Log of SV Free Spirit and ships company

Luperon The Beginning ~ June 2009

2010-06-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

The beautiful animals that greeted us as soon as we came of the Government Dock (muelle in Spanish).

The boys playing foos ball at Steve's Place with the son of the owners (Steve & Annie), who's name is Joshua.

The busiest corner in Luperon, Motoconcho (Motorcycle Taxi) corner, as it is informally known as..

Tamer, getting a ton of attention for his incredible bicycle with a motor... Something they have never seen here!

Tamer, Nathalie and Christina overlooking the balcony at what used to be known as Andre's Place, but has since been closed down...

A new take on the 'Chocolate Truck" :-)

A tree growing out of the roof.. Hmmm... A new thing for us!

Splash is the Ice Cream Company here in the Dominican Republic. This truck drives around and sells ice cream sandwiches and Popsicle's. Generally, they power the little freezer with a small generator to provide power.

A beautiful picture of Lori and David off of Ubuntu, crossing Motoconcho corner headed to Andre's.

Nathalie, Christina and Lori enjoying good times and smiles with friends at Andre's.

Olivier and Tamer, in what appears to be a DEEP conversation!

A common sight in Luperon...

Christina leaving on a journey to explore 'the rest of' the Dominican Republic'.

Our favorite pig in her abandoned house cellar, she still lives here a year later with more babies than you can imagine over the course of the last year!

Drake and Valin climbing the rocks at Dog Walker's beach, just outside of opening of the Harbor.

Dylan from Ubuntu, jumping from the little cliffs on the same beach.

Have you ever seen a Motorcycle Driver haul a full sized washing machine? I challenge you to visit the Dominican Republic :-)

The women here, and especially the Haitian women, carry everything on their heads... Amazing if you think about how most of us have someone to carry even our grocery bags to/from the car!

The baseball field here in Luperon.. They take the game VERY seriously and are very good at it! The boys go in and play almost every Saturday with the locals and all the Gringos here in the Harbor.

Blayde and Bretton taking a walk...

This has to be the littlest lizard that I have ever seen! It is crawling up Drake's sleeve while we were eating with Bretton and Christina. We found a nice little roadside food stand that sold a plate of chicken (pollo), and plantains for 50 pesos ($1.40)!

Christina and Bretton hanging out for the weekly Jam Session at Shaggy's Barstool Sailor Bar, here in Luperon.

Raoul, jammin' with the locals!!!

A local veggie truck that travels around the town of Luperon and other close towns selling their farms' vegetables.

Bretton, on his way to another adventure, after his experience on Free Spirit! Thank you Bretton for all your energy, and time with us :-) We still miss ya....

"The Walk Of The Future Awaiting"

Coming Into Luperon ~ June 2nd, 2009

2010-06-30T18:44:00.000-04:00

In the distance here, you can see P'tit Louis's sails heading into Luperon Harbor... We were SOOOOO excited to see green topped mountain's!!

Land Ho!!

~Heading In~

Our first view of "Gringo Hill"... More later....

P'tit Louis waiting for us to enter the Harbor flying what we call their Apostrophe Sail.

The land around the entrance to the Harbor...

More land masses...

Our very first view of all the boats in Luperon Harbor! We were excited to be here for Hurricane Season :-) We never thought that we would have to wait out not only one, but 2 seasons.... Everything happens for a reason!!

Just a lil' birdie welcoming us to Luperon!

Ubuntu, waiting at anchor for us to enter the Harbor :-)

P'tit Louis, doing the same as Ubuntu... Waiting for us... Mind you, we were allowing them to both come in first :-)

Our first sunset in Luperon Harbor!

Turks & Caicos ~ May 2009

2010-06-30T18:13:00.000-04:00

P'tit Louis and Ubuntu bringing up the rear of the fleet coming into Provo, Turks & Caicos.

The shoreline near the port of entry...

P'tit Louis off the rear of our dinghy..

Bretton, keeping a constant lookout off the bow, for the many reefs and coral heads that litter the Turks & Caicos Islands.

The HUGE mud swirls left to the aft (rear) of Free Spirit after we got 'just a lil' bit stuck' heading to the Annex to tie up or anchor for our stay here in Provo.

Free Spirit ended up tying off to the concrete walls, so we could have our first SHORE time in a few months. P'tit Louis and Ubuntu ended up anchoring really close to us here in the Annex. The Annex was a Marina construction project that was halted due to permits/financial reasons. We were all able to stay here for free, and then we could take a 15 minute dinghy to Southside Marina for our shore needs.

Here is Olivier, taking a little spin on Tamer's awesome electric powered bicycle!

Simon and his wife at Southside marina, who manage the establishment took great care of us while we were there. Our major provisioning trip was a total of 5 grocery carts between the 3 boats. We had to all load into the back of a small pick up, along with all the provisions! What you need to keep in mind, is that the 5 carts of groceries had to all be labeled correctly so that we could sort it out and deliver it all to the proper dinghy's :-)

Olivier, David and Tamer... All Smiles!

Christina sitting with Kashara from Ubuntu at Southside Marina, probably waiting their turn to get on the internet! Factoid entry... The fabric that is on the cushions of that bench, is the same that I bought in Florida a year ago, to redo the cushions and curtains in Tamer and I's cabin.

Southside Marina, offering great cruiser support, dinghy dock, showers, laundry and internet....

The dinghy dock at Southside Marina; check out the color of that water!

Drake, Christina, Kashara, and Bretton riding in the back of the truck with 'I think' 5 other people...

Oh yeah, here are the 5 others... David, Blayde, Dylan, Valin and Tamer on the other side ;-)

After being in the Bahamas, where EVERYTHING is so expensive... For example, Cheeseburger $12, Loaf of bread $6, Cheese $5/lb, Beer $5 each... We treated the whole crew to a Chinese Restaurant dinner and a movie. Here is Christina "In True Awe" of the screen :-)

Christina, still learning the ropes (literally), with Tamer at the helm leaving the Turks & Caicos and headed for Luperon, Dominican Republic!

Transformers....

2010-06-19T09:07:00.003-04:00

Well, here is a techy bit.....We've been having suboptimal performance form our "smart" switchmode battery charger for some time now, so I've finally decided to take matters into my own hands.

The parts....about $150 USD. Notice the 12" tiles for scale.

Fortunately, in the DR, transformer and motor winding is not a black art and is a common streetside profession, so I have been able to gather the needed knowledge and materials easily.

Winding the 5ga solid secondaries was hard work, and assembling the hundreds of core laminates by hand was tedious, but....

We wound the transfomer and, lo and behold, it works! next comes high amperage testing and incorporating control circuitry.

4 hours later...

Tech Stuff:

3.6KVA

Dual 14ga Primaries:
110v and 80-154v , step 10v for universal voltage 80 - 154 and 190 - 264 v operation

Secondaries are 120+A rated 5ga
2 ea 16v and 2 ea 2v, for 16,18,22v (200A) and 32,36,40v (100A) configurations.

Assuming normal or low input voltages, swithcing the primary to higher voltage windings gives 4+ 1.2v downward output steps and one 1.2v upward (more steps with a reduced duty cycle) output step.

This gives a fine grained range of 11 - 23v at 200A in approx 1v increments and 27-41v at 100A.

To this manual (switch based) control, I will be adding an triac circuit to give fine grained voltage and current limit control.

Current events....

2010-06-10T07:37:00.004-04:00

For those who have tired of ancient history, I offer an insight into current events, although without much in the way of illustration.

We are working on the following projects....

Medical IT Contracting renewal (Laura, Tamer, And Chad back at the US Office)

Taxes and Bookkeeping (Laura, with help from our friends Vince And Pete)

Learning stuff, working like scurvy dogs, playing with the locals, and growing up (Drake, Valin, and Blayde)

Working on Project Blinding light, trying to secure equipment donations and facilitate importation (Tamer)

Developing sustainable tech for the 1st, second, and third world, currently seawater desalinization and windpower (Tamer, Valin, Blayde, Drake)

Developing potential commercial ventures, research into local commercial culture and local business practices/protocol (Tamer + Investors)

Continuing work on finishing Free Spirit's interior accommodations (Tamer, Laura, Valin, Blayde, Drake).....pictures forthcoming.

Thanks all for your patient readership....

The Caves On Crooked Island With Uncle Raoul

2010-04-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

Blayde, Christina, Kashara, Valin, Drake and Dylan off for a day of adventuring fun with Uncle Raoul.

Blayde, Raoul, Kashara, Valin, Drake, and Dylan donning swords like real pirates should.

Blayde just hanging from vines through the roof of the caves...

Christina's turn!

Raoul needed to take a turn as well!!

Kashara

The vines outside the cave....

Blayde, Valin, Dylan, Christina, Kashara and Drake

Beautiful girls! I miss you both sooo much!

I wish that I could have made it to the caves for this adventure...

New growth is a beautiful thing.

The beach outside the caves.

The Bird Rock Lighthouse ~ Crooked Island

2010-04-25T10:25:00.000-04:00

~Bird Rock Lighthouse~

Up close and personal.... I fell in LOVE with this place, and was ready to drop the hook and refurbish this lighthouse into a bed and breakfast.

Not only is it in a beautiful setting, but the island is the perfect size to live on.

Rusty stuff.... At least it was not on the boat ;-)

View from the base of the Lighthouse

View from the top of the Lighthouse

The edge of the island

The beach

The inside of the base of the unit was divided into 6 or 8 rooms that were fairly large.

The rickety, rusty, falling apart steps to the top of the lighthouse.

Mathieu coming to shore after some island snorkeling and spear fishing.

Valin, Kashara, Lori, and Christina, taking a break on the front steps.

My little friend :-)

Landrail Point, Crooked Island, Bahamas ~ 5-8 / 5-18 2009

2010-04-25T10:17:00.000-04:00

Just a little birdy...

Nathalie and the kitten that I think she would have loved to have brought back to the boat for Squat.

Local kids playing in town... This was the cleanest community we had visited in the Bahamas. The people here were very friendly and helpful with anything we needed.

The Gas Station

Tamer and I went out for a date night while we were here, and visited this little family run restaurant. When we arrived we were informed that they would not be open due to a birthday party they were having for a family member. But, they immediatly invited us to join them in their celebration, which turned out to be a full amazing dinner, and dessert. We also got to meet most of their family members, who were all kind and generous to us throughout our stay.

The smaller of the 2 grocery stores..

This is the local library, which we were never able to visit, because it was NEVER open :-)

Seaside Internet ~ Various Locations

2010-04-25T10:09:00.000-04:00

The internet table at Southside Marina Provo, Turks & Caicos

Our Beachside Internet at Sumner Point, Rum Cay

Raoul, Tamer, Me, Christina and Mathieu at the Nut House

Christina working diligently on the porch of the grocery store in Landrail Point.

Lori, David, Nathalie, and Dylan playing with kittens and surfin' the net, what could be better :-)

Rum Cay, Bahamas ~ 5-5 / 5-8 2009

2010-04-25T10:02:00.001-04:00

A small church in Rum Cay..

~Christina~

Rum Cay was a very small island community just North of Crooked Island. It was our second stop after leaving Georgetown. The first one was at Conception Island, which is a uninhabited Island. We ended up staying here for only 3 or 4 days. We had to wait for the delayed mail boat to arrive so we could buy some fresh provisions.

A little Bar/Restaurant on the beach by the main dock.

Rock carvings were all over the area surrounding the marina on the south end of the island.

Just hangin' out being crabby :-)

Christina snapped this picture, and I find it hilarious. It would really appear that Mathieu and Bretton are being arrested! Fortunately, this was not the case :-)

~Drake~

Sumner Point Marina was our Internet Cafe location here on the island. We had to pay $10 a day for it, so we would all take turns getting done what we needed to!

~UBUNTU~

2010-04-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

Our dear friends on Ubuntu; David(not pictured), Lori, Kashara and Dylan traveled with us from Georgetown all the way to Luperon, Dominican Republic. We had briefly met them in marathon, Florida before we headed to the Bahamas back in February. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend some time getting to know their family. They are a welcome addition to our Flotilla any day!

~Ubuntu~

David & Kashara helming us over closer to the Lighthouse at Landrail point.

Drake, Blayde, Valin, Kashara, Dylan and Lori

Bretton, getting in a little fishing on the short trip over. Because Ubuntu is a catamaran, they are able to travel over much shallower areas than us. We did not end up catching any fish this day, but the effort was there.

Drake and Dylan

Bretton and Mathieu in the cockpit of Ubuntu..

Getting ready to drop anchor...

Ubuntu at anchor, from the top of the Lighthouse.

Leaving Georgetown After 6 Weeks ~ Welcome Aboard Christina! 5-2-2009

2010-04-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

Our wonderful new crew member Christina, who joined us for our journey to the Dominican Republic. Here she is ready for her first time at sea, enjoying a cup of ginger tea. Of course after her first real experience battling sea-sickness, she told me she NEVER wanted to smell Ginger Tea again :-) Really, it was supposed to help.....

Christina with Finn and Maya of SV Traquility.

Blayde, Chillin' underway... It was so good to be moving again!

The Captain, all smiles, was happy to be moving again too!

Bretton, Christina and Valin watching for something that I do not recall...

I love this one!! Blayde and Valin enjoying a brotherly moment on deck.

This little bird joined us during our travels south, and stayed with the boat for quite a while. He found the steering wheel to be a comfortable resting spot.

Thank you Valin for finding the camera and capturing this moment, for all of us to enjoy!!

Tranquility Dolphin Fun ~ Georgetown April 2009

2010-04-25T09:25:00.001-04:00

These are all pictures of Finn & Maya swimming with dolphins off of Sand Dollar Beach, where we were anchored. There seemed to be 2 adults and one baby, and they were all in playful moods!

It was a beautiful experience to be a part of, even from the deck of Tranquility.

Family Island Regatta ~ Georgetown April 21-25 2009

2010-04-25T09:25:00.000-04:00

The Harbor filled up quickly with all the boats that are used for this local Annual Bahamian event. As you all know the blog has not been updated in quite some time, so for the next few posts there may be more pictures than writing. My memory is not quite as good as it once was :-)

All of these structures on the beach and jetty, are constructed solely for this event. The locals come ans set them up as little bars/restaurants.

Investigation of very important sea life!

The racing boats...

We met these crew of this particular boat while we were in Black Point a month or so previously.

Bretton was able to talk himself into a crew position on her for part of the race. A little different speed for him!

Navigating out of the crowded anchorage.

~Under sail~

The Regatta

"The Average Man's Hangout", seemed to have a few more women than men :-)

Potlucks And Other Relaxing Activities ~ Georgetown

2009-09-20T21:50:00.001-04:00

Drake enjoying his first overnight on another boat. He was invited to stay on Tranquility with Finn and Maya, and they had a BLAST!

2 of my greatest sailing friends; Leighia (SY Tranquility), and Lori (SV Ubuntu). Miss you both terribly!!

Drake, Leighia and Lori in the cockpit of Tranquility.

This picture was taken on our last night in Georgetown. Leighia and her family stayed, while we traveled on with Ubuntu the next morning. It is so easy to make close friends very quickly in the sailing community, but very hard to be continually parting ways.

Lori and I at one of our beach bonfire parties. I was glad that this shot was captured by Leighia, due to the fact that there are never very many shots of me. Check out the size of that fire in the background ;-)

Cam, from SY Tranquility watching the kids setting up the fire that was in the previous picture.

Lori & David..... Leighia & Cam.....
Beautiful laughter and smiles!!

Drake, Dylan, Blayde & Kashara in the fire light....

It took days for me to get all the sand out of Drake's hair from this particular "beach wrestling" event with Finn and Maya :-)

Valin, bless his heart, has the ability to fall asleep anywhere when he is tired. Just another hard day at the office, some would say :-)

Easter 2009

2009-09-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

The first clue for the hunt.... Tamer, Bretton and Matthew did a scavenger hunt for the boys on the island. There was an initial note to give them their first clue, and then about 6 more until they found the Loot. They had a blast!

Blayde setting the anchor for the dinghy, while his brothers get a head start.

Headed up the trail across towards the Atlantic side of the ocean. Because so much time has passed since my last post, I will remind you that we were still in Georgetown, Bahamas at this time.

Blayde's favorite egg! He colored it himself :-)

Teamwork is essential when everyone has to split the booty!!

We had planned for the evening a HUGE potluck to celebrate Easter with old and new friends in Georgetown. We ended up having 27 people aboard the 2 boats for dinner, music, fun and drinks.

There were a total of 12 kids on board for the festivities, and they got out the cards & poker chips and had some 'serious' fun :-)

Nathalie and some of our friends from various boats, it was a great time to be had by all.

Bow shot of the whole party! The only sad thing about this day was that this was the last day that we had the amazing Paul Wiley aboard Free Spirit. We have missed having him with us, but we know that he has moved on to even more success's in his life.

Project Blinding Light

2009-09-04T12:51:00.015-04:00

Ok, for those of you who have been following our progress closely, you may have noticed that we apparently dropped off the face of the map in the bahamas somewhere..... well, as most of you know, we are in the Dominican Republic now, and I (Tamer) have been quite preocupied with the local culture and working on our humanitarian goals. So, an update is in order on this front. Laura is preparing multiple posts about our life which you will be able to see soon, but for now let me bring you up to speed on one of our projects:

Unfortunately, A Common sight in the DR, a welder working without any eye protection.... note the sunglasses on the head. He has lost the ability to see in the dark, and now has trouble seeing his work with the sunglasses on.

Another welder working without eye protection, just before we interrupted him to show off the autodarkening helmet technology....

Here he is trying it on, with his employees standing by sceptically.....

And now trying it out. What I was too surprised to catch on film was that this guy actually started jumping around for joy. He had all of his employees try it out, and the reaction was contagious. Really, you had to be there. We had this reaction several times during the course of our survey operations in the rural areas, it was very gratifying.

One of many child - welders we encountered during our work. Here he is trying out the helmet. His smile was unforgettable.

Of the "talleres" visited that had safety gear, this was the norm. A regular welding lens with tape around it to keep it from breaking when dropped. Sometimes these were incorporated into a cardboard shield.

Another child welder trying out the helmet. This will change the course of their lives, as they will have a good chance of reaching adulthood with their vision intact. Most of them know of the danger, but ignore it because the basic needs of life seem more urgent.

More pictures of young workers....

One of the few shops we encountered with "correct" eye protection.... note the lack of any other safety gear. None of the helmets we encountered had head straps, save one or two. This reflects the habit of using the helmet in the hand, a problem that the autodarkening helmet makes irrelevant.

Our interpreter and cultural liason conducting one of the survey sessions. We used the survey both to collect information and to educate through the nature of the questions... such as "do you know that welding without the correct type of eye protection causes progressive and irreversible damage to your vision?" in this way we collected information while providing some in turn.

Tallying the information provided opportunities to conduct some computer user training , giving some spreadsheet and data entry experience to the translation staff.

Where sould we hook up to the powerline? How about here?

A home made welder, wound from salvaged starter motor wire. This one is actually adjustable for current output! They may not have a lot of money, but the Dominican welders are nothing if not resourcefull. How many welders do you know that make their own equipment from scratch?

Super high tech welding helmet? The state of the art in eye protection? No, just a darth vader halloween mask, but it is arguably better than nothing!

River crossing via raft... a tiny RO-RO ferry, powered by.....

This guy! he walks the raft across the river, while us passengers ride in comfort on the mezzanine deck.

(excerpted from the official literature)

Project Blinding Light
overview and outlook

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin being the other. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442km² and an estimated 10 million people.

The Dominican Republic has adopted a liberal economic model, which has made it perhaps the largest economy in the region. Though long known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. Unemployment, low income levels, and inconsistent electric and water service dominate an otherwise progressive and free economy.

According to the 2005 Annual Report of the United Nations Subcommittee on Human Development, the Dominican Republic is ranked #71 of 179 countries in the world for resource availability, #79 for human development, and #14 in the world for resource mismanagement. These statistics emphasize the state of affairs in a nation where economic distress is a fact of everyday life.

With an economy largely based on services, the economy of the Dominican Republic is especially sensitive to issues affecting leisure travel and tourism, and the recent global economic downturn has impacted Dominicans disproportionally. Currently, 53% of the population lives in poverty.

In the Dominican Republic, as in many other developing nations, steel fabrication and repair is a key industrial technology. Small scale fabrication and repair are very common cottage industries, with one or more “talleres de soldadura” or welding shops per thousand population being common in the rural northern region. A large portion of the goods manufacturing workforce in the country is employed in metal fabrication and repair, with an estimated 30,000 workers in cottage industry welding alone. This decentralized workforce is an economically important resource in a job scarce economy, and the services they provide are critical to the communities in which they operate. Unfortunately, vocational training is very limited here, and since most workers in the smaller welding shops receive little or no safety training, there is very little emphasis on safety equipment or vocational health.

Although welding and metalworking has one of the highest injury rates of any industrial profession, many welding shops in the Dominican Republic possess no actual safety equipment. Many welders pursue their trade without eye protection of any kind, and among those workers who do use eye protection, the most common equipment used is inexpensive sunglasses, some without ultraviolet protection.

Due to the frequent and serious nature of eye injuries, a disproportionate number of workers in this trade are young. Many are only children. New workers experience intense eye pain and irritation as a result of the repeated flash burns, but eventually they become more adjusted to the intense radiation exposure and the discomfort decreases. This leads to a mistaken belief that they are no longer being injured, and that they have “adapted” to the hazard.

Without adequate eye protection, welders can predictably look forward to repeated traumatic eye injuries from flying debris and molten metal, retinal and corneal burns, temporary flash blindness, night blindness, and cumulative permanent loss of vision. Without proper welding shades, workers cannot see what they are doing, and therefore they produce welds of consistently lower quality. This manifests itself in reduced product durability, higher repair costs, and shorter life cycles for rolling and fixed infrastructure. Without adequate protection, a high rate and severity of injuries can be expected, and in most cases the resulting medical costs are ultimately paid for by tax revenues. In this way the lack of eye protection in the welding trade has profound effects on the workers and a distributed, cumulative cost for the nation as a whole. While the nations occupational health department has strong, progressive policies regarding occupational safety, a lack of available revenue for oversight and enforcement makes a regulatory solution to this problem less than practical for the worker.

Though the safety issues confronting the Dominican welding industry are dire and costly, the solution is simple and relatively inexpensive – namely the use of eye protection. Though welding helmets are widely available in the Dominican republic, their rate of use is low, especially among the smaller cottage industry shops. Cost is a tangible issue for a device that seems to be optional and inconvenient to use as well. The welders that do use welding shades frequently make them out of cardboard, duct tape, and a piece of darkened glass. Because the use of a conventional helmet or shade prevents seeing the work prior to the illuminating effects of welding, the shades are typically held in the hand and used only after welding commences. This precludes their use in situations where both hands are required to hold the work, which is the case as often as not in the frequently improvised situations found in the developing world.

Not surprisingly, almost all of the welders surveyed in 100 shops polled knew that welding without eye protection puts them at risk for serious eye injuries and permanent vision damage. Unfortunately, the perception that welding helmets are too expensive, rarely usable, and at any rate slow to use seems to effectively offset these known risks among many of the workers.

Fortunately, there is a mature technology that is poised to change the situation of Dominican welders for the better – the auto darkening helmet. This sight saving technology has the advantages of being intuitive to use and obviously superior to older methods while enhancing productivity, quality and profitability. When auto shading helmets were demonstrated to many of the welding shops polled, we literally had grown men jumping for joy. It is intuitively obvious to almost all who try these helmets that they will be able to work faster, better, and with more comfort and safety. What is not obvious is that after using the helmet for a while, they will regain their sensitivity to flash burns... making the technology addictive as well, with a strong negative reinforcement for discontinuing use.

The key is that the autodarking helmet can be worn throughout the work cycle. When not welding, the lens acts as regular sunglasses, allowing a clear view of the work while providing comprehensive facial protection. When welding begins, the lens automatically changes to a much darker shade, allowing fully protected, clear viewing of the welding process. In this way, both hands are left free for use, and the welding process is entirely viewable without risk of injury. Welders no longer have to probe blindly and hope that the weld starts in the right place, and no longer risk flash burns by accidentally (or intentionally) viewing the arc. Once these type of helmets are recognized as an economic necessity due to their productivity enhancing nature, they can be afforded by any fiscally viable welding operation. The initial cost will be offset within a few weeks by increased work speed, less required rework, and reduced time lost due to the inevitable injuries of the trade.

The problem becomes one of getting the helmets into common use, viewed as a mandatory profit producing tool. Although the price for these welding helmets has dropped from over US$200 to as low as US$50 for inexpensive imported brands, just demonstrating the helmets is not enough for owner/operators who are lucky to take home US$300 a month after expenses.

Although these welding shops do not make much money by US standards, it was evident that significant investments had been made in quality equipment where the value to productivity was clear. Even many of the smaller shops have modern, professional quality, major brand equipment in good condition. Our project will donate auto darkening helmets to 100 welding shops, with the knowledge that they will quickly be viewed as important profit generating tools, thereby insuring their continued use. We are focusing on smaller, owner operated shops with smaller operating budgets, with the idea that the larger shops will follow suit as word moves up the economic ladder of the utility and profit enhancing ability of these devices. This win / win situation presents itself as an opportunity to plant some seeds and let the viral property of effective business practices take effect, as well as to create a market for these helmets, encouraging the sourcing and promotion of this as well as other important safety equipment.

By donating specialized, non consumable, non commodity equipment to a portion of the population that is already contributing to the economy, the value of the donation is realized over and over in the form of increased production, higher quality infrastructure, and decreased health care costs. Our philosophy is to create a situation where the value of the benefactors investment can be multiplied by the hard work and ingenuity of the beneficiary, encouraging small enterprise and reducing future dependency on outside aid.

Current Progress:

Phase 1:

We have located and surveyed 100 qualified small businesses in the welding fabrication and repair industry. This is harder than it sounds due to the lack of any type of directories and or business listings for these type of businesses. A physical, on location survey of all the towns, pueblos, and pueblitos within a 7000 square kilometer area was performed. We hired a Dominican woman as our translator and cultural liaison. The survey, conducted largely by motorcycle, over dirt roads and across rivers on improvised rafts, was completed at a total cost of roughly US$3000. Statistical data about safety knowledge, equipment, and business metrics was collected. A demonstration of the helmet technology was given, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. There was no perceived resistance to the idea of safety equipment, and the dangers of working without protection were acknowledged without a single exception.

Some interesting facts revealed during the survey process:

The average employees per shop was 3.18
100% were aware of the dangers of welding without eye protection.
46% reported having some type of eye protection.
83% reported frequently welding without eye protection.
40% had protective equipment visible in the shop.
0% had auto darkening helmets. Only a few were aware of the technology.
100% reported that they could produce higher quality, faster welds with auto darkening helmets after the demonstration.

After seeing the overwhelmingly positive, frequently ecstatic response to the technology and safety demonstrations, we are very optimistic about the potential positive results of distributing the helmets, and are now engaged in the critical second phase of the project.

Phase 2 :

Locate and secure the donation of auto darkening helmets to give to the 100 client 'talleres' (welding shops). Seek government cooperation to bring the donated equipment into the country at the lowest practical cost.

We are actively seeking the donation of 100+ auto darkening helmets for the client talleres (welding shops), and are working on solutions to ease the import duties on this donated equipment. We hope to secure the donation of high quality equipment from major US suppliers. Failing this, and although it our second choice by far, we have identified several Chinese manufacturers from which we can purchase acceptable quality equipment directly at low prices using donated funds. We anticipate the cost of this phase to be roughly US$500 if all of the equipment is donated, or US$3500 if we have to purchase the equipment ourselves.

Phase 3:

Distribute the helmets along with hazard awareness and safety training. Follow up over the next 3 months, performing data collection on usage statistics. After distribution of the equipment we will perform follow up surveys to measure the adoption of the technology and the purchase of additional helmets or safety equipment. We are currently researching the possibility of financing the startup of a duplicable microbusiness that would visit the welding shops as a trade route, vending all types of safety equipment as well as consumable supplies. In this way continuing safety education would be provided, as a sales tool, and access to safety equipment and trade supplies would be improved. A definite need for this type of service was perceived during the survey phase. A business such as this could supply much needed employment, while providing a self sustaining educational resource and an ongoing link to the client base to assess project success.

We anticipate the cost of distributing the helmets and training to be roughly US$2500. The main expenses will be in transportation, lodging, and food allowances. The follow up will cost roughly US$3000 for site visits and continuing education. Current plans call for long term continuing education and safety promotion to be provided by a self sustaining microbusiness entity.

So far we have collected (and mostly spent) about $3500 in donations and out of pocket funding, and a sincere thank you goes out to those who have helped us change these lives.

If you think you can help, post a comment with your ideas or donate through our donate button on the left coulumn of the blog

Ubuntu Part 2

2009-08-27T20:45:00.002-04:00

Thanks everyone for your generous support of Ubuntu!! It is such a blessing to be surrounded by so many loving people in this `small` world!

With love,

The Smyth Family

Drake And Maya Up The Mast

2009-07-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

Drake had been begging to go up the mast for a really long time, so today was the day. Blayde hauled him up in the Bosun's Chair, and then Drake had to climb out of the chair onto the spreader bars and then into the crow's nest. I had to pretend it wasn't really happening :-) He was SOOOO proud of himself!!

Heading up....

Coming down....

I am sad that I could not get better pictures of Maya up the mast because it was dark. As I have said before on the blog, Maya and Finn from SY Tranquility are little monkeys. It was after our Easter Potluck party that she decided to give the crow's nest a try. If you look closely, you can see her little 7 year old legs dangling to the left of the right light. We ended up drawing the line at the spreader bars, and did not allow her to climb into the crow's nest.

Leigha, on the left, watches with apprehension.....

Oh ya, did I forget to mention that she went up and back down the mast by herself, and by hand up the lines next to the mast? It was amazing to watch!!

Provisioning And Shore Fun

2009-07-21T20:10:00.000-04:00

A really wet, uncomfortable dinghy ride to shore to provision. Nathalie is the Queen of her hard dinghy!

Generally when Nathalie and I go to shore to 'provision', it is an all day affair, whether we like it or not :-) We would need to provision (sometimes at as many as 4 or 5 stores). Do all the laundry and haul it back wet to dry on the boat. Get any internet business/pleasure done at the little internet place, get phone cards for the cell phones, get drinking water (in large quantities), carry and haul gasoline and diesel.... etc.... On this particular day Matthew had come to shore with an extra dinghy for the loads of stuff, and ended up taking a nap while he waited around for us!

Just a few of the bags of groceries waiting to be put into the dinghy.

The groceries above were purchased at the store across the lake, so Nathalie walked back to the dinghy dock and came to retrieve me.

Hmmmm.. I wonder how much more we can fit in here :-)

During one trip Valin joined us, and found a cool sea slug in the water by the dock. Be sure to never to set them out of the water onto a wooden dock for only about 60 seconds. It left a weird blue stain behind when we picked him up to put him back in the water.

Campfire Nights & Beach Parties

2009-07-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

Our favorite campfire beach in Georgetown, was just East of our anchorage and was named Sand Dollar Beach. There was a great fire pit, benches, a even a picnic table. There were quiet nights on the boat that we could see huge bonfires on the beach. Sometimes we would have to dinghy on over to shore to see what was going on!

Bretton and Blayde enjoying the fire...

I have discovered that Nathalie is a borderline pyro ;-) She LOVES to manage the fire, and while doing that it also tends to get bigger, bigger and bigger!

The potluck table, just getting started.....

Blayde, Paul, Valin, Drake and Oscar, just chillin'.

Valin, Blayde, Paul, Oscar, Drake, Catherine and Bernard, waiting for sunset and a great fire.

The boys had a great time playing with Oscar, who is from New York and does not live on a boat. They were even able to convince him to explore in the woods off the beach in search of land crabs.

This was one of the most enjoyable bon fire nights in Georgetown. We met Bernard, Catherine and Oscar in a little restaurant, and invited them over for the evening. They also came by one day, saw Free Spirit and then took the boys for an afternoon of power boating, snorkeling and swimming.

Yet another beautiful night... Paul was teaching Blayde some basics about guitar playing. My favorite times are on a beach, around a camfire with music.

Conditioning The Rigging

2009-07-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

We undertook the project of completely reconditioning the rigging while we were sitting in Georgetown. This was a huge job and everyone contributed to it's success! All the shrouds needed to be treated with a pine tar solution 3 times. Drake is on "drip patrol" in the above picture... This was actually an important job, as there were tons of them and they would leave a sticky black goo everywhere.

Here is Paul, just hanging out with a pail of Pine Tar, Linseed Oil and Japan Dryer. I think that this job needs to be highlighted on Dirty Jobs! Wow, that all even sounds Greek to me and I can make it :-)

Bretton took on the Carpenter's job of sanding down, oiling and reconditioning the spars and blocks. He took them all apart and made sure they were stout and did not need any new pieces parts. Everything looked so fresh and so clean!

They all had to be removed, taken apart, and then soaked for 2 days in linseed oil. I think that Bretton still smells like Linseed!

Local Places In Georgetown

2009-07-21T13:15:00.000-04:00

This beautiful sign greeted us every time we braved the wet dinghy ride to head to town! This pic and the following one are borrowed from Ubuntu....

This sign was near the Internet and laundry places in town. The Bahamas never failed to be lively and full of color!

The sunset from a little resort/restaurant/bar called St. Francis. We would also stop in here to use the limited internet access they provided. (On Bahamian time, of course)...

Some sea kayakers came in for a drink, and I jut liked the view, so I had to take a picture.

One day Nathalie and I decided to hitchhike out to the Veterinarian and hardware store about 4 miles out of town. We got a ride to the Vet, who was not there, and then we walked across the street to the Police Station to use the bathroom. While we were talking with the Sergeant on duty, she offered for us to leave all our extra stuff to walk to the hardware store. On the way there we saw this sign ~ need it say more?? After shopping there, we hitchhiked back, pcked up our stuff and returned to Georgetown. A small but fun adventure!

Fun At The Beaches In Georgetown

2009-06-22T19:25:00.000-04:00

Only in a community of cruiser's would you find a buoy being used as a swing :-)

Awwww, isn't that sweet??? His brother completely buried him in the sand....

Ok, that's it, it's payback time!!

My Drake, you have grown so much in the past hour! The sand here was perfect for all beach activities.

One evening we went to shore at Sand Dollar Beach and saw TONS of this little trails all heading towards the brush line. Upon close inspection we discovered TONS of hermit crabs that must have been seeking protection. It was really neat to watch how organized and systematic their behavior was.

They were super cute too!

Matthew was by far the best conch shell blower that I have heard yet. This was one of our many beach campfire nights.

Our dear friend Leigha from 'SY Tranquility', on which she sails with her family; Cameron, Mia (7) and Fynn (5). I have a short story to share about the start of our frienship with her and her wonderful family. When we were in Annapolis for one night last October, just before the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, we saw a beautiful steel boat anchored in the harbor there. We all noticed that there were the cutest little boy and girl aboard who were climbing and swinging from every available line in the rigging. I mentioned to Tamer that they must have been raised on board the boat and that the family would probably be fun to get to know. The next morning we headed North, and really did not think of them again. Fast Forward to February when we arrived in Marathon to provision for the crossing to the Bahamas. We are going through the mooring field with the dinghy, and we see this beautiful steel boat..... Low and behold it is Tranquility, laid in our path once again. We met them at the weekly potluck on shore, and before we even knew what boat they are from, we hit it off. Anyhow... They were planning on leaving the next day, so we took the few minutes we could and were really sad to see them go. 2 months later they ended up sailing to Georgetown completely unexpectedly, and they were as surprised to see us, as we were to see them! We had a great time getting to know them better!! The cruising community is really quite small on the grand scheme of things.

Georgetown Exumas, Bahamas ~ The Beginning ~ March 19th

2009-06-22T18:45:00.000-04:00

Our very first view of Georgetown Harbor... We had spent 3 weeks in the Bahamas at this point and never shared an anchorage with more than about 30 boats, so this was overwhelming! We arrived right after the Georgetown Cruising Regatta, so there were only about half the boats there that had been anchored just the previous week. I was super excited for the boys to have the chance to meet and spend time with other cruising kids!
Most of the boats anchored on the East side, which is on Stocking Island, it is also the same side as The Monument, Hamburger Beach, The Chat N Chill, St Francis Resort & Marina, and Sand Dollar Beach. Georgetown was about a 20 minute Dinghy ride towards the West on the mainland.

Our first sunset, off the stern of the boat, was rejoiced by numerous conch shell calls as the sun dipped behind the horizon. It is a cruisers custom that I was never aware of until our time in here in the Bahamas.

Our first day ashore was also Tamer and I's 24th Anniversary... It was so awesome to celebrate in such a beautiful place :-) After the scheduled 'adults' volleyball at 2pm, all the kids gather to play their own no holds barred games.

The boys were just happy to be hanging out and playing ashore with new friends.

Drake, enjoying the tree swing...

And being as high up as I would allow him to go in the tallest tree around! "But Mom, the view is so cool from up here, and I will be fine." :-)

Paul, Matthew and Bretton having some fun of their own with Andei, further down the beach in front of Chat & Chill.

The intense color of the water here never ceased to amaze me! My amazing Captain and I escaped for a little date for our first trip to Georgetown proper.

Birdies resting at the Dinghy dock at Exuma Markets.

Birthday's & Celebrations

2009-06-21T20:06:00.001-04:00

I guess that I must have put this one in as a celebration of Squat going where no cat has gone before :-) Olivier is attempting to retrieve her from the back of P'tit Louis.

Often, during celebrations on Free Spirit, guests cannot stop themselves from climbing the mast and getting into the Crow's Nest. Here is a fine example by Michael who was on the boat for a potluck with his wife Cate, from their boat "Renaissance".

Michael did not manage to make it into the Crow's Nest, but did get to the spreader bars by hand. Bretton also took this opportunity to cross between the two masts on the tweenstay to celebrate his 3 months aboard Free Spirit Good job guys!

Matthew, just having a great time as he always does!

Bretton, Michael and Cate enjoying the time to meet and make new friends.

Paul never failed to entertain us with his great musical talent. Fellow cruisers would even ask him where his guitar was when they would visit the boat. Thank you Paul for all the great times!

Nathalie, Connie, Joanne and I all went to shore this day in Little Farmer's Cay. Connie's husband Walt and Joanne's, Georges stayed back on the boats. It was definitely one of my favorite places in the Bahamas. Connie was treated like a princess, as it was her birthday! She got a free drink at the little bar (Maybe 80 sq ft.), and a piece of cake from the proprietor of the Ocean Cabin Restaurant and Bar. Our couple of hours ashore sent us all home happy and laden, with ice, eggs and rum :-)

That night we had a potluck on the 2 boats and celebrated Connie's birthday again. While us ladies were in town, each of the boys made her something special from their treasures. She had tears in her eyes when we all sang Happy Birthday, and said that it was one of the best birthdays ever! One thing that is really special about the cruising community, is that you can meet and spend only a few hours with someone, and establish wonderful friendships.

The Travels To Georgetown

2009-06-20T12:14:00.000-04:00

The boats; P'tit Louis & Free Spirit anchored together somewhere off of White point. We all enjoyed some shore excursions, swimming and spear fishing here.

Nathalie coming back down the mountain that we never made it to the top to, because her, Olivier and the boys all said that it was way to hard to make it to the Atlantic side on this particular island.

Drake, just chilling out and cooling off :-)

I will never get over how gorgeous the layers of color the water offered in the Bahamas. It was like waking up in paradise~Every day!

Nathalie and I went on shore here, in Little Farmer's Cay with Joann from 'Enigma" and Connie from 'Summer of 42'. It happened to be Connie's birthday and this small community of about 55 residents were very welcoming. We were able to buy a few provisions, but better than that Connie was treated like a celebrity because of her birthday.

I was impressed by the local fisherman's catch for the afternoon. Maybe we should have paid them for some lessons??.....

Don't you wish that all businesses could advertise this way??

:-)

The view from the one restaurant on the island.

We were presented with this the next morning as we headed for Georgetown, Exumas. I have always felt as though a rainbow in our path was our dear and departed Gram showing us that the path was safe.

Auntie Nina's Smore's Night

2009-06-19T23:36:00.000-04:00

This is my first opportunity to display my fascination with campfires... I feel that it must be all the time I spent around the campfire as a kid growing up. Most of the time that you are in the company of friends around a fire; there are great memories made, and lots of silent thoughts while staring into the images that the flames make.

This particular night, we made the campfire ashore to enjoy and celebrate with instructions from Auntie Nina (Gina). She provisioned us in Marathon in February with enough marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers to have an indulgent night of smores!

~Matthew and Bretton~

~Blayde~

Tamer, Paul, Olivier and Nathalie enjoying the evening of smores and serenity.

Here is Drake concentrating very hard on fitting as many marshmallows (per Auntie Nina's instruction), as he could fit on his stick at one time :-)

Valin, contemplating whether to lick all the remaining marshmallow off, or to wash it in the surf.

Auntie Pat's awesome 'frocs' (fake crocs), with beautiful decorations. For everyone who wears or wants to wear them, the Avon ones are the best! I think that after all this time on the boat, I have tried them all, and these are the most supportive and comfortable. Although, I must admit they are the only ones (because of the fake jewels on the back), that will rust after a short time in a salt water environment. Hmmmm... Maybe I need to plead for more :-)

The Day's Catch (or salvage) In Staniel's Cay

2009-05-27T14:58:00.005-04:00

Although Blayde may have a strange face... If you were holding a fillet from a 10 foot Bull Shark, you may have one too! Paul, Bretton and Matthew met some local fishermen, who said that we could take whatever meat we could use from the shark. They kill the shark to prevent any dangerous situations for tourists, but due to their local beliefs, are unable to eat them. We enjoyed the feast though!

Here is what we got, before cutting it into usable meat.

Another of the local catches is Conch (pronounced Konk), and if your harvest it and pound it a lot is a real treat!

A day's catch from spear fishing and diving; Lobster and fish! What an amazing gift from the ocean!

Isn't she beautiful???

White Point, Bahamas 3-17/3-19

2009-05-17T16:20:00.006-04:00

One day we were able to take a little trek around the uninhabited area of Black point Island with Nathalie and Olivier. These particular flowers are not that amazing, until you consider that they are growing alone out of pure rock face. To me they were very strong to have overcome all the obstacles to come alive!

This is something that I will not even try to explain.... It overwhelms me...
The trash in this very small area was shocking, and it was the worst that we saw in all of the Bahamas. It is obvious that this area is not frequented by the locals!

I will be the first to admit that Tamer had a hard time dealing with the fact that he had run out of French Vanilla creamer for his coffee. This was all I had to offer him in his time of need, so I did :-) In reality, the trash that came into the little harbor here was absolutely disgusting. I was shocked by how much of it must of come from really far away.

Here is looking out over the West side of the Island. This is the beach where we would land and have our campfires. I was unable to fit Free Spirit into this picture, but P'tit Louis is gorgeous in the anchorage.

Some of the scenery from the West side of the island, also the Atlantic side, which is much more aggresive on the terrain than the Bahamas Banks.

The Mushroom :-)

A scenic picture of the Atlantic side.

And yet another, although if you look carefully to the middle of the right side of the picture, you will see Nathalie and Olivier from P'tit Louis.

Sing the tune everybody..... "I'm a model, you know what I mean, I do my little dance on the white rock" :-)

Nathalie in a field of ???? Overlooking that West side of the island.

Free Spirit and P'tit Louis rafted together, with one of their dinghy's headed out to pick up crew for the bon fire... A later post...

Free Spirit Update ~ May 6th, 2009

2009-05-06T17:28:00.004-04:00

Hello Dear Readers!!

I wanted to put this post in and give everyone a brief update of where we are in our travels. I know that the blog tends to lag a bit, and not stay on real time. Hence is the life of sailors :-) Since we have been in The Bahamas, our internet has been very limited. But, whenever I have the chance, I do a few posts to keep everyone updated. I am sure that you are all wondering 'where we actually are'.

Right now I am sitting in paradise, outside at a picnic table, on the island of Rum Cay. The town has around 60 full time residents, a marina, 2 very small grocery stores, and a few scattered businesses. I have spent the day off the ship, to catch up with internet business, and for the blog, pleasure as well. The breeze has been blowing steady all day, just enough to keep you cool. The only sounds I hear are, gulls calling, fish jumping, nurse sharks hunting, and water lapping at the shore. I am only briefly interrupted by the welcome conversation of fellow cruisers sharing their sea travels. It is at times like this that I wish so desperately to be able to share this experience with you all, in person.

We are slowly making our way to the Dominican Republic to spend the Summer months for hurricane season. We plan on doing some yearly maintenance to Free Spirit as well as some exploration off the boat, to explore the sights there. We are all practicing up on our Spanish, and really look forward to experiencing the culture of their country.

The crew and family of Free Spirit are doing very well, and are finding a rhythm to create harmony in our new lifestyle. The hardest adjustment has been to not be in constant vacation mode. Although the boat has been the vehicle to take us to all these amazing locales, it is also our home. At home, there are still all the same day to day tasks that we all have. But.... With a twist....

Dishes/Water ~ On the boat we are always in water conservation mode. We attempt to only do the dishes once a day to help with this effort. All the water must be heated, as we do not have a water heater. We have managed to get our water usage down to about 6 gallons a day for the 7 of us. If we have all of our fresh water tanks full, this gives us about 23 days of water. To refill the water, one must take a dinghy (usually towing a dinghy) to shore to fill the jugs. Then, after returning we have to hook up the water transfer pump, which requires the generator to be running to get the water into the tanks. All the water we bring aboard also needs to be treated with a very small amount of bleach. The toilet is flushed with only sea water, but our showers are limited to about 2 a week. Keep this in mind the next time you hear a faucet running for no reason :-)

Laundry ~ I know that I did a brief post on laundry in Marathon already, but some of you may not have seen it. Although I have toyed with the idea of doing the washing by hand, it would require a huge percentage of our fresh water to accomplish it. We generate about 8 loads a week for the 7 of us. To make a trip to do the laundry, the laundry must first be gathered and sorted. Then after being stuffed into duffel bags, each must be put into a trash bag to keep it dry on the round trip dinghy ride. Usually, the dinghy ride is about 20-30 minutes each way. Once on shore the bags have to be nicely stacked on a wheeled cart to be taking to the closest Laundromat. Due to the high cost of drying here in the Bahamas, all the laundry has to come back to the boat wet. Then for a day or a day and a half it has to be hung out on all available lines to be dried. Then, as for everyone else, folded and put away. Think of me the next time you throw a basket of laundry in the washer/dryer :-)

Grocery Shopping ~ Did you know that sealed pasta in plastic bags is not water resistant? Really, the provisioning is not to terribly different from shopping ashore. Although, the prices here in the Bahamas are extremely high, and most fresh items are not readily available. What is tricky, is not having much refrigerator space in a tropical climate. I do have a 5 cubic foot freezer aboard, so I am able to stock up appropriately on meat products. Usually a provisioning trip is paired with laundry/water/fuel. Nathalie and I are becoming experts on just how much of a load her dinghy pulling an inflatable dinghy can handle. I have started to bake all of our bread products due to the higher prices and availability. This includes our bread, pretzels, english muffins, cakes, pan bread, pita bread, corn/flour tortillas, cookies, etc. My next tackle is learning how to do bagels! If we are doing any extensive traveling, I have to plan what will keep ok until the next provisioning point, which we sometimes do not know. The idea of running down to the store to grab a few things is now alien to me :-)

Just a sampling of a day in the life of cruisers..... Love to all!
Laura

'Underwater Workin'

2009-05-06T17:27:00.000-04:00

Part of our mission to help people, was tested when Tamer and Olivier took on the task of helping a fellow boater replace one of the props on his catamaran. I was glad that the camera was not forgotten, so I could share with you. Of course, as I am not the one diving and replacing props, I am not sure of the details of the task. But, what I do know is, they were able to take an afternoon and fix everything good as new!

Olivier wanted to be sure that I shared the ones with Tamer 'chained up'. He needed the extra weight to keep him down under the water.

Good job guys!! I am super proud of them!!

Staniel's Cay

2009-05-06T17:20:00.000-04:00

I always hope that my fascination of sunsets do not bore our visitors... I feel that they are really just too beautiful not to share :-) Many times we arrive at a new anchorage just before sunset, and this time is savored.

Looking out across the Exuma Banks just off of Staniel's Cay.

We did not spend a lot of time in the community of Staniel's Cay, but what we did have time to see was beautiful.

Bretton and Matthew doing coral head watch while we looked for a good place to anchor for the afternoon at Thunderball Grotto.

Just off the dinghy dock, there were tons of Nurse Sharks swimming around looking for scraps from the fishing boats. At first, I was a little intimidated, but soon learned that they are harmless to humans.

Just a little slice of the flavor of the community.

The anchorage that we stayed at for the few days we were there, was just north of the town and Thunderball Grotto. One of the things that the island near our anchorage is famous for are the wild pigs and goats. We would see the goats occasionally, but as soon as we got the dinghy close to shore, they would run and hide.

Unlike the swimming pigs!! They are trained enough to know that if you are coming to see them, you MUST be bringing them some sort of food.

As soon as this one heard our motor, she started swimming towards the dinghy sniffing around.

Of course, we brought some old produce and scraps to feed her, so she was not disappointed :-)

Mind you, although pigs are generally friendly, she was aggressive and big enough, that even the boys were slightly nervous to get too close.

After 'playing' with the pig for a while, we headed up the cliff behind the beach and did some exploring. The view was amazing! We were anchored just behind the tree on the right side of the picture.

Exploration is a huge part of learning...

Another view from the top.... The family that came just after us (on the lower left hand side of the picture) had some treats for the pig as well. But, when they started to get close to the beach, the pig actually tried to jump inside their dinghy a few times! The ladies aboard were having a harder time seeing the humor in this situation than we were :-)

Matthew, Paul and Bretton doing some small cave exploration with P'tit Louis' metal dinghy.

A pic of my little angels!

Thunderball Grotto ~ Staniel's Cay

2009-05-06T16:57:00.000-04:00

Here we are getting ready to snorkel the world famous Thunderball Grotto. It is the setting for some select scenes of a few different movies, including the James Bond movie 'Thunderball'.

It is a under/above water cave that you can swim into during the low tide. During high tide, it is possible to get in, but the current is really strong during the changing of the tides.

It was by far the most amazing underwater scenery and sea life that we have yet to see. There were hundreds of fish of many different varieties.

Due to the fact that we definitely have a lot to learn on fish identification, I cannot tell you what types these were. But, there were toms of them!

This is the view of the 'ceiling' of the cave from inside.

Coral

Sea fans

There is sooo much variety and intensity of the colors underwater...

Fellow adventurers.

The fish are really used to people, and would swim right up to you to say hello.

This was one of the few smaller entrance/exits to the cave.

Bretton took this shot looking from inside, to us outside in the open water.

It was an amazing afternoon, and we all had an amazing time!

Black Point To Staniel's Cay (Key)

2009-04-14T16:09:00.001-04:00

P'Tit Louis will have all the attention in this post, because we had the opportunity to take lots of pictures of her :-)

We are winning the race, but just barely!

Olivier and Valin, with Paul at the helm rush past Free Spirit.

Ah, but wait a second..... As soon as she attempted to pass us, we stole her wind, with our sails and we raced ahead!

Bretton took this one from the crow's nest.

and this one too! I thought that this picture was unique because of the shadow in the water. He tried to get one of our shadow too, but was not able... I never cease to be amazed that we can move our home, with all her belongings, and a crew of 7, by capturing the power of the wind. Of course there are days that we must motor sail to reach a destination, but we try not too.

Nature In Black Point

2009-04-14T15:40:00.000-04:00

Tropical Paradise.... So Far!

There were a group of butterflies wildly eating the flowers on the edge of the road. They were beautiful!

Take a load off :-)

The beach overlooking the harbor where we were anchored. Directly across from the calmness of the beach here, is the Atlantic side of the island, which is vastly different.

A walk about a mile to the left of the dinghy dock, there was this sign. We had heard through the grapevine about the blow hole, but were surprised by how it was!

A few hundred feet from the road, we came upon this seashore, next to the blowhole. The contrast from the Exuma Banks water was amazing.

Here is the Blow Hole! Empty of course... It was quite remarkably that the ground that surrounded the opening was more than a foot deep with this seaweed type growth. Outside of that, it was really desert like.

Thar she blows!

Just a big rock... Mathew, Paul, Andee (a friend of theirs), and the boys had a great time exploring this area.

Because the tide was coming in, the hole would blow water out about every 20 or 30 seconds. By the time we left, they were all soaked to the bone. Thank goodness that it is so sunny and warm here :-)

Up the coast a little ways, the boys found tiny little pools that were chock full of hardened salt crystals. Valin collected some for me to use in my cooking. I love fresh sea salt, it is the best :-)

Black Point, Exumas, Bahamas

2009-04-11T15:25:00.000-04:00

Adderley's Friendly Store..... The Settlement of Black Point has a population of less that 200, and is full of wonderful people. The mail boat arrives here once a week, so when you see it come in to the dock in the harbor, you know that it is time to rush to the store to get the freshest vegetables, fruits, eggs and meat. What you find the most in the smaller places is potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, bananas, plantains, eggs, pork and lamb. They also have a small selection of canned and boxed goods. The prices here are at a minimum, twice as expensive as in the states, except for some of the meat.

Lorraines Cafe is owned by a wonderful woman named Lorraine and ran by her and her family. She also offers Internet for donation only. While in Black Point we began to practice some of the humanitarian efforts we have been so excited about. Tamer and Olivier spent about 12 hours total here fixing their Ice Maker, Big Cooler, and the network for the wireless internet. We received in return some of the best bread we have ever eaten made by Lorraine's mother.

This is the Police Station....

and next door is the jail....

One of the things that is not lacking here in the Bahamas is COLOR! It is everywhere, and makes everything sooo happy :-)

A beautiful, small house.

There is a local gentleman here that has created an entire "Garden Of Eden" out of Driftwood. This picture does not do justice to his artistic talent and diligence.

While we were here, the school had it's annual fundraiser. They were playing music, games, and selling a small selection of food. I was talking with one of the locals, and she said that they raised about twice as much money as they were expecting. All of the funds went directly to the operation of the school, and for materials. It was a fun event to be a part of!

Coming Home To P'Tit Louis ~ March 5th, 2009

2009-04-11T15:08:00.003-04:00

We did a 34 hour trip from Bimini to about 5 miles north of P'tit Louis and dropped anchor there for the night. It was not recommended that we attempt the entrance to Black Point at night. The next morning, it was as if we could not sail fast enough, and that 5 miles seemed like and eternity!

Our first sighting of Black Point!

And of P'tit Louis with a full crew, along with our great friends Kimberly & Bruce of Nice & Easy.

Fendered and ready to raft up to them our Starboard to their Port.

It was so surreal to meet up with them here in The Bahamas, as we had been planning and working towards this for 2 years. There were times when we felt that we would never actually leave and meet this goal!

Blayde, Valin and Drake are on the bow line, Paul on the spring lines, and Olivier, Nathalie and Matthew ready for action.

Immediately after we were safely rafted (tied) together; Patrick, Katherine and Rupert of Noka came aboard to join the welcoming party. Rupert was really excited to see Free Spirit (The boys) again :-) There were hugs, kisses and tears during this reunion, and we were all really happy to see each other, and to meet in this Island Paradise!

Blayde and Rupert having a bonding moment!

Safely together again in the harbor in Black Point, Exumas, Bahamas.

Bimini, Bahamas, Our First Stop

2009-04-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

I feel that I have failed all of our loyal followers by only having this one picture of Bimini..... We checked in, paid our dues and cleared customs here on March 1st, 2009. We were well prepared, and had all of our paperwork in order, so it was quick and painless. When you are arriving into the Bahamas by boat, you have to fly a Q (Quarantine) Flag until everything is in order. The Captain is the only person authorized to leave the vessel, and upon his return we were able to lower the Q Flag, and raise our Bahamian Flag. We only stayed here for 2 nights and then we headed to meet P'tit Louis in Black Point.

WE ARE HEEEERREEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Day In The US ~ February 28th, 2009

2009-04-11T14:40:00.000-04:00

It is pretty interesting that the few pics that I have of our last night in the United States, are of the boys playing and wrestling on the back deck. I am usually cooking up a storm of sea worthy foods for hours before we hit any significant seas. It is also impossible to capture the emotions that were running through all of us on film. Excitement, amazement, apprehension, sadness, happiness a slight fear of the unknown.....

It looks like Blayde may have been getting the raw end of the deal in this match :-)

The last sunset on US soil that Free Spirit will see for an undetermined amount of time.

Calm seas and beautiful skies, what a perfect way to launch for such a journey.

All of us were excited that we would rise with the next sunrise in the Bahamas!

Key West Sunset Festival

2009-04-05T18:30:00.001-04:00

Bretton and Trisha happy on the way to shore to get down to Key West for the day!

Paul, with stars in his eyes for Key West!

Nana, exhibiting a positive attitude for the 2 mile ride to shore. The dinghy ride is always the longest part of a shore excursion! It can be wet, long and loud ;-)

Drake and Valin take a moment to play tourists in Key West!

Now it is Valin and Blayde's turn! I still cannot figure out how that small amount of allowance turned into ice cream and bags full of goodies :-)

Ok, now Paul I think we need to have a little talk...... Although Valin looks as shocked as might be expected :-)

This kind gentleman was posing as a movable statue in uniform. He would hand down suckers or little flage to passer-byes. He was there to represent the heroes that are fighting and protecting our country overseas. Thanks to all of you!

Trisha and Blayde watching the magician...

Nana, Valin and Drake watching the same magician from the other side of the crowd.

Sailboats approaching the sunset from the Sunset Festival in Key West.

~Sunset~

Marathon

2009-04-02T15:00:00.001-04:00

So I welcome you dear blog readers, to take a moment and think about the process you have to go through to do your household laundry.... We had been away from facilities for a while, and had accumulated 13 days worth of laundry for 7-8 people. Although we are conservative with our clothing, as you can see, this can amount to an enormous amount of laundry. Aside from the fact that the dinghy was plum full, we had a 4 mile round trip dinghy ride (1 hour + fuel), 2 one way cab trips, a brisk walk to the store for laundry supplies, the cost of washing in Marathon (more than anywhere I have been yet), and the labor involved for all the above. Thankfully I had the help of my mom, but in the end was out about $100! I can assure you though, that the boat smelled way better when I returned :-)

On Febuary 9th, I went up to Miami to provision the ship for leaving the country. Terrie and Robbie from Wahine came down from Labelle for one last visit, and to take me up there for all this crazy shopping. I had been compiling the list for weeks to insure that we would have everything thing we could possibly need at least through the Bahamas. Of course, we have needed to restock on perishables and meat. About 1/4 of what is here is non-food items that become next to impossible or too expensive to replace in the islands.

We filled not only the whole back of the truck under the cover, but also the back seat of the crew cab! Gina and Bobby came down to the dock we were parked at to offload the provisions. It took me a "few" days to repackage andcreativly store everything safely in the boat.

While we were waiting for parts and weather we had a great time in Marathon. It was great to spend some quality time with old friends and have the time to make some great new ones. Gina and Bretton above, taking a break from dancing.

Paulo Suave to you, my dear :-)

Gina girl helming Free Spirit to Sombrero Key, a snorkeling spot a couple hours sail from Marathon (Boot Key Harbor).

Our new and wonderful friend Erin, introduced to us through Bretton. Hey girl, you are welcome aboard for a visit with us anytime!

Bobby, Gina's new boyfriend, contemplating the confusion of the Gaff Rigged Schooner :-)

~Teamwork and Friendship~

Bobby and Gina enjoying the sail home....

Gina's friend Jackie and Mom, full of smiles and sunshine.

Drake, taking his job of helming VERY seriously!

Bretton, Erin and the boys really enjoying the Ripley's Beleive It Or Not book of wierdness :-)

My young man is growing up sooooo very fast!

Sunset just before the bridge to enter Boot Key.

Day Sail To Little Africa ~ Dry Tortugas

2009-04-02T13:50:00.001-04:00

We brought aboard 5 campers from the small campground at Fort Jefferson for a day sail and snorkeling at Little Africa Reef. It is located on the far side of the lighthouse island about 5 miles from Fort Jefferson. Only a couple of them had kayaks, so it was great to take them along for the adventure. They all enjoyed helping with the raising and lowering of the sails and anchors for the trip.

Workin' hard!

The boys were able to take a small break this trip, due to all the extra deckhands.

Dez, climbing the aft mast to....

check out the view from the Crow's Nest.

Lighthouse Island

Bretton, bringing the camera to Dez....

For this adventure, we had 12 of us in the dinghy and the kayak; along with all of our water bottles, life jackets and snorleing gear. Our little 2 hp motor worked at least quadruple time to get us all a bit closer to the reef from Free Spirit.

Big, big shells

I was disapointed that this picture was a bit blurry, but I had just taken it out of the water. Bretton AKA The Great Snorkle Monster of the Dry Tortugas :-)

~Beachcombing~

A few underwater reef shots to help you join us in our experience!

A quick dip to wash away some of the sand from the beach.

For our sunset cruise back to Fort Jefferson, I put out a spread of appetizers. We were all pretty famished from our busy day enjoying the water, sun and sights!

~ Peace ~

Sunset during anchoring.

The weather is almost always the deciding factor in our plans. Although completely unplanned, we ended up pulling anchor about 45 minutes after this shot to head to Marathon in the Florida Keys. We all would have enjoyed another couple of days in this paradise, but calm seas and fair winds called us once again!

Back To The Dry Tortugas!

2009-03-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, now I have to admit how very behind I am on the blog! I forgot to bring the ship's log book with me, and I am only guessing on the date that we left Fort Myers for the Dry Tortuga's. I am pretty sure that it was the 26th of January..... :-)

It was soooo great to be 'back at sea' and headed somewhere. We had a fantastic trip, and Bretton was excited about doing his first night watch. We left about 1 pm and arrived about 11am the next day.

The Portugese Man of War, in all it's glory.... They were all over in the water this time. We were really careful about swimming!

Valin and Drake out for a morning kayak ride. Drake has been given ownership of the Sevlor inflatable kayak, and is very proud that he can paddle it all by himself.

Looking for treasures under the water near shore.

FOUND ONE!!

Tamer, taking a rare break to read on the beach. I love to see him finally realxing and getting into the lifestyle we have worked so hard to acheive.

Would'nt everyone love to have an office like this, open to the beautiful ocean and sea air.

The port side of Fort Jefferson, and the walkway that goes all the way around. A fantastic walk....

A cuban escape boat... The Dry Tortuga's happen to be the first and closest spot of Dry land to Cuba. If immigrants reach the sand of the shore, they are not returned and allowed to stay in America.

The crew also enjoying some down time on the beach, listening to Paul's great guitar music.

Valin in the kayak, racing Paul and Bretton in the dinghy back to Free Spirit for some picnic food for the beach. I am still not sure if this could be considered a fair race, but Valin loved the challenge :-)

One of Blayde's beautiful art creations, made from stuff he found on the beach.

When we pulled anchor to leave 3 days later, these little fish were jumping into the dinghy at a rapid rate. Whenever our big deck lights are on it attracts sea life, but we had never had them 'throw themselves' at us before!

Work In Labelle

2009-03-28T17:44:00.000-04:00

Tamer and Paul replacing the sea water pump, with a better and more salt water tough version of the one we had.

Bretton installing the first panel of plywood around the cabin top windows in the Salon.

The dockside, daytime wood shed.... We will be forever thankful for the convienence of the Labelle City dock. We have yet to find a more wonderful place to work at!

The open, but not yet empty cabinets.

The incredible chaos of the Galley work, which Miss Terrie from SV Wahine calls progress :-)

Teamwork is sometimes a grave necessity.... Blayde and Bretton worked really hard to finish this up in time for me to have the Galley back to make dinner.

The final, yet unfinished shot of the insulation and framing carpentry in the Galley.

The on board carpenter's station, located conveniently on the aft deck box.

Mom Sherron's sewing station on the dock. She is an amazing seamstress, and worked very hard to make fender covers and the new bimini cover. Sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. I have a lot more to learn from her, as I am not really a 'sewer of things'.

Trish recovering from her trip up the mast.... She was a great help to me while I was reorganizing everything. She was also played a big part in getting all our ebay packaged and shipped off. Thanks Trishaww!

Free Spirit, 'sitting on the dock in the river'.

New Year's Haul Out & Anniversary

2009-03-28T17:18:00.001-04:00

Free Spirit during her first haul out at Glade's around May 24th, 2004. It is hard to believe that it was almost 5 years ago already! The same awesome yard crew were there then. I think that James, Proctor and Jon were all sure that we would never get her pretty and back in the water :-)

Fast forward to December 31st, 2008, the anniversary of our launch on December 31st, 2007. Bretton getting some good pics of the haul out. It was the first time that he got to see Free Spirit out of the water.

James, directing Proctor's Limo!

At least for this haul out we know exactly what we are in for! The haul out was to repair the damage the hull sustained when the anchor came lose just outside off Southport (see Rough Seas post). Also, the keel was pretty paint free after our little trip down the Dismal Swamp Canal. It was great to have Sherron here for all this fun!

For some odd reason, we always seem to draw a crowd...

Some of the damage from the flailing anchor on the Starboard side. "Rust Never Sleeps"!

Due to the fact tgat we were working our tails off to have time to head to our Timeshare in Daytona Beach for a week, I did not get many pictures of the stages of work.
But here are Paul and Bretton getting the bottom paint on all the repaired places on the hull. We have a saying about the smell of bottom paint being the scent of success! I would have to agree wholeheartedly!

Hey, the little fishes, sharks and dolphins don't care if the bottom has tiger stripes :-)

Ready to splash, January 16th, 2009!

Just a cool shot...

KASPLOOSH!!!!!!!!

A little bitty poisonous snake next to Drake's hand. Yes, I was a wee bit nervous about this shot!

I am rarely off the boat while she is in the water to take pictures, so I really wanted to share these.

The ship on her way to the city dock in Labelle, I had to drive the van in and meet them.

Our good friends Margaret & Cody from SV Drummer (sorry Matt, you must have been working too hard) Miss you guys, see you out here!

The Continuous Re-fit

2009-03-25T14:02:00.002-04:00

The closet area on the right side of the aft cabin looking forward. Because of all the steep angles in this area, it was near impossible to store much of anything in here. This is the 'Before' picture...

The in-between stage

'After'
Now, with all the shelves and stuff in, we can store lots of stuff here. My desk and the area around it have been turned into the navigation station for the ship. All that is displayed on the monitor above the desk, is also viewable at the helm station and on a monitor in the main salon. The area at the bottom right hand side of the picture has become a great place to store all the dirty clothes.

The aft cabin, looking at the back of the boat also needed suitable shelves and cabinets for storage. This and the next 2 pictures are the 'Before' stage.

Mid work, with the frames in....

FINISHED, with doors and handles! They still need to be painted and stained, but at least everything is put away and stowed in an organized manner! I waited over a year to have a place to put my clothes away, and I am very happy!

Bretton's carpentry skills are getting better and better with every project he undertakes! I am thankful for his desire to make everything perfect!!

Thanks to Paul and Bretton for all their hard work and dedication to Free Spirit!!!!!

Trisha & The Beach

2009-02-23T02:38:00.000-05:00

Trisha, the closest thing to a daughter that I will have until I have daughter-in-laws, took time out of her vacation with family to visit us on the boat while we were in Labelle. We were all so happt o have a chance to spend some time with her and share our dream. She ended up staying a week, through New Year's and it was wonderful. The day we picked her up, we went to the beach in Venice Beach, Florida. It was great for all of us to get out and have some fun!

Drake, covered in sand after being buried, builds a fort of sorts.

Bretton 'lends a hand' to Valin who is carrying the boogie boards back from the beach.

~Sunset~

A great shot of new friends ~ Bretton and Trisha

Trisha, Valin, Blayde, Drake, Paul and Bretton enjoying an evening game of Cranium on the City dock in Labelle.

Trisha is absolutely terrified of heights, so I challenged her to overcome her fears and get up into the crow's nest via the Bosuns' chair. After many threats and shakes, she made it up the spreader bars, and I was SOOOO proud of her!!

Of course, while Bretton, Blayde and Paul let her down, they had to tease her a little with letting the lines go faster than they needed too... All in good fun!!

Paul and Trisha at the KC Masterpice BBQ cook-off, where we went to watch Robert & Waddie shoot off the cannon. Bet you didn't know that there was a whole culture of people that travel around and do BBQ cook-offs?!?!

Bretton, Trisha, Paul and Blayde enjoying a little photo sharing and UTube in Paul's room.

Thanks for coming to spend time with us Trishawww, I love ya!!

Our First Christmas Aboard

2009-02-23T01:40:00.000-05:00

The beautiful Sailing Vessel (SV) Free Spirit docked at the park in Labelle, Florida.

Sherron bought us a great little 2 foot tree to decorate for Christmas that we were perfectly satisfied with.... The kids and us decorated and put out our cookie plate for Santa. But Miss Terrie got us this beautiful full size tree that we surprised the kids with on Christmas morning. It took up the whole Starboard side of the Salon! Paul, Bretton and Tamer all helped me with the decorating and present placement on Christmas Eve. It was a wonderful way to spend our first Christmas aboard Free Spirit.

Tamer, Laura, Blayde, Drake, Valin and Sherron posing for a rare family photo. See the little decorated tree beside me on the table??

Blayde, Valin and Drake inspecting a movie gift that will bring them lots of laughter... Happy Gilmore....

Forget the Christmas lights all over the eaves of the house and enjoy the banners and bows!

Blayde and Valin really enjoying their gift, and I Robot.

Laughter really is the best medicine for all that ails you....

Me and my dear, wonderful man!

Paul juggling what may have been his favorite gift of all - Hot Fries!

Only on a boat would you have to move all the presents, to access the removable panel to start the generator because the inverter started beeping for lack of power. In the middle of opening presents, Valin volunteered to get everything out of the way to start the generator. Must have been all the espresso and coffee drinks we were making with the Bosch Espresso machine that Leonard and Julie gave us before we launched!

An interesting photo picturing 4 rooms on the boat... Tamer in the aft cabin, Bretton in the companionway, Paul in the Salon, and Sherron in the Pilot Berth.

Stockings are the best!

What Christmas is really about; Family, giving, hugs and love!
& Mad Magazine :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Blayde and Paul enjoying the decorative drawing that Paul put on his gag gift to Drake. He gave Drake a set of Pretty Ponies... That the boys took the heads off of, and had to see what happened when you joined them with firecrackers from New Year's Eve.
Happy Times!

Mom opening her Honeymoon present :-) Her and her dear beau were married on January 17th, 2009. We were thankful to be there when Hal drove to Glade's and placed the ring on her finger. We are so glad that she has found true love, and wish them all the happiness that life has to offer.

If they could only snorkel with the plastic candy canes that Valin got them for Christmas... It has to be better than all the cavities :-)

Paul and Bretton - Thank you so much for giving this time in your lives to be a part of ours! We are thankful that you are here, and a part of the Ship's family!

Back To Labelle ~ Our Florida Home

2009-02-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

The Labelle Flea Market is one of our favorite Saturday pastimes. It was great to share it with our new crew while we were in Labelle outfitting and preparing to leave the country. I know that there are never many pictures of me for the blog, so we have Bretton to thank for this rare, although embarrassing photo :-)

Blayde and Valin finagling over a bunch of radishes.

Our dear and wonderful friends Robert, Terrie & Robbie on SV Wahine were so wonderful to us during our 5 weeks in Labelle. I cannot express our thanks enough for their friendship and kind unselfish nature. They are currently on a 18 month plan to move aboard and cruise their 60 foot steel boat.
Above, the boys and their 8 year old son Robbie went in search of bamboo and scored big. See it being trailed behind the dinghy??

Robbie, using all his strenght to haul it to shore so they can 'build' something out of it. Hmmm... As a matter of fact, I cannot remember what happened to it after the adventure of finding it.... :-)

Robert and his wonderful Father, Waddy built and travel locally with this amazing air powered watermelon(or whatever is handy) cannon. A few years back Waddy was asked and accepted an oppurtunity to act as a consultant on Junkyard Wars. They are very smart, creative and a like minded crew for Tamer. I was shocked at the power of this thing to launch watermelons!!

What a creative name, huh??

Bretton, a gifted photographer, was snapping some great shots atop the ladder when I took this picture.

Bretton, Paul, Blayde, Valin, Drake and Terrie watching a blast off!
P.S. Although this picture would indicate that Paul and Bretton were involved in a serious face off, this was definatly not the case :-)

Well duh?!?! Didn't you know that these roosters are always in the parking lot of the Labelle Post Office??

Paul and Robert, chillin' during Terrie and their son Ronnie's mutual birthday party.

Mother and son cutting the cake...

Our sweet Mom Sherron, saying hello!

Mmmmmm.... That cake was some yummy stuff :-)

To Tow Or Be Towed..... That Is The Question!

2009-02-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

Hmmm... Well here is the section on "Tow"..... We were just North of Titusville a few miles when this little sailboat raced past us at about 7 whopping knots, and ran hard aground. We called them on the radio and asked them if we could offer assistance in any way. Here is Paul in the dinghy (getting completely soaked) running them a line to tie off to the bow of their boat, from our stern.

It is quite dangerous to the crew on board, and can be hard on the mechanics to perform this operation. We had to attempt 5 times, without running ourselves aground before we were successful in getting them free.

It took about an hour, but we felt really good that we saved them about $1,000!

Soooooo, this is where we were really thankful that we had purchased Tow Boat US towing insurance last March! We were just turning into the St. Lucie River, on the way to cross Lake Okeechobee, in 10' charted waters, and we ran aground. Now, let me tell you..... We have run hard aground probably about 10 times since we have been aboard. And because I have the Master Captain, we were always able to free ourselves under our own power. This time was a little different from the initial huummmppphhhh of hitting.

So after about 30 minutes of trying to free ourselves, I mentioned to Tamer that this might be the time to get our $125 back on the insurance. Of course, he would have rather waited until high tide, set off some anchors, and done it the old fashioned way. I, on the other hand, really wanted to make our scheduled anchorage, and make less work for him and the crew. Tow Boat US showed up about 6 minutes after the call and got to work.

Hey, ya know, this is pretty awesome!!
:-)

After trying to haul us off for about 10 minutes, the Captain of the Tow Boat US vessel allowed us to power up and aid him. It ended up taking all the power he had, plus all of ours to get us free of this shoal. Of course, I felt justified in the purchase of the insurance, as the bill for this would have been $811! It is too bad that it is not offered outside of the US where we are headed very shortly!

Sunsets, Sunrises, and Florida ~ Early December

2009-02-22T21:04:00.000-05:00

Sunsets while at sea are more amazing than from land, by far. There are no distractions to the eye, just you, the sea, the sky, and the sun. Tamer took these while we were out for a couple of days from South Carolina to Florida.

The type of 'touchdown' that we are in tune with and understand!

Sunrise the next morning just off of the coast of Fernandina Beach, Florida. We spent a couple days here, and then a couple at Cumberland Island, Georgia across the inlet again. It was a bit chilly, so we didn't spend much time on the beach or in the water, but it was still really beautiful.

Drake stayed at the ship while we were provisioning in Fort Pierce, Florida. He is definitely our little fisherman, and proved his skills by catching a small hammerhead shark off the docks. He threw it back, but not before getting some great pictures to prove his fish tales!

Pretty cool, huh??

Sunset in Fort Pierce...
After we stopped briefly in Titusville, Florida to visit Leonard & Julie and P'tit Louis, we stopped here to do some transitioning. Kent needed to take care of some land obligations that prevented him from staying aboard. It was here that we were sad to see him go, but understanding of what he needed to do. Sherron also joined us here, and we brought Bretton Hubbard aboard the day before we got here, in Titusville. Tamer had interviewed Bretton while up in Alaska this past August. Because his schedule prevented him from arriving until December, we set him up to crew for P'tit Louis in Florida. Due to the fact that Kent needed to leave, and P'tit Louis would have been over-crewed after all, he was able to join the crew of Free Spirit. It is funny and unexplainable how things happen sometimes!

Bretton's first time at the helm of a boat! It only took a few minuted to realize that he was a natural!

Bretton and I locking through in the Caloosahatchee River.

A regular sight in the Caloosahatchee River, the kids probably wonder if this was the one that they named Bob while we lived at Glade's :-)

A Miscellany

2009-02-22T20:37:00.000-05:00

Tamer's Mom Sherron was able to come stay with us for 3 weeks starting on December 12th. It was a huge blessing to have her aboard!! It was the first time that she had been to Free Spirit since we launched on New Year's Eve 2007.

Tamer, the best Captain, Father and Teacher on the planet (and beyond) :-)

The boys watching dolphins off the bow sprit just outside of Beaufort, South Carolina.

Paul caught an amazing jelly fish while we were out at sea between South Carolina and Florida.

Up close, he (or is it she?) was quite beautiful!

A quiet little anchorage in South Carolina at sunset.

Birds, just hanging out looking for some fun!

The ultimate blackmail picture of Kent - The master impersonator :-)

The birds in Camp LeJuene LOVED our rigging..... Unfortunately, the decks did not appreciate the mess left when they visited. Whenever this happens, we have to shake the rigging over and over until they finally get tired...

A hawk took a little rest on the top of the forward mast during our trip across Lake Okeechobee.

~Lake Okeechobee~

Kent, taking a breather while on his off watch.

Here enters Bretton (on the left), the crew member that replaced Kent after we got to Titusville, Florida.... More on that in a later post....

Rough Seas 11/29

2009-02-22T20:15:00.002-05:00

We were headed out of Southport, North Carolina with an outgoing tide, and a 20 knot wind coming at our nose. The result of this is 2 very strong water forces working against each other. We only needed to spend a little less than an hour heading out of the channel in a Southwestern direction, and then we would be turning to the West into better predicted winds. Amazingly enough, the weather forecast was wrong (I know this is a shocking occurrence) :-)
In the above picture, Kent makes his way to the bow in 12' steep seas. What you have to keep mind, is that a 12' foot wave is actually 12 feet from the regular sea level to the top or bottom of the wave... Making it 24' from the very lowest to the very highest point. The starboard anchor had come loose from the bow sprit and was banging on the hull and causing damage below the waterline. He and Paul had to spend a good 45 minutes up there, getting completely buried in water about every 5 minutes, to retrieve the anchor and tie it back off. They were amazing, stoic and brave during this task, and we were super proud of them!
The following pictures will tell the story on their own, all I ask is that you really try to grasp the intensity of the conditions.

KASPLOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There were times when you looked off the bow, and could either only see sky, or water.

The end result of this situation was that the weather DID NOT change, and we were in these seas for over 6 hours. Everyone on board was desperately seasick, but Tamer toughed it out and helmed us into a sheltered inlet just South of the North Carolina / South Carolina border. We were all very thankful to be safely at anchor, and ready to travel the Intracoastal Waterway the next day!

Thanksgiving & Thankfulness 11/23~11/28

2009-01-24T15:28:00.000-05:00

Peaceful slumber... The boys really like to snuggle up secure in our bed while we are in rough seas.

~Sunset in Beaufort, North Carolina~

Kent enjoying the sunshine at the helm coming into Beaufort.

We were very thankful to have a chance to see our nephew Kord, his wife Julie and our great nephew Elliot. We stayed in Camp LeJuene for about 5 days, so that we could spend Thanksgiving with him before he takes his second tour in Iraq. We are really proud of him and his dedication to our country!

Kord & Elliot

Blayde, Elliot and Paul in the background watching Wall-E.

Blayde, Valin, Drake, Elliot and another boat friend over watching a movie.

A beautiful evening sky in Camp LeJuene. We had 16 people aboard for our first Thanksgiving dinner on Free Spirit. I sent Blayde around the anchorage we were in to invite everyone to dinner. It was an amazing evening with not only family, but new friends as well.

Ship's Life

2009-01-24T15:00:00.001-05:00

Paul in the crow's nest for the first of many times in Urbanna. I have not made it up there yet, I am afraid that if I got up there with a good book, I would never come back down :-)

The blue foam is back! Due to all the climate changes leaving Virginia, the condensation was hoorible. We would wake up in the morning and feel like we were in the middle of an indoor rain storm!

Kent, busy insulating the bulk head above the upper bunk in the library.

The new sink installed in the bathroom turned out better than we expected.

Plumbed, open and ready to wash!

Our great Urbanna friend Gary Thimson at the helm moving the boat from Deltavaille, Virginia back to Urbanna, Virginia after the haul out. He and his wife Nell took us under their wing while we were there for the summer. Thanks for everything!

Blayde, being goofy:-)

Drake, helping to cook breakfast in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Blayde is getting more and more competant at the helm. This is during the trip down the Dismal Swamp Canal.

Paul and Kent taking down and stowing the sails.

Paul, climbing up the rigging to loosen a line that was jammed in one of the blocks.

Snow!?!? Snow!?!? What Were We Thinking?? 11/18~11/20

2009-01-13T16:13:00.001-05:00

This should have been our first warning of what was to come.... I know, being from Alaska, we really should not be scared of a little snow. But, we were without any traditional heating methods, and sailing in that kind of weather is really not enjoyable.

The calm before the storm.

Just one, thin, little snowflake never hurt anyone :-)

It was blizzarding a wet, nasty kind of snow, which is especially bad when you do not a way to dry anything out while you are under way.

Snow

Blayde, enjoying the moment, and memories of home :-)

Snowy shoreline.

Paul, being tough and keeping a positive attitude through it all.

Heading South.... Not A Moment Too Soon! 11/16

2009-01-13T16:12:00.000-05:00

Paul and Drake hauling up the dinghy the day we left Urbanna, our summer home.

I will take this opportunity to introduce our crew member Kent (on the left side of the picture). He joined us the 14th, and we departed on the 16th. Also, Raoul decided to get some land legsfor a while and issetting himself up in Urbanna for the time being. So of course he wanted to help us 'cast off south'. We love and miss you, bro!

Roaul on the dock, with Paul and Kent at the bow. We are off!!

At the lock just North of the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is South of Norfolk, Virginia.

Now let me explain something..... We were quite aware that we were leaving the Chesapeake a little late in the season, but it was still shocking to wake up the next morning to FROST all over the boat. Little did we know what was to come later.....

The Dismal Swamp, which we found out was just as Dismal as her namesake! The depth in the 37 mile canal is a little over 6 feet. Our boat draws (the depth needed to not run aground), 6'2". We ended up plowing through mud the entire way, which was terrible because we had just re did the whole bottom a couple weeks before. The amount of fuel that we were using to keep at 5 knots, usually kept us at about 7 knots. We also threw 6-8 sticks through the prop.... More on that in later post.

Pretty, fall colors though!