The light at the end of the tunnel

Risje with Marine Couture arriving with our new cushions for the aft deck.  Today is a great day!!!

Now this was worth waiting for.  Construction coming to a close and finally a nice place to enjoy sunsets and sunrises.  Ahhhhhhh life is good again.

Home Sweet Home.  It has been a long couple of months with all the work being done on Lucky Jack.  We should be shoving off the dock on Thursday, July 29 and start making our way to Grenada.  We plan to stop and explore some new places along the way. 

We are all looking forward to some sailing and relaxation!!!

This our new Screechier (Spinnaker) going up.  Can't wait to try it out.  The new UV screens on the windows have made a huge difference in keeping to boat cooler.

Sailor is our little demo dog, showing off the new permanent Dyneema Jack Line installed just above the window so we will be much safer moving about the boat during rough weather and at night.  Mom's should sleep better tonight knowing we are safe sailors.

Our solar panels are doing a great job of harnessing the sun's rays and turning it into POWER.  The satellite is providing Mark with much needed sports coverage. 

I plan to read many books here in the new sun lounger.  Now we just need to tie up a few loose ends today and hopefully we will be sailing tomorrow.

Ta ta for now and hope to see you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa, Mark and Sailor

A very busy day on Lucky Jack

Bentley with Quantum Sails is working hard installing our new Bimini cover.

We start out in the morning with everything put together.  Sometime after 9am this happens...everyday.  All the floor panels out and new wires are installed throughout the entire boat.  The end of this is near.

Andrea gets a lot of credit for making the dingy look like brand new.  We used a product called Permanon Universal Cleaning Paste.  All the stains disappeared with very little scrubbing. Then we finished by sealing the clean dingy with Permanon Yacht Supershine.  These are wonderful products.

Our local celebrity.  Can you guess who this is???

Sailor keeps us laughing.  He really enjoys the water after a rain that drips from the fly bridge...funny boy.

Puppy curiosity is a very enjoyable thing.  No animals were hurt in this adventure today.

Peter and David have worked hard to bring our long list of projects to a close.  David just happened to beat Peter to the test drive of the new sun lounger on the deck. 

Peter did a great job on the sun lounger.  Thanks.  I am positive many, many hours will be spent in this spot.

Final adjustments on the satellite.  WHOOOHOOO!  We have TV now.  Mark is very happy to have ESPN and Sports Center.

Final pictures of projects will be Monday or Tuesday...Can't wait to share.

Ta ta for now, see you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa, Mark and Sailor

Corks & Screws Provisioner's & Wine Boutique

I spent a wonderful afternoon with Jos at Corks & Screws Wine Boutique in St. Maarten.  We tasted wine and cheese in this hidden little old world style wine cellar.  It was a pleasant surprise.  They have a wonderful array of wines from all over the world. 

There is a lot of charm and knowledge in this wine cellar.

Don't forget about the wine of the month.  Thank you Jos for a lovely afternoon.  The wine, cheese and company was fabulous.  We will certainly see you when we pass back through St. Maarten.

Ta ta for now and see you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa

This is what happens to the bottom of your boat in the Lagoon.

Our prop was clean when we got to St. Maarten in March.  We have gone sailing some but spent a lot of time in the Simpson Bay Lagoon.

Now it is nice and clean. 

Folds with great precision.

Next time we have Lucky Jack out of the water our props are going to get the Seajet silicone treatment.

This is truly a sign we have been in the lagoon too long.  It pays to sail far and often.

Ta ta for now and see you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa, Mark and Sailor

Everyone is working hard so Lucky Jack and crew can sail to Grenada.

We enjoyed a great evening with Chuck and Lola at Temptation's by the Atlantis Casino.  Fabulous dinner and lots of laughs. 

New solar panels installed and making power.  It feels good to have that off the list.  Just the sunshine is keeping our house batteries at 100%.  Now just waiting to install new KVH Tracvision and TracPhone.  That should be complete by tomorrow morning.

Special thanks to Andrea who is helping clean up after all the work  being done on the boat.  We have our work cut out for us.  First we have started cleaning all the stainless rails and safety lines.  Once we get all the guys out of here we will tackle the inside and get Lucky Jack back to being beautiful again and get her ready to set sail to Grenada.

Just a glimpse of why Andrea needs to help me clean up after these guys.  Adam, Gui and Clidenor of Atlantis Marine running new cables throughout the whole boat.  Every room has been wrecked. 

When all else fails, read the manual.  I'll just bet that Owen would stop and ask directions, too.

The aft deck looks like a hurricane has hit it.  Our new cushions are ready but the guys are not ready for them.  As soon as we get some of the projects finished we will have a lovely aft deck.  The list is getting shorter and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Maintec has done a fabulous job making the hatch covers for the new windows. 

Splendid color match and it looks like it has always been there.

Gui working hard on installation.  Just look at the scenery of his office.  Not too bad.

Owen with Electec working hard to get our AIS and GPS hooked back up and antennas installed.

Work continues and target date to Grenada is July 15th.

New target date to leave St. Maarten to Grenada is July 15th.  Yes I am being optimistic.

Chris hanging around working on rigging issues.

Sailor is offering assistance to David while turning the last hatch. 

Paul is installing our new main sail cover also known as a stack pack.  Chris continues to work while all this goes on around him.

Diver Neal is preparing to clean the bottom of the boat and install new zincs.  I will post the before and after pics of the bottom cleaning later.  It's really amazing.

Our new hatch seat cover.  Our new cushions will attach to this and we will never have to move cushions to get in a hatch again.  They will stay put.  Cushions should be ready in a few days and then this will all make sense.

Diver Neal with the old zinc.  Definitely needed to be replaced. 

Mark demonstrating new and old zinc.

Paul and Rob finishing the installation of the new stack pack.  Beautiful.

As we say in the south, Neal cleans up pretty good.  Cleaning the bottom of the boat is a dirty job.  Thanks for doing a great job!

Now that everyone has gone home and we are alone.  I decided to use my sushi maker and for the first time it turned out pretty good.  And Mark liked it.

We had plan b (walk to Sushito) in place just in case it wasn't good.  Luckily tonight we had a fantastic dinner aboard Lucky Jack.

Tomorrow prepared for extreme makeover pace.

See you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa

Happy BIrthday AMERICA!

We spent the 4th of July at the Taste of St. Maarten.   Many restaurants participated and you could buy a taste of their specialties.  I definitely want to visit the Three Palms and The Stone.

Got to enjoy some terrific local music with a nice Caribbean sound.

The Three Palms served up Tropical fruit soup served by pouring through a color block of ice.  The soup was perfect for a hot summer day.  We also sampled a trio of mini burgers, tuna tartar and a salmon crepe.  It was very nice.

We met a very patriotic couple from South Carolina named Chuck and Lola. 

Ashley, Nathan and Chester (Jack Russell) were there.  We had a lot of fun even though it was really hot.

The kids had a blast as well.  They know how to chill.

The twins from Boston win the Caribbean fashion award of the day.  They really have it going on.

This cute little girl just couldn't help loving on Sailor.

It was only a short walk to the beach so it was time to cool off.

St. Maarten has some very nice beaches.  It is also very nice they are dog friendly.

We needed a cool drink, so Sailor ordered a bucket of Corona at La Bamba beach bar.  My sandy little mess.

He really loves his life.

One of the best parts of the day was finding this hidden beautiful stretch of beach. 

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July. 

See you on the big blue watery road,

Theresa, Mark and Sailor