Chia pet

It's getting really hard to keep all the barnacles, and oysters from growing on Mirador's hull. I have to scrape them off once a week, or she looks like a chia pet. Its been over 2 years since I painted the bottom...not bad. We are going to repaint the bottom when Marie's parents come to visit us here in St. Thomas. They'll be renting a house overlooking Magens Bay, and we can stay with them while Mirador goes to the boatyard. I'm looking forward to seeing my in-laws, it's always fun.

Mirador on the Travelift.

Well they're all here now, Marie's parents, her sister, and her husband with their son, nine of us all together. Let the cooking begin!

We took the family out for a final sail before taking Mirador to the boatyard. I made sure not make the same mistake I made when Israel came to visit. If you remember, I sailed all over the the Virgin Islands trying to impress him when all he wanted was to be in the company of a good social chemist (bartender), and tattooed girls. We purposely chose to keep it close to shore and simple. Christmas Cove, on St. James Island is always a good bet. It's usually calm, there is great snorkeling, and they have a floating pizza restaurant and a bar, something for everyone. They even have free mooring balls available so you don't have to struggle with the anchor. In the afternoon we packed up and headed to the boatyard.

Casa Bella.

Casa Bella is really nice. The house commanded a great view of Magans Bay. The bedrooms were huge, as were the bathrooms. It even has a pool. The kitchen was open to the living areas, so the persons cooking weren't left out. 

This is the view from Casa Bellas porch.

The town of Charlotte Amalie.

Hadrian and Waylon can play video games non-stop.

Stacy and Joaquin looking down on the pool.

Caption not needed.

The following days we took an excursion to St. John by ferry which is quite affordable, something like $7, and once there the public bus is only a dollar. It's the way to go. Talk about being separated by a common language, a safari taxi pulled up next to us as we were walking along the side of the road , and offer to take us to the "west end" for $5 each. I thought that was a good deal, and a convenience to have a taxi all to ourselves for such a long road trip. On my approval the group agreed, and we all jumped on. The taxi then drove a few blocks down the road and told us to disembark, we were in front of the "Westin" resort. Oh well, we all just had to laugh.
At the other extreme, pulling into a restaurant with 9 people is not affordable at all, but scary as it is I follow the group and pray that the dollar bills in my pocket .have somehow managed to propagate.

Happy at the dinner table.

Fat yellowtail snappers, yum!

I split my time between the boatyard and the family, and the week went fast. We soon had to said good by to Casa Bella, and Sara, Stacey, and Waylon. Marie's parents moved over to the Marriott for their last night on the island. Of course being quite fickle, the kids stayed with them that night. Marie and I had to sleep on the boat one night while it was still in the boatyard. That means no AC, no breeze, open hatches, and a lot of bugs. We gave up our valiant effort at about 1 am, and moved over to the car. I ran the engine, and the AC all night. The security guard came by and tapped on the window. I think he was disappointed by the total lack of activity in the car. I can't believe that I'm the first one to do this? I felt...and looked like I had slept in a bottle.

The next day Mirador was put back in the water, and we went over to Compass Point marina to get everything in order, and working again. After a couple of days at the marina, we went over to Christmas Cove to shake down the boat. There are always problems and malfunctions to iron out.

Feeling ready, or at least as close as we could get to that elusive feeling, we sailed off to Maho Bay on St. John. It was a beautiful hour and half sail. Just like we like it! We took a mooring for a couple of days, and reflected on how everything had come together so well. It was great to have had the family over, and I hope that by experiencing this paradise they'll come a little closer to understanding our madness.

Miradors' Galley

An army marches on its stomach, so you had better be able to feed them.

I like to eat well. I know that sounds like an obvious statement, but it's not. I can't be happy eating poor quality food, it doesn't matter how beautiful the scenery. I can make short term adjustments, a week, or a month perhaps, but I wouldn't call our 2 year cruise a short term endeavor. Don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't call myself an epicure, but eating for me is much more than simply sustaining oneself. All too often the word "cruising" is used embellish what is really simply substandard living conditions. Yeah, we have plenty of poeple doing that out of necessity already, no thank you.
Beyond immediate gratification, I believe the food you eat directly influences your disposition towards experiences throughout your day. It can be the only difference between a pleasant day, or an ordeal. Your enjoyment of a hike across a beautiful island is directly influenced by your previous meals. If you have a breakfast of say "eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon" you are probably going to have a great hike, but if you've been unhappy with your food for the past 4 months, chances are it's going to taint your memories of that beautiful island, the same experience, different food and different outcomes.
I have met people that don't seem to care much about what they eat, like the rat colony in the movie "Ratatouille". I know some who's only eating utensil is a spork, barbarians. "I wish they just made a pill for this", I once heard a guy say, complaining about taking the time to eat lunch...I can't say that I understand those people. At the other extreme, if it were up to me every meal would be a celebration. 

Cooking has been my therapy from an early age, perhaps because it's more cost effective than a shrink. Just to establish credibility, for whatever reason, I have been burning things up in the kitchen for a very long time now. My cooking is a skill that has improved over time, with lots of practice. In the Bahamas, when our friends were successful fishing, we would be invited to dinners if I would prepare the catch. I thought this was a great arrangement, in fact I was flattered.
A boats galley (that means kitchen for you land lubbers) is always cramped compared to any home kitchen. Don't even think about bringing aboard any of the gadgets that sit for years in the dark corners of a typical kitchen cabinet because they were more of a novelty than anything else, sorry George. With no room to spare, equipping a boat's galley for even reasonable cooking is a challenge. Tools must be compact and serve multiple functions whenever possible. I like to take pride in my tools, and I try adhere to the old adage "if you buy gabage, you own garbage" by buying good quality tools. There is no replacement for quality, especially when you're in a remote location with no way of replacing anything. I have field tested Mirador's galley for 10 years, and I feel my bases are fairly well covered with this arrangement. As such, I offer the following inventory as a guideline to anyone trying to equip a similar galley.

Miradors stainless steel 3 burner stove.

At the heart of Mirador's galley is the gas stove. It has 3 top burners and an oven. The cooking capacity is good for 4 to 6 persons. Its controls are not as precise as most common domestic stoves, yet I have learned to work (more like "deal") with all of its quirks. We carry a total of 50 pounds of propane, two twenty-pound aluminum propane cylinders and one ten pounder. That can last us up to 6 months. Hopefully we are never out that long. To store all this gas I was able to find an area behind the cockpit combing that was not being used. The compartment is completely sealed from the rest of the boat, and it has a scupper that leads directly to the outside. Any accidental gas leak will simply find its way harmlessly off of the boat... or so I would hope.
For refrigeration, Mirador has 2 separate refrigerator/freezers with a total volume of 12 cubic feet, and they are a burden on   our electrical system. We are in the process supplementing our 220 watt solar panels with a new 600 watt wind generator to mediate our energy consumption.

The pots nested for storage.

The pots un-nested for use.

We have a set of 5 nesting pots made by Magma that are very well made. They are non-stick stainless steel with a sandwiched aluminum bottom that dissipates the heat. What really sets them apart from other quality nesting pot sets is the removeable handle mechanism. The handles are easily operated with one hand. A word of advice, you really  need to protect the non-stick finishes from chafing on each other while the pots are nested. We made fabric covers for each pot, but anything that keeps the surfaces from touching each other would work. We also have a 12" fry pan, a 5 quart pot for larger stews, and a compact pressure cooker. 
For the oven we have roasting pan, a cookie sheet and 3 nesting baking pans, and a splatter screen. This is the extent of our cookware.
For mixing or whisking we have a set of plastic nesting bowls, and one stainless steel bowl for creating sauces like a hollandaise. 

Here's our built-in knife block. 

My beautiful Chicago Cutlery Legacy knife set.

My pride and joy is a full set of Chicago Cutlery knives. Yes, there was a time when they made high end kitchen knives here in America, but it seems the public scrutinized there name more than the quality of their product. I have had my knives for close to 20 years now. They are forged with full tangs, have rosewood handles that hardly show any signs of wear, and they are as sharp as the day I got them. I found a remote corner of counter to embed the whole knife block. 
I also have a cleaver, a pizza cutter, and shears. At an arts festival, my wife bought me a beautiful cutting board to complete the ensemble.

We carry a comprehensive array of hand tools.

Our silverware set looks like fish.

We have range of hand tools, spatulas, ladles, frying strainer,  whisk, muddler (for Mojitos), peeler, hand strainer, folding grater, garlic press, a full range thermometer, potato masher, tongs, basting brush, baster, cork screw, can opener, measuring cups and spoons, South American tortilla press, manual dough mixer, coffee percolator, citrus squeezer,  tenderizing mallet, mortise & pestle, and a rolling pin.

Our blender out-performs the top brands.

This microwave can warm, toast, or bake.

Every day is better when you start it with gourmet coffee.

We love ice in our drinks.

Separate appliances include a combination toaster/microwave, blender, vacuum sealer, ice maker (if you are not a sporker, you need one), barbecue, and La Pavoni  expresso machine (happy wife = happy me).
I have tested, added, and adjusted this galley arrangement for over ten years, both at the dock, and in remote locations. It can be hard to imagine not being able run to the market for a simple loaf of bread, but that's exactly what happens in the most beautiful of places, no commodities. In fact, and this is a true story, we were once docked next to a multimillion dollar sport fishing boat at a remote tropical island. They were down from New England for the seasonal wahoo run. Every evening they would return with a few hundred pounds of fish. They were planning on buying bread to compliment their catch, but there was none to be had. After a week without bread they were ready to barter me. I was happily baking away. I would make white, or whole grain breads, and even treats like Greek spinach pie. Mirador's freezers were soon packed with all the wahoo we could carry, yahoo! But seriously, I can produce the broad range of foods that not only compliment, but enhance the magnificent adventures of Mirador.

A delicious loaf of homemade bread.

Cupcake and Muffin

Hooray, Cupcake (AKA Israel) is coming to see us for part 2 of his 50th birthday celebration! Yeah, he's over the proverbial hill, but his ego doesn't get what his body is trying to tell him. The catch is, there's always a catch, Israel will only be with us for 3 days which is like going to Disney World for 3 hours, just not enough time. Now I really want Israel to experience the magnificent beauty of Virgin Islands so that he might return home, and tell all of you about it, and then you will want to visit me...quite the sinister scheme!

In any case, we took a slip at a marina, and rented a car to pick him up at the airport because a taxi just costs too much. We went straight to the grocery store to provision for the weekend. At the end of the shopping spree we had more liquor than food, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

The next morning Marie returned the car while I readied the boat. Our first stop would be Christmas Cove, only a short couple of miles away, or about 30 minutes. Our friends on Necesse were there to join us. There are usually moorings that you can pick up but they were all taken. We dropped anchor in about 20 feet of water. Since it was kinda crowded I dove in to check that the anchor was well placed. Well, since I was already wet I coaxed Israel to don his gear, and we went for a nice long snorkel around a large reef that splits the cove in half. The reef was beautiful, and full of colorful fish, but there was a 15 pound mouton snapper that was just amazing. You can't spearfish in this area, and I think the snapper knew it. And so our appetite grew.
That night I had something special planned for dinner. I found  goat at a local market, and I knew Israel wound really appreciate it. Again, I out did myself, and Israel had it three meals in a row!
The next morning we lifted the anchor, and headed for the infamous Jost Van Dyke. It was a really nice 3 hour sail through the blue waters between St. Thomas, St. John, Jost. When we arrived at Great Harbor there was only one mooring remaining. As we made our way towards it a catamaran that was behind us sped up, and beat us to it. It reminded me of holiday season parking at the malls in Miami. It seems the Jerks follow me everywhere. We were left circling the harbor, looking for a spot to anchor. My anchoring angel showed its face, and found us a really nice opening close to shore, the best spot in the house. In the British Virgin Islands most moorings cost $30 a day, and they are in the best spots, leaving little or no room for anchoring. We got lucky, we have a great spot, and it's free...more drinking money!
Israel and I went to shore at about 2 pm. After a quick walk down the only street in town, we sat down at Foxy's for some drinks. There is something peculiar about the drinks at Foxy's. It seems that there is some phenomena occurring that makes people drunk faster than usual. We stumbled back home after only 2 hours, drooling like babies, and went to sleep. We awoke in the early evening, about 6:30 or 7:00. The party a Foxy's was full swing, but we dared not go for a second round. We settled for a milder social exchange on our boat that evening.
The next morning we had to head back to St. Thomas as Israel had to fly out the next day. We sailed back in half the time that it took us to get there. We picked up a mooring at Christmas Cove, and had dinner with our friends on Necesse The next morning, for the sake of comfort, Israel said that he would pay for a night the marina. We called American Yacht Harbor, and they had a slip available. The marina is located in an area called Red Hook. It's a bit like Key West, but smaller. There are over 10 bars on a 500 foot stretch of road, and Israel thought it was heaven. This is where he wanted to be all along. It's ironic that I had exhausted myself thinking of where to take him on such a short visit, and the answer was right under my nose!

Ready...Set...Go!

Just a note about the photographic short comings of this post: Hadrian decided to put the waterproof abilities of our camera to the test. Need I say more? We will add the photos that we have taken prior to the untimely dunking to this post as soon as possible.

A recent post from our friends Eben & Genevieve made the need to stock up on food and snacks in St. Thomas very clear. The post shows a bag of chips selling for $13 dollars! Whats the price for dinner? I can't imagine.

The price of foods in St. Thomas is a moving target to say the least. A 4-pack of butter ranges from $4 to $9 from one store to the next, for the same exact product. To complicate matters there is not one store that's cheaper than the other, you have to comparison shop each product. For the most part, you will find that prices are 30% to 50% more than in the States. If you think that these prices are shocking, they can even they can double as we move through the Virgin Islands. Luckily we provisioned well in Puerto Rico.

We rented a car at the airport because a taxi is too expensive. Marie didn't add me as a second driver so I will have to endure the horror of being a passenger in her car. If this was not enough, in St. Thomas you must drive on the left side of the street. Marie asked me to keep reminding her to stay on the left. I just know this is going to be  a spiritual experience.
St. Thomas gets visited by about 4 to 6 cruise ships a day. These ships bring around 3000 to 5000 tourist each. Sometimes there are 18,000 tourist walking around, looking for something to do. It can get really crowded. A very popular destination is Megan's Beach. When we reached the entrance to Megan's Beach there were about 10 safari taxis in line. I couldn't believe this was the line to get in so I told Marie to go around them. A security guard stepped in front of our car (he obviously didn't realize the peril he was in), and turned us around with the best "mad face" that he could muster. Forget Megan's Beach it's too crowded. They were even charging 2 bucks a person to stand on that crowded strip of sand!
We decided to make the best of the car and explore all the nooks and crannies of the island. From an overlook near an area called Red Hook on the east side, we could see St.John, Tortola and many smaller islands. It is really easy to island hop the Virgin Islands.
Back on the boat, we were horrified to find we had a stowaway. A rat had found its way on-board and was eating our food. Every morning I would find newly damaged food packages. We went to Home Depot and armed ourselves with a variety of traps. I went to bed that night expecting to wake up and find our little guest in a trap. It was not to be, the little guy was smarter than we were. He ignored the traps, and ate less encumbered fare. This went on for several nights. I was really worried about the damage that the rat might cause. If he turns his attention to the wiring, he could cost us thousands. I was contemplating an all-out assault, I would stay up all night with a BB gun. Yeah, I was desperate, but one wonderful morning we awoke, and Vanilla, our dog, had caught the rat! I could have kissed the little dog...but it had just caught a rat with her mouth, yuck. We were shocked by the size of the rat. Some of our traps were simply too small to catch a rat this big, to think he was living with us! In any case, the ordeal was all behind us now.
We left Compass Cove marina, and picked up a mooring ball at Christmas Cove, off St. James island. There we met up with Necesse with Eben, Geneviève, Arias, and Ellia. Everybody is happier with friends to share the experiences with. After a few days of frolicking we decided to sail to St. John. We visited Cruz Bay, a bustling little port, and spent the night in a very rolly anchorage. The ferries really rock this place. By morning we all wanted a little more stability. We sailed over to Francis Bay and picked up another mooring ball.

Our approach to Caneel Bay.

Francis Bay in St. John.

An old plantation windmill. You can see a 5 masted cruise ship in the background.

A view of Tortola from St. John.

An abandoned fishing shack.

I bought 10 gallons of gasoline 4 months ago in Puerto Rico, for the dinghy. The ethanol in today's gas is very unstable. Eben helped me tow the dink to the beach to see if we could get it going. I have taken apart and cleaned the carburetor 10 times in the last 2 days. How do you get rid of 10 gallons of bad gas! I have tried some fuel additives with some success. I can somehow barely keep my motor running, but it's so much effort.
The next day we sailed over to Leinster Bay, and picked up a mooring. It is incredible how easy it is to sail around the Virgin Islands, no more rough passage crossings for us! We all jumped in the water with our snorkeling gear, and discovered a gorgeous reef around us. The kids can't even fake being bored these days.
Eben mentions going to Jost Van Dyke 3 times a day. The next morning we released our mooring ball, and headed to?? you guessed it, Jost Van Dyke! An hour or so of sailing, and we arrived at Great Harbor to pick up another mooring ball.
Mooring balls are so much easier than anchoring because we don't have an electric winch as do many boats these days. No, we have the "Back-Breaker 3000". It has a 3 foot handle that one must crank back and forth vigorously as the winch inches in the chain...slowly. They call this "mechanical advantage". It comes from a time when people were hardier, like Neanderthals, if you will.

Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke.

The main affair at Jost Van Dyke is an iconic bar called Foxy's. It is like a cruiser mecca. Their signature drink is the Painkiller. The sun had just set when the first crew member surcame to the concoction, and had to be carried out (name withheld for the preservation of dignity). The next morning at 7 am a man came by the boat, hollering "hello", over and over until Marie got up, and poked her head out. "I'm collecting mooring fees" said the man, "30 dollars, please". Crushed was our illusion about moorings, and the wake up call didn't help.
We all decided to move over to a less crowded area. At the very east end of the Island there was a natural formation called "the Bubbles" that we all wanted to see. We anchored in an area called Sandy Spit, and dinghied to shore. The kids had a blast playing in the natural Jacuzzi. While not a world wonder, the Bubbles were well worth the visit.
The next morning we all headed to Soper's Hole on the island of Tortola. We had no choice but to pick up a mooring ball because the bay was very crowded. Soper's is a delightfully picturesque harbor town with shops, bars, and a nice grocery store, all on the waterfront. The buildings are brightly painted and well maintained, like in a storybook. These little discoveries, like Soper's Hole, make cruising around the islands so rewarding that I want to run and tell all my friends about the wonderful  spice-of-life that I have found.
The next port-of-call is the Bight on Norman Island. Now, mind you that we only sail 1 or 2 hours a day. The book "Treasure Island" is based on Norman Island. The stories of pirate activity, and buried treasure on Norman Island abound. There are caves that spark the imagination, and carry you back to the time of buccaneers.
On shore, there is only one establishment, a restaurant / bar, Pirate's Bight, on a beautiful white beach. The building itself is only a year or so old, and professionally built. The exposed heavy timber construction with vast open areas, and long sweeping overhangs compliment the tropical setting. We spent more time here than anywhere else. The kids made a few friends, and so did we. On a crazier note, an old cargo ship called the "William Thornton" is anchored in the bay, and operating as a bar and restaurant. They call it the "Willie T" now, quite clever I think. This is not an environment for kids or people prone to illness or allergies for that matter. This is one scruffy, rusty ship. As the evening progresses the patrons of Willie T's are famous for jumping off the boat, into the water...naked! Needless to say, this is all rumor as I would not visit such a place, and even if I did I do believe that the loud music would abruptly stop should I strip myself of clothing for a inebriated dip in the dark water.
Before leaving the British Virgin Islands one must check-out. You must go to the nearest customs office, and tell them that you are leaving. The nearest office are the key words here. We need to go to Road Town Harbor in Tortola to check out. Road Town is the main port, and it's visited by freighters and large cruise ships. We tried to stay away from the busy center of activity by staying at a marina near the entrance of the harbor, only to run aground trying to reach the marina. I was surrounded by moored boats yet still I hit bottom??? I was able to turn the boat on its' keel, and barrel back to deep water after a little effort. We were a little disturbed by the grounding and decided to try another marina instead. It seamed that nobody would answer our calls until we finally got an answer from the Moorings Marina. We only requested to stop in for water, but once we were in the slip, Eva started whining about staying for the night, they had a pool you see. I told her that if she could get us a good rate that we could stay. You would be surprised what a cute little girl could accomplish. She came running back from the office, having gotten us a great deal for the slip, so we stay. I called Necesse, and told them about our new arrangements. The price was so fair that Eben asked us to see about a slip for them. The dock master told us that they could have the slip beside us. We were in a double wide catamaran slip. Soon Necesse was in the slip beside us. Eben got the bright idea to try to buy one of the older dinghies from the charter company. They are usually something of a bargain albeit a little beat up. Eben's negotiations to buy the dinghy kept us there for 3 days. No problem mon, we were all quite happy at the marina.

The main intersection at Coral Bay.

After checking out of the BVI's we headed to Coral Bay, in St. John. Coral Bay reminded us a little of Coconut Grove, the old Coconut Grove. The bay itself was really crowded, and was okay for the night, but not a place to sit for long. Eben gets really nervous about driving his boat around crowded harbors. While he was circling around, looking for a spot to anchor, I called him on the radio to tell him about some dolphins I had just seen frolicking in the bay. "I'm not worried about that right now!" he snapped back at me. I didn't realize it, but he was so tense that you could mash a sesame seed between his butt cheeks.
We had a nice meal at a local grill, and were on our way the next morning. Our friend, Israel, would be coming to meet us in another day so we needed to start making our way back to St. Thomas to pick him up. We split the 4 hour trip in half, and spent the night at Lameshur Bay before taking a slip at Sapphire Beach Marina in St. Thomas to pick up our guest.

St. Thomas

We are headed home for the holidays! We will need to find a safe place to leave Mirador. Marie was nervous about the long narrow channel that led to Compass Point Marina, but it seemed to be the most reasonable option, $$$. The depth of the water was only about 1 foot on either side of the channel, and just about 7 inside the channel, but the charts reported shoaling. I called the marina with our satellite phone, and asked if I could get in with a 7 foot draft. The dock master told me to hug the right side of the channel, and I should be okay. We timed our approach with the high tide, but here, high tide is only 9 inches. We'll take what we can get, I guess.

Marie really drives me crazy by asking me "are you sure?" about hard decisions..."it's a call, it seems like a viable option." Somebody has to make a decision, the charts support it. This is an on-going issue which has enlightened me to the difficulties facing people that have to make decisions that affect others...assuming there is a conscience at play. In any case , yeah, "are you sure?", it drives me crazy. There, I got that off my chest!
We motored out of Christmas Cove, towards the marina, only a mile away. It was a beautiful trip that took us around picturesque islets with the lush mountainous St.Thomas as a back drop, rising high over the blue water. I followed the dock masters advice, and we made it in with nothing but a little anxiety.
The Marina is basic, but well kept. The cost of electrical power, and water is quite high. I have imposed sanctions on the crew, but I don't exactly have a trained navy, they only listen to a fraction of what I have to say. "Everyone must use the marina showers, and no air conditioning during the day." You would think that these are clear, and simple orders, but they've been met with heavy resistance, or should I say whining. I have had marginal success limiting the use of air conditioning. The water usage continues unchecked.

St. Thomas!

This is Charlotte Amalie Harbor.

I asked the locals about public transportation on the island, they pointed us to what they call "Safari Taxi". These are pickup trucks with 4 or 5 open air bench seats where the bed used to be, the kind of vehicle that a resort might use. Anyway, it works like this; you walk out to the main road, and wait for one of these taxis to come by, and after securing a fare you find an empty seat to sit. Once underway you commence asking the locals around you, "where you want to go, and when to get off". Since they use bench seats, and you can only board from the left side, when a person on the inside has to get off, everyone in that row must get off. There are door bell switches mounted on the canopy over the seats that you press to when your destination is near. The price for locals is $1, the price for non-locals is $2, if you look kinda stupid the price is $5. If you are reading this, and you've been here, and paid $5, I'm sorry.
We went over to "Customs and border Protection" to check in. They asked us if we were US citizens, and are you carrying over $10,000 in cash. We gave them a yes and a no, and they sent us on our way without checking a single piece of paper? However, we're now in the middle of the tourist area, and the taxis were aggressive. They wanted to make the big bucks now. We ended up walking a fair ways before a taxi full of locals came by and picked us up. We jumped off at the mall, and surveyed the prices. The cost of food is anywhere from 30 to 50 percent more than in the states. Liquor is really cheap, about half of what it costs in the states, but not the beer. This is going to wreak havoc on my eating habits!
Marie goes for walks with our dog "Vanilla", about twice each day. One morning while on a walk, a local resident showed her the way to "Secret Harbor", a beautiful cove. Marie was eager to show the rest of us her new discovery. She made it sound like a short walk. So, off we all go to see this new beach who's proximity was way over-sold. We walk over very hilly terrain, through neighborhoods, and vacant lots. This was a bit of a long walk! With minor resistance from Hadrian, we made our destination. The location itself was over-sold. The beach was beautiful, nestled into a well protected cove. The water was clear, and little fish nipped at the hair on my legs. There was a floating platform in deeper water that the kids could climb and jump from. A great time was had by all, but it was getting late, and we had a long walk ahead. MELTDOWN! Hadrian walked out to the street, and flipped at the sight of the road ahead. Eva, who had made some friends at the beach and didn't want to leave, was not happy either. She ran ahead, about a hundred yards, so as to be as difficult as her little brain could devise. Hadrian in contrast walked as slow as he could. I picked up my pace to keep Eva in view while Marie fell behind, prodding Hadrian to walk. The distance between us grew as the sun dropped low on the horizon. At times I would lose sight of Eva over the top of a hill or around a curve. Finally she stopped to rest on a picnic table in someone's front lawn. As got to her, she just ranted about her discontent, palatable as a spoonful of horseradish. I was about to make the tabloids, "Man Chokes Daughter" the headline. I couldn't see Marie, but I was sure that she was behind me. Eva said that she wouldn't take another step, "I'm waiting for mommy". "Fine!" I stormed off. The marina was about a half mile away. I was approaching the entrance when a taxi pulls up next to me, it was Marie and Hadrian. "You didn't see Eva?", I asked. "No, the taxi took another route." "Oh no, I left her at the house with the picnic table. I thought you were right behind me?" Marie jumped out of the cab, and ran to get Eva. I stayed at the entrance of the marina, at the Dive Bar. I ordered a beer, and mauled over the last hour. Man, they (the kids) can be difficult! Somewhere in the course of my thoughts it struck me, "should I be worried? Is Eva okay?" Marie was taking a long time, it wasn't that far. It was dark now, 45 minutes had passed. The bad thoughts raced through my mind. "What do we do? Where do we go for help out here? Why is it taking so long for them to return?" I couldn't stop staring at the road that led down to the marina, in the hopes that I would see Marie and Eva walking down. Wait, I see something, someone! As the distance closed I could see that it was Marie, she was alone! As Marie got within talking distance, she began to cry. "I couldn't find her", she said. My blood ran cold. I could sense the people around us homing in on our distress. We had their attention. "The police, is it 911 here? Is that the number to the police? We lost our little girl!" In an instant we were surrounded by concerned neighbors.
As dialed 911, I thought about what I was about to say. I want to be clear, not rant. Concentrate, "Hello, I'm at Compass point, and I have lost my little girl." "What is her name?" the voice asked. "Eva," I responded. "We have her. She is at the Sunset Grill," the woman said. One of our neighbors interjected, "Let's go, I have a car." I stayed behind as Marie and Debbie drove off to get Eva. We had been really lucky. I don't think that we have ever been in such a potentially perilous situation with our kids. It was the most helpless feeling that I have ever experienced. As it turns out, Eva had started walking back towards the beach, as night began to fall. Thankfully when she got there, she asked two ladies for help.  "They looked friendly" Eva said. The ladies stayed with her until Marie came. She said that everyone treated her very well. She was drinking a "Shirley Temple".
Eben and Genevieve from SV Neccese arrived to join us in St. Thomas. They travel with 2 little girls that are just adorable. We all are looking forward to exploring the wonders of the Virgin Islands.

Cinderella sailing

In the Caribbean the wind almost always blows from an easterly direction. This happens to be the direction that we want to sail in, go figure. Luckily a sailboat can actually zig-zag into the wind. If you think licking your way to the center of a Tootsie Pop took patience, you have no idea what patience is. Imagine our excitement to learn that we would be having a few solid days of wind from the northwest at about 10 knots with seas 2 to 4 feet. This is a rarity to say the least. We made our final arrangements to leave Puerto Rico, truly the "Island of Enchantment".

As part of my to-do list, I actually had to change out the axles on our car before turning it over to its new owners. I had mail-ordered the parts only to find that one of the axles arrived damaged. Car mechanics are a love-hate thing for me, I love that I can do the work, I find it rewarding. I hate the physical strain of a less than ideal work environment. I was lucky enough to have a covered roof to work under, still I am not in the best shape to be dragging my butt under a car. Oh, back to the car parts, we ran out to try to find an axle for a 2000 Volvo...in Puerto Rico it would take a small miracle, but lo-and-behold we found one at the third auto parts store that we visited. After an anxious 12 hour day, I was able to scratch "fix car" off of my list.

As you know from my previous post (you did read it, right), I'm receiving parts by mail from the States to build a wind generator. We were still waiting for the last part to arrive on the day that we were scheduled to leave. A 9 am departure turned into a 5 pm departure, but then we are always late for everything, why should this be any different?

We checked out of Palma del Mar marina, it's like leaving family, and began our voyage. The ocean was calm, and there was only a slight breeze. Just like we like it, we're not racers. In fact, there is not a racing bone in us, we like it slow. I set "Otto" the autopilot, and he steered the whole way through. We moved along at 4 to 5 knots. The moon was full, and it was so bright that you would cast a shadow as if it was sunlight. The light would dance on the tips of the waves, and it was serene, almost spiritual. I took a deep breath, and appreciated being alive.

At about 2 am Marie came up, and took the helm, or that is sat by Otto while I went down for a little sleep. When I awoke at dawn, we were approaching St. Thomas. Marie quickly ferreted through a couple of cruising guides for a place to anchor, as the marina that we had made reservations with was closed on Sundays. She found a beautiful place called Christmas Cove where the mooring are free. A lot of places in the Virgin Islands do not allow you to drop an anchor because it damages the sea floor. As we got near to our cove we dropped the sails, and continued with the motor. It was so calm that we were able to pick up the mooring with little effort, not always the case.

It was a gorgeous early morning, and we were in St. Thomas! I could hardly believe it, as I looked around at the paradise that lay before me. This is a milestone on our adventure.

Approaching St. Thomas.

Eva wasted no time.

The view from Christmas Cove.

Hadrian is really helpful on the bow.

The cruise ship traffic is almost a part of the landscape.

More Juice

It's hard keeping up with our power needs...electrical that is. There is a little bug in my system, for some reason my battery charger won't charge at full speed while we are away from the dock, using the generator. What this means is that I have to run my generator somewhere between 3 and 4 hours a day to charge the batteries. In a classic domino effect my refrigerators don't cool down all the way...because of the batteries being low.

So, how to solve this problem? I have 4 solar panels, and no room for any more, so I turn to the wind. Perhaps a wind generator can pick up the slack. A quick look-see on the internet had me gasping for breath. What! 2500 dollars!

Okay, let me let you in on one of my biggest vices, I think I can do "anything". Oh, it's a vice alright. In my defense, I inherited this genetic glitch. Awareness is half the battle, I try to fight it, but when I get hit with something like $2500 for $300 worth of parts, well, I lose control. My vice is at the wheel, yet better than younger days when other parts of me ruled over my common sense!

I started searching the internet for the parts it would take to assemble a wind generator of my own. I'm looking at about $400 bucks for a nice size unit, 600 watts in 25 knots of wind, and 100 amps in 12 knots...by my estimates. This should give me about 100 amps on a typical Caribbean day, which my refrigerators would just love to eat up.
The tricky part is balancing all the parts, the size of the motor with the size of the blades, and the size of the tail, and a half dozen other components. Oh, and making it not look homemade is important to me. Getting materials here in Puerto Rico has proved a challenge. After a tank of gas, and a day of running around with no luck, I just gave in to the convenience of Amazon.

Here are the blades, the motor, and nose cone.

This is the mount which I'm in the middle of fabricating.

I'll keep you up-to-date on the progress, but right now I've got to take advantage of a great weather window to sail to St. Thomas. See you soon!