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| The Galley |
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| The Manual Library |
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| The New Cushions |
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| The "Basement" configured for a gulf crossing |
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| New Flatware |
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| Flatware details |
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pictures
THANK YOUS
I would be remiss if I didn't give at least a short mention of some great people who have helped make this trip possible and easier to manage for us. First, we have some great friends and neighbors who are keeping the house looked after and plants alive. Barbie and Steve are making sure the house stays in one piece and Sue will look after my plants. In the past they, and others, kept an eye on our cat Oreo but he went to cat heaven this summer so while there is a hole in our hearts, there is one less complication to cruising. Other friends such as Barry and Theresa are doing drivebys to keep an eye on things as well. We are truly blessed to have great friends. We also have wonderful families who support our trips even if some think we're completley bonkers for traveling long distances and time periods in such a small space. As mentioned earlier, Jesse and Robin turned us onto a very awesome wifi extender and let us pick their brains incessantly about their trip to the Bahamas. Bill, an intrepid sailor if there ever was one, also has given us tremendous help in charting our plans for the trip and figuring out our new HF receiver. He has sailed solo to the Bahamas on more than one occasison which impresses the heck out of us both. My brother, Andy has helped by giving me this laptop. It is way more modern than my old one and gives me more options. Dylan, love of our daughter Angela's life, has been instrumental in walking me through the geek stuff needed to communicate over the computer. Captain John from the Fort Walton Yacht Club has also been a great assist to David in getting smart on the new radio. David is so smart now he can explain things to me! Of course there are so many other people who have wished us well and kept us in their prayers. All are appreciated!
Apalachicola, FL Nov. 12
Finally, a consistent Internet connection! My wirie wi-fi extender is working well. Thanks Robin and Jesse for the suggestion. I had a very intermittent connection at anchor in Smack Bayou in St. Andrew's Bay but every time we changed direction, there went the signal. Let me do some background for anyone not familiar with the journey so far. You can read the previous trip posts to see what has been going on prior to 2012.
The year started off with several coats of new bottom paint and a beautiful new paint job. I have some great pictures of all the scaffolding and tremendous prep work involved but they are back at the house and I don't plan to go backwards! Anyway, it was a long process fraught with bad weather, long travel days and other minor glitches. David was ably assisted by Chris and the results are beautiful. People who aren't familiar with Sanctuary are surprised to find out she is 22 years old. David also updated the exterior varnish and gave the topsides a good cleaning and waxing. We also had the very able Tim from Canvas Specialties make a new front piece for our bimini that will better keep us dry when we have the side panels on. I made some flaps to seal the spaces around the hand holds. It works well with a hose test but the first rain will be the true proof. On the inside of the boat, we have all new settee cushions and I have about 1/2 of the interior varnish work done. I ran out of time so the other half will be for another time. It was nice to be able to spend our resources on beautification instead of essentials such as engines, sails, etc. Let's hope it stays that way!
We started this trip on November 8 and were able to share a great evening with friends in Hogtown Bayou in Choctawhatchee Bay. We had a horrible noise from the engine that morning but it turns out that a bracket that was hitting on the engine mount rails. Hopefully that will be resolved soon at a local shop with a bench grinder.
From Hogtown Bayou we went all of ten mile to anchor by the 331 bridge since we spent the morning figuring out the mechanical issue. Actually, David did the work and Suz and I played dominoes and said encouraging words. A woman's work is never done on board! It was a beautiful night and we were only slightly bothered by the bridge noise since the boat was closed up tight against the cold.
On Saturday we had hoped to stay at the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club but they were hosting the F-16 Catamaran Nationals and all their slips were full. We anchored across the sound in Smack Bayou. This was a new anchorage for us but won't be our last. It was very peaceful and protected from winds in all directions. To top off a super anchorage, we saw a shooting star with a very long tail. We took that as a good omen for a successful trip. There were several boats in there anchored more or less permanently. No one was on board and their sails were lashed up tight. I can see why they would choose the spot to leave a boat while taking care of other business. They just looked forlorn, waiting for their owners to come back and start the next adventure.
From Smack Bayou we made for the docks at White City Park on the ICW. We have intended to stop there several times and actually made it. We really love Port St. Joe Marina but felt the need to knock back some miles since we had the initial delay. The docks are free and are in surprisingly good shape. There is no power and you have to haul water but it was safe and off the main thoroughfare. We met 3 other boats with very nice folks on board. Their journeys make us feel like pikers. One couple is from Anna Maria Island located at the southern end of Tampa Bay. They have been doing the Great Loop for the past 3 years so they are almost home. Another couple has traveled down the river system from Chattanooga and plan to winter in the keys. The third couple is from New York and plan to complete the entire loop as well. Here we've felt accomplished making it to the keys from the Florida panhandle! Very humbling to met such accomplished mariners. Meeting such a diverse group of people is one of the draws of cruising. We're starting to think bringing only 150 boat cards was a real mistake.
Today's trip from White City was along a stretch of the ICW that is both of our favorites. It goes through some places that look untouched by man dotted with fishing shacks off in secluded sloughs. You can almost hear the banjos playing. Then you hit Lake Wimico that would be impassable if not dredged for the ICW. You can see birds standing in the water just yards away from the channel and you know their legs are not that long. Occasionally you'll see a sandbar that has sprouted trees. They'll be there until the next storm surge takes them out. From there, you enter the Apalachicola river, a beauty in itself. We have made it to a new marina for us, the RiverStreet. It was challenging to get into a slip due to a swift current. We still have all our paint intact so we're grateful. The place is also a hotel and unfortunately they had no dockmaster or staff on duty so if not for the help of other marina visitors, we would be missing paint. Two of the boats from White City also came here and we helped get tied up. This is a nice enough place but next time we'll go back to the city docks. They have been cleaned up and power added in places since our last visit. There isn't a bath facility but for the price and convenience we'll stay there,
Tomorrow is our 36th wedding anniversary so we plan a lazy day of breakfast out, removing the troublesome bracket and having it ground down and then reinstalling it. We hope to have enough romance left over to make it to dinner! The plan is to leave from here and go out the Government Cut and head down to Tarpon Springs on Wednesday morning. The winds should be good and waves not too bad. We're really ready to be a sailboat since we have done almost nothing but motor since we left.
If any reader has a specific question, we'll try to answer it.
The year started off with several coats of new bottom paint and a beautiful new paint job. I have some great pictures of all the scaffolding and tremendous prep work involved but they are back at the house and I don't plan to go backwards! Anyway, it was a long process fraught with bad weather, long travel days and other minor glitches. David was ably assisted by Chris and the results are beautiful. People who aren't familiar with Sanctuary are surprised to find out she is 22 years old. David also updated the exterior varnish and gave the topsides a good cleaning and waxing. We also had the very able Tim from Canvas Specialties make a new front piece for our bimini that will better keep us dry when we have the side panels on. I made some flaps to seal the spaces around the hand holds. It works well with a hose test but the first rain will be the true proof. On the inside of the boat, we have all new settee cushions and I have about 1/2 of the interior varnish work done. I ran out of time so the other half will be for another time. It was nice to be able to spend our resources on beautification instead of essentials such as engines, sails, etc. Let's hope it stays that way!
We started this trip on November 8 and were able to share a great evening with friends in Hogtown Bayou in Choctawhatchee Bay. We had a horrible noise from the engine that morning but it turns out that a bracket that was hitting on the engine mount rails. Hopefully that will be resolved soon at a local shop with a bench grinder.
From Hogtown Bayou we went all of ten mile to anchor by the 331 bridge since we spent the morning figuring out the mechanical issue. Actually, David did the work and Suz and I played dominoes and said encouraging words. A woman's work is never done on board! It was a beautiful night and we were only slightly bothered by the bridge noise since the boat was closed up tight against the cold.
On Saturday we had hoped to stay at the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club but they were hosting the F-16 Catamaran Nationals and all their slips were full. We anchored across the sound in Smack Bayou. This was a new anchorage for us but won't be our last. It was very peaceful and protected from winds in all directions. To top off a super anchorage, we saw a shooting star with a very long tail. We took that as a good omen for a successful trip. There were several boats in there anchored more or less permanently. No one was on board and their sails were lashed up tight. I can see why they would choose the spot to leave a boat while taking care of other business. They just looked forlorn, waiting for their owners to come back and start the next adventure.
From Smack Bayou we made for the docks at White City Park on the ICW. We have intended to stop there several times and actually made it. We really love Port St. Joe Marina but felt the need to knock back some miles since we had the initial delay. The docks are free and are in surprisingly good shape. There is no power and you have to haul water but it was safe and off the main thoroughfare. We met 3 other boats with very nice folks on board. Their journeys make us feel like pikers. One couple is from Anna Maria Island located at the southern end of Tampa Bay. They have been doing the Great Loop for the past 3 years so they are almost home. Another couple has traveled down the river system from Chattanooga and plan to winter in the keys. The third couple is from New York and plan to complete the entire loop as well. Here we've felt accomplished making it to the keys from the Florida panhandle! Very humbling to met such accomplished mariners. Meeting such a diverse group of people is one of the draws of cruising. We're starting to think bringing only 150 boat cards was a real mistake.
Today's trip from White City was along a stretch of the ICW that is both of our favorites. It goes through some places that look untouched by man dotted with fishing shacks off in secluded sloughs. You can almost hear the banjos playing. Then you hit Lake Wimico that would be impassable if not dredged for the ICW. You can see birds standing in the water just yards away from the channel and you know their legs are not that long. Occasionally you'll see a sandbar that has sprouted trees. They'll be there until the next storm surge takes them out. From there, you enter the Apalachicola river, a beauty in itself. We have made it to a new marina for us, the RiverStreet. It was challenging to get into a slip due to a swift current. We still have all our paint intact so we're grateful. The place is also a hotel and unfortunately they had no dockmaster or staff on duty so if not for the help of other marina visitors, we would be missing paint. Two of the boats from White City also came here and we helped get tied up. This is a nice enough place but next time we'll go back to the city docks. They have been cleaned up and power added in places since our last visit. There isn't a bath facility but for the price and convenience we'll stay there,
Tomorrow is our 36th wedding anniversary so we plan a lazy day of breakfast out, removing the troublesome bracket and having it ground down and then reinstalling it. We hope to have enough romance left over to make it to dinner! The plan is to leave from here and go out the Government Cut and head down to Tarpon Springs on Wednesday morning. The winds should be good and waves not too bad. We're really ready to be a sailboat since we have done almost nothing but motor since we left.
If any reader has a specific question, we'll try to answer it.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The Bahamas Trip Begins
This will be brief but I promise more when I don't have to depend on a weak connection. We departed the Fort Walton Yacht Club on Thursday morning in company with good friends Suz and Sam Weston on Mariah and Bill Geyer on Aquila. We had a mechanical scare but thanks to the efforts of the aforemention gentlemen, we were able to stay underway. We're currently in Smack Bayou in St. Andrew's Bay in Panama City. Hopefully I will have a more reliable connection tomorrow and post some pictures and more details along with a tripline update.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Afterwards
New traveler system
Shiny new main halyard and you can see the missing dorade vent-our next project
Watermelon and sailing-it doesn't get better!We have been slowly getting back into a routine of working to rebuild the cruising kitty and taking on other neglected project. Our car has needed a LOT of maintenance and the poor MG pines away for its share of attention. In the meantime, we've also had to make several repairs to the boat. Top of my list was the new toilet seat. Top of David's list was a new mainsheet traveler. The old one was literally disentegrating on our trip. It is what makes the boom stay where you want it so there was a safety argument for that expense. Also, our main halyard (the line that makes the sail go up the mast) was getting frayed. It all only took time and money so we now have those finished. We made an overnight sailing trip this weekend and had a wonderful time. The weather cooperated and we had two great sailing days and a much needed reward for our labors. There will always be things to fix/replace but it's nice to remember why we fix and replace things!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Rest of the Story-Part 2
He didn't think I would take this one
Edge of storm approaching us
Wall of rain
Last bridge befor before home
Train depot museum in Tarpon Springs
Mural
Back at Anclote before the crossingWe had a great time overall. It was a sad ending but I'm really glad we made it back in time for the funeral. We have been back to being land based for 1 week. We can now sleep in a bed that doesn't rock us to sleep and most of the yard work is done. The boat (womanland anyway) is now cleaned with a fresh coat of teak oil. The boom has been apart, cleaned out, lines rerouted and is only waiting on the proper rivet gun to get it back together. While the main is down, we'll
clean it. Not sure how, but it will get done. I sorted a mountain of mail, mostly begging letters and catalogues. I still have a mountain of cat hair to clean up but there is always tomorrow! We both look forward to getting the boat back together and out for a weekend cruise. Love to have company.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The Rest of The Story
I know I left many of you hanging with our departure from behind Anclote Key to cross back to the panhandle. We left with a great wind blowing across our beam. We had a wonderful sail for about the first 12-14 hours then the wind died. Ok, we'll motor until it comes back. Unfortunately, when it came back, it was on the nose. Amazingly, the forecast was wrong!! (note to non weather watchers, my tongue is firmly in my cheek). We thought we had bought our last fuel in Tarpon Springs but, oh well, there's more in Panama City. Anyway, we arrrived behind Shell Island about 10pm Wednesday night, June 1. It was a bit sporty coming in the pass after sunset but it is well marked and we had been through it several times before. After almost 4o, it was great to drop the hook and sleep. We were up early the next day and deciding what to do next when I received a call that my aunt Carolyn had died. We made our way back to Fort Walton by 7 that night. We had a great current and wind so we made a quick trip of it. It may seem slow to non-sailors but a steady average of 6 knots is actually good for a heavy, 33 foot boat. We tied up the boat and left the next day for Texas to say farewell to a wonderful lady. She lived a happy life, made a positive difference to a lot of people and found adventure along the way. I can only hope I can do even a little of what she accomplished.
We came back into town on the 7th and have been cleaning, repairing and dreaming about the next trip. Again, we have so many wonderful friends and neighbors to thank for helping us make this trip possible. Our house and yard are in good shape and the cat doesn't seem a bit unhappy. I will try and get the final pictures posted soon.
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