Thanksgiving provided the background for our very first mini-cruise on Orion...made possible by Captain Rick with the help of "Macho", the greatest mechanic on earth (at least that's what we think!) who got our cold-plate refrigeration and freezer system working properly! Now the system runs not only on the dock (110V) but also when away from the dock (engine driven). Future plans will have the system also running with solar panels and a wind generator (no need to run the engine anymore). We will accomplish this next year before we finally venture "out there" full time. Refrigeration on a sailboat is very different from your ordinary household refrigeration system. On Orion we have what is called a cold-plate system. Without going into much detail the basic difference lies in the fact that a household refrigerator runs 24/7 whereas a cold-plate systems only needs to run something like 2 hours per day (engine driven) to keep your coldies cold and your ice frozen.
Anyways...we took off on November 22 and returned on November 28, 2010. Our trip took us from Salinas to Bahia Ballena in Guanica...we sailed 6 hours with the wind...a wonderful and peaceful journey. We celebrated Thanksgiving and my birthday there (Nov. 24), left Bahia Ballena on the morning of November 26 and sailed to Ponce to get fuel and water...it took us almost 8 hours with the wind on our nose...a more challenging but enjoyable trip, since the wind was just perfect. From Ponce we continued our sail to Coffin Island where we stayed another two nights before returning to Salinas on November 28.
We had a super time and Whiskers, our 18 year old sailor cat, had no problems at all. We are so proud of her! Our captain and co-captain system works very well for us...the captain is in charge of navigating, handling the wheel and putting up/taking down the main sail...the co-captain is in charge of handling the jib (foresail) when tacking, setting and freeing the anchor (thank God we have an electric windlass), and provisioning and cooking with the exception of BBQing which by mutual agreement is the captain's territory. Of course the captain also takes care of most maintenance work and repairs whereas the co-captain takes care of laundry and the dishes as well as sewing all kinds of stuff from cushion covers to duvet covers to sun shades. It is understood that we can both jump in to take over the other's responsibilities should the need arise.
On the way to Guanica
Lunch is served!
Sunset at Bahia Ballena...spectacular...
Sunrise the next day...
The Bay...
The water in the Bay...this water is usually brown, but the recent strong winds and currents have washed fresh seawater over the reef, therefore producing beautiful blue hues...
The captain enjoys my birthday dinner :o)
Cheers and happy birthday to me :o)
Captain and crew chatting on a coolish morning...well, coolish for us tropical kids...;o)
Beach around the corner from Bahia Ballena
Thanksgiving dinner...turkey thighs on the BBQ...
Voila...seasoned turkey thighs, sweet corn, and potatoes...Happy Thanksgiving!
Another beautiful sunset.
Leaving Bahia Ballena on the way to Ponce...
Arrival at Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club (PYFC) where we saw our friend Richard and his crew who had just arrived from Antigua on his new sailboat! What a coincidence!
Richard and his crew...
Our anchorage at Coffin Island where we headed after leaving PYFC...
Can anybody ever get tired of these beautiful sunsets? This one is at Coffin Island.
Whiskers...we love her so much :o)
Bye bye Coffin Island...until soon again...
Happy Sailing _/)
Arrival at Marina de Salinas...
Yes, we are back at the dock and yes, there is a fire in the background, but nobody got hurt.
Our trip went very well...so well that we were still smiling at each other when we returned to Salinas :o) The captain had worked out the navigational specifics of the trip perfectly and the co-captain had provisioned for this 7-day-trip with the right and proper amount of food. We feel that we conquered the challenges! Now we are ready for more trips of this kind :o)
We have decided to stay in Marina de Salinas until 2012...yes, it is official now...Rick will retire (early) in May 2012...and then we shall be free to roam the Caribbean on Orion as we please...God willing of course! So please stay tuned and continue to follow our adventures as we prepare for full time cruising.
