Month: June 2016
Welcoming our new Gennie
This morning when Mycah and I stepped off the boat to exercise, we were greeted by a beautiful morning sky,
as well as the cutest little raccoon! He wasn’t so sure of us, and watched us cautiously from between the flowers, but we thought he was adorable.
When we returned we woke all the rest of the creatures and worked ourselves non stop till exhaustion, later in the afternoon. We began by lifting the starboard floorboard in the galley to clean out the storage areas and reorganize. After that we cleaned out and dejunked all the galley drawers, the linens, the game cupboard, and the scuba and snorkel gear. We also put the new molding onto the stern, which was quite the job, and washed bedding.
Here’s what it looked like after we’d removed the old stuff and prepped the area:
After wrestling the molding (which Jude and Mycah did beautifully), we taped it down.
It took all tribe members…
our family definitely gets the award for group effort and awesome team work. I love that we can be so tired and frustrated and cracking up at the same time.
The molding sat in place today and has been shrinking into place in the heat. Tomorrow we will pull it all up and apply 5200 adhesive into it and lay it back down once again. We are saving so much money in labor costs by doing it ourselves, and most importantly, we are learning a lot.
The exciting part of the afternoon (aside from showering) was the arrival of the new generator.
The guys were ninjas at getting it into the lazarette. Once it was in place, I said, ‘Oh crap!’ The workers looked at me with worried faces, and I said, ‘You have it in backwards!’ All three of them looked down at it in horror only to look up at me and laugh with relief. Poor guys.
This evening I thought I’d treat our hard working creatures and take them to a movie, which is something we haven’t done in a long, long time. We went to the new Tarzan movie and loved it. The girls are all gaga over Tarzan. I could tell that they weren’t used to the movie theater when we walked in about 30 seconds after the show had started and Emma innocently said, ‘shoot, can we ask them to rewind it?’
When it was over and we walked out in to the lobby, Mycah was still emotional from the show and said she wants to marry Tarzan. I said Mycah, you have quite the dilemma…you can’t be a mermaid and live in the jungle. She got the most panicked look on her face and teared up and reprimanded me for saying such a cruel thing. I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive me for telling her she has to chose between her mermaid tail and Tarzan. In the end she chose Tarzan. Wow! What a traitor.
My sweet Darling is still in the air, flying his client. I am so grateful that we can communicate even when he’s miles above. I miss him and can’t wait for his return. It’s time for sleep now. I have no doubt we will all rest well and be ready for another day of hard work tomorrow.
Bugs or heat?!
When we have outdoor projects to work on, we have to decide whether we want to be bombarded with barely visible, vicious, vampire bugs, or the humid heat. We choose the heat. The bugs are always present, but in the mornings and evenings they bring all their friends and family with them for the feast. In the intense heat of the day, they lounge around with full bellies for a siesta…that’s when we jump into action.
This morning Mycah came with me and we collected the new molding for the stern. The hard top bimini and helm station molding will be here tomorrow. We caught an Uber to West Marine and bought a bunch of 5200 to stick it all together with, as well as screws and finishing washers, so we are prepared for that project now.
The creatures and I have been ripping old caulking out again today, taping it all off after cleaning and then recaulking. It feels so good to get all this work done on our girl.
Things are looking pretty spiffy!
I have almost completed my map project. I bought this big world map, and cut the bright while border off of it…
then scraped every bit of everything that had previously been applied to the table.
Danny tried to tease Mycah and put some on her saying it was skin from his back.
I then took a big fat paint brush and applied a layer of polyurethane and lay the map down on it, then after it dried slightly, spread another layer of polyurethane over the entire map and table.
Now we’ll let it dry and then apply one more coat of polyurethane.
Our new generator finally arrived this afternoon, and will be installed tomorrow, and the creatures and I will work on the molding tomorrow too. We will also continue organizing and preparing for when the Nell’s. Only 7 more days!
Cocky Caulking
The creatures and I decided to walk over to Winn Dixie, the grocery store, before it got too hot this morning. Emma walked with me while the rest of the creatures boarded. We have some pretty skilled boarders in our midst!
When we returned I got busy with things and found this note:
They put a smile on my face even when they’re not around. Some friends invited them onto a mega yacht and gave them the grand tour. They liked it but all said it had a very important part missing…the sails.
We decided it was time to start on one of our BIG projects. We needed to remove all the rubber molding that borders the hard top bimini, the helm station and the stern – including the sugar scoops. This adventure involved unscrewing all the screws from the molding, using razor blades to cut away the old caulking/adhesive stuff and trying to pull the sections of molding off.
After the boat sat in the wetness of Panama for a while, mold stained it, and no matter how hard I’ve scrubbed, I’ve not been able to get it off.
Once the molding was off we had to cut away at the built up dirt, and scrape down to the wood and fiberglass. We made a HUGE mess.
My fingers have so many cuts on them but the job is done.
Everyone worked hard and we feel quite successful.
The next step is going to be placing new molding on and letting it sit in the sun for a day to shrink up to size, then pull it off and squirt 5200 on and stick it back into place. We will need about 10 cans of the goop for the job. When I told Jude that, she said, “doesn’t that mean 52000?” She’s so quick witted.
Danny has landed safely. It feels like he’s been gone a long long time. As I constantly receive news flashes on my phone concerning bombings and crashes and violence, I worry so much about him when he’s gone.
I am so tired from the day, I’m going to sleep so soundly tonight, and I know the creatures will too. It’s time for a hot shower now – who knows, maybe I’ll be able to get some of this fiberglass out of my arms. If not, I’ll sleep like a baby anyway!
More off the list
This morning Mycah and I woke at 6am to exercise. I love the lighting in the mornings, before the brightness of day sets in.
We had motivation to keep moving because the second we slowed down, we’d be swarmed by tiny little biting bugs that are about a tenth the size of a gnat. You can’t see them too well but can definitely feel them!
This morning I taped off the areas I removed caulking from in my head, and recaulked, while Jude replaced a part in her head.
The Riggers came and removed the jib to take it in to the warehouse for repairs,
and Vladimir the Cuban upholstery man stopped by once more. We are going to have cushions made for the stern salon so it’s a little more rear end friendly. He will also replace the cover on the helm seat where use over the years has pulled apart the stitching.
Danny was planning on leaving for a work trip in a few days, but was informed today, that they needed him to fly out this evening. It’s always hard to see him go…
The Creatures and I will continue with repairs and organizing jobs on the boat in his absence. Before he left I made kebabs for dinner, as well as broccoli/bacon/mango salad. We certainly couldn’t let him leave without a full belly!
This afternoon a couple of guys from the marina came knocking and said they received a shipment for a yacht, which arrived in a big wooden box. They wanted Aidan to know that they were going to make him a skateboard ramp out of it. He is pretty excited about it.
This evening after Danny left, we walked around the marina admiring boats for a while, and a couple of sweet old men who own a boat interior decorating store invited us in to their show room. They were so excited to show us what they do and told us we should come back tomorrow again and explore their workshop where all the boat cushions etc are made. We are going to take them up on that that. They cater to the mega yachts, and had glass ornaments for side tables in there for several thousand dollars. Definitely not Tanda Malaika’s style.
Hopefully toward the end of next week we’ll be able to set sail. Tomorrow the new generator will possibly be installed. We’ll need a name for it. Any suggestions?
Projects and Mangoes
Our Saturday was spent getting things done…much like all the other days of the week except Sundays.
On Thursday night our good friend, Martin, came to visit. Both him and his sweet wife, Kym, are exceptional people. Martin just recently completed climbing all 7 summits and sailing all 7 seas. Martin Frey – look him up and feel inspired. Martin is here in Fort Lauderdale to pick up his boat and take the young men in his was ward on a sailing high adventure trip. It was wonderful catching up with him once again.
Martin offered us his car for the day since he left on his adventure, so we ran a few errands and picked up some needed items for projects we have going on the boat. As usual, Danny and Mycah teased each other relentlessly.
I found a spanner that I really really want. Check it out down below next to Mycah…
They are huge (about 20″ long) and so gorgeous. Jude has a baseball bat for protection, and I figure that keeping this spanner in my backpack would be a marvelous idea.
While we’ve been here in Florida we’ve noticed the many mango trees with many many fruit on them, and have witnessed their slow ripening. Today we found a small mango tree in an abandoned lot and sent our mighty tree climber up to harvest some. Jude is a ninja at climbing anything!
Danny helped on some lower but too high for me branches.
The mangoes are big and beautiful and we ended up with a big bowl full. They’ll be completely ripe in a few days for us to enjoy.
We grabbed a bite to eat at a Cuban Cafe. Their sandwiches were TO DIE FOR!
I have begun a project I’m quite excited about. I purchased a world map which I am going to decoupage onto our main salon table. I think it’ll look fabulous once its completed.
Danny has been fixing lights and Emma had an extremely intimate experience with her head this week, and finally finished the clean up job today. For those who have been following the blog for a while, you know that head projects are major character building experiences. (For those new to the blog, the head on a boat is the bathroom.) We encourage those that travel with us to take care of their own heads, and that includes maintenance and repairs. One important fact to know about our heads is that they have maceraters in them. The only things allowed down the loo is what ever comes out of your body. Well, when we were in Idaho – the day before we flew, Emma ate a considerable amount of fresh cherries and swallowed many of the seeds. When she used the loo here on the boat those seeds had ended their entire adventure in her body and made their way back into the big wide world. When they spiraled down the whirlpool in her head, they were snatched up by the unwelcoming macerater, and to their (and Emma’s) dismay, were stubbornly lodged. I’ve warned everyone about this in the past but Emma had forgotten and now had to face the dreaded throne. She proved to be fit for the task as she breathlessly embraced the project with many comical comments and finally freed the pesky culprits and once again has a free spinning macerater. It’s a beautiful thing!
We are making progress daily, the mangoes are ripening and the heads are running well. Life is good…in fact, it’s fantastic.
Watt a mess!
It may seem shocking to you, but at this point we just don’t feel well grounded. I’m sitting here in my shocks eating shock-o-lot ice cream thinking how re-volt-ing calories are. Our current plans to work on the boat is still in effect and we receive no resistance from those we are paying. I have to admit though that being in a marina drives me crazy and if we don’t get out of here soon I’ll be charged with assault and…battery. I try conductor serious conversation but tend to be negative and con-fused. Perhaps I should switch to another topic because I feel I’ve lost my spark. There are after all, amp le topics to talk about.
Wires, butt connectors and electrical tape are EVERYWHERE! The electricians have rewired our entire electric panel and commented that they are amazed that Tanda Malaika hadn’t caught fire due to the messed up job that had been done before we purchased her.
Several electrical safety items have been added and I even got into the swing of it all today and rewired a fan in the crew berth and got it working well. (I felt quite accomplished and I’m sure my Dad is very proud of me).
A cute little fuse blew amid all the chaos and in this nasty heat and humidity we had extremely limited AC for a night and all holed up in the starboard hull. It was a fun adventure and caused us to appreciate the AC even more. They replaced the fuse with a big chunky mother of all fuses today!
This morning I awoke to my sweet Darling leaning over me with a big smile on his handsome face… he had made me breakfast in bed. He called it his famous “Huevos Rancheros Bagel Sandwich”, and it was delicious! What an amazing husband.
Our new 88lb Rochna anchor arrived this afternoon. I believe the UPS man was relieved to rid himself of it. We are excited to unwrap it and hook it up.
Emma and I ran to Target and picked up a couple throw pillows to brighten up the main salon. We think it turned our quite nice. There are no interior designers on this boat but we think it feels like home.
The creatures went long boarding to a skate park, and I think from now on Emma will rethink being bare foot on the asphalt in this heat. She ended up with a nice blister on her foot and offered Aidan a handsome payment if he’d lick them clean. He was really tempted since he has $37 more dollars to save up for a new Pennyboard.
Only 12 more days till the Nell’s join us on our adventure. We are so excited for their arrival! Until then, we’ll continue working on our girl and before we know it she’ll be in ship shape.
Longing for the sea
Take me to that place, where flying fish spread their wings and glide endlessly over gentle swells. Where the horizon in all directions is nothing but a simple blue line of more ocean, and sea birds come to rest upon our graceful home. Where the colors of reef below are bright and clear through transparent turquoise that calls my name. Take me to where coconut palms stand tall and proud on white empty beaches, and I will lay on a bed of shells so intricately spiraled in the colors of calm. It is here in my pellucid home that my legs assume their natural form of a shimmering tail and I descend into the tranquil depths of peace.
Farewell to the generator
The past couple of days have been packed with cleaning, dejunking and people working on Tanda Malaika. It’s really interesting because when we moved onto the boat, I told the creatures to only bring what they absolutely needed to, because space is limited. They got rid of everything they sort of liked and everything they hadn’t touched in a while. This was after already getting rid of a bunch of stuff 10 months prior when leaving Hawaii. They knew they could only bring what could fit in their berths.
After living on the boat for a year now, we once again feel cluttered, even though we haven’t accumulated much, and we have learned just how little one needs to be happy. In fact it seems the less we have the happier we are!
Yesterday the electrician named Rafael, came to look at the wiring on Tanda Malaika and troubleshoot with Danny. Today the mechanic, James, came and with a little help from 3 guys and the spare halyard, removed the old generator. He had placed blue liner down to avoid staining the deck, and took great care in not dinging things up.
After attaching the spare halyard to the generator,
one of the guys turned the winch to raise the halyard line.
This raised the generator up, and Danny and the boys slowly swung it over the side of the boat and onto the dock.
Now we have a nice big empty lazarette ready to clean and prep for the new one.
The AC/refrigeration guys also came today and added a little freon, tweeked a few doodads and Bob’s your Uncle, everything is running beautifully.
I updated our sailing log book this morning, and so far we have sailed 4304 nautical miles, which is 4953 land miles. We have learned so much and are so anxious to set sail once more and continue learning and experiencing the world, hands on.
Home!
We arrived at the Boise airport at 4am yesterday and sleepily made our way through lines, security and more lines.
Aidan enjoyed not having to walk much.
After a couple of flights we landed in Fort Lauderdale and greeted Danny with big hugs and kisses. It felt good to walk down the dock to our floating home, and get settled in.
After partly unpacking, I lay down to sleep and slept till 6pm, then woke for a couple hours and slept till 8am this morning. My bed has never felt so good! Even after all that rest, I felt like I could continue sleeping for several more hours.
For Fathers Day the Creatures made Danny breakfast in bed, and presented him with beautiful notes they’d written him, and them some gifts we’d picked out in Idaho. We are so grateful to him and for the wonderful dad he is.
We had something else exciting to do today…we loaded into the spiffy rental car (they gave Danny a Mercedes since they messed up on his rental), and drove 90 minutes north to Jensen Beach to meet up with our son and daughter, Ashley and Jordan, and their sweet Mom Stephanie. It was SO good to see them! We ate lunch together then relaxed in a park for a while.
Danny got out his drone and showed Jordan how it flies.
Jude fell in love with a bug,
we were stalked by curious birds,
and Aidan grew a mosstach.
Of course there always has to be some tree climbing involved, which 4 of the creatures took part in.
 
We sat and chatted for a couple of hours, and after devouring some ice cream together had to say ‘see you later’ and head our separate ways once more. It was so wonderful being together!
We have more exciting news to share (drum roll………). Our friends, the Nell family, who joined us in January for 10 days in Mexico, are going to be spending part of the Summer with us. We are going to teach them all about sailing and what it’s like to live aboard. Chad, Marci, Sierra and Glade will be joining us on July 6th. We are very excited to share more of this adventure with them. Our home has beds for 10 people, so every bed will be filled (but that doesn’t mean we don’t have room for more in the sail bag, on the trampoline and in the hammock!). We will begin to slowly prepare for their arrival tomorrow. Only 17 more days!!!
There’s a good chance that Danny will be leaving on another trip later this week, so we will make sure we take advantage of our time together and as always, enjoy each others company.
Time to head home
Yesterday was another very busy day filled with appointments and errands. I had a little pre-cancerous gremlin frozen off my nose and am now sporting an attractive blister in its place. Today we completed our final errands, I had my crown installed at the dentist and we met with Hunter for a few to hug and kiss him ‘see you later’. It was hard saying goodbye, but we are so happy for him and his life adventures. He is an amazing big brother and son and gives awesome hugs!
Our wonderful friend, Mike, came and picked up the Harley Davidson this afternoon. He is a good friend of my brothers as well and has the same hair style (or lack of hair style) and wears his sun glasses the same way, and when he arrived at my Mom’s place he reminded me so much of Jan that I hugged him and teared up for a minute. For just a moment it was like having Jan back. We are thrilled that he is buying the bike from us – the bike that Jan rode too.
We piled our bags into my Mom’s boot, and set out for Boise. Air tickets to Fort Lauderdale were each $100 cheaper flying out of Boise rather than Salt Lake City.
The trip to Boise was pleasant with beautiful scenery, and there’s never a dull moment when the creatures are present.
We stopped at a rest area and they got their energy out with an overflowing of goofiness.
We live in such an incredibly beautiful world!
Our shuttle will pick us up at 4am to take us to the airport, which is in about 4 hours. So until then we will try get some sleep, even though we are so excited to see Danny!!!
Adventures of a Tribe 