Onboard Storage Idea: A Tiny Basket with Office Supplies

 This tiny basket measures about 7 inches long by 3 1/2 inches wide by 3 inches tall.  I thought it would be perfect to hold those little supplies that are occasionally needed and usually left loose in random places.

My basket includes

Mini Post-it Notes in 4 colors

Pen

Pencil

Sharpie

Mini Stapler

Extra Staples

Super Glue

Glue Stick

Rubber Bands

Safety Pins

Paper Clips

Ruler (for kids fun)

Star Stickers (for kids fun)

Children's Scissors

Measuring Tape

Baby Nail Clippers

Also included but not pictured

12 inches of 1/2 inch wide velcro

2 Cord Cinchers

Hotel Guest Sewing Kit

Everything fits PERFECTLY into the basket and I'm one step closer to being more organized on the boat!!

Art: Child's Drawing

"You and I Sailing Around the World"

by

Christopher

Colored pencils on drawing paper

Chris drew this picture of our boat when he was about 9 years old.  He was out and about with Tom and wanted something to do in the car.  I was impressed by his realistic details of a keel, rudder, boom and cabin.  Somewhere around here, I have a picture similar to this and underneath, on the ocean floor, is the whole Sponge Bob set up!!  Soooo cute!! 

Cuisine: A sweeter version of THE KRAKEN

My girls and I made a less-threatening model of the horrifying, legendary KRAKEN for their cousin Claudia.  It was a BIG HIT!! 

The octopus pan, made by Nordic Ware, was purchased at Williams Sonoma and it comes with a recipe and instructions for best results.  Our cake sits atop a pile of brown sugar and is decorated with Sour Straws, Mini M&M's and Sweet Tarts Smarties.

Cuisine: Crab Pasta Salad

This D E L I C I O U S cold pasta salad is usually made before we head out for a sail.  Keep it cold as it has mayonnaise in it.  We think it's even better the next day.....the flavors have had time to blend together.  ENJOY!!

Crab Pasta Salad

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup Italian dressing

1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan

12-16 ounce package corkscrew pasta, cooked and drained

2 cups shredded or cubed (we like the cubed) imitation crab meat

2 cups broccoli florets, blanched for about 2-3 minutes in the pasta water

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped tomato

Combine dressings and cheese; mix well.  Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.  Chill. 

Pretty Lady Washington (AKA "Interceptor" in Pirates of the Carribean)

The Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain were both docked in our area awhile ago and we had the opportunity to climb aboard and explore.  I took some snapshots of some of the details of the ships and then later, when the two ships sailed out into the bay, we sailed S/V New Perspective out as well and took some more shots of them.  One of the photos was taken by Emily and she entered it in the local fair.  I'm happy to report she took the "Best of Show" award for her age category!!  Enjoy the photos....we sure enjoyed taking them!!

Some o'me hearties were actually onboard for this sail!!

Can you imagine the amount of paint and labor that goes into these magnificent ships??

AND....here they are....me hearties!!  L to R:  Jim, Mags, Claudette and Ryan above (one of the crew members of the Lady Washington) and another crew member :)

This is my nephew manning the cannons!!

And I thought WE had a lot o' lines onboard!!

Lauren and Emily

I totally want my food locker on the NP to look like this one!!

Just before they started firing the cannons.

Christopher

AND.....the final photo.  Emily's winning shot!!

s/v NP

Onboard Storage Idea: Sew Covers for Blankets

We had blankets strewn all over the boat down below.  I got tired of not having a blanket cabinet or a place I could put them.  Sometimes, I would fold them up and stack them, but that stack would need to be moved from v-berth to aft to dinette and back again.  The stack would then end up not folded or messed up.  One day, one of my children stuffed one of the blankets under their head for a pillow and it made me think....why not make pillow covers for them??  I love it, they look like decorative throw pillows and it makes the boat look cleaner and neater!!

If you have some basic sewing skills, you can make some blanket covers of your own.  Here's how I made one of my covers:

Items Needed

Fabric of your choice- enough for both sides of the pillow (plus enough to cover cording for optional piping)

Nylon/Plastic Sports Zipper- (metal zippers seem to corrode more easily)

Matching Thread
Cording (optional for piping)
Measuring Tape

Scissors

Pins

Scraps of old T-shirt material

Sharpie

Sewing Machine

Instructions

All seam allowances are 1/2 inch unless otherwise indicated.

Step 1

Choose the blanket you wish to cover.

Step 2

Fold the blanket into desired shape.  I folded mine almost square.

Step 3

Record how it was folded, leaving a 1/2 inch margin at the top, on T-shirt fabric with Sharpie (This helps any users of the blanket know how to fold it perfectly and fit it back inside the case).  Set the tag aside for attachment later.

Step 4

Measure all the way around the blanket lengthwise.  My measurement was 37 inches.

Step 5

Measure all the way around the blanket widthwise.  My measurement was 31 inches.

Step 6

Divide those amounts in half to get side sizes.  I got 15 1/2" wide by 18 1/2" long. 

Step 7

I then added 1" for seam allowances to one side of the pillow.  My finished measurements were then 16 1/2" wide by 19 1/2" long.  I called this "Side A."

Step 8

I then added 1" to the width and 2" to the length for seam allowances on the other side of the pillow.  My finished measurements were then 16 1/2" wide by 20 1/2" long.  I called this "Side B."

Step 9

I cut one piece of fabric 16 1/2" wide by 19 1/2" long for "Side A"

and

I cut another piece of fabric 16 1/2" wide by 20 1/2" long for "Side B"

Optional Piping

Measure around outside edges of side A to determine length of piping needed.  I made mine a little longer:  76" total.

Make the piping (I have not included instructions for this).

Step 10

Finish the edges of both "Side A & B" by serging or zigzag stitching all the way around each piece individually.

Optional Piping

On "Side A" of pillow, sew piping around all edges ending with piping together and finishing it neatly.

Step 11

Attach one side of the zipper to the long edge of  "Side A", centering it evenly and having edge of zipper flush with the edge of the fabric.

Step 12

Press under 1 1/2" on long edge of "Side B".

Step 13

Zip remaining side of zipper to the one already sewn to "Side A".  Mark where the zipper needs to be sewn on "Side B".  Unzip and stitch "Side B" zipper in place.

Note:

Zipper should be completely hidden by the pressed-under edge of "Side B".  The photo above shows the zipper when the flap is moved aside.

And this photo shows the flap closed and hiding the zipper.

Step 14

Zigzag stitch the folding instructions onto "Side B" below the zipper, and ONLY to the flap, NOT THROUGH BOTH LAYERS.

Step 15

Zip "Side A" to "Side B" and turn inside-out, with right sides together.  Pin all edges, matching corners and edges.  Stitch in place.

Step 16

Unzip and turn cover right side out.

Step 17

Zip cover closed and stitch diagonally over corners of cover, through all layers, on both ends of zipper, to anchor tab over zipper and hold ends of zipper in place.

Step 18

Press the cover with an iron.

Step 19

Unzip the cover and try it on over the folded blanket!!

Art: Pointillism

"Starfish"

by

Lauren

Ink on drawing paper

Lauren says:  "My subject for this picture was a pinhole photograph of a beach horizon.  Getting the perspective right was tricky and took many hours of repetitive dotting.  If only you could reach out and feel the texture on this starfish!!"

Onboard: Games

We are always looking for fun games to play onboard and it's really nice when we find them small and easy to store as well.  Bananagrams is one such game and a fun way to make it more challenging is requiring the words to all be nautical or sailing related!       

S/V New Perspective in her Homeport

Art: Painting

"New Perspective"

by

Lauren

Acrylics on canvas

Lauren says:  "My favorite part of this picture was stippling the white parts of the waves to look like sea foam.  I'm glad I haven't sailed in a sea this rough, but it makes for good art.  My next piece will be a series of black dots arranged to look amazingly life-like....A STARFISH!  We'll post it soon."  

Sucia Island, Washington: Snapshots

 Some of the beautiful rocky cliffs of Sucia Island.

 A view of some of the surrounding islands from "Little Sucia." The beaches of this little island are covered with broken shells making it look like white sand!!

 This is a close up of the beach contents.....shells and pebbles! This is also the greatest place to find sea glass in all sorts of colors.

 My son Christopher.

A shot of me.

 Christopher in one of the many rock crevices found in the "China Caves" of Sucia. The hole he is in wraps completely around him.

 Looking straight up toward the sky. The sheerness of the cliffs is amazing.

 A close-up of the cave Christopher is in.

 More "China Caves."

Look at that cool shell beach!!

 A jellyfish almost the size of Chris' hand.

 Christopher, our friend Bill, and Tom, looking for sea glass on the beaches of "Little Sucia."

 Overlooking Shallow Bay and our two sailboats.

Christopher playing with a log on the beach.