His-n-Hers Blog

From Mayhem to Mangroves to Moonlit Beaches

7/4/2015

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Part I
It's been over six months since I've posted and LOTS has happened since my last post. My mom, from Oklahoma, came to visit in Key West and finally got to see Tabula Rasa! We had a wonderful (but too short) visit and she "partied" with us on Duval Street! What an awesome Grammy! She wisely did not travel with us on the dinghy as she still remembers when I overturned the wave runner and dumped her into Lake Freeman! Oops....
December was filled with work and my son, Alex, visiting me briefly for Christmas. My daughter, Catherine, spent the Christmas holidays in Key West on the boat.

January 16, 2015 was my last day of full-time work at IU Arnett Hospital. I miss all of "my peeps" I worked with and can't express how tremendously honored I felt with the amazing send-off parties and well-wishes. I feel very blessed to have worked with such wonderful, caring and talented people!

Part II
So now we begin the Real Tabula Rasa Adventure! On January 19 in the wee early hours of the morning I left Monticello, IN with our new crew member, Kitty, to join Scott in Key West aboard our boat. Poor Kitty did not know what was in store for her. The three of us spent the next month preparing to depart and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for a good weather window to safely travel to Chub Cay, in the Berry Islands. We finally departed at high tide, at 0130 on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. Our new friends, Butch and Francis captured our departure in the daylight hours of the morning. We added fuel (whick took about TWO hours) and headed out into the big blue Atlantic. Our passage took a total of 24+ continuous hours. We had a safe passage and a great sense of accomplishment that we had co-captained successfully to our first stop!

We "checked in" at Chub Cay, a full afternoon process because the Customs and Immigration officer was out to lunch, then had errands, and THEN had to process the 6 person Watermaker Air flight! Welcome to "Island Time". After an early dinner and bedtime we headed out at 0700. Winds had picked up slightly in the marina, but when we hit the channel exit...OMG! Swirling confused seas and 6 ft waves hitting us on the quarter-beam with gusto! The next several hours through the "tongue of the ocean" were rough and rougher seas, but Tabula Rasa handled it beautifully. (Contrary to what Kitty's vet said, cats DO get sea sick! Ugh!)

After a long travel day we were safely anchored at our destination, Highborne Cay. Hooray! The next day we visited the Highborne Cay Marina for lunch. It was simply beautiful...and we really enjoyed a well-deserved Sands Light to celebrate our travels. We visited the "grocery store" at Highborne Cay and I was disappointed by the poor supply. (LOL See later post!) Bahama beer was $85 a case! NO we didn't buy any. We also traveled to Leaf Cay, home to some very big, prehistoric-looking iguanas.

From Highborne Cay, located in the Northern Exumas, we traveled to the Exuma Land and Sea park, landing at Shroud Cay 2/28/2015. The winds were still strong easterlies at 15-20 kts, making hiking or snorkeling impossible, as launching the dinghy would have been very difficult and dangerous in the high winds and rocking seas. So after waiting two days with no relief from the winds we headed south to Hawksbill Cay, also in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Again the winds were not cooperating and we were unable to leave the boat at anchorage, so on March 3 we headed further south to Big Major Spot. We had successfully made it to the Central Exumas!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will say that our time spent at Big Major Spot was really fun. Swimming pigs, James Bond movie sets and the famous Staniel Cay Yacht Club. We visited Staniel Cay, Fowl Cay and Thunderball Grotto After 9 days of travel we arrived at Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we ate, drank and talked with OTHER PEOPLE! We hadn't spoken with another couple in NINE days...WOW! Culture shock for me, but a cruising life I am really embracing. We met lots of interesting people and had wonderful adventures.

After constantly watching our weather window to head further south we departed Big Major Spot 3/7 and anchored off Great Guana Cay at an area known as Little Bay. It was beautiful and private. We traveled by dinghy to the town of Black Point. There are three establishments for eating/drinking and a small food store that was closed until some Canadian cruisers had the owner called to open it. I purchased some onions and limes...Yay! Fresh produce! Again, it was windy and we had to wait for calmer weather.

From Black Point, we found a weather window to meet our friends from Monticello, IN in Georgetown. We stayed for almost 2 weeks and enjoyed some relaxation(us), kayaking (me) and beach exercising (me). Once we picked up our friends the winds were once again becoming obnoxiously strong and prompted us to move to Little Bay anchorage. After our several hour trek we found a perfect anchorage with perfect weather and waters of glasstop smoothness. We enjoyed a wonderful swim and dinner before bedtime, only to awaken to hellacious winds making everyone queasy! Definitely time to move the boat to calmer waters...

Serque BEACHED

We took our Spring Break friends, Randy, Rochelle and Danielle, to Big Majors Spot to see the pigs, snorkel Thunderbolt Grotto and see the nurse sharks swimming the dinghy docks at the Yacht Club. We continued to battle high winds until the ultimate windy night at 3:00am we experienced 51 knot winds!!!! The entire anchorage was awake with boat lights on and chatter on the VHF radio. Sailboats and powerboats were dragging anchor...Several boats moved into open waters and one boat (aka MegaYacht) ended up on Pig Beach!!!! Uh Oh! Can you say "Bad Bad Day". It took two days and two boats to tow the MegaYacht Serque to get $$$repairs$$$. Our trusty Rochna anchor held firm. I love my anchor! Our friends also got to experience the middle-of-the-night "rain dance". This is my term for sleeping soundly with all of the portholes and hatches open (A/C broke the day we left US waters) only to be awakened by buckets of torrential rain pouring upon you...bed linens soaked, inches of water inside the boat and the mad dash to run through the boat closing her up! Usually by the time everything is closed and hot as hell the rain stops! Argh! Our friends' final cruising experience came when we couldn't get them back to Georgetown for their flight home. (OK we COULD have, but I don't call 6-7 foot seas a good option.) Ultimately we scheduled a private charter plane to return them home. We hope our friends had a wonderful time, especially Danielle celebrating her 13th birthday aboard Tabula Rasa.

Chillin' at Blackpoint

Danielle discovers Virgin Pina Coladas

Part III
April 2015, now we are on our last leg of our cruising season. I'm seriously questioning WHY I thought working in Indianapolis June1 was a good idea!?!?!?!? We make it to Little Farmers Cay, as we were told they have a population of 50 people and 5 bars! This is our kind of town! LOL This was a huge favorite of ours and the deserted beaches on the surrounding cays were incredible. In addition, we had a few days of good weather with minimal winds! (Truly unusual during this cruising season!)

From Little Farmers Cay we headed to the Exumas Land and Sea Park, as we had such bad weather earlier we were unable to visit. We visited Shroud Cay where we took our little dinghy via small canals to a hiking trail. We had a wonderful adventure! We hiked Warderick Wells and thoroughly enjoyed the park. The irony of the park is how little fish and and wildlife we actually saw. We truly saw more fish and birds outside of the park boundaries than we saw inside the park...Sad!

Exuma Land and Sea Park

Shroud Cay, Exuma Land and Sea Park

From the Park, we traveled back to Highborne Cay. Funny how my perspective changed, as the little store for provisions suddenly looked like a "great, well-stocked grocery store" after just 6 weeks of travels. HaHa

Our next stop was Eleuthera Island at Settlement Point. Once again, fierce winds kept us from anchoring at our intended spot and we ended up at a nearly deserted anchorage. We had a lovely time visiting Spanish Wells, near Russell Island. We were strictly warned NOT to advertise how lovely this spot was, as no residents wanted any more transient visitors. We thoroughly enjoyed this quaint island, especially Budda's Bar, which Scott is sure to review in his Tiki Bar Review section. Again we waited for a weather window before heading off toward our northern trek toward the USA.

Part IV
From Eleuthera it was now time to start making our way north. It was so windy we had major issues with making our way to places we had planned. We made our way to Little Harbor, which was my first "cut" I captained through safely. We anchored off a small cay which let us snorkel a beautiful reef in a rare good weather window. We then made our way back to the Abaco Islands and Great Guana Cay. We had a great time at the infamous Nippers and met a real live World Series Champion Minnesota Twins baseball player! We also watched a beautiful yacht burn right into the water...I cried and Scott was perplexed that not ONE firefighter, Bahamian coast guard person or other government official came to its rescue. We had our evening cocktails and prayed our boat would never have the same horrible fate. Better sea and weather conditions then led us to anchor at Green Turtle Cay, a great place indeed. Who knew Tiki Bars had swimming pools?!?! Drink, get hot in sun, dunk in pool, repeat! Awesome indeed! I could've stayed several weeks in this idyllic little cay. Great food, good drinks, friendly people and a lovely anchorage.

We then had to head home via the Bahama Banks. Our original trek to the Bahamas (2014 Cruising Season 1) took us through the Atlantic Ocean to the Abaco Islands. Our return trip would be via the Bahama Banks. We checked and rechecked the weather, yet were tricked one final time. We experienced 5+ foot seas and had to readjust our final route plans to make our way safely to Stuart, FL USA.

Our Last Adventures before returning home...

So in Summary,
What we did RIGHT...
We navigated and anchored as a great team. We were well-provisioned with exactly the right amount of food and dry goods. We made safe and smart decisions on the fly. We had a great amount of fun together. Scott was amazing at fixing things and I was a great captain at the helm.

What went WRONG...
Things Break--and NEVER at the right time. Over 50 knot winds at TWO different anchorage when all FOUR weather sources did NOT predict it!!! I contracted an acute mulit-articular arthritis (probably from some tropical mosquito) that lasted over a week... I then contracted food poisoning back in Stuart FL while our A/C was out and our boat temp was over 90 degrees.

For the FUTURE...
If you ask me, I'll tell you I would live on our boat forever, traveling the world. If you ask Scott, he'll probably say we"ll decide season to season" as he likes his time away from the boat. I'll be working in Indianapolis this summer and he will be trying to sell our home in Monticello, IN. We will be together on the weekends planning our next AMAZING ADVENTURE!

After hundreds of emails and constant harassment from Paula I am now updating the blog. I also added lots of NEW Tiki Bar Reviews for Key West, Abaco, Exumas and Eleuthera. I also started a collection of Crazy T-Shirts...I'm not sure why, but I did.

For the record I have legitimate reasons as to why I could not blog until now.

The first reason I could not blog is I was in Key West from November through the middle of February. I caught the dreaded "Key's Disease". For me it was nearly incurable and for most in Key West it is incurable. How do you catch this disease you ask? Typically exposure to Key West for greater than 10 days will put you at great risk. What are some of the symptoms?

1. Extreme allergy to the "W" word (Work).
2. Acute lethargy.
3. Dehydration that constant beer consumption can not quench.
4. Inability to remember where you left your cell phone on Duval Street.
5. Mañana-itis.
6. Give A Shit Meter is always on empty.

Unfortunately, I had all of these symptoms and a few more that made blogging virtually impossible. There is no cure for this disease, but you can hope for partial remission that will not progress once you have left the Keys. Prognosis is good from that point forward as long as you do not return to the Keys. Fortunately, or unfortunately (Slight relapse here) my cure was Paula. She fired up the boat and cast off the lines with me kicking and screaming and I finally calmed down by the time we arrived in the Berry Islands.

The reason I could not blog after putting the "Key's Disease" at rest was communications or lack thereof in the Exumas. It sounds cool and romantic to get away from it all in the islands and for a while it is. But, we all have become so dependent on constant communication. Paula and I have parents 80+ and were very uncomfortable not being in touch with them on a more routine basis. The Internet has become everyone's 'go to' place for knowledge. How to repair something, how to find parts, how to order something, and how to creep on the Mega Yachts next to us. We spent much of our time in the Exumas without cell service, email, WiFi, and Internet. We purchased local Bahamian cell service and WiFi, but it did not work any better. When we did get WiFi near a marina, restaurant, etc. the bandwidth was terrible and had speeds just this side of dial-up. Consequently, blogging was out of the question.

I will briefly cover the 2015 cruise season from my point of view from the 10,000 foot perspective as Paula will, as always, give the fine details and color of our cruise season.

We were originally going to the Caribbean this season, but last year all of the sailor/cruisers we met said "If I have not visited the Exumas I must go there first as the Caribbean is a beaten path and the Exumas are very remote with few people/boats. So we adjusted our plans to cruise the Exumas. After this cruise season I realized my idea of less traveled is considerably different than my cruising friends. Most popular anchorages were 15 to 35 boats. Moving between islands felt like Chicago at rush hour. Many boats going north and south with some from east and west to keep things interesting. There are islands to get away from other boats and people but you need to hunt them down. I find Abaco's less dense than the Exumas. My opinion. As for the Exumas if I had one word to describe it it would be "Windy". If I had two words to describe it they would be "Beautiful Water".

We originally left Stuart and headed to Key West non-stop. We were in Key West from November through mid February.

We left Key West and headed to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands to check in. It took around 30 hours and was for the most part a gentle ride. This was Kitty's maiden voyage and she sounded like Linda Blair on the Exorcist through this leg of the trip. Later Kitty developed into quite the "Boat Kitty" and sat at the helm with Paula most of the time. We checked in at Chubb Cay and found nothing open to drink or eat so we went back to the boat.

We left Chubb Cay early the following morning and proceeded to Highborne Cay, Shroud Cay, Hawksbil Cay, Big Majors Cay, Staniel Cay, Lil Bay Black Point, and on to Georgetown over the next couple of weeks.

We hooked up with Indiana friends in Georgetown and proceeded north to Lil Bay Black Point and Staniel Cay. After they returned home we proceeded to Lil Bay Black Point and Lil Farmers Cay. I am sure Paula will talk about this in greater detail and I will review the Tiki Bar.

Next we proceeded to Hawksbil Cay, Norman Cay, Shroud Cay, Warderick Wells, and Highborne Cay,

We left Highborne Cay and proceeded to Spanish Cay, Eleuthera.

After Eleuthera we proceeded to the Abacos. While in the Abacos we visited Little Harbor, Marsh Harbor, Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Fox Town

After Fox Town we returned to Stuart and had a pleasant crossing.

Cruise Season Statistics:

1400 NM

$4,530 of fuel purchased (Yes, Dad that is a lot)

Alcohol and food bill was much more than the fuel bill

74 days in a row on hook without going into a marina

Most expensive beer: $85/case for local beer at Highborne Cay (No, we did not buy it)

51 knot winds at Big Majors anchorage that tore off the Bimini (Forecast 15 to 20 knots)

57 knot winds at Mermaid Reef anchorage in Abaco (Forecast 5 to 10 knots)

Groundings: 0 this season (Does not count dingy)

Paula was at the helm 90% of the time.

Casualties during season:
1. Generator Temp Sensor went out (Hell), but
thanks to Bob Senter we identified the issue.
2. Generator Belt broke
3. Bilge Pump went out. Replaced it with Randy
Fritz's help.
4. Insinkerator handle broke - Guests
5. Stern navigation light cover broke - Don't ask
6. Dingy got banged up - Don't ask
7. Paddle Board fin lost - Guests
8. Bimini ripped off frame - see 50+ knot winds
9. AC System went down at start of season
10. 2 toilet seats down - Guests
11. Davit (Operational) stopped in extension mode
12. Dryer knob broke. required complete dryer being
pulled out, top and face plate removed - Guests
13. Guest stateroom towels bleached - Guests
14. Starboard windshield wiper broke
15; Water Heater T&P Valve had to be replaced.
16. Inverter went out while going through the famous
Whale Cut in Abaco - Reset and all has been well.
17. My pride on several occasions.

After the close of this season and before the beginning of the next season there is much to be done. Repairs, PM (preventive maintenance), and more importantly improvements we have learned through the past season's experiences.

All and all a great season with my Princess and proof that God protects drunks and idiots. :) OK, OK, that does not pertain to Paula, but more importantly proves just how important I am to the crew of this boat.

Cruising Season Begins

12/2/2014

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

October was a really busy month for me...Lots of 'on call' days at the hospital, my birthday and a whirlwind four day weekend of provisioning! For my non boating-land living friends, provisioning is like grocery shopping on major steroids!!!! Have you ever made a shopping trip to stock up for 8 months???? Well that was my provisioning challenge. I had made lists, remade more lists, turned my lists into spreadsheets, rechecked my lists and spreadsheets and THEN went shopping. Now all women know you can never find ALL of the items you need at just one store, and this provisioning escapade was no different. I started out with online ordering from Target, Walmart and Amazon. Then with lists of necessary items in hand, went to Sam's and Walmart on Day 1. After multiple trips down our long dock in Stuart we had officially begun and were ready for Day 2. Sam's Club with Scottie (Oh NOOOOO!) is all I can say. Scott is a man that ABHORS shopping of any kind, so taking him to a place like Sam's Club on a Saturday was probably very poor judgement on my part. Anyway, two hours later we left with over 110 pounds of meats. (Vegetarians BEWARE! Carnivores are On Board!) After hauling all of the meat items down the dock, it was then time to repackage, vacuum seal and freeze. I exhausted all 44 quart-sized FoodSaver bags (how did I know that number was insufficient?!?!) and then used 2 entire FoodSaver rolls as well.
We started this ordeal at 10am and finished at 5pm...Cocktail hour was VERY welcome!

Day 3 found us at Walmart...yet another mistake to have my "shopping-phobic" Scotty come to help. Despite his reluctance, he was a wonderful help and we finished with Walmart in under 2 hours! Back to the boat for more unloading and stocking. Final stop...Alcohol. Now some things in our life are on a "Need to Know" basis, and only my best of friends will ever hear the real scoop on our "Adult Beverage Provisioning". Let's just say the boat sits lower in the water after our alcohol provisioning! LOL We stocked hard liquor and wine. Scott is trying to cut down on carbs, so we opted not to stock Miller Lite until just before we leave for the Exumas. Although I provisioned for 8 months (2 months Key West and 6 months Bahamas) we felt no beer on the boat would be a healthier option while he was living alone in the Keys

November found me working in Indiana and then back to the boat for two more weeks to move to Key West from our "home" in Stuart, FL at Sunset Bay Marina. We waited...and waited...and waited...for a weather window until our friends Randy and Rochelle had to change ALL of their travel plans to accompany us on our voyage. They were amazing troopers and wonderful crossing companions. This was the first time Scott and I transited 35 hours with us alone "at the helm". We had no experienced training captain or seasoned voyager. We had ourselves and our trusting friends. After initial swells, the seas laid down and our voyage was comfortable. I'll just say that Miami shipping lane traffic is SCARY!

Key West was a blast! It was a real treat after all of the work leading up to our departure. We enjoyed our friends, partying on Duval Street and watching the International Speed Boat Races.

My return to Indiana brought many new challenges. My job is really becoming exhausting and I'm working LOTS of weekends, including the four days of Thanksgiving weekend, prior to my resignation January 16th. There are thousands of loose ends to address prior to our departure as well. In addition, we have invited my Mom to visit the boat in Key West in December, as well as my daughter, who will be visiting for Christmas through New Year's. I am really excited for the next 6 weeks to unfold...but I know that there is a LOT of work left to do between now and then!

October was a month of provisioning, completing 89 items of Preventive Maintenance (PM's), boat repairs, and chasing after contractors to finish their open items before we were scheduled to leave. I was very busy for the entire month. Paula handled the food and alcohol provisioning. No small task. However, once we were all packed and leaving I noticed there were NO beer supplies on board. An over sight? Recently she put me on a diet. Coincidence? Hmmmm?

Below is a list of items added, repaired, or enhanced:

Sat Compass repaired (Corroded and loose wires at antenna)
Replaced Sat Compass Battery
Dingy annual service
Dingy control cable replaced
Replaced Dingy Cover
Added Garmin Chart Plotter and Fish Finder to Dingy
Added Armstrong Ladder to Dingy (Paula loved it)
Added two sets of Gahauer Kayak Supports (Love them)
Added two new Kayaks. One blue and one pink (Guess which one is mine?)
Added new Teak Table and Chairs for the cockpit
Added new Gas Caddy with pneumatic tires for extra Dingy gas. (Learned this from James Hamilton)
Replaced one Direct TV Receiver
Replaced VHF
Repaired Hailer
Replaced bad Airmar 100 with Airmar 150
Refinished Cockpit Teak Railing
Replaced and rebuilt primary Bilge Pump
Added fishing gear
Added large CO2 tanks for Soda Stream refills (Large money and space savings)
Replaced ABT Stabilizer Screen in the Pilot House
Added RD33 to the Flybridge
Encompassed laptop with Odyssey Software into helm as a back-up
Added software to allow iPad to operate Odyssey Chart Plotter from the Flybridge
Replaced rear Thruster Solenoid
Replaced Black Water Sending Unit
Repaired Gray Water Auto Sensor
Added side port access for both Sea Strainers (Great for the arthritic-contortion challenged individual)
Completed 73 of the 89 PM's due (Windlass will be done in Key West and electrical PM's will be done by contractor in Key West)
Started the conversion of halogen lights to LED.
Started Wheelhouse a parts and maintenance management system (Excellent, I love it)

With the repairs, improvements, and provisioning complete we were ready to head for Stock Island Marina, Key West. We had 10 days of perfect weather in Stuart Florida and on the day before we were to depart a major cold front attacked Florida. It took 5 days for us to get a decent weather window. We finally left November 6th at sunrise. Our friends Randy and Rochelle arrived at the boat at 2:00 AM the morning of departure and joined us for the journey down to Key West.

The first four hours of the trip we experienced 4 to 5 foot swells and then the water laid down and we had a smooth trip the rest of the way. Unfortunately, we had strong currents against us most of the way. It was everything we could do to maintain an average speed of 7 knots. The trip took 35 hours and about double the planned fuel (Yes Dad that is a lot of fuel). The 8 hours we passed through the Fort Lauderdale and Miami shipping lanes were interesting and kept us all on our toes. Cruise ships, freighters, and commercial fishing boats everywhere.

After we arrived in Key West and were docked, shutdown, and the boat cleaned it was time for celebration. I opened the single can of Sands Light Beer from the past trip to the Bahamas and divided it into 4 glasses for a toast. Did I mention Paula did not stock the boat with beer?

The next few days Rochelle and Randy tried to kill me on Duval Street. I survived barely. The highlight was Rochelle's visit to "The Garden of Eden". I know everyone wants to know did she or did she not partake? Her secret is safe with me.

It is now Thanksgiving Weekend. I baked cookies (True story) and joined in on the Marina's Thanksgiving Potluck. Lots of turkey and champagne....

Paula will be back on the boat next week for a week.

The plan is to depart for the Exumas around February 1st.

Summer Updates

10/6/2014

1 Comment

Paula's Posts

Hello everyone!
Big Big News!!! I have given my "NOTICE" and will be leaving my full-time job at IU Health Arnett Hospital. I will no longer have a full-time job! Although many people ask...."Are you retiring???" the answer is NO!!! I'm leaving my current full-time job but will trade it for working part-time and (hopefully) teaching at a Caribbean medical school.
I hope summer has been fabulous for all. The highlight of my summer was spending a week aboard Tabula Rasa, even though we were just at the marina in Stuart, FL. Catherine, my daughter, came to visit for a few days and we had a lovely time.

Back in Indiana it has been another chilly, cloudy summer. We are trying to sell our lake home and even though the weather has been better this year than last, we are just not having the nice hot summers needed to attract buyers to the lake. In addition, our lake water level was dropped over a foot (to save some transplanted-not native to the area-river mussels)...WTF is the only comment I have. The GOOD NEWS is now our lake is PRIVATE to homeowners, as the public boat launch sites are closed due to the low water level. It's terrible for our poor little community's economy, but really a nice perk for lake dwelling homeowners owning a private dock like us. I know, I'm working really hard to stay positive!

October brings yet another Birthday for me. I can now unequivocally say that I am Blessed to celebrate another healthy and happy year!

We have now made progress on our future cruising plans. We will move the boat after hurricane season to Key West, FL for a few months. Once again, I will be staying behind in the "frozen tundra"...oops, I mean Indiana! Scott will stay warm in the sunny Florida Keys. He will have to suffer through the International Speed Boat Races, multiple festivals and the rowdy New Year's Eve celebration! I must stay behind to pay the Duval Street bar tabs!!! God Help Me!

Scott Speaks

Summer is over!?!?!?

How did that happen?

Where did it go?

It must be over because I am back on the boat working.

Oh, I know why I missed it. Because, it never really showed up in Indiana! Coldest July on record, August not much better, and September lake activities shut down compliments of our national government valuing the river mussels more than the fair people and economy of Monticello, Indiana.

Paula says I must summarize my summer so here it goes:

Dudes night-out in Monticello and at Scotty's Tiki Bar. Steve, Kurt, Dex, Frank, Mike, and Digger created their usual mayhem.

Celebrated my Birthday Weekend with the girls. Paula, Tammy, Lindsay, and Rochelle created their usual mayhem.

Went to Charlotte, NC and played golf with the Umberhochers. Steve, Bill, Bill Jr., and Cindy created their usual mayhem.

Went to a Cubby Game. They lost and so did I - nothing new here.

Went to the St. Louis Rams Opening Game and they lost - nothing new here.

Visited Alex at Fort Bragg.

Entered a Margarita Show Down with my neighbor Ms. K. She won "Best Margarita" by one vote! The deciding vote was her husband. Hmmmm?

And last but not least Paula tormented Kitty by strapping her in a Cat PFD. It was not pretty. I had to take Kitty to a Kitty Whisperer for psychological support.

Now I am back in Stuart provisioning and doing PM (preventive maintenance) in preparation for the next cruise season. November 2nd we will relocate to Key West (Stock Island Marina) until February 1st. I will be stuck there until we leave in February. We will then head to the Exumas and continue my search for the "Best Tiki Bar".

While in Stuart I have visited and reviewed a few local Tiki Bars in my spare time.

Speaking of Tiki Bars, I have had numerous helpful suggestions related to the reviews. "Why don't you add a category for purse hangers under the bar (Paula)"? "Why don't you add a category for food"? "Why don't you have a category for cute"? I have pondered the helpful suggestions and come up with the following thoughts; I don't carry a murse, if you want 5 star food go to a restaurant, and I don't do cute. So after long unilateral deliberation, Ahhhh... NO!

My 82 year old Dad's comment and question last week were "Let me get this right... you are traveling the world to go to Tiki Bars. What are you thinking?" Hmmm? I must admit that was a very good question. The best answer I have come up with thus far---It is easier than climbing Mount Everest!

1 Comment

Spring Updates

6/22/2014

Paula's Posts

Embarrassing but TRUE! We haven't posted since Scott returned from the Abacos at the end of April. First of all, I was raised in the 1960's and my Mama taught me not to talk "just to hear my head rattle" and I figure that applies to blogs as well. We have been BUSY back on land. We are aggressively trying to sell our home in Indiana. Yard, house and property all needed some TLC and now that Scott is home we have been working on it. I must say the place is looking great, so now all we need is a buyer ready for "life on the lake". Big KUDOS to Neal V, LaDonna, Kristen and Lavera for all their hard work!

Family updates:
Scott was home June 1 to celebrate his birthday. Friends from OKC came to visit and we had an outstandingly great time at the lake. On Scott's birthday I was chauffeur to our group of friends as we made our way on a marathon "pub crawl". We all had a wonderful time.

After graduating from Columbia University in NYC last year, Catherine has now completed one year of graduate school at Fordham University. She will be starting a full time teaching position in Greenwich,CT while completing her final year of graduate school. I am very proud of her! She💗 NY!
Alex spent the past 6 months training for his new career in the US Army. He graduated with the Army Corps of Engineers. It was a proud moment for him (and us)! He then went directly to Ft Benning GA for Airborne Training School. He graduated with 'flying colors' (pun intended) and Scott got to pin Alex's newly earned wings on him! Well done! Alex will be a member of the 82nd Airborne stationed at Ft Bragg, NC.
My Mom, currently living in OKC, will celebrate another wonderful, healthy and happy year as her birthday arrives July 14. No ages published! Haha!

Boat updates:
Tabula Rasa is back at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, FL having some more upgrades and repairs. I compare boat projects and land projects like this...your land house may need a new A/C filter, your water heater may need some attention and your deck may have some signs of wear and tear. On land, these tasks can be postponed and your house will not sink into the ground or be completely unlivable. However, a boat task or maintenance item left unchecked could be disastrous! Thus the constant work list to maintain our beloved TR. We will be returning to Stuart in July to check on her progress.

Website updates:
After a very busy weekend on the computer, Scott and I have successfully updated, amended and improved our entire website. Especially check out the new Tiki Bar Reviews!

Work updates:
My mother also taught me, "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all!" If the following have any meaning to you then God Help You because you, too, are in the health care field...
ACA,CMS,CAQH,CVO,NPDB,NBME,DEA,BLS,ACLS,PALS,CME,RIE,LEAN...
and this is only the beginning...

On this note, I think I will wish all my readers good health, fair weather and much happiness. I'll excuse myself to enjoy the only abbreviation I will soon need to know.
G/Tx (gin and tonic on the rocks!)

Scott Speaks

Here I am doing my April post in late June. I think I have outdone myself this time!!! But, wait no Paula post!?!?!? Can it be? It looks like I am going to scoop her.

I have now posted all of the Abaco Tiki Bar reviews. In addition, I have updated the Indiana Sportsman Tiki Bar review as a result of my return to Indiana. All Tiki Bar reviews are now listed on the site by location (Abaco, Mexico, Indiana, etc.) so one does not need to plow through old information. Bottom line is I have not yet found the perfect Tiki Bar and therefore must continue my search. As they say "It is a tough job, but someone has to do it" and I am just the man for the job...

April Hmmm.... I think I can remember it? Well what I can not remember I will make up.

April had some rough weather and many days of turbulent Gulf Stream conditions. I ended up delaying my crossing by a little over two weeks as a result of the weather. The Gulf Stream experienced 9 to 11 foot seas and although the boat is very capable of those conditions I thought "Why"? I belong to the cruisers school of thought that there is no set schedule, only weather windows. As a result, when we crossed, the water was as rough as bathtub water the entire trip. John Hoffman from Nordhavn joined me as Paula's work schedule was too rigid to allow for such flexibility. It was sunny all the way with perfect temperatures. So much sunshine that John and I got toasted from the sun after the first day without realizing it. We spent one night on hook in the north end of the Bahamas with no land in site. That evening there was not a cloud or light in sight. Nothing but a million stars which was absolutely magnificent. We grilled out some fresh fish and drank cold Sands Light beer. Thank you John for allowing me to drink up your stash of Sands Light. We were up to the wee morning hours. Truly living the dream!

The next morning we were up at 5:30 am and continued the journey. The water in the Bahamas is quite shallow from inches to maybe 30' in very rare instances. When the water is shallow and there is a sandy bottom the water is bright aqua color. On our return journey as we left the Bahamas we went from depths of 30 to 800+ feet in a matter of minutes. As a result the ocean goes from aqua to royal blue immediately. It is quite a site. The trip took two long days and I enjoyed every minute. We crossed a lot of traffic as we headed to Stuart from large freighters to cruise ships. After we entered the St. Lucie Inlet and proceeded up the St. Lucie River we encountered very heavy traffic as it was a Sunday. During the process we had this boat come up beside us and the Captain yelled, "We are Dreamers and we will be joining you soon!" while the crew took pictures. Pretty cool! I hope they do join us soon. For those who do not know who "Dreamers" are, there is a website dedicated to people from all over the world who are dreaming of owning a Nordhavn and traveling the world. You, too, can be a Dreamer by JOINING HERE.

After my return to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, Florida I cleaned up and secured the boat. I had a week to complete this task and proceed to pick up Paula to go to Fort Leonard Wood to see her son, Alex, graduate from Army Boot camp. He graduated as a Combat Engineer with the Corps Of Engineers. He has matured soooo much. We were all very proud. Four weeks later we traveled to Fort Benning where her son graduated Airborne School. I had the honor of pinning his wings on him and also on a fellow Marine Recon Ranger. I have never been so honored. Alex is now headed to Fort Bragg where he is assigned to the 82nd Airborne.

Since then I have been up in Indiana at our house on Lake Freeman. It has been a sentence of forced labor since I have been back. De-winterizing everything and repairing everything affected by the harsh winter. Funny, I do not remember it being a bad winter in Marsh Harbor!?!?

The Indiana house is now for sale and my immediate home projects are coming to a close. Next week Paula and I are headed to the boat for 9 days. I will be trading home projects for boat projects. WTF? Whatever happened to that retirement rocking chair I heard about?

As a result of the 100 plus fellow cruisers/sailors I met during my 3.5 months in Abaco who without exception said, "Go to the Exumas before the Caribbean", we have definitely decided to go to the Exumas next cruising season.

This concludes my April, May, and June Blogs. And for the record, that means I have blogged before Paula the last 3 months in a row. :)

March Madness

3/31/2014

Paula's Posts

There has been a "Madness" to March that seems to apply to almost everything---Not just basketball!

First and foremost, the awful Midwest snowy cold conditions have continued. The first day of spring went completely unnoticed as more snow entered the area.

I just returned from visiting Scott and Tabula Rasa in the Bahamas. We really are enjoying anchoring...away from marinas, land and people...just the two of us. Don't misunderstand, we ARE very social people and everyone knows Scott enjoys his Tiki Bars, but when I fly in for such a short amount of time, we like to just "hang together".

The "madness of March" began with my travel to the Bahamas...two days in airports, snow in Cleveland, only to meet Scott at Treasure Cay (two days late) with near gale force winds and completely "dinghy drenched" on our trip from the marina to our boat...hair, clothes, NOT waterproofed duffel bag (holding my computer) and my Prada purse (nylon---Thank God!) ALL soaked! The winds had changed and we immediately had to change our anchorage position. What a way to start my week of vacation!

It seams that March Madness weather followed me to the Abacos with winds 20-30 knots and gale-force gusts! Speaking of wind, I grew up in Oklahoma..."Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain". When I was a small girl and it was really a gusty Oklahoma wind, my Mom would say, "Paula Jean, it's blowing a gale out there!" My whole life I thought that was just an expression of speech! LOL I didn't know until I started boating that a "gale" was a "real" term!

I cooked a lot of yummy galley treats on this visit to the Bahamas including homemade onion-dill hamburger buns, mango cobbler, fresh fruit compote over french toast, fresh pineapple muffins and mofongo! I also experienced my first galley kitchen knife injury. Fortunately, no stitches were required and I still have 8 usable fingers til I heal...Note to self: Be Constantly Vigilant when in the galley!

There has been a flock (or is it a gaggle??) of Nordhavns here in the Abaco Islands. I have been so fortunate to meet many wonderful owners. Scott always teases me that I only have "imaginary friends" that I follow via blogs, but no "real" friends in the flesh. LOL Well, Scott.....I HAVE now met REAL people that are no longer imaginary! Phillipe and his lovely wife, owners of N55 South by West, loaned us their dinghy ladder when they heard of my tragic story on my last try at snorkeling! We met Bob, owner of N55 B-Joice, currently living in the marina associated with the famous Jib Room. We had cocktails with Bill, N47 owner of Let's Dance, aboard the amazing N72 Shear Madness, with Kathy and Bradley (plus crew Gary) as impeccable hosts. We also enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Kathy and Bradley. They are SOOOO knowledgable and have traveled so many amazing places. (Plus, Kathy sure makes a great "Shear Madness" secret cocktail and produces awesome videos, as well.) I truly hope our paths will cross again soon!

March Madness Basketball...Nothing compares to watching sports on our TV while anchored in a beautiful Bahamas setting! Enough said....

So in summary....March has been Madness! I am now returning to Indiana where a "beautiful day" according to my friend Rochelle is "Sunny and a high temp of 41!" ARGGGHHHH!!!!! I have 88 days til I am back on Tabula Rasa and reunited with my Scott. I can only imagine how many Tiki Bar reviews will be completed before I return!?!?!

Remote Beach Anchorage

Faint Rainbow

A welcome Sunset after cloudy, windy days!

Scott Speaks

March is over??? Hmmmm...Where did it go? That must be what they mean by March Madness.

March was snowy for me as I spent almost a week up in Chi Town visiting my old and new corporate friends. Bill (CEO) invited me up for a 6-8 inch snow storm. By chance? I think not. It was the first time in the past year that I saw frozen water that was not resting in the bottom of a Rumbabba drink!

I marched (No pun intended...OK maybe!) in the world's shortest St. Patty's Day parade. It was a requirement of being a past Strawberry Monkey Yacht Club (SMYC) "Golden Coconut Trophy" recipient. I marched with the Marsh Harbor Conch Band. Some say the parade course totals 336 steps. Can't prove it by me as I lost count looking at the beer stop. The parade stretched from Memorial Park to Snappas (See Tiki Bar Reviews). It was such a long and exhaustive walk that a free beer stop was provided at the halfway point of the parade! In addition, Snappa's provided a free Snappa Rum Punch at the end. I do not know what we would have done without all of the hydration stops!?! A fun time was had by all.

The balance of the short month I was again blessed with (need I say it again?) --- Spectacular Weather!!!

However...The last week of March I moved the boat and anchored off Treasure Cay a day before Paula was scheduled to arrive. I was making sure everything would go just as planned. I anchored and all was good for me that afternoon and evening in anticipation of her arrival. You can see for yourself...

Waiting for Paula to arrive

Well the joke was on me. The following day Paula's plane broke down and she had to spend the night in Fort Lauderdale. So I ended up anchored off Treasure Cay for three days with deteriorating weather conditions. The winds picked up significantly and clocked (moved) in an unfavorable direction.

The last night's anchorage was very, very rough. Midday of the following day I tendered into the harbor to pick up Paula. She was all dressed up looking pretty with her fancy purse, pretty shoes, and hair fixed nice. I took one look at her, smiled and said "You might want to take off those shoes." We proceeded out of the nice smooth water of Treasure Cay Marina and once outside the harbor we immediately hit the extremely turbulent water. It was impossible not to get soaked. By the time we tied up to the boat and she got on board she looked like a drowned rat (I mean that in a nice way :) ) We immediately pulled anchor and moved to a more hospitable beach off Sugar Loaf Cay.

The rest of the week we moved our anchorage off a different beach every day or two to avoid the heavy winds of the week. Our Bahama flag is evidence of the winds we experienced.

Bahamian Courtesy Flag

Paula and I met many nice Nordhavn owners during her recent visit in the Bahamas as she mentioned in her blog. However, I must continue where she left off. Bradley and Kathy invited us onto to their boat, a 72' Nordhavn named Shear Madness. Once on their very nice boat it instantly struck me that this was more than a pretty boat; it was a Tiki Bar on the water! It had many of the qualities I look for in a Tiki Bar...

1. On the water
2. Great view of the beach
3. A unique and special Rumbabba
4. Cheap drinks (Free)
5. Good service

So, as a Tiki Bar connoisseur, I felt compelled to do an "Unofficial" Tiki Bar review of Shear Madness.

Location: 4 Palm Trees (Max Score!)
Can't get more on the water than on a Nordhavn!

Service: 4 Hula Girls (Max Score!)
Provided tender taxi service, guided tour, appetizers, and Shear Madness T-Shirts.

Beerometer: 0
No beer and most likely No Miller Lite on board.

Rumbabbas: 4 Rumbabbas (Max Score!)
They have their very own Shear Madness Rumbabba. It is very delicious, potent, and complimentary. They share the recipe with NO ONE! They even have their very own cheer. They salute with a "Shears" instead of a "Cheers". How cool is that?!?! Now Paula is after me for our own special boat drink. Thanks Shear Madness!?! This will be a hard act to follow. The pressure is ON!

Bizarreness: 3 Crazy Fish
Sorry Bradley, but the 3 Crazy Fish rating is solely the result of you! Anyone who bikes 5+ miles, then swims another 3+ miles in the same day "ON PURPOSE" and dives on his anchor daily deserves high marks in the Bizarreness category.. :-)

Overall Score: 15
High Tiki Bar Score!!!
All other Abaco Tiki Bars should be envious.

As March comes to a close I am now freaking out as reality sets in. I am about two weeks from making the journey back to Stuart, Florida, the world of mainlanders and a very long boat work list. Oh no!!!!! Tell me it is not true!?!?

Valentines, Presidents and the Bahamas

2/27/2014

Paula's Posts

February…The shortest month with a lot happening. I'm currently on Tabula Rasa anchored off Sugar Loaf and Matt Loews Cays in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas. It is warm and sunny and beautiful. I flew in for a week to visit Scott, after being away over 4 weeks. During our time apart, we spent Valentine's Day "together" in separate countries! We celebrated President's Day weekend with Scott winning the Golden Coconut award?!?! While he was sweating in the sunshine I was digging out of yet another snow storm to hit the Midwest States.

This Februrary trip to the Abacos has been an experience of firsts.
* First time leaving the dock and casting the lines off by ourselves.
* First time to anchor. (It wasn't pretty, but it worked!)
*First time to grill out on hook and be totally self-sufficient.
*First time to manage our electrical, battery bank, make water, etc.
*First thunderstorm at anchor. (Oops, windows and hatches were open…Oh well, it's a boat. It's meant to get wet.)

The more I am onboard, the more I realize that the cruising lifestyle is definitely for me. Scott still thinks I'm not understanding the full ramifications of a life aboard and cruising. Maybe not, but I DO KNOW that I love our boat. I love being on hook by ourselves. I love cooking in my galley. I love meeting all of the people also living the cruising lifestyle. I love that everyone seems happy and at peace with themselves. But mostly, I know that I love my Christoff and "Home is where the Heart is". So as this Valentine's month comes to a conclusion let me say that I love my life and "Today is the BEST DAY EVER!"
PS Pics to be posted when back on land. WiFi in the Sea of Abaco is too slow to upload pics. :-) PICS POSTED 03/03/2014

Scott Speaks

Well it is that time again!?!? I am getting plenty of heat to post by you know who.

February can only be described as spectacular!!!! Spectacular weather. Spectacular Super Bowl!!! I know the game sucked, but I won the Snapper's Super Bowl Pool!!! I won the highly coveted Strawberry Yacht Club "Golden Coconut" Bocce Ball trophy. Spectacular!!! I was presented a Spectacular (personally made) Conch Horn by my new Marsh Harbor friends Ron and Sharon on SY Possessor. I learned to play the Conch Horn at the Mangoes group sunset ceremony - Spectacular!!! Spent the last week on hook on remote beaches with Paula - Very Spectacular!!! Oh, and for all my friends up north did I mention the spectacular weather?!?!

I have had numerous inquiries as to what I was doing during February? I traveled to Seattle for advanced diesel equipment training by Bob Senter. An excellent course by a true expert and professional. The balance of the month was dedicated to my quest of finding the best "Tiki Bar". Unfortunately someone (Paula) lost some of my reviews. So, I had to go back to numerous Tiki Bars again to refresh my blurred memory. Consequently, I have been a very busy man during February……

Happy New Year 2014

1/27/2014

Paula's Posts

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers as we made our Maiden Voyage, leaving the coastal waters of Florida and traveling to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. So let me catch you up on the past month...

First of all...
December 30th was an awesome day of training with Captain Ray. With his guidance I successfully pulled the boat from our dock AND docked her safely back into the slip! Hooray! In addition, this was the first day I had dolphins swimming in the wake of my bow. It was a truly thrilling experience.

Next...
We spent the following two weeks with last minute preparations for traveling to the Bahamas. We had people aboard almost every day from 7a-7p, all trying to finish last minute upgrades. I spent hours driving to different places to purchase random boat parts. I also spent way too much time at the grocery store stocking the boat with more than just Peanut Butter and Jelly! I'm not quite sure WHY I did that, as Scott won't cook anything except microwave popcorn! HaHa! Well at least I will have staples in the pantry for my return to TR in February.

Our First Voyage...
On Monday, January 13, 2014, Scott, Ray (our training captain and friend) and I left our B25 slip at Sunset Bay Marina at 0630. Once leaving the dock in darkness with little current and a light breeze we had to wait for the train bridge to open before heading out to open waters. Scott had figured all of our way-points and I had double-checked and scribed them. We were on our way. There was a lovely sunrise as we headed out of the river and into the ocean. Captain Ray was very helpful in navigating the shallow passages. "Thanks Ray!" By mid-morning the seas were rising with irregular swells. I was feeling great until...going below the flybridge. That was all it took when sudden and horrific seasickness attacked me. I had taken meds and precautions, so maybe I would've felt even worse...YUK! Ray was also feeling the negative effects of the seas and only Scott was able to perform engine checks for the first 10 hrs! He even had to change fuel filters without any help from me...Thanks Sweetie! I am very proud! (I'm talking about Scott!) By my first evening shift, 1800-2100, I was feeling fine and really excited to take my turn at the helm. I did my first engine check, A-OK, and vigilantly watched all of my gauges, radar and positioning at the helm, as well as keeping a sharp eye on the horizon. I witnessed my first sunset and moonrise at sea. Spectacular! By 2100 I was ready to sleep to be ready for my 0300-0600 shift. I awoke ready to go, did my 0300 engine check, still A-OK, and reported to the helm. All was good until 0400 when a very large storm appeared on radar right in front of our course. The seas were getting rougher, and it is true that a Nordhavn can handle more than her crew! I awakened Scott and we were contemplating our course of action when the winds blew the storm away from our course and all was good again! We arrived before daylight at Whale's Cay, the narrow passage of concern, so we simply retraced our course awaiting sunrise. Our friends Ron and Ingred were curious why we retraced our steps. HaHa! Thanks for noticing! We made it into our slip at Mangoes Marina with literally INCHES of water under our keel. Rey, Mangoes Marina Harbour Master, told us he was sure we would run aground!!! Thank goodness for L'Oreal haircoloring, as I'm sure this put extra gray hairs on my head! Scott left the boat to clear Customs and Immigration while Ray and I cleaned the boat. She was indeed in need of a thorough cleaning. Scott returned, boat was clean and the Bahamas courtesy flag was flying high. What a fabulous Maiden Voyage! I am very blessed and grateful to have experienced such a wonderful adventure. Here's to the first of many more...

Scott Speaks

Happy New Year!!!!

Once again I am in trouble with Paula for not posting.

So, here it goes.

Finally left "B Dock" Sunset Bay Marina Stuart, Florida. The Floridians thought I was never going to leave. It was time to take the first baby step towards our adventure. However, we will miss our new friends at "B Dock".

We chose a route to Marsh Harbor not traveled by most. Go figure?!? Smart people take the route from Stuart through the center (Kinda) of the Bahamas by Memory Rock, Mangoes, etc. Key word is smart. Our route took us north and along the east side of the Abacos and into Marsh Harbor from the east. And yes we passed through part of the Bermuda Triangle. We saw multicolored bright lights, 2 UFO's, and Elvis. OK, maybe not. Anyway, we made good time at 22 hours 45 minutes and had to wait for daylight to go into the harbor. Local Marsh authorities were very impressed by our route and speed for a slow trawler. Left handed compliment? Maybe….

The purpose of this route was to give us our first overnight trip and chance to experience some blue water cruising on our new boat. At one point we were in 2700 plus feet of water (Deep to me). Most of the trip was fairly mild but we did go through some rough seas on the northeast side. Sorry Paula. I had the midnight to 3am shift. We had bad weather before and after my shift. But, on my shift the clouds opened up with a full moon and stars galore. Absolutely gorgeous.

So now I have been here 13 days, less a 2.5 day trip to Seattle to get training with Bob Senter on diesel engines/generators. It was an excellent day and I learned a great deal.

Weather here? Simply amazing. Every sensational sunset is accompanied by boaters blowing Conch Shells. A tradition here for decades. Pretty cool. As explained to me, an excellent excuse for boaters to socialize in the evening with cocktails. With the exception of the Conch Shells, kinda like B Dock in Stuart!

VIDEO: Conch Shells at Sunset

So what have I been doing with the rest of my time? Working diligently on my new hobby. The quest to find the best Tiki Bar in the world. In the past few days I have been to Treasure Cay, Guana Cay, Elbow Cay, and Marsh Harbor on my quest. Sounds easy but not so much. During my journey I have managed to launch my dingy without the drain plug being in, crunched a side rail with the davit, two hats went over board, and lost one flip flop during refueling. A tough job but I will remain steadfast on my quest.

Merry Christmas

12/24/2013

Paula's Posts

“Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris

"Less is more."
― Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe

I think these quotes are lovely, but even more importantly, MUST become my new mantra for life on the hook! I have been trying to pack one year of shoes, clothing, jewelry and beauty items into a medium suitcase to move onto TR. Now for some of you, this may be so simple you laugh at this blog. But for ME, an original Neiman Marcus card-holder, Bergdorfs and Bloomies on speed dial, a personal relationship with Trish McEvoy makeup artists and an entire closet built just for shoes, this is an Herculean task! After days and days of trying on every item in my closet (many more times than I will admit) my efforts were well rewarded. Just hope I don't go through high-heel withdrawal….It could get ugly! LOL

It has now been almost one year since we began our search for our beloved boat, found her, endured the inspections and refit…and finally moved on! Actually, the expression "Moved On" really does summarize my life at this time. Scott has "Moved On" from corporate America. He has also "Moved On" from life in snow-filled Indiana. I have "Moved On" by experiencing a life-changing paradigm shift. All of this has culminated in us physically "Moving On" our boat with our belongings and embracing this new life of "less stuff". After all, how much "stuff" did Mother Mary and Joseph have in their possession when baby Jesus was born. Although they had few material possessions, they truly "had it all!" So with that thought, I will leave you with Peace of the Season and gratitude for my life of love, servitude and the prospect of an eventual life at sea aboard Tabula Rasa!
One last quote credited to Mies Van der Rohe, "God is in the details"…MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Scott Speaks

"WTF ???"
--- Murphy

"Another beautiful day in paradise."
--- Who knows?

Since Paula started with her most recent notable quotes I felt obligated to list two of my own. These are notable because these are the two things I have said the most over the past six weeks.

Paula stressed over what to bring on the boat. Me... not so much. One pair of dress shoes, one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of deck shoes, and two pairs of flip flops. As I write this it now seems like a lot!?!? Well, anyway I have only been in flip flops for the past six weeks. Daily dress code is tee shirt, shorts, flip flops, and occasionally a baseball cap. Once in a while I dress up in a collared Hawaiian shirt and many people do not recognize me. Paula did a great job moving in and has one drawer and half a closet still available. So, now she is stressing on what to put in there to fill it up?

Well it is now Christmas and Paula is up in cold, snowy Indiana working at the hospital and I am in warm, sunny, Florida working on the boat. Hmmmm? Best I do not make any further comments here.

I succumbed to local peer pressure and begrudgingly got in the Christmas spirit and put up a "Boat Tree". It took me most an evening to get it decorated.

Paula arrives on the 28th for 3 weeks and expects the boat to be in "Tip Top Shape". So, back at it……

Merry Christmas!

Sott's Boat Xmas Tree

Training Days

12/10/2013

Paula's Posts

So for all those following my blog…My apologies. This past weekend we managed to lose the ENTIRE BLOG to cyberspace. The Windows "fupgrade" disabled our mouse on the boat so Odyssey software won't work and Navnet II is giving Scott fits. GRRRR!!!! All I can say is…DAMN COMPUTERS!
The helpful IT Department at Weebly graciously found my blog today floating in cyberspace! Hooray! Sorry for the inconvenience...

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! I truly have MUCH to be thankful for! Now getting ready for the Holidays! YAY!

I just returned from two weeks of moving onto the boat and getting training with Captain Ray. Three days in the engine room alone, then a day of electronics and energy management, instrumentation, etc. Every single day we trained, then had a "to do list" a mile long. We made daily trips to West Marine and Home Depot, only to return to the boat for more Boat Work. Whew! Our first weekend off was spent awakening to flooding in the salon…Scott and I worked together as a team to find the leak, dismantle the salon lights and ceiling and then fix the hose that broke. It was a bit traumatic (no water for 36 hours, need I say more!) but we were proud we had successfully handled our first "Boat Crisis".

We finally performed our official "Renaming" Ceremony with the company of our new boat friends Rick and Julie of White Rose N4701. Although we all agreed it was hard to pour good champagne into the ocean, we did our duty and served up our sacrifice to the Gods of Wind and Sea! A good time was had by all!

In less than two weeks, I learned to check water tank levels before clothes washing or showering. I learned to check the electrical panel for amperage usage before using appliances. And most importantly, I learned to check the BH ( the black water holding tank) BEFORE going to the bathroom and not being able to flush!!!

I was the first and only one of us to have my "on the water" training. WOO HOO! Captain Ray was a wonderful and patient instructor and had me practice, practice, practice docking. The question remains, "Why can I dock this 55 foot beast and not be able to parallel park my little SUV?!?!" I'm open for answers to this question…

Scott Speaks

Well, Paula would NOT give me another pass on blogging so I will try to give the highlights and lowlights of the past couple of months. Thank God Paula found this lost blog in cyberspace, as I WAS NOT going to try to type this blog AGAIN!

My life has been ruled by a 3 page "To Do" list that started as a 1 page list. It seems when I knock off one item either Captain Ray, Brian from Celtic, or John from Nordhavn add 3 more items!?!? Oh, and then there is Paula who is always good for a few new items from time to time.

A typical training day is training from 8 to1 while accumulating many new "To Do" items followed by working on the list all afternoon and evening. Then like the movie "Ground Hog Day" it all starts over again the next morning. I must admit I am extremely more comfortable in the engine room and with all of the systems thanks to the training.

A typical non-training day (Day Off) is up at 7 or earlier and working on "The List" until 5pm and much too often til midnight. It has kept me off the streets and away from visiting the numerous Tiki Bars in the area and indulging in their selection of Rum Babbas. Hmmm? Do you think "The List" thing is a conspiracy to keep me out of trouble concocted by Paula? Paula????

Paula's Training
She nailed it! Paula was comfortable in the engine room and never was confused during training. She has made huge strides in the 10 days of training. I think all of the books and blogs she has read on the subject helped her greatly. When it came to hands on handling of the "Big Beast" she killed it. With heavy current and mild winds she parked the boat without incident. I was impressed. It is quite a site to see little Paula at the helm on the flybridge some 20' up in the air.

LOWLIGHTS
Flood One. With too many experts on board all doing something different and all talking boat stuff someone forgot to turn on the auto grey water breaker. We were cleaning and purging the fresh water tank. Well obviously a holding tank can only hold so much. Water overflowed the Captain's head sink!!! Flowed down (Big surprise) and into the salon. We had to pull the salon head liners, lights, and dry everything out. WTF? I guess this was truly OJT. A lesson I will NEVER forget. After all was cleaned up John Hoffman (Not his fault by the way) smiled at me and said boats are meant to get wet. Too funny, and broke the tension!

Flood Two. Paula and I had been training and working day and night all week. We both agreed to get up late Saturday and take Saturday off to see the local area. After all we earned a day off. So, I get up Saturday morning and go into Galley to make coffee so we can have a leisurely Saturday morning. I walk into the galley half asleep (No coffee yet) and there is a major waterfall pouring down on and the length of the breakfast bar!?!?! Well I yelled every expletive I could think of and made up some new ones. I concluded my tantrum with "Why the Hell did I buy this damn boat?" Then it was time to stop the waterfall. Turned off the fresh water pump and started looking for where the water was coming from? My first thought went back to Flood One and I checked the Captain's head. No problem there. Recently, a new refrigerator was installed on the flybridge. Bingo! A high pressure water line had split behind the refrigerator. During installation new lines were put in - except for one. That is the one that spilt! Overnight most of the fresh water drained down the deck drain with some (Too much) of the water flowing down the water line and into the salon. Well, thanks to my OJT from Flood One I knew the drill. Pull the head liners and lights and dry out everything. Replaced the water line with high pressure fittings that I upgraded and will last 100 years. Obviously we had no day off that weekend. But, once completed and all was repaired (and after numerous celebratory cocktails) Paula and I had a sense of pride that we handled the disaster and persevered through it all. We love this boat (Odd but true).

Broken Toe. I have smashed my toes, fingers, elbows, knees, head, back numerous times doing "Boat Yoga". After all of this I managed to take it up a notch and broke a toe.

Black water Pump out. Absolutely my least favorite task hands down!!! Add to that major pump out drama and it just plain sucked. No pun intended - OK maybe so. The first pump out was a two part episode. Part one the pump out drama was with an under powered pump boat. I was warned that I would have an issue and Mr. Pump Captain would not want to prime the line. And indeed the boat could not obtain a pump out. My grey and backwater caps were factory installed with a chain. Pump Captain insisted the chain was screwing up the suction (Really???) so I removed the chain. That did not work. After much discussion he agreed to prime the pump. Unfortunately we still did not have success. Pump Captain said the issue was on my side. He suspected maybe I had a closed valve. How dare him!?!? So, I begged him to come back later the same day as he only comes once a week and I was full of it. He would only give me a maybe. I contacted Nordhavn and Rob and Chris came over to investigate. All checked out fine. Fortunately the Pump Captain showed back up while Rob and Chris were on board. We went through the process and yes the Pump Captain primed the pump. No success. Rob asks Chris to go below and crack the backwater line to insure we did not have a vacuum issue (Clogged vent). Chris does and yells up that we are pumping the empty grey water tank! Really? We move the pump over to the labeled grey water line and Bingo the black water tank starts flowing. Evidently the caps were originally reversed at the factory when built and no one knew? Go figure. Next pump out was at the fuel dock and the nozzle leaked! Need I elaborate any more? Yuk…. Yesterday the Pump Captain showed up with a brand new boat with 5 times the pump out pressure with a none leaking nozzle. Process worked great and completed in one forth the time. I was a very happy camper. Well as happy as I can be as it is still my least favorite task.

HIGHLIGHTS
Hmmmm? I guess that will come once we cast the lines and sail over the horizon (January).

Acknowledgment

We are located at the end of B dock in Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. This means the car and marina office are about 150 yards away. I have made a thousand trips up and down the dock moving stuff in and trash out. Randy Fritz, our friend from Indiana, showed up for two days and helped me get a lot accomplished! Thank you Randy for all the great help!

The Big Move-In

11/4/2013

Paula's Posts

October 28 marked the first day for our new boat, Tabula Rasa, to be launched from the dock at Hinckley Marina and navigated to her new home at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, FL. Scott spent his first night aboard, but I knew he was far from "moved in". Although I'm working and teaching here in Indiana, it seems Scott is working 'full time' as well. He is so incredibly busy troubleshooting boat problems and meeting with all of the fine people necessary to get our boat ready for sea. The Jeep is finally unpacked (4 days after move-in) of all the boxes and bags and "stuff" necessary to move in to a new home. Since fresh water, A/C, working thrusters, functional pilot house navigation screens and readable gauges are more of a priority than throw pillows and rugs, I will simply have to wait for Destry to complete her final installation of the "pretty stuff"! Scott has now reportedly washed all kitchen items and put them away (with help from me via FaceTime). I know he is happy to have most of the clutter put away. I think I had the easier duty by working at the hospital this week! HaHa! I am scheduled for boat training in ONE week with "Captain Ray". I'm getting really excited!!!!

Scott Speaks

Meanwhile, back at the boat…Still too busy to blog!

<<Previous

Authors

Scott and Paula
We share our individual views on experiences and travels...

Men and Women have different perspectives!

﻿Paula's Posts﻿

﻿Scott Speaks﻿

﻿Paula's Posts﻿

﻿Scott Speaks﻿

﻿﻿Paula's Posts

﻿﻿Scott Speaks﻿

﻿Paula's Posts

﻿Scott Speaks﻿

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

﻿Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Authors

Archives

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts

Scott Speaks

Paula's Posts