Here (attached) is the Google Earth “.kmz” file showing our track up and down the coast. You can also see the ships we were seeing with our AIS system. I have included placemarks for the major weather buoys along the San Francisco to Seattle route.
I swear that we can sail better tacking angles than you [...]

Now that our AIS Class-B transponder is fired up, I’m seeing VALIS show up on more ship-monitoring sites. The University of the Agean has a very nice website that aggregates AIS feeds from all over the world, keeps track history, and shows vessel data: MarineTraffic.com. They also provide a Google Earth “KMZ” file that lets [...]

Greetings!
As you may know, I am working on the nav-electronics aboard VALIS. Previously we had an AIS receive-only unit, but I have now installed a full Class-B transponder, which means that other vessels with AIS receivers can see us too. Yesterday I finished wiring the unit and decided to leave it running.
You can now see [...]

Last year I mentioned my NMEA logger program (Windows), that captures, logs, plays, displays (etc) NMEA 0812 data. It provides dial displays of most data, as well as AIS display/alarm, depth alarm, MOB alarm, stripcharts, etc. I took it to Hawaii and back during the ‘08 Pac Cup and have been bugfixing and feature-creeping since [...]

My wife and I were driving south from Jenner towards Bodega Bay on Monday afternoon, and we saw a beautiful tall ship motoring up the coast in some pretty uncomfortable conditions.

The 108 ft Bounty
Winds (at the Bodega Bay buoy) were in the low to mid 30-kts, and the swells were about 10 ft. The [...]

I have actually been asked to describe the systems and programs we use on VALIS  for communications and getting our weather forecasts.  Here it is: http://www.sailvalis.com/specs/CommTech.htm
Any comments or suggestions are most welcome.

Here is a Google Earth trackfile showing VALIS and the AIS-equipped ships in her vicinity:
2008 Apr 12-13.kmz
Also, here are some screenshots of the homebrew program I am using to monitor AIS traffic, as well as to monitor all the navsystem data aboard VALIS:

AIS Screen, showing “Gas Oriental” and VALIS ducking her stern

Windspeed and direction stripchart

Navdata [...]

We have been planning to take VALIS out on an overnight sail for several months, to give the crew a chance to regain (or gain) their sea-legs, and do some open-ocean spinnaker practice. We had agreed on the weekend of April 12-13, and if the weather wasn’t appropriate we would stay in the Bay. [...]

VALIS is getting ready for the Pacific Cup!   On Friday, Apr 11, Daniel T, Alan B, and I met onboard VALIS to review the systems and rigging, and any changes necessary.  We were joined by our rigger J.P. (J.P. Boatworks, Sausalito – whom I highly recommend).  We went over the boat from stem to [...]

Here is the Google Earth file showing our excursion around the bay,
including a jaunt out into the Pacific to welcome the Queen Mary 2.
Unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned, so images here will have to
wait.
We left Sausalito around 11:00AM, and motored or sailed (under genoa
only because the main is still at the loft), around Angel Island, out
the [...]