The Crew of the HMS Beagle enjoys its diversity. Mr. Darwin, the ship’s naturalist, is of the canine persuasion and, on occasion, enjoys the society of other canines. Captain Fitzroy ensures that at our ports of call, we are likely to find the better sort of canine, well mannered and civil. None of this overly…
As with all vessels, the HMS Beagle requires maintenance and repair from time to time. Normal maintenance, like winterizing and repacking bearings, is anticipated and can be planned. However, the real problems arise when things unexpectedly go wrong. Such as…. The Furnace This year, winter in southern Florida has been much cooler than…
The Beagle is currently moored in an area of southern Florida called the Redland Agricultural District. There are literally hundreds of thousands of acres of farm land here. The produce includes fruits and vegetables, but there are also vast tracts of palm tree farms and tropical plant nurseries. This area of Florida is extremely flat…
When Mr. Darwin was much younger, he visited Anne’s Beach on Islamorada in the Florida Keys, but that was before he had learned to swim and so did not enjoy the water. Since then, Mr. D has become an avid swimmer, at least in fresh water (with a particular affinity for fetching ducks disguised as…
The Beagle’s voyage south was largely uneventful, save for one incident that came entirely unexpectedly. On the last day of our voyage to south Florida we stopped at a service centre on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce/Port St Lucy for the relief of the crew. The service centre was under construction which left little room…
It’s a four day voyage for the HMS Beagle from Mississauga to South Florida. We started on January 12 and were due at our destination in Miami-Dade County on the 15th. The Beagle had been winterized so the water and sewer systems would not be usable until we were much farther south. The furnace could…
It was January 12, 2016 when the HMS Beagle set sail for southern Florida, from its mooring atop the Niagara Escarpment at Flamborough. Captain Fitzroy determined that the tide would be right on the 12th and so we prepared to hoist anchor and begin our journey that morning. As it turns out, hoisting anchor was…
Long before the HMS Beagle set off on its current voyage, we had decided to start and maintain a ship’s blog, Stardate 2016. Really, what could be easier? Little did we know that Kent would spend countless frustrated hours at the computer, completely clueless as to how to proceed, desperately Googling questions and videos that…