We have received an offer!

5 Jan: Returned to boat to put her in order with a sale pending.

7 Jan: Scott Schenking aboard to look at and become more familiar with the boat, digging into lockers.

8 Jan: Quick haul at Snead Island with John Campbell, surveyor, Bill Wright, broker, Scott Schenking, prospective buyer.

10 Jan: I have sanded the doors and the bilge hatch so that they open and close smoothly. I replaced the engine room cover latch. Broker and Scott Schenking run out the sails. I put a proper cotter pin in the gooseneck.

11 Jan: Gavin from Freundship Marine checks windlass and agrees it is the motor that is the problem. The nav station chart plotter is no good, but it does pass data through to the helm chart plotter.

12 Jan: Oil change with Rotella T-4, 15w 40 (5.3 liters) and oil filter change (Yanmar #  .) Gear box oil change with Rotella T-1 SAE 30 (2.2 liters.) Antifreeze diluted 1:1 with distilled water and added to reservoir. Jim Freund visited and advised replacing the CRC 70 chart plotter with a used unit that works.

13 Jan: Found and purchased a CRC 80 chart plotter that will require a redesign of the nav station panel.

14 Jan: Visited Freundship to arrange work to be done. Stephen the Rigger arranged to deal with anemometer and mount Windex. Panel wiring disconnected ahead of redesign. Raritan head rebuild kit did NOT arrive at WestMarine.

15 Jan: Personal errands and visit with Tom, Vickie and Brian. I picked up the head rebuild kit at 5 PM, but did not have time to install it. Loaded van to return home.

16 Jan: Departed 0800 with a salute and a misty farewell to the S/V Jupiter's Smile. 

Out of Snead Island's Marina to Broker's Dock at Safe Harbor at Regatta Pointe

 16 January: Departed Snead's with Vickie aboard. Tom will meet us at Slip D-11. Tested all systems and everything is good EXCEPT the windlass.

Replacement of ground tackle, new Delta anchor, 250' of G-4 chain. Freundship Marine Services pulled the windlass motor to repair it. Requested that they craft an engine control panel cover.

23 January: Flew home.

Debbie De Rin commissioned to strip and varnish cap rail and eyebrow and when required, to wash the boat and tend to dealing with hurricane threats in cooperation with my brother, Tom.

Greg Plesser commissioned to clean bottom as needed (monthly, more or less.)

Out of Snead Island Boatworks Secure Storage

 Nov 19, 2019 - Jupiter's Smile in the work yard: Bottom Paint (Trinidad SR), zincs, MaxProp greased.

put ed's photo here

Boat splashed. Boat will be listed with Ed Whiteacker for sale. Work needed that I know of and will ask Sneads to complete: All sanitation hoses to be replaced and bow thruster motor to be repaired.

Biscayne Bay to Palmetto and Decommission

We changed oil at the 50 hour break-in period while anchored in Biscayne Bay and then enjoyed the beach. We sailed to Boca Chita and tied up for the night at this lovely National Park site. Some blustery weather was forecast so we sailed back up to the Dinner Key mooring field to wait for favorable winds, poised to head south, in Hawk Channel to Rodrigues Key.

Rodrigues Key to Marathon anchoring off the western beach outside the harbor. Got a mooring ball. Volunteered with Habitat For Humanity along with ...... repairing hurricane damage. Visits with my cousin Nancy. Volunteered with the Marathon Seafood Festival. Key West visits.

Marathon to a quiet anchoring in the Gulf off the coast then on to Factory Bay, Naples and red tide, then to John's Pass to anchor off the Cortez Coast Guard Station.

Visit with T&V, rescuing a grounded boat that broke free.

Moved to ...... Marina.

Desoto Point and the re-enactment. Then to Snead Island Boatyard.

Engine check with ...... and sail to Edisto Key with the kids.

Decommission.

The Repowering

Barb and I returned from the AirBnB to the yard to find Bret from Marine Pro already there preparing the new engine. His helper, Frank arrived and we all dug into extracting the old engine. It took about an hour to  disconnect the hoses and wires and to unbolt the engine mounts. The equipment operator, drove his fork lift over Jupiter's Smile and Bret hung his chain hoist from the left side fork dropping the lift strap through the companionway opening into the engine compartment. In Puerto Vallarta, Greg had used our boom for the same purpose, but had removed the engine's head and transmission before extracting the engine. That left a smaller load weighing about 300 pounds. The fully assembled engine weighs about 460 pounds and this load wrestled us to a stand off. We acknowledged that it was too big to get out of the engine compartment and that the new engine, slightly larger, would never fit through the engine compartment opening.

Frank and I began to disassemble the cabinetry that made up the front of the engine compartment while Bret set about removing the old instrument panel and running the wiring for the new one. Frank worked doggedly unscrewing about 35 bunged wood screws and freeing tied wires from inside the engine cabinet. We removed the cabinet and it was plain that this would be the final solution to the engine extraction. The operator came back to the forklift and within five minutes, the old engine was on the ground.

Bret and Frank departed at about 5pm entrusting me to clean the engine compartment. I finished at about 6:30 and Barb and I left the yard at dusk.

Thursday was new engine installation day and that all seemed to go well. All the bits and pieces were reassembled, including the engine room cabinet. The new engine has an oil extraction tube that will make oil changes much easier and the instrumentation includes water sensors in both Racor fuel filters to detect water contamination of the fuel. On Friday, with water from a hose, the engine was started and it ran right away. With no leaks, everything working and sounding great, we were ready for launching. We were second in line, but the boat ahead of us had some issues so we were delayed until late afternoon. Once we splashed and with Bret and Frank aboard we motored in the Cape Canaveral Canal at various engine speeds. All seemed good with the engine reaching 2950 rpms at full throttle. The top rpm is 3000, but Bret and Frank were satisfied with what they saw. I was very pleased that the engine seemed stronger and quieter than the original. They encouraged us to vary the engine speed often during the first 50 hours, the break-in period.

We returned to the dock at the work yard and I returned Dan and Kathy's car to them in Titusville, getting a ride back from Dan. These cruising friends are friends indeed. We had been given permission to stay at the dock overnight as long as we could leave before 8am Saturday morning.

We slept well, well pleased with expectations that our new engine would serve us faithfully.

A Night by the Lock, into the yard and AirBnb

After a load of laundry, we filled our water tanks, we took showers and our mail had arrived at the marina, so we drew in the dock lines and departed the Cocoa Village Marina at 12:15pm, Monday, January 8th. We motored north in the ICW towards the channel of the Cape Canaveral Barge Canal,  eastbound. I called the Christa Mcauliffe Bascule Bridge and learned that we could pass through the bridge during a 2pm opening. We did that and continued eastbound across Merritt Island and into the Banana River. We followed the channel and turned just south of the Cape Canaveral Lock to anchor for the night near two boats that were unoccupied and possibly aground. One was certainly damaged from Hurricane Irma or before. The wind remained in the low teens and by morning it was calm. It was a great anchorage.

I called the Port Canaveral Marine Service Yard to see if we had a haul out time. Cheryl had no knowledge of the haul out, so we waited a bit for her to call back with news. Cheryl said we could bring our boat to the haul out pit at 11am. I radioed the Highway 401 Triple Bascule Bridge and got a 10:45 opening time. At 10:15 we weighed anchor and arranged to transit the lock. We waited a full cycle of emptying the lock and waiting for a westbound boat to come through before we could pass eastbound. The 401 Bridge was not ready for us because workmen were on the bridge, so we got our opening about ten minutes late. Just beyond the bridge, we motored down the fairway of the yard, spun Jupiter's Smile 160 degrees to port to line up with the floating dock in the haul out pit and backed into the pit. Barb hooked the bow to a dock cleat and I got the stern. We looked around and no one from the yard was headed our way so we off loaded the gear we would need for the next few days and our empty propane tank and Barb called Cathy from Sea Star asking them to drop off the vehicle they would loan to us while our boat was in the yard. Cathy and Dan arrived just as the travel lift was hauling the boat. With the boat on land, we sat down and enjoyed the submarine sandwiches Cathy had brought. They departed after lunch and we departed to our AirBnb at about 3pm. We met Tom and found him to be very welcoming and after a short adjustment period, the dog and the cat were welcoming as well. Deb came home at about 7pm from work then Barb and I went to LongDogger's for pretty good, inexpensive meals of fish sandwich and Key Lime Chicken Salad.

We had moved the boat about 1 1/2 miles, but we were exhausted from the logistical challenges of the day.

The Bomb Cyclone

Even at anchor, a sailor watches the weather, especially the wind's force and direction. We had been doing that for over a week now and the forecast looked bleak: gale force northerly winds on the ICW and frigid temperatures for several days. We had already fired up Mr Heater Little Buddy to warm up the cabin when the morning temperatures dipped into the 40s or low 50s, but the forecast was for freezing temperatures, overcast skies and periods of rain.

With fear in my gut, I called the marinas along the Canaveral Barge canal where we would find shelter from the wind and be able to plug into shore power and run our heat, but it was New Years Day and got no answer. I called the Cocoa Village Marina where we had spent the night of December 21st after Bret, the mechanic's visit. Ken answered and said that a group of boats were departing and he would have space for us. We watched as half a dozen powerboats went down river and at 10am, we pulled our hook and took a slip in the center of the west end of the marina behind a sturdy breakwater barrier. At 11:30am, the wind picked up and the sky darkened. The anemometer displayed 32 knots not long afterwards. Happy New Year!

There were white caps all over the river with 3-4 foot waves and in the east end of the marina which only had a sand fence for protection, the boats were pitching badly in their slips. We had waves in the west end as well but it was very manageable. Our anchorage would have been miserable! We paid for a week in the marina, gladly.

The next day, we measured 37 knot gusts at the top of the mast and it rained hard. The freezing temperatures hit during the night and while it didn't rain as hard over the next few days the cold persisted. Tomorrow's forecast is for gradual warming with the lows climbing ten degrees each day over the weekend and by the end of next week, 80 degree temperatures are in the forecast with lows in the mid 60s.

We got word this morning that our haul out was scheduled for Tuesday. Dan and Kathy from Sea Star had generously suggested that we could have the use of their second vehicle and while the boat is hauled for three days we could sleep aboard with them or borrow their camper. We jumped at the chance to use their vehicle and considered the use of their camper. The campgrounds in the area charged $44-$50 per night. I booked an AirBnB that sounds great for $43. Had we gotten the date for the haul out a few days earlier, a room very near the marina would have been $34, but that was no longer available.

Meanwhile, the shore powered heat has been running off and on during the last couple of days and nearly continuously during the nights, but we get to live in shirt sleeves on the boat before bundling up to go outdoors for our walks. At least it has been sunny or partly sunny for two days now and the wind is way down. Things are looking up and I am anticipating Monday when we depart the marina for a night on the river (easterly winds at a maximum 12 knots in the forecast) before opening bridges and transiting the barge canal after curfew on Tuesday.

2018 New Year's Resolution - the Blog

I am daring to resolve to resurrect the sailing blog. I intend to recall what happened in the 2016-2017 cruising season as well. Let's see how it goes.

Happy New Year finds us a week shy of a month into the 2017-2018 cruising season. We left the boat at the Hinckley Boat Yard in Thunderbolt (just outside Savannah, GA), May 22nd. The motor had been using oil (a quart every 12 hours!) so we had become a "Captain Ron" boat. In that classic movie, Captain Ron never started the engine without adding a quart of oil first. I left instructions with Hinckley that I wanted the bottom painted and the engine checked to see what was causing the excessive oil use.

In September,  since Hurricane Irma had just blown through the previous week, I wanted to check on the boat. Barb and Mary Addison-Lamb were attending their Dangerous Babes reunion on the Isle of Palms, SC, so I proposed that I drive us all. The women hopped out at Kathy's beach house and Mick Addison-Lamb and I went to Thunderbolt to check on the boat. The boat appeared to have been power washed by the storm! Squeeky clean! Inside, there were no leaks. Aside from the Windex wind direction indicator being missing from the top of the mast, everything appeared to be in order. Even the aluminum foil covering exposed plastic and rubber deck fittings and antennae; and the tee shirts I had tied over the opening coach roof ports were still in place. I renewed the Sun-Paks (mildewcide) and closed her up again. We would return in November.

I had booked a stay in an AirBnB while the women were having their reunion and this turned out to be a great experience. Nancy was our host. She has a wonderful old home in Isle of Hope with a fine garden, butterfly refuge and banty chickens. Mick and I had our own separate attic rooms. Nancy has many interests in common with us that made for pleasant conversation. We toured Savannah,

visited Tybee Island and went to the Pin Point Seafood Festival for an afternoon of fine local food and music.
http://www.pinpointseafoodfestival.net/about/

Mick, Nancy & Jay on Nancy's back porch

On our way back to the Addison-Lamb's in Kentucky, we stopped in Asheville, NC to do the tourist thing.

Taking a beer break after arduous shopping

Mick and Mary had the good fortune to find a dining table set that suited them and now it is featured often in their frequently documented celebrations.


Barb and I embarked in November, from the Black Forest, in our 1995 Dodge Grand Caravan (approaching 200k miles) full of boat gear on a marathon journey with several goals. We arrived in Thunderbolt after a 27 hour drive. We stayed with Nancy Tamarack at her Air-BnB and Barb came to understand why Mick and I enjoyed our stay with Nancy last September. Goal one accomplished. Goal two was to offload boat gear from the van onto the boat. The boat was on hard ground on stands so everything had to be either carried up a ladder or hoisted using the dinghy davits. 

The next day we went for goal three, drive to visit Mother in Springfield, VA for Thanksgiving. Mother is now 97 years of age and doing pretty well. We had a nice, albeit short visit, but winter was approaching and it was time to get the boat south, after we reached our next goal. We drove to Tampa to visit Christina and Larry and the "grandkids", Dorothy (6 y.o.) and John (2 y.o.). Goal four was partly finished. Goal five was to visit brother Tom and Vickie in Cortez and pick up our re-certified  and repacked life raft at the Winslow factory nearby. We returned to Tampa and rented a van, turning over the keys to our trusty van to the Gottschamer family. That completed goal four. Our final goal was to return to the boat in the rental van and get the boat moving south. Strangely, for the one-way rental, Tampa to Savannah, the van was the least expensive option over, even, a compact car. Checking in at the boat yard, the bottom had been painted and the engine had been checked. The compression was excellent and no other problems were apparent. Some parts had not arrived to get the engine running again to do a sea trial and it was expected to be a cold weekend. Thankfully, the yard crew went ahead and put the boat in the water and we were able to be aboard at their dock, plugged into power (heat) and able to make more preparations, while waiting for the parts to arrive and a sea trial. Being in the water was a big step toward our last goal.

We had frost on the dock for three mornings before the engine part arrived and was installed. The engine started up right away. I took the mechanic on the sea trial and we saw no excessive exhaust smoke. His assessment was that an oil ring or two had broken so oil was being burned even though there was no blue colored smoke to be noticed. Solution: keep feeding oil or remove the engine and repair it again.  On Dec 11th, I departed Hinckley's to run down the river for an hour to meet Barb at the Isle of Hope Marina (ICW mile 590) where we had better access to provisions (buy more oil) and a courtesy car. It felt good to be moving on the water again, finally. On December 15th, we departed to catch a favorable tidal current to motor on the ICW as far as possible in the shortening daylight hours. We covered 53 miles through the picturesque marshlands of Georgia and that evening at anchor, I felt we were finally on our way into Season Eleven.

The next morning, with a benign weather report we motored out of Sapelo Sound into the Atlantic. We covered 72 miles in 8.5 hours to anchor on the Florida/Georgia line in the St. Mary's River. Next day, out at sea again we covered 65 miles and took a mooring ball in St. Augustine. We stayed in St. Augustine for a couple of days before heading down the ICW with favorable tide and current conditions to travel a notoriously shallow section of the ICW at the Matanzas River. When we got there we discovered that the buoys had been moved and that this section had been dredged recently. That was nice!  A sailboat that we had passed earlier that morning radioed asking if we had any issues and we reported what we found back to S/V Freya. We have an Automatic Identification System unit on Jupiter's Smile that informs any boat that has an AIS receiver who we are. So the boat that could not see us still knew who we were and where we were and called us on the radio.

Along the way that day, we passed S/V Sea Star, an Island Packet 440, with Dan and Kathy aboard. We had sailed many, many miles along with them in past years. They were on their way north to Jacksonville for Christmas. They warned us of shoal water where they had to use their BoatUS privileges to get ungrounded at buoy "18A".  As we discussed our respective plans, they made us an offer I will discuss later.

All went well until Ponce de Leon Inlet. Here, the ICW southbound continues to starboard or to port, leads to the Atlantic Ocean. At this junction, at dead low tide, was a sailboat with a 6 foot draft aground on the shoal at the afore mentioned mark "18A".  A Towboat was assisting this vessel so we kept going, reporting our water depth as we passed in about 5.2 feet of water. I called back to Freya and reported the situation. They decided that they would continue following us. My intention was to get to the New Smyrna Yacht Club and anchor across from them just outside the ICW. We had to wait for a bridge opening, but made the anchorage with daylight to spare. Freya invited us over for sundowners, but that would have meant lowering the dinghy and then raising it again in the dark, so we declined. We chatted in the radio for a bit.

The next morning just at dawn I saw Freya's running lights as they had just pulled anchor heading for Titusville. We got underway about a half hour behind them and were cruising down the ICW when the engine alarm sounded. Unlike in the past, I pulled the throttle back into neutral, but did not shut off the engine before carefully checking the gauges. The temperature gauge showed overheating so I kept the engine at idle while the raw water pump sloooowly brought the water temperature down. Barb went to the anchor platform making ready to deploy the anchor. I put the engine in gear and that was enough power to get us out of the channel so Barb could drop the hook. With the temperature down enough, I turned off the engine to investigate. I found the problem immediately. The drive belt for the alternator and water pump had broken. I should say, disintegrated. I installed a new belt (cruisers have spares...of lots of things). and we were off and running again.

Along the way I decided that the little things that were happening with regard to this already rebuilt engine and the big issue of oil consumption would best be addressed by an engine replacement. The boat will be up for sale at the end of this season and I would think the prospects of a sale with an engine that consumes oil versus one that is new would be very different. Our cruising friends, Hayden and Radeen on S/V Island Spirit had worked with Colin Mack in Stuart, FL and since I trust Hayden and Radeen and they trust Colin, I trust Colin too. And we were heading that way. I called Colin to ask his advice. He said that he and his shop did not do "repowers", but recommended the Yanmar dealer, MarinePro, in Cocoa, 20 miles away from our intended Titusville anchorage. So the repower proce$$ is in the works with Bret at MarinePro.

Waitin' and rollin' on the river

December 22nd finds us anchored  into mud and shell in six feet of water in Cocoa on the south east side of the ICW and south of the Highway 520 bridge and causeway, protected from the northerly and easterly winds. We have committed to getting a new engine, but nothing gets done in the marine world during the Christmas/New Years holiday (now). So, we wait for the New Year for this project to get underway.

We have used our dinghy to go to each side of the ICW. The Cocoa Village side (West) had a wonderful city park with small docks until Hurricane Irma destroyed it. It is closed, wrapped in yellow crime scene tape, but we found a small patch of sand just to the south with a palm tree around which I was able to run my cable and lock. From here we could stroll the charming village with its shops, its bandstand (presently graced with the dulcet sounds of a tuba and sousaphone concert of Christmas music) and the famous Travis Hardware store. No produce or bakery however.

The next day we went under the causeway in the dinghy to the northeast side and locked our cable to a dock near Ms. Apple's Crab Shack. We knew immediately where we were having lunch! About six blocks away we found the Publix grocery store and got our bread and produce before returning for a huge lunch of crabs. Since this location was open to the northerly wind it was a little choppy on the dinghy ride.

On December 25th the wind picked up into the 20 knot range from the Northeast and waves wrapped around the bridge to make our anchorage a little rough. I was reading in the cockpit and noticed that we had begun to drift downwind, dragging into very shallow water. Barb came to the anchor platform and I got the engine on in an instant. We pulled up our anchor and repositioned ourselves, hooking the bottom and letting out ninety feet of chain. That ought to hold us and it did, even as the wind got stronger. None the less, because of the boat's motion, the sleeping was better in the saloon than in the forward berth.

We got off the boat again on Ms. Apple's side to explore on the bus to Cocoa Beach. We got half fare ($0.75) privileges because of our vintage and got a free transfer ticket upon exiting. We explored the beach for about an hour and then used the transfer to make the return trip. On the way back I had noticed that there was a boat launching ramp at the Ms. Apple's location and realized that I could use our dinghy wheels to pull the dinghy out of the choppy water and well up the ramp onto dry land. We did that one morning and got the same bus ride, but used the transfer to head north to Port Canaveral to investigate the marina where we expected to be hauled out to have the engine exchanged the second week of January. We had a very good lunch at Charlie's Cafe. On the bus rides back we got off at the Publix and then walked back to the dinghy with our shopping bags.

At midnight, the ICW lit up with fireworks up and down both sides of the Indian River. It was quite a sight. Happy New Year!

To Thunderbolt and the Hinckley Yard

5/4/2017 Oil change Dinner with John and Diane
5/5 Lake Worth
5/6 Vero Beach
5/7 Titusville Dinner with Kathy and Dan
5/8 New Smyrna Dinner with Roger and Adel
5/9 St. Augustine outside from Ponce
5/10 MM 693
5/11 Brunswick Landing Marina
5/12 Killkenny Creek
5/14 Isle of Hope Marina
Got van from the kids, varnish, decommission
5/22 Hinckley Yard, Hauled
Drive home

The Bahamas

3/11/2017 Great Harbor Cay Marina
3/13 left to Crescent Beach
3/14 Fowl Cay
3/16 Royal Island
3/17 Spanish Wells
3/18 Royal Island - Barb's beans
3/20 Current Cut Alabaster Bay
3/21 Governor's Harbor
3/22 Rock Sound
Rent car drive to ferry landing to go to Harbour Island
3/28 Davis Harbor Marina
3/29 New Bight, Cat Island
3/30 Hawks Nest
4/2 Monument Beach, George Town
4/21 Galliot Cut, Cave Cay Big yacht noticed
4/22 Farmers Cay
4/25 Oven Rock , cave hike, Black Point
4/26 Staniel Cay Thunderball Grotto, Big Majors Spot, Several 200' yachts
4/28 Warderick Wells
4/30 Highbourne Cay
5/1 West Bay, New Providence
5/2 Bimini Banks with Katarina
5/3 Ft. Lauderdale Dinner with John and Kathy from Katarina

Tampa Bay to Marathon

2/16 - 2/25 Marathon
3/8 Mooring ball
3/10 Marathon to South Riding Rock, Bahamas and on to Great Harbour Marina to check in.

Gulfport and Palmetto Task$$$ and Errand$$$

We get the van
We discover fresh water leak.
The GPS gets Replaced.
Jim Freund diagnoses RADAR problem
We go to France and Jim fixes leak and thruster.
We haul out at Sneads and fix gouge.
Freund installs new RADAR at Twin Dolphins
Sail with Tom and Vickie to Egmont Key
Drop off car with T&V
2/15 ready to go
.

Mobile to Tampa Bay

It took eight days to reassemble the boat to the point where it could be put back in the water. During that time I put a coat of bottom paint on the boat and spent evenings reconnecting electronics and instruments while we lived at the top of a ladder. On day 5, the microwave stopped working. The microwave is a brand that is very expensive, yet smaller than any replacement microwave available on the market.  The cabinet that holds the microwave is too small for any other microwave. Bummer. On November seventh, the boat was put in the water and the mast was installed. The engine would not start so we were pulled by our dock lines to a side-tie position just beyond the lift pit and plugged into shore power so we could stay warm in the 32 degree temperatures forecasted. On November ninth, the engine started and the next day we move to a slip, free to continue preparations. On the 12th, I enlisted a couple of dockmates to help us carry the arch from the work area to the dock and we were able to hoist the arch into place and bolt it down. During the week, while driving doing errands I noticed an electronics shop and decided to see if our microwave might be repaired instead of thrown out. I could hardly get in the door due to the TVs, stereos and other electronics all over the place. What a mess! The Vietnamese man with a very thick accent got across to me that he would need $20 to look at the microwave. The next day he called and Barbie figured out that the microwave was repaired and that I would need to pay $40 more. Fabulous! On the 15th, our microwave was back and I didn't need to cut up the cabinet. The rest of the preparations were completed by the 21st.

We motored away from Turner's on Thursday the 22nd and anchored on the Alabama/Florida border for the night. The next night saw us in Destin, the next in Panama City Beach and then anchored in Ingram Creek off Saul Creek off Jackson Creek near Apalachicola on Christmas. We put in at Scipio Marina to spend a day in Apalachicola, enjoying a most decadent oyster stew at Boss Oyster. We shall return!

Before dawn on the 27th we slipped the dock lines and set out into the channel towards Government Cut and the Gulf of Mexico. I was confident that, with the chart to guide us and the RADAR running we could follow the straight channel through the shallows to the cut in the dark. Wrong! A buoy was way off station so the RADAR image it returned only served to confuse me and it guided me hard aground on the right side of the channel. We could not extricate ourselves and the tide was running out. We called for a tow using our BoatUS privileges, activated not quite a week earlier. Then the fog set in. We could hear small boats zooming by in the channel, very near to us and I'm certain that the could NOT hear my horn blasts warning them of our location since their engines were so loud. A call from Captain Mike on the responding towboat informed us that he was taking on water and that he had to return to base, but another boat would arrive in a few hours. Captain Tim arrived on scene at 11:30. I suggested he circle our boat to sound for deep water, but he said we were only about 75 feet from the channel and that he could pull us straight there. So he tied to the bridle I had made up and he pulled hard as I ran our engine hard as well. We eased ever so slowly and with some crunching sounds, moved toward and into the channel. He advised we follow him through the fog back to the harbor to wait for the fog to lift. We dropped anchor at 12:30. So much for the early start towards Tampa Bay.

Ten minutes later the fog lifted and so did our anchor. Even with clear visibility, I still skirted the right side of the channel near where we had run aground before, but did not touch bottom this time. We arrived at and transited Government Cut and were in the Gulf without incident. About a half hour later, we ran into more fog which persisted on and off until sundown. By then our RADAR had quit working. We do have our AIS unit working so I could see any vessels that transmitted and any vessel that had a receiver could see me. Since it was both dark and foggy there was nothing to see, so I motored through the night watching only the chartplotter and listening. By morning the fog was still thick and the forecast gave little encouragement for clearing until we had neared Tampa Bay. We had, however, survived the night. I was headed into South Channel to Gulfport and we anchored that evening off the Gulfport beach just before dark. The next morning I called the Gulfport Municipal Marina to see about slip availability. We had stayed there in 2012 getting our water maker installed so they had us in their computer. They said that they had no space for a transient vessel, but to call back in three hours. In two hours they called me and said that we could take the slip of an owner who was out cruising for at least another month. That will give Jupiter's Smile a home while we travel to France to visit Christina & Larry and the kids in Renne and then Candy Witt in the Southwestern part of France.

Now we need to get back to Mobile and get our van ... and Happy New Year.

Trucking the boat with Marina San Carlos and Joule Trucking.

Barb and I departed Colorado Springs for San Carlos, MX, November 9th, making our "usual" gas and motel stops along the way. We arrived in San Carlos Marina Seca the next day with Jupiter's Smile waiting for us in the work yard. We checked into our "go to" motel in San Carlos, Departimentos Adlai and went to the boat to begin the decommissioning for road travel process.

Some things went well, like the yard crew prepping and painting the bottom with one coat of toxic bottom paint while I was up the mast to disconnect the radar wire leads and remove the radar dome. I detached the connections for the wires for the various mast lights and radio antenna lead at the base of the mast. Trying to extract the radar wires from the base of the mast did not go well. I decided to cut these wires in the end. On the 11th, the yard crew extracted our keel-stepped mast from the boat and I spent the rest of the day removing the radar guard, Windex, radio antenna and spreaders. I removed the three solar panels and the wind generator and pole. On the 12th, I unbolted the arch and the crew used the crane to remove it. On the 13th, I purchased some hose at Home Depot intending to syphon the diesel fuel out of the tank but that didn't work. The instructions for shipping said we should have empty tanks (water, waste and fuel) for shipping so I wanted to empty them, but I never did since I couldn't. The waste tank was empty. I figured full water and diesel tanks would slosh less than partially full tanks and would remain stable on the trailer. In the end, it proved to be a non-issue. On Monday, we celebrated the Mexican holiday, Revolution Day. Tuesday, the yard crew helped me coil, tape and bag the nine stays and shrouds of the standing rigging, plastic wrap the mast and arch.

L to R: Mast, Boat, Arch

and we were loaded onto the trailer.  Notice that the truck is green.

The departure was delayed Wednesday morning because of a flat tire on the tractor truck.

I had placed a Spot tracking device on the boat, so we knew where Jupiter's Smile was located. Barb and I drove brhind the big rig through northern Mexico until it turned off the toll road. We went on, crossed the border and went to "our motel" in Nogales, AZ.

The next morning, we watched the tracker as the boat got underway again, reached the border and stayed there for quite a while. We went on to Tubac to spend waiting time roaming about in this cute town checking the Spot app on my iPhone from time to time. Eventually, the boat got underway again and we intercepted it as it passed the Tubac exit. The tractor truck was now white! That switch explained the delay. We followed the boat to the transfer station in Tucson where it was off-loaded and blocked on stands at Marco Crane.

Following the boat to Tucson

White truck delivers in Tucson Nov. 18

On U.S. soil, waiting

Joule Boat Transport was coming on Monday, the 21st, so over the weekend we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum, met the #1 Borzoi in the nation and runner up at Westminster, "Lucy" at the Tucson Kennel Club dog show and met Barb's friend from high school, Carol King at the Art Museum for lunch and to visit the craft fair.

Loading onto Joule's trailer, 11/21

Almost ready to roll

We are driving right behind

We followed for a very short distance eastbound, then we left the boat and turned north towards home. We got home at 4:30am, 11/22 and prepared to close the house and leave with our stored boat gear with a fairly full van. Thanksgiving weekend was coming up preventing the trucker from traveling. The Spot device indicated that the boat was in Orange, TX and we knew it would remain there until Monday, the 28th, so on the 26th we left home. On the evening of the 27th, we found our boat and put into a motel near by.

Parked for 3 nights in Orange, TX

We followed the boat through rain in Louisiana for a while on Monday and then went to an AirBnb in Mobile. The next day Jupiter's Smile was off-loaded at Turner's Boat Yard in Mobile and we slept aboard that night, November 29th. The land segment of the 2016-2017 cruising season was finished.

We aren't on the water for the 2015-2016 Cruising Season-but I'll write anyway

Having weathered Barb's ophthalmic woes in May-July of 2015 and with Jupiter's Smile securely stored in the yard in San Carlos we decided to enjoy the 2015-2016 cruising season by staying home in Colorado.

We enjoyed living in Colorado again, but we did go east to visit Mother in Virginia and to the Florida family to meet Baby John Gabriel (b.10/08/2015)

We did some upgrades to our home by remodeling our master bathroom and replacing our refrigerator and thirty-eight year old Corning, smooth-top oven/range.  The refrigerator delivery coincided with our first significant snowfall and the delivery was set to go as scheduled, as long as our dirveway was cleared of  ice and snow. Barb and I wielded our snow shovels for several hours clearing the 275 ft long driveway and the delivery was accomplished without a hitch. Well...except for the hitch in our arms, legs and backs that evening and for a day or so beyond. Since we were spending the winter here, I bought a snowblower within a few days. That was fortunate, because two weeks later our new stove with its smooth-top induction range was arriving...along with the next "significant" snowfall. It snowed for two days, but I enjoyed blowing the snow out of the driveway almost effortlessly, in about 45 minutes each day.

Barb got to enjoy the Christmas holiday at home for a change. We cut a good sized, mistletoe infested tree and used the top nine feet of it for our Christmas tree

and did some decorating 

to prepare for Christmas dinner with friends.
 

In 2016, we decided to visit Jupiter's Smile in the yard in San Carlos and left cold Colorado, April 8th. We had requested that the boat be moved out of the secure yard to the work yard and we arrived with our Little Giant telescoping step ladder and other instruments of construction to take up residence aboard our boat in the work yard. There was hardly a space available due to post-hurricane repairs being applied to damaged boats. We had decided to truck the boat to the Gulf Coast of the U.S. so the goal for this visit was to begin the preparations for that move. We removed instruments, antennae and outboard engines into the van. Barb and I sanded the companionway frame, cap rails and "eyebrow" teak and I applied three coats of epoxy (thank you, Mike Nolan, for the advice and guidance) and then three coats of Epiphanes varnish. While I did that work, Barb fashioned a Sunbrella cap rail cover for the teak. Based on the hours it took measuring, cutting, fitting and refitting and time at the sewing machine, she estimates she would need to charge $4000 to do all this again. We enjoyed our "Spring Break" in Mexico getting the work accomplished, visiting Viva Bob and other cruisers and checking the weather reports for the U.S. of A., as they were very different from Mexico's. We left for home on May 5th.

Showing the cap rail cover and clips

Then came late-Spring and the rains. Our property has a three and a half acre grassy area (in the past, it was our pasture for our horses), but it tends to get rather soft when it rains like it rained. I was able to mow only about half of the property, keeping the grass short nearest the house, remembering how that is a "fire-wise" practice. But the lower section of the pasture enjoyed the lack of attention and responded by reaching a height of three feet in places. When the rains stopped in July, I fired up the trusty gasoline powered, but human propelled mower and cut a 22 inch swath, inches at a time. With each agonizingly, arduously slow pass that threatened to choke the machine, I was despairing that it would take the better part of a week to finish this task. I kept telling myself that I was getting my exercise. No driving to a gym for me! Driving? Now there's an idea!

John Deere sells a beautiful yellow trimmed, green lawn tractor that cuts 42 inches at a time and never complains about the height of the jungle. We got one. After a few passes to see that it cuts through the grass like butter, Barb decided it was her turn to play. She mowed most of the acreage and returned to the garage with a smile on her face in about an hour and a half. Our carbon footprint has been enlarged, but with the help of internal combustion engines we will survive these tasks to live another day.

In September, Hurricane Newton visited San Carlos. We received an email from Marina Seca telling about the domino-like tipping of a row of boats within the yard adding that, if there were photos attached to the email, those photos documented the damage to your boat. Our email had no photos attached. Our friend, Viva Bob was in another marina and had weathered the storm with no damage either. We emailed him and Marina Seca asking if he could put his eyes on Jupiter's Smile giving Marina Seca Staff permission for him to enter the secure yard for this purpose. He saw that Barb's cap rail covers were still in place, mostly, but some of our "clips" were on the ground. Bob threw the clips into the cockpit. All was well and we were relieved.

We would return in November for an interesting 2016-2017 cruising season.

Bryan Nellor

2016 starts with sad news. We learned that Bryan Nellor died in Guatemala, succumbing to a lingering respiratory illness.

Barb and I met Bryan Nellor in September, 2003. He had just rigged his 41ft Cheoy Lee sailboat and was in the process of launching S/V Pearl S. Buck in Lake Pueblo. He didn't hide the fact that he had no time for chit chat, but it sure was a pretty boat. Kenna was very nice and spoke with us at length.

S/V Pearl S. Buck on Lake Pueblo, Colorado, USA, 2003

Barb and I sailed our Catalina 27 along side Bryan many days that summer and on one blustery day we enjoyed watching Bryan practicing single-handed jibing. We went back to the dock to hear that Bryan had been dismasted and we helped him secure Pearl in her slip when he came back. That put a several month delay on fun and more practice, but it did allow Bryan to upgrade the strength of his rigging and other components.

Barb and I had purchased our boat, S/V Jupiters's Smile in Florida, in May of 2004 and we knew we wanted to sail her to Galveston Bay to be closer (only 1000 miles away) to Colorado. By that time Bryan had decided to move Pearl to the same area. We looked forward to seeing him in Texas.

Barb and I sailed from Florida toward Texas beginning on December 1, 2004. We got as far as Biloxi, MS before Barb had to return to work and my friend, Larry took her place. On December 24th, Larry and I cruised up the Galveston ship channel in the dark, during a small craft advisory and snow. On a white Christmas, Larry and I contacted Bryan in Seabrook and we three finally found a restaurant to celebrate - at Denny's!

Barb and I, or I alone returned to Kemah several times throughout 2005 and sometimes we sailed along side Bryan in Galveston Bay. In September, Bryan and I weathered Hurricane Rita's evacuation order and our boats were left unscathed as Rita curved to the right. Unfortunately, that's where Bryan had sought shelter, in Beaufort, so he had a second evacuation. On January 7th, 2006 I said farewell to Bryan and Chris as I set out for Florida with a crew of four; Glenn Miller, Mike Nolan, Jerry Moritz and me. We made it to Tampa Bay, Florida eventually.

Bryan left Texas as well and cruised the Bahamas meeting Skip and Mary on Chrysallis and Ted and Judy on Helen Irene. We reunited with Bryan and Chris in Wrightsville Beach, NC that summer as we all decided to head north for hurricane season. Helen Irene stopped in Beaufort, NC, but Bryan Chris and we pushed on up the Intra-Coastal Waterway, anchoring in Portsmouth, VA. Together, we stopped to visit my cousin on the James River and then went upstream to visit Jamestown.

We anchored our boats near the replicas of the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery,

launched our dinghies and tied up to the National Park Service dock. We toured the vessels and then found a Park Ranger. I asked the ranger where we could pay the admission fee and the look on his face was priceless. Had he just come upon aliens? He asked, "How did you get to where we are standing without paying?" I said, "The same way the Jamestown settlers did, by boat." We paid our fees and toured the historic site. We had to anchor and wait for a bridge opening on the way downriver. The next day we entered Chesapeake Bay. All was well until a blinding storm forced us to find shelter using my RADAR, communicating on a sketchy radio with Bryan. The following day we motored up the Potomac River toward Washington, DC to see the July 4th fireworks in the Capitol.

Getting to the anchorage in Washington Channel was no picnic. First we had to have the 50 ft. Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened. Our mast is 55 ft. and Bryan's is taller. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge is I-95/I-495 and only opens once a day and only if an appointment is confirmed 48 hours ahead. During the week the opening is at midnight. On weekends it opens at 10pm. This was a weekend and we had made our appointment, but a huge thunderstorm was rolling through the area. As the skies opened up with a torrent of rain and lightning lit up the sky I was unable to see where the bridge span would open and neither could Bryan. The navigation lights on the bridge were not lit and the new bridge span under construction on our side of it made the scene very confusing. The bridge operator said that three boats were coming through southbound and that would confirm the location of the open span for us. Indeed, as the southbound boats came through we located the opening and headed north. The bridge had been collecting rain for well over an hour and the roadway storm drain was producing a 45 ft high waterfall through which we had to drive our boats. Once through the bridge and up the river a short distance approaching Alexandria, I saw that logs and snags were rushing down the rain swollen Potomac and closing in fast. I feared for Bryan behind us and encouraged him to try to get closer to us and avoid the logs. We made it to the Anacostia River bifurcation and the Washington Channel and dropped the hook at around midnight. We had earned a wonderful fireworks show.

During our stay in DC Bryan and Chris met my parents and my brother, Larry and we did some sightseeing.

Departing DC was easier because we got permission from the bridge tender to follow a 90 ft., handmade, Panamanian sail boat with a 100ft. mast, at 6am on, July 6th through both the old and new bridges. The old bridge was demolished about a month later and the new bridge is 70ft. high so now we may come up the Potomac to DC without obstructions.

Panamanian sailing vessel Paharo Jai opens I-495, 0600, July 6, 2006. The old bridge is first and the new bridge is not yet open completely.

 We made stops in Annapolis and Baltimore before going through the C and D canal, rushing with the tide down the Delaware River to Cape May, NJ. At the bridge at Cape May, Pearl brushed her VHF antenna on the underside of the bridge, but caused no damage.

Cruising in the Atlantic along the Jersey shore we pulled into Manasquan Inlet and anchored along the banks of the river. Just at dark, a squall let loose 70 knot winds, but both boats stayed on their anchors with the help of our motors. The squall was terrifying, but short lived and the next day we sailed into Great Kill Harbor in Staten Island. Here we met a French boat, Kurika. We spent a memorable evening aboard with Jean and Josiane. Bryan helped us get back to our boat. Don't ask.

We ran with the tide through NY Harbor and into Long Island Sound.

Jupiter's Smile trailing behind and photographing Pearl heading north in 2006

With a brief beach landing in Smithtown Bay, Long Island, to visit my old stomping grounds, we sailed our boats through the Sound to New London, CT. where Bryan and Chris intended to stay for the summer hurricane season. This is where Bryan's friend Skip was working on S/V Chrysallis at the navy base and we got to meet him before parting ways as we left for our next destination, Swan's Island, Maine.

"I'm a cruiser and cruisers are not just a little nuts!!!"

On our return trip southbound we visited with Bryan and Chris in New London again and resolved to meet up to head to the Caribbean together. We accomplished that reunion with Pearl and Helen Irene in St. Augustine, FL. While waiting for Chrysallis to arrive we met Oscar and Sue on S/V Nautilus and enjoyed their company very much. 

(L to R) Oscar, Jay, Barb, Sue, Chris, Whisper, Mary, Judy, Ted, Skip & Bryan aboard Oscar and Sue's S/V Nautilus, St. Augustine, FL, January 10, 2007.

We left St. Augustine taking the ICW to Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce. Here, Bryan hauled his boat to repair damage to his keel. With the damage repaired we headed south to Lake Worth where we met Roger and Adel on S/C Wild Horses. Being an experienced cruiser, especially when it comes to hospitality, Adel invited us for beverages and had a great time. While we waited for weather, we all did boat chores and sightseeing. Together, Chrysallis, Helen Irene, Pearl and Jupiter's Smile exited Lake Worth Inlet into the Atlantic and sailed south past Miami then, without stopping, at dawn, took a left turn towards the Bahamas making Gun Cay Cut by mid-afternoon the next day.

We gathered at Gun Cay. The plan had been to travel together through the Bahamas to the Caribbean without stopping for provisions, water or fuel, avoiding the $300 cruising permit fee and sailing under the yellow quarantine flag. 

Just before we left Florida, my father suffered a stroke. It was not too serious and he said we should go ahead with our plans. I didn't feel great about that and decided on a compromise. Barb and I would check into the Bahamas, cruise the islands and abandon the Caribbean plan. The other three boats planned to go on. We all sailed to Nassau together and on a Sunday they left to sail to Allen's Cay while we waited until Monday to buy a part we needed. We rejoined "the fleet" at Allen's Cay, snorkeling and enjoying the iguanas. The next day the fleet departed, but we stayed behind.

We heard that they eventually reached George Town. Skip was experiencing some health problems. Chris had second thoughts about cruising after having suffering a heart attack the year before in Marsh Harbor, the Abacos. Ted and Judy stayed in George Town and we caught up with the crew of Helen Irene after Chrysallis and Pearl headed north to the US.

The trip to the Caribbean was now off for the whole fleet. We spoke on the radio to Chrysallis on their way back north, but did not see Bryan again until a year later. During that time Bryan had returned to Florida and Chris and Whisper left Pearl. Bryan sailed back to Seabrook, TX and helped a couple of boat owners to move their boats across or around the Gulf and kept busy with varnish and boat repair business. Meanwhile, Barb and I decided to head to the Western Caribbean in the Spring of 2008 and so did Bryan.

To Guatemala, 2008

We left Florida and Bryan left Texas, May 5th, meeting in Isla Mujeras to check into Mexico, May 8th. Bryan had a crew of two women, Dorothy one of them. Dorothy had sailed the world's longitudes from Tonga, westward to Texas. She had intentions of finishing her circumnavigation and she urged Bryan along as well as she could. Bryan tended to move only after smelling the roses along the way. Pearl left Isla Mujeras soon after they arrived. Barb and I played and cruised along the Mexican coast southbound more slowly. We met Bryan and Dorothy again in Cay Calker, Belize on May, 25th.

We had gotten word from my brother, Tom, a NOAA Meteorologist, that a tropical storm, Alma, had formed in the Pacific and was forecast to cross Central America to reform as tropical storm Arthur within a week. He had advised that we get up the Rio Dulce before May 29th. We sailed through Belize quickly, stopping in Placencia to clear out of Belize. On May 28th, we paid our fees, checked into Guatemala, at Livingston, and motored up the Rio Dulce to ride out the storm in Texan Bay. The storm was a rain event for us, but back in Placencia, some cruisers and the Moorings charter fleet suffered damage from the wind and rising waters and nine people were killed in Belize.

Heading up the Rio Dulce, Guatamala, May 28, 2008 ahead of Hurricane Alma

Bryan, Barb and Dorothy on the Rio Dulce bridge. Bryan looks contented! June 3, 2008

Initially, we had Jupiter's Smile at the same marina as Pearl, Hacienda Tijax. Pearl was on a reasonably sturdy dock, but we were Med moored to a dock with rickety posts. Across the river, a small marina with sturdy new docks had opened. Our friends, Richard and Pam on S/C Tisha Baby pulled into Nana Juana and we negotiated a price with the new manager and tied up. The electric meter read 00000. We were the first occupants. Bryan stayed a Tijax.

Our boats spent the summer and Fall here. Bryan and I both commissioned sun shades to be made, we took Spanish lessons, we toured the Mayan ruins in Quirigua, Copan and Tikal with Bryan and Dorothy and others. Barb and I returned to the US for a short visit. 

Macaw Mountain Bird Sanctuary, Copan, Honduras, Oct 23, 2008.

Dinner in Copan with Jay, Barb, Dorothy, VIVA Bob, Richard, Bryan, Pam, Sue and Pat.  

Tikal, Guatamala, Nov 5, 2008

Bryan took this photo of Maestra y Dra. Iliana Sotomayor, Jay and Barb at Spanish class, Fronteras, Guatemala, 2008.

Bryan was always ready to help. An English cruiser was found by his girlfriend one morning, dead in his berth. A call on the radio prompted Bryan, a fellow named John from S/V Grace and me to help this woman. We extricated the naked body from the berth and wrapped him in a blanket. The Guatemalan officials would not do anything because the woman was not next of kin so John went back to his boat and using the Internet, found the British Civil Partnership Act of 2004 document between Elton John and his partner David Furnish. John photoshopped the couple's names into the document, printed it and slipped it to the woman. This satisfied the officials and the gentleman's body and his girlfriend were happily whisked away into the bureaucratic sunset after a long day.

One afternoon, a thick black plume of smoke began to rise rapidly near the Fronteras side of the Rio Dulce bridge. It turned out that the fire was from a diesel storage facility and in the evening I asked Bryan if he had seen it. In fact, Bryan had gone in his dinghy and as los bomberos (firemen) were fighting the fire he realized that the shut off valve need to be shut off if the fire was to be staunched. At great risk, he got to the valve and shut it off. 

Just down river from the town of Rio Dulce is an orphanage called Casa Guatemala. Many cruisers visit on their open house days, interact with the children and leave a donation. The hostel and restaurant, Backpackers, provides an income stream for the orphanage as well. Bryan volunteered to make repairs to the dormitory and spent the better part of two weeks using his woodworking skills to shore up and patch the roof. I believe he paid for the materials as well.

Barb and I were heading home to Colorado and Pam said she would ferry us from our boat to town to catch the bus. Once at the bus station, I realized I had left our passports on our boat. I used the VHF radio to call Bryan to ask him to run me back to our boat and then to the bus station again. He did that, without voicing any objection or passing judgement. Just there to help - always.

While we were in Colorado, our house sitter remarked that a cruiser had been killed in the Rio Dulce. We thought he was kidding at first, but it was true.  The victim was a man that Barb never met and one with whom I shared a couple of hours at a cruiser's weather seminar.  He was from Alaska. He intended to ready his newly purchased boat for cruising here in Rio Dulce so I felt some connection. Bryan had met the man and his wife while we were away. 

Four local bad men boarded his boat looking for dollars. They killed Dan and seriously injured Nancy. The men left with no dollars and only a little of the Guatemalan currency. Nancy has recovered. The long version and details may be found on the family’s blog:

http://danieldrydenincidentdetails.blogspot.com/

While Bryan and I were visiting the agent, Raul, to renew our Guatemala cruising permit, the surviving wife came in and Bryan introduced me to Nancy. Her family had joined her and when Bryan inquired about her plans, she shared that she wanted to take the boat out sailing, but that they would need a captain because they had not had a chance to ever sail the boat and didn’t know how. Bryan volunteered to captain and I volunteered to help if they thought they needed help.

Bryan and I met the fledgling crew aboard S/V Sunday’s Child, soon to be renamed Kwiana, and we all went sailing and had a wonderful time. If you have checked their blog you already have a sense of the quality of people we accompanied. They are wonderful. I was at the helm initially while Bryan held a class for the rest of the crew on the foredeck teaching the differences between "port" and "starboard", "ropes" and "lines, sheets and halyards". Nancy was gracious and eager. Daughter, Jess and her husband, Brian seemed to take to sailing like they were born to it. Son Daniel, III, was a wizard at the helm and the instigator of a man/woman/whole crew (under the age of 50) overboard drill. Family friend, Alejandro took a turn at the wheel as well. While Renee seemed shy, she was watching closely. It was an almost perfect lake-sailing day with enough wind from the stern quarter to keep the boat moving, but not so much that any fears arose. At one point, after coming about, we had the boat heeled a bit and running with the wind just forward of the beam so she was moving out smartly. The crew seemed awestruck as the only sound that moment was the hiss of the bow cutting through the water. Nancy was moved to tears. This was what her husband would have wanted – a fine craft, doing what it was meant to do, with his family aboard and working together.....and life goes on. Get up each morning and treasure every minute. Hug your family. Help another. Accept another. Give everyone a cheery greeting. Appreciate. Celebrate. 

I feel blessed to this day, because Bryan Nellor reached out, yet again, to help his fellow man and I was lucky to be there to stand in his shadow as he did it.

S/V Jupiter's Smile and S/V Pearl S. Buck were often side by side, even on land! Abel's Boat Yard Fronteras, Guatamala November, 2008.

To Panama

VIVA Bob, Bryan and Dorothy and Barb and I left the Rio Dulce and Guatemala on December 1, 2008 and made our way toward Utila, Honduras. At an anchorage along the way VIVA Bob discovered an engine mount on one engine had broken and his other engine would not start. Bob was confident that he could run the one engine slowly and sparingly so we decided to head for the port of Le Ceiba so that Bob could get repairs done and told him we would sail along with him in case something worse happened. As we left the anchorage we came upon S/V Grace with a dead engine trying to enter the anchorage we were leaving. We advised Elaine and John to follow us, under sail, to Le Ceiba as well. VIVA, a bigger boat and a catamaran was soon out of sight sailing smartly to Le Ceiba. It became apparent that Grace would not make Le Ceiba by dark, but Bryan and I stuck with her when we heard Bob reporting on the radio that there was room inside the breakwater and that the entrance was easy. The wind fell off as darkness set in so Bryan and I motored into the anchorage. Bob had launched his dinghy and he picked up Bryan to go tow Grace into the anchorage. I got our dinghy launched and went out to help tow. We had now entered Honduras so we needed to clear into the port with the Port Captain, visit immigration with our crew and passports and pay our fee for a cruising permit. Having done that, we moved our boats to the marina for repairs, ours included because our RADAR was acting strangely and this might be an opportunity to fix it. Bryan and Dorothy sailed off to French Harbor, Roatan. After repairs, mine a few hours (only minimally successful), Grace a day and Bob a few weeks we went our separate ways. We followed Pearl to Roatan and had a great time. Grace went back to Rio Dulce. VIVA Bob joined us on Roatan after he got his repairs done, in January.

Christmas pot luck celebration at Coco View Resort, French Harbor, Roatan, Honduras, 2008

Three weeks went by quickly and as New Year's Eve approached, Bryan realized he could not find his Honduras Cruising Permit. The permit needs to be surrendered upon leaving the country and Bryan and Dorothy wanted to be on their way to Panama soon. VIVA Bob was still in Le Ceiba and tried to get the Port Captain to give him a copy of Bryan's Permit to send to Bryan, but the fellow refused. We had met Rich and Pat on S/V SoCal SoGood and they had a scanner/copier/printer. Recalling the Elton John Civil Partnership solution, Bryan and I took my cruising permit to Rich and Pat's boat and after a little copying and photoshopping Bryan had a new cruising permit. We all got together on S/V SoCal SoGood to ring in the New Year.  January was spent exploring West End and other anchorages on Roatan.  We also had a delightful reunion with Kwiana in French Harbor. In February Bryan and Dorothy set out to Guanaja, the eastern-most "Bay Island" in preparation for the challenge of waiting for weather for going east around Nicaragua and then heading south to Panama. They got their weather window.

We were waiting for new anchor chain, but when we checked it seemed to have been sold to another cruiser out from under us. I got our deposit returned and we left on the voyage to Bocas Del Drago, Panama, arriving the end of May. Bryan had heard we were on our way and left Bocas del Toro to meet us at Starfish Beach so that Barb and I would have company while we waited there until the next day, a Monday, to check into Panama. That was very thoughtful and we enjoyed another reunion

No panic in a cayuco (canoe) in Laguna de Bluefield, Panama, Jun 22, 2009.

Bryan entertains young Panamanian boys from Tobobe, June 23, 2009.

Richard and Pam arrived on S/C Tisha Baby and we met Wim and Annette (Austrian and German) on S/V Thetis. We all bummed around Bocas and the surroundings for some time and then we put Jupiter's Smile in the Marina so we could leave the country to "recharge" our visa by visiting and touring Costa Rica.

We left Bocas with Pearl and Thetis, to cruise the local islands and then made our way, day hopping, to Cayos Zapatilla, to Laguna de Bluefield, Tobabo, Escudo de Veraguas and then entered the Rio Chagres, the river outlet below the dam that forms Lago Gatun, the water source for the Panama Canal. We went up the river, almost to the dam, to a small lake to the right of the main channel. The three boats stayed here for several days. We saw lots of wildlife including crocodiles, howler monkeys (heard them too) and toucans all the while surrounded by thick jungle. There is a dock and a dirt road to the main road where we picked up the bus, crossed the dam and went to Colon and did some provisioning. The water in the lake is clean, fresh water so we all did laundry using the washing device on Thetis. Wim and Annette left their boat in our care and went to Panama City to see the sights.  Bryan and I had ordered portable generators while we were in Bocas and these were delivered to us at the dock while we were here.

One day a Panamanian patrol boat came into the lake and ordered us to leave. How many times had I been told by officials, "It is impossible!" as an answer to my requests? I turned the tables and said, "It is impossible!! Our friends on Thetis are in Panama City and we are charged with watching their boat. We can not leave. Impossible!" The official in charge made a couple of phone calls and then responded that surely two boats need not watch one and so one boat must leave. Bryan said he would leave. The official then softened and said Bryan just needed to be down the river to the first bend and be out of sight of the road so his superior would know that he had done his job. I called Wim's cell phone and told him that he needed to get back as soon as they could and that seemed to please the patrol captain. The captain took pictures of our boats, of us and of our passports and left with a wave of the hand and a smile. Nothing is entirely impossible.

Wim and Annette returned and we all departed, anchoring upstream of the river's mouth to explore old Fort St. Lorenzo. Next morning we said farewell to Thetis' crew and we sailed the seven miles together to the San Cristobal breakwater entrance where they entered the harbor and we pressed on to Portobelo. In Portobelo, the holding is difficult but we both got our anchor's set. Portobelo is an interesting historic site and a bus runs to a suburb of Colon where one may transfer to the bus to Panama City. Bryan, Barb and I did that to purchase batteries for our boat staying in a hotel for a night. That evening, my wallet went missing so I spent many hours calling our credit card companies canceling and arranging for re-issuing of new cards. Our replacement debit card could be delivered to the hotel, but the visa credit card could only be sent to a US address - damn! Bryan suggested we use Chris' address in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida because he decided he would fly to Florida (cheap Spirit Airline rate) to renew his Passport anyway and he could return with our credit card if the fates allowed. Barb went back to Portobelo alone, Bryan left for Florida and I arranged for five batteries and a taxi to deliver them and me to our boat.

While Bryan was gone, a storm blew through the anchorage and Pearl began to drag her anchor. I dinghyed over to help; and as we got Pearl secured, I noticed a catamaran, S/C True Companions, moving backwards, unattended. Some cruisers call this, "going walkabout". Dorothy and I dinghyed over, boarded and noticed that the keys for the engines were in the ignition switches. I started the engines and maneuvered. Wim realized what we were attempting to do and came over from Thetis to help as well. Wim and Dorothy got the anchor reset and we had saved the boat.

It turned out that the owners of the boat, Steve and Vickie, planned on crossing the Pacific and they were looking for crew. Dorothy agreed to join them but would stay with Bryan until we got to the San Blas Islands, a destination for her as well. When Bryan returned we left for the San Blas. After visiting a few islands, Dorothy departed at Carti for the van ride to Panama City to return to the States for a visit.  She subsequently joined Steve and Vickie for the passage across the Pacific. I'm pretty sure that having Dorothy aboard saved their lives while she completed her circumnavigation with them.

With Dorothy gone, Bryan single-handed Pearl, cruising around the San Blas Islands for a week with us before we sailed back to Portobelo and then to Shelter Bay Marina. Headed back to Bocas del Toro, he intended to anchor in the Rio Chagres, but ran aground. He got himself free and returned to Shelter Bay Marina to assess the damage. We left for Panama City and a flight to the US.

I believe Bryan left Shelter Bay and made it to Bocas del Toro with a plan in mind to earn a living transporting "backpackers" between Portobelo and Cartagena, Colombia. We know he had transmission troubles in Cartagena and got towed to the anchorage to effect repairs. We saw him again in the winter of 2009 in Cartagena. We had anchored in the Bay of Cholon. There is a fast, bumpy and sometimes wet open-boat ride that departs the Bay at 0600 arriving in Cartagena in about 45 minutes the only return trip is at 0945, leaving about three hours to do whatever business one needs to do. Bryan offered us shelter aboard Pearl so that we could spend some time together and we could catch the return trip the next day. He sailed into the Bay of Cholon with an eclectic group of travelers bound for Portobelo in January 2010. Even then, he was on a mission of mercy for one of his "crew members". We visited for the one day/evening he was there, and he and his crew sailed out the next morning. That was to be the last time we saw him on Pearl.

I do not know how many "backpacker" trips he made, but he eventually found his way back to the Rio Dulce. Finances conspired against him resulting in the loss of Pearl S. Buck and that must have been devastating, but I'll bet Bryan shrugged it off as much as he could and he went onward. What else could he do? He found friendship in Antigua, Guatemala, but I know very little about that. He came back to the US and was helping Clint and Carol do some remodeling at their home in Denver. Barb and I visited them, and Bryan returned the visit to stay with us for a night. That was the last time we hugged.

We sailed many miles with Bryan. We had many wonderful experiences with him. That we will not see him again is very saddening. Rest in peace my friend. You are missed already.

Happy at the helm in Galveston Bay, 2005.  Farewell my dear friend!