We have landed in the Bahamas, Originally we were destined to Mayaguana, but with the winds in a most westerly direction, and the shallows on the east of Turks and Caicos, we decided to let the wind blow us where it may. During this time we were going to do a one night stop in Turks and Caicos and then continue north to Mayaguana. While we were sitting in the boat during these 3 days we had more time to look at the charts and realized that Inagua was apart of the Bahamas as well and was just north of Cuba. We made the decision, as well as to continue to follow the wind and waves, and current. We went and continue to Inagua.
During the trip the engine we restarted after completely disassembling the engine and gearbox in Puerto Rico. The engine ran fine, but the gearbox is having trouble going from Forward to Nuertral still. Atleast it does move now, so that is a plus. When we landed, a catamaran that was already anchored went out with their dinghy and stopped by, it was occupied by a young couple and they offered us a ride onto shore. We had just arrived after a six day trip and took them up on their offer. This way we didn't have to air our dinghy, and they knew where the customs office was, so that helped as well.
We had one problem during the trip which was our spinaker haylard ripped out again, which put our spinakker under the boat and left a small tear in the sail. It would of ended a lot worse for the sail, and we are realitively happy about the outcome.
Here is small type up for everyone. Thanks for reading.
We plan to go through the bahamas for the next month, and avoid hurricanes while being in holes during the time, and spending two days traveling between holes.
Britischen Jungfrauen Inseln
Nach etwa 2 Tagen segeln sind wir gut auf den Britischen Jungfraunen Inseln (British Virgin Islands, BVI) angekommen. Wir segelten direkt zu der Bucht mit dem Custom Büro und der erste Eindruck war recht gut, es war ein weites Feld mit einer Menge Mooring Balls und ettlichen Segelbooten aus den unterschiedlichsten Ländern. Nachdem wir uns einen Mooring Ball geangelt haben ging es für Brandon, dem Captain, mit unserem 1 Paddel Dinghy, den 2. Paddel verloren wir bereits 1-2 Wochen zuvor in Antigua, zum Custom Büro um unsere Einreise zu melden. Nach unseren letzten Erfahrungen mit Xena in Antigua hofften wir es in den BVI einfacher zu haben, dem war allerdings nicht so. Sobald wir erwähnten einen Hund an Board zu haben wurde direkt der örtliche, bzw einzige, Tierarzt angefordert um Xenas Papiere zu checken, als wenn es zu viel verlangt wäre von der Grenzpolizei zu lernen worauf es bei den Papieren ankommt. Nach 2 Stunden warten tauchte der Tierarzt auf und wir sollten mit unserem Hund auf die Insel kommen und dort vorstellig werden, was macht das für einen Sinn? Ihre Unterlagen hätten nicht vollständig oder veraltet oder sonst was sein können und evtl Krankheiten mitgebracht haben. Naja, wir trafen vor dem Büro den Tierarzt, welcher auf dem ersten Blick recht freundlich schien, doch wir musste feststellen das er nur unser Geld wollte und es mehr nach Betrug aussah. Er musterte Xena und wir mussten ihm Erklären das sie kein Husky sondern ein Akita ist, danach schaute er in ihre Papiere und meinte das alles in Ordnung sein, allerdings mussten die Unterlagen für den Tollwuttiter in dem Pass eingetragen werden und das würde nun $150 kosten. $150? Für einen Häckchen, Aufwandsentschädigung und einer Unterschrift von einem Tierarzt der eh hätte kommen und uns etwas signieren müssen.
Als Brandon dann nach dem Sinn und der Weise wie sowas funktioniert fragte versuchte er sich herauszureden, er meinte darauf auch das er Xena in Quarantäne nehmen könnte wenn wir das nicht bezahlen wollen ($70 p/T bei 4 Tage), wir mussten Cash bezahlen und in dem Ort gab es keinen Bargeldautomaten. So kam es das wir alle ein bissle angepisst waren und Brandon dem Tierarzt stattdessen all sein Cash (E$80) anbot und meinte er soll das alles nehmen, mehr habe er nicht, womit der Tierarzt komplett einverstanden war, doch wir bekamen weder eine Unterschrift noch eine Quittung für all das. Wir kamen uns ziemlich verarscht vor, denn E$80 sind gerade mal $35, anstelle von $150, und es war kein Problem.
So startete unsere Zeit in den BVI recht gut… naja.
Am selben Tag entschieden wir in die Marine zu fahren, unsere Wasservorräte aufzufüllen und es zu genießen nicht gegen die Strömung anpaddeln zu müssen. Die Marine war nicht wirklich freundlich und auch nur mit einem komischen Gesichtsausdruck gaben sie uns einen Platz, direkt neben einem etwa 30m langem ziemlich teuer aussehenden Segelschiff.
Nun kommt der schwierigste Part, das andocken in dem kleinen Slot neben einem sehr teurem Segelschiff ohne Rückwärtsgang oder neutralen Gang.
Ich ging an den vorderen Teil des Bootes um abzuspringen wenn wir am Dock waren und die Seile zu befestigen damit das Boot stoppt und Brandon war dafür zuständig den Motor im richtigen Augenblick auszuschalten. Wir fuhren rein und Brandon duckte sich um den Motor abzuschalten, doch dabei ging das Ruder zu sehr nach rechts und das Boot steuerte direkt auf den Zwischendock, ich rief ihm daraufhin zu “mehr rechts”, das tat er dann auch, doch plötzlich sprang der Motor wieder an, Brandon ging direkt wieder runter um den Motor richtig abzuschalten und konnte nicht sehen das er zu weit nach rechts steuerte.
Rechts war dieses andere Segelboot und wir steuerten direkt darauf zu, ich sprang zur Spitze unseres Bootes und fing uns ab, denn die Fender (große Luftkissen, die einen Kontakt zu anderen Booten oder dem Dock abblocken) dieses Bootes waren etwas zu weit hinten so das wir das Boot anstatt die Fender treffen würden. Die Menschen von diesem Boot wurden von meinen Schreien das Boot nach links zu lenken auf unsere Situation aufmerksam und halfen mir unser Boot weg von ihrem Boot zu drücken, mit Erfolg, durch den Druck von rechts konnte ich abspringen (viel dabei beinahe ins Wasser weil ich etwas zu früh sprang) und das Boot am Dock befestigen und ranziehen. Die Menschen von dem anderen Segelboot nahmen diese Situation ziemlich gelassen, sie schauten zwar ob wir das Boot berührten und ob eine Macke entstanden ist, aber lachten und winkten unsere Entschuldigung frendlich ab.
West End von Tortola, so hieß der Ort wo wir landeten, war recht klein und war stark auf Tourismus ausgelegt, man erkennt sowas an den Preisen im Supermarkt, den Restaurants und den Sommerkleidungsläden. Unser primäres Ziel dort war es mich in eine Fähre zu setzen und zu den Jungfrauen Inseln der Vereinigten Staaten (United States Virgin Islands, USVI) zu befördern um mein Visa Waver Program zu aktivieren. Das ist ein Program wo ich mich anmelde und ohne Visa in die USA reisen kann, WENN die erste Ein- und Ausreise mit einer kommerziellen Transportgesellschaft geschieht.
Ich machte mich dann am morgen des 2. Tages auf um die 2. Fähre des Tages zu erwischen. Mit highspeed ging es dann zu den USVI, die Fähre fuhr wirklich schnell und der Fahrer interessierte sich nicht für Wellen, er durchbrach sie spielend. Nach 30min erreichten wir St. John, meine vermeintliche Endstation. Ich verließ die Fähre wie alle anderen um mich an der Grenzkontrolle in die USA einzuschreiben, meine Fingerabdrücke und mein Auge scannen zu lassen. Das geschah alles ohne Probleme, doch danach hätte ich weiter zu St. Tohmas fahren müssen was ich aber nicht wusste. So lief in auf St. John umher und schaute mit das Örtchen an und es gefiel mir, viele kleine Läden, viele bunte Farben an den Läden und eine wirklich gute Smoothybar.
Als dann meine Fähre zurück zu Tortola kommen sollte begab ich mich zum Hafen, doch da war nichts. Also lief ich zurück zu einem weiteren Hafen und sprach dort einen Grenzpolizisten an und fragte nach meiner Fähre, ob und wo sie ankommt um zurück nach Tortola zu fahren, diese Person sagte mir das die nächste erst gegen 13Uhr am anderen Hafen ankommt. So ging ich zurück und wartete dort etwa 1,5 Stunden bis 12.30 Uhr und nichts kam. Ein weitere Grenzpolizist sagte dann das um 13 Uhr garkeine Fähre von dieser Gesellschaft hier ankommen würde, ich hätte falsche Informationen bekommen. Etwas genervt begab ich mich zurück zum anderen Hafen und logte mich in das kostenlose WLAN um Brandon zu berichten. Gegen 13.15 Uhr lief ich wieder ein wenig umher und ging vorbei an dem 1. Hafen und sah den Beamten Nr.1 der mich verdutzt ansah und mich fragte warum ich nicht auf der gerade auslaufenden Fähre sei. Ich fragte dann erneut wann die nächste Fähre hier ankommt und dann hieß es 15 Uhr, auch dies stellte sich dann als falsch heraus, da es Donnerstag war und an diesem Tag fährt die Fähre um diese Uhrzeit nicht. Letzt endlich sagte man mir, die letzte Fähre an diesem Tag läuft um 16.30 Uhr aus. Ich war ziemlich genervt und das schlimmst an der ganzen Geschichte für mich war zu wissen das wir mit unserem Boot um 11 Uhr aus der Marine raus mussten, sie ließen uns unseren Aufenthalt nicht verlängern, denn unser Boot war zu klein um guten Profit daraus zu schlagen. Da ich nicht rechtzeitig wieder zurück war, musste Brandon das Boot alleine, ohne Rückwärtsgang, rückwärts aus dem Slot fahren und alleine ankern, was alleine echt nicht einfach ist, er muss den Motor abschalten, nach vorne rennen, den Anker werfen und hoffen das er beim ersten Versuch irgendwo einhackt.
Ich war ein wenig verzweifelt zu wissen er muss das alleine machen, denn ich könnte mir nicht vorstellen wie ich es alleine bewerkstelligen könnte.
Als es dann entlich soweit war meine Fähre zu nehmen, traf ich am Tor zur Fähre beide Grenzpolizisten die mich angrinsten und dann fragten warum ich denn noch hier sei, sie haben mir doch frühere Zeiten genannt, ich ignorierte dieses gerede und bestieg die Fähre.
Mit der Fähre ging es dann zu St. Thomas, USVI, und von dort zurück nach West End, Tortola.
An der Marine angekommen saß Brandon auf einer Bank und smilte mir entgegen, er hatte einen ziemlich ereignisreichen Tag. Er erzählte mir dann, das unsere Nachbarn die Marine verließen und er alleine das Boot umgedreht hat, damit er einfach vorwärts heraus fahren konnte und das die Marine es uns nicht erlaubte eine weitere Nacht oder auch nur ein paar Stunden länger zu bleiben. Als er dann aus dem Slot fahren wollte verfing die eines der Seile am Dock und das Boot wurde in eine weitere sehr teure Yacht gelenkt, die Menschen auf diesem Boot kamen direkt raus und hielten unser Boot weg von der Yacht, während Brandon das Seil löste, es entstand ein kleiner Kratzer, aber die Menschen winkten es ab und meinten nur das sie selbst ein bissle Farbe drüber sprühen werden. Auf den weg zum Ankerplatz kam dann ein Sturm auf und durch den starken Wind wurde unser Dinghy umgedreht, wir verloren unseren 2. Paddel. Als er dann an einer geeigneten Stelle zwischen ein paar anderen Booten angekommen war, stoppte er den Motor, rann nach vorn und warf den Anker, aber der Anker hackte sich nicht ein, das Boot driftete und drohte in eines der umstehenden Boote zu krachen, doch Brandon schaffte es rechtzeitig den Anker zu lichten und den Motor zu starten. Er suchte sich dann eine Stelle aus wo die Strömung weg von den anderen Booten ging, ganz am Ende des Ankerplatzes, dort geling ihm dann den Anker zu platzieren. Nun waren wir am Ende des Ankerplatzes, ohne Paddel und mussten bei einer recht starken Strömung auf unseren nicht mehr richtig funktionierenden Elektromotor vertrauen. Wir waren recht dicht an einem privat Gelände und fuhren mit unserem Dinghy einfach rüber und kletterten über eine Baustelle raus aus dem Gelände, als Brandon es das erste mal machte traf er die Hausherrin und diese nahm es gelassen, fand es eher beeindruckend wie Brandon Xena so hoch auf den Arm nahm als ihre Hunde Xena angreifen wollten.
Sie zeigte Verständnis für unsere Situation und erlaubte uns den Weg über Ihr Gelände.
Dieser Tag war für uns beide sehr anstrengend und wir waren froh am Boot angekommen zu sein und erstmal eine ganze weile schlafen zu können.
Am nächsten Tag machten wir uns auf und schauten uns ein bissle um was andere Segler so für Dinghys und Außenbordmotoren haben und wir fanden beinahe nur Yamaha Motoren und Carribe Dinghys, was als günstigste Kombination rund $4500 kosten würde.
Als wir einen Dock entlangliefen machte ein Mann in seinem recht schicken Segelboot auf sich aufmerksam, er bewunderte Xena und suchte offensichtlich ein Gespräch. Er war sehr freundlich und gab uns ein paar Tips wo es schöne Ankerplätze gibt und wo es trotz guter Internetbewertung nicht so gut ist. Wir erzählten ihm unsere Story, wo wir starteten und wo wir planen hin zu segeln, und auch warum wir uns hier so umschauen, das wir ein neues Dinghy und dringender einen Motor brauchen. Er bestätigte unser Vorhaben, denn er konnte durch seine Erfahrungen sagen das diese Strömung hier nicht die stärkste ist die wir erleben werden.
Am Abend nahmen wir in dem Restaurant, direkt am Dinghydock und kaum saßen wir dort kam unser neuer Segelfreund vorbei, wir unterhielten uns eine weile und dann gab er uns seine, bzw die Visitenkarte seines Bootes und wir gaben ihm unsere Blogpage.
Am nächsten Tag entschieden wir uns spontan die BVI zu verlassen, wir checkten aus und machten uns auf den weg zu Charlotte Amalie, USVI.
Cost Update
While we have been in Puerto Rico it gives us time to re-examine the "cruiser" life and our experience. Did we make the right decision? Is this life for us? Are we saving any money?
Well lets take a look. Here is our updated expense report. This is a GENERALIZED report. It groups groceries as a complete purchase, but does not separate into juices/meats/nuts etc... We did not categorize our individual meals. Although I can say that we, until we arrived here in San Juan, would almost always eat on the boat except for a weekly dine out.
The major numbers at the bottom under "Boat Maintenance" is our engine repair, and purchase of new dinghy inflatable and engine. The income in January is our last pay checks, and Tax returns in may. I currently have no phone bill, internet bill, gas bill, etc. Although I did spend 100 dollars on sim and internet in order to take a college Exam.
This is a very rough draft of our expenses, and this is a generalized, one size fits all budget sheet. In the future we will further customize this budget sheet to reflect our expenses more properly, but would also like it to reflect an average family budget as well, this way it could reference from your current reports to what you could expect out here on the sea.
Our best month was when we were crossing the Atlantic, where we had purchased our food, and could not go to the supermarket. We are still adjusting from our past life where we could shop til we drop, and had renewable income. While we are still eating the fruits of our past labor, we are continuing to make adjustments to further reach our goal and dream.
As well if you have been reading our last post, we have made further electrical upgrades to the boat which also were listed under Boat Maintenance. This field will go into further detail in the future. Let us know if we can improve this in order to better understand our expense report.
Well lets take a look. Here is our updated expense report. This is a GENERALIZED report. It groups groceries as a complete purchase, but does not separate into juices/meats/nuts etc... We did not categorize our individual meals. Although I can say that we, until we arrived here in San Juan, would almost always eat on the boat except for a weekly dine out.
The major numbers at the bottom under "Boat Maintenance" is our engine repair, and purchase of new dinghy inflatable and engine. The income in January is our last pay checks, and Tax returns in may. I currently have no phone bill, internet bill, gas bill, etc. Although I did spend 100 dollars on sim and internet in order to take a college Exam.
This is a very rough draft of our expenses, and this is a generalized, one size fits all budget sheet. In the future we will further customize this budget sheet to reflect our expenses more properly, but would also like it to reflect an average family budget as well, this way it could reference from your current reports to what you could expect out here on the sea.
Our best month was when we were crossing the Atlantic, where we had purchased our food, and could not go to the supermarket. We are still adjusting from our past life where we could shop til we drop, and had renewable income. While we are still eating the fruits of our past labor, we are continuing to make adjustments to further reach our goal and dream.
As well if you have been reading our last post, we have made further electrical upgrades to the boat which also were listed under Boat Maintenance. This field will go into further detail in the future. Let us know if we can improve this in order to better understand our expense report.
San Juan Puerto Rico
We are now in San Juan Puerto Rico. We arrived here after traveling up through the East Caribbean Islands and picking my parents in USVi in order to fly them home. We decided while we are here we would catch our breath, our bearings, update our blog, take some pictures and a much needed break after our hard charge to cross the atlantic, and then meet with the folks.
We are luckily NOT DOING ANY ENGINE WORK!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness for that. Finally we are at a stage again where we are improving comfort items rather then fixing items that have seized, fallen into the water, broke, ripped or otherwise are unserviceable. So we ordered 200 Watts of new solar, a Bimini, A new alternator(I suppose this counts as broke, but its been broke for 3 months now and we haven't missed it), some solar lights to hopefully illuminate us at night, as well as outfitting 200 Amps of new batteries. We had picked up an old norcold that come off a fishing vessel and hopefully with our new battery storage and solar panels arriving we will be able to run this non-stop. DID I MENTION? We also ordered a "Water-maker" off cruiser forums from a member.
This all means when said in done, we will be able to produce our own water, have cold drinks, and produce 200 Watts of more energy into 200 amps of more batteries, with also a new 50amp charging from engine as well. We are one step further to being "off" the grid as they say. The fridge will be my favorite, if it will work.
San Juan is a large city, the largest we have visited since getting the boat. It is a shame that the marina is not as nice. There is no hot water in the showers. Although it is cheap. We paid 55 dollars to anchor, use their dinghy dock, shower, fill our water...etc.. Although they have an address problem as the lady had given us one address to "mail" letters, and her "Street" address to receive packages. Luckily the PO box worked because I had my mail card sent, but the "Street" address was not recongnized by USPS and I had over 200 dollars in shipping charges I had to eat, because of the failure of the marina as I see it. I suppose I should have know better then to trust a system I had yet tested, but General Delivery, I havent found out, but hope it works as we have re-ordered all the items, as the previous are returned to sender.
We are spending the next few weeks here as we refit the boat, and decide which way we are going to turn. Either to Panama, or North. Either way we will working to escape the hurricanes.
We are luckily NOT DOING ANY ENGINE WORK!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness for that. Finally we are at a stage again where we are improving comfort items rather then fixing items that have seized, fallen into the water, broke, ripped or otherwise are unserviceable. So we ordered 200 Watts of new solar, a Bimini, A new alternator(I suppose this counts as broke, but its been broke for 3 months now and we haven't missed it), some solar lights to hopefully illuminate us at night, as well as outfitting 200 Amps of new batteries. We had picked up an old norcold that come off a fishing vessel and hopefully with our new battery storage and solar panels arriving we will be able to run this non-stop. DID I MENTION? We also ordered a "Water-maker" off cruiser forums from a member.
This all means when said in done, we will be able to produce our own water, have cold drinks, and produce 200 Watts of more energy into 200 amps of more batteries, with also a new 50amp charging from engine as well. We are one step further to being "off" the grid as they say. The fridge will be my favorite, if it will work.
San Juan is a large city, the largest we have visited since getting the boat. It is a shame that the marina is not as nice. There is no hot water in the showers. Although it is cheap. We paid 55 dollars to anchor, use their dinghy dock, shower, fill our water...etc.. Although they have an address problem as the lady had given us one address to "mail" letters, and her "Street" address to receive packages. Luckily the PO box worked because I had my mail card sent, but the "Street" address was not recongnized by USPS and I had over 200 dollars in shipping charges I had to eat, because of the failure of the marina as I see it. I suppose I should have know better then to trust a system I had yet tested, but General Delivery, I havent found out, but hope it works as we have re-ordered all the items, as the previous are returned to sender.
NOT PR(JUST SAILOR "PORN")
We are spending the next few weeks here as we refit the boat, and decide which way we are going to turn. Either to Panama, or North. Either way we will working to escape the hurricanes.
Virgin Islands
When we departed Antigua we made for the British Virgin Islands, West End in patricular, as we were trying to go to the closest port to check in, that was also in route to the US Virgin islands. The skipper on the boat did not file their Visa paper work and in order to gain access to the United States had to ride the fairy from BVI to the USVI in order to qualify under the Visa Waiver Program.
Once we were registered, and checked in payed our dues, we decided to stay a day at the marina. We ended up almost hitting our neighbors on the way in, and then again on the way out of the marina. Note: We do not have a reverse, so once we start the engines we are moving. We have to shut off the engine to "stop". Although the choke switch was rusting because it had caught on our rudder. We have since fixed the problem, but at the time it was our way of moving from one place to another. We began to get really good at anchoring and snagging while moving forward through a field of boats and then swinging around.
The day we had to leave the marina, the day after we arrived in BVI, because it was mainly for boat rentals and we paid 1.25 a foot, with paid water, and paid electricity and a token for shower that didn't even work. I had to leave the marina alone, and a preventor that was tied on to the boom, stuck on a cleat on the dock and swung our boat straight into a commercial 50+ luxury yacht. Luckily we escaped unscathed and I went and anchored in the bay without a winch, shutting off the engine and running up front and throwing the anchor against wind and current and then running back to wait. The anchor didn't catch, do i'd have to pull it up by hand, then run back and restart the engine.
Luckily it caught on the second attempt. During this time I had no connectivity to the web and the Skipper missed the fairy the entire day until finally getting into town on the last fairy at 5:30pm. Mean while when I was anchoring the dinghy flipped and lost our paddles as well as putting our electric engine under water and out of commision. It never worked again, and during this time I took the dinghy to shore by paddling with my hands, later we found a piece of two by four. This went on for weeks while we were in the motor/dinghy market in the BVI, through USVI, and onto Puerto Rico.
While we stayed a few more days in BVI to enjoy the souroundings we ran into a grand old couple sitting on their boat while we were dinghy shopping in our heads to see what our cruisers were using. Fritz was his name and Connecticuit is his Game. He ended up sharing stories, tips, and helpful information. We departed traded information and both planned on leaving the area the next day.
Come to find out Fritz had an old 9.9 Mercury that he had for 12 years and had commissioned by not put together for some reason. He offered us in our bad luck to give us the Engine where it was, how it was. We had just checked into the USVI, but how could I refuse. I ended up taking the ferry back to BVI and getting a cab to get the engine, then carring it back to the boat over a few miles on my back. All in all we got the engine together and have it running. We are going to mount it to our boat in order to hopefully get better top speed when transiting the panama canal.
During this time in the USVI we continued to shop for a new dinghy and a motor. We ended up getting a used Mercury 3.5 in great shape basically new. We had bought a used Mercury Dinghy Sport, without paddles, a floor, and it ended up blowing up on us as we took it for its firs
t ride with our new 3.5. Luckily we got rescued by a passing sports boat and dragged to shore. Along with our engine that I blew out with wd/40 changed the oil 4 times and it is still running on us. Although that experience made me break down and buy a brand new West Marine Aluminum Bottom Dinghy for well over value. Now I don't have to worry about malfunctions and feel safe and secure in our decision, we have a real engine, a real dinghy, and thanks for a fellow sailor a great addition to power the main boat as well, if we end up having any more engine problems.
After the dinghy had blown up, we had a new engine and put it on the back of our Dinghy that we used to have our electic motor on. While it had handled the electric it was not a fixed marine wood transom and could not handle the waves and speed of our new 3.5. Which also pushed us in the direction to get a new one. During this time we had met a fellow sailor while we were shopping for a new dinghy, who had a used dinghy for sale. She shared most of these adventures with us, but after the dinghy exploded we were not wanting to buy the dinghy in fear of another one exploding, so we bought new.
On the day that my parents flew in we picked them up with our dinghy, after I dragged them on a 4 mile hike right off the plane, nearly killed them first day, but I made it up by having them relax the next five. Our new engine pull string had snapped on the first pull. We ended up messing around and replacing it with a 550 cord in order to make it back to the boat and still use the cord now.
We trans-versed from the USVI to Culebra, Vieques, and over to Puerto Rico. During this time the weather was perfect each day with dolphins greeting us in Farjardo when we showed up to Puerto Rico. We snorkeled at the reef and then made our way to San Juan. This is where we sit now and where we shipped off my parents back home.
Once we were registered, and checked in payed our dues, we decided to stay a day at the marina. We ended up almost hitting our neighbors on the way in, and then again on the way out of the marina. Note: We do not have a reverse, so once we start the engines we are moving. We have to shut off the engine to "stop". Although the choke switch was rusting because it had caught on our rudder. We have since fixed the problem, but at the time it was our way of moving from one place to another. We began to get really good at anchoring and snagging while moving forward through a field of boats and then swinging around.
The day we had to leave the marina, the day after we arrived in BVI, because it was mainly for boat rentals and we paid 1.25 a foot, with paid water, and paid electricity and a token for shower that didn't even work. I had to leave the marina alone, and a preventor that was tied on to the boom, stuck on a cleat on the dock and swung our boat straight into a commercial 50+ luxury yacht. Luckily we escaped unscathed and I went and anchored in the bay without a winch, shutting off the engine and running up front and throwing the anchor against wind and current and then running back to wait. The anchor didn't catch, do i'd have to pull it up by hand, then run back and restart the engine.
Luckily it caught on the second attempt. During this time I had no connectivity to the web and the Skipper missed the fairy the entire day until finally getting into town on the last fairy at 5:30pm. Mean while when I was anchoring the dinghy flipped and lost our paddles as well as putting our electric engine under water and out of commision. It never worked again, and during this time I took the dinghy to shore by paddling with my hands, later we found a piece of two by four. This went on for weeks while we were in the motor/dinghy market in the BVI, through USVI, and onto Puerto Rico.
While we stayed a few more days in BVI to enjoy the souroundings we ran into a grand old couple sitting on their boat while we were dinghy shopping in our heads to see what our cruisers were using. Fritz was his name and Connecticuit is his Game. He ended up sharing stories, tips, and helpful information. We departed traded information and both planned on leaving the area the next day.
Come to find out Fritz had an old 9.9 Mercury that he had for 12 years and had commissioned by not put together for some reason. He offered us in our bad luck to give us the Engine where it was, how it was. We had just checked into the USVI, but how could I refuse. I ended up taking the ferry back to BVI and getting a cab to get the engine, then carring it back to the boat over a few miles on my back. All in all we got the engine together and have it running. We are going to mount it to our boat in order to hopefully get better top speed when transiting the panama canal.
During this time in the USVI we continued to shop for a new dinghy and a motor. We ended up getting a used Mercury 3.5 in great shape basically new. We had bought a used Mercury Dinghy Sport, without paddles, a floor, and it ended up blowing up on us as we took it for its firs
t ride with our new 3.5. Luckily we got rescued by a passing sports boat and dragged to shore. Along with our engine that I blew out with wd/40 changed the oil 4 times and it is still running on us. Although that experience made me break down and buy a brand new West Marine Aluminum Bottom Dinghy for well over value. Now I don't have to worry about malfunctions and feel safe and secure in our decision, we have a real engine, a real dinghy, and thanks for a fellow sailor a great addition to power the main boat as well, if we end up having any more engine problems.
After the dinghy had blown up, we had a new engine and put it on the back of our Dinghy that we used to have our electic motor on. While it had handled the electric it was not a fixed marine wood transom and could not handle the waves and speed of our new 3.5. Which also pushed us in the direction to get a new one. During this time we had met a fellow sailor while we were shopping for a new dinghy, who had a used dinghy for sale. She shared most of these adventures with us, but after the dinghy exploded we were not wanting to buy the dinghy in fear of another one exploding, so we bought new.
On the day that my parents flew in we picked them up with our dinghy, after I dragged them on a 4 mile hike right off the plane, nearly killed them first day, but I made it up by having them relax the next five. Our new engine pull string had snapped on the first pull. We ended up messing around and replacing it with a 550 cord in order to make it back to the boat and still use the cord now.
Antigua
We arrived in Antigua (THE GREAT CARIBBEAN), we were expecting the dream you have as a kid, the experience of the hit Hollywood series "The Pirates of the Caribbean". We were expecting a warm welcome and rum to flow through our glass. What we experienced was dues, fees, and paperwork.
Ok, it wasn't all that bad. We threw anchor and hooked up our newly acquired electric engine, the one we had from Portugal, and slowly moved barely against the current the a beautiful dinghy dock by the corner of the bay. The weather was far warmer then we had experienced and immediately sprang for some ice cream and some locally cooked cuisine by some ladies selling it on the side of the street underneath a hut. The food was good, and the ice cream was cold. While Stef had her ice cream and accompanied Xena I went to clear customs. The paperwork was simple and the Vet was convenient. I was through customs with minor bruises. We spent the next two weeks here taking in the sun and getting our bearings, trying to find free WIFI and getting enrolled in this semester of college.
The internet we found was not as fast as we had hoped and not as prevalent as we imagined. The sim cards for internet through the phone was usable. We would stop by the beach and have Xena, An Akita Inu, take out her energy on the swells coming in on the beach. Our days were filled without worry and without care, after finishing the crossing. The only exception was when we tried to get water from the marina, and they told us they did not have any on the island. We purchased 1 gallon bottles from the supermarket and started a new collection of water bottles that we now use more regularly then our previous 1 liter bottles. Although the next day we saw a boat spraying each other with water, it seemed they would turn on and off the water at a limb.
From Falmouth harbour we checked out and payed our 13 dollars a person export fee, and contacted the vet again to get a departure for Xena. We had 72 hours to leave and decided on the first day we didn't have the wind we wanted and turned to ST. Johns on the north side of the island in order to hopefully provision some more. We looked at the maps and read on the web and everyone seemed to say this place had a good anchorage. What we found out when we got there was completely different.
There were no boats in anchorage, and the docks were mostly for cruise Ships. The main dock was large and unkept with no cleats to tie off on. We have no reverse and ended up ramming the dock and breaking off our front life lines. The damage could have been worse and we now choose to anchor out more often and dinghy into places.
After running to a supermarket that was at least a mile away and not finding it twice, we ended up going to a side market and grabbing a sprite and 3 gallons of water. Good thing we made this stop because our two day trip to the BVI proved we needed the extra water.
Ok, it wasn't all that bad. We threw anchor and hooked up our newly acquired electric engine, the one we had from Portugal, and slowly moved barely against the current the a beautiful dinghy dock by the corner of the bay. The weather was far warmer then we had experienced and immediately sprang for some ice cream and some locally cooked cuisine by some ladies selling it on the side of the street underneath a hut. The food was good, and the ice cream was cold. While Stef had her ice cream and accompanied Xena I went to clear customs. The paperwork was simple and the Vet was convenient. I was through customs with minor bruises. We spent the next two weeks here taking in the sun and getting our bearings, trying to find free WIFI and getting enrolled in this semester of college.
The internet we found was not as fast as we had hoped and not as prevalent as we imagined. The sim cards for internet through the phone was usable. We would stop by the beach and have Xena, An Akita Inu, take out her energy on the swells coming in on the beach. Our days were filled without worry and without care, after finishing the crossing. The only exception was when we tried to get water from the marina, and they told us they did not have any on the island. We purchased 1 gallon bottles from the supermarket and started a new collection of water bottles that we now use more regularly then our previous 1 liter bottles. Although the next day we saw a boat spraying each other with water, it seemed they would turn on and off the water at a limb.
From Falmouth harbour we checked out and payed our 13 dollars a person export fee, and contacted the vet again to get a departure for Xena. We had 72 hours to leave and decided on the first day we didn't have the wind we wanted and turned to ST. Johns on the north side of the island in order to hopefully provision some more. We looked at the maps and read on the web and everyone seemed to say this place had a good anchorage. What we found out when we got there was completely different.
There were no boats in anchorage, and the docks were mostly for cruise Ships. The main dock was large and unkept with no cleats to tie off on. We have no reverse and ended up ramming the dock and breaking off our front life lines. The damage could have been worse and we now choose to anchor out more often and dinghy into places.
After running to a supermarket that was at least a mile away and not finding it twice, we ended up going to a side market and grabbing a sprite and 3 gallons of water. Good thing we made this stop because our two day trip to the BVI proved we needed the extra water.
The Crossing
It seems it has been a while since I have been very informative about where we are and what we are doing. We try to update facebook, and we are always updating the spot tracker. Our detailed trip of the last 3 months can be seen here, just by editing the dates you'd like to view.
We have crossed the great Atlantic, cruised through the Caribbean, Seen all the Virgin Islands and now sit in Puerto Rico. The choice lies ahead whether we can weather the weather or if we should aim for safe harbours on the east coast.
The crossing as you can tell went well. We started the engines in Gran Canaria and I did a final check on the batteries and the alternator was fried! We did not turn around to replace the alternator and decided to cross without it, we had the wind turbine and 80w of solar for power. We ran the engine for one hour to get clear of the harbour. The wind was blowing well in the direction of our choosing as we had been waiting for a weather window with strong winds, but low swells. We had heard the island would block our wind if we went to far south too soon and we may have to motor, well it blocked our wind and if you follow the tracker you can see it took us nearly 13 hours to do 1.5 knts an hour. We finally cleared the island and started making good time going at 240 degrees magnetic for 2-3 days at 3.5-4knts. The waves were small and the breeze was calm. On the 4th day a strong squal came changing the direction of the wind and waves forcing us to sail due south. As our self steering gears were not operational during these swells we disconnected them both and steered by hand for these 48 hours. On the night of the second day of the squal I made the decision to Heave-To so that we could get some rest, as steering had worn us thin. Just a week earlier we had done the jump from Portugal to Canary Islands with no self steering gear for seven days. We were not able to endure the abuse from the storm. We moved the boat into position and tied the rudder to the port side and I slept like a baby for 7 hours.
When we awoke the storm had passed and the winds and waves were back on course. The windvane that we mistakenly left connected had broken on its main axle, we did not choose to repair it at this moment but instead hooked up the electric st1000 and set our heading for 240 again. Later in the day I would remove the windvane and examine it. During this time we were looking at turning south to Cape De Verde, as without a self steering gear we were not looking forward to 27 more days of steering with no breaks. Luckily I gimmied the gear and added a few zip ties, and pried one way or another to get the windvane to work...or atleast make it so it wouldn't round us up.
From this point forward the rest of the crossing went very smooth. We got into a routine of sleeping in shifts, one making breakfast, then the other. We would have coffee, oatmeal, eggs and potatoes. We rationed our water for 1 liter per a person per a day. We would take baby wipe showers and monitor our batteries. There went days, sometimes weeks when we would not see another boat. After the bordom took over we started to do stunts of jumping off the bow, towing behind the boat, and during a time of calms we would go underneath and scrub some of the growth off our belly.
We would arrive in Antigua to Falmouth Harbour, 33 days after departure, and we were greeted by dolphins. I will post a video which will be added to this post to further give a picture of crossing on our Centaur.
We have crossed the great Atlantic, cruised through the Caribbean, Seen all the Virgin Islands and now sit in Puerto Rico. The choice lies ahead whether we can weather the weather or if we should aim for safe harbours on the east coast.
The crossing as you can tell went well. We started the engines in Gran Canaria and I did a final check on the batteries and the alternator was fried! We did not turn around to replace the alternator and decided to cross without it, we had the wind turbine and 80w of solar for power. We ran the engine for one hour to get clear of the harbour. The wind was blowing well in the direction of our choosing as we had been waiting for a weather window with strong winds, but low swells. We had heard the island would block our wind if we went to far south too soon and we may have to motor, well it blocked our wind and if you follow the tracker you can see it took us nearly 13 hours to do 1.5 knts an hour. We finally cleared the island and started making good time going at 240 degrees magnetic for 2-3 days at 3.5-4knts. The waves were small and the breeze was calm. On the 4th day a strong squal came changing the direction of the wind and waves forcing us to sail due south. As our self steering gears were not operational during these swells we disconnected them both and steered by hand for these 48 hours. On the night of the second day of the squal I made the decision to Heave-To so that we could get some rest, as steering had worn us thin. Just a week earlier we had done the jump from Portugal to Canary Islands with no self steering gear for seven days. We were not able to endure the abuse from the storm. We moved the boat into position and tied the rudder to the port side and I slept like a baby for 7 hours.
When we awoke the storm had passed and the winds and waves were back on course. The windvane that we mistakenly left connected had broken on its main axle, we did not choose to repair it at this moment but instead hooked up the electric st1000 and set our heading for 240 again. Later in the day I would remove the windvane and examine it. During this time we were looking at turning south to Cape De Verde, as without a self steering gear we were not looking forward to 27 more days of steering with no breaks. Luckily I gimmied the gear and added a few zip ties, and pried one way or another to get the windvane to work...or atleast make it so it wouldn't round us up.
From this point forward the rest of the crossing went very smooth. We got into a routine of sleeping in shifts, one making breakfast, then the other. We would have coffee, oatmeal, eggs and potatoes. We rationed our water for 1 liter per a person per a day. We would take baby wipe showers and monitor our batteries. There went days, sometimes weeks when we would not see another boat. After the bordom took over we started to do stunts of jumping off the bow, towing behind the boat, and during a time of calms we would go underneath and scrub some of the growth off our belly.
We would arrive in Antigua to Falmouth Harbour, 33 days after departure, and we were greeted by dolphins. I will post a video which will be added to this post to further give a picture of crossing on our Centaur.
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