Sailing, Sorting, Simplifying...

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

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!

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?