It appears to our followers that we have cease to exist... well we have in a sense. Dave is on the boat and Helen is back on land. Our "cruising lifestyle" came to a screeching halt on March 1st when 3 health issues faced various family members in Oregon and Helen got voted off the boat to go back home. Dave has been on the boat, entertained Helen's sister and brother-in-law for 10 days in St Thomas and St John, and has hiked, re varnished, attended Happy Hours, and read many books to fill the time. Helen has helped out supporting the local family members, being grandma, substitute teaching, and cleaning closets storing goods from 1978 and beyond. But we are returning to the life of a cruising couple if all goes as plan on April 26th with Helen's arrival to St Thomas---I believe in time for carnival!!!!!
Our plans are to cruise for May in the Virgins and then start the trip north. We are currently signed up to do the Salty Dawg Rally from Virgin Gorda to the States and bring Jammin' back to US soil after 7 years away. Our boat has never been on the East Coast and we are looking forward to having some time there eventually. Dave's mom has Vascular Parkinsons and the doctor has suggested Hospice care. We might be in Oregon in June.
Our son Mike and his wife Julia are expecting a daughter around July18th in Texas, and we will be down there for the event and to give what help is wanted afterwards.
So bottom line, don't give up on us, we are still cruisers at heart, we still have our boat, and the dream is still alive and floating out there with our name on it. The good news is we should have time to download photos and info this summer from the past year and make our life more visual to y'all with better internet connections than we have had for the past 2 years.
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Sunday, April 21, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
January 28, 2013
Sint Maarten (Dutch side)
We are at a French bakery (on the Dutch side of the island) eating delights and interneting for free. It is almost 9 AM here.
Kent and Heather Sisk had a great time here, on Anguilla, and on St Bart's. We ate, we hiked, we swapped stories, and tipped backed some beers and rum drinks. We even made it to Sunset Beach Bar where you can reach up and be blown over by landing jets. But they did come to sail, too and we had a great sail back from St Bart's to St Martin--we even saw Stars and Stripes out sailing.
There was a full moon party on the shore that we could watch from the boat...but it quit early. A bit of rain felled and today it is overcast,windy, and gray. Sirens are heard all day and all night and we are ready to find a corner of an island road free, siren free, and no where to spend money--palm trees and clear water would be nice, too.
Another storm is coming on Wednesday with waves and wind so we will hide out back in a niche on St Bart's called Colombier. Last week we were there and snorkeled right off the back of the boat. Dave is finding small projects to work on and I am reading/tanning so I don't interrupt his work or answer his rhetorical questions.
LIFE IS GOOD!
Sint Maarten (Dutch side)
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| Chilling at Barnacles |
Kent and Heather Sisk had a great time here, on Anguilla, and on St Bart's. We ate, we hiked, we swapped stories, and tipped backed some beers and rum drinks. We even made it to Sunset Beach Bar where you can reach up and be blown over by landing jets. But they did come to sail, too and we had a great sail back from St Bart's to St Martin--we even saw Stars and Stripes out sailing.
There was a full moon party on the shore that we could watch from the boat...but it quit early. A bit of rain felled and today it is overcast,windy, and gray. Sirens are heard all day and all night and we are ready to find a corner of an island road free, siren free, and no where to spend money--palm trees and clear water would be nice, too.
Another storm is coming on Wednesday with waves and wind so we will hide out back in a niche on St Bart's called Colombier. Last week we were there and snorkeled right off the back of the boat. Dave is finding small projects to work on and I am reading/tanning so I don't interrupt his work or answer his rhetorical questions.
LIFE IS GOOD!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Thursday January 10, 2013
Leaving Antigua for St Martin
Our destinations this seasons have been based on getting to friends and renewing friendships that time has distanced us from temporarily. We are leaving one group of friends in Antigua to get to another couple that we cruised with in 2007 in Mexico. The winds have kept us here in Antigua for an extra week, but the company has been so great that it pains us to leave this port. However Classic Race Week in Antigua will come in April and we will have a grand reunion with whom we have left behind.
Hiking is a big part of the cruiser lifestyle, and we were able to go on one of the hikes here. Granted we took a wrong turn, did not complete the planned hike, but we did end up at the bottom of the hill in a bar and drank 2 beers over an hour''s worth of good stories in great company.
Last year we circumnavigated the island and hit most of the lovely beaches. This year we have been pinned down in Antigua with 25-30 mph winds for the past 10 days. Great for the wind generator and our power source, but not so great for limin' the time away. I have been busy reading and sewing and Dave has worked on boat projects and reading between social hours, short walks, and the occasional sundowners. It has been windy and squally most afternoons and that has been quite uncomfortable. So we have started meeting for after dinner drinks and chocolates---a change from 5-9 PM Happy hours. The advantage is we all get dinner and a relaxed social time versus appetizers, social time, and wake up hungry the next morning for protein.
We can finally make a public announcement, this week our son announced to FB and the world that he and his wife are going to be having a baby July 18th, 13 months after becoming a husband and a dad to Julia and Layla Hansen. We are so happy about this. In high school he talked about how he would one day be a dad and what he wanted to do with his kids, now he will have two and we couldn't be happier for him and his growing family. Our daughter Kelsey keeps us up to date with weekly videos of what her almost three year old daughter is up to. This week we have a video of her Kiwi putting bubbles (from her bubble bath) on her face and saying, " Opa's face," and then taking her Happy Birthday washcloth out of the suds and singing Happy Birthday to Oma in her bath on a different night. She is growing up so fast and thanks to computers we get to see and hear the changes from baby to little girl...not the same as being there but once removed.
Wish we could write more but then we would have to share stories between friends that no doubt would loose a lot in translation, and since the wind has kept us from exploring we really have little to add to last year's impressions of Antigua. I will try to download photos from our walk and post them.
Leaving Antigua for St Martin
Our destinations this seasons have been based on getting to friends and renewing friendships that time has distanced us from temporarily. We are leaving one group of friends in Antigua to get to another couple that we cruised with in 2007 in Mexico. The winds have kept us here in Antigua for an extra week, but the company has been so great that it pains us to leave this port. However Classic Race Week in Antigua will come in April and we will have a grand reunion with whom we have left behind.
Hiking is a big part of the cruiser lifestyle, and we were able to go on one of the hikes here. Granted we took a wrong turn, did not complete the planned hike, but we did end up at the bottom of the hill in a bar and drank 2 beers over an hour''s worth of good stories in great company.
Last year we circumnavigated the island and hit most of the lovely beaches. This year we have been pinned down in Antigua with 25-30 mph winds for the past 10 days. Great for the wind generator and our power source, but not so great for limin' the time away. I have been busy reading and sewing and Dave has worked on boat projects and reading between social hours, short walks, and the occasional sundowners. It has been windy and squally most afternoons and that has been quite uncomfortable. So we have started meeting for after dinner drinks and chocolates---a change from 5-9 PM Happy hours. The advantage is we all get dinner and a relaxed social time versus appetizers, social time, and wake up hungry the next morning for protein.
We can finally make a public announcement, this week our son announced to FB and the world that he and his wife are going to be having a baby July 18th, 13 months after becoming a husband and a dad to Julia and Layla Hansen. We are so happy about this. In high school he talked about how he would one day be a dad and what he wanted to do with his kids, now he will have two and we couldn't be happier for him and his growing family. Our daughter Kelsey keeps us up to date with weekly videos of what her almost three year old daughter is up to. This week we have a video of her Kiwi putting bubbles (from her bubble bath) on her face and saying, " Opa's face," and then taking her Happy Birthday washcloth out of the suds and singing Happy Birthday to Oma in her bath on a different night. She is growing up so fast and thanks to computers we get to see and hear the changes from baby to little girl...not the same as being there but once removed.
Wish we could write more but then we would have to share stories between friends that no doubt would loose a lot in translation, and since the wind has kept us from exploring we really have little to add to last year's impressions of Antigua. I will try to download photos from our walk and post them.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
St Pierre and Happy New year
29/12/2012
Happy New year from Antigua and hopefully many more. We are in Antigua with Miclo and are going to stay put. The weather goes down on Tuesday with a 3plus meter North swell covering the whole area. This is as good a place as any to sit.
We saw Joan on Panchita's song in Compass well done. Good Job
So we anchored in St Pierre a couple of days ago. Mainly so we could have a wonderful lunch up at Depaz Rummery. We talked to the tourist lady who spoke no English. I guess they don't expect English speaking tourists. Anyway she said we should be able to get a cab up to Depaz for 2eros each. Went down to the cab stand and the guy wanted 10 eurs. You know me so we hiked all the way up there in the heat of the day dreaming of beer, rum, and a great lunch. We were smart enough to bring water. Took us only 45min to walk up hill to what was going to be this great lunch. When we got there we checked into the little gift shop and asked about lunch she said oh ya they are open. The girl behind her no today they are closed only this day!!!! We couldn't believe our luck so we walked around the facility and went back to taste a few rums and a Ti punch, no beer. We bought a bottle of their second from the best, best costing $60 US, a bottle of the next one down, a couple of bottles of a orange flavor rum, 6 Ti Punch glasses and two stirring sticks. Even the best Martinique rum is an acquired taste. I still prefer the sweetness of Zacapa, or Flora de Cana. Now looking for a lunch and a beer we hiked down the 4 kilometers back to the center of town for a good local lunch, using a whole new set of muscles
Hope all is well and have a wonderful 1st
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Happy New year from Antigua and hopefully many more. We are in Antigua with Miclo and are going to stay put. The weather goes down on Tuesday with a 3plus meter North swell covering the whole area. This is as good a place as any to sit.
We saw Joan on Panchita's song in Compass well done. Good Job
So we anchored in St Pierre a couple of days ago. Mainly so we could have a wonderful lunch up at Depaz Rummery. We talked to the tourist lady who spoke no English. I guess they don't expect English speaking tourists. Anyway she said we should be able to get a cab up to Depaz for 2eros each. Went down to the cab stand and the guy wanted 10 eurs. You know me so we hiked all the way up there in the heat of the day dreaming of beer, rum, and a great lunch. We were smart enough to bring water. Took us only 45min to walk up hill to what was going to be this great lunch. When we got there we checked into the little gift shop and asked about lunch she said oh ya they are open. The girl behind her no today they are closed only this day!!!! We couldn't believe our luck so we walked around the facility and went back to taste a few rums and a Ti punch, no beer. We bought a bottle of their second from the best, best costing $60 US, a bottle of the next one down, a couple of bottles of a orange flavor rum, 6 Ti Punch glasses and two stirring sticks. Even the best Martinique rum is an acquired taste. I still prefer the sweetness of Zacapa, or Flora de Cana. Now looking for a lunch and a beer we hiked down the 4 kilometers back to the center of town for a good local lunch, using a whole new set of muscles
Hope all is well and have a wonderful 1st
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Friday, December 21, 2012
December 21, 2012 Martinique
We have arrived to our first French island, shopped, stored provisions, and are now anchored in a secluded cove on Martinique. Life is very good! Early this week we were in St. Lucia, listening to jazz, shopping for beef, and relaxing after our trip from Trinidad. Then we crossed over to Martinique and shopped for cheese, wine, salami, baguettes, and chocolates! We also found internet and called Michael for his birthday.
This cove is where we will spend Christmas this year. So far four other boats have joined us here. The church in town has a bell that chimes the hour, the pier is well built and the boardwalk is quite new. A small grocery store carries fresh fruit, veggies and a few other items, and there is a small movie theater. On the beach there are about 5 eateries in the sand, and a spot for snorkeling. Out where we are anchored you can just jump off the boat and you are in a snorkeler's paradise. Dave dove into the water and came up with a 7 inch by 9 inch oblong sand dollar, a first for us.
Our plans are to stay in Martinique till December 27th and then make a long run up to Antigua to join our friend on Miclo III for a New Year's celebration. During January we will be sailing around that area and in February moving up to the US and British Virgin Islands--great beaches and Dave will get to use his Senior Golden Pass for anchorages. He is very proud to be 62!
That's about it for now, except it appears the world is still here, the Mayan calendar worries are gone, and we hope all your Christmases are joyful and you find time to appreciate the love ones you have nearby. Steak has just arrived off the BBQ so more later...
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This cove is where we will spend Christmas this year. So far four other boats have joined us here. The church in town has a bell that chimes the hour, the pier is well built and the boardwalk is quite new. A small grocery store carries fresh fruit, veggies and a few other items, and there is a small movie theater. On the beach there are about 5 eateries in the sand, and a spot for snorkeling. Out where we are anchored you can just jump off the boat and you are in a snorkeler's paradise. Dave dove into the water and came up with a 7 inch by 9 inch oblong sand dollar, a first for us.
Our plans are to stay in Martinique till December 27th and then make a long run up to Antigua to join our friend on Miclo III for a New Year's celebration. During January we will be sailing around that area and in February moving up to the US and British Virgin Islands--great beaches and Dave will get to use his Senior Golden Pass for anchorages. He is very proud to be 62!
That's about it for now, except it appears the world is still here, the Mayan calendar worries are gone, and we hope all your Christmases are joyful and you find time to appreciate the love ones you have nearby. Steak has just arrived off the BBQ so more later...
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
December 13, Thursday
Sink or Float
We are being lifted off the hard and putting the boat in the water in one hour. We hope to float and then motor to around the corner and get some much needed sleep. So officially we are starting on a Thursday for a long run up islands as a Friday start is bad luck.
Six months the boat has sat dry and she is itching to feel the pull of tides and the massaging waves around her belly as much as we are. So we will write more around Christmas when we get a good internet connections.
P.S. Viva la France! Last night was a birthday party for a local man who has a boat next to ours and we partied with 7 French couples, one Brit, one Alaskan couple, and a woman from Senagal and Hong Kong. Food was great, rum punch strong, and we emptied five 3 litre boxes of wine or more. Stories were swapped, songs were sang, instruments brought out of storage, and after true midnight we made our way to bed. Our social life is full out here with never a dull moment!
Sink or Float
We are being lifted off the hard and putting the boat in the water in one hour. We hope to float and then motor to around the corner and get some much needed sleep. So officially we are starting on a Thursday for a long run up islands as a Friday start is bad luck.
Six months the boat has sat dry and she is itching to feel the pull of tides and the massaging waves around her belly as much as we are. So we will write more around Christmas when we get a good internet connections.
P.S. Viva la France! Last night was a birthday party for a local man who has a boat next to ours and we partied with 7 French couples, one Brit, one Alaskan couple, and a woman from Senagal and Hong Kong. Food was great, rum punch strong, and we emptied five 3 litre boxes of wine or more. Stories were swapped, songs were sang, instruments brought out of storage, and after true midnight we made our way to bed. Our social life is full out here with never a dull moment!
Friday, December 7, 2012
December 7, 2012 Time transitions: Land Time vs. Island Time vs Cruiser Time
We clearly spent too long on land because Dave and I are having a very difficult time transitioning back into the cruising time mental state.
Our upholstery man called across the fence on Tuesday (Dec. 4th) that he was done and would be over before dark to give us the back cushions that were to be done by Nov. 18th--to his credit we did get on Friday (Nov. 30th) the bottom cushions! Success! So we cancelled dinner plan and waited, woke up on Wednesday and waited all day doing small boat jobs, waited on Thursday and called him but no one answered, called on Friday morning but no answer as well...then he called back at 2 PM and said there is a small problem with his pattern and the cutting of the fabric and perhaps we could enlighten him on the different height of the cushions--our answer was, " We will walk over and be there in 5 minutes with the old cushions to show you the height of both cushions." GEEZ! We are way too uptight about things being done when they are promised and way too gullible to believe that when they said it is done they mean DONE to be true cruisers. In island language "done" means just started on your project, "on my way means" I might be there in 2-4 days, and tomorrow morning means he will be working on it tomorrow morning if you are lucky--and if he is working on it you should run to the lottery ticket booth and buy a ticket because you are one lucky SOB!
We have been peeing in a plastic jug for 12 days now waiting on our cushions that we paid for in May to be done by November...and it is December 7th!!!!!
So land time is a watch, the calendar, one's ability to read and calculate time, and access to the internet.
Island time, it happens when it happens & t'ings get in the way that can't be helped, so go with the flow, man.
Cruisers time is, "It's Friday, man are you sure about that? We've been thinking it was Tuesday. The date? Why would we know that? We're waiting for a weather window to leave and t'ing look good for next Monday but if today is Friday we better get going to be ready to go by Monday, hey, you want to go have a beer?...
Well, we are looking forward to leaving life on the hard in Trinidad, and getting on the water, sailing to Antigua--a 3 day/night sail that will take 7 days with all the stops for food, cheese, wine, rest and other goodies. BUT, we have to wait for the prepaid top cushions being held by our Trinidad upholstery man!%#@.
P.S. They are also being made not with the blue fabric we chose, but the green fabric that he ordered thinking we were a different boat--we are yet to settle that issue, the price difference, and still get out of Trinidad before Christmas! Spiritual Serenity, a concept we are working towards and is definitely a work in progress for both of us.
We clearly spent too long on land because Dave and I are having a very difficult time transitioning back into the cruising time mental state.
Our upholstery man called across the fence on Tuesday (Dec. 4th) that he was done and would be over before dark to give us the back cushions that were to be done by Nov. 18th--to his credit we did get on Friday (Nov. 30th) the bottom cushions! Success! So we cancelled dinner plan and waited, woke up on Wednesday and waited all day doing small boat jobs, waited on Thursday and called him but no one answered, called on Friday morning but no answer as well...then he called back at 2 PM and said there is a small problem with his pattern and the cutting of the fabric and perhaps we could enlighten him on the different height of the cushions--our answer was, " We will walk over and be there in 5 minutes with the old cushions to show you the height of both cushions." GEEZ! We are way too uptight about things being done when they are promised and way too gullible to believe that when they said it is done they mean DONE to be true cruisers. In island language "done" means just started on your project, "on my way means" I might be there in 2-4 days, and tomorrow morning means he will be working on it tomorrow morning if you are lucky--and if he is working on it you should run to the lottery ticket booth and buy a ticket because you are one lucky SOB!
We have been peeing in a plastic jug for 12 days now waiting on our cushions that we paid for in May to be done by November...and it is December 7th!!!!!
So land time is a watch, the calendar, one's ability to read and calculate time, and access to the internet.
Island time, it happens when it happens & t'ings get in the way that can't be helped, so go with the flow, man.
Cruisers time is, "It's Friday, man are you sure about that? We've been thinking it was Tuesday. The date? Why would we know that? We're waiting for a weather window to leave and t'ing look good for next Monday but if today is Friday we better get going to be ready to go by Monday, hey, you want to go have a beer?...
Well, we are looking forward to leaving life on the hard in Trinidad, and getting on the water, sailing to Antigua--a 3 day/night sail that will take 7 days with all the stops for food, cheese, wine, rest and other goodies. BUT, we have to wait for the prepaid top cushions being held by our Trinidad upholstery man!%#@.
P.S. They are also being made not with the blue fabric we chose, but the green fabric that he ordered thinking we were a different boat--we are yet to settle that issue, the price difference, and still get out of Trinidad before Christmas! Spiritual Serenity, a concept we are working towards and is definitely a work in progress for both of us.
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