S/V Sirocco: Parental Units Arrive, New Panels!

My parents arrived yesterday afternoon and this morning we all brought Sirocco to a marine store that not only is open on Sundays but also happened to have two 100W rigid panels in stock. The three flexible ones I mounted in Texas have all but given up, producing between 10-50% of their normal output. A few hours of finding some fittings that would work, and I had the panels installed, minus the ripped bimini top which needs to be repaired and modified to fit the new panels. The new setup creates a much stronger bimini though and I think will be much more durable. My dad got some new webbing to replace the 20 year old stuff that is starting to fray and Ed walked over a mile to get some 1/4" nylon locking nuts because the marine store had been cleared out the day before of both locking and standard 1/4" nuts by some guy doing a big project.

We went snorkeling off an island south west of St. Thomas after installing the panels and in the little anchorage there's a FLOATING PIZZERIA! It's a modified motorsailor and the pizza was really good. Plus it is pretty awesome to row up to get your lunch out of the back of the boat.

Before Fred left on Saturday he and Ed went to watch some international women's match racing in the downtown area of St. Thomas. There was some really good wind that highlighted the some amazing talent and they also got some great pictures.

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today and snorkeling videos will be coming up shortly!

Christmas tree and music at the local bar in Red Hook got us all in the spirit of the season!

Women's match racing downwind flying fast under the kites

On the way to pick up my parents Ed and I stopped at Abi's Beach Bar. They had these very comfortable lounges under the palm trees on the beach that almost dared you to stay awake. I sent this picture to my mom and she though it looked just like a Corona ad. I can't argue with that.