Crotch straps

So one of the things I wanted to do here in Stuart, is to retro fit crotch straps to my life jackets. It appears that there have been situations where life jackets have come up and over the person wearing them.

Easy enough to do and they are only $10 a piece.
Meanwhile look at the brilliant sunset tonight.

That photo goes out to all the people working in cubicles. Don't give up on your dreams.

inReach message from Peter Ryan

This is a test to see if I can update my blog from my new Inreach satellite device so I can communicate offshore.

View the location or send a reply to Peter Ryan: https://explore.delorme.com/textmessage/txtmsg?extId=46201121-27ce-45a5-9610-cb6a715491d8&adr=onapua.ws32%40blogger.com

Peter Ryan sent this message from: Lat 27.198426 Lon -80.260813

Do not reply directly to this message.

This message was sent to you using the DeLorme inReach two-way satellite communicator with GPS. To learn more, visit http://www.delorme.com/inReach/

Inreach from Delorme

I just splashed out and purchased an Inreach satellite device from Defender for $260 so that I could communicate when i sail offshore. Typically I lose cell phone communication a few miles away from cell towers which leaves me in the dark when it comes to weather when i sail over the horizon. Often times I have to sail close to shore so that I can pick up the internet and then I download grib files from Passage Weather.

I chose a yearly plan for $50 per month and have the capability of sending and receiving 160 character texts to email addresses and SMS messages to cell phones. It also tracks my location and you can see where I am at

https://share.delorme.com/PeterRyan

(A lot of people would prefer not to be tracked but in my case it is a good thing!) It has an SOS feature which similar to my EPIRB would notify search and rescue. I can post to my facebook account and also update my blog with short messages. The most important thing to me however is getting the weather and here I use a service offered by Martin le Roux who lives near Boulder,  CO. I send a short TXT to wx2inreach@gmail.Com and it sends me the forecast at my location. For example if I
send "wx now io," this is what I get along with a translation:

Th 10pPtCldW10mi51F Fr 6aClrSW16mi42F 2pLtRn70%NE18mi59F 10pCldW19mi48F Sa Sno2in87%14/23F Su HvyRn83%N9mi41/50F

Thursday 10pm: Partly cloudy, west wind 10 mph, 51°F Friday 6am: Clear, southwest wind 16 mph, 42°F Friday 2pm: Light rain, PoP 70%, northeast wind 18 mph, 59°F Friday 10pm: Cloudy, west wind 19 mph, 48°F Saturday: Snow 2", PoP 87%, no wind, low 14°F, high 23°F Sunday: Heavy rain, PoP 83%, north wind 9 mph,  low 41°F, high 50°F

I have finally installed a refrigerator

One of the things I wanted to do here in Stuart, was to install a fridge. I found a drop in model made by Engel, who have a showroom near so I could take a look at it. Well after I got here I started thinking about the $1000 it was going to cost me and I decided against it. Well yesterday I happened to call into Marine Liquidation in Ft. Pierce and they had almost the same drop in fridge made by Domestic for $400. So I couldn't resist and I spent the day installing it. I started out cutting away at my icebox thinking I would just have to remove a couple of small areas.

In the end I had to cut away at my icebox a lot more than I had anticipated and it took me the better part of a day to do it but it's working and keeping my milk cold and saving me from running around finding ice all the time.

I still have to finish it off and make it look nice around the top borders.

Stuart, Florida

Beautiful sunset here after fierce thunderstorms rolled through last night.

I am busy with boat chores at present. Yesterday I went out and bought a new head because my 2 year old one had developed spider web cracks and was leaking. I also cleaned out my raw water strainer which was full of seaweed.

Today I am planning to change the oil and filter in my engine.
Here is a video of my trip over here from Port Lucaya.

Freeport, Bahamas to Stuart, Florida

After almost 6 weeks in Taino Beach resort, I crossed over the gulf Stream last night with mainly South winds and flat seas. It was quite lumpy leaving Port Lucaya into the teeth of a SE breeze of just 15 knots, but once I turned towards Florida, the downhill run became a delight. I did have to turn the motor on again in the middle of the night for a short while because the Gulf Stream was pushing me too far north.

They say that red sky in the morning means bad weather but there isn't any in the forecast.
I want to do a few things here in Florida including installing an Engel fridge, replacing my head, installing full length battons in my main sail and getting a new Inreach communication device. I am toying with the idea of sailing to Bermuda and the afterwards to Maine. All weather dependent of course.

Snorkeling here at Taino Beach in the Bahamas

Picture perfect day here in the Bahamas so we went snorkeling off the beach here at the Taino resort.  Just a short video showing some of the reef and me feeding the fish some chicken meat. You can view the short video here.