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...

Surfing for dollars...

Motorbike in DR....fine until the brake handle fell off!

Cave offshore on DR coast

What a ride. The sail from Luperon to Long Island in the Bahamas, and on through the islands, has been some of the best sailing I have ever experienced. 

First of all, there were the ‘fresh’ breezes out of Luperon that rocketed us towards Matthew Town on Great Inagua at an easy 8 knots until we were well out to sea. The winds then went behind us, making it more difficult to hold our course. Our speed fluctuated between 6 and 8 knots the entire night. 

The next day, we found the boat surfing frequently to speeds well into the 9 - 10 knot range. It became a contest to see who could hit the highest speed as we roared along. First there was my 9.1 knots, quickly followed by a 9.3. Then, on his shift, Bruce nailed 9.4 and that held for quite a while. It took some time for me to best that with a 9.5, and that mark held into the next day. 

Mattie wasn’t participating at this point, but then suddenly we hear: 9.3! Well, it wasn’t the top speed but Mattie was surely in the game now.

Arriving at Great Inagua approaching midnight, we searched in vain for the lighthouse that was supposed to be there, and at last found it. It wasn’t working, normal for this part of the Caribbean, but at least it looked pretty in the nearly full moon we had. 

We took a considerable offing around the tip of Great Inagua, bringing the boat onto a close reach and then close hauled position as we came around. Up until now, we’d done nothing but running, the winds constantly being from behind.

Elbereth continued to rush along at over 7 knots in the 15 - 20 knot winds, even with the genoa half furled. Since we were now in the lee of the island, it was flat water, and very exhilarating. We made our way up to Matthew Town and crept to within 100 yards of the shore, anchoring in 12 feet of beautiful sand bottom.

And then we slept!

The following day, our destination was Hogsty Reef, a patch of coral halfway between Acklins Island and Great Inagua. The plan was to do a short day (37nm), get in some snorkeling, rest up, then continue to Long Island. The weather however, started to look questionable for an overnight on an exposed reef, so we changed our course and headed for South Point at the bottom end of Long Island - an additional 54 miles, to anchor out at Galloway Bay on the opposite side of the island from Clarence Town.

Offshore sunset.....ahhhhhh

The contest continued, with Bruce nailing a 9.6, and then, 9.7 - with a reef in the main and a partially furled headsail. Were we having fun or what? Then, with a double reef in the main, Mattie hit 10 knots. However, because the engine was running at the time to charge the batteries, we couldn’t count it as official. Even on a small sailboat, there have to be some rules!

One of the highlights of this part of the trip was the night sailing in the strong winds we were experiencing. I could tell you about how fabulous it was, but perhaps this video of one part of our night sail will tell the tale far better...

Leaving Galloway Bay, our next destination was Long Island Breezes Resort (website here), at Salt Pond on Long Island. We wanted to get some coffee, or a grinder, a few other grocery items, and enjoy a swim in the fresh water pool here, and make use of the internet. The resort was closed for the season, but Mike, who owns the resort with business partner Jackie, set me up with the internet, thus providing you with my last post.

It had been a few years since I last visited Long Island, so we crept slowly and carefully into the bay, carefully monitoring the depth sounder. In part, this was because we were unsure of what, if any, offset was programmed into it. We might be reading six feet with only five feet, our draft, under the boat. That, as you can imagine, could cause a problem.

We anchored off the resort at sunset at high tide in about 9 feet of water, which was more than adequate allowance for the three foot tide. The full moon riding high in the sky, obscured by the occasional cloud, was gorgeous - and I thought of all of you, back home, hard at work....

What on earth are you thinking people? It’s a paradise out here, and life is wayyyyy too short.

(currently in Bimini, heading for the US tomorrow morning, back at my boat Monday sometime...will upload many photos and video then with a good connection...forecast is for 15 - 20 S, waves to max of 1 meter out of the south - this is gonna be another great ride on the Gulf Stream!)

Disaster strikes!

Luperon, a cruisers’ hangout in the Dominican Republic, was an education for Mattie, the boat’s owner, as he’d never spent time in a third world country. Unlike the resort at Samana, Luperon has no huge properties, no luxury tourists - just lots and lots of frugal sailors hanging out at Wendy’s Bar, JRs Tropical Bistro (it’s on Facebook, here) and various other dens of iniquity. We had planned to overnight in Luperon and head out the next day, but a problem with the boat’s rudder necessitated getting a mechanic onboard. For those mechanically minded, we had to replace a bushing, which meant lowering the rudder - IN THE WATER! That, as you can imagine, could be a recipe for disaster should the rudder fall off. We’d then have a large hole inside the boat, with water pouring in. Not good at all. Pedro, the mechanic’s assistant, dove under and took a strap around the rudder to support it in the water and we tied it off to the cleats. The rudder was then lowered a few inches, giving clearance to remove and then replace the bushing. Done, and we were good to go - after a slice of homemade apple pie at JR’s. Special thanks to Gil, the owner of JR’s, for his hospitality. Gil hails from Medicine Hat, Alberta and really, who can blame him for leaving that freezing cold backwater for a third world backwater that is, at least, warm year round? The weather forecast was leaving me somewhat concerned - there was some rough looking stuff east of Puerto Rico, several hundred miles away. I contacted a FB friend, Paul Moran (no relation) in Culebra, PR. Paul is a charter captain there - he advised that they were getting lots of rain, little wind, but that he felt this system might turn into a tropical storm shortly. The satellite view confirmed some rotation too. Paul suggested that we’d have no problem reaching Great Inagua if we left shortly, and I concurred, but with some trepidation. Once outside Luperon Harbour, we set our course and raised sail. Elbereth took off like a scalded kitten, racing up to 8 knots in the fresh breeze (note: ‘fresh’ breeze is what sailors like to call just a bit too much wind), and surfing on the waves to over 10. Quite the ride, and we had 160 miles of this to look forward to. Well, we rocked and we rolled, and we surfed and slid, riding over the Puerto Rican Trench with over 17,000 feet of water under us - or more than three miles! Night turned into day, and then night again, with a near full moon - spectacular, as you can see from the video. Finally, 31 hours after leaving Luperon, we dropped anchor at Great Inagua, Bahamas and collapsed into our bunks - completely unaware that disaster awaited us in the morning. Awakening far too early, our very tired crew of three looked forward to a reviving cup of superb Santo Domingo coffee from the DR. Bruce opened a fresh bag - and found - beans! Not ground coffee, but beans, and no grinder aboard the boat. This was terrible, as any coffee drinking sailor (hello Doc!) will tell you. Three tired sailors and no coffee. Opinions were divided on what to do - lower the dinghy, clear in with Customs and find a restaurant? What if there wasn’t one? Dinghy over to the ketch anchored a quarter mile over and beg for coffee like shipwrecked sailors (pride has no place here). What if he had no coffee? Tough it out, sail on to Long Island and BUY a grinder...tempers flared, voices were raised...all to a background of the captain (me) whining and whimpering. Then, inspiration struck the captain. His eyes lit up, a smile returned to his worried face - we can grind coffee with a hammer. The crew thought this was ridiculous, but I pointed out - desperate times need desperate measures. No hammer being available, we grabbed the next best thing - a screwdriver with a heavy end, put beans in a bag, and proceeded to pound them into powder - well, ok, grinds about the size of bb shot. Into the percolator they went. Anxious faces looked at one another....would this work, or were we doomed to a morning with no coffee and too little sleep? The pot bubbled away. Finally, it looked ready. A cup was poured. With shaking hands, I lifted it to my parched, thirsting lips. A sip. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Life is good.

A little 'tease' for you...

Had a few spare moments at hand while some boat repairs are being finished up, so I thought I would 'tease' you imps out there with a bit of video - this is the teaser, not the trailer, for what will be a super video of this sailboat delivery...some great shots of the BVIs, Puerto Rico, Isla Palominos, San Juan, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas....a whirlwind tour of some of the prettiest cruising waters in the world... Stay tuned to LiveBloggin' for more great sailing video, coming soon! And in the meantime....lol....enjoy being teased!

From the sublime to the...well, to Luperon!

Cayo Levintado, where we anchored on leaving Samana

Hola mes amigos y amigas - no, I'm not going native, just practicing my espagnol, which is needed here in the DR. English is not spoken here, and when it is, it's not spoken well.

Two nights ago, I was on my way for a nighttime swim in the infinity pool at Bahia Puerto Samana - a truly swish resort (member of a group known as the top 50 Exclusive Small Resorts of the World) where we stopped to visit with my friend Jeff, who moved here from Cleveland - and who can blame him? This place is spectacular, as you can see from the attached video, and is popular with whale watchers in season, and tourists throughout Canada's winters, the beaches are magnificent.
To get here required a 38 hour sail from San Juan PR...we had excellent conditions crossing the Mona Passage, which has a terrible reputation for late day thunderstorms - so we sailed across it in the early morning through the afternoon - it's about 60 miles between PR and DR.
Leaving Samana, we sailed for 26 hours, to Luperon and a totally different world. This area is very much third world - I don't have the cables to download my photos here, but believe me when I say - half naked children in the streets, lots of beaten up motorcycles and old clunkers that wouldn't qualify for a junkyard back home, lots of boats in the harbour even now in the off season (it's a hurricane hole) - essentially a fascinating place.
Below, a few photos - me on Junga's (Jeff's local friend) motorbike, in Samana - we went 'native', which is always fun and went up to Jeff's place here. On the return, Junga let me ride his bike so I could take photos....not quite my Gold Wing back home and I started to get concerned when the front brake handle fell off - but Junga told me not to worry, the front brakes didn't work anyway....well, THAT'S good news!

No Front Brake
No Clutch
No Starter
Am I crazy?
Probably... 

Sipping champagne at the resort....
ahhh, THIS is the life....

Stay tuned....dinner tonight at Wendy's - if anyone wants to
Google Hangout, I'll arrange it and you can watch the
movie tonight with us! Or just chat....email me here.
Like the sign says, Gringo's Welcome!

SO MUCH to tell y'all...

Hola! Sorry everyone for being out of touch, but internet towers are really really tough to put up in 17,000 feet of water, the depth of the Puerto Rica trench between the DR and PR. I'm now in Samana, DR, after having spent time in Cruz Bay, St. Johns; a short stop in St. Thomas USVI - very brief, that gunfire thing you know...then los Palominos Island in Puerto Rico (super pretty), then San Juan, Puerto Rico and, after a 38 hour sail, Samana, Dominican Republic...
Here are a couple of photos to give you an idea of just how tough life has been these past few days - more later after I've downloaded them....and keep in mind, I do all this just for you! Honest...

DR coffee makes the BEST cappucino!!!
Going to buy some café Santo Domingo at the market tomorrow

President Clinton's favourite store in San Juan, PR

Sail Rock, between - ah heck, in the Caribbean, heading for PR

AHHHHHHH moment....

Checking the charts....

Life is tough out here, can you tell?

Road Town, Tortola.....ahhhhhhhhh!

Blue, blue, my world is blue - Blue is my world...

Arrived by fast ferry in Sopers Hole, West End, Tortola, yesterday around 5:30. Did the entire trip from St. Thomas on the bow of the ferry taking the most amazing photos, which I am putting together as a video for you to enjoy....this place is absolutely gorgeous. Had dinner at Pussers and yes, I had a Painkiller.....and yes, it was FABULOUS, beyond fabulous in fact - perhaps even better than Pussers in Annapolis, and God knows, the view was superb....all I need now to make life perfect is a beautiful woman who is free to travel, appreciates Painkillers, tropical sun, sailing and gorgeous beaches...any takers? I know one person who likes all of these....(impish smile here)...but her circumstances don't permit her to travel outside the country now...I'm sure there are others, lol.....remember, like my father used to tell me, you only live once, so enjoy it. Seriously, do you really want to work forever, or would you rather enjoy life?

Currently in Road Town, which is at the top of the bay
in the center of the bottom of the island

Tomorrow, the wife of a cruising friend is coming down to visit, I haven't seen these folks since we traveled down the ICW with them six or seven years ago. They now own a house here....how nice is that?
We (the crew and myself) hope to rent a car and do some exploring tomorrow, since the new mainsail won't arrive until Monday. We'll sail over to St. Thomas, about 25 miles, to pick it up, then leave from there for Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Yes, life is good - especially when no one is shooting at you! Stay tuned for the video, coming soon...

St. Thomas Shooting Update

I've had a chance to look further into last night's shooting. No one was killed, but two men were injured. According to a cab driver I spoke with who was familiar with what happened yesterday, a young man went hunting for the two men who were shot yesterday in retaliation for the shooting of his brother. The two men who were shot were 21 and 25; one was shot in the arm, the other in the leg. The two car collision apparently had nothing to do with the shooting, but occurred at the same time, probably a result of the drivers attempting to get clear of the gunplay.
The police have said they have no idea about who is involved, although it looks like the local community is quite aware of the circumstances. The local news article gives what few other details are available.
Now we return you to your regularly scheduled Friday afternoon. Next post will be from Tortola, BVI.

Crime Scene in Paradise!

I've been unable to discover any more about last night's shooting just outside the guest house in which I'm staying here in St. Thomas. Even the reporter with whom I spoke last night had no further information - her one comment was that this was the third shooting yesterday, that the police wouldn't discuss anything and "this is how it's done in our little banana republic".

Here is a video of the crime scene. One of the two victims was lying behind the beige Jeep in the picture. There has been comment that the shootings were retaliation in a drug gang scenario.

After this post, I will be heading out to explore St. Thomas, which really is a beautiful place, and then leaving by ferry this afternoon for Tortola to head for the boat. A friend there has invited me to a Captain's party this evening for a regatta being held tomorrow, sounds like it ought to be a great way to learn about Road Town, Tortola....

Details as they happen! Stay tuned to LiveBloggin' the ICW as we explore the Virgin Islands...

Gunfire in Paradise!

Just as I was completing my last post, seven or eight loud bangs rang out in quick succession. I stepped to the lounge outside my room as someone said "are those firecrackers?", and another man said, simply, "No".
We went outside to the edge of the parking lot - the video here is what we are now watching. One of the bodies is behind the beige Jeep with its doors open.
I spoke with a local reporter who told me this was the third shooting today in St. Thomas. Another person said it was likely retaliation within the drug gangs.
More as I learn what has happened here - the Chief of Police refused to speak with me, stating he didn't have time for media. Shortly after that, myself and the other reporter were asked to move off the scene, and about 50 yards away, several officers were searching in some bushes, presumably for bullet shells.

Flying into St. Thomas, USVI - Heaven on Earth...

View on the drive in...

How to describe it? Gorgeous would be one word. It's a mixture of all the tropical places I've been to - Key West, South Africa, Tahiti, Philppines - everyplace but the Bahamas. It's mountainous, with gorgeous blue water, beautiful beaches, anchorages around every corner, and funky and tropical, all at the same time.
Wait - what was that?....something just happened outside - there were seven or eight gunshots, fast. One of the other guests asked if it was fireworks - someone said no, it was gunshots. We're all headed to the parking lot...details when I return.

One of the anchorages...

My room....

Patio to my room...

Local shrimp dinner, spiced to perfection...

Courtyard outside my room...

Random thoughts in Jax and Miami Airports...

Here I sit, in Jacksonville Airport, once more frustrated by an airport wireless setup that is not working. I strongly suspect the TSA is in charge of these systems - how else could this be so consistent across America? Think about it...when was the last time you found an airport internet wireless setup that actually worked, or that you didn’t need to take out a mortgage on your house to access? 
I’ve discovered a silver lining to the IRS hassle here in the US - there’s been so much attention paid to the IRS harassment of conservative groups, the attention is off the TSA people, who are actually paid to harass travelers...as a result, they’re smiling and happy and actually polite. Except for having to take my shoes off, empty my pockets of every piece of kleenex and the old cash register receipts I’ve been carrying for weeks, and opening my luggage, it was almost like old times. 
I always recall of my first flight, back in my 20s. I arrived late at the airport in Sudbury, ON, a very small regional airport, and boarded while the plane was warming up on the runway. The flight attendant - we called them stewardesses back then - smiled and welcomed me aboard. I was carrying a box of business documents, no one bothered looking at it. Try that today... 
 Once again, I’m leaving my boat in the path of an oncoming storm. Gypsy Wind has been through Isabel while at anchor, Irene while on the hard, Sandy tied to a dock in Lake Erie and now this one - Andrea is its name - tied to the dock in St. Simons. The first tropical storm of the season, is supposed to go right over the boat, and even now, it’s pouring rain here. Predicted winds are 55 - 60 later today - hopefully long after my flight leaves. 
The program for this delivery is to fly into St. Thomas, where I’ll stay tonight at Rhoda’s Guesthouse - I chose it because it’s inexpensive (hey, I’m a sailor, we have a reputation to uphold), is well regarded and it sounds pretty funky - check it out, Rhoda’s Guest House, St. Thomas. Tomorrow, before getting the ferry to Tortola in the afternoon, I’ll explore a bit and then pick up the new mainsail for the boat.
Tomorrow night I’ll be in Road Town, Tortola, on Elbereth, the 36 Beneteau I’m bringing back to the US. I expect we’ll be a day, perhaps two, getting the boat ready and taking her out for a quick shakedown cruise to check out the various repairs that have been done.

From Tortola, it’s off to Puerto Rico. I’m seriously debating clearing in at the island of Culebra, reason being that the customs and immigration folk on the big island have a really bad rep for harassing boaters. One friend of mine had his boat seized, the customs people claiming he had Cuban cigars, illegal for an American. Four months later, they decided they were wrong and now will give him back his boat - sight unseen - provided he signs a hold harmless waiver. In other words, they may have trashed his boat but there’s nothing he can do about it. Oh - if he doesn’t sign the waiver? They’ll take his boat. Do you see something wrong with this picture? It’s another case of ‘we’re from your government and we’re here to help you’.
From Puerto Rico on, our route depends on the weather. If it’s too rough on the north side of PR, we’ll travel the south coast, adding about 50 miles or so to our run to Samana, DR. From Samana, it’s on to Luperon, then northwest to the Turks and Caicos, then on into the Bahamas. The longest leg is about 185 miles, from either San Juan or Ponce PR to Samana.
Just now got in to Miami - I swear, my pup Aduana is better behaved than 90% of the children here. And, when Aduana is along, the kids are so fascinated by her, they quiet down and come over to pet her. Unfortunately, for this trip, she’s staying back in Georgia - and yes, I miss her already.
Just received an invitation to join a small regatta on Saturday in Tortola from a friend who lives there, in Road Town. Don’t know if I’ll join in the race, but for sure I’m going to get to the captain’s meeting - that will be a party! Ah - boarding call. God willing, you’ll next hear from me from St. Thomas, USVI.

Gangnam Style, the Sailing Edition...

Last winter, during the Toronto Boat Show, a friend of mine, Adrienne, and I had dinner with my friend Gord and his ladyfriend at her townhouse. A quantity of wine was imbibed - ok, in the interests of accuracy, a large quantity of wine was imbibed - and we got talking about Gangnam Style, by Psy.
Yeah, it's about as hokey a video as I've ever seen, but we thought - wouldn't it be fun to do a version based on sailing? (told you there was a lot of wine involved, didn't I?)
So I'm asking everyone here to help out with this project. Get your friends together, get your smart phone or video camera out, and do a Gangnam style clip involving sailing, your sailboat, boats on the dock, whatever, as long as it's sailing themed. Try to do this in hd if you can. Send that clip to me as an attachment and I'll put them together as the video "Gangnam Style, the Sailing Edition".
Keep in mind the following points - corny is good. Cheesy is better. Weird costumes are great. Tiny bikinis are superb. Tacky is excellent. 
Let's do it folks - Opa GANGNAM STYLE - the Sailing Edition.

Heading for the BVIs...

Most of you are aware I'm heading out on a delivery, from Tortola to Georgia, later this week. Don't be too panicked when you don't see or hear from me after the 6th, for about two weeks. I'll try to get online as I can - best place to follow me will be right here, and I'll try to update on Facebook as well.
The chartlet above shows the first couple of stops as we head west from Tortola. After we leave this area, there's the Mona Passage (always a FUN ride, lol), then Samana and the joys of a Latin American country, complete with corrupt officials seeking a 'mordita' - little bite, or a bribe for you gringoes....
The Turks will likely just be a fast stop and go, then up into the Bahamas and it's beautiful turquoise blue water.
The boat is a Beneteau 362, and we'll have an epirb as well as all the required safety equipment. Weather, so far, looks good....but we're technically into hurricane season, so, folks, cross your fingers for me...total distance is over 1000 miles - San Juan PR to Nassau is 800 give or take, Nassau to Bimini is 115, Bimini to St. Augustine is 265, then another 75 miles to here. From here, the owner and I will buddy boat, with me back on Gypsy Wind up to the Chesapeake.So the itinerary is Road Town, Tortola, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico (Fajardo, then the south coast), Dominican Republic (Samana, Luperon), Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Georgia....colour me happy!