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Location as of 09/18/04: Spanish Waters, Curacao [ 12 05.029 N 068 50.573 W ]

9/18: We have been working on the boat and hanging around reading. We stopped at Sarafundys Marina to do laundry. It is an institution in the cruising world. Went and sis some snorkeling over the sunken tugboat. It is pretty neat. It sit in about 17ft of water and has been a dive attraction. The batteries in my camera were not up to the task and getting batteries here is expensive.

We are preparing to leave for Aruba. It will be an overnight run. This will be as far west that we will go. After visiting with my parents we will begin our slog back up wind to the east back to Bonaire and then to the Aves, Roques, and Porta La Cruz Venezuela.

9/13:

Our group of 4 boats rented 2 jeeps to get around the island and to sight see. They we 20 bucks a day, no contract, just hand the money and take the car. It was an old Suzuki Samari and a non US Vitara (sidekick). Both well used.

We initially had problems with the Samari. When we turned the wheel wouldn't straighten out. Made for a few heart wrenching moments. Went to see the northern shores to see the parks. Waves crashing on the shores and exploding upward. Our fearless leader Tony from Side by Side was the guide. He had been here before. We stopped at the Ostrich Ranch.

Neat but way to expensive, stopped by the herb garden for lunch, and the Seaquarium. Here Sharon got to feed the sting rays and get bumped by the pink flamingos!

It took several days to get cleared in. First we anchored, Force Majure, preparing for the hurricane and then it took 2 tries and lots of running to even get to immigrations. Customs did not really want to see us, but the cleared us in any way. Immigration is set up for cruise ships not visiting yachts. It took a lot of running around to find the building, but we finally got legal. It is really amazing how easy it is to show up in a country and go ashore without ever being questioned or anyone even stopping by the boat.

9/11: IVAN came with in 105 miles of us. We had a good hole and other company in case of problems. The biggest winds we saw were 32 knots. What a relief! but we did hear via HAM and SSB the more than a hundred boats in Grenada we lost and 90% of the houses had damage. Grenada was supposed to be our stop for sitting out the hurricane season. Glad we went to the ABC's.

9/8: Makai and her crew packed up and headed to Spanish Waters, Curacao to find a hurricane hole from IVAN. We

weathered the storm well, though Grenada was slammed! With hurricane IVAN following a track further south than ever before, the computer models and the weather man could not predict with much confidence. So along with Side by Side, Infinity, and Starlight Dancer we left Bonaire, very quickly (1 and half hours to clear out, prep, and depart, thus ending our 2 month stay in Bonaire) and go to Spanish Waters as a hurricane hole. We deployed two anchors (much more useful than an EPIRB), and stripped the boat to wait. This evening IVAN is 12.7N and 67.7W and we are waiting and watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

Location as of 09/07/04: Kralendijk, Bonaire: [12 09.115 N 068 16.723 W] (our time here is coming to an end)

9/6: IVAN is still approaching so we went diving.

We dove with Ray & Gale of Precocious Gale (Ray was our dive instructor) on Small Wall. Interesting vertical dive with cave @ 60'.

9/1: We are preparing to sail to Curacao about 40 miles away. We have been waiting for a starter solenoid (2 weeks) and an engine stop solenoid (7 weeks). We have be able to get updates from FedEx on world travel of our starter solenoid. It was shipped from FL on 8/23 to Memphis, TN, then to Carolina, Puerto Rico, back to Memphis, back to PR back to Memphis, then to France and back to Memphis, then to PR and back to Memphis where it has been handled a couple time tin Memphis, and now it is in transit again. This is not unique. Our zincs did the same travel and took 2 weeks. This is a common story in the cruiser community. FEDEX s---s, and we have to pay for the privilege of the their service. The delivery is more than the part costs.

We are planning on leaving Monday or the first weather window there after to head to Curacao then Aruba to meet my parents.

We dove again today with Delphinus. Our deepest dive yet @110ft (5 min). Saw garden eels, shrimp, and other neat fish. Sharon worked on her fish survey and is getting close to the level 3 fish surveyor. Me I am looking for pirate treasure!!

Hurricane Francis just sucked the wind out of our area. The sun shown and the cooling trade winds (or lack there of) made it warm. But luckily we just step into out back yard for a refreshing snorkel or swim. We have been swimming every other day about a mile. It is great in this clear water. Not like the Bay! Good day visibility is 50 -60 yards or more.

Location as of 08/16/04: Kralendijk, Bonaire: [12 09.115 N 068 16.723 W] (still, can you tell we like it here?)

8/16: Tropical storm Earl passed by - none event cause he was such a weakling. We are planning to head to Curacao and then to Aruba to meet my parents for a week of fun. After that we will beat back upwind (again) to Bonaire where will meet up with other boats to travel to the Aves and Roques before going to Puerto La Cruz Venezuela. Looking forward to seeing Angel Falls and getting some boat work done. Last we heard the un-officially exchange rate was 2900/1. $5 gets a very good steak dinner, 93c for a bottle of rum and beer is 19c a can. Our money will stretch there.

8/14: Happy Birthday Angela! We went on our first deep dive - 90 feet! we went with 3 dive masters so we felt pretty safe. Neither of us got nitrogen narcosis. Too bad Bil and I both forgot our camera. We saw the ugliest frogfish. Kim on Delphinus calls it a novelty fish. It's so ugly, everyone wants to look at it.

8/11: Hurricane Charley came through the Caribbean last night. We had to pull into the marina since the storm passed within 100 miles of us. Even though we are in a hurricane free zone, the ocean swells can still do some damage. Luckily we didn't see much by way of storm surges.

Sharon and I just completed our scuba classes and we are now open water certified divers. Bonaire is the place to do it. Our dive instructor Ray from s/v Precious Gale set us up with a great cruiser price. Our confined dives were in shallow, 15-20' of water inside the reef where we are anchored. Our open water dives were at dive sites called Something Special, the Cliff, and Front Porch down to 60 ft. Spectacular way to learn and get great sights. We saw 2 octopi and many new fish (Sharon and I are level 2 fish IDers with Reef.org). WaterToy you need to come visit to dive, it is awesome. Bonaire is supposed to be the best diving in the world. People travel here from around the world for the diving, there is not much else to do!

7/26: We still are relaxing Bonaire. We have been reading a lot and socializing with other cruisers. Last nite we did our first night snorkel @ Captain Don's with Kimberly and Kevin, friends of Linda and Chili on s/v Natural Selection. They picked us up in the their rental truck ( while cruising getting around usually means walking, dinghying, or both. A ride in a truck is a treat!)

The dive area is just of the back of their bungalow. It is lit with a flood light and it attracts the fish. One in particular is a very

large 4.5-5 ft Tarpon. He is very intimidating. Even though you know that he doesn't eat people you just hope he does change his diet while you are there. He swam less than a foot away from us looking for the little herring to eat. The herring would be attracted to the dive light and the Tarpon would be attracted to the herring. Needless to say I know what Jonah was thinking when the whale came at him (though we weren't swallowed). (also went to Oil Slick and Windsock)

7/20: We finally got our waterproof camera case. Nothing happens fast around here. In the US a FedEx overnight is just that here it is 4-5 days and a regular FedEx can be two weeks. Once it leaves the US it can travel anywhere before it gets to you. On Dalphinus their prop was sent to the Netherlands, US, back, etc before being delivered to the islands. We are trying to hunt parts down for Makai. What an effort just to see if anyone can get them shipped in, much less the cost and the time. Emergency hear means days and weeks....

7/4: Happy Independence Day. The American contingent here had a small gathering on Klein island. Several Boats shows up

including some Canadians (they were upset that Bonaire did not throw a Canada Day party. just kidding..) We played bocce Ball with 16 players. Sharon carried our team. Luckily we lost and got to go chat with the other boaters. Bird of Paradise, Dolphious, Windmiller, Wind Bourne III, Trio, Sojourne and Shiraz

Did find .25 guilders with the metal detector. can't wait to go back for the gold doubloons.

We have been snorkeling a bit. We did a cave snorkel. Bonaire is loaded with some excellent caves. Saw stalactites, mites,

and

bacon draipiers. We saw several fruit bats too. The snorkel was awesome. Just Sharon, the guide, and myself. The water was fresh and looked like glass. The caves are very wild. The government has restricted cave entrance so there is very little damage and they are in a very natural state. The locals do not go into the caves. They believe that when a bad person dies the spirit goes to caves. If you go there the spirit jumps on you and follows you out.

6/25: We made it after 3 days and the last 400 miles of rough and confused seas to Bonaire in the hurricane free zone. The weather forecast as usual wasn't 100%. The was no real bad weather just higher than forecasted wind speeds and higher the predicted waves, 8-10' instead of 2-4' and 16-27 knot wind speeds instead of 10-15. The last day we made great progress as the winds and the seas laid down, but we still ended up arriving at 1AM. Lot of stress going into an unknown anchorage in the dark. We worked our way in and picked up a mooring. Sharon did a great job of getting us hooked up. Otherwise we would have had to stand offshore until sunrise. We were already tired (Sharon getting over being sick and I got sick en route) and would have meant keeping on watch for another 6-8 hours. The cats just wanted to get feed!

This concludes Part I. The journey. All of this describes the decision to go, preparations, and the journey. Part II continues with making our way around the Caribbean. Cruising Begins Jun-04-Present

But we are here and now the relaxing will begin as Part II of the trip is done and Part III, the leisurely sightseeing and island hopping, for the next 8-12 months begins.

6/19-21: Docked at the largest marina in the Caribbean. 1000 slips. It's huge! There are golf carts racing around everywhere! For the last several days in San Juan our boat was filthy. We would wash it and by the end of the day it was dirty. We thought it was from the city and the construction, but we learned that Montserrat erupted. That and we are getting fine dust from the Sahara that is carried all the way from Africa on the wind.

Went to El Yunque to hike.

It is the only Rainforest in the US national parks system and has been protected since 1903.

We hiked the Big Tree trail and the La Mina Falls trail. Heard the coqui (little frogs) singing that sounds like a bird song. We also trudged up to Mt Britton. (At this point, Sharon was chanting again - are we there yet? are we there yet?) The view was hazy because of the Montserrat eruption and the Sarah dust. But this will be our last walk for a week as we prepare to head to Bonaire in the ABC's. This will be our first destination in the hurricane belt. We originally going to the Grenada but we have had enough of heading up wind. Bonaire is a beam reach from east PR. This should be a fast ride with less pounding.

6/13--We have been enjoying our first break from traveling. We visited old San Juan and saw Fort El Morro

which has been at the same site since 1507. Old San Juan is quaint (but I would not come back just to visit) and very crowded. We had some excellent Puerto Rican food at Cafe Amadeus.

Streets are very narrow and traffic is thick. Al, you would like this, vendors hand rolling select leaves for your choice of cigars. Haven't been able to try one yet.

We have getting around by bus, mostly the B21. The drivers move through traffic at the same speeds and nimbleness of a Formula 1 driver. We blew through stop lights raced around corners and honked at anyone doing under 100 mph! All this for a quarter!

Visited the Bacardi Distillery. Toured and got free samples. They were not short on the rum, I can see why this is a popular trip. Free also, except having to take the bus 25 cents and 50 cents for the ferry. This mass transit is killing me. Miss my convertible, but don't miss driving in the traffic.

6/12: We are in San Juan, Puerto Rico. it took 5 days of sunrise and sunsets beating against at 25knot East wind with waves 10-12 feet. Because we were headed East the wind and the waves have naturally been coming from the direction we wanted to go. As often quoted 'Gentleman do not sail to weather' has taken on a new meaning. It is rough, wet, and tiring, but wouldn't have wanted to do it in a mono hull. Love the catamarans! We anchored on the west end and then beat the last 67 miles to get to San Juan.

We have cleared customs and are now waiting for immigration. In the mean time we are stuck on the boat. Worked on a few projects and have many more. Cleaning, salt just tears everything up, have an inverter problem, need to replace some line in the trampoline webbing, and on....

This will be our first opportunity to hang around for a couple of days and sight see. We only need to go another 399 miles south to get out of the hurricane belt. Aruba here we come and then will be able to start do more interesting things. The cats will finally have a home where the back yard doesn't change every day.

Passage making is pretty much watching the weather, the boat, reading, and sleeping when ever. With two of us and one always on watch, it can tire you out. It is neat to sail with no light pollution, see stars and constellations very clearly. Watched the phosphorescent algae glowing in the wake of our boat.

Food underway has been courtesy of all those who brought cans of soup at the food drive. The variety has been great and has made it easy to eat underway. Preparing food in 8-12 foot seas with the boat pounding can be chore.

6/3: Left Mayguana Island, Bahamas and headed to the Turks and Caicos. It ended up be a long day sail. We anchored of Provo in the dark in 25 knots winds with 2-3ft seas. It was a rough night. The morning brought us turquoise waters and blue sky. We anchored out of the island. Glad we didn't try to work our way in. Lots of unlit boats and ships! motor-sailed to the southeast side and anchored for the nite behind Long Island. Made water and again used our spade anchor. IT was worth every penny (thanks everyone). It sets fast, digs in quick and holds strong. We have yet to drag on it. I have started diving on the anchor to check it set, never would have done that in the Bay. Mostly you wouldn't be able to see it in the water.

On Grand Turk, we met Sam who helped us find fuel (a tough thing to do on a Sunday) and gave us a great tour of the Island. Stopped by Columbus' cut. There is a small historical disagreement. It is beloved that Columbus landed here first when he discovered the New World. It is widely accepted that he landed at what is now cal San Salvador Island.

Sam is hoping to build a restaurant at the light house on the north end. Good luck to you Sam on that restaurant! I looking forward to trying on the way back north.

5/30-31: The next day saw Makai fighting the wind and waves all the way to Little San Salvador. The island was bought by Holland America cruise lines and is now a day stop for the cruise ships. Fortunately, for us, the ship was not in. We had the harbor pretty much to ourselves. Early morning on Sunday 5/30 Makai was once again hitting the waves all the way to Cape Santa Maria on Long Cay.

Memorial day(5/31) found us in Clarence Town midway down Long Cay. We docked at the Flying Fish Marina. Very nice people and nice facilities. We took on fuel and got a good nights sleep in preparation for a tough overnighter in the Atlantic. Mayguana, our next destination, is over 120 miles away.

Bil's big barracuda caught while leaving Nassau . I thought it was a wahoo at first, both have massive sharp teeth.

Hiborne cay was next, and guess what, we beat into the wind the whole way there. We dropped anchor amidst some super mega motor yachts. I mean MEGA yachts! I think the smallest yacht was easily 75 to 80 ft.

So far, we have not had favorable winds since we left Charleston S.C. We hope to have fair winds soon... We left Dennis and Beth of Twilight at Hiborne.

Beth is looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for a few days. It's been a tough journey so far and Makai still have 1000 some miles to go.

5/25: After recovering for a day at S. Cat Cay Twilight and Makai made out way across the Great Bahamas Bank. We anchored right in the middle of nowhere to rest for the night. Kind of weird to drop the hook the nearest land 25 miles away. Got up at sunrise and continued on to Chub cay to check into customs.

We did some great snorkeling for Bil's birthday. Now he wants an underwater camera! There would have been some awesome pictures. The fish were incredible and not afraid of us at all. I baked a German Chocolate cake and we celebrated Bil's 43rd in warm tropical breezes. The folks from Trilite shared dinner on their boat and dessert on ours. Almost everyone on the dock had cake!

After recovering at Chub Cay for 2 days we beat back into the wind and headed for Nassau. As soon as we cleared the banks, Bil and I landed to Massive Mahi's or as some folks call 'em Dorados. Mine was about 3.5 ft at 20+ pounds and Bil's was well over 4 ft and 30+. We stayed at Nassau for the night at Nassau Harbour club, nice place with nice people. Met a cruising couple the was in short supply of wasabi, so I gladly shared some of mine (Thanks to Mr Ryou of Sho Chiku and Tomo Sushi restaurants, I have 2 lbs of the stuff!) Norman was so happy he donated some of his Admiralty charts to us.

We headed over to Nassau to get the cats cleared in. Bahamas wants pet owners to pre-clear your pets and then upon arrival visit a vet for a certificate. Since we were just passing through we went to visit the Agriculture people. The lady in the office as nice as you could be asked when the animals were going to be brought in. We told her that they were here on the boat. Quickly and loudly she said she would get fired if she did the paper work on the cats and made us feel like we were going to hauled off to jail for violating the rules. We explained the Custom Agents in Chub recommended we come straight to Nassau to get it fixed. So she looked around and then handed us the papers fill out. Quickly she went to her boss and got it signed off. After that it was $23 and we were set. We tipped her 20 bucks. She didn't ask, but she made it quick and easy.

5/21: We have finally made it to the Bahamas. It took for ever to get a weather window. It was as much as a window as the pane was cracked. We sailed over with a buddy boat, Trilite (Dennis and Beth from San Diego).

Beth and Dennis on Trilite, our taxi service in Key largo and our buddy boat through the Bahamas.

After spending a couple of days on the mooring at PenneCamp park. ( we did get to snorkel on some 16th century cannons and anchors). We moved to Rodriguez Key and anchored in 20 knot winds. Weatherman and Politicians just can't tell the truth, it was supposed to 5-10 kts.

When we finally made it across the gulf stream, 16 1/2 hours up wind with some 8-10 waves, (for those of you not familiar with the conditions, it means tooth jarring, wave crashing, kitty cat tossing ROUGH) we did the one thing we were told never to do - approach and anchor at night. It was pretty nerve wracking. Even with the radar and spot lights, you just can't tell if you're about to crash into something. Glad we made it through that!

May 2004

5/21: From Pumpkin Key we headed south again to Key Largo. Anchored in Pennecamp State park. This would be our jumping off point to the BAHAMAS.

5/15: Left Key Biscayne and headed off to Pumpkin key. The next time you guys see Bil, ask him about the dinghy motor on this leg of the trip. I won't go into horrid details on the web... [Sharon]

[6/15: Broke one of my rules of never towing the dinghy with the motor attached. Everyone said they tow with the engine attached, well... We were sailing at 7 plus knots, the dinghy trailed about 30 feet behind when Sharon through she heard something funny and looked back and noticed the outboard was missing. We hauled up, swearing, by the time we turned and started to back track we had gone a mile. we motored up passed the area we thought but didn't see it. With Sharon on the bow we turned around figuring is was lost for good. (do you KNOW how much a dinghy motor costs?!?!) We kept on the track hoping to spot it in the water. I spotted the fuel tank floating just at the surface. Dropped anchor and dove on the outboard in 7-10ft of water. We were able to recover it, luckily. It was almost a very expensive lesson. Cleaned the engine out, flushed it and it doesn't seem the worse for water!

LESSON LEARNED!!!!!]

5/11: Weather is excellent, except the winds are dead out of the East. Tough to sail straight up wind. We the forecast is predicting winds from the East for the week so we decided to head further south to Key Biscayne to try to jump off from there. It also gets us closer to out goal.

Winds 20-25 knots, wave 6-7ft averaged 6.5 knots saw 8plus for a bit. It was a rough ride, but the weather was clear. Made a quick trip to Miami.

5/10: Left lake worth where we have been anchored for a week awaiting a weather window. Winds were from the ESE @ 15-20knots. Waves 3-5 ft.. Gave an offering to gods of the sea. We lost the kayak when some lashing broke in the heavy seas and tore the side out. The seat and a piece of the body is all that we could save. Gonna miss that little boat.

Docked in Lauderdale Marina. $100 bucks. what a dump! Most places were 2-3 times and there are no anchorages.

April 2004

4/30: Making final prep for the gulf crossing. Just waiting for a weather window now. Until then we are hanging out in Palm Beach Gardens w/ our old slip mates on Water Toy from Deale, MD. We hope to be in the Bahamas by 5/3.

4/15-18: Left Charleston for a 2 day trip to Daytona Beach FL. 270 Miles open ocean and 55 miles offshore. The weather was clear, the water is a deep indigo blue. Sailed some and motored some. We bagged 9 big fish that we think are kawakawa's or mackerel tunas (2-3') and one Mahi-mahi about 2 1/2' long. Made 2 dinners out of him. Cats were happy!

Can someone tell me what this fish is?? [6/25 per Ben W. this is a false albacore. One comment Ben -my book shows spots on the belly for false albacore???]

Entered the Ponce de Leon inlet around 7:30 AM from the Atlantic. Ran aground on hard sand. Tried winching and motoring Makai off. Had to break down and call for Towboat US for assistance. Mike came and expertly towed us off (though he had to work at it). It was a good thing we called as the tide was going out fast and we would have been stuck there for 6 hours waiting for the next tide. He led us out of the area and up to Daytona Beach. Without local knowledge we would have probably run aground again, and again..... The tides shift the bottom so often the charts only warn but give to no other indicators of depth. Kind of nerve racking.

Glad to See Dawn and Tim. Sorry we didn't get to catch with other old friends from our days in Orlando.

[NOTE] Still having outgoing email issues.

4/11: Makai is docked at the Charleston Harbor marina across from Fort Sumpter next to the Yorktown air craft carrier.

In Charleston we did the tourist thing, horse drawn historic carriage ride through the downtown area. Pretty neat! Walked through the market place. This is the tourist craft area and has everything. There is a group of ladies (descended from slaves) that make baskets in the traditional fashion whose process was handed down from mother to daughter. The work is so unchanged that historians were able to determine that this group originated in Angola. The baskets are beautiful and take 30-40 hours to create for a small dinner plate size.

4/9-10: Admiral Sharon took the helm and delivered us into the Atlantic. This was our first offshore overnighter with Makai. The weather was beautiful, clear, good even winds on the beam. During the night Makai had a dolphin escort. They were gray torpedoes surfacing and diving along the side and back of the boat. We actually did better that initially estimated so we had to slow down. Makai was averaging over 7 knots (for a sailboat that is cooking).

Side note. We have been able to download email and update the website but have not been able to send out notices. We are working to resolve. This update is via an unprotected WIFI network at the marina!

4/7: Drawbridge after drawbridge. Bil and I would have made it to Southport today if it weren't for all the blankity blank bridges! C'est la vie. Well we are tide up at the Wrightsville beach marina. Nice place, we got to do laundry and they have WIFI access so we can actually upload the updates to this site! woohoo. Tomorrow we will try to hop out into the Atlantic for the first time (weather permitting). I may even get a chance to catch a yellowtail or two. [Sharon]

Location as of 04/07/04: Wrightsville Beach , NC [LAT:34° 12'N -- LON 077° 48W]

4/5: Really enjoying Beaufort. Met some nice folks , Ann and Harry on Circe and a couple from VT(thanks for the guide).

Saw the wild ponies on Shackleford Island. And more dolphins.

4/4: Made it Beaufort NC. Saw our first dolphins. Lots of them. Tried anchoring in 30 plus knot winds on the nose. Bottom soft and wouldn't hold. Moved and tried to find another anchorage. On the way out I hit bottom. Hard! bounced off like a pool ball off the rail. Tried another place but bounced off the bottom there too. Ended up at the city dock. The tide came in with the wind and was it ever strong, water level was up 3 feet in a hour. [Bil]

4/2/04: Docked in Belhaven. Fueled up 67 gallons diesel and 75 gallons of water. Heading out to Oriental SC. Expecting a wind shift. Maybe even get to sail!

4/1/04: Again with the winds on the nose as we left Elizabeth City. Did motor sail @ 7 plus knots. Passed through our first swing bridge. The Bridge tender held the bridge open and made traffic wait! Anchored at Tuckahoe point on the Alligator River (didn't see any gators though). Got buzzed by Tomcats practicing bombing runs. Pretty cool. It was very dark. Just 3 little lights and one was ours.

[Biff & Kat log entries]: Made an appearance while underway. Made the Admiral and Captain happy. Next will try to figure out how to get into the fridge while our crew is busy sailing. Mean furless ones stopped feeding me canned food. still thinking of ways to make them pay!

Free Dock maintained by Rose Buddies in Elisabeth City.

Mar 2004

3/31/2004: Still tied to Hospitality Docks @ Elizabeth City waiting out the weather. Met Fred Fearing of the Rose buddies. 20 years ago, after visiting his wife's grave, he saw several boats anchored and decided to get some wine a crackers and have a party. Now he and several others take visiting boaters to his house for a weekly meeting. They also meet everyone at the docks and present the First mate (Admiral in our case) with a rose. Since roses were out of season he presented Sharon and the first mate of the Meridian, with Carolina cotton pods.

03/28/04: headed down the ICW from Norfolk. Saw some big ships and entered the Dismal Swamp Canal. Need to get Rob the Lockmaster, Dam-master, and bridge tender a conch shell on our return trip from the island.

Makai's first Lock and Rob playing the conch shell. Pretty Good!

Water in the dismal swamp is loaded with tannin. It's like sailing in a cup of coffee.

03/25/2004: Docked in Hampton Roads. Visited with Sharon's cousin Marty & Mike, did boat stuff and cleaned. Cats much happier when docked.

03/24/2004: Again light winds to the south. Motored to Antiposion creek in Fleet's Bay. Got a little rough, cat's were not happy. Anchored (love that anchor) in the creek for a quiet, very dark night. Used the Follow-me-TV. Love DirecTV on the hook. Try that with cable.

03/23/2004: Cast lines off about an hour after sunrise. Light winds from the south. Motored to Solomon's Island for the night. Broke in the new anchor. It sets great. [Bil]

03/15/04: Well the Launch Brunch was wonderful, we want to thank everyone for coming and wishing us farewell. As always, food was in abundance and Paul was the Omelet King! Bil and I want to extend our gratitude for all the great food everyone brought. We will think of you guys as we go through the soups, mac and cheese, and SPAM. And a special thanks to Phil and Debbie!!! The new photos on the web will be all with Phil's Camera! And a big thanks to Paul, Richard, Bonnie, Amy, Erik, Martha, Mike, Angela, Mark, Zachary, Parimal, and Maia for the anchor (we'll send you pictures of every time we use it -which will be ALL THE TIME).

Feb 2004

2/1/04: Moved onboard Feb 1st. Inch of ice on the inside. Since we aren't spending anymore time here the needed we opted for 2 space heaters and a 9000 BTU propane. It cost $378/mth to keep it cool enough for sweat shirts and sweats. The Ice is 6 inches thick arounds us and our bubble that keeps the ice away is making the ducks very happy.

02/11/04: I said good-bye to all the good folks at Fannie Mae today. Thanks everyone for the wonderful sendoff party. I can't say I'm gonna miss work, but certainly will miss my friends. Although, some folks still want to give me a 07:30 wake-up call occasionally - you know who you are....[Sharon]

02/27/04: Bi'ls last day of work. So far we've got the Radar mounted, a/c is mostly in, Water maker is here as well as the new dinghy motor. So our to do list is finally getting closer to becoming a "done" list.

Jan 2004

01/01/04: News Years Day was spent at Phil’s for the Lobster feast. Awesome time as always. It will be our last for a few years. He will just have to come to the islands to dine with us.

01/05/04: Listed the house for sale today and got 3 offers within seven hours. Woohoo. Ratified contract and our closing date is set for 1/30.

01/15/04: Preparations for the departure have been coming along. Still a long way to go and many projects to be done. Sharon and I have officially cut the ties with work. We now are working out the last days. [Bil]

01/31/04: Our first night of homelessness. Our first day as boat people. Feels a bit strange, but good. The cats are not so happy with us at this point. Biff is feeling confined, he's used to lots of room to run around. Now he's confined to the little salon and berths. Kat on the other hand is just mad cause she had a tooth pulled. She couldn't care less where she is, only that there is food and a warm bed and the occasional treat!

To Do:

Re-stow and GO!

~~~ _/) ~~

Sept 2003

9/03: Sharon came home from work and asked 'Can we go sailing'. My response we go sailing every weekend. Her's was 'For a year'. Mine ' YES'.

This is the start of the preparations for the trip south on Makai.

This site was last updated 01/06/05