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Living the DreamThis site was last updated 07/22/10 |
        
Rio Dulce (under construction) Copán (under construction) La Antigua (under construction) Lago Atitlán (under construction)
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Warning on the Raymarine Smart Pilot We just discovered what we consider a really dangerous feature on the wireless Raymarine Smart Pilot and we felt others should be made aware of the situation. While sailing the other day we had the Smart Pilot out of it’s cradle, i.e. we were going to be using it when one of us went forward to work with the spinnaker, when all of a sudden the auto pilot sounded an alarm and went into standby mode because the battery had died in the Smart Pilot. Equinox immediately started to round up and fortunately Betsy was by the wheel who got us back on course and reset the autopilot. I’ve talked to others who have experienced this same condition, one of whom was a former manager of an authorized Raymarine dealer. He had mentioned this condition to Raymarine but to my knowledge there has been no software changes nor general warnings issued. In my opinion having the autopilot go into standby mode as a default is a very poor design and potentially dangerous feature. I have communicated my concerns to Raymarine but have not heard anything back on my observations. I recommend using Smart Pilot with extreme caution. |
Tune for further adventures of the nomadic Martin's.
The most frequently updated part of this site is the Trip Logs portion. Last year we added a Road Trips section as well as a Food section. All of the most recent stuff is shown on the left and highlighted in yellow. Enjoy and please give us some feedback if you like the new Food section. We have placed photographs of our adventure throughout the site, that are in thumbnail format. If you wish to see the photo in greater detail you can do so by double clicking on the photograph.
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
2010 |
We had intended to update this webpage frequently but as they say the best laid plans! We are new at creating WebPages so bear with us while we learn. Our first site was created with MS Publisher but we felt it limited us too much so we have switched to MS Front Page 2003. Now as we publish this site I've found that MS is no longer publishing Front Page and have issued a new set of web authoring tools with different functionality. Such are the trials and tribulations of trying to keep up when away.
In the future we hope to keep this site updated so our friends and family can keep track of our adventures. Maybe then they will recognize we are not nuts and want to join us. Throughout these pages we have included hot links to other sites we reference, where we recommend their services. We have joined the fraternity of John and Amanda’s graduates to fulfill our dreams of casting off the dock lines and going for it. More on our training can be found on the “About US” page.
Here is Betsy sailing in
Alaska during the summer of 2005
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How to Contact Us |
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By Email: |
By Radio |
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For those of you who know about Winlink, we are both hams and receive HF email when the internet is not available, as you know we cannot accept attachments while using Winlink so please keep the messages short, but we would love to hear from you. We were using Sailmail but that will expire in April. You can send us mail care of Sailmail.com, our name there is WDD3066 at the above address. If you do send us an email when we are out sailing please use both winlink and the Uuplus address' we can't always get both. |
Ham Band: We both hold a general class ham license and will be using our ham radio our call signs are as follows: Betsy KE7HTI (Kilo Echo 7 Hotel Tango India) Hank KE7HTJ (Kilo Echo 7 Hotel Tango Juliet) In case you were wondering we took one of Gordon West’s classes, a grueling 3 days and passed with flying colors, even the dreaded Morse Code section. You can find more about Gordon West here.
Ships Radio Call Sign (Marine SSB or VHF): WDD 3066 (Whiskey Delta Delta 3066) MMSI #: 367123390 |
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Skype, Cell Phone or Sat Phone |
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If you who haven't heard of Skype you are missing out on a fantastic way to phone home. Skype allows you to make a phone call to another computer or phone number from anyplace you can get a decent internet connection for pennies a minute. From Mexico we call the US for $0.02/min. Our Skype number is:
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Cell Phone: When we are in port or frequently at anchorages we have a cell phone.
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Snail Mail |
Where Are We? |
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You can send us mail at the
following address, we only receive it however when we visit the
states or a friend or relative visits us. Junk mail is
tossed. Hank and Betsy Martin 11852 NE 162nd Lane Bothell, WA 98011 USA
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When we are sailing we try to file position reports on a daily basis on Winlink. Try clicking here on FIND US or you can go directly to Winlink and type in Hank's call sign, KE7HTJ in the find window and you will be show our location. Once you have gotten to the map that shows where we are click on the satellite option in the upper right had corner and you may get to see where we are in great detail depending on the Google map coverage. |
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Welcome to our Web Site!
We
are Hank and Betsy Martin, formerly of Auburn California but now
residents of Bothell, WA where our daughter lives. We began our
dream of sailing for a few years in the summer of 2006 and are still at
it. We purchased an Island Packet 440,
hull No. 22 , that we took delivery of in July 2006. We spent the
summer in Canadian waters getting to know Equinox up in the Gulf Islands,
what a great place to cruise. Our only regret was we didn't get to
spend more time there. This seems a typical regret, as we prepare
to leave Cartagena, Columbia this season. 
where
we learned to love Cartegena, and sailed over to visit the San Blas
Islands of Panama once again. Our friends Gary and Liz
Fitzpatrick, from Lewistown, MT flew down for a two week visit.
From there we sailed over to Shelter Bay for some repairs then out to
the Chagres River. After leaving the Chagres we visited the Cayos
Alburquerque and the islands of San Andres and Providencia, We
were anxious to visit the Bay Islands of Honduras where we visited
Gunaja and
