Bimini

March 19-23, 2013

We are in Bimini’s Big Game Resort and Marina, contemplating leaving this afternoon and making a run for Nassau Harbor.  We originally thought we might make Chubb Cay, 85nm east of here over the Grand Bahama Banks.  However there is some sort of Cold Front coming across Monday, or Sunday Night, and we would kinda like to be in the shelter of a harbor by then.  We will listen to Chris Parker this morning at 0630 to get a better feeling for that.

We left Boca Chica on Tuesday morning, March 19, at 0715 headed to Bimini as a formation of three vessels.  JonNe’; Ed and Claudia Davis, aboard Door Into Summer; and Shane ___ , aboard Lestrella. We crossed the reef off the Hawk Channel at Marker 26 basically for two reasons: to pick up some Gulf Stream Current and to avoid the crab traps that always seem to clog up Hawk Channel and make watching maneuvering to avoid catching one on the prop a real challenge sometimes.

It was a romping sail!!  It turns out my wind instruments are reading a bit high, and while Door Into Summer was reading 15-18 kts of wind from the Southeast, we were reading 25-30 kts.  Not a real problem, but it makes me feel a bit strange thinking 15 kts was pretty easy to sail in when in fact, it was a romping sail!  Most of the seas were about 3-4’ swells, with decent periods between waves, but we saw an occasional 6 out there.  Renne’ and I were braced in the cockpit and getting a lot of exercise just sitting there.

The amazing thing was at sunset, we shortened the main sail to the first reef.  That is a cardinal rule for us, and has only been violated a few times since Renne’ and I began cruising together.  So in keeping with that, we reefed, and it still amazes me that you keep on going at the same speed, with less heel, when the winds are at 15 or better.  So on into the night, we were seeing as high as 9 knots (5.2 kts is our usual planned speed).  As we were closing on Bimini, we were talking about slowing down!  Yeah, Right!!  We furled the jib completely and we were running under staysail and reefed main at 8.2 kts and wondering how we were going to handle the growing westerly winds and southwesterly seas as we approached the Western entrance to Bimini.  We were also struggling to keep on the rhumbline into Bimini.  The current was moving about 2.5 kts north, we were moving northeast, so we were crabbing as much as 30-35 degrees to the east to keep on course.  The problem was the winds.  They were in the southeast and if we got the bow too far into the crab, we would get behind the power curve and the boat would slow dramatically (3.4 kts).  We would add the engine to gain back some of the way we had lost, and repeat the whole procedure again!

As we gained on Bimini, it was evident we would make it in less than the 30 hours we had budgeted for the crossing.  We actually arrived in position to enter the channel by sunrise, but the last 10nm, the winds had finally clocked around to the west.  Our concern was making the entrance to the channel. 

We had become separated from Listrella early in the crossing.  Shane chose to go up the coast of the Keys, and made the direct crossing farther east than we did.  Interestingly, Shane made Bimini right a sunrise and was sitting in a slip by the time we arrived.  So Renne’ was in contact with him for the latest instructions for entering the harbor.  He confirmed nothing had changed since our visit there last May.

We worked hard at slowing the boats, and reduced our speed to 4.5-5.6 kts as the sun rose higher in the sky. We were obviously exiting the Gulf Stream.  By 0900, we were at the entrance to Bimini and both winds and waves settled down completely.  We pulled into the wind, dropped our sails and entered the channel and harbor with no difficulties under power.  We landed at Bimini Big Game Resort and Marina by 0945.

Tuesday was mostly a resting day. We slept hard once in the marina, and work on getting things put away and cleaned up were delayed until Wednesday.  Our only loss on the crossing was 2-1/2 dozen of our 7 dozen eggs stored in a plastic container in the V-berth that ended up on the floor.  Guess I will secure that a bit better before we leave!  I can't wait to smell the results if I missed cleaning up anything!!

Renne’, on Wednesday, called on the Bimini High School and Primary Elementary School, and met with both Principals.  She arranged for presentations on be made on “Being an Author”, and spent most of Wednesday night preparing for Thursday.  We were over at the Elementary School by 0830 for her 0900 presentation, and gave three presentations, one each for the 3^rd, 2^nd, and 1^st graders.  They all enjoyed the reading of the books especially, and it really is heartwarming to hear the kids talk about how much they enjoyed the pictures.  By the time they were done, they all knew who Juni was.  The High Schoolers were great.  They actually are jr. high here, and were 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th graders as well as the Language Arts teachers high school class.  That was an hour presentation, and afterwards, she was asked for her card, as one of the students was very interested in her poetry book.  This was a group of about 120 students.  She did an excellent job.

Wednesday afternoon, one of the boats donated about 5 pounds of shushi grade Wahoo to our boats, and dinner was Wahoo Sashimi and grilled Wahoo steaks Ed and Claudia.  Thursday dinner was stone crab freshly caught but purchased, more fresh Wahoo, shrimp, and lobster dip (from Boca Chica), with Ed, Claudia, and Shane.

We ate some appetizers at a beach bar and restaurant on South Bimini last night and ran up an $45 bill!  That was two beers, two coconut rums and an appetizer of Mozzerella Cheese!  Wholly Shiite Muslem!!

Meanwhile, Renne’ is preparing breakfast with fresh blueberry pancakes.  WaHOO!

We won’t be on the docks tonite for sundowners, so have one for us! 

JonNe’

March 23 (Update)

Looks like we will be here in Bimini for another couple of days.  The winds are very brisk (20+ kts) and will be so for the next 72 hours at least.  We don't have a problem with getting caught in winds or seas, but we would rather not set ourselves up for a less than comfortable ride for two days if we don't have to do that.  So it looks like we will settle in and enjoy the great weather here.  If you are interested in looking at the winds and waves we are seeing, we invite you to look at: www.passageweather.com, go to the North Atlantic, and choose the area for South Florida - you will see the Bahamas.

JonNe'

AMAZING Experience This Morning

We have a friend who is on a boat delivery at the moment.  He flew out to a central eastern Caribbean island to pick up a boat to deliver up the East Coast.  The last we had heard from him was a Facebook entry from Inuagua, Bahamas.  His wife had received an email stating they were departing for Georgetown, Bahamas immediately for a 30 hour sail with arrival planned for Saturday night or Sunday morning.  As a sailor, we all know that arrivals can be delayed for a whole variety of reasons: no winds, leaving you conserving fuel for the really necessary times you need your engine; bad wind direction, forcing you off your primary course; ornery weather, causing you to alter your travel plans and bail out someplace along the way; bad or lack of fuel, causing you to sail all of the way rather than relying on your engine; mechanical issues, which delays or alters your trip because something decided to go off-line; none of which may be a life threatening issue.  The other circumstance to recognize is that communications in the Bahamas can be very sketchy, with few areas of coverage by cell phone or WIFI.  One of the reasons we have a Single Side Band High Frequency Radio (SSB) on board JonNe' is just for this reason.  Other boats discard this radio as old fashioned and not worth the cost.  They would rather get their weather and communicate by SatPhone.  I personally believe one should be able to use every means possible for getting the word out.

The issue in this instance is the known weather in the Southern Bahamas.  Although 25 knot winds, gusting to 35, are very manageable, 10-13 foot seas on the starboard beam is nothing to sneeze at.  Arriving in any of the islands off the Exuma Sound in dicey winds and waves can be trick., The Sound can be as challenging to negotiate as the Gulf Stream in the Winter and early Spring.  We have delayed our departure from Key West specifically for winds and waves.  Our delivery sailors have both been on many deliveries and our friend's wife is much immune to issues with the deliveries.  However, by last night (Monday) at 2200 hours (10:00pm) she had not heard anything regarding his situation.  Had they arrived in Georgetown, she would have received an email atleast, so at 36 hours overdue, last night she called us to see if we could contact one of the various SSB or other radio nets covering the Bahamas, to see if the boat had been sighted.  She was NOT panicked, rather expressing concern.  Renne' and I informed her we were not too worried, but we would begin asking questions as of this morning on the various nets.

I took the time to send an email to Cruiseheimer's, via their published email address, with the boat name, type of boat, crew names, last known route, last known departure point, last known intended arrival destination, to alert them of our request.  Cruiseheimers is one of the more popular non-membership nets on SSB.  They are up every morning, on 8152 (SSB radio frequency), 7 days a week, at 0830 Eastern Time, with a very broad audience of cruisers checking in daily throughout the East Coast and Bahamas.

This morning at 0620, at 48 hours overdue, having heard nothing from our friend's wife, I called our cruising partner, who is a member of Chris Parkers Weather Service, with a request that he contact Chris with the above information.  Chris Parker conducts an extensive daily weather broadcast on 4045 (SSB radio frequency) at 0630 Eastern Time, and covers weather for a wide area of the East Coast, the Bahamas, and later at a different time, covers all of the Caribbean weather.  This broadcast is faithfully listened to by a very large number of cruisers for daily weather briefings to plan either daily activities or crossings from one exotic port to another.

At 0630, Chris Parker came up on the radio asking for any urgent traffic first, and our cruising partner called in, again with the information I had sent to Cruiseheimers. Expecting this might take a day or so for information to be passed, I was NOT expecting the response we received.  Immediately following our request, Chris received a reply from a cruiser on Rum Cay, 52 nautical miles from Georgetown, that our friends boat had been in port Monday and had departed last night for Georgetown.  In 30 seconds after the initial notification, we were satisfied our friend, the boat, and the rest of the crew were safe and continuing their journey.  I then emailed Cruisheimer's with the information we had received so as to close out that inquiry before it went out over the air.

Our lesson learned in this particular situation is:  1) Don't panic when you don't hear something!  2) Trust in the skills of the crew on board the boat you are tracking, disasters seldom occur.  3) File a float plan with your anticipated plans, with a friend who will be responsible for tracking your progress, 4) Realize the world is out there, and there are a lot of us cruising.  There are ways to find someone if you REALLY NEED to know, BUT DON'T ABUSE IT.  The other is it is nice to know there are those who love us out there, who are concerned.

Last night was a fitful night sleeping knowing our friend was out there in some dicey weather and his wife was concerned enough to ask for assistance.  This morning, life goes on as it has, and as the sun rises, I am grateful, AGAIN, that I have my SSB on board.  It has been an AMAZING morning!

See you guys tonite on the docks for Sundowners.  Look forward to it!!

JonNe'

There May Be A Slight Delay

March 09, 2013
Ed Davis and I have been checking the weather forecasts for the trip to Bimini. At this moment, our hopes for leaving for Bimini on Tuesday are quickly fading.  Our desire is to have winds below 90/270 degrees for our forecast weather window, and seas at least not directly against the Gulf Stream.  We were informed that Monday afternoon would be adequate to leave, but our limiting factor is a Wednesday arrival.  Winds will be directly from the west and making the approach off the Stream into Bimini with following seas and winds is not ideal either.  So we will continue to watch and wait. Today is Sunday, and as an update, Tuesday and Wednesday are out, so Saturday and Sunday, March 16/17. (March 10) As I have said before, we just don't see the need to get beaten up too badly if we plan it right!

We have been diligently working on the boat while we prepare to leave.  While gone for Christmas, a local carpenter came in and completely redid our counter tops.  We had considered upgrading to Corian counters, but opted for a laminate top to keep costs and weight down.  We already have enough weight aboard!

Here is the new counter top:

She also pulled all of the locker, closet, and cabinet doors off the galley and desk area and has completely re-varnished the woodwork in that area.  We will continue working on it, but she has done a superb job with it.  Here is the desk area:

I, on the other hand, have been working on the V-Berth to get it organized, again.  Tools, food pantry, Renne's books, Renne's paint supplies, diving supplies, charts, and a bunch of other stuff! I mounted our new Lake City Wringer last week.  Now there are no new ideas, just good ones you incorporate as you see them.  Our friends, Doug and Barb, installed one on there boat, and we used it extensively while we were in Europe with them.  So, with some improvements over last years design while we were in the Bahamas, I installed a permanent mount at the Mast Pulpit and this is what it looks like:

It probably will stay there, ah, another thing Renne' can create a cover for!!  LOL!

Renne' has been working hard on her Nighty Night Sailboat Series and is working with Legal Zoom to make sure she is protected legally.  She is creating t-shirts for young kids, and this is the proto-type for the shirts and nightgowns:

In the meantime, we continue socializing with friends, both on and off base:

So in keeping with our normal activities, plan to join us this evening on the dock at sunset, Sundowners are great!  Wear long sleeves this evening, there will be a nip in the air.  CYA there!

JonNe'

Almost Ready for the Bahamas

March 6, 2013

As the Navy stories of sea begin, "There I was, let me tell you, this is No Shit, Thought I Was Gonna Die!"

Renne' and I have, very diligently, been working on preparing for our departure date on or about March 11.  I had a brilliant idea the night before last (Monday). We have a few days to play with, so I thought I would polish the fuel in our port tank; that is to say, I would run the fuel through the filters to clean the bacteria that routinely grows in diesel fuel.  So I turned the fuel pump on, and selected the starboard (right) tank. Now, boat engines do not normally utilize all of the fuel pumped to it, and so there is a return line.  So the excess fuel goes back to the tank. It also allows us to transfer fuel into any of the three fuel tanks on board.  We filled our tanks last week, so the fuel should go back into the original tank. An hour or so later, Renne' begins to smell diesel fuel. I can't smell that well, and I said it was the varnish she had been working with earlier. Shortly after, I am smelling diesel. I shut the transfer pump off and began looking for the source of a serious diesel leak.

Much to mychagrin, I found fuel in the air conditioning closet. I mean it was all over the place; on the shelves, on the air ducts, dripping down the vents. It was on the floor of the closet. When I lifted the floor panel, it was below the floor panels-what a mess!  The problem, was it was 10pm! We were headed for bed. Renne' had taken two antihistamines and was very sleepy. The problem with diesel is it is obnoxious to smell! So cleanup was NOT an option.  I took down the 7" flexible ducting, and found 1/3 cup of diesel in the blower of the air conditioner. Now I was seeing $4,500 to replace the air conditioner, and frankly I could NOT comprehend how it got there!  I pulled the unit out 70 lbs, and wrestled it to the dock. Bu that time, it is getting on about 11:15pm. The cleaning was just beginning.  Some fuel was in the bilge, some had gone outside. I was so aggravated, I couldn't see the forest through the trees at that point!

By 12:30am, things were under control, the closet had been cleaned, the bilge had been washed out-several times, the deck outside had been cleaned, the air conditioner had been covered, and we finally drug ourselves to bed!

In the morning, when everything comes into perspective, I realized I was pulling fuel from the starboard tank and transferring it to the port tank. It already was full. So the excess fuel was sent up the vent hose. The problem with all vents to the outside is, it was plugged by a mud dobber. So the fuel could not vent to the outside-environmentally, a good thing. However, the fuel pressure built enough to send fuel out of the hose, and drained to the vents in the top of the closet, and the excess fuel drained down the ducting into the blower. NOT a good thing!

We are 5 days from leaving and I began calling the manufacturer of the air conditioning unit, the dealer, a second dealer, a repair guy. Etc!  The response from a guy here in town was, dismantle the blower and motor, wash the interior of the blower with a heavy detergent, then flush it with copious amounts of fresh water. I thought that was dubious, but to replace the blower was $600, with shipping to arrive here by Friday.  I washed the blower and ELECTRIC motor with soap and water! Holy Shiite Muslem!  I let the unit sit over night to dry, covered by the outboard motor cover, called our cruising buddy, Ed, to come over and help, I replaced all of the vent ducting which had mold in it any way, re-mounted the blower, carried it down below (with Ed's assistance), re-connected the ducts (so this is what duct tape is really used for), looked up which 115volt wire was HOT (black) and which was NEUTRAL (white), and reconnected the unit and the water pump, triple-checked everything with a multimeter, and flipped the switch! 36 hours after this near disaster and $80, the unit is working fine!

So in the meantime, Renne' begins cleaning our woodwork below. Off come all of the doors to the closets, lockers, and cabinets. Soapy water is everywhere! Then she gets the brushes out and the varnish and re-conditions the cabin table, the woodwork around the galley, all of the doors to the closets, lockers, and cabinets. We are 5 days out, and by tomorrow, we will have a pretty decent looking-and smelling place to take to the Bahamas!

Other projects have included:

Cleaning the center fuel tank; repairing canvas; shopping; renewing the jib and staysails; repairing the shower drain and pump;shopping; painting the aft head; storing away winter clothes; shopping; new canvas covers for the fuel tanks, life raft, and winches; purchasing book inventory to sell in the Bahamas; shopping; lecturing at the local school on "Being an Author"; book signings; and MORE shopping to get ready for 2-3 months in the Bahamas!

Did I say we were retired? I want to know how we ever found time to work! We're pooped

See ya at sunset tonite for badly needed sundowners!

JonNe'

Each Day We Get Closer

February 25 (Already!)

Several projects for that I am working on right now:

1) I was working on the bilge pump switch the other day.  In order to get to it, I had to pull the exhaust hose off the engine and break the exhaust loop apart.  In order to get it back together, I replaced the metal gasket I had removed, tightened the bolts down, and double checked the joint by putting soapy water over the joint while the engine was running.  Much to my disappointment, the exhaust leaked and I had to order new gaskets in.  They arrived the other day, and tomorrow when we take the boat over for new fuel and to have the engine mounts tightened, I will have the gasket replaced at the same time.  That project will be done tomorrow

2) I finished installing the secondary bilge pump yesterday and got the genset re-secured in place.  However, a diode was blown in the switch, so that got delivered today.  I will get that resoldered tomorrow and hopefully the secondary bilge pump will be working! 

I was looking back at the blog this morning recounting our first adventure crossing. We left on May 4, 2012. I relived the issues we had then and I want to make sure we have some of those issues re-addressed. It is interesting going back to that reading. I will have the others review it also.

Renne' and I have been running errands again today.  I am feeling pressed for time now. I need to get the shower drain blown out today and hope it will clear the drain hose. Although the pump runs fine, the drain quit pumping water out, so I assume the drain hose is plugged. We have been hand pumping it out for two days.

We also have to get income tax done in the next week. Ouch.  Discovered we have way underpaid, we are just happy we have the money in the bank.  

I rebuilt the secondary bilge pump and it is back n place and the genset back in position.  The day I originally installed that pump was one of those days when I was thinking I would NEVER have to work on it! What a pain that was to get it out and back into place. I found it was not the only issue. Apparently a diode in the switch went bad, and I have replacement parts coming.

When we were in Houston over Christmas, we purchased some lightly tinted plexiglass for the companionway cover and front access panel. The old stuff was orange and scratched and didn't allow much light in the boat.  Yesterday, cut the access panel out and mounted the boat lock to it. It makes a world of difference! Wow!  The companionway cover comes next, but that will be more difficult.

Began working on our new mount for our clothes wringer. It will be mounted on the mast pulpit amidships, and my holdup is a small amount of welding I need for the angled aluminum. It should be done Sunday!

Homemade pizza for dinner tonite!

See ya at sunset here in beautiful Key West for sundowners

JonNe'

The New Plan For the Bahamas is Coming Together

Renne' and I have been working hard to have JonNe' ready for our planned departure around the 1st week of March. We have decided to head back to the Bahamas again this year.  We will be joined by our friends, Ed and Claudia Davis, aboard their boat "Door Into Summer".  We met Ed and Claudia a year ago as we were headed north to Charleston, SC for hurricane season, and we spent the last days of October transiting south from Vero Beach together.

Actually, this years preparation has not been as grueling as in past years. We have had to work on two major issues: bad fuel in the Bahamas and a bad storm that tore up our jib in the Exumas (Bahamas) on our last trip. I finally got the fuel cleaned and transferred to one of the other tanks, then opened the access panel and manually cleaned the tank out. That was not fun.  The jib and staysail are in for badly needed repairs, and will be back to us by the end of the week.

We had a major provisioning trip today, and spent $250 today, $150 yesterday.  We were at the Miami Boat Show and bought a pair of "voice-activated" radios they call the Marriage Saver, so I can work out on the deck with the anchor or handling the sails without yelling anymore. I also anticipate it will be an excellent addition for being out on the deck at night.  Communications are the first thing we have to make sure works well.

I have to change the oil in the water maker, reinstall the secondary bilge pump, re-seat a metal gasket in the exhaust loop, and repack the V-berth. We will be storing lots of winter clothes in the car! I also plan on going through my tools to see if I can leave some here this time.

Rene's sewing machine is in for a checkup today, and we hope to get it back this week as she is hoping to make a cover for the life raft and outboard engine.

Other than those items, I think we are pretty much ready to go, so we have two weeks left!

So before we leave, if you want to catch up with us on the docks for Sundowners, you are always welcome.

Jon and Renne'

‘Tis the Night Before Christmas, 2012

‘Tis the Night Before Christmas, 2012

'Tis the night before Christmas, and my thoughts they do ponder
On where we have been this past year way back yonder.
Aboard our fair cutter, JonNe', we've been blessed
Through our trials and travels, north, south, east, and west.

Key West's been our home with our friends dear and true,
Some sailed, some stayed, one passed to the Blue.
A hero to all of us, George lays in rest
But his mem'ry remains, his history the best.

Sailing north then to east, the Bahamas we found
With five Boca Chica vessels for Paradise bound
Key West to the Abacos, our journey we found
Great weather, good sailing, scores of dolphins around

Torn mains'l, bad radio, no sound could we hear
We knew Boca Chica was straight to our rear.
We turned her around, no sight of Jois and Mick
So we figured we'd repair all the things on our stick.

Good trial run, but work to complete,
Two weeks off our schedule our friends we would meet
On our next leg to West End running smooth 'cross the Stream
To meet Boca Chica Buddies and start the cruise of our dream.

Where out on the horizon there arose such a scene
As the sun broached the horizon, those boats we could see.
We joined their armada and sailed to the east
16 days of pleasure, no sign of the beast.

Fair Haven, POW-MIA, Last Dance, and Flynn's Wake,
Out early each morning, more anchorages to make.
Great Guana, Green Turtle, Great Sail, Spanish Cay,
Treasure, and Hopetown the places we see.

To soon some head home for places up north
Flynnigan's Wake and JonNe' continue due south.
Current Cut was exciting, the transit we made
Eleuthera inviting, no longer afraid.

The Exumas were beautiful, way beyond belief
Blue water, white sand, and an occasional reef.
One storm nearly took us, our boats they wandered
Without us, alone down the coast til aboard we did scramble.

Our own departure from Bimini, back to the coast
Fond memories later we always can boast.
Heading North up the coast for Lat 31
Hurricanes in the future, security done

We sailed north to Brunswick and St. Simon Isle
And then off to Europe militar style
We landed in Naples and Plankton found us
But the language was tough and caused us much fuss.

Volcanoes and ruins of Roman antique
Vistas and castles made landscape unique
A swordfish or two made dinners complete
Ending three years of famine for seafood a feat

We tackled the Straits of Mesina one day
We'd heard of the dangers we would find on the way
Wretched currents and whirlpools, disasters we'd  find
But good planning, fine sailing, and we turned out just fine

Now the boat's in Key West and we are back on the land
In Kemah with friends, the holidays to plan.
We've been to the parties, dinners and such
We hope we've not challenged our welcome too much

Renne's great achievement her books she does write,
for children and lovers and the Shuttle in flight
The crowds that she draws as she signs each first page
Remind me of how blessed we are at this age.

As I sit here I ponder of the day next to dawn
I sip on a toddy, stifling a yawn
I think of the story from days that are old
Christ's birth in a manger the story still told

Our blessings, forgiveness, our riches this day
Because of his love we follow his way.
He shares with us all and Santa with elves
To share our great wealth he provides to ourselves

So here's to my wife the best friend I could have,
A partner in life sharing each of our lives.
A vessel to carry us well beyond dreams
We are thankful to Christ for the best of all schemes

So we toast to our friends as I write this poor tome
We celebrate Christmas in each of your homes
We thank all of you who have been part of this cheer
And wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Jon and Renne Siewers, 2012

Isle of Capri to Positano, sept 19

September 19 - 0730

We are definitely in the waning days of summer.  Although we are still in shirtsleeve and shorts weather, there is a chill in the air at night. Our bed in the main cabin is very comfortable, and Renne' and I sleep well at night. We are under covers with the hatches open all the time. This week has been perfect for weather. We have had some rain, but not since we left Marina Piccola in Mesino.

We decided to stay in Capri yesterday and tour the island.  There is great competition between the two main cities. You can see that initially in just the names - Capri (town) and Anacapri -translated it means Capri and NOT Capri.  Capri is a town for the rich and famous. Although the main economy of the entire island has been tourism for 2000 years, Capri knows how to do it for the mega-rich.  It is like Rodeo Drive in Hollywood or the Ginza in Tokyo-

And it has some of the same stores! Anacapri on the other hand is much more relaxed, has some beautiful churches built in the 1500's and 1600's!  I know Capri has one or two also, but you don't notice them at all! Prices are very reasonable also!  

Our adventure yesterday, was not the cities so much as the bus rides to them.  The roads are so narrow when the buses pass one another there are only 2-3 inches space between them. The roads look over cliffs 100' high. And hairpin turns that make the hair on your arms and the back of your neck stand straight up! The only cars and trucks allowed on the island are for commercial purposes. These are small trucks. And Smart Cars for the most part. There are a LOT of Cushman style work vehicles here for delivering luggage, the UPS  truck is Cushman style, food, supplies, etc. they are the real work-horses here besides the buses. We heard a siren coming through Capri, and Doug quipped, "Jon, you need to see the ambulance." I couldn't see around the truck, but it seemed to take a fair amount of time coming through the throngs of people walking through the streets. As it drove past us, I asked if it was a Cushman-just joking, realizing it was disrespectful of the patient aboard on the way to the hospital, but it was! We had to laugh!

We had taken the dinghy to the marina area when we left the boat, but got chased away from the docks by the same people who chased us away from the mooring balls. All we wanted to do was walk through town. We finally discovered, if we ate dinner at THEIR restaurant, it would be okay. We finally relented, but said we would return later to eat. When we did return, we stopped for a couple of beers, wine, and an appetizer, but discovered the only way to the dinghy was 200 yards across the water. They wanted to make sure we ate or drank SOMETHING! Although that was our original plan, guess they have bought that pig before!  LOL!

Back on the boat, we defrosted and grilled pork chops, stir fried fresh broccoli and garlic with a touch of soy sauce, sautéed fresh mushrooms and garlic with a touch of Lea and Perrins, and cooked beans and red peppers in the pressure cooker. What a feast. Who says lining on a boat is camping out!

We played a new game yesterday. Guess we got tired of FARKLE every night. We played Mexican Train Dominos. Most enjoyable way of spending the evening!

We WILL move to Amalfi today. It is getting late in the season, and we have to be moving south! As Jerry Reed used to sing, "We have a long way to go, and a short time to get there. . . ".

1125

THIS IS THE DREAM! This is what all of the Marketing folks at all the manufacturers of boats are selling. 4.2kts of speed over the ground, 1 foot seas or less, 15 kts of cool breeze, high Cirrus clouds in the sky, beautiful babes on the bow in bikinis, and a paradise of islands to sail to. We are blessed with friends, good careers to build our retirement funds, blessed with opportunities we could only see in our minds eye 5 years ago. Who could ask for more.

We stopped for the night in Positano, Italy, just north of Amalfi. We are in town for Internet purposes and to pick up beer, wine, and some Bacardi and Coke. We will head back tot he boat in a few hours for dinner.

We will see you at the docks of the marina in Amalfitonite for sundowners. So rum and cokes, Peroni beer, and wine for all at the docks tonite! 

See ya there! 

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton, with Doug and Barb

On the Isle of Capri, Sept 18

September 18 - 0935

We are still at anchor this morning, and have been I talking about going into the island today. Renne' is giving Doug a haircut, I have just cleaned up the dishes from a breakfast of French toast, maple syrup, and scrambled eggs with onion, thanks to Doug. Barb is lounging while investigating our itinerary after we leave today.

It is a glorious day. The bigger of the mega yachts left earlier. He was probably sitting in 100' of water. He had a LOT OF CHAIN out. Tourist season here on Capri (CAP-ri not Ca-PRI) is about over. Tourism is the island's primary income, and as one of the books says, it means "industrial doses of tasteless tat". I thought that was a classic description of it.  There are 10 sailboats and still one very large motor vessel here on the south side of the island. We are anchored at Marina Picolla, but there are no docks in this area.

Capri has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, then Greeks, then Augustus and Tiberius.  It is said, Augustus had the first ever Paleolithic museum in the world here.  Lately, of course, this has become a sort of haven for celebrities during the summer.  Of course no one talks about who comes and goes here.  

We passed the "Blue Grotto" up yesterday, as the fare to go in was 12.50€. However, it would have been interesting to see it. It is said Tiberius had it carved with niches, platforms, and apes as he used it as his "nymphaeum".

For whatever reason, I stopped here, so I will continue tomorrow

Jon and Renne'

Aboard s/v Plankton with Doug and Barb

The famed Isle of Capri, Sept 17th

I am updating this on Dec 24, 2012 - Just imagine we are still in Italy!

September 17 - 1949

Tonite we are sitting in the lea of the Isle of Capri. Amazing. Actually, we are sitting a bit exposed. The sail across to Capri (we pronounce it Ca'pri, the Italians pronounce it as Cap'ri) was uneventful.  Actually it was more of a motorsail, as there wasn't that much wind.  Procida to Capri is 16nm.  We approached from the North, and we were specifically looking for the Blue Grotto.

 Below is a stock photo of the interior of the Blue Grotto

However, we chose to pass it up.  Although this is rumored to be the "Love Grotto" for Emperor Tiberius, we chose to bypass because the fee was like $15.00 per person and as you can see above, it was CROWDED!  So we proceeded around the the island to the east, and saw this statue on a protruding outcrop of rock.

A bit farther around the island, we had planned to anchor out in a very nice anchorage.  The rock formations and caves were spectacular.  We explored them extensively by foot and dinghy.

I was in a cave this afternoon that looked out over the water. I climbed 125 steps to get there.

We were thrown out of this anchorage which we really liked, but the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costeria) came by and told us we had to leave. NOW!  We picked up our anchor and motored around to the south side of the island. 

There is a small community here, Port Piccola (tiny port) and it was beautiful.  

We tried to pick up a mooring here, but a dinghy came out to tell us it was a private ball. So we had to find a place to anchor.  This was the second place we have thrown out of TODAY!  We are actually glad we are here. This island is beautiful!  

Renne', Doug, and I went shopping this morning prior to breakfast. We were having problems finding a store, so Doug went one way and R and I went the other. When we found each other, we were surprised at how much we had duplicated without talking about it. So we are pretty much stocked for the next few days.

Anchored out here are two private yachts over 125'.  One of them is at least 150 ' because of the lights rigged on the boat. 

We will leave here tomorrow morning and head for the Amalfi Coast.  The weather here is perfect. Temp right now is 68 or 70 with a very light breeze. The sky is clear. How beautiful. Great time to be here!

We missed you if you were sitting at the dock. Sorry. But Sundowners were excellent!  We will try to catch up with you farther down the coast. We will skip Sorento and head farther on down the coast. Bring the wine and rum with you, we are running a bit short. 

Jon and Renne'

Aboard  S/V Plankton with Doug and Barb

Island of Procida sept 16th

September 16th, 0745

I am adding pics to this today (Nov 23, 2012) so you can see what we saw.

Up this morning to a glorious sunny day. Temp is about 68 degrees. We are debating finding some breakfast food and going to church.  Breakfast won out! It was lite, an egg for Renne', some watermelon, two bananas, coffee for Doug, Barb, and me, ,and tea for Renne'.  Doug and I washed and rinsed clothes,

while the girls got the interior cleaned up.  We departed the marina by 1100and headed back north to the island of Procida.  A large midevil castle is on the top of the island, 100 meters above the water.

The castle as it turns out has had several occupants.  It has been used as a regional prison, government offices, and today, most of the castle is made up of apartments.  Pretty cool.

We anchored among 125+ recreational boats here for probably the last nice weekend of boating before the winter comes on.

Once on the hook, we ate lunch of slice ham,  prosciutto ham, slice Parmesan, cheese, olives, carrots, cucumber, and watermelon in the cockpit.  The interesting view was the city itself. Most of the buildings facing the water are painted in pastel colors.  It is really unusual.

With that done, we headed into town on the dinghy to see the castle.    We walked up 151 steps, each 8-9 inches high. So we climbed about 140 feet in elevation, and still another 150 feet of incline to get to Belvedere (the castle in the earlier photos), the observation area of the island.

The castle was built to defend the coast, and the cannons are stamped 1787-we had just finished the War of Independence in the States

Hard to comprehend that!  Looking out to the south, you can see Mt. Vesuvius (destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum) on the upper right of this photo.

But the buildings were beautiful!The castle actually has had several uses since then including a prison and some government facilities.  Today, most of it is used as apartments, and it appeared to be full! You can see apartment windows above.

Doug and Bar went one way and Renne' and I another and we wandered around for another two hours.  

 The church here in town was built here 1679. 

We found a restaurant and had "Ensalada del Mare" (seafood salad) with clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, and squid; a liter of local white wine from a ceramic pitcher; and homemade bread with olio de olive. (you can see the restaurant with the umbrellas)

Wow, what a meal. We found Doug and Barb walking on the seafront and sat with another beer before heading back to the boat.

We have watched all but 2 other sailboats and 2 motor yachts leave by sunset. We are sitting here at anchor. It is about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Dinner will be fried chicken, rice, and green beans. 

Since we aren't at the dock, you have missed us for sundowners tonite.  Tomorrow we leave for the "Isle of Capri" for the night then south.  We will let you know where to catch up with us for a drink. Until then, sleep well.  We are rolling gently and expect to sleep well ourselves.

Jon and Renne'

Aboard Plankton with Doug and Barb