Cloudy and cooler
10/22/2010, Last day in Colorado

I picked up the small "Sport" trailer from UHaul this morning and we loaded it this afternoon. It is packed to the gills as so is the trunk of the poor Mazda that has to tow everything down to Tucson. We still have a bunch of things to put in the back seat, but there was no way we would have ever gotten everything into the car. Heck, we will be lucky to get what we have left to take in the car plus the cat pan and the two kids. I don't think they will be enjoying the trip as it will be a bit confining and Blue HATES that.

It's amazing how much STUFF we have bought, ordered or just took from the house to take back to Zephyr. Once we get to her, I'll try and make a list as to what we took. With so much stuff, we now think it is going to take an extra trip back up to Tucson to get everything down there.

We've made reservations for Albuquerque for a night and then two in Tucson so it will give us time to get the trailer unloaded and sorted plus time to do some more shopping to meat and essentials that we just couldn't load here in Colorado. By the time we are done, poor Zephyr is going to be really over loaded.

I called Marina Seca in San Carlos and got on their schedule to move Zephyr from the storage yard to the work yard so we can start in on her on Wednesday. We've got a bottom that needs a good couple of coats of paint and a few other jobs that have to be done before we "splash" her hull in a week or so. I also made reservations at Gringo Pete's Hotel and Condo in San Carlos for a few days. It will give the kids a base to play in so they won't be under foot while we are working on the boat.

At this time, all of our ducks are set in a row, now all we have to do is finish loading the Mazda and get on our way. I'll let you know how that goes. stay tuned.

With luck, we will be on the road a bit after 0800 for the 444 mile trip to Albuquerque we know so well having lived there for many years.

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Sunny but cooler-yuck!
10/19/2010, Still stuck in Aurora

And so the saga continues.
I called the USDA yesterday to see what the problem was with the 7001 form we need to get our International Health Certificate for both Blue and Snowshoe--our cats. We'd talked repeatedly with them last Thursday and Friday to make sure we filled out the form correctly. Our biggest question was the "Consigner"and "Consignee" boxes on the form since we aren't actually shipping the kids any where. We were advised to put our name in both boxes. Off the form went via the vet's fax machine.

We'd received a call later on Friday afternoon to call in as they had a question. Of course they were closed when we got home so I called them first thing yesterday and were told by "Jonathan" that we had filled out the form wrong. We'd put our same name in both the "Consigner" and "Consignee" boxes. I explained to "Jonathan" that last friday after getting transferred four times, that was what we were advised to do by the Doctor that inspects the forms. Jonathans response was "Well, he told you wrong". It goes to show that do as the government wants and it is still wrong in one way or another. I was advised that to do the form correctly, we were to put our name and the name of our boat in the box along with the names of the different countries we were planning to visit. We made plans to head back to the vet to start all over again.

Meanwhile, I'd noticed that the Apple MacBook we use was beginning to slow down and really come to an impasse when I booted up the "Mail" program. I decided to make an appointment at the local Apple Store. When we arrived, they ran a diagnostic on the poor thing and it came back that the hard drive was beginning to fail!! Not a good thing but good that we found out now rather then next week when we are back in Mexico. Luckily, I'd purchased their "Apple Care" when I bought it so out it came and in went the new drive. I was really lucky that I had made a backup copy of what was on the hard drive on Sunday.

Once done, off for lunch and over to the vet to start all over again. This time we took our own copier with us rather than driving to the local Albertsons(local grocery store) to get a copy made for faxing. We filled out another form and off it went. Once we got home(about 1530) there was a message on our answering machine to call Jonathan again. I got on the phone again and of course, I went to his voice mail(gee what a surprise). Of course, he didn't return my call before he went home last night.

I started up my "new" MacBook and hooked up the Western Digital hard drive I had used for my backup. Western Digital has installed a password protection program on the external hard drive which on the surface is a good thing but when you are trying to get it unlocked so you can download it's contents to a computer that is basically a blank slate with no programs on it, it becomes a problem. I made another appointment at the Apple store for 1730 hours(it was 1620 by this time) and then placed a call to the tech support for Western Digital to try and find a way to stop the drive from requiring a password to open. My conversation with "Bob" from Mumbai, India was lots of fun. First we had the language barrier to overcome and then he had to understand what I needed. I'd hooked the drive up to a "Windows" computer and it opened up just fine once I entered the required password. That wasn't good enough for "Bob". Oh no, I had to download the required software from Western Digital. He could not grasp the fact that I already had unlocked the drive. So Download I did and what did I accomplish--it locked up the drive all over again and I had a tough time getting it unlocked. All this during numerous times of being put on hold. After 50 minutes of accomplishing absolutely nothing(other than getting me very frustrated)I finally hung up as it was now after 1710 and my appointment was for 1730 and I had a way to go to get to the store.

I got to Apple just a few minutes late and explained my problem. "No problem", we'll just create a new account and had it install there and then delete the new account once the installation is finished". With just shy of 200 gigs to transfer back to the MacBook, I took off for a nice dinner at Tokyo Joe's. The tech figured it would take about a hour to do the transfer. I got back just about 1900 and found the computer saying it had "less than a minute" to go. I was quick to find that this did not represent an "Earth" minute as 20 minutes later it still said "less than a minute"to go. I came to the conclusion that it must be either a minute on Jupiter or Pluto but surely not an Earth minute. Just before 2000, it finally finished. I rebooted the computer and all appeared to be fine!!! Sure am glad I bought Apple Care. All this was done for FREE! After checking all the different accounts I have on the computer--some running with Windows, I took off for home. I had lots of updates to do to bring the computer up to current day standards. There went the rest of the evening but hey, at least I didn't have to buy a new computer or even a new hard drive and I had been lucky enough to do a full back up the day before the problem got out of control.

So this morning at 730 hours,I made a call to the USDA to speak to Jonathan to see what was happening. I went to his voice mail. I called back at 0830 and went to his voice mail again. It's now just after 0900 and I just heard from Jonathan. Our form was fine, he just wanted to make sure we were up to date with what each county needed(shot wise) when we got there. Yes, we had read the reports and were fine. The kids probably need one more shot and we will be done. We scheduled an appointment for tomorrow at 1100 to get the forms and pay our $36.00. Now, back to Uhaul to get our reservation set to pick up the trailer so we can get on the road. Our last order should be here by Thursday and we can be out of here by Saturday(maybe, the day is still early).

Stay tuned--the adventure continues. Oh, and as to the photo on yesterdays post--no that is not a hula hoop, it's the support ring for our mosquito net that will go over our cockpit so we will be a Taj Ma Boat once we drop out anchor in the different places where we intend to stop to keep the bugs out.

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10/17/2010

Gee, where to start. We're still in Colorado and will be for maybe the next week or so. Sort of stuck really. We've toyed over the last few weeks about getting an "International Health Certificate" from the USDA for the kids(Blue & Snowshoe). I'd posted questions about it on two different websites--both cruisers related sites-and asked the question of do we really need it. Now these health certificates are geared to shipping animals to foreign countries more than having them on board with you as you cruise the world plus, they are only good for a 30 day period. Many of the answers we got back was that it was a rarity for anyone to even ask about pets when they checked in to another country. Some did, most did not and that a valid rabies certificate would normally keep everyone happy. In the end, we decided to go ahead and apply for one.

We took both our cats into our local vet and got their shots updated and started the application process. The vet had done it before and it had taken quite a bit of time(according to the receptionist) to get it(filling out the forms) done right(you know those government bureaucrats). We called the USDA to see about picking up the forms. "OH NO, we can't give you the forms, they have to be mailed to the vet and we need a list of what countries you are planning on visiting". Apparently, each country has its own set of regulations(not that they get enforced). So we made a list of the countries we "think" we will be visiting and then faxed it to the USDA from the vet's office. We sat down and waited--and waited --and waited for the return fax(God forbid they get in this century and simply email the forms)with all the assorted regulations for each country. One plus is that the vet has at least 25 cats that prowl around the office for us to play with. One plunked her self down in Tracy's lap and refused to budge. About 90 minutes later, the fax started us and out came the forms-page after page. We took them home to read and try and fill out. Some want rabies tags and that was about it. Not to many even mentioned the "International Health Certificate". Even though it is only good for a 30 day period, we decided to go ahead with it. Tis better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it. We called the USDA as we had a question about the form. It is normally for shipping animals so there were boxes for the "consigner" and "consignee". As they live aboard. there would be no "consignee". After getting transferred three times, I finally ended back at the first person I had talked to that had started the transferring around the department. She put me on hold while she checked with the "Doctor" that inspects all the forms. The answer was to put our name in both boxes. How simple is that. So back we went to the vet with the decision made to only apply for the certificate for French Polynesia since they have the reputation to be the toughest. The 6 part form(still done with carbon paper no less) has to be faxed back to the USDA--oh--don't tear off the top copy of the form as it may invalidate the form. Off to the copy center to have it copied and back to the vet so they can fax it. It has to come from the vet--not us. Once the "copy" of the original was faxed, we left with the originals in hand to await the health certificates. When we got home(about 1605) we found a message on our answering machine that we had filled out the form wrong by putting our names in both the "consigner" and "consignee" boxes!! Yes, that's right, we did as instructed by them and we had done it wrong. As it was after 1600, the office was now closed for the weekend and we would have to wait till Monday(tomorrow) to get it all straightened out. Then there is the waiting time to get them processed and the call to come to their office with the "originals" to pay the fees and get the certificate. With luck we may be out of here by the end of next week.

I had a trailer hitch put on our car to make it easier to get everything back to Zephyr. We figure to load up everything in one of UHaul's small "Sport" trailers. It looks like an egg tipped on it's side on wheels. We've inspected them and it should allow us to take just about everything back all in the one trailer with hopefully little being crammed in the poor Mazda. There was no way we would get it all in the car. Renting the trailer from UHaul gives us a good perk that they throw in a free storage space at the end of the trip for a month. That will allow us to unload in Tucson and reload into the car the most important items we want and then come back in a week or so and get the rest. Having the car practically empty will make the kids much happier.

Yesterday, we both took our exam for getting our Ham license. We both passed with flying colors. It's a 35 question exam where you have to score at least a 75% to pass. Tracy got a 100% and I didn't bother to ask. Now there are three levels of Ham licenses--Technician(first), General(mid level) and Extra(top level). With Tracy getting a 100%, the proctors encouraged her to take the "General" exam. I begged off. She got about 1/3 of the answers right which was pretty good not having studied any of the requirements for that grade. We should receive our official license later this week and be good to transmit when we get back aboard. Tracy found a great website--Hamtestonline.com--for studying for the exam. If you are looking to get your license, we both can't recommend it enough.

We've even brought in a case(36 cans) of canned cheddar cheese as it is very tough to get any cheddar cheese once South of the border. It comes in cans just a bit larger than a tuna can. Mexico has lots of cheese, but nothing even comes close to a nice brick of cheddar. When ever we do find it, we get several packs and plunk them in the bottom of the frig. These at least don't have to be refrigerated which is a definite plus when out cruising.

So now we wait for the last of the things we have on order--sail stuff from Sailrite and our health certificate plus a few more odds and ends and we will be ready to go.

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Sunny and warm
09/25/2010, Still in Colorado

Well, the procurement of parts continues with the living room getting fuller and fuller. We've purchased and downloaded new charts from Nobeltec and Garmin for our computer and our chart plotter so at least we will know where we are. Of course, the GPS doesn't always agree with the charts so we end up looking like we are aground some times on the screen while we sit quietly at anchor. It's not like the good old USA as far as charts go down South.
We are thinking of crossing to Tahiti next spring instead of simply going South from Panama towards Peru. Once we get back to Zephyr next month, after some more repairs and upgrades, we will be heading for the Baja to drop off some things to friends and then work our way South along the Baja coast till we make the leap across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan. Once there, we will head South to Puerto Vallarta. There, we will meet up with other sailors that await Spring for the leap across the "puddle". They(the local marina) has seminars on making the leap starting in late January that we will be attending. A magazine for sailors out of San Francisco(Latitude 38) puts together several seminars helping cruisers prepare for their journey. If we find people to go with(few sail the course alone)we will plan for the trip. If not, we will simply head farther South for Panama and see what it is like there. Perhaps making the leap from there. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, the purchasing continues for more things to take back. We will probably have to ship somethings to Tucson and pick it up later after dropping off what is in the car in San Carlos. There is not going to be much room in the car for the cats.

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Sunny and warm(plus humid)
09/10/2010, Miami Airport

Well, we're back in the good old USA after a fast cruise around Bahama.
We left last Monday afternoon and headed for Freeport in the Bahamas. A total of maybe 105 miles with lots of time to get there. Leaving port a 1700 and getting in at 0800 the next day was a bit of a stretch as to what speed he had to make to get there on time. Gee--Zephyr could have just about made it in the same time. He must have been motoring in circles all the way across! I forgot our little GPS so I couldn't track his course and speed. Same with going from Freeport to Nassau. May be 100 miles and lots of time to do it.
On Tuesday, we were delayed leaving port after one of the crew fell ill and needed medical attention. The Captain wasn't about to leave port till she was alright. We left about an hour late.
On Wednesday, we were notified that there had been a small fire down on the third deck. All was aright but they had to evacuated lots of people from the area. Later in the day(about 1500), as we sat in our cabin all the power went out just about throughout the boat. OOPS!!! We thought that maybe they had pulled out the extension cord on shore? Oh, that's right, we have our own generators. No lights--no air conditioners--NO FOOD! It took a good hour to get everything back on line and almost 40 minutes to just get lights back on. Being in an inside cabin, let me tell you it was BLACK in that room. Glad I'd just gotten out of the shower. We were delayed another hour that night to just make sure all was well before we headed out.
Thursday was spent at NCL's own private island--Great Stirrup Cay. Not a bad place but shade was at a premium.
All in all a nice trip. It was good to get away for some R & R instead of working around the house every day.
Now back home and back at getting everything in order or on order for our trip back to Zephyr next month.
I'll post some pictures and a video or two once we get home.

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Boy is it humid!!
09/05/2010, Maimi, Florida

What's a sailor to do when he gets stuck on land for a while doing projects at home? You get back on the water on a cruise ship. That's right--Tracy and I are headed for Miami for a four day cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Ship Sky. We got a call a few weeks ago from Norwegian asking us if we would be interested in taking a very much discounted trip. Well we have been aboard Norwegian a time or two and since we were just about done fixing things around the house and I would be back from my diesel school in New Jersey, what the heck. Let's go!!

We've been off the water for the last three months and the call was to go back to the water again and hey--we'll even let them pamper us for a few days.
As I type this, we're sitting in a U.S. Airways jet headed for Miami after a nice flight to Charlotte. The beverage cart is getting wheeled down the aisle and we are raring to get back out there. Now this time the circumstances will be a bit different. No more getting up at 0 dark thirty to up the anchor and head out for another cove or hoping that the engine starts when you turn the key. This time, we will let someone else do it and we will sit back and enjoy ourselves.
We leave Miami on Monday afternoon for Freeport on Grand Bahama Island then over to Nassau on New Providence Island. The last day is at their private island of Grand Stirrup Cay for a bit of fun in the Sun, well maybe some rain. At least that is what is forecast for the next few days. I guess time will tell. We did pack some rain gear just incase but being sailors, what the heck, a bit of water won't hurt us.
Any way, that what we are up to so stay tuned for more of our little get away. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.

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