4/2012 Virgin Gorda to St. Martin

We never made it to Anegada. We spent
Wed in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor doing laundry, cleaning, and filling with fuel, water and gasoline. It
literally took all day but fortunately we were there on a Wed. which is the night they have their Carribean
Buffet feast. It was excellent and we were pretty exhausted; it was so hot and humid. Sheila and Chris visited
us as they were anchored near the marina on the outside. They talked with Chris Parker and said the only time
to go to St. Martin was leaving Wed. even or Thurs. morning before noon for the 23 hr. or so run and it would
be probably a motor sail. Otherwise our next window wouldn't be till May 8 so we were going to leave early
Thurs. morning but Ed went to check out at 4:15 and the offices were already closed at 3:30. Bankers hours around
here. So we didn't leave till 10:30 and got in at 9:30 am the next morning. We were exhausted. Our engines
shut down twice and Ed thinks he has figured out the problem. He'll have to give you the details. So it wasn't
an easy passage with both of us laying in the cockpit not feeling so well and not eating much. We did tack a
few times but it wasn't too fun

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

WindSwept Dreams to John and Kate

Hi John and Kate,

Happy Birthday John; we hope you have a wonderful day! I would be making a cake for you if you were here but
I'll just have to eat some french pastry instead and celebrate your special day.

We hope you returned safely. Thank you for writing our blog entry some of our followers really enjoyed it.
I assume both of you wrote it. We hope you had a good flight home. We never made it to Anegada. We spent
Wed in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor doing laundry, cleaning, and filling with fuel, water and gasoline. It
literally took all day but fortunately we were there on a Wed. which is the night they have their Carribean
Buffet feast. It was excellent and we were pretty exhausted; it was so hot and humid. Sheila and Chris visited
us as they were anchored near the marina on the outside. They talked with Chris Parker and said the only time
to go to St. Martin was leaving Wed. even or Thurs. morning before noon for the 23 hr. or so run and it would
be probably a motor sail. Otherwise our next window wouldn't be till May 8 so we were going to leave early
Thurs. morning but Ed went to check out at 4:15 and the offices were already closed at 3:30. Bankers hours around
here. So we didn't leave till 10:30 and got in at 9:30 am the next morning. We were exhausted. Our engines
shut down twice and Ed thinks he has figured out the problem. He'll have to give you the details. So it wasn't
an easy passage with both of us laying in the cockpit not feeling so well and not eating much. We did tack a
few times but it wasn't too fun and we were happy that you ended up not joining us for the passage.

We did try to contact you via my go phone but it wouldn't work and neither did our Verizon phone and unfortunately
we didn't find out where you were staying. We are staying in the Simpson Bay Lagoon on the French side which
isn't a nice lagoon. The water is filthy. Hope you enjoyed your stay in St. Martin. The buses are easy to use and
get around with.

Ed has Cellulitis and is has seen the doc twice on the dutchside twice and he is using Flucloxacillin 500 mg. and cotrimoxazol 960 mg. along with Ichthammol Ointmnet 20% to
try to draw out the infection. He had an ultrasound done on Sat. for only $110 on the french side to rule out
thrombosis because his right lower leg is 3X the size of the left leg. The doc says that he just needs to wait
till the infection comes to the surface and keep his leg elevated. John we would certainly appreciate your
input. He is pretty miserable and not able to do much since last Thurs. It just started as a bump on his leg
on Tuesday and by Thurs it was horrible. The doc said it is pretty common with the lagoon water being what it is.
With the heavy rains the sewers seem to overflow into the sewers. The doct visit was only $30 and the drugs were only $25 and took 10 min to fill; it was pretty amazing. I am his nurse as he has to stay off his feet. Kate noone ever makes me meals or does dishes; miss you.

We all enjoyed what we believe to be the best of the Carribean with the snorkeling, beautiful beaches and waters.
We haven't been snorkeling since we arrived here. It has been very rainy, hot and humid. The lagoon gets very
smelly also. We are very ready to leave but there is only SE wind. Wish it would change soon but then again
Ed isn't too ready to go anywhere as he has had fever and nausea. We have actually considered checking into
a hotel.

Ed's mom in AZ also had gallbladder surgery, and a pacemaker put in 10 days ago so his 3 sisters have been taking
turns helping here. We feel bad that we aren't able to help out but we can't leave the boat right now. We are
VERY READY to be HOME!

Can't believe it has been nearly 2 weeks since you two left. Time flies. Hope you found your home in good shape
and your children were fine. I'm sure it has been busy for you getting caught up with your jobs also.

Take care and write when you get a chance.

Ann and Ed

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

St. Martin/St. Maarten 5/1-5/13

We stayed in St. Martin at Simpson Bay Lagoon sometimes it is very smelly water and definitely
unclean; never would swim in it by choice. It is also very humid here with very little air
flow. The town of St. Martin is nice and enjoyed the hike to the Fort and other walks.
Unfortunately for Ed he didn't do too much walking. He had cellulitis develop on his leg
that the Doctor on the Dutch side St. Maarten tried to combat with antibiotics however
after not walking on it for a week and Ann being his slave he was sent to the surgeon
to open up the two small swollen spots and after 4 days of going back and forth to the
hospital to see the surgeon the swelling in the leg started to reduce and the surgeon
encouraged him to walk on it. It is always interesting getting around in different areas;
you become very adept at using the bus or public transportation quickly.

While making frequent trips to the doctor at only $30 each and the surgeon was $240 for the
entire procedure we are convinced that socialized medicine is fine with us.
We explored the many french bakeries and pastry shops as well as restaurants while
Ed made his visits to the doctor; it made the visits much more enjoyable.

We also attended the carnival in Williamsburg. St. Maarten(dutch side) which was colorful and lots of loud
music. If you go to Never Bored.ca you can see lots of pictures. Sheila does a great
job with her blog; complete with pictures.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

South As We Are Going

Grenada, St. David's Bay, Grenada Marine as of June 4th and we are ready to end this season and come home on June 13th.

If it sounds like we are tired of the nomad life then you are reading accurately.  The heat, humidity and length of this trip have us ready for shore life and a little worried about our lack of enthusiasm but our friends Sheila and Chris for Never Bored who have been with us the whole trip our anxious for us to return in November, and in fact we have committed.  So, let me tell you about our day today....

Today, I (Ed) broke our Sony Digital camera somehow, had a halyard break while lifting our dinghy onto the deck for the summer dropping it 15 feet, splitting one tube ($300), lost a wing-nut for our water strainer and had the strap metal for the bilge pump break in half from rust.  This is after yesterday finding a different leaking pump ($200) to be replaced.  All together it was a frustrating day, made Ed want to cry but he did not.

How is the above different than any other day?  Well for one, the boat is on the hard (land for you non-sailors) as of this morning.   This means that we are almost ready to leave.  Tomorrow we have a surveyor  coming to do a "value and condition" survey as required by our insurance company every 5 years.   Yippee skippee, cha ching another $550.  Talk about making one paranoid, Ed is checking lots of stuff to avoid things going on the report.  Also,  we are in a nice rented room at a home with air conditioning!  If only there were a store to buy ice cream but no, we are out in the country.  

So, we have been here since the 6th in our rented room working on the boat everyday.  We have moved the clothes we are taking home to our room and been collapsing the boat canvas and stuff into the cabin.  We have some stuff to finish tomorrow like last minute clothes washing and emptying the boat of food.

Tomorrow, is the last day of the season for us and we say goodbye to Chris and Sheila our boating super pals.  They will continue south to Trinidad where they will layup for the summer.

What can I tell you about Grenada?  It is hilly, mountainous, green and verdant especially in the summer months when it rains afternoons and night frequently.  We went on our first Hash the other day and have our loss of virginity testament to prove it.  We climbed up thru a rain forest scrambling up thru the woods basically following a trail.  Hashes are hard to describe, look up HHH hash for more info about the hardcore fitness and beer drinking aspect of this unique social that brings together people from every walk of life to participate.

We've also toured a little bit while clearing customs/immigration but have lots more to do here when we return.

See you all soon,

Ed and Ann

This is Ann and Ed's first guestwritten blog entry, written by Kate and John Wilkins, who enjoyed the amazing hospitality of Windswept Dreams throughout the Spanish, U.S, and British Virgin Islands.

Leaving Puerto Rico, Windswept Dreams made the passage east to Culebra on April 11. Chris and Sheila from Neverbored made the same passage a few hours earlier, and arrived in time to pick up John and Kate from the ferry in Dewey, Culebra. Ann and Ed soon sailed into the harbor and brought the Wilkins aboard.

Culebra was relaxed, natural, and beautiful. We dinghied to Tamarind and Carlos Rosario beaches for some wonderful snorkeling, followed by lunch and beers at the Dinghy Dock restaurant. Two years ago, Kate and John had phoned Ann and Ed directly from this restaurant to tell them they had to come to this island!

Ann had met some friends of friends who had a guesthouse near the harbor, and all aboard Windswept Dreams and Neverbored went there for an evening of food and music. Ann brought her keyboard, Ed his guitar, and another guest brought a fiddle and copies of his favorite songbook of sea shanties and other tunes. A good time was had by all.

Bidding fond adieu to Culebra, Windswept Dreams headed for a day stop at Culebrita. The hike to the ancient and abandoned lighthouse afforded great views, including from the top of the structure, after a perilous walk up dilapidated spiral stairs. Hiking was a hot business, but we all felt better after we discovered (thanks to John's encyclopedic research of everything) some bath-like pools on the island's northern point.

Anticipating some squally weather, we set sail for the US Virgin Islands. We arrived in Charlotte Amalie, where we spent four nights, because the harbor provided good shelter from the winds. We had adventures walking local roads to find a Costco-like store to re-provision the boats. We also tried out the local taxis to get around the island, especially to Red Hook, where Ann and Ed could consult the Island Packet folks about a potential problem with their boat. The local Ace hardware store was a hit, as was the local bakery, but the farmer's market was disappointing. There were historical sights as well, such as Blackbeard's castle, colonial era buildings, and the “99 steps” up the hill (there were 103 of them—go figure). We also observed the daily comings and goings of cruise ships. The city seemed to rev up each morning with the arrival of a new batch of tourists, and heave a sigh of relief when they would depart in the late afternoon.

Using a weather window to leave Charlotte Amalie, Windswept Dreams sailed to Great St. James Island, anchoring in small but scenic Christmas Bay. The only downside of this mooring place was the constant presence of ferry wakes during the day. We spent hours swimming and snorkeling at a set of rocks called the Stragglers.

On April 18, we sailed to St. John Island. This island is nearly all National Park Land. Windswept Dreams and Neverbored anchored at Caneel Bay, then dinghied to the town of Cruz Bay, where we checked out the park Visitor's Center, poked around town, and took a scenic but hot hike to look out at the bay and the neighboring islands. Ann and Ed stayed in town to check out the food and entertainment (karaoke!) while Chris, Sheila, John and Kate returned to the beach to lounge and play.

The next day, it was a short motorsail to Little Lameshire Bay, an absolutely beautiful bay with a beach, crystal clear water, and wonderful reef. From this location we took a hike to see some ruins and petroglyphs, calling on everyone's patience and map-reading skills to find them. There were fine views on the hike as well, and we spent some time speculating what it would have been like to live in an “estate” high up on an isolated hill on St. John with no company and no internet. Everyone was ready for a cooling swim after that hike.

The next day's journey was just “around the corner” to Salt Pond, said to have the finest snorkeling on the island. Indeed, the snorkeling around the rocks in the center of the bay was superb, although we weren't too happy with the jellyfish we met out in deeper waters. The quantity and variety of corals was outstanding, and there were many happy fish there, as well as rays and turtles. The only wildlife we did not appreciate were the no see'ems, which were voracious. Fortunately for the rest of the party, they found Kate the tastiest, so she drew the bloodthirsty little buggers away from the others to some extent. Also beautiful at isolated Salt Pond were amazing stars. Kate and Ann sat on the deck in the evening and located the Southern Cross, the Milky Way, some planets, and a shooting star or two.

Leaving Salt Pond on April 21, Windswept Dreams and Neverbored visted Coral Harbor, a laid back little town in Coral Bay. There we shot the breeze with the locals and spent some time on the internet. We wanted to eat lunch at the Donkey Diner (kickass food!) but they were closed when we got there in mid afternoon, so a frozen fruit bar had to do. Time to push off.

Salt Pond may not be the very very best snorkeling, because next we traveled to Waterlemon Cay. (Yes, it is Waterlemon, although a few guides say Watermelon.) Wow. Amazing reef, clear water, and peekaboo sunshine. When the sun came out, the colors were dazzling. We hiked to the ruins of the Anneberg Sugar Mill, and read interpretive signs about the rum industry that thrived on the island during the slave days. Again, the refreshing swim afterwards made us want to stay in this spot for days, but two nights was going to have to do, as the BVI's were awaiting us.

On April 23, we motored across the strait to Soper's Hole, and Ed took care of registering our entry into the British Virgin Islands. Then we crossed to Peter Island, and considered mooring in Little Harbor, but after re-cristening it “not-so-great” harbor (too steep, inhospitable bottom) we moved to Great Harbor, arriving in late afternoon. We enjoyed watching the birds fishing there, and spotted goats ashore, as we had done in several other locations.

On April 24, we headed for the Baths on Virgin Gorda. At first it seemed they might be too crowded to be enjoyable, but it ended up being a highlight of our time in the BVI. We had to anchor quite a ways away from the center of the attraction, but this forced us to don snorkeling gear and head there by water. What a treat—it turns out that viewing the famed boulders from underwater is at least as cool as scrambling among them from on land. There were many interesting formations, and we got to swim in and out in crannies and holes where the fish and corals live. All this in water as clear as anywhere on the planet, with white sand. Arriving at the officially sanctioned (translate: “tourist attraction”)

Baths, we were not disappointed, as the rocks were fun for scrambling, exploration, and photo ops.

Leaving the Baths, we sailed to Cooper Island, where we took a mooring ball off a small resort. John and Kate were leaving the next day, so we took advantage of Happy Hour at the bayside bar, complete with couches, breezes, and palm trees right by the shore. Bittersweet to watch the sun set over the boats.

On April 25, the Wilkins had to catch a flight at 6:30 pm. But Ann and Ed had heard great things about Anegada, so they dropped their guests at the airport at 10 am in order to be able to sail there after a stop for water at Spanishtown. Watch this space to see if that is what they did!

Ann and Ed say that the Wilkins' are the only friends who have taken them up on their offer to come join them. Why is this? Windswept Dreams is highly rated in our book—beautiful accommodations, amazing hosts, good cooking, fair winds: what's not to like? Ann and Ed will provide the experience of being a working member of the crew, and unforgettable memories. Not to mention world class caramel rolls.

Disclaimer: this blog entry and timeline have been reconstructed entirely from Kate's memory, which may or may not bear any relationship to reality. Notably left out were many great meals and happy hours aboard Windswept Dreams and Neverbored. All errors contained herein are strictly mine, and are subject to correction by the Captain or First Mate of Windswept Dreams. kw

Luperon DR to Boqueron PR

Wow, this is a hard post to do because we are now in Boqueron, Puerto Rico after spending 3 days traveling from Luperon to Samana in the DR, a week in Samana, 2 days traveling here and have been here for three days and are planning to leave tomorrow for a town south and east of here.  Anyway, here goes.

After spending three weeks in Luperon we finally got settled weather to transit the north coast of the DR to Samana Bay on the DR east coast.  We started by anchoring outside of Luperon Bay at the Pinzon achorage, so named for Martin Pinzon, captain of the Pinta who broke off from Columbus in an attempt to reach Spain first to find glory by preempting Columbus's message of the new world.  Anyway, we left about 8PM in the dark, ran aground, then travelled for 12 hours to Rio San Juan where Ed realized that he had left the anchor loose to wash the mud off of it and it had become detached.  Ca-ching there went $750.   We carry two anchors so we were still able to anchor but now we are in the process of buying a new one when we get to Fajardo, PR.  Anyway, Rio San Juan is a small fishing town, not dependent on the tourist trade, where the people are friendly, the town clean, and it has an interesting mangrove river that is perfectly clean ending/beginning in the middle of town in a park.

After touring the town for the day, we then left that night and journeyed on to Samana Bay and over to Puerto Bahia, a 5 star resort with a nice harbor and reasonable rates of about $70 per day.  It got even better when they offered a free weeks dockage if we would participate in a promotional regatta which included several parties with free booze and food, plus dancing.   Of course all the cruisers said yes.  There were quite a few of us who left Luperon at the same time because of the weather window. Free is a great price!

We had a tremendous time touring by car the north coast beaches, visiting some waterfalls on horseback and a Taino Indian museum where we learned about their culture before nearly complete eradication by the Spanish similarily to the plight of native Americans.   We also visited Los Haitises (iteses) Eco Park across the bay where we visited a hotel, zip lined, and looked at caves.  We could easily have spent another week there!
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N-L8eUkS-j7lVTaVwqPtWaUQY6_Ne21M0FbF6FsE5XY?feat=directlink
The regatta on Saturday, we took 17th out of 20 boats. https://picasaweb.google.com/102215137147020825958/RegattaInSamanaDr?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2ZyN7v-pCshgE&feat=directlink The wind was too light for our boat on the second lap and our downwind performance to slow but at least we were not last.  Still, we had a great time and the party that night was fantastic until Ann disappeared and I had to search for here for about 1/2 hour before a maintenance person directed me to a couch by the pool where she was sleeping.

Then is was time to say goodbye to our friends Will, Howard and Gene who we met early in the week and had a good time with at a sing a long that we put together with Ann playing keyboards, me - guitar also joined by two of the staff one who played classical Spanish guitar and the other who sang Meringue, the DRs favorite musical form.  We took Will with us to Los Haitises while Howard and Gene went with our friends, Sheila and Chris, on NeverBored.  What a blast and lots of laughs.  Howard and Gene were a couple, Will's husband was back in Boston.  Will became our helmsman for the regatta, what a blast for him and a convenience for us as it freed us to handle the sails.

On Monday, we left for Boqueron saying goodbye with very fond memories to the Dominican Republic, one of our favorie places so far.  Good people, music and food plus many places left to explore, we will be back.

Enjoying the Dominican Republic

We are still in Luperon; the winds have been 20-30 knots which is too high for leaving so we have been making the best of our time here. 

We went on the 27 waterfalls tour yesterday and slid down 7 of them as that is all we had time for. Ed and I also jumped off the cliff of the last waterfall.  It was a great adrenaline rush. We also enjoyed the company of Bill and Jeannie and Cathy and Larry of two other boats and they were along for the waterfall tour. 

In addition to the waterfalls we saw people carving soapstone, roasting cocao beans and we crushed some coffee beans. It was a very nice day.

We were escorted by Rosa VanSant; her husband is Bruce VanSant the author of the Gentlemens Guide to Passages South which is an important guide for people traveling down island. We were able to meet him last Sunday at a luncheon. We have also enjoyed trivia night here. Tonight there is a full moon party.




Prices are low here, beers are less than $2!

Waterfall Bridge, Imbert, Dominican Republic

 This bridge was part of the trek to the waterfalls.  It was crazy hard to walk on with a crowd.  It twisted and turned so we waited on the way back until it was empty.  What a blast!

Big Sand Cay to Luperon, Dominican Republic

We arrived in Luperon, Dominican Republic Sunday, February 26th after an all night sail leaving the Caicos
at 4:15 pm. . As I lay in the cockpit floor on cushions trying to sleep I was asking Ed, "remind me again why we are doing this?" The winds were supposed to be 15knots from the E but were 20-2K from the SE which gave us a tougher sailing angle and the seas were 3-5 ft with occassional 7 footers. Ed took some sea sickness pills which really helped him. Upon arriving at 9am it rained but only briefly. The harbor is surrounded by lush green mountains and is lovely but gone is the beautiful aqua water and beautiful sand beaches of the Bahamas replaced by a harbor with mangroves.

This morning we were greeted by Pabo;a local who will bring us water and fuel out to the boat
and sold us a Dominican Republic Flag. He seemed very helpful.

We checked in today and I was happy to have a working knowledge of Spanish as I really needed it.
It certainly is different here, seems to be a very poor country. There was a line of goats(cabras) going
down the street today and lots of people riding horses. This will be a very different experience.
We are waiting for our friends to come but the weather windows are not right for coming this way
so we are making new friends. We had lunch at a very nice restaurant with a pool, laundry facilities
and internet but we didn't know about all those things until we arrived there. I have seen no nice
resorts here. We will keep you posted and are going to try tomorrow to post some pictures to our
blogsite. We are getting 38 pesos for every dollar.

March 1st: We went to Santiago today by gwagwa (a taxi crammed with people) and motorbus. Santiago is a big city of almost two million people. We found it difficult to get around due to language issues but eventually someone would understand and point us in the right direction. We toured a large monument to the revolution, went to a large grocery store, the bank and enjoyed lunch before the 2 hour trip back to Luperon.

Food is inexpensive due to the large agricultural basis of the country, rich soil and rain-trapping mountains. We typically eat, drink and have dessert for about $20 for two! It is about double that in the Bahamas and Turks&Caicos.

We plan to stay here for another week or until the trade-winds go lighter allowing us to travel eastward in the night calm as the cool air rolls off the mountains. We plan to go on a waterfall tour next week where we will slide down 27 chutes into the water wearing helmets and life jackets. Pictures are coming soon, we have good internet access.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

George Town Rake and Scrape

George Town, Exumas, The Bahamas Rake and Scrape Band. The guitarist is to the right out of the picture, the guy in orange has a saw that he is playing rhythms on.    A typical song is "Mama don't allow no rake and scrape".  This band plays every Monday night at Eddies Edgewater in GT.

Mayaguana, Sopidilla Bay, Turks & Caicos, Amergris and Big Sand Cay

Seems like a whirlwind since we left Georgetown Friday Feb.10. We left at 4:15 pm and up till about 1 hr before that
Never Bored and Time Enough weren't coming with us which we were pretty bummed about. Then Chris looked at the weather window and decided to go and Time Enough II followed. They only stayed with us till midnight and headed toward Rum Cay due to battery problem. Tt was very rough seas and Ed was seasick and I just wanted to sleep so no cooking that trip or eating. We arrived in Mayaguana
2:00 am on Sunday the 12th. We stayed there till the 16th due to wind conditions and left at 4:30 pm for the Tiki Huts anchorage at the northwest corner of Provodenciales (Provo) of the Turks and Caicos and arrived there at 3:30am on the 18th. We left on the 19th at 6:15 am and headed to Sopidilla Bay.

Ed and Chris went to check in and it took only 5 hrs from the time they left the boat till they returned and Chris'
daughter Linda and partner Amy were coming in that afternoon. We sure didn't think they would be gone for 5 hours.
The next day, Ed and I explored Provo on foot, hitch hiking and had lunch at the Conch Hut; it was 90 deg. That evening we got
to meet the girls and had a nice happy hour together. On Tuesday Time Enough II joined us and they had caught
a Mahi so we had dinner on Never Bored along with Nepenthe-Alex and Carol also on way to Trinidad; I made Rum Cake. We
played music and sang. Wednesday was Happy Hr. on our boat and I made carmel rolls and we had appetizers. I played
my keyboard and Chris showed me some new ways to use it. Ed played guitar and Bob fiddled.

We left for Ambergris at sun up on Thurs. and arrived at 4:00pm and we motored then picked our way through coral heads for
an hour to get to the anchorage. We snorkeled over to a reef near the boat which was very nice but pretty
small fish. We should have explored more today. We left at 11:00 to head to Big Sand Cay and unfortunately had
to motor again and we went right into the waves 5-7 feet; not what we had planned. One fuel filter got clogged so we switched to the alternate so replacing it is a job before leaving for Luperon. Before this year we would have had to replace it enroute but Ed added an alternate filter.

Today we explored the beach. Ann found some nuts we call hamburger beans plus some pretty shells. We are leaving for Luperon now and we have winds from the ESE 15K maybe going more east and upto 18K so with a course of 173M we will definitely be sailing hopefully arriving outside the harbor near sunup and before the trades override the island lee.

Next post will be from Luperon.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Georgetown to Mayaguana(Abraham's Bay)

We finally left George Town after nearly a month of activities; volleyball, beach parties, dances and meeting
lots of boaters. They also have restaurants and a grocery store and free water made by reverse osmosis which means it is very pure.

After much debate on Friday with our 2 other boating partners, Bob and Carol from Time Enough II and Chris and
Sheila from Never Bored, we all decided to head out of Georgetown at 4:00pm and head for Mayaguana. According
to our weather Guru, Chris Parker, there was going to be a window of opportunity for us. By midnight Time Enough II
had dead batteries and headed into Rum Cay and assured us that they would be fine and that we should continue so
we did. Ed was feeling pretty sick from the action of the waves and Ann just wanted to sleep and was zombie-like.
We finally arrived this morning at 2:00am. We anchored just inside the entrance so it was very rolly but later
in the morning we moved further down and it was more comfortable. At one point we were ready to turn around
and head back to Florida and sell the boat but we made it. Sailing is supposed to be fun but is sometimes a lot of stress when long distances are involved.

Tomorrow and in the next few days we will explore Mayaquana, a little out of the way island on the way to the Dominican Republic (DR) that has a protected achorage providing a stepping point to the Turks and Caicos islands. Given the prevailing easterly winds sailors must overnight to it from Rum Cay to the north. We did not stop at Rum this time because we had a short weather window to get here. We might have been able to continue to the T&Cs but 25K winds were expected in the morning, we would not have arrived until about 10AM and we were dead tired already. So, we are stuck here for a while until the seas and winds cooperate. And indeed the low pressure front passed us this morning on its way south and the north wind is as forecast. We have it pretty easy as sailors these days with accurate forecasts and GPS to find our way in and out of places.

Ed calls this wind "electric" because the wind generator whirs away completely charging our batteries for which we are thankful because our solar panels alone cannot. While sailing it can keep up with the chart plotter, GPS, radio, instruments and autopilot which steers better than we can under almost all conditions.

Next stop: T&Cs, then the DR.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Waiting For Front

Hello everyone,

We wish we could say that we were farther south but we are in Georgetown, Great Exuma, the Bahamas and here is the simple reason: the wind has remained southeast and strong for almost the entire time we've been here. Like most cruisers we want to sail and if we motor to not motor into waves! Usually, cold fronts leave the US and push down to the Bahamas during the winter about once a week changing the wind speed and direction. This year, the fronts have been weak not reaching into the Bahamas so the southeast trades just keep on coming. We arrived in GT 2 and 1/2 weeks ago the wind generator has been spinning strong ever since. There is a possibility of a motoring opportunity next Tuesday-Thursday but two days of motoring is not an exciting prospect but we are getting anxious.

The great news is that we have come to love GT! There is so much to do here with several hundred boaters in this wonderful harbor. The boaters who come every winter for 3-5 months have so many organized activities and go out of there way to be open and friendly so that no one feels like there are cliques or unwelcome. We've been to two rock and roll dances, six beach gatherings, played volleyball, attended two seminars, gone on a bus tour, into a cave and made many new friends. If you have to be stuck, then this is the place.

We had to replace our windlass motor so we learned about customs processes. At least now it is working again. Yea!

Our sail from Galliot Cay to GT was uneventful but fast. We averaged about 7.2K with wind behind the beam 15-20K, what a great sail. The only thing was that it arrived late in the day so the harbor entrance was at night which I dislike and will avoid in the future. We have been in GT enough that we know the coordinates for the harbor twists and turns so we let the GPS be our guide and arrived just find but it creeped me out and I hope not to do it again.

We hope you are all well. Over and out from GT. Go Patriots.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

St. Marys to Staniel Cay

A lot has happened in the few months but I will keep the recap short because most of it is only interesting to Ann and I or someone with way too much time!

Way back in November we had lots of boat jobs to do, most of which we did, a few of which we decided not to do, and a bunch more of which we did not know. One job that we did was new canvas all around with protection for our exterior wood too which we will use next summer while the boat bakes in the tropical sun. We splashed on December 15th, ten days later than expected.

Our first stop was Fernandina Beach where the canvas work finished. We did try to leave before Christmas but had two engine problems at the same time resulting in us being towed back to the dock. A engine drain plug sprang a leak and Ed did not tighten a sea-water cooling hose resulting in a worrisome mix of antifreeze and salt water. Fortunately, this was due to two simple problems not one expensive engine problem!

We had Christmas dinner early in Fernandina Beach before heading outside with the goal of sailing to Fort Pierce in 36 hours. The weather was strong with NE winds 15-20 knots and a more easterly swell with the end result of Ed going a little green. So, after 20+ hours with the prospect of winds shifting to on the nose we went into the Ponce Inlet south of Daytona Beach then had a lovely motor-sail over the next few days to Vero Beach. It was interesting that our friends from NeverBored, Chris and Sheila, called us to suggest going inside just after we made that decision.

Ed managed to knock over a day marker a few minutes from Vero as he was distracted thinking about docking. Fortunately, we hit the pole on our anchor such that the damage to our boat was minimal, only a few scratches below the waterline. He probably will not hear the end of that for a while. We called the Coast Guard and filled out an incident report, I think that will be the end of it.

Yawl will be glad to know that our Homeland Security is on the job. We were questioned by Customs and Integration in Fernandina Beach and boarded and inspected by the Coast Guard in New Smyrna Beach.

We were glad to meet with some former cruising friends in Cocoa where we enjoyed some shopping, beer and pizza with Wayne and Beth from Gypsy Moon.

We celebrated New Years in Vero by dancing until 2AM. No hangovers, we walked about four miles that night going to and from several clubs but it was fun.

After Vero we headed down the Intracoastal Waterway to Lake Worth motor sailing and just plain motoring. At Lake Worth the weather changed and we had a beautiful spinnaker run down to Fort Lauderdale where we anchored at Lake Sylvia and the last of the three little ships, Time Enough II with Bob and Carole on board, caught up to us. After 1/2 day spent refueling the boats, stocking the larder and enjoying the food and drink at the Raw Bar we headed for the Bahamas.

As usual, another motor trip across to the Bahamas from Florida. We went 24 hours to Frazer Hog Cay arriving at 4PM, then woke up the next morning and headed for Rose Island outside of Nassau. Finally, we were sailing. It was a close reach, with apparent wind 30-35 degrees but strong enough to prevent much lee way. The next morning, by now January 9th, we got up and did it again this time close reaching 70 miles to Big Major Spot outside Staniel Cay. We anchored at 8PM under a nearly full moon.

We enjoyed a rest day yesterday, perhaps we should have taken advantage of the wind to move further south but now are sitting waiting for wind which should clock to the NW soon and then NE. We plan to ride these winds to Mayaguana and the Turks and Caicos next. We do not plan to motor much anymore, that is the word from those of flag ranks. Sail or sit!

Approximate lats and longs of the Bahamas Leg so far.

Ft Lauderdale 2606 8001
Great Isaac 2600 7902
Frazer Hog 2529 7755
Rose Island 2504 7714
Big Majors 2411 7629

Happy New Years and we will post again soon.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Continuing the Engine Work Saga and The Bride Returns

Ann is here after her Michigan visit with her folks!   Woo hoo!   Plus, our friends Chris and Sheila (CS) arrived in St. Marys Monday after spending the weekend at Cumberland Island.  Monday, I ate dinner with them, Tuesday, the three of us went to West Marine then picked up Ann at the airport then went out for dinner and grocery shopping.

 

Ann and I were going to stay at a motel but are staying on the boat, at least for now.  Ann's parents are coming, we may go stay at the same motel to be closer to them.

 

Well, I promised the saga of continuing engine work, so here it is:

 

Saturday, I lifted the engine with a frame set in place above it and a long bungee cord (about 100 feet) wrapped around about 20 times to the engine hoist point.  Each of the 40 strands was tensioned to about 10 pounds and the engine rose.  I then was able to attempt to remove the motor mounts for replacement.   The bolts were extremely tight, I stripped one head with a bad socket, one broke because the stainless steel corroded and another busted because it would not budge.  The good news was that five came out.   Monday morning I called Island Packet and found out that there was a steel plate embedded in the fiberglass so I drilled and tapped holes next to the broken bolts and was still able to place the motor mounts in the same place.  I then undid the bungee loops and lowered the engine onto the new mounts.   By then it was Tuesday and time to pick up Ann.  Lots of angst involved in the motor mount job.

 

Today, Wednesday the 16th, I hooked up the drive shaft,  re-installed the new fuel filters, installed the lift pump, connected up the fuel lines.  I then tested the pump, by turning it on to fill up both filters.  Success, no leaks so far.   I am so tired tonight.

 

Remaining items on the "engine" agenda are to connect up the exhaust manifold (the current connection is poor, I am waiting for a new piece), to re-mount the coolant reservoir (the old mount is destroyed by corrosion) and to replace all the engine hoses.  Definitely, a couple of days more of this work, once I get all the parts.

 

The weather has been gorgeous with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s except for yesterday with hot humid weather heralding the approaching thunderstorms last night.  Today is overcast and warm just the way the noseeums love it.

 

Today may be a cleanup day plus some light work, first I need to get motivated.  Right now I am just tired.

 

Have fun,

 

Ed

Boatyard Progress Report #3

Adding it up and counting Monday, this is the sixth day in the yard.  Overall, my progress is about what I planned but I sure hope I finish two of the three engine jobs by the time Ann gets in on Tuesday!

 

I've got three things going on for our Yanmar 44HP engine:

1. Replace the motor mounts.  Tomorrow, I plan to tackle this job.   Today I picked up the bungee cord and wood frame for lifting the engine.  I also cleaned the engine and loosened the motor mount bolts.

2.  Install a new dual-fuel filter and lift pump.  I installed both today but need one new hose and an adapter which I will pick up on Monday.  I also need to provide power to the lift pump but that is merely reattaching of the old lift pump's wires.  This job is 90% complete.

3. Replace all the water hoses, hose clamps and oil cooler.  I am waiting on all the parts for the water hoses, oil cooler and hose clamps.  They will not even be ordered until Monday so I probably will not have the parts until Thursday.   I call this job at about 50% complete.

 

The weather stripping I installed around the hatches doesn't want to fully stick so I have to go to Plan B, whatever that is. 

 

I tried and failed at my attempt to radically improve the anchor hawse pipe though I made an incremental improvement just by moving things around.  Last year the chain sometimes did not go down the pipe leading to jamming but that was probably due to the links not moving slowly due to the fresh galvanic coating which bound links together.  So, I will call this done and keep my fingers crossed.

 

Ken "varnish boy" Hix has the first coat on the toe rails and they are looking good.

 

The weather continues to be sunny and mild, lows in the 40s and highs in the 70s.   

 

It is time to make dinner and clean the place up. All for now,

 

Ed

Boatyard Post 3

There are a couple of sayings that come to mind today:  Two steps forward, one step back and that boat means bring out another thousand.  I am not complaining, I chose this fate and in a month or so it will all be forgotten as we enjoy the fruits of our labor and money well-spent.  Yeah, yeah, I've said that before.  Anyway, the last couple of days have been pretty good.

 

I put the new Rocna anchor on today and found that I needed to move the roller for the secondary anchor so they would stow on the bow pulpit without the Rocna seriously pinning the Bruce.  When I assembled the anchor roller I put the bolt head on the inside which means to move the roller I had to completely remove the roller assembly from the bow pulpit so I could pull the roller bolt out.  All in all it took about three hours instead of 30 minutes.   The Bruce anchor chips the gel coat on its way in so I need to make a gel coat guard.  Add it to the job list.   It probably will not be an issue because we seldom use two anchors, maybe once per season still my baby needs protection.

 

I added the gas spring to the frig, now it stays open without a stick.  Yay, plus it gives a little assistance for opening.   I th.ought about a stronger spring but the force pushing against the hinge already push it up a little.   I am calling this one done.

 

I ordered the canvas today.   Matt from Top Stitch came out this morning,  I had a quote from his wife, Amy, by 3PM.  Now, we are on there schedule and he will be out in a week or so to take the existing bimini, dodger and sundry pieces in for repair and replacement plus they will build side curtains so my honey will stay warm and dry in our little "Florida room". 

 

Yesterday, I put up the hatch screens and they look great though I need to get some foam insulation strips to fill some gaps between the arch of the cabin ceiling and frame of the screen assembly.  The Skyshade is from Oceanair.

 

An easy job today was to install the replacement voltage regulator.  I will wait to test it until the boat is in the water.

 

The rails around the boat got their first coat of varnish over the last couple of days.  Ken is really going to town.  I need to pick up a little stain to color the epoxy of his fix for the ding from last year, the color is way too gray right now, otherwise it looks pretty good.

 

I was looking at the engine today and noticed that some water has been leaking so tomorrow I will diagnose that while planning out the fuel system improvements and motor mount replacement.  Tom is going to bring over the frame, bungee and chain that Chuck Shoemaker on Kairos (another IP38) used to lift his engine.

 

With all this going on,  my tool boxes decorate the cabin,  there are manuals and all matter of stuff not put away but the kitchen is clean and functional. 

 

The weather has been good for the last couple of days but clouds are moving in, we might get some rain and colder weather.   Anyway,  so long from the yard.

Boatyard 11/8/2011

I arrived in the boatyard November 7th after spending a 6 days in Boston with Ann visiting our eldest daughter Rachel plus our very good friends and former neighbors Sue and Bob Welna. Ann will join me November 15th after spending time in Michigan with family and friends.

First impressions upon seeing Windswept Dreams for the first time since May are good. The dehumidifier we used (first time) kept the insides mold free.

The rental car is now full of stuff that was shipped here including boxes from home. And the work has begun...

The first chore was to determine why when using shore power the onshore GFI usually tripped. This happens when unequal currents flow in the hot and neutral lines. The answer was simple, Island Packet used to tie them together at the breaker panel. That is a no-no because the current then leaks from the boat thru the engine and any other metal tied into boat ground. Also, stray current flows because the onshore ground voltage may be slightly different than in the water around the boat causing stray current. On the other hand, when using the generator or inverter then the reference ground for the neutral side must be the onboard ground. All is good now.

I called people about canvas work, one was too busy, another did not call back and the third did not show up. I'll try again tomorrow.

I took the tarp off the boat and installed one of the new hatch sunscreen/flyscreens, the big one in the main cabin. I will have to put some foam around the edges, the arch of the cabin top leaves a gap but these Oceanair SKYSCREENS look very good. The job entails taking of the old trim ring, assembling the Skyscreen and screwing it into the ceiling. The first took three hours but I think I can cut it to about an hour apiece.

As if I don't have enough jobs, I remembered that I also need to extend the chain tube in the chain locker so that it will feed the chain correctly to the wide part of the locker, last year it sometimes jammed. It is made of 3" PVC so it should be pretty easy.

That is it for today, tomorrow I plan to get started on the refrigerator lift spring. I will also install another Skyscreen.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Great Guana Cay to St. Marys

We are at our home port again so this will be the last post for winter 2011. We may add some photos later but no promises. We have always found it difficult for some reason. For our friends in Oregon, we will be back May 14th.

We left Great Guana the day after Easter headed west with southeast winds blowing 15 to 20 knots. So, once again we quickly did the 40 miles to Allans-Pensecola Cay. The weather was ok for snorkeling but great for sailing and with the wind expected to go north early Friday we made the decision to leave the next day for Florida. But we did meet the folks on all but one boat in the harbor, took a beach walk and retired early.

Around 3PM, Tuesday April 26th, we decided we may as well keep going past Great Sale Cay (the last decent anchoring spot heading west) and run all the way to Fernandina, over 300 miles away. We passed Mantilla Shoal at the western edge of the Bahama Bank at 11PM and bounced our way west to the gulf stream. The ride was pretty rough with following seas and swell but we were averaging over 7 knots and were not in the gulf stream yet.

Once we entered the gulf stream we put down the main and headed nort with following winds and confused seas. With only the jib and 3 knots of current our speed over ground (SOG) was 8.5 knots, which was okay given the wind direction. We sailed like this all the next day and night and then made the turn west towards St. Marys Inlet. The wind stopped for about an hour around 8AM so we motored but then it came back strong and we finished the ocean voyage by motoring on a close reach against the current in the inlet.

One other point about the sail, which Ann thinks is important. Once again, Ed fed the fish, this time three times during the three days but he came around quickly once the seas settled.

The inlet brings you into Cumberland Sound. Going west you enter the St. Marys, south you enter the Amelia, north is Cumberland. We went to Fernandina for the Isle of Eight Flags Festival or as everyone else calls it "the shrimp festival". After cleaning up the boat, refueling which we had not done since Sampson Cay, Exumas, we took a mooring ball for 3 nights to enjoy the festival which ran for the weekend.

This was our third straight time for the festival and again it did not dissapoint. Thursday night we caught a little of the opening parade before hitting our favorite restaurant, Espagne, which features Portuguese and Spanish foods. Friday, our friends from St. Marys began arriving on their boats.

Different bands this year but we enjoyed them, shrimp and artwork galor. Ann got some new jewelry to wear at our daughter Rachel's wedding in July. Actually, it was my idea but some how there are more pieces than expected, hmmm.

Tuesday, May 3rd we headed over to the boat yard and now the boat is onshore, we have rented a car, and we are closing the boat for the summer. We leave for Myrtle Beach to see Ann's folks at a condo for a week and then it's back to Oregon.

Hope you have enjoyed our travelog.

Ann and Ed

Meeks Patch,Harbor Island, Lynard Cay, Tiloo Cay, Man O War, Great Guana Cay

We were on the move this week with the goal of Great Guana Cay for the Easter Brunch celebration.
April 18th- We left Hatchett Bay for Meeks Patch sailing thru Current Cut on the ebb with spinnaker. It was enjoyable with just two boats in the anchorage. We enjoyed taking our Happy Hour to the beach sitting on the rocks watching the sunset and collecting a few shells.

April 19th we went through Devils Backbone with no pilot to Harbor Island. Ann was nervous being at the helm
but we had a GPS track from the last time we went through with a pilot and Never Bored led
the way with their catamaran having a 4 ft draft. We were successful; no hitting reefs. We left at 10AM so that we were traveling east bound through the backbone with the sun overhead. The trip took about 3 hours, the last hour was a beautiful sail between Harbor Island and Eleuthera Island to the anchorage off Harbor Island. This left plenty of time for the afternoon activities. We enjoyed the afternoon
walking around the town, walking the beach and going into the resorts which are beautiful.
In the Bahamas it is no problem to walk with beers in hand; the liquor store had a container of ice, a picnic
table and a vendor nearby sold conch fritters so we had a nice happy hour.

April 20th we traveled from Harbor Island to Lynyard Cay. We had a 6:30 am start; a nice morning till
we hit a narrow channel and 5 ft sand on the way out of the harbor. Fortunately, after putting the dinghy down to push the boat off, the current and the wind helped push us into deeper water and we were off in 20 min. Ann doesn't like
being called run-aground Annie but she wrote this not Ed. No damage done. As Ed was bringing in a nice mahi mahi for dinner in the afternoon, our rough start was remedied. The winds tapered off and the sail was beautiful as we entered Little Harbor Cut at 16:30 (that is 4:30PM for most of us) and anchored by 17:15. We shared dinner (catch of the day) with Never Bored. We had another great evening.

April 21 Snorkeling was the first order of the day. Sandy Cay coral gardens provided the perfect place.
We were out for several hours although it was a bit rough. We enjoyed seeing schools of fish and even
a manta ray along with brain coral and elkhorn coral.

April 22 We traveled from Lynard Cay to Tiloo Cay (all of 10 miles). We visited Lubbers Quarters and Cracker P's for
lunch; outdoors eating which was nice. They had a nice resort there also.

April 23 Left Tiloo Cay with some very shallow areas but a beautiful sail; very little use of the engine.
Stopped at Man O War Cay and saw some beautiful wood ship models. Another six miles followed by ten miles to Fisher Bay on Great Guana Cay. Happy Easter, today we shall enjoy drinks and food on the island.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com