Jason & Rebecca's Page

Basking in Morehead City

kq4sq@winlink.org — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:24:24 -0700

Ahoy, Yesterday was a little more like the ICW Cruising life I've come to know and love. The wind stayed under 20 knots and the motoring was easy. In fact we were able to raise the sails for long stretches, which saved on fuel and made the trip even more enjoyable. LeRoy changed our fuel filters after the previous days shakeup. It was smooth sailing all day. Once again we had the company of dolphins and pelicans. They add a lot of charm to the ICW experience. Power vessels do not. One power yacht blew by us with inches to spare and rocked us from toe rail to toe rail. I had stowed things as if we would meet a storm, but one tray crashed to the teak cabin sole and broke. Not to mention put a ding in my teak. He didn't leave us any room to turn into his wake so we took it broadside. I put a curse on his engine, so I'm hoping the break down happens at the least convenient time. Most boaters are courteous, it is just the stinky few that give power boaters a bad reputation. We decided to leave the boat here at the new Morehead City Yacht Basin, and drive down to Florida to look at homes. Right now, it isn't looking good weatherwise for us to go off shore to Florida as we planned. I don't need any more excitement. LeRoy is off getting a car rental that we can drive to Florida. Once we get there, we will have our own car to drive. The rates at Morehead City Yacht Basin are $2.00 a foot daily, $8.50 a foot weekly, $12.00 a foot for 2 weeks, and $17.00 for one month. No telling how long we will be away looking at homes, but we need to look this month while there are special deals with builders trying to unload current inventory. I love a bargain. Anyhoo, I'm worn to a frazzle trying to scoot down the ICW, so it will be a treat driving to Florida in just a couple of days. LeRoy is back and ready to roll, so I will chat later. He has to take some of our Bimini down to get it resewn. The gale force winds broke some threads. LeRoy had water pouring down in front of him at the helm to add to his discomfort during the storm. The window in our bimini we use to check the sails hadn't been restitched when they restitched our bimini. The gale broke the weaker threads around the window and water poured through. I brought out an umbrella to give him some protection, but after a while we were both so soaked that dripping water made no difference. Driving off to Florida, Charlotte

Atlantic Yacht Basin

kq4sq@winlink.org — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 05:47:22 -0700

Ahoy, With polished fuel and a nights rest we will start up once again for Florida. For a mere $380 they circulated our fuel through a filter and told us we shouldn't have any more problems. We shall see. At least we made it through the 3 or 4 bridges and the locks with no trouble. I think we only have two bridges tomorrow. I failed to mention the dolphin escort we had the night we motored into Norfolk. I was surprised by a rather large sploosh next to the stern. It didn't seem likely that it was a rogue wave or the wake of some mystery boat, but darn if it didn't happen again. LeRoy saw the dolphins. I just saw the splashes. It has been so long since we had the pleasure of their company, and at night it was a real treat. So let's see, a midnight run into Norfolk and today a gale force wind as we maneuver into the River Forest Marina in Belhaven, North Carolina. We stayed at the Alligator Marina last night and discussed whether we wanted to wait out the front that was coming through today or journey on South. Belhaven was only 50 miles south, so I figured it would be a fairly easy day. A front of sorts did blow by with torrential rain and gusts up to 28 knots. We were in a wide channel in a wide river so it wasn't a big deal. Going through the long canal wasn't a big deal either. The winds were blowing from 20 to 25 knots, but we had some protection from trees and it was a straight run. Then we came to the big Pungo River. Well let me tell you, the wind kicked up to 35 knots jumped up to 40 knots and pretty much stayed there until we were tied up at the Marina. The waves built to 4 to 6 feet and were not very far apart. Waves split by our bow, splashed over the deck and windscreen. Thank heavens I always prepare the boat for the worse case scenario when we cast off, because this was the absolute worse storm I've been in yet. We were creeping along so that the ride wasn't any rougher than necessary, but it was like riding a frisky Mustang. I felt sorry for LeRoy at the helm. I helped spot markers, but mostly I stayed out of the wind. LeRoy was trying to keep us in the narrow channel and spot the markers leading us into the marina. Wouldn't you know that the rains became a deluge as we approached the dock. LeRoy knew he couldn't turn the bow into the wind as it was blowing between 35 and 40 knots. He was able to back into the wind, so that is what he did. We had about 8 boaters helping catch our lines and help us into the slip. Once we were settled, LeRoy noticed we only have 5.4 feet of water here. We draw 5.6 feet. Glad he didn't have that on his mind while we were getting into the slip. I wasn't much help with the lines. I had things ready for a bow in, port side tie up. We backed in and the wind was off our starboard. I usually have all the lines ready, just in case, but this time I waited until the last minute so that I wouldn't get blown overboard in the rocking waves. A breakwater smoothed out the water, but didn't leave me a lot of time to adjust lines. Anyway, I was busy rigging lines and tossing lines and basically scrambling in the torrential rain. Water stings at that wind speed. Now I am safely ensconced in my snuggy cabin. What a relief. LeRoy just told me he was thinking about our fuel and wondering if the bucking was going to stir up enough left over scum to block our filters again. Poor guy. Imagine trying to stay in a narrow channel and then come into an unfamiliar channel to the marina, while planning how he was going to change filters if the need arose. My only concern was how was I going to use the head, while the boat was lifting and dropping about 10 feet. It takes quite a bit of concentration, not to mention dexterity and timing. LeRoy just had to hold his water until we got tied up. I offered to give him a potty break, but he turned me down. I could have handled the waves. I was too dumb and excited to be scared. I was having fun. I'm not sure the Captain shared my joy. Wonder if the Captain is thinking about vaulted ceilings and swimming pools with spa features. I just learned when I got on the computer to send this update, that my nephew, Cory's, little girl has broken her leg on a trampoline. Now that is trauma. I would much rather be fighting a gale than have one of my kids hurt. Katelyn is the prettiest, sweetest little girl. Please add her to your prayers. I'm pretty tired, so think I will crawl under the covers and watch TV. Good news, our Follow Me Direct TV satellite dish stood up to gale force winds. I asked LeRoy if we shouldn't take it down off our radar arch until we got to Florida. He said it would be fine, and by gosh, he was right. I'm proud of my captain. He got compliments on bringing our boat into the slip. Well gotta go write to Katelyn and Cory, stay safe and dry. Drenched in Belhaven, Charlotte

Leaving Kinsale to search for the sun

kq4sq@winlink.org — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:29:06 -0700

Ahoy, Here's the thing. Sitting for 7 months at the Port Kinsale Marina is not the way to keep thinking happy thoughts about the boating life. I would usually start the whining process just as LeRoy was finishing up a particularly frustrating bit of repair. For instance, LeRoy carefully removed the hot water tank and replaced all the leaking fittings. He had to cut the electrical wires to remove the tank so that he could do the repairs. He made the repairs, rewired the electricity and then struggled to get it remounted under our starboard settee in the main salon. It continued to leak. I believe it was at this point that I told LeRoy that my life sucked and I needed a real home. The boating life wasn't enough fun for all the frustrations, and yadda yadda yadda. LeRoy looked like a whipped puppy and started to check out homes in the Merritt Island part of Florida. I was still on the fence a little. After all, we put all this work into the boat, now was the time to head for the islands and start our big journey into more distant and exotic places. Then again, the homes we were looking at had pools, and huge kitchens with vaulted ceilings, and garden tubs. Just a tub would have made me happy, so just imagine what a garden tub with jets does for me. I was starting to get all tingly about a new life not featuring bilges, and mildew and tiny gnats. { We have been living with tiny gnats for 7 months. Apparently they were breeding in the pool under our hot water tank.) Having convinced LeRoy that our marriage needed a house, off he drove to Florida. The plan was to leave the car in Florida so that we would have wheels to go look at homes. I told him to take a couple extra days and get an overview of what was available, so that we could make good use of our time. I could look at the homes on line, but LeRoy was there and could really check things out. I'm was getting pretty jazzed about buying a house. I decided not to travel with him so that I could get things stowed away and have the boat ready to leave as soon as he got back. It went a lot faster without LeRoy around. The storage is now well organized and everything is in the computer with the location. No more wondering where that sailbag is, or what did I do with that electrical tape? From now on all I have to say is "Just look at the list honey". If it's not on the list, I didn't store it and it's not my responsibility. Ahhhh that felt good just typing the words. You have no idea what it is like to have some control over my environment. Speaking of environment, I've been taking super long walks through the countryside. Each week I say the foliage can't get any better than this, and each week it gets even more spectacular. We have wild turkeys in the woods near the marina. I feel like I'm living a fall poster. A scenic marina surrounded with a forest of fall foliage, foxes and turkeys bounding through the forest and weather that is just starting to get crisp. Pretty idyllic for marina life. LeRoy drove down to Florida, looked around for a couple of days then flew back to Norfolk. His Nephew, Allen, and his family picked him up and kindly brought him back up here to Kinsale. Allen's son, Nathan, was thrilled to see our big TV screen in our cabin. He was very polite but I could tell that he wanted to watch some big deal sports event on TV. He is quite the football fan and there was some big game getting into the final quarter or some such. Every once in a while squeals of delight would emanate from the forward cabin, while the grownups got caught up on each others lives. Wanting to win his affection, I let him choose a sharks tooth from my collection. I nearly had his attention for a minute, then a big play happened. That's ok, I know the way to a young man's heart. It is his birthday soon, and we found the perfect gift. This will give him one more focus besides sports. Gyromax to the rescue. But I digress.... So LeRoy got back to the boat and said we were sailing off the next morning. I knew we were leaving soon, but I had figured that meant in a day or two. I specifically asked him if the oil filters had been changed and was he sure he didn't need to spend a day making sure we were ready? Nope, he was all set and we were leaving first thing in the morning. He said we could make Norfolk in one day. I warned him that I wasn't up for pushing it our first day of cruising after sitting for 7 months. No, I wanted a nice easy day to get used to boating again. LeRoy was able to weave us out of the small river and out into the Potomac. The weather was perfect but a tad chilly. One of the things I wasn't responsible for was my foul weather gear. LeRoy put it somewhere on the boat. Sigh. Anyway, I layered up and off we motored. There was not enough wind to sail and the wind was directly on the bow. LeRoy is checking his charts and gives me this mirthful little grin. "You're going to get a kick out of this. I'm off by a river. I was thinking we could still make Deltaville even with this late start, but I don't think we can. You have a choice. I can try to wend my way down a shallow river that is unfamiliar to me in the dark, or we can continue on down to Waterside in Norfolk." He pointed out that all the anchoring spots were way out of the way in unfamiliar shallow places and gave me a look, like you really don't want me to do that do you? I thought it over. Big deep Chesapeake Bay and then big deep channel into Norfolk or doing something the captain isn't happy about doing. Hmmm let me think...I told him I thought it would be fabulous to keep going into Norfolk. I reminded him that we would have a full moon. The sunset was just getting gorgeous when the engine started making a different sounds. I don't like diesel engines that make different sounds. We started losing RPMs and I started losing my happy glow. LeRoy says it has to be dirty filters. I blinked several times, harking back to the moment when I asked if the oil had been changed recently and did he need to check that before we left. So I'm sitting in the cockpit behind the wheel at sunset, with no engine. We will discuss the running lights next. It didn't take long for LeRoy to change the Racor external fuel filter, then he had me rev the engine. White smoke billowed out of the exhaust port. Not a good thing. Back down he ducked and replaced the fuel filter on the engine itself. That takes a little longer and is a tad messy. Sigh. So the engine is running cleanly once again. We never worried about the filter on the engine before because we always used a 2 micron filter in the racor, but someone suggested to us that the 10 micron cartridge would put less strain on the fuel pump. We never had any problems with the filters or fuel pump before, so we are going back to the 2 micron cartridge. LeRoy cleaned up the mess and off we went. My anxiety level is a tad higher as I wasn't sure why our filters had clogged up. I was thinking maybe sitting for 7 months had let bad stuff grow in our fuel. Now about the running lights. You need running lights while motoring in the dark. A green one on the starboard bow and a red one on the port bow. Plus a white light in the stern. Our bow lights were only working intermittently. I wasn't happy. My Captain is bounding up to the bow to lean way over to look see if the running lights are on. I'm running through the emergency procedures should said Captain fall overboard in the dark. LeRoy finally turned on our tricolor lights on the top of the mast. This is intended to be used with a boat under sail, but desperate times call for compromise. At least we had something that told other boaters we were in the area. I was busy keeping an eye on boat traffic and trying to relax. I saw a large red glow in the East that I couldn't explain. I thought maybe it was a light shining off the side of some large cruise liner or something. I kept an eye on it and it turned into a gorgeous golden moon. Ok, this was starting to be a nice trip again. How exciting to be out at night. The turn into Hampton roads got a little bumpy from the swells off the Atlantic. I was getting anxious again, as there is always a lot of barge traffic and huge cruise liners about. Not to mention frisky little ferry boats zipping back and forth across the channel. I was helping look for markers, but they are mixed in with all the bridge tunnel lights and street lights etc. Near our destination I noticed that the lights were blinking out and a huge black something was dead ahead. The huge black something had red and green steady lights. Markers blink. Fixed red and green lights mean something is headed straight for you. I said in a quivery voice, "Uh, Honey, what is that big black thing?" My Captain strains to look then does a quick course adjustment as a huge barge the size of a condo goes sliding by in the night, pushed by a very large tugboat. My that was exciting. LeRoy had called ahead and arranged for Justin, (a dock hand at the marina) to meet us at the slip and help us tie up. A huge motor yacht was tied up in the entrance, so that LeRoy had some tricky maneuvering to do, but he brought us in and backed into the slip with no problems. We got tied up, hooked up and ready for the night. It is 11:15 PM. Now here is the thing. LeRoy is all happy, cuz we made it to Norfolk in record time, we had a lovely moonlight cruise and why am I suddenly all cranky. I couldn't rant and rave while my Captain had to focus on getting us to Norfolk, but I definitely thought I had a rant coming. He owed me a " I messed up Honey, I'm so sorry I put you through all that." Nope, what I got was. "What are you unhappy about. We are safe, and we are here in Norfolk a day early. We saved the marina fees we would have spent in Deltaville." The worst was, "It was your choice remember?" Choice, I had a choice, I was starting to sputter at this point. LeRoy was too tired to listen to a rant. Ladies, please....am I right? Send email. The trouble is ranting just isn't satisfying when everything turns out ok. I felt cheated. It didn't help that the next day had high winds and rain. LeRoy looked all smug and said "See, we would have been sailing in that mess and it would have been a bigger chore getting tied up." I can't win. The next morning LeRoy used my hair dryer to heat up the shower so that I could be all toasty when I got out of bed and took my shower. He also bought a lovely vase that matches our teal colors on the settee in the main cabin. So ok, now that the anxiety is over, it was a lovely moonlit night and the lights of the city were beautiful and everything did turn out perfect. Still I think I will just peruse those brochures LeRoy brought back from the various developers. Those vaulted ceilings and pools, with spas and waterfall features, are looking good. Safely at Waterside in Norfolk, Charlotte P.S. We have to move down the channel to the Atlantic Yacht Basin to get our fuel pumped out and cleaned. I don't know if we still had water left over from our fuel problems we had in the Bahamas, which may have allowed algae to grow or if we got dirty fuel or what, but it needs to be cleaned. At least we have experience dealing with it, and here in the states there is a man that will take care of it for us and save most of the fuel. Sigh. Did I mention garden tubs and walk in closets?

Back from India

jason@bukerworld.com — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 11:33:23 -0600

Got lots of pictures and they are posted in the gallery already. Sorry I haven't updated this in awhile. Life is just too busy with work, school, and stuff that I just haven't been able to do much with this. I was thinking of completely redoing the site but finding I'm too lazy. :| See the pics http://thebukers.net/gallery/v/India

Rabbits came back

jason@bukerworld.com — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 01:27:12 -0600

After disappearing for a couple weeks our rabbits finally showed back up. It seems so strange to see rabbits running around the neighborhood.

Dubai trip again

jason@bukerworld.com — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 00:11:44 -0600

Rebecca surprised me again with a birthday celebration trip to Dubai. I got to go do the Ski Dubai thing again. Stuck to snowboarding again. Getting more comfortable and actually look like I know what I'm doing. Or at least thats what I keep telling myself. Job prospects are still looking good. Just wish things moved faster. Here is a pic....

New Developments....

jason@bukerworld.com — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:07:46 -0600

Things have been moving right along. Good job prospects.... hopefully good news on that soon. Our little bunnies have been visiting us pretty regularly. It's bad because we now miss them when they don't show up on the weekends. The weather here has been hot but not unbearable. Mostly hanging in the 110's, but we had our first day of humidity this morning. Uck... forgot what that was like almost. We have a trip planned for India coming up shortly. Still not really that enthused to go but it promises to be a good trip. I�m thinking of redoing the website so all these posts maybe going away. Save any pics you might want�.. :)

Google Earth and more....

jason@bukerworld.com — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 06:01:30 -0600

Google Earth has been updated recently. You can clearly see our house now. Very cool! Also a little while back, Rebecca and I have started receiving a visitor on the weekends�. a tiny little bunny. This last weekend there were two. It's very cool having little rabbits playing in the yard. We put out carrots and water in hopes to tempt them to come back around. One has been visiting us quite regularly. So far haven't seen both together since the weekend. Still pretty cool though. It's a lot like having pets without pets. I'll try and get a picture of them soon.

So much for updates..... :)

jason@bukerworld.com — Tue, 02 May 2006 05:53:36 -0600

Sorry about not updating. I'm thinking of completely redoing this site too. We just arrived back in Saudi last night around 10pm. The usual crazy drivers and policies to welcome us back. No-one can use the arrival loop for picking up passengers. Now they have you go thru the public (paid) parking to pick up and load up luggage. It wouldn't be that big a deal but the traffic is completely hosed because the parking area can't handle all the added cars which want to park up close.... Ohh well... The trip was excellent. Reb's family was awesome and I hope we can do it again sometime! :)

Skiing in Dubai

jason@bukerworld.com — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 20:29:49 -0700

Can't believe it has been a week since I was in Dubai. Rebecca and I went for a ski weekend. I can't believe you can actually snow ski in the desert . I thought people were nutz in Saudi maintaining ice rinks for skating and hockey. Wonder if they will attempt anything like what Dubai has. I have to say it will fullfill a ski fix. However if your an expert level it is probably only going to be interesting for a few hours. If your learning how to do something whether its snowboarding or skiing, this is the perfect place to go. Check it out. Ski Dubai. For some reason that link was down the other day. Ski Dubai's other site. :)

Woody

kq4sq@winlink.org — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:05:46 -0700

Ahoy, Troubles abound during these stormy days. Friends of ours on a Morgan ran into a spot of trouble. They were leaving Spanish Wells headed for the Abacos. They had taken the Bridge Point passage from North Eleuthera Island. They had traversed this passage three times by themselves, so they thought they could handle it. The captain was trying to adjust for the wind and current, but made mistakes and ended up on the reef. He got excited and threw out a 44 pound bruce anchor, hoping to use it to kedge off the reef. His dinghy was on the deck, so he couldn't get it launched to take the bruce out where it could do some good. (I think in the heat of the moment, people make stupid choices.) He just tried to toss it off the side. Well, that just cost him an anchor and lots of chain. Meanwhile Little Woody came out in his small fishing boat to haul him off the reef. They could have hired Little Woody for $40 to lead them through the passage, but they didn't. He put a line on the mast and tipped them over enough to get them off the reef. They lost their rudder and had to cut the bruce free, but they were off the reef and Little Woody towed them back to the marina. Two other boaters heard the distress call and joined up with them to help maneuver the boat as they had no control. Little Woody had another vessel that had scheduled his help waiting for him to guide them over to Harbour Island. He pretty much got them to the dock and had to rush off. The lady aboard the Morgan was scared to death. Once they were safely tied to the dock, she fell apart. The good news is that everyone rallied around the couple and did what they could to help. The real hero was Little Woody. He charged $100 to get them off the reef and towed into Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. He went back to the area where they had gone aground and found the anchor and chain, plus the rudder. (Much the worse for wear). He told the captain he had been offered $100 for the anchor, so the captain quickly gave him that and was lucky to get it back so cheap. Little Woody brought the lady some Johnny cake and bread that his wife had baked, because he felt so sorry for her. What a great guy. Their insurance has $2000 deductible so they are getting off cheap on the repairs as well. The Catalina company is making their order for a new rudder a top priority, so hopefully they will get it fixed soon. Everyone told them not to repair the old rudder, but to wait for the replacement. We all got together to enjoy a lovely rum concoction the captain named Rudder Failure. It's good to keep a sense of humor. All the people involved in the rescue and many of the boaters in the marina got together on their boat to enjoy some pork barbecue and share pot luck. The Mrs. is pretty upset, but friends help. Two catamarans ran aground on Mayaguana Island and are now a navigation hazard. One catamaran went to help the other and they both ended up on the reef. At first you worry for the boat and crew, after you learn they are ok, I for one get angry about the reef. In the case of our friends, they had no business trying that pass in strong winds. The conditions were such that they couldn't see the reefs. It would have cost $40 to get a guide or they could wait until the winds died down. They were trying to meet up with friends in the Abacos---not going to be able to make that rendezvous now. It was nice to get better acquainted with other boaters and we did get some tips on where to go and what to see while here. I've learned of a great snorkeling reef that I want to check out later. Meanwhile our part should be in Friday and LeRoy found good marine quality wire to make our waterpump wiring permanent. Penders Tune Up, looks like a small Texaco Station, but it has several rooms of parts and supplies for boats and cars alike. It is close to the marina and would be the first place I checked if you are in Spanish Wells. The weather has warmed up tonight, but I noticed swarms of no-see-ums. I shared the Neem Botanical Gel with the other boaters. It works great for bugs. Well that's all the tips for now. Stay tuned, and stay off the reefs. Charlotte

Spanish Wells for parts

kq4sq@winlink.org — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:05:13 -0700

Ahoy, Here's the thing. Perhaps it was those days of joy that got the Gods' attention. They must have decided that was just way too much joy for the merest of mortals. Apparently, I don't have the look of a goddess. At any rate, the storm that blew through doubled back. The next few days are suppose to be damp and stormy. Not to worry we had to scoot back to Spanish Wells to pick up parts anyway. We managed to time it so we avoided the fast ferry with the 8 foot wake, but we had to dodge two fishing boats that were taking advantage of the tide to leave Spanish Wells. We backed up and let one pass then gunned it so that we could get through the pass before the next one came out. We had the lines all set for a port tie up, but someone was in that slip so I switched the lines. The wind caught our bow and LeRoy wasn't able to maneuver to back into the slip. I had just switched the lines, so this meant I had to switch them back. I'm switching lines, putting out bumpers and snubbing up spring lines like crazy. It is so nice when you are finally tied up and can relax. I met the neighbors already. Ann had lots of information about places further south and I can tell her about the Abacos. Cell phones don't work in the Eleutheras. They are suppose to get GSM cell phones here this quarter, but it doesn't look like that will be on time. LeRoy bought a phone card that we can use in any public phone. LeRoy heard that phone cards you buy at the U.S. Post Office are cheaper and can be used here, but he hasn't heard of anyone using them yet. LeRoy temporarily fixed the water pump while we were at Royal Island by rewiring it to our DC plug (the one that looks like a cigarette lighter) until we get back home and he can go over all the wiring. Meanwhile that growling sound the generator was making turned out not to be the fuel filter, which he replaced, but the fuel pump. LeRoy had taken it apart to check the internal screen to see if it was clogged, but nope, the pump needs replacing. LeRoy was trying to talk to the Fischer-Panda folks in Fort Lauderdale, but the Global Star phone kept dropping the connection. Frustrating when you are trying to get the credit card information and addresses for shipping. Oh well, hopefully it will be here soon. UPS is what they recommend here. Meanwhile we can further explore the town and island. If it is going to be cloudy and rainy, I just as soon be here. It got a little chilly on the hook at Royal Island. LeRoy had to drag out an extra blanket. I went to bed first and warmed up his side of the bed. I wanted to make up for my lack of mechanical and electrical ability. For Valentine's Day, LeRoy made a delicious steak dinner. The sun came out and the wind was down to nothing, so we were very comfy in the shelter of the dodger reading our books. I bathed and put on one of my prettiest outfits with full makeup and coif. Quite a change from my usual three days with just a sponge bath and the same shorts and T-shirt cruising regime. LeRoy noticed. As we dined on appetizers, I looked over to Cyrano where Cindy and Ed were bundled up in foul weather gear redoing the rope to chain splice on their anchor rode. Must have been chillier on the bow, they looked cold. I waved merrily, trying not to spill the wine. Later they came over for a chat. Now the sun is playing peek-a-boo and teasing us off the boat. LeRoy seems tired, so maybe a nap first and then a walk along the beach. Waiting for parts, Charlotte

Storms and Waterpumps

kq4sq@winlink.org — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 21:21:29 -0700

Ahoy, Guess what you can't do when your water pump stops working? Another storm front was whipping through today, so I took advantage of the fresh water from the gods and scrubbed the deck. I'm entertainment for the other boaters. I figure you get wet in the sea why not just put your suit on and make use of all that free rainwater. Anyhoo...I was attacking the cockpit as the last spot needing attention. I had to use the hose in the cockpit as our bimini keeps the rainwater out. Suddenly no water! LeRoy checked down below and yes indeedy no water. He pulled the water pump out from under the settee and broke it down into its many components. I looked askance at this, but having total faith that he could fix anything, I retired to my bunk to read. One novella later, LeRoy now had manuals scattered about, the cushions are piled in the aft cabin, wires are pulled out, and the navigation station has the circuit breaker panel lying down on the desk. LeRoy has all the junk pulled out from the various storage places, trying to get at the wiring. His head is buried under the nav. station and he looks most uncomfortable. I told him to use the cushion to make it more comfy. He looked at me with love eyes and told me later that really helped. (I like to do my part). Meanwhile it is a dark and stormy afternoon. The winds are 25 to 30 knots with higher gusts. I can't take a bath or brush my teeth or do dishes, so I just nosh away and occasionally hand LeRoy a tool. We managed to flush the head, by using the bottles of water I filled from the watermaker. With all that fruit, it was good we worked out that little problem. It's moments like this I question my value as a shipmate. Cindy is apparently some kinda expert at splicing double braided line. She gave LeRoy some helpful advice while he was splicing in a new thimble on the anchor rode snubber. (Don't worry about it, boaters know) Anyway, I was feeling like a sailboat doofus in comparison. Not being much help in the plumbing and wiring department has added to my feelings of inadequacy. My element is the sea. Yesterday I joined a school of fingerlings as I swam along the southern coast of the island. This area was a soup of minnows and smaller fish. Darting around the edges of these schools were the Balao or Ballyhoo. I can't tell them apart. They were skirting the edges of the schools like herding sheep dogs. They were doing more than snapping at the heels however. By my entering the fray, I saved many a tiny fry by taking the Balao's mind off lunch and keeping a wary eye on me. Two small barracuda added to the drama. I'm glad we got in the water yesterday. No wind and bright sun make for great snorkeling. Dark and stormy days are good for repairs and reading. The weather is also keeping the pig hunters away. The full moon brought out the hunters. Two different boat loads of young men with rifles descended on our peaceful anchorage and off loaded supplies for trap building and hunting. I didn't hear any shots, so I'm hoping the hogs outsmarted them. Today and for the next few days, boaters will be hunkering down. Oh well, I'm not being hunted and I have wine and cheese. Life is good. The candles are lit and LeRoy is taking a well deserved break. Don't read Jan Needle's books, the William Bentley 3 book saga. All the good guys die horrible deaths and nobody nice gets the girl. I'm back to "The Mitford Series" by Jan Karon. Now that is good reading. Wet and wild in the Bahamas, Charlotte

Back to Royal Island

kq4sq@winlink.org — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 18:23:09 -0700

Ahoy, Why would you call such pretty Islands Eleuthera. It sounds like a urinary passage for goodness sakes. But in fact it was named for the Eleutheran Adventurers in 1647, which I assume were from England. It was the nations first settlement and the first Republic in the new world. I must say it has been a great place to visit. The string of islands from Eleuthera to Great Inagua make up what's commonly referred to as the Far Bahamas. Whether you agree that Christopher Columbus landed on San Salvador or not, he landed somewhere along this string of islands. LeRoy and I are casting off and heading back to Royal Island along with our friends on S/V Cyrano. We feel like we have explored the charming town of Spanish Wells long enough. The refrigerator/freezers are full of food. Once again I found fresh yummy strawberries, blue berries and raspberries. I also found fudge. I like to keep a balance in my diet. Milk gets delivered to the store on Wednesday and produce on Thursday. Keep that in mind boaters. This has been a very peaceful stop that we want to visit again. Spanish Wells takes a lunch hour at noon and most stores close, except the restaurants. The restaurants closing from 2.30 to 6 was very inconvenient for us. We found nothing special in the way of dining out on either island. Here most use golf carts for transportation, on Harbour Island there are lots and lots of cars. Spanish Wells is a dry island with no liquor stores. Harbour Island has bunches of liquor stores. The residents have an accent very different from the Abaconians. It's like traveling south in the states. Only here you get more of the Caribbean lilt instead of the southern drawl. I'm noticing that the white Bahamian residents seem to outnumber the black. In Abaco it was the reverse. I may be wrong, but it seemed the same in Harbour Island. The people of all colors are great to us. We couldn't walk down the street without people asking if we needed a ride. We met several people picking fruit off the Ju Ju tree that grows in front of the marina. Good way to meet the folks. Groups of them kept stopping by to pick the fruit. This scraggly looking tree has a small round fruit. One man gave me one to try. It has the texture of an apple with a hard seed in the center. They get to be the size of plums, but these were smaller. It has a mixed flavor of sweet and tart that I liked. Cindy spit hers out, apparently the greener the more tart. The fuel dock here went in the last storm, so we aren't fueling up this morning. There are other fuel docks in town, but we are anxious to catch the tide. I hope we have the dolphins to keep us company. There are at least three that cruise among the docks. I giggled and one of them turned on his back to get a better look at me. They are more friendly than the white ducks that live on the dock. I love this place. As we left Spanish Wells, I went forward to make sure we stayed centered in the cut. I had a clear view of the bottom of the cut where many a sailor has rubbed bottom. I also saw an eagle ray ghosting along headed toward Spanish Wells. Most of the fishing fleet seemed idle this morning. In the Abacos, the only work boats were the Ferries and the flat scows that haul sand, or building supplies back and forth. Here in Spanish Wells, there are a fair number of large fishing boats that looked like the shrimp boats on the ICW. They don't catch shrimp, but haul in fish, lobster and stone crabs. They produce over 50% of all the seafood exported from the Bahamas, and over 75% of the lobster. We saw one fishing boat loaded with cement blocks and lumber. They use those to make lobster traps. Looked to me like they were hauling enough supplies to build a village. As we motored back to Royal Island I had to wonder if there weren't too many fishing boats. One Bahamian on Harbour Island that was cleaning conchs told me he had to go way out to get conchs these days. He said they are being over fished. His dream is to get the money to build a conch farm. The sea was glass smooth so I could see everything on the bottom as we motored to Royal Island. It is like a desert. I didn't even see very many starfish. Half of the time I was refilling our water bottles with water from the watermaker. We had topped off our tanks in Spanish Wells, but we didn't put on any bottled water so I thought I would take the time to refill our empties. With the metered electricity, our electric bill for 4 days came to $13.50, whereas most marinas where we have stayed would have charged $15 to $20 per day. That paid for the water usage and then some. We got into Royal Island and got the anchor buried in the sand. There are just two other boaters here and with Cyrano that makes four of us. Lots of room. Another storm is headed our way, so I'm glad for the maneuvering room. LeRoy and I hopped in the dinghy and went exploring along the southern coast of Royal Island. The beach didn't have much of interest, but we noticed several likely snorkeling areas. We dashed back for our wet suits and dove right in. I found a large golden conch that will add to our shell collection. We are whipped after another long day in the sun. I think some berries and a nice snooze will do. This place is sure quiet. I can hear conversations on the other boats if I try. I'm not trying. Peacefully slumbering in Paradise, Charlotte

FairWind's last reported position....

jason@bukerworld.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:55:50 -0700

Did I mention I love Google Earth. This is where Mommy was last!
If you would like the .kmz file ... just send me a email request. :)

Spanish Wells

kq4sq@winlink.org — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:11:12 -0700

Ahoy, It was a dark and stormy night....actually the storm didn't give us too much excitement. We lost a little sleep checking the anchor and watching boats move around the harbor in the dark. One anchored very close to us. LeRoy probably blinded him with our stern floodlight, but LeRoy wanted the guy to know where we were. Things settled down and we slept through a lot of it. The next day Cindy and Ed invited us for wine and tasty treats. She made the tastiest bread, just the way LeRoy likes it. So we ate too much and enjoyed getting to know each other better. Something about being in confined spaces and sharing the boating experience that makes for more meaningful dialogs. It was a very special day. The next day we motored into Spanish Wells. What a gorgeous place this is. We are staying at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. It is an adequate marina, nothing special. It costs a dollar a foot, 35 cents a kilowatt for power and 15 cents a gallon for water. Everything is metered. The cable TV went with the last storm, along with the laundry facilities. We are able to use the facilities at a nearby hotel that has two washers and two dryers at $1.50 each. I hear the fuel is cheaper here than at Marsh Harbour, but we haven't checked yet. The town is a picture perfect little Bahamian village with all the soft pastel colors on the houses. The streets are all nicely laid out with narrow cement roads in pretty good repair. The homes and landscaping give this village a very charming appearance. I didn't notice a lot of trash that unfortunately plagues the Abacos. In fact after being here for a few days, I'm wondering why we didn't come here sooner. Royal Island despite the storm was very quiet and peaceful. The same is true here, even in the marina. Royal Island didn't have any bugs even in the evening. I'm noticing the tiny no-see-ums here in the marina in the evening, but nothing until dusk. Yesterday we walked the entire town. Everybody tells you the restaurant is just two blocks down along or two blocks up along, but we covered the entire town twice. Cindy and I were getting cranky along toward evening. Dehydration will do that to a person. The restaurants close at 2:30 and open again at 6 PM for dinner. We decided to just go back to our boats and throw something together. Today we grabbed the fast ferry that leaves the dock at 9:30 AM to go to Harbour Island. The Ferry traverses the Devils Backbone, a very dangerous area where you would not take your boat without a local guide. The trip took 25 minutes in this fast Ferry. Harbour Island is much larger than Spanish Wells and breathtakingly beautiful. The waters surrounding it are better than the colors in postcards. The houses climb up a slight rise and present all those great Bahamian pastels to the sea. Artists had there canvases out and were painting up some masterpieces. We stopped for lunch at one of the small open air restaurant. Cindy said the conch salad was excellent. The prices were pretty high. LeRoy ordered fried shrimp with fries and was surprised with the $18 bill. We had drinks at the Harbour Island Marina, next to the ghost house. The prices were better and view was terrific. The trip is well worth taking. The Ferry costs $25 each, round trip, and I recommend renting a golf cart to see the town for $40. We went all over the island taking some unpaved trails that led to beautiful views. We found Sapodilly trees that have a sweet fruit. All four of us enjoyed walking along the paths and looking at all the trees and brush. The beach was a little resorty for our tastes. It was cool watching photographers taking pictures of a young girl for some teen magazine. People were primping the young lady, while holding up these huge reflective boards or whatever they were. Ed, being Ed walked up to the whole entourage and chatted away. The rest of us were too shy. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Anyway we gathered up some of the pretty peach sand and went on exploring. Prices are pretty high for food and accommodations, but boy is it pretty on Harbour Island. The Ferry leaves promptly at 3:55 PM to come back to Spanish Wells on its way to Nassau. Another successful day of exploring. I'm liking this area much better than the Abacos so far. The waters are prettier and the towns are charming. The people are even friendlier than the Abacos. Everyone treated us like welcome guests. I found paradise, Charlotte

Squalls over Royal Island

kq4sq@winlink.org — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 05:56:19 -0700

Ahoy, This may not be wise typing away while rain squalls are approaching at a rather brisk pace. Oh well. Let the captain handle it and hope the fuzzy gadgets at the top of the mast handle the lightning. Here goes....We had a wonderful day of exploration on the island. Cindy and Ed joined us to tramp around the ruins of the old estate and walk the many paths leading from it. We found an area that had a six car garage like structure. I'm not sure what it was all about. Maybe for large equipment that did the landscaping and road building. Further down the trail we found another two story building with even more colorful tiles in the floor. It was better protected I guess. The vines growing over some of the structures could make you believe that you were in Ankor Wat or an Indiana Jones movie. We went off to the left of the dock and found a long road next to the harbor. Bougainvillea grows in patches along with a lot of flowering plants. The berries of several different types were tempting, but I have to know it's edible before it goes in my mouth. The strangest discovery was a large ant hill or termites, there was some discussion which. Anyway, it was about 3 feet high and 20 inches in diameter. It was a dark charcoal color and most interesting. I found a new seed pod. It has a dark seed coming out of a vivid red folded petal. They hang out of the seed pod in a slight spiral. The warblers sang, the butterflies flitted, the boaters laughed and got better acquainted. A good time was had by all. We invited them back to our boat for some refreshment and to let Cindy use the computer to contact her family. She had some worrisome news from her sister and needs to stay in touch. I'm grateful for the winlink to help us stay in touch with folks back home. Thank you again Vic Poor, et al, for putting this wonderful service together. The radar is solid yellow. I'm thinking this would be those early squalls they kept warning us about. The good news is that our deck is getting washed down, and Ed is collecting rain water to fill his water tanks. I will stick with the watermaker. Which is working nicely at the moment. The generator is working fine too. The mechanics of the generator etc. are a puzzler. I'm just grateful it is working, since the spare fuel filter turned out to be another oil filter and we would have had to make a trip to Spanish Wells for the fuel filter, which we couldn't find in Marsh Harbour. (If it isn't in Marsh Harbour, what are the chances we will find it here, I'm thinking) 25 knots so far and it is pouring down. Think I will go watch the storm. The radio is getting busy. Hunkered down in paradise, Charlotte

Royal Island

kq4sq@winlink.org — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 18:29:54 -0700

Ahoy, A snorkeling we did go. Cindy and Ed from S/V Cyrano joined us for a snorkeling adventure on the Atlantic side. They hadn't visited the ruins yet, so we showed them around. All of us want to go again and explore the island more. We were wearing our wetsuits, so it was too hot to explore extensively on the island. Cindy has a lot of knowledge about the trees we found. We found Gumbo Limbo trees, (I'm not sure of spelling), very excited about the tamarind trees, mangoes, and bunches I've forgotten. The tamarind pods weren't ripe enough, so we will save that collection for another trip. Cindy pointed out a gorgeous butterfly with white spots. I had noticed them before, but we got a close up look and I found red along the front of the wing, and a gorgeous royal blue next to the body. It just looked like a plain ole black butterfly with white spots until you get a close look. Snorkeling we found two small lobster, too small to take and LeRoy found another Trident's Trumpet. Ed told us to freeze the critter and then the flesh can be removed in one piece. We shall see. They aren't edible we found out. I've got to get off the computer. The generator is growling. LeRoy thinks we need to change the fuel filter. I will keep you informed. Watching the stars, Charlotte

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

kq4sq@winlink.org — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:46:43 -0700

Ahoy, Finally, we are exploring. Now this is more like it. The passage down to Royal Island from Little Harbour was picture perfect. We could have used a little more wind, but with the seas at 4 to 6 feet and the winds at 4 kts. gusting to 8, we had an easy passage. The swells were well spaced, so that we just lifted up and over with just a slight slewing motion. Not a day for the queasy. A pod of pilot whales were sighted passing between our companion boat, Cyrano, and our stern. I was so busy searching the horizon for any sign of life, that I missed them. They told us later on the radio, but we missed it. I did spot a sea turtle in our wake. I'm hoping we did no damage. I didn't hear a thunk, so I guess he just came up when we passed. We took the passage between Egg Island and Little Egg Island to round Royal Island and enter the almost landlocked harbor at Royal Island. What a peaceful anchorage. Off Bridges Cay we were getting rocked from side to side with the swells that came through the cut. Not always a gentle rocking, either. A series of waves would almost toss us off the bed on a regular basis. We wedged ourselves into bed with pillows. We were too excited to sleep anyway. The stars were magnificent. I spotted three shooting stars. In Royal Island, it is very quiet and pitch dark at night, so the stars shine brightly. Most of the waves are blocked by the protecting shore line. Once again we are expecting a front to pass over us, but who cares we have places to explore. Right now we are in a grassy area, so we will move to a sandy spot for the big blow. The anchorage was full so we couldn't be choosy when we arrived. We explored in the dinghy yesterday. Occasionally, we would slide into an opening in the mangroves. It looked interesting, so we thought we would scoot in and try to get to land. Imagine my plight as I discovered a new brand of spider with it's web right in front of my face. LeRoy couldn't reach anything to stop the boat, while I'm frantically trying to reach branches of mangrove to stop us. Weird little spider. He is as small as my thumb nail and shaped like a crab. Mostly black with red touches around the edges, it looked more like an egg sack or spider meal in a wrap than a spider. The webs are huge for such a small guy. It is strange to see a spider where the legs just barely extend pass the body. We continued around the harbor finding huge concrete obelisks spaced around the western end of the harbor. In the center of the harbour are the ruins of what must have been a spectacular estate. It remains very clean as far as ruins go. Vines climb the walls and add their own tropical touch. The main house has a huge private property sign, so we skipped over to the road that leads to the north side of the island, which faces the Atlantic. I say road. It was a nice concrete road at one time, now parts are more like a path with the encroaching bushes and trees. We found new fauna along the way. Two funny looking gecko like lizards leaped off the path. One is mostly black and grey with a gold diamond pattern down its back. The other is mostly brown, with red eyes and a yellow stripe down its spine. A pretty butterfly flitted all around us looking for more of the red bell like flowers along the path. She landed right in front of us and spread her wings to give us tourists a nice moment. A bright yellowish orange, a little smaller than a monarch with gorgeous blue eyes, she was a stunner. The edges of the wings were outlined in black or dark brown, with a comma mark on the top of her wing and a short dash below. The comma and dash were mirrored on the opposite wing. The antennae were black with the body a velvety brown. Very nice. She gave us a nice long look and then flitted on to the next flower. We found the rock walls that people used to keep out the wild critters as we walked along the path. I wondered about pigs, but it all seemed too civilized here. Later we saw a man carrying a rifle onto the island, so I'm thinking their must be wild boar. The Atlantic side looks like good snorkeling, so we are off to explore later today. The waters here are even prettier than the Abacos. We have that Dasani blue. (hold the blue label of a Dasani water bottle up to the light, and you get a close comparison) as you approach the island. On the southern side where the harbor is located, the sea has an emerald green color. All the waters are crystal clear. The shoreline is mostly rocky, but the Atlantic side has a small sandy area for entering the water. At one time there must have been a huge pier there. The remains of the road lead right out onto a finger of land that extended out into the water. Very pretty spot. I would love to have the dinghy to explore that side, but it is a long way around the island for a dinghy trip. We explored the tidal pools, finding crabs, blennies and lots of green coral looking growth. I can't wait to get into the water. The small conchs have more color than the ones we found in the Abacos. These are only 5 inches long and have a gorgeous pink color inside the lip. The ruins are spectacular. Forget the private property sign, everybody goes ashore to look. Along the path we found four bungalows that might have housed staff or were guest cottages. The great room has a huge walk in fireplace with two alcoves on the side for keeping the side dishes warm or decoration, who knows. The floor is covered in small tile. There is no litter so it would be a great place to have a barbecue and socialize. On the Harbour side of the great room are two wings of small two story rooms. One room had a fireplace in the bathroom. I don't know what was up with the fireplaces in the Bahamas, but there were several. The view must have been fabulous from the upper bedrooms. All the rooms have tiled floors. Would have loved to see it in it's heyday. Steps lead down to the harbor and back to our dinghy. Unfortunately the tide went out. It took some maneuvering to get off the dock and back into the dinghy. It is so quiet that I hear every noise from the rigging. Peace sounds funny after the noisy marina. What I like most is how dark it is here at night. No marina lights to annoy and block the view of stars and bioluminescence. We will just hang out here until we have thoroughly explored the area. Bet you wish I was still being lazy with email, huh? Charlotte

Headed South

kq4sq@winlink.org — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 21:08:16 -0700

Ahoy, Sorry I have been out of touch. I figured how many times can you say we are scrubbing the boat, sitting in Treasure Cay and watching front after front whizz through with 30 knot winds, before I lose my audience. Some of you got a little cranky over the neglect, but I'm willing to let that pass. I totally understand, I got a little cranky myself. In fact, I was telling LeRoy it was time to sell the boat and find a house. A week ago we left Treasure Cay, when the wind dropped to 20 knots, and bounced over the waves to Marsh Harbour. The wind was dead on the bow, so we motored. I didn't care, if it was raining and cloudy and bouncy, we were moving. Hurrah! We spent a week of luxury at Harbourview Marina stocking up and taking care of chores. Cable TV! Laundromat! Damn the expense, it was just so nice to be able to walk around town and not have to worry about getting wet in the dinghy. Because LeRoy had been helping with the Cruisers Net, folks recognized our boat and came over to get acquainted. We did a lot of socializing and found another sailboat to make the trip to Eleuthera. It's reassuring to have a companion boat as you sail into new territory. The week went fast. We had lots of breezy days, but while in the marina, it was no big deal. Finally a good weather window and we set off for Little Harbour. We are currently anchored off Bridges Cay in the lee of the wind. We waited for the latest front to pass over us before we left Marsh Harbour. Winds clocked about 32 knots. Although we had winds above 20 knots, we were going with the wind most of the time and the ride wasn't too bad. I finally got to see our sails. Ooorah! LeRoy fixed a steak dinner and another boater that snuggled up close to us has been playing guitar and serenading us with folk songs. Somewhere a dog is barking, but who cares. We are off on another adventure at last. Now if I would just remember the sun block. It was a cold and cloudy day, I forgot about sunburns. Oh well. Heading South until it gets warm again, Charlotte Giddy with delight, Charlotte