s/v Carina

The First Three Fish . . . Finally!

2008-05-22T12:02:00.003-04:00

After being skunked for over a year, Carina finally caught fish on this trip. The first one, Sloane's, got tossed back . . . but it was a real, live fish! Finally!

Next, Mike caught a dolphin! Bill showed us a few tricks with our new gaff while Sloane demonstrated one of her old tricks (pouring vodka--in this case, over the gills).

Excited by the fishing frenzy, this little guy just went ahead and jumped on board by himself.

Even that one was better than we'd done in the previous year. More news from the trip soon!

Boat Preparations

2008-05-21T11:29:00.006-04:00

First, the night before flying down to Marsh Harbour, Bill demonstrated his ability to be a part of the trip home with Carina by successfully completing his hazing--standing in the shower holding a life preserver while other crew threw salt in his eyes & canned vegetables at him. (The photographer [Sloane] missed the last two parts due to having hands full of canned vegetables and salt.)

Question: How many people does it take to change a lightbulb on a sailboat?

Answer: Fifty-eight. One (Mike) to go up the mast, one (Bill) to crank him up there (and then hide from falling objects), one to tail Bill (Sloane), and fifty-five to stand around on the dock drinking beer, telling tall-tales, making jokes, and being glad it's not them.

After last year's forever-long journey home, we wanted to be sure to have plenty of fuel.

Water . . . well, let's just say those two green water jugs stored 6 gallons of air each all of the way home in the v berth. And we still got home on less than 1/2 of a 25-gallon tank with about 70 extra gallons in reserve. We probably shouldn't discuss body odor at the end of the trip.

We missed the opportunity of winning some money from Bill when we managed to fit the dingy into its nifty little storage bag. (Too late, he told us he would have bet there was no way.)

But we didn't miss the opportunity of final drinks the night before departure from Marsh Harbour. Nor the night after that, which we again called the final night before departure from Marsh Harbour. Wait for a weather window--drink beer--wait for a weather window--drink beer. Like hand and glove.

Home Safely

2008-05-20T10:35:00.002-04:00

We are home safely! We fared much better than this mid-trip stowaway that we found one morning on deck. More details to follow . . .

Getting ready to come home

2008-05-12T00:28:00.000-04:00

OK, it's time to bring Carina back to Wrightsville Beach. While we are in NC trying to tie up loose ends and crew, Carina is having her bottom cleaned. She loves it when we do this because she knows it's time to look and do her best. As much as she likes the day sails, they never really test her ability, and she loves to show us her capability.

Well, I know Carina is ready to go. Now with any luck, the weather will co-operate and we will be underway around the 15th of May. We'll be at sea for 4-7 days, maybe longer if we don't catch any fish! We have searched for crew and have decided to go with 3 for this trip. Our good friend Weston is busy with family and is preparing for a year or so sailing with a final destination of New Zealand. He will be traveling on Mike Compton's and his friend Gary's new boat, s/v Indigo.

We called on another great friend, Bill Whaley. Bill is a seasoned and accomplished sailor, which is always good to have, but what was more important to us is his guarantee that we would catch fish! I'm sorry Weston, but over a year without a fish has left us searching. Yes, this is a fishing trip with a destination!

Well, after we asked Bill to join us, he was more excited than we thought. He got so excited that he even got a haircut by his mom for the trip. By the time she was done, Bill had lost all of his hair. The way I see it is he will use less water underway, and that's a good thing. As far as I know, Bill doesn't sleep on watch (Mike!).

As for me, I'm so excited I ran out of things to buy so I decided to press all my T-shirts. You have to look good out there!

And Sloane, don't worry, she knows what she's doing . . .

Check back--we'll have a full rundown of the passage.

Closure

2008-04-25T14:43:00.003-04:00

I know it's been awhile, but we've been dreading this post.

Echo Ficalora
July 24, 1995-April 14, 2008

Today's Adventure

2008-04-09T11:48:00.003-04:00

Very unfair to have to go to the dentist on one's half-birthday. And since when did they start using chocolate-flavored polishing gel? You leave feeling like you've brushed your teeth with a Hershey bar.

Home in April

2008-04-08T13:26:00.001-04:00

We came home to find the dogwoods in full bloom . . .

What a nice sight to wake up to!

March and April Abaco Pics

2008-04-07T09:37:00.003-04:00

This time, our friends Eric & Amy joined us in the Abacos. We started in Marsh Harbour, then visited Guana Cay, Elbow Cay, and Man-O-War Cay.

Amy was a little reluctant to dance one evening, so Eric helped this way.

Mike borrowed the camera for a while for these shots.

Another day at Grabbers on Guana Cay.

Eric hard at work on a Monday afternoon.

Preparing to Leave Again

2008-03-27T09:08:00.003-04:00

We leave to return to the Bahamas tomorrow. As we prepare to leave again, one of major tasks is prepping a couple of weeks of Echo's dog food.

All of this (along with a bunch of frozen veggies and leftovers from our dinners) has to be prepared and ~~shoved~~ placed into these.

And then Elisha gets to clear out her freezer to make room for the Lion King's meals.

Abaco in February, Part the End

2008-03-20T09:24:00.006-04:00

Sunday, March 2: Barefoot Man day! Sunday morning, we had breakfast at Grabbers and then made our way up the hill to Nippers to see Barefoot Man's concert. We started on the beach, where we noticed that the skids that had been stacked for the bonfire later were being dismantled by concert goers who thought they looked like great beach chairs.

Mike's beach chair is a self-constructed "condomolium," a creation of our friend P.J.

The crowd for the Barefoot Man swelled . . .

. . . to the point that we realized, "You know what? We saw the man play last year. Let's go back to Grabbers where we can listen to Steel Daddy and actually get a drink." Even the FedEx guy apparently had the same idea.

So, we never saw Barefoot Man play this year. I think we're over it. But what a great view from Grabbers.

Monday, March 3: We had a nice motor sail back to Marsh Harbour and then cleaned, cleaned, cleaned the boat.

Tuesday, March 4: Back to Raleigh for a few weeks!

Abaco in February, Part 4

2008-03-18T10:46:00.009-04:00

Saturday, March 1: On Saturday, a fundraiser was held for Guana Youth Sailing. Everyone joined in to make and sell conch salad and hotdogs,

and sell tee-shirts and hold an auction. Mike got a cool new tee, and we donated to the 50/50 raffle and some games. Their goal was to raise enough money to buy three small sailboats to use to teach the kids on the island how to sail. They ended up raising enough to buy five!

And then the music started again. This is Steel Daddy at Grabbers. I used his music in this video.

Saturdays are also rib nights at Grabbers, and their ribs are excellent!

Here's Mike (and Tony--he's always stealing my chair when I get up from the bar) chilling out with a Sands beer, smelling the ribs on the grill, and listening to some great steel drum music.

Abaco in February, Part 3

2008-03-12T09:40:00.008-04:00

Friday, February 29: Fisher Bay fills up with sailboats as the Barefoot Man/Steel Daddy weekend approaches.

Even the local dogs are ready for the surge of visitors to the island. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace has nothing on the changing of the guard at Nippers on Guana Cay.

Abaco in February, Part 2

2008-03-10T10:21:00.009-04:00

I forgot to mention in the last post that we finally got to use the ship's surgical kit several times over the first few days in the Abacos this past trip. Mike acquired a ~~large splinter~~ clove from the dinghy dock in his foot on the first day, and I got to play with a scalpel until I was able to fish out the entire piece after ~~Mike took many shots of whiskey~~ a few days.

Here is what Wikipedia says, "Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. Eugenia aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata) are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and dinghy docks in the Abacos and used as a spice in cuisine all over the world."
"The name derives from French clou, a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves are harvested primarily in Zanzibar, Indonesia and Madagascar; it is also grown in Pakistan, India, Mike's right foot, and Sri Lanka."

Moving along . . .

Wednesday, February 27: Wednesday was a wet, chilly day, and even the curlytails were hunkered down for quality time together.

Usually, Wednesday nights are pot-luck nights at Grabbers, but it was cancelled at the last moment due to poor weather. Always ~~clueless~~ the rebels, we scrounged up a couple of avocados, tomatoes, and lime and made guacamole for the bar anyway.

Thursday, February 28: The Art Cafe used to be the breakfast place on Guana, but since it closed this winter, breakfast has been hard to find. Nippers picked up the slack for a while, and then Grabbers announced that it would begin serving breakfast the upcoming weekend. So we ate breakfast at Nippers Tuesday-Thursday. Except that instead of "breakfast" (breaking the fast), Nippers, a major party spot, likes to call it "breakfest" (a festival of breaks?).

~~You can take an English teacher to Guana Cay, but you can't take Guana Cay . . . um . . . yeah . . .~~ The first day, Mike ordered this:

. . . which ended up being 3/4 of an Eggo waffle (we were told they kept getting caught in the toaster) . . . without the hashbrowns. The subsequent days, we learned to order food that Jerry actually makes, like the omelet . . . and found it much more worthwhile.

Abaco in February, Part 1

2008-03-05T13:42:00.012-05:00

We're way overdue for an update now that we're back in easy Internet range.

Friday, February 22, we flew back down to Marsh Harbour (by way of Nashville, of course--one of those 5-airport travel days) and landed and cleared at Treasure Cay for our first time before moving on to Marsh. It's a tiny airstrip, but we needed only half of it for landing. I think we used it all for our takeoff. I immediately engaged in Dominoes with some of the locals, and then we moved into town later for some dinner & dancing. As usual, the cabs stopped running long before the bars closed, so we ended up walking home.

Saturday, February 23, I had a very lazy day just getting used to being warm again and back on the boat. Mike went diving with Kay from Above and Below Abaco over to Fowl Cay. He returned with stories of sharks and such, but without any documentation, who would know . . . ? That night, of course, was Steak Night at the Jib Room and was a lot of fun. We were still exhausted from work and travel and turned in pretty early.

Sunday, February 24, we were supposed to sail to Guana, but we decided to relax another day in Marsh and head over Monday.

Monday, February 25, we had a nice sail over to Guana Cay. We originally planned to go on the hook or grab a mooring for most of the week and then move into the marina, but the weather for the next few days didn't look very nice, so we decided to dock when we arrived. Also because of the forecast, we knew it was unlikely we'd get a lot of sailing time in during the week, so we took the opportunity to have a nice meandering sail over. After visiting everyone at Grabbers, we decided to go ahead and rent a golf cart for the entire week, too, not just for the weekend as we were planning.

Tuesday, February 26 was a little blustery, and then the rain began Tuesday night . . . but not before this fellow, Tim, had a chance to get a little fishing in:

That evening we ate at Grabbers, where Erin provided us with a lovely candlelit dinner.

Then we visited Easy at Nippers.

And then the sky opened up.

Back to the Abacos

2008-02-21T10:38:00.006-05:00

Well, tomorrow's the big day--we're back off to the Bahamas first thing in the morning! Today has been hectic already, but I took a few minutes to catch up with the local newspaper. Looks like the same place we left in January.

We have made reservations for a slip for a couple of days at this marina because The Barefoot Man will be doing another sell-out show at Nippers. Of course, last year, we were also there for the show, but after ~~a lot of drinks~~ awhile, we went down to Grabbers, where Eric proposed to Amy with a ~~poisonous~~ bouquet and a ~~bottle opener~~ fancy ring.

We'll keep you updated during this year's trip!

Yum Yum Diving

2008-02-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Back in December, when Mike and I first decided to begin the whole diving fiasco, Troy informed us of these features on our gear:

Well, at least our masks & snorkels were just clear and black--nice and safe. So to further encourage me to give diving one more try on this upcoming trip, Mike gave me a very ~~considerate~~ interesting gift indeed.

Presenting Sloane's new ~~snorkel~~ excuse for avoiding diving:

Interestingly, a discussion of life insurance came up not long after . . .

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T09:40:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

You may recall the pizza pan incident, where you met Vito. If you have a minute, please check out his sister's page.

Observation of the Day

2008-02-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

Food tastes more interesting without the extra leg.
--~~Echo~~ Stumpy

Echo's old food

Echo's new food

(yeah, we think it looks gross, too)

Echo's Monday let's-fight-this-cancer-the-best-we-can meal: leftover salmon frittata, raw liver, barley, seaweed, swiss chard, and carrot casserole with flaxseed, yogurt, sage, olive oil, and turmeric dressing (and maybe a sizeable handful of vitamins & minerals ~~added on top~~ buried very deep, but let's not tell Echo about them).

Game Time

2008-02-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

The last time I posted, I was anxiously awaiting the NC State/Duke basketball game. It went pretty well for a while.

Until we lost the game by 20 points, at which point, I opened a bottle of wine and was struck by a ~~hazy~~ brilliant idea.

We should get tickets for the NC State/Virginia Tech game! Or go to Vermont. We did the first and discussed the latter on the way to the game.

After hiking ~~12 miles~~ awhile, we finally arrived in the RBC Center to see NC State. But first things first. Beer. No, that's right--no beer for college games. So we settled on some ~~ridiculously overpriced junk food~~ top-dollar nutritious fare from the vendors and ~~parked ourselves at the condiments stand~~ found a suitable location to eat.

Mike had an Italian panini, and I had a chicken panini. We shared ~~a very scary thing indeed~~ a California roll ~~with the nearby garbage can~~.

Even after driving to the arena, around the arena, and then 3 miles past the arena, and walking back to the arena, picking up tickets at will call, going through the security screening, walking around the arena, and up to the top level of the arena, and browsing the food vendors and selecting and eating our food, and getting settled in, we find that we're still a few minutes early. Like 25 minutes.

So I spent my time people watching from our ~~laughably bad seats~~ aerial-view seating in the packed arena.

We watched the warmups until just before game time and ~~sang~~ hummed the school song.

Finally, the place really filled up, and the game began.

Slightly off-topic, but we're still ~~gloating~~ proud:

And because I think it's bad mojo to photograph players ~~who are too far away to have faces~~ while they're playing, I'll just summarize and say that it was a very good game, and some of the very players I poked fun at the other day did a nice job. Here's the final score:

Yeah, a little blurry, and I can't even blame beer. I think I was just that rattled from the game. So I tried again.

That would be 73-63 NC State, which extends our winning streak ~~to two games~~ even further.

Like Another Planet

2008-02-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

On my quest to find new crew for the up coming trip back to Marsh Harbour I took a trip to what always seems like another world, NYC. Since this trip was for business, it was very short, but as always, packed with experiences that make you think. On this trip, I had to do some touch up to some steel walls inside an apartment that we had furnished.

I have been doing decorative metal work in NY for the last 25 years, and in that time nothing has changed. The New York minute still takes at least an hour. The wealthy go in the front doors with the grand lobbies, and the workers find a small door around the corner. We drag hundreds of pounds of gear down narrow hallways and into outdated elevators to go up to apartments worth more than most can even imagine. I'm part of an elite group that is trusted to go into this world and work amongst the best that today's world has to offer. Just as the deities of the past had artisans create unique objects of desire, today's wealthy enjoy this same freedom.

My favorite, The Chrysler Building

My Hotel, Beekman Towers. Classic art deco and a great view from the top

This is a temporary art installation in progress. It was a cold morning, and there had to be at least 40 people involved with this.

It just makes you smile.

This is a million dollar painting right next to where I had to work. Don't you think they would have moved it? Don't you think it should have come with non glare glass?
I made them move it!

This girl watched me work. It was okay at first, but it got a little old after a while, so I covered her up.

Picasso--I moved this one myself. Very cool!

It's all in a day's work, but the images and creative energies involved in this type of work have always attracted me. Just like any job, it gives you the ability to make the choices about your life and pursuit of your dreams.

Meet the Team

2008-01-31T12:19:00.000-05:00

In case you've been wondering when this blog will return to being about sailing, I have the answer. It will briefly be about sailing at the end of February, and then again after the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. We really can't leave town during March Madness. College basketball, specifically ACC basketball, is as necessary to life as water. Okay, maybe only to some of us.

I was fortunate enough to begin watching college hoops in the first game of the ACC tournament in 1983. And I lived in Raleigh. And my social studies teacher liked NC State. So I decided to pull for NC State, 4 years before I would end up going to school there.

Within hours, I was hooked. I watched every single NCAA basketball game that I could during March Madness, and then, amazingly, NC State won the National Championship. It took a few more years before I realized that I couldn't expect it to happen every year. But it is time for it to happen again. Of course, we are currently ranked 9th out of 12 in the ACC. But I still think we can do it. We just need fans.

So, let's begin.

Tally your points as you go, one point per "yes" response.

Are you qualified to be an NC State ~~stalker~~ fan?

1. If you see this man, are you willing to squeal like a girl?

2. Would you pick up his tab if you saw him in a bar?

3. Would you refrain from mentioning the recent game against UNC?

Head Coach Sidney Lowe

He was a senior at NCSU when they won the National Championship in 1983. He played in the NBA for several years and then coached in the NBA for 14 years. He has recently returned to his alma mater as the head coach, and I'm thrilled to have him here.

4 & 5. Can you identify this player? This is worth extra points because even Sidney doesn't seem to know him.

Clayton Beard #22, Guard, Freshman

Perhaps he's good. He would have to play in at least one game in order to know.

6. Can you overlook this player's field goal stats and appreciate that he is a solid (83%) free throw shooter?

Brandon Costner, #33, Forward, Redshirt Sophomore

He sat out all but 5 games his freshman year and then got redshirt status due to a stress fracture diagnosed after those games. He played well his redshirt freshman season. He seems a little less impressive this season.

7. Can you say this player's name without making a joke? Or laughing? Or even smiling? (yeah, me neither)

Farnold Degand, #12, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore

He was redshirted as a freshman at Iowa State and was ineligible to play at NCSU his redshirt freshman year. He is out for the remainder of this season with an ACL injury from December.

8. Will you promise to send this player a get-well card? Or at least acknowledge that someone who does isn't totally silly? (ahem.)

Courtney Fells, #4, Guard, Junior

Played very well his sophomore year, but has been struggling with a sprained ankle lately. He is an excellent free throw shooter and one of our best 3-point shooters as well.

9. Can you identify this player without his jacket on?

Trevor Ferguson, #15, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore

He has a goofy past. He signed with the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 but never enrolled for fall classes. He transferred to NC State in the spring of 2006, but was ineligible to play until Spring 2007. This year, he has played for 7 very unimpressive minutes.

10. Can you resist making derogatory comments about this player's inexperience?

Javier Gonzalez, #10, Guard, Freshman

He is recovering from a broken hand. He's a very cautious fellow but is getting a lot of playing time and is improving. He's a decent free throw shooter.

11. Do you promise to let this player's turnovers last year be forgotten?
12. Will you respect that he is now playing his natural position again?
13. And can you talk about his NBA prospects without referring to his turnovers?

Gavin Grant, #11, Forward, Senior

He's got fairly decent stats and is a very reliable starter for us. He had some trouble last year when he was called upon to play point guard and turned over the ball, as even he admitted, "like it was his job to do it." I personally like his leadership. He adds some maturity to our very young team.

14. Would you know this player if you saw him sitting ~~in the stands~~ on the bench?

Simon Harris, #2, Forward, Redshirt Junior

He played a lot for Elon his freshman and sophomore years and was ineligible to play for NCSU his junior year. This year, he hasn't played very much and hasn't made much of an impression on me either way.

15. If you are a female, would you be willing to have this player's child? If you are a male, would you ~~allow~~ encourage your wife or girlfriend (or sister or mother) to have his child?

16. Would you be willing to secretly bribe this player to stay at NC State if when the NBA tries to get him to leave early?

J.J. Hickson, #1, Forward/Center, Freshman

(Those are my kissy marks on his face.) I love this guy. He's been named ACC Rookie of the Week three times this season so far. He has fantastic leadership for a freshman and is really special to watch.

17. Are you willing to stay up to watch NC State games that go on past the bedtime of one of the players?

Dennis Horner, #31, Forward, Sophomore

He played well his freshman year, but has been struggling with a sprained ankle lately. I'm not thrilled when he comes in, but I'm not completely dismayed either.

18. Are you willing to give this player the benefit of the doubt a little while longer, even though you may be 99% sure that he is being bought off by Roy Williams?

Marques Johnson, #13, Guard, Sophomore

He transferred to NCSU in Spring 2007 and became eligible to play this spring. His stats are scary, and I sometimes wonder whose team he's really on.

(Perhaps this is good time to mention that I really didn't think much of Michael Jordan when he was an underclassman. I may not be the very best analyst--just one of the most opinionated.)

19. Are you willing to let good players rest on their laurels for short periods while they are injured?

Ben McCauley, #34, Forward/Center, Junior

He played very well his sophomore year, but this year seems a little confused by the addition of Hickson on the floor. He has been nursing a twisted ankle for a couple of weeks.

20. Are you willing to accept that just because one recruit from Detroit is very iffy (Beard), not all recruits from Detroit are?

Tracy Smith, #23, Forward, Freshman

I have mixed feelings about this fellow. He hasn't seen a lot of action, and he's been unpredictable when he has. He really needs to work on his free throws. I think he's got some potential as he gains more confidence and experience.

21. Can you be patient and wait while a great recruit heals during what would have been his first season?

Johnny Thomas, #30, Guard/Forward, Freshman

He's been out all season with a knee injury. Check back next year.

22. Can you accept that your team has a senior that no one has ever heard of?

Chad Williams, #25, Guard, Senior

He was an NCSU student for two years before joining the team his junior year. He played in one game that year and has played for two minutes in one game this year. Nothing happened for or against him in those two minutes.

23. Are you willing to believe in your team even when no one else does?

Tonight is very important because we are playing Duke. At Duke. No one thinks we'll win, but I always believe it's possible. Even if we're down, as we recently were against UNC, 30 points at the half, I am always still ~~naively~~ optimistically sure that we can win.

24. Can you always create a logical argument about why your team could win?

25. Do you promise to ~~obsess on~~ follow the rankings and use them to justify which teams (other than your own, of course!) you would like to win?

We did knock Duke out of the ACC Tournament last year, which was the last time we played each other. If we win tonight, we will move from 9th in the ACC to 6th. Just. Like. That. And then we wouldn't be so far from 5th, and then 4th, etc. And if Boston College loses to UNC tonight, we will move straight from 9th to 5th in the ACC.

26. Do you, therefore, agree to root for UNC in their game tonight?

If you scored . . .

25-26 points, you are my kind of ~~stalker~~ fan! Welcome to our world!

20-24 points, I will let you sit next to me while I watch NC State games.

15-19 points, I will let you sit next to me while I watch non-NC State games and will give you a tutorial about how to become a better NC State fan.

10-14 points, your name is probably Chip, and you should remain a UNC fan. We don't need your type.

below 10 points, you will probably have a great time watching Superbowl pregame shows, oblivious to the fact that there are great ACC games earlier that day.

So, I will gather with all of the other local NC State fans to watch the game tonight. This is me with all of my fellow NC State fans at the beginning of the NC State/UNC game a couple of weeks ago:

Go Wolfpack!

Making Tracks

2008-01-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

Several of you have asked about Echo's progress over the past couple of weeks, so here's an update.

Echo had his right ~~arm (front leg)~~ forelimb removed at the shoulder on Tuesday, January 15. He came home to us on Friday, January 18, very drugged and helpless, but moving around a few (slow!) steps at a time. We noticed that much of his trouble came from difficulty walking without sliding on the hardwood floors and negotiating the stairs.

Two weeks later, however, Echo is now quite adept at handing the stairs, and we made him ~~fashionable~~ functional non-skid booties to resolve the hardwood floor issue.

Yesterday, we returned to the surgeon, where ~~Echo expectantly waited to have his leg returned~~ ~~worried what they would cut off next~~ Echo's staples were removed, and we consulted with the oncologist about his future treatment. The pathology report from the amputated leg confirmed osteosarcoma, and his lymph nodes were free of osteosarcoma . . . which would sound like good news, but they found signs of a metastatic mast cell tumor in his lymph nodes. So . . . since that wasn't what they were expecting at all, they have asked another pathologist ~~to try to make sense of it~~ for a do-over.

Echo is off of most of his meds, and we are down to just this in Echo's little corner of the counter:

Elisha made the cookies for him and brought them over this weekend. I have them sitting with the medicines because they contain ~~crack~~ peanuts and he enjoys getting ~~crack~~ peanuts with his medicines.

And, because he ~~has been eying our favorite rug that's off-limits for years~~ was so drugged when he came home, Echo chose a new bed.

So, that's all we know right now. Echo is spending most of his time sleeping, wondering when the goofy booties will come off, and being bribed with ~~crack~~ peanut cookies.

Hair (the non-musical)

2008-01-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to Sentimental Saturday. Today we're talking about hair. Yes, hair. Specifically, my (Sloane's) hair. And that makes ~~no sense at all~~ complete sense for Sentimental Saturday, because it is currently going gray, and I miss my non-gray hair.

So, I began hunting for photos of what my hair used to look like. And then I began trying to find at least one where my hair looked sort of almost like a normal head of hair. And then I found that I have much, much bigger problems than gray hair. I have bad hair. Apparently, I always have. I was just blissfully unaware.

Let's take a look.

Here's my beach hair.
I now know that this was the
best my hair would ever look.

I used to think my mother always cut our heads
off in pictures because she was ~~a bad~~ an amateur
photographer. I now realize that she was trying to
protect me from the truth about my hair.

Getting that one strand in the barrette with all
of the rest of the hair was just too much to ask.

So then I tried "wings." Ouch.

These are my "wings" all grown up and trailer-parky. That fuzzy looking contrasting collar on the jacket is actually part of my hair.

This is my hair for a formal dance. I paid someone to do this. I've never been sure exactly where my head stops and the wall begins. But I knew it was best to cover that head up.

This is my hair ~~on drugs~~ permed when I started college.

The chia-pet "do" was my first attempt to look professional. Someone actually hired me ~~to rob a bank~~ ~~do a music video~~ to teach.

This is how I wore my hair for many years.
I found that it highlighted my nose best that way.
Even this decade, I still have trouble getting all
of the hair to be at the same place at once.

~~Completely~~ Slightly off-topic:
Is it just me or does it look like someone
Photoshopped my face into the picture?

What split ends?

Mike bought me a hairdryer.
For Christmas.
So perhaps I might actually style my hair.

Of course, with the hairdryer, we're back to all
of the hair heading in different directions at once.

Now I also understand why Mike laughed so hard
when I told him to retake this picture because
I thought maybe my hair wasn't quite right.

This is our wedding rehearsal.
It's just a ponytail--
it's not supposed to be rocket science.

For our wedding reception, I chose to
wear ~~a furry brown cap~~ an updo.

Stylin' the "hairicane."

What? Is there something weird about
having only 5 strands of hair in a set of bangs?
And after tucking hair behind my ears for half my life,
shouldn't I pretty much be able to do it by now?

Here I am imitating a unicorn.

I wear my bed head out in public.

This was taken in the beginning of the day.

I styled my hair like this on purpose.

To go out in public.

So, what to do with my new realization? I've decided to start all over again.

Back to this:

What do you think?

Time for Recess

2008-01-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

Sailing, boccie ball, snorkeling, and card games aren't my only high-energy sports. I also occasionally throw darts. One recent evening, I asked a few people to play a boys-against-girls dart game. Corralling them to begin was a bit of a trick.

But once we begin to play, everyone is having a good time.

Everyone, that is, except for the people trying to walk around when I'm throwing darts . . . because I don't change my rhythm for anyone. Not even my teammates.

I soon find I have about the same level of ability in this sport as I do in diving.

Therefore, although flower girl Kathryn is holding her own against the men, I quickly try to undo my "next round's on us if we lose" bet.

The result? They didn't even realize there was a bet until I said something. But we all continue to enjoy ourselves.
Close to the end, Kathryn and I find ourselves three darts behind. We huddle for a team discussion regarding how ~~I needed to get my act together and throw at least one good dart~~ best to approach the tight game. I console Kathryn by telling her that I will do much better on my next turn.

She counsels me to attempt to throw the darts a little higher, ideally somewhere in the vicinity of the dartboard. Her coaching works, sort of.

And that pretty much closes the game . . .

So, once again, I had to remind myself that it's not about winning or losing, but about the cardiovascular benefits of strenuous exercise.

Winter Storm

2008-01-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

In lieu of Mike Monday, here are our snow pictures from the weekend. After the Winter Storm Warnings were issued, there were hundreds of closings, the stores were mobbed beforehand for bread and milk, and everyone hunkered down Friday night and all of Saturday in anticipation of this:

Trust me, that white haze on the ~~grass~~ weeds is honest-to-God snow.

The ~~flurries~~ Winter Storm wreaked its fury for almost an entire 20 minutes Saturday afternoon.

Victims of cabin fever after the extended ~~time spent watching college basketball and lounging by the fire~~ onslaught of foul weather, we finally made our way through the blizzard to seek the company of other brave souls.

(so daring to wear suede in a squall)

The band at Slim's canceled due to ~~silliness~~ inclement weather, so we visited The Raleigh Times and wandered up to Snoopy's for a ~~hearty bowl of stew~~ "Snoopy Dog."

We bid our cab driver goodnight and cautioned him to beware the treacherous driving conditions. After ~~falling out of the cab laughing~~ thanking us for our thoughtfulness, he disappeared into the tempest, and our party disintegrated on the sidewalk, just as the ~~many~~ 18 snowflakes would do the following day.

242 & 126

2008-01-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

Reason #242 why baking at 3:00 a.m. with insomnia is a poor idea:

Reason #126 why Sloane loves Mike:

Have a great day!

Sloane's Diving Experience, Part II

2008-01-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

So, back to our original train of thought . . .

Day Two began with me dressed this way again:

And this time, as soon as the diving instructor made this signal,

I responded with this signal.

However, because I couldn't cite precisely what the problem was ("What's up?" "I don't know--I'm a little freaked out today." "What are you scared of?" "Everything."), I was repeatedly told

To which I repeatedly responded with

And then, yes, I finally did it. I finally ~~stopped wasting everyone's time~~ took off my gear, got out of the water, and asked the instructor to continue Mike's lesson so that he could move on. So let's see how I did on the second day . . .

1. No problem.
2. No problem.

3. Never got there.
4. Never got there.

5. Never got there.
6. Never got there.
7. Never got there.

Okay, it's pretty obvious where this is going. Except that I did do numbers 14 & 15. And quite well, thank you.

So, ~~Mr. Perfect Student~~ Mike continued his lesson and then went out that day for an open water dive. I intended to go snorkeling to practice swimming in the ~~blasted~~ awkward fins. I ended up finishing our diving manual and learning the dive charts, which was useful because I summarized the end of the book and the dive charts later that day for ~~Mr. Doesn't Do the Coursework, Just Likes the Recess Part~~ my husband.

And, well, the next day I think I just worked online during the whole lesson and open water dive. But, I did run into another dive instructor and chatted with him for a while about ways to overcome my ~~sheer terror~~ nervousness. And I am going to get this certification. It just may take a few ~~weeks~~ ~~months~~ seasons.

So, back to the very original question . . . which was why there is a snorkel and mask on my desk while I'm working. One of the other dive instructor's suggestions was to wear them while I work. So I brought them back home with me and am now using them as "personal work space items." As though I'm really going to sit here typing while wearing such nonsense.

Okay, maybe once.

The Echo Update

2008-01-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

We've been little distracted, but here, now, is the update on Echo:

The result from the original needle biopsy was inconclusive, but the vet still felt it was most likely osteosarcoma, bone cancer. We were able to get in to see an oncologist Monday morning, who after examining Echo's x-rays and lab work, decided to redo the x-rays, some for clarity and some because there was a lot less swelling than there was last Wednesday. She also redid the needle biopsy because of the reduced swelling. This hospital has a pathology department on site, so she was able to do several biopsies until the pathologist was satisfied with the results . . . which did end up being osteosarcoma. He still shows no signs of further spread, but we are proceeding with the assumption that there are other cells elsewhere.

Now, meanwhile, the lethargic, lame, feverish dog named Echo has turned back into a super-energized, fully capable on his leg, and non-fevered kissing machine ever since he began taking anti-inflammatory and pain meds. So, the dog that would have gotten a thumbs-down for being an amputation candidate last week is now a very good candidate . . . so right now, that's where we are. Well, that's where Echo is--on a table awaiting his new nickname, "Stumpy." And then we'll see how he does with that and decide about the chemo.

Though it's still possible, the amputation is not expected to extend ~~Echo's~~ Stumpy's life, but it should make the remainder of it more comfortable and less painful.

Sentimental Saturday--Echo

2008-01-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

The lion cub

The lion cub's favorite snack

Thoughts from the Lion King

2008-01-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

Echo thinks if Mom and Dad would just take some of his "make-me-comfortable" drugs they might chill out and stop worrying.

Except he'd like this puzzling new guilt-table-food stuff to continue landing in his bowl after taking the meds. And he would prefer that they take turns wearing the silly hat. Please.

Illness in the Family

2008-01-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

We're interrupting the story of the diving fiasco for some less humorous news.

The last time most of you saw our dog Echo, you might remember that he was "running around in a blur," or you can click here to reexperience it.

For a couple of months, Echo has returned from his frolicking with Cooper (Elisha's ~~quarter horse~~ Great Dane lapdog) a little stiff and sore, but always recovered within a day or two. We figured, "Well, he's an old dog, the exercise was just a bit much for his arthritis."

However, Monday, after a very lazy weekend, he became more and more lame throughout the day. We waited Tuesday to see whether he would come back around. He didn't, so we took him to the vet first thing Wednesday.

The x-rays of one of his legs revealed an area of bone that was deteriorated and looked as though it was being eaten away. It was a classic picture of osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, or osteomyelitis, a bone infection. Both apparently look the same on x-rays. X-rays of his chest showed no tumors, so the doctor performed a needle biopsy. We hoped to see a lot of infection in the sample, but there was none, and his white blood cell count was normal, also indicating a lack of infection.

So, the cells the doctor retrieved have been sent to a lab. We are waiting, waiting, waiting for the results, which we expect Saturday or Monday.

Our ~~king of the jungle~~ boy Echo (before being inadvertently shaved last spring, discussed here)

Sloane's Diving Experience, Part I

2008-01-09T07:26:00.000-05:00

So, why is a snorkel growing out of my computer speaker?

Well, I'll start here. Here we have the PADI manual:

This is the book Mike and I (and everyone else who has Open Water Diver certification from PADI) had to read. We both eagerly began reading the book. Look how much fun these people are having!

(Of course, closer inspection reveals that there is absolutely no evidence of diving, only of snorkeling, in this picture.)

We read our books on the flights over and a little bit here and there while in Marsh Harbour.

(Cocktail napkin from one of the flights made a great bookmark.)

So, we arrive for our first confined water dive. Normally, this is done in a ~~nonthreatening environment~~ swimming pool. However, we are fortunate enough to be able to use a bay. Where they dump lobster heads from the restaurant overlooking it. Which causes a wide array of sea ~~monsters~~ life to cluster there. Which we ~~have~~ get to view on the very first day. As they ~~gnaw~~ nibble at the lobster heads.

Moving along . . . we suit up on the dive boat and get a quick and dirty overview of the parts and a loose outline of how the dive will go. Then the boat is loosened from the dock, and then I'm told that I ~~have to go first~~ get to be first. This is approximately how I look:

I take a giant step into the water, sink, bob up, and wait for ~~the teacher's pet~~ Mike and the instructor. Well. Mike jumps in and starts hanging out under the water. I do the same, and then realize that between bumping into the boat, the boat ladder, the propeller, the dock pilings, the other pilings, and the dock stairs, and trying not to bump into Mike, that it's probably best to resurface and find out what the heck we're supposed to do next.

Ah, apparently we're supposed to swim around the dock and follow the instructor. No problem. Back down I go, and off we all swim to a sandy spot where we can kneel down and discuss things. With hand signals. Which is when I realize that the PADI text neglects to include the proper hand signals for "What?" and "Are you kidding?" and "Do I have to?" and even "Leave me alone. I just want to keep practicing that last thing." I got a lot of this from the instructor:

And I reluctantly made the same motion back.

Right around this point, I realize that ~~Mr. Perfect Student~~ Mike and I don't belong in the same course. I'm a "let me do this a few dozen times to make sure I have it" kind of learner, and this is not that course. Meanwhile, Mike seems very comfortable plowing ahead, and I realize that I have three choices:

1. I can either plow ahead, too, knowing that I will never dive after becoming certified because I will never feel comfortable. And will hate it.

2. I can keep working at my own pace whether they like it or not. And I get the feeling that the dive instructor doesn't particularly like it. But Mike seems okay with my pace.

3. I can drop out immediately and let Mike proceed at ~~his lightening-speed pace~~ the pace of the course, which will allow me to take slower lessons later.

I opt for #3. However, no one takes me seriously, so I am still stuck in the water with the gear on, with a lot of this going on from the instructor:

So, quite unwillingly on my part, the lesson continues. As with learning anything, once you've decided to quit learning, well, you do. And it's really hard to make progress when you've already decided to quit. But I digress.

This part, the buoyancy control device (bcd) is fine.

It is actually kinda cool. Like a life vest when you want it to be one. And I soon decide I want it to be one all of the time. It's not that I'm a weak swimmer. I just have this thing about wanting to know what's going on in the rest of the world.

So that whole "low-pressure inflation mechanism" part is my favorite. Because no matter how many times the dive instructor lets the air out of my bcd or guilts me into doing it myself, as soon as he isn't looking . . . wheeee . . . I'm inflating and rising!

We just have a difference of opinion about where I intend to be. He thinks I should be about 10 feet down for the hour, while I feel like I should be on the boat for the hour.

So every time he does this:

I respond with this:

I certainly never do this:

It does occur to me to add a new hand signal to the approved PADI signals, but I refrain, mostly because I have to admit that the instructor is doing what he's supposed to be doing, and doing it well. I'm just not personally enjoying it.

These doohickies are fine with me, also.

Well, that whole "second stage"/regulator thing ~~is miserable at first~~ isn't my favorite, but I keep it in my mouth, even when I am swimming on the surface ~~totally wasting the air in my tank~~.

Surprisingly, these are the problem:

I'm a fairly strong swimmer, and I can tread water ~~forever~~ for quite a while and feel comfortable. I can even tread water with someone on my back. But I have never had to wear this footwear before and try to do anything with it. Even when snorkeling, I always wear the booties but not the fins. So, with these puppies on my feet, I am lost. A floundering, lost, miserable student who can't wait to get out of the water.

I actually spend the majority of the time treading water by sheer instinct. There are ~~many~~ two major problems with this instinct:

1. Treading water in fins is ~~a pain in the arse~~ hard and clumsy.
2. Treading water in a bcd is completely redundant and unnecessary. One of the nifty features of the bcd is that it makes you float when you want to.

However, because most of my swimming experience is ocean swimming with no life vest, that dang treading water instinct just won't go away. I could spend two hours just working on the fins and not waste a single moment of it. But, I have . . . oh . . . exactly 0 seconds to adjust and move on.

So, let's see how it went on the first lesson:

1. No problem.
2. Definitely no problem--At one point the instructor most likely thought there was a problem because he was pressing the deflate button at the exact time that I was pressing the inflate button, but that was just another difference of opinion about where I wanted to be at the moment.

3. No problem.
4. No problem.

5. Yeah, um, no, but just because we didn't get there the first day. Of course, ~~the teacher's pet~~ Mike voluntarily did this just for kicks.
6. Problem, but did it. Once. Definitely one of those things that I would have rather practiced a whole lot more.

7. No problem for most of it, though the "direction" part was sheer luck (back to that fins issue).

8. Hmmm. I never even thought about looking at the gauge.
9. We didn't get there on the first day. I seriously doubt I would have done it.

10. No problem with that.
11. And definitely no problem with that one.

Teachers really do sometimes make the very worst students.

Join us tomorrow for Part II of ~~the fiasco~~ Sloane's memorable diving experience . . . .

Guana Cay Engineers

2008-01-08T07:23:00.000-05:00

Today we present a Guana Cay jellyfish control/engineering project. Enjoy the accents!

They did end up putting the jellyfish into the hole. Of course, when their mothers approached, they immediately hurled the two cups into the bay and left the jellyfish in the hole. Mike and I provided project cleanup and reintroduced the critter to his natural habitat . . .. The clam, well, where else would it end up? The clam went home in a boy's pocket, of course.

Mike Monday--Blue Eyes

2008-01-07T07:48:00.000-05:00

Diving in the Abacos:

We decided to try scuba diving while on our last trip. This has been something we have always wanted to do. Sloane and I met the dive master, Troy, on Guana Cay one night and decided this is something we should do right away. So the next day, we went to his dive shop and signed up. We paid the money and received the books and 5 VHF videos. I tried to borrow a machine to watch these while we were back in the States, but who has one anymore? Well, we got through chapter three before our first "pool" session in the bay.

We suited up and strapped on our gear (wetsuits, masks, fins, bcd, tank). That's when I noticed Sloane's beautiful blue eyes, my how big they were. In a short moment, Troy told us to stand up and take a long step into the water . . . Sloane first. She went in, and I followed (very excited). I jumped in and immediately started to look around, how cool! Fish everywhere and a ray buried in the sand; then I looked up and saw Sloane's blue eyes, not blinking and bigger and more beautiful than ever. Then I noticed she wasn't looking around . . . well long story short, Sloane has decided to take a different approach at a much slower pace to work toward her certification.

I went on to do my pool dives and then went out to the ocean and dove a few reefs. We dove to 50 feet, and my ears never hurt. I saw A moray eel, huge groupers that kissed Troy and let the rest of us pet them. We swam through tunnels and under large overhangs. We even swam with 6-foot sharks that came within 10 feet of us! The reef was beautiful, the colors amazing. I made a total of four dives and had a great time, but I never saw anything more beautiful than Sloane's eyes . . .

Captain and now certified diver,
Mike

Guana Cay Golf Cart Parade

2008-01-06T08:19:00.000-05:00

Here are two brief video clips from the Guana Cay (and "cay" is still pronounced "key") golf cart parade on Dec. 28. In the first one, we're checking out the other carts, and then we begin brainstorming about what we'll do differently next time.

In the second clip, Marty gets a look at the parade as some of the carts pass. We're the loud cart, of course.

Have a great day!

Sentimental Saturday--The Wedding

2008-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Despite last week's lack of mention about Sentimental Saturday (are those groans I hear?), it continues.

We were originally going to make it about our close friends Eric and Amy becoming engaged on Guana Cay last spring, but since they ~~didn't invite us to the wedding~~ ~~never check the blog anyway~~ won't mind, for this Sentimental Saturday, we present our wedding. (Because it's our anniversary! Well, it's our 1 year, 3 month, 2 week, 6 day anniversary.) Okay, you in the back! Those groans were audible that time!

Graciously provided by "Cousin Paul" (Paul Ficalora) are the pictures (actually, the whole slideshow), and music and lyrics ("Take a Picture of This") are by Liz Ficalora and Jill Sissel of The Paint Sisters. Sloane's dresses were made by Maria Ficalora. And the wedding rings are by Patricia Ficalora. (Are we hooked up or what?)

Enjoy!

Abaco Christmas, Part II

2008-01-04T11:47:00.000-05:00

And here is Part 2 of the recent Abaco trip, spent mostly on Guana Cay.

Have a great day!

Abaco Christmas, Part I

2008-01-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

As promised, here is a slideshow of the first half of our recent Abaco trip (when everyone was still speaking to each other). Music is Hootie and the Blowfish "The Christmas Song."

You can also click here or or here for other pictures from the beginning of the trip.

Pics from Part 2 of the trip will follow soon . . .

Home, Safe and Somewhat Sound

2008-01-01T23:18:00.000-05:00

After a rough last 24 hours, we are home!

We're especially grateful for the "safe" part of "safe and sound," as we ended our day with the rear axle completely breaking in our cab tonight between the airport and home--and right after we had been going 80 mph. Though it did briefly cross my mind to take pics of the situation, I couldn't quite bring myself to taunt fate any further.

Details and loads of pics from the trip coming soon!

Mike Monday in Guana Cay

2007-12-31T06:53:00.000-05:00

As my computer skills are a bit limited, Sloane preposted the following pictures so I could have an easier time to get Mike Monday posted. (Sloane allows only one absence from her class.)

Good morning from Captain Mike!

Today we sadly depart from Guana Cay and make our return to Marsh Harbour. At this point, the crew has truly bonded. They have gone from landlubbers to boaters with ease. After using all the water down in Marsh Harbour in 3 days while brushing their teeth with the water running, they now all just wet the brush and save the water for rinsing. They have also learned that two pumps for the head is a joke and now all are pumping madly to the point that the boat starts to rock! They quickly jumped to when we arrived and washed the boat and put the rail covers in place. (I think they wanted to get to the beach and have a Nipper.)

I indoctrinated Donny on the proper way to acquire coconuts (use a boat hook to pull the green ones down from the tree), chop off the bottom (use Sloane's best chefs knife and don't break the tip, OOPPS!), pour in gin, sip, and enjoy! (Donny is very funny after he sips.)

Sloane is the mother of Christmas and does a great job with crew morale. (How could you not love this girl!)

Elisha and Donny handled provisioning for the trip at the Super store perfectly. Donny was especially useful to get the water off the top shelf.

Everyone enjoyed the visit to the Conch Man, George. They all made funny faces (not sex) at the white meat as he chopped the Conch for the most wonderful meal in the Abacos.

Donny and Elisha passed their dinghy class, and off they went to spread the cheer.

As you can see, while underway, they were all in their positions just waiting to be called on. I just didn't know whether they could hear me because I was barking out orders, and this is what it looked like on deck.

See how they are doing? They even know how to hold their mouths right to get the Boccie ball to hit the mark for team Biscotti.

Confidence-building class has them wandering off on their own (to make funny faces?).

More team building classes . . . It will come . . ..

See, they're off! What a great crew! I'll let you know if they made it back next week as we are still waiting.

Captain Mike

Sundays

2007-12-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

Sundays are getting confusing for us now. Winter Sundays in Raleigh are usually all about this:

versus this in the Bahamasand this

versus this

and this

versus this
and a lot of this

versus this

and more of this
versus this

and a little of this

versus this (stone crab claws for Christmas breakfast!)
and some more of this

well . . .

and a little of this

versus

and some of this

(okay this may not change a lot)
and this

versus

and this

(well this doesn't change either)

and some more of this

versus

and a bit of this

versus

and this
versus this

and then a little of this

versus

and a bit more of this

versus this (sunrise)

and a lot of this

versus this (a curlytail).

But I guess all the sunshine, white beaches, snorkeling & diving, and good friends should be shared with our wonderful family this Sunday, so we'll just suffer through it, somehow.

Update from Team Chill on Guana Cay

2007-12-29T07:36:00.000-05:00

A quick update until we give all of the dirt when we get home:

Mike and Sloane have been working on their diving course. Mike is an A+++ student and will probably complete his certification for Open Water Diver today or tomorrow. I have been flailing around in the water trying to figure out how to swim with the equipment--I'll self-evaluate and say D+ (because I have been at least keeping the regulator in).

Last night was the Golf Cart Parade, THE annual event for the locals. There are bigger events here every year, but according to them, this is the one they wait all year for.

Today Marty and Sheila are going to chill on the beach, and Elisha and Donny have taken a ferry over to Hopetown for the day.

Tomorrow is the weekly wild boar roast, and then we'll sail back over to Marsh Harbour Monday.

Have a beautiful day!

Team Biscotti on Guana

2007-12-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

We have made it to Guana, gotten a golf cart, and started exploring. Today Mike and Sloane will begin their diving lessons, but everyone's been snorkeling the reef already. Below is a map of the middle of Guana Cay. We've been to the circled places.

We don't have a super-strong Internet signal here, so more extensive posts will follow later. For now, I'll just say that "Team Ficalora," complete with matching hats, has been rechristened "Team Biscotti," and one team member is undefeated in boccie ball. (It's a female member.) (Her name might be Sloane. Okay, so that whole "team" concept may not be her strongest point.)

Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T08:50:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas, Mike has been forgiven for the missing Mike Monday yesterday . . .

Have a beautiful day!

(Volume way up, click upper left link (tiny) for Bahamian version, and when you're tired, click on the New Years link.)

Abaco Christmas

Abaco Christmas Days 1 & 2

2007-12-23T10:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

Here's our trip so far . . .

First, our driver overslept, so Mike called to wake him up so that he could take us to the airport. And then we arrived in Marsh Harbour, danced, slept, decorated the boat, snorkeled, and did Steak Night at the Jib Room. The End.

Maybe the pictures will tell it better than I can. (No music on this first movie.)

And then Sheila discovered a previously hidden skill. (Volume on this brief video.)

All Sheila could say after the rake and scrape was, "I just can't believe they let me play with a saw after I'd been drinking."

We're about to have brunch and do some more exploring.

Have a great day, and we'll see you tomorrow for Mike Monday!

Sentimental Saturday--Beaufort 2007

2007-12-22T09:30:00.000-05:00

We made it safely to Marsh Harbour and had a great trip and great fun last night. MANY pics and stories already . . . but for now, you'll have to wait, because it's SS.

Welcome back to Sentimental Saturday. Here's a slideshow of our trip to Beaufort, NC and Cape Lookout at the end of this summer. And Eric's birthday.

Music: Jimmy Buffett, "A Pirate Looks at Forty" (You can thank us for our generosity on that one later, Eric.)

Have a great weekend!

On Our Way!

2007-12-21T03:55:00.000-05:00

Since our flight is at 6:25 a.m. today, yesterday was final checklist time! Here's about how it went:

First, we had to stop the mail, which we just restarted on December 18 from our November 20 hold. Which means we'll again get to sort through a stack like this:

Next, we Elisha boarded Echo. Yes, the poor old guy is going to spend Christmas in a kennel. Of course, when he saw me preparing his bag, which he knows means he's going to Doggie Daycare for awhile, he began running in circles and gathering ~~all of his toys~~ his ~~one toy~~ wadded-up sock in anticipation. Perhaps I should explain that this kennel is a farm and that we actually have to remind them to give the old guy less exercise. And he'll be hanging out with Cooper, Elisha's Great Dane lapdog.

Really, he was running around in a blur.

Laundry, tossing out food, last shopping, delivering presents, rescheduling everything, tipping out everyone.

Last, of course, there was the packing to do. At least that would be easy-peasy since we left all of our non-fleece and non-denim clothes in Marsh Harbour at the cleaners. That means we have to take only stocking stuffers for the "kids" . . . oh, and a full set of new toe rail covers and some new hatch covers and the repaired autohelm and a new boat hook to replace the one bent, lost, found, broken, and now discarded and the computer and an assortment of cameras and a few gifts for each other and a few gifts for folks down there and the passports and the cruising permit and maybe some wrapping paper and cards and maybe a panettone and a pillow for the sixth person and an extra set of sheets and a few towels.

But, the real ~~reason for tearing the house apart~~ mystery is . . . where's the ~~damn~~ cleaner's slip anyway?

Okay, I've put the finishing touches on my Spring '08 courses, so they'll be ready to roll when we get home. Mike's got the shop closed for a week. Oh, and then we remember that we need new passport-type photos done for our dive licenses before we get to Guana Cay.

And then, we set the alarm.

Now, we're off to do that holiday-travel thing at four airports and stand in line with ~~the unaccustomed-to-traveling masses~~ our fellow travelers and their ~~screaming monsters~~ charming children. This is when I thoroughly love the nine-seater twin-engines! We'll be six of the nine . . . and the customs/immigration line can be only so long!

Traveling at the holidays make anyone else get like this?

Dear Santa, Again

2007-12-20T11:26:00.000-05:00

Dear Santa,

It's me again. I know it can be difficult sorting through that big list and then deciding who's naughty and who's nice. Therefore, I have a couple of suggestions.

Nice

Our flower girl and ring bearer! (We don't know a lot of rugrats.)

Nice

Vito thought our card needed pictures.

Naughty

The consequence of dropping off a carry-home box and then walking away.

Naughty

Just a few recommendations, Santa.

Best wishes,
Sloane

Holiday Plans

2007-12-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

It's time to start thinking about Friday's trip. In the Abacos, we use Barometer Bob for the local weather. Looks good so far!

Our current plans, which will almost surely change, are these:

Friday, Dec. 21
Mike, Sloane, Elisha, & Donny will fly to Florida, meet Marty & Sheila, and fly to Marsh Harbour via Vintage Props & Jets (yep--that's really the name!).

Saturday, Dec. 22
A do-over of Steak Night at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour.

Sunday, Dec. 23

Monday, Dec. 24
A small gathering at the Jib Room for Christmas Eve.

Tuesday, Dec. 25
Christmas dinner at the Jib Room.

Wednesday, Dec. 26
Sail to Guana Cay. (M & S are going to try to fit in a dive lesson.)

Thursday, Dec. 27
(Mike & Sloane have dive lessons.)

Friday, Dec. 28
Golf cart ~~shenanigans~~ parade & progressive dinner (Orchid Bay, Docksiders, Nippers, Grabbers). (& more dive lessons)

Saturday, Dec. 29
(More dive lessons for M & S)

Sunday, Dec. 30
Sail back to Marsh Harbour.

Monday, Dec. 31
New Year's Eve . . . there should be a Junkanoo somewhere (warning: volume with this link).

Tuesday, Jan. 1
New Year's Day--Marty & Sheila will return to Jacksonville, FL, and the other four of us will return to Raleigh, NC.

Mike & I have done our classroom work, but we have 5 "confined" dives (in a bay rather than a pool though!) and 4 open-water dives (and optional skin dive) to do before we get certified.

Dear Santa

2007-12-18T14:51:00.000-05:00

With only a week before Christmas, we figured we'd better hurry up and write our ~~thinly veiled and completely self-centered~~ letter to Santa Claus.

18 December, 2007

Mr. Santa Claus
Snow-Covered Red House with Barn, Workshop, & Smoking Chimney
North Pole

Dear Mr. Claus:

Merry Christmas! We hope you, Mrs. Claus, the elves, and the reindeer have had a ~~productive~~ joyful year. Our family has been ~~living hedonistically~~ extremely busy, which is why our letter to you this year is a little late. Our deepest apologies.

We have been ~~very~~ good this year. "Good" is such a subjective word. You'll just have to take our word for it. We haven't deliberately done anything terribly wrong, really.

So, on to the real purpose of this letter . . .. We've come to realize that the whole "world-peace" request for the past ~~lifetime~~ several years may be beyond the capacity of your workshop facility. Therefore, ~~rather than getting completely skunked again,~~ to be more realistic, we are amending our wish list this year. Because we haven't been too horrible, this year, we're asking for the following:

For Mike: A drink. He doesn't need one now, but by Christmas morning, after six of us have been on Carina for four days, he ~~will certainly~~ may possibly appreciate one or two ~~dozen~~.

For Sloane: Well, we were going to ask for her mother to check the blog at least once, but she did that yesterday, so here's a new one: Delurkers. We're not sure how savvy you are with Internet jargon, Mr. Claus, so we'll explain. A lurker is a person who reads discussions on an interactive system, such as a blog, but doesn't participate. To delurk is to start participating. Sometimes. Occasionally. Please?

For Echo: Fur. Since the ~~complete~~ ~~screw-up~~ miscommunication in April with the groomer, which went something like this: "Here's our boy, Echo. He just needs a trim," Echo has had no fur. None. Golden Retrievers like fur. Especially in December. When they're 11 years old.

For Carina: A fish. One that we catch. Preferably something edible. (But if the edible part is a deal-breaker, we're willing to concede that point for now.)

And that's all we're hoping for this year!

~~Thanking you in advance~~ Best wishes for the upcoming year,

Mike & Sloane

P.S. Thank you for the early fulfillment of being a runner-up in Bossy's contest! (We're totally cool with not winning the Barbie.)

New Crew for Captain Mike

2007-12-17T18:09:00.001-05:00

Sorry I haven't been chiming in, but with all of the repairs I have been doing and all of the spares I've been buying and all of the work that has to be done I've had no time . . . BS. I've been a bit lazy . . .

Well I'm very excited to be getting back to our chosen life on Friday and have a very special opportunity this time to share it with ALL new crew. New crew--that is always exciting. I get to teach all the knots over again. I get to go back to "pull the thing over there with the red and white fleck . . . a little more . . . a little faster . . . SLOOOAAANNNE! HELP THEM!" "Can I have that beer now?

No really, I look forward to this crew because they are family and people who want to hang out with this family (nuts!). Let me give you a little background on them.

Marty of "Marty and Sheila":

He's our son, do you need to know any more? Marty spends a lot of his time in the ocean surfing in Jacksonville, Florida and is looking forward to the opportunity to do some reef surfing on Guana and Elbow Cay. With any luck, I won't have to write later to tell you of the scars Marty acquired while tumbling amongst the coral. Marty is also an avid photographer. He has been building a career around this and specializes in surf and surfer photography. He has promised to give us a representation of what he sees while we all hang out together. Maybe with a couple of drinks, he'll see like I do.

Sheila:

Well as you can see, she's a bow rider! What more is there to say? She has the responsibility, as do all women while on a boat, to honor the gods of the sea, Poseidon and Neptune. As long as she helps with that and is sure where Marty is in the morning, we'll all be OK.

Elisha of "Elisha and Donny":

She's our daughter. She has sailed with us before and actually might know where the lines lead . . . but probably not! I know she knows where her bunk is! She always has a smile on and I think is looking forward to some tropical drinks and time in the sun. She's been the surrogate parent to Echo while we travel and has taught him many new tricks while we are away like "Get your nose close to the dinner table" and "If I stay close, maybe you'll drop something good."

Donny:

Well judging from his action shot, I'll bet HE CAN make the golf cart do wheelies (unlike one of our former crew). Don't worry-- "it's a rental." I'm a little worried about letting him drive the boat. I'm going to have to take baby steps with him until I see that everything doesn't have to FLY.

Well, that's the crew for this upcoming trip. I hope they can cook. I know they can drink. This should be interesting.

Patience, Grasshopper

2007-12-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

Today is "Mike Monday." So there will be a post at some point today by the elusive Capt. Mike . . .

A Request

2007-12-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

Today, we're asking for a donation of a thought or a prayer for a little angel, Georgia Getz's daughter, who suffered a dog attack last week.

If you have a moment, please stop in and visit Georgia and her daughter.

Sentimental Saturday

2007-12-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

A couple of glimpses of the Wrightsville Beach to Abacos trip from last year.

We miss you, Phil!

Abaco Cruisers' Net

2007-12-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing two snippets of The Abaco Cruisers' Net, which airs daily in the Abacos at 8:15 on VHF 68.

It's usually about an hour long, so I've included only the daily greeting and an example of one of the invitations. (Since our base is Marsh Harbour Marina, I've taken the editorial license of that being the invitation included.) :D

Just a little Abaco flavor. If you're interested in listening to the entire Net anytime, you can find it at http://abacomessageboard.com/CruisersNet.html.

I'll echo "Boo" (Linda): Have a great day!

Do They Know It's Christmas? (Or--in July--"Do They Know It's No Longer Christmas?")

2007-12-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, so I ~~stole~~ borrowed a lyric ("Do They Know It's Christmas"). The point is, I have to believe our neighbors (and dog) frequently ask themselves this.

I could make excuses here . . . we haven't been home this year . . . we've been prepping the boat . . . we're not going to be home for Christmas anyway . . . whatever.

Let's just take a tour, shall we?

First, we have this ~~mysterious plant that Mike mows down every year but somehow comes back~~ well-manicured shrub in Sloane & Mike's front yard.

Gee, what's hiding behind those branches?

Pulling on the not-so-natural-looking white cord reveals this.

You mean to say that you can't tell what that is? It's our exterior Christmas decoration, a snowflake, of course.

Where did this snowflake come from? The chimney, of course.

Closer inspection reveals . . .

Now, let's take a look inside.

At first, you might think ~~where the heck do these people live?~~ that we did actually make a little effort to decorate this year. Until learning that these things somehow managed to stay out all year long. Yes, that would be December 2006-2007.

Now, here is the decorating we've actually done this year:

And not just that, but we did it before Thanksgiving. Right around the same time that we observed this was still sitting out. And still is. On display. For all the world to see.

Now, I will leave you ~~all~~ two to ponder this question: What are the odds Mike & Sloane will manage to send out Christmas cards this year?

Guana Cay to Marsh Harbour. To West Palm Beach. To Newark. To Raleigh.

2007-12-12T12:52:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

After departing Guana Cay early Saturday morning to coincide with there being water in our slip when we returned to Marsh Harbour, we had a beautiful docking back at the Jib Room. We worked on a gargantuan list of chores we needed to do before leaving the boat Sunday. Mike made his daily gymnastics endeavor in the lazarette where the autohelm is enclosed to disconnect it for refurbishing this week.

After he was upside down for a few hours and worked upright for several more, and after I was thoroughly saturated in Murphy's Oil Soap, we showered and went to the Jib Room bar for drinks and another Steak Night. On our arrival, we noticed this new addition to the bar:

What's that say?

Ah, Stephen's revenge for the previous Steak Night . . . (see movie posted Dec. 10). This steak night was much quieter, with our primary entertainment being the new Jib Room employee, Ed, the Bahamian cowboy.

Sunday morning, we headed to the Marsh Harbour Airport (MHH) to catch a flight to West Palm Beach, to catch a flight to Newark, to catch a flight to Raleigh. Yes, that would be over 2,000 miles in order to go home, which is less than 500 miles away.

This is the front and side of the airport. We were to depart from Gate 10. (The numbering of the gates starts and ends with "10.")

Hmmm . . .

We actually like this airport. Here's the back, along with the expression mirrored by all 9 of us on board this full flight.

Mike noted that even the pilots hold hands during takeoff.

Views of Marsh Harbour during ascent . . . (fine, so maybe my camera doesn't happen to have an "on/off" button, whatever that is . . .).

From the back of our next flight, PBI to EWR, we noticed that boarding was taking longer than usual and began to think about our upcoming 41-minute connection (for the last flight from EWR to RDU of the day). Then we noticed a sheriff's department car next to the plane. Then we noticed a bit of commotion, followed by seeing a marshal escort a gentleman from the plane.

No worries--whatever it was is over now. Except then we heard a woman screaming. And another marshal entering the plane. And then the woman screaming more loudly. And then the marshal carrying the handcuffed woman from the plane. And then the pilot asking for everyone to fill out incident reports. And then the pilot saying that the weather in Newark had deteriorated, and we were now grounded for a while.

So, here is a picture of Mike outside the Newark airport in 35°F with no jacket and no bags for either of us. As we stand in the drizzle. As we wait 20 minutes for a bus (which gave us time to calculate that we have been "disconnected" in 60% of our international flights. Except that PBI to EWR isn't international. Whatever.)

Our bags caught an earlier flight than we were able to, so no problems there. As we exited baggage claim Monday morning-ish, the fire alarm began sounding. We burst out laughing, ran straight to the taxi stand, and never looked back (well maybe once), grateful to be out of the building before more drama unfolded.

Home sweeeeeeeet home!

Guana Cay

2007-12-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

More photos from Guana Cay. We met some incredible people there this time and can't wait to go back. There is a progressive dinner/golf cart parade there on Dec. 28, so Marty & Elisha, get ready to decorate some golf carts and explore one of our favorite keys with us!

Music: "Island Getaway" and "Margaritaville" by Steel Daddy (the band that played "Amie" so Eric could propose to Amy last year).

Almost all caught up now!

P.S. You can subscribe to our blog by clicking "subscribe to posts" at the bottom of the page. It allows people to get the updates without having to check it all of the time when nothing new has been added . . .

Music

2007-12-11T08:21:00.000-05:00

A few people have asked me to provide the music information for the videos. Thus far, I've used (in more or less this order chronologically) these songs:

"Last Night" Traveling Wilburys
"Wilbury Twist" Traveling Wilburys
"Schoolboy Heart" Jimmy Buffett
"Son of a Sailor" Jimmy Buffett
"Changes in Latitude" Jimmy Buffett
"I'm a Bahamian" Dry Bread
"Backyard Party" Brilanders

Marsh Harbour to Guana (with pics this time)

2007-12-10T17:09:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen the Steak Night video yet, please scroll down and watch that!

Sunday, December 2

Mike caught me working early Sunday morning outside The Jib Room. Yes, as a matter of fact, I do normally work for awhile before combing my hair, in the Bahamas or in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, by the time I finished working, the weather turned drizzly, so we spent the day on the boat, planning our trip for the next day.

When we checked the depth under our keel at low tide in our slip, we were reassured to learn that we will never, ever, ever have to worry about our boat sinking in our slip at low tide . . .

Monday, December 3

Underway to Guana Cay. Unfortunately, "Cay" is pronounced "Key," so that was just a visual rhyme.

I'm still carefully protecting my new galley burn.

Again this year, our autohelm has decided to quit functioning, so we hand steered to avoid these lovelies.

After a humorous anchoring that turned into a humorous mooring, we dinghied ashore at Grabbers in Fisher Bay to find it closed on Mondays right now. So we went up the hill to Nippers. As the next several pictures illustrate, dangers abound, some more political than others.

Who's scared of a silly old boar sticking out of a fake palm tree?

Okay, this may be a little more serious . . .

And this is the passion of the locals (and has been for quite some time). A group is putting in a gi-normous golf course and resort community.

So that's December 2 and the daytime of December 3 . . ..

Stay tuned for more recent history!

Steak Night at the Jib Room

2007-12-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is the continuation (Dec. 1) of a visual rendering of the recent trip to the Abacos. This video begins at The Jib Room in Marsh Harbour and ends at Curlytails.

Enjoy! More pics and videos coming very soon!

Stranded in Newark

2007-12-09T23:51:00.000-05:00

More details to follow, but we are stranded in Newark for the night. For now, I'll divulge that marshals, sheriff's dept., handcuffs, and forcible removal from plane were involved in the Palm Beach flight to Newark, so we were disconnected from our already tight connection . . . Very ready to return to Bahamas now, as we are in 35 degrees with short sleeves and no bags. :-(

Leaving Marsh Harbour

2007-12-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

Hello!

We returned to Marsh Harbour yesterday morning (with a beautiful docking, which was impressive mostly because we were both absolutely spent). Mike and I cleaned the boat and did maintenance for about ~~a bazillion~~ 7 hours yesterday, enjoyed another awesome Jib Room Steak Night, and then turned in early. (We claim to eat 1 lb. of red meat per month, but since we've had steak 4 times in the past 2 weeks, we're wayyy ahead on our red meat consumption for the year . . ..)

We're flying home to North Carolina (by way of Newark, of course) today (and tonight), after a stop to see "the conch man" for conch salad on the way to the airport. When we have a more stable Internet connection tomorrow, I'll upload lots and lots of pics of old friends and new, awesome views & sunsets, gi-normous sailing bruises, and other miscellanea, along with a few videos. (There are only so many times one can upload the same picture, only to wait 15 minutes to find out the connection was lost--and then remember that this is supposed to be fun.)

We've had a great trip and are excited to return in 10 days to share some of the experience with Elisha, Donny, Marty, and Sheila.

Still on Guana

2007-12-07T08:17:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note . . . we're still on Guana Cay, having a great time. We had a freak westerly blow Wednesday evening and had to leave our mooring because the mooring owner wasn't sure whether it would hold. With a few misadventures (and the minor bruises and cuts to prove it) we moved to a dock at Orchid Bay during the blow--and of course the wind completely settled Thursday morning to the point that it was hard to imagine it had ever been anything but flat calm. But we have a golf cart now instead of a dinghy . . . so we've been exploring.

Pictures and fun posts will resume in Marsh Harbour when we have a stronger Inet signal. We plan to leave Guana today or tomorrow. Anxious to get back there, but there's a big bonfire here tonight. Alas, what to do?

Marsh Harbour to Guana Cay

2007-12-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention that Weston & Mike C. flew out first thing in the a.m. Sunday. Mike F. and Sloane will stay until next Sunday (Dec. 9), then fly back to North Carolina for a week and a half. We’ll return Dec. 20 or 21 (can’t remember which right now) and stay until Jan. 2. The “kids” (Elisha and Marty) will join us that trip, along with their significant others (Donnie and Sheila, respectively). We’re really excited, and we hope everyone still likes each other after having 3 couples on a 40-foot monohull for 10 days.

Didn’t end up going to Guana Sunday because rain set in, and we had a chilly drizzle most of the day. We were as close to leaving as you can get (motor on, most dock lines off) when we realized that sitting on the beach in 20 knot winds and rain just really didn’t sound appealing. So we had a great, relaxing day on the boat, reorganizing, playing games (Mike C. left us his backgammon and cribbage, so I taught Mike F. cribbage), and just generally hanging out with just the two of us again.

Ed and the Shearwater crew went to Guana Sunday and now plan to proceed south and around for the next year. We spoke to him yesterday morning via VHF radio when we crossed paths as they left Guana and we entered. We hope to catch up to them in the Virgins in February before they move further south.

Monday was overcast with light wind (about 10-15 knots right now—perfect), and some thunderstorms were predicted for the evening, but we were ready to go. So we headed to Guana Cay. We’re planning to stay on anchor here for a few days.

Visited Nippers and Grabbers, our two favorite places here. Grabbers was closed, but we ran into Jimmy and Terri, the owners, so we hung out with them and got to see all of their new additions. Then we all went to Docksiders for dinner. Had a wet dinghy ride back to the mother ship last night. The wind really whipped up Monday night (early Tuesday a.m.), enough to have to get up a couple of times to check our holding. Now, Tuesday morning, it’s sunny and warm with only 10-15 knots of wind.

Inet connection is a little weak on anchor right now, so will wait until we return to Marsh Harbour to post pics from Saturday night’s Steak Night-present.

Please keep those comments coming . . . we love hearing from everyone!

P.S. Weston: Your buddy on the Catalina departed Monday just before us, right on schedule.

Marsh Harbour Arrival 2007

2007-12-02T08:21:00.000-05:00

Finally, you armchair sailors will get an exclusive inside peek at what real sailors do when they get to port. (Check their email and play dominoes, backgammon, and cribbage.) Okay, I'm trying to get off of the video kick I'm on. Last video for a few days, I think. More pics soon, though.

Sailing to Guana Cay today for pig roast, and then either Little Harbour (if we can get Pete to open the only restaurant there) or Hopetown.

Enjoy!

Wrightsville Beach to Abacos 2007

2007-12-01T16:23:00.000-05:00

Things people keep asking . . .

Route: We headed due south from Bald Head Island, with course heading of 179-181 degrees most of the way until we arrived at North Man-o-War channel.

Conditions: With input from all crew for the duration of the trip . . . seas were 1-20 feet with swells about 2-10 seconds apart. Boat people, you know what I mean. Nonboat people, what I mean is that no one is ever accurate about these numbers anyway, so why bother? Day one at sea, 3 of the 4 of us were sick, and that is very rare for each of us, and the fourth person said he didn't feel well, either. The other days show up pretty clearly in the video--seas calmed considerably.

This movie's over 9 minutes long, so sit back, relax, and ride along with us from Wrightsville Beach, NC to the Abacos, Bahamas.

Lots more pics of Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to come!

We've Arrived!

2007-11-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

We've arrived at the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour, safe and sound. Well, at least three of us are here, and to avoid immigration questions, we're acting like that's all we started with.

Just kidding. Everyone made it, and, most importantly, we beat Ed from Shearwater (lands2plunder.blogspot.com) by an hour, with photo documentation to prove it. We've been determined to beat him here for the past few months.

More soon . . . we are in the process of removing the "quarentine" stigma with immigration and customs.

Trivia

2007-11-26T23:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, apparently the crew took me (Sloane) seriously when I said I would do the 10 p.m. to midnight watch tonight, even though we are at the dock. Someone has to wake them up in order to leave at midnight, I suppose. Actually, I just revolunteered for duty even though I could have set an alarm. Let’s just say I didn’t bring ear plugs.

So . . . I’m passing this watch by creating a set of trivia questions for our ~~bazillion~~ four readers to work on while we’re on the dark side of the moon for a few days. Ready?

1. This picture was taken while we were fueling up to leave. What is happening?

2. Which two of the three crew are currently (right now, this very second) sleep talking to each other while Sloane stifles her giggles?

3. A Mystery . . . Overheard at dinner tonight:

Weston: . . . So, anyway, that’s how you play. You guys wanna try it?

All: Sure.

Weston: Okay, who wants to go first?

Sloane: Me. Seven.

Weston: Okay, Six.

Mike F.: Five.

Mike C.: Nine.

All open their fists.

Weston: Okay, nobody won that time. I’ll go next.

Sloane: No, it’s my turn.

Weston: Sloane, you went first last time.

Sloane: I know, but I’m the girl.

Weston: Sloane, that’s not fair.

Sloane: Yes it is. I’m the girl. Seven.

Weston: Jeez. Okay, fine. Six.

Mike F.: Nine.

Mike C.: Four.

All again open their fists.

Weston: Okay, nobody won that time either. Whose turn is it?

Sloane: Mine.

Weston: Sloane, you really can’t do that.

Sloane: Yes I can. I’m the girl. Seven.

Etc.

Then, Weston, got “out,” and then Sloane got “out.” They high-fived each other and watched the two Mikes.

Question: What were we playing? Bonus question: What were the stakes?

4. Mondays child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for his living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

Two of the crew are Thursdays children. Which two?

5. Multiple choice:

Sloane is teaching a new friend a yoga pose.
Sloane is taking a picture of something on the ceiling.
Though others laughed, Sloane found a strong Internet signal this way.
After sleeping all weekend in the V-berth, Sloane is stretching her back.

6. This may take some research: The crew had the same meal tonight that they will have Saturday night at The Jib Room in Marsh Harbour. What did they have for dinner?

7. We have ten jerry jugs this trip. Eight hold fuel and two hold water. Originally, we planned to stow six fuel jugs in a cockpit lazarette and lash the remaining two fuel jugs and the two water jugs to the deck. However, after much consideration, we ended up with five fuel jugs and one water jug in the lazarette and three fuel jugs and one water jug lashed on deck. Why?

8. Who learned Backgammon tonight and ~~beat~~ ~~destroyed~~ ~~annihilated~~ ~~decimated~~ graciously received the benefit of “beginner’s luck” over his or her teacher three out of three times? Bonus: Who was the victim of the above slaughter?

9. Three crew members wore matching red foul weather gear today, and one wore yellow “foulies.” Who wore yellow?

None of them.
Mike C.
Mike F.
Sloane
Weston
All of them.

10. Same question as above, but pretend it started with “This is a trick question.” Who wore yellow?

None of them.
Mike C.
Mike F.
Sloane
Weston
All of them.

Please post your answers as comments, and we’ll see you in a few-to-six days.

And This Time We Mean It!

2007-11-26T20:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, lots of rain and yuckiness today, as we knew we'd see. We pulled into Bald Head Island around 3:30 p.m., went aground in the channel to the marina, got off, went aground a few feet away from the fuel dock, got pulled off, and then fueled up, went aground on the way to the slip 20 yards away, and then docked in the mud. (Several recent trips to this marina, and never a problem in the past.) Though always the very first people to point all fingers to everyone else possible, this time, it was truly just unusually thin water. So we've decided to blame the ferry. Perhaps an addendum to the crew testing is in order--ability to deflect blame from anyone on board onto someone on another boat.

After dining, we all realized that we're just itching to get underway, so we've decided to leave at midnight. We did consider dawn briefly, but we decided to leave while there is water under the keel from here to the inlet . . .. So, we leave at midnight . . . water above and below. And Sloane was the first person to call a watch: "I've got 10 p.m. to midnight!"

Already lots of great photos, so several videos will hit when we hit land . . . most likely on Saturday. Maybe a day or two later.

Finally--The Last Preparations

2007-11-26T08:16:00.001-05:00

Sunday, Mike and Sloane worked hard to finish prepping the boat. Three grocery carts later, Sloane began stowing provisions. About 1/3 done here:

Even at 11 p.m. in the rain, folks were on the boat finishing up work. Here, Greg puts on the finishing touches for the new canvas.

We woke up Monday to a downpour, so Mike took the opportunity to begin a new project, fixing the float switch on the bilge, discovered to be faulty Sunday night.

Fueling, lashing, and final showers, and then we're off. Due to the weather, it looks like we'll be traveling down to Cape Fear today and most likely (if Sloane has any input at all) spending the night at Bald Head Island. Tomorrow early a.m. the wind is supposed to clock around, and the seas should settle to 6-8 ft, much more pleasant than it would be to head out right now, with 25 knots on the nose and seas of 9-11 ft.

Flotilla 2007

2007-11-25T23:06:00.000-05:00

This is Flotilla 2007 at Wrightsville Beach, NC. Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a parade of boats kicks off the holiday season in Wrightsville Beach. Last year, we left for the Bahamas on Thanksgiving Day and missed this. This year, Mike started the night off with Jägermeister and then videotaped what he saw. Sloane took over after awhile since this particular night she was more worried about staying warm and dry and regaining spectacular health for the trip than about partying.

We started out Saturday evening aboard Kim and Randy's beautiful Mystic. We moved over to the Billie J IV, Doug's lovely boat, for a while for lots more fun. Then we closed the evening out back aboard Mystic for even more fun. All said and done, by the time Dockmaster Chris arrived, we were done, just before 11 p.m. Cold & windy evening, and much to do on Sunday.

Extra credit for picking out the evening's Captain Morgan model . . .

More Boat Prep

2007-11-25T14:21:00.001-05:00

Last three days of boat prep . . . Starting with Friday's drive down to Wrightsville Beach. Mike is closing out on his business obligations for the next week:

But wait! There's a West Marine!

Is there any aisle in that store less interesting than this one?

More spares of spares in case the spares for the spares don't make it . . .. This is Jim, our favorite West Marine employee (besides Heather, of course!).

Meanwhile, this is Sloane's "Plan A."

. . . which has this result for 24 hours:

. . . during which she has visions of arriving in the Bahamas and seeing everyone from last year, like Steven & Jason, and these people:

So it's time for "Plan B":

And then Mike goes up the mast (brr! It's gotta be cold up there!) 60 feet up . . . that's 5 stories . . . :

And then it's time for Flotilla 2007 Saturday night . . . but that's another post.

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

Mike doing that guy thing on Thanksgiving Day.

When she has wine in her hand, Sloane knows everything. You don't even have to ask . . . (Note the beautiful cranberry sauce in front of Sloane's lovely g'ma.)

Thanksgiving Eve: The Movie

2007-11-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

Mike said the crew should cut loose once more before leaving land. We obeyed.

Meet the Crew

2007-11-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

Now that we are close enough to leaving, it's time to meet the crew for this voyage. We try to acquire as competent a group as possible. Multiple day sails are required, as well as at least one overnight passage prior to selection. During these trials, we test each potential member to every extreme.

The first test is on land. I hand each prospect $1000. They must strip down to their skivvies, go into the shower, turn on the cold water, and eat green beans out of a can while tearing up $100 bills as I throw salt in their eyes. If they come out smiling, they get to come out on a day sail. If they come out with $1000 of their own money, they skip all other testing and are immediately signed on for a trip.

The next test is the day sail. We set a time for departure and judge for the timeliness. Last on board is the declared galley wench and must mix drinks and serve food. Once underway, we test many things, including, but not limited to: ladder surfing, napping, ability to make a bloody mary while the boat's ear is in the water, and ability to laugh.

The last test is the overnight trip. Again, each prospect is extensively tested for their reactions. Things that are tested here are their ability to sleep on watch and never admit to it, the ability to send us off course and then get us back on course without anyone knowing we were heading the wrong way. They must have the courage to stay on board even after they have lost the ship's bucket to a man overboard drill. They must know that when you are 70 miles out in the gulf stream and a swim is taken by all, you must remember to lower the swim ladder and drop ALL sails before the last person jumps in. They must be comfortable sharing a blanket in the V-berth with whoever else is there. If a bucket is passed up from down below and someone says, "Don't look in it, just dump it out," they must be able to heed that advice.

Then you might be considered for crew . . .

First we have captain Mike:

Mike's main job is the creation of $100 bills. He is obsessed with asking the aliens about the weather. Always wants to put up more sails no matter what the wind is doing. Thinks sleeping on the salon floor in weather is great. Likes the 4-6 am watch just so he can be the first to get a fishing line in the water. He never seems to want to dock the boat as every time he goes to put the boat in reverse to get into a slip, he puts it in forward instead. Sloane can often be heard calling, "MIKE, BACK IT DOWN"

First Mate, Sloane:
Sloane's main job is trying to get Mike to stop spending $100 bills. She has expert sail trimming skills and always tells Mike, "We have too much sail up." She is in charge of provisioning the boat. Her ability to navigate the waterway is unsurpassed. She definitely knows it's wrong when Mike decides to make a sharp right in fog in a very narrow channel. She rides the bow and welcomes the aquatic life. She loves her watches (even when not feeling her best) and is a dream to wake up. The two other tasks that the crew likes best are watching her turn off the engine battery and her reaction to "Fish On!" On land, she makes sure all crew make it back to the boat.

Mate Weston:
Mike's mentor and best friend. Can take care of any weather Mike and his aliens see. Has been sailing all his life. Had his 16th birthday in the Caribbean. Is 40 something but is staying 16. Has a hard time hiding the fact that he sleeps on watch (like we all believe you just wake up every 15 minutes). Is the best at spending Mike's $100 bills. Loves to be at sea. Has more lines of BS than anyone you'll ever meet. Can't make a golf cart do a wheelie. Always tries to get the best bunk and pillow (and often succeeds). Hates un cooked onions, but is a great cook underway. Instills and teaches confidence. Has sailed untold miles.

Mate Mike:

Has a funny accent (I'm not sure where he came from) and wears funny hats. Brings funny games on board only he knows how to play. Has sailed the world. His last major trip was from Kuwait to the US. Sleeps on watch (Mike--your snoring gives you away!). Is testing all of us for crew on his boat for when he sails to New Zealand next year (this sucking up to him is getting a little old). Specializes in making bloody marys (at least we make him think so). Always likes to put up more sail like me.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

A few pieces of news . . . ~~nothing~~ of great importance: Mike and Sloane met Pryce, the young fellow who ~~chickened~~ backed out of the trip. There are many wonderful photos from the meeting, as well as many photos wherein Sloane asked various friends and strangers to pose as Captain Morgan, a collection of shoe photos of random passersby, and a photo documentary of friend Pat buying a pack of gum at the BP.

Those photos will be posted later, as the PC failed, and failed miserably Thursday morning, with nothing but strange black screens and blue screens that both Mike and Sloane read carefully, consistently remarking after reading each, “Hmph. I’ve never seen that before. Have you?” “No. What exactly did you do?” “I didn’t do anything. What did you do?” Etc.

Thanksgiving dinner was excellent, and photos of that will be posted soon, too. Sloane is using the ~~wretched~~ beloved laptop and is still sick . . . neither of which is conducive to the patience required to select and edit the photos for posting.

However, the fever has come down a lot this morning, and Mike & Sloane should be in Wrightsville Beach this afternoon, starting to complete Carina’s preparations. Monday’s departure still looks promising, and two of the four crew are still healthy.

Intense Planning and Preparation Continue

2007-11-21T11:50:00.000-05:00

Plans from yesterday shifted slightly as Sloane’s cold took on a yuckier feeling. Rather than risk cooking for husband and daughter, she decided it would be best to move the dinner meeting to a restaurant where she could ~~share her germs with everyone else~~ assist others in developing and maintaining a strong immune system.

After downing a healthy dose of Vitamin C, provided by Chip at The Point in Raleigh,

Sloane watched and occasionally ~~offered useless comments~~ participated in Mike and Elisha’s meeting.

~~Bored~~ Ready to change scenery, Sloane decided to participate in a free poker game sponsored by The Point.

Chris took all of her chips with ~~random~~ interesting hands ~~that he played far too long and got lucky on~~. But Sloane was not bitter.

Back at the house, Mike and Sloane worked hard to close out preparations for the trip. Excitement was in the air, and even their 11-year old dog could barely contain his enthusiasm.

Sloane and Mike have been notified that the 5th crew member will be unable to make the trip, as well as learning that his name does not actually start with a J, but with a P. When asked whether he canceled the trip due to his name not starting with a J, we were told that it did, and it stood for "Just about had a great time." Regrets, Pryce, perhaps another time.

Thanksgiving Eve Eve 2007

2007-11-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

We're in the one-week countdown for leaving for the Bahamas. Mike has been prepping the boat and feels almost ready. Sloane has been thinking about the trip and has promised to make a mad dash of effort on Friday. She hopes. Or perhaps she doesn't have as much to do at the last minute because she's been planning this trip since last year. Hmmm. Also joining us on this trip will be Weston, another Mike, and someone whose name purportedly begins with a "J." This is Weston (on the ground after trying to make our golf cart do wheelies the last time we were in the Bahamas together):
Note that he is wearing the always stylish "Carina" hat that our friends Eric and Amy bribed us with so they could stay on the boat for free in the Bahamas so Eric could create a nice memory of his marriage proposal to Amy:

The most pressing things on Sloane's agenda for the day: grading all student work that has been turned in to date since their next assignments aren't due until December 2 (and she's hoping they won't even notice she's gone for a couple of weeks) buying cranberries to make . . . umm . . . cranberries as her contribution to Mom's Thanksgiving dinner and avoid being at the grocery store tomorrow, and making something for Mike's business dinner tonight. Okay, so the business dinner is with daughter Elisha, but still . . . salmon w/leeks, marinated veggies, apple tart . . .