Happy New Year!

Wishing everybody a happy and healthy new year when it comes :) 

Thank You

As this year is coming to an end we say a big thank you to our children. We could not live our dream without them being happy for us...they truly set us free and let us be the way we want to be! 

We love you so very much Jeanette, Michelle, and Jessica, Julia, and Michael...we are so very proud of you for the wonderful persons you are. It is so good to know that you are there for each other as we are there for you...each one of you is a present from God and we could not be more blessed! 

Awaiting the New Year

First of all here is my recipe for Grog, a nice comforting drink, especially around the Holiday Season :) It is also great for curing a sore throat...something I can attest to! 

Okay...now then...we have a new battery for the windlass on order...should arrive next week :) We decided to hang out at our mooring over New Year's...the anchorages are becoming busy with boat traffic from the mainland as is the case every year here in Culebra...our little bay is tucked away from this traffic, so we stay put, enjoy, and relax until next year, hahaha...so far away and yet so near ;) We also just heard from some friends who will be coming to Culebra on Thursday...they are from Germany, used to live in PR, and we have not seen them in many years! So it will be fun in the sun with them and some friends from Ponce next week for two days :)

My captain got our water tanks filled by schlepping our five gallon water containers to and from Dingy Dock Restaurant...they sell water there from the tap...so a few dinghy rides back and forth later and some muscle power to lift the tanks ORION is ready to ride the high seas with us again soon! Things will become a lot easier when we get the new water maker...then we can make our own potable water without any schlepping involved :). 

Whilst Rick took care of the water I took care of the laundry...he dropped me and the dirty washing off near the laundromat in town and picked me and the clean washing up again two hours later...perfect timing and two things accomplished before the new year :) We may get a small washing machine when the water maker is up and running! Our friends Gabriel and Wanda on SV Good Timing bought one from Walmart that fits in their boat and only uses around 5 gallons of water for a medium load...we checked it out on their boat and it looks feasible for ORION as well...exciting I tell ya! Anyways...one thing at a time...stay tuned please. 

Since we are sticking around for a few days longer we are making the best of it as usual ;) Discovered a great little restaurant called Barbara Rosa's and went there for dinner yesterday evening...what an outstanding food experience...home cooked dishes made by Barbara Rosa herself...a somewhat rustic setting with a down home feeling...I had Mahi Mahi filet with rice and beans and salad and Rick had fish and chips with coleslaw...key lime pie rounded off the evening...we could even bring our own bottle of wine and have it with our dinner! The food was so good we talked about it even today...we shall be back at Barbara Rosa's for sure :)

To round things off we went for a nice long walk the other day and found this picturesque small water dam in the woods by the road! Who would have thought? Until soon again...Happy New Year when it comes...maybe I'll fit in another post before then... 

It's a Boat!

Made a short trip on ORION yesterday to anchor near town in order to get water, because we want to sail again now that the Christmas Winds have calmed down. Discovered that our electric windlass was as dead as a door nail...ugh! So we turned around and headed for a nice anchorage behind a reef called Dakity where there are lots of public moorings, and to our delight we found a free one :) Making the best of the situation we grabbed the mooring ball and stayed for the night...snorkeled in the crystal clear water where the sandy bottom is covered with hundreds of starfish...will get photos another time when we have the camera with us. 

Rick checked the windlass and found a dead battery...ah well...could have been worse...after all...it's a boat and cruising means to repair your boat in tropical locations ;)...so we need a new battery and will also get a small solar trickle charger for that battery to keep it topped up. Our windlass battery is on its own circuit, so this will be the best solution :) You see, we don't use the windlass very often around here, because there are moorings available almost everywhere...and of course we have our own mooring to come back to. 

We left Dakity this morning, and are now back on our own mooring ball. My captain went off in the dinghy to fetch some water and maybe he will be able to buy a new battery in town...that would save us a ferry trip to Fajardo tomorrow. We will still go to Fajardo for the trickle charger, but we can do that next week. I need some nylon line to make new mooring bridles and we can do everything at the same time then...and get ready to sail again :)

In the meantime I made two bottles of my very own soda water again...so nice to be able to never run out of the stuff...the 5 lb cylinder should last us for a long long time :) That's it for today...will be sailing again very soon...stay tuned and enjoy the ride please!

Christmas Lunch on ORION

Today we had a Christmas lunch on ORION...we invited two solo sailors (single handers), Larry and Phil, to join us. Larry is a good friend whom we met a few years ago in Salinas. Phil just spent the past hurricane season in Salinas...both their boats are anchored in our little bay here in Culebra at the moment. We had a great time...and even the weather turned out great...the rainy clouds from a few days ago disappeared and made space for the sun to come shining through again :) We should have known that the rain would stop as soon as we put our rain gutters up to try and collect water for the water tanks...ah well...

Since we could not have our kids here for Christmas we were with them in spirit...knowing that we will get together in the new year makes it a little easier, and we are looking forward to a reunion :) We are very proud of our children and thank them for being happy for us, thereby setting us free to live our dream...we could not do it without their support! 

So back to the Christmas lunch! We had boneless pork chops with onions and garlic, baked potatoes with butter and rosemary, baby carrots in a cream sauce, brown rice casserole with diced zucchini, and a salad made of romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes...it was a feast :) I used "Oshra" twice for baking on the stovetop...the baked potatoes came out perfectly and so did the brown rice casserole. The carrots I cooked in the pressure cooker (5 minutes and they were done!) and then smothered them in a white sauce...everybody enjoyed everything amd that's how it should be :) For desert we had Stollen, which is a traditional German Christmas cake! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! And thank you Larry and Phil for joining us :)

Christmas Quiche on Stove Top

Made a zucchini/pumpkin quiche tonight in our stove top wonder pot...so easy to bake with this marvelous invention that has been around for a very long time and was used in the sixties in Israel! I call my wonder pot oven "Oshra" after the man who sold it to me from Israel via ebay! After my initial fear of using it I am now very confident and bake all sorts of things in it...cakes, casseroles, quiche, even bread...I don't know how I survived without it really! Oshra is perfect for a boat galley...baking on the stove top is great, as it does not heat up the whole kitchen (and therefore the whole main cabin) and it uses very little gas...the flame only needs to be on low for it to work :) Best of all...the finished product is just as if you baked it in the oven!

For detailed info please go to wikipedia...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Pot#cite_note-hole-1

Here is a short explanation copied from Wikipedia:

How it works

The Wonder Pot is effective at baking on top of the stove for three reasons: its aluminium material, its hole, and the metal disc which separates it from the flame. The aluminium material allows heat to spread uniformly. The center hole of the pot focuses the flame and creates heat dispersion around the inside of the cake. The metal disc lifts the pot off the fire, reducing and focusing the flame. Baking in the Wonder Pot without the metal disc will produce a cake that is dry on the bottom and thick and wobbly in the center. The metal disc is sold in different thicknesses and diameters to accommodate different baking times and larger flames. The lid of the Wonder Pot is perforated with small holes to release steam. Baking time in a Wonder Pot varies from 40 to 50 minutes.

The Wonder Pot produces high and airy cakes. In addition to baking, the Wonder Pot is an effective medium for cooking vegetables, legumes, and rice in layers. It can also be used to cook kugels, casseroles, pasta dishes, meat, and chicken.

There you have it! As said...I love the thing :)

So my captain and I celebrated Christmas Eve with quiche and Mimosas (Champagne and orange juice)...just the two sweeties on ORION :) Peace on Earth!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...almost

We had a spectacular sunset tonight. A welcome sight after the Christmas Trade Winds have been roaring all day and are continuing through the night...18-20 knots with squalls of 30-40 knots in our usually protected bay (!)...seas are running up to 9 feet with 6 second intervals...all in all a pretty messy affair if you have to be "out there"! Luckily we do not have to be "out there"...we are tucked in nicely on our mooring ball and let the winds roar! 

So here is a glimpse of what the sky looked like earlier on...a glimpse, because one can never really capture the intense colors and the beauty of a Caribbean sunset! In between are the Christmas decorations on the deck of ORION...just a few pretty ones :) 

Celebrating the Season

This morning we were invited to a Christmas breakfast aboard SV Kuhela...our cruiser friends Harry and Linda do this every year with their friends, and we feel honored to have been invited! Everybody brought a little something, but the main dish was magically created by the hosts :) from watching them we could tell that they are indeed an experienced team...EGGS BENEDICT A LA KUHELA was yet another feast to be enjoyed in good company aboard their beautiful Catamaran! Thank You Harry and Linda...we had a great time and wish you all the best on your upcoming journey to Curaçao and maybe beyond! Happy Sailing...we hope our wakes will cross again!

A girls' day out

Today I had a luncheon with my girl friends, who are fellow cruisers also...Linda (SV Kuhela), Lauren (SV Southern Comfort), Molly (SV Bendecida). We went into town ( Dewey) and walked to El Batey, a rustic place by the sea that sells Puerto Rican food! I had fried pork with tostones (fried plantain chips), and everybody else had Hamburger and curly fries...all very yummy :) In a little while we will all go errr sail different ways, so this was a nice get together for all of us...we'll keep in contact through the internet and maybe our wakes will meet again in the future...until then we wish each other happy sailing wherever we go :)

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

Chili Night on SV ORION

To round up the party spirit we had an impromptu get together on our boat...we set up our big cockpit table, so we could all squeeze around it ;) I made a big pot of chili with lentils and all sorts of ingredients and for desert we had some real German Christmas cake called a Stollen...we all had fun! Thank you Harry and Linda (SV Kuhela)...Bob and Lauren (SV Southern Comfort)...Gabriel and Wanda (SV Perfect Timing) and their little dog "Lady" who totally behaved like a lady :) We enjoyed your company and had a great time!

Last but not least here is a photo of the calm before the storm in the cockpit of ORION ;)

Thanksgiving Feast on SV Kuhela

Thanksgiving this year was a glorious affair aboard Harry and Linda's catamaran Kuhela and we enjoyed the company of old and new found cruiser friends! There was Harry and Linda of course...Rob and Lauren (SV Southern Comfort)...Bob, Molly, John, and Catherine (SV Bendecida)...and us! It was a very nice Thanksgiving with Bob leading a small prayer circle just before the feast began...Rob captured the moment perfectly and although he is not in the picture we all know that his spirit is shining through all of us...thanks Rob!

We missed Gabriel and Wanda (SV Good Timing) and Rick and Debbie (SV Miss Heidi)...we were with them in thoughts...and hey...we had more to eat that way...just kidding ;)

We were also thinking of our cruiser friends Bob and Judy, who invited us last year to their Thanksgiving feast aboard SV Adastra...they are way south in the Caribbean right now. We shall meet them again on their way back up :)

And of course we missed our kids and family, but were with them in spirit for sure!

Party on SV Southern Comfort

Our cruiser friends Rob and Lauren recently had a party on their yacht Southern Comfort and we had the pleasure of participating :) Rob and Lauren are in the final stages of preparing to leave for a long journey that will bring them to Australia...God willing! Another cruiser couple Harry and Linda on their catamaran Kuhela are planning on sailing with them for part of the journey...and since we are all good friends the celebration was a hasta la vista of sorts...fun was had by all and we wish them happy sailing and following seas whenever the plans will become reality in the not too distant future :)

An update on updating our blog!

Wow...this year is almost over! I have to catch up on a few stories yet and will do so soon...I promise! Luckily I discovered that there is an app for the iPhone to update our blog...woohoo :) I did it on the iPad with Blogsy, but it does not work with the iPhone:/  Since obtaining an iPhone all my photos are on that of course and it proved extremely cumbersome to try and transfer them all to the iPad just for the blog :/ But no more worries :) The free app is here for blogger and it already makes my life easier in terms of updating from the iPhone :) 

It will be much easier from now on for me to do short blog updates on the go using my iPhone...I know that especially Grandpa Harvey Klumb will appreciate this! So here is a photo of our little Christmas tree on ORION and the spirit of peace and joy will continue with more frequent blog posts from the crew of ORION :) God Bless!

Making our own Seltzer

We just finished making our home made Seltzer water :)...here is how it works and why it is better for us to have this set up instead of the pre-manufactured ones with the tiny cartridges! After all...we live on a boat and need to be self sufficient :)
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-home-carbonation-system
We got the whole set up from The Keg Outlet on the internet, a home brewing equipment company we highly recommend...delivery was fast and the customer service outstanding!