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Melbourne to the Bahamas
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| Slocum 43 Pilothouse Cutter |
Updated January 17, 2003 |
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Bob is the Green Spot
Bob and Bruce Kemper
Removing the Mast
Waiting, waiting, waiting...
Captain at the Helm |
Up the Mast for Vero Beach Harbor Photos What's Broken Now? To be completely current, I would have to revise this list at least once a week. If you know even one boater you no doubt have heard the phrase, "a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into." Since beginning preparations to sail in June until today, Bob has had Polaris hauled three times and done the following:
Many of these projects were optional improvements for the planned cruise, but others were the result of problems along the way. Many of you, like me, won't know what some of these things are or what they do. But I can tell you that they all cost money and time, even with Bob doing much of the work himself. This is an expensive little home. The former captain of a 100-ft. Burger yacht told us that he had kept a log of equipment breakdowns over a one-year period and they had averaged one per week.
Removing the Rudder Showing Rudder Delamination From Melbourne to the Bahamas  Reading Mitchner's Caribbean for Background From the annual meeting of Seven Seas Cruising Association, via the repair dock at a marina nearby, Bob single-handed the boat down to Vero while I followed in my car. Days later, we were underway to Cracker Boys marina in Ft. Pierce for a scheduled lift-out and rudder removal. My little Honda CRV proved the perfect workhorse for transporting the rudder up to Ocala for rebuilding. Meanwhile at home I had to made do driving Bob's new Corvette. These new developments meant a delay in our schedule but a chance to spend the holidays at my home in St. Petersburg. Bob drove between the two coasts for three weeks to work on Polaris, living aboard "on the hard" much of the time. I stayed at home and took LONG, hot showers, drank Cokes with LOTS of ICE, occasionally left a room with the light still burning just for the heck of it, and restored my original hairstyle with a BLOW DRYER and a CURLING IRON. Life on the hard. What a luxury it has turned out to be. Although delayed by a month, we did make the most of our unexpected break from cruising. We visited with good friends who were all surprised to see us back in town, had a chili party in front of a roaring fire to acknowledge the season and brought Mr. Busby, the cat, home again for three weeks. |
Three to a Buoy at this Popular Vero Beach Harbor January 7th, we returned to Ft. Pierce by rental car and put Polaris back in the water. She's all gussied up now with new standing rigging, new rudder and a good bath. We motored down to Lake Worth the next day and are anchored now in North Palm Beach, waiting for a "weather window" to make our Gulf Stream crossing to Green Turtle Cay. Due to the strong northerly direction of the Stream's current, opposing winds create choppy, high seas and we must wait for winds from the south. But January is the season for "northerlies" and we are resigned to a wait. Mail and prescription medications ordered online caught up with us, mailed to good friend Geri Brass and her husband Jim in West Palm Beach. A starter recipe, cookbook and crock for
Bruce and Pam Rendezvous with Us for the Gulf Stream Crossing. sourdough bread is on the way, and, best of all, friends from the Harborage Marina in St. Pete,
Pamela and Dinner on Polaris with Pam and Bruce
I am armed now with a new stock of easier ingredients for "mystery casseroles", a CD to identify reef fish, and a new haircut that will, by necessity, be styled by the wind on the way to shore in the dinghy. After many years of not cooking, I am passing the time by learning to
make dinner recipes with only half of the required ingredients. Bob's
good friend from Champagne, IL, Al Davis, put together a gourmet
cookbook of his family favorites and I Bob and I are looking forward to getting down to the warm waters of the Exumas for some snorkeling, diving, and trying out his new underwater digital camera from Santa.
Captain Bob is Chief Dishwasher
Clockwise: Gato del Sol crewmate Nelson Kemper; Vero Beach Harbor at Sunset; Patton Up the Mast for Photos.
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Bob Fixing Flag Halyard Hauling
Polaris for Repairs
Bruce Kemper, (and their two Himalayan cats, Nelson and
Frances) have joined us aboard their sailboat, Gato del Sol, to
make the crossing. 
am adapting his recipes to our pantry provisions. Bob says
my potato casserole was very close to Al's in that they both used
potatoes. Sorry, Al. Someday, I'll round up the correct
ingredients. 
