05/12/2008
The Miami Boat Show is one of the larger shows in the country. Siyasinana was oogled at by many and we did our best to make it look like we did'nt live on her. That included taking Rosti our sailing cocker spaniel to the doggy hotel. One nite in Coconut Grove, where we anchored for a week before the show to clean etc., Lisa wakes me up around midnite to check out the awsome torrential rain and lightning. OK. While admiring mother nature I look ahead to our friends on a 42 ft cat. Oh my gosh, there's a monohull adrift in the 30 knots coming thru the anchorage and its wrapped around the bows of our friends cat. Jump in the dingy to assist. The mono's dingy sunk and was stuck/wrapped around his bows. I was just about to board and help when she lets loose, ehich was good, but was now drifting right onto us, which was very bad. A nice but terrified woman on the dragging boat asks if I would board and stop her boat. There wasnt much time...I said' "just put it in forward and motor forward straight into the wind". "What's forward"she says.
Biscayne Bay is nice and we enjoyed cruising the northern keys with Lisa's mom and dad for a week after the show.
Next stop Ft. Lauderdale for some maintainance. Then Jupiter, Cape Canaveral and north for our first time in the ditch. I tell ya..it seems easier to cross the Atlantic than paying all so much attention to navigating the intercoastal. I think we prefer the blue-er water.
We are currently back in Buffalo hard at work and plan to reboard in October for a winter of additional adventures.
If any of you in blogland have any questions or comments about any aspects of our 10000 mile journey, feel free to contact us.
gary and lisa
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05/12/2008
OK, it's been a while. Here's the update for Captains Gary and Lisa and the adventures of SIYASINANA. We cruised the Bahamas (Abacos, Berries and Nassua) for 10 weeks. Fishing was a blast. We troll with reels as well as just plain 50 lb. line connected to a bungee. On our short list of "must haves" is the plastic fishing belt with hinged rod holder. Our stomachs were black and blue from wedging the rod into our bellies and fighting with all we had. The program is...we take turns each time a fish hits. The other tries to slow the boat, turn into the wind, use reverse and generally do whatever one can to assist landing the thing. We now know that the sharks want the fish as badly as we.
On the way to Bimini, we anchored in the middle of the bank in 7 ft. of water, far far from any land. It's a strange sensation. Lisa was sure we'd be run down or attacked by drug smugglers. Every time I located a spot to drop she says "we'll definitely get run over here". Hmmm. So, I found a spot on the chart marked "danger/shoal/aviod", motored cautiously to the middle of it and anchored in a wonderful little sand patch with no rocks anywhere around us. This, I reasoned, would limit the folks runnin us over to only navigational idiots.
Bimini was great and we stayed on a dock for 3 nights prepping to cross for the Miami Boat Show.
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01/26/2008, Bahamas
With the 8100 mile journey behind us and 2 months of cruising, we're really starting to know the boat and are comfy with all the systems. Not to say that we could hold a candle to the electric prowess of John our delivery captain, but we can change oils, impellors and do some decent trouble shooting. It's easy when there is very little trouble.
The Entec generator, standard equipment, does a nice job quietly pushing out 100 amps.
Lisa, the spinnaker whisperer, only just forgave me for putting a rip in her spinnaker. Had tape and a sewing machine on board so all fixed.
We went all the way and got the full canvas surrounds...i.e. sides, back and windshield: and we love it. While everyone else hunkers down and goes below when the wind howls, we can sit in the cockpit and play cards, the candles barely flickering.
The 44lb. Delta has been a champ. The Fortress secondary anchor yet to see duty. In 60 days, we've anchored every night except for 5 in Nassau where we had to endure 30 knots on the beam right up against a tee-dock. Constant vigilance and borrowed oversized fenders weren't enough to avoid getting our first scratch. The anchor is more peaceful.
Everything else is good. The Atlantic crossing was only last Aug./Sept. but seems like ancient memory as we fill the weeks with news places and friends.
Our ice maker has been the envy of several cruisers. We watch their eyes bulge as we top off tall glasses full of ice. Yanmar engines humming well with 325 hrs. on each. We can usually sail faster than we can motor. Tell anyone with a power boat that you traveled 8100 nm non stop using 190 gallons of diesel and they'll think hard about a catamaran.
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Love ya, Miss ya
