xMas #6 in FL

Christmas number six in Florida has come and gone and even though we tried our best to get into the Christmas Spirit, it's just not the same.  Not that it's all bad, by any means.  Spending Christmas in flip flops with our boating buddies is quite pleasant. Just different.

As a lead-up to the big day, a group of us went to visit the Burroughs and Langford-Kingston Homes, which are two local historic homes all decked out in Christmas cheer by volunteers and open to the public for tours.

Folks were quite interested in our Christmas miracle baby.  I sure had a some 'splaining to do!
Ultimately, Jeff got a bit of a scolding for playing with the displays and we had to give our baby back.
No babies for us!  But we sure had a good laugh for a bit.

Beautifully decorated for Christmas, the Burroughs and Landford-Kingston Houses

Beautifully decorated for Christmas the Burroughs and Landford-Kingston Houses

The gang

Christmas Eve was spent with buddies Dave and Michele on (M/V Just Us) at Legacy, a neighbouring marina.  Appetisers, lots of boat talk and Christmas cheer were shared.

On Christmas morning, hankering for some white powdery stuff, we all piled into whatever vehicles were available and drove the twenty minutes or so to Fort Myers Beach.  The beach is a neat place to be on Christmas morning.  Families gather and set up chairs, umbrellas and a variety of Christmas decorations.  They settle in for the day, open gifts, eat, drink and enjoy their non-traditional celebrations.

After walking the beach we gorged on a buffet lunch while overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  Thick clouds hung in the sky all day but the rain eluded us.  Afternoon naps with overstuffed bellies and evening docktails with friends rounded out the day.

Road Trip and Launch 2019

Road Trip

We took a friends & family visiting circuit tour on our way South, stopping to visit friend Paul in Stratford, siblings Bob and Mary and niece Cass in Waterloo, and nephew Joshua in Niagara.  We hadn't had much time for visiting during our busy summer so it was especially nice to touch base with everyone.  We were only sorry that we weren't able to squeeze in one last visit with Jeff's kids, as they were both away for their jobs.

Then on to Massachusetts to visit friends Steve and Wendy (S/V Old Sam) followed by several days in Brooklyn to visit niece Rachel and her husband Bartek.  Lots of good fun.

We had a great visit with Rachel and Bart at their home in Brooklyn.
Where we enjoyed an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, where Rachel is a member,
a taping of the Stephen Colbert show, and lots of laughs and catching up.

MoMA

We feasted our eyes at the Museum of Modern Art where
we saw this very famous painting....

...and THIS Klimt. One of my favourites.  And....

...this awesome HUUUGE Monet.  Breathtaking!

In line at Late Night with Stephen Colbert

Later, we went to see a live taping of the Stephen Colbert show. It was really interesting to see how they put it all together. You'd think they tape in sequence?  But not so.  We saw interviews being taped that were to be shown on a different day. I now notice when watching the show that sometimes during an interview he's wearing a completely different suit than he was during the monologue. Ah-ha! Taped on a different night! Days later Rachel and Bart caught a glimpse of us in the audience when they finally showed an interview taped on the night we were there (Paul Rudd).

And when Stephen Colbert runs out at the beginning of the show and high fives the first row, you think they are seeing him for the first time?  Well no.  They're not.  He was just out answering questions. Then as the theme music begins he ducks around the corner and comes running out.

Unfortunately we were only able to score two tickets so Rachel let us go ahead and we caught up later.  Sorry Rach! But thanks!!

Florida

Eventually we made our way back to Gran Vida, who, as expected, was a dirty mess after her summer's nap.  We hosed off the big chunks, slapped a coat of anti-fouling on her bottom, repainted her waterline stripe, and after a few days in the boat yard, launched and got outta there.  Lickity-split.  We've got this process down to a science.

Requisite pic of Launch 2019

Here's Gran Vida tied to the dock at Glades Boat Yard.
She looks so perty.  Even before her wax job.

We are presently at Fort Myers Yacht basin where we'll spend a month getting some upgrades and maintenance work done.  New canvas tops are being made.  Pearl, our trusty Perkins Engine is in pieces, getting a make-over -- new hoses, clamps, fuel injection lines, belts etc.  We should be able to run her a little faster with confidence once it's all done.

Out for dinner with good friends in Fort Myers.
It feels like a second home here.

And we continue living the dream.  Year six of our Great Loop trip on Gran Vida is on, with it's sunset barbecues in the cockpit, "docktails" with friends, puttering, long walks, good books, golf breaks, evenings swaying under the stars at anchor....   Living life large.  Gran vida.

Gettin on the Home Jam. Summer 2019

Busy, busy, busy.  Too busy.  This summer was all about work.

We expanded our little Airbnb from one unit to four.  Quadruple. We started with one Motor Home in our yard a few years ago and decided to throw it on Airbnb to see what happened.  Our property lends itself to this set up and it went really well.  For the past few years we've hosted a steady stream of visitors from near and far.  It's been pleasant, quite manageable and we've enjoyed spending time with folk from all over the world.

This year we expanded.  In conjunction with my son-in-law's marina business we added three more trailers and parked them in a quiet corner of the marina by the water.  It also went well. Too well, in fact!  Which meant we were running off our feet, with folks checking out by eleven and the next group in by two.  Tons of laundry, cleaning, administration and not much time to get to know our guests -- although we did often give little rides on the bay in Lillie May, our little Northern Boat.

A picture of Lillie May out on the water... just because she's so damn cute.
The boat in the background is a real tug, about 50'.
Lillie May is an aluminum replica, about 20'.
We were chuckling because in the pic she looks like a "real" big-girl tug.

So between the Airbnb business, Jeff working at the marina, taking care of the grandkids regularly, projects on the house, et cetera -- we've had a busy summer.  We did manage to have some fun though....

Boating on Georgian Bay 

We entered Lilly May in TugFest, a festival of renovated
tug boats, some still working but mostly renovated into cruisers.

Lots of quality time with the grandbabies.

My little baker. She's got a passion!

Nana's been working on her drawing

We rocked Mothers' Day by rock climbing in Barrie.

Here's our Airbnb.
 This picture just shows one of the units but there are four of them.
They kept us busy and we met tons of interesting people.

Summer wizzed by before we knew it and soon the snow was falling.  Just as the bay was beginning to freeze up we booted it out of there.  Headed South.  But not before squeezing in a family visiting circuit tour...

Okeechobee then Home Sweet Home

We took the now familiar route through the Okeechobee Waterway back to our boat storage yard, Glades.  Many speak disparagingly of "the ditch" but we've come to enjoy this route for the off-the-beaten-trackedness of it, if that's a word.  It is quite remote with much wildlife.  There were enough birds around to bring Alfred Hitchcock to mind.  In one stretch, from Clewiston to Moore Haven, we saw a baby alligator every hundred metres or so.  Steely little eyes upon us as we approach then slowly submerge as we pass by.

Well, at least I saw them.  This was still Jeffy's birthday week and the big thing for him on his birthday weekend is to kick back and watch the Masters golf tournament.  So I shooed him away from the helm for the day and banished him to the salon to watch tv.  Every once in awhile he'd come up stressed, I had turned a corner and he lost reception.  Occasionally, he'd have to follow the news feed on line for a bit until the course straightened out again and the tv reception came back.

We enjoyed several quiet nights at anchor on the Waterway, watching the fish jump and the birds dive and keeping an eye on where that pesky alligator had slinked away to -- there always seems to be one around us when we anchor on the Okeechobee.  After a few days out we nipped into River Forest Yacht Centre for a pump out and ran into friends Kent and Jane (M/V Rising Tide). They were in the final stages of selling their boat and switching to RV life.  It was pretty emotional for them. Our boats often get to feel almost like family.  It was interesting to us as we're thinking Gran Vida may be next in line for the broker.

Our boating buddy Michele (M/V Just Us) generously offered to pick us up from River Forest and drive us into Fort Myers so we could pick up our car and do the visiting circuit of our friends. It was so nice to catch up with our boating buddies in the area. The next morning Jeff moved the boat up river to Glades Boat Yard on his own and I met him there with the car for our last night aboard Gran Vida for season five.

First thing in the morning we were hauled and we tucked her away for her summer's nap, which is feeling pretty routine after five years.  We were on the road headed North by noon.

On her hurricane stands!

We hear it's still cold up home in Canada.  We've got jackets ready and boots packed in the car.  To be honest, I'm looking forward to swapping them out for my flip flops for awhile.  We are so blessed.  Not a bad gig we've got going but I do love the early spring as the ice goes out and everything turns green again.

Driving home through the mountains of West Virginia.

 The gears are shifting. We're getting our "home jam" on. Until next season, wishing you a Gran Vida.

Crossing Back to Good 'ol U.S of A.

We pulled out of our slip at six-thirty a.m., just as the sky in the East was starting to glow.  It was plenty light enough to see.  We had our course set to head slightly WSW for awhile then turn WNW so we weren't fighting the gulf stream as much.

Knowing we'd be nursing our sick engine and travelling slowly (even more so than usual) we pulled out ahead of the other trawlers to get a head start.  We were surprised by the size of the waves.  Oh no!  This was not what we had bargained for.  We knew they were supposed to lay down in a few hours but it still was not a welcomed experience.  It would not have been the first time the weather forecasts were wrong. With our guts tied up in knots we made the decision to ride it out as we felt it was important to get that head start on the faster boats to ensure they were in radio contact with us for as much of the crossing as possible.

Then the sun brightened, the day turned warm, and everything finally laid down as predicted.  Ahhh.  Soon, we were enjoying an absolutely glorious day at sea.  How wonderful!  Pearl the Perkins Engine chugged away like a champ even though she wasn't feeling her best.

There is something so very awe-inspiring about gliding over long, soft, milky-blue swells - the motion of the ocean - as you bask in the sunshine on the bow of your own little boat, far out of sight of land.  We are so fortunate.

At one point I spotted a dolphin jumping in the distance,  Then another.  Then another!  We watched as an entire group of them approached and surrounded us, jumping in our wake and playing with the boat.  There must have been at least thirty or forty of them!  We've seen lots of dolphins in our travels but never a pod like this before.  Jeff tried to video tape some of it but to be honest, we were just too mind-blowningly excited living it to worry too much about filming.  How utterly magical!

OK, we admit, we borrowed this photo from the internet, but this is pretty much what it looked like.
Add to this that we could CLEARLY see the under water antics as they cavorted and frolicked about,
diving over each other, playing with the boat.
We tried to film some of it but we were way too busy freaking-out with delight to catch it on film.
We always consider ourselves lucky when dolphin comes to play with us.
Knowing that this is likely the last time we'll be out here on Gran Vida, it was a special gift.
Thanks Dolphins!!

Well into the afternoon buildings started to take shape in the distance.  The Bahamian flag came down and up went our yellow quarantine flag.  We entered Lake Worth inlet, dropped the hook in pretty much the exact spot we had lifted it from a couple of months before, and called in to the United States Customs and Border Control to report our arrival.  The crossing took nine and a half hours with an average speed of about six knots.  Slow and steady.

The next day we dinghied into the customs office as instructed and got our new cruising permit from an unbelievably rude officer.  Jeez, are basic manners not required by CBP officers?  He almost got a school-teacher scolding from me but Jeff eyed me down.

It was Jeff's birthday so we had lots to celebrate.  We grabbed lunch at the tiki bar, where they offered Jeff a free birthday shot, booked our haul out for later in the week, and started inching along our journey to Glades Boat Yard, our storage facility.

Happy birthday Jeffy!!

Old Bahama Bay

The trick for taking an older, slow, putt-putt trawler like ours off-shore to the Bahamas is patience.  To make our crossing both safe and comfortable, the weather has to be perfect.

We were a little behind schedule but we waited patiently (and had a great time doing it) and finally the forecast for a reasonable weather window was falling into place.  The plan:  Head to West End, the closest point to the U.S. in the Northern Bahamas, and the next day head out for our crossing to the U.S.  Jeff had pieced the exhaust system together as best as he could without the proper parts.  We waited for high tide to make our way out the shallow channel and off we went.

Well, that lasted for about five minutes.  The cabin filled up with exhaust and it didn't take long for us to realise that more work was needed.  Back to the drawing board, MacGyver.  We turned around and headed back into the marina with our tails beneath our legs.

After assessment and a new plan, we called our handy-dandy driver and he delivered some JB Weld and another case of beer.  Jeff spent the day in the hole in the floor in the sweltering heat.  I had every available fan on him. Another couple of days waiting for the weld to cure and the weather to settle down again.  Ugh, boat repairs are a bummer at the best of times but in the Bahamas, where parts and services are hard to come by, they're an even a bigger bummer.  At least we were in Freeport, one of the larger cities in the Bahamas.

Freighters outside of Freeport.  

So in a few days off we went again.  Headed to West End to wait for our ocean crossing. By now we were well past our targeted departure date and getting a little anxious to get going.  We had had it with the hurry up and wait scene.

The sea was a little bouncy, but doable.  We bopped along, happy to be finally moving, when suddenly we felt a big hiccough in the engine and it began to run oddly rough.  We looked at each other.  Now what?  Jeff checked it out while bouncing around in the cabin and  he could see that a seal had let go and diesel was spraying out of a fitting.  Ugh! Seriously?!

By now we were feeling pretty exasperated.  We were out there bouncing around, the boat was running rough, we weren't sure just which seal it was or even if the boat going to make it to port (or was safe for that matter).

I began to run back in my memory trying to remember where I saw the phone number for a tow in the Bahamas.  I eyed the distant shore.  Miles of deserted beach.  Distances can be deceiving on the water but I was pretty sure I could swim it if, heaven forbid, we had a fire.  Not a great image though. We'd get to shore and then what?  It looked like a completely unpopulated area (although the thought of sitting on a beach and watching the boat burn up and sink was getting to be a little appealing at that point!)


We finally limped into Old Bahama Bay at West End and Jeff began to research and talk to his mechanical contacts.  He figured out it was a return line that was leaking (which was good news).  All preliminary advice was that if it was wrapped tight with a rag it should be okay.  A reasonable looking crossing was up the next day.  We didn't really have any buddy boats going the same way we were.  Should we attempt it?


By two in the morning I had decided even if Jeff hadn't.  No way was I going out there in the Atlantic in a boat we weren't confident in, on a day with iffy weather at best, and no buddy boats.  I was so relieved when he immediately agreed with me.

Pool by the pool. 
What's not to love!

A great place to be "stuck"

So we hunkered down.  We spent a week or so just relaxing at Old Bahama Bay Marina while the wind and waves carried on out on the sea. The next weather window would arrive when it arrives and fretting wasn't going to help it.  Jeff sought out further confirmation from all his buddies in the know and the consensus was that even though the boat was running a bit rough it was safe to run if we wrapped the leak tightly, but we'd have to take it really easy.


We focused on enjoying the resort we were stuck in and loving life.  We took solace in the fact that, even though we felt badly for them, the folks that had crossed on the day we missed had all said it was a rough day out there.

And, Old Bahama Bay was not a bad place to be stuck (even if it was blowing our budget sky high).  There was a beautiful pool with a billiards table on the deck.  What's not to love about that! Pool by the pool! We played shuffle board.  There was lots of wild life around and a nice little beach with kayaks available. We saw tons of sharks, a manatee visited every day for a rub down and some lettuce, great big turtles were frequently sighted.

One day we rode the loaner bikes into the little settlement, which is very poor and run-down.  There is still much damage from Hurricane Matthew that ripped through there two or three years ago that they can't afford 

to fix.  It put things in perspective. We just accepted our fate and enjoyed.  We were not that hard done by.

My Little Lady.  She visited every day.

Feeding frenzy. These are very shark infested waters.
Shallow and warm.  Local fishermen were throwing
scraps into the water right in the marina.  We had
seen the odd shark around but wow, suddenly there
were lots of them!  Hmm... and to think I was swimming
just outside the marina last year while we were at anchor.

Out for a walk to check on
the blustery sea.

Eventually a new weather window appeared.  A boating buddy hooked us up with a group of trawlers who were crossing that same day and on the same course as us.  We met a sailor who had engine trouble and TowBoat US was coming to tow him all the way across to the States, so we knew a tow boat would be out there with us likely within easy radio range.


The stars had lined up.  It was time to go home.

Ocean Reef Yacht Club

This is not our first time here at Ocean Reef.  We came to Freeport by fast ferry a couple of years ago with our buddies Jim and Mimi (formerly from M/V Perfect Balance) and stayed with friends Randy and Sheri (M/V Priorities) on a boat.

Ocean Reef should probably be claimed as an honorary territory of Canada.  It is a time share complex with townhouses and apartments, encircled by boat slips.  They offer very reasonable monthly rates and many Canadian snowbirds come over from the States on their boats and just settle in for the winter.  It's close and cheap and pleasant.  Three very desirable features.

Gran Vida at her slip at Ocean Reef Yacht Club

There are two pools, tennis courts, a hot tub, a nice restaurant, a daily free shuttle to different beaches or markets. tons of activities including a weekly free orientation dinner, movie nights, billiards, bike rentals, loaner kayaks, karaoke, nature walks etc. etc.  Folks are friendly and it is a great place to hang out if you're a Canadian with the mission to just get your boat out of the States for awhile, as required.

This pretty little guy swam
past our boat.  Later we
saw it with two larger
identical looking spotted
rays. Cute family!

Hitler, the dock cat.

We spent a few days here relaxing, socialising and watching the weather. Jeff changed the oil and filters and while doing that noticed an exhaust leak.  Ugh.  Not good.  We got on the phone looking for the required clamp and unfortunately there were none the right size available on the island.  A two week delivery date was required.  Ugh again.  Also not good.  So my MacGyver got busy and after a trip into Freeport for some parts and a case of beer, grease-monkeyed away in the hole in the floor.  He's a handy guy to have around.

Pearl, the Perkins Engine is scheduled for a little make-over next fall when we come back.  She's a great engine and has served us well over the years.  But she's ageing (I can relate).  Her update will include new hoses, clamps, pumps, do-hickies, whatever has become worn and brittle over the years.  She'll appreciate that.  (I wonder if I could sign up for one too!)

They are building some sort of structure over the outdoor restaurant area.
Curious to see what they end up with.

What's that thing on the roof? They were on each unit.
We wondered what they were. Water heaters??  

Greg and Nola, new friends from upstate New York that
we got to know. They joined us for some dinghy 'sploring.