The Search For Bright Waters

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Winter Sets In And We Are Getting Excited


It's crunch time! Our winter gear is out, the boat is insulated up with reflective bubble wrap, and the heated blanket is on full blast. As it gets colder we are getting more excited to get the heck out of here!




We are finishing up our last few projects and planning. While Christine is figuring out the provisioning I am planning the route. We will post a preview in a few weeks when it's complete. Any advice is surely welcome. We plan to take the ICW down to West Palm Beach, Fl and then hop over to Free Port, Grand Bahamas!



I am currectly working on the dinghy davits/solar panels. We decided to hire a contractor to prevent any problems. They ended up only installing the davits and I got enough ideas and confidence to finish the project so the solar panels will be our job. At first we wanted them on the dinghy davits, but because the davits are small and angled the panels would hang off a lot and be tilted at a bad angle to the sun with the Bimini casting a shadow. So instead we will attempt to mount them on top of the bimini. I walked around the dock for ideas but it seems most the boats with solar panels have already headed south!



We never found our oil leak so it will just be. It's not large so we will just keep an eye on it. The leak is between the transmission and the engine block which is too big of a job for me right now. At first we thought it was the lube oil pipe but after I removed and replaced that it still has a leak.



We had a water cooling system problem for a little bit but after I ran some engine cleaner through the system and let it sit all the junk came out and it ran smoothly again.



Speaking of water cooling, we were reading in bed one night when Nala jumped up and ran across us all wet and then shook off like a dog. We had heard her and Nomy running around on deck and knew exactly what had happened. Christine dryed her off with a towel while I grabbed a flashlight and followed her wet tracks out the boat, down the dock and to a ladder. That is the 3rd time that silly cat has fallen over, when will she learn, shes running out of her 9 lives.



Since the weather has gotta cooler we started taking showers on the boat. We velcro up a shower curtain and our bathroom doors open up to a nice large shower. We have to be water conscious but its better than nothing.


Our Wirie is fully mounted and the internet is running smoothly so hopefully our blogs will run uninterrupted.



Home Depot has a great deal, 10 led flashlights for $10.  We bought it the last time we saw it but still seem to lose all of the flashlights or can't find one when we really need it.  We havn't seen that sale again until this weekend so this time we bought 2 packs!  Light can be scarce on the boat sometimes so flashlights are our best friend. Yes we know, it's like we are camping always!

EDIT/Update by Christine: FACT --- These flashlights look like sticks of dynamite to x-ray machines at airport security. That was a really exciting experience for both of us. 



We just got back this weekend from our house in Florida. It is all fixed up and ready to rent so let us know if anybody wants to rent a really nice 3 bedroom 2 bath single family home for $1095.


The lead pic is the Hibiscus Flower we have growing in the front yard of our house :)


-Joey

7 comments:

Skylark said...

Looking real good. I have my fingers crossed that you get good weather when you leave. If you plan on stopping for a bit on the St. Johns when you hit Florida, give me a shout, beverages are on me. As well, if there is any info that you might need from NC down to FL, give me a shout. I ran on the outside for quite a bit of it, but I would be happy to give you the routes I took when on the ICW. Good luck!
Jim
S/V Skylarkj

Anonymous said...

Hey guys, good luck on your trip. I'm curious as to why you want to go to Freeport instead of West End. West End is closer to West Palm, is much nicer and more relaxed than Freeport, and you can also clear customs at West End. From there, you can cruise down the Abacos, hop 60 miles down to Eleuthera, and then cross over into the Exumas. My wife and I did a similar trip in 2009, and we had the time of our lives. Here's a link to my blog from that trip: http://caitchiliandchipgocruising.blogspot.com
Best of luck to you guys, I'll be following your trip!
Chip

Joey and Christine said...

Thanks Skylark!

And Chip your right we will be checking in at West End, I had my google map zoomed out when I made the post :)

Philippe said...

Joye & Christine, Hi! My fiancee and I discovered your blog recently, and caught up on your jounee. Very impressive, it's amazing you started with no experience, and are getting ready to go soon. Your winter on the boatr was quite something too. We hope to go in fall 2011 as well. Best of luck, and keep up the great blog and stories.

Philippe
http://sailing.mcabou.com

Anonymous said...

I'm moving to Fla, where is your house located?
Thanks

Anonymous said...

I'm moving to Fla, where is your house located?
Thanks

Joey and Christine said...

Hey Philippe, see you around!

Also to the other person who asked, our house is in Palm Bay.