Christmas Winds are coming! — Dec. 3-6, 2013

Concerned about the advent of “Christmas Winds”, we left Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, somewhat sooner than we had planned. But during our brief stay, we did have some fun.  First, we took a maxi to and from the Caribbean Movie Theatre, where we saw the second Hunger Games.  Second, acting on a suggestion from Sharon (Allegro), we went for lunch to “A Taste of India”, where we ordered the Chef’s Sampler.  Four (!) different dishes, plus rice and flat bread and dessert.  Not realizing what we were getting into, we each ordered the special.  Oops!  One order is enough for two, with perhaps an extra order of rice.  The meal was fabulous, and we were told that the four dishes are changed every day.  The special is served from noon until 4 PM.  We highly recommend it!  (Thanks, Sharon.)  Third, we had our teeth cleaned at one of the few dental offices in the Caribbean that have dental hygienists.  Normally it is done by the dentist and we find that they do a pretty quick and a not-so-thorough job. Fourth, we got our propane filled and lastly stocked up on provisions from the excellent grocery stores in Rodney Bay.  (Some of these activities were more fun than others.)

For the benefit of our non-cruising readers, perhaps I should give a few words about Christmas Winds. Here are some excerpts from posting of Chris Parker, weather guru who provides advice to cruisers in the Caribbean. We are subscribers, and get our advice in emails, but he also provides his services via Single Sideband and webcasts.

========

Wx Update, E Caribbean, Wed4, 9am

SYNOPSIS:
Previously, I’ve detailed the mild weather we’ve seen in the past few
days in most areas, and I believe suggested folks make good use of
this mild weather, as it would not last forever, and may not be
repeated anytime soon.

Today it seems we’re on the cusp of what some might call the
“Christmas Winds”. There’s nothing tying these winds to any Holiday –
they’re simply strong ENE-E Trades, which tend to be persistent (over
days or weeks)…and they’re driven by a tight pressure gradient
between strong HI generally N/NE of Bermuda, versus lower pressures
over S America. Intervals of brisk ENE-E Trades can occur at various
times from now through May. So call the “Christmas Winds”, or
not…but they’ll be infecting various parts of E Caribbean in the
coming days …

Thur5

SYNOPSIS:

Some folks may call them the “Christmas Winds”. Whatever you may
choose to call them…strong Trades, driven by a persistently-tight
wind-gradient arrive in E Caribbean as FrontalTROF settles S-ward
along N Parts of E Caribbean about tomorow night…and gradually
shifting S to S Parts of E Caribbean by late Sun8-Mon9.

Although we may see an occasional 24-36he interval of slight
moderation (down to ENE@20-25/8’…for instance about Wed11 as a
ColdFRONT presses S&E in W Atlantic)…except for such brief intervals
of slightly-less-bad conditions, I see no break to strong Trades in
the next few weeks.

I’ve detailed this pending persistently-strong pattern I think for a
week-or-more, and with increasing clarity and forcefulness over time.
If you really really need to be somewhere at a certain time in the
next few weeks, you should consider getting there before the onset of
strong conditions, which may occur about 24hrs from now along N
Caribbean / about 48hrs from now in mid-part of Windwards/Leewards
Chain / 3 days from now S Parts of E Caribbean.

Fri6

SYNOPSIS:
Forecast models are in excellent agreement, and forecast confidence is
relatively-high…that we’re poised to enter an extended interval of
brisk ENE-E Trades/seas.

Long-range models suggest some moderation during the week of Mon23
(Christmas week), with periods of several consecutive days of brisk
ENE-E Trades/seas/squalls and several consecutive days of milder
conditions…beginning about Sun22 or Mon23.

Sat7

SYNOPSIS:
FrontalTROF near NE Caribbean supports strong, gusty, squally
conditions with large seas thru tomorrow…and drifts S slightly,
infecting more of E Caribbean tomorrow.

By the time FrontalTROF settles into SE Caribbean tomorrow night-Mon9,
it’ll be weaker, and conditions will not be as extreme as they are in
N Areas.

Mon9

SYNOPSIS:
Conditions become more-uniform throughout E Caribbean thru
tomorrow…as FrontalTROF continues weakening as it settles S-ward,
and all areas revert toward low-20s gusting toward 30k, from the E,
and with 8-10′ seas, and not many squalls.

Wed11-Fri13 morning gradually moderates (with greatest degree of
moderation N Parts of E Caribbean), but few areas settle much below
20k/7’…and there may be an increase in squalls some areas late
tomorrow persisting into Fri13, with wind/seas locally-higher near
squalls.

Late-Fri13-Sun15 wind/seas rebuild well into the 20s (seas 8-10′).

Mon16-Tue17 may look much like Wed11-Thu12, with conditions settling
some, but not becoming “mild” or even “moderate” by most definitions.

Next interval of “mild” or “moderate” conditions may be sometime after
Sun22.

Tue10

SYNOPSIS:
Except for a band of showers & squalls along very-South parts of E
Caribbean (which should dissipate later today)…E Trades are uniform
(and brisk) throughout E Caribbean today.

Most areas see some moderation to Trades/Seas tomorrow-Fri13, though
with some return of squalls in some areas.

S Half of E Caribbean may begin rebuilding throughout the day
Fri13…but N Parts of E Caribbean should see the mildest combination
of wind/seas during the day Fri13…as ColdFRONT presses S&E in W
Atlantic.

Late Fri13…ColdFRONT stalls & weakens, and allows pressures N of E
Caribbean to rebuild…boosting E Trades significantly beginning late
Fri13 (and earlier Fri13 S Parts).

S&E Parts of E Caribbean (ABCs / Venezuela / Trinidad / Windwards /
Leewards) all surge to extremely-strong conditions by Sat14 &
Sun15…then settle into low-20s gusting toward 30k with 8′ seas
Mon16-Wed18. VI-PR-DR also build Sat14-Sun15 and remain 20g25k/7’+
Mon16-Wed18.

Further moderation seems possible at-least for 1-2 days about Thu19.

Beginning in a few days, we’ll see a more-typical pattern gradually
establish…with the center of mid-Latitude HI pressure shifting to E
Atlantic…driving stronger ENE-E Trades in Tropical Atlantic (E of
Caribbean and also from Canaries WSW-ward)…and this should allow a
looser pressure gradient in W Atlantic (resulting in a significant
decrease from the persistently-strong Trades for E Caribbean).

This new pattern seems to result in persistently-milder conditions in
E Caribbean by about Mon23. This OUTLOOK is subject to change, but is
consistent with previous discussions.

=======

We left Rodney Bay on Dec. 5, and stopped at St. Pierre, Martinique, after a passage of some 43 nm.  Next day we moved on up to Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica, a distance of 55 nm. To learn of our activities in Dominica, where we have been hunkered down ever since, see our next blog post.

Here are some pictures I took during those passages.

 

Random thoughts… Dec. 3, 2013

Second post of the day!

Have you noticed that there are two different spellings of Tyrrel Bay in use?   Guide author Chris Doyle spells it as above.  Some of my navigation charts render it “Tyrell Bay”.   Sometimes I use one, and sometimes I use the other.  But as Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said,  “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…”

We arose at 5:30 am this morning, and left the anchorage in Bequia by 6:00 am.  At 8 am Barb brought up to the pilothouse a marvelous breakfast:  scrambled eggs studded with bits of parsley and doused with melted cheese.   Also on the plate:  a dollop of beans, British breakfast style.   To drink, a large smoothie:  a blend of pineapple, mango and banana chunks, yogurt, orange juice, powdered protein, and ground flax seed.  Isn’t life grand?

The seas were so gentle as we made our way to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, that we watched a movie on Barb’s computer while underway.   And I took just one picture: a view of the Soufriere volcano on the north end of St. Vincent.

Hope your day was as good as ours!

Soufriere Volcano

Carriacou — Nov. 24 – Dec. 2, 2013

When we arrived in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, on Nov. 24, after a passage of 39 nm, the anchorage seemed fairly crowded, so we anchored near the rear, where we rolled for a number of days.   When the rolling got to be just too much – I was having trouble keeping my balance while varnishing — we moved up to anchor just behind the large faded-red moored passenger ferry that has been a fixture in the bay for as long as we can remember.   Our new location was considerably more comfortable.   As it happened, we were right in front of Bob and Debby (Chimayo), who we had met in St. John.  And soon Mike and Roberta (Celilo) were on our starboard – we had last seen them in Trinidad earlier this year.

On the morning of the second rolly day, we awoke to see a vessel we recognized to the extreme rear of the anchorage:  a big blue trawler called Jo Na Lisa.  We had met the previous owner (Art, and his lovely wife) in Hog Island two years ago.   But what was that peculiar thing tied to the rear of Jo Na Lisa?  Binoculars revealed the front of three pontoons jutting out from the surface of the water – the rest of the vessel was submerged.   We took our dinghy over to see if we could help, and found the new owner in the water struggling to refloat the vessel.  We took him in to the floating workshop, where Dominique provided a large barrel for additional lift.  It was not clear to us how the barrel could be used.  In any case, we soon saw Dominique towing the still-partially-submerged vessel in to Carriacou Marina, where it was eventually lifted out of the water by a crane and the pontoons were repaired.   Interesting vessel:  the bimini roof was actually several solar panels; the dinghy was powered by an electric motor!

The owner related his tale of woe:  a tow rope had severed near “Kick-em-Jenny” on a very rough trip up from Grenada.  While they were wallowing around in the rough seas, attempting to re-secure a line to the dinghy, a guest on board fell and badly dislocated his shoulder.   When they arrived in Tyrrel Bay, the dinghy promptly sank, leaving only tips of the pontoons above water.   After getting the dinghy to the Marina, they moved the mother vessel over against the wall of the new marina under construction in the NE corner of the bay.  From there they caught a taxi into a doctor in Hillsborough, where the shoulder was x-rayed and efforts were made to put the shoulder back into position.  But to no avail.   Despite both the doctor and the owner pulling on the arm at the same time, the shoulder would not go back into position.   The doctor said that after 84 hours the arm would be locked into its incorrect position, so the guest was put onto the ferry to Grenada, and the next day, Jo Na Lisa departed with the dinghy in tow – its pontoons repaired but the rest of the damage said to amount to $6000 . (We know not if that was in US or EC dollars).

Speaking of the “new” marina in the NE corner, which has been under construction ever since we arrived in the Caribbean in 2007, there is indeed earth-moving activity again.   Maybe in another 6 years a building will actually appear!

Lots of other changes in the bay.   The Lazy Turtle has new owners since Nov. 1, and their pizzas are better than ever.   Lately they have had a band playing jazz/blues on Sunday nights, and they are really good.   Apparently the band consists of cruisers that have appeared in various venues from Grenada to Bequia, including, believe it or not, at Roger’s Beach Bar in Hog Island, in what has to have been the best performance ever to appear in that location.

The marina is under relatively new management, and seems busy and productive, with a steady stream of sailboats being launched on their travel lift and with a gaggle of DIY-ers painting bottoms and hulls.  When we had a snap hook break on the line supporting our dinghy at half-mast early one morning at dawn – scary “plunk” that made when the dinghy fell – the marina had a new one in our hands by five o’clock the next day:  sent by ferry from Grenada’s Island Water World.

About that “plunk”.  Five AM, I am awakened by a loud noise.   I ask Barb what it was, and she thinks it was just the anchor chain making noise, but she gets up and checks anyway.  “Oh my Lord”, she says from the cockpit.   “The snap hook broke, and the dinghy fell.”   She busies herself with finding another hook so we can secure the line hanging from the boom on which we had suspended the dinghy against the rub rail, several feet out of the water, the better to discourage would-be dinghy thieves, forgetting that when we suspend the dinghy, we remove the plug so that the dinghy doesn’t fill with water should it rain.   When I come stumbling out, I notice that the dinghy is filling up with water, but (of course) not because of rain.  So while Barb is bustling about in her altogether finding and attaching a new hook to the line, I am sitting in the dinghy in my altogether pumping out the water.  Cruising together is so romantic!  

An additional word or two about the hook.   We had noticed that it was slightly distorted, so that the locking arm no longer fit into its secure position, but assumed that all would be well until we could purchase another one.   After all, why would it need to be locked?   The dinghy wasn’t going to try to escape.   Now we realize the limitations of our analysis.   Yes, the dinghy would not bounce enough to escape an unlocked hook.   But, and this is important, the distortion was an indication that the hook was failing.   Indeed, on a particularly rolly night, the stress on the hook caused it to fail and break.  (See the pictures of hooks, below.  From left to right:  a “good” one, a hook that is slightly distorted so that the lock no longer fits, and finally, the remains of our “plunk”.)

The Slipway Restaurant has been alive for a couple of years now, and is still turning out delicious meals to an appreciative clientele.  (We ate there a number of times, including the night of Barb’s birthday, when she splurged on a lobster dinner.)  And we heard that there is another new restaurant on the beach:  The Gallery.   We didn’t make it there, but heard good things about it.

Barb and I went on a nice long walk to the SW corner of the island, and on another day Barb walked down to Paradise Beach, where she purchased for herself some earrings and a bracelet for her birthday.  (My effort for her birthday was to speak to the chef at Slipway and make sure that there would be a dessert suitable for implanting a birthday candle.   When we arrived that night I slipped the waitress the candle, and expected that at the end of the meal the dessert – a chocolate tart – would appear with the lit candle.  Perhaps “Happy Birthday” would even be sung by the staff.   Instead, the tart arrived with the candle implanted but not lit!  And no song, and me without a match.  So Barb opted to eat the crepe caramel and I ate the tart.   We left the candle on the table as we departed.)

Yes, I know.   We always bake a German Chocolate Cake for each other’s birthday.  But with no friends in the anchorage to help us consume all those calories, it just didn’t seem wise this year.

In other news, one of Barb’s iPods had been acting up.   Or more accurately, refusing to act up.  As in “dying”.  She got on the web and found a whole list of things to try in ranked order.   None of the software remedies worked.   The list went on to speak of “minor” surgery, in which the cover is pried off and a spacer is inserted above the disk, whose top can become distorted by heat and thereby inoperative.   When the cover is re-attached, the spacer pushes down on the disk and returns it to its original (and functioning) shape.   We found several articles describing how to pry off the cover.   I think we should have paid more attention to the exact model of iPod the articles were about, because the cover didn’t come off (or look) like the ones in the pictures.  Indeed, prying the cover off totally destroyed the iPod.   Kids, don’t try this at home!

On one of our excursions to the Slipway for lunch, we encountered a fellow on shore flying a helicopter drone that sported a high-resolution camera in its belly.   The drone sent back realtime images that were displayed on an iPad.  When the “copilot” liked the view, he informed the “pilot”, who asked the drone to record and save the image.   I asked the owner if he intended on using the drone commercially, and he responded in the affirmative, saying that the drone had cost several thousand dollars.   Barb later asked him if we could buy one of the images of the anchorage and he said “of course, for $100”.   She counter-offered with $10, and despite her best smile and batting of eye lashes, was turned down.   Damn!   (It always works on me!)

 

Grenada — Nov 15 – Nov 24, 2013

On Nov. 15 we arose at o-dark-30 and idled our way out from Crews Inn, Trinidad.   Out through the darkness, through the choppy waters of the Boca and into the Caribbean Sea, straight north for 82 nautical miles.  We arrived at Prickly Bay, Grenada, at about 3:30 pm, just barely too late to check in.  We contacted the electrician Alan Reynolds, with whom we had been put in touch by Richard (Partners).  Alan came to the Bay Saturday afternoon and I picked him up and dinghied him to the boat, where we made preliminary plans for him to help install three solar panels on the pilothouse roof.  Using Alan’s specifications, I visited both Budget Marine and Island Water World in order to secure the appropriate wires and screws and bolts and deck wire clam.   I also went to Technick at Spice Island Marina to commission the construction of aluminum “legs” for mounting the panels on the roof.  I provided 9 feet of aluminum strip that we had purchased in Trinidad, at a cost of $22 American dollars.  The specs we had arrived at after our arrival in Grenada required perhaps another foot or so, and I asked Technick to simply provide the extra and add the cost to the total.   Over the next days Alan came out on several evenings after his regular job in order to run the appropriate wires.  For most of our time in Prickly Bay, the waters were uncharacteristically calm.  When our luck ran out, we moved over to Hog Island (on Nov. 21), but first needed our aluminum legs.  Barb picked up the legs after an afternoon of “women’s dominoes” at De Big Fish. She returned with the legs and some shocking news.  The total cost had been $473 American dollars, including a charge of $15 for the extra aluminum.  The fabricator said it had taken over seven hours to make the legs because our aluminum had been too rigid.  He said he had not charged for some of the work and had discounted the labor by 20%.  Richard also had Alan install 2 solar panels on Partners, but they were in Carriacou at the time.  The total cost to Richard for the legs, including materials and labor: $70. I don’t think we will have fabrication work done in Prickly Bay again!  Saturday, Nov. 23, Alan (who we heartily recommend) came to Hog Island and we completed the installation. Tune in to later posts for an analysis of effectiveness of the effort.

While anchored in Hog we did some socializing, of course.  Chris and Yani (Magus) were there, and we had them over for pizza and a movie.  We joined Mike and Cynthia (Minx) for Shwarmas near the University, fish & chips at Taffy’s in Clarke’s Court Bay, and saw them again at a pot luck at Clarke’s Court Bay Marina.  A pot luck that was very sparsely attended, I might add, presumably because everyone else had remembered the Rum & Beer Festival at a different venue.  And of course Dwight & Stevie stopped in and spent time with us every afternoon.

When I was not messing with solar panels or socializing, I was varnishing the cap rails.  As I have mentioned previously, the ruts were very deep when this project began.  Even after much sanding before doing any varnishing, some ruts remained.  So it is taking many sessions of varnishing and sanding, varnishing and sanding, varnishing and sanding, in an effort to get a smooth surface.  I am not there yet.

On another note: here is an update on the outcome of our car accident in August while in Norway. The total cost of the damage to the car was $6,477.  We sent American Express the electronic version of all of our paperwork and accident photos right after we filed the claim. We were told by American Express that they would handle all communication with Europcar and we would get weekly summaries.  Week after week we saw that Europcar was not responding to AmEx’s request for more information.  Of course a lot of the information they requested was ridiculous, such as a police report, salvage value, etc..  Barb called them numerous times but was told that they understood all of the documents were not required and to have patience.  One day we got a note that the claim was being closed since it had been inactive too long. It would be reopened as soon as some progress was made. Barb hit the roof and began regular communication with AmEx and Europcar.  It turned out that Europcar had not billed us since it appeared they were waiting on all the tolls to be logged that had been automatically charged (by camera or sensor) during our passage along Norway’s highways.  Barb asked them to please bill so we could get the claim progressing.  When the bill was finally submitted, it was a combined total of the rental and the damages, so she had to go back and get them to break apart the charges.  She got that statement to American Express and thought all was well.  After a period of inactivity, she called to see what the latest delay was.  It turned out that the claims person never saw the original documents Barb had sent two days after the accident and wouldn’t proceed until those were filed.  After reviewing the date and time it was sent, the email was found, the attachments read, and finally the claim progressed.  A week later we got notice that they were paying $4,877 of the charges but would not pay the Norwegian damage tax of $1,219.  At this point we were happy that something got paid but Barb called about the damage tax and learned that they cannot/will not pay the tax.  We were bummed but about a week later discovered on our AmEx statement that Europcar had refunded the damage tax.  And the foreign transaction fee also disappeared.  Halleluia!  So after all that hassle we can say that the credit card car collision rental insurance did work.  Would we use it again?  Yes, but we will ensure that we have liability insurance too since who knows what would have happened if another car or other people had been involved in the accident.  We will also read more carefully the details of the rental contract (unless it is again in a foreign language, in which case we will once again be dependent on the competence of the rental staff — competence sadly lacking in our original Europcar experience.)

 

Crews Inn, Trinidad — Oct. 17 – Nov. 11, 2013

We splashed on Oct. 17,  checked to see that neither the new drive leg nor the new depth sounder were leaking, and proceeded directly to Crews Inn, where we discovered that the slip that had been reserved for us was occupied.   The squatter had limped in and requested a single night with which to sort out their problems.   They had already been there more than a week when we arrived, and they just finally left a few days ago, some three weeks after their arrival.

Meanwhile, we were placed in the slip owned by a local who temporarily had his boat on the hard.   Our thanks to him and to Crews Inn for accommodating us — we stayed much much longer in that spot than what was originally discussed.

When we arrived at Crews Inn, there were two other Krogens there:  Richard and Lavinia on Partners, and Bill and Ann on Ann Louise.  Great fun to spend some time with them — as you can imagine we had much in common to discuss.  My only regret is that I didn’t take any pictures.

When we left Trinidad in July, we had intended on embarking on two additional major projects upon our return:  1) installation of solar panels on the roof of the pilot house and on a reconstructed bimini and 2) reworking of all of the wiring associated with our house battery bank and the starter battery for the John Deere.  While we were away we decided against the former and engaged Dockside Electric to do the latter.  So since arriving at Crews Inn we have often had a worker crawling about in the engine room.  And then most recently after listening to Richard (Partners) enthuse about his solar panels, we decided to install three panels on the pilot house roof after all.  The problem was that it didn’t appear that we could get them ordered and delivered to Trinidad in time to have them installed before we wanted to begin our annual trek northward.  And then Lee (Allegro) told us about a note he saw on the Power Boat’s bulletin board, Barb followed up, and we bought three 145-watt panels from a local.  Richard had his installed by an electrician cruiser while they were both in Carriacou and was very pleased with the work and the price.  So we have ordered a controller (which can be gotten here easier than panels) and will take the materials to Grenada to be installed.  Stay tuned for further developments.

With Lee and Sharon (Allegro) we rented a car and drove up to Maracas Bay one day to see the famous beach and sample the best-on-the-island bake-n-shark sandwiches.  Impressive overlooks on the way to the beach, and the sandwiches were indeed yummy.  The beach was almost deserted; not surprising since it was a weekday morning and threatening rain.  Indeed, I had time to only take a few pictures on the beach before the skies opened.  When we returned to town the boys dropped the girls off to do some shopping, and the boys ventured off to find the NP facility for filling propane tanks.  We were looking for an “NP” sign on the right, and got all the way down to the airport before realizing that we had missed the entrance.  After coming all the way back to town we thought we had found it, but alas, we had just gone past and so had to go west, do a U-turn, head east, miss a chance to do a U-turn that would take us past the entrance, drive many miles to find the next opportunity, and then finally come back west to turn into an unmarked dirt road that soon was festooned with “NO ADMITTANCE” signs that bore a water treatment plant logo.  Signs or no — by the process of lengthy elimination we just had to be in the right entrance.   And we were: our little dirt road opened up onto a little-used paved road, and there was the propane facility.  Getting the tank filled was by that time somewhat anti-climatic.

Back at the boat, in the process of cleaning the teak cap rails we realized how worn and rutted they had become in the three years since we had stripped them and let them “go natural”.  Reluctantly we decided to sand them down and return to periodic varnishing.  Soon after I had begun using a power sander on the rails, an employee of Crews Inn appeared and said that a neighbor was trying to take a nap, and that the sander was too noisy.   Diplomatic Barb spoke with the neighbor, and managed to negotiate a “compromise” in which I could sand when the neighbor and her husband were off the boat.  After I had sanded for days on only a small portion of the rails, Barb insisted that we enlist some help, and so Raoul joined the work crew.  Fortunately, the disabled vessel that was occupying “our” spot finally was able to depart, and so we moved there, and although we were still fairly close to the sensitive neighbor, we judged that we were far enough away to sand with impunity.  Raoul of course wanted to do the varnishing too, but I have my pride.   As this is written we have applied three coats of sealer and four coats of varnish, and there are still ruts showing, even in that portion in which I aggressively sanded the varnish in the hope that I could remove the ruts.   Many more coats will be required to restore the smooth surface we had before the stripping three years ago.

While all of the sanding was going on, we also had a worker down in the engine room rewiring the house battery bank and starter battery.   Basically, off-bank bus bars were used for both negative and positive cables, a project that rendered some organization to what was formerly a tangled mess that had some battery terminals so full that the nuts could barely grab the threads.  In addition, careful consideration of cable lengths and placement should result in much more even charging of all cells.  The project was expensive, but I am happy with the result.

We have been working hard, but also relaxing in the late afternoons and evenings.  We have been to the Wheelhouse Pub several times for Sword Fish, and visited the new restaurant (“Old Navy”) at the military museum.  While Lee and Sharon (Allegro) and John and Amy (Wind Horse) were still here, we often joined them for late afternoon cocktails at the Crews Inn pool.

Peake Yacht Services, Trinidad — Oct. 7 – Oct. 17, 2013

We were busy beavers when we returned to Trinidad.  Before departing Trinidad in July, I had removed the broken drive leg for the bow thruster, but was not able to install the new one because I couldn’t secure suitable priming paint.   (It made no sense to install the drive leg before painting it.)  But on our return the primer was available, and so one of my early tasks was to prime, paint and install the drive leg.  In our absence a new depth sounder had also arrived, but as I set about installing that item, I realized that I had ordered the wrong one.  While waiting for the correct one to arrive (which was brought from the States by friends Devi and Hunter on Arctic Tern), I faced up to the task of removing the old one.   Piece of cake to remove the transponder itself, but the cable from the transponder to the read-out up in the pilot house was another story.  Pulling the old cable through cable races that were plumb full was a challenge, topped only by the pleasure of pulling the new cable.

And then there were the usual chores.  Removing the zincs from the rudder and transom so that the former could be stripped and cleaned and the transom could be painted.  Removing, cleaning and repainting the external strainers on the thru-hulls (and re-installing after the bottom had been painted).  As usual, we asked Peake Yacht Services to strip and clean the rudder and propeller, and then, also as usual we ourselves applied Prop Speed on them both.  That chore is always a little touchy — first an etching primer is applied, and then after only 3 to 5 minutes, a second different solution is applied.  The timing is critical enough that the instructions suggest two appliers:  one to apply the etcher in relatively small areas, and the other to follow with the second solution in 3 to 5 minutes.   That is what we do.

The etcher is two-part:  one adds a catalyst to the thoroughly mixed yellow etching solution; the resulting mixture has a short life and must be applied before it sets.  The smallest kit available is too small to cover both our rudder and propeller.  The next size is too big, but the etcher and catalyst come in smaller bottles: two etchers and two catalysts, and one of each is just right for covering both our prop and rudder.  The second solution comes in just one container, half of which is just right for our combination.  Three years ago we etched with one set and used half the second solution.  Two years ago we used the second etching set and the other half of the second solution.  No problem.  But this year we had a surprise.  We had used the first half last year, and had saved the second half for use this year.   I mixed the etcher and catalyst, and then we discovered the second solution had hardened and was un-usable.  Yikes, the etcher would set soon and we have no second solution!   So Barb jumps on her bike and goes searching for another kit.  The only thing she could find was another big kit, so we now have unsyncronized kits and the danger of next year also discovering an un-usable second half of second solution.

Barb was also busy while we were on the hard.   Cleaning the interior of the boat, replenishing our larder, sewing a new cover for our kayaks and repairing the covers for our foldable bikes.  She also took some time off and attended the annual “dragon boat races”.   When she asked if I wanted to go too, I begged off, thinking it didn’t sound very interesting and that I had too much to do.  Oops!  Her photos reveal that the event would have been fun to attend.

On Oct. 17 we splashed and moved to Crews Inn.  But to learn about our adventures there, the gentle reader must see the next post.

Kadey-Krogen Yachts Open House, Annapolis, MD — Oct. 4-5, 2013

On Oct. 3 we flew to Washington, DC, where we rented an automobile and drove to Annapolis.  In years past Krogen has been one of the participants in the Annapolis Motor Boat Show; this year they decided to instead throw a concurrent Open House at a nearby dock in the back creek at Port Annapolis Marina, thereby increasing the number of vessels they could display.  In conjunction with the open house, Krogen asked three owners to present seminars on Friday and Saturday.   Michael Samway presented on “Cruising the Great Loop”, Barb and I on “Cruising the Caribbean — Five Years and Counting” and Maria and Roberto Rosa on “Novice Boaters to Confident Cruisers”.

Our Caribbean talks were well received; there were a number of folks in the audience who have been following our blog, including Kevin Caldwell & Jess Howard, Krogen wanna-be’s who we joined for dinner on Saturday night at Middleton’s Tavern in downtown Annapolis.

In addition to chatting with seminar attendees and our fellow presenters, we enjoyed seeing the owners of the Krogens on display and some of the principals of the Kadey-Krogen Yacht company, including Larry Polster, Tom Button, John Gear and Laura Kanzer.  Great fun!

McFarland Lake, Minnesota — Sept. 26-29, 2013

We had great weather during our visit with Jon and Cathie Ringen, way up in the NE corner of Minnesota.  The leaves were just beginning to turn when we arrived, and they just got better and better.  The Ringen’s own a gazillion canoes; we used two to take a short excursion into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where we had lunch in one of the park’s camp sites.  On our last day, we took a ride in one of their small motor boats to the extreme southern end of McFarland Lake.  Absolutely gorgeous day, made all the better by getting some photos of Common Mergansers that were so preoccupied with their feeding on small fish and/or crayfish that they never flew away.

Our stay was much too short, but we enjoyed visiting and walking in the woods and being on the water and playing cards with our friends.

On our way back to Bismarck, we made three stops.  The first, to photograph an incredible “artistic” display in the front yard of a home on the highway adjacent to Lake Superior.  The second, to grab a lunch in a small town of Minnesota and photograph an interesting creature outside a dive shop.   The third, to have dinner in Valley City, ND with Barb’s high school friend Lynn and her husband Steve.

Chuck (and later, Barb) in North Dakota — Sept. 12-24, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2013

When we left the Savannah area on Sept. 12, Barb flew to Las Vegas to see her father, and I flew to Bismarck, ND, to spend some time with Mom and sister Zona.

The first part of my visit was rather low-key; I spent a lot of time putting together a slide show to be subsequently presented at Krogen’s Open House in Annapolis — the theme of our presentation was “Cruising the Caribbean”.

When Barb joined us in Bismarck on Sept. 19, the activity level picked up considerably.  We visited a new bar in the top floor of a building in downtown Bismarck.  Joining Barb and I were Cathy, Erik, Cindy, Zona and Mom.   The latter’s beverage was soda, called “pop” in that part of the world, while Barb and I indulged our new passion for Guinness on tap.  The musical entertainment was provided by a sole performer playing German polkas on an accordion, the output of which was sent through some kind of synthesizer so that on some songs the bass was rendered as if it were a tuba, and on others the keyboard as if it were a clarinet.

We went to see Cathy’s son Cole play soccer.   We took Mom out for lunch to a restaurant in a strip mall where Barb ordered a cheese button filled with cabbage, and the waitress was a native American.

We played many games of progressive rummy, during which Mom won more than her fair share but complained bitterly 🙂 when she didn’t.

Zona’s brother-in-law Floyd and his wife Sheila came for dinner one night, bringing with them gigantic shrimp and a luscious salad, and we provided the beef tenderloin steaks.  On another night we grilled pork tenderloins.  We joined Dawn and Jerry for burgers one lunch.  And we joined Jon and Cathy and their rug rats Cole and Katie for dinner, followed by a delicious fruit dessert prepared by Katie.  (Barb and I are subsequently on a diet, attempting to reverse the consequences of so much eating.)

One day the media was filled with news that a moose was wandering through the northern section of Bismarck; the authorities urged folks to leave it alone, saying that it would probably soon find its way back out of town.

On Sept. 24, Zona left to go on a cruise on the Danube.  (You will have to read her blog to learn more about that trip.  🙂  )  On the same day, Barb and I drove to Rochester so that I could see Dr. Matteson, head of rheumotology at Mayo.  The results were good; my drugs are working and there are no signs of adverse side effects.  He recommended that I continue the quarterly blood work. As long as my symptoms remain stable and I send in my lab work, I won’t need to visit him.  As we passed through Hastings, MN going to and returning from Mayo, we stopped so that Barb could further her genealogical research.   We visited Tom and June Alcorn on Sept. 24 and Muriel Arms, who treated us to a Norwegian dinner, late the next day.

On Sept. 26 we drove up to McFarland Lake, in the extreme NE corner of Minnesota, in order to visit Jon and Cathie Ringen.   But that is the subject of another post, found here.

At the conclusion of our visit to the Ringen’s we returned on Sept. 30 to Bismarck, where we did some more socializing and card playing.   And one of Barb’s best friends, Monica, stopped by briefly on her way to Carrington, ND to see her mother.

And thanks to Zona, Barb had surgery to remove a spot on her abdomen.  Barb and I had both visited a dermatologist in Savannah, where Barb had a small spot removed.  But just before our trip to Mayo, she received a phone call that suggested more needed to be removed.  Remarkably, Zona was able to talk her dermatologist into taking care of Barb when we returned.

So when we left for Annapolis on Oct. 3, via Washington, DC, Barb had a bandage on her stomach and orders not to lift more than 10 pounds for two weeks.  Guess who played the role of luggage mule….

Barb in Las Vegas — Sept. 12-18, 2013

On the 12th I (Barb) flew to Las Vegas to visit my father Cliff for a week and to be with him on September 16th to celebrate his 88th birthday.  One of the first things we did when I got there was to go to the Nevada Motor Vehicle department to get Dad’s drivers license renewed since it was to expire on the 16th.  The only test required for him was an eye exam.  Fortunately, he passed with flying colors and is still driving quite well and can now drive until he is 92.

One afternoon the retirement community where Dad lives had a potluck and karaoke party.  Dad was not to keen to go, so I accompanied him and we had a great time.  The food was quite delicious.  I am used to cruiser potlucks where many folks bring easy things like beans or coleslaw.    Not so here.  It was like Thanksgiving in September.  Two of Dad’s poker buddies got talked into singing karaoke and really threw themselves into it.  Fortunately for everyone there, neither Dad nor I succumbed to the pressure to do any singing.

Mid-way through the week we were surprised by a visit from Dad’s brother John (my favorite uncle) and his friend Barbara from Minneapolis.  They were on a road trip first to Las Vegas to help celebrate Dad’s birthday, and then on to Los Angeles, Tucson, and Phoenix to visit family and friends.

One day Dad and I took a drive to Mesquite, NV to meet my brother Mike, his daughter Jessica, and her daughter Taylor for lunch at a casino there.  They live in Parawon, UT so Mesquite was about halfway for everyone.  It was nice to catch up with Mike and the girls.  During our time in the casino I finally succumbed to gambling and as usual I lost, but fortunately only $40. I have been making an annual trip to Las Vegas for many years to visit Dad and my son Jeff (who recently moved to Knoxville) and am no longer dazzled by the gambling or the glitter.  It is a great place for Dad to live though because of all the amenities. and I sure appreciate the inexpensive flights.