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Published: December 30th 2011
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X Marks the Spot
When you get off the dock at Ashton they have this handy map of the island. In June on our way south we anchored near Clifton, this time we are by Frigate Island which is a less touristy area of the island. First, I need to apologize for some of the captions on the photos of the last blog entry. Not sure what happened but I see that some of the titles didn’t get matched up with the photos – hopefully it didn’t cause too much of a problem for you! I was in too much of a hurry at the internet café to get the blog done that I didn’t double check this last time – will work on that for future blog entries!
Remember when we said we planned on moving slowly up north in the islands this sailing season? Well, we are true to our word right now. We arrived at Union Island on Tuesday, December 27
th and in listening to the weather predictions figure we will go to Tobago Cays this coming Monday.
What happens when the winds are strong and not in the “right” direction? You take time to explore where you are, read for pleasure, re-organize items on the boat, make fresh water from sea water, work on projects that need to be attended to (fix the hoist for the dinghy engine) do laundry, write blogs (don’t always expect them this frequently in the future)
All Types of Sailboats
In Clifton Harbor there were boats of all sizes and types. Quite a sight to see, but would have enjoyed seeing this one sailing instead. and get free energy. With the winds blowing strong, the clothes dry quite quickly as long as there aren’t any showers (although even with short showers they still dry quite quickly with heavy winds and lots of sun). The energy we have been getting from our 2 wind generators and 3 solar panels has been so great lately our batteries have been close to 100% charged. This is now the time that we pull out everything that needs to be charged and plug them in – everything from the normal items of camera batteries, computers, and phone to our one luxury item, an electric toothbrush! We do have the manual type on board for when the energy level gets low, but luckily the wind and sun have been doing their part well to keep it charged.
We did get our propane tank filled so now Janice isn’t as nervous about baking bread and running out of fuel. Guess baking bread will be on the agenda for tomorrow . The biggest problem with the amount of wind that we are getting now is the waves that come with it. When we come back from shore in our dinghy we are
A Shady Spot to Wait
Bob found some shade to stand in while waiting for the bus back to Ashton after a day of shopping in Clifton. drenched! Bob keeps saying if we invest in a bigger dinghy we wouldn’t get as wet, but the financial person always comes back with the message that getting wet isn’t that bad for now! Time will tell as to when we will need to invest , however it does appear that the family car is starting to take on some water even when not being used. Checking out the dinghy leak is another one of those items that just got added to the list of “projects to do”.
Before we leave here on Monday we have a few more projects to work on, but as Bob keeps reminding me we don’t want to get them all done in one day so we don’t have any chance of being without a project! I keep assuring him I don’t think that will happen as we keep adding to that list faster than we take them off. Oh well, owning a boat isn’t that different from owning a home!
I realized that I haven’t mentioned Sailor lately so for those of you interested in our 4 legged crew member, we have been so impressed with how well she has adapted to
Barrels from the US
These are the types of barrels that we spoke of that every one in Carriacou was getting sent down from the US duty free for the holidays. They all seemed to be coming from Brooklyn including this one we saw on Union Island. this life style. We were heeling quite a bit on our way over to Union Island, but it didn’t even faze her and she even stayed on the settee the whole time. When we anchor, she looks up at us and then just rolls over and goes back to sleep. One change that has occurred since she has been on board is that she has trained us to collect rainwater for her to drink! We had given her some rainwater months ago to drink and she decided she likes that much better than our tap water, so one of the things we do whenever there is even a small shower is to put her water bowl out to collect some water for her. She definitely has trained us well. Guess it isn’t too bad having a cat’s life even if forced out to sea. Having us around all the time now compared to when we were living in Trumansburg seems to make up for any discomfort she may have.
Have a safe and happy New Year!
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john furey
non-member comment
a living journal
janice and bob, happy new year. you both look well, rested and tan. please keep sharing these updates and know that i am planning again this year to offer your blog site to my young interns as a why for them to interest students in geography, history, and peoples of the world. regards, john