Aboard Lady

Cruising

Friday, December 20th, 2013

Francis Bay

Saint John

USVI

Well, they say that cruising is doing high-dollar boat maintenance in exotic locations.  That has become true for us.  We thought we were really getting ahead of things after mending all the things that broke on  the passage down, but living on a boat the list never ends.  Charlie fixed the toilet seat the guys broke while I mended torn cushions as we enjoyed North Sound and Norman Island.  I also made some foot thongs for girl-friends.

Charlie had grown a moustache during the passage.  You will be glad to know that his has now shaved it off, since for some reason it came in gray.

We went in to Nanny Cay Marina and spent a few days there using on-shore professionals to help with generator repair, parts for navigation system, fixing fiber-glass dings, inflatable dinghy repair, repaired a hatch that broke on the passage as a fish was landed.  We also were able to visit with friends and shop for provisions, clean the decks with lots of fresh water and dine ashore.  We certainly did our part to improve the economy of Tortola before we left there.  

At Norman Island we saw Sandcastle, a yacht formerly owned by Tulsa people, and still charted by a number of Tulsa families.  

Also here's a picture of Eye Candy, one of the Salty Dawg yachts that was anchored there with us.  Andrew, Clair and Debbie, all from Tasmania, are aboard her.  Squalls came though every so often.

We cleared out of the British Virgins on December 9th and cleared in to the US Virgins at Cruz Bay, Saint John and moved to Maho Bay the following day, where we stayed on a National Park Service mooring for a few days.  

Between showers, as we snorkeled along the shore of Mary's Point we saw an octopus sitting in the front entrance of his little cavern, with a giant tulip shell that he was busy trying to extract the contents of for lunch.  He was still working on it when we came back by half an hour later.  We think we saw that same octopus a couple of years ago in the same place.

We left Francis Bay, and moved over to Caneel Bay, where we took the dinghy to Cruz Bay to take in my laptop computer that had stopped working.  Then on to Christmas Cove on  Saint James Island for a couple of days.  Budget Marine let us know that they had replacement speakers for the cockpit in stock and so we dinghied over to Benner Bay (rain started again on the way) to pick them up and have lunch ashore.

We moved on to Charlotte Amalie on December 15th and anchored in the harbor there for another couple of days.  KMart was able to separate us from more money - we've not been able to replace the pressure cooker that broke on the passage, but did get new bed sheets, turkey baster, iPad case.  Also a few more groceries and another lunch out.  We got fuel and water as well as doing laundry.  

As we departed Charlotte Amalie harbor a US Coast Guard boat with five officers, all carrying arms, came alongside and two of the officers boarded us for a routine vessel safely inspection.  We passed. They acted as if not many pass!

Departing the West Gregerie Channel, Ocean Of the Seas was entering.  She's huge, and as we passed, we waved, and passengers waved back.  Everyone now has their own balcony; whatever happen to portholes? Charlie observed that the people standing on their balconies seemed to be better looking and wear less clothes the higher up the ship they were. This was especially true of the penthouse deck (remember this the next cruise you book)(Charlie resolves to start caring his telephoto lens on deck). 

We anchored overnight in Benner Bay, next to the Saint Thomas airport.  A lovely anchorage, recommended by our friends on Meander, Wayne and Mary.  Only one other cruiser there and a few local power-boats on moorings.  Dolphins played in the bay and we had a very pleasant evening.

Next morning the anchor windlass failed.  Charlie was able to rig a long line to the chain and I winched from the cockpit to get the anchor up. His back still hurts.

We motored into the wind and picked up a mooring in Francis Bay.

Once the new sound speaker was successfully installed, Charlie spent a day working on investigating the windlass.  This required first removing all the items stored in the front of the boat (once upon a time that storage area was our second shower), removing the cabinet behind that storage area and getting into the cave behind the anchor locker.  Good thing we don't have overnight guests at present as the VIP guest bed is full of coolers, hoses, electrical cables, boxes and buckets of boat spares, vacuum cleaners and lots of other boat stuff.  He has determined that the worm gear was stripped, and phoned the rigger in Saint Thomas, discussing parts needed, and we have decided that as their supplier (in Connecticut) had a replacement gearbox available, we would have it shipped via FedX.  It seems that the last time the windlass was repaired, by FKG in St. Martin last April, one part was put in out of sequence and another was put in upside down. The new windlass may arrive today, so we have booked to go in to Crown Bay Marina on Monday, and hope that the rigging company's technician can work with Charlie on Monday to get the engine off the old windlass and installed.  Don't know how long it will take, so who knows where we will be for Christmas - maybe still in the marina as we fear that all the good moorings may be taken by the time the reparis are complete.  NOT PART OF THE PLAN.

People we met in Grenada, Jim and Karen of Regenero are moored next to us and had us over for drinks a couple of evening ago, and they are coming over to Lady for a meal tonight.  They replaced hatches on their boat yesterday - the first day without rain.  But the squalls and rain have returned today.  The wet season has lasted a lot longer than it usually does.  The Christmas winds came early.  Oh well, we could be back on land and living in the cold.  Glad we are here.

(The computer technician in Cruz Bay finally called back yesterday.  The hard drive has failed on my lap top.  Now I have to get a really good Internet connection so I can get all my data from Norton's on-line backup.  We also have to go back to Cruz Bay to pick it up.  Maybe we'll do that after Joyce and Jep get here on Boxing Day.)

 

Hanging Around in North Sound - Jenny's birthday week

Prickly Pear Island, North Sound, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

18 30.18N 64 21.70W

After settling in  and getting good Internet and taking care of some business, the winds came up and it blew like crazy for a few days, so we dropped our mooring and moved to a more sheltered spot in the lee of Prickly Pear Island, near the Sandbox Beach Bar and Grill.  We need to do a number of boat chores, the most pressing of which was cleaning Bimbo's bottom.  She had been in the water a lot while we had been in marinas in Antigua and Saint Martin, and was looking pretty cruddy.  We beached her on Prickly Pear island and armed with brushes, scrubbers and an assortment of cleaners we spent some time propping her up on her side using her oars and cleaning her.  She looks much happier with a clean bottom.

Despite being clean, she still was losing air from the front tube, and we hadn't been able to find the leak while we were cleaning her. After the wind had eased we moved to another spot (that would also give us Internet) and took her ashore again. Just a different Prickly Pear Island beach and finally found the leak.  The location indicates that at some point while we were in the lagoon in Simpson Bay, she got snagged under a dock - or against another dinghy that had raised their engine at the dock.  It could have been at any of the docks for St Maarten Yacht Club, Lagoonies, Barnacles Island Water World, Budget Marine or Marina Royale.

We walked along the beach as far as we could.  The island is a BVI National Park, and the area we were in was by a dried up salt pond and a couple of local goats came by looking for water.  Saw hummingbirds too.  We hear the goats most mornings.

Charlie found a patch and pasted it over the leaks once we were back at Lady.

One evening we went to happy hour at Saba Rock ($3 rum drinks and Carib beer).  A lady down the bar saw my foot jewelry and had to have it, so I sold it to her!  I usually just make these foot thongs as gifts for friends.

We went snorkeling another day, but this isn't a particularly good area for snorkeling.  Despite the gorgeous-looking water, much of the coral has died.  There are the usual interesting fish.  

There are a lot of charter boats in the area.  The private yachts kind of stand out - especially the big ones.  How would you like to have the job of cleaning windows on My Trust Fund? 

  Here is a the stern of a yacht we saw at Bitter End - Charlie thinks we need a logo like the one Tabasco has for Lady.

Friday April 26th was my 65th birthday, my I don't feel that old!  What a lovely day that was.  Charlie let me know that he still loves me, and gave me an over-the top card. 

What a lovely place to spend a birthday this is.  We have water front property with 360 degree views.

Breakfast  consisted of our favorites - yoghurt and Alpen cereal for me, toasted baguette with butter for Charlie After looking at all the good wishes from family and friends that were in my email (THANKS, EVERYBODY!), Charlie and I discussed our change in plan, which I'll discuss in a later post.  Then it was time to get dressed to go out to lunch.  I wore the new dress Charlie had given me for Christmas.  Should I use this picture on my facebook page?  The one I use now is a similar pose taken in North Carolina, USA  (back when I was 63.)

On our way to lunch we passed Party Girl.  Looks like her guests were Having fun.

 

We had made lunch reservations at Yacht Club Costa Smerelda.  YCCS is the newest marina here, and has been especially built for super-yachts.

The restaurant at YCCS is open to the public.  The facility is impressive.  

As you walk up through the property there are beautiful gardens - even a lawn large enough for croquet.

 

Down below, the view of the docks, Biras Creek and Bitter End Yacht Club.

 

Chef Mario greeted us.  We became friends, and he was excited that we were there for my birthday, suggesting the "Tasting" menu with an extra dessert.

We were glad we made reservations as we were the only people there, and perhaps Mario an all the other staff wouldn't have shown up for work that day if we hadn't. 

We were seated and admired the view from our table.  We overlooked a beautiful swimming poll with comfortable chaises and pillows around it.

Joan brought us a basket of asssorted little rolls, slices, bread-sticks to go with the cruet, and took our oders of prosecco and wine.

An amuse bouche of a pate of salmon, ricotta and artichoke was our first treat.  This was followed by stuffed calamari, lobster rissoto, breaded tuna, pistachio ice cream topped with a drop of olive oil and chocolate chocolate (yes, double) cake.  

        

Two other guests arrive just before the cake came, so they joined in the singing and ate chocolate cake as their first course ("life is short; eat dessert first").  We became acquainted as we enjoyed the cake.  Thanks for the good time, Tammy and Tina!

We realized that the leak is still not fixed in Bimbo on our way back to Lady.  

I was a gorgeous afternoon.  We changed into swimsuits and headed out to reef in Eustatia Sound, tied up next to another dinghy put on snorkeling gear and slid into the aqua water.  Some interesting fish and corals, but nothing too exciting to report.

Dried and back on Lady, we napped.  Woke in time for sunset watching, and treated ourselves to watching Rounders, a DVD passed on by other cruisers, snacking on cheesed and crackers.

What a wonderful day for a birthday!

Back to reality yesterday.  Between rain showers the wind backed to the west.  We were in water shallower than our comfort levels, so we hauled anchor, and since we were already on the move, headed out of North Sound about two miles to dump holding tanks in deep water far from swimmers.  Picked up a mooring at Leverick Bay Resort and Marina, and went ashore to dump trash, book a rental car for Monday and purchase a fresh baguette and tonic at the grocery store.  We dropped the mooring an re-anchored by Prickly Pear where we could still get Saba Rock's wifi Internet, and had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

2012 - Another Great Year

 It's been another wonderful year of cruising.

After crossing the Atlantic aboard Jay Sea Dee in December 2011and spending Christmas in Grenada, we returned to Lady in the Virgin Islands.

We spent January in the Virgin Islands.  Particularly memorable we a cruise to Saint Croix with Catalina 470 owners Paul and Lynn on Beaudacious and Larry and Wendy from Comfortably Numb.  

Charlie had a fun 65th birthday at Saint John.  We were also joined by Connie and Jim from Plane To Sea that evening.

In February we went to Culebra (Puerto Rico), Saint Martin/Sint Maarten and Saba, where we hiked in the tropical jungle and had magnificent views of some of the other nearby  islands

Son Mike and girlfriend Meghan visited us in March.  They enjoyed learning to kite-board, as well as snorkeling, watching mega-yachts race and celebrating Saint Patrick's Day.

We left Lady on the hard at Nanny Cay in April, flew to Tulsa and enjoyed Easter, Anna Louise's birthday and my birthday there.  The weather was good for the most part, and it was such fun to see so many old friends.

Returning to Lady in May, Nina and Bob from Moon Dancer joined us as crew for the trip back to the USA as part of the Salty Dawgs Rally.  Stormy weather meant a diversion to Bermuda, where we had a great week on the way to Chesapeake Bay.

 Shortly after our arrival back in the USA, in Hampton, Virginia, in early June we were truck by a tornado.  Mike and Meghan were also visiting that week-end in Mike;s boat, but Artemis II survived with no damage.  Lady had damage to stanchions and canvas, which we later got repaired in Annapolis.  We commiserated with MC and Andre from Dancing Lizard who had much more damage.  We could have stayed in Oklahoma for this!

As we left Hampton, we met Catalina 470 friends on Barra, Hugh and Paula, and anchored out with them at Fleets Bay, off the Chesapeake.  Later in the month we met up with many of the other East Coast Catalina 470 owners for a week-end of visiting.

Bob and Pam of C470 Silhouette kindly loaned us the use of their slip while we got tornado repairs done.  Not only was it fun to see them, but also Joe Rocchio (C470 Onward), as well as Mike and Meghan and Anne and Miles Poor (Karina).

Once repairs were completed we left before it got too hot, and had a good time at Block Island, Rhode Island on our way to Narragansett Bay, where we spent a good part of July.

A number of the boats in the Salty Dawg Rally met at Bristol for the town's historic Independence Day parade.  It was good to see Bill and Linda (Sapphire), Craig and Karene (Il Sogno), Gil and Joy (Joy for All) and we made new friends of Rob and Sarah (Serafina Of Maldon).  We spent about a week there, and new had so much shell-fish and clams before.  Wonderful days!

After cruising the Bay, visiting Newport and Dutch Harbor, we headed to Cuttyhunk and Woods Hole, and then back to meet IV, Olivia and Anna Louise, who spent a week aboard at the beginning of August.  We got from Newport to Hadley Harbor, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and back while they were with us.

Soon, it was time to head south.  This time we went down Long Island Sound, and through New York City.

 We left Lady in Annapolis and headed different directions.  Charlie went to Tulsa.

I went to England where I visited my mother, Mary Pain, who continues to do well for a twenty-one-year-old woman well into her eighties still living alone.  Cousin Kerry came by and the Isle of Wight was as beautiful as ever.  

I also visited cousins Janet and Marilyn in Wales, where we enjoyed the scenery of the Gower Peninsula and Worm's Head.  

In Portsmouth, it was fun to meet with former school friends Pam, Diana, Hillary, another Pam and Lesley.

 

I joined Charlie in Tulsa in September, and we had lots of fun with IV, Olivia, Anna Louise and saw lots of friends.  It was lovely to meet Anna Louise's new McNamara cousin, Mary Loretta.

We returned to Lady in early October and spent money at the Annapolis Sailboat Show and had fun at parties with cruisers and other friends we have made along the way.  We renewed friendships with cruisers from Saint Lucia, Salty Dawgs, Catalina 470 owners, and ran in to other cruising friends around the docks.  We particularly enjoyed catching up with Steve and Sue Ormond - Steve has crewed for us twice on our passages from the USA to the Caribbean.

Charlie returned to Tulsa to take care of business, and I stayed aboard on my own, preparing for our up-coming passage by cooking offshore meals and getting them in the freezer.  Son Mike took me racing on his Tartan 10, Artemis, and we had fun.  It was also great that Jay Sea Dee came in to port and I was able to reminisce with John about our trip across the Atlantic, and hang out with Jodie.

Hurricane Sandy threatened, so I prepared Lady by stripping the canvas and getting everything stowed and after Charlie (in Tulsa) declared "Abandon ship!", I evacuated to Baltimore to stay with Mike and Megan for a few days.

We had fun at a Chili cook-off/Halloween party at the Baltimore Downtown Sailing Association.

Charlie returned after selling his business.  Flow Measurement Company was acquired by Precision Fitting And Gauge.  

We finally departed Annapolis in early November; Lady had been at a dock for over two months -  wow - we'd not been ashore for so long since we started cruising - we'd not been apart for so long since we got married.  We were late heading south.  The weather had changed from summer in New England to late fall in the Chesapeake as we headed down the bay, making a stop at Solomon's Island to visit Hugh and Paula (C470 Barra) and plan on connecting in Hampton as Hugh was to crew on the passage to Virgin Gorda, and Paula was to fly meet us there.

Arriving in Hampton, some of the Salty Dawg Rally fleet had already departed.  A nor'easter threatened, so we delayed a few days until we had a good weather fore-cast.  Hugh and Paula joined us and we made all the necessary preparations for a significant offshore passage.  

We finally departed November 9th, with the full cockpit enclosures installed, dressed in sweaters and foul-weather gear. 

We arrived at Virgin Gorda in the early morning over nine days later, wearing summer clothes.  Quite a long passage with light winds, and a lot of engine time.

  Good times with the other Salty Dawgs followed.  Bitter End Yacht Club made us very welcome.  Paula arrived safely and we had fun together.

Our last "official" Salty Dawg event was a great dinner for all the participants, and as it was the evening before Thanksgiving, we took Mr. Turkey with us.  Paula and Hugh returned to the USA Thanksgiving Day.

We invited other cruisers to join us on the beach for  meal on Thanksgiving Day.  Crews from about a dozen boats came, and all had fun.  Here's Charlie carving the turkey breast that had lain at the bottom of the freezer since I purchased it in Annapolis.

We were pleased that the new BVI Customs and Immigration Office in Gorda Sound made departing the country easy, and after clearing our made an overnight passage in one tack to SImpson Bay, Sint Maarten, following Il Sogno with Craig and Karene aboard through the "Dutch" bridge.

It was fun to re-connect with other cruising friends we have made in the last few years.  Besides celebrating Karene's birthday, we had fun with Elsa and Glen from Windara, and made new friends.

In early December we left St. Martin for a couple of days and headed to the next country, Saint Barthlelemy.  Tulsa friends Brenda and Dan were due to arrive aboard  Sea Dream I, a small cruise ship, part of the Sea Dream Yacht Club.  We met them outside the Capitainerie (port captain), and headed for Lady.   Soon the anchor was up, and we sailed for and hour to Ile Forchue, where we snorkeled and ate lunch, before sailing back to Gustavia.  That evening we were their guests aboard Sea Dream I.  What a treat that was - thanks so much Brenda and Dan!

We stopped back at Ile Forchue on our way back to St. Martin, and were thrilled when Farhaven pulled in to the anchorage.  We hadn't see Tom and Lesley for a couple of years and it was such fun to have them over for dinner.  They had been sailing overnight and were ready for a break.

Back on the French side of the Simpson Bay lagoon, we busied ourselves with boat projects and kept busy with cruising friends.  

We left the lagoon, and spent a couple of nights at a lovely anchorage off the north-east side of St. Martin - Islet Pinel.  We departed there before dark on evening, and sailed overnight to Antigua, arriving at Jolly Harbour after daylight.  

After a few days on a mooring, we moved in to the Marina, and Lady got a good fresh-water wash, as we prepared for visitors.

Christmas was uneventful - we went to the beach.

Mary and Steve Snider arrived from Tulsa after awful delays in Dallas caused by weather and minus one of their bags.   They were able to get swimsuits and flip-flops at a store in the marina complex, and we departed and spent a quiet night at Deep Bay.

We headed to Barbuda and were able to get a taxi tour of the island and a guided boat ride around the Magnificent Frigatebird sanctuary.

After a couple of days there, we returned to Antigua, one long tack took us around the windward side of the island, and we anchored in Nonesuch Bay.

We did not celebrate the end of the year, but on New Years Day, Steve and Mary treated us to a delicious fresh wahoo lunch at Harmony Hall - thanks so much!  We had tried to catch wahoo going to and from Barbuda, but only managed to catch a barracuda which we released.

We went on to Falmouth, and walked over to English Harbour, where we specially enjoyed the museum.

Steve and Mary left us in Falmouth Harbour, and after they spent a couple of days in Saint John's, retrieved their lost luggage in San Juan, and returned to Tulsa safely.

We continued to hang on the anchor in Falmouth - a great start to 2013.

What new adventures wait for us?

Happy New Year to all our friends!