A Tour of Gustie

I hope you are all doing fine and dandy. I understand Minnesota is seeing green. That sounds early for this time of year. I am very happy for you folks living there. Steve and I are into seeing blue, as in blue water, but green is good, too. 

Steve and I left the water today and had a great but strenuous hike up and down a rocky mountain. It was a mighty climb and decent but it made us feel powerful. We were hot to use the limbs again but probably the #1 reason had to do with getting fabulous cheeseburgers at Skinny Legs restaurant at the end of our journey. We have been eating on the boat since Saturday and haven't been near a grocery store, so a meal out sounded top-notch. We hiked from Waterlemon (not melon) Bay on the north coast of St. John to Coral Bay on the southeast Coast. We saw a mongoose once but got to smell many mongooses as we huffed and puffed along the way. Although we sweated plenty, we had a nice breeze as relief and much of the hike was in the shade. We never met one other hiker the whole way. The other visitors to the park are such wusses! 

St. John is ecologically protected. Lots of the island is a national park. Each bay has a live-aboard volunteer who hustles over to ourboat via dingy to welcome us and pass out materials explaining the features of the bays and how we can help maintain the wildlife.Snorkeling is so rewarding in these waters because of these efforts.They are bringing back the coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangrove trees. The baby sea creatures can become big guys as they grow in the roots of the mangroves in the shallow water. The roots produce algae that feed babies of the sea. Coral and sea grass also produce algae that grown-up fish feed on. I am a font of information!
 
Maybe you would like to hear about Gustie, our mono-hull, pilothouse sloop. Officially she is 42-foot Nauticat. We have to be careful in saying that, however, because a lot of people assume she is a catamaran upon hearing the cat in Nauticat. She is very seaworthy and could make an Atlantic crossing in a snap. In fact Shannon and Jim Foster, the former owners, did just that as they brought her, brand-new, four years ago from Finland. Her bow thrusters help us quickly go to the right or left when in a pinch. Her sails have electric furling but we pull her lines and use the wench to take in the canvas. Teak cap rails top the life lines on the sides of the boat. Two types of fenders keep her from knocking against docks and other boats. The great big round ones Steve coined "Dollies" after that cosmetically induced county singer. And the long skinny ones we call "Helens" after my mother's (God rest her soul) well-endowed and very long mammaries. 

The cockpit is where we hang out and it's covered by a navy blue dodger and bimini. It has comfortable, upholstered seating. We swim off the back and use the wide stairs and railings to get back on the boat. Showering isn't an issue because Gustie has a water maker that desalinates the sea water. Built into the kitchen sink, a water purifier is used for drinking and cooking. The stove is fueled by propane and its oven and two burners are ignited manually after the propane switch is turned on. When the stove isn't in use a slab of corion is slipped in place to give more counter space. A fridge is also built into the countertop. We have a small freezer under one of the settees off the galley. To provide electricity, a large generator does the job. Steve read the generator's instruction manual on, which of course was for a different type of generator, but we went ahead anyhow and changed the oil last week. Before making coffee or using the microwave the generator has to go on to save overuse of the batteries. 

The aft cabin is large (that's where we luxuriate) and its head has an electric, push-button flusher. Our guests will use the V-berths in the fore cabin and have the supreme pleasure of pumping when they flush. It's really quite easy to use and I take advantage of its powers when I'm wandering around at night and don't want to wake up Steve. With a head, toilet paper use is limited. I won't go into detail but when our first guests arrive next week they will get the drill on how many sheets to use and so on and so forth. We would be helpless if the toilets erupted! Along with teak walls, we recently threw away the interior's blue carpeting to reveal the teak and holly floors. We had dinner tonight in the lower settee, across from the galley. I'm typing this in the upper settee in the pilot house. Both settees have a shiny teak table and are upholstered in sea blue ultra suede. I have big plans to have them reupholstered next year in an ivory pleather (pretend leather, in other words, vinyl). If we would need it, the whole of Gustie can be air-conditioned. Gustie is really everything a gal could want! 

Next week we'll have some of our family together on the boat. Danielle, her husband Nathan and our son Nate will check out this lifestyle and get some R & R from their busy lives. Need I say Steve and I can't wait? Beck and Steven won't make it this year but next year, Addy,our granddaughter, will be a year and a half and will probably make her first sailing trip with her folks. After that big bear hike today, I'm starting to fade. I think I'll have one last look at the night sky, read for awhile and then call it a day. Oh, if you want a good travel/memoir kind of book, try Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald. It's very humorous, irreverent, spiritual and full of amazing insights and observations about India. It's in paperback.
 
It's terribly troublesome to find a radio wave on which to send e-mail. Steve very richly spews expletives as he tries desperately many times a day to send a message. Please send us news or greetings when you can.The point is that it is tough to send individual responses so please stay tuned to our blog.