Toddler on Board!

Last year's post w/this picture was "Baby on Board"

I can hardly believe it's been a year since our sweet Jib came into our life. Wowza!! Time flies.

Happy Adoption Day Jib!! We love you so much!!!

   What a blessing he has been for us....we were meant to be a family. I think Jesse is probably very happy for us..

Check out Jib's ears....just when the winds were picking up...about 15-20mph at this point. We learned from this last hurricane encounter that Jib is completely unfazed by wind.

    So...we made it through Hurricane Sandy pretty easily really,   ....We had sustained winds of 25-35mph for about 18 hours....with gusts over 40- 50mph about every 15 minutes.  Nothing too terrible.
We are so thankful & are praying for all those who will be hit hard by Sandy....

Palm trees blowing in the wind at the marina

So, back to work! The boat projects continue...

Changing the oil...we ran the engine for 2 hours today...just cuz....it's been 5.5 months since it's been on.  What a sweet relief that it just turned right on & purred for the next 120 minutes. We love sailing best, but let's face it...the engine is a vital organ of any boat. Happy ours passed it's physical.

Scrubbing the rust off our swim ladder...hope I don't get cancer from the chemicals involved in rust removal... Notice Malaika's hailing port on the boat...Phoenix! Don't see that on too many (any) sailboats.

   Now that Hurricane Sandy has breezed through, a cold front is descending on Florida. It is going to be in the 40's here by tomorrow night. BURRR!!!!

Sunset in the marina tonight. Red skies in the morn...sailors be warned...red skies at night...sailors delight!

The change in weather is a brisk reminder that it's time to head south. Many of us in the marina are paid up till Nov 1st & then we're off....OMG!!! Nov 1st is THURSDAY!!! SO much to do!!!
We will be sad to say good-bye to our Hidden Harbor Marina friends. I have a whole blog planned to highlight our fun times here & will post it in the next couple days. Stay Tuned !!!

  Love,
Michelle, Scott & Jib

Battoning Down The Hatches !!!

   Well, here we go AGAIN !!! Another tropical storm headed our way! 40mph winds expected by this evening so I wanted to get a blog done before I lose internet...which is a 100% guarentee.
It's been a busy few days here on Malaika.  Scott & I just keep plugging away at all our projects we want to complete before we leave for the Bahamas. We usually get going at around 9am & stay busy until about until around 4pm.

Scott finally finisihed drilling the hole for the tiller arm. One small steel strand at a time. Through 2 inches of steel & 1.5 inches of bronze. While upside down & squished in a hole. VICTORY!

On to the next project...

My 25 yr old stove...all polished, burners sanded down & repainted. Beautiful.  Malaika is getting in tip top shape for this next cruising season! Can't wait!!

  Today our projects have been haulted due to the arrival of Miss Sandy...our 3rd tropical storm of the year.  We spent the morning tying things down, closing all the hatches.

Waterproofing our foul weather gear...just in time for Sandy

Bring it on Sandy! We're waterproofed & ready!

  Now, we're just waiting. The wind has been steadily picking up since early morning, the skies are grey...we've had a few sprinkles. The anticipation of a big storm is exciting & anxiety provoking all in one.  Right now, the marina is buzzing with activity on the dock...everybody waiting. In a few short hours we'll all be down below in our boats until Sandy blows on by. Should take about 10-12 hours according to Windfinder...one of my favorite weather internet sites.
  See you when the storm is gone!

THANK YOU Grammy for our most AWESOME care package!!! I LOVE my new Halloween toys. We really LOVED everything you sent!!!  You make us feel so special...Thanks SOOO much!! XXOO

Love & Miss everyone!! XXXOOO
Michelle, Scott & Jib

A Thief In The Night

  
    So, one of the most difficult "boat projects" for us (Scott) to complete has been the on going leaking of our port lights (windows).

     Scott has spent hours & hours of research & labor trying to correct this problem. We think he has finally discovered how to seal our port lights up .... On Friday, Scott spent 12 hours taking each & every port light out, scraping all the puddy & adhesive, then applying a new bedding material he researched on line. So far, so good. We sprayed the window directly with the water hose & it also rained, & I think...he has finally conquered the battle of the port lights. HUGE accomplishment. What a great day!

Water tight port light

   We ended the long day by fishing off the dock with Jib & hanging out with our neighbors.

Good end to a long day of boat projects. Notice the bike in the lower right hand corner..belongs to our friend Ethan & is parked in front of his boat.

Scott & Jib fishing next to Malaika. Notice how we are the last boat on the dock.....

Everybody happy & dry (thanks to our new water tight port lights) & in bed by 11:00pm.
   The next morning we wake to find that we have all been robbed!!! Someone came onto the dock in the dark of the night & stole 4 fishing rods & Ethan's bike. We are convinced they snuck up by boat...docked next to Malaika & made off with what they could in less than 30 seconds. He only went up the dock 3 boats passed Malaika.
GRRRRRR!!!!!!  We are all so angry! We really do feel so violated!! I mean, really?!!! Fishing poles & a bike?   We did call the police & file reports but obviously,

Scott chatting up the lady cop about his missing fishing pole...

 fishing poles & bikes are not a huge priority...Sometimes I am just so disappointed in my fellow humans.

Our newly vacant fishing pole holder..  :(

So...big bummer. Big disappointment that a fellow boater would steal from other boaters. Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbors & all the other awesome cruisers we have met along the way in this journey...their acts of kindness far out weigh our little "run-in" with petty crime.
   The guys on the dock were pretty fired up about it. There was talk of a stake out...but they just went to bed instead. 
Love & Miss everybody!!
XXXOOO

This Is What Boat Projects Look Like...

This is what boat projects look like...UGH! Our beautiful cockpit has turned into a Sanford & Son shrine...

  Okay... I admit it. When I thought of moving back on the boat & all our projects that needed to be done...I didn't think much of it. I mean, after all, I was working full time at the hospital all summer.. what could be harder? Ummm...boat projects...they can be harder.  I really thought my blog entries would be daily, so much free time...SLAP! REALITY!! Scott & I are both working very hard to get Malaika ready for another season in the Bahamas.

Poor Scott...for the final parts of the Autopilot to be complete, he has to drill a hole in the rudder post for the tiller arm to  connect to..He has to get into a very contorted position in a very small space to make this happen. It's a process that has, & will continue to take hours...& precision...good thing he's a surgeon...

                                               

Scott bought me my very own electric buffer....I've been "buffing" the fiberglass parts of the boat since...He said it's an early birthday present....He is obviously making a lame attempt at a joke with that one...

My beautiful salon ....turned into a work bench...

So...we're not the only ones getting ready to take off in a few weeks..Our neighbors, Joe & Adrian, 2 brothers in search of  their own sailing adventures...built their own rope ladder to get up the mast.

There goes Adrian..up the mast...secured by his brother Joe & friend Ethan...

Love & Miss you all!!! XXXOOO
Stay tuned for tomorrow...where we talk about a Thief In The Night.....

The Oldest City In America....St. Augustine, Florida...XXXOOO

Downtown St. Augustine, Fl.   About a 5 minute walk from our boat...

     Scott & I took Jib for a nice long walk through St. Augustine today. I LOVE this city. It's so ...old...so charming. It's has so much history...it's such an iconic piece of Americana.   I am definetly glad that I spend a good portion of my year here.

Our Church...

The 1st Catholic Parish in AMERICA!!

Today, Scott & I  saw the most shiniest Mercedes ever...Is that like, Platinum?

Exploring the Old Fort in St. Augustine...

Castillo de San Marcos...The amazing ruins of a spanish fort originally established in 1695

 

Where the Spainards used to sleep...

The Court Yard.

KA-BOOM! We bought these beauties from Mexico sometime in the 18th Century.

One of four look-out points at the fort.....Back in the day...you did not enter St. Augustine, Florida unnoticed.

AMERICANA at it's best. St. Augustine...so refreshing.

Love & Miss Everyone!!! XXXOOO
Michelle, Scott & Jib

All Aboard!!

Scott & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on October 3rd. Love you babe.

  After 6 long weeks apart the Schapker family is finally back together! :)  
I flew back to Florida on Tuesday & we are settling back into life together on Malaika.

Jib's back home on the beach!  All grown up too.

   Scott & Jib have already reacclimated to boat life since they have been here for awhile. I'm super happy to be on the boat...but I have been forgetting little things here & there. Like, turning off the propane when I'm done with the stove,  not running the faucet like there is a never ending supply of water, not considering the cloudy rainy skies we've had all week....

It is sooooo HUMID in Florida right now. UGH!

Which means our solar power is dampered slightly...ahhh!!!! It's finally starting to all come back to me.  Save power, save water.....
  Scott has completed so many projects on the boat. I can not believe what a carpenter/electrician he has become.

Scott doing some new wiring for our masthead lights. Basically, BRIGHT ligthts that shine on to the deck from the mast. 
 

Scott is all harnessed in & ready to climb our 52 foot mast

Going Up

Scott way up there...screwing in our new lights.

Scott's point of view. Yikes!!

The autopilot is complete...we just have to go out & test it! 

Ladies & gentlemen, I present you with our newly installed (by my hubby) autopilot. Scott also built that shelf out of wood & fiberglass...without drilling one single hole in the boat. That box has an arm that is connected to the rudder & will steer our boat based on instructions we give it from the cockpit. Wowza. Great job honey!

I'm so proud of all the projects Scott completed. I'll show some more tomorrow!!
  We've been having trouble with the internet at the marina since I've been home. It's working today so hopefully that will continue & I can do a blog at least every other day.
Love & Miss everybody!!!
XXXOOO
Love, Michelle, Scott & Jib