All posts by : Jessica

 Friday January 28, 2011

Only a few small projects have been worked on for the boat this month.  The table in the salon Matt had taken out a few months ago is complete.  He shaved off a few inches from the aft  end to make squeezing into the port side settee a little easier.  He was also able to refinish the teak and add a triple stainless steel tracker cup holder which is great because it doesn’t take much for me to knock over basically anything.  My progress on the dodger is slow, but at least it’s still progress.  After having it out with the sewing machine and some nasty name calling on both sides we decided that time apart would be the best thing for us and I’m still sewing by hand.  It is incredibly time consuming but the stitching just comes out terrible when I try it any other way.

Then there’s also that one thing in late January that most sailors in the mid-west look forward to, and that’s Strictly Sail Chicago.  We planned on going only on Friday since it went into our schedule better.  It’s about a 2.5 hour drive for us, so after dropping off the sailing greyhound at grandma’s , picking up another solar panel in Michigan City, and passing through 3 toll booths in a car where the drivers-side window doesn’t go down, we made it to Navy Pier just before the show opened.

Mostly on our schedule that day was attending seminars, all put on by the same hosts, John Neal and Amanda Swan Neal of s/v Mahina Tiare III.  John and Amanda are a very nice couple who charter expeditions on their boat through New Zeeland and the South Pacific.  As much as Matt and I would like to join them for one of these trips our pockets aren’t quite deep enough at the moment so we thought we’d see what kind of information we could pick up on dry land.  The first seminar we attended was ‘Ocean Voyaging Preparation’.  Not that we’d be completely unprepared without this seminar since all that Matt does from the time he wakes up every day to when he goes to sleep is research things online that will prepare us for ocean voyaging, but it’s nice to have the chance to hear from someone person to person on what it is like.  We were the first ones in the seminar and John was more than happy to greet us and get us set up with an itinerary, a free copy of Blue Water Sailing, and lots of other goodies.  As other people started to file in Amanda came to have a seat near us to ask about our sailing experience, boat, and future plans.  For some reason I was overcome with a terrible bout of shyness and wasn’t able to get out much more than my name and my boat.  I’m used to Matt being the talkative one between us and since he was in another conversation I was on my own and words just seemed to escape my mouth.  It was a shame because the seminar was very helpful, and some one on one time could have benefited me greatly.

After the first seminar we had a few hours to kill and decided to see if we could find me a good deal on foulies.  We checked out a few vendors including Slam and Henri Lloyd, where I hobbled around getting ‘dressed and undressed’ about 10 times, before I settled on a nice pair of drop-seats from Gill at the very low price of $79.  At the sight of the decent quality and cheap priced tag Matt picked up a pair for himself as well.  Only problem is that except for size and the drop-seat on the back of mine, they look exactly alike.  We worried a little that if we had to get them on in a hurry how we could keep from mixing them up.  I told Matt I’d be more than glad to sew some flowers on the leg of his so we would know who’s are who’s.  Bright pink flower designs?  I think he’d love it.

With an hour left still before the next seminar we made our way to the area of Navy Pier with all the food stands.  Years in the past I had always picked McDonalds because I thought I was being cheap and saving us a little money.  And every year I’d forget that the cheapest combo on the menu of a McDonalds located in Navy Pier is about $7.  So this year I got what I was really craving and that was a burrito from a stand I’d been eyeing our past two years here.  I was so excited to dig into it until I took a bite and realized it was the most bland thing I had ever tasted.  Since Matt ordered the same thing as me I asked if his had any flavor.  It was the same thing for him.  Guess I would have been better of with my chicken nuggets.

Looking at our watches we realized the next seminar by the Neals of Panama to New Zeeland was starting in 15 minutes.  Racing back to the room we thought we were making it in with two minutes to spare and pulled the doors open to take a seat.  When we saw the room was already full and the lights were dimmed we realized we had read the schedule wrong and were already late.  Quickly taking a seat in the back I pulled out my notebook to jot down any information that might be helpful to us on our own journey through that area.  We got a lot of good information on the islands, even where to find free showers and the cheapest food at market.  And since we’ll be hitting some of these islands just after the Marquesas where we’ll be living of the government regulated cost of bread since a burger at a restaurant can run upwards of $18 USD, those are good things to know.  With 30 minutes between this seminar and the next one of Mastering Storm Avoidance & Survival Tactics we thought it best just to stay put and not interrupt again.

At the end of the next seminar with more good notes it was only around 5:00.  The past few years we’d be able to wander around for hours looking at each booth and what they had to offer.  Now we were a little older, wiser, poorer, and slightly jaded.  We knew every booth because we’d already been there before.  The great prices that had seemed so low before were always beat out with deals online (as Matt found after his hours of research).  Other than the seminars there was nothing for us this year.  Although it was great to get out of the house for a day and cross that magical line between Michigan and Indiana where the 28 straight days of overcast weather turns into sun (it literally happens every time we go to Chicago), all I wanted to do at that moment is pick up my dog, throw a movie on the projector and enjoy a glass of wine.  It’s always nice though to have that reminder of what’s waiting just around the corner for you as the snow melts and the covers begin to come off boats.  Mid-west winters can be tough, but they never last forever.  I can almost taste summer now.

(photo not taken by me)

‘ Globetrotting’

In the planning for our upcoming trip we’ve gone back and forth about plans to stay in the Caribbean and the States or to sail all the way around the world.  The very first initial plan for us was to sail around the world anyway, but I was terrified of sailing across an ocean and begged Matt to let us stay near land.  In my defense, this idea originally came up less than a year after I had stepped foot on a boat.  I was far too unskilled and unknowledgeable in sailing to want to take a journey like that.  I liked knowing that should something go wrong I wouldn’t be more than a few hundred miles from land.  There were also a few other factors of wanting to stay stateside.  Once was time.  I figured this would just be a sabbatical where we’d be picking up our lives and careers right away and didn’t want to be away for too long.  Matt had a tentative work opportunity waiting for him if he could be back in 2013.  I don’t have anything waiting for me when I get back but I also didn’t want to start all over in my mid 30’s.  Plus I always had this strict timeline in my head of when I wanted to start a family, and even being gone 2-3 years was pushing that back.  Change that to a 4-5 year journey and in my mind I was f*%#ed.  Then lastly and more importantly is Mazzii.  By staying in the states and Bahamas we could bring her with us.  Anything past that and we would half to jump through a million hoops and pay out of our ass for the honor of her company.  And the thought of having a dog that large on an ocean crossing and constantly having to stay close to the boat for her….not going to work when we’re trying to see the world.

Then about a year ago Matt introduced me to sailing blogs.  Slapdash and Bumfuzzle….I was addicted.  Up until that point I had no real idea what cruising would be like because I hadn’t heard stories of anyone that had actually done it.  It opened my eyes to the possibilities in front of me.  Reading these stories was so exciting and inspiring.  After all, what they were doing wasn’t all too different than what we were planning.  Except they were crossing oceans and visiting multiple continents while we’d be ‘crossing the Gulf Stream and visiting multiple states’.  I was getting a little jealous.  I’d try joking to Matt that ‘Hey, maybe we should just go all the way around’.  Although over the past summer I don’t think he was too impressed with my knowledge to learn and wasn’t sure if I could be trusted for night watches or if something were to happen to him and I’d be left to handle the boat myself.  I had to agree, I didn’t try as hard as I should have.  And then there’s Mazzii.  Neither of us could bear the thought of leaving her behind.  We love her almost as much as we love each other and (mushy part here), didn’t think we could get through the days without her.  Even tropical weather and crystal blue seas can compare to her deep brown eyes and the kisses we get from her each morning.

So then the talks turned to ‘I’d love to sail around the world….but I couldn’t leave Mazzii’.  And ‘Visiting other countries would be great….but I’d feel terrible about leaving Mazzii behind’.  Having these conversations more and more, one thing dawned on us.  Would Mazzii even want to spend two years on a boat?  Sure her ears would perk up every time she heard the word boat and dinghy rides are a past time I’m sure she’ll never get sick of.  But when the dinner bell rang on Sunday nights and it was time to go home she was more than ready to hop in the car on the way back to her own bed.  Plus the fact is this dog was built for speed and we didn’t know how she would handle being away from land for a day or two at a time.  Soon conversations turned to ‘Let’s start with her and see how she does.  If we hit New York…North Carolina …Florida …and she doesn’t like it we can rent a car, take her home and carry on without her’.  Home being Matt’s mom’s house who graciously decided to take in our saildog should we decide she isn’t up for the trip.

In the end we decided we’re going to take the leap without her from the beginning.  Who knows, we could hit Detroit and realize that we can’t live without her and change our plans all over again.  But the tentative idea is that we’ll leave just the two of us and make our way down to the Bahamas, and if we’re loving life at sea we’ll turn West and just keep going.  If not we’ll stick to the original plan.  Or who knows, maybe after six months of living on a boat we’ll decide it’s not for us and either come back home or travel somewhere new.  The best part is that we don’t have to decide right now because there’s  nothing holding us back.  Once you sell your house and quit your job….life is just kind of open.  All I know is that there are too many wonderful things in the world for me to see rather than just staying put.  But where it stands now we’re going to  pull up anchor and head into the unknown and not experienced. We’ll just have to see what’s wiating for us.  After all, it’s a big sky.

‘Sew what?’

Well the boat has been out of the water for about a month now.  While Matt has done most of the winterizing on Friday afternoons while I’m at work I have spent a few Sundays out with him prepping it for the winter and getting the cover on.  A cover that we had been very excited about since it was cloth, durable, and best yet, came with the boat.  This was our first winter having a boat out in the elements and we felt sorry for a few of the boats surrounding us that just had a tarp slung over their boom as we pulled out our custom cloth cover.  Once getting it in position though, we were a little surprised that it was not long enough to go over the toe rail.  No matter how tight we tied it on each side there was still a few inches of deck visible all around the boat.  We thought about buying a tarp to cover the remaining part but decided to see how just the canvas held up through the beginning of winter.

I thought I was going to be on easy street until spring when the cover came back off the boat.  Hahaha, I was so wrong.  The vinyl windows on our dodger were pretty old and falling apart, so they needed replacing.  Matt purchased sheets of 30 ml vinyl online and thought with my excellent sewing skills (the fact that I’ve hemmed a pair of pants), that it would be right my alley.  He also thought the Brother sewing machine he bought me for our anniversary a few years ago was the perfect machine for the job.

I don’t know why we’re replacing these, they look perfectly fine to me.

My sewing machine and I have our good and bad times.  Once in awhile she’ll do exactly as I ask her to and run smoothly.  Most of the time though it’s a nightmare where my thread is getting tangled up and I always have an ‘Error 1’ message flashing at me on the display screen.  Before I could even think about working with the devil of a sewing machine though, I had to take out the further of the two sets of seams so that I could cut the existing vinyl down as close to the exposed part of the window as possible.  After watching an online video I found out it was best to leave the existing vinyl on to keep the structure stiff until the new vinyl is sewn on top of it.  Once that is secure you take out the other seam of the previous window and pull it out.  Sounded easy enough.  I don’t know why I haven’t learned yet but I thought I could finish this project in two weekends.  Uhhh….yeah.  It’s been two weeks and so far I’ve replaced one of seven windows.  And it was the small one.

I’ll back up a little bit and try to explain.  Parts of this project would have been much easier if it were the first time these windows were being replaced.  It was not.  From the looks of it we were the third people to put a new layer of vinyl on.  And each person before neglected to fully remove the layer before them and I had three layers of vinyl where the seams were to rip out.  Or more accurately, three layers of seams to be ripped.  Some of the seams were nicely spaced where it was’t a problem to get underneath and tear the thread but other ones were just a few millimeters wide and I could barely get my needle under it.  I think it took me three hours to do about five feet.  Then came cutting those three previous layers back by about an inch.  I’m not even kidding when I say it broke a pair of my scissors.  Grabbing a back-up pair I made Matt finish that part and promise to buy me a heavy duty pair of scissors to work on the rest.

Then came the sewing.  Oh my god, the sewing.  First was getting the machine to actually work for me.  Once I got the bobbin to stop from tangling and could sew a decent line on the scratch fabric I tried moving onto the dodger.  To get at the right angle I’d have to roll the extra fabric into a space that was six inches wide by three inches high.  Did I mention my sewing machine is not very big?  And of course, of course when I moved from the scratch fabric to the real thing the bobbin would get jammed or the stitches would look like total crap and I’d have to take them out and start over again.  Can you tell I’m frustrated?  Sorry for the rant, but projects like this that should be simple enough and then make me want to rip my hair out because I just can’t get it right tend to drive me crazy.  In the end to save myself a little sanity and my sewing machine it’s life I’ve decided to do the sewing by hand.  It may be taking me ten times longer but it already looks so much better and can be kind of cathartic for an hour at a time.  So this is why it has taken me to weeks to do 1/7th of the project.  Good thing I’ve got a lot of winter ahead of me.

Sunday October 17, 2010

This morning I woke up and there were icicles on my eyelashes keeping my eyes from opening.  Ok, I’m exaggerating there, it really wasn’t that bad of a night.  We came prepared this time with sleeping bags guaranteed to keep you warm down to 20 degrees, plus I was layered in long underwear, sweats, and even a winter hat.  We were worried that Mazzii was going to have trouble during the night, but with her layered in a sweater, coat, and wrapped up in about 3 blankets she seemed to do fine as well. With no immediate reason to jump out of bed we brought her into the v-berth and just lounged for awhile having a lazy Sunday morning.

Of course when we did have to get out of bed and get changed it was that little dance where you hop around trying to get one piece of clothing off and the other one on as fast as possible to prevent any part of your skin from being exposed to the cold air for too long.  Or maybe this is just something I do, because Matt in all his manliness was walking around without a shirt for some time.  We took Mazzii to shore before it got to the point where she would need to pee in the dinghy again.  Once back on the boat we got Serendipity ready for her last sail of the season.  Thinking it might be possible to get out on Lake Michigan we motored down the channel, but as soon as we were nearing the breakwalls we could see waves about 4-6  feet.  Normally not that big of a deal, and our boat has handled much worse, but with the high winds and cold temps we decided to turn around and stay on Muskegon Lake.  Mazzii had to have been happy about the change of venue because even going though the new channel she was so cold that through the mound of blankets she was under her head would just shake and shiver. I like to care of her health giving her glucosamine for dogs, it is a supplement that supports cartilage, which is the tissue that provides smooth movement of the joints.

Can dogs drink coffee? You can read Article Insider’s blog post to find out.

Please make me warm!!

Ahhhh, sun on my face

Although the winds were still near 20 knots on Muskegon Lake there were barely any whitecaps on the water, so we unfurled the jib to start zigzagging our way across the water.  Heading north past the dunes we were taken off guard when an unexpected gust of wind hit us and threw us from a 5 degree heel to a 25 degree heel in just a few seconds.  Poor Mazzii was on the windward side and the sudden angle put her into a panicked struggle of sliding and skidding trying to stay upright but unfortunately landed on the floor of the cockpit.  With a few more strong gusts coming up on us we decided she might be safest down there and would also be blocked from the wind and we padded the area with her bed and blankets.

There were still a decent amount of boats out considering how late it was in the year.  With me steering behind the wheel we watched the other boats go by, getting a lot of entertainment from a trimaran that could speed from one side of the lake to the other in what seemed like two minutes, most of the time with one hull out of the water.  At one time it was racing a hobie cat, and though it was neck and neck for awhile the trimaran pulled ahead in the end.

While Matt and I were headed back on the last stretch before the mooring, he decided he would also like to race the boat on the same course next to us.  With the other boat on our port side (about 1/4 mile away) and being on a starboard tack, the wind was filling the jib on just the right angle to where I could neither see the boat we were ‘racing’ nor our exact heading.    Since Matt was sitting on the port side and could see under the sail I told him he had to be my eyes, and he would direct me a little bit left or right to obtain the fastest speed.  Of course this perfect position was at a 20 degree heel, which still scares the crap out of me.  Matt loves the thrill of it, but since I’m still learning sailing I’m always afraid we’re going to go all the way over.  And since I’m the helmsman that would need to correct the course, it doesn’t settle my nerves at all that I don’t know exactly what I’m doing.  But once we got to that furthest point of heeling without going any further I was able to calm down a little bit and hold course.  In the end the boat that didn’t even know they were racing us won, and we veered off toward the mooring field without either of us feeling too defeated.

Since Matt was feeling proud of my racing abilities that day he chose to continue the lessons an wanted to teach me how to pick up the mooring from the helmsman point, which is when I normally hand the wheel off to him while I run up to the bow with a boat hook.  Since I’d never been behind the helm at very low speeds or coming up on an object he explained how I would need to throw it in neutral and eventually reverse once we hit the mooring.  Attempt one was a miss with me straying too far from the mooring ball in an effort not to actually run over the thing.  Attempt two was barely closer, but Matt was able to grab the lines and start hauling them on deck.  I wandered up front to start helping, just grabbing at random lines that I assumed needed to be held.  We still don’t know which one of us was lacking in communication for this incident but as I was holding what I thought was every line, Matt asked me if I had the one for the dinghy.  We both looked down at my hands and then at the water to see the dinghy slowly creeping to the back of the boat.  Have it I did not.  At the moment I was half tempted to jump in after it and swim it back to the boat, and even if it were still September I may have, but I thought better of it and raced to get the boat hook instead.  By this time of course it was too far to be reached and would need to be rescued by Serendipity.  Starting up the engine and throwing the lines back in the water I let Matt take the wheel while I stood at the bow with a boat hook, ready to go.  Again, the second time was the charm and I was able to grab the line and held onto it while we went back to pick up the mooring lines.

Part of me was sad as we packed up our things up for the night knowing this is the last time we’d be on the water until next summer.  The other part of me was glad to be spending all of our Saturday nights in a warm bed and have a few Sundays under layers of blankets on the couch watching tv and movies.  It was a really good season on the water and I’m sure I’ll be longing to get back out soon.

I love dinghy rides!

Tuesday October 5, 2010

Our house is officially on the market.  Kind of makes things very real now that our lives will be changing in a dramatic way.  We thought long and hard about what would be the best time to start listing our house.  What if we wait too long and we’re ready to go by August but the house hasn’t sold?  Although we’re still going to need a place to live until we leave next August and if it somehow sells right away we have to decide if we want to rent an apartment or house.  Matt’s mom has given us the option to stay at her place if we like, and we might take her up on that offer if we’ve got less than six months and can’t rent anything on a month to month basis.

I’m just glad to be giving ourselves enough time where we won’t have to take the first lowball offer just because of a timeline.  Let it stay on the market until spring.  As long as I never have to mow the lawn again I’ll be a happy girl.  So if you do know someone that wants to take this absolutely wonderful place off our hands just after the spring thaw, you let me know.

Sunday August 15, 2010

This is the first time Matt and I had tried sleeping on the port side settee which can be made into a full size bed by adding a cushion and taking off the back rests.  We had wanted to see if it was any larger than the v-berth, but besides having our legs be able to fully extend comfortably I think we lost a bit of width because it felt like we were on top of each other the whole night.  And not only was a lack of space keeping Matt up (we have a king size bed at home to sprawl out on), he had terrible allergies that night that would not allow him any rest.  So when he announced at 6 am that he couldn’t take it anymore and decided he couldn’t take it any more and needed to find a drug store, I gladly rolled over and took up his side of the bed once it was unoccupied.  He also took the overheated and panting saildog with him, and I drifted into a peaceful undisturbed sleep.

Minutes or hours later, Matt joined me back in bed but this time I was too far out to let the lack of space bother me.  I have a feeling I was out for close to an hour when I heard the whimpers of Mazzii coming from the cockpit.  Apparently Matt had sat out there for awhile after he returned from the store and left her up there when he went back to bed.  Normally we ignore her whimpers of boredom or loneliness in the morning because they start way before we get up, but this time I decided to go check on her so Matt could get at least 2 hours of comfortable sleep that night.  It must have been loneliness that was plaguing her because as soon as I joined her in the cockpit she was content to sit and watch the passing boats.  We stayed like this for awhile, Mazzii happy to have company, and me catching the sideways rays of sun through the bimini.  Close to an hour later the lack of a comfortable seat must have set her off again because she was back to whimpering and staring down the companionway.  Again, I tried to let it go for a few minutes, but when she wouldn’t stop I thought it might be best for me to try and take her down (not in the beating sense) instead of  letting her wake up Matt.  I placed her West Marine life jacket on her which is the only way I can attempt to move her anywhere because of the nice handle on the back.  As always, as soon as I go to grab for her she backs up as if she doesn’t want to be touched or moved.  Knowing she probably wanted to be in the cabin more than she wanted to be picked up I grabbed the nylon strap to drag her toward the companionway.  And then came the hardest part: lifting a 60 lb dog with my 110 lb frame.  Normally Matt can just grab her with one hand and easily place her at the top or the bottom of the stairs, but I had to grab her with both hands as I tried to keep my balance while gingerly stepping down the steep entryway.  Never has  the motto “One hand for yourself and one for the ship” been more true for what I should have been doing.  Stepping onto the third and final step my foot came out from under me and the dog and I went crashing down the rest of the way.  Mazzii had only been a foot off the ground and past all the steps, so she landed perfectly.  I however was sitting stunned on the bottom step after slamming my bum and my elbow on the hard teak surfaces.  Needless to say the fall down the stairs was louder than the dog’s continuous whimpering would have been and Matt was up in a flash.

I’m used to falling and bumping into things all the time so I thought I’d just bounce back up, but this fall actually knocked the wind out of me and left me lightheaded.  I took the spot on the settee that had been quickly vacated by Matt.  After bandaging my elbow I announced that I would be fine after I had some time to rest.  This excuse to lie down only afforded me about another hour of lethargy before Matt announced I was well enough to get up and sail.  A completely lazy Sunday, this would not be.  We fired up the engine and cruised out the channel to of course 25 knot winds on Lake Michigan.  Luckily he was still feeling sorry enough for me that as soon as the main sheet was raised I was allowed to sit around and do nothing, just like the gremlin who caused my pain and bruising.  I could try to describe our sail a little more this day, but with the slight seasickness I was getting from the waves combined with my throbbing elbow, my sore bum, and my lack of a good nights sleep, I had my eyes closed and was trying to put myself in la la land for the rest of the afternoon.  While Matt enjoyed the wind and the waves I enjoyed my cushy spot in the cockpit until it was time to call it a night.

Saturday August 14, 2010

Arriving at the boat around 5:30, I quickly hopped in the v-berth and took a nap to cure the bout of insomnia I had the night before.  When I woke up an hour later Matt had just thrown burgers on the grill, so I bumped around the boat in a sleepy haze trying to get all the condiments and sides ready.  Minutes later we were enjoying our deliciously juicy cheeseburgers and chips while Mazzii sniffed around and tried to steal bites from behind my back.  She knew it was her dinnertime too and wanted to get in on the action.  After Matt cleared his plate he went down in the cabin to prepare Mazzii’s food, which consisted of pulling back the tab on a can and dumping the contents into a bowl.  Since we didn’t want to go through the trouble of putting a harness on and dragging her down three steps just so she could eat, we decided to feed her in the cockpit.  Giving the food to her while sitting on the bench was out since it would make a mess on the sport-a-seats we had sprawled out.  Matt decided it would be best to stick her in the narrow slot behind the wheel.  Since Mazzii could not easily walk back there herself with the bench narrowing to 3 or 4 inches, Matt picked her up thinking he’d easily be able to lower her in the area.  Only problem was he forgot that any time she’s lifted in the air her legs go berzerk trying to find the closest thing to get solid footing on.  So after three shots with her legs ending up entwined in the steering wheel, and a few good laughs on our part, I had to hold her legs steady while Matt could safely lower her all the way down.

After dinner was a quick dip in the lake, something we normally never do in Muskegon Lake because by July-August it is normally overrun by algae and I feel like I’d be covered in green slime by the time I got out.  But this year the water was mostly clear, and Matt was already in it, so I couldn’t tell him no.  I also figured it was the only form of cardio I might get in while I was on the boat (although I later found out that treading water for 30 minutes only burns about 90 calories).  While Matt and I were having fun in the water Mazzii kept peering her head over the side and whimpering, probably wondering why we hadn’t asked her to join us.  Although I think at that moment she had forgotten what a body of water was, because after we forced her to try and swim the previous year at a dog friendly location on Lake Michigan she had disowned us by not coming back to our towels and leaving other pet owners to wonder if she was a stray.  Or the time we coaxed her to jump off the transom in the Hunter and she had kicked and flailed and scratched up the dinghy trying to find the fastest way possible out of the water.  Even so, Matt thought she needed another attempt at it.  He strapped her into her life vest and slowly lowered her down the steps of the transom and into the water.  It didn’t take long for her to start huffing and groaning, and Matt pulled her up before she could even be fully submerged.  I guess the battle with her and swimming is still on.

Mazzii after  her swim last year

Contemplating jumping in this year

After a few more hours of relaxing on deck it was movie time, and I was excited to try out the microwave we just purchased to make one of my all time favorite snacks, kettle popcorn (or as Matt likes to refer to it ‘That stuff I hate).  Throwing the bag of popcorn in I shut the door and pressed the pre-set popcorn button.  The machine whirred to life as I stood there as excited as a child waiting for guest to arrive at a birthday party.  The microwave lit up for about 15 seconds…..and then dimmed.  Matt and I looked at the amps on our Blue Sky VSM to make sure we had enough power to run it, which we did, but also turned off all but one cabin light to make sure.  The microwave lit up bright again, but after about 20 seconds this time dimmed down to the quite hum it had before.  When the three minutes were up I believe only 6 pieces of popcorn popped.  Matt, determined to get his newest toy working, and me just determined to get my snack, gave it another go.  After four more minutes of whirring and humming I had a bag of 2/3 popped popcorn and decided that was all I needed.  I spent the rest of my night watching ‘The Hangover’ and laughing about one man wolf packs while Matt was undoubtedly on his computer researching amps and watts.  In the end we came to the decision that if I wanted popcorn again it had to be light enough out for the solar panels to be pulling in energy at the same time, or the engine had to be running.  A 6:00 movie time?  I think I can do that.