Time for an update

It's time for an update.

We are back in Trinidad working on the boat.  There is always something that needs to be done.  Cori has been here for five weeks and has been buffing and polishing almost non-stop.  I am not sure Hi Flite has ever looked better.  I arrived three weeks ago and have been checking off jobs while adding more to the to-do list.  Every job seems to create several more.  For example: there was a small leak above the nav-station.  It had caused a shelf to delaminate and was loose, also ruined a number of CD's that were stored there.  We gave it to one of the shops here to have it remade and since it was out Cori decided it was a good time to varnish the area.  As the table top was being sanded she found a small problem with one of the hinges (there is storage under the tabletop) that we thought could be replaced.  In order to get at it we had to remove the two shelves under the table, and then remove the bottom of the storage area all in order to get at the hinge from below.  Of course all of this did not help since the hinged top cannot be opened far enough to get at the screws that need replacing.  Basically the boat was built around the station and short of a saws-all it is not coming apart.  However, it all looks really nice with its new coat of varnish and it is all more secure with the old and somewhat corroded screws replaced.

The biggest news is that the wind generator got installed.  One of the reasons we got jobs this summer was to buy some new stuff for the boat and top of that list was a wind generator.  Just before Cori left for Trinidad we ordered the generator to arrive just after she did so she could pick it up after it cleared customs.  Then she had to fine a shop that could make the mount for it and arrange for a rigger to remove the old TV antenna and install the mount when it was ready.  Now remember we are in the islands and are dealing with "island time".  Of course they need to know how soon we need it, "no problem mon, it be ready".  After several weeks, he shows up to test fit it and says it will be ready Thursday.  Thursday comes, no mount.  Rigger gets rescheduled to Monday.  Saturday comes and here is the mount to be checked for fit before adding the support piece.  "No problem mon, it be ready Monday".  Monday morning, lo and behold here it is and it is beautiful.  Where is the rigger?  Cori finds him up another mast and he will be here is the afternoon.  Afternoon comes, no Gary, still up the mast. "Be there in the morning" and shows up after lunch.  He had been up another mast in the morning.  Once up our mast and measuring, marking, drilling and feeding the power cable it was looking good until he looked out and said "rain in five minutes".  It was only three and work had to stop but they will be back in the morning.  Wednesday morning they are back and after several hours the mount is mounted.  During this I have been working out where to locate the controller and how to run the cabling.  The controller will look real good where the AM/FM radio is mounted.  No problem, I can relocate that later (every project creates several more).  After several days of working out the cables and several trips to one or both of the supply stores it was completed.  The only thing left to do was to connect the wires and mount the generator.  Friday morning Cori winches me and all of the turkey, stuffing and other Thanksgiving food I ate the day before, up the mast.  With a minimum of cussing and a major change in the wire connections it was mounted and tightened down.  Next Cori hoisted up the blade assembly and I got that installed and tightened down just as the wind came up and it decided to start spinning.  Once back on deck the rain started.  We had finished just in time.  A quick check of the controller and it seems to be working.  SUCCESS!!!

It has not all been work.  There is a social life here with different events scheduled such as drumming night at one of the other marinas, pot luck and grilling on Thursdays and music jam sessions on Fridays not to mention trips to town for shopping and a variety of other activities.  We have been able to get into the city (Port of Spain) several times for provisions, a new phone for use in the islands, the public market and Cori even got a trip to a fabric store for one of her projects.  We have several other outings scheduled during the next week.

Along with all of this we have had to deal with insurance problems.  Not a claim, just trying to renew.  It seems our insurance carrier decided to stop writing marine insurance but didn't tell anyone.  Also the agency got bought out.  The bottom line - we have no insurance.  We got several quotes but both are higher than before, go figure, and need a new survey.  We choose a surveyor and he shows up to start going over the boat.  At the end of the day he is not done and is back the next morning.  By mid-day he is done, for now.  We need to call him back when we start working on the steering project so he can check that when we are done.  That is the next big project: replacing some of the steering components under the cockpit.  I am not sure if I can actually fit under there and get the work done but I have to try.  There is only so much we can afford to hire out.  We seemed to have picked a good surveyor since he is looking at everything, stuff that had not been looked at in previous surveys.  Things like when were your fire extinguishers last inspected, not just where are they and how many.  This morning we had to send all of the extinguishers out for inspection.  The spreaders are out of alignment, so we have the rigger go up the mast and adjust them.  More unexpected $'s. He is just looking too darn close.

The sails are back from the sail loft, and are ready to be bent on and we will start looking like a sailboat again.

At the market

The new wind generator

Thanksgiving pot luck

BRRR

We are still in Spearfish.  The trees are changing colors, last night we had more then a frost warning - actual frost, and there has been snow reported in the higher hills.  It is getting close to our time to head back to the boat.  We have both given our notices at our jobs and have booked our flights.  Now it is a matter of what to pack to bring back with us.

The next cruising season is in sight!

Settled in for the summer

I just wanted to add an update.  We are in Spearfish SD staying with Cori's folks and working at a couple of part time jobs.  We have some high-buck items we want to add to Hi Flite so we choose to get jobs instead of just taking the summer off.

Our plans are for Cori to make the trip back to the boat sometime in October to work on a couple of projects before I return in November.

Winter plans are to visit the islands we passed by and to revisit some we enjoyed but didn't spend enough time at.

We will keep you posted.

British Virgin Islands to Newport RI by way of Bermuda

Someone once said “It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”  When it was suggested that we crew for Lee and Sharon on Allegro returning their boat from the BVI to Newport RI we thought it could be an adventure.  Well, we had an adventure.

We finished up getting Hi Flite ready for summer storage and in the early morning caught a ride to the Trinidad airport.  When we tried to check in for our flight to Tortola we were informed we did not have the proper documentation to enter the BVI and we may not be allowed to board the plane.  They finally decided to let us on the flight but the documents from the boat captain had to be faxed to the airline in Antigua before we would be allowed to continue.  They got the documents while we waited to change planes and we were on our way again.  Once off the plane in Tortola we were told by Customs they still were not happy with our documentation but we were allowed to enter the country.  There are strict rules about having a return ticket or some other proof that you are not entering their country with no plans to leave.  Once cleared in Lee met us and we were ready to take the short walk to Trellis Bay where the boat was waiting when the skies opened up with pouring rain.  Once that was finished we rode out to the boat to stash our stuff and came back in for lunch and some wifi.  Trellis Bay is the site of the full moon party and there was going to be a full moon so there were a lot of boats in the harbor and music running late into the evening.  The next day Tony flew in and joined us onboard.  He was going to be the fifth member of the crew.  In the morning we moved off to several other anchorages until it was time to meet with the other boats that were making the trip.  This is a rally run by The Salty Dawgs with about twenty boats involved.  Some were going to the Chesapeake, some to New York and New England and others like us were going to stop in Bermuda on the way.  There were several parties and weather briefing sessions over the weekend and then on Monday most of the boats left.

We left Nanny Cay Marina about 9:30 Monday, the 15^th, and worked our way around the island and then were on our way.  We set our course and were off with about 860 miles to go.  We were having a great sail and all was good.  A couple of hours into the trip we had a wave break next to the boat into the cockpit and everything was wet.  The thing about salt water is that it never dries.  It leaves a salt residue and always feels damp and then you drag that salt into the boat and it gets on everything.  At this point we were only uncomfortable but it got worse.  Later in the day while Cori was on watch the auto pilot acted up and shut down.  Lee tried troubleshooting it and found that after the wave broke onboard it migrated down into the locker and got into the auto pilot computer.  After several tries to solve this it was evident we did not have an auto pilot for the rest of the trip.  We began hand steering with six days to go.  We modified the watch schedule so there were two on watch switching off steering every hour.  Steering in the open ocean is a challenge with no fixed points of reference and at night it even harder.  The second night we got a light taped to the compass so we could use that instead of the instrument readout but we were still stuck with staring at the compass and trying not to oversteer.  We had one squall hit and it was timed for just as dinner was being served.  The salsa went flying but the burritos were saved.  Each day the winds would vary so that we were making several sail changes and motorsailed when it was too light.  Our days were set up with four hours on and four hours off when we tried to get some sleep and everyone was getting tired.  The last night and day approaching Bermuda the wind died and the water was flat calm.  Saturday morning we entered St George Bay and reported to Bermuda Customs and Immigration.  After checking in we dropped the anchor settled in.  We made a short trip to shore to check things out and get some ice cream.  Nothing tastes as good as ice cream after a long trip.  Many of the boats going to the Chesapeake were diverted to Bermuda because of bad weather off the east coast so we had a lot of company while we were there.

There were several reasons to stop at Bermuda.  Sharon was going to fly back to the states to help with the grandkids, Chad, their son was going to take her place and the America Cup races were scheduled to start.  Chad was also bringing in a replacement computer for the auto pilot and we did not want to continue to hand steer.  We spent a week sightseeing, checking out the other end of the island where the races were to take place but the race village was not open to the public yet.  We got to watch the first set of races for the eliminations but the second day we found that they were better to watch on television then from shore.  We spent an afternoon in The White Horse Pub drinking dark and stormy’s and watching the races.  One day there was a party for the Salty Dawgs on a private island that had been in the host’s family for four generations.  The house had been built in 1868.  There were several tall ships that arrived and more are scheduled to be there during the races.  They were not open for tours yet but we got a good look at several of them while tied up to the wall.  Cori and I took a day by ourselves and took the bus to the other end of the island to check out the race situation, the old British Cemetery and to walk a beach looking for seaglass.  The cemetery is unique to us because the headstones tell how the person died.  I was surprised by the number of graves of children and how many died in several yellow fever epidemics.  While Cori walked the beach I found a spot to watch the races.  The beach Cori was checking out was next to a former dump and the shore is littered with broken glass that is being ground down by the waves.  It was the first time she reported to being overwhelmed by how much there was.  This was when I found that there is not much to see during the race until the boats get close to where you are.  On Sunday Chad flew in with the part.  In the evening Lee installed it and spent several hours configuring it.

Monday morning, the 29^th, Sharon left for the airport and we pulled the anchor to maneuver around the harbor calibrating the auto pilot.  Once we were confident it was working we re-anchored and Lee went in to check us out of the country.  We were on our way again.  As we were leaving the harbor we met with a cruise ship coming in and misread where they were going and basically tried to get run down.  Another adventure was underway.  This time we were going to have a watch schedule of someone in the cockpit during the day and each of us taking a two hour shift during the night.  We were not going to be as tired as the previous leg.

Once we were clear of the island and reefs the seas started to build and it was getting a bit rough but the auto pilot was doing a great job.  It continued to build overnight and in the morning it was rough with seas coming at us from a variety of directions.  We were pretty much riding in a washing machine again.  Something tripped in my system that morning and I suddenly felt sick.  I have not been seasick in years but something clicked and I was hanging overboard getting rid of breakfast.  This knocked me down for two days.  I pretty much slept for the next two days except for my nightly watches.  While I was out the others were keeping things running and the seas were getting progressively calmer.  We were approaching the Gulf Stream and that had everyone worried.  The forecasts were all over the place.  If we hit the stream at the right time and place we could expect relatively mild seas and light winds or if the impulse the weather people were watching turned into a low we could see winds into the 50’s.  Every forecast was different.  We hit the stream and the seas built topping off with some swells at about 15 feet.  Several squalls hit but the winds did not rise above the mid-twenties.  We exited the stream before nightfall and we had a nice ride with light winds and a quarter moon lighting the way.  We eventually had to start the motor and continued on.  We arrived at the entrance to Narragansett Bay Friday morning.  As we arrived at Newport harbor we were approached by a Coast Guard cutter and they requested to come aboard for a safety inspection.  We maneuvered around the harbor with the Coast Guard following us until the inspection was done and then pulled up to the dock at the Goat Island Marina and tied up.  We let the Coasties off, their boat came in to pick them up and Lee made arrangements to meet with Customs to officially reenter the country.  We had traveled about 640 miles this leg giving us a total of almost 1500 miles traveling from the BVI’s to Rhode Island.

Cori and I have rented a car and are going to making a run up to New Hampshire to pick up a used sail we bought and are going are spending several days with her brother who has recently moved to New York City.  After that we will be making a run to North Carolina to visit our storage unit to drop off the sail and pick up some boxes of stuff that we are taking with us to South Dakota.  We will then be spending the summer in Spearfish SD until October or November when we return to Trinidad and re-launch Hi Flite.

We signed on saying that this might be an adventure and it turned out to be one but not a negative experience.  It did make us want to go back to Bermuda to experience more of the island.

Bermuda

We are in Bermuda but with limited Internet access. We are enjoying ourselves and yesterday watched the first of the Americas Cup qualifying races. We will be leaving Monday for Newport RI and will update when we get there and have better access.  We left Hi Flite in Trinidad and are helping friends bring their boat back to the US.

End of 2016-2017 cruise

Granada to Trinidad

We had everything ready on the boat and we left the marina for a mooring ball in Prickly Bay.  We wanted to be there because the Immigration and Customs office is right there and it is a straight shot out of the bay for when we leave.  We paid for two nights because we plan to leave on Sunday to arrive in Trinidad on Monday.  If we arrive on a Saturday or Sunday we would have to pay an overtime charge when we arrive.  We made a trip to Immigration and Customs to check out of Granada on Friday so we would not have to pay an overtime charge to check out on a weekend.  We were supposed to leave Granada by 2:00 pm Saturday but stayed the extra day illegally.  On Saturday Cori took her kayak and met up with Sperry and her fishing friends to help out another day.  In the evening we met up with Mike and Helga from Making Mischief for happy hour and pizza and to say good bye to friends.

Sunday was our last chance to get ready to move.  The waterline had gotten very dirty while at the marina so Cori got in with her scraper and scrubbers to clean it while I got the batteries topped off one last time.  We don’t want low batteries on a passage.  About 5:00 pm we raised the mizzen and main sails, with two reefs in the main, and dropped the mooring to head off to Trinidad.  We were leaving in the evening because it is about a 12 hour trip and if we leave in the morning we would arrive after dark.  We started off doing 7 knots but as the night went on we ran from 4-6 knots.  The seas were running 7 foot but again, as we continued they dropped to about 4 foot.  There is also a strong current running east to west so we needed to compensate for that in our piloting.  By morning the winds had dropped to the point we had to motor the last 5-7 miles.  We arrived in Chagaramas about 10:00 am and started looking for the Customs dock.  We missed it, got into a tight harbor and had to get turned around without hitting anyone.  We made it and back into the main harbor we asked a couple in their dinghy where we were supposed to go.  Their response was to pick up a mooring and dinghy in which we did.  Once we cleared Immigration and Customs, no small feat, we made a side trip to Power Boats Marina to see where we were going.  Before moving to the marina we stopped at the fuel dock to top off.  I felt like a power-boater.  We needed about 45 gallons.  Everything here is metric and Trinidad/Tobago dollars.  We put in 169.8 liters at a cost of $892.00 local currency.  Sounds like a lot but it is about 48 gallons at a cost of $86.00 US.  From there we moved to the dock we had reserved.  We had a mess when we tried to dock.  The slip was bigger than we are used to so our lines to the pilings were too short and the stern was not secured as we tied up the bow and we ended up against the boat in the next slip.  Fortunately he had a lot of fenders out.  Cori got into the dinghy to get multiple lines to the pilings and eventually we were tied securely.  It was our poorest showing of docking skills in many years.  We were lucky there was no damage to either boats but our pride took a beating.  I almost wanted to do it again to show them I do know how to dock our boat.  We spent three days at the dock removing the sails and getting ready for the haul out.

One more chance to laugh at Dale: we are putting the dinghy on the foredeck so it needed to be cleaned.  I took everything out of it, including the oars, and motored around to the dinghy dock.  Or tried to motor to the dock.  I ran out of fuel not quit there, with no oars, only a bucket.  I tried paddling with the bucket but ended up leaning over the side and using my hands to finally reach another boat so I could pull myself to the dock.  The marina manager saw me and called over to tell me not to worry, they would not let me drift off to Venezuela.  They didn’t have to launch a boat to get me but were ready to.  After cleaning it up I added a bit of fuel and motored back to the boat and got it hoisted onto the deck.  Next was giving the bottom a good scrubbing.  In the evening we joined a group of cruisers for a pot luck dinner.

Thursday morning we were hauled out and moved to where Hi Flite will be spending the summer.  The only mishap was when the lift operator caught a water spigot and broke it off flooding the area until maintenance could get around to fixing it.  We have been working our butts off getting everything ready.  We got the hull polished, the biggest job and are working at getting everything stored away.  We have never left the boat for this long and everything needs to be removed and stored out of the weather.  The biggest concern is the humidity.  People complain about coming back to several months of mold growing.  We are taking a friends advice and renting an air conditioner to run while we are gone to control the humidity.  We are enjoying the culture, what little we see.  We are eating breakfast and lunch from the roadside stands outside the marina but have not gotten any further afield.  We will have to wait until November when we get back.

Now a review of the trip: we left North Carolina November 21^st with our first stop in Puerto Rico.  From there we moved to the Spanish Virgin Islands, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands and then Windward Islands finishing up in Trinidad.  We traveled a total of 2376 nautical miles or 2734 statute miles.  We essentially traveled from New York to Los Angeles at about 7 miles an hour or just a bit faster than a jogger.

This brings us to the end of our 2016-2017 winter cruise.  But not to worry, we are starting our next adventure tomorrow.  We will be flying to the British Virgin Islands to meet up with Lee and Sharon on Allegro to be crew for them as they bring their boat back to Newport RI by way of Bermuda.  Once back in the USA we will work our way to Spearfish SD for the summer with plans to return to Trinidad in November to relaunch Hi Flite for the next adventure.

Granada Part Two

We are still in Granada getting things running and preparing for the next leg of the trip.

I was able to get the bilge pump working with a new switch, I had to buy one but that means I still have a spare.  Cori finished up repairing the sails and brought them back to the owners.  This being Thursday we took the bus to the Brewery for cruisers music jam again.  It is interesting, there is a bus that will come to the marina to pick you up and will provide a ride back later.  The cost is $10 EC, when you pay the driver you get a voucher for a free beer.  The beer costs $10 EC.  I haven't figured out if I am getting a free ride or a free beer but we are enjoying it.  Wednesday Cori worked on polishing the stainless steel and the electrician came by to get us hooked to 110 volts.  It still doesn't work and he can't figure out why.  He has made several more trips with assistants but has not gotten it to work so we finally gave up.  If we need to charge batteries we are running the generator.  Not everything is easy here in paradise.

Thursday Cori took a bus to True Blue Resort for a free cooking class.  She ended up the only one there but says it was enjoyable.  She learned how to make fish lasagna with white sauce.  On  the boat I Googled how to replace the pull rope on the generator and decided I could do that.  What a mess.  While dismantling it I had a group of wires come out of their holder and I did not catch the order they were in.  The holder was slightly damaged and the wires would not clip-in securely.  At this point the generator would not start.  I had them in the wrong sequence.  I downloaded the service manual (thank goodness we are in a marina with wi-fi), verified the order they should be in , tried again with no luck.  One more try, making sure that the wires stayed in the connector when I plugged them in but still no luck.  I made a trip up to the shop that was repairing the pump to talk to them and was able to get a replacement cable off of an old generator they had for parts.  This color combination did not match what the service manual showed but what the heck.  Oh, I didn't mention that when I tried to get access to the other end of the wire there was a small spring that popped off.  Luckily I found it but while putting it back together it popped off several times.  I was able to find it each time.  Eventually it all went back together, I connected the cable, reassembled the generator and it started and ran.  I did't mention that everytime I tried something I had to reassemble the whole thing to try and start it.  I am now capable of tearing a Honda EU2000i generator apart and getting it back together again.

Friday the parts for the pump arrived.  I made the assumption that I would get it back and be able to reassemble everything and leave the marina on Sunday so I went to the office and payed up.  When I went to check on the pump I was informed that the service kit had evidently been put together wrong.  There were two of one part where there was only one needed and no seal.  We had the right number of parts but not the right ones.  Another kit was ordered and we were promised it would be here on Wednesday.  Everything was being Fed EXed from outside the country.

Saturday the highlight was free banana bread at the marine store.  In the afternoon a group of us caught the bus to partake in what is called a Hash.  I had never heard of a Hash but it is very popular here and when I Googled it found out it is a big thing all over the world and is done here every Saturday.  A Hash is a form of a hike. A hashmaster sets up a course or several courses for people to follow.  They will vary in how hard of a hike it is.  This week there were two courses: a short walkers, a long walkers mixed with the runners course.  The trail is marked by clumps of shredded paper and there may be some false trails to lead you astray.  Parts of the trails are not on established trails so there is some boon-docking involved.  We chose the short walkers trail and it was still intense.  We had to cross several rivers (streams) there were a couple of areas of steep climbs and descents, some nice open paths and some spots of "where the heck is that trail?"  The Hash starts and ends at a location with beer and food concessions set up along with pounding music on a sound system.  The food was either grilled chicken and fixings or oil down.  According to a Google search: Although many things in Grenada have been influenced by the Europeans over the years, oil down remains something purely Grenadian. No imported spices or seasonings, no choice cuts of meat here. This one-pot meal is made up of local veggies, “provisions” (the local term for starchy roots, tubers, and bananas that fill you up), salted meat, and aromatic seasoning —  all easily accessible, affordable ingredients in Grenada. All these components are combined in a large pot and cooked down in coconut milk over an open fire. In fact, the name of the dish comes from the coconut oils released from the coconut milk as it simmers and is absorbed by the other ingredients.  While sitting and resting we were approached by a couple that picked up on our accents and figured we were from the Midwest.  Jonathan and Susan have bought a house on the island they have been fixing up and will be moving here full time next year.  Johnathan was from Sioux Falls SD so he picked up on our "accent."  After the Hash we rode the bus back to the marina with only one stop at a bar along the way.  It was about 9:00 pm and showers felt good getting the mud, dirt and sweat off of us.  I should mention that the beer and food cost $10 EC each which translates to about $3.75 US, pretty cheap beer and food.

Oil down.

Sunday we were told is the day to go to Hog Island Beach to hang out with the other cruisers.  We were also told not to bother getting there until about 4:00 when the music starts.  It is a nice beach with very fine sand, a "bar" which is just a run down shack and several people with grills that are selling grilled lobster, chicken and a few other items.  There is a small group of cruisers that provide the music and a there are a number of picnic tables.  It was well after dark when we got back to he boat.  Cori was able to sell some of the sea glass she has been collecting to one of the cruisers that makes jewelry so we almost drank for free.  Again the beer was $10 EC.

Monday we joined up with Mike and Hilda from More Mischief and Tom and Jake from Epiphany for a tour of the island.  We got picked up at 8:30 and dropped off at 5:30.  It was a long but interesting day.  We rode around hearing of the history of the island, seeing a variety of the fruits that are grown, one of the waterfalls, toured a nutmeg factory, a chocolate factory and a rum distillery that is still producing rum using techniques and equipment from the 1700's, and saw monkeys.  I did not get a photo of one of the monkeys sitting on Cori's shoulder, he moved off too fast.  Here are some photos:

Sorting nutmeg.

Drying nutmeg.  Granada produces 60% of the worlds nutmeg.

Cocoa sorted for processing.

Nutmeg.  The red and brown shell is Mace and the nutmeg seed is inside of that.

Sugar cane fields used for the making of rum.

Water wheel that turns the cane crusher.

The cane crusher.

Rum distilling.

The final product.

Planes at the old airport from the US invasion in 1983.

Jake and his new friend, until the banana was gone.

Cocoa beans.

Cocoa bean.

Tuesday morning Cori left early to go fishing with her new friend Speery for conch and sea urchins.  He dives, his sister drives the boat and Cori helped with cleaning the conch.  Speery was the local guy that drove her around during the sailboat races on Easter Sunday.  I made another shopping bus trip to pick up a few fresh items.  Otherwise it was a pretty quiet day.

Wednesday was a big day.  Cori had made an appointment with a local dentist to have our teeth cleaned.  It had been several years since we are spending all of our time traveling.  The price is right, under $100 US for both of us and there is no difference between here and the States in technique and equipment.  Once back to the marina we checked and the pump was done.  I spent the rest of the afternoon reinstalling the pump and everything else I took apart to get at it and did a test run.  The pump was pumping water and not leaking.  Success!  However the alternator was no longer charging.  I tracked sown a connection that had broken.  Once that was fixed everything is as it should be.  We are ready to move on.

Today, Thursday, we were going to check out but decided to stay one more day.  Cori is off with Speery fishing for conch and urchins again and I am charging batteries and updating the blog.

We plan on leaving the marina tomorrow, checking out with immigration and making our way to Trinidad over the weekend.  Once in Trinidad we will be getting the boat hauled out for the summer.

Just a note on our preparations for this trip.  Today I had my last diet coke and yesterday I opened my last bag of breakfast cereal.  We are running low on things just as we had hoped for but still have too many provisions to finish off before we leave.  We may have to give some away.