WE'VE MOVED

We are always moving and traveling but today we are launching a website! I would like to welcome you to 

http://www.pscruising.com/

We bought this domain and thought I would learn about new features and avoid the "blue words" in the text of our posts on blogspot. I did not like their way of advertising on our blog. Our brand new webpage is still under construction but will get better as I learn more. 

We hope you continue to follow us on our adventures. Feel free to contact us by our email or by comments on our new website.

GOING, GOING, GONE!

Coyaba has been our floating “condo” in Florida and in the Bahamas, but now we are hunting for another floating “condo”. We sold Coyaba and are now boat shopping! This is the first time in 18 years we have no boat to go to!! We are adjusting with therapy, alcohol and going to friends’ cottages. I believe we are doing well with the 20-step program we enrolled ourselves in (just kidding). Paul is online checking out boats for sale in Canada and the eastern United States. What fun we will have driving or flying to check out what our next motor yacht will be. Instead of a catamaran we are looking at mono hull motor yachts. We will keep you posted! Thanks for following Coyaba’s adventures but our adventures are just beginning as we hope to purchase a boat that will take us south to Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and St. Lucia. Share in our dreams and passions on our blog.

We have our first grandchild arriving in October so we are home this Fall. We have boating adventures but nothing will compare to a brand new Baynham!! Everyone have a good summer and stay tuned for what lays ahead here for us.

Life is a song—sing it.

Life is a game—play it.

Life is a challenge—meet it.

Life is a dream—realize it.

Life is a sacrifice—offer it.

Life is LOVE—enjoy it

. Sai Baba

HOME SWEET BED!

We are now finished travelling northward back to Canada. We enjoyed the towns we visited including a 3 hour visit to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (on Memorial Day of all days). We learned about the 1863 battle there with a CD audio tour that we played while driving to designated spots of interest. This was well worth the visit because as a Canadian, we didn’t learn about this specific battle during the American Civil War. It was a small struggle to actually leave the town because a parade (huge one with horses, marching bands, different divisions of army in their period costumes etc). Most roads were blocked off. We drove down 3 alleys. Every turn was a blockade. Finally a police officer directed us around one just before the parade started. I thought we would be in Gettysburg for another 2 hours watching a parade!! Which would have been fine if we didn’t have more driving to do.

We visited Williamsburg, Virgina and loved it. We had a superb lunch there. The buildings were old and very well maintained.

Amazing how long ago colleges
were established

The Wyndham, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Booked it on Hotwire
BEAUTIFUL

Ottawa is such a beautiful city this time of year. The Rideau Canal is a skating rink in the winter and now it is full of water with flowers planted along the waterway. We look forward to enjoying Ottawa this summer along with our family. Much to celebrate as we await our first grandchild in the Fall. We hope you all have things to celebrate this summer.

Safe travels

WILD SKIES IN NEW BERN

While in New Bern, North Carolina we saw a beautiful sky that it was impossible to keep walking and not take a picture. I thought you all might like to see it.

New Bern was founded with many Swiss immigrants and there are many bear statues all over town. You've been to towns with murals well, this town is known for the dozens of bear statues all over town.

This one is in a park and also in front of the liquor store

I am a big fan of Pepsi-Cola and I was walking in the town of the creation of Pepsi!!! Awesome!

PINEAPPLE PLANTER

Rainy season in Florida means rain fast and furious! Careful driving and for me … careful walking to the marina office. We had flushed all our toilets with fresh water so therefore I needed to walk to the marina office to use the public restrooms there..... I did not realize all the “walking around puddles” that needed to be done in flip flops no less. Needless to say, I may as well have just walked right through the rain puddles because near the end of my journey I needed to get flip flops and feet wet anyway, zero dry spots! Squish, squish on the way back to Coyaba.

We had our kayak on the bow of our catamaran and moved it underneath for the the season, well needless to say a cute frog took up residence and did not appreciate us moving his house. I took a picture of him.

We arrived in Jacksonville for our first night on the road and I found the coolest planter at the entrance of our hotel. I had to take a picture. It is a mini pineapple. Only in Florida (okay, maybe in California too!) but not in Ontario. I loved this plant so much! I wish almost, we could buy a fake one and bring home sometime. 

Isn't this cute? 

We are travelling northward but not on the interstates. We stayed in Charleston, SC last night and tonight we are in New Bern, NC. We were given advise to see Williamsburg, VA on way home so yes, that is tomorrow for lunch. Many historical buildings there and persons that are period dressed. We are “holidaying” our way homeward. It is an American long weekend but does not seem to interfere with us travelling.

Hope all our Canadians enjoyed their long weekend last week.

It takes 18 to 22 months for a pineapple plant to produce a single 4 to 5 pound fruit. About a year later, the plant will produce a second fruit, smaller than the first. Always the symbol of hospitality, the beautiful pineapple was once a rare fruit. So rare in fact, it was called the “fruit of kings.”

HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA!

Hockey is in the blood of most Canadians and suffice it to say not a drop is in mine.... except watching our son play for the last 7 years!! However, our Canadian team the Ottawa Senators is in the Stanley Cup playoffs and I happened to see some playoffs on tv at a pub this week. Being in Florida seeing hockey on any tv is amazing, there is football (no. 1), then baseball, basketball, golf and even swimming!! Anyways, the hockey expert in our family, (my dad on Vancouver Island) says Ottawa really doesn't have a chance! I have to share this with you for the love of the game:

It's game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals and a man in the cheap seats sees an empty one at centre ice. He skulks down and asks if anybody is sitting there. The woman sitting next to it sighs sadly and says, “My husband was supposed to be sitting there. We attended every playoff together since 1987, but he died and this is the first time I've come alone.”

“That's so sad,” said the man. “Maybe you should've brought a friend or a relative this time?”

“I couldn't,” she said. “They all went to the funeral.”

Hope you all have hockey fever up in Canada and our American friends... I hope you got a laugh with this joke too... pretend it was football!!

We are leaving St. Augustine tomorrow for Jacksonville for one night. We are meeting a boating couple we met two years ago for dinner. Then the next day we drive northward along the coast and enjoy scenery and sun for awhile. We have been busy beavers putting Coyaba to “bed” for hurricane season.

ATLAS 5 ROCKET

Stuart, Mother's Day
The sky opened up near sunset time

Moving northward on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Stuart to St. Augustine is always pleasant. We waited for a parcel to arrive on Tuesday and headed out right after lunch. Our stops were Vero Beach (a mooring ball), Cocoa Beach (anchored), Daytona Beach (at Halifax Harbor Marina) then finally St. Augustine Marine Center. Our catamaran is hauled out 7am! On Tuesday morning as the tides have to be in our favour. Been a long time since we've set our alarm clock!

Near Cocoa Beach is Cape Canaveral and wouldn't you know it, there was a rocket launch at approximately 5:38pm on Wednesday. We saw it and HEARD it big time. Our boat was vibrating from the noise. They were sending up a GPS satellite on the rocket Atlas 5. The day before on our VHF we heard warnings to stay clear of specific areas.

The first rocket launch from Cape was Bumper 8 on July 24, 1950. On February 6, 1959 the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile was accomplished. NASA's Project Mercury and Gemini space flights were launched from Cape Canaveral, as were all of the Apollo flights and Space Shuttles.

Cape Canaveral was chosen for rocket launches to take advantage of the Earth's rotation. The linear velocity of the Earth's surface is greater towards the equator; the relatively southerly location of the cape allows rockets to take advantage of this by launching eastward, in the same direction as the Earth's rotation. It is also highly desirable to have the downrange area sparsely populated, in case of accidents an ocean is ideal for this.

THANK YOU MOM

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"
- Unknown

SIT OUTSIDE OR TABLE INSIDE?

When you live in Ottawa, Canada (or mostly anywhere in Canada), one gets about 90 days of warm summer weather.... of those days maybe if you're lucky, you get 60 that you can eat out on a patio for lunch. We are here in Stuart, FL and realize that today at lunch we had the opposite “problem”. It was so so hot here that we opted to eat inside the restaurant instead of on the patio!! It was in the 90's F (high 30's C) today with a humidity of over 90%.... but there was a sidewalk sale in historical downtown here and we were going! After a 20 minute walk in these high temps, it was lunch time and a beer was needed. We knew we made the right decision.

Walking around historical Stuart, one sees some wonderful sights!

This house loves dogs as this is their mailbox!

One of a few murals here in Stuart

We are heading to St. Augustine with our car on Monday and leaving the car there. We will rent a car to get back to Stuart. We leave Stuart Tues or Wed on Coyaba heading north on the ICW to St. Augustine. This is a nice trip on the waterway and we do enjoy it. We always see dolphins and other boats heading north. Hurricane season begins June 1 and most insurance companies want your boat out of the water if you are not nearby to move it in case a named storm wants to visit.

There have been over 480 tropical or subtropical cyclones (hurricanes) that have hit Florida since the 1800's. 

MOVING COYABA IN MAY

We are home with family and friends until next month when we head back down to Florida. Hurricane season means the boat is moved up to St. Augustine, taken out of the water and put "on the hard" (up on blocks). Our insurance company does not like Coyaba in the water during hurricane season unless we are with her all the time. I will not blog again until around May 8th when we get down there. We try to make it a holiday as we venture north on the ICW for about 3 nights. St. Augustine is the oldest city in America. We love it there. Thanks for following our adventures this year and stay tuned next month.

The last major hurricane to hit St. Augustine was Doria in 1964! This is why we have chosen the safest city we know on the east side of Florida. Keep our fingers crossed.

GREENERY SCENERY

This is a tree that was cut down on purpose. This Elm tree
died many years ago. We now have some firewood
for the fall. Bring out the chainsaw!

The only greenery are the evergreen trees in the backyard! Snow is not agreeable to a tanned person. I had put my boots away in December before we left, this morning I needed the boots but I was rushed and could not find my boots. I wore old sneakers with a good grip in freezing rain. I had a commitment that I did not want to miss. The snow scraper was in the car thank goodness!

All this will be melted in a few hours, but unpleasant when you have to wear gloves to fill up with gas at the self-serve station.

 



PREPARATIONS TO LEAVE

What does a boater do before one leaves it for awhile?

Salt water is our enemy down south so we:

Flush port and starboard engines with fresh water (I have to help and start the engines while Paul is flushing them with the hose)

Flush the generator same thing (yes, I am starting the generator, lots of buttons!)

Flush the outboard engine with the fresh water and drain the fuel.

We pickle the watermaker. (This does not mean edible pickles... hahhaha)

Fill the freshwater tanks with water to the top so no air are in the tanks.

Change the engine oil on the generator AND the port and starboard engine.

Hose down all the lines (ropes) and stuff in forward hatches with fresh water. When we travel salt water enters those compartments sometimes. Let all this dry big time in the sun then put away again. Anything with salt on it does not dry, period!! We have boated in fresh water all these years so we are on a learning curve.

I washed all the insides and outsides of the canvas windows in the flybridge, looks good up there.

Remove all the electronics from the flybridge and put away.

Make sure the bilges are all bone dry (running the air conditioner with the engine rooms open).

Toilets use salt water to flush, we will be flushing a few times with fresh water before we leave.

Tie up the boat with numerous lines as if a hurricane is coming so we can sleep at night in Canada.

Usually get pumped out but the P.O.O.P boat (Pump Out Operation Program) comes on Thursdays, so no go. We will get pumped out as as soon as we come back. We fly home on Wednesday because we want to spend time with our middle son before he leaves on military employment for rest of summer. He leaves April 15^th.

We give frozen food and some fridge food away. There is a bachelor living on this boat right in front of us. We gave him some food last year too. We won't be back until about May 7, power could go out and food could go bad!... smelly!

We go out for lunch, JCP, dinner, drink up some more wine, sunbathe, buy 2 pairs of jeans for Paul, drink some more wine, shop at Kohls, another lunch, walk the docks, read a book, shop at Sam's Club (as there is no club in Ottawa), book flights, book rental car to get to airport, store our car in a storage unit for our return, another lunch out. Do a Wal-Mart trip (yes, I can't believe it either) and then wear clothes conducive to Ottawa weather on the way home... running shoes, pants and yes a JACKET. James picks us up and hug him asap!

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." --Lin Yutang

SEXY WINE BOMB!

Paul likes to shop for a wine based on the
creativity of the label maker and
the label Name!!

This Mail Boat is the connection to the outside world
for many settlement islands in the Bahamas. This boat
fills up with goods from Nassau and carries on

Paul walking the beach near Samson Cay, Exumas

Matt with a huge, giant spider... YES it is dead
how else could he not be afraid!

Huge blooms at Bimini Sands Marina. I look forward
to Spring time at home!

Paul and blue waters in Bimini

This is the ferry from Ft Lauderdale to Bimini
every Friday (weather permitting)

A cool old boat that we saw at Lake Worth

Paul loves wigs and wanted to be a pirate!
Yes he likes his rum too.

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop" -- Mother Teresa

EXUMAS TO OUR LIFE

When you have been “away” from the amenities you are used to, it is funny the things you miss. Boaters that are following this blog may relate and non-boaters may have some understanding.

FROM-------TO

a dinghy for transportation .......our car

showering at night after the hot sun........showering and BLOWDRYING my hair in morning

rationing water........ no charge water here at the marina and home

mopping the boat after a rain ............lawn mowers and leaf blowers

cash ..........credit card most of the time

no make-up ..........putting on make-up again (for me), yes, I must!

flip flops .........sandals and running shoes!

From a 400 square foot store ...........Big Box Stores with parking issues

blue sparkling waters ...........green grass that grows like crazy!

Toe rings and anklets......... rings on fingers and bracelets

a wallet .............an actual purse with “stuff in it”

a small bbq on board .............our patio big bbq on the back deck

two small lawn chairs.............. our patio furniture with cushions

commuting on water to town............... driving with hundreds of others

no television ..............endless selection and now commercials

rationing your romaine lettuce .........endless supply of produce, I hugged a zuchinni!

Mahi Mahi..........hamburgers, steak, pork and lamb!

We are loving being back and enjoy the many amenities we have missed. Driving our car again took a few minutes (I forgot where the volume was for the stereo!). We will book our flights home to Ottawa soon but need to decompress a bit. We have been blessed with the news that we will be grandparents for the first time end of October AND that means I had to shop in a baby department today!! What a great year 2013 will bring. We all hope your year will be a great one too.

I will keep posting until end of May.

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humour, comfort, lessons in life. And most importantly, COOKIES!

BIMINI SPRING VISITED

H&M is a great store to shop in which Ottawa, Ontario does not have. Everytime we meet our friends on Oceanaire, I secretly nickname them H&M. These guys are funny and have a sense of humour. They have a golf cart here on Bimini (along with half the population). They took us on a tour of Bimini Bay where they have a slip. This resort is huge and super beautiful with wonderful beaches. They just had to show us the “Bimini Spring”. They could not believe we haven't heard of it or seen it. The drive wasn't too far, then we had to hike a ways, and lo and behold.... the Bimini Spring right under a great tree! They show the “Bimini Spring” to everyone and they must bring their camera!

A "spring" has many meanings
H&M put up a blue spring and named it! Too funny

We left blue waters for brown yesterday. We did not like the angle of going towards Lake Worth inlet to the ICW so ended up heading to the Hillsboro Inlet. This was a more comfortable ride but longer. We then had to wait for many openings of bridges on the ICW to get to Lake Worth. We like Lake Worth because of the Customs and Immigration is there at the cruise dock, super convenient. Many Canadians checking in this morning along with us. We now have another year of cruising with our new permit.

We are at the Sunset Bay marina here in Stuart, Fl. We are so so happy to be here and no more travelling until we fly home next week. I hope there is sun up there or my tan will wash off. I will do another post in a day or two. I have lots to tell you all,

SKINNY ACCESSIBLE ONLY

Non-Accessible washroom vanity

Our Ben celebrates a birthday today (which means I am now older too). He worked at the Ottawa, Ontario food bank for months. The bathrooms and everything had to be wheelchair accessible. I thought of him last night as we saw the women's washroom at Bimini Sands Beach Resort. This washroom is not even accessible if you are overweight at all. I thought it was too funny and had to take a picture of it. I don't know who designed it but I thought why not just put a small sink in at the end instead of this long vanity that you would have to squeeze through to wash your hands. Anyways, I had to share.

An interesting jelly fish here
at Bimini Sands Marina

SEASIDE RULES

Way back when Paul and I were in New Smyrna, Florida we went shopping in the tiny boutique touristy shops. This is a rare event but things happen for a reason. Paul looked up and saw this amazing sign that was framed and on a stand for all to see. "We have to get this so all our guests know the rules". I agreed and now I am posting the rules as all our guests have gone now.

All boaters have the "rules" to follow on their boat... I can say for all boaters that these rules apply big time. Any cottage could use a sign like this too.

We are at Chub Cay Marina with many villas and cottages. We did an hour hike today and came across some very unique driveway entrance decorations. They are so creative down here from pineapples, mermaids to this awesome sand dollar that I just loved. Paul took a picture of it for me. I like to share the uniqueness of the Bahamas.

The weather is going to be in our favour to leave at dawn Thursday morning. We will leave this marina tomorrow and anchor out. We leave for Bimini Sands Marina and will be there for a few nights awaiting for the weather window again (as other boaters do).

I have been listening to our local radio stations, Majic 100 and CFRA the last few days so I am hearing the weather and the local news. Being away so long we seem connected by the world wide web! What a great invention!

Hatch-- An opening in a deck leading to the cabin below with a cover designed to let water in while keeping fresh air out.

Passage—Basically a voyage from point A to point B, interrupted by unexpected landfalls or stopovers at point K, point Q, and point Z.

MAKING OUR WAY TO FLORIDA

Hello to our followers I can see people are trying to see where we are... well we left Staniel Cay on Friday morning and travelled all the way to Rose Island, just outside of Nassau. The weather, wind, waves, prayers, sun etc were all in our favour. We left Nassau after getting fuel, on Saturday for Chub Cay. Now those weather factors are not in our favour now, so we are paying to stay in a marina here surrounded by Sport Fishermen. Chub Cay Club is where the huge Sport Fishermen come with their boats. These are the boats with the tall tuna tower high up above their flybridges. We wake up to all these boats gone (up early to catch the fish?) and they come back between 2pm and 4pm. Then these men (many crew) wash and scrub their boats for about 2 hours. Salt is the enemy. I noticed that the boats with the most crew (or maybe friends?) get the job done very fast, it seems they have their designated jobs. Remember when you were young and if you had a car, you seemed to have a few extra friends? I always notice that these men with the sport fishing boats seem to have a few extra friends onboard too.

When we are anchored at Rose Island we see Atlantis all lit up at night. Well, Friday night's sunset was amazing in the sense that the sun was huge! From our angle that sun was so big that Paul took a video and few shots on our camera.

Every time we pass through Nassau Harbour our eyes are always on the large cruise ships, they wave to us and we wave back. Saturday is a big day as this is a day for a turnaround. There were 5 ships in harbour. This time though I actually looked opposite of the cruise ships and this time I saw this quaint “shack” that came out of the shore by about 100ft. All these times coming through this channel I was so busy waving and taking cruise pictures I missed this little cottage. Notice that Atlantis is in the background. This cottage has a perfect view of all the ships coming and going.

I wonder if this houseboat was going too fast?
I got this online, did not happen near us.