ORION

June-July 2011...Coffin Island Fun

2011-08-02T01:30:00.001-04:00

Doesn't time fly?...It is already August and here I am writing an update for June-July!! What was that New Year's Resolution again??? Ah well...so sorry...sometimes the monthly update is a few weeks late...I know you all understand...and hey...better a little late than never...Right?...Right! Our favorite Coffin Island takes the spotlight again for June and July...here is a picture taken from the deck of Orion after we anchored...It is amazing how beautiful "our" island looks every time we sail there.

In June we had visitors from far away...tiny ones with wings...SWALLOWS...can you believe it? They chirped and sang for us and showed off their acrobatic abilities in the air...and when they thought they had totally mesmerized us with their spiel they tried to make a nest in Orion's sailpack (the place where the sails fall into when we are not sailing)! We had to laugh and felt a little bit sorry for them when we attached a make-shift "curtain" at the end of the boom, so that they could not make a house there...I mean...enough is enough and we certainly did not want the little fellows to get too comfortable in a place where they could not stay long enough to have a family. So they continued to sing and chirp and then gave up their quest and flew away into the trees on the island. So long little swallows...we do love you...thanks for visiting!

A yummy salad and a beautiful sunset...life is good!

Coffin Island main tourist beach...ferry dock

In July we were invited to the Ponce Sail and Power Squadron's get together at Coffin Island's main tourist beach. Of course we set sail from Salinas as usual, staid overnight on our favorite anchorage and then sailed to the main beach the next day. Anchoring at the main beach was exciting in its own way, because we had to take a mooring ball. Mooring balls are at a few places around Coffin Island to save the coral reefs...instead of dropping an anchor you attach your boat via a line to the mooring ball. The captain and I had never anchored on a mooring ball before...there is always a first time for everything...I proudly admit that we both managed very well and got that line through the loop on the mooring ball without too much of a hassle. And we didn't even shout at each other, hahahaha. We met our friends from the PonceSPS and had a great time partying. A special thank you to Ediberto and Jose Luis...it was a fun event and we enjoyed it tremendously. We took off again in the afternoon...back to our usual anchorage...spent the night there and had a great sail back to Salinas the next day.

Orion on mooring ball...our first time...and it went great!

Ferry arrives with Ponce Sail and Power Squadron

Leaving Coffin Island early in the morning...

Orion tugged into her dock at the marina :o)

So here we are back on the dock at Marina de Salinas...now it is August and we are in full swing of the dreaded unmentionable season (= hurricane season)...hopefully there will not be much to report at the end of this month and the months to follow until December! Stay tuned and God bless!

Underwater at Coffin Island

2011-06-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

We got an underwater camera a few months ago and now we are happily snapping away or better I am happily snapping away...but I am sure the captain will follow suit soon and we may have to ~~fight~~ kindly agree over who is taking it "down there"...just kidding! It's a Rollei and we are very pleased with it. The pictures were taken at Coffin Island over the Easter weekend...the water was crystal clear...those of you who read our blog regularly will have seen the post on that already...those of you who have not yet seen it, ~~what's the matter with you?~~ please scroll down and have a look...

Starfish at its best :o)

Sergeant Majors


More Sergeant Majors...there is a whole colony there

That's it for now...there will be many more to come in future posts...

Sailing over the long weekend May 28-30, 2011...Coffin Island

2011-06-07T18:12:00.002-04:00

Yap...we did it again! This time we even had an additional day to spend on our beloved Coffin Island. We left Salinas on Saturday under motor and sail...returned on Monday evening after a beautiful and perfect 5 hour sail back all the way from Coffin Island to Salinas...woohoo :o) Here are a few pictures to accompany our recent Coffin Island adventure. And just in case you may wonder...no...we do not get tired of Coffin Island...ever :o)

Although it was a long weekend (MemorialDay weekend) there were not too many boats out there during the day time...all but a few left before sunset...a perfect setting for a romantic weekend on Orion :o)

In the evening captain turned BBQ Chef Rick produced some absolutely delicious chicken thighs (boneless and skinless), which we ate sliced up on a bun with broccoli slaw...very yummy and even a tad healthy :o)

Since we are talking about food...another nice meal was green salad with apple slices...simple and nutritious...okay, okay...the captain had a peanut butter sandwich instead of the salad! Can't overdo it with "the green stuff" for him, hahahaha.
For breakfast we had 7-grain bread with Havarti cheese and apple slices...the perfect start for another perfect day in Paradise :o) Best of all: cooking time was kept to a minimum, giving us ample opportunity to go snorkeling and horse around in the water!

The captain combined snorkeling with cleaning Orion's bottom, and when he was finished I jumped in also and we took off together to find "Nemo", but since I have "short time memory loss" I can't remember whether we found him or not...;o)

As mentioned, we had a super sail back to Salinas under both main and jib. Here is a picture showing how Orion glides through the sea under sail, leaving white froth on the side...a perfect 5 hour sail, and we enjoyed it tremendously! The only sad thing is that I lost my "Orion" cap when the wind picked up...yes, the one I was wearing in the picture at the beginning of the story. Ah well...time to get a new one for me and my sweetie, the captain :o)

Back at the marina we were greeted by 4 manatees... I was lucky enough to capture these gentle giants on my camera...well...as best as I could capture them...spring has sprung for sure, they were having a great time fro-locking around the dock and Orion...

Another wonderful adventure came to an end and we say "until next time" with Orion safely tugged into her slip at the marina.

Coffin Island...Easter 2011

2011-04-26T00:41:00.000-04:00

At last...sailing pictures again...and very beautiful ones that tell their own story of our wonderful weekend at Coffin Island...crystal clear water...white sand beaches...beautiful weather...great friends...can you feel the love?

We sure did (!) and enjoyed "the simple life" on board Orion...but that's nothing new, or is it?

Coffin Island is indescribably beautiful...pictures tell more than a thousand words! We had a very relaxing time...our friends Richard and Mercedes were already anchored there and our friends Bob and Joan joined all of us for a day on Saturday. How fun!

Here is a photo of our anchor chain, taken from Orion...the water reflections, the clearness, the white sand on the bottom...it is all quite unbelievable, even for us, who sail to Coffin Island almost every weekend!

We feel so blessed! Life is good, and at least we can share the pictures for everybody to enjoy with us :o)

Despite the holiday weekend it was not very crowded...what a nice surprise! There were quite a few boats during the day, but by evening all but two of them had left the island. It was peaceful with even the music subdued...all in all a very enjoyable weekend. Thank you to all fellow boaters :o)

We had a rain shower on Friday night...of short duration and welcomed by the thirsty vegetation on the island! Otherwise the skies were blue, the winds were calm, and the spirits were high :o)

Food...of course we had to eat! This time around we decided to go without cooking, because we agreed to spend most of our time snorkeling, beach combing, and having fun with friends :o)

So I prepared stone-ground whole wheat and flax wraps filled with turkey breast, Havarti cheese, lettuce leaves, tomatoes, and sour cream...accompanied by plain old potato chips :o)

It was a feast...so good that my non-raw-veggie-eating hubby gobbled them up with mumbled remarks of "these are so good"...can you believe it?

Some work had to be done though...cleaning Orion's bottom, which Rick did in record time all the way down to the full keel...WOW. I helped a little bit by brushing the waterline (a black stripe around the perimeter of the boat just above the water)...it was good exercise, but pretty yucky work...ugh...little creatures all over my shirt...ugh...but I survived! I don't know why Rick doesn't get bitten by those creatures...I sure do...but I'll spare you the pictures.

On the left you see Richard, Mercedes, and their dog "Copper" having a good time in the water :o)

And on the right you see the Easter Eggs that the Easter Bunny's helpers left on Orion's deck on Sunday morning. Hmmm...we saw one of the helpers leave on a red kayak...hmmm...just like the one on the picture above...

We say thank you to the Easter Bunny's helpers and want them to know that the hard-boiled eggs made a delicious lunch for us, sliced and put on 7-grain-bread...quite yummy indeed!

My smiling captain always warms my heart...I feel so privileged to share this wonderful life with him!

Another look at our backyard at Coffin Island...the white clouds on the horizon look like the cream on the pie...don't you think?

We sailed back on Sunday afternoon in strong winds and waves...hmmm...the forecast didn't mention any wind. Never mind, we are used to a "bumpy ride" when we sail back to Salinas...the wind is always on our nose or so it seems, which does not diminish our spirits...we love to sail...it's as simple as that :o)

The sun goes down in a golden ball...who needs television out here? Saying good night for now until the next post on this blog...

Oh...and saying hi to Grandpa Harvey Klumb, who really enjoys our blog and the pictures! It was nice to hear all the stories about your trip with Rick from North Carolina to Florida and back...2000 plus miles in a week...way to go at 91 years of age! We love you!

God bless all of you!

March Madness...Fun in the Sun...Part III: The Petersen's

2011-04-09T23:48:00.001-04:00

Also in March of this year Rick and I had the pleasure of meeting one of the most wonderful couples ever right here at the marina. Mr. and Mrs. Petersen, simply known around here as "the Petersen's", have a sailboat and visit Salinas from time to time to relax and enjoy being on the water. Nothing unusual about that, but you see...Mr. and Mrs. Petersen are in their early nineties and that makes for an interesting story! With their permission...here it is.

When Mrs. Petersen and I met we were immediately fond of each other. We only spent a little time together, but we chatted and laughed, and now have something like an inner connection :o) Mrs. Annette Petersen is a very very special person (although she completely denies that she is special)...she has her own business which she developed out of her love for creating whimsical figurines, mainly forest mice! All of her creations have special meanings, and many have reached the status of being collectors' items. Her children have learned her art and design and handcraft their own little mice with her, making "Wee Forest Folk" a small family business with a registered trademark! I put a link to their website http://www.weeforestfolk.com/ here and under "kewl links" at the left of our blog. Mr. Petersen is also very special...he is the captain who not only navigates his own sailboat but his wife's happiness...at least it seems like that to me! In other words: The Petersen's are one of a kind and we feel privileged that they consider us friends :o)

Here is a link to an interesting artist profile on Mrs. Petersen...http://www.weeforestfolk.com/AnnetteArticle2011.html...of course you will find the link also under "Kewl Links" on the left of our blog.

Mrs. Petersen gave us one of her creations as a gift...a little mouse angel, getting ready for her first flight from a cloud. So adorable that I cannot put it into words! And so appropriate at the same time, because Rick and I will be leaving on Orion for our first journey of a lifetime soon, and we are just as excited and a little fearful as Mrs. Petersen's creation :o) This made Mrs. Petersen very happy indeed, and I promised her to find a very special place for the little mouse on Orion...and I did! She is sitting right in front of a miniature bronze sailboat in our salon...how appropriate!

It gets even better...Mrs. and Mrs. Petersen returned to their home and a few days later I received a small package in the mail...it was another one of her creations! And as if it was all meant to be, we have two lamps in the salon...so there was an instant home for this second precious figurine :o)

Thank you so very much Mr. and Mrs. Petersen...we love you and wish you all the very best...God bless you and your family...see you again next year!

March Madness...Fun in the Sun...Part II: Coffin Island with our friends from Germany, Canada, and Puerto Rico

2011-04-03T22:56:00.001-04:00

Orion anchored at Coffin Island

On the first weekend in March we got out to sea again...to our beloved Coffin Island! We were joined by Ulrich and Renate, our German friends, who lived in Puerto Rico for 10 years. They arrived a few days earlier to attend the same wedding we went to...it's a small world :o) So we invited them for an overnight at Coffin Island on Orion and they happily accepted. We had a nice sail out to the island, where we were joined by our Canadian friends Peter and Liz on their sailboat ( a Passport 40) "Kynda". Peter and Liz had sailed to Salinas earlier in February to meet up with us...will tell more about them in the next post on this blog! As said...March was the month of meeting lots of old and new friends here in Salinas...what a remarkable experience! We all had a great time at Coffin Island, especially because we even met our sailing friends from Ponce there...Richard and Mercedes and Bob and Joan! What a wonderful surprise for all of us :o) Too bad I did not take my camera to the beach when we were all gathered there...ah well...the nicest times remain in our hearts :o)

Ulrich and Renate

Ulrich and Renate sure enjoyed themselves and even got into the "cold" water without moaning and groaning...hmmmm...at this time of year it feels kind of chilly to us tropical kids, so you can hear us moaning and groaning when we get in, hahahaha. I guess it's all relative! Of course I am wearing my shorty wet suit...seriously :o)

Tada...me in my wet suit...told you so!

Rick with Orion in back

Ulrich

Renate

Hello Claudia and Vanessa in Germany...we missed you!

Last but not least hello to my triplet brother Willi in Germany...We miss you Willi!
We stayed overnight at Coffin Island and pulled anchor in the morning to head back to Salinas. We had an almost uneventful trip...if it hadn't been for the engine cooling system not working properly (again)! Luckily we could sail most of the way and eventually arrived back in port. There we said goodbye to our friends from Germany...thanks for joining us...we had a great time :o)

March Madness...Fun in the Sun!...Part I: A friend's wedding...

2011-04-02T17:44:00.000-04:00

March was a busy month for us. A nice kind of busy with lots of fun activities and lots of old and new friends, making our life even more special. I can't believe March is already over...as they say "time flies when you are having fun"!

We enjoyed Hannah's and Luke's very special wedding on March 5, 2011 in the mountains of Ponce, Puerto Rico...thanks guys for inviting us...we had a wonderful afternoon into the night chatting and catching up with Hannah's and Luke's family and friends whom we had not seen in years! Oh yes...a lot of dancing and celebrating and toasts, especially to the hosts Lou and Deb at Hacienda Pena, made this a perfect day :o) Hannah went to the same school as our children, and her and her sisters Raechel and Rebekah together with their parents Ed and Debbie have been our friends going back over 14 years here in Puerto Rico. And now Hannah is married to Luke! Time flies and the kids grow up! You can see both Hannah and Luke and Debbie and Ed smiling contagiously below :o)

Okay...so where is the boat connection you may ask? Well...here it is...Everybody was really interested in our life on Orion...we happily answered many questions and received ohh's and ahh's for being full time "boat people" :o) Guess we are doing what a lot of people dream of doing...Yap...we are still pinching ourselves :o) and Yap...we love this life :o)

Hannah and Luke and most of their families and friends went back to the mainland a few days after the wedding...We wish Hannah and Luke all the very best in their future life together as husband and wife...so nice that they call our island paradise "home"...God bless you!...Come and see us anytime on the boat!

Uff!! The Mattress Extension Project!

2011-02-21T15:41:00.002-04:00

I know...I know...everybody is waiting for sailing pictures, but this past weekend was put aside for the long postponed project to extend the mattresses in the aft cabin...so instead of sailing pictures you will see sewing pictures. The plan was to add two big pieces to the already existing ones in order to form a U-shaped "playground", if I may say so :o) Having never done this kind of stuff before, I was not really looking forward to it...but hey...we live and learn and if you don't try you don't succeed!

I am happy to report that this ~~dreaded~~ fun project turned out alright...actually pretty darn good...so good, that I no longer dread to cover all sorts of shapes and forms of foam :o) We purchased 5 inch high density foam from our friend Marianne (yes, Marianne from Trade Winds across from the marina) and had her make the two patterns and cut the foam accordingly. With this heavy duty work out of the way, it was time for me to sharpen the needles of my beloved Singer sewing machine. Seriously, this little Singer machine is like the little engine that could! Initially I made a slip cover, which is an easy thing to do, slipped it over the foam and pretended I was done with it! Ugh...it really was awful and after a night's sleep I decided I could not live with the result of such poor workmanship (mine). So I took the slip cover off again and vowed to produce a far superior product with my next try. This cover needed to be done properly, so that everything would fit and match with the existing mattresses!

Off to a new try and a great learning experience. I consulted my "Don Casey's complete illustrated sailboat" book, which contains a whole chapter on canvas and sewing projects for sailboats. I copied the formula for making cockpit cushion covers, which is the same as making upholstery covers...just a few little adjustments. I double checked my formula with Marianne BEFORE I started cutting the material (thank you Marianne). As it goes, the first cut is the hardest, because you just don't believe that a tiny seam allowance of 1/2" ( only half an inch for heaven's sake!) will be enough to make everything fit in the end. But my worries soon disappeared and I happily continued tracing, measuring, and cutting...all the while sending small little prayers that in the end nothing would have been done in vane. Ah well...only two things could happen...either it worked or it did not.

Since there was a lot of tension on Orion, the captain wisely decided to work on some projects that required him to be away for a while...(like checking the outboard motor on the dinghy)...Yes, we are a great team :o)

I was able to finish covering the foam pieces with the jeans-material I had selected (matching to the existing ones)...stuffing the foam into them is a different story...but I was successful with that also...hurray, hurray.

blue cheese head in place

All that was left was two tiny triangular pieces, which I conquered without too much fuss at all! So the two little "blue cheese heads" fit perfectly into the spaces they belong...how kewl is that?

"blue cheese head"

new mattress addition to the right

finished project, new extension to the left

After successfully covering the foam and putting the finished mattress extension in place, I draped everything with a blue king size sea shell quilt, which I cut to fit. The pillow covers and curtains you see in the pictures are home-made also...I did these almost three years ago already...and they still fit in with everything just perfectly...at least in my/our humble opinion :o)

finished project, new extension to the right

All in all we now have a very very comfortable aft cabin and can roll around any way we want...Life is good!

A closer look...

The quilt covers in place...

We turned the cupboard into a book cupboard :o)

The rear portholes with sun shade covers

Sailing with Whiskers...a place to remember and honor our late feline crew member...

2011-02-17T00:51:00.005-04:00

Whiskers' tag embraced in a "hug", an original drawing by our friend Tina Will...mounted next to the Morgan Yacht sign on Orion...this is located to the right of the companion way (entrance) to the main salon...

Whiskers 1992-2011

Sailing...engine problems and quick fixes...

2011-02-17T00:23:00.000-04:00

The weekend of January 29-30, 2011 marked our first sail without Whiskers the Sailor Cat...it was a bitter-sweet experience. We miss her! Coffin Island was as beautiful as ever with turquoise seas and the tranquility that we have become so accustomed to. Well...it was like that on Saturday, but by Sunday things changed a little bit in terms of tranquility. But let's start at the beginning. We had a nice sail out from Salinas to Coffin Island on Saturday. I had prepared a zucchini quiche during the week and made sandwiches ahead of time...this way we were able to relax without having to cook too much. Rick and I were both recuperating from a bad cold and wanted to take it especially easy. I must admit that this time neither of us jumped in the beautiful water at Coffin Island...Yes, you are reading correctly...neither of us went in the water! At this time of year the water here in the Caribbean is a touch cool for us (I can hear everybody up north laughing right now...), and we were fighting a cold and a cough! (Alright, everybody stop laughing now.)

Anyways, we had a wonderfully relaxing time and were lucky again to watch yet another beautiful sunset!

When motoring out of Salinas harbor bay on Saturday morning our engine seemed to run a tad hot, but we did not have to run it for long, as it was perfect sailing weather :o) On Sunday we left Coffin Island around 1130 and sailed, sailed, sailed all the way back to Salinas...the wind started off perfectly, increased considerably, and by the time we reached Salinas it was blowing quite a bit with white caps (when the sea takes a froth-like appearance) covering most of the surface of the sea. It was a roly-poly kind of experience.

Salinas harbor...so near and yet so far!

At around 1730 with the harbor in full view and gusts picking up we dropped both sails and turned on the engine. The temperature gauge showed a dramatic increase in temperature even at low speed! There was no water being pumped through the exhaust system either! What to do? Being unable to sail into the channel that leads to the harbor (the wind was nose-on) we turned off the engine and dropped anchor right outside the bay area. It was time to investigate the problem further. Since I am quite useless when it comes to engine problems I manned the helm (steering wheel), sent a silent prayer, and put my confidence into the captain's ability to fix whatever was wrong...I mean, that's what a co-captain is for...right?

The captain investigating the problem!

My confidence was rewarded...the captain found the problem and figured out a way to bring us back to the dock (hopefully). Way to go! But how and what happened? I will explain it in my simple layman/woman terms: The overheating was caused by not enough seawater being sucked into the engine to cool it...the captain (God bless him) determined that the thru-hull valve at the intake must be partially blocked...this can occur when little crustaceans (small calcified sea creatures) manifest themselves on the hull. They grow all over the hull, which is normal and the reason for having to clean the hull at regular intervals and/or hauling out and slapping bottom paint on it every year or couple of years or so. Orion's captain usually cleans the hull at Coffin Island from time to time (which entails scraping with a scraper)...but remember, we didn't go into the water this trip...and this time the co-captain takes all the blame, because she adamantly insisted that the captain's cough warranted a "time-out" (no regrets about that though)! And in any case "hurray for the captain" :o) Rick figured that when he left off the top of the raw water filter and we ran the engine at idle speed (yes, idle speed) we most probably would be able to get back to the dock without overheating and damaging the engine. Wow!

Sunset as seen from Orion anchored outside Salinas Bay

As if on Q the sun was sinking into the sea, embracing our hearts with "that sunken feeling"...just kidding! The beautiful sunset put a golden hue all over and to our delight the sea had calmed down completely, making the last part of our trip a lot more do-able. We pulled the anchor and started on our journey...Rick stayed in the engine room to monitor pump and filter...I put the gear in idle and off we went ever so slowly. From time to time, under instruction from the captain, I ran the bilge pump to make sure that everything stayed high and dry. We actually made it without further problems! Never doubt the captain :o) It took us over an hour to get to our dock (it usually takes us about 10 minutes), it was pitch dark, which made maneuvering around the boats at anchor a little different than usual...but we made it alright, fastened the dock lines and turned off the engine. Exhausted and full of adrenaline at the same time we threw high fives and embraced each other :o) We can be proud of ourselves...we dealt with the problem rationally, didn't panic, and gained a lot of confidence in the process. Best of all...we still love each other :o) A few days later our friend Boyd cleaned the thru-hulls on Orion (we are very grateful to him) and voila...Orion's engine is working like a champ again :o) Congratulations to the captain, who correctly diagnosed the problem and thank you Orion for being so forgiving!

The new dinghy and other toys...Coffin Island 1/6-1/8/2011

2011-02-07T22:02:00.002-04:00

At long last we got a new dinghy...a small boat that sailors tow or hang from dinghy davits...it enables them to drive to and from the sailboat to get to the marina or other places when anchored out...it's like your personal taxi. A dinghy is not a luxury but a necessity when cruising, because it also becomes your life boat...hopefully we will never have to experience that! Our old dinghy gave up its ghost a few months ago and we were looking for a replacement. Of course anything connected with a boat means big bucks. BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand...or so the saying goes...LOL! Luckily I found one on the internet...a Walker Bay 8 complete with sail kit! What a find! Rick and I went to see it and before anybody could say "Bob's your uncle" we shook hands with the guy and it was a done deal! Up it went onto the truck and off we were to show it to Orion :o) Needless to say that Orion couldn't care less...but we were in 7th heaven to be the proud owners of a WB8 sailing dinghy that converts easily to a rowing dinghy or to a motor dinghy. Rick found a way to attach it to the dinghy davits on Orion...we need to find a final solution, but for now it is working just fine.

We got a chance to try out the new dinghy at Coffin Island, where we sailed on Jan. 6 and returned on Jan.8, 2011. What can I say? It is definitely a great little boat and Rick and I spent quite some time sailing up and down the beach. What fun! So much, that Rick went out again after letting me off on Orion...and here are the pictures to prove it :o) Of course the weather was gorgeous and the sea turquoise, making this an overall fantastic first experience with our new little boat...and we all know that first impressions are very important indeed! We are still deciding on a name for the little dinghy that could...

And we got another new toy...a grill pan that fits our three-burner-stove just perfectly and allows us to grill inside when it's too windy to BBQ on deck. We enjoy the small pleasures in life :o) I was so excited about the new grill pan that I grilled lots of stuff over the weekend. It's a good thing that the refrigeration is now working great and I could store the left-overs for another day...otherwise we would way about 200 pounds more by now :o)

Chicken-Spinach-Asiago Cheese Bratwurst with onions and zucchini

Thick slices of sweet potato, spiced with cinnamon-chili-rub-mixture

Yap...our tummies were full just in time to enjoy another spectacular sunset at Coffin Island...we are so fortunate to be able to experience paradise...and we treasure every moment!

Although we did not know it then, but this weekend was also the last one for our cat Whiskers. She enjoyed the weekend just as she always enjoyed being with us...and that is what we will remember most!

We also saw our friends Richard and Mercedes on their new sailboat...they took it for a sail to Coffin Island to say hi to us...thanks guys...we really appreciated your visit :o)

Richard and Mercedes on their new Beneteau

View from Orion's cockpit onto Coffin Island

The new dinghy at the beach...here it is used as a row boat :o)

Drinking a nice hot cup of tea...enjoying the peace and quiet

The captain and his new toy :o)

And here is our Orion, anchored at Coffin Island

We took the pictures from the beach...peace to all of you!

New Year 2011...RIP Whiskers...1992-2011

2011-02-07T17:42:00.000-04:00

Some sad news...On January 12, 2011 we had to say our final Fare Well to our beloved cat Whiskers! She was 19 years old (we got her as a kitten in Pennsylvania) and as you know from following our blog Whiskers became a sailor cat last year when we sold our house and moved onto Orion. At the beginning of the new year Whiskers' health deteriorated rapidly...We thank Dr. Hector Martinez of the Veterinary Clinic Salinas and his staff for accommodating us at short notice. We also thank Dr. Elton Irizzarry of Ambuvet del Caribe and his staff for all the "well cat visits" we had with them over the past years. We take comfort in the fact that Whiskers had a great life...she will be missed incredibly... Here is a pictorial tribute to her life as part of the crew on Orion...

"Night of Lights" in Salinas Bay Area

2011-02-07T17:03:00.000-04:00

On December 18, 2010 we celebrated the 3rd Annual Night of Lights, formerly known as the boat parade. For us it was the first time entering in the contest that takes place...thanks to my friends Kris and Bill, who relentlessly "bugged me" :o) Kris and Bill organized the event this year in memory of our sailor friend Dan Lyons, who unexpectedly passed away earlier in the year. RIP Dan! This year's parade was not a parade, because the boats stayed on the dock or at anchor. This year the judges went out in a dinghy to judge their hearts out as to who would be eligible for a prize! It was great fun for all involved. Unfortunately the event could not be held at Marina de Salinas because of scheduling conflicts. Instead it was held at the Manatee Eco Resort across the bay from the marina where the owner (Andy) provided his facilities for the party. Thanks Andy. Everybody purchased food and drinks at special prices and everybody had a great time. We took along our sailor friends Dick and Jane. And guess what...our Orion even won a prize...yes, we made seventh place and received a certificate for a free eye splice, donated by our sailor friend Mary Liz...way to go!! A lot of work and preparation goes into this event and we take this opportunity to congratulate Kris and Bill on a job well done...let's do it again next year :o)

Kris and Bill

Rick and Sue...Dick and Jane

The judges venturing out into the bay!

Mary Liz and Magali

Tony and his son

Prizes

Marianne and her parents

Keith, Tommy, Miguel, Tony and Kris...the Judges 2010

December 2010...A wonderful Holiday Season...

2011-02-07T16:18:00.000-04:00

Christmas was special for us this year, because Julia and Michael were able to visit us (and their friends) in Puerto Rico. It was wonderful to have them here...and somehow strange, because we are so used to being on our own now as captain and co-captain instead of Mom and Dad! Our children are the best (yes I know...you think the same of your children...smile) and we love them endlessly. It is amazing how they have grown up to be such responsible citizens. Fortunately for us they think it is cool to have parents that live on a sailboat! Well...we enjoyed having Julia and Michael here...we missed the rest of the kids...Jessica, Jeanette and Ted, Michelle and Mike, and of course the number one grand-kid Abby! Perhaps next year we'll sail to Miami for Christmas? Mmmmhh...let's wait and see!

Ben surprised his parents arriving earlier than planned.

We picked up Julia, Michael, and their friend Ben from the airport in San Juan. They spent their first night on Orion, so we had a "full house". It worked out well with the guys in the aft cabin and Julia on the couch in the salon...our Morgan 41 Out Island is quite spacious...I made them breakfast in the morning which they had in the cockpit on our old/new cockpit table. I say old/new, because the table came with Orion when we bought her, but we put it in storage and never used it! Now that we are actually living on Orion it seemed like a good idea to try out the table...and it turned out to be a nice addition to the cockpit when we are not sailing.

On Christmas Day we had Christmas Dinner at Marina de Salinas...and give a big thank you to the owners and the staff of the marina for allowing us to set up a private table to accommodate our family and two of our sailor friends (Dick and Jane). We had a whole turkey, rice, noodle salad, green bean casserole, green salad...and for dessert home-made Puerto Rican tembleque (coconut pudding, thanks to Mangu's mom), and German Stollen with ice cream.

Christmas morning we were greeted by two manatees swimming across from Orion and I was lucky to get them on camera...how cool is that? Merry Christmas!

Julia and Michael's visit went fast...too fast! They spent time with their friends and time with us and all in all it was a great visit. Julia's green "Volky" was ready for her when she arrived and we put it back in storage when she left (many thanks to our friend Richard). Oh...and she even shared her Volky with her brother which made Michael quite happy :o)

On Julia's birthday...Happy Birthday Julia...we all (Julia and Mangu, Michael and Ale, Rick and I) took a walk to "the shell house" here in Salinas. This house is quite spectacular in that the outside of the building as well as the stone fence is covered in shells...we came across the place a few weeks earlier and decided to show it to the kids when they visit. As you can see from the pictures...the shells are arranged in wonderful designs and patterns...what a labor of love!

The kids left the next day...we love you and miss you guys, but will see you again soon...

November 22-28, 2010...our first mini-cruise on Orion

2011-02-05T01:31:00.000-04:00

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.

October 2010...my brother Willi...vacationing on Orion

2011-02-04T23:31:00.002-04:00

Wow...I just realized that I have not updated our blog in almost two months! So here is my New Year's Resolution: I shall definitely write new posts at least once a month...I promise :o) Time seems to be flying, especially when having fun...October, November and December 2010 went by so fast, that we can hardly believe it! So let's take it step by step.

In October 2010 my brother Willi visited us from Germany. He tries to come every year, but this time was different...as you remember we sold our house in March, so we welcomed Willi as our first overseas guest on Orion. This may not be of significance if it wasn't for the fact that Willi usually turns green at the simple thought of a boat! Willi is my triplet brother, and we are very close, which must be the reason that he agreed to sleep in the aft cabin on Orion...or at least to give it a try. Well, I am happy to report that Willi "passed the test with flying colors". We did not go sailing with him this time, but he got used to life at the marina and on our sailboat...so much that he even wants to come back! Rick and I are grateful to all our good friends here at the Marina de Salinas, who contributed to make Willi feel relaxed and at home...this is a super community! We had a great time with Willi, visiting a lot of places on our beautiful island home.

At the Pirate Restaurant in Salinas with our sailor friends Larry and DayLee

"El Morro" in San Juan

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor in San Juan...yummy...yummy

BBQ night at Marina de Salinas with our sailor friends Jane, Dick, Larry, DayLee...

At Playa Santa

At Copa Marina Resort in Guanica

At Punta Tuna Light House

Back on Orion

After Willi left we understandably needed a "sail-fix" (no offense Willi) and took the first chance to sail to Coffin Island on Orion from October 28 to October 30, 2010...cutting the trip short, because of the anticipated arrival of hurricane Thomas on November 1...a rare late in the year storm which missed us but produced high winds and seas.

We had a great sail _/)

Beautiful beautiful Coffin Island surrounded by turquoise seas...

The Captain hard at work cleaning Orion's bottom! Mmmmhhh...not a bad bottom himself :o)

Our 18 year old Sailor Cat Whiskers enjoyed the trip also :o)

Beautiful sunset at Coffin Island...Paradise...

"The quiet before the storm" on the way back to our dock in Salinas...

The dark clouds of hurricane Thomas...trouble in Paradise...

We stayed at the dock and luckily had no problems during the storm!

We made it!

2010-12-16T12:34:00.000-04:00

We made it through our first hurricane season on Orion...Thank You Lord! Luckily we only had to move out into the mangroves one time. It was a great learning experience for us. Following are a few pictures which are self explanatory and show...at least a little bit...our life during the "hide out" in the mangroves. We stayed there for a few days and when the storm had passed moved back to the marina. Our Sailor Cat Whiskers had no problems at all and we are very very proud of her. Thanks to our good friends everywhere we never had a dull moment during this hurricane season. Now it's off to another season...this time a peaceful one :o)

It's the season!

2010-07-29T01:12:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's right...it's the season. Atlantic Hurricane Season that is and it runs from June 1st to November 30th every year here in the Caribbean. We opted to stay put in Salinas this year, which is also known as a "hurricane hole". It basically means that there is some natural protection...in our case mangrove areas...from oncoming storms. Of course it is safest to leave the hurricane areas for the season, although sometimes a hurricane doesn't follow the rules and hits outside the predicted zones...such is life! We shall see what happens this year. It is always good to send a few prayers for protection and then be prepared as well as you can! We have been busy stocking up on canned goods, water, and all the other goodies that don't need refrigeration.
Since it is the rainy season now, Rick waterproofed the Bimini top and I made a new cover for the Eisenglas (vinyl window) front panels and two small awnings for the sides. Our combined efforts resulted in a comfortable cockpit protected from rain and sun. For heavier downfalls we have Eisenglas panels for the sides, which we simply zip in!

We bought a sunshade for the front of the boat, which helps to keep down the temperature inside.

Our cat Whiskers also loves the sunshade and she curls up under it and snoozes whenever she feels like it...ahhhh...the life of a sailor cat :o)

Where is Whiskers?

There she is!

More Family Time!

2010-07-02T01:20:00.001-04:00

May 2010

It's been a while since I last updated our blog! Here are some more pictures from our adventures in Florida. It was very special for us to be with our kids again! We thoroughly enjoyed visiting 7-mile-bridge (thank you Michael), the Everglades National Park (thank you Jessica), and South Miami Art Center (thank you Julia).

We had a great time and took a gazillion pictures! Thank you...thank you...thank you to our kids for taking time out of their busy schedules to be with us :o)

Family Time

2010-05-18T18:02:00.004-04:00

April 25-May 4, 2010

Woohoo...We've been away for a while to spend time with family. Did not sail on Orion but took a plane to Miami, Florida. Our friends Jim and Pat took our cat "Whiskers" in their home in Ponce; their cat "Malcolm" was looking forward to her company...at least that is what Jim told us! We thank all three of them for making it possible for us to enjoy being away without having to worry about "Whiskers", our 18 year old sailor cat :o) You guys are the best!

Graduation Julia

On April 27, 2010 our daughter Julia graduated from Florida International University (FIU) with a Bachelor of Arts...Minor in English Literature...Magna Cum Laude...Member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society! We are incredibly proud of Julia and her accomplishments.

We still cannot believe how grown up our daughter is...Wasn't it just yesterday that we saw her sitting in front of Miami Dade College with her new Mac Computer? Four years have passed since then...unbelievable! Well, Julia's hard work and dedication have paid off and she is well on her way to her next adventures. As her parents we could not be prouder of her!

We all, especially Julia, were so thankful that her Grandfather, Rick's 90 year old father Harvey, traveled all the way from North Carolina to come and see her graduate. Way to go Grandpa! We know that Julia's paternal Grandmother Betty and her maternal Grandparents Susanne and Hermann are very proud of Julia also and I am sure the heavens were singing mighty songs that day!

Abigail's First Birthday

We also celebrated the first birthday of sweet Abigail, Rick's first Grandchild together with Abigail's parents Mike and Michelle Goostree and a whole bunch of other people. Her actual birthday was on April 30, 2010, but there were several days of fun activities to accommodate everybody in the extended family. Michelle and her sister Jeanette are my step-daughters. Jeanette came all the way from Melbourne, Florida to join the fun :o) She also attended Julia's graduation ceremony. Jeanette and Michelle, together with our children Jessica, Julia, and Michael make up the most important part of our blended family and we are very proud of all of them. It was great to be together again in one spot, since the kids all live in Florida now and of course we are freshly baked "boat people" in Puerto Rico! We missed "the Tedster", Jeanette's husband. Ah well, reason enough for another get together in the not too distant future...we might even sail there!

Rick's 60th Birthday

Yap...just after the Grandkid turned one year young, Rick joined the Club of Sixty!! May 3, 2010 was the actual big day. The kids gave him a surprise birthday party a few days earlier with his favorite: an ice cream cake :o) They presented him with a gift card for Barnes and Nobles for some big amount, knowing that he will put it to good use for reading material or DVDs on the boat...Way to go guys! This was very thoughtful of all of you and totally unexpected, since we don't usually exchange presents for the grown-ups anymore...Guess sixty is a milestone again! Way to go Rick!

There's so much more stuff to report, which I will do in another post on this blog soon. I am still in awe that I had my three kids in one spot for a change...love you Jessica, Julia, and Michael! And of course...love you Michelle, Mike, and Abby!...And ...love you Jeanette and Ted! And...love you Harvey! God bless all of you!

Sailing, Sorting, Simplifying...

2010-04-24T00:59:00.009-04:00

April 2010
We have been full time live-aboards since we sold the house in March. Despite the immense change in actual living space, we have had no problems adjusting to life on Orion. Things are working out great and we are as happy as can be! With Rick still working I have the day to sort out stuff and arrange things the way I want them...all of which is so much easier now that we are here 24/7. There is no more rush at the beginning and the end of the weekend to put food and clothes on the boat and off the boat...Orion is our house now and we take her with us...how kewl is that? Little by little we are getting things sorted out. Life seems so much simpler now. Just the way we had envisioned it! Our new community in Salinas is wonderful and diverse. Nothing is ever boring here...from the locals to the live-aboards to the cruisers...everybody has a story to tell. We have adjusted to living with nature more and usually go to bed after the sun goes down. The facilities at Marina de Salinas are very nice, the staff is extremely friendly, and there is an atmosphere of peace around the place.

Our 18 year old cat Whiskers is a regular boat cat now...Whiskers the Sailor Cat is what we call her. I guess you can teach an old cat new tricks after all...grin. She sleeps most of the day curled up in the salon, just being happy and content with her new life on board. She is starting to explore on her own once in a while...getting up on deck, roaming around and getting into the dinghy to drink the rain water that pools in one corner...we are very proud of her for not being a "fraidy cat"!

Back to living on Orion: There are a million things to sort out and re-arrange and make new, but it is so much fun to do it when you know that this is it...this is your dream and it is coming true! Everything in a boat needs its place and it has to be a secure place, because stuff tends to tumble and fall when the sea gets rough. A Morgan 41 Out Island has a ton of storage spaces...quite unbelievable actually...and I am finding out quickly.

First we needed to sort out the tools, because that would free space in the closet. We had two huge tool boxes that came with the boat when we bought it. They were incredibly heavy and smack in the middle of the best storage space for clothes! Needless to say that this is a man's err Captain's job...tools and tool boxes are not for the faint of heart. So Rick set to work one day, because he didn't want to listen anymore to my ~~bickering~~ telling him nicely to please sort out the tools. It took a rainy and stormy Saturday...and he got it done! I helped purchase some small canvas tool bags and some zipper pouches and then left him the heck alone. We work as a team...I let him do his stuff and he let's me do my stuff. I am happy to report that all the tools are now stowed away in said canvas tool bags and zipper pouches, which makes them easy to store and easy to carry...Best of all, they are out of the closet :o)

Having this chore out of the way we went sailing the next weekend...to Coffin Island, as you might have guessed. Spent a nice Saturday and Sunday there and returned refreshed for the upcoming week. I made omelets filled with vegetables and cheese. Even the Sailor Cat enjoyed the trip, curled up, and fell fast asleep on the sail back to Salinas. Too cute!

Back in Salinas, the next day we observed a Marsh Hen balancing on the dock lines. Whiskers got interested, but decided to let the bird be a bird. Good decision by our Sailor Cat :o) That beak looked awfully long...

Our First Mini Vacation on Orion

2010-04-13T11:32:00.000-04:00

April 1-April 4, 2010 Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas

With our main sail repaired it was anchors away on Thursday morning...destination Coffin Island. Although we put up the sails, there was hardly any wind to speak of, so we motor-sailed most of the way. Funny how the weather pattern has been these past few weeks. During the week it blows and blows with almost constant 20 knot winds during the day, but when the weekend arrives the winds die down! No complaints from these sailors though...we enjoy our journeys on Orion even if we have to crank up the Diesel once in a while. Coffin Island is so worth it anyways...our own little paradise just a few hours away :o)

When we arrived at Coffin Island our friends Richard and Mercedes were there already, having arrived the day before on Andariego together with their dog Copper. As usual we had a great time together at the beach. The weather was perfect, the sun, the sea and the sand outstanding, and the company priceless...so we all decided to stay at Coffin Island for Easter and not sail on to Guanica as we had originally planned. I mean...why spoil a good thing? So we had sundowners on Orion with Richard and Mercedes and promised to join them for sundowners on Andariego the next day. Life at its best!

We spent Friday at the beach. Rick and I went for a long walk along a new trail which goes all the way to the public beach and the Ferry Dock on the west side of the island. We brought our sneakers for the occasion, because there are many thorns along the trail...something we painfully found out previously when we were wearing crocs. In the afternoon we dinghied over to Andariego for a sundowner and Richard and Mercedes invited us to stay for dinner...salmon and vegetables wrapped in alu foil and grilled on the BBQ. Yummie. Whilst enjoying crackers and cheese with the sundowners we saw two sail boats approaching...our good friends Bob and Joan on Kiss Me Goodbye and Nacho and Elvira on Zorimar. How fun! They joined us on Andariego, bringing more appetizers and sundowners. We all shared Richard and Mercedes wonderful salmon dinner and had a great time together until late. In the meantime the sea had become a little bit wild and choppy and waves were building up, tossing our boats here and there within the confinement of their anchor chains. The wind came from the west...quite unusual for Coffin Island. We managed to get back to Orion, dropping off Bob and Joan at Kiss Me Goodbye along the way. Everybody settled for the night on their own boat...and it was a turbulent night indeed! The wind was howling from the west at 20-25 knots...a night to remember. As usual, the Captain and I fell asleep without problems, feeling quite secure and snuggly on Orion, our new home.

As quickly as the winds came up at night they ceased in the morning. Not a trace of wind to be felt during the day...the sea was as flat as a mirror, as clear as glass, and as blue as an emerald...go figure!!! We all met at the beach that Saturday morning and afternoon for more relaxation and fun. The evening displayed the same story as the night before...winds suddenly started blowing from the west and the north, leaving the sea choppy and turbulent. Nevertheless we spent another enjoyable night being rocked to sleep on Orion.

On Sunday morning the sea was calm and flat again as if nothing ever happened during the night! Nacho and Elvira departed for Ponce on Zorimar. Richard, Mercedes, their dog Copper, Bob, Joan, Rick and I met at the beach...walking shoes in hand. We changed and started our trek along the trail. We got a lot of exercise this weekend for sure! Copper, being a puppy still, was all over the place with excitement...he never got tired and is such a good sport! Way to go Copper!

Our 18 year old cat Whiskers is also a good sport and needs special mentioning here. She enjoys her new life on Orion and is very happy to be with us. She never complains and we can leave her on board when we go swimming or walking, knowing that she will curl up and go to sleep on some sunny spot on Orion.

After walking we spent time relaxing on the beach and in the water. Later in the afternoon we all departed. Andariego and Kiss me Goodbye for Ponce and Orion for Salinas. Our first mini vacation! We didn't sail to distant shores, but we surely enjoyed spending time with our dear friends in the relaxing and comforting surroundings of Coffin Island, our treasured little paradise.

Life's like that!

2010-04-08T21:22:00.000-04:00

Repairing the main sail...

Well, if you read our blog entries you'll know that we blew the main sail last time around, Sunday, March 28 to be precise. Of course these things always happen when you have made plans...arrrggghhhh! In our case we planned to meet our friends on Andariego on Wednesday to spend the Easter week at Coffin Island and possibly Guanica. We are the luckiest persons around though, because there is a sail-maker right across the street from the marina! "Tradewinds Sails and Canvas" is owned by Marianne Peiffer and her husband Frank and we have become friends since living permanently on Orion here in Marina de Salinas. The shop is closed on Mondays, so Tuesday morning I went to see them about repairing our sail. Good people that they are they squeezed us in for Wednesday although Marianne was leaving early Thursday :o) How kewl is that? We would only miss one day out of our planned mini vacation!

Wednesday morning Rick and I took down the main sail and carried it over to Marianne and Frank. Good news: the rip was repairable, the sail in otherwise okay shape, and they would be able to fix and reinforce everything, so that we could use it for another year for sure and maybe one and a half to two years. Great! Now we have a year to find a new sail or a very good used one...life is good! Marianne and Frank went to work straight away and by late afternoon our sail was in much better condition than it had been in years. The nasty rip right underneath the first reef point running across almost all the way to the other side had been fixed by their skilled hands, battens and batten pockets were added and fixed respectively, and they even added some funky red tell tales (sail/wind indicator ribbons). We paid and carried our treasured main sail back to Orion, where Rick would install it Thursday morning when the wind was down. I say treasured, because without the main sail we cannot really go sailing!!!! Thank you Marianne and Frank...you are treasured by us as well :o)

Oh...almost forgot...Marianne and Frank grow their own tomatoes and sell them right here at their shop in Salinas. How much more lucky can we get?

Good friends, good food, and a Sailor Cat!

2010-03-31T00:13:00.003-04:00

March 26-28, 2010 sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas.

We sold our house on Wednesday and have been living on Orion since Tuesday...a total change of life style...we are enjoying it tremendously, together with our 18 year old cat Whiskers. Our good friends Jim and Pat from Ponce joined us from Friday to Sunday for a weekend of sailing and relaxation. We had a great time at Drake's on Friday evening, where we munched German Bratwurst with Sauerkraut on a bun. Saturday we left the dock for Coffin Island. The wind...what wind? Hmmm...we had to motor-sail all the way to Coffin Island...so much for the weather forecast which had promised 14 knot winds. Of course we enjoyed the trip...the sea posed for us with a mirror-like surface and "flying fish" were jumping all over the place. Whiskers found a nice place below deck, curled herself up, and went to sleep. She is a real sailor cat now, who does not fear the sea at all! She liked Jim and Pat immediately and felt totally relaxed.

The captain even caught a fish...a King Mackerel...but I must admit to our shame that it got away at the last minute. Ah well, it was better that the fish lived, because we had too much food with us anyways. No need to be greedy! After setting anchor at Coffin Island we had lunch and then went for a swim. Our friends Richard and Mercedes arrived on their boat Andariego. Of course we all enjoyed each others company and the company of Richard and Mercedes dog Copper. He is still a puppy, albeit a big one, being a golden retriever, and his energy seems endless. Such fun!

Later on we had snacks, featuring bio tomatoes from our friends Marianne and Frank from Salinas. They grow their own tomatoes...and let me tell you...they are out of this world!
We enjoyed the setting of the sun with sundowners and a delicious dinner prepared by the BBQ Chef himself. Grilled chicken breast with pineapple slices and grilled zucchini...yummy, yummy, yummy.

We had a wonderful calm night at anchor. The next morning the sea was churning and the wind was blowing. So much for the weather forecast which predicted winds of 10-12 knots. We had a great time in and out of the water. Our friends Richard and Mercedes on Andariego had left the evening before but returned in the morning with a bunch of their friends. By about 1430 it was time for us to leave. The wind was blowing pretty hard. We stowed everything below deck, so that things would not fly around, which can happen when you have to sail upwind. We set both sails and went on our way. It felt like we were flying through the water...the wind blew a steady 20 knots with gusts of 25-28 knots...pretty exciting stuff. Half way between Coffin Island and Salinas we switched on the Diesel and rolled in the foresail, because the wind and the current were right on our nose. The Captain navigated inside of some of the small islands rather than facing the open sea in order to protect us from the onslaught of waves and current, when it happened...POP...some kind of a popping noise above my head. Couldn't figure it out until I stretched my neck and looked beyond the bimini...there it was...a big tear in the main sail! Our main sail is pretty old and we already knew that we need to replace it before we go full time cruising next year...but here and now? Ah well, better this way than any other way. Could have been much worse, like somewhere unknown in the middle of nowhere! Okay...we kept our calm and guided Orion further behind the lee of the islands where we are protected from wind and current. I took over the helm and the Captain went on deck to let down the main sail. We managed it just fine. Jim and Pat are real troopers, because they never got nervous or anything...Pat continued to read her book and Jim sat next to her. God bless them! We had a somewhat bumpy ride back to Salinas and our dock. Needless to say we were relieved when Orion was tied up to the dock and resting. Our main sail will get repaired. Luckily we have good sail-makers in Salinas...yap...our friends Marianne and Frank who grow tomatoes. All is well that ends well. Since Orion is our home now we did not even have to drive back to Ponce again! Instead we enjoyed another nice meal...delicious Hamburgers...at Drake's with Jim and Pat and thereafter cheese cake and coffee in the marina restaurant. What a wonderful finish to a wonderful weekend. Thanks guys.

The dream is coming true...sold the house and moved onto Orion!

2010-03-24T20:46:00.002-04:00

You haven't heard from us in a while...but with good reason...we were in the process of selling our house...listed it with Evi Antommattei of Ponce Properties Real Estate only six weeks ago and CLOSED ON THE HOUSE TODAY, March 24, 2010!!!!! Here you see us at the PPR office together with the attorney, Evi, and the new owners. It was a match made in heaven, really and truly! Evi is the President of Ponce Properties Real Estate and she and her company are the best brokers in the whole of Ponce. We are convinced of that. Thank you to all involved!

Our old house has found great new owners, and we are freeeeeeee. This is the start of our new life on-board Orion, our beautiful Morgan 41 Out Island sail boat. Our 18 year old cat Whiskers also loves her new home :o) Stay tuned to the adventures of the now live-aboard "Co-Captains" Rick and Sue.

Yes, I say "Co-Captains", because the former "only captain" has promoted the former "first mate" to that position. How kewl is that :o)

Sailing, Sailing, Sailing

2010-03-17T01:29:00.001-04:00

March 13-14, 2010 Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas

Saturday morning we left around 0930 to our usual destination Coffin Island. It was a nice morning and there even was a breeze going! We set sail soon after leaving the marina. The Captain switched off the Diesel and off we went under full sail. The First Mate was dozing in the cockpit, trying to fight off a bad cold, but nevertheless enjoying the nice breeze that carried us all the way to Coffin Island...Woohoo what a wonderful sail :o) It took us only about two and a half hours to arrive at our destination. In the distance we could see another sail boat under full sail, sailing from Ponce to Coffin Island.

How fun when we realized it was "Andariego" with our friends Richard and Mercedes! They arrived at exactly the same time as we did...how about that for perfect timing? They anchored close by and we all met at the beach for some fun and conversations. Richard and Mercedes will bring their new puppy "Copper", a setter, next time to get him used to being on their sail boat, so that he can become a boat dog and accompany them on trips. It will be interesting to see how he will fare on the high seas :o)
Below are some pictures of Richard and Mercedes, who have become such good friends of ours.

Before we joined them at the beach we had lunch on Orion. An easy fix, consisting of ham and cheese sandwiches (whole wheat bread) and potato chips...just the right thing to kill the hunger until dinner time. After spending some time at the beach we each retreated to our boat and soon thereafter Andariego left to go back to Ponce. We waved them bye-bye until next weekend.

Soon it was dinner time. The Captain turned into the BBQ Chef. He grilled chicken breasts with onion and pineapple and Swiss cheese whilst I prepared green beans.

We sat down for another gourmet dinner on Orion...grilled chicken breast, seasoned with Tuscan sea salt, black pepper, and Rosemary, topped with a slice of pineapple and Swiss cheese, accompanied by grilled onion and green beans seasoned with Worcestershire Sauce. Ahhh...the joys of the sailing life :o)

We had a good night's sleep. The next day we saw a sail boat approaching our anchorage. It was our friend Captain Ricky with a boat load of crew on "Zorimar". It is so fun to see the somewhat younger generation enjoy time on a sail boat. Way to go Ricky and crew :o)

Then it was time to leave for us. We pulled anchor and went on our way. Again the winds were in our favor and we enjoyed sailing back all the way to Salinas under full sails. We did not see any dolphins, whales, or manatees this time...but it sure was a tremendous feeling to just hear the water splashing against Orion's hull, the wind whistling ever so softly, and to watch the endless turquoise ocean. Thank you God. We are so blessed!

Good friends, Spanish Mackerel, and a cold front passing through!

2010-03-12T12:50:00.001-04:00

March 5-7, 2010 Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas
The weekend was fabulous despite a cold front going through. Friday night is BBQ night at Marina Salinas. It is a great place to mingle under the mangroves and enjoy ribs, chicken, and sausages straight from the grill. Below are pics of the BBQ Chef at the marina, our friendly waitresses, and the guitarist. Yes, there is even life music! Our friends Jim and Pat drove up from Ponce to join us for the evening. Drinks on Orion, BBQ at the marina, Night Cap at Drake's...Great friends...great times! Check out the pictures below.Thank you guys :o)

Nancy and Luis, the owners of Drake's, are our friends also. Luis makes the best Hamburgers in Salinas and real German sausages from Casa Bavaria with Sauerkraut. We love Drake's. It's a rustic down to earth place. When you are special, you even get to sign the wall :o)

Saturday we woke up to some not so nice weather. A cold front was moving through and left the sky grey, the temperature chilly, and the air moist. Ugh. We nevertheless went on our merry way to Coffin Island, leaving the marina around midday. Since the jinx is now broken forever, the captain caught his first fish somewhere off Coffin Island. But...the fish got eaten by a bigger fish before he could reel it in! Perseverance, however, pays and soon thereafter a nice Spanish Mackerel was on the line :o) That was all we needed for the day, so the fishing rod got put to rest, the fish got cleaned and cut into fillets. I am so lucky to be married to this captain :o)

We anchored at Coffin Island and celebrated life with a glass of wine and some snacks...even a rainy, cold, and miserable day is fun when we are together on Orion :o) We left Coffin Island early Sunday morning under still cloudy skies, even sailed under full sails for quite a while...passed Rivera's beautiful sail boat at the entrance to Salinas harbor...docked Orion at the marina...prepared a gourmet meal at our house...Mackerel fillets in a crust of a touch of breading, sea salt, black pepper, and rosemary, pork chops, baked Italian fries and baked cauliflower topped with cheese. Ready now for next weekend :o)

Salinas, Feb. 28, 2010

2010-03-01T08:42:00.001-04:00

Okay, here are some random pictures of the good, the bad, and the ugly of a day spent on Orion in the marina, just relaxing and recuperating from too much sun the weekend before...

Yes, Orion is our home...together with faith, family, and friends :o)

And here is our favorite drawing of a pelican by artist Julia Klumb, our wonderful daughter...the stains are made on purpose (with coffee), because that's what we requested...looks awesome...thank you so much Julia! It's mounted in the galley (kitchen), so we can always admire it, and of course it cheers me up every time I do the dishes :o)

On this hot and humid day in the marina we enjoyed the cool air conditioning on Orion...it compensates for not being "out there on the ocean", well at least a little bit! There is really nothing better than being "out there" with a nice ocean breeze...ah well. Here are some pictures of the salon...first one to port (left side) and second one to starboard (right side).

Just to continue the random theme, here's a glimpse of a helicopter hovering over the marina and the Salinas Water Taxi passing by...

Last but not least of the good...here's the dinner that hubby whipped up in no time on return to the house...pork chops filled with apples and spices, fried potatoes with cheese, Italian beans...yummy, yummy, yummy. Thank you so much sweetie :o)

That was the good...leaving the bad and the ugly...my blistered lips, the result of too much sun and forgetting to put on sun screen! And this is what it looks like a week after the exposure, so you can imagine what it looked like a few days ago! Hasn't happened to me in over 20 years! Don't do this at home folks! Luckily all is good now. Lesson learned :o)

Manatees, Dolphins, and Whales...Oh My!

2010-02-22T16:25:00.018-04:00

Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas, Feb. 20-22, 2010.

Well, it is Monday…yes…MONDAY…and we returned this morning from our trip to Coffin Island. And what a weekend it was! But let’s start from the beginning. As usual we stayed on Orion Friday night at the dock and left around 0730 Saturday for Coffin Island. Yap, we had an early start. The sea was incredibly calm, resembling a mirror, and we could see all the way to the bottom of the ocean, as if we were looking through a looking glass.
Weather forecast was a little iffy with a squall front approaching from the south, but we decided to chance it and hang it out at Coffin Island. Needless to say that we motored all the way, because where there is no wind there is no sail. With the trusted Diesel humming we enjoyed the trip, watching the amazing hues of blue of the ocean. Half way to the island we got out the fishing rod and almost caught a fish…I say almost, because it got off the hook…@#!*…ah well.
When approaching our anchorage, we saw something brownish move in the water...turned out to be a manatee...and not only one but three of them. We could see them down below in this gorgeously clear water...they were gracefully moving all three together in one direction, as if dancing to an invisible orchestra. Wow...manatees at Coffin Island...that was a first for us there! I only managed to get a snapshot of one of them, which is better than nothing, but the real picture will stay within us forever :o)

After marveling at the manatees and waving good-bye to them it was time to anchor and have lunch. Meat loaf with coleslaw in a pita pocket with grapes for the First Mate and a meat loaf sandwich for the Captain.

In the distance we could see the approaching squall line. We secured everything on deck, just so nothing would fly around when the wind would pick up. Other than that we settled in to relax and read, watching the sky turn dense with clouds. The wind picked up after we finished dinner (fried meat loaf with onions, potato salad, sweetcorn, grapes). I had prepared the meat loaf in the pressure cooker two days earlier...good thing, because rain and wind did not permit BBQing. Monitoring the radar via our laptop, we learned that the squall front was on its way, but there was a chance for it to divert to the east. This was not a night for wimps! We retired to the V-berth pretty early after closing all hatches and the aft companion way, and fell asleep almost instantly. Hurray hurray...during the night the squall front missed us to the east, and we only had some rain and some wind, but nothing to talk about really.

We woke up around 0700 Sunday and saw another sail boat anchored behind us! It must have arrived some time during the night! On a closer look we could not believe our eyes when we discovered it was "Kiss Me Goodbye" with our dear friends Bob and Joan on board...a complete surprise...no wimps here, hahahaha! Bob and Joan guided "Kiss Me Goodbye" closer to the beach and our anchorage and we yelled our "hellos" and "great to see you guys" before jumping in the water to mingle with them.

Soon thereafter we heard a motor boat approaching and it was our friends Karim and Cheryl with their son Jacob and Cheryl's wonderful mom Betty on "Labadee". Yes, we do have power boating friends as well! Since we were all in the water already by the time "Labadee" anchored, I did not have my camera...so I include a picture of Karim and Cheryl which I took on a different day. (Sorry guys! We'll take some pictures of all of you for sure next time.)

Turns out that Bob and Joan had sailed "Kiss Me Goodbye" from Ponce to Coffin Island where they arrived around 2030 on Saturday and had slept on the boat at anchor. Bob has done this stuff before, but for Joan this is not quite routine so to say...Way to go Joan and Bob! But back to Sunday now. We introduced our friends from the power boat to our friends from the sail boat and it seems we all "hit it off" the right way :o) Karim and Cheryl are the perfect hosts...they kind of had to be, because their boat was anchored the closest to the beach, hahahaha. All of a sudden we found ourselves with drinks in our hands from their special "Labadee" cups and involved in some awesome conversations about everything and nothing and friendship in particular. We love you guys and want to thank you again for your hospitality :o)

Under the influence of a certain Q (Don Q to be precise) the captain and his first mate decided to set a good example by not drinking and driving, err...sailing. Somehow the impromptu beach party came to an end and we found ourselves saying good-bye to our friends and returning to "Orion". "Kiss Me Goodbye" and "Labadee" left soon thereafter and Rick and I spent Sunday night also at anchor at Coffin Island. Woohoo...

We woke up to a wonderful Monday morning, had a nice cup of coffee, and set sail for Salinas around 0800.

Leaving the anchorage we saw a few dolphins jumping around "Orion". I could not get a picture of them this time...they appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into nowhere, so it seemed. Ahh...our dolphin friends...we love them.

And then...almost half way between Coffin Island and Salinas it happened! With me half sleeping in the cockpit, the Captain raised his voice "Whale to port"...I jumped up and mumbled "Whale? A whale?"...and sure enough there was a big black mass to the left of "Orion" sending a small water spout out of his breathing hole!!!!!

What an awesome site! We feel so blessed again! Turns out it was two whales, a mother and her calf. We let them move on uninterrupted, treasuring their site in our hearts.

We docked "Orion" around 1015 in Salinas, cleaned out our stuff and went for breakfast at the marina snack bar, where we had the best ham and cheese sandwich. A perfect ending for yet another incredible weekend with good friends (we missed you Richard and Mercedes) at Coffin Island...this one involving manatees, dolphins, and whales...oh my!

A special mention: Cheers to Randy and Ellen on "Kwanesum" :o)

2010-02-16T23:29:00.002-04:00

Cheers to our good friends Randy and Ellen of S/V Kwanesum! (S/V = Sailing Vessel). We met them on Thanksgiving last year (2009) at Drake's in Salinas and have been friends ever since...wow is it really that long ago already??? Randy and Ellen are cruising the Caribbean. You can follow their blog...just click the link we provided under "kewl links" on the left sidebar.

Here you see them having a sundowner on Orion :o)
They are a cool couple!

We appreciate your friendship Randy and Ellen and wish you Happy Sailing!

Good friends and composting heads

2010-02-16T22:08:00.008-04:00

Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island-Salinas Feb. 13-14, 2010

Another weekend, another wonderful trip to Coffin Island on Orion. After leaving the dock we were able to actually sail to Coffin Island…YES…under full sail…no motor :o). There is nothing nicer than to hear the boat moving through the wind, creating a bow wave that sounds like the most beautiful music…ahhh…the sailing life!

We found a good anchoring spot, had lunch, and soon thereafter our friends arrived on “Andariego”. Richard and Mercedes brought their daughter Kairym and their son-in-law Emmanuell, who had arrived from cold New York City for a vacation in their native Puerto Rico! I told them to watch out, because I would mention them specifically in our blog...well...here it is :o) It was great fun also, because I had not seen my good friend Mercedes in a while...together again at last.

Some person in a helicopter was playing some dangerous games, or so it seemed, around the anchorage. He flew way too low and came way too close for our liking to some of the motor boats anchored further down from us…for whatever reason…we couldn’t figure it out!

After having a lot of fun at the beach with our friends it was soon sundowner time! We missed Bob and Joan and want to give them an honorable mention here! For dinner we retreated to our separate boats.

Richard, Mercedes, Kairym, and Emmanuell had German Bratwurst we were told on Andariego. They invited us over, but we had our own dinner already in the makings. Thanks anyways friends :o)

Rick and I had BBQ chicken thighs (boneless) with noodle salad, a few red grapes, and sweetcorn on Orion.

Then it was time to say good-bye to Andariego's crew who would return the next day! Rick and I worked a little bit on scraping off stuff from our wooden handrails and the toerail in preparation of painting them. Then we relaxed in the cockpit. We had a wonderful and peaceful night. Andariego returned the next day with more of their friends...we all had a great time enjoying each others company.We left a little bit earlier than usual, because we were going to see a sailing couple in Salinas. The sea was just beautiful and wind just right for another journey under full sail without the motor...well, at least for quite a while. The wind did weaken quite a bit later on, so we had to motor-sail the rest of the way. Still...so kewl to be "out there" and we were both happy...the First Mate taking pictures and the Captain at the helm :o)

Back in Salinas, Orion all nicely docked, we took the dinghy to visit a couple on one of the sail boats which has a composting head (head=toilet on a boat). We are very interested in this concept! It was a great opportunity for us to see first hand how this thing looks, feels, smells...well, you get the drift.

Albert and Jenny had invited us over for a quick look at their system. I don't want to do too much toilet talk here, suffice it to say that it was exciting for us to actually meet sailors who have this system installed! We'll talk more about it in the future...so be prepared, hahahaha :o) Albert and Jenny have a "Nature's head" composting system on their motorsailer "Magus" and they love it!

We thank Albert for taking the time to show us the system and letting me take pictures :o)

Here are Albert and Jenny (from right) on board their friends' sailboat. I'll have to remember to get their names again! They invited us over, but we had to take a raincheck, because we had to go back to Ponce. Many thanks to them for letting us interrupt their get together to do some "toilet talk"...way to go! Sailors are the best...no matter where!

Yellow Fin Tuna and good friends!

2010-02-12T13:10:00.001-04:00

Sailing Salinas...Coffin Island...Salinas Feb. 6-7, 2010

We left the dock in Salinas around 0830 with destination Coffin Island. Since there was no wind worth mentioning we didn’t bother to put up the sails and kept motoring. Not what we really want to do with Orion, but it’s better than sitting at the dock! Somewhere on the ocean with Coffin Island in site, the Captain got out the fishing equipment. May as well make the best out of this low wind situation :o) All of a sudden the reel started buzzing like crazy, I took over the helm and Rick went into action. Whatever was on the hook was fighting, because a lot of line had been taken!

It was exciting…what would it be? After some efforts the last bit of line emerged with a fish on the hook. Turned out to be a good size yellow fin tuna. Woohoo!! I am so lucky to have a Captain who can not only catch fish but also can clean and fillet it…furthermore all this without getting the cockpit all bloody :o) He killed and cleaned the fish. I do admit that I apologized to the fish…I know that sounds weird, but I wanted to honor it and show my respect. We anchored off Coffin Island. Rick worked swift and efficiently cut fillets, which we put on ice.

For lunch the First Mate prepared fried fresh tuna fillets seasoned with Tuscan Sea Salt, black pepper, and a touch of Worcester Sauce accompanied by zucchini slices. Because of the special occasion we decided to eat at the dinner table rather than in the cockpit. I got out the Correlle Dinner Ware and set the table for us two sweeties. We had a feast!

After lunch our friend Richard arrived on "Andariego" with his friend Bill. We invited them over for a drink on Orion.

They left in the afternoon. My sweetie and I had Coffin Island all to ourselves for the night! Of course I prepared another wonderful tuna meal for dinner. The same spices on the tuna, this time accompanied by yellow sweet corn. The Captain had pork chops. Another feast that we enjoyed at the dinner table.

Thereafter we celebrated the end of this wonderful day on deck with drinks in hand, watching yet another spectacular sundown at Coffin Island.

In the morning we saw to our amazement that "Kiss me Goodbye" was anchored near us! Our friends Bob and Richard had arrived some time during the night...they explained to us later, that they had decided to go out for an adventure sail during the night. Wind conditions were just perfect for that!

Some time thereafter Nacho and Elvira arrived on their sail boat "Zorimar".

We are all friends and had a spontaneous potluck at the beach with everybody bringing something. We fried up some more of the tuna, Bob and Richard brought chicken and coleslaw, and Nacho and Elvira brought sandwiches...of course Ron Barcelo Anejo and beer was in ample supply :o)

We missed Mercedes and Joan, who are both away off the island at present. After a wonderful afternoon we all left for our different home ports...Bob, Richard, Nacho, Elvira for Ponce and Rick and I for Salinas. Another heavenly weekend at Coffin Island. We are so happy for being able to enjoy life like this and thank God for making it so! Woohoo...until next weekend....when the story continues :o)

Dock Party Jan. 23, 2010

2010-02-02T08:27:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 1600 we were invited to a dock party by skipper Klaus, helmsman Volker, and lookout Michael of Sailing Yacht Swantje from Germany. Klaus is a good friend of ours and an "old salt", as experienced sailors are called. He is not only famous for his sailing stories but also for his ability to produce traditional German dishes as well as local ones like magic on his one-burner-cooking plate. Klaus usually sails with his wife Lilo, who is an even "older salt" than he is! Klaus and Lilo are dear to us, because they are in a way responsible for us choosing this wonderful life style! Lilo recently underwent open heart surgery and is recovering in Germany. We send her God's blessings and warm wishes for a speedy recovery!

The dock party was a big success! Everybody enjoyed each others company and most of all the delicious food prepared by Captain Klaus. The feast included German potato salad garnished with deviled eggs and cucumbers, Sauerbraten, chicken stew, crackers and dip, bread, and a German "Bowle" made of red wine, pineapples and some other secret alcoholic ingredients. THANK YOU!

Salinas-Coffin Island and back, Jan.16-17, 2010

2010-01-20T02:27:00.008-04:00

Guess where we went sailing last weekend? How did you know? Of course it was Coffin Island here we come again...it's not a curse, it's extreme fun and relaxation :o) After a Friday night filled with the smooth taste of Ron Barcelo Anejo and the good company of our sailor friend Klaus, who arrived from Germany earlier in the week, the Captain and his First Mate woke up to an overcast Saturday morning and left the marina around 0900 with course to Coffin Island. Our beloved dolphins came to play with Orion's bow wave again and this time they showed us their youngest offspring, a tiny baby dolphin! They were teaching the baby how to jump and breath...it was a beautiful site and we again feel so honored to be with them. They appeared from seemingly nowhere, performed their marvelous acrobatics for about twenty minutes or so, and then disappeared into the blue sea as quietly and surprisingly as they had appeared earlier. Got a few camera shots, but due to a lack of coordination (presumably from the consumption of said Ron Barcelo) the First Mate was not able to climb to the bowsprit (front end of the boat) to take the usual close-ups. Ahh well...such is a sailor's life, hahahaha.

We uttered our good-byes to our dolphin friends and continued on our way to Coffin Island. The sky became quite dark and a rain front moved in, so we tacked to and fro with Orion to stay out of the heavy winds associated with the front until it was clear enough to finally set the anchor at our usual place. We relaxed, had dinner, and even tackled the job of scraping off the varnish of the teak handrails on Orion's deck. We want to paint them eventually.

The next day the Captain decided to sail a slightly different route back to Salinas. So we sailed around Coffin Island to the west and then turned east. It was a fun sail in sometimes frothy seas. We passed the new buoy that measures wave heights and all kinds of stuff (I need to educate myself on that more) and marveled about Coffin Island's all around beauty. We arrived at the dock around 1500. Another great sailing weekend to dream about until the next time :o) Stay tuned!

Fast rewind to Jan 06, 2010…Salinas tiny sailboats

2010-01-20T00:33:00.012-04:00

Need to update the blog with this almost forgotten entry! We planned to go for a day sail on Jan. 6, also known as Three Kings’ Day. As it turned out the day was a pretty rainy day which we nevertheless enjoyed by watching our favorite movie “Captain Ron” on Orion. The weather cleared later in the day and this is when it all happened! Going for a walk just before sunset, I couldn’t believe my eyes when all of a sudden I saw the tiniest sailboat sailing up and down in the marina…and then there was another one! Finally I heard a buzzing sound and realized they were remote controlled sailboats. I went over to their “masters in control” who informed me that they belong to a special club. How fun! With their permission I took photos of the guys and their little sailboats and here they are for you to enjoy also! So you see, we had a sailing experience after all on that wet day, which is to say that there is never a dull day in Salinas :o)

Coffin Island…here we come again _/) January 9-10, 2010

2010-01-11T16:02:00.006-04:00

Coffin Island is our favorite destination as you may have noticed, and we try to sail there on most weekends. So we left our slip at Marina Salinas around 0850 on Saturday morning and set sail soon thereafter. We had a nice breeze, which carried us under full sail to our anchorage at Coffin Island, where we arrived at 1150…three hours of a beautiful voyage with only the sound of the waves accompanying us. It doesn’t get better than that! We enjoyed the rest of the day relaxing and at day’s end watched yet another one of those spectacular sunsets that we have become accustomed to, but will never ever take for granted!

After a cool breezy night we sipped a cup of nice hot chocolate and munched on grilled cheese sandwiches. I know that our friends outside of the tropical climate will laugh at our description of cold…but 63 degrees F is ~~freezing~~ cold for us here in the Caribbean! That’s when we need to put on sweaters and jackets or lie under a blanket…for real! Even the Captain, as you can see from the picture :o)

We sailed back to Salinas at 1030 and stayed in Salinas Bay for quite a while just tacking back and forth, letting Orion play with the wind…how fun…eventually bringing down the sails and docking at 1530. Another great weekend in paradise :o)

Happy New Year 2010! Sailing Salinas-Coffin Island and back, January 2-4, 2010

2010-01-04T22:11:00.018-04:00

So here we are again after the holidays. Kids went back to college on New Year’s Day, which thankfully fell on a Friday…in other words “Oriontime” for us, escaping from a painfully empty house! We spent the first night of twenty-ten on Orion at the slip after running into Paul and Lynn and joining them for BBQ at the marina. Saturday morning it was “dock lines away” at 0930 (9:30 a.m.) and off to a new adventure at Coffin Island, our beloved destination.

We briefly contacted Paul and Lynn on “Kiana” on VHF to let them know that we were on our way. “Kiana” is anchored at the entrance to Salinas Harbor. Because of a long fixed keel they cannot come into the marina. Lynn wanted pictures of us leaving on Orion for her scrapbook, so we happily obliged. You can see Paul and Lynn's photo here which I publish with their kind permission. Soon after passing them we shut off the engine and set sail. The wind was not very strong, but enough to move Orion at a slow pace…at least for a while.

Eventually we had to help her along with the Diesel. After we passed the reef we saw the Ramos family on Ronnie and Babbie’s catamaran “Campechano”, a Catana 47, which they bought in Greece and sailed in the ARC (a famous ocean race) to Saint Lucia and finally to their dock in Salinas. We had the honor of running into Ronnie Ramos a few days earlier in Salinas when we were there with our daughter, and he gave us a tour of this magnificent catamaran. Thanks again Ronnie! Of course being a fast cat “Campechano” passed us by easily, although I am sure they also had a little help from the engine.

All of a sudden things became really exciting when a pod of dolphins (we counted six) appeared from nowhere, or so it seemed.They frolicked around Orion, riding her bow wave (wave at the front), then falling back, then sliding next to us, then jumping to get a look at us, then starting the cycle of fun again. Of course I grabbed the camera, worked my way to the bow, and started shooting these delightful mammals.

There is nothing like having dolphins with you…it’s such an honor to see them happily playing with the wave the boat creates. Why do they come? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter…they are here…that’s all that counts! We are so blessed! A great start of the New Year 2010! Their smiles stay with us long after their bodies disappear into the endless emerald ocean. God’s creatures! We love you!

Before we know it we are at Coffin Island and find a nice place to anchor.

Doing what we do best, relaxing on Orion, we are delighted to see “Andariego” sailing towards our anchorage. We spend a wonderful time with Richard and Mercedes, celebrating the start of the New Year and our continued friendship! We give a toast to Bob and Joan, who also belong to our little group but are spending the holidays with their children stateside. “Andariego” departs for Ponce late afternoon under motor, because there is no wind whatsoever and the sea is as flat as a mirror. There are not too many days like this at Coffin Island.

Well…it’s “sundowner time” for the Captain and his First Mate followed by “what’s for dinner time”! The Captain gets the BBQ going and grills chicken-black bean-cheddar cheese sausages and slices of yellow squash that the First Mate seasoned earlier.

Just as he gets them off the grill, we hear “Hi Rick” from the crew of “Campechano”, as they are passing us by on their way back to Salinas. We wish them Happy New Year and wave them good-bye. Now the sun is setting in an orange ball, drenching the surrounding sea in spectacular golden ripples. A picture perfect background for our dinner!

After a heavenly night where the full moon shoots silver rays across the water, we wake up to another beautiful day. We relax with a nice cup of coffee. For some reason the cleaning bug catches me and I start cleaning the V-berth (forward cabin) ceiling and woodwork where mildew has started to grow. This is a normal occurrence in a sailboat that is used mainly on weekends. Every once in a while we need to wipe down the inside of Orion as a preventative measure. No big deal and once we start living on her full time it will hardly be necessary, because we will air her out on a regular basis when the hatches are open every day. I guess it is only fair that I did the cleaning this time, since Rick cleaned the hull last weekend, which – I do admit – is a much harder job! Of course everybody knows that when the cleaning bug bites one has to attend to it straight away before it is gone again. So I also cleaned the sole, which is the interior wood floor, with clear water to rinse out a few salt water stains. It worked! We put back the carpets and Orion looks spiffy again inside and out, ready for the New Year! Too bad I didn't take any pictures, but cross my heart and hope to die...the Captain is my witness!

We set sail around 1300 (1 p.m.) Sunday, and again have to start the good old Diesel to motor under full sail back to Salinas. We were tied up in the slip at 1530 (3:30 p.m.), had a late lunch and an early sundowner, and drove back to Ponce.

Happy New Year 2010 to all!

We still miss you kids!

SSCA...another step towards the full time cruising life!

2009-12-30T14:44:00.001-04:00

We are now proud members of the SSCA, the Seven Seas Cruising Association. Our friends Peter and his late wife Linda highly recommended them to us when we met last year on their sailboat "Kynda". This is another step for us in preparation of "being out there". Most of our cruiser friends already belong to the SSCA. Here's a paragraph of how the SSCA introduces itself on the web: http://www.ssca.org/

"Those who are living the dream, as well as those who are planning for the day that they can release the ties to the workaday world and sail off to seek paradise, and those who only dream of such adventure, all join together in an organization called the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA)."

Rick and I wish you all Happy Sailing throughout the New Year and Beyond!

Sailing: Salinas-Coffin Island and back, December 26-27, 2009

2009-12-29T23:13:00.007-04:00

The jinx is over…fish for dinner at last!

December 26, better known as Boxing Day in some parts of the world. After spending the night on Orion at the marina we set sail for Coffin Island around 9:30 a.m. Set sail? Not really…there was no wind blowing at all! I guess Santa needed it all on Christmas to get the reindeer flying, because not even a breeze was to be found! Luckily we don’t live in the olden times anymore where one had to patiently wait for wind! So we cranked up the good old Diesel and puttered off. Not quite a sailor’s dream but better than sitting at the dock for sure!

To make the best of the situation, the Captain decided to put out a fishing rod. “No problem, but please no bloody guts in the cockpit at all times” demanded the First Mate who gets promoted to Admiral at times like this. And really there was no worry, because no fish has dared to hook onto the Captain’s fishing rod since we got Orion some two years ago. Somehow it’s jinxed! Okay…back to our sail from Salinas to Coffin Island. We are leisurely motoring away and Coffin Island is in site, when the fishing rod makes that unmistakable whizzing noise coming from a spinning reel. Without exchange of words we make a flying change of positions: Rick to the fishing rod and I to the helm (steering wheel on a boat). Now what? I slow down Orion whilst the Captain is actually fighting something at the end of that rod! Of course we both believe it is a piece of debris from something we just passed…but hey it’s putting up a good fight! Then there is a silver splash…it’s a fish…the adrenaline is starting to set in. Wow a fish!

Looks like a small tuna. And there is something in the water trying to catch it! Maybe a shark! The poor fish is being attacked from both sides and looses its tail end in the battle! The Captain perseveres and reels in the silver fish at last…or what’s left of it…ughh. True to his word he lands the fish on the outside deck where it finally takes its last breath. We comfort ourselves in the knowledge that this fish would not have survived anyways without its tail end.

Turns out it is a Cero or Spanish mackerel, good eating fish. The Captain cuts some nice fish steaks, which we put on ice…dinner is saved! He even cleans up the bloody mess using the cockpit shower and then it is time to do the happy dance, as our friend Roxanne of “Bamboo” would say. THE JINX IS FINALLY OVER…THE CAPTAIN CAUGHT A FISH!! Just in time for us to be full time cruisers. How kewl is that?

Then we dropped the hook (anchored) off Coffin Island and took a dip in the deep blue and crystal clear water there. Coffin Island is spectacular and there is nothing like it!

We are joined by our good friends Richard and Mercedes and her Mom on “Andariego”, their 31 foot Beneteau. We celebrate until late afternoon when “Andariego” needs to return to Ponce. We, however, will stay over night.

The Captain cooked chicken kabobs and fish steaks on the BBQ while the First Mate prepared fried yellow squash with onions. Way too much food for the two of us, but at least it’s very healthy!

We had a wonderful night at anchor with not even a wave to be seen or felt. Still full from our dinner we skipped breakfast altogether the next morning. Rick cleaned the bottom of Orion from grass and some crustaceans, which grow on boats that are permanently in the water. Once a year we haul out Orion and clean and re-paint the hull with special anti-fouling paint, but in between a scraping treatment like the one described works little wonders in controlling unwanted “hitchhikers”!

Then it was time to set sail for Salinas. We departed Coffin Island around 12:30 p.m. under full sail, but the wind Gods were not in our favor. Eventually we pulled in the jib and sailed under mainsail only with the Diesel running. We were back at our slip in Salinas at around 3:30 p.m. There was no reason to rush home, because the kids were already out again with their friends…God bless them.

So we had a sundowner at Drake’s Bar and Grill across from the marina.We have become regulars there. It's a rustic kind of place with a great atmosphere and great food and drinks. Luis and Nancy run and own the place. Luis makes some awesome down to earth food like German Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, Philly Cheese Steak, and Hamburgers that are to die for! Dinner there was real yummy as usual. Ahhh…Life is good! Off we went to Ponce. Soon we’ll be living on Orion permanently and there will be no need to drive back after a perfect sailing weekend!

A landlubber Christmas…well, almost! December 25, 2009

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Hope everybody had a great Holiday. We celebrated Christmas this year for the last time in our landlubber home in Ponce. Next year we’ll be “out there” cruising the Caribbean, God willing, of course! Two of our college kids are home for the holidays and actually wanted to have a Christmas Dinner with us…Well…kind of, as long as everything was finished by darkness, so they could mingle with their friends thereafter. It gets dark early here in the tropical spheres. So we made the best of it and invited two newfound cruiser friends from Salinas to join us for dinner. This worked out wonderfully, because we had a reason (as if we really need one, huh) to return to Salinas Friday evening, drop them off at the dinghy dock and then overnight on Orion to set sail Saturday morning for Coffin Island! Kids happy…parents happy :o). We had a nice dinner with Paul and Lynn (the cruiser friends) and Julia and Michael (our college kids) as well as Michael's friends Alejandra and Ben. We missed the rest of the family (all in Florida) and want to mention them on the blog: Jessica and Randy… Michelle, Mike and Abigail…Jeanette and Ted…and my brother Willi in the cold Germany! Hey, Florida sounds good for next year’s celebration!

“To sail or not to sail?” that is the question! December 19-20, 2009

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Decisions…decisions…best to make them on the spot and don’t regret anything, because life is too short to worry about the small stuff! So instead of “anchors away” it was “anchors stay” or rather "docklines stay" and “it’s party time at the marina”!

Boat lighting parade at Marina de Salinas and around the harbor

Last weekend was the second annual boat lighting parade at Marina de Salinas, culminating in a cruisers’ potluck and prize giving for the best-decorated boats.
It was easy to see that there were two kinds of boat people at the marina that night: The ones that participated in the parade of lights and the ones that did not. The first kind was a small group of happy boat decorating enthusiasts. We admire their tremendous efforts as well as their wonderful team spirit in getting the show on the road err water. The ones that didn’t get on the water got the potluck set up, and some enjoyed decorating the table while others enjoyed getting to know everybody. Rick and I absolutely fit in with the latter. Parade watching is one thing but to actually participate quite another. We are just plain lazy I admit and some even call us “Grinches” when it comes to putting up Christmas lights on Orion. “You’ll catch the boat decorating spirit next year” we were assured in a friendly attempt to “ungrinch” us. Hmmm, we’ll see.

It was a fun evening in a wonderful setting. The boats, most of them sail boats, strutted off their stuff in front of the marina and around the harbor. Each one was spectacular and unique in its own way. A few rain clouds and some associated sprinkles could not deter anybody. Our cruiser friends Paul and Lynn joined us on Orion to watch the spectacle and thereafter accompanied us to the potluck in the snack bar area.

Our first potluck in the marina!
The food theme of the night was “bring your favorite appetizer” and so it happened that everybody brought just that…resulting in a long table filled with yummy dishes. Rick contributed his famous red onion salad topped with fried bacon! It was a huge success with everybody. We managed not to eat all the food before the parade participants finished putting away their boats…not an easy task when you feel like a hungry shark and the food is such an easy prey! Nevertheless no serious shark attacks this time until we all enjoyed the full group setting. Well, you know what I mean…a few bites here and there didn't hurt of course...to wash down with some rum…no problemo.

Prize giving

Then we all mingled and time just flew by, or was it too many drinks? Nawwww. Anyways…all of a sudden there were announcements to be made! Ahh…the winners of the boat parade! About six or seven prizes were awarded…a great show of support from the local restaurant community who had donated the prizes! Way to go Salinas! After all, cruisers do bring revenue to the area and it is nice to be recognized. We love the overall team spirit here :o). The three judges did a tremendous job. There is no way I could have figured out a definite winner of the competition. They were all spectacular! Well…Fernando’s boat won the first prize. I know that, because Dan whose boat won the second prize introduced us to him. Don’t remember the other winners, but applauded them for sure! Congratulations to everybody! We had a great time talking and getting to know each other. It is amazing how we all share similar experiences in and around Salinas on our sailboats!

First prize winner (in Santa hat)

Second prize winners

I don’t remember when Rick and I retired to our cabin on Orion to catch some zzzzzs. Ahhh…the cruising life style…it’s catching us fast! Note to selves: Next weekend it’s “anchors away” for Coffin Island! Stay tuned :o)

Chris made this stunning Beach Snow Man!

Sailing: Salinas-Ponce, Ponce-Salinas, December 4-6, 2009

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We were invited. Saturday, 12-5-2009 was the date for the Ponce Power Squadron’s Christmas Party. Both Rick and I are active members. The PPS is a part of the United States Power and Sail Squadrons…and yes, we do want the PPS to change its name to the PSPS, the Ponce Sail and Power Squadron. But that’s an issue I will bring up somewhere else. Okay…back on track. This year, the Captain and I decided to sail Orion to Ponce…quasi like the prince and the princess that arrive in a chariot. But will she turn into a pumpkin?...

So we left Salinas at 3 p.m. (1500 for us sailors) on Friday, 12-4-2009…had to employ some tricky boat maneuvers to get out of the slip due to strong winds…and due to the same strong winds (20-23 knots), mercifully blowing from the back, Orion gracefully arrived at Coffin Island in a personal best time of just over two hours. But who’s keeping track anyways? By 5:30 p.m. we had dropped the anchor and just in time for the sunset, glasses in hand we enjoyed yet another wonderful golden sundowner…err… sundown…actually it was both!

Saturday morning, 12-5-2009, we set sail for Ponce and arrived at the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club (PYFC) around 1:30 p.m. where we docked Orion just for one night. The PPS party was nice and as usual we met our good friends Bob and Joan there. Joan and I had decorated the room earlier on in the day…as we have for three years in a row…and it was yet another success :o) Drinks, food, merry times, did I mention drinks (?)…We managed to get back to the PYFC and fell asleep on Orion before midnight. Orion would not turn into a pumpkin after all!

Sunday, 12-6-2009, around 8 a.m. we slowly motored into the wind and away from PYFC. Rick was ready to raise the main sail, but…alas…the halyard (line) was wedged between the lazy jacks (net of lines that guide the mainsail on the boom and mast) and behind one of the mast steps (steps that go up the mast) and didn’t budge! To sail or not to sail! Hangover or not…the Captain, determined to free the line, decided to climb up the mast. It happened in a flash, so I didn’t have time to scream “don’t you dare” but had to put all my wits together to keep Orion moving slowly…very slowly…into the wind (as not to create much movement from waves) and at the same time blocking all brain activity from thinking “he’s going to fall” or “I’ll hear a big thunk noise when he hits the deck”. Instead I mulled myself into “it’s alright”, “nothing will happen”. Yadda-yadda-yadda. Well, praise the Lord, Rick freed the line and climbed back down the steps onto the deck. He raised the sail, and when he came into the cockpit we both congratulated each other on “staying cool”, although I must admit that a few @#*! words escaped my mouth! With the Captain at the helm, I put out the jib (foresail), turned off the engine…and we were sailing at last!

Of course, this time we had to sail against the wind, which is quite a bit more work than sailing with the wind…not to mention the comfort level. Sailing against the wind requires tacking (changing the foresail from one side to the other), because you have to sail a zigzag course in order to arrive at your destination upwind. The wind was picking up a bit and we had a great sail to Coffin Island. On the fly we decided to sail on to Salinas without stopping at the Island. We got settled into a few tacks when all of a sudden the wind started to really blow hard and the sea started churning white caps all over and the waves became pretty large. We learned later that the wind blew at 25-27 knots…pretty wild! We decided to sail to Salinas and not turn on the engine. What a great experience…Our muscles had a good workout, Rick’s with steering Orion and mine with tacking… It was especially fun, because in the distance ahead of us were two other sail boats…so we felt like we were sailing with them…one after the other. Sounds strange, but it gives you a bit of comfort to not be totally alone out there in heavy weather. The pictures you see on this post are taken before the weather turned really rough...We did not want to expose the digital camera to the soggy environment...and hey...we had to keep from tumbling anyways :o) It took us a little over seven hours total sail time from Ponce to our slip in Salinas. Wow! Of course, after rinsing all the salt off Orion it was time for an early sundowner. Low and behold we ended up spending the night on Orion again and only drove back to Ponce Monday morning. How about that? Note to selves: We need to seal the hull-deck-joint, because when we are in heavy seas there is a small leak where salt water enters the interior hull and bleeds into the cabin. Nothing serious but we need to take care of it before it gets worse. On our 1973 Morgan 41 Out Island the hull deck joint is located on the side of the hull underneath the rubrail. Later models have it topside where it is more protected.

I guess we can call ourselves real sailors now, and all these weekend adventures prepare us more and more for the situations that will face us when we are permanently living the dream “out there”. Like Captain Ron says: “If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there”.

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Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas Season... and a Happy and Healthy New Year 2010!

Our first blog! Our first blog! Our first blog! Our first blog!

2009-12-02T01:49:00.007-04:00

Blogging...What can I say...it's an experience! Thought I'll put "my dolphin" up for everybody to see...That dolphin played with Orion's bow wave for the longest time. I just love the smiling expression on its face. Well...Rick is getting some well deserved zzzzzz's while I am determined to get this first blog entry up into cyberspace...and here it is!

Saying Good Night for now :o)