WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
I know this is against the norm in the blogging world but, I try to keep the site clean and easy to read for our reader’s enjoyment. For this reason, I opted to keep comments to one page. We would love to hear from you. Do not let my wacky thought process deter you from expressing your feelings regarding our postings or another items of interest you want to share.
- Thoughts on the cruising lifestyle?
- Do you have an favorite sailing destination or a place you think we should avoid?
- Send us your favorite recipe.
- Have you read any good books lately?
- What would you like to know about us?
Please include your e-mail so we can write back to you (email addresses are kept private)
Thanks for connecting to us!
Mark and Cindy
Nice deal on the headsets! We recently bought some bluetooth headsets from cruisers who have swallowed the anchor. Mike and I will have an embarrassment of communications devices on board, but none more important than the ‘marriage saving’ headsets. We have a set of old, non bluetooth headsets and they have saved us many times from the ‘yelling’ that is going to inevitably happen on a 47 foot boat with one person on the bow and the other in the cockpit. Hand signals are all well and good except that many times the cockpit person cannot actually see the person on the bow very easily. And wind noise takes voices away with it. Add to that the fact that I already wear hearing aids, and there it is. We have a lot of freeboard on Galapagos, so picking up a mooring is already a challenge enough without adding the need for hand signals into the mix.
You are hitting all of our list with your blog this month. I have been looking at the Simultalk for a couple years. On our last boat; it really wasn’t ALL that necessary. But, on our new boat; there are many times that the captain just can’t see me.
Because we boat on the Great Lakes; we are pretty much always within range of a cell tower. So we are going to try using our cell phones this spring for docking. I purchased an arm band holder and will run the headphone lines down my back. I am hoping it will keep them tidy enough not to lose them out of my ears.
I’ll let you know how it works after we get the boat back in the water. May 11th is screaming up fast. Lots of work to do yet.
Hi Mark and Cindy – love reading your blog – and I like your sense of humour! – The pictures you take are great – and add to the story – a “picture being 1000 words”.
Keep those stories coming.
I am especially interested as I will soon be a newbie in 2017
How long are you going to spend in the Caribean?
Hi Jimbo,
Thanks for the kind words.
We are not certain how long we will be in the Caribbean. Perhaps a coupe more years. Maybe more.
Great post Mark. You and Active Captain both addressed this issue of anchoring this week. We boat in the Great Lakes and do very little anchoring out. We do day anchor at our favorite swimming spots.But it’s not the same as depending on your anchor while you sleep.
We are taking a two week trip around the mitt this summer and I want to try to anchor out. We’ve talked about marking our anchor chain for a couple years; I think that is a must do this spring.
I also need to do some research about anchor alarms. We don’t have any thing on our boat that would do that. So, I guess we’ll need to find something we can add.
Really enjoying your blog. Thanks for the time you take to do it.
Hi Marie,
Drag Queen is a good free app. It is available in both Apple and Android. If you use an app, you need to make sure you have power to the device on which the app is installed during the night. Else, the internal GPS will run down the battery. We use a function built into out navigation software, Nobeltec.
To mark the anchor chain, we use colored electrical wire ties (the heavy duty ones). They are cheap and easy to see as the anchor chain flies over the windlass.
Wire tires sound a whole easier than painting links. Great idea. I will look up the Drag Queen app.
Great to see you’re on your way east. Enjoy Conception. Then stage at Rum for the offshore to Mayaguana and the TC.
We spent Easter at Conception last year and found it amazing. The fishing in Exuma Sound is good so get those skirt lures out and catch some Mahi. Your luck will change, especially when you cross the drop-offs. Grouper and snapper more likely in those spots. Small bites and you’ll get there, one day at a time. Don’t give up.
A timely post about cell phone service in less populated areas. Reminds me of when we were in Barkley Sound last year. I looked at the other boat in the anchorage and noticed a man standing on top of his hard dodger with his arm in the air. Seemed like he stood there for half and hour or more before climbing down. I hope he got his signal! We’re currently looking at on board communications and redundancy in systems. So many decisions to make!
It’s wonderful to see you in the Bahamas. The water looks so beautiful. I know you are having better weather than we are here in Michigan. (Although it’s been a crazy warm February)
I enjoy reading your posts. We ran into a looper that I read this past summer in the Great Lakes. It was really fun to meet them in person. Have a wonderful week!
Hi Marie,
Thank you for the nice note.
We think the loopers are a little crazy. So much so, it might be fun to do it one day. But not anytime soon and definitely on a powerboat. Here is a fabulous blog about two young ladies that looped. They have finished but the blog is still up and it is a great read: https://katieandjessieonaboat.com/
Thanks for dropping in on our blog
Thank goodness for Costco fish 🙂 $12 for Oreos is shocking. As much as I love cookies, I could never bring myself to spend that much.
We saved for years and years to go sailing and it would go against a lifetime of practice to buy something like this. Even if I had tons of money, we’re talking rich Saudi Prince kind of money, I would still struggle to pay $12 for a bag of Oreos. I often wonder when I see crazy stuff like this who is the person that does buy them. The store must sell a bag here and there otherwise they wouldn’t stock them.
Mark and Cindy
Glad to see you are all fixed up. Where are you now? Hoping to run into you again in the Virgins later this year. Have wonderful sail!
Hi ya,
We just made it to the Bahamas and will work our way south (slowly). Keep an eye out for us in the VIs, it is still the plan
Mark and Cindy
Hi Mark & Cindy,
Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoy reading your blog. Just got finished with the motor coupling episode. Sounds like another challenging but successful repair. I’m sure it also gave you and Cindy a bit more time to have another last meal in the US before you start sailing again.
Hi Carl,
Thanks so much for the comment and for reading our blog. If the cloud has a silver lining, it was that we were not too far away when this happened. We treated Paul and Karen to dinner out each night and had some wonderful “last meals” with them.
Mark