December 14, 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

So much for paying extra to have something shipped in 2-3 days.  No camera case yet.  I’m learning...there is no schedule allowed when on a sailboat.  I also learned that water will last us 8 days.  All that scrimping on water doing the dishes confirms my plan to go into the sea water dish washing mode when we hit the islands.  I tried for a shower today and when I squeezed into the shower tube and sat down (on the toilet) I turned the water on and all I got was a gurgling “burp” and it didn’t come from me.  Just as I was about to tease Fred for being the water oinker (he got the first shower) he asked me to hold and he ran on deck and emptied 3 water jugs into the tank.  What a sweetie...either that or he was tired of smelling me.  I’m not sure how long that much will last but it’s time to conserve on water even more.  This is fun!  Fred worked on some wiring today while I schlepped around on the boat.  My friends Paul and Donna Lopes were on the NCL “Dawn” which was scheduled to leave port about 4:00.  I asked Fred if we could run to the harbor entrance and take pictures of them leaving.   We hopped into the dinghy, armed with the photo bag, and rode to the entrance of Miami Harbor to bid farewell to Paul and Donna Lopes and their son.  Bobbing up and down in the swells,  waiting for her to pass,  I grabbed for my camera, trying to decide if I should use my telephoto instead but chose against it.   She looked beautiful against the bright orange sunset and I was hurrying to catch that perfect shot when something went wrong with my camera.  I suddenly remembered something…”operator error”...the battery was still plugged in the wall on Casa Mare’, charging.  Yep, I forgot to  put the battery back in the camera.  I broke the news to Fred and he just stared at me, being the patient wonderful guy he is said n a very professor like tone…”you have your cell”.  What a genius!  Yes, we waved wildly, yes, I got a few pictures and no, I didn’t see Paul or Donna. 

There were over 2,000 hanging over the rails and balcony’s, wildly waving back at us.  Had to be us, we were the only speck of anything in the water next to them.  I know they are having fun though!  After dinner Fred beat me in a game of Yahtzee but I came back only to beat him again...twice.  He decided he had enough of that game.  The wind is wild on deck, clouds are moving swiftly over us and I believe the chances of seeing any meteor showers tonight from  Miami will be rare, and it’s a bit chilly.  The boat rocks in the wind as Christmas music fills the cabin.  Tomorrow we may head on down to Dinner Key if the camera housing comes in.  We are excited to move on!

December 13, 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Fred went to shore to try to find a few things for the boat while we are within reach of local stores.  I stayed back to update my stuff online and post a few pictures since we have excellent connection today.  He returned with a pretty Christmas Rose for me, my first flower received from him.  Now it really looks like Christmas in here.  Read some and actually gave myself permission to take a short nap.  That was hard to do as I seem to always want to be busy doing something because naps would be wasted time to me unless I was sick.  I woke up to Fred and Mark chatting and Fred invited him aboard.   He talked about how stressed he was with his job and decided to retire and live out his lifelong dream, which is what he is beginning to do now.  He reminded me of my brother Jim, wanting to experience life to it’s fullest and dare to dream on further.  The wind today was really strong, about 20 knots which swung Casa Mare’ in all directions.  Fred decided it wasn’t a good day to move on so we stayed since my camera housing is tracked to be here tomorrow.  Dinner was chicken salad and a movie.  It’s nice just relaxing and finding little things to do.  I love not having a schedule, not knowing what day of the week it is as well as not even knowing the date.  I am reminded daily of the date by writing, but for that only.  Good training for me to be still and listen to God.  I have been thinking about the birth of Christ more than the trip these past few days.  This has certainly brought me closer and more in tune with communicating with God, no doubt.  Every day is a gift from him.  My heart jumps when I think of that.  I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

December 12, 2011

Monday, December 12, 2011

The aroma of coffee was lingering in the air as I woke up.  It was a beautiful day.  Mark, our neighbor from Toronto, sailing “Aster” rowed over to Casa Mare’ and pumped us for information on the trip ahead.  He is planning to make the same trip only further.  Yesterday he told us he was nervous and Fred even out me at ease as they talked about the crossing.  I told him about my brother Jim’s trip with Jennifer and Linda and he asked for Jim’s website and email address.  I had to confess that this was my first trip sailing there also.  The only thing I could really contribute to the conversation was the wonderful discovery of Ziploc bags that come with a pump to take all the air out of it.  A friend of our told us about them and they are my favorite provision on the boat!  I pumped everything here away...need the exercise anyway!  Later in the day Fred said, lets go to Monument Island.  I grabbed my camera and hopped in.  “You drive”  he said.  “Me???  Drive this thing? “ I said as I glanced at all the boats so close to ours.  Fred made it sound so easy but I have seen people start them in gear and had the wildest time of their life, nearly ramming everything in sight.  Under his instructions, I threw it in neutral, pulled the choke and gave it a bit of gas, hoping not to be like the beginners I had seen in the past.  Pulled the rope and about knocked my jaw out of place.  “Too close”  I thought and backed up a bit.  Again, but just couldn’t pull up the strength to start it.  Just when I was about to give up on one last pull, it started.  I was all over the place, it doesn’t drive like a car with a steering wheel...it goes in the opposite direction you point the stick and with me being dyslexic, I can’t tell you how my head spun.  Faster than the prop for sure.  Within a few yards, I was on a straight course to the Island.  It was the return that was so confusing.  I missed the boat...twice.  The first time I tried to back up since I over calculated my approach and ended up further from the boat so Fred had me turn around and start all over again, coming in at a 45 degree angle.  My problem, I was having a hard time determining where to start the 45 degrees...I was still all over the place.  Finally coming up close to the boat, Fred grabbed the stanchion pole and held us tight, commanding me to put in neutral.  “Yes sir” I thought.  Disembarking took a few times.  First time I fell back into the dinghy but the second time I swallowed my pride and climbed back aboard, knowing I needed more practice.  Fred gave me a proud smile and not another word was spoken about my first dinghy lesson.  I think I need more open waters and a buoy to practice in.  Dinner was Rosemary/garlic chicken on the grill, cucumbers marinated in soy sauce and rice.  Robert Goodreau called and we discussed the trip.  He was hoping we would be coming down to Key West.  What a great guy!  We shared family storied, living in Morocco stories as well as Island stories.  He seems very familiar with the Islands.  He said he may just fly over to see us after we get there.  It would be fun!  Fred beat me at 2 games of Backgammon tonight.  I did manage to get on the internet just long enough to post a few things then I lost connection.  It’s quiet, Fred is reading, I can hear the water lapping against the dinghy as we slowly rock from port to starboard, like being in a cradle.  I have never known such peace.

December 11, 2011

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sunday is a day of rest, but when you think about it, everyday has been that way since I have been on this trip.  I do things that I want to do on my day of rest and I have wanted to do everything I have so far.  Had my personal time with the Lord, read, relaxed and later on in the afternoon, Fred asked me if I wanted to go get Tiramisu Ice Cream, our favorite ice cream here on Lincoln Street or...go to Monument Island.  Deep in thought still deciding whether or not to purchase an underwater case for my camera or not...I chose Tiramisu.  Something about sweet things calms my mind a bit.  We jumped into the dinghy with intentions of going to look for camera shops and top it off with the ice cream.  Traveling down the canal I saw an Office Depot and we tied the dinghy to a bush and walked across the street.  We got the best salesman to help us and even though they didn’t carry the case he

searched the internet to help us find one local.  Through that search, we discovered that they quit manufacturing a case for my camera.  I thought I just saved myself $300.00 but asked if I could do my own search on their computer since we can barely get online, much less stay on it for any time.  Amazon.com had one, for $79.00.  WOW!  I ordered it and off for the ice cream!  We need to wait a few days for it to come in though, and that was okay since there isn’t a window in sight to make the cross yet.  Strolling Lincoln street we discovered the store was closed for renovation.  “Darn!  Guess we have to settle for another store which offered pistachio.  It hit the spot and went back to the dinghy, which we moved up the canal because there was a secure chain to lock the dinghy to.  It was dark and we had no flashlight.  (always carry a flashlight in the dinghy at night, especially when your lock is a combination lock...another lesson for me)  When we arrived at Casa Mare’ Stasia was so excited to see us!  She had not jumped in and was waiting for her treat which she gets when ever we come home.  I made Italian sausage sandwiches and we shared a giant avocado we grabbed on the way back from a produce market, sat in the cockpit under out new rope lights and dined as we watched all the Christmas lights in the condo’s around us.

December 10, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Today we woke up to a bright sunny warm morning.  A great morning to take a shower on the boat.  Never doing this before (I usually took a sponge bath or went to the Marina showers) I decided to try my luck on the boat.  I particularly wanted clean hair.  The wind had managed to tangle it so that it felt like it picked up everything airborne and imbedded in into my new hairdo.  I knew water was a premium on a boat, one of the first things I learned but really never practiced it much at the marina because we were hooked up to a hose much like an umbilical cord connection, a lifeline of sorts.  I realize now, I never thought much about how much water we wasted on land.  On a boat it is completely different.  Water all around us and I feel guilt even rinsing out the sponge.  But, hey...it’s Saturday and time to try my speed and efficiency out with a hand held shower hose.  “How do I do this Fred?” I asked.  He gave me a few simple instructions about the shower curtain the hose and something about sitting on the toilet while taking a shower.  I felt like I was in a tube and could barely move but the rewards were great...I exited a clean woman, ready for the day.  Fred already had the dinghy unhooked and into the water.  Grabbing my purse and a few bags of garbage, we headed off to shore, through a narrow canal, under some really low bridges which were actually the civilized road and ours...the boaters road.  Quite a difference but it was then that I realized we were living a different life from the norm.  You traveled in a dinghy or walked.  Fred knew of a place we could lock the dinghy to near Publix grocery store and we headed straight to the dumpster to get rid of the trash.  He told me a story about depositing his trash there once and out popped a head, someone must have slept in there one night and they scared each other equally.  This morning Fred yelled into the dumpster…”Good Morning...anybody there?”  I laughed...he keeps me laughing most of the time.  By the time we got back to the dinghy, both of us had our arms full so decided to go back to the boat and drop off our groceries and later head back out to Ace Hardware for the belt replacement among other things on our list.  Unloading the dinghy, was comical.  There is always a list, keeps us organized because we have discovered we can’t really depend on each other to remember much.  The problem with the list is, we seem to misplace it often.  Doesn’t seem possible on a boat but trust me, it is.  Trying to hand the bags up to me on the boat, Fred lost his balance and tumbled over the boat cooler in the dinghy, feet in the air and the cooler upside down as the dinghy started to slip away from Casa Mare’.  I ran for the hook but before I got back with it, he was too far, still struggling to get in an upright position.  I laughed, hard, silently, trying to be concerned but it was funny.  I wished then I had my camera instead of the hook.  It was a Kodak moment.  Fred decided we needed rope lights for the Cockpit and Ace had them.  I was still searching for a fishing planer and Fred his spare belt which we never found.  You would think one would be board on a boat but not on Casa Mare’.  I got to string the lights and we have yet to find the extension cord to turn them on.  Fred worked on our computers for awhile and I decided to use one of our buckets as a sanitizer and threw some bleach in some water and in went 3 sponges and two cloths.  Something about not being to rinse sponges out all the time bothers me so I came up with a solution...I think.  Another thing...garbage.  By the time we unpacked groceries, we had another bag of packaging for the trash which we returned to shore in the dumpster...again.  After the Ace trip we have yet another bag of trash.  I also realized today that we waste a lot on packaging and as of today, I think we should unpackaged everything before we return to the boat.  What a waste.  Funny how I took things like that for granted as no big deal.  Now it is to me...water...packaging...cars...and I am sure other things will come up.  I am not sure what God has on store for me on this trip but I do know I am learning about how to get by with the bare essentials and even then...think back to the cave man days.  When we get out to cleaner water, I am thinking about bailing water from the sea to do dishes in.  We do have hot water on the boat...if the engine is running...to get it hot so I feel like I want to get creative with that also.  Tonight I taught Fred how to play Backgammon.  Stasia has discovered there is a dinghy alongside the boat and guards it closely.  Not sure if she things it is an intruder or if she is trying to figure out a way to jump on it.  She slept the entire time we used it today and didn’t see us on it.  She is one happy cat.  We all are happy and still having fun!

December 9, 2011

Friday, December 9, 2011

By 8:30 AM we were under way.  Although the weather called for 20% chance of showers, Fred chose to stay in the intracoastal waterway since it began pouring rain and stayed that way for hours.  I never trusted the weather channel anyway because  most of the time, they were wrong, just as they were today.  I say…”Just look outside and there ya go...the weather”.  As Fred continued down the ICW, Stasia found a new hiding place in the cockpit combing locker, a little open port hole shape opening on both the port and starboard, used for just about anything that doesn’t seem to have a home.  I personally think Casa Mare’s builder had a cat, but if not, it serves many purposes including a cozy little place just the right size for a 13 pound boat cat.  I took the opportunity to stay below and finish organizing the aft cabin which in the beginning was all set until we found other things that didn’t have a home and made a temporary one there.  It’s amazing how much you need for a trip like this.  At first I thought we had enough provisions and now I am keeping my fingers crossed that we make it to an island with a store that sells food later on in the adventure.  I don’t really like to eat fish (a few have made it to my plate like Salmon, Tuna out of a can and Flounder) although I love to fish, catch and release you may say unless there is someone around who likes to eat them.  But they get to clean them also.  I usually don’t find many takers for that but that hasn’t taken the thrill of hooking one and reeling it in.  My Dad has showed me how to clean one in my childhood but I would suggest sticking to a can of tuna because that is about what my fish would look like when I get done with it.  I forgot to buy a planer, which was suggested by Jim, my brother who is an experienced sailor and has done this trip before, so perhaps while here in South Beach Miami we may come across one, if not, one of the islands may have one.  

Fishing Tips while on a sailboat

*They sell plain looking wooden plugs with one hook and lead in the nose.  This is one of the things  Bahamians use to troll for tuns.. Simple little device. * Punch some holes in a few colorful beer or soda cans and drag them behind your boat for a teaser. The air and water go thru them making plenty of bubbles and commotion to attract fish. You can even put a few pebbles or nuts and bolts in them to make them rattle. * Use a rag mop to catch lobster in the islands.  Just swim around and poke it under the rocks.   The mop will tangle with the antennas and just pull up some fine dinner.  Sauteed with butter, lemon juice  and capers over pasta.  Yummie!  Make sure you are not looking in the parks, fishing of any kind are  prohibited in the sea parks.