Brad, Dan and Scott's Sailing Adventure

For Sale

2007-06-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

We hauled the boat...
...put it up on blocks...
...and cleaned the crap out of it.

Now it's for sale here.

So, the trip is officially over. We're in Georgia right now at Hal's place and expect to be home on Wednesday, June 20th.

Some final statistics:

6657: Total miles travelled
4.9: Average speed (knots), 5.7 MPH
237: Total days
23: Nights spent at sailing through the night
13: Countries Visited- USA, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Sint Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe (France), Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Also Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
$22.72: Average daily expenses for me for 2007 including food, water, fuel, beer, boat repairs, fees, plane tickets and everything else imaginable (rate of $8292/year)
18: Total guests and crew

Blog Statistics:

Total Blog posts: 89
Average blog views per day: 55.5
Countries of readers: 32
US states of readers: 34

Thanks for reading, hope it was entertaining.

Not Again...

2007-06-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

State of the boat

There's a lot of scraping and painting to do...
... so get back to work, Josh.

It's day 8 of cleaning the boat/setting it up for sale. We're almost done, I think. The boat may be hauled out today (as long as the guy doesn't ask if we're insured), and I think we can leave on Friday. It's a ton of work, but the boat's starting to look shipshape. At the end of each day of scrubbing, sanding and painting we treat ourselves to dinner at the bar.

Two days ago, we left for dinner at high tide, forcing us under a bridge only about 2 feet high in our dinghy. We all huddled in the bottom as we passed under, but forgot about the dinghy light on the stern. The dinghy light cracked and broke off, and the outboard engine slammed into the bridge. Oops.

As we came back from the bar hours later, it was dark out and we passed the police station. The cops dutifully spotted us criminals with our lightless dinghy and pulled us over. They didn't seem to be too interested in our explanation, refusing to allow us back to our boat. Luckily, a very large US Coast Guard boat was nearby, and they offered to escort us back to Kaleidoscope after awhile. So, with sirens flashing, the Coast Guard escorted us the 200 yards across the well-lit waterway.

I was hoping it would end there, but instead the Coast Guard sped ahead and met us at Kaleidoscope. They boarded the boat and searched it. I mean, really searched it. For maybe 40 minutes, two officers looked in every nook and cranny while another one questioned us. They sniffed our pancake mix, they emptied out all our dominos, they checked the holding tank, they tore up the place. Eventually, they found where we had been hiding a kilo of cocaine. Just kidding, they found nothing, of course, and eventually left disappointed.

Back in the USA

2007-06-09T20:16:00.000-04:00

We're back in Ft. Lauderdale where multi-million dollar megayachts are commonplace and have names like Stranglehold, Insatiable, and Invader. We've been trying to find someone to sell the boat so that we can move back North. The first potential broker had never sold a sailboat before. He tried to impress us with his fancy clothing and overpriced car, but it was obvious the guy had never sailed a boat in his life. Moving on, we found a new guy. Doesn't seem perfect, but we're tired of looking and we're sticking with him.
A near miss.

Forest drew this. Awesome.
Sometimes we get bored at sea.

Dinner! Vegetarians look away.
We made great time.
So fast, not all the light could keep up.

2007-06-06T18:49:00.001-04:00

By the time you read this, we will be in the United States.

Kaleidoscope left Nassau before sunrise on June 4th and is now crossing the Gulf Stream under relatively calm conditions. The next piece of land we see will be the United States. Tropical Storm Berry cleared the area of bad weather for a few days and we took advantage. The entire passage has been calm and relaxing for the crew, unlike the last passage. Leaving George Town, after filling the boat with food and water and enjoying dinner aboard "Dream Catcher", we made the questionable decision to stockpile a gallon of wine and a bottle of rum within our blood streams the night before a sunrise departure. Josh had the worst of it, spending much of the next morning hanging over the lifelines dry-heaving while we pounded through wind and waves. Thankfully, he decided to use the downwind side this time. The only other time, off the coast of the Dominican Republic, Forest could identify Josh's dinner as it hit him at the helm.

Once again, the sea has provided all of our offshore meals, no more uncooked pasta and Ramen noodles for Kaleidoscope.

Very soon we will be in the land of cheap beer, cheap food, cheap fuel, free water, adequate transportation, and cell phone service. Also the land of dirty, polluted water, materialism and police officers that make you put navigation lights on your dinghy.

There is a lot to be done before we can leave this boat, so hold off on the welcome home party. Repairs, woodwork, and a daunting amount of cleaning need to be done before the boat is saleworthy. Then a boatload of stuff needs to be loaded onto a U-Haul, literally. This is all contigent on us finding someone to sell the boat and a place to sell it around here. If we can't, then it's around the corner 250 miles to Tampa.

Exumas

2007-06-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if this is reported to landlubbers, but Tropical Storm Berry came across Florida yesterday and brought high winds even to us, 250 miles away. So, once again, Kaleidoscope was weatherbound.

The idle time was wisely used. We checked out a plane wreck in the water from the Bahama's days as a major stop for drug cartels. The drugs were no longer there, but in it's place hundreds of fish had made it home.
In search of dinner, we dove down on a reef. Brad was able to shoot a grouper and we landed it after a tug-of-war battle with a moray eel who wanted the fish for himself.

The next day, in the cold (yes, sometimes it gets cold here) and rain, we set out in search of another snorkeling hole. We found no good reef, but at one point we were passed by a school of about 8 enormous spotted Eagle Rays. These are beautiful and harmless sting rays that have a wingspan of about 4 feet with a tail that extends another 5. One played the role of "schoolbus" in "Finding Nemo".

A short while later, I spotted the largest sea turtle I've seen yet. He was moving slowly at the bottom, so I decided to swim down to him. He barely seemed to notice when I grabbed on to his shell and enjoyed a free ride. Eventually, I became nervous about clinging to an animal that could easily bite my arm off, so I let go.

It's now June 3rd. Kaleidoscope is underway to Nassau, the capital and only real city in the Bahamas. It will be the last stop before the United States. I think I speak for all of us when I say we'll be relieved to finally be home. Only 200 miles to go...

Boring Update

2007-05-29T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well, we've been "stuck" in George Town, Bahamas for the past week. The weather this month has been abysmal. May is supposed to be the last nice, calm weather before hurricane season which officially starts in 3 days, but Kaleidoscope has spent it scurrying from anchorage to anchorage hiding from the blasting East winds and squalls.

It's all OK, though. We all like George Town, and we've been able to supply all of our energy needs with wind power for the week. Plus, I got to do some pretty nice windsurfing.

We've spent a lot of time on the beach chatting with other sailors and playing beach volleyball. On 3 nights, the cruisers got together for 20 person poker tournaments at the local resort. Kaleidoscope won all 3, with Josh winning 2 and Brad winning the other.

It looks like the weather is calming down, so we're going to head out tomorrow. We'll most likely spend a week or so hitting some remote Bahamian islands keeping a very close eye on the weather, and then it's across the Gulf Stream to Florida.

Regarding those pictures, all the good ones are on Forest's camera, which we cannot connect to this computer, unfortunately. We'll post them in webshots when we get home.

The Ragged Islands

2007-05-25T15:25:00.000-04:00

We arrived in the isolated Island chain of the Jumentos a yesterday. We had an exiting trip on the way here. Nothing like a lightening storm in the open ocean to give you a little perspective on things. A Southwest wind was blowing and we navigated our way to one of the island chain's only anchorages sheltered from that direction. This involved some exiting eyeball steering through coral heads and shallow sand banks. Once again we were thankful for Kaliedoscope's shallow draught. With the sun high above us and a few crew members on the bow we easily identified the boat sinking hazards and course changes were communicated to the helmsman. We shared the U shaped anchorage with two Bahamian fishing boats.
We awoke this morning to the pleasant sight of the clear water and sandy beaches of the low isolated islands of the Bahamas. Nowhere else have we found water as beautiful. In no other country has the call been so powerful to leave the boat to its anchor and swim out diving and exploring. Forest and Josh had gained some basic skills in snorkeling in our last island, Great Inagua. With our freezer full of Dorado from the passage, we passed on numerous opportunities to shoot Nassau Groupers and large snappers.
Upon our return from snorkeling Dan and I snapped back into our roles as co-captains. We discussed the morning's weather report and evaluated our anchorage's level of protection from expected wind and waves. Our decision was made easier as we watched both fishing boats pull up anchor and head for the other side of the island. In the middle of making lunch, we postponed our move until it was finished.
The first squall arrived before we had finished eating. The wind picked up and was whistling through the rigging. Rain began to fall at an acute angle to the ground and a waterspout (tornado over water) touched down a quarter mile to the north. We watched, fascinated, as the waterspout spun whipping up a mist where it touched the water. After a short time the squall passed and we decided to take advantage of the lull to move the boat. We rounded the small island's point and tried to drop anchor near the two fishing boats. After attempts at two different locations we could not get the anchor to hold. After lifting it back to the boat the second squall hit us. The wind was more intense this time and for a short period of time it took most of our engine power to keep the boat under control. Another water spout touched down near one of the fishing boats, but they seemed unconcerned. In fact the small outboard driven fishing skiffs left on their daily fishing rounds, out into the middle of the squall. We put some distance between us and the island and waited a half hour for winds to die down. Returning, with the sea much choppier, we identified a patch of good holding sand and set down both of our anchors with plenty of chain. With the boat held tightly we settled down to play cribbage and dominoes in the cabin, safe from the rain.

While you were sleeping

2007-05-23T16:34:00.000-04:00

We're back in the Bahamas. We made landfall on Great Inagua, a relatively large island, but with few inhabitants. The first day, we set out on our first snorkeling trip since April. Brad and I tried to frighten Forest and Josh with shark stories, exaggerating the risks and frequencies. But then we actually saw a shark. The biggest one we've seen so far. The crew's first snorkeling trip ended with the 4 of us huddled with our backs together as we swam the 75 yards back to the boat.

The plan was to leave Great Inagua soon after arriving. But the forecast was for a couple low pressure systems to develop in the area with the risk of becoming tropical storms. That's meteorologist talk for "the shit could hit the fan, so don't be at sea". So, the next day was spent playing dominos and cribbage on the boat. It rained most of the day and we pretty much spent it huddled in the cabin. The weather cleared up on Wednesday, so we rented a van with a sailing couple we had met. The island was not exactly suited for tourism, so we spent the day aimlessly driving around the salt flats trying to find an elusive group of flamingos (we did actually find them, but only from a great distance).

Having exhausted Inagua and hearing a favorable weather report, we have now embarked on a 30 hour, 150 mile passage that will put us in the even more remote Jumentos Cays.

Around sunset on the first night at sea we hooked an enormous fish, the strongest I'd ever fought. It was nighttime by the time we brought the beast alongside the boat. It was a beautiful yellowfin tuna, a prize among commercial and sport fishermen. However, this guy was huge- too huge. We knew there was no way we could eat or give away that much meat. After taking a few pictures, I reached down and released him. We watched as the behemoth swam back into the depths.

Almost immediately after the tuna left, a swarm of moths descended on the boat. We were 50 miles from the nearest landmass of Cuba. The wind was at times 20knots (23MPH), yet the moths persevered. Hundreds and hundreds of them flew just above the cockpit. At the same time, a thunderstorm appeared. I had recently had my first real experience with a storm only a few days before. I tried to feign nonchalance so that the new crew members would feel that they were being directed by competent, experienced captains. A couple days later I revealed to them that I had never been in a situation like that before and I had gone downstairs to read Heavy Weather Sailing to get some clues on what to do about lightning. That time, we had managed to sail around the storm. This time, the storm appeared to be everywhere. By 11:00PM, the lightning was all around us. On the radar, I could see huge blotches of storms everywhere, but the biggest was directly overhead. The lightning would strike about every 2 seconds and on long ones, it would light up the sea and reveal an ocean that had become very choppy with high winds and rain. It's a little bit scary to be sailing a metal pole through a thunderstorm 54 feet higher than any other object. I don't quite understand why we were not hit. As we passed through the other side of the storm, I could see many many lightning bolts hit the surface of the ocean exactly where we had been. Perhaps Neptune was thanking us for returning the monster tuna.

I started my shift at midnight. The thunderstorm had mostly passed, but unbelievably, the moths remained. It had already been a strange night, when I was minding my own business humming to myself to pass the time. Suddenly, BAM! Something hit me in the face/eye. Have you ever been hit in the face by a bird? Didn't think so, neither had I. So I wasn't sure what it was that had hit me, until I looked down at the cockpit cushion and saw a stunned finch-like bird convulsing. I picked it up and was able to have him stand on my finger. The bird stayed perched on my finger while I steered Kaleidoscope through the night. I named him "Heads". C'mon, that's clever. Get it? Like "Heads up!", what some one should have said before we collided. Like, our heads collided. Also, I thought it was a good compliment to my other pet, "Tails". Anyway, Heads kept me company and stayed perched on my finger for a whole hour while we made our way towards the Jumentos Islands before gaining the strength to fly off into the night.

Underway Again

2007-05-13T16:48:00.000-04:00

It's May 12th and we're underway again. This time to the crystal clear, swimmable waters of the Bahamas, a step up from the muddy polluted waters of the Dominican Republic.
The extra crew have afforded us all substantial free time to read, relax, or play games. I'm writing this blog entry, not because I have anything to report, but because I've exhausted those things. I've napped for 4 hours today and read about 100 pages of 100 Years of Solitude, which I'm embarrassed to admit is probably the longest book I've read since early High School.
Something in the fridge reeks. Whenever someone opens the door to get something, it fills the boat with pungent scent that tests our gag reflexes. I really miss refridgerators that keep milk uncurdled for more than a couple days. And ice. I remember ice. Ice was awesome.

Happy Mothers Day Moms. The internet here in Great Inagua is poor, emails are not guaranteed.

Long Passage, Quick Detour

2007-05-11T12:24:00.000-04:00

The passage from Puerto Rico to the Bahamas was to be one of Kaleidoscope's longest. We set out on the 400 mile sail on Monday, full fuel tanks, full water tanks, and full provisions. Forest and Josh were just getting the hang of sailing, but Brad and I were more than willing to leave the boat in their hands if it meant more time for sleep underway.

We were met with immediate fishing success, catching two barracudas, two Mahi Mahi, a tuna, and a cero mackerel. We released the barracudas, but the others provided excellent offshore meals for the crew.

The first night passed smoothly. At around sunset on the second night, a thunderstorm began to approach. The winds increased and seas grew choppy. As time passed, the lightning struck at a spectacular rate. The sky lit up more than once per second out of the pitch blackness over a nervous period of several hours. We altered course and were able to successfully stay out of the storms path, but not without Josh chumming the waters with partially digested lunch.

Exhausted, Kaleidoscope turned left and pulled into Luperon, Dominican Republic the next morning, having covered about 240 miles.
The draws of Luperon were the low prices, interesting people, cheap beer and laundry services. I haven't had my laundry done since February, and I pretty much ran out of clean clothing in early March.
The drawbacks of Luperon were the customs and immigration procedures and potential health hazards. We had to give each official a separate fee, which added up to $90, not including the bottle of rum and half gallon of gasoline we gave the commandante when asked for a "regalito pequeno."
Last time we were here, our fleet almost entirely felt the effects of third world sanitation. For the next weeks we paid for our immersion in the culture by way of the toilet. We're trying to be more careful this time.

We're currently exploring the Luperon area, trying to meet up with old friends and enjoying the cheap food. The plans are for continuing the passage tomorrow, about another 160 miles to the Bahamas.

Dominican Republic

2007-05-09T18:26:00.000-04:00

We're in Luperon, Dominican Republic. The trip was cut short on day 3 due to exhaustion and fond memories from our last DR visit. More updates to come when I'm not so mind-numbingly tired.

Quick update

2007-05-06T20:43:00.000-04:00

So, Josh and Forest have arrived and are safely aboard. We've taken the first couple days to move along Puerto Rico to our jump-off point on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Soon, possibly tomorrow morning, without further notice, we will be embarking on a 5 day passage that will land us on some remote island, most likely in the Bahamas. More updates when we can...

To Puerto Rico

2007-05-05T16:12:00.000-04:00

April 25th: It's been full speed ahead since April 14th. We stopped for a day in Les Saintes for a day of relaxing before heading up the coast in preparation for another 36 hour sail. We met up with our old friends on Aurora last night. It's been over a month since we've seen them and as usual, a pleasure. They had had a rough night the night before, so they went easy on the pina coladas, but that didn't stop Brad and I from celebrating. We shared stories and pictures over a delicious chicken fajita dinner- a few steps up from our usual uncooked pasta and peanut butter. Unfortunately we had to keep our schedule and said goodbye to leave at 5AM this morning for St. Croix.

We're trying to make it to Puerto Rico a couple days before May 3rd. I think today is around the 25th of April, but really, I have no way of knowing out here on the sea (that date was correct at the time it was written). On May 3rd Josh and Forest will arrive and help us bring the boat back to the States by around June 10th. It'll be a strenuous trip, but with 4 crew members it should be manageable with time to rest in remote Bahamian islands. The plan from there is to set the boat up with a broker and head back to Boston with a U-haul. We'd like to sell in Ft. Lauderdale, but will likely end up going to Clearwater. Which could work out well as our friends on Aries live along the way, as do relatives of Brad's.

April 30th: Brad and I have spent the last few days in Vieques, most famous for it's testing of nuclear weapons, but more importantly, it's abundant fishing grounds. The East coast has and continues to be a training ground for all sorts of United States military excercises, except on weekends. I believe they do not test radioactive weaponry anymore due to protests about rising cancer levels among residents. We pulled into the entirely vacant anchorage late on Saturday. In my opinon, it was the best anchorage of the entire trip. There was absolutely no one here. Kaleidoscope had its own bay to itself, well protected with reefs and beaches in all directions.

We decided to wet our spears after about a 2 month break. The fishing had the added excitement of requiring us to shoot around the unexploded bombs, torpedos and other military paraphernalia that littered the seafloor. In all, we caught 4 fish and a lobster- enough for lunch and dinner.

Monday morning we awoke at 6:30AM to the sounds of trucks beeping at us. The US Navy wanted to play with their guns and we had to leave.

Homeward Bound

2007-04-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

It's 144 miles from Dominica to St. Vincent. Brad and I planned to cover the distance in 24 hours, skipping over Martinique and St. Lucia in order to get closer to our turnaround point. The winds blew pleasantly over our beam as we glided through the ocean under starry skies, aiming directly at the Southern Cross. We were able to spare the diesel engine for most of the trip and arrived in Wallibou Bay just before sunset. This place is famous for the filming of the first Pirates of the Caribbean. Once ashore we visited the scene and could clearly see the place Johnny Depp declared "you will always remember today as the day you almost caught the great Captain Jack Sparrow." But, the set had been shoddily built and was falling to pieces. The large dock was full of holes and appeared ready to fall over, probably onto the scores of local children who use the derelict as a playground.

Debbie, a friend from Wesleyan, is working for the Peace Corp in St. Vincent. We met her on the beach near Kingstown. The three of us took a van back to her house. Let me take a moment to describe these vans. I live in Boston, and I've been to Italy and China. None of these places provide nearly the same excitement for a passenger as St. Vincent. The vans have 4 rows of seats, but no one batted an eye when nineteen people were crammed inside. The van screamed around blind turns, pedestrians and other vehicles at breakneck speeds with little regard for the imaginary double yellow lines. A few times I had to close my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch my death. Additionally, (and I'm not making this up) the driver is commonly drinking beer.

Debbie showed us around her town and the next day we went hiking in the lush forest with a fellow PC volunteer, Ryan. We met up with a local friend of Ryan's, Juice, who showed us the way and helped us find some delicious cranium-sized grapefruits (see pictures when they get posted), coconuts and bananas.

Debbie and her friend, Amanda, were able to take a few days off from community building to help us tour the Grenadines. We sailed down to Bequia and had dinner with a group of PC volunteers. They were all personable, friendly and interesting. Brad and I felt a renewed interest in continuing our international travels with a program like Peace Corp. Maybe next year.

The next morning, we visited the Tobago cays, a navigational double-black diamond. The beautiful, picturesque anchorage was located near a turtle beach. The four of us snorkeled the water and after becoming disappointed with only a solitary turtle, swam ashore to build a sand castle and partake in traditional rock throwing. We retired to the boat for White Russians and beer as we cooked dinner and watched the sun set on the Southernmost anchorage of our expedition.

So, we've finally turned around. On April 20th we turned the bow towards the 'N' and set sail, beginning the nearly two thousand mile voyage home that will take the next two months. We have traveled almost 5000 miles and are now returning after reaching The Tobago Cays in the Grenadines at 12.38' N, just 100 miles North of Venezuela.

We stopped yesterday in St. Vincent to drop off Debbie and Amanda and are currently off the coast of Martinique en route to the next landfall, Guadeloupe. A pod of dolphins greeted us as we sailied away from land, swimming along the bow. As they left several executed 360 degree spins completely out of the water for no other apparent purpose than to impress us.

For the next day, there's almost no food on the boat and preparing it under way is near impossible. I'm currently eating raw pasta and spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner. It's almost 7PM, which means my first 3 hour night shift is about to start. Crap.

New Pictures

2007-04-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

We put up a bunch of pictures with captions on my webshots (link on right) from the last few weeks. Check them out.

Sulfur Valley = Guiltless Farting

2007-04-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

We found it nice to be back in the English speaking world. Ideas could be communicated and meals purchased without too much embarrassment. Once again we were in a customs grey area. Arriving late Thursday, we planned to clear customs the following day. This turned out to be Good Friday and a national holiday. The office is closed for the weekend and monday is also a national holiday, Easter Monday. So, Tuesday rolls around and finds us sheepishly trying to check in four days after arriving in the country. Luckily they didn't seem to care and we were legal once again.

Anika had arrived on Good Friday and her welcome visit was allowing us an enjoyable slackening of our usual pace. Knowing we would have to be back at this exact spot in eight days for her return flight moderated out ambition and we were able to relax and begin to get familiar with the little town of Portsmouth. Twice we went to the Saturday morning open air market. Prices were excellent and the variety of fruits and vegetables was incredible. On our second trip we picked up: four large mangos, one bag of carrots, ten eggs, four grapefruit, one bag of tomatoes, one bag of mixed bell peppers, one bag of sugarcane chew sticks, and one pound of fresh boneless blue marlin - all for under ten US dollars.

We spent half a day exploring an old fort that lay a short dinghy ride north of town. It was beautifully restored and was an interesting day trip. It was recommended to us by Mark, the owner of a neighboring boat. Mark is a solo sailor that left from Washington state seven years ago. He spends hurricane season in Trinidad and makes his home in Portsmouth harbor for the rest of the year. He told us the ins and outs of the town and set us up with a local that would rent us a car for a few days at a good price. He also agreed to come along to our hike to the boiling lake. He had been a week earlier, but said it was such a good hike that he would go every day if he had the chance. This worked out excellently for us because we would not have to hire a guide and it is a complicated hour and half drive to the trail head.

We invited Mark over to play cards and he was thrilled to learn that we knew how to play cribbage. He taught us a four person, team variation that was quite good. Mark was also planning on selling his boat so we had some common ground and exchanged our limited knowledge on the subject. Mark confessed that his reason for leaving the lifestyle was loneliness. He thought he would have a better chance of finding a woman with a stable land based life. His tragic stories of the women who responded to his internet ad for female crew made this look like a smart move on his part.

The scars of solitude were evident in Marks social demeanor. His stories were interesting and one could find no fault in the fluidity and exactness of their description. However, Mark's internal editor had grown dull and feeble from lack of use. His stories contained all manner of details, both those relevant and those inconsequential. The stories were so detailed that one could feel as if they were in the very scene itself. But, one quickly grows bored of these new surroundings when all you experience are new details sprouting up around you, and all the while the fruit of the story, its climax, is growing ever more distant and dim. Mark also lacked a good story teller's awareness of his audience. The words flowed, uninterrupted by the listeners, from start to finish. The same style would have been suitable if one wished to inform a rock or enlighten a tree.

However, Mark would redeem himself as our boiling lake guide. I drove the rental car on the long trip while mental chanting , 'drive on the left, drive on the left....' A steep trail ran through the rain forest. The foliage would break and ridge crests and give views of sharp valleys and encircling ranges, all blanketed in the thickest and brightest greens. After many ups and downs we descended into the valley of desolation. We go from lush rain forest to barren rock, with the smell of sulfur in the air and vents continuously blasting superheated steam into the sky. Streams of boiling water emerge and springs from the hillsides and flow into the center of the valley. The bed of each rivulet was a unique color, dictated by its distinct recipe of dissolved minerals. Yellows and green were especially well represented, in their myriad of tones and pastels.

We follow the hot stream out of the valley of desolation and presently come to a fine pool. The water at this point has cooled to a nice 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit. This pool is formed few yards upstream from a junction with a cold water stream of equal size. Just before entering the hot stream, its cold counterpart cascades down a small waterfall into a perfect cold blue swimming hole. One can hop back and forth from the hot pool to the cold pool with only a few steps - awesome. Past the pool we soon come to the boiling lake. Imagine a pot of water 150 yards across and the entire thing kept at a rolling boil. The steam would build up to the point where we could see nothing and then a gust of wind would blow through and reveal the strange scene to us.

The next day was hectic as Dan and I prepared the boat for the overnight trip South to Saint Vincent. At midday I drove Anika to the airport and we said our sad goodbyes. I then returned the car, hopped back on board Kaleidoscope and we were quickly off again, with places to be and people to meet.

Random Post

2007-04-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

A lot of people have asked us about fear of pirates, so here's my random post explaining my thoughts.

Pirates in this part of the world tend to be poor, opportunistic fishermen as opposed to the more organized professionals of other regions of the world. There is very little of it North of Venezuela. The cruising community is a gossippy bunch and when a ship gets raided, especially if it occurs in a reputable place, like St. Lucia, it seems to get blown out of proportion. Crime is usually limited to dinghy stealing or a quick run through a vacant cabin. You occasionally hear of violence or hostage taking, but this seems to be rarer than any American city.

However, I have spent some time considering defense tactics if necessary. We do not carry a gun, but many cruisers do, especially those planning to travel Venezuela and Brazil. We do have a number of devices that could act as weapons. The flare gun is supposedly effective, as well as the spear gun. I've heard stories of intruders getting a deadly dose of spear-to-the-chest from a resourceful sailor. Given about a minute several molotov cocktail bombs could be made with gasoline and empty beer cans. Additionally the water-balloon launcher could fire a debilitating handful of nails at someone attempting to enter the companionway. We have two machetes on board, but it would take a lot for me to be able to knife someone. They could be useful as an intimidation tool. An old single-hander we met described a bomb he made with flares and propane cans as pirates approached him off Brazil. Eventually another ship came into view and the pirates fled.

Our official plan, should it become clear that someone wants our possessions at sea, was to appear on deck with as many weapons and objects that appear like weapons. I would wear a coat to make myself look bigger- a tactic I read in "worst case scenario" for dealing with mountain lions. If they still felt that they wanted to board, it probably meant they were more powerful and at this point I would help them aboard and start unscrewing our electronics.

But since we trashed our plans of visiting coastal Venezuela, the only thing we really have to worry about is locking our boat and dinghy when we go ashore.

I'm happy to write about any other aspect of the trip. Any requests from readers?

Some interesting statistics

2007-04-07T21:13:00.000-04:00

4070: total miles travelled
1824: miles from Rhode Island (as the gull flies)
4.9: average speed
170: days since embarking
2000: distance remaining (estimated)
63: days remaining (estimated)
56: Red Sox games I will miss
15: degrees north of the equator, currently

83: days since my last hot shower
171: days since I last shaved
0: times I've worn sunscreen
15: ounces of Tobasco sauce consumed on trip
14: total guests and crew for trip so far
2: number of vomiting events (occured same day)

$24: average daily expenses for 2007 including food, water, fuel, beer, boat repairs, fees, and everything else imaginable (rate of under $9,000/year)
$65: price for a 24-pack of beer in Bahamas
$1.50: price for a 22 oz. cold beer at bars in Dominican Republic
$4.00: price for a gallon of diesel in most locations
$0.15: price for a gallon of diesel in Venezuela

81: average hits for the blog per day
1.4: average number of comments from readers per day

Bonjour, par lay voo english?

2007-04-06T13:13:00.000-04:00

Guadeloupe is part of France. This means that they speak French here and that we on Kaleidoscope were entirely out of our element. Arriving in the city of Deshaies was an adventure. I tried to piece together a vocabulary of usable French words based on French children's songs I remember such as "Le Petitte Poisson" and expressions I knew such as "Bon Voyage" and "R.S.V.P." Most conversations began with "Bon jour!", went quickly to "do... you... speak... English?" and then straight to "merci, bye" or "merci, adios". The almighty dollar, which typically speaks louder than words in foreign countries was useless, as they use the Euro here and appear to have no banks. Also, our shoes washed overboard on the trip down, so we had no transportation.

The next morning was April 1st and we were excited to go into town to post the April Fools Day post which we had put a lot of thought and effort into. Apparently the entire town shuts down on SUndays, so there was no internet anywhere. There was no way we could post this entry on April 2nd. We were so intent on posting that we picked up anchor and sailed all day to the capital city in southern Guadeloupe. From there we had internet on the boat. We posted and had a good time watching the comments come in. Thanks guys!

A couple days later we moved on to Les Saintes. A pretty sweet group of islands south of Guadeloupe. Ashore, we found a European atmosphere in Caribbean climate. We rented scooters for a day and toured the island. We drove pretty much every road, spending a lot of time hitting the beaches and speeding through the town. I liked Les Saintes, but we have a schedule to keep, so after just a day, we headed south to Dominica, just in time to pick up Anika from the airport.

Last night we received word from Josh that he will be helping crew from San Juan to Florida for about 40 days. We're excited to have him, partly because of his company and the help he will provide us, but mostly because we've had a lot of idle time on the boat to think up some awesome pranks to pull on a green crewmember.

Statia to Montserrat

2007-04-04T18:28:00.000-04:00

So, here's what's really happened since the last time we updated.

We hopped along the islands south from Saba, hitting Statia, St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat and Guadeloupe. The most exciting thing that happened was the landing of a 4 foot, 6 inch King Mackerel. There were some tense moments when I inadvertently crossed the boat over the fishing line so that it had to be reeled in against the hull. Brad brought in the monster alongside the dinghy and I hopped down and shot it in the head with the speargun. With a great deal of effort, we hauled the exhausted/half-dead fish into the dinghy. He got the last laugh though, as his sharp teeth punctured a hole in the pontoon as he lay across the boat. With all of our strength we then lifted the fish out of the sinking dinghy and onto the boat, where Brad chopped it up into 8 enormous steaks. Our estimate for the weight of the fish is about 60-70 pounds.

Upon arriving at an anchorage, we immediately flagged down cruisers interested in fish and had them spread the word around the harbor that the lucky kids on Kaleidoscope were giving away free fish. In total, we dished out about 75% of the fish away to about 6 different boats. One of the boats, Vagabond, invited us aboard that night for drinks. The young couple aboard (young here means 30s) were South African and spent hours teaching us the game of cricket in exchange for baseball explanations. We spent a good portion of the next day watching a world cup cricket match with them ashore. For those unfamiliar with cricket, it's like baseball, but somehow, slower. It was a good time, though, and we understood that the purpose of the game is to relax with a few drinks and do nothing all day.

Next up was Montserrat. Our guidebook was written in 1995 and suggests visiting the bustling capital city of Plymouth in the south. Unfortunately, that city has since been buried by a volcano, so we missed out on that attraction. Instead we anchored north and hitchhiked around the island. Everyone is friendly, even to Americans, and they all seem to know each other. I talked for a long time over a beer with a local man who claimed to be 6000 years old and an alien from another planet. He was sent to Earth to teach us humans about the power of love. I asked a few people about this man, named "Angel", and they seemed to be able to corroborate his story. Another local, however, said that he was just a heroin junkie. Such interesting people we meet here.

The next day we left Montserrat by passing the city of Plymouth about a mile offshore. It was eerily abandoned, like a post-apocalyptic ghost town. Locals had told us stories of pyroclastic flows that reached 2km offshore as recently as this year, cooking fish and lobsters in a giant ocean pot of smoldering ash. To our relief, and to our disappointment, none of this happened while we passed the island.

Just Kidding!!

2007-04-02T17:33:00.000-04:00

Apparently there isn't a lot of faith in our judgement out there. When we wrote the story, we thought that people would stop believing at the point where we decided to pull a 500 pound shark on board. The rest was supposed to humorously increase in ridiculousness to the point where no one would believe. Then, there was the title. And of course, it was April Fool's Day.
Well, Brad and I had a really good time reading all the comments out there and we thank you for your concern. We're so thankful, we put up pictures with laboriously thought out titles for you guys. The link is on the right side, or http://community.webshots.com/user/dschlauch112

Here's your proof

2007-04-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

As you can see, there was extensive damage to the cockpit area.

Unbelievable

2007-04-01T16:57:00.000-04:00

Well, we've been out of touch for a few days, and what a few days it has been. It all started with the familair exitement of a hooked fish as the line noisily ran off the reel. Dan grabbed it and started tighening the drag down, but the fish continued to take line. As we were running out of line Dan continued to tighten the drag until the rod looked to me like it would break at any moment. The fish finnally arrest its inital run and Dan began the battle to regain line while I brought in the sails and started the motor, allowing us to manueaver. Dan fought the fish from the bow while assisted by chasing it down with Kaleidoscope's five knots.

The fight took no less than an hour and a half as we brought the fish close and it then ran out more line over and over again. When it was finally tired enough for us to get it along side the boat we got our first look at the monster. It was a massive mean looking shark! We later determined it to be a 500 pound short-finned mako! Special thanks to those heavy gauge steel leaders we bought in Saint Martin. Now, we had read in the cruiser's Handbook of Fishing that most people throw sharks back, but that they are actually very good eating if you clean them correctly. Having exuasted our fish supply from our last catch we made the perhaps foolish decision to bring the shark on board. We were sure we would be able to give away the ample excess of food at the next achorage.

Like we had done with our last big fish we shot it through the head with our speargun and contented ourselves to the fact that he was dead. Now the size of this shark well exceeded the other fish we had dealt with so special means were needed to bring him on board. We ran out the spinnaker pole and clipped in one of our blocks(pulley). We then ran a dock line around the shark's tail up through the block and to one of our cockpit winches. Slowly we winched the fish out of the water and swung the pole around to bring him down inside the cockpit. His teeth looked menacing, but we were sure he was dead and the spear shaft protruding from his head gave us confidence in that belief.

However, we were mistaken. It seems the leviathon was only exhausted from the long battle and our spear shaft had missed it's mark. Just as we were about to lower him into the hopelessly undersized cockpit the animal began the thrash about wildly. I leap from my post at the cockpit winch, terrified at my proximity to the now slashing teeth. The animal arched back and forth with incredible force building up a powerful swing and becoming a living, biting wrecking ball. Our dodger was the first casualty. In one swing the shark relieved it from its delicate hinges and a puff of wind finished the job by hurling it over the starboard lifelines.

Dan and I were helpless to rescue it as we cowered in the safety of the foredeck. Another swing, this time assisted by the roll of a wave brought the full force of the shark's heavy body against the side of our helm and steering pedestal. The four bolts through the fiberglass floor gave way and the steering cables that run through it snapped. The situation was getting pretty serious and I resolved to go aft and release the line which was holding the shark above our cockpit. I made my way closer and was waiting for a opportune moment and a dose of courage. I waited a little too long as the shark swung toward the stern and crushed our aft mounted wind turbine. The unit that had so painstakingly installed fell backwards into the water behind the boat. It trailed behind us for a few moments, held by the wires which ran to our batteries, however these quickly tore and the whole unit sank to the ocean floor. In the same swing the tail connected with our mounted outboard engine. That, too, was sent to the depths.

Before any more damage could be done I managed to release the rope from the winch. This dropped the shark into our cockpit where it stretched from our compainionway to the stern rails. It continued to thrash, tearing cockpit cushions and leaving nasty gashes in our pristine gelcoat finish. Dan and I waited on the foredeck for a full 45 minutes while the beast beat the crap out of anything left in the aft section of the boat. After it had calmed for a while Dan slipped into the cabin through the forward hatch and went to the radio to call another sailboat that was only a few miles away. He came back with the news that none of our boat's electronics were working. We knew this must have some connection to the shark and a long investigation revealed the problem. The torn ends of the wires leading to the wind turbine had short circuited on the aluminium steering quadrant. The thick wires had allowed the entire battery bank to drain quickly without burning up the wires, as would happen with most short circuits. To make matters worse, the intense heat created by the short had melted part of the quadrant and frozen it to the rudder shaft. You all might not know what a quadrant is, but all you need to know is that we can't steer the boat with it melted to the rudder shaft.

So, there we were half way between Montserrat and Guadeloupe with no radio and no steering. The engine still worked but it would only drive the boat in tight circles. We drifted for two whole days before we managed to flag down a passing fishing boat. They agreed to tow us to Guadeloupe for a few bottles of rum. We just made it in this morning. The shark is still in the cockpit, we are not sure we will be able to get it out, but I'm sure not touching it.

Islands That Scrape the Clouds

2007-03-26T13:43:00.000-04:00

With our newly repaired sail, we left St. Martin for the tiny island of Saba. Saba is a remote, volcanic island 25 miles south of St. Martin. The island itself is surrounded by depths of 2000 feet of ocean and towers 3000 feet above sea level. Despite being only 5 square miles (less than half the size of my hometown, Needham), it's tall enough to touch the clouds.

The island immediately made a positive impression on us as we cleared through customs and immigration. Our "customs officer" was a young man with a backwards baseball hat who seemed to be far more interested in setting up his fantasy baseball roster than in checking our exit papers from our last port (which, of course, we didn't have).

We walked down to a local sandwich place for lunch. It's amazing that on an island so remote that unique species of lizards, snakes and plants have evolved, so small that there is not a single beach on the island, and so steep that it seemed like only the most sure-footed mountain goat would want to live here, there is wireless internet at the local shop.

Clearly, the most important thing that we needed to do here was get to the top of the volcano (dormant, allegedly). The next morning, we beached the dinghy on the breaking rocks. We climbed 400 steps on a 30 minute hike that brought us to about 1000 feet at which point we reached a village ironically named "The Bottom". From there we hitchhiked to the opposite side of the island where we entered another trail that took us straight to the top. Needless to say, the hike was hard and the view was great. The top really does scrape the clouds but a substantial amount of visibility was lost upon summitting. The pictures do not fully capture the view, but check them out. There's a link on the right side.

Saba, despite it's size, actually has a medical school of 200 students. We had our blood pressure taken (105/80, by the way) and talked with a few students. Mostly, they were surprised that we had ever heard of the island. Apparently they don't get many tourists. Later, at a bar, I overheard a conversation where Brad and I were referred to as "medical students drinking presidentes". We didn't correct him.

Leaving Saba was not as fun as being in Saba. I'll spare you the details, but the trip to Statia was a very long 16 miles. Which is where we are now.

Sneaking into town

2007-03-21T18:47:00.000-04:00

After a week or so of cruising around the BVIs, we headed back to the USVIs to pick up Jen and Casey from St. Thomas. Once again, we decided clearing in and out of customs would be to big a hassle, so we didn't. We knew it would be tough to explain Jen and Casey's presence on the boat to a Customs and Border Protection officer, so we dropped them off on the US side of a ferry and picked them up on the British side once their papers were in order. At the same time, Kaleidoscope tried to get an extension on our already overrun cruising permit. Big mistake. We were sent on a wild goose chase, dealing with one officer in one building before being sent off to another to wait in more long lines. Lesson learned: we should have just skipped the whole thing. Additionally, pretty much everyone we talked to was, to put it bluntly, a huge asshole. Possibly because we didn't know that down here you MUST say "good morning", "good afternoon", or "good night" upon greeting someone. "Hello sir, how are you?" will get you treated like dirt.
Once all that was dealt with, we cruised around the islands. There was a lot of doing nothing for the next week. Many naps were taken. We did get to do a few things on our agenda.
The Indians, which Hal, Brad and I had done the previous week did not disappoint. It was some of the best snorkelling I've done in my life. There were hundreds of large and delicous fish, but it's a protected area so we could not fill our fridge.
The baths, the most famous of the BVI attractions were also cool. Some sort of geological phenomenon (I'd explain how, but I must've sleep through that geology class) caused enormous boulders to stack themselves on top of each other. Crawling through, under and over these boulders was a really good time, the only downside being the scores of tourists that you had to see in every direction.
The rest of the week was spent exploring Virgin Gorda and Tortola. Not much to tell here. We did a little snorkelling, some sudokus, and drank plenty of white russians.
We ended up in Road Town, Tortola where we sent Jen, Hal and Casey back to the US. After one final excruciating interaction with a BVI official for our exit we were happy to head out to St. Martin where the fee is $5 and they don't even have customs.
The overnighter ended up being an overnighter and all-dayer. We motored directly into the wind almost the whole way, making just over 3 knots (for those unfamiliar with nautical-speak, that's just over 3 MPH). If you walked the 85 miles, you would have beat us. When the sail did come out at the end, it ripped. The only upside of the crossing was a 10-pound tuna we caught early on. We've been eating it ever since.
I was pretty tired upon arrival, and went to bed around 5:30PM. The sun was still up. When I awoke to the voices of Aurora welcoming us, it was 8:30AM. 15 hours is a lot, even for me.
My initial impression of St. Martin is a positive one. It seems to be filled with friendly, laid-back people who speak a lot of English despite being half-French and half-Dutch. We sneaked across to the Dutch side in order to be nearer to the sail lofts. We took the sail in to be repaired and were told it would take over a week, but after a bunch of "pleeeases" and "pretty-pleeeases" they agreed to have it done by Thursday. Today is Wednesday and Brad and I are doing odd-jobs around the boat that we've been putting off, one of which is to write this blog entry for you people. Done.

We made it!

2007-03-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

The wind seemed to emanate directly from the island of Saint Martin as we motored into the confused and choppy sea. The boat pitched and rolled as Dan and I took turned sleeping on the cabin floor, the only berth that we would not be tossed out of. It took us 23 hours to cover some 80 miles. Do that math, it adds up to a huge pain in the ass. We wind shifted as we neared Saint Martin. We raised they sailed and had them very close hauled. The edge of the jib caught on one of our spreader guards during a tack. The result is a small tear in the edge of our sail. Nothing too serious, however it will need to be repaired before we leave Saint Martin. Luckily there are many marine services here due to the large charter fleet; we will search out a sail loft in the morning. Everyone here speaks French and I am currently sitting in a French bakery with free WiFi. Quite a different culture than the one we left behind in the British Virgins. We'll see if we can post more tomorrow, right now I'm totally out of energy; these passages were much easier with four people.

To Saint Martin

2007-03-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

We leave in two hours for an overnight sail east to Saint Martin. We will be heading into the wind again and hope to arrive in the early to mid morning tomorrow. We had a great time with Hal, Jen, and Casey, but now it is time to strike out again and leave this area that has become familair and comfortable.

Dan was able to load another lobster picture (scroll down) for your amusement.

Happy Birthday Dan

2007-03-16T14:20:00.000-04:00

May you catch many fish this day of your birth.

Dan and Brad's Spearfishing Adventures V

2007-03-14T17:01:00.000-04:00

Dan and I had made plans the previous day to go spear fishing on the ocean side of Georgetown Harbor in the Exumas, January, 2007. The wind picked up that night and by morning the conditions were less than ideal. All but one of our cruiser friends bailed out when they saw the breaking waves on the near beach.

Dan, Dave, and I geared up and swam out past the breakers. Visibility was poor and the reef relatively lifeless. The near reef, where we had caught a lobster a few days previous, was inaccessable due to the swell. The three of us hovered over a reef in 18- 22 feet of water, making dives to check out attractive holes. Having seen nothing shootable we were becoming a little discouraged when 'out of the blue' comes a huge mid water fish. Dan and I would later decide it was some type of jack. We both described this as the biggest fish, barring sharks, that we had seen in the wild.

As Dan and I looked at the fish I began wondering whether it was too big to shoot. The main factors I weighed were the 200 yard distance from the beach and the breaker we would have to pass through. This would mean a 15 minute swim with a huge bleeding fish on the end of one of our spears. Sharks are more prevalent on the ocean side of the harbor and the swim back was going to be tense. All these thoughts flashed through my mind in the first few moments after seeing this monster fish. I made a move towards Dan to get his opinion on the fish's shootability when my attention was caught by a long silvery figure. I could see a four and half foot barracuda hovering about ten feet behind Dan. "Well that settles it," I thought. There is no way we can shoot this fish now with this barracuda right here. I watched him for a few moments thinking, "I better tell Dan this guy is right behind him."

Just then I hear the tell-tale sound of a pole spear being shot and making contact. Both the barracuda and I quickly turn in Dan's direction. I see Dan down about eight feet below the surface holding his pole spear which failed to penetrate past the barb ( should have sharpened those tips). The jack is struggling to swim away and pumping a prodigious amount of blood from the hole behind its gill plate. Dan is swimming after the fish, the barracuda is swimming after Dan, and I am swimming after the whole mess. The cuda catches up with Dan, swims under him and isn't visible to him until it emerges directly under his face mask. The jack is still struggling and the cuda is now swimming in a stream of blood a few feet from the fish. Dan and I both half hope that he takes a bite out of the jack to slow him down.

With the barracuda and its teeth so near our chances of safely landing this fish were slim so I peel off the pursuit to find Dave. He was about 30 yards away and I made the swim to inform him of the situation and the amount of blood in the water. He understood and began to head in. I swim back to find Dan returning from the chase. We talk for a moment about the fish and the shot, then look down and find ourselves treading water in a semi diluted cloud of fish blood. A little unnerved, we turn and head for shore. A few barracudas keep us very close company for almost the entire swim in. The breakers were especially tense as your underwater visibility goes to zero with all the bubbles. It felt good to be back on shore, but we couldn't help thinking how awesome it would have been to land that fish. We could have eaten it for days and had fillets to give to all the people we had met in Georgetown over the last week.

Dan and Brad's Spearfishing Adventures IV

2007-03-13T16:55:00.000-04:00

As a New Englander, I've been raised to appreciate a good lobster dinner. Having been my favorite dish for much of my life, I was excited to try out the Caribbean, spiny variety when I first arrived in the Bahamas. I knew that they did not have claws, but was foolish enough in the early goings to attempt barehanded captures. They're not called "spiny" lobsters because they're soft and cuddly, and after a few attempts brought only cut up fingers it became clear that this was a job for gloves and spears.
The first lobster Kaleidoscope landed was about a 3-pounder caught by pole spear by Brad near George Town, in the Bahamas. Now I know you snobby New Englanders would probably assume that such a monster would have a tough, rubbery texture not fit for refined palattes. Not so. We've discovered that even the largest of the large down here have meat that is as good, if not better than any Maine lobster in top restaurants.
Unfortunately, it seems that other people have picked up on this and lobsters are hard to come by in areas heavily populated with cruisers. In most anchorages it's hopeless to look for them and it's $30 for a frozen tail at the supermarket.
After finding ourselves back in the overpopulated George Town for the second time, we decided to move on in late January. The passage we decided to take, with 3 other boats would lead us through the southeastern Bahamas, consisting of numerous islands realatively untouched by modern fishermen. We had heard stories of a sea of milk and honey, with lobsters under every rock.
About halfway through our 5 day voyage to the Dominican Republic from the Bahamas, we stopped at an island called Mayaguana. After a short time, I spotted a large lobster and attempted to spear it. The spear broke and I watched as dinner scurried along the ocean floor into a crevice between the rocks. With our fellow fishermen watching, I couldn't allow myself to be outwitted by an animal that I believe myself to be significantly smarter than. I swam down and reached into the crack, holding my breath as long as I could and felt blindly for the lobster. On my first reach, I could feel it embedded about 3 feet into the crack and holding strong. The only thing I could grab were the horns on the front of the face and I pulled as hard as I could. Lobsters are a clever bunch, and this one had worked itself into the end of an underwater rock maze which I could feel, but not see. The battle went on for 40 minutes as the sun set and eventually we were called back to the boats to continue with the sail. Finally, the beast relented as I was able to slide it through the twists and turns and out an opening barely large enough for the body of the 3 pounder.
Meanwhile, Brad and Kim had been off searching other areas and had caught 2 large lobsters and a slipper lobster. They had discovered a cave containing numerous sizable fish and the largest lobster and were shocked to see me still in the same place they had left me 40 minutes prior. The larger lobsters were probably about 4 pounds and over 36 inches from end to end. The haul of 4 lobsters provided the main course for our four-boat feast in Luperon, Dominican Republic 2 nights later.

Dan and Brad's (+Hal's) Spearfishing Adventures III

2007-03-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

Having been in the BVI's for a few days, where no spear fishing is allowed, we were missing one of our favorite activities. We had sailed around the western tip of Tortola and were en route to a very nice anchorage on Norman's Island called the Bight. Our path took us past a few very good spear fishing coves on the north coast of Saint John.
We anchored Kaleidoscope in Haulover Bay. On the way in we noticed that the bottom of this bay was a pretty constant 65 feet of depth. The current free dive record on Kaleidoscope was held by Dan who dove 45 feet while me and Scott scuba dived off Eagle Shoal. He said he though he could do another 15 feet easy. So we triangulated a spot with a house, small peninsula, and a distant island, the depth read exactly 65.
After anchoring we took the dinghy out to the spot and were surprised by the exceptional clarity of the water; the bottom could clearly be seen. This made the dive psychologically much less intimidating. Hal and Dan jumped out while I stayed in the dinghy struggling with my wet suit and other gear. I had drifted a little away but soon looked up to see Dan surface. He had made it to the bottom, but said, "I am never doing that again, I have never wanted to breathe so bad in my life."
This did not give Hal and I confidence. We decided to make a shallower dive and see how we felt. Both of us went down a little over half way and left very comfortable. Hal made the next attempt. Dan and I dove at intervals after him in order to assist him with the assent if needed. Hal touched bottom and arose unassisted. He was somewhat uncomfortable and said he had no plans for deeper dives in the future.
A little nervous after Dan and Hal's dives, I made my attempt. It takes a long time to swim down 65 feet and the whole time you are reminding yourself that you have to swim it all again before you get any air. A little freaked out I stopped a few feet from the bottom and began my accent. I made it to the surface without difficulty and with some breath to spare. This gave me confidence for my next dive where I reached the bottom and returned with a handful of sand as tangible proof.
We got skunked on the spear fishing trip, seeing nothing good enough to catch, but considered the day a success considering the bragging rights we acquired. We have no plans for 65+ foot dives, but we do now have much more confidence in our 40 foot free dives.

A Guide to the BVIs... for cheapskates

2007-03-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hal, Brad and I were eager to leave Soper's hole, British Virgin Islands after spending the night in the crowded anchorage for $25. We headed up to Jost Van Dyke planning to eat dinner at a well known restaurant there, Foxy's Taboo. We dinghied in and sat down. The waiter brought us a menu with a blatant absence of prices. We weren't falling for that. We called him back and asked him to list the prices. After a good laugh, we excused ourselves to the bar. A good look around revealed that we were by far the cheapest people in the bar. An eight person party behind us was happily ordering drink after drink on top of their $40 entrees and $20 appetizers. Meanwhile, Hal, Brad and I sat at the bar nursing cheap beers in dirty shirts and gym shorts. We were probably barefoot and I doubt any of us could remember the last time we showered. After a few drinks we dinghied past the charter boats paying $25/night to moor, back to our free anchoring where we made ourselves pasta. Total Cost: $0.50 per person.

The next morning we sailed to Tortola, where we met up with Rosario. Aurora showed up the next day and hosted a cocktail hour on the boat. Once again, Kaleidoscope embarrassed themselves by providing the crappiest dish. We stayed past sunset to watch the lunar eclipse rise over the Tortola hills. It was spectacular. I'd include a picture, but, well, we didn't bother to take any. Instead, I'll include an ellipses so that you can all take a moment to imagine it... There, wasn't that cool.

That night was the much anticipated "Full Moon Party" at the Bombashack. It's a big event on Tortola, which occurs, not surprisingly, every full moon. People of all ages gather and are served free mushroom tea. There's rumors that the tea contains hallucinogenic mushrooms, but I suspect they meant porto bello. The night was disappointing, though. It rained most of the time and given our cheapness (see above), we didn't buy enough drinks to enjoy ourselves.

With our current blank schedule, we tend to do less. I don't really remember what happened the next day, but it probably included some sailing, anchoring, snorkeling, and Red Stripes.

The following day we made a less than legal move back into US territory, followed by another sub-legal return to the BVIs. But now we're here and our passports and sailing permits agree that we should be here. See, two wrongs DO make a right.

The last couple days have been spent exploring the touristy sites of the BVIs. We snorkeled the "Indians". These are rock formations that provided for incredible marine life and underwater topography. Moving on, we checked out the wreck of the Rhone. This is a Scuba site, but being the overconfident free-divers we are, we enjoyed it from the surface and occassionally (and briefly) close up. The wreck is in 30-80 feet of water.

Looking forward, our plan is to show Jen and Casey around the BVIs when they get here this weekend until March 18th. At that point we'll be free for a good deal of time and Brad and I will head down the Antilles island chain towards Venezuela.

Alive, well in the BVI's

2007-03-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

Following the consumption of a potentially toxic fish, Brad and I waited patiently for the symptoms to appear. First, we were supposed to have an upset stomach, followed by tingling extremities, weakness, painful muscles and joints, nausea, delirium, temperature reversal, and the worst symptom, death. Hours passed and no symptoms appeared. The next morning, I felt an upset stomach but it was more likely that it was a result of eating half a tube of raw cookie dough for breakfast. Feeling confident in either our superhuman poison fighting abilities or the fish's non-toxicity, we stepped up our consumption and ate substantial fish lunches and dinners for 3 days. Still, no symptoms arose.

Feeling finished with the island of St. John, we decided to move on to the British Virgin Islands just a couple miles away. Unfortunately, Hal and Brad teamed up to clog the bathroom, which on the boat we refer to as "the bathroom". Thankfully, they also teamed up to fix it. This required some swimming under the boat with a coat hanger and the horrible task of disconnecting the tubes. We ended up staying in the anchorage an extra day, postponing the BVIs to another date.

Yesterday, we finally made the trip over, clearing customs in the afternoon and picking up a $25 mooring ball for the night in Soper's hole. We had been told by Scott that we should simply drop anchor in the middle of the mooring field, but we couldn't bring ourselves to do it in 40ft. of water and the harbor already packed so tight. Next up is Jost Van Dyke.

Dan and Brad's Spearfishing Adventures II

2007-02-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

After two days in Cruz Bay we were longing for clean clear waters to swim in. We decided to sail around the north coast of St John, south of Tortola and planned a stop at Newfound Bay. This bay is outside of the park which meant most importantly that we would be able to spear fish. Hal, Dan and I set the anchor then hopped in the dingy and make the very short trip to the reef that we had passed near the harbor's entrance. Hal dove off the side of the dingy, anchor in hand, to search for a sandy an coral free spot in which to set it. Dan, Hal and I were armed respectively with a six foot pole spear, a trident pole spear, and the spear gun. Tips had been sharpened on the three hour sail to the harbor and we had high hopes.
Dan drew first blood. Dan chased a snapper into a hole and made a dive after it, a grunt occupied the same hole and Dan quickly dispatched it. Hal then speared his first fish; a red hind. This fish is a member of the grouper family and very good eating. Throughout the day's dive I had been enticed by the sight of a very large snapper. Both Hal and I had seen him on our last visit to this bay. I identified the hole that he lived in but as I got close he would go and hide very deep under his cover. This fish was many times larger than any others we had seen on this reef. I left him with hopes that he would reemerge if left undisturbed. While searching other parts of the reef a good sized bar jack swam by and caught my attention. These fish are not wary enough and with close aim I managed a good shot through the gill plate and head. We now had three fish in the dingy and lunch was looking good. Hal and I then saw the large snapper swimming freely outside his hole. We made our way toward it but it once again retreated into the depths of his cave.
Catching this fish now became my all consuming thought. We gave it's lair space hoping that he come out again. Dan and I stayed near, hunting smallish schoolmasters. A large moving shape caught my eye and I grabbed Dan's arm to direct his attention toward the snapper. He was once again out and about, swimming near his hole's entrance. I made my way towards him, Dan hanging back,.not wanted to spook the fish. As I got nearer he retreated to his hole and my heart sank. I held out hope that he would still be hovering near its entrance. I maneuvered to swim over the top of the coral outcrop and get a view down into the hole. As I came over the top I could see the huge fish hovering in its entrance. I aimed quickly but calmly and shot for his head. The spear gun kicked forcefully and the butt of the gun hit me in the chin. The shot found its mark and the fish began to thrash about inside its hole. Dan was quickly on the scene and attempted a shot with his pole spear. I pulled on the spear shaft, trying to fight the fish out of the hole's opening. At some point the fish worked its way off the shaft and was free for a few moments. However, "Well fucked up", by the shot to its head; it was unable to retreat deeper into the hole. Dan Jabbed with his pole spear and managed to stick the fish in its side. He was trying to pull it out of a smaller opening, but the fish was too broad to come out sideways. I dove down and grabbed it by the tail, freeing it from Dan's spear as I extracted it from the hole. With a short swim to the dingy the fish was landed.
After the obligatory pats on the back and high fives a marathon fish cleaning session commenced back on Kaleidoscope. Given the size if this fish we had some worries about the possibility of ciguatera poisoning. Ciguatera poisoning is a bio-accumulated toxin found in reef fish and the predators that eat them. It is entirely undetectable by taste or appearance with symptoms ranging from D&V to death. I gave Dan a sample of the fish and he got started on the hour long process of using our ciguatera toxin test kit. I filleted the smaller three fish and we began cooking those while I worked on the snapper. I cut a piece of scrap meat for Hal who placed it on one of our hooks and lowered it over the side. This gave me a thought. In order to attract more fish to our hook I ran a dock line through the gills and out the mouth of the filleted snapper carcass. This was lowered off the side and tied to the stern cleat. A little while after the sun went down Dan saw the fishing line jerk and was all ran to the side to see what was up. We saw a large ray glide pass and thought that to be the culprit but were then confronted with the site of a shark attacking the snapper's body. The use of our spotlight made this a very vivid image. Upon retrieval of the line, only the head was left.
The ciguatera test proved inconclusive, but we knew that larger reef fish are more susceptible to the toxin due to bio-accumulation. Fearing this, we used Dan and I as guinea pigs to test a portion of the fillet. After eating our meals we identified the snapper as a dog snapper, the most notoriously ciguatoxic of the snapper family. We also decided, after closer review, that the cigua-test results much more closely resembled the positive control compared to the negative control. Oops. As I write this we are currently awaiting the effects of any poisoning. You will have to read the next entry to find out if we are still alive. In the event that we are not you may direct your questions to Hal, who abstained from the snapper.

Turtle Power!

2007-02-27T08:35:00.000-05:00

After anchoring in Coral Bay yesterday we decided to go snorkling despite the poor conditions. Dan, Hal, and I dinghied to a good coral outcropping that we had found on a previous visit. The moderate winds were kicking up an equivolent moderate chop. This was stirring up a lot of sediment, reducing visibility to about 15 feet. Hal quickly spotted a large three-foot sea turtle resting on the bottom. I handed Hal my speargun, got a good breath of air and dove down to the turtle. He saw me approach but foolishly hesitated in making his escape. I gripped him firmly on both shoulders and he took off like a rocket. We cruised over the bottom at a good speed. Hal, having dived down with me, struggle to keep pace but was thwarted when his laughter caused his mask and lungs to fill with water. I tryed to kick upwards and bring the turtle toward the surface, but it became apparent that I was very much not in charge of where we would be going. I finally had to disengage as my breath ran out. Now that we've expierenced this thrill no sea turtle is safe in the caribbeaen sea.

Dan and Brad's Spear Fishing Adventures

2007-02-26T11:21:00.000-05:00

Staniel Cay, Bahamas - January.

Scott, the Schlauch family, and I piled into the golf cart with all our gear and drove to the ocean side of the Cay. Dan and I planned on finding that night's dinner somewhere among the reef. I was the first one geared up and into the water. I was met with my first siting of a predator class shark. I have seen nurse and sand sharks before, but these species pose no danger and are so docile that they may be petted. I was now looking at a five foot reef shark; certainly not a man-eater, but it did give me some pause as I was planning on spear fishing in this area. I told the Schlauchs about the shark and they seemed more interested than intimidated. Soon Mike, Bob, Dan and I were all out cruising the reef. The habitat looked excellent and its distance from the town meant that it would be relatively unexploited. The ocean sides of islands are often better because strong swells make them unfishable for a large percentage of days. Today's conditions were relatively calm and we went about our dives, looking in holes and under ledges for lobsters and groupers. After ten or fifteen minutes of searching I saw a large black grouper free swimming toward me. He was near the reef, but a good distance from any real cover. I pulled my Hawaiian sling back and excitedly took a rushed and inexperienced shot. The sic foot spear shaft hit the grouper in the back half of its body, a poor location. Hurt but not crippled the fish took off toward the reef, bringing my spear with it. I soon enlisted Dan and Mike (Dan's brother) for the search. We assumed the grouper had taken cover somewhere in the near reef. My mind was somewhat unsettled as i had seen the reef shark not too long ago and not too far away. Now were searching for a wounded fish and I suspected that the situation was not entirely unknown to the shark. I saw the shark swimming off in the distance while we scoured the reef, and this put me very much on my guard. Dan and Mike both dove down to check a tunnel like hole. I stayed at the surface on watch, slowly circling. On my second turn I brought my face around and met the eyes of a reek shark, facing me about three feet from my legs. Startled, I proceeded to splash frantically, apparently doing my best to imitate a wounded animal. Luckily the shark turned away at my sudden burst of movement. I grabbed Dan and Mike and we headed back to sure, deciding to buy a new spear shaft back in town. On the way back in we saw two more reef sharks cruising the shallows near the beach. Back on shore with my nerves calmed Dan and I decided to head out to a different reef. On the way there we encountered a group of three reef sharks that eyed us cautiously. One circled around behind us and I hoped they weren't gaining confidence from their superiority in numbers. Eventually they left us and we found a very pretty reef rising off a 25 foot deep sand bottom. One wily lobster escaped us through a back exit to his hole and we had to settle for the queen conch we gathered. After the adventure of shelling and cleaning the conch, Dan's mom Phyllis made them into a tasty ceviche which allowed us to count in hunting expedition as a success.

Moving on, Scott-free

2007-02-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

It was a great run, but on Thursday Scott officially moved on to more important, land-based pursuits. The rest of us on Kaleidoscope are left to explore the remote regions of the caribbean Sea on our own.
Thursday morning, after dinghying Scott and his enormous quantity of luggage to shore, we pulled anchor and headed East along St. John. The trip was a bumpy 3 miles, but Everett remained in the hammock between the forestay and the mast the whole way. He would swing at up to 90 degree angles and come crashing down with each wave. Once we stopped we realized that he felt unsafe even attempting to exit the hammock and was simply holding on for dear life for the entirety of the trip.
The destination was another attractive anchorage and a short dinghy ride to a hiking trail. We hiked over 5 miles over steep inclines through the woods that ended in pre-Columbian rock carvings. The trail was littered with sizable hermit crabs, swarms of bats covered the roofs of abandoned buildings and the view from the top did not disappoint. We did, however, forget to bring water, a costly mistake in this heat.
Early Friday morning we headed back West and up to the North part of St. John. Apparently in St. John it is illegal to fish with fishing rods, but handlines are legal for some reason. Armed with this information, we dropped in a couple newly rigged handlines and pulled in a fish within 30 minutes. Unfortunately, an inedible barracuda. We sailed a quick, downwind 5 miles and had an action-packed day of drinking beer and eating ice cream on the beach until the sun started getting low.

I've also added some pictures to webshots. the address is http://community.webshots.com/user/dschlauch112
check them out.

St. John

2007-02-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

2/16/07-2/19/07

Culebritta was magnificent. We hiked up to the oldest light house in the Virgin Islands at sunset. I can’t say it was the safest thing to do but the view was well worth it. The stairs leading up to the light were rusted through in many spots and left us wondering if the person in front of us would be the last to make it up safely. From the top we could see clearly in every direction. St. Thomas was lit up in the distance and the sun was setting behind Culebra in the opposite direction. In place of the old candle lantern, there stood a modern revolving light bulb and lenses with solar panels and batteries creating a self sufficient system. Although the system looked brand new, the light never turned on. After waiting an hour or so to see the light turn on we headed down the stairs to a buffet. Each boat brought a little snack and drinks on the hike. Some brought more than others. We were in the others category, but we helped out in the eating side of things for more than our share so it all evens out. Tni brought a gourmet assortment of appetizers that would be welcome at any fine restaurant. The hike down was a spectacle. The night was very dark and we had a limited supply of flashlights. The result was 8-drunk-person follow the leader. We stumbled over rocks as well as our own feet but made it down unscathed. We retired to Aurora for a game of Pit which is a very loud stock market game in which aggressiveness is the only option.

The 17^th was a day of arrivals. We traveled from Culebritta to Lindbergh Bay on St. Thomas. Our outboard engine had failed us the day before so we were forced to row in to the beach to pick up Hal and Everett. The sparkplug failed on the engine and after much ado we managed to diagnose the problem and break the pull cord at the same time. We spent the night at beach restaurants with the two newbie’s.

Anika departed on the morning of the 18^th after a smooth and exciting stay. We traveled to Frances bay on St. John that afternoon. We spent some time snorkeling and checking out the turtles before heading in to Cruz bay for dinner. The dingy motor was fixed but the pull cord snapped again forcing us to be towed in to Maho bay by Rosario. Maho bay camp grounds were beautiful. They are situated in a very lush area of St. John and the cabins are connected via an elaborate system of wood stairs. Climbing up them at night it gave the impression of walking through a tourist path in a rainforest. The people at Maho are all granolas. The entire walk up smelled like Foss hill at Wesleyan on April 20^th. We ate at Morgan’s Mango in Cruz bay and spent the rest of the night walking around town. The return trip was as exciting as our time spent in town. To start off while getting in the dingy I fell off a sand ledge getting my shorts soaked. Just as I regained my balance and started to climb in the boat a rogue wave struck the dingy. Now I know you’re probably thinking it was just wavy and we were unprepared but that isn’t the case. It was flat calm and this wave just appeared out of no where. It smashed into the side of the dingy soaking everyone and pushed us back to shore. To top it all off we had no tow back because Rosario had already returned to their boat. We were forced to paddle from Maho to the far side of Frances. We were as uncoordinated as two paddlers can be. To say we went in an S-curve is an understatement. We turned from one direction to the other making very little headway in the in term. Finally, we arrived home after our night on the town.

The following day we sailed to Newfound bay. The winds were light allowing us to swim behind the boat while we sat motionless with full sails. Newfound bay was beautiful. Although there was little or no beach the coral we found was fantastic. We were surrounded by green turtles the moment we set the hook. It was a great little day anchorage. After the days snorkeling we popped in to Coral bay and tried to set a hook in Round bay but the holding was poor. On the plus side while trying to manually set the hook with a snorkel I saw a beautiful spotted eagle ray. We motored on to Coral Harbor and dropped our hook. We lucked out since it was movie night at Skinny Legs. The blackened mahi burger was fantastic as was the company.

out of shape

2007-02-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

2/12/07-2/16/07

So we have moved on from Culebra but it was a great few days in paradise Immediately we fell in love with the quant island of Culebra. It has all the resources one could reach for at arms reach but they all are masked in island flavor. There are no KFCs here or Wal-Mart’s like there were on Puerto Rico. The Dingy Dock restaurant and the small boutiques that line the streets are ample substitutes. We spent the first couple days spear fishing on some of the surrounding islands. The fruits of which provided two great meals for the ten of us, one on board Aurora and one on Kaleidoscope. We were skeptical about how easily ten people would eat on board our 37 foot home but everything proceeded with out a hitch. The lobster was succulent and the fish fried professionally in butter. More importantly the drinks were cold with ice provided by Paul and Nancy from Aurora. The night took an unexpected turn when the 151 was broken into, the culmination of which left Dan, Brad and I blowing fire for the humor of the group.

The other three boats took the ferry back to mainland Puerto Rico on the 14^th and we decided to head over to Flamenco Beach. We took a 2 dollar bus ride over to one of the top beaches in the world. I haven’t checked the reports but apparently the beach is routinely ranked in the top five beaches in the world. The sand there supported the claim. It was the finest sand I have ever experienced. Dan put it best when he said that it is as if they took a regular beach and ground all the sand up again. One of the more interesting features of the beach is that it used to be used by the US for Amphibious assault training. There are old rusted tanks and personnel carriers right on the beach. It is amazing that a beach of such beauty could be used for years by the military for training and its beauty lost to all in red tape. We stayed too late and missed our ride back into town. Luckily, Anika’s charm enabled us to hitch a ride back to our dingy. The four of us crammed into the back seat of a jeep wrangler. Being Valentines Day we thought it only proper to eat out at the dingy dock. Anika won a free bottle of wine in their promotional Valentines day raffle. Of course.

Not fully knowing what we were getting into we set out on bikes the following day to go beaching. Maybe I am out of shape, maybe it was the rental bikes, no it was definitely my being out of shape, but the bike ride we went on was extremely grueling. The hills aren’t that high in elevation on Culebra but the roads traverse them in manner that maximizes the elevation changes. Up, down, up, down, the entire way. And it was hot, very hot. We ended up walking up the worst of them. Our legs were like Jello after the trip. We left our bikes at the top of the last hill, knowing that we would just have to walk up the hill with our bikes anyway. The beach was beautiful and the water ohh so refreshing. Not as beautiful as Flamenco but less crowded and offering a great experience as well. The way back was not as tough but beers were more than welcome at the finish.

The 16^th we headed out in the morning to Culebritta, a small island only miles off of Culebra. We picked up a newly installed mooring ball on the west coast of the island. When I say newly installed, I mean the workers installing them were right next to us working on the next ball. There were nice coral but no fish of separable size and the swell enticed us to leave for the main harbor on the north.

Culebra

2007-02-12T20:04:00.001-05:00

2/3/07-2/11/07

So I take it that you heard we made it safely to Puerto Rico. We ordered
new bearings and a new raw water pump. The thought was that if we
couldn't repair the old water pump with the new bearings we could just
throw on the new pump and if we were able to repair the water pump we
had the option to return the new pump or keep it as a spare. We managed
to keep ourselves busy by reading and exploring the town of Boqueron.
The hardest part of not having an engine is living without power. Our
refrigeration unit sucks our batteries dry even during our black out
policy. We did fill the refrigerator with ice when it became clear that
the wind generator was not supplying enough energy to run the fridge but
ice doesn't last long in these climates. When the part finally did
arrive a day late we were ready to move on. Crux and Aurora had already
left a day earlier to La Parguera. After a couple hours spent
disassembling the old pump we managed to get the new bearings. The most
difficult part was removing the bearing race from the shaft and the
other race from inside the pump. The parts were fused together. To
separate them we placed the pieces inside the barbeque. Heating them
expanded the parts differently making the impossible possible. The pump
works like new and the engine roars again.

On the 8^th we traveled to La Parguera to join up with the others. When
we arrived we set out in two dinghies to find an island that has monkeys
on it. Of course we weren't able to find the island but we had a
fantastic time searching for it. La Parguera has many islands that form
a mangrove maze. We sped through mangroves finding huge fish, beautiful
birds and porpoises. There was one spot where the path is so narrow the
trees form a canopy above that is uninterrupted from one island to the
other. We turned the engines off in hopes of hearing the monkeys.
Although the path was spectacular we lucked out on the monkeys. That
night we returned to the same mangroves on a luminescence tour. It was
no where near as spectacular as what we saw in Luperon but you could
still clearly make out the glow surrounding the arms of Brad while he
swam among the microorganisms. After the tour we returned to Aurora to
watch Captain Ron again. It did not disappoint.

In the morning we left for Ponce with Rosario. It was David's birthday
and to wish him a happy birthday we broke out the water balloon
launcher. Unfortunately, before they even noticed that we were hurling
balloons at them they hooked a mahi mahi. Tough luck, I would much
rather be hit with a water balloon than reel in a dolphin fish. We
didn't stay in Ponce long. After getting water and diesel we anchored
off the customs building for a couple hours before continuing on through
the night. We left that night to travel the 75 miles to Fajardo. The
night was uneventful and the wind was slight forcing us to motor the
entire way. We anchored off Isleta Marina and took the ferry in to the
town. Brad rented a car and picked up Anika from the airport in San
Juan. The four of us walked 35 minutes into town at night. The bar we
went to was not a bar at all. It was a liquor store that had a couple
chairs out in the parking lot and some music on. Nonetheless, it was a
fun night even with the 35 minute walk past numerous deadly dogs.

We happily left Fajardo in the morning. We motored to Culebra and met
the other boats again in Ensenada Honda, the largest anchorage in
Culebra. From anchor we can see St. Thomas of the USVI.

Happy Birthday Hal.

more photos

2007-02-05T16:33:00.000-05:00

I threw up some photos from Dan and Brads camera. Enjoy.
It was quite a crazy football game. Glad we don't have that type of rain here.

Here is one sunset while I watch the SuperBowl

2007-02-04T18:03:00.000-05:00

So I tried posting some photos directly to the blog but for some reason I failed. On the flip side, there are lots of photos up now on Scott's photos. I will find that picture of the fish for you Hal but it is on Brad's camera and it will take some time. It is a true story I promise.

so much to tell

2007-02-02T17:45:00.000-05:00

1/19/07-2/2/07

We traveled to Georgetown on the 19^th to partake in some more
volleyball. The scene was similar but there were many more boats. Of
course we encountered the lovable folks on Aries immediately upon
arrival. Their big news was that Bon had scraped/been stung/been
accosted by sea serpents on his leg. The two incident areas were now
deeply pitted and oozing. We haven't heard if he has gotten better but
we wish him the best. Of course we went in to St. Frances on Sunday to
watch the Pats play. Let's not get into that. By Sunday there were
rumors of boats leaving Georgetown to head south on Monday. We managed
to meet up with one of them, Crux, on Monday morning just as we finished
our provisioning. Their plan was to head out that afternoon to the
Spanish Virgins. Of course, we agreed to leave hours later. The plan was
postponed a day while Kim and Carroll on Crux waited for their mail to
arrive. This gave us a little more time to prepare and say goodbye to
all of our friends in Georgetown, and of course it gave me the chance to
play in one more St. Frances poker tournament. Brad and Dan decided to
stay on Aries which was a good decision for I would have taken their
money too as cruised to victory in the 35 person tournament, leaving the
good name of Kaleidoscope fresh in the minds of the Georgetown cruisers.

We departed on the 23^rd with the hope of being in the Spanish Virgins
in a five or so days. Chris Parker's morning weather report had other
ideas for us. It looked as if the weather would be fine wind wise but
that a large 15-20 foot swell would build towards the end of our trip.
Thus the trip was modified again with the new destination of Luperon in
the Dominican Republic. Shortly into the trip we realized that our ETA
while motoring, which we were forced to do because the wind was slack or
on the nose the entire time, was in the middle of the night. To arrive
in an unfamiliar port in the middle of the night is asking for trouble
thus we decided to make an unscheduled stop at Myaguana for some spear
fishing. Myaguana is the easternmost island in the Bahamas. By this time
we had met up with the other boat Crux was traveling with, Aurora. We
were very fortunate to bag three giant lobsters and one large slipper
lobster. I don't think giant does one of the lobsters brad caught
justice. It was enormous. Dan located a lobster deep under a rock in
which there was no access for a spear. So what does Dan do, he can't
give up, that would be shameful. He proceeded to commence hand to
antenna combat for at least a half an hour. He would dive down reaching
his arm all the way up to his shoulder into the cave, barely reaching
the lobster, struggle for a grip and try to budge the wedged lobster
out. Upon unsuccessfully maneuvering the lobster out he would try again
with the same determination over and over. Finally in a last ditch
effort the lobster succumbed to Dan's persistence.

We continued on from Myaguana hours later with the same poor wind. We
had begun to question our gas supplies especially since it looked like
we would be motoring the rest of the trip. We picked up another boat,
Rosario shortly after leaving Myaguana. The four of us continued
Eastward towards the Turks and Caicos. Along the way Aurora caught a
small tuna and Kim on Crux had an epic battle with a six foot billfish
that he managed to land and capture some photos of. We also had a few
bites but the fish always managed to eluded us. We saw a small pod of
pilot whales of which a few swam right under the boat.

Three nights and 400 miles from Georgetown the Dominican Republic came
into view and we were more than ready for it. It was a spectacular sight
to see the sun rise over the mountains of Luperon after being exposed to
the flat islands of the Bahamas for so long. Entering the harbor in
daylight didn't help our fleet as two of the four boats ran aground in
the harbor. Both were soft groundings but unnerving none the less. We
were met by the commandant of the harbor who received the first of many
small bills to officials. Guarding the public dock is a plain clothed
elderly man welding a shot gun who has no regard to where its aim lies.
Customs and immigrations went smoothly for us because of brads
linguistic prowess. It was not so for the other couples. Brad was called
in to settle a dispute between Paul and Nancy on Aurora and the
immigration official who wanted 300 pessos. Paul and Nancy misheard and
assumed he wanted 300 dollars. Since the exchange rate is 33 pessos per
dollar this was an enormous misunderstanding. After a few moments Brad
was able to defuse the argument.

The first night in town we attended fajita night at the local marina.
For four and a half dollars we had a large amount of food buffet style
that was excellent. Beers were around two dollars for 22oz. The price
can't be beat and Presidente is a great beer. We arrived back at the
boat for our first good nights sleep in days. It is very difficult to
sleep while we are at sea. We have two hour shifts so we are forced to
wake up every four hours to take the helm. Moreover, those four hours
are very poor in sleep quality. We are constantly awoken by the vhf or a
rouge wave. Sleep was more than welcome that first night in the calm
harbor of Luperon. The fallowing day we traveled via cab to Puerta Plata
for some provisioning. The nine of us fit easily in the van. The trip
their and back was half the fun. The countryside of the Dominican
Republic is beautiful. The combination of vegetation is unique from
anywhere I have seen. We ate lunch in the oldest building in Puerta
Plata. The fried plantains were delectable. Our next stop was at a small
indoor bizarre that had everything from jewelry to wood carvings to
cigars. The big hit was a drink used for its health benefits. The bottle
contains numerous leaves of many varieties that you add rum, sweet red
wine and a little honey to. The bottle can be used for years. The
supermarket we went to was identical to one you would find in the states.

We had a bountiful dinner on Crux that night. The lobsters we had caught
on our trip were the main course that were complemented by crab legs and
numerous side dishes. We had a wonderful time with the three couples.
The following day we traveled with everyone to a set of waterfalls. They
are commercialized for Dominican Republic standards with guides helmets
and lifejackets. After hiking for 20 minutes we reached the first pool.
Apparently this waterfall system consists of over 25 pools and we
traveled up only the first nine. The water was incredibly refreshing,
partly because we hadn't showered in awhile, and partly because it was
hot out. Immediately upon reaching the top of the first waterfall we
realized the only way to get down is to jump or slide down. Each time we
reached the next level I became more and more excited with the prospect
of going down. The highest level we obtained had a very strong water jet
for a waterfall. The water was flowing so fast it forced you downward
pushing your helmet against the rock. We took a couple photos at the top
but the light was very bad and I don't think they came out well at all.
The way down was more exciting than I anticipated. It was a natural
water park that exceeded Atlantis in enjoyment. The rocks were perfectly
smooth and sliding down them was immensely invigorating. At some falls
the only option was to jump down. The whole group had a blast some even
climbed back up a fall to do it again.

We got back early and decided to rent motorcycles with David and Tni on
Rosario. Now none of us besides David had actually driven a motorcycle
before and looking back on it we were probably crazy but it worked out
well. The owner who rented them to us was very concerned with the
welfare of his bikes. It took us the better part of an hour just to
routinely get them moving with out staling. We had a few hiccups along
the way but for the most part after that first learning hour we were
fine. We traveled to Isabella which was the first town in the new world.
The ruins or a recreation of the ruins of the town where Columbus first
established a town is now a museum. I think everyone would agree that
the highlight of the trip was not actually the town but rather the
motorcycle rides to and from it. I cannot reiterate enough how beautiful
the countryside is. We took a couple detours to get a better flavor for
the DR. We ended up on dirt roads traveling through small villages. What
a trip. Amazingly, we managed to get all the bikes back in one piece. I
don't think we will ever own motorcycles but it was a great learning
experience, and a great place to learn.

We left Luperon the following day after receiving our dispatch from
customs and a little more provisioning. We left ahead of the group
knowing that we cannot maintain the same speed as they do. We caught two
fish in those first few hours sailing. The first was a beautiful 3 ft
Mahi Mahi that Brad reeled in. It is a brilliantly colored fish in the
water. The green and blue pop vibrantly as if they are emitting their
own light. Shortly after death the colors fade into a dull
grey-blue-green. The second fish we caught was a sea monster. This fish
was long and skinny like a needle fish but had viscous teeth and was
immensely ugly. To make things stranger it seemed as if our octopus lure
had attacked the fish as it hooked it in the center of its abdomen
gutting it as it did so. We ate the Mahi Mahi for dinner. Dan skillfully
breaded and fried it to perfection. We sailed in moderate winds until 11
that night when the wind died. Around 3 the engine began making loud
noises. We surmised that it was a problem with the belt that runs the
raw water pump. We tightened the belt thinking that it was just too
lose. Quickly it became evident that we had larger issues. The whole
water pump pulley oscillated indicating a problem with the bearings. By
this point we were already 60 miles out of Luperon and it was another 60
miles to the nearest port eastward in the DR, Samana. We weighed our
options which were few and decided eastward was the only thing that made
sense. Heroically, Kim and Carroll decided that they would try towing us
to the entrance of Samana. We agreed and they prepared a line to pass
over. They attached a fender to the end of a long line that they trailed
behind their boat and then circled us trying to bring the line close
enough for us to pick it up with a boat hook. Their first pass left the
line too far away from reach. I was able to hook the line during their
second pass. The line was traveling so fast, however, that it ripped the
boat hook out of my hand. Lost boat hooks on Kaleidoscope=2. Luckily, it
is amazing I'm saying luckily, but it is fortunate that after ripping
the boathook out of my hand the line lodged itself on our rudder. With
Dan pushing it free on one side with a pole spear and me on the other
pulling it from the fender we managed to dislodge the rope and secure it
to our bow. The towing started out great with little noticeable strain
on the boats and only improved when we made the line longer with our
secondary rode. There was one very sketchy moment when Kim tried to
check his oil. We both had our mains up while towing but to check the
oil he needed to turn his engine off leaving both boats sailing slowly
while we were still tied together. In light winds our boat sails faster
than Crux. We quickly closed the gap and began over taking her despite
letting the main out and ultimately dropping it. Kim was able to finish
in time before we encountered any real trouble but it sure was close.

By the time we reached the entrance to Samana we had decided to continue
on to Puerta Rico even with the unfavorable wind. We knew getting the
part in Puerta Rico would be much less of a hassle than it would be in
The Dominican Republic. Kim and Carroll were saints and decided to keep
towing us until we had enough wind to get us going. It turned out that
they towed us for 24 hours and around 120 miles. We could not ask for a
better cruising partner. If only we could repay their unbridled
generosity. We were left with some 60 miles to Boqueron, PR when we cut
the leash. Initially the wind was strong and we were making 7 knots in
the correct direction. This did not last long as the wind turned light
and variable. We were forced to beat towards Boqueron. The wind was so
light at times that we lost steerage and were forced to just sit. We
even set up our canopy and roll up our jib. The wind gained a little
strength as we neared Puerto Rico but it died when we were a couple
miles out from Boqueron. To make matters a little more interesting
around 9 when we were a mile out from Boqueron a speed boat flew out and
circled around behind us with flashing lights on. It was US customs and
Immigrations. They wanted to follow us in but after hearing that our
engine was out of commission and the wind was very light they decided it
would take too long to follow us in and they decided to board us right
there. We hove to and two officers jumped aboard. They instructed us to
stay in the cockpit as one of them searched down below. He looked in our
drawers and under our cushions. After looking at our passports and being
satisfied that we weren't harboring any Dominicans they departed along
with what little wind we had.

We made little to no headway and decided to loosen the belt and see if
our engine could just make it the 2 miles to anchor. Paul and Kim met us
in their dingy on the way in and guided us to anchor. We set the hook
and promptly passed out after a long three days.

The Customs and Immigrations office is not located in Boqueron so we all
took a cab the following morning to Mayaguez. It was immediately obvious
that we were in the US once again. McDonalds and Burger King oppose each
other along the streets as they do in suburbia America. The mall we went
to in Mayaguez could have just as easily been in Albany NY except that
the primary language is Spanish. Sears, Penny's, Wal-Mart and office max
were all present. I can't say I enjoy the mall experience in the US but
knowing we have spread our influence all the way to paradise is painful.
I came down with a cold that night which I have spread to Dan and Kim
since. I missed out on a great meal of tuna and Mahi Mahi on Rosario
with the group.

We ordered a replacement water pump and parts to fix the old pump that
should be here on Tuesday. We will be hanging out in Boqueron until then.

Dominican Republic

2007-01-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,
We took a left when we were thinking right and ended up in the Dominican Republic. The trip was great. Unfortunately we had to motor most of the way but we are now in a compleatly different landscape. We love it. I will add more when I get internet.

Moving south again

2007-01-20T17:58:00.000-05:00

1/14/07-1/19/07

The week with Dan’s family has flown by. Every day has been action packed. Staniel Cay has provided us with endless entertainment. The first day of snorkeling was spent at Thunderball Grotto a rock formation home to a beautiful reef. The Grotto is an island formation off Staniel Cay that opens for snorkelers. We entered through one cave and found a whole reef inside a spacious cavern. Life was all around. Schools of fish flowed with the current in and out the numerous entrances. Apparently, the impressive geologic structure and the vibrant reef captured the hearts of the director of the James Bond film Thunderball who filmed at the location. Back on the boat after snorkeling we hooked a huge stingray with the skin of a fish Mike, Dan’s brother, speared. The stingray put up a great fight before taking our terminal tackle. In hindsight it is good that the behemoth severed the line because we had no way to land it and what do we want with a 4 ft wide stingray. Moments later on a similar note, Dan spotted a fish under the boat. Rushing to the harpoon he managed to find it in time and throw it before the fish swam away. As the spear entered the water the fish bolted. Initially I thought the fish spooked but turns out it was in response to the barbs of our harpoon entering its flesh. The fish took the harpoon with it until the line ripping into Dan’s flesh produced enough resistance to pull it free. Fish-2 Us-0. Again it proved to be fortuitous that the fish got away because it most likely was an inedible Barracuda.

We took a sailing day trip south to Guana Cay. The sail there started with light winds but they improved enough to show off the speed of Kaleidoscope. The Schlauchs were right at home on the sheets and at the helm. The anchorage we traveled to had a beautiful beach and yielded a lobster the instant Brad entered the water. The day sail gave Dan’s family a look at what this trip is really about and I think they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The following day, Bob and Phyllis were kind enough to rent a Boston Whaler so that we could explore locations off limits to Kaleidoscope’s draft. We towed our dingy to increase capacity. We stopped near Overyander Cay to snorkel, then continued on to Compass Cay. Compass Cay Marina was more than just a lunch stop. Their burgers were good but the real draw was the feeding area off the dock where fish and sharks gathered. We swam and petted the local nurse sharks. Fiver or six sharks call the dock their home and feast on the scraps tourists toss them paying no attention to the fish swarming around them. Our swim ended prematurely as Brad was stung by a jellyfish. The marks still can be seen on his arm and chest, but are now only a small reminder of the giant scar like welts they once were. An hour or so after the initial sting he still found tentacles strung over his skin. On the way back to the boat we separated, Brad and Mike went spear fishing and the rest of us went to Pig Beach to see the swimming pigs. As we approached the beach one of the two huge pigs swam out to the boat inspecting for food. It is quite a thing to see a swimming pig. They twist their snout keeping it dry and using it as a snorkel. After Dan proceeded to taunt the pigs trying to get them to chase him we retired for a home cooked meal at the Schlauch’s rental cottage. Brad and Mike returned with 4 conch which we prepared for tomorrows lunch. Preparing conch proved more difficult than previously thought. After lessons from a local in removing the conch from it’s shell we still had to skin the conch which took far more time and left hands permanently slimy.

We spent the next day motoring around in the golf cart that came with the cottage. We managed to cram 7 people in to a four person cart. Amy, Dan’s sister, sat on the front with Mike driving, Bob in the front seat, Phyllis in the back with Brad and Dan and I hanging off the back. In this fashion we crept up hills and flew down hills to the beach on the ocean side of Staniel. Cliffs of limestone beautifully surrounded the sand beaches. After snorkeling we returned to eat the conch salad. I am growing to enjoy conch more with each bite. That night there was a Brigg named Fair Jeannine from Canada on the yacht club dock. The sail training vessel had a square rigged foremast and lateen mainmast. Its appearance was aptly timed for I had just reached the description of a sister vessel to the Fair Jeannine in my novel. It was impressive walking down all 110 feet of the ageing vessel. She was not a sleek boat but beautiful nonetheless.

On the 18^th we took it slow and spent the day split between snorkeling on the ocean side again and visiting Thunderball Grotto again. Although our time spent on the ocean side was uneventful, after leaving Thunderball Brad managed to spear a slipper lobster. Now this creature is weird. You have to see a picture of it to understand how archaic and strange this guy is. The meat however, is delectable. Later at the yacht club pier, a local spear fisherman was cleaning his catch. He had a half a dozen fish by the time I arrived and apparently he had sold many fish and 10 lobsters all caught over the course of three hours. So, I guess we aren’t quite pros yet. He tossed the scales and innards into the hunger mouths of 8 sharks and rays that joined in the moment.

We departed from family and Staniel Cay on the 19^th and made our way to Little Farmers Cay. The 15 mile trip was quick motoring through light and variable winds. We had our Jib out for some of the time and made mediocre time. Little farmers proved to be an excellent location. After difficulty setting our anchor in grass Brad and Dan went hunting and returned with two large lobsters. One of which was over 15 inches long with a 9 inch tail. We had a light early lunch and still were not able to finish two lobsters among the three of us for dinner. They were so big, one needed to be sectioned to fit in our largest pot. The other we tried grilling for the first time. It turned out very good as it was basted with garlic butter. The shell caught the butter, kept it from running into the fire and effectively boiled the meat in butter. What a life we lead.

Schlauchs, thank you for all your hospitality and generosity. The week went very smoothly and we enjoyed your company immensely.

Family

2007-01-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

1/11/07-1/13/07

Apparently Nassau shuts down when there are no cruise ships in the harbor. We went to check out this hopping bar, Senor Fogs. We had been told by multiple people that this was the bar to check out for a wild time. It must be that 99% of their customer base is cruise ship related because it was deserted. We enjoyed ourselves none the less.

The next morning Jen departed and we were on the water again. After getting water and diesel we set off to Shroud Cay. The wind was heavy 20-25 and 30 in the squalls. We sailed with only our jib and still reached speeds or 7.5 knots.

On the 13^th we made our way to Staniel Cay to meet Dan’s family under similar conditions. The wind made for a quick ride and we arrived a little after noon. The Aries armada welcomed us to the anchorage by inviting us to a pig roast on the beach. The Schlauchs accompanied us to the roast. There were around 70 people that gathered for the pot luck style roast. It was amazing to me how expensive the pig was when there are pigs just wandering on the beach where we are anchored. Apparently these pigs are a tourist attraction and cannot be killed. In all the pig cost 700 dollars, which although I have no concept of what a pig in the states cost, seems ridiculously expensive. Then again, we are in the Bahamas.

The roast went well with only a couple minutes of rain showers after dinner. The company was exceptional and I was able to obtain a few secrets of fishing in these waters. Next passage we should catch a couple more fish.

Photos and Video

2007-01-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

I uploaded some more photos. I also added a video to the photo album. In webshots it should be the first file in the album. It is .wmv so macs may have issues. Try downloading it if its not working because the file is large to stream. Everything is under Scott's photos.

Are we mature enough to not get thrown off a slide?

2007-01-11T15:41:00.001-05:00

1/7/07-1/10/07

We left for Allan's Cay early on the 7^th after a late night partying with Aries. The sail was uneventful and we made good time under only our jib. We trolled the entire time and were unsuccessful. Our luck was due to change.

Allan's Cay was crowded when we arrived. There were 9 or so boats as compared to 1 the last time we visited the Cay. Nevertheless, we managed to obtain the same prime location we had previously that is directly off the iguana beach. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling and exploring the island. The iguanas were as inviting as before. Dozens amassed on the beach awaiting our arrival. We did not feed them, but if you mimic offering food and toss a piece of sand or stick they flock from all directions to fight over the scrap. It was quite a spectacle. We have some footage that I'll post next time we have solid internet.

We spent the 8^th lazing around Allan's Cay as well. The day started well with brad spearing two fish in one shot. They were the perfect size for lunch. The day just improved from there. Late in the afternoon we went out hunting again and quickly bagged a lobster. As the day grew late Brad managed to spear a fish. The hunt just began with that first spearing. The behemoth shook free of the spear leaving a gaping hole in his back. We had heard stories of sharks taking fish and harming divers after blood is spilled, and lots of blood was spilled. The fish took off out of his hole and across the reef. Luckily he ducked beneath a coral head near the edge of the reef. A barracuda was already on the scene. Twenty minutes of diving with brad at one hole in the coral waiting to spear the fish and Jeff scaring it out from the other hole, lead to the bagging of a monster. So what if it had multiple holes in it. It was beautiful. He was 26 inches in all and absolutely delicious. That night we had a feast of more fish and lobster than we could eat.

With the scraps of left over fish we bated a hook and bottom fished. The hook was taken by a giant black shadow later believed to be a 4.5 ft nurse shark. After a 2 minute fight with Jeff the shark decided it had had enough and released the hook.

We continued our trip north on the 9^th. Motoring directly into the wind we made good progress and arrived in Nassau at 2. We had heard from Dave that if you are going to Atlantis it is cheaper to stay at their marina than just pay for an admissions ticket. We were the only sailboat in the marina and one of very few boats under mega yacht status.

The Atlantis water park was amazing! They have these water slides that end in the clear tubes of a shark tank so you can see sharks swimming next to you as you finish. One of the rides was very steep giving a marvelous stomach drop each time. In addition to the shark tank, Atlantis has a huge aquarium. You can walk through caves of Plexiglas and admire all of the tropical creatures.

There was a large poker tournament happening at Atlantis and we saw a lot of famous players and their celebrity wives. In the morning Jeff and Kara left for the states. With only 4 people we spent another day at the water park and perused the grounds. The rides were as thrilling, but the staff were even more entertaining than the rides. To add a new component to their tube slide we started going down backwards and quickly progressed to spinning the whole way down, having sumo fights in the shark tank and going down off the tube. The lady running the slide was not impressed. She threatened to throw us off the ride in a flamboyant display of her power. She was powerful too, 250lbs of rule pounding fury. The characters running the other ride we enjoyed were no less entertaining. They were 18 year old Bahamians who would say comments like "Man, I am so stoned I can't feel my face." They were obviously impaired as they did their job as water safety marshals. It was quite hilarious as they broke out singing songs about getting high in front of 8 year olds.

We are now anchored in Nassau harbor and will be here until Jen flies home on the 12th.

New Arrivals

2007-01-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

1/2/07-1/6/07

Guests

We were stuck in Georgetown till the 4^th when Jen and Kara flew in for a weeks cruise on the luxury liner Kaleidoscope. We filled our time with volleyball (of course), poker and snorkeling. Every Monday and Thursday night the cruisers in Georgetown have a poker game. The play is shockingly bad but until Dan arrived we had not managed to win the 20 person tournament. I had placed third in the past but received barely more than my buy-in. In the first tournament with Dan, Dan and Brad placed 1,2 respectively. Not bad for a 20 person tournament. Then on Thursday the 4^th 's tournament Dan worked his way to second with Jen easily taking third. It was quite a run by team Kaleidoscope.

On one of the calm days anticipating the girls' arrival we traveled to the ocean side of Stocking Island to snorkel. With three sets of eyes and only 1 spear only one lobster was spotted. More importantly, one lobster was speared. Brad hit the lobster right in the head. It was a large lobster too. I'll let you decide from the pictures when they get put up but there was a lot of meat in that one bug. It was delicious. I am sure the excitement of catching it ourselves played a role in how much we enjoyed it but it was fantastic.

We left Georgetown after weeks of idling before sunrise on the 5^th . The waves in Exuma sound were only 2-4 ft but the roll they produced as we sailed down wind caused the first bouts of sea sickness among our crew. Dan and Kara both got sick and could not even keep the Bonine down. We diverted course to get in the lee of the Exumas and once we were on the Banks the sea was flat and order was restored. Sailing on the banks is like sailing a sunfish on a pond, no waves and smooth even wind. We pulled into Big Major's Spot near Staniel Cay at 6:30 after sunset. Apparently there are pigs that will swim out to your dingy looking for food but because of late arrival we missed out on having pork for dinner.

The predawn-postdusk sail left us with a faulty winch. Early in the sail we noticed that our port jib winch was sounding strange. There was no longer a ratcheting sound as it spun and it was extremely difficult to winch. We spent the day trying to avoid using that winch as much as possible. Safe at anchor we took it apart, cleaned it and re-greased the gears and magically it began to function properly. It seems like there is a theme on our boat of never being able to diagnose the problem but after we disassemble and reassemble the troublesome apparatus it spontaneously works again. It is very lucky on our part because something is always broken.

We woke up early on the 6^th to give us half a day at Warderick Wells Cay. On the sail there we caught a needle fish and a 16 inch Bar Jack. Shortly after a snorkeling/hiking expedition, Brad Jeff and I took a dingy trip to the Exuma Park office. We never made it to the office because as soon as we entered North Warderick moorings field we noticed a familiar hull. It was Aries! We lost touch with Aries prior to our trip outside at Cape Fear and yet there they were still traveling with Tom from Sea Cat. They had continued in the ICW for a couple days longer before they went outside to Florida. Apparently the storm that we ducked inside at Georgia for gave Aries a pre-thanksgiving snow in South Carolina. I am so glad we missed that.

Apparently, they were only a day behind us on the ICW in Florida and Bob from Persephone, whom they were traveling with, heard us try to hail Aries. Ironically, they also crossed the Gulf Stream the same day as us. Unfortunately, we were heading north to Nassau on a schedule because of our guests so we could not travel with them. Dave and Dang were able to give us the scoop on Nassau and it sounds very exciting.

We attended a cruiser happy hour on the beach after dinner. With six people on Kaleidoscope transportation to the beach became an issue. We piled all six of us into our dingy which has a maximum capacity of 550lbs. A conservative estimate for our weight is over 800lbs. We did manage to make it to the party without swamping. After a drizzle killed the party we retired to Aries for drinks.

In response to Sandy’s inquiry about the Coconuts

2007-01-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

Coconuts

So the coconut gathering and husking mission happened on New Years Eve. Dan Brad and Jeff went looking for coconuts on Hamburger Beach after we had been misinformed/missed the Bahamian boat race we went to watch. I stayed on the beach to take some photos and catch up on some sleep. The trail was full of sand burrs and noone had shoes so they improvised and made shoes out of leaves and palm fawns. They came back with maybe 15 coconuts an hour later. Husking them took another hour. We were able to find bolts sticking out under the dock you see in the pictures and use the bolt to shred the husk. As to what we did with the coconuts after we had so many, we drank them. It was new years and how can you be in the Bahamas on new years and not have a coconut, pineapple and rum drink out of a coconut. We chiseled the top off and cut a hole in them. Pouring the ingredients in was a snap and bam, you have your self a fantastic drink. Now we did encounter a problem with the storage of the ones we didn’t use that day, which were most of them. We stored them in close to direct sunlight which caused them to burst. Our bad. I hope that clears up the coconut harvesting pictures.

Junkannu

2007-01-03T08:12:00.001-05:00

Addition to Last post

After the potluck we retired for a good 2 hours sleep. We woke at 2 to dingy into town for the 3 o’clock start of Junkannu. Junkannu is the Bahamas version of carnival. It is held on Boxing Day which is initially a British holiday that arose as a day off for the servants after they catered for their masters on Christmas. There are elaborate brightly colored costumes, large floats and marching bands. All ages participate in the festivities. Dancing along with the beat in fancy headdresses will be 3 year old girls, while 3 year old boys help make the beat with drums made out of soup cans. At the same time 80 year olds will be in a costume marked for judging. Junkannu is a contest between two bands. They walk the course from 3 am to sunrise trying to stir up as much emotion and fervor in fans as they can. Judges walk through out the groups judging costumes and music. The beer that everyone drinks is called Kalik(Click) named after the sound that cow bells since cow bells form an integral part of Junkannu. The beat they provide is hypnotic. It is hard to give the costumes justice without pictures, but I didn’t take my camera because I knew the dingy ride over would be wet. The larger costumes have multiple segments of brightly colored ornaments which pulse independently as the wearer bounces to the beat. A peacock would be jealous. The smaller costumes are worn by the youth dancers that are interspersed through out the parade. It was quite a sight. I can only hope we get to see more Caribbean festivals throughout the trip.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T17:13:00.001-05:00

New Photos are up

12/20s/06-1/1/07

Holidays

Christmas night was a blast. We went to a party filled with 120 other
cruisers. The food was delicious. I ate more that night than I had in
the past three days. Our age creates a strange dynamic at these
gatherings. The cruisers have an average age in the sixties and maybe
there are a handful of early retirees who still could be our parents and
then there are the kids of the cruisers who make us feel old. It is not
a bad thing because the adults take us under their wing and try to teach
us the ways of cruising, but it would be nice to have a few more people
to hang out with.

The 26^th -29^th were spent treading water while Brad and I waited for
Jeff and Dan to arrive. We played a lot of volleyball and had people
over to the boat at night. We fell in to the rhythm of the cruising
community in Georgetown. Always convinced that the weather would make
traveling elsewhere unbearable the community becomes content with their
chosen location turning sailboats into permanent residences.

Dan and Jeff arrived on the 29^th exhausted after missing their
connection and not sleeping the night before. We headed out to Peace and
Plenty, a local bar, with a few people that we became friends with,
Ensley, Mandy, Nolan and Jack. We had moved the boat closer to town for
the night to make it an easier dingy ride so when Dan finally succumbed
to sleep we had a quick trip back to the boat.

Dan and Jeff were promptly familiarized with the necessity of a
favorable weather window as our plans to travel to the Ragged Islands to
the south of Great Exuma were tossed aside due to high winds. Instead we
played volleyball and relaxed like everyone else.

New Years day the cruisers organized a similar gathering as Christmas.
We schmoozed with the adults for awhile and headed back to Peace and
Plenty for a live band. Nolan brought us across the harbor in a large
center consol that made in 5 minutes what takes our dingy 30 minutes.
Long live the 3.3hp. We enjoyed the music and the youth. Some time
around 12 Dan told Jeff that he would give him 15 dollars for pushing
anyone in our company in the swimming pool. Jeff promptly sacrificed
himself as he jumped in the pool dragging Dan in with him. The
controversy is whether Dan excluded himself from the bet or not? We will
never know if Dan actually owes Jeff 15 dollars for dunking Dan. It was
quite a night. They didn't count down to the New Years though which is
sacrilegious.

Fort Lauderdale to Allen Cay

2006-12-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

I hope you find misspelling and typos endearing.

Afloat off Volleyball Beach near Georgetown, we have finally escaped the US; where every inch of waterfront is developed and the pass to the beach in littered with ‘no beach access’ signs. I am gaining more sailing experience as our trip progresses and am now comfortable in situations that in the past put me on edge with anxiety. The trip across the Gulf Stream seemed like our first real ocean passage. We were hard on the wind and pointing slightly south of due east. The strong northward current pushed us along a ENE course very close along our desired course. Flying fish could be seen climbing and diving, banking left and right around the wave crests, flying for incredible lengths of time. At night our wake disturbed the bioluminescent animals in the water and bright blue sparks could be seen in our wake and the spray we created as we plowed through the waves. This was the first time we had sailed with only two crew members and with Scott asleep I was entirely alone at the helm. Decisions had to made without any reassurances and I inevitable wrestled with my doubt. Is that a ship? Is it headed toward us or away from us?

We were moving well at 6+ knots with the rail in the water much of the time. This was a state of affairs that would have made me very nervous a month earlier. My mind and body (stomach) had revolted against their world being turned on its side, but little by little they were beginning to accept the normalcy of it. We pulled into Grand Bahama around ten a.m. Customs was quick and painless. Dodging an expensive stay at the marina we motored, with much pitching and rolling, another four miles to the mouth of a canal system. As we passed the breakwater the surface became calm and I had time to marvel at the turquoise water and the exceptional fact that I was able to see the bottom. Exhausted, we dropped the anchor and each slept a solid 13 hours.

We took our time leaving the next morning and made good time on and overnight run to Nassau. We were making 7 knots with good wind to start the trip, but it died in the evening and we motored through the night. We slowed the engine and timed our arrival in Nassau for sunrise. Motoring through the harbor we scrapped our plans of stopping here and pushed on across the banks toward the Exuma Cays. Crossing the banks was very enjoyable. With the total calm we had all night the surface was glassy and the bottom was perfectly visible in the 15-20 feet of water. I stood at the bow and felt as if I was snorkeling without getting wet. Fish, the ripples of sand on the bottom and numerous star fish were all there to be seen. We arrived at Allen Cay around 3:30, tired but not excessively so, as it had been a calm overnight passage. A myriad of different waters colors surrounded us in this anchorage, each denoting a difference in depth or bottom type. I am confident that the pictures and my description both could not have conveyed their subtlety.

Calm white sand beaches greeted us on the small islands between which we were sandwiched. I swam to the beach and was approached by many iguanas, some quite aggressive. I learned later from another cruiser that they are fed by groups of tourists that arrive from Nassau on gutted cigarette boats. A lucky miss. I gain some experience with the Hawaiian sling and speared a surgeon fish for bait. I managed to hook the keel of our boat but nothing else.

Next: Allen Cay to Georgetown

Happy Holidays everyone

2006-12-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

12/24/06

I just want to wish everyone that has been following our trip, happy holidays. We really appreciate that you are taking the time to keep track of our journey and travel along with us. It makes being separated from family on the holidays easier, knowing that you all are joining us via the internet. That being said, if there is anyway we can improve our blog to keep you coming back please let us know either via email or commenting. We really do love your comments. We check as frequently as we can to see if there are any new messages for us.
Today is a fun filled day with some boat repairs (maybe), and some caroling on the beach. We miss you all.
Happy Holidays,
Scott & Brad

Holliday Season

2006-12-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

So I understand some of you had issues with the video. It looks like Johann was able to get it to work, so I'm not sure whats going on. The internet here isn't really fast enough to upload effectively so there is not much I can do to remedy the situation. Sorry.

12/20/06-12/22/06

Beaching in Georgetown

We are hunkered down in Georgetown because of the weather/our desire to stay here. Georgetown is the center of commerce for the Exumas. In stark contrast to the cays of the Exumas that are littered with deserted beaches and the occasional provision outpost, Georgetown is a bustling Bahamian city of 1,000 people. More shocking are the number of cruisers that “live” in Elisabeth Harbor. We are anchored alongside boats from all over the world. The Cruisers have developed their own little community. In the morning there is a formal update of all things cruising on the vhf. Boats chime in about beach volleyball times, the weather and happy hour locations. Brad quickly made friends with the volleyball group and has been a fixture on the court the last couple days. There is also a gathering of all the boats for Christmas dinner. We hope to attend but are at a loss as to what we can contribute to a potluck dinner.

new video post and some photos

2006-12-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

let me know if the video works. Try to dl it.

Bahamas

2006-12-19T14:52:00.001-05:00

Couple new photos
12/17/06-12/19/06

"Hmm, something is amiss with our headsail"

We decided to take it easy on the 17^th and only travel 30 miles. We
ended up Warderick Wells Cay, Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. Once again we
struggled to get in the water as fast as we could. The snorkeling sight
off Emerald Rock was a chore to reach but worth every moment. Although
the reef was small the sizes of the fish were inversely proportional to
the size of the reef.

Unfortunately we pushed on the next morning leaving every stone
unturned. We planned to cut through the Exumas to Exuma Sound and then
continue to Rum Cay about 100 miles to the East. As we poked out from
the lee of the Exumas we were hit with a sizable swell and winds out of
the East at 15-20 with gust to 25. Progress was fast but rough. Then at
11 pm our Jib halyard parted. We decided to heave to and wait out till
day light to enter George Town our default destination. The boat hove
nicely with sustained 23 across her beam making 1.4 knots leeward.

12/15/06-12/16/06

Easiest 100+ miles yet

We set an ambitious goal of setting out for another overnight trip of
140 miles but we could have done much more. We left the shelter of the
canal we anchored in at 10:00 and were hit with what would be the
largest seas of the day and they were only 4'. The wind was out of the
southwest at 15 knots which allowed us to make excellent time cruising
at 7 knots. Our plan was to round the Berry Islands and then head due
south to New Providence. Around 9 we rounded the Berry Islands and the
wind switched to North at 5 knots. It was exceedingly difficult to keep
our sails full and with sleep closing in we decided to drop the sails
and motor the rest of the way to Nassau. Nassau is the capital of the
Bahamas and yet when traveling through Nassau harbor one barely looks at
it, for it is dwarfed by the Atlantis hotel and casino that lies across
the harbor on Paradise Island.

We did not stop in Nassau, just traveled through it. We continued south
to the Exumas. Traveling in the Bahamas is like nothing I have ever
encountered. You can be 20 miles from the nearest land and yet be in 10
feet of water in danger of hitting a coral head for the entire trip.
This is how the passage from Nassau to Allan's Cay proceeded. According
to the cruising guides it is very important that the sun is high
overhead to see the coral. I don't think we could have avoided hitting
one had we happened to cross over one.

The turquoise water along the way did not prepare us for the beauty of
Allan's Cay. Pristine beaches littered with Iguanas and crystal clear
water signified we had really reached what this trip is about. After
anchoring we scampered to find our snorkel gear and jump in the water.
Even with the strong current it turned out to be one of the best snorkel
trips of my life. Puffer Fish, Queen Angels, Parrot Fish and beautiful
coral only scratch the surface of the wonders I found. Brad had taken a
different route and had no such luck. Even so, his trip topped mine, for
he returned with a fish on his spear. It was an inedible Atlantic
Surgeon fish that we mad the best of by baiting our rod with pieces of
it. It was quite a successful two days. We are greatly anticipating what
other gems we can find here in paradise.

12/7/06-12/14/06

Departure

The days began to blur into each other as we sat waiting for the wind to
shift. Finally, the 12^th of December began to look like our
opportunity. Dan had to be home by the 14^th at the latest to take the
final exam for his EMT course so we were eager to make it across. The
weather forecast two days in advance was seas 2-4 with an east wind,
just what we needed. Dan booked his flight for the 14^th out of Freeport
Grand Bahama and we were set. The boat was looking good (we had just
completed a myriad of minor fixes) and the seas looked like they were
going to cooperate. The 12^th rolled around and the forecast had begun
to deteriorate. The predicted seas were now 3-5 and 4-6 in places.
Nevertheless, we pulled anchor and headed to the fuel dock for our final
time in the US as we waited for the weather update. "Seas 5-7", and we
found ourselves right back in the same anchorage with Dan surely missing
his flight. On the upside Dan was able to get a cheaper flight home, and
we got to spend a night at the Marriott spa. In our last hurrah before
we lost Dan we snuck into the Marriot resort and spa. The hotel was
enormous, as was the pool but both were vacant. We had the multi-acre
pool, hot tub and sauna all to ourselves. I do believe we deserved to
treat ourselves that lavishly after the heartaches waiting has caused us.

Dan left the morning of the 13^th to return around the 27^th , hopefully
around the Turks and Cacaos. Brad and I completed all final preparations
and left Ft. Lauderdale at 1pm. Strangely, with an East wind and 2kts of
northerly current we were able to head due East on a port tack. The seas
were small, winds 15-20 and the night progressed easily. Traffic was
heavy at times but we never had spotlights shown upon us, as we had in
Long Island sound. Around 8 am we neared Grand Bahama and to our East
lay only the open Atlantic. The sea turned rough and we struggled
through lack of sleep to make it the last couple miles. By 10:30 we were
tied up at a Grand Bahamas Yacht Club Docks going through customs. This
was much more of a resort than yacht club, with manicured lawns, golf
course access and "boat" service. We utilized their facilities (onsite
customs officials, WiFi, New York Times Gazette and weather report) and
left an hour later to anchor at a significantly reduced rate in a canal
5 miles away.

Bahamas

2006-12-14T11:23:00.000-05:00

We made it! We are finally out of the US. We crossed the Gulf Stream last night in 15-20knot winds and seas of 2-4 ft. We are at a gas dock now stealing internet so although this is short I'll be sure to write up more in the future.

New photos

2006-12-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note that I threw up some new photos, nothing to get excited over. Now it is your turn to throw up some comments, nothing for us to get excited over. Just a quick hey.

weather

2006-12-08T19:20:00.000-05:00

12/4/06-12/7/06

Waiting for a weather window

When to cross the Gulf Stream has become the focus of the last couple of days. The Gulf Stream flows up from the Gulf of Mexico in a northerly direction between Florida and the Bahamas reaching speeds of 3-5 knots. When a northern wind opposes the current the seas can become tumultuous with wave heights routinely over 10 feet. Thus, we have begun the waiting game looking for a wind without a northern component. The forecast looks like north winds until Sunday but the seas will need some time to subside. In the mean time we have been trying to continually fix the little things that come up on an older boat and more importantly amass a harpoon/spear arsenal for the Bahamian fish. Our harpoon which began with just a harpoon tip from the used sailing store has become a finely tuned fishing implement. Brad made grooves near the tip that he filled with solder for precision balancing. Now all we need is to be in the fertile fishing waters of the Bahamas because people are starting to stare as we throw the harpoon at floating coconuts and leaves.

Southern FL

2006-12-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

12/1/06-12/3/06

Ft. Lauderdale or somewhere close at least

The first and second of the month were spent traveling through opulence.
Every house we passed competed for the title of world’s worst use of
resources. Not only did the speed boats in front of these houses have
four outboards on them (fuel prices are of no concern to Americans
apparently) but they managed to enlist Greek sculptors to carve their
stone statues. Architectural Digest could not cover these houses because
120 pages would not due these houses justice. The distribution of wealth
in America is shocking. Even harder to bear is the knowledge of what a
sailing to Haiti would reveal about the distribution of wealth in the
world. We spent one more night in the Indian River and then continued on
to Pompano Beach. Our anchorage in Pompano Beach is surrounded by
residential neighborhoods. It seems like people in Florida take their
coconuts for granted for they often litter their lawns. Local apathy
towards coconuts helped rationalize the coconut gathering expedition.
Three ripe coconuts were “harvested” from a shore side property. Eating
a coconut is only half the fun. The other half, opening, required the
tool bag to be fully utilized to unlock the tropical fruit.

We visited our first real beach on the 3^rd with temperatures in the low
80s. The surf was choppy which prevented us from spending too much time
in the water. We were able to occupy ourselves by having a rock throwing
contest like true men.

Provisioning has begun for the jump to the Bahamas. The wind generator
we purchased was delivered missing a part and we are stuck in the
Pompano/Ft. Lauderdale area until it arrives.

Comments?

Indian River

2006-11-30T19:31:00.000-05:00

11/30/06

Fish on

In an almost identical fashion to the last time Dan caught a fish, Dan caught a fish. Moments after Dan dropped his hook in the water he had yet another cat fish. He is getting good at bottom fishing while we are at anchor. This cat fish was probably 14in. Of course the only times Brad throws a lure in the water is after Dan reels a fish in. Still no luck for us non-Dans. We anchored after a day of motoring with the wind in our face at mile 981. We are in the Indian River in central Florida for another 60 miles or so.

11/29/06

Back on track

Rain, oh the rain. I had never been to Florida before so I can’t comment on the weather except for the past couple days. The temperature is in the low 80s which would be perfect if there was ever a clear sky. I’m not sure if it is abnormal weather, but we keep getting these days of scattered showers, and I mean torrential showers. I like rain, I do and I don’t dislike being at the helm fully exposed to it. The problem is when you try to get some sleep and realize that the hatch above you is leaking. We ended our day of motoring at mile 914.

11/28/06

On our way again

We demildewified the boat in the morning. I don’t think the boat was especially mildewy but it took along time to clean from bow to stern with ammonia. We are optimistically thinking that it will be awhile till it returns. Waiting for a part makes the day take on a specific tone. It is not the pace of life on the water. The idle times while waiting are filled with an anxiety that resembles life in the real world. Everyone tries to be busy, but we all know nothing really maters till we get this part. Will it fit? Will we be able to wire it? I am no longer used to worries so these thoughts haunt more than they would have. Finally, the part did arrive and brad was able to install it. The engine started on queue and the inverter increased the voltage. We had some issues getting the gauges to work but everything seems to work now. All this was accomplished by 4ish and we were able to leave the marina and anchor a mile down the river in the lee of a causeway. The real problem of the day was that as soon as we anchored the wind died and the no-see-‘ems came out and devoured us. Hopefully we can avoid the bugs a little better in the future, especially since we enter Mosquito Bog tomorrow.

Alternator troubles

2006-11-27T22:02:00.000-05:00

11/27/06

“I like”

Today task was to get the alternator sorted away. Brad spent the morning on the phone with companies trying to figure out exactly what we needed. We ended up overnight a 90 amp output alternator (our past alternator was 50 amp) to a local marina. Moments later we decided to take a slip at the other local marina, whoops. Every once in awhile, it is nice to get a slip or a mooringball just to use their showers. We made use of being terra bound by walking 2 miles to see Borat finally. It was a great movie, but not above any of his other material.

11/26/06

It rained intermittently. I climbed the mast to re-tape the spreader guards and untangle the incorrectly rigged spinnaker halyard. I posted some shots from up there. The pats played and Brad and Dan watched a sports bar.

11/25/06

Dan caught a fish! Did I mention Dan caught a fish? Yes, you heard correctly the monkey has been lifted off our back. We traveled to Wal-Mart to get a fishing license because apparently local bait shops don’t sell them it is only the mighty Wal-Mart which sells Florida fishing licenses. No more than 10 min after Dan through in a line he had a fish on it. It was no monster but we were giddy. It was maybe a 13in catfish. What a sight. That night high on our accomplishment we hit The Tikki Bar and suffered through a local band. “The Pirates” were two older men on guitars and one older nerd on the drums. Ohh, but one of the members played the kazoo too, five star entertainment.

11/24/06

Engine

I guess I’ll get right to the point. Brad noticed that our voltmeter was reading very high while we were motoring, 15 or so volts. In an attempt to save the battery bank and sacrifice the alternator we isolated the batteries and anchored as soon as we could. It seems that the regulator on the alternator went which led to an overcharging of the batteries till we isolated them. The batteries turned out fine but the alternator no longer charges the batteries. New Smyrna Beach was now our temporary home. Did I mention by the time we set our hooks the parts stores were closed for the weekend. It was 2 more days till we could even order the part.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

11/23/06

Questionable decisions

Anticipating the warm weather we woke at 6:30 to still cold temperatures. The sun came out around 10 allowing the temperatures to soar to around 60 degrees. We motored most of the day and let our jib out intermittently. The current was strong at times and we took a turn around St. Augustine that had us drifting like a rally car. As we waited for a bridge to open in downtown St. Augustine I rushed down below in an attempt to get internet to post and update to the blog and get the latest weather forecast. Dan was at the helm when he shouted “there is a bald eagle over there”. As I look a beautifully large bald eagle swooped down, hesitated and reached at the water with his talons. He rose from the water towing a huge fish in his grasp. It was my first time seeing such a feat as I was below for our last encounter with a bald eagle. It was an amazing sight. Around ten miles south of St. Augustine I took us in to a recommended anchorage. Our depth gauge began acting up, jumping from 5 to 65 ft. Luckily I was at low speed in neutral as the boat promptly shuttered, sounding our first grounding of the day. We managed to back off the bottom which seemed to be soft mud. No more than five minutes later I noticed the GPS was reading 0.0mph and was sure we had run aground for the second time while trying to anchor in this area. We would save the second time for later since it was merely my incompetence for the boat was in neutral. As soon we started to accelerate from putting the boat in gear the boat decelerated yet again. This time we were forced to wait for the tide to rise for we were unable to motor off. It was low tide so we were confident the boat would find its own way off.

In the mean time Brad and Dan set off on a mission. I must first set the scene. It is thanksgiving and we don’t really have food worthy of thanksgiving on the boat. We have some wine that Hal’s sister brought us but no real meal. Yeah we have mac and cheese and spaghetti but who wants that for thanksgiving. The area we ran aground in had some balls we believed were crab pots. They insisted that placing a 20$ bill in a zip lock bag in place of three crabs, although illegal was not immoral. Under the disguise of dropping a lead line to search for better depths to anchor they set off in the dingy. Shockingly they actually did sound around the boat before setting off in a B-line for the first ball. To their horror it was not a crab pot at all but rather a ball attached to a metal beam. Off to the next. They tried two other balls but returned with a 20 still in their pocket. Apparently the other balls were attached to crab pots but they were unable to hoist the pots above the water. I admit that I was relieved when they came back empty handed, even though a crab dinner would be better than spaghetti. We waited until the boat rose with the tide and then proceeded to re-anchor. We had just drifted free when a power boat came flying by. Brad and I remarked to each other that their path was dangerously close to the shore and shoals we were just aground on; in the near darkness they had clearly been using our boat to judge the location of the channel – often a bad choice. Just then they came to a grinding halt from 20 knots to 0 instantly. We yelled over if they needed assistance and they declined opting as we did to wait for the tide. Their outboard lower units are not as forgiving as our keel.

Happy turkey

2006-11-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

11/22/06

10.7

We got off late this morning because we had some errands to run. Brad ended up loosing a three way rock, paper, scissors match and had to take our used oil to a marina about a mile away. Always the charmer, he finagled a ride out of another sailor back from the marina. Along the way he was given a tour of the three master that his chauffer was the captain of. The current was the story of the day. We kept switching from roaring current with us to roaring current against as we past by inlets. As we were in the ICW our speed was recorded in mph instead of knots and we managed to reach 10.7 mph, smoking! We entered Florida today and it is still freezing. We anchored off Fernandina Beach at mile 717 of the ICW, in our last state.

11/21/06

Where is Hal

Hal left today. Around 4 Hal’s sister Kippy came with her baby. She was kind enough to bring beer and wine for us. It still doesn’t make up for her stealing Hal from us, but it eased the pain. We spent most of the night doing laundry and escaping the cold in the marina lounge watching TV. The high was 43, mind you it’s Georgia. It should be warmer here.

Atlantic #2

2006-11-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

new photos

11/18/07-11/20/06

Heading to the Atlantic again

We rose at 6 and motored in no wind to a marina that we arrived at around 10:30. We filled up with diesel and water in anticipation of heading outside at Cape Fear. Hal also picked up a few new lures. We said good bye to Ares and motored on. We hit Cape Fear at 3 pm. The plan was to rejoin the ICW at St. Simons 225nm South-West. The weather for Sunday and Monday was N or NW winds 5-10kts. On Monday night we are supposed to get a severe storm with winds to 35kts and waves 7-10ft. Thus we can’t plan on cutting it close on Monday and will probably head in earlier at St. Catherine’s Sound. More importantly, our fishing has yielded only an old birthday balloon. We have tried spoons, divers, jigs, you name it and nothing!

The night of the 18^th the wind died and we ended up motoring through the night. Sleep came relatively easy on the stable boat as waves were only 2 feet high or so. On Sunday we found ourselves heading into SW winds of 5 knots even though the forecast was N winds of 5-10. We have found NOAA’s marine forecasts to be fairly unreliable. Monday passed quickly, two hour shifts among 4 people making it easier. Late evening the wind began to shift and intensify from the Northwest so we threw out our genoa and killed the engine. We were making high 6s and low 7s through the night. The seas also picked up to a nice little chop that made sleeping more difficult as we were close-hauled. Around midnight, with our new found speed, we decided that we could make it to St. Simons by midday in time avoid the incoming storm. Winds were predicted to be over 60 in some areas off of Georgia, and seas were peaking around 35 ft in the Gulf Stream—not something we wanted to be caught out in. The altering of course lead to a more comfortable ride since we fell off the wind on to a broad reach. Any nausea that was building in the crew subsided.

We made great time into Monday the 20^th. It wasn’t until a few miles of St. Simon that we needed to drop the sails and motor on in. Along the way we saw numerous jellyfish, porpoises, and Hal even saw a sea turtle. With all this wildlife we still caught no fish! We decided that with the severe weather prediction it was probably best to stay at a marina. The possible anchorages in the area seemed to be surrounded by low lying marsh that would provide little protection from the wind. We tied up at Brunswick Landing Marina around 3, eager to take showers. 48 hours outside the ICW, 235 nautical miles by bird. The only downside to the trip was that Hal decided since he is already in GA he may as well step off here instead of flying back from the Bahamas. I guess it will save him some money but we sure will miss his company.

At night we hit a local pub which happened to be on the 4^th floor, bizarre. Oh yeah, for all of you who told us there was going to be a meteor shower, thanks for the heads up but we saw nothing out of the ordinary. The sky was clear as can be, too.

11/17/07

Man overboard!

The heavy weather was short lived and sleep came easy. Waking up is always hard. It was particularly difficult because both of our anchors were out and dredged deeply after the 35kt gusts we had received. It was Brads turn at the 6 am shift and I was on standby. We asked Dan to wake up as well to help get the boat underway. The anchors came free after a couple tries with both Brad and I heaving on the rode. While we preceded breaking down the secondary and stowing the primary anchors Dan motored out of Spooner’s creek. Unfortunately because Dan wasn’t even on standby he didn’t put on his contacts. Staring at the gps screen and not at the blurry channel markers we veered too far to port and wound up aground. We were unable to free ourselves with the engine and had to resort to other methods. There was a pylon as part of the breakwater that we led our secondary anchor rode with a dock line extension to. We attempted to winch ourselves off using the starboard jib sheet winch. After a couple minutes struggling one of the other cruisers noticed that our mast wasn’t moving and he came out to help. It was a good thing he noticed because had he tried to leave his boat would have been snagged on the 200 ft trip line we had strung across the channel. Finally we freed ourselves. I returned to free the anchor rode in the dingy. When I returned to Kaleidoscope with the dingy we were in the middle of a very narrow channel with a strong crosswind. Hoisting the dingy via halyard was out of the question. I decided to wait until we reached the main channel to lift the dingy. I held on to Kaleidoscope from the dingy as we motored the 200 ft to the main channel where we would be able to position ourselves with plenty of room to lift the dingy. Seconds after Dan commented that I should tie the dingy on a wave pealed the bow of the dingy off Kaleidoscope. As I struggled with my feet trying to bring the dingy back to the boat Brad who was at the helm noticed my predicament and throttled back but it was too late. I had past the point of no return, the dingy was going with me or with out me. Choosing incorrectly I held firmly on to Kaleidoscope trying in vain to muscle the boat back alongside. I should have just dropped down into the dingy for at that moment the dingy slid out from under my feet and I was left with a new decision; either climb on to Kaleidoscope and watch the dingy float away into water too shallow for Kaleidoscope or fallow the dingy into the water and try to catch up with it and row it back out to the main channel. Underestimating both how much drag full foul weather gear produces while swimming and how fast the wind was taking the dingy, I let go of Kaleidoscope. It did not take long for me to realize how futile the chase was for the dingy was making twice my speed. I was now overboard, wet, cold and well out of reach of Kaleidoscope. It was soon apparent that I was foolish to be swimming as the water was no deeper than 4 feet. Realizing that if I turned around and got back to Kaleidoscope that we would have no way to get our dingy I trotted on hoping the dingy would make landfall soon. I was maybe 400yards from shore and the dingy looked as if it would make landfall in a mile or so down wind. Meanwhile the dry and warm Kaleidoscope had turned back into the creek to ask assistance from the same people who had come out to help us while we were aground moments earlier. Bon, the sixteen-year-old from the boat Ares who had assisted us earlier flew out in his 15 hp dingy and plucked me from the water. I returned to the boat with our dingy, my pride deflated and a nagging fear that I had destroyed my cell phone. Happily, my cell phone was not in my pocket as usual.

The day’s excitement leveled out as we saw the occasional pod of porpoises. Around 11:30 we had to stop and wait in line as there was a 4 mile stretch of the ICW that was closed because it was currently being used for target practice by the military. As we waited Ares caught up and we chatted about our plans. The residents of Ares are a family of five (Dave who’s around 50, his Thai wife Dang, eldest son Bon, 11 year old daughter, Angeline, and 9 year old son, Calvin) who have traveled for the past half year in their catamaran. They spent the hurricane season up north in the Chesapeake on up to New York. They are now on their way down to the Bahamas.

The delay forced us to anchor in the dark. While we were stopped at a bridge 3 miles from our destination Brad went ahead with Bon in their dingy to check out the anchorage in the daylight. We dropped hook around 6 at mile 264 of the ICW. We were invited to have dinner aboard Ares with another cat they were traveling with that had a boy the age of their youngest. The Thai food Dang cooked was fantastic and we hungrily ate all we could. After talking for another hour or so we returned to Kaleidoscope well past our bed time and still hadn’t downloaded the latest episode of the office. It was the most loaded day of our voyage yet: man overboard, running aground, dolphins, and Thai food aboard Ares.

Weather bound

2006-11-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

11/16/06

Weather bound

We are hunkered in for the day due to a tornado watch in affect in our area. Hal found out that there actually was a tornado elsewhere in NC last night. We woke to pancakes and the howling wind outside. I set about webbing the luff-attachments to the mainsail while the others continued their consumerism. After returning we continued our fixing spree. We had bought a new bilge pump at Wal-Mart, but upon returning to the boat we found that it was missing a part…good ol’ Wal-Mart. Dan returned later to Wal-Mart (primarily intending to utilize their bathroom facilities), but needing the bilge part, we convinced him via phone to buy the same pump and a screw driver. On the curb outside he removed the necessary part and immediately returned the pump as “incomplete.” He returned to the boat with the necessary part and more importantly, some necessary pizza, so we ate, installed the pump and passed out.

11/15/06

Dolphins

We rose around 6, like always, and motored in 70 degree weather. The wind was slack and we entertained ourselves by fishing, fixing the grill, and caulking the mast. We entered the Morehead City area around 12 and were greeted by two giant sport fishing boats who came from astern with wakes large enough to surf on. They were stopped by an army barge who scolded them for their wakes. Thus, they slowed down to pass the barge but returned to optimal wake-producing speed just in time to pass us and a large marina. The marina residents came sprinting out of their cabins as they were thrown by the surge. Not everyone was so infuriated; it was the dolphins (porpoises?) that found humor in the situation. They arose from the depths to play in the surf right off our port stern. We sited two other pods during the course of the day, each eluding my camera lens. We arrived at our destination 6 miles past Morehead City at mile 210 on the ICW. We chose the location due to its reported proximity to Wal-Mart and Lowes. After dropping both anchors we headed in to do some shopping. Purchasing everything we could carry back to the boat we spent a few hours in the clutches of the materialistic playground only pausing to eat at the McDonalds contained with in its walls. Retreating back to our own self-contained civilization we did some reorganizing and watching of The Office.

Long time no post

2006-11-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

11/14/06

Just another day on the ICW

The weather was beautiful today. Temperatures hovered around 68 and the sun was shinning. We covered lots of terrain, most of which was canal but we traversed a couple wider rivers and creeks. To pass the time we worked on the boat. It was not as productive as some of the days on shore but we were still able to get a couple tasks done. The luff attachments on the trysail were of the wrong type and I webbed the correct type of attachments in to the sail. We also made some headway on polishing the oil lantern. We anchored at mile 160 of the ICW. Mosquitoes made their first appearance today. We put up screens over our hatches and are praying the pests don’t find another way in. It looks like a gale is on its way for Thursday. We may take the day off and spend some time in town getting supplies and hopefully updating the blog.

11/13/06

What’s that smell?

We arose this morning at 6 and had the ICW to ourselves for the first hour or so. Then around 7:30 we were passed by the late rising fleet of motor vessels. There wasn’t rain today, but rather a fine mist that beat into you, ensuring that you knew you are on the water. Breakfast was pancakes again. They were so filling that around twelve we decided we could hold on till our scheduled fueling stop at 3 for lunch. The Albemarle Sound had winds of 22 sustained which fueled a fierce cross chop that continually soaked the helmsman. Exiting the sound and preparing to dock at the Alligator Marina fuel dock I reached in the starboard lazarette for dock lines only to be blown away by the smell of foul fish. Hal had purchased squid days earlier to fish while in Deltaville and had stowed them in a Tupperware container in the lazarette stinking up the whole compartment. The smell only increased as he emptied them over the side. It took a half an hour for the cockpit to regain a normal level of fishiness. The Alligator Marina was just a gas station on the side of a road that also had a dock on the opposite side. We fueled and watered before heading in for some burgers and dogs. There is nothing quite like a gas station burger to quench the hunger in a man’s stomach. I shouldn’t really equate this gas station to every other station I have been in, though. They actually had lacquered alligator heads for sale. Got to love the South. We made it to mile 94 only 30 minutes after sunset and anchored off catfish point on the alligator river in NC.

11/12/06

Start of the ICW

We left our anchorage this morning at 6 this morning with the impression that we may have anchored in the middle of the channel the previous night. The wind was manageable at 15k for the first hour or so. We dropped our sail to head into the Norfolk harbor just as winds reached 25 with gusts over 30k. Aircraft carriers and submarines lined the harbor. There was very tight security surrounding all the naval ships. Chained flotations and machinegun mounted patrol boats made it impossible to come within threatening distance of the ships (possibly a response to the Cole incident). We officially entered the ICW around 11. The first few miles of the ICW are pocked with Bridges and we had to pause frequently to wait for a bridge to open, swing and lift. We are taking the Virginia cut route instead of the Dismal swamp route. We passed through the Great Bridge lock descending a whopping foot. Regardless it is always exciting to travel through a lock. Around one the rain turned torrential. We dropped anchor south of mark “42” on mile 29 of the ICW in 4 feet of water. We don’t have internet and thus can’t obtain the next episode of The Office. Arg!

11/11/06

Dan’s first day

The first couple hours of the morning were spent putting some final touches on the engine and cleaning up after the mess opening all the access points to the engine had caused. We pulled our anchor at 9:30 from Deltaville, Va and continued down the Chesapeake. The wind picked up to S12-15k late in the morning allowing us to sail for the first time in too long. We dropped anchor around 5:30 just past sunset in Back River off Langley Va. I think that’s the Langley of the air force base and the space shuttle, not positive though. We keep anchoring in soft mud with our plow. If it isn’t the best type for soft ground, why does everyone use it as their primary when that is all that the east coast is? We keep having these discussions about the blog, and it always becomes apparent that all you folks reading don’t post enough. We want to hear from you too. This isn’t a one-way street, it’s a freak’n boat.

11/10/06

Do we need all four bolts to fit?

Anxious to take a shower we got out of bed around 8 to use the marina facilities before our privileges expired. A quick trip to the hardware store yielded little of interest and we were forced to twiddle our thumbs as we waited for our engine parts to arrive. Hal and I decided to use the time to catch some of these alleged fish that we here so much about but never see. The dingy provided a stable enough platform for our expedition. After a few hours of casting and retrieving with no luck/skill we decided to head back in case the parts had arrived. Our engine had other plans, like drinking the rest of the gas before we were in sight of our destination. Hal and I ended up rotating rowing duty for the next hour or so. We are young and needed the exercise, right moms? Shrimp net throwing lessons occupied our time as we waited. Finally around 3 Brad set to work installing the recently acquired parts. Quickly the excitement of the new parts faded as confusion and frustration set in. The holes in the new fresh water pump were a fraction of an inch off, making it impossible to get all four bolts in at the same time. After numerous phone conversations with little resolve, Brad went to see if the marina mechanics could offer any advice. He returned moments later excited with news that they would let us use their drill press. In his eagerness the dingy’s prop became wrapped in the fishing line we had set moments earlier. Undeterred, brad rowed back to shore with our drill bits still trailing the fishing line. After breaking our drill bits twice and finishing the job with a borrowed drill bit Brad returned to try the new adjustments. The water pump still did not fit. Half an hour’s filing later Brad and I both still could not get the part on the engine. Brad left to pick up Dan at the Newport airport with the engine and boat still in shambles. Hal interested to see what the issue was with the part proceeded to get all four bolts in first try. Shocking! The rest of the evening was spent cleaning the boat and attempting to use a sewing machine. Now I have used a sewing machine before many times, home-ec, at home, etc.; but try as I did I failed miserably. I was able to get stitches that looked perfect on the top, but the bottom was a mess. Each time the needle went through the cloth and attempted to pick up the other strand it got pulled into a big loop so the bottom of my stitches looked like a shag carpet. I guess the lee cloths will have to wait. Brad arrived with Dan in tow late at night(like 11, but Hal and I both had already teetered off to sleep). Exhausted Brad was still able to get the engine up and running before hitting the sack.

An unexpected stop in Deltaville Va

2006-11-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

11/9/06

Bicycle, bicycle I want to ride my bicycle

Fully rested we woke late for another day of chores. We were anchored in front of the Deltaville Marina, which had wonderful facilities for transients. They let us use their bikes for the day and we made good use of them. We went to the hardware store, boat supply store and the grocery store. The end result of our escapade was a functional grill and a mounted rod holder on a fully provisioned boat. We also set up our secondary anchor on our stern pulpit. We ventured out on bikes again at dinner time to secure a fuel jug mounting board and to get some dinner. Unfortunately, the hardware store was closed. We did manage to get some steak that turned out fantastic on our now functional boat grill. Beer is always a great purchase, too, but the time spent in the store left us biking home in the dark. I can easily say I was more scared on the pitch black bike ride with no shoulder than I was when I could barely see the bow through the fog.

11/8/06

The fog is upon us

What a crazy day in hindsight. It started normally enough with us rising at 6am to get some much needed ground covered before meeting Dan south of Norfolk in a few days. We pulled up our anchor from the Potomac and headed south down the Chesapeake. Persistent, (our mothers would most likely say stubborn) we tried to get the autopilot working again, although it’s 20 degrees off course at best usually. After adjusting for this deviation it will work for an hour or two and then need some fiddling to hold its course. It is not important enough an instrument to garner much of our attention when we constantly have issues like leaking, etc. The weather was cloudy but warm with no wind until around 12 when the fog fell suddenly. We scrambled to get our radar on and our radar deflectors up. By the time we were getting settled into the fog cruising life the fog had thickened to such an extent that “if you threw a rock you might not see the splash” –Hal. We monitored the VHF hearing chatter from barges and fishermen as they passed each other. Luckily we never were close enough to other vessels for communication to be necessary. Running low on fuel we pulled into a marina around 2:30 to fill up. Upon leaving the marine we noticed a strange sound coming from the engine compartment. We had only made it a mile out when we decided to kill the engine and investigate the rogue sound. One of the belt pulleys was rattling loudly. Brad uncovered that it was most likely our fresh water pump that had warn out bearings. After discussing the options we motored around the point to Jackson creek in Deltaville, Va. We set our anchor and smiled in relief after our engine made it to anchor with out overheating. The rest of the night was spent online ordering parts and on the phone with Linda and Deb for advice. We passed out around 9 exhausted from a disappointing, eventful day.

Chesapeake run

2006-11-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

There should be a handful of new photos and a new video up on their respective links.

11/7/06

Look ma, no hands!

Today was the day of the autopilot. We left West River at 7 this morning and headed out for a day of motoring on the Chesapeake, and we were able to rig up the old belt autopilot unit we have. This made watches a breeze. No more small adjustments every 30 seconds or so, just watching the horizon for boats. Around 1 pm a helicopter flew directly overhead that had a striking resemblance to Marine 1, and we are on the Chesapeake so location is in our favor. Then moments later a fighter jet (maybe f18) flew past. That provided a little excitement for us. We made good time with 8k of wind with us and up to 1k of current with us. 7.2k s.o.g. was not uncommon. 60 nautical miles was the total for the day leaving us anchored at the mouth of the Potomac River in a side creek. Oh, I forgot to mention that the darn old belt unit failed halfway through the day.

11/6/06

Leaving Annapolis

Today was a relaxing day. We woke up and after our usual breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate, returned to the playground that is Bacon Sails. We puttered around amongst the used goodies. We got some old sails for lee-clothes and a wind scoop (can’t wait for one to be necessary), some fender material for a fender board and numerous other small gadgets. We left the dock around 1 and motored for a mere 13 nautical miles to West River, a small inlet south of Annapolis. We dropped our anchor and the newly extended anchor chain in 10 feet of water next to another cruiser. We chose our location partly because we saw that another boat agreed with the quality of anchorage; little did we know he was just a broken down sail boat that would moments later be towed by Tow Boat US to a nearby harbor. Oh well tonight’s wind is only expected to be 5 knots from the SE.

Annapolis

2006-11-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

11/5/06

Odds and ends

Today was spent provisioning and fixing. We set up the grill that was given to us by Linda and Deb. I can’t wait to get some fresh fish on it. The mast boot was replaced. The impeller of our raw water pump was replaced. Brad fixed the bilge pump which was clogged. The throttle, which had been slowly decelerating, was tightened. Most the essentials seem to be in running order at the moment thanks in a large part to Jeff who was kind enough to stay after all the fun was done and drive us around on errands. The boat is far from clean though because our dock seems to be a bird sanctuary. There is dung everywhere. On the upside there is a great blue heron that hangs out on our dock (we’re pretty sure he’s not the culprit). What a magnificent bird.

11/4/06

Tug-of-war

The most wholesome Saturday ever. We awoke early in anticipation of a tug-of-war contest we had heard about the previous day. Eastport, the peninsula that we were docked at, lies across a small river from Annapolis. Apparently for the past 9 years there has been an annual tug-of-war contest spanning the river, pitting Eastport vs. Annapolis. A giant rope is strung across the water to teams on either side of the river. The event is reminiscent of a town fair with fried dough venders, beer and live bands. Last year Annapolis swept the five events (men’s, women’s, coed, political, and yacht clubs). This year since we were pulling for Eastport, Eastport swept. We weren’t sure if we would be able to participate since we had seen sign up sheets everywhere but almost upon arrival we were asked to pull in the political event. The contest was between the two candidates for US congress from 3^rd district in Annapolis. We of course got asked to pull for the republican side. I’m not ashamed either because they were better funded. We were given brand new work gloves for the event that work wonders on a live-aboard boat. Two shirts also came with the little muscle we contributed. The atmosphere at the event was electric. This town lived and died with every foot gained or lost by the tuggers. It was quite an experience. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with two friends from Wesleyan that came to visit. Sadly, they missed the event. We went to bed early, exhausted from the night before.

11/3/06

Annapolis ho!

We left Middle River at 8am after a glassy night on the water. The wind was mild and with us for a change. We motor sailed for stretches when the wind dropped below 5 knots. Just prior to entering Annapolis harbor, Hal and Brad saw a Bald Eagle swoop down and snatch a fish out of the water with its talons. I arrived on deck just in time to see the bird flying away, fish in tow. Around 3 we tied up at the Eastport Yacht club docks which were significantly discounted due to reciprocity. Our primary goal on Friday was to secure storm sails. We headed to Bacon and Associates, a used sail store. Little did we know, we would be entering Heaven. Not only did they sell used sails, but everything we could think of used. Unfortunately, after barely enough time to purchase a storm trisail we were tossed at closing time. Too many stones were left unturned at Bacon. We will have to return. Jeff drove down in the late afternoon to spend the weekend with us. What a treat! At night an old friend of mine dragged some of her friends to Annapolis to do some bar hopping with us. Next thing we knew it was 3am, 5 hours later than our normal bed time. Time passed too quickly.

Halloween: dressed as sailors

2006-11-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

10/31/06-11/2/06

Let’s stop now… no now… no now

October 30^th ended with a bang as we dinned with our college friend Emily at a Turkish restaurant. It would prove to be our last firm ground encounter for 60 hours, well almost. As it turns out, our GPS chart plotter isn’t as accurate as we would hope. As we left Sheepshead bay we strayed from the channel only slightly in so called 18 ft of water we felt the boat skip along the bottom. Luckily we only skimmed what lay beneath us and were able to float away from the experience knowing that we can not rely on the GPS to the extent we do. The rest of the day was spent beating south along the New Jersey shore. The wind was not intense but we kept our sails reefed. Unfortunately, having our jib reefed severely hinders our ability to point into the wind. And thus the day concluded having made little headway down the coast of NJ.

The night proved calm and our watches were uneventful (seas 2-3, wind 15 knots) until a spotlight blinded us. We noticed there was a freighter heading our direction as evident by his port navigation light. It seemed as if the freighter would pass easily across our bow until we received a radio hail on Ch16 demanding we stay clear. Not fully trusting our depth perception we decided to tack back just to be certain we would not cross his path. During the process of tacking a blinding spotlight shattered our night vision. Clearly the freighter was still concerned about the little blip on his radar. We completed the tack sure that we were no where near the path of the freighter only this time when night returned we saw the starboard navigation light indicating that while we were blinded he decided to change course as well just to make sure we were gobbled by his bow. Frustrated and confused we clumsily tacked again. Our night vision returned long before our nerves.

Early on November 1^st the wind shifted and we were able to fallow a much more direct route. This left us at Atlantic City around noon. Then the wind died. And this wasn’t your normal wind. This wind had the ability to take our engines raw water pump with it. Although this wasn’t our first experience with water pump issues, we were lucky that in the first instance the issue resolved itself the next time we started the engine. In the heroic moment of the week brad took apart the water pump and used jedi mind tricks to bring the water pump back to life. You can see footage of his mind tricks in the video blog. Notice the use of the hammer… I mean mind. I’ll throw some new pictures up too.

With the engine up and running again, we proceeded to motor-sailed to Cape May. By this time it was already 8 at night and the prospect of anchoring in the dark in a foreign port combined with the weather advisories for the fallowing day enticed us to continue on up the Delaware Bay and anchor at the mouth of the canal that connects the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake. When we reached the C and D canal we hit the tide just right so we said what the hell lets go through the canal and anchor on the other side. When we got to the other side it was still only 11am and Annapolis looked to be slightly more than a days trip away so what the hell lets continue another 26 miles and make it to Annapolis tomorrow. The end result of this thought process was 280 miles traveled in 60 hours.

Odometer: 539

Cleaning

2006-10-30T16:31:00.000-05:00

10/30/06

Sheepshead Bay day 3

Yeah that’s right, another day in the same spot, but hear me out. There is still a small craft advisory into tonight and the waves are larger than we would like still. On the plus side the wind tomorrow when we plan to leave is directly in our face. We did a few repairs today but mostly organization. We found covers for our dorades so we shouldn’t take on much water on our long voyages, but that also means less ventilation. I mean 3 guys who don’t sweat and take showers all the time can’t smell all that bad. The sun is bursting though the clouds now and that’s making us all even antsier. We still need to figure out a way to charge our batteries without always running the engine. Solar vs. Wind. Somewhere we need to pick up some more chain for the anchor too. We only have bout 35ft on our primary and 0 on the secondary. We may head into the Brooklyn for some dinner but that’s neither here nor there.

City Island to NYC to Coney Island

2006-10-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

10/29/06

Sheepshead Bay day 2

Brad is getting back today and the clocks change today. That is about all we have planned. I tried to get a video posted online. I don’t know if it worked or not. I’ll try to get the kinks figured out some other time when I actually have internet. But you should be able to get to it using the side links.

10/28/06

Sheepshead Bay day 1

Brad left to head to New Mexico at 6am. The wind is very gusty. I am scared to see what the anemometer reads, better left not knowing. Everything is secure and we have spotted only a few leaks so that’s good. Not much planned for the day, just reading and some photo posting so check out the Scott’s photo link for new photos.

10/27/06

NYC

We picked up my father from a City Island marina at 8:30 so he could join us on our trip through the East river and New York. It was all motoring up hill from there. We needed to get to Sheepshead Bay off Coney Island by 5 but the tide was such that arriving on time meant we had to battle the current all day. Slack tide was at 2 pm in Hell Gate and we arrived at around 12:30 and experienced up to 5 knots against us. This allowed us to take in all the sites Manhattan has to offer at the smoking pace of around 2 knots. The congestion was minimal and we only had to worry about the occasional tug-barge combination. There were more bridges than any of us expected and they always left in awe of their scale. We passed Liberty and Ellis Island around 3:30 and unfortunately by then the sky had clouded over so the pictures aren’t what they could be. I couldn’t help fixating on the harbor defenses of old. Wadsworth Fort at the mouth of NY harbor is a behemoth that makes you shake when you realize that at one point all of those gun ports were full and aiming at the position you now occupy. I had a similar feeling in New

London when looking at the military structures there.

Hal’s comment about the day spent in NYC is “It was awesome!”

We picked up a mooring in Sheepshead Bay at Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club at 4:30 because Saturday and Sunday had 50 knot gusts predicted. A more than scary thought when anchored. We dropped Jack off, double lined the mooring ball and grabbed a bite to eat at a local pizza place. On the way back we stopped off at the Yacht Club bar where the club was hosting a Halloween party. Brad talked for a while with an ex-commodore of the Yacht Club. Everyone was very pleasant even when dressed as a shark fishing boat and shark bait. We returned to the boat around 10 to sleep before brads early morning flight.

second day out to nyc

2006-10-26T16:35:00.000-04:00

10/26/06

Beautiful day in Long Island Sound

Today was the nicest day on the water yet. We woke up around 8:30 to ham, egg and cheese sandwiches. By 10 we were out of Huntingtons bay and sailing in 10-15 knots of wind. We were on a starboard tack the whole time averaging around 6.6 knots for the 4 hour trip. We got our first glimpse of NYC as we pulled out of Huntingtons and refused we could see the 20 some odd miles it was to NYC, but the empire state building was unmistakable to Hal. Today was also the first day of fishing on the trip as Hal trolled for an hour or so. We have yet to perfect the technique as fish were not jumping in the boat left and right. We anchored East of City Island and south of Rat Island. It should be an hour hop tomorrow morning till we are in Hell Gate staring at the skyscrapers. Trip odometer: 180 nautical miles

10/25/06

Day off

Because of the forecast, we motored farther in Huntingtons bay and picked up a complementary ball at Coney’s marina. The people at Coney’s were very helpful and willing to offer advice about a number of our queries. We spent the day on shore picking up repair materials at West Marine, the supermarket etc. We also had our first shore showers in days. They were much needed. Hal and I cut buzzed our heads. The boat got a lot of TLC. After talking to Deb and Linda we removed the electrical tape from the skirt of the mast and tried to cover the inch hole in the skirt with new tape. I don’t know if this will hold for that long and we really just need to replace the skirt. Last sail the bulkhead near the mast was covered in black gunk from the deteriorating skirt. The dodger needed some repair stitches, a very quick fix. We also tried padding the anchor locker with a rubber welcome mat. The floor boards needed a crowbar to remove before brad shaved them down a bit.

10/24/06

Brads Birthday

It was brads Birthday and he didn’t even know it. He had to be reminded by an old high school friend. We sailed from Port Jefferson to Huntingtons bay on Long island. Winds were 15-20 with gusts to 25, seas 2-4. It was a rough day out there lots of crashing in the anchor locker. We got in too late to get a mooring farther in Huntingtons so we picked up an illegal mooring in Lloyds bay.

10/23/06

Second Day Out-

We left our mooring at 7:45 am to avoid paying the city mooring fee of 25 dollars. We fueled up before leaving new London harbor. There was a small craft warning, seas 2-4 ft with 15-20 knots and gusts to 25. Not fully prepared we ducked into Nianic to set up our jacklines and reef our sails. It was now 11 and we had only covered a couple miles of our projected 40 to Branford. Of course we were confident and said what the hell lets go for it. By this time we had no starboard lifeline on the foredeck. Somehow the Jib sheet had come down on it and snapped the gate off. Never the less, we were on our way in a NW wind that we were beating against to make headway. At some point during the day it became clear that we were not going to make it to port before nightfall and with the wind from the NW we decided we would be better off heading to Mt. Sinai Harbor on Long Island. Early in the night we were forced to tack because of the shoals off of long island. The jib sheet proceeded to get caught under the dingy and snap on of the sail ties holding the dingy down. The dingy was pushed up and caused the other sail ties to rip into the dingy as they fought to hold it down on the deck. After furling up the jib and retying the dingy, which seemed to have miraculously survived, we continued on our way. At this point we were all exhausted and pleased to have Mt. Sinai in our sights. We dropped the jib and started the engine only to find no water coming from the exhaust pipe, a sign that there is a problem with the water pump. We turned the engine off and contemplated our next move. After deciding we should not bother dropping our anchor for the first time at night, we phoned the harbormaster only to find that they had no moorings for transients. Port Jefferson was 3 miles farther than Mt. Sinai but had moorings available, thus we set sail yet again and headed toward our third destination. We still had the looming decision of whether or not to turn on the engine because of the possible damage it would cause for the engine to operate without a cooling mechanism. We settled on sailing in through Port Jefferson’s narrow harbor. Unfamiliar with the area we moved our way through other sailboats while attempting to pick up a mooring, at night and under sail. Failing on a number of attempts and eventually loosing our only boat hook we started the engine only to find it was in running order! We dropped our sails and finally secured a ball around 11:30 pm, 15 hours later and 70+ miles removed. What a first day.

First day of the expedition

2006-10-22T22:11:00.000-04:00

So I am sitting under the dodger in the sprinkles that are sure to turn into a downpour after the first day of our trip. We covered a hefty 57 km today and brad and Hal are both asleep because of it. It is only 10 pm by the way.
We rose around 6am this morning to drop our dock lines for the last time at East Greenwich Yacht Club. We motored for awhile while we made breakfast, a hot one of course. The wind wasn't helping as it seemed to be always from the direction we wanted to head even as we turned past point Judith. The wind was light all day and unfortunately we had to motor sail/motor most the way. My father Jack was along for the ride.
I will have pictures of the trip up later including some shots of the porpoises we saw! And on our first day out too! It was very cold so most shots include us bundled up very warm.
we pulled into New London around 7 pm and grabbed a city mooring ball North of the Coast Guard Eagle, a beautiful three masted ship.
We were pleasantly greeted by Linda and Deb who continued to share their advice and generosity with us by providing us with spare standing and running rigging and a barbecue which we plan to make great use of when we start catching some fish.
Hal is still skeptical that we will ever throw a line in the water but we have already seen many passing boats pull fish out of the water as we sail by. I think tomorrow will be a slower paced day. We need to pick up some diesel and then depending on the direction of the wind will either head to Long Island or continue along the east coast.
It is really beautiful out here on the mooring tonight. The mist provides a picturesque halo to the city lights.
Thinking of everyone and wishing you all could join us.

Boat registration

2006-10-20T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well as we speak we are in the RI office of boat registration. We are running into hoop after hoop but are confident that we will prevail. Dan came down last night and brought with him a few windsurfing tools. We have not been able to break down the mast as of yet and storage of a full windsurfing mast aboard will be difficult.
It rained last night and our repairs of the mast did not fully work. Brad fixed a hole on the rubber seal but there must have been another. We screened two of our cabin vents and have two left to go. The dingy seems to be holding air but the engine still has yet to fire. That's today's task.

GPS dingy and lots more

2006-10-18T18:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay in posting everyone. I got side tracked. Things have swung into overdrive here in RI trying to get things ready to go and I just lost track of how long it had been since I posted. I guess the big news is after many frustrations, Dan getting stood up and not being able to find another electrician we finally said screw it and installed the gps unit ourselves. Boy, does it look good. Brad did a fantastic job of professionally installing the unit through the pedestal. The unit shouldn't leak through to the bilge but we will find out soon I guess. I almost forgot, Hal has arrived to join us on the trip down the ICW. He has already proved himself useful lending a hand in the installation of the GPS, CO detector and smoke detector. We also tried to patch the dingy in a couple problem areas and hope it doesn't continue to leak. I think I forgot to mention that the darn dingy's engine doesn't work. So I think we will need some more suggestions taking its shortcomings into account before we choose a winner. Our mainsail is at Doyle right now being inspected and having a slide sewn in that happened to break during the infamous jibe the other day with Katie and Anthony. It is a good thing though because the helpful woman at Doyle is putting together a package for us of spares and things that we should have on board during our trip. Other than that I believe the main hold up is registration. We have run into snag after snag with it. We are waiting for a copy of the old USCG documentation so we can register with RI and get a title. Dan also needs to come down here because the require a notary. So that's where things stand at the moment. Even so we should be off soon. Luckily we have encountered some very helpful supporters like Linda and Deb from http://windchimetimes.us/ who did a similar trip in a Tartan 37. Well, let us know whats up with you.

Dingy

2006-10-11T21:40:00.000-04:00

Well we have a dingy. Things are really starting to come together. Still lots to do though. Gonna keep chugging away.
We are holding a dingy naming contest. The person who comes up with the best name will win a to be determined prize. So let us know what you think is the ultimate dingy name.

Parents visit II

2006-10-10T20:01:00.000-04:00

Dan's parents came down to RI on Monday and took a sail with us. The winds were light but the warm temperature made up for any lack of excitement. We also conducted an extensive shopping spree at West Marine and the hardware store stocking up on tools and spare parts. I ended up sleeping on the boat and was able to solve the mystery of the faulty 12 volt outlet. Our inverter seemed to have failed which left me even on the night.

Parents visit

2006-10-08T19:38:00.000-04:00

Well we spent the night on the boat for the first time last night. I can't say we weren't very cold, but everything on the boat worked well. No complaints.
Today was spent sailing with the Quarriers. It was the longest sail we have done yet; about six hours. My parents loved the boat.
Still no dingy but we are working on it.

Jeff is in town

2006-10-07T23:48:00.000-04:00

We spent the day on the water avoiding our provisioning and preparation on the pretense that our beloved Jeff and Anika needed to see the boat. We are growing more comfortable with the boat and much of the anxiety of sailing has subsided. Upon returning to East Greenwich Yatch Club we were surprised to find our slip was occupied by motor monstrosity. We were actually pushed out to a morring ball without the courtesy of notification. So as I write this I am sitting out on a morring luckily able to steal EGYC wireless. Oh yeah, we did manage to get some shopping done as we waited for Jeff to arrived and purchased our primary chart plotter a Garmin GPSMAP 492. We are looking forward to playing with our new toy but as of yet haven't found a suitable mounting location.

First Day Out

2006-10-06T20:14:00.000-04:00

So we have started to clutter the place up already. Food is in the cabinets and gear is, well everywhere. The most surprising thing we found as we stowed our first set of provisions was that there are nooks and crannies everywhere. The food just seemed to disappear.
We also took the boat out for the first time. The wind was a solid 20 knots over the deck for much of the trip. We had our headsail reefed to a 100% and the first reef was in our main and we still were cruising at over 7 knots. With only a few minor mishaps we made our first voyage with out any casualties.

First Modifications

2006-10-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we also did gave our boat its first additions. We replaced the folding prop with a fixed blade prop for better performance in the ICW. The zincs were replaced and the hull was cleaned. A little high pressure water does the job of six tired elbows in a fraction of the time.

Closing

2006-10-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

We just closed!! Brad and Dan are official owners of a 1982 Tartan 37'. Congratulations to them. Last Friday we had a survey conducted on the boat, hence the hauled image. Thankfully not much was found in the way of problems. There were no structural issues and the minor issues were just that. I got excited today because my mother was kind enough to drag me to BJs wholesale and food shop with me. We are really getting close here.
Preliminary estimates for departure are October 17thish.
To do: purchase dingy, gps, storm jib.

Tartan 37

2006-09-24T17:05:00.000-04:00

Well, our trip is starting to take shape. Most importantly we now have a boat. kaleidoscope is a 1982 Tartan 37'. Although we looked at over 14 boats in search of a boat, the moment we stepped foot on board kaleidoscope we all knew this was the perfect boat for our voyage.
To see more photos of our beloved boat click here. For a review of Tartan 37 click here or here. For the Tartan 37 Association click here.

In other news we just returned from the Newport boat show with some novel ideas about our voyage, as well as a fluorescent rain coat.

what's next?
Well at the time of posting we have not yet conducted a survey of the boat (it may actually not float). We also need to purchase a dinghy. Let the outfitting begin!

Beware of Pirates!

2006-03-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

Check out this crazy site listing all reported pirate incidents.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
And I thought Blackbeard was dead.

Preliminary Boat Prospects

2006-02-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Well as I study oh so hard for my Captain of the Seas and mightier than Poseidon class, Brad and Dan are busy reading books on sailing and finding a suitable boat. Their most recent suggestion may be a tight fit for three adults but hopefully we wont have that many guests.

To Dream the Imposible Dream 2

2006-02-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

"A boat's a boat, but the mystery box could be anything. It could even be a boat -- you know how much we've always wanted one of those!"

That's right we have not yet got a boat, or even a mystery box for that matter. We are still in the process of... well not much to be honest. We have a plan and thats about it. The Dan, Brad and myself will be attempting to be the first to circumnavigate the globe. We plan to leave sometime late fall to avoid those nasty twisters and get back when the real world is ready for us.