Adventures of a Once Reluctant Sailor

Welcome to the cruising blog of Wayne and Michele Sharp! Join us as we chronicle our journeys and adventures aboard our s/v Lena Bea, an Island Packet 445. Our maiden voyage in 2007 was from Bayfield, Wisconsin on Lake Superior via the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, Eastern Seaboard, and ICW to Punta Gorda, Florida. We traveled to the Exuma Cays in the Bahamas in 2009 and 2011, and also to the Ragged Islands in 2011. Our most recent trip in April and May, 2013, was to the Abacos, Bahamas.

Welcome to the cruising blog of Wayne and Michele Sharp!

If you want to learn a little bit about cruising, satisfy your curiosity, live vicariously, or be entertained, I think you've come to the right place.

Feel free to ask questions or post comments in the comment section of each post; I will respond to all of them. You can also email us at reluctantsailor@me.com.

We've written a book based on the blog from our first journey in 2007 - Adventures of a Once Reluctant Sailor: A Journey of Guts, Growth, and Grace. It is available online from my website at reluctantsailor.net, and from Apostle Islands Booksellers, Copperfish Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Your local bookstore can also order it for you. We've included over 170 color and black and white photos.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Heading out after Hope Town

Today, after two and a half lovely days with friends in Hope Town and exactly one month in the Abacos, we begin our trek back to Florida. Tonight we will travel only about fifteen miles to anchor off the south end of Lynyard Cay. Tomorrow we plan to continue south/southwest about thirty miles in the Atlantic, round the south end of Great Abaco Island, and cross Northeast Channel about seventy miles to an anchorage on the north end of the Berry Islands at Great Stirrup Cay. Friday, depending on conditions, we will either spend the night anchored off Cat/Gun Cay or travel about twenty mile farther and anchor off Riding Rock. Saturday conditions look good for crossing the gulf stream to Florida. We should be back in Punta Gorda on May 21 or 22. We are ready to be home.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer two-day finale than what we've had with Ginny, Chris, Chuck, Betsy, Mary, and Rich in Hope Town, our favorite spot. We've enjoyed chatting and hanging out together, exploring the town, walking the beach, climbing the lighthouse and basking in the view, and of course, eating together.

Monday evening Ginny and Chris made THE BEST cracked conch, and we enjoyed dinner by one of the pools at the marina, which we had all to ourselves. We ended the evening with a hotly competitive game of Catch Phrase (the women won best of three games).

Yesterday the shuttle from Sea Spray Marina, on the south end of Elbow Cay, picked us up and brought us down there for dinner. They had a barbecue buffet, which was yummy and reasonably priced, live music, and a limbo party, complete with a dramatic blazing finale. A very fun evening.

My next blog post will probably be on Saturday from Florida. If you would like to track our progress, I have moved our Spot locator link to the top of the lefthand column (it got lost on the bottom of the page).

I'll leave you with a few more photos from Hope Town.

We climbed 101 steps to the top

Lena Bea, at end of long dock
Ginny C in front and Change across from them

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Basic information about Lena Bea

Lena Bea is an Island Packet 445 sailboat. She is a cutter rig, which means that there is a main sail, a forward sail (called a jib, or Genoa), and a sail in between (called a staysail). This combination provides a lot of flexibility in different wind conditions. All sail controls are run to the cockpit for ease of adjustment and safety.

Lena Bea also has an asymmetrical spinnaker, or gennaker, which is a colorful 1,400 square foot sail shown in one of the photos in our blog. This is used in lighter air when going mostly downwind.

The boat is also powered by a 75hp Yanmar turbo diesel, and has a Maxiprop feathering propeller. The propeller adjusts pitch for optimum thrust in forward or reverse, and the blades are straight back when sailing for reduced drag.

ELECTRONICS

The heart of the system is two Raymarine E80 displays, one at the helm, and one at the navigation station. These are 8” displays networked together by a switch. They are used for a chart plotter (electronic charts and GPS), radar, Sirius weather, AIS (commercial ship identification). The displays are connected to wind, speed, and depth instruments and provide navigation information and calculations. This equipment is used for route planning, to show current position, and to provide an abundance of information to help with navigation. They are also connected to the auto pilot, the VHF Radio, a wireless remote, and a Life Tag System.

The auto pilot can steer the boat on a compass heading, by wind angle, or to a waypoint. We use it often to free us up to do other tasks, but one of us is always on watch.

The VHF Radio is our primary means of communication with marinas, other boats, and for local weather information. It has current location information which can be immediately broadcast in an emergency.

The wireless remote lets us run the auto pilot from anywhere on the boat, and displays other information.

The Life Tag System includes wireless devices that we wear. If someone were to fall off, an alarm would sound, the position captured and displayed, and all navigation is automatically changed to the MOB (man overboard) location.

GENERATOR

Lena Bea has an 8kw MasPower generator, powered by a 12.9hp Yanmar diesel. The generator provides electricity that is used for charging batteries, heating water, running electrical outlets, and running the air conditioners/heaters.

INVERTER

Lena Bea has a Prosine 1800 watt inverter. This provides AC power from the 6 house batteries. We generally just power the outlets for computers and small appliances.

BATTERIES AND CHARGING SYSTEMS

Almost everything on the boat is powered by 12 volt batteries There are 8 AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) batteries on Lena Bea. These are completed sealed batteries that can function even if inverted, and they can handle a lot of charge/discharge cycles. One battery is for the engine, one is for the generator, and 6 are for the house. They are 90 amp hours each.

Batteries are charged by an electric battery charger, which is powered from shore power or the generator. They are also charged by a high output alternator and regulator when the engine is running. They can also be charged by 2 130 watt solar panels, which are connected via a Blue Sky controller.

AIR CONDITIONING

Lena Bea has 2 Climma reverse cycle air conditioners. They operate like a heat pump, using sea water which is pumped through the systems. A 16,000 BTU system is located in the main salon and also vents to the forward cabin. A 7,000 BTU system is located in the aft cabin (our cabin). They each have a thermostat, and require 120 volts AC, so we need to be on shore power or run the generator to use them.

WATERMAKER

A Spectra Ventura 150 watermaker was added in 2009. This allows us to run sea water through a filtering and reverse osmosis process to replenish our water tanks. It can produce about six gallons of water per hour.

DINGHY AND OUTBOARD

We have a 10.2' Walker Bay Genesis dinghy with a 15 hp Honda outboard. This is our taxi for getting us to shore when anchored or for exploring.

CAPACITIES

Diesel Fuel - 160 gallons

Water - 260 gallons

Hot Water - 10 gallons

Holding Tank - 55 gallons

Read what the critics are saying about the Lena Bea blog:

"The blogosphere equivalent of a page-turner! It will leave you clutching your mouse in suspense!" --Anonymous

"Gather the family around the computer with a bowl of popcorn! This heart-warming romp aboard Lena Bea is fun for all ages!" --Anonymous

"Destined to be a classic, right alongside Moby Dick and Mutiny On the Bounty!" --Anonymous

"An emotional ride on the open seas that will keep you coming back for more!" --Anonymous

"Lena Bea is the most compelling boating adventure since "Gilligan's Island!" --Anonymous

"A spirited saga of two savvy sailors, steaming with suspense and surprises!" --Anonymous

"This could be the blog of the year, if not the decade!" --Anonymous

"Two sails up!" --Anonymous

Admiral Michele's Laws of Cruising

1. The greater your need to dock, the less likely the marina is to have space available.

2. If you're planning to anchor, you'll likely be forced to dock because there's no place to anchor.

3. If you are docking, there will be a strong wind, most likely from the least desirable direction.

4. If you put fenders and dock lines on the port side, they will need to be on the starboard side, and vice versa.

5. As soon as you put up your sails, the wind will either die or change to an undesirable direction. This likelihood is directly related to the degree of hassle involved in putting up said sails.

6. If you have a good, steady wind, it's probably on your nose.

7. Prevailing winds? HA!

Adventures of a Once Reluctant Sailor

Welcome to the cruising blog of Wayne and Michele Sharp!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Heading out after Hope Town

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2007 Trip from Bayfield, Wisconsin to Punta Gorda, Florida

2009 Trip to the Exumas, Bahamas

2011 Trip to the Exumas and Ragged Islands, Bahamas