tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40429848144269997532024-03-05T04:01:47.560-08:00Helen & Joe's adventuresHelen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-82333892562363931612022-06-18T16:41:00.004-07:002022-06-23T13:10:44.666-07:00Trip to France <p> France trip </p><p>Leaving our home in Windsor-heading to Georgetown for a visit with Pat & Doug before heading to the airport in Toronto for our trip to Paris.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ahi-EfPq2EFQ_HdMzhm0Am6TxTc5FLCD6zsUvpOtPD5J7yRWdOo5sJbu938kxNarMILMnzARjtK6PqRCaM6X4IpNJhU1Oxl976cUTJ9UOzbCn2gXtqAOfwb5gGBBo34Su0mr_5C9oiuxrSAJuBNEpO4GBL6uPR_uwyqgBg_wuU0cFI22m7mY7GTScg/s640/5B3329EF-A4BB-4F19-939C-67BCB5AB3886.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ahi-EfPq2EFQ_HdMzhm0Am6TxTc5FLCD6zsUvpOtPD5J7yRWdOo5sJbu938kxNarMILMnzARjtK6PqRCaM6X4IpNJhU1Oxl976cUTJ9UOzbCn2gXtqAOfwb5gGBBo34Su0mr_5C9oiuxrSAJuBNEpO4GBL6uPR_uwyqgBg_wuU0cFI22m7mY7GTScg/s320/5B3329EF-A4BB-4F19-939C-67BCB5AB3886.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-67711269362879696722016-05-14T15:12:00.000-07:002016-05-14T15:12:01.621-07:00One door closes and another opens<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 16px;">Sorry for the delay in getting back to my blog postings.</span><br />
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After Jeanne and Marcia left for the airport we untied the lines and left the dock in Coral Bay, New Providence. Had a good motor/sail (6 hrs.) to Chubb Cay where we anchored for the night.</div>
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The next day we got underway at 7:00 A.M. and had a long day of “hand steering” but calm seas. Anchored at Gun Cay at 7:00 P.M.</div>
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The weather was still cooperating and predictions were for the winds to pick up and blow out of the north in another day so we got underway at 7:00 A.M. and anchored off of the Miami Yacht Club at 3:00 P.M. Not a bad crossing across the Gulf Stream.</div>
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We spent the next 5 days anchored in Miami touching base with the buyer of our boat every day to determine where he wanted us to deliver the boat for the bottom survey. Don’t think he realized how difficult it is to find a yard that can haul a boat with a 24’ beam. He’s also realizing how expensive it is to own a “big” boat. Benny kept reassuring us that he was going through with the deal. </div>
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Since it was the week before Easter the boat traffic was very busy so we kept moving the boat around to the different anchorages to get away from it. We were able to connect with our friends, Don & Olga, and met them at the park to pick up the new auto pilot motor that we had shipped to their condo. Joe got it installed and it works great. Spent several hours walking around Miami Beach and even found a church that we could walk to from the dinghy dock so I could go to Palm Sunday Mass. </div>
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Don & Olga picked us up and we all enjoyed a delicious cuban lunch. Always good to see them.</div>
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Benny finally found a place in Riviera Beach that could haul the boat so we got underway on March 23rd. Had a quick sail from Miami to the Lake Worth Inlet - 7 hrs. and at times we were doing 9 knots. One of those perfect sails that made Joe wonder why he was selling the boat.</div>
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We anchored off of a park there and arranged for Benny and his friend Lew to come on Thurs. to take the boat out for a sea trial. Since we weren’t going to have much time to show them all of the working systems on the boat we made a video of Joe explaining everything so they could look at it and refresh their memories.</div>
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On Thurs afternoon, Joe went to the launch ramp and picked up Lew, Benny, his wife, Anna and their cute 8 month old daughter, Mia Grace. Got everyone onboard and headed for the inlet. They were pleased with the boat’s performance in the seas heading out the inlet and then Joe raised the sails and we tacked back and forth for a couple of hours. </div>
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Anna & Mia Grace Lew & Benny<br />
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On Fri. morning Joe picked Lew up and we took the boat to the Cracker Boy Marina for the haul-out. Benny and the surveyor met us there and they spent the next 3 hours checking out the boat hull. I spent most of that time pacing back and forth in the yard praying that everything would check out. After the survey was completed Benny decided to just have the boat moved into the yard since we wouldn’t be completing the sale until Mon. or Tues. </div>
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Benny drove us to the airport to pick up a rental car and then we proceeded to unload all of our stuff. Now keep in mind that we have 15 yrs. of gear on the boat so we filled the car and realized we would have to come back on Mon. to pick up the rest.</div>
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Since it was late afternoon by then we only drove as far as Melbourne, got a motel and then went on the next day to Jacksonville to pick up our van that was in storage there. Thankfully the van started right up so we off we went to the airport to drop off the car and then head south to Englewood to spend Easter weekend with good friends, Barbara & Mike. We really needed that glass of wine they had waiting for us, a beautiful dinner and a good night’s sleep. Went to Easter Sunday Mass with Barbara and spent the rest of the day enjoying their company, playing pickleball and another delicious dinner and of course, more wine.</div>
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Barbara & Mike</div>
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On Monday morning we drove back to West Palm to pick up the rest of our gear and filled the van to the top. This is it, we’re leaving the boat for the last time.</div>
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We then drove back across the State to Dunedin to visit with Alison. So glad to see her. We had lots of paperwork to do to complete the boat sale and we met Benny at the bank to finish the deal. She gave us the moral support we needed to let go of the boat and reassured us that we could still have a good time doing land travel.</div>
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Spent the rest of the day with Alison and then drove north to Brunswick, Georgia to visit with niece, Kelly and Tommy. They always welcome us and it was fun celebrating Tommy’s birthday with them at the Golf Club.</div>
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Kelly, Tommy & Mia</div>
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After a couple days of decompressing we moved on to Warrenton, Virginia to visit with niece Christa, John, Alexa and John, Jr. After a long drive it was so nice to arrive and have a delicious steak dinner with them and of course, some good wine. Christa had some goodies for us to take home along with a TV and other things for our house. Somehow Joe managed to fit them into our already overloaded van.</div>
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and John, Jr.</div>
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Spent a couple of days with the Williams family and then headed for home. It’s a 9 hr drive and when we got to the Canadian Customs and Immigration they asked how long we had been away and welcomed us home. We were at the house by 2:30 and started unloading the van. Good thing we have a big basement to store all of this stuff.</div>
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Everything was good at the house thanks to our neighbour, Les, and our nieces who stopped by to check on things.</div>
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It did seem strange to be here and I kept thinking I was in someone else’s house. We quickly got back into the swing of things and started playing pickleball with the “Life After Fifty” group and visiting with everyone we missed so much over the winter. Our friend Theresa delivered a beautiful painting that she did of “DejaVu” - it’s on the wall in our office with some other Bahamian prints.</div>
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We made a trip across the border to visit with Joyce (Mandalay). She’s doing well and is really hoping and praying that the boat will sell soon.</div>
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Our other good friends, Al & Jill, are also selling their 64’ Catamaran. Unfortunately, Al & crew were sailing the boat from Fiji to Hawaii and then on to California. They were 400 miles from Hawaii when they dismasted. Luckily no one was hurt, however, they lost the entire rig and did quite a bit of damage to the boat. They have made it safely to Hawaii and are assessing their options. Not a good way to finalize their cruising experience.</div>
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Not too enthused about the weather-it was still cold and we even had some snow flurries. Guess we came back too soon. Looking forward to planting some flowers and veggies but it's too soon - frost predicted for this weekend.</div>
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Our summer will be spent continuing with the house renovations, Joe has some big jobs to do for his customers and we’re looking forward to many family and friends get-togethers. We're looking for a new work vehicle that can later be converted into a camper so we can head south when the snow flies. </div>
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Please keep in touch with us, we don’t want to loose contact with our cruising friends so if you’re in the Windsor area, we’d love to see you and we have a guest room. We can be reached via email - hjbpjb@gmail.com or phone 519-945-7848.</div>
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Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-82354255988912504922016-03-16T17:20:00.000-07:002016-03-16T17:20:05.565-07:00DejaVu leaving George Town soon <br />
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The wind picked up after our closing regatta ceremonies so we moved into the protected anchorage called “The Litter Box” since it’s very shallow and mostly catamarans are anchored there. Worked out well for us because we could take the dinghy on Monday morning to Baranki Laundry. Spent the next 2 days getting ready for Jeanne and Marcia’s arrival. We moved the boat to a spot very close to the town so they wouldn’t get too wet getting from the shore to the boat. So nice to see them-it’s been a couple of years so lots to catch up on.</div>
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Moved over to Sand Dollar Beach and the girls jumped into the crystal clear water. Enjoyed a last walk on the beach.</div>
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It was still blowing hard but predicted to lessen in the next few days so on Thurs. afternoon we left the Harbour and prepared to go out through the cut. Expected it to be rough and big seas but it wasn’t too bad and we had a good sail for 3 hours to Rat Cay Cut where we went in to our first anchorage.</div>
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As we were leaving George Town, we heard on the radio that a trimaran had lost it’s mast sailing in the harbour. The owner of the boat had borrowed some tools and fibreglass from Joe to do some repairs and he had invited us to sail with him that day-glad we weren’t onboard. No one was hurt but he has a lot of work to do before he can head out again.</div>
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The next day we took Jeanne and Marcia to Leaf Cay to visit with the iguanas. These are the best fed iguanas in the world. Cruisers and tour boats bring them lots of veggies to eat every day.</div>
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We continued to sail up the Exuma chain and made a stop so the girls could snorkel on the man made reef of a piano and mermaid. It’s made out of stainless and was placed there by David Copperfield who owns one of the nearby islands.</div>
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Several of the islands in the Exumas are owned by celebrities - Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Johnny Depp, Oprah.</div>
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Guess it’s one way of them getting some privacy when they are on vacation.</div>
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We anchored at Black Point which is an excellent example of a real out-island non-touristy settlement, the largest in the Exuma Cays. They have a school, three churches, two grocery stores and native straw work. Marcia bought a handmade straw bag and a conch shell.</div>
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Of course, it was inevitable that something would break now that we have sold the boat. The belt on the autopilot started squealing and the motor stopped working. Joe took it apart and he couldn’t fix it so we’re ordering a new one to be del’d to our friends in Miami. Now those of you who have not cruised can’t appreciate what a big deal this is-we depend on it when we make a passage. For the past 10 yrs. we have had a backup autopilot onboard. Last week we decided to start clearing things out of the boat in anticipation of turning it over to the new owner so we “sold” the backup to a fellow cruiser. Now we’re looking at hand steering the boat for the 26 hour passage to Miami. Not looking forward to it. </div>
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Our next stop was an anchorage right off of the famous “Thunderball Grotto”. Joe took Jeanne and Marcia over to the cave and they swam into the cave. It is filled with lots of fish and colourful coral.</div>
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We moved over to the anchorage off of Staniel Cay which is unique among the Bahamian out island communities. Its inhabitants are a cooperative mix of native Bahamians and outsiders with homes on the island. The sailors there are recognized as some of the best in the Bahamas. </div>
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The Staniel Cay Yacht Club is filled with mega yachts from all over the world.</div>
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Helen, Jeanne and Marcia explored the island and did a bit of shopping. We enjoyed seeing the traditional island homes - one with an old wringer washer on the porch.</div>
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Decided to move to Big Majors anchorage to the north. This island is home to the “swimming pigs”. The locals have put some pigs on the island and the cruisers and tourists love to feed them so if no one brings them food, the pigs swim out to the boats. We’re sure a couple of them will disappear on Easter weekend to be served at the famous pig roast at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.</div>
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We had to keep moving every day so we could be in New Providence by Tues. afternoon so the girls could fly out on Wed. Enjoyed exploring the different islands and they did lots of snorkelling and swimming around the boat.</div>
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Took the boat into Coral Harbour and tied up to a private dock there run by a retired British cruising couple who rent out spots on their seawall. Nice, protected bay and only 10 mins. from the airport. On Wed. Nick took Jeanne and Marcia to the airport and we got underway for Chubb Cay.</div>
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Here’s our last chance to post our Blog because we have a good internet signal so we’ll sign off until we reach Miami.</div>
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Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-2312753652470367342016-03-07T07:24:00.001-08:002016-03-07T07:24:48.152-08:00Surviving the Regatta<div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">
We survived another fun filled 10 days of regatta events. <div>
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Started out with registration day on the beach. Joe and I worked the registration table for regulation volleyball. Sign up went well and we will have 6 teams of 4 for the tournament.</div>
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On the Sat. afternoon we had a talent show at regatta park in town. This was a combination of acts by the locals and the cruisers. </div>
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Helen and her 6 friends danced and sang to “These Boots Were Made for Walking” and were appropriately called “Babes In Boots”. We wore regatta T-shirts, black shorts and “rubber sea boots”. </div>
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It was a hoot and everyone seemed to enjoy it. </div>
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Joe joined some of the guys in a tug of war.</div>
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The Bahamian kids were the highlight-they are so naturally talented and were up on stage doing their rake and scrape type dancing.</div>
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The local women kept us fed and hydrated with lots of rum punch, beer, conch fritters, burgers and hot dogs.</div>
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Sunday was the big softball game with the cruiser’s team vs. the Bahamians. The cruisers did their best but were unable to beat the Bahamians again this year- they are natural athletes and half the age of our players. Joe enjoyed being part of the team but isn’t looking to join a softball team when we get back to Ontario-think he’ll stick to pickleball. When Joe got back to the dinghy dock at 9:00 P.M. his “brand new dinghy” was missing. Now this is equivalent to you living out in the country and discovering that your one and only car is not in the driveway. Another cruiser took him across the lake to see if it was on the other side-luckily they found it stuck in the mangroves. No damage and Joe was on his way. </div>
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Monday and Tuesday were big boat races-one in the harbour and one around Stocking Island. Joe crewed on a 37’ monohull called Belatrix. They had a good sail and came in 1st for the in harbour race and 3rd around the island. Joe really enjoyed racing in a monohull for a change.</div>
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The rest of the week had lots of events - Bocci ball, scavenger hunt, poker run. </div>
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On Thurs Joe & I helped with the coconut challenge. This is a real hoot to watch. Around 1500 coconuts are released in the anchorage-teams of 4 get into an inflatable dinghy (without an engine) and paddle around using dive fins to get around and collect the coconuts. We tally up the scores and then they move over to the volleyball court where they toss some coconuts over the nets to reach the bulls eye on the other side, the 3rd part is tossing the coconuts into the bag. </div>
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Joe raced his laser sailboat (the one he plucked out of a dumpster in Belle River) and came in 1st. Brought back good memories of his younger sailing days.</div>
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Fri. morning was “Beach Golf”. They set up a 9 hole golf course on a rocky, shady shore-quite a challenge for even a seasoned golfer.</div>
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Fri. afternoon was Joe’s big event-the 4’s regulation volleyball. We had the teams set up so each team played every other team on 3 courts. The most difficult part of this event is setting up the teams since we have players ranked from very good to novices. It went well and everyone had a good time-Joe’s team did not win this year but he was happy to act as chairman.</div>
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Sat. morning was “fun volleyball”. There are teams of 9 players and although Joe doesn’t usually play he decided to sign up. It’s a fun game to watch because the teams can hit the ball as many times as necessary to get the ball over and there’s always a lots of players banging into each and knocking each other over.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fun volleyball</td></tr>
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Joe’s team came in 3rd place.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">regatta point and peace n plenty</td></tr>
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Sun afternoon was the closing ceremonies at Peace N Plenty Hotel. Pennants were awarded to all chairmen of the events, many thanks to the organizers of the regatta, door prizes (we didn’t win anything) and lots of food and drink. Last chance for us to party with our fellow cruisers.</div>
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We’re now getting ready for Jeanne and Marcia’s arrival on Wed. After that we’ll be looking for some good weather to head up the Exuma chain to Nassau where they will be flying out on March 16th. The weather Gods have not been very kind to us this year so we’re just hoping and praying that we can leave by Fri. and have several days to show them some of our favourite anchorages along the way.</div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-46896971165485214312016-02-24T14:30:00.000-08:002016-02-24T14:30:54.245-08:00Gearing up for George Town Cruisers Regatta<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Everyone is gearing up for regatta and we’ve been busy as usual. The wind continues to be challenging and we’ve had a couple of days hiding out in the hurricane hole. </span><br />
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Last weekend we continued to track the typhoon “Winston” that was barreling through Fiji where our friends Al & Jill have left their boat Dragonfly. Rec’d an email from them this week that the boat survived the blow, thank goodness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0uddl9nljk4C7ppZKL1RiMO6g1d-_qBJpRmUSFu-BXkDJLuj9sp_u-u81xUWuxO1XNqt672CYCSM1sMNVQDk4KjPPlE9z5J86K0LARc4Y9TBGXza2CRTPpfu1L5W3D-YlYdnfztzkbGj/s1600/P2170025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0uddl9nljk4C7ppZKL1RiMO6g1d-_qBJpRmUSFu-BXkDJLuj9sp_u-u81xUWuxO1XNqt672CYCSM1sMNVQDk4KjPPlE9z5J86K0LARc4Y9TBGXza2CRTPpfu1L5W3D-YlYdnfztzkbGj/s320/P2170025.jpg" width="320" /></a>Went to an "ARG (Alcohol Research Group) Meeting on the Beach one evening and a group of us wore our Exuma T-shirts that were designed by our good friends Bruce and Joyce. We all raised a glass in Bruce's memory.</div>
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We celebrated Valentine’s Day with 2 other couples on our boat and on the 16th we celebrated my “big 70th” BD. Joe opened a couple of cans and made me a nice dinner.</div>
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This week there were two dinghies that flipped in the harbour due to high winds and seas. Everyone was ok but it’s a bit challenging getting around.</div>
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On Monday the cruisers got together for a Craft and Bake Sale with all proceeds going to the George Town Red Cross. I baked Farm Cookies for the bake sale and won a painting at the raffle. We raised over $1,100.00 and everyone got their fill of cookies, cakes and homemade bread.</div>
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Joe goes to softball practice twice a week and admits that he isn’t getting a whole lot better but he is having fun. Every afternoon he’s on the volleyball court playing and doing clinics to get players ready for the big tournament. With all of this beach volleyball our boat is starting to look like a sand pit so I spend a lot of time sweeping up after him. </div>
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I’m alternating between yoga and water aerobics most mornings and going to Bible Study on Tuesdays.</div>
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We did go to the Chat N Chill dance one night and Joe actually danced with me. </div>
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Registration for regatta events is Fri. and Sat. is the variety show. Joe will be doing the tug of war and I’m doing a skit with 6 other girls. We’re dancing and singing to “These Boots were made for Walking”-we’re wearing rubber sea boots and have added some pretty funny moves so should be a good time. Will post some pics.</div>
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Sun. night is the big softball game with the cruisers vs. the Bahamians and it’s always a hoot.</div>
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Next week Joe will be crewing for the big boat races, we’re helping with the coconut challenge and of course, there’s the big volleyball tournament at the end of the week.</div>
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Two days after regatta ends, Jeanne and Marcia arrive and we’ll be heading north through the Exumas to Nassau. They fly out of Nassau on the 16th and after that we’ll be on our way back to Florida. </div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-46183094558027399762016-02-09T04:58:00.001-08:002016-02-09T04:58:45.960-08:00Contract on DejaVuWe have accepted a deposit and have a contract to sell DejaVu. The buyer is a friend of a fellow cruiser and he came to see the boat when he was here in George Town. The next day he brought his wife and 8 month old baby girl to the boat.<br />
They fell in love with it and left a cash deposit with their friend who delivered it to us yesterday.<br />
Benny and his family live in Palm Harbour Florida so the boat will go full circle and be back where it came from in the Tarpon Springs area.<br />
We will finish our cruising season here in George Town and head up the Exuma chain with Joe's sister, Jeanne and her friend, Marcia on March 9th. They will fly out of Nassau on March 16th and we'll sail back to Florida.<br />
Of course, this is a very emotional time for us but we know in our hearts that it is the right decision and now we're looking forward to new adventures.<br />
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Now on to what we're doing here. <br />
The weather this season has been very unusual as it has been everywhere. Lots of cold fronts coming down here from Florida with winds blowing hard out of the West and NW. This just means that we move the boat from one side of the harbour to the other every 10 days. Luckily for us DejaVu only draws 3 feet so we can tuck into an anchorage that has protection from the wind. <br />
We still get lots of sunshine and the temperatures are still much better than up north.<br />
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Everyone is gearing up for the cruiser's regatta that starts on Feb. 26th. Joe is busy getting teams set up for regulation volleyball and he's going to softball practice twice a week. I'm still doing my water aerobics, bible study and selling T-shirts. <br />
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Lots of get togethers with our fellow cruisers and we try not to talk too much about this being our final season with them.<br />
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As our friend, John, says "It's all good". Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-9898427332965152072016-02-04T07:48:00.004-08:002016-02-04T07:48:56.381-08:00Lots of fun in George Town<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Sorry we haven’t updated our Blog in some time but have been very busy with inquiries about the boat. It seems to have taken all of our time and energy just to answer emails. We finally set up a blog site to answer questions and post pics and have also decided that we didn’t want to show the boat until we get back to Florida the beginning of April.</span><br />
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We’re still managing to have lots of fun here in George Town and Joe is going full speed ahead with his volleyball and has also decided to play baseball on the cruisers team which plays against the Bahamian team. Yesterday he went to baseball practice in the a.m., went to play two’s volleyball after that and then played 4’s volleyball in the afternoon. You can imagine what he did in the evening.</div>
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On Sat. we went to the Stakeout and Raffle picnic at St. Theresa’s Church. Helen sold 4 books of tickets and the cruisers really came out to support the fund raiser for a youth centre building. </div>
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Church Picnic<br />
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Women's Bible Study<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGEThu1fwPLx7jyeLWuzbNp6ARc4lWgJ9EXjvinGabXRYJiz0klkc1ZyM2m639h3c7mSVFauHxyCd1xYkHYB5S9KfQXRKY9c_JN5w_e5q_GYJr6lgB5GaCOLOCX7G4KL050xsBz0UTihO/s1600/FullSizeRender+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGEThu1fwPLx7jyeLWuzbNp6ARc4lWgJ9EXjvinGabXRYJiz0klkc1ZyM2m639h3c7mSVFauHxyCd1xYkHYB5S9KfQXRKY9c_JN5w_e5q_GYJr6lgB5GaCOLOCX7G4KL050xsBz0UTihO/s320/FullSizeRender+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Church Picnic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UjPfjXnMNjzffcaU5x7OPdIQcSVL9VA6VApUwh1jnASomGgVTOVyaEnCO_72ZLtWVoZz4ttfiFqcokgzfMZvAIu0y9Mf4WYmtoPSN1jJzHpd5ktBJHF11IRSvy_9-ccAf_60f7UziJ2Z/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UjPfjXnMNjzffcaU5x7OPdIQcSVL9VA6VApUwh1jnASomGgVTOVyaEnCO_72ZLtWVoZz4ttfiFqcokgzfMZvAIu0y9Mf4WYmtoPSN1jJzHpd5ktBJHF11IRSvy_9-ccAf_60f7UziJ2Z/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Flip Flop Beach<br />
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Joe & Joe having a serious talk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdBZLE5FFYVGBgJcyriZulax7rUOzonQr37baW8tLgmZNy1Sg2-8jtBVq_dxrXezZqEwXNuJGA3HO5sytBTzzUhHtcILqWYp_KH9y1DMhnka9pG-31qWCSmOb6IN3AweyXU8m-vzLkkC-/s1600/P1300042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdBZLE5FFYVGBgJcyriZulax7rUOzonQr37baW8tLgmZNy1Sg2-8jtBVq_dxrXezZqEwXNuJGA3HO5sytBTzzUhHtcILqWYp_KH9y1DMhnka9pG-31qWCSmOb6IN3AweyXU8m-vzLkkC-/s320/P1300042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After the church picnic we gathered on flip flop beach for a cruiser get-together.</div>
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Yesterday while Joe was gone for his “sports day” Helen went to water aerobics, came back to the boat to change, went to Women’s Bible Study and then a Ladies Luncheon at St. Francis Resort.</div>
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Joe has agreed to be the chairman for the 4’s regulation volleyball so he’s busy getting that organized. He will also race his Laser sailboat in the small boat races. We’ve decided not to sail DejaVu in the big boat races this year-can’t take a chance that we’ll break something just when we’re ready to sell it.</div>
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Tomorrow is laundry day so we’ll pick up Brian and Yvonne and go to the Exuma Yacht Club to get fuel, get a ride to the laundromat, get propane and then back to the boat in time for Joe to play volleyball.</div>
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Yes, it’s a good life and we’re really going to miss it but who knows maybe we’ll be back someday in a different boat.</div>
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Hope everyone is well and that your winter hasn’t been too cold, snowy or rainy. Pls. keep in touch we love to get news from home. </div>
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Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-14695857592597228402016-01-15T14:14:00.002-08:002016-01-15T14:14:18.471-08:00Big News about DejaVu<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Enjoying our season in George Town but we have made a big decision to list DejaVu for sale. Nothing wrong but we’ve decided that it’s time for us to do something different with our winter travels.</span><br />
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We realize it may take some time to find the right buyer for the boat and we’ll continue cruising until someone comes along. In the meantime if any of you know of someone who would like to take up this wonderful lifestyle please send them our way. Check out the listing at:</div>
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We’re still playing volleyball and doing water aerobics. Helen is helping to sell Regatta t-shirts and we’re looking fwd. to the cruisers regatta which starts on Feb. 26th. </div>
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Hope to hear from you.</div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-90712974423343220042016-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:002016-01-09T15:18:33.879-08:00Christmas and the Big Blow of 2016<div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">
Our Christmas dinner on the beach was a big success. Yes I was able to get that 1/2 turkey in my small oven after beating it down a bit.</div>
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New Year’s Eve was spent on Hamburger Beach with a bunch of French Canadian cruisers-lots of great food and drink. The French really do know how to party. Of course we started at 4:30 so Joe & I were back on the boat by 8:00. </div>
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Everything settled down after the Holiday Celebrations and we kept busy with water aerobics, volleyball, Joe sailing his laser sailboat, walks on the beach, church and bible study and having friends over for dinner.</div>
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The weather has been very warm and windy with the winds clocking around in all directions. </div>
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It all caught up with us last Wed. evening.</div>
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As we finished dinner Joe noticed the clouds were building and we could see lightening south of us, the wind generator started turning so fast we couldn’t hear anything so he went out to turn it off and that’s when the wind hit. We started up the engines to run up on the anchors to take pressure off of them and then the boats around us started dragging their anchors and were bearing down on us-of course, as usual, we were right next to the beach at the Monument and the wind was blowing out of the West so everything was coming our way. The radio was alive with boats yelling “your dragging”. A monohull beside us was blown on to the beach but they managed to get it off with their engines.</div>
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Now in a situation like this there isn’t much you could do to help others except get out of the way so after two boats came very close to crashing into us Joe realized one of our anchors had broken loose and he started backing up to get the other one out and we moved away from the boats and he let the anchors loose-had to cut the rope on one to get it freed. We powered across the harbour with waves coming over the transoms. </div>
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It wasn’t as windy over there because we were in the lee of the land. it was still too windy to re-anchor (thank goodness we carry 3 anchors) so we just went back and forth for 2 hours and finally got settled. Highest winds were clocked at 90 mph.</div>
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The next morning we came back over to Stocking Island and Joe snorkeled around looking for the anchors-he found one and later with the help of our friends, Joanne and George on Bristol Cream who had a tank and hooka rig Joe was able to dive down and find the other one. It was buried deep so we had to bring the big boat over to pick it up. Of course I was praying to St. Anthony to find the anchor and another cruiser came by to help-guess what his name was?-Anthony. oh well.</div>
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We were so lucky and felt bad for some of our friends. Several boats had damaged dinghy davits and dinghies, bow pulpits bent, lost dinghies, kayaks and paddles, fuel tanks, water jugs, bent rigging and rub rails.</div>
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We’ve heard that a boat was lost near Highborne Cay and a fellow lost a finger while trying to pull his chain up.</div>
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The amazing thing was that no one was hurt here and everyone has been helping each other-it’s a great community.</div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-7386615492221382802015-12-24T14:21:00.002-08:002015-12-24T14:21:45.117-08:00Bahamas Crossing<br />
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After spending 4 days in Miami we were ready to set out into the “big” water and make the crossing to the Bahamas. After listening to Chris Parker we set out at 7:30 A.M.</div>
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The big factor in crossing to the Bahamas is the Gulf Stream and the wind direction and if they are in competition you can have a rough ride. We started out motor/sailing but soon found that the wind was on our nose and the sails were slowing us down.</div>
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It wasn’t too uncomfortable but Helen spent as much time as possible laying down on the settee cushion. she was able to take over some of the watch at night so Joe could close his eyes. Now that we have AIS (automatic identification system) on our GPS it’s not as scary traveling at night. If we see a light near us we can look at the screen and it will tell us the name of the vessel, their speed and course and the closest point of approach. Two big sport fishing boats passed us-no problem.</div>
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In the morning we decided to just keep on going since conditions weren’t too bad and the predictions were that they wouldn’t get any better.</div>
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After being underway for 33 hours we anchored at Highborne Cay.</div>
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Early to bed that night.</div>
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the next day we got underway at 7:45 A.M. and again had a motor boat ride to Black Point. Anchored at 3:00 so we were able to go ashore for a walk and check email.</div>
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If we’re going to make it to George Town for Christmas we need to keep moving because a Cold Front with winds up to 30 knots out of the north is predicted for this weekend so we got underway again and arrived at one of our favourite anchorages in William’s Bay. Seeing other boats that we know from George Town made us feel like we’re getting closer.</div>
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We went out the cut at Black Cay at 7:30 A.M. and finally had a good wind for sailing-big jib and main up, dragging two fishing lines. No luck with the fish and we came into the cut at George Town at 10:30 A.M. Sailed right into the anchorage. Brian and Yvonne came over to welcome us and to let us know about “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” party at St. Francis Resort. Got things settled and put on our party clothes. </div>
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It started blowing hard that night so after we went ashore for “Beach Church” decided to move the boat to a more protected anchorage. The wind blew over 30 knots all day and night.</div>
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On Monday we took the boat around to Kidd Cove and went into town to get checked in, buy an internet card for our phone and a few groceries. Moved the boat over to the monument beach anchorage. </div>
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The weather has been beautiful all week with sunny skies and lots of wind to keep the generator happy. </div>
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Our days are filled with water aerobics in the a.m. and volleyball in the afternoon. Lots of catching up to do with our cruiser friends.</div>
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Christmas Eve we’ll join friends on the beach for a bonfire and carolling.</div>
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On Christmas Day we’ll go over to town so Helen can go to Mass at St. Theresa’s church, then we’ll come back across the Harbour for the potluck dinner. </div>
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We are cooking half a turkey for our table. Can’t fit a whole turkey in the oven so Yvonne and I split one. </div>
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Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-37352228412874213572015-12-24T14:15:00.002-08:002015-12-24T14:15:19.650-08:00Miami Bound<br />
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We moved the boat to the anchorage next to the Lake Worth Inlet so we could get underway early on Wed.</div>
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Restless night knowing we wanted to be up and underway around 4:00 A.M. When we got up the skies were still overcast but we decided to go anyway. On the way to the Inlet as Joe tied everything down and got sails ready to put up Helen noticed flashing to the south and Joe agreed it was lightening. At that point we were in the inlet so made the decision to keep going.</div>
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Not too bad going out against the current and wind and we knew once we cleared the inlet we could get out of the swell and then motor/sail close to shore. The squall clouds were all around us with some rain but not too bad.</div>
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We stay within 1/2 mile of the shoreline in order to stay out of the Gulf Stream that flows north along the coast of Florida and which can run as fast as 5 knots and considering we we’re motor sailing at 7 knots we wouldn’t be making much headway. It was nice to see the sun come through the clouds.</div>
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Not a bad motor sail but we were glad to come in near South Beach at the Port of Miami at 2:30. Exciting seeing all of the cruise ships and container ships being unloaded there with the Miami skyscrapers in the background.</div>
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When we were in Lake Worth, we passed by a container ship that had lost a couple of their containers offshore. Later we saw on the news that people were picking up some of the cargo on the northern beaches - containers of Joe’s favourite coffee “cafe bistro”.</div>
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Continued in the ICW to Dinner Key and found a spot to anchor. Looking forward to spending a couple of days here so we can re-connect with our old friends Don & Olga. We met them in 1977 when we first cruised in the Bahamas onboard the original DejaVu, a 30’ Trimaran. Since then our paths have crossed a few times and we have always kept in touch.</div>
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The next day we took the dinghy to the dock at the Coconut Grove sailing club that Don & Olga belong to and they met us at the dock. So good to see them and it’s just amazing how we all look just the way we remembered.</div>
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Spent a wonderful day with them-did laundry at their condo, enjoyed a delicious lunch at Versailles a world famous cuban restaurant.</div>
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We took them out to DejaVu and continued sharing our stories until Olga totally lost her voice and they had to go home.</div>
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The next day we saw some of our other cruising friends coming into the harbour. Everyone is staging to head over to the Bahamas.</div>
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All of the captains listen to the weather guru, Chris Parker, on the SSB radio at 6:30 A.M. and he tells everyone when they could expect the best wind and weather to cross to the Bahamas. In order to make this 24 hour trip across the Gulf Stream and the Bahama Banks in relatively comfortable conditions we would like to have light wind out of the south.</div>
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On Sunday we’ll get the boat and crew ready and hope to head out early on Monday.</div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-43304994086102240262015-12-08T11:00:00.000-08:002016-03-07T06:26:19.616-08:00Leaving Vero Beach<div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">
The weather guru has given us a one day window to get further south before a wet and windy cold front comes through. We went to the fuel dock got diesel, gas and filled up the water tanks, said goodbye to our friends and got underway early on Thurs. Not much wind, foggy and a bit overcast so we motor sailed.</div>
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As we get further south, the biggest challenge travelling in the ICW are the bascule bridges ( 20 ft) Some will open on demand but many of them are on a schedule and that varies from every 30 mins to every 20 mins and we have 8 of them before we reach Lake Worth in North Palm Beach. You have to call the bridge tender on the radio and request the next opening so of course, that jobs is Helen’s (the commodore of communications).</div>
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You know when you’re getting into Palm Beach as the houses and yachts tied up in front them get bigger and in between are the golf courses. As we approach the PGA Bridge I know we’re almost there.</div>
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Lake Worth is a big area with lots of room for anchoring and as we enter we recognize several cruising boats.</div>
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Spent the next 5 days here and went ashore to shop in between the rain storms. The saving grace of being stuck here is that there are several good stores within walking distance of the dinghy dock-Publix, Stein Mart, Tuesday Morning and of course a huge West Marine. Joe was getting anxious to get me out of here so I would quit shopping.</div>
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We also used this time to bring out the Christmas decorations, listen to Christmas music and bake some cookies.</div>
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Enjoyed a pizza party on our boat on Sunday with George and Joanne from “Bristol Cream".</div>
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Hoping to move this afternoon to the anchorage near the inlet so we can be ready to go out early on Thurs morning. We go outside for the run to Miami in order to avoid the boat traffic and going through 26 bridges. Next stop Miami. </div>
Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-37684482094722893732015-12-02T07:51:00.000-08:002015-12-02T07:51:40.758-08:00<div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">
Getting underway</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp6RZOxRfKlBGq5k9G4BpolL2tHKIu8YUUtvmAaMUSUNI7rrvzOPrE9qxw0ZnAueKl5RGCU9wzz2UqwJWwMcG6NKlP3gGagyA96Y8FNRCBkwMztbktsWt9rB1CI8Yqrg11TxZt1Kn31Eb/s1600/IMG_0198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp6RZOxRfKlBGq5k9G4BpolL2tHKIu8YUUtvmAaMUSUNI7rrvzOPrE9qxw0ZnAueKl5RGCU9wzz2UqwJWwMcG6NKlP3gGagyA96Y8FNRCBkwMztbktsWt9rB1CI8Yqrg11TxZt1Kn31Eb/s320/IMG_0198.jpg" width="320" /></a>Nov. 26th, 2015 - Left the dock at Reynolds Marina at 7:45 A.M. Perfect day to be getting underway, Thanksgiving and our Anniversary (38 yrs.). Captain Joe had his happy face doing what he loves best. </div>
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The unfortunate part of keeping our boat in the St. Johns River is we have to go north 14 miles before we can head south. Of course, the winds and current were against us but thank goodness the 2 diesel engines were purring. <br />
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Approaching Jacksonville there is a railroad bridge which is normally open and immediately a lift bridge which must be opened by the bridge tender. As we got closer Joe noticed the railroad bridge was closed which either means a train is coming or the bridge is broken. Helen called the Main Street bridge tender and he assured us he would open both of the bridges and we proceeded to go under them.</div>
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We decided to pass by the “free docks” in Jacksonville and go on to the Sister’s Creek dock. After going under the Sister’s Creek bridge we started to make our way to the dock. with wind of 20 knots and a 2 knot current pushing us into the dock we were glad to see two fellow cruisers ready to take our lines. Joe is absolutely paranoid about banging up his new vinyl sides. The boat tied up behind us left Michigan in July and are happy to finally be in Florida. They will sail down to the Keys and leave their boat in Florida next summer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0EB49HWumO9pqXRynw8hLUca3bUgvxVFDqpi02fGS7_S3LTfm4ZAoKPDkQH_RRkayGDVbGSaTe_MIGYbhAQ5OW1yo0y1TNxDVKbt2fJhxj-sMbxTTrJmKIbRLn2yA34SCB5I70Cwcb1J/s1600/IMG_0205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0EB49HWumO9pqXRynw8hLUca3bUgvxVFDqpi02fGS7_S3LTfm4ZAoKPDkQH_RRkayGDVbGSaTe_MIGYbhAQ5OW1yo0y1TNxDVKbt2fJhxj-sMbxTTrJmKIbRLn2yA34SCB5I70Cwcb1J/s320/IMG_0205.jpg" width="320" /></a>The next day we got underway at 7:45 and again had to go under the bridge at Sister’s Creek. No problem but as we proceeded up the ICW we heard on the radio that the Sister’s Creek Bridge was locked in the down position and would not be repaired for several hours-wow talk about timing.</div>
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This just makes us realize that the condition of these old bridges is deteriorating quickly and unfortunately not much is being done about repairing or replacing them.</div>
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We anchored that night at Fort Mantanzas. A sailboat called us on the radio requesting info about getting into the anchorage - they tried to come in and cut the corner too close so they were aground and would have to wait for a high tide to come in. Joe gave them some tips on how to get into the anchorage and we saw them coming in slowly after dark.</div>
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Got underway at 8:10 A.M. and decided not to stop in Daytona Beach. Lots of memories here. In 1978 we lived on our boat in the City marina here, the next year we moved into our new home and in 1980 Alison was born there.</div>
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Anchored at Rockhouse Creek for the night along with 6 other cruising boats. Lots of boats headed south.</div>
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Underway on Sun. at 7:00 because we would like to make it to Melbourne and then on to Vero Beach on Mon. As we’re powering along we heard a bang on the hull and looked back to see a 4x4x10 foot board floating by-no damage done but Joe was worried about the new prop and the new vinyl wrap on the sides. Going through the ICW in this area you see a combination of mansions, Florida Cracker Houses and mobile home parks. We were greeted by 5 dolphins playing in our wake and in the Haulover Canal there were numerous manatees swimming around. Since they recognize the prop noise as danger they don’t come too close to the boat.</div>
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Along the Canal which is only 200 feet wide, the fishermen are sitting in their skiffs or on the shoreline enjoying this beautiful area. When we called for an opening at the Space Centre Causeway bridge the bridge tender told us that one of the port side spans was stuck in the down position so proceed with caution. Doesn’t give us much room for error but we made it through ok.</div>
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Joe took a break so Helen was on watch as she past within 1 foot of a red marker and Joe came running out. I knew we were ok but realize I shouldn’t come that close and give Joe a heart attack. This was one of those perfect sailing days - wind out of the NE at and we were in a wide open part of the ICW so we saw speeds up to 9 knots. </div>
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Anchored at the Melbourne causeway and glad to see one of the cats that was stored with us at Holland Marine. They are from South Africa and are headed to the Bahamas. We launched the new dinghy to take some pics of our boat and then went over to see them. They’re having trouble with their Honda outboard motor on the dinghy so we quickly said hello and went back to our boat. Will catch up with them in Vero Beach</div>
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Got underway Mon. morning. A bit overcast but by 9:00 the sun had broken through the clouds, it’s almost 80 and a beautiful day. We’re motor sailing at 7.5 knots.</div>
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Vero Beach has this mooring field in a protected canal off of the ICW. There are at least 100 mooring balls and at this time of the year they are all filled with boats rafted up 2 and 3 deep. We were assigned a spot rafted to a Maine Cat called Ortolan . We had met them in George Town. No one was onboard so we put out our fenders and tied on. We saw a couple approaching the boat and realized they were not the same ones we had met-the boat had been sold and they were just getting settled on it. Nice couple.</div>
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For $15.00 a day the marina provides a secure dinghy dock, showers, laundry, trash bins, water and the City of Vero Beach has “free” bus transportation to the beach and all major shopping areas. As soon as we got ashore we started seeing lots of cruisers that we know from George Town. Lots of hugs and getting caught up on what folks have been doing all summer.</div>
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Vero Beach also has many memories for us. Helen lived in a condo right next to the marina and worked in a law office on the beachside when she moved here in 1976. Joe and I met here in a beachside bar and as they say, the rest is history. It’s good being back here. Enjoyed a fun happy hour (more like 2 1/2 hours) on Dan & Kath’s boat Majics.</div>
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Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-50141449568711650362015-11-21T13:16:00.005-08:002015-11-21T13:37:29.092-08:00Oh my what have I started!!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042984814426999753.post-2726858302415021322015-11-18T09:41:00.001-08:002015-11-24T15:08:48.542-08:00Getting back to our blog<br />
We have resurrected the blog that we used several years ago. Hope you enjoy our posts.<br />
Left Windsor on Oct. 31st and headed south. Arrived at Barb & Mike's mountain log home in NC and enjoyed a couple of days with them. The view is awesome.<br />
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Headed out on Nov. 2nd and arrived at the boat with just enough daylight to hook up power and water, unpack the van and move onboard.<br />
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Joe has been talking for 2 yrs. about using vinyl wrap to do the hulls of the boat instead of paint. Decided this was the year to give it a try. He had studied many videos and we decided he would need some help so we asked our friend Tom to fly in from Durango, Colorado to give him a hand or two. Joe had lots of prep work to do before Tom arrived on Monday morning. The hulls had to be sanded and cleaned. We also wanted to paint and put new non-skid on the decks so we were working non-stop for 2 days getting everything ready.<br />
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After Tom's arrival the fun really started. Where to start-the guys hung the vinyl on the hull and then we just went for it. It was much more difficult than it looked in the video and we kept changing the strategies depending on the temperature, wind and if the vinyl felt like cooperating. Every day was a different challenge. The weather gods were with us and we had sunny skies for 6 days in a row. <br />
It took all 3 of us to hold the big roll of vinyl, peal the backing and Joe using the squeegee to make it stick and get the fold an bubbles out.<br />
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Oh my what am I doing?<br />
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The final result as very worth it and now we'll see how it lasts. Was it fun? No. Would be do it again? Don't think so but who knows.</div>
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Got the boat launched on the Wed and were able to move over to the dock in the marina 30 mins before leaving of the airport for Tom's flight. Hated to see him leave and we were so grateful that he was with us to help with this new project.</div>
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Lots of trips to the store to start provisioning for the next 5 mos.</div>
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On Sunday we drove to Dunedin to visit with our long lost daughter Alison. We miss her no much and look forward to our visits with her as we pass through Florida in the Fall and Spring.</div>
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<br />Helen & Joe's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17842916189802518041noreply@blogger.com1