Future Crew Member

Hi, all. This really isn't boat related, but I couldn't resist, being the proud aunt that I am! I'm in Michigan for a couple of weeks because my brother Ernest and his wife Cheryl just had a future crew member for us. Wolfgang Joseph Marks was born Sunday, September 13th (Morgan's birthday, too!) Though Morgan loved the name, I wasn't too sure at first, but it's growing on me. Grandma and I have been helping out, with a lot of other family members in and out. Ernesto and Cheryl couldn't be happier, and Wolfgang's older sisters, Ashley and Austyn are totally flipped over him, as are all of his aunts, uncles and cousins. Just wanted to share a few pictures!!!

In boat related news, Morgan finished the fiberglass motifications to accomodate the new engines, as well as the other minor fiberglass projects. He has the port engine in and plans to mount the starboard tomorrow. Then, he just has some bottom paint touch-ups to do and she will be ready to splash again! We are so-o-o over the yard experience! No destination set yet, but we are looking to fly to California to give his dad a hand for a couple of weeks. After that, I guess we really need to look at our options.

Hopefully our next posting will be that we're headed somewhere exotic and warm!

Guard dogs

Hi, All! We've received several emails reminding us we have not posted in a long time, so here we are again! We are currently out of the water with Morgan doing a few fiberglass projects. Nyla and Koki (Sea Dog First Class and Sea Cat Second Class, respectively) are handling the yard period better than we are. With the weather so hot, Nyla spends much of her day under the salon table directly under the A/C hatch unit we bought. However, when I'm gone, Morgan often takes her under the boat with him to hang out, especially when our friend Wayne is visiting. A lot of you know that Nyla pretty much barks at anyone (though these days we call it an "air bark" because she sounds like she's lost her voice), but she seems to have taken to Wayne. Morgan keeps a cooler under the boat for adult beverages and she steals the ice whenever they open it. Koki likes to roam the yard at night and is able to get back on the boat unassisted. Nyla is trying to do the same. At the back of the boat we have transom steps leading down and a swim ladder extends from the port transom. We have a large step under the ladder and Nyla has gotten as far as the second ladder rung with her front legs with her back legs on the step trying to reach the bottom ladder rung. If we stay here much longer, she may just do it! The night security guard has a large mixed male dog who has intimidated more than one skipper in the yard. However, he is no match for either Nyla or Koki. The guard happened by one evening with Bandit (the dog) and was talking with us behind the boat. Nyla, the 12 year old who spends all day sleeping, launched herself off the transom (at least a 6' drop) and chased Bandit away. After picking our jaws up off the ground and putting Fang back on board, we had a great time teasing the guard about his terrifying guard dog. A few nights later, Koki was on the ground when Bandit came calling. She arched her back like a cartoon cat and hissed at him. He promptly ran away again like a little girl! It could be a coincident, but shortly thereafter, the guard got a new puppy to start training along with Bandit. I'm just saying. . . .

"Man" Overboard

We spent our first few nights in Nassau tied up at the Yacht Haven so that we could clean the boat and refill our water tank. While there, we indulged in having the shore power and had A/C for the first time since last summer. What a treat! However, we did have a "man" overboard incident. About 6:30 one morning Nyla started barking like crazy, which she does not ever do inside. Then we heard someone knocking on the boat. Morgan went outside and discovered Koki, soaking wet, hanging onto the wooden piling with her butt still in the water! He was able to reach her and pulled her on deck then wrapped her in a towel. She didn't move for about 12 hours. We figured she must have been trying to jump ship again and missed the dock (it was very low tide so the dock was a couple of feet above our deck.) We're thinking she's demoted to SeaCat Third Class again, but Nyla gets a special commendation for alerting the command.

As of today we're still in Nassau. The root canal went pretty well and I'm starting to feel normal again (relatively speaking!) I still can't get over the incredible medical and dental services we've utilized here. Not only was the root canal only $300, the dentist personally picked us up (early), then apologized that he wouldn't be able to give us a ride back.

Today, we're getting some fresh produce and looking at the weather. Our plan is to head to the Berrys then to Freeport. From there, we'll look for some good wind to cross to the Jacksonville area before heading to Brunswick, GA. We need to haul the boat out for some projects, but then we are considering taking the ICW north and try to make it to Michigan.

We may not have access to the internet for a few days, but will keep you updated as we're able. Hope you enjoyed the Georgetown pictures!

Regatta pics 4

Regatta pics 3

More Regatta pics

Exuma Family Regatta pics

Change in travel plans

After our last posting, we made a change in our plans due to my tooth flaring up again. The dentist I originally saw is based out of Nassau, so we went back up the Bank side instead of seeing Cat Island and Eluethra. We left Georgetown on Cinco de Mayo, spent Tuesday night on the hook at Blackpoint, Wednesday at Highbourne, then made in to Nassau Thursday afternoon. Quite a different trip than when we were going south!

I will see the dentist tomorrow for a probable root canal. Should only be about $300 and, get this, he's picking me up for the appointment. Would someone please remind me why we're leaving this place????

We will keep you posted on our travel plans from here. Until then, we want to wish all the Moms a Happy Mother's Day, especially our own!

ps this connection is very slow, but we hope to post some of the Regatta pictures before we leave

Sara's visit

Sara visited us for a week at Easter time. She had a great, relaxing time and enjoyed the company of our fellow cruisers even when I was stuck on the boat under the weather. While her stateroom looked like her room at home, we really enjoyed having her and wished we could have kept her.