Merry Christmas everyone!! And, there is truly a white Christmas...somewhere... Courtesy of my mom's house...
While the airplane flights were being cancelled, the trains were booked and cancelled...as well as the hotels...and the taxis...well, the Seattle taxi's would not drive the less than 8 miles to take me back to my mom's house! I would have spend yet another night in a airport (I had already had one night in the Spokane airport...and one in the Seattle airport)...but thanks to my moms' neighbor...I got a shower, 7 hours sleep, and a ride back up to the airport for a relatively uneventful three stop flight back to St Maarten! Of course there had to be "lost"...but really only delayed luggage!!!
So back to the warmth of the French side of Saint Martin...baguettes are wonderful...and protection from the Christmas winds here in the lagoon.
We had a quiet Christmas day...cleaning up (very little)...enjoying the warmth and then having "our" salad...garlic bread (on french baquette) and lamb...YUMMMMMM...now time for some movies!!! Isn't Sootie too cute???
December 25th 12:56 pm AST. Merry Christmas from a warm and windy St Martin...the Frenchieside. Well Joyce finally found her way back to the boat 2 days late due to the winter storms in the NW. She is racking up those Frequent Airport Points for spending nights in an airport. Wednesday afternoon just before I was leaving to shop for some needed fresh produce and bread, the French Search and Rescue guys came out through the anchorage suggesting strongly that boats move inside the Lagoon (free on the French side) due to the strong winds that had been forecasted. We have in the past talked about the Christmas Winds...well you people up north want a white Christmas...down here they get the Christmas Winds. Strong trade winds 20-30 knots with gusts into the high 30's. So I followed the crowd into the Frenchie Lagoon. Nothing like the Mega-Yacht marinas on the Dutch side, a little run down and lots of rusting little Frenchie boats. The French love their steel boats, lots of rust. We spent most of yesterday fetching Joyces' lost luggage from the night before. This included an almost 2 mile hike from the airport to the supermarket dragging all her luggage. I seem to remember it being "JUST" a few blocks. The island folk felt sorry and offered us rides...but hell we were almost there. Traffic on the island was not unlike any of the big malls back in the States on Christmas Eve...bumper to bumper. Back to the boat...dinner a few TV shows off of Graboid and an early evening...Joyce still recovering from the flying with airlines trip from hell and me from our little hike. I did get 1 present early...our new cat. Named after Duncan and Elaine's cat called Sooty...ours is named Sootie TOO.
Changing the litter box is a snap.....as for the rest of Christmas and an update of Joyce's airport adventures ...I will leave for Joyce.
Thur Dec 18 11:27 am AST Wow...looks like Joyce will have a hard time getting use to our little "53" feet of boat after staying in that castle. Sounds like a good time was had by all. Back down here in the warm (86 deg) sunny Caribbean the Capt has been working on his boat chores. Upon removing the defective autopilot drive from over the sink in the galley, a small screw fell out of the unit. Well it was going to cost me $550 to get the unit repaired so what the hell I took it apart. Seems 2 screws had become loose and were the cause of the problem..3 1/2 hrs later and damn...it worked. I did a load of laundry and went in the the pastry store to celebrate...they serve beer too....Yesterday AM I tackled my most unfavored job of changing the oil and filters on the main and genset. I think the designer of the main engine should be forced to change the filter on his engine for 2 months straight. Maybe then they would not mount it on the side of the block to make it almost impossible to change without spilling 2 cups of black oil into the bilge. Of course when pouring in the new, the jug falls over spilling another few cups...damn... This am I did another 2 loads of laundry while equalizing the batteries....looks like this will be a 3 week cycle, would have gone longer but fuel is getting low and I don't want to buy any here at $4 plus a gallon. Should be cheaper in St Croix where they make it. Internet here has been a pain in the butt. Had 1 provider...well it's a French thing....then moved the boat so I could get this (pastry shop) connection....but when the boat swings I loose the signal...Have not been able to talk with the Admiral for the last 3-4 days. I came in to call her on Skype..but forgot the damn plug adapter for the damn frenchie plugs. Will get as much as possible done till the battery dies. Then Back tot he boat to CLEAN....the Lady has been a guy boat for the last week..... She is in need of that special "Lady" touch.....battery gave me the 1st beep...no pics cause our photographer has been off the boat as seen in the last post.... Later
Spending time with my mom is always a joy...and our few days together before flying to Pullman was just that! It began snowing just a few hours before the plane touched down Friday afternoon. My oldest daughter and I went hurrying into the cover of the airport where my youngest daughter was waiting for us! So WONDERFUL to get the hugs and see her!! I got a message on my cell phone from the ski resort that the hot tub was not working in the condo I had reserved for us. I received input from the "kids" and sure enough we decided to change to another condo that was offered to us...they said it was a bit smaller but the hot tub worked! By Saturday morning Pullman was FREEZING cold. The streets were snow covered and all the people that had driven in for graduation were slipping and sliding up the Pullman hills! Now I normally don't/won't post pictures of my kids...but I am so very proud of them and proud of their relationship with each other...so this blog is for/to them....We got there just fine in my son's new truck! Graduation for my daughter was wonderful...I am so very proud of her! Here she is after her "walk" getting congratulations from and shaking the President of WSU's hand....My son needed to get back to work after the ceremony...so my daughters and I went around campus taking pictures of the new graduate and.... then one of all three of us!Sunday mid-morning we packed up my son's truck and headed up to Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort! With the snowy and icy roads it took us almost 5 hours. My son's new truck has a temperature guage...and as we were driving up the final mile to the resort...NEGATIVE 4 degrees!!! Oh heavens!!! Yes, we had to get out of the warm truck to check in...we got mighty cold as it was also VERY windy...AND when we got to the front desk we found out that the pipes had frozen in the unit that we were to be in so they had put us in yet another unit!! Let's just say...third time is a "charm"!! I will include some pictures of this million dollar house that we were so blessed to reside in for four days!! Monday was so windy that the resort did not even operate the lifts...oh, darn...I guess we just had to relax and enjoy our surroundings...read....hot tub and sauna....of course baking our family traditional Christmas cookies...and a family picture!!! This is not the lodge...this was our fireplace...Sunrise over Lake Pend Oreille...view from the big screen t.v. room...
The big screen t.v. room... Looking from the living room to the t.v. room.... Good Morning view of Lake Pend Oreille from our "condo"...The dining room and kitchen...The living room...One of the bedrooms...there are three full queen size with adjoining bathrooms...and one large bedroom with two bunkbeds...that is where I slept the first two nights! I almost felt like checking each bed for comfort before I slept...something like the three bears story...but alas...I chose one and "went with it"!Two of the bathrooms have jetted tubs...one has the sauna...The floors are all pine plankings, rock slate, and some tile (in two of the bathrooms). They ALL have hydronic heating so while, yes, the toilet seat is cold, my feet were nice and WARM!!Tuesday morning my oldest had to catch her flight back to Seattle. The strong gusty winds had finally subsided, the sun was out...Yes, it was still bitterly cold...but we decided to go up to the village, rent skis and hit the slopes! How fun it was to be skiing again! Only one run was open...but for us after so many years of not skiing...it was perfect!And the next day skiing too.... Then of course there had to be some shopping...And...this is Bernie (the hat)...My son and daughter in Pullman will have "custody" of him/her...waiting patiently for our next ski vacation. You see I lost my "dorky hat"...as Paul use to call it...so do you think Paul would allow this one on the boat with us?? Truly a wonderful ski vacation with my children...one I will cherish...we laughed together...we cried together...we were together...sometimes the cold is worth it...
Sunday Dec 14th 10:45 ASTTried to rest up yesterday. Checked on Stinky...started on the first pull...let him warm up to make sure all the moisture was out of his system. Did a few chores...nothing too... strenuous. Decided not to go in for Internet...as I did see that we had a strong signal in the afternoon. It has taken me 2 hr last night a 3 this AM to get signed up. Not fast but can get through. I had continued to push fluids last night. I was rewarded by a marked reduction in the pain at 3:30 AM....pain still there but was able to take a pee...1/2 percocer...no beer....the pain is caused when the stone(can be the size of a grain of sand) blocks the flow of urine. Peeing usually means I will get through the day without any real pain. I think the whole thing started when I became dehydrated the previous 3 days. I drank some more water and was able to get back to sleep. I was up at 7 am trying to get onto the Internet. Had 3 pots of tea..yes Joyce 3 pots...now the batteries need charging Ha Ha... We need to remind the French that America invented the Internet and they need to stop trying to change the way the world uses it. They have a habit of going off and trying to re-invent something..ie, their phone system...it's like going back to the crank telephones on the wall back at the turn of the century. About an hr ago I heard a knock on the hull...It was 2 Frenchies from the boat next door. Seems they were in Norfolk the same time we were. Nice couple...offered any help with the French. They had delivered a few Amels around the Med.Now...see ...they are not like my stereotype I usually fit all the French into. It now lunch time..will try and get a sandwich out of my old baguette..if not will have to go in and get one. Will spend some serious time on the web..as I have a lot to do...Later
Saturday Dec 13th 7:15 AST. Last Saturday we had planned to leave the Dutch side and sail over to the Frenchie side so Dennis and Joyce could experince the wonders of French living, ie 6 hr work days and their addiction to smoking (Dennis did not mind that). We were going to catch the 11 AM bridge opening. While Dennis and I worked on pulling out the SSB, Joyce wanted to run some postcards in before we left. Stinky, our 8 hp Mercury outboard has been a pain in the ass the last week or so. He would start up fine but after about 100 yds he would stop..till then I had always been in the boat and could get it started, which included Denny and I drifting ashore on Saturday before I got it started. Well we figured Joyce would be able to get Stinky started, and went back to the SSB, 20 min later Joyce appeared...she had gotten a tow back to the boat. She was a little pissed to say the least. Was an interesting sail over to Marigot.
Since customs only works from 9-12 on Saturday, closed on Sunday we had to checkin at the new Marina. Dennis insisted on taking us out for dinner and we had a delightful Itialian dinner on the French side. Sunday morning we all went into the Internet Pastry shop to get an Internet fix and some French pastry. After lunch, we sailed back to Simpson Bay so we could get Stinky into the outboard MD. Dennis was moving ashore to his condo on the moutian. We had pulled Herbie our 15 hp electric start 4 cycle Yamaha (about 2x the weight of Stinky) out of the garage and replaced Stinky. Now this is over twice the recomemdedHP for Little Bit. The throttle is very sensitive and even a moderate twist of the throttle gave one the sence that we were about to flip over backwards...which we almost did several times. Monday Joyce and I took Stinky in...they promissed something by Tue. Joyce and I then motored the 2 miles around the point to Phillipsburg, capital of the Dutch side. We were walking the stores when we hear a familiar voice to see Dennis enter the shop. We had a few beers...2 Hienekin for 5 bucks...this place is dying on the vine...everything is on sale. Seems Obama economics has effected the islands. With all the new projected taxes, people are not boarding these cruise ships and spending all their $$$ in the duty free shops. Joyce was able to get 3 towels for 16 USD. Hell we were paying 15 bucks a towel last year. At least we are insulated down here, we do not get much of the day to day news...we did see that Oboma's governor was arrested for selling his Senate seat...sure...he new nothing...yea right. We sailed back to Simpson Bay so we could pick up Stinky. Well it seems Stinky was really sick. He needed a new power pack...total...$ 340 USD....damn...guess I will have to ask Oboma to bail me out. Joyce left Wed AM not without some fanfare. She had been packing for 2 days making sure she did not forget anything. This included the SSB radio which was going back to ICOM in Bellevue, just ouside of Seattle. Of course the night before an early departure is never counted as a good night sleep, for either Joyce or me. I was up by 4:AM...Joyce just after that. The plan was to dink in at 6:45 and catch as cab to the airport. By 7 AM I was back at the boat getting ready to have a nice restful day after the hectic week of getting the major boat chores; those where Dennis's strong back would be a life saver of mine. About 5 min to 8, I hear Joyce pounding on the hull. Seems she was going to try to use my passport to get back into the country. Joyce had taken mine by mistake. Somehow she hac conned some guy to bring her out to the boat...was she going to make her 9 AM flight????? When she was no back by 10 AM it was safe to assume that Americane Airlines had waited for the Admiral. Dennis was leaving on Thursday and he had invited me up to his condo to sit by the pool and to relax and down a few beers. The youngest chippie at the pools was about 75. Dennis hads mentioned that this was a hike. This turned out to be a major hike...up and then down.... We sat by the pool while it rained for 2 hrs then went back to the boat for Dennis's farewell dinner. Both Joyce and I thank Denny for all his help. It had been an interesting adventure as Denny calls it. Thanks for all your help. All week we had been expericing what they call the Christmas winds. The trade winds come from the NE to the SE at around 15 knots. These Christmas winds blow for sometimes 2 weeks at a time at 20+ knots. We were seeing 30+ with gusts to 38. Around noon I pried our super Rocna anchor off the bottom (now half way to China after 2 days of up 38 knots, the harder you pull on the anchor, the deeper it buries itself) and headed for the French side. Since the Dutch have decided to price themselves out of the cruiser destinations and had over 180 USD of my precious cruising, I sailed over tho Marigot where the checkin was 5 euros for 3 months. I made the turn at the N end of the Island into 30 knots from the east...you got it right on the nose. I was feeling the "pain" from the hike up to Denny's and did not check in till yesterday AM. I went to the Internet Pastry shop, got caught up and was heading back to the boat. Met this guy Ron...he had my dink, an alumiumn AB 11...started talking...he had been here a few weeks sailing down via Brumuda . His wife and 2 young children had been here for 2 weeks. Ron was new to cruising but not to sailing. We swapped a few storied and promissed to meet up later in the week. I was really sore..the old back wanted a week off. So I fired up the computer and watched a few Modern Marvals on Graboid. About 4 pm I hear Ron knocking on the hull....seems LittleBit was pissed about us having him pushed around by Herbie. He decided to leak the air out or the starboard tube and turn upside down. My cane is now on the bottom, but we were able to save a screwdriver. Screwdriver $1.25, cane $20 bucks...Oboma math for sure. Of course that put Stinky into the saltwater for a bath. It took Ron and I about an hour to get the dink up on the deck so I could work on Stinky. Ron refused the beer but did off dinner later this week. I got out the needed tools and proceeded to give Stinky first a fresh water flush then again with WD-40. After flushing all the fuel lines and 20-30 pulls Stinky almost started....put the boat back in the water..after 10 min and another 30+ pulls and Stinky is running fine..well I hope... My already pissed back and hips are now in an uproar. I had a few G&T's . It's now 6:30 PM...well next I remember its 900PM... Crawl back into the aft bunk...and good night. Well not really. Since the Admiral had left on Wed, there has no one to supervise the Capt's H2o intake. At 12:30 I awake to this dull, throbbing ache on my right back. This is one pain that anyone who has ever had a kidney stone never forgets... I started forcing fluids, took 1/2 a percocet and tried to get back to sleep. Then remembered my sucess form the 1 st stone event...one must chase the percocet with a beer..yeah, I know..don't mix the 2. Well I didn't have any morphine like the 1st kidney stone(the beer gets the kidneys going and kicks in the percocet) I took the other half and chased it with a beer.. By 3:30 I was able to get back to sleep. Now on the 2nd pot of tea as I write this. Will continue the fluids and go in later on for my internet fix and a pastry. So relaxing is this life of a cruiser.
I’m headed to Seattle Wednesday.I get to see my youngest daughter graduate from college on Saturday…I am so very excited for her and so very proud of her!As a part of the trip “home”, I chose to take all three of my kids (okay…they are now young adults) on a snow ski vacation at Schweitzer (please pray for snow!).From the 85 degrees of Sint Maarten (the Dutch side…probably pretty much the same as St Martin – the French side), to the truly freezing of the Idaho ski slopes.But, I do love skiing; especially with my children…and, I do love warmth…indeed a contrast!
Dennis is headed home on Thursday but officially left the boat yesterday…we will so MISS HIM!!! He and Paul will hopefully have one night out together after I leave to reminisce, back slap, guy talk, and have one last bonding time. So, UD from my perspective – may I say….what a true and real JOY you were to have aboard! You and Paul had such a great time together…“yacking” until all hours while one (or the other of you) was on “watch”…the thinking out of boat issues…the working together on boat issues with the majority of the physical aspect of working on the boat issues on your shoulders…and, of course, the drinking after retiring from the fixing of the boat issues. No matter what you two did together, there was mutual respect for each other. And of course there were the “little” things like your humor (ha ha ha)…your choice for your “office” on the boat. You were able to call the Captain a “prick” with a lightheartedness that was so enjoyed by both of us (I’m talking you and I here – Ha ha ha). You see, I sometimes refer to “it” as “his charm” - either way you look at it…it is a five letter word!!! So, from your helpfulness with the “water in the fuel” or “fuel in the water” discussions…to your help with Paul drinking his water, your lighthearted contributions were so wonderful! I will take the step…and say…from both of us…we had such fun with you onboard Denny!!! And, somehow, I’m not sure this blog truly will convey to you how grateful we are for your company on this trip….and how much your continued friendship will be in our hearts….thank you.
ThurDec 4th 4:52 pm.... Yes we did have power and the prop turned....we anchored for the night and powered into the lagoon the next Am..Dennis and I went to check in....I was wondering why there were no boats in the Lagoon....ususally there is 150-175 boats anchored on the inside.....upon entrance to the customs office we read the new regulations...a boat our size would have to pay $60 US to use the draw bridge...the big boat rates were over 500 bucks...no the would not let me go back and anchor on the outside....damn.....St Maartin off my list of places to stop...seems everyone is now on the French side....we will find out tomorrow when we sail over. Once on the inside...we scoped out the area....The boat stores were in the same place...to my dismay there was no free or pay internet...we have to go into a bar...and drink....bummer...here now with a few beers in me... Once on the inside Dennis and I checked out the transmission...yep...seawater and transmission fluid make a product not unlike strawberry yogurt.....yuck......On Monday we dinked over to buy what we thought we needed...by Tue...another trip and 300 bucks later we think we have everything we need. We had stopped at the Yanmar shop....guy said the part we wanted was 485.00 bucks but Budget Marine might have what we need... with all our stuff we went back to the boat. Dennis has volunteered to do the grunt work to save my back.. Upon taking everything apart....we had a mess...Happy hour disrupted our work cycle...to be finished today. This am we put everything together...a few fupahs...but in the end it worked....we had a few small leaks but everything worked. It was interesting to see how Amel had used 3-4 diffewrent diameters of hose
By Thursday PM theWe left Norfolk on Wed the 19th passing through the entrance to the Bay at 6 pm. The weather reports that I had been downloading for the last week indicated some good sailing winds for our trip south. There were some 25-35 knot winds on the 21st, but the Lady likes 25 knots. Our course once we crossed the Gulf Stream was 160 deg. I was getting updates on the SSB twice daily. These grib files are small and do not give the whole picture like the larger files I DL when we have internet. weather reports indicated 35 + knot to our SE. I decided to sail east to miss the worst of this weather. The temperature was still in the 40's and a 3 hr watch was a cold 3 hrs. Dennis would layer up and sit his whole 9-12 watch up top. He was not going to miss anything, this being his first offshore passage. I had the 12-3 and Joyce finished up the dark hours with the 3-6. During the day we all pitched in. Dennis reported hearing water running while forword in his berth. Yep the bilge pump light woud come on every 20 min or so. I'm pretty sure that the sea on the bowthruster was damaged by that crab pot we snagged in Norfok. Not a bad leak, but not fun this far from shore. By Friday noon the winds were at Force 8... 40 + knots. I put the autopilot on VANE, this is where we set the sails to a specific anngle to the wind. If the wind changes direction the boat follows with a course change... following the wind. Sailing in gusting winds over 40 knots is hard work for the autopilot. Around dinner time the pilot says enough and quits....sounds like the gearbox went kaput. When we ordered the Lady H back in 2000 there was an option for a 2nd autopilot drive for $3000. Sounds like a lot of money...but 300 miles off shore in a 40 plus knot gale with 800+ miles to St Martin...it was a bargain ... hand steering for the next 8-10 days was not what I signed up for. I switched to the back-up drive and we sailed on. I turned on the SSB to get an update on the weather. This is pretty cool stuff. You go into this software, drag a box on the chart thd sent this off the Sailmail. 5 min later you get a reply which has this small "grib" file. I then load that file into my MaxSea charting software and it shows the wind, waves and pressure for the area you are sailing in right on the chart. Well I push the transmit button and bam...the SSB goes down. By this time the winds ore force 9... 48+ knots. I had the sails reefed down to a hankie on the jenny and mizzen...but the main was jammed with more sail out than I wanted. I would have had to motor up into the wind to fix...that was not happening in this wind. By 8pm the winds were howling...force 9-10. The back up autopilot was screaming....I decided to "heave to". This is where you let the boat find its comfort spot into the wind. We were no longer sailing. They say every boat s different on how they react when left on their own. The lady settled into an easterly course at about 2-3 knots 30 deg off the wind. The boat was fairly comfortable...not much heeling. The Force 10 gusts sounded like a frieght train. Dennis was in his bunk forward, Joyce and I in the aft cabin. Every 5 min or so a wave would crash onto the deck just to keep things interesting. By 2pm the worst had passed. The winds were shifting to the north so I put us back on a easterly course. We were all up by daylight. The waves were HUGE. The wind continued to shift to the NW, pushing us to a course north of east....you got it...we want to go south. All day Friday we were on a starboard tack..wind coming over the starboard rail. We needed to jibe, turn the stern of the boat through the wind to put us back on a southerly course. The winds were still force 8 with some 9's. Jibing was not something I wanted to do in these waves....I warmed up the engine, we harnessed Dennis in and teathered him the the jackline...a line running down the deck that one attaches himself to so one is not washed overboard when up on deck. Denny went forward and moved the preventers( a block and tackle used to keep the boom from moving) to the starboard side. With Denny back in the cockpit, I studied these "Perfect Storm" waves until the right moment when I shoved the trottle forward and powered the bow through the wind and on to a port tack. We put some sail out and were soon sailing south at 6-9 knots surfing down these huge waves . Saturday and Sunday were un eventful...except the bilge pump light every 20 min and when Joyce complains of her Dive books were wet...we lifted the bunk to get access to the rudder...well water is sloshing about. We inspected the rudder post stuffing box and could see water seeping in...not fast ...but still coming in. We attempted to tighten this using a oil filter wrench on this 3 1/2 inch nut. Slowed it some, but still dripping. We need a much bigger wrench than I have aboard. Now we have water in the boat from the bow and stern. Still 700 miles to go. For those of you that don't know Dennis, he is a smoker...and through all of this Dennis does not miss a nictoine fix. How he was able to get a cigarette lit in 53 knots of wind I don't know. We are now into the routine of watchkeeping. The days are going quickly. Monday, the winds were still in the 30's...a fast sail. Tue the waves were down enough to start fishing. We had new lures but could not find the crimpers to make up the rig. We used the green machine Wes had given us back in Baltimore. All day...no bites. Joyce finally found my crimper where he had hidden it after a wave threw her off the bunk into my tackle box....you ought to see that bruise. I rigged up one of our Mahi Mahi Jets we got at the boat show. They leave a trail of bubbles when towed through the water. An hour later zing out goes the line. We stopped the boat and Dennis lands a small Mahi Mahi. Fresh fish for dinner. Wed we have the line out again...zing...another Mahi Mahi...Joyce is like a surgeon when cleaning these things. We had 2 great sailing days...I was starting to think of a 200 mile day...damn...should never do that...Thursday AM no wind. Joyce started the stinkpot and we mortored on. Late in the afternoon Joyce notices a surge in the engine sounds. We stop...check everything, cycle the breakers on the inverters...almost sounded like the altenator was dragging the engine down. Started everything up and all sounded fine. We motored on. Late Thursday afternoon, the zing gets everyones attention. While Joyce and Denny stopped the boat, I grabbed the pole and watched the line jump off the reel. Then the swordfish jumped a few times shaking the lure from his mouth. Talk about a rush...my hands were still shaking when I reeled in the 200+ yds of line minus our swordfish dinner. We motored on. Early Friday morning our surging engine sound came back. Denny and I went through the same procdedure as the day before. When I put the boat back in gear...no "clunk" My 1st thought was of my Brit friend Phil who had lost a prop on his trip down 4 yrs ago. I checked the transmission fluid level....not a drop... now where had that fluid gone??? Not a drop to be seen in the engine room or bildge. I dug through the locker and found 1 3/4 qts of ATF. We added those...clunk and motored on. An hour later we started to see some wind from the east. We were starting to see the tradewinds kick in. The rest of Friday and Saturday we sailed on toward St Martin. Where did that ATF go? I got out my leak dection kit and added some to the transmission. If one follows the hoses, one can see that Amel has installed a transmission cooler into the engine cooling system. This is a heat exchanger where the hot ATF is cirulated thru a copper pipe with cold sea water cooling the copper tubing. Let us go back a few years when the Lady was newer. When you use the main engine, the hot engine antifreeze is pumped through the hot water heater to make hot water. My problem was that the engine coolant was coming out of the coolant expansion tank. Where was ths water coming from....well it turns out that there was a small hole in the hot water tank line that carried the engines antifreeze. Since the freshwater is always under 30 psi pressure, it was forcing freshwater into the engines coolant system diluting the antifreeze. New waterheater fixed that under warranty. Back to the present....could this heat exchanger be the problem? We have been sailing thru Saturday. Chartplotter puts our eta at 3:30 am or so....will we have engine power when we get there? More in the next blog
Hope you have some time to sit down…drink some tea…and enjoy this one! Do you know what 52 knot wind (F10) with 15 to 20 foot seas in a 53’ sailboat feels like? One step further…SOUNDS like? For the second time is as many years…Paul and I do…and, now our friend Dennis knows too! And, while last year we were not far offshore...this year we were WAY offshore (Atlantic somewhere) and there was more than just that difference. Remember the last blog and the crab pot? With the high winds and gaining upset seas…the bilge pump would come on every 15-20 minutes…now, you can really look at this two ways!! The first: Thank heaven whatever water we are taking on is getting pumped out. And the second: Oh my god…why are we taking on water…will the bilge pump stay working…will the “leak” get worse…okay, I could go on. BUT - I preferred the first way of looking at it and would watch with delight when the pump light would come on periodically! (Paul feels that the crab pot line creased an o-ring seal in the bow thruster – to be addressed and taken care of later.) THEN, let’s see…one of the auto pilot drive motors stopped working. Okay, no problem, there is a back-up. But when the back-up stopped working (okay for those that know these things – the boat thought she knew better than the auto pilot where and how we should be going and since the wind and the seas were stronger than the auto pilot) we were “hove to” for more than 5 hours going 20 degrees (relatively NNE) which was 130 degrees off from our course of SE or around 150 degrees! The main sail got stuck in the track…so we could no longer take any more sail in…which lead to what Dennis saw first-hand from the cockpit…for the first time on Paul’s boat…the rail in the water!!! I was in the saloon and saw through the ceiling hatch the water and wave horizon present itself twice…so I knew that for that view from where I was…Paul could no longer make THAT claim (he had never had the rail in the water)! The SSB was working fitfully…so getting weather was a struggle…although what the heck…the weather had been (and was) wrong anyway! The bimini top side started peeling off at the zipper…so with all three of us topside we managed to remove the side window and get it inside before it was completely lost. The sail viewing top window completely shredded off of the bimini (we were planning on replacing it this year anyway)…AND as of right now it looks like the only plant that may have survived is the lemon grass…and even that may take MONTHS before we can have lemon grass tea again! The salt spray was too much for the thyme, oregano, and rosemary. The inside of the boat was ready for a normal to heavy sail…but…in a storm…well, EVERYTHING began flying around (including me from the cabin bed…so while my ribs HAD been feeling better slowly…now the only reason they don’t hurt is that my hip has a bruise with pain unlike I have ever seen/felt before)! We lost the microwave plate – we lost the printer – AND MOST IMPORTANT (of course that depends on who you talk to) we lost one of my favorite ear-rings – probably thrown out with the plate glass! So with virtually no sleep…we all still “stood” our watches and endured (okay, I endured – I was not a happy camper with all the little things that were going wrong – Dennis was like a little kid…enjoying every minute). Finally, we did get the boat pointed in the right direction…the main was able to get “unstuck” AND the spare auto-pilot did begin working again…it took four days out of port before we began what I would call a great SAIL!!! I was back to enjoying….25-30 knots of wind and 8-10 knot boat speed…that is what sailing is all about! We were able to keep sailing for 3 days and catch two Mahi mahi in those days! Fresh fish for dinner…life is good… Then a high pressure…no wind. So we motored. We had two swordfish on in two consecutive days of motoring…one jumped out of the water and was able to spit the hook out…the second broke the 50 pound test line! And, then about the time the wind began again…the noise that I had noticed days earlier (and we had tried to isolate then) started again! While Paul and Dennis were trouble shooting – they found the boat would not go back into gear…so a quick check of the transmission found that there was no ATF on the dipstick! Thank heaven…for two things…Paul had 1 ½ quarts of the stuff AND the winds picked up and we could turn off the engine and SAIL again! We are now safely anchored in Simpson lagoon, Sint Maarten, the Dutch side. I’m pretty sure Paul will blog his boat “woes” as we have a lot of things to fix! But, this passage “had it all” so to speak, just another sea tale, however, this one includes Dennis…thankfully...All of us sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner...so…for UD…thank you…big hug…fair winds…and calm seas, my friend!! Oh, and to go back and answer the first two questions of this blog from my perspective (of been there…done that), number 1: humbling; and, number 2: although I’ve never had a freight train go so close to me to have heard that particular overbearing frightening sound, nor have I ever heard a sound such as that for as long as we ended up hearing that sound…both Paul and I mentioned that we felt if we had to describe the sound that the closest we could come to describing it would be a freight train as close as possible to you and yet you could survive!
When Paul got back from Chattanooga we moved the boat to a small “day only” city dock tie up.
As we motored there we felt that we had a very strong outgoing tide and/or river current as we were only making 3.5 knots! Once in the small man-made cove -
aided by the bow-thruster, and tied up - thanks to some cruisers that were walking by and stopped to help (by the way they have a Tayana 52 and LOVE it – Jill and Bob (my sister and brother-in-law)…they wanted you to know that – and for those who may not know – Bob designed that sailing vessel and many others that we find out cruising). I jumped ashore and was making sure all lines were secure when I noticed a crab pot buoy and line wrapped around the anchor!Oh dear! We had carried the pot and little critters down the Elizabeth River!Not happy they were…some might say “feisty”…blue crab...and very good tasting! BUT…true story…we let them go…We had a lot to do before Dennis got there and we headed out to sea!
These pictures are for you mom...the Portsmouth "Lightship"....
Courtesy of my mom's house... 
While the airplane flights were being cancelled, the trains were booked and cancelled...as well as the hotels...and the taxis...well, the Seattle taxi's would not drive the less than 8 miles to take me back to my mom's house! I would have spend yet another night in a airport (I had already had one night in the Spokane airport...and one in the Seattle airport)...but thanks to my moms' neighbor...I got a shower, 7 hours sleep, and a ride back up to the airport for a relatively uneventful three stop flight back to St Maarten! Of course there had to be "lost"...but really only delayed luggage!!!
So back to the warmth of the French side of Saint Martin...baguettes are wonderful...and protection from the Christmas winds here in the lagoon. 
We had a quiet Christmas day...cleaning up (very little)...enjoying the warmth and then having "our" salad...garlic bread (on french baquette) and lamb...YUMMMMMM...now time for some movies!!! Isn't Sootie too cute??? 
I am so very proud of her! Here she is after her "walk" getting congratulations from and shaking the President of WSU's hand....
Monday was so windy that the resort did not even operate the lifts...oh, darn...
I guess we just had to relax and enjoy our surroundings...
read....
hot tub and sauna....
of course baking our family traditional Christmas cookies...
and a family picture!!! 
This is not the lodge...this was our fireplace...
Good Morning view of Lake Pend Oreille from our "condo"...
Two of the bathrooms have jetted tubs...one has the sauna...
The floors are all pine plankings, rock slate, and some tile (in two of the bathrooms). They ALL have hydronic heating so while, yes, the toilet seat is cold, my feet were nice and WARM!!
The strong gusty winds had finally subsided, the sun was out...
Yes, it was still bitterly cold...but we decided to go up to the village, rent skis and hit the slopes!
How fun it was to be skiing again!
Only one run was open...but for us after so many years of not skiing...
it was perfect!
Then of course there had to be some shopping...
My son and daughter in Pullman will have "custody" of him/her...waiting patiently for our next ski vacation. You see I lost my "dorky hat"...as Paul use to call it...so do you think Paul would allow this one on the boat with us?? Truly a wonderful ski vacation with my children...one I will cherish...we laughed together...we cried together...we were together...sometimes the cold is worth it...
THEN, let’s see…one of the auto pilot drive motors stopped working. Okay, no problem, there is a back-up. But when the back-up stopped working (okay for those that know these things – the boat thought she knew better than the auto pilot where and how we should be going and since the wind and the seas were stronger than the auto pilot) we were “hove to” for more than 5 hours going 20 degrees (relatively NNE) which was 130 degrees off from our course of SE or around 150 degrees! The main sail got stuck in the track…so we could no longer take any more sail in…which lead to what Dennis saw first-hand from the cockpit…for the first time on Paul’s boat…the rail in the water!!!
I was in the saloon and saw through the ceiling hatch the water and wave horizon present itself twice…so I knew that for that view from where I was…Paul could no longer make THAT claim (he had never had the rail in the water)! The SSB was working fitfully…so getting weather was a struggle…although what the heck…the weather had been (and was) wrong anyway! The bimini top side started peeling off at the zipper…so with all three of us topside we managed to remove the side window and get it inside before it was completely lost. The sail viewing top window completely shredded off of the bimini (we were planning on replacing it this year anyway)…AND as of right now it looks like the only plant that may have survived is the lemon grass…and even that may take MONTHS before we can have lemon grass tea again! The salt spray was too much for the thyme, oregano, and rosemary. The inside of the boat was ready for a normal to heavy sail…but…in a storm…well, EVERYTHING began flying around (including me from the cabin bed…so while my ribs HAD been feeling better slowly…now the only reason they don’t hurt is that my hip has a bruise with pain unlike I have ever seen/felt before)! We lost the microwave plate – we lost the printer – AND MOST IMPORTANT (of course that depends on who you talk to) we lost one of my favorite ear-rings – probably thrown out with the plate glass! So with virtually no sleep…we all still “stood” our watches and endured (okay, I endured – I was not a happy camper with all the little things that were going wrong – Dennis was like a little kid…enjoying every minute). Finally, we did get the boat pointed in the right direction…the main was able to get “unstuck” AND the spare auto-pilot did begin working again…it took four days out of port before we began what I would call a great SAIL!!! I was back to enjoying….25-30 knots of wind and 8-10 knot boat speed…that is what sailing is all about! We were able to keep sailing for 3 days and catch two Mahi mahi in those days! 
Fresh fish for dinner…life is good…
Then a high pressure…no wind. So we motored.
We had two swordfish on in two consecutive days of motoring…one jumped out of the water and was able to spit the hook out…
the second broke the 50 pound test line! And, then about the time the wind began again…the noise that I had noticed days earlier (and we had tried to isolate then) started again! While Paul and Dennis were trouble shooting – they found the boat would not go back into gear…so a quick check of the transmission found that there was no ATF on the dipstick! Thank heaven…for two things…Paul had 1 ½ quarts of the stuff AND the winds picked up and we could turn off the engine and SAIL again!
We are now safely anchored in Simpson lagoon, Sint Maarten, the Dutch side. I’m pretty sure Paul will blog his boat “woes” as we have a lot of things to fix! But, this passage “had it all” so to speak, just another sea tale, however, this one includes Dennis…thankfully...
All of us sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner...so…for UD…thank you…big hug…fair winds…and calm seas, my friend!! Oh, and to go back and answer the first two questions of this blog from my perspective (of been there…done that), number 1: humbling;
and, number 2: although I’ve never had a freight train go so close to me to have heard that particular overbearing frightening sound, nor have I ever heard a sound such as that for as long as we ended up hearing that sound…both Paul and I mentioned that we felt if we had to describe the sound that the closest we could come to describing it would be a freight train as close as possible to you and yet you could survive!
- thanks to some cruisers that were walking by and stopped to help (by the way they have a Tayana 52 and LOVE it – Jill and Bob (my sister and brother-in-law)…they wanted you to know that – and for those who may not know – Bob designed that sailing vessel and many others that we find out cruising). I jumped ashore and was making sure all lines were secure when I noticed a crab pot buoy and line wrapped around the anchor!
Not happy they were…
some might say “feisty”…blue crab...and very good tasting! BUT…true story…we let them go…
We had a lot to do before Dennis got there and we headed out to sea!
A huge lighthouse....