What’s Broken On Sava

You may be under the illusion that everything works fine onboard Sava. Not true. While our autopilot is still going strong, a lot of other boat parts don’t work. Below, a comprehensive accounting of what’s broken on Sava, and some things that broke and got fixed.

Also, I am not a handy person so my explanations are very basic because that’s my level of understanding. Thankfully Brian is at a much higher level than me. If he wasn’t so handy, we wouldn’t have made it out of Florida. Brian also recommends a good resource for these jobs, the Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual.

Freezer

We thought we got this fixed after the engine debacle, but this freezer is finicky. A couple of times we noticed it was off and we are now very vigilant about ensuring the freezer is plugged in. We also keep the vents clean – got to get rid of the cat hair.

Yet still the temperature regularly creeps above freezing. This is understandable when we haven’t been under power or it’s cloudy, but we don’t know why the freezer doesn’t work when the solar charge is full and we run the engine.

This freezer is driving me crazy. I obsessively check the temperature, which is not easy to do. Because the freezer is strapped into our salon sofa, we have to peek under the table to see the power and temperature indicators.

freezer
A view under the salon table of our freezer indicators
Continue reading “What’s Broken On Sava”

4 Ways of Checking in For Cruisers

Checking in for cruisers is a different experience than when you fly into a country. Every country is different. Every check in has been different too. So far, we have sailed to 4 different countries and had 4 completely varied experiences checking in.

Often when we arrive in port, we are led around like dazed children, not knowing where to go next or what to do. The basics are the same: have passports and boat ownership papers on hand. And money, or credit card.

It’s all been good – we’ve ultimately gotten in everywhere – and we’ll continue to jump through the hoops for the pleasure of visiting these intriguing new places.

Checking In – The Bahamas

Continue reading “4 Ways of Checking in For Cruisers”

Bahamas Favorites

Last Friday we departed from the southeastern end of the beautiful islands of the Bahamas. After Long Island, we sailed to Crooked and Acklins Islands, followed by Mayaguana. From there, we tacked to the upper reaches of Turks and Caicos. We are no longer there but we will always remember our Bahamas favorites.

Bahamas Outer islands
From Long Island to Acklins and Crooked to the Mayaguanas, Bahamas

We spent more time in the Bahamas than expected, and we would have preferred a longer stay. There are still so many islands we didn’t visit. Here’s a look back on our favorite Bahamas memories.

My recommendation to you if you come here: get out of Nassau. If you have more than a weekend to spend, take a prop plane to any of the other small islands: the Berrys, Crooked Island, Compass Key for example. Enjoy the quiet and calm, the wildlife and the people. You will not be disappointed.

Continue reading “Bahamas Favorites”