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

Back to Vancouver!

       March 31st......on our way back to Vancouver

We had a great winter in the Bahamas. On March 31st, we cast off Miss Ellie's lines for her trip to Fort Lauderdale and we flew home to Vancouver for a month or so till we have to return to Florida after the post lightening strike damage is fixed.

Due to the super slow internet from our boat, I decided to wait till I got home to post what we did since my last post!

                          

In my last post, I showed pics of Guy sanding the toe rail (the strip of teak  that runs along the edges of a boat's deck). This is the result of the finished 1 coat of application of Cetol 'Natural' under 9 more coats of Cetol 'Gloss'.
The last post also had pics of Guy's art show. It was successful, selling more than half the paintings so far. The remaining ones will stay hung in the gallery. 

In early March, our friend Joe asked if we wanted to enter a race just outside of Hope Town with he and his wife Paula on Sequel II, their 37 ft C&C. We did not win...but it sure was fun!

Joe and Guy check the tale tails on the sails making sure the sails are well set .

This vessel is called the Rage. It is pretty much in every race and is a sight to behold.

It's not unusual to pack up our cooler with an appetizer to share and some cold beer or wine for Happy Hour on other cruiser's boats or have them join us on Miss Ellie

We were often invited to join friends (by way of their boats) at some fun restaurant/bars on the sea of Abaco.

A fishing day on our friends Lee and Cheryl's  Wesmac cruiser/fishing boat "Live Wire"

Guy's catch....a 50lb Maui Maui!

My catch for the day was a 13 lb King Mackerel

With our freezer not cooling as well as it should have been, we gave lots of fillets to fellow cruisers as well as staff at the Hope Town Inn. We enjoyed a few meals of grilled Maui Maui  as well as fish tacos!

We never tire of this sight....just outside the harbor . Directly ahead is the Atlantic. Going to the left you enter the sea of Abaco.

Most Sundays there is a race. One category is for the Abaco Dinghies and the other is of the Sail Fish

On the top left pic, Guy is towing in two sailfish sailboats.  The wind had died and they were going nowhere fast early on in the race. Top right pic is of our friend Steve who is also being towed back in!

We have been  back in beautiful Vancouver, enjoying our kids, grand daughters and friends for nearly 2 weeks now. The cherry blossoms are spectacular as are all the flowering trees and bushes!
Below, from our balcony, we will enjoy the mountains and the cruise ships that are starting to arrive daily.

We will be returning to Florida in 3 to 4 weeks when the repairs have been completed on Miss Ellie. At that time, we will be testing out the new systems, and taking the boat to St Augustine to haul out for the summer and fall months. We have been happy with our insurance company so far. They sent a captain and a crew member to take Miss Ellie from Hope Town to Fort Lauderdale.  Captain Steve, safely delivered the boat in 36-40 hours  non stop in light winds and minimal waves. It was mostly a motor ride.           
 On our return to Florida,  I will post once more on the blog to let you know how we made out with the repairs and the insurance.      
Have a great Spring..........

  

Time flies !

  Oh my....it's already been a month since my last post......

These pics are from the exhibition's opening at the Hummingbird Art Centre that took place Feb 2nd. It was very well attended and several pieces sold within a few hours! More sold throughout the month and the remaining paintings will stay at the gallery and hopefully sell before our return next year!
Robbie Bethyl, the art co-ordinator did a great job organizing the event and serving wine and cheese!  

This is  Susan Abbott. She is an artist from Vermont  and comes to the Bahamas every year to give art classes that are very well attended by locals and tourists. Here Guy watches as she does a Plein Air piece of a local house.

A walk on the beach is always a fun way to spend part of an afternoon!You may have noticed the long pants and sweater. When  a cold front rolls through it may be sunny but the air is cool and you may get a few sprinkles of rain with strong winds but swiftly moving fronts. Short bursts of rain and then the sun shines again.

We usually pack a picnic lunch and head out to the sunfish and Abaco dinghy races on Sunday afternoons in the bay off the Hope Town entrance.

Sometimes we walk along the frack filled shore in search of seabeans. We have found quite a few this year!

Lots of sanding ahead to make them turn into little jewels!

A random statue on a property facing the sea!

These signs are everywhere along the rough roads on the island!

A meeting of guitar players.....Guy, Steve and others often get together, bringing with them a crowd complete with appetizers, smiles and interesting conversations!

Above, myself and our friend Randy look on as the crowd sings along, share sailing stories and sample the many yummy dishes!

Always well attended is this years Song Writers Festival! We attended 2 of the 5 venues!

The first venue we attended was at The Hope Town Inn......same place as we are docked at. Another cold front moved into the area making it a super cold evening but somehow, with the fire pit warming the crowd it was super entertaining!

Here we are dressed in layers to keep warm with our good friends Randy and Lee of S/V Silver Maple, also Canadians from Buckhorn On.

We shared this table for the second Song Writer's festival venue with some cruising friends at the Firefly Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants on the island.  The place was packed .We waited so long for our dinner order to come that the restaurant placed 3 bottles of free wine on the table!  So we happily toasted to a great evening filled with talented  entertainers again! Because this place is on the south end of the island, a great service that they offer is a pick up and delivery to and from their restaurant by golf cart! 

Well.....now it's time to get some work done!

The dreaded sanding!  This time though Guy used mostly a scraper (loaned to him by our friend Randy) as the many coats of varnish applied last year had started to lift!   Grrrrr.......The boater across the dock from us said,"Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a vacation not a work time." My reply was,"Nope, it is a lifestyle! You have to keep up with the boat jobs. Plus we are only here for a short time and fun and work each have to take turns or your boat looks run down in a hurry."

All work and no play is no fun...so another afternoon get together by the pool area with (from the left), Randy, Lee, Dana, Ted, Diane, Nancy, Goldwyn and Guy!

We may not be sailing much this year, but we have been to other islands on our friends boats. Once to provision in Marsh Harbor on S/V Sequel II with Joe and Paula and a week later, with Wendy and Peter to have lunch at Pete's Pub in Little Harbor. What would have taken us all day to sail there, took 45 minutes in their 42 foot Sabre motor yacht on the clam, flat sea of Abaco.
 And of course there is the ferry that takes us over and back to events in Man O War or on the Great Island of Abaco. 
Never a dull moment!

One more month left to enjoy this beautiful place!

See you next time!  


Guy and Louise xoxox