MY RIDES HERE

After two days relaxing on Lindberg Bay St Thomas. We took a cab to the other side of the island and stopped for breakfast at a place called Molly Malone's in Red Hook. While enjoying a second cup of coffee a family of chickens strolled through the open air restaurant:



Well at least I know the eggs will be fresh. After breakfast we were just a few steps from the dock at the American Yacht Harbor where the Dolphin Water Taxi I had reserved was waiting to take us to the West End of Tortola:


It was a quick half hour ride in calm seas. We entered Sophers Hole:

and passed an interesting waterside bar:

Beers, Burgers N Beds. What more does one need here in the Caribbean?  We then moved on and docked at the Immigration Office:

It was a quick trip through immigration since the Water Taxi people had prepared all the documents and had collected the fees in advance. Soon I was in a van heading over to the former CSY docks to start the next part of the journey.

DOWN ST. THOMAS WAY

After checking on BIANKA as it hibernates in the boatyard for the winter. It was time to head south to get back on the water at least for a little bit. First stop was in St. Thomas where we took a room on Lindberg Bay.  A charting catamaran was hanging out  off the beach while doing some repairs between charters. Made a nice backdrop for the sunset:

Not a bad way to end the first day.

WINTERLUDE 2016

Well the winter temperatures have finally arrived. Gone are the 70 degree F days that arrived around Christmas. It was a blustery cold day but, I made the first winter visit to BIANKA to check on things. The bilge was pretty dry considering we had some pretty heavy rains over the past few weeks so the boat seems pretty tight. I mopped up what water there was in the bilge and splashed some antifreeze in:

I am hoping the winter will not be as bad as last winter when snow filled the cockpit and also found it's way into the bilge which eventually turned into ice.

NEW YEARS WISH

Hope everyone reading this has a healthy, happy and prosperous 2016 with fair winds everyday

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME

I've been pretty busy since I pulled the boat and so it has been hard to keep posting on the blog. So I thought I'd share a little Christmas present I bought for myself. It's a Sailrite Folding Sewing machine table. Since I bought the Sailrite Ultrafeed® LSZ-1 Sewing Machine last year. It seemed like a good idea to enhance my sewing area with a proper table to work on. It came fully assembled and flat in the box:

It was pretty easy to setup. I had to adjust the sunken platform for the proper height of the LZ-1 sewing machine. It took just a few minutes.

Once that was done it was simply a matter of loading the Sailrite sewing machine in it's base cabinet  onto the platform:

It sits nice and flush with the table surface. With the legs locked it was pretty stable and has a convenient ruler running across the edge of the table. I think it will help with my winter project which is sewing a new sail cover for BIANKA. More on that later.

ANCHORS AWAY

I'm  trying to catch up on things and put up some blog posts of things done and not done this past season on board. One of the things I had been planning to do was to attach a waterproof camera to the 33 pound Bruce anchor that serves as BIANKA's main anchor. It has been a doing a great job since I bought the boat. It has held in 30 to 40 knots of wind including a brush with Hurricane Earl. I trust it but, I was still curious how it was doing it's job. I never did setup my camera for some underwater video of the Bruce but, a fellow in the Pacific Northwest has. He shows it setting pretty nicely with a 2.5:1 scope Here is his video:

ONE LAST THING: Cleaning the Porta Boat

I finally broke down and splurged on renting a spot on the dingy dock for my eight foot Porta Boat. I spend most of my time during the summer living on the boat with an occasional respite on land for work or to accompany my gal on a beach vacation. Since I have been using a folding Porta Boat for fourteen years I was able to fold it up when and take it home as needed. As I'm getting older this is becoming more of a pain and so I opened the wallet to have access to the dingy dock at the boatyard. It certainly makes it more convenient for quick trips home or provisions. Since for over a decade I have avoided the dingy dock fees that could have paid for the Porta Boat three or four times over I thought it was about time to make things a little easier for me. Though leaving the Porta Boat in the water for the entire season bought some new issues.

MAST CLIMBING: OTHER POSSIBILITIES?

BIANKA has a round unstayed mast almost like a tapered metal telephone pole. So there are no spreaders to deal with like on many other types of sailboats. There are two hanger lines that support the wishbone boom though. I don't have to go up the mast too often. Usually just in the spring and fall when stepping and unstepping the mast. I can use a folding ladder to reach the hanger lines for the quick disconnect that I have to do.  There is no need to drag out a Bosun's Chair. However, this video looks like it might offer an interesting alternative for climbing the mast that also does not involve the ladder or Bosun's chair:

GIFTS FOR BOATERS FROM BIANKA'S GALLEY: Anchor Measuring Shot Glass

It's getting to be that time of year again when gift giving becomes a priority for many. It can be hard for sailors and landlubbers to find gifts for their boater friends. May I suggest this little stocking stuffer for the boaters on your list. Anchor Hocking Measuring Shot Glass. I personally use it quite a bit in the galley when cooking or when making a Bloody Bianka or Rum Spritzer for my sunset libation. It's suitably nautical in appearance for any boat. It can also be a nice thank you gift if you are invited aboard for an afternoon on the water not just during the Christmas holidays.

Snug Harbor 2015

BIANKA is back on land for the winter but, in good company. It was a great sailing season but, winter is a good time to catch up on publishing some overdue blog posts. It's also a time to do some of those projects I thought I'd get to work on during the sailing season but, somehow I never did. The good news is the Super El Nino in the Pacific  is supposed to help allow for a more moderate winter here in the Northeast compared to last year. I hope they are right.