lagoon 380

Is A Cockpit Enclosure Worth The Investment?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

If you are planning on spending long periods of time on your sailboat, I recommend the investment in a cockpit enclosure.

Maybe it’s fun to sail in spray on an afternoon adventure, but when you have no home to go to after the sail, you might want to consider staying dry.

Matt is sailing Allura, our Niagara 42, the first year we owned her. Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun? Rain is pouring on him, around him and dripping down is back. I’m in the main salon taking the photo (and I’m dry of course).

Sailing in the rain 2009-01-12

We lasted one season and as soon as we hit Florida, we had an enclosure made.

Mattina, our Lagoon 380,  came without an enclosure. Sometimes we are smart and learn from our experiences – not always – but when we, are I like to point it out.

Before we left the coast of the US heading for the Bahamas, we had a full enclosure made.

Now we always sail dry.

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Keeping Fit While Cruising: Swimming Laps

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

If you’re getting the feeling there are endless ways to keep fit while sailing around the Bahamas, you’re getting the right feeling. This week’s suggestion: Swimming laps.

It’s hard to take a photo of myself swimming laps, so I thought I’d show you the water I swim in.

Water

Things to consider:

The water temperature is around 73 degrees Fahrenheit, which can cool a body down, so I wear wetsuit shorts and a rash guard. I find a full wet suit too restrictive for swimming laps, and the rash guard prevents sunburn.

Since there are sharks in the area, I don’t swim at dawn, dusk or in murky water, and I don’t splash around as if I were a fish in distress.

I don’t wear anything shiny in case a barracuda is sharing my water space.

I either swim with a buddy or have a partner follow me in a kayak to reduce the risk of a dinghy hitting me.

Salt water is hard on the swim goggles, so I bring several pairs to last me the season.

It’s a great way to keep fit if we’re in an area that doesn’t have a beach good for running.

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Keeping Fit While Cruising: Lobster Hunting

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

So many ways to keep fit while cruising – so little time 🙂

If you want to keep fit while sailing either you must sail in crazy weather or you must find other things to do. Me I choose to sail in favourable conditions where I don’t have to exert myself in dangerous situations, so that means I must find other ways to stay in shape.

Hanging out with active friends, all who have different interests, is the best way to find things to do. There’s always someone around to push the gang to get moving.

So this week, the activity to keep fit: Spear fishing for lobster.

Lobster

I’ll just say outright, I really suck at this. In fact I’ve never caught a lobster. My spear likes to head for the sand and rest on the bottom.  My husband and friends all seem to have the skill required.

It doesn’t matter. I can still swim and search. Swimming with fins is great for the calves and quads. Diving until you think you’re lungs will explode is great for the cardio.  The adrenaline rush when you think you see a shark . . . enough said about that.

The salt water bleaches your hair, the mask strap breaks it and the wind tangles it, but hey, you can’t have everything.

Oh, except to eat the delicious lobster.

Thanks for reading . . .

 

Deep Sea Fishing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been writing about how to keep fit while cruising. But what if we’re done with exercise for the day?

When the winds are too low to go windsurfing and it’s too hot for beach yoga or beach running, a little deep sea fishing goes a long way to keep us entertained and fed. Nothing like a sea of flat water and a little breeze to make fishing a fun experience.

Here we caught a wahoo, and you can see by the size of it, it fed our whole gang.

Matt and the Lure

When we checked into the Bahamas, we received a fishing license as part of our cruising permit, allowing us to fish in the Bahamian waters. We make sure we know what we are allowed to catch and what is in season, and only catch what we can eat.

It’s an amazing way to live off the sea.

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Farley’s Friday: Iguanas Bite Dogs?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here.

My title was a little dramatic, but I got scared by a big old iguana. I think he was a grandpa protecting his gang.

Let me set the scene.

I’m in the dinghy leaning my head out into the wind, my paws are getting wet, and I’m excited about getting to shore.

I can see it, smell it, almost feel the sand on my feet when . . .

“Oh, there’s a sign posted,” Kristina says. “Maybe the island is private.”

My heart sinks.

“Let’s land and go read it,” Matt says.

Yay. As soon as the bottom of the dinghy hits the shoreline, I jump over Kristina’s legs and get to shore (just in case they decide we’re not going).

Now, I’ve never seen an iguana before and this one was pretty big.

Iguana

As Kristina read the sign, I heard her say, “No pets allowed. We better go.”

Too bad. I’m already out of reach. I’m going to have some fun.

The iguana charges me and tries to bite my nose. What’s up with that? Lucky for me, I am stellar quick and got out of the way. But does that stop me from chasing the iguana into the bushes. Nope. I’m off.

I can hear Kristina and Matt yelling for me, but my brain has turned off. I swear I’m not ignoring them, but I’m too excited to listen.

I stop abruptly in my tracks. “Wait.” I hear the dinghy engine start then fade away. “They’re leaving me?”

I bolt to the beach, my heart is pounding. “Don’t leave me,” I bark.

Too late, I realize it’s a trick. Kristina is in the dinghy, but where is Matt? I turn, and there he is standing behind me, leash in hand. I run to the left, then the right, but darn, he gets me. On goes my leash and Kristina comes back for us.

I should have known they wouldn’t leave me. I watch longingly as we drive away. I can see Grandpa iguana laughing at me.

Woof Woof.

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Farley’s Friday: A Kayaking Dog

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

So . . . I’m on a beach walk with Kristina when my friends Sue and Debi kayak nearby.

“Over here, over here, over here,” I bark at them.

Humans are too easy to train. The both kayak right to me. I go to Debi first for the mandatory head pet (my head, not hers), and then over to Sue.

I don’t like to go in water above my belly. I bounce and wag my tail, and Sue understands. She kayaks right into a foot of water. Now the opening of Sue’s kayak is big enough for me, so a lower onto my haunches and take one big leap.

“I’m in,” I bark. “Let’s get going.”

Everybody knows I love to kayak, so what are they laughing about? Like it’s a big surprise I jumped in. Maybe I got water and sand all over Sue, but really, it’s not that funny.

Farley Sue Kayaking

 

We take off, leaving Kristina alone on the beach.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to leave my human,” I whine, but Sue says, ”You’re okay,” and keeps paddling away. I rest my head on the top of the kayak looking moon-eyed back at Kristina. How can Sue ignore my cutest expression?

They take me to the mangroves and let me run free. What a blast! When Kristina finally arrives, I run and jump and show her how happy I am to see her. She needs to feel loved, and it’s my duty to make sure she does, even if I was having fun without her.

Woof. Woof.

Thanks for reading . . .

MATTINA Enters The Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

We had a wonderful entry into the Bahamas this year. We sailed from Biscayne Bay (just south of Miami) to South Bimini. We were welcomed in a lovely marina: protected from all sides, floating docks, beach and nature trails nearby.

We are at the same latitude as Miami, but it’s warmer here. I have no idea why. Today we filled our day with yoga, beach walking and swimming. Our boat is the second one from the right and we are surrounded by friends.

Gang at South Bimini

We haven’t had time to go spear fishing yet, so we hooked up with a local fisherman for some conch and lobster. We just couldn’t wait for the fresh seafood! Our friends are doing the negotiating.

Bahamian Fisherman

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Farley’s Friday: Dog in the Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 17 Comments

Farley here.

I made it. I’m on the beach! My humans said we had an easy crossing, but it was still a little bumpy for me. And wearing a tether all day gets a little old.

Ah, that feels good.
Ah, that feels good.

Life doesn’t get better than this. I heard somewhere that ‘it’s better in the Bahamas’ and it must be true. I cleared customs with no problem. I even have my own paperwork, so if my humans leave the Bahamas I can stay. Ha Ha. Wouldn’t that be funny.

Oh, on second thought, maybe not. Who would feed me, walk me, groom me, and generally spoil me?

Right after clearing customs in South Bimini, it was off to the beach for a swim and a roll in the sand.

I forgot that when I get this sandy, I have to shower before getting back on the boat. I don’t like that part. What’s wrong with a little sand everywhere?

Woof Woof.

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Farley’s Friday: Dogs in Restaurants

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Farley here.

I really like Florida. It so warm that most restaurants have outdoor patios AND they let me join the party. It’s all so civilized. Finally a place that understands I belong with my humans all the time.

I mind my manners. I don’t beg. I don’t pester other diners. And I don’t play with other dogs that happen to be there. Kristina always orders a bowl of ice cubes for me, which keeps me entertained as I try not to let them slide out from under the table.

I do my best to look refined and dignified and so far, I haven’t been kicked out of anywhere.

The best is I hint to Kristina that she should order something with good leftovers for me. I don’t get to eat it until we get back to the boat and it’s in my bowl, but that’s okay with me.

Did I mention, “I love Florida.”

Woof Woof.

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Mattina: Testing Her Systems

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

The first week underway after leaving the boat on the hard for the summer is a bit hectic.

After making sure all our sails and engine were in working order, we sailed, motor sailed and ran on the engines alone.

Taken in fall of 2010, but the mooring field looks exactly the same.

Someone had to go up here!

We traveled from St. Augustine, Florida to Vero Beach, Florida.

While travelling, we docked, anchored and moored.

Above, we are on a mooring ball at Vero. Now we are running our power off the genset and the solar panels. We like to test these systems before we go offshore and while we still have easy access to parts.

Thanks for reading . . .