We are still at home but busy with the packing. Soon we will be starting a new chapter in our travels that will be very different than any before. We are palnning on using this web-site more this year, especially if I can find an editor. We are beginning with a non-sailing tour of Lisbon, Sintra (a special place) & areas further north, maybe Oporto & the port vineyards. This site was not updated last year after our arrival so I will add some phoitos of the Azores & our trip across. Soon we will add a more creative touch to the site.

About 5 miles away was a small anchorage with mooring balls in a scenic quiet spot, just what was needed. It was a last minute decision as we were going by, not good to make quick decisions but we were tired & we didn't need the untrustworthy dinghy here. As we were deciding where to go it looked like another boat would take the mooring we wanted so we better rush (not too smart). A few minutes later the sweet dinghy was snugged up real close to us because the "floating line" wrapped on the prop shaft. At least we were attached to the mooring. A very quick dive confirmed the situation & eventually the dinghy was free & the line off. That could have been worse, I've heard of people pulling out their prop shaft which causes a lot of water to come in very, very quickly. It is time to start the engine to see how it would run. Instantly there was a lot of vibration & we weren't in gear yet. Better shut down & get brave to try it in gear. Not so good in gear unless you like severe vibration & a steady stream of water coming in. It does clean the bilge though. It is time to stop again for the day & regroup.

Next day the plan was to get to Nanny Cay. BVI's for repairs but first had to clear out of USVI with no outboard to trust, & a vibrating engine. The plan was to sail or motor sail if we could find a RPM that didn't shake too badly. Did I mention that the shaft only leaked when you went in gear, just a staedy tream, not a gushing one, probably forgot that part. As good fortune would have it we could motor in to the head winds & made it to Customs. We had to get close because paddling is only effective for awhile & close we got ,so close that after clearing out we were still sitting in 6 ft. of water or 5 1/2 ft. might be more exact. I now have an engine I don't want to power up too much in case something really bad happens & we are not moving. Good luck was with us again, it must be following us these days as the boat beside us dinghied over & said he gets stuck here all the time & offered to push us off. Me, gently pushing the throttle down & him going all out on the dinghy we start to move to the channel & finally float off. Job 1 done, by the way US Customs doesn't require you to clear out if going to the BVI's. Who knew that. Off to Nanny Cay with head winds minimal vibration & only a small leak now, we arrive much earlier than I expected.

As luck would have it again, we see a boat on the same dock, from the Caribbean 1500 in '05. They turn out to be in the business of over seeing work on boats, organizing & selecting the good contractors. What a list we have, broken dinghy lift, outboard issues, I forgot to mention the frig/freezer has the same outboard issue, it likes to shut itself off as well without telling anyone (that just started yesterday), SSB issues, damaged cutless bearing & shaft seal (only requires to be hauled for a day if everything goes well (rush order on the shaft seal from Michigan), AIS issues (new equipment to help those who are colour blind not to run in to ships at night) sea water strainer has to be replaced (my job), Fresh water leak in the hot water tank area, needs a rig inspection (for the Arc) which was done today & we passed almost (the foresails are about a foot too long & need to be shortened, which causes wear on the halyard which will definitely not last for the Atlantic crossing 2nd reef stuck (it is getting fixed as a write, nothing too serious but is getting fixed & a few small projects. Not bad for 2 weeks on the water. There was a time that we both said this is getting to be too much, maybe it is time to park it on the hard. After talking to Miles from the 1500 his take is that it is a blessing all this is happening now & not in the middle of the Atlantic. You do need to be positive in the end as tough as that can be sometimes. At least the weather is hot & sunny. What will tomorrow bring.

I am now current with the blog. Things are good right now, as we sit tied to a dock where nothing should break & hot showers are a short walk away, our new friends on Miss Carol will soon be in the BVI's & we should be ready to test the equipment again. Things appear to be on the rebound. It could have been worse! Bye for now I need to get some work done.

We returned to this small bay to find the snorkeling (& current) to be one of the best sights on the island. We almost lost one of the group to the tide, as Tony would understand , but eventually all were boarded on the dinghy. Moving on today to Coral Bay , a liveaboard haven so this could be interesting.

It has been 2 weeks since arriving in Nanny Cay to repair the boat. It has been a blessing that we broke what we did because it needed to be repaired in spite of the "extra damage" that was done. We have been able to get all the necessary checks & repairs done early & there have been many so hopefully there will be no last minute rush. We will be picking up the kids this week & get to test the changes made to the sails & rigging & not break anything again. It has taken awhile but I now understand that the first 3 months were just a test to get ready & we are there just need to stock up on the food, water & fuel & let the lines go. We have become good friends with the other Saga 43 owners & it has helped getting both boats together at the same time. We will write more later but will also be adding to the Arc Europe web site blog which also tracks the boats on their google earth map.

Apr. 5th, We did another stop at Foxy's on the way by, dropped off the broken dinghy lift in Nanny Cay (start location for the Arc) & were treated to a fine dinner by Laurie & Al in the mega yacht district of Charlotte Amalie. Thanks to them for a fun 2 weeks. Are only issue today was a outboard motor that was deciding on its' own when it should stop. We made it to the dinghy doac barely but still had to get back to the boat later. A helpful British fellow asked if we were low on gas & we were getting close which might be causing the problem so he lent us some of his extra fuel that happened to have oil in it which we don't need. Too late now since it was in the tank. We made it back & in the following morning even though it did stop 50 ft. from the dock. Let that be a warning that you should deal with these things sooner rather than later. It took a day to get rested up before venturing off to get groceries about 1/2 mile away. By then I had kind of forgot about the fuel issue. Three rounds of no engine later we finally get close enough to get towed in. No problem we will get it looked at but first some fresh fuel. Groceries loaded, fresh fuel mixed with old fuel, water, sand, algae & off we go for maybe a minute. Towed again back to the busy commercial dock where the fuel guy made it clear we could not stay there. No problem we have paddles & get to the super crowded dinghy dock. As luck would have it there was an outboard company 200 ft. away who helped clean the tank & get us going. Now we can head back. Well almost back as we were nearing the boat again it stops & will not start. After attaching ourselves to the closest boat & not being able to start the owner agreed to tow us to ours since paddling against the wind doesn't work so well in a dinghy. That only took 5 hours to get groceries & an extra $70 in travelling costs. Not too bad. It was time to move on with our well scolded outboard.

Mar 31st, The Baths consist of large boulders piled on top of & against each other. They are the size of houses so you are able to walk between them with the water surging in everywhere. Definitely a must see here. No swimming casualties today but lots of concern getting to shore & back. All part of the fun.