tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21254743687295020732024-03-12T22:37:47.756-04:00All Aboard the SVSolMateSVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-4581726284003278482012-05-26T16:46:00.000-04:002012-05-30T15:52:53.861-04:00SolMate For Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Overview</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">SolMate is a great cruising boat as proven on her recent 30 month, 10,000 mile cruise spanning from Maine to Grenada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>She has great performance on all points of sail- easily handled with a simple sail plan, the inboard shrouds <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>allow her to sail close-winded and the huge genoa allows for good light-air and off wind sailing. Her large center cockpit, clean sidedecks and high SS rails and lifelines provide safety on deck while below her spacious accommodations (2 cabin, 2 head layout) provide excellent headroom, comfort, and livability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>With 23 opening portlights, 7 opening hatches and a huge salon skylight, lighting and ventilation are unmatched.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Her great engine access, and exceptional storage will be appreciated by her crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As needed on today's cruising boats, much attention has been paid to her well matched energy requirements and the cruiser comforts that make life great at anchor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">She is freshened up and ready to take you back to the Bahamas, Caribbean and beyond.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7E4DrVBL7xiam6cTatL27mBzBDgXY12ejfEBKrxFUjJU91mqgg5MpJTu7cn2SU3l3TGnt0XaO2GXH86t2kdbBga2ZqLniTVctYKTWnB12NHL-k0lNL091HlEgQrMhD_3RgQ_NurtXio/s1600/P3255352+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7E4DrVBL7xiam6cTatL27mBzBDgXY12ejfEBKrxFUjJU91mqgg5MpJTu7cn2SU3l3TGnt0XaO2GXH86t2kdbBga2ZqLniTVctYKTWnB12NHL-k0lNL091HlEgQrMhD_3RgQ_NurtXio/s320/P3255352+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a><strong><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Dimensions </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-weight: normal;">(per Mfg Spec Sheet)</span></strong><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br /> LOA: 45 ft 3 in<br /> Beam: 13 ft 6 in<br /> LWL: 37 ft 10 in<br /> Minimum Draft: 5 ft 9 in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">HOA: 58’ 6”<br />Displacement: 26460 lbs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Ballast: 8200 lbs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Wet weight at last haulout: 30,800 lbs.<br /><br /><strong>Engines</strong><br /> Engine Brand: Yanmar<br /> Engine Model: 4JH2E<br /> Engine Hours: 3090<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Genset Brand: Northern Lights<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Genset Model: M673<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Genset Hours: 1870<br /><br /><strong>Tanks</strong><br /> Fresh Water Tanks: 175 Gallons (125+25+25)<br /> Fuel Tank: 63 Gallons<br /> Holding Tanks: 2x14 Gallons</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Interior Layout</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">SolMate has a two cabin, two head interior layout built around a center cockpit design.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Guest Cabin</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The guest cabin is all the way forward and consists of a comfortable V berth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a starboard bench with storage underneath and a large cabinet built to portside. Above are two opening hatches for natural light and ventilation. There are also lights for reading and a 12v fan for comfort.<br /> Aft to port is the guest head, which can be accessed from either the guest cabin or main salon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hatch above and portlight allows great ventilation. The head features a Raritan marine toilet, sink, vanity, and three mirrors. There is plenty of storage in cupboards and under the sink. The décor is highlighted by teak trim.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Salon<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Moving aft we come to a very comfortable main salon, which features two long berths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The settee to port has a water tank underneath with storage above that. The berth to starboard forms part of the dinette and has a water tank and storage beneath. There is a varnished teak dining table, which has seating for four+ around it and a versatile “directors chair” to complete the seating arrangement.<br /> On the forward bulkhead is an opening cabinet with a state of the art PC based entertainment system and 22” TV/monitor. The salon ambiance is enhanced by a teak interior, brass lamps, fine <span style="color: #3366ff;">Weems and Plath Ships Clock</span> and <span style="color: #3366ff;">Barometer</span>, two opening hatches and 12 opening side ports. To port are two more lockers and a bookshelf. There is also a discreet locker at the end of the gally peninsula, which serves as the liquor cabinet.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Navigation Station</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Next aft, to port, is the chart table and navigation area. The chart table opens for chart storage and has a comfortable seat. Facing forward is the Nav panel with clean, flush mounted <span style="color: #3366ff;">Icom M504 VHF</span> and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #3366ff;">Icom M802 SSB</span> for communication and a <span style="color: #3366ff;">Garmin GMI-10 Multifunction Display</span> providing a variety of information from the NMEA2000 network.<br /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Inward, is the electrical panel and engine access. The distribution/control panel features 12v and 110v circuuit panel with Volt and Ammeters, anchor windlass switch, Xantrex charger/inverter control panel, Genset control and monitoring, solar charge monitor and wind gen ammeter.</span><br />
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Along the walkthrough to the aft cabin, inward is a large access to the engine and genset room. The swing doors are easily removed for unrestricted access.<br />
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Outward of the walkthrough is a large set of lockers with drawers and shelves and a top deck for storage.<br />
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<strong>Galley <o:p></o:p></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The galley is to starboard of the companionway and is a Chef’s delight. It is very functional and well designed for entertaining in port or cooking while underway. The galley forms a deep U shape and features:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5AdDsguoal5UF0yLz4rub4rD2nQ2kgwNzPH0UFXDfurRe3JkoCpy3DtodRdnqTZRB4HJh5Dv4DufRvcXLafhy_qIqp-6smZ5Z5T45V8ucCzK0N8YccjnUM25vA7akbMxwAz5sxtN2_U/s1600/P5255594+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5AdDsguoal5UF0yLz4rub4rD2nQ2kgwNzPH0UFXDfurRe3JkoCpy3DtodRdnqTZRB4HJh5Dv4DufRvcXLafhy_qIqp-6smZ5Z5T45V8ucCzK0N8YccjnUM25vA7akbMxwAz5sxtN2_U/s320/P5255594+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Corian Counter tops w/ Teak fiddles <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Double SS deep sinks with designer faucet and soap dispenser<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2 stage cartridge fresh water filtration system (5 micron for sediment + Activated Carbon filter for Taste)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://generalecology.com/category/marine-rv/product/seagull_iv_x-1f_purifier_with_faucet"><span style="color: blue;">Seagull water purifier with galley-sink mounted dispenser</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> for outstanding fresh drinking water <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Pressurized salt water system faucet at galley sink for dish washing(saves tons of fresh water!)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Top access freezer with <span style="color: #3366ff;">Large A-B VD152 Evaporator</span> box inside<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Front and Top access Refrigerator cooled by digital T-stat controlled spillover fan<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Refrigeration is an </span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Adler-Barbour Super Cold Machine </span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;">Machine</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> fitted with <span style="color: #3366ff;">Frigo Boats’ intelligent “Smart Speed Control</span>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>and dual <span style="color: #3366ff;">Coastal Mk2 Digital Thermostats</span> for precise control of temps in each side.(all new 2009).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>(door seals replaced 5/12)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Princess 3 burner propane stove with oven (that bakes great bread!)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l14 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Abundant drawers and cabinets for cookware, tools, service ware, utensils, etc<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVBD3R_K80xo48RqwGcjU5qL53wAPiXXTcxVHjV6j665ObOYOPSxg-m9S8ggBjMoSeJoVLUe87n7i7nhhKM0NzME5c7UWqZfbC2YoJA0AmbPQfQdaoa7fI7TjT4jEliTFiYVVIahPTsI/s1600/P5245573+(1024x707).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVBD3R_K80xo48RqwGcjU5qL53wAPiXXTcxVHjV6j665ObOYOPSxg-m9S8ggBjMoSeJoVLUe87n7i7nhhKM0NzME5c7UWqZfbC2YoJA0AmbPQfQdaoa7fI7TjT4jEliTFiYVVIahPTsI/s200/P5245573+(1024x707).jpg" width="200" /></strong></a><strong> </strong><br />
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Undersink houses the multi stage whole boat water filtration system and the Seagull water purifier system for perfet tasting drinking water.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Master Cabin</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The walkthrough continues aft to the master cabin, a roomy . The stateroom features a large centerline, island queen with custom memory-foam mattress with a nice headboard shelf and opening portlight aft. There are two bench seats on either side of the bed with storage underneath. Other features include two cedar lined hanging/shelved lockers, chest of drawers, a vanity counter with a large wall mirror, seat and drawers plus a wash basin with mirror and more storage. Forward, to starboard, is the large head with separate shower/tub stall, sink, mirror, teak grate floor and Raritan marine toilet.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1K2aScIl6rLdbnkjQp4KkZHK2MH2w_zzuuuybEZ_xqf-tOwWmPQk5Gh1fTXHPsQkC-Duav7AK-CBLFki_xQJvFUIz1jZeX81Mfc10NqGmt3ezduaqEv4vSaa4j_E2uFgeAVuRnTuBjk/s1600/P5245582+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1K2aScIl6rLdbnkjQp4KkZHK2MH2w_zzuuuybEZ_xqf-tOwWmPQk5Gh1fTXHPsQkC-Duav7AK-CBLFki_xQJvFUIz1jZeX81Mfc10NqGmt3ezduaqEv4vSaa4j_E2uFgeAVuRnTuBjk/s320/P5245582+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVbzG5_KDhF63Bgt-AlO6Q8aarrXfK63dVMa_eok0kLSRYoVRNxsB-TNNQheNIjcEZrF4sCtQUCKK4lt2ic32shK9tnF_C6rn11fnu_Pnc5B5YhyphenhyphenFR0MjYlY8UrNSHV5ft3nHOFlAIvE/s1600/P5245592+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVbzG5_KDhF63Bgt-AlO6Q8aarrXfK63dVMa_eok0kLSRYoVRNxsB-TNNQheNIjcEZrF4sCtQUCKK4lt2ic32shK9tnF_C6rn11fnu_Pnc5B5YhyphenhyphenFR0MjYlY8UrNSHV5ft3nHOFlAIvE/s320/P5245592+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7K7t-OAaBvGa-Ul12Rl6LLWgcBhNU4ksH0swwbbeRegMdnM31Jec7XojdR1DW20m4WJ6pOQxm0N-_RhDBDwJKWiWU_RP0SqPfE7Gdx_QCZPSffva-PcFeZGKeUK4Tau9Pwli3yLF-Jg/s1600/P5245585+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7K7t-OAaBvGa-Ul12Rl6LLWgcBhNU4ksH0swwbbeRegMdnM31Jec7XojdR1DW20m4WJ6pOQxm0N-_RhDBDwJKWiWU_RP0SqPfE7Gdx_QCZPSffva-PcFeZGKeUK4Tau9Pwli3yLF-Jg/s320/P5245585+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Deck</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">SolMates’ hull construction is of solid hand-laid fiberglass with internal ballast and a stout 2/3 skeg forward of the rudder. She has a modified fin keel which provides great upwind performance and stability. Her weather decks are wide and uncluttered while the inboard chainplates/shrouds provide excellent windward performance and safe and easy movement fore and aft. Her hull color is a bright and shiny white and the decks’ non-skid are an off-white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decks are of solid hand laid fiberglass- not cored!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You won’t find any soft spots on the deck of a Morgan.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafrrlyYV48meD_4noUmc1j39rQYAz9-apmbtNO7t8qHbSVimdD1m84CYBBm0aNm_dSQmp9t9Re9Y6GUatOJEvLYOaitjV_6iV1bh_oqFV8-I-Me4cMig8LD02BH7ScEKIEY6xQr10iSg/s1600/P5265637+(768x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafrrlyYV48meD_4noUmc1j39rQYAz9-apmbtNO7t8qHbSVimdD1m84CYBBm0aNm_dSQmp9t9Re9Y6GUatOJEvLYOaitjV_6iV1bh_oqFV8-I-Me4cMig8LD02BH7ScEKIEY6xQr10iSg/s320/P5265637+(768x1024).jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBu6nX-wpm-2-Xj7kwhMkNExirfY50-zeH2Hq0mYtztsPycD3WaVNAIwMfQUZXxO2cRxhxDadZje3jRcxU1Rjyijk077RR3vxO0Nxag1EmLK_f42gA4QVrGW-mUgFaJ6qsPU5WVF8nZ4/s1600/P5265635+(768x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBu6nX-wpm-2-Xj7kwhMkNExirfY50-zeH2Hq0mYtztsPycD3WaVNAIwMfQUZXxO2cRxhxDadZje3jRcxU1Rjyijk077RR3vxO0Nxag1EmLK_f42gA4QVrGW-mUgFaJ6qsPU5WVF8nZ4/s320/P5265635+(768x1024).jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p>Amazing ventilation with 7 hatches and 23 opening portlights!</o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Her hull just received a fresh bottom job using the high quality ablative paint: Petite Ultima SR-40.</span></strong><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKhxzzyytvKocB2dE439WJ0YmjX08LaLjjCe2vIVw6sf7cmuwHKEbF8-hPDiOa63_NbgMAJ3jzu6MKwai5vJ7Kv6ugHauVKCtTnCaVHNEO93bEp8TUmEJuVdnJCbEM1dtIXXLBFbfybo/s1600/P5265632+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKhxzzyytvKocB2dE439WJ0YmjX08LaLjjCe2vIVw6sf7cmuwHKEbF8-hPDiOa63_NbgMAJ3jzu6MKwai5vJ7Kv6ugHauVKCtTnCaVHNEO93bEp8TUmEJuVdnJCbEM1dtIXXLBFbfybo/s320/P5265632+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRNQF-LJ0u4j4TUy-u1K25jZW3AFxDFsDFkOQ362ZLGoRhCYCndi60EH9Nnv6ZbWhZiTBXMvG5ybNqMj1Pg0iKzmwmr1footghkA5LvAiKD0ekZm8vdwcYtMWx_tpKdqYkO8D0of8p9U/s1600/P5265633+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRNQF-LJ0u4j4TUy-u1K25jZW3AFxDFsDFkOQ362ZLGoRhCYCndi60EH9Nnv6ZbWhZiTBXMvG5ybNqMj1Pg0iKzmwmr1footghkA5LvAiKD0ekZm8vdwcYtMWx_tpKdqYkO8D0of8p9U/s320/P5265633+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Double lifelines with side gates on port and starboard keep sailors aboard and custom fitted safety netting included will help keep pets, kids and loose tackle from going overboard as well.</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Double bow roller assembly holds a <span style="color: #3366ff;">45# Bruce anchor</span> with 200’ of 5/16’ chain and a <span style="color: #3366ff;">45# CQR</span> with 20’ of 3/8” chain and 250’ of ¾” nylon rode</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Inboard genoa tracks allow close sheeting of the genny</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Maxwell 700 electric windlass w/foot control</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">2” Aluminum Stern Arch carries 2 Kyocera KD135 watt solar panels and the Amp-Air 100 watt wind generator, as well as deck lights and Magma Grill</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">At the stern: Port lazarette for storage; Stbd lazarette houses 2 new <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1%7C406%7C301237%7C322407&id=1065959"><span style="color: blue;">10# fiberglass propane cylinder</span></a>s</span>; Large White deck box under the arch</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Scoop transom and large boarding ladder provide easy access from the water or dingy</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.forespar.com/products/boat-nova-lift.shtml"><span style="color: blue;">Nova Lift Dingy Motor hoist</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">with mounting plate for outboard motor storage</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo18; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Magma Catalina propane grill is mounted on shelf across the stern arch </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipek7O5M7RS69r4P9en5uu4jy3WKfU_0t01p26UQyAYaBadXHLcPiZdLz4C13vsOYLSWkUTzK_IBsiYZheRSmqbw5aNYWJaiQhDeJmL9Grqa5C6ctOhJc2mJ1jafaQKJaX-rDkVhQJ8Kg/s1600/P5265640+(768x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipek7O5M7RS69r4P9en5uu4jy3WKfU_0t01p26UQyAYaBadXHLcPiZdLz4C13vsOYLSWkUTzK_IBsiYZheRSmqbw5aNYWJaiQhDeJmL9Grqa5C6ctOhJc2mJ1jafaQKJaX-rDkVhQJ8Kg/s320/P5265640+(768x1024).jpg" width="240" /></a></li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Sail Plan and Handling<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">SolMate is equipped with In-Mast Furling Main and Roller Furling Jib with a 135% Genoa, all controlled from the safety of the cockpit.</span></span></span></h1>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Per Mfg Specs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l18 level1 lfo19; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I: 52’ 9”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l18 level1 lfo19; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">J: 17’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l18 level1 lfo19; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">P: 46’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l18 level1 lfo19; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">E: 16’</span> </div>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span></span></span> </h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"></span></span></span> </h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Sail Handling<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrLMAQt2JioSl7BI3AAppPrxuzw8zYsC8Oi7qPMqOMga5vGfsDvxGzEDqnvtYnzeEibVR8KtfmDUjCbaAS4WWH33i0YbYvS5lP0su5_gE5fucmZrSpg6wLsGnqkf6M4Mui4ta89TiuJc/s1600/P5265651+(768x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrLMAQt2JioSl7BI3AAppPrxuzw8zYsC8Oi7qPMqOMga5vGfsDvxGzEDqnvtYnzeEibVR8KtfmDUjCbaAS4WWH33i0YbYvS5lP0su5_gE5fucmZrSpg6wLsGnqkf6M4Mui4ta89TiuJc/s320/P5265651+(768x1024).jpg" width="240" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">US Spars In-Mast Murling Main</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2 X Lewmar 56 ST jibsheet winches<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">1 X Lewmar 40 ST main furling/outhaul control winch<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2 rope clutches at <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Harken 6:1 Gross Trim main Sheet System located behind helmsman<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Harken Fine Trim block and tackle for main sheet control<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2 X Lewmar 24<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mast winches<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo17; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">New Genoa sheets (5/8” Sta-Set)<b> </b></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Cockpit</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Edson Pedestal Steering station<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">SS 6 Spoke wheel <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Suunto compass<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://store.oceanequipment.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=175"><span style="color: blue;">Navpod mount</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> for <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=148&pID=9158&ra=true"><span style="color: blue;">Garmin GPSMap5212</span></a></span> 12” Touchscreen navigation System is clean and uncluttered, providing all information on one screen<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Autohelm ST700 Autopilot control with outlet for wired remote control unit<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Icom<span style="color: #3366ff;"> <a href="http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/marine/commandmic/commandmic/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Command Mic 3</span></a> </span>VHF Station<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Teak cockpit table<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Engine Instrument panel on pedestal behind wheel<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Bimini w/4 bows & full enclosure with heavy gauge plastic curtains (renewed with StrataGlass in 2011) for inclement weather.</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Closed cell foam <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.ccushions.com/sail.htm"><span style="color: blue;">“C Cushions” cockpit cushions</span></a></span>, helmsman's seat and back cushions</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">New cockpit speakers<o:p></o:p></span>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJBbYNkaWDAbDURSIKQUNdlpzdGoEHm3U-vMCkOR0NMM2wL8dbubPqZDw3kOnuOJgBjpF5t7BoOQONx_rt5zbtRuG4Eas580NcIYsCVeL1_aMd7LNrDnVWKann-mGXnH_HWPBUUkh7Ws/s1600/P5265642+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJBbYNkaWDAbDURSIKQUNdlpzdGoEHm3U-vMCkOR0NMM2wL8dbubPqZDw3kOnuOJgBjpF5t7BoOQONx_rt5zbtRuG4Eas580NcIYsCVeL1_aMd7LNrDnVWKann-mGXnH_HWPBUUkh7Ws/s320/P5265642+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LYvZz2oQllsBh5-JAFeARLBWzrrU5NijSMYSNetKGgGcVWl9SUsqAwgtApU3-DR-Uee6DF-Mspp8IhjPan4mvJ08LVbr68ZI5alG0f6jw2k2JRhxoy1grHkELppI_1E7vWfXYkqgEnU/s1600/P5265653+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LYvZz2oQllsBh5-JAFeARLBWzrrU5NijSMYSNetKGgGcVWl9SUsqAwgtApU3-DR-Uee6DF-Mspp8IhjPan4mvJ08LVbr68ZI5alG0f6jw2k2JRhxoy1grHkELppI_1E7vWfXYkqgEnU/s320/P5265653+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Navigation and Electronics (all Installed 2009)</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">All electronics were upgraded in 2009 with the latest generation equipment available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No expense was spared and installation included linking all components for full functionality. (Ex: DSC VHF shares data with charplotter- so position data is fed to VHF enabling GMDSS to function properly and position data on other vessels is fed from VHF<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and appears on chartplotter screen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2A-iftCjkR2IVZzsZNyWFHmLdV-sPapLfoLzIyvw69qdH5mPXN3-fH4JESULoqZVCJBr8LiK069NjPrYWL19x25WXqr6-vrKEN4eh0MS-mz8iZoTDZjy08leK8zh9gA5YYpZWV46s3pY/s1600/P5265648+(768x1024).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2A-iftCjkR2IVZzsZNyWFHmLdV-sPapLfoLzIyvw69qdH5mPXN3-fH4JESULoqZVCJBr8LiK069NjPrYWL19x25WXqr6-vrKEN4eh0MS-mz8iZoTDZjy08leK8zh9gA5YYpZWV46s3pY/s320/P5265648+(768x1024).jpg" width="240" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=148&pID=9158"><span style="color: blue;">Garmin GPSMap 5212 Touchscreen Multifunction Charplotter (NMEA2000)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=148&pID=9158"><span style="color: blue;">Garmin GMR18 HD Radar</span></a></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">- mast mounted on</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> <a href="http://www.scanstrut.com/products/product-page.php?range_id=10010&type=Sailboats"><span style="color: blue;">Scanstrut gimbaled mount</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11625"><span style="color: blue;">Garmin GMI 10 Multi Function Display</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.maretron.com/products/wso100.php"><span style="color: blue;">Maretron WSO100 Ultrasonic Wind Speed+Temp+Barometer (NMEA2000)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.maretron.com/products/ssc200.php"><span style="color: blue;">Maretron SSC200 Solid State Rate/Gyro Compass (NMEA2000)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13578"><span style="color: blue;">Airmar Triducer DST800 (depth/speed/temp) 235khz transducer (NMEA2000)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Airmar 200/50khz transducer (for future blackbox/fishfinder)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/marine/mountedvhf/m504a/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Icom M504 VHF Radio</span></a> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">with</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> <a href="http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/marine/commandmic/commandmic/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Command Mic 3</span></a> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">in cockpit</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/marine/ssb/m802/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Icom M802 SSB with AT140 tuner</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.acrelectronics.com/products/b/marine/catalog/epirbs-and-accessories/globalfix-ipro"><span style="color: blue;">ACR GlobalFix iPro 406 Mhz EPRIB</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">(wired to receive real-time GPS data at all times, eliminating critical time lost to auto locating when activated)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.miseagroup.com/solutions/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5_7&products_id=19&zenid=39782ouo0300sduqvpkolih9o5"><span style="color: blue;">OGM LED Anchor/TriColor Navigation light</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">at masthead (w sensor for auto dusk to dawn operation)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;">Shakespeare 2030 Digital TV antenna </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">with signal booster<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Shakespeare Mariner 4200 </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">3dBi SS antenna at mast head</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/antennas.asp?antenna=5225-XT"><span style="color: blue;">Shakespeare Galaxy 5225-XT</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">6dBi 8’ antenna mounted on stern rail for emergency<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Saloon Entertainment System<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPAW3SZ31DoHOZtZ742sJdjeg3o5pzdNOR98yeXAokdbALfQRXhqxmAAbc11-OrcKOp-KxwiWg5DffMaNbriysoRVi6zUxUIZ2SAyC8mgPc1o2aCh7PnmUIbKSJzZzdZZ6sCaarKSgPo/s1600/P5265654+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPAW3SZ31DoHOZtZ742sJdjeg3o5pzdNOR98yeXAokdbALfQRXhqxmAAbc11-OrcKOp-KxwiWg5DffMaNbriysoRVi6zUxUIZ2SAyC8mgPc1o2aCh7PnmUIbKSJzZzdZZ6sCaarKSgPo/s320/P5265654+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Custom, powerful 12v PC entertainment/navigation system running Windows7 displayed on a 22” HiDef TV/Monitor<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Media Center stores and plays Movies, TV Shows and Music<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Picture Gallery for storing and viewing all your photos (great for slide shows when hosting happy hours)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Internet and email<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>500 Gb HDD storing hundreds of movies, dozens of complete TV Series, weeks of music and a lifetime of photos<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Bullet WiFi system connected to TPLink router for fast, long-range internet connection and wireless internet onboard<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">PC navigation software w GPS interface displays charting/navigation on screen for route planning, monitoring while underway and employment of an Anchor Drag Alarm while at anchor</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Shakespeare Digital TV antenna at masthead receives broadcast TV dignals</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l10 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Controlled with Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Electrical Equipment</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">110vAC Service<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.northern-lights.com/marine/M673L3.html"><span style="color: blue;">Northern Lights M673 6kw genset</span></a> <span style="color: black;">provides power to run both A/Cs</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Xantrex 3000w inverter/ 130 amp charger with remote panel</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">110v outlets throughout boat</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">2 ea 30amp/115vAC shore power circuits receptacles on stbd coaming</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">1 Phone/TV receptacle on stbd coaming</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">2 ea 50'- 30amp/115vAC Marinco shore power cords</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">1 ea 50amp/115vAC to twin 30amp/115vAC splitter</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">1 ea RG8 shielded Coax cable for TV/ Modem input<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">12vDC Service</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2 <a href="http://www.kyocerasolar.com/assets/001/5126.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">Kyoceral KD135 Solar Panels</span></a></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">(latest generation)</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/products/details/solar_boost_3024il/"><span style="color: blue;">Blue Sky 3024il Solar Charge Contoller</span></a> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">and</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> <a href="http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/products/details/ipn_remote/"><span style="color: blue;">IPN remote panel</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.ampair.com/downloads/CD%203113A_Ampair_Catalogue_Web_(2010).pdf"><span style="color: blue;">AmpAir 100 Wind generator with Charge controller and ammeter</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">High output 120 amp alternator and <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.balmar.net/regulators.html"><span style="color: blue;">Balmar Max Charge 612 regulator</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #3366ff; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Tahoma;">House battery bank:</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> 2 <a href="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=11151&partNumber=437475&langId=-1"><span style="color: blue;">4D West Marine Gel Cells (new)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Start battery for Engine and Genset (isolated)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">All cabin lighting retrofitted with high quality LED and/or fluorescent <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Hella Turbo fans: 2 in Stateroom, 1 in Salon, 1 in V Berth<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Caframo fan in Galley<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">LED Rope lighting and courtesy lighting throughout</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Mechanical/ HVAC<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Cruisair 16,000btu reverse cycle AC/Heat for Salon and Fwd Berth with SMXII digital panel</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Cruisair 7,000btu reverse cycle AC/heat for Master Stateroom with SMXII digial control panel</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/USA/Marine/Cooling-Kits/Refrigeration/?productdataid=87280"><span style="color: blue;">Adler-Barbour Super Cold Machine <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Machine</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> fitted with <span style="color: #3366ff;">Frigo Boats’ intelligent “Smart Speed Control</span>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and dual <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://coastalclimatecontrol.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CCC&Product_Code=CMKII-24&Category_Code=thermo"><span style="color: blue;">Coastal Mk2 Digital Thermostats</span></a></span> for precise control of temps in each side.(all new 2009)</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Hot water heater, 6 gal (110v and/or engine water heated)</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Jabsco Sensor Max VSD17</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"> 4.5gpm freshwater system pump with dual cartridge “whole house filtration”</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Waste system: 2 each: <span style="color: #3366ff;">Raritan PHEII manual head</span>s (upgradable w <u>included </u>electric motors) with 14 gallon holding bladders each</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Jabsco shower sump pumps with easy to clean shur-flo filter screens for each shower sump</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Dual <span style="color: #3366ff;">Rule 1500 gph Bilge Pumps</span> (primary and high water)</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo14; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Whale Gusher </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">manual bilge pump</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Safety</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Fire extinguishers (5)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Fire/ CO detector<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">GFCI on appropriate outlets<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Propane solenoid system<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Life Sling Man Overboard system mounted on stern rail<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Nylon 4700# jackline system with harnesses and tethers<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l16 level1 lfo15; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.acrelectronics.com/products/b/marine/catalog/rescue-lights/sm-2-marker-light"><span style="color: blue;">ACR Strobe module</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> mounted on stern rail</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small;"></span> </h1>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small;">Additional Equipment and Spares</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Charts, Books and Guides<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMxyJixLNI0_MQYVJMTYsIi1blF0mJlF8jXjrzxbS9jUUuXvbf1YcRhaJdMgQ7MiWaxhq7pLI3NrsBn_0kv31blQpf7xJvOoFKwcc1aV-FyXeQppENtmScjXHT4At0rJ0bz8N0GU28cc/s1600/P5265597+(1024x768).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMxyJixLNI0_MQYVJMTYsIi1blF0mJlF8jXjrzxbS9jUUuXvbf1YcRhaJdMgQ7MiWaxhq7pLI3NrsBn_0kv31blQpf7xJvOoFKwcc1aV-FyXeQppENtmScjXHT4At0rJ0bz8N0GU28cc/s320/P5265597+(1024x768).jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Maptech Chartkits(5)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Bahamas Explorer Chartbooks(3)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Waterway guides(6)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Doyle Cruising Guides(2- Leewards and Windwards)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Cruising the Chesapeake<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Maine Cruising Guide</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Boatowners Electrical and Mechanical- Nigel Calder<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Other various cruising guides and books<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Cabin and Comfort<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">20+ bug screens for Lewmar portlights<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">No See-Um netting for cockpit enclosure<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Brass Bell<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Digital Photo Frame<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Anchoring and Docking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Fortress FX-55 "Storm Anchor" (16,000 lb holding power*)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">250’ - ¾” Nylon 3 strand anchor rode<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">300' - ½" nylon 3 strand anchor rode<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">150’ -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>¾” Nylon 3 strand for bow line when med mooring<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2- Aere 12x29 Inflatable fenders<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2- 12x29 Taylormade White fenders<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">3- 3/4" x 50' Nylon dock lines<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">1- 5/8" x 35' Nylon dock lines<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2- 5/8" x 25' Nylon dock lines<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">2- Marinco 50', 30a shore Power Cords + 50' coax<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Marinco 50a to 2x30a "Y" adapter<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Deck and Safety<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">White fbgls Dock Box under arch <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Magma Catalina BBQ Grill<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">4 Yellow Diesel Jerry cans w Mounting rail and straps<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">4 Blue Water Jerry cans w Mounting rail and straps<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Security Cables and locks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">ACR MOB strobe light<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Nylon 4700# jackline system with harnesses and tethers<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Lifesling MOB device<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Emergency 8’ VHF antenna mounted on stern rail<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Safety Netting<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Bosuns chair<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">30x48 Nyl-Glo USA Flag</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">ACR Rapid-Ditch Express bag with contents<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Spare Parts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Spare Halyard; 120'- 1/2" Sta-Set X<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Asst Yanmar Engine Parts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Asst Northern Lights Genset Parts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Rule 1500gph bilge pump</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Rule engine room blower</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo20; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Asst plumbing, electrical and mechanical parts and spares</span></li>
</ul>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-26621805925280273752011-04-29T14:05:00.051-04:002011-04-29T14:52:52.494-04:00Late Feb-Early March...Culebra, Puerto Rico!!What a couple of Months it has been! Yet again, I am searching for excuses as to why we fall so delinquent with such a simple task of keeping a proper log/pictures?? I have decided to catch up by starting off in small batches of dates and pictures. <br />
<br />
We spent at least 2-3 weeks at one of our favorite places in the Caribbean, Culebra, PR! We have visited this place by plane at least three other times. Always it was part of our dream to experience the island via our own boat. I have to pinch myself sometimes to the reality of all of our dreams with cruising have and still are coming true (so blessed). <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Had a wonderful time sharing this experience with all of our buddy boats, Ultra, Sabbitcus and Dance Aweigh. We all went to the famous Flamenco Beach, played hard in the waves body surfing. Of course snorkling was top priority. Unfortunately, most of the water surrounding the island is nature protected...no lobstas for SolMate (though Brandon saw several...poop). We also got to celebrate Kevin's birthday aboard his boat Sabbitcus, such great company, food and libations!</div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp04ZbsyflmK3yqBFxZF-Y_nc38-Xs5C6-Jlx7qfVQzy45lZTBo1rrbBkiumhiZ8vmF0Freaf3DIIRVgN9noQit5MxwkyAo8s_W9g9jw-1RM5-aoR0g6umMwTvRRU0D4fBRzdgBJ5OBT0/s1600/P2242048+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp04ZbsyflmK3yqBFxZF-Y_nc38-Xs5C6-Jlx7qfVQzy45lZTBo1rrbBkiumhiZ8vmF0Freaf3DIIRVgN9noQit5MxwkyAo8s_W9g9jw-1RM5-aoR0g6umMwTvRRU0D4fBRzdgBJ5OBT0/s200/P2242048+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JoAnne (Ultra), Connor and Dena (Sabbiticus)<br />
looking out abandoned lighthouse on <br />
Culebrita</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Here are some photos from our time in Culebra, as well as the little island South called Culebrita.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-7xz03YWvOp29u2U5NrUQyQ-UtDSUufhEw7pUuKb2h7nIPgbnsR7LC8EFdXHhVZuMCNH5OjTCUZNkMAUyhAP2zi0J7Xfm9vzT8Xfd7ZJCU2zdoRxsqs82gV4CDXr0xsQbZ6hOQMHL3E/s1600/DSC_4364+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-7xz03YWvOp29u2U5NrUQyQ-UtDSUufhEw7pUuKb2h7nIPgbnsR7LC8EFdXHhVZuMCNH5OjTCUZNkMAUyhAP2zi0J7Xfm9vzT8Xfd7ZJCU2zdoRxsqs82gV4CDXr0xsQbZ6hOQMHL3E/s200/DSC_4364+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Resident of Culebra</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmfE_xnTaC8dzs0BoIQawdakfRCuEJ1vrRUn0VUA5rpxqqC0rqd9oEH2hyeafU4JWC0OHN0hqAD1aQUFVUXO-koWX739T48Ha2tgQcGF0Dk6iXnaIKw-nxVNwBWbjm9Iw8aCVXO_kzQo/s1600/P2242060+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFmfE_xnTaC8dzs0BoIQawdakfRCuEJ1vrRUn0VUA5rpxqqC0rqd9oEH2hyeafU4JWC0OHN0hqAD1aQUFVUXO-koWX739T48Ha2tgQcGF0Dk6iXnaIKw-nxVNwBWbjm9Iw8aCVXO_kzQo/s200/P2242060+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View out window of abandoned lighthouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHVroYMRhElHLoTkv80HU1PYcfC8yW-33jI0r7J0CD8lzTrE73qaIUU3x7v3gYIPvAsv0rJCF-R6NWUvSkX25SyU9ooki5qb-5lY_DOQNd7z6it0Xw1OeyvpcUdQBPPfLkUUGEXw3z3w/s1600/DSC_4405+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHVroYMRhElHLoTkv80HU1PYcfC8yW-33jI0r7J0CD8lzTrE73qaIUU3x7v3gYIPvAsv0rJCF-R6NWUvSkX25SyU9ooki5qb-5lY_DOQNd7z6it0Xw1OeyvpcUdQBPPfLkUUGEXw3z3w/s200/DSC_4405+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On approach to visit Culebrita.<br />
Amazing snorkling to do on this<br />
island!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXb7zKBkjzSOJDU-IHxBUW_rJ5KrF-JIBUFggPYm9rkXYAwg0KfWtJ_WfgoPKHDr4DTDcz9OJcHFpX8AwRogePdaMvhUKIhieTtXAlj8YYKBnde1q0-kFMYG-nu0I6gLEvLLfE2LHir4/s1600/DSC_4426+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXb7zKBkjzSOJDU-IHxBUW_rJ5KrF-JIBUFggPYm9rkXYAwg0KfWtJ_WfgoPKHDr4DTDcz9OJcHFpX8AwRogePdaMvhUKIhieTtXAlj8YYKBnde1q0-kFMYG-nu0I6gLEvLLfE2LHir4/s320/DSC_4426+%2528800x532%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Best buddies Brandon and Bella going for a <br />
snorkle in Culebrita!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMquwJUls51K3iEL9us1z9yZhXD95UPFymMNVGnSHT8J8RXhMXGy6qpE-HVdt7rWtHv-ienTj1ZKCvn3nWBQuQ6hGhClLcIA5p2Czh3tRd3EFfeFd2ufzMJqX-FHiaQzQXVo5KLTowiNU/s1600/P2201984+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMquwJUls51K3iEL9us1z9yZhXD95UPFymMNVGnSHT8J8RXhMXGy6qpE-HVdt7rWtHv-ienTj1ZKCvn3nWBQuQ6hGhClLcIA5p2Czh3tRd3EFfeFd2ufzMJqX-FHiaQzQXVo5KLTowiNU/s200/P2201984+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch at Mamacita's cantina<br />
in Culebra.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrQWc9gcmXOyidjfPHgXDAN8l_m2maJttf3VfmKs8Jr1gtsD0BiyYGf4-eywD-SKIxf9yYa-JlqPYpzhHEl3f8AGAW5roMGcgaG2_cX55JKAIl7fuZhGxihtDmKTnvEwBQELP_EQmthk/s1600/P1010073+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrQWc9gcmXOyidjfPHgXDAN8l_m2maJttf3VfmKs8Jr1gtsD0BiyYGf4-eywD-SKIxf9yYa-JlqPYpzhHEl3f8AGAW5roMGcgaG2_cX55JKAIl7fuZhGxihtDmKTnvEwBQELP_EQmthk/s200/P1010073+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SolMate Crew out for a snorkle<br />
in Culebrita</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcj7exaWWrpWoRPr5RSIsn-TMtucx4zoogmr37H7QcTb0xeezW7mFn_atcfVW9KdcVpoggTWJ018Dk64SxG60KrQYji6hQjMINXWFCEBJm3XPP9glDLw0JM5pJFqhq957DkA8r0rakOY/s1600/P2232029+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcj7exaWWrpWoRPr5RSIsn-TMtucx4zoogmr37H7QcTb0xeezW7mFn_atcfVW9KdcVpoggTWJ018Dk64SxG60KrQYji6hQjMINXWFCEBJm3XPP9glDLw0JM5pJFqhq957DkA8r0rakOY/s320/P2232029+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin's birthday party aboard Sabbiticus. Ultra, Dance Aweigh,<br />
Wild Hair and SolMate and Kevin's Dad from Canada (far left corner under light fixture)<br />
all were there to celebrate! Nice job Dena and thank you (she is center front birthday boy<br />
Kevin directly behind her in back row).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Next up will be a blog for March in St Thomas, St John and BVI's. We had an incredible time in Culebra and was looking forward to March. Which included a visit from Carryn's Dad, Brandon's birthday party, BVI's and poor Bella Boo's terrible mishap with her broken leg!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter holiday and we hear the weather all over the states is gorgeous with Spring in full bloom. Sure do miss the flowers and gardening. Send us some pictures to enjoy of your yards and or Easter holiday!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Love to All -</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Brandon, Carryn and Belly-boo<br />
Aloha for now....</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-36548732202239533202011-02-26T14:53:00.031-05:002011-02-26T16:02:40.927-05:00Late Jan-Mid Feb 2011..Breezing on through Puerto Rico and Vieques<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJVyd6BOJeqEqhA0yCBfLPnnSVWECJup4l89aGYlwaLc6Cuupsa4tIAspy7DfZm_jEBTSJq_vf9geMaN2n2UpjLiee-8waxs38zdJy5N3rUYUGPcRwBVscoxvbk93Gj99VkuAcwGPmk4/s1600/P2131948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJVyd6BOJeqEqhA0yCBfLPnnSVWECJup4l89aGYlwaLc6Cuupsa4tIAspy7DfZm_jEBTSJq_vf9geMaN2n2UpjLiee-8waxs38zdJy5N3rUYUGPcRwBVscoxvbk93Gj99VkuAcwGPmk4/s320/P2131948.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our "rainbow" Miss Belly Boo</div></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I am going to try and recreate the last month since we last had a chance to post a blog. Which it appears we left everyone hanging back in the DR??!!! We do LOVE our spot messenger as I know it keeps people posted to our whereabouts even if we fall short on blogging. I will do my best using pictures to create the story (my usual attack plan).</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx6hqBpGa4xAKL3i3ei33ovCdzpWahLbTo6MAO_l9xTJoq52tdzvZPVtlj4ABR75TE2Z1_nXsRx-a8KD3uoNvhMc05uq_oyXdUZy0Ot1UpLxoIaK_wGchj4aiQ3EgDWdhVEUWnBKiALA/s1600/P1241795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx6hqBpGa4xAKL3i3ei33ovCdzpWahLbTo6MAO_l9xTJoq52tdzvZPVtlj4ABR75TE2Z1_nXsRx-a8KD3uoNvhMc05uq_oyXdUZy0Ot1UpLxoIaK_wGchj4aiQ3EgDWdhVEUWnBKiALA/s200/P1241795.JPG" width="200" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Chillin' in Marina's infinity pool</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left Luperon late Jan. to cross the Mona Passage into PR. Planned to leave at 3am and take advantage of the calm seas and avoid the nasty trade winds. Our plan was to go all night and arrive early the next day in Mayaguez, PR. However, one of our buddy boats developed engine troubles and all five of our buddy boats, Sabbaticus, Southern Bella, Dance Aweigh, Eclipse and us made a decision to stop in Samana, DR to allow Ultra time and support to resolve their engine issue. We treated ourselves to a MARINA!!! Yep first one in a long time called Marina Puerto Bahia which had very reasonable rates considering all the wonderful amnieties (5 infinity pools!). </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had to wait for another reasonable weather window to cross this daunting Mona Passage to PR so it wasn't until Feb. 1st that we landed in Mayaguez, PR. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nxfuJrdg9MUy4rn3nmabavDDPtSXSY-TYIy5rAHIrZXRGVyM1tXgxf6db5DG0UKMhnt4Dl1FbieEwWU10xqfkIZWkK9kdpWZRq9eOG2Thzv9v-QZQNOwFhF_V-FE-ySLYO8LQLNVhiU/s1600/P1301851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nxfuJrdg9MUy4rn3nmabavDDPtSXSY-TYIy5rAHIrZXRGVyM1tXgxf6db5DG0UKMhnt4Dl1FbieEwWU10xqfkIZWkK9kdpWZRq9eOG2Thzv9v-QZQNOwFhF_V-FE-ySLYO8LQLNVhiU/s200/P1301851.JPG" width="200" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello PR!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBbghLcjbLZtFChYbNC8UVr9wZr5-uZqMjvREvQPssbpGPzy9jyB81rbD6Oe9vNDf7UJIjx7iaSBcNSRLVd3ceKxzIkKhuZHmL-kw-ECrq7VJV7s3DUmiG_0DOjvwe5NVgxwud6P9HoQ/s1600/DSC_4294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBbghLcjbLZtFChYbNC8UVr9wZr5-uZqMjvREvQPssbpGPzy9jyB81rbD6Oe9vNDf7UJIjx7iaSBcNSRLVd3ceKxzIkKhuZHmL-kw-ECrq7VJV7s3DUmiG_0DOjvwe5NVgxwud6P9HoQ/s200/DSC_4294.JPG" width="133" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carryn's Mahi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The ride was long and fairly lumpy, but doable (it can always be worse), and our sea state was about 6-7foot high, very short intervals in between allowing for little recovery time. The best news was the Carryn caught her first Dorado (Mahi Mahi)! I did yell for the captain to wake up and assist because I am a HUGE pansy when it comes to 'killin' a catch. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Okay, as you must know by now, our style of travel is move, move, move and boy did we book it on through PR to Viequez. But don't be mistaken by this level of sticking and moving. We have full days everywhere we stop and make the most of each place and or boat we have the pleasure to travel with. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I will try and hit our highlights through PR once we arrive and checked in at Mayaguez, PR. Left eary in the morning to again avoid trade winds and arrived Feb 2nd Boqueron, PR. Cute town and nice place for curisers it is also the place we hooked back up with our good ol' marina buddies from Sail Harbor, Savannah, GA Jan and Terri Bogart from M/Y Vixen! Haven't seen them in two years! They have lived in PR for some time and offered excellent local knowledge for our whole group of boats!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsnRokc1d_adYfaovM6_6VrxXrk-FVI_WxJGGN-Y5vfUU-bxpAyrx3uXTWWACrliO7KznJXaU5ric6ZYD5hBTfrfH116U_L3UKsN7t56mA2_3IWfUipvkY0h2soKcrEpYIXScyCy81F8/s1600/P2031865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsnRokc1d_adYfaovM6_6VrxXrk-FVI_WxJGGN-Y5vfUU-bxpAyrx3uXTWWACrliO7KznJXaU5ric6ZYD5hBTfrfH116U_L3UKsN7t56mA2_3IWfUipvkY0h2soKcrEpYIXScyCy81F8/s200/P2031865.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connor from "Sabaticus" paddle boarding Bella around<br />
La paguera</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We headed onto La Paguera where Jan and Terri actually live aboard their boat and got to play for a couple of days with them, happy hours about their boat, as well as several of hours in the water playing with my SUP! Thanks again Jan and Terri for the ride into town for a WalMart stop! A HUGE help! Hope to see you both on our way back to wherever that is??? A tiny bit scary to admit!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gexih9BuY_EIklrfFYPkgS2_xULrX6s1PzXTmb93_e2ZCqlsceGPGiEnqosV0KqrU9iWMChyg3oCYsZPk3mH5iE4PlsKDVlXmiVdfKPJzw9mTvZNgSJGtAw1miZlqsBEMC3v8GYdPcg/s1600/P2011861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gexih9BuY_EIklrfFYPkgS2_xULrX6s1PzXTmb93_e2ZCqlsceGPGiEnqosV0KqrU9iWMChyg3oCYsZPk3mH5iE4PlsKDVlXmiVdfKPJzw9mTvZNgSJGtAw1miZlqsBEMC3v8GYdPcg/s200/P2011861.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Terri from M/Y Vixon</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After a few days in La Paguera we headed to Gilligan's Island!! Yep, I did the same thing you must be thinking right about now; however, no sign of Gilligan's gang. Honestly, we couldn't even figure out how this place arrived with this name??!! But, it sure was a cute place after all and once again we had a ball with all of our buddy boats. It happened to be Dena's 43rd birthday on Feb 5th so we had a big celebration aboard Sabatticus for cocktails and dinner. Then Rich and Margaret from Dance Aweigh treated us and Ultra to a wonderful dinner at the local resort in Gilligan's Island. What a big treat that was, thanks to Dance Aweigh for a terrific evening.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgty_xqwzKDCxg6YG-h1evDdZM9SueCKW3pilkqNpqQwIKwtLlqY2kH-8lFXLyOOr9SIBVJJA0pTvwKQ-j1SXpPhQnOSZNIBOZzI6frtQcPE6iRZ2Ll6LIlj-X2Mj5vHDUS72ymsfGFXiA/s1600/P2081922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgty_xqwzKDCxg6YG-h1evDdZM9SueCKW3pilkqNpqQwIKwtLlqY2kH-8lFXLyOOr9SIBVJJA0pTvwKQ-j1SXpPhQnOSZNIBOZzI6frtQcPE6iRZ2Ll6LIlj-X2Mj5vHDUS72ymsfGFXiA/s320/P2081922.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret and Rich "Dance Aweigh" dinner treat at<br />
Gilligan's Island Resort</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On to Ponce, PR.... Once again with a 3am leave time to arrive before the winds pick up. I keep mentioning the trade winds, but this is a real deal here in the Caribbean. Sometimes by 10am the winds will reach 20-25knots sustained! The winds can really wear you down and put a kink in travel plans! Different animal here than it was for us in the Bahamas, but I am really proud of Brandon and how well he prepares for the weather and never puts us at risk. Thank you Lover!</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Next stop Salinas, PR for more provisioning etc... once again what a fun time this town was for all of us. We rented a car with Ultra, it was a van for super cheap and the four of us tore it up! What a fun filled day this was to Sams, Costco, WalMart, Home Depot etc.... and if that wasn't enough we booked it on up to San Juan, Brandon's old stomping grounds! We ate at Brandon's favorite restaurant and went to check out the famous Old San Juan Hotel, simply gorgeous! Our pockets were feeling fairly empty so it was time to get out of dodge!</div></div></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpoUMmFNXHvRTbQ1LwQWaHHIThyphenhyphenOZoDVyrMJWlFnbe6BiOgrliLhNj5VIswpg00TGJ4wtMfSJPLfFfSjtG8TTMtEwlaLeCB5FW9AMc1z-8EKwscfHhigFpgXAJ5artxvSv9ypwzfkris/s1600/P2111945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpoUMmFNXHvRTbQ1LwQWaHHIThyphenhyphenOZoDVyrMJWlFnbe6BiOgrliLhNj5VIswpg00TGJ4wtMfSJPLfFfSjtG8TTMtEwlaLeCB5FW9AMc1z-8EKwscfHhigFpgXAJ5artxvSv9ypwzfkris/s320/P2111945.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Bill and Brandon...something's never change! </div>Even at the Old San Jaun Hotel!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We staged ourselves from Boca del Infierno, PR for the next windo opportunity to do the crossing and visit Viequez, PR. Viequez is a really neat island with a ton of history, if you have time and interest look it up to familiarize yourselves with this place. It might be a next vacation spot for some of you. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We arrived in Green Beach, Viequez early in the morning. But on this crossing we arrived with some bad news aboard the SolMate. We filled our water tanks up (170 gallons of water) in Ponce and even had to PAY for this water, poop. Only to arrive in Vieques to discover that a faucet ran throughout our crossing and we lost all of our water. What a sick feeling because we were at least a couple of days away from our next place and ONLY place to jerry can (hauling your own water jugs to and from your boat) in a town called Esparanza. We are so blessed though to be traveling with such a wonderful, thoughtful group of boats. They all have water makers aboard their boats and are self-sufficient to make their own water. Each one of them offered and Sabatticus actually gave us 20 gallons of water plus we carry 20 gallons on deck in jerry cans this bought us a couple of extra days without worrying too much.</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Arriving in Esparanza meant water for SolMate...and once again how blessed I am to have such a hard working, thoughtful, wonderful husband/captain. He jerry canned 100 gallons of water back to our boat in the heat with a head cold/temperature! What an amazing job he does keeping this boat running like a top and all of us safe and happy.</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Last stop in Viequez, Isla Chiva in beautiful Sun Bay. Sad to report we did not get off the boat to enjoy due to Brandon's fever/head cold. Good news though we only stayed one day left at 6am for Culebra!!! Our favorite place. We have been to Culebra by land 3 other times, our first via SolMate and boy we are super excited to be here. But I will save that for our next blog. Perhaps Brandon might write that one??? </div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is to Spring for all you land lubbers!!! Boy don't we know you have earned this season! Love to all, and post or email us we LOVE hearing from family and friends. You keep us connected. Yay!!</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Aloha</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">B, C and B</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">SolMate</div></div></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPf9QeydrMyCa-FNl-1BEhiK_ZbOVwU_140Pg-TsMQ72YpyVQ8vOrEPKuVT4DPzPkGQB7dgA8SWmceetQgVKE_eC2-Rq6BRJBBr5maLxbsNr6Nn6jH0WHaZLWIC0pVkWVKOD8zt1ZJOEc/s1600/P2141959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPf9QeydrMyCa-FNl-1BEhiK_ZbOVwU_140Pg-TsMQ72YpyVQ8vOrEPKuVT4DPzPkGQB7dgA8SWmceetQgVKE_eC2-Rq6BRJBBr5maLxbsNr6Nn6jH0WHaZLWIC0pVkWVKOD8zt1ZJOEc/s320/P2141959.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach Party at Green Beach, Viequez</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;">We had a wonderful time in Luperon exploring wonderful blow holes and getting to know the locals. We also went and visited Santiago which has over 800,00 people living in this city alone. </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHTzKrPSJ36WyEVLWRTDEXRTudTtiKxdVvYp6UO9WDT4rgDygvXKP5cEOUDlRyFSGZ8ONJ2SjnauuqF_7Ajr5ROMTOjC4ZKWI9Kvo6apvLWbEIbYVqr2gAHKSBE5KP5hjzI_1o1P2L4c/s1600/P1171735+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHTzKrPSJ36WyEVLWRTDEXRTudTtiKxdVvYp6UO9WDT4rgDygvXKP5cEOUDlRyFSGZ8ONJ2SjnauuqF_7Ajr5ROMTOjC4ZKWI9Kvo6apvLWbEIbYVqr2gAHKSBE5KP5hjzI_1o1P2L4c/s320/P1171735+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a>So Monday was a big travel day for us to Santiago visiting the “big” city in the hunt to find some fresh stuff. We left a 7am to catch one of two different bus services arriving in Santiago around 10am. Now for some fun street vendors! Aye de oh! We did manage to find a great grocery store and I was able to load up on a bunch of fresh stuff (haven’t seen that in a while). Brandon received a ligament a haircut and was happy as a clam. Tonight he is enjoying a Las Sirenas especial w/fresh limes...cheers Scott.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyewcX_90gJtn4L0xfrMUoiDOTaYY7b8MfP54EmC1b-L521-GUca-QYwC-ct9RLLdWIUfit5xPROnfCd5-96UebH0dXucqL-cm6WExpnKjaalIbJOItUk7puDZTe1LjJ9fBDPB6v8aeuI/s1600/P1171732+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyewcX_90gJtn4L0xfrMUoiDOTaYY7b8MfP54EmC1b-L521-GUca-QYwC-ct9RLLdWIUfit5xPROnfCd5-96UebH0dXucqL-cm6WExpnKjaalIbJOItUk7puDZTe1LjJ9fBDPB6v8aeuI/s320/P1171732+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZRURGUmdiwe4-pAi940p5GkJ8rdQufvNUMDfJJ60SgXTPCr-4ueChWhF3KbVpNYHMkMoOSBdzgFjAk4uN5xWT7g6nrjioMvbx22lgvF_XIhUMzO_hCGMto5drhO908T-1lPDkH1X7TU/s1600/P1191754+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZRURGUmdiwe4-pAi940p5GkJ8rdQufvNUMDfJJ60SgXTPCr-4ueChWhF3KbVpNYHMkMoOSBdzgFjAk4uN5xWT7g6nrjioMvbx22lgvF_XIhUMzO_hCGMto5drhO908T-1lPDkH1X7TU/s320/P1191754+%2528600x800%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a>After all the lugging around food and figuring out transportation back to Luperon we arrived back at our boat around 6pm! Aye ya ya! No doubt different, but happy to explore1 We also had our buddies on Dance Aweigh come over to our boat twice today to play w/Bella give her love and cookies! Rich sat over on Sol Mate with Bella for almost 2hrs! What a great couple we are blessed.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVZtMkpq8TL5BJtRtT1VQOUSQ9NuxYDREHWg4HobdllwzCon-G4a0xvdy0A8VGSmBcpD2V-bXDT2OUyAnA5K5ZfwKDkM8nXoxwNv1PqEXGqqTBZxs45ybtCcBCH8JRU3SgOjApIvWq8g/s1600/P1181740+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVZtMkpq8TL5BJtRtT1VQOUSQ9NuxYDREHWg4HobdllwzCon-G4a0xvdy0A8VGSmBcpD2V-bXDT2OUyAnA5K5ZfwKDkM8nXoxwNv1PqEXGqqTBZxs45ybtCcBCH8JRU3SgOjApIvWq8g/s320/P1181740+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;">Brandon's work is never done filling up our water tanks. Even more so with our new clothes washer!</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;">SolMate's newest addition".... A brand new "Cinderalla" washing machine with spin dryer! It fits in the front head and it only cost $98! Works like a charm and I am having a ball keeping up with all of our clothes. Bye, bye to expensive washateria's and paid people (who only lose our clothes)! </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;">Outside of that big news we have had a wonderful time every night visiting one another's boats for happy hour and amazing food. But we are all ready to move on. This will be one of the most difficult passages to date for SolMate the Mona Passage is a very tricky crossing and can be unforgiving. But once we get that behind it should be smooth sailing. Brandon is busy working away repairing our head sail on the back deck of our boat getting us ready for another big crossing! Such a talented guy! Hats off to SolMate's Captain!</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioe8YxJv-XxaXTzqBsvrNCqW2bWGXTD67TulKwx0dAWc5e1tDhF4x2u0DD9qllynp7-ghOqkNF3x3HJmUO2EHi9MN1ArlGNMpmZYwpv_5h1_2otUqgP7K0-bwcACcJId7ysclLwbIqik/s1600/P1181739+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioe8YxJv-XxaXTzqBsvrNCqW2bWGXTD67TulKwx0dAWc5e1tDhF4x2u0DD9qllynp7-ghOqkNF3x3HJmUO2EHi9MN1ArlGNMpmZYwpv_5h1_2otUqgP7K0-bwcACcJId7ysclLwbIqik/s200/P1181739+%2528800x600%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor;"> </div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;"> </div><div style="border: currentColor;">Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and can track us on our spot messenger page.</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
</div><div style="border: currentColor;">Until then Aloha and Happy Belated Birthday to VG Evans (knock, knock, knocking on 50's door almost!!!). Miss you Evan's Family!!</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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<div style="border: currentColor;">Love </div><div style="border: currentColor;">SolMate Crew B, C, and Belly Boo</div><div style="border: currentColor;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshq4i_xXlEr94CXtKstwguVGhi_cvLG-v3o3Ouqwo8Yv4reIjPSjULoP_T77Y0jT4ztq_ANeaPY0L4E-ojHmxD7_EtkTbJkXwr0n40oQQT5Yj3e71xX40D3ZkLwKyqC-32IVaYWbXlY4/s200/P1171710.JPG" width="150" /></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshq4i_xXlEr94CXtKstwguVGhi_cvLG-v3o3Ouqwo8Yv4reIjPSjULoP_T77Y0jT4ztq_ANeaPY0L4E-ojHmxD7_EtkTbJkXwr0n40oQQT5Yj3e71xX40D3ZkLwKyqC-32IVaYWbXlY4/s1600/P1171710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-84863829875710438642011-01-11T12:19:00.004-05:002011-01-11T14:57:22.341-05:00SolMate enters the Caribbean- Luperon, Dominican Republic<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hello Friends-</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG09btWMNvmVJNUejlyPVvQXdrrciPnnRIp4lTCylPi9x7FB6Qq_BqDO7-b75GhogbpxNo4kj_0EZu3le7UONo9_IVzJZ7H2Ab79ih6FCofnuXF63c0EXjd_YhDUltakq7kVxDXUMyRY/s1600/PC301428+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG09btWMNvmVJNUejlyPVvQXdrrciPnnRIp4lTCylPi9x7FB6Qq_BqDO7-b75GhogbpxNo4kj_0EZu3le7UONo9_IVzJZ7H2Ab79ih6FCofnuXF63c0EXjd_YhDUltakq7kVxDXUMyRY/s320/PC301428+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a>We hope all is well and your New Year has been prosperous so far. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">SolMate has been putting on the miles and we are now in Luperon, Dominican Republic. (As a note, we have put about 6500 miles since we left last year-Savannah to Bahamas to Maine to Bahamas to DR). We blasted back through the Bahamas this year, leaving Miami on Dec 16 and exiting Mayaguana on January 5th.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had a great New Years eve, celebrating with our buddy boats- <em>Sabbaticus, Southern Bella </em>and<em> Ultra</em>, in Long Island, Bahamas. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left there on New Years day and headed up to the north end of Long Island and anchored in Calabash Bay, staging for a departure to head south. We spent two days there, spearfishing, exploring some blue holes inland and generally enjoying some beautiful weather.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E3x_ODw4xd_u0Z-93TUXQVB7F-DEEi3rLeXbgv2RjNSjLpBYojweZkaPMFXWZaUgHQMgNRZ2rhMp_MetId7IOU1aDnGn038BOPX02y8aq0Nl-2fsFhc3dFGBeQwQmcoJ9Jvh2YlOWAE/s1600/P1021515+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E3x_ODw4xd_u0Z-93TUXQVB7F-DEEi3rLeXbgv2RjNSjLpBYojweZkaPMFXWZaUgHQMgNRZ2rhMp_MetId7IOU1aDnGn038BOPX02y8aq0Nl-2fsFhc3dFGBeQwQmcoJ9Jvh2YlOWAE/s320/P1021515+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner for Two- Fresh Lobstah!!</td></tr>
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left on Jan 3rd at 3am and did a 32 hour passage to Mayaguana, the southeastern most Bahama island. We hung out there for a day, scrounged around for some diesel fuel(not as easy as pulling up to the Chevron station) and got some rest. A couple more of our friends caught up to us in Mayaguana- <em>Dance Aweigh</em> and <em>Magic Inspiration</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We then left on Wed the 5th for a two night passage directly to the DR. Normally, one would make a stop in the Turks and Caicos, but due to a good W-NW wind from a front passing through, we left the T&C’s to port and rode a beam reach all the way to Luperon, rolling in on Saturday morning around 10am. While the wind was a real blessing, the seas were quite steep and closely spaced, so we really rolled and wallowed around. It was less than comfortable, but we got it done and are now enjoying an extended stay in Luperon Harbor. </div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQZ4z4lj5nLdE_l2dyLNJGZzdH0ruw03rn7f_EN5f-PuAVEdDk3g6oGIYyqCfLuwSY27uYwWgGHjWa7vrtUuYoOAapMSNJ6LV4nGFJjWqaT-jDSWZO5S-MLBWkY8DIloNekHIPMJQuUQ/s1600/P1081540+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQZ4z4lj5nLdE_l2dyLNJGZzdH0ruw03rn7f_EN5f-PuAVEdDk3g6oGIYyqCfLuwSY27uYwWgGHjWa7vrtUuYoOAapMSNJ6LV4nGFJjWqaT-jDSWZO5S-MLBWkY8DIloNekHIPMJQuUQ/s200/P1081540+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearing into the DR at the Commandancia's Office</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I must say, this place already feels like home. Having spent much of my childhood in rural Texas towns and on our family ranch only miles from the Mexican border, I am really loving this place. The dirt streets, friendly people and plethora of street food and cheap beer will make it very difficult to leave. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PtwT4thiwoMp6qmfWLQezEO_PhUHYstnnfYDJi3XSqPwk9v6i6Y7cdAdFSSlwlLDFVCLQ21w20sovewBcSlm99kfi8AymZWDiy5x1NLnp2CsA3HoJakd-aRXh3TdOaZ_VNk83ocaU3g/s1600/P1081546+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PtwT4thiwoMp6qmfWLQezEO_PhUHYstnnfYDJi3XSqPwk9v6i6Y7cdAdFSSlwlLDFVCLQ21w20sovewBcSlm99kfi8AymZWDiy5x1NLnp2CsA3HoJakd-aRXh3TdOaZ_VNk83ocaU3g/s200/P1081546+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raising the DR courtesy flag</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Many of the folks(mostly old cruisers that came for a week and have stayed for years) that we talk to, all contend that this is the most livable spot in the Caribbean- good people, beautiful land and dirt cheap cost of living. I can’t make that assertion yet, but I am already trying to figure out how to make a home here in the future. More on that later. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2Y6HajdTZ0-bf6KKwajGUt1aF8EK8Wt06mbL83IMAH4eEZL1eP_NNyJnIcjGzXC0_x8O_4aT06-xk07_0Zscx9-MGMoSnCb2lbsWyiRybIIVCWlsrEvbOX-hi060qpmHAgpdsuay8tE/s1600/P1081555+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2Y6HajdTZ0-bf6KKwajGUt1aF8EK8Wt06mbL83IMAH4eEZL1eP_NNyJnIcjGzXC0_x8O_4aT06-xk07_0Zscx9-MGMoSnCb2lbsWyiRybIIVCWlsrEvbOX-hi060qpmHAgpdsuay8tE/s200/P1081555+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirt streets in a one-horse town</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">For now we will explore and immerse ourselves in the Dominican culture, trying not to drink too many El Presidente beers(70 pesos:$2 for a 24oz bottle). Yesterday we went with all our buddy boats- <em>Sabbaticus, Ultra, Southern Bella, Dance Aweigh, Magic Inspiration and Vicarius</em>- on an organized tour into the mountains, where we learned about the soap stone carvers, Dominican coffee and cacao, cigars and several other local crafts. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We finished the day with a trek up into a place called 27 Waterfalls, where we climbed up through canyons and crevasses carved by mountain streams.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjTs5qJzOY4ToJNf4T8vCOQ1Oq27gvW4yHAldg7NZYyk2VQv7QSl96T-sjbvOBwW4K8Lg-zp_XhC5Z8Uwr43HfE8knrfFmu1tyjSiEs3kohCpb3Y-JMpF8Gbv8RJi_-cJSwv0smsiQPs/s1600/P1101617+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjTs5qJzOY4ToJNf4T8vCOQ1Oq27gvW4yHAldg7NZYyk2VQv7QSl96T-sjbvOBwW4K8Lg-zp_XhC5Z8Uwr43HfE8knrfFmu1tyjSiEs3kohCpb3Y-JMpF8Gbv8RJi_-cJSwv0smsiQPs/s200/P1101617+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geared up for the waterfalls</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The water was chilly and blasting down through the cuts. Quite exciting and a real workout to get up the falls- especially with Bella in tow.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We ascended through 7 of the falls, taking about an hour. Then we turned back, getting to slide down and jump off into the pools to get back to the base.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvtF-VrbhmEXfDQQRP4jzFXQQle-KImq06UTMeWF4M-dsqBFIsQbfV8czMTRQ7IxAM6H7VgIkFJU80c0u6huxiteyk3fjW6fVYSqR5cV-klxVijIdN8sfjp1gYX1uXsYJOIWqBABRJCQ/s1600/P1101631+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvtF-VrbhmEXfDQQRP4jzFXQQle-KImq06UTMeWF4M-dsqBFIsQbfV8czMTRQ7IxAM6H7VgIkFJU80c0u6huxiteyk3fjW6fVYSqR5cV-klxVijIdN8sfjp1gYX1uXsYJOIWqBABRJCQ/s200/P1101631+%25281024x768%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bella's up for the challenge</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> It was amazing, and even Bella met the challenge- she had a great time and was the real rock star of the day. According to our guides, she is "perro primero" (the first dog) to go all the way up the falls.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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We will work to keep the stories coming. (We're committed to blogging again, we may or may not do the blogs to fill in the adventures down the East coast).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Remember- you can track us on our SPOT Satellite Messenger page at:<br />
<a href="http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0tgVepGQE8MMKoOWlKFePfycj6Wkf2JrT">http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0tgVepGQE8MMKoOWlKFePfycj6Wkf2JrT</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-47837038033799485212010-12-18T16:21:00.001-05:002011-02-26T14:59:37.877-05:00Back in the BahamasWe left Miami on Thursday, Dec 14th and made it toSVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-33865061534093107722010-10-05T21:42:00.001-04:002010-10-05T21:42:22.654-04:00A Great Summer Comes to a Close- Time to Turn South<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A7FDQlZqjO3a8qEtJRlk147PJiQHIK9yf0gfeU6E662P4W6oM0BPr5iWUBqqP0i3Zz0JziPbN583H7LN4ByvRHh-5BFTpli3gHvkJgf7tEczr8APfsgNuVpwwQJdKJHwunss5wcfgXc/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1725+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A7FDQlZqjO3a8qEtJRlk147PJiQHIK9yf0gfeU6E662P4W6oM0BPr5iWUBqqP0i3Zz0JziPbN583H7LN4ByvRHh-5BFTpli3gHvkJgf7tEczr8APfsgNuVpwwQJdKJHwunss5wcfgXc/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1725+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's a cold(52 deg) and rainy day here in Annapolis, MD. Bella and I are snuggled under the covers in the state room, with the generator running to charge the batteries and allowing for the heater to knock the damp chill off the cabin. We've had a busy week, working on projects that have been building up for the past year. Carryn is in Athens to help her sister Megan with baby #5. Well, really, Carryn is managing kids 1-4 while Megan handles the new one. Baby Mia Brynlin came into the world on Wednesday at a healthy 7lbs4oz and Mom and baby are already home. Carryn is doing well to keep the other monkeys from taking over the zoo. Bella and I sure miss her and look forward to her return this Friday. We hope to have our worklist complete so we can enjoy a few days milling around the Annapolis Sailboat Show this weekend. We will then pull the hook(actually both anchors are set right now due to the extremely crowded conditions in Back Creek) and will set off for Deltaville, VA where we will haul the boat and do some work on the bottom(more on that later). But I am getting ahead of myself as usual. We have a lot of catching up to do. It has been over 2 months since we last blogged and I have been catching heck for the dry spell. We've put many miles under the keel since we left the Chesapeake to head north, so I'll fill you in on our adventures.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As you may recall, we arrived in Annapolis back in mid July, traveling all the way up from Florida with our buddies on Las Sirenas. It was great to be cruising with thme again, and we enjoyed the trip up the ICW, through the Dismal Swamp Canal and into the Chesapeake Bay. It was bitter sweet, though, as this was the end of the line for Las Sirenas. They are returning to life on land in California, so would be working to clean her up and get her on the market. We hung around with them, taking a few side trips across the bay. We visited the popular St Michaels and had a wonderful time there, anchoring in wone of the most beautiful creeks, surrounded by lush woods and incredible homes.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH_tcA8mydWBkqDVLlpkSPWWUsX1VzoYCLbo8mjmlU9-Q15Zfv5yGhrID_iKrELB2iwhSAPE3sCyXiiqh3KwBrV6Nc76GgTljYrPmw3vpAemIqXTmDliJfS3h0q7dUE08zdyo9ev2lNs/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1676+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH_tcA8mydWBkqDVLlpkSPWWUsX1VzoYCLbo8mjmlU9-Q15Zfv5yGhrID_iKrELB2iwhSAPE3sCyXiiqh3KwBrV6Nc76GgTljYrPmw3vpAemIqXTmDliJfS3h0q7dUE08zdyo9ev2lNs/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1676+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> St Michaels is a must visit place, with many shops and a laid back attitude. We took the bikes and trailer in so we could fully explore the town and I think we got the most of it. We dropped in on the local micro-brewery for some tasty suds AND found the local winery where we sampled a dozen or so varieties. We stumbled over to the local waterfront cafe and I indulged in a mess of Maryland Blue Crabs. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylnemJVuWcuoRHRxwNOFq8LKVV5UyYoeXdGxM3NPKhxLGOzLXV7sdDRqAWx_DHesHnQf1UX3cxQp0f25zzRObaBwqczv77X9V9uF5HdEl76mzH0f9SOJgNOo2tRkvpx48uqKlAO6rLx4/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1788+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylnemJVuWcuoRHRxwNOFq8LKVV5UyYoeXdGxM3NPKhxLGOzLXV7sdDRqAWx_DHesHnQf1UX3cxQp0f25zzRObaBwqczv77X9V9uF5HdEl76mzH0f9SOJgNOo2tRkvpx48uqKlAO6rLx4/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1788+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> It was a great day and quiet night in the anchorage. From there, we checked out Cambridge, MD and found it to be a cute little town but suffering badly from the depressed economy. The downtown was just off the water and appeared to be midway through a revitalization project, but was mostly vacant and seemed ot be slipping back into disrepair. It was really sad, as we saw many small towns along the coast(Georgetown, Elizabeth City, Oriental) in the same situation. We headed back across the bay to Annapolis and after a few final days with Scott(Esme and the girls went back to CA so Haley could play water polo in the Junior Olympics), we knew we had to get moving north if we were going to make it to Maine.<br />
We set off on August 3rd and headed up the Chesapeake Bay to the C&D Canal, a man made canal that connects the North end of the Chesapeake to the Delaware Bay. It is a major shipping route allowing large ships to enter the Chesapeake bay from Philadelphia or New Jersey without having to make offshore passage to round the southern end of Delaware/Virginia. We were in Cape May after 2 days and Atlantic City on the 3rd day. We made the stop in AC so Scott could make one last visit with us, bringing some late arriving mail and returning some of the tools he had borrowed to get Las Sirenas cleaned up. We really enjoyed his company, as after only 3 days, we missed having him around. We went out for a little Atlantic City flavor and found a cool spot where a local DJ was spinning some heavy Latin music. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE_UWtmymlPkP7VbILa0NWvQA51vci5kd6Y7xfcBdswk3alkWL9YCE81hxySr74cY0oswRslEiIZSA5u2rH8Dsdsi34KipsLLES8DY-Z0EiPcD5TozbDxy1fEmvuwdeDApb_QbRjnE_0/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1816+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE_UWtmymlPkP7VbILa0NWvQA51vci5kd6Y7xfcBdswk3alkWL9YCE81hxySr74cY0oswRslEiIZSA5u2rH8Dsdsi34KipsLLES8DY-Z0EiPcD5TozbDxy1fEmvuwdeDApb_QbRjnE_0/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1816+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We danced(well, Carryn and Scott did), and watched the locals. It was a fun night. Scott left the next morning and Carryn and I started preparing the boat for an overnight passage that would take us well offshore, bypassing the Jersey coast and all of Long Island, NY, arriving in Block Island in about 32 hours. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupF3dVGOskFZQPpsGInc0Qcd-hSBBzFeizlw9VMf2pOOKIBOcwq9L-FnIF6mLGDMQeOZJggTNkmz8zvyduGt6ZLCzyGtUeJwKngdyV4w-3vMc4vNIpWTiV8n3fFu8e0jy-kzmiLjORLw/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1840+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupF3dVGOskFZQPpsGInc0Qcd-hSBBzFeizlw9VMf2pOOKIBOcwq9L-FnIF6mLGDMQeOZJggTNkmz8zvyduGt6ZLCzyGtUeJwKngdyV4w-3vMc4vNIpWTiV8n3fFu8e0jy-kzmiLjORLw/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1840+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>We left Atlantic City on Saturday Aug 7th and had a fairly good run, to Block Island. We started out motor-sailing, but then were able to run under sail that night, making good time. The last 10 miles of the 130 mile passage were the toughest, as the swell and current made for a slow, miserable ride to get past Montauk Point and into Great Salt Pond on BI. We took the rest of that Sunday to recover and rest. We took the bikes ashore on Moday and explored the island, finding it to be one of the coolest places we have been. Amazingly beautiful and very tastefully done, you can certainly tell that there is alot of old money there and clearly many of the estates have been passed through many generations. We rode our bikes, with Bella in her trailer, out to the light house on the Northern spit and walked the rocky shore. <br />
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Bella had a grand time. We of course hit the island grocery store and picked up a few fresh things. It was a great day and we could have stayed a week, but knew we had a lot of water to cover to get to Maine, so we left Tuesday morning and headed across Narragansettt Bay and up into Buzzards Bay, approaching the Cape Cod Canal. The CCC is another man made canal that cuts right across the Cape, creating a short cut into Cape Cod Bay. We had a long day to get to Onset, MA, just short of the entrance to the canal so we dropped the hook in a well protected anchorage there. Passage through the canal has to be timed just right, as the tidal current can runn at over 5 knots. We would have to weigh anchor early (6am) to get into the canal as the current turns to run north. <br />
We got up and got the anchor up and headed out into the canal. What we weren't expecting was a brisk north wind on the nose. normally, this would only be a nuissance by slowing us up a bit, but with the north bound current being opposed by a south bound wind, the passage can be treacherous with large, standing waves. Shortly into the canal, we found ourselves bustling along at almost 10 knots, but encountering some very tall and steep rollers. Unfortunately, I had lowered my guard and had failed to dog all the hatches(fully tightening the latches). We barrelled into several of the almost square shaped waves, the bow dropping off into the trough, and the crest of the wave breaking over the bow and deck of the boat. End result: huge ingress of seawater into the 2 big hatches above the V-berth and salon. I estimate we took about 20 gallons of sea water into the V-berth, soaking the bedding, mattress and everything that was stored there. Water found its way down the TV and now we have a permanent reminder of the event in the form of 2 big screen distortions. It was a little scary and very disheartening. Salt water is very destructive to anything (except maybe plastic trash), and once in bedding or clothing, they will always feel damp and foster mildew. It bothered me all day, knowing the task to clean up the mess It was another long day, motoring across the Cape Cod Bay in crappy weather, but we made it to Marblehead, MA that evening and immediately set out to find a laundry mat to wash all the salt soaked bedding and clothes. Marblehead is a busy little town with a large harbor packed with boats. It is also one of the places that I had visited while travelling and walking stores for Home Depot that built my desire to go cruising. I recall a trip that Joe C. and I made up to Boston several years back where we found ourselves up as far as Marblehead. After walking the store, we found the locals favorite spot for Lobster Rolls and enjoyed a view of the harbor over lunch. I remember saying to myself, that I would someday be anchored in this very place on our own boat. And it came to be. It was very satisfying....well, except that we spent most of our time doing laundry and cleaning up the mess inside the boat! But that's part of cruising that the glossy mags seldom mention.<br />
With another 150 miles ahead of us, we decided to limit our stay, so we took off the next morning to complete the final leg of the trip to Maine. Of course, not without a little drama though. Shortly out of Marblehead, we suddenly heard a loud shrieking coming from the engine room. I jumped down to see what it was, and found our high-amp alternator had decided to burn up it's bearings. We shut down and I was able to pull the belts off, effectively disabling it. Fortunately it was our "auxilliary' alternator and is on its own set of belts, allowing the engine to function fine without it. While we would no longer be charging the house bank while the engine was running, we can still charge using the generator, so we were fine with pressing on. We got underway for the final leg, another overnight, offshore passage that would take us into Rockland, Maine. The passage went well, and we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise over glass smooth waters as we approached Pemobscot bay. We motored the last 20 miles, dodging lobster pots and arriving into Rockland Harbor by lunch.<br />
<br />
We were finally here! Maine! And we had a whole month to explore. <br />
After getting the hook down, we called our friends David and Marge on Windfield Lash to see what was on the agneda. We had met David and Marge on the passage from Florida to the Bahamas. As we were rounding the North Riding Rocks above Bimini, we could see in the distance a beautiful wooden schooner. If you recall, our first night in the Bahamas was out at anchor in the middle of the banks(in 12 feet of crystal clear water but no land in sight). David and Marge had left out of No Name Harbor that morning, took a more northerly arc but arrived onto the banks shortly after we did. They anchored just behind us, and Scott and I dingied over to meet them. We travelled together for the next few days, and kept in contact with them throughout the Bahamas(we hung out with them in Cambridge Cay, taking them snorkeling their first time). <br />
They had encouraged us to visit Maine back then, but in more recent phone chats, they really put the press on us to come up and hang with them in their cruising grounds. They were a driving force in us making it up to Maine, and they were wonderful hosts the entire month. We cant thank them enough for their effort to guide us to experience some of the best that Maine has to offer. <br />
First on our agenda was Rockland and the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show, where we walked the tents and booths that showcased the Maine lifestyle and boarded some of the beautiful Maine-built boats. It was a great weekend, topped off by a great dinner at Conte's- a real treat where I had my first of many lobster.<br />
But a rolling stone gathers no moss, so after only 2 short days in Rockland, we would start heading "Down East". (It is known as Down East even though you are travelling basically north because it is one of the only places on the coast that due to the prevailing SW winds, you can sail East, and be headin Down wind).<br />
So we set sail for one of my most anticipated visits of the trip- WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, ME.<br />
We had a beautiful run up the eastern way of the Penobscot and then down the Eggemoggin Reach. It was only about a 30 mile day, so we did most under sail, supplementing with the motor only when the winds calmed completely. It was a beautiful day, temps in the 70's, not a cloud in the sky. Now this is cruising!<br />
We arrived and picked up a WoodenBoat School complimentary mooring(I felt a little out of place, being one of the only "plasitc" boats in the harbor). We were sourrounded by beautiful, classic, hand made wooden boats of all sizes and shapes. It was inspiring.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER5QrRZhxO8QpCQxQptvsvjj-Zh1q9WCZjnrXdX9ijgrsE4FP6r_ko7Fz7aTEQs6JmZu2dky22E6258a6nGnhA7kUhXCCbHB6miv59_4ohblxsjCmOSn-5gJtr95oi_vbwUSVlKUF580/s1600/DSC_3346+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER5QrRZhxO8QpCQxQptvsvjj-Zh1q9WCZjnrXdX9ijgrsE4FP6r_ko7Fz7aTEQs6JmZu2dky22E6258a6nGnhA7kUhXCCbHB6miv59_4ohblxsjCmOSn-5gJtr95oi_vbwUSVlKUF580/s320/DSC_3346+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We toured the grounds and explored the boat building shops. It was the weekend, so no classes were in session, but students were starting to arrive. It is a very cool experience, and I look forward to returning, either by boat or car, to attend one of their week long courses.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">While cruising the Bahamas, we were blessed to have met two other boats from Maine and one of the primary reasons to come up this far was to take all of them up on their invitation to come up to see them. We first met Jim and Heather(and Scarlett & River) on <em>StarBound </em>when we were in Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale. <em>StarBound </em>is a beautiful wooden ketch built in the 40's, with a rich history and several circumnavigations to its claim. Jim and Heather pursued her until the former owners finally parted with her and they spent a couple of years getting her back into shape to do some long term cruising(during which time, Jim took courses at WBS and as locals, kind of became a fixture around there). WE had a brief encounter with them as they blew through Fort Lauderdale, made a few provisioning runs with <em>Las</em> <em>Sirenas </em>and caught a great weather window to skitter across to the Bahamas, making it over about 2 weeks before we did. We met them again in the Exumas, where we shared an epic day in Bitter Buana Cay with several other boats. But it was the gathering in Emerald Bay a week or so later, when Scott and I had each caught a big Mahi and so kicked off a big party and dinner with all the boats on the dock(including Windfiled Lash!). Here we really had time to get to know Jim and Heather. And what cool people- we had a great time that night, and hoped we would get to hang with them in the future.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well, here was our chance- in their neck of the woods. I had emailed Jim a week or so earlier, but had no response, so I was figuring they were either out cruising, or were out of town and we wouldn't get to see them. Unbelievably, I get a call the afternoon we rolled into WBS, and it's Jim- wondering where WE are! When I told him, he nearly dropped the phone. He and Heather were at home(only a few miles away) and would come right down to see us. In a few minutes, we were high-fiving, hugging and recounting the good old days. They insisted we all come over for dinner and offered to take us on some errands(wine shop, grocery store, etc). As cruisers themselves, they also insisted we bring over any laundry and we could do that as well. We had a fantastic time with them that night, Heather rolled out home-made pizza with the most amazing toppings, every 10 minutes pulling another one out of the oven for us all to devour. We ate, drank lots of wine and caught up on where we had been and where we were going. It was a great night.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We decided to stay at WBS for a third day, due to heavy rain, so we stayed in below, read and stayed warm and dry. The next morning, we awoke to thick fog, but had a fiarly straightforward passage to Some Sound on Mount Desert Island. It was our first time in such thick fog,(sometimes reducing visibility to less than 100 feet), but we did fine. We used the radar and chartplotter to find our way through the mist, listening for the many lobster boats working their traps nearby. The lobster boats are probably the spookiest part of the experience. You hear the deep rumble of their engine and they sound like they are right next to you, but you can't see them. I figured they've been doing this their whole life, so I just kept sounding my fog horn (a 5 second blast every 2 minutes) and hoped for the best.</div><br />
We made it to Somes Sound and the fog cleared as we entered the fjord. It was spectacular, with sheer granite walls that rise from the water several hundred feet upward. The interesting thing is how deep the water is right up to the wall. We were less than a boat length from the wall and were in 120' of water!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTqDB5T2uFkD0Ht0jm421lh1aDBf1xvRjm4llx8by9o8ibcWHpN1gWD6LDsreKY2_9egrn65-Zfg9Ab6KAWjg2hzvRBCeYKGfv_UkvPwBGxIa7m8lq1f_L5m1HhK47QASGZ34PVzx8b8/s1600/DSC_3379+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTqDB5T2uFkD0Ht0jm421lh1aDBf1xvRjm4llx8by9o8ibcWHpN1gWD6LDsreKY2_9egrn65-Zfg9Ab6KAWjg2hzvRBCeYKGfv_UkvPwBGxIa7m8lq1f_L5m1HhK47QASGZ34PVzx8b8/s320/DSC_3379+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8YGfcVcRouskKwkCpB5rf42-fpv3nxret_iJScwZ4FGLKEVVl3UZkpHZwKq07LxpTuZ4Vqlhcdibqt5wIyIWM8fm41igpDXcrAnLNlJvygzcorX6__cqk5aHpuJm-GauaqDI3twV8Dg/s1600/DSC_3390+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8YGfcVcRouskKwkCpB5rf42-fpv3nxret_iJScwZ4FGLKEVVl3UZkpHZwKq07LxpTuZ4Vqlhcdibqt5wIyIWM8fm41igpDXcrAnLNlJvygzcorX6__cqk5aHpuJm-GauaqDI3twV8Dg/s200/DSC_3390+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We picked up a mooring in Somesville and went exploring. Mt Desert Island is home to Acadia National Park and is a mecca for hikers, bikers, paddlers and campers. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzU9Tqhh916Y7Gt46qAqQ_1slGL6WrCIP1CnJ74x-kujQxKh0LILGNGrl3y3cektJdyP1CJQS_kHIXuB451N9nZQgbhs86-CbHNRJs3Hf7Dd_zDXC0IMSD87hCqcX9ceWmp4Ff9ceaI0/s1600/DSC_3417+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzU9Tqhh916Y7Gt46qAqQ_1slGL6WrCIP1CnJ74x-kujQxKh0LILGNGrl3y3cektJdyP1CJQS_kHIXuB451N9nZQgbhs86-CbHNRJs3Hf7Dd_zDXC0IMSD87hCqcX9ceWmp4Ff9ceaI0/s320/DSC_3417+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> LL Bean provides a very efficient bus service all over the island for FREE! Daddy like FREE! So we were able to spend the next couple of days exploring the island on the bus (even Bella gets to ride the bus). It was very cool. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After a couple nights in Somes Sound, we made the short run to Northeast Harbor(also on MDI). Another heavy blanket of fog made for an interesting passage and this time the fog did not clear as we entered the very tightly packed harbor. Imagine rolling into the harbor, boats on mooring balls so tightly packed you could barely sqeeze through, and only being able to see about 50 feet in front of you. It was tricky, but we made it in a tied up to a floating dock. These are moorings(out in the harbor, but instead of tying directly to the ball, they have a 40' long by 8' wide floating dock attached, so you can tie up 2 boats, one on each side, and have a little common are in between. This worked perfect as it gave us a sitting area and made it easy to share dinner and drinks. We had flagged down a local lobster boat and bought 3 large lobster for $15, so we boiled them that night.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkK43p8yt3F1ALnuDbOJbBk1Yhcmm-RLfXjBVTYR4rYlLCOdCdk7oNsRFq4HIcKHiXc3d-I7KaVUE5BoLlVWT0nUdfMLRz2oJK0a6_1TAZ5BLAVkLKtyfsCaVv7ivwuH1E-dWeZ-Y_h4/s1600/DSC_3473+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkK43p8yt3F1ALnuDbOJbBk1Yhcmm-RLfXjBVTYR4rYlLCOdCdk7oNsRFq4HIcKHiXc3d-I7KaVUE5BoLlVWT0nUdfMLRz2oJK0a6_1TAZ5BLAVkLKtyfsCaVv7ivwuH1E-dWeZ-Y_h4/s320/DSC_3473+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Wow, they were delicious! We stayed in NorthEast Harbor for 2 nights, exploring the town and doing some hiking. We took the LL Bean bus back to Bar Harbor to do some shopping and sightseeing. Twice, we shared a bottle of wine, a block of cheese, fresh salami and crackers on the park lawn. It was a great way to spend a beautiful day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzg3ctaWooymSF6F4vFLHTmv4EFDgyDDudlVVPg9qZXbNL2sbTSS3J_OpjwhWqqVsBqcqVXfXkIJOdAM77YZ1R5CIOJxrNN1pDP1i_uBh0W5V2_2BFePwrO5x6tD7ud3FgxipwUONJ7k/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+1374+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzg3ctaWooymSF6F4vFLHTmv4EFDgyDDudlVVPg9qZXbNL2sbTSS3J_OpjwhWqqVsBqcqVXfXkIJOdAM77YZ1R5CIOJxrNN1pDP1i_uBh0W5V2_2BFePwrO5x6tD7ud3FgxipwUONJ7k/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+1374+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a></div>From NorthEast Harbor, we headed out and around to anchor in a small cove on Bartlett Island. Bartlett is still owned and operated by the Rockefeller family and has a small working plantation. They have their own grass airstrip to fly in and we saw several small planes come and go. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>They allow landing by boat on their shors and respectful exploration of the island. It is one of the few places that allow open fires on the shore (below the high water mark), so we dingied in that evening and built a fire to roast hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. It was another epic evening, and as dusk settled in the tide came up, crowding us up the shore and finally encouraging us to head back to the boat. We watched the tide eventually overcome the fire we had built, extinguishing it with hiss and smoke, and we were in bed by 9 or so.<br />
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We had an easy 8 mile sail to Blue Hill the next day, where we took up a mooring at the Kollegwidgewock Yacht Club. There was a forecast for high winds and rough seas, so we wanted to be well planted. While it was rainy and cool, we never got any bad weather. We went in to Blue Hill, and walked the town. We had been invited to a gathering at the yacht club, and with the offer of wine and hors doerves, we couldn't decline. We met some nice people, had a few glasses of wine and some snacks. Actually, Carryn got really irritated with how I attacked the snack table. But they were good!!<br />
We meandered around town the next day, We made a big walk to the grocery store- turned out to be about 4 miles each way, so we were exhausted by the time we got back to the boat. My arms were killing me from the weight of the beer and wine. We had a quick dinner and retired early.<br />
The next morning, we headed out of Blue Hill, bound for Tom Cod Cove. This took us back up the Eggemoggin Reach and a little further north up the Penobscot River. It was another beautiful anchorage and that evening several big schooners ghosted in and dropped anchor deep in the cove. David and I dingied over to chat with one of the boats that he knew.<br />
From there, we took a few days to split off from Windfield Lash and head back to Rockland. While I didn't think it would be an issue not having the alternator functioning, it turned out to be a bigger nuissance than expected. It required us to run the genset, even after motoring all day. We knew we could repair it or find/order a new unit in Rockland. Marge loaned us her car, so we could get around. It was a good couple of days and we got alot of things done. We did laundry and re-provisioned as well. It always feels good to pull away from a dock fully fueled and watered up, with clean laundry, a clean boat and a full reefer. We hooked back up with them in Belfast to continue our amazing tour of Maine. Belfast is a neat little watertown with a rich history. I won't bore you with all that history. Partly because I can't remember much of it and partly because if your interested, you can google or wiki it. We would have stayed longer, but wanted to see more. <br />
We headed to Castine, home of the Maine Maritime Acadamy, one of only 5 public maritime colleges in the country. The town was neat, but a tour of the campus was the highlight for me. We "snuck" into some of the labs where they teach all subjects related to marine engineering, and ship systems. If I had it all to do over again, I think that is the path I would have taken in life.<br />
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With Hurricane Earl heading up the coast, we decided it best to pull into a secure harbor and get settled in for "the big blow". We headed for Pulpit Harbor on North Haven Island. This is a very secure storm anchorage and we found a sturdy looking mooring to tie up to. Many locals were having their boats hauled early due to the storm, so we figured it would be unlikely that we would get kicked off the mooring ball, but we kept our fingers crossed. The anchorage filled up, but we were fortunate that Earl passed by with barely a blow. We got a ton of rain out of it that night, but the next day, we had a beautiful day for sailing over to Camden for the Windjammer festival and our final weekend in Maine.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthct-_8t_NvuAc-Nj8moggo1NIFMcIo86RSSG1G8fHVyRK2mMNw6pqYeTnUGutyNDV3pJUCqq6UxpDmknajheNmZtheCTYCretZmRAFZiIS3h_44Lr79IGZTX2v0hyphenhyphenMcdv9pmYnIBbYQ/s1600/DSC_3593+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthct-_8t_NvuAc-Nj8moggo1NIFMcIo86RSSG1G8fHVyRK2mMNw6pqYeTnUGutyNDV3pJUCqq6UxpDmknajheNmZtheCTYCretZmRAFZiIS3h_44Lr79IGZTX2v0hyphenhyphenMcdv9pmYnIBbYQ/s320/DSC_3593+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>We arrived that afternoon, and David had arranged for us to have a mooring ball. Thanks, Rick on <em>Appledore. </em>We dingied into the harbor and found <em>Windfield</em> <em>Lash docked</em> front and center. It is a real eye catcher and David loves to show it off. He spent 18 years building her and has sailed her since 2000. He made the cover of WoodenBoat Magazine in 2002. She is an amazing schooner. Labor Day weekend in Camden is all about wooden boats and Wind Jammers. All the big wooden schooners come in for an "open house" of sorts, welcoming people aboard to admire these great ships. <br />
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We had a great time hanging out with David and Marge, with the pleasure of meeting their long time friends Dick and Carolyn Sweeney. WE sat around, gabbed drank adn listened to good music. with a good fireworks show to wrap up the weekend.<br />
It was a great way to end a three week cruise in Maine, and we must again thank David and Marge for hosting us. We hope to see them again soon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeXkPSZVNFGTqtMcmNv-Ct7uepNH5fdqerskI4cMFt5bcsPJkzN7_WfoC2hJm0Usf1Bt8E2vfNZbt9sT3t_G_VZePmy-FQHWtX1XpnXab922nWJ72g14MUtBGZBv_-0P7EtXxiX6-V7I/s1600/DSC_0035+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeXkPSZVNFGTqtMcmNv-Ct7uepNH5fdqerskI4cMFt5bcsPJkzN7_WfoC2hJm0Usf1Bt8E2vfNZbt9sT3t_G_VZePmy-FQHWtX1XpnXab922nWJ72g14MUtBGZBv_-0P7EtXxiX6-V7I/s320/DSC_0035+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Although Monday was Labor Day, we decided to get moving south, so we slipped the mooring lines and headed down the Penobscot Bay. We would make about 40 miles, ending up in Tenants Harbor. This left us about 50 miles to Falmouth where we would connect with our friends Jack and Gerta on <em>Sadie A</em>. We had met Jack and Gerta in Dinner Key, Miami and they made the crossing over to the Bahamas with us. We ran into them several times in the Bahamas and we always enjoyed sharing an anchorage with them. If we could hook up with them, we would be 3 for 3(yep, we only had 3 friends in Maine, but now we have many more). <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were thrilled to learn that Jack and Gerta were able to break away to come see us. They even arranged for us to take a mooring at the Portland Yacht Club, where they have been members for many years. It was so great to get to spend the day with them, and they showed us around to some cool places. First on the priority list was a visit to the LL Bean store. Now I love to shop, and this was my kind of place and I actually found some shorts I liked. Then we went to Harriseeket for an unbelievable lunch. This place is the real deal, they even have their own lobster boats to bing in the catch. You can get just about any kind of local seafood, but I had to go for the Lobstah Roll. Man, they are tasty. Jack and Gerta took us sight seeing in Portland and we ended up back at the yacht club for dinner- with a special guest. Their daughter Joanne was able to join us(we had met Jo and her husband Mark in Long Island and Conception. when they were down visiting Jack and Gerta). We had a great dinner and really enjoyed catching up. We just couldn't thank them enough for taking the time to entertain us for a whole day, as well as picking up dinner and our morring. It is always hard to say good bye, but we do so with the sincere expectation that we will meet up again somewhere down the waterway. All good things come to an end, and this would be our last night in Maine. </div>The next morning we got up and started preparing the boat for another overnight offshore passage. We had about 100 miles to go to get to the Cape Cod Canal, and we wanted to arrive at about 11am to catch the tide falling. We left around 1pm and motorsailed south. That night the winds really picked up on the stern and we found ourselves really moving fast. I had planned for an average speed of 5 knots to put us in at 11am, but much of the night we were doing 6.5 to 7. This put us arriving at the canal entrance around 9am. At daybreak, we reefed the sail and tried to slow down, but to no avail. We would have to either bounce around in the bay and wait or press on into the canal, heading into the strong adverse current. We approached the mouth of the canal and found about 3 knots of current against us, and about a quarter mile stretch of standing waves. They didn't look to daunting and we knew that within an hour or so, the current would be reversing to be in our favor, so we pressed on. I was bushed from the overnight of sailing, so Carryn took the helm and got us through the canal and we pulled into Onset, MA. Another successfull passage, and now we were in the New England waters that we had looked forward to exploring. We spent the rest of the day resting and recovering in Onset and would move on the next morning to sail the 15 miles down Buzards Bay to Woods Hole, MA.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was an enjoyable downwind run to Woods Hole, MA. The name may sound familiar as this is the epicenter for marine studies. It is home to the Scripps Oceanographinc institue, the Us Marine fisheries and several other very prominent research and higher education facilities. We planned only to stop for a day, on the way to Martha's Vineyard, but found a good(free) mooring and after taking the bikes to shore to explore, we found that you can catch a ferry to Martha's Vineyard so we chose to leave the boat on the mooring in Woods Hole and spring for the ferry over for the day. So we spent a day riding bikes and exploring Woods Hole and nearby Falmouth, Then caught the ferry the next day(with the bikes and trailer) to MV. WE really like MV and the bikes really let you cover alot of ground. We biked to nearby Oak Bluffs where we found the most interesting little village of small victorian styled "gingerbread" houses all packed into a little neighborhood. It was called the Marthas Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and was a religious retreat area that developed from a "tent city" into a little community. It was fascinating. We liked MV alot, but again, it takes some money to "belong".</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlNNmuuMTlJN8w5kOepU-ZS4BCBaFz0hXUuYow2fky2aU6YygVr8b9bwGNnyOyZXkaGnSvDWZhloTVWqTivhe6JHFQ_0riYL_8f9DX6I1FAOovqtSbl7RPCy4uAKMf3XACtdLJlzquN4/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+1412+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlNNmuuMTlJN8w5kOepU-ZS4BCBaFz0hXUuYow2fky2aU6YygVr8b9bwGNnyOyZXkaGnSvDWZhloTVWqTivhe6JHFQ_0riYL_8f9DX6I1FAOovqtSbl7RPCy4uAKMf3XACtdLJlzquN4/s320/Solmate+Adventures+1412+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left Woods Hole, bound for Mystic, CT where we wanted to visit the Mystic Seaport Museum. It was a londg day of sailing and we pulled into an anchorage to find a vacant moooring ball or drop the hook(honestly, I was getting lazy about anchoring when there were all these convenient moorings out there). AS we were easing through the mooring field, we had the misfortune of hitting something pretty solid. We were coasting along in about 8 feet of water when we hit it, kind of bounced up on it, and then grinded across it and were back afloat. It was a really sick feeling- worse than getting in a car accident if you can imagine. So we found a close mooring and got the boat tied up. I immediately grabbed mask and fins to dive and survey the damage. Fortunately, our boat has a pretty solid keel, but their was some damage done. It wouldn't require an immediate haulout, but will need to be addressed soon. While that put a damper on our mood, we didn't let it stop us from going in to Mystic and exploring the town. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We dingied in to the Seaport Museum, which is actually a preseved/resoted part of the old working waterfront that dominated this town in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was very cool and they had many exhibits that explained or demonstrated many of the marine/nautical trades of the period. We had to catch dinner at Mystic Pizza, the cafe that inspired the movie of the same name back in the 80's. The pizza was actually pretty good. But it was back to the boat and early to bed, as we (I) would be getting up very early to get out of the anchorage head west for the long day up Long Island Sound to New York City.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had a great sail up the sound but the weather started falling apart as we neared our destination, City Island off Queens, NY. We began to hear strong weather warnings on the VHF, with sever thunderstorms, lightning and 50 knot winds coming across NY into NY Harbor and Long Island Sound. We began preparing the boat for the squalls and made a decision divert to a small harbor in New Rochelle. It tucked up to along the northern shore, so we would be somewhat protected from the gusty north winds in the squalls. WE were within a hlf mile of the little harbor when the bottom dropped out and the conditions got ugly. We were able to stay the course and navigate into the harbor with the chartplotter and radar to guide us. We pulled in and were lucky to find a vacant mooring ball and we tied up quickly and weathered out the rest of the short but violent storm . An hour later, things were back to normal, but the boat was clean and salt-free, and we were on a secure mooring. WE decided to just stay there for the night. The next morning we motored the last few miles to City Island and found another vacant ball(but this one was being watched by the marina and the launch driver came out shortly thereafter and let us know it would be $35 per night to stay there. We said we would probably only be her a few hours to go into town, so he didn't ask for payment. Thank goodness, because once we dingied in we found City Island was not where you want to hang out. WE renamed it something that rhymes with City. We couldn't get back to the boat fast enough and we slipped the lines a nd left. We headed the couple miles south to Port Washington, Manhasset Bay on Long Island. WE needed fuel and it was about the only place around, but we paid a premium. $4 per gallon for diesel- we haven't paid that much since the Bahamas. It was a Brewer Marina and I guess the felt they could gouge since they were one of the few marinas pumping fuel. But we were rewarded with a hot tip by the dock attendant, who informed us there were some free moorings provided by the town for transients. We called the Water taxi guy on VHF and he led us to one of the big yellow moorings. FREEE!! Daddy like!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We dingied in to Port Washing ton and found a very cool little suburb. We walked the streets lined wiht delis, cleaners, meat markets, etc. Looking at the people and cars, it was clear that this place had it going on. We spent the afternoon milling around and playing frisbee with Bella. It was good to relax and stretch our legs. Then next day we would be making the much anticipated approach and passage down the East River, through Hells Gate, and around Manhattan, the battery and into New York Harbor. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcHVEOSiBkZ5EBw6xxABoH8QhLkpdCybnrkP9UGTsRC5p0F6wkGvqEIC3diHcF3FBJXT9Ob_VQTpkcxenRkV0zplvqvyHjHAWnHzBU55Ne548_UZBm1IDYfO71q_R6BK_JSnrDpCo43I/s1600/DSC_3608+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcHVEOSiBkZ5EBw6xxABoH8QhLkpdCybnrkP9UGTsRC5p0F6wkGvqEIC3diHcF3FBJXT9Ob_VQTpkcxenRkV0zplvqvyHjHAWnHzBU55Ne548_UZBm1IDYfO71q_R6BK_JSnrDpCo43I/s320/DSC_3608+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is another passage that you have to time with the tides or you can get hammered. Fortunately, the optimum time to approach and pass under the Throgs Neck Bridge was 9am. So we slipped the ball around 830 and headed out of Manhasset Bay. We turned in and were in the East River and already feeling the current wisk us along. We approached and passed LaGuardia Airport and Rikers Island and made the turn approaching Hell Gate, a treacherous stretch of water where the Harlem River joins the East River and currents accelarate to over 5 knots and the water shurns and rolls violently. It was such a beautiful day with benign conditions, we almost forgot to dog the hatches again! Carryn ran below just in time to close and dog the main hatch, but fortunately, we just avoided taking a wave over the bow. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGAHoNexsmKS1WldZcHNGZsz07BvZdCs1_HncfZb3ogDKBPly8oScyBIbzgKsUp-B7zJo49H41q8JurPeVIiwWVqPAE2eGoPSOLOxXXY58Nd7-Ka0r7VfdcmKZiGDOj7yKwRx7rrQ0MY/s1600/DSC_3667+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGAHoNexsmKS1WldZcHNGZsz07BvZdCs1_HncfZb3ogDKBPly8oScyBIbzgKsUp-B7zJo49H41q8JurPeVIiwWVqPAE2eGoPSOLOxXXY58Nd7-Ka0r7VfdcmKZiGDOj7yKwRx7rrQ0MY/s320/DSC_3667+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We continued down river moving at 9-10 knots in turbulent waters. The next exciting event is passing the United Nations Building. IT is patrolled 24/7 by US Coast Guard SAFE boats and they mean business! They approach your boat at full speed, spin around and then cruise alongside to ensure you don't turn towards the UN. All went well as we hugged the shoreline to port and passed by the well guarded sensitive area. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A5mGFRaAtiyT1TLRPX3nALxigYHuAC-rH63dEwpJcoD2Az8LV-y8doMDdVwKVilp91YvcQxK4_UzwVs0fSoTRS8KbfpekVn5iKuaUtmH6fiGaE2J6adxflQJdSBxGIP9NNEOQ7Qj2MM/s1600/DSC_3678+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7A5mGFRaAtiyT1TLRPX3nALxigYHuAC-rH63dEwpJcoD2Az8LV-y8doMDdVwKVilp91YvcQxK4_UzwVs0fSoTRS8KbfpekVn5iKuaUtmH6fiGaE2J6adxflQJdSBxGIP9NNEOQ7Qj2MM/s320/DSC_3678+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We continued running with the current, with the forest of skyscrapers off the starboard side and once we made the last dogleg to starboard, and passed under the Williamsburg and Brooklyn bridges, we were greeted with Lady Liberty in the distance. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBkrPBChgv7nIV3JgxRCipUHRz7ls4QiCAkwxXVxkKpz30tEJdpzQAKw2vn5vofwkqC5ztNncQCaVaG2TZlswfh7GiR17tmlKzhw_BTOtZ2i5ygxfh8SFXX9ieqA7RXCpjP62_vLkNhs/s1600/DSC_3730+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBkrPBChgv7nIV3JgxRCipUHRz7ls4QiCAkwxXVxkKpz30tEJdpzQAKw2vn5vofwkqC5ztNncQCaVaG2TZlswfh7GiR17tmlKzhw_BTOtZ2i5ygxfh8SFXX9ieqA7RXCpjP62_vLkNhs/s320/DSC_3730+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="320" /></a>What a site, despite the distraction of avoiding getting run down by one of the hundreds of ferries and sighseeing boats that operate in this heavily congested waterway intersection. I made it through and we approached Liberty Island and Ellis Island for some great pics. It was pretty amazing. This was one of those huge milestones that we had set out to achieve from the very beginning. And we were here, doing it. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We made several passes, gawking at the beautiful Statue and the sight of Ellis Island from the harbor. looking back toward the city, the Battery stood prominently with the beautiful skyline behind it. But then the thought of finding a place to stay started bothering me. We knew of several marinas on the NY side and the NJ side of the Hudson, but all would be prohibitively expensive. I started making calls and confirmed this. $3/ foot or about $150 a night was the norm. WE had one last hope- the 79th Street Boat Basin, operated by the City. We called and they had not mooring balls available and no space int ehe marina. Now I was starting to worry a bit. We had talked to several cruisers who had anchored near the 79 St marina, but we weren't that comfortable with the idea. Additionally, the wind and current in the Hudson is not to be taken lightly. We motored up the Hudson to the marina and called again, hoping to score a cancellation. No dice, but we were encouraged to see a boat anchored at the south end of the moorings. It didn't look too bad, so we poked around and sounded for depths. It appeared we could find good spot in about 20 feet of water(any closer and it got shallow quick, adn further out it dropped to 30 feet quick. So we circled around a few times and found a sweet spot to drop the hook and spent the next 30 minutes ensureing we had good scope(about 120' of chain) and the anchor was well set. Due to the reversing currents, we decided to set out a second anchor, about 300' upriver from our first anchor. This would allow the boat to turn and pull on the second anchor when the current reversed. It's called a Bahamian Moor configuration and reduces our swing room and reduces the possibility of anchor drag because the boat always pulls the same direction on each of the anchors. After all that, we felt pretty good about it, and after the first tide change we had a good idea of how SolMate was going to ride the anchor. We were now set to explore NEW YORK CITY, and we had a front row seat. 100 yards off the banks of the Hudson River, in the very cool Upper West Side. Sweeeeet!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>We had a great time in NYC, and we'll share all the details and some pics in the next blog. For now, I want to get this posted so folks can get started reading.<br />
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Please let us know if you enjoyed theis blog, ether by leaving a comment, post a comment on FaceBook or give us a shout on the phone. We'd love to hear from you. <br />
Take care.<br />
Brandon, Carryn and Bella<br />
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</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-22620124365237247592010-07-20T13:37:00.016-04:002010-07-20T15:56:06.937-04:00Back in the USA!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-gzg5x2MbMP-fpRDH4Zv1ZRBq25RTAJR9GBS3wWLBPAKdg42TBwJgexe1S842uYoTelXVWwkYdEHgzqy3q07eboIM0SsddDV3cghIpwsOhZWVby6eVpKcYmj4umy_Dt7MyFPe9Y0cPg/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1215+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-gzg5x2MbMP-fpRDH4Zv1ZRBq25RTAJR9GBS3wWLBPAKdg42TBwJgexe1S842uYoTelXVWwkYdEHgzqy3q07eboIM0SsddDV3cghIpwsOhZWVby6eVpKcYmj4umy_Dt7MyFPe9Y0cPg/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1215+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Wow! I just looked at our last posting and it has been over two months! So most of you all know the SolMate crew arrived safely back to the states in early June with the help of our brother-in-law Tom Ryon. Many thanks are owed to Tom for handling the helm on our first night watch leaving the Abacos, Bahamas to USA. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our original plan was to leave Green Turtle cay and go for a two and half day journey crossing over the Bahama Banks then making way to the Gulf Stream with land fall in Savannah, GA. Well the first thing you learn in cruising is that ALL plans are made in jello. Our first night with Tom at helm we hit an intense squall with over 40 knots of wind and blinding rain. By sunrise the inside of the boat looked like a hurricane hit it and so did all of the crew. Poor Bella stopped eating and drinking; therby not going potty for almost two days straight. A group decision was made and we diverted that day to make landfall at Fort Pierce, FL.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Despite Tom's plans to fly out of Savannah we still managed to figure it out by renting him a car to make the drive and catch his flight on June 3rd. It was a heck of a ride back and both Brandon and I are thankful for Tom's skill and help.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49K1m1MNjSdRuzV7t33nShdEpdGJnSPaH998f1Vvk0NvNzoYBmUmY6MzUdvhe-DbyAx1qVbZ2_3K9THRHZ6eExg30xN2rqdceZfQKDOOeD8nWv3_B6SBNZahqhOEzDXmVRBBKTApRDw4/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1487+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49K1m1MNjSdRuzV7t33nShdEpdGJnSPaH998f1Vvk0NvNzoYBmUmY6MzUdvhe-DbyAx1qVbZ2_3K9THRHZ6eExg30xN2rqdceZfQKDOOeD8nWv3_B6SBNZahqhOEzDXmVRBBKTApRDw4/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1487+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Since then we have been beating the waterways pretty hard up the ICW to run from this crazy, intense heat. Wow, while we were in Savannah the heat index was 110 degrees. Poor Bella hates the heat and it has created a whole other level of concern. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkP_5jCMcz4u6f_zYbtsoBwyLNwfVdEJn5hI79EqUFplmKJOdcMQQCv2XjsC6olFAxVhiQIm739y8IopN3VMUdUdjDuzbYRG6sLDfl9YrYkx_HnNODzVRHRpxibepXaDZUwlKDfeWCCs/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1503+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkP_5jCMcz4u6f_zYbtsoBwyLNwfVdEJn5hI79EqUFplmKJOdcMQQCv2XjsC6olFAxVhiQIm739y8IopN3VMUdUdjDuzbYRG6sLDfl9YrYkx_HnNODzVRHRpxibepXaDZUwlKDfeWCCs/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1503+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jrVQjDZIRWGUZLlOY1UZ6IMRi0S9lknsJw7L7io1zIQhHCM4ixsO1Xn4mdIY2f8COn566-fckBi1-claedxGxTNPMUHfkRbQExysm8XOxwrEQW-dTX70bkKt6ZjelfChqmd_UXvBG1w/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1420+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jrVQjDZIRWGUZLlOY1UZ6IMRi0S9lknsJw7L7io1zIQhHCM4ixsO1Xn4mdIY2f8COn566-fckBi1-claedxGxTNPMUHfkRbQExysm8XOxwrEQW-dTX70bkKt6ZjelfChqmd_UXvBG1w/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1420+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a>One very memorable trip was up the Dismal Swamp in NC. The trip was very quiet and peaceful and is the historic route laid out by George Washington. We did an overnight stay at the the vistiors center. There is so much history here that it was overwhelming to read and take it in. It was here that we went through our first lock - a very cool experience. The first lock we crossed was at Deep Creek and it raises the boat about 10 feet in elevation, and the lock at mile 33, just beyond south mills, lowers you the same amount. Tannic acid from the leaves and decaying vegetation give the water a color similar to stout tea, isn't too inviting, so no swimming for us. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We made a couple of quick trips via our truck while in GA to visit family, friends and take care of business. Spending time with my sister Megan and her kiddos was a ball. We all had so much fun and got to see their new house they are moving into Aug 2nd, congrats it is gorgeous! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPD2RPNK8dfX4ZzoJa6_eazyN0VliS1BNl8iZY1QcV_69Kt1yE-PNeseLerwnvc5zL6CrQaAqE3PtOs9UYS90p3m5vPmZbSZlZNiGLWHpc9WKPBYZWlWCnr4VD6smicgfGJAThP4loVw/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1283+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPD2RPNK8dfX4ZzoJa6_eazyN0VliS1BNl8iZY1QcV_69Kt1yE-PNeseLerwnvc5zL6CrQaAqE3PtOs9UYS90p3m5vPmZbSZlZNiGLWHpc9WKPBYZWlWCnr4VD6smicgfGJAThP4loVw/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1283+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHe11ZDZH9DqRKQzO8R7wTDI2f4imUXpe-evLQzR5xanleIGorhiQ3WqqIyOQPXqsVt4D4MDQM_Us6xXD9acfRNJdFNr4CLkSc0wzKZYbyxfJoWHCG-ZjFz_T482HQrfXUnkWajV0x9g/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1430+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHe11ZDZH9DqRKQzO8R7wTDI2f4imUXpe-evLQzR5xanleIGorhiQ3WqqIyOQPXqsVt4D4MDQM_Us6xXD9acfRNJdFNr4CLkSc0wzKZYbyxfJoWHCG-ZjFz_T482HQrfXUnkWajV0x9g/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1430+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQNBJkAJI9-FotwCPbfllL5zNQkQ3qU2_Yro45Ea-kea0HHKLKzObXdQIgbsToI2Eh-Op6Q7LohCy4dRf4Mx8BNXs1f444hOKCty2F9eKOy7Vr_3L6uBIq68svPW3RriNdtw-_pQyK-E/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1307+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQNBJkAJI9-FotwCPbfllL5zNQkQ3qU2_Yro45Ea-kea0HHKLKzObXdQIgbsToI2Eh-Op6Q7LohCy4dRf4Mx8BNXs1f444hOKCty2F9eKOy7Vr_3L6uBIq68svPW3RriNdtw-_pQyK-E/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1307+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a>We made tracks to Marietta to see our neighborhood buddies The Gossetts and Westbrocks. Also, we had a wonderful lunch visit with all of Brandon's former work friends, a ton of laughs shared there. The visit was too short but so great to catch up and get hugs from all. We departed GA on Father's Day with our favorite buddy boat and friends Las Siernas heading NORTH!! Since we left Ga, we have shared many celebrations amongst us all. First, was our 15th wedding anniversay on July 1. Happy Anniversary to my SolMate! Second occassion was on July 5th for my birthday. Yikes here I come 42 yrs old but what a way to celebrate life on a cruise with my family, thank you God for all my gifts in my life. Third was the celebration of Esme's birthday on July 18th. What a wonderful dinner party we shared with the Las Sirenas family.... Happy Birthday Esme!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">If one has a ton of patience then you would love to travel up the ICW (InterCoastal Waterway aka the "ditch") because it is long and extremely cumbersome. Not much room for error because in some spots you will only see 6-7feet in depth. Our boat draws 5.5ft, margin of error very small plus the heat has been so intense with no wind makes for very long days. Nonetheless, it was nice to share the experience traveling through SC and NC and now we are currenty in Anapolis, MD. This is where Las Sirenas cruising time comes to a cose. They have decided to change life plans and do something different so the boat will remain at a marina here in Anapolis and maybe up for sale. We wish them all the best they truly will be missed as we continue North. They are life long friends and have made a big impact on our lives! Best wishes and Love to all on Las Sirenas!!!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Two last July birthday wishes go to my nephew Taylor who celebrates his bday on July 26th and to Sean Ryon at the end of July ---have a great day you guys!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I hope to get more consistent recording our trip up North, as we plan to make it to Maine. Plus we would love to have visitors at any point during our trek up the coast it is a beautiful (plus we are out of the ICW YEAH)! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Alana and Belly Boo surfing in the ICW June in South Carolina....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxL_IxWpPz62Qi8Mly7yxtO6kdWVGLzegT_z-vjn37OdNFOEeduPAgtgEjhhw6v0usFlbctf3gqNuviOkdS03YCSOmV7v253xqaWzm0vWVsQnBS3kbSfU7Vf8tG-ZktV7G_12nnNyn1Q/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1376+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxL_IxWpPz62Qi8Mly7yxtO6kdWVGLzegT_z-vjn37OdNFOEeduPAgtgEjhhw6v0usFlbctf3gqNuviOkdS03YCSOmV7v253xqaWzm0vWVsQnBS3kbSfU7Vf8tG-ZktV7G_12nnNyn1Q/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1376+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">A crane gracefully glides over the Dismal Swamp...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxkHopeGxwZi_b2pXdNJtfZeEEeA240GBL2AOn6kTsTejoN44IXfI8v9QKbWZOvq725fjv3cQAnwptgc5qzRM8MvRI6IlZjOpkPLV29U20WoFiRm_hNgY5ukuuMl3XQpo4FkaCFbOqOg/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1471+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxkHopeGxwZi_b2pXdNJtfZeEEeA240GBL2AOn6kTsTejoN44IXfI8v9QKbWZOvq725fjv3cQAnwptgc5qzRM8MvRI6IlZjOpkPLV29U20WoFiRm_hNgY5ukuuMl3XQpo4FkaCFbOqOg/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1471+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgox3gvrSJdfcRTYaRkG0DzfT0gYYjOyG6nfz_5oeRmLpYaB-QZTwgjPOSnlRDqO6xezgk0D1wS5xUa8_aN1TphK0Xj9qtGJSwCeUqxX21YF0pXLPTAE30OUNKpJzPl7c_9XfqZgNI8QA/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1528+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgox3gvrSJdfcRTYaRkG0DzfT0gYYjOyG6nfz_5oeRmLpYaB-QZTwgjPOSnlRDqO6xezgk0D1wS5xUa8_aN1TphK0Xj9qtGJSwCeUqxX21YF0pXLPTAE30OUNKpJzPl7c_9XfqZgNI8QA/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+1528+Medium+Web+view.jpg" /></a>Brandon and I enjoying a dinner and movie at the Commodore Theater in Norfolk, VA. It was built in the 1940's and has been refit to offer dinner seating in comfy club chairs.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We hope to hear from you. Sorry for to long dry spell.</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-65432148486484119242010-05-14T15:53:00.001-04:002010-05-14T16:04:36.093-04:00Guests Galore!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDo147NROXvzyt4v3JZ-wtvmP1xAQzDyZevZzJKlfx_iPtxcBfKfDcookUvsz1irK62-sHXEadk-8WfCQiUecS_qKbjauAa2VRoB5LZxP6zQNGunkRvyHJvrp-lakCNs0tgcBTfW7g5I/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+643+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDo147NROXvzyt4v3JZ-wtvmP1xAQzDyZevZzJKlfx_iPtxcBfKfDcookUvsz1irK62-sHXEadk-8WfCQiUecS_qKbjauAa2VRoB5LZxP6zQNGunkRvyHJvrp-lakCNs0tgcBTfW7g5I/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+643+Medium+Web+view.jpg" wt="true" /></a>The last few weeks we have had a blast with all of our guests who have come to visit. As well as, our trip to the Ragged Islands in between, which has been our delay from posting. Anyway, as they say pictures are worth a thousand words so that is our plan to post some pictures! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">My Dad came the third week in April to Georgetown for the Family Island Regatta (that was a blast). We gave him a festie welcome by spending a few days in Emarald Bay Marina, cleaning up and putting up the flags on the boat. We rolled into G-Town with much flair!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiskTfUi_kiIeMXeAQMUSyBtpHNYU1Od6nNU5-63q9fysaiHcVCzWO7d3JPcCCaUDQ7XzJYUasa5ne85_vNOV_Lnx2lJcnuOQ_N7vlu06jHIxJrUm0lNf8p7F85GhFZhEzQbzVMsrQ_t8/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+661+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiskTfUi_kiIeMXeAQMUSyBtpHNYU1Od6nNU5-63q9fysaiHcVCzWO7d3JPcCCaUDQ7XzJYUasa5ne85_vNOV_Lnx2lJcnuOQ_N7vlu06jHIxJrUm0lNf8p7F85GhFZhEzQbzVMsrQ_t8/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+661+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="133" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had a fun week, hanging out and milling around town. Georgetown was really buzzing, as this is the big fiesta of the year for all of the Bahamas. People come from all the out islands to party and have fun this week.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Brandon got to race one of the Class A boats called the Anna Nicloe which has a bit of history behind this boat (always last in a race). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqG7zxWQd7Ybl2eknGWq4a5D6oUXcbo3FTy9aML2o67z1Olt7xGNu4CUaa838Pox3ll1DQWLBAfU6qRAYIynqni2x6t_E7xRLTMlKs4ZR-XBZyPuVwq4jL54pbsfZdl74oj9ogvIaJNas/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+954+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqG7zxWQd7Ybl2eknGWq4a5D6oUXcbo3FTy9aML2o67z1Olt7xGNu4CUaa838Pox3ll1DQWLBAfU6qRAYIynqni2x6t_E7xRLTMlKs4ZR-XBZyPuVwq4jL54pbsfZdl74oj9ogvIaJNas/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+954+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Dad had a great time and it was nice to have him aboard too. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then Brandon and I got a wild hair and decided to book it down South to the Ragged Islands!!! Check this out on a chart because we were less than 60 miles from CUBA!! Which as you can imagine I was bucking to do; however, our second guests on board were due to arrive in Staniel Cay on the 8th, so we had to pass on the trip to Cubal. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDPaj1bz1W-c9ijdoWVsrf8ZImF4tyk6LumE0Tqv331m22T1dmpYEzc15zb0F4tt7SNI9hIA2VtVlh1A-zkaVzNOUHf0cvl0fGVWYTDsEXS4dmAw6DAqGkBqNBa71LDIyvQVVpi7sL_U/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+681+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDPaj1bz1W-c9ijdoWVsrf8ZImF4tyk6LumE0Tqv331m22T1dmpYEzc15zb0F4tt7SNI9hIA2VtVlh1A-zkaVzNOUHf0cvl0fGVWYTDsEXS4dmAw6DAqGkBqNBa71LDIyvQVVpi7sL_U/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+681+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What a wonderful visit we have had with Mike, Beth, George and Theresa! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6SP4BsTX9qAw_6tJxNCHHYG5xN-wiYY0e4u0cp9wwe4mBWCvseIPDWVFpTiFKox7zTgp2w6PFT9vkz_X7jwkiOn8kCt903l7nf1v-FXsVbK3tLTi1qNjTBrGCFASntWeUHqgA0hZRUE/s1600/Nikon+Pics+of+Solmate+Adventures+184+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6SP4BsTX9qAw_6tJxNCHHYG5xN-wiYY0e4u0cp9wwe4mBWCvseIPDWVFpTiFKox7zTgp2w6PFT9vkz_X7jwkiOn8kCt903l7nf1v-FXsVbK3tLTi1qNjTBrGCFASntWeUHqgA0hZRUE/s320/Nikon+Pics+of+Solmate+Adventures+184+Medium+Web+view.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> These are our Sail Harbor buddies from Savannah, GA. Some of you have had the pleasure to meet. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">With this crew we picked them up in Staniel Cay and snorkled all over the place. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We did the famous Thunder Ball Cave (007 movie) and even Bella swam into the cave. She was quite the rock star that day, as she usually is.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We went on the outside up to Cambridge the next day and drug a few lines behind the boat. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvlyDhu7qz6T-AwldAGhvs2vbhx-CiuzpNpkTsNGatGrR-JVJ6HMDw9FvkzYEEhPM-UHbptg2B3eXJF8kEd51xWD9ljxX3Q2W0lRCGIoLg4_pFVDP71nNUtF1umrsH2UCmMM_1dEDuGM/s1600/Nikon+Pics+of+Solmate+Adventures+236+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvlyDhu7qz6T-AwldAGhvs2vbhx-CiuzpNpkTsNGatGrR-JVJ6HMDw9FvkzYEEhPM-UHbptg2B3eXJF8kEd51xWD9ljxX3Q2W0lRCGIoLg4_pFVDP71nNUtF1umrsH2UCmMM_1dEDuGM/s200/Nikon+Pics+of+Solmate+Adventures+236+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="133" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">George caught a nice Mahi, and Mike reeled in a huge baracuda.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The next day, we went to Cambridge Cay to snorkel an old airplane wreck and the "Aquarium". The Aquriuam was interesting for many reasons. Lots of pretty fish etc.... The first one in the water was Brandon who saw and took pictures of a BIG Bull Shark but did not feel the need to share this tidbit of info w/the rest of us (go figure). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4O4Aj2FxHMNh6EuMsNr2LbeL9BgonuQswD6gq6DryI_u4su7NPY0mpK-N5FXLdAmzlvrK6JRcqnG8voKlWoINm0gW3qWatIhNRUovgJG6VgmSGU-8eH3pQA5IwvAUzfN0zkyE2haPb0/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+1114+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4O4Aj2FxHMNh6EuMsNr2LbeL9BgonuQswD6gq6DryI_u4su7NPY0mpK-N5FXLdAmzlvrK6JRcqnG8voKlWoINm0gW3qWatIhNRUovgJG6VgmSGU-8eH3pQA5IwvAUzfN0zkyE2haPb0/s320/Solmate+Adventures+1114+Medium+Web+view.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJpWPKwA3B0wtsHAc6O26S09rX5h23GR1jyFV0iYYM9mRGe5-ssSGl0IxizlHVMAtb63EkyImauLgD5vvz-It3bvjU6tnC6Bsc8V9VWXB9nCVeJH84nVb5Usyxw1VzOPMescJHJRWIC4/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+1068+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJpWPKwA3B0wtsHAc6O26S09rX5h23GR1jyFV0iYYM9mRGe5-ssSGl0IxizlHVMAtb63EkyImauLgD5vvz-It3bvjU6tnC6Bsc8V9VWXB9nCVeJH84nVb5Usyxw1VzOPMescJHJRWIC4/s200/Solmate+Adventures+1068+Medium+Web+view.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a>We did not find out about the shark until way later in the evening after dinner and a few cocktail when Brandon decided to play a fish identification slide show for us all.....hmmmmmm. We were all blown away to learn that we had been swimming with sharks, but Brandon assured us that if there had been any danger, he would have gotten Bella in the dingy FIRST, then he would have let us know.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUbbuefKFO5MN1_0ZVaZvqHdVPFSGopCm1OSaQLg2dnfiNrTkFqK-2fFBrcs15fvWBClESahG1QahtRdBJmUJ2AcZx7OXxIUIjQL1bXUJvQXl5knZtxnFRG1MB-DT7WlsVzsLLxQTf9k/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+746+Medium+Web+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUbbuefKFO5MN1_0ZVaZvqHdVPFSGopCm1OSaQLg2dnfiNrTkFqK-2fFBrcs15fvWBClESahG1QahtRdBJmUJ2AcZx7OXxIUIjQL1bXUJvQXl5knZtxnFRG1MB-DT7WlsVzsLLxQTf9k/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+746+Medium+Web+view.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div>So today is Friday May 14th and our guests just left this morning. We all had a ball and many laughs. Brandon is snoozing right now and I will be shortly. Just wanted to get something up on the blog before we move on. Which looks like tomorrow we just haven't decided which route we want to take back North. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hope everyone is well and happy back in the states we miss you all! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Love </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Brandon (sleepy boy). Carryn (who will never drink coffee again), and Sweet Bella Boo</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-60429946676645335162010-04-17T22:35:00.004-04:002010-04-23T11:14:29.768-04:00Conception/Cat Island<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Alright, so the delay in posting at this point is mainly blamed on poor internet Pirating. Plus, we have been hiding from some strong wind fronts that have continued for almost a week (sustained 25-30 knot gusts) and on through early next week. None the less, we have been enjoyed every hidy hole we have found.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw5SZQEXSTScvtMphgY9ls-FAQzZIOaQTPeVvV5CYv49AHdlev-e6eUqY-9mG6hPqkOXX2hglcswOMzhaEHsBrNgv7a7EV6FpFtV4D2xcqto3DPSaXBdLr9ycRWy0eZdm2UdnhLoBM_0/s1600/Cat+Island+091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw5SZQEXSTScvtMphgY9ls-FAQzZIOaQTPeVvV5CYv49AHdlev-e6eUqY-9mG6hPqkOXX2hglcswOMzhaEHsBrNgv7a7EV6FpFtV4D2xcqto3DPSaXBdLr9ycRWy0eZdm2UdnhLoBM_0/s320/Cat+Island+091.jpg" tt="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYywYLFo0htwPvyEZ4H7yx5jlRQHuQH1VPpR-1m5Di5VllAXyGFQT7WR3HKcQ2uVYvi9VqsJDyaVQ_33iPdNvVYam1ZspyC85dVYXckKEAM5LQHwZF-c3tPSzn2MIsGvZXO9s8fSfylI/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYywYLFo0htwPvyEZ4H7yx5jlRQHuQH1VPpR-1m5Di5VllAXyGFQT7WR3HKcQ2uVYvi9VqsJDyaVQ_33iPdNvVYam1ZspyC85dVYXckKEAM5LQHwZF-c3tPSzn2MIsGvZXO9s8fSfylI/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+462.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We throughly enjoyed Conception Island. It is as though the island was created just to make you smile with so many reefs to snorkle and mangroves to explore and great cruisers to share the ride. The island is uninhabited and the Bahamas National Trust (BMT) wants to maintin it's beautiful primitive nature. The only drawback is to go when the weather is perfect as it does not offer any safe anchorage from any big weather front. The magnetic pull comes from its remoteness and seculsion as well as the crystalline waters, varities of coral and fish, crescent beaches, mangrove trees and long-tailed tropic birds, Brandon and Scott went out one day on a mission to bring home dinner and they both suceeded (Tiger Grouper and Snapper)!!! </div></div><br />
But then the weather dictated our next week which was strong winds from the East-North/East with sustained 20knots winds with gusts up to 30knots. Conception is very exposed to both Exuma Sound, as well as, the Atlantic Ocean which means uncomfortable tidal surges=the boat swirling around to and fro and right to left (not fun). So we left for Conception Island which has been very cool, thus far.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We landed Cat Island at the bay called The Bight which is the central location of all nearby facildties, and best of all we anchored at the foot of Mount Alvernia, the highest hill in the Bahamas and one of the most intriguing tourist attractions. The Hermitage is at the top of the hill and is the retirment home of the revered Father Jerome (he was both an architect and a priest). His given name was John Cecil Hawes very well loved and known in the Bahamas as Father Jerome. He was born in England in 1876, he first became an architect then an Anglican priest. After the 1908 hurricane, which devastated parts of the Bahamas, the Angleican Bishop sent this architect/priest to restore the damaged churches. His unique stamp of the hurricane-proof stonework with its thick walls and barrel-vaulted roofs can bee seen in the seven Anglican churches that he reburilt on Long Island. On Father Jerome'es first approach to New Bight in 1937, he selected Comer Hill, the highest spot in all Bahamas, as the site for his retirement home and a location in-own for a new church.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As you walk through the archway at the Hermitage's entrance at the bace of the hill, you will be struck not only with his gift for architecture and stonework but also with his genuine and humble devtion to God, which carries all the way up the hill through his Stations of the Cross, past the replica of Jesus' tomb with ists rolled-away stone to his spartan living quarters and small chapel for private devotions. So we hope you enjoy the pictures of such an incredible place.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtygxI_vF3rTOsq38wm6QWrog9j-mXp76Kbo-M-VRW_apsQP_oEwRqChollgw_jvz1V6pbeNF7DNtr5hktSMik_xKczYxP8h6MOsPgPsMAvxtSYp1_fHyxpdOnVZbLanuaGXsemovu1VA/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtygxI_vF3rTOsq38wm6QWrog9j-mXp76Kbo-M-VRW_apsQP_oEwRqChollgw_jvz1V6pbeNF7DNtr5hktSMik_xKczYxP8h6MOsPgPsMAvxtSYp1_fHyxpdOnVZbLanuaGXsemovu1VA/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+572.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Best wishes to all. We are leaving tomorrow, for Lee Stocking Cay for the next few days. Plan to arrive at Emerald Bay in Gerorge Town Tuesday or Wednesday to greet my Dad for a week stay on SolMate. It will feel like Christmas for us several months late. He is bringing us serveral items we have ordered and or asked him to locate all over town. But having him as our first visitor on our journey is the best gift of all!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGMo7YWHQrdJ_SqHYNRnaZgmBjfmKimJbgURJK0bFas0KgrV2NM44W330yGFl2zSC6L8trrOkHFObGNRVtUFfZ0gMd7qfz0hmtFM2Novvqd63L516Rz7TJiUEIv-1iq2cN_46iL-nDEU/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGMo7YWHQrdJ_SqHYNRnaZgmBjfmKimJbgURJK0bFas0KgrV2NM44W330yGFl2zSC6L8trrOkHFObGNRVtUFfZ0gMd7qfz0hmtFM2Novvqd63L516Rz7TJiUEIv-1iq2cN_46iL-nDEU/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+580.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So I hope to post pictures because I do know the they send a better message then words (why I am always behind the camera and not in front, I love it as well). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Happy tax week to everyone, yuck! We just hope it is was not too painful and perhaps prosperous in terms of a RETURN?????!!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> I give up on posting pictures tonigjht b/c it is 11pm and the internet keeps letting me down but hope to post pics in the near future! However, we still have an active email account and would love to see how you all too. So please share as well! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Love to all</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Carryn, Brandon and Bella</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJem-Kay5F6T96nV3BAeAkzh8dzdQLUMgu2OryG8gtv5zEAaxiKa8U4uOzm8YpZW_-AcmAXlKZyM98h_xNNj-5fjn1FPwDx9Ya0HgI1o1_SUUFjlOPM0_TKwqYaiHN6ncoElYLVZ5jTws/s1600/Solmate+Adventures+942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJem-Kay5F6T96nV3BAeAkzh8dzdQLUMgu2OryG8gtv5zEAaxiKa8U4uOzm8YpZW_-AcmAXlKZyM98h_xNNj-5fjn1FPwDx9Ya0HgI1o1_SUUFjlOPM0_TKwqYaiHN6ncoElYLVZ5jTws/s320/Solmate+Adventures+942.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-19524904594637236982010-04-06T15:32:00.003-04:002010-04-06T18:38:24.055-04:00Long Island (Bahamas, not New York)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wZENDGUMHxI8A7YVJaa27LpjbZkjCZnAChIIr8BPXuyOhL1H7MW9bVPwi2lZ9jJEth2JryP4GTm4K9UQdSB-kG7ViPjux-3qleD2-aUN1Zh7iHij6yZlfzRSBU2UDKNrVzfr9YU2BBU/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+345+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wZENDGUMHxI8A7YVJaa27LpjbZkjCZnAChIIr8BPXuyOhL1H7MW9bVPwi2lZ9jJEth2JryP4GTm4K9UQdSB-kG7ViPjux-3qleD2-aUN1Zh7iHij6yZlfzRSBU2UDKNrVzfr9YU2BBU/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+345+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div>I can' tbelieve it has been 3 weeks since our last blog. Clearly, we are settling into the cruising life- "why do today what you can put off til tomorrow"!<br />
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We are currently anchored off the little settlement of Salt Pond, in Thompson Bay, Long Island. It's a beautiful anchorage, and the town is a delight. It is off th beaten path, but the island supports abour 4000 residents, so some of the conveniences are available. There are 2 good markets, and a nice little "resort" that offers wi-fi for the cruisers if you buy a beer or 2(no problem there).<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4Bv5EJ4T3ruvEF4HLBs_ybIIhi_Ow4FIMS5Y-hylPeXdgS6R7upGDDC5YTUbAhxtb9BvOmF71AEE2i1I4DIA5maLsk47RfYqNe6e8S3MT-D6d6Ffyk0NC97692tQmyf4BI5D5Q86ovs/s1600/SolMate+Adventures+846+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4Bv5EJ4T3ruvEF4HLBs_ybIIhi_Ow4FIMS5Y-hylPeXdgS6R7upGDDC5YTUbAhxtb9BvOmF71AEE2i1I4DIA5maLsk47RfYqNe6e8S3MT-D6d6Ffyk0NC97692tQmyf4BI5D5Q86ovs/s200/SolMate+Adventures+846+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" width="200" /></a>Realizing that Mar 19th was our last blog, I should catch you up on our travels since then.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left Georgetown and decided to drop in to Emerald Bay(the nice resort we blogged about a while back) for a night(to get a few loads of laundry, take a long hot shower and pick up water/fuel. Well, the luxury was hard to walk away from and we ended up staying there for 4 days. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77Ne8WOyk3oYFjG2Ja5aUR4BNvWttHwHOqbkvZFzotR8lOX6aFSnZfQatrJ7zzHKf_NSTMaG08rrIFxSN_A-zBqUyQJCRYF4Y1iTYy0prxwVDv8HYv72ADXEahzWaGDf_Qj25YBir3Q8/s1600/SolMate+Adventures+795+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77Ne8WOyk3oYFjG2Ja5aUR4BNvWttHwHOqbkvZFzotR8lOX6aFSnZfQatrJ7zzHKf_NSTMaG08rrIFxSN_A-zBqUyQJCRYF4Y1iTYy0prxwVDv8HYv72ADXEahzWaGDf_Qj25YBir3Q8/s320/SolMate+Adventures+795+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>While we were there, we got a few projects done, including going up the mast to put on our lightning protection and replacing a bulb in the masthead light. I sent Scott up to do this as he only weighs 160lbs). Haley and Alana wanted to go up for the view so we hoisted them up there for fun. Alana got this shot looking down(see bella on the dock).</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fYAOAbD6dvM4lFkfDj57BTpedk98hotueIkIoO1mRMtBn96uHha8UrMNaOL5UaFY7e_HYNdd9on5ToMTeUbARsCs80PlpRMHoGqIF4j72CQ9xaxpF3CTV9u2efWUDAWbqvj_R2TiPpk/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+229+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fYAOAbD6dvM4lFkfDj57BTpedk98hotueIkIoO1mRMtBn96uHha8UrMNaOL5UaFY7e_HYNdd9on5ToMTeUbARsCs80PlpRMHoGqIF4j72CQ9xaxpF3CTV9u2efWUDAWbqvj_R2TiPpk/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+229+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We finally pulled out last Saturday and headed for Long Island(about 35 miles). It was a nearly windless day, so we motored and drug a few lures(nope- we didn't catch anything).</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9RhUbWVW5rNBSYCH7j6srBwhEsNy9SErStU78m3Trw6IEmeWVy929njQ3kyPrJksieb6N6MYDtFgXYQYnMSxiGS9RPaD8jP2WM0Uy2VULqgW_a4jQ-chtO2LMi_2yzFpM1mMHeRjvuQ/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+284+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9RhUbWVW5rNBSYCH7j6srBwhEsNy9SErStU78m3Trw6IEmeWVy929njQ3kyPrJksieb6N6MYDtFgXYQYnMSxiGS9RPaD8jP2WM0Uy2VULqgW_a4jQ-chtO2LMi_2yzFpM1mMHeRjvuQ/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+284+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CTGCNdSJNfsft8dx-nGYtNMzstc5LCJwvM7RmLJ8F9-tk5Des6EWkExWfdIRDkuQi0csAuUxOnPz1XmQRAIydLiGQyRMg1P0P0T88VtFeGOz5-RCsQT8sAqOIeEBIHwLkQqxxt-U0vY/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+280+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CTGCNdSJNfsft8dx-nGYtNMzstc5LCJwvM7RmLJ8F9-tk5Des6EWkExWfdIRDkuQi0csAuUxOnPz1XmQRAIydLiGQyRMg1P0P0T88VtFeGOz5-RCsQT8sAqOIeEBIHwLkQqxxt-U0vY/s200/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+280+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" width="200" /></a>We dropped the hook on the SE side of Hog Cay at the northern end of Long Island and got up the next day for a short run down the island and pulled into Aligator Bay for the night. We could have made it to Salt Pond, but wanted to take it easy and enjoy some of the nice places along the way(see- we are slowing down and enjoying the journey). We go tinto Tompson Bay on Monday, in time to catch the fresh stuff comin goff the boat and into the market.</div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We settled in to life in Salt Pond this week, even renting a mnivan with <em>Las Sirenas</em> to tour the south end of the island(difficult to do by boat because anything south of Deadmans Cay is very shallow and the sand flats extend miles out from the shore. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMLrIwVPZTaRbaGhSYP72Ouo0UShk-nHOVS1hOps44swcHis6w7vjcdZzztcdJ8ikwPsUu-tT4kpB6pHPCKXtoVyO56rXRL0BqHstsJvEHP3Y6-w5ymKQtdTd05liLJWyA6xs3HpwMu8/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+SolMate+Adventures+049+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMLrIwVPZTaRbaGhSYP72Ouo0UShk-nHOVS1hOps44swcHis6w7vjcdZzztcdJ8ikwPsUu-tT4kpB6pHPCKXtoVyO56rXRL0BqHstsJvEHP3Y6-w5ymKQtdTd05liLJWyA6xs3HpwMu8/s320/Nikon+photos+of+SolMate+Adventures+049+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The highlight of our land tour was a visit to Dean's Blue Hole- the site of the deepest blue hole in the world. This month, the Suunto World Free Diving Championship is underway, with the best free divers on the planet competing for the breath-hold depth record. (google: dean's blue hole free diving). It is amazing. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We jumped from the cliffs and I did a few deep dives. I set my personal best record of 79 feet for :55 seconds. I can see where this gets into your blood- the drive to dive deeper and push yourself to your limit. The problem is that you don't know where your limit is until you narc out at depth (usually below 150') or black out during the ascent(usually in the last 20'). I have a ways to go to get close to the world record of 403 feet. </div></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0dCvPMwRkxvaylqeKEB_7liGmnDIKqDpSwnVGfENsWX1xslf6tUzAxn77P6VKFJWZblXgT9ihQMcAAqEvLe0G_V0tachf06x2fzR1dAWy7U9VlkEP023X6zMkSkLJAdDw2XxOzc1bns/s1600/Nikon+photos+of+SolMate+Adventures+062+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0dCvPMwRkxvaylqeKEB_7liGmnDIKqDpSwnVGfENsWX1xslf6tUzAxn77P6VKFJWZblXgT9ihQMcAAqEvLe0G_V0tachf06x2fzR1dAWy7U9VlkEP023X6zMkSkLJAdDw2XxOzc1bns/s320/Nikon+photos+of+SolMate+Adventures+062+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>We hit a few more cool places, stopped at a few little roadside dives for cold beers and local flavor. It was a great day.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>We've had a good time here but are leaving for Conception Island later today. It is about 20 miles from the northern end of Long Island(about a 60 mile total trip from here), so we'll head out this afternoon and head up Long Island, then make the rest of the trip on Wednesday. We'll be out of communication for a week or so.<br />
Happy April birthdays to Megan, Olivia, Tom, Lynn , Sophia and Joan! We miss you and we owe you all a hug and kiss!<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Take care. Leave us a comment</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-73232282004548538502010-03-23T12:53:00.001-04:002011-02-26T14:59:37.883-05:00Chillin' in Emerald BayFinally left George Town Monday and decided to treat ourselves to a stay in a marina at Emerald Bay. Wanted to wash the boat (the first time in over 2 months!), do some laundry and just relax for a bit. Plan to leave for Long Island on Wed. then on to Rum Cay. Trying to talk Brandon into an excursion to Turks & Caicos as we will have traveled far enough South to make the jump over to check it all out. Bella is stable and doing much better. We will return to George Town in a month to check in the local Vet, as well as pick my Dad up for a week stay aboard the SolMate. <br />
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Just wanted to post a few pictures instead of so much content. Hope everyone is doing great and I know the weather must be improving because it is for us as well. So enjoy SPRING!SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-41603933073328144342010-03-19T17:56:00.000-04:002010-03-19T17:56:54.654-04:00GeorgeTownIt's hard to believe we've been here over a week now. We had a good sail down from Emerald Bay, 4-5 footers, but with a North wind and swell, the trip was reasonable. We had heard many stories/opinions about GT, but we tried to come in with an open mind. There were certainly more boats in one in a single anchorage than we had seen cumulatively on our whole trip so far. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but takes a little getting used to. We patrolled through the anchorage just off "Volleyball Beach" looking for a spot. It was really crowded and the boats were anchored uncomfortably close together. We finally picked a spot somewhat on the fringe and dropped the hook. Our friends on <em>Las Sirenas</em> found a spot close to us and buried in. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7kTyeHbMY_oBkRGLG-Cv93h7QHlgd5UJzbKUj6t8nYuRto_-T-CRavVXsIDokeYM6m2_qrGLdLupw3tqSqfVjOULqUZdH1xWUT7t4fnq289bFhHNKYiF035eulwhgGQ_jWQfY-O_tIs/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+780+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7kTyeHbMY_oBkRGLG-Cv93h7QHlgd5UJzbKUj6t8nYuRto_-T-CRavVXsIDokeYM6m2_qrGLdLupw3tqSqfVjOULqUZdH1xWUT7t4fnq289bFhHNKYiF035eulwhgGQ_jWQfY-O_tIs/s320/SolMate+Adventures+780+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" width="320" /></a>We settled in pretty quick and went in to the beach for a look-see. The place was hoppin' and Haley and Alana were on fire excited to see all the kids. We strolled around and soaked in the vibe. We met quite a few folks, but one couple in particular would prove to the be a most valued acquaintance. Chris and Vivian on <em>Second Chance</em> saw Bella and came over to chat. They have a Portuguese Water Dog as well, but proceeded to tell us the sad story of how they recently(about 4 weeks ago) lost one of their two Porties to tick-bourne disease that the dog contracted while in the Bahamas. They were heart broken and we nearly cried as she talked about her baby and about how their remaining dog, Zepper, was so lonely and depressed without his sister. They told us of the need to protect the dogs with K9 Advantix or Frontline, of which Bella has been on since a puppy. We were concerned, but felt we had protected Bella against any tick issues. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We did a little research on Ehrliciosis to learn about the hazards and symptoms since I did find a tick on Bella a few weeks ago(I had pulled it off without much thought). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A few days later, we noticed Bella acting a little sluggish and she had lost her appetite. We watched her close and radio'd the local Vet on the island(an American that chose to retire down here and set up a clinic for the occasional pet issue. He agreed to take a look at her, and so on the second day, we noticed Bella was warm(running a fever) and had still not eaten so we took her in. WE dingied the 2-3 miles and walked her up the beach to his house/clinic. He was the nicest man, and went to work right away, checking her out, and drawing blood. He confirmed that she had a pretty high fever(105deg) and that her white blood cell count was depresed. His suspicion was Ehrliciosis, but he proceeded with a SNAP test that would be more definitive. We were absolutely sick when he confirmed that she had indeed contracted the disease. Carryn sobbed and we just were stunned. The doc re-assured us that it would not be fatal, but affirmed that it was only "treatable" but there was no real "cure" for the disease. It is a bit like Lyme disease, and remains latent in the body and manifests on occasion. It has to be treated with antibiotics and managed from there. He set us up with a month's worth of Doxicyclene and advice on what to look for. We have to go back to see him in a month or so, just to check in. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> I must say, we are devastated that Bella contracted this, but we are so thankful that we caught it early and that it is treatable. We thank God everyday for bringing Bella into our lives, and can't imagine live without her. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I hate to write a blog that is such a downer, but wanted everyone to know about it. Bella is feeling much better, pretty much back to her normal self. We will keep a close eye on her for the next few days and are postponing a trip to Long Island/ Rum Cay until we know she is OK. It looks like Tuesday will be a good weather window to go, but we should get another post out before we leave. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We have been busy, mostly having fun. Have done some diving and fishing, and generally loafed about for the past week. GT is a vibrant little village and we have mostly enjoyed our time here, mainly by ignoring all the organized cruiser activities and the hubbub that goes with it. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We will write up something soon to share the fun stuff going on. </div>Keep Bella in your prayers. SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-90977501956023992572010-03-11T10:35:00.001-05:002010-03-11T10:43:04.354-05:00Emerald Bay Resort/Marina<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Yes, you read correctly. RESORT and MARINA. WE set a new record of 31 days on anchor(or morring ball) so we decided to splurge and stop in at a marina on the way to Georgetown. We had a great sail down from Little Farmer's Cay, abiout 30 miles. The seas were a little rough on the way out of the cut, but became more tolerable as we got a mile or so off shore into 2-3,000 feet of water(the waves tend to stack up as they approach shore line as the sea floor rises up, so it's usually best to get ouit of the shallower water). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Z5A_Z4oCq0cvepNs4Hl_WPyVEPjRRh5EifzVmLxFU3YLkA-DGXjOEl6P9w00VdZufm7U791hDjTrBBhP7AGCGqRCo4jLmdBnsd0dnvoUTG2uZaf8xfoHVU2EZ85GW-xF5P8T0toqnZs/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+744+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Z5A_Z4oCq0cvepNs4Hl_WPyVEPjRRh5EifzVmLxFU3YLkA-DGXjOEl6P9w00VdZufm7U791hDjTrBBhP7AGCGqRCo4jLmdBnsd0dnvoUTG2uZaf8xfoHVU2EZ85GW-xF5P8T0toqnZs/s320/SolMate+Adventures+744+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We turned south and put up the main(our jib is shredding along the luff and needs some repair) to steady the motion and pick up we few knots. We kept the motor on to make better time, since we only had one sail up and our course was very close to the wind(about 60 deg off the port bow). I picked aout a few good lures and paid them out on the boat rods hoping to catch some dinner. A few hours later, we looked back to see <em>Las Sirenas</em> stopped and doing circles. I hailed them on the VHF and they reported they were fighting a good sized Dorado(Mahi Mahi). I was jealous, but knew it would be big enough to feed us all. They tood 20 minutes or so the boat the fish and were back on track to catch up to us. Shortly after talking to them again to get the whole story and them reminding me of the need to have a gaff ready, I went back to get the gaff out and accessible. Within minutes, Carryn heard the glorious sound of the reel spooling off line. Whhhhiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzz, FISH ON!! We throttled down and turned the boat broadside so I could fight the fish and reel him in. 200 yards away, a beautiful Dorado lept out of the water like a missle. He flopped back and forth trying to spit the hook. I worked him in for about 10 minutes and got him to the side of the boat. A quick swipe with the gaff and we lifted him aboard. He was beautiful and powerful, 16 pounds of arguably the best the ocean has to offer. WE would definitely be eating well for the next week.</div>Carryn got the boat back on course and I fillet'd the catch. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0LgB52L-nscYbdXC-bg7Oktt3PyM0rAbGIlN8Aotq9UGVINFPwfpAH85cYfxHsQwEKxwXSQiMJrMgUd_bBZQZHnojaGfiZnmhmXB7zTpMoiwQPabrKmMwqIBB9auOjmmn5QjuyRZn_E/s1600-h/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+073+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT0LgB52L-nscYbdXC-bg7Oktt3PyM0rAbGIlN8Aotq9UGVINFPwfpAH85cYfxHsQwEKxwXSQiMJrMgUd_bBZQZHnojaGfiZnmhmXB7zTpMoiwQPabrKmMwqIBB9auOjmmn5QjuyRZn_E/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+073+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We pulled into the marina around 4pm and found a real sweet spot. The marina is nearly new and very well appointed. Best I can gather, it was built to cater to high end yachts and sport-fishers but hasn't been able to draw a full house. Construction was in the final phases when the developers sold it the golf course and the resort to Sandals. Since then, they have left a portion of the marina complete with docks, but no utilities. they are therefore offering a pretty cheap rate($1.50 per foot or about $70/nt for SolMate) and I'm all about getting a good deal. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The best part was that when we pulled in on Monday afternoon, we found our frineds on <em>Star Bound</em> and <em>Winfield Lash</em> had pulled in for a few nights as well. We all got together on the docks for hugs and catching up. They had been in Georgetown for the past week and are haeding back up to Staniel Cay. Jim and Heather on <em>Star Bound</em> offered to host everyone for drinks and Scott and I raised the ante, offering up our fresh catch to make it dinner and drinks. Everyone spent the next few hours cleanign up their boats and getting hot showers. We converged on <em>Star Bound </em>at dusk and Scott went to work, grilling the fish that had been soaking in his special marinade. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3eFbc_rcKioTPsTBCFf3cxNiMTX3MaqiGCCdd8aNYZEQwgPQ1NCB3om0mwTsTrqHw68sA5RhITMGUGE4PB3cICe2oIGRWv4-WB9u1QgUzK_6X7Qy9eXO_4_7UoE3auK6G4hsI-q3R5A/s1600-h/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+057+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3eFbc_rcKioTPsTBCFf3cxNiMTX3MaqiGCCdd8aNYZEQwgPQ1NCB3om0mwTsTrqHw68sA5RhITMGUGE4PB3cICe2oIGRWv4-WB9u1QgUzK_6X7Qy9eXO_4_7UoE3auK6G4hsI-q3R5A/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+057+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We made rice and black beans and everyone brought something. It was a great night. Most everyone bailed around 10, but Carryn and I stayed to hang out with Jim and Heather for another couple of hours. We really enjoyed getting to know them- they have a great story and the most incredible boat(I could dedicate an entire blog to sharing the histroy and majic of <em>Star Bound).</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSp1BJbJ9gfQfwQSSSLaI6rXgTFCUl5s5Q4DIlrtETz3zx1Sk3yuUB9Cebe098ZXnQSMc73K_HwwUH_C4fqGiwE2lo0f4ehUuXRLEFg1ebEwiCe_W1cfFT42Y5Ipuy3oVftgIpaiLVLY0/s1600-h/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+085+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSp1BJbJ9gfQfwQSSSLaI6rXgTFCUl5s5Q4DIlrtETz3zx1Sk3yuUB9Cebe098ZXnQSMc73K_HwwUH_C4fqGiwE2lo0f4ehUuXRLEFg1ebEwiCe_W1cfFT42Y5Ipuy3oVftgIpaiLVLY0/s320/Nikon+photos+of+Sol+Mate+085+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a>Tuesday, we all got up and made a bee line to the landry room. It was funny to see the men Jim, Scott and I) all psych'd about doing laundry. I think Jim washed everything on their boat, including taking the covers off the settees. WE went to work on some big projects, as well as I helped solder an antenna connection on Jim's boat and helped David on <em>Winfield Lash</em> repair his windlass foot switch. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Fk05jo_YtnvhTbio7yxaEP8Ttlhhg2c0w3qbGMePfUVd6y8CxBymI3aNqLvcDlsfjkyLWqjMAdWJBo2s6l0AtFPHrcx3OlmQWfTqGI-OPRZ9oTNbDCwWWTeQ9sZwBlnzYRAKfS0ouI/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+759+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8Fk05jo_YtnvhTbio7yxaEP8Ttlhhg2c0w3qbGMePfUVd6y8CxBymI3aNqLvcDlsfjkyLWqjMAdWJBo2s6l0AtFPHrcx3OlmQWfTqGI-OPRZ9oTNbDCwWWTeQ9sZwBlnzYRAKfS0ouI/s320/SolMate+Adventures+759+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The big project that we decided to tackle was to take down the head sail and work on it. We were thrilled when Marge offered her help and er big SailRite sewing machine to help us. WE drug the sail up to a big grassy area and went to work on it. We spent about 4 hours and got it all stitched back up. We shoud be good to go now. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheB0BEP59LUY-bjHWX8vKXF2LmYSzdfqiiVQ0RSWZGv23QRmJm3b5ss61unYkqkdFZr26RfW2Lh8L8A272DeGj65Fk3PlSC6ElA6IO5_0mS6vi7nZiFcNQIZMIgpxG7JfzEMW6Dz4oUz0/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+763+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheB0BEP59LUY-bjHWX8vKXF2LmYSzdfqiiVQ0RSWZGv23QRmJm3b5ss61unYkqkdFZr26RfW2Lh8L8A272DeGj65Fk3PlSC6ElA6IO5_0mS6vi7nZiFcNQIZMIgpxG7JfzEMW6Dz4oUz0/s320/SolMate+Adventures+763+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" vt="true" /></a>Additionally, Marge got her clippers out and we all cornered Bella for a hair cut(Marge was a groomer in her past). Bella wasn't too keen on it but finally gave in and we got her clipped. She looks and feels great. Thanks so much to Marge for all her time and effort. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our choice to come to the marina proved to be a very good deal overall. The place is beautiful, has great showers, a luxury clubhouse and FREE LAUNDRY!! WE got our money's worth on the laundry alone. We took long, hot showers(I felt like a bank robber using that much water!), and took advantage of the nice beach at Sandals. We were hoping the waiters would come and offer us cocktails on the beach since Sandals is an all inclusive, but we must have clearly looked like "boat people". </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We hated to see Wednesday morning arrive, as we knew<em> Star Bound</em> and<em> Winfield Lash </em>would be sailing on. <em>Las Sirenas and Sol Mate </em>were enjoying the marina life a bit too much so when the winds piped up around noon, we decided to go one more night in the marina. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We knocked around, hit the little market and liquor store, and got a few more projects done. Scott's holding tank(where the poop and pee goes until it can be pumped overboard off shore) had sprung a leak, so we did the unpleasant job of draining and repairing the fitting that was leaking. We got together for a great dinner- I baked chicken parmesan on ziti w marinar. It was awesome. We enjoyed our last night in Emerald Bay Marina. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So this morning, we are getting things tied down to head out into the deep blue for the 6 mile run to Elizabeth Harbor(GeorgeTown). I hope to blog again in the next few days, hopefully reporting that GeorgeTown is a fun, interesing and entertaing place(we heard much to the contrary, with complaints of overbearing boaters, activities planned and directed like a cruise ship, and less than ideal anchoring and dingy rides to get across the harbor to GT. We'll see. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Until then. please leave us a comment. We love to hear from you.</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-59575143081928919672010-03-05T14:05:00.004-05:002010-03-07T17:22:13.931-05:00Pipe Creek Yacht Club<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qSCAwtrn8IRrmwdgZMnZGQnApQ6KO-9521X4KaAo5nnxDmBI4YiBx-fpTFI1izCuLJtKq7-eEAaCWyjtnOFhi5Z4Ve5dn33loe5e5uQHDGxZ3da1e0XYHHV81jqU-U2Hq4oyPzfbk74/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+727+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qSCAwtrn8IRrmwdgZMnZGQnApQ6KO-9521X4KaAo5nnxDmBI4YiBx-fpTFI1izCuLJtKq7-eEAaCWyjtnOFhi5Z4Ve5dn33loe5e5uQHDGxZ3da1e0XYHHV81jqU-U2Hq4oyPzfbk74/s320/SolMate+Adventures+727+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>Yes, we are now members of the rag-tag, unofficial Pipe Creek Yacht Club. A very loose organization of veteran cruisers that make Pipe Creek(not really a "creek" but more of a channel that cuts between Rat Cay, Pipe Cay, Little Pipe Cand Thomas Cay). It is a great place to weather fronts, which is what we have been doing for the past week. It is amazing how you meet great folks and how they come in and out of your life at various times while cruising. To make a long story short, our Savannah friends John and Kathy <em>on Miss Alice, </em>introduced us to Al and Ann on <em>Calypso Poet</em> who live aboard in Ft Lauderdale and Al works at the West Marine there(he helped me with my batteries replacement). Al and Ann take a few months each year and come to the Bahamas and Pipe Creek is their hangout. He and several other regulars have spent so much time her over the years that they started the unofficial "PCYC", to which they granted Carryn and I "membership" to this year since we hung out with them for over a week. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44qTWYUL2AOOGG8M6mHn_lcwIbp6ojySEMyyCzehgHRX5nJyuMF0GJO15rexhZAb5oYRLwYUuCSbG2A7ebprfYV8gFq2dNVSR4oaDN2Sq1ZxBGAW3N888uIRdNDEqzI5fI_eEUvOSSdM/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+701+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44qTWYUL2AOOGG8M6mHn_lcwIbp6ojySEMyyCzehgHRX5nJyuMF0GJO15rexhZAb5oYRLwYUuCSbG2A7ebprfYV8gFq2dNVSR4oaDN2Sq1ZxBGAW3N888uIRdNDEqzI5fI_eEUvOSSdM/s320/SolMate+Adventures+701+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bvEAc3z1umPXggEs-aWkXyFLnVIKYHcLvJVcFRzUjtqDJCEolScsBtA5RFSmwodb4LugS5lJE-4P4uku3CHbNYZbC1zMG-Fj4o9H9hEVLpkntW9PmXbcKYTJNWXJiOHaqCH-TPQ8lMs/s1600-h/img006+Standard+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bvEAc3z1umPXggEs-aWkXyFLnVIKYHcLvJVcFRzUjtqDJCEolScsBtA5RFSmwodb4LugS5lJE-4P4uku3CHbNYZbC1zMG-Fj4o9H9hEVLpkntW9PmXbcKYTJNWXJiOHaqCH-TPQ8lMs/s320/img006+Standard+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>It has been al long week at that. We dove and hunted as much as we could, but on Tuesday, a big front blew in and we sat through 36 hours of 25-30 knot winds. By Thursday, winds were still 15-20 out of the NW and we were pinned down. fortunately, our ground tackle was in solid and we stayed on the boat and coped. Finally, this morning the winds lightened up and we are forecast for several days of light N winds. Chris Parker said we may even have up to a week of settled weather! So we are on the move. We pulled anchor this morning at 9 and threaded our way back out of the anchorage. We are headed to Staniel Cay for a quick trip to Isles General Store(the mail boat came in this morning and brought some fresh stuff). We'll then head for Black Point for a quick trip into Lorraines for some home-made bread. Then probably anchor south of Great Guana Cay for tonight(Fri). Saturday we'll get to Little Farmer's Cay for a stay Sat night. Then we'll go on the outside(the sound) to make the 35 mile run to Elizabeth Harbor to hang out in George Town for a while. Carryn has been on me to prepare blogs so when we got an internet connection, I could just load them up. But I didn't listen and obey, so I don't have alot of details about what we have been up to this past week. Instead, I'll post a few pics.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_OOLCznQ7f2n_Txv-5C39kq17mYjglev_NcXG5BHJVQlFkXQvXCdhu8448Nxbvz1d2FJoJURRc43cIKfAWY0YGcVMeur2se_lNQ2P-HCrwPEnn_ONLCHsk4uVTaiJLZECosrVOdJ1P4/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+686+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_OOLCznQ7f2n_Txv-5C39kq17mYjglev_NcXG5BHJVQlFkXQvXCdhu8448Nxbvz1d2FJoJURRc43cIKfAWY0YGcVMeur2se_lNQ2P-HCrwPEnn_ONLCHsk4uVTaiJLZECosrVOdJ1P4/s320/SolMate+Adventures+686+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-43178719979902326312010-02-24T12:00:00.000-05:002010-02-24T12:00:53.797-05:00Tucking in for more weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhRSBEr-NqgHUFk9N0ztiA4u0Y3Dbn73cmlMRmNpc2sSeNRO7g81spFTUI6tbxKX3CXRMFTa8ugpKlW-hZzN_6KFP_UgzlDV0YGsPQ4o-7EcjLPLUfnicP581n_Rd_-b2ZYmr6BxUGE8/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+640+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhRSBEr-NqgHUFk9N0ztiA4u0Y3Dbn73cmlMRmNpc2sSeNRO7g81spFTUI6tbxKX3CXRMFTa8ugpKlW-hZzN_6KFP_UgzlDV0YGsPQ4o-7EcjLPLUfnicP581n_Rd_-b2ZYmr6BxUGE8/s320/SolMate+Adventures+640+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had a nice day yesterday. Almost no wind and the water had settled to become crystal clear. We're still anchored in Pipe Creek. Yesterday we got up and dingied over to Compass Cay Marina to visit <em>Las Sirenas</em> and check out the place. It was very cool- laid back and naturally beautiful. The marina is small, but well protected and the basin is deep with gin-clear water flowing through a white sand bottom and beautiful coral growth scattered throughout. Have you ever been in a marina that you could walk the docks looking down into a life sized aquarium? At the fish cleaning table, dozens of nurse sharks congregate in waist deep water to get an easy meal. You can swim with them and handle them(gently)- it is pretty cool. When we pulled in, a huge spotted eagle ray was gliding through, so we hovered over him in the dingy and got a few pics.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBRJVaTs_3d9Cx8XFaTP21jS2QbdEstGBb9b2jBE9z0PcmKeEYXUbhx4Jrpan2PvKIB806eoi1v71WjpzRKasjIYTx29WCBXsdpIFeHOSNqTL_tC9VzMR2VrK624HlXTJroTPjiGi_-8/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+633+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBRJVaTs_3d9Cx8XFaTP21jS2QbdEstGBb9b2jBE9z0PcmKeEYXUbhx4Jrpan2PvKIB806eoi1v71WjpzRKasjIYTx29WCBXsdpIFeHOSNqTL_tC9VzMR2VrK624HlXTJroTPjiGi_-8/s320/SolMate+Adventures+633+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>After a walk across the island to the beach and a burger at the marina shack, we decided to go check out Sampson Cay(a few miles to the south) and the marina there. Esme, Haley and Esme's mom Terri fired up their dingy to go with us. We zipped along in between several cays to get to the very well appointed Sampson Cay Marina, where they have a little general store and a cool bar. Sampson Cay Marina is a high end stop for luxury yachts and sportfishers- the antithesis of Compass Cay. We picked up a few items in the shoppette, some OJ for mornings and Cranberry juice for my Cape Cods in the evening. I splurged on a Coke and a bag of M&Ms. We dropped any thought of buying some "fresh"(frozen) meat when we saw the prices. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIXfFil1u9wGZctyCsCMd4Lb4y9pvZ4Dyn-ZhcNkghkz0rpDXbCSRQ5hL_Eyin4BCkrhHwpM1SWYrDcQ-qqD99v2u63SChVDgdhSaxiN4553laZZupugH9IZfa7yt4qGZVNVox9u966o/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+645+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIXfFil1u9wGZctyCsCMd4Lb4y9pvZ4Dyn-ZhcNkghkz0rpDXbCSRQ5hL_Eyin4BCkrhHwpM1SWYrDcQ-qqD99v2u63SChVDgdhSaxiN4553laZZupugH9IZfa7yt4qGZVNVox9u966o/s320/SolMate+Adventures+645+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a>As we were hanging out, we noticed the laundry facilities were pretty nice- and empty! Expensive: $4 for a load to wash, $4 to dry, but the machines looked new and the place was clean. So Carryn and I decided to head back and get our rather large sack of laundry and get it done(to heck with Black Point). So we zipped back to the boat (about 10 minutes away) and gathered our laundry, soap and money. We got it all in 3 loads, so ended up spending $28 to wash and dry(3 loads of wash and 4 rounds to get it all dry). With the 25 bucks for beer at the bar while we waited, It was a $60 laundry day!! But it feels good to have it all clean and back in the drawers. We had a good internet connection, too, so we did some surfing, email and a few Majic Jack calls. We didn't finish until about 6:30, so it was dark for the ride back to the boat, which was a little scary. We had blazed the trail a few times already, but night time changes everything. We had enough moonlight to know we weren't going to run into anything above the waterline, but it becomes impossible to judge the depth of the water you're planing across and it was now low tide. I wasn't sure if any of the water along our path would bee too shallow, but with bated breath, we zipped along and made it back to the boat OK. We were definitely in God's hands.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were bushed and only moderately hungry, so I whipped up some leftovers: for Carryn it was impromptu fried rice out of some white rice that was in the fridge. I had leftover taco meat on tortillas.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was a nice evening, but we turned in around 8:30. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">At mornings light, I got up to listen to Chris Parker's weather report on the SSB. He's forecasting strong winds on Thursday and then another doozy of a blow expected to hit us on Tuesday. So it's time to start tostrategize how to hide from the fronts, but take advantage of the north winds after the fronts to start heading towards Georgetown. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the weather broadcast, I decided I would let Carryn sleep in and I would take some "me" time and go out to hunt. Scott and I got skunked a few days ago, and it was burning me up that I haven't found lobster since the trip over from Nassau(in all fairness, we have only been hunting twice, since we have spent much of our time in the Exuma Park, a no-take zone). So I fueled up the dingy, got my gear and slipped out to patrol the cut between Thomas Cay and Joe Cay(for those of you tracking on Google Earth). It was near slack tide, so the current was just right. I'd glide along the surface, with the little dingy anchor in hand, looking for rock ledges and coral heads that would hold the reclusive bugs. When I'd see probable habitat, I'd dive, letting the weight of the anchor help pull me down, then drop it and start poking around looking under the ledges and in the crevasses for the critters. At one point I was drifting along, and there I see a nice sized bug out in the open!! He's apparently looking for a better spot to crawl into, but at this moment, he is totally exposed. That was a costly mistake on his part.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh861SKKPTs7q3bXoFKGPk1oMoXkq2H-T3Id74xMGbejg6TiV6oX1JjxoIt9q0yo2AMv2fLX1d7QSU1UJYsrKQzHdo3DJzVQkqx6ObE0hgzGk3xcmfSxo_sLp55WSBYRvtFDYgW3ZBxXL0/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+647+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh861SKKPTs7q3bXoFKGPk1oMoXkq2H-T3Id74xMGbejg6TiV6oX1JjxoIt9q0yo2AMv2fLX1d7QSU1UJYsrKQzHdo3DJzVQkqx6ObE0hgzGk3xcmfSxo_sLp55WSBYRvtFDYgW3ZBxXL0/s320/SolMate+Adventures+647+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">With a rather large lobster in the dingy(with one this big, I would only need one), I shifted to sighseeing mode. I drifted along for another quarter mile enjoying the scenery. Incredible fish life, soft corals, sponges and thousands of spiny urchins. Then a startling sight- I look up to see a beautiful Spotted Eagle Ray. With a wing span of about 7 feet, he was only about 50 feet away and coming toward me. As he got to within about 20 feet, he gracefully banked and detoured around me. I felt so lucky to have encountered him- I must say I continued to be amazed by the beauty of this area, both above water and below. Unfortunately, no camera to capture the moment.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not sure what the rest of the day holds for us, but this morning will be hard to beat. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-68697903492012673152010-02-22T16:14:00.000-05:002010-02-22T16:14:05.447-05:00The weather can't be perfect foreverWe've had a nice couple of days, but last night, the weather started blowing in. It wasn't supposed to be here until Monday evening, but our weather guru is off on Sunday(so no 6:30am broadcast on SSB), and it snuck in early. But since we last posted, we have had some unbelievably great weather. Sunny, light winds and 70 degrees.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We spent 4 nights anchored in Staniel, diving the grotto and visiting the pigs. The weather couldn't have been better. On Sunday morning, we got up early and headed south to Black Point Settlement, a tiny village at the south end of Great Guana Cay(only about 5 miles S of Staniel). Black Point is famous for its few cruiser amenities- Lorraine's Cafe where you can get good local flavor and a great laundry mat where the machines are solid, and the Kalik(local beer) is cold. We pulled anchor around 9 and headed out. We had a nice NE wind, so we popped the sails and shut down the engine. It was a beautiful day for sailing and we made pretty good time. We had to tack to get around some shoals, but were able to sail right up to the anchorage and only needed the motor to turn up in between a few boats and drop the hook. The place looked quiet, and once we dingied over and tied up, we walked into the one street village to find it nearly lifeless. Sunday is certainly taken as a day of rest around here, but apparently a funeral for one of the locals(they are all kin to each other) nearly emptied the island. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcWZOVfUGTOTKRTPtnAKBL4SD1eTIFmiN6OVQxjSSh6pG2WjjRIfOKSsFx-52zM3ldI2LJCWGag-WxXmw7RL9awXt9yj411oXjzkrIOa-ytgq_mNpJoVEdQTWatwB-9Cxgv-UohqSpVc/s1600-h/DSC_0771+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcWZOVfUGTOTKRTPtnAKBL4SD1eTIFmiN6OVQxjSSh6pG2WjjRIfOKSsFx-52zM3ldI2LJCWGag-WxXmw7RL9awXt9yj411oXjzkrIOa-ytgq_mNpJoVEdQTWatwB-9Cxgv-UohqSpVc/s320/DSC_0771+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We milled around, letting Bella stretch her legs and peak the interest of the kids that were playing in the street. There is something about a big furry black dog that kids can't resis- I don't think there are many dogs in the Bahamas, as it would be another mouth to feed. The kids were quite lively and talkative, in contrast to their surroundings. After realizing that our visit would be a bust- the laundry mat was closed and the restaurant was quiet, we headed back to the boat and made lunch(nice- saved another $30-40). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then ensued the now frequent discussion: where do we go next? It has been pretty fun not having an itinerary, but it results in a seemingly constant debate on where to go, and when. After a few minutes, we decided to defer any big decisions and re-join <em>Las Sirenas, Starbound, Calypso</em> and a few other boats at the north end of Bitter Guana Cay. While we had decided to go to Black Point, several other boats reconnoitered there at a nice beach for play time. Many of the boats had kids aboard, so <em>Las Sirenas</em> diverted to there so the girls could socialize. Seemed like a little socializing was due, so again, we pulled anchor, threw up the sails and headed north along the western shoreline to join the party. It was a beautiful sail, with winds now out of the East, we were ghosting along in calm water(inthe lee of the cay) with 12-15 knots of breeze filling the sails. We made quick work of the 2 miles and this time we did something we've never done: we pulled into the anchorage under sail. Yep, no power(OK, so we did have the engine running in case something went terribly wrong). Carryn rounded<em> SolMate</em> up into the wind, heading right to the spot we had picked. I quickly furled the jib and the main, and sauntered up to the bow to drop the hook. We paid out 40 feet of chain and she fell back on the anchor which planted firmly. It went so smooth, we amazed even ourselves. What a great day so far, and it was only 2 o'clock!</div><br />
Wirhin minutes, I dove into the crystal clear, 8' deep water and Bella followed. We swam the 50 yards to <em>Las Sirenas</em> and joined them on deck. Carryn, considering 74F too cold to go swimming(she has only been in the water a few times), dingied over and we enjoyed the afternoon with cruisers from several boats. Scott had rigged a tow rope on his dingy to pull Haley and Alana on their surf boards, so I had to git it a try. Fortunately, Jim from <em>Starbound</em> had his longboard and I rode it(not sure the 15hp dingy would have gotten me up on a 5' surfboard). Sure enough, all the time I spent waterskiing in my youth came back pretty quick and I was up and surfing. It was a blast.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOh-7bG4smbQz3a3_cQMBrB84mAxJOvZ0GMJ7wtCYwD0ysvhIdxXPALFvvpADkXE-WDHD3Q2P609qGa1oITiEasg18OBGVdqinq_TcdjKS2Pc9FJsVbUGQT4xIKY0YCLtUV1KkxwJ_o0/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+621+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOh-7bG4smbQz3a3_cQMBrB84mAxJOvZ0GMJ7wtCYwD0ysvhIdxXPALFvvpADkXE-WDHD3Q2P609qGa1oITiEasg18OBGVdqinq_TcdjKS2Pc9FJsVbUGQT4xIKY0YCLtUV1KkxwJ_o0/s320/SolMate+Adventures+621+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div>As the sun neared the horizon, we dried off and enjoyed a few coldies(C: Coors Lt, B: Cape Cod). It was a great sunset, but a few clouds in the distant horizon hid the final drop, robbing us of any chance of a "green flash". <br />
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After dark, we headed back to the boat, grabbed a quick bite for dinner and settled in. Carryn took interest in the stars and pulled out our handy "Planisphere" star chart and tried to figure out "who's who" and "what's what" in the night sky. A bit frustrating when there are ten zillion stars in view. We retired around 9, exhausted from the day. <br />
Assuming we had another 24 hours before any weather blew in, I didn't do my normal walk around and anchor check. Well, sure enough, around midnight, the wind piped up and it started to get bumpy. I got up to find the wind had clocked around to the SE and was blowing around the point and into the anchorage at around 15knots. I went up front and let out another 20' of chain, put a snubber on and made sure everything on deck was secure. Of course, when I get back to bed, I find Bella has taken her spot on my pillows, so I shift down to accomodate and drift off again. Once the wind pipes up like that, though, it is hard to get a really deep sleep again. I'm always hearing noises and noticing shifts in how the boat is rolling or pitching. Daylight came and we still had the same 15 knots, but overall it wasn't too bad. I was looking forward to hearing Chris Parker's assessment and forecast, so I got up at 6:30 and tuned in to 4.045mhz to listen in. Sure enough, the system had arrived earlier than expected, but fortunately would be fairly mild. The wind should clock through the S>SW>W>NW fairly quickly today and tonight. So we decided to head out(this spot would be totally unprotected from the SW to the N) and take up shelter in Pipe Creek. We have never been in there and it is pretty tight but well protected. If we can make it in and get the hook set we will have a comfortable spot to sit out the wind today and tonight.<br />
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Update: we made it in without bumping the bottoma and found a spot. We dropped the hood in soft sand and it set well, but with some unseen currant pushing the boat around, we were a little to close to a shallow sand bar. So after we had a quick lunch, we pulled the anchor and moved about 50 yards away. Yes, the anchorages can be that tight sometimes. (Our anchorage in Staniel, we nudged into 5' of soft sand to drop the anchor and let the boat fall back into 6-7' of water. This worked great until the wind shifted, where I knew we would have to reposition the anchor to keep us from swinging into that same shallow water.) But you always make sure the hook sets well, so soft sand is great, sand/grass is ok. Avoid the channels where the current washes the soft sand off, leaving a sandy looking but hard pan bottom that the flukes can't penetrate. I usually check the set by dingy-ing over it with the looky-bucket or even donning mask and fins to get a good look.<br />
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So now we are comfotable and fairly safe(anchor is set OK) to waste away another day. The weather has turned crummy(rain, cloudy and windy).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNN5z7jtZuSzYn3kb18ZtLTrA7nibFq89wiYuSkvcPulQgV7kP0p-xda_GLiYTAVJXZVzUCvC2IZwd-JfLQVO4kPDNIVplaYSN6tA4Nu-KjJwjVyAgK_dYFdz1m8ljWEdi7udANdqLy0/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+627+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNN5z7jtZuSzYn3kb18ZtLTrA7nibFq89wiYuSkvcPulQgV7kP0p-xda_GLiYTAVJXZVzUCvC2IZwd-JfLQVO4kPDNIVplaYSN6tA4Nu-KjJwjVyAgK_dYFdz1m8ljWEdi7udANdqLy0/s320/SolMate+Adventures+627+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The cool thing is Carryn has taken an interest in bread making. Yesterday, Nika from <em>Calypso</em> was sharing her knowledge with Esme and had a good book. We borrowed it from her and scanned a few of the pages so we could start baking as well. It is quite a process. Esme baked a few loaves last night and they turned out great. So Carryn is inspired to bake bread! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Her first loaf is going in the oven as I type these words. She is actually going intermediate for her first loaf, and using a recipe for Rosemary Bread. And yes, she is using rosemary sprigs off of her little bush that Joan and Byrd gave us for Christmas. How cool is that??</div><br />
Well, until next time. Hope everyone is doing well. We LOVE to get comments from you. It really makes our day, and motivates us to write more blogs. So, click the comment link, type a few words, make sure you do the word verification, and submit it. If you select "anonymous" let us know who you are in the body of the comments. Thanks. SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-37938217041978018792010-02-20T14:11:00.000-05:002010-02-20T14:11:53.829-05:00Now this is Cruisin'Well, I'll not apologize for the infrequent blogs. We've been havin' FUN!!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-y8wA5oeX6B9j2A658Y8yC-LYePbQQuoXxibQiTMGvyWTDO8JKlT4via0crsCBbAMs67D6vKe2wpRI-u8lwdkWVFmWsjKT_-oP0DHC-SIAot98qNwLui9AzRD1hc1EptOt8ydIfOID0A/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+568+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-y8wA5oeX6B9j2A658Y8yC-LYePbQQuoXxibQiTMGvyWTDO8JKlT4via0crsCBbAMs67D6vKe2wpRI-u8lwdkWVFmWsjKT_-oP0DHC-SIAot98qNwLui9AzRD1hc1EptOt8ydIfOID0A/s320/SolMate+Adventures+568+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div>We left off our last blog, running from the weather. It appears we have finally beat it, at least for now. WE left CambridgeCay after the big blow, and headed back north for Warderick Wells Cay, home of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We spent four great days there, soin some splorin' and generally hanging out- getting in the islan groove. It is a wonderful park, with much to see. Our friends on Las Sirenas joined us, as well and we had a blast.<br />
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We left there on Wednesday(the 17th) to skitter down to Staniel Cay, to catch "fresh market day" at Isles General Store. We pulled into the anchorage between Big Majors and Fowl Cay and dropped the hook. We had a pretty strong blow due in that night, so I nudged all the way up into the northern most spot and dropped the hook in 5 feet of soft sand. The boat fell back into about 6.5 feet of water and the Bruce Claw grabbed adn dug in deep.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Esme(from Las Sirenas) came by and grabbed Carryn in their dingy and they venture off to the "market". A few hours later she cam back with her bounty. So should illustrate how expensive things are in the Bahamas. $50 for all you see here</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHHJWHPtf49cVRnXeXvJj9Kc3_PAAFecDtYz5B182wz86sDBzRsPm5O8874aaVWIhhKQWEhWYVtnkFNUCuQwSNoPybV792jZKL-zHeHa77GVVHmNtxE_0R6bMrf2wY46JuleZ2S4dQBE/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+575+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHHJWHPtf49cVRnXeXvJj9Kc3_PAAFecDtYz5B182wz86sDBzRsPm5O8874aaVWIhhKQWEhWYVtnkFNUCuQwSNoPybV792jZKL-zHeHa77GVVHmNtxE_0R6bMrf2wY46JuleZ2S4dQBE/s320/SolMate+Adventures+575+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We felt good about our spot and holding. We were as far in as possible, and more protected than any of the other 20+ boats. It was still a bumpy night, but we did fine. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Since then, we have been splorin' the area. Staniel Cay is the place where they filmed much of the James Bond movie Thunderball. There is a big grotto here that is a great dive with an underwater cave and good reef life. The other big attraction is the swimming pigs. These domestic(but a little unruly) pigs inhabit a beach just south of our anchorage. They are used to being visited by cruisers in their dingies, and fully expect to be fed. We took some moldy bread and food scraps out to them and had fun. (tried to upload a little video, but no luck). </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMAEv83f0wI4bW7lnc9trht7Pr9DSd8loqMa3FpenXWxC64fx44bLkznhtvAkl4XaE8cCj101i3G-gQ_7jGhe41RRziNacZIK3N2dtgAyjzkI0nf_lYm8Mh-HvStLiKcC4H2Jnc_MKgU/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+587+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMAEv83f0wI4bW7lnc9trht7Pr9DSd8loqMa3FpenXWxC64fx44bLkznhtvAkl4XaE8cCj101i3G-gQ_7jGhe41RRziNacZIK3N2dtgAyjzkI0nf_lYm8Mh-HvStLiKcC4H2Jnc_MKgU/s320/SolMate+Adventures+587+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" /></a> <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So we are thinking of heading south to Black Point, where the laundry mat is legendary, as is Lorraines Cafe and the great coconut bread teh Lorraines mother bakes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We will share some more details and pics of our adventures soon. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We miss everyone, so we hope you will come see us soon.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Brandon, Carryn and Bella</div></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-41161155269990427602010-02-20T13:26:00.000-05:002011-02-26T14:59:37.895-05:00Now this is Cruisin'<div> </div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-70336885295245823642010-02-15T17:36:00.006-05:002010-02-16T12:05:09.574-05:00Running from the weather<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">It has been a great week, but not an easy one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I know most of you think of endless cocktails and sunsets when you try to imagine what the cruising life is about, but there is another side of it that makes it quite challenging sometimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I guess if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is the tougher side of cruising that we have really been focused on this week- trying to outrun the weather and finding good, protected anchorages to take shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m not complaining, but it has made our first week in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place>Bahamas</st1:place></st1:country-region> (since we left <st1:city><st1:place>Nassau</st1:place></st1:city>) a bit of a challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So let me start where we left off- from when we left <st1:city><st1:place>Nassau</st1:place></st1:city> on Monday morning.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">We passed on going out to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday night, so we could finish preparing to leave the marina the next morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That meant washing down the boat one last time(that will be the last FREE water that we will see for months), filling our water tanks and jugs, doing engine maintenance chores, securing everything on deck with tie-downs, and working the cabin over, looking for anything that needs to be stowed or tied down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The best way to do this is: imagine you could pick your boat up and turn it on to both sides and give it a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>little shake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Anything that would fall/slide/move around must be secured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some stuff goes into cabinets, some stowed in the forward V-berth, and some bungee corded in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We also have “lee cloths” for most of the shelves, which are canvas fabric, cut to fit over all the items (example: the sundries behind the stove and the book shelves behind each settee), and button into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They do a nice job of both securing the items from moving/sliding around as well as hiding the clutter!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So we tucked in around 10p and got a good night’s sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were up at 7, to make a last run to the internet café across the street and place a few Magic Jack calls and download weather files.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We got away from the dock at 9, fueled up on the way out and headed out for Highbourne Cay, about 35 miles to the east-southeast.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">It was a beautiful day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Light winds on a beam reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The water on the Bahama Banks is magnificent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is God’s color palette for every imaginable shade of blues and greens. The water is gin clear, so you can see the 15-20 feet to the bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>About halfway to Highbourne, there is an area of the bank that is sparsely populated with coral formations ranging in size from that of a night stand to bigger than a train car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are pretty easy to spot from a distance, which is good, since you must maneuver around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While some of them are smaller and squatty, some of them rise to within 4-6 feet of the surface, so you wouldn’t want to play chicken with them- they aren’t going to budge!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The upside is that they are beautiful and are home to much wildlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So as we approached one of the larger ones, we slowed the boat and I grabbed my pole spear, donned my mask and fins and jumped in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Carryn circled the boat slowly around while I dove on the coral head taking in its beauty, and hoping to take a little bounty as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After abouit 20 minutes (I admit I was dawdling, enjoying the scenery), I found a nice bug(spiny lobster) under a ledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My past experience with Lobster hunting was in <st1:state><st1:place>Florida</st1:place></st1:state>, where you have to coax them out from under the rock with a “tickle stick” and catch them in a net- sometimes a time consuming process that conflicts with our requirement to breathe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It almost gives the lobster the advantage- hold out, and you can outlast the diver’s breath of air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But here in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>Bahamas</st1:place></st1:country-region>, it is legal to spear them with a pole spear or Hawaiian sling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After a quick draw and release, I had the modest-sized crawfish on the end of my spear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I surfaced with some pride, but it was mixed with the solemn respect for the sea and the bounty it provides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I paid my respect with a short, but gracious prayer (I know it may sound corny, but when you hunt and take prey for food, I have always felt humble).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Shortly after dropping the bug into the dingy, our friends on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Las Sirenas</i> pulled up and the girls (Hailey and Alana) jumped in for a look at the rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had a nice swim around and Scott joined us as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was fun, but I couldn’t find any more lobster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We dove and they took pics(I left our cameral on the boat), it was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We got back on the boat and sailed on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_UtPla4KYPv5IyqudQ3IshVb-sVzpQhGCheRNlTE-SalKsAb1Lx8LL9nwQLgdQRROzwU_LOH2RvGg3-zH4jZlVji8LRd-Wj0W3b6XQju5Q5Z63saUgG8cYUyaX_7zC3IFozEUajbua0/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+560+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438884058243842594" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_UtPla4KYPv5IyqudQ3IshVb-sVzpQhGCheRNlTE-SalKsAb1Lx8LL9nwQLgdQRROzwU_LOH2RvGg3-zH4jZlVji8LRd-Wj0W3b6XQju5Q5Z63saUgG8cYUyaX_7zC3IFozEUajbua0/s320/SolMate+Adventures+560+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />This is a pic the lobster we found in the Exuma Park(a no hunt zone). These are all 3-4 pound bugs. I wish it was always this easy!<br /><br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">We pulled up to Highbourne Cay around <st1:time minute="0" hour="15">3pm</st1:time> and dropped the hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were in the company of several other sailboats, a few sport fishers, and a mega-yacht(about 120 footer).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was a beautiful evening, with light winds and a calm anchorage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We dingied to the beach with <st1:state><st1:place>Champagne</st1:place></st1:state> to celebrate, with our friends, our first “real” night in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>Bahamas</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The sunset was magnificent.</span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC0Ab5yIX9lKHRJt6rjrjd9HUkfdogqFO6NDTimGgWVKYDtqif_Q-6avMGmrBZ0eLNguxiDw-pI9J69pU9Q11wqMQbi17kRt-nIjxqoHCPSiPWd54vMa-rAZGq6HIdBFTsMvSiFUVfBY/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+499+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438884067518881170" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC0Ab5yIX9lKHRJt6rjrjd9HUkfdogqFO6NDTimGgWVKYDtqif_Q-6avMGmrBZ0eLNguxiDw-pI9J69pU9Q11wqMQbi17kRt-nIjxqoHCPSiPWd54vMa-rAZGq6HIdBFTsMvSiFUVfBY/s320/SolMate+Adventures+499+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br />Morning came, and brought with it increasing winds clocking around to the south, which means the approach of a front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were on the West side of the Cay, and with a SW, West or NW wind, we would be exposed and against a lee shore(if the anchor drags, you get pushed onto the shore).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We decided to pick up and move south to another Cay a few hours south.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Shroud Cay is part of the <st1:place><st1:placename>Exuma</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Land</st1:placetype></st1:place> and <st1:place><st1:placetype>Sea</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype>Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>, a nature preserve encompassing about 200 acres of some of the most beautiful Cays and water in the Exumas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While the anchorage we were looking at was still unprotected from the SW to NW, there were mooring balls to tie up to, which would provide a level of safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We arrived and the mooring field was empty(the first sign this may not be a coveted spot).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We tied up and went ‘splorin(my Ricky Ricardo word for exploring).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We did some snorkeling in shallow water and Bella swam along with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We finally got to capture the sight of her swimming in crystal clear water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIJ4dIvntlgJ61Yl0oh0d3TOi3ubfwzUmZPs6IEOKL83v4ifvg55q9D4vw-rs7fvguAK87mQzp9xqGbbnA4mvyW_T3pc8NyyeFCSiKxOKEvO6gu6WHfwhrWHvdM92tkmHztl8_HPdjhs/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+509+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438884062598656994" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIJ4dIvntlgJ61Yl0oh0d3TOi3ubfwzUmZPs6IEOKL83v4ifvg55q9D4vw-rs7fvguAK87mQzp9xqGbbnA4mvyW_T3pc8NyyeFCSiKxOKEvO6gu6WHfwhrWHvdM92tkmHztl8_HPdjhs/s320/SolMate+Adventures+509+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">We even shot video with the camera of her spindly legs paddling along!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After that, we took the dingy through the mangroves that lead into the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was “a-maze-ing”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The “water trail” weaved all the way across the island(about 2 miles) and terminated in a big shallow pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Just across the 20’ high berm of sand and trees, was the one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The strong winds pushed big waves in shore, and several large rock pillars off shore broke the waves and agitated the water into a frenzy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It all looked quite powerful and menacing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We walked the beach and marveled at the raw beauty of it all.</span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSPObJg243exrabYX7Ge_hkWN5SO09cJ54-wYjoCwl5cuEuj-Jtgt0qTO4j46I-2_vOjrkRWMr-FXpFoChBu9Ld1kml-Fyk14RYDlwVf7h3VtFJH9JLlmZA6VQRNlpiMRt8CEhwv5xmY/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+525+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438884072809269602" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSPObJg243exrabYX7Ge_hkWN5SO09cJ54-wYjoCwl5cuEuj-Jtgt0qTO4j46I-2_vOjrkRWMr-FXpFoChBu9Ld1kml-Fyk14RYDlwVf7h3VtFJH9JLlmZA6VQRNlpiMRt8CEhwv5xmY/s320/SolMate+Adventures+525+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">With sunset approaching, we loaded up to get back to the boat, where we arrived to find our anchorage had also gotten worked up as the wind came around to the SW and blew into the cove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We got soaked, scurrying the quarter-mile back to the boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once aboard, we got cleaned up, had dinner (tacos and spanish rice) and turned in for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What we didn’t see coming was the 25-30 knot winds blowing in that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Around <st1:time minute="0" hour="0">midnight</st1:time> things got ugly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What we failed to recognize about the cove we were in, was that it was faced with steep, vertical rock walls, instead of smooth, sloping beaches- so all the wave action that was getting pushed into the cove, was getting bounced right back by the rock walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The anchorage truly turned into a “washing machine”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have known that term, but until that night had never experienced it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The boat bounced and bucked like a bronco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was no rhythm to the motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She pitched, rolled and yawed with violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While we were “safe”(mooring ball vs anchor) we were definitely not “comfortable”(protected anchorage vs exposed mooring).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By morning we were brutalized and knew we needed to get out of there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was difficult to get going, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were both feeling green and had gotten little sleep(Bella was pretty frightened).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Still, we pulled ourselves up and prepared to slip the mooring and head west out of the cove, and then south to a more favored location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Leaving the ball was a challenge, as the boat pitched wildly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Carryn went up to release the lines(getting knocked down several times), and I powered the boat into the wind and waves, clearing the ball and motoring out of the anchorage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When we cleared the bars extending SW from the Cay, we turned south to head to Warderick Wells Cay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">Unfortunately, we weren’t the only boat seeking shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Warderick Wells is the base of operations for the <st1:place><st1:placename>Exuma</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>, and has 2 mooring fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The North field is well protected, situated along a channel that cuts north to south, but has been waitlisted for days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is a known sweet spot and many boats have holed up there for days and even weeks, waiting out front after front and of course, enjoying the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The second is the Emarald Rock field which has many more balls, but is not very well protected from SW to NW winds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While the winds today and tonight would not be nearly as strong as Tues night, we would again be in for a bumpy day and night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We called ahead and got an assignment and after a few hours in very rolly seas, we pulled in and tied up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the same winds, it was apparent that the Emarald Rock field was at least shielded from very large rollers by extensive shoals and sand bars to the West.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It still built up significant chop, but at least we weren’t riding the bucking bronc again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We took Bella to the beach and enjoyed the feel of terra firma after 24 hours of living in a moonwalk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That night, the wind blew from the NW, so we didn’t have a terrible night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But we didn’t want to test fate and stay there for the “big blow” that was coming Friday night. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">So, again, we picked up in the morning to move and find a protected anchorage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was clear we weren’t going to get into the North field(we were # 12 on the list and there were only 10 balls), so I got on the radio, seeking out buddy boats that were in some of the better anchorages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By 930am, we struck gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our friends David and Marge on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Winfield Lash </i>reported back that they were in the Cambridge Cay anchorage and there was one ball available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We sprang into action, slipping the lines and heading south to <st1:city><st1:place>Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was only about an hour and a half, but we were on pins and needles the whole time, just praying that another boat wouldn’t beat us to the spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were blessed again, making it cleanly through some coral reef strewn and very skinny waters to get into the anchorage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We found the empty ball at the south end, right next to the beautiful schooner <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Winfield Lash</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We exhaled a big breath,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>we would be safe AND comfortable for the big low pressure system that was barreling towards us from the <st1:place>Gulf of Mexico</st1:place>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">For the first time, we really felt like we could begin to enjoy ourselves and explore the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We settled in and caught up on boat chores and cleaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is amazing how quick the boat becomes disheveled and dirty, but at least it is fairly easy to get back to order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were visited by the “park hosts”, similar to the way state parks have the “resident” camper that keeps watch on the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They dropped off some brochures, shared some info about the area and checked us in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A few other folks dingied over to meet and greet us and welcome us to the mooring field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think everyone here feels very lucky to be tucked in to such a great spot to sit out the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once we were settled in and recovered, we dingied over to the beach with Bella for some splorin’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is hard to put into words how pristine this area is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is truly unique in that it hasn’t been marred by development or over use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is a no-take, no-hunt park and it is evident that cruisers respect those rules, as we found some of the best shells ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We admired them, then put them back for others to enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We retired back to the boat for sundowners and a great dinner(beef tips on white rice and brussel sprouts).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had our first truly good night’s sleep in several days, with light breeze and smooth water under the hull.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">Friday was forecast to be a mild day, with light winds before the front was to arrive around <st1:time minute="0" hour="0">midnight</st1:time>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So we took the opportunity to go splorin’ some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We invited David and Marge to go snorkeling to a few of the good sites nearby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We packed a lunch and set out for the reefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We found the water clear, coral abundant, and the fish life prolific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was Marge and David’s first time to snorkel, and unfortunately we picked a site that was geared more for an intermediate level diver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They handled it well, though just being brave so we loaded back into the dingy and scooted over to a nearby beach for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysD2urJQ2hrV-ytMs59GJjHMhWqpfkE4SAU8r8vEjWMVFL7QE_4jL2FK4KnAHtqJ_SiazSJjCp0JCwrjz-O-Rth5G1sIOY5pXkd5YIs7ecrcC1Jy4v8esMbSIQraKxHI9Xsj_b5na2-Q/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+536+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438884057453414722" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysD2urJQ2hrV-ytMs59GJjHMhWqpfkE4SAU8r8vEjWMVFL7QE_4jL2FK4KnAHtqJ_SiazSJjCp0JCwrjz-O-Rth5G1sIOY5pXkd5YIs7ecrcC1Jy4v8esMbSIQraKxHI9Xsj_b5na2-Q/s320/SolMate+Adventures+536+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">By the time we had finished lunch and chatting, the wind was starting to pipe up, so we headed back to the boats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Heading into the stiff wind and chop, we got soaked and a little chilled but made it back OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That evening we had dinner and retired early, exhausted from the day’s activity and anxious about the storm that was approaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The wind howled all night, but at around <st1:time minute="0" hour="1">1am</st1:time>, it clocked around to the west, then northwest and really hit hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was up, watching the instruments and peering out into the darkness at the other boats’ anchor lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The anchorage provided the desired protection from any big rollers, so we were both comfortable and safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dawn broke with continued high winds, NW 20-25 knots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We weathered the storm but would be pinned down in the boat all day Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We slept in and loafed most of the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We decided to focus on cleaning up the boat, which always makes us feel better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We lounged and watched kiteboarders ripping it up in the shallow sand bars just SW of the mooring field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We have seen these guys several times, about 7 guys on a nice catamaran, that roam from cay to cay, looking for good wind to play in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It reminds me of the move Endless Summer, where surf bums roam the coast, looking for the perfect waves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not a bad way to spend the day.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">Sunday morning, there was a mass exodus from the mooring field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The weather was predicted to be nice, N winds 10-15, so nearly every boat in the harbor bailed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We decided to do so as well, and head back up to Warderick Wells Cay, where we had spent the one night on Wednesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is much to see and do there, and we didn’t want to miss it before we would continue south.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also, our buddies on Las Sirenas, who had been in the marina at Compass Cay the last 3 days, would also be heading there as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We looked forward to hooking up with them again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">We slipped the lines off the ball at around <st1:time minute="0" hour="11">11am</st1:time> and headed out of the harbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is only a couple hours sail from <st1:city><st1:place>Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city> to Warderick Wells, so we had time for a diversion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Shortly after pulling out of the mooring field and clearing the cut, we dodged in behind <st1:place><st1:placename>Bell</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Island</st1:placetype></st1:place> just west of O’Briens Cay. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>We dropped the hook near a couple of good dive sites for some top-notch skin diving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The “Seaquarium” site was pretty amazing- prolific coral and great sea life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Poking around the coral and looking under the ledges can be rewarding and this site yielded the goods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A four foot nurse shark and lobster the size of my calf were but a few of the highlights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Carryn was ready to get back to the boat, so I dropped her off and headed back over to the plane wreck site that we had visited with David and Marge two days earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The site was fairly large and we didn’t get to even scratch the surface that day, so I had another shot at digging in. It was worth the visit, but due to the tide reversing the current, visibility dropped from the normal 50-100 feet down to about 20 feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I decided to cut the dive short, and as I was heading back to the dingy, I saw several fish darting past me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is unusual for reef fish to be out away from the reef and moving like that, so I knew something had them on the run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I turned back to be greeted by a 3 foot barracuda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was as if he was letting me know this was his reef and I needed to respect that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I turned to approach him and get a photo, so he turned broad side to me and hung there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was clearly not intimidated by my presence, and with years of diving around them and other reef predators, I wasn’t worried about him either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I got my pic and boarded the dingy to make the short run to the boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We lifted the outboard back onto the boat, weighed anchor and headed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A pretty cool feeling to be able to make such a great pit stop without undue effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is what cruising is supposed to be like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">We made it to the mooring in Warderick Wells in less than two hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Carryn maneuvered the boat down the channel where the mooring balls are lined up and the boats are “parallel parked” all in a nice tight line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She threaded SolMate through the channel, with shoal water (less than a foot deep) to starboard and moored boats to port, with less than 100’ in between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We found our ball and Carryn swung the boat around 180 degrees(into the wind and current) and nosed up to the ball like a seasoned captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>I picked up the pendant with the boat hook, threaded our painter through the loop and cleated off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It looked like ball-room dancing and made me proud of her developing boat handling skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We’ll call this home for a few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Within minutes, we had a neighbor dingy up to make sure we knew about the cocktail hour on the beach at <st1:time minute="0" hour="17">5pm</st1:time>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ain’t it great?<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">PS Happy Birthday to our niece Emily who turns 17 on Feb 16<sup>th</sup>!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Stay sweet Emily, </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-family:arial;">Love Aunt C. and Uncle B.</span></p>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-59157795052141996532010-02-05T17:27:00.004-05:002010-02-05T18:34:24.137-05:00Hello Bahamas!<div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>We made it!!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>We left early(4am) Tuesday morning to cross the Gulf Stream to Bimini. We had a great day, seas were a little rough(3-4') but we skittered across and made good time. We drug a few lures and caught a nice sail fish. Had a little trouble getting it in, when I raised the rod up and caught the line in the wind generator blades. I had to break the line and reel it in by hand. we got it into the boat, de-hooked it and released it withouit harm. A beautiful fish. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG8Q5KOcDxsdVMs-QzuMeJB7a-CLb0Cyrmw5ca5krS6ba67AwV4xjGnFomsM8zqwu2lE2AClynqU_Y5nMxovY8pFQ3vRLyMT68kcenxRfONqzYkIekHON2o6jvUflsCHZhxpwE5NGD7Q/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+372+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434905851045491186" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG8Q5KOcDxsdVMs-QzuMeJB7a-CLb0Cyrmw5ca5krS6ba67AwV4xjGnFomsM8zqwu2lE2AClynqU_Y5nMxovY8pFQ3vRLyMT68kcenxRfONqzYkIekHON2o6jvUflsCHZhxpwE5NGD7Q/s320/SolMate+Adventures+372+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Then the most dreaded thing happened. As we were recovering from the mayhem, Carryn took the helm to get us heading East again. We got going, but something told me to take a look astern. What do I see? There's Bella, taking a swim in the middle of the ocean. WE had taken our eye off her for a few seconds and she had ventured down the transom(swim platform at the back of the boat) and had fallen in. It was horrifying to see her out there. She was about 100 yards away and looking/swimming towards us to catch up. Holy Crap! We sprang into action, Carryspun the boat around and made a call on the radio to our buddy boats that Bella had fallen in. Carryn did a great job of maneuvering around, while I took the LifeSling(a flotation ring on a long line that stays attached to the boat). I jumped in and Bella swam to me. We got her back in the boat and once we were done crying and loving on her, we got back underway. It was an amazing incident and we thank God for the outcome. We continue to think about the possible outcomes/consequences of losing track of her for just the few seconds. We have taken a much harder stance on safety and keeping Bella in a life jacket and in the cockpit while on the ocean.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Once we got back underway(with all on board), we made good time to the Bahama bank(the large area of seabead palteau that rises from over a mile deep to less than 20 feet in less than a mile). We decided to bypass Bimini(the Westernmost island) where we intended to stop and check in, and carried on around North Rocks and headed across the bank toward Nassau. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlu99tTJBrxAEVxatAJEoIcXbHlC9ge8SmFhOWtoktKyyVyHEZl-DNz92u0KbPIFkxwAyAi3ONi6VC0OrgDnIQxunZgaOb1vh11DSwxeYDdU5fmltw97fZyrwlK9K4hdZ5HIgBUJlcCU/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+389+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434905848273869330" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlu99tTJBrxAEVxatAJEoIcXbHlC9ge8SmFhOWtoktKyyVyHEZl-DNz92u0KbPIFkxwAyAi3ONi6VC0OrgDnIQxunZgaOb1vh11DSwxeYDdU5fmltw97fZyrwlK9K4hdZ5HIgBUJlcCU/s320/SolMate+Adventures+389+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a>We got about half way to Chub Cay and anchored right out in the middle of the banks, in about 15 feet of water. It was surreal to be anchored in 15' of crystal clear water, with no land in sight. We took a swim and found starfish and conch on the seabed. Our 3 other buddy boats, Las Sirenas, Southern Bella and Sabbaticus wer all anchored within a few hundred feet, so we swam between boats and enjoyed sundowners. The wind kicked up a bit through the night and the swell ended up making it a bit of a rolly night. Neither of us got very good sleep.</div><br /><br /><div>It was up and at 'em early Wed morning so we could get to Chub Cay, about 60 miles further east. We had quite a rough day, with strong ENE winds and choppy seas with a 2-3 foot short period swell. It wasn't much fun, but we made it to Chub just before dark and dropped the hook in the lee of the island. The wind was blowing about 15 knots, so I dove the anchor in 8 feet of water to make sure we had a good set. I was satisfied, and we tucked in for dinner and a good night's sleep. Our buddy boats were fairly close, but everyone was tired and forsaked cocktails.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>So with one more day and only 35 miles between us and Nassau, we were ready to get crackin' and get to Nassau. The wather was calling for the NW winds fill and continue to clock around to the N and then the E, so it was going to be a close reach and a potentially rough crossing the Northwest Passage. We weighed anchor at 7 and sheeted in tight to stay close to the wind and north of the rhumb line(the straight line from start to end point), knowing that later in the day we would have to fall off to the SE to keep the wind off the nose. We were taking a bit of a beating, but making 6-7 knots. Then about 15 miles out, our buddy boat Las Sirenas called and informed us that their engine had just bogged down and died. They would continue to sail(under their oversized genoa), but without the help of the engine they would be falling off the rhumb line while he worked on the problem. We continued contact with them, helping troubleshoot the issue and talking through the process of elimination to find the problem. It was 99% probability it was a fuel blockage somewhere between the fuel tank and the engine. Long story short, it turned out to be a failure in the primer bulb that had been installed in line between the fuel tank and the Racor filter. While he worked on all of this, the seas had really begin to build. We decided to turn around and head back the 3 miles or so to connect with them and reassure that they would be able to get operational and make way to Nassau. Just as we got there, Scott had finished splicing in some makeshift fuel line, priming the pump and getting the engine running. We turned and now had to bash into 3-5 foot seas and 20 knots of wind to get arond the NW end of New Providence island and into Nassau harbor. It was a tough slog, about 3 hours, and we finally turned into breakwater of Nassau harbor. We passed the many cruiseships in port and headed to the marina that our friend on Sabbaticus had called ahead(on their Satellite phone) and reserved for us. A heck of a day, but we all pulled through it and are wiser for the experience. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRW3ioGc046j6hmtMx-Pcs6_k-XtGuZsCym6Tov98d7D9WL3h57CKqJnDnOEHxXh6RKAWJ226jFZxxo01hNgMgdzTPLEpgBo42ZqL_oUled08mfWqIwYN-sJLHPAW7zu73J5Al7rsmrQ/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+398+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434905858162482962" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRW3ioGc046j6hmtMx-Pcs6_k-XtGuZsCym6Tov98d7D9WL3h57CKqJnDnOEHxXh6RKAWJ226jFZxxo01hNgMgdzTPLEpgBo42ZqL_oUled08mfWqIwYN-sJLHPAW7zu73J5Al7rsmrQ/s320/SolMate+Adventures+398+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>So we took a berth in Nassau Harbor Club Marina Thursday night and enjoyed a much deserved coldie and a shower. We checked in with Customs and Immigration and then went back to the boat to lower the yellow "Q" flag(required when entering port in a foreign country until you have cleared in) and raised the Bahamian flag up the starboard spreader. It feels good to check in to our first foreign port!!!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpOo2VzwW1DQWwj-FhCQ639dC4DcmHsTuTBN1bybC2gCo19iQUeA0aSDMYLHWP9kT_N6IyEwaLzXZrSvNaxym9qDxABgXCXP4sXcPtsmLcekcqNDYgQtizoxU0onpilC7aVVCguicFgE/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+404+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434905855104181778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpOo2VzwW1DQWwj-FhCQ639dC4DcmHsTuTBN1bybC2gCo19iQUeA0aSDMYLHWP9kT_N6IyEwaLzXZrSvNaxym9qDxABgXCXP4sXcPtsmLcekcqNDYgQtizoxU0onpilC7aVVCguicFgE/s320/SolMate+Adventures+404+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>The weather forecasters are calling for some tough weather Saturday, so it looks like we are staying put for a few days. Next reasonable weather looks to be on Monday, so we may be picking up and heading on to start island hopping down the Exuma chain.</div></div></div></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-70032156579643212022010-02-05T15:45:00.003-05:002010-02-05T15:54:03.750-05:00Bahamas Bound<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL96Wt63PvDSb4X2QwzBMM1JJwXE8urTVi3BZq3LSSAwEngFVEDD-v30AWvfKrAJ4u2XQFqi7DQ6pZ9u1tcWunblbo_7LrsF8xMiszSEvCvQQ_YDSUITo8QoKna8c9GbgvMLFG-EZ-T6Y/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+301+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865019731870338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL96Wt63PvDSb4X2QwzBMM1JJwXE8urTVi3BZq3LSSAwEngFVEDD-v30AWvfKrAJ4u2XQFqi7DQ6pZ9u1tcWunblbo_7LrsF8xMiszSEvCvQQ_YDSUITo8QoKna8c9GbgvMLFG-EZ-T6Y/s320/SolMate+Adventures+301+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div>Where to start??? We realize we have neglected to keep you informed/ entertained with our happenings. WE are currently still on a mooring ball in Dinner Key, Miami. We have had a great week(almost 2 weeks) here waiting on a weather window to make the jump to the Bahamas. I hope to recap all the flurry of activities we’ve done and the things we accomplished while here. They are many.<br /></div><div> </div><div>But the weather window has arrived and we are slipping the lines and heading East. There are quite a few of us heading out this morning. Our buddy boats Las Sirenas(Scott, Esme, Hailey, Alana and Reina Dog), Southern Bella(Paul, Ela and Gus the GoldenDoodle) and some new folks <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhlB1JYDZDT817h78SnYQinhBB363Fg3WWRgQBJjBNCYIB9I4HO_FldJzNEyORojMwnoyLgI3W55IGzp4AfyPC9GZHszvu9pb5MkwCGvB8xZ4C5Td1kAJTmj-PeygRPw7v4vzSvJpnGk/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+306+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865013917191714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhlB1JYDZDT817h78SnYQinhBB363Fg3WWRgQBJjBNCYIB9I4HO_FldJzNEyORojMwnoyLgI3W55IGzp4AfyPC9GZHszvu9pb5MkwCGvB8xZ4C5Td1kAJTmj-PeygRPw7v4vzSvJpnGk/s320/SolMate+Adventures+306+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a>we met on Sabbaticus(Kevin, Dena and Connor). We know of at least 4 other boats making the jump and we are sure there may be at least a dozen boats underway tomorrow.<br />The excitement/ anxiety is overwhelming. And yes, a little fear and trepidation. This isn’t our longest offshore passage, but crossing the Gulf Stream seems to have significant meaning.<br />So this post will be quite short. It is actually 3am(I haven’t slept much tonight) and we are pulling out at 4am. I am hoping to get a internet connection to get this posted.<br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>We think we have called everyone who will worry about us. Our cell phones will not work once we are offshore and are prohibitively expensive to use in the Bahamas(2.29 per minute) so we are having them suspended. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ-gf-iXiGFehbegd3kDvV87FK1iDU0gQ_yBg8Li6L0Hn_7InfO9CJOfc6Jf8D6flbXhfh4Z6IKfjWj-JUTyzAy9y_TRhtNAGrwyI7Exw74pgY50DsCD8UOA_3sxHSJHphZL61VhZ23A/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+277+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865023394259650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ-gf-iXiGFehbegd3kDvV87FK1iDU0gQ_yBg8Li6L0Hn_7InfO9CJOfc6Jf8D6flbXhfh4Z6IKfjWj-JUTyzAy9y_TRhtNAGrwyI7Exw74pgY50DsCD8UOA_3sxHSJHphZL61VhZ23A/s320/SolMate+Adventures+277+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a>But we have a Majic Jack phone number that you can call if you want to get in touch with us. It will go to voicemail, and your voice message will then be emailed to us. When we get an internet connection(in a harbor or by going in to an internet café), we will get your message and be able to call you back using the internet connection and this cool little phone over internet device. The number is on our boat card that we have given everyone, so feel free to call us on the 864 number and leave us a message. It may be a few days or even a week before we got online, so be patient and don’t worry.<br /></div><div> </div><div>Thanks for keeping up with us, and we promise to be more consistent with our postings.<br />Brandon, Carryn and Bella<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BDhG2ntIzpxt-USONKaUDSw_42CyuUeAf3ovRBNahuAWKpq2umDoduYdhIArqFtTb__6wUVdQo0WXCSqagfjhSzzIhkXpLQLMUwBDAe7h-MmNizBuQ3TVfGHcL9w6uwHwGtciMky3sk/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+331+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434865027899301634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BDhG2ntIzpxt-USONKaUDSw_42CyuUeAf3ovRBNahuAWKpq2umDoduYdhIArqFtTb__6wUVdQo0WXCSqagfjhSzzIhkXpLQLMUwBDAe7h-MmNizBuQ3TVfGHcL9w6uwHwGtciMky3sk/s320/SolMate+Adventures+331+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-5569346688691411622010-01-25T15:01:00.000-05:002010-01-25T15:02:15.386-05:00Windy MiamiSo it has been almost a week here in Miami and will be another week before we can safely cross the Gulf Stream. Have to admit there is a touch of cabin fever happening for Carryn. The mooring field is extremely choppy with Sout East winds gusting up to 20 knots and our boat is 1/2 mile from the marina. Crossing in the dinghy = three very cold, salty wet individuals. However, the good news is this marina offers a free water taxi to all of us in the mooring field. We used this service today to safely make it to shore with minimal water spray. Saturday our boating buddies from Las Sirenas (means little mermaids) arrived in the anchorage. You may recall us mentioning this family from earlier posts. We originally met them in St. Augustine at Christmas. They made the hop over to Miami from Ft Lauderdale with no problems. It was there first ocean passage. Our plan is to cross the Gulf Stream together along with another boat we also met in St. Augustine, Paul, Ela and Gus on SV Southern Bella. This is a HUGE comfort for us! It will be a first for all of us. The weather here for the next few days looks bad so the plan is to get off the boat via the water taxi. Tonight we plan on having game night on the boat and perhaps swap movies with Las Sirenas. <br /><br />Hope you all having a wonderful weekend plan to post pictures another time when the internet connection is stronger. <br /><br />PS<br />We still have an email address <a href="mailto:svsolmate@gmail.com">svsolmate@gmail.com</a> so please send us photos whenever you get a chance we love pictures and staying connected! It took over an hour just to get this little message posted...oye, vey. Nope message never posted today, perhaps tomorrow???<br /><br />Brandon, Carryn and BellaSVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-12811363691104783972010-01-21T17:26:00.003-05:002010-01-21T17:36:59.025-05:00Hangin' out in Dinner Key<div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY6RoiUjuJyazHWiY0P-0ARiMDTeSUhr6iW19yuAFVkXvyOFo1rgGXfNL62PLDBUatCr1F6svpM3t9-Mykr7jHwlTLIfdokvMcopFNAk_37LrhBEzdHcZ13ciBhPilFE45vrraHl_5Ec/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+255+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429324346800940082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY6RoiUjuJyazHWiY0P-0ARiMDTeSUhr6iW19yuAFVkXvyOFo1rgGXfNL62PLDBUatCr1F6svpM3t9-Mykr7jHwlTLIfdokvMcopFNAk_37LrhBEzdHcZ13ciBhPilFE45vrraHl_5Ec/s320/SolMate+Adventures+255+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Wow, time flies by. We got here Monday evening and it’s already Thursday. We are staying fairly productive though. We had a great sail down from Ft Lauderdale on Monday. 10-15 knots of wind from the West, adn we really made hay. So here we sit.</div><div>Yes, we have missed a few decent windows to get across to the Bahamas, but we had one final task to complete. If you remember back before New Years, we had to send our fluxgate compass back to Maretron for repair. They unfortunately sent the new one to our old home address, so we had Joan and Byrd sneak over and grab it off the porch when UPS delivered it, and they forwarded it to us down here. Where, you ask? That is certainly one of the many dilemmas for homeless people. Mail service and reliable internet connections have been our biggest irritants so far. Thank goodness, though. We are fortunate they aren’t things like bad weather, engine problems or stopped up heads, so I’m not complaining. So we had the bright idea to hook up with my former work colleague that lives in Miami. He agreed to collect some mail and packages for us and meet up with us when we got here.<br />So yesterday, we had Lorenzo out to the boat for lunch(I grilled some burgers on fresh Kaiser rolls from Fresh Market- they were awesome) and we caught up on what was going on with him and us. We even talked shop a little, but not much. It was great to see him, and hope we will stay in touch. (‘Zo- I’ll be expecting a comment posted from you).<br />So we got our compass back- looks like whatever afflicted our old one was terminal. Maretron sent us an entirely new unit. I feel better. Took about a half hour to put it back in, and it is back online. That will help with the chart plotter orientation and will keep our radar overlay function working spot on. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_EvQOQAQYreoIMDvmxluCSzEMyPfiASMPs2Erkd7DMJQaRsun4-Iz4g405MyX1-HWDkujjysmH5kL3YJBhRwYeJZTO3_s2iYEgK7IR9OFEE3nm58WXaEpuL9YKlamOqVEJnXSc2QDaA/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+261+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429324354142265586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_EvQOQAQYreoIMDvmxluCSzEMyPfiASMPs2Erkd7DMJQaRsun4-Iz4g405MyX1-HWDkujjysmH5kL3YJBhRwYeJZTO3_s2iYEgK7IR9OFEE3nm58WXaEpuL9YKlamOqVEJnXSc2QDaA/s320/SolMate+Adventures+261+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />So this morning, I got up to listen to Chris Parker(the Bahamas/Caribbean weather guru) to start looking seriously for a good weather window. . Looks like early next week at best. Actually yesterday was a decent day, but… Additionally, Friday looks OK, but we are hoping the crew on Las Sirenas are coming south from Ft Lauderdale to catch up with us, so we can all go across together.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>We took Bella in to shore and found a great park. We tossed the Flippy Flopper for a while(she got bored and hot pretty quick, but Carryn and I tossed it for a bit). WE grabbed a sandwich at Fresh Market and headed back to the boat. I’m not sure what came over me, but I decided to suit up to clean the bottom of the hull. I had started cleaning it back before we left Savannah, but the water was 52 degrees and I nearly went into shock, so I only cleaned the prop and the thru hulls. I checked the water temp here and it is 71 degrees, so I donned my shorty wetsuit and grabbed my scraper and brush and eased in. Brrrrrrr, 71 is still frigid. I remember swimming in Las Moras Springs at our ranch in W Texas at 68 degrees as a kid, and never flinching. Now, I worry about hypothermia in anything below 80!! Ahhh, youth. We were bulletproof back then. So anyway, I worked over the hull and boy did it need it. Now I realize why we could never break 6 knots of speed through the water. I had a half inch of fuzz covering the entire hull. What a shame. Almost 400 miles and we were dragging 40 square yards of shag carpet along with us. I look forward to seeing the improvement when we take off from here.<br /><br />So, a productive day. It’s 4pm, and time for a well deserved cocktail. Carryn already has a jump on me. Unfortunatly, no pics worth interest today. Wish I had have thought about it while cleaning the bottom- I could have tested out our waterproof camera. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>We're heading in to Coconut Grove to get cash out and use the public library internet connection to post this. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2qMIxMr_1JrpkPBl0jqVpEHnRRDsYcC3jLSC-znbrv0Yc68L93KP4y35zjgErkW8GlAnt9CKFcfe3siiJz5E3YHf_ANG3oTSrOADSXNsppWBmu-U0tUDpP4lvp8kZW6oF0bTBW8imZo/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+263+Large+e-mail+view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429324354481247250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2qMIxMr_1JrpkPBl0jqVpEHnRRDsYcC3jLSC-znbrv0Yc68L93KP4y35zjgErkW8GlAnt9CKFcfe3siiJz5E3YHf_ANG3oTSrOADSXNsppWBmu-U0tUDpP4lvp8kZW6oF0bTBW8imZo/s320/SolMate+Adventures+263+Large+e-mail+view.jpg" border="0" /></a>Last night we used the fast connection to make some calls using our Majic Jack and Skype. We looked pretty goofy setting up office in the picnic area.<br />Until next post---(we love to get your comments)</div></div></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125474368729502073.post-4722988151482766272010-01-16T19:47:00.007-05:002010-01-17T12:20:37.387-05:00The best laid plans.....<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPDRrSs9y8KNAHA4txhXTromgVauX-6jHm1EECz58Y_D0FdCV6AjPikJDwGC2Sms17vf0hkvTUrnNogsqvOJIDbuRc2ofn5m6RmEVXn-Yk4kDZkHa9OncW2qLVAVnzwojnWS6ijiTiV4/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+245.JPG"></a><br /><br /><div>Well, we didn't get off to Miami on Friday. Many reasons, but fortunately, all our choice. We decided:<br /><br />1) the weather seemed almost too perfect<br /><br />2) we didn't want to part with our new friends on Las Sirenas<br /><br />3) we calculated that 12 cases (only 288 cans) of beer wasn't enough, so needed to make another run to the package store<br /><br />4) we needed to go to Home Depot to pick up a few more padlocks and security cables,<br /><br />5) and on, and on, and on.....<br /><br /><br /><br />So we made good use of our time and got the last few errands done.<br /><br /><br /><br />Thursday, I rode with Scott (from Las Sirenas) to one of my favorite marine supply stores, River Marine Supply down in the heart of Miami. I had my eye on a little 2hp Honda outboard for some time now, but never had the courage to splurge. Well, I reasoned with Carryn, that since we have 2 dingys, we should have 2 outboards. So we will have his and hers dingys. We were even thinking about putting a BMW logo on one and the Range Rover logo on the other, but decided that may be a bit pretentious. Scott was finally convinced that having a Honda 2000watt portable generator was the ticket, so off we went to River, who has the best price by far.<br /><br />Friday, we borrowed their car to hit a few last spots, including the package store and Publix for meat, chicken and fresh fruits and veggies. We are vowing that to be our last big provisioning run.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_336Q6wYb_CM_-fCqWDpHlCjYiwKdboPzV98osA68QockLpDyI7G8QWuKx3fAgN7G3GGaqQevZIuCRIKK3tIkFcY61W6uh6lQnSyPv6DNVArr-3HHfaoJm91C_tDoberRSAyyOv8Rs4/s1600-h/SolMate+Adventures+243.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427759663911804626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_336Q6wYb_CM_-fCqWDpHlCjYiwKdboPzV98osA68QockLpDyI7G8QWuKx3fAgN7G3GGaqQevZIuCRIKK3tIkFcY61W6uh6lQnSyPv6DNVArr-3HHfaoJm91C_tDoberRSAyyOv8Rs4/s320/SolMate+Adventures+243.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />To end the day/week on a high note, we decided to make good on previous plans to take the dingies up the New River into downtown Ft Lauderdale to have dinner and drinks at the Pirate Republic Bar. So once we had everything broken down, repackaged and stowed, we jumped in the dingy and went by Las Sirenas to hook up and head out. It was a great ride over, cruising through the neighborhoods of unbelievable homes and over the top yachts. the Pirate bar was dead, so we diverted to the Briny Irish Bar and Grill and it was rockin. Had a great dinner and continued to swap stories and share history with Scott, Esme, Haley(13yo) and Alana(9yo). They are a wonderful family, and we really enjoy hanging out with them. Bella and Reina(their Australian Shepherd) got to go as well, but they are still working on their friendship, so they keep their distance from each other.<br /><br /><br /><br />So we got up this morning, with a general feeling of preparedness. It was nice. No more running around, trying to think of all the things we "need". We did a few loads of laundry, filled water tanks, refueled the dingy and just knocked around. I actually had a "celebratory" rum and coke well before 5 o'clock!<br /><br /><br /><br />So, here we sit for another few days. Looks like Monday is a good day to make the short jump on the outside to Miami. We will tuck in on the SW side of Key Biscayne, or we may spring for a mooring ball in Dinner Key. Honestly, I've got to get off the mooring balls though. They really eat away at the cruising kitty.<br /><br /><br /><br />Wishing Ben Westbrock a very Happy 7th Birthday with a big lick from Belly Boo!<br /><br />We should be able to post again tomorrow night.</div></div>SVSolMatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16286135250935813202noreply@blogger.com6