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Fuses
a fixit kinda day
This morning when we turned the generator on the battery didn't charge. When we checked the Xantrex it was flashing fault and fuse. Upon pulling out the fuses and replacing them everything worked. Now the big question is why did they blow in the first place? The problem is that if it blows again I don't have 3 fuses I only have 2 left.
Then I fiddled with the solar panels for about an hour trying to find a way to tie them to the lifelines without getting a mounting bracket. I did find a way to tie them up horizontally without supports. I tied the flexible solar panels to the lower lifeline. I took a line from one corner went to a clove hitch on the upper lifeline, then to the other corner and underneath to tie it with a clove hitch on the lower line. What this does is keep the panel on the tilt based upon both clove hitches pulling against them selves so that the panel can't move but is supported by laying on the lower lifeline and being tied to the upper one.
Hannah did wash, Sam worked on videos and I visited friends to help them diagnose why their inverter charger isn't working. I guess it's kinda a fixit day. As it turns out the charger was not only smoking with burned wires but also blew the 4 diodes in the full bridge rectifier into little pieces so it is beyond repair here without a bench and parts. They have two so we might try to scavage parts from both to make one work. That will be another day.
Date:Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:05:00 GMT
New Friends in Luperon
Good food and new resurants
The last couple days we finally got the Mediterranean covers sorted out. I've been working on this for a couple years now! It took most of the day. We had figured out the forward of the three a long time ago but the middle was the bigger problem. The stern portion requires a hoop/support to make an arch. The middle portion requires you to move the boom off to the side. It goes under the boom. This was the portion that alwaysh confused us. In any case it's complete and working. And it makes a huge difference in the temprature! It also gives us full access to the cockpit in the daytime.
Today I also found a bunch of old light fixture parts that match the ones on the boat so I was able to put back the missing lights. There were two over the gally and two over the nav station. The ones I found in a used store were pretty badly corroded but I took some steel wool to them and now they are presentable. I'm glad to have those stupid wood plugs off the boat. The lights get really hot and can melt the plastic so I need to replace them with LED's but I can do that later for now it doesn't look stupid any more. That project had been on my list for a couple years now.
I have a spreadsheet of projects for the boat.
Today we went with Sparrow again into town for lunch and to Asterics for a drink afterward. We met the owner from Austria and I got a chance to speak some German! Next week we're going for Schnitzel and Spatzel! We had a wonderful time and some great conversation. Wanda even came with us today into town. Her hand is feeling much better and she is able to leave the boat now. It was a hot day and we walked a long way but she did very well. On the way home we stopped for ice cream and then got some catfood and vegitables.
We like going out with friends. It makes everything so much fun when you have someone to share with.
I've been working on the solar panels, cleaning up the boat for harbor sitting, Working on projects and sleeping late ! Tonight Samantha called and we had a wonderful conversation! We miss our daughters very much.
Our Spanish learning is progressing slowly but we are trying every time to do it on our own and work out how to communicate. Everyone is very patient with us.
So far we love it here! We have met several local Domicans and I think they are wonderful people! This is a gem of a country! It is going to be a wonderful summer!
Date:Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:05:00 GMT
Lunch in Luperon
Our First trip into town
This morning we got up and headed with our friends into town, but before we left we went to buy some produce from a local farmer who brings his truck full of food to the marina. He had everything from carrots to cantelope.
After putting the food away we got back in our dinghy and went to government docks and walked into town.
Sparrow took us all through town
After that we went for ice cream and changed money into Pesos. The exchange rate is about 580 Pesos to the dollar. Lunch was 175 pesos so around $3 per plate. This was quite the suprise after the prices in the Bahamas.
In the afternoon we went to the marina to do wash, take showers and hang out in the evening at the "captians" table. The marina has a dinner and happy hour every thursday and there was live music from some of the cruisers and a dinner plate special of Flautos. We stayed and met people till after dark and came back to the boat after a wonderful day! I think we're going to love it here!
This morning Handy Andy is coming by with Fuel to refil our tanks and he brought water yesterday. He administers/owns the mooring ball we are on. And he brings supplies to the boat and helps out however you need.
Date:Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:05:00 GMT
Luperon Morning
Luperon Morning birds
This is our first morning in Luperon and we woke to the sounds of birds and chickens right at sunrise. The air is cool and there is a gentle breeze. The harbor is glassy calm and the boat is so still it almost feels like we are aground. Not having the boat move is the the strangest feeling. Today we are going exploring with our friends from Sparrow. There is a nice forest smell in the air and Hannah and I spent about a 1/2 hour just sitting in the cockpit. I almost don't want to turn the generator on this morning because it's so peaceful!
After the last little while sailing through the Bahamas and down this is a very nice change of pace. I can't tell you how thankful we are to our friends on Sparrow who made us feel so welcome and made the process of checking in so so easy. We are looking forward to meeting new folks, walking around town and getting settled in today.
Date:Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:05:00 GMT
Luperon
Quiet seas and bad forecasts
This morning at sunrise we exited Abraham's bay on the south east end and headed out direclty to the Caicos bank heading about 160. The winds were close hauled out of the South West. They were supposed to clock around to the north but they never did and by the time we got to the west end of the Caicos bank and turned 140 they still had not changed. We were making 6.5-7 knots at 2200 rpm so we just kept motorsailing. As we crossed the south side of the banks the wind died and got really flakey so we pulled in the sails and motored on. There were storms forming to our north and our friends who had decided to cross the banks were going to be right in the middle of them. We continued all night to the south east and stayed just ahead of the storms. The Cutless of Grace once again guided us directly to the DR.
Sam and I stayed up most of the night talking about philosophy and history till the early dawn when the wind completely died leaving the ocean glassy and smooth with large 4 foot swells out of the east.
In the early afternoon still motoring we could see the mountains of the DR to the south and knew we would be there soon. As we got closer you could see the lush green of the land. It looked positively wonderfull and we contacted our friends who came out in a dinghy to guide us in as we had no charts of the area. We got directly on to a ball and after cleaning up went in to check into customs and immigration. It was near the end of the day and our friends translated for us as we don't speak spanish yet. It's absolutely beautiful here and I think we're going to love it. We are going to use the opportunity to rest and recuperate and learn Spanish.
This is a wonderful protected harbor and if you follow the markers it's actually not difficult. We didn't see less than 12 feet and though we heard people who don't pay attention run aground here it is an easy access. For now we ate dinner checked into the marina and are relaxing in the cool of the quiet evening. We are safe and glad to see familiar faces.
Date:Mon, 18 Mar 2024 04:10:00 GMT
Mayaguana Monday Night
Wind and Waves and Reefs
Tonight the wind is howling through the rigging with a mournful sighing. It's not really that fast only 20g25 but it's making a spooky sound. And then like an old door the standing rigging creaks and the door locks rattle back and forth. In this boat the centerboard hits the side of it's channel with a boom every time she rocks. It's 850lbs of solid bronze so when it moves even a centimeter it makes quite the thud. In the distance you can hear the waves crashing across the reef to our south and you imagine a poor ship aground there being torn apart by the sharp coral. We heard a story two days ago about a new boat that ran aground there when the captian fell asleep and sailed right into it full speed.
That Reef now is blocking most of the waves but the swell is still making the boat rock. We have a swell bridle rigged so that she's holding her bow into the swell but it's still uncomfortable and rolls you back and forth in the v-berth. And when she hobby horses a little bit there's that elevator feeling in your stomach as she comes off the top of a swell. Even though we are safe there's that nagging feeling crawling up your spine that you might drag into a reef and run aground. Or the question of what would happen if the anchor rode broke or if the shackle on the anchor came loose. You wonder if the stainless steel wire you tied around it will hold.
We have over 150 foot of chain out in 12 feet of water so were not really in danger of the anchor dragging but when a wave hits it pulls the chain and jerks the boat. And when a wave breaks near the hull it makes a deep bubbly growl as the crest breaks all along the side of the boat.
The moon is a 1/2 waxing moon and is very bright tonight and you can see Jupiter just to the west of the moon. We were able to see the southern cross the last few nights for the first time in 24 years. It's low on the horizon at midnight but tonight the moon is too bright and the stars are not as easy to see. You can use Ursa Major as a clock as it points to the north star and moves around. It seems the swell is worse with the tides and it's high tide at night now.
There are times when it's peaceful that sleeping on a boat is the most amazing feeling but on nights like tonight it's spooky and difficult to sleep. You hear every creak every slap of a line and you catalog them in your mind as to whether they are dangerous or not. Last night a metal bowl slid off the galley counter and as it hit the fiddle on the edge of the counter it rang like a bell before it hit the cabin sole with a terrible metalic bouncing sound that had me jumping out of the berth thinking something terrible had happened. Tonight I can hear things softly sliding around the counter and wonder if it will happen again.
Then there are the pumps. You're always listening for the bilge pump going off. Or hearing the toilet (vacuflush) pumps and wonder if someone used the head or is there a leak causing the pump to go... How long has it been running? Did I just wake up? Did it run more than 30 seconds? We woke up last year to the fresh water pump making noise after it ran dry. It ran dry because it pumped 200 gallons into the bilge from hose that didn't have two hose clamps on it and was just clamped onto some pex. When you hear a pump going off and pull up the floor boards to be greeted at 3am with a bilge full of water it's a scary thing. "Is it salt or fresh?" "Oh thank heavens it's fresh..." Of course you don't really like the prospect of tasting bilge water at 3am, in order to find out, but afterwards it's a sweet, oily, rotten flavor instead of salty and you're very pleased.
And then the realization hits you that you're a long way from home. So tonight I closed the hatches to quiet the howling. It doesn't stop the rocking but in some weird way it's like closing the rickety door to your fort when you are 10years old and you feel safe in your hobbled together fort in the woods behind the house. It's yours and it's safe and it closes out everyone and everything. Get a good solid boat. Treat it right. Take care of her and she will take care of you. And hey, the cat is there in her favorite spot, calm as can be, so what could go wrong? Trust the cat, Trust the boat.
The next time I chat with you hopefully we will be arriving in the Dominican Republic. It's a 30-40 hour run depending on winds but it crosses a channel that has kept boats at bay for centuries and even one of the greatest admirals ever, Columbus, lost his flag ship there on a reef while towing it eastwards at night against the wind and the current. The trades are strong this time of year and the current can be 1-2 knots at times. We have a 3 day window where winds will be north of 45deg true which quiets the trades a little. So we're going to attempt the crossing. Beating against the winds and waves breaks boats and crews. We do not intend to be one of those. But what happens when the forecast was wrong? What then? What is our plan? And what about charts? Oh yea, we don't have any for this leg. Let's hope nothing goes wrong with my phone or the ipad because this time there is no backup of paper or chart plotter.
Well the simple answer is take care of the boat and she'll take care of you. Sleep well, Sleep well...
Date:Sat, 16 Mar 2024 02:52:00 GMT
Mayaguana Friday Night
Cookout and Dominos on the beach
Today was too windy for laundry and the boat was a little rolley and we just ate breakfast and lunch and rested a little. We puttered. But in the afternoon we went to shore because we heard that there was going to be a "thing" at the beach. When we got there sure enough there was a cookout/beach party put on by the local community. Apparently they do this every Friday. It's not really for boaters but we're invited. Everyone in town was there and it was a lot of fun
After Dinner Hannah and I played Dominos with the locals and talked with a number of people till after dark!
We met the man who caught the fish. He's quite amazing. There was another boater here who has been coming here for 10 years and he introduced us. This guy free dives to 65 feet and hunts the fish with a speargun. He also free dives for Conch. He supplies most of the island with fish and also sells to the mail boat for other islands. He's very successful. We met the women who cook for the Friday meals we talked for hours! There are about 185 people on the island and about 23 kids in the school. The population is mostly dwindling because there is no work so the kids go away to school and never come back. But it's an amazing community and seems like a wonderful town. It's definately off the beaten path and very remote only seeing a mail boat every couple weeks. But we got a much more REAL Bahamian experience than going to a tourist town. I'm very glad we've spent some time here and there's more to do here!!!
We also met many of the other boaters in the bay. Most of them are going south to Luperon so I think we're all going to sail together. It was a wonderful evening of learning, stories, tall tails and making new friends. This is what seeing the world should be like! I wish there was a real way to share this with you guys but these little words are all that I have. These people are wonderful. They are kind, friendly, fun, thoughtful and willing to share their lives in a way that you don't find in other places. They are so undisturbed by the bustle and politics of the US.
Date:Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:41:00 GMT
Mayaguana
Overnight to Mayaguana
Yesterday we got up early and checked weather. The winds had already shifted favorable for our trip south. 6 boats were already leaving the bay at Rum Cay and we hurried to get ready. But we did not leave un prepared. We took our time to make sure that breakfast was finished, that everyone was dressed and the boat ready for a serious off shore journey. We even put up the man overboard lines and cleared the decks of everything including our spare anchor which we took apart and stowed in the chain locker. As part of our planning a couple days before we knew that we did not have paper charts of anything south of the Crookeds and we did not have charterplotter charts either. So we would be using our backup charts on phone and ipad. CMaps from B&G and Aquamaps. This is a highly irritating problem for us and after paying for charts from navionics only to realize that they were not "all" of the Bahamas I was not pleased. Not to mention our charts of The rest of the Caribbean are still waiting for us at St. Breandon's Isle. This meant that going into the harbor at Luperon or and Mayaguana we would be going slow with phone charts and visual person on the bow charts...
We motored out around the reef and turned into the wind on a beam reach in 15 knots of wind that later built to 20-22 and we knew that the winds would be clocking around to the east through out the next day or two. The winds held out of the north until we were well passed San Salvador when they started shifting and we headed South East.
Throughout the day we kept the same point of sail but as the winds shifted so did we, drawing a gentle curve on the charts. As the winds built in the morning to 20 knots we reefed the sails and averaged 7 knots all day double reeved. The seas were rough. Not really more than we had done before but they were tiring. There was a Trade wind swell out of the east at about 4-5 feet on a 12-15 second period and then there were the wind driven waves at 4-5 feet on top of them from windward. That made for a confused sea with peaks of the waves at 10 feet and lots of whitecaps across the waves at 20-22 knots. Frequently we were hit by waves over the side of the boat till everything was wet. At one point we decided to put the hatch boards in to keep water out of the boat. It was a tiring day. As we came abeam Samana Cay I got on the SSB radio to download an updated grib file and decided the winds were not going to hold for a continuation to Luperon and so we turned southerly toward Mayguana on a broad reach. It was not long into the evening before the winds continued to clock to the east till we were close hauled as we approached the island at 2am.
I spent a lot of time looking at the stars and trying to learn more constellations. Even before you get out your sextant you have to be able to identify the stars. You can't spend hours just finding the stars to take a sighting and if you use your phone to find the stars to shoot with a sextant that even further mixes the technology and defeats the purpose of the low tech approach. So I'm trying to learn the stars and how they move so that it becomes easy to find the stars I need for a good sight. As I was doing this I also made up my own constellations! And one of them to the left of Scorpio at about 2am was the picture of a sword, a simitar and it was pointing east directly at Mayaguana. I couldn't see the land yet but there was a faint glow on the horizon so I knew where it was. That glow later turned into a light on a hill. So I called that the sword of Mayaguana.
There were 6 other boats heading to Mayaguana ahead of us. They left the harbor about an hour before we did and they arrived in the dark. Some anchored outside and some tried the entrance in the dark. The bay here is very complicated and full of changes in depth and lots of coral heads and reefs. We opted to slow the boat down by detuning the sails and making 3-5 knots took an extra 3 hours till sunrise when we struck the sails and motored into the opening in the reef.
Sam was on the bow watching for reefs, Hannah was on the ipad planning our course through the maze and I was movning slow watching the depth and trying to steer with my iphone. It took us over an hour to get into the long bay behind the reef and we anchore in 12 feet of water as close as we dared to land. I made lots of circles to chart the bottom as best as I could. This is a rolly anchorage and will not be comfortable in a blow which is coming over the next week.
I'm not sure why but it was a challenging and tiring day. Sam and I finally got to sleep at about 9am and didn't get up till lunch.
We had bean salad for lunch and fried burritos for dinner. I hate the sound of the centerboard and the wires in the mast when the boat rocks. Some day we will have to fix both. But that is for a refit.
Overall it was a good day and the boat performed flawlessly. We are coming together more and more as a crew and we are able to sail the boat better and better every day. There are things we do now as a matter of course that make things easier and safer. A few of them are: We keep the decks and rails clear. We keep our lines tied up. We reef at 15 and double at 20. We reef at night. We don't go into harbors at night. We do 6 hour shifts. We plan our day before it happens so we know what points of sail we're going to use. Everything is in a locker or tied up. Nothing is left laying about the cabin. We leave the chart table clear with charts open and log book ready to write in. We try to log every hour. Food is prepared ahead of the journey. We always top off water and fuel if it's available. We give the cat and the crew bonine and ginger before we leave. We never leave before everyone is ready. We do final walk throughs of the boat so multiple people put eyes on things to make sure we are ready. There's more but these are a few of the important ones.
Date:Sun, 10 Mar 2024 21:04:00 GMT
Rum Cay
A great day sail and sharks in the water
It was a nice evening and a beautiful morning. We got up at about 8am and got the boat ready to leave. I checked weather and the winds were here a little earlier than planned so we headed out as soon as we could. Even still we got a late start leaving the bay at about 10:30. I checked in on the ham radio and let them know were were off to Rum Cay on the waterway net on 7.268lsb and downloaded the latest grib files. We ate breakfast and cleaned the boat for off shore. But you know what?! The engine started wonderfully! I'm so pleased. We motored out past the point and put up the sails on a beam reach in 10-15 knots of wind off our starboard and made 6-7 knots all afternoon arriving at Rum Cay about 1600 and anchored in 9 feet of water just off the government docks. Waves were 2-3 feet on top of long 2 foot swells.
After we arrived at Rum Cay and Hannah put the bread in the oven, someone came on the radio on 16 saying they were getting out of the water because there was a bull shark in the bay. I guess no swimming tonight! There were also several baracuda as well.
After looking at weather we are going to attempt to leave for Mayaguana tomorrow morning at first light. We should have another beam reach at 15-20 knots off our port beam for a 20 hour run at 7 knots. After that it doesn't look like we'll have winds to complete the run to Luperon for a week so we could be stuck in Mayaguana. Alternatively we might check into Turks and Caicos for a week and hang out there. I don't know. We'll decide Tuesday.
For now I'm going to have dinner. The boat smells of fresh bread and bean salad. I think there will be shortbread later as well. We will have a relaxing evening and tomorrow will take care of it's self!
Date:Sun, 10 Mar 2024 04:00:00 GMT
Calabash Bay
Sailing and Fixing stuff
So we left a little late from Georgetown on Friday and said our goodbyes on the radio. We left several new friends and made our way in light winds to the top of Long island to stage for Rum Cay. About 2 hours out we were making 1-2 knots and having difficulty with helm control so I decided to start the engine for the last little bit. However the lure of the big ocean was calling so we motored out past the point to see if we had winds heading south. The big swells were there like I remembered. These swells come all the way from Africa so they are much bigger than what you find along the east coast of the US. These are trade wind swells. I turned off the engine and tried to sail. But, after finding no wind for a southern passage I decided to turn on the engine and head back to Calabash Bay. And of course the engine wouldn't start! I'm getting so tired of this!! Anyway I jumped it by lifting the floor and we headed back to anchor at about 1600.
Saturday we woke early after going to bed early. I got the drone out and took a few pictures/videos and then I started working on the starting situation with the engine. I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of this wiring gremlin once and for all. So Sam and I pulled everything apart. We cleaned every ground and positive connection. WE replace every bad crimp. I rebuilt the instrument panel and re-wired it or at least reworked every connection. We took apart the electrical panel and checked the engine battery switch which does get hot sometimes and tried to figure out all the charging issues. And after the final reconnection of the positive cable to the starter I decided to test it. And it didn't work. I went after the yellow wire on the alternator that feeds the field coils and at least I could get it to start charging after revving it up to 2500 rpm. So I started cleaning the positive connections again and then the Tachometer and charging quit for good and wouldn't start again. Now it was getting on 1500 and I'd been at it with Sam for all day. I'm not going off shore till I get this fixed! Period. End of discussion.
Then I looked at the big Junction connector behind the instrument panel and wiggled it... darn if it didn't start working. The one thing I hadn't looked at. Hannah reminded me, "It is plugged in right?" and of course after cleaning that plug with de-ox-it, everything is working. The simplist thing is usually the problem. There were a host of wiring irregularities but the real problem was simply dirty connections in the Junction connector.
Feeling much better we all took baths in the beautiful water and did a little swimming. After putting everything away we had dinner and then Hannah and I discussed weather and routing for the rest of the trip.
So if we leave heading south tomorrow we'll get about 8 hours of good sailing and 8 hours of becalmed during the night. We would arrive at Mayaguana late monday night. If we toodle over to Rum Cay tomorrow and stay the night leaving Monday morning we will be in Mayaguana Tuesday morning. But we will have no winds to get to Luperon for a week. So we could spend a week in Mayaguana. But we can spend some time seeing if we can get checked into Turks and Caicos. We will be able to go there any day between Wednesday and Friday and hang out for a few days. But checking in and out of Turns and Caicos is not as easy as it looks so we will have to figure it out in Mayaguana. Also Mayaguana has fuel and water so we can re-stock. For tonight we're going to bed and tomorrow we will have a relaxing sail 25 miles to Rum Cay arriving in the early afternoon. Good night everyone! Oh... looking outside with the fabulous stars you can see the light from the aft cabin illuminating the water. The fish see it too and you can see their shiny bodies flicking around in the water. It's cool to watch. Lilah was weird tonight hissing at nothing. Something has her spooked.
Date:Thu, 07 Mar 2024 23:45:00 GMT
Ready to go
Quiet Evening and last minute preparing
We moved back closer to the town a couple days ago and have been filling up with water and fuel, doing wash, organizing, baking bread and planning the next leg of our journey to the Dominican Republic. This will be the most technical and most difficult part of our sailing so far. It is also potentially the most dangerous and longest sail. This is the thorny part of the thorny path. The winds are mostly dead off the nose and strong. We are late in the season and the trades are strong especially below 22deg. I have been spending a lot of time planning the route and checking weather and waves. This is a luxury we didn't have 25 years ago when we headed right into the Sargasso Sea in Feburary and were knocked down in 60knot winds and 20 foot swells. I guess that makes me a little concerned about this portion. But this time we will be island hopping, and we have grib files.
Tonight the winds are calm, the water glassy in Elizabeth harbor and the lights from the boats look like bright stars around the horizon. People are waterskying behind dinghys, kids are paddle boarding around the harbor without life vests and the conch horns are blowing. It's about 75 degrees and Hannah is cooking beans and rice and putting away the groceries we bought today. Today we went to Shop Right instead of the Exuma market. It has a very different selection and prices are generally a little cheaper. I think more of the locals go there. I'm really missing my skipper's cap that I lost on the way to Staniel Cay and we spent a little time on the net searching for one today. Also a couple of different boats used our 50 gal rain barrel to fill their tank. We also gave a relay to someone who couldn't get their engine started. They were very thankful. Time for dinner!
Date:Mon, 04 Mar 2024 01:08:00 GMT
Helping
Pay it forward!
The Cruising community is very diverse and yet very close knit at the same time. We all understand about paying it forward and we all help each other. At any moment something could go wrong with our boat. It could be serious and it could be not serious. We all need help sometimes and all of us who have cruised for any length of time have stories to tell of things breaking underway. Especially us personally as we have a 54 year old boat that we are attempting to restore underway. There are jokes abounding about fixing things in exotic locations. So, when two boats sail into the harbor with out an engine and anchor under sail, everyone who can jumps into action. We, and several others have been spending the last few days trying to diagnose and fix the offending engines. Look there are folks who are super independanat and there are folks over their heads. There are folks with money and there are folks working their way along. There are young and old, experienced and newbies. You have to give someone credit who sails for days without an engine, refusing to quit, refusing to call a tow boat, and determined that they are not going to let something as minor as a lost engine get in their way. Before you jump in and say, "why didn't they just call tow boat, why risk it..." you really need to think twice. Monday morning quarterbacking does not really belong here. It's not always that simple. And if you have a good boat and all is safe it's not a problem. I know a couple who lost an engine off Cuba and sailed all the way to Guatamala before finding a way to fix the engine. Self reliance is to be respected in this world.
That is one of the reasons I love this community. Most cruisers, the vast majority, are good people. There is a karma about it that keeps us all in check. Perhaps it is the common realization that we take our lives and the lives of our loved ones in our own hands every time we go out. And at the same time there is a common love and respect of the sea. It gets in your blood and never leaves. The independance, the solitude, the camaraderie, the freedom, the challenge, the peace, the excitement and the bordom keep us all guessing, and like gambling, coming back for more. My hat is off to the folks we have tried to help this week, and my thanks go out to folks who gave us items we needed (even if they didn't). I lift my glass to those unamed, who have graced our lives here and made us feel welcome, inviting us into their world, and introducing us to their friends. You are an example for all of us and set our souls free! Safe Journey! So to all you cruisers who read this, I'm sure you already understand, and to all you who are not cruisers yet: pay it forward... pay it forward.
Date:Fri, 01 Mar 2024 01:20:00 GMT
Endless party
Moving day!
We moved today from the anchorage near town to Chat and Chill beach where the party never ends. It was Regatta day today and Sam crewed on "It's only Money" They came in second! It was a beautiful day with constant winds out of the south east at 10-15. We should have raced but we didn't. But since we didn't want to get wet going the 1 mile across the harbor we moved the boat. It's a lot gentler here in a SE wind. The awards ceremony and party was at Peace and Plenty beach just south of Chat and Chill. The tide was out so we left the dinghy in 1 foot of water with the anchor we got from Noname' and enjoyed the party. We met several new people and had a wonderful time at the beach till dark when we came back to the boat.
Now we're eating beans and rice and for desert we're having fresh shortbread.
This morning Sam left early at 7am to get the boat ready to sail and I went to get 100 gal of water to refill. Then Hannah and I went shopping for food. As I said before the grocery store here is not cheap but it is well stocked and we tried to stock up a little on things we eat regularaly. We learned a little yesterday about why the farmers market is so slim. It's because of recent hurricanes that have salted the soil so it's not producing much anymore.
It's getting late and we're going to turn in early tonight after a long hard hard day... afterall we moved the boat 1 mile and actually had to anchor again before the party! But at least we didn't get soaked by waves coming back to the boat.