Adventures on Mandate         

May 17, Saturday

Almost a month since our last entry.  a lot has happened.  Just after entering the last report I dropped the laptop out of its backpack onto the floor.  Two days ago it was restored by taking out the hard drive and putting it back in.  We are in Albany at home for the summer now.  Mandate is on the hard in Titusville FL, just across the Indian River from Cape Canaveral.   We weighed the additional cost of FL boat insurance against the cost of transporting/putting her up in NC, and decided to leave her in FL.  

We have expanded our basement kitchen space here at 38 Harris and are in the process of eliminating attic junk accumulated through the years, catching up with weeds and planting the 2008 tomatoes.  Our tenants appear to be happy and stable so we will not usurp anyone and will look forward to times at the family camp for some of the summer.  

So here we are until we leave on Mandate in the fall...praying  for no hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, or raging blazes..it is very dry down there right now.... not to worry. 

Until then I will work on the photo entry problem now that we have the time. 

April 18, Friday

We came, we saw, we conquered.  The Marquesas and Dry Tortugas were simply the highlights of our seaventure this winter!!  

Very remote and desolate, just a ring of reefs stuck out in the confluence of the  Atlantic  and the Gulf of Mexico; beautiful as Bahamas with  brilliant ocean colors.   

Fort Jefferson, the largest defense (boondoggle) structure in the northwestern hemisphere, dominates the Drys---located in what was envisioned as a pivotal  pre Civil War marine defense position.  The structure is partially sunken--so huge that the reef could not support all of it without caving in a little.  It served as a prison for a short time, a coal refueling station, a training site, and a lookout, but its largest role has been a money pit and a great tourist attraction.   

By dinghy 2.5 miles we visited another part of the reef chain, Loggerhead Key,  with its  working lighthouse (circa 1850).  We climbed to the top of the structure with our volunteer host leading the way.  We snorkeled our way to Little Africa, a vibrant coral reef and saw beautiful Parrot fish,  Angelfish, Mullet, Barracuda, Jacks, yellow tailed Snapper,  Staghorn, Fan, and Brain corals, etc.  Volunteers invited  us for   some home baked poppy seed lemon cookies on the verandah of the lighthouse keeper's home. 

Volunteers stay on this tiny spot of land for 30 day stretches.  The toughest part of the job is receiving/processing Cuban refugees who land by the boatloads every two weeks or so.    

Back at Fort Jeff, we organized a potluck on the beach and met most all of the other boat people in our anchorage, in particular a nice British couple Geoff and Tina on their 41 Morgan Out Island as well as Carolyn and Rick on Wild Horse, a beautiful and fast Valiant 42.  There were many others and names are written down somewhere.   

Being so remote, 60 miles from mainland, and considering the prevailing easterlies, we were on the lookout for north, west, or southerly winds to get us back, if we could.  A forecast of a cold front with northwesterly winds convinced us to leave before we were really ready.   

We sailed back comfortably in 4 foot seas and 10-20 kn winds with a double reefed main and our smaller jib sail.  Most of the sailboats in the anchorage came along with us due to the favorable wind direction.  

We arrived in Key West, our "sheer terror" anchorage for just the night, not daring to get off the boat--seems that winds loved to pick up at night during this trip.  

We left early the next morning in still high wind conditions.  During the day winds picked up to 27 at times; Mandate is strong and tender, and with the right combination of sails she gives us a decent ride.  We fell in love with staysails, an inner jib,  as we watched our friends in vessel Madame glide more comfortably through the wind and waves, however.   We could see the potential for higher wind handling with that sail configuration rather than with what we have.  

Anyway, we were all relieved to be back "home" in Boot Key Harbor at our mooring balls once again, so we had a salubratory dinner out together after hot showers on the mainland.             

that's all for now......

April 7, Monday

"Sailing is moments of sheer pleasure interrupted by moments of sheer terror"

Yesterday we took off from Boot Key Harbor to explore Key West, the Marquesas and the Dry Tortugas.  Our band of buddies, Rick and Carla on Euphoria, and new anchor mates Norman and Paula on vessel Madame departed 0730 for a full day of beautiful sailing southwestward 45 nautical miles to Key West to arrive at anchor just south of Fleming Island and north of the Coast guard station seawall in Key West. 

Weather prediction was mixed, but for us a perfect day...until about midnight.  We awoke to check the boat and adjust our lines as the winds were getting higher.  Our inflatable dinghy atop the front hatch was strapped to the bow, customary for us when we sail the seas; at night we raise it to allow air into our V berth top hatch. In the increasing winds the inflatable was lifting and moving around.  Concerned about the conditions, I flipped on the VHF radio to distress/hailing channel 16 and got a report from the coastguard that all vessels in the harbor be on alert for a windsheer with gusts up to 45knots heading our way.  Before two minutes passed we were hit with 54 kn of wind, Mandate heeled sharply at her anchor.  Seas increased to 5 feet and water was spewing in frothy gushes making visibility almost zero.  Rob noticed that several boats around us appeared to be moving forward.  Then we realized  that they were stable and we were dragging backward through the harbor toward the Coast Guard seawall and up against the iron piling holding marker number 31.

The seawall was like a big monster waiting for us to be pushed into it, but the crack Mandate team overcame the odds.   We quickly turned on the engine and for the next 3 hours we barely held ourselves away from both hazards by staying steadily on the throttle.  Lightning and thunder and pelting rain made for an aventuresome occasion (or terrifying to some).  

Somewhere around 0300, we successfully re anchored the boat a few hundred feet to the nearest open spot in the anchorage and settled for a uneasy sleep.  Today as we are recovering and hearing reports of boats that had dragged and hooked anchor lines with other boats; there were clusters of two and three tangled around each other throughout the harbor.   

We talked later today about how a nice cozy pillow top bed with fluffy pillows in a land based room with walls, roof and non-moving floor would be for the night, but off to another pot luck with Madame and Euphoria in nice tropical 80 degree breezes. 

Just remember boating is fun!

March 30, Sunday

Sailing and snorkeling on Sombrero Reef was magnificent!  The enormous reef system harbored hundreds of colorful fish; we will have to go back to do it justice.  We just returned from Dockside Restaurant where we danced to live music.  Life is grand,but I'm itchin to sail out for a few days; hope to have a chance soon. 

March 27, Thursday

We are now residing at a mooring in good ole Boot Key Harbor, Marathon in the Florida Keys.  Our sail was magnificent to Rodriguez Key, and then to Marathon, two full days without the engine !!   We experienced another close thunderstorm just before  Rodriguez, lightning strikes all around us, it was strangely comforting to know there were boats within sight. 

Marathon is still the same as last year only there are moorings in 2/3rds of the harbor, great for the 15-25 knot winds that have been howling in from the NW. 

We reunited with friends Rick and Carla and had an Easter dinner with their friends Bruce and Esther on the Monday after Easter.  

We have layed aside plans to go across the Gulf Stream in favor of staying around here and taking excursions to Dry Tortugas, Marquesas Islands, and to take snorkeling days on Sombrero Reef, and Bahia Honda. 

I have been attempting to update photos without success, so I may have to eliminate existing pix to make room if I don't hear from Yahoo on remedying the situation. 

When I sadly reported to my daughter that we may not make it to the Bahmas, she intimated  that I was being rather spoiled since I have been living in 70-85 degree weather... That straightened me out some...  A little role reversal...oh well..

 March 16, Sunday

Harbor excursion boats cruise by with Spanish music blaring..such is the life here in Miami Harbor.  We are still here having entertained two guests from NY making excursions to Biscayne Bay for sailing and to stay over at the Bill Baggs State Park on the hook.  There are hiking trails and a great beach, laundry, showers, restaurants...amenities a cruiser just can't get enough of, unless the cruisers want to reach the Bahamas in due time... we missed last year's crossing date of 3/15/07.  

So now that companyis gone..we had some wonderful meals out courtesy of Heather and got the low down on night life in South Beach.  Thank you Heather and Barry.

We are awaiting an oil pan gasket coming through the mail...should have been here already..  Weatherman professes bad crossing conditions next week , so we will stick it out and then make the jump.  How many times have I written that ???

 March 7, Friday

Back from the north once again. Between us we shoveled driveways and cleared sidewalks and steps four times; got in a little snow shoeing, and visited with our friend/family member Beverly in the hospital just about every other day.  She returned home and is doing a whole lot better now. 

What a strange feeling returning to 80 degrees; I just had to bask in the sunshine when we returned to our Lauderdale dock.  Our new friend Mary Jo took us to the airport and picked us up from the airport.  What a nice person. 

Two days later, at 3:30PM we made an unsuccessful attempt at departure on a rising tide; we got three feet from the dock and were stuck in the muck. We made a second try at 6AM the following morning and were off down that winding river through the city center of Fort Lauderdale and out the inlet, the sun rising on our starboard quarter. 

We traveled with our friends Rick and Carla (met in Deltaville 2006)  on Euphoria, their beautiful  42 ft. Cape Dory,  to Miami. Upon entering the Miami channel we were deterred by an hour of hard rain and  thunderstorms with  limited visibility.  So we circled around  keeping a sharp lookout for other boats, then made way through the inlet at the eventual clearing.  This was our first experience at sea with a close thunderstorm, quite unnerving but not much different than experiencing it on shore;  a more terrifying  experience if there were high  winds for sure. When the fog cleared, there were at least a dozen boats within our half mile diameter including a bevy of race boats queueing for their committee boat and fellow competitors.  

Yesterday with Rick, Carla and longtime friend and crew, Steve, we walked 7 miles of loose sand --tougher than snowshoeing, along Maimi's very crowded South Beach.  We rewarded ourselves by tasting drinks and food at various places along the outdoor stretch of Lincoln Mall. The art deco style of architecture abounds in old Miami Beach with lots of rounded corners and glass block with cornices frescoed in deco colors.  We were serenaded at one meal to the strains of "Cileto Lindo".

Drawn in by an enormous sculpture of a hand, we  visited an outdoor park holocaust  exhibit, quite a powerful  testimony to inhumanity.  Not uplifting.. 

So here we sit at anchor in front of Miami Yacht Club, I am told that a nearby Wachovia building has a live camera on this bay so you can see us if you can distinguish us from other white vessels by our white main sail cover and pale green dodger and bimini awnings.  Probably www.wachovia.com  Miami Beach

This coming week  we will be entertaining two friends who are taking a break from the NY cold.  Heather will arrive on Sunday and will be with us for four days.  Overlapping that, our friend Barry will visit Tuesday and Wednesday.  So we will be getting close to the record of five overnight on Mandate set in '99 by having four people overnight for two days next week.  Adios for now...

February 11, Monday

Well we have become entrenched in the neighborhood.  Saturday we had a wild  impromptu party with a boat that went aground in the canal for three hours.  Accompanying the boat back home once the tide lifted, we hadfreshly caught aconch and met some great people from the neighborhood: Gene and Celia, Mary Jo and John, Jayne, and Roger. 

We also met next door neighbors  Ron, Ann, Jeff and Bill.  This is quite the community of interesting, intelligent and artistic people. 

We will leave Mandate at the dock for two weeks while we go home and  attend to a family emergency feeling  fortunate to have been at the dock when it occurred. 

February 5, Tuesday  Happy birthday Deedee and Billy

Up a crazy river..whew, the 2 miles up New River was like driving a car in NYC !  We traveled through downtown Lauderdale with mondo boat and bridge traffic.  We are now docked behind a house on a canal in the "burbs".  Friends Pam and Rob who live 1/2 hour away in Delray Beach, drop off a car for us to use when we want, and life is good.  We stayed at their home last weekend and kayaked in their canal.  We spotted 7 iguanas and one small alligator.  

Thursday night we dinghyed through the myriad of canals to Lauderdale's city center riverwalk and enjoyed a street band and  talking to cruisers tied to the city wall for the night. 

Over our last week at the dock we fixed the oil leak and did some varnishing and painting projects, put in a new toilet gasket, and would be on our way, that is if we hadn't secured the dock for a month for the price of three nights anywhere else in town. The weather here is perfect, and Fort Lauderdale is a great city.  No huge incentive to leave. 

We are also talking of crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas with Rob and Pam once they get their water tank fixed (one, two weeks?) I can adjust to the delay, I have a sewing project that could be a month long because of the learning curve mostly...to make a full enclosure of vinyl and screening for the boat cockpit.  So we are landlocked for a while and enjoying the walks and the work and the incredibly beautiful weather. 

January 30, Sunday

Peck Lake was beautiful, just a dunes throw from the ocean, we could hear it crashing all night.  We ate with Bob and Carol and planned to dinghy and explore the shoreline inthe morning.  Wind was gusting to 20kn so we scrapped the dinghy ride and took off for Lake Worth FL via the ICW.  After a full day including awaiting seven lift bridges, we pulled into Lake Worth among 30 other boats, including Tom's big yellow boat.  Tom came over for a visit and we made plans to get together the next night.  

The highlight of our evening  was the fiddling party on Time Enough with Bob, Carol and their friend Jeff who happened to be in a catamaran at anchor a few boats away.  

The next morning we breakfasted with friends, Ric and Jane who live in Deerfield Beach and showed Mandate off.  We met up with Tom that night for pizza and a few laughs on his luxurious condo-boat. 

We set off Fort Lauderdale in the morning through the Lake Worth inlet out into the Atlantic cruising the US eastern coastline.   

We are in Lake Sylvia now using up our 24 hour length of stay.  Florida has few places for anchoring.  We discovered an oil leak and so made arrangements to stay at a dock site up the New River to check on the problem.     

Downloading photos is still not possible. 

January 26, Saturday

 Back on the road traveling with the folks on Time Enough.  We will spend the night in Peck Lake and then move on to Lake Worth where we have tentative plans to meet up with our friend Tom on Essential Part from Marsh Harbor in the Abacoes.  We are attempting to see other friends as well but haven't made solid connections. 

At Vero we entertained the Shapiro-Handler family from Galway Lake by doing dinner and a cruise on Mandate--a first for her and her crew.  We happened to pick the five best hours of the day, thank goodness for as soon as they departed we got 30kn winds for the rest of the night. 

Our mail drop arrived and our dinghy motor seems to have found its life--water in the fuel issues; we will have to filter the gasoline/oil each time we fill the 2 stroke from now on.   

I am unable to download recent pictures to match the most recent stories, so there will be a slight delay in the rest of this broadcast. 

Sunday January 20

Sitting at a mooring here in Vero (velcro) Beach for the past 5 days, life has slowed down a bit as we wait for important mail, our dinghy motor to be fixed, and stormy weather to pass.  We are tied up with another boat on mooring #25 as Vero requires up to 3 on a ball.  Our neighbors have been living on their Cal 34 for 7 years, sailing from Portland Oregon through the Panama Canal, the western Caribbean up through FL and into the Bahamas, then the east coast as far north as West Point on the Hudson. 

We are also moored in front of Bob and Carol who are fellow Albanians on Time Enough II  who we met last year in the Keys.  We have shared stories, food and drink and have especially enjoyed their wonderful fiddle and flute music. 

We had cocktails with a couple on a sport fishing boat and talked about crossing to the Bahamas.  They disappeared the next day, so we may have frightened them off.     

In our travels since the last entry we anchored in the Indian River at Daytona Beach overnight and upon inspecting the nearest marina via dinghy, I made a spectactular split like maneuver from dinghy to dock and landed in the water.  As always, humiliation reigns above any other reaction, so I raved about how nice the water was, thank goodness it was night.   Rob let me know he was afraid of alligators but said nothing until I got myself back in the boat. 

We went on to spend 2 days in Titusville with David and family.  They visited the Space Center, we took walks, had dinner and enjoyed the kids over the course of three days.  We stayed in Eau Gallie FL on the river, and the next morning upon hearing about the coming storm systems, we high tailed it for Vero.

Today is 25 knots of wind and since we have nothing but oars on our inflatable dinghy, we dare not leave the boat; so far we are getting along with each other.  Still happy and having fun.   

Thursday January 10 

Happy Birthday Dad!!

On the road again on Mandate after almost a month away.  We are filled with gifts, snow, loving family visits and hopes for 2008. 

We left our St. Mary's dock on the 7th and made for an Atlantic passage to Cape Canaveral. 

About two thirds of the way there (15 miles offshore in nauseating seas), our engine went  THUNK,THUNK, THUNK and stopped dead.  It was 10:15 PM.   We hastily checked the bilges to see if water was spewing in and it wasn't.  We suspected it may be the alternator  belt that had been showing signs of wear, so Rob changed it, we restarted the engine and it was fine, but it would not go into gear.   So we suspected that something was caught in the prop.  Rob donned his wetsuit and dove on the prop at midnight and discovered (along with seasickness) a wrap of about 50 feet of polypropolene line on the shaft, the prop, and the cutlass bearing. 

We contacted a towing service to come get us..unfortunately the only service available was in St. Augustine, about 30 miles behind us.  The tow boat arrived at 2:15 AM  and got  us into  St. Augustine by dawn. 

David was circling around us in his boat all night giving us great moral support.  His son, daughter in law and their two children are sailing with him.  St Augustine is a grand old city to be stuck in, so we spent the next 24 hours touring and sleeping in preparation for the rest of our journey,    

We are sitting here at a quiet anchorage just south of St. Augustine planning to make Daytona tomorrow via the ICW...no more nauseating seas till we have to; everyone on David's boat got seasick, and I did my usual routine in spite of the Dramamine.  

We must remember  Boating is Fun.  Enough for now...  

 2007:

 December 12, Wednesday

We are home in Albany now and until the 5th of January.  Mandate is  in St. Mary's GA where we found a dock for only 7 dollars a foot for the month---a real deal in the marina world.  We quickly found out why--sand fleas abound kind of like black flies in the spring up here.  So we asked a shopkeeper when they go away, he said "never".   Along with the fleas come the black birds that eat berries and then sit on your mast spreaders and defecate all over the boat leaving purple stains and seeds that sound from the inside like someone is hitting you with a bibi gun.  We took the cue from boats around us and strung up festive pieces of barrier tape from our rigging in hopes that would discourage the buggers.   We tarped as much as we could too. 

St Marys is a sweet little southern town nontheless, with live oaks, Spanish moss, and lots of community spirit.  Cindy, a local bartender is a 55 year old 200 lb. former porno queen who dresses like one and insults you --in jest all night long. 

As with many spots we travel to we encounter people we had met in our brief crusing past; either through friends or at pot luck dinners.  With Alli and Chuck on Kairos it was at a dinner in Vero Beach last year we had with Jack, Bill and Laura.   

At the local laundramat we met Irene, a Dutch woman who has been singlehanding for the past three years on her 33 foot boat. She is a frisky 60-something who has had four kids and many other lives.  Quite a person. 

We have made it through some of the toughest of ICW passages in terms of thin water: St. Simon's and Jeckyll Islands are very serpentine as well.  The shoaling spots change according to wind and weather so you have to be vigilant; we bumped our way three times, but got off with the serge of the accelerator and lots of determination. 

David on Ambling is still travelling with us. He will stay in St. Marys through the holiday.  His son's family will join him down there.  Wish we could be able to bring all twenty of our family members to us in the south as a Christmas present.   Anyway, have a delightful holiday and come join us while we are in the Albany area.   

December 5, Wednesday

 Had a lovely visit with cousins Phyllis and Nancy and their spouses.  Got back on the "road" after Mandate was hauled out and left on slings  overnight.  We stayed with David that night.  Prognosis was that the prop was banged up a little and shaft looked OK.  Her vibration is still there but lessened. 

We have been to Charlestown SC for a couple of days walking around town and visiting the local Commerce building museum where colonial merchants traded goods and pirates were put in the dungeon.  Weather in the 60-70 degree range.  We caught up with friends Carla and Rick from Deltaville; they are having some engine and sail work done before getting back on the road.  Right now we are navigating through Hell Gate just south of Savannah GA, a really tough area, I should be helping in the cockpit so I will be brief and will fill this in later.  Photos of our anchorages  will be downloaded when we reach St. Mary's GA; I tried to get some good ones.  We are trying to make Ft Lauderdale FL to berth Mandate and catch a flight home, so we are putting in long days. 

November 26, Monday

Another mishap.  Traveling from Calabash, a lovely town on the NC/SC border to Myrtle Beach SC, we encountered a long stretch of flotsum and consequently hit a "deadhead" (partially sunken tree).  The sound was an awful thunk da da thunk and now our prop is sounding the same. 

We hobbled into Hague Marina Myrtle Beach for repairs.  What a boneyard! Looks as though it has been neglected since the sixties.  We are awaiting a diver to come and  assess our prop damage.  Rob was going to dive himself if it weren't for the stray electrical currents and the resident alligator.  He may do it anyway if the guy doesn't show...he's a few hours late already. 

Two steps forward and two steps back. 

New boating friends, Rodney and Sue on Glenlyon, and Kathleen and  Don on Andiamo went out with us in Calabash and we had anticipated traveling together for a while. 

My cousins are due to drop in for a visit, take us out for a shop and dinner.  All is well and I can't wait to get back on the water!

November 20, Tuesday

Haven't gotten as far down the "ditch" as anticipated.  On the 13 th, we traveled to Buck Island and spent the night and then decided the next day not to  make our crossing in gale force winds that blew across the open sound we were facing.   Rob had bled the high pressure side of our diesel engine and forgot to release the deceleration levers, as a result Mandate was limping, coughing and smoking back to Coinjock Marina, a place about 4 miles upriver so we could regroup and wait out the storm. We picked up another boat for our traveling party, Pegasus with Marty and Charlie on board, two retired DC lawyers on their second voyage to Bahamas.  

Awaking to icy docks the next morning with engine fixed, we crossed Albermarle Sound in tamer but still high seas: wind on our aft starboard quarter for about 4 hours  15-20 knots; a bumpy ride but nice because sails were up.  That night exhausted, we pulled in to an old  favorite anchorage in Alligator River where I had made a quick watercolor sketch as the sun was setting back in June.    

The next day we traveled to Bellhaven NC, a new place to us but the cute little town center was rather inaccessible as it was miles from our anchorage with unfavorably high wind making it not condusive to travel in our inflatable.  We opted for an evening of dinner with Marty and Charlie, David and Jane  on Ambling.  Jane jumped ship the next day leaving David as a single hander.  Luckily we've had non challenging weather and  he has been managing the boat quite well.  Traveling in flat seas, we pulled into Adams Creek anchoring in 7 feet of water just in back of a sunken sailboat with mast and rigging sticking out of the water--very spooky for me.

Yesterday we pulled in to Beaufort NC and have been here for the last two days.  Good friends from back home, Mark and Chris arrived and took us all over town shopping and cleaning ourselves up.  We met up with our Beaufort friends Walt and Constance.  Tonight Rob and David are out at an open mike performance in one of the local wine bars where Walt is performing. 

Tomorrow we plan to travel either offshore to Wrightsville Beach or travel inside--depends on the weather.  I have bought Thanksgiving dinner to cook on Ambling; this time last year we were still in VA so we are at least a state (NC) ahead of ourselves !!  A good rule of thumb we figure is that a car averages in one hour what a sailboat averages in a day...think about that... 

I will download pictures on to the site the next chance I get on the internet. 

November 13

We are  hanging on the free town dock across from Atlantic Yacht Basin near Chesapeake VA.  We set sail on Sunday, making Willsborough Bay the first evening for anchorage.  Woke up to hear  Revelie  and Star Spangled Banner being played in the nearby Naval Base on Veterans Day.

We motored through Norfolk Harbor past the long lines of Naval hulks that gape into the bay threatening Homeland Security repercussions if you go within 200 yards of them.  Not any sailing yet--winds have been doing 360's around us since we started. 

About a mile from Atlantic Yacht Basin, David lost his engine due to a clogged fuel filter.   

We turned around and towed His boat, Ambling, back from the disaster site, just in front of a bascule bridge that was open.  Yeaaa little miss Mandate, she's such a heroine ...

November 8, Thursday

David with Jane, his crew are underway from the Potomic and will join us late today or early tomorrow.  We are puttering on the boat in the bay.  The place has cleared out and we are anxious to get started.  Nights have been in the high 30's and low 40's brrr..  cold when you have no heat.

 The other night we spent watching a movie in the cruiser's lounge with ten other people who are staying on their boats.   

November 3  Saturday  

Sitting on the hard still due to Hurricane Noel, boat yard management will not drop Mandate in till Monday.  We can always find more work to do!!  Rob is adjusting the timing on the engine and I will work on some epoxy jobs we created by removing the old GPS and RADAR.   Our friend David has found crew and anticipates that he will meet us here by Monday.  The weather should be clear and we possibly will depart together from D'ville on Tuesday. 

Thursday October 11—Wednesday October 24, 2007

(Happy 12th Birthday Heather Rose)

We are in Deltaville Marina on Jackson Creek in VA, just one of our second homes.

It has been almost three weeks of perfect weather getting Mandate ready for sail.  We are on the “hard” rewiring, cleaning, varnishing, painting and replacing what did not work.  Our friend Doug helped us get started with some systems changes, and then he left last Thursday with the van we borrowed to get down here.

Since rent for the yard space has been paid through the 31^st, we are doing as much as we can before launch.  This is a great place to work and spend time with many friends, old and new.  Rewarding ourselves for working hard all day, we occasionally join sailors from the boat yard and marina at 6:30 in the gazebo and cook our dinners together on the BBQs. New people hail from all over the world share boat ideas, angst and sailing tales over bottles of wine.    

We are communicating with David, our friend in the Potomac about possibly boat- buddying down the coast with him until FL.    He is looking for crew to help him sail his 46’ Morgan to the Keys.  No plans are concrete except that our insurance will not allow us to travel south of Norfolk until after November 1.  Like last year, we will stay in the states until after Christmas simply because there are few really secure places to leave the boat in the Bahamas—secure from the weather that is.  We have talked of Puerto Rico this winter, but that is still an idea.

(Happy 12th Birthday Heather Rose)

We are in Deltaville Marina on Jackson Creek in VA, just one of our second homes.

It has been almost three weeks of perfect weather getting Mandate ready for sail.  We are on the “hard” rewiring, cleaning, varnishing, painting and replacing what did not work.  Our friend Doug helped us get started with some systems changes, and then he left last Thursday with the van we borrowed to get down here.

Since rent for the yard space has been paid through the 31^st, we are doing as much as we can before launch.  This is a great place to work and spend time with many friends, old and new.  Rewarding ourselves for working hard all day, we occasionally join sailors from the boat yard and marina at 6:30 in the gazebo and cook our dinners together on the BBQs. New people hail from all over the world share boat ideas, angst and sailing tales over bottles of wine.    

We are communicating with David, our friend in the Potomac about possibly boat- buddying down the coast with him until FL.    He is looking for crew to help him sail his 46’ Morgan to the Keys.  No plans are concrete except that our insurance will not allow us to travel south of Norfolk until after November 1.  Like last year, we will stay in the states until after Christmas simply because there are few really secure places to leave the boat in the Bahamas—secure from the weather that is.  We have talked of Puerto Rico this winter, but that is still an idea.

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The banana tree in our rented backyard dock space, February 2008, Ft Lauderdale FL. 

My ex-husband Ric, our son-in-law Mark and his friend Rick pose with me on Mandate's bow.  February 2008

Sewing in exotic places: making a canvas bag for our mahogany boat ladder that lost its 5 coats of varnish in last year's winter season. February 2008.

A friend and former collegue, Deb stops by for a visit on her FL winter vacation.

Rob takes friends Carolyn and Sandy for a dinghy ride in the canal as part of their visit from Deerfield Beach. 

Our dock boy provides  entertainment  while we do chores on the boat.

Back view of the house to the dock we rented for February.                       

 
The Goodyear blimp accompanies us as we make our way up the river.

Traveling through downtown Fort Lauderdale on the New River we negotiated mega yachts on both sides of narrow channels. 

 A bascule bridge opens for us  as we enter from the Fort Lauderdale ocean inlet.

Dolphins accompany us on our way to Lake Worth from Vero.

Vero "Velcro" Beach Marina moorings where they require you to tie up with others on mooring balls. Friends Bob and Carol from Albany are in the catamaran on the left.

For pictures and text from fall of 2007 please turn to the next page as indicated at the top left.