Roger Family Sailing Adventures

Home for the Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:09:00 +0000

Sending this from Toronto Pearson Airport...

Highlights from 2011/2012 cruise...
Sailed from Florida to the BVI
Had visits from family and friends
Met new cruising buddies
Good snorkeling, swimming and fishing
Loved improvements to the boat including wonderful new fridge, new plumbing, cockpit screens and washdown pump
Repairs to a minimum - boat running very well
Saw whales, dolphins and the ugliest iguanas and lizards
Did overnight crossings
Flew 6 different courtesy flags from different countries

Sadly we lost some dear family this year - makes you realize that life is short - you only live once, so live it well!

Out she comes...

Summer Home

Murphy the dinghy gets a ride, too.

Excellent security - police station next door!!!

See you in the fall!!!

Blue Pearl Shutdown Checklist

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:34:00 +0000

This is our Shutdown Checklist with responsibilities divided between Glen and Pam. Pam disagreed with some of this and so we are having another look at the division of labour.

empty water tank - Pam
fill fuel tank - Pam
remove sails/sail covers - Pam
remove canvas - Pam
open bilge through-hull - Pam
flush holding tank - Pam
clean/hoist/tarp dinghy - Pam
secure/service outboard - Pam
remove bullet wifi radio - Pam
liquor cabinet maintenance - Glen
defrost/clean fridge - Pam
dispose of perishable food items - Pam
disconnect batteries - Pam
remove solar panels - Pam
remove chartplotter - Pam
protect instrument panels - Pam
porthole covers - Pam
clean interior teak with vinegar and water - Pam
clean toilets - Pam
laundry - Pam
change engine oil - Pam
service generator - Pam
UV wax cabin top - Pam
Pest proof (Formaldahyde) the cabin - Pam
Protect through-hulls from pests - Pam
Remove prop for maintenance - Pam
Hurricane straps - Pam

Sails off, canvas still on for shade. It's 97F - little breeze.

Palmas del Mar

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:46:00 +0000

We put Brad on the plane in St. Thomas and spent the day in Lindbergh Bay, swimming, enjoying stolen internet and just being generally lazy. With 2 weeks left in our Caribbean Cruise we had more than enough time to re-tour the USVI or head back over to the BVI – but you know what?… we realized that we are done.

It is time to think about our parallel universe where grandchildren come to stay at our house, kids get married, friends come over for dinner and other good stuff. So with a new sense of purpose and adventure we headed back to Puerto Rico to put Blue Pearl to bed for the summer.

Pizza oven

Pam's kitchen window - looking out at Green Beach, Vieques

We raised anchor in time to beat a bit of bad weather and raced back to Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands. We were there earlier with Jen and Jackson and with the Inmans so it was familiar ground. Enjoyed walking around the town and doing boat chores – picked up a couple of bottles of communion wine since we were low. Then to Green Beach on the west of Vieques and finally a 12 mile sail to the Marina at Palmas del Mar.

We stayed at Palmas in 1995 for a week and we are amazed that something this big and opulent has managed through these tough economic times. We’ve seen so many of these “grand schemes” that have failed so someone must be doing something right here at Palmas. It was stunning in 1995 and is every bit as stunning today.

We will be hauled in a week so we will enjoy the marina life – pool, tiki bar, chandlery, proximity to Costco wines.

Friends Mary Clare and Axel from Azaya arrived today and spent the day with us in a rental car, driving from West Marine to the outlet mall to Costco to Walmart getting all kinds of provisions and bits and pieces for the boats. Azaya is hoping to capture one of the last spots in dry-storage here for the summer alongside Blue Pearl.

Stay Out!!! Turtles hatching.

Mary Clare and Axel on Palmas beach

AC making a difference

Yay for Costco wines!

We will start the process of taking down the sails, the canvas, changing oil, changing filters and all the other things on the “put to bed” check list. Looking forward to putting Blue Pearl to bed SLOWLY – with AC.

Coolin' in the pool

Saint Croix

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:41:00 +0000

The islands of the USVI and the BVI are so close together that from one spectacular spot to the next is often only a 5 to 10 mile sail. St. Croix is about 35 miles away so that puts it apart from the rest. It is part of the USVI. We hadn’t heard from anyone who had been there so we decided that we needed to visit. The added bonus is that it is directly south of where we were so the easterly trades would give us a beam reach coming and going. We are coming to the end of our 2011/2012 cruise and we have spent much time motoring and motor-sailing so the thought of a serious sail was inviting.

We left Peter Island in the BVI at 7 am and sailed due south averaging more than 6 knots for the trip. The entrance into Christiansted, St. Croix, is well marked – there is a serious shoal right in the entrance to the harbour and there are many, many buoys. So many, that Glen did several U-turns before we finally made our way in. Customs and Immigration clearance was painless and we were soon in Murphy the Dinghy, heading for the Fort Christian Brew Pub. From the mooring field, you dinghy past Fort Christian to the promenade along the front of the town harbour. We tied Murphy off to the dock and took a short walk along the waterfront before Glen was overcome by the heat and we had to stop for rehydration at the brew pub.

We made arrangements with a local car rental place to get a car in the morning and then retreated to the boat for a delicious Pamacita Jambalaya.

Old windmill on the waterfront

Waterfront walkway

Rehydrating at Ft. Christian Brew Pub

In the morning we set off to collect our rental car – only to be hit by the only negative on this trip. Any drivers other than US are required to purchase ($20) an “international drivers license.” Now, we’ve driven many places in the world, Europe, Mexico, and the good old USSA, but we have never been required to pay for an “international drivers licence.” Anyway, the rental clerks were nice – not their rule – so we paid and off we went.

There are lots of great sights to see in St. Croix.

We toured the grounds of the Buccaneer Hotel – fantastic views! We went out to Point Udall, passing an 82-foot dish antenna which is part of the Very Long Baseline Array – cool to see it moving and adjusting. We followed the south coastline and passed the huge HOVENSA refinery on our way to the Cruzan Rum Distillery. It’s not well marked on the road – you have to be careful or you will drive past it – like we did.

Part of the Very Large Array or a kickass satellite tv dish

Pt. Udall Monument to the Millenium

I prefer the Single Barrel

Cruzan Rum windmill remains

Did the obligatory rum tour, tasting and purchasing and then spent a lovely afternoon touring the island. We did a quick drive through Fredericksted on the west coast and had a super lunch on the beach at Rhythm's Beach Bar. A beautiful setting right on a beautiful beach.

We drove the route of the St. Croix Triathalon and saw “The Beast,” a steep, steep hill. We drove down the hill, the competitors drive up the hill. It has got to be gut wrenching.

We ended up back in Christiansted, stocked up on a few groceries and retired for a peaceful evening back on sv Blue Pearl.

Brad chooses Grey Goose

Our sail back to St. John was as smooth as our trip down. We caught no fish but enjoyed a lovely beam reach all the way at 6 plus knots. We had heard that Coral Bay on the southeast corner of St. John was a nice anchorage but there must be two of them – one way nicer than where we ended up. We left and headed south and west for another couple of miles and spent the night on a mooring ball at Salt Pond Bay. Considered to be one of the best snorkeling locations on the island, it was busy with guests arriving by car and with 3 other boats on mooring balls. We did lots of swimming and snorkeling in this beautiful spot.

We recommend St Croix. Now we can say we are Cruzan Cruisers!

Brad visits sv Blue Pearl

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:16:00 +0000

We picked up Brad at the airport in St. Thomas and whipped around to Brewers Bay to get out of the surge. Great to see The Boy!

Swimming in the USVI

We had some good swims, toured through St. Thomas harbour and then headed up to Caneel Bay on St. John. Too much surge and wake from the ferries so we moved up a bit to Hawksnest. We’ve enjoyed showing Brad the big boats, the great scenery and the wonderful anchorages. We cleared into the BVI on his birthday, April 3.

When he got to Brad's passport, the customs man said, “His birthday today!” Glen mentioned something about buying birthday rum and he actually smiled!

Painkillers at Pussers

the dessert menu

Really - $7.95???

Went all out and got him a pool noodle for his birthday!

Dark and Stormies - Barritts Ginger Beer and Pussers

Mmmm mmmm good!

Callwoods Rum

We sailed to the obligatory Sandy Cay and then to Great Harbour so we could have a birthday dinner at Foxies. The next day we went back past Sandy Cay to Cane Garden Bay to pick up some Callwoods Rum!

PR boats lining up for the partay!!!

We’ve been at Normans for the past two nights. Today has been amazing as the Puerto Rican Navy settles in for maneuvers. Must be a holiday in PR – ‘cause all the boats are here.

We are planning more adventures in the BVI and then hopefully the wind will pick up for our sail to St. Croix.

Sailors… always complaining about the wind. Too much… not enough!

Hanging around St. Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:54:00 +0000

Jackson, Jen and Luke left us last week and we have been hanging around, enjoying the island and doing small chores. We are currently at Water Island 'cause there is a great wifi signal. We go ashore, do our boat chores, and listen on the radio to the passenger ferry, "Rabbit," as they leave Crowne Bay Marina.

Rabbit says, "Permission to leave the marina with 5 passengers on board." Crowne Bay says, "Roger, Rabbit." It never gets old.

We’d had a problem with our roller furler and we were able to find a rigger to put it right. If you need rigging, we would highly recommend Skip the Rigger at Compass Point Marina. He probably has another last name – but we don’t know it.

Brad will be here on Saturday so we are just lounging around, making sure we are seaworthy for his 2 weeks with us. We don’t know much about St. Croix – except in Captain Ron they went to an island near there. Remember that part?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhwM_vVQLxo

St. Croix is about 40 miles so that will give Brad a chance to do a nice crossing. Our tentative plan is to give him a day or two to set his clock to island time and then head to St. Croix. After a day or two exploring there we will likely come back to St. John and then clear into the BVI. (It’s a mile from the closest point of St. John to Tortola.) Then, like with Jen’s family, we will hit the highlights, Soper’s Hole, Norman Island, the Baths and the Bitter End on Virgin Gorda, Foxies on Jost van Dyke, Cane Garden Bay and whatever else looks interesting.

We have made arrangements to put the boat to bed for the hurricane season in Puerto Rico at Palmas del Mar. Again, Glen’s fluency in Spanish has been invaluable as our communications with the marina have progressed. After Brad leaves, we will make our way west (might actually get a chance to use our sails!) for a couple of weeks before hauling sv Blue Pearl.

Pirates attacking a cruise ship

Long Bay, Charlotte Amalie

A modest cruiser

We have provisioned with rum - but will have to do that again because Glen keeps over-sampling. Pussers is $11 per bottle in the BVI. Woooo hoooo!

As soon as we sail onto Cane Garden Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:35:00 +0000

We can’t figure out the darn wind. It is supposed to be calm in the early morning and stronger later in the day. And sometimes it is. But sometimes it’s not. When you are trying to schedule your movements around the naps of a 2 year old it gets challenging.

We left St. John for Sopers Hole in the BVI. It was only 5 miles but we bounced and bumped our way as usual, AGAINST THE WIND. We chartered from Sopers in ’95 so it was cool to be there again. We checked in and Glen tried to invoke a smile from the immigrations and customs people with limited success. C and I people from all countries seem to have had similar training in being “challenging.” Anyway, $12.63 later and we were admitted for our short tour. We bought several bottles of Pussers Rum for Glen and an ice cream sandwich for Jack and then went to the Jolly Roger’s for burgers for dinner. A perfect day.

Next day we tried again to outsmart the wind and sailed east to Virgin Gorda and the Baths. Bounced and bumped and eventually motor-sailed-tacked to the Baths. After circling the day-mooring balls for a few minutes we scooped one and set off for the beach and the Baths. Can’t describe the Baths. Google them to get a sense. We played on the beach, traversed the caves and then played on the beach some more. We had planned to stay at the nearby marina to get more info about the place. We might leave the Blue Pearl there this summer for the hurricane season and it seems like a good place.

Wow! Caves!

The Baths

Swimming with Momma and Daddy

After a quick reconoiter, we sailed the 2 miles to Trellis Bay for the evening. We had a beer at “Da Loose Mongoose” to get the wifi password and headed back to the boat – only to find we couldn’t crack the wifi. How did they spell the password? Anyway, no wifi. Dang!

Cane Garden Bay

People and Places and Callwoods Rum

Still running after 400 years

Art shot

We stayed at Cane Garden Bay for a couple of days – enjoying the beach and the Callwoods Rum. Check out the lyrics to Jimmy Buffett’s “Manana.” Jackson is loving his swimming and Glen is loving his rum.

We took off for Sandy Cay, Jost van Dyke. It is about an acre island – the picture perfect island typical of the Caribbean. Played in the sand, frolicked in the water, harvested coconuts and then headed to Jost van Dyke to be ready to clear Customs Monday morning.

Closs family

Swimming off the boat!

Glen went ashore to case out Customs, found them open and was able to clear us out. He checked out Foxies – the crazy island bar – but it is more suited to people without busy little two-year-olds. We spent the night at Little Jost – met a couple from North Vancouver who are impressed with the BVIs but no so much their charter boat. Headed back to the USVI, clearing in at St. John and then to Water Island off Charlotte Amalie.

The Closses leave us on Tuesday morning. We will dinghy them to shore at Lindberg Bay and walk them to the airport. After 48 hours of sleep we will be missing them desperately!

Navigating

USVI to BVI

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:14:00 +0000

Ice cream sandwich and a donut for lunch!

Wow! Great times in the Virgin Islands! We stayed overnight at Honeymoon Bay on Water Island – right beside Charlotte Amalie. Jack was crazy in the water – running in until he was over his head and then floating on his back.

Pelican friend at the Dinghy Dock Bar

In the morning we headed 1.2 miles over to Lindbergh Bay so Jen, Pam and Jackson could walk to the airport to get Luke. Glen stayed on the boat to do important tasks and not drink rum.

In less than an hour – and much less than 4 ounces – Luke was on the boat and we were heading back to Honeymoon Bay. Great place for all of us – but especially Jack. We think it was a good start to Luke’s vacation.

So the parrot said... "OK, I give up. Where did you put the boat?

We are into new cruising guides now – not territory we’ve read much about. We stopped at Christmas Cove on St. James Island after cruising through past the big cruise ships in Charlotte Amalie. Great snorkeling, according to Jen and Luke. We took Jack to the beach to review throwing rocks. He did pretty well, although he almost nailed his own foot a couple of times.

Back floating

Left Xmas for a morning in Cruz Bay. Found two new kinds of rum to buy. Then onto Francis Bay. More beach, more rock throwing, back floating and running into the waves. Jack did stuff, too.

Holy Crap, Gran. You should see all the food under your bed!

Captain Papa - I think we've got the right-of-way

More to starboard, Papa

Nav aids

I think Yan Diesel needs oil

King of the castle

Now who's captain?

Super snorkler

We are in Francis Bay on St. John planning a brief tour of the BVI and then a quick trip back to St. Thomas to ship the Closs family off for their return trip home to Vancouver.

Jen and Jack!

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:18:00 +0000

We had an awesome cruise with the Inmans – but all good things come to an end.

We docked at Puerto del Rey in Fajardo after a brisk sail up from Ferro Bay on Vieques. We went to Ferro to see the bio-luminescence – which was pretty spectacular. But no more so than some of the same up in the Pacific Northwest. Some times at night when we flushed on Miss Pearl the head would light up like the lights were on.

Anyway, we had a great sail and we rewarded ourselves by turning on the AC when we hooked up our yellow dock line (power cord) at Puerto del Ray.

Next day we said our goodbyes to the Inmans after a fabulous lunch in San Juan – they are off on a supplementary adventure to explore the island. They are the perfect guests... except that they won't let you pay your fair share. So I guess that makes them the perfect guests!!!

Pam's Salad Nicoise at Miros in San Juan

We left the airport and promptly got lost. We drove in ever expanding circles until we found a Costco and bought a GPS. Woooo hooooo! After paying $500 ransom, we left with the new GPS, two cases of wine and fresh fruit and vegetables for our visit with Jen and Jackson.

Back to the boat – with directions from GPS Jill – to stow our treasures and rest up. We’ll need the rest – Jackson doesn’t stop.

Got them at 10:30 pm (6:30 their time) and Jack played shy for 2 minutes. Got into the car and sped back to the boat. Now Jack was NOT shy and wouldn't stop chatting. Told us his travel stories all the way back to Fajardo. Had a nice bedtime and then a great sleep.

Gran's my favorite! Ice cream sandwich and new net!

Alright, let's get this show on the road.

Spent a day letting them get their hours organized and then headed out on Thursday for Isla Palamino. Had a blustery sail but only for 5 miles. Then an evening on a mooring ball and off for an early start on Friday for Culebra.

The weather didn’t cooperate and our pregnant Jen had a relapse of morning sickness. Ugly and bumpy – but we were into Bahai Tamarindo before noon.

Great beach toys

Master of my domain

Body surfing

Waiting for big waves

Serenading

Helping Gran make dinner

Nuggets and a brewskie at El Batey - that's livin'

We are back in Culebra, snorkeling, playing on the beach, playing on the boat - just hanging out in the Spanish Virgin Islands. We've seen many of the boats we got to know in Luperon while we all waited for weather - Southern Cross IV, Falcon's Nest, Seabbatical 1, Fawkes, N'er Do Well - and have heard others on the radio.

It is very windy now and will be for the next few days. Saturday looks like a good day to head east - Maybe to Saint Thomas?!

The Virgin Inmans

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:55:00 +0000

We told Mike and Charlotte that since they were arriving close to midnight, they would need to stay overnight in a hotel and then rent a car to come to us. After all, getting around when you are boat-based is challenging. But from our anchorage in Salinas it turned out that renting a car was a piece of cake. Sidney, the Hertz dealer would deliver the car to the marina.

So we rented the car for 2 days. We adventured with Colleen and Bruce from Serenity on day 1, winding all through Ponce until we found our buddy boat, Vagabond still in the Ponce Yacht Club. We shopped ‘til we dropped – actual American stores were fascinating after all our time in the Bahamas and the DR. Then we headed back for a terrific meal of fresh mahi on Southern Cross IV.

The next day, we took off in the morning to gather Mike and Char from the San Juan airport. Got on to the freeway headed for Ponce – damn, that’s the wrong direction. Did a U-turn, went through an automated toll booth without the right sticker. Not a good start. Waiting for a nice fine on our VISA when we get the bill.

What a cool hotel! It is right in the airport, quite reasonable and a terrific place for guests to arrive. Make sure to remember that one! Great to see M & C. We’ve been anticipating this visit for a long time so we were overjoyed to see them.

We got them back to the boat – went back out to do some provisioning. We had lunch at the recommended chicken stand – Viktor Pollo. Back to the boat for drinks and yapping. Next morning we set out for a 20 mile run to a little fishing village named Patillas. Ran the boat up on a coral head named &%$**$$##. Set a stern anchor and kedged ourselves off and then anchored for the night. A manatee floated up and said, “Good job.” Explored the town. Not much there. Beers, garage sale, and then back to the boat for mahi, drinks and sweet dreams.

Next day we actually reached our destination in all this…. the Virgin Islands. Vieques (vee AYE case) Island is one of a number of islands in the Spanish Virgins. It was primarily used for military purposes until only recently and so it is not as developed as other nearby islands. We enjoyed a great swim. We walked up the beach and rescued a young couple who had become stuck in the sand in their jeep. Karma rewarded us for our efforts right away. We met George, Iris and a number of their friends who were enjoying the weekend at Green Beach. They spent most of the day in the water like Water Buffalo – eating snacks and drinking PR moonshine rum. They enjoyed Charlotte’s antics as she tried to knock a coconut from a tree – and then invited us to join them for refreshments. They recommended some places for us to visit and told us of a great marina where we may end up leaving Blue Pearl at the end of this season.

In the morning, most folks had scattered so we decided to head out. We started for Isabel Segunda and then shifted course for Culebra. We headed into Ensenada Honda – a big bay near the town of Dewey. Had beers at the Dinghy Dock Restaurant with Colleen and Bruce – then set off to explore a bit. Found the mercado (store) and the panederia (bakery) and finally Momacita’s – a nice little bar on the canal near the ferry dock. Back to the boat for sundowners, crib and another great dinner – and lots of rum. Rum led to guitars, singing, crooning - man we were good! Tylenol en la manana (the morning.)

Spent a day snoozing and reading at our Dakity anchorage and then went snorkeling with Bruce and Colleen. Saw great reefs and lots of rays. When the sun is out, the colours in the water are just spectacular. Said our goodbyes to Serenity as they head farther east. We sailed a couple of miles to nearby Culebrita to walk to the lighthouse, swim and relax. Back a couple of miles to Bahia Almadovar for another great dinner, drinks, crib, reading and an early bedtime. Tough life!!!

Pollo carbon

OK - rock it - just like in the snow

How do you get the dam things down?

PR moonshine

Not open today

Dominos and huge hamburgers

Culebrita lighthouse

views!

Top of the lighthouse

View from the lighthouse - nice boat!

Happy Hour with Colleen and Bruce

Local bars

Whoooo hooooo

Stingray

Hardy sailors

and snorkelers

To Ponce… Wait, Salinas… No, Ponce... OK, Salinas

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:02:00 +0000

We crossed the Dreaded Mona Passage!!! So much has been written about this passage that it has scared the bejesus out of us. But wait, the weather gurus are telling us that there is a weather window – the best since before Christmas!!!

So, without really exploring Punta Cana, we readied ourselves, got our dispachos from the DR navy, made overnight snacking food and set out, just after 9 AM. We watched a couple of humpbacks breeching as we left the Dominican Republic behind us. It was so calm that at times there weren’t even ripples on the water. It was so calm that we realized that we were going to arrive at Ponce at 3 in the morning. So – fearless and adaptable sailors us – we changed our destination for Salinas after first checking with as many cruising resources at hand, that Salinas was a port of entry. One of the cruisers tried raising US Customs and Immigration on his satellite phone but was not able to get a connection.

So we sailed on through the night, enjoying the smooth ride, the stars and the good feeling that we were going to be 30 miles further down the coast. This coast does not make it easy to sail east so this was a real gift.

Caught another mahi and hooked something else that might have been a whale. Our line spun out with the sound of a banshee and near the end, Glen put some extra resistance on the line and it gave way. Good thing ‘cause we think whaling is illegal in PR.

After a beautiful sunrise we coasted into Salinas, set our anchors and prepared to explore – just have to check in first. Minor. BUT – the port of entry has been closed for two years and the sympathetic but firm official told us we had to sail back to Ponce to clear.

Arggghhhhh.

Anyway – Glen made an omelette while Pam steered and we motored 4 hours – no wind at all – back to Ponce. Anchored and phoned. They said, “Phone back when you are at the fuel dock.” Called the fuel dock. “We are on break ‘til 1PM” OK, wait ‘til 1 – go to the fuel dock. Met a couple who had been waiting since 11 AM. We waited a bit, had someone come on and quarantine our garbage, someone else to see if we are bandits. Then they took our ship’s registration papers and told us to meet them back at the office for our new cruising permit. Waited an hour in the office and finally – a shiny new cruising permit – but a lousy anchorage.

So – back on the boat, fire up Yan Diesel and head 4 hours back to Salinas. We are currently in a snug anchorage after a harrowing pitch black arrival.

But, the DMP is behind us and friends and family will be here soon to explore the Spanish Virgin Islands! Whoopeee!

Yummmm - more mahi!

The Dreaded Mona Passage

Pam on watch across the DMP

Heading East

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:11:00 +0000

These overnighters are killing us. It’s hard to figure out if you left yesterday or the day before. And getting a few hours sleep is magnificent when you can.

The trade winds lie down at night and make it possible to move east – mostly motor-sailing. We wait until the winds die down or until we think they are going to die down, and then set out. Sometimes we get it wrong and get a washing-machine ride.

We left early from Luperon to Sosua – getting in around noon. Sosua is a cool little tourist town – settled during and after WW II by German Jews trying to escape from persecution in Europe. The little bay was beautiful with crystal clear water and amazing tourist hotels. We napped and ate and then hoisted anchor at 6 PM. We struggled around the first cape – and over the night learned that we were going to struggle around every cape. The winds pile up the seas and it is very bumpy going.

We had the opportunity to have the bottom cleaned when we left Luperon but Glen cheaped out and decided that not much could have accumulated in the 2 weeks we were there. WRONG!!! We burned 3 times as much fuel as usual and were the last in the pack getting into el Vallee (Escondido). Glen dove on the propellor and found it totally encrusted with barnacles. He cleaned the prop but the entire bottom was covered with the same growth. We had to drop out of the convoy to head into Samana instead of heading on to Punta Cana.

Five miles out of Samana the engine overheated and we had to shut it off. Glen checked that the barnacles hadn’t clogged the water strainer, he checked that the heat exchanger (radiator) had fluids and he checked that the impellor was intact. He didn’t check that the fan belt was broken – which it was. Genius Glen found that we could run the engine at low revs and the temperature stayed in the normal range. Then – aha! – the alternator isn’t putting out any voltage. So GG headed back into the engine room, determined the problem and we were soon back underway to Samana with a new belt.

We arrived in Samana at 9 AM, cleared in, arranged for fuel, arranged to have the bottom cleaned, took a motorconcho to the local market for oranges and lemons, found a bottle of Glen Kinchie for only $30, got back on the boat and we were underway for Punta Cana by 4 PM. Samana looks like a cool little town, a place that needs more exploring some day. It is a quaint little fishing town that has been discovered by cruise ships so there are perfume, jewelry, gift shops along with the other hustles you see in cruise ship towns. Samana Bay is a humpback whale mating/birthing ground like Maui and so the place is covered with whale watching experiences. We saw lots of spouts as we travelled in and out of the bay. Neat place!

Another overnight sail to Punta Cana and here we are. We arrived at about 6 AM and had to heave-to in the swell in front of the marina, waiting for it to open. This is a magnificent place. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, I wouldn’t go to a place that would in the likes of me. But here we are, AC blowing full on, dining out at the restaurant. Living the grand life – for one night. Then it is back to the grind – we leave in the morning at around 10 AM in light airs to transit to Puerto Rico. This is an 18 hour run to clear into PR at Ponce (Pon say).

We’ll spend a night or 2 recovering, looking around Ponce and then try to figure out how to connect with the Inmans. Mike and Charlotte are going to be with us for a week or 10 days while we explore the south coast of PR and try to get to Isla Vieques in the Spanish Virgin Islands. We know Mike would like to try some of the Glen Kinchie. We doubt there will be any left to try. Should have bought 2 bottles.

Sosua

el Vallee coconut grove

Samana

The fuel dock

Breakfast at Cap Cana Marina

Laundry day

Blue Pearl at Cap Cana

Partying with our cruising buddies

Time to Move!

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:44:00 +0000

We’ve been waiting for the experts to tell us we can go. We are Waiting for Weather Windows in W(L)uperon or Lying Low before we go in Luperon. Or how ‘bout this one – Wasting Away Again in Luperonoville - where the rum is cheap and so are the aspirins.

Anyway, the Trade Winds are blowing 20 right from the east, the north swell sends 10 foot seas hurtling towards the shore and the wind and swell combine to create a washing machine effect. NO FUN!

So we’ve been patient. Even with friends and family arriving in PR in days – we’ve been patient.

BUT WAIT!!! We think we’ve got a window!!!

The weather gods may have conspired to create an opening. Jinder said something about burning special incense, putting pins in a voodoo doll and making a special request to his gods. Thanks, Jinder!

We might be heading out Tuesday night to hug the coast in the island “night lee” to make Escondido. A night lee occurs when the cooling land mass creates conditions that knock the Trade Winds down. We see it every night at about 7PM, when the winds die down – and every morning, when the winds kick back in at about 10 AM.

When the north swell dies, and the Trades get below 15, the night lees make it possible to transit along the coast. So we will leave Tuesday evening to get into Escondido Wednesday morning. Sleep at anchor until evening and then head around Cabo Samana towards PR. Maybe only Punta Cana, DR or maybe all the way to Boqueron, PR. We’ll let the weather decide.

The main thing is that we will be a step closer to our rendezvous with friends and family in PR.

Luperon has been a blast. This is a cozy cruiser community integrated with the friendly DR fishermen and townsfolk. We’ve loved Captain Steve’s – his esposa Annie is a delight. Wendy’s is awesome, JR’s has a great music night. Papo and Handy Andy have become amigos. We appreciate their work ethic and will be sorry to say goodbye. The food has been cheap and fantastic and did we mention - cheap. The beer is cold and delicious. We won’t be sorry to say goodbye to the bug – we all seemed to catch it and each spent 2 days close to el bano.

But what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?

Hasta la vista, baby!

Entertaining on Vagabond

Enjoying lunch in Puerto Plata

Lunch at Captain Steve's in Luperon

Fixing the antenna

Our view back into town - about 75 boats here... waiting

Pam at work

Before varnish...

After

Local kiddy sailors

Planning our escape...

Cataratas

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:49:00 +0000

When they started to fit us with helmets and life jackets we realized we weren’t just viewing some Dominican Republican waterfalls.

Look at all the life jackets - hmmmmmmm

Papo asked us if we wanted to go on an outing. Only $30 if we could get some other boat people to join us. So we talked it up among the folks with whom we’ve been travelling and several others jumped in! We met Kathy from Curiosity who told us that you could walk up to these falls and jump in. Some of the jumps were quite big but you could find a way around them if you don’t like heights. Good, said Glen.

My butt has gone to sleep

Off we went – 15 of us in a 12-passenger van that was really designed for 8. Before we left town the driver had his head out the window, wincing along with the rest of us as we went over the topes (bumps.) We stopped at the local garage/blacksmith and filled up the tire. Then – off we went – got to know each other very well – but wait… we have to stop at Handy Andy’s house to get the cooler. Now where is that going to go? Behind the driver, under Harry’s (from Vagabond) feet. So, off we went – but hold on. We have to stop for beer and rum. That goes in the cooler so no one else had to lift their feet.

Anyone who has driven in Mexico or China knows what it is like to career crazily down the road with chickens, goats, motorcycles, children running to school and burros carrying their burdens. The morning beer gave us something else on which to concentrate.

When we weren’t shrieking with terror, we were able to enjoy the scenery – like running into a stampede of local cattle meeting us head on. The mountain-side is really lush – reminded us of the hills in Maui. Lots of ranching, sugar cane, mahogany plantings and mixed farming.

After an hour, we arrived at the waterfalls – where we learned that our $30 did not include admission to the park. Papo must have forgotten to tell us. So we could do 27 waterfalls for 500 pesos, 12 waterfalls for 280 pesos or 7 waterfalls for 180 pesos. The cruising community opted for 7 waterfalls.

Swimming buddies

So off we go...

and go...

and go.

We walked upstream for 15 or 20 minutes and then came to an impossible spot with water plunging down from 12 feet. “Just swim over to me, put your foot in my hands, put your hand on the rock and when I pump your foot up, grab the other guides’ hand. “ Crap – we aren’t going down the waterfalls, we are going up the waterfalls.

We are walking up the waterfall?

Survivors

Here goes Pam

and Glen

Resting between terrors

This went on for an eternity… or maybe an hour. We finally got to a place that really was impassable and our guide, Gusto said, “Alright – lets go.” We turned around and flew back down the smooth rocks – one cataratas after another. The second last was the biggest – maybe 15 feet. One of the cruisers was more enthusiastic than the rest and let out a blood-curdling scream as she went over. That would be Pam.

The Screamer

After our trek back we gorged at the buffet of bread, salad, rice, spaghetti, chicken, mystery meat and frijoles. Washed down with ice cold white rum (very good!) and muchos cervesas. Delicioso.

The trip back was shorter – because we had beer in our bellies and lots of stories to share. Glen’s command of Spanish was very limited but impressive, nonetheless. At least Glen seemed to think so.

Our guide was able to take plenty of video with our camera. We will try to stitch it together into a You-Tube video

Worst overnight crossing ever…

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Well that wasn’t fun! Of our two overnighters, this was our second best. Chris Parker, the weather guru told us not to go, but we were anxious to get underway and our group thought we knew better. We left Provo, Turks and Caicos at 7 am and got out on the Caicos Bank. There were five boats travelling together. Serenity, Falcon’s Nest, Vagabond, Fawkes and us and we were all jumping and plunging into the waves. The waves were sharp and choppy – only about 2 to 4 feet but a 1 second interval. Bang, bang, bang. And it got worse. By the time we got near the edge of the banks we had to tack back and forth, motor sailing to make any ground. When we finally got off the bank, around 4 pm, the sea was confused with 4 to 6 feet waves. It was a grin and bear it evening. Our bow went under water a number of times and we were glad we had lashed our anchors on well. Water poured over the decks and, as we discovered later, through some leaky windows. Later into the night the seas took on a rhythm and we were able to make good time – until we hit a current that took about a knot.

Our travelling buddies took some hits, Serenity had to pull over to lash their dingy and work around a blown out mainsail and Falcon’s Nest had to travel in the big winds and waves with full sail as his furling system stopped working and he, a single hander, could not bring in the sail. We are now all in Luperon harbour on mooring balls and probably will get together another day to share tales but now we are all tired after our night out.

Critters – a couple of dolphins escorted us off the banks as if we had outworn our welcome. Once into the deeper water we were warned by a buddy boat to watch out for whales and sure enough, Glen saw the flipper of a humpback. They gather in that area just like they gather in our other favourite tropical spot – Maui, for January through March for their breeding season. So orcas in the Pacific northwest on Miss Pearl and now pilot and humpback whales on Blue Pearl. Also, we can’t forget to mention the flying fish that constantly “fly” out of our way as we travel. One even ended up in our dingy, which was unfortunate for him. An amazing feat, actually as our dingy is up on davits, about five feet from the waterline.

We motor sailed and sailed all through the night. We were headed for Puerto Plata, about 15 miles from Luperon, along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. We had made the decision for Puerto Plata because it is closer to Puerto Rico and we heard that clearing in and out is nice and tidy there. No officials asking for “regala” – gifts. About 12 miles out a squall went by – only got us a little – but the wind changed by 30 degrees and all of a sudden we were dead into the wind.

Luperon dingy dock

Local fleet

Lovely senorita in Luperon

Local select baseball team

We were met as we entered the harbour by Papo and Handy Andy in their skiff. We were provided a mooring ball at $2 a night. They made sure we knew they were our contacts for gas, diesel, ice, rum, cigars, tours, transportation, and just abour anything else we might need. They arrived back in an hour with the Commendante and his team. Four of them boarded the boat and filled out forms and searched the boat. One was in full uniform, the other three in jeans and t-shirts. No payment needed but a "gift" of rum made them happy. Then to town to clear through the local port authority, immigration, DR ports and agriculture. Total bill was close to $100 but all in bits and pieces. $20 to the Tourist Officer, $43 and $10 each to Immigration. Port Authority was $10 and Agriculture was $10. Each in a different ramshackle building or trailer.

Offices

at a mooring in Luperon - $2 per day

Papo brings fuel

So we are in Luperon after all. Not such a bad thing because we had heard so many great things about this little fishing town. The DR was not part of our cruising plan – but now it is. We have to spend 3 or 4 days here due to weather and then we will try to fast track it to Puerto Rico. We have about 250 miles to go – straight into the trade winds and we have to cross the Dreaded Mona Passage. It’s actually called the Mona Passage but we’ve never heard a cruiser call it anything but the DMP. The trick is to do it in little bites - all early in the morning before the trades kick in.

Captain Steve's

Anyway – we are sitting in Captain Steve’s in the morning after a wonderful catch-up sleep. Drinking beer and passionfruit juice – making plans – enjoying Luperon, Dominican Republic.

Seasoned Sailors

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:39:00 +0000

We finally did an overnight trip – adventurous sailors us! We left Rum Cay at 4 am, travelled past Samana Cay and the sun set just before we got to Plana Cay which is near Acklins and Crooked Island. Bumpy used to tell us he was going to work for a contractor who was commissioned to shorten Long Island and straighten Crooked Island.

We had decided to motor-sail because the winds were forecast to be light and variable. Well – so much for forecasts. The wind was blowing 15 to 20 from the southwest – which is kind of like saying that water runs uphill. We motor-sailed through that for 4 or 5 hours at crazy speeds up to 7 knots. Then the “light and variable” came – for about an hour – and it was east north east winds for the rest of the trip – again at 15 to 20 – and we went even faster. We saw speeds over 9 as we coasted down waves.

Pam went to bed at about 8 pm, ready to take over the helm at 11 pm. The watch time passed quickly enough. The darkness is overwhelming – you can hear the sea but you can’t look out at it. The starts are amazing – we took off the interconnect cover so we could look up into the sea of stars. Quite overwhelming and humbling.

Pam stayed alert, looking for hazards, thinking about ways to find world peace and her next basket project. Glen napped. At the 2 am watch change, before she went below, Pam said that travelling at these speeds were going to get us to landfall before sunrise – not good. So we turned off the engine and sailed at 6+ knots for the rest of the night. Just after the sun came up we hit a squall. Or the squall hit us. Unfortunately for Pam, Glen was off watch so Pam had to reef the main and bring in a good bit of the jib – or wake up Glen.

We arrived at Turks and Caicos with buddy boats, Serenity, Falcon’s Nest and Vagabond and landed at a partially built marina on West Caicos to rest and recover. We dropped the anchor at about 8 am. Glen made an omelet to die for and we washed it down with champagne. We look for any excuse to drink champagne and this seemed like a good one. You can’t say, “We’ve been drinking all day” if you don’t start in the morning.

After a lovely nap, we pulled ourselves together, restarted Yan Diesel and headed over to Sapodilla Bay on Providenciales – we seasoned sailors call it Provo.

This guy missed a turn - we are off in the distance

We cleared customs and immediately started to check the weather for our next leg. Checking in with customs on Friday meant we couldn’t check out until Monday – so we looked into weekend activities.

On Saturday we dinghied up to a marina run by a local character who does a cruisers net at 7:30 am. He sounded knowledgeable and fascinating so it was a required trip. We didn’t count on the wind and waves and so the 4-mile trip ended up taking an hour. Bumpy, wet, ugly and memorable.

At South Side Marina we met the sonorous, erudite, London-voiced Simon, who knows everything and makes you feel so very much at home. We bought diesel and gas and as we were hanging around he mentioned a group were headed to Da Conch Shack for lunch and would we like to join them? Would we???

Lunch!

Some of our cruising buddies from Serenity, Bound For Glory and a couple of others

Our coach

So we loaded into the back of a pickup truck and careered across the island anticipating the perfect lunch. Lunch was fabulous. We had rum punches, beers and every variety of fish known to man. Glen had a panic attack when he learned that it ended up being a group bill and he could have choked down several more beers on someone else’s tab.

Back to the dinghy for another bumpy ride home – turkey burgers, crib and off to a glorious sleep.

After several morning visits from other cruisers, we set off for Las Brisas – a local bar/restaurant. Spend a couple of hours with folks over a lovely lunch. Glen and fellow cruiser, Bruce left to acquire a rental car so that we could tour the island the next day. After a trip to the local – amazingly fresh vegetables – IGA we headed back to the Blue Pearl for conch salad and grilled cheese sandwiches. What a dinner!

Art shot from Las Brisas

Woo hoo - fresh produce from the IGA

Conch salad - can't find our own so get them from the IGA

Master Conch Salad chef

We used our car to look for a dinghy propellor for Serenity and travelled from one end of the island to the other. Our friend, Colleen, has a connection with Sandals/Beaches which she used to get us an impromptu tour of the resort here. Very cool - family oriented. We zoomed around for lunch, went to customs to clear out and then returned the car. Had a dip in the pool at Las Brisas and then headed back to Serenity for Sundowners.

Tomorrow we head from here to Ambergris Cay - across the banks. On Wednesday we stage to Big Sand Cay in the morning and prep for an overnight trip to the Dominican Republic. Luperon sounds funky and cool - but we will try for Puerto Plata which is 15 miles further east along the DR coast. Our objective is Puerto Rico so we can't dally - tempted as we are. Cruisers coming north have told us heart warming stories about the DR but we will only be spending a bit of time there. Maybe next year!

We will be using our SPOT locator as we move so if you are interested you can follow us along our way.

Blue Hole - very deep and scary

Another art shot

Leaving the Bahamas?

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:25:00 +0000

We left for Conception Island after a mad dash to the airport in George Town to pick up a replacement part which is at the core of our boat wifi system. The $80 cost for the part was small after the $22 shipping costs, $40 ride out to the airport, the $30 brokerage fees and the $35 duties. BUT, we have internet!

Our buddy boats left George Town earlier in the morning but by 10am we had cleared Elizabeth Harbour and were on our way to Conception. There was no wind and we motored the whole 30 nm. Along the way another boat hailed us on the radio to check out the pilot whales that were floating on the surface like black rubber inner tubes. Sure enough, as we came closer we could make out some detail before they slowly slipped under the water. As soon as we passed they rose back to the surface.

We rounded the point of Long Island and were able to spot the Columbus Monument that we visited last year. Conception – where some believe Columbus first landed - is only 15 nm further on and so it was less than 3 hours before we spotted the 10 other boats in the harbour.

Looking for Columbus' footprints.

Mountain Climbing

The next day we took the dinghy to explore the mangrove creeks in the island. The island is part of the Bahamas Trust and so critters are protected. We saw lots of turtles but didn’t see any of the sharks that fellow cruisers have reported.

Conception Turtle

The reefs around the island are full of life and we saw lots of folks out there with spears looking for fish and lobster. We aren’t clear on whether the seas around the island are protected or just the inland parts but the hunter-gatherers from other boats were comfortable collecting their bounty.

After two days we were warned of a huge cold front and so we ran to Rum Cay to hide from the 20 to 30 knot winds. Caught another mahi on the way over. We’ve become a little trapped here. The winds don’t seem to be changing to any large degree and so it appears that we will have to motor directly into big wind and seas for a couple of days to get to our next stop – the Turks and Caicos.

Government Dock

Cruisers planning session

In the meantime, we’ve explored the island, got to know some of the other cruisers and their plans and contributed to the restaurant and bar businesses on the island. “Kaye’s” is run by her daughter Delores. Delores wrote a book – “Rum Cay, My Home” which is a prescribed text in the Bahamas public education system. When you want a beer in her place, you go behind the bar to get it, find the opener and make your own change from her cash box. Her place reminded us a lot of Miss Pearl’s place in Great Inagua and we mentioned that to her. She knew Miss Pearl so it was cool to be able to tell her that our boats – Miss Pearl and Blue Pearl are named after her.

Hurricane Irene took off the other roof - this one's nice

Delores Wilson

We are hoping to leave early Thursday morning for a 190 nm run to the Turks. That will take us for our first overnight run. Glen has plenty of experience driving and sleeping at the same time so this should be a natural for him.

Best holiday EVER!

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Hi all, we’re the Frasers,

Simon, Sharon, Blair, Lauren and Erin.

We pulled the best babysitting gig ever, as Pam and Glen kindly invited us to stay on Blue Pearl whilst they went home for Christmas. Lauren came from Toronto, Simon came from Ucluelet, Sharon and Blair from White Rock, and Erin came all the way from Osaka, Japan.

Blair was there alone for a few days. So the day after Pam and Glen left he invited a few locals over.

Just kidding. He did errands and went for walk exploring Stocking Island. From the top of Monument Hill took a picture of Blue Pearl (closest to shore). Simon was the last to arrive, and as the weather was ideal, we headed up north.

So, we were coming to anchor in Rudder Cut Cay (just south of Musha Cay – home to the rich and famous David Copperfield) and this power boat passes us. A lady is waving from the aft of the boat, points to herself and says they are from White Rock! They live a few blocks from us – go figure huh?! Small world.

So we had Christmas Day Breakfast tucked into a picturesque cove. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, sun, heat, and blue water.

A day later we headed up to Staniel Cay to Big Majors Cay – affectionately known as the “Pigs” because there are some enterprising pigs that swim out to our dingies etc. and receive food!

We stayed in the “Pigs” for two nights, until the wind changed and came from the west (bad for most anchorages in the Bahamas). So we headed back down (with a stop at Little Farmer’s Cay) to Georgetown.

There was a sailing regatta on. We took the dingy out to one of the turnaround markers and had a great time watching the boats make the turn. As they tacked (made the turn) the crew ducked under the huge sail boom as it swung over, then pull these planks across the boat, then scrambled out on them! This happened very fast, with much yelling and cursing and laughing.

We celebrated “cruisers” New Years – which is 10:00pm – cause its REALLY hard to stay awake that long! The next evening though,we put together a beach snack and had sundowners.

All too soon it was sundown on our trip. We had a great time, and thanks to Glen and Pam for trusting us with Blue Pearl. DAYS of travel yet to come to get everybody home – but that’s another story.

Bye all!

P.S. We couldn’t figure out why the Microwave started every time the SSB radio went on – hell we couldn’t even make the damn thing work – all we got out of it was a time signal!!!

Movin' on

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:14:00 +0000

We’ve been back on the Blue Pearl for a week now. Blair and family seemed to enjoy themselves and they left the Blue Pearl sparkling. We are anxious to get underway but we have to wait for a part to arrive from the US. We are drinking coffee and tapping our fingers, waiting for Customs to open.

We will head to Conception Island – part of the National Park system and then on to Rum Cay. There is a blow predicted for Sunday/Monday and we will weather that in the lee of Rum – while drinking same. Then we make a long run to Mayaguana. That will be our first overnighter. It is 120 miles and there isn’t much in between. After that comes the Turks and Caicos Islands.

T&C sounds interesting. Folks who have been there talk about the GREAT grocery stores and the amazing 5 star hotels. We will spend a few days there staging for our run down to the Dominican Republic.

During our week back we’ve spent time walking, exploring and socializing. It has been enjoyable but we are getting itchy feet. It is time to move on!

Sunset in George Town

Exploring Beaches

What can I get you?

Pam's handiwork

More baskets

Sing along

Weaving loons

Home for the holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

We enjoyed a fabulous holiday visit home. Glen's family did his dad proud as they traveled from all over the country to attend his wake. We enjoyed a few drinks, food and wonderful memories. So good to see everyone and so grateful for their company.

The rest of the holiday revolved around visits with friends and family and Adventures with Jackson - our energetic two-year-old grandson. We enjoyed the opportunity of getting up early with him to give his mother a chance to sleep-in for a change. It seemed, however that Jackson made the most of the opportunity by getting up earlier every day. We finally rebelled when he started calling for us to play at 4:30 AM.

We had adventures in Vancouver on the Stanley Park Christmas Train, around home and up at the Last Resort at the Manning Park ski hill. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day at home with all of our kids.

Now it is time to head back south. During our visit home, Blue Pearl has been cared for by good sailing buddies. They are rebuilding their own Kelly Peterson 44 from the hull up and so they know boat systems inside and out. Maybe they can figure out why the microwave starts when we use the single-side-band radio.

I have asked them to share their "guest blog" and hopefully that will follow soon.

Glen and Pam - en route back to sv Blue Pearl in the Sky Lounge in Salt Lake City

Blowin' into Georgetown

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Well, here we are in Georgetown!

We ran down from Freeport, taking advantage of the northern component to the wind. We were one night in Great Stirrup... a Norwegian Cruise Lines fantasy island... one night at Hoffmans (after landing a 44 inch Mahi Mahi!)...and then coasted into Nassau.

Determined to avoid getting mugged (see The Keys in the Cays - April 2010) we stayed on the boat at the Cloisters and left at 7:00 am. By mid afternoon we were at our anchorage at Shroud Cay. Friends have raved about Shroud Cay... the northernmost part of the Exumas Land and Sea Park. The island is mostly acres of mangroves threaded by creeks. We set out for the "Washing Machine" - a swift running current from one of the creeks with a back eddy so you don't get swept out to sea - next stop Africa! A couple of couples - retired Bahamian teachers - taught us the fundamentals - and in we went! We'll post a you-tube video once we get decent Internet.

We left Shroud after a two-day respite and headed to Staniel Cay. We were determined to hang around Staniel and enjoy the swimming and snorkeling. Pam is in the middle of some really cool projects and she is anxious to spend some time on them. She had cut out some pattern material for dingy chaps at Shroud and she has started on a sun-screen enclosure so Glen won't have to squint into the setting sun while enjoying gin & tonics. However, the weather forecast was for a couple of days of good weather and then some nasty so we changed plans and decided to use our good travel days while we had them.

We coasted down to Little Farmers and dropped off school books and then went another 10 miles or so to anchor off Rudder Cay - just south of Musha Cay. If you haven't already, google Musha Cay. It is fabulous!

The forecast was for light winds behind us so we were quite surprised to get 25 knots all the way down. It was quite a sleigh ride! We did the 36 miles In just over 5 hours.

So now we are lolly gagging around - getting ready to leave the boat with Blair and Sharon over the holidays. Our connectivity is very limited and is severely compounded with some computer power supply issues. Hopefully that will get fixed during our time at home. We will hold a gathering/wake for Glen's dad and spend as much time as we can with our kids and our friends. Really excited about playing with our grandson, Jack.

We are struggling with Internet but we found a stray signal tonight and watched a short video of Jen's about Jackson's first year. Pam used up all the bandwidth and was blubbering for half an hour.

Ghost ship from "Pirates" anchored in Lucaya

The mother of all mahis

Some other fish - a jack? We ate it.

Shaggy Glen

Glen at the spa

Shroud looking out to Africa (or Cat Island)

The mangrove creeks of Shroud Cay

Unloading school books at Farmers Cay

Sasha the ray - at Chat and Chill beach near the conch bar

The wind is really blowing - hope it dies down soon

Using a fid to splice a loop in a line

Showin' em how it's done!

Glen's dad

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:30:00 +0000

We’ve been thinking a lot about Glen’s dad, Carl Roger. Carl passed away a few days ago at 82.

Glen and Donna’s dad was a character. He was an adventurer, moving from farming in Saskatchewan to the brand new town of Kitimat, BC, built by ALCAN to smelt aluminum. He hunted, fished; he was a star hockey player on the local team. He was a fireman and later became a fire chief. Dad retired early to live on a houseboat on Shuswap Lake in Salmon Arm where he continued to hunt and fish and charm anyone who knew him.

Until he was 74, Carl lived a fulfilled life. He was funny, intelligent, stubborn, and opinionated and the life of any family gathering or party. He was the local handyman – he could fix anything. He built the most wonderful toys for his grandchildren – playhouses, kitchen appliances, ride on trains, rocking horses, a boat with an actual outboard engine. Not everything was a success - once he burned down our patio when a fish-smoker malfunctioned. He blamed Glen.

At 74 he suffered a devastating stroke that took away his independence. He spent 8 long years in care – and, with the luck of the draw with the Roger family genes – his stroke was augmented with dementia.

So his 8 years in care were uncomfortable and undignified. Every once in a while he would get into an argument with the staff when he came up with a new, ingenious way to make his life easier. “Drill a hole in the wall, attach 3 feet of rope and then I’ll be able to use my teeth to help steady me when I try to stand up!” The staff, of course was worried about the wall but his teeth were too far-gone to worry about.

So we experience mixed emotions with the passing of Glen’s dad. We celebrate the heroic, adventurous life he lived, and we sigh with relief that he is no longer uncomfortable and humbled by his condition.

Caught a huge mahi today, Dad! Must have been 15 pounds!

Carl and Glen - 1955

Fire Chief Carl - 1967

Glen, Carl and Brad celebrating Carl's 80th

Toes in the Sand

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:04:00 +0000

So here we are – with our toes back in the sand in the Bahamas.

Just before we packed up from Stuart we ran into Barry and Susan from Nighthawk. They live in Chilliwack and although we had never met them we’ve seen their boat in previous years. Once in awhile they shop at Clancy’s on Whatcom Road near Abbotsford and had talked to the owner (Mike!) about sailing in the Bahamas. Mike said he has friends (us!) who sail the Blue Pearl in the Bahamas and they said, “Oh yeah, we’ve seen the Blue Pearl!” So it was kind of cool to meet them standing near the fantastic boaters’ lounge at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart.

Loading school books for the students at Little Farmers Cay

Last minute provisioning at nearby Publix

Now, at the risk of running on at the mouth – we love Stuart. The old town has such character and like so many other Florida towns, the A1A is dotted with malls so you can get any thing you want. Lots of folks get their boats in the water at Indiantown and just come down the river for several months at Stuart.

St. Lucie Inlet - see where we went aground, George?

But our path takes us far beyond Stuart and so on Wednesday we set off for West Palm Beach. We try to avoid the Intercoastal Waterway as it is boring and obstructed with bridges that have to be waited for, and then passed. This, though, might have been a better route than the one we chose. The waves weren’t big but they were spaced just nicely enough to keep the Blue Pearl significantly under 6 knots and so we banged and crashed our way to the WPB inlet – rather then glide down the boring ICW. Boring is better than crashing.

Anyway, we gassed up and headed over to our spot, just south of Peanut Island, prepping for our 4:30 start the next morning. We connected with Doug and Lisa on Carefree over the radio. They had never crossed and were comforted to go with such seasoned veterans as us.

So we left at 4:30 – crossed without much fuss – and arrived at West End at 2:30. (Check our SPOT locator to see our check-ins along the way.) We had to motorsail. The wind was light and variable but that is what a “weather window” is – an opportunity to get across with a minimum of discomfort.

The Blue Pearl enjoyed a refreshing shower... a couple of times.

Checking-in was easy – we asked for and received a 180-day Bahamas cruising permit and then settled in on the Blue Pearl. Glen borrowed a marina bike and rode down to the settlement to buy conch salad. While he was waiting for the salad Bumpy and his son drove by so Glen’s mission was interrupted with several Kaliks (local beer) and stories.

After a game of crib, which Pam won by cheating, we had a delicious jambalaya, several glasses of wine and Glen fell asleep on the couch – just like home!!!

Within hours of tying up, the weather window slammed shut and we were whacked by a front with 35 knot winds. Glen reminded the marina staff of the Daring Rescue At Sea last year and received a $10 per night discount. So we will sit here and wait for a couple of days. We’ll check to see if John Travolta is at his West End home and head back down to the settlement for more conch salad.

After the front, we will head to Freeport to visit Bumpy and his family and then continue further south.

On to Stuart!

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:11:00 +0000

We are in the final days of our preparations before we leave for the Bahamas. We’ve got the plumbing work done. We’ve put in the new refrigeration system. Now that we are in the water we’ve been able to get the sails back on, canvas up, solar panels functioning, lines and sheets where they are supposed to go. We’ve filled up with water, we are provisioned.

Happy Shopper

This will last a while!

Now we are looking at our lists to decide what to do, what to postpone and what to forget.

We moved to Stuart today. We are looking forward to wandering around the town – Pam is aware of a couple of consignment stores that might have baby clothes and toys.

There is a weather window for next week – light winds, not from the north that might allow us to cross. Once we cross, we’re not sure of our route. We need to be in Georgetown by early December but how we get there will depend on weather and circumstances.

Looks like we are ready to move!

Sewing bumper covers.

Putting up the dodger.

New fridge compressor and Glen's size 11

Checking out the guard dog.

Through the St. Lucie Lock to Stuart!

Oh Bliss – we are in the water!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Roger Family Sailing Adventures) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:46:00 +0000

For the last week we’ve been climbing our ladder to get in and out – making sure we don’t run into Bob – as he works to change out the septic holding tank and lines. He was like Sheldon the Painter on Murphy Brown – woke us up in the morning, putted around, cut, painted, glued, ripped out, installed and gave us advice. Nice guy – at $500 per day.

Old refrigeration

More old refrigeration - holding plate - heavy

So Bob did the septic, we ripped out the old refrigeration, put canvas back on, negotiated with our seat cushion guy and did odd jobs. Pam set up her Sailrite and fixed up our sheet bags (bags that hang in the companionway to tidy up the halyards and sheets ) and also fixed a rip in our new canvas. Glen dithers.

Costco goodies

When we got sick of hanging out with Bob we did our Costco and Walmart runs and did $$$ of provisioning.

Lots of interesting characters at the marina office/lounge. Every day at noon and again at 6 or so people gather to chat and compare notes. There are really interesting folks doing amazing work on their boats. Some are in and out of the yard quickly – some are working on projects that will take months or even years.

In this heat, beer starts calling before noon. At home, we have a beer once a week or when we are out golfing or fishing. A case of beer can last a week or so – unless we get a visit from Don and Pat. But, at about 10:30, visions of a cold, frosty glass start to overpower, the work slows down and hands start to shake. Pam suggested trying water but Glen isn’t buying.

Anyway, we finally got our through-hull installed, the prop nut replaced and so there was no reason to remain in the dreaded work yard. So we are launched!!! Wooopeeee! This boat belongs in the water.

Home - mind the stairs

Getting out of the work yard!

Almost there!

Folks enjoyed Glen’s demonstration of all that can go wrong in backing up an Island Packet but they soon got bored after 7 or 8 attempts and started to offer help and advice. We moved the boat from the travel lift to slip #12 where we plugged in that great yellow dock-line (the power cord) and fired up the air conditioning.

Ahhhhhh!

Got the new cushions so we are sitting in luxury – and chaos. This years’ guests will be so amazed at the classy ultra-leather.

Happy Hour

So, Pam chips away at the bright-work getting ready to reapply Cetol, Glen pretends to know a lot about refrigeration and we bob gently in slip #12.

Bliss.

Pass the beer!