03/18/2012
Our blog that is. Over to a blogger page. I'm working on some other blogs and I've realized it's just easier to have everything in one place. I hope you all continue to read our blog and give us comments and suggestions.
http://svnorthfork.blogspot.com/
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10/10/2011
Well it's been a while since I put up a post since I'm home in the US and Mark is in Australia. He has safely (finally!) made it and is enjoying Brisbane. While chatting with my mom the other day we were discussing some of the things that I do before closing up the boat that Mark will have to do this time around. When I told her three of the home remedies I have come across that, as far as we know, have worked wonderfully she asked why I hadn't ever told her about them so I thought maybe they would make for a good blog post. So my three things that I do to ensure we don't end up with bugs or mold while we are gone...
1. Cinnamon: I boil cinnamon sticks on the stove and then wipe down all the counters and especially around all the cabinets that have food in them. Ants supposedly won't cross a line of cinnamon and so far we haven't had an ant infiltration so I think I'll keep doing this one. Besides if it doesn't work it sure does make the boat smell good. I learned this from a woman in Puerto Rico while I stood in front of the spices in the Walmart mulling over which Bay Leaves I should buy - which brings me to #2.
2. Bay Leaves: As I've mentioned before I put them in everything that I repackage. I don't care what it is. I make sure they end up in all my pasta, rice, flour, pancake mix, etc. I vacuum seal them right in. I've never had a problem with anything taking on a funny taste but figure I'd rather have that than bugs. We haven't had many bug issues on the boat but the bugs we have gotten have only gotten into one bag of food on the boat and it was a bag of pasta that I had not repackaged or put bay leaves in. Most of the time I'll also throw a bay leave or two in my cabinets somewhere as well but definitely do it before we shut down the boat - even with our canned goods.
3. Bleach: The first time I did this I didn't really put enough. I came back to crystalized bleach in the cups I left in our sinks. Since then I have used our larger glasses and filled them a little over half full of bleach and left them in our three sinks. The purpose is for mold. The bleach attracts the mold so it goes to the bleach instead of to your walls or upholstery. I think this has worked for the most part. I did find that a couple of pairs of Mark's pants had gotten a little moldy in the closet but they washed right out and we haven't had issues with the walls or cushions.
Hopefully some of this will help even those of you who are living on land.
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08/20/2011, Port Vila, Vanuatu & USA
We left Fiji on August 3rd for New Caledonia and ended up in Vanuatu. No matter how hard we tried the wind would not let us go as south as we wanted to and we had a lot of wind. It was a really hard sail, terribly uncomfortable and I was horribly seasick - by far the worst I've ever been. I became incredibly dehydrated and couldn't keep anything down. After about three days we decided that it was best to continue on the course we were and pull into Vanuatu. Had it just been Mark and I we probably would have continued to push toward New Cal but worrying about the baby we decided that it would be best to get to land as soon as possible. We also decided that it was probably time for me to return to the US for the remainder of the pregnancy. I had planned on returning in October after we got to Australia but after three hard crossings in a row it no longer seemed like the best plan. After pulling into Port Vila on Sunday (two days later) we booked a flight home for me for Tuesday. Vanuatu seemed like it would be a cool place to explore and I wish I could have seen it with Mark but we were skipping it for a very good reason. The country has Malaria and while it is said that Port Vila (the main city) is Malaria free the statistics for Malaria and pregnancy aren't good and we didn't want to take a chance. Pregnant women are 50% more likely to get Malaria and 80% of all Malaria deaths are pregnant women. It was difficult to make a decision, get a ticket, and fly out within a week knowing that we would be separated for awhile but it didn't really seem that there was another choice. So for now I am back in the US taking care of the baby and Mark is in Vanuatu taking care of the boat. Our friend Roberta joined him today. I'm glad he has some company and some help.
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07/22/2011, Fiji
Yesterday we finally got out and got our sails out. We were pretty happy with the results. We didn't spend too much time fine tuning them because we only had a few hours to play and we had a lot to test. We pulled out the mizzen and the main. All looked good and back in they went (much easier - no more baggy sails to fight into and out of the mast). Next we pulled out the Genoa and away it went. Then came the labor intensive test of deploying our two whisker polls. We pulled the Genoa out on the port side and then ran the new ballooner up and out on the starboard side. It looked great. We got to pick new colors for the ballooner and decided to go simple light and dark blue. It is much nicer than the old red, white, and blue because the red and blue had bled onto the white making it look awful. Mark also picked out the order of the colors on the sail and he did a great job. I was pretty happy with the whole excursion. It all went pretty smoothly and I think we are both starting to remember all the little details without reviewing the process before hand (we've only deployed the ballooner a handful of times).
As you can see Mark looks pretty happy standing there... with my Dr. Pepper. I say my DP because Mark never drank DP until I got pregnant. Overseas it isn't easy to find and usually expensive so when I found it at Gilmours in NZ for less than Coke I bought a case and Mark made me go back for a few more knowing that I enjoy the treat once in a while. I'm not a big pop drinker but I bought enough to have one a week till December. I didn't buy much other pop because I know that I can always get the other stuff that Mark drinks. Since I'm pregnant and can't drink it Mark has dug into it. I now fear my DP will never be safe again!
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04/12/2011, Tauranga, New Zealand
When my sorority said that it wanted to do a story on my sailing I had no idea it would end up being a two page feature. I want to thank Jan Matthew for doing such a great job writing the story. I am honored to have been a part of the magazine and hope everyone enjoys the story on page 20.
Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine Spring 2011
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02/26/2011, New Zealand
We were notified yesterday that our apartment has been condemned. They say they is a good chance it will fall on its own and if not they will knock it down. Mark and I are completely in disbelief and very lucky. How can a new building built in an earthquake zone not be made to withstand an earthquake? Part of the reason we chose it was because it was a newer building. We are lucky that it was only a temporary apartment and we didn't lose more and especially that it didn't come down with us inside but we did take a lose. We had a few sentimental items in there. Our passports with the places we have been, my nice clothes from my showers and rehearsal, a quilt I've been working on for a while and was three squares away from finishing, fabric I have been selecting to make quilts for family and friends, Marks journal. But we also had some boat parts that will now have to go back to square one to get and some of our safety equipment for the boat like our SAT phone and back-up GPS along with Wifi antennas and other electronics. We also lost our bikes, games, camping equipment. We keep trying to put it in perspective, and we know that we are extremely lucky and lost little in comparison to many but it is still difficult. We thank our friends and family for the support they have given us and continue to ask for your prayers and we sort through what we need to do next and how best to move on.
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We are so very sad to hear about your losses. But we are so grateful that you are safe and alive! We will be heading south in a few days - where are you? We want to get together. Answer your e-mail! love
