After spending nearly seven weeks in Florida, and completing many boat projects, we are off again. Now we are enjoying a couple of weeks in the Bahamas as we work our way toward Panama by the first of June. We are hoping that the next few months will include going through the Panama Canal and then out to the Galapagos in early July, on to Easter Island in August and back in to Chile in September. Then we plan to work our way down and go through the Beagle Channel. There are all kinds of things that could change our plans, but even so, that is where we think we are headed right now.
We were in a marina in Florida for nearly seven weeks, which started to be rough in the end as we had many 35 degree days (95 F) and the no-see-ums were ferocious in the evenings. Our best friend was the $12 box fan we bought at Wal Mart. When we left, we gave it to a nice French Canadian couple and their 8 year old daughter who will be living in that marina for a few more months while they prepare their boat to sail. This kind of give and take among cruising boats is inspiring. Books, clothes that are too small, guide books and other items seem to trade hands and get passed along. Just this morning a couple on a catamaran gave us a dozen crisp, crunchy apples- a real treat in this part of the world this time of year- simply because they didn't think they could eat them all before leaving their boat and heading back to the UK for a few months.
As for the box fan, we only have 110 power when we are at a dock, plugged in to shore power. We do not have an inverter to convert the DC power from the batteries into AC power. We are hoping that there was no point in bringing the fan with us as we hope to be on the hook more often than not in the next few months of hot weather. We are expecting to be quite warm really until we get to the Galapagos in July, but being on an anchor tends to be cooler with more air flowing through the boat than when we are tied up to a dock. And there is the additional benefit of being able to swim anytime from the boat to cool off.
Why seven weeks in Florida? We had many projects to complete on the boat to prepare for the coming year in more remote places. In addition to repairing the engine and solving the exhaust problem that likely caused it, we did a bunch of other things including adding a 4th reef to our mainsail, scraping and repainting the bottom of the boat, and upgrading the alternator. We also made the boat a bit more comfortable at sea by adding latches to every single hatch cover, putting in a foot cleat to make it easier to stand in the galley in all conditions, and adding some strategically placed hand holds. I am hoping Christopher will write a blog about the various details because it is not my forte to remember and accurately describe the various projects that he completed. The list is long and when I think about the various skills that Christopher employed to get it all done, it is awe-inspiring.
A
fresh coat of paint on the bottom. This is anti-fouling paint
specifically designed for aluminum boats to help reduce the amount of
growth on the underside of the boat. Without it, the algae would grow
faster and we would collect more barnacles.
My primary tasks in Florida involved stocking the boat for the next year with food, homeschool and household supplies, keeping the boys on track with school, doing all of the grocery shopping and most of the daily meal prep, and finding ways to help the boys entertain themselves through what were often long boring days in a marina.
Obviously I did not buy food for a full year. We couldn't carry that much even if we wanted to. But I did stock up on comfort foods that had been difficult to find in the Caribbean because good food has a big impact on the overall morale of the Barnes family whether we are coastal cruising or on a major passage. So what did I buy? Good cookies. Whole wheat flour. Dried fruit and nuts (Costco was my primary source for what amounts to three big LL Bean tote bags full of fruit and nuts). Parmesan. Sirachi. Chocolate chips. Canned artichokes. Maple syrup. Pickled ginger. Coffee for the next two months. And I refilled our bulk spice stores- a much less expensive and more delicious way to go. I also bought enough staples to get us to Panama City- these are the things like pasta, rice, chick peas, black beans, canned corn, white flour, that we eat regularly. Once we are through the canal, we will stock up again for our trips off shore.
Here you can see the 4th reef set in the main sail. Reefing the sail is a way to reduce the sail area exposed to the wind. When the wind is strong, it is great to be able to reef in order to slow down the boat and give us more control. Christopher and I set the 4th reef to check it out before leaving Florida, but we do not expect to use it much as it is tiny. For Sila, we added the 4th reef instead of having a very small storm sail, also know as a trysail, for use in heavy weather.
We are very happy to be on the move again. And that statement feels like an understatement. The relief and joy we all feel now that we are sailing again is palpable. These last few days (we left Florida on Friday) have been all about getting east, which has been entirely to windward, so there has been a fair bit of motor sailing. Tomorrow we start working our way more south, which promises to be more fun still. It is difficult to explain, I think, that it was a hard start from Florida. We couldn't ease into it at all. Instead, we had to jump right off onto a 2-day passage, beat to windward, and cross the gulf stream. All of this meant it was rougher physically and more challenging mentally than we would have preferred. Even so, we are all happy!
It is also really nice to be together again. We did our separate things more in Florida but now we are back together with a shared purpose each day. It is nice to be back in the cockpit with the boys. As we sail east, the boys are true to form. Porter regales us with information about the ocean and the various critters below the surface. Jack spins tunes for us and seems to enjoy my new declarations that we have "Metal Monday" and "Two-for Tuesday" to drive the music selection. Really it is just a parental ploy for some diversity beyond the pop selections that rule our iPod these day. I enjoy Pitbull, Rihanna, Cash Cash, Bruno Mars and Maroon 5, but I am also plenty happy when "Throwback Thursday" rolls around and Jack spins what he thinks of as old music, like Michael Jackson.
Christopher at the helm as we motor out the Inter Coastal Waterway. In the background, you can see a few containers, soon to be loaded on to one of the many large container ships in Port Everglades
Porter, happy to be on the move again, complete with a new hat and sunglasses to go with his standard uniform: the mustache shirt.
Another familiar sight: Jack Rabbit, spinning tunes as we make our way across the gulf stream.
Christopher noted that it is nice to be living our adventure again instead of planning and preparing for it. I hope this means that after a long hiatus, the Barnes family will have more to say and will be posting to the blog a little more often in the coming weeks.
This is my view from the helm as we sailed through Nassau Harbor. As we went by the cruise ships ahead in this picture, the people on the deck waved and many appeared to be taking pictures of the strange family sailing by.
I much prefer this view! I had driven us in the night before so it was Christopher's turn at them helm as we motored out of our well-protected anchorage in Hatchet Bay.
Moments after we were through the cut, this was our view out into the Eleuthera Bight. I feel lucky to be back where I feel most at home and most comfortable: in Big Sky Country. I have found the long views that feed my soul in both the Rocky Mountain West and on the ocean.
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