The new galley faucet!

We are still moored at Dakiti, Culebra, enjoying peace and tranquility :) Although some kind of a flu bug caught up with us we are in good spirits and on the mend! Guess we are not used to mingling with the crowds anymore, because we both are sure that our last shopping trip to Fajardo is the reason for catching said bug! Ah well...

The good news is that at last we got around to replacing the yuckie old galley (kitchen) faucet on ORION! What's the big deal? Well...we have a 40 year old boat and most of the time you try to do a simple repair it turns into something not quite so simple! So we have learned the hard way "if it ain't broken - don't touch it"...seriously! Of course this is the reason why we did not want to touch the yuckie old galley faucet for the past few years...after all it was still working fine!

Lately, however, the yuckie old galley faucet started to display increased signs of distress...a crack developed and there was a lot of corrosion...and there was this ever so slight leak somewhere that would make the water pressure pump come on for a few seconds when no water was running! In other words: it was time for a new faucet and a search for the water leak! So sweetie one despite feeling not too well from the flu thing sprang into action...under great duress (because the two screw attachments underneath the sink were seized together from corrosion) he eventually hammered the old parts from the top down and was able to free the water supply lines...phew!

The new faucet is non metallic...we chose it for exactly that...hoping that there will be no more corrosion of parts in the future! It looks great and time will tell if it will survive the boat environment. We are buying another one to store as a spare just in case, because we have also learned over the years that if something fits you buy a second one...otherwise you will never get it again when you need to replace it...seriously!

my captain is a Houdini

During the installment of the water lines to the new faucet it became clear that water had been leaking for quite some time, because the floor of the cupboard was soaking wet! Ugh! Since no water had pooled on top of the floor but was actually in the wood itself similar to a sponge soaking up water...and since the whole schmier is not visible from the outside, as it is all enclosed cupboard space...we never knew it was wet in there! But all's well that ends well :) No permanent damage occured...my captain connected the water lines to the new faucet with Houdini like movements (nothing is ever easily reachable on a boat) and once he was sure that all the connections were tight (we ran both the hot and cold water) he placed a fan in the cupboard to dry out the floor...we let the fan run for over 24 hours and the wood floor in there is now bone dry :) Lucky us! It may sound like a small thing, but to us the replacement of the galley faucet is a big thing...one more item crossed of the to do list and the problem of finding the tiny water leak solved at the same time! Life is good! And thank God for my captain who never gives up :)

the fan running in the cupboard to dry out the floor

the new non metallic faucet

all nice and new faucet

ORION's galley

 

Out with the old...in with the new! BBQ is the word :)

On ORION we used the BBQ sparingly, because it was an old one that has difficulty staying lit in a strong breeze...no more my friends! One of the things we bought on our last shopping trip to West Marine in Fajardo was...you guessed right...a new BBQ grill! My captain just took off the old one and installed the new one :) The old one still works okay and we thought we'll keep it for a few more years, but we changed our mind...the new grills are designed to stay lit even when the wind blows hard and we also wanted a round one, which fits our available space on the aft deck on ORION much better than the rectangular one we used to have...not to worry though...we are "up-cycling" our old BBQ grill to another cruiser friend :)

I was able to convert the existing grill cover to fit the round grill...hurrey...this will work for now until I make a new one...the new one will be kind of like a sack that can be pulled over the whole thing thus enclosing the whole grill instead of just the top part. So now we need to get over the fear of using this shiny new piece of equipment, hahahaha...burgers here you come! Stay tuned please.

By the way...just for those who are wondering...a BBQ grill is almost an essential equipment on a sail boat...especially in hot climates it is nice to use a BBQ outside rather than the stove/oven inside...it does keep the inside of the boat cooler! That does not mean that we BBQ all the time, but during the very hot summer season we sure do! Since we are at the beginning of our full time cruising journey we decided to invest in a new grill...that way we won't feel sorry later on for not having done it earlier!

the old grill on ORION

UPDATE...the new grill works great :) BBQ chef Rick grilled the burgers to perfection and we just had a wonderful meal...to prove it here are photos...life is good!

 

Good friends and "The Black Pearl"

We spent a few days at anchor at Dewey harbor, because it is a short dinghy ride to the town dock from there. Why is this important? Well, we had to do some last shopping and it required a ferry ride from Dewey on Culebra island to Fajardo on the main island of Puerto Rico. Shopping trips to Fajardo usually result in schlepping heavy stuff back to ORION, so it is much easier to be near the town dock. By coincidence ourCanadian friends Peter and Liz of SV Kynda were in Fajardo at Marina del Rey getting their boat ready to cruise for a few months...what a wonderful surprise! So we arranged a day out of our busy schedule (just kidding) to meet up with them.

We left Culebra under a beautiful "waffle sky" and met Peter and Liz in time for breakfast in Fajardo :) They had rented a car for the day, which made getting around easy and provided temporary storage for all the stuff we bought at West Marine, Walmart, and Econo...yap...we think in those terms now, because being full time cruisers means not having a car most of the time, something we used to take for-granted in our many years as landlubbers!

We had a great time with Peter and Liz :) One of the fun things worth mentioning was an unexpected encounter with the Pirates of the Caribbean! Here is how it happened...

Peter and Liz' sail boat is docked at Marina del Rey in Fajardo and after we finished our shopping at the marine store there, they invited us for a quick coldie on Kynda...which we of course accepted :) On our way to their dock we passed an odd looking old sail boat only to find out to our total delight that it is "the Black Pearl"...yes!...the "Black Pearl" as in "Pirates of the Caribbean" as in Johnny Depp...as in "Captain Sparrow"...as in..you get the drift... :)

Liz explained that "the Black Pearl" is docked there until the next movie in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series...Wow! Of course we had to have a picture...She also explained that the little pilot house on the top left has a camera mounted...that's how they shoot the scenes on deck and beyond...when the boat is fully featured they lower the pilot house thingy, so that it can not be seen...how cool is that? Well...we sure had fun...we'll see Peter and Liz on SV Kynda again...either if they stop in Culebra on their way to St. Thomas and St. Maarten or we'll catch up with them in St. Maarten...either way we wish them "Happy Sailing" :)

 

"Quiche Season"

Temperatures are very pleasant right now in the Caribbean in general and Culebra in particular...in the upper eighties during the day and upper seventies during the night with a steady breeze going all day long here at our anchorage at Dakiti, Culebra. For us tropical kids it is actually so cool at night that we use a light blanket for cover (!)...but I will not go into further details knowing that a lot of our friends burst out laughing, because they are in the midst of ice and snow and really cold temperatures, quite a different winter than ours!

For us this time of year calls for comfort food made in the oven :) During the summer months when temperatures can be in the upper nineties at times we use our oven sparingly for the obvious reason of not wanting to put anymore heat into the boat.

So "winter time" in the Caribbean allows us to splurge on making yummy dishes in the oven :)

We usually enjoy an eclectic mix of home made dishes on ORION, but now is our prime "quiche season" :)

Recently I posted some photos on Facebook and had so many inquiries that I decided to dedicate a blog post to our quiche for our quiche lovers...so here it is...

My recipe (which follows) is a simple one, because that's how we keep things on ORION...simple and easy to do without need for electric gadgets if possible...

I used to make zucchini quiche, but zucchini is not readily available most of the time and is somewhat pricey here in the Caribbean.

Caribbean pumpkin however is available throughout the islands...So I experimented a little bit and am happy with the result...as a matter of fact both my captain and I prefer the pumpkin quiche to the zucchini quiche now :)

Here is my recipe...

Pumpkin Quiche a la Sue (SV ORION)

 

(1st batch ingredients)

1 cup Bisquick

3 cups peeled and shredded pumpkin (see note on bottom of page)

1 small can green beans (French cut)

1 small diced onion

dash of salt, pepper, and any spices you like

 

(2nd batch ingredients)

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup shredded cheese

 

mix together all ingredients from 1st batch

add ingredients from 2nd batch

gently mix with a wooden or silicone spoon to make a batter

 

grease a 9x13 pan with a little oil

pour quiche mixture into pan

bake (uncovered) at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown

 

Enjoy!

 

Note: I use Caribbean pumpkin (dark green skin/orange inside), but any hard pumpkin will do

My pumpkin quiche fresh from the oven

 

The Water Run...

Today we jumped into action...no easy task after living the leisurely life for the longest time here at Dakiti anchorage in Culebra, hahaha! The winds have been blowing 25-30 knots on average with occasional squalls passing through and seas are running a high 8-10 feet outside...so we have not moved ORION until today, because today we had to make a water run! A what? A water run...we needed to fill up ORION's water tanks again. As explained in a previous post we do not run our water maker...it is ancient and we decided not to wake it up from its long beauty sleep, because we know that we will have to replace it and it is just another piece of equipment that needs to be monitored constantly and and and...To make a long story short...for now we are sailing without a water maker and will therefore have to fill our water tanks from time to time...no problem in the Caribbean...water is available on most of the islands :)

We last filled the tanks on December 5, 2012...today is January 8, 2013...so the water lasted us a little over a month...not too bad, considering that we have showers after snorkeling. I know, I know...that sounds almost pathetic for landlubbers, but life on the sea is a different life...it teaches you to value the things most people take for-granted and to conserve...and in exchange you become independent and self sufficient...living the dream! Yes...we are still pinching ourselves :)

Okay, back to the water run...ORION has three water tanks...one to starboard (right), one to port (left), and one under the Vberth (front)...25 gallons, 50 gallons, and 70 gallons respectively...for a total of 145 gallons! Of course we never let the tanks become completely dry! The two saddle tanks (right and left) can be filled from above...they have special openings for that purpose. The tank in the front is gravity filled via the saddle tanks by opening a valve...once the front tank is full the valve must be closed otherwise the tank will overflow and this would be a nasty affair, because there is no drainage pipe per se (!)...the water would end up in the salon...yikes! We are always a little bit nervous filling the front tank...it is not easy to determine the water level therein, because there is no real "window". The tank is PVC and sometimes your guess is as good as ours! So when my captain feels it is time to shut off the valve I trust him completely...once the front tank is full we continue filling the saddle tanks...the saddle tanks have overflow valves thank goodness, so they are a lot easier to manage :)

We motored ORION to the DRNA dock, anchored, and hauled the water...actually Rick hauled the water...via dinghy, because we cannot dock at the DRNA dock...it's too shallow and there are old pipes sticking out that could damage ORION! But we don't mind putting in a little elbow grease once a month or so...I say we, because my job is to receive the 5 gallon portable water tanks and fill up the saddle tanks with them...but of course my captain does most of the heavy stuff filling and schlepping the full tanks from the dock to the boat via dinghy! We accomplished our mission despite 20 knot winds and two squalls passing through!

We left our mooring ball at Dakiti around midday and returned around 1700 (5 p.m.)...we were lucky...nobody took the mooring ball in our absence, so here we are all snuggled on our same mooring ball again :) We hauled approximately 80 gallons today. In addition to the three full tanks on ORION we keep three 5 gallon portable water tanks on deck...these portable tanks are made specifically for potable water...they are light blue in color and have a detachable spout that is stored inside the tank when not in use, similar to a portable gas tank. So all is good on the ORION...ready for new adventures :)

 

Life is good in Culebra

It's the new year 2013 and we are still enjoying Culebra...this island has so much to offer that we continue to live day by day in total relaxation and bliss! We love the laid back style of everything Culebra...we love the non commercial living...we love the pristine beaches and coves that become our own little paradise when we anchor ORION (mostly by attaching to a mooring ball) near them...we love that we can be totally on our own, but when we need company our friends are not far away...we love to hide away somewhere, but when we need action we simply sail (or motor sail) to the anchorage by Dewey and visit the town...we love that things are safe here, that we don't have to be afraid of someone trying to steal our dinghy at night (!)...we love that we are still in US waters where US laws apply...we love the people here, they come from all walks of life, an intermingling of different cultures...we love the peace and tranquility...we love the crystal clear turquoise waters...and again...we love the laid back style of everything Culebra!

So we are in no rush to leave...we'll move on when we are a little bit more ready, because really and truly I believe we will never be 100% ready! For now we are staying at beautiful Dakiti anchorage, where the wind blows at least 15 knots twenty-four hours a day...great for fully charging the batteries with our wind generator...and because we are protected by a reef and a sand bank there is no wave action here other than a steady current from the front.

Being anchored at Dakiti feels a little bit like sitting on a rocking chair on the porch of your house watching the world go by :) You see...every boat going into the main channel has to pass by Dakiti! So we can watch some neat boats coming in and going out! Rick has taken some cool pictures...so here are a few :)

We will stay a few more days here at Dakiti anchorage...the seas "out there" are running 8-10 feet with the wind blowing 25-30 knots...supposedly for this week and part of next...not our kind of weather for sailing, so we'll stay put, enjoy snorkeling, and tend to some urgent matters...like napping, reading books, and communicating with our friends and family all over the globe :)

Yap...we'll be "out there" soon enough again, because as "Captain Ron" says, "If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there!" ;)

 

Happy New Year 2013

The New Year 2013 is here...it marks the beginning of what will be our first complete year of full time cruising on ORION...we are so happy!

Our first blog post for the new year is dedicated to family and friends...

A big thank you to our wonderful family for "setting us free" thus enabling us to live the dream...we love you :)

A big thank you also to our friends all over the globe who follow our adventures and never get tired of our stories :)

We wish you only the best in 2013 and beyond...most importantly happiness and health...

God bless all of you!