Ringing in 2012

Ringing in the New Year … always causes reason to reflect on how fortunate we are

gaining another favorite son-in-law ranks as a highlight, enjoying the spontaneities and challenges of this lifestyle, having family and friends come to experience Companion with us, meeting people from all over the world and making friends ….

Sharing a festive table on New Year’s Eve with the kids, Ben, Nannie and another couple from Holland we brought in the New Year - it is gonna be another good one - I can just tell….

                                                                                   The Hermansen’s celebrate!

Gotta toast in the new year - Em and Ben

Dale with the lovely Nannie!

Most of you know that Dale likes to plan … so for this new year …. We are going to enjoy the coasts of Panama and Costa Rica …with lots of company  (right now we have Tina with us for the next 3 weeks) …  getting Companion shipped up to Victoria BC and start the building process for our “container!”  We will take our time with each endeavor and enjoy the moments … life is short and I don’t want to miss out on anything!

Just want to say thanks to Em, Kyle and Bryce for making our holiday merry - we loved having you aboard and can’t wait till we just have a 30-mile sail for a “happy hour!” 

The traditional glasses continue - we will save these till we drink again!!  

Christmas Week

There is nothing better than sharing Companion with our kids …. Our Christmas was made very merry with the arrival of Emily, Kyle and the added bonus of Bryce!

Arriving in the afternoon of Christmas Eve the kids got settled in - heading down the causeway for what we had hoped was to be a feast on sea bass - come to find out - after the 2 mile walk that the restaurant was closed - so off to an Italian pasta feast!!  Flexibility!!  But nonetheless delicious! 

Back on Companion it was a quiet night for them as they had traveled for almost 20 hours and were ready to sleep…with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads!

Christmas Day morning.

Stockings full and little gifts under our Christmas tree … a delightful relaxed wake up call!

 The Newlyweds First Christmas

Christmas dinner was extended to our dear Dutch friends - Ben and Nannie - they crossed the Canal on the 22^nd after over 7 years in the Caribbean … lucky us to have them on board Companion for our “traditional” turkey dinner with stuffing and all the fixins’!  (Love that pressure cooker!) 

Our plan was to sail on the 26^th to the Las Perlas Islands - a lovely 34 nm sail - spinnaker launched for the first time for Em and Kyle. 

 Kyle at the helm

 Bryce and Dale rig her up and let her loose!

 To say the least - Em loved the sight!

Of course as we are cruising along - spinnaker full - the fishing reel takes off  - Bryce grabbed the pole - exclaimed “Fish ON!  A big one - see that tail!”  Well the proof is in the photo.

With all of Bryce’s might - he reeled that fish - remember it is a BIG one - all of a sudden the reel was pulled OFF the pole - the tip of the pole broke - Em jumped in to help him hold the rod - Bryce kept reeling - to no avail - the line snapped - oh so sad - but really what would we have done with an 80 pounder or better?  I’m sure we would have figured out something!  Oh well - the story is in the photo …. there are more fish in the sea!

With all of Bryce's strength!

Spinnaker is still full - gotta get her down - winds picked up - just a little chaos - but everything under control!  Just had time to catch our breath - Kyle says - “look at that “water blow!” - Whale - no not just one - look at ‘em!”   Sure enough - whales spotted - then out of nowhere - actually behind the boat comes and I am not exaggerating - 24 or more spotted dolphins - what a sight! What a gift!  They played at the bow of Companion for at least 30 minutes - such a treat to be a witness to the grace and fluidity of this mammal

Approaching the Las Perlas (the Pearles)- at low tide - the white sand beaches exposed - we were excited to get anchored so the kids could go explore the island! Perfect spot to swim, play, read and chill ….

                                                     Dale instantly sits in his spot - book in hand …

Em ready to see the sights!

 

Kyle and Bryce find their balance!

 

Another member of the Companion Embroidery Guild!

Lunchtime!

We filled our days … and they were going to quickly as far as I was concerned …

Sailing back to Panama City for a couple of days just to “tour” … the seas were relatively calm  …. We all love sitting in those front row seats watching the waves roll by … of course the fishing pole was set … waiting patiently  … this time the fishermen (all of them) brought in a nice size fish - delectable lunch of tuna steaks!! 

Anchoring in the Las Brisas Bay required an additional little bit of commotion - the dinghy dock was destroyed and a make shift pulley system to get cruisers to land was rigged up - to say the least Dale and I really looked like and acted like we had never been in one before …

“Hold on and stay still ... this thing could go over any second now!”  I call this trust!

We did finally get to have the sea bass feast - it was well worth waiting for … a whole fish, salad and plantains or fries for $8 …. 

Can’t beat that! Probably one of the best fish dinners we have ever had  … (except for the crappie dinners in Kentucky!)

Em loved her dinner!

You three made our week merry!

On our own in Panama CIty

On our own in Panama City has been a blast - now that the engines and all systems are working - 

we now have time fun ….

Waking up in the mornings - the city is quiet  - we sit on the foredeck with our coffee (mocha for me) - watching the ships go by … in and out of the Canal lane ... 

The Bridge of the Americas

We certainly have been doing our fair share of walking - especially thru the city - not knowing Spanish - difficult to know which bus to catch - so foot travel is the best with a taxi or two to get us back to the boat …

Downtown Panama City

Most of you know how I love a parade - so in the weekly English/Spanish Visitor newspaper Dale found out about the Christmas Parade … so of course - knowing how crowded a good parade can get - we left early to get a good view - what we didn’t realize was that no body shows up till an hour or so before it was to start … we had a lot of time to kill …

Almost as good Portillo’s! - street vendor delicious!

Parade expectation was great for me … when the five floats went by with about four bands - the million people were estatic!! Wish they could see the Rose Parade!  People watching was fab though ..

Where are the roses?

Getting Companion ready for Christmas is enjoyable for me - besides the regular cleaning I really enjoyed putting a little floral touch to the cockpit … Em, Kyle, Bryce are coming and want it to be festive!!

Fresh evergreen, candle and beach treasures make it merry.

Look who received a new chair as an early Christmas gift - Dale knows how to make me smile - now I can lounge as he slaves away at the helm …. Or wherever  - it will rock me to sleep I am sure!

 Even matches the hammock that hangs from the mainsail!

One more secret on how to make this first mate smile - and that is to be sure that we have enough ice for any occasion - the ice bags here are huge - about 16 pounds of ice - our freezer was workin’ overtime - plus every water container was filled with the extra  … now I am ready for my “peeps” to come … hurry up Em, Kyle and Bryce!!

Let the week begin!

The Irish .... in Panama

Sitting at the same mooring ball for a couple of weeks means meeting new folks along the way - Campbell’s Sloop moored two balls in front of us - as usual - there are heads nods good morning and a wave or two as we pass by their boat … but meeting up in the water taxi always calls for conversation - it didn’t take long for Vicki to give us her story - she is one of three delivering the Sloop from BVI’s to Tasmania - actually her adventure started in Dublin as that is where the crew originated… they also had some engine troubles so we got to be friends as they spent two weeks getting everything in order - sharing taxi rides to the supermarkets, going to the cruisers gatherings for pizza and dum sing, touring Old Town and of course we included her in our Rummikube tournaments …

Exploring the Smithsonian Marine Park was only a 2 mile walk from the Yacht Club - saw sloths and fabulous fauna and foliage - along with some pretty amazing aqua life!

Celebrating VIcki's thirtieth birthday Panama style - with her crewmate - Dermot.

Dale and I are looking forward to the Campbell Sloop’s blog - adventures to the Galapagos Islands and beyond -  they have over 8000 nm to go. What a journey!

And now we have a new country to visit - watch out Dublin and the little thatched roof cottage in the country - you never know when we might show up!!  And of course the Irish are welcome anytime in the Pacific Northwest!!

Things are getting back to normal .....

Things are getting back to normal - whatever that is …  not sure if I reported this but as we touched the Pacific waters - Companion actually did “cough” and spurt - we thought she was just getting her first gulp of her new home waters - actually we think it turned into pneumonia - ugh ….. major engine problems …. Starboard side quit totally and the Port side wasn’t happy either.

So we did what almost every cruiser that I know does  - go up to the restaurant/bar and find other cruisers and start asking around for who does great engine work … well … we got lucky - Kenny Brazil to the rescue - not only did he fix the engines - but gave Dale lessons and instructions.

Starboard side - SYMPTOM --water in the diesel - drain out the water in the Racor and check the tank for water (none found - strange) then replaced fuel filters and drained off some more water -  plus a good check - up … Where did the water (only in the starboard fuel) come from ? - bad diesel, condensation, or maybe all the rain we have had - so Dale re-caulked the filler pipe fitting with silicon and hope that will make a difference.

Port side - SYMPTONS -- a periodic whine from the belt and not spitting as much water; plus a little smoke, plus a leaky salt water pump … Kenny opened the salt water pump and found 3 broken blades on the impeller … Dale had a spare impeller so replacement was done and a new belt for the whining old belt. Companion is a happier now!!

(As you can tell Dale helped me write this portion ... a little to technical for me - but I do know what is happening and why - a HUGE improvement for me ... I will keep on learning!)

Of course - when one thing is fixed “another” causes issues … the day before Dale and Crew left Curacao he purchased one new AGM battery - because that was all they had in that country … in total we have 3 of these batteries that keep “the house” electricity ON!  When one fails they all start to crash slowly … so now we are in the market for two new ones … Dale wants to keep his first mate happy and as long as she can have ice (and propane) - life is good on Companion!  Kenny is battery shopping for us right now!!

We are filling our days waiting for Emily and Kyle - catching up on boat details …

Dale is making routes at the helm for future travels …

I am getting ready to restock the provisions - taking inventory and organizing … making sure there is enough of everything we could ever need on board … it is kind of fun now because whatever I purchase will come home with us if not used.  So no worries .... we can live at this home forever!  (well maybe?)

The toolkit is working overtime - fine-tuning all - Dale is becoming a real “grease monkey!” We need to get more degreaser to keep him and Companion clean!

Oh - gotta get out the Christmas decorations - then I will be ready for the holidays! Miss baking cookies ... but will make a trip to the bakery ... 

An Afterthought ...

An afterthought - not really …  after the blogging of our Canal journey ….

there were a couple of more photos that I thought I would share … some of my favorite moments that I actually caught on film with my new camera…

In order to cut down on the washing of glasses all day long  - Rose and Tanya devised this idea - only wash your glass when you think it is necessary …. So “Name” those water glasses!

Like family traditions in most homes - as a kid and now as the mom … we always celebrated St. Nicholas’ Day with our shoes near the hearth at home - the eve of Dec 5 - but on Companion - the Cockpit is like the “hearth at home” and was where the action was!! 

Ed, the ever entertainer and comic relief thought we should test our marital skills with an evening entertainment - more for him - than us  - with his version of “The Newlywed Game” - Girls questions first - Guys second - loads of giggling and some “what are you thinking!” statements - but anyway the Grand Prize Winners - Rose and Kurtis … I truly think Dale and I had a disadvantage - married 31 years where the kids were 1 and 2 years out …  oh well …

by the way - the grand prize was not a trip to Panama ... a brand new fresh packet of "baby/face wipes!"

Real Coffee - no more decaf for this girl - thanks Rose for switching me over -

People watching - one of my favorite of things to do …. All ages … all faces …

Sky watching … Clouds and sun amazing!  Feel that I am being looked after - every moment - every day! Thankful ….

Our Five Amigos!

Well… it is quiet now … way to quiet ... We are missing our “five amigos”…

What a treat it was to share the beginning of the 2011/12 adventure with them … getting Companion to the next destination.

Giving a little bit of insight on these sailors  - "our five amigos" … is my pleasure …. 

Kurtis …. What started out a couple of years ago with fulfilling your “childhood dream” to sail the blue seas (in the BVI’s ) …  it was Dale’s privilege to share that with you then and now you assisting Dale to complete a “major” Companion accomplishment … crossing the Canal …. Sharing the journey and Dale’s dream!  We can’t thank you enough for your tireless work ethic, sailing skills, knowledge and sense of camaraderie!

 Rose … your wonderful smile and eagerness to help was a delight …. Loved having a culinary enthusiast on board … I know you will be adding kitchen gadgets to your wish list!  Our crew never ate better … and now you can add embroidery enthusiast to your claim. Your instinctive/gut feelings were right on - you are a people person!  I miss my early morning mochas and you.

Garrett … aka: G-Man …. Your sailing skills, fun loving spirit and knowledge of mechanical and technical situations were so appreciated …  besides entertaining us with your guitar and soothing vocals … Your are one fun guy! We want to be sitting in the "front row" when you make it big!!

Tanya …. Your willingness to always take the helm and the confidence that showed in those moments was a delight to watch.  You, too - an official member of the Companion Embroidery Guild!!  And quite “the gamer” you are - “Oh Hell” takes on a whole new standard after all of the marathon games!  … loved your bubbly enthusiasm!

Ed …. “Brother” … what a treat it was for me to watch you two brothers sharing a passion and of course the song "Come Sail Away!" - your parents would be so proud and happy … we both - but especially Dale loved having you join us for Companion’s historic journey thru the Canal … your keen sense of humor and knowledge of sailing was appreciated!  Besides that .. comic relief when we needed it ... propane takes on a whole new meaning!!  

We loved having the “Life of the Party” aboard!  You are planning the “Canal Reunion?” RIght?

While I am writing this…. Let me take a minute to reflect on “my man”  - sharing the moment of finally arriving to the Canal and the journey into the first lock gave me goose bumps! 

Sharing your “dream” …. Sharing a common goal …. Sharing life with you… just thanks..

So our dear “five amigos” we want to remember our journey together and know that

                                   Mi casa es tu casa!