Another Day, Another Project

Life thus far on the Gloriamaris (GM) has been dedicated to projects in preparation for a sailing adventure in mid-October with one of the owners. We have made great strides in spite of weekly setbacks. The most frustrating facet is the lack of punctuality from contractors. When a contractor says, "I will be there at 9am", you cannot count on it. Time does not exist here and 9am means anytime and you just hope he means the same day. This behavior is further aggravated by the constant request to call them and remind them they are supposed to be coming to the GM. Add to that, the lack of supplies here in Progreso, and Mexico in general, and you have all the ingredients for a diet of constant frustration. 

In spite of the setbacks we have completed several projects. Here is a smattering of a few and not in any particular order.

Galley Projects

All the cabinets had aged contact shelf liner. This is horrible stuff to remove. 

After long tedious hours of scraping and cleaning in prep for painting.....

All the cabinets turned out as nice as this one

All the drawers show wear and tear and the inset wood handles had been painted over.

We sent the drawers out to be re- enforced and new laminate bottoms installed.

New coat of paint and newly varnished handles

There are several bottles of herbs and spices onboard and they were taking up valuable drawer space.

Our solution was to make drop down trays that fit inside the dead space under the upper cabinets.

Now you see 'um.......

Now you don't.

The galley sinks take a beating because salt water is used for washing dishes followed by a fresh water rinse. The salt water corroded the plumbing and has started eating away at the sinks leaving pinholes and therefore leaks under the sink.

We have been unsuccessful finding replacement sinks here, not because they are round, but because the quality of the sinks here would not withstand the marine environment.  Solution; try fiberglassing the bottom to get a few more years of life out of them and replace all the plumbing parts

Sink with fiberglass hat awaiting resin

Sinks after fiberglass has cured

Main Salon

We had some repairs to make to the main salon floor and the base of the refrigerator which meant the dreaded grinding of fiberglass. We sealed the hulls off from the main salon with large sheets of plastic so the itchy fiberglass dust would be contained. We will have to do this again when we prepare the floors for new faux Teak and Holly flooring.

Tomas the Fiberglass Contractor,  one who does show up when he says he will.

The settee in the main salon prepped for painting

Newly painted and currently awaiting new upholstered cushions

New varnish

Assorted projects

The two ladders in the forward hatch compartments needed stripping and varnishing

New varnish drying

Newly repaired compressor box awaiting its new top

A door jamb needed replacing

Newly installed and painted door jamb and door

New storage compartments made for all the little stuff. We call it the hardware store.

Organized all items into boxes and labeled. Compartment will have two doors.

Polishing brass making old hinges and door latches look almost new

Cleaning and oiling all the winches

The list goes on and on. 

Fabricate and install sump pumps for showers

Install and plumb new holding tank for toilet

Tracking hydraulic steering fluid leak and replace lines and repair leaking pump

Track down Battery charging problems and battery maintenance

Clean all cockpit storage and install new drains, as all have corroded over time, then organize contents

Sand and oil all exterior teak

Clean and polish all stainless - rigging, lifeline stanchions, fittings here and there

Clean and polish all portholes and take out old gaskets and replace with new.

Clean and organize some amount of "stuff" daily.

Track down the contractor of the day, that has not shown up with parts or services we have ordered

We spend a great deal of time moving stuff around from one area to another to create a workspace for the project of the day.

Manage our two man crew. They are very helpful and have been a joy to work with. We have had enough tasks to keep everyone busy for these past nine weeks.

Things ordered but not yet arrived

New radar set-up which we will install before the trip

New stove and gas grill

New main salon settee cushions

And, the next huge project is new flooring throughout the boat. The owners have decided to get rid of all the carpet and go with a teak and holly vinyl product called Harbor Island. This project will not start before the October trip. 

We do pull our heads out of the Gloriamaris early enough most days to see the sunset from our balcony at the hotel.

Our maid is getting creative with the towels. A wee elephant.

We have fairly decent wifi here at the hotel so we have been enjoying movies on netflix. 

However, we have to re-arrange the furniture lining it up between the foot of the bed and the wall to keep the bed from sliding across the tile floor while we sit leaning up against the headboard during movie time.

Next post will be about our outing with our Mayan friend and tour guide, Rousell to a cenote and Mayan Ruins. We took the day off to celebrate our 34th Wedding Anniversary. 

The Making of the Rings

The Garifuna of Cayos Cochinos make jewelry and one of the things they make are rings. The raw material for the rings can be found hiking the hills of Cayos, which we did. The nuts are attached to the roots of the tree and it takes careful observation to see the little swell in the soil along the root line, dig away, and voila, unearth the nut. According to our friend, Mr Sherman Arch, the nuts come from the Cajones Tree, an appropriately named tree for wedding rings one supposes. 

John had given Bryna his Granmother's ring and the thought of having this heirloom go bouncing off the bow of Leap was not a memory any of us wished to have. So we got busy devising a plan to make the rings. 

Charlie created a jig to hold the little buggers while he sliced through them with the oscillating saw.

Next step: Clean out the nutmeat

Drill bit works great

We worked back and forth between the two of us drilling out the centers to size the rings. 

Below Charlie is roughing out the shape of the outside of the rings

We continued sanding with various grits of paper until we achieved a smooth comfortable wearable shape.

For the final step we sanded with 1200 grit wet/dry paper, polishing the rings to a beautiful walnut color.

Momentos of Cayos Cochinos

Romance Leap Style

We are happy to announce the very romantic wedding of our daughter Bryna to John: who already is our son-in-law, as the two had a civil ceremony this past March. We did not make the trek home because Bryna and John wanted to have a tropical wedding and sailing vacation somewhere, sometime. Alas, the time FINALLY came! They arrived in Roatan two days before their upcoming ceremony allowing us time to show them around French Cay Harbor. 

When they first arrived we recommended a photo be taken while Leap was neat and tidy. She doesn't stay that way long even when it's just the two of us.

Checking things out

We took them to Temporary Cal's on their first night for a sundown dinner. Cal's has a spectacular view and fabulous food. If you ever visit Roatan, dining at Temporary Cal's is a must.

It was a bit windy.

Visiting Mr Sherman Arch's Iguana Preserve

We arrived a bit late for feeding time but a few iguanas were still holding out for last minute treats

The gift shop. The best deal on Roatan that we have found for Honduran made items.

Some of the other residents

Snorkeling in Mr Sherman Arch's Lobster Park - L to R: John, Bryna, Karen

John took the following photos in the marine park. 

Bryna with a curious lobster

One of the largest Cowfish we have ever seen

Karen leaving behind a school of assorted fish.

Mr Sherman Arch's pet Barracuda, Rocket: a fat and sassy 4 to 5 footer who expects treats when humans are near.

Bryna's hand for a size comparison. A large hermit crab.

The remains of a sea urchin 

A small ray cruising the turtle grass.

Karen (L) and Bryna (R) checking things out.

On Sunday July 13 at 11am the ceremony began onboard Leap with Captain Charlie presiding, followed by a reception at the Caye Harbor View Lodge. 

Our friend Johnny filmed the ceremony with our iPad from the Bosuns chair: a seat used to go up the mast to do repairs and maintenance. It was his idea, so we hoisted him up the mast and he filmed the whole ceremony perched above the Bride and Groom. Now we just have to get better at this iMovie editing and get the movie posted to the blog.

Bryna

The Bouquet and Ring

The Bouquet and Two Rings - the ring story deserves a paragraph of its own

Bryna, John and The Cake

The Cake - the owner of Caye Harbor - Donna - made the cake. A Mango Upside Down Cake using my recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Donna thought the sheet cake needed more pizazz and asked me if it would be alright to make it tiered with a bundt cake on top, because bundt cakes are well liked here. I said sure, and then she said, she would add some flowers for decoration.  Well what else could you ask for? It was gorgeous and yummy. 

Our plans for a big " cruiser party" were somewhat thwarted by the late date. So many of our cruiser friends moved on to cooler climes or safer waters (think hurricane season). Nonetheless we had a good turn out and a good party. John and Susie on "Cabaret" set up their sound system and Susie did what Susie loves, play music and dance. We wish to thank everyone who attended. Your presence added to the joy of the day.

The Bride - on the left 

The Groom

The Proud Parents

Dancing with Dad

.....then Susie from Cabaret

......then John from Cabaret

The "parking lot"

End of Day Splash

Now For Some Sailing With The Newlyweds

Monday morning we hauled anchor and sailed to Cayos Cochinos, one of our special places we wanted to share with Bryna and John. We enjoyed snorkeling, hiking, relaxing and imbibing sundowners.  The stay at Cayos was too short but it gives the newlyweds something to look forward to on their next trip.

Leaving French Cay Harbor

And yes, we arrived at our mooring before dark!

Sights and Hikes

Bryna and John preparing for a snorkel

They're off

...and they're back. Yes, that is Bryna rolling in the surf with her very own elegant entry back onto the beach.

.....and she's up.

Hiking scenes - Assorted Photos taken by all of us.

Boa constrictor #1

Boa constrictor #2

The Nest- Honestly, what was this mother thinking? She wasn't planning on any storms coming along.

This is not a tree to use for a hand hold while hiking.

A beach heart for the couple

More crabs to play with, but in this case a deceased one.

Any shelter in a storm. Bryna calls him, Hobo Crab.

Assorted Rock Formations

Forward Ho!

Leap - patiently waiting for our return for sundowners and dinner.

One cannot visit Cayos Cochinos without meeting Fausto, a local Garifuna. He travels out from the village selling fish and jewelry that is made by the Garifuna.  Bryna and John purchased some very nice souvenirs at very reasonable prices.

More Snorkeling Adventures - underwater photos by either John or Bryna

Bryna

John exploring the depths

Our last night in Cayos Cochinos. Tomorrow we head to Little Cayos for a morning swim and snorkel, then an afternoon sail back to West End Roatan.

Adventures on Little Cayos Cochinos

Snorkeling

Charlie attempting to get a very large puffer fish to puff, but the puffer is staying just beyond his reach.

Bryna hanging out

John checking on the residents in the sea fans

Beach time

Bamboo driftwood

Drummin' on the ole' bamboo

Bryna and John soaking it all in before setting sail for West End Roatan

The inevitable plane trip home was out of Roatan International Airport so we reluctantly hoisted anchor again, leaving Cayos behind, setting sail for West End, Roatan: another one of our favorite places. The winds were plentiful, the sails full and then too full, so we reefed the sails and eased into a beautiful day of sailing. John and Bryna had no intention of turning over the helm to our old friend "Otto Auto" and thus took turns steering Leap and giving our old friend a break. 

If we had not been in a marine park this Hog Snapper would have been dinner

Trigger Fish

 

Charlie found this crab claw on the bottom and no crab insight.  

Moray - probably around 6 ft long under a ledge about 40ft deep.

Not sure what the green spotted glow in the dark formation is.

Leap on her mooring in West End waiting patiently again

John and Bryna enjoying hammock time on the foredeck

Time to dry things out for packing.

The day of departure was sad indeed and came far to quickly. We did not accompany the pair to the airport because we had to get underway and head to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. Our appearance date for our new job was fast approaching and we had a 136 mile sail ahead of us. So instead, we hoisted anchor for the first leg of our trip setting sail for Utilla to check out of Honduras and say goodbye to friends we would be leaving behind for a while. John and Bryna left on a Sunday and by Tuesday morning we were on our way to the Rio Dulce.