Leaving Bahamas

After lots of discussion back and forth we are going to bite the bullet and leave the Bahamas heading south.

We spent today in Matthew Town, Great Inagua, the southern-most island in the Bahamas chain. We did some provisioning at the general store, then had lunch at Main House, the Morton Salt company town hotel, then went to customs to clear out of the country.

We also jerry jugged 25 gallons of diesel to top up our tank in prep for the next loooooong legs. The first leg will be 280 miles to the island of ile a vache, a French owned island off the southwest coast of Haiti.  We then go 80 miles upwind to the first port in Dominica Republic.

Speaking of wind, we have been extremely unimpressed with the wind forecasts.  The GRIBs (and Chris Parker) said winds down here would be northerly and then easterly. When we came into Great Inagua yesterday morning we bashed ourselves into 10-12 knots out of the southwest for the last 30 miles!  Today we were supposed to have all easterlies but we are now anchored on a lee shore with 12 out of the west! Sigh.

We just hope tomorrow and Friday turn out to be sailing days with the 15-20 knot winds out of the northeast we have been told to expect. We will see.

Glory Days of George Town 2014

Boats coming to George Town are encouraged to leave boat cards or sign a guest book at Chat n Chill. Karen of Popeye used the names of those vessels to construct this little ditty.  There were a couple names that few could even pronounce, much less fit into a story.

Glory Days of George Town

Barefoot and with a Brave Heart he ran Against the Wind to seek his Sol Mate.

“Carpe Diem!” he shouted with his eyes on the Horizon knowing he had a Kindred Spirit out there somewhere. Would it be Audrey Anne? Perhaps Margaret Lee? Or Sam-antha the Skull? Secretly, he hoped it would be Fast Betty. She sounds like a real Spitfire.

With a Silent Faith he Reset his sails trying not to Tilt too much and hoping he was Knot Lost. As the days went by he tried a Pagan Chant hoping to find his Heart’s Desire. At night he’d sip Bristol Crème thinking it was the Cat Sass. Those were Driftin’ Days for this romantic Voyageur.

Final Lee one day with the help of some Local Knowledge he met a Bon Ange – a good angel. She was a fantastic Country Dancer. It was his Dream to Catcher. They met at Rockin’ Ron’s when she rode up on her Borrowed Horse, her Silver Heels flashing in the Fire Light.

“Well, Hello Texas!” he greeted her. “What If we try some Slow Dancing?”

“Why you old Sea Dog!” she cried. “That sounds like a real Good Idea.”

They danced until Tequila Sunrise then he served her a fruit salad with Pineapple, Mango, Tangelo, Cantaloupe and Papaya.

“It’s Just Dessert from yesterday,” he apologized.

“Oh, but it’s Delicia!” she exclaimed.

Calling on his Courage he told her he had one plan: to Live Free or Die.

“I have no Plan B,” he admitted.

“We’re Two of a Kind!” she cried. “Let’s Runaway at High Noon right after I get back from the Five and Dime where I can make a Good Trade – my horse for propane.

Ten Years After they are still in Bliss but Knot Tied. He still has his Charisma and she Ain’t Miss B. Haven too much. They remember the Glory Days of George Town as Kind of Magic and she’s still Raven about his fruit salad.

March 2014

Karen

m/v Popeye II

George Town - Mecca for Two Months

George Town has been our home anchorage for the last two months, dropping the hook on Feb 2.  It is the southern anchorage of the central Bahamas that has the most resources.  It is also a host to 300+ boats over the winter months and a most organized cruising community.  This includes an annual regatta sponsored by the cruisers in early March with numerous competitive and fun events.  Because most of the cruisers are retired, it is a bit like a sand and sea senior center with daily events including dominoes, scrabble, volleyball, Bocce, etc.  There are also weekly events like Texas Hold ‘Em, trips to town for the weekly Rake ‘n Scrape dance night.  There are about 10% who are younger than retirement age that often have homeschooled children.  It has been a Mecca for them as well with a Kids’ Cruising Net and specific activities just for kids.  All that being said, Horizon has been anchored the furthest from the central event beach the entire time.  We have participated in very few events.  Though I am technically an extrovert, I have not felt a call to attend anything but the ladies’ luncheon.  That was great, though I cringe at being called a “lady”.  It was the place I met the most people and found some with common interest.  A rug hooker from PA, a jewelry maker from DE, a painter from FL.  Women who were anxious to return home, who unanimously wished they had more time with the grandchildren and who dread long passages.  Kinship.  But not friendship.

When the regatta ended, the boats started migrating back north.  I call it the march of the Toy Sailboats.  They troop in and out of the harbor looking small and insignificant until they join the group of soldiers anchored already.

So tomorrow is our weather window to leave the harbor and head south I have been reflecting on friendship and cruising overall.

No matter what adventure I take on in life, I am the common denominator.  Today I score about 11% higher on the extrovert/introvert of Myers Briggs Personality Inventory.  I get some of my energy from other people.  Which has made the cruising life do-able but a bit lonely.

Recently I reposted a perfect meme—friends are not made but recognized.  It takes some time to recognize them.  Can friends be made who are ships passing in the night?  Perhaps if we returned year after year, we would develop friendships.  If we had moved the boat; attended some more things; invited folks over for drinks . . .  the list goes on.

So I leave George Town with a non-politically correct sentiment—a bit of disappointment.  The Mecca did not have all that I expected.  I am surprised to have not made more friend connections.  And also aware that the one or two I have made are heading back to homes in CT and KY, Montreal .  .  I suppose I had unrealistic expectations for both George Town and for us.

On the physical resource side, George Town lacked convenience.  Because the island is so large, the pharmacy and auto supplies/home goods stores need a taxi.  Because of the width of the harbor, going to town meant a long wet dinghy ride or moving the boat to the town side for a grocery run.  It was the first place I bought weevilsJ, does not have a bakery.  Any music/bar possibilities are far away, wifi is spotty at best.  The Abacos will always hold my heart for the small islands with grocery, wifi, music.

The Exumas have the bluest waters and best snorkeling.  Hope to return to see all that we missed and revisit all that I loved. Meanwhile I am making more effort to hold onto existing friendships and family relationships. Determined to get Mike further along in the Caribbean, see some new cultures.  God willing there is continued sat phone and internet ahead/ahoy.

Two Horizons in George Town

We have been in George Town Exumas, Bahamas for almost two months now, partly waiting on a replacement radar dome but mostly just having fun being around such a huge cruising community.  At one point there were over 300 boats in Elizabeth Harbor.

Our prior boat Horizon, the one I had for 25 years, came into the harbor about a month ago and we were able to spend a good bit of time with her owners and got to crawl through the old boat to see what she looked like now :)  I was happy to see her so fit!

About a week ago they headed back towards Staniel Cay and as she sailed past, we got these pictures:

Radar Dome

One of the reasons for staying so long was waiting for a replacement radar dome from Navico.  It was a long and expensive wait but we finally got the new one here and installed on the mast.  In all, it was $785 in shipping, customs, and documentation fees to receive the replacement radome, then send the broken old one back. The replacement radome cost $800 so the final cost was almost double.  Wow!  We could have bought an entire new system for that back in the U.S.

Our plans forward

We leave shortly to continue our southbound trek.  While our original summer goal was Luperon on the north coast of Dominica Republic, we have decided instead on exploring the south coast.  That involves winding our way down the Bahamas chain to Great Inagua, then sailing through the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti to Ile a Vache, an island off the southwest coast of Haiti, a trip of about 280 NM.  After we catch our breath, we then sail east to the first port in Dominica Republic and spend a leisurely couple months exploring the south coast.  This route is well described in Frank Virgintino's free Cruising Guide to the Dominica Republic as found on the FreeCruisingGuides.com web site.  We found it intriguing since so few cruising boats seem to take that path yet it appears rich in opportunities to explore the culture and heritage of Dominica Republic. 

We expect that by July we will be heading to Puerto Rico where we can work to fix the oozing leak from our 120 gallon port side water tank.  We hear there are all kinds of boat work facilities near Selinas and hope to find what we need.  We intend to stay close to the well documented hurricane holes around that area during the summer.

Beyond Puerto Rico our plans are wide open but at the moment it looks like after October we might slowly work our way down the island chain to Grenada.  We have lots of time and do not want to miss too much along the way:)

Mantra

As we keep saying, "one island at a time".  We will keep doing this until it is no longer fun.  That may be a month or it might be years.  We will keep you posted.

Moving Day

As a kid growing up in the suburbs of Baltimore, Moving Day was a bad boy night of pranks on or around Halloween. VW bugs were lifted and placed in new places, trashcans were “trashed”, trees toilet-papered, and windows egged. It was not a favorite among adults but it had a certain mystique for those of us not yet teens. A bit of dread, a bit of will I ever mixed with a fascination. Well . . .as a cruising First Mate at the ripe old age of 55, there is no mystique lingering in the concept of moving.

After two blissful weeks of co-habitating at Allen’s Cay with iguanas and bottom fish, my own personal aquarium and all-around wind protection---the lure of meat, lettuce and yes, the ever-
demanding egg fetish—drew me out of my newest safe zone.

Those who have traveled the Exumas will realize that a move from Allen’s Cay to Highbourne is not one of great distance or strain. Unless of course you are aboard sailing vessel Horizon. The trip itself was not eventful. But the dinghy ride to Highbourne from the anchorage was spiritually uplifting. Translate into rote repetition of the rosary in order to keep from berating the captain or cursing the water dousing or wondering if either of us had the muscle to row back to Horizon. Because the problem with the Mercury outboard’s idle, which had been noted in Nassau, became permanent. As the throttle refused to advance, the current and waves took charge while the captain fumed, fussed and generally invoked my Catholic roots without realizing it.

Five decades of the rosary later, he announced that idle was all there was, and we proceeded slowly to the marina settlement at Highbourne. Or as Mike aptly calls it, Highbrow. My spiritual routine allowed me to reflect that future ventures would include a simple dress in dry bag to slip over the now requisite bathing suit for transport.

It also allowed me to crawl from the dinghy with head in a neutral position despite my soaking shorts, wet tee shirt and sloppy Teva’s. At the marina store, we found we needed to pay $5 a person to be afoot High Brow and that allowed only access to the store and the restaurant.

But it was very worth it. When your freezer has only three portions of meatballs, two portions of shrimp and a pair of pork chops, and you find the only store for thirty miles that has meat, lettuce and eggs . . . Blessed are thou among women.

Very few things were priced. We found the receipt enlightening, $9 for lettuce, $18 for a small frozen chicken among other interesting prices. But when in Rome . . .

We treated ourselves to lunch at the Xuma Restaurant---an excellent solace for the idle situation. We had the best food we had eaten since . . . Vero Beach. Although my daughters would disagree and say Baltimore, and Worcester respectively. We enjoyed a spectacular view of the amazing blue water along with a few Bananaquit scavenging for haute cuisine crumbs.

The quality of the food justified the price. In hindsight we realized that the only truly worth it food we have experienced in the Bahamas has been at marinas. Must be the influence of the High Brows :)

The guidebook said we could dispose of the first two bags of trash for $5. It ends up it was $5 a bag. That’s when the true Spartan emerged. I finagled two bags into one.

We boarded the dinghy a bit dryer, feeling re-provisioned. A returning tide helped us idle our way back to the boat.

I have had a lot of spiritual training in my 55 years. I have spent most of my post-first marriage time skeptical of religion. Cruising has given me many opportunities to express gratitude to the God of my understanding, and returned me to habits that I never realized were ingrained. Thank you Jean Fitzpatrick and the Rosary group. The one that disowned me over nursing Bridget.

I find the best times cruising are at anchor. And yet---wait for my next installment.

Nassau

The guidebook said “you will either love it or hate it but you want to try it once.” Long-term cruisers said “don’t leave your boat, it was once great; now it’s a ghetto.” Well let’s just say that after a month on the leeward side of Devil’s Cay, Nassau was much anticipated. Eggs, internet, lettuce-----who could ask for more?

Unfortunately, the winds were 15 knots above expected and the waves were 2-3 feet higher than predicted. We entered fast and furious. Twenty-two degrees of heel. That is about 7 degrees into hell from my perspective. Items which had never moved below before were now in the center of the main salon with a very smelly sick cat navigating flying items. The other cat was safely rooted into the hanging locker. His meow is so undeveloped, if he was howling we could not hear him over the engine. Yes, horror of horror to the true sailors----we were using the motor as well as sails. Why prolong the fires of Gehenna if there is an engine to accelerate transition to safety? As we neared the port entrance, Nassau was experiencing a squall. That meant that sails would need to be brought down in 25+ knots of wind with a smattering of rain. I was unable to do the jib alone, Mike had to assist. The guidebooks spoke poorly of the anchorage stability citing high current and a non-reliable bottom. So we were on guard for the first twelve hours or so for dragging.

But once again our CQR anchor held firm. Thus began three weeks of exploring the culture and history of Nassau. Colorful, dramatic, proud Nassau. It was a wonderful experience. Many cruisers do not feel comfortable in Nassau but we found it very pleasant. Yes, a city, and yet an island with proud natives focused on customer service. Such a shift from what we had experienced in the Abacos.

My favorite spots . . . the Museum of Art was the perfect size, had excellent exhibits and did much to fill in the Nassau story and the Bahamian experience. The distillery tour offered us the best view of Nassau and the first sign of a rooster---always a herald of island life. The Bahama Rock cafe, just outside of the Queen’s stairwell, had excellent fare and free internet. The bus was easy and showed us much more of Nassau including a mall—perfect for pre-Christmas
shopping. Auntie Ann’s was a nice reminder of home.

We had a few harbor-mates onboard for sundown one evening and another batch on Christmas day. It took the edge off of not being with family. Cruisers are inevitably unique company and share a wealth of great stories and experiences. We ended our respite in Nassau with a morning trek to town to see the annual Junkanoo celebration. It is the celebration of being Bahamian with a parade that lasts from midnight until almost noon. Ornate costumes, music, floats---all representing some aspect of being a Bahamian. I was lucky enough to have a 10 year old Bahamian commentator beside me on the fence. I agreed with her, “this was first class, not third class---but first class all the way—that’s the Bahamian way.” A city to return to someday.

Forty Shades of Blue

“No, you must see . . . Cay, it has a shade of blue like you have never seen before.  It is beautiful, you cannot miss this.  It’s the prettiest in the Bahamas. “

Really?  I have witnessed about ten shades of blue.  I feel totally complete.

I do not feel in any way lacking.  All ten were and are exquisite.  But enough already!  The journey to this next magical Mecca is tedious, fraught with drama and unnecessary.  So says the reluctant cruiser Cate.

We set out from Cat Cay in “not the best wind”.  On the nose, 20+ knots.  We have an open cockpit---which is delightful when anchored on a clear summer night.  Not so much with saltwater splashing you in furious spurts.  Each one like a personal affront.  Why would a boater think staying dry is optimal?  I agree, it seems counter-indicated, yet . . . I prefer to choose my times for getting wet.  Cats were howling, puking.  A heel of 10%---.  The helm was designed for a male with long arms, long legs  . . . not a 5’2” woman whose butt will not meet the back seat if her feet are on the step . . . . all for . . . “a shade of blue like you have never seen before.”

Is this not the proverbial search for the pot of gold?  Or the perennial drive for the bigger and better?

Are the Joneses’ pictures of that island really better than mine of this island?

Or is this just my judgmental self whose imagination refuses to expand.

I do not have orgasmic responses to a new shade of blue. I am happy for those who do.  But I need to simply say to them, Carry On.  The ten shades right here, replete with grocery, bar with internet, a walking path and most importantly a safe anchorage---these ten shades can occupy my imagination for many moons.  Blessings on you who want the extra thirty shades.

What drives your cruising?  Is it island living or coastal skirting?

What kind of Island?  One with people or uninhabited?

I would choose an island with internet, a grocery, and a restaurant/bar with internet.  That works.  If these things are in place---I can live there.  Ferry to the airport---luxury.

The uninhabited are “abandoned” to my mind.  God-forsaken.  Take me to civilization.  Nature is beautiful—but not enough.  I am nurtured by civilization.  Perhaps this is an introvert versus extrovert distinction.

Yes the blue shades are indefinable.  Beautiful . . . and where are the people?  Can I buy eggs?  Lettuce?  Is there a place to take the trash?

The uninhabited islands require burning burnable trash, separating cans, and biologics.  Primitive.  Let’s swim in our potato peelingsJ.  Burning---what about air pollution and lung damage?  Inhaling burning plastics . . . really?

But look at that blue—have you ever seen a blue like that before?

(SV Horizon spent almost a month at Devil Cay.  Over time, the need for eggs diminished.  The internet was checked by a faithful daughter, and the anchor held through some strong shifting winds. Mike’s nose injury and the weather prolonged the stay.  I learned to enjoy the beach, did my Leslie Sansone walking video for endorphins and waited for a Nassau opportunity.)

Vero Beach to Palm Beach

After 3 months tethered to a mooring, we bit the bullet and started south for a jump off point to the Bahamas. We were in company with our friends Lucie and Jean on the sailing vessel Sebas.

The first day we traveled a whopping 14 miles to Ft. Pierce. While the trip was uneventful, anchoring turned out to be more exciting than expected. Our turn into the wind to drop the hook was wide of our mark and we ended up hard aground. 

After 15 seconds of full reverse with no movement we shut down the engine to keep from sucking debris into the cooling system.  We launched the dinghy and took a Danforth anchor out about 100 feet at an acute angle to the bow. The rode was led through a bow chock to the windlass which luckily had the power to pull the bow and then rest of the boat off the shoal. Another 10 minutes and we were safely anchored where we originally wanted to be.

The next day we covered the remaining 48 miles dealing with 4 on-demand and 2 timed bridges. I hate those things! Almost to our destination, in Lake Worth sound there was enough room to finally do the sea trial commissioning of the new hydraulic autopilot. We had been using it the trip from Vero but with a lot of extra work getting it pointing correctly.  In the open bay it took only a few minutes in a slow turn to calibrate the compass then about 20 minutes letting the autopilot software play with S-turns to learn how our boat handles. At the end everything is set up and seems to work perfectly.

One side effect of calibrating the autopilot compass and having it networked with the chart plotter is that we can now overlay radar on the charts. It sure helps to see things in context!

Chart with radar overlay

The gulf stream crossing window we were anticipating never quite appeared so we will be hanging out for a while here near Lake Worth Inlet at Palm Beach.

End Of Vacation Memories

As we wrap up chores in preparation to depart Vero Beach, I find myself mentally separating out my favorite memories of Vero, much as I did as a child at the end of a week at Bethany or Rehoboth Beach. What shells will I keep, which will I leave at the rental, which should I return to the sand?

The pile of shells to keep for Vero includes my time with the Alzheimer’s Parkinson Association and Debra. I reconnected with individuals with dementia and their quality of life in a powerful way in Vero.

My time reconnecting with my adult children was priceless. Shells to treasure, fondle every once in a while. Shells to add to the best of life pile.

I treasure and hope to maintain my work as Dr. Cate. Presenting at Arden Courts of Largo reminded me of my passion, my gift and the thirst for knowledge and support that is so palpable for Alzheimer’s caregivers. Training Carole of Harmony Home Health, reconnecting with this agency was uplifting.

I sift through many shells of multiple colors and shapes. These were the opportunities I had to re-connect with friends from Tampa, St Pete, Alexandria, VA, MD. Some of these had been neglected, tucked in a bag in the back of the closet. What a joy it was to bring them out and shine some light and new experience on them. These friends remind me that I am so lucky to be able to travel and explore. They remind me of the importance of re-connecting, maintaining despite time gaps. They may be in a bag, but they are not to be discarded. They will continue to be a part of my treasures brought forward from the closet.

For the non-cruising sailors, the last of my shells, the ones I will toss back are the chipped and broken clam and oyster shells.

Common to many, but unique to someone who lived outside the United States for a while. One was the cinema, with a weekly matinee—a real treat we had missed. The free bus to anywhere in Vero. It had some unusual riders, and quite a variety of angles—but it was special for our time here. The Publix, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Beall’s, . . . a mall. Michael’s and Jo Ann’s! West Marine. Car rentals. The freedom of driving through no-man’s land on the way home from an airport. Air travel----so freeing and fast :)

I relished these common and chipped shells while state-side. So now we head out. First an easy day or two on the intercoastal. Smooth waters. Then the weather window to the Bahamas Bank. And beyond to shells unknown.

Thong Gone Wrong

Goodbye Vero Beach

We have been back in the US for 3 months and this week we head south to West Palm Beach to wait for southerly winds to go back across the gulf stream.  Our home this summer has been Vero Beach, Florida and it has turned out to be a pretty good way stop for us.  We are still enamored of the free county-wide bus system that takes us to West Marine, Home Depot, Sams Club, grocery stores, the mall, and our favorite: weekly matinee movie date.  The town has miles of park paths and shaded streets for off-boat exercise and there are museums and a stage theater close to the marina.  Mangroves thrive around here and we have had lots of fun exploring the canals and islets by kayak.  The anchorage lagoon is home to dolphins and last night we even had a manatee sidle up to our boat.  Yup, we have really enjoyed our stay here but now that hurricane season is over, it is time to move on.  Twice this summer, our BFF Rhonda drove over to visit - always an event to cheer us up!

Systems analysis - the good and the bad

Power

Our consumption of power has been a little disappointing, and can be a real problem when the sun doesn't shine.  It turns out that our 480 Watts of solar panels with the Blue Sky MPPT controller, and the Rutland 913 wind generator supply an average of only 150AH per day on sunny and moderately windy days.  Before the Isotherm freezer died last week, our basic energy consumption ended up being about 180 amp hours in the summer in Florida.  That included the Isotherm DR-55 freezer (~96AH), top loader Adler Barbour refrigerator (~36AH), fans, lights, pumps and the stray vampire loads such as CO monitor, auto bilge pump sensors, idle current for the cockpit VHF and stereo radio, and cell phone/tablet chargers.  Of course power consumption only gets worse when we actually turn on and listen to the VHF or stereo radios or turn on the inverter to recharge the outboard motor battery or laptops or watch TV.

Once the DR-55 freezer died, we moved all the frozen stuff back into the original top loader and fired up the stand-alone upright fridge for excess staples like cheese and beer.  That has saved us about 30-40 AH per day but means we now have two units to periodically defrost.

With all that, our first purchase back in the US was a Honda EU2000i generator that has turned out to be a real life saver.  We run that a couple hours most evenings to keep the batteries topped up and charge up any AC devices we need while watching OTA TV.  At the peak of July and August heat, we even ran our little window A/C unit in the aft cabin off the generator on a few of the hottest nights.

Torqeedo 1003

We really liked this 3HP electric outboard and used it most every day since leaving St. Petersburg.  But despite its excellent concept and premium price, it was made far too cheaply.  The Germans had a great idea but their execution with this really sucks.  The first thing that failed was the key fob which holds the little magnet that enables the unit to run.  The fob is made such that it pops open just loud enough that you will see the critical magnet inside plop overboard and sink.  We had that happen once, rowed home and got our spare then a day later saw that one do exactly the same thing.  Luckily the magnet dropped into the dinghy that time!  I drilled a hole and bolted the two fob halves together and the magnet has not managed to escape since.

After that we were happy for a couple months until the on/off push button switch became intermittent and finally failed completely.  A run to Radio Shack got the itsy bitsy Torx wrenches to fit the screws holding the control module together.  A little playing and soldering brought switch leads outside the control box to an external switch.  That worked for about a month then the control module started to think the battery went from 90% to 5% charge in 2 minutes then turned off.  That happened a couple times before we gave up on the Torqeedo.  We have stored that for now and are using the 15HP 2-cycle Mercury.  At least that gets us up on plane :)

Our new Torqeedo on/off switch

Simrad hydraulic autopilot

One of our first projects back in the US was to install a below decks autopilot.  Our steering is hydraulic so we decided on the Simrad AP2404 package.  Installation was relatively painless especially since I got help with the final hydraulic plumbing.  I really hate plumbing!

All the bits that make up the autopilot

Autopilot pump parallel with existing steering

Rudder feedback

All went well until we got to the part of the installation manual where it gave a specific type of hydraulic oil to use with the pump.  And of course it was NOT the transmission fluid used in our existing parallel system.  I sent off a long descriptive email of our problem to Simrad tech support and got a response of "The pump only works with the specified oil".  I tried again and got a very obtuse reply.  Finally, I called the tech support number.  The guy I talked to said "No problem using transmission fluid since Morgans have been using that for decades with this pump with no problems".  I asked why I got such anti email replies and he said that they do not recommend it for new installations since some transmission fluids (used to) have wax that can wreck havoc with the pump internals.  He reiterated that we should have no problem.

Whew!  We hope this unit will have a long and useful life.  Meanwhile we have left the original Simrad wheelpilot WP32 in place as a lower current draw autopilot and backup to the below decks unit.

Hookamax

We have been really happy with the 12V Hookamax system.  I have now used it a few times, mostly to clean the prop and have had no problems at all.  The learning curve from being a snorkeler was maybe 15 minutes!  I did violate the vendors instructions and stuck the compressor in the engine room then ran a stub air hose into a cockpit lazarette. If we want to take the hookah in the dinghy with us it is a simple job to disconnect and move the compressor but since 90% of its use will be around the boat bottom, the engine room keeps it secure and handy.  For obvious reasons we will not be running the engine any time we are using the hookah and the outside air engine intake hose ends right at the intake to the compressor.  Highly recommended.

Rogue Wave WiFi extender

We knew we needed a long range WiFi radio repeater radio system to be able to use shore based WiFi stations.  Before leaving St. Pete I had purchased a Bullet M2HP with marine antenna but did not get around to setting the system up before leaving.  While in the Bahamas I tried mightily to get the radio setup working but just could not figure out all the settings.  When Eoin, an IT security techie type visited in June, he also couldn't get it to do what we needed.  So when we got back to the US I ordered the Rogue Wave idiot-proof device with canned software.  It uses exactly the same hardware I had onboard but this time, in about 15 minutes everything was hooked up and working.  The idiot-proof version cost about $100 more than the individual pieces but was well worth it for us!

Standard Horizon GSX-2250 VHF radio

We really like this radio with its built-in AIS receiver and display.  We have it mounted in the cockpit and it is wired to the chartplotter for GPS position and for chart display of AIS targets.  But the VHF radio has a crucial downside: it has alarms for just about everything and there is no way to disable them!  When cruising you reply on the VHF radio for all day-to-day communications so it usually is on 24/7.  This radio just cannot fill that function because of 2 of the most annoying alarms:
1. No GPS position - this alarm goes off every 4 hours if there is no incoming GPS signal.  That means we cannot leave the VHF on for communications unless we also have the chartplotter on to supply GPS, a real waste of power.
2. Weather alerts - The USCG has some extremely powerful transmitters.  While in the Abacos Bahamas, every time there was a storm warning in Miami (200 miles away) the VHF radio would put out a screaming alarm.  Talk about a rude awakening!

GlobalStar GSP-1700

We kept hearing bad reviews of the GlobalStar sat phone system but were hooked by the $40/month unlimited plan.  Initially we had the usual problems with satellite visibility and got maybe a reliable 20 minutes per hour connection.  But now that they have launched a new set of satellites, there is almost continuous coverage very few dropped calls and those times they do drop, we can usually immediately redial and connect.  Unfortunately, with the now excellent satellite coverage comes a not as excellent service plan price.  What was $40 unlimited is now $150/month.  But they do offer lesser plans at reduced prices.  Now highly recommended.

Going forward

It has been almost 7 months since we left our slip in St. Petersburg, Florida. The chartplotter says we have gone 833 NM in that time and I know we have burned through 165 gallons of diesel.  That is pretty ugly fuel usage for a sailboat!  We should be on less of a schedule now and intend to do much more sailing and less motorsailing from now on.  Well, we will see if intent becomes fact.

Oh, the title "Thong Gone Wrong"?  I am sitting here listening to Barefoot Man CD's and that song keeps playing :)