Carnival

On April 30th Mariana and I made our way to Philipsburg for the 2014 Carnival parade. (We actually set out to do some shopping but since it was Carnival everything was closed. We had no complaints.) 

May 1st: Our first sail with Tarka! Thanks to Jean Luca we braved the calm conditions of the Lagoon :)

Headed to the beach with our friend Jacques in search of a BBQ.

I guess we found it!

Dylan is a pro chef.

Margie and Jacques

The search for spf 300 begins...

Friends with Boats

Well we've been here almost 7 weeks. These pictures took place during weeks 4 and 5 but whatever.  

We've been checking projects off the list, adding new projects, and checking those off the list, then doing projects that weren't even on the list to begin with and adding them to the list just so we can check them off (it helps keep us motivated).  We've got an awesome dinghy, the outboard has been overhauled, the diesel has been tweaked, the toilet has been fixed, the water tanks flushed and filled, the mast tuned, the sails hanked, and the interior is coming together quite nicely, and while it's feeling a bit more like 'home', we suspect it will be a work in progress for some time.  

In the meantime, we've been meeting some incredible people from all over the world. 

We have a dingy!! Shipped all the way from the good 'ol US of A 

Our friend Mark helping us with the first launch.

The meals are getting better. Although it's still scrambled eggs...

Beer, beer, wine, and some food. This is not recommended for cruising because glass is a bad idea and fridge space will be too valuable to waste on booze, but while you're at the dock - (in my Aunts words) "It's all good!" 

Stocking up. You're supposed to have three months worth of food on your boat so when you run out of money (and you will) you have a roof over your head and enough food to last you till you get a job.

New sheets, it's like a real bedroom! At least twice as big as the truck was :)

Jon and our neighbor Renee hoist me up the mast to check the lights, put up the wind vein, and snap a picture.

Boat improvements.

Nice work Jon! New lights and a second fan.

Our friends David and Mariana in their 28 ft. Morgan, "Planet Caravan"

Our friends Matt and Hillary in their 34 ft. Luders, "Varuna"

Grilling with our sagacious friends Ross and Laurna who have been around the world- 3 or 4 times now?  We think they've lost count but the stories are priceless.  Their boat is to the right, not pictured.

And of course, Jean "Island Boy" Lucas, our right hand man whom we call when the going gets tough.

Moving onto Tarka

With Tarka in the water we officially have a new home.

(There are a lot of links with this blog, but they are all awesome!!!) (I may be bias)

Tarka: 

Boat type: Albin Vega, hull number 1639 of more than 3,000 built in Sweden

Length: 27 feet

Width: 8 feet

Standing Head Room: 5' 10'' (great for me, not so great for Jon)

Draft: 4' 6"

Weight: 5,000 lbs empty, 6,000 lbs loaded

Sloop rigged

Cutaway Full Keel

Sail Area/Displacement ratio: 17 (a fast boat, even in light wind)

2005 Beta Marine Diesel with 800 hours

And She's been around the world. Click here for the story of that voyage that took place in 1985. 

And Here to see her her rebuilt in 2005 by Alan and Felicity (the owners before Lindsey and Margie).

And finally Here if your interested in more info on the Albin Vega 27. Which you should be. Because they're the best.

A fridge?! Yup. Jon gets cold beer.

Discovering all the goodies that came with the boat.

All of my cloths fit neatly behind the seat.

Dishware included!  

Starting to feel like home!

My first meal on our alcohol stove: scrambled eggs. 

Jon servicing the winches. 

Cleaning the sails.

And sometimes you have to have drinks on the fancy Catamaran your friends are watching.With our boatyard neighbors Matt and Hillary.  Click here to check out what they've done to their boat!

Three generations of Tarka owners (plus Hillary - HA!)

Alan and Felicity (Owners of Tarka before Lindsey and Margie and the maker of our current sails) having a look at the condition of the sails. They estimate they have 4-6 years of sailing in them. Sweet!!

Putting up the sails!!

A couple of island sign for ya: