Spring of 2015 - Jan 10th 2016

Hi everybody! Hope you  all had a great summer/fall of 2015 . I thought I had posted this back in June only to realize today that it was still in :  "draft" 

I am posting anyway just to let you know how we made out with the "lightening strike" insurance claim from last year!  


Guy and I flew into  Fort Lauderdale Florida  May 25th to check on the repairs being done to our vessel from the lightning strike last year! We stayed at a nearby Hampton Inn  while we  waited for all the work to be completed . We then made our way to St. Augustine where we left Miss Ellie for the summer and fall.

Miss Ellie, was sailed from the Bahamas by a captain and crew in early April to have  all of her repairs and equipment replaced here at The Fort Lauderdale Marine Centre. It was the insurance company that wanted it brought back to the US for repairs because the cost of having it done in the Bahamas was  ridiculous.

Here Guy, jumps aboard Miss Ellie to see what has been done in the last 7 weeks and get some info from the head technician working on the job.

There was still some work to be done before we, our insurance representative and the technician in charge go out for a performance trial .

   For those of you interested here is most of the  
    Lightening Strike Replacement Equipment


1      Raymarine e95  MFD Chartplotter, Navi +  Charts Display
1      Raymarine RS130 GPS Antenna
1      Raymarine STng 2M pwr, 3M spur, 5 way, trm starter kit  NMEA 2000 Cables, Connectors,    
        Network

1      Raymarine RD424HD 4KW 24" dome, 10M Radar
1      Raymarine Digital Radar 25M cable

1      Raymarine Sea Talk NG T Connector
1      Raymarine Backbone 5M Sea Talk NG cable
1      Raymarine Raynet to RJ45 Female 100 mm Adapter

1      Raymarine i50 Speed Pack , w/3p19 Depth Thru Hull Transducer
1      Raymarine i60 Wind Pack, w/short arm vane   Transducer
1      Raymarine I50 Depth Pack  w p319 Thru Hull Transducer

1      Raymarine EV-400 w/P7OR Head, ACU , no pump Auto Pilot
1      Raymarine Type 2 short 12 V Linear Drive System
 
1      Standard Horizon GX 2200 Matrix AIS/GPS VHF Black 
1      Standard GX2150 VHF fixed Mount
1      Metz Manta 6  3' SS VHF Whip Antenna
1      Standard Horizon CMP30  Ram3 Black remote Microphone
1      Standard Horizon Ram 3, Ram + Vh-310  23'  Extension cable

1     Clarion M505 Marine Receiver Stereo
1     Clarion MW1 Remote
1     Sirius XM SxV300 Tuner
1     Clarion 25 ' Extension Cable

1     WiFi System Amp and Antenna
1      Bad Boy WiFi Unit Amp system
1      Coax Low Loss

1      Shakespear Sirius Sat Radio Sirius antenna

1      Inverter   FREEDOM SW 2012 WITH SCP/75'
1      Xantrax system control panel

 1      Panel switch 12V
1      Rule 12 V water alarm
1      Aqua alarm bilge pump  monitor
1      Jabsco 12 V Water pump
4      Hella 2 speed fans
1      40 series Stbd nav light
1      40 series port nav light
1      41 series Stern nav light
2      Cabin led ww, med 8-30 vdc


The captain and crew's charge to the insurance company for their flights and ferries to Hope Town Bahama, delivering the boat and  misc came to 3500.00

They removed the old equipment  and re-installed the new with only a few minor scratched to the interior varnish.  The exterior equipment was also installed  flawlessly.

The total for Miss Ellie's repairs and equipment came to approx. 65,000.00

We were told it would have been double that if the repairs were done in the Bahamas, plus they questioned the experience to do the job there. The Lauderdale Marine Centre was THE place to go for this job.

Leaving Fort Lauderdale Marine Center May 30th after a successful sea trial.

 Fort Lauderdale north  bound for St Augustine.

On the way we soon realized that some of the new equipment needed to be calibrated and manuals needed to be read!

It was hot with very little wind. Temperatures in the high 90's every day!

The mansions we sailed by were unreal!

So are the huge yachts

We never tired of the dolphins swimming along side of us! They kept us company .
At this time of year, we did not see many boats travelling the intercostal waterway.  

After a few days of travel, we are happy with the new equipment . Our insurance company was fair and great to work with.

Once we arrived in St Augustine Florida, at St Augustine Marine Centre , on the Sebastian River, we began the grueling work of cleaning, dis-assembling and storing stuff  inside  to ensure a mould free, bug free space on our return in 6 months. Guy tackles the outside, removing the sails, canvas and securing anything that might be lost or broken during high winds. After a week , of continued hot and  humid weather, Miss Ellie is ready to be hauled out! 



A few days before haul out, our niece and her husband from the Orlando area, drove to St Augustine for a visit.  We had lunch at a great little restaurant in Lincolnville called the Blue Hen.  

Still hot and humid ! 

We purchased a de-humidifier to keep the humidity low inside the boat for the 6 to 7 months away!
We plugged it in, hired a guy for 20 bucks a month  to check the water level in the batteries as we had one solar panel hooked up to engage the bilge pump  when water gets in from the mast when it rains.

We returned to Canada mid June and spent a fun summer and fall with our much missed three little grand daughters,  family and friends.

                 Then on

Dec. 25th 2015, our 4th grand child joined our family. 
Here captain papa, proudly holds Kaleb Tobias Mathany. 

                                                 


We flew from Vancouver to Jacksonville Fl. on Wed. Jan 6th. A shuttle took us from there to St Augustine Thursday Jan 7th to check on a few things before Miss Ellie's launch at 3:00 p:m the same day. We have been busy organizing down below, putting up the sails, barbecue , outboard, cleaning the decks , checking that all the systems work etc. etc.  All is good. 
The de-humidifier did a great job keeping the inside just as we had left it last June. Now we just need to find a spot to store it. Yikes! 




We always stow the dingy upside down on deck when we leave the boat for a season. This year though, when we lifted it up to put it in the water, we saw this hornets nest. Yikes....Brave Guy used a boat hook to dislodge it and let it fall in the water. They were dazed and floated away quickly with the strong current! 

Then there was this little guy peeking in the galley hatch! LOL! We let him jump around the deck for a while and he finally jumped off. 

We have rented a car for the weekend to do some provisioning for us and Miss Ellie. Enterprise car rentals have a deal of $9.99 a day for the weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday for $41 total. Plus they pick you up and drop you off! Sweet deal! 

Our plan is to leave St Augustine in the next few days and make our way to West Palm Beach Fl. where we will wait for a good weather window to cross over to the Bahamas. So far the weather has been cool. It will go down to 38 F. tonight. So happy for our Espar diesel heater. It's keeping us warm and cozy. 

              Happy belated New Years!   Guy and Louise