Alive and Well - Life is What Happens

Sunrise in le Marin Martinique

July 6th 2017
No, we are not dead.  Yes, we are still cruising.  Well....not at this exact moment but in general.  Why hasn't the blog been updated?  Lazy?  Yes.  Writers block?  Yes.  Life?  Yes.  What is the worn out phrase...."Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."?  While that is not our normal mode of operation, we did get caught a bit in that this season.  But more later on that.

I personally blame social media.  When we closed up land life in May 2013, I caved and joined social media in the form of Facebook - ugh!  I very much have a love / hate relationship with it.  It has allowed me to stay connected with cruising friends carried around the globe on the winds of adventure and exploration, as well as re-discovering friends from years and years ago.  It also let's me check in with land peeps and even chat over coffee.  All good....for the most part.  *I personally find it weird how everyone is a "Friend" now but in reality we don't truly know many.  And whatever happened to the term "acquaintance"?  I like that term.  But I digress......The down side of social media for me is distraction and the nearly complete zapping of clear and often creative thoughts.  At least for me.  I do much of my initial writing on the blog early morning or even in the middle of the night.  However, no matter the time, someone I know is ALWAYS on Facebook, or has posted fun pics of the days adventures, or there is some interesting posts in various groups I follow, or funny jokes, or political (fake or not) topics.  SO much.... info/stuff/nonsense/crap that catches and distracts my attention.  I try to focus on writing but I get side tracked with a quick question to a cruising friend about anchoring where they are (and we are headed) or a hike later that morning or whatever, then BOOM....time has past by and all thoughts for a blogging are gone.

We are currently stateside for a visit.  While that usually means crazy, hectic and COLD (every retailer or public indoor space in the USA is 60 degrees which is Arctic cold to our Caribbean thinned blood!), I plan to re-focus, buckle down and get you all caught up on our adventures.  I miss blogging aka communicating (one sided) with you.

SO....please tune back in and always, thanks for following along.

Groundhog Day 2015 Revisited

"So put your little hand in mine........babe, I got you babe."    bahahahahahaha

Groundhog Day 2015

"So put your little hand in mine..............babe, I got you babe."

Sailors

"Sailing isn't cheap but sailors are!" - quote by Matt, dock mate and employee at Charleston Harbor Marina

Russian Dinghy

Check out this dinghy.  We spotted it in English Harbor the other day. 

 It's a folding dinghy.

Galvanized metal - Folding Dingy!

I have no idea if it that is Russian or what but it looks....cold war at the very least.  So kewl!

RIP Larrybear

Photo by Mary Ann Hogarth - professional photographer and Larry fan

March 24 -We pulled into Antigua again yesterday and got wifi to learn that our cat Larry has died.  He was approximately 15-16 years old.  We had him for the 13 or so years of his life until we moved aboard last year.

Larry was a walk up to our house umpteen years ago.  I think he looked through the window and saw our extremely old cat Reba and thought "Ah.  She will die soon and then I can be top cat."  Little did he- or us for that mater- know that Reba the cat would live to the ripe old age of 26.

However, after hanging around for six weeks and us trying to find his previous family to no avail, we took Larry in.  He was a great addition.  Although to Reba the cat, he was the little brother she never wanted.  Anyone else who met Larry liked him.   "I don't even like cats, but Larry is kewl." We heard that often.  He was a likable guy.  He was a cuddler - and he and I cuddled often.

We had a long range plan.  Close down land life, move aboard and live FULL time on s/v Honey Ryder.  Larry would NOT do well aboard.  He was a land based, low gravity, clumsy, de-clawed (by previous owners) cat.  We didn't think it would be fair to him to drag him along on our adventures.

Luckily, Sarah came into Larry's life.  She made it her task to help us find Larrybear a new home.  First he was placed temporarily with her Aunt Helen and then with all time cat lover Allison.

We are SO grateful to Sarah, Aunt Helen and Allison for giving Larrybear a good home in his last days.  

Thank you SO much to all of you.
RIP Larry!
I know this isn't sailing related but I just felt the need to post.  Thanks for indulging me this non-sailing post.  

The Complete Guide To Hosting A Cruiser In Your Home - Sail Magazine

http://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/complete-guide-caring-cruiser

Vinegar

For those that don't know, vinegar is a fabulous multi-use product. The BEST in my opinion.  There are tons, and tons of uses, especially on a boat.  I use it for almost everything.  We have three small spray bottles dedicated to vinegar.  One in each head.  We give a few spritzes in the head after each use and for general cleaning.  The other bottle is in the galley for use there as well as around the rest of the boat.  Vinegar is an awesome tool in fighting mold and mildew and removing any mold that is already there.  It's a deodorizer for shoes, foulies, laundry, upholstery and just about any other application where odor is an issue.  There are so many applications, they just go on and on.

We have gallons onboard.  In fact I freak out if we have anything less than 4 gallons.  Anytime I am at the store and see a gallon, I generally pick one up just in case.  Yes, our boat smells like salad dress at times because of the vinegar use. 

And yes, I am sort of like the father figure in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"....(Gus Portokalos played by Michael Constantine) with his Windex except mine is vinegar.  It flat out works.  If your bored or just dying to know, click the links provided above and peruse the wonderful world of Vinegar.  In the mean time, I must hop on my bike and get to the store for more vinegar.  With only 2 gallons left onboard, we are in emergency mode "PAN PAN."  

Are You Ever Leaving The Dock?

We get asked this often.  And the answer is YES.  Hopefully soon.  We are still waiting for our canvas work to be completed.  It's the canvas project that never ends.   Argh!  Two very slow steps forward and then one backward seems to be the norm.  It's HELL waiting but we are making the best of our waiting time with continued projects.  But the answer is yes, we ARE leaving the dock! 

Star of Japan

While Brunswick is not a busy port, cargo vessels and car carriers do come and go here.  The car carriers are on the other side of a spoil built island.  The cargo vessels come in just down the way from the marina where we are.  We are fascinated and a tad scared of these behemoths.  We didn't get a lot of these giant ships in Kansas!  HA!  I decided to hit the web to find out more about the current ship in port Star of Japan.  Here is what I found -
Principal particulars:
L (o.a.) x L (b.p.) x B x D x d: 198.00m x 187.00m x 31.00m x 19.00m x 12.00m
DWT/GT: 46,387t (at 12.3m draft)/ 32,844t
Main engine: Mitsui-MAN B&W 6S60MC diesel x 1 unit
MCR: 10,520kW x 96rpm
Speed, service: 16.55kt
  Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) has delivered the Star Japan (HN: 1532), a general cargo/ container carrier, one of the newest ships for the company Grieg Shipping and Maritime Transport A/S of Norway at its Tamano works. The Star Japan is the second vessel of the series built for the Grieg group after the first vessel, Star Juventus (HN: 1531) built for Grieg International II A/S in May 2004. These vessels are the so-called open hatch type bulk carrier with boxshaped cargo holds with hatch openings of the same size (length and breadth) as each hold for efficient loading of a variety of cargoes such as unitized cargoes of forestry products (papers, pulps and timbers), containers and bulk cargoes. The vessel has a double-hull structure, and is equipped with a pair of self-traveling gantry cranes of MES make with advanced technology on the upper deck for efficient cargo handling. To achieve the maximum cargo intake both on deck and in cargo holds, the accommodation space is designed in slim proportions and located far aft. The bow and stern thrusters and the Becker rudder achieve high maneuverability, previously used to cruise ships. The wheelhouse is designed for one-man-bridge operation. To secure the aft view from wheelhouse, two cylindrical funnels and spiral ladders are arranged. Free-falling type lifeboats are equipped, according to the news reported by MarNews.

Blah, blah, blah....wait, WHAT?    The wheelhouse is designed for one-man-bridge operation.  That can't be right.  Hum?   Let me look above again.  Yep, that is what it says.  Let me double check, maybe I didn't copy it right.  Nope, it copied correctly.  So this gigantic cargo ship (length overall 198m) is designed so that only ONE person needs to be on it's bridge, at the helm, running.....everything at the bridge?  O-N-E!  OMG!  And it seems this is marketed as a feature.  OMG! 

	Panamax	New Panamax
Length	294.13 m (965 ft)	366 m (1,200 ft)
Beam	32.31 m (106 ft)	49 m (160.7 ft)
Draft (TFW)	12.04 m (39.5 ft)	15.2 m (49.9 ft)
TEU	Approx. 5,000	Approx. 12,000

I am not anti technology.  I like/love the marine electronics we have (and the new stuff looks to be very kewl).  I am very, very glad we have them.  We use them.  When we are underway, one of us is on watch at the helm and the other is off watch and often below.  This means we only have one on our bridge and our marine electronics make this fairly easier.  But we are NOT 198 meters long!  We are 40 feet long.  While technology may have reached the level where the New Panamax monsters can be driven by one, should it really be?  
*A dock neighbor pointed out that "designed for one man bridge operation" does not necessarily mean that it is only manned by one person....she hopes.

Salt Water Lessons - Good Grief, We Have A Reef

GROSS!  Soft and hard growth

Dorthy, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore! 

Our own reef

Wow!  Stuff grows fast in this environment.  This was after 1 1/2 months in the water.  Ooops.  We didn't intent to leave it in the water so long.  It was just one of those "Let's do it tomorrow."   Of course tomorrow is always one day away! 

Clean again

Yes, it's now out of the water and back on the arch.  Lesson learned.  Are others painting the bottom of their dinghy's and if so, with what?

After These Messages....

We'll be right back.  Remember that little jingle from TV yesterday years?
Sorry to be missing in action here on the blog.  It's been a busy week.  Additionally, the internet on our dock has been giving us fits.  However, stayed tuned.  Updates coming soon.

All Work and No Play

Watching a big ship come into the dock

Apparently there is a misunderstanding that we are doing nothing but boat projects 24/7.

Grog Shop run

One of the readers of this blog asked us to kindly knock it off as he has been getting some grief questions from his wife about the status of HIS boat projects towards completion.

Enjoying the bounty of the Grog Shop run

Well fear not.  While we are very proud of the projects we have checked off as DONE, we are still managing to kick back and do our fair share of chilling in the cockpit, chatting it up with fellow boaties, ride our bikes and hoisting a few.

Catching up...of course this is after dark and projects...ooops...disregard the time of day

Sorry if we have gotten anyone into HOT water with their better half.  Hopefully this will help.

Nothing like a good Kindle book after a long, hard day of boat projects....oops - never mind

Another Visitor In Our Slip

She had such tiny eyes

But this time it was daylight unlike the cat visit in the middle of the night! 
We heard some commotion in front outside our boat and came up around noon today to find this momma manatee in our slip.  She was about 12 feet long. 

No prop scars - yay!

A couple of guys walking the dock said there was a smaller one in another slip close by but I couldn't find it.  They thought it was the baby so that is why I say momma but I really don't know.

 

Lovely tail for steering and propulsion

She kept swimming under the dock scratching her back on the underside as she swim from our slip to the one across from us and back several times.

Soon she found our neighbors AC output and hung out under that for awhile.  Additionally, yesterday I spotted a 20" ray along the banks at low tide.  It was reddish in color.  The day before that we saw a big 24" Red Drum fish cruising the banks looking for it's next meal.    

Being Eaten Alive - Update

I am calling BS.  I bought this stuff and tried it out the other night.  I applied it and continued getting bitten badly.  Thinking that I missed some spots, I sprayed myself again.  Munch, munch, munch went the mosquitos and no-see-ems.  I applied a third application in my hands so I could completely cover myself.  This acted as dessert for this vicious enemy or as in France as the cheese course as I look like freaking Swiss cheese with all my bites.  Therefore I am calling BS big time!!!  Don't waste your $$.

Home Address

Home to thousands of people world wide

We finally visited our home mailing address yesterday for the first time - ever.  We are using a mail forwarding service to get our mail and it's great.  Check it all out here St Brendan's Isle if you are interested in the details.   While we try to do as much as possible electronically - bills, communication (formal and informal) etc....let's face it, we all still get important snail mail documents now and then.  Having SBI helps us manage that portion of our life.  Normally we would have them send us our mail after enough stacks up to justify a shipment to us wherever we are.  However, we were in the area so we just popped by to pick up our mail in person and check the place out.  The people at SBI have been wonderful to work with.

Our Garage

Temporary garage

Have you ever spent a morning, afternoon or whole day cleaning out your garage?  It takes time doesn't it?  We did just that yesterday morning in preparation for friends that will be visiting.  You see, our aft cabin is our garage on this boat.  We didn't think our friends would appreciate trying to sleep on top of and around all the....stuff.  But where to put it all? We were able to cram most of it in our forward head, specficially in the separate shower area - our backup garage.....not unlike a utility shed in your own backyard.  (We take all our showers in the marina showers so it's not being used currently.)

Ready for guests - only thing missing is the chocolate but it would melt

So if you are having trouble getting motivated to clean out your garage, I suggest you invite some good friends or even relatives to come and stay in it - not in your house but actually sleep in your garage.  That will get you motivated.  Or turn good friends into acquaintances.  Gotta go, they are here!     

What about the Sailing

A sunset pic for my sailing Sista

One of my fellow sailing Sistas recently said something to the affect of....."all the projects are great and all but what about the sailing?  When are you getting off the dock?  I want to see more beautiful sunset pics from anchor."  Good question.  While we are anxious to toss off the dock lines and start exploring, we still have a few MUST DO projects that are best handled here at the dock.  We knew and planned on this.  The best part of all is we are not stressed about it.  We don't have anywhere we HAVE to be.  There is no schedule (other than weather).  We don't have to rush to make a plane back to KS for work Monday morning.  *Can you hear the grin in that statement. ** For the record, we did leave the dock last Sunday....to pump out.  I say for the record and I mean it as Georgia has a very antiquated law outlawing liveaboards......which we are NOT fyi -if you are with the Dept of Antiquated laws in GA and happened to be reading this. We are transients merely passing through Georgia and in port for some repairs! 
Moving aboard a sailboat full time is not unlike moving into a new home.  It just takes time.  Additionally, we continue to learn valuable information about s/v Honey Ryder with each project and step of this process of going full time.
***Speaking of antiquated laws -according to security guard and retired police officer Lou, Brunswick GA still has a law on the books that says you cannot be out after midnight on Saturday night if you are ugly.  Wow!  Although I am sure every state and municipality has some old, weird laws left out there on the books.  Hell, some have new weird and wacky laws but now I am off topic.  Back to boat projects.  Enjoy the sunset pic. 

Being Eaten Alive

To:  Georgia Department of Tourism
Dear Sir or Madame,
We are having a lovely time in your state.  We have seen many interesting things and enjoyed meeting some very unique and fascinating people.  Of course we have only scratched the surface (no pun intended but it is funny) of your glorious state so to speak.  However, the prevalence of mosquitoes and no-see-ums is putting a real damper on our tourism and thus $$$ we spend.  I would strongly suggest you do something about these vicious critters.  I am not here to suggest what.  There are others far more educated in this matter to assist you with that.  I know it's a mind field subject with the chemicals of spraying and such vs the dangers/death of West Nile.  Just do SOMETHING!

FYI -
Vitamin B12 does NOTHING - I have been taken double doses since our second day here.
Skin So Soft does NOTHING - I smell good as I am being devoured. 
Deet - does help a bit but it also has the strong possibility of melting parts of our boat when I accidentally rest and arm or leg coated in deet against the boat.
Click here to get the complete lowdown on all the "home remedies" and their effectiveness or lack there of.  DEET people - that is all that will help. 

Since we are headed north in the next month or so and I assume that mossies and no-see-ums have no boarder restrictions....
Dear South Carolina Department of Tourism,
See above
Dear North Carolina Department of Tourism,
See above

Sincerely
One big bug bite Sabrina

*Does anyone know where we will run out of the no-see-ums at the very least? 

Another Sad Someday

The world is full of somedays.  Someday I will__________ (fill in the blank).  Often this sentence is follow by the words when, once or if.  There also seems to be just as many sad someday stories.  We've all heard them again and again.  We heard another one this week in the marina.  A couple just at the start of their someday cruising when suddenly she's gotten sick and can't even get on or off their boat.  A crushing diagnosis of ALS has drastically changed their someday.  I know life is complicated and the pied piper has to be paid to get to someday but to what end? Such a fine line or balancing act if you will.  
As we got closer and closer to our someday, I stressed more and more that something would pop up to delay or crush our someday..... and we are not yet off the dock.  Many that have gone before us have pointed out - the boat is never perfect or completely ready, there is never enough money, there are always land commitments (family, friends, business left behind) and ties that bind.  So tough.  And I definitely get that this is very much a first world problem but how are you dealing with your someday whatever that may be?