US Democracy Index Over Time
Posted on August 21, 2020
The Democracy Index is compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Using expert interviews, the index has measured the state of democracy around the world since 2006. The Democracy Index has been criticised for lacking transparency as it does not clarify who the experts are. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit is...
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San Francisco Day Trip
Posted on May 24, 2019
Crossing the Gulf Stream (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 39
Posted on May 22, 2018
This week the crew of Catsaway plans their crossing across the Gulf Stream. With a compromised engine (cracked heat exchanger) and a malfunctioning drive leg (broken seal), we had to be very careful planning our route back to the States. While many people were crossing on calm days, those were...
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Dog Rescue, Provisioning, & Miami before our voyage (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 22
Posted on February 13, 2018
Catsaway rescues a dog! We arrived in Miami and had a great time exploring South Beach and visiting with friends. After several days anchored by the Venetian Causeway, we moved to a mooring ball at Dinner Key Marina. We had just moored when we heard a dog barking on a...
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A Day on the Intracoastal Waterway (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 20
Posted on January 19, 2018
A typical day on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway): Wake up Feed the cats Check the oil Warm up the engine Set up the tablet: Shut off the anchor alarm Plot the course for the day Pull up the anchor Raise the sail if the wind is in our favour One...
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Sailing Chesapeake Bay! (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 19
Posted on December 18, 2017
This episode we leave Chesapeake City and continue heading south. Our first destination was Annapolis - we had heard many great things about the city that was known as the sailing capital of North America. We had a great motor sail down the Chesapeake with our buddy boat Bandera. We...
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Sailing the New Jersey Coast and Delaware Bay! (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 18
Posted on November 21, 2017
This week we leave New York Harbour and travel down the New Jersey coast and up Delaware Bay. We left New York just before 6am. There was already a lot of marine traffic at that hour and the first couple of hours was spent dodging wake from ferries, water taxis,...
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Sailing down the Hudson towards New York City (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 17
Posted on November 9, 2017
This week the crew of SV Catsaway leaves the comfort of the Erie Canal, and starts their journey down the Hudson River. The Hudson River is a much larger waterway than the Erie, and we immediately saw an increase of marine traffic. The amount of commercial traffic was especially noteworthy....
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Erie Canal Part 2 from Little Falls to the Hudson (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 16
Posted on November 9, 2017
This week the crew of SV Catsaway complete their journey on the Erie Canal. We left Little Falls and experienced the great lock 17, the highest lock on the Erie Canal. With a descent of 40.5 feet, lock 17 took over from 5 older locks on the original Canal. We...
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Erie Canal Part 1 from Lake Ontario to Little Falls (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 15
Posted on October 17, 2017
This week the crew of SV Catsaway starts their journey down the Oswego and Erie Canals. Our first locks were nerve wracking! That being said, it was actually quite straightforward. You can call the lock masters on Channel 13. They will let you know if the lock is ready (or...
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Border Bounce part 2 (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 14
Posted on October 8, 2017
This episode, the crew of Catsaway spends their time back in Canada to get more prepared for their border crossing. We were able to source a used Zodiac 8’ RIB dinghy, with a 8hp Yamaha outboard. We bought it at a great price, and decided to license it for our...
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Border Bounce part 1 (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 13
Posted on September 29, 2017
This week we move onto the boat, travel to Oswego and get bounced back to Canada. The last couple weeks in Ottawa were a whirlwind of activity - getting the solar system installed on the boat, trying to get a renter for the house, finishing up work, packing the house...
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Boat Survey - inspecting a Gemini 105M (Sailing SV Catsaway) - Ep. 03
Posted on June 13, 2017
The humans of the crew of SV Catsaway travel to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to complete the boat survey on “Rhapsody” (the original name of SV Catsaway). We met with Angel from Mass Maritime Marine, who performed a thorough and unhurried survey. Due to time and money constraints, the survey was...
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Last day in NYC
Posted on September 13, 2013
“Multigrain bagel with tofu” was just called in this deliberately rustic looking café in Queens. The staff wear fedoras and the customers wear Lulu Lemon while pushing little people cars or typing on MacBooks. There are a lot more smiles, laughs and in jokes here then the cafés I found...
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Times Square
Posted on September 9, 2013
What is this madness? I’m standing in Times Square people watching in the glow of advertising waiting for something to happen. It’s then that I realised the advertising was the show. A conversation sparked with a lovely trio of Scots who were as bemused as me. Their genuine interest in...
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