Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

Although I still have a heap of photos to sort out, you can now read my write up of our dive down to the HMS Maori on our holiday in Malta. This article has been posted in the Travelogue and includes all of the photos so you wont be missing out. There is plenty more tell about the trip so stay tuned for more excitement and adventure!

I have written a small article about NMEA and our plans for installing a Multiplexer on Mystere. If you are interested in these… head over to thesailingbug.com and have a look. This is a subject which I am learning about and so I put this together to try and clarify a few things to myself. If anyone else finds it interesting or useful then great!!

This is the CMOS sensor from inside a Canon EOS 10D. It is the very source of all the image information that the camera captures and must therefore be kept clear of any contaminants. There are 6.5 Million individual pixels crammed into the 22.7 x 15.1 mm area. Just a tiny spec of dust on the sensor turns into a monster dark spot on an image when viewed. I have just had the pleasure of rubbing my CMOS sensor to remove this and I really hope it wasn’t the wrong way! This is not an issue that really concerns film cameras as each time a photo is taken, the film moves along and in a worst case scenario, only one frame is likely to be ruined by a contaminant. As the sensor of a digital camera does not move, any debris that settles, has to be removed. For me, the cleaning process started out as a methodical ‘follow the instructions’ then turned into a bit of a Brehaut special with the photographic equivalent of a Brillo pad being used to clean the surface of the sensor. To get an idea of why my blood pressure was higher at the end of this operation than at the beginning… read on!!

The instruction manual clearly states that only a very small rubber air blower should be used to clean the sensor, under no circumstances should you use a brush, cloth or canned air as these may each damage the sensor. As it turned out none of these or worse appears to have done much harm to mine but I will know more over the next few weeks! Looking into the body, I could just about get my eyes to focus on the specs of dust that were visible on the sensor. I took my trusty rubber blower and started squeezing and aiming the tiny jets of air at the sensor. A few minutes of this and the dust was still there. More pressure was needed and I calculated that if I held an air can away from the camera, it would probably be ok so I tried that. This operation went on for a few minutes aswell and ended with the nozzle heading into the camera body and getting very cold in my hand. Another failure, the dust was still where it had started. Apparently, slightly more aggressive measures were needed so I reached for my ultra fine weave lens cloth and very lightly pulled it across the sensor. Yet again, the dust was still there. By now I am thinking that this is slightly more than your average surface dust and something extreme must be required. All logic apparently gone, I gave a good old breath onto the sensor to fog it up a bit and used a cotton bud to wipe the dust off. The operation actually involved a bit of rubbing followed by more rubbing to remove the smear marks! All in all… it ended up looking as good as before less the dust. I will try taking some pictures in the near future and see if I have caused any lasting damage. As Canon have just released the EOD 20D, perhaps a replacement would not be so bad!

Investigation into the cause of this problem has shown that perhaps my storage technique is partially to blame. I own a LowePro Orion Trekker rucksack that is spilt horizontally inside which my camera fits tightly with the lens facing up towards the top. This has proved to be the easiest way to put the camera in and out. What I hadn’t realized was that with the camera stored in this way all the time, the dust would follow the laws set out by Newton and fall directly down onto the sensor in the back of the camera. It is apparent that my plan for buying a new bag is now justified. The next bag will have a design in which the bag is split vertically to get to the camera. This will also allow me to get a magazine inside which I cannot currently do and should be considered vital when travelling. In the meantime, I have turned the camera over so that the lens faces down. The bag pictured here is a LowePro Dryzone bag. These can actually be thrown into water and the gear inside will stay dry. As my camera spends quite some time at sea, perhaps a model like this should be considered.

Some days are truly inspirational. Sunday 2nd May 2004 at 15.30 is one of those days. The weather is great, there is a nice breeze and everyone is cheerful. There can even be small problems that are solved easily and quickly with a bit of teamwork and it just makes things better. These days are remembered for their carefree and enjoyable atmospheres.
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The morning of Thursday 8th April brings with it uncertainty. The trip to Beaulieu and the Scilly Isles, (which was going to be the proper maiden voyage for Mystere, her new co-owners and crew) had to be abandoned, as the re-fit was unable to be completed in time. Instead… a trip to the not too distant Jersey!
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Finished my ‘PADI Scuba Diver’ today after two open water dives. I felt like I was swimming in the biggest tropical fish tank ever… I was actually, the sea! It would be impossible to describe the 20 meters of visibilty and the sheer variety of marine life was just astonishing. No time left now so I will write more soon!!!

Today was an interesting day. I have booked and payed for my 2 day Scuba Diving Course (PADI Scuba Diver), and we visited the capital Valleta… you may have guessed… it was ‘Death Ride to Valleta’!! Buses did it again… what a ride. The shopping was actually crap and the most money I spent was kitting Emma out with some spa treatments at the resort. Much to my disappointment there were no ‘Extreme’ colonic irrigations on offer and she did not take to well to my suggestion that she needed all of the beauty treatments! The purpose of this expenditure is twofold. Firstly, I forgot Emma’s birthday present and felt the need to provide something. And second, it means she has less to complain about my 2 days diving. An update tomorrow should be colourful!! Apologies for mistakes here, I have been in the bar!!!

Didn’t do very much today… pretty much stayed around the resort. I did plan on using the Gym but that went out the window as after just two days I started to approach the end of ‘PREY’ a book by Michael Crichton, and felt I needed to bring it to a close. If you have not read this… you should, you will be hooked. The copy I read had been read twice before and I was warned that when you start reading it… you wont stop, I now add my own warning to this!

My next book is by Francis Chichester, ‘Gypsy Moth Around the World’. I think this will be fascinating story of his voyage around the world in his custom built yacht that he fights with just as much as he does the sea! Will post how well I get on with it after sitting in the sun tomorrow!!!

A bus to the market? Sounds normal… not in Malta, it should be described as ‘Death Ride to the Market’. Bloody looney bus drivers think they own the road and dont worry about the consequences of proving it. I have never been in a bus sliding around a corner before… dont get me wrong, it was fun to look back on, but bugger me what a fright, personally I would rather sit on the bonnet of Dave’s car through the lanes just after I get out of a vat of oil!!
Buses are indeed famous here, I nearly bought a T-shirt that said Malta Bus on it and a cartoon picture of a bus with a smile… the potential to create my own ‘Death Ride to the Market’ brand was tempting! After the market we found a Mc Donalds so I felt safe in there and enjoyed the chicken burger! Did nothing else today except listen to a god aweful live band in the bar. This experience was probably worse than the buses!!!

The most shocking thing about Malta is the total lack of colour… almost all brown. I am told it is very colourful under the water and I will be having a look at that while here.

What a day, Emma and I get up at 5AM (actually I got up at 5.30AM) after only a few hours sleep. Luckily she was no where near by to get me up earlier! This lack of sleep was the result of getting in some dutch courage at the pub the night before and being there till throw out!!
Off we go to the airport for 6.15 to find out the plane has been delayed for an hour. I suspect the wings have fallen off and take great pleasure in telling Emma that if it happened in the sky we wouldn’t need lifejackets!

Finally get to Gatwick and head straight for check-in, no rush required. We are told that we need to wait till 45 mins before the flight leaves before we could check-in as we were on standby and there were only 5 seats left (24 the previous day) so off we go to gadgetshop and other random shops. 1.5 hours later, back to check in, 3 seats left and we need to get to the plane quick as it is now boarding!

In Malta we find the only place in the world where the roads are worse than Guernsey. We take an expensive Taxi trip to the resort and later find out that we should have tipped the Taxi driver 10%..ooops. Last problem of the day… Emma’s new shower gel bottle gets exploded in her bag, so some fun with bubbles and then a very slippery floor. We have a look at the resort and head to the bars. A few drinks were needed before getting some much needed sleep in our very small single beds!!! Lets see what happens tomorrow, we have decided to take a bus!!!

After the night in Herm the crew of Mystere prepare for the voyage back home to Guernsey. High tide was at 08:52 (9.8m) so by about 10:00 water levels are getting a little low! However, everything is ready for the homeward journey, engine is warmed up, ropes uncoiled, sails ready to be hoisted as soon as Mystere is clear of the harbour, all that needs to be done is pulling the anchor…
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