The Class A motorhome--our summer (hurricane season) cabin

2001 Winnebago Journey DL (36GD) purchased at Camping World in Bartow, FL

Our pre-purchase checklist:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mzuzfblhjxdqxn/RV%20Prepurchase.pdf?dl=0

Youtube walkthrough:  This isn't our coach but it's very similar.  We have one slide and this shows two (the second one in the aft berth).  This is also a mirror image of our interior.
https://youtu.be/SGxGNC3Z5Ws

Original Winnebago brochure:
http://winnebagoind.com/resources/brochure/2001/01-Journey-bro.pdf

Click to enlarge

Specs:
Engine:  7.2L/330hp Caterpillar turbo charged diesel on a Freightliner chassis
Length:  36'5"
Exterior height:  12'1"
Exterior width:  8'5.5"
Fresh water capacity:  96 gal
Holding tank capacity (black/gray):  52/48 gal
Fuel capacity:  90 gal (avg 9 mpg?)
GVWR:  26,350 lbs
Wheelbase:  228"

Looking back

Looking forward

The galley

Swivel recliner with a fold-up table

Walk-through split bath design with private toilet:  Sink on the left.  Toilet with a door.  Shower on the right. 

(With a hook-up for a washer/dryer in the cabinet)

They still make the 36 ft Journey and it's fun to look at the pictures for interior ideas:
http://winnebagoind.com/products/class-a-diesel/2016/journey/overview

A man and his new toy!

Ah, Vieques. Fun!

Running the genoa lines outside the life lines to an aft pulley, then back to the winch

Our destination this morning is Vieques, a part of the Spanish Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.  This is another island we missed on the way south in our haste to cross over to the USVIs.  This mornings forecast is for "haze due to Saharan dust".  (There's something we don't see in Missouri!)

The winds are behind us, which gives us a better ride, but makes it trickier to trim the sails.  The Captain uses a technique of running the sheets outside the lifelines to keep us sailing (and avoiding a jibe), even with the wind on our stern (monohulls would get out a whisker pole at this point, but most catamarans don't use whisker poles).

The genoa rides a little higher like a spinnaker

Still sailing inside 120 degrees!

We usually have a destination in mind, but this time we don't decided until we got close.  Our choices are a protected harbor that may or may not be closed for ammunition cleanup, a less protected and deeper harbor, or town with poor holding but mooring balls and a history of dinghy theft.  A quick phone call confirms mooring ball #1 is available so we decide on the well-maintained moorings in Esparanza, Vieques (PR), coincidentally right next to Dos Libras!  The bad news:  the person who greets us tells us about another rash of dinghy thefts here last week (Police say out-of-towners, probably St. Lucia or St. Croix.  Whaaaaa?)  Bummer.  Really wanted to go into town for dinner.

Ahhhhh.  Back in Puerto Rico, on a Friday.  (Whoops!)  They are PASSIONATE about their music and like it LOUD, preferably in a bar close to the beach!  I'm intrigued.  The Captain is not.  He thought we'd be exempt on this tiny island.  Negative.  The live band starts after we go to bed and lasts until sometime between 2-3 am.  (think Jennifer Lopez, "Let's Get Loud")

Stats:  Total time 9:33, avg speed 5.3 kts, total mileage 50.5.  Motor sail with genoa, 1 engine 50%.

Practicing his technique before I get in

Day 2:  Dos Libras and their friends depart.  A charter boat arrives with a family.  After two failed attempts at anchoring, they caught a mooring ball (with some help) on the 6th try.  "Dad, next year can we go skiing?"  Wow.

Since our mooring ball is so close to the dinghy dock, we decided to try rowing in.  It's harder than it looks.  We started out going in circles (Both of us).  "Tell me which way to go."  {Pause}  "My left.  I mean, the dinghies starboard."  {Pause}.  "We're both facing the same way!"  "Oh, yeah."

Still need some more practice. (And yes, I tried it.  Didn't make it to the boat.  The Boss had to take over so we didn't get blown out to sea.  I'll try again on a calmer day.  Good shoulder workout, though!).

On the way back, I am scolded for letting him paddle right up between the hulls.  "Why didn't you tell me we were here?"  "Still trying to grab a hold of something!"  LOL.  Stand by neighbors.  Another exhibit of our excellent seamanship planned for tomorrow!  Some days you watch the show.  Some days you are the show!  #cruiserslife #rowing #lookatthoseidiots

Esparanza malecone

El Blok, unique and decorative hurricane shutters

Steel hulled fixer upper opportunity.  It's stripped but The Captain thinks it would float!

Esparanza, Vieques traffic

Puerto Rican Pateles

Day 3:  We stop at Duffy's Restaurant in search of internet and end up having Pasteles:  A traditional Christmas preparation of mashed root vegetables and pumpkin wrapped in banana leaf and steamed.  Chicken or pork.  Served with rice, beans and tostones (and the official sauce of Puerto Rico--ketchup & mayo mixed together).  Excellent.  Highly recommend!

Our forward inertia is gone.  It feels nice.  We sat in St Croix for two weeks.  We enjoyed the island, or maybe it was enjoyable not having to "be" anywhere.  We sailed over to Esperanza, Vieques and paid for 2 nights.  Stayed 3.  Not in a hurry to leave.  Not feeling very motivated.  Relaxing.  Reading.  Instead of grocery shopping & lugging water, we're cleaning out the provisions and burning the water tanks down for haul out.  ("Whooooo wants another can of beeeeets for lunch?!")  I'm sure we'll get stressed when we get to our haul out marina.  Maybe.

Kickin back on the hardtop

It's time to check out more of the island.   I took the day off.  I did a "Driving Miss Daisy" while The Captain did the 7 miles around to Green Beach, Vieques.  (That's me sitting on the hard top taking pictures while he decides which stretch of beach he likes best...)

Anchored off of Green Beach with Dos Libras

Stats:  Total time 1:36, avg speed 5.0 kts, total mileage 8.0.  Motored.

A view from our porch

A view of the sunset over mainland PR

After naps, I coax The Captain in for a snorkel from the boat to a reef on the beach followed by sundowners with Dos Libras on Odin.  ("When you guys went by, you're heels were in perfect unison.  How do you do that?" LOL).   It's hard to believe we haven't chatted in person since Georgetown, Bahamas?!

FaceBook post:  "What a beautiful evening.  The sound of crickets coming from shore.  Not a single light visible off the bow, except the glow of Dos Libras anchor light.  The stars are brilliant.  The glow of mainland Puerto Rico & San Juan off the stern."

Day 2 was a belly scrub for Odin.  He's getting a power wash when we haul out, but The Captain said to get the barnacles off.  There's a LOT of barnacles!  

Day 3:  Some storms skirted us last evening and then it rained the most of the night.  Dos Libras sails off their anchor and waves on their way by.  Gonna be another lazy day of reading and staring off at the beach, I think.  

Dos Libras photo of Odin as we arrive at Green Beach, Vieques

Gallows Bay, St. Croix, USVI

The crew at Point Udall, St. Croix, USVI.  Thank you, Patti & Peter!

The beauty of returning to Puerto Rico for hurricane season was being able to stop at two islands we skipped on the way down.  In particular, St. Croix, USVI.  You see, St. Croix is 50 miles southeast of Vieques, PR and 34 miles south of St. John, USVI.  For cruisers headed southbound, the prevailing trade winds make it a less than desirable stop, with many planning on stopping on the way back.  However, you will probably miss the BVI's or Sint Maarten if you take the detour.  Maybe it was our timing (May 22nd, many need to be out of the box by June 1st) but we enjoyed the quieter atmosphere.  Perhaps because we were no longer on a time table.  Or maybe just because we liked the casual vibe.  You are also in the US (A decent order of nachos and a long walk to McDonald's, but doable!).  We saw lots of retirees here, but also quite a few younger people perhaps from the university?  We hope to return.  Here's a rundown of our 13 days on the east end (Fredericksted and the rum factory next time!):

Main sail cover is OFF!  Stand by.  We're about to get crazy!

Departing from Nevis to Statia, we took the main sail cover off for the first time since...the Turks?  A long time.  We were pretty excited about a day of downwind sailing.  No bashing into waves!  As we motor away from the mooring field, I spot a HUGE turtle.  I'll take that as a good omen.

Twitter:
"Sailing.  Genoa and main.  Engines off.  15-20 kts downwind doing 6 kts.  Now we're having some fun!  Statia here we come!"

"Sailing 101.  Sometimes the autopilot has trouble downwind & occasionally we get a wind shift.  Autopilot off.  Hand steering :-)"

Sails are up!

We had a relatively uneventful sail back to Statia, our overnight stop.  However, a theory was confirmed.  The venturi effect between St. Kitts & Statia was still uncomfortable.  Despite sailing with the prevailing wind and waves behind us, we were still getting confused waves with the big waves behind us and small choppy waves coming on our beam.  Phew!  The advantage to returning to a familiar anchorage is we knew exactly which mooring ball we wanted and already had the wifi password :-)  We had to additional treat of being neighbors to s/v Totem (www.sailingtotem.com) for an evening.  We'd been texting back and forth, in an attempt to meet-up and although we didn't get a chance to get together, I did get to chat on the radio with Behan.  Next time!

Stats:  Total time 5:47, average speed 5.2, total mileage 30.0 nm.  Sailed main & genoa 4:47.  Motor sail 1:00

Passing Saba

It's a 100 miles from Statia to St. Croix, so one.more.overnight...Sigh.  We manage to restrain ourselves and delay our departure to 9:00 am so we'll roll into St. Croix with good sunlight for anchoring.

Twitter:
"Still sailing.  No engines.  Quiet.  Making up for all that motoring lately!  66 miles to go."

"Blue moon...there's a country song in there somewhere.  Help me out.  Leann Rimes?  No, that's not it.  KY?  No, that's hills.  52 miles to go."

"Only seen 2 other boats.  Lonely out here.  29 miles to go!"

"Internet!  Can't see the island yet but 14 miles to go and we have INTERNET, so we must be close."

"Sunrise.  St. Croix in sight.  And a "jibe ho" just north of the island that laid us perfectly across our course line.  That never happens.  Happy, happy, sleepy, sleepy."

Sunset on the last overnight

St Croix in sight!

"I don't care that you're anchoring.  I don't know where St Croix is.  BREAKFAST!"  Yeah, that face says it all.  Now THAT's the last overnight for awhile, we hope.

Stats:  Total time 23:00, average speed 4.6 kts (no engines, genoa only w/ sheets run outside, timing to arrive after sunrise), total mileage 105.4 nm

Marina closed.  Pile of flip flops on the dock.  Who leaves without their shoes?  They were gone the next day.

We tidy up, take a nap, then head into town.  The St. Croix Marina is closed on Sundays, so turn around and head for the boardwalk downtown.  The guidebook has The Captain making a bee line for the Fort Christian Brew Pub, hoping for a draft beer.  No go.  (Apparently, the brew master just quit.)  The nachos were an improvement from what I've had recently.

Fort Christian Brew Pub with a view of the "town" anchorage

A stroll through downtown and it's unique, historical Dutch architecture

One of the five "yellow" buildings in the National Historic district

On Monday, we head into the marina and are pleasantly surprised that for $20/week we can use the dinghy dock, showers and wifi.  They have a nice chandlery and cheerfully pointed us towards the grocery store and a recommended stop for lunch at The Bistro--something about toffee frappes & pastries.  The Captain left at a jog.

(Facebook post) "Random thoughts from St. Croix:  Paper maps are useless in the Caribbean except as a prop to get a local to stop and give you directions (required at least twice per destination).

You know you're a cruiser, when you stop to take a pic of the first self-serve laundromat since the Bahamas (Is that right?)"

A wonderful grocery with all sorts of beautiful things we don't know what to do with--Dragonfruit & Tamarind.

Gallow's Bay anchorage, with breathtaking sunrises daily

A fabulous lunch at 40 Strand Eatery followed by creme brule--orange, I think it was.  Gorgeous & yummy!

Sunrise.  WOW!

The "first" tropical weather outlook email arrives (not counting Alex in January that we experienced as a pre-tropical in Black Point, Bahamas) about an area north of the Bahamas.  Yeah, this one will be #Bonnie people--hitting the east coast on a holiday weekend.

And another gorgeous sunrise

We met up with the crew of s/v Glory of Christiansted through a Women Who Sail Facebook forum.  They give us a tour of their home marina, Green Cay and Tamarind Reef Resort.  We had lunch at Deep End Bar & Grill, a beautiful spot by the pool and beach.  Then they took us on a driving tour of the east end of the island: by the dish, views of Buck Island and the East End Marine Park, and ending at Point Udall, the easternmost point in the United States.  What a treat!

National Radio Astronomy Observatory's VLBA, 82 ft large radio-telescope antenna.  "The Big Dish" controlled by an operator in Socorro, NM.  Yes, you can see it move!

Sunset.  We're not in a hurry to leave.

A large artistic community here as well.  A mural in the laundromat

And of course, errands.  Laundry.  Water.  Bookstore (Not a lot of bookstores in the Caribbean.  I just wanted to lay down on the floor and hang out.  The Captain said, "Um.  Get up!").  Groceries.  "I hate grocery shopping.  I'm not going grocery shopping with you when we get the RV.  I'll pull up and park and then I'll be right there, watching TV!"

Downtown.  Tiny paintings (12" high?) at sidewalk level

Every day a little different...

Our favorite hang out--wifi, a/c, frappes and the standard group of "old geezers" in the corner talking about airplanes...

On our last day, we head downtown for one more lunch on the boardwalk.  We're greeted by a tourist asking about our dinghy.  He peppered us with questions, leaving us giggling with his enthusiasm and new found knowledge.  "Do you live on a boat?  Where do you keep it?  Where did you leave from?  How did you get here?  What about groceries?  Where do you buy boat parts?  (We explain sailboats and wind is free--mind blown!)  I didn't know people could do that!"  Turns out he's from San Diego, so we give him some advice on finding a boat and he jogs back to a group of tourists with a grin on his face, turning around to furiously wave goodbye.  I think we're famous.  And yes, our life is pretty cool. 

Angry Nates on the downtown waterfront for lunch.  The resident feline looking aloof while waiting for The Captain's lunch to arrive

Cheapskates on the Move, Internet Year 1

(10/2016 Update:  Sim cards & Google Voice)

Internet, part 1 (boat):  
I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but trying to figure out internet for a boat/rv can make your head spin.  We took the $55/month unlimited, unthrottled internet at our house for granted.  I researched before we moved to the boat and decided to stay with our AT&T cellular account.  This turned out to be a mistake after we learned their coverage on the east coast was TERRIBLE.  Honestly, when we asked to borrow the phone, people just laughed. "Yeah, that doesn't work here."  I used my iPad Verizon plan to supplement (tethering to other devices not available so I was sharing an iPad with The Captain.  No bueno.  "I'm blogging."  "I'm in the middle of rewiring xyz and I need to look something up...."  "So?").  We finally bought our Iridium GO! earlier than anticipated while in the middle of nowhere ICW, NC.

AT&T iPhones:  Both of our phones were out of contract so we UNLOCKED them before departing for flexibility (otherwise you may need a mifi/hotspot).  (Check to see if your phones are compatible with other carriers, ie. quad band & GSM--most later iPhones are.  Don't take my word for it.  Additional research required). We switched to the 5GB data plan with unlimited talk & text ($25 base plan + $50), using my iPhone to tether to the iPads.  (We hate talking on the phone and no texting outside the US but there isn't a "post-paid" data plan that allows tethering, that I know of).  At some point we were up to the 6GB, but after making some adjustments (see my blog about "Using less Data" 2015/09/slow-internet-andor-using-less-data.html), we now average 1GB/week (with Opera Mini browser, if no heavy graphics/videos & no software updates).   

Before we left Brunswick, I pestered the Captain for a Wirie (ap $400 www.thewirie.com/).  It's a long-range wifi antenna (with a built in router) that allows us to get wifi while at marinas (if you would have been too far from the signal), mooring fields (sometimes the signal from the marina won't reach that far) and sometimes, while anchored.  There are, surprisingly, more unlocked networks than you would imagine, even in the US and sometimes former cruisers will set up a "guest" wifi (with bandwidth limit ie. Current Settlement, Eleuthera anchorage). Many businesses who cater to cruisers including restaurants on the waterfront, have open wifi or will share their code after purchasing a drink. The Wirie quickly paid for itself in sim cards, data plans and overages.   (Be aware of security while using unknown wifi.  I believe the Wiries has a built in firewall--don't quote me.  I use cellular data for delicate financial transactions.).  We also used it to purchase daily/weekly wifi through local networks in Georgetown and Luperon. 

International:

AT&T:  The International plan is an additional $30 for 120 MB for 30 days.  Outrageous!  But it was there if we needed it (I turned it on before leaving Luperon for Samana, "just in case.")

Also, when we left the states, we turned off one phone (a savings of $25/month) and moved the other to the minimum plan ($20/300 MB but with rollover data, we were happy to find a GB of data waiting for us when we arrived in Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands.  At one point, AT&T told me the 300 MB was being discontinued and I wouldn't be able to get it back if I upgraded.  It's still there.)

A new plan this year that was popular with cruisers was a T-mobile plan that allowed unlimited international.  It looked expensive and I heard reports of it being spotty or slow.  It's also not permanent.  Stand by for more info in Part 2.

Google Voice email:  It was a sales call, so yeah, I left her phone number in there!

NOTE about SIM cards:  Make sure your unlocked phone has a removable SIM card (otherwise you may need a mifi/hotspot)!  A SIM card adapter kit might also be helpful but we didn't need it (you can also buy a SIM card cutter but we left this to the professionals.  Every cellular store in the Caribbean was able to do this for us.)  When you swap out the SIM card, you have a different phone number!  I set up a Google Voice phone number.  Then, before removing my AT&T sim card, I forwarded the phone to my Google Voice number (for iPhone:  Settings, Phone, Call Forwarding, Call Forwarding ON, enter phone number).  I receive email transcripts when I have a message (Settings, Voicemail & Text tab, check Voicemail Notifications & add email address, then check Voicemail Transcripts).

Bahamas:  We purchased a prepaid BTC sim card data ($20 sim card & 2GB for $30 or 5GB for $50 at 4G speeds).  You can also add a few voice minutes (calling ahead to marinas for fuel/water availability).  We were impressed with the 4G coverage in the Bahamas.  Most islands had an antenna in sight of the boat!  (Included on the Explorer Charts)  It wasn't long ago the only internet was at a computer in the FBO or maybe in the hotel lobby.  (It wasn't terribly long ago that the only wifi was in the lobby of the Nassau Hilton unless you remembered your ethernet cord.  "Ethernet cord?!")  We bought our prepaid sim card in Marsh Harbour and reupped over the phone whenever it ran out (we never had any luck doing it over the internet).  The beauty is, no overages.  Use it up before the end of 30 days?  Buy another 30 days!  If I did it again, I would have paid the extra $$ and purchased the sim through mrsimcard.com, so we could check in our first night at Great Sale Cay.  However, we did found internet at Spanish Cay marina & at Donnie's marina in Green Turtle on the way to Marsh.  (There is a black hole in the Exuma's Land & Sea Park.  There are no cell towers on these islands, but a hike to the top of Boo Hill will get you a signal--or hoist the cell phone up the mast--but be sure to charge it up & turn the hotspot on first!). In Georgetown, we used the Wirie to get free wifi in a few anchorages but WiMAX, a local paid hotspot (bahamaswimax.com) was also available.  We had mixed results but ActiveCaptain.com gave it a good review.  Occasionally, we would pay for a day of unlimited to catch up on software updates (and it took ALL day).  Again, BTC (http://btcmobile.me/prepaid) was my preferred--I was on FaceBook & Twitter while sailing to Rum Cay (yes, their tower is functional.  Locals also told us it was free to log onto the wifi at the base of the tower, which was also currently the school!) and Mayaguez!  I even had a signal and we passed 10 miles off of Crooked Island.   

Turks & Caicos:  We had free wifi in Sopadilla Bay with our Wirie but I wish I had bought a Lime (also good in BVI, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica) or Digicel (most of southern caribbean?) sim card before moving to Cockburn Harbor.  The only wifi here was standing in the marina market or the Iridium GO!

Dominican Republic:  In Luperon, we purchased weekly wifi through a local hotspot network for cheap!  Less than $10/week for unlimited, I think?  (walk into the office in town to pay and get a password).  In Samana, we had excellent wifi at the marina.  There is also a Claro store in town.

Puerto Rico & USVI (Soper's Hole BVI):  Cranked AT&T back up with some roll-over data (which also bled over to Soper's Hole BVI but be careful!  Turn off roaming, just in case)

BVI:  We went straight from Soper's Hole to Virgin Gorda so we managed to get through this area without a sim card or even seeing any local cellular stores (mrsimcard.com says Lime)

Sint Maarten:  I meant to buy a Digicel sim card (works down island) but I accidentally ended up with a Chippie (which was supposed to work in Saba, Statia and St Kitts).  However, it only worked on the Dutch side and not the French side.  (Our friends anchored on the French side, couldn't get their phone to work on the Dutch side).  I'll be asking more questions when we return.  Maybe a settings problem?  There is a setting to make it tether--ask before you leave or google it (settings, mobile network, cellular data, APN:  internet.chippie.nl or premium & leave username and password blank?).  No free wifi in Simpson Bay with Wirie.

Statia:   Our Chippie sim from Sint Maarten was supposed to work here but it didn't.  I didn't research if there were any settings I needed to change since our data was almost gone and we were getting good reception from Old Gin House through our Wirie.

Nevis:  Sketchy wifi through Da Bar with the Wirie, depending on how the boat was swinging (It's mounted on our stern.  I'd love to get it higher for better reception, otherwise networks come & go with windshifts).  I was going to stop in the Digicel store in town to buy a sim card, but The Captain thought the sketchy wifi was good enough since we were turning around.

St. Croix, USVI:  I had access to my regular AT&T plan here (not international rate), but if you pay the $20 weekly rate at St. Croix marina for the dinghy dock, you also have access to the showers & wifi password!  It was slow, even through the Wirie, but so was the AT&T so must have been a tower problem.  You can also walk to The Bistro in Gallows Bay for a frappe and a/c!

I heard about mrsimcard.com through Active Captain right before we left for the Bahamas.  I elected to wing it on my own, but since, I've heard good reviews about their customer support.  Their website is definitely a good reference for which sim cards work on which islands.  You may pay a few dollars more but everything will be up and running when you arrive.  (We always seem to anchor after-hours, on a weekend that's followed by a holiday which makes it difficult to buy a sim card.  Many places will help you "top up" but the actual sim has to be purchased at the cellular store.)

What we learned:

• I can't tether my Verizon iPad to other devices?  Verizon blames Apple.  Apple blames Verizon.  (UPDATE:  iPads later than 4G should have this ability.  ASK BEFORE YOU LEAVE)
• Prepaid data sim cards avoids paying for talk/text minutes we wouldn't use. No overages.  Just re-up when you're out.
• Phone calls can be made on wifi through FaceBook's messenger app using audio only (popular with cruisers) or Skype (audio only).  Not for the technically challenged relatives.
• Conserving your precious data!  See (the blog link under AT&T), especially with Opera Mini 
• Don't forget, laptops have better antennas but mobile devices use less data
• Free internet is not just at the library or coffee shop but restaurants, grocery, Target, etc
• Bring DVD's.  There will be no streaming on a boat (Will use up your whole data plan.  Amazon & Netflix don't work outside the US without a VPN which will just make it slower!) or downloading movies

Internet is the US is more expensive ie. In the Bahamas, where internet, wifi and smartphones are relatively "new", prepaid data is common AND without out a basic plan and overages!  That's cheaper people.

RV websites are excellent places to research cellular data plans and wifi extenders.  Stand by for Part 2, RV--changes to our cellular plans and the international plan for season.  I recommend https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/, their book and their FaceBook pages.  They help me stay up to date on new equipment and the cellular companies antics.

The hurricane plan 2016 OR Winging It

Yes, Professor.  I know that's a double negative.

I hesitate to post this, because it sounds a little depressing and whiney.  It's not.  I promised to share the good, bad and ugly.  This is a little of all of those.  We're excited about our decision to head back north from Nevis to Puerto Rico.  People are asking why we turned around.  The Captain calls it a tactical retreat.  Perhaps if we'd known Puerto Rico was an option to begin with, it would have been our destination for the year (looking back on it, I'm pretty sure Orion & Summertime Rolls did try to tell us this, but we didn't listen). Here's what happened:

When we left Annapolis, we answered "Where are you headed to?" with "We're winging it.  South".  As we departed Brunswick, GA we replied, "We're winging it.  Hopefully, the Bahamas."  When we reached the Exumas, we updated our insurance and promised the insurance company we'd be in Trinidad (safely out of the hurricane "box") by July 15th, but still mostly answering with "We're winging it.  South".  We're still winging it, we just overshot a little bit.

Mostly weather.  Way back in the Bahamas, we were continually told by more experienced, fellow cruisers that it was a "weird weather year".  Instead of being calm on the banks side, it was rough.  A weather system rolling through every week or so was more like every 5 days and many times we were pinned down for 4 days or more.  And then there was the derecho (jan-6-2015-black-point.html).  "Maybe it's el Nino?"  We moved quickly through the Bahamas because we had to.  The farther south we go, the less these weather systems off the east coast of the US should affect us, technically.

• We ended up spending more time in the Turks than we expected 
• More time in the Dominican
• More time in Puerto Rico waiting for the trade winds to die down so we could move along the south coast--no one warned us about that!
• Blew through the Virgins to catch a weather window across the Anageda 
• Sat in Sint Maarten for longer than we planned.  

Are you tired of hearing about weather windows?  We live and breath 'em.  Surprisingly, we were still on schedule, with lots of cruiser friends still behind us.  However, when left to our own devices, we historically like to move every 3-4 days.  We don't mind waiting on weather but it was becoming discouraging.  The SE trade winds and WAVES weren't letting up.  Instead of Chris Parker weather windows coming weekly, they were coming every two weeks.  Instead of a 4 day weather window:  1 day for the waves to lay down, 2 days to sail, and settled with a day to spare (in case we needed to reposition or the window closed), the forecast was for a 2-day window, that suddenly turning "salty" or disappeared all together.  

• Sint Maarten to Statia.  Forecast didn't materialize--winds never shifted E.  Should have gone to St. Barts.
• Statia to Nevis.  Got hammered!
• We left Nevis for Guadeloupe (skipping Montserrat because of shortened window) and for the first time, turned around.
• Boats ahead of us are saying things like "sporty", "salty", or "washing machine" as far down as St Lucia/St Vincent.  One catamaran from Australia said it was a "little rough", which translates to "Holy Crap, Batman!"  Not cool.

"Everyone" told us, it will get easier as we got further south.  Expectations.  Guidebooks, blogs, fellow cruisers.  As we left Puerto Rico, our general route became south, so "the islands are closer together, when the winds back from SE to E, it's a beam reach"---blah, blah, blah.  They lied.  It wasn't getting easier.  It was getting more difficult.  "After Sint Maarten it gets easier..."  Still, nope.  Who are these people, anyway?  Are these the same people that yell "almost there" 2 miles from the finish line of the marathon?  Do they getting a kick back from the tourism bureau of Grenada/Trinidad?  When I find you, I'm going to kick you in the shin.

Because we could:  If there hadn't been an opening in Puerto del Rey or if our insurance company hadn't accepted our alternate hurricane plan, we may be bashing our way south with our friends in that Tues-Thurs window that was already not looking great.  Instead we're sailing north--downwind!  Of course we prefer a reach, but Odin prefers downwind over close-hauled!  We ride WITH the wind and waves.  It's quieter.  The engines can be shut off.  We're doing 6-7 kts instead of 3 kts!  We're a sailboat again instead of a powerboat.  It's {gasp} fun!  At shift change, we're smiling instead of "So, how bad is it?"  We giggle & point when boats pass us going southbound.  (Spoiler alert:  We'll sail THE WHOLE WAY from Nevis to St. Croix!)

It's time for a visit home.  We have a grandbaby and a daughter-in-law we've never met.  It's time to visit friends and family.  Catch up on Dr's appointments.  Clean out our storage unit.  We'll return in November excited about doing bottom paint(?!) and with lots of time to explore the Leewards & Windwards (Destination #1 Sint Maarten after a pass through Culebra, PR for Zacos Tacos).  It's 400 miles to Trinidad.  200 miles back to Puerto Rico.  We gain a month stateside.  Easy peasy.

The RV:  Once we made the decision to haul out and airline home instead of living on the boat for hurricane season, we got excited about THAT.  Yes, a little distracting but we love learning something new and it's time for a little detour.  As if living on a boat isn't challenging enough...yeah, we're weird.

Living on a boat is hard work.  Don't get me wrong.  We love it.  But it's not all rum punches and beaches.  Just when we find the dumpster, the water spigot, the laundromat, a favorite restaurant and the grocery store it's time to move on.  And it's not admitting defeat to say you need a vacation from your life in the Caribbean.  The Captain is looking forward to some Netflix and air conditioning.  I'm going to gorge on vegetables until I turn into one.  Take a long shower.  Maybe park the RV outside a Mexican restaurant.  

Schedule:  Rule number one of cruising is don't have a schedule.  You're not in charge of the schedule.  Mother Nature is.  Yet we all departed the Bahamas enroute to Grenada/Trinidad with the insurance company telling us to be there by June/July (depending on your insurance company).  Shame on us for thinking we could stick to a schedule.  And WE'RE RETIRED!  We aren't supposed to have a schedule.  

We're not salty.  Maybe it's us.  Maybe it's our boat.  It's supposed to be fun.  Doing 3 kts into wind and waves, burning twice as much gas, it's so loud down below we can't sleep and having to drug the cat is not fun.  We didn't mind the overnights necessary to get this far, but now they're just exhausting. I also dislike skipping over islands and saying we'll "see them on the way back", because we're still winging it.  Who knows where we'll end up next season?  

Summary:  We didn't purchase airline tickets or pay a deposit in Trinidad so we have no commitments.  Airline tickets are $175 one-way with 6 flights a day out of San Juan and it's one stop back to Miami (Amelia the Cat doesn't even need a health certificate to travel in the cabin!). We have cruising friends still north of us we may get to meet up with.  We can stop at St Croix and Vieques, two islands we missed on the way down.  We've covered over 1300 miles this season.  Not bad.  Now the pressure is off.  We'll leave Puerto Rico next November with a whole new group of friends {ahem, hem.  Summertime Rolls.  Sint Maarten.}  We're winging it.

Cheapskates on the Move, Chap 1 eBooks

Or "Things we learned living on a boat (and can use on the RV)"

I'll start with something easy then move gently towards more delicate topics (ie. Doing dishes and taking showers)

eBooks:  We both read a lot.  We love our Kindles.  While The Captain can be happy with the occasional book-book from the marina swap pile, I primarily read on my Kindle.  The best part of eReader's are the classics available for free through public domain.  In the US, in general, 70 years after the death of the author, their works are not restricted by copyright. Think Moby Dick, Dracula, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens or Edgar Allen Poe.  Project Gutenberg was one of the first and largest efforts to digitize public domain books. (For ideas, go to their Top 100 list at gutenberg.org) The only time I opt to pay for a book available in public domain would be books translated from other languages ie. Anna Karenina, then more current translations are worth the money.

Another important thing we learned before we left on the sailboat is that libraries are catching up with the ebook lending.  You can get online, find a book, reserve/checkout and download from anywhere.  

Our hometown library had a much improved selection since our first generation Kindle, especially in new releases.  We also learned that the neighboring county had a reciprocating library card (with a much bigger selection) for free.  When we sold our house (and our library memberships expired), we could continue a non-resident membership for $50 (unless you have a family member willing to share their library card).  Check with your library, former library, neighboring county or the Free Library of Philadelphia (an early adopter of ebook lending) for online, non-resident registration.

A newer feature at our library is listing pre-releases for reserve, so sometimes I'm reading the new Stephen King as soon as it's released.  Otherwise, I keep a "deep" reserve list going so I'm never without books.  When we're somewhere with internet and there's not much on my reserve list, I grab a bunch of books that are available off my wish list.  (Another great feature of a Kindle vs reading on an iPad or iPhone, unless you turn the wifi on, they can't take the library book back, even if it's expired!)

Kindle Unlimited:  Many people ask, "What about Kindle Unlimited?"  Personally, I don't think it's that great of a deal. It used to be, as a part of your Prime membership, there were a number of books you could borrow for free.  However, it has now been spun off into Kindle Unlimited which is $9.99/month or another $120/year!  This doesn't include ALL Kindle books, and many are self-published books you may not be interested in or books that would otherwise be inexpensive to purchase.  (You still get one book per month as a part of Prime's Kindle First & a limited amount of books can still be borrowed.)  If you aren't picky about what you read and like a bargain, I recommend eReaderIQ, Bookbub or Amazon's Kindle page full of daily & monthly deals, instead.

More Bumfuzzle than Pardey

Ahhhhh, remember the Dodge minivan?  "Crap, Mom.  There's not even any room for me back here!"

The latest Bumfuzzle blog post, Comfortable:
http://www.bumfuzzle.com/2016/05/27/comfortable/

We've always been more Bumfuzzle than Pardey.  This new post is particularly timely.  When we moved from our house to the boat, it filled every inch of a Dodge minivan.  As we prepare to head back to the States and buy an RV for hurricane season, the reality of how simplified our life has become is apparent.  I can pack in a backpack.  Granted, the RV will be more "summer cabin" than "home".  Technically, the cat's list is almost as long as mine:  food, anti-anxiety medicine, some litter & pee-pads until we can buy her a second Breeze litter pan, treats, her book of health certificates, her favorite towel... (I tried to buy her a separate seat, mostly so she could have her own carry-on.  She moved to the boat with her own backpack full of food & toys!).  For us:  iPads, Kindles, underwear & a few changes of clothes (actually, we now buy our underwear at WalMart and hopefully there is still a bin of clothes in storage in STL).  I may pack an extra duffle with:  the expensive electric tea pot we only use at the dock because it turned out to be too high an electrical draw.  Maybe the Nutribullet, since it's small & too expensive for a duplicate.  iPod and Iridium GO!, all wrapped in a small blanket that isn't getting used in the Caribbean.  Mostly, so we have a spare duffle that can be used to haul boat parts back!  (Captain approved!)

Oh, and a restaurant with air conditioning?  What's that?!