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Published: January 14th 2011
Santa found us!
We were lucky as Santa found us in Stuart FL this year!First, we want to wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope that your holidays were pleasant and all that you wished for. As many of you know before we left Trumansburg we had thought that we would be in the Bahamas for Christmas, but that definitely is not the case. We mentioned in the last blog entry that we were stopping in Stuart, Fl to get our mainsail fixed. We have found it to be a very pleasant place to stay. It has a mooring field with great facilities. As a result we decided to stay here and continue to work on the numerous projects that need to be completed before we sail offshore. The marina here has a great laundry and shower facility as well as provides a bus service to the local shops – the grocery store, Home Depot, CVS, West Marine (Bob's personal favorite) and Wal-Mart. We have met many people here that have been “cruisers” for years as well as a few “newbie’s” like us so we are always learning. We pick up pointers on everything from maintenance on the boat, the best places to visit in the Bahamas as well as how to
Our Christmas tree
Packages under the Christmas tree. This was the perfect size tree for our new home keep bread fresh on your boat for up to 11 weeks!! The one thing we have learned is that there are people out here doing the same thing with all types of boats, all levels of experience and all ages (however our age group seems to be the majority).
We weren’t sure what we were going to do for Christmas, but our new friends, Jan and John from Bumblebee came to the rescue and asked us over to share in their Christmas dinner. Dinner was outstanding, John did the cooking. He cooked a roast on the grill on the back of his boat which we had with appetizers, a smoked salmon salad, roast potatoes, veggies and a key lime pie that Jan made. We have had lots of great times with them since we arrived. Like all the cruisers we've met they are interesting, gregarious people eager to share and help. With all of the entertaining John and Jan did which they included us in, Bob was glad to be able to help John as they were having problems with their solar panels. We were sorry to see them leave but have since heard that they made it to
Dressed for the call back home
Janice had to dress up to make her Christmas call to Mom the Bahamas on an easy ride across the Gulf Stream. Hopefully we will catch up with them again!
At the marina they have “meet and greets” on the patio where you bring an appetizer which we have gone to a couple of times. The one on New Year’s Eve was well attended and lots of fun. There is a restaurant on the same dock and they had a live band which helped make it a little more festive. Now that we have been in Stuart for so long it has become somewhat of a “community” as we all take the bus rides together, see each other at the laundry, shower rooms, or bump into each other at the dinghy dock. As a matter of fact coming into the dinghy dock where there is a lot of inflatables becomes somewhat like bumper cars trying to get in to tie up or get away from the dock.
So you might be asking yourself what keeps us in Stuart. Well, $15 moorings, excellent facilities, easy access to good restaurants and supplies and Janice is going to take her 2nd level exam for the Ham operator license. Of course we're going to
Always checking the battery level
Bob checking the battery level –first job in the AM even on Christmas morning. The solar and wind power has been working out great need to rent a car so we can drive the hour and half to get to the testing site. There were other tests she could've taken but they were much later in the month and we're hoping to be gone by then. This also gave us the ability to use the vehicle to pick up some supplies ( i.e. a wetsuit for Bob) that are not readily accessible in Stuart.
While Bob has been twisting himself like a pretzel most days by working in the lazarette, Janice has been taking all of the provisions out, sorting through them, taking a complete inventory (guess that training at Cornell in inventory was a help!!), setting up a spreadsheet and then trying to fit it all back in to a logical location on the boat. This has helped us determine what else we need to buy before leaving the US. We have found out from others and from what we have read what isn’t available in the islands or is very expensive. We are convinced that with what we now have on board we could probably eat for 6 months without going to shore!! Bob is still hoping to be able to
Christmas morning
Who packed these in August when we left?? As we had them on the boat, figured we had to wear them of course catch some fish while we sail, but we aren’t counting on it so have lots of canned tuna in our storage lockers! Luckily today we talked to a person that has been cruising for a long time and he gave us some great pointers on fishing, so maybe we will be lucky and actually be able to eat some fresh fish (this fishing thing is still a bit shaky as far as Bob is concerned). We'll let you know how it goes and promise to include pictures.
We have made lots of use of our bicycles as well – it has been nice that we were able to take them to shore and lock them up there so we didn’t have to move them back and forth on our dinghy. One of the main reasons we came to Stuart was to get our sail fixed. We arranged for that and while talking to the sail maker decided to have a new roller furler installed for our staysail. This was not originally in our budget, but we were given a good price and figured that we will use this sail much more now that it is permanently on the furler.
All decked out!
Showing off the newest holiday jewelry – with flashing lights of course! Bob also bought the new autopilot from the rigger. That was quite a job to install, but it went very well. The only thing left to do on that is our sea trials. We will need to do that test before we leave Stuart. The installation of the watermaker has been a much bigger job than we thought. Bob thinks he has all the parts needed to install it and then realize that the pipe is not ¾ but in fact 5/8 which requires getting in the dinghy, going to shore, getting on your bike, riding a mile or two to the hardware store to pick up the correct size fitting. This is Bob's new exercise program, he calls it plumbing. But the good news is it's done. Bob also decided to build a pantry so we have more room for the every day provisions for the galley (this also gave him a chance to use the woodworking tools he brought)
Janice went to the Dr. again to check in on her wrist as it wasn’t getting much better. It was worth the trip as she got a better air cast and a prescription that helped give her
Chef John
Chef John in the galley preparing Christmas dinner a “jump start” on the healing process. After a week things have gotten better and she is now able to do much more. She still wears the air cast at times as it helps protect it and reminds her to be careful.
Bob would like to thank all of you for no help on the blog! As a result of the last blog now Janice has more ammunition to get him to help with the blog (she keeps reminding me about how many people liked my last blog). The thing that may come out of this is that we can work on it together which is what we are trying with this one. One of the things we picked up recently is a video camera. Bob figures that he will have fun doing the videos so in the future look for those as well as our regular blog postings and photos.
Sailor continues to be a wonder to us, on the boat she has become much more accepting of strangers. She still has her routines and enjoys it whenever we open any of the storage areas as it is another place for her to explore. The other day
Bob and Jan (the other Jan!)
Bob and our newest friend Jan toasting on Christmas day she even decided that the bag we brought back on board with clean laundry was a great place to climb into! As we have been on a mooring away from the dock she has enjoyed not having to be on a leash.
We have definitely been enjoying the change in weather – for some time when we first arrived here there were frost warnings and it even got down to 30 degrees in the evening with the wind chill, but as of late we have been able to sit out back in shorts and T-shirts even into the evening which we are truly enjoying. We haven't packed away our winter clothes or comforters on the bed as there was another frost warning last night. That cold weather in the north seems to continue to come south more than we'd like so if you could keep it in the north we would greatly appreciate it!
Current updates:
Yes the water maker is complete!
HOORAY, Janice passed her ham licensing test with 100%. For those of you who know Janice well, this is not a surprise. The good news is now our e-mail will be free of charge and we
S/V Bumblebee
The “home” we celebrated at for Christmas – the s/v Bumblebee which as you can see was decorated for the holiday can download weather forecast and weather maps. Also we will be able to connect with friends that we have met and are in distant places but have an SSB.
We have completed provisioning (the boat sits two inches deeper in the water we are sure!).
We hope to be on our way by early next week (but of course always depending on the weather).
We at first thought it was terrible that we were still in Stuart, but have realized that the cruising life is about living each day as it comes and not planning too far into the future. Everyone we have talked to says that no matter what you think your plans are, in another day or two they will probably change. The change can be caused by a problem with the boat, a change in the weather forecast, a need to wait for a mail delivery or as simple as finding another sight to visit where you are. We are definitely finding that this is a great way to live and recommend it highly to anyone that is interested.
The best to you all for 2011!!
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David Ruth
non-member comment
You two look great
I'm hooked on your blog--preempts all previous plans. I love all the pics. Thought of you when in Sicily for Xmas--check out Ortegia--the old city of Siracusa on the south east portion of the island. While Laurie and I were looking at some small beautifully painted wooden fishing boats, I wondered if you'd pull in some day. Thanks for taking us along Thanks so much for sharing the trip.