Ecstasy makes first night voyage since September '05

Tonight, April 27, the Ecstasy made a rare night voyage at Chapparral Lake in Scottsdale. I got some of my best nighttime pics ever, and I couldn't resist posting them. Enjoy!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com

Raffaello takes new lake!

On Friday, April 21, the Raffaello became the first Green Sea Ship to sail at what I call "Mercado Lake" at Via de Ventura and Hayden, behind Buster's Restaurant. I had long had my eyes on this lake and finally got around to taking a ship down there. I found no trouble getting in and out. Not even a single "private property" sign. It's a very pleasant lake with some nice scenery. I look forward to many voyages with ships like the Ecstasy and Queen Mary there. In the meantime, please enjoy these pics from yesterday.

ECSTASY IS BACK IN ACTION!

Saturday, April 15 marked the long-awaited return of the Green Sea Flagship to Dobson Lake in Mesa. The Ecstasy had been out of commission from December 17 2005 until last Saturday, April 8. About 4 months. The occasion was her first refit which unfourtunately was delayed by a number of other construction projects. I had hoped to have her back in the water by March 17.

Nevertheless, she is back in service and had a very nice morning on the water. Due to the changes below her waterline (I added a rubber bumper all the way around her hull) she is noticably slower than she was last December. I suppose this cannot be helped, as the rubber is essential to prolonging her life. The rubber will prevent cracks from occurring in her fiberglass and therefore, prevent leaks into her hull. It slows her down, but it is really very important for her to have that.

The Hathaway destroyer was also in the water today, and competed in the scale competition. I was dissappointed in her performance, as she bumped the gates twice. Nevertheless, she was part of the 5-way tie for first place today with 100 points.

The Raffaello returned to the water as well, but with her batteries nearly dead, she could not manage more than a very short cruise. Better luck next time.

Anyway, please enjoy these pics from today's event!

Barrett
diamondback78@hotmail.com

DRAMATIC RESCUE MISSION FOR ZUIDERDAM!

Zuiderdam was back in the water tonight for her first night cruise since January 2nd, when she also was stranded due to prop hex nut failure.

Tonight, she was playing Glenn Miller music, shortly after putting out when I stopped her for a brief pause. When I attempted to resume, nothing happened. I was quite disheartened as I had considered bringing a rescue boat but decided instead to "be careful". HA!

So, I stood for many minutes, deciding what to do, when it finally hit me. Go home (less than 5 minutes), get the RAFFAELLO, bring her back here with some on-the-spot alterations and perform a rescue mission!

So, I brought the Raffaello to Chapparral Lake and with some styrofoam attached to her bow with tape, I ran her out there. The Raffaello cannot control her throttle, but I figured with enough hits, she could push to Zuiderdam over to the near side of the lake. It worked far better than I had imagined!

The Raffaello, as you can see, swung around and hit the Zuiderdam exactly amidships. Her styrofoam got stuck between the Zuiderdam's lifeboats and it was a cakewalk as I brought the Zuiderdam in on the first try.

It turned out that the Zuiderdam's battery had died. When I switched the battery with a new one (which was also dying!) she ran fine.

THEN, because I could not carry both ships at the same time to the other side of the lake, I used a coathanger to TOW the Raffaello back to the other side of the lake behind the Zuiderdam!

Halfway back across the lake, the battery began to die, but I tweaked it and barely made it across the lake. It was a very amusing emergency. The first full-blown ship-to-ship rescue mission of Green Sea Ships!

Barrett Hochhaus
diamondback78@hotmail.com