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| Decision Time |
It's so hard to believe but....we are starting to try & figure out our plans to start a slow trek back to the States. Our original plan for this year was to carry on south & head towards the Dominican Republic, Grenada, etc. Heck, we even thought of making a pit stop in Cuba. However, after much consideration & a more expanded knowledge of our boat, we think it's best to spend one more hurricane season in Florida getting Malaika ready for big blue sailing. We're almost there but there are a few crucial things we still need. For instance, we need to install SSB. (Single Side Band Radio) What's that you ask? Well, the easiest way to explain it is that it's a radio that has super hero transmitting abilities.
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| Our loyal but VERY basic radio set up |
With our current radio situation we can hear people within a 10 mile radius. (which is pretty sucky actually. Most VHF's can do much better than that) With SSB, we can hear people in China. Seriously. We can also email via SSB, get weather reports, etc. A very important communication link when Internet is not a possibility...which is most of the time when you're at sea.
Another big project we need to do is our rigging. What's rigging you ask? Well, it's basically the skeleton of the boat. All those wires you see in the picture hold a major portion of the boat together...especially the mast. Obviously, a vital organ for a sailboat. If your rigging fails....it can be catostrophic. Our rigging is 26 years old. We decided last summer not to replace it yet, but at the very least, it needs a fine tuning.
I could go on & on with a list of boat projects....we need to revamp our fridge to make it more efficient, we need to fix our unoperational oven, our water tanks need updating (a huge project that will require tearing the floor out....we are undecided on that one...) Of course all these things cost a ton because they are marine projects...so we need to work this summer to pay for all this stuff. Last year, we learned how to sail. This year, we learned Malaika inside & out. Next year, Caribbean!
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| Our brother Danny having his "King of the World" moment |
On a lighter note....we are getting ready for the big Barefoot Man concert this Friday!! Yay! Such a fun time. Barefoot Man is like the Jimmy Buffet of the Bahamas & is an AWESOME time!! We had a blast last year & can't wait for this Friday. We have decided to head north after the concert & explore some of northern Abaco that we have not seen yet. We were originally going to go south to the Exumas (another island chain here in Bahamas) but we did that last year & will probably pass through there again next year on our way to the Caribbean. So...we decided to explore some new places. While things are winding down....there is still plenty of adventure in our near future! So stay tuned!
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| You never know what the future holds! |
Love--Michelle, Scott & Jib
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1 comment:
Way to you three. The "real world" hasn't changed much so take your time coming home. I think it a wise decision to look at the northern abaco some of those places we missed coming in. Exhumes can wait and btw I think they are too traveled. But that just my opinion. It's more fun off the beaten track and I didn't get that feeling when we rolled on through the exhumes last time. Such an adventure we have isn't it. We miss and love you three tons. Safe travels and give jibber a hug for me.
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