lake Worth with the option to drop into Jupiter
• Else we'll take the ICW Southwards.

Day 6 Tuesday May 27th 

• Raise Anchor Depart Lake Worth for home. Hopefully via the Ocean.

Ok, that's the Outline of the trip. Next - time to review the tides for all three Inlets, HI for Thursday Morning and Tuesday afternoon, Lake Worth Inlet For Thursday, Monday afternoons and Tuesday Morning, St. Lucie Inlet for Friday Afternoon and Monday Morning as well as Sunday Morning if we decide to head South on Sunday.

We have reserved a mooring buoy at Jensen Beach Mooring field for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, departing Monday morning.

I'll detail those in the next post. Just remember, we draw 5'7" empty, so more like 5'8" 

See you on the water.

Great weekend on Lake Boca

HISC Change Of Command Ceremony on Lake Boca

Our trip to Lake Boca went as planned. We left the Dock at 10:55, Atlantic Bridge at 11:30, 14th Street Bridge at 11:45, Hillsboro Blvd Bridge at 12:30 and Camino Real at 13:00.

Anyone on Lake Boca on Friday would have seen the first club boat to arrive, Summer Wind dropped their anchor and were ready to greet other club members. Eximius arrived around 1:30 and shortly, our Raft Master on Commotion. Judy & Jeff brought Affection to the lake. We were anchored a bit close to a couple of boats and would need to move if we wanted to raft up together, Affection anchored nearby intent of moving to the circle when it was formed Saturday. Lady Gray arrived and tied up alongside Summer Wind

We had snagged a pretty good area on the North east corner of the lake, plenty of room for the raft up, just need more boats so that it's a circle and not a line.  Commotion repositioned their boat, planting a huge stern anchor close to where the center of the circle would be, well, close.  More boats arrived, and raft-master, Ross, started to herd the boats. Several dropped both stern and bow anchors.

We moved Eximius to make room for one of the big cats - Chasing Blue - it took a while and we did a few laps around the North channel passing Alebrije several times, they seemed to have found a sweet spot and seemed to just hang our in the North East Corner of the lake.

Affection moved to set another corner. Eduardo helped his buddy set a stern anchor to point his boat along a radii of the circle ( couldn't resist ), Chasing blue took the NW corner and the boats started to fill in the blanks. Ross kept on herding.

Initially the news was that only about a dozen boats would join the circle, but we had 3 boats from a neighboring sailing and boating club and around mid day more of our club members arrived. Lady Gray, Sharyn Leigh, Aries ( rear Commodore Bruce ), No Compromise, Cookie Monster, Alebrije II, Solitude all joined in. 

We eventually rafted along side of Affection. To help move Affection nearer to the corner position, Ross took possession or our Bow anchor and dingy'd it over towards the South West of our bow on the end of 200' of rode. Then asked me to pull the line to drag Affection and Eximius in that direction. With some help of Ross & Carl, I was able to pull in about 50' of rode, it did move us quite a bit and that achieved the objective. We were now clearly in the SE corner of the raft up and left room for some of the other boats to raft up to the port side of Affection

Around 3-o-clock, Russ had jostled all the boats into a circle (ish) and it was story time. Practically every boat, every skipper, every guest, all had stories to share, my favorite pass time. Of course we all got to show off our latest toys on the boat and no shortage of experience to assist in the various challenges about navigation, anchoring and many others.

Around 3pm, speaking with Hector it seemed that Barry wanted me to officiate the Ceremony. Happy to as I have done for several years. I confirmed with the flag officers that they had their flag ready and then navigated across the sterns of each boat back to Eximius.

Peggy had our Dink, Dine and Drift shareables ready. I put the oars in our dink 'Special T' and paddled out to the center of the circle - ok, that was my destination but the wind and current kept blowing me to the Northern edge.

Ross made a PSA about everyone staying until 11am Sunday so that we could break the raft without incident and hopefully not tangle all of the anchors.

The ceremony had it's usual delays, but we got it done. Our Commodore - Barry Simmons, Vice Commodore - Astrid Hunton and Rear Commodore - Bruce Guttler were installed, flags waving from the Spreaders and the Party began ( ok, 'continued', folks were already in the mood.)

After the ceremony, Hector & Lucy paraded the new Cruising Flag for 2025, it's a chart of our sailing area, should be online as soon as Hector send me the graphic ( hint Hector! )

The Drift was a huge success, it took a while for folks to get the dinks out, but the drift quickly formed with over a dozen boats, platters of food of all sorts was passed around. Like all HISC events, if there if food involved then there's too much! Nobody goes hungry at club events.

Some brought sodas, some Rum, Jamie brought shoe pastries, they found their way back to our dink several times, delicious. We thought that everyone would bring Hors d’Oeuvres, we brought water and chocolates. Both were gone by the time the music started.

The music went on long after the drift, a couple of the boats competing for the most popular songs. We still managed to share more stories.

Oh, while Ross & Carl were assisting with launching my anchor, Carl suggested that I re-route the rode so that it does not pass over the side of the anchor roller, I did, but wondered why? I spoke with Carl on Sunday and he told me of a situation where a skipper had secured the tack of their huge spinnaker to the bail across the anchor roller. The wind piped up and the anchor roller detached from the hull and it flailed into the spinnaker, that's one heck of chunk of steel to have to try and tame.  Lesson learned!

In the evening as I moved around the boats, Terry advised me that one of his guests wanted to join and needed an application ( I'm the Membership Committee Chair ) so I went back to Eximius to get my tablet as membership application is done online. By the time I had gotten back towards Sharyn Leigh, the guest had taken a swim and decided to head home, I'll catch him later. However, Jim Wallace had a crew member that also wanted to join. Keep an eye out for Suzanne.

Sunday some were up bright and early, some not so bright and not so early! The aroma of hot coffee wafted across the circle, some of it obviously stronger than the average joe.

Just about every boat was having the same conversation: How do we depart the circle. As Ross had announced before the Ceremony, 11am!  There was a clump of stern anchors in the middle of the circle. Several dinghies worked at pulling the anchors, some were quite stubborn. But Ross, Chris, Eduardo et.al. succeeded and the boats started to depart. Eximius was concerned about potentially rubbing the starboard side of Affection with our port stern quarter, so Jeff walked a huge fender down as we pulled forwards, moved by the wind and current. We easily cleared Affection and I was able to haul in the three strand nylon rode, secure the anchor chain to the bow cleat and then stow the three strand into the anchor locker.

We stayed at anchor for about an hour while I cleaned the transom and tidied the deck ready for the trip south. We had a light snack and pulled anchor at 12:30pm. Peggy helmed us around the North side of the lake then south towards Camino Real Bridge for the 12:40pm opening. We made the 1pm Hillsboro Blvd bridge opening, then the 1:45pm 14th street bridge and finally the 2pm Atlantic Blvd Bridge. We were back at the dock by 2:30pm - just two hours from raising anchor in Lake Boca.

We heard all of the boats that left after us and some before, as they called the bridges requesting passage, I think we all were surprised at the amount of Boat Traffic at that time of day.

It took us an hour and a half to unload Eximius and have an after lunch break, back home by 4:30pm

What a great weekend! Thanks everyone that shared your time with us. Another Great HISC Event.

Sorry for not taking any pics - sometimes we just have too much fun.

See you on the water.

Paul

HISC 22nd Annual Change of Command Raftup

 We're rafting up in Lake Boca

This is a similar trip to what we have done every year since we joined the club.

In 2015, we joined the raftup aboard 'Joint Decision' our Catalina 250 just a couple of months before purchased Eximius.  

Getting the boat out, even if it's only for a two hour motor up the ICW from the dock to the anchorage in Lake Boca. As they say 'You get there quicker on a Power Boat but you're already there on a sailboat'.

Plan is to prep the dinghy for the Saturday evening Dink Drift and dine inside the closed raft up circle. It needs cleaning and putting on the foredeck of Eximius. We purchased a couple of Yoga Mats to cushion the deck which was only refinished a couple of months ago. We'll do that on Wednesday.

Thursday we'll load up the boat, put the food on board, fill the fuel tank and put a spare can of diesel on the deck. Our Fuel tank holds 23 Gallons of Diesel and we typically use 3/4 gallons an hour at 5+ knots. So we carry plenty, but we're hoping to be able to actually go sailing on either Sunday or Monday.

Over the past few months, we have stowed several dinners for the boat in our Freezer at home. It's easy to just defrost the prepared meals, Chili, Stew, Shepherds Pie, etc. etc. This makes meal prep on board really easy but it does not fill my desire to cook aboard the boat, so we'll take eggs, ham, tomatoes for a nearly English breakfast. We've been very happy with high protein Oats for breakfasts too, so we'll take enough for at least 3 breakfasts too.

We'll take some wine, rum and non-alcoholic drinks, lots of cheese chunks, grapes and crackers to share with anyone that comes aboard at the raft up.

Friday morning we'll complete the loading and leave the dock sometime around 10am, arriving at Lake Boca sometime after noon. Some of our buddies are already planning to be on the lake by Friday evening, so we'll probably have a few cocktails or Sundowners before turning it Friday night.

Saturday is the big day. Most of the boats will arrive before Noon, some by 2pm when the plan is to close the raft up into a circle. We have had as many as 72 boats rafted in the past, but it's typically abour 20 boats. I have a feeling that we'll blow past that this weekend. Folks are eager to get their boats out and enjoy the opportunity to join with other sailing nuts.

After the raft up closes, around 5pm, the club holds it's annual Change of Command Ceremony where the outgoing Commodore passes his flag to the current Vice Commodore who passes her flag to the incoming Rear Commodore. There's bound to be a great article and lots of photos on the club's website at https://www.hisc.org

Sunday morning the raft up breaks up around 10am, we may stay on station at anchor or we might head down the ICW to Hillsboro Inlet and get a chance to raise the sails - I really hope we do get the chance.

Of course, we have the option to stay at anchor on Sunday and take the boat out to the Ocean on Monday then back to the dock.

I'm talking up a storm here, but hope that it will be a great weekend and that we can get the boat sailing on the Ocean.  Keep your fingers crossed.

See you out there!

Paul

Fellowship Cruise 2025

Planning to go sailing ( again, 2nd time this year )

Getting more of my work done ( Canvas work ) and time to get the boat out again, this time it's a weekend with other sailors.

The Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club ( HISC for those that don't know me ) is joining the Palm Beach Sailing Club ( PBSC ) and the Castaways Sailing Club ( CSC ) (ok, enough initials ! ) over the weekend of February 15th & 16th. 

HISC is racing from Hillsboro Inlet up to Lake Worth on the Saturday, then Back to HI on Sunday. There's a party at the PBSC Saturday evening and a Chili Cookoff Sunday by Lake Boca. For us this means we'll anchor or Moore on Saturday evening close to the PBSC and anchor in Lake Boca on Sunday evening, returning to the dock on Monday.

Ok, that's the overview, some of the details....

It takes us about 90 minutes to get from the dock to the start line with enough time to practice the start which is at 10am Saturday, so we'll leave the dock at 7:55am, be at Atlantic Bridge for the 8:30am opening and then the 8:45am opening of the 14th street bridge, that should get us to be ready for the 9:00am opening of the Hillsboro Inlet Bridge, 9:30am should put us at the start line, sails hoisted and a couple of practice start line ups.

The Finish mark is on the East side of Red Buoy #2 outside of the Lake Worth Inlet, but there is typically a Southerly current that flows just off the beach, a couple of knots is quite normal. Whereas, there is the Gulf Stream pushing North at over 2 knots, we've had the benefit of a 4 knot flow in the past. So it's worth heading off shore a couple of miles. I'm planning on heading from the Start line on a bearing of 45ºM until we see the edge of the Gulf Stream. At that point the Chartplotter should start to show that our direction of travel is nearer to 40ºM and the water temperature should rise a couple of degrees. At that point we'll turn due North. Of course, all of this is wind dependent, but typically, the wind is from the SE this time of year unless a Northerly is heading down our way, we're not expecting that to happen - at least not in the long range forecast.

Dependent upon the wind, we'll turn towards the Lake Worth Inlet when it is about 45º off of our Port bow. We have to pass within 150' of the R2 Buoy on it's East side. We'll try to take a pic with one of our phones showing the Buoy and the Jetty Pump House directly to the west. We'll send that pic to the race coordinator.

Once past the finish line ( we will finish by 16:30, right! ) we'll drop the sails and motor into the inlet and then turn South on the ICW down to the PBSC and anchor on the East side of the waterway. Party time is 6pm. So we have to finish on time, it takes about an hour from the finish line to the anchorage.

Partytime!

Should be a great party, the PBSC is a great club and they hold great parties and they are always well attended. If we lived closer to them we would join, as it is, we only get up there once or twice a year.

Back on the boat not too late as we have an early start Sunday Morning.

Here's our plan: If the weather is grotty ( not expected ) then we'll just stay in the anchorage until Monday and reassess. If the weather is good to go, then we'll leave the anchorage at 7:45am heading to the Start line which is about 1/2 mile South of the inlet. There will be a Race Committee boat and an Orange Buoy marking the line. Start time is 9am.

The start time at 9am is partially due to the Low Tide Time at Hillsboro Inlet being 4:46pm.

The course, measured using Aqua Maps, is 31nm and we have from 9am through 4:30pm, that's 7.5 hours. That means we'll need to maintain a speed of  4.13knots. BUT that would put us at the inlet a low tide and it's skinny enough that is there are any waves, we'll possibly hit bottom. So our goal is to get there by 14:30pm when there should be 1' of water below our keel during most of the transit of the inlet.

That's 9am till 14:30pm, 5.5 hours. So we'll need to maintain a speed of 31/5.5 = 5.6 knots.

'If' we're unable to maintain that speed, Wind, etc. , then we'll retire from the race and motor to the inlet to make sure we're not trying to enter at low tide. We can easily maintain over 6 knots under motor.

Mind you, the course is Southerly and we might get a tidal current of at least 1 knot, so we should not have any issues. 31nm at 6 knots is only 5 hours or 2pm

As always, it's critical to be close to the start line on time! We're registering for the 'Cruising' class which normally is the first class to start as they are also the slowest. Our goal is to get in the mix at the start line just seconds before the actual start.  Fun!

So we'll probably sail off shore trying to stay in the Southerly current all the way down from Lake Worth to the HI Buoy, then we'll drop the sails and motor in through the Inlet and turn North on the ICW heading for Lake Boca. The Chili Cookoff starts at 5:30pm.

UPDATE    

Well, that didn't work out! 

We had the skipper's meeting via google Meet on Friday at noon. The organizers reported on the anticipated weather and it was generally accepted that it would be a rough Ocean, winds from the SE and waves in the 4' to 6' range.

Peggy & I discussed the options:

• Cancel now and drive up to Lake Worth for the Party on Saturday
• Get out on the Ocean and then Cancel if it was too rough for just the two of us. Again, Drive up on Saturday.
• Go for it.
• Motor up the ICW just to get out for the weekend, but that would require that we head back down the ICW on Sunday and the weather was actually looking worse for that day.

We took the first option and left the boat at the dock and we drove up to the PBSC late Saturday afternoon.

Of course, it was a great party, it always is! Food was really good  -  I even ate mini meat balls, risky, but they were really good.

We drove home in the dark.

Sunday I baked some Corn Bread Muffins to share with all the other members of the HISC, PBSC and the Castaways club. 

Another great party, about 50 people turned up and there were about 11 chili entries, 1st place was Barrie Soloway - he really outdid everyone.

As always there was plenty of food and deserts, more than needed so most of us that brought food had to bring some home.

Getting the chance to sit and chat with the other members is golden! We got to talk with members of the PBSC and especially, the Castaways club. One member in particular owns a C42 and has written several articles for the Mainsheet magazine. We got share some of our CIA history and I'm hoping we can meet again. Chatting with other Catalina owners is always a pleasure.

One of my canvas clients brought his Bimini to the meeting. He had told me about that it had developed a couple of fingernail size holes, I had given him some repair patches and was a bit surprised that he brought the Bimini to the party. Turns out that the twist lock fasteners I had installed on his window covers had corroded. I mean 'really corroded', I have never seen such rusty fasteners and nothing at all that only survived 3 months aboard in the salt water environment.

I brought the canvas home to my shop ( Garage ) and gave them the Magnet test, yep, they were definitely not stainless steel.  I looked up the supplier, Amazon, and realized they were 'Polished' but not stainless.

New 316 Stainless steel fasteners are on their way from Sailrite. I'll sew the repair patches in a humble attempt of apologizing for my error.

Meanwhile I'm continuing to work on my most difficult project: A Bimini that has 3 splits and is only 36" from front to back! There's no stretch in such a short Bimini and the 3 splits are all at the back end of the canvas. It's taking many trips to the boat to make sure that the latest changes are moving in the right direction. Should finish it this week.

See you on the water.

My 7 Galley Must haves on the Boat

My favorite galley 'Must Haves' on the boat?

I enjoy cooking on the boat! Breakfast can be an easy Bowl of Cereal and some fruit with Toast PB&J and of course Coffee and a side of OJ. Or it could be a full blown English Breakfast of Eggs, Sausage, Toms, Beans, with Blood pudding ( Black pudding ) if I can find it. Eggs Scrambled or Benedict, Florentine, Royale or Eggs Neptune if there is Crab meat available. But my cooking is not limited to Breakfast, although it is my favorite meal on the boat, just gets the day off to a good start.

I also like to bake Bread - ok, I love to bake bread, two loaves at least every week.

Deserts - of course.

So I need tools on the boat. Mixing Bowls and tools for whisking, frothing, vacuum packing, Blender and that is where I start my 7 must haves for my Galley aboard S/V Eximius.

#1 Blender

 Need to make smoothies or blend up a delicious sauce? We have plenty of 110v power on the boat but do I really want to run the inverter just for a minute of using a blender? Nope! In fact I prefer Rechargeable USB powered tools both in the galley and in the tool chest(s) . 

This blender is one we gave out for cruising gifts a few years ago, it's great. We don't make margaritas for a lot of guests but it's big enough to cope with ourselves and a couple of guests.

It fits in a galley storage cupboard and does not need to stay out on the counter.

Link to the Blender

#2 Vacuum Sealer

We nearly always prepare some packed meals and Freeze them, vacuum sealing is best. This rechargeable USB Vacuum sealer is great, we use it at home and on the boat when we go out for a week or more.

Again, easy to store, USB rechargable, the bags are easy to get and it works. 

Like all vacuum sealers, it's best to freeze the contents before sealing as the juices can impair the seal. 

Link to the Vacuum Sealer

#3 Hand Mixer

I have a Kenmore Bowl mixer at home, honestly, I rarely use it, heavy, awkward and definitely not one of my favorite kitchen tools.

After purchasing this in August 2023, this beats my Kenmore hands down. OK, I do not use a Stand Mixer for my bread dough, I knead it the old fashioned way, but if I'm making a Pavlova Desert, you can bet I'll pull this hand mixer out and whip up some cream in just a couple of minutes. It has 7 speeds, the mixing wands are easily washed and it's USB rechargeable. Love it

Link to Hand Mixer

#4 Milk Frother - USB of course

When I'm up for a nice Frothed up Milk in my Coffee - I'm ready for this tool.

I'll boil some milk ( ok, not actually 'boil' the milk ), pour it into the Stainless Steel jug and Froth it perfectly to add to my coffee.

Because it's USB rechargeable, and it takes up so little space, this is a must have on the boat.

I'm careful not to bend the twizzle, that would probably ruin the workings. It's 2 years old already and used frequently.

Link to the Milk Frother

Ok, enough of the USB Rechargeable kitchen tools. Now

#5 Bowls

At home I have two sets of mixing bowls but these are my favorites.

The pic shows a set of 6, it was only a set of 4 when I purchased them.

They don't slip around on the countertop, the lids are very secure. I use the largest two when rising bread - with the lids fully closed.

These are particularly useful on the boat as the contents stay inside in the event of, you know, a bit of boat movement.

I use the smallest size to make the Hollandaise Sauce by simply holding it in a pan of boiling water for a few seconds between stirring.

Link to the bowls

#6 Induction Cooktop

We're working our way towards eliminating the Propane on the boat. ( see the blog post about that plan, just search for it on the blog page ).

This single burner Induction cooker is a good start. Very efficient, does not heat the cabin like the propane cooker does all to often.

Energy efficient, heats the pans quickly and is easily stowed out of the way ( I put it below the oven)

Check it out via the link below.

Link to the Induction cooker

#7 Induction Pans

We had a full set of Magma pans, great but not Induction pans, gave them to the club's flea market program.

Found these on Amazon, and they are amazing. I'm obviously impressed by the Induction cooking option and these pans fit the boat needs.

The Lid only fits the smallest pan, but I found additional lids ( see below ) so now we can cook in a skillet and not worry about splashing the area around the cooktop.  The bag probably won't last 4E4 but for now they fit in the bag and it stows with the Induction cooker below the oven in the Galley. Oh! The handle is really solid does not slip on the rim of the pans. Love it. 

Link to the Induction Pans

Ok, that does it. Are their more things I really like in our Galley, of course! I'll post those later.

Meanwhile, I hope to see you on the water.

Paul

Rough day on the Ocean

Rough day on the Ocean off of Hillsboro Inlet

Lots of water under the bridge already this year, work is stacking up - need to get it done - boat projects are taking up space inside the boat, but the boat is back together and able to get away from the dock.

Our new dock is much closer to the Ocean, only 3 bridges and none of them are Railroad bridges. We have left the dock once before, last year, and then life got in the way. So we decided to just take the boat out to shake off the cobwebs. Could have chosen a better day!

Sun shining, balmy 70º (F), Sunday - not a day we would have left our old dock due to the crazy boat traffic on the New River. Forecast was for 10-15knts of wind from the N-NE, should be a nice sail up and down the coast, put in a few practices of heaving too, and make sure all of the lines that have been reconnected after the deck refinishing work. 

We have figured out the best time to head North from our dock is 55 and 25 mins off the hour. That puts us easily at the first bridge in time for either the 00 or 30 minute openings. We didn't leave the dock until 9:40 but we pushed the engine up to 3,200 rpm and surged towards the Atlantic Blvd Bridge. Using the Auto Guidance feature on our chart plotter, we determined we would arrive at the bridge at 10:02am, cool! The bridges normally don't start their opening procedure until the set time, so we should get there just as the bridge opens. I called the bridge on #09 and confirmed that we would be there on time. We continued our hustle along and frequently checking our arrival time.

As we approached the bridge, not yet ready to open, we slowed so that we could stay outside of the fenders, those big wooden fences that protect the structure of the bridges, and when within about 200 feet of the bridge, the bridge tender called on the radio telling us we were too late! Frustrated, I foolishly bantered back and forth but the bridge was not going to open on the hour!

That meant we had to practice doing donuts for nearly half an hour, during which time I relaxed a bit and completed some of the preparation for when we hoisted the sails: Unzippered the Sailbag, Released the dog-bone restraint on the Genoa Furler, checked all the lines were ready to hoist the sails and that the boat was prepared for Sea.

10:25am I called the bridge just to make sure they knew that we wanted the bridge to open - if no boat calls for an opening, they don't. The tender replied and just before 10:30am, the broadcast that the bridge was about to open.

It did! at 10:32am -- hold it in Paul! worse things happen at sea.

As we passed the bridge, I gave the usual 'Thanks for the Opening' call to the tender and we pushed our way towards 14th street bridge, due to open at 10:45am. We made it easily and waited for the bridge to open.  Now we're just bridge away from the Ocean.

The Auto guidance reported we would arrive at the Hillsboro Inlet Bridge at 10:55am, 5 minutes before the 11:00am opening. HI bridge opens every 15 minutes if boats request it.

We hung around well away from the bridge and could see several large vessels waiting to come through the bridge from the Ocean side. The tide was heading in towards the ICW, so it's curtesy to allow the downstream vessels to come through first as the tide is pushing those boats towards the bridge, it's not a huge wide bridge so there's not room for two boats at the same time, certainly when the tide flow is heavy, it gets a bit washy then.

Once the incoming boats were through, those of us waiting to go out started our maneuvers, it's a bit of a mad rush as some of the outgoing vessels were commercial charter fishing boats and they want to get out to the fishing spots.

Easily past the bridge, we headed for the inlet. Our plan was to stay to over to the South side of the inlet as we always review the latest Soundings before heading out.  We kept about 20yds off of the Green Markers off to our right and headed out to the HI Buoy. A couple of those charter boats pushed hard on their throttle just before they passed us and hammered us with their wakes. Worse was the belching of black smoke from their exhaust a true sign of rapid throttle movements causing excess fuel flow to the engine and not getting burnt efficiently. Either that or they had upcoming engine issues.

It's nearly always roughest at the inlet just as we pass the jetty on the South side, but today it was really rough. Our bow ploughed into the oncoming short period 3-4' waves probably on a few seconds apart. Not to worry, once we get out of the inlet it will calm down, hold on.

Seems I did not do a really good job of securing for Sea! I went down to the cabin to tidy up the boxes that had fallen to the cabin sole, it took a few minutes. We had just turned North to see if being off the wind would help cope with the grumpy waves.  We had been in much bigger waves several times, but the frequency of the waves were just right to make it a really uncomfortable 'fund day sailing'.  I asked Peggy if she was ok if we turned back if the waves did not easy up. They didn't, Peggy was ok with it.

So we turned around back towards the HI Buoy and just got beat up some more, but at least we were headed for the calmer waters inside the inlet.

We pretty much kept on top of our track from our departure and, as luck would have it, the bridge was open when we passed the inside end of the jetty on the South side. I recently learned that the jetty is named after one of club's past commodores - Jack Holland. I hailed the bridge asking if he could stay open for us. There were a couple of big yachts ahead of us and so the bridge had no issues holding for us. We followed the big boat but paused long enough for a couple of bigger fishing boats to come out. 

Once inside on the ICW I set the Chart plotter to Auto Guidance back to our dock - I need to document that process until I get used to it. The Auto guidance reported that we would get back at the dock at 12:22pm.    Think about that for a few seconds.

We left the dock at 9:20 am and should be back at the dock at 12:22pm  Three hours!

Due to usual delays getting past the two bridges our actual ETA changed to 12:33pm, it was an uneventful trip back to the dock. 

As we turned into the canal where our dock is located, I asked Peggy if she felt up to turning the boat as we keep the boat Starboard side to the dock. Pegs was fine if we donned our Eartec headsets so that I could give her directions.

Peggy's first time doing a 180º turn in a narrow canal was absolutely pefect! She moved over the South side of the canal, turned the wheel for a fast turn to Port, put the engine in reverse until we were turning quickly and just started to go astern. Then with the wheel still over hard, she put the engine in forward gear and gained steerage to complete the turn. Impressive, shame there was nobody near the dock to see her maneuver. Kudos Pegs!

Steering the boat towards the far end of our dock, Peggy got us so that I could reach the lines from on the dock using our boat hook. Then Peggy's headset fell off! She didn't hear my request to go astern  and we overran the line that goes from the dolphin pole to one of the dock poles and I'm struggling to stop the keel going over that line. We made the boat secure using another line and peggy grabbing the nearest dock pole. I'll have to adjust that line between the dock pole and the dolphin pole. so that it's more of a barrier.

Safely along side, we agree that we need to figure the lines out so that they are better positioned for when we come alongside. Either that or have the boat facing West at the dock. That's not the most comfortable position as we do get some rocking wave action from the end of the Canal anytime a boat creates a wake on that part of the ICW.

Time for a break, we had our Subway Sandwiches before the boat was ready to leave at the dock. We followed our usual process of preparing the boat before leaving. 

• Remove the electronics from the Helm.
• Remove the starter key and store in it's regular location in the cabin.
• Install the helm cover.
• Secure the Genoa Furler with the canvas dog bone.
• Close the Mainsail Cradle Cover zipper and secure the mainsheet to prevent mast slapping.
• Remove the Depth/Speed/Temperature transducer and install the blank plug
• Close all of the thru hulls
• Turn off all electrical devices except the Victron system.
• Pack up everything that needs to go home.
• Close up the cabin openings.
• Lock up the Cabin companionway. 
• Look around the boat to see if anything else needs tending to.
• Step ashore, adjust the lines to allow the boat to move off of the dock.

The boat needs a washdown, we had plenty of salt water spray over the bow and there's still bird poop on deck despite the light rain during our trip back to the dock.

Good day????

Yep, any day that we can get the boat out and back is a good day.  There's a lot more coming.

Oh, this was my birthday trip - made it even better.

We'll be out on the water soon! Hope to take some crew out for a day sail.

See you out there.

Keep the stick up and the keel down.

• Last loo
• Secure the boom amid ships

Cost of upgrading the LiFePo4 battery bank

All of the materials are in now to figure the total cost.

I visited the Pacer Group in Fort Lauderdale this morning, it was a grotty day, windy, rainy and expensive! Actually cheaper than Amazon, but still it's a lump of money.

The new batteries from Chins cost a total of $420, including shipping and tax. 

I paid $525 for the 18' of 4/0 AWG Red, 18' 4/0 AWG Yellow, 6' of 1/0 AWG Red, 6' of 1/0 AWG Yellow and a Blues Seas 4 Position Switch ( Continuous rating of 300Amps ). That worked out about $80 less than Amazon.

I have previously purchased a 300Amp Fuse block, 100Amp and 300Amp fuses, a 300Amp Terminal Block, appropriate Heat Shrink Tubing. All in all, the cost of the project so far is just over a $1000. It had better be worth it.

The next challenge is to get the old cables out of the conduit tubes that run from the stbd side of the bilge to the port side adjacent to the holding tank. Then !!! pulling the new 4/0 cables through the conduits. Lots of lubricant will be involved. The 4/0 cable is Tinned Fine Strand, so it does bend nicely, it came on a spool with an internal pin of about 4" and the conduit smallest radius is about 6" so bending is not an issue. 

The folks at Pacer Marine Group were really helpful, they cut and rolled the wire in less than 10 minutes. There Store has lots of good stuff - I purchased the Blue Seas 4 way switch as it is much smaller than the one ordered from Amazon which just won't fit where I hoped. Pacer has probably every item you could want from Lugs to Switches, all sizes of Heat Shrink, Terminal blocks and every type of wire.  Impressive. The front desk team were really helpful and had a great attitude.  I'll probably go back again for some future project. 

Meanwhile, I need to get down to getting this job done and I do have a ton of work keeping me busy, and We Want To Go Sailing.   Our next opportunity is to celebrate my Birthday, following that is the Fellowship Race on February 15th, that should be a great sail! Saturday Race to Lake Worth, Sundary, Race back, Sunday evening it's Chilli Cookoff.   Hmmm, going to be a challenge to cook chilli while racing South on the Ocean from Lake Worth to Hillsboro Inlet.   Will the new batteries be installed by then???? I'm trying!

See you on the water.

Installing the new LiFePo4 batteries.

Installing the final (?) two LiFePo4 Batteries. 

January 12th. 2025

Between Work, Home and Family, I keep squeezing time for the boat. In the works is the last part of the upper deck refinishing of the non-skid areas - The Coach Roof which extends from forward of the mast to the sides of the companionway hatch. It's all masked off, I have the painting materials and the weather is looking good to get it done.

Meanwhile the final pieces for the addition of the 4th & 5th batteries are arriving despite one package getting damaged before it was even delivered. Waiting on the Switch, Terminal Block, additional Fuses and the Terminal ends.  I have to go to Fort Lauderdale to get the 4/0 AWG cables ( Red & Yellow ). The Batteries are on the boat but I need to make the hold down straps and secure them with the Stainless Steel Footman Loops. 

Of course theirs Work too! That helps pay for the upgrades & maintenance on Eximius. And I have a Family too! Peggy & I have a life and a Granddaughter whom is really a major part of our lives. She loves Ice Skating and we get to see her skate nearly every week. As she skates several times a week, it's easy for us to fit in a couple of hours to go see her. Love that kid.

Ok, it's time to do some work, Sewing, Taxes, and Home maintenance. 

Wednesday Jan 15th.

Taxes are done, 4th and Final coat on the Cabin top non-skid. Got some sewing done. 

Most of the Parts for the new Battery install have arrived and I checked with Pacer Group in Fort Lauderdale and they have the cable in stock. I should get them this week, 14' of each 4/0 AWG Red and 4/0 AWG Yellow.

I have figured out where the components will be located. The new +ve Fuse Block and the -ve Terminal Block will be located on the inside of the storage area with the two new batteries, the -ve Terminal post will be located on the base of the main battery compartment and the new 1/2/Both/Off switch will take up the space of the old switch, may need to move the existing -ve Terminal Block near the old swtich as the new switch is much larger.

Now to get some sewing done. I have to pay for all of this stuff.

See you on the water.

Adding Chins Batteries

The additional Batteries Arrived.

The new Batteries arrived on Jan 3rd, about the time I expected them anticipating delays due to the holidays.

I was initially concerned that they were not the 'Smart' / 'Bluetooth' models as the EE-BMS did not find them. There is no indication on the outside of the batteries that suggests they are the 'Smart' type. The three existing batteries on the boat are all Chins Smart 100Ah 12.8v LiFePo4 batteries, the same as I ordered.

Reaching out to Chins customer service and sending them an image of the battery labels, I asked if they could confirm the batteries are 'Smart'. Overnight, Peggy asked if they show up on the Phones list of nearby Bluetooth devices. DUH! So I checked, and they did show up. Well that's annoying. 

In the morning Chins replied that I should use the BAT-BMS not the EE-BMS - Duh#2. I really should RTFM. So I downloaded the BAT-BMS and it found the one battery but not the second.  Another email to Chins. They responded in a couple of hours advising that I should charge them and then discharge and recharge them. "some batteries require a simple charge and discharge before they can be linked.".

Ok, that worked.

I put one battery on charge using a LiFePo4 4Amp Charger. It was only 50% charged according to the charger.

After charging it overnight I disconnected the charger and attached a bilge pump that was sitting in a bucket of water. Discharged for 5 hours but still could not see the battery on the BAT-BMS app. 

Charged it for another few hours and then it showed on the App.

Left it charging until it showed 100% on the App.

Then I repeated that process on the second battery and the same outcome. Now both batteries show on the BAT-BMS app and both are charged 100%

With the batteries ready, I placed the order for the additional Fused Terminal Block, Fuses and Switch. They should arrive next week. I'll head down to the boat tomorrow and confirm if I need to upgrade the wiring from the battery box to the Victron Multiplus Inverter Charger.

I'm busy working this week, so not going to get much on this project done plus, I'm expecting the order from Jamestown Distributors so that I  can complete the refinishing of the top deck. That should take 4 days with two trips to the boat each day.  So a busy week.

We're getting there.

Update - Thursday Jan 9th. 2025

As per the plan ( and Chins advice ) I wired the two new batteries in parallel and left them connected for 24 hours.

Result: Both battery packs are within 0.01 volts of each other, the highest and lowest cells are similarly within 0.01v 

Before you jump on me for the thin cables --- I checked the current flow and it was initially a max of 1.2amps and quickly dropped to 0.9.

Just for my records. 

Here's screenshots of the two batteries displayed in the BAT-BMS after the 24hours of Parallel connection.

I like that the App allows for switching between each of the connected ( connected to the App ) batteries rather than have to back out and select another battery in the EE-BMS

The rest of the equipment is on it's way and should arrive this week. I'll go down to the boat today and check if I need to upgrade the cables from the batteries to the Victron Multiplus.

Should be able to get to finish this upgrade next week.

Target date is January 23rd - hope to get the boat out with some buddy boats.

See you on the water.

Short Update Friday January 10th.

Amazon has lost part of my order for the components of the upgrade. Just a delay of a few days I hope.

I was able to take the batteries down to the boat and physically put them in their new home. I had to relocate some consumables - Oil, Coolant, Greases etc. I found some were duplicated so I brought them home. The bag containing the extras actually felt heavier than the two LiFePo4 batteries. 

I updated the wiring diagram as I'm going to have to relocate some of the cabling between the Selector switch and the Shunt & Victron Multiplus.  

Again, see you on the water.