Sailing, Sailing, Sailing

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!