Mates Log 2.18.09

Well, we made it back to Marsh Harbour and we have a four month visa! We spent 2 days in FL running errands and driving down to the Keys to visit Jared and Ruthie, who are now in Marathon at this time living in a large friendly boat community. Ruthie’s mom and a dear friend of hers were down visiting for Ruthie’s birthday. It was wonderful seeing all of them again!

Both Carey and I felt out of it, to some degree. I’m not sure how to explain this but things seemed wrong, odd, or weird. I would call it culture shock. I felt this same way after returning to the states from living in New Zealand years ago. We missed our simple life style, our small footprint on the planet, and our own cooking. Yes, can you believe it, we missed MY cooking! I felt this was a great triumph and one worth noting. We felt as though we were returning home when we landed in Marsh Harbour and getting back to the boat was a joy. How weird is that! It was fun to see the Abaco area from the air.

We had hoped to visit with friends and make lots of phone calls but it's amazing how little time there is in Ft Lauderdale and how fast that time moves! We came back to the hotel room after visiting Jared and Ruthie to find our computer compromised. We have no idea what happened but all our settings were changed, tool bars were missing, and passwords were deleted on some sites. The desktop was rearranged, programs were missing from the start bar, the trash was dumped, and all history was deleted. We ran our antivirus and didn’t find anything so are not sure what happened but we felt violated in some weird way.

We are back in the grind, working on the boat. We plan to paint the bottom this Sat and get back in the water next week. I won’t hold my breath but I think we can do it. Again, I can’t tell you how much I miss being on the water.

The picture was taken today and hopefully you can see how much better SongBird looks. We’re worse for the wear but the boat is great!

Cheers to you all! Carey and Lisa

Mates Log 2.12.09

Well it’s official, we are now illegal aliens. We aren’t sure how we acquired this status but we did. Tomorrow, Friday Feb. 13th, we will be flying back to FL until Monday Feb 16th so we can avoid being jailed, fined and deported, never to return to the Bahamas and losing our boat. There is so much that we are still learning and not always in good time. We’ll let you know how it goes, no one thinks we will be detained at the airport but we can’t be sure. If you don’t hear from us in two weeks please send someone to find us, you can start in Marsh Harbour, Abaco and if we are not there you may want to try Nassau, New Providence.

Seriously though, somehow we misunderstood when our visas expired. We thought they expired on the 18th of this month when in reality they expired a month and a half ago. We went today to get them renewed and the woman told us we had to leave… now… not in a few days, when we would be done with the boat. We could not get out of here fast enough!

We hope to post some more pics while we are in Ft Lauderdale, we don’t know where we are staying yet but we can let you know in case you need or want to reach us while we are in the states. Anyway, that is the short of it for now.

Hiding and lying low, Carey and Lisa

Lessons Learned:

OH YEAH!!

Mates Log 2.3.09

We are happy to report that we got both hulls and the bridge deck painted and all in one day!! This, of course, does not include all that happened before the paint… the prep work…

There were cracks between the bridge deck and the amas that required grinding out, fiber glassing, filling, more sanding, and priming… there were unused thru- hulls that were removed, filled, sanded and primed… there were dings that were sanded, filled, more sanding, and primed… there was taping off… there was sanding the entire boat and wiping it down… whew! There were backs and shoulders thrown-out and new muscles developed that had never before been developed… and there were days where getting out of bed was the first big chore to face…

Carey has done an amazing job… he still is. All this does not include the bottom of the boat. He is furiously sanding all the barnacles off. We don’t have much in the way of trick power tools so for the most part all of this is done by hand. He completely wore out one sander, which we replaced but has not really been of much use.

Last week we put the first coat of paint on… I am Roller and Carey is Tipper. This means that I first roll a section of paint; Carey comes behind me and goes over it with a paint brush. It sounds rather simple really, but doing it in 25 knots of wind proved to be a challenge! The paint Gremlins came by and threw the plastic paint tray liner right past us, so we taped it to the tray. Then every time we tried pouring the paint out of the gallon container the wind would blow the paint right on by if we had not created enough of a wind block. The boat isn’t quite high enough off of the ground so by the time we were finished Carey had a head full of paint. Fortunately we did not have to shave his head but it was touch and go there for awhile.

Carey painted the trim piece he had to replace (the rub rail which we are sure we will get much use out of!) blue, which is the same color we had painted the door and the dinghy trim. We included a pinstripe on the area where the side windows are on the salon. Now we are looking for a good pair of 'eyes' to put on the bows. We had chosen to paint SongBird all white because this color has the longest wear against UV damage and is the coolest, but white has no character so we had to do something!

The boat looks perfect from 10 feet back and at night it’s incredible, so we are quite pleased. We still have the bottom to do. This is the messiest part of the project. Ablative paint has copper in it so is toxic and sticks to everything. A shower is required after working on it for the day and this is no easy task in 28 knots of wind. As I have mentioned prior we have to take our showers outside and try and create some kind of privacy shield… so last night Carey put up some plastic that we could sit under. We tied it down under the locker lids and hung it from a line above the bimini. I know… you have no idea what I am talking about and unfortunately I did not take any pictures…. next time.

I have been painting the deck, the swim steps and putting the second coat of paint on in the cockpit area… again in 25 plus knots of wind. The weather has been really nasty for here. Gail force winds and rain are making it a challenge. I would also say something about the temperature…. But…

I will try and include some pictures of the local money, it’s really very lovely and we enjoy spending it when we get the chance… unfortunately that’s not very often. Bahamian and US money is all used interchangeably here.

Cheers! Roller and Tipper

Definitions:

Amas: the hulls of a catamaran (or the outer hulls of a trimaran)

Rub Rail: this used to be the rubber rail that went down the sides of SongBird. They are used for running into things so you don’t damage your boat. Carey says we try not to rub them but if that was true then they would be called don’t-rub rails. Men just don’t get it. We replaced them with fir.

Salon: this is the top inside area of a catamaran. Our galley, nav station and seating area are located here.

Thru-hull: these are holes in the hulls or amas, with valves, below the water line for such things as the toilet dump, and salt water intakes.

Lessons Learned

Don’t paint in 25 knot winds if you can at all help it.
Wear a hat when painting
Take lots of Advil
Sleep vertical so it’s easier to get out of bed in the morning

P.S. We have both coats of paint on the boat now… the bottom is still in progress.

Mates Log 1.24.09

We will mark last night on our calendar as a great night. We were invited to dinner and a shower. Who could ask for more! Victor, his wife Dina and their two children Halee and Erin were amazing. Victor does the supply ordering for the boatyard here in Marsh Harbour, so we have visited with him just a little in the office and maybe a minute or two while we are working on the boat.

Victor is a nice guy from Nassau who moved here with his family a few years ago to get out of the city and improve their quality of life. His wife Dina is a black Bahamian from the same area while he is a white Bahamian. They call their children “bright”, not referring to their intelligence, which of course they are quite smart, but due to their skin color. Most of the Bahamas are open to interracial marriages, although a few of the outer Cays are not. Dina was telling me that her family is so proud to have bright grandchildren and that in time they will become their own race according to “They” who determine race. This must be the “Race Committee” who sets these standards and preside “Somewhere”.

I enjoyed listening to Dina tell stories about her family, I felt taken back into a time where what family you came from was important and gave you admittance into someone else’s family. Some of it sounded like “Alabama” since no one strays too far from home, not that there is any practical way to leave or go anywhere else for that matter, so cousins marry cousins and no one thinks twice about it… and everyone is related!

Dina then sent me to the bathroom for what she called a tubby, which is a good soak in the bathtub. It was heaven, I love a good soak on a cold night and lately I had been dreaming about the long lost hot bubble baths that I once enjoyed as a landlubber but gave up for this life of…. Oh yeah…adventure. I felt a little awkward not having to rush, pump and hide (standard operating procedures on the deck of SongBird) but I managed to do my best at relaxing. I even attempted to put some makeup on, it had been so long that I forget the order of what goes on when and where so had one eye that was a little worse for the wear, regardless I did look and feel better!

We enjoyed grilled Bull Fish, which is a local white mild fish, conch fritters with spicy dip, a salad and the tiniest fresh corn on the cob I have ever seen, but so sweet! This family was just a joy to us, to offer us showers, food, and friendship was beyond our ability to express our true feelings of thanks.

We miss our friends, we can’t just call someone up and say hey, let’s get together or what are you doing, or anything else for that matter. We rely on the people around us to be friendly and open to strangers. This has given us a broader perspective of the big picture when it comes to strangers in a strange land. I love living free to invite anyone over at anytime… not the people you know but the ones you don’t. I love the freedom to give someone a bit of food just because they are working near your boat and look like they could use a hand of kindness. The people who offer us a ride, just because we are walking down the road and look like we need a ride.  The stranger who invites us to come to dinner and use their shower just because we need one, the people who offer the shower on their boat for our use just because they have one and we don’t... these are the acts of kindness that cannot go unaccounted for. We have to return the kindness, we are responsible to return the acts of generosity and we become driven to do the same for others. We may say we are strangers in a strange land but we aren’t, not really. We’re from the family of humanity, born on the same planet, breathing the same air, passing the same unfamiliar person who wants a friend and needs to be loved. Does our perspective grow small the longer we live in the familiar, the unchallenged, the unbothered, and the unthreatened? Maybe, mine did. So now living in the unfamiliar, full of challenges I am gaining a new perspective, or more accurately remembering an old perspective… hold your hands palms up, then you will be open to give and receive at all times.

Well, enough of that, I do really wish I was a wordsmith, had clear thoughts, could keep things in their right tense, be eloquent and well… make sense, then I think I would enjoy writing more and you dear friends would enjoy reading this blog much more betterer!

Mates Log 1.23.09

This on the hard stuff, working hard and freezing has not been our idea of a good time. Carey’s body is starting to show signs of wear, I am now sick and the weather is very cold. We are still working away because we pay for everyday we are here, so we have to make the most of our time so we can get off this land and head south to warmer weather.

It has been in the 50’s the past few days and it is predicted to stay this way through the weekend, this is not usual for this place either. We don’t have heat, we don’t have insulation and we don’t have hot water, except for what we boil. Normally these things are not an issue but lately I have been dreaming of sitting in a huge hot bubble bath and feeling warm all over. We have a pump sprayer that we use for a shower which works well but when the wind is howling at 30 knots and the air is cold and raining we elect the military style of bathing. Our hair suffers.

We hope to be here for only a week more, but as I recall we are usually way off with our departure dates. Make it two and we’ll let you know!

Thanks for staying in touch, it’s a little lonely here so we love your emails! We really miss our kids.

Lisa and Carey AKA Sick and Tired

Life on Abaco:
The Atlantic Ocean is called the Big Pond.
There is one radio station.
Weather is broadcasted twice a day at 7am and 8am and only Monday thru Friday.
Every morning the radio starts with devotions and then a good morning to those people who are having to get up so early (7am) to go to work and where they are working.
All day Sunday is Christian broadcasting.
We have been enjoying all the Bahamian style music.
We have never had to walk the full way to and from town, someone always stops and gives us a ride.
There are three pay phones in town but only one works and they are all located outside the phone company office.
Cruisers net is broadcasted on channel 68 on the VHF radio from 8:15am to 9am.
Weather, national, international, financial and sports news are all broadcasted along with island activities. Cruisers and businesses from all over the area participate.
Everyone here is happy to see Obama as president.

Paint and the Gremlins

Mates Log 1.22.09

I painted today. I’ve been painting a fair amount lately. Today I decided to paint the bathroom, it’s not a huge bathroom but it’s a nice size, especially for a boat. I don’t really like painting, I’m not all that great at it and I usually end up with as much paint on myself as what I happen to be painting. I have been painting the deck of the boat and it has actually been going quite well, the paint stays on the deck and I walk away not looking like a paint bucket. Yesterday I mentioned to Carey that I felt I was getting better at this painting stuff and feeling more confident in my abilities.

In my confidence I decided to paint the bathroom. All was going well until half way through the project when the paint gremlins showed up. I’m not sure where they come from, and I have never actually seen one but I know they exist. I have also never been able to avoid the paint gremlins, but was hoping my luck had changed since the deck paint had been going so well. You know you have been attacked by the gremlins when you walk away from your painting project full of paint.

The gremlins started by splattering paint on me. I would turn around and there they were slapping paint on an arm or a hand or a neck. I would bend over and the next thing I know there would be paint on my pants. I had to duck to get into a tight spot and sure enough they put paint in my hair. Next they started attacking the woodwork trim so I knew things were going downhill fast. I was going to be doomed if I didn’t do something soon. I started to hurry, trying to get done before any more of these devious creatures showed up and the boat and I ended up in some real trouble!

I only had a little bit of painting left on the floor. I don’t understand how they do what they do but they are good at it. I was grateful that I was almost done; I back up to get more paint on my roller when all of a sudden the paint bucket shows up on my left foot! I am now left with having to stand on one foot while I finish my painting. I start to move things out of the way so I don’t get paint on anything else, since by now I am a walking paint tray. I’m hoping the paint gremlins have left so I can clean up my mess in peace. But noooo… they aren’t finished with me yet. Every time I move paint starts flying off of me and on to something else! This is now truly becoming a disaster. I don’t call Carey for help because no one wants to this watch this kind of madness.

I stop, drop and roll down the hull until I come to the two steps that go up to the salon. I am pretty sure I have now outsmarted these gremlins and they will leave me alone. I crawl up the steps to the galley. I discover that I also have paint on my one paintless foot, the only thing I thought was left on my body that was not full of paint. I surrender, I start yelling into the air that I don’t care how much paint they get on me, or anything else for that matter, go ahead paint away you beasts! Nothing happens… I have now taken the fun out of their game.

I put the foot that had landed in the bucket in the sink, my attempts with water and rag had turned out to be futile. My position is now left foot high up in the sink, bum half on the counter, and right foot hanging down, not quite reaching the foot pump on the floor that sits part way under the counter. I stretch as much as possible and those long toes that my sister always made fun of, come to my rescue. I can just barely pump water onto my foot so I am able to get the worst of the paint off. The next foot is much easier and I am once again standing on my own two feet.

I start the slow process of cleaning up the mess, which of course by now has spread to the galley. Carey walks in and I tell him to forget I ever said that I was getting better at this painting stuff… he takes one look at me and says “Maybe I’ll just have those leftover biscuits for lunch today.”

Mates Log 1.15.09 On The Hard

On the hard…Marsh Harbor Boat Yard, Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas:

Today marks our tenth day on the hard. “On the hard”… did you know most of you live “on the hard”; of course not, you thought you lived on land. Well, if you are a cruiser and your boat is on land, assuming your boat has not gone aground or been thrown up on land by a hurricane, you live “on the hard”. Hopefully, your boat is in a boat yard by intent at which time you can announce you live on the hard. It’s a different lifestyle on the hard; for starters, there is no movement, at least not in our current world. I found that when I heard a boat coming by the yard I had the expectation and sensation of rocking that would normally be created by a wake. This is where Pavlov’s dogs conditioning came into play and started messing with me. It took me about a week before I stopped rocking all together. Of course there are some disadvantages to living on the hard; if you fall overboard your chances of breaking a leg are greater. Since you can’t dump your toilet or get it pumped out your goal is to try and put as little water in your holding tank as possible, this causes air pollution that requires an air quality alert. So instead of the old, sick, and young having to stay inside until conditions improve, all are required to stay outside until further notice (a true disadvantage at night). Your air freshener bill increases as you count the days before your departure, which you can’t really predict because everything depends on how long your body holds up under all the work.

We spend our days grinding, sanding, patching, sanding, painting, sanding some more and painting again… actually Carey spends his days this way while I mix mine up with making new hatch covers to replace the ones we lost while submarine-ing, cleaning, de-molding from the same said event and reorganizing. I am also looking at what we need to move to take weight off forward and move more aft. While in Hope Town we noticed how far below the water line the bow of the boat was sitting. I figured we had to be taking on water somewhere and was concerned we might slowly sink. Carey checked forward and could not find anything so he felt sure we’d be OK for while anyway. Of course this type of thing is what my dreams are now made of… or more accurately my nightmares! Once we were out of the water I opened what are suppose to be air tight compartments for flotation at the very front of each of the amas (how’s that for a term? These are what the hulls are called on a catamaran). Sure enough the starboard side was full with about 70 gallons of water! We aren’t sure if the locker floor cracked while we were pounding our way to “the cut” or if it had been going on for some time, but either way it was a lot of weight and explained the “sinking”. One more thing to repair.

I recently discovered the difference between a rope, a line and a sheet, although they all look like what I have called rope my whole life. I can only hope to get it right in the throes of some unforeseen stressful situation and not embarrass myself in the process. When a rope is connected to a sail it is now called a sheet and if a piece of rope is in use on a boat it is now called a line, everything else is a rope until further notice.

We are now in a fight with the local flies and no see ums’… those nasty little bugs you can’t see but are all teeth. They like this place and enjoy coming inside out of the weather. Another thing we do is examine the bottom of the boat… a lot. The more Carey looks at what needs to be done, the more he finds to do, so is considering quitting now.

It’s two miles to town, and floods when it rains. It costs $5 and hour to be online if you bring your own computer and $10 an hour if you use their computer. Salad dressing is $11 a bottle. Everyone here is very friendly; we were sitting down taking a break while looking at the map when some kids pull a U-turn in their car to ask us if we needed help. The only pay phones in town are at the phone company office, there are three, they never all work at the same time. Laundry is $2.50 per wash and 25 cents a minute to dry. There is no social life in the boat yard. There is no produce at the grocery store on Tuesdays, until late in the day. There is no public transportation but anyone will pick you up and give you a ride if you stick your thumb out.

On the news this morning the announcer urged parents to be sure to send their kids off to school with a jacket and not just a sweater, since the high temperature was only going to be seventy-two degrees today and not to worry, this cold snap would only last a couple of days.

Everyone smiles and says, how are you. There is not a lot of cussing here and kind words are many. Christianity is the national religion and all the locals believe God smiles on the Bahamas… we think they’re right.

We miss our kids terribly!!

So there you have it, nothing new, nothing exciting and nothing much to report. Just workin’, grindin’, sandin’, patchin’ and paintin’ and livin’ the life on the hard.