Just touching base

Since we put Tybee Time back in her slip a couple weeks ago we have only gone down once to stay on her. Rainy cold days really don't afford you much time to get anything done other then seeing how comfortable the settee cushions are from laying on them all day watching TV. Well we came to the conclusion that they aren't at all comfortable for say company staying with us and having to sleep on them or better yet, us having a movie marathon day due to bad weather. So this of course is put on the ever growing list of things to do. Other then a lot of lazy lounging getting done, we spent some time with our friends from Conch Clipper Ron & Sonja. They are lucky enough to be heading out this week to cruise the Bahamas for the winter. I have added a link to their blog site under the list on the left so check it out. I have asked Ron to try to keep the blog updated with lots of pics and Dirk and I have sent them out as scouts to give us information. I enjoy reading other peoples blogs about the places they go and things they do, yet so many of them really don't go into too much detail. With Dirk and I leaving next year details is what we crave. So from now till next June we will be living vicariously through them and hope to be receiving many wonderful tales and information. I am so excited for them and can only imagine the feeling I will have when its our turn.

Tybee Time going back into the water

I thought I might add this short video of the boat being put back into the water.

Tybee Time is back in the water

Wow, here it is close to mid November already. Seems like time is flying by here lately, which is fine by us as the faster it goes the sooner we are outta here. These past several weeks have been busy for us as we have been trying to divide our time between home and boat which require a two hour drive in between. Last posting we had spent time in the boat yard doing some much needed work on the hull, which in the end we are very happy with. As far as our first boat yard experience goes we are in general very happy. Communication was fairly good considering the amount of persons involved, and we were e-mailed photographs of the work in progress. We had some fiberglass work done on the rudder and had the keel joint re-done also. Here is a pic of the boat blasted and ready for work.

Once the glass work was done, the boat had five coats of barrier paint and then two final coats of blue Trinidad done. We decided to go with a hard paint rather then ablative this time for several reasons and was told if we decide to switch back it can be done easier then if we had gone ablative and decided on hard later on. Here she sits with one of five barrier coats on.

Boy, we still can't get over how much shine we were able to give the ole girl. On Friday the 7th we headed back down to Panama City to have the boat splashed. We got there around lunch and found our girl in the sling waiting for us to inspect her.

We also wanted to be left in the slings once we were in the water till we could check out the thru hull work that Dirk had done. No leaks, that's a very good sign. So off we went heading back to the marina, Dirk kept going below just to re-check his work for signs of water. It was all good and we made it back to our slip without any excitement. Saturday was a major clean up day as the boat has been sitting in a dusty, sandy boat yard. The boat yard did a decent job of hosing off the boat topside for us but its never done to where we as owners want it done. So Dirk worked outside as I tackled the inside taking the time to wipe all surfaces down. I also managed to put another coat of varnish on my topside teak I have been working on. Monday we took off out of the slip so that we could shake the sails out and enjoy the breeze. We had anywhere from 5 to 14 knots of wind so it was a pleasant but chilly outing. We are happy to report that we have actually gained some speed with the new bottom job. Once we got back to the slip I decided to tackle the stair project. Our entry steps were not the prettiest but they have to be functional as to provide an anti slip surface. Last thing you want to do is bust your rear going below decks. This is the present look of the steps with anti-skid paint. We purchased some low pile rubber backed runner carpet from our local home improvement store. I then used double sided carpet tape on the top four sides and one strip under the step. After measuring and cutting the exact size for the top I left extra to go underneath the step and then using a heavy duty staple gun, attached it. I chose the low pile carpet because I feel once we begin cruising any sand that finds its way past the door mat will hopefully be caught here before it makes its way onto the wood floors. Our cat Butters also has his favorite perch which is the top step, and I will be able to vacuum his hair from this much better then a higher pile. Plus, It's not just practical, I like the way it looks. In other news Dirk and I got our first chart of the Bahamas so that we could start planning. Gosh there are so many places we want to go, and that's just the Bahamas. When most people think of the Bahamas, what comes to mind is Nassau and Freeport. Like me, they don't realize there are about 700 Islands and Cays, pronounced Keys to explore. So we have our work cut out for us trying to decide how to spend our time there before we will have to head further south for the following hurricane season. 224 days and counting till Dirk's done with work and we can move onto the boat. We have a tentative date of Oct. 13th to cut the dock lines and head out, but as we all know that's a date subject to change. We can always hope though.

Tybee Time is at the boatyard getting some TLC

Well two days after returning from the pirate fest in Tybee Island Georgia , Dirk and I had just enough time to un-pack, wash clothes and re-pack to head to Panama City for the week. Tybee Time was hauled on the 17th for some serious TLC from Dirk and I, and she was also having a bottom job done. Dirk brought Tybee Time through the bay and up into the bayou for his first "single handed" adventure. I drove the truck over and waited for his arrival. Here he is as he pulled her into the lift area.
Below is a photo of her fresh out of the water. We were both surprised at how clean her hull was. Dirk cleans the bottom as often as he gets the chance. After the hull was pressure washed we took a look to see how she looked. When we first had the boat surveyed a year and a half ago the surveyor noted that the boat had what he called chicken pox. Very tiny blisters on the bottom side. We thought at the time it was a big deal but he informed us it shouldn't be a deal breaker as many boats especially older ones can have that. "Keep an eye on them and tend to a few each time you have the boat hauled and you should be fine." We had expected a few of them to have grown over this time period but were surprised to find the bottom looked the same as it had at the time of the survey. Now I know there are people who have their preference to bottom paint and so not all people will agree with our choice. We decided to go with a hard paint rather then an ablative paint this time. Dirk did his research and looked at pros and cons for both and felt this would be the better option for us. Besides if we decide to go back it should be no problem" This is a closeup of the bottom and it shows how thick the layers of old paint are.


After much consideration we decided if we were gonna do this we would do it right, so we elected to have the bottom sand blasted, five coats of barrier paint and then the blue Trinidad as the final coat. Just a wee bit more then we expected to pay, did I say wee bit? Gulp......Takes a bite out of the cruising kitty but that's how it goes. So the guys park us on the other side of the yard and the whole weekend we just about had the yard to ourselves as they were closed. It was a beautiful weekend with high 70's during the day and 50's in the evening which made for nice sleeping weather. It was just a little un-nerving for me as I have never been on the boat while it was on the hard. Knowing that the only thing keeping us from falling over was those 3 stands they had propped on each side of the boat. Friday evening Dirk was already up to his elbows with work. He wanted to get the most out of his time off work. We purchased a finishing system called Poli Glow, and its claim is that it can take old oxidized fiberglass and make it shine once again. It comes with a liquid prep that you dilute and it removes stains and oxidation. The key is to get the boat an even color. We purchased the additional de-oxidizer that comes in a powder and its put onto a wet sponge and rubbed on the boat. Here is Dirk hard at work on Friday prepping the boat.


You can see by this photo how dull the finish is. I call it battleship grey

Here Dirk is applying almost the last of six coats recommended.

Here is one side complete. I have to say we are very happy with the results. Now we will see how long the finish holds up. It states to wash it down with the liquid prep and re-apply a couple coats once a year.

We never have seen the boat shine like this before, and for the price we cant complain. Now we can't wait to see the final product with the new bottom paint. This project took about two days and I have to admit, Dirk did most of the hard work on this. I did however manage to get the teak off the companionway to begin stripping and refinishing that. I had started it last fall but did not get it all done. Summer was just not the time to do it so I'm hard at it again. I also managed to do some interior organization and hang our new sign we bought at the pirate fest. It hangs on the door to the bathroom, how fitting. The blue sign on the bottom was there when we purchased the boat. Dirk also managed to find time to install the new salt water foot pump and faucet for the galley sink. When we start cruising I want to conserve my fresh water and have heard it is just fine to wash your dishes in salt water and give them a fresh water rinse. This project went surprisingly well considering we had to run a hose from the engine compartment, thru the bilge, and up under the sink. Why is it that when anyone works on their boat it always looks like this on the inside.

So with good progress made we decided to head home on Tuesday and give it a rest. The yard was sandblasting two boats beside us and we had to have things closed up in order to keep some of the dust out. Also I wasn't going to get any varnishing done unless I wanted to go for that textured look. I know I have a major wipe down and clean though when it goes back in the water.

Tybee Island Pirate Fest

For Dirk & I, Tybee Island Georgia has many meanings. Not only is this the place where we met, it is the place he proposed to me. Dirks best friends live on the Island so we like to think of Tybee Island as our second home. This place has such a charm and is different them most coastal cities. This place has yet to be too commercialized and has such a homey feel. Basically when you come here you are on Tybee Time. This was the reason we named our boat Tybee Time. When you are on board, you are in fact on Tybee Time. No hurries, no worries, no problems. Dirk and I decided this year to attend the Tybee Island Pirate Fest. Lots of folks walking around in pirate costumes consuming large quantities of alcohol and basically saying nothing but aaaaaaarrrrggghhhh. Here we are ready for the pirate parade to start. Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhh..... How fitting to find this sign. Living on Tybee Time..... And of course we had to do the tourist thing. Here is the Tybee Lighthouse, my knees know for a fact it has 178 steps to get to the top. As many times as I have been there I had never gone inside. Unfortunately the weather really didn't comply all too well for us, but none the less, we had a great time. Tomorrow we head down to Panama City and on Friday the boat gets pulled. Dirk and I will work on it all weekend and then Monday the yard will start with the bottom job. I have now added a photo album and its located on the upper left side of the page. I will add additional photographs as I find the time so keep checking back if interested. By the way......252 days and counting......

What a weekend

Wow, what a beautiful weekend it was. With fall fast approaching we took this weekend as an opportunity to make a trip to Shell Island for some relaxation. In just a few short weeks we will be pulling the boat for some serious TLC. This being a non-holiday weekend the island was not too crowded. We were the first sailboat to anchor out but was soon joined by some familiar boats from our marina. Guess everyone else had the same idea. The nice thing about Shell Island when it’s not crowded is the seclusion one can feel on the Gulf side of the island.

What a pretty walk it was on the beach and with the recent storms, there was plenty of pretty shells for the picking. What on earth do I need more shells for…uuugh I can’t stop myself. Dirk and I decided to do a little snorkeling to see what could be found. What we found is that the water felt like fall was here. It was 79 but with a breeze blowing it felt cooler. Guess that’s the last dip of the season for us. Unless of course I wear a wet suit. We also spotted a jellyfish that we had not seen before. The first one we saw was so big I probably would have trouble reaching around it with both arms. The tentacles were about 10 feet long on it. I have a book on board to identify marine life and the closest thing it resembled was a Lion’s Mane Jelly.
Anyone have a clue if this is what it was? Dirk was going to go in and check out a few things on the bottom but after seeing this he changed his mind. Our intention was to have a relaxing day and then try to do a little floundering later in the evening. Well, the winds never died down enough so we instead had a nice dinner of grilled steaks and tomatoes followed by a nice sundowner and sunset.
Boy, I think I can get used to this. Of course it was to bed early as I always seem to get very sleepy on the boat early. Why is it I can’t sleep at home, yet on the boat I drop like a log? The next morning as usual we are up with the light and after coffee and breakfast we headed back to the marina. We decided to throw out a line to troll and see if we couldn’t catch some dinner. As we were in the pass we got a hit. It was a nice little grouper.
A few inches too short to keep, darn……. Oh well, at least we know we can catch fish. Back at the marina we took several measurements and made a list of parts to order so in a couple weeks we can pull the boat. Not looking forward to all the work that we are fixing to take on, but looking forward to having it done. We are now officially at 268 days and counting, but then again, who’s counting.

Almost time to pull the boat for maintenance

Thanks to Ron & Sonja aboard Conch Clipper for getting this photo of us with the brand new main sail in all its glory. Dirk and I decided a couple weekends ago to take off for a sail. The winds were suppose to be great for sailing. So off we went into the bay, winds between 10 to 20 knots. Beautiful day and great sailing. I usually take the wheel as Dirk drops and rolls in the sails. As we approach the fuel dock I suggest we pull in for a pump out. Any chance we get is a good chance to take. I tell Dirk to take over so I can do my usual getting the lines and bumpers ready drill. Dirk told me to stay on the wheel, that I would do fine. Semi panic took over as I know I have to learn to dock the boat but I wanted notice. Not 2 sec notice. Time to put on my big girl pants and get the job done. Much to my surprise the first attempt and she was docked. Whew! what a relief. Pump out is done and we start to take off. The wind is coming from out starboard side no biggie as it pushed me away from the dock. Yes, Dirk had me pull away from the dock also. But much to my surprise Dirk had big lessons in my agenda today. He wanted me to pull the boat into the slip. What ever happened to learning by taking baby steps. Boy, husbands can be sneaky...This time a much larger panic button was set off. Huh? Me? Our slip is more then mid way down and just going down the way with huge (to me) boats on either side was scary. I hoped no one would be watching as I'm sure my eyes had to look like they were the size of dinner plates. Thank God the wind and current were working in my favor. At least that's what Dirk told me. I kept thinking how am I gonna get this boat between those two concrete pilings without doing damage to us or someone else's boat. I managed to get the nose in but started to drift slightly to port, Dirk kept saying to give it gas. I figure more gas, more speed. Forward speed does not equal a very nice docking in my brain. But I listened to Dirk and gave her more gas. Dirk put the port side bumper out and I basically pivoted around the pillar and pushed forward, Dirk fending off the pillar. Not a perfect docking, but for my first attempt not to bad. I was actually stoked. Although I am not looking forward to doing that again any time soon. So here it is almost October already. We have started making plans for the boat to be pulled so that we can do a few items of maintenance. We need to have a new bottom job done and the thru hull for the overboard waste dump is stuck. Now is a good time to replace it as when we start to travel we will need it. Dirk will take this time to perhaps have the keel joint looked at and also see if the rudder is holding water. When we first had it surveyed I believe there may have been a question about that. We also want to take this time to finally try to de-oxidize the hull and give her a good clean and wax. We actually had someone stop by our boat and ask if it was hard to keep our aluminum boat clean. So yeah, the girl needs her battleship gray hull given some major TLC. Anyone having any suggestions on what to use please let me know. In the coming weeks hopefully I will have some new pics of new projects being done. Please keep checking back and I just want to say thank you to the people that keep checking back and following our blog. Hang in there, it will get more interesting, I promise. Also if you would like to leave a comment please feel free to. I love getting comments.

Hurricanes & Babble

I guess this hurricane season is upon us with full fury this year. We have been lucky thus far this season. We had gone to Panama City a couple days before Fay was due to make landfall so we could take care of adding more lines and bumpers to Tybee Time. Dirk also rolled up the Gib very tight and we even tied up the new sail cover securely. We have a public marina camera and this is one way we keep an eye on the boat. You get to take control over the camera for a short while and are able to direct it to your boat and zoom in. This is how I was able to watch the install of our new main sail and lazy bag system. So Fay came and went dumping about 4 days of rain on us. Yesterday Gustav passed to the west of us and we didn’t get even one drop of rain. I can’t say the same for my friends and family in and across the state of Louisiana. Fingers crossing I haven’t heard of any damage yet. Now we look to the Bahamas to see Hanna heading for our friends in Georgia. Then of course there is Ike and Josephine pulling up the rear. Wow…Soon this season will be over and summer will be quickly turning into fall. We find ourselves getting more and more anxious to leave. We are now officially under 300 days to go before our journey can begin. Sounds like a long time when you think about it, but thinking of all the things needing to be ordered, installed and done, it’s really not that long. Seeing as we live two hours from the boat it’s not like we have time during the week to attend to it, and most things are taken care of on the weekends. A few things left to research and purchase is a wind generator, and a solar panel. We have also been replacing our existing interior lights on the boat to LED with the ability to have red LED in the same housing makes it nice for night vision down below. Also the power usage on the LED lights is wonderful. Our main power hog right now is the refrigeration. The last owners tried insulating the box a little better but it still runs a lot. We have been also tossing around the idea of getting an Engel refrigerator/freezer. Doing research on them they look as if the power usage is minimal and I like the idea of being able to have my ice cubes for sun downers in the tropics. It will also give me a few more options for long term food storage. As time draws closer we have pulled and tossed a few things off the list that we thought we couldn't live without. Heck, it’s only a 40 foot boat, how much can we take. Plus I know that so many people have taken the same journey with a lot less and are just as happy, if not happier as there aren’t as many things to breakdown. On a different note I was given a book to read by a dock neighbor which is a nice read if anyone is interested. It’s MAIDEN VOYAGE written by Tania Aebi w/ Bernadette Brennan. It’s a story of an 18 year old female whose father basically gave her two options, go to school or sail around the world single-handed in 2 1/2 years. She chose sailing….Talking about what people can do without on a boat, wow. I find that I have not found too much these days to blog about. As weather gets cooler and the major projects begin anew I will be keeping in touch much better. I don't want to bore any readers as I would love for you all to continue following the blog from a land based life to one of life on the water. Uuuugh, I hate the waiting, I wanna go already......

One of Many milestones marked

I know It's been a while since my last post but there is good reason. As cruising goes, I think that a major milestone in ones life is when you first make that decision that this is the lifestyle that you want. How one achieves that can be handled many ways. Dirk and I had power boats in the past and we loved them because they got us where we wanted to be in a timely manor. We loved going out in the gulf fishing or to the Island for an afternoon of fun. It wasn't until we met a couple people at our marina that had sail boats that we even considered owning one ourselves. This is about the time in our lives when we started considering a sailboat because it broadened our scope of what can be done. Our lives changed when we purchased our boat. We have spent thus far a year doing up grades and making her ready to be our home when we depart this land life in less then a year. I know that sounds like a long time to some but it is passing very quickly. Another milestone one has to pass is what to do with your home when you decide to cruise. Some people decide to rent their home, others decide to sell. In this day when the housing market is a bit on the shaky side Dirk and I decided that we would try and sell but do it a little over a year out. This way we don't get into a situation next year where we are ready to go but the house didn't sell. So in April of this year we listed the house with the knowledge we had time on our side. Little did we realize that someone would decide they wanted it now. Wow, what do we do now. So on July 31st, we closed on our home and handed the keys over to what seem like wonderful people. So now we have made the first major downsize to happen before next year. Two storage units and a garage full needs to be gone through and decisions made. Since we have no set time limit as to how long we will cruise we really don't know what we should keep. I really felt like it would be very difficult selling our home which we put so much into but I'm finding that with each day getting us closer to our goal that I'm really beginning to focus on the future and the life it will bring us. So now that we have sold our home and moved, we can now resume our weekend life on Tybee Time. Its been about 4 weeks since we were on her and I believe this weekend will be spent with a lot of R & R.

A week and a half of fun,sun,sailing & work

Finally made it home and settled in after staying on Tybee Time for nine days. When we arrived at the docks we were greeted with the sight of our brand new sail cover all nice & pretty.
Wow, what a difference. Too bad the weather was so bad the first few days and we weren't able to take her out and sail. By about Tuesday we made our way into the bay and hoisted the sail. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we got next to no winds. We still motor sailed around a bit and sat admiring the new sail. We both agreed, we are very happy with it. Dirk also finished up installing the new batteries. Boy what a job that was, hauling four batteries down the docks, up on the boat and then seeing poor Dirk dealing with them under the berth in the back of the boat. I truly expected his back to protest the next morning, but he seemed fine. He also finished wiring the windlass. As I had said before, Dirk installed a battery under the vee berth dedicated to the windlass alone. From there he ran wire from the battery to the charger. We actually took the boat out to Shell Island on the 4th of July and used it to anchor. Everything seems to be working great. After a few other wiring projects Dirk now says that he is officially wired out for a while. I can't blame him and shall give him the well earned break he deserves. As I said, we did head out to Shell Island on the 4th for a little fun in the sun. As is usually the case on holidays the Island was full to the max with rental pontoons and jet skies zipping in and out passing much to closely to our boat. Why do they do that? Geeze, I don't mind people going out and having fun but come on. Ron & Sonja from Conch Clipper anchored out next to us and we headed to the Island for a little water time. We decided we really didn't want to fight our way back to marina after the city fireworks display so we headed back into the marina and watched the various shows from the boat. Afterwards we headed to the ramp to watch with amusement as the overly indulgent people attempted to pull their boats. I guess we are easily entertained. Saturday morning our neighbors from up in Alabama came down to meet us for a little fun in the sun. We have been trying to get them down to Panama City for about 6 months now but it just hadn't worked out. Their son was turning six on Sunday so we all thought a day on the boat would be a nice treat. Of course the kids were excited and seemed to enjoy it when we let them steer the boat. Here is Erik steering with sister Tosca looking on.
We headed out to Shell Island and tried to go over to the gulf side but the algae in the water was so bad you couldn't pick your hands up without several strands of it being stuck to you. It wasn't sea weed, it was light green algae, Ick. Back over to the bay side. As the day was ending we headed back to the marina for a wonderful dinner cooked aboard. It was a perfect evening all the way around. So much so that we broke open a wonderful bottle of scotch we had gotten as a gift and enjoyed it along with wonderful conversation.
It was the first time we had six people, four adults and two children staying overnight. We are happy to report that it seemed everyone slept decent and un-crowded except the fact that Butters (our cat) was trying to bunk with everyone. At 17.5 pounds you tend to feel when he is walking on you or plops down on top of you at night. Sunday we took the kids to St. Andrews State Park and spent most of the day perfecting our sunburns and hunting for critters in the jetties. Unfortunately after that we had to head back to the boat and do the dreaded clean up and head home. When I say we were whipped that day would be an understatement. But what a wonderful end to a wonderful week. Thank you Frank and Claudia, we had a wonderful time. So all in all we had a full week of work, fun, and relaxation. I think I could get use to this.

New Sail being installed this week

Wow, here it is mid-June already. It seems like we haven't accomplished a whole lot this month on the boat, yet by the end of the month a few big projects will be completed and removed from the list. Of course as you remove one item you add three more. Last month Dirk started the project of installing the new windless. He built a shelf and brackets under the vee berth for the battery that will power it to be installed on. He has installed the circuit breaker and now only has to run a few more wires and install the battery. Last week West Marine had a good sale on their Deep Cycle Batteries so we decided to purchase all new ones for the boat. Our existing ones are about 6 years old and need replacing anyway. We could do it in a year or do it now while they were on sale. Right now we have two house batteries, and one start battery. When finished we will have one start, three house, and one to run the windless. We have also been shopping around for a wind generator and mounting pole. It wont be quiet enough power to run a small city on, but it should be enough for our needs without having to charge up the batteries with the gas generator or starting the engine too often. A few things that I wanted done for comfort rather then necessity was a new water faucet in the galley and some spice racks. My galley sinks are rather deep yet fairly small across. The faucet only stands about 4 inches above the opening. If you have something such as a pot to fill or something to wash that is too big for the sink you tend to get water everywhere.
So after much looking I found a bar faucet that we installed. Why is it that something that should take 20 minutes to do turns into a days project. First we removed the manuel hand pump leading from the refrigerator as I needed to make room for the new faucet. I think it was for when it was just an ice box. This way as the water melted you pumped it down the drain. Now that it has been changed into a refrigerator we no longer need it. So we had a hole left behind. We took the starboard material, actually I used a cutting board I purchased. Its much cheaper and seems like it is the same stuff, used that to cover the hole up with. Then mounted the faucet on top of that. We will be adding a new foot pump in the future to bring in saltwater to the sink. This way I can have the saltwater to wash my dishes and thus save my fresh water for rinsing. Three hours, two of us, and several burises later, the faucet was installed.
I wanted spice racks added to the little wall space I have in the galley. I told Dirk that I would build them. They seemed simple enough to do. I measured for them and Dirk did the inital cutting. After a lot of trial and error I finally finished them. All fingers still intact to boot. It would have been so much easier to go out and buy a spice rack yet with the odd size wall space I had to work with it wasnt that easy. I could have gone to a marine place and spent 45.00 for teak spice racks that would work, but I'm just not willing to pay that kind of price. So below is the racks I built out of red oak, and varnished to seal them.
Not too bad for my first wood working project. Last, but not least. Dirk and I removed the old lazy bag and sail to make room for the brand new sail and lazy bag system to be installed on the boat this week. Cant wait to see it on the boat next time we go down. Below is what ours looks like now.
The zipper does not work anymore as the material is all torn. So we have to wrap it up with rope to keep it closed. Doesnt work so well and it allows water to get in and cause the sail to grow green stuff. So if all goes well we should be able to try the new sail out over the 4th of July weekend.

Still playing with the video program

Okay, so I'm still playing around with the new video program. I dug up some older video of Dirk and I diving in the Cayman Islands. One of the reasons that we love the water is because we are divers and can do this along with the enjoyment of cruising. I can just picture us going along and just throwing out the anchor to do some underwater exploration. Some people have told us about the deck mounted or floating air compressors. As much as I would love to have one of the "super snorkels" have you seen the price of them? So I guess we will just go along and fill the tanks when ever we can. So anyway, this short video shows us mainly at the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman. It is right off the Turtle Farm and so all the run off goes right into the ocean here. Its seems to be nutrient rich and thus it attracts much sea life. The last part of the clip is taken off the beach of our hotel. About 25 yards off the beach there is what they call the mini wall in about 45 feet of water. It drops off to about 65 feet. This in turn leads you to the big wall which drops off to 6000 feet. The entire Island is surrounded by this wall. The deepest we dove was about 130 feet. The water is so clear you don't realize just how deep you are. I learned to keep an eye on my dept meter.

Memorial Day Video

Well I said I would post a video as soon as I could figure it all out. Dirk actually bought me a new program so that I can make movies, edit and do some really cool things with. I just started playing with it today and this is what I managed to do. Didnt realize how difficult it was to edit and get rid of all the extra stuff. But I guess I will learn. Lots of info to take in but it should be fun. This is just a small clip of being at anchor at Shell Island doing a walk-through of the boat and a small bit of a sunset. I realize I will get better at this, I cant see that I could actually get any worse.

Memorial Day Weekend

You realize the boating season has officially begun when you see as many boats as were out this weekend. There were probably close to 75 if not more boats at Shell Island. We headed out to the island under motor as we wanted to give the gal some time to run for a semi extended time. As usual she ran like a charm. We set anchor at about noon on Saturday and by 2pm the place was packed. I have never seen so many sailboats at the island together. Ron and Sonja from S/V Conch Clipper slipped in next to us. Below is a picture of Tybee Time at anchor.

After lowering the dingy and hoisting the motor on it we realized we are still having problems with it. Or should I say problems with both. We had a few small leaks in the dingy and guess that the patch job didn't hold as we expected. A new one before we shove off is looking more likely. As far as the outboard goes its still sputtering and shutting off. So it made another trip home with us. Dirk took everything apart that he could and cleaned it. After putting it back together last evening it was running like a champ. Crossing fingers it will continue to do so. So we didn't do the usual run about in the dingy that we usually do. We only made two trips to the beach. The Gulf side was so rough that it was nearly impossible to swim. So we walked the beach and did the usual combing that occurs. Evenings were spent catching up with good friends, sun downers, and the consumption of way too much food. If this is the way it is when one starts cruising I can see we will both gain weight. But then when have you seen heavy cruisers. I guess exercise equals calories taken in. Plus I notice when you have had enough sun downers you really aren't in the mood to cook. Mental note "must bring plenty of dietary rum and gin" Below see Dirk on Conch Clipper enjoying his.
All in all it was a nice weekend and we ended up staying until Monday. Sunday was the only day that we ended up having any type of bad weather and that only lasted a brief time. But what a beautiful end to that day as we watched a beautiful sunset behind our dock neighbors boat S/V Miss Divine Em.
Monday after heading in we had gotten a call from the couple that sold us the boat. They were in town and so we spent that evening catching up with them. After wonderful conversation and food we finally called it an evening and headed back to the marina in preparation of packing up and heading home on Tuesday. Thanks Dan & Roxanne, we enjoyed it. I did happen to capture some video and as soon as I can figure how to get it from there to here I shall post some edited version.

Google searches & Sunsets

On our site here I have a tool called site meter. I added it as I like to see where our readers are located. It's nice to see a family member, who even though we don't keep in touch as much as we should, still pops in about once a week to read the blog. Thanks Kathy, I know your there. The site meter also tracks the referral that sent that person to our site. I know quite a bit of people that stumble on our site did so because they googled something and then were directed to our site for say "nav pod installation". I know I write about the new items we install on Tybee Time but I don't go into a lot of detail on the how's. Sometimes I feel I would bore a reader too much with too many details. Alas I feel I am boring readers until we make that cut from land and I can finally write with excitement about our travels and destinations. Hang in there readers, those days will come... I just want to say that if any readers have questions regarding the how's of any projects please feel free to leave a comment under the post with your question or you can e-mail us in the address provided in the upper left hand portion of the blog. Also we love getting comments and would love to get more. I wanted to provide a photo and the only ones I took this weekend was a sunset I happened to catch.This was taken from the cockpit overlooking the marina. What a beautiful sky. Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we have four days to relax and enjoy it. Here's hoping the weather is beautiful as we plan on anchoring out at Shell Island for a few days. Perhaps I will capture a decent video to let our readers see what a bit of our life is like on Tybee Time.

Speaking of sails

I had said before that we were waiting on CB Sails out of Panama City to come and measure for a new sail cover for us. Well Dirk was speaking to them about the cover as we have lazy jacks and what they make is a "lazy bag" for them. When we first had the boat surveyed last year the surveyor told us that we could probably get another good season out of our existing sail. Dirk and I had already decided that before we made the leap from land that we would make the big purchase of a new main sail. Thankfully he said something about this to them and they said they could not guarantee that the new sail would fit into the bag that they would make as it wouldn't fold up as tight. So Dirk told them to hold off so we could discuss it. After tossing around this and that we decided to bite the bullet and order our new sail now along with the new sail cover (lazy bag). Ouch, did I say ouch? I meant double ouch. That slimmed down the cruising kitty just a wee bit. But they said they would throw in a helm cover. Maybe Dirk should have pressed them and maybe we could have gotten our hatch covers done as well. Oh well... Speaking of hatch covers, Dirk has been trying to make a pattern that he is happy with. So much for me having to do the sewing. I have to say, the man can find his way around a sewing machine a lot better then I can. Below is a photo of Dirk trying to figure a pattern out with Butters seeing if he can offer any assistance.

Dirk did the installation of the final two hatches and he also replaced the ratchet system in them so that they will now stay open without having to tie them to the boom. First pic is of the old plexi glass window and the second is looking through the new lexan window. Wow, what a difference. We are still trying to finalize some of the major projects so that we can begin enjoying the summer aboard. Memorial Day weekend should be a good weekend for us and will also mark one year that we did our first overnight at Shell Island. Hoping to get some video so that I can try that function out on the blog. Till next time.....

Sails up first time this season

Let's see here. I've slacked off a week and missed posting last weekends events. Dirk made it home safely on Wednesday and on Friday we headed down to the marina. We decided that Saturday would be a very nice day to take the old gal out for a spin and finally after a long time of no sailing, shake her sails out. Dirk also wanted to adjust the rigging so we pulled out of the slip and headed into the bay. Speaking of which, I thought I would show you where our marina is located in relation to the pass into the gulf.

The blue arrow indicates where St. Andrews Marina is. As you can see we are not too far from the pass that dumps us into the gulf. As you emerge from the pass there are jetties on either side that extend a good ways. As we come out of the jetties if we make a right we can anchor by the beach and dive or snorkel there. The visibility tends to be decent most of the time, great other times. If you hang a left, the land mass that you see is Shell Island. It extends quite a ways and is very narrow in places. So we anchor on the bay side and have access to the gulf side. Anyway, we got the sails up and did some maneuvers so that Dirk could adjust the rigging. There wasn't much wind and we only saw a little over 4 knots at times. But it was enough to get out and do what needed to be done. I didn't realize it was so cool in the bay. I figured it would be a good time to start on that summer tan. I ended up putting a sweater on and still got chilled.
But I can't complain, it was a beautiful day. Still waiting on CB Sails to come out and measure for our new sail cover. Don't know if you can see but it is in pretty sad shape. That's what is hanging off the boom with green stuff growing on it. Since the cover is in bad shape water tends to get inside and starts to grow. I'm sure a sail cleaning is probably in line soon. This weekend we went back to the boat with the intentions of having a nice weekend on Shell Island. We had a ton of things to haul back down. Months ago we brought the dinghy and motor home with us to do some repairs. Well the dinghy made it into the truck but the motor got missed. We do have oars so it wasn't a complete disaster. It would just take us a little longer to get to the island. We also decided to bring Butter's with us as the weather was going to be nice and cool and he needs to get use to being on the water. Let's just say I will be calling the vet to see what I can give the cat for motion sickness. The three P's were distributed throughout the vehicle on the drive down. Pee, Puke, and Poo. Few of which made it into the litter box. This photo somehow reminds me why I try not to over indulge. I know he probably felt the same way. Poor baby. By the next day though he was beginning to feel like his old self again and began to make himself at home. Here he has staked claim to the settee and by Sunday he had a favorite spot selected. He likes the top step as he can see the world outside and is able to watch over my shoulder as I work in the galley. Just in case I drop anything he wants to call dibs on it first. We never made it to Shell Island as the weather report called for afternoon and evening Thunderstorms going over into Sunday. So we elected to stay in the marina and do what we have become so good at. Work....Dirk finally located the spot that he wanted to install the battery for the windlass. He worked on cutting and fitting wood under the vee berth to mount the battery box. He also removed the last two hatches that need replacement and re installed the bathroom hatch. Its amazing the difference they make. They are so clear to see through that I didn't realize how bad the old ones were. Our hatches from the inside have a Velcro edge to hold the screens in place so the last owners made sun covers to help keep the heat out. I went one step further and added the reflective material. I had an extra sun blocker for a vehicle so I cut it up and just slip it under the cover. I think I said before though that I will be making exterior covers for the windows to help protect them. Sunbrella was ordered last night so it looks as though sewing is once again in my future. I'm including one more photo for today and that is of the nav pod with the refinished table and drink holder added. We are building a new cockpit table but until we can figure all the details out I went ahead and refinished the old one. Just wish it wasn't so small, we actually love it.

Oma turns 100

Dirk flew home to Hamburg Germany to usher in his Oma's 100th birthday. Wow, can one imagine living to the age of 100. With of course to have the added bonus of living semi on your own and still being able to leave your home to go to the grocery. So hard for us to fathom the things that she has seen and lived through. Its also nice to see my husband have such a close relationship with his grandmother. I realize that this is not our normal post but felt it very worthy to include. As far as Tybee Time's progress goes, well she finally got a much needed wash down a couple weekends ago. Last time we went down both sets of batteries I had for my camera were dead. So much for me keeping up with things such as this. So I wasn't able to photograph the new windless that Dirk installed. It is installed but not wired just yet. Still trying to figure out where to run the cables to, if we are going to install a battery in the vee berth area so that we don't have to run expensive cable all the way back to the battery bank in the aft berth. If we do install a battery in the vee berth how do we charge it? We have a blank bank left on the charger so that's a possibility. We also have been working on a few other small projects and the last bits of small things left to do on other projects. I want to finish up all the small items before undertaking anything big right now. This way they do not get forgotten about. We also have CB Sails out of Panama City coming out to measure for a new sail cover. The previous owner made the existing one on the boat and it is now due for replacement. Dirk figured he could sew one up but it also needs to accommodate the lazy jack system and stack pack. I told Dirk to bite the bullet and lets have it done right. For what it would take to purchase a sewing machine that can take the sunbrella material and time, effort, and frustration, I think it is worth it. They will also measure for a sunbrella protective cover for the new nav pod and pedestal. No more plastic bags. Yippee.....

Finally some progress is made

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We spent the weekend as usual doing work on the boat. Dirk took Monday off so that we would have as much time to finish up some of the projects that seem to be going on forever. Let's see, last post I talked about how the old pedestal guard would not accommodate the new nav pod. Well we got the new angled guard in and Saturday it took all day to tear out the old one and install the new one. We also had to put in a new top plate to account for the new pole width. Finally the new nav pod was put on and after wiring it up, believe it or not everything works. Not that I don't have faith in Dirk's work, it's just that luck seems to be working against us lately. Notice the spot on the bottom left of the nav pod is empty. This is where Dirk is planning on installing his switch for the new windless purchased a couple weeks ago.

Here is the view from the front. All that's missing is adding the cockpit table and drink holder which I am working on now. Kudos to Dirk on this one. Saturday while Dirk was busy in the cockpit I was busy taping and varnishing the teak. It was absolutely beautiful on Saturday and Sunday so I felt I got a lot accomplished. Several coats with sanding done in between. In between I got some organizing and some what I call piddle stuff done. Sunday evening I guess winter wanted it's last fling. The wind was whipping and it got downright cold. Monday's agenda consisted of taking the radar off the bracket we had modified, and installing it on the new one. When we stepped outside we wished we had done this the day before. It was cold with the wind blowing horribly. I felt sorry for Dirk seeing him up the mast hanging on as the gust were blowing. The new bracket of course did not line up with the old, so new holes had to be drilled. Not an enticing idea putting holes in your mast but that's what had to be done.

So here is the new radar and bracket installed. Kudos again to Dirk. For the most part it was a very productive weekend. We can now in fact take Tybee Time out of her slip now that we have the helm put back together. We are looking forward to our first time out to do some sailing so that we can try out all the new toys we have. I'm guessing the next big project will be to replace our old windless. We had recently purchased 150 foot of chain from someone that did not need it anymore. It was a wonderful deal but we learned that it was triple B chain. If I am in fact quoting that correct. Anyway our windless would not accommodate the new chain. As you can see the existing windless is fairly old and when you run it, it sounds like its groaning to get the chain in. With cruising in our future we decided a new one was in order. Don't have any photos of it yet, but its a beauty.
We also had ordered new lexan to replace all the hatches. So that project is looming along with all the others. Don't know if you can see, but the current hatch has been sealed and sealed again. The existing window is crazed and has a few cracks around the latches. After we finish installing them I will make covers to fit over them in hopes to prolonging their life. It will also serve to help keep the sun out during the hot summer days. I'm hoping that in the near future I can write about some of the excursions we do rather then all the work were doing.