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01/16/2012, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami
Last week my parents arrived for a visit onboard Diesel Duck in Ft. Lauderdale. Mom, 84 years young and Dad, 87 are enthusiastic company we try to keep up with. On an excursion on the Jungle Queen, Mom took to the wheel on the upper deck, but to actually steer a ship, we let her steer Diesel Duck along the Intracoastal Water Way, where Steven Spielberg's yacht the "Seven Seas" was moored.
The "Seven Seas" ship is 282 feet long, keeps a crew of 26, accommodates 12 guests, has a heli-pad, gym, spa, massage room, cinema, an infinity pool with a 15 foot glass wall that also becomes a cinema screen. She was built for $200 million, but you could rent her for only 1.3 million a week.
|SSCA Member
01/05/2012, Bimini, Bahamas
Picture: a Wet Cell deep cycle Trojan L16H battery of Diesel Duck's house bank. Please notice the Hydrocaps.
In the previous write-up, I wrote about the 12 volt stuff in general and left off with an explanation of the 12 VDC starter bank. Before I write about the house bank, I'd like to touch first the different battery types used on a boat for the house and the starter bank: a.) Wet Cell battery - b.) Gel battery - c.) AGM battery - d.) Lithium Ion battery!
1. Wet Cell battery 12 volt DC (VDC) for short time power burst in starter application
2. Wet Cell deep cycle battery 12 VDC for a long time storage of 12 volt DC power to run all day as a house bank on a boat or RV, maybe on a forklift truck or a floor sweeper in commercial application.
1. and 2. are the second oldest type of batteries in use, invented 1859 by a French physicist Gaston Planté and consist at the present time of lead antimony plates submerged in sulfuric acid electrolyte contained in a strong plastic housing with 6 cells (each providing 2 VDC) and vent caps on the top to let the generated gas escape when they are being charged and these caps permit the service expert during maintenance to add or replace the electrolyte or for you to water the battery.
A wet cell starter battery has no place on a boat (explained in the first write-up). The use of a wet cell starter battery should be left to the automotive and heavy equipment market where this type of battery still serves a purpose. A wet cell deep cycle storage battery still has its use in a house bank battery on many boats or RVs. Our "Diesel Duck", as an example, has a 950 amp wet cell deep cycle house bank. Today there are better batteries on the market and I would go now a different route when buying batteries for a house bank (more about that further down on this write-up) Wet cell batteries, starter or deep cycled are high maintenance batteries. They need to be watered frequently and at least need to be equalized twice a year. I will explain watering and equalizing further down. These batteries must be mounted well aired. One of the biggest handicaps is the problem of slow discharging to nil, which occurs when you store the boat for a longer period of time. Wet cell batteries will discharge even if every power consumer is switched off incl. the parasitic load like some hardwired inverters, where the display is alive (these buggers can be a 1 amp parasitic load an hour). Wet cell batteries can discharge up to 20% a month (depending on their age), when no charge is applied. There is no guaranty from the boatyard where your boat is stored on the hard, that the power cord to your boat will not be disconnected and your plugged in charger can keep your batteries charged up. A tropical downpour can shorten out the power cord or the other friendly guy is using it for a drill or grinder with the good intension to plug it back into your boat, but he forgets.
You get back to the boat and discover that your house bank is totally discharged and toast. You need new batteries then. Total discharged wet well batteries cannot be recharged. Gel and AGM batteries can be recharged with no problem by a smart charger.
The lead plates in each wet cell are submerged in electrolyte up to the top of the plates and then are being topped up with distilled or ionized water just to 1/8 inch underneath the filler neck of the vent cap opening. This water mixes itself with the electrolyte and evaporates during the charging process by turning into hydrogen gas. There is a device on the market and it is called Hydrocap. These Hydrocaps are filled with a mineral and this mineral will convert the hydrogen gas back into water and this water drips back down into the battery cell. But still in a certain time period the battery will lose some water and you have to replace it. A very important point is, you first recharge the wet cell batteries to a full charge between 12.6 VDC and 12.8 VDC before you remove the vent caps and do the maintenance watering. This is extremely important, so please remember this. Also, please never use ordinary tap water for watering batteries. You have to purchase distilled or ionized water. Both are widely available at supermarkets or at gas stations. To water the battery, remove the vent caps or Hydrocaps, look at the water level. The water level should be up to 1/8 inch below the filler neck. If it is below this level add more water with a measuring cup to bring the water up to the 1/8 inch level below the filler neck. Do not overfill, the mixed water and electrolyte will spill when the boat is healing over by wave or wind action. That stuff is very corrosive. Fit the vent caps back!
During the slow discharging process while the batteries are working in providing you with power to run your 12 VDC equipments like fridge and freezer, watching TV and having the inverter running for 120 volt etc, the batteries will sulfate a little and build crystals on the lead plates. This process is a normal occurrence and over a certain time period, these plates will pack up with crystals resulting that the batteries get handicapped and the charge holding capacity is reduced. To counteract this, there is a process and this is called equalizing.
Equalizing a battery is the controlled boiling of the electrolyte with a high voltage charge to remove lead sulfate crystals which have collected on the lead plates inside of the battery. You may do this every 6 months, but your battery charger must have a setting for equalization. The best time for equalization is when your batteries are discharged and you have access to shore power or a generator. Removed the vent caps or Hydrocaps. During the equalization the batteries get hot, produce a lot of hydrogen gas and acid mist, this mist damage surrounding surfaces. This means you have to keep all doors, hatches and ports wide open for a good breeze inside your boat. Hydrogen gas is explosive, so don't smoke, shut the galley down and give the chef a few hours off. No flames! Shut every 12 volt system down and start your charger, select the equalization program and equalize for not more than 2 hours. After 2 hours switch the charger off and let the batteries rest for at least a 1/2 hour. (Now you could use a hydrometer and test each battery cell and check the specific gravity of the electrolyte, knowing then the condition of your battery or even find out that you have a bad cell and have to replace the battery. This will add more misery to your daily financial burden) Your batteries are now fully charged and you have to check the water level. During the equalizing process their was some loss of water, which you have to replace now. After done this, close the cell openings with the vent or Hydrocaps. Turn your battery switch back on!
Picture is: Diesel Duck's old Gel starter bank battery.
Gel battery:
These batteries are a good choice for a boat owner. They don't gas and they are totally maintenance free. This type of battery was pioneered by the Sonnenschein Company in Berlin, Germany at the end of the seventies, which is now owned by Exide, USA. Gel batteries can serve as a starter battery and limited as a house bank battery. Even when completely discharged (this would kill wet cell batteries), Gel batteries can be recharged without damage to the batteries. One thing, which would kill Gel batteries and could make them dangerous, is a higher than 14.1 VDC charger voltage, it will build up a gas pressure, pop the safety valve, release the gas and that gas can explode. An off the mill automotive battery charger should not be used. Any smart charger where you can select the battery type is the one and only choice of charger to charge Gel batteries. Why called Gel batteries? The electrolyte is gelled with silica dust into a paste and in addition lead - calcium plates replacing the in a wet cell battery used lead-antimony plates. Diesel Duck has used Gel starter batteries for 12 years without any problem. They got fully discharged during a storage time and after recharging in 2005, they served us well. The Gel technology is over 30 years old and like everything else, this technology is replaced by a newer and better one as time moves on.
Picture is: Diesel Duck's new AGM starter bank battery
AGM battery:
Now this is an even better choice for the boat owner. Maybe at the present time the best choice. AGM stands for absorbed glass mat battery and they are different to Gel batteries. The electrolyte is not gelled, instead absorbed into boron silica fiberglass mats which are wrapped around specially ratio lead-calcium plates and hermetically sealed into the celled plastic housing. The technology was developed 1985 for military aircraft, but the first AGM cell was patented by the Gates Rubber Corp. in 1972. AGM batteries can have flat or spiral form rolled lead-calcium plates. They are totally maintenance free, can be mounted in any position and charged by any off the mill automotive charger. Of course this is not recommended. AGMs are dual purpose batteries and can serve as starter and storage batteries. Good as starter bank or house bank so to speak. To charge this type of battery I would use a smart charger, an alternator with a smart regulator, or, if you have a large solar panel array, a smart solar controller. AGM batteries don't like being overcharged, which is similar to gel batteries. During longtime storage, AGM batteries loose only 2 - 3% a month of their charge, a very important factor for the seasonal boater.
12 VDC Lithium Ion battery. Picture by Mastervolt. NE
Lithium Ion battery:
This is the new kid on the block. I have seen only one Polish built Catamaran in Panama with these batteries. Like in laptops, iPhones and cameras, this technology is creeping into the marine market. These batteries weight a lot less than their lead cousins and present a weight saving for the racing sailor. Most of these new technology marine batteries need a special lithium ion smart charger to charge them up. The Dutch company Mastervolt has pioneered a special 320 amp 12 VDC lithium ion battery for the marine market. These batteries have built-in pc-boards which enables the boat owner to use a normal smart charger to charge the lithium ion batteries. You have to keep an eye on this new marine technology, but for now hold on to your wallet.
In the next write-up is the House Bank on the plate.
|SSCA Member
01/03/2012, Bimini, Bahamas
The New Year is coming in like a lion. Diesel Duck sits snug under anchor in Bimini waiting for the blustery weather to subside to make her trip across the Gulf Stream to Ft. Lauderdale. Now is a good time to post the first write-up (of 4) of the promised 12 Volt stuff from Benno.
|SSCA Member
01/03/2012, Bimini, Bahamas
For some weeks I've been harboring in my mind to write up something about batteries and charging. This theme is quite complex, it forced me to turn it into a four part small series of write-ups. Here is the first part:
On a boat you have a lot of equipment which runs off your onboard 12 Volt battery system and some equipment which run on 120 Volt, like a laptop computer, TV, power or kitchen tools such as perhaps a toaster, mixer or even microwave oven. To get 120 Volts to run the equipment you may have a portable gasoline driven Honda generator on board, or even a built-in 120 VAC diesel generator. When no generator is on board, another way to get 120 Volt is to have an inverter. An inverter is a unit which converts direct current into alternating current, in plain English it changes 12 Volt DC into conventional 120 Volt AC and allows you to use your favorite 120 Volt device when no AC outlet otherwise is available.
To your information, 120 Volt is called AC and 12 Volt is called DC. AC stands for alternating current and DC stands for direct current. The AC and DC explanation is beyond the scope of this write-up. You may read up about this topic in electrical engineering books. Never touch a live wire of 120 VAC, it could kill. On the other hand, you could touch a 12 VDC wire and not feel a thing. Power voltage up to 40 Volts is in most cases not life threatening. But if you have to work in your boat on a live 12 VDC system, it is common sense to remove all jewelry like rings, bracelets and wristwatch from your hands or wrists just to be safe and not to shorten out any blank wires or terminal screws accidentally. This is really very important, when you work with live battery cable. These heavy gauge cables could hold a lot of current (amps) and when shorted out by jewelry, it could melt the jewelry gold or silver metal and burn the wrist, finger or hand severely. So please remember this precaution!
The 12 VDC power is generally stored in one or more batteries and this is called a 12 VDC battery bank. This battery bank provides you with 12 VDC power to run your equipment like: lights, radios, depth sounder, radar, GPS and all the 12 Volt things you have on board, even the inverter, which makes the 120 Volt AC. This kind of 12 VDC battery bank is called normally a house bank. The other kind of 12 VDC bank you probably have on board is for starting your diesel engine or the diesel generator and consists of one or two batteries, is called a starter bank. Talking about batteries, the first electro chemical battery was invented 1800 by the Italian physicist Alessandra Volta, hence since the name Volt.
The Starter Bank
The starter batteries are engineered differently to batteries you would use for a house bank. Starter batteries have thinner and more plates, they can deliver a power burst to your engine starter, but do not like to be deep discharged from a night long of watching movies on your TV, while fridge + freezer all is hooked up to your 12 VDC system, it cuts down their lifespan. This is the job of a house bank. The starter bank provides quick enough power to the engine starter to start the diesel engine. The starter on the diesel is a very powerful electric 12 VDC motor which turns the engine's flywheel and this fires up the engine. This starter motor draws for a very short time an incredible amount of power out of the starter battery bank. Once the diesel is started and running, then the engine's alternator which really is a small generator that generates 12 VDC while running, will pump quickly enough 12 VDC power back into the starter battery bank to fill it back up with sufficient power to run your instruments and other things. It also provides enough standby power to start the diesel engine the next time you have to use it. On "Diesel Duck" the starter battery bank consists of two DEKA Group 27 AGM 12 VDC batteries which are installed in the engine room and they are charged by the original 14 VDC 70 amp PERKINS diesel engine mounted alternator, which is made by Lucas in the U.K.
This alternator is an of the mill alternator with a standard built-in regulator. This alternator was built to EC standards and the charging voltage does not exceed 14 VDC and this is within the compliant spec in charging GEL batteries, where the charging voltage should not exceed 14.1 VDC.
A battery starter bank's location is best close to the diesel engine to avoid long battery cable runs. Taking in consideration that the diesel engine generates high temperatures in the engine room or compartment, it is advisable to mount the starter battery very low toward the fiberglass hull or hull plating of a metal boat to benefit from the water cooled hull's skin temperature. If the engine compartment is very small, the starter battery might be mounted next to the engine outside of the compartment or engine box. This will keep the battery temperature down. During a charging process the battery generates its own temperature additionally to the ambient temperature.
As for the battery, please shy away from using a flooded wet cell as a starting battery in a boat. This type of battery will produce a gas when being charged. This gas is hydrogen gas and explosive. A flooded wet cell battery being confined to a not well aired engine room or compartment could present a danger of explosion in contrast to an automobile, where the engine battery is well aired underneath the hood. It makes more sense to use a GEL or AGM battery for a starting bank, they are virtually maintenance free, don't gas and will not require to be topped with water (eliminating to check the water level periodically and adding water when necessary).
On our Diesel Duck, the starter bank is mounted just above the keel, close to the aluminum hull plates underneath the diesel generator's mounting platform. Originally in 1999 we started out with two DEKA made Group 27 GEL batteries and they lasted up to April of this year. That is 12 years! From these 12 years, the batteries were stored after a short 120 nm trial run of the under construction Diesel Duck in Aug. 1999 for 6 years and since the launching of our boat in 2005, these batteries were in normal service. In April of this year these batteries showed signs of not holding a charge anymore and the time had come to replace them. We exchanged them with two DEKA made AGM batteries in Colon, Panama in April of this year!
In the next write-up, I will talk about the different battery types and battery maintenance.
|SSCA Member
12/31/2011, Bimini, Bahamas
We are in Bimini now after leaving Chub Cay on Friday morning. OK, we don't have to be back in Ft. Lauderdale for another ten days, but knowing the weather forecast and acting on it is the key to happiness or the difference between a cake run and perhaps a miserable trip. Being a motor vessel not needing a lot of wind to propel us forward, how could we not take this opportunity and cross the approximately 75 miles across the shallow banks? A cold front is predicted with strong winds and afterward again calmer seas but it looks like only a small weather window which would not be long enough for us to move from Cub Cay all the way to Ft. Lauderdale. Therefore we'll be spending New Year's Eve and a few days here in a lovely spot next to the Bimini Bay Resort in North Bimini.
Last night we stopped in front of Cat Cay where we anchored for the night in absolutely flat, calm conditions. This morning Benno tried very hard to con a fish to bite the hook on the fishing line we were trolling for the 5 miles to Bimini. No luck. No wonder, because we were competing with a fleet of sport fisher boats crisscrossing our wake at high speed and all the fish must have been scared with such a noise and turbulence. We probably will have better luck to find the fountain of youth, which is apparently somewhere in the area. Actually, there are large stone steps underwater just off Bimini which go into nowhere. Is here "Atlantis" the sunken ancient city with the fountain of youth? It doesn't matter, because we are both 39 years old and holding!!
Benno and I wish you a prosperous New Year. Look for some interesting write-up about 12 volt stuff on this blog in the next few days. Benno is putting together a series about batteries, chargers and charging. So stay tuned.
|SSCA Member
12/30/2011, Frazer Hog Cay, Bahamas
If we are staying in one spot for too long, we feel like we are growing roots there. This is now a reality with Diesel Duck, because her antifouling paint has pretty much stopped working what little there is left of it. So when the wind changed direction in Chub Cay and the weather forecast predicted southwest and then west winds with accompanying swell, we were motivated to revisit Frazer Hog Cay. That was a good choice for the clocking wind and once again we were sitting pretty snug. So given this opportunity, we took some more pictures of the presently closed Berry Island Club. There is a rumor that it will open again in 2012. Hopefully this will materialize as the following pictures show that the setting is really nice. But we would advise caution if you decide to take a mooring, especially if it appears to be an older one.
|SSCA Member
12/23/2011, Chub Cay, Bahamas
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
Instead of doing a mass mailing to our ever growing address book, we'd like to share our Christmas letter with you through our blog and hope everyone will be able to have access to internet service.
Benno and I have had a wonderful time this past year on Diesel Duck. Twelve months ago we arrived at the San Blas Islands of Panama where we got lost for half a year among the 360 islands. Amazingly, the days, weeks and months flew by while we explored the little palm covered islets, swam, snorkeled, fished, photographed, partied with cruising friends and bought Molas from the Kuna Indians. Sheryl and Paul Shard, Canadian friends of ours, visited us to film another episode for "Distant Shores" which is available on DVD and being aired on National Television. In the spring, I made a trip home to Canada to see our family and since the flight was from Panama City, it gave us another opportunity for some shopping in this great city. Because the San Blas Islands have very little to offer in terms of groceries, "stocking up" really meant if you didn't have it onboard, you had to do without it. At the end of May Diesel Duck spent a month at the Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, where we took delivery of a new diesel generator which Benno installed and hooked up while we were at the dock.
On June 6th, the great news reached us that we had become grandparents for the second time. Annaliese Lili joined her sister Heidi Elise and we are thrilled to have two cute, beautiful, healthy and smart granddaughters.
Summertime meant hurricane season and both of us longed to be in some cooler and drier climate for a while, out of the hurricane area. In no time at all, (you readers of our blog know that when Diesel Duck is on the move, she moves!) we were up in the Chesapeake Bay where we found a great, free of charge, mooring at the Weems Creek in Annapolis. Although by being there we had traded the great clean waters of the Atlantic for the brownish rivers, the charming town, great shopping opportunities for all our hearts desires and nice summer temperatures made up for it. And of course the fine people we met there and became friends with were all worth it. However, being all the way up north didn't get us away from the hurricanes after all. "Irene" made it up to where we were, but thank God, we only had some strong gusts during the night and only suffered "No Internet Connection" for a week afterwards because of downed power lines.
After the Annapolis boat show in October, Diesel Duck headed south again, taking advantage of all the good weather windows, which afforded us to hang around some anchorages ahead of schedule. We participated in the annual get together of the Seven Seas Cruising Association in Melbourne, Fl and afterwards headed for Ft. Lauderdale, one of our favorite cities, because so many marine oriented companies are located there and as all boaters know, there is always a need to buy more stuff!
For the last month of this year we decided to head over to the Bahamas to enjoy the clear water, do more swimming and snorkeling and spending Christmas and New Year here. My parents will be visiting us in January in Ft. Lauderdale, so Diesel Duck will be heading back to host them. Our cruising destinations for next year will include again the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
Have a great holiday and please keep the emails coming!
Marlene and Benno
P.S. Santa had to hold on tight because it's windy here in the Bahamas.
Our two lovely granddaughters
Memories of our snorkel adventures
|SSCA Member
12/20/2011, Berrie Islands, Bahamas
Hardly awake yet at 6:30 a. m. on Monday morning, we listened to Chris Parker's broadcast on SSB radio from his Marine Weather Center, where he provides a detailed weather report for the Bahamas and Florida Straits. He started his weather report by asking for any emergency or priority traffic. Usually there aren't any, but right then a station came in to ask Chris to make a phone call on behalf of Ken from the Canadian sailboat "Sail Away" to his family and report that the mooring he had been on had broken loose in the Frazer Hog Channel and the crew was unharmed, but the vessel was in trouble and aground on shore.
We were wide awake now. A few days ago we wrote about the uncomfortable chop we had experienced at that place and it was still blowing a good 20+ knots with higher gusts. There is no Sea Tow or Tow Boat US here on the island. There were three US flagged sailboats at the site swinging on mooring balls and that was it. We made the decision to lift our anchor right away and see if we could be of assistance. The going was wet and slow for the 5 nautical miles with the current against us. We registered 30 knots of wind at times. Finally we anchored right in front of the stricken vessel.
Ken, the owner, came over in his inflatable dinghy and we asked what we could do to help. He told us that sometime during the night at high tide; the mooring had broken loose and started drifting. Although he had deployed his Bruce anchor, with the strong gusts the boat grounded on its starboard side just a few feet from the rocky shoreline. He was lucky in a way that the boat was laying on a sandy bottom.
Benno offered to dive and snorkel around the boat to see if he could find a possible path to pull her off. The captains of the three other boats "Mutual Fun", "Kismet" and "It's About Time" were already in their dinghies and had helped to set additional anchors to stabilize the boat. Benno found that to starboard and port was sandy bottom and shallow, but straight ahead some 35 ft. the bottom deepened to 6 ft. and more. The "Rescue Team" as I call the four captains, did excellent teamwork and labored hard for the next 6 (SIX) hours it took to get "Sail Away" floating again. The two anchors were reset far ahead forward port + starboard in the deep water channel with Nylon lines which would act like rubber springs, when under tension to propel the boat forward once she got unstuck. Another anchor was set 45 degrees to port to steady the boat and another anchor was set far away to the starboard side and the line was tied to the jib and main halyard to crank the boat over.
Howard, the manager/caretaker of the closed Berry Island Club, who had just the day before collected the mooring fee from the four cruisers, had offered to try and pull the "Sail Away" off with his 225 hp driven "Mako" at the next high tide at 14:00 hours, but there was only going to be two feet of it. The tow line, 200 ft of yellow Polyethylene was provided from the people of "Our Way" who live on shore right at the mooring field. The originally plan to pull her straight out from the bow did not work, but when Howard pulled with the 225 hp on her halyards and cranked her way over to the starboard side, "Sail Away" came free while her skipper gunned her engine. At 15:00 hrs "Sail Away" floated on her own which put a big smile to the face of Ken, a fellow Canadian from Windsor, Ontario!
|SSCA Member
12/14/2011, Chub Cay, Bahamas
At midnight, on Tuesday a week ago, we left Miami and headed the 42 nm (nautical miles) over to Bimini in the Bahamas, where we arrived at 8 a.m. Check-in with Customs and Immigration was quick and easy and by 9:30 a.m. Diesel Duck started her 80 nm run toward Chub Cay in the Berry Islands over the Great Bahama Bank.
Starting Tuesday evening the wind blew from the NE at about 5 to 8 knots or less, which lasted throughout all day Wednesday into early Thursday morning. This was a so called weather window! So the trip was very pleasant with almost flat waves over the banks. Although the almost full moon helped, there was not much light coming from the Chub Cay Marina at 21:30 hr when we eased Diesel Duck toward shore where we dropped the hook in front of the cell tower at the S/W side of the island. After breakfast the next morning we relocated from the island, to the marked channel of Frazer's Hog Cay. We have been here before and like this place. Frazer is located on the southern tip of the Berry Islands and adjacent to Chub Cay. Frazer's has the natural advantage of a yacht harbor along its entire three mile S.E. shoreline, formed by Bird and Whale Cays with their inshore sand banks sheltering Frazer's from the prevailing easterly winds.
At Frazer's Hog Cay there is The Berry Island Club which is privately owned. The club/marina has 23 mooring balls and dockage plus lodging rooms with private baths for rent, a bar and restaurant, wifi, plus all the usual amenities. Except, the Club is presently closed and their webpage states that the Club is now under renovations (more info further down the story). A little past the mooring field we dropped the anchor but decided after a few minutes to move back down the channel and to anchor at a spot for more protection from the waves. We were the only boat there. Late in the evening Diesel Duck turned around with the tide and now sat broadside to the wind which started to blow at 20 kt from the N.E. with a swell coming in from the south. This made for a noisy, slapping, rolling motion which we escaped by lifting our anchor early the next morning and moving back down the island to the bay at Chub Cay in front of the marina and resort where it was totally calm.
Chub Cay Marina and resort is also privately owned, but the developers of this $250 million Bahamian based resort development are in receivership and Scotiabank (Bahamas) is holding it now. It is a pity, because when we came through here in 2005 and 2006, the marina was under construction and closed, we were not able to see it. Now there is an unfinished development, half finished 20,000 sq ft manor style club house with an infinity pool and Tiki bar next to a marina village resembling a loyalist Bahamian settlement with about 30 partially finished beachfront homes. The marina has 110 floating docks in size from 40 to 70 feet and is open for business at a reduced rate of $2.75/ft. Visiting yachts can clear customs here if they agree to purchase fuel for a minimum of $100 at a rate of $6.05/gal. or pay a $100 fee in addition to the Customs fee. However, the place looks deserted and abandoned except for the skeleton crew of employees.
The bay here in Chub Cay is nicely sheltered and is being enjoyed also by a few other cruisers. So over drinks, André, the skipper of "Images 1" a C&C Landfall sailboat from Quebec, Canada, filled us in on the story what happened at "The Berry Island Club" at Frazer Hog Cay. At the last week in May of this year he stopped at the Berry Island Club while on his way up to the States. He took a mooring and headed to shore in his dinghy to pay the fee. But he was told to keep his money because the club would be closed and the manager was gone and in the previous week the club had been raided by the Nassau Police, apparently the cook had been fishing square groupers and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) got wind about it and notified Nassau Police. A couple of days later, two guys were standing on the fuel dock waving their arms off, trying to get the attention of the crews on the moored boats. Finally, when the first dinghy got there, these two guys introduced themselves as U.S. Marshalls. "We are here to close the place down, but the problem is, the bar is still fully stocked and we cannot take the booze on the plane and we cannot leave the booze here for the Bahamians." They said. "The solution is to poor the stuff into the ocean or you guys from the boats come this evening and we all have a big f..king party." The boaters didn't have to be told twice and the news spread like wildfire to the American and Canadian moored yachts, with everyone showing up for the "Get rid of the booze party!" Putting plenty effort in reducing the inventory, they emptied the bottles into a big bowl and it became the ultimate punch. By late evening while the wind was blowing strongly, the Marshalls wouldn't let the boaters get into their dinghies for fear that they would not make it back to their boats in their present state, so everyone stayed over at the lodging and slept at the guest rooms. This was another fine example of Canadian and American boaters working together to solve difficult problems!!!
This is André from "Images 1" who even now cannot quite remember how many bottles of booze where consumed that night in May at the Berry Island Club and he is still working on the hangover!
a view of the docks from the Berry Island Club
|SSCA Member
12/06/2011, Miami Beach, Florida
We are using Miami Beach as a jump off point this time to head over to the Bahamas. Miami Beach is also a delightful place. So for the cruisers, who have not had a chance to come down here for a visit, following is a little description. We are anchored southeast of the Venetian Causeway Bridge, opposite Monument Island. There is lots of swinging room for many boats with excellent holding ground.
Just a short dinghy ride underneath the bridge past the Collins Canal is a launching ramp and a free dinghy dock with a tap and water hose from the city. The Miami Beach Marine Police Station is overlooking the dinghy dock and a Police powerboat is stored in the lifts. The City of Miami Beach supplies Wifi free of charge everywhere with a strong signal in the anchorage.
About 100 yards east of the dinghy dock in walking distance is the recently opened "The Fresh Market", which is an upscale deli/supermarket chain that is a delight for the gourmet. Also a Publix Supermarket is located just on the next street over which can also be reached directly by dinghy up Collins Canal. However, there is no dinghy dock at the canal and a drop off/pick up might be a better solution. Beside the lovely eateries in this area, there is a Chevron gas station to fill your jerry cans with dinghy gas, an Office Depot and a hardware store.
You can rent canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and sea doos. Right across from the dinghy dock you might rent a bicycle from the city if you are too tired to walk, but there is also an excellent city bus transit system to take you into town.
|SSCA Member
11/30/2011, Miami Beach, Florida
Actually there is nothing wrong with this picture. This is just a true expert, a real pro on a jet ski doing his workout and getting rid of some steam, performing side flips and even double saltos. Diesel Duck relocated today from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach. Looks like people on the water are just as crazy here as they were in Ft. Lauderdale.
|SSCA Member
11/18/2011, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Wow, we are sitting here in the anchorage of Lake Sylvia in Ft. Lauderdale. It is a little windy, about 15 - 20 knots and as I am looking out of the window I can't believe what I am seeing:
There is a guy flying around the anchored boats on a water-pressure-powered "JetLev-flyer R200" It is a new water toy that lets you go up to an altitude of 50 feet at 40 mph and you can fly as far as 128 miles. The flyer is powered by a 4 stroke power plant which trails behind.
You got to check out the You Tube for a demonstration. A fantastic toy you can have for only $128,000.
|SSCA Member
11/18/2011, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
If you've ever traveled on the ICW, you can relate to the nuisance of the draw bridges. Of course that's also true for the road traffic which is being interrupted by the opening schedules of the bridges on busy waterways, which they might see this as a nuisance. Yesterday, we woke to thick fog in the Lake Worth anchorage of West Palm Beach, but since we were going to clean our dinghy's bottom before leaving, the fog didn't bother us. By the time we were done with our chores, the fog had lifted and we decided to move on with no plans of where we would stop for the night. Kind of ad lib.
Had we both paid any attention to the charts and guide books that provide details of the fixed and the draw bridges, we probably would have gone out through the inlet to do a run outside on the Atlantic. As it was, the first bridge, "Flagler Memorial Bridge" after leaving our Lake Worth anchorage, opens only quarter to and quarter after the hour and we got there just as the bridge closed. Bad timing on our part and there was a strong tidal current, making the waiting for the next opening difficult.
The bridge tenders like to be called ahead of time by VHF radio of your intention to pass. But they do not like to be called too soon, just about 5 min. before, and they also like to have a visual on you. From the time the bridge stops traffic until the spans are fully open it usually takes 3 to 5 min. So if the next bridge, which might be two miles further ahead, is scheduled to open on the hour and half hour, you can guess that for most cruising boats it's a mad dash to try and make the opening. A call to the bridge tender to hold the bridge if you trail other, faster boats, will seldom be met with kindness.
To make a long, busy, and demanding day into a short posting, we managed 20!! bridges by gunning our engine numerous times, sometimes up to 8 ½ knots and giving her a hell of a workout she had not seen in years, until we dropped the hook in Fort Lauderdale. But the scenery was beautiful in-between bridges with super yachts and mansions lining the ICW and their perfectly maintained properties.
20 years ago a big boat on the ICW was a 50 foot Hatteras. Nowadays the boats you see look like mini cruise ships just like this yacht tied up on the ICW.
|SSCA Member
11/17/2011, West Palm Beach
Has the owner of this catamaran picked the right name for her, we wondered?
On Wednesday morning we woke up in the anchorage of West Palm Beach to discover that the catamaran anchored in front of us seemed to be sinking. The starboard hull was much lower than the port side hull and there were no signs of anyone on board. Benno called the Coast Guard on VHF channel 16. Their response was immediately and after shifting to a working channel, Benno explained the situation and gave them our telephone number. The duty officer called back from a landline for some more details and the exact GPS position.
It took the Coast Guard "Small Boat" only about five minutes to arrive at the catamaran and we heard them giving a report that the vessel was indeed going down. But also, that the officer had been in contact with the owner just the previous day by phone and apparently this catamaran seemed to have been in trouble before as the citation fastened to the bimini top suggested.
So the contacted (stressed) owner, with his two dogs, who lived in Hollywood, Florida, which is south of Ft. Lauderdale, had to fight rush hour traffic and rush with a gasoline driven pump to the rescue of his "Stress Relief" boat!
|SSCA Member
11/17/2011, Melbourne, Florida
Last weekend the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) Gam in Melbourne, Florida was in full swing. We've been members for a long time and are now holding the status of Lifetime Commodores (25+ years). It's a great cruising club of likeminded boaters. (click here for SSCA website) This year, while we traveled from our way back from the northern part of the USA, we timed it so that we would be passing through at the time of the annual general meeting and social activities. It started on Friday and ran until mid day Sunday at the Eau Gallie Civic Center. In the gymnasium there were tables for vendors of nautical stuff, just like a boat show and two large conference rooms were set aside for seminars.
What a surprise to find Jesse James, the Maxi Taxi driver, who we knew from our visit to Trinidad behind the table of the Chaguaramas Development Authority, promoting tourism for Trinidad.
Benno is hosting the "Round Table Discussion" for the areas of Venezuela and Panama.
|SSCA Member
11/11/2011, Melbourne, Florida
Meet David and Georgia Katz. David took "Seaducktress" a 44' Diesel Duck, from East Asia all the way to Australia and then from Australia, via Hawaii to continental USA and up to Alaska and down. As you can read, Diesel Duck trollers do get around! We met up with the Katz's here in Melbourne, Florida, where they live and where David attends to his antique car collection which includes a Ford Model T Fire Engine among many other beauties. He could start an automobile museum, in fact, the place is already a showcase.
Picture of Seaducktress courtesy of George Buehler
Of course we talked about boats, especially Diesel Ducks, while the Katz's treated us to a fabulous curry shrimp dinner at their spacious home, which overlooks the ICW with our DD anchored right in front. Thank you both, we've had a great time with you and hope to meet up again.
|SSCA Member
10/30/2011, Melbourne, Florida
Diesel Duck is parked (anchored in 8 ft) on the southeast side of the Melbourne (Florida) Causeway Bridge, protected from the North and Northeast hooley, which is blowing down the Intracoastal Waterway at 20+ knots. There are always chores to do, but today, Sunday, we decided to give it a rest. Yesterday I had made a large casserole dish of lasagna al Forno, so today and tomorrow it will be lasagna time and no cooking on my part is required. Therefore I snuggled up with a book that is with our Reader. This might not be a new thing to you, but electronic books have been creeping on board of cruising boats in the last few years. These days you will find a Kindle, a Sony Reader, a Nook, or the all famous I-Pad on almost every other boat. Yeah, there are still paperbacks being traded in cruiser hangouts, but some of these paperbacks look really bad and you wouldn't want to pick one up in fear of picking up a disease, or the selection is so limited that you already know most of them. We purchased a Sony Reader early last year after the holiday rush and have made good use of it. While cruising anywhere in USA waters or the Virgin Islands area that provide cell phone coverage, we can access the library of the Sony Reader free of charge to download a new book with the Reader device, or use our laptop computer, if we have Wifi access anywhere or in any country, to download a book from the Sony Reader Store and then transfer it to the Reader device via a USB cable. It is a terrific thing because before we bought the Reader while we traveled in foreign countries, we often ran out of reading material. There were no stores to purchase a novel in English and when we found stores that carried some, the selection was very poor and the books were expensive. I remember one time in Ushuaia, Argentina a paperback was priced 22 dollars. Now we can read what we want anywhere. An added benefit is also the light weight and slim format versus holding a book in your hands that is two inches thick. Benno is reading at the moment the complete and uncut novel from Steven King "The Stand", that has 1448 pages in tiny print (which you can enlarge if you want on the Reader.) A reader can hold more than 1000 of these books in its memory and takes no room away, think about of the space you save on a boat.
The evening view from our anchorage over to the Melbourne Causeway Bridge
|SSCA Member
10/25/2011, Titusville, Florida
The ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) from Norfolk, Virginia to South Florida is a very beautiful part of the USA. There is so much to see and so much history to discover. Diesel Duck went down the ICW all the way to Charleston, South Carolina and anchored just off the famous Fort Sumter. click for link to Fort Sumter On Saturday, Oct. 22, in the early morning, we ventured out to sea into the Atlantic Ocean to run with the very light wind and small waves south for 29 hours to St. Augustine, Florida before going back inside into to the ICW.
While being out at sea, there is really not much to do except keeping watch for other vessels. Our autopilot steers the boat and we keep an eye on the instruments and change or plot a course if needed. So while I read my e book on a Sony reader sitting in the wheelhouse, I noticed a couple of little birds flying around our boat. These were not the type of birds that live off the sea. They looked windblown and disheveled. After trying to sit on the ropes, the dinghy and various other places, these little things started to fly up to every window and port light, looking in. I thought that was funny and kept reading my book. But to my surprise, all of a sudden we had two fluttering, chirping birdies inspecting the inside of Diesel Duck. They had managed to squeeze through the front starboard window unnoticed. I opened the door and the overhead hatches to give them a chance to fly back out. Benno shooed one of them out of the aft cabin and I went below to start preparing a couple of cordon bleu for supper. After eating our delicious meal we both made a thorough inspection to make sure the birds were gone and then we closed up the boat. I guess there are more little hiding spots onboard than we know of, because the next morning we discovered two happy, well rested, blind passengers that wanted to fly out toward shore. Later on we discovered another bird of the same variety which had crawled up underneath one of our outside propane storage tanks and the night was a very cold one. It was dead. Oh, we felt so sorry!
Dolphins love to play in the bow wave of traveling boats. They are fast swimmers and we never grow tired of watching them. There are dolphins also fishing in the ICW, but these guys were out in the Atlantic on Sunday morning.
Look at this dual dwelling. A beautiful house on the ICW's Adam Creek Canal. One owner has a John Deere tractor to do his small lawn and the other owner got himself a bigger Kubota Diesel tractor to do his side of the lawn. Or is this his and hers?
Now is this not a beautifully painted hot pink house? Bet you it belongs to an award winning Mary Kay saleslady and there is probably a pink Cadillac parked out front.
This little red boat's name was called "Toot Toot" and I thought it was cute.
A nice young couple in this little trawler waved to us while we passed them and we think they probably built her. A very nice looking boat.
A boathouse on the ICW advertising services, restaurants, B&B and displaying a big fish head.
Many bridges span the ICW. The newer high-rise fixed constructed ones, like this one are a relief, because we just pass underneath. Usually, they are 65 feet high in the middle.
However, there are still very many of the old type bascule bridges that have not enough clearance for us. We have to call the bridge tender on VHF channel 9 and request an opening. But if these bridges are on major highways or well traveled streets, they are restricted, which means they only open at certain times and we have to time our arrival and pass accordingly, or have to wait in front, announcing our intend to pass at the next opening. (Sometimes there is a stickler up there and if you arrive a couple minutes after the set time, he makes you wait another 30 minutes or a whole hour!)
|SSCA Member
Moving south from Annapolis, our anchor came down for the night at Wicomico Creek, just south of the mighty Potomac River, which goes up to Washington from the Chesapeake. Next stop: Willoughby Bay, Benno's favored place because of all the activity across the bay with tons of Navy helicopters coming and going. If you anchor between Willoughby Bay Marina and the green marker "WR 13" you'll be able to access the Wifi signal of the interstate hotspot from the nearby Rte. 64 with a good amplified Wifi antenna like ours, the "wirie" Click here for the Wirie
While Benno's binoculars are glued to his eyes following the Navy's activities, I take a trip to the Walmart Super Center and K-Mart. You get there by walking from the public launching ramp, where you can leave your dinghy, through the underpass of Rte. 64 to Ocean View Ave. (less than a 1/4 of a mile) The No. 5 bus runs along there and takes you right to the shopping center.
The stretch from Willoughby Bay down to Norfolk and further is my husband's delight. His head was going like a submarine periscope watching all the military floating hardware along the "Navy Alley" Aircraft Carriers, more than just one, Destroyers galore including the famous "Cole"
click here for background info on the Cole
In downtown Norfolk, across the Hospital Point, the famous Battleship "Wisconsin" is docked for public display. Click here for background on the Wisconsin
After we locked through the Great Bridge lock, we spotted a squadron of "Riverine" SOC-R boats (Special Operation Craft River) of the Navy Click here for background info on the Riverine
These special forces training on the Virginia Cut Route and the Dismal Swamp Route of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). What they do is classified, so don't ask.
At the time of this writing, DD is under anchor in front of Currituck on the Currituck Sound in 9 feet of water and picking up Wifi from the town to post this report. We are avoiding the announced 20 knots+ S/W winds for the next two days.
|SSCA Member
10/10/2011, Chesapeake, MD
What more could we ask for? Perfect Diesel Duck weather to head south. Here we are passing the famos Thomas Point Lighthouse off Annapolis, sitting on the Thomas Point shoal in the Chesapeake Bay. After some delightful months in Maryland we dropped the mooring in Annapolis. Diesel Duck is heading out again toward sunny Florida and beyond.
|SSCA Member
10/09/2011, Annapolis, MD
I am not doing coffee here to support the troops. Benno drained more than 2 gallons of diesel fuel out of the huge double barrel Racors. Black, yucky stuff! In the picture you see me filtering the diesel through a Melitta #4 filter. What filtered out looked like clean Ocean Spray Cranberry juice. Hey, with a diesel price of close to $ 4.00/gal this was over 8 bucks saved!
|SSCA Member
10/09/2011, Annapolis, MD
The year 1999, when I was building the diesel fuel polishing system for our boat, a Teflon joint compound from Permatex for NPT pipe joints was the hottest ticket on the market, apparently good for everything including water and gasoline or diesel fuel. It was so easy to use, a real blessing for a pipe fitter. I used it too. It speeded up the job so nicely on the two diesel filter panels I was building for our Diesel Duck under construction back then. When we launched the Duck in May of 2005 and I pumped for the first time diesel fuel through these panels it all looked so good and that it gave me a happy feeling. Two years later, in 2007, when the first pipe joint started to weep diesel fuel, my happy feeling was getting a punch. From that time on the happy feeling received countless punches as every pipe joint started to weep and leaking and it almost turned into a flood of diesel fuel. It needed some serious fixing done.
Here in Annapolis, having access to all kinds of stuff from finest bread to good wine and all the tools a man can dream of at the building centers like "Lowe's" or "Home Depot" I was thinking of using the idle times of the few months weathering out the hurricane season here on a mooring on Weems Creek to fix this problem. I learned quickly the cure would be unscrewing every pipe joint, cleaning the thread and using yellow Teflon tape, also called yellow gas line PTFE tape to seal the joint. Hunting down this tape became a challenge. Sure, I could buy a tape at the Home Depot, but it was a no name product not showing a ULC approval number or CSA number. It was some cheap China tape. I had enough problems and did not need a future new pain in the ass. I found the real Made in USA yellow Teflon tape with all the approval numbers for professionals at "Fastenal Company" here in town.
Diesel Duck's galley became a workshop for a short time. I drained all the diesel out of these filter panels and removed the panels one at a time for the rebuild job. We salvaged the diesel, a good 2-1/2 gallons and Marlene cleaned the fuel while running the diesel through a coffee filter. It was black diesel, but it came out clean like a whistle. For cleaning the male pipe thread I gently used the wire brush wheel on an electric 6" wheel grinder. To clean the female thread I used the proper ½ inch NPT tap, in another case it was a ¼ inch NPT tap. I applied the minimum 3 wraps required for the yellow gas line PTFE tape (Teflon tape) on the male pipe threads and assembled everything.
After installing new filter cartridges, the panel got primed with the cleaned, recycled diesel fuel and put back in service. Time will tell and I keep my fingers crossed and hope the pipe joints will stay dry from now on!!
|SSCA Member
10/08/2011, Annapolis, MD
I could not think of a better way to end our stay in Annapolis than to attend the annual Sailboat Show. Under a blue sky with brilliant sunshine that warmed the day to the upper 70th F. Benno and I mingled with thousands of boat minded enthusiasts. Looking at products we already have onboard we got the chance to talk to the experts attending the booths and found our chats very informative. The highlight of the day was when our friends, Kathy and her husband Darius, from the s/v "Breeze Hunter" out of Whitby, Ontario, where our boat was built, spotted us. They drove up from Deltaville, where their boat is at the present time. A big hello ensured with a promise to meet up again down south.
For the last time we waded into the Weems Creek to board our dinghy for the return trip to our boat. Meanwhile the Navy was training on their eights through the anchorage, bringing back memories of my youth when I participated in this sport.
|SSCA Member
09/30/2011, Annapolis, MD
Meet Ruth and Randal Johnson who came for a visit onboard "Diesel Duck." Ruth and Randal own a 46+2 (51' LOA) Diesel Duck called: "Dora Mac" click for Dora Mac's web site which was built out of steel at Seahorse Marine Manufacturer in Zhuhai, China, unlike our "Diesel Duck", which is constructed out of aluminum, built in Canada. "Dora Mac" is a big sister ship, but very different below and on deck, however, they are both from the same designer, George Buehler.
Ruth and Randal are in their 4th year of cruising and presently, "Dora Mac" is berthed at the Karpaz Gate Marina, North Cyprus. When I read in their blog that they would be coming home for a few months to Roanoke, Virginia, we invited them to come and see us while we were still in Annapolis, Maryland. And they did. The day flew by with great conversations of interesting topics in between me cooking a hot lunch and dessert to treat our guests. We are looking forward to seeing them again, perhaps.
|SSCA Member
09/13/2011, Annapolis, MD
I couldn't believe my eyes, but our Diesel Duck picture made it onto the back jacket of George Buehler's "The Troller Yacht Book" 2nd Edition. Wow. Inside, there are more pictures of our duck and of course of other Diesel Ducks in various sizes including nice stories written by their owners.
This book gives detailed information about choosing a design, engines, systems, outfitting and how to get a shipyard bid, among other useful ideas written in George Buehler's "lively and engagingly eccentric style." A must read for anybody thinking about ocean cruising under power and worth reading even if you still think you want a sailboat!
To order and other information, please click here
|SSCA Member
09/09/2011, Annapolis, MD
Oh man, when it rains it pours! I did not want to be the "bad news queen" again. Benno just finished fixing the 120 VAC panel, when our freezer went on the fritz. I noticed with horror that the gauge indicated that the temperature inside the freezer had gone up, up and up, right thru the roof, very close to above freezing, although the two LED lights indicated that the compressor was charging. But it was not! Now I had to announce the bad news very diplomatically to my husband. This new dilemma did present a challenge for me and for him to fix the problem. My mind was already racing what to do about all the frozen goods that were now slowly defrosting.
After some probing and checking this and that Benno jumped the digital controller. Voila, the compressor came to live purring like a cat. It wasn't the sensor in the freezer, the actual temperature was still displayed at the readout. This meant that the problem was somewhere in the $350 digital controller and not with the compressor. After closely looking at the controller he noticed the unit had piggyback a small Potter & Brumfield relay, which turned out to be the culprit. An electronic supplier in Gaffney, SC had this relay in stock for $8.86 plus shipping. What a relief!
So now you think I managed to save all the frozen ice cream? Not! We both had to be rewarded for the stress.
|SSCA Member
08/31/2011, Annapolis, MD
Once upon a time you smell smoke. We don't smoke, it wasn't a barbecue and it wasn't our neighbor grilling brats. "It must be coming from the outside, someone burning trash," I said. But no, "There is smoke coming out of the batteries," Marlene declared. "Oooh yeah" Missis bad news. Close enough, the smoke walled out of the lid underneath our 120V AC wall with the generator control panel, the two 120VAC distributor panels and the inverter control panel.
Hastily I switched everything off and started to nose around.
First, the top panel of the generator control came off. It was fine. Then I moved on to the larger panel in the middle. It was NOT fine. Actually, it looked bad, really bad. Cooked wires, cooked 30 Amp main breaker. What had caused this mess? It didn't take me long to find a bad crimp on a ring terminal, the one on the a black 10 AWG wire, which runs from the main breaker through a pickup coil to the main bus. Originally the panel came prewired and the bad crimp took 6 years to almost start a fire. Was it a Monday morning crimp?
Funny, Marlene is thinking this happend now with the new generator installed. She has a good point there.
The old 1 cyl. diesel gen set labored heavily and slowed down when we were using more than 18 Amp. The panel harbored already the bad crimp, but the bad crimp still managed to provide 18 Amp. Now, with the new 3 cyl. Northern Light diesel generator installed, which easily manages 30 Amp, we used sometimes the electric on demand water heater. This one drew 18 Amp when going and on top of this the watermaker was running, which drew another 12 Amp. Do your math, this is equals 30 Amp. So this bad crimp got overloaded and heated up to the point where it started to smolder.
Naturally I replaced everything new, the ring terminals, the double 30 Amp breaker and the wires. For crimping I used an onboard professional crimping tool.
|SSCA Member
Photo of the installation.
|SSCA Member
Here you can see the bad crimp which started to smolder.
|SSCA Member


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We asked Greg to sit down with us to discuss the Roxbury Motel, and the role lighting plays in the lodging experience.
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Tags: lodging, hospitality, interview, LED, CFL, green lighting, unique lighting, energy efficient, tips
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Students explore how volcanoes are formed through examining plate boundaries and hot spots.
A list of student-submitted discussion questions for Volcano Characteristics.
To build and enhance understanding of the relationships between key words and to practice useful skills for designing information architecture using the Card Sort strategy.
To distinguish between general academic words and words that are specific to science using Academic vs. Content Vocabulary.
Students will look at live webcams of volcanoes around the world, picking a few to research in further depth.
Illustrated mind map for Volcano Characteristics.
This study guide summarizes the key points of Volcano Characteristics. You can download and customize it to suit your needs and study habits.
These flashcards help you study important terms and vocabulary from Volcano Characteristics.


text:
Win A Trip To Goofy Vs. Regular '06!
Posted By etnies in Skate, Skip To The Comments (30)
Jun 9 2006 / Friday
Sheck wants you there!
etnies and Journeys will be flying one lucky winner and a guest to Orange County, California, for an action-packed weekend at the annual etnies Goofy vs. Regular Contest and etnies 20th Anniversary grand finale celebration! This is the tie-breaking year you don't want to miss. Goofy and Regular have evened the score at one win each so the stakes are high! And what's more is that we want you to celebrate our 20th anniversary with us at our private VIP bash! What are you waiting for? Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Enter now!


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This is from PecPrep V1.84 and a PHD log file from Sept 24th, corrected for DEC. I was imaging M33, guiding with a Lodestar/Borg 50mm/250mm combo. Main scope was a Borg 125SD.
This PecPrep isn't cherry-picked, I have tons of them like this, some better, some a little worse.
Hope someone on the fence for a splendid little 10 pound mount finds this interesting, and helpful.
Clear skies,


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Aug 13
The Glen Race Recap - GEICO Ford Fusion
Posted by: lori on Aug 13, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
Watkins Glen, NY (August 12, 2012) – This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series traveled to the Finger Lakes region of New York for the series' second road course race of the 2012 season. After an earlier 15th place finish at Sonoma in June, Casey Mears and the GEICO team looked to continue the success with their road course program.
Practice proved uneventful for the Germain Racing team, as Mears ended the first session in the 21st position, while the final practice saw him in 31st. Qualifying also provided little hope when Mears landed 30th on the starting grid after negotiating the rights and lefts of Watkins Glen International in a racecar that felt off balance.
When race day arrived, crew chief Bootie Barker and his staff had a plan that developed after long hours in the hotel lobby during the previous evening. And they would need one, given their #13 GEICO Ford Fusion would be starting the 90-lap event from the 30th position. Mears kept it light during pre-race and appeared confident in his team.
The green flag set the field underway amid cloudy skies and cooling temperatures. Mears and the #13 GEICO Fusion made quick progress on the 2.45-mile road course and picked up five positions by the close of lap 12. He said to Barker, "I'm really loose everywhere." However unsettled he may have felt in the car didn't reconcile with his ascent up the leaderboard, as he reached 17th before the first caution of the day slowed the field on lap 25. Mears brought his GEICO machine to the attention of the Germain Racing pit crew who quickly provided him with four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
Mears and the #13 GEICO Fusion would restart the race from the 17th position; 13 spots higher than where he began the race just 30 laps prior. He worked his way up to 11th by lap 57, and then quickly broke into the top 10 and ran 8th before Denny Hamlin brought out the caution on lap 58.
As the race began to wind down, Mears and his #13 GEICO Fusion had solidified their position in the top 20 before hustling to a 16th place finish. His effort accounts for the team's sixth top 20 finish of the 2012 season. Also, Mears inches ever closer to the top 25 and now rests just 17 points removed from Kurt Busch, who currently occupies the 25th position.
"We had a decent day today and I'm proud of the guys on this GEICO team for working hard to get the car figured out, and they also did a great job getting me off of pit road," Mears said. "It was kind of fun driving the #13 GEICO Fusion from the back to the front and I'm glad we were able to get a good finish and make up ground in the points, also."
To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.caseymearsracing.com
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing
Please visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing
Contact: Doug Barnette, Player Management International
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Removing Side Moldings On 1971 Dodge Satellite - Shaved CleanWritten by on July 1, 2009 We Show You How To Remove The Body Side Moldings For A Clean, Sleek Look.
Some items just don't belong on a serious muscle car, and in fact it is these very same items that differentiate factory "muscle" from their more mundane "grandma" counterparts. It's no secret that the very same body line was used by the manufacturer for a wide range of model series, and it is often simply the way the vehicle is trimmed-out that denotes whether a particular machine was intended for performance. Our Satellite shares the exact body platform as the heroic Road Runner, but being a Satellite (Sebring) it left the factory sans the tell-tale performance cues such as a ralley instrument cluster, blacked-out grille, hood pins, strobe stripe, sport hood, etc. Instead, our plain Satellite came with the basic dress, and was wearing perhaps the biggest tell-tail of them all--the body side molding.
Functionally, these thin impact strips offered protection from parking lot door dings that practical buyers found irresistible, and many a grandma would nary consider a vehicle unless so equipped. Performance buyers, however, put clean, uninterrupted body lines at a higher priority, and were more than ready to forego those useful protective moldings for a sleek and smooth profile. Being of that basic mindset, we were more than a little eager to remove the offending trim to give our machine a more performance-orientated silhouette.
Unfortunately, unlike vehicles manufactured in recent years where a variety of obtuse moldings are simply bonded or taped to the vehicle's skin, back in the era of real metal, automakers seemed intent on the generous use of mechanical fasteners. In detaching the trim, an enthusiast will find all manner of studs, rivets, posts, clips, and/or screws retaining these types of moldings. While the variety of factory fasteners runs the gamut of a wide range of engineering theories, a common theme seems to be that whatever was used needed to be securely through-bolted to the panel. Naturally, such an arrangement complicates the removal of these protuberances, with the necessity of filling holes. There are a number of acceptable methods of filling trim holes, but MIG welding is generally accepted today as the best technique, while simply burying the hole with bondo is typically the lowest-rated repair.
Our Satellite moldings were retained with rivets, which makes for a fairly simple trim removal process of simply drilling out the rivets. The remaining holes were fairly diminutive as trim holes go, requiring a quick zap of the MIG to be filled permanently and invisibly. We tackled the trim removal as a weekend project, and as we are well away from out ultimate goal of a complete re-paint, we finished the job with a protective coat of black epoxy primer. Even as it stands, our multi-colored Mopar project suits our aesthetic far better with the moldings removed.
More Photos From This Article View Slideshow
We cannot say for certain whether this molding was OEM, early aftermarket, or dealer installed, but it did look original to the car. Removing the vinyl rub strip revealed the attachment method here consists of standard rivets.We used a drill bit substantially larger than the rivet to drill through the rivet head. Drill until the head drops off and stop at that point.The retaining rivets were still tight to the molding, so a gently prying effect was applied with a metal putty knife. A ridged screwdriver or prybar is more likely to distort the vulnerable sheetmetal.Once the molding extrusion was removed, we still had the remainder of the rivets tightly clinging to the panels. Avoid the temptation to grab the hammer and punch, but rather just drill the stubs out with a drill bit slightly smaller than the rivet diameter.In preparation for welding, the area immediately surrounding the holes were buffed to the bare metal with a 3M Clean & Strip Wheel.The next step was welding the rivet holes. These small holes were easily handled with 0.023-diameter mild steel MIG wire.Here we can see the end result of the welding and grinding. If the car body was stripped to the bare metal it would be impossible to see the former holes.
A light skim coat of filler was applied to each spot, mainly to bring the surface up to the level of the existing layers of paint.A light sanding with an air-powered D/A sander was adequate to sufficiently finish the filler to the quality level we were after for a primer coat.


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Jungle Cologne
By Kenzo for Men
Jungle Cologne by Kenzo, Junge was introduced in 1996 by the design house of kenzo . This sharp, casual scent possesses a blend of oriental musk with undertones of woodsy notes. Jungle is perfect for the casual, everyday wear. All products are original, authentic name brands. We do not sell knockoffs or imitations. ... Read More
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3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray
Item #414557
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About Kenzo
History and background of Kenzo. Kenzo has always worked towards a multicultural world, a world of colors and beauty, with nature as a vibrant, inexhaustible source of inspiration. Read more about Kenzo
More Kenzo fragrancesfor Women: Kenzo Flower , Kenzo Jungle Elephant , L'eau Par Kenzo , Kenzo Amour , Parfum D'ete , more
for Men: Kenzo , L'eau Par Kenzo , Kenzo Homme Boisee (woody) , Kenzoair , L'eau Par Kenzo Intense , more
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Thanks for carrying such a great selection.
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REVIEW SNAPSHOT®by PowerReviews
- Great smell (8)
- Long-lasting (5)
- Great value (4)
- Clean & fresh (3)
- Draws compliments (3)
Best Uses
- Anytime (4)
- Daily use (4)
- Evening (3)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Adventurous style (3), Natural style (3)
- Fragrance Type:
- Oriental/spicy (6), Woody/earthy (5)
Most Liked Positive Review
One of my favourite fragrances. It lasts and lasts, without overpowering at the onset and is pretty rare, so you don't smell like everyone else. It warms down to a lovely musky smell...Read complete review
One of my favourite fragrances. It lasts and lasts, without overpowering at the onset and is pretty rare, so you don't smell like everyone else. It warms down to a lovely musky smell that lingers, so is great for those days when you go out straight from work - you don't need to take it with you to 'top up'. Lot's of people comment on this fragrance and say they know when I've been in a room as the great smell is always present after I leave. One friend even said she knew I'd beaten her into the office because she picked up a hint of it in the air as she passed through our extremely busy local subway station!
Most Liked Negative Review
Fast Shipping, and an amazing Product
An amazing
An amazing
Reviewed by 12 customers
Displaying reviews 1-5
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Comments about Kenzo Jungle Cologne:
An amazing
- Clean & Fresh
- Draws Compliments
- Great Smell
- Long-Lasting
- Too Expensive
Best Uses
- Anytime
Comments about Kenzo Jungle Cologne:
A great citrus/woody blend that really lasts. It smells modern but is distinguished enough to appeal to a wide range of age groups. A great blind buy.
- Fragrance Type:
- Citrus/Fruity, Woody/Earthy
- Clean & Fresh
- Great Smell
- Great Value
- Long-Lasting
- Not Overpowering
Best Uses
- Daily Use
- Evening Use
Comments about Kenzo Jungle Cologne:
Used since several years, never been disappointed.
- Fragrance Type:
- Oriental/Spicy, Woody/Earthy
- Draws Compliments
- Great Smell
- Great Value
- Long-Lasting
- Not Overpowering
- Sexy
Best Uses
- Evening Use
- Signature Fragrance
Comments about Jungle Cologne:
Nice for evening wear or to make that statement around the office. I get a few unexpected head turns when I'm wearing this fragrance.
- Fragrance Type:
- Oriental/Spicy
- Great Smell
Best Uses
- Anytime
Comments about Jungle Cologne:
My perfume for about 10 years now.
Never found anything better to replace it up to now. I am very pleased with it.
Declaration by Cartier seems to be the same style of fragrance, I've tested it too. But I like Kenzo Jungle a little more.
- Fragrance Type:
- Oriental/Spicy, Woody/Earthy
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Get the card that lets you download Arcade games, extra content for your favorite games, movies and TV shows, and lots more from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace.
The 3000-Microsoft® Points Card is your ticket to a vast world of entertainment. Redeem your points through the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace to crank your favorite games up a notch with add-ons like new characters, levels and more. You can also download HD movies or TV shows for an instant movie night or pick up and play arcade games the whole family will love.


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Virtual Student Center
CMU-SV welcomes students from many different backgrounds, making this a wonderfully diverse and interesting environment. It's important to us to accommodate the specific needs of busy graduate students with varying schedules and commitments so you can get the most out of your Carnegie Mellon experience. Many services are provided by staff on campus, while others are coordinated through the College of Engineering and other offices at the main campus in Pittsburgh.
Quick References
- Food & Dining — where to eat around campus
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- Transportation — public transit and info for getting around Silicon Valley
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Events & Celebrations
Find us on Facebook to see photos from campus activities!
Student Affairs
The Office of Student Affairs at the Silicon Valley campus helps manage enrollment and course registration, student accounts, academic support, international student services, student life and extracurricular activities. We want to ensure your academic success and smooth transition to life as a student and to life in the Silicon Valley area. Learn more about services and resources
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Career Services
Carnegie Mellon and Silicon Valley are two very powerful networks, and we want to help you harness the power of both of them to find your path after graduation. Advising appointments are available to review for resumes, cover letters, job/internship searches, interviewing or offer negotiations. More on career and professional resources
Social Connections
These aren't just great places to connect with CMU-SV online; they're our neighbors in Silicon Valley and great places to work, too!


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'Appalachia to Atchafalaya' by canoe
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Earlier this week, Ned Savage and Clark Chapman stood along the banks of the Kanawha River, near the state Capitol. The next time they see the same area, it might be from the middle of the river.
In about a week, Savage and Chapman will begin a 2,200-mile canoe trip at the beginnings of the New River near Boone, N.C. They'll head north to where the New meets the Kanawha at Gauley Bridge, then follow the Kanawha to its junction with the Ohio River at Point Pleasant.
At Cairo, Ill., the Ohio flows into the Mississippi River. Savage and Chapman will travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where they plan to stay for a couple of days, before completing their journey by canoeing through the bayous south of New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico.
"It will take us 74 days, if we average 30 miles a day on the rivers," Chapman said.
"We haven't found anyone who has ever done this before," said Savage, who works for AmeriCorps VISTA on Charleston's East End. "It might be cold, rainy and miserable up in the mountains, but we are geared up for it."
"I've wanted to do this as long as I could read maps. I started talking about this in second grade," said Chapman, whose family grew up near the Ohio River around Huntington.
"The New River is the oldest river in the country. All these rivers have been navigable for hundreds of years," he said.
Savage said, "Cities grew up because of the rivers. And dams and locks were built in places like the Kanawha River during the New Deal. We want to get people to think more about rivers near them, their recreational uses and environmental conditions."
Savage and Chapman are creating a Facebook page, called "Downstream: Appalachia to Atchafalaya." The Atchafalaya Basin is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States, located in Cajun country south of New Orleans.
The two met when they were students at Hampden-Sydney College, 70 miles southwest of Richmond, Va.
Chapman, 29, studied history, religion and philosophy while earning bachelor's and master's degrees at Hampden-Sydney.
"My family has lived within this watershed for 200 years. It is a good time for me to connect with them," said Chapman, who spent the past year working in a scrap yard in Columbus, Ohio.
Savage, 27, grew up in Salem, Va., near Roanoke. "I grew up near Craig's Creek, a little creek that flows into the James River, ending up in the Atlantic Ocean," he said. "Just over the mountain, Sinking Creek River flows into the New River, ending up in the Gulf of Mexico.
His father, Lon Savage, wrote "Thunder in the Mountains," a history of the West Virginia Mine Wars.
Savage and Chapman are taking cameras and recording equipment to preserve images and their conversations with people they meet during the 2,200-mile voyage.
"We plan to ask people what role rivers play in their lives," Savage said. "Rivers used to be such an integral part of society."
Savage believes people should become more aware of some environmental problems. "In Virginia, 17 tons of toxic materials flow into the New River, 15 tons of which comes from the Radford Munitions plant."
The pair will start using an 18-foot canoe that was owned by Savage's father. "When we reach Charleston or Huntington, we will begin using a larger canoe during the rest of our trip," Savage said.
They plan to camp in many places along their journey. "There are lots of state forests along the way. The New River is a lot more remote than the other rivers. Along the Ohio River, there are towns every few miles," Savage said. "We will also stay with some folks we know in cities like Huntington, Ironton, Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis."
Savage and Chapman are taking one tent and two hammocks to help them at night. They also will have food, water, rain gear and flotation devices.
"Hopefully, we will not get hit by a hurricane," Savage said. "We also have a solar panel, to hook up our cell phones to recharge them."
They want to continue studying the history of the rivers and towns along their journey. "The New River was a big channel for the Underground Railroad that helped free slaves before and during the Civil War," Savage said.
The two plan to stay for a night in Charleston during their long journey, probably on Oct. 29.
"My dad was from Charleston," Savage said. "This town has been very good to me. After New Orleans, I could see myself making my way back here."
Reach Paul J. Nyden at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-5164.


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May 30, 2016
DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit police say a pit bull killed a 3-week-old baby after her mother put her car seat on the floor of a house.
Police say the attack happened about 5:45 p.m. Thursday at a home on the city's west side.
A police statement says the 24-year-old mother entered the house and placed the car seat with her daughter on the floor.
Police say the woman "walked away for a moment" and return to see the "pit bull attacking her daughter."
The statement says say the infant was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
Police say they're investigating the dog attack.
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Nordic Naturals
Cod Liver Oil
Essential Fatty Acids
Omega 3
Average Customer Review :
Read Reviews
Nordic Naturals
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Peach
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Lemon
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Orange
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Strawberry
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Unflavored
Arctic Cod Liver Oil - Peach 8 Ounce
Serving Size: 1 Teaspoon (5ml) Servings per Container: 48
Calories - 45 Calories from fat - 45
Total Fat
Saturated Fat
Trans Fat
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol)
% Volume
DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid)
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid)
Other Omega-3
Total Omega-3's
Oleic Acid (Omega-9)
*Percent Daily Values are based on the 2000 Calorie Diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. **Daily value not established.
Other Ingredients: Purified arctic cod liver oil, d-alpha tocopherol, natural peach flavor, rosemary extract.
Contains No: gluten, yeast, milk derivatives, artificial colors or flavors. Contains vitamin E derived from refined soybean oil.
Suggested Use: One teaspoon daily, with food, or as directed by your health care professional or pharmacist.
Warnings: Consult with your physician before using this product if you are pregnant, diabetic, allergic to iodine, using blood thinners, or anticipate surgery. Keep out of reach of children.
Contains vitamin E derirved from refined soybean oil.
Omega-3's are in the form of Natural Triglycerides
It doesn't taste like fish! Purified Arctic Cod Liver Oil is now available in four 100% natural flavors: lemon, peach, orange, and unflavored. A great source of both DHA and EPA, our oil contains only natural levels of vitamins A and D (no added palmitate). The highest level of Omega-3 per milligram (mg) of any cod liver oil and 3 times fresher than the competition!
Promotes normal brain development and visual function. Increases DHA level in active kids. Enhances learning and achievement. Supports positive mood, menstrual pain, and healthy skin. Recommended for cardiovascular health, improved blood viscosity, joint mobility, flexibility, and memory function.
Revolutionary Freshness level and Purity unprecedented in the United States! Up to 100 times fresher than comparable products Positively NO fishy taste Highly purified Arctic cod liver oil No added vitamins A and D (only naturally occuring A and D from the cod liver) Great natural orange flavor GMO and Hexane free
Nordic Naturals, Inc. was founded by Norwegian born, Joar Opheim, who recognized the lack of fish oils in the United States when he first arrived here 20 years ago. Having been born and raised in Arctic Norway, where the fishing industry is a crucial part of both the commerce and academia, I was aware of the importance of pure Omega-3 in the diet. Today Nordic Naturals is the leading supplier of fish oils to the natural product industry, as well as the professional market and prominent research organizations.
Our fish oils are produced from the highest quality raw materials and processed with innovative, multi-patented technologies, allowing us to deliver levels of freshness, purity, and taste unheard of only a few years ago.
In the competitive Norwegian market, leading medical doctors are describing Nordic Naturals products as simply the best fish oils in the world. The following sections highlight the many aspects of our fish oils that make Nordic Naturals products exceptional and unique.
Fish oil quality standards do not exist in the United States. To ensure consistent quality, Nordic Naturals adheres to and exceeds the stringent Norwegian Medicinal Standard (NMS) and the European Pharmacopoeia Standard (EPS) for all of our products. These standards guarantee quality products by setting maximum allowances on peroxides, heavy metals, dioxins, and PCBs.
Freshly caught fish go directly from the sea to the fish oil factory in Andenes, Norway (above)
Freshness, which ensures product integrity and biological efficacy, may be the single most important quality of fish oils. Nordic Naturals patented, oxygen-free manufacturing process delivers peroxide values (indicators of freshness) down to absolute 0.0 mEq/kg, with an average of 0.75 mEq/kg, or approximately 14 times below the Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard limits.
In addition to measuring peroxide levels, Nordic Naturals measures a second important marker of freshness known as anisidine. As peroxides are further oxidized they form compounds that are quantified as the anisidine value. Whereas peroxide levels reflect current oxidation, anisidine value is a measure of past oxidation. The lower the peroxide and anisidine value, the fresher the fish oil.
Freshness is crucial for several reasons. It eliminates consumers key complaints, which are fishy taste and fishy repeat. On the physiological level, fresh fish oil prevents in vivo free radical formation, which has been shown to have a negative effect on the human body.
A low peroxide value may be the key reason why so many consumers, who previously did not benefit from fish oil supplementation, report extraordinary results when using the Nordic Naturals brand.
Peroxide: Norwegian Medicinal Standard Limit: 10.0 mEq/kg European Pharmacopoeia Limit: 10.0 mEq/kg
Nordic Naturals raw material is harvested from some of the cleanest waters in the world, and is tested by independent laboratories for heavy metals and over 210 other environmental contaminants.
Nordic Naturals was ranked #1 out of the top 10 fish oil brands in Norway for highest concentration, freshness, and purity.
Nordic Naturals products show no detectable lead or mercury when tested down to 10 ppb, which is 10 times below the Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard limits.
Norwegian Medicinal Standard Limit: 100 ppb European Pharmacopoeia Limit: 100 ppb NN Test Limit: 10 ppb
Nordic Naturals oils have been tested down to 0.5 ppt with zero detection of dioxins. The Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard limits for dioxins are 2 ppt. Analysis is based on the toxicity equivalent testing methodology established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Nordic Naturals oils show no detectable PCBs when tested down to 0.5 ppt. The Norwegian Medicinal Standard limit for PCBs is 3 ppt. No Limit has been established by the European Pharmacopoeia Standard. Analysis is based on the toxicity equivalent testing methodology established by the WHO.
Dioxins: Norwegian Medicinal Standard Limit: 2.0 ppt European Pharmacopoeia Limit: 2.0 ppt NN Test Limit: 0.5 ppt PCBs: Norwegian Medicinal Standard Limit: 3.0 ppt European Pharmacopoeia Limit: N.A. NN Test Limit: 1.0 ppt Testing based on WHO toxicity equivalents model
The key objections to taking fish oils are taste and aftertaste. Nordic Naturals utilizes a proprietary enzymatic process to ensure a completely repeat-free product. Our patented manufacturing process adds natural fruit essences into both the capsule and oil for a light, fruity taste.
Years of feedback from health professionals and customers indicate that children, teenagers, and adults of all ages enjoy the clean, natural taste of Nordic Naturals fish oils. Most importantly, a pleasant tasting and burp-free product dramatically increases customer satisfaction.
Nordic Naturals starts with the best raw materials available: fish low on the food chain, which naturally contain low levels of impurities and high levels of Omega-3 fats. Additionally, we use organic evening primrose and borage oils whenever possible for our fish oil blend products.
Over the past 10 years, we have perfected our Gold Standardthree steps which now allow us to surpass the strictest standards of purity and freshness.
First, we work with smaller boats and independent fishermen, rather than larger trawling vessels that spend much longer at sea. We have built a direct relationship with these fishermen over the years in order to ensure optimal raw and sustainable material quality.
Secondly, we use nitrogen to minimize oxidation at every stage of manufacturing, beginning right on the boat. The importance of this cannot be overstated: only by using nitrogen can we protect the oil from decomposition.
Finally, since our processing facility is located right next to the harbor, transportation time is minimized. This means that a few short hours after being caught, the Arctic cod are delivered whole into our facility for immediate handling. Thanks to the short amount of time from catch to processing, as well as the processing method itself, we have been able to improve the freshness of our fish oil even more.
Nordic Naturals uses this three-step system to ensure that our Arctic Cod Liver Oil remains unparalleled, meeting the Gold Standard.
Few people are aware of the fact that many cod liver oil (CLO) products are mostly made from fish other than cod, such as seit or haddock, as Arctic Cod is by far the most expensive raw material available. Since only cod liver contains high levels of naturally occurring vitamins A and D, other cod liver oil manufacturers have to add back synthetic vitamins to standardize the fish oil as cod liver oil. Nordic Naturals uses 100% Arctic Cod for all of its cod liver oil products. Our Arctic Cod Liver Oil contains the highest Omega-3 level of any CLO product, and is tested to ensure healthy levels of 100% naturally occurring vitamins A and D.
Triglycerides contain a glycerol backbone, stabilizing the oil molecules in their natural form. But fish oils that are in the synthetic ethyl ester form are highly unstable, and rapidly break down during storage.
Additionally, when fish oils are digested they are converted into free fatty acids. After absorption through the epithelial cells, free fatty acids are immediately reassembled back into triglycerides by re-attaching to a glycerol backbone. If the glycerol backbone is missing (as they are with synthetic ethyl esters), and no other glycerol backbones are available, the oil cannot be converted back to triglyceride form. Fatty acids not converted to triglycerides pose an oxidation burden in the form of free radical formation.
Nordic Naturals is a research driven company, where processing technology and product formulations are driven by the latest developments. Without solicitation, leading research institutions such as Harvard University, Georgetown University, Columbia University, and the National Institute of Health have chosen the Nordic Naturals brand for clinical studies. Nordic Naturals products are currently used in eighteen clinical studies at various research facilities and universities around the world. More studies are added every month. For additional clinical research summaries, please visit omega-research.com.
Overfishing is a global issue that needs immediate attention by local governments and the international community. Since our inception, Nordic Naturals policy has always been to choose fish that are not endangered and to harvest them from waters that are not overfished. Our Arctic Cod is harvested in Arctic Norway between the Lofoten islands outside of Bodø, Norway. Nordic Naturals also ensures that the fish harvested are utilized 100% for human or animal consumption.
Nordic Naturals is greatly concerned about overfishing and receives updated information on fish stock in Norway and neighboring waters every week. Consequently, Nordic Naturals only harvests fish in areas that have a plentiful supply and that are not in danger of overfishing.
Nordic Naturals has spent over five years researching the impact of various natural stabilizers on fish oil. Stability testing performed at Nutrasource Diagnostics in 2006 concluded that by our adding of Vitamin E and Rosemary Extract to our formulas, weve optimized the long-term freshness of our oils.


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Illinois Woman Pleads Guilty After Fatal DUI Accident
After a long legal battle, which included the resolution of a dispute about the validity of the charges at the Illinois Supreme Court, a woman finally pleaded guilty this week to an aggravated DUI after causing a multiple-car accident that killed two motorcycle drivers.
According to the Chicago Tribune, 27-year-old Alia Bernard recently pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated felony DUI after she admitted to having marijuana in her system when the fatal crash occurred.
Sources indicate that the fatal accident occurred in May 2009, when Bernard apparently bent over to grab her sunglasses and lost control of her vehicle.
When Bernard, a resident of Aurora, Illinois, was reaching for her glasses, she rear-ended a stopped car on an Illinois state highway at a very high speed. The collision sent the stopped car flying forward, and it then struck another car that was waiting to take a left turn.
When this second collision sent the turning car further into the intersection, the car created an obstacle for two motorcyclists who were lawfully traveling through a green light. The force of the collision killed both motorcyclists.
In all, the accident that was started by Bernard's negligent driving involved nine different vehicles, injured 12 people, and resulted in the death of Wade and Denise Thomas, who were 44 and 45 years old, respectively.
Originally, prosecutors alleged that Bernard was texting when the accident occurred, although she and her DUI lawyer offered a different story.
According to Bernard's lawyer, "[i]t was sunny and the sun was bouncing off the chrome of the motorcycles and she went to get her sunglasses and when she looked up, there was a car in the road."
In addition, even though tests showed that Bernard tested positive for marijuana, she claims that she had not smoked pot for three or four days before the accident and was completely sober when the collision occurred.
Despite this claim, though, prosecutors raised her charges from the lesser crime of reckless homicide when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that any amount of an illegal substance in a driver's system during a fatal accident warrants the charge of aggravated DUI.
This news has upset some legal experts in Illinois, as it suggests that, for example, drivers who smoked marijuana several days before getting into even a minor accident could still be liable for an aggravated DUI charge.
In response, supporters of the decision say that a zero-tolerance policy will deter drivers from getting behind the wheel if they have a shred of doubt about their sobriety.
Regardless of the validity of the decision, Bernard has admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty to the charges. Sources indicate that Bernard, who has no past criminal record, could face six to 28 years in prison.