Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

            We hope the holidays find you all healthy, happy, and doing what it is that you would like to be doing.  We know that our lives are richly blessed!  Roxy is truly in the festive holiday spirit!

            In late September, we got the opportunity to return to our home waters and homeland.  Yes, job opportunities sprang from the short visit we made to Key Largo so we jumped on them.  Darrell took a job working for Pennekamp Coral Reef Company driving dive and snorkel boats.  He may even get to train to drive the big glass-bottomed boat.  Ann took a little longer to find work but now is driving boats for Blue Water Divers, Marine Lab, and Horizon Divers – all part-time. 

            We moved the boat to Curtis Marine in Tavernier.  You all know that we are usually not the marina types but the cold, wet dinghy rides in the winter twice a day did not appeal to us.  Roxy sure likes the fact that she can get to walk several times a day.  She even has been getting better about staying on the boat and not annoying the neighbors by barking (not TOO much anyway) when we are gone.  We finally located a daytime daycare place that suits us and her that we can take her when we both are going to be gone to work for long periods. 

            Since we have been back in the upper keys, we have reconnected with many friends.  Several diving friends have been down to visit and dive.  We are looking forward to a holiday visit from Jim Fagan (he missed his annual spring break visit this year).  We are getting to do things that we have missed while we were out cruising like have big Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with friends and family.  We got to see friends and family who were in town for the Homestead/Miami race in November.

            It has been a good move for us to be in the upper keys.  We are planning to haul out and get some work done to thru hull valves and repaint the bottom some time after the first of the year.  After that, we’re looking at moving closer to Key Largo.  That greater than ten mile commute is really getting long!  LOL  In the meantime, Ann is really enjoying being able to practice yoga almost every day under a nice tiki hut. 

            Thanksgiving day, we were surprised with Lyric’s message to us that he is going to be a big brother.  Yes, we are expecting our second grandchild this summer!  We are SO excited!!!  What wonderful news!

Florida Keys

     What no update since early July? Sorry, folks....life got in the way. My how things change in a couple of months! Yes, the broken leg is doing well - no splints or casts - only a minor limp at times. All of the bills are paid and no more doctor or emergency room visits - knock on wood!
     We are still in Marathon but have been all over south Florida since the last post. Plus we have jobs in the dive industry once again. Captain Hook's Marina and Dive Center has kept us busy for a few weeks until the summer rush ended. Fun times to be back on the boat again! Roxy enjoyed us working - she got to go to doggy daycare in an indoor, air-conditioned place. At first, she hesitated to go into the back where there were a lot of barking small dogs but after a while, she didn't even look back when we dropped her off!
     The second week of August, we spent in Cape Coral visiting the kids and our gracious friends there. My gosh, Lyric is growing up fast!! He LOVES the water - I wonder where he gets that from. It was a busy, fun week! Thanks, Jerry and Sandy for the hospitality!
     When we returned to work, one boat was completely broken and the other was "limping". We worked a few trips before they decided to shut down and work on the other boat. Since we had never done a sea trial on the new rigging and boom, we decided to go sailing. Key Largo, here we come! The week was packed with trying to see EVERYONE and do EVERYTHING, lol. We sure miss all our friends there. The boat sailed great!
     We are back in Marathon and the dive boat is fixed but the weather didn't cooperate for diving for a while. Now, the slow part of the dive season is upon us. Back to tackling boat projects - at least it is cooler weather.

Emergencies, et cetera

            Hey everybody, wanted to let you know that we should have stayed in the Caribbean.  I have had Darrell to the ER twice in the US.  The first time, he had some wounds on his elbows that we had been treating for a while and wouldn't get better so we learned that he has a MRSA infection (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus).  So we went in on a Sunday evening in early June to Fishermen’s Hospital in Marathon and got him on the right antibiotics.  On the following Wednesday, we rented a car to drive up to get our pick-up (Darrell is calling a cruiser's cadillac) and then stop in Stuart to get the boom.  The PU needed a new clutch and this was taken care of so we went to get the PU at the mechanic's.  As we were driving to our friends' place (Dan And Stephanie’s), we needed gas AND the PU overheated so we moved it away from the gas pumps and went to get their trailer to move it out to their farm so we could look inot the problems.  Stephanie and I stayed at the farm (they just bought and are cleaning and renovating) while the boys went to get the PU.  We got a phone call from Dan telling us to get his brother-in-law and get over there.  A second phone call relayed that Darrell had been run over but that other than leg pain and swelling, he was fine.  Whew – at least not with life threatening injuries!

What had happened was that when they got back, there was a puddle under our PU but too far away to be radiator fluid.  So when Dan pulled alongside to get into position to load it, he had to wait on other vehicles that were parked in the gas station lot nearby.  Darrell saw the puddle and got out and laid down on the pavement to see where it was coming from.  Dan didn't know this and pulled forward with the trailer and Darrell's legs were in the path of the empty trailer.  He was on his side and was surprised  - didn't know he had been hit until the second tire rolled over him but began screaming.  Anyway, we went to the emergency room and it didn't take a radiologist to tell that the fibula is broken (smaller bone of the outer lower leg).  They splinted it and we got to see an orthopedic doctor the next day.  The ER staff thought he would need a plate to align the bones (surgery) properly. Anyway, we were both surprised and relieved when the orthopedic doctor said that he only needed a cast or a boot  - two weeks of non weight bearing – repeat x-ray in four weeks – all done on six weeks.  So….off we went on cloud nine that he did not have to have surgery (with MRSA could have been very serious).  We waited until Monday to leave and were able to pick up the boom on our way back south.  The pick up still gave us problems on the trip but we were able to make it all the way to Marathon AND get the boom down here where we could begin work on it when Darrell could get around. 

We had a very good belly laugh on the way thru Key Largo and Tavernier.  A siren was behind us for quite some time but never actually passed us for a long time – when they finally did, it almost seemed like they had been following us.  We decided that since we had passed up an emergency room without stopping to pay a visit that they must be looking for us!!

         Three weeks after the broken leg (Darrell’s first in his over 50 years) we were able to start working on the boom and get the hardware off the old one and replaced on the new (used) one.  Moving big heavy stuff on and off a sailboat with all the blocks and tackle is a piece of cake!  Hardest part was carrying it on land – we were able to elicit some help.  I have really fine tuned the damsel in distress look and attitude since all this has been going on. 

         About a week of hard work and long days, the boom is back on and the boat is once again sea worthy.  We still have not had a chance to try out the new rigging we had done in early June – they say she will go to windward much better – we both are very excited about that.  For those of you who have traveled with us – you KNOW how frustrated we have been with Alibi’s upwind sailing ability.  SO:  new rigging, new whisker pole, and new boom and four coats of varnish to boot.  So far, so good.

         Next month, the kids are coming to southwest FL for about a week.  Since we have not been able to enter the job market like was our original plan to get here before summer began – why hurry!  So we hope to take the sailboat over to Sanibel or Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area in order to visit with Jessica, Craig, and Lyric.  After that, we will either head towards Key Largo or not…..who knows – we certainly don’t seem to be able to choose between staying here in Marathon or going up there,  They both have different attributes!

Our friends from Tiger Lilly (now in French Polynesia) say that the earth people who love us and want to keep us here can be dangerous – I believe him!!  LOL  We continue our work on S/V Alibi and have been in contact with the people we bought her from – they should be the proud owners of M/V Alibi by now.  Our life is such an adventure!

Ann, Chester, and Roxy

Florida Keys

            Goodness Gracious how time flies!  Well, as you know from the last post, we are back in the USA and we have now been here for more than a month!!  We are easing back into the daily life and growing roots.  It sure feels good to be home but there are things we miss about cruising.

            After some rest and relaxation, we left Key West and headed up the island chain.  We made it as far as Marathon and have still not left.  Boot Key Harbor is very boater and cruiser friendly.  The city runs a top notch marina here with many amenities.  There are hundreds of mooring balls (many empty this time of the year).  The cost of these is reasonable and includes:  nice floating dinghy docks, a weekly pump out of your holding tank, parking for cars and bicycles, nice shower and laundry facilities, large indoor “project” areas, free wifi at the dock, television viewing areas, mail receiving and friendly people working every aspect of the facilities.  The anchorage is very well protected from weather, there are several restaurants on the water and there are many shopping opportunities within walking distance.  There is a cruisers net every morning at 9AM with offers of knowledge and assistance.  It will be a difficult place to leave.

            The “LIST” of things we want to get done on the boat is a pretty long one.  Of course, fixing the cracked boom is a high priority.  We also want to have the standing rigging replaced.  This is the big heavy wires and fittings that help hold the mast in place – not a cheap or easy task.  We have found a rigging specialist here in Marathon to do the work.  We could have gone on to Key Largo and he would have come up there to do the work but his charges would have included travel time (1 hour each way) so we opted to stay here and get it done.  We have purchased a boom that is in Stuart, FL and when this work is done, will get up there to get it.  We have made several trips to the chandlery – West Marine for other small parts and pieces and Home Depot. 

            A week ago, we rented a car and made a trip to Ft. Lauderdale to get a boat gadget.  Our dear friends, Scott and Kim on Bella Blue, sailed back to the USA on Friday.  They had a Whisker pole that they wanted us to have since they are selling their boat and moving to land.  We had a great visit with them and in the meantime got to stop in Key Largo on the way there and back for visits with friends there.  We had been considering making Marathon our new home but after this visit, Key Largo is still “home” and we will probably go there as soon as we can.

            Since we have been here in Marathon, I found a deal on a kayak and a bicycle.  We are looking at a used pick-up that our friend, Dan has located for us.  Of course, the pick-up is located in central Florida so we will have to go and get it – and bring back the boom on the way.  We are looking for work and have had some informal interviews and some potential opportunities but nothing has tied us down to that yet.  There is such a long list of things we WANT to do and have done on the boat that it is hard to find time to work but the extra money to do these things is very beneficial.

            Anyway, stay tuned……we are not going to drop the blog just because we aren’t in foreign ports anymore.  We hope to keep up your interests so that when we leave again – yes, there will be another voyage – you can keep reading about our adventures.  Cheers!

Panama to USA!!

            With the decision made to head back home, the next factor to consider was weather.  The rainy and stormy season about to start in Panama, we were heading north…..possibly to the Bay Islands of Honduras then up the coasts of Belize and Mexico if we took our time.  As you can see from our current location, we decided to go for it.

            There are two islands off the coast of Nicaragua called Providencia and San Andreas.  These islands fall under the jurisdiction of Colombia.  We decided to head for Providencia as it is farther east and would give us a better angle to head across the tip of Honduras and Nicaragua.  We stopped there and “yellow flagged” – meaning we did not intend to clear in with customs and immigration because we were not planning to stay that long and in Cartagena it was expensive.  We anchored next to a boat that had it’s mast laying on the dodger and bimini and learned that the night before when we were out there they had a rigging failure and the mast came down.  With their dealings with the agent to clear them in, they learned that he was watching and waiting for us to contact him to do the formalities.  We decided to leave and actually left on the afternoon the day after we arrived but it was too rough so we came back in.  The second day (Monday), we left early in the morning and were “led” out by a Colombian navy vessel.  We are not sure if they were watching to see if we were going to stay in their territorial waters but it sure seemed that when we made a turn away from the coast that they turned also and headed back toward Providencia. 

There were some Cays a few days north and west that looked like a good place to stop and rest – reportedly a good place to fill up one’s freezer with fresh bounty from the seas.  As we approached Hobbies Cays and Vivarios Cays, the weather was on our side and about to change for the worse in about mid May.  We decided to evaluate if there was a window to head straight for the US.  The only obstacle in that path was Cuba – a big island in our way.  We consulted with our weather guru, Chris Parker, who broadcasts SSB (single side band) daily forecasts.  He said we had the opportunity to make for the western end of Cuba and turn the corner to head for Florida.  If not, we could always back out and stop in Isla Mujeres, Mexico to wait for the next opportunity to make it to Florida.  There was a cold front approaching and we would have that weather event to deal with but most of the rest of the forecast sounded great.

            We were already underway when we made the decision to “go for it”.  After all if we are thinking about doing more distant travels, we will be well outside the possibility of landfall during those and there were several fallback options if we needed them.  Darrell was excited about the prospect of us doing this type of a long trip.  When you are off shore like this, you have to take shifts on watch and at the helm and you have to get rest and nutrition on the “off” times. 

            So here we are miles from any land and dependent on each other, the weather and our faith in God.  And we had to lean on Him during the tough times.  And let us say that God took care of us all the time!  On preparing the boat for our departure from San Blas, we discovered that our boom had a crack in it.  We had a bulge about midway along the starboard side near an egress for the topping lift that we have been monitoring for two years now.  Well……there was a crack – hairline but palpable.  We decided if we took it very easy on the mainsail and reefed early, that she would see us through (once again FAITH).  When we left Panama we had ¾ of a tank and two jerry cans on deck of diesel fuel and that was about what we entered Providencia with.  Our friend Chris Parker, the weather guru, gave us details of how to make the trip including currents, when to motor and when not to, etc.  Unfortunately, we needed the motor assist more than we or he thought to make the timing of the trip happen with the approach of the cold front.  Our attention focused on protecting the boom, suddenly in the night, on a downwind sail to make Cabo San Antonio (tip of Cuba) we heard a loud noise!  Guessing that it was the boom – Darrell went forward on deck to see what it was…..not the boom but the whisker pole that Tom (Tiger Lilly) had been telling us was not big or stout enough.  It had folded in half – but thank GOD it was not the boom!  Yeah, Tom, we are in the market for a more “Manly” whisker pole for downwind sailing!

            The front was coming across the US and stalled across Florida about midway down the peninsula which was good for us – God was taking care of us!  We were supposed to experience it about sunset on Saturday, May 3 and then we would be good to head East then north with the help of the Gulf Stream.  We had the first band of prefrontal storms about 3:30 that afternoon and another brief storm later that evening about 10:30-11:00 PM.  The front actually hit about 3:30 AM on Sunday just after we had triple reefed the main (remember to protect the boom) and all our sails were ready to go.  We were motor sailing to hold position when the engine coughed and died.  We had to drop the mainsail to protect the boom since we couldn’t guarantee that we would not have an accidental jibe (bad news for the boom).  So we Hove to and rode out about 12 hours of winds and seas – I won’t say the height because Darrell thinks I exaggerate them!  LOL  The other factor to heaving to was fatigue.  Remember we have been on four hour shifts for days now and we are getting kinda tired.  So we slept in shifts while we rocked and rolled in BIG seas.  While Darrell was sleeping that afternoon, the winds started coming down so I eased out some genoa and started sailing west.  He woke up and we were making tracks for home.  God had given us new inspiration, confidence and assurance that he would take care of us.

            We hoped that the Gulf Stream would assist us in our passage and man it did – cause now you see, we HAD to sail.  This was the last of the winds from the storm.  Several hours later, we were in the stream just about 40 miles north of Havana and Darrell kept asking me if I wanted to go dancing!  God had different plans, the winds shifted and we had to make a left turn to head for landfall in the southernmost parts of the USA.  We were able to sail slowly towards the Dry Tortugas.  While underway, Darrell had to see how much fuel we REALLY had in the tank because the stick we have been relying on to gauge our fuel for more than five years told us we still had about ¼ of a tank.  Remember, he was supposed to be resting when it was not his watch – hence we both got VERY LITTLE rest after that storm.  He siphoned fuel out of the main tank and we put it in empty 2L coke bottles that we had on board.  This gave us the fuel to get into Dry Tortugas before sunset and get the anchor down.  While we were in that anchorage, we broadcast on the radio that if anyone had some spare fuel, we would buy it.  We got one taker – Johnny and Jeremy on Windwalker from Pensacola, FL. – THANK YOU!!!  And thank you Lord, again!

            So we rested for one night and decided we had favorable conditions to get to Key West – we were also advised by our weather man to get to KW and get fuel and keep moving to get to Key Largo before the next weather window closed on us.  WELL….we made it to Key West after a LONG upwind slog taking almost double the amount of time we anticipated and us SOOOOOO tired.  When we dropped the anchor, we had one last bottle (2L) about 2/3 full and that was IT!  We got fuel and went to a marina in Key West to wash the boat, our clothes, and rest for a couple of days before we can head to Key Largo.  We are hoping for winds South of East in order to make it to Key Largo which is NE of Key West.  Apparently, God is not ready for us to leave here.  We will evaluate conditions tomorrow (Saturday) and possibly head north or anchor out and sit tight for the NEXT weather window to head to Key Largo.  While we have been here, we have been able to reconnect with a friend who had his fishing boat next to our dive boats in Key Largo several years ago and tonight, we have been in contact with Russell and Jessica and Morgan (friends from Key Largo) who are here in Key West and we hope to see them this evening.

            

San Blas to ??

            Mercy sakes!  It is amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun!!  So much fun!

            About the time of the last post (before the pictures), we went on a land excursion to do some major provisioning.  Jan, Darrell, and I went to Panama City via pick-up truck and stayed in a place called Cruisers Casa overnight.  We had lists made and we all hit the pavement to get the jobs done.  Several dollars and many bags later, we returned to the two boats and were well stocked.  The scenery leaving Kuna Yala was beautiful!  Panama City was ….. well a big city with all the things in a big city.  Cruisers Casa was clean, convenient, well priced and comfortable. 

            We enjoyed many more days in the beautiful waters of the San Blas.  We were disappointed to learn that our dear friends, Dan and Stephanie could not swing the trip down to visit us again this year.  Darrell was able to spear a few lion fish and we caught some other fish on our fishing poles – THANK YOU, Wayne and Jason for my light tackle pole that has caught several and made it very fun to do so!!!  Ann has honed her skills at bread making since there are very few places to buy loaves of bread.  The internet access problems were solved and we have stayed in contact better with friends and family.  Roxy has enjoyed once or twice daily walks on the islands and swims on sandy beaches.  It is a place not to be missed and we will definitely be back here someday!

            We were able to spend some more time with Tiger Lilly – a boat we met last year in Grenada.  They are getting ready to go thru the Panama Canal and on to circumnavigate the globe.  They have been trying to talk us into going with them – LOL!  Thanks, Tom and Lilly, for all the good times and laughs!

            With April drawing to a close and the hurricane season approaching, we had some decisions to make.  Where do we spend the months when hurricanes threaten?  Rio Dulce, Guatemala or Key Largo?  Much discussion and hours agonizing over the decision, we have FINALLY reached our decision – always subject to change – HA.  We are going to head north to the Keys and try and get jobs for the summer diving season.   We hope to spend the next several years (only God knows how many) getting our boat ready to do an around the world cruise. 

            But in the meantime, we will enjoy being closer to our family and friends, replenish the cruising kitty, do many things we dream of to the boat, and perhaps learn some more skills.  These two years have taken us through some beautiful countries and taught us about many cultures.  We have grown in our sailing skills and broadened our “comfort” zones.  Stay tuned for the “next” chapter!

Pictures!

Darrell, Ann and Roxy in Curacao (on Tiger Lilly)

A night of dancing in Cartagena.

Sights in El Centro Historic District of Cartagena, Colombia.

Some of the handmade gold pieces in the Gold Museum.

Bathroom in El Centro - Economical use of space!

Bronze sculpture of lady sewing.

Playing Dominoes

Pizza Night in Cartagena

Harry & Melinda; Bruce and Jan (Sea Schell and Celtic Rover).

Toucan in Rosarios, Colombia.

Flamingoes in Rosarios.

Making bread in Panama.

Fresh fruit!

Darrell and Freddie (our guide).

Freddie was our guide.

Freddie, Ann and Roxy - she wanted to go back to swimming

The dugout canoe!

An octopus in our head!  The other shadow is a shrimp or baby lobster!

Ann kite surf training.

Darrell kiting

Gretchen, our teacher.

Kite Man

The STAR!