Dr No 50th Anniversary

Classic

October 5th 2012 is the 50th anniversary of premier of Ian Fleming's 007 James Bond Dr No the movie.  The crew of s/v Honey Ryder will OF COURSE be celebrating this occasion given that our boat is named after that first and infamous bond girl, Honeychile Ryder.  She quickly became the gold standard by which all other bond girls have been judged.  *And I am sorry but Halle Berry playing NSA agent "Jinx" coming out of the surf didn't even come close to Ursula Andress.

Joseph Wiseman as Dr Julius No

So dig out your best James Bond tuxedo/wetsuit combo, shake up a couple of martini's and join in the fun.  It's bound to be on TV at some point on October 5th.

Coming to a theater near you soon

Also - New James Bond film "Skyfall" will be out at the end of October.  A little internet research/rumors tells me Adele is singing the theme song.  Most importantly, seems 007 will be spending some time on the lovely pictured below....the Perini Navi yacht s/v Regina.  Sssheesh, people - where is your mind.  Then again....it is 007.

Mega yacht Regina

s/v Regina

Can't wait to see 007 in "Skyfall"! 

 

FCC Licensing - Clear as Mud

As we started to tackle the FCC licensing for s/v Honey Ryder, more questions and confusion popped up than answers.  We needed to get a Ships Stations license and a Restricted Radio Operator license.  Two items, big deal.  But wait, don't we already have an MMSI number that we got when we installed VHF with AIS.  Yes, but we discovered that the MMSI number we got was a free one from BoatUS - like the Standard Horizon manual said to get - in the instruction manual.  O-Kay....how does that work with the FCC licensing.  It DOESN'T!  Let me repeat that.....it DOESN'T.  If you never plan to leave US waters then a free BoatUS MMSI is just fine and dandy.  However, if you ever have future plans to sail over to The Bahamas or Bermuda or down island, then the BoatUS MMSI is worthless.  The FCC does not recognize the free BoatUS MMSI number. 

VHF with AIS

Ok, simple enough.  Just get a new MMSI through the FCC and program it into the VHF with AIS.  MOST VHF units allow two different MMSI numbers to be programmed in before the unit has to be sent back to the factory for reset.  Whew!  We already used one on the first go so that leaves us one more.  Whew, again.  But wait.....further reading of the instruction manual it said BE VERY CAREFUL ENTERING THE MMSI NUMBER BECAUSE IT CAN ONLY BE ENTERED ONCE.   Did you get that, ONCE... as in one freaking time.  What genius thought this up!  I am told it's to keep theft of VHF radios down.  What F'ing ever!  I called Standard Horizon.  "Is there really only one time for MMSI entry?"  The guy said "No, (hope rises in me) but......(ugh, hope is dashed) you have to enter the MMSI twice thus using up both times."  WTF!  Argh!  So we had the unit yanked out and shipped back to the factory for clearing.  Double ARGH!!  I strongly suggested they add to instruction manual the item about any boat going offshore should get an FCC MMSI vs a free BoatUS MMSI - dumbasses! 
 http://www.fcc.gov/ - general site
Now the fun of registering with the FCC.  I used Captain Marti Brown's book Marine SSB Radio For "Idi-Yachts" to guide me through the licensing online.  BUY this book!   Nothing else I have read during my research made the licensing process as clear.

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do
Step #1 Register with the FCC's Universal Licensing System - get a number and password
Step #2  Apply for Ship Station License and pay the fee $100
Step #3 Apply for Restricted Radio License and pay the fee $60
Easy, right?  For the most part it was but I did have a bit of a search on the web site to find what I needed.  And I ended up calling the FCC twice to ask what I should or shouldn't be checking on the ships station license.  Both times I got right through to Dixie.  She was super helpful, nice and patience.  I got all the steps completed, printed off the confirmation numbers and then figured I would have to wait until at least Monday at the earliest to get my assigned licenses.  This is the government after all.  I logged on this morning just for fun and much to my surprise, we now have an official Ships Station License with FCC issued MMSI number and a Restricted Radio Operators License.  Woo Hoo!  Official at last.  Now we will get the new MMSI number programmed into the VHF and we can check all those items off the TO DO LIST.   

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen

Do you say "Good Bye" to people that move away?  Or do you say "So Long for Now?"  Super sailing chick Charlene got herself a promotion (cheers and applause) and is leaving here for new challenges abroad.  We wish her the very best.  However we are pretty confident we will see her again somewhere, someday.  Perhaps in some far flung port over the horizon.  So for now......"Adieu!  XOXO from crew of s/v Honey Ryder."
*For more info on this fascinating sailing chick, buy her book "Alone to Alaska and the Magnificent Inside Passage."  It's a good read.  Hopefully she will write about her other sailing adventures!
**Are you singing the song in your head?  You know, the song....."So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night.  I hate to go and leave this pretty sight."  Ok - name that musical.