tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:21:44 +0000S/V Starshine is a Shannon 38 that was bought in early 2007. This is our log of upgrades, work and travels!http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Gail)Blogger36125GoodMorningStarshinehttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-516529216888266587Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:21:00 +00002011-10-23T15:21:44.820-04:00We have been reading recently about the Blue Whales feeding off the coast of Long Beach and this weekend on the way to Catalina and back we ran into a pod of them (both days). There were 8 or 10 whales at times all around us, some closer than we were really comfortable with! At one point two or three cruised right in front of the boat and we almost ran over them. They were much bigger than the http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2011/10/blue-whales.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-9089404106660385514Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:57:00 +00002011-08-29T16:27:57.083-04:00 Looking over the previous posts, I cannot believe it has been over a year since the last one! Reading these posts and the blogs of our other sailor friends make Dave and I eagerly anticipate our next voyage to the South Pacific. We have certainly been keeping busy though, not only with our work but with our many land bound trips and excursions as well. Last year for my birthday, we http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2011/08/summer-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-258872395817155417Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:57:00 +00002010-07-02T12:18:04.471-04:00Starshine is now in her new home in Long Beach, California. We had a cold, uneventful motor-sail up from Ensenada, Mexico last weekend. There was almost no wind for the entire 160 miles and we stopped in San Diego to check in and get fuel. It was quite a difference sailing into one of the world's busiest ports (LA) after many miles off the beaten track in the Caribbean. There are even huge oil http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/07/final-leg-completed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-2396164399693139921Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:20:00 +00002010-06-08T17:42:59.669-04:00 Starshine is ready for loading on the Beluga Fantasy, 06/03/10. After transiting the Panama Canal, she should be off-loaded in Ensenada, Mexico on or about June 20. We have a slip lined up for her in Long Beach where we will sail for the next few years as we get her ready for our next adventure. I also helped Trevor load up Lea Scotia (below) on the same ship in Port Everglades. She is bound forhttp://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/06/ride-on-beluga-fantasy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-3375409282289179542Wed, 05 May 2010 23:53:00 +00002010-05-05T20:35:19.676-04:00The last long leg in our circumnavigation of Cuba was a 4 day passage from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to Key West, Florida. This should have been a 350 mile trip but ended up being more like 450 due to a strong current and wind pushing us north from Mexico before we could turn East and head for the Florida Keys. The good news is that we sailed almost the entire way. My crew, Chris, showed off his http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/05/wahoo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-63059379173667343Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:36:00 +00002010-04-14T17:30:14.182-04:00It has been a few weeks since our last post because of so much activity! We did end up spending several weeks in Belize checking out quite a few of their cays. The snorkeling was amazing at Rendezvous Cay! We also stopped and visited several cities, notably Placentia and San Pedro. We stayed at San Pedro anchorage several days longer than expected because of the infamous motor issue, but finally http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/04/mexico.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-7978137941920966703Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:56:00 +00002010-04-14T16:35:09.962-04:00Cruising is all about the ups and downs ... First, one of the highlights of our trip - Mahi Mahi sashimi! I finally decided to use one of the many flying fish to land on the deck as bait on the fishing lure since I was having no luck with the lure by itself. That did the trick, I got a hit in less than an hour. As I reeled it in, the first thing we noticed was the bright colors of the fish, http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/belize-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-5908546382179941213Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:08:00 +00002010-04-14T17:38:12.553-04:00We are currently in Roatan, Honduras and what a trip it has been! From Jamaica, we sailed for two days and two nights to Grand Cayman, about 230 miles. We had a great broad reach in about 15-20 knots and arrived with no problems. We checked in at George Town and anchored off the town for a few days. We went around to North Sound and tied up in the new Barcadere Marina for a few days and got a http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/central-america.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-2978445160580037681Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:52:00 +00002010-03-20T17:35:15.811-04:00Cayman Islands will always be one of my favorite islands on this voyage as Dave and I were married at Smith's Cove on 11 March there! I must have passed all the sailing tests that Dave could think of and he ran out of excuses. Seriously, it was a wonderful day and a beautiful location. We only wish that many more of our family and friends could have been in attendance. We are so glad though that http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/wedding-in-cayman-islands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-771901121822279121Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:53:00 +00002010-03-03T16:17:08.916-05:00Still in Jamaica but now on the Western end at Montego Bay. Left Port Antonio on Friday with "Blue Jay" and hopped along the north side of the island to Orcabessa and Discovery Bay. Montego Bay is the second largest city in Jamiaca and there are now 2 huge cruise ships here too.Once we got to Jamaica, we have stopped seeing many US and Canadian boats (they must all be in the Bahamas). We have methttp://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/montego-bay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-4201228702007300785Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:28:00 +00002010-02-21T13:07:58.675-05:00We left Provo, Turks and Caicos on Thursday morning for our longest passage yet, 350 miles in 55 hours to Port Antonio, Jamaica. And what a trip it was! The first day, we sailed out the Caicos Bank past West Caicos and then South past Great Inagua, the last Bahamas Island. We had great wind on a broad reach and flew at up to 7.5 knots. By Friday morning, we were in the Windward Passage between http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/02/jamaica.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-6704878459729674980Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:39:00 +00002010-02-16T12:47:35.951-05:00The journey continues as we left Clarence Town on Long Island and headed to Provo at Turks and Caicos. However, we made a pit stop at Landrail Point on Crooked Island which was a 40 mile sail. The snorkeling on the coral reefs was fun as we saw a sea turtle among the myriad of fish. He was content to hang out until Dave tried to dive down for a closer look. That turtle then took off like a http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/02/turks-and-caicos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-4869655267381104496Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:24:00 +00002010-02-07T09:20:56.242-05:00We are officially in the Tropics as we passed the Tropic of Cancer latitude of 23 deg 27 min and no complaints here as the weather has been in the high 70s, humid, and sunny every day. Our thoughts go out to our friends in D.C. area which we understand received two feet of snow this weekend! That is why I have enclosed a beautiful sunset that was taken a few days ago from Cape Santa Maria for http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/02/tropics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-4405848796386387301Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:03:00 +00002010-01-31T09:58:59.651-05:00Greetings from the end (almost) of the Bahama chain of islands. The last two weeks have been amazing as we have explored the islands in the Exumas with so many memories. One of my favorite is trying to feed the boars (pigs) at Big Majors/Staniel Cay. We had arrived in the afternoon for anchor and then dinghyed over about 5:00 in the evening with our carrots to feed them. The stories I heard were http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/01/georgetown.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-6874608973531309140Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:56:00 +00002010-01-15T13:03:48.559-05:00The weather is finally warm, we are anchored in Nassau and I finally feel like we have escaped! Have been so busy working on Starshine for the last 6 weeks but now I am enjoying Island Time. We had a great overnight sail from Bimini to Nassau, 120 miles in about 24 hours. We went across the Great Bahama Bank, through the Northwest Channel and across the Tongue of the Ocean into Nassau. We plan tohttp://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/01/nassau.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-2501811904613536787Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:06:00 +00002010-01-10T15:37:57.336-05:00We made it to the Bahamas! Finally had a window on Friday and left early in the morning at 3:00 AM and arrived at noon. The sail over was beautiful and I was able to capture the sunrise. The boat on the horizon is "No Keys" that our friends Chris and Louise own and we followed over from Miami. The other picture is Dave and I that evening having fresh lobster dinner on their boat. It was such http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/01/bimini.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-7637075932522159914Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:16:00 +00002010-01-05T11:36:41.615-05:00Arrived at South Miami Beach yesterday - land of the beautiful people. Too bad that we can't see them because everyone is bundled up against the cold. It is 40s at night and 60s during the day - not really that cold - but on a boat seems much colder, especially to those of us from California. Oh well, it can only get warmer as we head south. The current plan assuming the weather holds is to http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2010/01/miami-beach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-9199696727495352476Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:45:00 +00002010-01-05T11:16:31.204-05:00It is New Year's Eve and we have made it to Lake Worth just north of Fort Lauderdale. I am quickly learning that sailing is all about the weather. Every evening is the discussion on the plan for the next day with respect to weather conditions and places to anchor. We left Indian Town yesterday and made it to Stuart. Today we motored down the ICW 30 miles to arrive at Lake Worth. Beautiful day http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/12/lake-worth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-7621143710174436086Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:49:00 +00002009-12-25T00:53:23.285-05:00Merry Christmas to everyone and here's hoping you have an amazing, wonderful new year in 2010!Dave, here's to our new web site. Merry Christmas. Love you baby! Three more days.... Can you handle it?http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/12/merry-christmas_25.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-5163237030349846558Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:11:00 +00002009-12-23T10:16:58.382-05:00Last week I met Dave in Florida to prep the boat and get it ready to launch in the water. What a learning experience! Of course we had to start off the week by doing it right and attending a boat show in St. Pete. Dave was pulled into a conversation on the pros and cons of all the attributes of fishing poles (who knew??) while I watched a cooking demonstration. Sadly for the boat show, the only http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/12/preparation-are-we-there-yet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-8243077720435086673Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:47:00 +00002009-11-26T23:16:42.520-05:00Well, it is that time of year again, time to swallow the anchor of secure shore life and head out for adventure. After having worked for the past 6 months I have successfully completed a long list of items on my "personal to-do list". These include: re-stocking the cruising kitty with freedom dollars, completing my 50,000 mile health checkups, selling my house in Leesburg, updating all my http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-thanksgiving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-2402477961703281744Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:06:00 +00002009-11-23T11:30:07.815-05:00Well, Dave finally found a crew member (at least for a few months). We plan on setting sail no later than the first of January and there is so much to do! He is leaving for Florida next weekend where I will join him in a few weeks. He has a long "list" of chores to get the boat ready which I am sure he will post soon! As for me, Dave has warned me that I am primarily in charge of the cooking so Ihttp://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-adventure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gail)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-3670638470327397449Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:55:00 +00002009-11-23T05:11:12.176-05:00Getting ready to head south! Went to the Annapolis Boat Show yesterday and spent a bunch of money - on necessary equipment and fun!I now have a liferaft, EPIRB and all the safety stuff needed to go voyaging. I also bought a Walker Bay inflatable kayak for fun! On top of all that, I have sold my house in Leesburg and that has been keeping me busy; cleaning out the house and figuring out what to dohttp://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/10/fall-is-in-air.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-7867276833749291234Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:25:00 +00002009-08-03T21:48:35.050-04:00It is now definitely summer in Northern VA - but it is probably worse down in Florida where Starshine waits. No hurricanes yet, in fact El Nino is heating up and it may be a very slow year for storms - that's good!I am still working and saving for the fall, and trying to decide exactly what the next adventure will be. I am in the process of collecting all the big ticket items I wish I had last http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-in-va.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443916632796440979.post-6385720622158177945Wed, 20 May 2009 12:40:00 +00002009-05-20T08:59:43.166-04:00After 6 months and 2700 miles, Starshine is back on the hard in Florida. She is resting quietly in Indiantown. Florida, all set to weather the hurricane season. Indiantown is about 30 miles inland and is about as safe a place as there is in Florida. Brett and I left Green Turtle Cay, Abacos on May 5 and went straight through to Ft. Pierce, Florida. We had great weather and a great crossing, a http://svstarshine.blogspot.com/2009/05/back-in-usa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave)1