Bahamas

Mattina in the Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Emotions run full speed when life changes are on the way. Since we’ve put Mattina for sale, we’ve been very pleased with the response we’ve been getting. Gotta love social media for getting the word out there. Thanks to everyone who has shared, tweeted, or reposted my blog. The added visibility is a big help.

The added visibility also makes selling Mattina feel real for me, and I have to confess there is a little part of me that’s sad. But alas, new adventures await, and I’m excited about that too.

Mattina At Anchor

The Bahamas provide many  beautiful places to anchor, and there’s nothing like the clear blue water to entice a sailor to stay a while.

This is our fifth winter roaming the Bahamian islands and cays, and I’m still amazed at the beauty of the water.

Now I need to make the most of it and enjoy what’s on offer. Hence . . . time to go beach running.

Thanks for reading  . . .

Conch and Lobster

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

When we check into the Bahamas we get a fishing license. This means, yum, yum, you guessed it – Dinner for us.

Although it looks as if Farley is getting ready for a snack, he’s out of luck.

These delicious treats go to the humans.

Conch and Lobster

Mattina, our Lagoon 380 S2, is a great place to spearfish from.

Thanks for reading . . .

Mattina Hiding From Weather

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Do the skies look menacing?

Pipe Cay

Thinking we should stay put for a while. Sailing is all about freedom and doing what you want to do when you want to do it.

Well, as it turns out, the weather has something to say about that.

We anchored behind Pipe Cay and can see the weather coming. This would be the time to put out a second anchor and sit snuggly in the lee.

We have a Rochna on Mattina, which holds in any weather, but sometimes, it’s nice to add the security of a second anchor. We rarely do this. I think last year, we didn’t use two anchors at all. This is our first occasion for the 2013-2014 season, but a good night’s sleep is worth it.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Wheaten Terrier Meets Dolphin

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley Here,

“What the barking blazes is that thing swimming in front of Mattina?” I bark

Kristina and Matt come to the bow. They’re all calm, like a monster isn’t swimming so close to us.

“Go away I,” I bark. “Or else.” Or else what, I have no idea.

Do you see how close it came to our boat?

Farlley and Dolphin

I can’t believe the beast doesn’t listen to me. So you know what it does next?

It swims right underneath me. I go crazy jumping up and down barking at it.  Mr. Dolphin turns on his side and looks up at me. I think he’s smiling at me. An evil smile, mind you. I bounce, and I bark, doing my best to scare it away. I am the protector of this pack, and I take my job seriously.

Kristina and Matt hide behind me. They know they need me to take care of them. And I do. Ten long minutes later, the dolphin finally understands he’s not welcome and he swims away.

I don’t he’ll come back anytime soon. Phew. I’m glad that’s over and I can go back to napping on my trampoline.

Woof Woof.

Mattina At Compass Cay

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Fall and winter in the Bahamas can mean cold fronts. Now we don’t mind some, but anything pushing thirty knots and we want to find a place to hide.

There are several marina’s in the Exumas that offer 360 degree protection. Highbourne Cay, Compass Cay and Cave Cay are all good places to hide.

This photo was taken last year by a friend from the top of his mast.

Mattina At Compass Cay

You can see Mattina in the bottom left  corner. You can also see how many other boats chose to hide with us.

The thing about Compass is it’s easy to keep busy. Walking, swimming, kayaking in the mangroves and even hiking to the bubbles baths for a splash in the surf entertain us.

Sometimes we hunker down at anchor and wait out a cold front. This can get a little boring or very exciting depending on what the weather does. Really all we care about is that we’re safe

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Underway.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Farley here.

So I’m sailing again. What do I do underway? Well, unless there are dolphins swimming by, I get bored.

And when I’m bored, I get crazy.

I go to the forward guest cabin and I roll right . . .

Farley Rolling 1

And then I roll left.

Farley Rolling 2

And lastly, I play with my squeaky toy.

Farley Rolling 3

I mean what else does a dog do when sailing. Matt and Kristina won’t let me steer, at least not all the time.

It’s a talent being able to entertain yourself.

Woof Woof

Dinner on a Lagoon 380

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Eating seems to be a big part of cruising, so I thought I’d share where we dine.

We have two choices.

Inside:

Dinner on Mattina

Or outside in the cockpit.

The cockpit table has two leaves, but instead of opening down so the leaves block your legs, we had then made to fold up and lay flat on the top. We designed the table for three settings.

Breakfast Nook: One side is open.

Cockpit Table breakfast

Happy Hour: Both sides closed

Cockpit table happy hour

Dinner: Both sides open.

Cockpit Table Dinner

Both work well while we are underway. The array of windows at the front give  us a great view forward, so we can watch for traffic while we eat. A catamaran sits flat while sailing, and eating underway becomes a joy instead of something to do quickly while healed over.

Thanks for reading . . .

Lagoon 380: A freezer Gets Filled

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Part of getting ready to set sail every year includes filling the freezer with meats – unless you’re a vegetarian, of course – and then you can fill the freezer with other yummy foods.

Our freezer sits underneath the cockpit bench and is easily accessible from just outside the galley. It’s an Engel and runs off both 12 volt and AC current. We run off the battery when we are underway and run off shore power at the dock. There is a small freezer inside our galley refrigerator, but it’s not big enough for the quantity we like to bring with us.

DSC 1664

I’ve learned a thing or two about getting the maximum use out of the space that I’d like to share.

By not freezing the meat prior to storage, the meat uses up less space.  If the meat is frozen first, then you can’t manipulate the shape to pack more in. We store the meat raw while Mattina is plugged in at the dock. This little machine hums away until the meats are frozen solid.

DSC 1665

Warning: layer your  meats so that each row has a choice. Don’t put all the steak at the bottom, for instance.  The freezer has now become a jig saw puzzle and it’s amazing how hard it is to fit a frozen package back in once the pieces have been disturbed. After a while this doesn’t matter, but at first, if you can pick off the top layer without disturbing lower layers, life is much easier.

We also vacuum seal the meat so freezer burn doesn’t ruin the meat.

Now to get to the Bahamas so we can light up the barbecue.

Thanks for reading  . . .