20/02/2025 Topic: Travel Insurance for Sailors neilm	Country of residence is a big issue As Canadians we have good travel cover with Desjardins of Montreal
20/02/2025 Topic: Need to clear out?? neilm	To clear out of French Polynesia we will have to sail further West than we want to since we are headed for Hawaii. What happens if we arrive in Hawaii without having cleared out? (I have checked in to the US mainland a dozen times over the years and do not recall being asked for clearance papers)
2 days ago Topic: Falmouth 24h Emergency Telephone Number. neilm	Curiously, the site https://sarcontacts.info/ lists different numbers. I emailed them and am awaiting a response.
2 days ago Topic: Replacing Solar Panels? neilm	We installed a 150Watt, supposedly top quality, panel in Scotland in 2015. It worked OK In 2022 we replaced it with a relatively cheap 500 Watt panel. We find that in bright sun, the output is pretty much what I expected, 500/175 (=2.8 times as much) However I think the more modern panel does much better in cloudy weather than the old one The 500 Watt panel gives us about 130 Ah in a 12 volt system, very close to the equator in June, and about 120 Ah in British Columbia in August Of course that will drop when winter, short days and cloudy weather arrives. Both panels are rigid I would be inclined to replace you old panels
2 days ago Topic: A hack for surge protectors neilm	Great and simple idea. Makes more sense to me than rubber ormetal ones
2 days ago Topic: Thoughts on lifelines neilm	Agreed 100% on the danger of the catalog vinyl covered lines. My son had an unwanted swim due to one breaking on a racing boat her used to crew on One way to get big lines cheaply is to use old rigging. It comes with a swage at one end, and we used Stay-Loks on the end cut to length.
2 days ago Topic: Need to clear out?? neilm	We finally did clear out of French Polynesia. US authorities in Hawaii had no interest. We filled in the on-line form and received email clearance in a few minutes. It seemed too good to be true, so I phoned to check, and the officer advised that he had determined that there was no need to visit our boat. Of course, you never know what they can do, since action is at the local officer's discretion. I do not regret having been conservative and clearing out
2 days ago Topic: Western Caribbean / Columbia / Cuba cruise 2026 neilm	We have done that route, so here are a few suggestions We loved Bonaire and Providencia. Curaco was good (summered boat there) practical and enjoyable I would skip Aruba if going again. It is just a cruise ship terminal. I would skip San andreas too Enter Panama at the extreme East end, Porto Obaldia. Town is a dump, but people friendly. Cruise the Eastern Islands slowly. Water is not great due to plenty rivers bringing silt, but the islands are undeveloped As you go West water is much better and numbers of boats grow Buy Bauhaus guide and get his electronic charts. MUCH better than the government charts. I will send you mine, no charge, but postage from Canada would cost you about $25 If you email your address I can check actual rate Neil@McCubbin.ca

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