..... and the plan is executed

Donning gloves, rope has burrs

Trimming the unraveled part

Sweeping stones away from the edge

Burying the pipe you can see in previous photo

All done

and added some treasures to the shed.

Chris and I cleaned buckets of sand out of the jeep

Beach finds

I've noticed, the past 2 years, a decline in the hermit crab population but am happy to report that this year they are thriving.  Take a good look at the one dressed in black.

One has taken a marker cap as his home!

A good look at what a crab's other end looks like

The business end of the crab

Below is the beach we used to frequent, named Truck Beach because there's the remains of a truck buried in the sand (further down the coast is Airplane Beach, Stinky Beach and Picnic Beach). We haven't been here for a while and were quite disappointed in how much trash has been washed up on shore, and the truck isn't visible any more. Every conceivable type of plastic container is decomposing here.  The beach is always changing though and I expect the next big storm will wash all this away and maybe expose the truck again.

There are treasures to be found:

rope from a fishing boat

Took 3 of us to drag it up to the jeep

Chris rode home on the center console and I was squeezed into the back seat with the rope. The plan is to place the rope along the seawall to protect the lines from chafing.

Sailing

November 23 the sun was shining and winds were tolerable for sailing, and waves were 3 to 5 feet.

At Wildwood more than 1 sailboat is a common sight but such is not the case off Port Lucaya. We saw not one but 2 other sailboats enjoying the day just sailing back and forth.

and the fun continues.....

Chris and Les have finally arrived and of course we've put them to work.

Installing Lowrance behind the hatch

Domestic goddess trapped in the galley

I didn't get out of painting the dinghy this year, Anita wouldn't come down to do it for me.

I don't think I really needed 2 supervisors

And for added fun I cleaned the dock box that had been stored in the dinghy. Apparently the dinghy was just as dirty but the boys didn't take photos to prove it so we'll have to take their word that they had cleaned it.

Experimented with cleaners, used toilet bowl cleaner on the left

bleach on the right

Bleach turned out to be the best option

Just before we launched the dinghy the boys thought it best to install better bunks.

Time to launch the dinghy

launching with me at the wheel - yikes

We don't have too many flat tires but when we do they're a bitch. Last time we were miles away and couldn't get the tire off. This time we weren't nearly as far and called Gary for help. He brought more tools but it wasn't enough and he had to drive us home.

tire was totally slashed by a sharp branch

Les, Gerry, Gary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While all this was going on Chris and I abandoned them and walked to the beach

Les and Gerry gathered more tools and went back to wrestle it off. It took most of the afternoon! Never Seize will be put on the lug nuts so hopefully this will not happen again.

Ice box and Lowrance

After a few decades the insulation around the ice box on Ramblynn has deteriorated greatly. Gerry drilled 7 holes and filled them with expanding foam. After mixing the 2 parts together it's supposed to grow 27 times.  Hopefully this will double the time food will keep cold.

Mixing the 2 part foam

This is under the sink - seems to have expanded where it's not supposed to be.

Apparently one must completely destroy the inside of the boat to run a wire from the V berth to the the navigation station (and electrical panel) at the back of the boat.

A mess to properly install Lowrance.

Seahorse

I don't think I've ever seen a seahorse in the 'wild' so today was a red letter day. A lone seahorse was swimming around the boat. I got a few pics and then attempted to touch it, not easy reaching down that far but managed to. Felt rather tough and rough. I also discovered they don't like to be picked up (I only held it for a few seconds, and not out of the water), it quickly disappeared under the dock.

Its back to me, hanging onto the rope

Trick of the camera, it really does have a longer tail

Vacation

Definition: leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure

Some claim I'm always on vacation. Do you see the words laundry, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, scrubbing decks, scrubbing and or painting hulls anywhere in the definition? The answer is no.

Last year Gerry gifted me a vacation which we are now taking at an all inclusive resort 10 minutes away. Some how he missed the part that it was to be somewhere I haven't been , i.e., another country. Oh well.

So here we are, checked in yesterday and until this afternoon we hadn't done too much. At 3:07 we checked out a Hobie cat and when they asked if we knew what we were doing, we nodded our heads, Gerry signed the waiver and we took off. Things went well at first, we were just whizzing over the water, which was much warmer than the air as the winds were around 28 km and a bit chilly when you're wet. We got jibing down pretty good, tacking didn't work, but suddenly there was a gust and a big wave and we turtled! There's a float on top so she came back up, Gerry climbed on a hull, I leaned on the bow and up she popped. We hoped nobody noticed. We were off again, Captain Gerry announced we've got it now and once again we were soon in the drink! This time an instructor out with students noticed and came over to see if we were OK. I told him we were having way too much fun and he took off. Our time was up by this time so Gerry didn't have a third opportunity to dump me in the ocean. The guy handing out the equipment didn't  notice that we had torn the sail and tangled the main sheet and he sent the boat right back out again. That's how we do it in the Bahamas. I mentioned to Gerry, too bad we didn't have a camera and he said, that's OK we'll do it again tomorrow. Right.

Fortunately (depending on your point of view) it was too windy for Hobie cats so we spent the next few days just relaxing and spending time with a lovely couple from New Jersey, Al and Daria. Good company and if we're ever in New Jersey we will definitely drop in on them. Yes, we have been invited.

We attended every show the staff put on but unfortunately they didn't get any better. Not entirely their fault, they are in charge of various activities during the day and are not professional entertainers. At least I hope they're not. The common areas were all quite nice but the rooms need a bit TLC. Some walkway bricks and outdoor lighting are broken or entirely missing, food was OK, some desserts really good. All the staff were friendly and accommodating. They do have one thing that other resorts don't - a trapeze. You can swing and hang upside down, we didn't. There was supposed to be some sort of trapeze show but we didn't see it, if it happened.

view from our room

Poured one day but we got a rainbow