Good friends, good food, and a Sailor Cat!

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.