Flotilla's Anyone?

Looking for a Flotilla?.  Here is a list that I am keeping for myself.  I will add more as I come across them.

Baja Ha-Ha - The Baja Ha-Ha cruisers rally is from (from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas) The Baja Ha-Ha occurs every year neat the end of October.

CW Adventures Charters Sail-a-Cat - This is according to CW their best-selling flotilla voyage of  the year and occurred Dec 3 - 11th, 2010.  I am assuming they will have another one this year.  They report it is a great way to learn about chartering and to try out a catamaran! In addition, they offered lots of extra fun: windsurfing and kite boarding lessons, kayaks and Hobie Cats, and a dive rendezvous or guided tropical water fishing excursion.

More to come.....

Need a Captain or Crew for Your Next Catamaran Cruise?

My wife and I are looking for an affordable vacation aboard a Catamaran.  Trouble is none of our friends share our dream yet, so if you are looking for an experienced captain or crew or someone to share expenses please let us know.  We will be researching all available options.  Money is tight.  I realize Catamarans are not cheap.  We will have to be creative to make this affordable but one way or another I will be taking a vacation aboard a Catamaran someday soon.

Last year I completed the ASA Cruising Catamaran Sailing and Bareboat Chartering classes through the Afterguard Sailing Academy.  

10.5 meter Gemini

It was great but I look forward to sailing without a teacher looking over my back and without the pressure of having to pass an exam.  I just want to sail and enjoy myself.  I have 1000’s of hours behind the wheel of various types of boats, mostly power, but lately some sailing vessels.  I consider myself to be an excellent navigator and driver of any size vessel.  Although I have much to learn I performed flawlessly navigating and docking the single screw 10.5 meter Gemini that we used in our 5 day Catamaran class.  Photo shown on the right. 

Flotilla’s seem like a good way to go.  Perhaps there is a catamaran owner that is planning to join one and needs someone to share expenses and crewing duties.  The Baja Ha-Ha looks like a lot of fun.  The Baja Ha-Ha is a two-week cruisers rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which takes place every fall.  I was just reading about the Cruising World Sail-a-Cat Adventure Charter.  Prices last year were from $1,700 to $2,200 per person.  A bit steep for me so I will continue researching.  If I have to save up, then that is what I will do. 

If flotillas and cruising rally's aren't for you, charting my own course on my own schedule is definitely in my future.  Email my if you need a crew or captain for your next Catamaran vacation.  catmandav@gmail.com.

Free TV for your Boat or RV?

OK, This is slightly off topic but you may find this interesting especially if you read my post "HD Satellite TV on Your Catamaran" or if you are looking for a cost affective way to enjoy TV on your boat or RV or at home.  I keep wondering how the transition from land to sea can be made as smooth as possible.  Having the creature comforts of home on your craft will certainly help although i suspect there will be much more than TV to keep me occupied on a Cat.

News flash! I was reminded recently that TV is free don't ya know.  I for one am starting to really question why I send Directv  over $100.00 a month.  TheFutureofTV.org  claims a better future for free TV.  Apparently you can help the Free TV cause by signing up here.  They claim that 3D could be coming and they already broadcast digitally in HD including moble DTV.  Wouldn't it be nice to take those ugly dishes off of your roof and pocket some extra cash?  As previously discussed dishes for boats or RV's are not cheap.  Oh but wait, you have to replace the dish with an off air antenna.  Oh well, I already have one on my roof.  Perhaps a small price to pay for Free TV.

But what about my DVR?  For 19.99 or 12.95 per month (Monthly price depends on which plan you go with) you can have a full featured DVR with Internet access, On Demand content and much more with your TiVo subscription! Sounds to good to be true and as I found out the price initial price has turned me off.

Here is the summary of my research on Tivo's pricing plans:
I have 4 receivers now, so to replace all of them would require an initial investment of approximately $1,860.00 if I go with the Premium plan.  The Premium XL came out to an initial investment of aprox $2078.  WOW.  Why so high?  You have to buy the equipment and they are not cheap.  There are a couple other plans where you pay less initially however it ends up being more down the road, at least in my case.

If my math is correct however since the monthly charge would be a measly $12.95 plus $9.95 each for the three extra receivers I would break even after two years and save around $700.00 per year thereafter.  But what if you need to replace a receiver?  The savings would probably end up being less long term.  Plus I would be giving up a ton of extra channels like DIY, Discovery and other outdoor channels.  I can live without them but is it worth it?  If I only needed one receiver, TiVo is a much more attractive offer. 

Another showstopper for the boat or RV is that it requires a phone connection for the program guide and other things I presume.  You would need an Internet connection for the On Demand and browsers features as well. 

TiVo did mention that the new DVR's are Smaller and more energy efficient and more powerful than previous TiVo generations.  This is important for Catamarans and RV's.

The future of TV is so unknown.  Who knows what it will be like in two years.  You can already watch your favorite shows through the networks web site and TV's now days are internet ready.  There’s a thought.  Internet on your boat.  Sounds like a topic for a future discussion.

You could go with Free TV and not pay the 19.99 per month.  This would most likely be the only for me if I were setting up my Catamaran today.  You loose the convenient program guide which you don't get with Free TV. 

Remember the small TV Guide magazine?  Do they even sell those any more?  I used to see the TV listings come with the Newspaper.  Can't say I recall seeing one of those for a year or two, at least not from our local newspaper.

Additional Resources:
TiVo’s Free HD over-the-air signals page.

If you don't know what TiVo or DVR's are by now (Read Consumer Reports for the low down on DVRs ) you are behind the times.

The Mailman Stole my Multihulls World Magazines

I was flattered and surprised when I saw my Catmandreams blog mentioned in the Nov/Dec 2010 Multihulls World magazine.  It has been a while since my last post.  I have not lost interest.  For a while I wasn’t seeing a whole lot of new information on the web.  This is partly due to the fact that I hadn’t been receiving the Multihulls World magazine.  There is a wealth of information in it.


I think the mailman is a Catamaran enthusiast.  I emailed Multihulls World magazine staff recently to inform them that I had not received the last three issues.  According to them they were sending them to the correct address.  They offered to send them to a different address, but I assured them that I receive mail at my home all the time without issues.  They were nice enough to resend them to the same address using a different mail carrier.  They also came in a brown envelope so the contents would be disguised.  I guess this way they won’t be stolen by the mail man or whomever.  After all, the magazine probably goes through many hands between France and the US. Thanks Multihulls World Mag.

HD Satellite TV on your Catamaran?

I saw an ad introducing the revolutionary KVH TracVision HD7 which allows you to watch HD DIRECTV from your boat.  They say you can watch whatever you want whenever you want.  They claim rock-solid performance, enhanced tracking algorithms and a stainless steel bearing construction.  You can watch, record and replay with full DVR capability. Sounds too good to be true but if it really works wouldn't that be cool?

Once I saw the ad, the next question I had was "How Much?".  One price I saw was almost $12,000.  Wow!  I did the math.  The entire season 4 of Lost can by purchased new on Blue-Ray through Blockbuster for $60.  There are 13 episodes.  With tax it comes out to around $5 per episode, so for $12k you could purchase 2,400 blue ray dvd's.  After watching them you could give them away as gifts to the locals when you travel from one tropical island to another.

I haven't included the monthly fee you have to pay DIRECTV.  Currently I am paying close to $100.00 per month.  I guess the TracVision is only for the very wealthy.  I hope the prices come down by the time I am ready to put a dish on my Cat.  Maybe I could win the Lottery.  I guess you have to play to win though right?

I know what some of you are thinking.  If you can afford the Cat, what is another $12k.  When you put it that way maybe it is a small price to pay.  I may be able to buy a Cat someday, but unless I hit it big in the stock market I may not be able to keep it for very long.  Hopefully the KVH will hold it's value.  Then again, I hope the price comes down between now and then.

Photo of a Sunreef Yacht with KVH domes: