One event that I did not relate in the last posting occurred
as we left the Lake Worth
anchorage at 04.00 hrs on the 23rd… I lost the pin which secures the
anchor in the chocks over the side.
Whilst we were leaving Catherine secured the anchor with rope and it
stayed the course across the Gulf Stream with
no trouble but I wanted to get a new pin.
We had , in fact, been searching for one at a number of marine stores
all the way down the ICW, but nobody had one of the size that we needed.. Once settled into Green Turtle we decided to
take the bull by the horns and called the manufacturer in California .
No problem they did not have the exact pin that we needed but they did
have one that was slightly longer than the previous one, so I asked them for
two and prepared to give them credit card details etc.
The response was “there’s no charge.. we will call them samples … happy Christmas
“!! We were amazed and delighted ‘cos
these stainless pins with a locking system in them are not cheap. I asked if they could ensure that the pins
reached our friends in Vancouver
by the 4th January and offered to pay for the shipping… “Don’t worry
we’ll get them there “! They arrived
the following day having been shipped by Fedex Express, and Reg and Val brought
them with them when they came to their boat on the 6th January. So we now have a smart brand new pin and two
spares, just in case I get clumsy again..
What a pleasure to deal with such a company, and for any of you sailors
out there, the company is – Avibank Mfg
of North Hollywood, California.
Beyond that, what’s to report ? Catherine is doing her aqua aerobics every
morning with a group of cruisers, thoroughly enjoying it and feeling better for
it. The pool is heated and the ladies (and
occasional gent) enjoy it. As a result
we are thinking that we may invest in an Ipod with stereo speakers since the
boat is sadly lacking much in the way of entertainment – our radio and disc
player being pretty useless.
We have now booked our flights to and from Washington
DC for our dear sailing friend Steve Russell
of “Indian Summer” funeral and wake in Arlington National Cemetery . We intend to leave here after our month is up
on the 24th January , to go around Whale Cay probably spend a day or so in Guana Cay and
then head over to Marsh
Harbour where we will
leave the boat on the 30th January.
Our flights outward are from Marsh Harbour to West Palm Beach and then
direct to Washington National whilst on the return flight we have to change
planes in Charlotte, N Carolina and West
Palm Beach before getting back to “Soli ‘ on the 3rd February. After that we shall probably head over to
Hope Town .
We went for a walk on Gillam Bay Beach with Gail and Lily of “Orient
Express), where we found quite a few good sand dollars to add to the many that
we already possess. We really do need to
find something creative to do with them…
one suggestion is to tie ribbon to them and make them into Christmas
Tree ornaments.
We have taken a dinghy
ride over to the Bluff
House Beach
and wandered the beach but found no treasures, except for a well preserved sea
urchin shell.
With the exception of a couple of days just after Christmas
the weather by and large has been warm and sunny although chilly enough at
night to require a blanket – good sleeping weather! When the front came through just after
Christmas we really rock and rolled in our berth with sustained winds of 30 +
knots for much of a day and a night , but we were quite safely tucked up.
Think that‘s about all there is to report…good night.
David did not mention our Junkanoo celebration...which started off with my croc rescue...
Go Ruthie!!! |
Then we had a lovely rainfall Soli looks beautiful after her shower...too bad we did not save more of the water in the dink...the gas tank was floating.
Glad you are having another good season in the Abacos. We all spoke fondly of you when we had lunch with Charlotte and Terry! Small world!
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I enjoy your blog...she for the travel, I for the mechanical. Fair winds
ReplyDeleteDoug & Leslie
S/V Leslie Kay Sabre 402-13