. . . From Kristina, Mathew and Woof Woof from Farley
Who says you can’t have a Christmas tree on a sailboat?
sailing
Mattina At Compass Cay
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.
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 . . .
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Farley’s Friday: Dog Happiness
Farley here.
I’m in the Bahamas and this is how I feel:
Woof Woof. Yipeeeee! Woof Woof
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Lagoon 380 S2: Air Conditioning
How to keep happy on a Lagoon 380 in the heat of the south, you ask.
Air conditioning is certainly a personal choice and depends on where you plan to sail your boat. For us, we have two units on Mattina. One for the main salon and one for our cabin.
Every year, Matt checks the units to make sure they are functioning properly and does any maintenance required. Wouldn’t want to have to overheat.
No surprise to anyone, but Florida is hot and the three of us love to turn on the air. Our dog has figured out the coolest spot on the boat is close the vent. The unit is our cabin is situated perfectly to blow air across the bed. I can’t imagine being in the tropics without this luxury.
There’s nothing like a cool boat to give a person a good night sleep.
Thanks for reading . . .
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Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Underway.
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 . . .
And then I roll left.
And lastly, I play with my squeaky toy.
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
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Dinner on a Lagoon 380
Eating seems to be a big part of cruising, so I thought I’d share where we dine.
We have two choices.
Inside:
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.
Happy Hour: Both sides closed
Dinner: Both sides open.
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 . . .
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Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier And His Dinghy
Farley here.
I almost missed the maiden voyage of Allura: our dinghy.
Matt thinks he’s so smart. He uses our dinghy hoist to quietly lower the boat off the stern of Mattina. I hear the splash.
“Wait,” I bark from below. I know what he’s doing.
Then I hear it. One pull and the engine starts. Matt is smiling because it’s the first pull of the season.
I jump up the three stairs from the port hull, that’s my side by the way, and rush to the stern.
“Wait for me!” I bark.
Kristina is passing Matt a life jacket and I nudge her (gently) out of the way. I bound from the top step to the dinghy in one leap. I haven’t forgotten how to do this and am proud of myself. Once I jumped, current took the dinghy, and I went swimming. I try not to do that anymore.
Purr goes the engine (and no it’s not a cat), yippee goes Matt, and woof woof go I.
We head out to the Intracoastal Waterway for my first dinghy ride of the season. I love my little boat.
Woof Woof.
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Lagoon 380 Folding Props
As many of you know, Mattina, our Lagoon 380 S2 is already in the water, but I thought I’d back up a bit and show off our Radiche props.
Mattina has folding propellers. The propellers fold back when not in use, as shown below, to reduce drag while we are sailing.
And they open when we are under power.
Every year Matt paints the props with anti fouling paint and puts on new sacrificial zincs. Looking pretty nice for something that won’t be seen. Not that it matters, because the whole point is for Mattina to sail faster when the propellers are folded back than she would with fixed propellers.
Now I can’t wait to get out on the ocean, head for the Bahamas, and do some sailing. What are you waiting for, you ask? The end of hurricane season.
Happy Sailing and Thanks for reading . . .
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Lagoon 380 Helm Seat
As we continue to get Mattina ready for the upcoming season, I’ll share the improvements we make; such as, Mattina gets a new helm seat.
Who says sailing can’t be comfortable?
After searching through my photos I found this one of Matt and Farley at the helm station (I forgot to take the before picture I’m so fond of prior to installing the new seat.)
Can you see the shape of the back rest? That’s the original back rest that came outfitted on the boat. It’s circular and a roll in the back is not exactly comfortable. You also get a glimpse of our full enclosure for those rainy days. We must have been expecting rain that day or maybe the wind was cold and we were keeping warm.
We had a new back rest designed and made for comfort.
Now we can sit together at the helm for long periods of time and feel comfortable.
Thanks for reading . . .
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Farley’s Friday: What’s A Dog To Do In A Boatyard?
I ask you, do I look bored?
My humans are getting their Lagoon 380 Catamaran ready for a winter of sailing, so for me it’s all hang around the boat yard and wait for them.
And what’s with the leash? I’m used to being free. How humiliating. What if one of my pals saw me?
Okay, so enough of the whining. What’s good about the boatyard?
There is a long dock I get to run on, and best of all, there are dolphins in the harbour.
“Hey,” I bark. “Come over here.”
The dolphins ignore me.
“Hey, I’m bored, Come play,” I bark.
Nothing. Dolphins just seem to swim and blow air out of their heads.
Then I get distracted by a man and a woman fishing. They guys casts the lure.
“Wait for me,” I bark. I run to their boat, but they are too far away for me to jump on board.
“Cast again,” I bark, and the guy does. Humans are so smart.
Kristina tells the guy she doesn’t know why I bark when someone casts a lure, like it’s not obvious. I wag may tail at her, encouraging her to figure it out.
No, luck. While I”m not paying attention she grabs my harness and I have to sit under our boat again.
One more week of this and we should be in the water! The boat I mean, to me or my humans.
Woof Woof.
Kristina Stanley 