I just listened to this program from This American Life. It was presented earlier this year and you may have heard it. It will only be available for listening for about another week and then I think they start charging $1for back copies. It was fascinating and well worth the time to take a listen.

The subject this The History of Money

Here are photos from our travels around Croatia that just briefly touch on the beauty of this wonderful country. We really loved it there. We were most impressed with the fact that it has remained so civilized for so long...since early man... and was not as damaged by the dark ages. It has also remained seriously Christian since the first century followers. The scenery is just beautiful each place we looked: from the country villages, to the mountains, to the ancient fairy-tale like cities. We enjoyed ancient Roman ruins, Palaces, Castles, Monasteries, still working aqueducts from Roman times, nature walks, and even Hospital visits when I broke my wrist. But the Doctors don't look as yummy as the Croatian doctor on ER did! We just couldn't show everything here on the BLOG!Wall around DubrovnikArchitectural accent on building in old Dubrovnik Rugged coastlineView at our anchorage while going between islandsChurch near Marco Polo's House in KorculaLocal craft in KorculaLynn enjoys the flowers at a local market in TrogirCYAN at anchor at a small village of Luka on the Island of SipanMonestery from 12th century on Mljet, pronounced milietAt anchor in National Park Island of MljetMedieval wall along some cityTrogir rooftops withCYAN in distanceTrogir storefrontsTrogir courtyard

It was 1 year ago today that our friends onboard the sailboat Quest were murdered by Somali pirates while crossing the Indian Ocean with us from Mumbai, India to Salalah, Oman. May you rest in peace Phillis, Bob, Jean and Scott.

S/Y Aspen – December 23, 2011 – Log #79
Aspen Position: 36 degrees 51’ N 028 degrees 16’ E (UTC +3 Hours)
Steve and Maria Position: Pine, Colorado USA 39 degrees 29' N 105 degrees 23 min W (UTC -7 Hours)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

May 2012 be a safe and prosperous year.

We will return to Turkey in March to sail Aspen once again so keep checking this blog for the latest on our travels!

Sail on, sail on and sail safe, Aspen

PHOTO ABOVE: Sunset viewed from Far Niente anchored in Matecumbe Bight.
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Weather in Palm Beach has been very nice since we arrived one week ago and (two fingers crossed) looks promising next Wed and Thurs for our leg down to Marathon (170 nm).
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We're now into our second season with the Espar diesel heater.  We have the parts needed to service it (glow plug and diffuser screen) but I'm letting it go to see how long she'll run.  Last year it ran 24/7 from mid-December until mid-March, something like 2100 hours, non-stop.  We didn't get any data on fuel consumption last season so I'm paying closer attention to it this year.  We've been having a milder Winter this time so we didn't start it up until January 5th but it's been running 24/7 since then.  We started with a full tank, hand carried 80 gallons with 5 jerry cans.  Ugh.  After fifteen days we topped off the tank again and found that we had used 35 gallons of fuel.  I was a little alarmed at this until I did the math.  15 days x 24 = 360 hours.  We're using 1/10 gallon per hour, exactly what the book says.  We paid $3.50/gal (grrr) so we're paying about $250/month for heat.  We keep it comfortable, 71 degrees during the day and turn it down to 68 at night.  Considering the situation, zero insulation in a fiberglass box immersed in 34 degree water, I think this is acceptable.

Forced hot air is a good way to heat your boat.  It keeps it dry inside, for the most part.  Places that don't get warmed up tend to sweat, inside some cabinets and the inner surface of the hull for instance.  The system is quiet and reliable.  Our exhaust is kinda noisy but that might be because of the configuration and a little time spent on it could bring it down to a better level.  Besides, the noise is mostly outside and at this time of year we don't have any neighbors to annoy.  We've used the heater while out sailing (full cockpit enclosure) and on the hook.  It has little drain on the batteries and extends the sailing season to year-round.  Let me tell you, sailing on the Chesapeake Bay with no other boats around is pretty sweet.

I've made some good progress on installing our new electronics.  I contracted with a local company, Atlantic Spars and Rigging, to modify the grab bar on our steering pedestal.  I got it back last week and it came out almost exactly as I had drawn it up.  They made the bracket for the display larger than I had planned but it turned out to be better the way they did it.  I had to modify the supports that it mounts to and once I got them cut down the whole thing went together perfectly.  It's super strong too so it'll still act as a good place to grab onto when you're moving around the cockpit.

Once the bracket was in place I mounted the multi-function display (MFD) to it and admired my handiwork.  In most cockpits the display faces the dude at the helm and if you want to take a look at it you have to go around behind the wheel to see it.  In a boat with an autopilot you won't be spending much time behind the wheel and will most likely be sitting up in the front of the cockpit for most of your watch.  I wanted the display set up so you could turn it around and see it from anywhere in the cockpit.  The mount I chose is a ball mount, like on a camera tripod, only bigger.

Once I got the display mounted I had to figure out the wiring.  Our system is pretty simple.  We have three gauges showing depth, boat speed and wind speed/direction.  These tie into the MFD using a data system called SeaTalk that uses a three conductor cable.  It's pretty much plug and play.  The gauges are powered through the DC breaker panel which was pre-wired from the factory with a 10 amp breaker and #14 two conductor wire.  By sheer coincidence this is exactly what's called for to power the new display.  I figured I could just tie into where these gauges are connected and it'd be a simple thing.  Uh huh.  Sure.

I found the cable supplying power to the gauges inside the steering pedestal.  It was a black SeaTalk three conductor cable.  I went to the breaker panel to see if maybe they had run it all the way up to the breaker but that had a blue two conductor wire.  I looked in the wiring diagram for the boat and sure enough, it called out wires 84 + 85, 14-2 wire.  I found a note from the factory that said this wire was run into the starboard side cockpit locker and coiled up, to be used for electronics.  OK, let's look in the starboard locker.

So next I emptied out the starboard locker.  This is no simple feat because the locker is big and deep.  You could sleep in there with three dogs and two sheep, if you were so inclined.  In the two years we've had this boat I've never had the guts to empty out this locker.  It's packed full.  I found two full sets of dock lines that I didn't know we had.  I also found a dinghy bridle, a two gallon tank of gas and an extra set of paddles for the dinghy.  There was a buncha other stuff that I won't even go into here.  Anyway, I finally got the locker emptied out.  Now I could get back to my project.

I crawled down into the abyss and discovered that this is where they hid the two compressors for our fridge and freezer.  Actually, I had heard a rumour they were down there, just hadn't seen them face to face before.  I could see the bundle of wires coming from the steering pedestal but when I cut the wire ties I couldn't find the black SeaTalk cable.  I did see a blue 14-2 wire though.  Hey!

My next step was to climb out of the cockpit locker and go down below into the aft cabin.  At the back of the cabin is an access panel that opens up to the genset compartment under the cockpit.  Of course, you have to take everything off the bunk to get to it.  This cabin is what we call the garage.  Everything we don't have room for anywhere else on the boat eventually ends up back here.  Right now all the stuff for our new electronics package is taking up space back here.  This includes the radome (huge!), all the wiring I'll be using (also huge!) and the box full of stuff for the autopilot (medium huge).  Also back there are two tool boxes and a storage box full of electrical connectors, all of Cheri's quilting stuff, two sewing machines and a storage box with all our extra linens and towels.  Once all this was transferred out to the Main Salon I pulled up the bunk cushion and moved that out too.  Now the aft cabin was emptied out but the rest of the boat was trashed.  Life on a boat.

With access to the genset compartment I could see the wiring bundle coming through the floor from the steering pedestal.  I didn't see my blue 14-2 wire though.  I proceeded to cut off all 47 wire ties to expose the innards of the bundle.  There it was!  The 14-2 blue wire was connected directly to the black SeaTalk wire using butt connectors.  This is OK as long as you know it's there.  It would have been really helpful if someone had updated the drawing to show this.  Note to self:  Do unto others.....update those drawings.  I run into this all the time at work.  The equipment I work with was built back in the '50s and '60s.  Everything has been modified numerous times but no one has taken the time to update the drawings.  So much time is wasted just trying to figure out what someone changed 30 years ago.  Grrrrr.  No wonder I'm all grey and look like I'm 60 years old when I'm only.....uhm, never mind.

My solution for the wiring was to mount a terminal strip on the bulkhead and label it "Instruments".  The blue 14-2 wire leading in is labeled on the prints as wire #'s 84 and 85 so I marked that here too.  The wire leading to the MFD already has an in-line fuse but I needed to add a 7 amp fuse to the one going to the gauges.  With this done I headed back topside to try it out.  I flipped on the "Instruments" breaker and by the time I got to the cockpit the MFD was already powered up and progressing through it's initialization.  Cool!

After it got through the initialization it settled into a display of some harbor in Florida.  Uhm, that's not right.  I started punching buttons and found my way through the program to the part where you turn on the GPS.  It took about 30 seconds to figure out where it was and finally showed our position in Traceys Creek.  So far, so good.

So now we need to spend some time out on the Bay.  I'm pretty excited about having a chartplotter and look forward to seeing what all we can do with it.  It'd be especially nice to go places without running aground all the time, although I have gotten really good at that.  The manual for the MFD is on a disc and I'm slowly working my way through a PDF file with 114 pages of instructions.  I also ordered the upgraded charts (Navionics Platinum +) for the Chesapeake Bay that'll give us 3D display and satellite shots that overlay the charts.  Sweet!

Speaking of running aground......this past weekend (2/11/12) winter finally hit.  Around 1530 on Saturday the temperature dropped about 20 degrees in 15 minutes, the wind increased to 25 knots with 45 knot gusts and it started snowing, sideways.  The wind was blowing out of the NW and continued non-stop for two days.  By noon on Sunday the water depth at our slip was 3'8", which is pretty low.  Our boat draws 4'10".  Our deck was 32" below the dock which made getting on and off a bit of a challenge.  The boat next to us draws 6'6" and they were really sticking out of the water.  They haven't hauled their boat in over three years and the exposed crud quickly dried out in the wind.  They've got quite a garden under there.  The NW wind is pretty common here in the winter but in the two years we've been here this is the lowest we've seen the water at our slip so far.

Some people never grow up.  Take me for instance. 

Saturday we went into Silver Spring and visited with some friends, got home around 2000.  The next morning we got ready for church and walked out to the car.  I climbed in and was surprised to find that I had to adjust the mirror on my side because it was facing down towards the rear tire.  That's weird.  Maybe some klutz bumped into it.  Had to manually force it back into position.  Then I looked over at the passenger side and saw that the glass was missing from that mirror.  On closer inspection I saw that someone had tried to rip both mirrors off the car, trying so hard that they scraped them against the windows and left scratch marks.  I looked around at the other cars and found that no one else had any damage.  Man, I musta really  pissed somebody off.  I just couldn't think of anything I mighta done that would deserve this kind of action.  I mean, this is high school retribution kinda stuff.

I reported it to the marina office and they said there had been a drunk that was picked up Saturday night and escorted off marina property.  They didn't give me a name but maybe this was the dude who went nuts on my car.  Still, I couldn't figure why anyone would do such a thing.

I shoulda realized.  I grew up in Cockeysville, Maryland.  Back in the days before it was overrun by big-city commuters Cockeysville was a nice little farming community in upper Baltimore County.  It was also the home to a group of rednecks who called themselves the Cockeysville Wrecking Crew.  Cute huh?  These guys figured they lived in a small town and could get away with pretty much anything.  They were known for street racing and fights but they were also good at intimidating younger kids and ramming people's cars with their pickup trucks.  Rednecks.  Just another part of "The Great American Experience".

Last week I was coming home from work around 1900 and stopped off at the post office to pick up our mail.  I was driving back to the marina, going about 35mph (5mph over the limit), when this car comes flying up behind me and practically drives up my tailpipe.  This dude was really close, so close I couldn't see his headlights.  I really hate it when people try to intimidate me with their driving and I could feel my blood pressure going up.  I pulled off to the side of the road to let him go by and he just stops and waits to see what I'm gonna do.  He finally goes around and I pull out behind him.  I'm perhaps a little overenthusiastic and, uhm, smoked the tires coming out.  He floors it and, like the idiot that I am, I floor it too.  Going across the bridge out of town we're going 60mph and the dude is way out in front.  He flies past the entrance to the marina and just before he goes around the next turn I slowed down and turned in.  I laughed the whole way to the parking lot.  I figured we both acted like idiots, had some fun playing race cars and nobody got hurt.  Pretty dumb but that's what us rednecks do, we play stupid.

Apparently that redneck plays by different rules.

Being all growed up now I had forgotten what it was like to live in a small country town.  Deale is even smaller than Cockeysville was and I'm pretty sure the redneck coefficient is inversely proportional to the size of the town.

I figure I musta embarrassed this poor guy the week before.  He probably got around that corner and realized how stupid he looked by running away from one of those moronic boat people.  He saw me turn into the marina so he knew where I hide out.  That weekend he was probably sitting in the bar down the road, drinking his fourteenth Bud Lite and decided it was time to set things right.  Imagine his delight when he found my car parked among the boats out there.  He flew into a skunked-beer rage and thought those mirrors were my ears and he was gonna tear them off.  I'll bet it really pissed him off when he couldn't get em to come loose.  Built Ford tough!

I don't know why I let myself get in these situations.  If Cheri knew about this I'd be sleeping in the dinghy tonight.

In my other life, where I play an adult, things are progressing nicely.  I came up with a design for mounting the Raymarine display at the helm.  I drew it up and talked to the folks at Atlantic Spars about modifying the grab bar on the steering pedestal and adding a bracket.  I actually tried taking the pedestal apart and wasted several hours on that before I realized I only had to remove the compass from the top.  That gave me a huge hole to work through and I had access to all the wiring and gauges.

When we bought the boat it had gauges for wind speed and direction, boat speed and depth.  These are Raymarine ST-60 gauges and they're about 11 years old now and showing their age.  I sent out the boat speed display to be rebuilt because the face was fried from the sun and you could barely read it.  The bezels for all three are looking kinda fried too so I also ordered new bezels.  The gauges will work with the new Multi Function Display (MFD) and they'll all tie into it by one cable, providing both power and data. The circuit breaker and wiring for these gauges is sized right for the MFD so I'll just move it over to that and then it'll supply power to the three gauges over the single data cable.  Perfect!  There's a data cable and separate power for the radar that'll have to be run also.

I was looking into an autopilot for the boat but the price of a new system is kinda prohibitive for right now.  But then I ran across an ad for a used system that had everything except the linear drive.  I think I mentioned this the last time around.  Anyway, I just closed the deal on that so we'll have autopilot for when we do the DelMarVa run in May.  This will also tie into the MFD and provide compass and heading information.  It will need it's own power and circuit breaker though so I'll hafta run a line for that also.  Next month we should be able to get the linear drive and I'll need to have a bracket made to mount that near the rudder shaft under the cockpit.

OK, so now I've got plenty of projects to keep me busy over the Winter.  We have four months to prepare for our trip.  That's 15 weekends from now.  I'll need at least 2 weekends just to pull wire.  Probably 2 more to mount the radar on the mast.  Figure another 2 or 3 to get the autopilot mounted.  Then at least 2 more weekends to get everything working together and tested out.  I usually take twice as long as I plan to get anything accomplished so I need to double all that.  Let's see, 2 + 2 + 2 (or 3) + 2.....that comes out to 8 or so.  Then double that and I get.....16 weekends.  Guess I'd better stop playing games with the local boys and get to work.

I'm able to pick up some WiFi signal here using the Bullet2HP Radio and a 12dbi omni antenna - speed is not great - but beats going into town.

Last gasp of Carneval here now - everyone dressed in black and white and music gettin louder!

Having Souflaki, basmati rice, stuffed grape leaves, Greek salad, and home made pita's.  Another feast on the good ship Gra'inne.

Hope the stores are open tomorrow after the celebration - need to pick up some fresh veggies and of course a baguette or two!

Once we have better WiFi will add some images to recent posts.

We left Roseau, Dominica Monday morning headed for St Pierre, Martinique.  Weather was good and we had a great trip down but as we neared St Pierre the wind shifted to the West and we started to have light rain.  As we neared our normal anchoring spot we noticed that all the boats were lying toward the lee shore. With the steep drop off here and odd winds we decided to come on around to Fort de France.

Arrived in time for the BIG CARNEVAL PARADE and we have been front row center to a whole lot of partying.  The place where we normally clear in/out was closed so I took the dink around to the fuel dock near Carenantilles and was able to clear in easily.

Went ashore yesterday morning and picked up a few things at Leader Price and then came back to the boat and took care of small chores.

Hey, Shane here. We are currently in Vero Beach, FL (aka, Velcro Beach).  It is widely known that cruisers have a difficult time leaving here once settled. The Vero Beach Marina is very accommodating, with a nice lounge, wifi, mooring balls, and a free bus system.  We have also heard compliments towards their Thanksgiving and Christmas potlucks. We plan on sticking around to find out about Christmas :) So on our way here, the alternator to our engine has started malfunctioning. We took it out and found bits of melted plastic and wires inside. Not good! We ordered a new one and are waiting here for a new one. We arrived last Monday.

Ok, we left off working in Deltaville. Well, some friends in back there gave me a new pet! :D a baby alligator snapping turtle XD

Then we left there on Thanksgiving, and kept movnig south, jumped from Cape Fear, NC to St. Marys, GA, and then traveled through the intercoastal down to here.  The crossing from Cape Fear to St. Marys went very smooth, and got some nice sailing in :)

We are hoping to keep moving right after Christmas and get down to Marathon, Florida Keys, where my best friend is also heading! Can't wait! ^.^ Then we will continue south as far as we can. Dad is hoping to get down to South America

Anyways, Merry Christmas from S/V Moonshine!

Hi all,

Please go to www.syaspen.blogspot.com for our latest blogs.

We changed the name to make it easier to type!

Sail on sail on Aspen...

Steve and Maria

S/Y Aspen – October 14, 2010 – Log #52
Position: 11 degrees 45' S 128 degrees 26.0' E (UTC +9.0 Hours)
At Sea

Australia was one of the highlights of our journey so far. We stopped
in Darwin at the Top End of Australia for 2 weeks to prepare for our
onward trip and to take a walkabout. A walkabout is an Aborigine word
for, simply, a vacation!

During our time at the Top End of the continent we rented a 4x4 vehicle
and toured Kakadu National Park and Litchfield National Park last week.
We saw Aboriginal rock art that included hundreds of nearly 20,000
year old paintings on the desert rocks. The colors that they used in
their paintings was vivid and bright, reflecting their attitude on life.
We have come to understand the meaning of Dreamtime that is part of
the Aboriginal culture describing how they came to live on this
continent. Their neighbors, New Zealand and Polynesia had highly
developed cultures, fierce warriors and the ability to travel thousands
of miles across the ocean. Aborigines, on the other hand, are nomadic
people that did not develop villages or singular places to live. They
simply moved with the ever changing seasons to find food, water and shelter.

When Captain Cook arrived in Australia he offered the Aborigines that
met him on the beach trinkets as tokens of friendship. The Aborigines
simply ignored the gifts and turned their backs on Captain Cook and his
ships, pretending that they didn't exist. That is just the Aborigine
culture!

Their indigenous music comes mostly from the didgeridoo, the oldest
musical instrument in the world, as well as two short sticks stuck
together like a drum to create the beat. The didgeridoo is made from a
hollowed out tree limb that is eaten by termites. This is then
decorated to create both an interesting sound as well as a multicolored
piece of art. Of course we had to buy one but it is too long to carry
around on the boat so we had to ship it to Colorado. Look for the
release of our CD coming to your store sometime soon!

Australia is a very young and modern country with very few people. We
traveled 1,600 miles along the east coast and found hundreds of miles of
coastline without any people, services or anything except wilderness.
Cell phones are useless because there is nothing there at all. In all
of Australia there are only about 19 million people - about the same
amount of people that live in the Los Angeles area! But the Australian
people are scattered amongst a huge continent!! It is pretty amazing.

The Aboriginal people are included in that population number. In the
past and even today they tend to wander far and wide, taking walkabouts!
They are also adapted to the intense heat that exists here at the Top
End of Australia, much better than we are. We are suffering in the 100
degree daily heat and 100% humidity. It is oppressive to say the least
and we are lucky that this is the dry season!

The most common expressions that everyone uses here are "no worries" and
"no dramas". They like to end their sentences with those all the time.

Yesterday we lifted our anchor (by hand because the trusty electric
windless decided to quit) and we are now sailing toward Indonesia. Our
next stop in 4 days will be Kupang, Indonesia, an entirely different
culture than anything we have ever experienced.

Sail on sail on Aspen...

View Sea Star Trip Path in a larger map

Leaving the Tetons and Gros Ventre, in Wyoming  we had another long ride, with some desired stops, on our way to Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado.  The route we took retraced our steps to 287E through Arapaho Indian controlled area along the Wind River, and toward Lander, stayed overnight at the Maverick Motel, drove over the historic Overland Stage Route of the Oregon Trail and the town of Rawlins. Along the highway were beautiful painted cliffs similar to the dessert.  We stayed in Lincoln campground in Medicine Bow at the end of a long day.  


The next leg of 130 mountain miles, brought us to route 130 and over the Snowy Range Pass at 10,847 feet and Medicine Bow Mt., even taller, until we crossed the border into Colorado at Tie Siding.


Poudre Canyon and Poudre River, where we took a campsite at Kelly, were along the next section on route 14 then west to the Arapaho Wildlife Preserve.  The Preserve route, 125 then 40, 70 and 91.  Route 91 runs close to the scenic road, 24, described below.  I could see the 14,000s as we continued on the highway that ran over and through heights of 6000' to 8000'.  I love my Subaru, but it struggled even with the trailer empty!  Dan, of course, had a much easier time driving the mountains.  He was cold, but the bike was the way to go- only he had to slow considerably to allow me to keep up as we hadn't discussed the route. Leadville was the place we found a hotel and planned the rest of the trip. 


Information on the 14,000s Scenic route 24 is from internet research.  We rode rt. 91 but it was from north to south.  The description below is from south to north.  There is no doubt the mountains are amazing.  It's fun to see their Collegiate names now.  At the time we rode through they were just "the Rockies".

Dear Friends and Family ~
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Dear Friends and Family ~
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We left Warderick Wells after staying there one night. We went south to Cambridge Cay. We sat out a cold front there with winds in the 20-30 knot range. Once that past we explored some of the islands in the area and walked the beaches.

After six says at Cambridge we departed and headed down to Blackpoint to do laundry. Blackpoint has the best laundry facilities in the Exumas. On the way we made a quick pit stop at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club to fill our diesel tank. Filling with diesel took us about 30 minutes to get in, fill and get out. It took us another couple hours to then get down to Blackpoint where we anchored off the government dock. We loaded up the dinghy and headed over to the dinghy dock at the laundry. Sandy got that started and I headed over to Lorraine's cafe to check email. When I walked into Lorraine's it was like old home week. I knew about six couples that were there and had arrived at Blackpoint the day before. Once the emails were checked and the laundry was done we went over to happy hour at Scorpio's bar with Jerry and Barb from Kumbaya and had drinks and snacks.

We stayed a few more days at Blackpoint and went beach combing to find sea glass. Sea glass is broken glass that is washed and smoothed in the surf. When it looks frosty and is smooth it is ready to collect.

The next day we met with Jim and Bess on Destiny. They had been delayed coming across to the Bahamas from Florida do to engine problems but finally caught up to us. We left and had a great sail down to Rudder Cut Cay for an overnight anchorage before heading down to Georgetown.

The next morning we went out Rudder Cut Cay inlet at high tide for the 35 mile sail down to Georgetown. We pulled into Elizabeth Harbor and set anchor off Monument Beach on Stocking Island which is across the harbor from Georgetown.

I was hoping to find some facilities to get hydraulic parts for my auto pilot. No such luck on that one. While working on the auto pilot I discovered that the hydraulic ram arm is sucking in air so it needs to be rebuilt and have new seals put in. That won't happen until we get back to Florida.

We stayed at Georgetown for a week and then sailed the 38 miles down to Thompson Bay, Long Island. We are anchored out in the bay which has good wind protection from all but the southwest. We pln to stay here a while and if the weather is right go out to Conception Island for a few days and then return here.

We decided to continue on down the Bahama island chain to the Exumas even though the auto pilot isn't working correctly.  We will probably regret it later but there are not any over nighters that we will be doing until we return back the the U.S.

We left Lucaya on the 29th of December at 7:30 AM.  The winds were blowing 10-15 knots out of the east and our course is to the southeast so we wouldn't really get much sailing in.  We decided to go almost straight south and take the route that goes west of the Berry Islands instead of east of them.  This allowed us to sail with the east wind.  We were able to sail all the way down until we had to turn southeast to go through the Northwest Channel into the tongue of the ocean on the south side of the Berry's.  When we went through the Northwest Channel we couldn't find the light that guides the way until we were within about 150 feet from it.  The light was not lit and it was dark and scary out.  So much for the Bahamians keeping up with the navigational aids.  I'm sure someone will eventually hit the post the light is on and do some major damage to their boat.

We came out of Northwest Channel at 7:30 PM and went by the west end of New Providence island around midnight.  We continued southeast to a point just south of two shoaling areas and turned more east onto the great Bahama banks.  We picked this area to cross the banks because there were no coral heads around to hit.  The sun came up just as we got far enough east where we could head more south down the Exuma chain of islands.  We ended this leg of the trip at Warderick Wells island which is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  We did 183 nautical miles in 29 hours hand steering all the way.  Which is really exhausting by the way.

We will stay here on a mooring buoy and head 10 miles further southeast to Cambridge island tomorrow.  There is great snorkeling around Cambridge and we missed it last year so we plan to stay there a week or so.

Everyone have a Happy New Year.  I will write more when we have internet connectivity.

This past year I have walked the beaches in Palau, California, Israel, Taiwan, and now Tokyo. My conclusion is--the earth is the Lord's, with all that is in it, the world and those who live there, for He set its foundations on the seas! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all His ways are just, a faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He!
 (Continued...)

 (Continued...)

The main portion of the show was the parade of all branches of Grenada's military and service organizations.

Arriving Boca Chita basin with yachts along the seawall

Boca Chita is a National Park located in Biscayne Bay just south of Miami. The site was originally in developed in the 1930's by Mark Honeywell, an industrialist who specialized in heating controls. After his wife died on the property, he lost interest and sold the island. The entrance channel and inner harbor were completed, along with a small pavilion and then the development was stopped. The property became a Park in the1970's and is accessible by ferry for campers or private boats.

Sunrise over Boca Chita beach with driftwood

Sunrise over Boca Chita and the mangroves....beautiful

Our Island Packet Fleet along the Boca Chita Seawall CAVU, CATSPAW, CUTTER LOOSE and ISLAND SPIRIT

Late afternoon sun on the lighthouse with blue skies

Cocktail hour on CUTTER LOOSE along the seawall under palm trees

The "Team" of IP owners: Debbie, Craig, Eric, Ron, Patricia, Mary Ann, Radeen, Carey, Hayden, Bobbie

Sunset over Biscayne Bay with lighthouse cove base and palm trees

Sunset looking back to South Florida from Boca Chita

Sunrise reflection off the glass dome

Sunrise reflection off the Boca Chita Lighthouse with Island Packet Yachts

This is a MUST STOP visit if you boat in the Biscayne Bay area, and thanks to our leader, Carey, we no know the way into the harbor. If you only go by your charts you would never go in here because the charts show only 2-3' water depths.....go in....follow the channel and you will find 6-8 foot water all the way in.

HCC is a place we LOVE Valentine Party was outstanding

After a fantastic week back at Harbour Cay Club, HCC, our new winter home, we departed north for Biscayne Bay where we plan on preparing for our first Bahamas run. Since it was Feb 14, the club planned and organized a dinner where the men do all the cooking, serving and cleaning up for the ladies. The night was a great success with 28 people for dinner, with roses for the ladies and cocktails to fabulous flan for dessert. Yes, HCC is a very special place and it is the people that make is so. Thank you, Captain Jim, for insisting that we get past Vero and visit your paradise. Harbour Cay Club a must visit!

Looking out to the Florida Bay and the exit to sea Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL

Our run north to Biscayne Bay was in two stages: first day up to Channel Five and then out to Hawk Channel up to Rodriguez Key where we anchored for the night; second day up to Angelfish Creek where you pass over the rocky reef in 5-7 foot deep water and cut back into the bay side of the keys from the ocean side.
Once in the bay, it is easy sailing and flat water north up to Boca Chita where you MUST STOP for a night. From here, we will run up to Crandon Park and pick up friends for the weekend and then return back to Boca Chita for some beautiful, peaceful days.


Here are the photos of the day...

Our connection to HCC, our good friend and fellow Island Packet owner Capt Jim and Michele....thank you...

Great friend and fellow TiKi Hut converationalist "New York Jack"...thanks for the great times!

BJ and Ed, the club leaders, and all around great people. Thank you!

Radeen with roses at Harbour Cay Club

Patricia, Debbie and Radeen at Valentine's Dinner Our Boat Buddies

Fabulous dinner served to 28 people!

Beautiful Sunrise off Rodriguez Key

Sailing North in the calm waters of Hawk Channel

Sunset over Boca Chita Lighthouse, a picture that is so beautiful

The Florida Keys are a very special place for boating and the Lower Keys are as near to a Caribbean feeling as we have had anywhere. The Keys far exceeded our anticipated expectations and we already planning our rapid return for next year. Thank you to Captain Jim and all the owners at Harbour Cay Club who made us feel so at home and so welcome. HCC was the highlight of this section of our voyage.

Join me at my new blog ... http://debbieroser.wordpress.com/.

As I write this, we are headed back to civilization - the Exumas - after spending two weeks in paradise. Which isn't to say that the Exumas aren't paradise; it's just a matter of degrees and yes, personal preference. We left Buena Vista Cay at 3:45 this morning and expect to anchor at Little Farmer's Cay around 6:30 this evening.

The Ragged Islands were everything we had hoped they would be: We overlooked long, pristine white beaches from idyllic anchorages, and from at least one spot, were nearly surrounded by MANY beautiful beaches. The crystal clear waters beckoned to us and our snorkels relentlessly, and the unspoiled and abundant reefs - teeming with countless varieties of coral, plants, and sea creatures - mesmerized and thrilled us, making it an effort to tear ourselves away.

Especially me. Except for being with loved ones, nothing makes me happier than reveling  in God's creation, and revel I did. Wayne enjoys it too, of course, but spent a lot of time following me and waiting for me in the dinghy, patient man that he is. At one spot we went to, near our anchorage at Double Breasted Cay, the ocean floor was littered with sea biscuits, as many as I cared to scoop up (and I did collect quite a few).

We saw a remarkable number of Barracudas while snorkeling, far more than we've seen in past snorkeling or diving excursions. They're curious creatures and show a disconcerting level of interest in us; it feels like we're being stalked. Wayne saw about a dozen of them at one time, which admittedly caused him a bit of anxiety. I seem to be the one who always spots the sharks, though; I saw probably half a dozen (only one per excursion), while Wayne spotted none. They don't pay us much attention, Mom.


We were only in Duncan Town one day to deliver books and school supplies with the Conklins (coordinators of Operation Bahamas Project), explore the settlement, have a burger, and make use of the restaurant's wi-fi. I use the term "restaurant" loosely because there is only one table and the few other patrons were school kids on lunch break, watching TV and lounging around an adjacent sitting area.

One of the major attractions of the Jumentos and Ragged Islands for us is the solitude. Many boaters cruise the Caribbean and the Bahamas, but the Jumentos and Ragged Islands are largely undiscovered (although there have been more visitors in just the past couple years). We were with Marilyn and Bruce most of the time, but there were days when we saw no other boats and the only conversations on the VHF were between Reflection and Lena Bea. That level of solitude isn't for everyone and two (okay, maybe three) weeks is probably enough for us, too. But we were blessed by the experience and will return.

We've enjoyed spending time with Marilyn and Bruce. They're dear people and oh, can Marilyn cook! One day she had us over for a breakfast of Eggs Benedict and that evening for a spur-of-the-moment dinner of fresh cracked conch. Bruce and Wayne had gone out in the dinghy in search of conch. Wayne dove for them and the guys came back with over a dozen conch, which they took to the beach to clean (Bruce mentored Wayne on that fine art).
















I've never cooked conch and Marilyn has made cracked conch, conch fritters, and conch chowder, so she showed me how to prepare them. Our share is in the freezer, waiting until we get back to Punta Gorda for me to give it a go.

Of course, we had Marilyn and Bruce over for dinner a couple times, too, but I can't keep up with Marilyn. Did I mention her bread? She makes the yummiest artisan bread! Oh, and one day Christian and Martin - a couple of local fishermen - came by with a boatload of live, freshly-speared lobster (and a humongous Goliath Grouper).


Thanks, Marilyn and Bruce, for inviting us along and helping make our stay in the Ragged Islands a richer and more memorable experience by sharing so generously your food, your nautical experience, your knowledge of the Raggeds, your weather reports, and most of all - your friendship. We admire the work you do collecting books and supplies for the children in the Bahamas and we thank you for that on their behalf. Oh, and I certainly have to thank Marilyn for teaching me how to weave baskets! What a surprisingly fun and addictive hobby!

Basket-weaving is not something I ever imagined myself doing, but with no internet access, no TV, no cell phones, and few unread books remaining on my Kindle... well, basket-weaving while listening to music is a pleasant pastime.
 
Now I just need to figure out what to do with all my shells.

In flat calm water, Cutter Loose leaves the relative tranquility of Boca Chita and is en route north in Biscayne Bay to Dinner Key in the City of Miami.  Upon our arrival, the village of Coconut Grove is bustling with activity.  … Continue reading →

Today is a day for relaxation and appreciation of this unique setting.  This small island was purchased and developed as a vacation retreat by Mark Honeywell of Honeywell Industries in 1937.  The Honeywells ferried themselves and friends from the Miami area to the … Continue reading →

The Cloisters, not Covent Garden. Desserts galore, no desert. Never to sidestep the editor again.

Under sail at 5.3 knots on a beam reach toward Block Island Sound. And it's only 9:00 AM.

Good morning from Greensport. We are anchored off Horton Lane Beach about 400 yards from shore on the eastern end of Long Island. After eight days in NYC we had no real travel plan except to get in to Long Island Sound. Dead flat sea and no wind had us motor past Oyster Bay, past Port Jefferson, past Mattituck Inlet and finally to here as the sun set at 7:55.

NYC is a new must stop destination for us. We had a great time. Ali moved aboard for the duration. Charlie flew up for the weekend. And Katie, Kyle and Judy just happened to be in town for a show. Dinner at Maze at the London Hotel was an event to be remembered. The kitchen selected the menu, the food was outstanding, the staff exceptional. What a great treat.

But finally meeting Judy was the highlight. It was like a meeting of old friends.

All this in addition to Covent Gardens, the Museum of Natural History, a couple of Shake Shack attacks, lunch at Momofuko, desert at Milk Bar, walks on the Highline and Ali's Sundowners Party aboard. We took an extra day to rest.

While the 79th Street Boat Basin is not pretty (or well maintained, or the least bit helpful), it is in a great neighborhood, close to shopping, restaurants, easy transportation and the rest of the city. We came in at low tide (bad idea - never again) and left on a high tide (quite easy). The quantum physics part is being able to leave 79th Street at high tide, run eight miles down river to the Battery, and then run eight miles up the East River to hit the high tide at Hell Gate. We calculated a 7:00 high at 79th Street and a 9:14 high at Hell Gate. This gave us a 2 hour 14 minute window to run 16
miles. Unfortunately we were 20 minutes late leaving 79th Street and a resulting 30 minutes late at the Gate. Speeds of 8.2 in the Hudson and 6.2 in the East River dropped to 2.2 at Hell Gate. The Catalina 38 we passed did only one knot through Hell Gate. But with an early morning start we put in a twelve hour day to Greensport. A great start for what is now a short hop to Block Island. We think.

Today we sail (closer to) home.

Sorry for the huge time delay in updating the blog, but life on dry land has definitely gotten in the way. All is well with us. We survived our very first summer in Florida – no hurricanes or heat stroke. Actually it has been quite nice. We did spend a good bit of time travelling, [...]

Just a short update to let all of know that Ryan’s CT Scan and MRI were all GREAT.  That is certainly good news for all of us. If you’re confused…read the previous post. Smooth Sailing wherever you may be… Elise and Roger s/v Cutthroat

Windseeker on the hards in Rock Hall MD We began looking for another sailing vessel nearly 1 1/2 years ago. Jim Elliott with Gratitude Yachting Center, Rock Hall MD http://www.gratitudeyachting.com/ has been...

Today was truly a day of leisure. We went to Edgartown and had fun window shopping. After a late breakfast, we rode out to Tradewinds Airfield which is an airport Jim used to fly gliders 'in the day'. The airport is still rated as operational but it did not appear to be used. It did bring back some fond memories.






We had a nice walk on the beach on our way back to Oak Bluffs for lunch at Nancy's which overlooks the marina.





We had to show a picture of the way we had to get on and off the boat. What a sight it was for everyone to see us climbing into the boat. On our first day, Vanessa almost fell into the water but luckily she only lost her shoe.





Tomorrow we are heading for Woods Hole.

We started meandering along our summer journey heading towards Block Island. We departed Pier 65 on July 1st at 11:00. The sailing was nice and we arrived mid afternoon. The place was much more crowded than expected and the dingy dock had a traffic jam.

und ab geht´s zum Stellplatz

So...does the fact that I didn't write in my blog for all this time mean I'm a failure at blogging?

Or, a non-blogger?

Or, a blogger wannabe who just doesn't keep up?

Or, it's my journal and I've been lost in a cave for months with no writing instruments???

Not sure what happened to me. Captured by aliens and rendered blog impaired.

Doggoneit...I've let a lot of people down, including Randy and myself, and that doesn't feel good. Rats.

It is my goal and my duty to try to get back in the saddle and catch up on our adventures and declare this blog back in action! The trials and tribulations and fun of Randy and Ellen and their faithful boat Kwanesum are in my head and waiting to be put into word and picture. Now on with it Ellen!

Kwanesum remains here. Dock 9, slip A8.

Love this little town!

So we're in Isla Mujeres now. We left San Pedro, Belize last Friday bound for Key West, but diverted here to avoid a potential tropical storm north of Cuba. You may notice a trend with this - on trips of more than 500 miles we're only 2 for 5 at hitting our intended destination on the first try. We're always at the mercy of weather. Still, this is a pretty nice place to be stuck for a bit - beautiful water and beaches, lots of good cheap food and drink and, miracle of miracles, good internet on the boat.

Previously on...

Lizz's last post left off right after the departure of my friend Scott and my enemy the Dengue Fever. After a couple of rough weeks Lizz and I were ready to get moving north and enjoy some of Belize along the way. With our target US-return date of June 1st looming, we wanted to try to see as much as we could. We had already decided to skip Mexico and focus on Belize, and so after fueling and watering in Placencia we set out for Belize's remote offshore atolls.

Caveat Emptor

For those of you not familiar with cruising, a cruising guide is a book that contains crucial information relevant for anyone traveling the area by boat. Information on anchoring, clearing in/out, chart details for harbors and dangers, etc. This is critical information even in places where general information is easy to come by and chart data is good - like the United States. When you're outside the country and chart data is poor, the cruising guide becomes your lifeline. Cruising guides are almost always written by cruisers who appreciate this fact, and they are generally quite good.

So it was with not a little dismay that we began to note some problems with our cruising guide to Belize. Islands were the wrong shape and size, waypoints weren't quite in the right place. Things were roughly correct, but coupled with the terrible quality of our chart data we were constantly on our toes. Unfortunately, we were about to find out just how bad the cruising guide really was.

We were headed into the Turneffe Islands, a large atoll with a fringing reef and hundreds of islands inside. Much of the atoll is too shallow for most cruising boats, but according to our cruising guide the entire southern section is navigable and can be accessed via two routes - a pass through the reef with minimum depths of 10 ft at low tide, and a channel in from the back with plenty of water for boats that draw up to 5' (Cielo draws 4'8", but we call it 5' to be safe). The text of the guide was specific, and reiterated what the chartlet showed. Conditions were moderate, so we planned to head in the reef pass and then out the back channel if conditions were rougher when we departed in a couple days.

We approached the pass in perfect light and at mid-tide, went right up the middle, yet the depths seemed a little low. The pass is only about 50 yards wide, with waves breaking on the reef on either side, so there was no room for error. Still, the guide is current and the authors claim to have sounded this pass only a year ago. Coral doesn't grow fast, so it's not like things change much during one year in this part of the world. By this point, we're past the point of no return - you can't turn a 40 ft cruising boat around in a 50 yard wide pass with breakers on either side - so we're going in one way or another. In the middle of the pass the depth sounder read 7.5', and at the bottom of the next wave Cielo hit the bottom. Not hard, just kissed it, and then we were through. No harm done to the boat, a lot of harm to my nerves, and it meant one thing for certain - we weren't going to be able to get back out this pass unless conditions were incredibly calm. We were a little shaken (remember, this is our house we're driving around out here), but not overly concerned since we knew we could go out the back channel. Or so we thought.

The next day we started heading toward the back channel. We had to cross a wide bar that our cruising guide authors insisted had 6' of water at low tide, but we couldn't find the 6'. We kept slowly nosing Cielo towards the bar, only to see the depths drop and Cielo kiss the bottom. Time after time we tried, no luck. Finally we called the folks at the lodge on the island over the VHF radio. They said, yes, you should be able to get over that bar. Just go a bit further west and you'll be fine. We tried it, and ran hard aground. With 25 knots of wind and waves pushing us onto the shoal, we were stuck. The nice folks from the lodge came out with a launch to try to pull us off, no luck. We spent the rest of the day trying to get Cielo free, to no avail. The best we were able to do was punch a hole in our new dinghy while setting an anchor to keep Cielo from being driven further onto the shoal. Tired and exhausted, we finally resigned ourselves to spending the night stuck on the shoal and waiting for the next high tide in the morning.

By morning Cielo was floating again, and we were ready to get the heck out of there. We called the nice folks at the lodge again, and they generously offered to send a launch out to guide us over the bar at high tide. As we followed the launch along the bar, they indicated we should begin our turn and head over the bar. Cielo's depth sounder strongly disagreed. I figured the folks on the launch knew this water as well as anyone, gritted my teeth, and began the turn. The depth dropped and Cielo came to a full stop, once again hard aground. Only this time we were even harder aground, and at high tide no less. Not good. This was going to require more drastic measures. The folks on the launch took one of our halyards (the lines that pull the sails up to the top of the mast), tied another long line to it, and then used the 200HP launch to pull Cielo down by the masthead until she was heeled so far over that we were floating and free. Lizz and I drove Cielo off the shoal at a 35 degree angle, heeled so far that the starboard side deck wash awash.

Though we were happy to be free and moving again, we weren't looking forward to spending a week or more sitting in the lagoon waiting for conditions to calm enough for us to get back out the dangerous reef pass we had come in. Fortunately for us, the folks at the lodge had different plans. While we were still heeled over at 35 degrees, they began gesturing wildly that we should turn left - over the shoal again. They proceeded to escort us, line still attached to the masthead, over the shoal and out the back channel - a distance of almost 3 miles. Cielo looked like she hadn't had her V8 in years, but it worked like a charm!

Caye Caulker

Finally free of the Turneffe Islands, we sailed back inside Belize's barrier reef and made a beeline for Caye Caulker. Still a bit gun (or ground) shy from the previous days, we found the shallow water inside the northern reef a bit nerve-wracking. We spent the majority of the 35 mile sail moving at 7 knots in water less than 7 feet deep. The water was so shallow that, at those speeds, Cielo's turbulence kicked up a trail of mud behind us that was miles long. Caye Caulker and San Pedro, a bit further north, were a welcome change after the week's adventures. Calm anchorages, easy access to stores, restaurants, and internet, and all with a relaxing pace and atmosphere. It was a great place to cap off our season before heading home to the US. Or so we thought.

Only 24 hours after leaving San Pedro headed for the US, our weather forecast became quite uncertain due to the potential tropical storm, so it turned out we wouldn't be skipping Mexico after all. After a week in Isla Mujeres and with the low pressure system safely drifting toward the US Gulf Coast, we will be leaving today to head directly to Miami. With any luck, our next post will be from lovely South Beach, our new home for a while.

Posted by: Kevin

Okay, it’s done. Eight gallons of antifreeze; sails in the bags; canvas in the garage. Of course the wind was blowing around 20 knots while we were taking down the Genny but it never hit the water so all is well. Now we wait: only four months till launch and counting. I guess it’s also [...]

Although I’m thankful for many things, I’m definitely not thankful that I live in the North East and have to pickle my boat every fall. Pickling, in my book, is for cucumbers, pigs feet and people – not necessarily in that order! Well, I’ve stalled as much as I could but it’s time to winterize. [...]

On the 24th of January, we arrived in Alabaster Bay and Gone With the Wind was anchored there.  Barb and I saw them eating a late lunch as we walked by on the beach at Cocodimama's Resort.  We were headed to Barb's favorite beach on the East side of Eleuthera to beach comb so we simply waved a hello and had a brief word.  After a good long walk and a long walk along the beach, we returned empty handed, but happy to be in paradise.

The pink sand beach on the "ocean side"

The next day we had nice (expensive) lunch at the resort.

Cocodimama's street side

Cocodimama's beach side and dining

I got a good WiFi connection in the lobby

I could see Jupiter's Smile at anchor

That evening we invited the crew of Gone With the Wind aboard for "sundowners" and had a good visit with this very nice couple, Liam and Annie.  As I mentioned in the blog piece about Harbor Island, they have sailed half way around the world from Sydney, Australia and they have interesting stories and a beautiful boat.

On the 26th, we moved on to Governor's Harbor and shortly after, Gone With the Wind anchored nearby. Barb and I went ashore to get some groceries and do some exploring.  That afternoon, Rogue Brit, a Hunter 466 came into the anchorage.  

(left to right) Rouge Brit, Gone With the Wind & Jupiter's Smile in Governor's Harbor with our ship's tender (dinghy) Big Red in the foreground, left

The wind had turned out of the Southeast now and that was the direction we wanted to sail so we decided to stay in Governor's Harbor for a few days, until the wind shifted.

We were encouraged by a shop owner and the librarian to go to the weekly Friday fish fry, a community fund raising event which begins at 5 PM.  Well, it really begins around 6:30 and the food is not ready until around 7, but that was all just fine as we talked and got acquainted while we waited.

Annie, Jay, Barb, Liam, Trevor & Christy

Give your order and it is written on the back of the styrofoam container along with your name

Then wait for your name to be called, pay $10 and enjoy

Barb and I both had fish, peas and rice and cole slaw.  Chicken and pork were also available as was macaroni and cheese and french fries.  It was a fun time and we returned to our boats around 9:30.  The event went on into the night and early morning.  The next day, I spoke with the librarian about the evening remarking that most of the patrons of the fish fry were tourists.  She replied, 'yes, until about 10 and then the locals begin to show up, after the tourists have left.'  Bahamian people are typically night people it seems.  The local youngsters had been practicing for their junkanoo competition (a combination marching band and costume event like Mardi Gras) the previous night and this night the adults were partying.

During the day children were sailing their boats

The next day, Barb and I hiked to the East side of the settlement and found the ocean beach and walked half its length to a blow hole.  Again, we found no treasures to bring back with us, but we enjoyed the walk over the hill.

A nice house on the hill overlooking the harbor

Liam and Annie invited the crew of  Rogue Brit, Trevor (the ex Brit) and Christy from Nevada, and us over to  Gone With the Wind for sundowners and we had a very nice visit with our new friends.  We returned to our boats after dark and Barb prepared a lobster tail for our dinner.  It is not nearly as good as Maine lobster, but it was still a treat.

On Sunday, Liam, Annie and I helped Trevor and Christy with a short list of boat improvements and trouble shooting on Rogue Brit.  We then all went to lunch at a nice restaurant overhanging the sound where Liam teased the good natured waitress, entertaining us all.

The wind was forecast to shift to the Northeast and strengthen considerably so Barb and I decided that we would leave early on Monday to take advantage of that and head to Rock Sound farther down the island, about 25 miles away.  I had spoken to Chris Parker, our Marine Weather Center guru and he suggested that the wind would increase as the day progressed and would provide a "screaming beam reach" in pretty calm seas down the lee side of the narrow island.  His prediction was pretty much correct and as we turned around the point to enter the Rock Sound harbor the wind was blowing about 22 knots.  Rogue Brit traveled along with us and Gone With the Wind left the anchorage two hours behind us.  They covered the distance in about half the time, arriving just after us, having measured a top speed of 17 knots at one point.  Gone With the Wind lives up to its name!

The sailboat Sea Biscuit is in the harbor.  We know them from our time in Roatan, Honduras, in 2009, and from our eventful return trip to the USA from Isla Mujeras, in 2010.  It will be good to begin February with a reunion with them.

We arrived at our slip in Portsmouth about 4p.m. Sunday, June 27 after 41 hours. The trip was mostly uneventful, the shipping lanes were quiet during the night and the wind was light. We had some light from the moon through the clouds, so it wasn't pitch black. Sunday morning brought fog off Long Island which got thicker and stayed with us all the way to the Newport Bridge. Our friends on Rigamarole went into Block Island but we decided to continue on to our slip. Sunday was perhaps the worst day of our entire trip...the fog created almost zero visibility. We are now resting and fixing things on the boat. It is nice to be home to see friends after nine months. It is also nice to have the car, grocery shopping can now be done in an hour and I can buy more than I can carry in two small bags. We are going to take it easy for the month of July and then hopefully head up to Maine for August.

Christmas Day, I'm sitting in San Juan Airport waiting for my next flight and I thought that I would try and make a post about something that's been on my mind for some time.

I'm sure that many of you think that the scenery must get awful booring when making an offshore passage. Oh sure, you've probably heard that the ocean looks different each day or even throughout the same day, but how different can that really be? It's not, after all, like driving around the USA, where the scenery changes constantly. It must get awful old.

Well I have to tell you that while I certainly welcome and even prefer the variety of land based scenery, a funny thing happens to me whenever I sail offshore. I don't know if others experience this or not. Now it doesn't happen when I take a cruise ship...it has to be from the more intimate setting of a small boat where your connection to your surroundings is much more intense. Let me try to explain.

You might look at a map of our trip, or of the Atlantic, and just see one big ocean... To me however our trip was broken up into... Well let's call them neighborhoods for lack of a better word. Areas where the scenery was similar... At least to me.

Sailing from Gibraltar to the Canaries you might recall that I commented on the reddish haze caused by the fine sands blown off the Sahara. This gave that whole portion of the trip a particular ambience if you will.... This was one neighborhood.

For the first 12 days or so of the long leg to Grenada we had strong winds of 25 knots and greater. This built up big seas with breaking tops, the whole sea was a mass of whitecaps, the sea was a beautiful deep blue during the midday, the top curls of the breaking waves would occasionally show that beautiful translucent blue spot, and the sky was dotted with fair weather trade wind clouds.... This was another neighborhood.

For about 36 hrs or so we were in an area of heightened squall activity. Looking ahead a few miles or so, sometimes you would see a line of dark clouds that stretched down to the sea blotting out the horizon. You knew that you were going to have to penetrate that storm and best be ready for whatever it intended to dish out. Other times there would be a little break between the dark clouds... A small passageway to the light area just on the other side.

One time in this squally area there was a long line of flat clouds crossing our path. As we passed under them they looked like some sort of heavenly highway overpass that we were passing under. This 36hr period became another one of my Atlantic neighborhoods.

There were several more on the trip. Each some distinct change in the scenery. Each sharing some intangible quality that caused my mind to group this section together. Mind you - this was not a conscious choice on my part. It was only after we left that neighborhood that I started to remember it as one.

Each of the offshore passages that I've made in my life have always self organized in my mind this way. I've made a dozen or so and it was always the same.

So.... No the scenery never gets boring for me. It's always changing quite dramatically.

Greg Kerlin

Sent from my iPad

Nous sommes sortie de la marina El-Cid de Puerto Morelos et sommes maintenant à Isla Mujeres. Le mouillage est bien, pas trop de bateaux donc facile de se trouver un trou, le fond est de sable mou, bonne tenue. Le traffic des bateaux est rèsonnable. A la marina "PARADISIO", tenu par un francais, Regis, bon acceil, bar, piscine, WIFI.Il y au sud de l'ile une grosse épicerie Chedraui, plus besoin

Archéologie Nous avons été visiter le site maya Chichen Itza. Ce site est devenu beaucoup plus touristique depuis le temps ou mon capitaine l'a visité en 1985. Dans ce temps-la, on pouvait encore grimper jusqu'au sommet de la grande pyramide. Désormais, ce n'est plus permis, il y a beaucoup trop de visiteurs. De plus, les vendeurs ambulants de souvenirs ont envahis le site, le rendant un peu

Barb, Nickie and Karen do what ladies do all too well...enjoy talking about...hmm whatever that is.






Chess enjoys a great evening with friends...the many dinghy runs from ship to shore, and the wonderful setting "The Belle of Virginia" provided as the setting for family and friends to gather

Ja, gelukt! Nu kunnen we ook onderweg op zee, via de SSB-zender berichten op de site zetten!

Al vijf dagen zijn we steeds bezig om alle zaken gereed te maken op Sobat Kras zodat we haar goed achter laten deze winter. In het water hebben we de zeilen eraf gehaald en de motor- en keerkoppelingsolie ververst. Vervolgens als we in … Continue reading →

Here is the view from below decks after the gale winds dropped to around 30 knots. This video was shot by our crew member Hayden from his cabin below decks. Enjoy the ride...

This video we call....

Sam left the boat with the Conestoga Wagon cover. Even though it is hard to put up, it has been quite useful here since we are sitting directly into the wind. It keeps the boat much cooler.
 (Continued...)

Sam traveled today back to the US to have canvas made.
 (Continued...)

We crossed the Dreaded Mona Passage!!!  So much has been written about thispassage that it has scared the bejesus out of us.  But wait, the weather gurus are telling us that there is aweather window – the best since before Christmas!!!

These overnighters are killing us.  It’s hard to figure out if you left yesterday or the daybefore.  And getting a few hourssleep is magnificent when you can.

I learned today that the Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi to be more precise) have a commonality. They are both touched by the "Tropic of Cancer", a circle of latitude that marks the most northerly position at which the sun may appear directly overhead at its zenith (thanks wikipedia). And this happens only once a year in June. The photo was taken today while we crossed this specific latitude on our trip from Rum Cay to Clarence Town, Long Island. It was a beautiful sail and we decided we could cruise around the world like this! What we may do in the future...

With love, from paradise
Rahel

Gypsi





Cayo



Luna

Molly

While enjoying the great weather here in Marathon, we had to wrestle with a frozen seacock.

Notice - Experienced boaters can skip the following paragraph:

A seacock is a heavy bronze valve that allows you to close a thruhull on a boat.  A thruhull is exactly what it sounds like, a hole thru the hull.  Thruhulls can be most importantly classified as above or below the waterline.   If a hose connected to a below the waterline thruhull fails, in the absence of a workable seacock, water will enter and in fairly short order sink the boat.  Seacocks are very important.  A picture of a seacock follows:



The seacock in question is on a 1 1/2" thruhull below the waterline through which our sewage is discharged after going through our Electro Scan marine sanitation device.  Simply put, it is a mini sewage treatment plant.  But the Florida Keys are a 'No Discharge Zone' in which no waste can be discharged treated or otherwise - very stupid rule IMHO.  In this configuration all our waste goes into a holding tank to be later pumped out into a sewer system (which in the Keys is a whole other story).

However, being compliant law abiding people, we shut down the Electro Scan and closed its discharge seacock.  Last week I (Tom) wanted to flush it out more thoroughly and went to open the seacock. No go - it would not budge - it was frozen closed.

Now being frozen closed is better than being frozen open because the above boat sinking scenario is less likely, but it does, however, render our Electro Scan inoperative.

Fixing this problem is complicated by the fact that if you removed the seacock with the boat in the water, the boat would sink. In the worst case, you need to haul the boat out the water to fix the valve, not an easy or inexpensive task on a 23,000 pound boat.

So after a little internet reseach, I pulled the hose from the discharge side of the valve, removed a drain plug (no water leak with the valve closed) and began to bathe the innards of the valve with a product called PB Blaster (on the label - 'as seen on TV').  It usually takes a day of so to work, so religously each morning I tapped lightly on the valve and tried to open it up - no luck for over a week.



We had almost given up and were ready to schedule a haulout, when without much hope, I again repeated my morning ritual of tapping and trying to open the valve.  Totally unexpectedly, it cracked open!!!

At this point a small amount of water was leaking from the drain hole.  My mind refused to shut the valve - for crying out loud it had been stuck for over a week.  I quickly analyzed the situation- if I open the valve completely, the water will not be able to come out the 3/8" drain.  Even the slow-witted reader will identify the weakness in this 'plan' - remember the hose I removed from the 1 1/2" outlet of the valve.

Well opening the valve stopped the small leak from the drain, but water began to gush from the outlet. Then I finally conceded to closing the valve, but not before several gallons of oily water filled the bottom of some of our storage compartments.

Well the story ends well.  After reattaching the hose, and applying some grease through the drain plug, the valve works fine. 

Moral to the story: 

• PB Blaster is great stuff, although it make take longer than you think; 
• If you try to open a valve, always assume it will open, regardless of past history.

Tom
S/V Barefoot
Docked in Marathon, FL

We arrived at this port of entry in the Galapagos this afternoon safe and sound. First, the details of the trip; we traveled 865 nm in 6 days and 3 hours. We only sailed without use of the motor for 300 miles. The seas were like glass most of the time and the wind was insufficient to sail after the first 36 hours.

But the good news is that Janet and I worked the sails trying to get every bit of speed we could and learned a lot about light wind sailing. Big Al (our spinnaker - the big bright colored sail that is flown off the bow of the boat) got as much use on this leg as he has in the past 4 years.

We crossed the equator at 11:59:25 eastern on Valentine's Day. I timed it just right. We toasted Neptune and asked for his blessings and assistance for the rest of the trip. The three of us shared a glass of wine together (Neptune's was dumped into the ocean which is customary). Janet and I talked about this adventure for the next hour and then I went to sleep as it was Janet's watch.



As we approached the Island of San Cristobal, the sea lions came out to greet us and a huge manta ray jumped out of the water and did a barrel roll about fifty yards off our bow. We are anchored in a pleasant bay with the 30 World ARC boats and about 50 others from around the world. The seals and sea lions are swimming all around us and you can hear them on shore. The customs agents are on the way to board our boat and inspect it. Hopefully we will pass. We will be exploring the islands for the next two weeks and posting the blog with plenty of photos and stories. So stay tuned.  (View Post...)

The Doldrums are so dull that if it were a chick flick, Janet would be bored watching it. Can�'t relate? Janet never saw a chick flick she didn�'t like, and she has seen them all�.... several times each. Still can�'t relate? How about this, the Doldrums are so dull that it makes my speeches at work seem exciting and inspirational. That�'s right, it is that boring.

The first 36 hours after leaving the Las Perlas islands were perfect for sailing, 20 knots downwind with a two knot current pushing us. We flew �"Big Al�", our asymmetrical spinnaker and our jib together for about 8 hours making over 9 knots. We hit 10.7 over ground at the high point. Then the bottom fell out as we entered the Doldrums. We have been motor sailing (using the engine and sails together) since Friday at 9:00 pm. The winds tease us constantly increasing just enough for us to take out the sails including the spinnaker (no easy task) then dying down and letting us flounder, bobbing around in the 1 foot seas. With no wind to cool us off, the sun is so intense you can feel your skin sizzle and it is a sauna below decks. But that�'s what this trip is all about, it's like a visit to the spa on a beach. Yep, know all about that from St Lucia.

We have had some exciting up close and personal sea life encounters, giving us a taste of things to come. On this leg alone we have seen two whales, four sea turtles, several pods of dolphins swimming in a bow wake, and a stubborn free loading sea gull who decided to catch a ride to the Galapagos. He would not leave the boat despite all of our efforts. I know it�'s a nice boat, and that�'s exactly why he should not have treated it the way he did if he wanted a free ride. It seems that sea gulls don�'t mind using the bathroom where ever, or rather everywhere.

At our current (no pun intended) pace, we should arrive in the Galapagos about 4 am on Wednesday. If so, we would �"hang�" off the bay of Baquerizo on the island of San Cristobal until daybreak. No problem, we are getting good at bobbing around in the water. There we will have some internet hot spots to upload the pictures of the start of the rally from Las Perlas and our passage. By the way, everyone is fine and in good spirits. Despite the heat and lack of sailing, we are having fun. (View Post...)

With Nancy and Vernon aboard we wanted to give them the best Caribbean experience we could and after seeing the horrors of Fort De France we decided that going back to St. Lucia would be best.  We got up early, pulled anchor and headed South again across the St. Lucia channel.  The day was rainy and dreary…perfect for a crossing.  On the way across the channel Vern noticed something ahead but as the waves were between 6 and 8 feet high the “thing” came and went…then Captain John saw it too…it was a whale .  The whale disappeared as quickly as it came.

We made a day of it and sailed all the way to Soufriere and picked up a mooring in between Grand Piton and Petit Piton.  We had been eating all of our meals aboard and decided we wanted to go to The Hummingbird Restaurant.  The Piton was blocking our reception so we had a very nice yachtee help us make a reservation by “relaying” the call.  We were booked for 7pm and had a Water Taxi called “Feeling Good” all lined up to take us around the point and into town…much too far in the sea state we were experiencing for five of us to dinghy around the mountain and into town.  Well, they never showed up so Mac-N-Cheese it was.

The next morning the divers had arranged to be picked up for a dive on Emerald Reef.  Jonathon saw a Spider Crab which sounded like a beautiful yet strange creature.  Lunch and rest then off we went again for a Land Tour.  First stop was the Hot Springs at the volcano…a lot like Yellowstone with the steam and bubbling mud pools.

Next we went to the Botanical Gardens, Mineral Pools and Waterfall.  The land for the gardens was given to 3 Devaux brothers by King Louis XIV of France in 1713 for service to their country and it has been passed from generation to generation.

The waterfall was beautiful with the yellow colored rocks from all the sulpher.  Coming into the mooring field we could smell the sulpher from the volcano.

I am showing you photos of the mineral pools before and after Hurricane Tomas hit in 2010.  The mineral pools were originally built in 1784 by orders of King Louis XVI for the French Troops.

Our guide, Dixon (being an ex-car salesman and good at the sales aspect), told us we had to go see Heaven and we all agreed.  So off to Tet Paul Nature Trail.  This was such a well-done trail with guide that we HIGHLY recommend it!  We had no idea it was here…no mention of it in any tour guides.  The first plant is the “looney” fruit, we also saw pineapples and a cashew tree.

We kept climbing up and finally found the “Stairway To Heaven” with a 360 degree view of the Island of St. Lucia and a Piton view to die for.

Since we were already in town we dinghied over to The Hummingbird Restaurant which we had all to ourselves for a while but first we explored “The Bat Cave” at dusk with all the bats starting to fly around…eeeeeewwwww.  A sunset in paradise was the perfect way to say goodbye to another day!  Those of you who know Vern will have to ask him about the “blind” man at our table .

Today we rented a car to pick up Nancy and Vernon from a late night flight at the airport.  Since we had the car we decided to explore Martinique a bit more.  Heading around the island we passed many Banana plantations where they had blue bags wrapped around the banana bunches.  Then we stopped in Le Vauclin for lunch.  They had the “Menu Touristik” and we just went for it.  It started with the appertif of your choice, “Ti Punch or Planters Punch”.  Ti Punch comes with a coconut shell of sugar to add since the alcohol is a bit rough.  Then came appetizer of fried fish and cole-slaw.  For the main course the guys had chicken and I had the fish with some local side-dishes (the mashed potato thing was dasheen)…Jonathon got a pile of “frites”.  Next course was your choice of ice cream, fruit salad, or café.  For the digestive we all got a shot of “schrub”.  After paying “l’addition sil vous plait” (the bill) we took a walk in the sand bar which was beautiful!

Heading West we wanted to see Fort De France.  As soon as we got within 10 miles of the city, we were in a traffic jam…really???  I thought we were in NYC for a moment except for the presence of the Fort of Saint Anne.  The commercialization and industrialization just felt out of place on a Caribbean Island.