Liberator is on the move again. So much to catch up on with you all! We spent the last few months working on getting Liberator ready to go again and watching the weather.
Here's what we've done while back in Florida.
Haul out for bottom paint and new cutlas bearing baby!
Tighten up and condition all the hatches and port lights
New forward A/C unit install - that keeps me refrigerated & cool as a cucumber
Patch Dinghy and outboard carburator repairs
Mixing Elbow install
Refrigerator maintenance
Install scuba tank rack on transome
Sand and refinish the cockpit table
Update Raymarine chart plotter and op check the Caribbean chart card
Op check water heater
Service and Op Check Windlass
Check Jib and Main
New set of lines
Fill propane tanks
Fill water tanks
Clean inside and out
Provision
Move on board (clothes, books, etc.)
Looks like an easy list but really took months to get this done.
Finally, set the date of departure for Sunday, 10 March late afternoon out of Fort Pierce. One of our lovely neighbors dropped us off around noon and we finished moving in and settling in for the long ride to Great Sale Cay (about 24 hours). I started cooking so we would have ready made meals to grab as we got hungry. What do I cook? Well, yes, sandwiches are on the menu but so is cereal for the next morning, pasta salad, egg salad with black bread. Lots of water, gatorade and ginger ale. (Thank goodness for the ginger ale as I got sea sick as we crossed the gulf stream - guess I lost my sea legs - miserable for about 8 hours.)
We had an uneventful night crossing and we tried to take 2-3 hours shifts but I'm afraid I was a wreak about 2 AM. Captain Jeff showed me he's a salty sailor and took my shift. Once the sun came up and we hit the Bahama's banks I started to feel better and gave him a break.
We dropped the anchor on Monday night about 7 PM in Great Sale. We had dinner in the cockpit and watched the sunset before hitting the rack for much needed sleep. It was such a perfectly still night and it looked like we were anchored in turquoise glass. We got up at 6:30 AM on Tuesday morning, coffee in hand we started to make our way to our final destination: Green Turtle Cay Resort and Marina. Had a great travel day, weather was beautiful and had our first dolphin sighting! Arrived about 4:30 PM and caught up with our friends on Zippidy Doo Dah who arrived about an hour before we did from Stuart. They left on Monday morning but because they were further south, they cut about 12 hours from the trip. So yes, we learned a lesson. When coming to the Abaco's on a sailboat or anything that does not go 45 knots, "go south young man" before trying to make your crossing.
So here we are, a week later and we are in the marina at Green Turtle and we've enjoyed touring the island by golf cart, meeting the locals and making some new friends. The local hangs are fun - 2 Shorty's, Sundowners, Pineapples and Tranquil Turtle Beach bar. We celebrated the inaugural Goombay Celebration at Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar - home of the famous Goombay Smash, which I bear the scar on my leg from too many of these yummy, fruity drinks some years ago.....
The weather has turned to cloudy, rainy and windy for the next few days so we are hunkered down in the marina, did laundry today, cleaned and now I'm updating all you lovely folks.
Capt. Jeff got on island time so much quicker than I did - all it took was a Kalik and some conch fritters. Me? it took a few days. Seems all the rushing to get things set to leave stayed with me awhile. Now, I find myself annoyed at the tourist who come here for a week and are rude to the local servers when they don't get their Pina Colada in 2 nano seconds, makes me want to choke them. I just smile and ask: "What's the hurry mon, you're here" and I point at the view behind them. Beautiful white beach and clear, blue water......perspective is a beautiful thing.
I was talking with a friend on St. Paddy's day, (we had Corned Beef and Cabbage made in the Thermos Cooker - a recipe I learner from our friends on #Intermezzo and it was delish!) and we agreed that every trip is different and exciting and you learn something new every time you're back out on the water. Even if the location is different, like it is for us as we did not make it to the Abaco's last time out, you're still experiencing something new every time you pull away from the dock.
So to all our friends who read this - we say, don't stop learning, take a chance and pull away from the dock, leave the comfort of the side of the pool and do something new, challenge yourself and experience life - whatever that means for you. It may be a career move, a physical relocation, a hobby you've been wanting to try. Who knows what you'll find beyond the horizon.....but I promise you it will enrich your life in one way or another.
Until next week....Sláinte!
In honor of St. Paddy's - Here's one of our favorite lyrics from the Irish Rovers:
I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home And if you don't like me, well, leave me alone I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry And the moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die
I've been a moonshiner for many a year I've spent all me money on whiskey and beer I'll go to some hollow, I'll set up my still And I'll make you a gallon for a ten shilling bill
I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home And if you don't like me, well, leave me alone I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry And the moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die
I'll go to some hollow in this counterie Ten gallons of wash I can go on a spree No women to follow, the world is all mine I love none so well as I love the moonshine
I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home And if you don't like me, well, leave me alone I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry And the moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die
