Back in Vero Beach July 2009

Hi everyone,
Two Pelicans is safely docked in Vero Beach . Aside from having to singlehand back , it was an uneventful trip. In Nassau I met a wonderful couple,Steve and Pam,on sv Revision who accompanied Two Pelicans from Nassau to Cat Cay and then across the Straits to Cay Biscayne where we parted; Revision heading back to Tennessee and Two Pelicans heading to Miami.
The winter was mainly spent enjoying life and making new friends in the Exumas,George Town mainly.
After leaving Nassau the new Lofrans Windlass languished on deck in its box until a suitable opportunity arose to do the switch. It took a week,reinventing the wheel as I went as parts etc are very hard to find but the Lofrans Falkon is now working wonderfully well.
I was honoured to be able to run the morning net in George Town for 6 weeks,ably assisted by David at All is Well,who did a fantastic job with the weather!! During a spell when my back gave out,I was very thankful to many 'cruisers' who offered their help,even to bringing me dinner and doing the laundry!!! Notably Steve and Jan on Mystique ;many many thanks.
Two Pelicans had a stowaway on board for 4 weeks during this time. Yup, Reggie the rat !! Oh, I had some sleepless nights listening to his scratching,wondering what vital piece of Two Pelicans would get attacked next.
Several theories have been proposed as to how he got on board; a lazy skipper leaving garbage in the dinghy or a Mason 44 that nearly sank 20 yards away from us ? Possibly Reggie jumped ship,dont you think?
He finally succumbed to poison bait set out all over the boat. Those huge rat traps dont work!! He licked the peanut butter right off the trigger plates!!
Needless to say everymorning on The Net,an update on Reggie became quite the thing !! Several boats I met on the way home asked about Reggie........his fame had spread far and wide !!
That is all for now.......the adventure continues !




I am off to Canada next week to visit with my Grandson Luke for 4 weeks.

George Town, Exumas,Bahamas 2009

Hello everyone.
Two Pelicans is in George Town in the beautiful Exumas waiting for The Friendly Islands Regatta to start on the 21st April. Last year's Regatta was a whole lot of fun.
As you can see from the photos Two Pelicans now has a much needed electric windlass,which was purchased on E Bay for a song as some parts were missing. The old Lofrans windlass was cannibalized for the wheel brake and drum;the other parts were ordered from Italy.
The remote is a commercial hoist control ( big savings over marine prices). I have yet to install the cockpit/helm remote operating switch !!
It was a bad night in Nassau before Christmas during which I reanchored 3 times manually that convinced me to start looking for an electric windlass.
Two Pelicans will be returning to Florida this summer one last time to install a larger Yanmar  4  cylinder diesel engine .Our 30 HP Yanmar has performed flawlessly,however, pushing 12 tons against a 4 knot flood tide or 35 knots of wind stretched my patience and the engine to the limit!!
I am really looking forward to flying to Toronto ,Canada in July to visit my new Grandson Luke .I wonder if he will remember me?? That's it for now.

George Town,Great Exuma, 2009

It has been a frustrating winter so far. Two Pelicans finally sailed from Nassau in a forecast lull in the weather on February 8th,only to run into a real blow from the NE which at times reached 40 knots. This made for a rather testing time out on the Yellow Bank in shallow water ......but I finally made it across to Normans Cay at the top end of The Exumas. Shifting sandbars at the narrow entrance to Normans ........Two Pelicans thudded to a halt.......swiftly unfurling the genoa I spun her around and slid into deeper water,finally taking a mooring at Shroud Cay with friends Joop and Albertein on their custom aluminium  37 foot sailboat .
No damage to TP below the waterline but some severe chafe to the full batten pockets at the leech,which I am presently repairing......  sewing the pockets shut after shortening the battens to a tight fit. The UV strip on the genoa is toast.......I will be sailing on our spare until repairs can be effected.
The next day I made it to Warderrick Wells Cay in the Exuma Park,having intended to get to Black Point .The winds wouldnt let up and the last 6 miles motoring into slabs of water to make my easterly landfall took 2 hours!
2 days later I was motoring in a dead calm the last 15 miles to Black Point,our stepping off point into the Exuma Bight for the leg to George Town on Great Exuma,some 45 miles SE.
2 days later,Friday 13th saw Two Pelicans motoring out of Dodman Cut ........with a 4 knot tidal race against her ,at timesshe was making less than 1 knot........things improved as soon as she cleared the cut..... it was a very lazy motor sail at 5 to 7 knots all the way to George Town,where I anchored at 1700.
Since arriving here I have been sheltering either on the west or east sides of this amazing harbour from 30 to 35 knots of wind brought by a series of deep lows,which finally eased last night allowing me to anchor near George Town where I will stay for a week or so stocking up and working on the sails. I also hope to receive the parts needed to install the Falkon windlass,as well as finish the V berth and install the watermaker.
More to follow.......

Two Pelicans in Nassau ......

January 5th 2009
Two Pelicans and her crew survived the Holidays .The skipper is somewhat poorer for it as he treated "TP" to an electric windlass. It arrived via Tropical Shipping last Thursday. After a rather disappointing time at Customs we will collect the 'beast' from the warehouse tomorrow.
The staff(Carl) have agreed to lower it in its crate by forklift into my 11 foot Avon inflatable!!!
I will then use the main halyard and winch to lift it on board!! It weighs 110 lbs. More to follow....
My niece Gemma was in Nassau for 2 weeks working.We managed to persuade her to visit for 2 nights and saw her off to the UK today. A great time was had by all. We took her and her fellow Nanny Nicole, to Atlantis ,downtown Nassau and to The Green Parrot for ' libations' !!
My friends Klaus and Jenny of Blue Pelican are on their way here so TP will wait for them as they have the cable and switches etc on board to connect up the new windlass!!
.......more to follow.

Happy New Year from the Bahamas. January 1st 2009

Hi everyone. Just watched an awesome Fireworks Display right overhead. I was a bit concerned in case sparks dropped on deck!! Happy New Year from Two Pelicans anchored in Nassau.