Winches, diving and company in Bonaire

Posted on November 4, 2009 by steve

Obtaining a working windlass was the priority task for the day. In the morning, Britt from Sea Otter passed by and I used the opportunity to discuss the project. He offered some good thoughts regarding weatherproofing the wood support. On his advice we started applying acetone to the wood keeping it covered from the rain which was falling sporadically.

I made a trip to Budget Marine to see if they had the map we needed yet. They didn’t but the lady was out to get it so it’s possible we could get our hands on it today. Next stop was the dive school to check on our tanks. I learned that we won’t get them until Friday but the manager said I could use their tanks until then using the fill rate applicable to owned tanks. That was nice.

Back on the boat Helen and I made plans for an afternoon dive with the tanks off of the back of Dignity where we were. Note – we have moved a little north since the last dive off of the boat. After lunch and another application of acetone to the wood base to the windlass we splashed. This was our first dive on the tanks for some time and Helen was a little nervous of the depth. Our plan was to descend in stages checking buoyancy and equipment at each stage. We leveled off at 76 feet and did the usual parallel runs of the reef ascending on each turn. Overall the dive lasted 47 minutes. The reef was pretty much identical to the last two dives on the hookah. The marine life was significantly more abundant on this dive.

After the dive it was back to work on the windlass. I applied fiberglass resin to the exposed woodwork to seal it off from the elements. We then seated the new windlass on it’s gasket applying a polyurethane seal to both sides (another suggestion from Britt). I then attached the new gearbox and motor from below (I hate working in the anchor chain locker). The first test seemed fine. I then discovered the windlass wouldn’t take any load. It kept slipping. This is when I discovered I had forgotten to insert the key into the groove on the spindle. To remedy this I had to get back into the anchor chain locker, remove the motor and gear box, put the key into the groove and reassemble everything. After that everything was fine.

After all this it was cleanup time. We had invited Britt and Terri over from Sea Otter along with Dennis and Allayne from Audrey Paige, who we’d last met in Grenada, over for sun downers. The boat was a mess with all the dive gear out and all the tools and old windlass parts lying around. We managed it.

We had a great evening. Everyone showed up at 6pm and only left for home at 11:30pm. Terri left us with some prints of artwork she produced which was extremely generous.

The Sea Otters are planning to head east today although they had a few possible excuses to stay an extra day. If they do, Terri will be around today to give Helen a water colour lesson.

As for the rest of the day, no idea at present. We may do another dive, we may not. I fancy a rest from boat work but often boredom can stimulate activity. Who knows?

Posted in Audrey Paige, Bonaire, Sea Otter | Leave a comment

Loving the tuna & a rainbow at night

Posted on November 3, 2009 by steve

Monday morning we took the dinghy out on a few stops.  First stop was to visit Budget Marine to pick up a Bonaire flag.  There we realized we already had a Netherlands Antilles flag which I think extends enough courtesy.  We did pick up some cleaning solutions though and noticed a rather nice map and summary of all the dive sites.  The assistant didn’t know the cost but believed we could get hold of a copy today (Tuesday).  Hopefully it’s a decent price and reflects the situation post Omar (the hurricane that came close to Dignity last year) which changed a lot of reefs round here.

We then headed off to Harbour Marina to drop of trash and see if we could find a chart of the entrance to Cartegena.  It’s the one chart we’re missing in any detail and need this before heading off.  No luck there.

We then headed for the dive shop to see if our tanks had been returned.  On the way we stopped by “Sea Otter” to say hello.  They had helped us out on the net once and this was enough to open the conversation with a thank you.  We realized we had a few things to help each other out with.  They pointed out their neighbour had just returned from Cartegena and may be able to help with charts and or guidance.

The dive store hadn’t received the tanks yet nor did the guy there have any idea when.  We’d like them soon but we do have things to do in the meantime.

I did go for a snorkel around Dignity in the morning.  A few days ago I spotted what I was sure was a crusted divers knife out of the bathroom port.  I didn’t pay enough attention to the boat orientation at the time so it gives me something to search for.  Two searches gone and still I haven’t found it.  I’m beginning to think it might have been an illusion – a couple of pieces of dead coral just lying right.

Middle of the day was the usual doing not a lot.  In the afternoon I decided to take yet another look at the windlass.  Helen has the feeling it isn’t working as well as it used to.  I had recently noticed that mud was dripping from the bottom of the shaft connecting the gearbox to the windlass.  This suggested that mud had made it’s way between the two and could be causing issues.

I tried to remove the gearbox.  It was encrusted with salt and grime (due to our poor care and maintenance no doubt).  Eventually I managed to remove the gearbox.  The gap between the gearbox and windlass above was jammed full of grease, grime and encrusted salt – a real mess.  Prior to removing the gearbox I did test it’s ability to turn.  It wasn’t bad but the crud probably wasn’t helping.

In banging around to remove it all some bearings have come loose (or perhaps they were always loose but I doubt that).  We now have it all apart but possibly damaged.  We do have the new windlass which we were going to use to put in a second windlass.  It looks like I’m going to have to cobble together good parts from both to get a decent one.  Once it’s all working we’re going to have to take a lot more care to remove all mud before it reaches the windlass and to regularly wash down with fresh water.  Lessons learned – more of them.

The evening meal was tuna steaks and stir fried veg.  This is rapidly becoming my favourite meal.  The lateral tissues of the tuna we caught have rather too much blood in them so we avoid eating the blood filled meat.  The rest is divine.  In the evening I reread my book on preparing tuna so I can do a better job of bleeding the next one.  I am confident there will be more.

While enjoying the evening in the salon we saw something we never knew possible – a rainbow at night.  The moon was low down and almost full in a clear patch of sky while light rain fell upon us.  To our amazement this created a faint rainbow in the sky complete with ghostly colours.  A very nice surprise.

Posted in Bonaire, Sea Otter | Leave a comment

Making up for our lazy day

Posted on November 2, 2009 by steve

We certainly didn’t have a lazy day yesterday but nor did we avoid fund and relaxing. Although it took us till 7:30 to drag ourselves out of bed we went to work. Helen cleaned the decks while I stitched the section of flapping sun cover onto the head sail. We both wished we’d started earlier because it became hot very quickly. The lack of wind here makes the days heat quite stifling.

We then decided to take the hookah out to one of the nearby official dive spots called “Something Special”. After the previous dive I had organized all the gear so that just the stuff we needed was ready to put in the dinghy. This made getting there and setting up very easy.

A lot of the dives here in Bonaire are similar in that you have a sandy bottom at 30ft right off the beach which then falls off on a 45 degree living reef down to about 90 feet. We decided to go down to 60 feet on the reef and swim on parallel tracks rising 10ft on each turn. The same spot of reef just a few feet higher looks totally different so although we didn’t venture far we saw a lot of variety. We later learned that this dive site is included in the REEF organisation’s “Top 10 Sites for Species Richness” along with 7 other Bonaire dive sites.

Then came the middle of the day where the will to be busy is non-existent.  It rained a few times which helped cool things and further wash the boat.

In the afternoon I decided to move the genset starter battery.  It is positioned a long way from the generator and the voltage drop along the cables is enough to cause problems at times.  The house bank can push enough through it but the starter battery (even the new one) struggles at times.  A lot of 420s are having this mod done so I’m not being original in this move.

First step was to remove the battery and cables running to the isolation switches.  It looked like these cables were laid in first and all the rest laid on top.  This involved a lot of wire tie cutting and wiggling the cables through awkward gaps.

Next I rewired the remaining cables so that the long cables already in place from the switches to the genset could still be used to power the genset from the house bank if required.

Finally, I installed the battery case, straps, battery and cables into a nicely available space on the far side of the genset.  This involved squeezing myself through a gap slightly too small over the top of the generator and working for some time using my back muscles to support my top half.  I emerged from this task dripping with sweat, aching and with a few scratches.

Everything worked perfectly which was pleasing.  The job is not complete as I really need to out isolation switches between the battery and the generator.  For that I need to cut the cables and put new ends on.  I won’t be able to do that here.  Perhaps in Cartegena.

A beer was in order to cool down and soon I was back in the water washing off all the sweat.  The aforementioned reef is continuous around the island so I was cooling down looking down on one of the most spectacular reefs in the world.  Nice way to refresh.

It’s possible today that our tanks will be returned from their inspection.  It would be nice to dive with them instead of the hookah.  Both have their plusses but the tanks give more freedom.  We have a refill card giving 21 fills.  We’ll use the last four to depart with full tanks.  The rest we plan to use here.

Posted in Bonaire | Leave a comment

Plans Evaded (updated)

Posted on November 1, 2009 by steve

Yesterday was a day where we had plans to do some chores and fixings. We successfully evaded them all. I did make a couple of trips into “town”. The first was to Budget Marine for a Bonaire courtesy flag only to find I’d lazed around too long and it had closed for the day. The second was for some fresh milk. I succeeded here and managed to pick up ingredients for making Margaritas.

Helen did catch up on emails as well as finishing her one year retro – hope you liked it. Now that she’s finished I can be naughty again without fear of being mentioned. I did some research on Panama. I’ve discovered that due to the global recession, commercial traffic through the canal is reduced. This means it only takes a few days for a pleasure boat to get a slot and that sometimes they’re sending them through without a commercial ship in the lock. The more we think about it, the more we like the idea of transiting the canal around the third week Sam is with us – in January. This means missing out Bocas del Toro (this time around) but it does give us more opportunities with them aboard.

In the evening had margaritas and fried up half of the barracuda we caught recently. We ended up with nearly a pound of fish each. It was delicious but very filling.

Maybe today we’ll get on with stuff. The winds are still light. The sun cover on the headsail needs to be stitched on at one point. Good to do this while we can.

Posted in Bonaire | 1 Comment

One Year On

Posted on October 31, 2009 by helen

This week is the one year anniversary of Steve and I moving aboard Dignity and starting our travels. I have been asked to write a blog on my perspective of the past year and whether or not our dreams have lived up to our expectation. Well I can certainly say that the reality has exceeded my expectation, but in ways very different from what I had originally expected. I never expected our experiences to be so full of contrasts and extremes. Extraordinary moments with many ordinary times. Tranquility and peace with moments of sheer terror and panic. Excitement and thrills with absolute relaxation and meditative state. Busy social life with complete isolation in remote places. Our lives have been enriched but we live a simpler life. Its been more wonderful yet at the same time more normal then I ever expected.

Its also a life style that has tested me in many ways. I have always been adventurous but hadn’t realised how set in my ways I had become over the past few years. How reluctant I had become to face changes and new challenges. Clinging onto the the security of familiarity even though knowingly slipping into mediocrity and dullness. I was cocooned and softened by the conveniences and comfort of our American life.

Now we regularly face the unfamiliar. A new country, another language, different culture, strange food, unknown places and unexpected situations. I have learned to adjust quickly, enjoy the changes , accept the differences with more patience and tolerance. After much avoidance and reluctance, I am facing the challenges of improving my sailing skills, learning the mechanics of the boat, learning new languages and slowly succeeding. Since moving aboard our life has never been dull or humdrum. I am unsetting!

A few people have asked what are the highlights of the first year. It would take a novelette to describe them but these are the images that immediately comes to mind. Scenes of crystal clear turquoise sea, golden beaches, swaying palm trees, multi-coloured reefs, rugged coast line and crashing waves. Swimming with turtles, manta rays, barracudas and numerous variety of beautiful reef fish. Hiking through dense green rain forest, colourful parrots flying over us. Dipping into cool emerald pools, waterfalls and milky hot springs. Walking through a valley of bubbling sulfur springs then up to an amazing boiling crater lake. Climbing to the highest point of many islands, taking in the stunning views, marveling at the beauty. Lying on our deck and staring up at the night sky full of the most brilliant stars. Strolling through crowded, busy port towns, bustling markets with colourfully dressed women manning stalls full of local tropical fruit, vegetable and spices. Bartering for goods and both sides being pleased with a good deal. Visiting numerous forts being fascinated by their constructions, reminding us of the islands past and history. Old plantations, rum refineries still using methods of two hundred years ago. Meeting other cruisers, enjoying sun-downers together, sharing experiences and advice. Encountering genuinely friendly and helpful people, time and time again. The exhilaration of sailing, enjoying the thrill of controlling and using just the wind power to take us from place to place. Scores and scores of flying fish flying past us, providing surprise and delight. A passing whale spouting out fountains of spray. Pods of dolphin playing round our boat, jumping and flipping as if trying to attract your attention. Mothers dolphins with their little babies joining in with the frolicking, sooooo special. The list could go on.  So many wonderful images and experiences.

So how about the low-lights. Surprisingly I’m finding this difficult to list. I know that it was really hard right at the very beginning for us. During the first month or two, while setting up in St Maarten, we had many doubts and regrets about our decision do this trip. We worried about our sons we left behind, especially our youngest who was only eighteen and just starting college. We had quit our jobs, sold up home and belongings and in effect burnt our bridges. We worried about our financial position with our investments and the stock market at its lowest. We were overwhelmed with the complexity of the boat and our lack of experience. I guess it was our lowest moments. However we managed to dig up some inner strength, accepted the choice we had made and just forged ahead with our plan. We are both so very glad we didn’t give up then. So back to the low-lights. I guess we have been disappointed to see so many islands being over developed and commercialized. Many other places just left to ruin, abandoned and derelict. Real poverty amidst the very wealthy. Garbage and rubbish left around and dropped without care. We have often landed on a gorgeous isolated island, walked over to the windward side and find the beach awash with plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other broken plastic items. It is so ugly and real sore point with me. Saying goodbye to to good cruising friends, knowing we may never see them again.

I am reluctant to list some of our mistakes and disasters as low-lights. They have been serious learning lessons and the source of some of our real highs after surviving the events!! And although I dislike doing the regular chores, continuous maintenance and checks on the boat, it is satisfying and reassuring to know everything is ship shape. Even so, parts break down and things stop working and we spend a lot of time fixing our boat in exotic places.

Lastly, what is it like to live in the confines of a boat and with someone 24 hours 7 days a week. First lets deal with living in the confines of a boat. I must admit I have never found our boat confining at all. We are very fortunate to have such a modern, well equipped, comfortable and well laid out catamaran. We often call it our floating condo. Our cabins are bright, comfy and cozy. Our main saloon has a panoramic view of our surroundings and so it is light and feels like we have all the space of the outside. With the added bonus that our view changes every time we move to a new place. I love the fact that we take our home with us where ever we go. I am a bit of a home body so its lovely to feel at home all the time. If we don’t like a place, we just up our anchor and move home. I also loved the fact that our boat is a hybrid and set up to be almost self sufficient energy wise. That our lights, electronics, fridge and freezer are mainly powered by our solar panels. That any deficient will soon be topped up by our newly ordered wind generator. That our hybrid design boat also makes energy while we’re actually sailing. That we could survive for long time with out running our generator as long as we have wind and sunshine.

Okay, so now lets cover living with Steve 24/7. Well, we have never shouted at and argued with each other so much in our lives. Usually in relation to anchoring or some minor crisis. Both of us have changed quite a lot since we first met more than twenty five years ago. So we’ve had to get to know each other again, relearning our likes and dislikes, what our strength and weaknesses are and how we feel about things. We’ve had to get use to each others annoying ways and bad habits which were not so obvious when we had different jobs and only saw each other during evenings and weekends. At times I’ve felt like pushing Steve overboard and I’m sure he’s had similar feelings toward me too. Fortunately for us it has not led to divorce nor one of moving into the other hull! Instead we have never been closer or more in tune with each other. That we can have a good shouting match without lingering resentment and forgotten quickly afterwords. Its tremendous that we love and enjoy each others company and can work so well together. There’s nothing more wonderful than to share the wonders of your adventure with someone you love.

Posted in Informational | 3 Comments