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

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)

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

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!

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!

Dock Party Jan. 23, 2010

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!