Seasons Greetings and Emails from mvVikingStar@gmail.com

Seasons Greetings to all from Kristi and Al.


                                                                                                                                                                
I am prompted to post this as I noted again there are Emails    
being sent out under Viking Star's name with a simple 'click    
 here' link.  
THESE ARE DANGEROUS EMAILS AND                                  
     WILL INFECT YOUR COMPUTER WITH A VIRUS!            
                                                                                                                                                                 


A spammer has been sending out a blast of Emails almost each month forging Viking Star as the 'sender'; they often contain only a single URL link to some web site and nothing else.  Those who know me know there is no way I could create such a simple Email - just too hard to not use lots of words.  These Emails are forged, are not sent via Viking Star, and are dangerous.  Hopefully your SPAM trap will remove them, but if not:

                                                                                                                                                                
               DO NOT CLICK ON ANY EMAIL WHICH                
                        CONTAINS AN ODD URL IN IT!                                   
                                                                                                                                                                

There is nothing we can do about these, sorry.  One of the facts of the Internet is it is so simple to spoof things.  I only know about them as I get some 'address undeliverable' messages returned back to me.   And looking at the real sender, they very from Romania, Africa, with the latest being from the UK - bouncing around the world, so no way to shut them down via their internet service provider.

Going into the new year, we wish you a bug free existence, do hope you do not block ALL emails from us, but also hope you take appropriate precautions in the Digital World...

Generations

Evan met his 'GreatPapa' in August when his mama, brother and sister came to Minnesota.  His GreatGrammie had just moved into a nursing home and we were on the way to meet her too.  At the entrance, GreatPapa asked if anyone would like a ride.  Madalyn and Milo were too shy, but Evan loves EVERYone and was just the right size for GreatPapa's lap.

Oh what joy, for Dad to meet some of 'The Little Ones' he never failed to ask about. 

But GreatPapa lived only six weeks beyond this time.  And GreatGrammie only four weeks beyond that.  

When Al and I arrived at Evan's house nearly two weeks ago, Evan had just had his 6th birthday. There were still cupcakes left over from his family party and he was very eager that we each have one, which we did.  He had especially asked for mini cupcakes, and his mom is a good baker and had piped on a thick bloom of frosting.  They were very good.

After a short visit it was time to go, and Evan very lovingly and generously asked 'Do you want to take one to GreatPapa?'

Oh my heart.

Not knowing if he had been told of GreatPapa's death or not, I merely said 'He's not here anymore'.  I managed not to cry until Al and I were in the car and I asked Al if he had heard, and I told the story.

I asked my daughter later if she had told the kids -- she had come to MN again for the funeral -- and she said that she had told 7-year-old Madalyn, who got very upset, so she hadn't said anything to the boys.

On my next visit to their house, Evan was very concerned.  He asked 'Is GreatPapa all alone?'  Of course he would be worried that, since Al and I were back in the Northwest, GreatPapa would be all alone in his house.  No, GreatGrammie is with him.

Oh how I love this boy, and his love of family.

Cost to not cruise - November 2014

And here we are, November.  Kristi and I are out of Minnesota (but still talking with the folks about the -3 and -11 temperatures - not to worry, it did get over 20 for a few days..), and making our way back to Washington and Viking Star.  The Cost to Not-Cruise for November looks like this:

(Click for larger view)

November was 'Move Month' for us, and this is reflected in almost all the line items:

• Groceries are low - we eat out a lot while traveling across country.
• Dining Out is high - we eat out a lot while traveling across country.
• Personal is high - we spent 4 days in San Fransisco!
• Transportation reflects the gas for the car to drive cross country
• Misc reflect costs for Hotels, as well as $135 or so for shipping of our items back to Washington.
• Misc also contained the Utility bills while we were in Storden.

What can I glean from the above?

• Well, 1st - the categories selected for life afloat do not align well with life on land.  (Utilities, hotel, etc all in Misc). 
• Dining Out, despite being costly, is not THAT much more so vs. purchasing groceries for each day??
• Access to Shopping is a BAD THING!  (But then we already knew this, as we noted a spike in our costs when ever we anchored near a city)

 We will do one more month of Cost to Not Cruise; and start the new year back in the Blue so to speak. And at that point will do some thoughts around the whole "How do costs on land vs. what it costs to cruise full time" - well, at least for us.



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And now here is the standard explanation: If this is your 1st time looking at costs on our blog, and want some more background on why we are reporting what it costs to not-cruise on a cruising blog - well, we took a break by moving back to Minnesota to help out Kristi's folks January of 2014.  And we thought it would be interesting to be able to compare our costs on Land vs. on Sea., see more here:   mvVikingStar.blogspot.com/.../cost-to-not-cruise-january

For reference here is a summary of what it did cost us to cruise last year:

For Reference, Costs for Cruising in 2013

Again, following the link above will give you access to more details, or you can click on the Costs label to the right for even more cost data.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday Kristi and I caught sight of the Sea for the first time in many months -- 11+ for her, perhaps only 3 or so for me, if you count my week back at Viking Star in August.  But I will say, it feels like 11+ months..

We not only saw the sea, we did the right thing - tossed our shoes and took a walk.  

After a day of driving, we arrived in time for the sunset.

There we go!

Happy Faces...

All around!

And there we are - back on the West Coast in Santa Barbara, CA.   These days we have tossed our coats (it was -11f this morning back in Storden MN, yes.  MINUS 11. . . .)  We are working our way slowly up the coast.  Monterey tonight, San Francisco tomorrow - will figure the rest of the days as they come.  Today, not wanting to lose sight of the sea, we took Hwy 1 up the coast.  After an hour or so Kristi managed to let go of the passenger seat (and she was not even using her hands!) long enough to take some pictures, might post some soon (or check out her Facebook page).

And FWIW, I was 10 years old the last time I was on California Hwy 1.  It is a great trip.  We played Old-person-mode, just driving nice and easy.  Well, not quite Old Person mode  - we pulled over several times to let traffic pass, even an RV - and maybe a VW at one point :-)

But be clear -North we are pointed!

Open source MPPT controller

OK, this is somewhat boating related :-)    As part of the other battery charging projects I have been doing (ala, DC generator, Alternator Regulator), I have now turned to three new areas:

1. Solar MPPT controller
2. Battery BMS
3. CAN based network connecting all charging sources together...

I started doing this after observing some interesting interactions between different charging sources.  For example on Viking Star we have Solar + the mains alternator, and our little Kubota DC generator for energy sources while away from the docks.  Ideally one would like to see each of these sources (and yes, they CAN be all enabled at the same time) working towards the same goals; e.g., all having the same idea what target voltage should be, or when the battery is ready to move from Bulk to Acceptance phase.   In practice, each has their own idea and I can at times see undesirable interactions between them.  The target battery voltage from the Alternator might be a bit higher then the solar panels - and when things get to the final stages of recharging, the solar panels enter Float mode early, while leaving the mains alternator still charging.  Would be better if it was the other way around, turn off the mains alternator and let the the solar panels finish things up.

There are ways to 'work' around this, assuming equipment has the flexibility and configuration options.  Example, could set the Solar controller to a higher target voltage.  But that can leave the battery undercharged if working only on mains alternator (ala on a cloudy day) as the Alternator would need to be set for a lower voltage.  My vision is a 'systems' approach, a device installed on the battery would decide what the battery needs and communicate those needs to all charging sources.  This way everyone is working towards the same goal.  And it can reduce the wiring mess as well - we have 6 devices sampling battery temperature and voltage on Viking Star.  Those 12 sets of wires can be replaced with one CAT-5 cable.

I am just getting started on this, and have been working on a couple of hardware developments:

• Solar Controller: http://SmartMPPT.blogspot.com/
• Battery Monitor: http://SmartBMS.blogspot.com/

Each of these will communicate over a CAN network via CAT-5 cables.  Once I have those two working, will revise the Alternator regulator to participate in this system, and the DC generator as well.

Still have a lot of work to do, the two developments + the CAN protocols (am hoping to leverage on of the existing protocols out there), but today I just posted up the 1st cut hardware design for the solar MPPT controller.

Like my other projects it is open source and I have posted all the CAD files; will add the firmware as it gets developed.

Another reason I kind of think this is Boat Related: more then one of these controllers can be used on your boat and act in a coordinated way (due to the CAN).  For example, on Viking Star we have two solar panels.  At times one panel gets partly shaded.  Depending on how things are wired up, a partial shaded panel can either constrain the output of the whole system,  drop the whole panel out of participation, or some combination in between.   A separate MPPT controller dedicated to each panel should be able to fully optimize each panel, allowing the shaded panel to participate as much as it is able to, without impacting the other panel.

Design calculations look that this could come in under $100 in cost, and operate in the 98-99% efficiency range.  Am just now ordering hardware to build one up and look forward to trying it out next year on Viking Star.

Basking in the Warmth of Colorado Springs!

It was a nice, but long, 14 hour drive from Storden, MN to Kristi's sister house in Colorado Springs CO.  We have enjoyed good company, sharing stories and memories, and the nice warm weather of Colorado in November.  (Today is forecasted for a high of 49f, NOAA is thinking Storden will make 16...)

Not too much more today, will perhaps do a reflection of the past year sometime soon.  Right now our thinking is head South say Monday, then over the California coast to the land of 'Happy Cows'.   Do a slow drive up the Pacific coast highways to Portland for the Christmas holidays; stopping for a few days in San Franscisco.  Then some time around New Year make our way back to Friday Harbor.  

But who knows, we do not really have any 'plans' these days :-)

Tuesday it is...

Weather reports (aka, 'weather WAG')  tells us Tuesday is the day.  

• We will finish up our 'business' - helping Dean tidy up Maynard and Ellen's financial affairs -  Monday (I hope).  
• The Cat has gone to a new home,  a couple of weeks ago.  Kristi and I still expect to see 'Kit' at the door as we come in.  
• DISH shut off the satellite service a few days early, and I was not able to enjoy 'CBS Sunday Morning' with my cup of coffee, fresh baked Cinnamon rolls, and my wife.

Yup, all stars are aligning - and we will look to be hitting the road Tuesday.  Bright and Early, 12-14 hour drive to Colorado Springs to spend a few days with Kristi's sister and brother-in-law.  Then looking to head to San Fransisco to visit Pip the Cat  (  http://pipsalbum.wordpress.com/about/ ) for Thanksgiving and a slow drive up the coast to Portland for the Christmas holidays.

New Years on Viking Star.

These past days have been a mix:  Visiting, packing, sorting, remembering, mourning, 'planning'.    Now will begin a time for transition.  Looking back Kristi and I are clear - we have no regrets taking this year off from cruising, with all its ups and downs.  And we do hope we brought something to Maynard and Ellen as their lives came to a close.  We think we did.

I put the Cruising Lifestyle label on this post because much of the 'lifestyle' is about Family.  Those we take with us and those we leave behind as we depart on our 'craziness'.  What will happen to them? Will they forget us?  Will we ever be able to truely go back into a 'normal' life?

"The whole idea is Freedom . . ." ¹ begins a famous quote from an admired cruising couple, freedom to make choices, to follow where life takes us.

And we did.  Now its time to start another chapter.





 ¹  "The whole idea is freedom.    Go simple,  Go cheap,  Go now."   -  Lyn Pardee.