Hello all
On April 4th, we arrived back in the US after a short, but lovely, winter in the Bahamas. The last 8 days were spent in White Sound at Green Turtle Cay. Although we were held there due to weather, it was still an enjoyable time with old friends nearby and new ones to be made.

In the last two weeks, we have encountered several different critters. Most were birds but not all, so that is why I said “critters”.

The first such meeting was a pair of green parrots that circled the anchorage each evening. They would screech and holler as they flew the circuit and we never knew if they were captives that were allowed out for exercise or wild parrots, on a scheduled fly-over. Research has since shown that they are the Rose-throated or Cuban Parrot, once native to the islands but now few in 
number.

After we left Green Turtle, we sailed to Powell Cay and were greeted by another rare sighting. Tropicbirds! Six of these lovely, long-tailed birds were swooping, soaring and chittering around our boat.

Back in the US, we motored past a few 
small islands, north of Titusville. Here I
 always find some roseate spoonbills and I was lucky enough to see a couple of these pink birds once again.

And then, just a few minutes later, we saw many manatee! They were in the Haulover Canal and seemed to be playing in the water. I cannot count how many tails and backs we saw in the time it took us to pass this waterway.
We never see the actual creature but just a nose, a humped back or the tail as it disappears.

What a week this was! I hope that you enjoy the photos that I found on-line.

Hello everyone

We are still safely anchored in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay in Abaco and the winds have continued to blow hard for many days.

On Tuesday night, with the cold front expected, we left our radio on even once we retired for the night. About 12:30 or so, the very strong winds hit with gusts over 40 knots and the change woke us both.

Murray climbed up on deck and checked the anchor while I perused the nearby boats to make sure that we weren’t in danger from a dragging vessel. Eventually we both went back to bed but mostly just lay there, listening to the wind and the anchor snubber line squawking as it tightened in the gusts. At about a quarter after one, we heard “Mayday, mayday! Vessel going on the rocks! Mayday, mayday!” . We lay there awhile longer but no one responded. So, I went to the radio and answered. We quickly determined that it was a vessel that anchored outside Green Turtle the previous afternoon, with their stern to the shore. Not a good move with the prediction of higher winds. So, when the strong gust hit, they dragged anchor and were quite near to the rocky shore. I got the names of the vessel, the persons aboard and their exact position, suggested that they rig jacklines ( to allow ease of movement aboard when the boat falls over onto its side ) and to don lifejackets. Still, no one in authority had responded even though we stayed on Channel 16 for the whole time. Finally, another cruiser telephoned the police station and they responded. I gratefully turned the frequency over to him and returned to my bed shortly after 2 am. But, we continued to hear the radio transmissions. The policeman drove to a position where he could observe the vessel and told them that they were 30 yards off the rocks and in a area of sandy bottom. The boat was a steel sailboat 58 feet long and 33 tons, so not easily pulled off. The police said that he would return just after high tide with two vessels and attempt to pull them free. And, that task was accomplished just after 7 am the next morning.

Yesterday we met the two persons aboard. The owner of Figment, a Canadian registered vessel, is Barry Thorpe and he has played one of the pirates in three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He gave me a photo of himself with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Although I wasn’t able to do much except keep them calm and answer their questions regarding tide and weather, they are very thankful that I was there.

So that is the excitement here. The winds continue to blow hard and another cold front is expected Sunday. Once that has cleared out somewhat, we will head north, towards Great Sale Cay. Probably on Wednesday, we will be crossing the stream to the US. Then, get back to the marina and prepare the boat for summer storage again. The we will mount up in the Land Ark and motor home, maybe visiting friends on the way if time permits.

Keep that snow melting as we will be home soon. Hugs from,
Murray & Heather
holding on in Abaco

Our time here in the islands is drawing to a close.

We sailed from Nassau on Sunday, the 16th, to Spanish Wells and entered the town the next day. Here we have re-stocked the larder, caught up with friends ashore and made some new friends. The stay here has been longer than we had hoped but the weather does as it wishes.

Tomorrow we will motor and sail northward to Little Harbour, Abaco. It is a journey of more than 60 miles and is all in deep ocean waters, once we get through a cut near Egg Island. A friend from London, that we saw in Nassau, gave Murray some frozen ballyhoo and he will be hoping that having bait on his fishing line makes it even more attractive to Wahoo or Mahi Mahi. He will have two lines in the water for the whole time. The trip will take all day and we will try not to fry in the hot sun.

I am sorry to mention the sun to you deprived northerners but, actually, it has been very HOT here. Some nights we can hardly sleep because of that and then, when the wind dies, the no-see-ums strike. Two nights ago we scratched until we bled, from the bites of those nasty critters.

In Abaco, we will make a stop in Marsh Harbour and then get around Whale Cay pass and wait for weather to head to the US. The word from the weather guy is the next week may be ugly. I hate to hear those words. But, we will monitor the situation and cross as soon as we can.

The plan is to be home by mid April and we look forward to seeing y’all at that time, either in person or on Skype. Until then, send the snow away and stay warm. Give yourself some hugs from us as we miss you guys big bunches.

Love and hugs
Heather & Murray

Hello!

I am sorry for the extended silence from this end. We have been having difficulty making an internet connection. It is usually enough to eventually download messages but not enough to do extended work on-line. Thus, the website hasn’t been updated in forever and I cannot send you any photos.

We had two glorious days of sailing, from Nassau to Staniel Cay. And the second day, we even had to tack! No one does that down here, in fact we were the only ones sailing hard on the wind. Going to windward is not usually comfortable and thus, not done by cruisers. And it really wasn’t comfortable as we were heeled over at least 30 degrees most of the time. The waves were ugly, almost like Lake Erie – square ones that you fall off of on the other side. And they stop you in your tracks.

But, we made it down to Staniel Cay and saw that the pigs are still swimming. One windy morning, I sat down and finally put Gertie down on paper. So, the third book has been given to the artist here in Staniel. Also here, we ran into several friends and have had cocktail parties and even a dinghy drift ( tie dinghies together, drink and share snacks as you drift along through the anchorage ).

Our frig is filling up with fish and lobster, some that we caught and some that we have been given or traded for. Four homemade multigrain rolls for two lobster is a good trade, right?

Basically, life is good. The sun is mostly shining and the days are quite hot. In a couple of days, the wind will go NE and we will sail south 12 miles to the next settlement, Black Point. There I will do some laundry and we will meet up with some land based friends. Then, when the wind is right, we will slowly sail back towards Nassau, to be there for the book signing on the 15th.

Hopefully, by then, your snow will be decreasing and there will appear to be an end to this crazy winter. Until then, stay warm and look after each other.

Hugs from,
Heather & Murray
anchored in OZ!

Hello all

Life has been interesting aboard W4 for the last few days. Remember that old curse ” may your life be interesting”? Well, I would be happier if ours went back to boring.

Waving goodbye to new friends, Klaus and Marion, we departed Lucaya on Sunday, the 9th. It was to be a 60 mile motor sail but we wanted to get south. Both of us were in the cockpit, reading and glancing around to check for ships etc. Suddenly, I noticed an area of white water nearby. What was that? There are no rocks near. It is very deep water here. Maybe fish? Then I noticed the twisting snake disappearing into the cloud. It was a waterspout or a tornado over water. And coming our way. All loose items were quickly stowed, just in case. But, although it approached fairly close, it did veer away and headed in another direction. Whew!

We have had two other close calls with waterspouts. The first time, we were in the dinghy and the spout dissipated over a nearby island. The second time, we were at anchor outside of Treasure Cay. I saw the waterspout approaching and Murray started the engine. Although it was quite a distance from us when it passed, there was still a lot of wind and all of our canvas strained and flapped. So, I was glad that this last one hadn’t come any closer to us.

The first few days in the Berry Islands were lovely. We were the only boat in sight and enjoyed the solitude. Chris, the weather guru, had been predicting passage of a strong cold front for Wednesday night. In preparation, we unloaded the dinghy and removed the outboard. By bedtime, the lightning was visible in the distance. Here she comes! Near midnight, our boat heeled abruptly and the wind howled in the rigging. The wind generator distorted from the high winds. Both if us jumped up and ran to check that the anchor was still holding. The lightning was almost constant and the wind incredible. After about 20 minutes, the wind calmed somewhat and that squall was passed. Another hit us about 2 am but it was not quite so violent.

Today is Friday, the 14th, and a lovely day with light winds. Another beach walk is in order. Life is again to be boring. Yeah!

Happy Valentines Day,
Heather & Murray

Our departure from West Palm Beach inlet took place at 0430 on Feb 6th. The seas were calm and it seemed almost as if we were inside a opalescent dome as we couldn’t delineate the sea from the sky. But, soon there were three ships bearing down on us and the AIS system worked well for us once more. With it, Murray was able to ascertain the name of the ship and call it on the radio. Then they agreed on an appropriate action so that we would safely pass each other. The closest ship was only 0.4 miles off our beam and that can be scary unless you are sure what is happening.

The light improved as the sun appeared from the sea before us and we motor sailed on, and on. Winds helped us to lower the engine speed but we were never able to completely shut it off. Freeport was busy with many ships as usual and it seems like it takes forever to pass that area. That is because we can see the port from so far away. Eventually the rest of the island came into view and we kept watch for Bell Channel entrance buoy. Before dark, we picked our way in through the reef to a quiet anchorage in the canals.

It was a short evening aboard as we crashed into bed soon after dinner. Once breakfast was completed, we motored into the village to a marina for fuel and Customs. That was taken care of quickly and Ryan, the dock master, allowed us to remain at the dock for a few hours as we took the bus to BTC.

BTC is Bahamas Telephone Company and there we got out MiFi activated, allowing me Internet access. They have increased the month data plan to 2G, yeah! I seemed to run out last winter.

Bus back and then time for a Bahamian beer and conch burger for Mur. It is official, we are here once again.

Now, we are again tied to a dock. It belongs to friends of friends and they have made us welcome. By Sunday or Monday, we should have the right winds to travel further south, into the Berry Islands. Until then, we will enjoy this paradise.

Hugs
Heather & Murray
happy aboard

Hello

I thought perhaps you might wonder what has been happening aboard W4.

We departed the marina on Jan 26th and made good time down the waterway and all systems seemed to be working. Except for the rain prevention system – it rained hard for a couple of days and these stalwart cruisers carried on. On Thursday, Jan 30th, we arrived in Vero Beach.

In just the first few minutes, we saw two couples that we have met cruising over the past years. Visits were planned and one couple even stopped by between rain storms. Once the rain lightened up, we launched the dinghy and attached the outboard. Then we discovered that the outboard wouldn’t run. Mur tried to effect repairs while the engine was on the dinghy. But the rain stopped that job. In the morning, we hauled the engine back aboard and Murray took it apart, cleaned the gas and carb, put it back together and we lowered it back onto the dinghy. And it wouldn’t run. We went through this exercise twice more before giving up in frustration.

I called a repair guy but he was not able to get to us until Monday. Here we were, on a mooring, not a dock, with no way to get ashore. We were paying for amenities that we couldn’t use. So, we called some good friends that have a home near Stuart, with a deep dock. They invited us to come and stay and George made arrangments for the outboard to be repaired on Monday.

That was a great plan and we wasted no time dropping the mooring. On the way out, we stopped at the office, paid for our night and collected the parts that awaited us. By late afternoon, we were anchored near Jensen Beach, enjoying a barbeque. The new blades for the wind generator were installed before the sun set.

The next morning, when the tide was right, we went to our friends’ dock. As it was now Friday, we had a few days to tidy up some odd jobs on the boat. While Murray changed oil, checked the transmission, etc, I did laundry or visited with Nancy. The men made a “guy trip” to Harbor Freight, the liquor store, Radio Shack etc.On Sunday, the car was available and we dashed out to West Marine to replace the bilge pump that failed underway and to add some more things to the larder. As our hosts are big sports fans, we watched some basketball and also the Super Bowl with them. On Monday, Murray delivered the outboard to the fix-it shop. To pass the time, Murray worked on our plumbing system, removed a leaking part and installed the new bilge pump. By late afternoon, the outboard was repaired and back aboard.

On Tuesday morning, when the tide was high enough, we departed Hobe Sound and headed to West Palm Beach. According to the weather guru, we have a window to cross to the islands tomorrow, with light winds. I will believe that when I see it as there been more wind than predicted all day so far. and, in fact, we are in the middle of a thundestorm as I write.

If we go across, I will let you know of our safe arrival using winlink. Once we get the MiFi set up for the Bahamas again, we will be back on Gmail.

Take care and stay warm. Hugs from
Murray & Heather
ready aboard

We did it! We tossed our lines on the deck and cast off from the dock! The lockers are full and we were only waiting for the spell of below freezing temperatures to abate before heading out. And the next couple of days seem like the lowest temps overnight will be in the high 30’s.

I know, I know – it has been unbearably cold up there and what are we whining about? You have to realize that there is NO heat on this boat, once we leave the dock. So, we wimped out and stayed a couple of extra days in order to have some heat from our ceramic heater. Also, my chest cold was still quite bad and I didn’t want to get too chilled.

But now we are underway. And have already discovered a couple of glitches to get straightened out in Vero Beach. Hopefully. The autopilot is the main one. It is still on vacation – who knew? Until we leave and try it out, we can only assume that, as it worked last spring, it will work this year. What were we thinking! But, maybe it just needs bleeding of its lines. Maybe. If we need parts…….we may not have an autopilot this winter.

Already we have parts meeting us in Vero. One of the blades from our wind generator disappeared overnight a few days ago. It broke at the hub but is passed its warranty period. For only $120 plus shipping, you too can have new blades for a wind generator. But, we were glad to even find them as the company had gone out of business some years ago. Thank goodness for Internet searches.

The warmer weather is within reach now. It will take us about four days to get to Vero and then maybe we can pack away the blue jeans and get the shorts out. We will stay a few days, re-provision, fix glitches, do laundry and then head on further south. And start looking for the weather to cross over to the islands.

My book signing has been re-scheduled for March 15th at Atlantis Resort, on Paradise Island, Nassau and we are both looking forward to that event. Once that is over, we will be looking to head back state-side. A very short cruise this year. But, at least we made it.

Hugs to all and please keep each other warm!
Heather & Murray
Bobbing at anchor

PS the Captain just reported that the oil reservoir on the autopilot was empty! No parts need for this fix and we even have hydraulic oil aboard. Good planning, right?

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Especially here in Tillsonburg with the snow falling gently to the ground, only to be whipped around by the winds expected to build later today. Why are we still in Tillsonburg you ask? Well…..

On November 17th, we were working in the motorhome. I wanted to make the bed and make things look “cute” as Steve, Kath & James were coming for a visit. Murray was helping me make the bed but continuing to be cautious because of recent surgery on his hand. He had his feet planted and reached across the bed. All at once he heard and felt a “pop” in his left leg and then extreme pain in the calf. We got him into the house, the leg elevated and iced but, of course, he didn’t want to go to the hospital. Research online gave us the diagnosis of a pulled calf muscle that could take 3 to six weeks to heal.

The next day, we visited his surgeon to have the stitches removed from his hand. When she saw the limp, she was quite concerned. If our family doctor wanted him on a cane or crutches, he couldn’t use them as the injured leg was the left and the cane would be in the right hand. The one that was just operated on. Her suggestion was to go straight to a wheelchair. Of course, Murray’s solution was not to visit the family doctor. But we kept the calf wrapped, iced and elevated as much as possible.

The surgeon also changed our plans once more as she wanted to see him again in five weeks. That was just before Christmas! Our marina in Florida would be closed from noon on the 24th until Jan 3rd. There was no sense going down and being unable to make any progress on the boat.

So we embraced the Christmas season here in Tillsonburg. The tree glistens in the living room and we hosted a super party the other evening with about 20 persons in our little home. Great fun. Tonight is the community Christmas dinner and dance. Jeremy, Cynthia, Mathew and Samantha will all arrive late on Christmas afternoon from Ottawa and Steve, Kath and James will drive over from St Thomas. We convinced Steve and family to spend the night as well. It will be a Christmas pajama party with people sleeping all over the house! Great fun!

They will all head off on the 26th and we will finish packing up the motorhome for our journey to Florida and the boat. When the weather allows, we will head south. It is a new type of travel for us but one that we are looking forward to experiencing. The boat will be moved into the workyard on Jan 3rd and then the jobs will start. But, we will live in the motorhome instead of in the middle of the mess aboard or in a motel as we have the last few years. The list of work to do is quite extensive and includes some tasks that Murray has put off for the last few years in order to get into the water faster. But, it is time to address all of those issues.

Thus it may take us a month or so to get the boat all fixed up. By then, it may be too late to launch and head out. We will see. The book signing at Atlantis has been postponed until March and I could fly over to Nassau for that event if necessary.

It could be that we spend the balance of the winter travelling in the motorhome. Who knows what these crazy people might do? We will keep you informed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from

Murray & Heather
frozen aground!

I must apologize as I have been extremely delinquent in updating the website. I have no good excuses other than “time just got away from me” and “my life didn’t seem very interesting”. And the last one is quite true.

The finished bathroom renovation has been a wonderful improvement to our home and we are very proud of it. Once that was done, Murray started helping some neighbours with changes and renovations in their home. That kept him very busy. My aquasize classes continued on into September, until the pool was closed for the season.

In late August, I received an e-mail from the librarian at Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, inviting me to do a book signing for The Pig That Couldn’t Swim. She had read it and loved it! A date in December was suggested and, with some changes of dates, we made an agreement. Man, was I excited!

At a dance in August, a resident came to me and asked if I could teach some line dancing classes. With little twisting of my arm, I agreed to teach a series of basic line dancing classes in September and had upwards of 19 persons in attendance.

Also in September, Murray and I worked on the car rally for the Hickory Hill Residents Association. We drove the 100 km rally route many times, checking and re-checking questions and instructions. I had found a new caterer, Eat Your Heart Out, from the Ingersoll area and everyone was excited to try out her food. Whether it was just the food or the chance of an afternoon of fun, we had 19 entrants. But, the route instructions proved too hard for most and only 6 managed to finish the whole route. But they had fun and the meal was enjoyed by all.

We had our annual cruisers get-together with Jane & Bob Argue (s/v Flextime) and Doug & Sharon Sandercott (s/v About Time) in September. This took place at the Argue’s cottage on Monck Lake, near Bancroft. It was a super time with good friends – lots of laughs and way too much great food!

You may have known that we had hoped to travel to Newfoundland this past summer. The trip was postponed as we had the sense that the cost of accommodation would be above our budget. Thus, we started looking at options – bringing our bed with us. Could we tent at this advanced age? Maybe Murray could but my joints wouldn’t be happy for long. Perhaps a van?

First we looked at the Volkswagen Westfalia. But, even though those are mostly quite an age, they are also very expensive or, if cheap, needing lots of repair. The next thought was a travel van, like a Roadtrek. Talk about expensive! There are cheaper options and we dragged our friends, Doug & Connie (who travel in their fifth wheel), along for a day of checking out the Class B’s in London.

Doug said “ You have a great car. Why don’t you look at trailers.” And so we did. We looked in London, Hamilton, on autoTRADER and on Kijiji. We looked at tent railers, hybrids and travel trailers, both new and used. I found several that I could live with but the max weight that the Volvo could tow was 3500 lbs. Once you add supplies and belongings to the trailer, the max weight was usually surpassed.

Finally one day Murray said that he still was more interested in a van or Class B motorhome. That way, we could just stop for the night, not unhook the trailer, level with jacks but also have the basic necessities with us – a bed, a frig and stove and a bathroom. Back onto the internet we went, searching the sites again.

When the weather co-operated, Murray worked at the farm harvesting the crop-du-jour. First wheat (about 250 acres ), then soybeans ( about 700 acres ). His brother, George, certainly appreciates his help.

The family got together here for Thanksgiving and for a few days the grandchildren kept us running. Murray had a super idea to buy pumpkins and, one rainy day, the dads and kids gathered on our porch to carve their Hallowe’en pumpkins.

In October, we found something interesting – a 1997 Winnebago Rialta. It was 21’8” long, with a double bed, a small frig and stove and a bathroom. It was for sale in nearby Port Colbourne and we made the trek one cold Sunday to see the unit. Inside, it looked hardly used except for the carpet and that could be replaced. The Volkswagen engine seemed to be in good shape and we took fired it up and went for a short drive. At the end of the drive, we shook hands with the owner and made a deal. We now owned a motorhome! Just the details such as payment, paperwork etc to accomplish and we picked it up a few days later. In fact, we picked it up on the Friday and had planned to head to the boat on Tuesday, storing the motorhome for the winter. But…..

Murray had been complaining of numbness in his right hand. Our family doctor initially thought perhaps it was a complication of diabetes. In September, he sent him for EMG testing, to rule out carpal tunnel. Heather’s magic fingers had managed to find him an appointment for the testing with a doctor in Paris within a couple of weeks. The tests revealed severe Carpal Tunnel! Then he was referred to a plastic surgeon in London and that appointment was made for the day after we were planning to leave for the south. Oh well, re-schedule the boat move for later that week and we would see what she had to say about leaving the surgery to spring. Nope, not an option. “It needs doing right away and there is an opening for this Thursday. “ So, the surgery took place on Nov 7th, a great birthday present. Murray didn’t figure that it would keep him down for long but the doctor has said “ Don’t lift anything heavier than a coffee cup with that hand, if you want to best outcome from this surgery.” So, it is good that he is ambidextrous as he can do little jobs with the left hand. The incision runs for about two inches from his wrist into his palm and seems to be healing well. I change the bandage once or twice daily and keep a close eye on it. He will get the stitches out on Nov 18th.

This delay of our departure has also allowed us to plan to take the motorhome south. Murray has been busy checking over the systems, replacing the house batteries ( before surgery! ) and trying things out. Our plan, at the moment, is to head south in early December, four weeks post-op. But, we will go slow and take about a week to get to the marina. Then, we will just do easy, light jobs for another week and that should allow him to have his full six week recovery period. Our winter in the islands will be shorter, but it cannot be helped. I will not be able to make the book signing but can only hope that we are able to re-schedule it for a later date.

Looking back on everything that I have written, perhaps our life wasn’t as boring as I thought. But I will try to do better and also to post some photos of our new “toy” .

Take care,
Heather & Murray
hard ashore