Cruising with Vida Dulce

22 October 2020
04 September 2020 | Loggerhead Marina, Hollywood, FL
22 August 2020 | Hollywood, FL
20 August 2020 | Greenville, AL
18 March 2020
09 March 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
29 February 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
14 February 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
14 February 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
13 February 2020
22 January 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
10 January 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
06 January 2020 | Isla Mujeres, MX
04 January 2020 | Islan Mujeres, MX
31 December 2019 | Isla Mujeres, MX
30 December 2019 | Isla Mujeres, MX
29 December 2019 | Isla Mujeres, MX
28 December 2019 | Isla Cozumel MX
26 December 2019 | Cay Caulker, BZ
25 December 2019 | Bluefield Range Cays

Lightening Strike Damage Test Results

15 June 2016 | Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Susan / mostly sunny, hot & humid 97 degrees F
Jerry has completed his rounds of inspections and testing. A few items were resuscitated with new fuses, LEDs and/or a power cycle. Others pronounced dead for sure. Still others need to be replaced based on expert advise / experience.

Dead:
VHF antenna (blown away) & cable
Garmin VHF & remote including remote charging stations (2)
Garmin AIS
Garmin wind transducer
Garmin autopilot control head, heading sensor, course computer
iCom 802 SSB
Pioneer AM/FM radio
Xantrex Inverter / Charger
Balmar Centerfielder
Mintaka Duo barograph
Sump pumps on starboard side heads (2)
Starboard engine - starter sometimes doesn't kick over, when it starts it charges ok but a warning buzzer won't go off (no idiot lights though).
Starboard fuel gauge

Resuscitated however still questionable:
Garmin Radar (blown fuse)
Blue Sky solar charge controller (power cycled)
Raymarine autopilot (reset)
Navigation lights, steaming light (LEDs failed / replaced)

No way to stress test:
House battery bank - replace based on expert advise & words of wisdom from other sailors whose boats were hit by lightening.
Inside & Outside speakers (6) - AM/FM radio dead

Still to test:
Mooring light
Thru-hulls

While a long list, and I've probably missed a few items, there's lots of other equipment that tests out fine. In no particular order: Garmin chart plotters (2), NIMEA network, Garmin fish finder / sonar, Onan generator, interior lights (LED), washer / dryer, fridges & freezer (too bad since we'd love to replace them...), AC units, satellite phone / antenna, watermaker, solar panels, 3-D printer & other office equipment, laptops, Jerry's lab equipment, manual bilge pumps,.... plus no fires, no water intrusion (that we've found), and we were not personally zapped. We've heard worse stories; amazing the stories people tell of their own and their friends experiences, others they've heard about when one gets struck by lightning. We personally know of two or three boats that were struck, one a Lagoon 440 like ours and they were much worse off damage-wise. So small blessings if the insurance company & our policy is reasonable. Speaking of which,

Quick Haul: We moved it from Monday / Tuesday to Wednesday, then rescheduled it again to tomorrow (Thursday) so that the insurance adjustor / surveyor can be on site. He finally booked a flight to land in San Pedro Sula for this afternoon. This is not a fly-in, rent a car, drive a bit kind of location. There are two options for airports, San Pedro Sula (Honduras) and Guatemala City. The bus from Guatemala City takes 5 hours more or less. A car / driver can be hired for the 3 hour drive from San Pedro Sula. Funny thing though, the Guatemala / Honduras border closes 6pm. It's two hours from the airport to the border and he won't make it in time so he's stuck in Honduras for the night. We've arranged for a car / driver to pick him up at the hotel but he can only get across the border when it opens up and then it's 2 hours to the hotel, 2 hours back to the border and another hour here plus lancha time to our marina or Abels if we choose to go ahead and get the haul-out underway. Bottom line we're really not sure when he'll arrive on-site tomorrow. He's not been here before - he didn't even know where the Rio Dulce is - so it's sure to be an adventure. I hope this doesn't affect his mood in a negative way....
Comments
Vessel Name: Vida Dulce
Vessel Make/Model: Lagoon 440
Hailing Port: Seattle, WA
Crew: Jerry and Susan Barber
About: Jerry and Susan moved aboard Vida Dulce in late October of 2010. We are currently in the Caribbean.
Vida Dulce's Photos - Main
26 Photos
Created 20 October 2017
17 Photos
Created 2 September 2017
4 Photos
Created 15 December 2016
9 Photos
Created 17 October 2016
20 Photos
Created 1 September 2015
North Coast, West section 2015; Havana to Baracoa Bus Trip 2016
100 Photos
Created 15 May 2015
38 Photos
Created 11 March 2015
50 Photos
Created 25 December 2014
The road trip included 7 States: WA, OR, ID, WY, CO, UT, MT
16 Photos
Created 3 August 2014
Hurricane Season 2014
1 Photo | 5 Sub-Albums
Created 14 June 2014
Pictures of our stay in Honduras 2014
1 Photo | 5 Sub-Albums
Created 4 January 2014
10 Photos
Created 18 October 2013
4 Photos
Created 20 September 2013
Our Dec 2012 - Feb 2013 visit
55 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 31 December 2012
Happy Holidays from Isla Providencia, Colombia
11 Photos
Created 31 December 2012
Photos of my on-board garden
16 Photos
Created 28 September 2012
4 Photos
Created 26 December 2011
Pictures of our time in Panama, Sept 2011 - Dec 2012
1 Photo | 5 Sub-Albums
Created 29 September 2011
Pictures of our visit to Columbia, May-Oct 2011
1 Photo | 5 Sub-Albums
Created 15 July 2011
Photos of our series drogue and May 2011 practice deployment and retrieval
24 Photos
Created 13 May 2011
Pictures from our brief visit to Bonaire, Curacao & Aruba in May 2011
35 Photos
Created 11 May 2011
Pictures of our short stay off Isla Pelona in May 2011
17 Photos
Created 11 May 2011
Pictures of our time in Grenada, April 2011
48 Photos
Created 23 April 2011
Pictures of our island stops in the Grenadines, April 2011
36 Photos
Created 4 April 2011
Photos of St Vincent, April 2011
11 Photos
Created 2 April 2011
Photos of St Lucia March 2011
46 Photos
Created 15 March 2011
68 Photos
Created 7 March 2011
Photos of Dominica 2011
3 Photos
Created 7 March 2011
Photos of Iles des Saintes, Feb 2011
12 Photos
Created 17 February 2011
Photos of Guadeloupe, Feb 2011
49 Photos
Created 13 February 2011
Photos of Barbuda, Jan 2011
15 Photos
Created 14 January 2011
20 Photos
Created 30 December 2010
2 Photos
Created 26 December 2010
Photos of Red Hook, St Thomas and Vida Dulce getting a new bank of batteries and the installation of her new custom made arch which will support 4 solar panels.
28 Photos
Created 9 November 2010
Haul out of Vida Dulce in November of 2010.
23 Photos
Created 9 November 2010
Lots of photos of various places not in other albums. Most are included directly in a blog entry.
27 Photos
Created 31 October 2010
15 Photos
Created 11 September 2010
A "Working" Trip with Jim to start outfitting the boat for cruising.
31 Photos
Created 10 September 2010
11 Photos
Created 5 April 2010
34 Photos
Created 5 April 2010