Sunluver

Wrecker's Race January 2010

2010-02-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

2010-02-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

We dinghy'd ashore, wandered around the Park grounds and enjoyed learning more about Flagler's Railroad. Dinghy'd back to Sunluver and had dinner and relaxed onboard. Being on the hook between the two bridges(Old and New) kept our imagination flowing as we thought about the workers who risked their lives building the railroad all the way from Miami. 42 Bridges in all.

The next morning we had a great sail over to Looe Key where Nancy and Bob dove the reef. We've renamed the reef. It is now called the Baracuda Highway. It was a little scary. We had lunch and then sailed on to Key West. Then it was time to start getting ready for the Holidays.

Sailing trip to Marathon

2010-02-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since getting back. We had to replace the boom on Sunluver and ordered new trampolines. Overall, we've been getting her back in great shape after a 2-1/2 year stink as a Charter in the BVI's. We now have installed T/V's and DVD's in all the staterooms and salon. A bose surround system greatly enhances watching a movie in the salon. We ordered new cushions and installed them in January. She is really starting to shape up. We are creating a Charter business called sunluvercharters.com. We took her up to Marathon in early December for 2 nights with another couple(Gill and Rhonda)and Other Woman(Mark and Lynda) joining us. Our friend Lake(who lives in Marathon) visited with us and joined us for dinner. We were fortunate enough to witness our first "GREEN FLASH." Then we headed to Bahia Honda State Park.

Nassau to Key West

2009-08-02T02:33:00.001-07:00

Mom arrived a day late which turned out just the we liked it as she met a great couple from the Bahamas that treated her like the queen she is. We had a great visit as we did most of our travels by dinghy. Atlantis kept a little of our US dollars except for our Queen for the trip. Mom took us all out(including Tim and Linda) to Fish Fry the last evening aboard. It was sad to see Mom leave before we could take her out sailing.

We also enjoyed hanging with the Crew from Blown Away(friends from Key West)as they were in Nassau at the same time. (Cheers)

Ally and Mitch drove back to Key West after a nights stay at our friend's(Gill) condo. Sunluver hosted a dinner with a couple of friends while waiting to clear customs. After clearing on Thursday morning, Gill and I anxiously headed out to sea. First stop: Ceasar's Creek Anchorage. Then on to Bahia Honda for a dream anchorage.

Home Sweet Home

The Exuma Trek to Nassau

2009-07-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

We made it to Rum Cay on Independence Day, so everything was closed, but it was just the way we like it. Back to the boat for our own celebration and to get away from the mosquitos. Leaving out the next day for Georgetown.

In Georgtown we were able to do laundry and pick up some groceries and managed to get in a little socializing at the local "Chat and Chill." We were invited to a party on -what else- the "Party Girl," a 150' private mega-yacht with a very interesting mix of people.

The next morning, we were entertained for hours to a mama and baby dolphin playing around our boat.

Heading North to Staniel Cay. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club was a very friendly place to hang out. Here's Mitch and Ally with the husband of the Governor. He must have been promoting the island because he kept buying us drinks. We didn't seem to mind.

and we met a nice young couple who were visiting their Grandmother on the Island. They gave us a ride in their golf cart to the high point on the island overlooking the ocean side. Nice view!

The next morning we went snorkeling at a grotto, just a short dingy ride away from where SUNLUVER was anchored. Wow! We were blown away by the life and beauty in such a small place.

Here's Bob feeding the fish

an Angel Fish

a Four Eyed Butterfly Fish

a cute little Jawfish...he's only about 3" long

We pull anchor and head for Warderick Wells Cay - a beautiful anchorage. Unfortunately the generator does not want to cooperate and we have no air conditioning or freezer to keep our ice so we make a hasty retreat North toward Nassau. We planned to stop in Highbourne Cay to stay at the marina where we can have shore power (and A/C) but alas... there was no room at the inn. So we anchored out for the night and left early am for Nassau where we have a slip confirmed and plenty of access to marine parts for repairs. Bob's Mom will be joining the crew on Monday, July 20 for a week long visit. Nancy has regrettably left the boat with mixed emotions, but it was the right thing for all concerned.

Now we go explore more of the Bahamas then off to Miami next week!

Our New Crew!

2009-07-10T00:34:00.001-07:00

Mitch and Ally are safely onboard and we're ready to head to Mayaguana in the Bahamas.

We make it by dark but decide to go a bit further to tuck in on the West side for the night in case we're greeted by the tropical wave behind us. It never quite found us, so

we take in a bit of snorkeling and fishing before leaving for Long Cay. Bob brought in a black fin tuna and Mitch brought in a grouper, mmmmmmmm...both were delicious!

This one was too pretty so he's going back in

This one is pretty too but we think we'll keep her :)

Bob is plotting our course to Long Island, we leave just before sundown and will sail all night taking turns at watch.

We arrive in Clarence Town, Long Island Bahamas around 8:30 am

Ally put up the Q flag as we wait for our customs officer

We have a little time to wait so, we get in a little reading

do a little laundry

A trip around the island provided some interesting sites

and characters... Below is chef Bo from the Rowdy Boys Bar and Grill. He makes a mean fish nugget out of Wahoo.

We're off to Rum Cay!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

2009-07-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

We left out of the DR around 3am, July 3rd headed for Provenciales, Turks & Caicos. After sailing under the stars and with a fairly gentle wind all day, we tucked in to Ambergris Cay to catch a few winks then off across the Caicos bank to Provo. The waters across the bank were spectacular turquoise.. as far as you could see.

We stopped of at a shallow coral head to meet some of the neighbors.

Here is a queen angel fish taking a peek at me.

and a lion fish...hiding from me

A family of dolphin stopped by the Caicos bank reef cafe to have lunch then off they went.

We arrived in Provo just before sundown, anchoring in Sopadilla Bay. Our new neighbors, David and Debbie, on S/V FAITH, hailed us on the radio to say hello and give us a bit of info on the island. What a help...I'm not sure we would have found the Customs office to check in if it weren't for them. We checked in, rented a car, drove around for about an hour and a half til we finally found a place to grab a bite to eat (not much open on Sunday - pretty much the whole island is at church - LOTS of those here!), picked up Mitch and Ally on time at the Provo Airport, and back to the boat with our new precious cargo. We head to Mayaguana in the morning.

Here is David delivering our weather report for us. If we pull anchor before noon, we should comfortably arrive well in advance of a tropical wave coming in behind us.. no time to lose!

Domican Republic - What a friendly place!

2009-07-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

The sail here was long but worth it. When the sun came up, we still could not see land but when we could, we found the most beautiful, rugged coastline. We were both pretty sure King Kong came from here! The sunsets are not too shabby either....

We arrived around 10:30 am to handshakes and smiles from the locals at the Ocean World Marina in Puerto Plata. By the time we were checked in with immigration, customs, navy, etc...... we had a mechanic look at a few things then took a walk to get something to eat and sample the local rum (of course) and found the best chicken wings imaginable, and it was 2 for 1 night..woohoo! Day 2 we rented a car and drove to Luperon, an adventure in itself. We got a little lost and stumbled into some "off the beaten path" - literally- marina where we were introduced to "Mamajuana." (a traditional spiced rum served here on the island) and sampled some local food. We were very privileged to meet a gentleman sitting at a nearby table by the name of Bruce Van Sant, who, as it turns out, is the man who wrote the only guide book we had on Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, the book some call the cruisers "Bible". The book was given to us by Anne and Steve Walsh when we met them at the Bight in Norman Cay. Bruce invited us to join he and his friends and we chatted for a bit (he is a veritable plethera of information on cruising) WHAT AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE!!!!! Just the way we like it! Driving back to Puerto Plata we stopped at a fruit stand in the mountains and stocked up on mango, pineapple and bananas for our next journey to Turks and Caicos. Where we will pick up Mitch and Ally on July 5th. Weather looks good so we'll leave tonight!

The South Coast of Puerto Rico

2009-06-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

We were delayed a couple of days in Fajardo making repairs to SUNLUVER. No sooner did we pull away from the dock and we noticed our freezer was no longer working...oh well.. we'll make due by shifting a few things around - no worries! We've adopted a new saying which has become the theme of our journey.... no matter WHAT happens, good or not so good.... "it's just the way we like it". So the main freezer is now empty, but it's just the way we like it! :)) We don't have as many days to play now so we're making our way to the West side of the island stopping the first night in Puerto Patillas, a sleepy little fishing village. No time to visit, we weighed anchor early... then ...well maybe a little time to play... we decide to drop anchor and snorkel a reef we'd been looking at all night. Then off to Ponce. Holy mackeral.. Bob caught a nice fish for dinner.We were going to do some provisioning in Ponce, but decided there was nothing we really needed. Ponce was a bit noisy (they're VERY proud of their stereo systems here) so we left out early and headed West. Rounding the most South Western point of the island we passed by a beautiful lighthouse perched high up on a cliff surrounded by gorgeous white sandy beaches on both sides,

and next thing you know we're in Boqueron!

Boqueron is a very quaint town with a flavor of Key West, glad we like it because we have to have our genoa repaired and it will take a couple of days. Fortunately, we found a sail repair business card stapled to the dingy dock as we went to shore. Bob got to use his bosen's chair to climb up the mast and unfurl the flags. Oooh! Hang on! ...just kidding... it's just the way he likes it!
We met a few nice people in town, this is Hector. We bought him a drink...he bought us a drink....had some great food at Club Nautico. Antonio, the owner and Danny the bartender were very informative on the local rum.
Then a stroll to the liquor store for some Puerto Rican rum ...and hielo (ice) ...and we're ready for our next leg. The sail was returned earlier than expected so off to Puerto Real to fuel up and... what the hell... let's go to the Dominican Republic. This leg of our journey will take approx 30 hours through the Mona Passage and a 5pm departure time fit right into our weather and time window.

2009-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

We picked up a couple of friends in San Juan, Puerto Rico for some fun in the sun. Bill and Nina, aka "The Leisurlee's" have dropped in for a visit, so we stayed at the Puerto Del Rey marina the first night then headed for Vieques the next day. Anchored off the city of Esperanza, we all got to see the "Southern Cross" constellation for the first time, beautiful! Then off for an all day sail East, into the wind, to the other side of Vieques, Bahia Icacos, where we spent some time snorkeling and beach combing. Vieques is the island the U.S. used to use for bombing practice, so care was taken to drop anchor here! The next day, a very pleasant sail to the island of Culebra. We walked the beach, ALMOST crashed a wedding then decided to go back to our own boat for a party of our own. After snorkeling a wonderful reef and a turtle sighting, we headed back toward Puerto Rico, saw a large pod of dolphin going the other direction, we then anchored and snorkeled off Icacos Cay - or "Green Bay." Next day we headed back to Puerto Del Rey marina, where the staff have been extremely friendly and helpful, and delivered Bill and Nina back to the San Juan airport. We'll miss our galley slaves...er... I mean friends, dearly but really enjoyed their visit. Now back provisioning and making a few repairs to get ourselves and the boat ready for our next leg of the trip across the South of Puerto Rico, then on to the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico!

2009-06-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

We have arrived on the East coast of Puerto Rico and are looking forward to picking up our order at West Marine in Fajardo, as well as other supplies we've been doing without. It's amazing to realize how UNimportant some things are and how much we take simple things for granted. Tomorrow we rent a car and head to town...woohoo! Hopefully we can pick up a "card reader" so we can download some more photos, my iphone can only do so much! Life on the boat has been great. We met some fellow cruisers yesterday, Bob and Debby Bradford, and hope to meet up with them again next year. They were kind enough to invite us aboard their sailing vessel for coffee and delicious pastries. We're now preparing for our first onboard guests, Bill and Nina Washawanny. They'll be joining us for 5 days here in Puerto Rico for some fun in the sun!

...and our other colors...the Conch Republic flag under the BVI flag

2009-06-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

Bob is ready to hoist our colors...

Village Cay in Road Town, Tortola

2009-06-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Our Lagoon 440 at sunrise. Looking forward to a wonderful day of sailing.

We've Arrived!

2009-06-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

We have arrived on our new home. Tortola, although rainsoaked, is rich with floral landscape - as you would expect on a tropical island. We are in Village Cay Marina in Road Town, since we arrived around dark, we chose to unload just a couple of things then check out the local fare. Dinner at the marina restaurant was ok but the rum and cokes were great! Tomorrow we provision for groceries and other necessities and hopefully meet up with friends Anne and Steve of sailing vessel ("SV") Fine Line who are "in the neighborhood." Our travel to here was magnificent and without incident. I'm sure a sign of things to come!

2009-05-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today we are packing, and unpacking, and packing again to try to fit the "necessary " items in 2 bags and a carry on each. It's amazing how many "necessary" items we decide we can live without. When we pick up Sunluver in Tortola, we will have to completely re-outfit her with dishes, linens, towels, pots/pans, kitchen utencils, etc. in addition to our personal items, scuba gear, clothes, shampoo, sunscreen, bugspray, books, charts, etc, etc, etc. We can purchase items there but we'll bring as much as we can. We couldn't be more excited!

2009-05-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

And so it begins.... tying up loose ends on land so we can take to the sea. Our 44' Lagoon catamaran sailing vessel awaits our arrival on June 4, 2009. Bob has been feverishly working to chart our course and weaving in the time slots with family and friends who will join us on our first 2 month voyage from Tortola to Key West. The first guests we hope to see on Sunluver are Anne and Steve from Fine Line, long time friends of Nancy's who have been cruising for over 2 years now. Sounds like a fountain of knowlege to me!!!!