Lora's Rainbow

Lora, Tris (Steve's girlfriend) and Steve are fist timers on the island of St. Thomas so we spent the day doing the town. Our taxi driver showed us several scenic vistas and dropped us of at Blackbeards Castle. We took a walking tour which included lots of pirate stuff and several historic homes. Then we hit the downtown area and did the tourist thing. Met a few interesting locals including a woman who lived on a sailboat for many years and crossed the Atlantic a  few times. She and her husband lost their boat in a hurricane a few years back so now they live in St. Thomas. The sun was shining all day until we got in the taxi then it started to rain. It stopped just before we reached our hotel. Lora took this shot from the moving cab during the brief rain shower. She also took 447 other pictures today, but we won't bore you with those. They'll be nice to look at during the crossing when we haven't seen land in a while.

 

-Lora, Tris, Steve

The Crew Arrives!

April 30, 2008

Rusty and I arrived at the hotel/resort around the same time and after unloading our bags we did some exploring in Rusty’s rental car. We bought our jerry cans for the trip and also checked out a discount grocery store a few miles away where the cost savings will be well worth the extra time spent driving. Right there, two of the tasks set aside for the 2^nd were accomplished. We also stopped by the boat and saw excellent progress on the lights as well as battery situation. This is huge and makes the extra day for VIP to work on the boat, all the wiser decision.

Except for Scott, all of the crew arrived in St. Thomas right on schedule. As an extra added benefit, Mindy (Pete’s wife) and Tris (Steve’s friend) joined us for the 2 ½ days we’ll be around! Unfortunately the hotel we are staying at is under construction and there only VERY limited food facilities on the premise. With that in mind, we took a cab to American Yacht Harbor and had dinner at a sports bar right on the dock. It was a short cab ride so it’ll be something we’ll do again and again until we set sail on May 3^rd.

We are thrilled that our trip is being followed so close by so many. That really is fortunate for us and we just hope you get some enjoyment out of our adventure. We are also thrilled to hear that our trip is being used for educational purposes for some friends who are doing home schooling. There is a slight chance that another school will be using our trip to educate children with lessons in geography, match, science, and history. With the education spin in mind, we’ll be challenging everyone with some educational questions from time to time.

Tomorrow, May 1^st 2008 is planned to be a play day….but we’ll see about that. Some I know are planning to go into Charlotte Amalie to do some shopping and sightseeing, while others will just lounge around the resort. I suspect Rusty and I may try to clear up some incidentals on the boat like establishing the satellite connection but its too early to tell right now.

Pete

Day 5 Shakedown Cruise 4-28 & 4-29

April 28, 2008 (The Evening)

Once back on the boat from sending the latest update, we just sat around and talked, and talked, and talked. The conversations continued well through dinner and into the early evening when it dawned on me, I need to charge the boat’s house batteries by starting the engine. The engine would not start. Nothing. I tried multiple options I had thought I had known over seven years ago but that failed and then I remembered the old jumper cables. I figured it was worth a try to jump the house batteries to the ships batteries and with only a little bit of hassle, it worked! We charged the house batteries and refrigerator cold plate and I hoped the engine batteries. After an hour, I shut the engine down, tried it again and it worked…..barely. The test will be in the morning.

April 29, 2008

In the morning we awoke to pouring rain but we remained dry. The indication from the engine is, it will not start without a little help from its friends. If all else fails we can sail to VIP and they can tow us in but it is painfully obvious the new alternator did not do the trick. After a discussion with Sheri, we decided we would end this trip one day sooner than anticipated in order to give them time to work on the boat. What a shame, but as Sheri said, everything has to be right for the delivery trip. We’ll wait for Kelly to wake up, eat breakfast, and sail on to VIP.

Clearing Customs was a breeze and even going through Customs was painless this time! We arrived back at VIP a little after 11:00 AM and caught a quick ride to Emerald Beach Resort where we’ll spend the night.

In the morning Sheri and Kelly fly home to civilization while I shift to Sapphire Beach Resort and wait for Mindy, Tris and the remainder of the crew.

This ends the shakedown cruise.

Pete