31 Dec 2017
Seasons Greetings loved ones,
The end of this year has been busy with work on the big job I mentioned at the end of the previous post. The boat yard finally pulled the boat on October 20. Shortly thereafter Capt Johne discovered that the whole bottom of the boat had problems. It seems the previous bottom job had been badly botched. Blisters were ground out leaving gouges, only some of which had been patched with bondo which isn't good under water. Johne told the owner about the situation and asked if he wanted Johne to fix it while the boat was already out of the water, or if he wanted to wait and deal with it later. He decided to have Johne go ahead and take care of it, so the already big job got much bigger. The last two months have been focused around getting the work done as quickly as possible since every day in the yard is a big expense.
I'm very happy to report that the bottom is now in fabulous condition. The extension looks like it came from the factory. The boat is back in the water. The owners arrived yesterday. And they're very happy with the work to this point. There is more to do. The storage box needs to be built on the extension. And some more sanding, fairing, and final paint.
Because this work has grown and taken longer than expected, the trip we're planning to FL has been delayed. Hopefully by early to mid February we'll be able to head that way.
In other news, Melissa was back with us for most of November and part of December. It was lovely to have her aboard again.
We enjoyed going to a great party for Jordan and Desiree's wedding in mid November.
We've gotten to spend a bit of time with other friends here and there. We've enjoyed some good music and the great weather we're having on the island. (Sorry, I don't mean to gloat. I know some of you are freezing your tails off.)
I hope that you all have joy and happiness in 2018. Prospero año nuevo. Happy New Year.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Friday, October 20, 2017
Several more months
14 Oct. 2017
Greetings loved ones,
Since the end of may, when last I posted, we've continued to stay busy. With some work, some travel and some working travel.
In March, a young couple, Jordan and Desiree, arrived in Isla Mujeres on their 30 foot sail boat, Atticus. Shortly after their arrival a "nortè" blew through and Atticus drug anchor. She ended up dragging into one of the marinas, doing a bit of damage to a couple of other boats. This is how we met them, as they were going around thanking everyone who had helped, with apologies and assurances that Jordan would repair the damage they caused. When Capt Johne found out Jordan has fibre glassing skills, he asked if Jordan would want to work with him on an up coming rudder job. Jordan was excited to have the work even after I told him that Capt Johne is a perfectionist and can be difficult to work for. Within a month they had moved to the dock here and have been our next door neighbours ever since.
This past year has been the year of the rudder. Johne has built, or rebuilt, 5 rudders in the last 18 months. After we got back from Ft Myers, early in June, he and Jordan started on a huge rudder for a 55 foot sail boat that had run aground off of Cuba.
At the same time, our friend Melissa, a Nova Scotian, who spends quite a bit of time here on Isla, came to stay aboard Second Star for a bit to learn more about boat life and whether it suits her.
June 6th I made a trip up to VA to help my family with huge, on going, project of clearing out the house my parents moved out of after 37 years of stuff collecting. When I got back on the 13th, the welding work was almost done and it was time to start foaming and fibre glassing. It took a couple more weeks to finish the rudder (I don't think Melissa is so sure about this part of boat life) at which point Bob arrived for a couple of weeks of "vacation". I don't think Bob has ever made a trip to Second Star that he hasn't done boat work and bled, and this was no exception. While the guys finished up the keel work Melissa and I started getting Second Star ready for sea. When the job was completed, both Second Star and Atticus headed down to Bahia Ascencion for some fishing, snorkeling and much needed relaxation. It had taken a full month (a little longer than expected) to completely rebuild the rudder, pull the boat out in the yard, fix the damage to the keel and re-launch.
The trip down to Ascencion was pretty nice. Melissa hadn't done much if any boating and, while we had some rougher conditions in the evening, overall it wasn't a bad trip. She said she enjoyed the good parts enough to make up for the not-so-good parts.
We had a very pleasant week down there. Bob and Johne got to do some good bone fish stalking. Jordan went with them for one of those trips. Jordan, Desiree, Melissa and I got some good snorkeling in. There was reading time, dolphin watching, some napping and some good meals.
We headed back a couple of days before Bob was flying out so we could troll on the way and stop in Cozumel over night. The weather was beautiful and the fishing wasn't bad. They were catching a bunch of frigate mackerel and a couple of false albacore. It was all catch and release, but I think they had fun.
When we got back in cell phone range, we received the very sad and shocking news that Johne's cousin Armida had passed away. As I mentioned in the last updated, we had just seen her on our trip to Indian Wells in March. It was very difficult to wrap around the idea of her being gone.
When we arrived at the marina in Cozumel I boched a simple docking and damaged the starboard bulwark by putting too much pressure on the cleat. Trying to set all that aside, we went into town and had a pleasant dinner. And the next day we had more great weather to finish the trip back to Isla Mujeres. Bob headed home the next day and shortly after that Melissa went back to Canada for some family stuff.
As soon as we got settled back in it was time to start the next rudder job. This one was a pair of small rudders for a 42 foot sailing catamaran. Johne made templates and got the "back bones" welded. Then Jordan made "foils" which hold the shape. After that comes foaming, sanding, glassing, sanding, fairing, more sanding...and bottom paint.
Before mid - August we'd finished that job and we were waiting for the next weather window to make another run to Ft Myers. Jordan and Desiree needed to take care of some stuff in FL also, so, while Desiree needed to be there by a set date, they decided Jordan could ride up with us.
The weather was mostly great for the trip and Jordan was excited for the chance to fish on the way. The first day, less than 40 miles out, they caught some nice tuna. The second day we came across a big box of some kind floating in the middle-of-nowhere gulf of Mexico. We trolled passed it and right away they called "fish on". I brought the throttles back, put her in neutral, and watched a very excited Jordan bring in his first Mahi-mahi. We made a few more passes and they brought in several more Mahi before we moved on. All in all a successful trip up.
The 2 weeks in Ft Myers was hectic. We had lots of stuff to gather up and get loaded aboard. A road trip to the east coast for supplies for the next big job. And trying to get in as much visiting friends time as possible.
Desiree was able to join us for the trip back which made for a luxurious 3-on 9-off watch schedule. There was more successful fishing and we made the trip in record time for this direction. Capt Johne managed to use the gulf stream in our favour which is almost impossible coming this way. (For more detail on the trip back see the Captains log, posted in September).
We got back at the end of August and I had less than 2 weeks before I was flying up to VA again for my family "beach week ". There was a damper on this year's gathering because Darrin couldn't come due to some major issues his girlfriend is having. But the rest of us had a lovely time. The weather was mostly beautiful in spite of the threat of hurricanes. We had beach walks, pool time, puzzles and games, Thai body work, stories, movies and lots of great meals. I'm very close to my family and it's wonderful to get to spend time with them.
More sad news came while I was at the beach with my family. Our friend Kay, who had travelled with us through the Panama canal a few years ago, had a heart attack and passed away suddenly. Kay was very loved here on Isla, in TX, and, I'm sure, everywhere she touched. She is missed.
I got home from that trip on September 18th. Since then, most of the focus has been on the current big job, which is a wet deck extension, similar to the one on Second Star, for a 58 foot Bertram. The first part of the frame work is shaped and welded, and some preliminary fibre glass work is done. Now we're waiting for the boat yard to be ready to haul her out.
When this job is finished, we're planning another run to FL. After that there is talk of heading south again. Colombia, Panama...who knows? The adventure continues.
Greetings loved ones,
Since the end of may, when last I posted, we've continued to stay busy. With some work, some travel and some working travel.
In March, a young couple, Jordan and Desiree, arrived in Isla Mujeres on their 30 foot sail boat, Atticus. Shortly after their arrival a "nortè" blew through and Atticus drug anchor. She ended up dragging into one of the marinas, doing a bit of damage to a couple of other boats. This is how we met them, as they were going around thanking everyone who had helped, with apologies and assurances that Jordan would repair the damage they caused. When Capt Johne found out Jordan has fibre glassing skills, he asked if Jordan would want to work with him on an up coming rudder job. Jordan was excited to have the work even after I told him that Capt Johne is a perfectionist and can be difficult to work for. Within a month they had moved to the dock here and have been our next door neighbours ever since.
This past year has been the year of the rudder. Johne has built, or rebuilt, 5 rudders in the last 18 months. After we got back from Ft Myers, early in June, he and Jordan started on a huge rudder for a 55 foot sail boat that had run aground off of Cuba.
At the same time, our friend Melissa, a Nova Scotian, who spends quite a bit of time here on Isla, came to stay aboard Second Star for a bit to learn more about boat life and whether it suits her.
June 6th I made a trip up to VA to help my family with huge, on going, project of clearing out the house my parents moved out of after 37 years of stuff collecting. When I got back on the 13th, the welding work was almost done and it was time to start foaming and fibre glassing. It took a couple more weeks to finish the rudder (I don't think Melissa is so sure about this part of boat life) at which point Bob arrived for a couple of weeks of "vacation". I don't think Bob has ever made a trip to Second Star that he hasn't done boat work and bled, and this was no exception. While the guys finished up the keel work Melissa and I started getting Second Star ready for sea. When the job was completed, both Second Star and Atticus headed down to Bahia Ascencion for some fishing, snorkeling and much needed relaxation. It had taken a full month (a little longer than expected) to completely rebuild the rudder, pull the boat out in the yard, fix the damage to the keel and re-launch.
The trip down to Ascencion was pretty nice. Melissa hadn't done much if any boating and, while we had some rougher conditions in the evening, overall it wasn't a bad trip. She said she enjoyed the good parts enough to make up for the not-so-good parts.
We had a very pleasant week down there. Bob and Johne got to do some good bone fish stalking. Jordan went with them for one of those trips. Jordan, Desiree, Melissa and I got some good snorkeling in. There was reading time, dolphin watching, some napping and some good meals.
We headed back a couple of days before Bob was flying out so we could troll on the way and stop in Cozumel over night. The weather was beautiful and the fishing wasn't bad. They were catching a bunch of frigate mackerel and a couple of false albacore. It was all catch and release, but I think they had fun.
When we got back in cell phone range, we received the very sad and shocking news that Johne's cousin Armida had passed away. As I mentioned in the last updated, we had just seen her on our trip to Indian Wells in March. It was very difficult to wrap around the idea of her being gone.
When we arrived at the marina in Cozumel I boched a simple docking and damaged the starboard bulwark by putting too much pressure on the cleat. Trying to set all that aside, we went into town and had a pleasant dinner. And the next day we had more great weather to finish the trip back to Isla Mujeres. Bob headed home the next day and shortly after that Melissa went back to Canada for some family stuff.
As soon as we got settled back in it was time to start the next rudder job. This one was a pair of small rudders for a 42 foot sailing catamaran. Johne made templates and got the "back bones" welded. Then Jordan made "foils" which hold the shape. After that comes foaming, sanding, glassing, sanding, fairing, more sanding...and bottom paint.
Before mid - August we'd finished that job and we were waiting for the next weather window to make another run to Ft Myers. Jordan and Desiree needed to take care of some stuff in FL also, so, while Desiree needed to be there by a set date, they decided Jordan could ride up with us.
The weather was mostly great for the trip and Jordan was excited for the chance to fish on the way. The first day, less than 40 miles out, they caught some nice tuna. The second day we came across a big box of some kind floating in the middle-of-nowhere gulf of Mexico. We trolled passed it and right away they called "fish on". I brought the throttles back, put her in neutral, and watched a very excited Jordan bring in his first Mahi-mahi. We made a few more passes and they brought in several more Mahi before we moved on. All in all a successful trip up.
The 2 weeks in Ft Myers was hectic. We had lots of stuff to gather up and get loaded aboard. A road trip to the east coast for supplies for the next big job. And trying to get in as much visiting friends time as possible.
Desiree was able to join us for the trip back which made for a luxurious 3-on 9-off watch schedule. There was more successful fishing and we made the trip in record time for this direction. Capt Johne managed to use the gulf stream in our favour which is almost impossible coming this way. (For more detail on the trip back see the Captains log, posted in September).
We got back at the end of August and I had less than 2 weeks before I was flying up to VA again for my family "beach week ". There was a damper on this year's gathering because Darrin couldn't come due to some major issues his girlfriend is having. But the rest of us had a lovely time. The weather was mostly beautiful in spite of the threat of hurricanes. We had beach walks, pool time, puzzles and games, Thai body work, stories, movies and lots of great meals. I'm very close to my family and it's wonderful to get to spend time with them.
More sad news came while I was at the beach with my family. Our friend Kay, who had travelled with us through the Panama canal a few years ago, had a heart attack and passed away suddenly. Kay was very loved here on Isla, in TX, and, I'm sure, everywhere she touched. She is missed.
I got home from that trip on September 18th. Since then, most of the focus has been on the current big job, which is a wet deck extension, similar to the one on Second Star, for a 58 foot Bertram. The first part of the frame work is shaped and welded, and some preliminary fibre glass work is done. Now we're waiting for the boat yard to be ready to haul her out.
When this job is finished, we're planning another run to FL. After that there is talk of heading south again. Colombia, Panama...who knows? The adventure continues.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
The latest
May 26 2017
Greetings loved ones,
Okay, an update every six months or so is better than nothing, right?
We've just gotten back to Isla Mujeres after a trip to FL with Second Star. We left April 22nd to head up there. Our friend Phil came down to ride back with us. So, with three of us to share the watches, it was a pretty easy trip. It was a little rough the first day, but very nice the second.
Our time in Ft Myers was very busy and productive. Picking up parts and things, seeing friends, getting things loaded aboard the boat...the almost three weeks we were there flew by. Thanks to Phil asking, we were able to dock at the same place we always have in spite of the fact that the Whitesmans sold the house. David and Denise, the new owners, are lovely people and we're looking forward to a beautiful new and on going friendship with them.
Aside from all the stuff we loaded aboard, we also towed a 23ft Sea Pro back for our friends from Monterrey. Going against the current, heavily loaded and with the tow, it took us almost four days to make the trip back. With just the two of us, 3 hours on watch, 3 hours off, we were pretty tired when we got back. We also had a stanchion and rail break from how the tow was tied and some rougher conditions than were predicted. Of course the failure happened at about 0300 hrs so I had to get the Capt up from his much needed sleep to get it re-secured.
But the trip had lovely moments as well. Of the four days, Saturday was rougher than predicted but we had dolphin. Sunday calmed down a bunch and was pleasant. Monday was fabulous. Calm, flat, beautiful weather. Tuesday, coming in, we had some odd currents and it got a bit rolly, but overall it wasn't a bad day.
Going back in time; in March we went up to Indian Wells CA for the big tennis event. This is our second year of enjoy Bob's hospitality but this time my brother Darrin was able to join us. We had a wonderful time both at the event and spending time with family. We got to see Johne's Aunt Hope and his cousins Dick and Armida Johnson, my sister Ellen, as well as Darrin and the Deller family. And I got to see Roger Federer play live. Overall a really great trip.
Before that, our friend Kate was aboard with us for a month. It hadn't been planned that way. She and James were planning to come and spend a couple of days with us. Then they were going to take a long road trip around the yucatan, returning to Second Star at the end for a few more days. But James lost his passport at the airport and couldn't get on the plane. Thinking he could get it straightened out quickly, Kate came on down expecting James to join her soon. But, as it turned out, it took too long to get his passport back so he didn't come and Kate stayed with us.
During that period, Johne had to renew his mexican visa, so he flew up to Phoenix for a few days and spent time with Jeni and Carson. And Kate and I had good "girl time" while he was gone.
Other than that, we've been doing daily life stuff. Work, boat maintenance, a little socialising...and, at least mostly, enjoy life.
Greetings loved ones,
Okay, an update every six months or so is better than nothing, right?
We've just gotten back to Isla Mujeres after a trip to FL with Second Star. We left April 22nd to head up there. Our friend Phil came down to ride back with us. So, with three of us to share the watches, it was a pretty easy trip. It was a little rough the first day, but very nice the second.
Our time in Ft Myers was very busy and productive. Picking up parts and things, seeing friends, getting things loaded aboard the boat...the almost three weeks we were there flew by. Thanks to Phil asking, we were able to dock at the same place we always have in spite of the fact that the Whitesmans sold the house. David and Denise, the new owners, are lovely people and we're looking forward to a beautiful new and on going friendship with them.
Aside from all the stuff we loaded aboard, we also towed a 23ft Sea Pro back for our friends from Monterrey. Going against the current, heavily loaded and with the tow, it took us almost four days to make the trip back. With just the two of us, 3 hours on watch, 3 hours off, we were pretty tired when we got back. We also had a stanchion and rail break from how the tow was tied and some rougher conditions than were predicted. Of course the failure happened at about 0300 hrs so I had to get the Capt up from his much needed sleep to get it re-secured.
But the trip had lovely moments as well. Of the four days, Saturday was rougher than predicted but we had dolphin. Sunday calmed down a bunch and was pleasant. Monday was fabulous. Calm, flat, beautiful weather. Tuesday, coming in, we had some odd currents and it got a bit rolly, but overall it wasn't a bad day.
Going back in time; in March we went up to Indian Wells CA for the big tennis event. This is our second year of enjoy Bob's hospitality but this time my brother Darrin was able to join us. We had a wonderful time both at the event and spending time with family. We got to see Johne's Aunt Hope and his cousins Dick and Armida Johnson, my sister Ellen, as well as Darrin and the Deller family. And I got to see Roger Federer play live. Overall a really great trip.
Before that, our friend Kate was aboard with us for a month. It hadn't been planned that way. She and James were planning to come and spend a couple of days with us. Then they were going to take a long road trip around the yucatan, returning to Second Star at the end for a few more days. But James lost his passport at the airport and couldn't get on the plane. Thinking he could get it straightened out quickly, Kate came on down expecting James to join her soon. But, as it turned out, it took too long to get his passport back so he didn't come and Kate stayed with us.
During that period, Johne had to renew his mexican visa, so he flew up to Phoenix for a few days and spent time with Jeni and Carson. And Kate and I had good "girl time" while he was gone.
Other than that, we've been doing daily life stuff. Work, boat maintenance, a little socialising...and, at least mostly, enjoy life.
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