Blue Crabs on Video

My friend Joe Hunter from Annapolis got the clever idea of putting his GoPro in the water along with a chicken neck and got this amazing footage of a Blue Crab feeding. It almost looks staged, the crab just gets into the perfect position, looking right at the camera.
I'll have to remember to ask him if the star of this video ended up in the pot at the end of all this... If you'd like to see even more fascinating underwater video, check out the world famous Lobster Cam, which is here This cam shows a lobster trap, live, in Halifax Harbour.

For those of you coming in from the Soundings article, welcome, and be sure to check out the rest of the blog - we have some fascinating videos, some good information on transiting the ICW - and much more to come too - and some fun stuff. There's also some newer links to free boats, so if you don't have a boat, or know someone looking for a free boat - perhaps you'll find what you want here.
If you'd like to see more of this, you can sign up with Google, or via email - both links are on the right hand side of the page.
Enjoy your time here.

Help wanted on the Erie Canal?

Hello LiveBloggers - I received an email today from a woman who would be interested in crewing on a boat heading down the Erie Canal and Hudson River, as part of a Masters thesis. Here is her message, which she asked me to pass on to readers:

Hi, my name is Autumn - a graduate student from the University of Pennsylvania. I am conducting research along the Hudson River/Erie Canal and was wondering if I could hitch a ride with someone who is going through the lock system next week (Any time September 21-30). Looking to hop on around Schenectady and be dropped off anywhere near new york city - i.e the charthouse in weehawken. I plan on fully documenting the route for ecological resources. --also I heard a portion of the canal is down? I am willing to hop on anywhere if you are pursuing an alternate route... I can document the lock system from land and the hudson by river course.

Both my methods and dates are flexible given the ad hoc agenda. I am particularly looking to “hitch a ride” with any vessels that are also taking this same route. I have sailing/marine experience and can help navigate and work as an extra set of hands of deck. I can also pay for gas,food,beer etc. This is primarily for research and will use this information at a university level that will extend into a larger pedagogy. I plan on working with a team of scientists and engineers in tandem to this research. please contact me at autumnv@design.upenn.edu

If you're able to help Autumn, or know of someone who can, please email her at the address shown, or contact me directly and I'll get your contact information to her.

ERIE CANAL CLOSURE - ADVISORY

Alternate route via the Champlain Canal and St. Lawrence River

LiveBlogger Al McGillivray reports that the Erie Canal is closed at Lock E13 for two to three weeks for repair. This means that no vessels will be able to reach the Hudson River during this period via the Canal.

The alternate route is the Champlain Canal. This involves heading to Sorel Québec, which is 39 miles east of Montreal, where they can unstep their masts. Mast should only be restepped once south of the federal lock at Albany. 

The Richelieu/Chambly route runs north and south between the northern end of Lake Champlain at Rouses Point, NY and the St. Lawrence River at Sorel, Canada. Sorel is located approximately 39 NM downstream from Montreal, 200 NM downstream from Tibbetts Point near Cape Vincent at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, or 240 NM from Oswego, NY.

From Sorel, Canada on the St. Lawrence River to the U.S. Border at the northern end of Lake Champlain, the overall distance is approximately 68 NM. This is made up of 10.06 NM of the Chambly Canal, 0.25 NM of the St. Ours Canal, and 57.69 NM of river section.

A further 60 miles brings boaters to the federal lock at Albany, NY. 

Controlling height on this route is 17 feet, in the Champlain Canal portion.

Canadian Hydrographic Service charts CHS #1350 and CHS #1351 cover the entire route from the northern end of Lake Champlain north to the St. Lawrence River. The Chambly/St. Ours Canal Lock Chamber Waypoint’s in .PDF file format are available as a  zipped file of 12 KB, at http://www.offshoreblue.com/cruising/richelieu.php

Further information on the Champlain Canal portion can be found here: http://www.nycanals.com/Champlain_Canal

There are several potential routes to bypass this problem area. Boaters in Lake Erie can transit the Welland Canal (you will need three people on board for this) into Lake Ontario, then proceed east to Sorel. Or, they can enter the Erie Canal, exit at Oswego and run down to Sorel from there, sailboats with masts down (not recommended). Alternatively, and depending on their current location, boaters can enter the canal and proceed at a suitable pace to bring them to Lock E13 in time for its reopening. From E13 to Waterford is approximately 46 miles, or two days for most vessels.

I hesitate to advise on what to do, but mariners heading south must understand that the weather isn’t getting any better, and the New Jersey coast can be challenging in bad weather. Delay at this time may place you into a pattern of bad weather. 

That being said, it is possible to do the Jersey coast in short hops from New York, the longest jump being 38 nm. The harbours are Manasquan, Barnegat, Atlantic City and Cape May. Even for slower sailboats, this distance can be covered in 8 - 10 hours, during daylight hours.

Bear in mind, if the weather deteriorates while you are outside, the first two harbours, Manasquan and Barnegat, may be impassable due to standing waves and rough conditions in these narrow inlets, and Atlantic City (Absecon Inlet) can be difficult to impassable. Check weather carefully before you head out.

If you wish further advice or information, or have updates on the situation, use the contact form on this page at the bottom right hand corner.

Relax - we're still on course.

tugboat on the Erie Canal

Hello LiveBloggers - I imagine all you long time viewers here are wondering - is Wally going to change the blog to the 'Free Boats Blog'? The short answer to that is 'no', but let me explain a few things.
Ultimately, I'd like to make some money from this blog, so I can honour my vow to never ever again hold a snow shovel in my hands! (That means being out of Canada for the winter in case you're not getting it). As most of you know, I'm a writer for SAIL and Waterway Guides, as well as other publications. Writing for free is not how I want to spend my free time.
One way to monetize the blog is to bump the blog hits up, way up, thus making the site attractive to advertisers. That's the reason I'm always asking you to share LiveBloggin' with your friends, other sailors and boaters - the more who read, the more who join, the easier it is to sell advertising. First however, I have to get those numbers up there.
The recent Free Boats posts have been 'ginormous' in terms of hits. The first free boat post quintupled the number of hits from the highest ever day - from 300 to over 1500 hits in 24 hours. FYI - that many hits in 24 hours puts you in the top leagues for blogging. Clearly, the Free Boats feature is not going away soon, but it's not going to take over this blog, that I promise you. We'll still have features and stories on the ICW, which was and is the original purpose of this blog. So don't despair when you see the occasional Free Boat post - they aren't taking over.
I'm also looking at another new feature, one that will bring you and other LiveBloggers some much better prices on boating stuff. That's in the works and hopefully, will come to pass - more on that later.
So be watching for new features over the next few months, but don't worry about LiveBloggin' becoming a new creature - that's not in the cards.

Now for some boating news - LiveBlogger Al McGillivray reports that the Erie Canal is shut at E13, and will be closed from two to three weeks while a broken dam support is repaired. Or was that a damn broken support, I'm not quite sure on that.
He's currently in Lake Erie heading that way and is trying to determine what his plan will be. He's at Fairport Harbor, to the east of Cleveland, so he's got a couple of days before reaching the Canal.
One route would be to take the Canal to Oswego and then jump out to Lake Ontario and run down to the Champlain end of the canal. You could also do that via the Welland Canal. I'll be looking up information for Al and Susan, and also Debbie and Glen, who are in Lake Ontario and facing the same problem when they reach the canal. I'll post this information shortly after this post appears.

Here it is - FREE 23 foot sailboat

Free to a good home: 23 ft. fiberglass sailboat (long keel), Swedish design from the early '70s. The Karlskrona-Viggen is a smaller version of the 27 ft. Albin Vega. Designed by Per Brohall, she is a sturdy, capable pocket-cruiser. This is a project boat and she needs a handy person who is capable of handling an extensive refit. She is not storm damaged  and her exterior is structurally sound, but she has been sitting neglected for 3-4  years. Her sails and rigging are included (she has a wood mast). The boat is currently stored out of the water in a boatyard on the Hudson River. The mast is up and she is rigged.
For those of you not familiar with this design, this tough little boat is easily capable of cruising the Great Lakes, US east coast and on into the Bahamas. In fact, with her shoal keel, she'd be superb for the Bahamas.

Pictures of a sistership on the Hudson River may be seen at  http://hudsonriverexplorer.blogspot.com/2011/07/karlskrona-viggen-nr83-ii.html - more information can be found at http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=3221
Here is a blog with photos of what this boat can be made to look like - this guy has done a great job on his boat - 
http://grass-hopper.blogspot.com/2007/07/karlskrona-viggen-nr-36.html Check out the pictures and you can see just how little it would take to make this boat that pretty.

This boat does not have a trailer or outboard motor.  The boatyard can unstep the mast and put the boat on a trailer for you or launch the boat. There are several people nearby who handle sailboat transport for very reasonable prices.

Note - this is not quite accurate as it's a newer version of the boat. The keel on this plan is smaller than on the boat shown.

As you can see, this boat is in pretty fair shape. It could be sailed away from what I understand, with very little work. I found what I thought to be further information on her on Cruisers Forum, but couldn't verify they were the same boat so I've not posted that information here. The conclusion was that she would be an easy restoration.
Please email or call Mary, below, for more information or to schedule an appointment to see the boat.

Free:  KARLSKRONA-VIGGEN 23 sailboat

LOA: 23 ft., draft 3.5 ft., beam approx. 7.25 ft., displacement approx. 3,000 lbs.

email: svlevity@hotmail.com (Mary Broderick/Steve Perry)

phone: (914) 315-9320

Location: Verplanck, New York (on the Hudson River)

FREE 23 foot sailboat in good condition!

Ahoy LiveBloggers and transients coming alongside...and all of you folks walking the dock, looking for your dream sailboat. I'm just awaiting the details on a 23 foot Swedish built sailboat, it needs some interior work but there is no damage and the sails and rigging are included.
I will be posting more photos and details on this boat sometime between now and Monday evening. If you haven't yet signed up for automatic notification of new posts (spam free, I promise), you can do so via Google or using your email address at the right of this post.

MORE Free Boats....

Now isn't this a sweet looking boat? It could be yours, free!

WOW! In the last 24 hours, this blog has received over 1500 hits, five times that of any other single day...and all because of the Free Boats post yesterday. There have even been inquiries from as far away as Seattle from people seeking a free boat. Clearly, there's interest in this (d'oh, what was I thinking? Of course there's interest...)
I'm now looking for some more free boats, both sail and power, which I hope to have listed for your perusal by the end of the weekend. These will be a bit more realistic than the beautiful, but impractical (for most people) 1905 Lawley that we first featured.
In other words, you can expect the next boats to be boats that you could consider for yourself, such as a Catalina 22, or a funky but working power cruiser that could make a good liveaboard - that's her in the photo above.
As this feature grows, I'll be adding more boats to it, plus some other special benefits from advertisers. Stay tuned - even if you don't get a boat, you will be able to save money on some of these special offers on the boat you now own.
One final point - if you're truly interested in getting one of these free boats, consider signing up with LiveBloggin' - we are entirely spam free - so that you are notified just as soon as we post these boats. With so many people looking, you don't want to miss the boat of YOUR dreams, do you? You can sign up in the bar to the right, either with Google, or via email.

Free Boats...

Ok, you're all set to pack your ditty bag and sail south, but you need a boat...an inexpensive boat, since you're not rich. There's lots of them around, and some are for free! Today, we launch the start of a new LiveBloggin' feature - the FREE BOATS page.
Today's beauty, and I do mean beauty, is a 1905 Lawley sloop, an incredibly lovely boat in its time. Just look at the photos of her. Now to put her back in commission is going to take some doing, but imagine how your heart will just go pitter patter every time you look at her. It's worth the effort for that reason alone.
Hopefully, you LiveBloggers know of other free boats, or nearly free, that you can pass on to LiveBloggin' readers. They don't have to be classics like this - they can be newer boats that have been abandoned, or that the owner wants to dispose of quickly. Email me at FREE BOATS and I'll post your finds for everyone to see.
Also, please be sure to share this page with your fellow boaters - let's get these boats out of the boatyard and back into the water.
Special thanks to David Irving of Boneyard Boats for his help in rescuing old boats, and in providing today's feature boat.

A reminder...

Gypsy Wind at St. Catherines Is., in Georgia

A ton of views of the last post requesting photos and videos, lots of positive replies....but, as yet, only a couple of videos and photos received.
Help me out here everyone - take five minutes during lunch and email me a couple of photos of your summer sailing - to northchannelsailing@gmail.com, include a couple of comments and your name and boat name, and I'll include your contribution in our 'Summer 2013' video.
Thanks everyone....

Coming - the End of Summer

I know, I know - you don't want to hear that, and I don't blame you at all...so what are we going to do to keep that summer 'buzz' alive for us LiveBloggers, at least until it's our turn to travel south like the birds?
Let's do what our kids do in school - we'll have a show and tell about 'How I Spent my Summer on the Boat'... send me your best sailing/boating photos and videos, especially videos if you have them, and I'll create a video featuring your material for photos and a page for the videos , plus some comments from you about your work. I'll put them together in the same kind of format as the video below, plus put your names and boat name along with them if you wish. Just let me know how you want to set up your photos or video here. My editor at SAIL will be interested in seeing this as well, and you never know, you might end up with your contribution being posted there as well.

Your photos and video don't have to feature just sailing either, just be boating related. Maybe you have great shots of painting the bottom, or dinghying around the harbour - whatever it is, let's see it. Perhaps it was a great time on the dock, or a great view from some secluded anchorage, it's all good!

For those of you heading south this fall, this video is also a little 'primer'. Hope you enjoy this and it helps to keep the dream alive. We're all looking forward to seeing your summer fun here on LiveBlogging...
(photos and videos can be sent to my email, northchannelsailing@gmail.com)
hotos and vdeos can be sent to my email, northchannelsailing@gmail.com

Fly me to the moon....

Visibility of tonight's moon shot...

I returned to Gypsy Wind late yesterday after a gruelling bus ride from Toronto to Richmond VA - a bus ride that started with hitchhiking 75 miles to get to Barrie ON to get a bus to Toronto (a longish story not worth relating here about missing the only bus of the day, at 8 am)...and then after arriving in Richmond and because there is no public transit in the Middle Neck of VA, I had to hitch another 58 miles.
As always, hitching rides introduces you to some fascinating people. My first ride of the day, out of Owen Sound, was with three women - that was a new one. My last ride, a mortician, dropped me off at the boat even though it was out of his way. I told him I enjoyed meeting him and I did, but I was glad it wasn't professionally...even if I was feeling dead tired.
Arriving here, I ran into my buddy, Doc, who invited me over for dinner - a true blessing, because I was exhausted, and Cindy is a great cook... I should add here, I met Doc because his wife picked me up hitchhiking out of Richmond Airport...but that's another story.
After fourteen hours of sleep, I awoke full of determination to tidy and clean the boat to within an inch of its gelcoat...after checking email, facebook, etc. and etc.
First of course, I had to walk the pup, so off to the town marina we went. There, Aduana made friends with Willow, a gorgeous Golden Retriever whose person is Tom the dockmaster, and away they went.
It was great fun watching them romp in and out of the water, chasing one another for over an hour. Where they get the energy, I'll never know, because they didn't slow down for a moment. Later, poor Aduana was suffering from diarrhea due to the salt water she swallowed while swimming so much, but she's fine now, and napping beside me.
Returning to the boat entailed a quick check of emails again, with several requiring responses, a couple of Facebook posts, some phone calls....then it was time to join Doc, Cindy, Rob and Becky off Sea Quell, on Peter's boat, a Sabre 40.
Well, the evening was perfect - great winds, warm, incredible sunset, lots of laughter...and best of all, no destination. Just sail out for an hour or so, then turn around and sail back. Being a cruiser, I so rarely sail with no destination....but I'm planning on doing more of it, this was wonderful. Best of all, with so many competent sailors on board, I hardly touched a line or sheet - ahhh, bliss, I was a passenger. That doesn't happen often.
Then, to cap off the evening, there was a moon launch from the NASA site on Chesapeake Bay, Wallops Island (see here). The image above shows the area in which the launch was visible, and it was really neat to see - not as exciting as the Shuttle launch I once viewed, but well worth watching.
Saturday, I'll get to the boat cleaning...or maybe not. As a friend of mine once said, and it's advice worth heeding - Dust Keeps. In other words, if you have a choice between a menial chore and something far more interesting, such as time spent with good friends, remember that the dust will be there for you when you return. Good friends may not always be there if you ignore them for other things.
Enjoy your weekend everyone.

OK, how about this?

Ahoy all - one of the most viewed posts on LiveBloggin' is one from some time back, about a free boat (FREE BOAT)
If readers would like to see a Free Boat feature, so that we can introduce others to the joys of boat ownership - let me know, I'll set up a FREE Boat page.
Also - most of us have 'stuff' in the bilge, in the garage, on the dock, etc. that is perfectly good, but that we know we'll never again use. How about a page here where you can give it away, free, with the other party paying shipping costs?
If this is of interest to you, or you have comments or ideas on how we can make these ideas work for all of us, comment below or email me at FREE STUFF on LiveBloggin' - just click on the link....and let's set it up.

Yeehaw Junction - North!

Yes, that's Tennessee moonshine whisky

I took a break from the boat recently to visit family in Ontario, Canada, where I'm from. This is not a region generally known as 'redneck' country - but I'd never spent a weekend at my sister and brother in law's home in Estaire, just south of the hardrock mining town of Sudbury, where I grew up. Well, was I due for an education...

The video below gives you an idea, but let's see - I went out on a bass boat and actually ran the thing at over 40 mph....my sailboat will do 10 knots in a big enough breeze...listened to my sister, her boyfriend and the neighbours talk about their fun times....such as towing everyone from house to house through the snow - in a canoe - with a 'quad' - a four wheel atv, which is not 'urban' transportation. By the end of the winter, the canoe required considerable patching, as you can imagine...Now if that isn't 'redneck' entertainment, I'm not really sure what is. There were a few other stories too, but I won't belabour you with them here! I assure you however, Jeff Foxworthy would find them worthy...(Foxworthy is a redneck comedian for those who don't know him).

So, on Labour Day while we're all sitting out on the dock overlooking the lake, a friend drops by with a Mason quart jar of Tennessee moonshine....somewhere between 125 and 175 proof apparently. NASA wants samples for the Mars program, last I heard.

Anyhow - it's actually fine sipping liquor, a lot smoother than you'd ever expect, with strong hints of apple and cinnamon taste. Just don't have more than a couple of shots....you may find yourself waking up on Mars...

The first video below is for fun - and the second is the view from the beautiful home my sister and her boyfriend have built.

this is the 'oh oh, my sister is a redneck' video...

...and this is the view from her dining room....

I'll be back to my boat, the ICW, and sanity as soon as I can escape!

Shocking....

Well, the Port Credit Boat Show went well, and I had the pleasure of meeting many new, wannabe cruisers, as well as several old friends. A good time was had by all.
I just completed an article on boat wiring and safety for SAIL, basing it on the experience of having a small electrical fire on Gypsy Wind, and while doing so, came across the following online article on boat electrical systems - click here - and I recommend that everyone reads it. It discusses some major safety oriented issues. For example, when you unplug your boat from shore power, you should turn off the power at the pedestal before disconnecting the plug. I didn't know that.
I'll leave it to you to read the article and discover why.
More later, but at the moment, I'm busy with several writing assignments - but didn't want anyone to think I had forgotten you here!
Enjoy your Labour Day weekend everyone.

Speaking out....

I've been making fabulous time up the east coast, but the last several days have all been inland on the ICW, pouring rain on top of that - but today, got to sail the Albermarle Sound, the winds were just right - a 6 - 6.5 knot ramble from the Alligator Pungo Canal to the north end of the Sound...ahhhhhhhhh. Then, turned into the wind and fired up the diesel and putt putt putt the rest of the way, to Great Bridge, VA, where I am now. At least it wasn't raining...
Because of the bridge/lock schedule, I'm leaving here at 3 am - otherwise, there's no point in leaving until 9 in the morning when the bridge here reopens after rush hour. If I wait for that, I'll lose the entire day to bridge restrictions for rush hours and I'm racing now to get back so that I can get up to Canada for the Port Credit Boat Show this coming weekend.
I'll be speaking there on the ICW (three seminars) and on Cuba (one, on Saturday) - here's the schedule:

So, now you have no excuse for missing me this weekend! 

Some other exciting news - I'm also speaking at a special ICW seminar in Annapolis. This day long seminar is being hosted by SAIL Magazine, and features a roster of well qualified speakers, all with extensive experience of cruising the ICW, as well as cruising in general. This will be a very educational day for those who have an ICW trip in their future. A question and answer forum will be held at the end of the day, then  - of course! - a happy hour. Hey, we're sailors!
There is room for 140 people - 40 of those seats were booked even before we officially opened for registration, and as of late last week, I believe that 90 eager and excited wannabe/gonnabe cruisers had plunked down their money for a seat.

For more information on the ICW seminar in Annapolis, click here. 

Now, a few hours sleep and back at it...

Gypsy Wind Sails to Deepest, Darkest Africa???

Discerning LiveBloggin’ readers will be asking themselves: “Why is there a photo of a Ring Tailed Lemur, from Madagascar of all places, on Wally’s blog? Isn’t he somewhere on the ICW, as in the US of A? How bizarre...and what’s this, a video of Ring Tailed Lemurs, plus four hardebeests from Kenya...and there’s some North American birds and white tailed deer, all on the same video? Has Wally gotten his videos from South Africa and South Carolina all mixed up?”

Well, LiveBloggers, those are excellent musings....but the truth is that kismet, as experienced in my day to day life, is the reason for what you see here. Serendipity and adventure are some of the reasons I cruise - you just don’t get days like this working in a cubicle. Let me tell you about it - but first, the sailing report for you hardcore types...
I had two great days sailing north from St. Simons - the first day the winds were light, so I motorsailed to St. Catherine’s Sound. The winds picked up for the last hour or so, and Gypsy Wind roared into the inlet under sail at over 7 knots. Great fun.
The next day, leaving St. Catherines, I sailed off the anchor and, without the least mutter from the diesel, on to Skull Creek at Hilton Head - an anchorage that was purportedly used by Blackbeard to hide from the navy vessels hunting him. The winds out of the southwest tucked themselves over my left shoulder, (which is the best location for my boat), and stayed there all day. Just for the record, that was a 6 - 7 knot day all day long, with almost no wave action....great fun. The new mainsail looked, and performed, like a dream! Every sailing day should be so great. On top of that, both days I left the anchorages with an ebbing tide, and entered the new inlet with a flooding tide. Had I gone on the ICW rather than offshore, I'd have fought current all day long both days.
Anyhow, back at St. Catherine’s Sound, I had anchored up in Warburg Creek beside St. Catherine’s Island. There’s a research facility there, been there for many years now - and part of their research at one point was on certain African animals, which I wasn't aware of previous to this trip.
 I brought Aduana ashore for her walk, and fortunately I had her on the leash, because there were about a dozen white tailed deer in the field in front of us - she’d still be chasing them had she not been on her leash. Northerners will notice these are very small deer compared to the White Tails we have in Canada, which are considerably larger. Even the same deer in Annapolis MD is more than twice the size of these pretty animals.
Later, while walking, we walked up to within twenty feet of still more deer - they’re comfortable with humans, even walking into some of the buildings, but dogs make them nervous. A little further on I walked up to some cages and saw - Ring Tailed Lemurs. How strange.
I watched them for a while, enjoying their antics and their curiosity over Aduana and I watching them. They’re pretty animals, with brilliant coppery orange eyes and a raccoon’s tail. They are very agile and active, and quite loud.
While returning to the boat, I ran into Elizabeth, who works on the island with her husband. Her father started the facility years ago and still works there. She explained the setup to me, and that the lemurs I saw, and another 100 or so running free on the island, plus a few other animals, were all part of previous research projects and were due to be returned to the wild eventually. Her father, Royce, explained to me later that the island is actually the best place in the world to study Lemurs, other than Madagascar. In some ways, he said, it's actually better, as the jungles of Madagascar have been badly defoliated whereas St. Catherines Island allows the lemurs more range and freedom. To learn about these things was fascinating to say the least, and reminded me of the safari I went on while in South Africa in 2010. And that's not even including the elephant I saw in Myrtle Beach....but shhhh!, that's another post!
Next year, I hope to arrange for a tour of the island facility for a group of southbound sailors, but in the meantime, here's a look at what you'll have to look forward to...

Don't forget - I'm speaking at the Port Credit Boat Show on the 23 - 25 of this month - the schedule for the show is here...Speakers' Schedule...a special treat this year will be Paul and Sheryl Shard speaking on cruising through the canals of France. Hope to see you there, it's a great show!

See you at the movies...

Ahoy all, I'm heading out once again in the morning - time to get the anchor out of the mud and sail this boat once more. I've been too long in one spot.
Someone mentioned the new Redford Movie to me on Facebook - All is Lost - about a singlehanded sailor who loses his boat in the Indian Ocean. So, curious as ever, I checked out the trailer for it.
This was NOT the best idea I could have had on the eve of a passage....check out the Official Trailer for the movie...hmmm, maybe I'll stay on the ICW tomorrow....

Jimbo's - a different sort of weird....

The 'restaurant' at Jimbo's

(This article was originally written for SAIL, but they chose not to use it - so here it is, for your enjoyment).

Jimbo’s Place. Getting there isn’t half the fun if you do it in anything much deeper than a canoe. It’s a nail-biting, unmarked channel that brings you in real close to shore, then sends you back to the middle, with nothing but a good depth sounder, a rising tide and luck between you and the bottom, because there are no markers.

I was fortunate in having visited briefly a few days prior to arriving in Gypsy Wind, my five foot draft Dufour 34, and gone out with some of the local boys for a ride on a shrimp boat. Jimbo’s son, Bobby, pointed out the way in for me. I’m not entirely sure I could - or would - have done it without his guidance. Still, approaching high tide you’ll find a minimum of six feet, provided you find the channel, and twelve feet in the very protected anchorage.

I ‘discovered’ Jimbo’s while waiting for a bus in downtown Miami. Two casually dressed guys on bicycles, wearing ball caps and one carrying a solar panel, pulled up to the bus stop. They had to be sailors and they were, on their way south to Marathon. 

John and Mike regaled me with tales of what an amazing place Jimbo’s was and I, being tired of No Name Harbour and the whole prissy Miami scene, decided then and there to visit this anomaly less than three miles as the crow flies from the glitz and glamour of downtown Miami.

Jimbo’s Place is a Miami oddity. To quote one visitor, “it’s a fire hazard, health hazard...but a fun place you must visit at least once”. 

Located on the northeast side of Virginia Key, Fisher Island is only a half mile away, although in attitude, it’s many light years distant. Watching the Melges 32s race offshore during Miami Race Week from the nearby beach was distinctly surreal.

Flashback to the 60s?

How can I put it? Jimbo’s makes Key West feel - well, normal. The bar, such as it is, is inside a corrugated steel container that might once have been hauled behind a transport truck.  In fact, it probably was. There are no seats, you pay for your beer and grab a seat at a picnic table outside with whoever is sitting there, like fellow sailors John and Mike. Or...whoever.

Over that weekend there was everything from travelers to transvestites, pretenders and poseurs, soup to nuts, or so it seemed, and a few I really couldn’t identify. Nor did I really want to.
You might see members of a swingers group that occasionally hangs out at Jimbo’s, or a group of frat boys out slumming with their pledges.  The Friday night both those groups were there together is the stuff that legends are made of I’m told. I’d love to provide the details I was given but, this is a family blog...

Photo shoot....

There were several young Cuban girls having glamor photos taken while I was there,  something to do with a rite of passage for Hispanic gals turning 15. They showed up in their sexiest clothes to have their photos taken by professionals, with lights, tripods, the whole setup no less - in front of a beat up dock, or a burned out bus, with pouty looks and sexy stances. Go figure. It was fun watching though. 

Most of the time, Jimbo’s is just people without attitudes or pre-conceived judgements on who you are. One of Jimbo’s regulars told me it’s the sixties, forty years too late, and that seemed pretty close to the truth. Even the duo playing on Sunday afternoon had a sixties feel, although their music ranged from classic to modern.

I had heard that the smoked fish was excellent, and it was. The conch fritters, cooked outdoors under an awning, are the best I’ve had anywhere, including the islands. Coupled with an ice cold Heineken, Jimbo’s is, as another regular told me, “the best place in Miami to get away from Miami.”

Of course, a gig like this wouldn't be complete without a cop in a Miami Dade police van showing up for a cold soda with friends hanging out there, listening to the band on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

It was quite the show.

Bobby, who ran the place, and myself

Two weeks after this article was written, Jimbos announced its closure. The iconic hangout, which in its day was a location for the movies Flipper, and Dexter, even Miami Vice, and horror sci-fi flick Island Crab, is no more, and we mourn its loss.

Dolphins Dancing in the Bow Wave...

Every ocean sailor remembers the first time a pod of dolphins joined his or her boat and frolicked around it, dashing in and out of the bow wave and, sometimes, leaping entirely out of the water. It's one of sailing's magical moments and, on my recent crossing of the Gulf Stream from the Bahamas, we were treated to nearly an hour of dolphins playing in the bow wave, diving under the boat, racing off and then, racing back to do it all over again.
Here's 90 seconds of the magic....enjoy, as I did. 

And - some exciting news for those planning on cruising the ICW on their way south. SAIL Magazine is hosting a special day long ICW seminar during the Annapolis Boat Show. This seminar will give you all the tips, tricks and techniques you need to safely, comfortably and enjoyably do the ICW segment of your trip south to Paradise.
Leading off the stellar cast of speakers is SAIL Magazine Contributing Editor yours truly... you'll also hear from Bruce Schwab on electrical tech issues for your boat, Jeff Grossman and Jean Levine on cruising for couples (invaluable advice here!), Mark and Diana Doyle on anchorages and dockage (another great couple with good information you need). All of this will be followed by a one hour Question and Answer session where you can pose your own questions to the speakers, who will be joined by experts from Waterway Guides, Seven Seas Cruising Association and BoatUS. All of this is followed by a cocktail hour where you can buttonhole your favourite speaker with still MORE questions.
Trust me on this - if after this seminar you can't comfortably handle the ICW - you need to buy an RV instead!
For more information, including how to register for this event (seats ARE limited), go to SAIL ICW Seminar.
Look forward to seeing you there.

Rockin’ the Gulf Stream - at 13 knots!

The video is of some cute fishies that we saw at Sampson Cay.....

This post is dedicated to my good friend Wendy McGregor, who is now, along with her hubby Mike, off sailing to paradise - that is, if they ever get out of Lake Ontario where they appear to be on an extended round of dockside farewell parties...

Wendy, as those who read her blog Wind in My Dreams will know, recently did a delivery out of the Bahamas to the US. Their captain chose to cross the Gulf Stream in conditions that caused me, when I saw the post, to be concerned...to make it brief, they got their butts handed to them in a nasty, cold, windy and VERY bumpy crossing.

So - Wendy - here we are on my delivery, four hours out of Bimini...temps are in the mid 80s...winds are 10 - 15 S, boat speed is 9.5 - 10.5 knots and we expect to make St. Augustine FL in about 23 hours. 

Although I take a huge chance of jinxing this passage by doing this, I can only say to you: NYAHHHH NYAAAHHH, NYAAAHHHH, NYAAAHHH! (Update - we scored a surf at 13 knots just a bit later after I wrote this.)

Our time in Bimini was interesting. I’m used to Bimini being full of sailors, and lots of boats anchored out. This weekend, there were perhaps two other sailboats - and dozens of fishing boats, sport fishers, and a few big cruising boats. All of them were over from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

So? What’s the difference? Aren't we all boaters? Well - for starters, power boaters in a group are far less friendly then sailors. I went for a swim in the pool and was looked at like I was unwelcome by about half of them, and ignored by the other half (maybe I should have showered, you think?). Only one person was courteous enough to say hi - and he was wearing a Tilley hat. I wondered if he’d once been a sailor. In any event, we all know that’s not how sailors behave.

Then - all of the men but the courteous guy and one other had rolls of fat over their bathing suits and looked distinctly out of shape. I’m not skinny, but I’ve got no rolls and I’m fit, as are most sailors.

The women? Cellulite was in evidence, can I say that? Again, intriguingly enough, the courteous guy’s wife was trim and attractive. Put the pair of them on a sailboat and they’d fit right in.

And bling? Oh yeah....all the display you would expect. I go sailing to get away from all of that crap.

I’ve never seen police boats in Bimini, but there were two, plus a Bahamian Defense boat, on the water this day. Turns out the new casino was opening and the Prime Minister and most of the Cabinet was on the island. Lots of people in suits (105° heat index, are they nuts?), cars and traffic jams everywhere (some cars clearly shipped to the island for the day), lots of confusion...

We had rented a golf cart from Captain Pat to explore, and when we returned, we remarked on the whole thing. Pat, whose attitude I suspect reflects that of a lot of old time islanders), was dismissive of the whole thing. He wasn’t impressed at all, and wished it all gone.

I’m with Pat on that. There is a huge tourist housing development and new marina at the end of the island. Picture any housing development, anywhere, you care to, colour it in tropical shades of pink, mauve, yellow and green. Now, ship in sand (to an island made of coral sand), import palm trees (to an island where they grow naturally), add in huge crates of shell, used to make walkways (on an island where conch shells are found everywhere). Sing softly to yourself the old Joni Mitchell song ‘They paved paradise and put up a parking lot...’ Now you get the picture?

And I can prove that this is not Paradise - if it really were Paradise, there would not be any speed bumps, but in the development, there is a speed bump every 50 yards or so.

When you go into the old town, where the locals live, sure, it isn’t as pristine, but damn it, it’s a LOT more interesting.

In any event, it looks like ‘civilization’ has come to Bimini. A shame, it was once a really nice island.

My only consolation here is that the most perfect view, the nicest piece of land on the entire island, with a view of both the harbour and the Atlantic, has a graveyard on it. I take great pleasure in imagining how that must frustrate the developers who I’m certain would love to build on it.

And, if I’m any judge, the quiet laughter that I hear late at night (which many think is simply waves washing onto the beach) is the sound of those souls laughing at what they’ve done, and how they’ve preserved their beautiful view for the world, rather than the privileged and wealthy few.

Cue to Joni Mitchell....

(stay tuned!!! - my next post features some amazing video of a group of a dozen dolphins that joined us while sailing along the coast yesterday - they played in the bow wave and around the boat for nearly an hour.....never had that happen before!)

p.s. - my NYAHH NYAHHs at Wendy did have an effect - we had a NASTY thunderstorm a few hours after I wrote that.....but still, the sailing was great, if now a close reach...that’ll teach me! Wendy, STOP laughing...