Sunday, January 15, 2017

Climate Change

That was then...
Ugh!

Snow - gotta love it (No!)

Do you want to build a snowman!
Closs kids love skiing!
This is now!...



Almost ready to go!

Murphy the dinghy... ready to launch
We both came back with wicked colds so we are working slowly through that and enjoying the heat.

We got in on Sunday and only had a few things to do before we launched. As usual the folks at North Sound Marine were fantastic and the chores we had left them over the break were done perfectly. We just needed to slap on a coat of bottom paint and we were able to splash Tuesday afternoon.

Ed and Ann are here on Windswept Dreams - another IP 38. They are just in the water so we were able to have a couple of fun days with them.

Having a car is great. We were able to get tons of groceries (mostly wine) and spend a little time touring around. We found a great little Lebanese restaurant and enjoyed shawarma, falafel and other weird and wonderful dishes.

Supplies - mostly wine

We decided to take a tourist day with no boat jobs. Pam, the expert on Antigua attractions, took us first to Betty's Hope - the premier windmill on the island. It is being restored by volunteers and is quite impressive.

Betty's Hope
Remains of Managers house
Ed harvesting "dumps" - a citrusy fruit like a cherry
Then on to Falmouth Harbour for a quick boat errand, some fruit and ginger beer.

Lunch was at "Dan's." Dan normally only does dinner but he is on holidays from his regular job so he served us lunch. Pam told us that Dan's is recommended as a great place for local food and guess what?  It was.

Fish and Rice with a Presidente
Chicken and chips

View from Dan's
Our final stop was at a fish farm - Indies Greens. We've seen this before at home... fish growing in tanks. The effluent is used as food for plants - in this case lettuce which filters the water for the fish. A closed system for great lettuce and great fish. Tres cool!!!


Tilapia in the net, lettuce growing hydoponically in the background

Ann and the lettuce


More lettuce
We finished the day back at North Sound getting our accounts organized and spent a quiet evening changing out the chain so Pam doesn't fret all night when the wind comes up.

We see a kilo of rust around the windlass every time we pull the anchor. Pam is concerned that it is so compromised that some great gust will snap us away from our anchor at the worst time. Pshaww I say... until I remember that a happy Pam extends my time on the boat.

New chain at the top, bitter end in the middle, stuff that is always in the water at the bottom.
(bitter end: that part of an anchor cable which is abaft of the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor)

OK... maybe a little compromised
We pushed off a couple of days ago and we've moved about 100 yards from North Sound. We are doing little jobs and resting... trying get rid of these damned colds.

More power - for all your USB phones and stuff
Solar breaker
New meter for the solar panels - 23 amps WHOOOPEEE!!!
Heading south soon.

9 comments:

  1. hi Glen and Pam,
    only 4 of the pictures showed up when we opened the site. Couldn't see the Climate Change. Have a good time in the heat. Hot and humid here.
    Mike and Teri

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    Replies
    1. Hmmmmmm. That's weird. Looks fine from this end. I'll try to re-publish.

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    2. Hi Glen and Pam, John and I (Nina) met you last season while you were heading north to get your chain plates re-done. We are on Sunkissed, and IP40 rom Toronto. We are thinking about leaving Sunkissed in Antigua in May 2017 for the summer, at either Jolly Harbour or North Sound Marina. Did you stay in North Sound? We're you happy with your experience there? If you have a few moments we'd love to hear your thoughts as we try to pin down our storage. We ope to catch up to you and Windswept Dreams before too long! Nina and John

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    3. Our emails are johnwaller01@gmail.com and ninalschmidt@gmail.com.

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  2. Replies
    1. That's just Mom being a Nancy. That chain would have been fine for 2 or 3 more years before a catastrophic failure with dire consequences.

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  3. The pics are all good today. The warm weather subject of the pics are even better. First bike ride of the 2017 season yesterday in a balmy 3 degrees.
    p.s. am I to understand I now know where the phrase "to the bitter end" comes from?

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  4. Hi Glen and Pam, John and I (Nina) met you last season as you were heading north to get your chain plates re-done. We are trying to determine where to leave our boat (Sunkissed IP40, ABYC, Toronto) in May and are thinking about North Sound Marina or Jolly Harbour. Did you stay at North Sound? We're you happy with it? Did they have good facilities and good staff? Basically, how was your experience? If you had a few moments, we'd love to hear from you at johnwaller01@gmail.com or ninalschmidt@mail.com. Thanks so much, and we hope to catch up to you and Windswept Dreams before too long! Nina and John

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    Replies
    1. Sent you an email. We LOVE North Sound. Best place in the Caribbean to store!

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