Awfully quiet

Yes, I know, I've been awfully quiet around here. But simply, there hasn't been anything to say. We still have lots of snow and even today I could walk right over the ice at the club. Which might be a trifle worrying, with the traditional launch date only about six weeks off. Fortunately, the ice normally goes quite fast once it starts to go, and the air is already much warmer, especially when the sun is out during the day. So there might be spring after all.

The most important news else is that I've gotten one of those fancy iphones. There's lot to be said about them, but it does have a very nifty chartplotter application, which works great (yes, I've tested it on the harbour ferry...). The downside is only, those things have really poor batteries. So I have struggled for weeks to find a way to charge the thing on the boat. Now, I have been able to charge all my previous cellphones with various solar chargers, but the iphone just won't have those. Apple, being protective of only the gods know what, have built-in software which not only checks that the charging cable is, well - approved by the charging cable god, but also checks that the charging device does deliver exactly the right amount of milliamperes. That's really bad, because most solar chargers deliver less than an USB contact. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, charging would just take longer. But it is for Apple.
Anyway, I finally found a solution that works, an extra battery, approved by Apple, which can charge the phone, and, thank the gods, can be charged by anything else. All my old chargers suddenly work again.

Finally, I am glad to announce that I will be on extended leave from work from May until September this year. So there will be lots of time for sailing, and then it won't be as quiet here anymore. See you in spring.